Hastos wanders over to the pulpit and discovers a set of books.
”Helllllooooo.” He says slyly. He starts to reach for the books, then waves his hand over them in a side to side motion. (Detect Magic).
He looks up when Ororana suggests he try on the pendant. “Maybe we should hold off on trying anything on until we know what this stuff is.”
Ororona continues moving towards you. "Oh ho, ho, I think I know what this does. It's kind of similar to what my axe does, but way stronger. I can feel myself getting more vibrant when I wear it." But she respects your decision not to try it on, shrugs, and then slips it back around her own neck, then stretches her limbs and bounces up and down on the balls of her feet, testing out her improved constitution. "Takin' this baby with me..." she mutters to herself. She turns back as she hears weird giggling coming from the hallway on the other side of the previous chamber. "What the hell was that?!" The childlike giggling has a malicious undertone to it, and her arms are covered in goosebumps from the eerieness of it.
Sera:
The first Goon Balloon deflates instantly, letting out a sickly spray of foul-smelling gas from an orifice on its underside. The second Goon Balloon barely has time to giggle before it too, is struck and emits its own deathly fog.
Larskolstad Sera has the Poisoned Condition for 1 minute. You may attempt the save again on your turn.
Round 1:
Goon Balloon Green turns all its eyes on you at once and squeals like a happy toddler. Then kaleidoscopic light shoots from its foremost eye dazzling you with colors and shapes.
Larskolstad please roll a WIS save DC 12. 2 Psychic Damage on fail. 1 Psychic Damage on success.
As if playing a silly game, the creature toddles away from you on its little chicken legs, giggling wildly. Then it calls out in a deep, burbling tone as it turns a sharp left into a dark chamber, kicking the door shut behind it. The door rebounds off the door jam so hard that it doesn't fully shut and creaks open just a crack...
The first orb deflates with a wet POP, releasing a cloud of thick, foul-smelling gas. Sera staggered back, eyes watering instantly. The second deflated almost in sync, the stench doubling. It hit her like a physical blow—rot, bile, and something worse.
She gagged, nearly dropped to one knee, and clenched her jaw tight to stop herself from vomiting.
"By Paladine’s shining codpiece..." she wheezed, blinking through tears. Her stomach lurched, her ribs throbbed, and she wanted nothing more than to scrape her tongue clean with her dagger.
But the third one wasn’t waiting. It deloverd a bad headache ray. Adding to her misery. ( make the save get 1 psycic dam). It then panicked? . It made a giggling noise and turned toward a doir.
SLAM!
It slam the doir shut so hard it bounced partky open again.
Sera didn’t even stop to breathe.
"Not… getting away, you stinky puffball," she growled, sprinting after it, still swallowing back bile. Her boots hit the stones hard. She slammed through the doorframe just as the creature tried to regain its balance.
She struck.
( ac 17 with disadvantage. 4 piercing dam)
The dagger punched forward with a savage thrust—straight into the eye of the last orb.
SPLUTCH.
She waits for the explosion.
“…I am going to need a very long bath,” she croaked, . No… several baths. With soap. Holy soap."
She was aware of herself—slimed, gashed, bruised, and absolutely reeking.
“…Paladine, give me strength. And a laundry service.”
Hastos surveys the room as he holds his hand out. “There’s a lot of magic objects in here. Where did all this come fro- ?”
Hastos stops mid word, his face grows serious. He pulls his hand back close to his chest. He looks intensely at Merkas as he gesture discreetly to something above and behind him. “Hey Merkas, you think you could do that dazzle thing? It’s a blindly good trick.”
She turns back as she hears weird giggling coming from the hallway on the other side of the previous chamber. "What the hell was that?!" The childlike giggling has a malicious undertone to it, and her arms are covered in goosebumps from the eeriness of it.
”Helllllooooo.” He says slyly. He starts to reach for the books, then waves his hand over them in a side to side motion. (Detect Magic).
He looks up when Ororana suggests he try on the pendant. “Maybe we should hold off on trying anything on until we know what this stuff is.”
Humming to himself as he wanders around the room digging through different piles. Now and then an open sentence is heard "Hmm nice ring, Like the brain motif..." he slides a ring on his finger completely missing Hastos' warning, "Oh hey a bag this is great, this can go in there and this..." Merkas produces multiple items from his person, despite having left his backpack at the Dancing Dwarf, and drops them casually in the bag as well as few that are lying around in the room before moving over to the pulpit next to Hastos.
Ororana's question has Merkas say distractedly "Maybe it's Sera and the Magus, y'know they could be having a lot of fun and we're missing it all. Haven't heard Sera laugh much, kinda figured it would be more womanly, with a strong undertone not like my uncle when he was teasing us cousins...Ooh! A yellow sapphire, I don't have one of them yet" And the kender is distracted again until Hastos asks where the items came from.
Hastos surveys the room as he holds his hand out. “There’s a lot of magic objects in here. Where did all this come fro- ?”
Hastos stops mid word, his face grows serious. He pulls his hand back close to his chest. He looks intensely at Merkas as he gesture discreetly to something above and behind him. “Hey Merkas, you think you could do that dazzle thing? It’s a blindly good trick.”
"Oh they are probably offerings made to their god guy, what's his name, Saggyass? Y'know it's a cult..." Merkas speaks in a deep ominous voice "'Give up all your earthly treasure to be truly accepted into the crevasse of destiny, Only the high priest can resist the temptations of wealth so it is best that he has it all'" Giggling to himself he starts looking through the library on the pulpit. When Hastos' is distracted Merkas drops one of the books in his new bag. After it drops in he looks into the bag confused. "Y'know I put a lot of stuff in here and it doesn't seem any heavier...."
The tone of Hastos' voice arrests the kenders merry collecting, Silver necklace in hand, the pause has him notice a presence in the room that he had been ambivalent to until the elf mention attacking it "I could Haz, but so far it ain't harming us so I guess we leave it be? We're just some cult guys doing some spring cleaning, right?"
You feel an extra blessing as you chase down the Goon Balloon. A bit of luck on your side...
Larskolstad you gain Heroic Inspiration in service to your god.
When you charge in through the room, you discover it is a pitch black corridor about 15 feet long, that opens up into a torchlit chamber. The first thing you feel is a twinge on your ankle, then a sharp bite in your neck! Your hand plucks free a dart sticking out of it. As if you didn't feel woozy enough.
You take 6 damage (poison).
Your next step isn't much luckier... you hit another tripwire, getting nailed by another dart to the shoulder. The poison spreads fast, causing your arm to tingle, and sickness to boil in your stomach. The taunting giggling from the chamber beyond echoes in your ears.
