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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 3959245" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>The bits of ash floating down from the ceiling above are so cold that they burn where they touch. Severin shrieks in pain, swatting at the stinging flakes, as several of them sap the heat from him. In only seconds he is faltering, falling to his knees. He screams again, but it is a fading sound. </p><p></p><p>Barouk and Kifla, on the opposite side of the portcullis, are a little bit too busy to help him. The two of them desperately brace themselves against the secret door, struggling to stop the mass of skeletons on the other side. <em>How many cells were there?</em> wonders Kifla. <em>I didn’t keep count. There were a lot, though- a dozen or two. If there was only one skeleton per cell, then we’ve got at least a dozen skeletons to contend with here. Oh dear! They won’t grow tired, and we will- and I’m so weak anyway... I hope Barouk can hold the door!</em> She looks around for ideas, but nothing presents itself immediately. </p><p></p><p>“Whatever you two are doing in there, <em>hurry up!!</em>” Barouk shouts, straining to hold the secret door closed against the mass of skeletons. “We’ve got almost twenty skeletons trying to get in!”</p><p></p><p>“Help!” shouts Romdar, from the ash-filled room where the freezing ash is falling. </p><p></p><p>“Sorry, we can’t!” Barouk yells back sarcastically. “Unless you want those twenty skeletons coming in here!”</p><p></p><p>As it is, both Kifla and Barouk are horrified by the insistent scrabbling of the skeletons’ finger bones against the secret door. The dwarf and the gnome press against it with all their might, but the implacable horde of skeletons manages to force the secret door open a crack! First an inch, then two... slowly the gap grows wider... and suddenly, several skeletal arms thrust through the gap, seeking living flesh to tear at. Both Barouk and Kifla suffer attacks. Barouk feels a rip of pain as the bony claws gouge furrows in his arm and shoulder. He gnashes his teeth and <em>heaves</em> against the door, as hard as he can. Kifla groans with effort, giving her all and pushing; and slowly, the door swings back shut. For the moment, the gap is closed. </p><p></p><p>Yet the skeletons keep pushing, trying to thrust their claws back through the doorway. Kifla bites her lip; they can’t hold out forever. <em>What’s happening with Severin and Romdar?</em> she wonders, but she cannot spare the attention to try to discern what is happening in the thick fall of ash within the chamber.</p><p></p><p>If she could, however, she would see Romdar marshal all his concentration and cast a spell on himself. If she had still more attention, such that she could observe closely enough to discern what spell he had cast, she would realize that he cast <em>resist cold</em> on himself. And if she had a few more seconds to watch, she would see him cast another one on Severin, just as he staggers and nearly keels over.*</p><p></p><p>Suddenly immunized from the cold damage, Severin is nonetheless shivering, profoundly chilled to the core of his body, but now that Romdar has ensorcelled him, he looks around warily. “Thank you,” he groans to his companion. Romdar nods.</p><p></p><p>The two of them examine their situation. The ash continues to fall. They move to check out the statues. Bearing in mind the screws in the pillars in the corners of the room, they check to see if the statues will unscrew from the structure in the center of the room. To their great pleasure, they do.</p><p></p><p>“Hurry up!” shouts Barouk from the far side of the portcullis. “I don’t know how long we can hold them! Aargh!! Dammit, Kifla, close that door!!”</p><p></p><p>Severin and Romdar exchange a grim look. “We have to figure out what goes where,” Romdar predicts. </p><p></p><p>“Then, if we’re lucky, the portcullis will lift, and we’ll have to fight the skeletons,” Severin chuckles faintly. He is swaying on his feet. His head is swimming. Nonetheless, he helps Romdar unscrew the various statues and try moving them from one corner pillar to the other while Barouk and Kifla struggle to hold the door. Their shouts encourage Romdar and Severin, but it proves somewhat difficult to unscrew the statues. They rush to random corners and begin trying to screw them on. When all four statues are screwed in to the pillars, the central platform trembles and shakes, but nothing seems to change.</p><p></p><p>“Hurry!” Kifla’s shrill voice cries out. “Ow!! Really, hurry!!”</p><p></p><p>Romdar thinks about it. He recalls the bedroom with the unburnt painting. <em>We found indications that the fire that burned this place down started there,</em> he remembers. <em>But which one represents her?</em></p><p></p><p>They figure that they don’t have enough information to solve the puzzle in a timely fashion, so instead they just try reconfiguring the statues so that the goat moves from the southwest to the northwest, and the lion to the southeast, and the wolf in the southwest... they try moving the goat back to the southwest, with the angel in the northwest... </p><p></p><p>Again, there is a significant shift and tremble in the central platform. “That must mean that we’re close!” exclaims Severin. “I bet we just have to switch two, but <em>which two?