Quest #37 "Black Metal Examination"

[Jernau35]

Wes

Wes turns and runs into the trees. He uses his druidic skills to move as fast as he can to escape the dwarves.

[Karaunios]

Grimm

Grimm, seeing himself free and with the horn in his hands, makes all he can to run away into the jungle, unaware that he got a helping hand, or that that helping hand lies on the ground, still invisible.

[Darklin2]

Darklin

Rolls to the left towards the jungle, two complete rolls and jumps up to run.

[ChubbyPixie]

Sorry for the delay in the middle of the action, guys. My wife's dad died and I had to deal with funeral stuff Thursday and Friday.

Sleep spells are barely working - what are these guys, all 3rd level? Sheesh. Looks like Chauncey is basically screwed. This could be it for THE MOST POWERFUL WIZARD ON THE ISLAND.

Time for some desperate action.

Chauncey draws his wand in a desperate move and points it in the direction of the dwarf attacking from the east. With no time for witticisms, he simply yells, "ONE DRESS!" and hopes for the best...

If all goes well he will edge back 10 feet directly northwest immediately afterwards to attempt to avoid being surrounded.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sorry to hear about that, CP. Condolences to you and your family!

The Dwarven Camp
Sunday, 28th of Goodmonth
Early Morning, Warm, Humid, Very Buggy

Wes takes off into the jungle, eliciting a vicious spear attack from behind that nearly comes out his front. 10 dam When the oncoming dwarves see him running away, he gets several of them to follow him, easily outdistancing them in the thick bush.

Darklin and Grimm both get up and run for the jungle. Though they are still invisible, they can easily tell where each other is by the tromping of feet and the rustling of vegetation. And so can the pursuing dwarves. The pair unintentionally draw a few more of the dwarf masses into the bush, following them and screaming for their kin to do the same. There are about a dozen dwarves in the jungle now following either Wes or the invisible duo.

Chauncey can her a concerned screeching coming from somewhere overhead as he is attacked brutally by a pair of dwarves on him and several more rushing in. The mage is slashed twice by wicked axe blows, shredding his robes and flesh. 8 dam Knowing that this could likely be the end, he pulls out his wondrous wand and fires it at the closest dwarves.

This time, from the end of the wand shoots a thick stream of lava that splashes out over both of the dwarves in close quarters, dropping them burning and screaming to their knees. When the lava continues to spew from the wand, Chauncey uses it like a hose, squirting any dwarf who dares to come within 15 feet of him. This goes on for a full 60 seconds, with the mage flinging lava everywhere like some sort of crazed volcano mephit, leaving a patch of scorched destruction, and causing any more oncoming dwarves to stop their advance. Chauncey backs up about ten feet and wonders what to do for an encore.

Actions!

position map
please stand by

Greedy Grimm (F2/T3) AC:5 15/15 (Invisible)
Waesfaren Rhey (DR5) AC:7 33/43 1st:4/6 2nd:5/5 3rd:3/3 Ent:9/10
Chwee?
Chauncey (MU4) AC:8 18/26 CL, RM, DM 1st:1/3 2nd:1/2 Sleep:19/20
Darklin Sylvanas (F2/MU2) AC:4 15/15 CL, RM, DM 1st:2/2 (Invisible)

[Jernau35]

Sorry to hear about your father-in-law, CP. Sending thoughts and prayers for you and your family.

Wes

Wes keeps moving into the jungle. Though he knows he can easily lose his pursuers, he makes enough noise to draw them along, waiting for his moment to strike.

[Darklin2]

Darklin

Continues to run deeper into the jungle, following Grimm.

In Dwarven, Keep going straight ahead then move left at the next clear spot.

[Karaunios]

Grimm

"Alright. But they understand, you know?" Says he in elven, although maybe they don't hear with all the bustle.

My condolences, CP.

[Darklin2]

Darklin

In Elven, I know, I Know. That was a set up. Go right at the next clearing and I will put them asleep. We need to do this quick the Mages are in trouble. They were surrounded when I last looked. Be ready to fight if the spell doesn't work.


OOC- How many did we see following us?

CP Sorry about your Family. Prayers.

[OGRE MAGE]

OOC- How many did we see following us?

You see at least 4 dwarves still following the two of you.

[ChubbyPixie]

Chauncey thinks perhaps the fear of being burned alive in a lava fountain will keep the remaining dwarves at bay for a few moments. Hopefully at least long enough to cast his one remaining Invisibility upon himself before tip-toeing as stealthily as possible 10 feet further to his left.

He mentally requests that Mr. Wrenly follow and keep an eye on their friend, Wesley, from the treetops, as well as he is able.

[OGRE MAGE]

Stonegut Soiree
Sunday, 28th of Goodmonth
Early Morning, Warm, Humid, Very Buggy

Wes continues leading the 8 dwarves following him deeper into the jungle, making noise deliberately and preparing for something fun. The dwarves shout behind them for reinforcements but they are already a good distance away from their camp.

The invisible pair of Darklin and Grimm continue running through the jungle as well. They also talk and make a lot of noise, keeping the 6 dwarves following them right on their heels, despite the fact that they cant actually see them physically. This chase leads in a slightly different direction, veering away from the druid and his pursuers.

