Expedition - Varas/The Dragon's Hoard - May 20, 1 VC

[Keehnelf]

Odium throws the door open suddenly, revealing a grisly sight. The goblinoids from the previous room, bloody and feral, are clustered in the hallway outside the doorway. One of them, one of the gnolls, had been scratching on the door and turns its sightless eyes toward the party. The writhing mass of centipedes continues to devour the creature's innards, visible through a huge hole in the creature's stomach, several dangling precariously as they scramble to continue their feast while the creature moves. Varas' arrow is true: it strikes the gnoll-corpse in the head, the fletching only barely protruding from one eye-socket as the creature utters a high pitched, gurgling cry and the group turns to rush into the room. Deliah drops her torch and the oil lying across the doorway flares to life, creating a fiery barrier between the undead and the party!

Combatants:

Gnoul 1: 3 HP
Gnoul 2: uninjured
Undead Orc: uninjured

Actions and initiative!

[AleBelly]

Varas vomits some of the dried meat he had for lunch as he sees grubs crawling around in the innards of the undead. Visibly annoyed, he wipes his mouth with the back of his sleeve and draws his bow, firing at the undead across the flames. "Dammit. We have to kill these ones twice!" If he has an open shot, he fires an arrow.

Attack with long bow under 70' (THAC0 19) [1d20+2] = 20+2 = 22, damage [1d8] = 8

Well how about that?.

[Scott308]

I think that roll means Varas' arrow caught fire as it flew through the flame barrier, doing additional fire damage to the undead he hits!

[Marullus]

Deliah frowns scanning the undead to see which one has her previous throwing knife embedded in it, then tries to hit it another time.

[1d20+1] = 11+1 = 12 [1d4] = 2

[Keehnelf]

Enemy Initiative [1d6] = 3

No party initiative roll so...

Initiative [1d6] = 3

Odium quails and rushes to the back of the room to stay out of reach of the monstrous undead, as the group begins to stir to life and rushes forward! The first leaps through the flames, but the force of the heat is too much for it on top of its prior injury and it bursts into flames, collapsing at Frent's feet.

Fire damage [1d6] = 5

The second it close behind, moving forward to engage Frent. It manages to squeeze into the room to assault the warrior, though not far enough to avoid catching on fire from the rushing flames. The undead orc raises its mouth in the air in a frenzy, panting soundlessly as it waits to feast on the flesh of the living.

Fire damage [1d6] = 2

Deliah's knife goes wide of the mark, striking Frent in the shoulder. He cries out and stumbles, while Varas' arrow streaks forward and lodges in the undead gnoll's skull, knocking it back into the flames. Frent follows up with a powerful stroke of his sword, cleaving the gnoll corpse in half once more and leaving just the orc on the far side of the flames. Alfric holds his position, spear forward, but neither advances nor attacks.

Frent [1d20] = 20, damage [1d8] = 8

Undead Orc: uninjured, in the hall
Frent: 2hp

Actions and initiative!

[AleBelly]

Does this mean the centipedes have burned too?

Varas draws his bow again, firing at the undead orc in the hallway.

Attack with long bow under 70' (THAC0 19) [1d20+2] = 15+2 = 17, damage [1d8] = 3

Someone please roll initiative

[Keehnelf]

Yes, the centipedes are dead along with the ghoul.

[Marullus]

Initiative [1d6] = 3
Deliah throwing knives/darts [1d20] = 5 [1d4] = 3

Another slim knife emerges from between the ribs of Deliah's corset, winging at the last undead through the wall of flames.

[AleBelly]

Rerolled initiative since the previous one was 3 or less

Initiative [1d6] = 6

[Starbeard]

Odium continues to point and shout unhelpful directions from the back of the room, cursing the undead and their odours. He brandishes his rusty sword in his hand, hoping the action doesn't enter further into the room.

