Adventure #2 - The Shadow Man

Momentarily stunned to see the vines boring into Gumphrey's skull, Elodie decides that something drastic must be done and reaches into her pouch to pull out a handful of metallic powder. Holding her coated palms out and whispering urgently, she summons an orb of fire that engulfs most of the vine-y creature attacking Gumphrey.

Cast Fire Sphere, 20C.
Damage = 11 (1 + 5 + 5)

His movements never stopping, Talmut conjures again.
"Attack the roots near the far wall, but stay submerged!"



Full Round Action - Summon Monster 1, Celestial Dolphin
Free - Order it to attack the roots

HP:19/19	AC: 12 (16 M.A)	Fort: +2, Ref: +3, Wil: +3	Init: +2	M.W. Quarterstaff: +0Atk 1d6-2
BAB: 1	Mov: 6	CMB: -1 | CMD: 11	Per: +0	Spell Save DC=Spell Level+15, 17 Conj.

Spells Learned - 0: Detect Magic, Light, Mage Hand, Read Magic; 1st: Grease, Obscuring Mist, Summon Monster 1, Summon Monster 1; 2nd: Summon Monster 2, Summon Monster 2, Web
Bonded Object - The Staff of Nu'll
Magic Items - Pearl of Jacobany, Pearl of Jacobany

R & R - ROUND 2

Init 22
Gumphrey stands motionless as the plant violates his skull.

Init 21
Talmut summons another of Ahu's Servants to assist him: a heavenly Dolphin! Staying as submerged as such a large creature can in such shallow water, the cetacean rushes through the thick of battle to get at the plant at the rear of the room. Bashing its head against the vines, the summoned creature smashes several of the evil flowers. 

- Slam Attack = 18 (12 on the die +1 Competence); 6 Damage

Init 17
Jeremiah yells to Gumphrey as he bounces another arrow off the wall.

Init 14
Elodie casts a more powerful spell than usual, engulfing the main plant in a spherical raging inferno. 

- Creeper's Reflex Save = 13 (10 on the die) Fail.

Init 9
The mossy corpses continue to assail the summoned beasts, destroying the squid and injuring the dolphin. As soon as the squid vanishes, however, the last lichen covered things charges at Jeremiah ... but fails to make contact.

- Slam Attack = 23 (19 on the die) 10 Damage to the Squid; the Squid blinks out.
- Slam Attack = 16 (12 on the die) 6 Damage to the Dolphin
- Charge Attack = 4 (1 on the die) Miss

At the same time, the main plant continues to bore into Gumphrey's head.

- Gumphrey suffers another 1 Point of Intelligence Damage. 

Init 3
Continuing his words of encouragement, Maius pushes to a more defensible position.

Grasping the Pearl of Jacobny, Talmut continues to conjure.
"Again, attack the roots near the far wall, but stay submerged!"



Full Round Action - Summon Monster 1, Celestial Dolphin
Free - Order it to attack the roots

HP:19/19	AC: 12 (16 M.A)	Fort: +2, Ref: +3, Wil: +3	Init: +2	M.W. Quarterstaff: +0Atk 1d6-2
BAB: 1	Mov: 6	CMB: -1 | CMD: 11	Per: +0	Spell Save DC=Spell Level+15, 17 Conj.

Spells Learned - 0: Detect Magic, Light, Mage Hand, Read Magic; 1st: Grease, Obscuring Mist, Summon Monster 1, Summon Monster 1; 2nd: Summon Monster 2, Summon Monster 2, Web
Bonded Object - The Staff of Nu'll
Magic Items - Pearl of Jacobany, Pearl of Jacobany

Elodie holds one palm flat, directing the sphere of fire to stay still, while she hurls a second burst of fire into the inferno with her other hand. 

Move: Maintain Flaming Sphere at B20.
Damage: 8 (6 + 1 + 1)
Standard: Cast Fire Bolt at B20.
Attack Roll: 16 (18 + 2 GM Edit: -4 firing into melee)
Damage: 6 (4 + 2)

R & R - ROUND 3

Init 22
Gumphrey continues to stand motionless.

Init 21
Talmut summons a another Celestial Dolphin and the two of them tear at the roots of the creeping vines, tearing the thing up and tossing it down onto the ground. 

- Slam Attack = 13 (7 on the die) Miss.
- Slam Attack = 16 (10 on the die) 6 Damage

Init 17
Jeremiah switches to his axes and chops at the thing before him.

