The Necromancer's Pact VII: Lake of Tears II

[blackfox]

Katrin
Katrin smiles in amusement at Si'rene's remark.
Dragon eggs...! I can't believe I never saw the connection before. It all fits... the colors fit. One egg for each type of dragon... red, white, green, blue, black. What do the drow want with dragon eggs?
Katrin sits back and conteplates this question.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

She stops before entering the battle, realizing that her archery skills arn't good enough for her bow to be of any further use. She drops both it and the enchanted rock (daylight), and draws her sword before casting a spell upon herself.

cast: protection agaist evil

[bhdrake]

Lumpy

They'd had a talk about charging. He SWORE they'd had a talk about charging.

Lumpy resists the urge to bury his face in one palm. They were in it now. Again. Wordlessly, the dour orc charges after the dwarf, his sourpussed silence looking entirely out of place on someone who is readying their weapon for an all-or-nothing strike.

((OOC

Ah, what the hell.

Charging, with full power attack. Aiming for the mount he shot earlier, or the other if Evendur manages to hit that one.

Charge Attack PA -6/+12 (1d20+9=18, 1d10+19=24)
))

[Spaz]

Yix


Yix walks up to Achkby pulling on his shirt to get his attention "Wouldn't it be worse if the Drow had them? The salesman was also very strange."

[Dr._Bob]

In the inn ...

Yix tells Achkby and the women about his trouble "speaking" to the armorer. Clearly there is more to the man than is obvious at first glance, and it is hard to explain the presence of the neat package in his back room.

"Are you sure there was a dragon egg in the package?" asks Si'rene. "Is there any chance the package merely resembled the ones we saw being transported by the drow?"

"By the grimlocks, you mean," corrects Katrin.


In the woods ...

Evendur's armor glows with an unearthly golden light, complementing the pure white illumination radiating from Tiriel's hand. The demons shield their eyes as they wheel their howling mounts about. Already the eerie howls seem to pierce you to your core, and each of you feels the beginnings of a headache behind your eyes.

Thokk tosses his tower shield aside charges forward with Evendur at his side. Sighing, Lumpy arcs in from the side.

Evendur reaches the riders first, lunging forward and thrusting the nearest mount behind its mandible. Thokk slashes upward then, twisting slightly, brings his blade down in a vicious two-handed blow, decapitating the beast in mid-howl. The beast tumbles awkwardly to the ground, its headless body skidding to a halt, throwing its rider off in the process.

Lumpy leaps over a low bush, swinging his flail in a mighty arc that crunches wetly into the second mount's skull. The monster's head snaps sideways, then recoils as the howler clamps his jaws down on Lumpy's shoulder. The howler spins about, raking Lumpy with its mane of long spines, one of which catches Lumpy in the thigh, breaking off in the process. Lumpy curses between his teeth, regretting that he is not wearing his armor.

The howler's rider wrenches the beast's head away from Lumpy and steers it towards Tiriel, who stands 30 ft away, beams of daylight spilling from her upraised fist.




OOC: Lumpy takes 12 points of damage from the howler's bite and 5 points from a quill, which remains lodged in his body.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Callos

Huh. They don't seem THAT tough. Maybe I should hold back and watch for where I'm needed instead of throwing myself into the fray...What the...No!

Callos observed the battle as best he could from where he was at. Not to well until the night suddenly lite up and revealed the spiny mounts and the death of one and the charge of the other towards Tiriel. Callos was quick to circle around as much as possible, no point in hitting his fellow adventurers if he could avoid it, and brought his fingers up to his lips. Taking a deep breath he put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. Then, his hands flowed through the motions of a familiar spell, sparks dancing from his finger tips before an arc of white lightening exploded from his finger tips towards the howler.

((OOC: DC 15 for half. Using his movement to circle to the right so he doesn't accidentally hit Lumpy Thokk or Evendur.

EDIT: Oops. n.n; My bad. Forgot the damage
6d6=25 ))

[blackfox]

Katrin
"I do remember what the package looked like... I could probably sneak into the armorer's place and take a look if Yix would show me where it was... would you be willing to?"
Katrin gives the pseudodragon an inquiring look.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Tiriel waits for the beast and rider to get within closing distance before attacking, or if they don't make it that far, she'll close with them.

attack: (1d20+8=26) + 1 = 27
damage: (1d8+5=13, 1d6=5 fire)

Tiriel targets the Howler unless Callos's spell kills it first.

