Home for Monsters (Part 2)

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When last we left our intrepid adventurers...

Or rather behind you are several humans tied up and unconscious, before you the inside of a tower spiraling downwards. The bodies of the knolls you killed lay on the path downward; so that you must step over them to continue on your way. As you make your way beyond them you find yourselves in darkness as the torches cease to line the walls. The path continues for a long enough distance that you begin to think longingly of heading back to the top once again - and precisely at the moment that you are ready to give up... you find a door.

Olav fishes a small gem out of his pack. It is on fire. He tosses it into the air and it begins to circle his head, lighting the darkness... including the door, which he stares at skeptically. "Anybody wanna do anything clever," he asks as he approaches it, "or should I just open it?"

Walery has an ioun torch, and it leaves strange shadows as it orbits his head. He doesn't seem to notice, or at least he seems used to it. Eying Olav, he says, "Great minds think alike." As far as clever things, he says, "Clever sounds like a good plan." But he, himself has nothing clever, so he looks to the others.

Niara winces a bit as the light starts up. She looks at the others. "Can you hear anything through it?" she asks. She has been hanging towards the back now. To protect the rear.

GAME: Olav rolls perception: (11)+7: 18
GAME: Niara rolls perception: (19)+12: 31
GAME: Walery rolls perception: (5)+9: 14

You hear the sound of a whimper followed by the distinctive click of a latch being thrown into place and the pitter-patter of feet running away.

Olav nods agreeably and listens at the door, then shrugs and opens it.

The door is locked.

Olav hrmfs. "Either of you good with locks?"

Walery pulls pulls out his death ray. "Good how, exactly?"

Niara shakes her head, "no but maybe one of the folks had a key?"

Olav shrugs. "Good at opening locked doors." He backs away to let Walery do whatever he's gonna do with that thing. Then he nods to Niara... that's a good idea. "I'll go check," he offers, foolishly splitting the party as he runs back up the slope.

Walery will head back with Olav to rummage through the gnolls' pockets. Hopefully Niara will join us?

Niara follows.

Olav searches the tied-up humans as well as the gnolls, looking for keys as well as, well, non-keys.

It's as long a trip back upwards as it was down. Long enough to wonder if breaking down the door (or shooting it open) might have been the better option or not. However you make it back to the gnolls and perform an exhaustive search of their pockets and pouches. You find several knick-knacks on the knolls (bird feathers, bits of bone and the like). The humans have nothing on them at all, though one of them does stirr a bit at your prodding none of them actually wakes up. Otherwise... you find nothing. Leaving you with no choice but to head all the way back down again. At this point you're quite tired of the vista of stone walls which you have found yourselves trapped within.

Olav shrugs and pockets a pretty bird feather with only a little bit of gnoll blood on it. "Oh well... worth a shot." He heads back down, intending to try and kick the door open if nobody has a better idea.

Walery wonders, "Now do we break the door down?" He nods to Olav, "Kick away."

GAME: Olav rolls strength: (16)+3: 19

Olav's boot goes through the door, the force of the kick shattering the lock and sending the door flying open... with Olav's boot still caught in it. On the other side of the doorway are several orges looking on as one of them takes his turn beating some poor goblin bloody. It seems you've walked in on something.

Walery quickly calls out, "Better Homes and Dungeons. But if you're busy we can come back later...."

"Oh. One of those quaint torture chamberss. Extra bonuss pointss for using Ogress.", the white-scale sith comments.

Olav glares at the ogres, his one bare foot uncomfortable against the dungeon floor, but not his primary concern. "Why are you beating that goblin?"

Walery shushes Olav. "They can beat goblins if they want. It's a free country."

Niara slips her scimitar out and is eyeing the scene before them. She is considering the options.

"Not a free country for goblins, I guess," Olav grumbles.

"Better wot?" Asks one of the ogres.

Meanwhile the one holding the goblin blinks. "He say someone at door, but no one there." He seems surprised by your presence. The goblin capitalizes on this.

"See! I told you someone was there!" He struggles to get out of the ogre's grasp and succeeds mostly because the orge is focused on you now.

GAME: Hetzakoatl rolls diplomacy: (6)+4: 10
GAME: Heinrich rolls Diplomacy: (13)+2: 15

Hetzakoatl clears her throat. "Better Homess and Dungeonss. We're doing our annual special edition on best dungeonss, winnerss get a fantastic writeup and fabulouss prizess. The gobbos at the front said it wasss okay for us to look around." She gestures to the group, and then the dungeon. "Do you work here full time?"

Heinrich awakens from his absent-minded following and says, "We were sent for. Them gnolls up yonder told us that your torture machines needed repairs."

