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[FR] Heroes of the Vilhon Reach II (updated 3/6!)
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<blockquote data-quote="Broccli_Head" data-source="post: 976" data-attributes="member: 105"><p><strong>2 Nightal, 1372: <em> Cleaning House </em></strong></p><p></p><p>The heroes made their way across the threshold, stepping on the fallen iron door and into another passageway. Grim had guessed correctly, it was a maze down here. This corridor had murals depicting orcish gods and heroes including a life-sized statue of some fiendish looking orc with several arms and two heads. This place seemed to also be a hall that allowed access to several crypts. After Grim determined that there were no other ways from the hall, and not wanting to open any crypts at the present time, the heroes left from there and continued on the main passage. </p><p>They moved forward to where they had cut down the orcs throwing flasks of alchohol and discovered that strangely enough, this was a room that could house horses. Opening another door, revealed an orc with a greatsword apparently making some sort of stand. His bravado was cut short with a flurry of arrows. Grim then moved forward and discoverd another pit, almost falling in but catching the sides and hauling himself up to continue on the other side. <em>I did that on purpose</em>, Grim sent sheepishly to his companions. </p><p></p><p>More orcish shouts echoed ahead, but they did not advance. The heroes did, after disabling the pit. They entered another room, and slew several more orcs also wielding greatswords. Grim found a hidden door that led to another side corridor. With Benito in the lead and Aris still taking a back seat, they proceeded and found holding cells covered in blood, lots of dead bodies and more narrow hallways. Benito chose one that he felt would lead them parallel to the main corridor. They came to a blank wall where Grim again earned his keep, finding the secret door. Listening, he heard orc shouts and barking dogs. The heroes rushed in, surprising orcs with trained war dogs behind barricades. Benito, Grim and Ellysidell charged forward into the melee, with Grim looking for flanking positions. Aris and Nosr hung back to provide missle fire. In no time, the dogs and their handlers lay in pools of their own blood. The next room also had defensive barricades. A series of 5-ft high rails prevented direct attack against the foe in this room, a large ogre. Upon seeing the blood-covered and determined heroes, he blew a large horn and waited for them to make their way towards him to get smashed. </p><p>Nosr softened him up, suprising the heroes with a new spell. He launched a flare from his finger tips towards the perplexed ogre. An explosion rocked the room and the ogre screamed. Aris, tired of hanging back, took the burning ogre as his cue and charged through the rail maze. Benito and Ell started to follow suit, but decided instead to climb on top of the rail and fire at the ogre. Grim, seeing Aris move to attack, <em>harrumphed! </em>and leaned against the wall. The genasi side-stepped a might blow from the ogre seeing it bend one of the rails. He sliced into the brute's belly. Benito, not getting a good balance on the rail fired his bow and it sailed wide, clattering against the far wall. Ellysidell stood on the rail and muttered, "Just like a tree branch," gathered himself and hit the ogre solidly in the shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>The creature was slowing down. Aris closed, again spinning and ducking almost in a mad-dance to avoid the possibly crushing blows of the ogre's horn-club. His handaxe bit into the side of his foe's knee forcing the ogre to fall to both knees. Aris then finished him off with a slice across the throat with his scimitar, side-stepping the body again as it toppled forward. He wiped the blood from his weapons on the clothes of the carcass and called the heroes forward. Ellysidell eyed the horn-club for his collection of big weapons. Benito feeling that the path ahead could be deadly, broke open <em>Moradin's Prayers of the Faithful</em> and cast a spell to bolster his constitution. </p><p></p><p>They rushed into another corridor. There in the middle was an iron grating. Grim crept forward to investigate and discovered that the grate covered a sewer system, possibly for flood control. He found no traps, but the heroes made haste to get out of this hall. Grim's apathy finally caught up with him at the next door. Casually searching for traps, he failed to notice the fine wires that held the door in place. When he opened the door, two great axes sprung at him. One chopped him hard. As the axes bounced in the doorway, one dripping blood, three orcs charged forward with great axes of their own. Again one struck Grim who decided to tumble through the opposition and let his fellows take care of the rest. Rolling under the legs of the orc to his right, he backed himself into the corner of this latest room and saw another orc--twirling