The Tide of Shadows - Chapter 11 - Interlude

Adventure Date: August 13, 2011

Last Updated: October 26, 2011

before you start collecting the treasure from the fallen orcs

Shaking off the effects of the Umber Hulk’s gaze, Skar’arr surveyed the carnage for Beast - the plaintive chattering of Lord Faragut drawing his eyes towards a disturbingly large pool of blood.

With every stride he took towards his fallen companion, he shrank a little bit, until he was once again normal size as he reached the side of Beast’s still form - reassured by the slight movement of Beast’s chest, as the dog drew shallow breaths.

He absentmindedly stroked Lord Faragut who had taken up station upon his master’s shoulder.

As Kat moved forward, she kept a watchful eye on the large collapsed hole that marked the passage of the Umber Hulk, for though she had struck some mighty blows, she knew full well that the Umber Hulk was not to be taken lightly and would not be easily dissuaded - from a meal or from meting out vengeance.

"So big guy ... afraid of all creepy crawlies or do you have a particular type that gives you the heebie- jeebies?" she quipped, but quickly drew quiet at the sight of master and dog.

Raven gave a wide berth to Skar’arr and called out to her blind sister-in-arms, "Shribryn, what do your ears tell you?" The blind girl cocked her head for a moment or two, as if she heard something, but then dismissively shook her head. "We’re alone for now, as far as I can tell." Raven nodded and visibly relaxed.

Their haughty silver companion, stumbling over orc corpses, lurched out of the right hand side doorway of the pair flanking the dias, with the massive throne and statue commanding the elevated space. "So do we want to waste any magical healing on that lightweight Pelias? It seems every other encounter he’s swooning. Lucky for him he has his uses," smirked Scuro. At the disapproving glares from his companions, he quickly added, "He is still alive ... I made sure by nudging him with the toe of my boot ... he groaned ... dead men don’t groan ..."

Before anyone could comment on Scuro’s bedside manner, Shribryn’s head whipped around and her sightless eyes scanned upwards. "This could be very bad," was all she said before she began sprinting for the broken double doors leading out into the courtyard.

Mere moments later, everyone heard the unmistakeable sounds of a wyrm battle raging in the skies above.

When they emerged from the throne room, with necks craning skyward, the heroes were privy to a spectacular midair battle between what appeared to be a wyvern (with what could have been riding tackle strapped to its torso) and a dragon. The combination of distance and heavy cloud cover made it impossible to make out exactly what type of dragon was involved, but the wyvern was obviously the hunted in this encounter.

At one point, there was a midair collision and the two wyrms plummeted towards the ground in jumble of wings and claws. The wyvern’s stinger glanced harmlessly off the scales of the dragon. And abruptly the combatants disengaged, catching buoying winds beneath their leathery wings. At times it appeared that the unidentified dragon was walking on the clouds themselves as the leviathans battled.

Eventually, the dragon was able to manoeuvre itself behind the wyvern and brought to bear its awesome breath weapon - a cone of what appeared to be white energy. The wyvern was enveloped and plummeted from the sky - obviously having succumbed to this awe inspiring attack.

The dragon circled for five minutes before disappearing into the clouds - satisfied the wyvern was vanquished - a roar marking its passage.

Skar’arr muttered, "At least now we only have to worry about a pissed of Umber Hulk." which prompted Scuro to ask "What Umber Hulk?!" which drew smiles from his gathered companions.

"Perhaps we should talk inside," suggested Kat, to which everyone agreed.

  • Addendum: the wyvern plummetted into the mountains ... and from where you were standing, it is impossible to tell where the body landed.

    LOOT FROM ORCS

    Collected and sorted, but equipment not appraised yet


    ROUND 1:

    SHRIBRYN - stands guard at the doorway leading out into the throne room

    RAVEN - stands guard at the foot of the stairs

    SKAR'ARR - administers CURE MODERATE WOUNDS potion to BEAST (13 hit points healed)

    BEAST - unconscious and being healed by SKAR'ARR and will regain consciousness next round

    LORD FARAGUT - chattering incessantly

    KAT - begins searching the room and finds nothing - but does remember that there appears to be a large gem in the crudely carved eye socket of the statue in the throne room

    SCURO - uses PELIAS' CURE MODERATE WOUNDS WAND to heal PELIAS 14 hit points (12 charges left) (NOTE – there are 9 charges left on the CURE LIGHT WOUNDS WAND)

    DRA-KOO-LA - remains hidden in SCURO’s gear

    PELIAS - unconscious and awaiting the gentle ministrations of SCURO AND PELIAS regains consciousness the next round

  • Addendum: both LORD FARAGUT and DRA-KOO-LA had replenished their goodberry supply - if any is available - earlier on - say Round 1 or 2 before SCURO began his DETECT MAGIC ...

