shilsen
Adventurer
Hoist By Thy Own Petard (or “When wagons attack”)
As soon as the mind flayer appears, Luna drops her standard flame strike around it and the two nearby ogres, which reveals that it has some sort of magical protection against fire, since it is barely scorched. Even as the flames disappear, Korm races forward with magically enhanced speed before the ogres can react to protect it. He slashes at the creature, driving it back with a deep cut on the shoulder, but it completes the spell.
The result is something that has often been seen by the Angels. A pair of wolves appear, each as large as a horse and with a fringe of writhing tentacles. One appears beside Nameless and one beside Korm, biting into their targets and pulling them off their feet.
“What?” says Gareth, “They can do that too?”
“They’re aberrations,” says Trillia, stepping away from a wolf and beginning to cast too. “Where’d you think the roots of this magic comes from?”
Nameless too attempts to cast a spell, rolling away from the wolf as best he can. As the two alienists complete their spells, half a dozen wolves begin to shimmer into place. “That’s how you do it,” mutters Nameless.
Unfortunately, the sentiment is premature. Both nagas, which have been swaying in place and watching the enemy without acting, unleash spells that dispel the budding summons, as well as removing some of the many protective spells on the Angels.
“Oh well, I guess we do this the hard way!” says Six, teaming up with Gareth to team up on the wolf that was attacking Nameless, which they quickly dispatch.
“Hard way? What the hell do you think I’m doing?” grunts Korm painfully from the ground, as he (mostly vainly) attempts to avoid the powerful blows of the two ogres, that join the wolf in concentrating on him.
Six’s intended reply is cut off by a crunching sound beside him. To his surprise, as well as that of everyone watching, the bulk of the wagon standing near him falls off its wheels. It then slithers its way across the ground towards him, extending a long wood-colored appendage that slaps against him painfully. The appendage is coated with an adhesive fluid that sticks to him, but the warforged jerks away.
“We’re being attacked by a wagon?!”
“It’s a mimic! Don’t let it touch you!” yells Nameless.
Things quickly get worse for the adventurers. The mind flayer, who now takes to the air under presumably a pre-existing fly spell, summons three pseudonatural bison to increase the odds. The nagas continue to prevent Trillia and Nameless from reciprocating in kind, while the mimic continues to follow Six around the battlefield, lashing out with its tongue-like pseudopods. Though he lands a powerful blow against it, his spiked chain promptly sticks to it, forcing Six to retreat and draw another. Luna, shaking off a powerful blow from an ogre’s club, catches the hovering mind flayer and the naga beneath it in a dispel magic, but the spell has no obvious effect. Gareth cuts down one of the wolves, but finds two bison taking its place and keeping him from reaching the prone Korm, who is almost invisible under the multiple enemies around him.
But it is Korm, simultaneously being bitten, bludgeoned and stepped on, who buys the others some time. Bellowing an orcish war-cry, he rolls over and hurls his sword. The blade, made of meteoric iron, enchanted in the depths of the Shadow Marches by Gatekeepers to especially harm aberrations, whirls through the air and almost cuts the mind flayer in half*. Even as he screams in pain and barely remains upright, the sword flies back to Korm’s hand.
“Kill him! Kill the druid!” screams the mind flayer as he floats downwards, before gasping “Heal me - quick!” The naga beside him casts a spell and touches him, closing some of his wounds. The mind flayer also touches it and dimension doors the two of them to the other side of the battlefield and away.
As ordered by the mind flayer, the ogres and summoned creatures swarm over Korm. Just as he is about to collapse, Luna charges through the press and touches him with a paw, growling her most powerful spell. Instantly, a rejuvenation cocoon of yellow-green force envelops him, simultaneously protecting Korm and beginning the process of healing him. With Korm now safe, Luna and Gareth concentrate on taking apart his attackers.
