This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Wis Saves: Krimgol: 14 Ghuldur: 13
This time, the command breaks through the duergar's minds. The two immediately drop their guard, as the fighting breaks out around them, and they begin to walk towards you. (They'll use their movement on their turn to approach you, and stop when they are adjacent.)
The fireball erupts across the center of the battle. The edges of it push the other duergar back as they fight with your faction agents. Krimgol and Ghuldur suffer massive burns, though Ghuldur is able to duck below the blast a bit. It's all for nought as the two duergar are now compelled to walk towards Brox, which they do. Though badly hurt, they approach her, weapons down, and stop within five feet of her.
Oorr's quick action takes the duergar out, and Krimgol sinks to the ground. Ghuldur, now terrified as he finishes his commanded approach up to Brox, begins to plead for his life."Please, alright, ye've made your point. Spare me and I'll call off the attack!"
You all look around and see in the chaos of the battle around you that several of your comrades are injured or perhaps worse, though it appears they've got the upperhand against the duergar. Many of the dark dwarves seem to be dead or running away, even as a few battle on.
Grimnir runs to Ghuldur and knock his knee to make him kneel. One hand on his collar and the other one, palm open, showing a glowing ball of spore, Grimnir shouts: "Tell whatever army you have left here to stand down. Take them with you and leave for Gracklstugh. Trust me your city needs you. Madness is everywhere, Demons are walking the plane. Get your city prepared for defence."
"You seems to be a good leader, bring your people to the safety of your city. Leave this place"
Ghuldur looks around at the fight, gulps, and then turns back to Grimnir. The duergar are not fairing well against the armies from the surface world. He holds up a fist, and the duergar disengage, backing up against the warehouse wall.
"Alright, ye made yer point. What now, surface walker?"
As the armies disengage, you see your troops pull back, dragging several bodies with them. It seems that the fighting left several injured, and possibly a few dead. d4: 4
Several of the Emerald Enclave begin applying healing poultices and spells, but four figures are covered with sheets as they are too far gone for healing to take effect. Among them are Thargus Forkbeard (Brox), Splinter Darkmorn (Grimnir), Primwin Halk, and Nero Kelvane (Oorr). ((OOC Be sure to adjust your Character sheets for the dead characters.)
The rest of the surviving members of the factions glare with hatred towards Ghuldur, but patiently await a command from one of you.
Ghuldur moves to the side, gesturing a hand towards the door. The Duergar stay back. As you approach the warehouse you see that their losses were far greater than yours. Only a quarter of the duergar are left standing. Your companions made sacrifices but this force can no longer offer any resistance.
Inside the warehouse (5b) you see a vast space, larger than the other warehouses you've been in. Among the stacks of crates and barrels you see a few dozen duergar, as well as some steeders in pens along the side. To the left, is a secondary building. Ghuldur leads you here, and unlocks the door. Inside are more crates, some overflowing with mundane weapons and armor of various types. Others contain food, or ale. In the corner is a large iron safe.
In the center of the room is a Xorn. It belches loudly. It seems rather sated, lazy, as if it had just eaten a large meal. A rope is strung up above the Xorn, but the end is frayed or cut. Ghuldur explains, "Krimgol insisted on threatening the deep gnome woman. Dangled her in a gem studded robe above the Xorn. When she wouldn't divulge the location of the gem, well..."The deep gnome trails off.
Flink utters a cry of despair, "Oh no, Yantha!"and begins to sob.
"Look, with Krimgol dead, and this gem seemingly no where to be found, l don't think I can help you. Leave me to clean up my fallen friends, and you lot can go about your business. I've had enough of this place. The whole Underdark is going mad!"He looks at Brox, pleadingly.
Grimnir places a hand on the gnome shoulder. "I am sorry Flink, we were too late. Let's bring the bad news to your people."
Grimnir turns then towards his followers and orders: "My fellow men, regroup to the tents. Let's heal and bury the fallen ones. Tonight we will toast to their loyalty and their strength, tomorrow, we can leave for the Library." Looking at the ring he got from the human he added "We have what we wanted."
Back at the camp, Grimnir gives his orders. He helps with his magic and Heals a few wounded soldiers. He also helps digging graves. The party has the ring but it costed them a few camarades.
Once done, Grimnir places the ring on one of his finger and focussed on finding the location of the library.
