THE HEROES OF DYVERS CHAPTER 7: CLARE'S ERRAND

[Damionte]

Duncan

As the crew dismounts Duncan and company begin to prepare for an underground excursion. They re-secure their packs, making sure loose bits are not hanging irresponsibly, so as not to make unnecessary noise or catch on jagged things. They restring their bows and check the spacing on their arrows and bolts. Being human with human eyes they make sure their light sources are at hand. The foursome had stocked up on magical light after the previous cave encounter.

Kneeling in the sand, while they prepared Duncan humored himself with one of his past times. Working tactics in his head. He looked over the group, imagining a marching order, as he normally did with his own troops. Ebony saw him scanning the group and knowing he wants to spit it out asks out loud "Well my love .... what do you think."

Duncan procedes to spit it out. "Well our friend Tamtam and his companion will likely take point. His skills plus her nose is a no brainer for sniffing out trouble. We witnessed first hand just how capable the trio of Kleborn, Thallock and Dewydd are. I'm sure they'll work out for themselves which of them holds the front line."

"Being softer targets." He flirtingly knocks on ebony's breastplate with his knuckles making it gong to emphasis the word soft. An old joke that makes her grin. "Sylvar and Respen, will likely hold the center. That leaves us, being able to fight at medium range as rear guard."

Ebony replies knowingly: "The cave of shadows."
Duncan: "Yes ..... the cave of shadows."

Lenny chimes in. "That sounds ominous what's The Cave Of Shadows?"
Ebony: "It was a cave, full of shadows. Ha!"

Duncan: "Early on when we first took to the road as teens we joined up with some other fresh faced hopefuls to look into a situation with green orcs raiding local farms. We tracked them down to a series of caverns in the nearby hills. I made a mistake. I thought putting all of our warriors up front would present the most powerful front. Which it did but the orcs were not fools. With their superior vision they simply waited in the dark for us to pass them. Then jumped on the party from the rear. They devastated a third of the group before we even realized they were on us."

Ebony: "Ever since then, when one is available we always put an extra warrior at the back to act as rear guard."
Duncan: "And today ... we're that extra warrior."

Trav: "Well you were a kid then. We've all had to learn lessons the hard way boss."
He gestures towards those examining The Sphinx. "It won't much matter though if we can't get inside."

 

[Waynan]

Before anyone can stop him,Tam quickly, and quietly, takes the initiative and cautiously has Dammara pad between the forelimbs of the Gynosphinx statue. Tam is actively checking for traps and snares along the way, and only going far enough to definitely see if there is an entranceway into the colossus.

Search d20+12=29
Spot d20+8=23

If anything goes amiss and/or awry:
Reflex d20+15=30
Ride d20+16=21 (Erp!)

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

As Tam reaches the front paws of the statue, and turns the corner to be able to see into the hidden, shaded area, he is met with an awesome sight: glaring at him from the shadow recess is a GARGANTUAN Androsphinx! The fact that the sphinx could be so well-hidden is a testament to the size of the statue! The sphinx is lying prone, stretched out, as if it had been relaxing. When it spies Tam, its brow furrows into a grimace of anger, and it rises to its full height of 17'6" tall!

Khubsheth roars, "It has been decreed, little one, that your blood, and the blood of your companions, spilled upon the sands, shall deny thee access to the tomb below. Only my sacred life-blood, spilled upon the sands, shall grant thee passage. It brings me no joy to kill any of you, but it must be so. The weak must be scared away from this place; what lies below, is only for the strong."

TAM: The sphinx intends to attack you. You need to roll initiative.

GM: INITIATIVE COUNT: Respen: 29a Dewydd: 29b Khubsheth: 21 Vale: 16 Tam-Tam: 14a Damarra: 14b (Delayed from 16) Sylvar: 8a Thallok: 8b Kleborn: 5 Duncan: 4a Ebony: 4b Lenny: 4c Trav: 4d

GM: Tam, you are a mere 40 feet from the Sphinx. The rest of the party is a good 150 feet behind you. Battle map coming soon.

 

[Waynan]

Tam tries to back peddle, verbally:

"Woah! I thought you were supposed to be a Font of Wisdom and Instruction. Why the want for blood?"

He says this to make up for the shock of the sphinx's declaration of battle which has caught him a bit flat-footed (Initiative roll: 14); however, Damarra seems to have known that something may have been amiss (Initiative: 25) and performs an instinctual wheeling maneuver to place a little more distance between the sphinx and the Outrider team as she completes the circle and refaces the potential attacker.

 

[Aust Thale]

Respen & The Khubsheth

~ What the hell? Tam, NO! ~

Dismounting from the camels and surveying the large Sphinx statue, Respen quietly re-donned his backpack and moved laterally to inspect the statue from a distance. Concerned about the reaction of Khubsheth, he was remembering Dame Clare's instructions in detail. Serindak avoided the Khubsheth after being attacked. Perhaps the sphinx was cursed. He was starting to discuss with Vale when out of the corner of his eye, Tam and his mount headed directly toward the front paws of the sphinx. Hearing what obviously was Khubsheth threatening the halfling, Respen was ready. He didn't want a fight with the sphinx. He wasn't sure they could win a fight with the sphinx. But he wasn't sure whether the party could accomplish their reason for being here without one.

