Kastix Initaitive: 5

Kaylyn Initiative 12

After stopping to smell the roses for a few moments Kaylyn has joined the others up by the menhir.  Seeing the elemental suddenly move towards them and attack she focuses her energy towards the creature and sends to blasts of eldritch energy at it.

Attack: 19 Damage: 17

Attack: 23 Damage: 12

Sekkar was never attacked by the walls before, but the nature of the attacker was secondary to the fact of attacking. He did not think, he reacted:

BA - activation of the sword

Attack: 15 Damage: 20

Attack: 24 Damage: 12

Attack: 15 Damage: 17 + 5

Bless: 2, 2, 3      

Standing before a desecrated shrine and activating a hallowing spell, Rhayna is the first to react to the creature that would prevent her holy rite, and she calls on Selune for a blessing on her companions, who leap to her defense. Pax turns all fuzzy as she moves in close to the elemental. Dawnbringer's light blazes out suddenly, revealing every detail of the menhir and the cave that houses it, as well as every crack and groove in the earth-creature as Sekkar attacks it. The elemental seems to resist many of Dawnbringer's strikes but parts of its rocky exterior start to crystalise in the harsh glare of the radiant blade. Then Kaylyn's blasts slam into the thing (capital T perhaps?) and blow several rocky chunks off. Seeming to want to push toward the menhir, the elemental strikes out with massive boulder-like arms, one at each of the puny obstacles before it.

Elemental:
Slam#1 v Sekkar Attack: 17 Damage: 17 bludgeoning.
Slam#2 v Pax Attack: 25 Damage: 17 bludgeoning

While the combat with the elemental ensues, two soft pops from near the menhir are accompanied by the appearance of two small winged figures, each somewhat like an imp but with long sharp noses. One appears beside Kaylyn and has the texture of wet dripping mud, and the other appears beside Rhayna and seems to exist within a billowing cloud of dust. The latter sneers at Rhayna and then opens its mouth, issuing a thick dusty plume into her face.

Dust Mephit:
Blinding Breath v Rhayna. Please make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or be blinded for 1 minute.

As the sounds of battle and magic start to ring through the cavern, a shrill voice is heard piercing the ears and minds of all who hear it. Speaking in the drow dialect of Elvish, and with an aristocratic air, it exclaims: Pwy sy'n meiddio goresgyn fy mharth? Gweision! Dewch allan ac amddiffyn dy frenhines! This command seems to be coming from somewhere in the crystal cavern, and is followed immediately by the sound of marching footsteps, although at present no motion can be seen anywhere in the cavern.

Translation for those that speak Elvish:

 Kastix next
Rhayna 20, ??? 20, ??? 18, Pax 16, Sekkar 12, Kaylyn 12, Elemental 12, Dust Mephit 11, Kastix 5, Mud Mephit 5, ??? 4

MAP: Trying Powerpoint this time. (X is for KastiX). There are two more 'humanoid shapes' in the walls, one on the eastern side and one on the northern. 

Large-scale map for perspective: 

Rhayna DEX Save: 17

Rhayna thanks the Goddess for not being surprised easily, and she is able to avoid the dust from the winged creature.

"Dont think this is thing is making statue but still an problem," Kastix says as he turns in his attention and staff at it, "Aestu Es!" He casts Scrching Ray, all three pummeling the elemental. 

Attack: 19 Damage: 9
Attack: 15 Damage: 7
Attack: 27 Damage: 7

Kastix's flaming rays shoot past Sekkar's head. Luckily all three miss Sekkar, and two of them slam into the elemental, melting a couple of holes in the stony surface. Meanwhile, the small wet creature beside Kaylyn opens its mouth, and with a loud belch it vomits thick wet sticky mud over her.

Kaylyn: Please make a DC11 DEX save or be restrained for 1 minute.

Across the other side of the crystal cavern, movement can be detected from one of the tunnels that penetrates into the floor. The crystals however block the view and it is difficult to make out any details, but it appears to be a humanoid figure.

Rhayna up next

Rhayna 20, ??? 20, ??? 18, Pax 16, Sekkar 12, Kaylyn 12, Elemental 12, Dust Mephits 11, Kastix 5, Mud Mephits 5, ??? 4

Rhayna will cast Shillelagh, and use one her Wild Shape to awaken her spores to change into a Symbiotic Entity.

