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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Milo Windby's Collected Story Hour
- Thread starter Milo Windby
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Milo Windby
First Post
Nail said:Are y'all caught up now? I'd like t' give a comment er two, but don't wanna spoil th' fun.
Nice call on th' ogres retreating......be cautious, ya lily-livered varmints! (Did I jus' write that?)
Not quite caught up yet, Nail. We're one session behind. I should be able to get that written up in the next couple of days.
I don't think the ogres liked the way we dealt with the giant and all the bugbears in a matter of rounds. We've since dealt with them though. It's the encounter before that which nearly sapped all of our resources. Frog's glee is always at the highest when he's got us over a barrel. You should have seen him hopping up and down as he sic'd his latest surprise on us.
Milo Windby
First Post
Nail said:
Seems fitting Frog would do that......
....hopping, that is.
Ohhhhh, very PUNNY. I didn't even realize what I was writing. It's true though, maybe Frog is living up to his name more than he realizes.
Update today! I'm at the writing desk right now.
Milo Windby
First Post
Temple of Elemental Evil – part 51 (session 23)
The Chamber of Eyes was still empty, except of course for the massive body of the hill giant, his worg, and all of the bugbears. There was no sign of the ogres; the door to the southwest remained closed. They moved counterclockwise through the room, checking the bugbear duo’s doors next. The chamber beyond was hexagonal, but that was about the only interesting feature. A large, cold iron brazier sat on the floor by a table near the south wall. An open cabinet leaned against the wall as well, its contents of smoked meats, cheese, and cheap wine easily visible. There were two heaps of cushions set away from the table, presumably the bugbear’s beds.
Two of Brigit’s arrows confirmed the bundles of cushions’ innocence. ”Quit yer starin’, Ah don’ trust anythin’ big enough ta hid a dire rat.”
At the mention of rats Mazi stiffened. She was suddenly grateful for Brigit’s cautious nature.
They spent little time in the bugbear den. The next door from the Chamber of Eyes was at the end of the passage leading opposite of the stairs. Another passage continued on from the door as well as branching to the right. The western passage led to a circular chamber full of cobwebs. The spindly tendrils of wispy material seemed to crawl up the walls, groping for the ceiling. The webs thickened as they climbed, eventually massing in a dense thicket of dusty cover that the keenest eyes couldn’t penetrate. There were castings and husks of some indiscernible nature on the ground as well.
”From the amount of dust on these webs,” Milo said after a bout of sneezing, ”I’d say whatever made them is long gone.”
”Well I don’t want to hang around and find out. Spiders are almost as bad as rats.” Mazi said with a shudder.
The southern passage continued from the door to lead into another circular chamber. This room was much more interesting than the last. A strange light illuminated the room, emanating from four weirdly glowing cressets of ancient bronze spaced evenly along the walls. The bluish light cast strange shadows over the room’s occupants. Milo immediately crouched into a battle stance until he realized that the nine figures scattered around the room were completely still.
His eyes adjusted to the dim blue light and he took in the strange sight of the statues. There were nine of the monstrous stone sculptures. On one side of the room a huge fire giant, a slavering manticore, and a hideous medusa seemed to be frozen in speech. Brigit shivered upon seeing the medusa, no doubt recalling her time as a statue weeks ago. Along the wall were six other statues. To the left of the first three sat a small blue dragon, nearby a mass of eyes on tentacles and stalks surrounding a large central eyeball sat quiescent on the ground. Milo assumed that it was a beholder. He had heard of them and their lethal gazes, but had never seen one before. To the right of the conversing group was a passage, guarded by a tiger-like raksasha; it’s upturned claws splayed and its fangs bared. Next to the raksasha a familiar depiction of undeath, a wight was expertly carved. The flowing tatters of its clothes were swept back and its filed teeth were exposed. It was Milo’s turn to shudder at the sight of one of the statues. Milo hated undead, really. Towering above the wight was a statue of an ogre-mage. His greatsword was propped on his shoulder and a superior sneer was carved into his facial features. The last statue was a tattered mummy, guarding another passage. The stone bandages hung from its decimated frame and dangled loose from its outstretched arms.
It was then that Milo noticed that all of the statues were concentrating on something they were either holding or that was at their base. Before Milo could investigate further a sharp sound rang out, as of metal striking stone. Milo spun around to see Brigit brandishing her bow. She had loosed an arrow at the medusa.
”Take that, ya stone hussy!” she said under her breath. Then to the others, ”Ya remember tha minotaur upstairs, don’t ya? If one O’ these be a beastie actin’ like a statue, then it’s gonna get a sharp surprise from me bow!”
Brigit then shot each statue in turn, starting at the blue dragon near the entrance and working her way around the room. By the time she was done nine broken arrows lay shattered at the statues’ bases.
”Well it’s gotta be a trap. No way anybody’d put all them statues here wi’out some purpose.” Brigit said, nonplussed.
They stood at the entrance, none of them willing to set foot into the chamber for fear of what trap they’d spring.
”Ah know! Let’s toss tha halflin’!” Brigit said with a sudden exclamation.
”No way, uh uh. There will be no halfling tossing!” Milo said, backing away.
”Aw, c’mon. We’d tie a rope ta ya.” Brigit persisted.
Mazi giggled. ”We wouldn’t tie a rope to you if we didn’t like you.”
”Oh, thanks. That makes me feel soooo much better.”
”Fine then, Ah’ll go. Ya better watch me back.”
Brigit stepped into the room. Nothing happened. She approached the statue of the blue dragon, closest of the nine. Still nothing.
