IC III

[Bouv]

Tratiln, with sword and torch in hand will head towards the box intent on destroying it. He starts to slow down until he stops for a moment.

Tratiln, eyes blank and a sense of no-one home, defends against the new intruders and attacks his nearest companions!

[Finglas]

Bregalad the elf

Bregalad is hoping his Light spell will blind the creature, and somehow prevent or break the entrallment of his friends.

He will hold his action for the next round: fighting withdrawal from the caves if attacked (but not doing damage to his friends), or charging in to fight the creature if he is unmolested.

Not sure what Bregalad will do if he becomes enthralled, but I guess it will be decided for him.

[Makofan]

Jake is scared to go back in there. "Truly,I know not what compulsion I felt, I just turned and ran"

[Makofan]

Jake is going to head back in, trying to avoid zombified companions, and attack the cube with his sword

[sulldawga]

Marodin the Cleric will ignore his companions for now and focus his attack on the tendril creature.

"Semele, if our allies attack you, run!"

FYI: Marodin already owns a rowan shield.

[thirdkingdom]

Okay, I'm still missing actions from zebediah and Luis, but I'd rather go ahead and post the first round. As I noted earlier, I will be going out of town Saturday afternoon through Sunday.

Round One

The companions surge towards the Cube. Lanny feels his shield begin to grow warm, then vibrate rapidly. Within seconds his shield splits in twain, as the crafted rowan wood fulfills its purpose and absorbs whatever dark enchantment is targeted at him. He strides forward and sinks he blade deep into the thing's surface in a shower of sparks and smoke. In response, a gout of flame billows forth from the opening on the Cube's face, engulfing him briefly and singeing his skin.

Bregalad speaks arcane words and a ball of pure light materializes before the Cube's face, causing the blinking lights to dim in comparison. No sooner has he cast the spell than he instinctively ducks, avoiding a wicked strike aimed at his head by his comrade Meagnor! At the same instant Semele lifts her warhammer and Tratiln his sword, and they both attempt to injure poor Saul, who avoids both blows with surprise and aplomb.

Marodin, Grey Jake and Thordin all attempt to damage the slick surface of the Cube, to no avail, as they find it easily turns their strokes.

Lanny takes 2 hp damage from the fire.

[riftstone]

Thordin the dwarf will batter away at the cube, ignoring everything else.

+3 to hit with masterwork sword, still has Rowan shield.

[Finglas]

Bregalad the elf

Bregalad stays engaged with Meagnor, hoping to draw him away from the group's critical battle with the Cube. He will perform a Fighting Withdrawal, backing out of the caves, using his weapons to keep Meagnor at bay.

Bregalad will not strike Meagnor. Not sure if it is possible to parry his strikes; if it is, then he will do that! If Meagnor goes back to the cube, then he will try to cut him off.

[rremedio]

By the behavior of the elves who are pursuing Quinthos and by the order given to Meagnor's mind, I'm assuming Bregalad's plan will work and attract Meagnor. Correct me if I'm wrong, TK.

Meagnor the Elf keeps charging Bregalad without saying a word.

[Bouv]

Tratiln, with no mind to currently call his own, contines to swing his sword at his former comrade Saul so that he might be able to protect his new friend.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

As his fresh wounds are reopened by the sudden burst of flame, Lanny staggers away from the mouth of the cube, trying to move to the opposite side of the cube's face to avoid another burst of flame. Unaware of the attacks by his companions behind him, he attempts to bury his sword deep into the creature one more time.

Attack: 1d20+3 (base/strength/masterwork), Damage: 1d8+1 (strength). Lanny is basically trying to flank the creature, although I'm assuming he wouldn't get a flanking bonus since the creature has eyes all over. He is really just trying to avoid another burst of flame.

[Luis]

Saul will try to subdue the nearest affected companion.

"GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!"

[thirdkingdom]

Okay, I'm leaving town this afternoon and will be posting sporadically until Sunday evening. I cannot find it in any book, but I'm going to say those fighting defensively gain a -2 bonus to AC. I rolled on my phone.

Round Two through Four

Bregalad and Saul begin fighting defensively, attempting to draw the attacks of their companions away from those attacking the Cube. The esoteric metal composing the Cube's surface proves remarkably resistance to attacks. Grey Jake strikes a lucky blow, driving his blade into the thing's side; a plume of black smoke puffs out and a rattling, clunking sound can heard emitting from the interior. Another billow of flame belched forth, caching Thordin full in the face. Thordin swings blindly in response; the sword sinks up into the hilt in the Cube's face! A high-pitched whine fills the cavern, setting everyone's nerves on edge. Puffs of acrid black smoke pour from its interior, the lights blink more and more rapidly, and a final tongue of flame licks out, hitting no one.

Meagnor, Semele and Tratiln collapse.

Thordin takes 4 hp from the flame, failing his save. None of the controlled dudes hit the others, and they are no longer dominated.

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

The young mage was utterly confused with the situation, but at the view of his companions falling to the ground Drudsa snaps back into action and goes check Meagnor, Semele and Tratiln.

[sulldawga]

If it looks like the tendril creature is truly dead, Marodin the Cleric will immediately rush to Semele's side and make sure she's ok.

Assuming she is, he will then tend to Thordin and Lanny, offering First Aid to each.

[Bouv]

Tratiln slowly rises from the ground and starts blinking, the fog clearing from his mind. He looks around and is slightly confused as to what happened.

@tk, how much do we remember of our thralldom?

If Tratiln remembers stuff, he'll say, We better go check on Quinthos, hopefully the rest of the elves are free too

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny stares for a moment at the strange metallic contraption that the party has just defeated.

"Amazing... I wonder how long this thing has been buried here... More importantly, how did it even get here?"

Turning back to his companions, he is startled by the sight of three party members down. He rushes to their aid.

"What happened here? Is everyone alright?"

Seeing Tratiln slowly rise and shake off his grogginess, Lanny thinks of the other elves in pursuit of Quinthos.

"The fastest runner should go and check on Quinthos and the elves. The rest of us should search that thing and make sure it is really dead. There is a hatch on the face of the cube leading to its interior..."

Lanny does NOT volunteer to go in first. He accepts the first aid given by Marodin to treat his burns.

[thirdkingdom]

Those charmed have a perfect recollection of what happened.

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

Does Arcane Knowledge or Magical Engineering tell Drudsa anything about this thing/creature?

[thirdkingdom]

Rolled an 8. Drudsa understands it bears some semblance to the artifacts on display at the gnomish caravan.