Concentration (on hex): 10 (OOC: yes!)

Dex Save: 20

Dex Save: 9

Auger cries out in fear and then pain. Eyes closed. Trapped beneath the stone a sudden memory comes to Auger.

As a child. Swimming underwater. A small shiny thing. Nearly lost. He grabs it. Its stuck. He braces his feet. It comes free. Now his foot is stuck. Under water. He tries to free his foot. Something tears. His foot. He cries out in fear and pain. Water rushes into his mouth. Fills his lungs. Shiny in hand. The symbol of Piya. He reaches back toward the edge of the lake. Just feet away. How can he get there? Darkness falls upon him and he feels it. The Sea of Stars! He reaches into that Sea. Finds... something. And he moves. Then he is free. To the side of the lake. On land. Clearing his lungs. Coughing. Hacking. Breathing at last. Air! And the pain. His foot torn by rocks. But free.

While in this memory Auger also reaches into the Sea of Stars and finds what he needs. He opens his eyes. He moves. He is free. Standing (OOC: if able) despite the pain, Auger again sights the nearest Hollow One outside the ring and blasts it.

Py sends to Auger. Uhmm. I have not seen that one before. How did you do that?

Auger, surprised at the statement sends back. Something I could always do? I did that once before, long before we met, Py. 

Py

Auger

Dex saves 1: 9 and 2: 15 (+ SM's benefits, if applicable).

(I'm not sure whether the attacks and shoves on Varielky are just RP or not, but I'll assume they are for this time since it wouldn't change her actions too much. If she was prone from the unbalancing, she'll stand up.)

Varielky raises her sword high. She then speaks loud and clear, in the Dreyen language: ["Hel, grant me more time here on this realm so I can end the unholy spell that was cast on these warriors! Odin, guide my shield to block the attacks of my enemies until my day to ascend to Halvalla comes! Sif, guide my sword in its path to bring eternal rest for these warriors, for they will be like lice in your golden hair if allowed to walk on this earth!"] Varielky lowers her sword sharply on the enemy in front of her, swinging with full force at its neck where the amulet is. She doesn't aim for the amulet itself, but to whatever is holding it onto the corpse's neck. At the very least, if the enemy tries to protect it, she'll strike with such force to break its hand, or at least force it to drop its weapon. Then, she'll kick whatever it dropped, if it did, back towards the others. 

BA: Using the sword's property to Lay on Hands on herself, healing 5 points of HP.
Action: Disarming Attack on H.O. 62. Attack: 14 Damage: 17. When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend one superiority die to attempt to disarm the target, forcing it to drop one item of your choice that it’s holding. You add the superiority die to the attack’s damage roll, and the target must make a Strength saving throw (DC 13). On a failed save, it drops the object you choose. The object lands at its feet. (I hope this can apply to the Dacite amulet but, if not, since it's not actually "holding" the thing, then she'll force it to drop one of its weapons.)
Free Action: Kick the dropped item towards the northwest.

Round 4 Results

Granophyre’s golden bird flits down and lands upon Dolkum, holds onto Dolkum’s shoulder with its tiny claws, and flaps upwards. Dolkum feels arcane energy flowing into him and as the bird flaps up, Dolkum feels himself pulled upwards -- yet as his head moves up, his feet remain planted on the ground. Dolkum realizes that he is being stretched, and as he stretches, his muscles pulse with power, and his form fills out in all dimensions until the paladin (and his armor and weapons) grows to twice his normal size, and he now towers above the undead and his companions. (OOC: see enlarge/reduce for effects and duration).

Varielky’s red-steel blade glows softly and the shield maiden feels energy returning to her body. With renewed vigor, she attacks the Dacite stone-wearing undead, but it steps forward into close quarters and parries her blow at the hilt, its stinking breath cold and dank in her face.

Dolkum (OOC: I’m botting him this turn), already big for a dwarf, now stands almost 10’ tall and 5’ wide. He pushes against the pillar, timing his movement to the shaking ground, pushing, relaxing, and pushing again, until the tall stone column tips forward and begins to fall slowly toward the pit!