”This li’l guy is starin’ at some box.” she said as she cautiously walked by. She slowly made her way around the room, ”Tha beholder’s got some tube it’s starin’ at.” then, ”Tha giant’s got some sort O’ spear, Jer’d like that’un.” and, ”Tha medusa’s cloak ain’t stone, neither is tha manticore’s crossbow.” she walked by the passage to the raksasha, ”He’s got some sort O’ ring on. This wight next to him’s got an urn.” and to the ogre mage, ”Got’s a pretty necklace.” finally the full circuit to the mummy, ”He’s got a staff an’ a ceramic bottle.” Brigit met the others back at the entrance.
”All of them had something not made of stone.” Milo said thoughtfully, ”Let’s see if there’s anything magic in here.”
Milo cast his detect magic cantrip. His eyes glowed for a second before settling back to their normal, piercing, blue color. He was startled at the amount of glowing auras in the room.
”The beholder’s tube is magic, so is the fire giant’s spear, the manticore’s crossbow, the medusa’s cloak, the mummy’s staff, the ogre mage’s necklace, and the raksasha’s ring. Wow, almost all of them are holding something magical.”
Brigit shrugged and reached for the nearest item Milo mentioned, the mummy’s spear. ”Let’s see what we got here.”
”Brigit, no!” Milo shouted too late.
A tinkling sound, as of a glass pane being broken and the shards scattered, filled the room. Brigit shouted.
”Ah can’t see! Ah’m blind!”
The light in the room suddenly shifted. Shadows from the statues jumped and leaped. Milo glanced around in apprehension. The bluish lights of the cressets were no longer in their wombs of bronze. Instead glowing balls of blue light floated around the room! They spun in a mesmerizing dance before diving for the vulnerable heroes.
The Chamber of Eyes was still empty, except of course for the massive body of the hill giant, his worg, and all of the bugbears. There was no sign of the ogres; the door to the southwest remained closed. They moved counterclockwise through the room, checking the bugbear duo’s doors next. The chamber beyond was hexagonal, but that was about the only interesting feature. A large, cold iron brazier sat on the floor by a table near the south wall. An open cabinet leaned against the wall as well, its contents of smoked meats, cheese, and cheap wine easily visible. There were two heaps of cushions set away from the table, presumably the bugbear’s beds.
Two of Brigit’s arrows confirmed the bundles of cushions’ innocence. ”Quit yer starin’, Ah don’ trust anythin’ big enough ta hid a dire rat.”
At the mention of rats Mazi stiffened. She was suddenly grateful for Brigit’s cautious nature.
They spent little time in the bugbear den. The next door from the Chamber of Eyes was at the end of the passage leading opposite of the stairs. Another passage continued on from the door as well as branching to the right. The western passage led to a circular chamber full of cobwebs. The spindly tendrils of wispy material seemed to crawl up the walls, groping for the ceiling. The webs thickened as they climbed, eventually massing in a dense thicket of dusty cover that the keenest eyes couldn’t penetrate. There were castings and husks of some indiscernible nature on the ground as well.
”From the amount of dust on these webs,” Milo said after a bout of sneezing, ”I’d say whatever made them is long gone.”
”Well I don’t want to hang around and find out. Spiders are almost as bad as rats.” Mazi said with a shudder.
The southern passage continued from the door to lead into another circular chamber. This room was much more interesting than the last. A strange light illuminated the room, emanating from four weirdly glowing cressets of ancient bronze spaced evenly along the walls. The bluish light cast strange shadows over the room’s occupants. Milo immediately crouched into a battle stance until he realized that the nine figures scattered around the room were completely still.
His eyes adjusted to the dim blue light and he took in the strange sight of the statues. There were nine of the monstrous stone sculptures. On one side of the room a huge fire giant, a slavering manticore, and a hideous medusa seemed to be frozen in speech. Brigit shivered upon seeing the medusa, no doubt recalling her time as a statue weeks ago. Along the wall were six other statues. To the left of the first three sat a small blue dragon, nearby a mass of eyes on tentacles and stalks surrounding a large central eyeball sat quiescent on the ground. Milo assumed that it was a beholder. He had heard of them and their lethal gazes, but had never seen one before. To the right of the conversing group was a passage, guarded by a tiger-like raksasha; it’s upturned claws splayed and its fangs bared. Next to the raksasha a familiar depiction of undeath, a wight was expertly carved. The flowing tatters of its clothes were swept back and its filed teeth were exposed. It was Milo’s turn to shudder at the sight of one of the statues. Milo hated undead, really. Towering above the wight was a statue of an ogre-mage. His greatsword was propped on his shoulder and a superior sneer was carved into his facial features. The last statue was a tattered mummy, guarding another passage. The stone bandages hung from its decimated frame and dangled loose from its outstretched arms.
It was then that Milo noticed that all of the statues were concentrating on something they were either holding or that was at their base. Before Milo could investigate further a sharp sound rang out, as of metal striking stone. Milo spun around to see Brigit brandishing her bow. She had loosed an arrow at the medusa.
”Take that, ya stone hussy!” she said under her breath. Then to the others, ”Ya remember tha minotaur upstairs, don’t ya? If one O’ these be a beastie actin’ like a statue, then it’s gonna get a sharp surprise from me bow!”
Brigit then shot each statue in turn, starting at the blue dragon near the entrance and working her way around the room. By the time she was done nine broken arrows lay shattered at the statues’ bases.
”Well it’s gotta be a trap. No way anybody’d put all them statues here wi’out some purpose.” Brigit said, nonplussed.