With the mind flayer and attendant naga now focused on healing the former, Nameless staggers to his feet and attempts to cast his last major summoning spell. Before the spell is done, the remaining naga releases a dark ray of crackling energy. The enervation not only weakens him but instantly wipes the memory of the summoning spell and two others from his mind. To add injury to insult, the mimic (Six having tumbled out of its way) strikes Nameless in the back with a pseudopod, knocking him down and out. The alienist remains attached to the pseudopod, which retracts and leaves him stuck to the side of the mimic.
“Damn!” says Trillia, backing away, “We need to get out of here!”
“What about Nameless?” shouts Six, as he pulls out his third and last chain, having left a second one on the mimic.
Trillia’s throws his unconscious form a look as the mimic stalks her slowly, its pseudopods lashing out with surprising dexterity**. “We’ll have to come back for him!” With that, she hurls an orb of flame at the naga that hit Nameless.
The impact dazes the naga and Gareth takes the opportunity to charge it, followed closely by Luna. He cuts deeply into its side and the bear sinks her claws into it and pulls it into a grapple, where it writhes helplessly.
At the same time, the cocoon falls apart and Korm appears, this time with a large pair of feathery wings that he grew while inside. With sword in hand, he flies at the pairing of naga and mind flayer. This time the naga is the one to dimension door with its ally, reappearing across the battlefield. Not being maneuverable enough to change direction quickly, Korm flies at the naga grappled by Luna.
Trillia, quickly backpedaling and using a mirror image to foil the mimic, says to Luna, “That cocoon turned Korm into a butterfly?”
Hacking down at the naga, Korm growls back, “I am NOT a butterfly!” Beneath him, Luna grunts in momentary amusement and then rips the naga’s head off.
From across the battlefield, the mind flayer yells an order to the mimic, and it heads back to join him and the remaining naga. The mind flayer flies closer to it and the unconscious Nameless, a clawed hand raised in preparation for a spell.
As Korm charges him, the mind flayer gestures and speaks. Though there is no visible effect, a second later the onrushing druid smashes painfully into an invisible barrier. The mind flayer smirks, and quickly sends a bead of fire streaking in Korm’s direction. The wall of force it erected evidently ends just below the big orc, since the bead streaks a few inches below his feat and explodes in a fireball enveloping most of the group. A small orb of electricity follows right behind, striking Gareth full in the back.
The already wounded paladin staggers under the impact of the two spells and almost falls. Realizing that one more such hit will kill him, Korm flies back and encases him in a cocoon like the one Luna used on him.
Trillia, though burned by the fireball, brings down a glitterdust, which does nothing to incommode the enemy. But, seeing a growling Luna charging in, as well as Six coming in from the side, and Korm leaving the cocooned Gareth to follow suit, the mind flayer decides enough is enough.
He reaches down to the unconscious Nameless and casts a spell. Even as Luna, Six and Korm are all about to reach him, the air shimmers around him and he disappears. As does the naga beside him, and, much more troublingly for the Angels, Nameless.
* Natural 18 to threaten and 17 to confirm. Without that critical, things would have been much, much worse.
** We discovered during the fight that the wagon-mimic had higher Dex than Korm and higher Charisma than the two druids and Six!
Handled over email:
After the initial surprise of Nameless’s disappearance is gone, the Angels take apart the mimic from a distance and then discuss what to do. Gareth wants to go after him immediately, but Trillia points out that they have absolutely no idea where he was taken. Though she’d prefer to go after him as soon as possible, she says the best way to do so would be to scry on his location. Six points out that Nameless has the Shard on him, so they’re likely to be in trouble soon, but Trillia reminds him that, according to what they had learned from Arrok, as long as they’re trying actively to get to the Shard they should be all right. Hopefully.
The next question is how to get back to Sharn, since Trillia can only transport three people of human size with her and has no prepared spell to shrink any of them. At Korm’s suggestion, Luna changes into a small snake and curls up in Six’s magical haversack, and Trillia teleports the group to Sharn. After the group has gone through the contents of the wagon/mimic, that is, which they find to contain less valuable items than they had thought, though there is still a fair amount.