Auger opens a portal into the sea of stars and disappears from under the large stone pinning him to the ground which thumps down and settles on the ground with a poof of dust. The mage reappears at J28 and sends a magical blast shooting toward HO60, but wincing in pain from a cracked rib, his focus falls off and the bolt barely reaches its goal, doing only 1HP damage.

Py sends another tiny spore which stings and crinkles out its thin green threads when it connects with HO60.

Ednyss attempts a quick riposte against HO57, but the undead’s hammer shaft meets his war pick square on and parries the blow. Ednyss’ spell works outside the magic Warding. Divine energy surges into HO58 and the undead shudders in pain but prepares its counterattack.

Benita shifts away from the flaming sphere, finds an opening in HO61’s timing, and slashes the undead dwarf with both weapons, doing 12HP damage, but the iron-clad Hollow One still fights on.

Granophyre’s flaming sphere continues to harry HO59 at the scholar’s urging, and does another 7HP damage as it bobs and swings at the end of its magical thread.

Tuff, his posture solid and upright, rushes HO61, assisting Benita. His short sword points skyward as he steps, holding it directly behind him, then, in a flash, he brings it up and around in a controlled arc, and it channels through the armor, destroying the Hollow One just struck by Benita.

Flint attacks HO60 but his axe blow deflects off of its helmet.

Wad continues his attack on HO55, smashing its left arm, for 6HP damage.

H.O. 51 brings its battle axe up, rebounding against Ednyss’ armored leg, then brings it down again, deflecting off his helm. Neither blow does damage, and the undead is knocked prone by the shaking earth.

H.O. 55’s spear jabs at Wad from above, but the black-bearded warrior dodges the weapon, weaving back and forth.

H.O. 56 swings up and over, reads Wad's motions, and, exchanging a glance with H.O. 55, they time their movements together. The spear jabs, and Wad dodges back just as HO56’s halberd swings with unholy force, critting for 10HP as its steel point deeply penetrates Wad’s armor, and his dark blood begins to glob out from the wound. His face is slick with perspiration and he falls to his knees, propped up only by his axe and shield.

H.O. 57 exchanges a glance with 58 and they time their blows together. 57’s hammer swings at Ednyss, but the war cleric ducks out of the way. 

H.O. 58, just at that moment, frees its battle axe from Ednyss’ shield, pulling Ednyss off balance, and brings it down in the exact same location, critting for 10HP damage, and the shield, already weakened, splinters and breaks in half as Ednyss falls to the ground, unconscious. 

H.O. 59 retreats from Granophyre’s flaming sphere, feints at Tuff, then swings his war pick at Benita, critting her for 9HP, and she falls, impaled from behind.

H.O. 60’s hammer swings and with a loud clank rebounds off of Flint’s shield. Flint is thrown back a step by the force of the blow,. 

H.O. 62 (Dacite) ripostes against Varielky’s blow, disengaging its battle axe and swinging low at her legs, but she jumps over the blow. 

H.O. 63 brings its short sword up and over to smash down on Varielky, but she catches it easily with her shield. 

H.O. 64 advances to attack Dolkum with its battle axe, but the blow’s aim is thrown off as the Hollow One steps on a rock which rolls under his foot, and the axe strikes the pillar, throwing sparks, as the undead is thrown to its feet beside Dolkum.

H.O. 65 keeps its footing as the ground shakes, and moves up to engage Varielky, swinging its war pick, but it can’t attack this round. 

H.O. 66 advances toward Dolkum, its halberd at the ready. It’s step is slowed by the shaking earth, and it can’t attack this round. 

H.O. 67 and H.O. 68 crawl out of the pit.

Two more pillars fall over as the ground continues to quake. One falls onto the central boulder, and with a deafening CRACK!, it splits in half.

The central pillar Dolkum was pushing crashes over the pit, sealing it closed and crushing H.O. 67 and 68 just as they pull themselves up.