They stood at the entrance, none of them willing to set foot into the chamber for fear of what trap they’d spring.
”Ah know! Let’s toss tha halflin’!” Brigit said with a sudden exclamation.
”No way, uh uh. There will be no halfling tossing!” Milo said, backing away.
”Aw, c’mon. We’d tie a rope ta ya.” Brigit persisted.
Mazi giggled. ”We wouldn’t tie a rope to you if we didn’t like you.”
”Oh, thanks. That makes me feel soooo much better.”
”Fine then, Ah’ll go. Ya better watch me back.”
Brigit stepped into the room. Nothing happened. She approached the statue of the blue dragon, closest of the nine. Still nothing.
”This li’l guy is starin’ at some box.” she said as she cautiously walked by. She slowly made her way around the room, ”Tha beholder’s got some tube it’s starin’ at.” then, ”Tha giant’s got some sort O’ spear, Jer’d like that’un.” and, ”Tha medusa’s cloak ain’t stone, neither is tha manticore’s crossbow.” she walked by the passage to the raksasha, ”He’s got some sort O’ ring on. This wight next to him’s got an urn.” and to the ogre mage, ”Got’s a pretty necklace.” finally the full circuit to the mummy, ”He’s got a staff an’ a ceramic bottle.” Brigit met the others back at the entrance.
”All of them had something not made of stone.” Milo said thoughtfully, ”Let’s see if there’s anything magic in here.”
Milo cast his detect magic cantrip. His eyes glowed for a second before settling back to their normal, piercing, blue color. He was startled at the amount of glowing auras in the room.
”The beholder’s tube is magic, so is the fire giant’s spear, the manticore’s crossbow, the medusa’s cloak, the mummy’s staff, the ogre mage’s necklace, and the raksasha’s ring. Wow, almost all of them are holding something magical.”
Brigit shrugged and reached for the nearest item Milo mentioned, the mummy’s spear. ”Let’s see what we got here.”
”Brigit, no!” Milo shouted too late.
A tinkling sound, as of a glass pane being broken and the shards scattered, filled the room. Brigit shouted.
”Ah can’t see! Ah’m blind!”
The light in the room suddenly shifted. Shadows from the statues jumped and leaped. Milo glanced around in apprehension. The bluish lights of the cressets were no longer in their wombs of bronze. Instead glowing balls of blue light floated around the room! They spun in a mesmerizing dance before diving for the vulnerable heroes.
Brigit Deeperdown
First Post
Fighting Blind
”Ah can’t see! Ah’m blind!”
Just so you all know this was kind a of a cool fight when Milo finishes writing it up. As I got to flight blind. A new thing for me. I can not say I want to do it all the time but it was a change.
”Ah can’t see! Ah’m blind!”
Just so you all know this was kind a of a cool fight when Milo finishes writing it up. As I got to flight blind. A new thing for me. I can not say I want to do it all the time but it was a change.
Milo Windby
First Post
Temple of Elemental Evil - part 52 (session 23)
The Will-O-Wisps dived into the surprised adventurers, wreaking havoc with their electric shocks. Milo and Mazi both felt the deadly jolt from the floating lights. Milo immediately cast a spell in response. The protection from elements spell shimmered around Milo, protecting him from the wisp's shocking touch. Mazi too leaned back to cast a defensive shield before her.
Jeremiah backed off from Brigit, wary of her blind thrashing. He scored one hit against the softly glowing wisp attacking Mazi. Brigit centered herself, breathed deep, and then swung with her axe. She was rewarded with the odd buzz the will-o-wisps made when wounded. The wisp zipped away from her axe before she could follow up on her amazing blind stroke.
Milo knew what he had to do. He breathed heavy as he gripped his staff of healing. He knew all four of the wisps would get a shot at him if he couldn't manage to roll past fast enough. Milo cleared his mind of doubt and tumbled forward. He felt a sharp sting as he passed by the first wisp. The electricity played off of his elemental shield before dissipating into the ether. He was treated to three more light shows as he sprang by, failing to avoid even one will-o-wisp. Surprisingly, he was unhurt by the time he made his way to Brigit's side. He quickly tapped Brigit's forehead with the staff to cure blindness. Brigit blinked once, then grinned.
"Now that Ah can see ya, yer dead."
Despite her strong words, Brigit was less able to land a blow with her sight restored than she had been blind. The wisps moved erratically, making any blow difficult. Milo watched as all three of his companions struck blow after blow on empty air. He crouched back and cast another spell. This time the effect of his prayer could be felt by all. He noticed that the wisps didn't seem affected though. His suspicions were confirmed when Mazi's burning hands washed through three of them with no effect.
"I don't think our spells are going to affect them any, Mazi." Milo shouted.
She grunted her agreement as she dropped her bow and drew her flametongue and slashed at the will-o-wisp just as ineffectively. On a thought Milo drew a vial of holy water. He didn't know much about will-o-wisps, but thought it worth a try after the pool upstairs. His holy water fizzed as it struck the wisp, but the light flared bright after the water was evaporated.
Brigit and Jeremiah were having more success, scoring occasional hits as the wisps relentlessly zapped each in turn. Milo's protective spell was weakening from the constant bombardment.
Suddenly two of the wisps winked out of existence. Milo and the group concentrated on the two left. The four traded blows until another wisp winked out. Milo was suspicious, but they couldn't do anything but gang up on the last wisp. The will-o-wisp seemed to turn to flee, sapping more of Milo's protection as it floated away. Milo, Jeremiah, and Mazi pursued as Brigit drew her bow to take pot shots and wait for the others to return.
