The Sea of Starry Night [closed]

[The_King_of_Durf]

Darius

"Lumpy, your knowledge of the obvious never seems to fail." Darius says jokingly. He starts whipping arrows into the areas where he can see the enemies (thanks to Achkby's spell).

((2 arrows at whatever blobs of darkness or monsters he can see from Achkby's lights, if the spell doesn't get off he'll aim by the fire of his arrows.))

[Yoric_Steele]

Trinark, Drow Companion

Upon seeing the damage done to Linda, Trinark will bend down and see if he can assist her. He will try to assess the severity of her injury.

[OOC: DR, judgement call on your part if Trinark can help her or not.]

[Frojoe21]

Aeroz

If Aeroz can see one of the Darkmantles with Achby's dancing lights spell, then he will fire a crossbo bolt at one of them. He will also try to find the edge of the darkness.

[Elmorwen]

Sheyra

Sheyra makes her way towards Thokk's voice, and hopefully the edge of the darkness.

[Dr._Bob]

Achkby's spell illuminates a chaotic scene. Squid-like darkmantles bob and duck through the air, dodging into and out of three clouds of inky darkness and slamming into the party members. Sheyra and Fizahn stumble out of the zones of blackness, grateful to be able to see again, as they bat away the attacking darkmantles.

Trinark tends to Linda as she gasps for air, panicked. The lizardman slashes viciously with his claws, driving away a pair of darkmantles. Aeroz shoots another darkmantle, which flaps away clumsily, badly injured.

Elthan waves his arms frantically, fending off a darkmantle, but a second creature smacks him from behind, knocking him into a rough stone wall. Elthan drops to the ground, bleeding from his temple.

Lumpy knocks a darkmantle to the ground with his flail, but before he can finish it off, his head is enveloped by another one. It begins to constrict immediately, choking off all air. Lumpy feels his face fill with blood as venous return is cut off.

Darius takes aim at a darkmantle, shooting it in mid-flight. The darkmantle explodes into small fragments, almost completely disintegrated by the fiery arrow. At the same time, Thokk slices another darkmantle in half, its pieces fall to the ground with wet splats.

As if in response to a silent signal, clouds of magical darkness erupt from all of the darkmantles, snuffing out Achkby's dancing lights. Once again, the party is plunged into darkness, and this time, not even darkvision is able to penetrate the blackness. To add injury to insult, an unseen darkmantle smashes into the halfling sorceror, knocking him to the ground.

"We don't have time for this!" cries the other Elthan. "We have to get through that accursed doorway!"




OOC: Darkness fills the entire 20 ft wide passage for its entire twisty length (at least 200 ft).

Achkby is hit for 7 points. Lumpy is hit for 7 points + 8 points of constriction damage. Elthan is hit for 8 points and is knocked unconscious.

[HempRope]

Achkby, Halfling Sorcerer

Gripping his wand tightly, Achkby probes his way to the door, and, if possible, ducks through.

[sacreddeamon]

Thokk

'GET OFF THE HALF BREED"

*Thokk will rush the darkmantle consticling lumpy, and try to grapple it off and kill it, though he will NOT use his sword*

[bhdrake]

Lumpy

With a muffled growl of surprise, Lumpy's hands go to his neck, trying to pry the monster back off.

(OOC: Try and break the grapple, with +8. hope I don't get unlucky with grapple checks twice in a row)

[The_King_of_Durf]

Darius

Darius grins as the darkmantle explodes. Two misses and one helluva hit!

"Two down, just- Ah hell's bells!" He yells as the darkness envelops the room.

"Well, Elthan if you can find the goddamn doorway, by all means go through it!" Darius yells.

He will put his bow safely back in place across his back and whip out his long sword, slashing up into the air (higher than human height, so as not to hit a party member) around him and swearing.

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn breathes a sigh of relief as he emerges into the light again. Turning to face the nearest cloaker, he seems ready to fight. Not even a second later, he erupts into gnomish curses as he is once more plunged into darkness. Muttering to himself, he begins cartwheeling and springing in the direction of the wall. Once there, he will inch along it untill he finds the doorway to exit through.

OOC: Tumble still +10...

[Frojoe21]

Aeroz

Aeroz moves foreward and pokes upward with his rapier. He is also keeping a sharp ear for any sounds of the darkmantles.