another great axe in his hand--waiting to see what the invaders would do. Grim heard the clash of steel as he uncorked a potion to stop his bleeding and heal his grievous wounds. I don't get paid enough for this he thought as he quaffed the draught. </p><p></p><p>Benito, Ellysidell and Aris surged forward against new enemies. Almost in unison as if striking a chord in a deadly dirge, the heroes felled their foes. Aris again, a slice to his orc's unprotected neck sent the Zhent gurgling to the ground. Benito ran his foe through with Hordemaster and smashed his foe with his shield for emphasis and to free his sword. Ellysidell with a mighty spin and slice of the dwarven waraxe recovered from Khundrukar split his orc's ribs and sternum sending gobbits of orc guts into the air. Without pause they continued to move forward to face thier next foe, who arrogantly guarded the passage beyond. Aris noted that he wore a symbol of leadership. This was probably the half-fiend's second-in-command. </p><p></p><p>"Cut in on my partner as we dance," Benito called back as he took the initiative. </p><p></p><p>Aris and Ellysidell understood and followed close on his heels. The lone orc landed a mighty blow on the cleric of Tyr as he closed, wounding Benito grieviously on the shoulder. He grimaced but swept his sword under the orc's guard, wounding him on the thigh. Then he stepped to his right. Aris came next slicing the orc across the chest, but not biting deep. The orc looked surprised. Aris spun a few paces to his left. Ellysidell waded in with a downward cleave, connecting on the orc's shoulder. The Zhent staggered, but still did not fall. He set his teeth to retaliate. Grim and Nosr had watched this tactic from across the room, impressed. Grim thought, I can't miss this fun and ran forward. </p><p>The halfling cartwheeled through the mass of combatants as only Grim knew how, drawing his short sword in the process and ending up behind the Zhent captain. His sword struck deep into the small of the orc's back, and he fell forward, and astounded look on his face as his life left him. Almost immediately after, points of light streamed at Grim, driving him painfully into Benito's arms. The half-fiend sorcerer had made his presence known. Bentio and Aris moved through what they hoped was the final hallway to the final confrontation in this underground maze. They ran into a wall of orcs.</p><p></p><p> Aris called back, "Nosr, clear a path!" </p><p></p><p>Benito was relieved that the genasi had begun to reassert himself. He and Aris were horrified to see the Zhentarim leader. It was a scaly-looking orc with tentacles for arms and sharp teeth. Another orc with more human-like features was spread-eagled on a vertical X. They saw another orc break off and run towards the tortured prisoner. A flare sailed over their heads and another explosion of fire echoed through the halls. Orcs screamed and the warriors in front of Aris and Benito crumpled to the ground in blackened heaps. </p><p></p><p>The orc who had gone to the prisoner cried out, "Nooooooooo!" and glared at Aris, "The deal is off!", as he shouldered the now smoldering corpse of the half-orc captive.</p><p></p><p>The half-fiend was not even singed. He cried out and his tentacles writhed. Points of light flew from their ends, striking Benito. The heroes closed on him and failed to connect. Their strikes were seemingly deflected by some form of arcane magic. Grim and Ellysidell joined the fray, and the Zhent was surrounded. An arcane green glow emanated from one of his tentacles and it struck Aris. The chilling touch burned his flesh and sapped some of his strength. </p><p></p><p>Nosr skipped into the room pleased with the charred remains of four orcs at his feet. He saw a last orc messing with some levers on the far wall. "I don't think so, buddy," and made the gestures to release his arcane missles. </p><p></p><p>The last orc was knocked to the ground but did not go unconscious. He changed form! It was the prisoner Aif. He had not fled. Nosr was dumbfounded, but stayed his ground, preparing another spell. Aif put his hands up. Nosr held his action ready if the Night Mask did anything funny. </p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, the heroes could not seem to land even a glancing blow against the Zhent leader. Even attacks that seemed to hit, did not. The half-fiend also had a blurry look to him. He also talked incessantly about how he Alu'aka would escape and have his revenge on them. Alu'aka tried to push past the heroes to back himself into a better and more defendable corner. As he retreated, Ellysidell struck him hard across the abdomen. In the corner, Aris and Benito persued, both missing again. Alu'aka laughed and attacked again with a glowing-green tentacle. This time the burning chill struck Benito, but did not drain his strength. That was all the excuse the cleric of Tyr needed. </p><p></p><p>"Feel the Retribution of the god of justice!" </p><p></p><p>Benito's longsword came down with more force than the cleric believed he had ever mustered slicing through rubbery hide and bone and lopping off Alu'aka's tentacle. The Zhent sorcerer collapsed in heap. Aris made sure he was dead. Then Aris and Benito saw the stalemate that was going on between Nosr and Aif.