Still harried by the Goblins near him, Auger turns and releases his twisting energies into one he has a clear look at, then he moves to ensure he has a good view of the other one before releasing another blast. This goblin is able to dodge his strike as the beam impacts the floor to no real effect. Turning momentarily towards the other goblins, he is surprised to see a few stand mesmerized in place. Not so many arrows firing at him. This is so much better he thinks to himself.
Goblin 12 seems to be partially deaf, as Snow’s mockery has no effect at all, but it is not immune to the bard’s mental shove, and falls backwards up the stairs (2.5 feet due to elevation increase), Snow on its heels.
Goblin 6 is thrown backwards to crunch into the sarcophagus behind it, its spinal cord compound-fractured by Auger’s eldritch blast.
Granophyre steps into the chamber and sends his looping wire to snag the goblin Auger missed, #9, yanking it toward himself and sending a lethal electric jolt to destroy the evil creature.
Goblin 10 grabs goblin 7 and shakes it out of its stupor. The pair both have ¾ cover.
Just then, Auger and Granophyre see a heavy stone door in the south wall scrape open, and a thin old Shian man dressed like a servant, holding a sword and shield, an old round helm strapped on incorrectly, balanced atop his balding head, limps through it and into the chamber. His jaw set, he casts a fearful glance around the room, grimacing at the goblins, then locking eyes with Auger in an expression of fear and hope.
MEANWHILE, in the Great Hall, Varielky, ear to the door, hears goblin shouts – orders and commands – and then an army of clawed feet rushing down the stairs behind the northeast door. Varielky has the initiative. She can stand and defend the doorway, or bolt downstairs to tell the others that another attack is underway. It need not be said that Auger and Snow are completely unaware of this development, while on the other hand, Varielky has heard sounds of fighting echoing up from Auger and Snow’s encounter.
Auger steps further into the room, seeking to get a clear view of the Goblins who are active and moving. He again focuses on drawing his twisting energies to fire a pair of blasts. Auger stumbles over the gore and then slips upon the slimy floor throwing his first blast wildly askew. Righting himself, Auger is able to hit the closer Goblin with his second blast, killing it and sending its body flying backwards towards the one it just woke.
To the old Shian, with his loose helmet Auger calls out (in Jenghen), "A survivor? We are here to destroy this Goblin threat. Our magics are active, stay safe to the side there!"
Details
Move: To J9
Action: Casts Eldritch Blast with 10' of pushing on a hit.
Beam 1, targeting #10: Rolls a 1 +10 for 11. A horrible miss.
Beam 2, targeting #10: Roll = 17 +10 for 27. A clear hit for 8 points of force damage.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
Snow stands his ground and draws his rapier but does not engage the goblin in front of him, his arm feeling weak with the nausea he was suffering. Instead he just attempts to block the goblins path and duck away from any attacks.
He calls out to the others to let them know he is struggling, the majority of his magic now spent.
Varielky quickly straps her shield to her arm again, then prepares to stand sideways against the door at a pretty steep angle, leaning with all her weight and strength to keep the door closed (or, if it's a door that opens the opposite way, Varielky will hold the handle and use her legs and shield-holding hand to push against the walls, to create leverage). Unless they plan to break the door, they'll have to open it first, and Varielky hopes she could withstand their attempts. Either way, she doesn't want to run towards the others, just to end up with arrows shot at her from behind.
Though she has no idea whether they'll hear or not, Varielky hopes and wrongly assumes the others have finished burning the eggs below and are on their way back, so she shouts to them - maybe they'll hear her: "Many Goblins are coming this way! I'm holding the door for now but I can't hold them forever!"
In advance, because it may be needed; Strength check: 10+5 (+3 if it's Athletics), for a total of 15 (or 18).
Auger’s second beam catches goblin 10 as it peeks out from behind the sarcophagus to launch an arrow. Half the creature’s head is blown off, and the arrow shoots up, rebounding off of the ceiling as the goblin’s body flops loosely to the floor.
