maxentius-septimus
Evard's Tentacles of Forced Intrusion
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Re: Dungeon Crawl
Indeed I like those from Blue slime
Indeed I like those from Blue slime
Dungeon Crawl
- Thread starter BlueSlime
- Start date
MrMe
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Re: Dungeon Crawl
A3 - smother Grat with your ample bosoms
B3 - let brainy girl figure out a way of pulling the lever that doesn't involve cutting her fingers off
A1 - nothing bad could happen to our non-fighter being all alone in a room with the dungeon boss
A3 - smother Grat with your ample bosoms
B3 - let brainy girl figure out a way of pulling the lever that doesn't involve cutting her fingers off
A1 - nothing bad could happen to our non-fighter being all alone in a room with the dungeon boss
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- this one has my vote for Ariel
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OP
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Re: Dungeon Crawl
You see the kobold quaking with fear before you and know that you must do something to make it trust that you aren't about to kill him. And so you kneel down before him and put on your most cheerful, perky expression towards him.
"Hi!" You exclaim. "Let's start again! I'm Ariel! And these are my minions, Hadrian and Elise!"
You sweep your arm behind you towards your companions. Even without looking at them, you can feel their eyes boring into your back. They are both servants of their respective gods, and also know you well enough that to be called your minions will likely not sit well with them. Still, they don't seem to be outright objecting to it.
"I really just want to talk to you a bit. You're a kobold, so I've heard that you serve dragons! I adore stories of dragons myself. It's been my dream to meet one all my life! Won't you tell me a little bit about them?"
The shaking kobold uncurls a bit, blinking at you, then at the menacing form of the paladin.
"Y-you serve her?" the kobold asks Hadrian. You wince at this, knowing that the paladin will not tell a lie.
"I protect her when she gets into trouble. Particularly when she goes looking for dragons," Hadrian replies.
"Oh Hadrian," you say with a light laugh. "Don't scare him so. He's not going to hurt me. Right? He likes dragons, I like dragons, we're natural friends!"
Neither the kobold nor the paladin look convinced by this, but you hasten to add to your point by suddenly scooping the surprised kobold into your arms and place his face up against your bosom, which is currently covered by reinforced, stylish duellist armor, sadly still smeared with drying muck.
Holding the kobold close to you makes the shivering creature calm down, after perhaps 5 seconds as it understands a knife has not yet been stuck in its back. After that, he seems to have enjoyed the spot that you've placed his face in. You however, regret this, as the kobold has clearly been stuck in this dungeon a while, and it positively reeks. Once it has calmed down you push it back to arm's length, trying not to gag from the smell of him.
"You strange human," the kobold says to you, now not so much fearful as curious. "Humans hate dragons. No serve them. Fight them. Maybe you tell truth. Maybe not. Grat maybe find out, and maybe tell you dragon things. Maybe you serve dragon too. First, must sscape."
~~~
After learning more about Grat and getting the key from him, you find yourself standing in front of the swinging pendulum device that guards the lever.
"Stay back Hadrian, I've got this." You say, sounding braver than you feel.
"It's not safe. Besides, you need all your finger tips to play that flute," Elise says, sounding as concerned about what might happen to you as Hadrian does.
"Don't worry," you say, waving her off. "I'm quicker than Hadrian. The metal won't slow me down. Here now... Let me just get my timing right and..."
You slip your hand in, yank down on the lever, and pull back. But it's harder than it looks, and that blade comes fast. You get nicked by the blade and flinch back, seeing your hand covered in blood. It's a deep gash.
Hadrian is there just before Elise, and puts his hands on your wound. He applies pressure and mutters solemn prayers to Jorn and to the other deities of good and order. The gods appear to hear him, but they are beings of balance and the natural order of things. Damage has been dealt, the pain must be suffered. Your wound is healed, but Hadrian grits his teeth as the pain is transferred to him instead.
You rub your hand and look at the paladin with a mix of gratefulness and sympathy. He shrugs away the pain and moves on, leaving you in your normal condition and just a touch of guilt. Still, the way is now clear.
~~~
The small party reaches the entrance to the next room, and advances slowly and together, with Hadrian in front, his way lit by Elise' mace, and you bringing up the rear, with your elegant sword drawn.
