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Cruloc

"Torix!" he calls down from the top of the tower to the climbing Pict. "Do not leave Amethu unguarded!"

"Verulian! The harpy mother may return! Plug your ears!"

Torix nods and begins rapidly descending the rope.

Yrkoon wrote: ↑Thu Nov 28, 2024 1:38 am The screeching claws at his senses, and his practised hands respond by thrusting the moss and wax mixture into his ears. He tosses the leftovers to the wide-eyed man. "You. Brood mother. Seal your ears if you value your mind!"

Watching the two men, Asterion does likewise, stuffing his ears with the moss/wax mixture, unsure how this is supposed to help the situation.
"Now what?" he asks...rather loudly, his hearing muffled.

"It stops the harpy song," Kiri says to Asterion while pointing to his own ears.

Ignoring the babies for a moment, he glances warily skyward as he makes his way to the trap door. Is it locked? He doubts it is trapped, as a harpy nest seems trap enough. At any rate, he doesn't know what to look for, anyway. He attempts to pull it open just enough to peek inside.

Amethu continues his guard duty but can’t help notice Torix rapidly descending the tower….

Torix thinks about the group divided into two and recalls a Pictish proverb: "The dog that chases two hares catches neither." He hopes the group will be reunited before long. He joins Amethu in guarding the base of the tower.

The Ancient Marble Tower, The Ruins of Thracia, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Twenty-two. Midday. 1st day of the month of Ublex, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia



Atop the marble tower, dazzling white in the midday sun, Asterion leaps up into a crouch, spear at the ready!

The stranger exchanges curt greetings with his rescuers, Cruloc and Kiri, and before long all three have deafened their ears against the coming storm.

Kiri sees the trap door has no visible padlock and, as he moves toward it, he glances watchfully skyward.

Suddenly, soundlessly, a pair of filthy, monstrous vulture women plunges down from the skies and lands on the roof between the nest of their abominable hatchlings and the three invaders!




Actions?!


Map:

Each PC marker on the map signifies an area of about 5' x 5'.



Seventy feet away, Torix rides the rope down to the ground where waits Amethu!

Suddenly, three unnatural things skulk into distant view from the ruins to the east!



The creatures are unlike anything they have ever seen before! Two have the heads of goats and one has the head of a ram!

Then a memory stirs within Amethu, of when he first came to the lost city:

Inferno wrote: ↑Fri Jul 16, 2021 9:47 pm
Learned Amethu carefully studies the ravaged murals that speak of an older world than recorded history knows.



The scholarly sorcerer-priest of Uthoth traces aloud a tragedy for the ages.

One fragment portrays a legendary war between Atlantis and Valusia, the prehuman civilization of serpent men out of Earth's distant past. Triumphant Atlantis built the colony of Thracia upon the ashes of the serpent man capital. A memory stirs within Grigor of the words of Andronicus of Aquilonia.

Another remnant depicts the gods cursing the hubris of the Thracians. Plagues of bestial monsters befall the city-state but are defeated and enslaved.

A passage reveals the fabled Library at Thracia lies in vaults beneath the temple, in whose ruin they now stand!

The final expanse is of a different style; cruder, more brutal. It shows the destruction of proud Atlantis, swallowed by the seas and the wrath of jealous gods. Inland, Thracia survived though tremors brought low her mighty towers. Atlantis no more, the spirit of Thracia was broken and they descended into nihilism, death worship and chaos.

These heinous animal men seem like the depictions of the bestial monsters that befell Thracia and were defeated and enslaved!

And they can see Amethu and Torix!


Actions?!


Area Map:

X = Adventurers' position. A = Cliff face trail where the Harpies attacked. B = Ruined temple lair of the giant Cyclops and the unleashed Hydra. C = The Tower of the Ancients. D = The Beast Men.

City Map:


Behind the DM Screen:


PC Status:
PC Magic:
Player Resources:

Asterion

Crouched for battle, the ranger does not know what to expect, but he sure as hell is not expecting the appearance of the two hideous figures. The smell of the creatures causes the bile to rise in his throat and he finds himself snarling in response. With a grunt of effort, Asterion hurls his spear at the creature on the left, and growls in frustration as its barbed tip misses by at least a foot!