</p><p></p><p> Ellysidell had wisely restrained Grim who was kicking and screaming, "You shouldn't have come back! You're dead meat!" yelled the halfling. </p><p></p><p>Benito and Aris walked over to Aif. He looked at them, "I apologize. I spoke out of anger and emotion," and then to Benito, holding out his arms, "I am at your mercy...." </p><p>=== </p><p>Events after this happened quickly. Aif informed them that the base could be flooded, showed them how to do it and the heroes gathered the body of the Zhent captain, mage, and Aif's half-orc friend Dagotha. They left the base via a secret passage that Aif knew about and rested on the hill. Somewhere below, they heard the rush of water and possibly the screams of other orcs, or as Aif shrugged his shoulders, others of his people as the waters rose to the top of the stairs in the passage that they had just left. </p><p></p><p>Aris sent Ellysidell and Grim back to the farm house to gather the items at wealth that they had liberated from the orcs. Grim looked at Benito, who nodded his agreement. Nosr fired magic missles into the air for fun, howling in glee at the defeat of the Zhents. Then he calmed down and went to meditate some yards from Aris, Benito, and Aif. They went together to get the other Night Mask prisoner only to find him dead. Hoofprints led away from the scene towards the woods. The entrance to the base was sealed with a massive rock.</p><p></p><p> Manacled and under guard, Benito questioned Aif, "Why did you come back?" </p><p></p><p><em>sigh</em> "I guess seeing you and your party unified and sticking together even after a dispute, inspired me to come back for Dagotha." </p><p></p><p>Aif seemed to squirm as he continued, loyalty being so foreign to someone like him, thought Aris. He crossed his arms and put his hand on his chin and begin to lose himself in his own thoughts. </p><p></p><p>"Too bad, he perished," Benito tried to sympathize, "We are sorry for your loss." </p><p></p><p>"Oh well, collateral damage and all," Aif shrugged, regaining his compusure. </p><p></p><p>Benito shook his head, "Well, I will wait until reinforcements from Alaghon arrive, but since you have done nothing wrong in my eyes, I will let you go at that time." </p><p></p><p>Benito went a few yards to look out into the pre-dawn darkness across the woods and south to the rolling plains of Turmish. </p><p></p><p>"Thank you, Tyr for allowing me, no...allowing us to save my homeland." </p><p></p><p>Benito smiled and tear rolled down his cheek. He cleared his throat and brushed it away before anyone saw.....</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Broccli_Head, post: 976, member: 105"] [b]2 Nightal, 1372: [i] Cleaning House [/i][/b] The heroes made their way across the threshold, stepping on the fallen iron door and into another passageway. Grim had guessed correctly, it was a maze down here. This corridor had murals depicting orcish gods and heroes including a life-sized statue of some fiendish looking orc with several arms and two heads. This place seemed to also be a hall that allowed access to several crypts. After Grim determined that there were no other ways from the hall, and not wanting to open any crypts at the present time, the heroes left from there and continued on the main passage. They moved forward to where they had cut down the orcs throwing flasks of alchohol and discovered that strangely enough, this was a room that could house horses. Opening another door, revealed an orc with a greatsword apparently making some sort of stand. His bravado was cut short with a flurry of arrows. Grim then moved forward and discoverd another pit, almost falling in but catching the sides and hauling himself up to continue on the other side. [i]I did that on purpose[/i], Grim sent sheepishly to his companions. More orcish shouts echoed ahead, but they did not advance. The heroes did, after disabling the pit. They entered another room, and slew several more orcs also wielding greatswords. Grim found a hidden door that led to another side corridor. With Benito in the lead and Aris still taking a back seat, they proceeded and found holding cells covered in blood, lots of dead bodies and more narrow hallways. Benito chose one that he felt would lead them parallel to the main corridor. They came to a blank wall where Grim again earned his keep, finding the secret door. Listening, he heard orc shouts and barking dogs. The heroes rushed in, surprising orcs with trained war dogs behind barricades. Benito, Grim and Ellysidell charged forward into the melee, with Grim looking for flanking positions. Aris and Nosr hung back to provide missle fire. In no time, the dogs and their handlers lay in pools of their own blood. The next room also had defensive barricades. A series of 5-ft high rails