Chapter 16: Beneath the Starless Sky

[Inferno]

Harbor's Edge, The Underground City, Beneath the Great Pyramid of Xuthalhotep
Lost City of Khemsa, Forgotten Kingdom of Verulia, Great Eastern Desert, the World of Hyboria
Day Ten. Morning?, 23rd day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia






Hiding behind a crumbling wall of lost antiquity, Zahra's pale eyes peer out. The amazon spies cover closer to the ship that ferries lost souls through the underworld to the Island of Death.

She asks Tjoruy of the black lake. Trembling, the underdweller replies, "I know not. None do that live!"

Cruloc the barbarian is repulsed by the perverted, bestial sentries. Garrin of Argos suspects a trap.

The adventurers quietly creep forward and take shelter behind one of several low forlorn buildings that huddle at harbor's edge.

Xorzen scales its decaying stone wall and crouches atop its rotting timber roof. From that vantage, the masked monk can see a light on the dark ship, emanating from below decks. And beyond her furled sails, he sees an ancient stone wharf that juts out past the vessel of the damned.

At Mako's suggestion, Amethu prepares a spell to silence the nigh-human monstrosities that stand guard in an unsettling approximation of Men.

Loche the Pict readies his sling. "Juist say th' word."


Actions?


Map:

One square = 10 feet.


Map Detail:



Underground City Map:

'S' marks the dark ship.





PC Status:

• Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 3/2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 11/14, Spells: 7/7 1st lvl, 3/3 2nd lvl
  Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 3: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 42/45
  Garrin: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 3: Move: 12", AC: 3(1), HP: 26/26, Laying Hands: 1/1
  Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 3/2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 19/19, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl
  Loche: Pict Savage Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 25/25
  Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 7(5), HP: 12/12, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl
  Tjoruy: Verulian Osoran Cleric 4: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 19/31, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl
  Xorzen: Verulian Osoran Monk 3: Move: 17", AC: 6(4), HP: 16/16
  Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 4: Move: 12", AC: 3, HP: 26/29

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Garrin): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Garrin.
  Healing Mists of Osorus (Garrin, Kiri, Loche, Mako and Xorzen have breathed of the mists): All lost HP recovered with 8 hours of sleep. Wakeful rest, or sleeping less than 8 hours, enables recovery of 1 HP per hour. Duration: "months."
  Invisibility (Mako): Target: self

Player Resources:

• The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
  Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
  Hieroglyphs (the story so far, in images)
  An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[Urson]

Zahra
Zahra scowls, seeing that she has no ranged weapons that will reach the guards. She scans the wall, looking for a quiet way inside the building. IF she finds one, she'll enter, moving to the NE corner.

[Scott308]

Loche

Loche waits, sling ready.

[OGRE MAGE]

Xorxen stays low and doesn't move across the dilapidated rooftop.

Spotting another unguarded option for water travel, the masked monk tries to get a better look at the smaller craft in the southwest portion of the harbor.

[ChubbyPixie]

Hey, I'm back. Btw, Kiri should have Unseen Servant going from a few posts ago. Grandfather is basically a traveling companion now.

Kiri nods at Loche with his sling and readies his short bow. An arrow silently glides from the quiver at his hip and hovers quickly to his hand, ready to be nocked. "Thank you Grandfather," he says. "You're a big help."

[ravenn4544]

Amethu casts his spell when folks are ready to attack...

[DadsAngry]

Mako:

Mako waits with the group with ranged weapons.

[SocraticLawyer]

Garrin quickly and quietly goes over the plan.

Cruloc, you and Zahra approach them from the west.
Xorzen and I will rush them from the south. The rest fire missiles from up here, before joining us below.

If everyone agrees, Garrin prepares to charge from the south.

Apologies if I didnt get that right, but I think that was the basics of the plan from the OOC thread. Please correct me if not!

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

Deep, even breaths in preparation. Soft whispers relaying final plans before battle. Sibilant swishes of swords and daggers leaving scabbards.

The beastmen are unable to discern any of these clues foretelling their imminent and violent deaths as they are enveloped in a sphere of silence woven into existence by the weirdling Verulian, Amethu. For them, it is the ineludible quiet before the storm.

With the uncanny speed of a snow leopard, the bronzed god out of the mystery-shrouded north launches a terrifying, hard-charging, homicidal assault. Eyes ablaze, mouth open in a soundless shout of fury, a gleaming yard of Cimmerian steel held high, he covers the distance to the twisted half-men as quickly as would a flaming spear fired from the infernal crossbow of Set!

[Urson]

Zahra
When Zahra sees Cruloc begin his charge, she throws her black javelin at the beastman on the left (closest to her). As soon as it leaves her hand, she'll be out through the window and charging.
att [1d20+4] = 5+4 = 9

[Scott308]

Loche

Once he sees the ambush begin, Loche steps out from cover and fires his sling at one of the beastmen.

Sling of Sutehk (20): [1d20+3] = 11+3 = 14 Bullet Damage S/M: [1d4+3] = 4+3 = 7; Dam L: [1d6+3] = 2+3 = 5

[ChubbyPixie]

Seeing the charge begun, Kiri will fire his last two magical arrows of Chisis at the unsuspecting beast men. The second flowing into his hand even as the first leaves the bowstring:

Attack with Short Bow (THAC0:19): To Hit: [1d20] = 11 +2 = 13 Damage vs. s/m: [1d6] = 2 +2 = 4, vs. Lg: [1d6] = 2 whoops, rolled my normal arrows macro, so added the +2s...