They reappear in Trillia’s laboratory. She tells the others that she will visit the Guild of Starlight and Shadow and see whether they have a scroll of scrying available for purchase. If they do, she will attempt to use it and, if successful, they can leave the next morning as soon as the spell casters have recovered their spells. Trillia takes most of the artifacts that the group discovered as well as all five of the gold ingots, saying that she will dispose of them and use the money to pick up necessary spells and equipment.
Before Trillia leaves, her steward Glauster says that two people had stopped by looking for the Angels. One was Dala, who seemed very concerned, and the other was a warforged called Stone, who said that he was looking for Six regarding a job.
Hearing of Dala, esp. in view of the current situation, reminds everyone that she's linked to the Shard as well. Since nobody remembered to tell her about your trip away from Sharn, she must have realized something was wrong when the distance from the Shard affected her.
Since Trillia says that she’ll be gone for hours, Six goes off to look for Stone, whom he find at the Esoteric Order. Six spends some time asking Stone, a particularly bulky warforged, about his abilities, what sort of payment arrangement he would expect if hired by the Angels, whether he is willing to accompany them outside Sharn, especially into dangerous situations, etc.
Stone, who is clearly not used to long discussions, explains that he is capable of using artificer infusions of the third power. He can both create new magical items and enhance current ones. He has substantial expertise in magical craftsmanship, being able to craft scrolls, potions, wands, armor, weapons and miscellaneous magical items. As for payment, Stone says that he would prefer to decide it on a case by case basis. Since having a set of regular customers would benefit him, he would be willing to give the Angels a certain rebate (anywhere from 10% to 25%) on standard item prices, the % being lower if he is expected to automatically put orders from them at the top of his list.
Stone also says honestly that he has no experience of actual adventuring. Though slightly reluctant, he is willing to accompany the group on adventures, but would prefer to work off a fixed daily rate (negotiated per assignment) rather than have it depend on what the group finds. Stone also points out that his abilities are not geared towards combat, either healing the wounded or standing in the rear and using a wand being most of what he could do. He is, however, very interested in the job on the whole. He's definitely not going to be able to accompany the group to Yarkuun Draal, but will be free in a couple of days.
As soon as the mind flayer appears, Luna drops her standard flame strike around it and the two nearby ogres, which reveals that it has some sort of magical protection against fire, since it is barely scorched. Even as the flames disappear, Korm races forward with magically enhanced speed before the ogres can react to protect it. He slashes at the creature, driving it back with a deep cut on the shoulder, but it completes the spell.
The result is something that has often been seen by the Angels. A pair of wolves appear, each as large as a horse and with a fringe of writhing tentacles. One appears beside Nameless and one beside Korm, biting into their targets and pulling them off their feet.
“What?” says Gareth, “They can do that too?”
“They’re aberrations,” says Trillia, stepping away from a wolf and beginning to cast too. “Where’d you think the roots of this magic comes from?”
Nameless too attempts to cast a spell, rolling away from the wolf as best he can. As the two alienists complete their spells, half a dozen wolves begin to shimmer into place. “That’s how you do it,” mutters Nameless.
Unfortunately, the sentiment is premature. Both nagas, which have been swaying in place and watching the enemy without acting, unleash spells that dispel the budding summons, as well as removing some of the many protective spells on the Angels.
“Oh well, I guess we do this the hard way!” says Six, teaming up with Gareth to team up on the wolf that was attacking Nameless, which they quickly dispatch.
“Hard way? What the hell do you think I’m doing?” grunts Korm painfully from the ground, as he (mostly vainly) attempts to avoid the powerful blows of the two ogres, that join the wolf in concentrating on him.
Six’s intended reply is cut off by a crunching sound beside him. To his surprise, as well as that of everyone watching, the bulk of the wagon standing near him falls off its wheels. It then slithers its way across the ground towards him, extending a long wood-colored appendage that slaps against him painfully. The appendage is coated with an adhesive fluid that sticks to him, but the warforged jerks away.
“We’re being attacked by a wagon?!”
“It’s a mimic! Don’t let it touch you!” yells Nameless.
