HLoM: The Firebird, Chapter 2

[Revka et al]

Is Cattia invisible, or is this a different spell? I can't remember what the Queen of the Night is for, exactly.

The Queen of the Night is her Hat of Disguise. She's using the illusion powers of the hat to color herself black. Now that I think about it, she should probably knock a foot off her height as well?

Hurrying forward, you turn a corner and come to a door--also locked--and a pair of indentations in the wall at eye level, which prove to look into the torture chamber. The scent of the laird has abruptly gone cold.

Taking full advantage of her brother's magic, Cattia pokes around the immediate area for secret doors or panels. Noting that Ushka does not indicate the door, Cattia suspects that the Laird has been here and gone back the way he came, but she checks the floor and ceiling in case a trapdoor explains the sudden disappearance of the scent.

Once she has assured herself that the only way forward is through the door, she checks around it for traps before setting to work on the lock.

Taking 10 (total of 20) on Perception checks left, right, up and down, then another around the door for traps, then taking 10 (total of 20) on the lock.

[Nathan of the FoS]

There is indeed a trapdoor in the ceiling--fairly well hidden, but not too hard to spot, given the sharp eyes looking for it. Ushka's sharp ears and sharp nose also detect something moving--something quite a bit bigger than she is, perhaps as big as a human--moving on the other side of the door. The scent is faint, but smells both of wolf and of decay.

The lock proves stubborn; it's quite well made and will require a bit of attention to defeat.



"You're both men of faith?" Craig asks Marcel and Avram, opening a door for them and gesturing them through. Marcel assents briefly; he seems a bit withdrawn. Craig nods and gestures Lena forward; she feels a slight tug at her pocket (the one with the letter from Isolt) as she passes him, and he continues speaking. "You'll have to tell me more of that on another occasion. I find it hard to give the gods all the credit their more avid followers claim for them, myself, but I may say that theology has long been an interest of mine."

[NeoTiamat]

Ushka closed her eyes shut briefly. This would have been much simpler if her mistress was around, or if the druid was anywhere nearby. Unfortunately, neither of them were around, so Ushka was left to pantomime to keep her allies from running smack-dab into a werewolf (or something). Ushka hated doing so. It was undignified.

Still, the fox sat down beneath the trapdoor, and then pointed at the trapdoor with a paw, then held that paw up once (what Ushka would give for opposable thumbs). She then sat back down on her haunches and waved both paws in the air, poking her nose at Renhalt and trying to move her paws in that sketching-a-person gesture she'd seen humans do. She lowered her paws afterwards, looking at the others in case they were getting it (the fox was not optimistic), then stood up and made as if to growl, before sitting back again and waving her paws, trying to move them again, now waving her paws in what might very charitably be called a quadrupedal form. She paused, then wrinkled her nose and poked it at the trapdoor, before lifting it and wrinkling it again.



"We have quite an ecumenical council among us." Lena said, shifting her hands with seeming casualness to rest atop the pocket where the letter had been. "They worship the Morninglord in my land, and I am not entirely ignorant of their works."

[Nerit]

Nuray almost swallowed her tongue when she felt that ice-cold spear of unrepentant malice. How had she not felt it immediately? But she stood her ground. The Isfahani had brought her to this, had they? Not much left to do but fight.

At a whisper, some of the runes carved into Nuray's bow glowed green and blood red. Then she let an arrow fly straight for this wreckage of a nobleman.


Will Save
[dice]0[/dice]
+14 (10 & bonus) = 34

Swift Action
Bane: Undead

Standard Action
Fire!
[dice]1[/dice]
+13 (w/bane) = 32

If hits, [dice]2[/dice]
+3 and
[dice]3[/dice]
(w/bane) = 13 damage

Please, please correct me if I mess this up. I haven't played Pathfinder combat in 2 years. For example, is Richard in the way and do I need to take a penalty for that?

