The Last Paladin IC (Frosty)

[Maquise]

You come to the door. Strange, unholy-looking symbols cover it, along with motifs of death and pain. Clearly, whoever put this door here did not want anyone to open it.

"They went through all that work, and didn't bother to lock it?" Lyanna asks herself. Gingerly, she begins to open the door.

Inside, you see a stone pillar in the middle of some sort of magic circle, on top of which sits an orb of black crystal. Several shelves are carved into the room's walls, upon which sit objects you cannot identify from outside.

[Frosty]

"This can NOT be a good thing EVER. Alright, 10 gold says the door closes and locks if anyone tries to go in. We're going to need to destroy this room some time, but first we need to find the troglodytes. Can you exlore to the north, Lyanna?"

[Maquise]

Lyanna returns, giving another report.

"There are two passageways, one appears fairly recently dug. I'd say the troglodytes dug the tunnel to the west. The other ends in a door, and judging by the sounds and smell, I'd say there are a lot of trogs behind it."

[Frosty]

Karrin consults the mental map she has constructed. "If the door (@21G) leads to a troglodyte warren, then based on the positioning, how is the tunnel (@16T) the front entrance to the same warren? We'll follow you back to that tunnel Lyanna. Explore it a little bit, stealthily. The more we know, the better."

[Maquise]

Lyanna nods. "It doesn't quite add up."

You explore the questionable tunnel. Eventually it leads to a sealed portcullis. Inside you see a room that seems to have been abandoned a long time ago.

[Frosty]

"This smells like a trap. Let's explore from the other side, the tunnel from the totem room."

They go back to 14Z and carefully move forward to check things out from the other side.

[Maquise]

You proceed carefully back, mindful of any potential ambushes along your path. You arrive at what you judge to be the same door as before.

"Locked," Lyanna says. "I can unlock it, if you can think of any reason to go in there."

[Frosty]

"I think this room is just a trap. Still...I think this door is better unlocked. If they block off another route, thinking that we'll be locked in here if we run here, then they'll be in for a surprise. Davkas, are you any good at this stuff too? Can ya give Lyanna a hand?"

[Maquise]

With a click, the door is unlocked. Lyanna examines the room beyond. "There seems to be a trap mechanism inside. The troglodytes probably built it to try and foil intruders. I can disable it, or we could avoid it, and potentially lure trogs into it."

[Frosty]

"The trogs would know that the room is trapped, but...hmm...Lyanna, can you disable the trap but leave the possibility of very rapidly re-arming it later with a trigger? Also, that portcullis...how hard is it to open? In order to use their trap against them, we need to open one side quickly, run through the room to show them that the room is untrapped, and then quickly re-arm it after we are through and they are still in the room while chasing us."

[Maquise]

"That could work, but the problem will be trying to rig it without setting it off. It would be feasible, though. If we're going to try it, I think everyone else should wait in the other chamber. I have no idea what could happen if I make a mistake."

[Frosty]

"Only if you are confident that you can do so without getting yourself killed. I am not going to ask you to take on unnecessary risk. Davkas, can your soothing music help her in this at all?"

[Maquise]

"I think... I can do it. I'm willing to try."

"I would be glad to aid her," Davkas says.

The rest of you fall back to the long chamber. You hear a loud bang, a few harsh voices, and then Davkas and Lyanna reemerge. Davkas appears concerned, attempting to aid Lyanna. She seems intent to continue on her own, despite slightly favoring one leg.

"That was... a failure. The trap's out of the question now." There is a small patch of blood on Lyanna's leg. "Don't mind that, it's just a scratch."

[Frosty]

"Lyanna...if it's anything more serious than a scratch...you better tell me. I've still got healing I can use. Tell me Davkas, is she in need of healing?"

[Maquise]

"Lyanna, let her heal you. We do not know what the rest of the day will hold."

"Exactly."