    ROUND 2:

    SHRIBRYN - continues to stand guard at the doorway leading out into the throne room

    RAVEN - continues to stand guard at the foot of the stairs

    SKA'ARR - with Beast now conscious, he tests the composite short bows and based on his experience, estimates the bows to be +3 Strength bonus bows

    BEAST - regains consciousness and licks his master's face, all the while taking up a defensive position to guard his master

    LORD FARAGUT - chattering incessantly, he finds refuge in SKA'ARR 's backpack

    KAT - moves out into the throne room and in front of the throne/statue. The statue is 12 feet in height. A large gem is prominently displayed in a crudely carved eye socket that scars the statues face and obscures its former visage. Other than knowing it is a male figure, it is impossible to know who the statue represents as it has been extensively defaced and vandalized. KAT does not detect any traps.

    SCURO - casts DETECT MAGIC and moves out into the throne room to join KAT.

    DRA-KOO-LA - remains hidden in SCURO’s gear

    PELIAS - heals himself - converting NIMBUS OF LIGHT into a CURE LIGHT WOUNDS (heals for 6 hit points)


    ROUND 3:

    SHRIBRYN - continues to stand guard at the doorway leading out into the throne room

    RAVEN - continues to stand guard at the foot of the stairs

    SKA'ARR - begins appraising one of the great axes from one of the Mountain Orcs

    BEAST - takes up a defensive position to guard his master facing the only unwatched doorway

    LORD FARAGUT - remains in SKA'ARR's backpack

    KAT - while waiting for SCURO, KAT studies the statue’s nooks and crevasses to determine the best way to reach the gem. To her experienced eye, it looks to be a relatively easy climb. The DC is 12 and KAT will need to make two successful checks – one for up and one for down (DM to roll). From where she stands, the gem appears to be half the size of her head.

    SCURO - joins KAT in front of the statue and directs his DETECT MAGIC cone at the statue and immediately notes that the gem glows with a magical aura. Nothing else on the statue glows.

    DRA-KOO-LA - Pops his head out of SCURO’S gear and use his BLINDSIGHT AND LISTEN (+6)

    PELIAS - continues to heal himself - converting COMPREHEND LANGUAGES into a CURE LIGHT WOUNDS (heals for 11 hit points)


    ROUND 4:

    SHRIBRYN - continues to stand guard at the doorway leading out into the throne room. She begins to feel more than hear the beat of numerous drums, coming from somewhere below – reverberating through the stone itself. She quietly gives her companions a heads up to stay vigilant as drumming – orc she assumes – has begun.

    RAVEN - continues to stand guard at the foot of the stairs

    SKA'ARR - continues appraising one of the great axes from one of the Mountain Orcs (2nd round of appraising)

    BEAST - maintains a defensive position to guard his master facing the only unwatched doorway

    LORD FARAGUT - remains in SKAR'ARR's backpack

    KAT -keeping a vigilant eye out for trouble and impatiently awaiting the results of SCURO’s DETECT MAGIC spell. She does decide on a plan of action - once SCURO is finished, she will ask him to leave the room when she attempts to remove the gem just in case there is an undetected magical trap. And rather than climb down, as her CLIMB skill is not as developed as she would like (+5), she will JUMP down (+19) and TUMBLE (+16) to avoid damage.

    SCURO -after the 2nd round of DETECT MAGIC, SCURO notes that there is one strong aura associated with the gem.