Halfway down the hall to the Chamber of Eyes Brigit raised an alarm. Milo spun to see the other three wisps teaming up on the beleaguered dwarf. He ignored the other wisp as it winked out and summoned a formian worker to aid Brigit. The insectoid creature materialized beyond one of the wisps and attacked immediately. It's horizontal jaws snapped at air, but managed to attract the attention of the floating blue light.
Brigit was hard pressed; it seemed her axes acted like lightning rods to the wisps' electric attacks. Her body was wracked with convulsions as the electricity played over her metal armor. She dropped one of her axes after the last attack, unable to grip it in her hands for the violent spasms. The others ran to help. Jeremiah reached them first and sliced into one of the wisps with a vicious backstroke. The light seemed to split into two before fading as it dropped.
Brigit was slipping fast. Milo sprang to her side and channeled one of his spells into healing power. Some of the burns along her skin faded but she was still shaky. Meanwhile his formian ally moved behind another wisp long enough to distract it for an expert shot from Mazi's bow. Jeremiah's greatsword followed soon after. The will-o-wisp faded from sight as his enchanted blade sliced through its center.
Meanwhile Milo concentrated on channeling more divine healing energy into his dwarven companion. She suddenly surged back into action, scooping up her dropped axe and charging at the last visible wisp. Trollgrater sliced cleanly through the buzzing blue wisp, extinguishing its other-worldly glow.
They knew one more will-o-wisp was floating around, unseen. Mazi cast see invisibility and peered down the hall towards the Chamber of Eyes.
"I can see it! It's heading down to the Chamber." she said.
"Let's go! We don' need no more O' those things divin' down on us. Ah canna take any more punishment. If'n tha wisp is in our way on tha way out then we'll take care O' it." Brigit shouted over her shoulder as she headed down the hall.
Milo signaled for the formian to follow and they set off for the retreating wisp or the exit, whichever came first. Mazi would call out its location as they cautiously moved down the hall. As they neared the Chamber of Eyes the wisp winked into life again. Milo glanced over his shoulder to see his formian worker wink out. He shook his head and focused on the Chamber.
In their haste to leave the four almost didn't notice the welcoming party back in the Chamber. Standing in front of the gong and over the massive corpse of the giant was yet another hill giant. The sight brought all four up short at the entrance to the Chamber. Flanking the giant were two of the ogres that had fled the previous battle. Mazi could see the fading glow of the will-o-wisp reflecting off the stairs across from the passage. The giant's mouth gaped in a toothy grin as he hefted his greatclub, almost as if testing its weight.
Milo acted first, slapping his hand on Jeremiah's arm before the barbarian had a chance to run in and be attacked from three angles. His shield of faith enveloped Jer, bolstering his already formidable armor. Jeremiah bellowed a warcry and charged. Milo's spell wasn't enough to ward him from the giant's greatclub. Jeremiah shrugged off the attack and surged back ferociously. The giant was thrown back from the barbarian's attack. His stomach was laid open from the horrible gash. Brigit charged in after her friend, brandishing one of her axes high and shouting in dwarven. Right before she reached the giant she threw her hand to the side and caught one of the flanking ogres by surprise. Brigit's rope of entanglement snaked out and wrapped itself around the ogre like a python closing in on its prey. She finished her charge with battlecry and sunk her axe into the giant's torso.
The huge monster roared at the top of his lungs, thrashing wildly at its attackers. Brigit ducked a moment too late and was grazed by the greatclub. She staggered under its massive weight. Milo sucked in a breath at the sight. He was afraid that Brigit was barely hanging on by sheer will alone.
The Will-O-Wisps dived into the surprised adventurers, wreaking havoc with their electric shocks. Milo and Mazi both felt the deadly jolt from the floating lights. Milo immediately cast a spell in response. The protection from elements spell shimmered around Milo, protecting him from the wisp's shocking touch. Mazi too leaned back to cast a defensive shield before her.
Jeremiah backed off from Brigit, wary of her blind thrashing. He scored one hit against the softly glowing wisp attacking Mazi. Brigit centered herself, breathed deep, and then swung with her axe. She was rewarded with the odd buzz the will-o-wisps made when wounded. The wisp zipped away from her axe before she could follow up on her amazing blind stroke.
Milo knew what he had to do. He breathed heavy as he gripped his staff of healing. He knew all four of the wisps would get a shot at him if he couldn't manage to roll past fast enough. Milo cleared his mind of doubt and tumbled forward. He felt a sharp sting as he passed by the first wisp. The electricity played off of his elemental shield before dissipating into the ether. He was treated to three more light shows as he sprang by, failing to avoid even one will-o-wisp. Surprisingly, he was unhurt by the time he made his way to Brigit's side. He quickly tapped Brigit's forehead with the staff to cure blindness. Brigit blinked once, then grinned.
"Now that Ah can see ya, yer dead."
Despite her strong words, Brigit was less able to land a blow with her sight restored than she had been blind. The wisps moved erratically, making any blow difficult. Milo watched as all three of his companions struck blow after blow on empty air. He crouched back and cast another spell. This time the effect of his prayer could be felt by all. He noticed that the wisps didn't seem affected though. His suspicions were confirmed when Mazi's burning hands washed through three of them with no effect.
"I don't think our spells are going to affect them any, Mazi." Milo shouted.
She grunted her agreement as she dropped her bow and drew her flametongue and slashed at the will-o-wisp just as ineffectively. On a thought Milo drew a vial of holy water. He didn't know much about will-o-wisps, but thought it worth a try after the pool upstairs. His holy water fizzed as it struck the wisp, but the light flared bright after the water was evaporated.