The room is rectangular in shape at the end at which you enter with two rows of four pillars surrounding what appears to be the broken and splintered remains of a long dining table. Plates and bowls and old rusted cutlery lay strewn about the floor, and everywhere you see the dull white of bones, long since stripped of their flesh and cracked to expose the lack of marrow within them. Dried blood stains the floor in a patternless testimony to some tumultuous battle.
At the far end of the room, beyond the remnants of the table and the pillars, the room fades into what appears to be two large cul-de-sacs in the natural bedrock upon which the temple has been built. A pillar of uneven stone rises between these two rounded out areas, where several figures, frail and sinewy, begin to move in reaction to the oncoming glow of Elise's mace.
Their bodies, once you get close enough to see them properly, appear to be a dark magenta mottled with blue, with rows of large, sharp yellow teeth. There eyes appear bloodshot and jaundiced and unblinking. They wear tattered rags about there pelvises and little else, showing off a frame devoid of any fat.
They hiss and clack their claw-like fingernails against the stone floor as they converge upon your party. Some of them approach on all fours while others walk on two legs, hunched, and hungry. They appear hesitant, for they circle you, holding close to the walls, their bulging eyes always on you. Perhaps they mean to ensure that your escape is cut off? (A)
Hadrian begins to utter a prayer to Jord, that the Imperator of Law might instill the paladin with resolve and the power to smite his enemies. Meanwhile, Elise too begins to chant a prayer, but she stops long enough to glance at you and speak a few words.
"Ghouls. Hungry souls who have eaten the meat of the ensorcelled dead. Now they are caught between life and death, starving always unless they eat the flesh of the living."
"So... they're undead?" You ask.
"Not quite. They've never technically died."
"Well there's a first time for everything," Hadrian says grimly. "I'll start on the left and work my way right. There's only six of them."
The six ghouls close in and glorious battle is met! (B)
BATTLE MENU
You see the kobold quaking with fear before you and know that you must do something to make it trust that you aren't about to kill him. And so you kneel down before him and put on your most cheerful, perky expression towards him.
"Hi!" You exclaim. "Let's start again! I'm Ariel! And these are my minions, Hadrian and Elise!"
You sweep your arm behind you towards your companions. Even without looking at them, you can feel their eyes boring into your back. They are both servants of their respective gods, and also know you well enough that to be called your minions will likely not sit well with them. Still, they don't seem to be outright objecting to it.
"I really just want to talk to you a bit. You're a kobold, so I've heard that you serve dragons! I adore stories of dragons myself. It's been my dream to meet one all my life! Won't you tell me a little bit about them?"
The shaking kobold uncurls a bit, blinking at you, then at the menacing form of the paladin.
"Y-you serve her?" the kobold asks Hadrian. You wince at this, knowing that the paladin will not tell a lie.
"I protect her when she gets into trouble. Particularly when she goes looking for dragons," Hadrian replies.
"Oh Hadrian," you say with a light laugh. "Don't scare him so. He's not going to hurt me. Right? He likes dragons, I like dragons, we're natural friends!"
Neither the kobold nor the paladin look convinced by this, but you hasten to add to your point by suddenly scooping the surprised kobold into your arms and place his face up against your bosom, which is currently covered by reinforced, stylish duellist armor, sadly still smeared with drying muck.
Holding the kobold close to you makes the shivering creature calm down, after perhaps 5 seconds as it understands a knife has not yet been stuck in its back. After that, he seems to have enjoyed the spot that you've placed his face in. You however, regret this, as the kobold has clearly been stuck in this dungeon a while, and it positively reeks. Once it has calmed down you push it back to arm's length, trying not to gag from the smell of him.
"You strange human," the kobold says to you, now not so much fearful as curious. "Humans hate dragons. No serve them. Fight them. Maybe you tell truth. Maybe not. Grat maybe find out, and maybe tell you dragon things. Maybe you serve dragon too. First, must sscape."
~~~
After learning more about Grat and getting the key from him, you find yourself standing in front of the swinging pendulum device that guards the lever.
"Stay back Hadrian, I've got this." You say, sounding braver than you feel.
"It's not safe. Besides, you need all your finger tips to play that flute," Elise says, sounding as concerned about what might happen to you as Hadrian does.
