As you continue to cast the spell, primal arcana flows through your body, and you can begin to piece together some of the things that are different about this spell compared to what you might expect from Animate Objects. You learn the following thing
The spell is bound to one object only, and cannot be cast on anything else, and its duration has been extended significantly
The animated object is not under your control, and instead is conscious and acts individually, always towards whatever purpose the spell was created for
You can't quite tell how, but you know for sure that the object animated is granted far more power than a simple animated set of armor or mundane object
The spell has some sort of self-renewing capacity
If there's anything else to learn about the spell, you can't quite figure it out. However, you do know this other critical piece of info:
@Koric, you are now maintaining concentration on this spell. If it's broken, the statue will cease to be animated. What exactly happens from there is unclear, but you get the sense you could attempt to re-animate it if you did lose concentration
The statue rises from the rubble, reconstructing itself. It stands about double your height, nearly hitting the top of the cave, and its stone exterior is covered in what seems to be some form of heavy armor. It carries a large war hammer and a shield, which is emblazoned with a flaming anvil that you recognize as the symbol of the dwarven god Moradin. As it stands to its full height, it looks at you with confusion, lifting its war hammer. Even with the fact you cast the spell to animate it and the clear connection you have as a result, an older human wizard is clearly not what it expected to see.
Insight Check: 13
Thankfully for you, it looks around the room, noticing all of your companions in the area, including Norbus and Dazlyn, and relies on more secure methods to determine who it's foes are. It's eyes flare with the fire of the forge, and it halts for a moment, before speaking:
"You are friends of Axeholm......"
It continues taking in the information it is receiving from whatever additional sense it is pulling on, and suddenly jolts and screams
"It has already fallen...undead...traitors...roam the halls...I must liberate it!"
Looking up for a moment, it clearly also senses the presence of the roc sitting on top of the cave, and storms out of it, its war hammer at the ready
Koric flinches as the creatures gazes at him; one does not need portents and visions to see some futures. As it speaks, he begins to relax then, as it moves to confront the Roc he says, "The bird is not the enemy. Chase it away by all means, but save your energy for the true enemy!"
At is charges out of the cave, @Lux, you notice the statue for the first time, not having been privy to any of the events inside
It points its hammer at top of the cave, which is fully awake from the sound of the statue being animated and its booming voice as it talks to you. The roc screeches, the sounds of its voice causing the entire cave below to rumble and the ground outside to shake. The statue then unleashes a screech of its own, and its hammer is suddenly coated in flames. None of you have any idea what the statue is saying or how it can imitate the cries of a roc. @Koric, even with your comprehend languages still active, you can't interpret what are clearly bird calls
Lux can see all of this due to being outside, and those of you in the cave, while you can't see the roc directly, you can see the statue raise its hammer and hear the cries of both the roc and the statue in response
Roc Wis Save: 18
Note: Points its hammer at the roc at the top of the cave
The roc resists whatever spell the statue was casting. Normally, this would put us direcly into initiative, but in this scenario, everyone would be surprised besides the Roc and the statue. Because of that, I will be resolving one turn of actions, and if a certain thing hasn't happened by then, then I'll go into initiative
The roc flies down and attacks the statue with its beak and talons Beak: Attack: 25 Damage: 24 Talons: Attack: 18 Damage: 27
The statue, despite the blows, immediately stands back up, lifts its hammer, and repeats the same spell
Roc Wis Save: 18
Note: Should have rolled initiative for the roc and statue to determine who went first, but doesn't end up mattering here due to roc succeeding the save yet again
The dice clearly want us all to suffer! Not sure what the odds of two DC 15 wis saves in a row with no modifier are, but I can't imagine they are good. Initiative rolls coming shortly. Also, forgot to note, but the statue resisted the damage (took half)
Ok, statue goes first, so I'll resolve his turn to see if the combat ends here, and if not, I'll post a map. The statue does the exact same thing it has twice, attempting to cast whatever spell it was casting
Roc Wis Save: 3
The roc looks entranced by the command of the statue, and flies off, following whatever order that call must have given it. With it's massive wings, it easily flies far far off long before the spell ever wears off, fading over the horizon. Even after the spell fades, it doesn't seem to want to come back and pick a further fight, having fought mostly in self-defense in the first place
With no hostile entities on the field, we are now immediately out of initiative as quickly as we were in it! (Dice gods, I hope you are happy)
The statue lowers its hammer and turns right towards Axeholm, exclaiming
"Vyldara... a traitor... she must be removed and Axeholm's halls restored!"
