esparkhu
First Post
Crypt Guardian Chamber recap
After emerging one by one from the precarious stone passageway, the group waited as Ravenblade listened at the door.
"I can hear grunting noises past this door, like those of a large beast. Maybe that demon we saw in the pool pictures....." he trails off uncertainly.
The party moved through the doorways. A brazier in the southern part of the chamber shown a harsh light on a foul, demonic creature. It stalked the space bounded by the square columns, but it stops short of crossing that boundary.
The evistro caught site of the group and threw itself against an invisible barrier, unable to get to the party. Before any of them could act, two wererats moved in from the northern corridor and the taller one yelled, “I release you, crypt guardian!” The invisible barrier that was holding the demon back was dispelled as evidenced by the demons ability to move his arm beyond it. The two lycanthropes moved into the room, but were careful to keep some distance between them and the demon.
Hedoni wondered to himself about the demon, the magic of the barrier, how it operated (and whether he could operate it himself), and the room in general. After careful study the wizard recognized the arcane energies present as a high level demonic barrier spell. The magical cage had been specifically designed to stop demons, and other creatures could move freely through it. It seemed that the evistro is the crypt guardian and it was bound to remain within the square in the middle of the chamber until someone gave it permission to leave.
Although it was easy to dispel the magical cage, the wizard saw it was not so easy to put it back in place. Fortunately, Hedoni's extensive knowledge of arcana, his clear understanding of how the pillars were situated, and his deduction of the magical barriers, allowed the eladrin the ability to recreate the force field. Though he will probably need some time and help to do it.
Hedoni turned to the group and said "We can reestablish the demon's cage -- keep those wererats busy while I get started. Salazar, I could use a hand. Daggoth, keep that demon occupied - you'll be able to get out, but he won't!"
Daggoth quickly grabbed his shield and advanced on the beast. As he did so he calls back "Jalissa, see if you can help trap this creature again, but only if it wont put you in any further danger!" The fighter moved to engage the demon. His waraxe easily smashed into the carnage demon's flesh and getting the unholy beast's attention.
Jalissa looked up, pleased to be on Daggoth's mind, and replied confidently "Yes, of course I can help."
Then the evistro slashed at Daggoth with his claws. The creature grunted in satisfaction as he tore the fighter's flesh.
Next, Hedoni, oddly calm the moment after yelling instructions to his cohorts, focused his concentration to rebind the demon. Salazar started to help Hedoni with the spellcraft. But first he hid from the demon behind the pillar, then nervously began chanting a spell of binding he recalls from the Defense Against Demonic Arts class they both he and Hedoni took, and ... other sources he's read. "Please work... please work... please work..." can also be heard after he finishes his arcane mutterings.
Spurred on by Daggoth's display of courage in engaging the demon one-on-one, Ravenblade knocked two arrows, let them fly and already had two more ready by the time they hit. A mere second later two more arrows soared past the column of stone, seeking out the chosen quarry. Two of Ravenblade's four arrows struck the taller wererat.
As the last arrow whizzed by the prey, Ravenblade was already in motion, positioning himself next to the nearest ritualistic column, screening Salazar and Hedoni, who looked suddenly very vulnerable in their deep concentration, half chanting.
Mal charged into the fray at the nearest wererat, glancing to his right to see what might be down the hallway just before he strikes. The warlord caught a glimpse to the west and saw a wide columned hall leading into another large chamber.
His glaive then cut a huge chunk off of the taller wererat. Mal’s vicious swing convinced him to push harder for one more attack, but his eagerness to finish the wererat off pushes his glaive into the stone to the side of the beast.
Next, Jalissa stepped forward and began to chant softly. She successfully added her arcane abilities to those of Hedoni and Salazar to help reform the invisible barrier. Although there was no visible change in the room, Hedoni and Salazar could tell than the demonic cage was now active and would hold the evistro for a minimum of an hour.
The tall wererat hissed with malice and moved towards Mal. The wererat's claws darted out, but only managed to scratch the warlord's scale armor. The other, shorter, wererat assessed the situation and realized that the easiest target was also the prettiest. The wererat circled around the demon then charged at Jalissa. The half-elf screamed in fright and pain "Aahhhh!" as the vermin’s claws easily ripped through her robes. She began to bleed heavily from the deep scratches.