You take 5 damage (poison)
But at least the traps are predictable... drunk and dizzy from the venom coursing through your veins, you surge towards the Goon Balloon and stab. Though your vision is blurry you can make out what appears to be some kind of main chamber: a holy room adorned with torchlight, tapestries, gold and silver relics, a small army of cult members, and a chortling and babbling Goon Balloon that's bobbing up and down in the air. It lets out a horrifying low burbling sound as you strike it, and it rebounds off the strike, floating back a foot, and spinning end over end in the air.
Goon Balloon takes 8 damage (piercing) Goon Balloon is Bloodied.
"They're here!" The cultists appear to be carrying sacks hastily stuffed with evidence of their appearance. But their startled voice soon turns silent as the cult member at the end of the chamber raises her hand. "One?! You couldn't slay one single meddler? Where was this army of powerful infidels you spoke of?!"
The obviously leader seems quite upset at Cult Fanatic Blue, who shrinks visibly under her scolding. She turns her head back towards you. "Capture and bind her. When we reopen the labyrinth, she'll make a fine sacrifice. AND PUT OUR THINGS DOWN!"
Uniformely, the cult members drop their sacks and approach you with measured steps... obviously uncertain about the power of a single adventurer who could fight through hordes of zombies relatively unscathed.
The Goon Balloon Floats away, clearly heavily damaged by your knife, flashes another wild eruption of colors and shapes at you, but you're prepared this time, and shield your eyes from the annoyance. But it's tactics seem to be diversionary in nature, as it floats up to the ceiling to get out of range of your vicious stabs.
Goon Balloon is 10 feet above you and 5 feet in front of you. I've moved it to the side, to allow for other characters to occupy the space. Larskolstad, Sera is up, then chaos is unleashed. To simplify things, the pillars in the room emit a holy aura, that grants the bearers of the mark of Sargonnas +2 to AC if they are standing within 5' of the pillar. The crocodile statues in the room are ancient statues from the previous design, and have not been altered from their original aesthetic. They serve as altars now, that hold torches, candles, and gift offerings to Sargonnas. As with most ancient structures in this region, they have latent magic poisoning. If their magic is tapped into, it can have highly chaotic effects. Feel free to try it, if you're feeling desperate. Any amount of magic directed at one of the statues will do the trick. So, a cantrip is enough. Using a high level attack spell to destroy may destroy it, but could cause a magical backlash of unpredictable proportions. The mouth of the crocodile behind the Cult Leader is a tunnel.
Because images aren't loading correctly, I'm adding a link to the map, so you can see what's going on.
Hastos looks at Merkas incredulously. Then takes a deep breath. He hasn’t lived this long by letting other thing strike first, but he opts to listen to the kinder, although not before narrowing his eyes at Merkas, displaying his disapproval at the course of action. “Fine.” He says hesitantly.
He grabs the book with the cultists names in them and slips it into his pack, doing his best to hide the action from the entity above him.
“Speaking of Sera, can you get in contact with her? Make sure they’re ok?”
“Oh, good point if we can hear her giggling then she’s close enough to get a message to her” Merkas moves over to the door of the room where the giggling was coming from and points towards the general direction Sera would be based on the slamming door and giggling sounds. Trying to gauge the distance so he’s not to far away (move up the hall past Ororana to get within 120’) “We might as well leave this all here for now,”He says placing the necklace in the bag he found “Can always come back later for it”He scoops a few more coins from a pile as he heads back west. “Not like it’s going anywhere, most of these things normally can’t walk on their own”
(Cast Message) “Hey Sera we found a room with a bunch of stuff in it, but not our runner, you happen to find them yet? I think you can think an answer to me so noone can hear you if you are being stealthy and stuff, or just shout, we heard you laughing and the door slam so we’re pretty close to you now”
He then moves a little further to peer around the next corner carefully, trying to see the door that was so loudly closed and opened again
Sera yanked the poison darts from her side with a hiss, staggering as the venom pulsed through her veins. Her body ached from the traps, the stink cloud still clinging to her armor, and the sting of whatever that gibbering balloon-thing had hit her with earlier.
"Shit eating abyssal goat****ers..…" she muttered, chest heaving.
She pressed on, refusing to fall now. But when she stumbled through the next door—she froze.
An entire chamber full of robed cultists turned toward her, their crimson symbols of Sargonnas glowing faintly in the torchlight. At the center stood their high priest, staff raised, voice cold and triumphant:
“..caoture her.....she make a great sacrifice...”
Her heart pounded. Alone. Injured. Outnumbered.
Then—Merkas’ voice rang in her mind.
“We found bunch of stuff.. but not our runner...”
Sera didn’t answer with words. She sent back a mental image: her vision filled with red-robed fanatics bearing down on her, blades drawn, a bossy cultist leader surrounded by apprentices and hovering gibbering orb full of eyes twitching in the air above them.
Then she stepped back into the corridor, using the narrow walls as a chokepoint, and yanked her holy symbol from her belt.
“Paladine,” she whispered, “cleanse this poison from your battered servant…”
( cast cure lightvwounds reagains 11 hp)
A golden glow bloomed through her ribs, and the pain dulled. Her strength returned.
( con save 12. Poisioned condition removed)
She glanced down at the gibbering balloon-thing still hovering, and without hesitation, flung her dagger—it spun and sank into its side with a wet thunk.
( use channel divinity to get extra attack. As bonus action. hits ac 10. Give 5 piercing dam)
As more cultists approached her she drew the hilt of her sunblade—but did not ignite it. Not yet.
"Okay," she muttered grimly.
"Let's dance. But next time—maybe get real guards. Not balloons you.must admit they are just annoying...""
Her back was to the wall. Her jaw was set. She was ready.
The Goon Balloon's tittering ends with its eyes widening in surprise as the dagger pierces its gas pocket! A low, burbling tone escapes its oriface as it deflates and slowly sinks to the ground, wafting back and forth as it does like a feather in a gentle breeze... if that breeze smelled like the rotten insides of a dead cow. When it lands on the tile in front of you, the tile sinks a half-inch and a thick wooden pole swings out from the wall, wafting the stick towards you as it rebounds off the wall's face. The trap, which is designed to attack the square the Goon Balloon was hovering over, misses you completely, and the wooden pole vibrates from the force of the impact with the stone. The cultists look visibly disappointed that you didn't fall for their best trap.
Due to the fact that it's just you right now, I'm not going to bother to roll initiative for all those cult members. I'll roll if another party member joins the fight, because right now, it's just your turn, then my turn.
Cult Leader seems disinterested in dirtying her hands with this battle. Instead, she decides to watch the fun.
Cult Leader Delays Initiative.
Cult Fanatic Pink creeps along the side of the chamber, and pulls out a small bit of parchment with a sigil on it. "Sargonnas protect me." Their body shimmers briefly with barely discernable blue light before it's absorbed into them.
Cult Fanatic Pink moves, then casts Shield of Faith.