Olav looks back and forth between his fellow party members uncertainty, then shrugs. "What they said."

The ogre's look confused by Hetzakoatl's statements. Perhaps it's just too many big words all put together. But they get the gist of it once Heinrich slows it down a bit. You were sent. The ogre's grin and nod. "Right. Go on then." The biggest one points to the door and leers at you. He seems pleased.

"Perhaps the Gobbo can show us the way?", the Sith-makar wonders. "It would help thingss along.

Heinrich walks over to the rack, as if he's going to test the tension on the roller with his off hand. With the pointer finger of his off hand he beckons an ogre over as if to have him examine the rack more closely as well, but when he gets next to Sir Heinrich, the knight slaps the ogre across the face and declares boldly, "Sir, 'tis dishonorable to pit your superior might against that scrawny gobber. I challenge you to defend your honor!" He then prepares to attack with his falchion.

GAME: Niara rolls intimidate: (12)+11: 23
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+3: (18)+3: 21

Niara takes stock of what happened and steps clear of the others. She starts to whip her scimitar crackling with electricity about her in a dazzling display

Walery activates his titan armor.
GAME: Walery activates his Titan Armor, gaining: +4 Dex
GAME: Walery rolls 1d20+10: (15)+10: 25
GAME: Walery rolls 3d6+5: (8)+5: 13

Walery decides it's all hitting the fan now, and he'd best get a shot in before we get mobbed. He shoulders his death ray and fires off a quick shot that leaves a scorch mark on one ogre.

GAME: Olav RAGES!, gaining +2 to melee attack/damage/Will saves and 4 temporary HP
GAME: Olav rolls 1d20+2+3+2+1+1-1: (1)+2+3+2+1+1+-1: 9 (EPIC FAIL)
GAME: Olav rolls 1d20+2: (8)+2: 10

Olav was going to let Heinrich do something civilized, but as things heat up his barbarian blood has gotten the better of him! He roars and swings his greataxe, coming nowhere near anything, and suddenly spirit wisps appear all around him, slamming harmlessly into the same ogre.

GAME: Hetzakoatl casts Burning Hands. Caster Level: 3 DC: 15
GAME: Hetzakoatl rolls 3d4: (6): 6
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20: (8): 8
GAME: Heinrich rolls Falchion+Challenge+Flank: aliased to Weapon1+Cavalier+2: (15)+8+1+2: 26
GAME: Heinrich rolls FalchionDmg: aliased to 2d4+4: (5)+4: 9

The white-scale stares at Heinrich for several seconds after he slaps the ogre. "Uh. But. We... we could have come back to addresss thiss after completing our... you, sir, need to develop a sense of timing." Hetzakoatl huffs then and spreads out her hands, pressing the thumbs together, and muttering something in Draconic. A gout of fire blasts the nearer of the Ogres.

GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+7: (16)+7: 23
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+7: (6)+7: 13
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+7: (4)+7: 11
GAME: Aftershock rolls 2d8+7: (9)+7: 16

Heinrich swings his falchion, cutting a bloody gash across the ogre next to him. Snarling, he mutters, "That that, you churl, you scurvy knave!" Then to Hetz, he says, "They needed to be p-yew-nished," pronouncing the last word rather like Boss Nass of the Gungins when arraigning JarJar Binks.

The lead ogre swings, hitting Heinrich heavily on the shoulder with his huge club. Meanwhile one of the others swings wildly at Hetzakoatl, unable to see past the fire that she set upon it. The last swings equally wildly at Olav.

GAME: Niara rolls scimitar: aliased to bab+dexterity+1+1+1: (5)+5+5+1+1+1: 18
GAME: Niara rolls scdam+10: aliased to 1d6+dexterity+2+1d6+10: (5)+5+2+(1)+10: 23

Niara whips her similar around as she moves and slices deep into one of the ogres.

GAME: Walery rolls 1d20+10: (10)+10: 20
GAME: Walery rolls 3d6+5: (13)+5: 18
GAME: Olav rolls 1d20+2+3+2+1+1-1+2: (7)+2+3+2+1+1+-1+2: 17

Walery now picks his target a bit more carefully now that we're all in the middle of it, drawing a bead on one of the injured-looking ogres. He chambers a brass object with runes on it and squeezes the trigger of his death ray. Deadly energy shoots out and drops one of the ogres.

GAME: Olav rolls 1d12+3+1+2+2+1: (2)+3+1+2+2+1: 11
GAME: Olav rolls 1d20+2: (5)+2: 7

Olav is even angrier than before after missing the ogre! He brings his axe around and swings it again, shouting dramatically, severing the ogre's spine. The spirit wisps surrounding him harass its corpse as it falls.