Brigit and Jeremiah were having more success, scoring occasional hits as the wisps relentlessly zapped each in turn. Milo's protective spell was weakening from the constant bombardment.
Suddenly two of the wisps winked out of existence. Milo and the group concentrated on the two left. The four traded blows until another wisp winked out. Milo was suspicious, but they couldn't do anything but gang up on the last wisp. The will-o-wisp seemed to turn to flee, sapping more of Milo's protection as it floated away. Milo, Jeremiah, and Mazi pursued as Brigit drew her bow to take pot shots and wait for the others to return.
Halfway down the hall to the Chamber of Eyes Brigit raised an alarm. Milo spun to see the other three wisps teaming up on the beleaguered dwarf. He ignored the other wisp as it winked out and summoned a formian worker to aid Brigit. The insectoid creature materialized beyond one of the wisps and attacked immediately. It's horizontal jaws snapped at air, but managed to attract the attention of the floating blue light.
Brigit was hard pressed; it seemed her axes acted like lightning rods to the wisps' electric attacks. Her body was wracked with convulsions as the electricity played over her metal armor. She dropped one of her axes after the last attack, unable to grip it in her hands for the violent spasms. The others ran to help. Jeremiah reached them first and sliced into one of the wisps with a vicious backstroke. The light seemed to split into two before fading as it dropped.
Brigit was slipping fast. Milo sprang to her side and channeled one of his spells into healing power. Some of the burns along her skin faded but she was still shaky. Meanwhile his formian ally moved behind another wisp long enough to distract it for an expert shot from Mazi's bow. Jeremiah's greatsword followed soon after. The will-o-wisp faded from sight as his enchanted blade sliced through its center.
Meanwhile Milo concentrated on channeling more divine healing energy into his dwarven companion. She suddenly surged back into action, scooping up her dropped axe and charging at the last visible wisp. Trollgrater sliced cleanly through the buzzing blue wisp, extinguishing its other-worldly glow.
They knew one more will-o-wisp was floating around, unseen. Mazi cast see invisibility and peered down the hall towards the Chamber of Eyes.
"I can see it! It's heading down to the Chamber." she said.
"Let's go! We don' need no more O' those things divin' down on us. Ah canna take any more punishment. If'n tha wisp is in our way on tha way out then we'll take care O' it." Brigit shouted over her shoulder as she headed down the hall.
Milo signaled for the formian to follow and they set off for the retreating wisp or the exit, whichever came first. Mazi would call out its location as they cautiously moved down the hall. As they neared the Chamber of Eyes the wisp winked into life again. Milo glanced over his shoulder to see his formian worker wink out. He shook his head and focused on the Chamber.
In their haste to leave the four almost didn't notice the welcoming party back in the Chamber. Standing in front of the gong and over the massive corpse of the giant was yet another hill giant. The sight brought all four up short at the entrance to the Chamber. Flanking the giant were two of the ogres that had fled the previous battle. Mazi could see the fading glow of the will-o-wisp reflecting off the stairs across from the passage. The giant's mouth gaped in a toothy grin as he hefted his greatclub, almost as if testing its weight.
Milo acted first, slapping his hand on Jeremiah's arm before the barbarian had a chance to run in and be attacked from three angles. His shield of faith enveloped Jer, bolstering his already formidable armor. Jeremiah bellowed a warcry and charged. Milo's spell wasn't enough to ward him from the giant's greatclub. Jeremiah shrugged off the attack and surged back ferociously. The giant was thrown back from the barbarian's attack. His stomach was laid open from the horrible gash. Brigit charged in after her friend, brandishing one of her axes high and shouting in dwarven. Right before she reached the giant she threw her hand to the side and caught one of the flanking ogres by surprise. Brigit's rope of entanglement snaked out and wrapped itself around the ogre like a python closing in on its prey. She finished her charge with battlecry and sunk her axe into the giant's torso.
The huge monster roared at the top of his lungs, thrashing wildly at its attackers. Brigit ducked a moment too late and was grazed by the greatclub. She staggered under its massive weight. Milo sucked in a breath at the sight. He was afraid that Brigit was barely hanging on by sheer will alone.
Milo Windby
First Post
Temple of Elemental Evil - part 53 (session 23)
"Jeremiah, MOVE!" shouted Mazi. Just as he spun to the side two expertly aimed arrows sped into the massive giant's bulk. Milo took the chance to tumble to Brigit. He cast another spell and touched her arm. Another shield of faith shimmered into existence around the dwarf's form. Mazi then showed the true reason for her shout. A sizzling lightning bolt zigzagged from her pointed finger to slam into the giant full force. The huge monster reeled from that spell and roared his defiance.
Jeremiah stepped into the unoccupied space and swung into the hill giant. His sword found just the right weak spot and Jer exploited it for all he was worth, shoving the sword in to the hilt. The giant groaned loudly. As Jer withdrew his sword the giant's ponderous weight seemed to fall in slow motion. The fierce barbarian followed through with another savage blow, this time to one of the ogres.
The large monsters seemed unable to land a telling blow against the magically bolstered duo of Brigit and Jeremiah. Milo stayed at Brigit's side anyway, keenly aware of the damage the club had done on top of her already fried nerves. He sacrificed another spell to channel more healing energy into his indomitable friend.