"Do not underestimate her!" Cult Fanatic Blue calls out ominously, trying to regain some of his credibility. "She's stronger than you think, and I believe she is not alone. Lord of Wastes, protect your servant!" He calls out as a scrap of paper is crushed in his hand, and he points to Cultist Teal. Cultist Teal starts to shimmer with a similar aura.
Cult Fanatic Blue casts Shield of Faith on Cultist Teal.
Emboldened by the AC enhancement, Cultist Teal charges up to Sera, seemingly unbothered by the poisonous gas, and strikes hard with their sickle, which scrapes your shield angrily... like nails on a chalkboard!
Cultists Green and Red take up posts at the edge of the entrance, ready to charge in if Cultist Teal falls.
Cultist Black scoffs. "Cowards," they remark as they charge into the bottleneck.
Cultist Black moves and Readies Action.
The two cult members standing next to the cult leader appear to be wearing masks similar to the first cultist you ever fought in Santekh. They appear to be crackling with magical energy as they approach the northernmost pillars and hold their hands high.
Masked Cultist Gray and Black move and ready spells.
As Merkas makes for the door, you hear a thud of feet landing softly on the ground, and a 20' sphere near the center of the room goes impenetrably dark and bitterly cold! A cacophony of soft whispers and slurping sounds fill the air and the floor feels squishy and unstable... like it's writhing.
Next to Hastos, a horrifying undead thing rises to a stand and turns its head at you slowly.
Hrothbert_Neruca, Merkas takes 4 damage (Cold). Your movement was interrupted 5' away from the stairs, in the room. You can continue your walk to double move, but you'll need to roll a Dex Save (DC 13) first. Failing the save won't stop your movement, though. Your Dancing Light effect does not penetrate this darkness. Ororana takes 4 damage (Cold)
Team HOM, please roll initiative. You are not trapped in there, but the terrain is difficult, half movement in total darkness. Please roll a DEX Save (DC13) on your turn.
Stuck in the rear, with no clear method of attack, Sharn waits for an opening...
cheapjoke123 I delayed your initiative until after the statue goes. I'll drop you a message in case you're not getting notifications.
The statue breaks free from Nare's psychic torment and lunges forward with a hammering strike at Sera's chest, sending her flying to the ground, as she strugglings against the darkness clouding her vision.
Statue hits Sera (crit, sorry 😬), and deals 44 damage: Bludgeoning Larskolstad, please make a Death Saving Throw
The statue stands there for several moments while Sharn and Nare stare at Sera's still form. "What are you waiting for, fools? Clean that body up. I am not your housekeeper. And get to your chores. Begin by dispersing those zombies. They keep clustering up in the supply room. Then take some brooms and poles and start cleaning up the channels, and keep a sharp eye out for other intruders. Check in with me in intervals with updates of your progress."
Sharn and Nare look at each other incredulously, then scoop up Sera and bring her back around the corner, until the light of the flame sword can no longer be seen by the statue. "Sorry," Nare whispers to Sera, "we'll find you as soon as we can shake of the eidelon's suspicion."
With that, Sharn and Nare head back towards the supply room where the zombies are and commence the duties of cult acolytes. Just as they leave, Sera can hear the hissing of a snake approaching from around the corner. It seems to think Sera's limp form is an easy meal.
Nare braces himself when the statue throws its arms down at Sera, knocking the wind out of her lungs when she crumples to the ground. He's about to cry out her name when the statue turns to him... and berates him for not doing his chores. It really ruffles his feathers-- err, fur -- as he stands up taller about to talk back before settling to just grit his teeth, the same type of thing he did with his old crew of other young street urchins when it was his turn to do his clean-up duties in their little hideout ('But do I have to?' was his common retort before ultimately doing said chores).
Blinking back in the darkness, Nare rebounds back from his thought. Paying attention with only half mind to whatever the eidolen was saying, he waits in the dark to at least check to see if Sera does draw a breath. His heart does a sudden beats when she suddenly stirs. Quickly, he and Sharn picks her up and around the corner. Looking back to where the statue had wandered off to then back, Ne'haredowell whispers, "Sorry." He leans in slightly closer, "we'll find you soon as we can shake off the eidolen's suspicion."
With no spells to help, resignedly, he and Sharn head back into the supply room, where, to much of his own surprise, he gets lost in actually doing chores for the cult. The routine of his old days brought him back his old mode for autopilot. In the middle of shooing away a zombie from a rather obvious trap (that he had just cleaned no less!), he turns over to Sharn with eyes wide open (except these said eyes were under a helmet, so it was unclear if harengon was actually staring at him or five feet away with the position of the deer-skull's eye sockets). "We need to get out of here!" he urges. "Look! It's distracted." Nare points at the distraction, which was a random pile of poles that he had earlier arranged in a near gravity defying sculpture (which was not initially intentionally as a distraction either), which was also precariously placed past the entrance to the door.
"Do you smell that?" His noses wrinkles when he turns back to face the dwarf. "Sorry, I'm rambling, but we gotta get past it. C'mon." With a slight wave of his paw and a small smile at his new found friend, Nare slips out the door. Getting too excited in his search, he bounds quickly towards the way they last saw Sera.
But she was gone.
And then there was that scent again.
Stepping past the tail-end of a snake's well... last remains, he quietly creeps through the hallway half expecting something to jump out this very moment! Damn this rabbit instincts. He can't help but feel watched. His mouse bites and tugs at the skin on his shoulders, which he waves off for it to crawl higher up to under his helmet. 'Not a safe place...' he thinks and also shakes his head. The mouse seems to get the memo and hides in a small pouch in his cloak designed especially for it.
Kicking aside something strange that rubbed against his foot only to emit more that same sickening gas, Nare freezes up in the hallway to a chorus of voices.
"Do not underestimate her!" Cult Fanatic Blue calls out ominously, trying to regain some of his credibility. "She's stronger than you think, and I believe she is not alone. Lord of Wastes, protect your servant!" He calls out as a scrap of paper is crushed in his hand, and he points to Cultist Teal. Cultist Teal starts to shimmer with a similar aura.
'Sera!'
He quickly scans the room before taking action, jumping onto the wall before climbing subtlety defying gravity and going up the ceiling. Sending a small tendril of shadow her way, he signals to her with a nod from his spot upside down on the ceiling. Nare pulls out the small pocketwatch from earlier (which he asked Sharn back from before they exited) and turns the dial halfway to 30 seconds. The double appears beside Sera, daggers wielding and shadows shifting. It turns its skull-head and bows slightly to her as if to say 'I'm at your service.'
((Stealth: 12))
((Initiative: 3... + 5 = 8 ))
((i think the double watch clone has some autonomy right? i didn't want to over do it but is that okay for what it's doing now and also for doing the watch thing before combat? sorry if not then I can adjust))
When Nare's Rogue Clone appears in the chamber, the cult leader's eyes widen with outrage! "YOU!" She points at Nare-clone like she has some kind of grudge. "Someone kill that little sneak that's been lurking around our lair! How has one of my zombies not eaten you by now?!"