"Don't worry," you say, waving her off. "I'm quicker than Hadrian. The metal won't slow me down. Here now... Let me just get my timing right and..."
You slip your hand in, yank down on the lever, and pull back. But it's harder than it looks, and that blade comes fast. You get nicked by the blade and flinch back, seeing your hand covered in blood. It's a deep gash.
Hadrian is there just before Elise, and puts his hands on your wound. He applies pressure and mutters solemn prayers to Jorn and to the other deities of good and order. The gods appear to hear him, but they are beings of balance and the natural order of things. Damage has been dealt, the pain must be suffered. Your wound is healed, but Hadrian grits his teeth as the pain is transferred to him instead.
You were struck for 3 damage. Hadrian performs Lay on Hands, transferring the damage to himself.
You rub your hand and look at the paladin with a mix of gratefulness and sympathy. He shrugs away the pain and moves on, leaving you in your normal condition and just a touch of guilt. Still, the way is now clear.
~~~
The small party reaches the entrance to the next room, and advances slowly and together, with Hadrian in front, his way lit by Elise' mace, and you bringing up the rear, with your elegant sword drawn.
The room is rectangular in shape at the end at which you enter with two rows of four pillars surrounding what appears to be the broken and splintered remains of a long dining table. Plates and bowls and old rusted cutlery lay strewn about the floor, and everywhere you see the dull white of bones, long since stripped of their flesh and cracked to expose the lack of marrow within them. Dried blood stains the floor in a patternless testimony to some tumultuous battle.
At the far end of the room, beyond the remnants of the table and the pillars, the room fades into what appears to be two large cul-de-sacs in the natural bedrock upon which the temple has been built. A pillar of uneven stone rises between these two rounded out areas, where several figures, frail and sinewy, begin to move in reaction to the oncoming glow of Elise's mace.
Their bodies, once you get close enough to see them properly, appear to be a dark magenta mottled with blue, with rows of large, sharp yellow teeth. There eyes appear bloodshot and jaundiced and unblinking. They wear tattered rags about there pelvises and little else, showing off a frame devoid of any fat.
They hiss and clack their claw-like fingernails against the stone floor as they converge upon your party. Some of them approach on all fours while others walk on two legs, hunched, and hungry. They appear hesitant, for they circle you, holding close to the walls, their bulging eyes always on you. Perhaps they mean to ensure that your escape is cut off? (A)
Stand your ground and fight them here.
OR
Retreat to the clock room.
OR
Retreat to the clock room.
Hadrian begins to utter a prayer to Jord, that the Imperator of Law might instill the paladin with resolve and the power to smite his enemies. Meanwhile, Elise too begins to chant a prayer, but she stops long enough to glance at you and speak a few words.
"Ghouls. Hungry souls who have eaten the meat of the ensorcelled dead. Now they are caught between life and death, starving always unless they eat the flesh of the living."
"So... they're undead?" You ask.
"Not quite. They've never technically died."
"Well there's a first time for everything," Hadrian says grimly. "I'll start on the left and work my way right. There's only six of them."
The six ghouls close in and glorious battle is met! (B)
BATTLE MENU
Choose your move:
1) Hack n Slash - Engage in sword to claw combat.
2) Defend - Guard either Hadrian or Elise from incoming attacks
3) Bard Song - Heal damage to one ally
4) Bard Song - Amplify an ally's damage.
5) Bard Song - Morale Boost to party for next round.
6) Discern - Take time to inspect your surroundings for a possible advantage.
7) Unusual Maneuver (Suggest your own exciting, off-the-wall plan of action).
1) Hack n Slash - Engage in sword to claw combat.
2) Defend - Guard either Hadrian or Elise from incoming attacks
3) Bard Song - Heal damage to one ally
4) Bard Song - Amplify an ally's damage.
5) Bard Song - Morale Boost to party for next round.
6) Discern - Take time to inspect your surroundings for a possible advantage.
7) Unusual Maneuver (Suggest your own exciting, off-the-wall plan of action).
Cevrik777
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Re: Dungeon Crawl
A5
But yes, A and 5.
"Les fookin do it lads!"
A5
Felt good to watch that again, haha. Thank you.
But yes, A and 5.
"Les fookin do it lads!"