[OOC: Listen +2]

[Dr._Bob]

Achkby crawls along the ground, feeling for the darkstone doorway. He manages to avoid any darkmantles and feels around in the darkness for a latch or lever. Miraculously, his hands find a button that was disguised to the naked eye, but not to touch. Pressing on the button, he is gratified to feel and hear the door grind open. "This way!" he shouts to the others.

Lumpy rips the darkmantle from his face using his bare hands. He throws the monster onto the ground and stomps around in the darkness until he feels a satisfying squish.

One by one, the party members stumble through the darkness and the swarm of darkmantles towards Achkby's voice.

Last to pass through the doorway is Lumpy, who slams the door shut behind him, preventing any darkmantles from following.

It takes a few seconds before someone is able to produce a light. Looking around, the survivors find themselves in a small antechamber with three doors (besides the secret door everyone just entered through). Looking around, everyone checks to see who made it and who is missing.

Thokk, Linda, Fizahn, one of the Elthans, the lizardman, Lumpy, Aeroz, Sheyra, and Achkby are all accounted for, though many are battered and bruised from the darkmantle attack.

The other Elthan, Trinark, Darius, and Hajih are missing ...

[sacreddeamon]

Thokk

"WE NEED TO GO BACK AND GET THEM NOW! NOBODY GETS LEFT BEHIND"

*Thokk makes to open back the door*

[HempRope]

Achkby, Halfling Sorcerer

"Wait! shouts Achkby. "We have to make sure we can manage it. I hate to sound like Linda, but we need to do a quick assessment."
As he speaks, he is pulling a piece of parchment from his scroll collection. "Is everybody all right?"

[OOC]Taking out scroll of Web.[/OOC]

[bhdrake]

Lumpy

Lumpy growls half-heartedly, "No, no, lrt him go if he wants, but I'm closing the door again afterwards."

Between all the rocks, darkmantles, and a certain dwarf's armored fist, Lumpy is in pretty sorry shape. His head and face in particular are in pretty bad shape, now slightly swollen from lack of blood flow, along with all the bruises, and a not-so-whole nose, "And I'm swell, just swell. Ya know soon as all the funny little spots clear up and I can see again."

[runehawk]

Lizardkin Druid
The reptilian is visibly relieved at the sight of Sheyra safe and whole but at the news that not all are accounted for, becomes agitated. Motioning the others to stay he falls in behind Thokk.
He hisses and glares at Lumpy for his callous remark thru slit-like eyes.

OOC: He will navigate by sound in the darkness with multiple listen checks..oh joy..

[Dr._Bob]

Just when Thokk and the lizardman reopen the door, Darius scrambles through, dragging Trinark with him. Thokk slams the door behind him, preventing any darkmantles from slipping through.

Darius is breathing heavily, but seems OK. His longsword is bloody, suggesting that he managed to slash at least one darkmantle on his way out of the darkness. Trinark appears to have suffered a mild concussion, but he should recover with some assistance.

That just leaves Hajih and one of the Elthans unaccounted for.

[hr]
The party faces a tough decision. Hajih and Elthan will probably die if they are not rescued quickly (if they aren't dead already). But, due to the darkness, finding them will be a challenge, especially given the ferocity of the darkmantle swarm. Plus, spending more time battling the darkmantles would almost certainly mean that the driders will escape, meaning that Lissa will likely never be seen alive again.

Saving Hajih and Elthan (if they are still alive) means that Lissa's fate is sealed. Saving Lissa (if she is still alive) means that Hajih's and Elthan's fates are sealed.

There is no obvious solution that will allow all three to be saved. A choice is going to have to be made ...

[The_King_of_Durf]

Darius

"Phew... I musta took out a few dozen of those damn things." Darius says, propping the drow up against a wall.

"Well, I guess now it's just the matter of which door we're going to pick."

Elthan? I hope they rip his eyes out. Hajih? I prefer Lissa. And I'd rather not die blind."

[HempRope]

Achkby, Halfling Sorcerer

Achkby looks around, coming to the same conclusion about his companion's fates as everyone else.

"Do we pick a side? Or do we split up?"

[sacreddeamon]

Thokk

"Ok, the choice is easy. I will take on the darkmantles, the rest of yer find the little lassie. At most, ONE of yer come with me to take on the squidfolk, preferably somebody short who can dodge my blade yet still rip the accursed things off my head if needed.