Initiative Order:
Cult Leader
Cult Fanatic Blue
Cultist Green
Masked Cult Member Gray
Cultist Red
Nare-Clone
Nare
Cultist Teal
Masked Cult Member Black
Cult Fanatic Pink
Sera
Cultist Black
Larskolstad, since I've already taken all my turns this round, you may take your turn. After your turn, the posted initiative order is the new order. SunDial365, Nare-Clone is framed in black so you can tell where it is. Since it's standing between two pillars, it has +4 to AC right now. I believe that gives it an AC 16, which it will use dextrously to maintain the illusion.
Just as the first cultist lunged through the narrow opening, a sudden blur burst into the room—Nare, the haregon, all wild gestures and unpredictable magic. A welcome—and utterly chaotic—distraction. Every cultist head turned toward him in confusion and alarm.
Sera allowed herself a wicked grin.
Perfect.
The first cultist's strike missed wildly. Sera didn’t hesitate. With a sharp, commanding whisper—
“Father…”
—the sunblade flared to life in her hand, bursting into radiant flame with a high-pitched buzz that lit the corridor in holy fire.
The cultist froze for half a breath, wide-eyed at the blazing weapon. That was all the time she needed.
She lunged forward, seizing him by the throat with her free hand. His startled yelp died in her grip as she yanked him off-balance and dragged him backward, retreating around the corner with her unwilling shield in tow.
( str+ath 16 . I assume that hits if not she withdraws without him in tow. She go back and east around the corner.10 feet)
Out of sight. Out of formation. She could feel the confusion ripple through the cultists still jammed in the hallway.
She pressed her back to the stone, breathing hard, blade humming quietly in the dark.
Let them come. One at a time. Right into HER trap.
The thud of the deathlock hitting the ground only precedes the dreaded word many adventurers hear before something terribly goes wrongby a fraction of a second "Ooops...." Merkas stumbles out of the darkness after tripping due to the rough terrain (Dex Save = 13, Initiative = 9)
"Um Haz, sorry to make this worse but all I got back from Sera was 'Paladine, cleanse this poison from your battered servant…' and 'Okay, Let's dance. But next time—maybe get real guards. Not balloons you.must admit they are just annoying...' not sure what to make of all that but either she's back at the Dwarf or she's found our running runt" He thinks for a second, "But it did feel like she was trying to tell me that there was trouble, so I would guess she found the cultists"
Shifting to to south with the rest of his movement so he could get a line of sight on their attacker, "Y'know it would be nice if you guys put up a warning about not being seen taking anything from here, Like you just let us work our way through all the piles but then you ambush us as we leave, that's not very good manners" Seeing the "I told you so" look forming on Hastos' face, the kender says quickly"How was I supposed to know the robes and symbols wouldn't work on this particular not-dead thing, I can't remember everything about every thing that is supposed to be dead but is still walking around, and this guy, for example, has an order he was given by someone at sometime, and there's now way I could have known what that order was, for all I knew it was told to wash the ceiling or count the amount of people that come and go..." He looks like he could go on but quiets down, feeling he's made his point"But we really should be going to help Sera so make sure you kill him real quick ok? He's already used his big spell I would guess so just hit him hard"
"Grk!" Clutched by the throat, Cultist Teal's eys buldge and their face turns purple as they're dragged away by Sera's brutal handling!
Cultist Teal is Grappled. Sera and Nare have Total Cover from ranged attacks coming from the room or the entryway. Sera has Half Cover (+2 AC) from Melee attacks coming from the entryway. Nare (due to climing on the wall) has Three Quarters cover from Melee attacks coming from the entryway.
Sera can peek into the room and still have a narrow view of what is coming for her, and sees Cultist Black snarling in frustration.
Cultist Black's Readied Action is cancelled.
The Leader still deems this battle unworthy of her involvement, and holds back, but glares at Cult Fanatic Blue to finish the job he failed at earlier.
Cult Leader delays initiative until End of Round.
Cult Fanatic Blue raises his hand and traces the holy symbol of Sargonnas. "Lord of Wastes, burn my enemy in Sacred Flame..." he states flatly. Scarlet flame erupts around Nare-Clone, but it hops away laughing and dips in a low bow to taunt him. "Tsk," Cult Fanatic Blue scoffs.
Cultist Green hesitates... unsure of which command to follow, but when they see that the more powerful acolytes are handling the troublesome Harengon, they decide to charge in down the hallway! Their voice cracking as they utter a prayer, they charge in with their sickle, swiping at Sera with the full blessing of their god! They laugh derisively at Sera, then twitch, startled, to see a creepy, fuzzy shadow clinging to the wall!
Cultist Green Moves into the corridor and Attacks (Crit), dealing 4 damage to Sera (Necrotic)
Masked Cult Member Gray reaches into their pouch and removes a snake's tongue and a bit of honey from it, and slathers the tongue in honey, then sticks it into their mouth. "You, harengon... why don't we stop this nonsense? There is enough room in these underground tunnles for all of us to coexist. Come here and speak with us. I wish to negotiate a parlay." Nare-clone relaxes, as if under the effects of a Suggesstion spell, then moves forward slowly to stand directly in the middle of all four pillars. Then, mischeivously, Nare-clone winks at the masked caster through its own skull-helmet. Masked Cult Member Gray's eyes blaze with fury as realization sets in that this is no easy prey. "You two, forget the cleric! Attack this sorcerer!" Masked Cult Member Gray commands, pointing at Pink and Red, then at Nare-clone!
Nare-Clone, as simply an illusion, cannot be targetting by min-control magic. Nare-Clone has +8 to AC.
Cultist Red turns their head and nods to acknowledge the command, and surges forward, slashing at Nare-Clone with their sickle! But loose and flexible as string (and boosted by the powers in the pillares, Nare-clone simply ducks and bends away from the sweeping arc of Red's attack!
For added flare, Nare-clone adds smoky swirls and shadows from under its cloak that distort its shape and affirm Masked Cult Member Gray's suspicions. "Your metal bananas have no effect on me! I am Ne-haredowell, Prince of Shadows! Lord of Mice! Your weapons are no match for my smoke and mirrors! Tremble before me and I may spare you!"
Nare-Clone attempts to Intimidate Cultist Red, but to no avail. (Intimidation 7) SunDial365 Nare is up.
Ready for action, Deathlock doesn't hesitate! Moving with alarming speed for an undead thing, it sprints around the magical sphere, and shimmering, black lighting spews from its fingertips! One at Merkas and one at Ororana! From outside of the sphere, Hastos can hear Ororana cry out in agony!
Deathlock moves west, up the southern stairs, then attacks with Grave Bolt twice: Misses Merkas (8), hits Ororana (12) for 10 damage (Necrotic)
Ororana stumbles towards Hastos, doubled over as sparkling energy causes her veins to bulge and skin to wither and tear. As the spell effect subsides, she seems strong enough to continue the fight. As her foot crosses the threshold of the void, Hastos can see a milky, black tentacle reach for her ankle, and narrowly miss before retreating back into the darkness.
