The Ingaran Adventures
Episode 46
“The Vrock Roost and Lair”

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                  Lord Issic:  Half Human, Half Gold Dragon Warrior
                  Lady India: A gypsy Bard/Shadow Dancer
                  Lord Phaidon:  A Tamer of the Beasts
                  Cthaat: A young warrioress
                  Lord Alexander Maximus: The Gauntlet of Athena
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The Time: Autumn, Drauj 6, 6^th year, 8^th Age
The Place: Talishar – The main occupation of Talishar's residents is fishing.  There are a small handful of hunters as well, and a few farmers have cleared land to the south for small crops, although the forest is so thick and fertile, it is a constant struggle to fight off the encroaching woods that seek to reclaim the cleared spaces.
 

      In a chamber filled with chains hanging from the ceiling, filled with bones that littered the floor, and two stairs going down, Alexander looked around.  One door was closed, and another opening led to a room they had previously explored.
      Alexander made the decision that weighed on his mind. "Lets check the door we have not opened."  The young priest walked over and opened it.
      The next room was dust-coated and filled with cobwebs.  The table running down the center of the room was covered in weapons, as were the racks on the walls. All the weapons had strange runes carved on the blades; leering demons, skulls, and evil symbols embossed on the hilts and worked into the designs; and other frightening aspects that clearly identified them all as tools of great evil.  Many of the weapons are forged from some blood-red metal. The north wall of this armory bore a painted relief showing trolls using an elaborate winch to lower an elf girl into a firepit.
      Issic looked at the quality of the weapons.
      Alexander shook his head. "This looks to just be a basic armory. I don't think anything here is worth taking but Phaidon, could you check the relief for secret passages?"
      "I was just planning on doing that," said Phaidon.  He searched the relief, but found no secret passages. "Nothing here, Alexander."  Phaidon looked around the room and checked out the ceiling.
      "Let us move on then," said Alexander. "East or west stairs? I really don't have much of a preference."
      Phaidon pulled out a coin and flipped it into the air.  "East."

