Chapter 10: Secret of the Sleestaks

[Rex]

Draupadi

Chuckling, "Perhaps that is how our new friend there ended up in there in the first place. Patience is a virtue. Although I am not a fan of our current arrangements they have not broken their word to us yet. We must be vigilant of course and prepared for the worst, but I feel it is not yet time to act."

[SilverBen]

@Rex and @Urson
Finver genuflects to the cleric, "I apologize for my rash words, Lady Draupadi, you are both wise and correct." He rises and looks past Ambrose to the motionless shape against the cell wall with a reamining gaze of suspicion. "FIne, then Maskelyn, no need to risk damaging your family heirloom."

[ChubbyPixie]

Fiefo drools in his sleep.

[ravenn4544]

Ko-Nan leaves the lock for now. He can open it if he really needs to he thinks. He watches quietly through the bars into the cavern for movement.

[Inferno]

City of the Sleestaks, Deep Beneath the Barren Wasteland
The Island of Xygax the Wizard, Land of One Thousand Towers
Day Ten. Night? April 5th, 912 CY








Ko-Nan's smoldering eyes watch for movement in the great cavern beyond the eastern portcullis and find none. Even the ornate Sleestak guards outside the ancient gate (S19, S20) stand in a quiescent torpor of slumber.

Maskleyn won't lend Finver his staff to pry open the immense padlock on the eastern gate. Eyes closed, Draupadi counsels the dwarf on the virtues of patience.

Ambrose the ape listens crestfallen as all talk of a jailbreak peters out and more of the adventurers succumb to sleep. "Uh... I... uh... perhaps..."

Then, spurs jingling, Yul walks to the bars that segregate the adventurers from the intelligent chimpanzee.



The cyborg sheriff grips them in his bare hands and with a mighty effort, bends them apart in a moan of iron, rendering a gap large enough for a man to pass through, or an ape. (rusted bars gave +10% to bend them!)

"Thank you, kind sir!" Ambrose gushes in anxious relief, addressing his human-like savior directly. Then he moves with uncertainty for a moment. "Um, do you want me to join you or are you coming in here?"


Actions?


Map Detail:

One square = 10 feet. PCs are purple. Sleestaks are green. Altrusians are orange. Ambrose is brown.





PC Status:

Connak: Cat-Man Fighter/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/19
Draupadi: Human Cleric 4: Move: 9", AC: 2, HP: 34/34, Spells: 4/5 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl
Fiefo LeBratt: Rat-Man Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 26/26
Finver Karstlander: Dwarven Fighter 3: Move 6", AC: 2(1), HP: 31/31
Ko-Nan: Human Barbarian 3: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 32/39
Maskelyn: Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 14/14, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Mungo: Mole-Man Cleric 4: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 34/34, Spells: 1/5 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, Lantern on ground
Sheriff Yul: Robot Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 31/38

PC Magic:

None currently.

Player Resources:

End of the World (game description)
Strange New World (maps and realms)
Memory Tapes (the story so far)
Viewscreen (the story so far in images)

[Bluetongue]

Sheriff Yul

Surprised but pleased that he weakened the bars enough. "Well, not sure trading places is right. But at least the clerical among us could get a closer inspection of you cellmate."

Maybe we could use the straw from the beds to create a dummy Ambrose, stick it in his bunk and under a blanket hoping the jailer doesn't realise til much later when he notices the food plates are left uneaten?

[Rex]

Draupadi

Draupadi will slide between the bars and check out the mutated creature. "Whats done is done. Maybe when we are done in here you should try and bend the bars back so they don't notice."

[Urson]

Maskelyn
Nice work, Baldy! He ducks through the gap, poking around in Ambrose's cell for anything of interest. IF there is an active attempt to build an Ambrose-dummy, he'll pitch in, praying for aid from The Bugs as he does.

[ChubbyPixie]

Fiefo dreams of an amazing jail-break scenario.

[ravenn4544]

Ko-nans thoughts of sleep evaporate as the noise from the other gate makes it way to him. Something is happening, finally, and he resumes his vigilant watch of the cavern ready to alert the others if something is amiss.

[SilverBen]

Finver hurries back to Ko-Nan's position at the bars at the visitor's quarters and begins casually singing in a low voice,

For all day we drag our burden tiring, through the coal-dark underground,
For, all day, we drive the wheels of iron, In the forges, round and round.
In... the... forges, round and round.

He keeps watch and repeats this song intending to mask any noises behind him. He'll alert the party of any Sleestak movement.

[Inferno]

City of the Sleestaks, Deep Beneath the Barren Wasteland
The Island of Xygax the Wizard, Land of One Thousand Towers
Day Ten. Night? April 5th, 912 CY








Unexpectedly, Yul bends the bars apart with his bare hands. Then everything happens at once.