OOC: Initiative per Rolz = d20+10=29

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

The Battle Map: Khubsheth The Prophet vs. The Heroes of Dyvers

GM: Sandy yellow squares are loose sand (x 1.5 movement cost.) White squares are hard sand (normal movement.) Grey squares are stone (impassable.)

GM:

 

[Aust Thale]

Respen Attacks Khub

In a moment that seems like a day, Respen commands his belt to charge his body in with an energy otherwise reserved, and he whispers his transmutation toward his friends, “ Sei schneller und beeile dich ... wie mit Flügeln an deinen Füßen. Eile! Be hasted or be dead! . With efficiency of movement being what could only be called magical, Respen made a beeline toward the rock due west of the party’s position, hoping Tam would notice him and head the same way. In the middle of his movement, he paused and cast a second spell toward the Khubsheth, “ HALT! Sei NOCH Khubsheth! , continuing his movement until reaching a position southeast of the rock barely in sight of the Sphinx, awaiting evidence of his spell’s effectiveness. Almost simultaneously, Respen’s bowstaff jumps to life in his hands, nocking an arrow from his magical quiver. He looses the arrow in a single motion toward the androsphinx.

OOC: Activating Belt of Battle (immediate action) to allow additional standard action, castes Haste on the entire Party as standard action, then movement with haste (70 ft) activating skirmish, and then casts Hold Monster (DC 20 I think) as additional standard action, finishing his total movement to space N9. Final arrow shot on Rolz.org #1d20+15 = 22. I did not include haste bonus in Rolz.

GM: Respen's arrow does not fail to hit the Sphinx, but it DOES fail to penetrate his thick hide. Attack roll: (22) = "Miss." Hold Monster: DC 20: Save: (34) = Success. Khubsheth resists the Hold spell.

GM: Respen's actions are tactically sound, and flawlessly executed; however, it was not until this very moment that Respen realized the true power of the being that the party was now facing. The arrow, which would have skewered a normal man, bounces harmlessly off of his flanks; the spell, as potent as Respen can possibly make it, fails to affect this beast, seemingly possessed of an iron will.

DEWYDD: It is now your turn! What do you do?

 

[Diarmadhim]

Beginning to cast some of my longer lasting protections before we investigate the area, I am momentarily caught off guard by the current events. I quickly shake off my hesitation, casting Nerveskitter to prepare for the threat. Hearing that Tam might be in trouble, and then the words of the sphinx, I cast my Abjurant Armor and then bellow, "Stay yourself Khubsheth! I will gladly challenge you to single combat to prove our strength and determination, but I will not fight an individual as noble as you are lauded to be to the death. Let our battle be honorable but non-lethal so that we may part this day as friends."

OOC: I move to X12.

GM: +1,000 xp. for uncommon bravery.

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Khubsheth's Counter-offer

GM: Combat rounds have ceased.

Khubsheth moves out of his "stall," into the open to face Dewydd. The proud, regal Sphinx is a wonder to behold. He is definitely the largest of his kind, and the most magnificent. He stares down Dewydd with a stern glare, as he speaks his peace:

"I have tried it your way before, adventurer. None of them ever returned. If my queen's curse is to end, it must be by a mighty hand, a hand mighty enough to put me down. Your courage does you credit; for a split second, I considered simply killing you anyway, or killing the curious one here, and his pet wolf. Examples must be made! Battles must occur, to inspire bards to spread the legend of my queen! The world must know the danger she poses! I need strong, noble warriors, who would LAY DOWN THEIR LIVES to end her evil reign! Thrill-seekers such as yourself probably aren't interested in that... well? Are you? No matter. I will---wait. I have an idea. I will make you a counter-offer, brave one.

You say that I am too noble to kill, and that for this reason, you do not want to face me in mortal combat. But what if I told you that I not only do not fear death, but that I welcome it? Would you face me, one on one, in a duel to the death? Or is your generosity merely a guise, to hide your true fear of being hurt or killed yourself?

I offer you this choice: face me, one on one, and I shall spare the lives of your friends. Refuse, and I shall kill them all, each one dying in front of your eyes, before I turn my attention to you! Show me your true resolve! Show me your true commitment of purpose! Show me courage like no other! What say you?"

DEWYDD: What do you do?

 

[Diarmadhim]

As he talks, I continue to cast spells buffing myself.

"If you truly seek the release of death to further your goal, then you are a fool and the tales of your wisdom are lies. Wishing for death instead of living to right the mistakes one has made is the act of a coward. That being said, the option of my life for those of my companions is no choice at all. It is a decision I would make - and gladly - every time. If not, I wouldn't have spoken up and instead would have used the distraction of others to cover my escape. Now, if it's a fight you want and a release from your duty to right your wrongs committed while supporting the wrong ruler, then let us begin."

While talking, I periodically pause to continue casting buffs before continuing my statement. My black and red plate armor quickly appears. My helm then takes on a sort of lizard-like visage. The faint outline of a shield forms and then vanishes in front of me. My armor gains the look of a chromatic dragons' scales. A mithral circlet appears on my helms' brow and I become blurry.

OOC: Abjurant Armor - w/ Abjurant Armor, Swift Abjuration, & Extended Abjuration. Alter Self. Shield - w/ Abjurant Armor, Swift Abjuration, & Extended Abjuration. Dragonskin. Protection from Evil - w/ Abjurant Armor, Swift Abjuration, & Extended Abjuration. Blur.