    DRA-KOO-LA -continues to use his BLINDSIGHT AND LISTEN (+6)

    PELIAS - turns his attention to SKA’ARR and using the CURE MODERATE WOUNDS WAND heals him for 10 hit points (11 charges left on the wand)


    ROUND 5:

    SHRIBRYN - continues to stand guard at the doorway leading out into the throne room and concentrates on the drumming to see if she can determine whether it is moving closer/getting louder (LISTEN +19), but notes that the drumming has not gotten any louder. However, she begins to make out some words/verses in orcish (only due to her well honed listening skills):

    Running, on our way
    Hiding, you will pay
    Dying, one thousand deaths
    Running, on our way
    Hiding, you will pay
    Dying, one thousand deaths
    Searching
    Seek and destroy
    Searching
    Seek and destroy
    Searching
    Seek and destroy
    Searching
    Seek and destroy

    SHRIBRYN communicates this new development to her companions.

    RAVEN - continues to stand guard at the foot of the stairs

    SKA'ARR - continues appraising one of the great axes from one of the Mountain Orcs (3rd round of appraising)

    BEAST - maintains a defensive position to guard his master facing the only unwatched doorway

    LORD FARAGUT - remains in SKA'ARR's backpack

    KAT - keeping a vigilant eye out for trouble and impatiently awaiting the results of SCURO’s DETECT MAGIC spell.

    SCURO -after the 3rd round of DETECT MAGIC, SCURO notes that the strong aura associated with the gem is necromancy.

    DRA-KOO-LA - continues to use his BLINDSIGHT AND LISTEN (+6)

    PELIAS - continues to busy himself with SKA’ARR and using the CURE MODERATE WOUNDS WAND heals him for 15 hit points (10 charges left on the wand)


    ROUND 6:

    SHRIBRYN - continues to stand guard at the doorway leading out into the throne room and concentrates on the drumming to see if she can determine whether it is moving closer/getting louder (LISTEN +19), but notes that the drumming has not gotten any louder. She cannot make out other verses, though what she assumes is the chorus, she can still make out.

    RAVEN - continues to stand guard at the foot of the stairs and calls out that she would like a bit of healing attention after PELIAS is finished with SKA’ARR, ruefully commenting to no one in particular that she would not need any healing if it was not for the befuddled SKA’ARR.

    SKAR'ARR - continues appraising one of the great axes from one of the Mountain Orcs (4th round of appraising) – ignoring RAVEN’s comment or perhaps oblivious of the RAVEN’s verbal barb – and asks that PELIAS expend more of his healing magic on himself and BEAST

    BEAST - maintains a defensive position to guard his master facing the only unwatched doorway

    LORD FARAGUT - remains in SKAR'ARR's backpack

    KAT - now that SCURO has finished, KAT begins scaling the statue and is able to reach the gem without incident. Using her dagger, she is able to pry the gem from its perch with a bit of effort. She notes that the gem is not quite as big as she first thought – it is the size of her fist and the facets are flawless and the red colour more vibrant. She tucks it into her pouch and prepares to jump down

    SCURO - he shouts up at KAT, "That is a strong magical necromancy aura, so be careful prying the gem loose - we wouldn’t want it to be damaged!" and he mutters under his breath “It is hard to find competent minions these days.” Taking KAT’s advice, he moves past SHRIBYRN and into the room that the group has decided to use as its base of operations for now, but as he does so, he scans the rest of the ‘Throne Room’ with his DETECT MAGIC to make sure he is not leaving behind any other magical auras before turning his attention to the orc loot. Next round, he will turn his DETECT MAGIC towards the loot gathered from the slain orcs. As he enters the room, he offers to use his wand to make RAVEN feel better after he is done using his DETECT MAGIC on the orc loot, but lucky for him, RAVEN misses the lewd undertone of the offer.

    DRA-KOO-LA -continues to use his BLINDSIGHT AND LISTEN (+6)

    PELIAS - moves away from SKAR’ARR, chuckling over his shoulder, "I should really clean up your mess, before she gets more agitated," he emphatically nodding his head towards RAVEN. As he reaches the amazon at her guard post, he uses the CURE MODERATE WOUNDS WAND to heal RAVEN for 9 hit points (9 charges left on the wand)


    ROUND 7:

    SHRIBRYN - continues to stand guard at the doorway leading out into the throne room and concentrates on the drumming to see if she can determine whether it is moving closer/getting louder (LISTEN +19), but notes that the drumming has not gotten any louder, but seems to have gotten more frenetic. She lets her companions know what she is sensing and shouts out to KAT in particular, “Hurry it up KAT. I don’t have a good feeling about this drumming!”