Finver joins Ko-Nan at the eastern portcullis to stand watch and provide covering noise.

Draupadi, Maskelyn and Mungo enter the prison cell as Ambrose flees it, searching for a way to freedom.

By Mungo's lantern, Maskelyn finds only the woven mats of the prisoners, and more bars with a door set into them. Beyond them is a hallway and a door, just as Ambrose described.

Meanwhile, Draupadi examines the malformed Altrusian-abomination. (S21)




The priestess discovers the hulking, misshapen creature is covered in large warts and, instead of Altrusian hands...





...it has the pincer-claws of a Sleestak!




Then suddenly, the distended atrocity lunges up, roaring! It swings wildly at Draupadi, hammering stone shards from the nearby dungeon wall with its monstrous, murderous strength!


Actions?!


Map Detail:

One square = 10 feet. PCs are purple. Sleestaks are green. Altrusians are orange. Ambrose is brown.

Behind the DM Screen:

S21 attacks Draupadi: [1d20]=1 Miss! No critical hits or fumbles in this game.

PC Status:

Connak: Cat-Man Fighter/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/19
Draupadi: Human Cleric 4: Move: 9", AC: 2, HP: 34/34, Spells: 4/5 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl
Fiefo LeBratt: Rat-Man Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 26/26
Finver Karstlander: Dwarven Fighter 3: Move 6", AC: 2(1), HP: 31/31
Ko-Nan: Human Barbarian 3: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 32/39
Maskelyn: Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 14/14, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Mungo: Mole-Man Cleric 4: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 34/34, Spells: 1/5 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, Lantern
Sheriff Yul: Robot Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 31/38

PC Magic:

None currently.

Player Resources:

End of the World (game description)
Strange New World (maps and realms)
Memory Tapes (the story so far)
Viewscreen (the story so far in images)

[SilverBen]

Finver startles from the sudden ferocity of the creature's attack! He bolts from the eastern portculis aside Ko-Nan moving as fast as possible north to Area 34 towards the commotion at the breach. He'll attempt to pull anyone out of the prison cell within reach. If that tactic is not feasible, he'll draw a dagger in each hand from the scabbards at his hips and enter the cell to confront the rampaging Sleestak. "Maskelyn, flee while you can!! I'll distract it!" he calls to the gnome

Questions:

1. If Finver has two dagger attacks per round, are those two attacks limited to hurled weapons or do they also extend to wielding two daggers in melee?
2. Is initiative required to determine sequence of actions yet?
3. Does the Sleestak look too large to fit through the breach in the bars?
4. Is there sufficient sand or gravel on the floor to blind the creature if thrown towards the eyes?
   

[Rex]

Draupadi

Draupadi tries to stay out of its reach and casts Silence 15' radius so that the guards hopefully don't wake up.

[SilverBen]

@Rex, nice move, much more effective than a crooning dwarf!

Draupadi

Draupadi tries to stay out of its reach and casts Silence 15' radius so that the guards hopefully don't wake up.

[ravenn4544]

Ko-Nan backs up enough to get a look at the northern gate while keeping an eye on the one to the east. If things start to get crazy he'll move up, otherwise he'll keep back as there isn't enough room to swing his axe at the moment...

[SilverBen]

Finver hurries into the prison cell deliberately tapping the rusty bars with his dagger as he enters adding "Knock, Knock sleepyhead! Should have stayed in bed if ya were gonna wake up this grouchy!" in an attempt to draw the monstrous creature's attention away from the gnome and human. He sidesteps the breach in the bars to clear their path for their escape and lunges in with swipes at the Sleestak with his daggers.

To hit Sleestak with right hand dagger: [1d20+1]=9+1=10, damage: [1d3+1]=3+1=4
To hit Sleestak with left hand dagger: [1d20+1]=13+1=14, damage: [1d3+1]=3+1=4

finver attacks.jpg (68.34 KiB) Viewed 412 times

[Bluetongue]

Sheriff Yul

Thinks he has suddenly gone deaf and taps his hearing phonics. "What did she say? I can't hear her." he says. It seems to have gone awful quiet in the cell and then will the dagger attacks, it looks to be going worse.

"Come back out and we can close these bars." he advises but draws s bead in the Sleestak with his hand held crossbow.

[redwarrior]

Alerted by all the running about, Connak climbs to his feet and looks around, drawing his sabre as he tries to figure out what happened while he slept.

[Urson]

Maskelyn
Easy there, Baggy-eyes! We were just leavin'! This may or may not be lost in the Silence spell. Maskelyn backs away, hurrying but not willing to turn his back on the thing.