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Having already battled his demons since walking into this place, Vasili is remarkably calm. He stays far back in the fog well out of the Tristan's reach (about 15' away), and interposes several illusory figures--just simple shadowforms, to avoid having to concentrate on anything complex--alongside the other party members. When he sees Tara and Rodjan flee, he tries to pulls up an illusory wall of stone on the perimeter of the fog cloud, in the hopes of keeping them close, but the strain is too great. Rather than lose the entire illusion, he sends the archon to keep them together and safe until they come to their senses.

[Nathan of the FoS]

Richard deals 13 damage, Nuray deals 7 damage to Tristen. I am rounding once up, once down, just so you know. The archon bugs out, as do Altan, Tara and Rojan. I don't recall any of you having a light to hand now that the lantern archon is gone? (We will fudge Nuray's roll as having happened as the archon was leaving.) Tristen himself is faintly luminescent, so you can see him, but without a light source you will be fighting blind against any other opponents that appear (assuming they don't bring a light themselves).

As Tristen falls silent, somewhere close at hand his banshee wail is echoed by the howling of wolves--weak and broken, as if from half-choked mouths, but unmistakeable nonetheless. The look of hatred the vengeful spirit gives Richard is so strong in its malice that the paladin can feel it, sharp as a physical blow. He retreats into the tomb, passing through the back wall with its mural of Isolt as if it weren't there.

Perception check at DC 16, please!
Richard takes 12 damage and must make a Fort save at DC 24 or take 3 Cha damage. Richard may make an attack of opportunity as Tristen retreats.

[Isabella]

Placeholder: Richard swipes at the retreating Tristen for another 27 damage. He also can't see a thing.

Richard ground his teeth, holding his sword before him as he took a step into the pitch black tomb. "Light!" he begged his companions behind him, not even certain who was still there...

[DeepShadow of FoS]

The departure of Vasili's archon is a devastating blow. Vasili is plunged into blackness both physical and spiritual, leaving him gasping for breath. What else should he have expected? Here he was, alone in the dark again, helpless against the monster's cruelty. Only his continuous concentration held the concealing fog around him, like the blankets he used to huddle in. To let that drop would deliver him naked to the beast. His guardians--mere constructs of his imagination--have fled before the creature in the dark.

"Light!" Richard begged his companions behind him, not even certain who was still there...

No. He was not facing the monster alone yet. One of his angels still remained, and needed his help.

It was time for the little boy to come out from under the blanket.

The fog vanished in an instant, replaced by a warm glow that stretched in all directions from Vasili's location. In another instant, Vasili flew toward the entrance to the tomb.

Free action to drop concentration, standard to cast the spell, free action to drop the target (a coil of rope Vasili was holding), move action to dash toward the tomb.

Perception check +5 to see the OHCRAPGETINSIDE!!!
[dice]0[/dice]

[Nathan of the FoS]

"I've not heard of the Morninglord," Craig says, glancing at Lena's hands as they move. "A sun god?" He looks over the three of you, then says, "I am the only one of my family who is not devoted to one of our deities...was not, I suppose I must say." He passes his hand over his face, suddenly seeming very tired and much older. "My wife is devoted to Diancecht, my son Morholt dedicated himself to the Morrigan. My daughter has had many visions--both of gods the druids know and gods they do not."

He pauses, then shrugs. "That's neither here nor there, I suppose. Please tell my lady wife I will attend on her briefly before I retire. If you need anything for your comfort please feel free ask our servants. Brigid?"

The servant passing--a round-faced, freckled strawberry blonde--curtsies deeply and says, "Yes, m'lord?"

"See to the comfort of our guests."

Bowing briefly, mostly to Lena, he turns to depart.

[Nathan of the FoS]

As Vasili's light springs into being, illuminating the courtyard, you see a long row of turned earth at the east end of the courtyard shift and heave. Something is digging its way out of the earth.

They are wolves...missing eyes or legs, bearing fatal wounds, but still animated by unholy powers. One throws back its head and gives a weak, strangled howl; the others, perhaps a dozen, move toward you deliberately but purposefully.

VIEW CONTENT:

[Isabella]

Richard's head snapped back at the howl. "Go!" he breathed quietly at Vasili and Nuray, even as he began to run toward Isolt's final resting place. "Run!"

