The Secret Shrine

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Round 12

The Secret Shrine, part 2

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

round 17

The Black Portal

Down the hatch

Begone!

Burn with Holy Fire!

B&B

Cleanup

The Trapdoor

"Curse you mortals. Your time is short. This way...."

Odious Disengages and moves toward the wall behind the statue, he pushes a brick and a secret door opens, and the Devil backs into the dimly lit chamber....He laughs as he enters the chamber.... You hear some voices in the chamber, and you hear Odious say something in Infernal....

The chamber that the Devil entered is dark, but not pitch black - there is a scent of incense mixed with a metallic smell that comes from the secret chamber beyond....

Reya turns toward the secret door, and to the group.

"He is luring is in there -- perhaps we should regroup and return later?, or do we pursue?" Reya looks to the group before deciding whether to follow him in on her action.

There is a low chanting voice coming from the newly discovered chamber and Odious is speaking lowly and softly to someone or something...

Suddenly the door begins to grind closed as the party looks and decides what to do next.

Dartan notices the door closing and runs to stop it. He positions himself between the door and the jam and calls out to the party, "It's closing! We need something to hold it open!" Bartok quickly drops his pack and tosses a Warhammer to Dartan to wedge in the door.

The door does not slow with Dartan's body or strength, and as he reaches the door and peers inside - he sees the following:

This room is lit by a pair of tall wrought-iron candlesticks in the northeast and southeast corners. Nine candles burn atop each one, casting flickering light across a claw-footed altar carved from a single block of obsidian, and which has a small angel-shaped flame erupting from its top. A gray-haired woman kneels before the altar, and Odious stands next to her facing the door. Behind the woman, Dartan can make out the outline of 4 invisible Imps clinging to a beam on the ceiling of the room.

As the secret door continues to close, Bartok quickly tosses Dartan a warhammer, to wedge into the door as it is sliding shut - Dartan wedges the hammer in the doorway, and the door stops closing..... the warhammer makes some cracking noises as it strains to keep the door at bay....

"They are here, Mistress Vanthampur. They have slain the others, and destroyed the statue, and desecrated the sanctuary.", hisses Odious as He rubs up against the woman, in a very sexually suggestive way. She stands and strokes the Devil's spiny beard, then turns toward the door.

"You dare to enter my city! Destroy my followers, Kill MY sons and then approach me here in MY sanctuary! You will suffer like none before you! "

Roll For Initiative

Round 12

Dartan stands in the door, and points at Thalamra,

"Thalmara Vanthampur. You are under arrest by the authority of the flaming fist, protectors of this city. Come along peacefully and your life will not be taken this day. You will stand trial for your crimes and have your day in court. Deny this offer and your life is Forfeit. Make your choice. It matters not to me."

Dartan whispers to reya and Bartok with the location of the imps in the room after addressing Lady Vanthampur

"More imps!" Bartok growls in response to Dartan's whisper. "I'm getting real tired of these little spike butts!" Scanning the room, he speaks to Dartan, "lead on Lad. I'll keep an eye on them for for ya. Let's send this devil and 'is nasty grandma down to the fires where they belong." Bartok shoulders his shield one more time and tightens his grip on his golden glowing mace. He shrugs his chain mail into a settled position and sets his feet for battle.

Thalamra begins laughing at Dartan,

"Duke Ravengard is gone, and with him, the Flaming fist's legitimacy. this city will be offered to Zariel, as Elturel was, and there is NOTHING you can do to stop it! Begone!"

Reya shrieks,

"You will not succeed in condemning this city to Hell! We will stop you, here and now!"

Thalamra laughs at Reya,

"You will try, Hellrider"

The duke chants in infernal and a dark void begins to appear where Dartan is standing.

Thalamra casts Hungar of Hadar, and a void opens to the dark between the stars, a region infested with unknown horrors as milky, otherwordly tentacles rub begin slithering and groping at those in the blackness.

As the darkness envelopes the rogue... annoyed Mumbling,

"of all the...nobody is going to get out alive...whore's tits and jackanapes...dirty pieces of...going to murder...burn it all to the..." the rogue proceeds to attempt find his way out of the darkness looking for a place to bury his blades...