Later in the evening, Finding a moment where the four friends are gathered far from any ears, Grimnir says: « Before we leave I think we should try to destroy the gem. People seems to fight to get it and the titan warned us about a curse black gem. Oorr, do you think your mighty sword could break it ? »
During your time resting and making camp, ordering the next steps, and deciding what to do with the gem, Flink, the deep gnome assistant says his farewell. He plans to go back to Yantha's residence and manger her affairs after her death. He seems sad, but also relieved to be beyond the pull of whatever power the gem had over them.
Though he keeps his distance, a few of your scouts note that Zilchyn Q'leptin, the drow with the scarred face you met near the drow enclave, seems to be keeping an eye on your camp. Belwar traded spells with him earlier, and now he seems to be watching for your next moves.
The ring seems to be pulling you West. You aren't entirely sure how far it is, but you prepare for a long trek. You never know what you'll run into in the Underdark.
Brox is in the forest. It is winter and she needs to find food for her family. Out of nowhere, an owlbear attacks. She swings her sword and almost takes the head of one of her scouts, who just approached her to mention that the strange wizard is still hanging around and watching them closely.
Brox takes a minute to sort through her confusion, then nods to the comments of her scouts. She motions for Oorr and also Grimnir and Belwar to follow her to a more secretive location. There she tells them:"That wizard is watching our every move. I don't want to see him that we have the stone. Also, only I will touch the stone. It is bad! If we cannot destroy it, nobody else but me picks it up, understood?"
Brox looks around to make sure no one can see the group. Then checks her gloved hand and reaches into her pocket. Every hair on her body stands up as her evil sense struggles to comprehend what she is holding in her hand. Then she places the gem on top of a large rock, nodding to Oorr to do his deed.
Just before Oorr swings, Brox speaks a prayer to Sylvanus to help them, and a little greenish sheen transcends down towards Oorr, Belwar and herself. (Casting Bless)
There is a flash of light and shadow as Oorr connects with the gem. You see it shatter into a million tiny pieces, but each of those pieces seems to have a weight that goes beyond it's size as they all fall to the ground in a two foot radius around where the gem was set. An inky purple shadow emits from the center of the now shattered gem, and you all watch as the shadow coalesces into the form of a large gargoyle type creature. It grins at first, then begins to laugh, "HA! Well, I'm never doing THAT again. Hehehahahahoo." The voice is horrid, both loud and obnoxious, but also felt within your minds, telepathically. The laugh threatens to turn you mad.
The gargoyle...thing, peers around the room, stopping its gaze when it comes to Oorr, "Thanks bud! Never thought I'd get out of that one. HEhhEEHaaa... not my best idea by far... wait...what...ahh," The creature begins to spin and a shadow reaches up to surround it. "Ah, well, back home it is then! HeheeHAAA. Good luck! You'll need it."That's the last thing you hear as the creature disappears in the cloud of shadow. The shadow then retracts, back into the earth beneath you. You are left in a silent cavern, the million shards of crystal still littering the ground, inert.
Wis Saves:
Krimgol: 14
Ghuldur: 13
This time, the command breaks through the duergar's minds. The two immediately drop their guard, as the fighting breaks out around them, and they begin to walk towards you. (They'll use their movement on their turn to approach you, and stop when they are adjacent.)
After spending entirely too much time working on the geometry problem of where to put it, I drop a 32-damage fireball on the duergar.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
Des Saves:
Krimgol: 12
Ghuldur: 18
The fireball erupts across the center of the battle. The edges of it push the other duergar back as they fight with your faction agents. Krimgol and Ghuldur suffer massive burns, though Ghuldur is able to duck below the blast a bit. It's all for nought as the two duergar are now compelled to walk towards Brox, which they do. Though badly hurt, they approach her, weapons down, and stop within five feet of her.
Round 1:
21 Belwar
14 Brox
11 Krimgol (Very Bloodied)
10 Oorr
08 Ghuldur (Bloodied)
05 Grimnir
Oorr flies forward, over Krimgol, and lets Eye of the Storm do its job!
Attack: 17 Damage: 8
Attack: 19 Damage: 8
Oorr's quick action takes the duergar out, and Krimgol sinks to the ground. Ghuldur, now terrified as he finishes his commanded approach up to Brox, begins to plead for his life."Please, alright, ye've made your point. Spare me and I'll call off the attack!"
You all look around and see in the chaos of the battle around you that several of your comrades are injured or perhaps worse, though it appears they've got the upperhand against the duergar. Many of the dark dwarves seem to be dead or running away, even as a few battle on.