The ground continues to shake, and those with darkvision notice that an opening in the tree roots has resulted from the shifting ground, in the northwest corner of the map. But a tremendous rumbling seems to be building up.

You are now situated like so.

Ednyss, please roll a death save. (Benita will too.)

Everyone else, roll 2x DEX saves once again.

Please post Round 5 actions

As Varielky jumps over the attack, she swings her sword down on the attacker just before she blocks the other attack. She begins to realise that she is being surrounded. She can't see Benita nor Wad because she faces away from them, but she does see Ednyss fall. "Ednyss!" She calls. She feels anger building inside her, but she's also tired. The four bells she slept were clearly not enough, and she feels her responses slow and her attacks weak. Nonetheless, she keeps swinging her sword and bashing with her shield. If she gives her enemies even a moment of rest, she might find herself in Halvalla too early.

She wants to reach Ednyss but there are too many enemies around both of them. First, she swings her sword against the Hollow One holding the Dacite amulet and then she twists around to bash at the one standing on the stone. As she does so, she sees Wad on his knees and she notices Benita is no longer in her line of sight. She doesn't have much time to think about it though, considering all the undead around her...

Reaction: Riposte Maneouvre against H.O. 62. Attack: 17 Damage: 10.

Action: Attack against H.O. 62 -> 65: 10 Damage: 12.

BA: Shield Shove to knock H.O. 63 off the rock. Athletics: 24.

And ofc I forgot Dex saves: 20 and 19.

Dolkumm puts his personal surprise aside for later, concentrating instead on the current situation, recognizing that the fight was still in the balance...

DEX 1 19

DEX 2 15

If he is on his feet then he will attack HO 64  with his hammer and Divine Smite Attack: 25 Damage: 9, and 11

• else he will pick himself up and cast Cure Wounds on himself 2

Auger fights through distractions, attempting to focus.

He can move through portals...without moving. How did he do that? Dolkum is now... huge. Perhaps that horrible hole is now covered. Auger still feels the pain from being crushed. Pillars still fall left and right while the ground continues to shake. Two of the standing pillars are behind him. Varielky just called out to Ednyss for reasons he cannot determine. There was great concern in her voice if he is not mistaken. But the pillars... one of them crashed into the boulder and perhaps broke it? Does the dome still impede his magic?

Auger calls to Grapnophyre, "Is the magic warding still there?"

Reaching into himself Auger feels that one of his connections to the Sea of Stars still holds. Moving away from the pillars and concentrating he re-directs those energies and the Dragonfly removes itself from the pile of broken bones that once stood as a lion and then flies inexorably into one of the undead near where Ednyss is (Hold it! What happened to Ednyss?) into which Auger then sends a corkscrewing blast, the aqua line again spiraling around the violet energies.

Auger sends to Py, Keep helping Flint. Py moves up and, placing himself at some risk, more directly distracts the Hollow One engaged with Flint, buzzing into its eyes.

Py

 Auger

Round 5 Results

Varielky’s flurry of ripostes against the dacite stone-wearing Hollow One take off an arm, then cut through its shoulder, lodging for a moment in its claypot corpse before it disintegrates, but HO63 sees her shield bash coming and steps out of its path.

Dolkum smashes HO64 with his huge weapon, doing an additional 3HP damage due to his large size (for 24 total). His hammer flattens the undead to the ground, its helmet sinks far into its chainmail shirt, then with Divine Magic, <SVALL!> the word of Idiwala blasts out like a foghorn and dry pieces of the hollow one shoot away in all directions.

Auger moves closer to the central melee, and targets the HO which has downed Ednyss. The spell destroys the already damaged Hollow One, and it falls off the low wall, partly onto Ednyss’ unconscious body.

Py flies down to assist Flint.