Jules takes 7 points of damage from the icy void....

The rogue emerges from the dark void and attacks Thalamra, his sword hits, drawing blood across her arm, and deals 11 points of damage!

"Nobody likes your tricks, ya dirty ol` bitch."

As the Rogue slashes the Warlock, he is suddenly surrounded by an inferno, The flames take him by surprise and he suffers 10 points of damage!

"You don`t like my tricks??? You can BURN in hell!", the duke begins laughing as the flames burn the rogue to near death.

Odious, seeing the rogue taken by the flames, rushes in and viciously tears into the Rogue with his claws, and rips a chunk of his ribcage out dealing 5 points of damage! Jules goes down, and is dying!

The Devil rips more flesh from Jules, as Jules is helpless, Coup De Grace, Killing the Rogue.

Jules is Dead. Odious pounds his tail into his body, puncturing him with a dozen spines.

"Suffer!", he declares excitedly

Bruno’s eyes go wide in panic as the area surrounding Bartok, Reya, Dartan and Jules suddenly becomes encased in swirly, lurching blackness. His eyes scan for any sign of the group as the shouts of pain and grasping tentacles reach him. Panic becomes a knot in his chest and quickly climbs into his throat, making it hard to speak. Bruno takes several steps backwards towards the large iron double doors, his arms shaky and palm extended, looking to release his spell at any threats that emerge from the black void.

“Bartok! Dartan! Jules! Hellrider! Where are you?! What’s happening?! Are you guys ok?!”

Bartok starts his turn in the void and takes 7 points of cold damage!

As the painful darkness descends upon Bartok, he shouts,

“hold Dartan! I can’t see! And this spell will skin ye alive! Pull back and regroup!“

as he moves out of the void, Slithering cold tentacles prod and grasp at his body. Barok exits the void in the sanctuary and regroups with Bruno and Hippee.

Reya in total darkness and disoriented, shouts at Dartan,

"Bartok has fallen back, I think we should too. I can't see anything. We are at a disadvantage. Come, lets regroup!"

Hunger of Hadar burns Dartan for 7 points of Cold damage!

Dartan, with frustration, moves into the Sanctuary, and away from the secret shrine - regrouping with the others.

As the party regroups in the sanctuary, Bruno checks to make sure the double doors are shut so no one can enter and ambush them from behind.

The void remains over the south side of the sanctuary, obscuring the secret door and the shrine beyond. You can hear slurping, and crunching coming from the secret shrine area. The party notices that Jules does not emerge from the blackness.

After a couple seconds, the party hears the grinding sound of the secret door again - presumably closing - and after just under one minute, the void vanishes as quickly as it appeared. There is no sign of Jules, and the secret door that Odious opened has once again closed.

There is an eerie silence in the room. The party is near the double doors, the secret door is sealed again.

What do you do next?

2 minutes pass

Time: 5:11 PM

Date: Fourthday , 24 , Tarsakh

The Secret Shrine, Part 2

As the void ends and the party realizes Jules didn't return,

Bruno's breath catches in his throat as there is no sign of Jules when the door void dissipates and the secret door slides shut.

"Jules...? No... He..."

Dartan grips his sword and approaches the door again.

"Jules.... he must be.... we cannot leave him to be desecrated to these monsters. Even if we cannot revive him.. .this is no place for his spirit to linger. Brace yourselves. I'm going to open that door back up."

Bruno is shaken from his stunned silence as Dartan walks towards the hidden door. Gesturing quickly, Bruno casts Mage Hand and places the spectral hand on Dartan's shoulder.

"Dartan! Hold on... there's a chance Jules got out of there. He had that cloak and could teleport a ways... it's possible,,," Bruno's voice trails off slowly.

"And if he didn't... look, there's nothing to be done for him. We're in no shape to take on that devil, the duke and 4 imps. We're spent. We charge in there and we could very well meet our ends."

Bruno exhales slowly.

"We've disrupted the Duke's plans. Her sons are dead or deserted and her hidden sanctum is no longer hidden. It will be harder for her to achieve her goals now. We have a chance now to rest, regroup and return in force to finish this once and for all. What do you say?"

