Heading back to village (Day 4)

[AxeMental]

No, the hag has the sack with Sogathan in it (her prize).

There is a small stream heading down a muddy ravine (apparently her path) which heads down toward a swampy area a few 100 yards away. The ravine she runs down is 10 feet deep and disappears in the trees. The canopy they disappear into is too thick from above to attack threw but you might be able to follow her to her destination (though its hard to say for sure because you only cetch glimpses of her threw the canopy). To attack you'd need to fly down to her level (or at least below the canopy) to attack with your axes. So its like a tunnel of trees with the mucky ravine running threw it. Subdolus might be able to help you, but he may want to do something else. Also the giantess is much faster on foot then the rest of your group (you could keep up flying).

[AxeMental]

OOC: Don't know where Stranger is, so I'm going to assume Subdolus attempts to help Sogathan (who was screaming for help).

When he moves to the back of the trees he can see a small clearing. Flying above this clearing is Tiberious throwing hand axes at a giantess hag 30 feet away. The giantess holds a large sack thats wiggling as if someone were inside of it. The giantess looks up at Tiberious after taking damage and jumps down into a ravine behind it. Subdolus runs to the edge of the ravine and sees the giantess witch running at great speed down a muddy stream at teh bottom of the 10 foot ravine. The trees over this ravine are thick and low giving the effect of a low tunnel. Subdolus is too far away for a back stab, but is in range of daggers. With careful aim both hit (Rolls: 17 and 15). The wretch stumbles a bit but continues running splashing up black muck from the muddy stream.

Do Subdolus and Tiberious wish to follow or go back and assist in the killing of the evil tree?

[Ska]

The monk will fly to a tree in front of the hag and continue his axe barrage, hoping to further slow the hag down and remove her attention from our thief . (If possible, Tiberious will throw one of the axes at the top of the bag holding the cleric, hoping to cut it open so the hag drops it and the cleric is freed.)

[AxeMental]

No surprise is won, initiative: groiup 2, monsters 2. Tiberious throws both axes, one hits for 10.
The Bahnnog raises her hand and shoots forth a bolt of lighting that blows the tree behind you to pieces, but you manage to avoid the attack (13 vs. petrification).

Zargon hits twice this round (double attack and inflicts 29 pts of damage...a huge amount of reddish sap gushes from a cut in its center trunk. The ettin slams Zargon for 19 pts of damage. Ermanaric hits for 9 total. The tree on him (animated) smashes a limb across his face doing 12 pts of damage (are you still up?).

Subdolus jumps down the muddy ravine landing up to his ankles in muck. He manages to get to harder earth and starts taking off down the tunnel like ravine.. 60 feet behind the Bahnnon hag.


Init: group 3 monster 5. Tiberious you see the hag cast a spell and a tree next to you anitmates. Before you can dodge it, you are grabbed and held (Save 2, petrification 5) it seems perhaps an entangle spell (luckily your 20 feet up). The hag would like to finish you off, but turns to flee instead, continuing its trek down the ravine. Sub, what do you wish to do. You could help TIberious out of the entangle or continue alone (but the distance between you and her is growing to 80 feet now).

Zargon is hit for 14 more points of damage, and Ermanaric barely deflects the blow against him on the dot.

This roiund Zargon sticks his blade up to the hilt into the treant killing it with a horrendous scream. The animated tree on Ermanaric stops moving just then and the combat for the fighters is over.

What does everyone want to do?

[AxeMental]

Has Elvis left the building?

[Ska]

Tiberious will call out so the thief will know where he is, he will then call out to see if any nearby bird will fly to him. The monk will promise many shiny objects and food if the bird will discreetly follow the hag and give warning if it tries to hide and ambush the thief.

[AxeMental]

With the yeti running and the giantess witch retreating some of the natural animal life seems to be creeping out. A finch hears you and takes off following the giantess but says it will be back for food.

I'm not sure what Subdolus and Erm want to do. I'm NPCing Zargon at the moment.

[ermanaric]

Aug 24, 2008 15:24:38 GMT -5 AxeMental said:

The tree on him (animated) smashes a limb across his face doing 12 pts of damage (are you still up?).

Ermanaric has 9 HP remaining. He runs in the direction the giantess took, hoping he can find where they have gone to.

[AxeMental]

OOC: I'll go ahead and NPC SUbdolus for now.