Spear: [1d20+2]=4+2=6 [1d6+3]=1+3=4 [1d8+3]=4+3=7

Amethu stares at history come to life. Secrets buried in sculpture that now come to life. Secrets with blades ready to kill. He stands still and lets Torix deicde their next move.

He keeps a spell ready to capture them in magical bonds should the decision be to hold their ground.

Torix
Amethu, I think foolish we two fight three. We climb the rope quick and pull it up, eh? I go after you. He prepares to scale the wall again.

Cruloc

Cruloc's thews power him across the roof and hurl him at a harpy (H2). A blunt declaration of death, his graceless strike is devoid of subtlety but rife with intent to separate limb from body.

HRAAAHH!
+2 Sword of Xuthalhotep (+2 to hit, +1 Cimmerian w/sword, +1 STR adj, +2 charge) [1d20+6]=18+6=24
+2 Sword of Xuthalhotep vs S/M [1d8+5]=6+5=11 vs L [1d12+5]=3+5=8

The savage Northman imagines it is no chant of black sorcery that tears from the harpy’s throat, but a shrill lament of pain, jagged as broken glass. A smile crosses his lips, for he hears it not.

Amethu agrees and does his best to climb the rope using whatever hand and foot holds on the building he can find.

Shield up, Kiri springs forward with an overhand lunge of his magical trident, attempting to skewer the harpy as it reels from Cruloc's vicious attack:

Attack with Trident +1, Claw of Chobek (THAC0:17): To Hit: [1d20+4]=3+4=7 Damage vs. s/m: [1d6+8]=5+8=13, vs. Lg: [3d4+7]=10+7=17

...however, in his excitement, he miscalculates the trajectory of the beast woman.

The Ancient Marble Tower, The Ruins of Thracia, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Twenty-two. Midday. 1st day of the month of Ublex, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia





Shocked at what they see, Amethu and Torix quickly pull themselves up the rope to ascend the white tower, with Torix bringing up the rope behind him!

The unnatural beastmen lope forth, that their prey should not escape!

Then, impossibly, one goat headed creature speaks in Ancient Atlantean and Amethu understands its growlings! "That shouting you heard, it was these escaped slaves!"

Amethu and Torix quickly climb beyond the reach of their axes!

"They're getting away!" the goat thing barks.

The ram-headed monstrosity snarls, "No..."



"...There is no escape for them inside that tower. Those humans are as good as dead."

The beast men's voices fade and Amethu and Torix reach the midpoint of their climb. High above them, a ferocious battle erupts!

On the roof, the heinous brood mothers will fight to the death to defend their vile spawn!



The grotesque harridans weave a beautiful, beguiling melody that falls on deaf ears as the three warriors leap into battle!

Asterion's spear sails wide! Kiri's trident stabs only empty air! But Cruloc's mythic blade nearly kills a harpy in one stroke!



The winged carrion-hag of the ancient world is almost rent asunder! But whether by unnatural strength or the hateful desire for revenge, it yet lives; shrieking with silent malevolence!


Actions?!


Map:

Each PC marker on the map signifies an area of about 5' x 5'.

Behind the DM Screen:


PC Status:
PC Magic:
Player Resources:

Asterion

Seeing these hideous beasts can be hurt, Asterion draws steel and wades in, driving his blade home in the reeking flesh of one of the creatures.
Broad sword: [1d20]=17 [2d8+1]=5+1=6 Attack on H1

Damage correction:
Damage correction: [2d4+1]=4+1=5

Leaving the first harpy in the capable hands of the Cimmerian, Kiri instead hurls himself at the other. He feints and attempts to uppercut the thing with the butt end of his trident:

Attack with Trident +1, Claw of Chobek (THAC0:17): To Hit: [1d20+4]=8+4=12 Damage vs. s/m: [1d6+8]=2+8=10, vs. Lg: [3d4+7]=7+7=14

Cruloc

+2 Sword of Xuthalhotep (+2 to hit, +1 Cimmerian w/sword, +1 STR adj) [1d20+4]=3+4=7

Having maladroitly cut the air beside the howling bitch-bird, the incensed Cimmerian gives tongue to a lurid curse sufficient to curl the toes of Set himself! By the providence of crude plugs of pine wax and moss, his companions are spared a verbal inferno to sear their souls!

Amethu continues to climb with a warning to share about the tower with his comrades above.