Chapter 24: Human Sacrifices

[rredmond]

"Weird sounds and weird plants," Rudolf hisses to himself. "Shouldn't we study the plant, figure a more crafty way through it or around it," he says to the others, stepping back a bit, "before we start forcing our way through what's been obviously put here as a barrier - we're not even sure it's here to keep us out, but perhaps something worse in!" The vines go from floor to ceiling? How climbable are the walls, via a thieve's skill ?

[OGRE MAGE]

While the group waits for Mouser’s spell to be completed, Bo notices the small passage in the northern wall of the room. The Druid begins looking along the north wall of hallway they are in, feeling with his hand and tapping with his spear to see if he can find any hidden doors that might connect to the smaller tunnel.

[rredmond]

Realizing there's no way for the halfling to get himself over the vine block, he goes with the druid to help check for secret or concealed passages and the like. "Mind some help?"

[OGRE MAGE]

"Not at all, master Rudolf. In fact I welcome it. Lets just take a look at this wall here first, if you don't mind."

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur uses his magic ring again, this time turning his attention to the bodies on the floor on the other side of the vine barrier. He hopes that they are just as they seem, unenchanted dead. He expects otherwise.

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome takes a step back, studying the wall of vines- looking for a thin spot. Finding none, he moves to the North side and begins cutting at the join between stone and vine.

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis doesn't need to be told twice. At the suggestion that the vines are unenchanted, he runs up next to Jerome and begins hacking at a section of vine with all of his strength, hoping to make a hole big enough they may all squeeze through.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser continues concentrating on his spell casting...

[Inferno]

The Lichway, The Lost Shrine of Ancient Evil
The Dark Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Twenty. Long after midnight. Thursday, December 1st, 576 CY







The countless empty eye sockets of the dead stare at the heroes as they choose their next fateful step.

The halfling rogue and the grey druid back away as Brevos, Jerome and Telkis bare steel to carve a path through the strange, towering skein.

Without warning, before they can act, the alien wall of vines comes alive!



Writhing tendrils flail at the heroes' front line and ravage Urdur, nearly engulfing him! The gnome conjurer is almost strangled into unconsciousness by living, spiked fibers! (-9hp)

Suddenly, Urdur hears the strange atonal hymn all around him. The mysterious tone is emanating from the otherworldly web of stalk and stem! The eerie sound rises in pitch and volume as the unearthly thing begins to scream! The heroes can hear nothing now but the abysmal shrieking of the vines.

From the corner of his disbelieving eye, Urdur sees the two desiccated corpses on the floor of the skull chamber start to violently tremble!


Actions?! (The thing won initiative and preempted your actions. You may choose new actions or keep your previous ones.)



Map Detail:

One square = 5 feet. Lighter areas are visible. All else is from memory. Asterisks and black dots by the room numbers don't represent anything.

Map:



Non-required Reading (rolls and rulings):

Party Surprised? (1-2): [1d6] = 5 No.
Initiative: Party: [1d6] = 2, Monsters: [1d6] = 3 Monsters win.
Attacks on Jerome, Telkis, Brevos and Urdur: [1d20] = 6, [1d20] = 3, [1d20] = 3, [1d20] = 18 Special success upon Urdur.
Damage to Urdur: [3d8] = 9

PC Status:

• Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 3: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 31/31
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/19, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 0/1 2nd lvl
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 4: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 22/22, Spells: 3/5 1st lvl and 4/4 2nd lvl
  Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 20/20, Laying Hands: 0/1
  Long Bo, Human Druid 4: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 30/30, Spells: 4/6 1st lvl, 3/3 2nd lvl and 2/2 3rd lvl, Torch
  Rudolf Rassendyll, Halfling Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 16/16
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 4: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 34/34, Torch
  Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 2/11, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl and 2/2 2nd lvl, Torch

PC Magic:

• Detect Magic: (Bo): Duration: 10 rounds.
  Strength (Mouser): Target: Jerome. Casting time remaining: 8 rounds.

Player Resources:

• Tale of Terror (the story so far)
  A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
  Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
  Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome sees the vines attack, and attacks in return, attempting to rescue Urdur. As he does, he begins singing a chant of the Cuthbert sect, a bold warrior's song meant to raise the spirits. No, I'm not going to attempt to write one. Nobody wants to read that sort of doggerel

[1d20+1] = 8+1 = 9 melee
Longsword s/m [1d8+1] = 4+1 = 5

[rredmond]

"This isn't good," Rudolf says and realize he can't hear himself. as he continues to back away. He waves his hands, screaming without being heard, trying to get the others to back away. Rudolf takes out his rope to see if he can lasso Urdur and pull him out.
The vines attacked right when they became aggressive towards it right? The bodies became trembly when the vines screamed?
Wasn't sure if the vines were trap or trigger, now I fear it's both!