      "East it is then."
      "I will go first," said Phaidon as he nocked an arrow.
      Alexander said, "Issic you should follow Phaidon; that way I will be equally near you two and India and Cthaat if someone needs healing."  Issic nodded and went after Phaidon.
      Cthaat said, "I will follow Issic."
      "Fair enough Cthaat. I guess that leaves us guarding the rear, India"
      India said, "Very well, Alexander."
      A sharp odor grew heavier as they descended the stairs. A large, gray-green feather lay on one step.  Phaidon stopped everyone and said, "There is a large gray-green feather down here."  It was not a feather from nature.
      "Do demons have feathers?" asked Issic.
      "Those that we fought with Larbius in the tower did," answered Phaidon.  He could see the room at the bottom of the stairs from where he was.  He could see more feathers lying about the floor of the room.
      Alexander said, "Those were devils in the tower, not demons."
      "All the same to me, Alexander."  Phaidon smiled.
      Issic asked, "Is the next step after the feather possibly trapped?  It may be a decoy to get us to avoid the feather and enter the trap."
      "The whole room down here is full of feathers," said Phaidon. "Whatever creature is down here, it is molting. I cannot check for traps down here, let India come down to me."
      Alexander moved so India could get by.  She went down next to Phaidon, who winked and smiled at India.  Alexander kept an eye on the way they came to make sure nothing came up behind them.
      "You want me to find the trap?" asked India.
      "I thought you could do that," said Phaidon. "I sure do not want you to get hurt.  If you cannot, I will just go into the room."
      "I can try."
      "Be careful."
      After a short inspection, she said, "I do not think there are any traaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaps!"  She flew through the air when the bottom step sprang up and threw her into the feathered room, out of Phaidon's sight.
      "India!"  Phaidon charged through the room following where India went, jumping over the trapped step. Issic followed with sword drawn, leaping over the last step, his wings spread as wide as possible. Cthaat ran after the half-dragon, also leaping over the trapped step. Alexander followed with Athena's Wrath out. 
      Overhead they saw a series of iron bars crisscrossing beneath the ceiling, about eight feet above the floor. A vulture-like Vrock stood the north part of the room up on the iron bars, along with eight of his fellow Vrock. Four of the Vrock were wearing masterwork plate armor. India lay crumpled on the floor among the feathers, stunned.
      Alexander thought to himself to start preparing the banish spell in the future.  Issic saw that he could not fly through the mesh of iron bars.  He blasted his hellish breath up through the bars, trusting that their feathers would burn, demon or not.  Two of them burned, withered, and vanished.
      Phaidon ran across the room, slid to a stop straddling India, and fired two arrows at the nearest vulture man. The two arrows impacted the vulture man hard and the Vrock frosted over.  That Vrock keeled over and vanished. The last of the plate armored vrock squealed loudly, then exploded in a burst of spores, blasting Issic, Phaidon, and India.
      Cthaat rammed her sword up, but the Vrock laughed and sidestepped out of her reach.  One of the other Vrock threw down a pearl, and it exploded.  Cthaat fell over, blasted against the wall, dying.  The Vrock all laughed hysterically.
      Alexander was torn between helping India and Cthaat. Phaidon saw the look on Alexander's face.  "Help Cthaat, Alexander, I will help India."
      Alexander knelt next to Cthaat and summoned up the power of Athena.  Her wounds slowly closed and the burns boiled away and healed. Phaidon used magic to heal India, then nocked another arrow, prepared to shoot if the Vrock threw another pearl.
      Issic thrust Abeopernicles, his green sword, through the iron mesh, stabbing at the Vrock.  The demon in plate armor threw another pearl and backed away toward a door above the iron.  Phaidon shot the pearl, laughing hysterically, mocking the vulture demons.  The explosion rocked the room, and sent one Vrock through the door above the mesh to its lair.  The other three Vrocks began firing unholy bolts from its crossbow at Alexander.  The bolts slammed around Alexander.  The cleric couldn't believe how fast the demon could fire the crossbow.
      Healed by Alexander, Cthaat renewed her attack, but still could not reach the crossbow-firing Vrock.  Alexander saw all three Vrock had crossbows aimed at him. "Some of these Demons are don't exist!" shouted Alexander.  He thrust Athena's Wrath through the iron mesh and killed the real Vrock, dispelling the pair of illusions.
      "After the other one before it brings more!" shouted Alexander.
      "Take care of India!" Phaidon jumped, grabbed the bars and pulled himself up. Electricity raced through Phaidon as soon as he touched the bars, and he fell back to the floor.
      "YEEEEOWWWWWW!" Phaidon picked himself up off the floor, "Shocking."
      Another pearl flew from the doorway.  Alexander covered India and took the full blast.  Cthaat was again hurled against the wall.
      "Issic get those bars off or we are all dead!" shouted Alexander. Phaidon nocked an arrow, preparing to shoot anymore pearls that came from the doorway or anything appearing near the doorway.
      India sat up.  Another pearl flew out.  Phaidon shot it with pin-point accuracy.  He readied another arrow.
      Issic shouted, "Everyone back up the stairs a bit to get out of range of the explosions."
      Alexander Maximus grabbed the girls and pulled them towards the stairs.   Phaidon stood his ground, "Can you get the grate off, Issic?"
      "How would you suggest I get around the shocking qualities of the grate?"
      India said, "I can shadow jump up there!"
      "Go!" said Alexander.  He touched her shoulder and gave her some divine power.
      Issic, Phaidon, and India all felt a considerable amount of pain running through their bodies.  India ignored the pain and went into the room.
      "Can you take another with you?" Issic asked India.
      "Take Zagreus with you!"  Phaidon commanded the panther to ride up with India.  India grabbed up Zagreus, stepped into a shadow, and vanished.
      From above, the Vrock screamed in outrage when India and Zagreus the panther stepped out of a shadow in his lair.  India lunged forward with her shadowy rapier and engaged the towering demon.  Zagreus defended her as the Vrock tried to maul her, knocking away its claws and its horrible beak.
      "Move him to the doorway!" shouted Phaidon.  Zagreus attempted to steer the Vrock while assisting India.  India continued to slam her blade again and again into the Vrock's feathered torso.  The Vrock slammed India against a wall, but his back was now visible to the rest of her allies, for he stood in the doorway.  Phaidon shot him full of arrows.  It died and fell forward into its lair.  India quickly looted the body, then took Zagreus and stepped again into a shadow, reappearing from a shadow next to Alexander.
      "Are you alright, India?" asked Phaidon.  India nodded.  Then India, Phaidon, and Issic felt pain over their bodies again.  Alexander thought and realized – the spores were the cause.  Quickly he cast a bless spell and killed the Vrock spores.
      Phaidon unfurled his cloak and Zagreus leaped back into the folds of the material.  "Did he do a good job?"
      "He was magnificent!" said India.
      Phaidon reached inside his cloak and petted Zagreus. "Good. I am glad you are both alright.  Is there anything up there worth checking out?"
      "The room above has another stairway going down."
      Alexander said, "He did a fine good but lets not start the rejoicing yet. There are more rooms."  He checked the body of the dead Vrock, looking for keys and such.  He found a magic crossbow, but not much else.
      Phaidon started moving the feathers on the floor around, searching for trap doors and such.  He released more spores – the feathers on the floor were filled with spoors. "Crap!" cursed Phaidon.
      Alexander blessed Phaidon immediately.
      "Sorry about that," said Phaidon. "It was a good idea at the time.  How are we going to get past those rods?"
      Alexander said, "I can prevent the electricity from hurting Issic while touching them if he thinks he can force them open."
      Issic asked, "Why couldn't India jump us all past like she did with the Panther?"
      "I just never tried," said India.
      "Zagreus is made of shadow," said Phaidon.
      "We also could try the other stairs in the last room," suggested Alexander.
      "I think that sounds like the best alternative," said India. "Using the other stairs."  Cthaat nodded.  Alexander headed back up the stairs, stepping over the trapped step.

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2,640 exp.

Cthaat Angartha, the female human guard, Warrior 1/Fighter 2: CR 2; medium humanoid (5'2"); HD 1d8+2d10+12+3; hp 32; Initiative: +4 (Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft; AC 14 (flatfooted 14, touch 10); Attack +5 (1d8+2 longsword or 1d10+2 halberd); AL NG; SV Fort +6, Ref +0, Will +0; Str 15, Dex 11, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 13
            Skills: Sense Motive +2, Intimidate +5, Jump +8
            Feats: Improved Initiative, Endurance, Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Bull Strike
            Equipment: Scale mail, Halberd, Longsword