- Rule 24
- Main-hand Attack = 16 (12 on the die) 5 Damage
- Off-hand Attack = 20 (14 on the die) 10 Damage

Init 14
With the plant already destroyed, Elodie redirects her fires at different foes ... thing assaulting Jeremiah and the thing closest to Gumphrey. The former is destroyed.

Init 9
The remaining foes charge the remaining Dolphins.

- Slam Attack = 11 (7 on the die) Miss
- Slam Attack = 10 (6 on the die) Miss

Init 3
Maius continues to inspire and direct.

Elodie whoops as she sets multiple foes on fire, moving her hands as she attempts to strike again.

Move Flaming Sphere to C21.
Damage: 11 (6 + 3 + 1 + 1)
Cast Fire Bolt at D19. 
Attack roll: 16 (13 + 2 + 1)
Damage: 6 (3 + 2 + 1)

Elodie's whoop is infectious: "Spirits of Fire assail from on high while the Servants of Water attack from below!"


Ready an Acid Bolt for anything coming down either of the hallways.

HP:19/19	AC: 12 (16 M.A)	Fort: +2, Ref: +3, Wil: +3	Init: +2	M.W. Quarterstaff: +0Atk 1d6-2
BAB: 1	Mov: 6	CMB: -1 | CMD: 11	Per: +0	Spell Save DC=Spell Level+15, 17 Conj.

Spells Learned - 0: Detect Magic, Light, Mage Hand, Read Magic; 1st: Grease, Obscuring Mist, Summon Monster 1, Summon Monster 1; 2nd: Summon Monster 2, Summon Monster 2, Web
Bonded Object - The Staff of Nu'll
Magic Items - Pearl of Jacobany, Pearl of Jacobany

R & R -ROUND 4

Init 22
Gumphrey continues to stand motionless.

Init 21
As Talmut prepares for the possible arrival of new enemies, he commands his summons to press the attack. The two celestial creatures continue to batter their foes, striking "low" as commanded.

- Slam Attack = 7 (1 on the die) Miss.
- Slam Attack = 12 (6 on the die) 6 Damage.

Init 17
Jeremiah puts away his axes, draws his bow, and sinks another well-placed shot into one of the monsters.

Init 14
Elodie's flaming sphere continues to roll over the top of enemy while bolts of fire burst forth from her fingertips. The remaining creatures fall, burning, into the shallow water all around you.

- Thing's Reflex Save = 13 (13 on the die)

Init 3
With your enemies vanquished, Maius stops talking.

Jeremiah will move to Gumphrey and provide him whatever aid he can, he will then start to search the room and corpses.

Elodie follows Jeremiah, pulling two small vials out of her bag as she approaches. She offers Gumphrey the first vial, and then the second.

Potion of Lesser Restoration x2, cures 7 attribute damage.

After restoring Gumphrey's mind, she helps Jeremiah search the room.

Talmut will inspect the walls and floor for hidden doors or the like, or additional writings.

Gumphrey stares dumbly at Elodie, as if he doesn't quite understand what she is telling him ... but he does as he told, and quaffs the potions. A moment later, he returns to his old self, seemingly in command of his own facilities, once again.

As before, the walls and other surfaces of this room are covered with mold, mildew, and fungus ... any writings or artwork that once graced these walls are long since faded or discolored. You find no evidence of secret doors, hidden panels, or other unique architecture (there are, however, two open doorways; one to the north and one to the south).

As Talmut inspects the wall near the southern exit, he catches a glimpse of what's in the next room: two more creepers. There does not appear to be any more fecund corpses surrounding them.

As Elodie searches the wall near the northern doorway, she is able to peer into the room to the north, as well. There does not appear to be anything moving around in there.

When Jeremiah examines the corpses, he finds that underneath all the growth, they are wearing ordinary adventuring clothes  ... worn and stain beyond any hope of repair. One of them has a rusted dagger in his belt that might be salvageable. They have 5 silvers and 16 coppers between them, all heavily patinated. Finally, one of them is also wearing a signet ring; though heavily rusted, the seal can still be made out (just barely).

Upon seeing the ring Jeremiah speaks out, "Hmm... Has anyone seen this seal before?"

If Talmut alerts the party to the presence of the creatures to the south he will pocket the ring and quick draw his bow (OOC: readying an action to attack).

GM Edit: OOC: What condition is going to "trigger" your readied action?

OOC: If Talmut alerts the party and we decide to attack the creepers in the room, Elodie will cast Fire Bolt. If not...

Elodie says, "This room here looks empty. Shall we have a look around?"