(Symbiotic Entity - You can use Wild Shape to awaken the spores that infuse you to gain +8 temp HP, roll double damage dice for your Halo of Spores damage, and deal 1d6 additional necrotic damage when you hit with a melee weapon attack. These all last for 10 minutes, or until you lose all these temporary hit points, or until you use your Wild Shape again.)

When the elemental slams its fist into Pax, the dark shadows around her seem to deflect the blow....but not before sending a ripple of icy cold energy through the elementals fist.  (15 cold damage)  (Pax's temporary HP's + arcane ward down to 14.) 

Small mushrooms pop out of Rhayna's drow staff as it becomes surrounded with tiny fungal spores, while Rhayna herself seems to be giving off a slightly stronger-than-normal smell of mouldy bread. The sound of marching footsteps increases and even more humanoid figures can be seen moving beyond the crystals, while the distant sound of flapping wings is heard from the southernmost tunnels.

Pax/Sekkar/Kaylyn are up next.

Rhayna 20, ??? 20, ??? 18, Pax 16, Sekkar 12, Kaylyn 12, Elemental 12, Dust Mephit 11, Kastix 5, Mud Mephit 5, ??? 4

 MAP

Sekkar never before met a wall that was so hard to hit - but here it was! He tried again:

BA: Hunter's Mark on elemental

Attack: 4 + 23 Damage: 14 + 2

Attack: 2 + 27 Damage: 14 + 1

Pax glances nervously towards the sound of marching feet...and up at the elemental...and turns to Rhayna...."Say...there are three of these big earth elementals......how many guardians did you say there were supposed to be that would rise up to protect this place?"  

She taps her heels together to get her boots working and moves away from the elemental ...  (AoO, up one, right three squares towards the menhir).  She turns and blasts the mud mephit fighting Rhayna, unsure if she should be fighting the big elemental suddenly....... Eldritch Blast

Attack: 9 Damage: 8 (+3 to hit)

Attack: 13 Damage: 13 (+3 to hit)

Kaylyn Dex save 23

Out of the corner of her eye Kaylyn sees the thick wet sticky mud  coming at her and she is able to slide out of the way.

She then whispers a discordant melody only the earth elemental can hear, wracking it with terrible pain. Dissonant Whispers

It must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it takes 10 psychic damage and must immediately use its reaction, if available, to move as far as its speed allows away from you. The creature doesn’t move into obviously dangerous ground, such as a fire or a pit. On a successful save, the target takes half as much damage and doesn’t have to move away. 

Elemental WIS save: 9

With a swift heel-click, Pax scoots away from under the swinging boulders that are the elemental's arms, and over to Rhayna. One of her blasts goes sailing out over the crystal garden, but the other strikes the little critter releasing a puff of dust and a harsh squeak of pain. Left alone with the elemental, Sekkar swings Dawnbringer a little wider and with a little more finesse, the blazing light causing one stone shoulder to crystallise and stiffen up. No more blasts come from behind Sekkar, but he does notice the elemental suddenly pause, lift one arm and hit the lump that passes for its own head, before it continues to swing its one good arm at Sekkar with twice the energy. The little mephit beside Rhayna meanwhile starts yammering in some bizarre language, looking first at Pax then at Rhayna. Seemingly out of puff, it instead starts scrabbling at Rhayna with its tiny claws.

Elemental:
Slam #1 v Sekkar. Attack: 11 Damage: 10 bludgeoning
Slam #2 v Sekkar. Attack: 21 Damage: 17 bludgeoning

Dust Mephit: Recharge: 3
Claws v Rhayna. Attack: 16 Damage: 6 slashing. (and if it's a hit, make a concentration check for Bless)

Kastix is up next

Rhayna 20, ??? 20, ??? 18, Pax 16, Sekkar 12, Kaylyn 12, Elemental 12, Dust Mephit 11, Kastix 5, Mud Mephit 5, ??? 4 

Holding her drow staff with both hands, and facing the winged dust creature. "To tell the truth, I don't know. I just know that as long as we are able to keep the gem safe, this place should be cleansed... It seems that whoever resides here wants to make sure that does not happens!!" Rhayna answers Pax.

At the start of the Dust Mephit's turn. Rhayna uses her reaction to damage it with her Halo of Spores. (DMG: 6 necrotic)

As the creature claws the cleric, she tries to keep her concentration on her spell. (CON Save: 8) As the creature strikes Rhayna, it manages to dislodge another large mushroom that was coming off her head, and she looses her concentration.

