Book Two: Chapter Seven: "Restless Remains"

Does it matter? I have 2 C.A.'s, 1 at a +6, the other at a +2; I suppose use them where they would best help us win the challenge.

-Swift

Verity is riding.

Hound got a 40 on round 2 with OHOM, if it is applicable.

-Swift

Was having computer stability issues last night; and then had to go to bed. But I am back, now ...

The party moves along the bouldery beach, as stealthily as possible. With their minds united, they move as one; listening and watching to prevent any mistseps. Once, Hound has to stop and direct Aubrey with gestures;* so the elf barely avoids toppling a pile of precarious rocks. The group hesitates, but nothing reacts to the sound; the occassional falling rock must be normal here. After a second, the move on, and quickly reach the cave entrance.

*Crucial Advice
SC Successful: 1800 XPs Each (for a Career Total of 68,006).

The head-topped stakes are still there, but those that were knocked over during your last visit have been re-erected. They are noticibly more rotten, now. The party begins to enter the cave, when Davin's keen ears pick-up the feint sound of creaking leather. Turning toward the source, he notices one of the heads stretching it's jaw. Decapitated watchmen?

Through the power of OHOM, the entire party becomes aware of the heads. Half of you have an epiphany, which means all of you are aware of the threat immediately. Taalgarnuk moves forward, crouches down on the last boulder, so that he can check the sand for traps. (Standing next to him, Davin can do the same). Before long, they uncover evidence of a trap.

The entrance area in front of the cave has been trapped. Arcane sigils, engraved into clay tablets, have been placed under the sand. There could be dozens of them. Their exact purpose is not yet know, but clearly you don't want to disturb any of them; you probably don't even want to step too close to it.

Do you want to rush through the trapped area and hope nothing bad happens? Or would you rather try to disable it? Or do you have some other plan to bypass it?

O.o.C.: I have the Passwall ritual, we could potentially go right thru the wall where we stand. The only problem is our larger allies, the tunnel is only 1 sq. wide and tall. What about Azzy's knife, can it cut a hole for us get into the cave? could we use our invisibility rings to avoid detection? can Azzy fly us over the trapped area and set us safely on the other side?

macksgarageusa wrote:The only problem is our larger allies, the tunnel is only 1 sq. wide and tall.

They could squeeze, but you might need it to be more than 1 sq deep to get through.

macksgarageusa wrote:What about Azzy's knife, can it cut a hole for us get into the cave?

No. The Exodus knife only cust one way; there is no way to exit from a different "side" than that through which you entered.

macksgarageusa wrote:could we use our invisibility rings to avoid detection?

Possibly. The rings might hide you from the head-sentries eyes, but probably not from the traps under foot (and there's no gaurantee that those aren't "area effect").

macksgarageusa wrote:can Azzy fly us over the trapped area and set us safely on the other side?

He is strong enough to carry you all one by one. But again, the traps might not need to be stepped on to trigger..

Malazek wrote:

macksgarageusa wrote:The only problem is our larger allies, the tunnel is only 1 sq. wide and tall.

They could squeeze, but you might need it to be more than 1 sq deep to get through.

- Passwall (2,600/1,000/Arcana)
Level: 12, Category: Exploration, Time: 10 minutes, Duration: 1 minute
You create a passage through any solid material. You choose the orientation of the passage relative to the surface you touch. The passage is 1 square wide and tall. The passage can be a number of squares deep equal to your Arcana check divided by 5. This ritual does not conceal the passage from anyone or bar anyone from entering. A creature inside the passage when it closes takes 5d10 Damage and is ejected to the nearest end of the passage. This ritual does not affect the structural integrity of a cavern or wall; the passage is a twist in space, not an actual shifting of material.

O.o.C.:The issue with length of the passage might not matter, an Arcana check/5 for me would be at least 4 sq. and up to 8 sq. long. The problem would be finding out for sure if that distance would put us past the traps, any help here from the 'trapmasters' would be appreciated.

EDIT: and... its expensive.

OOC: Well, if you roll high enough to get into the cave (by going through the cliff face, instead of the cave mouth), then you will definitely get by the trap in question. The trap only blocks the natural cave opening.

Great suggestion with Passwall, brohammy. Had a death in the family, so I have been busy with the viewing and funeral this week.

After listening to Straegis' description of his magicks, Davin uses his memory of the Cave Temple and knowledge of traps and nature to find the best spot for the spell's origin, bypassing the traps and sentries.

Nature=38, Thievery = 41; +16 OHOM?

-Swift

Based on everyone's memory, the cave wall was thinnest in the general area where you are standing. Last time you were here, there were seven dwarves with frothy mugs lazing about the first chamber (which was massive, filled with stone steps, lit by two torches, and housed the statwe of Azzy's mom, as well as two archways leading deeper into the Mountain). Those Dwarves that were here then perished; but they could've been replaced by now.

OOC: Okay, any addendums to the plan? As I understand it, the current plan is to cast Passwall and then walk right into the first chamber? Of course, casting a ritual makes noise; that'll ruin your stealth check, standing so close to these heads. ... And what if there ARE guards? Are you planning to use the Invisibility Rings? Or are you planning to kill them? ... I am ready to precede as soon as I have a clear picture of exactly what you're doing.