Daggoth's eyes opened wide as he saw what the shorter wererat had done. He did not say a word, but no words needed to be said. The look of abject hatred and rage on Daggoth's face made it clear that his only purpose in life, at this moment, was to turn the wererat into a bloody smear. Daggoth lashed out at the wererat. First, his brash strike smashed the wererat's face breaking its jaw and shattering its snout. Next, Daggoth breathed a cloud of frost that would encompass both the rat and the demon. However, both the short wererat and demon were able to dodge the dragonborn's cold breath. Finally, the fighter steadied himself and pulled up his waraxe for another swing at his enemy. He easily smashed into the wererat's legs with the sound of breaking bone.
Then, the evistro moved forward to try and strike Daggoth, but the invisible barrier held the demon back. It screamed with rage at having just tasted blood and then was unable to reach his foe. The beast was starving with hatred and a vicious hunger for carnage.
Next Hedoni’s said "Well done! That demon's not going anywhere for a while! Now let's take care of these rodents." The wizard, seeing Mal on his own, struck out with an icy attack at the first Wererat. The beast took the blast of cold squarely in the chest and wasn’t strong enough to resist.
Then Salazar hexed the incredibly stupid shorter wererat, "That rat won't live to regret his mistake!" Salazar said. The creature is not strong enough to resist and is slain. The short wererat's body is magically dragged next to the demon. The evistro looks condescendingly at the bloody body as if it is only some small consolation for not being able to rip up a living thing.
One and.....two! was all Ravenblade whispered in unison with the tell-tale "twin-twang" of his arrows flying off. All it took was the dwarf’s first arrow and the tall wererat was eliminated.
The two wererats slain and the demon re-caged behind the invisible barrier, the group gained valuable experience. The tiefling warlord called out "Jalissa, that was very brave of you. Thank you, greatly." Mal's words allow Jalissa to overcome her injuries. Although her wounds were tended to, the half-elf still looked quite fragile and scared. She moved closer to Daggoth, but said nothing.
After emerging one by one from the precarious stone passageway, the group waited as Ravenblade listened at the door.
"I can hear grunting noises past this door, like those of a large beast. Maybe that demon we saw in the pool pictures....." he trails off uncertainly.
The party moved through the doorways. A brazier in the southern part of the chamber shown a harsh light on a foul, demonic creature. It stalked the space bounded by the square columns, but it stops short of crossing that boundary.
The evistro caught site of the group and threw itself against an invisible barrier, unable to get to the party. Before any of them could act, two wererats moved in from the northern corridor and the taller one yelled, “I release you, crypt guardian!” The invisible barrier that was holding the demon back was dispelled as evidenced by the demons ability to move his arm beyond it. The two lycanthropes moved into the room, but were careful to keep some distance between them and the demon.
Hedoni wondered to himself about the demon, the magic of the barrier, how it operated (and whether he could operate it himself), and the room in general. After careful study the wizard recognized the arcane energies present as a high level demonic barrier spell. The magical cage had been specifically designed to stop demons, and other creatures could move freely through it. It seemed that the evistro is the crypt guardian and it was bound to remain within the square in the middle of the chamber until someone gave it permission to leave.
Although it was easy to dispel the magical cage, the wizard saw it was not so easy to put it back in place. Fortunately, Hedoni's extensive knowledge of arcana, his clear understanding of how the pillars were situated, and his deduction of the magical barriers, allowed the eladrin the ability to recreate the force field. Though he will probably need some time and help to do it.
Hedoni turned to the group and said "We can reestablish the demon's cage -- keep those wererats busy while I get started. Salazar, I could use a hand. Daggoth, keep that demon occupied - you'll be able to get out, but he won't!"
Daggoth quickly grabbed his shield and advanced on the beast. As he did so he calls back "Jalissa, see if you can help trap this creature again, but only if it wont put you in any further danger!" The fighter moved to engage the demon. His waraxe easily smashed into the carnage demon's flesh and getting the unholy beast's attention.
Jalissa looked up, pleased to be on Daggoth's mind, and replied confidently "Yes, of course I can help."