Granophyre hears Snow and moves to assist him, relaying Auger’s shout: “A survivor!,” but goblin 12 ducks behind the bard as Granophyre lashes out with his magical wire, and the sage’s attack misses as the creature continues to harry Snow, stabbing left and right with its thin blade. But Snow is too quick and reads the attacks, dodging them easily, and he hears Varielky’s voice yelling — indistinctly — from two floors above.
Goblin 7 now moves to attack Auger, slashing with its thin sword, but the blows are lost in the warlock’s magic robes.
The old man listens to Auger, and yells back breathlessly, “Thanks be to Arapabiya… that you have come!… My sweet wife… is within the vault,… she cannot move!”
In the great hall, Varielky slams her body against the door as the horde on the other side screeches and jeers, the portal groans opens a few inches and arms and legs try to wrench through, and faces glare out at her. She somehow forces the heavy door shut again (it opens out into the room), though her instinct is not to be ignored: she knows she can only last so long (please continue to roll Athletics saves).
With the one Goblin close upon him Auger again realizes that his aim is disrupted. Risking an attack from the foul thing, Auger steps back from it before sending his twisting blast towards it, killing it. Auger then releases a second blast into another Goblin, dumbly standing nearby, killing it as well. Finally Auger moves back towards the door to see how Snow and Granophyre are doing.
Auger tries to respond to the old man as best as he can, "Your wife? Where is this vault?"
Details
Move: to J8 (Goblin 7 may opportunity attack)
Action: Cast Eldritch Blast with 10' of pushing on a hit.
Beam 1, targeting #7. Roll = 20 for 7 points of force damage.
Beam 2, targeting #8. Incapacitated does not create Advantage for attackers (I was surprised by that). Roll = 24 for 14 points of force damage.
Move: To F7.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
Snow calls back over his shoulder to Strewn as he tussles with the goblin. “A survivor? That I did not expect, are they friendly?”.
Hearing Varielky shouting he adds, “Did you hear that? Varielky is shouting, we need to go see what’s up as soon as we can”.
He once again sends an insult at the goblin, “Just give up and die, you are on borrowed time anyway!”.
He then tries to nudge the goblin away so he can move into the room.
If successful he will tell Auger, “Varielky is calling, we need to head back upstairs”, as he acknowledges the survivor with a nod. His face a picture of disgust at the smell and sight.
Action: Vicious Mockery DC 18 Wis save or take 1+1=2 damage and have disadvantage on next attack.
Bonus Action: Telekinetic Shove #12, DC16 Str save or moved 5ft to B/C4.
Movement: If goblin shoved he will move back into the room to F7.
Goblin 7 slashes at Auger as he pulls away, but the blade passes through warlock’s robes with no effect. The southerner blasts the creature over his shoulder as he runs, sending it head over heels to land in a pile on the bloody floor. Goblin 8 falls, smashed against the sarcophagus' base by Auger’s second blast.
“I just came out of it!,” answers the old man to Auger’s question, pointing to the heavy stone door. “Behind that heavy door is the Abziri vault… and my dear wife!”
Snow’s mockery pierces goblin 12 like a knife, and his telekinesis throws the creature back up the stairs (2.5 feet due to altitude increase), where a bolt from Granophyre’s hand crossbow finds its mark, ending the evil creature’s life. The sage joins Auger and Snow in the chamber. “I shall see to the man’s wife! Help Varielky!,” he suggests to Auger and Snow.
Varielky continues to hold the door as she feels a frenzied crush of goblins building on the other side. (OOC: to be clear, a dash maneuver would allow Varielky to exit the great hall without being subject to AoO.)