Round 1:
21 Belwar
14 Brox
11 Krimgol (Unconscious)
10 Oorr
08 Ghuldur (Bloodied)
05 Grimnir
Grimnir runs to Ghuldur and knock his knee to make him kneel. One hand on his collar and the other one, palm open, showing a glowing ball of spore, Grimnir shouts: "Tell whatever army you have left here to stand down. Take them with you and leave for Gracklstugh. Trust me your city needs you. Madness is everywhere, Demons are walking the plane. Get your city prepared for defence."
"You seems to be a good leader, bring your people to the safety of your city. Leave this place"
Intimidation: 15 + 1 (because guidance)
Currently Playing: Regdus Ironfist (Greyhawk) Lvl 1 Storm Sorcerer ; Goraseth Drerjoxian (Icespeak) Lvl 3 Paladin Oath of Glory; Lerak (The Wild Beyond the Witchlight) Lvl 3 Barbarian Wild Magic
In Pause: Grimnir " Shadow-Feet", Lv 11 Owner of "The Basilisk & the Monk" (OotA) - Kurma Kappa, Lv 8 Priest of Oghma (ToA)
Currently DM'ing: Princes of Apocalypse >> Tomb of Annihilation
Ghuldur looks around at the fight, gulps, and then turns back to Grimnir. The duergar are not fairing well against the armies from the surface world. He holds up a fist, and the duergar disengage, backing up against the warehouse wall.
"Alright, ye made yer point. What now, surface walker?"
As the armies disengage, you see your troops pull back, dragging several bodies with them. It seems that the fighting left several injured, and possibly a few dead.
d4: 4
Several of the Emerald Enclave begin applying healing poultices and spells, but four figures are covered with sheets as they are too far gone for healing to take effect. Among them are Thargus Forkbeard (Brox), Splinter Darkmorn (Grimnir), Primwin Halk, and Nero Kelvane (Oorr). ((OOC Be sure to adjust your Character sheets for the dead characters.)
The rest of the surviving members of the factions glare with hatred towards Ghuldur, but patiently await a command from one of you.
Brox breathes in sharply when she realises that four of their members have died in this unnecessary attack. Then she lifts her head:
"Open the way for a few of us to inspect your warehouse. Yantha belongs to us - dead or alive. Move aside, now!"
Ghuldur moves to the side, gesturing a hand towards the door. The Duergar stay back. As you approach the warehouse you see that their losses were far greater than yours. Only a quarter of the duergar are left standing. Your companions made sacrifices but this force can no longer offer any resistance.
Inside the warehouse (5b) you see a vast space, larger than the other warehouses you've been in. Among the stacks of crates and barrels you see a few dozen duergar, as well as some steeders in pens along the side. To the left, is a secondary building. Ghuldur leads you here, and unlocks the door. Inside are more crates, some overflowing with mundane weapons and armor of various types. Others contain food, or ale. In the corner is a large iron safe.
In the center of the room is a Xorn. It belches loudly. It seems rather sated, lazy, as if it had just eaten a large meal. A rope is strung up above the Xorn, but the end is frayed or cut. Ghuldur explains, "Krimgol insisted on threatening the deep gnome woman. Dangled her in a gem studded robe above the Xorn. When she wouldn't divulge the location of the gem, well..." The deep gnome trails off.
Flink utters a cry of despair, "Oh no, Yantha!" and begins to sob.
"Look, with Krimgol dead, and this gem seemingly no where to be found, l don't think I can help you. Leave me to clean up my fallen friends, and you lot can go about your business. I've had enough of this place. The whole Underdark is going mad!" He looks at Brox, pleadingly.
Grimnir places a hand on the gnome shoulder. "I am sorry Flink, we were too late. Let's bring the bad news to your people."
Grimnir turns then towards his followers and orders: "My fellow men, regroup to the tents. Let's heal and bury the fallen ones. Tonight we will toast to their loyalty and their strength, tomorrow, we can leave for the Library." Looking at the ring he got from the human he added "We have what we wanted."
Currently Playing: Regdus Ironfist (Greyhawk) Lvl 1 Storm Sorcerer ; Goraseth Drerjoxian (Icespeak) Lvl 3 Paladin Oath of Glory; Lerak (The Wild Beyond the Witchlight) Lvl 3 Barbarian Wild Magic
In Pause: Grimnir " Shadow-Feet", Lv 11 Owner of "The Basilisk & the Monk" (OotA) - Kurma Kappa, Lv 8 Priest of Oghma (ToA)
Currently DM'ing: Princes of Apocalypse >> Tomb of Annihilation
I stop to burn Krimgol's body on the way out.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
Back at the camp, Grimnir gives his orders. He helps with his magic and Heals a few wounded soldiers. He also helps digging graves. The party has the ring but it costed them a few camarades.
