Chapter 18 - Further Below Strod

[tkrexx]

Hyde sees Dandelion and Angus fire arrows at the Wizard, his own bow left some 20' behind him. He decides a diversion is required, as opposed to retrieving his bow. He pulls his own scarred walking stick and charges at an arc to be out of his tribe's line of fire, roaring, and hurls his club at one of the enemy Wizards. He'll draw his sword after and continue his charge, in efforts to force their foe to deal with him individually.

Init: [1d6+1] = 1+1 = 2

To hit: [1d20+1] = 18+1 = 19

Distance penalties not factored in.

Dmg: [1d4+5] = 2+5 = 7

If I recall right, STR bonus does not apply to hurled weapons, so damage here would be 2.

Crit: [1d100] = 75

[AleBelly]

Angus and Dandelion draw their bows and step into the doorway. They see the quadruple wizard concentrate, about to begin a chant. Angus takes aim at the rightmost wizard, Dandelion at the leftmost. The arrows whistle through the air. Angus' arrow reaches first, striking the wizard - and it disappears!

Angus hit wizard on 1 [1d4] = 3

Dandelion's arrow, however, hits the mage.

"Owwww. Shit!" he complains.

And then he yells again in pain. Galan materializes behind him, having delivered a slash to the wizard's actual leg -3 hp!. "Damn it!" mouth the two images silently.

The indomitable Kablamicus has miraculously held on to his rotting egg. He stands and throws it towards the three wizards while calling "in nasum sulphuris!"

The cloud erupts, engulfing the three mages - and poor Galan!

Wizard saving throw [1d20] = 16

Galan saving throw [1d20] = 2

Galan vomits immediately and falls to the ground, coughing.

Galan out for [1d4+1] = 4+1 = 5 rounds

The wizard curses again and moves forward and to the left, making his way out of the cloud. His eyes water as he coughs.

As he moves, Hyde dashes into the room. He hurls his club at his foe. It sails through another image, cracking against the wall behind!

Hyde hit wizard on 1 [1d3] = 2

The archers release another pair of arrows. Angus' misses while Dandelion's blinks out another image, leaving the wizard alone. Despite the abuse he's taken, the wizard's health remains robust.

As the party takes notice of the room, they notice a 10' square pit in the middle of the room, filled with water and criss-crossed by wooden planks. There are two 8-9' tall statues in the northeast and southwest corners of the room - one stone and one iron. There is also messy bedding in the northwest corner, likely where the ogres slept.

He will be coughing and stunned next round.

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Date: 31 Culling, Year 44
Time: 10:35
Conditions: 44F, damp
Known Spells in Effect: Yenny invisible, stinking cloud through 10:38
Light bearers: Yenny's bracelet, Angus' bullseye lantern through 11:45
Injuries: Angus lightly wounded, Kablamicus heavily wounded, Galan having a horrible time through 10:39
Enemy status: Ogres dead, wizard lightly wounded

[Zhym]

"Gangway!" cries Angus, rushing past Kablamicus. He draws Leddlir once more, giving the sword a chance to redeem itself, and prepares to start a'wailin' on the wizard.

Leddilir (THAC0 17): [1d20] = 11 [1d8+2] = 4+2 = 6/[1d12+2] = 12+2 = 14 (SM/L), Crit: [1d100] = 63
Initiative: [1d6] = 1

Key word being "prepares."

[tkrexx]

Hyde alters his charge only slightly to avoid the center pit, and hurtles toward the Wizard, screaming his tone-deaf song of battle.

Init: [1d6+1] = 1+1 = 2

To hit: [1d20+3] = 11+3 = 14

Dmg: [1d8+6] = 2+6 = 8

Crit: [1d100] = 73

[onlyme]

Dandelion switches over to her trident and likewise rushes the wizard, a bit hastily.
: Trident (17) [1d20+5] = 4+5 = 9; dam S-M [1d6+6] = 3+6 = 9; crit [1d100] = 61; init [1d6] = 4



And a second time if this is a 2fer round.
: Trident (17) [1d20+5] = 7+5 = 12; dam S-M [1d6+6] = 4+6 = 10; crit [1d100] = 44; init [1d6] = 5

[AleBelly]

Here's the map with the correct AOE:

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[Bluehorse]

Kablamicus

Hyde! Bullrush that man and knock him into the cloud! It is our only sure way he will not cast any more spells is if he is gagging!