Hrothbert_Neruca Merkas finishes his movement unscathed, but you did feel movement all around you, like tentacles reaching for you in the dark. I wasn't sure exactly where you wanted to go, so I made a best guess. Let me know if you want to change position.
MrUncleTio Hastos is up, then Merkas. Also, I forgot to move Ororana, but she is one square to the left of the Hunger of Hadar sphere.
Team HOM:
Ororona continues moving towards you. "Oh ho, ho, I think I know what this does. It's kind of similar to what my axe does, but way stronger. I can feel myself getting more vibrant when I wear it." But she respects your decision not to try it on, shrugs, and then slips it back around her own neck, then stretches her limbs and bounces up and down on the balls of her feet, testing out her improved constitution. "Takin' this baby with me..." she mutters to herself. She turns back as she hears weird giggling coming from the hallway on the other side of the previous chamber. "What the hell was that?!" The childlike giggling has a malicious undertone to it, and her arms are covered in goosebumps from the eerieness of it.
Sera:
The first Goon Balloon deflates instantly, letting out a sickly spray of foul-smelling gas from an orifice on its underside. The second Goon Balloon barely has time to giggle before it too, is struck and emits its own deathly fog.
Larskolstad Sera has the Poisoned Condition for 1 minute. You may attempt the save again on your turn.
Round 1:
Goon Balloon Green turns all its eyes on you at once and squeals like a happy toddler. Then kaleidoscopic light shoots from its foremost eye dazzling you with colors and shapes.
Larskolstad please roll a WIS save DC 12. 2 Psychic Damage on fail. 1 Psychic Damage on success.
As if playing a silly game, the creature toddles away from you on its little chicken legs, giggling wildly. Then it calls out in a deep, burbling tone as it turns a sharp left into a dark chamber, kicking the door shut behind it. The door rebounds off the door jam so hard that it doesn't fully shut and creaks open just a crack...
You are still in initiative.
My DM Registry
My Campaigns:
Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord); Lost Mine of Phendelver (tabletop)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk; Mme Cragmaw, Goblin Artificer; River Kuthraeann, Wood Elf Paladin
The first orb deflates with a wet POP, releasing a cloud of thick, foul-smelling gas. Sera staggered back, eyes watering instantly. The second deflated almost in sync, the stench doubling. It hit her like a physical blow—rot, bile, and something worse.
She gagged, nearly dropped to one knee, and clenched her jaw tight to stop herself from vomiting.
"By Paladine’s shining codpiece..." she wheezed, blinking through tears. Her stomach lurched, her ribs throbbed, and she wanted nothing more than to scrape her tongue clean with her dagger.
But the third one wasn’t waiting. It deloverd a bad headache ray. Adding to her misery. ( make the save get 1 psycic dam). It then panicked? . It made a giggling noise and turned toward a doir.
SLAM!
It slam the doir shut so hard it bounced partky open again.
Sera didn’t even stop to breathe.
"Not… getting away, you stinky puffball," she growled, sprinting after it, still swallowing back bile. Her boots hit the stones hard. She slammed through the doorframe just as the creature tried to regain its balance.
She struck.
( ac 17 with disadvantage. 4 piercing dam)
The dagger punched forward with a savage thrust—straight into the eye of the last orb.
SPLUTCH.
She waits for the explosion.
“…I am going to need a very long bath,” she croaked, . No… several baths. With soap. Holy soap."
She was aware of herself—slimed, gashed, bruised, and absolutely reeking.
“…Paladine, give me strength. And a laundry service.”
Hastos surveys the room as he holds his hand out. “There’s a lot of magic objects in here. Where did all this come fro- ?”
Hastos stops mid word, his face grows serious. He pulls his hand back close to his chest. He looks intensely at Merkas as he gesture discreetly to something above and behind him. “Hey Merkas, you think you could do that dazzle thing? It’s a blindly good trick.”
Character: Hastos, Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread
Humming to himself as he wanders around the room digging through different piles. Now and then an open sentence is heard "Hmm nice ring, Like the brain motif..." he slides a ring on his finger completely missing Hastos' warning, "Oh hey a bag this is great, this can go in there and this..." Merkas produces multiple items from his person, despite having left his backpack at the Dancing Dwarf, and drops them casually in the bag as well as few that are lying around in the room before moving over to the pulpit next to Hastos.
Ororana's question has Merkas say distractedly "Maybe it's Sera and the Magus, y'know they could be having a lot of fun and we're missing it all. Haven't heard Sera laugh much, kinda figured it would be more womanly, with a strong undertone not like my uncle when he was teasing us cousins...Ooh! A yellow sapphire, I don't have one of them yet" And the kender is distracted again until Hastos asks where the items came from.
"Oh they are probably offerings made to their god guy, what's his name, Saggyass? Y'know it's a cult..." Merkas speaks in a deep ominous voice "'Give up all your earthly treasure to be truly accepted into the crevasse of destiny, Only the high priest can resist the temptations of wealth so it is best that he has it all'" Giggling to himself he starts looking through the library on the pulpit. When Hastos' is distracted Merkas drops one of the books in his new bag. After it drops in he looks into the bag confused. "Y'know I put a lot of stuff in here and it doesn't seem any heavier...."
The tone of Hastos' voice arrests the kenders merry collecting, Silver necklace in hand, the pause has him notice a presence in the room that he had been ambivalent to until the elf mention attacking it "I could Haz, but so far it ain't harming us so I guess we leave it be? We're just some cult guys doing some spring cleaning, right?"
Loyalty Begets Honour
Sera:
You feel an extra blessing as you chase down the Goon Balloon. A bit of luck on your side...
Larskolstad you gain Heroic Inspiration in service to your god.
When you charge in through the room, you discover it is a pitch black corridor about 15 feet long, that opens up into a torchlit chamber. The first thing you feel is a twinge on your ankle, then a sharp bite in your neck! Your hand plucks free a dart sticking out of it. As if you didn't feel woozy enough.
You take 6 damage (poison).
Your next step isn't much luckier... you hit another tripwire, getting nailed by another dart to the shoulder. The poison spreads fast, causing your arm to tingle, and sickness to boil in your stomach. The taunting giggling from the chamber beyond echoes in your ears.
You take 5 damage (poison)
But at least the traps are predictable... drunk and dizzy from the venom coursing through your veins, you surge towards the Goon Balloon and stab. Though your vision is blurry you can make out what appears to be some kind of main chamber: a holy room adorned with torchlight, tapestries, gold and silver relics, a small army of cult members, and a chortling and babbling Goon Balloon that's bobbing up and down in the air. It lets out a horrifying low burbling sound as you strike it, and it rebounds off the strike, floating back a foot, and spinning end over end in the air.