Then the evistro slashed at Daggoth with his claws. The creature grunted in satisfaction as he tore the fighter's flesh.
Next, Hedoni, oddly calm the moment after yelling instructions to his cohorts, focused his concentration to rebind the demon. Salazar started to help Hedoni with the spellcraft. But first he hid from the demon behind the pillar, then nervously began chanting a spell of binding he recalls from the Defense Against Demonic Arts class they both he and Hedoni took, and ... other sources he's read. "Please work... please work... please work..." can also be heard after he finishes his arcane mutterings.
Spurred on by Daggoth's display of courage in engaging the demon one-on-one, Ravenblade knocked two arrows, let them fly and already had two more ready by the time they hit. A mere second later two more arrows soared past the column of stone, seeking out the chosen quarry. Two of Ravenblade's four arrows struck the taller wererat.
As the last arrow whizzed by the prey, Ravenblade was already in motion, positioning himself next to the nearest ritualistic column, screening Salazar and Hedoni, who looked suddenly very vulnerable in their deep concentration, half chanting.
Mal charged into the fray at the nearest wererat, glancing to his right to see what might be down the hallway just before he strikes. The warlord caught a glimpse to the west and saw a wide columned hall leading into another large chamber.
His glaive then cut a huge chunk off of the taller wererat. Mal’s vicious swing convinced him to push harder for one more attack, but his eagerness to finish the wererat off pushes his glaive into the stone to the side of the beast.
Next, Jalissa stepped forward and began to chant softly. She successfully added her arcane abilities to those of Hedoni and Salazar to help reform the invisible barrier. Although there was no visible change in the room, Hedoni and Salazar could tell than the demonic cage was now active and would hold the evistro for a minimum of an hour.
The tall wererat hissed with malice and moved towards Mal. The wererat's claws darted out, but only managed to scratch the warlord's scale armor. The other, shorter, wererat assessed the situation and realized that the easiest target was also the prettiest. The wererat circled around the demon then charged at Jalissa. The half-elf screamed in fright and pain "Aahhhh!" as the vermin’s claws easily ripped through her robes. She began to bleed heavily from the deep scratches.
Daggoth's eyes opened wide as he saw what the shorter wererat had done. He did not say a word, but no words needed to be said. The look of abject hatred and rage on Daggoth's face made it clear that his only purpose in life, at this moment, was to turn the wererat into a bloody smear. Daggoth lashed out at the wererat. First, his brash strike smashed the wererat's face breaking its jaw and shattering its snout. Next, Daggoth breathed a cloud of frost that would encompass both the rat and the demon. However, both the short wererat and demon were able to dodge the dragonborn's cold breath. Finally, the fighter steadied himself and pulled up his waraxe for another swing at his enemy. He easily smashed into the wererat's legs with the sound of breaking bone.
Then, the evistro moved forward to try and strike Daggoth, but the invisible barrier held the demon back. It screamed with rage at having just tasted blood and then was unable to reach his foe. The beast was starving with hatred and a vicious hunger for carnage.
Next Hedoni’s said "Well done! That demon's not going anywhere for a while! Now let's take care of these rodents." The wizard, seeing Mal on his own, struck out with an icy attack at the first Wererat. The beast took the blast of cold squarely in the chest and wasn’t strong enough to resist.
Then Salazar hexed the incredibly stupid shorter wererat, "That rat won't live to regret his mistake!" Salazar said. The creature is not strong enough to resist and is slain. The short wererat's body is magically dragged next to the demon. The evistro looks condescendingly at the bloody body as if it is only some small consolation for not being able to rip up a living thing.
One and.....two! was all Ravenblade whispered in unison with the tell-tale "twin-twang" of his arrows flying off. All it took was the dwarf’s first arrow and the tall wererat was eliminated.
The two wererats slain and the demon re-caged behind the invisible barrier, the group gained valuable experience. The tiefling warlord called out "Jalissa, that was very brave of you. Thank you, greatly." Mal's words allow Jalissa to overcome her injuries. Although her wounds were tended to, the half-elf still looked quite fragile and scared. She moved closer to Daggoth, but said nothing.