It then turns to the cave and waits a moment, waiting for the group to emerge, but seems still focused on the mission it has given itself
Elandra had moved to the entrance of the cave, following the stone giant and readying herself to engage it, when the beast seems to turn and fly away. She turns back to the others inside the cave, "Well, I've got to hand it to your kinfolk Norbus, Dazlyn, that is the most impressive scarecrow that I've ever seen. I'm certainly not going to be short of fresh tales the next time duty calls." The flourish of her hat is entirely lost on her audience, the only indication being a faint swoosh of air which is drowned out by the loud stonework movement of the statue.
Allowing everyone to stand down after their almost call to battle, she adds, "Well, if Rocky here is set on shooing off Vyldara I've no intention of trying to change it's mind. I'll happily scout ahead of we know the way, or we could just follow the juggernaut here? What do you all prefer?"
"Well, that was an exciting start to having this monstrocity on our side. Thank you Koric for successfully handling him to our side instead of the latter. I'd hate to think where'd we be now if that did not happen." she shakes her head with the thought. "If anyone wants to scout ahead, I'm not going to stop you, but I would hate for anyone to get into trouble. So no scouting on your own. I'm not sure how far the sound from our scarecrow here travels, so I'm afraid how far ahead you'll have to be in order to actually be stealthy."she looks out the cave, "Either way, we better get going and catch up with it." and Jade leaves the cave to stay with their new creation.
Koric looks up at the statue, his expression curious despite the lingering fear. "What...ah...should we call you? There is clearly more to you thank meets the eye" he says.
Deriving a growing confidence from his companions, he continues, "We also seek to restore Axeholm. Perhaps we could come to an arrangement? Or discuss the means? Or what you know of Vyldara?"
He had hoped that their arrival might go unnoticed, but somehow he doubted that was still an option. Unless it decides on a frontal assault, I suppose.
As Koric attempts to talk to the statue, it does not even turn to face him, simply stating
"I am Axeholm's Defender and hammer of Mordadin"
Clearly, while the spell that animated this statue has given it a serious upgrade in terms of intelligence, it doesn't seem to have granted it much of a personality. All it seems to know is its mission: defend Axeholm from any of its foes, outside the castle walls or within them. It then stops for a moment, staring off towards the mountains that house the great fortress and says
"She knows we are coming. There's no sense as strong as a banshee's nose for living souls. Her undead hordes await outside the castle and in its catacombs. I can sense their presence polluting the halls. "
Koric stares in the direction of Axeholm, "Well...ah...Hammer...do you think we might get inside unnoticed, perhaps, by some other means? Perhaps climbing?"
Again, not really paying much mind to you, the statue responds:
"No amount of stealth can escape a Banshee's hidden sense. Even still, why engage the fiend in the close quarters of her own lair? We shall cleanse Axeholm on the field of battle!"
With that, it seems prepared to move, surveying the landscape one last time before the fire in its eyes flickers, the statue using whatever additional sense it is calling on to know that Vyldara's forces are already amassing
Koric just stares at the walking statue for a moment, wondering if what it says could be true, then asks Balthar to fly over to the other outcrop as he crouches down and links senses again. After a moment he stands up and briefly describes what he finds, before getting ready to continue the journey. As they move off he asks Hammer, "Are there any more like yourself that could be awakened?"
(( Arcana roll, if that's what is needed to know more about Banshee's: 25 ))
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Liri watches the statue with a mixture of unease and amazement, thankful for the moment that the golem appears to be on their side. She wonders at the magic that must have been used to create this thing, so unlike her own nature-focused magics. As she moves to follow the stone creature, she looks around herself, conscious that they are now much more conspicious than they would have been before. Then something that the statue said clicks in her mind.
"Hordes...? How many are we talking here? We are not many in number, so is open battle a wise option?"
(Perception check for looking around, in case needed: 20 )
The statue responds "I am Axeholm's shield! No other stone defender exists."
With that Arcana check, you think about what you know about banshees as a whole. You don't know too much, but you do remember that Banshees have an incredible ability to detect living creatures, with the more powerful banshees being able to sense the presence of life from miles away. You get a sense that's hidden sense the defender is referring to that Vyldara is using to know you are coming.
@Liri
The statue booms "The catacombs crawl with them, and I cannot sense how many. Outside the castle though I feel only 6.". Thinking for a moment, it continues: "Vyldara will know our arrival no matter what we try. Her hordes could ambush us before we could sneak around the castle"
Looking around, there doesn't seem to be much else here besides the two outcroppings, and you don't get the sense there's any immediate danger here or something you are missing
Jade stands near the statue and turns to the others, "I feel we must get going. The sooner we get there, the less time the banshee has to increase her hordes. Now, unless there are any other questions or things to look at, I suggest we move." And she starts out of the cave and heading towards Axeholm unless something or someone stops her.