prevented direct attack against the foe in this room, a large ogre. Upon seeing the blood-covered and determined heroes, he blew a large horn and waited for them to make their way towards him to get smashed. Nosr softened him up, suprising the heroes with a new spell. He launched a flare from his finger tips towards the perplexed ogre. An explosion rocked the room and the ogre screamed. Aris, tired of hanging back, took the burning ogre as his cue and charged through the rail maze. Benito and Ell started to follow suit, but decided instead to climb on top of the rail and fire at the ogre. Grim, seeing Aris move to attack, [i]harrumphed! [/i]and leaned against the wall. The genasi side-stepped a might blow from the ogre seeing it bend one of the rails. He sliced into the brute's belly. Benito, not getting a good balance on the rail fired his bow and it sailed wide, clattering against the far wall. Ellysidell stood on the rail and muttered, "Just like a tree branch," gathered himself and hit the ogre solidly in the shoulder. The creature was slowing down. Aris closed, again spinning and ducking almost in a mad-dance to avoid the possibly crushing blows of the ogre's horn-club. His handaxe bit into the side of his foe's knee forcing the ogre to fall to both knees. Aris then finished him off with a slice across the throat with his scimitar, side-stepping the body again as it toppled forward. He wiped the blood from his weapons on the clothes of the carcass and called the heroes forward. Ellysidell eyed the horn-club for his collection of big weapons. Benito feeling that the path ahead could be deadly, broke open [i]Moradin's Prayers of the Faithful[/i] and cast a spell to bolster his constitution. They rushed into another corridor. There in the middle was an iron grating. Grim crept forward to investigate and discovered that the grate covered a sewer system, possibly for flood control. He found no traps, but the heroes made haste to get out of this hall. Grim's apathy finally caught up with him at the next door. Casually searching for traps, he failed to notice the fine wires that held the door in place. When he opened the door, two great axes sprung at him. One chopped him hard. As the axes bounced in the doorway, one dripping blood, three orcs charged forward with great axes of their own. Again one struck Grim who decided to tumble through the opposition and let his fellows take care of the rest. Rolling under the legs of the orc to his right, he backed himself into the corner of this latest room and saw another orc--twirling another great axe in his hand--waiting to see what the invaders would do. Grim heard the clash of steel as he uncorked a potion to stop his bleeding and heal his grievous wounds. I don't get paid enough for this he thought as he quaffed the draught. Benito, Ellysidell and Aris surged forward against new enemies. Almost in unison as if striking a chord in a deadly dirge, the heroes felled their foes. Aris again, a slice to his orc's unprotected neck sent the Zhent gurgling to the ground. Benito ran his foe through with Hordemaster and smashed his foe with his shield for emphasis and to free his sword. Ellysidell with a mighty spin and slice of the dwarven waraxe recovered from Khundrukar split his orc's ribs and sternum sending gobbits of orc guts into the air. Without pause they continued to move forward to face thier next foe, who arrogantly guarded the passage beyond. Aris noted that he wore a symbol of leadership. This was probably the half-fiend's second-in-command. "Cut in on my partner as we dance," Benito called back as he took the initiative. Aris and Ellysidell understood and followed close on his heels. The lone orc landed a mighty blow on the cleric of Tyr as he closed, wounding Benito grieviously on the shoulder. He grimaced but swept his sword under the orc's guard, wounding him on the thigh. Then he stepped to his right. Aris came next slicing the orc across the chest, but not biting deep. The orc looked surprised. Aris spun a few paces to his left. Ellysidell waded in with a downward cleave, connecting on the orc's shoulder. The Zhent staggered, but still did not fall. He set his teeth to retaliate. Grim and Nosr had watched this tactic from across the room, impressed. Grim thought, I can't miss this fun and ran forward. The halfling cartwheeled through the mass of combatants as only Grim knew how, drawing his short sword in the process and ending up behind the Zhent captain. His sword struck deep into the small of the orc's back, and he fell forward, and astounded look on his face as his life left him. Almost immediately after, points of light streamed at Grim, driving him painfully into Benito's arms. The half-fiend sorcerer had made his presence known. Bentio and Aris moved through what they hoped was the final hallway to the final confrontation in this underground maze. They ran into a wall of orcs. Aris called back, "Nosr, clear a path!" Benito was relieved that the genasi had begun to reassert himself. He and Aris were horrified to see