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The Keeper's fumbled attack gives Vorsyin a slight window in which to act freely. He downs the potion of hill giant control and then focuses all his will and mental discipline on to seizing control of the Keeper.

The battle continues, as the party takes the slight initiative in pressing the attack.

Hollis sends a hornfoot savage off to his final resting place as his heavy mace crushes in its face. The three remaining savages that surround the cleric strike, seemingly simultaneously. The cleric proves that he is an able defender, deflecting away all three strikes with mace and shield. Indeed, one of the priest's parries is so forceful that it snaps the tip off of a bone harpoon! One savage is left weaponless!!!

Weapon of inferior material breaks on natural 1

Having positioned himself wisely against the giant-sized benches against the north wall, Gaerys answers the spearpoint that he had taken last round with a sharp slice downward. It cuts the beastman open from throat to groin. Intestines pour out as the cannibal crumples to the ground. Gaerys's other foe collects herself from the trauma of a missing limb just long enough to smash the ranger in the head with a stone club. The ranger sees stars as he feels his head start to swell. A tooth or two rolls free as the ranger's mouth fills with the mineral warmth of blood.

GAERYS TAKES 20 DAMAGE!!! Natural 20 and max damage rolled! Ouch!!!

With a lightning quick pair of strokes, Ethan dispatches the severely wounded giant before him and a smaller, female, hornfoot. The knight then springs backward toward the foot of the stairs and notices, even with a quick glance, that it leads up and out of the dungeon. The door at the top of the stairs his broken and the room above is strewn with burnt timbers and crushed wood.

Blacktyde then looks at the secret door and sees that there is an opportunity to spike it shut, though doing so would take him out of combat for a minute or so. It is also unclear whether a spike would stand up to the strength of whatever may come through the door, if anything. The knight's decision must be made that much more urgently as the one set of heavy footsteps behind the secret door grows ever louder...

Spiking door is possible but will take one round to do a "good job". Whatever is coming will get a chance to force it open too.

Antheris feeds his loyal companion the potion of extra healing, and then takes up position behind Blue. Blue is resurgent with life. The chamber seems to shake with the bear's roar.

Antheris commands his new thrall to force its way through the hornfoot line to make way for the remainder of the party's escape. The ape jumps on the back of the first hornfoot in range - a female fighter with grey dreadlocks and a black handprint on her face. The ape wraps its arms around her body, then plunges its teeth deep into her throat. She drops dead, left a gruesome shell of a once-fierce warrior.

The remainder of the hornfeet converge on the ape, preparing to strike at it next round.

***************************

Vorsyin downs the potion of hill giant control and then focuses all his will and mental discipline on to seizing control of the Keeper. The horrid giant freezes in his tracks. Its eyes go blank for a moment... Then, the grizzled giant comes to its senses and prepares to strike again at the mage.

High roll on the save. Ouch!

Kjelti, wisely distrustful of the fancy magicks employed by the party, swings heavily and carves deep into the keeper's flesh. The keeper screams with agony but is not deterred from its attack on the party's spell caster.

******************************

Two giants, the like of which the party has never seen before, emerge from the dark of the southern hallway. Their hair is the red and orange colour of flames, and their skin is soot black. Their teeth are flame orange, and their eyes red. They are dressed in jet-black half-plate armour of the finest make. They drag behind them a huge iron sled filled with a pile of "boulders" made from red-hot slag. They each grab a boulder off of the sled and hurl it into the fray.

The first is flung at Hollis, the closest target. It misses terribly, hitting a hornfoot and crushing it to death!

Natural 1! (and big damage roll!)

The second rock is flung at Ethan. The slag moves too fast and too hard for even the experienced warrior to avoid it. It slams into his body, burning him with heat as it crushes his ribs.

Natural 20!!! ETHAN TAKES 24 damage!!!!

*****************************************

A voice cries out from the prison door: "HELP US! WE ARE MEN OF THE WATCH!!!"

*****************************************

And so it was that a battered party weighed the dilemma of an easy (?) escape against aiding their trapped companions and freeing innocent (?) prisoners. Would the party divide, perhaps forever? Would they leave innocents to die? Or did they have another trick yet up their sleeve...or simply the sheer will (and luck) to prevail?