All alone now, Chauncey smiles at the carnage created with his strange wand, but he doesn't chance using it a second time. He gives Mr. Wrenly a mental command to follow the fleeing druid before thinking about what to do next. Taking advantage of the stunned dwarves watching their kin burn to death, the mage stays put and starts reciting another spell. Some of the dwarves dodge to the side in fear, while a few others with a bit more courage rush the chanting mage. Knowing he cant move much while casting, the mage turns invisible just as the dwarves jump him. (you can make a [4d6] Str check to escape their grasp, or do anything else you deem apropos) With so many dwarves running around the area, the mage is pretty much surrounded by this point, though not all of them are focused directly on him.

Actions!

position map

851ED90B-B9A5-4906-9AAA-B886538427C1.jpeg (32.61 KiB) Viewed 365 times

Greedy Grimm (F2/T3) AC:5 15/15 (Invisible)
Waesfaren Rhey (DR5) AC:7 33/43 1st:4/6 2nd:5/5 3rd:3/3 Ent:8/9
Chwee?
Chauncey (MU4) AC:8 18/26 CL, RM, DM 1st:1/3 2nd:0/2 (Invisible)
Darklin Sylvanas (F2/MU2) AC:4 15/15 CL, RM, DM 1st:2/2 (Invisible)

[Jernau35]

Wes

Wes looks behind him, judging the distance to his pursuers. They have to be close, for the spell to catch 'em, he thinks. But not close enough to catch you, Wes my lad!

About...now! Wes starts his prayer to summon The Shalm's power to Heat Metal upon the armor of the seven closest Stoneguts. He stands balanced upon the balls of his feet, ready to take off running as soon as the spell is cast.

[ChubbyPixie]

"Surprise, fools! I've been working out! Hahaa!!" shouts Chauncey as he struggles to free his arms...

Hard Dex Check (Dex: 10): [4d6]=17

His efforts are, however, inadequate.

A tropical bird somewhere in the distance makes a sad trombone sound.

Mr. Wrenly continues to do his best to keep track of Wesley from the canopy.

[OGRE MAGE]

Stonegut Savagery
Sunday, 28th of Goodmonth
Early Morning, Warm, Humid, Very Buggy

As Wes starts his spell, and Grimm and Darklin continue fleeing, Chauncey is pounced upon by the overwhelming number of dwarves nearby. He is tackled to the ground and stabbed once with a dagger, 3 dam but he isn't killed outright, despite the way he just immolated several of the Stoneguts.

One of the dwarves with the horns arrives and starts calling out orders in dwarven. "Grab his arms and tie them! And stick a gag in his mouth before he causes any more damage!" Unable to free himself, the invisible mage wrestles as best he can against his captors, but isn't able to get away from their superior numbers.


Suddenly all three of the party members fleeing through the jungle hear an amplified dwarven voice shouting in common. "WE HAVE YOUR FRIEND HERE! AND WE ARE GOING TO KILL HIM AS PAINFULLY AS POSSIBLE UNLESS THE HORN IS RETURNED TO US IMMEDIATEY!" Then you hear Chauncey cry out in pain as if he were just stabbed or hit.

Actions!

positions:
Chauncey (MU4) AC:8 15/26 CL, RM, DM 1st:1/3 2nd:0/2 (Invisible)

Greedy Grimm (F2/T3) AC:5 15/15 (Invisible)
Waesfaren Rhey (DR5) AC:7 33/43 1st:4/6 2nd:5/5 3rd:3/3 Ent:8/9
Chwee?
Darklin Sylvanas (F2/MU2) AC:4 15/15 CL, RM, DM 1st:2/2 (Invisible)

[Jernau35]

Wes

Wes continues to duck out of reach of the dwarves as he waits for his Heat Metal spell to take effect.

You know, we are at least getting better at something. When we did Even the Jungle Wanted Them Dead, it took almost 50 pages to get to a near TPK. By the time we did Raiders of The Lost Obilisk, we'd got it down to just over 20. Now we've reached disaster in less than 10!

[Darklin2]

Darklin

Will continue to follow Grimm, Running from the Dwarves.

They got someone, we need to finish these off and go help, we can bargain for them with the horn.

[Karaunios]

Grimm

"You don't know them. They're too many for us. They'll enslave us or gut us on the spot. There's no negotiating with those bastards. Come." He turns in the direction the shouts came from but won't go get there, stopping far enough to see while hiding.

Hopefully their pursuers will lose their track.

[Karaunios]

You know, we are at least getting better at something. When we did Even the Jungle Wanted Them Dead, it took almost 50 pages to get to a near TPK. By the time we did Raiders of The Lost Obilisk, we'd got it down to just over 20. Now we've reached disaster in less than 10!

Yeah. This is a total disaster. There's no way they're granting us any sort of a pardon even if we give the horn back. They'll enslave our characters in the best case scenario.

I'm starting to realize that it's just impossible with these guys. They're just too many and too aggressive. Whatever we try, they're gonna have it their way.

[ChubbyPixie]

Chauncey cries out in pain as he is stabbed, then goes limp as a wet noodle.

"All those push-ups for nothing!... Eh, look, gentlemen, I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement. No need to be rash," he says, "I doubt my associates can hear you. They're likely long gone by now. However, I understand your distress at the loss of the horn. Without it, you will perish. Trust me, there's not enough food here for all of you. If you kill me, you'll never see it again. But alive... and relatively unharmed... I could help you get it back. They need me whole and unspoiled, for only then can I cast my great magics - otherwise I am worthless to them and you've lost your bargaining power. Frankly, I don't think they care much for me otherwise."

He carefully avoids any aggressive action towards his captors in order to preserve his invisibility, hoping to use it to his advantage, should the opportunity present itself.

Mr. Wrenly continues to watch Wesley from the trees, but won't come down until the coast is clear.