Minerve
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maxentius-septimus
Evard's Tentacles of Forced Intrusion
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Re: Dungeon Crawl
yeah A1 and 5
yeah A1 and 5
OP
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Re: Dungeon Crawl
You sheath your sword for the moment and take out your flute, deciding to lend your musical art to Hadrian's blade, knowing him to be a truly excellent fighter. You aren't incapable, but you know that if there's a person of the three of you that needs to be going toe to toe with these things, it's Hadrian.
The clock room might have been better for not being out-flanked by these ghouls, but you aptly recall Hadrian's refusal for what Jorn deem's to be cowardly tactics. He doesn't look interested in retreat, and you wouldn't have much time to argue with him about it if he was determined to stand his ground.
You decide to begin your song without delay, before the beasts are upon you. Elise steps beside you and just behind Hadrian, her mace raised and ready for battle. Stoney-faced and hard of eye, the stalwart knight sets into his stance, his griffon-emblazoned shield raised to meet the ghastly foe.
On the ghouls come, the first of their number - a wiry muscled creature with rasping maw and raking talons - crashes upon Hadrian's lordly shield. Your lips press to your instrument and sound the first notes of the melody that speaks to the arcane strings that connect reality. The air about you hums with power as the world recognizes your tune. Elise and Hadrian both move with the music, and over the next five to seven seconds, it is not just their instincts at work, but the sound of your music guiding them. The cleric's mace wards away the other ghouls with a wide swing, forcing them back, and Hadrian's shield arm does not buckle despite the amazing pace at which the enemy attempted to sunder him.
Underneath the shield, the knight strikes, sliding his longsword forward to skewer the creature. A baleful cry emerges from its ruined lips, yet still it works to claw him, until he beats it back with his shield, smashing its face and stunning it. With another step, he swings a mighty arc, and beheads the creature. To the dismay of its brethren, but not yet enough to send them running.
Just as Elise is about to make her own offensive efforts, disaster strikes. You play a wrong note!
Doing such with a normal song does nothing more than draw a guffaw from a crowd, but when wielding the arcane with your song, fate has a way of recoiling. You can only blame your lack of experience, or the excitement of battle, but somehow, you messed up.
In the following second you see Elise's mace crash into the foe in front of her with a thud, but the creature is not as hurt as he might be, having rolled with the strike, turning it into a glancing blow. Then his talons return the strike, scraping and biting into Elise's side, through her form-fitting chain armor.
She grunts in pain. Then she is joined by the paladin as he too receives the rake of another ghoul, but that one at least has a tougher time piercing through his scale mail armor.
But that is not the worst of it. No. The worst is come for you, as two ghouls, pulled by the jarring discord of your failed song, leap at you. Without your sword or another body intervening on your behalf, you can only attempt to dodge, breaking your song completely. The first one only nicks you, but the second impacts you fully, sending your flute skittering across the floor, his claws rake across your chest in an X pattern, rending the reinforced leather armor underneath your duellist's gear. The result is that your armor is barely holding together, and you are cut across the breast and down the side of your stomach. You stumble back in agony, looking at the beasts as they come at you again.
Hadrian calls for you raising his sword and running to confront the foes surrounding yourself, and Elise seems to close her eye in prayer. You ready yourself for your next action, hoping that it will not be your last...
You sheath your sword for the moment and take out your flute, deciding to lend your musical art to Hadrian's blade, knowing him to be a truly excellent fighter. You aren't incapable, but you know that if there's a person of the three of you that needs to be going toe to toe with these things, it's Hadrian.
The clock room might have been better for not being out-flanked by these ghouls, but you aptly recall Hadrian's refusal for what Jorn deem's to be cowardly tactics. He doesn't look interested in retreat, and you wouldn't have much time to argue with him about it if he was determined to stand his ground.
You decide to begin your song without delay, before the beasts are upon you. Elise steps beside you and just behind Hadrian, her mace raised and ready for battle. Stoney-faced and hard of eye, the stalwart knight sets into his stance, his griffon-emblazoned shield raised to meet the ghastly foe.