[Frosty]

How hurt does she look? Karrin lays hands upon Lyanna once, and sees if Lyanna's wounds have disappeared.

healing - (3d6)[15]

[Maquise]

You place your hand upon Lyanna, imparting healing energy upon her. "That does feel better," she says.

[Frosty]

Karrin leads the others back to the door to the room with a lot of troglodytes behind it. "Alright...how many do you think are in there? They're individually weak, but..."

[Maquise]

Berich and Lyanna discuss things for a moment.

"I would guess no more than three score. These chambers aren't large enough for a full horde."

[Frosty]

"36? Even I don't like those odds...any ideas on how to get a lot of them at once?"

[Maquise]

Berich thought for a moment. "A hit-and-run strategy would make use of the tunnels, letting us negate their advantage in numbers. The only problem is that the troglodytes know the tunnels better than we do."

[Frosty]

"The question is how many of us can hit them at once and vice versa. So, do we have the weaponry for all 4 of us to be doing something to the enemies at all times? I say we employ a the 'sit at a choke point' strategy by getting them mad at us and then retreating to...here." Karrin leads them back to the T intersection at 12G. Setting Lyanna and Berich at 12F and 12H, the paladin continues, "Positioned well with me at the center, the 3 of us can engage in melee against the enemy. Davkas think you can use a bow from behind us to shoot at the enemy? Grembler, maybe your...patron has some special wierd abilities for ou to make enemies screw up, fall down, or generally less effective? You can use them from behind us."

[Maquise]

Your companions take their positions. "Assuming the enemy does not have a way to flank us," Berich says, "which is highly unlikely, since this is not the main entrance to their warren, this should be fairly effective. The only problem is going to be forcing them into this bottleneck. Even trogs aren't dumb enough to think it a good idea."

[Frosty]

"So if this isn't the main entrance, where the HECK is it anyways? And do we want to spend the time to find it? As for taunting the enemies, I think we've got that covered. Grembler, do you think you can make the trogloddytes angry if you display the troglodyte head we just chopped off and taunt them? If you don't speak their language, maybe Lyanna can taunt them? I think it'd work best with Grembler however. Maybe saying something about them being an inferior species. Once they chase you, RUN back here to safety."

[Maquise]

"Do we have a time pressure? If not, better to make sure we don't make a mistake."


"Sorry, Grembler don't speak dragon-tongue."

[Frosty]

"With Mira under the protection of the dragon, I think we can afford to take a bit of time. Let's try to find the main entrance first. Alright Lyanna will be the person who taunts then. Let's pick up that head for use later."

She leads the team back to 19 AI. Maybe they can find the main entrance from there unless the others have a better idea.

[Maquise]

The passage leads south to a winding tunnel. The walls are lined with bones displayed in an intimidating fashion, and there is much evidence of recent activity. It ends with a door, in which there is a viewport so those inside can see out. You keep around the corner, preventing them from spotting you. The door is heavily secured and reinforced. Lyanna notes the location of a hidden exit nearby, likely used to flank any attackers.

You fall back to AI16, and await your next move.

[Frosty]

"Is there any way we can make it really hard for these exits to be opened? Jam them or something? They can flank us if they come out of their main entrance or the hidden tunnel we just found, and I'd really prefer they not do that."

[Maquise]

"Perhaps I could try to freeze the doors shut," Berich says. "Can't say how well it will work, though."

"I can create a sound which could shatter stone," Davkas says.

"...And I think I know how that will help," Lyanna says. She examines the roof of the tunnel, and identifies several points that a cave in could be triggered (shown in red).

[Frosty]

"Good. Collapse the ceiling...HERE." says Karrin, pointing to the place at 20Y. "But, I'd say wait about...2 minutes. The rest of us go and get set up at the intersection, and Lyanna will taunt them. Hopefully the timing will be such that when they are rushing out to us and also thinking about flanking us, Davkas will collapse the ceiling, and all of the trogs will be trapped inside their home."