Post by David on Aug 18, 2008 12:37:25 GMT -5
The heroes (Dion, Clanndennagh, Marc with King, Mikhail with Samhain, Sky, Cliffy, Dajamira, and Pepper) got up the next moring, only to be greeted by a hitherto invisible Jellie who'd caught up with them. The party discussed the situation with Mordrammo and different ideas why he might be hunting Mikhail, most especially why he went from trying to capture the kid to now being desperate to kill him. After some time, the heroes continued on their way to Nulb, hiking all day through the forested hills without any serious incidents. Marc did leave the trail briefly, returning with a wolverine friend (Bronson) and a hawk. Also, the group felt themselves scried twice.
As the heroes stopped to make camp in the failing light. Dion tried out one of the scrolls the group had found; the cleric of Apollo now bears a curse from the demi-plane of Dread -- abject fear of the dark! Cliffy and Daj split the other two scrolls. As Pepper started to make dinner, a strange creature materialized in a flash of light. It was an erect triped with three heads and three arms. It was nude, hairless, and hermaphroditic with a mouth in it's belly. Appearing alongside the creature were a pair of six-headed hydras which launched themselves at Mikhail. The boy, getting quite good at reflexive time-shifting, disappeared. Jellie shrugged and tossed a dispel illusion on the area, causing the hydras to wink out. Cliffy hit the entity with magic missiles and Clanndennagh hacked it to pieces. The group moved their campsite and had a quiet evening, although Dion insisted on casting a continual light on his club and leaving it out to illuminate the whole area. At one point in the middle of the night while Pepper and Daj were on watch, the half-dryad felt the party being scried, but she woke Mikhail who then time-shifted and the feeling abated.
The next day passed completely without incident, not even scrying! The heroes went to sleep slightly on guard.
On the morning of the 3rd, the group awoke to the feeling of being scried again. A mind blank from Clanndennagh and another time-shift by Mikhail cleared it away. This was almost becoming routine! The group trekked to the deserted farm house in the woods, deciding to enter the Temple of Elemental Evil from there. As they approached, Marc and Daj picked up the tracks of a group of wolves as well as multiple bipedal wolves. Invisibily, Jellie scouted out the decrepit building, spying two humans with a pair of wolves. As the illusionist snuck back to the group, the two wolves follower after, sniffing her out. Just as the party came into sight, so too did Jellie; a color spray dropping both wolves. Marc then used his beastmaster talents to befriend the animals.
Jellie volunteered to take out the werewolves with Daj (now also invisible) to back her up. A single color spray took them out too. The wolf pack came out of the forest as the group entered the farm house, but Marc verbally and Mikhail telepathically convinced the wolves to leave. Cliffy then opened the trap door back to the tunnel, nearly catching a glyph in the face. An alarm, however, sounded down the passage.
The heroes headed down the tunnel and came upon a heap of bodies with plant stalks growing out of them. They tossed fire on the mass and the stalks attacked, but Clanndennagh and Daj made short but loud work of the monsters. Jellie put out the fire with a jug of water and the group started forward again.
Suddenly the passageway was plunged back into darkness. Only Pepper and Sky could see in the darkness as a burly half-orc and a shorter, lean, bald human stepped out of the passage ahead. A poisoned arrow flew passsed Mikhail's cheek and the young man time-shifted. Thinking quickly and cleverly, Pepper conjured some dancing lights which gave an idea where the foes were. Marc charged through the darkness with his "pack" (King, Bronson, and the two new wolves), bowling over Dion and Clanndennagh in the process. Jellie tossed a chromatic orb at the half-orc, but missed, despite the distraction of the 'lights. By their dim glow, however, Cliffy could see well enough to launch magic missiles at the man's bow, destroying it. Marc got a good look at the man -- it was Patrick, Verna's uglier, half-orc brother who Marc had last seen in Land's End Tavern on the island of Grandel on his homeworld of Maneä!
The half-orc had to change weapons as he was beset by Marc's pack. The smaller, thinner, bald monk stepped forward and in two blows felled the much larger and stronger beastmaster. Daj charged forward, forming a fighting line. Mikhail tried to engage the half-orc psionically, but couldn't manage to hit him. That's when reinforcements arrived for the bad guys...
Suddenly, Marc's "pack" turned on the party, joined by a jaguar! Two fighters moved to back up the half-orc and the monk, but Cliffy, thinking fast, cut any further aid off with a web. One of the figures in the web called to Omega to help, but the half-orc merely grunted that he'd be there later. This then was the man who had pursued Mikhail's sister and her party, killing Amanda!