He then falls back to make way for the other fighters Inside the door and one to the left, putting an open square inside the door for Dandy and Angus to get in. If they falter their attacks, K will cast his last Magic Missile, but will otherwise hold onto it.

[AleBelly]

Angus, Hyde, and Dandelion all advance on the hapless wizard.



A bracer on his arm knocks away Dandelion's trident, but her second stab is true! Angus and Hyde add slashes with their swords. Blood pours from the wizard, staining his sweater. *cough* "All right, stop! What the hell do you want here, man?" he asks the party. He's now heavily wounded. Close up, the party sees he has a gold ring on his finger.

Kablamicus stands ready with a spell, but he doesn't need it...yet.

Galan continues to barf and choke inside the greenish haze.

Actions?

Date: 31 Culling, Year 44
Time: 10:36
Conditions: 44F, damp
Known Spells in Effect: Yenny invisible, stinking cloud through 10:38
Light bearers: Yenny's bracelet, Angus' bullseye lantern through 11:45
Injuries: Angus lightly wounded, Kablamicus heavily wounded, Galan having a horrible time through 10:39
Enemy status: Ogres dead, wizard heavily wounded

[Zhym]

For reasons he doesn't understand, Angus finds himself looking for a rug to piss on.

Instead, he ties the wizard's hands so he can't cast (most) spells.

"What in the name of Tiamat's tits is going on here, dude?" he asks.

If the wizard dude resists in any way, or makes like he's about to cast a spell, Angus doesn't hesitate to keep fighting.

Leddilir (THAC0 17): [1d20] = 8 [1d8+2] = 1+2 = 3/[1d12+2] = 5+2 = 7 (SM/L), Crit: [1d100] = 60

For whatever good that would do...

[onlyme]

Dandelion will stand behind him, trident ready to skewer. If no one else does first, she will slide the ring off his finger as his hands are tied. She will not put it on, but let it fall to the floor.

[tkrexx]

Hyde sees the wisdom in Kablamicus' idea, getting twice your money's worth from 1 spell. He grabs the Wizard's hand and rips the gold ring from his finger, then, grinning, plants his foot against his belly and shoves him roughly back into the fog of foulness. He be done, yeahh, we can kill him any time we want. The short Half-Orc speaks louder, so the purple Mage can hear over his own hacking, Unless he behaves himself! We ought tie him up, so's he don't be blastin' us, or makin' them statues come alive, or somethin'. I think maybe he knows stuff, maybe can help us clear this place out.

His smile vanishing, Hyde calls out to Galan. You OK in there, little Buddy? We got a ring maybe you ought take a look at, you be better at gaugin' the value of such things. I mean, when you be ready.

EDIT: Wow, you guys are fast! Or I'm slow... 2 posts in before I finished 1! I'll let the Boss figure this one out.

[Zhym]

"Now Hyde, how's the dude going to spill his guts for us if he's busy trying to puke out his guts?" asks Angus, amused.

[AleBelly]

Who acts first? 1 Angus 2 Dandelion 3 Hyde [1d3] = 1

Angus moves quickly to bind the wizard's hands, asking him what the hell is going on. Hyde and Dandelion rush to pull the ring off his finger. "Ow, man!" he cries in reply.

Hyde asks Galan how he's doing, but the gnome retches in reply, slowly crawling his way out of the green hazy cloud.

The wizard, sitting on the ground with his hands now bound, is angry. "You guys come in here, kill my guards, I defend myself, and you ask me what's going on. Like, what's your f*cking problem? You're messing up all my work!" He looks around, and the party sees him counting their number. "Where are the other two? Are they invisible too?"