Reya nods as Bruno speaks, then places her hand on his shoulder lovingly,

"We are weakened yes, and we have no spell support... I agree. But if we don't move now, the Duke and Odious will recover all their strength as well - and she will be ready for us to return... we may be weak, but this is as weak as they will be."

Reya draws her swords and moves over and stands near dartan.

Bruno looks from Reya to Dartan and sighs heavily. Wearily pulling the worn deck of cards from pocket, he pulls two at random (1d12 - 12 hearts, 1d12 - 10 graves).

Placing the cards back in his pocket, Bruno looks up and rubs the back of his neck.

"The cards say we go back in. Success can be ours, but ... the cost will be great."

Bruno shakes his head and tries to loosen the panic and weariness from his shoulders.

"I have very little left, but I'm with you. Let's make sure these damned devils never hurt anyone ever again."

Bartok pulls his mace out, and nods at Dartan as Dartan pushes the block to open the secret door once again.

As the door grinds open, Dartan sees the imps, feasting on Jules' lifeless corpse. Odious stands over the body of Jules, and Thalamra is ready with a cantrip.

Readied Action: The duke flings two blasts of energy at Dartan, the first he dodges, the second hits his armor causing him no damage...

"There you are, I wondered if you would be foolish enough to return! Now you can join your friend! Odious, destroy the Paladin of Tyr!"

"With pleasure, my lady"

Roll for Initiative.

Round 13

shrugs off the first two Eldritch blasts from Thalamra, but two more head at him quickly after, as the Hulking Half-orc comes through the secret door. Both Eldritch blasts miss and strike the nearby wall with a purple sizzle.

Bartok drops the potion of Fire breathing bottle that he just finished before Dartan opened the secret door...and then peers into the room and sees Jules on the floor being desecrated by the imps. "No! Not Jules you Demonspawn!" Shock and anger fill his eyes, "Baroness, Fill me with your power! Burn this bringer of death and evil to ash!" Bartok begins to glow with a golden radiant light and from his hands launch a searing ray of power directly at Thalamra. Righteous anger fills his eyes and he lifts his mace and gestures, casting Guiding Bolt at Thalamra. With a boon from the Baroness (luck) his bolt hits her square in the face! Burning her with holy radiant fire for 20 points of damage!

"For Jules!!", shouts the Dwarf as he takes in a breath before releasing a stream of fire

The Imp ducks under the stream of fire, and takes 10 points of damage, as the Baroness gives Bartok some luck, increasing the intensity of the flame. Odious does not move and takes the flame directly, getting burned for 21 points of damage! Thalamra jumps to the side of the flame as it hits Odious, and she takes half damage, taking 10 points from the flames!

"Bloody hell Bartok! Nicely done! I shall be your shield! Unleash fury on these whoresons with whatever you've got! They're stuck in here with us now! Let's pick off the imps as best we can then focus Odious! Thalmara, you WILL come with us, one way or another"

Bruno gets a glimpse inside the shrine and his heart drops as he sees the imps rending Jules' body. The world seems to slow down and turn pale shades of grey in his mind as the sound of the imps devouring the rogue bring forth familiar visions and nightmares of this exact scene.

Bartok's great roar and bellowing fire breath snap Bruno free from his daze. Bringing his attention back to the battlefield, he instinctively raises a palm towards Odious. Bruno focuses his anger and rage, growling at the devil through gritted teeth.

"No...NO! FOR JULES!"

A ray of frost streaks towards the devil, Odious and strikes true dealing 7 points of cold damage.

"You devils shall not claim another living soul! GRAAAAH!"

Hippee watches the big holy dwarf muscle the door open and runs ahead of Bruno. He smiles to the wizard and says “I promise not all Warlocks are as mean and ugly as this old hag” Drenched in his own dried blood he holds up a reddened hand and points at the Duke and yells “I’ll show you my cantrips if you show me yours” letting out a crackling blast in her direction and sends a purple crackling Eldritch blast that hits Thalamra with a lucky strike to her crotch, sizzling for 8 points of damage.

"get finger blasted you old bat", he says with a bit of hatred in his tone.