Granophyre’s flaming sphere has disappeared. Strewn’s golden sparrow flits down to Ednyss, transmits a spell from Granophyre to the unconscious war cleric, and Ednyss regains 9HP, as Dolkum shrinks back to his normal size. The scholar moves to Benita’s side, then shouts across to everyone in a magically reinforced voice. “The Warding stone is broken, but its energies seem about to disperse! Forget the Dacite stone! We have sealed off the ranks of undead and their Warding is destroyed! Let us leave this place with haste while it is possible to do so!”

Tuff shield rams, then slashes H.O. 59, which shatters, then the veteran rushes to Wad’s side to help the failing fighter. “Coming, Master Strewn!,” he yells over his shoulder.

Flint finishes off number 60 as it is distracted by Py’s zig-zagging, and noting that its hammer is magically glowing, picks it up before moving to assist Dolkum.

Wad, still on his knees, brings his axe around to smash through HO 55’s spear as it tries to parry. The creature falls and cracks into pieces beside its broken weapon.

H.O. 51 stands, and steps over the downed dacite-stone wearing undead, striking at Varielky with its battle axe but missing.

H.O. 56 turns to Tuff, swinging its halberd and hits him for 6HP damage. Or would have except Wad, half prone, with incredible mastery raises his shield and deflects the brunt of the blow, reducing damage to 3HP. 

At that moment, everyone falls prone as the ground suddenly buckles and the entire depression drops down a foot. A ball of invisible energy explodes from the broken Warding Stone, and everybody takes 2HP damage from the force wave, except Benita, who Granophyre covers with his own body. The ground over the pit rises up as below it, the floor of the unholy cavern holding the Hollow Ones crashes upwards beneath it, pulverizing the ranks of undead within, and the ground there surges upwards like a liquid wave. All of the remaining pillars crash down one after the other, and dust and rock shards fly everywhere, ricocheting and filling the air. The ground cracks open, a long crease in the southeast corner of the ruin. 

Then a second crevice roars open directly underneath Ednyss, who regains consciousness only to feel himself fall into the deep crack! He’s followed by HO 51, 54, 57, 58, 63, 65, and the dacite stone-wearing 62. Varielky pitches backwards toward the low wall to avoid falling in, but is then flung toward the crevice and slips over the edge! She throws her arms out, her sword falls near Wad, and her shield catches on a stone embedded in the ground. It keeps her from falling any farther, but her shield is being driven into her shoulder, and the pain is excruciating as she hangs on for dear life at the edge of the precipice with the ground still shaking and dust in her eyes and lungs. She can’t do this for long. Looking down, she can’t see the bottom of the crevice and Ednyss is lost in its depths!

The entire depression holding the ruin seems on the verge of collapsing, and the crevices seem as if they might start to close up again.

Auger keeps his footing. Dolkum has fallen prone again. No one is hit by a falling pillar.

(OOC: initiative order now picks up again)

H.O. 66 strikes at Dolkum with its halberd but can’t connect and slips and falls prone again.

You are now situated like so.

Ednyss can take one action before he starts bouncing off of walls as he falls.

Varielky, roll Athletics x2 vs. DC15 to see what happens holding onto the wall. If you make them both, you can pull yourself up and have ½ movement.

Please post Round 6 actions.

Varielky screams in pain, but also in sorrow. As far as she's concerned, Ednyss is done for and she is headed the same way. Moreover, she wasn't sure if the fact that the sword didn't appear in her hand is a good thing or not. On one hand, with a sword in her hand she wouldn't have any chance of climbing up. On the other hand, she chose to throw the sword away to stay alive. How will the gods view such an act? It wasn't surrendering or running from a fight, but still... But if she remains like this any longer, her arm will give away. She must try to pull herself up, and the gods will decide her fate.

Athletics: 24 and 11.

If she manages to climb up on the ground, Varielky will use the rest of her movement to stand up (or, if she's already standing, move to H-16.

Ednyss?  NNOOOOO!!! Feeling a little confused, and a little something else,  Dolkumm gets up and charges HO66 attacking it  on his way to L20 to aid Varielky and Ednyss as best he may...