Brigit grunted a terse thanks before dealing with the bound ogre. Her axe and Jeremiah's sword soon made short work of the two ogres. The room echoed with the last ogre's death rattle. All that could then be heard was Brigit's shallow, ragged breathing. She stood with her hands on her knees and panted heavily. Milo stood next to her with a concerned expression. Brigit waved Milo away after regaining her breath.
"Thanks all tha same Milo. Ah gotta take care O' these things," Brigit waved at the numerous corpses laying about. "Keep an eye out for tha' wisp tho', elfie. Don' need 'em comin' back ta zap me no more."
With that Brigit the Butcher set about her grisly work.
"I'll say one thing about her, she's consistent." Milo said.
"So is Jeremiah, our giant killer." Mazi said as she patted the barbarian on the back.
Jeremiah blushed. Milo ignored Brigit's protest and healed her once more for good measure. They gathered what valuables they could find and headed up the stairs. Mazi kept close watch on their path for the last wisp. The telltale blue glow never appeared though. The journey back to the surface was uneventful.
They spent two nights recuperating in the woods. Brigit's wounds required serious healing from Milo and he was tapped out of divine energy by the end of the first day. The others had to nurse their wounds as best as they could until the next day.
The third day found them back in the temple. They descended down to the Chamber of Eyes cautiously. Whoever was in the lower levels would surely begin laying traps if they continued to use the same path, but all four were eager to solve the mystery of the statue room.
Nothing had changed in the Chamber. They stepped over the grisly pieces of giant, bugbear, and ogre on the way to the statue room. There was no sign of the will-o-wisps in the room. The only light reflecting off the statues was from Milo's lantern.
"I think we can assume the statues are trapped somehow. I don't think magic weapons and the sort would just be left here for anyone to take." Milo said.
"How's this then, you check for traps and I'll use mage hand to bring them over here just in case?" Mazi suggested.
Milo thought for a moment, then nodded. "That's an excellent idea. Especially considering my track record for finding traps lately. Either way I'm going to take my time looking. Just make sure nothing pounces on me while I do."
Milo quietly padded into the room. He chose to examine the manticore's crossbow first. He noticed the absence of a string before anything else. He thought that very odd. Beyond that he couldn't find anything else amiss, either on the crossbow or the manticore statue. Milo shrugged and walked back to the others.
"All yours, Mazi. I can't find anything on it."
Mazi concentrated on the crossbow. Imperceptibly at first, the crossbow shifted from its stand. Nothing happened. The crossbow dragged across the floor to rest at Mazi's feet.
"No problem." Milo grinned.
He examined the beholder's tube next. With the absence of a trap on the crossbow Milo decided his first estimate was wrong. He didn't take as much time examining the tube. A couple of close glances revealed nothing. Strolling back to the others with a grin, he gave Mazi the thumbs-up.
Milo was suddenly pitched forward from behind. As Mazi used her mage hand to shift the tube a trap had been sprung. The small explosion ripped the tube apart and would have done the same to Milo if he hadn't been halfway across the room. Milo stood from his hands and knees and brushed off the dust from the explosion.
"Nice, Milo. Real nice." Brigit said.
"Okay, okay. I'll be more careful. I thought that's what Mazi's telekinesis was for. Jeesh."
Milo slowly made his way around the room, taking extra time to examine each enchanted item and its statue. It appeared that they had found the only two traps the hard way. Brigit's blindness from the staff and the tube's explosion were the only safeguards over the room. Before long a healthy pile of goods lay at Mazi's feet. The fire giant's spear lay under the medusa's cloak, the mummy's staff lay near the ogre mage's necklace and the raksasha's ring. The last item Mazi couldn't drag over with her spell. The two-foot wide box was too heavy for her mage hand
Milo returned to re-examine the blue dragon's box. He tried his hand at the clever locking mechanism but was completely unable to spring it. Mazi instead prepared her knock spell and walked towards the container. As she neared she noticed invisible glyphs scribed onto the surface of the box.
"Someone went to the trouble to place invisible runes on this thing." she said.
After closer examination she found that there were four words inscribed, Glooben, Gleeben, Glouben, Globen. She grinned at some private memory of the words before trying one out loud.
"Glooben."
The box suddenly shrunk to a tiny two-inch cube. Mazi's eyes lit up. She tried another word.
"Gleeben."
Nothing happened.
"Globen."
Milo and Mazi had to back away as the box suddenly expanded to eight feet wide on each side.
"Glouben."
The box returned to normal, two feet each side. Milo had an idea.
"Try that one again, the one that didn't do anything."
"Gleeben?"
The box slowly went transparent before winking out of sight completely. The box was gone. Even Mazi's spell-enhanced vision couldn't detect the box.
"Way ta go Milo! Ya made her lose tha box. Ah could think O' a ton O' uses fer that thing." Brigit said disappointedly.
"No no, try one of the other words again Mazi." Milo said.
"Globen."
Slowly the box appeared again, this time eight feet wide. Brigit let out a low whistle of appreciation.
"Glouben."
The box returned to its original state. Mazi looked very pleased with herself. She then cast knock to see if anything was inside. The box was indeed full. A couple hundred small gems winked back at them in the light. Brigit reached in and grabbed a few. She made a show of examining each closely.
"Bah, quartz. Mebbe worth a gold piece each."
"That's a couple hundred gold though, not bad." Milo said.
"None of you would mind if I hang on to it, would you?" Mazi asked.
"Nah, I don't want to lug it around and Brigit's already carrying enough to break a mule's back. Jeremiah?" Milo said.
The barbarian shook his head and Brigit shrugged.
"Great! Glooben." Mazi said. The cube shrunk again and Mazi stashed it into her pack.