[Zhym]

"Cut the Mr. Innocent routine, dude," drawls Angus. "It ain't playing. You're hanging out down here with a bunch of orcs and a couple of ogres for playmates. You threatened us more than once. Me, if I was in your robes, I'd be thanking whatever god I liked to pray to that I wasn't hanging on a skewer by now. Now, y'all gonna tell us what the hell you're doing, or does Hyde get to have some fun with you?"

No rug to tie the room together? I am sorely disappointed.

[AleBelly]

No rug to tie the room together? I am sorely disappointed.

I decided not to lay it on too thickly, but I did consider it!

[tkrexx]

As the Wizard complains about his current situation, Hyde searches the man's robes, pockets, pouches, hat, etc. He then posts himself as door guard, still distracted by the iron and stone statues.

[AleBelly]

"Cut the Mr. Innocent routine, dude," drawls Angus. "It ain't playing. You're hanging out down here with a bunch of orcs and a couple of ogres for playmates. You threatened us more than once. Me, if I was in your robes, I'd be thanking whatever god I liked to pray to that I wasn't hanging on a skewer by now. Now, y'all gonna tell us what the hell you're doing, or does Hyde get to have some fun with you?"

No rug to tie the room together? I am sorely disappointed.

"There is no WE!" replies the wizard angrily. "You think I LIKE being down here with these half-wits, man? That I like their company? No, I stay holed up in here, doing what I have to do, until I'm released." He reads their faces.

"Man, do you think those greenskinned imbeciles could have held Strod for these many years? No. There's this real powerful dude, Trona, who is propping everything up. He's subjugating lands to the south and west, man. And the areas he can't get to yet he's destabilizing. Doin' a good job, too. These orcs are just a tool for him. They're too stupid to take the town back themselves, so I'm, like, the coordinator. I finish this, I get to go back to my tower, man."

He looks towards Kablamicus. "You look like a fellow practitioner of the art. You can inform your brethren here what's going on, right?"

He looks down at the ring on the ground. "That is a fine piece of jewelry, man. One of you should wear it - you might like what it does for you."

He submits fully to Hyde's search. The strapping half-orc finds little of value. Rather, the pouches on his belt contain odd materials - a smelly yellow powder, white sticky material, nut shells, some seeds, an apple, and a couple of cone-shaped crystals.

"My name is Renald, man. I wrote you a love note upstairs that I think you found. So, like, who are you? And where are the other two? Short folk, I think, right?"

[Zhym]

"That'd be the note what said you'd make a totally great plan to kill us all?" asks Angus, ignoring the question about the "other two."

"Sounds to me like you already know more about us than we know about you. So what's this big to-do Trona's got you working on? Hard to feature anyone'd be able to keep you trapped, powerful wizard like you. Unless..." Angus has a thought. He takes another look into the corners. An iron statute and a stone statue. He'd worried that they were golems, but from what he'd heard, golems took some mighty powerful magic to make work. Probably more than this dude has. But maybe not more than Trona has.

"Who are your friends in the corners?" he asks.

[onlyme]

Dandelion looks around for any ambushing statues.

[tkrexx]

The shaggy Half-Orc slips outside the room and retrieves his bow. Trona! Hyde's head snaps to from his position by the door, That Trona again! Them cannibal types we run across at that tower, hah? With them bat-bugs... They all said somethin' about this Trona, rememba? That be your tower, then, hah? Guarded by bat-bugs and cannibals? He closes the door just enough to leave a crack to peer thru, and returns his gaze to the Wizard. Don't get all friendly with Kablammo, no, afta you zapped him a minute ago. Thought ya put him down, hah? But he put the stink on ya, yeahh. An' why ya givin' that there ring away so eager-like, hah? Seems ya want one of us to put that on... It be a trap of some sort, I bet. Galan, don't let 'im have none of them trinkets we found in his pockets, no, I think maybe he uses them to make his magics. I seen Kablammo do that enough, I know what they be for.