</em>”</p><p></p><p>Romdar peers intently at the trembling central structure. “I’ve got it!” he cries. His keen eyes have managed to discern that the angel and lion are trying to shift, but the other two aren’t. “Hold on just another few seconds!” he yells to Barouk and Kifla. Quickly, they switch the goat and the wolf, so that the lion is in the southeast (“I came to see”), the goat is in the northeast (“I betrayed them all”), the angel is in the northwest (“I burned it down”) and the wolf is in the southwest (“I am lost forever”). Exactly what each one represents, our heroes neither know nor care. All they care about is the sudden cessation of the ash fall, the clatter of the portcullis chains as the gate begins to rise again, and the sound of nearly twenty sets of bones falling to the ground. </p><p></p><p>Against the door, Barouk and Kifla both slump in exhaustion. “Thank the gods!” Barouk barks. “Took you long enough, though,” he starts to complain.</p><p></p><p>Next to him, a new secret door opens up, and the Mouth of Bleak is there, rage in his eyes, froth upon his Billy goat lips. He stabs violently at Barouk, but the monk dives away from the blow just in time. Then the Mouth of Bleak retreats a few steps and gestures, invoking a <em>hold person</em> on him. However, the monk’s willpower is too great, and he throws off the spell-like ability. </p><p></p><p>Kifla hangs back and begins summoning a celestial dog. It appears a moment later, and darts in growling for the goat man’s legs. Then the little gnome casts <em>magic weapon</em> upon Severin’s greatsword. Grinning, the bard swings for all he is worth, hitting the Mouth of Bleak across the arm! The villain yells and snarls and laughs, spittle flying from his mouth.</p><p></p><p>The party dances across the doorway as the Mouth of Bleak falls back into the secret room it was hiding in. They trade a few blows, and the goat man runs the celestial dog through, killing it.</p><p></p><p>So Kifla summons another one. </p><p></p><p>Severin lands another greatsword blow to the Mouth of Bleak’s body. It rolls back, avoiding being cut in two, but the blow is almost perfect. Surely, this fiend can’t handle much more... can he? </p><p></p><p>Barouk punches him in the face, trying to be sure. Unfortunately, the Mouth of Bleak is still standing.</p><p></p><p>”What does it take to kill this guy?” shouts Romdar, exasperated. </p><p></p><p>“Another celestial dog?” suggests Kifla. She begins summoning a third time. </p><p></p><p>The party presses the Mouth of Bleak back against the wall, but he is still defiant. Gnashing his teeth, laughing, spitting at our heroes, he keeps slicing and chopping until the end. But the end comes soon enough, as Romdar swings his sword and chops the Mouth of Bleak’s hand off at the wrist and simply continues the blow until it smashes into the goat man’s face. He slices the Mouth’s mouth in two, skewers his brain... and when he pulls the blade free, the Mouth laughs again, insanely- and then falls to the ground. “Urrrbll,” he croaks, and his body starts to bubble and smoke. Soon he is liquefying and burning away simultaneously. In moments all that is left is his gear. </p><p></p><p>Sweet victory! And what could be more convenient? The secret room that he attacked from was the treasury! Our heroes loot thousands of gold, silver and copper pieces, as well as gems and jewels and a fancy-looking pair of boots. When everything is examined by means of <em>detect magic</em>, the boots prove to be magical. Moreover, the longsword and the breastplate of the Mouth of Bleak radiate magic as well. The hilt of the longsword resembles the paw of a frog. </p><p></p><p>“Hey, look,” Kifla says suddenly. </p><p></p><p>The walls are beginning to disintegrate, turning first ashen, and then into blue-white flame. At first our heroes cringe away from this, but quickly they realize that there is no heat. In wonderment, then, they watch as the flames blaze higher, momentarily surrounding the party with the silhouette of a magnificent palace, before suddenly bursting into a spray of ash.</p><p></p><p>The party stands outside, beneath the setting sun in the Deadgrass Lands. All around them, carried by the wind, ash floats away.</p><p></p><p>Barouk’s breath catches in his throat. For an instant, he sees the golden white form of a haloed, bewinged woman. She catches his eye, and a shocking sense of betrayal runs through him. <em>Her betrothed, and his brother. The masters of this palace, in their time. Murder... betrayal... locked up like a bird in a cage. Never! She’ll die first! Burn it all down!</em> His eyes are wide. <em>Cursed. Lost. And now... free. Justice is done.</em> </p><p></p><p>The figure is gone. </p><p></p><p>Barouk shakes his head in wonder. </p><p></p><p>The party continues their journey north.