the Zhentarim leader. It was a scaly-looking orc with tentacles for arms and sharp teeth. Another orc with more human-like features was spread-eagled on a vertical X. They saw another orc break off and run towards the tortured prisoner. A flare sailed over their heads and another explosion of fire echoed through the halls. Orcs screamed and the warriors in front of Aris and Benito crumpled to the ground in blackened heaps. The orc who had gone to the prisoner cried out, "Nooooooooo!" and glared at Aris, "The deal is off!", as he shouldered the now smoldering corpse of the half-orc captive. The half-fiend was not even singed. He cried out and his tentacles writhed. Points of light flew from their ends, striking Benito. The heroes closed on him and failed to connect. Their strikes were seemingly deflected by some form of arcane magic. Grim and Ellysidell joined the fray, and the Zhent was surrounded. An arcane green glow emanated from one of his tentacles and it struck Aris. The chilling touch burned his flesh and sapped some of his strength. Nosr skipped into the room pleased with the charred remains of four orcs at his feet. He saw a last orc messing with some levers on the far wall. "I don't think so, buddy," and made the gestures to release his arcane missles. The last orc was knocked to the ground but did not go unconscious. He changed form! It was the prisoner Aif. He had not fled. Nosr was dumbfounded, but stayed his ground, preparing another spell. Aif put his hands up. Nosr held his action ready if the Night Mask did anything funny. Meanwhile, the heroes could not seem to land even a glancing blow against the Zhent leader. Even attacks that seemed to hit, did not. The half-fiend also had a blurry look to him. He also talked incessantly about how he Alu'aka would escape and have his revenge on them. Alu'aka tried to push past the heroes to back himself into a better and more defendable corner. As he retreated, Ellysidell struck him hard across the abdomen. In the corner, Aris and Benito persued, both missing again. Alu'aka laughed and attacked again with a glowing-green tentacle. This time the burning chill struck Benito, but did not drain his strength. That was all the excuse the cleric of Tyr needed. "Feel the Retribution of the god of justice!" Benito's longsword came down with more force than the cleric believed he had ever mustered slicing through rubbery hide and bone and lopping off Alu'aka's tentacle. The Zhent sorcerer collapsed in heap. Aris made sure he was dead. Then Aris and Benito saw the stalemate that was going on between Nosr and Aif. Ellysidell had wisely restrained Grim who was kicking and screaming, "You shouldn't have come back! You're dead meat!" yelled the halfling. Benito and Aris walked over to Aif. He looked at them, "I apologize. I spoke out of anger and emotion," and then to Benito, holding out his arms, "I am at your mercy...." === Events after this happened quickly. Aif informed them that the base could be flooded, showed them how to do it and the heroes gathered the body of the Zhent captain, mage, and Aif's half-orc friend Dagotha. They left the base via a secret passage that Aif knew about and rested on the hill. Somewhere below, they heard the rush of water and possibly the screams of other orcs, or as Aif shrugged his shoulders, others of his people as the waters rose to the top of the stairs in the passage that they had just left. Aris sent Ellysidell and Grim back to the farm house to gather the items at wealth that they had liberated from the orcs. Grim looked at Benito, who nodded his agreement. Nosr fired magic missles into the air for fun, howling in glee at the defeat of the Zhents. Then he calmed down and went to meditate some yards from Aris, Benito, and Aif. They went together to get the other Night Mask prisoner only to find him dead. Hoofprints led away from the scene towards the woods. The entrance to the base was sealed with a massive rock. Manacled and under guard, Benito questioned Aif, "Why did you come back?" [i]sigh[/i] "I guess seeing you and your party unified and sticking together even after a dispute, inspired me to come back for Dagotha." Aif seemed to squirm as he continued, loyalty being so foreign to someone like him, thought Aris. He crossed his arms and put his hand on his chin and begin to lose himself in his own thoughts. "Too bad, he perished," Benito tried to sympathize, "We are sorry for your loss." "Oh well, collateral damage and all," Aif shrugged, regaining his compusure. Benito shook his head, "Well, I will wait until reinforcements from Alaghon arrive, but since you have done nothing wrong in my eyes, I will let you go at that time." Benito went a few yards to look out into the pre-dawn darkness across the woods and south to the rolling plains of Turmish. "Thank you, Tyr for allowing me, no...allowing us to save my homeland." Benito smiled and tear rolled down his cheek. He cleared his throat and brushed it away before anyone saw..... [/QUOTE]
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