Varielky considers dashing back to the crypt anyway - maybe it isn't so far, maybe she can make the distance fast enough - but quickly dismisses the idea. If the Goblins chase her and she can regroup with the others, that will be to her advantage. On the other hand, if she runs down to the crypt and they remain in the hall, they could prepare an ambush like last time, and that would be disadvantageous. On the other hand... what if the others didn't hear her call? What if they're having trouble below, or just take too long?
Varielky even considers leaving the door to let the Goblins' force push too strongly on the suddenly non-resisted door, perhaps causing them to fall forward in confusion. But, she realises the plan is too risky. If there are this many of them, the small advantage might not be enough to turn the tables in her favour. Moreover, just a few minutes ago she decided not to underestimate these Goblins again. She had delayed them as much as she can, she realises, and now it was time to regroup.
Varielky quickly turns on her left heel, raising the right one to push against the door as it opens for faster acceleration. The sudden force almost makes her stumble, but she manages to regain balance as she dashes forward, to the stairway leading to the crypt. Faster, faster. She thinks, hoping it would take the Goblins a moment before they can pursue her or shoot arrows from behind. Just enough to reach the stairs, she hopes.
"Head up Snow."Auger says. "I'll finish these Goblins here and then follow."
Auger steps further back into the chamber to get a clear shot of the Goblin still standing dumbly in the distance. Auger again slips on the slime while trying to steady himself and it throws both beams askew.
"I'll be right along in a moment,"he says again to Snow.
“Very well”, Snow says to Strewn and Auger, not needing to be asked twice to leave this horrible place. He turns and moves at a run passed the charmed goblin and up the stairs to the kitchen level. Still feeling woozy but at least he was away from the source of the stench.
”Everything ok?”, he calls up the stairs, hoping Varielky can hear him.
Movement: Up the stairs to C3 Action: Dash further up the stairs to the kitchen, and beyond if possible.
Varielky, in the Great Hall, smashes goblin fingers and hands at the edges of the heavy door and the goblins recoil, the door slamming shut again as the shield maiden kicks away and sprints for the stairs. She makes it out of the great hall and just turns a corner down the stairwell as she hears the horde burst through into the great hall and arrows clatter against the walls behind her. Yes, she hears the goblins, and… something big which she does not see, but rather, she can smell its sour stink and hears its heavy tread behind the horde as it boils and seethes into the room.
We’ll say Auger’s blasts smash goblin 5 (I am asserting DM privilege) while Granophyre finishes off goblin 11, and the crypt is now clear of goblins, though the enormous egg-sacs still writhe, and within each one, tiny hellish faces push outward, their sharp teeth unable to find purchase in the impermeable outer layer of gel. The sage locks eyes with the old servant, and orders him, “Show me!,” at which the servant bows slightly and turns back to the stone door, breathlessly replying, “This way,... master dwarf!!”
Snow bounds up the stairs and feels his vigor returning (and the poisoned condition ending) and as he enters the kitchen, he now hears a tumult echoing down from the great hall above, and perceives that one creature, out of view, is bounding down the steps toward him, ahead of the rest. His call to Varielky is lost in the echoes of the stairwell and the screeching roar of the horde behind her.
Snow is on the kitchen level in the stairwell, 1 level above the crypt, 1 level below the great hall. (Where are the fire supplies he was carrying?)
Varielky is on the ground level just outside the southeast door to the great hall (which is open) at the top of the stairway leading to the kitchen level. She is 2 levels above the crypt.
Having defeated the Goblins in the crypt at last Auger breaths a sigh of relief, before nearly choking on the rancid smells he had been ignoring. Looking around at the disgusting masses of unborn Goblins Auger nearly loses control of his urge to throw-up. Plugging his nose momentarily, Auger watches Granophyre disappear with the old man before turning and dashing up the stairs to follow Snow.
Unsure if it is in range or not, Auger sends to Py offhandedly. You are missing quite the endeavor. How are things looking outside?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
Varielky keeps running down the stairs, without bothering to look back. Given these are not only Goblins up there, it was the right call to leave the door. On the other hand, the foul smell which almost reels her, makes her wonder why smoke didn't come up yet... or the others. Are they doing alright? Varielky keeps dashing down the stairs, until either she meets Snow or can move no longer.