Once done, Grimnir places the ring on one of his finger and focussed on finding the location of the library.
Later in the evening, Finding a moment where the four friends are gathered far from any ears, Grimnir says: « Before we leave I think we should try to destroy the gem. People seems to fight to get it and the titan warned us about a curse black gem. Oorr, do you think your mighty sword could break it ? »
Currently Playing: Regdus Ironfist (Greyhawk) Lvl 1 Storm Sorcerer ; Goraseth Drerjoxian (Icespeak) Lvl 3 Paladin Oath of Glory; Lerak (The Wild Beyond the Witchlight) Lvl 3 Barbarian Wild Magic
In Pause: Grimnir " Shadow-Feet", Lv 11 Owner of "The Basilisk & the Monk" (OotA) - Kurma Kappa, Lv 8 Priest of Oghma (ToA)
Currently DM'ing: Princes of Apocalypse >> Tomb of Annihilation
During your time resting and making camp, ordering the next steps, and deciding what to do with the gem, Flink, the deep gnome assistant says his farewell. He plans to go back to Yantha's residence and manger her affairs after her death. He seems sad, but also relieved to be beyond the pull of whatever power the gem had over them.
Though he keeps his distance, a few of your scouts note that Zilchyn Q'leptin, the drow with the scarred face you met near the drow enclave, seems to be keeping an eye on your camp. Belwar traded spells with him earlier, and now he seems to be watching for your next moves.
The ring seems to be pulling you West. You aren't entirely sure how far it is, but you prepare for a long trek. You never know what you'll run into in the Underdark.
"Aera, stay away, I don't want you to get hurt."
Oorr, with Eye of the Storm drawn, approaches Brox: " My dear and trusted Brox, for all our sakes, please, hand the gem to me... "
Brox is in the forest. It is winter and she needs to find food for her family. Out of nowhere, an owlbear attacks. She swings her sword and almost takes the head of one of her scouts, who just approached her to mention that the strange wizard is still hanging around and watching them closely.
Brox takes a minute to sort through her confusion, then nods to the comments of her scouts. She motions for Oorr and also Grimnir and Belwar to follow her to a more secretive location.
There she tells them:"That wizard is watching our every move. I don't want to see him that we have the stone. Also, only I will touch the stone. It is bad! If we cannot destroy it, nobody else but me picks it up, understood?"
Brox looks around to make sure no one can see the group. Then checks her gloved hand and reaches into her pocket. Every hair on her body stands up as her evil sense struggles to comprehend what she is holding in her hand. Then she places the gem on top of a large rock, nodding to Oorr to do his deed.
Just before Oorr swings, Brox speaks a prayer to Sylvanus to help them, and a little greenish sheen transcends down towards Oorr, Belwar and herself. (Casting Bless)
"Let the Chaos rest!"
With those words, Oorr performs a double attack with Eye of the Storm against the mysterious black gem...
Attack: 22 Damage: 5 + Bless 4
Attack: 27 Damage: 12 + Bless 4
There is a flash of light and shadow as Oorr connects with the gem. You see it shatter into a million tiny pieces, but each of those pieces seems to have a weight that goes beyond it's size as they all fall to the ground in a two foot radius around where the gem was set. An inky purple shadow emits from the center of the now shattered gem, and you all watch as the shadow coalesces into the form of a large gargoyle type creature. It grins at first, then begins to laugh, "HA! Well, I'm never doing THAT again. Hehehahahahoo." The voice is horrid, both loud and obnoxious, but also felt within your minds, telepathically. The laugh threatens to turn you mad.
The gargoyle...thing, peers around the room, stopping its gaze when it comes to Oorr, "Thanks bud! Never thought I'd get out of that one. HEhhEEHaaa... not my best idea by far... wait...what...ahh," The creature begins to spin and a shadow reaches up to surround it. "Ah, well, back home it is then! HeheeHAAA. Good luck! You'll need it." That's the last thing you hear as the creature disappears in the cloud of shadow. The shadow then retracts, back into the earth beneath you. You are left in a silent cavern, the million shards of crystal still littering the ground, inert.
Oorr just stands there with a poker face...