Hollow's Last Hope [IC]

"Keep at it. I think it is ready to shatter!" Jared yells impressed with the sheer savagery of his ally.

OOC: Attack again.

It isn't glamorous but with a hardness of 5 it is unlikely Jebbo will be able to hurt it. May I suggest he Aid another on Hakkara's attack? If she hits it twice she will probably finish it with her damage potential.

Pulling himself against the wall in something resembling a sitting position, Cyryn scans the room, looking for anything that might make a more effective weapon against the cauldron or anything that might pose an additional threat.

Jebbo, daggers drawn and at the ready, glances to Hakkara, then to Jared, giving a brisk nod to each. He then proceeds to elaborately flourish his daggers, spinning and jabbing them in the direction of the cauldron, attempting to get its attention. "Hey there, rustbum! Care t'dance a li'l?" Jebbo darts back and forth, trying to appear as quick and dangerous as possible, a knowing smile crosses his features as he prepares to dodge the cauldron's iron maw.

[sblock=OOC]Heck, I'll do you one better! Aid Another on both Hakkara's AND Jared's attacks, so hopefully +2 to attack rolls for both of you! Anyway, for the techies amongst us, here's my actions...

STANDARD ACTION - Aid Another for Hakkara (+2 to attack roll).
STANDARD ACTION - Aid Another for Jared (+2 to attack roll).

Yeah, not glamorous, but a miniscule Bard doesn't expect to be. I'll get my time in the spotlight eventually, just you wait and see! All right, let's finish this thing off - I'm starting to worry about Cyryn, there seems to be a little bit of unfavorable "divine intervention" for him as of late! [/sblock]

ROUND 4

Loricallior gives up on pinpointing the illusion magic until after the cauldron is defeated and dashes to the left side of the cottage so as to get a clear shot at the iron monstrosity with his dragonfire. Again, a jet of flame roars forth from the wild elf's maw, engulfing the now-cracked kettle. To Loricallior's chagrin, however, the flame seems to have little effect on the cauldron's tough outer exterior. (Loricallior attacks with breath weapon, cauldron succeeds on REF save. Damage total is 3, negated by cauldron's hardness. No damage.)

Pulling himself against the wall in something resembling a sitting position, Cyryn scans the room, looking for anything that might make a more effective weapon against the cauldron or anything that might pose an additional threat. With so much magical bric-a-brac on the shelves of the small cottage, it proves too difficult for Cyryn to identify anything that looks like it would help to end this battle. Fortunately, no threats or guardians other than the cauldron appear to be present.

Jebbo, daggers drawn and at the ready, glances to Hakkara, then to Jared, giving a brisk nod to each. He then proceeds to elaborately flourish his daggers, spinning and jabbing them in the direction of the cauldron, attempting to get its attention. "Hey there, rustbum! Care t'dance a li'l?" Jebbo darts back and forth, trying to appear as quick and dangerous as possible, a knowing smile crosses his features as he prepares to dodge the cauldron's iron maw. The cauldron, however, seems completely unfazed by Jebbo's antics. (Nazh, Jebbo can't actually do two standard actions in one round, so I just had him try to Aid Another for Hakkara's attack roll. Jebbo, Aid Another attempt. Roll 3+1=4. Failed.)

Flush with the prospect of victory close at hand, Hakkara continues her vicious, whirlwind assault of the cauldron. Once again, her bastard sword falls and strikes the cauldron with a mighty clang. This time, the force of the blow is more than the enchanted iron kettle can withstand. Hakkara's blade cleaves the side of the cauldron, nearly splitting the thing in two. This final blow proves too much for the animated guardian, and the horrendously damaged cauldron falls to the ground with one final metallic clang, then lies still. (Hakkara full attacks with bastard sword, rolls 7+5=12, miss. 18+5=23, hit! Damage roll 1d10+8=17. After hardness, cauldron takes 12 damage, destroying it!)

END COMBAT

Current Party Status
Loricallior (12/12 hp)
Cyryn (0/7 hp, disabled)
Jebbo (8/8 hp)
Hakkara (11/14 hp)
Jared (9/9 hp)

OOC: Well fought! What actions will you take in the witch's hut, now that the animated cauldron has been destroyed?

Jared first makes sure the corpse in the chair will not spring at them. Once satisfied it is inanimate he moves to heal Cyryn.

(exchanging last 1st level for a CLW; 1d8+4 healed due to domains and feats)

hero4hire said:

Jared first makes sure the corpse in the chair will not spring at them. Once satisfied it is inanimate he moves to heal Cyryn.

(exchanging last 1st level for a CLW; 1d8+4 healed due to domains and feats)

Click to expand...

Wishing to be certain that the odd figure in the chair is no threat, Jared approaches and takes a swipe at it with his still-flaming morning star. To his surprise, the figure slumps to the floor with a thump, smoldering a bit from the fiery weapon's contact. As the material smolders, he can see that it is actually nothing more than a bundle of branches, mud, and linen. Perhaps it was merely a distraction from the hut's true guardian, the now-destroyed cauldron?

Satisfied now, Jared turns to the matter of healing Cyryn. After a brief prayer to Sarenrae, the rogue's crushed ribs have mended, and he feels good as new.

OOC: Casts CLW for 12, healing Cyryn to full strength again.

Current Party Status
Loricallior (12/12 hp)
Cyryn (7/7 hp)
Jebbo (8/8 hp)
Hakkara (11/14 hp)
Jared (9/9 hp)

Loricallior now walks over to the magical aura, his eyes swirling into draconic focus as he pinpoints the magical item. He will then call on more dragon divination magic to peer into its true functions.

Voadam said:

Loricallior now walks over to the magical aura, his eyes swirling into draconic focus as he pinpoints the magical item. He will then call on more dragon divination magic to peer into its true functions.

Click to expand...

Now that the threat has passed, Loricallior is free to examine the cluttered shelves of the hut more carefully. Returning to the spot where he spotted the magical aura, the wild elf reaches out his hand and grabs ahold of...a disgusting, shrunken head!

Overcoming his initial revulsion, Loricallior concentrates further, drawing upon his draconic heritage to divine the shrunken head's arcane purpose.

[sblock=Soulspeaker]
This grotesque, amulet-like shrunken head is said to contain the enslaved soul of its former owner. Forced to obey whomever carries it, once per day a soulspeaker can repeat a message as if the spell magic mouth were cast upon it. The owner must merely hold the 6-inch-in-diameter head and speak his message and the conditions under which the soulspeaker should repeat it. While it carries a message, the eyes of the stitched head stretch open, closing as soon as its message has been delivered.[/sblock]

Loricallior holds up the head and peers even further into its sewn shut eyes looking for its secrets

[sblock]Can I tell if it currently holds a message and what would cause it to activate?[/sblock]

Voadam said:

Loricallior holds up the head and peers even further into its sewn shut eyes looking for its secrets

[sblock]Can I tell if it currently holds a message and what would cause it to activate?[/sblock]

Click to expand...

[sblock=Loricallior]Loricallior's arcane sight reveals that the head does not currently hold a message.[/sblock]