As Dartan moves through the secret door into the shrine, he whispers a spell under his breath and moves the Hunter's Mark to a nearby imp

He then steps into the room and brings his sword down on the Imp but slips on a piece of Jules that was thrown toward the door. With a mighty SQUELCH, Dartan`s feet fly out from under him and he lands on his buttocks with a CLANG. (PRONE)

"I`m sick of you and your....il..... oh fuck!!! ", as he crashes down.

Reya watches as Bartok unleashes his holy wrath, “I stand corrected. It appears we may have spell support after all! For Justice!”

Reya charges into the room sidestepping the Imps and standing over Jules`s Corpse forcing the Imps to scatter and stop feeding. She swipes at Odious but he blocks the attack

"Devilspawn, you will not desecrate this human!", as she jabs Odious with her off hand, but he parries.

With her Frenzied strike, she impales Odious through his gut, and Devil Ichor spews out, she deals 7 points of damage!

She shouts so the group can hear, "I'll draw their attention!, now is the time to strike!"

Odious rips into Reya, his claws dig deep into her side, dealing 9 points of damage!

"Ahhh, yes, more flesh. Consume her to the bone!!!" shouts Odious to the Imps.

Odious strike at Reya again and She grits her teeth and blocks his second attack with her sword.

As he tries to tail swipe, she leaps over his tail and lands sure-footed next to Jules body again.

The Imps start tearing into Reya.

One bites Reya. ripping a chunk of flesh off her arm for 6 damage However the damage is reduced to 1 point

One devil claws at Reya, piercing her leg with his claw for 5 points of damage! However the damage is reduced to 1 point

One of the Imps bites and tries to rip a piece of flesh off her hand, dealing 4 points of damage! But the damage is reduced to 1 point.

the rest of the imps attacks are blocked or miss as they all try and take her down.

Round 14 begins

Thalamra sees the wizard and warlock hurling spells in from the sanctuary and scoffs, "You have much to learn... " she mutters under her breath

A ghostly hand appears and grasps onto Hippee`s throat, chilling him and causing his flesh to wither dealing 4 pointsof damage.

A second ghostly hand grabs Bruno by the arm, withering his flesh an ddealing 7 points of damage!

Bartok positions himself inside the Shrine, still burning with righteous anger, he lifts his mace and chants a spell. A swirl of radiant flame swirls around the Devil, and with a lucky break the flames fill Odious`s lungs for extra damage, burning him for 6 points of radiant damage!

"Burn with Holy Fire!"

The Dwarf then releases a mighty BELCH of flame that streaks past a hellfire imp, Odious and targets Thalamra.

The tiny imp seeing the flames, ducks under the heat but is still seared for 9 points of damage!

Odious takes the full brunt of flames, as he is still staggered from the sacred flame, and he is burned for another 17 points of fire damage. He roars in pain!

thalamra curses as her devil is being consumed by fire, and she leaps aside, dodging much of the flame, but still takes 10 damage from the searing heat.

"Mistress!!! I... I... " Exlclaims Odious as he staggers, nearly spent. the large Devil starts to take on a look of a drunken ogre, as he staggers about from all the damage.

Bruno’s breath comes in heavy, ragged gulps as his watery eyes dart around the battlefield looking for targets of opportunity. He gasps as it feels like all the air is forced from his lungs and energy drains from him. A chill wracks his body as he looks down to see a spectral hand dissipate after inflicting it’s wound. His eyes dart immediately to the smirking face of Thalamra just before she and her devils are again engulfed in flame. Bruno wordlessly cheers Bartok as his breath returns in a rush. “You’re going to have to try harder than that to kill me, you old bint.” His eyes once again scanning the battlefield, he sees the smoldering form of Odious reeling from Bartok’s flame. Bruno quickly gestures and releases another ray of frost towards the devil, the ice hits for 6 points of cold damage! Odious staggers!. “Go. Back. To. HELL!”

Thalamra screams at Odious, "Take down the fire breathing dwarf! Kill him!!!" she points at the Dwarf and all the imps and Odious turn their attention toward bartok.

Hippee twirls around on his heel and releases another Eldritch blast at Odious and with a twinkle in his eye, and some luck from the Great Fiend, the blast hits Odious in the wings dealing 6 points of damage!

"Back to hell with you" he says with a smile.