If she does meet Snow, and assuming the creature Snow noticed is Varielky, she'll tersely inform him: "Goblins, many, and something big!"
Snow feels the nausea subside just as Varielky bursts into view running down the stairs and Auger comes from the opposite direction running up the stairs from the crypt.
"How many more goblins can there be in this god forsaken place?!", he exclaims in frustration as Varielky updates them. Looking around the kitchen quickly, he shakes his head. "This doesn't appear too defensible, and we have yet to burn the spawn. There were too many guarding it and we only just cleared them out. Plus there is a survivor to consider", he says filling in Varielky.
He looks down towards the crypt, knowing that they had to head that way but really not wanting too. "I really don't want to get trapped down there, but I don't see another choice, do you?", he asks of the pair of them as he starts to move towards the stairs he just came up from.
Snow, Varielky, and Auger are now at the kitchen level. Auger barely hears Py’s telepathic reply, ‘I hear screaming and see much movement through the narrow windows, there is a…,’ and its voice disappears as it flies out of range.
There is no time for talk: the horde is coming down the stairs to the kitchen, hot on Varielky’s heels, and I will presume that the three of you sprint back downstairs to the crypt as arrows zip through the air, sticking into cabinetry behind you, but you may do something else instead.
I will presume you are now at the crypt level at the base of the stairs where Snow left the fire making supplies he gathered in the kitchen earlier. Granophyre is not to be seen, nor is the old servant. The heavy stone door in the southern wall is partially open with light coming from behind it. You have no time to confer, only to act.
Up the stairs. Varielky, sprinting down and in a great rush. Py's fleeting answer. Turn around. Back down the stairs. The horrible sounds of their pursuers. Auger can only think to disrupt and delay the foul things.
Back in the horrible crypt Auger reaches into the Sea of Stars. Again has his sense of time expands and he takes that time to consider options. He could summon a fog, perhaps a great one, but that has always worked to impede him and his companions as much as their enemies. He could wait for them to mass up and then strike them as a group, but that would not serve as a delay and in his weakened condition it might not be enough to end them. As he surveys the darkness of the Sea he ponders the Darkness itself. He touches it. He draws it into himself. And he realizes he can see through it, if the conditions are right. This will be tricky, he thinks. Reaching into himself he exhausts what he can tell is a finite resource and redirects those energies into drawing the darkness to himself.
Holding the energies within himself, to the others Auger calls out, "Set the fires! I can delay them!"
Auger watches the others gather the fire-making supplies and makes sure they leave the area of the entry to the chamber before releasing his energies. From a spot just inside the door, closer to the stairs, an inky blackness forms and extends up the stairs with a great deal of it bleeding into the crypt chamber. The others cannot see what is happening inside the Darkness, but Auger can. Auger then looks to the others and nods before he steps into the inky blackness himself, disappearing from their view.
Details
Bonus Action: Auger exhausts his final L2 spell slot to repower his sorcery points
Action: Auger casts Darkness centered in C5 using Sorcery Points which creates this extra advantage:
Eyes of the Dark - XGtE, pg. 51
You have darkvision out to 120 ft. [3rd] You learn the darkness spell and can cast it with a spell slot or by spending 2 sorcery points (you can see through the darkness created by the spell if cast with sorcery points).
Move: Auger ends his turn just inside the Darkness at F5, so he can see up the stairs at what is following them.
Snow looks to Auger with concern etched in his face.
”Be careful, I am at the limit of my abilities and will likely not be able to heal you should you be injured”, he says before scooping up one of the containers of oil and starting to douse the egg-sacs.
He starts with the closest and moves towards the crypt door. Those people had survived in the crypt for some time, he only hoped they would be ok in there.
