Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil (IC): Thread 2

[Lycar]

Grigor, human cleric

Grigor tries to capitalize on the cockatrice's distraction and again tries for a wild swing, praying to Olidamarra (YOu know, that poor bastard got turned to stone. Okay, I can see that them direchickens need to get a lucky pick in too... to be all fair.. but, yeah.. this one got it's moment of glory.. so... )

Down comes his sword...

Spoiler

Attack: (1d20+7)[12], dmg. (1d10+6)[11]

Lycar

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Moathouse: Planting 8, Early Night

Round 2 (cont.)
(( Same result on the attack roll as last time, so no surprise that… ))

The cockatrice continues to evade Grigor's attack.

(( No change in position, so still on Map #31 ))

[Skjaldbakka]

Megiddo will continue to take a defensive posture behind his more martial allies.

[Another_Poet]

Spoiler

Still hoping for a reminder on which militia member Kevril was

Tell

Tell presses his attack.

attack - (1d20+8)[22] incl. +2 flank, -2 pwr atk
damage - (2d4+8)[12] incl. +4 pwr atk

AoO if needed (10' inclusive reach):
attack - (1d20+8)[11] incl. +2 flank, -2 pwr atk
damage - (2d4+8)[12] incl. +4 pwr atk

[Shhalahr Windrider]

(( Well, Ricar just cast a couple of magic missiles, so I suppose he's the caster. As far as Kevril: Kevril came to investigate the noise Tell made while breaking down the wall. He and Bellamin were the ones doing the quick scouting and point work (as visible on early-fight maps). Was lightly armored to better allow for this task, unfortunately. (Don't think I got around to describing their armor…) Kevril had been injured by the skeletons previously, but not as badly as Eckhard had. That enough info? ))

Moathouse: Planting 8, Early Night

Round 2 (cont.)
Megiddo maintains his defensive position.

Ricar hurls two more magical bolts at the beast as Tell finally crushes the thing's body under his chain.

As the beast collapses into unconciousness, Haunor steps alongside Grigor and proceeds to smash the its head in with his hammer, splattering bits of skull and brain around the place. He maintains a grim silence as he does so.

(( Map #32 ))

[Lycar]

Grigor, human cleric

"You know, there is magic to undo this. Uhm. I'm sure we can find a way... at any rate, all we can do right now is to make sure he doesn't get damaged."

Grigor shuffles his feet nervously. True, the petrification effect is reversible, so it is not like he is dead dead. Still, he can't bring himself to thinking on something to say to lighten up the mood a bit.

"Guess these beasties explain why the passage was sealed off..."

Lycar

[Another_Poet]

Tell

Tell listens to the cleric's words. He surveys the statue, worried that trying to move it would damage it. But leaving it here... well, he fully expects the weirdoes in this moathouse will smash it at their earliest chance. Since he can think of nothing optimistic to say, he says nothing.

Instead he begins to search the area for anything useful.

Spoiler

On all the beds, any crates, etc. feel free to secretly roll my search (modifier is +2) if there is anything worth finding. The one place that really interests me is any desk, cabinet, or other actual storage device. On these I will take 20 for a total of 22. The map seems to show a couple of cabinet/bookshelves in the room to the east, but I know you said the imagery on the map may not really represent what we see.

edit: Is Eckhard also wearing light armour? I ask because we have an extra set of +1 studded leather he could use if it would help.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Moathouse: Planting 8, Early Night

(( Eckhard has scale mail. Bellamin was the other scout. He's with Mair at the maze entrance. ))

Almost everything in the main chambers has been smashed to pieces. It appears to have been a barracks, given the amount of rotted bedding. In the middle of the southern section is a skeleton holding the remains of a rusty handaxe.

The cockatrice nests are made up of mostly shredded cloth and a few bits of wood. However each one also has a cloak similar to the one found in the armory where Spugnoir hid—black, with a flaming eye embroidered upon it.

While looking around a bed-half in the southwest corner of the barracks, Tell notices a glint along the wall. He finds 12 small red polished stones that had evidently been scattered about before falling into the crack between the wall and floor. (( Search: 1d20+2=22 ))

The eastern room's door was closed, keeping the cockatrices out. As such, though it is a shambles, it is slightly less a shambles than the barracks. Most of the wooden furniture is more or less in one piece. However the cloth tapestries, rugs, cushions, and even the bed's mattress have been shredded apart. On the floor by the remains of the mattress is a skeleton in black robes.

As expected, there's not much to find in this room. It was definitely ransacked years ago. However, the skeleton is wearing a silver medallion with a picture of a spider. It also has a small intricately carved stick stuck in its belt—likely a wand of some sort.

[Skjaldbakka]

Do any of the intricate carvings on te wand give a clue as to the wand's function or command word?

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Moathouse: Planting 8, Early Night

Not much to go on directly. The carvings are mostly a series of criss-crossing lines that could be inspired by a number of different things. However, near an area that looks like a grip, there appears to be some carved words.

(( Uh, Megiddo's character sheet doesn't have Languages filled in. Given his high Int, I know he's got a few more than Common and Elven. What others do you have? ))

[Another_Poet]

Spoiler

Is it Sylvan or Giantish by chance? Or gods forbid, Druidic?

[Lycar]

Grigor, human cleric

Being not terribly good at searching, Grigor stands guard as the others scan the rooms for valuables.

[ooc]I like how that cockatrice is 'definitly dead' [/ooc]

Lycar

[Skjaldbakka]

( Draconic, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Sylvan)

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Moathouse: Planting 8, Early Night

No one is familiar with the script, if that's what it is. The very symbols that make it up are strange.

