Ch. 4: Hell is for Heroes

[ravenn4544]

Damn. Maybe we should pull back and let him come to us?

[Scott308]

Risdac Egargi

Rool, step on my hands if you still want a lift. The giant forms a step with his hands, waiting for someone to step into it if anyone is interested in going up to fight the creature.

[Rex]

Xale

Xale moves in and attacks with his mighty hammer.
Melee Hammer, to hit [1d20+7] = 19+7 = 26 to damage [1d4+12] = 4+12 = 16 / [1d4+11] = 4+11 = 15
Melee Hammer, to hit [1d20+7] = 4+7 = 11 to damage [1d4+12] = 1+12 = 13 / [1d4+11] = 1+11 = 12

[Urson]

Tanner
Tanner lies very still, using every bit of Method Acting he knows to play dead ( )

[Norjax]

Rool Diov, Crime Boss

After witnessing Xale’s lifeless body discharged out of the hole at Risdac’s feet, Rool decides he won’t risk resurrection at this time. He removes the Ring of Invisibility and replaces it with his Ring of Protection.

“Risdac,” the Master Thief commands. “Lift me to the ceiling and I will try to find a hidden door or hatch into the room above.”

OOC: Rool searches for secret doors in the ceiling and upper edges of the walls to the ceiling. Searching for traps on any he finds.

[ravenn4544]

Malibran stays below with no way to get up to the room quickly. He holds off on his powerful prayers to raise the deceased until after the battle is over....

[Zhym]

Xale, newly refreshed after his brief trip into the afterlife, moves in to once again battle the supremely strong creature one-on one. He attacks with his mighty hammer with a smashing blow to the skull that, in ordinary circumstances, would be cause for notifying the recipient's next of kin. This scrawny thing just grins, exposing a mouth full of brown, grimy, pointy teeth, and pummels Xale with two crushing blows (-53 HP). As he climbs back up from the floor and waves his hammer in a feeble counterattack, Xale can't help but be reminded that those same fists killed him mere moments ago. They seem disconcertingly likely to do so again.

Meanwhile, in the room below, Tanner the method actor convincingly plays dead. Malibran waits for battle to be over—there will be choices to be made about who to raise from the dead, and the list of possible targets may not yet be finalized. Odilo and Arex, frozen in terror, do nothing. Risdac offers to toss someone through the hole in the ceiling to help Xale, but Rool holds on to some hope that he can still somehow sneak up on this enemy that has already killed three of his companions. He asks Risdac to lift him so that the he can search for a secret door.

I'll let Scott308 confirm whether Risdac agrees to Rool's request. If he does, I'll make it take effect this round, but given the circumstances—trying to look for secret doors while being held up by a misshapen giant while a battle is raging just overhead—I'm going to say that Rool won't be able to finish looking for secret doors until next round.

-----
Status: Tanner (H CG F19): DEAD (-12/107); Hallagad (H LG P15(Pelor)): DEAD (-15/93); Xale (D NG C14[9](Dalt)/F13): 22/75; Risdac (Giant NG MU17): 58/58; Odilo (1/2E NG MU17): 54/54; Malibran (H LG C20[13](Pholtus)): 77/90; Rool (H LN T20): 85/85; Arex (E NG F13/T16): 56/56
Effects: Invisible (Arex); Resist Fire (Malibran): 3.8 turns; Protection from Evil (Malibran, on Risdac): 3.6 turns
Light Sources: Continual light coin (Tanner); Continual light dagger (Odilo); Continual light mirror (Rool)

[Rex]

Xale

Vowing not to go down without a fight Xale attacks again.

Melee Hammer, to hit [1d20+7] = 11+7 = 18 to damage [1d4+12] = 3+12 = 15 / [1d4+11] = 3+11 = 14
Melee Hammer, to hit [1d20+7] = 14+7 = 21 to damage [1d4+12] = 4+12 = 16 / [1d4+11] = 3+11 = 14
Melee Hammer, to hit [1d20+7] = 20+7 = 27 to damage [1d4+12] = 2+12 = 14 / [1d4+11] = 4+11 = 15
Natural 20, Critical?

[Zhym]

Wrapping this up, since Xale is the only one who can have an effect on combat this round:

Xale strikes quickly before the scrany creature with more than giant strength can hit him again. A trio of blows to send the creature falling to the floor, its grin frozen into a grimace of rigot mortis, defeated at last! The battle, finally, is over.

Xale notices a small red gemstone roll to the floor out of the creature's hand. The stone glows with a dim light that fades as Xale watches, until the gem looks like a normal, if large (and slightly cracked), ruby. Searching the creature's body, Xale also finds a thin wand made of ash, a leather bag containing a map with a legend written in some unknown script, and a set of keys. The creature is wearing black plate mail that's covered in spikes and seems to be in amazingly good condition.

In the room below, Rool finds no sign of an entrance to the room above other than the big hole in the ceiling you already know about.