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@Koric
You begin to cast the spell, and the statue starts to awaken. Make a persuasion check and an arcana check, both with advantage
Arcana: 15
(( Have delayed persuasion since he MIGHT do something to improve it, depending on circumstances ))
@Koric
As you continue to cast the spell, primal arcana flows through your body, and you can begin to piece together some of the things that are different about this spell compared to what you might expect from Animate Objects. You learn the following thing
If there's anything else to learn about the spell, you can't quite figure it out. However, you do know this other critical piece of info:
@Koric, you are now maintaining concentration on this spell. If it's broken, the statue will cease to be animated. What exactly happens from there is unclear, but you get the sense you could attempt to re-animate it if you did lose concentration
Going to need that persuasion check now!
Persuasion: 10
(( Drawing upon the inspiration of Mystra, Koric tries to make himself a little more persuasive (once per day, proficient in one skill or tool) ))
@Koric
The statue rises from the rubble, reconstructing itself. It stands about double your height, nearly hitting the top of the cave, and its stone exterior is covered in what seems to be some form of heavy armor. It carries a large war hammer and a shield, which is emblazoned with a flaming anvil that you recognize as the symbol of the dwarven god Moradin. As it stands to its full height, it looks at you with confusion, lifting its war hammer. Even with the fact you cast the spell to animate it and the clear connection you have as a result, an older human wizard is clearly not what it expected to see.
Insight Check: 13
Thankfully for you, it looks around the room, noticing all of your companions in the area, including Norbus and Dazlyn, and relies on more secure methods to determine who it's foes are. It's eyes flare with the fire of the forge, and it halts for a moment, before speaking:
"You are friends of Axeholm......"
It continues taking in the information it is receiving from whatever additional sense it is pulling on, and suddenly jolts and screams
"It has already fallen...undead...traitors...roam the halls...I must liberate it!"
Looking up for a moment, it clearly also senses the presence of the roc sitting on top of the cave, and storms out of it, its war hammer at the ready
Koric flinches as the creatures gazes at him; one does not need portents and visions to see some futures. As it speaks, he begins to relax then, as it moves to confront the Roc he says, "The bird is not the enemy. Chase it away by all means, but save your energy for the true enemy!"
@All
At is charges out of the cave, @Lux, you notice the statue for the first time, not having been privy to any of the events inside
It points its hammer at top of the cave, which is fully awake from the sound of the statue being animated and its booming voice as it talks to you. The roc screeches, the sounds of its voice causing the entire cave below to rumble and the ground outside to shake. The statue then unleashes a screech of its own, and its hammer is suddenly coated in flames. None of you have any idea what the statue is saying or how it can imitate the cries of a roc. @Koric, even with your comprehend languages still active, you can't interpret what are clearly bird calls
Lux can see all of this due to being outside, and those of you in the cave, while you can't see the roc directly, you can see the statue raise its hammer and hear the cries of both the roc and the statue in response
Roc Wis Save: 18
Note: Points its hammer at the roc at the top of the cave
@All
The roc resists whatever spell the statue was casting. Normally, this would put us direcly into initiative, but in this scenario, everyone would be surprised besides the Roc and the statue. Because of that, I will be resolving one turn of actions, and if a certain thing hasn't happened by then, then I'll go into initiative
The roc flies down and attacks the statue with its beak and talons
Beak: Attack: 25 Damage: 24
Talons: Attack: 18 Damage: 27
The statue, despite the blows, immediately stands back up, lifts its hammer, and repeats the same spell
Roc Wis Save: 18
Note: Should have rolled initiative for the roc and statue to determine who went first, but doesn't end up mattering here due to roc succeeding the save yet again
The dice clearly want us all to suffer! Not sure what the odds of two DC 15 wis saves in a row with no modifier are, but I can't imagine they are good. Initiative rolls coming shortly. Also, forgot to note, but the statue resisted the damage (took half)
Elandra: 19
Jade: 7
Koric: 7
Liri: 5
Lux: 7
Soloth: 17
Balthar: 11
Norbus: 13
Dazlyn: 11
Statue: 19
Roc: 11
Ok, statue goes first, so I'll resolve his turn to see if the combat ends here, and if not, I'll post a map. The statue does the exact same thing it has twice, attempting to cast whatever spell it was casting
Roc Wis Save: 3
The roc looks entranced by the command of the statue, and flies off, following whatever order that call must have given it. With it's massive wings, it easily flies far far off long before the spell ever wears off, fading over the horizon. Even after the spell fades, it doesn't seem to want to come back and pick a further fight, having fought mostly in self-defense in the first place
With no hostile entities on the field, we are now immediately out of initiative as quickly as we were in it! (Dice gods, I hope you are happy)
The statue lowers its hammer and turns right towards Axeholm, exclaiming
"Vyldara... a traitor... she must be removed and Axeholm's halls restored!"