Ermanaric and Zargon quickly join the thief in trying to rescue their friend from an entangle spell. Subdolus crawls up the ravine wall to as close to Tiberious as possible (before entering the spell area) and then sends his rope to wrap around his leg. With strong tugs from the fighters and the monk using all of his abilities of escape, he is pulled free.

The group is quickly joined by the finch Tiberious called, chirping for you to follow it. After running several 100 yards you enter into a deep dark forested swamp. The ravine walls correlling you in eventually disappear and the mucky stream you followed joins a sluggish river black and filthy. Across this river the bird flys. Oddly you see no footprints of the giantess anyware. Magic of some sort you suspect (so a good thing Tiberious sent the bird as scout). The group traverses the sluggish river waist deep and follows the song bird threw the precarious swamp for another few hundred feet until you reach a slightly higher area of exposed rock and hard ground. Upon this island in the swamp, you find tucked behind ancient stunted black trees a earth covered step pyramid covered in muck vines and small trees. From a distance infact, it looks like a midden or low hill. Their is an entrance found by Subdolus on the opposite side. A stone door with the head of a ram with wings carved onto it. The door is 10 feet tall and 5 feet wide.

What does the group wish to do (the finch suggests the hag is in here).

[Ska]

Tiberious gives the bird some food and a silver piece.
He will also take a second swig of his extra-healing potion to try o bring himself up to full power.

The monk suggest everyone heal up as much as possible before entering the place.

[AxeMental]

OOC: OK does anyone else use magic to heal? BTW its been roughly 20 min since Sog was taken.

[ermanaric]

Ermanaric has no magic and is low on HP. He insists that he doesn't have the time to wait for natural healing (and, fears that Sog may be dead already).

[AxeMental]

Zargon is also badly town up and agrees. Despite his extreme desire to rescue his friend, he feels this may be suicide. "We must remember our two friends of stone. Maybe that Yellow Wizard fellow can think of something."

Subdolus and Tiberious having known the cleric from the very beginning begin to examine the door and find no traps. However, it won't budge and no obvious ways to open it are found. Another 10 minutes have passed and the sun is now preparing to set. Zargon, and Ermanaric think it wise to return here later healed up and with more help.
Zargon looks down at his own body "If Sogathan is dead, we could always bring him back like you guys did for me". Subdolus will back whatever decision Tiberious makes.

(OOC: SKA let me know what Tiberious wants to do, stay and continue to find a way in or book it back to the village).

[Ska]

Tiberious has one sip of extra-healing left plus one more extra-healing potion. He will give it to the fighters if we can go forward somehow to save the cleric.

Tiberious will ask the bird how the hag entered the door.

[AxeMental]

Zargon takes one sip for 6 and Ermanaric takes the entire extra-healing for 20 pts.

The bird excitedly tells Tiberious the giant hag pushed both of the eyes of the ram in at the same time and the door opened. (OOC: I'm going to assume the group goes along with this plan, let me know if you don't want to). With great force the two scouts push into place the eyes which sink back several inches. Suddenly a click is herd and then grinding. The stone door opens inward revealing stairs going downward. The stairs are cracked and a rope dangles to the right perhaps as a hand hold for the Bahnnog. The passage is 10 feet tall and 8 feet wide. Tibeirous has the fighters block the door with a log so that they won't be trapped within if the door closes behind them. The group carefully head down the stairs and hear chanting in the distance. When Subdolus reaches the bottom of the stairs he finds a trap (several holes in the ceiling) and blocks the holes with wax and marks the stone step that activates it (he thinks a gas trap, but it could be anything).

The stairway ends at a huge cavernous room filled with a foot of mucky water (dripping down from the ceiling high above). Looking up you can see your in the center of the step pyramid with huge arches supported by wide pillars covered in grime. The room is 200 feet wide and long and at least 75 feet high (you think it likely reaches above the surface. In the center of this room is a 30 foot black marble statue of a voluptuous naked women, but where her head should be you see instead 5 long slender necks ending in 5 enormous snake heads carved in various positions (some with jaws opened wide others closed with tounge dashing out). Each snake head has large emerald eyes, no doubt extremely valuable. The statue is kept clean of the filth covering everything else.

In front of this statue is a white marble round sacrificial alter. When you reach it you find its the top of a gigantic skull sticking out of the muck (as if from a giant or titan). More disturbing then this, you find a puddle of blood on the surface of the sacrifical alter/skull.


Beyond the statue you see a raised area and then an open hallway (30 feet). Firelight flickers from that direction. Do you wish to investigate in here further or head to the area of flickering light (or something else)?