(OCC: Does the elemental still have his head? Or what passes for a head.)

"Come on, stop messing with that tiny thing!" kastix shouts as he cast Fire bolt at the Dust Mephit. 

Attack: 22 Damage: 8

Bless: 2

Dust Mephit CON save v Halo of Spores: 10

As the dust mephit claws at Rhayna, small freckle-like spots pepper its skin and start to turn into large black blotches, but the scratching stops when Kastix's fiery mote smacks the mephit on the side of the head. With another burst of unintelligible gibberish it falls to the ground and explodes in a puff of brown dust which partially envelops Rhayna.

Rhayna: Please make a DC 10 CON save or be blinded for 1 minute.

Mud Mephit Recharge: 2

Meanwhile, the other mephit is cavorting about all around Kaylyn, trying to thump at her with tiny fists and splattering her with small globs of mud.

Mud Mephit Fists v Kaylyn: Attack: 5 Damage: 5 bludgeoning

The lone humanoid figure in the crystal cave doesn't move, but the voice is heard again in dark Elvish: Ewch ymlaen a lladdwch y tresmaswyr, ar gyfer eich brenhines ac ar gyfer Trallod Ogremoch. The sound of marching footsteps continues.

(Translation)

Rhayna is next  (and yes, the elemental still has a head, although it's a bit stumpy)

Rhayna 20, ??? 20, ??? 18, Pax 16, Sekkar 12, Kaylyn 12, Elemental 12, Dust Mephits 11, Kastix 5, Mud Mephits 5, ??? 4

Rhayna CON Save: 21

Rhayna hopes that her spores are able to deal with the creature, but Kastix fire mote took care of winged creature. As it falls to the ground, she had a sense to get out of its way, and she was able to dodge the explosion of dust. (Her spores are starting to complain to her that the environment is getting a little dusty, and it makes it harder for them to swirl around her...)

With the dusty winged creature out of the way, Rhayna looks at the elemental that is trying to get to the menhir, and she has an idea. She takes the Wand of Ghaunadaur, and walks to the front of the elemental. She touches the wand to the area just below the stumpy head and uses one of it's charges. She prays to the Goddess that it will work the way she calculated.

Magic can be unpredictable, and using a powerful magic item created by a cult that worships an ancient evil entity, for a purpose other than intended, can have unforeseen consequences. For all her wisdom and knowledge though, Rhayna is ruled first and foremost by her curiosity, and so it is with no small degree of academic interest that she approaches the hostile creature of stone, touches the wand to it and channels the magic... 6

When previously employed, a single use of the wand converted a medium-sized block of stone into a single ooze. The elemental is significantly larger than this however, and Rhayna feels the magic being powerfully sucked from the wand and channeled into the material substance of the elemental, amplified by the elemental force that possesses it. The elemental ceases its attack, steps back slightly and flails its arms about as if in agony. Purple energy seems to flow from the point of the wand's impact until it covers the surface of the creature, and then starts to slowly liquefy it. The elemental appears to melt and spread out on the ground, then slowly break up into smaller sections, and within seconds eight five separate pools of gray ooze lie on the ground.

As the elemental transforms, a grinding noise is heard from near the menhir, and a round stone formation rises from the ground between Pax and Kaylyn. Cracks in its surface spread and widen until a head and arms appear, but this stone creature looks somewhat different from the one that emerged from the wall, being smaller and with stumpier limbs. It also seems as though it is not fully 'alive' but simply stands motionless, facing away from the menhir as if guarding it.

At the same time, a second large figure breaks away from the opposite wall and lumbers menacingly toward the group, and two more tiny creatures also materialise, one of dust and one of mud. 4, 6

The sound of marching continues, and figures start to appear from between the crystals. They appear to be drow warriors! But the footfalls are unusually heavy for the typically nimble and silent dark elves. Six each approach each staircase, moving swiftly but also somewhat jerkily.

The distant sound of flapping wings becomes less distant, but still no flying figures can be seen.

Pax/Sekkar/Kaylyn next.

Rhayna 20, Drow Statues 20, ?Flying 18, Pax 16, Sekkar 12, Kaylyn 12, Oozes 12, Elemental 12, Dust Mephits 11, Kastix 5, Mud Mephits 5, ?Voice 4

Map of immediate area:

 Map of larger area

 (Edit: Just decided to change something... 4)