"You just better hope no one else knows the command words. I'd hate for an eight foot box to flatten you in the middle of battle." Milo said. "Before we stash the rest of this stuff I want to be sure of something."
Milo cast detect evil on the pile of gear they had looted from the statues. He peered intently at the gear, but nothing was inherently evil. Just to be safe he concentrated on the walls around them as well. He felt a strong evil presence when facing the west. He concentrated harder on the wall and found he could tell the aura was strong, and near the limit of his spell.
"There's something really bad down that way," he said pointing at the northwestern passage. "Let me get the four of us ready and we'll go find out what it is."
Jeremiah was practically jumping in his armor at the chance to hunt down something again. Milo cast shield of faith on the two warriors and a magic circle against evil centered on himself. They moved together through the passage.
The hallway opened into a large room. To their right along the north wall was a big fountain. Looking to the south they could see what seemed to be a subterranean field of fungus. Mushroom caps of different sizes emerged from a dark, rich soil. Growths of fungus were all over the walls. A narrow path led south through the field and split off to two doors, one to the east, and one to the west.
"Jeremiah, you're our wilderness expert. Are these dangerous?" Mazi asked.
Jeremiah crouched over a patch of bulbous mushrooms and examined them carefully. He stood up, thought for a moment, then answered.
"Shrooms."
"Uh huh, thanks, we weren't sure of that." Milo said sarcastically.
A voice called out from the south end of the field, "Stand still, some of the fungi are dangerous. I know the path, I'm coming to help you."
They could make out the form of a woman carefully picking her way through the field. Milo immediately had a bad feeling about her. This was the room where he detected the evil, after all.
The woman drew closer. She was dressed in a simple white dress, barefoot. She approached Jeremiah first, staring into his eyes intently. Milo thought he noticed a snarl of frustration before she covered it with a smile. She turned her gaze towards Brigit. Her smile grew wider.
"Some of this fungus causes insanity. You need to restrain your friends in case something happens." she said to Brigit.
Brigit nodded slowly and turned to face her companions with a beatific smile on her face.
"Jeremiah, MOVE!" shouted Mazi. Just as he spun to the side two expertly aimed arrows sped into the massive giant's bulk. Milo took the chance to tumble to Brigit. He cast another spell and touched her arm. Another shield of faith shimmered into existence around the dwarf's form. Mazi then showed the true reason for her shout. A sizzling lightning bolt zigzagged from her pointed finger to slam into the giant full force. The huge monster reeled from that spell and roared his defiance.
Jeremiah stepped into the unoccupied space and swung into the hill giant. His sword found just the right weak spot and Jer exploited it for all he was worth, shoving the sword in to the hilt. The giant groaned loudly. As Jer withdrew his sword the giant's ponderous weight seemed to fall in slow motion. The fierce barbarian followed through with another savage blow, this time to one of the ogres.
The large monsters seemed unable to land a telling blow against the magically bolstered duo of Brigit and Jeremiah. Milo stayed at Brigit's side anyway, keenly aware of the damage the club had done on top of her already fried nerves. He sacrificed another spell to channel more healing energy into his indomitable friend.
Brigit grunted a terse thanks before dealing with the bound ogre. Her axe and Jeremiah's sword soon made short work of the two ogres. The room echoed with the last ogre's death rattle. All that could then be heard was Brigit's shallow, ragged breathing. She stood with her hands on her knees and panted heavily. Milo stood next to her with a concerned expression. Brigit waved Milo away after regaining her breath.
"Thanks all tha same Milo. Ah gotta take care O' these things," Brigit waved at the numerous corpses laying about. "Keep an eye out for tha' wisp tho', elfie. Don' need 'em comin' back ta zap me no more."
With that Brigit the Butcher set about her grisly work.
"I'll say one thing about her, she's consistent." Milo said.
"So is Jeremiah, our giant killer." Mazi said as she patted the barbarian on the back.
Jeremiah blushed. Milo ignored Brigit's protest and healed her once more for good measure. They gathered what valuables they could find and headed up the stairs. Mazi kept close watch on their path for the last wisp. The telltale blue glow never appeared though. The journey back to the surface was uneventful.
They spent two nights recuperating in the woods. Brigit's wounds required serious healing from Milo and he was tapped out of divine energy by the end of the first day. The others had to nurse their wounds as best as they could until the next day.
The third day found them back in the temple. They descended down to the Chamber of Eyes cautiously. Whoever was in the lower levels would surely begin laying traps if they continued to use the same path, but all four were eager to solve the mystery of the statue room.
Nothing had changed in the Chamber. They stepped over the grisly pieces of giant, bugbear, and ogre on the way to the statue room. There was no sign of the will-o-wisps in the room. The only light reflecting off the statues was from Milo's lantern.
"I think we can assume the statues are trapped somehow. I don't think magic weapons and the sort would just be left here for anyone to take." Milo said.
"How's this then, you check for traps and I'll use mage hand to bring them over here just in case?" Mazi suggested.
Milo thought for a moment, then nodded. "That's an excellent idea. Especially considering my track record for finding traps lately. Either way I'm going to take my time looking. Just make sure nothing pounces on me while I do."
Milo quietly padded into the room. He chose to examine the manticore's crossbow first. He noticed the absence of a string before anything else. He thought that very odd. Beyond that he couldn't find anything else amiss, either on the crossbow or the manticore statue. Milo shrugged and walked back to the others.
"All yours, Mazi. I can't find anything on it."
Mazi concentrated on the crossbow. Imperceptibly at first, the crossbow shifted from its stand. Nothing happened. The crossbow dragged across the floor to rest at Mazi's feet.