Status:
AC: 22;
Saves +2 (& +1 against fear)

[Spaz]

Yix

Yix taps his chin for a few moments before responding to Katrin in the affirmative. "As long as you don't hold me back I wil gladly show you the package. I am sneaky as I am charming, so hopefully you can keep up." Yix says as he begins dropping all his superfluous belongings. "Take care of these for me, won't you Achkby?"

[Dark_Stalion]

Evendur

Evendur,s powefull strike allows him to follow through, leaping over the fallen beast after the thrown rider, reversing his sword to stike down two-handed, smiting the prone form with similar force, blade glowing with holy power.

Attack Roll: 1d20+10-5+4= 1d20+9=16
Damage Roll: 1d8+4+5+7= 1d8+16=23

[Frojoe21]

Aeroz

Now that the newcomer, Thokk and Lumpy had given him some room to breathe, Aeroz heads into the skirmish, taking full advantage of any flanking position becoming available to him.
[hr]
Rapier: 1d20+11(+13 if flank is attained)-2(Expertise)=20(22)
Damage: 9+5(Fire)+11(Sneak Attack)=14 (25 if SA)
AC 21 (22 vs mount)

[OOC: Just as a reminder, I'm working on a crappy wireless connection at my grandparent's place in Florida. Posting may be erratic]

[King_of_GRiffins]

Elthan

Elthan wakes up shiver in his bed. Though its not very cold in the room, the chill affecting him is not physical. He knew he was powerless compared to everything, and was quite aware that he had little influence on the world around him, but to feel it; To actually be able to compare himself to the universe that existed around him, and understand that he was small. It was unnerving.

He wanted to feel the power again.

To do that, he would have to go through with the request; Not exactly a simple ordeal. He would have to not only fool him, but the rest of the party as well.

Still, however long he had been out, he was hungry now. It would do well to get some food and check on the status of the party before making any plans. He weakly heads out of his room and down the staircase to the currently gathered party. He smiles a slight bit, almost cheerily, as he greets the four. "Si'rene, Katrin, Achkby, Yix. I see the rest of the party isn't back yet. What's been going on, and were are you off to, Yix?"

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn pops up near everyone. He was apparently listening the whole time, but ignored most of the talk. "If anyone's going to check out the eggs, I'm coming too." I doubt an anonymous tip to the guards would do any good. Whatever the drow are using dragons for, it's probably no good. We should probably stop them or get out of here as quickly as possible or both. "If he truly is a drow spy, I'm all in favor of killing him. We could... ahhh... leave one of the keys I... liberated? from the guards to try to make it seem like it was the guards killing him. I'm not sure what we would do with the eggs though. I don't want to have to deal with another dragon. One was enough, thank you very much."

[Spaz]

Yix

"Liberation is afoot good people!" Yix calls out to all around, "Come if you must, but don't slow us down!" Yix trumpets out a few notes hoping to inspire his "troops" before hopping of the bar (or table not quite sure what he is standing on at this point), and scurrying out the door.

[sacreddeamon]

Thokk

Wordlessly, Thokk continues his attack on the demon who's mount he had just releaved of a head.

Thokk To hit, Power Attack (1d20+7, 1d20+2=[2, 7], [13, 2])

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn grabs Yix as he heads toward the door. He sets him back on the table and looks at him gravely. "Listen little buddy, kill the man and save the eggs is not really a plan. There are fine details we need to work out beforehand. What is to be done with the eggs? How are we going to kill him? I mean, we can't just walk into his shop and begin slashing at him with our weaponry. Wouldn't that be just a little suspicious and noisy. What do we do if other people come in? We need to formulate an actual plan before we go off on our hunt."

[Dr._Bob]

In the inn ...

Elthan is filled in on Yix's discovery.

Si'rene nods as Fizahn counsels caution. "Technically, we don't even know that the package contains a dragon egg. If you and Yix are going to check out the package, Katrin should absolutely go as well. She was the one closest to the packages as I recall, so she would be the most likely of all of us to be able to confirm Yix's suspicion."