Movement + Dash: G5-G8-D8-C9-C10-D11 (Splashing oil as he goes, or as far on this route as possible)
Still harried by the Goblins near him, Auger turns and releases his twisting energies into one he has a clear look at, then he moves to ensure he has a good view of the other one before releasing another blast. This goblin is able to dodge his strike as the beam impacts the floor to no real effect. Turning momentarily towards the other goblins, he is surprised to see a few stand mesmerized in place. Not so many arrows firing at him. This is so much better he thinks to himself.
Details
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
Round 3 results
Goblin 12 seems to be partially deaf, as Snow’s mockery has no effect at all, but it is not immune to the bard’s mental shove, and falls backwards up the stairs (2.5 feet due to elevation increase), Snow on its heels.
Goblin 6 is thrown backwards to crunch into the sarcophagus behind it, its spinal cord compound-fractured by Auger’s eldritch blast.
Granophyre steps into the chamber and sends his looping wire to snag the goblin Auger missed, #9, yanking it toward himself and sending a lethal electric jolt to destroy the evil creature.
Goblin 10 grabs goblin 7 and shakes it out of its stupor. The pair both have ¾ cover.
Just then, Auger and Granophyre see a heavy stone door in the south wall scrape open, and a thin old Shian man dressed like a servant, holding a sword and shield, an old round helm strapped on incorrectly, balanced atop his balding head, limps through it and into the chamber. His jaw set, he casts a fearful glance around the room, grimacing at the goblins, then locking eyes with Auger in an expression of fear and hope.
You are now situated like so. Please state Round 4 actions.
MEANWHILE, in the Great Hall, Varielky, ear to the door, hears goblin shouts – orders and commands – and then an army of clawed feet rushing down the stairs behind the northeast door. Varielky has the initiative. She can stand and defend the doorway, or bolt downstairs to tell the others that another attack is underway. It need not be said that Auger and Snow are completely unaware of this development, while on the other hand, Varielky has heard sounds of fighting echoing up from Auger and Snow’s encounter.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Auger steps further into the room, seeking to get a clear view of the Goblins who are active and moving. He again focuses on drawing his twisting energies to fire a pair of blasts. Auger stumbles over the gore and then slips upon the slimy floor throwing his first blast wildly askew. Righting himself, Auger is able to hit the closer Goblin with his second blast, killing it and sending its body flying backwards towards the one it just woke.
To the old Shian, with his loose helmet Auger calls out (in Jenghen), "A survivor? We are here to destroy this Goblin threat. Our magics are active, stay safe to the side there!"
Details
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
Snow stands his ground and draws his rapier but does not engage the goblin in front of him, his arm feeling weak with the nausea he was suffering. Instead he just attempts to block the goblins path and duck away from any attacks.
He calls out to the others to let them know he is struggling, the majority of his magic now spent.
“A little help”.
Action: dodge
Varielky quickly straps her shield to her arm again, then prepares to stand sideways against the door at a pretty steep angle, leaning with all her weight and strength to keep the door closed (or, if it's a door that opens the opposite way, Varielky will hold the handle and use her legs and shield-holding hand to push against the walls, to create leverage). Unless they plan to break the door, they'll have to open it first, and Varielky hopes she could withstand their attempts. Either way, she doesn't want to run towards the others, just to end up with arrows shot at her from behind.
Though she has no idea whether they'll hear or not, Varielky hopes and wrongly assumes the others have finished burning the eggs below and are on their way back, so she shouts to them - maybe they'll hear her: "Many Goblins are coming this way! I'm holding the door for now but I can't hold them forever!"
In advance, because it may be needed; Strength check: 10+5 (+3 if it's Athletics), for a total of 15 (or 18).
Varielky
Round 4 results
Auger’s second beam catches goblin 10 as it peeks out from behind the sarcophagus to launch an arrow. Half the creature’s head is blown off, and the arrow shoots up, rebounding off of the ceiling as the goblin’s body flops loosely to the floor.
