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Story Hour
The Liberation of Tenh (updated April 24)
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<blockquote data-quote="(contact)" data-source="post: 480415" data-attributes="member: 41"><p>Readye'en 8, CY 593</p><p></p><p><strong>3: Onward and Onward</strong></p><p></p><p>Gnomer scouts through one door, and Heydricus sends Elijah through the other. They determine that both of the interior rooms are kitchens, and both open onto a long feasting-hall that appears unused. The hall itself is unlit, and there are no visible windows.</p><p></p><p>Elijah examines the floor of the hall near the kitchen doors, where a small amount of light spills through from the gray morning outside. She notices the tracks of men, and a creature that must be a Render, but nothing unexpected.</p><p></p><p>Gnomer creeps out of the feeble circle of light surrounding the door, and into the darkness of the great hall. He strains his ears and hears a constant hissing sound, that modulates from a higher to a lower pitch and back again. </p><p></p><p>Ethel steps into the hall, and enchants one of her spare buttons (one never knows when one will need to repair her overcoat, especially if you're in Ethel's line of work). The button flickers with a yellow-orange <em>light</em> and illuminates part of the hallway, leaving the remainder covered in shadow.</p><p></p><p>Ethel throws her button into the darkness and the party can now see that the feast hall is a deserted, dust-covered place. The remnants of fine furniture are shoved against the wall, leaving a wide walkway from the back of the room (where the PCs are) into the darkness beyond. </p><p></p><p>Elijah and Gnomer hide behind the discarded furniture, and begin sneaking forward along the left-hand side of the corridor.</p><p></p><p>Ethel marches forward, retrieves her button, and pitches it again. The globe of <em>light</em> doesn't reach the end of the room, but it does barely illuminate the front end of a Render, standing in the middle of the hall, completely motionless. Its six eyes narrow as the <em>light</em> strikes them, but it does not move. The rhythmic hissing noise is the creature taking air in through a pair of slits along the top of its head, scenting the room.</p><p></p><p>Ethel backs away slowly, while Prisantha and Heydricus move forward. As the three of them come even with each other, the Render springs to the attack!</p><p></p><p>The gray beast springs forward directly at Gnomer's hiding place! From behind the Render comes the war cry of first one, then another, then a half-dozen Stonefisters. The Render seizes Gnomer with both hands, ripping and tearing through his armor, and delivering a bone-crunching bite.</p><p></p><p>Ethel leaps to his rescue (figuratively only, of course - - grandmothers don't leap) with a <em>reduce</em> spell. The nine foot tall monstrosity rapidly becomes a 4' 6" monstrosity, and Gnomer is able to wrestle himself free and retreat to safety before the render can shred him like a Defense Department memo left overnight in Fawn Hall's office.</p><p></p><p>This new, improved render is set upon by Heydricus who fortunately is still protected by his <em>mirror image</em>.</p><p></p><p>Prisantha begins casting on the back of the room, and the tide of butchering Stonefist warriors <em>slows</em> to a trickle. The crafty enchantress then <em>charms</em> one of the Stonefisters still moving about.</p><p></p><p>Ethel sends a <em>flaming sphere</em> into the fray, setting Men of the Fist on fire, and breaking their ranks.</p><p></p><p>Elijah drinks a potion of <em>spider climb</em> and plants herself squarely on the ceiling, then begins to rain death on her enemies in the form of arrows. The Stonefisters have never heard the old chestnut "A failure to plan is a plan to fail", but they sure are living it, as none of them possess missile weapons. One <em>slowed</em> individual shows some real initiative and starts flinging debris at Elijah. She kills him a round later.</p><p></p><p>Stonefisters are desperately trying to fight their way to the back of the room. Ethel places a <em>grease</em> spell under the feet of a barbarous duo, causing them to slip and stumble to the floor. At the same time, Prisantha captures the mass of barbarians in a <em>web</em>, which is immediately ignited by their torches, causing a general conflagration of barbarians, <em>webs</em>, and <em>grease.</em></p><p></p><p>Gnomer, meanwhile, has <em>healed</em> himself, and uses his <em>charm of friendship</em> to summon Ren Qi. The elven commando appears covered in dirt and camouflage paint with leaves woven into her clothing and hair. After taking a minute to orient herself, she charges into the fray at Gnomer's side.