[H: -24
V: -28
G: -41 [!!]
E: -50 [!!]
B: - 21
K: -14
A: -9]

[And, yes Eula, you interpreted the above correctly. Please note as well that players are encouraged to double check the calculations of their sleepless, multi-tasking, math-challenged DM!]

"OW!" cries Gaerys. "Nasty buggers are getting way too many lucky hits!"

He'll make a parrying retreat (-3 to AC if the sword's bonus applies as part of his to-hit bonus for parrying purposes) back up the stairs, hopefully out of missile range of the fire giants, then down his potion of extra healing.

Potion of extra healing: [3d8+3] = 6+3 = 9

Hollis will make a fighting retreat toward the stairs.

Kjelti (42/56)
Trusting her bloodlust, Kjelti will lay into the keeper's back...
Kjelti THACO 14 (+2 Claymore, spec) atk [1d20+5] = 20+5 = 25 dmg SM [2d4+6] = 5+6 = 11 / L [2d8+6] = 9+6 = 15 NAT 20!!
And spend her second attack either on the keeper, or the nearest obstacle to stairs...Kjelti THACO 14 (+2 Claymore, spec) atk [1d20+5] = 19+5 = 24 dmg SM [2d4+6] = 6+6 = 12 / L [2d8+6] = 11+6 = 17 nearly as good
"Vorsyin, come on! let's go!"

Vorsyin feels the mind of the Keeper as he seeks to dominate him but just as he begins to take control the Keeper shakes off his attempt. Facing imminent death causes a feeling of calmness to come over Vorsyin. His years of training take over as he casts Wall of Fire to create a circle surrounding Kjelti and himself.

He may die but he will take as many of his enemies as he can with him before he goes.

Antheris (AC 6, 32/41) and Blue (AC 2, 27/48)

Antheris shouts "TO ME, THE STAIRS!!!"

From the cover of the stairway Antheris casts Obscurement to create a wall of enchanted mist extending 60 feet from the south edge of the stairway directly across the room toward the hall where Kjelti and Vorsyin are in, at 15 feet high and 10 feet wide.

Blue steps back into the stairs at the corner by the secret door, ready to attack anything that might emerge.

Blue (polar bear) paw, paw, bite (THAC0 11): [1d20] = 13, [1d20] = 12, [1d20] = 14 hits AC -2, -1, -3

Blue (polar bear) damage: [1d10] = 6, [1d10] = 3, [2d6] = 10 | hug: [3d6] = 5

Ethan Blacktyde (21/71)

Hoping the obscurment will protect him long enough to do some good, Ethan will attempt to spike the door to delay the approach of whatever is coming at them from that direction. He'll delay his going up the stairs to give everyone else a chance to go up, but if they've made it to the stairs, he will follow them up, helping to guard the rear.

The party, battered and bloodied, and perhaps missing a kiss or two from Lady Fate, determine that discretion is the better part of valour. As they plan a strategic retreat, their foes make the first move.

Monsters win initiative by a seg.

The Keeper raises his gleaming axe and brings it down heavily upon Vorsiyn. The force of the blow shatters the mage's collarbone as the blade cuts deeply into the top of his shoulder. Suffice it to say, the heavy blow spoils any efforts to cast. The mage is left clinging to life...

[Vorsyin – 16 damage]

Kjelti, not one to be underestimated, springs to the aid of her fellow. She plunges her blade through the keeper’s back with all her might. Her claymore runs straight through the wretched giant's heart. He falls to ground as a virtual ocean of blood pours from his obese form. THE KEEPER IS DEAD!

Avenging their companion, four of the hornfeet converge on the white ape. It is beaten and carved to pieces. Kjelti avenges their short-time companion by neatly cleaving the head off of one such hornfoot.

Monsters rolled 14 or higher in each case, including another natural 20

The fire giants, for their part, continue their barrage of red-hot slag. They select their targets with a deliberate cruelty.

The first boulder is flung at the battered and bloody Gaerys. The semi-molten slag twists in the air, changing in form and, as a result, its flight path is altered. It suddenly falls a few feet short of its intended target -- right onto the wildling attacking Gaerys!!! The savage is crushed beneath the boulder, leaving the ranger clear to drink a healing potion and make his way to the stairs!

