Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Menexenus" data-source="post: 3323194" data-attributes="member: 8951">Session 8: Assault on the Ebon Triad, take 228th of Planting.  After the party pulled itself up the elevator shaft to lick its wounds after losing Killian to the Hextorites, Killick and Alexander began using their healing skills to tend to the rest of the party.  The party debated what it's next move should be.  Some thought that another descent into the cathedral to face the Hextorites would be a suicide mission.  Others were adamant that Killian's death shouldn't be for nothing.  Besides, if they didn't defeat the cult, how could they save Katawan?  As the party debated the issue back and forth, suddenly a dwarf stepped out of the shadows and into the torchlight to announce his presence.  The nasty-looking adornments on his armor put the party on edge and caused them to treat him very suspiciously.  The newcomer asked if this was the party of adventurers going down to face the evil cults in the mine below.  They hesitantly acknowledged that they were.  The newcomer introduced himself as Thorash and informed them that he had been sent by the church of Wee Jas to assist them.  The party asked where he had come from.  He replied that he had cast an enchantment on one of the guards at the front gate, and he had unlocked the padlock on the wooden doors leading down to the elevator.  Thorash offered to cast some healing magic on the party.  They had little choice but to accept the offer.  After the party received the dwarf's healing, they gladly welcomed the newcomer with few additional questions asked.     1st of Flocktime.  Late in the evening, after getting a full day's rest and after Thorash recuperated his spells, the party returned down the elevator shaft to the dark cathedral.  As soon as the elevator car touched down, Alexander and Killick jumped out heading in different directions.  At this moment, the Hextorites, who had been waiting in ambush at the southern end of the cathedral behind the elevator shaft, loosed a volley of arrows and a Silence spell.  Hextor's forces consisted of 3 tiefling archers on the landing, 3 clerics near the black pool, 1 cult fanatic wearing Killian's old banded mail, a zombie made from Killian's corpse (wearing studded leather and wielding Killian's greatsword), 4 zombies made from tieflings (wearing chainmail), and 1 troglodyte zombie.    Alexander (who was the only party member not standing in Silence) quickly cast a Web spell that effectively cut the battlefield in two - 2 clerics and the archers were on one side while the zombies and the third cleric were on the other.  They began burning the web immediately.  Thorash tried to turn the zombies, but found that their negative energy had been bolstered by one of the enemy priests.  The party was forced to enter melee with the zombies in silence.  A half-orc cleric of Hextor wielding a heavy flail was tripping opponents with relative ease and made his way up to Alexander.  A fiendish ape was summoned, and once the web burned away it charged forward into battle.  Then Theldrick (the main priest of Hextor) called an additional squad of zombies out from behind a pile of stacked boxes.  They had been made from the corpses of cult fanatics, and they still wore their studded leather armor.  Thorash tried to turn them, and he was successful.  4 of the 5 new zombies bowed down before Thorash, and the fifth one attacked the Fiendish Ape at Thorash's command!  However, it was quickly ripped to pieces by the Fiendish Ape who promptly disappeared back to his plane of origin.  Then Alexander cast Scare and caused the two lesser clerics of Hextor to run away.    For this one bright moment, it looked as though the party might be gaining the upper hand.  But then a series of events occurred in rapid succession that heralded the winds of fortune turning against the party.  First, Theldrick retook control of the remaining cultist zombies and called the tiefling archers down from the landing to join the melee.  Second, Tarric succumbed to a Cause Fear spell and was compelled to cower in fear inside the elevator.  Third, Alees was dropped by an attack by the troglodyte zombie.  The party quickly realized that they would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers unless they withdrew.  Alexander signaled the retreat.  After staying to help Alexander escape, Killick was surrounded by enemies.  He tried to tumble out and failed, landing prone with enemies all around him.  But miraculously, the Hextorites were unable to take full advantage of Killick's moment of weakness; although they wounded him, he remained conscious and active.  He tried again to tumble out, and this time he was successful!  His enemies flailed about angrily as he tumbled by, but none could land a blow.  Thorash and Alexander blocked the entrance of the elevator while others tried to turn the wheel that moved the device.  During this time Thorash delivered a vicious magical touch attack to the main Hextor priest who tried to press the attack.    Finally, the elevator car began moving and the party headed back up to the mine tunnel to safety.  On the way up, Alees revealed that she too now has healing power (granted by the god Fharlangn)!  She cast 2 Cure Light spells and some Cure Minors on those who needed them the most.     Although some were dejected by another forced withdrawal from the temple of Hextor, others began thinking of ways to make subsequent raids more successful.  The party decided to make lots of buff and healing scrolls and try again.  While Alexander and Thorash collaborated on making these scrolls, Killick applied his healing skills to the party members while they rested.     2nd of Flocktime.  After another full day's rest, Thorash and Alees cast additional healing spells to bring the party to full strength.  With a ream of scrolls in hand, they have to decide whether to descend into the temple again tonight using the scrolls for spells, or wait another day to have full spell casting power in addition to the scrolls.  Meanwhile, Katawan is Smenk's hostage, and his time is running out... [Only after this session did I realize that making scrolls requires casting the spell.  So they should not have been able to make so many scrolls so quickly.  Oops!  -DM]</blockquote>

Verification