Things quickly get worse for the adventurers. The mind flayer, who now takes to the air under presumably a pre-existing fly spell, summons three pseudonatural bison to increase the odds. The nagas continue to prevent Trillia and Nameless from reciprocating in kind, while the mimic continues to follow Six around the battlefield, lashing out with its tongue-like pseudopods. Though he lands a powerful blow against it, his spiked chain promptly sticks to it, forcing Six to retreat and draw another. Luna, shaking off a powerful blow from an ogre’s club, catches the hovering mind flayer and the naga beneath it in a dispel magic, but the spell has no obvious effect. Gareth cuts down one of the wolves, but finds two bison taking its place and keeping him from reaching the prone Korm, who is almost invisible under the multiple enemies around him.
But it is Korm, simultaneously being bitten, bludgeoned and stepped on, who buys the others some time. Bellowing an orcish war-cry, he rolls over and hurls his sword. The blade, made of meteoric iron, enchanted in the depths of the Shadow Marches by Gatekeepers to especially harm aberrations, whirls through the air and almost cuts the mind flayer in half*. Even as he screams in pain and barely remains upright, the sword flies back to Korm’s hand.
“Kill him! Kill the druid!” screams the mind flayer as he floats downwards, before gasping “Heal me - quick!” The naga beside him casts a spell and touches him, closing some of his wounds. The mind flayer also touches it and dimension doors the two of them to the other side of the battlefield and away.
As ordered by the mind flayer, the ogres and summoned creatures swarm over Korm. Just as he is about to collapse, Luna charges through the press and touches him with a paw, growling her most powerful spell. Instantly, a rejuvenation cocoon of yellow-green force envelops him, simultaneously protecting Korm and beginning the process of healing him. With Korm now safe, Luna and Gareth concentrate on taking apart his attackers.
With the mind flayer and attendant naga now focused on healing the former, Nameless staggers to his feet and attempts to cast his last major summoning spell. Before the spell is done, the remaining naga releases a dark ray of crackling energy. The enervation not only weakens him but instantly wipes the memory of the summoning spell and two others from his mind. To add injury to insult, the mimic (Six having tumbled out of its way) strikes Nameless in the back with a pseudopod, knocking him down and out. The alienist remains attached to the pseudopod, which retracts and leaves him stuck to the side of the mimic.
“Damn!” says Trillia, backing away, “We need to get out of here!”
“What about Nameless?” shouts Six, as he pulls out his third and last chain, having left a second one on the mimic.
Trillia’s throws his unconscious form a look as the mimic stalks her slowly, its pseudopods lashing out with surprising dexterity**. “We’ll have to come back for him!” With that, she hurls an orb of flame at the naga that hit Nameless.
The impact dazes the naga and Gareth takes the opportunity to charge it, followed closely by Luna. He cuts deeply into its side and the bear sinks her claws into it and pulls it into a grapple, where it writhes helplessly.
At the same time, the cocoon falls apart and Korm appears, this time with a large pair of feathery wings that he grew while inside. With sword in hand, he flies at the pairing of naga and mind flayer. This time the naga is the one to dimension door with its ally, reappearing across the battlefield. Not being maneuverable enough to change direction quickly, Korm flies at the naga grappled by Luna.
Trillia, quickly backpedaling and using a mirror image to foil the mimic, says to Luna, “That cocoon turned Korm into a butterfly?”
Hacking down at the naga, Korm growls back, “I am NOT a butterfly!” Beneath him, Luna grunts in momentary amusement and then rips the naga’s head off.
From across the battlefield, the mind flayer yells an order to the mimic, and it heads back to join him and the remaining naga. The mind flayer flies closer to it and the unconscious Nameless, a clawed hand raised in preparation for a spell.
As Korm charges him, the mind flayer gestures and speaks. Though there is no visible effect, a second later the onrushing druid smashes painfully into an invisible barrier. The mind flayer smirks, and quickly sends a bead of fire streaking in Korm’s direction. The wall of force it erected evidently ends just below the big orc, since the bead streaks a few inches below his feat and explodes in a fireball enveloping most of the group. A small orb of electricity follows right behind, striking Gareth full in the back.