Natural 1! HP recovered.

The other boulder is thrown at Hollis, the closest target. It skips off the ground and smashes into his thigh. The cleric otherwise fends off a stone club as he makes his way to the stairway as well.

Hollis – 12 damage

The hornfoot in the center of the room holds its action, waiting for an order from its leader.

Blue bounds forward towards the secret door. The bear meets the door just as it starts to swing open. Blue's bulk and fearsome assault cause the door to slam back onto whatever was opening it. Ethan follows Blue's efforts with frenzied - but successful - effort to spike it shut.

Antheris completes his prayers, causing a thick wall of fog to roll across the southern end of the chamber. The druid has done very well to remove the fire giants from the fight---at least for now.

And so it seems that the party has just one hurdle to cross to make their escape from the dungeon...how high that hurdle will prove to be remains to be seen...

...but there is the matter of those prisoners...

No map. Most of the party can simply leave up the stairs, while Kjelti and Vorsyin need to bash through 3 hornfeet (including their leader), and then avoid the one HF in the middle of the room. Good time for a spell or rule of cool-type action. Or, if they feel lucky, simply run across the room, which will work [only] if they win initiative.

[H: -36 [!!]
V: -44 [!!!]
G: -33 [!!]
E: -50 [!!]
B: -21
K: -14
A: -9]

Gaerys climbs the stairs, cautiously but with all due haste. When he nears the top, he will pause to try to peek over the top of the stairs or around the door (depending on whether the staircase rises through the floor or opens through a door) to assess whether any hostiles remain above ground and where the nearest exit from the keep would be.

In case anything hostile is at the top of the stairs:

Giantbane (vs. giant type): [1d20+3] = 11+3 = 14 Damage: [1d12+10] = 11+10 = 21 (make that 32 damage if the hostile is a giant.)

Hollis the Cleric (14/50)

Seeing how badly injured Vorsyin is, Hollis will step toward the nearest Hornfoot blocking the mage's path to the stairs and attempt to kill it.

Mace +2 vs Hornfoot: [1d20+2] = 1+2 = 3; damage [1d6+3] = 5+3 = 8

Or not...

Vorsyin's vision is fading as he barely clings to life. He casts Wall of Fire once again trying to create a barrier to keep away the remaining enemies. Once the barrier is up Vorsyin will quickly drink the potion of healing before it is too late.

He will cast a circle around both himself and K

Antheris and Blue

Antheris eyes follow past the wall of mist as he conjures it, lighting on the wooden door keeping the prisoners.
He shouts, "If we leave them here they will surely die!"
He steps forward and Northwest as necessary to get an unobscured view of the door, as he fishes out more mistletoe which he hurls toward the door, "Nothing of the forest will hold you for a beast's repast!"

Casting Warp Wood, 80 foot range, 4 segments, 5th level druid can destroy a normal door, Antheris is 8th.

Blue snarls at the now shut door, but sensing the friendly mist his druid brought up for him, he moves to the South, his polar white vanishing in the obscuring mist.
Blue will attack any enemy foolish enough to step into the mist, where they hopefully won't even be able to see Blue, other than his paws and teeth when they tear into them. Blue (polar bear) paw, paw, bite (THAC0 11): [1d20] = 10, [1d20] = 17, [1d20] = 18 hits AC 1, -6, -7
Blue (polar bear) damage: [1d10] = 3, [1d10] = 2, [2d6] = 10 | hug: [3d6] = 13

Ethan Blacktyde

Seeing that his fellows won't get up the stairs this round, Ethan will attempt to further block the secret door. Can he pull either the table or one of the giant benches in front of it?

He will bellow "Let's go! Let's go!" as he does this.

Kjelti (42/56)

"Can you follow me, Vorsy?" she asks over her shoulder as she faces down the hornfeet, again flourishing her blood-dripping claymore.