Goon Balloon takes 8 damage (piercing)
Goon Balloon is Bloodied.
"They're here!" The cultists appear to be carrying sacks hastily stuffed with evidence of their appearance. But their startled voice soon turns silent as the cult member at the end of the chamber raises her hand. "One?! You couldn't slay one single meddler? Where was this army of powerful infidels you spoke of?!"
The obviously leader seems quite upset at Cult Fanatic Blue, who shrinks visibly under her scolding. She turns her head back towards you. "Capture and bind her. When we reopen the labyrinth, she'll make a fine sacrifice. AND PUT OUR THINGS DOWN!"
Uniformely, the cult members drop their sacks and approach you with measured steps... obviously uncertain about the power of a single adventurer who could fight through hordes of zombies relatively unscathed.
The Goon Balloon Floats away, clearly heavily damaged by your knife, flashes another wild eruption of colors and shapes at you, but you're prepared this time, and shield your eyes from the annoyance. But it's tactics seem to be diversionary in nature, as it floats up to the ceiling to get out of range of your vicious stabs.
Goon Balloon is 10 feet above you and 5 feet in front of you. I've moved it to the side, to allow for other characters to occupy the space.
Larskolstad, Sera is up, then chaos is unleashed.
To simplify things, the pillars in the room emit a holy aura, that grants the bearers of the mark of Sargonnas +2 to AC if they are standing within 5' of the pillar. The crocodile statues in the room are ancient statues from the previous design, and have not been altered from their original aesthetic. They serve as altars now, that hold torches, candles, and gift offerings to Sargonnas. As with most ancient structures in this region, they have latent magic poisoning. If their magic is tapped into, it can have highly chaotic effects. Feel free to try it, if you're feeling desperate. Any amount of magic directed at one of the statues will do the trick. So, a cantrip is enough. Using a high level attack spell to destroy may destroy it, but could cause a magical backlash of unpredictable proportions. The mouth of the crocodile behind the Cult Leader is a tunnel.
Because images aren't loading correctly, I'm adding a link to the map, so you can see what's going on.
Map image... just in case...
My DM Registry
My Campaigns:
Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord); Lost Mine of Phendelver (tabletop)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk; Mme Cragmaw, Goblin Artificer; River Kuthraeann, Wood Elf Paladin
Hastos looks at Merkas incredulously. Then takes a deep breath. He hasn’t lived this long by letting other thing strike first, but he opts to listen to the kinder, although not before narrowing his eyes at Merkas, displaying his disapproval at the course of action.
“Fine.” He says hesitantly.
He grabs the book with the cultists names in them and slips it into his pack, doing his best to hide the action from the entity above him.
“Speaking of Sera, can you get in contact with her? Make sure they’re ok?”
Character: Hastos, Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread
“Oh, good point if we can hear her giggling then she’s close enough to get a message to her” Merkas moves over to the door of the room where the giggling was coming from and points towards the general direction Sera would be based on the slamming door and giggling sounds. Trying to gauge the distance so he’s not to far away (move up the hall past Ororana to get within 120’) “We might as well leave this all here for now,” He says placing the necklace in the bag he found “Can always come back later for it” He scoops a few more coins from a pile as he heads back west. “Not like it’s going anywhere, most of these things normally can’t walk on their own”
(Cast Message) “Hey Sera we found a room with a bunch of stuff in it, but not our runner, you happen to find them yet? I think you can think an answer to me so noone can hear you if you are being stealthy and stuff, or just shout, we heard you laughing and the door slam so we’re pretty close to you now”
He then moves a little further to peer around the next corner carefully, trying to see the door that was so loudly closed and opened again
Loyalty Begets Honour
Sera yanked the poison darts from her side with a hiss, staggering as the venom pulsed through her veins. Her body ached from the traps, the stink cloud still clinging to her armor, and the sting of whatever that gibbering balloon-thing had hit her with earlier.
"Shit eating abyssal goat****ers..…" she muttered, chest heaving.
She pressed on, refusing to fall now. But when she stumbled through the next door—she froze.
An entire chamber full of robed cultists turned toward her, their crimson symbols of Sargonnas glowing faintly in the torchlight. At the center stood their high priest, staff raised, voice cold and triumphant:
“..caoture her.....she make a great sacrifice...”
Her heart pounded. Alone. Injured. Outnumbered.
Then—Merkas’ voice rang in her mind.
“We found bunch of stuff.. but not our runner...”
Sera didn’t answer with words. She sent back a mental image: her vision filled with red-robed fanatics bearing down on her, blades drawn, a bossy cultist leader surrounded by apprentices and hovering gibbering orb full of eyes twitching in the air above them.
Then she stepped back into the corridor, using the narrow walls as a chokepoint, and yanked her holy symbol from her belt.
“Paladine,” she whispered, “cleanse this poison from your battered servant…”
( cast cure lightvwounds reagains 11 hp)
A golden glow bloomed through her ribs, and the pain dulled. Her strength returned.
( con save 12. Poisioned condition removed)
She glanced down at the gibbering balloon-thing still hovering, and without hesitation, flung her dagger—it spun and sank into its side with a wet thunk.
( use channel divinity to get extra attack. As bonus action. hits ac 10. Give 5 piercing dam)
As more cultists approached her she drew the hilt of her sunblade—but did not ignite it. Not yet.
"Okay," she muttered grimly.
"Let's dance. But next time—maybe get real guards. Not balloons you.must admit they are just annoying...""
Her back was to the wall. Her jaw was set. She was ready.
Team HOM:
Awaiting information before I post...
Sera:
The Goon Balloon's tittering ends with its eyes widening in surprise as the dagger pierces its gas pocket! A low, burbling tone escapes its oriface as it deflates and slowly sinks to the ground, wafting back and forth as it does like a feather in a gentle breeze... if that breeze smelled like the rotten insides of a dead cow. When it lands on the tile in front of you, the tile sinks a half-inch and a thick wooden pole swings out from the wall, wafting the stick towards you as it rebounds off the wall's face. The trap, which is designed to attack the square the Goon Balloon was hovering over, misses you completely, and the wooden pole vibrates from the force of the impact with the stone. The cultists look visibly disappointed that you didn't fall for their best trap.
Due to the fact that it's just you right now, I'm not going to bother to roll initiative for all those cult members. I'll roll if another party member joins the fight, because right now, it's just your turn, then my turn.
Cult Leader seems disinterested in dirtying her hands with this battle. Instead, she decides to watch the fun.
Cult Leader Delays Initiative.
Cult Fanatic Pink creeps along the side of the chamber, and pulls out a small bit of parchment with a sigil on it. "Sargonnas protect me." Their body shimmers briefly with barely discernable blue light before it's absorbed into them.
Cult Fanatic Pink moves, then casts Shield of Faith.