No further time to spare for speech. Richard let his sword fall in one hand, setting a gauntleted palm against the lid of the coffin. It would not budge. In the light from Vasili's spell, the warrior could see the mortar filling the seam. Gritting his teeth, Richard threw himself against the lid again, but it was no use. The stone would not yield, and Richard was not strong enough.

With one final, desperate attempt, Richard slammed his hands into the stone lid, his vision going red. Muscles tore, but he did not care, his thought only on one objective... a bestial scream ripped itself from his throat, and with a crack like thunder the mortar gave, stone groaning against stone as the lid was finally pushed open. Richard pulled his hands away, his grip so tight he had left gashes in the marble. There! There was Isolt, and there, next to her, the Shard.

With a hesitant, reverent touch, Richard picked it up in trembling fingers, the blood haze clearing from his eyes. With a soft gasp, he took a step back, sword raised to defend himself.

Move Action: Going to H33, just next to Isolt's coffin.
Standard Action: Natural 20 (BOOYAH) plus a hero point to rip open the mortared lid.
Swift Action: Grabbing the shield of Ezra.

Now let's get out of here, guys!

[Revka et al]

There is indeed a trapdoor in the ceiling--fairly well hidden, but not too hard to spot, given the sharp eyes looking for it.

Upon seeing the trapdoor, Cattia gives up all thought toward picking the lock in front of her. In a secret passage that led to two doors, the most visible door of the two was almost certainly a trap.

Ushka closed her eyes shut briefly. This would have been much simpler if her mistress was around, or if the druid was anywhere nearby. Unfortunately, neither of them were around, so Ushka was left to pantomime to keep her allies from running smack-dab into a werewolf (or something). Ushka hated doing so. It was undignified.

Ushka's dignity was spared by the simple fact that Cattia was not watching her performance. Her eyes were turned upward, finding any foothold or handhold she could to get her to the trapdoor.

Taking 10 (total of 20) on Perception to find any obvious handholds. Otherwise, it's a Climb check +5 to get up the wall.
[dice]0[/dice]

[NeoTiamat]

There would be a reckoning. Ushka cast a nervous glance in the direction of the door with the... whatever... it was behind it. Instead, Ushka kept quiet and hoped Cattia wouldn't forget her on the way up.



"A moment, milord." Lena said, feeling the letter in fact gone and reading the god-hunger in Craig's face. Lena wasn't sure what was going on, but something interesting could yet be winkled out of this. And as a diplomat, Lena's first rule was to keep people talking. "I have studied quite a few religions in my time, as part of my education. There was a prayer I recalled fondly... Eternal Power, of earth and air! / Unseen, yet seen in all around, / Remote, but dwelling everywhere, / Though silent, heard in every sound. If you could describe your daughter's visions, perhaps I can help?"

Fascinate DC 19 while I'm at it.

[Nerit]

Nuray blinked in the dim light, but she did not run. She hesitated--watched helplessly as Richard abused himself to get into the sarcophagus. "Let Your light shine on us poor heathens," she said only after the others had retreated, and touched her bow. The spell was cast.

"He is a madman!" she hissed to herself, and when Richard was in range she grabbed for his arm and tried to drag him back from the zombie wolves.


Nuray also casts Light just in case.

[Nathan of the FoS]

As Richard sets his hands on the shard of the Shield of Ezra, time seems to slow, and then to stop. He feels something tearing. For a confused moment he is face to face with a young dark-blonde woman in Forfarian garb who seems oddly familiar, and then the corpse of Isolt, no more than skull and bones, has become Isolt asleep. He hears three women laughing in almost-unison, their voices high and shrill, and then one woman's voice, speaking quietly, that reaches to his heart and sends a thrill of recognition through him, and another's, that is like his sister Alice's will be when she is a grandmother. There is a crack like the sound of thunder close at hand, and then silence.


It is dark, and you are out of doors and surrounded by trees. Somewhere near you, you hear two women speaking, their voices low.



As Richard reaches down and touches something in the tomb of the lady Isolt, there is a flare of white light and he is gone. Outside, the wolves throw back their heads and howl in unison, then collapse and lie unmoving.