If the mage answers ready, she will cut them a path to the stairs; if not, she will build a wall of hornfeet to hide behind.
Kjelti THACO 14 (+2 Claymore, spec) atk [1d20+5] = 17+5 = 22 dmg SM [2d4+6] = 6+6 = 12 / L [2d8+6] = 4+6 = 10 Kjelti THACO 14 (+2 Claymore, spec) atk [1d20+5] = 18+5 = 23 dmg SM [2d4+6] = 7+6 = 13 / L [2d8+6] = 10+6 = 16

The battle takes on a different complexion as the party tries to reunite and escape the dungeon - with as many prisoners as possible in tow and their foes mount a token effort to prevent their escape. Each side acts simultaneously according to their plan.

The three remaining hornfeet, including their leader, fall upon Kjelti just as she tries to lead Vorsyin out of the dungeon. The blows of all three land heavily on the shield maiden. Two of the blows, however painful, sing with a pain that is familiar to the warrior. The leader's axe, however, burns her flesh with the breath of winter. She feels her flesh freeze at the point of impact, which adds to the damage done.

Kjelti - 17 damage

For her part, Kjelti lands two severe wounds on one of the hornfeet. The savage collapses from blood loss. Only the leader and one more stand in her path. Just then, Vorsyin's wall of flame bursts dramatically into effect, surrounding the fighter and mage with a ring of scorching flame. The parties' foes are caught in the inferno. One dies screaming, while the leader is badly scarred by the flame. He turns to flee.

As they prepare to walk across the room, Vorsyin and Kjelti looks down at the Keeper's body and notice the Keeper's gleaming axe and belt bag.

Grabbing this stuff will take two segments next round

Hollis charges the hornfoot in the center of the room, who blocks the shortest distance route to the stairs. The cleric misses badly and stumbles. The savage attempts to take advantage with a pair of strikes with a stone club. But the blows fail to penetrate the tough armor of the cleric.

Extra attack awarded on Hollis's natural one; both attacks miss

The two hornfeet in the south of the room, who were previously engaged with Hollis a couple rounds ago, don't like their chances with their leader hurt and fire giants temporarily out of the picture. They disappear into the fog.

Speaking of disappearing into the fog, Antheris inexplicably orders Blue to wade into the obscurement. The sounds of growling and gnashing can be heard, but it is unclear whether this is a threat or actual combat.

In the meantime, Antheris's spell takes effect, causing the wooden door to buckle, bend, and snap off of its hinges. Two prisoners instantly sprint across the room and join the party. One is tall and thin with jet-black hair, wearing tattered black rags that appear to have once been the garb of a man of Watch*. The other is bald and fat. He is dressed only in a crude burlap sack, cut to serve as a coverall. Horrid scars and burns cover his body. The thin man, clearly the more lucid of the two, leads the fat man, who seems nearly catatonic, across the room. They pass Hollis and reach the stairwell!

Ethan does well to pound another stake under secret door (after seeing the benches were too large for him to move). Nonetheless, it would be just as easy to get through the wall as the secret door at this point.

Screams continue from inside the prison room... Most notably, Vorsyin hears the cries of "help, help" in his native tongue.

*Gaerys can't see him, so no recognition possible

Gaerys makes it up the stairs, pushing burnt timbers and collapsed debris out of the way. He reaches the top of the stairs. The ranger need not rely on his special training to determine that he is back in the upper level of the Steading. It will take a moment or two for the ranger to get his further bearings. The surrounding area, however, does not seem to be ground the party has tread before. And, just as the party's previous scouting efforts showed, the upper level appears to be deserted.

No map this round...crazy kids and positions should be clear...There is only one viable foe in the room - the one fighting Hollis. It is really up to the party whether to push their luck with prisoners or further searches or simply escape.

Vorsyin's first action is to drink the healing potion he is carrying, he is too fragile to do much else until he can recover some health.

The call for help in Valeryian tugs at his heart. The prisoners or the stairs? he asks aloud.

Kjelti (25/56)

"My hands are full!" Kjelti shouts. (She hasn't had a chance to see the fire giants, by the way.) "Let me know when you're moving, and I'll move with you."

Just in case:

Hollis will regain his footing and run up the stairs before the Wall of Fire cuts off his retreat.

Gaerys looks back down the stairs to see if the rest of the party is following or dawdling. If he can see the two freed prisoners, he'll shout to them, "Who else is in the prison?"

Remaining actions (combat, etc.) withheld until the rest of the party gets something resembling a strategy.