The bald monk let one of the new fighters take on Daj as he tried to clear the hallway. Jellie conjured an illusionary tiger and warrior, but both the monk and Omega saw them for what they were. One of the other two fighters was not quite so lucky...
Unfortunately, by this point, Omega had a clear shot at Marc, so Sky moved to defend the paralyzed beastmaster, getting badly hacked by the powerful half-orc instead. As the battle raged, Dion fumbled about frantically in the dark, desperate to make a fire and light the darkness!
By this point things were looking bad. Dajamira, despite her mirror images was ready to fall. Clanndennagh was engaging the hairless monk, but couldn't land a blow. He tried to attack mentally with a psionic blast, but found the man was also psionic and able to mount a defense! Luckily, however, this attack dropped Omega. Dion was still fumbling for light and Sammy was down and bleeding. Sky was suffering from a fury of blows as the remnants of Marc's pack attacked her. That's when the "monk" turned Marc into a little white mouse! Clearly the goal was to snatch at least one of the party members...
Mikhail attacked the man psionically, piercing his defenses. Clanndennagh meanwhile pressed him physically. Jellie's illusionary tiger forced one of the fighters back when Dajamira pulled out her wand of lightning bolts, using the final charge on her foes. The blast caught everyone in the webs and stunned the foes before her. Jellie followed this up with a fear spell and Dion used a hold on the fighters that didn't flee. But the bald man couldn't be stopped and a pair of blows dropped by the psychic warrior and the illusionist. Cliffy, having turned himself invisible, stabbed the man in the side, but still he wouldn't fall, dropping the elf as well! Nor would he succumb to Dion's hold person spell.
Now only Dion, Daj, Mikhail, Sky, and Pepper were still on their feet. Daj moved back down the hallway and slowed the monk, just as Omega recovered from Clanndennagh's psionic blast. Mikhail used his mind thrusts then to keep the half-orc off-balance. The monk asked Omega to get them out of there, but the half-orc wanted a trophy. Sky managed to get the paralyzed Marc out of reach but Omega started to trade poisoned arrows with Dion. Daj took out his other bow with magic missiles but the monk kept coming. Mikhail kept nailing Omega, preventing him from acting while he kept falling to attack after attack. The monk charged the boy, who time-shifted, returning to stab Omega in the back. The bounty hunter looked him in the eyes and teleported away, abandoning his allies.
The monk bolted for the exit, despite being slowed, running headlong into the dark. Mikhail 'ported after him, with Clanndennagh, Cliffy, Pepper, and Jellie following. Catching the bald man in the hallway, the heroes took the bald martial artist out. Meanwhile, Dajamira and Dion tended to the wounded, first death's dooring Samhain, then cure lighting the weasel. That's when a poisoned arrow flew out of the darkness and nearly took out Dion! The feared foes were back!
Magic missiles destroyed all of Daj's mirror images and a second arrow seriously wounded Dion. Sky moved to defend her friends, leaving the paralyzed white mouse she'd been carrying (Marc) under cover. Dion held the archer, but the other man took both he and Daj out with another volley of magic missiles. Things looked bleak. The rest of the party was down the hall dealing with the bald man, Arjun. Samhain and King were back on their feet and suddenly charged after the heroes again!
The red-headed man who'd taken out Dion and Daj came forward to cut off their heads and collect his bounty. That's when Sky struck out and bit him! He screamed in pain and seemed quite aware of what had happened. The man paniced and fled, quaffing a potion en route!
Meanwhile, King and Samhain reached Cliffy but attacked anyway, badly breaking the elf's right arm. Clanndennagh tried to use the flat of his life-sword to brain King and Jellie color sprayed Sammy. Mikhail caught up just in time to call off the dire wolf with the last of his psionic strength.
The party regrouped and searched the bodies, using nearlly all of their healing to save Dion. The cleric of Apollo had three poisoned arrows in him and was fading fast. With the last of their healing magics, the group stabilized Dion and restored Daj to consciousness. Gathering their allies, the group fell back to the derelict farm house. Unfortunately, the couldn't take either King or Bronson with them -- both were wild animals and only trust Marc and Mikhail.
In less than a half hour, the heroes nearly died but drove off Omega and killed all but one of his allies. What now?