    RAVEN - continues to stand guard at the foot of the stairs and comments, once again to no one in particular, that at least one male of the group is competent and knows his role and hopes that the next wounds she suffers in combat will not be at the hands of an ally.

    SKA'ARR - continues appraising one of the great axes from one of the Mountain Orcs (5th round of appraising) – glancing up when SCURO, with his DETECT MAGIC, enters the room. He once again appears to be oblivious to the verbal bards directed towards him and he reiterates the guard command to BEAST upon hearing the news about the drumming.

    BEAST - maintains a defensive position to guard his master facing the only unwatched doorway

    LORD FARAGUT - remains in SKAR'ARR's backpack

    KAT - with a deft tuck and roll, KAT descends from the top of the statue with the gem safely in hand. She makes her way to the room where her companions have temporarily camped to find out more about the gem in her possession and to see what other magical “treats” SCURO has uncovered. As she passes SHRIBRYN, she cockily brags, “See, my blind sister. Nothing to worry about .” and she playfully hums, “Sisters are doin' it for themselves, standin' on their own two feet and ringin' on their own bells.”

    SCURO - after hearing KAT’s safe and soft landing from the top of the statue, he tenses up a bit, in anticipation of examining the gem more closely. Turning his DETECT MAGIC on the orc loot, he announces that POTIONS A. B, C, D, E, F, G, H and I, and AMULET A (bone shaped like an open eye) and AMULET B (shaped like a golden disk) all glow with magical auras.

    DRA-KOO-LA - continues to use his BLINDSIGHT AND LISTEN (+6)

    PELIAS - walks over to BEAST and using the CURE LIGHT WOUNDS WAND heals him for 4 hit points (8 charges left on the wand)


    ROUND 8:

    SHRIBRYN - continuing to stand guard at the doorway leading out into the throne room and to concentrate on the drumming to see if she can determine whether it is moving closer/getting louder (LISTEN +19), but notes that the drumming has not gotten any louder or more frenetic.

    RAVEN - continues to stand guard at the foot of the stairs wondering what the drumming means and shifts from foot to foot – anxious to punch something.

    SKAR'ARR - upon SCURO’s declaration that the amulets are magical, he drops the great axe he was appraising (narrowly missing his big toe) and picks up AMULET A (bone shaped like an open eye) to see if he can find anything special about the amulet. (this action is taken based on an earlier entry in the original AUGUST 3RD TREASURE post)

    BEAST - maintains a defensive position to guard his master facing the only unwatched doorway, but takes a moment to give PELIAS an appreciative lick on the hand.

    LORD FARAGUT - remains in SKAR'ARR's backpack

    KAT - once she enters the room, she pulls out the gem and glances at it, wondering why SCURO seems so excited about a gem imbued with necromantic magic. With a shrug, she places it in her pouch, unwilling to even theoretically delve into the mind of her silver companion for fear of what she might find there and perhaps, what would be reflected back. To busy herself, she picks up AMULET B (shaped like a golden disk) to try her hand at appraising, thinking to herself if SKAR’ARR can do this ...

    SCURO - He risks a furtive glance KAT’s way noting the gem is safely stored, continuing to turn his DETECT MAGIC on the orc loot (round 2), and he announces that:

  • POTIONS A. B, C, D, E, F, G, H and I, (FAINT AURAS)
  • AMULET A (bone shaped like an open eye) (FAINT AURA)
  • AMULET B (shaped like a golden disk) (MODERATE AURA)

    DRA-KOO-LA - continues to use his BLINDSIGHT AND LISTEN (+6)

    PELIAS - about to walk back to the others to see where he can lend a hand, he witnesses a young woman stumble out of the opposite doorway, her hands bound, a gag in her mouth. Her garb is that of a warrior – orcish perhaps he thinks to himself with a bit of curiosity – and she looks vaguely familiar – invoking the memory of another. But before he can make a move to approach, she collapses in the doorway across from him as a mist gently begins to boil out from the doorway behind her, swallowing up her prone form – obscuring all but a silhouette from view. (PELIAS, YOU CAN CHOOSE TO TAKE A STANDARD ACTION)


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