Attack: 21 Damage: 9

Athletics 17

Concentration (on hex): 11

Still feeling exhaustion and now battered and thrown about Auger moves towards the crevice, at first to possibly help Varielky but seeing her pull herself out he pauses to look down with his lantern somehow still in hand. Where is Ednyss he thinks? Has he fallen? Into this? Auger again summons his spectral dragonfly and sends it down into the crevice to see if its faint glow illuminates anything and perhaps to lend Ednyss a hand hold or act as a beacon. Auger calls out, "Ednyss! Do you live?"

Py, Auger sends, perhaps you can take a look? I can summon you back if these grounds keep shifting.

Py (If willing...)

Auger

As Ednyss comes to consciousness on the ground, he huffs out a breath and starts climbing to his feet when the ground falls out from underneath him.

Now falling, Ednyss's thoughts should be on how to best preserve his own life. But instead, he sees Varielky tumble, and despite her best efforts, slip over the edge. Fortunately, she catches herself on the edge of the crevice with her shield. Ednyss closes his eyes and just before he is embraced by darkness, he calls out a single word of healing. Using the last of his divine magic, he does his very best to keep the fate-touched girl alive. "Live," he says to the dangling shield maiden before his head strikes a rock and he feels his consciousness fading. As his muscles loosen up, he begins a mental prayer to Takal Demesh, thanking him for a glorious death in battle and the opportunity to serve him proudly for so many years. The last thing he sees as his eyes are closing is a pair of dragonflies, one spectral and one real flying towards him as his back strikes another protrusion and his consciousness leaves him in an instant.

Round 6 results

Varielky, hanging onto the edge of the crevice, pulls up painfully with her shield arm and manages to climb halfway out of the pit, its edge crumbling under her grasp, before she slips back again, but then gets a firm grip with her right hand and pulls herself completely out, ending the round prone in I-17.

Dolkum charges the halberd-wielding Hollow One near him, hitting the undead’s leg and chipping off half its thigh with his hammer for 4HP, then continues running to L20, leaping over a sweep from behind by his prone opponent’s polearm.

Ednyss falls into the crevice, locking eyes with Varielky and healing her before he plummets down and out of sight.

Py flutters into the crevice and spies straight down as far as his vision will go. No tunnels, no ledges, no light, just rocks and pebbles from the edges, falling and falling into the darkness. 

Auger can see no better with his light, and hears no response to his shout. 

Benita fails her death save.

Granophyre dabs Benita’s brow with a droplet from a vial in his vest pocket, stabilizing her, then picks her up and carries her toward the opening in the tree roots. “Come, quickly!,” he shouts again, though his voice seems weak compared to before, “The ground is moving here, and our opening may shift again!” 

Tuff shouts to Wad, gesturing with a cocked brow to the Hollow One beside him, “I’ll take this one. Help her!,” indicating Varielky, and he strikes the Hollow one with a flurry of blows, hitting for 18HP damage.

Flint action surges against HO66, hitting for 11HP damage, but the undead remains standing.

Wad, badly injured, disengages from HO66, moves to Varielky, and helps her to her feet, pulling her away from the crevice. He yells down into the depths, “GREYBEARD!!!” but no reply comes.

HO56 swings its bloody halberd at Tuff, but the weapon deflects off of the valet’s shield.

HO66 has managed to roll away from the worst of its assailants, rises, and swings its halberd at Flint’s head, but the burly dwarf ducks and turns, and the weapon whistles over his ear.

The southwest crevice grows larger and larger, and a huge fallen section of column slides in and away. The crevice into which Ednyss fell begins to close up, and looks like it will completely close in a few seconds.

You are now situated like so.

Please post round 7 actions. All except Ednyss, roll DEX save vs DC10 or fall prone at the end of your turn as the ground shakes roughly again.

Come back Py there is nothing we can do for him. Look ahead to see where this path will take us.