"No problem." Milo grinned.
He examined the beholder's tube next. With the absence of a trap on the crossbow Milo decided his first estimate was wrong. He didn't take as much time examining the tube. A couple of close glances revealed nothing. Strolling back to the others with a grin, he gave Mazi the thumbs-up.
Milo was suddenly pitched forward from behind. As Mazi used her mage hand to shift the tube a trap had been sprung. The small explosion ripped the tube apart and would have done the same to Milo if he hadn't been halfway across the room. Milo stood from his hands and knees and brushed off the dust from the explosion.
"Nice, Milo. Real nice." Brigit said.
"Okay, okay. I'll be more careful. I thought that's what Mazi's telekinesis was for. Jeesh."
Milo slowly made his way around the room, taking extra time to examine each enchanted item and its statue. It appeared that they had found the only two traps the hard way. Brigit's blindness from the staff and the tube's explosion were the only safeguards over the room. Before long a healthy pile of goods lay at Mazi's feet. The fire giant's spear lay under the medusa's cloak, the mummy's staff lay near the ogre mage's necklace and the raksasha's ring. The last item Mazi couldn't drag over with her spell. The two-foot wide box was too heavy for her mage hand
Milo returned to re-examine the blue dragon's box. He tried his hand at the clever locking mechanism but was completely unable to spring it. Mazi instead prepared her knock spell and walked towards the container. As she neared she noticed invisible glyphs scribed onto the surface of the box.
"Someone went to the trouble to place invisible runes on this thing." she said.
After closer examination she found that there were four words inscribed, Glooben, Gleeben, Glouben, Globen. She grinned at some private memory of the words before trying one out loud.
"Glooben."
The box suddenly shrunk to a tiny two-inch cube. Mazi's eyes lit up. She tried another word.
"Gleeben."
Nothing happened.
"Globen."
Milo and Mazi had to back away as the box suddenly expanded to eight feet wide on each side.
"Glouben."
The box returned to normal, two feet each side. Milo had an idea.
"Try that one again, the one that didn't do anything."
"Gleeben?"
The box slowly went transparent before winking out of sight completely. The box was gone. Even Mazi's spell-enhanced vision couldn't detect the box.
"Way ta go Milo! Ya made her lose tha box. Ah could think O' a ton O' uses fer that thing." Brigit said disappointedly.
"No no, try one of the other words again Mazi." Milo said.
"Globen."
Slowly the box appeared again, this time eight feet wide. Brigit let out a low whistle of appreciation.
"Glouben."
The box returned to its original state. Mazi looked very pleased with herself. She then cast knock to see if anything was inside. The box was indeed full. A couple hundred small gems winked back at them in the light. Brigit reached in and grabbed a few. She made a show of examining each closely.
"Bah, quartz. Mebbe worth a gold piece each."
"That's a couple hundred gold though, not bad." Milo said.
"None of you would mind if I hang on to it, would you?" Mazi asked.
"Nah, I don't want to lug it around and Brigit's already carrying enough to break a mule's back. Jeremiah?" Milo said.
The barbarian shook his head and Brigit shrugged.
"Great! Glooben." Mazi said. The cube shrunk again and Mazi stashed it into her pack.
"You just better hope no one else knows the command words. I'd hate for an eight foot box to flatten you in the middle of battle." Milo said. "Before we stash the rest of this stuff I want to be sure of something."
Milo cast detect evil on the pile of gear they had looted from the statues. He peered intently at the gear, but nothing was inherently evil. Just to be safe he concentrated on the walls around them as well. He felt a strong evil presence when facing the west. He concentrated harder on the wall and found he could tell the aura was strong, and near the limit of his spell.
"There's something really bad down that way," he said pointing at the northwestern passage. "Let me get the four of us ready and we'll go find out what it is."
Jeremiah was practically jumping in his armor at the chance to hunt down something again. Milo cast shield of faith on the two warriors and a magic circle against evil centered on himself. They moved together through the passage.
The hallway opened into a large room. To their right along the north wall was a big fountain. Looking to the south they could see what seemed to be a subterranean field of fungus. Mushroom caps of different sizes emerged from a dark, rich soil. Growths of fungus were all over the walls. A narrow path led south through the field and split off to two doors, one to the east, and one to the west.
"Jeremiah, you're our wilderness expert. Are these dangerous?" Mazi asked.
Jeremiah crouched over a patch of bulbous mushrooms and examined them carefully. He stood up, thought for a moment, then answered.
"Shrooms."
"Uh huh, thanks, we weren't sure of that." Milo said sarcastically.
A voice called out from the south end of the field, "Stand still, some of the fungi are dangerous. I know the path, I'm coming to help you."
They could make out the form of a woman carefully picking her way through the field. Milo immediately had a bad feeling about her. This was the room where he detected the evil, after all.
The woman drew closer. She was dressed in a simple white dress, barefoot. She approached Jeremiah first, staring into his eyes intently. Milo thought he noticed a snarl of frustration before she covered it with a smile. She turned her gaze towards Brigit. Her smile grew wider.
"Some of this fungus causes insanity. You need to restrain your friends in case something happens." she said to Brigit.
Brigit nodded slowly and turned to face her companions with a beatific smile on her face.
Last edited:
Brigit Deeperdown
First Post
Making the save
Aakkkk....now look.....I thought dwarves were supposed to always make their saves........
Not when you only have a + 2 will save.
Aakkkk....now look.....I thought dwarves were supposed to always make their saves........
Not when you only have a + 2 will save.
