Chapter 4: Inn of the Damned

[DadsAngry]

Hoom Feethos:

Mouser not resonding Hoom rushes over to the Ingrid the priestess of Trithereon. He reaches in and tries to rouse her from within her cage. "Ingrid, priestess of Trithereon. It's Hoom Feethos. Wake we must get you all out of here."

[Zhym]

Grothnak, silent as Death that is no doubt sharpening his scythe for the half-orc at this moment, continues to cut down the attacking villagers.

Vadok (Halberd +1) (THAC0 19): [1d20+2] = 13+2 = 15, Dmg [1d10+4] = 8+4 = 12 (S/M) [2d6+4] = 3+4 = 7 (L)
Vadok (Halberd +1) (THAC0 19): [1d20+2] = 17+2 = 19, Dmg [1d10+4] = 8+4 = 12 (S/M) [2d6+4] = 12+4 = 16 (L)

[AleBelly]

Wincing in pain, Pelias tries to finish off Bertram so he can face his remaining four attackers.

Just FYI, he didn't mean to subdue Bertram. He wants to kill him but spare the other villagers.

Attack with long sword (THAC0 19) [1d20] = 13, damage [1d8] = 2


Attack with long sword (THAC0 19) [1d20] = 16, damage [1d8] = 1

[Inferno]

DM:

Hoom Feethos:
Mouser not responding, Hoom rushes over to the cage of Ingrid the priestess of Trithereon. He reaches in and tries to rouse her from within her cage. "Ingrid, priestess of Trithereon. It's Hoom Feethos. Wake up! We must get you all out of here."

Ingrid awakens, disoriented. She is blindfolded, gagged, bound hand and foot, laying in a cramped space on something hard, and is extremely groggy from having been drugged.

Got it, AleBelly. I'll back-call and say that last blow was a cutting one. Thanks.

[Fulci]

DM:
Ingrid awakens, disoriented. She is blindfolded, gagged, bound hand and foot, laying in a cramped space on something hard, and is extremely groggy from having been drugged.

Ingrid Esthof, cleric

Ingrid opens her eyes, but she is in darkness. But this darkness is different to the one that was before, that deep, suspended state. Her muscles are strained, her stomach is burning. But at least now she feels her own body, albeit a body full of searing pain. She must be bound and blindfolded, she slowly understands. She hears a voice, stirring her from the death-like slumber... are her tormentors back? No, this voice sounds familiar...

[Grognardsw]

Hoom Feethos:
"Mouser, it's Hoom. I've come to free you, Mouser." He says as he starts on the lock to the cage hoping that his comrade will give him a sign of recognition.

The Grey Mouser floats in blackness, hearing a distant voice. Fafhrd?

It fades. Mouser hopes a priest can guide him to the light of life, or to final rest in heaven, but the rogue's path in life may lead down elsewhere.

[DadsAngry]

Hoom Feethos:

Seeing life in Ingrid Hoom quickly goes to unlock her cage.
"Ingrid you must wake. Mouser won't move and I can't get him to wake. You must help him. There isn't much time Ingrid"

44% - Open Locks +20 magical lock picks [1d100] = 80
An addition +10 for crude construction of locks = 74%
Hoom needs to slow down and take his time and stop rushing.

[Inferno]

DM:

Hoom can't pick the lock on Ingrid's cage. The noise from the battle upstairs continues to rage on.

[Fulci]

Ingrid Esthof, cleric

Ingrid is slowly regaining at least minimal control over her body and tries to wiggle as close to the bars as possible. She lifts her hands (if the ropes permit), signalling to Hoom to unbound her. She tries to talk as well, but only incomprehensible, muffled sounds result.

[DadsAngry]

Hoom Feethos:

He curses the lock. Mouser's opened so easily. Hoom replaces with his picks, placing them in a small pouch on his waist, with his dagger still locked in his teeth. He places his arms through the open bars and works on Ingrid's restraints.

[Inferno]

Day Four
Village of Briarsgate
Evening. Wednesday, October 19th, 576 CY
Cold, Thunderstorms


The secret horrors of Briarsgate’s Golden Grain Inn (6) are unveiled.





In the Common Room, villagers of Briarsgate, with the unrelenting intensity of voracious feral wolves, labor hard to beat the adventurers into insensate, bloody pulps.



Telkis sees men with shortswords and studded leather armor rushing down the stairs and cries, "How many idiot villagers am I gonna have to drop before you learn your lesson!"
He cracks his morningstar into the hip of one maniacal assailant (15), shattering his pelvis. The raider falls in excruciating agony. "Hang in there, Pelias! I'm coming! Grothnak, think of your honor! Let's get monkey on these fools!"

Grothnak, silent as Death, continues to harvest attacking villagers like a scythe-wielding reaper. He mercilessly fillets an obese butcher (3) who rains to the floor in bloody red chunks.