It then turns to the cave and waits a moment, waiting for the group to emerge, but seems still focused on the mission it has given itself
Elandra had moved to the entrance of the cave, following the stone giant and readying herself to engage it, when the beast seems to turn and fly away. She turns back to the others inside the cave, "Well, I've got to hand it to your kinfolk Norbus, Dazlyn, that is the most impressive scarecrow that I've ever seen. I'm certainly not going to be short of fresh tales the next time duty calls." The flourish of her hat is entirely lost on her audience, the only indication being a faint swoosh of air which is drowned out by the loud stonework movement of the statue.
Allowing everyone to stand down after their almost call to battle, she adds, "Well, if Rocky here is set on shooing off Vyldara I've no intention of trying to change it's mind. I'll happily scout ahead of we know the way, or we could just follow the juggernaut here? What do you all prefer?"
Bring out your inner chatacter class...
"Well, that was an exciting start to having this monstrocity on our side. Thank you Koric for successfully handling him to our side instead of the latter. I'd hate to think where'd we be now if that did not happen." she shakes her head with the thought. "If anyone wants to scout ahead, I'm not going to stop you, but I would hate for anyone to get into trouble. So no scouting on your own. I'm not sure how far the sound from our scarecrow here travels, so I'm afraid how far ahead you'll have to be in order to actually be stealthy." she looks out the cave, "Either way, we better get going and catch up with it." and Jade leaves the cave to stay with their new creation.
Koric looks up at the statue, his expression curious despite the lingering fear. "What...ah...should we call you? There is clearly more to you thank meets the eye" he says.
Deriving a growing confidence from his companions, he continues, "We also seek to restore Axeholm. Perhaps we could come to an arrangement? Or discuss the means? Or what you know of Vyldara?"
He had hoped that their arrival might go unnoticed, but somehow he doubted that was still an option. Unless it decides on a frontal assault, I suppose.
@All
As Koric attempts to talk to the statue, it does not even turn to face him, simply stating
"I am Axeholm's Defender and hammer of Mordadin"
Clearly, while the spell that animated this statue has given it a serious upgrade in terms of intelligence, it doesn't seem to have granted it much of a personality. All it seems to know is its mission: defend Axeholm from any of its foes, outside the castle walls or within them. It then stops for a moment, staring off towards the mountains that house the great fortress and says
"She knows we are coming. There's no sense as strong as a banshee's nose for living souls. Her undead hordes await outside the castle and in its catacombs. I can sense their presence polluting the halls. "
Koric stares in the direction of Axeholm, "Well...ah...Hammer...do you think we might get inside unnoticed, perhaps, by some other means? Perhaps climbing?"
@Koric,
Again, not really paying much mind to you, the statue responds:
"No amount of stealth can escape a Banshee's hidden sense. Even still, why engage the fiend in the close quarters of her own lair? We shall cleanse Axeholm on the field of battle!"
With that, it seems prepared to move, surveying the landscape one last time before the fire in its eyes flickers, the statue using whatever additional sense it is calling on to know that Vyldara's forces are already amassing
Koric just stares at the walking statue for a moment, wondering if what it says could be true, then asks Balthar to fly over to the other outcrop as he crouches down and links senses again. After a moment he stands up and briefly describes what he finds, before getting ready to continue the journey. As they move off he asks Hammer, "Are there any more like yourself that could be awakened?"
(( Arcana roll, if that's what is needed to know more about Banshee's: 25 ))
Liri watches the statue with a mixture of unease and amazement, thankful for the moment that the golem appears to be on their side. She wonders at the magic that must have been used to create this thing, so unlike her own nature-focused magics. As she moves to follow the stone creature, she looks around herself, conscious that they are now much more conspicious than they would have been before. Then something that the statue said clicks in her mind.
"Hordes...? How many are we talking here? We are not many in number, so is open battle a wise option?"
(Perception check for looking around, in case needed: 20 )
@Koric
The statue responds "I am Axeholm's shield! No other stone defender exists."
With that Arcana check, you think about what you know about banshees as a whole. You don't know too much, but you do remember that Banshees have an incredible ability to detect living creatures, with the more powerful banshees being able to sense the presence of life from miles away. You get a sense that's hidden sense the defender is referring to that Vyldara is using to know you are coming.
@Liri
The statue booms "The catacombs crawl with them, and I cannot sense how many. Outside the castle though I feel only 6.". Thinking for a moment, it continues: "Vyldara will know our arrival no matter what we try. Her hordes could ambush us before we could sneak around the castle"
Looking around, there doesn't seem to be much else here besides the two outcroppings, and you don't get the sense there's any immediate danger here or something you are missing
Jade stands near the statue and turns to the others, "I feel we must get going. The sooner we get there, the less time the banshee has to increase her hordes. Now, unless there are any other questions or things to look at, I suggest we move." And she starts out of the cave and heading towards Axeholm unless something or someone stops her.