</p><p></p><p><em><strong>Next Time:</strong></em> Romdar can’t remember anything about his past... but he’s about to encounter it. Who calls him “Captain Romdar”- and what is their connection to Barouk’s father’s murderer??</p><p></p><p>*Severin was reduced to 1 hp by the ash fall by this point. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 3959245, member: 1210"] The bits of ash floating down from the ceiling above are so cold that they burn where they touch. Severin shrieks in pain, swatting at the stinging flakes, as several of them sap the heat from him. In only seconds he is faltering, falling to his knees. He screams again, but it is a fading sound. Barouk and Kifla, on the opposite side of the portcullis, are a little bit too busy to help him. The two of them desperately brace themselves against the secret door, struggling to stop the mass of skeletons on the other side. [i]How many cells were there?[/i] wonders Kifla. [i]I didn’t keep count. There were a lot, though- a dozen or two. If there was only one skeleton per cell, then we’ve got at least a dozen skeletons to contend with here. Oh dear! They won’t grow tired, and we will- and I’m so weak anyway... I hope Barouk can hold the door![/i] She looks around for ideas, but nothing presents itself immediately. “Whatever you two are doing in there, [i]hurry up!![/i]” Barouk shouts, straining to hold the secret door closed against the mass of skeletons. “We’ve got almost twenty skeletons trying to get in!” “Help!” shouts Romdar, from the ash-filled room where the freezing ash is falling. “Sorry, we can’t!” Barouk yells back sarcastically. “Unless you want those twenty skeletons coming in here!” As it is, both Kifla and Barouk are horrified by the insistent scrabbling of the skeletons’ finger bones against the secret door. The dwarf and the gnome press against it with all their might, but the implacable horde of skeletons manages to force the secret door open a crack! First an inch, then two... slowly the gap grows wider... and suddenly, several skeletal arms thrust through the gap, seeking living flesh to tear at. Both Barouk and Kifla suffer attacks. Barouk feels a rip of pain as the bony claws gouge furrows in his arm and shoulder. He gnashes his teeth and [i]heaves[/i] against the door, as hard as he can. Kifla groans with effort, giving her all and pushing; and slowly, the door swings back shut. For the moment, the gap is closed. Yet the skeletons keep pushing, trying to thrust their claws back through the doorway. Kifla bites her lip; they can’t hold out forever. [i]What’s happening with Severin and Romdar?[/i] she wonders, but she cannot spare the attention to try to discern what is happening in the thick fall of ash within the chamber. If she could, however, she would see Romdar marshal all his concentration and cast a spell on himself. If she had still more attention, such that she could observe closely enough to discern what spell he had cast, she would realize that he cast [i]resist cold[/i] on himself. And if she had a few more seconds to watch, she would see him cast another one on Severin, just as he staggers and nearly keels over.* Suddenly immunized from the cold damage, Severin is nonetheless shivering, profoundly chilled to the core of his body, but now that Romdar has ensorcelled him, he looks around warily. “Thank you,” he groans to his companion. Romdar nods. The two of them examine their situation. The ash continues to fall. They move to check out the statues. Bearing in mind the screws in the pillars in the corners of the room, they check to see if the statues will unscrew from the structure in the center of the room. To their great pleasure, they do. “Hurry up!” shouts Barouk from the far side of the portcullis. “I don’t know how long we can hold them! Aargh!! Dammit, Kifla, close that door!!” Severin and Romdar exchange a grim look. “We have to figure out what goes where,” Romdar predicts. “Then, if we’re lucky, the portcullis will lift, and we’ll have to fight the skeletons,” Severin chuckles faintly. He is swaying on his feet. His head is swimming. Nonetheless, he helps Romdar unscrew the various statues and try moving them from one corner pillar to the other while Barouk and Kifla struggle to hold the door. Their shouts encourage Romdar and Severin, but it proves somewhat difficult to unscrew the statues. They rush to random corners and begin trying to screw them on. When all four statues are screwed in to the pillars, the central platform trembles and shakes, but nothing seems to change. “Hurry!” Kifla’s shrill voice cries out. “Ow!! Really, hurry!!” Romdar thinks about it. He recalls the bedroom with the unburnt painting. [i]We found indications that the fire that burned this place down started there,[/i] he remembers. [i]But which one represents her?[/i] They figure that they don’t have enough information to solve the puzzle in a timely fashion, so instead they just try reconfiguring the statues so that the goat moves from the southwest to the northwest, and the lion to the southeast, and the wolf in the southwest... they try moving the goat back to the southwest, with the angel in the northwest... Again, there is a significant shift and tremble in the central platform. “That must mean that we’re close!” exclaims Severin. “I bet we just have to switch two, but [i]which two?