Granophyre hears Snow and moves to assist him, relaying Auger’s shout: “A survivor!,” but goblin 12 ducks behind the bard as Granophyre lashes out with his magical wire, and the sage’s attack misses as the creature continues to harry Snow, stabbing left and right with its thin blade. But Snow is too quick and reads the attacks, dodging them easily, and he hears Varielky’s voice yelling — indistinctly — from two floors above.
Goblin 7 now moves to attack Auger, slashing with its thin sword, but the blows are lost in the warlock’s magic robes.
The old man listens to Auger, and yells back breathlessly, “Thanks be to Arapabiya… that you have come!… My sweet wife… is within the vault,… she cannot move!”
In the great hall, Varielky slams her body against the door as the horde on the other side screeches and jeers, the portal groans opens a few inches and arms and legs try to wrench through, and faces glare out at her. She somehow forces the heavy door shut again (it opens out into the room), though her instinct is not to be ignored: she knows she can only last so long (please continue to roll Athletics saves).
You are now situated like so. Please post round 5 actions.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
With the one Goblin close upon him Auger again realizes that his aim is disrupted. Risking an attack from the foul thing, Auger steps back from it before sending his twisting blast towards it, killing it. Auger then releases a second blast into another Goblin, dumbly standing nearby, killing it as well. Finally Auger moves back towards the door to see how Snow and Granophyre are doing.
Auger tries to respond to the old man as best as he can, "Your wife? Where is this vault?"
Details
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
Varielky keeps pushing against the door. Now it's definitely too late to run towards the others, so that's pretty much all she can do.
Athletics: 13+8=21 (phew, that die was hanging on the 1 for a moment).
Varielky
Snow calls back over his shoulder to Strewn as he tussles with the goblin. “A survivor? That I did not expect, are they friendly?”.
Hearing Varielky shouting he adds, “Did you hear that? Varielky is shouting, we need to go see what’s up as soon as we can”.
He once again sends an insult at the goblin, “Just give up and die, you are on borrowed time anyway!”.
He then tries to nudge the goblin away so he can move into the room.
If successful he will tell Auger, “Varielky is calling, we need to head back upstairs”, as he acknowledges the survivor with a nod. His face a picture of disgust at the smell and sight.
Action: Vicious Mockery DC 18 Wis save or take 1+1=2 damage and have disadvantage on next attack.
Bonus Action: Telekinetic Shove #12, DC16 Str save or moved 5ft to B/C4.
Movement: If goblin shoved he will move back into the room to F7.
Round 5 results
Goblin 7 slashes at Auger as he pulls away, but the blade passes through warlock’s robes with no effect. The southerner blasts the creature over his shoulder as he runs, sending it head over heels to land in a pile on the bloody floor. Goblin 8 falls, smashed against the sarcophagus' base by Auger’s second blast.
“I just came out of it!,” answers the old man to Auger’s question, pointing to the heavy stone door. “Behind that heavy door is the Abziri vault… and my dear wife!”
Snow’s mockery pierces goblin 12 like a knife, and his telekinesis throws the creature back up the stairs (2.5 feet due to altitude increase), where a bolt from Granophyre’s hand crossbow finds its mark, ending the evil creature’s life. The sage joins Auger and Snow in the chamber. “I shall see to the man’s wife! Help Varielky!,” he suggests to Auger and Snow.
Varielky continues to hold the door as she feels a frenzied crush of goblins building on the other side. (OOC: to be clear, a dash maneuver would allow Varielky to exit the great hall without being subject to AoO.)
Auger & Snow are now situated like so. Varielky is the same as before.