[runehawk]

Lizardkin Druid

"The needss of the pack are greater than the needss of the one"
"..but a pack doess not leave itss own behind. I will not abandon my packmate.ANY of them "
The lizardman does not move from Thokk's side. His expression remains steely. He will not let Sheyra join him if she tries.

On hearing the severly injured half-orc, he lays a hand on him and casts a simple healing spell.
OOC:sorry phasm. he is amused by and slightly admires yr char but feels compelled to retrieve elthan and hajih who may only have minutes to live. He's chasing the aberrations afterwards. EDIT: CLW on Lumpy

[bhdrake]

Lumpy

With a growled sigh, the battered orc pushes himself off the wall he's slumped against. He almost doesnt make it, but eventually settles on unsteady feet, "Fine, I'll find the damned spiders then."

He takes a tottering half-step, then pauses, "Anyone with means of healing, this'd be a helluva time ta break it out." He offers the lizard a grunted thanks and a nod for the spell, and begins to limp along the path, glinting eyes scanning for tracks on the rock. Deliberately or not, he also seems to be leaving a very obvious trail in his wake, scuffing along the rock, for the others to follow later.

((OOC: If no one else has anything, he'll probably just root through Lissa's haversack, and drink all of her potions. Call it a rescue fee, or something.

edited to include the lizard's cure))

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

"I'm going after Lissa if we're splitting up. It's more likely that there are traps ahead than back there! I'm going now, we don't have much time. Anyone who wants to go save Lissa had better come now. Thokk, and druid, you can catch up later." Having said this, Fizahn follows Lumpy at a run.

[sacreddeamon]

Thokk

"Ach, thank ye scaly one. After we get the two clansmen back, we'll thump the abonimations good!"

[HempRope]

Achkby, Halfling Sorcerer

"I'm no good without light," announces Achkby, hurriedly stowing the scroll back in its protective compartment.
"So I'm going after Lissa." She wouldn't leave me.
He quickly conjures a glow to the end of his wand, and, gripping it tightly in one small fist, he starts off at a jog to catch up with Lumpy.
"If you're coming with us, let's go."

[Elmorwen]

Sheyra

Sheyra takes off in the direction of the driders, clearly ready for a fight.

[Frojoe21]

Aeroz

"Lissa it is then. Ok, lets go."

Aeroz follows the determined halfling, his crossbow put away and his standard weapons, the rapier and dagger are drawn.

[Yoric_Steele]

Trinark, Unconscious Drow Companion

Trinark groans from the floor, blood oozing from his head.

[OOC: If you guys have to leave me behind I understand, but I hope not. Many things in the Underdark think Drow is quite tasty.]

[The_King_of_Durf]

Darius

"Heal the drow before we go, whoever has the ability to. He'll come in handy, and maybe he can cook."

He'll look through the drow's stuff for a potion or two. If he finds them he'll force-feed them to the drow, then he'll help him up and rush after the party going after Linda with him.

(('Cause I'm nice like that.))

[Dr._Bob]

Reluctantly the party splits up. With grim determination, Thokk and the lizardman slip back through the secret door in an attempt to rescue Hajih and the Elthan clone. The others will pursue the driders, hoping to rescue Lissa alive.

"May Tymora be with you," murmurs the original Elthan as Thokk and the lizardman vanish into the darkness. Lumpy closes the door behind them. Fizahn inspects the three doors quickly while Linda revives Trinark and gathers her own strength for the chase.

Fizahn notes that the doors are made of iron. The two doors to the sides are rusted shut, but the center one shows signs of recent and repeated use. Guided by Fizahn's everburning torch and Achkby's lighted wand, the party pulls open the central door and rushes down the wide hallway behind it. The hallway twists and turns, and there are more iron doors set at irregular intervals in the walls.

Noting the carefully worked walls and the geometry of the doors and passages, Trinark observes (in draconic) that it appears that the party has entered some kind of drow sanctuary. The wall sconces are darkened and there is a thin layer of dust and debris coverering the floor, suggesting that this complex had been abandoned a long time ago. There is a clear trail in the dust, however, revealing that the driders and spiders (and presumably Lissa) are not too far ahead.




OOC: I need a marching order again. The hallways in this complex are only 10 ft wide. The party consists of Lumpy, Trinark, Elthan, Darius, Linda, Aeroz, Fizahn, Sheyra, and Achkby.