Auger and Py head to the exit in the northwest that Granophyre is moving towards. Furious at the loss of the kind dwarf, and reaching through the Sea of Stars and now, deep into the earth below, Auger again moves his energies from the falling Hollow One's remains below. Once again the Dragonfly, dripping with negative energies, flies inexorably to the Hollow One engaged with Tuff and then Auger releases another corkscrewing blast into it. (OOC: or to HO66 or if nothing stands then he dashes to the exit). The spectral dragonfly, still in the crevice, fades into nothing as Auger moves away.

Py

 Auger

DEX 10

Battered, bruised, and <Idiwalla watch over Ednyss Greybeard> worry about Ednyss later, Dolkumm heals himself 5 hp as Lay on Hands, and looks about for the most active venerable Hollow One, picking himself up if necessary...

"Forget it, he could only have survived if the gods are with him, but his shield broke. For one who worships a god whose symbol is a shield, that is an ominous sign." Varielky had already lost many comrades on the battlefield, but this time was different. At least, she hoped, his soul would ascend to Halvalla. She doesn't have time to mourn him, though. Considering the feeling she had just a moment ago, which she was sure is Ednyss' doing, she knows he wouldn't want her to die while in this place.

Varielky stands up with Wad's help and then walks forward and, albeit hesitantly, picks up her sword. Is she still worthy to carry it? She was not sure. She must help the others, however, and ponder this later. She runs forward and, with a battle cry full of agony, she swings the sword at the undead near Tuff, followed by a shoulder bash to knock it prone.

Attack against H.O. 56 : 16 Damage: 12.

Athletics: 12

Dex save, which I'll remember to add when posting at some point: 19

Round 7 results

Varielky’s sword leaps to her hand when she calls it, and her attack destroys HO56, which  is smashed back into the low wall behind it. 

Dolkum calls on Idiwala’s divine energy and feels holy salve heal his wounds.

Py zips up out of the western crevice just as the narrow chasm mashes closed.

Auger moves around the closing crevice where he targets the final Hollow One. The undead explodes, its pottery shard remains shooting away and adding to the tumult of dust and flying rock fragments. The warlock keeps his footing despite the shaking earth, and moves on toward Granophyre.

Granophyre loses his balance, falling to his knees but with Benita still in his arms, protecting her from further injury. He gently places her down, and removes a small knife from his belt. He intones an arcane phrase, and flicks the knife upward. Spinning, it transforms into a bolt of acid and shoots at the tree roots threatening to close off, striking them and burning a smoking hole large enough to escape through. 

Tuff puts a hand on Varielky’s shoulder, squeezing hard, a grim look on his face. He turns and rushes to Granophyre and Benita.

Flint and Wad move toward Granophyre.

The melee is now over.

DENOUEMENT

The ground continues to rumble, and the broken Warding boulder begins to slide into the expanding cleft beside it. Meanwhile the entire depression is rotating once again and there is a battle of time between the tree roots, which are dilating closed due to the turning of the ground, versus the smoking acid from Granophyre’s knife, which enlarges the opening again.

As the shifting ground continues to heave, you all make it through and onto firmer ground away from the ruins. Moments later, the Warding boulder falls away, there seems to be an underground explosion as the entire depression balloons up then collapses again, and a tall tree nearby is uprooted and seals off the exit for good.

The company catches its breath and watches the wreckage unfold, searching for any sign of Ednyss, whom nobody wishes to leave behind, and all are reluctant to move away. Each survivor would rather wait for the impossible, for the war cleric to suddenly reappear from a new fissure, or for some other magic to right the impossible wrong of the dwarf’s mortal fate. But the area of the ruins continues to quake and churn, trees fall, heavy branches smash down near you, and you reluctantly, wordlessly, begin to move, first a few yards, then more, looking back over your shoulders, then farther yet, heading step by heavy step west and downslope toward your encampment.

Tuff leads the party, with Flint carrying Benita over his shoulder. The path you walked before on the way to the ruin has closed up, and progress is difficult. You must cut your way through the woods now, wending slowly around the upheavals of earth and roots, rocks, substrate. The loss of Ednyss to the abyss is an incredible blow to the spirits of his companions, and everyone is silent and sullen, cutting listlessly through the underbrush, or with fits of rage which pass back to terrible silence.