Just in case:
Shortsword (ThAC0 19): [1d20-1] = 15-1 = 14, damage [1d6] = 1

[Keehnelf]

Enemy Initiative [1d6] = 2

Varas' arrow flies through the flames and strikes the orc in the stomach with a heavy thud, drawing its attention toward him. Deliah's knife flies right over the creature's head and disappears into the hall before the thing jumps through the flames, attempting to bat Frent aside as it rushes toward the lanky thief. It ducks with uncanny agility under Frent's blade and gets caught up on the tip of Alfric's spear, jarring it off-center as flames lick at it. The full fury of its assault is turned on the shifty-eyed warrior. He is able to raise his shield just in time before the creature's claws can begin rending his flesh. Thick spittle flies from the creature's maw as it tries to clamber over the top of the obstacle on to the shrieking Alfric, whose eyes suddenly go as wide as saucers to match his mouth, though despite his terror he holds his ground.

Fire damage [1d6] = 4
Frent [1d20] = 5, damage [1d8] = 2
Alfric [1d20] = 16, [1d6] = 1 damage
Ghorc [1d20] = 2, [1d20] = 10, [1d20] = 2

Combatants:
Gnorc: 3hp, standing in the fire in the doorway
Frent: 2hp

Actions and initiative!

[Marullus]

Somewhere between a battle cry and a yeaugh of horror, Deliah exclaims and then hits the thing with her stick.

Hermes squawks at the undead as well; undead are a new horror to them both.

Deliah staff [1d20] = 19 [1d6] = 4
Initiative: [1d6+1] = 5+1 = 6

[AleBelly]

Varas advances on the remaining undead, slashing with his sword.

Long sword attack (THAC0 19) [1d20] = 5, damage [1d8] = 3

[Starbeard]

Odium calls out, "Careful now! That fire won't distinguish friend from foe."

He takes advantage of the undead orc's attention toward Alfric to help outnumber it from the side.

Shortsword (ThAC0 19): [1d20-1] = 19-1 = 18, damage [1d6] = 4

[Keehnelf]

May 26, 1 VC - 5:10pm

Enemy Initiative [1d6] = 3

The party closes in on the undead orc, surrounding it from three sides and bringing it to ground easily as it flounders atop Alfric's shield. The mercenary allows the shield to slip free of his arm, landing with a loud clank against the stone floor and retreating to one corner to rest his head against the wall. Eventually, the flames in the doorway fade as do those in the hallway outside, allowing the chamber to slip slowly into darkness. (someone will need a light source if you want to continue to operate effectively or navigate)

[AleBelly]

As the flames die down, Varas will take a torch, light it from the dying flames, and throw it down the hallway about 40' to see what lies beyond.

He's throwing it past the flames that previously blocked his path.

[Marullus]

Deliah re-lights her lantern and signals to Hermes, sending the bird to snatch up the errant throwing blades. She checks over the undead (with her staff, not her fingers) for any signs to indicate the nature of their reanimation.

[Starbeard]

Odium peers down the hall lit by the torch, his sleep scroll at the ready.

[Keehnelf]

May 26, 1 VC - 5:10pm

The party cautiously exits the chamber with a lit torch, beginning once more to explore their surroundings. The fire in the door and in the hall has died down, leaving blackened streaks along the stone wall, floor and ceiling in a number of places and leaving the air heavy with the aromatic smoke.

Through the gloom, the party sees that the hallways stretches approximately forty feet from the east end, by which they entered, to the west end, that seems to terminate in a set of stairs leading downward. Their current entrance is on the north wall, fifteen feet from the east end, and the only other unexplored doorway is another similar metal door set into the south wall approximately thirty feet from the east end.

The party hears the distant sound of movement, probably echoing from beyond the stairs.

[Marullus]

Were all her knives recoverable?

Deliah whispers to Varas, "We should, perhaps, leave one here at this lever as we pursue the other other lever. It avails us nothing to achieve the other summit if we've lost this one and must pull them at the same time."

She considers the room they left. "Our goal is to pass the gate, yes? If there are more battles below, perhaps we could more efficiently take the objective. Negotiating with the goblins opposite was to no avail, but perhaps a distraction below could summon them that way, if you can see a way to climb across..." She furrows her brow, her strategizing coming up short.