[wolfpack]

Brevos tries to hack his companion free

[1d20+1] = 10+1 = 11

[1d8+1] = 7+1 = 8

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Not the least bit surprised the "corpses" are moving, the cleric begins beseeching Holy Tritherion to force the undead away from them.

Turn undead [1d20] = 2
Guess Tritherion has no sway down here.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo pulls out some herb and casts a spell that he hopes will control the strange vines, placing it specifically to encompass the very center of the room where the child lay.

Casting Entangle. Trying to target the vines at the very edge of the radius, but not the friendlies if possible.

[ChubbyPixie]

"That's it! Out vine him, Long Bo!" Shouts Telkis. Seeing that the vines are a thing to be fought and not simply cut through, drops his axe and pulls out Cranach, hoping to do enough damage to distract the thing from Urdur:

Morningstar +1 (THAC0 17): To Hit:[1d20+1] = 4+1 = 5, Damage: vs s/m [2d4+1] = 2+1 = 3, vs L [1d6+2] = 2+2 = 4

[SocraticLawyer]

Hann léði Þorgesti á Breiðabólstað setstokka ok náði eigi, er hann kallaði til. Þaðan af gerðust deilur ok bardagar með þeim Þorgesti, sem segir í sögu Eiríks, En Þorgestlingum veittu synir Þórðar Gellis ok Þorgeirr ór Hítardal! says Urdur.

"Gaaaah! Get off me, stupid undead vine!"

Urdur withdraws from the vine's reach, hoping it doesn't choke him to death on the way.

[Inferno]

The Lichway, The Lost Shrine of Ancient Evil
The Dark Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Twenty. Long after midnight. Thursday, December 1st, 576 CY







The rotting skeletal hands of the withered cadavers lying on the floor of the skull chamber twitch and quake as the barricade of writhing fibers screams to wake the dead! Yet the young child upon the sacrificial altar doesn't move at all.

Nearly deafened by the unearthly wail, Urdur staggers back, escaping the web of sentient shoots and creepers! Rudolf also backs away as Mouser keeps reciting his arcane incantation.

Ingrid Esthof holds forth her holy icon of Trithereon to drive off the waking dead! But over the unspeakable horrors that infest this sacrilegious church, the gods of virtue and mercy hold no sway.

Nor do the powers of Nature itself. The grey druid's devout orisons to the Shalm have no effect!

Likewise, the three warriors! Despite their courage, Brevos, Jerome and Telkis cannot land a blow in the wild maelstrom of flailing tendrils and otherworldly shrieking!


Actions?!


Map Detail:

One square = 5 feet. Lighter areas are visible. All else is from memory. Asterisks and black dots by the room numbers don't represent anything.

Map:



Non-required Reading (rolls and rulings):

Last DM post, the monsters (who won initiative) acted. This post, the party acts. It is still the same round.

Vine-web creature doesn't elect to attack Urdur as he retreats.

Vine-Web Creature: Save vs Spells: [1d20] = 19 Saves. So vine-web creature won't Entangle the PCs in its vicinity.

Long Bo can lower his torch to the ground before casting with both hands.
Telkis is in the middle of a melee, so must drop his.
Telkis' dropped torch goes out? (1): [1d2] = 2 It stays lit.

PC Status:

• Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 3: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 31/31
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/19, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 0/1 2nd lvl
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 4: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 22/22, Spells: 3/5 1st lvl and 4/4 2nd lvl
  Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 20/20, Laying Hands: 0/1
  Long Bo, Human Druid 4: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 30/30, Spells: 3/6 1st lvl, 3/3 2nd lvl and 2/2 3rd lvl, Torch at feet
  Rudolf Rassendyll, Halfling Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 16/16
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 4: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 34/34, Torch at feet
  Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 2/11, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl and 2/2 2nd lvl, Torch

PC Magic:

• Detect Magic: (Bo): Duration: 10 rounds.
  Strength (Mouser): Target: Jerome. Casting time remaining: 8 rounds.
  Entangle (Bo): Target: Center of skull chamber. Duration: 9 rounds. Vine-web creature is unaffected.

Player Resources:

• Tale of Terror (the story so far)
  A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
  Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
  Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[wolfpack]

Brevos strikes at them again

[1d20+1] = 12+1 = 13

[1d8+1] = 3+1 = 4

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

The cleric pulls a copper coin from her purse and tosses it into the room, just beyond the vines. She then speaks a few words of divine power, plunging the area around the coin into complete and utter silence.

She casts Silence 15' Radius on the coin, after she tosses it into the room 5 feet or so beyond the vines. I want to make sure the coin is 20' from Mouser so it doesn't interrupt his spell.

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis will continue his frontal attack on the vine barrier, swinging his morningstar Cranach in a violent arc over his head:

Morningstar +1 (THAC0 17): To Hit:[1d20+1] = 8+1 = 9, Damage: vs s/m [2d4+1] = 2+1 = 3, vs L [1d6+2] = 6+2 = 8

"It's a wall! And I can't hit it! Evil scorcery!" he cries.