The party returns to the encampment following the directions of Py and Granophyre’s golden sparrow. It takes almost an hour. Amistan is with the horses, still trying to calm them as the final aftershocks recede into memory. He sees the downcast, sullen eyes, the bleeding wounds, the heroes returned caked in dust, not one of them having escaped damage of some kind. He counts the party, and notes one is missing, notes who it is. He looks penetratingly at Varielky, and seeing her expression, bows his head, his senses telling him everything important to know about what has transpired. He sees Benita, whom Flint gently places atop a blanket on one of the log benches beside the fire pit, in which only the last embers still burn. Ivy slowly sprouts and grows around her from the ground, surrounding her in a warming embrace, as Amistan calls on the last of his ranger magic to cast a healing spell. Although she continues to sleep, Benita’s complexion brightens, and the terrible wound in her back closes up.

Everyone remains around the fire pit, standing, or kneeling, or sitting heavily upon the earth. Wad falls back mournfully on the grass, unable to hold onto consciousness after the long night of exertion and the dozen near-mortal wounds he has received, and is asleep in an instant.

“This is a terrible loss, a terrible night,” says Granophyre, sadly. “When daylight comes, we will send our winged helpers to carefully look again. We must not...abandon hope,” although it seems clear to everyone that, in all likelihood, your eyes will never again fall upon your lost companion. 

Auger sees Tuff and Granophyre exchange a quiet word, and then Tuff quietly approaches him and, gesturing toward the last bedroll in the line, which lies underneath a collapsed tent, says, “This bedroll belonged to another companion who travelled with us until just before your arrival.” He looks deeply into Auger’s eyes, searching for malice or some dark purpose, but seems not to find any. “It is...our good fortune that you arrived when you did, for your kindness and generous use of your powers may have prevented...greater loss...than that which has befallen us.” He seems to have lost his train of thought, but finds it again, glancing at the bedroll once again. “You are welcome to it, for the Master sees that you are a weary traveller...” he seems on the verge of continuing, some habitual well-mannered turn of phrase to complete the thought, but trails off, nods firmly, then returns to his place near the fire pit, in which Amistan has re-stoked a small blaze, which is helping to fight the early morning chill.

Varielky walks silently. She doesn't cry nor complain. She has things to say but she keeps them to herself. On the other hand, the others could probably notice she is very tense, ready to burst at the slightest provocation. Her eyes no longer shed light and her sword is sheathed in its scabbard, but one hand holds her shield ready and the other hovers above one of the hand axes.
When they reach their camp, Varielky takes her bedroll out of her tent and lays it near Benita, then doffs her armour and enters the Bedroll, her weapons and shield leaned on the log behind her. She had lost two of her companions in one night, she cannot lose another. In her mind, she prays until she falls asleep, although that doesn't take long.

Grateful to see a bedroll, and to rest at last, Auger thanks Tuff and collapses down and closes his eyes. Py still flies above, invisible and vigilant.

This morning we were still on a boat, right Py? How could so much happen in just one day? One night. And the dwarf who was lost, Greybeard... Ednyss what will become of him in those temple ruins? Will he rise again? Like those others? Was he special in this? The one we were supposed to help?

Augers thoughts continue on, jumbled, rambling and sending for some time. Granophyre had to explore this temple. Why not avoid it? Ednyss stayed true to his faith and then paid for it. He has been accepted if not welcomed at first. That temple predated the Dwarven Empire? And why did the earth move around it? One of the Hollow Ones had a dacite stone. What was the significance of that? The Dowager. The Dowager. What does she. Was this, was this the fell wind? Brenneth?

His thoughts continuing to ramble on Auger realizes today is already the 9th day of Beauty and guilt falls upon him. Renna, his daughter, her birthday, her 9th, and he was far, far away. With strangers. Using strange powers. A power unrelated to Py! He can... move. He could always move. But how? But why? But... fighting undead in the night... Dowager watch over her, watch over Renna, he sends one last time before sleep and exhaustion take him.

