2. Into the dark

[mb.]

Wow, some kick ass rolls there! Other than Oelle, of course.

The chamber is full of simultaneous action!

Boggs sits up beside Bedwyr, and with stunning aplomb throws a knife, skewering a couple imps, and knocking the burning gem from the grasp of the others! It falls...

Oelle bursts suddenly from behind the curtain in a cloud of smoke, sprints across the room and shouts something down the stairs, just as a blast of ice crystals fly up from below. Let's ignore your last roll as most imps are clumped where they were carrying the gem.

The burning gem smacks into the floor and bounces once, casting shifting black shadows around the chamber, and rolls to a stop between Oelle's feet. The clump of imps turn towards the gem and begins a dive across the chamber.

At the same time, Aziza throws the mass of her bear form against the Chain Demon, knocking it across the small chamber. The extended chain pulls taut and yanks Onde off of the column. She hurtles through the air, bound for a painful landing near Aziza.

The demon is thown against the glowing diagram, which suddenly bursts into a frenzy of energy. The demon's grating voice says, "The door will open! I will be the key!" Its chains begin to contract into a ball.

Just then, a deep THUMP sounds from the ceiling above the diagram...

What do you do?

[KingOfCowards]

Boggs nods gratefully at Bedwry, the empty potion is all the proof he needs to understand what transpired. He reaches into his own pack and returns the favor. "Take this warrior. You'll need it more than I."

Before Bedwyr can refuse the gift, he turns around and stares at the gem. Wondering if there is some way he can get to it, without getting mauled by the imps.

[Pulpatoon]

Oelle kicks the burning gem down the open hatch into the chamber below, and then tries to scramble away.

[Spartakos]

Bedwyr's face twitches, as he suppresses the impulse to gape incredulously at the throw Boggs just made, immediately after being revived from near death. Instead, he says nonchalantly, "Not a bad toss. Now we just need to..."

But before he can outline any plan to recapture the gem, Oelle rushes across the room shouting, and then kicks the gem down the trapdoor.

Shaking his head, Bedwyr slugs down the potion Boggs just handed him, then casts about for his sword.

Nice job Oelle! And a damn fine shot, Boggs.
DM, do I need a roll to recover my weapon? Whether I do or not, I think that's my next step. I think Aziza needs some backup.

[mb.]

Oelle, you kick the gem, which drops into the opening and tinks audibly down the icy steps, before the sound suddenly stops. The cloud of imps blasts past you and down after it, almost spinning you around in the rush of their passing. Everything seems suddenly quieter without them flapping and screeching around everywhere.

The large chamber has grown noticeably darker without the gem in it, the only illumination now coming from the arcane diagram in the smaller chamber, and the Chain Demon balled in the center of it, now wreathed in blood red flames.

Bedwyr, you immediately feel vigour and strength flow back into you as the potion's effect spreads through your body. Your sword isn't too far away, and with a few steps you've recovered it. +10 HP noted in my sig.

Boggs, unless you're running after the gem, it appears to be gone for now.

Another loud THUD reverberates from the ceiling above the diagram, and dust and small chunks of stone fall around the demon and Aziza.

What do you do?

[KingOfCowards]

Boggs goes to look after Onde. If he can free her from the chains, he will.

[Pulpatoon]

Oelle, shouting: "We have to interrupt the demon's summoning! Anything we can do to disrupt the diagram, or prevent the chain demon from sacrificing itself!"

Oelle digs through his books, hoping for a quick reference on summoning—something with lots of pictures and arrows and easy-to-read info-nuggets.
Spout Lore [2d6+2] = 7+2 = 9
Does burning a book add 1 to the roll?

[mb.]

There's so much going on, I forgot about Onde!

Boggs, you approach Onde, where she crashed painfully to the ground behind Aziza. She breathes shallowly, dark wisps of smoke rising from the black blood seeing out of cuts in her dusky violet skin. One of the horns curled on the side of her head has shattered, a large piece of it lying on the floor nearby. When she notices you she covers her face with her hands, "don't look at me!"

Oelle, remember one of your many unfortunate rolls that resulted in your satchel ripping from your shoulder? It, and your books, lie on the other side of the large chamber near the eggs.

Let's give Aziza a moment catch up...

[Kanye Westeros]

Aziza
Bear: 2 hold

The bear tackles the demon with everything she's got. The bear tangles herself in the demonic chains that make up its body. She hears the wizard's warning and notices the chains tightening around her. Well, crap.

With all the might she can summon up, The bear attempts to pull the demon from the arcane diagram. Should she succeed, she will run, tangled up in chains, back down to the dragon.

[KingOfCowards]

"Don't worry about that lass. We'll get you out of here."
Boggs starts to desperately scramble with chains, trying to remove them in a hurry.

[Spartakos]

If I understand correctly, the chains on Onde are connected to the demon, yes? That's why she got yanked off when it hit the wall?