-----
Status: Tanner (H CG F19): DEAD (-12/107); Hallagad (H LG P15(Pelor)): DEAD (-15/93); Xale (D NG C14[9](Dalt)/F13): 22/75; Risdac (Giant NG MU17): 58/58; Odilo (1/2E NG MU17): 54/54; Malibran (H LG C20[13](Pholtus)): 77/90; Rool (H LN T20): 85/85; Arex (E NG F13/T16): 56/56
Effects: Invisible (Arex); Resist Fire (Malibran): 3.7 turns; Protection from Evil (Malibran, on Risdac): 3.5 turns
Light Sources: Continual light coin (Tanner); Continual light dagger (Odilo); Continual light mirror (Rool)

[Rex]

Xale

To the others, "I think I have defeated it."

Casts Cure Serious Wounds on himself.

Cure Serious Wounds [2d8+1] = 9+1 = 10

Scans everything with his Gem of Seeing.

[ravenn4544]

Malibran shakes his head in wonder, "Master Xale, Well done! A perilous foe indeed! Let it be certain that it - whatever foul minion of evil it was - is truly dead! Such a shadow of evil must not be free to return to sow future woe and pain!"

Malibran will take stock of the party - bodies sundered but souls intact - and lend what aid he can with the blessing of the holy of holies - mighty Pholtus.

Cast Raise Dead on Hallagad. "Rise Holy Crusader of the Powerful Pelor! May your soul return to impart justice once more!"

Cast Heal on Hallagad (full hit points minus [1d4] = 4)

Cast Cure Serious Wounds on Xale Cure Serious Wounds [2d8+1] = 10+1 = 11

He will then hover over the fallen warrior, Tanner. "I must rest to recover the gift of returning life to the stricken. We should consider that or take him with us as we venture forward... we will not leave him to a fate such as this.."

[Rex]

Xale

"Thank you Malibran."

Xale will make sure the thing is dead.

[Scott308]

Risdac Egargi

If Xale brings down any of the items the creature had on their body, Risdac will use his wand to cast Detect Magic on the lot. He then picks up Tanner, putting him over his shoulder like a sack of grain. I will carry him. We will not leave anyone behind in this foul place if it can possibly be helped.

[Zhym]

Xale heals himself and scans the room with his Gem of Seeing. He detects nothing invisible, astral, ethereal, illusionary, or hidden. He kicks the frail-looking thing a couple of times to make sure it's really dead. It doesn't move—except as you would expect a 90-lb lump of (let's call it) flesh to respond to being kicked. It's still hard to imagine that something so emaciated, elderly, and, well, wimpy-looking could have packed a powerful enough punch to kill three of you with its bare hands.

Malibran takes stock of the party. Tanner and Hallagad are both dead. Malibran decides that the group needs its paladin more urgently. "Rise Holy Crusader of the Powerful Pelor! May your soul return to impart justice once more!" he prays, and Hallagad returns once again to the land of the living! Well, metaphorically, anyway. Literally, he's still here. Malibran prays further for healing to Hallagad and Xale.

Risdac uses his wand to check for magic items. The gem, the wand, and the plate mail all radiate magic.

"I must rest to recover the gift of returning life to the stricken," says Malibran, hovering over Tanner. "We should consider that or take him with us as we venture forward... we will not leave him to a fate such as this." Risdac agrees, and hoists Tanner's corpse over his giant misshapen shoulder like a sack of grain, ready to take him...well, wherever you're headed next.

-----
Status: Tanner (H CG F19): DEAD (-12/107); Hallagad (H LG P15(Pelor)): 89/93; Xale (D NG C14[9](Dalt)/F13): 43/75; Risdac (Giant NG MU17): 58/58; Odilo (1/2E NG MU17): 54/54; Malibran (H LG C20[13](Pholtus)): 77/90; Rool (H LN T20): 85/85; Arex (E NG F13/T16): 56/56
Effects: Invisible (Arex); Resist Fire (Malibran): 2 turns; Protection from Evil (Malibran, on Risdac): 2 turns
Light Sources: Continual light coin (Tanner); Continual light dagger (Odilo); Continual light mirror (Rool)

[ravenn4544]

Malibran calls up through the opening, "Is there anything worth continuing on for up there, Master Xale?"

Malibran will then search this room while they wait as they were disrupted when they entered...

[Zhym]

Just to avoid spinning wheels on obvious actions:

The room you are in has two exits. You entered through a huge door to port. The aft side of the room opens at the far end into a small waterbound space. The charred and ashen remains of a small boat lie broken and useless next to the dock. Peering around and over the remains of the boat, you see a passage that must lead to the large room to aft. Searching the room turns up nothing but some broken glass and a rusty razor.

The room above is actually a hallway about 20' wide and maybe 70'-80' long. You can just make out openings into what appear to be two antechambers at either side of far end of the hall. Four doors line the walls along the hallway, two on either side. An iron ladder near the open grate can be lowered to allow people—well, things, anyway—to climb up into this space.

Thorough searching reveals no other exits in either of the rooms.

Map:

Screen Shot 2020-07-14 at 2.37.44 PM.png (352.94 KiB) Viewed 2212 times

You are in room 14. Room 15 is the one above you.

[Rex]

Xale

Could Risdac fit up into room 15?

[Zhym]

The celing is 15' high - just enough headroom for Risdac.

[Rex]

Xale

"We could check out the doors up here, there seems to be enough room for Risdac."

[Scott308]

Risdac Egargi

I can lift everyone else into the other room, then I should be able to pull myself up.