</p><p></p><p>A lone Stonefister makes it past the front line of Heydricus, Gnomer and Ren Qi, and menaces Ethel and Prisantha. He charges Pris and smites her mightily with his greatsword, stunning her and nearly killing her with one blow! Angered, and more than a little worried, Prisantha breaks out her ace in the hole. She <em>feebleminds</em> the lout, and as fast as you can say "lobotomy" the Fister has forgotten his name, rank, serial number, and what his greatsword is used for. </p><p></p><p>To add insult to injury, Ethel directs her <em>flaming sphere</em> to pounce upon the <em>feebleminded</em> Fister, who, too stupid to flee, burns to death. Slowly.</p><p></p><p>The <em>charmed</em> Stonefister stands up stunned and shaken in front of Prisantha and Ethel. His face relaxes, and he looks at the Enchantress of Verbobonc with new eyes. Her hair! Her skin! The flecks of blood splattered across her face! She's <em>beautiful</em> . . .</p><p></p><p>Just as things are looking especially bleak for the surviving Men of the Fist, the two ettins guarding the front door poke their heads in to the room, followed by a 12' tall Stonefist barbarian!</p><p></p><p>The ettins demand that the party surrender, and Heydricus coolly informs them that he would be willing to discuss terms. When he clarifies that he is referring to the ettins' surrender, the poor beasts have just about had all the intellectual challenge they can stand, and grow very confused.</p><p></p><p>Which gives the party the jump. <em>Lightning bolts</em> streak from the fingertips of One Bad Grandma, while Heydricus, Gnomer and Ren Qi demonstrate what they learned in <strong>Stone Cold Killer School</strong> (a.k.a. the Temple of Elemental Evil). The ettins are quick to fall, and despite drinking a pair of <em>healing</em> potions, the Stonefist giant manages only a pair of fruitless swipes before Heydricus and Elijah cut him down.</p><p></p><p>As the debris (and blood sprays) settle down, the party turns their attention to their captive. The <em>charmed</em> Stonefister warily eyes Heydricus and makes Prisantha a proposal of marriage, promising her that he would sire many strong sons, give her many slaves, and beat her very rarely. As tempting as that sounds, she declines tactfully and prompts the brute to tell her what he knows about the Stonefist activities here.</p><p></p><p>The barbarian explains that his clan worships Usul, the Bear-Spirit of the Northern Reaches. All bears are sacred to them, and the spiritual hierarchy of the clan have been advised by Iuzian priests to gather the remains of all the "great brothers" from the ancient burial sites. One such ancient site is directly beneath this house. The Stonefisters have been mugging Stoink citizens, and bringing them here to mine, selling the weak or strong-minded as slaves.</p><p></p><p>-----</p><p></p><p>Next: How will Heydricus deal with this new rival for Prisantha's love? Can Elijah really prove that sometimes the best punishment is corporal punishment? Helthrax walks the streets of Stoink! Stay tuned!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="(contact), post: 480415, member: 41"] Readye'en 8, CY 593 [b]3: Onward and Onward[/b] Gnomer scouts through one door, and Heydricus sends Elijah through the other. They determine that both of the interior rooms are kitchens, and both open onto a long feasting-hall that appears unused. The hall itself is unlit, and there are no visible windows. Elijah examines the floor of the hall near the kitchen doors, where a small amount of light spills through from the gray morning outside. She notices the tracks of men, and a creature that must be a Render, but nothing unexpected. Gnomer creeps out of the feeble circle of light surrounding the door, and into the darkness of the great hall. He strains his ears and hears a constant hissing sound, that modulates from a higher to a lower pitch and back again. Ethel steps into the hall, and enchants one of her spare buttons (one never knows when one will need to repair her overcoat, especially if you're in Ethel's line of work). The button flickers with a yellow-orange [i]light[/i] and illuminates part of the hallway, leaving the remainder covered in shadow. Ethel throws her button into the darkness and the party can now see that the feast hall is a deserted, dust-covered place. The remnants of fine furniture are shoved against the wall, leaving a wide walkway from the back of the room (where the PCs are) into the darkness beyond. Elijah and Gnomer hide behind the discarded furniture, and begin sneaking forward along the left-hand side of the corridor. Ethel marches forward, retrieves her button, and pitches it again. The globe of [i]light[/i] doesn't reach the end of the room, but it does barely illuminate the front end of a Render, standing in the middle of the hall, completely motionless. Its six eyes narrow as the [i]light[/i] strikes them, but it does not move. The rhythmic hissing noise is the creature taking air in through a pair of slits along the top of its head, scenting the room. Ethel backs away slowly, while Prisantha and Heydricus move forward. As the three of them come even with each other, the Render springs to the attack! The gray beast springs forward directly at Gnomer's hiding place! From behind the Render comes the war cry of