The already wounded paladin staggers under the impact of the two spells and almost falls. Realizing that one more such hit will kill him, Korm flies back and encases him in a cocoon like the one Luna used on him.
Trillia, though burned by the fireball, brings down a glitterdust, which does nothing to incommode the enemy. But, seeing a growling Luna charging in, as well as Six coming in from the side, and Korm leaving the cocooned Gareth to follow suit, the mind flayer decides enough is enough.
He reaches down to the unconscious Nameless and casts a spell. Even as Luna, Six and Korm are all about to reach him, the air shimmers around him and he disappears. As does the naga beside him, and, much more troublingly for the Angels, Nameless.
* Natural 18 to threaten and 17 to confirm. Without that critical, things would have been much, much worse.
** We discovered during the fight that the wagon-mimic had higher Dex than Korm and higher Charisma than the two druids and Six!
Handled over email:
After the initial surprise of Nameless’s disappearance is gone, the Angels take apart the mimic from a distance and then discuss what to do. Gareth wants to go after him immediately, but Trillia points out that they have absolutely no idea where he was taken. Though she’d prefer to go after him as soon as possible, she says the best way to do so would be to scry on his location. Six points out that Nameless has the Shard on him, so they’re likely to be in trouble soon, but Trillia reminds him that, according to what they had learned from Arrok, as long as they’re trying actively to get to the Shard they should be all right. Hopefully.
The next question is how to get back to Sharn, since Trillia can only transport three people of human size with her and has no prepared spell to shrink any of them. At Korm’s suggestion, Luna changes into a small snake and curls up in Six’s magical haversack, and Trillia teleports the group to Sharn. After the group has gone through the contents of the wagon/mimic, that is, which they find to contain less valuable items than they had thought, though there is still a fair amount.
They reappear in Trillia’s laboratory. She tells the others that she will visit the Guild of Starlight and Shadow and see whether they have a scroll of scrying available for purchase. If they do, she will attempt to use it and, if successful, they can leave the next morning as soon as the spell casters have recovered their spells. Trillia takes most of the artifacts that the group discovered as well as all five of the gold ingots, saying that she will dispose of them and use the money to pick up necessary spells and equipment.
Before Trillia leaves, her steward Glauster says that two people had stopped by looking for the Angels. One was Dala, who seemed very concerned, and the other was a warforged called Stone, who said that he was looking for Six regarding a job.
Hearing of Dala, esp. in view of the current situation, reminds everyone that she's linked to the Shard as well. Since nobody remembered to tell her about your trip away from Sharn, she must have realized something was wrong when the distance from the Shard affected her.
Since Trillia says that she’ll be gone for hours, Six goes off to look for Stone, whom he find at the Esoteric Order. Six spends some time asking Stone, a particularly bulky warforged, about his abilities, what sort of payment arrangement he would expect if hired by the Angels, whether he is willing to accompany them outside Sharn, especially into dangerous situations, etc.
Stone, who is clearly not used to long discussions, explains that he is capable of using artificer infusions of the third power. He can both create new magical items and enhance current ones. He has substantial expertise in magical craftsmanship, being able to craft scrolls, potions, wands, armor, weapons and miscellaneous magical items. As for payment, Stone says that he would prefer to decide it on a case by case basis. Since having a set of regular customers would benefit him, he would be willing to give the Angels a certain rebate (anywhere from 10% to 25%) on standard item prices, the % being lower if he is expected to automatically put orders from them at the top of his list.
Stone also says honestly that he has no experience of actual adventuring. Though slightly reluctant, he is willing to accompany the group on adventures, but would prefer to work off a fixed daily rate (negotiated per assignment) rather than have it depend on what the group finds. Stone also points out that his abilities are not geared towards combat, either healing the wounded or standing in the rear and using a wand being most of what he could do. He is, however, very interested in the job on the whole. He's definitely not going to be able to accompany the group to Yarkuun Draal, but will be free in a couple of days.
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