"Do not underestimate her!" Cult Fanatic Blue calls out ominously, trying to regain some of his credibility. "She's stronger than you think, and I believe she is not alone. Lord of Wastes, protect your servant!" He calls out as a scrap of paper is crushed in his hand, and he points to Cultist Teal. Cultist Teal starts to shimmer with a similar aura.
Cult Fanatic Blue casts Shield of Faith on Cultist Teal.
Emboldened by the AC enhancement, Cultist Teal charges up to Sera, seemingly unbothered by the poisonous gas, and strikes hard with their sickle, which scrapes your shield angrily... like nails on a chalkboard!
Cultists Green and Red take up posts at the edge of the entrance, ready to charge in if Cultist Teal falls.
Cultist Black scoffs. "Cowards," they remark as they charge into the bottleneck.
Cultist Black moves and Readies Action.
The two cult members standing next to the cult leader appear to be wearing masks similar to the first cultist you ever fought in Santekh. They appear to be crackling with magical energy as they approach the northernmost pillars and hold their hands high.
Masked Cultist Gray and Black move and ready spells.
Map Link and Image:
My DM Registry
My Campaigns:
Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord); Lost Mine of Phendelver (tabletop)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk; Mme Cragmaw, Goblin Artificer; River Kuthraeann, Wood Elf Paladin
Team HOM:
As Merkas makes for the door, you hear a thud of feet landing softly on the ground, and a 20' sphere near the center of the room goes impenetrably dark and bitterly cold! A cacophony of soft whispers and slurping sounds fill the air and the floor feels squishy and unstable... like it's writhing.
Next to Hastos, a horrifying undead thing rises to a stand and turns its head at you slowly.
Hrothbert_Neruca, Merkas takes 4 damage (Cold). Your movement was interrupted 5' away from the stairs, in the room. You can continue your walk to double move, but you'll need to roll a Dex Save (DC 13) first. Failing the save won't stop your movement, though. Your Dancing Light effect does not penetrate this darkness.
Ororana takes 4 damage (Cold)
Team HOM, please roll initiative. You are not trapped in there, but the terrain is difficult, half movement in total darkness. Please roll a DEX Save (DC13) on your turn.
Battle Map and Link:
My DM Registry
My Campaigns:
Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord); Lost Mine of Phendelver (tabletop)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk; Mme Cragmaw, Goblin Artificer; River Kuthraeann, Wood Elf Paladin
Nare braces himself when the statue throws its arms down at Sera, knocking the wind out of her lungs when she crumples to the ground. He's about to cry out her name when the statue turns to him... and berates him for not doing his chores. It really ruffles his feathers-- err, fur -- as he stands up taller about to talk back before settling to just grit his teeth, the same type of thing he did with his old crew of other young street urchins when it was his turn to do his clean-up duties in their little hideout ('But do I have to?' was his common retort before ultimately doing said chores).
Blinking back in the darkness, Nare rebounds back from his thought. Paying attention with only half mind to whatever the eidolen was saying, he waits in the dark to at least check to see if Sera does draw a breath. His heart does a sudden beats when she suddenly stirs. Quickly, he and Sharn picks her up and around the corner. Looking back to where the statue had wandered off to then back, Ne'haredowell whispers, "Sorry." He leans in slightly closer, "we'll find you soon as we can shake off the eidolen's suspicion."
With no spells to help, resignedly, he and Sharn head back into the supply room, where, to much of his own surprise, he gets lost in actually doing chores for the cult. The routine of his old days brought him back his old mode for autopilot. In the middle of shooing away a zombie from a rather obvious trap (that he had just cleaned no less!), he turns over to Sharn with eyes wide open (except these said eyes were under a helmet, so it was unclear if harengon was actually staring at him or five feet away with the position of the deer-skull's eye sockets). "We need to get out of here!" he urges. "Look! It's distracted." Nare points at the distraction, which was a random pile of poles that he had earlier arranged in a near gravity defying sculpture (which was not initially intentionally as a distraction either), which was also precariously placed past the entrance to the door.
"Do you smell that?" His noses wrinkles when he turns back to face the dwarf. "Sorry, I'm rambling, but we gotta get past it. C'mon." With a slight wave of his paw and a small smile at his new found friend, Nare slips out the door. Getting too excited in his search, he bounds quickly towards the way they last saw Sera.
But she was gone.
And then there was that scent again.
Stepping past the tail-end of a snake's well... last remains, he quietly creeps through the hallway half expecting something to jump out this very moment! Damn this rabbit instincts. He can't help but feel watched. His mouse bites and tugs at the skin on his shoulders, which he waves off for it to crawl higher up to under his helmet. 'Not a safe place...' he thinks and also shakes his head. The mouse seems to get the memo and hides in a small pouch in his cloak designed especially for it.
Kicking aside something strange that rubbed against his foot only to emit more that same sickening gas, Nare freezes up in the hallway to a chorus of voices.
'Sera!'
He quickly scans the room before taking action, jumping onto the wall before climbing subtlety defying gravity and going up the ceiling. Sending a small tendril of shadow her way, he signals to her with a nod from his spot upside down on the ceiling. Nare pulls out the small pocketwatch from earlier (which he asked Sharn back from before they exited) and turns the dial halfway to 30 seconds. The double appears beside Sera, daggers wielding and shadows shifting. It turns its skull-head and bows slightly to her as if to say 'I'm at your service.'
((Stealth: 12))
((Initiative: 3... + 5 = 8 ))
((i think the double watch clone has some autonomy right? i didn't want to over do it but is that okay for what it's doing now and also for doing the watch thing before combat? sorry if not then I can adjust))
<---- me irl slow reader, even slower writer easily jumpy thanks for being patient
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
Player: Dragonlance
Team NSN-C:
When Nare's Rogue Clone appears in the chamber, the cult leader's eyes widen with outrage! "YOU!" She points at Nare-clone like she has some kind of grudge. "Someone kill that little sneak that's been lurking around our lair! How has one of my zombies not eaten you by now?!"
Initiative Order:
Larskolstad, since I've already taken all my turns this round, you may take your turn. After your turn, the posted initiative order is the new order.
SunDial365, Nare-Clone is framed in black so you can tell where it is. Since it's standing between two pillars, it has +4 to AC right now. I believe that gives it an AC 16, which it will use dextrously to maintain the illusion.
My DM Registry
My Campaigns:
Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord); Lost Mine of Phendelver (tabletop)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk; Mme Cragmaw, Goblin Artificer; River Kuthraeann, Wood Elf Paladin
Just as the first cultist lunged through the narrow opening, a sudden blur burst into the room—Nare, the haregon, all wild gestures and unpredictable magic. A welcome—and utterly chaotic—distraction. Every cultist head turned toward him in confusion and alarm.
Sera allowed herself a wicked grin.
Perfect.