On the ghouls come, the first of their number - a wiry muscled creature with rasping maw and raking talons - crashes upon Hadrian's lordly shield. Your lips press to your instrument and sound the first notes of the melody that speaks to the arcane strings that connect reality. The air about you hums with power as the world recognizes your tune. Elise and Hadrian both move with the music, and over the next five to seven seconds, it is not just their instincts at work, but the sound of your music guiding them. The cleric's mace wards away the other ghouls with a wide swing, forcing them back, and Hadrian's shield arm does not buckle despite the amazing pace at which the enemy attempted to sunder him.
Underneath the shield, the knight strikes, sliding his longsword forward to skewer the creature. A baleful cry emerges from its ruined lips, yet still it works to claw him, until he beats it back with his shield, smashing its face and stunning it. With another step, he swings a mighty arc, and beheads the creature. To the dismay of its brethren, but not yet enough to send them running.
Just as Elise is about to make her own offensive efforts, disaster strikes. You play a wrong note!
Doing such with a normal song does nothing more than draw a guffaw from a crowd, but when wielding the arcane with your song, fate has a way of recoiling. You can only blame your lack of experience, or the excitement of battle, but somehow, you messed up.
In the following second you see Elise's mace crash into the foe in front of her with a thud, but the creature is not as hurt as he might be, having rolled with the strike, turning it into a glancing blow. Then his talons return the strike, scraping and biting into Elise's side, through her form-fitting chain armor.
She grunts in pain. Then she is joined by the paladin as he too receives the rake of another ghoul, but that one at least has a tougher time piercing through his scale mail armor.
But that is not the worst of it. No. The worst is come for you, as two ghouls, pulled by the jarring discord of your failed song, leap at you. Without your sword or another body intervening on your behalf, you can only attempt to dodge, breaking your song completely. The first one only nicks you, but the second impacts you fully, sending your flute skittering across the floor, his claws rake across your chest in an X pattern, rending the reinforced leather armor underneath your duellist's gear. The result is that your armor is barely holding together, and you are cut across the breast and down the side of your stomach. You stumble back in agony, looking at the beasts as they come at you again.
Hadrian calls for you raising his sword and running to confront the foes surrounding yourself, and Elise seems to close her eye in prayer. You ready yourself for your next action, hoping that it will not be your last...
Ouch! You took 9 damage, bringing you to 9/18 health. Bad luck, but it makes your next choices important. Elise and Hadrian have suffered minor wounds. One ghoul is dead and one is slightly hurt. Four others are healthy, two of which are eyeing you hungrily.
Choose an action.
1) Draw your steel and counter attack.
2) Draw your steel and defend yourself as best you can until Hadrian arrives.
3) Attempt to out maneuver the two ghouls attacking you, trying to recover your flute.
4) Run away to the clock room.
5) Cunning plan. (Suggest a variation of the above or make up an entirely new action!)
Choose an action.
1) Draw your steel and counter attack.
2) Draw your steel and defend yourself as best you can until Hadrian arrives.
3) Attempt to out maneuver the two ghouls attacking you, trying to recover your flute.
4) Run away to the clock room.
5) Cunning plan. (Suggest a variation of the above or make up an entirely new action!)
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Re: Dungeon Crawl
Oww. That didn't go so well! B-But morale...
Anyway, 5. Let's draw our sword and steer ourselves towards Hadrian while attempting to fend off the ghouls' attacks. Hopefully he can meet us halfway or something if we aren't intercepted. Can't try to risk continuing a song when we're wounded AND trying to dodge these nasty swipes.
Oww. That didn't go so well! B-But morale...
Anyway, 5. Let's draw our sword and steer ourselves towards Hadrian while attempting to fend off the ghouls' attacks. Hopefully he can meet us halfway or something if we aren't intercepted. Can't try to risk continuing a song when we're wounded AND trying to dodge these nasty swipes.
sturm
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Cevrik777
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OP
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Re: Dungeon Crawl
But for now, you're a rookie.
At your current low level, you are not the best fighter. However, you're not completely useless with a blade either. Later on, should Ariel get the chance to level up, she can take upgrades that will make her a better fighter. Bards can also get parry skills that make them more durable in a fight.
But for now, you're a rookie.
maxentius-septimus
Evard's Tentacles of Forced Intrusion
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Re: Dungeon Crawl
agree with Takimaru
agree with Takimaru
Minerve
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OP
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Re: Dungeon Crawl
The rapier sings as it is drawn from its scabbard with haste, and just in time to fend away one drooling ghoul aiming its nasty teeth at your delicate neck. Knowing it won't fend them off for long, you back away, wanting to get closer to Hadrian for added safety. But your way is blocked! The other ghoul who pursues you has noticed your plan, and with a crude cunning, has skittered its way between you and the oncoming paladin.
