While everyone is weakened by the gas, it passes quickly, and the party springs into action. Jonetello, Tiesa, and Alamar rush the priest, landing blows that seem to affect only slightly. Thorald attempts Control Body, but the priest easily resists the spell. Magnimiliar turns Invisible and readies his crossbow, waiting for a clear shot.
A few moments later, he has plenty of targets to choose from. A slim figure dressed in black robes appears about twenty feet away, his arm outstretched as if he had just threw something. A tiny metal globe gleams as it flies through the air…then impacts and blossoms into a Fireball. Most of the party is singed, though the damage is not as bad as they were expecting. A third figure appears: a woman in a chain shirt of black metal, wielding a scythe glowing faintly with magical powers. She wounds Alamar with her first strike, sweeping the long dark blade in a circle above her head as she awaits his response.
Jonetello rushes toward the mage, and is struck in the neck by a crossbow bolt. Blood spurts from the wound as he turns to spot the sniper…but he remains unseen. Meanwhile, the priest steps back from the fight, produces a wand, and points it at Tiesa, who suddenly stands motionless and helpless, Held. Alamar and Thorald turn to the woman warrior, with Magnimiliar lending a hand with Magic Missiles and his crossbow. The priest moves away, casting a series of Blindness and Hold Person spells which, luckily, are all resisted. The wizard manages only one more spell, Magic Missile, before Jonetello delivers a flashing series of strikes. The wizard is about to collapse, when the invisible sniper shoots again, connecting to Jonetello's temple. The world flashes red before him, and he falls to the ground, near death. Alamar and Magnimiliar see him fall and take swift action. While Alamar dashes to heal Jonetello, Magnimiliar ends the wizard's life with a quick crossbow bolt. Jonetello awakens to see the wizard dead before him. "Got him," he mutters.
Thorald has nearly defeated the fighter when Tiesa is released from the Hold spell. She rushes to Thorald's side; together, they finish the job. Only the priest and the sniper are left standing. Working together, the party surrounds the priest and in moments deals him a fatal blow. "You will all fall…before the Master of Lies…" he gasps, before collapsing in a pool of his own blood. The sniper takes one last wild shot before retreating, his footsteps fading quickly into the forest.
After looting the bodies, the party opens the trap door and heads cautiously down. Alamar maintains a Detect Undead in case any more surprises wait below. They find a series of small, smoke-filled rooms, obviously living quarters, with symbols of Nerull on each wall. There is a larger altar to Nerull in one room, which Alamar destroys with Stone Shape. They find some gold and several scrolls and books, all in a foul-looking tongue which no one can comprehend. They soon discover the now-infamous door-with-peephole which figured so centrally in the ghast/reaper fight. Beyond it lie a few trapped ghouls, which are quickly dispatched. Another passage, protected by a holy-water spraying trap, leads to a larger room which clearly served as the ghast's lair. That room connects to the secret door in the tower pit. Magnimiliar shudders to think what would have happened had there been ghasts, not zombies, at the bottom of the pit when he fell in. The party collects everything that looks valuable and heads back to the surface.
A Detect Magic reveals several items of interest: the scythe, a suit of studded leather, and several potions. Alamar wants to cast Speak with Dead on the priest, but does not have the spell prepared, so they bundle up the body and take it with them. They travel for several hours to the nearest village, arriving at the outskirts well after dark. Jonetello conceals the corpse just outside the village to avoid inconvenient questions, then the party finds the inn and gets some much needed rest.
The next day, they collect the body and Alamar casts his spell. The dead priest stirs, his mouth gurgling and hissing as lifeless breath passes its lips. "Three questions," it mumbles. Alamar prepares to ask...
A few moments later, he has plenty of targets to choose from. A slim figure dressed in black robes appears about twenty feet away, his arm outstretched as if he had just threw something. A tiny metal globe gleams as it flies through the air…then impacts and blossoms into a Fireball. Most of the party is singed, though the damage is not as bad as they were expecting. A third figure appears: a woman in a chain shirt of black metal, wielding a scythe glowing faintly with magical powers. She wounds Alamar with her first strike, sweeping the long dark blade in a circle above her head as she awaits his response.
Jonetello rushes toward the mage, and is struck in the neck by a crossbow bolt. Blood spurts from the wound as he turns to spot the sniper…but he remains unseen. Meanwhile, the priest steps back from the fight, produces a wand, and points it at Tiesa, who suddenly stands motionless and helpless, Held. Alamar and Thorald turn to the woman warrior, with Magnimiliar lending a hand with Magic Missiles and his crossbow. The priest moves away, casting a series of Blindness and Hold Person spells which, luckily, are all resisted. The wizard manages only one more spell, Magic Missile, before Jonetello delivers a flashing series of strikes. The wizard is about to collapse, when the invisible sniper shoots again, connecting to Jonetello's temple. The world flashes red before him, and he falls to the ground, near death. Alamar and Magnimiliar see him fall and take swift action. While Alamar dashes to heal Jonetello, Magnimiliar ends the wizard's life with a quick crossbow bolt. Jonetello awakens to see the wizard dead before him. "Got him," he mutters.
Thorald has nearly defeated the fighter when Tiesa is released from the Hold spell. She rushes to Thorald's side; together, they finish the job. Only the priest and the sniper are left standing. Working together, the party surrounds the priest and in moments deals him a fatal blow. "You will all fall…before the Master of Lies…" he gasps, before collapsing in a pool of his own blood. The sniper takes one last wild shot before retreating, his footsteps fading quickly into the forest.
After looting the bodies, the party opens the trap door and heads cautiously down. Alamar maintains a Detect Undead in case any more surprises wait below. They find a series of small, smoke-filled rooms, obviously living quarters, with symbols of Nerull on each wall. There is a larger altar to Nerull in one room, which Alamar destroys with Stone Shape. They find some gold and several scrolls and books, all in a foul-looking tongue which no one can comprehend. They soon discover the now-infamous door-with-peephole which figured so centrally in the ghast/reaper fight. Beyond it lie a few trapped ghouls, which are quickly dispatched. Another passage, protected by a holy-water spraying trap, leads to a larger room which clearly served as the ghast's lair. That room connects to the secret door in the tower pit. Magnimiliar shudders to think what would have happened had there been ghasts, not zombies, at the bottom of the pit when he fell in. The party collects everything that looks valuable and heads back to the surface.
A Detect Magic reveals several items of interest: the scythe, a suit of studded leather, and several potions. Alamar wants to cast Speak with Dead on the priest, but does not have the spell prepared, so they bundle up the body and take it with them. They travel for several hours to the nearest village, arriving at the outskirts well after dark. Jonetello conceals the corpse just outside the village to avoid inconvenient questions, then the party finds the inn and gets some much needed rest.
The next day, they collect the body and Alamar casts his spell. The dead priest stirs, his mouth gurgling and hissing as lifeless breath passes its lips. "Three questions," it mumbles. Alamar prepares to ask...