"Hellrider! finish off Odious while I subdue the prisoner!" Dartan says as he stands up.

Dartan rushes over to thalamra and stows his shield to free a hand, and grabs ahold of her with his off hand. He aims for her throat but is not able to get ahold, so he grabs her arm, She struggles against him but he successfully gets control of the grapple! Dartan is surprised at her physical power, as he strains to keep her under control.

"Unhand me, you orc trash! Release me at once, your filth is unwelcome!" shouts thalamra angrily as Dartan grabs hold of her and struggles to keep control

She begins to reach into her dress as the two grapple

"Orc? That blast from Bartok must've hit your head harder than we thought! That is no way for a Duchess to speak, "m'lady." Your Devil is dead. Your Imps will be soon. Please stop resisting before you get hurt more. Your position in this land may benefit you in trial. I would HATE for you to miss that opportunity. Don't worry. I will take good care of Slobberchops"

"With pleasure, Paladin"

Then to Odious,

"Devilspawn! You are judged here this day! Return to the pit from whence you came!!!"

Reya swings her longsword at Odious, cutting his throat with a deep strike, the Devil tries to roar but Ichor pours from his wound, and he falls to the ground, dead.

She yells as she strikes at two of the imps near her.

Reya spins toward one of the imps, and slashes it through the wing, dealing 5 points of damage!

With her frenzied strike, she runs another imp through, piercing it through its side for 8 points of damage!

The Imps then converge on Bartok, biting and clawing at him in a frenzy.

Bartok struggles to avoid all the little attacks, and he blocks and dodges a few, but takes 16 points of damage, including one bad bite to the neck, severing an artery. (CRITICAL HIT... Will continue to take 1 point of bleeding damage per round until a medicine check vs DC 13 is made to stop bleeding)

Dartan sees the Imp moving behind Bartok, and while he is still grappling the Warlock, takes the opportunity to strike at the Imp! Tyr blesses him with a bit of luck, and his blade clips the imp in the back, cutting it for 7 points of damage!

One imp attacks Reya, dealing a wicked bite, that is reduced to 1 damage from her bracelet.

Round 15 begins.

Thalamra drinks her potion of extra healing, and recovers 20 hit points.

"Very well, lets do this the hard way, Orc!!"

She then casts Chill touch, and A chilling hand appears and grabs Dartan, causing his skin to turn grey and wither, dealing 7 points of damage! Dartan cannot regain hit points until the start of Thalamra`s next turn

Bartok pops the cork of his healing potion and drinks. He recovers 10 points of life.

After repositioning himself, The Dwarf then releases his last mighty BELCH of flame that streaks past a two hellfire imps, Reya and a third Hellfire imp!

The flames stream past the first imp, and it leaps up dodging some of the heat, and takes 8 points of damage!

The second imp does not dodge the flames and takes the full force of the flame, taking 18 points of damage!

Reya doesn`t duck in time and is burned for 14 points of damage!

The last imp jumps out of the way and is burned for 6 points of damage!

Bruno sends a blast of frost at the weakened imp, the blast hits with the force of a charging rhino, blowing off the imps wings, and splattering its body all over the back wall. Chunks of frozen imp meat land all over the room, mixing into the mess of the rogues half consumed body. You think you see pieces of chewed up Jules in the splattered body of the dead imp.

Hippee fires off another eldritch blast, the blast looks like it`s going to miss, but in a lucky break, Bartok raises his shield and deflects the blast into the Hellfire Imp! The Imp is singed for 3 points of damage!

Dartan drops his Longsword and pins Thalamra against the back wall of the shrine, restraining her! Thalamra can only take the following actions on her turn: 1. Try and break free from the restraint with an opposed Athletics check. 2. Make a kick attack against Dartan (Dartan must make an Athletics check vs the Damage done or 10 whichever is greater, failure and she breaks free)

Reya slashes at the Imp near her, dealing 6 points of damage! She jabs with her shortsword, for another 5 points of damage! Her frenzied attack strike misses.

The frenzy of imps scratch and bite at Bartok and Reya but all their attacks miss as the two parry and dodge the devils.

Round 16 begins.