The knight has his own problems, as he is still forced to exchange blows with the remaining ghoul that howls ravenously and tears at his armor. You can see a talon land and scrape against his scale suit of armor, but the paladin returns the blow with interest, hacking deep into the ghoul's side, drawing a spray of black blood that smells as foul as it looks. The beast screams and clutches at its open wound, falling to its knees. Hadrian opts to not finish it off, as he sees that you are in trouble.
Forced to divert in your direction, you fling yourself out of the reach of the intercepting ghoul and run across the chamber, towards the stone pillar on the far side of the room. Both ghouls are in hot pursuit. You are hoping to use the pillar to put some distance in between you and the ghouls, but your plan backfires in a truly horrible and unexpected way.
The pillar is ALIVE. You see it open its stoney skin wide before you, revealing a pink and black stained gullet with a multitude of teeth. You skid to a stop and stumble before it, knowing that your attackers must be right behind you. With nowhere to run, and out of options, you prepare for the end.
"I am a fucking Cleric of Zerica!" you hear Elise shout suddenly. "Eat holiness you brainless undead bastards!"
A bright burst of golden light emerges from the holy symbol in Elise's hand and suddenly all the ghouls hiss in blinding pain. The two ones immediately within reach of the cleric are hurtled backwards as if they were tied around the waist by some hidden rope. The wounded one at Hadrian's feet curls up into a ball and appears to lie still. As for the two pursuing you, so distracted are they by the cleric's sudden action, that they forget about you entirely and run past your body, desperate to get away from Elise.
The pillar in front of you suddenly sprouts a mass of thin roping tentacles and binds one of the ghouls near you up into its grasp, and then pulls the frightened thing into its maw, closing around it with a sickening crunch. Just before the ghoul was bitten however, you noticed one unusual thing - deep within the gullet of this tentacle-wielding living stone pillar, is a small shining rod that looks an awful lot like the final clock key.
Turning back to Elise, you see the slightly angry looking cleric breathing heavily and lowering her mace as the ghouls have been scattered for the moment, hiding away from the cleric's presence as if she were made out of scalding fire whose heat only they could feel.
"I thought you said they weren't technically dead?" You say, as you scoot back out of the reach of the pillar and then back to the rest of your party.
"They've been cursed by the same necromantic magic that creates undead. It's close enough that they can still be repelled by holy prayer." Elise says.
"You call that a holy prayer?" The paladin asks dubiously as he brings his sword down on the neck of the bleeding, curled up ghoul beneath him, finishing it off.
Elise fixes him a stare.
"You should know better than most that it's the intention and spirit of the prayer that holds the power, not the actual words that are spoken. If it were, it would be a wizard's spell."
"Still, I would have thought your goddess expect a bit more decorum when being asked to aid you in turning the undead."
"Zerica is the patron goddess of all who seek to bring the hidden out of the dark and into the light," Elise says solemnly.
"This is all well and good," you say. "But how are we going to deal with THAT?"
You point at the creature that appears as a stone pillar. Now that you've had time to settle down, you recall a tale of heroes past that spoke of something similar to what you now face.
"I think it's a roper, or some mutant form of one. It hides as a piece of stone, then uses its tentacles to draw victims into its mouth. I'd normally say that we avoid it, but the key is inside the mouth."
"Really?" says Elise, scrunching up her face. "Is there any particular weakness or way around it?"
"I say we just destroy it," Hadrian says. "That skin may look like stone, but it has soft flesh beneath. It will fall to my blade."
Looking between the two of your companions, and noticing that the remaining ghouls seem to have retreated to the shadows, not wanting to get near the cleric, you decide on a course of action.
The rapier sings as it is drawn from its scabbard with haste, and just in time to fend away one drooling ghoul aiming its nasty teeth at your delicate neck. Knowing it won't fend them off for long, you back away, wanting to get closer to Hadrian for added safety. But your way is blocked! The other ghoul who pursues you has noticed your plan, and with a crude cunning, has skittered its way between you and the oncoming paladin.