In the woods ...

Evendur vaults over the fallen howler and, reversing his two-handed grip, plunges his sword point first down towards the fallen rider. The man-sized demon is quicker than the paladin, however, and it twists aside at the last minute avoiding the thrust. Evendur's sword sticks deeply into the frozen ground, and by the time he has wrested his weapon free, the demon is gone.

Lumpy growls, teeth gritted in pain. "It ran deeper into the woods." Pointing, he hisses, "Do NOT let it get away ..."

Callos skirts around to the side of the skirmish until he has a clear view of the second rider. Electricity crackles from his fingertips as bolts of lightning strike both the howler and its rider. The howler's screams crescendo in agony, then mercifully cease. The demon hops off of the smoldering howler, seemingly completely unaffected by Callos' spell.

Before this demon can attempt to flee, Tiriel cuts it off and slashes at it with her flaming sword. Her blade scores its dorsal armor, but as she does so, her sword is stained by the demon's slimy covering. The reddish ooze threatens to snuff out her weapon's magical flame ...

Out of nowhere, Aeroz appears, thrusting his glistening rapier into the demon's back. The weapon bites deeply, and the demon cries out in abyssal.

Whirling, the demon rakes Aeroz with his claws, causing the elf to fall back bleeding from his face and upper arm.




OOC: First demon flees. Second howler is electrocuted to death. Second demon takes 3 damage from Tiriel's attack and 10 damage from Aeroz's sneak attack. Demon slashes Aeroz for 10 damage. Both Aeroz and Tiriel need to make DC 18 reflex saves or else their weapons take 1d8 damage from the demon's protective slime coating.

[bhdrake]

Lumpy

Lumpy does his best to ignore the throbbing in his shoulder and thigh, focusing on assessing the evolving situation. The woman and the elf seemed to be holding their own against the other demon, and the mage was sure to be worth something in that fight. That left the dwarf and the other man to chase the running demon.

They had to catch it. Who knew how many others might be wandering the woods, or what worse things they might find brought down upon themselves. No, this patrol had to disappear entirely for anything remotely positive to come of the encounter.

Without further thought, the dour orc sets out after the fleeing demon, limping and panting noticably, but striving to maintain the pace.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Callos DeTerran

Hmph. No one's complaining about the omph in my lightening bolt now I see. Lousy fighterish types, always complaining when it doesn't work but not a word of gratitude when it does. I guess the only thing to do then is to continue to "wow" them until I get a reaction.

A grim smile was on his face as the necromancer began to chant once more. It was a newer spell that he had yet to test out but in theory it would be quite helpful to Aeroz and Tiriel against the thing they battled. It felt like something died inside of Callos at that moment as he felt the all consuming and hungry source of his next spell. A delayed thought berated him for choosing such a spell when nothing truly seemed to be on the line. When he most certainly didn't need to be distracted by that rush of adrenaline when he felt negative energy...

"I did it! I finally did it! Ha ha ha! I can't believe I finally got it to work!" came the exalted cry from the young man. The magic was essentially harmless, a fact he had ensured, and so he felt no hesitation about using it heedlessly. All it did was weaken one, not even fatally like the other magics and dweomers he saw Jintan and the others use.
"Idiot boy. What have you accomplished?" The dry and cold tone froze his blood and made the young man freeze. Him. Why him?
"The spell of enfeebling. The one you let me copy from your spellbook..I finally got it to work..."
"So? The spell is useless. It leaves your victim intact and still able to harm you. If I had known you where using up valuable time and resources with such nonsense I never would have shown it to you." Before he could respond, before he could argue the statement the silver tipped wand was pulled from its place of storage, a concealed pocket in Jintan's sleeve. Soon screams echoed from the training room but they weren't from the targets...

