Post by David on Oct 28, 2008 15:31:52 GMT -5
After Torr and Squattingbeaver returned from their jaunt to Greyhawk and Dragondale for supplies, the heroes (with Black Robe's blessing) elected to wait for Maedhros to recover from being dead and generally give Black Robe a few days respite from guarding Tovag Baragu. No sooner did the shaman leave and the heroes settle in for the night, than a pair of 10' tall humanoid bat-creatures covered in reddish fur came through one of the lintels and attacked the party. After the first exchange, the creatures quickly focused their attacks on Torr, unleashing multiple mental assaults that caused the young man to bleed from his nose and ears. The creatures, byakhee according to Maedhros, were no match for the combined might of the heroes once awakened and both teleported to safety after being badly damaged.
The next three days passed without incident and in the morning of the 22nd, Black Robe returned with four pintos from the local Lakota tribes. The party (Ichi, Torr, Maedhros, Idky, Squattingbeaver, Lowdog, and Yavin) took the animals with them through the lintel to Charn. Fall had clearly given way to winter on the other world too, but the undead of Pommeville were no more and the heroes followed the great iron rails southward, to Chateauenfer.
The trek took some four days and passed largely without incident. Occasionally, one of the party would spy one or two creatures soaring at the edge of sight, but nothing threatened the heroes in anyway. Finally, on the 26th, the group made camp in the small cave they'd slept in in the past after Squattingbeaver and Idky used the magical brooms to quickly gather goodberries at the nearby cherry grove. While on watch that night, Maedhros clearly spied the two byakhee the heroes had battled before watching the cave from afar, but never did the hair-covered gargoyle creatures get near.
The morning was badly overcast, but again the party spied the two byakhee soaring high overhead, watching the group from afar. The party made for the ruins of the skyship, intent on locating Torr's lost sword as well as any remaining ioun stones. The group had only a pair of encounters en route. The first appeared to be a pair of ghouls, although when Maedhros turned these two fellow, instead of turning to dust, they disappeared. The group also ran across a pair of ravenous wolves who the shaman befriended. Squattingbeaver used his dowsing spell to search for both the sword and a cluster of seven or more stones, but could find neither. The group did find (and roundly slaughter) eight ghouls, then nine more, although this time two turned out to be gallu-demons in disguise!
Maedhros had just finished turning the last of the ghouls to dust when one of the gallu-demons savaged Yavin, nearly killing the man and seriously mangling his foot. The creature then shook off Torr and Squattingbeaver's attacks and started to disappear in a swirling vortex of rainbow hues. A dispel magic from the cleric of Fharlanghn returned the pair to the Prime plane, saving the priest of Celestian. About that point, however, the two byakhees returned and again focused their psychic attacks on Torr, who was battling Yavin's foe. Ichi left Lowdog's side and charged the byakhee, unleashing a rain of blows. With a word from Squattingbeaver, the two wolves joined the monk, biting into one of the creature's legs. One of the byakhee kept on Torr, brining the paladin to the brink of death, with the other attacked the wolves and Ichi. Meanwhile, the other gallu-demon ensnared Lowdog.
Ichi's attacks were intense enough that both byakhee had to defend against the monk directly. No doubt he would have been able to slaughter the pair without aid, but the confusion of his new sight caused Ichi to misjudge his combat skills repeatedly and miss the massive targets. Maedhros' magic missiles meanwhile had taken their toll on one gallu-demon Torr and Squattingbeaver were fighting and now another volley destroyed one of the byakhee. The other gallu-demon started to fade ethereal and the other byakhee savaged the wolves and Ichi alike. A second dispel magic from Squattingbeaver and a volley of attacks saved the totemic warrior and took out both remaining foes.
Squattingbeaver tended to the party's wounds as well as those of the wolves and horses. Yavin demonstrated a strange talent for healing without spells -- some "gift" of healing Celestian blessed the priest with. The group decided to continue on and seek out the library Idky had heard of from the other spirits. Using a comprehend languages spell, the cleric of Fharlanghn began seeking the large repository of learning in earnest.
Nearly a half hour later, after destroying first ten and then eleven more ghouls as well as a succubus that seriously misjudged the heroes' power, the group came upon the splendid remains of the massive, impressive structure. Idky used a second spell within the building to quickly peruse a tiny fraction of the tomes inside, gaining some insight into the geography and transportation system -- called a road of iron or rail road by the locals. One disturbing fact was just how far apart the cities of Charn are...