The knight has his own problems, as he is still forced to exchange blows with the remaining ghoul that howls ravenously and tears at his armor. You can see a talon land and scrape against his scale suit of armor, but the paladin returns the blow with interest, hacking deep into the ghoul's side, drawing a spray of black blood that smells as foul as it looks. The beast screams and clutches at its open wound, falling to its knees. Hadrian opts to not finish it off, as he sees that you are in trouble.
Forced to divert in your direction, you fling yourself out of the reach of the intercepting ghoul and run across the chamber, towards the stone pillar on the far side of the room. Both ghouls are in hot pursuit. You are hoping to use the pillar to put some distance in between you and the ghouls, but your plan backfires in a truly horrible and unexpected way.
The pillar is ALIVE. You see it open its stoney skin wide before you, revealing a pink and black stained gullet with a multitude of teeth. You skid to a stop and stumble before it, knowing that your attackers must be right behind you. With nowhere to run, and out of options, you prepare for the end.
"I am a fucking Cleric of Zerica!" you hear Elise shout suddenly. "Eat holiness you brainless undead bastards!"
A bright burst of golden light emerges from the holy symbol in Elise's hand and suddenly all the ghouls hiss in blinding pain. The two ones immediately within reach of the cleric are hurtled backwards as if they were tied around the waist by some hidden rope. The wounded one at Hadrian's feet curls up into a ball and appears to lie still. As for the two pursuing you, so distracted are they by the cleric's sudden action, that they forget about you entirely and run past your body, desperate to get away from Elise.
The pillar in front of you suddenly sprouts a mass of thin roping tentacles and binds one of the ghouls near you up into its grasp, and then pulls the frightened thing into its maw, closing around it with a sickening crunch. Just before the ghoul was bitten however, you noticed one unusual thing - deep within the gullet of this tentacle-wielding living stone pillar, is a small shining rod that looks an awful lot like the final clock key.
Turning back to Elise, you see the slightly angry looking cleric breathing heavily and lowering her mace as the ghouls have been scattered for the moment, hiding away from the cleric's presence as if she were made out of scalding fire whose heat only they could feel.
"I thought you said they weren't technically dead?" You say, as you scoot back out of the reach of the pillar and then back to the rest of your party.
"They've been cursed by the same necromantic magic that creates undead. It's close enough that they can still be repelled by holy prayer." Elise says.
"You call that a holy prayer?" The paladin asks dubiously as he brings his sword down on the neck of the bleeding, curled up ghoul beneath him, finishing it off.
Elise fixes him a stare.
"You should know better than most that it's the intention and spirit of the prayer that holds the power, not the actual words that are spoken. If it were, it would be a wizard's spell."
"Still, I would have thought your goddess expect a bit more decorum when being asked to aid you in turning the undead."
"Zerica is the patron goddess of all who seek to bring the hidden out of the dark and into the light," Elise says solemnly.
"This is all well and good," you say. "But how are we going to deal with THAT?"
You point at the creature that appears as a stone pillar. Now that you've had time to settle down, you recall a tale of heroes past that spoke of something similar to what you now face.
"I think it's a roper, or some mutant form of one. It hides as a piece of stone, then uses its tentacles to draw victims into its mouth. I'd normally say that we avoid it, but the key is inside the mouth."
"Really?" says Elise, scrunching up her face. "Is there any particular weakness or way around it?"
"I say we just destroy it," Hadrian says. "That skin may look like stone, but it has soft flesh beneath. It will fall to my blade."
Looking between the two of your companions, and noticing that the remaining ghouls seem to have retreated to the shadows, not wanting to get near the cleric, you decide on a course of action.
Choose an action.
1) Agree with Hadrian and attack the roper.
2) Try to remember if there is any additional lore about ropers from the many tales you know of.
3) Retrieve your flute and try to play a song that might lull the roper into a state of lethargy, so that one of your companions might steal the key.
4) ((Suggest a more interesting plan of action.))
1) Agree with Hadrian and attack the roper.
2) Try to remember if there is any additional lore about ropers from the many tales you know of.
3) Retrieve your flute and try to play a song that might lull the roper into a state of lethargy, so that one of your companions might steal the key.
4) ((Suggest a more interesting plan of action.))