While Tell is rooting through the area, Haunor approaches Grigor. "Y'said it was possible to fix Kev. Is that something you can do? Can y'do it here?"

[Lycar]

Grigor, human cleric

Grigor looks back at Haunor and shakes his head sadly.

"Afraid no. I know there is magic to un-stone someoene, but it is beyond me. Don't worry though, he'll keep. There are stories of people who were brough back years later and not a day had passed for them. Will cost a pretty copper to turn him back though."

With a shrug, Grigor adds "Figure if the bad guys here have some magic items on them when we arrest them, they can pay for it. So one more reason to take out the bad guys."

Grigor doesn't mention that the stories are usually about people who were tuned back, many, many years later, long after all those they knew had long since passed on...

Lycar

[Skjaldbakka]

"You will need to find a wizard if you want to bring him back. To my knowledge, it is beyond the power of most clerics to undo petrification. It is not easy for the arcane arts to undo either, it is possible he will die in the process. That is assuming you find a wizard capable of the necessary magic."

[Another_Poet]

Tell

The druid seems to be unaware that the others are still talking of the petrified man. To Megiddo he says: "Are you still seeing auras? Can you at least tell the school of this thing?" He indicates the wand.

After handing it to the elf he retrieves the twelve polished stones and tosses one to Grigor, perhaps thinking the cleric would have some guess as to their use or purpose.

((Is there perchance a game board of some kind amidst the debris?))

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Moathouse: Planting 8, Early Night

Ignoring Tell, Haunor scratches his beard, "It's gonna be impossible to move him." He pauses as if to think for a moment. "Gonna have to keep some men here and send others for Elmo 'n' Burne."

Tell doesn't find anything that even looks like pieces of a game board. (( Search: 1d20+2=18 ))

[Lycar]

Grigor

Grigor looks at the small stone Tell tossed him, turning it around in his hand.

"Hmm... dunno... looks like a stone..."

Spoiler

Bardic Know. : (1d20+3)[14]

Lycar

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Moathouse: Planting 8, Early Night

Nothing exceptional about the stones. Though they have been polished and rounded with more care than is typically done with game pieces, as Tell suggested. They're more like gems.

[Another_Poet]

Tell

Tell puts the 11 stones he still has in his pack. If Grigor gives back the other one he'll take that too, otherwise he doesn't ask for it.

He then does his typical thing of crouching on the balls of his feet with his back resting against the wall. He waits for the others; whenever they head back to explore elsewhere he'll go too, but he doesn't rush them.

[Skjaldbakka]

Megiddo will take a look at the aura on the wand.

spellcraft: (1d20+16)[29]

[Lycar]

Grigor

Grigor looks over the ston but does not find anything out of the ordinary about it. So he hands it back to Tell.

"Better hang on to it. Maybe we find a use for them later. If we have this place wrapped up, maybe we should move on."

Still being a bit nervous about the hostiles in this place creeping around their backs, Grigor is ready to take point should they move again. One as good as dead scout is one too many already after all. It is hard to keep up a good mood that way, Olidamarra's teachings nonewithstanding.

Lycar

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Moathouse: Planting 8, Early Night
Megiddo finds a faint aura of Necromancy emanating from the wand.

"All right, is there any chance any of you can seal up that last passage, like this was?" Haunor asks Tell, Grigor, and Megiddo. "I think we've had enough of beasties and crazies for now. I don't want to find out what's down there, and I don't want what's down there finding us."

[Skjaldbakka]

"I do not possess any magic capable of sealing off an area," he says, looking over to Tell and Grigor.

[Another_Poet]

Tell


"If I had any, I would've used it to rip some walls out of that maze. Maybe tomorrow."

He considers. "I'd go down that last passage though. Rather kill it now than have it ambush us, whatever's down there."

Unless anyone objects he'll head that way.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Moathouse: Planting 8, Early Night

"Ah, we ain't in no condition to be lookin' for things t'kill," Haunor replies with a heavy sigh, "but considerin' the circumstances…" The commander points at his remaining subbordinates. "Eckhard. Ricar. Make sure nothing happens to, uh, to Kevril. I'm goin' with this gentleman. Be ready to move if ya hear me or the others by the maze callin'."

The passage quickly narrows, and the brick walls and tiled floors end into a roughly carved corridor. The footing gets rather tricky with bits and pieces of petrified animals laying about. The passage heads straight east about a quarter of a mile before reaching a tiny, damp-smelling cave with moonlight shining through the entrance.

[Lycar]

Grigor, human cleric

Grigor spots the cave and the moonlight ahead and proceeds slowly, keeping his sword ready.

"Hey look, moonlight... is it night already? I'll check this out. If something jumps me, at least I have my armour to protect me."

Lycar

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Moathouse: Planting 8, Early Night
On the other side of the cave mouth is forested land and open sky. The entrance is inside of a small tree-covered knoll. Somwhere on the other side of it lies the Moathouse. The forest is still distractingly quiet—only crickets, really. It will take some time for the land to repopulate after the dragon Utreshimon's depredation.

[Another_Poet]

Tell

Tell seems pleased. "We can sleep outside!" he says chipperly.

While the militia men think of some reason to grumble against that idea, he pokes around the outside of the gnoll a little bit to make sure he'll be able to find his way back here in the future.

Also, he hopes the giant frog is around somewhere. That guy was okay. He'll make some frog calls and see what he can rustle up.

Spoiler

If there is any roll needed to imitate a frog call, my skills are handle animal - (1d20+5)[15] and survival - (1d20+14)[21]