He woke up at home, a kindness that he deeply appreciated from the servants. They knew he hated remaining in the tower when he didn't have to and being floored by pain counted as "get the hell out". But a diffirent kindness awaited him when he realized just who was there too. A smelly salve had been smeared on the scorch mark from the pain wand, soothing burning sensation enough that he could move readily enough. But it was the mane of thick silky hair barely visible above his overstuffed chair's top that warmed his heart up and encouraged him to move. The sound of her sweet humming filled the small bedroom, side by side with the scent of freshly baked muffins and pies, as he approached. His fireplace struck a warm light around the room and made it comforting instead of dusty. Arms went around the back of the chair to feel the warmth of his body and not for the first time he was glad to be back away from the stench of carrion. Back where he really belonged. She anchored him in reality, not the perverse nightmare he willing walked into daily.

"Callos, are you feeling better?"

"Of course. I think I'm getting used to the pain."

A shake of his head cleared the warm memory from his mind, brought him back to focus on the here and now. There was killing to be done, or so his mind said, and if he didn't pay attention then he might not be on the killing side but instead be the victim.



((OOC:
Ranged Attack Roll for Ray of Exhaustion:
1d20+4=16

Roll for Spell Resistance if any:
1d20+6=15 ))

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

crap
this could be a long fight.
Tiriel attacks the demon with a low arching blow.

attack/dmg/: (1d20+9=29, 1d8+5=13)
crit! yay!
attack for crit: (1d20+9=16)
extra damage for crit: (1d8+5=6, 2d6=3)
Total damage = 19 + 3fire (which does nothing)

Reflex saves:
Reflex save from last round: (1d20+7=15) = failure
Reflex save, this round: (1d20+7=10) = failure
Sword hp total = is either 15 or 20 - is a longsword a one or two handed weapon by default?

Status:
HP: 35 (full)
AC: 22
Saves +2 (& +1 against fear)

[Frojoe21]

[OOC: Longsword is 1 handed by default]

Aeroz

Aeroz continues to press on, stabbing twice at the demon-mount.
[hr]
Reflex Saves:
1: 1d20+11=24
2: 1d20+11=21

Full Attack:
1d20+11=27 (16 if no flank) - 3d6+1d6+3=14+5 fire
1d20+6=26 (Confirm 25 <23 if no flank>) - 12+4 fire

AC:21 (22 vs mount
HP:29

[blackfox]

Katrin
Katrin nods in agreement. "I do remember well what the drow packages looked like... but I'm not too sure I want to know why one showed up here. It certainly doesn't mean anything good."
Katrin scowls briefly and shakes her head. "If we're going soon, then I'd like to go get my lockpicks."
She goes and retrieves them from her room.

[Spaz]

Yix

Yix looks at Fizahn after being stopped "There shouldn't be need for killing, a true thief never needs to kill." Yix acknowledges that Fizahn is right, but he feels that it is urgent to get the eggs before they are moved. "Need any help?" Yix asks Katrin as she goes off to get her equipment.

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn looks at the tiny dragon dumbfounded for a second. "A true thief never needs to kill? You believe that? Are you doubting my credibility as a true thief? There are times when killing is neccessary. If this armorer is a spy for the drow, then it would be a good idea to kill him. If he finds the thing pilfered, then Achkby and you are probably going to stand out in his mind. Next, there's a legion of drow following us. That's not a good thing. If he is a drow agent, we want him dead with evidence incriminating someone else." Fizahn fishes his lockpicks out of his pack and deposits it in his room. He returns ready to go.

[Spaz]

Yix

"I do not doubt your skills as a thief. However, as just a cute pet, I feel no need to kill." Yix klooks at his tail, before giving a look at Fizahn which seems to be a smile. "Besides,deception is more fun."

[Dr._Bob]

In Tammar ...

Once night falls, Achkby, Fizahn, Yix, and Katrin slip out of the inn and retrace Achkby's steps back to the armor shop.

Si'rene, Lissa, and Hajih remain behind to wait for the others to return. Elthan stares into the fire, lost in his own thoughts. "Be back before dawn," Si'rene warns. "And be careful ..."

The uneven cobblestone streets of this fortress-town are icy and treacherous, but the cold weather seems to be keeping the townsfolk indoors. Achkby and Fizahn could almost be mistaken for children in their winter cloaks. Yix is essentially invisible due to his small size, and Katrin's shadowdancing gifts allow her to disappear almost at will in the darkness.

The shop is closed and locked, but lights still burn in the back room, visible as you peek in through the darkened storefront. Fizahn quickly reconnoiters the rear of the shop, finding no windows, but noting a small exit from the back room, locked securely.