GAME: Hetzakoatl casts Burning Hands. Caster Level: 3 DC: 15
GAME: Hetzakoatl rolls 3d4: (10): 10
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20: (18): 18

Hetzakoatl shakes her head, once more putting her hands together to cause another gout of fire to engulf the already crispy Ogre. "Perhaps they should be punished, but you could have waited until afterwardss. Also... they and the gobbo are here in thiss dungeon. Probably have caussed people to die. I doubt the Gobbo is innocent... and probably not desserving of your protection."

GAME: Heinrich rolls Falchion+Challenge+Flank: aliased to Weapon1+Cavalier+2: (19)+8+1+2: 30 (THREAT)
GAME: Heinrich rolls Falchion+Challenge+Flank: aliased to Weapon1+Cavalier+2: (3)+8+1+2: 14
GAME: Heinrich rolls FalchionDmg: aliased to 2d4+4: (5)+4: 9

Heinrich takes another swing; draws a bit more of the ogre's blood, and its wrath.

GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+7: (9)+7: 16
GAME: Aftershock rolls 2d8+7: (11)+7: 18

The ogre attacking Hetzakoatl finally manages (though half-blind with fire in its eyes and rage) to hit the sith-makar. It's club bashes her in the head hard enough that she sees tiny floating stars in the air. Meanwhile the goblin seeing the unfettered bloodshed takes off out the door you've yet to go through screaming as it runs.

GAME: Niara rolls scimitar: aliased to bab+dexterity+1+1+1: (4)+5+5+1+1+1: 17
GAME: Niara rolls scdam+5: aliased to 1d6+dexterity+2+1d6+5: (6)+5+2+(3)+5: 21

Niara sees only one remaining and moves to gracefully attack. Her blade moves with precision and down goes the ogre.

Hetzakoatl slumps to the ground with a groan.

The tiny spirits swarming around Olav depart as the Aesir recovers his equilibrium, embarrassed. Then he notices the wounded Sith and kneels down beside her, making sure she isn't bleeding out.

Heinrich cleans his falchion on some convenient bit of fabric not worn by any of the adventurers. He directs his attention to the rest of the room.

Walery cycles the action on his death ray and shoulders it, looking around. "Well, that went better than expected," he muses.

There's nothing particularly interesting in the room. There's the ogres and their shabby equipment, the torture equipment bolted to the walls, and yourselves. Down the hall the sound of the goblin's screaming is abruptly cut off leaving you in the relative silence of your own conversations.

Olav looks up as the shouting is cut off. "I guess he found more ogres?" Returning his attention to the Sith-makar, he adds "So, I'm no healer, but she looks really badly hurt to me."

Hetzakoatl sports a large lump where the ogre's club connected, though she does attempt to stand up. She mumbles something in draconic.

Heinrich looks at the sith'makar. He says, "I have no magic nor any special skill, but I can help you walk."

GAME: Heinrich rolls Heal: (16)+1: 17
GAME: Walery casts Cure Moderate Wounds. Caster Level: 5 DC: 16
GAME: Walery rolls 2d8+5: (10)+5: 15

Walery reaches into a pouch and pulls out an ampule filled with red liquid. "This won't hurt much," he says, perhaps not reassuringly. He'll approach the Sith and press it to her arm. There's a hiss, and the red liquid drains out.

Olav nods admiringly to Walery. "That's pretty impressive." To Hetz he asks "Are you ready to keep going?"

Niara nods her head and keeps her scimitar out though she cleans the blade and nods to the others.

Walery grins to Olav and says, "I have another one like that, and some lesser ones, if we need." He'll move on with the others.

Heinrich nods approvingly at Walery's ministrations, then asks the group, "Do you suppose this chamber is a dead end, or might there not be a hidden door?"

Hetzakoatl looks a bit more lively after being tended to by Walery, and she nods her thanks to him, before looking to Olav. "I think sso, yes." She retrieves her staff, and leans a little on Olav in standing up. "That.. hurt.", she mutters.

Walery points to the way the goblin went. "We can only look."

Olav nods sympathetically, putting a hand on the lizard-woman's shoulder. "Yeah, it looked pretty bad," he agrees, before heading in the direction the gobber ran in, looking warily around for attackers.

The bulk of you head onward through the doorway that the goblin fled through, finding a hallway beyond.