Please post round 6 actions.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Varielky considers dashing back to the crypt anyway - maybe it isn't so far, maybe she can make the distance fast enough - but quickly dismisses the idea. If the Goblins chase her and she can regroup with the others, that will be to her advantage. On the other hand, if she runs down to the crypt and they remain in the hall, they could prepare an ambush like last time, and that would be disadvantageous. On the other hand... what if the others didn't hear her call? What if they're having trouble below, or just take too long?
Varielky even considers leaving the door to let the Goblins' force push too strongly on the suddenly non-resisted door, perhaps causing them to fall forward in confusion. But, she realises the plan is too risky. If there are this many of them, the small advantage might not be enough to turn the tables in her favour. Moreover, just a few minutes ago she decided not to underestimate these Goblins again. She had delayed them as much as she can, she realises, and now it was time to regroup.
Varielky quickly turns on her left heel, raising the right one to push against the door as it opens for faster acceleration. The sudden force almost makes her stumble, but she manages to regain balance as she dashes forward, to the stairway leading to the crypt. Faster, faster. She thinks, hoping it would take the Goblins a moment before they can pursue her or shoot arrows from behind. Just enough to reach the stairs, she hopes.
Varielky
"Head up Snow." Auger says. "I'll finish these Goblins here and then follow."
Auger steps further back into the chamber to get a clear shot of the Goblin still standing dumbly in the distance. Auger again slips on the slime while trying to steady himself and it throws both beams askew.
"I'll be right along in a moment," he says again to Snow.
Details
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
“Very well”, Snow says to Strewn and Auger, not needing to be asked twice to leave this horrible place. He turns and moves at a run passed the charmed goblin and up the stairs to the kitchen level. Still feeling woozy but at least he was away from the source of the stench.
”Everything ok?”, he calls up the stairs, hoping Varielky can hear him.
Movement: Up the stairs to C3
Action: Dash further up the stairs to the kitchen, and beyond if possible.
Round 6 results
Varielky, in the Great Hall, smashes goblin fingers and hands at the edges of the heavy door and the goblins recoil, the door slamming shut again as the shield maiden kicks away and sprints for the stairs. She makes it out of the great hall and just turns a corner down the stairwell as she hears the horde burst through into the great hall and arrows clatter against the walls behind her. Yes, she hears the goblins, and… something big which she does not see, but rather, she can smell its sour stink and hears its heavy tread behind the horde as it boils and seethes into the room.
We’ll say Auger’s blasts smash goblin 5 (I am asserting DM privilege) while Granophyre finishes off goblin 11, and the crypt is now clear of goblins, though the enormous egg-sacs still writhe, and within each one, tiny hellish faces push outward, their sharp teeth unable to find purchase in the impermeable outer layer of gel. The sage locks eyes with the old servant, and orders him, “Show me!,” at which the servant bows slightly and turns back to the stone door, breathlessly replying, “This way,... master dwarf!!”
Snow bounds up the stairs and feels his vigor returning (and the poisoned condition ending) and as he enters the kitchen, he now hears a tumult echoing down from the great hall above, and perceives that one creature, out of view, is bounding down the steps toward him, ahead of the rest. His call to Varielky is lost in the echoes of the stairwell and the screeching roar of the horde behind her.
Auger & Granophyre are now situated like so in the crypt.
Snow is on the kitchen level in the stairwell, 1 level above the crypt, 1 level below the great hall. (Where are the fire supplies he was carrying?)
Varielky is on the ground level just outside the southeast door to the great hall (which is open) at the top of the stairway leading to the kitchen level. She is 2 levels above the crypt.
Please post round 7 actions.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Having defeated the Goblins in the crypt at last Auger breaths a sigh of relief, before nearly choking on the rancid smells he had been ignoring. Looking around at the disgusting masses of unborn Goblins Auger nearly loses control of his urge to throw-up. Plugging his nose momentarily, Auger watches Granophyre disappear with the old man before turning and dashing up the stairs to follow Snow.
Unsure if it is in range or not, Auger sends to Py offhandedly. You are missing quite the endeavor. How are things looking outside?