first one, then another, then a half-dozen Stonefisters. The Render seizes Gnomer with both hands, ripping and tearing through his armor, and delivering a bone-crunching bite. Ethel leaps to his rescue (figuratively only, of course - - grandmothers don't leap) with a [i]reduce[/i] spell. The nine foot tall monstrosity rapidly becomes a 4' 6" monstrosity, and Gnomer is able to wrestle himself free and retreat to safety before the render can shred him like a Defense Department memo left overnight in Fawn Hall's office. This new, improved render is set upon by Heydricus who fortunately is still protected by his [i]mirror image[/i]. Prisantha begins casting on the back of the room, and the tide of butchering Stonefist warriors [i]slows[/i] to a trickle. The crafty enchantress then [i]charms[/i] one of the Stonefisters still moving about. Ethel sends a [i]flaming sphere[/i] into the fray, setting Men of the Fist on fire, and breaking their ranks. Elijah drinks a potion of [i]spider climb[/i] and plants herself squarely on the ceiling, then begins to rain death on her enemies in the form of arrows. The Stonefisters have never heard the old chestnut "A failure to plan is a plan to fail", but they sure are living it, as none of them possess missile weapons. One [i]slowed[/i] individual shows some real initiative and starts flinging debris at Elijah. She kills him a round later. Stonefisters are desperately trying to fight their way to the back of the room. Ethel places a [i]grease[/i] spell under the feet of a barbarous duo, causing them to slip and stumble to the floor. At the same time, Prisantha captures the mass of barbarians in a [i]web[/i], which is immediately ignited by their torches, causing a general conflagration of barbarians, [i]webs[/i], and [i]grease.[/i] Gnomer, meanwhile, has [i]healed[/i] himself, and uses his [i]charm of friendship[/i] to summon Ren Qi. The elven commando appears covered in dirt and camouflage paint with leaves woven into her clothing and hair. After taking a minute to orient herself, she charges into the fray at Gnomer's side. A lone Stonefister makes it past the front line of Heydricus, Gnomer and Ren Qi, and menaces Ethel and Prisantha. He charges Pris and smites her mightily with his greatsword, stunning her and nearly killing her with one blow! Angered, and more than a little worried, Prisantha breaks out her ace in the hole. She [i]feebleminds[/i] the lout, and as fast as you can say "lobotomy" the Fister has forgotten his name, rank, serial number, and what his greatsword is used for. To add insult to injury, Ethel directs her [i]flaming sphere[/i] to pounce upon the [i]feebleminded[/i] Fister, who, too stupid to flee, burns to death. Slowly. The [i]charmed[/i] Stonefister stands up stunned and shaken in front of Prisantha and Ethel. His face relaxes, and he looks at the Enchantress of Verbobonc with new eyes. Her hair! Her skin! The flecks of blood splattered across her face! She's [i]beautiful[/i] . . . Just as things are looking especially bleak for the surviving Men of the Fist, the two ettins guarding the front door poke their heads in to the room, followed by a 12' tall Stonefist barbarian! The ettins demand that the party surrender, and Heydricus coolly informs them that he would be willing to discuss terms. When he clarifies that he is referring to the ettins' surrender, the poor beasts have just about had all the intellectual challenge they can stand, and grow very confused. Which gives the party the jump. [i]Lightning bolts[/i] streak from the fingertips of One Bad Grandma, while Heydricus, Gnomer and Ren Qi demonstrate what they learned in [b]Stone Cold Killer School[/b] (a.k.a. the Temple of Elemental Evil). The ettins are quick to fall, and despite drinking a pair of [i]healing[/i] potions, the Stonefist giant manages only a pair of fruitless swipes before Heydricus and Elijah cut him down. As the debris (and blood sprays) settle down, the party turns their attention to their captive. The [i]charmed[/i] Stonefister warily eyes Heydricus and makes Prisantha a proposal of marriage, promising her that he would sire many strong sons, give her many slaves, and beat her very rarely. As tempting as that sounds, she declines tactfully and prompts the brute to tell her what he knows about the Stonefist activities here. The barbarian explains that his clan worships Usul, the Bear-Spirit of the Northern Reaches. All bears are sacred to them, and the spiritual hierarchy of the clan have been advised by Iuzian priests to gather the remains of all the "great brothers" from the ancient burial sites. One such ancient site is directly beneath this house. The Stonefisters have been mugging Stoink citizens, and bringing them here to mine, selling the weak or strong-minded as slaves. ----- Next: How will Heydricus deal with this new rival for Prisantha's love? Can Elijah really prove that sometimes the best punishment is corporal punishment? Helthrax walks the streets of Stoink! Stay tuned! [/QUOTE]
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