Endur's Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil

[Endur]

Elmo says, "We brought these wagons in case you had wounded to bring home. Climb in and we'll return to Hommlet."


As the party approaches and prepares to unload their burdens into wagons, a tall warrior with a black goatee that is sitting next to Elmo suddenly calls out, as the four warriors with missile weapons suddenly aim their weapons at the party.

"Nobody moves and nobody gets hurt. We are taking everything you found. Anybody resists and Elmo and Vesta die first."


You suddenly realize that you don't know any of the armored warriors, you have seen them passing through town, but never met them. And the robed and cowled person in the 2nd
wagon uncovers her face, it's Vesta, Lenya and Craven's manager from the Welcome Wench. Elmo, Captain of the Hommlet Militia, is unarmed and unarmored.

Belaver, Kerwyn, Toriah, and Lylamwyn each have one armored warrior aiming a missle weapon at them (bow or crossbow). Lenya, Raner, and Craven don't have anyone aiming weapons at them (Craven and Raner have their hands full carrying Spugnoir and Redithidoor).

Elmo adds, "Give them what they want and they will leave us in peace."

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

"We found little, most of it information and plain clothing rather than gold," Craven says simply, gently putting down the body. "Though if you want to go in, I think you can catch a chicken for dinner. We saw one wandering around."

 

[Thanee]

Lenya

Lenya watches the aggressors, who might be friends of Chat, calmly, seemingly searching for something, some hint about what to do now.


OOC: Endur: see OOC thread.

 

[Xael]

Lylamwyn is a bit surprised by the sudden hostilities, but had thought that something was a bit off. He's quietly waiting at the moment, scanning the people on the wagons and preparing to cast Glitterdust at the wagon with the goatee-man, should fighting start. He's letting others do the talking at the moment.

OOC: Are Vesta and Elmo actually even threatened or watched by the armored men, or are they all concentrating on the PC's?

 

[Endur]

Vesta and Elmo are only being verbally threatened by the armored men. The armored men are placing all their attention on the PCs.

Elmo reassures Lenya that it is really him. "Yes, Lenya, its me, Elmo. I am not an illusion created by magic. Ask me something only the real Elmo would know, like the first time we met."

Elmo pauses and then continues.

"We met at the Welcome Wench only a few days after you arrived in Hommlet." Elmo answers his own question, exactly the way Lenya would expect the real Elmo to answer that question.

The man with the black goatee responds to Craven, "Don't put Spugnoir down just yet, you should carry him a while longer. I can see from your cloaks and amulets and Festrath over there that you found quite a few things that we will be taking. We'll have one of your party come over to the wagon at a time and drop all of your possessions in the wagon. Let's start with the elf.

"Elf, come over here, and put your backpack in the wagon.
"Barmaid, you should untie Festrath."

 

[Endur]

Lenya detects the following magical auras around the NPCs.

All of the NPCs have a Faint Enchantment aura around them, including Elmo and Vesta.

Wagon #1
Elmo (no other auras)
Tall Warrior with Goatee (2 faint abjuration auras, a couple of moderate auras you can't see)
Average sized human male Warrior (several Faint auras you can't see)

Wagon #2
Vesta (faint illusion aura, several faint auras you can't see)
Average sized Human female warrior (several Faint auras you can't see)
Large Human male warrior (two faint auras you can't see, faint illusion aura)

 

[Xael]

Lylamwyn looks around at his companions, as if expecting some kind of comment or reaction. Should nobody start a World War III, he addresses the goatee-man casually. "Say, you only wanted the stuff we found from the moathouse, so I guess it's okay for me to remove my spellbook from my backpack? And by the way, do you know Chat?"

OOC: Lylamwyn is not giving up his spellbook, so if the answer to the first question is negative, he's going to shrug his shoulders and open fire with Glitterdust, aiming at the moustache-man's wagon. Sorry guys, but Wizards have a limit for self-preservation too.

 

[Endur]

The warrior with the goatee says, "Yes, you can keep your spellbook." And gestures for Lylamwyn to go ahead and put his backpack in the wagon.

In response to the question about Chat, he responds "No, who's that?" Lylamwyn does not believe the man's answer regarding Chat.

 

[Thanee]

Lenya

Lacking a knife to stick into Festrath throat in order to 'cut him free', Lenya instead says:

“I guess it's time to invite our new friend, ya know, the one with the blue scales. I'm sure he will like ya'll just fine! I hope you are not with them, Elmo, because I would hate to see you die as well. Oh, and I'm not interested in the kind of 'peace' they will leave us in, once we handed over everything.”

Wasting no time, Lenya blasts the assumed leader of the bunch, the one with the goatee, with her frightening blast, making clear that there is no interest in cooperation, while quickly moving towards a position from where she can see, or rather be seen from the moathouse, but mostly trying to get behind some cover before the mess truely begins.


OOC: Lenya will use her Bluff skill to hopefully make them think that they will have the dragon against them as well... oh, and while she actually does plan to wake the dragon, she will, of course, make sure, that there is something to hide from the big lizard as well.

 

[Endur]

Held Actions
Lenya blasts Goatee (hits 17+, dmg 6, Goatee is shaken)
Goatee: Yells "Die!" and shoots Lylamwyn with heavy crossbow (13+4-2=15 hit, dmg 10).
Elmo: Face turns pale white and falls over, dead.
Other warrior in first wagon: Shoots Belaver with mighty composite longbow (11+4=15 hit, dmg 10)
Large warrior in second wagon: Shoots Kerwyn with mighty composite longbow (11+4=15 hit, dmg 4).
Female warrior in second wagon: Shoots at Toriah with light crossbow, but misses (5+1=6).
Vesta in second wagon: Casts Magic Missile at Lenya and two missiles strike for 8 points.

Round 1
28: Neshi (ghoul fever) moves towards the archers on wagon #1 and hisses
23: Belaver (-10) moves towards cover, hiding behind Craven, and fires a sling stone (16+7=23, dmg 1) at the warrior that shot him.
18: Kerwyn (ghoul fever, -4) casts Shield
12: Lenya (-2 str, -8) moves up the ridge towards a view of the moathouse while blasting back at Goatee (1+, miss)
12: Armored Warriors. Goatee (-6, shaken) drops crossbow and casts Hold Person on Lylamwyn (will save 17+ pass). Armored warrior (-1) in wagon #1 shoots bow at Belaver again (15+4=19, hits the "cover", Craven takes dmg 9). Armored Warrior in wagon #2 shoots bow at Kerwyn again (17+4=21, dmg 8). Vesta picks up loaded heavy crossbow from floorboard of wagon and shoots at Lenya (20/8, hits but does not confirm, dmg 8-1 DR =7). Female warrior drops crossbow and casts Cause Fear on Toriah (will save 14+1=15, Toriah is shaken for one round). Festrath slowly stumbles away from the melee.
10: Toriah (ghoul fever, shaken) draws rapier and dives for cover
9: Raner (-2) drops body, draws shield and dwarven waraxe
8: Black Cat (-3, ghoul fever) heads for the nearest tree.
4: Lylamwyn (-10) casts Glitterdust at wagon #1 and a cloud of golden particles covers the wagon (Goatee and the other armored warrior are blinded)
1: Craven (-17) drops body, draws shield and warhammer