Wincing in pain, Pelias tries to finish off Bertram so he can face his remaining four attackers. The paladin slashes the corrupt innkeeper with a second grazing fleshwound, leaving him wounded but unbroken.

The damned, wicked citizens of Briarsgate sustain their mad, grisly assault without hesitation or fear.

Four deranged patrons batter and hammer at Grothnak (-4 hp), felling the mighty warrior at last. Vadok clatters to the floor by its master's prone body.

Five bloodlusting townsfolk smash at the surrounded paladin. One leather armored psychopath strikes hard with the flat of his swordblade (-4 hp) nearly dropping Pelias!
Beswill's icy eyes stare at Pelias and his thin lips snap with diabolical precision: "Why is this man bleeding, Derek?"
The eyepatched man called Derek Desleigh, his rapier still bloody from impaling Pelias' back, smirks sardonically, "An accident, I'm sure, m'lord Beswill."
Beswill spits, "Well, my accident-prone friend, see that it doesn't happen again!"

Three insane villagers wade over broken bodies to savage Telkis and fail to break through his defenses again! It's as if these humans had never fought a dwarf-trained gnome before.

Telkis crashes Cranach on the foot of another leather armored madman (16) crunching bones and bringing him down, adding to his writhing wall of shattered men and pain.

Pelias hacks his longsword into Beswill (BB) and the innkeeper falls. From the floor, he glares at Pelias with acidic malice, "It matters not... I am one, but we are legion," he snarls as unconsciousness overtakes him. "...Soon, you will join with us."


Actions?

Golden Grain Inn 4.jpg (420.85 KiB) Viewed 707 times

DM Notes:

Map:

• • Each square is 5 feet.
    The bracket shapes in the walls are chimneys.
    BB is Bertram Beswill. W1 and W2 are serving wenches. Eyepatched Desleigh is 21. The ratfaced cook is 20. 15-19 have studded leather armor.
    Red markers are unconscious or dead.
    Sharing a 5' square with someone while fighting (even if they are unconscious) gives a penalty of -1 to hit.
    The Kitchen (room 2) only shows what can be seen from Telkis’ POV.

Telkis has -2 to hit, reaction and initiative.
The party has within it people who attack twice, so no Initiative roll is needed. Party goes first and last.

1,4,13,14 Attacking Grothnak: [1d20] = 16,[1d20] = 18,[1d20] = 16,[1d20] = 14 One hits.
Damage on Grothnak: [1d6] = 4 4 damage.
BB, 7, 19, 20, 21 Attack Pelias: [1d20] = 11, [1d20] = 5,[1d20] = 20,[1d20] = 6,[1d20] = 18, One hits with a natural 20.
Damage on Pelias: [1d6] = 2 Double damage from critical hit = 4.
16, 17, 18 Attack Telkis: [1d20] = 10,[1d20] = 9,[1d20] = 16, All miss.

In the dark, bloodcurdling dungeon beneath the Golden Grain Inn, Hoom rushes over to Ingrid. He reaches into her cage and tries to rouse her. "Ingrid, priestess of Trithereon. It's Hoom Feethos. Wake! We must get you all out of here."

Ingrid Esthof awakens, disoriented and drugged. Hoom fails to pick the lock on her cage but, through the iron bars, removes her gag and blindfold, and unties her wrists. Her opening eyes see a dim, stone chamber with several human cages of iron suspended by chains, within one of which, she is imprisoned.

Over their heads, the cacophony of mayhem and murder is punctuated intermittently with the heavy, wet thuds of felled bodies.


Actions?

Golden Grain Inn Cellar 4.jpg (272.92 KiB) Viewed 707 times

DM Notes:

Map:

• • Each square is 5 feet.
    Shape and size of the inn’s foundation/cellar is an estimation only, based on the first floor’s footprint.
    The ‘circle C’ is the trapdoor in the ceiling.

Cage locks are +10% to be picked, due to their crude construction.
Ingrid, drugged and groggy, has -4 to hit, reaction and initiative.

Status:
Elden Vodarte, Human Ranger 2: AC 3, HP 20/20. Unconscious.
The Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 1/2: AC 4, HP 0/10, Spells: 1/1 1st lvl.
Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 2: AC 4, HP -3/17
Hoom Feethos, Elven Magic-User/Thief 1/2: AC 3, HP 6/8, Spells: 0/1 1st lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 3: AC 3(1), HP 14/16, Spells: 3/4 1st lvl and 3/3 2nd lvl.
Long Bo, Human Druid 2: AC 6, HP -2/15, Spells: 3/4 1st lvl and 1/2 2nd lvl
Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 2: AC 2, HP 2/19
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 2: AC 0, HP 15/19


Magic:
Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.


Map of Briarsgate
NPC List for Briarsgate

[Fulci]

Ingrid Esthof, cleric

After regaining consciousness, Ingrid's automatically checks her neck - is her medallion with the symbol of Trithereon still hanging there on its blackened silver chain? Are her weapons and armor somewhere in the cellar?