Py, flying above, silently listens to the litany of questions and statements, relaying them of course, to the true master.

Varielky, Dolkum, and Auger fall into a deep sleep in minutes. As she loses consciousness, Varielky tosses and turns, reliving the moment when she locks eyes with Ednyss one last time, feeling his divine energies relieve her suffering, only to see him drop to his death, unable to help him in return.

Turning back the clock two hours...

Ednyss falls into the crevice, locking eyes with Varielky and healing her before he plummets down and loses sight of the shield maiden. He sees the narrow cleft close up above him, while the armored bodies of hollow ones seem to hang suspended in the air beside him, although all are accelerating downward, and the undead grab and claw at him as they fall, while the war cleric grapples them and deflects their blows. Just as Ednyss sees the dacite stone immediately before his eyes, its thin chain lifting gently away from the gorget of the armored undead which Varielky destroyed, he strikes a surface, then bounces and spins through the air. 

He hits another outcropping, but holds onto consciousness, turns and slams his war pick into the slanted wall, slowing his descent as sparks fly, throwing chunks of rock outward from the impact as the glowing pick rips through the stone, and the hollow ones crash and crumble around him. The chasm's wall tilts toward level now, and Ednyss slides down it on his side, then slams roughly into a narrow rift which stops his fall. Looking upward hopefully, his heart stops as he sees a large rock, loosened by his pick, spinning toward him. It slams into the crevice, stopped mere inches above him where the slit in the rock narrows. But the impact fractures the stone walls, and he again feels himself falling away, rebounding against a slanted outcropping, and then finally, hitting a flat surface, and consciousness leaves him.

For what happens next, play this video, and turn up the volume high, so you can hear the sound at the beginning:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17DWPrQ8UtGp-eRC1sEcA66d7N27n8mUj/view?usp=sharing

Ednyss

The dais has stopped rising, and is level now with the surface of the earth, and the very top of the chamber walls seem to have collapsed into a circle of dusty rocks around him as Ednyss takes an exploratory breath and smells soil, the distant salt spray of the Awhar Gulf, life. It is the end of the night, the stars twinkle high above, the moon has set, and Ednyss discovers that he is now standing upon a ledge, less than a quarter mile away from and overlooking the collapsed temple, which is now little more than a round field covered in randomly placed stones, the detritus of a giant’s game of dice. Utterly exhausted, Ednyss blacks out again, he’s not sure for how long. 

When he awakens, the sun is edging over the eastern hills behind him, and he looks down and west at an advancing line of morning light as the sun clears the peak behind him. The cleric stands, and sees the campground with Granophyre Strewn’s heavy carriage through the trees below. 

Then, as if recalling a dream he had had while sleeping here on the hillside, the war priest looks closer, down at his own body, at his left arm, half expecting to see his tarnished old square shield there, as if everything that had transpired were indeed only a dream. But the shield of Takal Demesh, its grip solid in his hand, seeming to draw the morning light to it, is there. Solid. Perfect. Real. He stands, takes up his war pick -- still in his hand, and notices something he hadn’t before. A light chain hanging from his right elbow, its amulet trapped in a fold of his shirt sleeve. He must have somehow gotten his hand on it during his plummeting wrestling match with the ancient dwarven chief who wore it. The dacite stone. 

Ednyss looks around and sees several openings in the hillside, narrow clefts out of which smoke and dust slowly drift, as daylight now shines down on him over the hilltop. And then a moment later, Granophyre’s golden mercury sparrow flits into view, and then wheels above the ruins, and seems to spot Ednyss. It flits before him, chirps a melodious off-key greeting, then with a quick flap of its wings, rockets west in a long arc, directly toward the encampment. A moment later, a soft, rattling sound, as if from large insect wings, buzzes in the space before him, then diminishes into the distance. (OOC: Ednyss has 1HP. I’ll assume he wends his way downhill and to the campsite.)