Clanndennagh: 26 of 32 and NO psi points
Dion: 7 of 42 with -5 dex and NO spells, [3]
Sky: 22 of 52
Marc: full (60) but a white mouse
King: 15 of 27 but down below in the tunnel
Bronson: 9 hps down also down below
Mikhail: 33 of 39 and NO psi points
Samhain: 5 of 24 with a broken right forepaw
Jellie: full (18) but cast color spray x3, chromatic orb / improved phantasmal force x2 and fear
Pepper: full (16) but no spells
Daj: 6 of 36 and no spells, [1]
Cliffy: 23+2 of 35 but a badly broken right arm and cast magic missile x4 and web
As the heroes stopped to make camp in the failing light. Dion tried out one of the scrolls the group had found; the cleric of Apollo now bears a curse from the demi-plane of Dread -- abject fear of the dark! Cliffy and Daj split the other two scrolls. As Pepper started to make dinner, a strange creature materialized in a flash of light. It was an erect triped with three heads and three arms. It was nude, hairless, and hermaphroditic with a mouth in it's belly. Appearing alongside the creature were a pair of six-headed hydras which launched themselves at Mikhail. The boy, getting quite good at reflexive time-shifting, disappeared. Jellie shrugged and tossed a dispel illusion on the area, causing the hydras to wink out. Cliffy hit the entity with magic missiles and Clanndennagh hacked it to pieces. The group moved their campsite and had a quiet evening, although Dion insisted on casting a continual light on his club and leaving it out to illuminate the whole area. At one point in the middle of the night while Pepper and Daj were on watch, the half-dryad felt the party being scried, but she woke Mikhail who then time-shifted and the feeling abated.
The next day passed completely without incident, not even scrying! The heroes went to sleep slightly on guard.
On the morning of the 3rd, the group awoke to the feeling of being scried again. A mind blank from Clanndennagh and another time-shift by Mikhail cleared it away. This was almost becoming routine! The group trekked to the deserted farm house in the woods, deciding to enter the Temple of Elemental Evil from there. As they approached, Marc and Daj picked up the tracks of a group of wolves as well as multiple bipedal wolves. Invisibily, Jellie scouted out the decrepit building, spying two humans with a pair of wolves. As the illusionist snuck back to the group, the two wolves follower after, sniffing her out. Just as the party came into sight, so too did Jellie; a color spray dropping both wolves. Marc then used his beastmaster talents to befriend the animals.
Jellie volunteered to take out the werewolves with Daj (now also invisible) to back her up. A single color spray took them out too. The wolf pack came out of the forest as the group entered the farm house, but Marc verbally and Mikhail telepathically convinced the wolves to leave. Cliffy then opened the trap door back to the tunnel, nearly catching a glyph in the face. An alarm, however, sounded down the passage.
The heroes headed down the tunnel and came upon a heap of bodies with plant stalks growing out of them. They tossed fire on the mass and the stalks attacked, but Clanndennagh and Daj made short but loud work of the monsters. Jellie put out the fire with a jug of water and the group started forward again.
Suddenly the passageway was plunged back into darkness. Only Pepper and Sky could see in the darkness as a burly half-orc and a shorter, lean, bald human stepped out of the passage ahead. A poisoned arrow flew passsed Mikhail's cheek and the young man time-shifted. Thinking quickly and cleverly, Pepper conjured some dancing lights which gave an idea where the foes were. Marc charged through the darkness with his "pack" (King, Bronson, and the two new wolves), bowling over Dion and Clanndennagh in the process. Jellie tossed a chromatic orb at the half-orc, but missed, despite the distraction of the 'lights. By their dim glow, however, Cliffy could see well enough to launch magic missiles at the man's bow, destroying it. Marc got a good look at the man -- it was Patrick, Verna's uglier, half-orc brother who Marc had last seen in Land's End Tavern on the island of Grandel on his homeworld of Maneä!
The half-orc had to change weapons as he was beset by Marc's pack. The smaller, thinner, bald monk stepped forward and in two blows felled the much larger and stronger beastmaster. Daj charged forward, forming a fighting line. Mikhail tried to engage the half-orc psionically, but couldn't manage to hit him. That's when reinforcements arrived for the bad guys...
Suddenly, Marc's "pack" turned on the party, joined by a jaguar! Two fighters moved to back up the half-orc and the monk, but Cliffy, thinking fast, cut any further aid off with a web. One of the figures in the web called to Omega to help, but the half-orc merely grunted that he'd be there later. This then was the man who had pursued Mikhail's sister and her party, killing Amanda!
The bald monk let one of the new fighters take on Daj as he tried to clear the hallway. Jellie conjured an illusionary tiger and warrior, but both the monk and Omega saw them for what they were. One of the other two fighters was not quite so lucky...