"Is the Mouser still out?" she whispers. "We need him. Bring him over here, I'll try to wake him."

If Hoom is able to lift the Mouser's body up for Ingrid to reach from the cage, she casts Cure Light Wounds.
Cure Light Wounds [1d8] = 1

kronos01 caroline munro.jpg (32.96 KiB) Viewed 692 times

Oh for Trithereon's sake!? What kind of roll is that...

[Inferno]

DM:

The holy symbol of Trithereon is gone from around Ingrid's neck. The drugged priestess looks for it, her weapons and her armor, and doesn't see them.

She does see a stone-walled, windowless chamber of horrors, lit by candles, holding four iron cages suspended from ceiling beams by chains. The cages were made to hold humans. Mouser and Vodarte are imprisoned in the cages, bound, gagged, blindfolded and unconscious. Mouser's cage door is open.

The dungeon is 10' x 25' and the cages dangle a foot off the floor and two feet from the ceiling.
Extra blindfolds, gags and ropes lay on a wooden table with benches beside it. A ladder rests against the wall beneath an open trapdoor in the ceiling. Two brass bound chests lean against a wall on one end. On the opposite wall is a stout wooden door with a large bar across it, holding the door shut tight. Another barred door is set into the long wall, near the cages and the chests.

[Fulci]

Does healing require the holy symbol? Some spells list it as a spell component, but not Cure Light Wounds.

Ingrid Esthof

Upon discovering the absence of the medallion, an icy feeling runs through Ingrid's body. She knows, that her god is present, no matter what... but throughout the years, she formed a certain bond with that amulet. It makes it easier to concentrate, focus her power to field complex spells, especially those new ones Trithereon only recently granted to her.

She still heals the Mouser, if possible.

"What are in those chests, over there? Possibly our weapons? If we cannot pick the lock, maybe we can try brute force..."

"And what are those noises? Are those our companions fighting Beswill and his henchman?"

[DadsAngry]

Hoom Feethos:

Hoom moves to Mouser's cage. He shifts Mousers body within the cage as close to Ingrid as he can. Then begins to cut Mouser's bonds.
"Priestess of Trithereon, I fear if you can't wake Mouser you will have to remain in your cage. The lock on your cage would not open for me. Perhaps it's rusted or my skill isn't as keen as I thought. What ever the cause we must hurry." Hoom looks above and listens to the scuffle.
"I hope our friends up stairs took heed to my warnings and are winning the battle. Every time I hear a loud thump from the ceiling I pray it is not them."

Ingrid Esthof, cleric
"What are in those chests, over there? Possibly our weapons? If we cannot pick the lock, maybe we can try brute force..."

"If we have time we will. Your life is more important than material possessions."

OCC: Cure Light Wounds only requires verbal and somatic component. You should be good.

[Fulci]

Ingrid Esthof, cleric

"If we have time we will. Your life is more important than material possessions."

"I meant trying brute force on the lock of MY cage, but never mind" says Ingrid, and, despite her awful condition, smiles. But just for a split second.

She starts praying - to heal the wounded and for Trithereon to aid her companions.

[Inferno]

DM:

Ingrid Esthof calls upon the power and grace of her god, and heals the Mouser's badly beaten form.

The little thief awakens, still groggy from his poisoned ale.

...With 1 hit point. Welcome back, Grognardsw!

Dads is right. No material components are required for CLW.

Mouser is still -2 to hit, reaction and initiative.

[Grognardsw]

Grey Mouser, thief

Mouser shakes his head to clear the cobwebs and climbs down slowly. He takes in the room.

"Thank you Ingrid. It seems the truth of this town is worse than its rumors."

"Let me use your tools," he says to Hoom, attempting to pick the lock of Ingrid's cage. To no avail as his vision blurs in and out. He gets angry and fruitlessly tries to break the lock with his bare hands.

He falls back.

"I'm not sure I'd trust my skill to find traps on those chests."

Pick Locks (39%) +10 [1d100] = 65. No.
Bend Bars [1d100] = 52. No

[Fulci]

Ingrid Esthof, cleric

"What about Vodarte?" Ingrid asks, concerned. She points to the last cage. Her ranger friend seems unconscious, but, at least, unhurt.

"What are we going to do? I need some kind of a weapon, even if I am to stay in this cage. A mace or a hammer would be the best. Maybe I could try to destroy the lock."

"I'm not sure I'd trust my skill to find traps on those chests."

"Trithereon can reveal any traps for me... But I'm not sure I should be stretching the limits of my power just yet."

[Grognardsw]

Grey Mouser, thief

Mouser takes a deep breath, focuses, and brings a light touch and small pick to Vodarte's lock. He hears a pleasing click.

Pick Locks (39%) +10 [1d100] = 1