Thalamra tries to kick Dartan in the crotch, but she fumbles, and her foot gets trapped between Dartan`s leg. Dartan pincers her leg, and she becomes completely immobile. (only actions allowed are Athletics check to break free, she must roll with Disadvantage)

"I said get off me, brute!"

"Get off me you nasty gremlin!"

The Dwarf, still beaming with righteous anger, brings his mace down on the chittering Imp, crushing it for 9 points of damage! It lets out a squeak.

Then in a wrestling fashion Bartok leaps into the air and bears down with his shield, crushing the imp into the stone floor using all his weight as momentum. The Imp cries out and is crushed for 6 points of damage.

Bruno watches with a wry grin as Thalamra melts into Dartan's embrace. He extends his palm towards one of the imps and winks at the warlock.

"Giving up so soon?"

Bruno doesn't even look towards the imp as he releases another ray of frost. He knows it will strike home.

"You will come with us one way or the other. Your 'pets' on the other hand will not leave this place."

A spray of ice and frost slam into a Hellfire Imp dealing 10 points of damage! The Imp Squeaks from the frigid ice and dies.

Hippee leaps into the air, and points his pinky at an imp, as he says "Call me the Imple popper"! And an eldritch blast burns the imp for 5 points of damage!

Thalamra, pinned and subdued, and seeing all her devils being destroyed, cries out,

"I yield. You have bested me. take me to General Zodge. I request a parley. I will call off the imps if you agree"

"apologies your Dookieness. I think we will call off the imps on our own. You had your chance to come peacefully and you chose violence."

"Devils don`t get to stay here."

Reya slashes the arm of an imp, dealing 8 points of damage!

She finishes off the imp, dealing 6 points of damage!

Brimming with confidence, Reya steps forward with her frenzied attack, but loses her footing and falls into Dartan and Thalamra, Dartan fumbles around and ends up landing in a heap, with Thalamra on the bottom, Reya in the middle and Dartan on top of the pile. All three are Prone. Dartan still controls the grapple and has both women pinned.

"Damn it woman! At least help me bind and gag her since you're down here!"

"It's not like I wanted you on top of me! Damn it, you are heavy!" Reya scrambles to squeeze out from in between the warlock and the Paladin while the three of them slosh around in a puddle of Jules.

The Hellfire Imp pounces on Dartans back and starts ripping chunks of skin from the back of his head dealing 4 points of damage.

Round 17 begins

Thalamra strains against the pile upon her, and tries to break free. With super human strength, she slips out from beneath the pile, and stands to her feet.

Bartok crushes the imp dealing 8 points of damage!

Bartok brings his shield up and breaks the Imps neck, dealing 5 damage killing it!

Bruno pumps his fist and relaxes slightly as Bartok pulls the last imp. Bruno’s attention is drawn towards the pile of Dartan, Thalamra, and Reya as the duke strands up.

“Not so fast ‘Your Grace’.” He extends his palm towards her and releases another ray of frost. He watches it strike home and visibly slow Thalamra.

Bruno`s ray of frost hits Thalamra, dealing 6 points of cold damage!

Moving towards the secret door, he puts his body in front of it to prevent her from trying to make an escape.

Hippee raises his hand and creates a purple flame that flickers a few moments, as he speaks his one-liner. Then he reels back as if throwing a baseball and hurls the Eldritch Blast at the opposing warlock. The blast strikes her in the breast for 9 points of sizzling goodness.

As Dartan Stands...

"Well done, Bartok! Remind me to not get on the wrong side of the Baroness any time soon! And Bruno! You're stronger than you believe my friend! Hippee...Get that out of your mouth and put it back where you found it! Reya, Search the room and see if you can find your box."

Dartan stands and tries to grapple with Thalamra, but she fights him off and he is unable to get her under control.

"Thalamra Vanthampur. By your own admission, you have committed treason, murder, and heresy. Your life will not end this day, Do you have anything to say before we gag your foul mouth?

Reya drops her short sword and grabs onto the Warlock, successfully getting hold, the two women dance around bumping into the wall of the shrine. Reya successfully gets control of the grapple.

"tell us where the puzzle box is, you wretched hag!"

With her frenzied attack, she slashes her longsword as she grapples with Thalamra, and cuts her across her face, dealing 8 points of damage!