[/i]” Romdar peers intently at the trembling central structure. “I’ve got it!” he cries. His keen eyes have managed to discern that the angel and lion are trying to shift, but the other two aren’t. “Hold on just another few seconds!” he yells to Barouk and Kifla. Quickly, they switch the goat and the wolf, so that the lion is in the southeast (“I came to see”), the goat is in the northeast (“I betrayed them all”), the angel is in the northwest (“I burned it down”) and the wolf is in the southwest (“I am lost forever”). Exactly what each one represents, our heroes neither know nor care. All they care about is the sudden cessation of the ash fall, the clatter of the portcullis chains as the gate begins to rise again, and the sound of nearly twenty sets of bones falling to the ground. Against the door, Barouk and Kifla both slump in exhaustion. “Thank the gods!” Barouk barks. “Took you long enough, though,” he starts to complain. Next to him, a new secret door opens up, and the Mouth of Bleak is there, rage in his eyes, froth upon his Billy goat lips. He stabs violently at Barouk, but the monk dives away from the blow just in time. Then the Mouth of Bleak retreats a few steps and gestures, invoking a [i]hold person[/i] on him. However, the monk’s willpower is too great, and he throws off the spell-like ability. Kifla hangs back and begins summoning a celestial dog. It appears a moment later, and darts in growling for the goat man’s legs. Then the little gnome casts [i]magic weapon[/i] upon Severin’s greatsword. Grinning, the bard swings for all he is worth, hitting the Mouth of Bleak across the arm! The villain yells and snarls and laughs, spittle flying from his mouth. The party dances across the doorway as the Mouth of Bleak falls back into the secret room it was hiding in. They trade a few blows, and the goat man runs the celestial dog through, killing it. So Kifla summons another one. Severin lands another greatsword blow to the Mouth of Bleak’s body. It rolls back, avoiding being cut in two, but the blow is almost perfect. Surely, this fiend can’t handle much more... can he? Barouk punches him in the face, trying to be sure. Unfortunately, the Mouth of Bleak is still standing. ”What does it take to kill this guy?” shouts Romdar, exasperated. “Another celestial dog?” suggests Kifla. She begins summoning a third time. The party presses the Mouth of Bleak back against the wall, but he is still defiant. Gnashing his teeth, laughing, spitting at our heroes, he keeps slicing and chopping until the end. But the end comes soon enough, as Romdar swings his sword and chops the Mouth of Bleak’s hand off at the wrist and simply continues the blow until it smashes into the goat man’s face. He slices the Mouth’s mouth in two, skewers his brain... and when he pulls the blade free, the Mouth laughs again, insanely- and then falls to the ground. “Urrrbll,” he croaks, and his body starts to bubble and smoke. Soon he is liquefying and burning away simultaneously. In moments all that is left is his gear. Sweet victory! And what could be more convenient? The secret room that he attacked from was the treasury! Our heroes loot thousands of gold, silver and copper pieces, as well as gems and jewels and a fancy-looking pair of boots. When everything is examined by means of [i]detect magic[/i], the boots prove to be magical. Moreover, the longsword and the breastplate of the Mouth of Bleak radiate magic as well. The hilt of the longsword resembles the paw of a frog. “Hey, look,” Kifla says suddenly. The walls are beginning to disintegrate, turning first ashen, and then into blue-white flame. At first our heroes cringe away from this, but quickly they realize that there is no heat. In wonderment, then, they watch as the flames blaze higher, momentarily surrounding the party with the silhouette of a magnificent palace, before suddenly bursting into a spray of ash. The party stands outside, beneath the setting sun in the Deadgrass Lands. All around them, carried by the wind, ash floats away. Barouk’s breath catches in his throat. For an instant, he sees the golden white form of a haloed, bewinged woman. She catches his eye, and a shocking sense of betrayal runs through him. [i]Her betrothed, and his brother. The masters of this palace, in their time. Murder... betrayal... locked up like a bird in a cage. Never! She’ll die first! Burn it all down![/i] His eyes are wide. [i]Cursed. Lost. And now... free. Justice is done.[/i] The figure is gone. Barouk shakes his head in wonder. The party continues their journey north. [i][b]Next Time:[/b][/i][b][/b] Romdar can’t remember anything about his past... but he’s about to encounter it. Who calls him “Captain Romdar”- and what is their connection to Barouk’s father’s murderer?? *Severin was reduced to 1 hp by the ash fall by this point. :) [/QUOTE]
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