Hurrying to the side of Boggs and Onde, Bedwyr sees the chain leading to the demon where he is pressed against the wall. Sheathing his sword, he grips the chain in both hands and heaves with all of his wiry musculature, trying to pull the demon away from the diagram.

[2d6+1] = 5+1 = 6 Str check?
I figured a Str check would be appropriate, if required. But now I kind of hope it isn't, since I jacked it up. :/

[mb.]

There's no such thing as a strength check exactly, but we'll take that as a Defy Danger + STR roll, the danger being that the demon pulls you more than you pull it. XP marked in my sig.

Boggs and Bedwyr, you pull the chain off of Onde without any great trouble, since the demon is otherwise occupied at the moment. But when you brace to pull the chain Bedwyr, the demon becomes aware of its trailing appendage, wrapping it around you, pinning your arms. A sharp tug whips you off of your feet and drags you a couple body lengths along the floor towards the glowing diagram.

Aziza, make a Defy Danger + STR roll as well please, to pull the demon away from the diagram, or be pulled closer to it yourself.

Oelle, are you recovering your books, or something else?

[Pulpatoon]

Oelle scrambles after his satchel of books, flipping furiously through the pages for anything that looks like the demon's summoning diagram.

Shall I use the roll from earlier (a 9), or roll again?

[Kanye Westeros]

Aziza
Bear: 2 hold

The bear digs her paws in, and hauls back as hard as she can, but her paws can't seem to find traction on the smooth stone floor.
[2d6+2] = 4+2 = 6

[mb.]

As Boggs & Bedwyr struggle with the chain, Oelle incongruously flips frantically through a book whipped out of his satchel...

You do indeed find something that seems to describe what you're seeing, not the look of it, but the apparent function: to open a portal between planes.

Sifting as quickly as you can through the typical verbose academic language, you narrow down what seem to be a few facts: usually such a portal is a work of careful preparation, requiring at the very least a tremendous power source and something that can serve as a bridge between the planes in question, but it's not unknown to use the brute force option, i.e. blasting a ragged hole between the planes. Such portals have been known to expand uncontrollably and be extremely hard to control or close.

The main difference between a careful opening and a brute force opening seems to be the expenditure of power: a careful opening uses steady power over a long period of time, and leaves the power source intact, whereas the brute force options uses all of the power at once and completely destroys the source.

Aziza, chains wrap around you, constricting painfully, their spikes and claws digging into your flesh and the blood red flames burning your fur in streams of stinking smoke. Take [1d10+3] = 2+3 = 5 damage. You are pulled close enough that you can feel the searing heat of the diagram and catch vague glimpses of something somehow beyond it... You find it hard to maintain your bulky bear form in the midst of all of this pain and arcane energy.

Suddenly a bright light flies through the room! The imps have returned, shooting up from the stairs like a cork from a champagne bottle, carrying the burning gem towards the ceiling. At the same time, large chunks of stone begin to fall from the ceiling of the chamber where the diagram is, crashing around Aziza, Bedwyr and the demon. Aziza & Bedwyr, you both feel a biting cold breeze from above...

What do you do?

[Pulpatoon]

Oelle yells: "We have to disrupt the power source for the spell! It might be the demon itself, but it might be something external!"

To himself: "By all the infections the sun has ever sucked up, I hope it's not the demon."

Oelle looks frantically around the chamber for a power source, now that Onde and the gem have been disrupted. The bangs from above—perhaps there is something in another chamber? Oelle looks for a means of egress.

[KingOfCowards]

I would have thought that the gem or Onde was being used as the power source as well. But perhaps it's the demon.

Seeing no better option, Boggs will throw a dagger at the chain demon.
Volley: [2d6+2] = 9+2 = 11
Damage: [1d8] = 8

[Kanye Westeros]

Aziza
Bear: 2 hold

Nothing more to do than to keep going. The bear continues to haul back on the chain demon struggling to budge it before it can achieve its goal.
DD+STR again, I'd assume? time to die. [2d6+2] = 2+2 = 4

[Spartakos]

Bedwyr struggles to get his feet under him, and adds his strength to Aziza's bulk, trying to pull the demon forward and away from the diagram. He gives a low, guttural scream as he wrenches, muscles straining like steel wires.
[2d6+1] = 12+1 = 13 Defy Danger with Str

[mb.]

Boggs, your knife flies true, shearing off numerous chain-limbs and striking to the heart of the thing, just before Bedwyr, in a rare display of heroic elfen strength, rips the demon away from the diagram! Immediately the flames engulfing the demon dim and sputter out, and the diagram loses much of its intensity. Aziza is pulled along with the demon, and just in time, as much of the ceiling of the small chamber collapses loudly behind her, a cloud of masonry dust exploding into the main chamber, obscuring the view of the diagram.

Nessilka's voice hisses from above, "you will not long live to regret ssstealing a dragon'sss eggsss, demon..."

The clump of imps circles uncertainly around the domed ceiling of the main chamber, the flaming gem borne amongst them...

What do you do?