GAME: Olav rolls reflex: (1)+2: 3 (EPIC FAIL)
GAME: Niara rolls reflex: (20)+9: 29 (CRITICAL SUCCESS)
GAME: Heinrich rolls Reflex: (2)+4: 6
GAME: Walery rolls reflex: (9)+8: 17
GAME: Hetzakoatl rolls reflex: (19)+2: 21
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d6: (3): 3

As you walk along suddenly the floor gives out. Most of you quickly leap up and grab ahold of torch sconces, but Henrich and Olav are unlucky enough to fall into the spiked chasm that suddenly appears beneath you! They're now stuck ten feet down from the walkway.

Niara shakes her head from here she is grabbing and looks for a place to settle down.

Olav groans. "Really?" He looks around the pit for anything interesting while he's down here, then sighs and attempts to climb out of the pit without injuring himself further.

Heinrich slips before he can do anything about it, then as if the sudden stop weren't enough, bruises his ankle against a spike in the now-revealed lower floor. He bellows out more in surprise than in pain, but then in a frustrated, impatient voice says, "I shall report back that this dungeon is replete with dishonor, from the ogres who torture poor, helpless gobbers, to the treacherous architecture! It's utter villainy, I tell you. UTTER VILLAINY!"

Niara drops onto the walkway and moves to the far side so she doesn't risk falling anymore.

Walery swings himself across on the sconces, and when he's safely on the other side, he'll toss a rope to those stuck in the pit.

Hetzakoatl peers down into the pit below. "Are you alright?", she asks of Heinrich and Olav. She looks to the others and begins to move across the sconces. "We'll get you a rope."

Seeing no alternative available, Sir Heinrich grumbles a frustrated "Thank you." as he grabs onto the rope and holds it steady for Olav to climb.

GAME: Walery rolls perception: (4)+9: 13
GAME: Hetzakoatl rolls Perception: (5)+7: 12
GAME: Heinrich rolls Perception: (5)+6: 11
GAME: Olav rolls perception: (2)+7: 9

Olav is about to try to jump up when Hetz offers a hand, and nods. Ropes would make sense. "Thanks," he says, starting to climb up the rope and paying careful attention to the spikes and also a small pebble in his newly re-donned boot.

Once Olav clears the pit, Sir Heinrich hauls himself up the rope as best his armor will allow him.

GAME: Niara rolls perception: (11)+12: 23

Niara blinks, "Watch yourself, Spiders!" she calls out and looks directly towards where the spiders are coming out of the cracks in the ground.

GAME: Niara spends ONE point of PANACHE.
GAME: Olav rolls 1d20+2+3+2+1+1-1: (1)+2+3+2+1+1+-1: 9 (EPIC FAIL)

Olav looks over his shoulder at Niara's cry, and swings his axe in the vague general direction of, um.... well, honestly, it's unclear.

GAME: Heinrich rolls Falchion: aliased to Weapon1: (7)+8: 15
GAME: Walery casts Burning Hands. Caster Level: 5 DC: 15
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+3: (4)+3: 7
GAME: Walery rolls 5d4: (10): 10
GAME: Hetzakoatl casts Burning Hands. Caster Level: 3 DC: 15
GAME: Hetzakoatl rolls 3d4: (7): 7
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+3: (5)+3: 8

Walery flips a switch on his death ray and cycles the action. A spray of superheated flames scours the area, burning away a fair chunk of the swarm. He grins madly. Or happily, if you can be happy about burning bugs. It seems worth being happy about.

Hetzakoatl steadies herself on the end of the former hallway, and lets out a breath. "Excellent. Creepy crawliess too. What a wonderful dungeon." She shakes her head and mutters again in Draconic, fire spewing from her hands once more. Burning away another portion of the swarm.

GAME: Niara rolls scimitar: aliased to bab+dexterity+1+1+1: (15)+5+5+1+1+1: 28
GAME: Niara rolls scdam: aliased to 1d6+dexterity+2+1d6: (5)+5+2+(6): 18
GAME: Niara rolls scimitar: aliased to bab+dexterity+1+1+1: (2)+5+5+1+1+1: 15
GAME: Niara uses an AoO! 5 remaining.

Niara swings her crackling scimitar at the spiders, doing what little she can with it.

GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d6: (5): 5
GAME: Niara rolls Fortitude+3: (11)+2+3: 16

The spiders crawl upwards, covering Niara in tiny little bites as they flow over her body.

GAME: Heinrich rolls 5d6: (17): 17
GAME: Heinrich used a Javelin of Lightning.
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+3: (16)+3: 19
GAME: Niara rolls fortitude: (13)+2: 15

Heinrich shakes his head and says, "Against such a foe, swords avail but little. Perhaps this will do the trick." It does, but in the process, Niara gets a little zapped, too. Sir Heinrich says to her, "My apologies."

-TBC-