Unfortunately, by this point, Omega had a clear shot at Marc, so Sky moved to defend the paralyzed beastmaster, getting badly hacked by the powerful half-orc instead. As the battle raged, Dion fumbled about frantically in the dark, desperate to make a fire and light the darkness!
By this point things were looking bad. Dajamira, despite her mirror images was ready to fall. Clanndennagh was engaging the hairless monk, but couldn't land a blow. He tried to attack mentally with a psionic blast, but found the man was also psionic and able to mount a defense! Luckily, however, this attack dropped Omega. Dion was still fumbling for light and Sammy was down and bleeding. Sky was suffering from a fury of blows as the remnants of Marc's pack attacked her. That's when the "monk" turned Marc into a little white mouse! Clearly the goal was to snatch at least one of the party members...
Mikhail attacked the man psionically, piercing his defenses. Clanndennagh meanwhile pressed him physically. Jellie's illusionary tiger forced one of the fighters back when Dajamira pulled out her wand of lightning bolts, using the final charge on her foes. The blast caught everyone in the webs and stunned the foes before her. Jellie followed this up with a fear spell and Dion used a hold on the fighters that didn't flee. But the bald man couldn't be stopped and a pair of blows dropped by the psychic warrior and the illusionist. Cliffy, having turned himself invisible, stabbed the man in the side, but still he wouldn't fall, dropping the elf as well! Nor would he succumb to Dion's hold person spell.
Now only Dion, Daj, Mikhail, Sky, and Pepper were still on their feet. Daj moved back down the hallway and slowed the monk, just as Omega recovered from Clanndennagh's psionic blast. Mikhail used his mind thrusts then to keep the half-orc off-balance. The monk asked Omega to get them out of there, but the half-orc wanted a trophy. Sky managed to get the paralyzed Marc out of reach but Omega started to trade poisoned arrows with Dion. Daj took out his other bow with magic missiles but the monk kept coming. Mikhail kept nailing Omega, preventing him from acting while he kept falling to attack after attack. The monk charged the boy, who time-shifted, returning to stab Omega in the back. The bounty hunter looked him in the eyes and teleported away, abandoning his allies.
The monk bolted for the exit, despite being slowed, running headlong into the dark. Mikhail 'ported after him, with Clanndennagh, Cliffy, Pepper, and Jellie following. Catching the bald man in the hallway, the heroes took the bald martial artist out. Meanwhile, Dajamira and Dion tended to the wounded, first death's dooring Samhain, then cure lighting the weasel. That's when a poisoned arrow flew out of the darkness and nearly took out Dion! The feared foes were back!
Magic missiles destroyed all of Daj's mirror images and a second arrow seriously wounded Dion. Sky moved to defend her friends, leaving the paralyzed white mouse she'd been carrying (Marc) under cover. Dion held the archer, but the other man took both he and Daj out with another volley of magic missiles. Things looked bleak. The rest of the party was down the hall dealing with the bald man, Arjun. Samhain and King were back on their feet and suddenly charged after the heroes again!
The red-headed man who'd taken out Dion and Daj came forward to cut off their heads and collect his bounty. That's when Sky struck out and bit him! He screamed in pain and seemed quite aware of what had happened. The man paniced and fled, quaffing a potion en route!
Meanwhile, King and Samhain reached Cliffy but attacked anyway, badly breaking the elf's right arm. Clanndennagh tried to use the flat of his life-sword to brain King and Jellie color sprayed Sammy. Mikhail caught up just in time to call off the dire wolf with the last of his psionic strength.
The party regrouped and searched the bodies, using nearlly all of their healing to save Dion. The cleric of Apollo had three poisoned arrows in him and was fading fast. With the last of their healing magics, the group stabilized Dion and restored Daj to consciousness. Gathering their allies, the group fell back to the derelict farm house. Unfortunately, the couldn't take either King or Bronson with them -- both were wild animals and only trust Marc and Mikhail.
In less than a half hour, the heroes nearly died but drove off Omega and killed all but one of his allies. What now?
Clanndennagh: 26 of 32 and NO psi points
Dion: 7 of 42 with -5 dex and NO spells, [3]
Sky: 22 of 52
Marc: full (60) but a white mouse
King: 15 of 27 but down below in the tunnel
Bronson: 9 hps down also down below
Mikhail: 33 of 39 and NO psi points
Samhain: 5 of 24 with a broken right forepaw
Jellie: full (18) but cast color spray x3, chromatic orb / improved phantasmal force x2 and fear
Pepper: full (16) but no spells
Daj: 6 of 36 and no spells, [1]
Cliffy: 23+2 of 35 but a badly broken right arm and cast magic missile x4 and web