The first cultist's strike missed wildly. Sera didn’t hesitate. With a sharp, commanding whisper—
“Father…”
—the sunblade flared to life in her hand, bursting into radiant flame with a high-pitched buzz that lit the corridor in holy fire.
The cultist froze for half a breath, wide-eyed at the blazing weapon. That was all the time she needed.
She lunged forward, seizing him by the throat with her free hand. His startled yelp died in her grip as she yanked him off-balance and dragged him backward, retreating around the corner with her unwilling shield in tow.
( str+ath 16 . I assume that hits if not she withdraws without him in tow. She go back and east around the corner.10 feet)
Out of sight. Out of formation. She could feel the confusion ripple through the cultists still jammed in the hallway.
She pressed her back to the stone, breathing hard, blade humming quietly in the dark.
Let them come. One at a time. Right into HER trap.
( str+ath 19 tonhold cultist in place)
The thud of the deathlock hitting the ground only precedes the dreaded word many adventurers hear before something terribly goes wrong by a fraction of a second "Ooops...." Merkas stumbles out of the darkness after tripping due to the rough terrain (Dex Save = 13, Initiative = 9)
"Um Haz, sorry to make this worse but all I got back from Sera was 'Paladine, cleanse this poison from your battered servant…' and 'Okay, Let's dance. But next time—maybe get real guards. Not balloons you.must admit they are just annoying...' not sure what to make of all that but either she's back at the Dwarf or she's found our running runt" He thinks for a second, "But it did feel like she was trying to tell me that there was trouble, so I would guess she found the cultists"
Shifting to to south with the rest of his movement so he could get a line of sight on their attacker, "Y'know it would be nice if you guys put up a warning about not being seen taking anything from here, Like you just let us work our way through all the piles but then you ambush us as we leave, that's not very good manners" Seeing the "I told you so" look forming on Hastos' face, the kender says quickly "How was I supposed to know the robes and symbols wouldn't work on this particular not-dead thing, I can't remember everything about every thing that is supposed to be dead but is still walking around, and this guy, for example, has an order he was given by someone at sometime, and there's now way I could have known what that order was, for all I knew it was told to wash the ceiling or count the amount of people that come and go..." He looks like he could go on but quiets down, feeling he's made his point "But we really should be going to help Sera so make sure you kill him real quick ok? He's already used his big spell I would guess so just hit him hard"
Loyalty Begets Honour
Team NSN-C:
"Grk!" Clutched by the throat, Cultist Teal's eys buldge and their face turns purple as they're dragged away by Sera's brutal handling!
Cultist Teal is Grappled.
Sera and Nare have Total Cover from ranged attacks coming from the room or the entryway.
Sera has Half Cover (+2 AC) from Melee attacks coming from the entryway.
Nare (due to climing on the wall) has Three Quarters cover from Melee attacks coming from the entryway.
Sera can peek into the room and still have a narrow view of what is coming for her, and sees Cultist Black snarling in frustration.
Cultist Black's Readied Action is cancelled.
The Leader still deems this battle unworthy of her involvement, and holds back, but glares at Cult Fanatic Blue to finish the job he failed at earlier.
Cult Leader delays initiative until End of Round.
Cult Fanatic Blue raises his hand and traces the holy symbol of Sargonnas. "Lord of Wastes, burn my enemy in Sacred Flame..." he states flatly. Scarlet flame erupts around Nare-Clone, but it hops away laughing and dips in a low bow to taunt him. "Tsk," Cult Fanatic Blue scoffs.
Cultist Green hesitates... unsure of which command to follow, but when they see that the more powerful acolytes are handling the troublesome Harengon, they decide to charge in down the hallway! Their voice cracking as they utter a prayer, they charge in with their sickle, swiping at Sera with the full blessing of their god! They laugh derisively at Sera, then twitch, startled, to see a creepy, fuzzy shadow clinging to the wall!
Cultist Green Moves into the corridor and Attacks (Crit), dealing 4 damage to Sera (Necrotic)
Masked Cult Member Gray reaches into their pouch and removes a snake's tongue and a bit of honey from it, and slathers the tongue in honey, then sticks it into their mouth. "You, harengon... why don't we stop this nonsense? There is enough room in these underground tunnles for all of us to coexist. Come here and speak with us. I wish to negotiate a parlay." Nare-clone relaxes, as if under the effects of a Suggesstion spell, then moves forward slowly to stand directly in the middle of all four pillars. Then, mischeivously, Nare-clone winks at the masked caster through its own skull-helmet. Masked Cult Member Gray's eyes blaze with fury as realization sets in that this is no easy prey. "You two, forget the cleric! Attack this sorcerer!" Masked Cult Member Gray commands, pointing at Pink and Red, then at Nare-clone!
Nare-Clone, as simply an illusion, cannot be targetting by min-control magic.
Nare-Clone has +8 to AC.
Cultist Red turns their head and nods to acknowledge the command, and surges forward, slashing at Nare-Clone with their sickle! But loose and flexible as string (and boosted by the powers in the pillares, Nare-clone simply ducks and bends away from the sweeping arc of Red's attack!
For added flare, Nare-clone adds smoky swirls and shadows from under its cloak that distort its shape and affirm Masked Cult Member Gray's suspicions. "Your metal bananas have no effect on me! I am Ne-haredowell, Prince of Shadows! Lord of Mice! Your weapons are no match for my smoke and mirrors! Tremble before me and I may spare you!"
Nare-Clone attempts to Intimidate Cultist Red, but to no avail. (Intimidation 7)
SunDial365 Nare is up.
Map and Link:
Team HOM:
Ready for action, Deathlock doesn't hesitate! Moving with alarming speed for an undead thing, it sprints around the magical sphere, and shimmering, black lighting spews from its fingertips! One at Merkas and one at Ororana! From outside of the sphere, Hastos can hear Ororana cry out in agony!
Deathlock moves west, up the southern stairs, then attacks with Grave Bolt twice:
Misses Merkas (8), hits Ororana (12) for 10 damage (Necrotic)
Ororana stumbles towards Hastos, doubled over as sparkling energy causes her veins to bulge and skin to wither and tear. As the spell effect subsides, she seems strong enough to continue the fight. As her foot crosses the threshold of the void, Hastos can see a milky, black tentacle reach for her ankle, and narrowly miss before retreating back into the darkness.
Hrothbert_Neruca Merkas finishes his movement unscathed, but you did feel movement all around you, like tentacles reaching for you in the dark. I wasn't sure exactly where you wanted to go, so I made a best guess. Let me know if you want to change position.
MrUncleTio Hastos is up, then Merkas.
Also, I forgot to move Ororana, but she is one square to the left of the Hunger of Hadar sphere.
Map and Link:
My DM Registry
My Campaigns:
Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord); Lost Mine of Phendelver (tabletop)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk; Mme Cragmaw, Goblin Artificer; River Kuthraeann, Wood Elf Paladin