Post by David on Apr 28, 2006 13:24:31 GMT -5
In the morning, the higher level party (Flint, Cloe, Su, Sabuto, and Orn) decided to investigate the ruins and gnoll encampment, with Jamal as a guide. Leading the way was Su, in the form of a gnoll. About 10 minutes walk from the village, Su encountered and spoke with an ambush-party of four gnolls. While his disguise was flawed (that's what you get for becoming a known-dead gnoll!), he did learn much from the jackal-men before things became heated. The rest of the party came to the rescue and Su informed them that the gnolls are not indigenous to the island but rather travel here via a teleportal from another island. Their mission: hunting -- specifically for lizard men.
The heroes continued on, finding the gnoll village and huts deserted. A recon of the area revealed little, although in the only ruined-structure with an intact roof, Sabuto fought and quickly slaughtered three lizard men feeding on the corpse of a gnoll. Orn then read the psychic residue of the site -- a group of vaguely Mediterranean-looking refugees, mostly women and children, hiding from some great calamity far away...
The group spotted one more ancient stone building, and as they approached, Su caught the fleeting glimpse of sentient thoughts. The group debated and decided to follow suit, descending some 30' vertically and coming into a large, open cavern with twin rope bridges leaving it. Sabuto crossed first, arousing first three, then two more monstrously large bats the size of house cats. One bit the kensai, but he slaughtered two and reached safety fairly easily while Jamal shot another. The two survivors fled and the heroes crossed the bridge carefully.
On the other side, the group found a larger passage with a double-door before them, another to the right, and a large, open passage with some stone work at the left. Sabuto bravely went to briefly check out the open chamber (which turned out to be a platform in the middle of another huge, chasm-like room), only to find his light stone go out. He stepped back, just a Su sensed the thoughts of the naked, sacrificial victim on the altar -- and her awareness of several priests waiting in ambush!
Su called a warning, but the group was hit with multiple hold person spells. A large group of warriors then charged forward. Meanwhile, the door in front of the heroes also opened, revealing more warriors and priests. The first volley of spells took out Sabuto and the second paralyzed Su. Cloe managed to restore the kensai, but not the doppleganger. Meanwhile, Orn held off the threat from the doorway, first wounding then stunning his foe. Flint used a web to effectively cut off the invaders from the party, catching most of the warriors in the process. The heroes were doing well, taking out their foes.
Then the lead priest, frustrated, cast a single spell at Sabuto; both the kensai's hearts stopped and he fell to the ground, dead. Thinking quickly, Jamal used his elixir of health to save Sabuto's life. While the heroes were thus distracted, one of the priests set the webs on fire, burning their own followers, but allowing the other spell-hurling priest to escape...
And as the kensai recovered from his near-death experience he told of a dark angel of death, a spectral skeleton in black robes. It had come for his soul and although Jamal's elixir had allowed him to escape, he could still feel the skeletal touch on his chest. Drawing back is robes, Sabuto was a whitish scar in the shape of a skeleton hand, clawing for his heart(s).
The heroes continued on, finding the gnoll village and huts deserted. A recon of the area revealed little, although in the only ruined-structure with an intact roof, Sabuto fought and quickly slaughtered three lizard men feeding on the corpse of a gnoll. Orn then read the psychic residue of the site -- a group of vaguely Mediterranean-looking refugees, mostly women and children, hiding from some great calamity far away...
The group spotted one more ancient stone building, and as they approached, Su caught the fleeting glimpse of sentient thoughts. The group debated and decided to follow suit, descending some 30' vertically and coming into a large, open cavern with twin rope bridges leaving it. Sabuto crossed first, arousing first three, then two more monstrously large bats the size of house cats. One bit the kensai, but he slaughtered two and reached safety fairly easily while Jamal shot another. The two survivors fled and the heroes crossed the bridge carefully.
On the other side, the group found a larger passage with a double-door before them, another to the right, and a large, open passage with some stone work at the left. Sabuto bravely went to briefly check out the open chamber (which turned out to be a platform in the middle of another huge, chasm-like room), only to find his light stone go out. He stepped back, just a Su sensed the thoughts of the naked, sacrificial victim on the altar -- and her awareness of several priests waiting in ambush!
Su called a warning, but the group was hit with multiple hold person spells. A large group of warriors then charged forward. Meanwhile, the door in front of the heroes also opened, revealing more warriors and priests. The first volley of spells took out Sabuto and the second paralyzed Su. Cloe managed to restore the kensai, but not the doppleganger. Meanwhile, Orn held off the threat from the doorway, first wounding then stunning his foe. Flint used a web to effectively cut off the invaders from the party, catching most of the warriors in the process. The heroes were doing well, taking out their foes.
Then the lead priest, frustrated, cast a single spell at Sabuto; both the kensai's hearts stopped and he fell to the ground, dead. Thinking quickly, Jamal used his elixir of health to save Sabuto's life. While the heroes were thus distracted, one of the priests set the webs on fire, burning their own followers, but allowing the other spell-hurling priest to escape...
And as the kensai recovered from his near-death experience he told of a dark angel of death, a spectral skeleton in black robes. It had come for his soul and although Jamal's elixir had allowed him to escape, he could still feel the skeletal touch on his chest. Drawing back is robes, Sabuto was a whitish scar in the shape of a skeleton hand, clawing for his heart(s).