Talmut briefly inspects the signet ring.  Knowledge(History) or Int roll on the seal?

"Two more plant creepers reside in the next room, my friends. I suggest we wrap our nose and mouths with damp cloth, lest our wills succumb to the same pollen as did Gumphry's.  Let us perform some impromptu horticulture, yes?  Two from the north passage and one from the east.  Maius, some gardening music, if you would?"

Wait until everyone is ready (Mask up with clean water!) and then....
Standard - Start in E22? Acid Bolt on Creeper 1
Move -  Northeast and then south to I 22, heading toward the other doorway....

Talmut recognizes the seal as that of Vicereine's royal house ... and it appears to be a relatively modern stylization of it. Perhaps these ruins have been explored before? At any rate, the wearer of this ring might have been the Vicereine's ancestor ... or even a cousin, perhaps. 

---

With their mouths and noses covered, the party moves cautiously to the next room. Attacking from a distance, they quickly destroy the two remaining creepers; with magic and arrows, everyone does their part. 

- OOC: No point in rolling it out (the plants are relatively defenseless as this point). Everyone just subtract a couple spells or arrows, please.

The party finds the next room to be very similar to the last. Mold and mildew cover every surface, obscuring whatever might have remained of this ancient place. There are, however, no corpses to plunder in this room.

By this point, the water level is down to your ankles and is still drifting toward open halls. Although no secret doors exist here, the party does find what was probably a trap door in the past. In the southwest corner of the room, the floor drops off suddenly into a deeper pool ... which probably fills a space of undetermined size. Maybe a small treasure room? Or a secret exit? Maybe even another sub-level? Swimming deeper into the darkened waters is the only way to find out.

Of course, the party could simply continue north, instead.

"We should finish exploring this floor before we proceed deeper down, we should head north. Gumphrey you feel fit to lead the way?"

Jeremiah draws his axes and will follow Gumphrey, if he takes the lead.

"Agreed."

Talmut will fall in line behind the others.

Elodie agrees with Jeremiah and also falls in line, taking a moment to call upon the spirits to aid Gumphrey as he leads the party.

Cast Guidance on Gumphrey (OOC: you know...since he's been tossed into a pit and had his brain drilled into...who knows what's next for poor Gumphrey!).

Gumphrey takes the lead, moving northward through the last two rooms. The next room you come to is smaller, but the one side of the floor has collapsed, allowing a deeper pool to form. Unlike the smaller pit in the room you just left, this one is much wider.

The pool is easy enough to circumvent, but the room appears to be a dead end. While Gumphrey and Talmut search for a secret passage, Jeremiah is able to identify the pool as the crocodile's lair. Using his tracking skills, he finds clear signs of the beasts' bellies and tail's dragging through the muck.

By the time a secret passage is found, the water has all but drained from the room. Gumphrey ties a rope around his waist and tosses the other to the rest of his companions. "I don't care to go swimming again, for quite some time ... never mind falling." Pressing on the secret stone Talmut found, Gumphrey manages to open the secret door, which seems swivel as it opens, leaving room to pass on either side of it. (E14-E15).

Moving on, you come to a fork in the hall. Faced with the choice of going left or right, Gumphrey chooses "left," as that is the party's standing order.

Next, you come to an even smaller room, roughly the size of the treasure room you encountered before. Like the treasure room, there are four statues in here, one in each corner. Carefully, Gumphrey moves through the room, prodding the floor ahead of him before taking any solid steps ... and fortunately, too. He manages to find a pressure plate in the floor and avoid stepping on it. "Let me disable this," he says, "In case we have to beat a hasty a retreat."

After several minutes, he is ready to proceed. 

The next room is a much larger room, but it too has statues in each corner. Another hall continues on to the east. Statue-filled alcoves stand on either side of the hall, and a stout double door at the end of it. Before heading down the hall, however, Gumphrey stops and looks around the bigger room you are currently in. "Should we have a look around in here, before we move on?"

Even with the water drained out, a thick layer of muck covers the floor. Mildew and fungus dominate the walls and ceiling, with several small roots hanging down from where the ceiling has cracked. Just like the ones you found before, these statues cannot be identified from a casual glance; their visages are obscured by mold and other growth.

Elodie stops for a moment in the large room, remembering the power hidden within the statues closer to the entrance. She closes her eyes and concentrates, attempting to determine if there's anything similar in this room.

Cast Detect Magic.

While the party searches the secret room, Jeremiah will head back and search the crocodiles lair more thoroughly.

"Holler if you need me, I'll be in the previous room."