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
Varielky keeps running down the stairs, without bothering to look back. Given these are not only Goblins up there, it was the right call to leave the door. On the other hand, the foul smell which almost reels her, makes her wonder why smoke didn't come up yet... or the others. Are they doing alright? Varielky keeps dashing down the stairs, until either she meets Snow or can move no longer.
If she does meet Snow, and assuming the creature Snow noticed is Varielky, she'll tersely inform him: "Goblins, many, and something big!"
Varielky
Snow feels the nausea subside just as Varielky bursts into view running down the stairs and Auger comes from the opposite direction running up the stairs from the crypt.
"How many more goblins can there be in this god forsaken place?!", he exclaims in frustration as Varielky updates them. Looking around the kitchen quickly, he shakes his head. "This doesn't appear too defensible, and we have yet to burn the spawn. There were too many guarding it and we only just cleared them out. Plus there is a survivor to consider", he says filling in Varielky.
He looks down towards the crypt, knowing that they had to head that way but really not wanting too. "I really don't want to get trapped down there, but I don't see another choice, do you?", he asks of the pair of them as he starts to move towards the stairs he just came up from.
Round 7 results
Snow, Varielky, and Auger are now at the kitchen level. Auger barely hears Py’s telepathic reply, ‘I hear screaming and see much movement through the narrow windows, there is a…,’ and its voice disappears as it flies out of range.
There is no time for talk: the horde is coming down the stairs to the kitchen, hot on Varielky’s heels, and I will presume that the three of you sprint back downstairs to the crypt as arrows zip through the air, sticking into cabinetry behind you, but you may do something else instead.
I will presume you are now at the crypt level at the base of the stairs where Snow left the fire making supplies he gathered in the kitchen earlier. Granophyre is not to be seen, nor is the old servant. The heavy stone door in the southern wall is partially open with light coming from behind it. You have no time to confer, only to act.
Please state actions for round 8.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Up the stairs. Varielky, sprinting down and in a great rush. Py's fleeting answer. Turn around. Back down the stairs. The horrible sounds of their pursuers. Auger can only think to disrupt and delay the foul things.
Back in the horrible crypt Auger reaches into the Sea of Stars. Again has his sense of time expands and he takes that time to consider options. He could summon a fog, perhaps a great one, but that has always worked to impede him and his companions as much as their enemies. He could wait for them to mass up and then strike them as a group, but that would not serve as a delay and in his weakened condition it might not be enough to end them. As he surveys the darkness of the Sea he ponders the Darkness itself. He touches it. He draws it into himself. And he realizes he can see through it, if the conditions are right. This will be tricky, he thinks. Reaching into himself he exhausts what he can tell is a finite resource and redirects those energies into drawing the darkness to himself.
Holding the energies within himself, to the others Auger calls out, "Set the fires! I can delay them!"
Auger watches the others gather the fire-making supplies and makes sure they leave the area of the entry to the chamber before releasing his energies. From a spot just inside the door, closer to the stairs, an inky blackness forms and extends up the stairs with a great deal of it bleeding into the crypt chamber. The others cannot see what is happening inside the Darkness, but Auger can. Auger then looks to the others and nods before he steps into the inky blackness himself, disappearing from their view.
Details
You have darkvision out to 120 ft. [3rd] You learn the darkness spell and can cast it with a spell slot or by spending 2 sorcery points (you can see through the darkness created by the spell if cast with sorcery points).
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
Snow looks to Auger with concern etched in his face.
”Be careful, I am at the limit of my abilities and will likely not be able to heal you should you be injured”, he says before scooping up one of the containers of oil and starting to douse the egg-sacs.
He starts with the closest and moves towards the crypt door. Those people had survived in the crypt for some time, he only hoped they would be ok in there.
Movement + Dash: G5-G8-D8-C9-C10-D11 (Splashing oil as he goes, or as far on this route as possible)