The four of you retreat to a nearby alleyway to plan your next move.


In the forest ...

Tiriel and Aeroz trap the demon between them, cutting off any escape. It whirls and slashes viciously, eyes burning with rage.

Tiriel's blade cuts deeply, but she can see her blade pitting and corroding before her eyes as the demon's secretions sizzle on contact with the steel.

Aeroz pokes and punctures whenever the demon's back is turned, each time adding a subtle flick of the wrist to shed as much ooze as possible from his blade. It might be Tiriel's imagination, but she thinks she hears the rapier laughing as it punctures the demon's exoskeleton.

The demon's claws slash at both Tiriel and Aeroz, but it is unable to land a telling blow against Tiriel's armor (and divine protection) or Aeroz's nimble, artful swordsmanship.

Callos points a finger at the demon, striking it with a thin, almost imperceptible, black ray. The demon's eyes seem to dull, and it stumbles as the enervating spell takes effect.

Thokk and Evendur finish off the downed howlers. Trinark hisses in accented common from the cave opening, fumbling for the right words. "Forget the ... the ... pointy things! Help Lumpy!"


Deeper in the forest ...

Lumpy chases after the demon, limping as excruciating pain lances through his thigh with every other step. The demon is quick, and certainly motivated after having its mount cut down from beneath him. It dodges over and around fallen trees, claws scrabbling over icy patches on the ground.

After a minute or two, Lumpy realizes that no one is following him. Not for the first time, he reprimands himself for forgetting that he is no longer in the company of disciplined soldiers who could be relied upon to analyze the tactical situation and respond appropriately.

He also realizes that he doesn't hear footfalls ahead of him either anymore. He halts and crouches in place, suddenly aware of the vulnerable position he is in, alone in an unfamiliar location, his role suddenly reversed from hunter to potential prey.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

"Urgg... Go help Lumpy, We'll keep this one busy!" Tiriel shouts at Evendur and Thokk as she drops her sword and tackles the demon.

{provokes AoO}
Grab: (1d20+8=11)+ 1 = 12
Grapple check: 8+5 = 13
If she wins, Tiriel pin the demon for the rest of the round.

[ooc:
Tiriel has Resistance to Energy: Acid (10) so that's not a problem at least. Now Aeroz can poke it some more (no dex to AC bonus when grappled) :D]

Status:
HP: 35 (full)
AC: 22
Saves +2 (& +1 against fear)

[Dr._Bob]

In its weakened state, the demon is unable to prevent Tiriel from driving it down to the ground. In a flash, Tiriel straddles the demon and pins its wrists, rendering its claws harmless. The demon's acidic secretions seem to have no effect on her clothing or skin, but the corrosive ooze begins to darken her elven chain almost immediately as it begins to oxidize the metal ...

[Zeal]

Hajih

Hajih paces the Inn, absent mindedly taking drinking from his flask.

"Si'rene" he asks, stopping momentarily "Isn't there something we could do while we wait for the others to return?"

[bhdrake]

Lumpy

Amateur move, bonehead.

Hunched down painfully on his haunches, Lumpy considers his position.

He didn't expect he could beat anything but the weakest of demons, and this one looked no pushover. He certainly didn't want to let it get away- he knew a scout when he saw one- but there wasn't much he could do alone. He should have expected it, with the dwarf so addled and battleblind and the human obviously so unused to fighting.

Still crouched, he opts to tend to the distracting needle in his thigh, simply grabbing onto it and yanking it out, doing his best to ignore any fleshy clump clinging to it. He tosses the stupid thing, withdrawing one of his as-yet unused potions from his belt. He relishes the sweetness of the liquid within, a beacon in a hectic night, before rising to search for signs of the demon's passage. He probably couldn't keep pace, but it would be nice to have a general idea which way the demon intended to flee. They'd probably be on the run again soon, if the demon managed to warn whoever it was vanguarding.

((OOC

Quill Removal & CLW (1d6=1, 1d8+1=3) - Hooray, net gain! HP 40

Survival - Track/Discern Direction (1d20+10=11) - Crap, two 1s and a 2. Looks like the dice are catching up with me.
))