Attack with Short Bow and +2 Arrows (THAC0:19): To Hit: [1d20+2] = 11+2 = 13 Damage vs. s/m: [1d6+2] = 6+2 = 8, vs. Lg: [1d6+2] = 2+2 = 4

[Inferno]

The Underground City, Beneath the Great Pyramid of Xuthalhotep
Lost City of Khemsa, Forgotten Kingdom of Verulia, Great Eastern Desert, the World of Hyboria
Day Ten. Morning?, 23rd day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia






Tjoruy the underdweller is queasy with terror at their proximity to the Dark Ship and the complete extinction it represents. The ramshackle priests imparts the blessings of Osorus that the coming slaughter should go in their favor. (Casts Bless) Then he retches, emptying the contents of his stomach through the holes in his mask.

Xorzen doesn't test the integrity of the rotting roof. From this distance, he can't see the derelict rowboat well. The far edge of the roofline obscures too much of it. But to judge from other flotsam dinghies washed up in the harbor, they might need more than one for their number.

Amethu the sorcerer-priest of Uthoth casts mysterious magicks that cloak the unwitting beastmen of Zargoth in a shroud of otherworldly silence to smother their cries of alarm. With the utterance of his final arcane syllable, the adventurers' ambush is sprung!

Suddenly, an arrow blossoms from a beastman's left eye!



Late of Kiri's bow, the steel arrowhead blasts out the back of the low, sloping skull in a gruesome spray of blood and brains. Deprived of earthly sound, the butchery is eerie and surreal.

A second arrow blooms from the other beastman's chest! He survives the impalement and then Loche's slingstone caves in his simian face! Zahra's black javelin whistles past, where his shattered head had just been.

Before both dead beastmen crash to the dock without a sound, Cruloc, Garrin and Zahra are standing over them, steel bared.


Actions?!


Map Detail:

One square = 10 feet.


Map:



Non-required Reading (rolls and rulings):

Beastmen are Surprised.

PC Status:

• Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 3/2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 11/14, Spells: 7/7 1st lvl, 2/3 2nd lvl
  Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 3: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 42/45
  Garrin: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 3: Move: 12", AC: 3(1), HP: 26/26, Laying Hands: 1/1
  Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 3/2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 19/19, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl
  Loche: Pict Savage Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 25/25
  Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 7(5), HP: 12/12, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl
  Tjoruy: Verulian Osoran Cleric 4: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 19/31, Spells: 4/5 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl
  Xorzen: Verulian Osoran Monk 3: Move: 17", AC: 6(4), HP: 16/16
  Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 4: Move: 12", AC: 3, HP: 26/29

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Garrin): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Garrin.
  Healing Mists of Osorus (Garrin, Kiri, Loche, Mako and Xorzen have breathed of the mists): All lost HP recovered with 8 hours of sleep. Wakeful rest, or sleeping less than 8 hours, enables recovery of 1 HP per hour. Duration: "months."
  Invisibility (Mako): Target: self
  Unseen Servant (Kiri): Duration: 39 rounds
  Bless (Tjoruy): Target: the adventurers. Duration: 5 rounds.
  Silence, 15' Radius (Amethu): Duration: 5 rounds.

Player Resources:

• The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
  Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
  Hieroglyphs (the story so far, in images)
  An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[ravenn4544]

Amethu pleased at the spells success suggests that they make a quick plan on advancing to the ship. His spell was cast on one of the creatures - perhaps they could carry it and mask the sounds of thier advance with the movement of the sphere of silence.

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

Scant moments before sinking his blade deep between dark-boned ribs, the two wretches are neatly robbed of life by the unerring missiles of Kiri and Loche, and Cruloc is robbed of a kill.

He wheels instinctively to face the direction from which they came - eyes burning cinders of unquenchable savagery, face twisted into a horrifying apparition of unbridled rage, upper body splattered with dripping brain matter. He is ready to slay all who would challenge him.

"_____________________!" His bloodlust denied, he is boiling, and his angry gesticulations - evocative of eyes being stabbed, throats sliced open, and merciless disembowelments - are fearful to witness. "______, ____! ____________________!!"

The irate barbarian lowers his sword and points an accusing finger at the ones who had taken the beastmen down before him.

"____________________ !"

[ChubbyPixie]

Kiri turns to Loche. "Cruloc seems angry," he says, quietly, before hustling up to join the group and see if one or both of his arrows might be recovered.

Recover Arrow?: arrow 1[1d100] = 29, arrow 2 [1d100] = 46

He pulls them out with a silent ke-chunk.

[Urson]

Zahra
Zahra slashes the beastmen't throats, just to be sure. Then she crouches, watching the ship for any motion.

[Scott308]

Loche

Mibbie we shuid juist let him rammy everything if he's aff tae be mad at us whin we murdurr something. The Pict begins hurrying toward the ship.

[SocraticLawyer]

Keeping his sword drawn, Garrin does a brief search of the bodies of the slain beastmen. He then motions for the others to follow him to the boat.

[OGRE MAGE]

Xorxen scurries back down to the ground, more of a controlled fall, really. He sprints up to the others amassing at the foot of the dock.

From there he attempts a better look at the abandoned dingy under the docks behind the larger ship.