Okay, upon closer inspection, Passwall seems bad - noisy, expensive, and too long to cast atm. So, here is an alternate plan - Vangg casts Solar Wrath on all the undead sentries. We have a surprise round and CA here. We can all ready an action to range attack any survivors of Vangg's assault, still in the surprise round (it you're gonna cast spells, make em' silent). I think we have a fair chance of killing everything silently in the surprise round. Then Tal and I disarm the traps, and we move on. Sound good?

Davin thinks the new plan at everyone and waits for their approval. While doing, the keen-eared elf will try to hear what is going on in the inner chamber.

Perception=59

-Swift

Swifthand wrote:Davin thinks the new plan at everyone and waits for their approval. While doing, the keen-eared elf will try to hear what is going on in the inner chamber.
Perception=59

TN was 57.

Davin closes his eyes and listens intentely to the myriad of sounds in the area. After a moment, he isolates the sound of scuffling feet and the barely audible mumbles that are tell-tales signs of corporal and mindless undead; it's diffcult to make out the exact number inside, but it's clealrly "some." (between 5 and 12, maybe).

“Sounds like a plan.”
Verity readies a throwing hammer attack, assuming the others aid his stealth. If not he'll sit this attack out.

Stealth: 29

Straegis II: HP:96/96 AC:29 Fort:25 Ref:25 Will:22 Healing Surges:9/9 Action Points:1

After weighing the options with his allies, Straegis agrees that the using the ritual to go thru the rock is not the best plan. Following Davin's idea, he readies his javelin to attack one of the sentries left standing after Vangg's holy blast.

Readied Action: Ranged Attack on Sentry left standing.

Initiative: 1d20=4+9=13

Attack: 1d20=6+16+2(C.A.)=24
Damage: 1d6=6+9=15

O.o.C.: In the event that there are too many sentries left for the group to kill with one attack from each, or if there are misses before my init., I would like my readied action to include "Fulmineum" arc lightning as a free action on hit. The target and EACH enemy within 2 sq. will take 1d6 lightning damage. My attack would be centered where it will hit the most enemies. Also, any ONE ally that wishes to reroll for their initiative may do so with +5, the ally must use the new result. (Warlord Paragon- Spiral Timing)

Lightning Damage(if applicable): 1d6=6

I will ready a Twin Strike versus any sentries not destroyed.

36, 37
Damage - 21, 15

-Swift

Vangg's Solar Wrath instantly destroys 42 of the sentries ... leaving four for the rest of the party.
A flurry of javelins, hammers, and bolts follows; and a discharge of electricity finishes the job.

Now, only the magical trap stands between you and the cave entrance.

To aid Davin and Tully's effort Verity compares the trap sigils to the sacred runes representing the 10,000 Paths to Death.

Religion: 24

Halcyon wrote:To aid Davin and Tully's effort Verity compares the trap sigils to the sacred runes representing the 10,000 Paths to Death.

Religion: 24

Nice.

There is a resemblance.
The aid bonus applies. Also, take another +2 for coolness.

Talked to Swift on the phone ...

Taking-10, Davin and Taalgarnuk work together (aided by everyone else) to disable the magical traps. Clearing a path several yards wide, the are able to create a safe path that wraps around the corner and into the main cave.

1000 XPs Each (making 69,006 your new total).

After disabling the traps, the heroes creep toward the main chamber. As before, it is a massive cave, filled with stone steps. The steps lead up toward the back of the room, where massive arches lead back toward the temple proper. The stone pedastal where Azzy's mother once stood petrified still stands between the arches, at the top of the steps.

The heroes know that beyond this room, the arches are connected by a roound hallway that is flanked on either side by the cell-like alcoves that once served the preists' quarters ... but for now, they must deal with the nine zombies that are milling about in here.

Passive Perception: The zombies are Orcs. Or rather, they "were" Orcs.

Give me either Stealth checks or Initiative rolls. Or both.

Stealth - 39 (no OHOM included)
Initiative - 28

Hound Stealth - 30
Initiative - 27

-Swift

Malazek wrote:Nice... take another +2 for coolness.

LMAO! That's awesome!!

Straegis keeps his javelin ready as the group creeps forward.

Stealth: 1d20=17+7(half-lvl)=24(no OHOM added)
Initiative: 1d20=5+9=14

O.o.C.: Spiral Tactican paragon feature applies here also, ONE ally can reroll for Initiative with +5, ally must use new result. (Warlord Paragon- Spiral Timing)

Verity will creep forward if 4 allies are able to aid with OHOM, or hang back if not.

Stealth: 18 (no aid bonus)
Initiative: 28

Verity wrote:Verity will creep forward ... allies are able to aid

Straegis wrote:Straegis keeps his javelin ready as the group creeps forward.

Verity, Straegis, Davin, and Hound creep forward; the others hand back, aiding the forward four telepathically from the entrance. The orc-zombies do not react to the intrusion.

Davin has Init 28
Verity has Init 28
Hound has Init 27
Straegis has Init 14

Assuming everyone waited a round to get aid from the others, everyone else should have an Init of 29.
In total, there are six people aiding (Juugug, Tully, Vangg, Aubrey, Kersh, and Azzy).
Let's say +4 for Davin and Hound & +8 for Straegis and Verity.

The Zombies have Init 13.

Where is Zephyr, now? Is he inside or outside? Did you send him back yet?

Verity sends Zephyr back before entering the stone-floored chamer full of stairs.

Stealth: 32