Current status:
Maedhros: 37 of 40, MMx4, fly, aidx3
Squattingbeaver: full (29), CLW, dowsing x2, dispel x2
the wolves: 9 of 13 and 8 of 11
Ichi: 36 of 58, 8gbs, 10psi
Torr: 38 of 67, 8gbs, 10psi, lay
Idky: 19 of 32, CLW, aid, comp x2, dispel, prayer
Lowdog: 37 of 68, 8gbs
the horses: 3 of 5, 3 of 5, full (5), and full (5)
Yavin: full (26), broken right foot, 8gbs, 9psi, 12 PSPs
The next three days passed without incident and in the morning of the 22nd, Black Robe returned with four pintos from the local Lakota tribes. The party (Ichi, Torr, Maedhros, Idky, Squattingbeaver, Lowdog, and Yavin) took the animals with them through the lintel to Charn. Fall had clearly given way to winter on the other world too, but the undead of Pommeville were no more and the heroes followed the great iron rails southward, to Chateauenfer.
The trek took some four days and passed largely without incident. Occasionally, one of the party would spy one or two creatures soaring at the edge of sight, but nothing threatened the heroes in anyway. Finally, on the 26th, the group made camp in the small cave they'd slept in in the past after Squattingbeaver and Idky used the magical brooms to quickly gather goodberries at the nearby cherry grove. While on watch that night, Maedhros clearly spied the two byakhee the heroes had battled before watching the cave from afar, but never did the hair-covered gargoyle creatures get near.
The morning was badly overcast, but again the party spied the two byakhee soaring high overhead, watching the group from afar. The party made for the ruins of the skyship, intent on locating Torr's lost sword as well as any remaining ioun stones. The group had only a pair of encounters en route. The first appeared to be a pair of ghouls, although when Maedhros turned these two fellow, instead of turning to dust, they disappeared. The group also ran across a pair of ravenous wolves who the shaman befriended. Squattingbeaver used his dowsing spell to search for both the sword and a cluster of seven or more stones, but could find neither. The group did find (and roundly slaughter) eight ghouls, then nine more, although this time two turned out to be gallu-demons in disguise!
Maedhros had just finished turning the last of the ghouls to dust when one of the gallu-demons savaged Yavin, nearly killing the man and seriously mangling his foot. The creature then shook off Torr and Squattingbeaver's attacks and started to disappear in a swirling vortex of rainbow hues. A dispel magic from the cleric of Fharlanghn returned the pair to the Prime plane, saving the priest of Celestian. About that point, however, the two byakhees returned and again focused their psychic attacks on Torr, who was battling Yavin's foe. Ichi left Lowdog's side and charged the byakhee, unleashing a rain of blows. With a word from Squattingbeaver, the two wolves joined the monk, biting into one of the creature's legs. One of the byakhee kept on Torr, brining the paladin to the brink of death, with the other attacked the wolves and Ichi. Meanwhile, the other gallu-demon ensnared Lowdog.
Ichi's attacks were intense enough that both byakhee had to defend against the monk directly. No doubt he would have been able to slaughter the pair without aid, but the confusion of his new sight caused Ichi to misjudge his combat skills repeatedly and miss the massive targets. Maedhros' magic missiles meanwhile had taken their toll on one gallu-demon Torr and Squattingbeaver were fighting and now another volley destroyed one of the byakhee. The other gallu-demon started to fade ethereal and the other byakhee savaged the wolves and Ichi alike. A second dispel magic from Squattingbeaver and a volley of attacks saved the totemic warrior and took out both remaining foes.
Squattingbeaver tended to the party's wounds as well as those of the wolves and horses. Yavin demonstrated a strange talent for healing without spells -- some "gift" of healing Celestian blessed the priest with. The group decided to continue on and seek out the library Idky had heard of from the other spirits. Using a comprehend languages spell, the cleric of Fharlanghn began seeking the large repository of learning in earnest.
Nearly a half hour later, after destroying first ten and then eleven more ghouls as well as a succubus that seriously misjudged the heroes' power, the group came upon the splendid remains of the massive, impressive structure. Idky used a second spell within the building to quickly peruse a tiny fraction of the tomes inside, gaining some insight into the geography and transportation system -- called a road of iron or rail road by the locals. One disturbing fact was just how far apart the cities of Charn are...
Current status:
Maedhros: 37 of 40, MMx4, fly, aidx3
Squattingbeaver: full (29), CLW, dowsing x2, dispel x2
the wolves: 9 of 13 and 8 of 11
Ichi: 36 of 58, 8gbs, 10psi
Torr: 38 of 67, 8gbs, 10psi, lay
Idky: 19 of 32, CLW, aid, comp x2, dispel, prayer
Lowdog: 37 of 68, 8gbs
the horses: 3 of 5, 3 of 5, full (5), and full (5)
Yavin: full (26), broken right foot, 8gbs, 9psi, 12 PSPs
