Post by David on Dec 9, 2005 15:53:05 GMT -5
The heroes, beaten as they were, kept climbing after resting an hour for Harbinder to recover her mental strength. In the early afternoon, the group spied a pack of glowing, flaming bat circling the top of the volcano. About an hour, a dozen fire bats swooped down to attack. Zhiir nailed one with her sling, while the other heroes found themselves in melee. Harbinder was quickly sore-pressed, facing five of the monsters. Sabuto began slaughtering the firebats, but the heat of their bodies burned away his gauntlets of ogre power. Meanwhile, OohOoh used Harbinder's heavy crossbow as a club, saving Orn from one bat that had adhered to his body and was sucking out his blood. By the end of the battle, all the bats were dead, but the heroes were again fairly sorely wounded. On they climbed...
As the heroes neared the top, the volcano began to drip streams of lava toward the group. Strangely, these flows almost seemed to be timed and aimed specifically at the party. Zhiir's climbing skill, however, allowed the heroes to escape the worst of it. At nightfall, the group rested for another hour so Harbinder could recover her mental strength. Shortly thereafter was when the two salamanders attacked...!
The creatures swam out of a lava flow. At first the heroes fled, but slowly began to lose ground. The flight, however, allowed the party to find level ground with cover from which to launch their attack. Flint's magic missiles scored heavy damage on one salamander, although Zhiir's missiles were useless. Harbinder took on the salamander at full strength while Sabuto attacked the wounded one. Unfortunately, a lucky strike completely burned away Sabuto's epidermis on his chest, the pain rendering the kensai helpless. He was moments away from death. Another volley of magic missiles from Flint hurt the monster further and Harbinder finished it off just in time. Unfortunately for Sabuto, however, the adventure was over. OohOoh managed to administer a potion of extra-healing just in time to save the kensai's life, but without a heal, he will never be able to effectively fight again (-4 STR, DEX, CON, to hit, move, and all future rolls vs fire plus -2 CHR scar on his chest). The group gave Sabuto their potion of gaseous form and climbed on...
Nearing the top, the heat of the lava began to overpower the cool strength spells Orn cast. Time was of the essence if the heroes wished to escape uncooked! At the summit, a guardian genie warned the heroes off. Undaunted, the group spread out. A shout deafened Flint and nearly knocked Harbinder off the cone. All of their potion vials were shattered. Zhiir moved in as a distraction while Orn slugged a hit of invisibility and OohOoh went for the Astroglobe. A sepia snake took out the thief. Things looked bleak. All Flint could do was brace Harbinder from falling. Orn faded out, but as he approached the genie, it looked right at him. That's when Harbinder managed a mind thrust -- the genie promptly forgot what was going on. Using this time, Orn reached the rim of the volcano. He saw more creatures swimming off in the lava, attracted to the commotion. Before the genie could act again, Harbinder again erased its short-term memory, giving the priest of Kor a chance to hurl the Astroglobe into the lava and run like hell...
That's when things got REALLY crazy. Shooting stars erupted out of the lava and shot into the heavens, illuminating various constellations. The volcano then erupted itself, spilling magma everywhere. The heroes were doomed...until soft, strong arms swooped down and lifted Orn, then Flint, and Harbinder to safety.
The heroes had done well, destroying an artifact aligned to Anu and inadvertently slaying the demon and slaad bound within.
Reunited on the ground, the group saw that their two remaining camels returned of their own accord. The heroes made haste from the Genies' Forge, heading back to Muluk. Strangely enough, a cool cloud followed the party all the way out of the Great Anvil, giving them cool shade from the heat. Also, the group encountered several fruit-laden date trees, allowing them sufficient food to continue. In the late afternoon of the 1st of June, the heroes spy the ruins of Al-Anwahr in the distance and know they've escaped the domain of the genies alive...
Level up, folks...!
As the heroes neared the top, the volcano began to drip streams of lava toward the group. Strangely, these flows almost seemed to be timed and aimed specifically at the party. Zhiir's climbing skill, however, allowed the heroes to escape the worst of it. At nightfall, the group rested for another hour so Harbinder could recover her mental strength. Shortly thereafter was when the two salamanders attacked...!
The creatures swam out of a lava flow. At first the heroes fled, but slowly began to lose ground. The flight, however, allowed the party to find level ground with cover from which to launch their attack. Flint's magic missiles scored heavy damage on one salamander, although Zhiir's missiles were useless. Harbinder took on the salamander at full strength while Sabuto attacked the wounded one. Unfortunately, a lucky strike completely burned away Sabuto's epidermis on his chest, the pain rendering the kensai helpless. He was moments away from death. Another volley of magic missiles from Flint hurt the monster further and Harbinder finished it off just in time. Unfortunately for Sabuto, however, the adventure was over. OohOoh managed to administer a potion of extra-healing just in time to save the kensai's life, but without a heal, he will never be able to effectively fight again (-4 STR, DEX, CON, to hit, move, and all future rolls vs fire plus -2 CHR scar on his chest). The group gave Sabuto their potion of gaseous form and climbed on...
Nearing the top, the heat of the lava began to overpower the cool strength spells Orn cast. Time was of the essence if the heroes wished to escape uncooked! At the summit, a guardian genie warned the heroes off. Undaunted, the group spread out. A shout deafened Flint and nearly knocked Harbinder off the cone. All of their potion vials were shattered. Zhiir moved in as a distraction while Orn slugged a hit of invisibility and OohOoh went for the Astroglobe. A sepia snake took out the thief. Things looked bleak. All Flint could do was brace Harbinder from falling. Orn faded out, but as he approached the genie, it looked right at him. That's when Harbinder managed a mind thrust -- the genie promptly forgot what was going on. Using this time, Orn reached the rim of the volcano. He saw more creatures swimming off in the lava, attracted to the commotion. Before the genie could act again, Harbinder again erased its short-term memory, giving the priest of Kor a chance to hurl the Astroglobe into the lava and run like hell...
That's when things got REALLY crazy. Shooting stars erupted out of the lava and shot into the heavens, illuminating various constellations. The volcano then erupted itself, spilling magma everywhere. The heroes were doomed...until soft, strong arms swooped down and lifted Orn, then Flint, and Harbinder to safety.
The heroes had done well, destroying an artifact aligned to Anu and inadvertently slaying the demon and slaad bound within.
Reunited on the ground, the group saw that their two remaining camels returned of their own accord. The heroes made haste from the Genies' Forge, heading back to Muluk. Strangely enough, a cool cloud followed the party all the way out of the Great Anvil, giving them cool shade from the heat. Also, the group encountered several fruit-laden date trees, allowing them sufficient food to continue. In the late afternoon of the 1st of June, the heroes spy the ruins of Al-Anwahr in the distance and know they've escaped the domain of the genies alive...
Level up, folks...!
Sounds like a job well done...and hard fought!