As Reya's sword slices through her face, and the two women struggle, Thalamra grabs the hilt of her sword and impales herself through the heart with her blade. As the blade goes through her heart and out her back, she gasps her final spell... Chill touch on herself...

"I'll see you in Hell", as her eyes roll back and the old woman slumps to the ground... the angel shaped flame on the alter suddenly becomes an inferno, blasting everyone in the room with a frigid flame... you hear Zariel's laugh as the fire envelopes the party.

Everyone in the room must make a dex save vs DC 13 or take 14 damage, save for half damage.

0 minutes pass

Time: 5:11 PM

Date: Fourthday , 24 , Tarsakh

The Black Portal

As the flame on the alter fills the room with a cold fire, the blast starts to envelop Reya first - Dartan, seeing her in peril leaps on top of her to protect her from the fire.

His heroic effort pays off and he protects her from the brunt of the flame

Bartok takes 14 damage, and remains conscious but stunned.

Dartan takes 14 damage but his relentless endurance keeps him conscious, but stunned.

Hippee takes 7 damage and is blown into the wall, unconscious

Reya takes 7 damage, protected from most of the flame by Dartan, but she is pinned underneath the large half-orc.

Bruno watches in horror as the strange flame consumes the room, but the blast doesn't stop there. As those in the blast are momentarily stunned, the flame suddenly becomes a swirling black vortex - and thalamra's body is immediately sucked into the void.

Bruno is speechless as he watches the vortex begin sucking everything in the shrine into the blackness. The candles on the candlesticks are the first to go, they are flung into the void almost as fast as thalamra's body.

he thinks he sees a glimpse of tentacles and devils inside the void, but it all happens so fast, he is not sure what he is witnessing.... his heart sinks as he watches the unconscious body of Hippee suddenly fly into the void and dissappear, followed by chunks of Jules, and the dead imps.

Finally Bartok, Dartan and reya begin to slide toward the blackness.

Bruno clearly now can see dozens of writhing tentacles spring from the void, grasping at everything that remains in the room, one wraps around Reya's ankle and begins to drag her helplessly toward the portal.

"Help!" Reya screams as a tentacle grasps her tightly around her ankle.

Bartok, Dartan, and Bruno. You have very little time to react. What do you do?

Possible options, but not limited to...

- Make a break for the door with Bruno

- Try and cut the tentacle on Reya's leg

- Try and grab onto something like a torch sconce or brick

0 minutes pass

Time: 5:11 PM

Date: Fourthday , 24 , Tarsakh

Down the hatch

Dartan grabs his sword he dropped earlier when grappling with Thalamra, just before it is sucked into the Portal, but he is not able to grab his shield. He slashes at the Tentacle grasping Reya's ankle, but he misses.

Bruno fires a ray of frost at the tentacle (roll: 20, Critical Hit) The ray of frost hits the tentacle dealing 6 points of damage! The tentacle does not release Reya and both Reya and Dartan are dragged 5 feet toward the portal.

Bartok grabs onto a brick on the floor of the shrine and is able to hold his ground, but a tentacle grabs hold of his leg (Roll 19) and begins to drag him toward the swirling void.

Bartok = 5 feet from portal

Reya = at edge of portal

Dartan = 5 feet from portal

Bruno = At doorway, approx 15 feet from portal.

What now?

0 minutes pass

Time: 5:11 PM

Date: Fourthday , 24 , Tarsakh

Begone!

Dartan attacks the tentacle one more time that is grasping Reya's leg (Attack Roll 15), He hits and cuts the tentacle, just as Reya passes the threshold of the vortex. She is pulled in up to her waist, as Dartan struggles to stop sliding from the suction. But Reya is not able to hold her ground as the suction gets exponentially stronger as she reaches the threshold of the vortex. It is too strong and she lets go of Dartan, and Dartan loses his grip on her and she disappears into the void with a scream that is immediately silenced as she vanishes.

Dartan holds himself one more round by grasping at a brick on the floor, but his fingers begin to fatigue.

Bartok swings at the tentacle grabbing his leg with his mace (Attack roll: 15) Hitting and crushing the tentacle, and it releases his leg.

Bruno runs into the sanctuary and grabs a candelabra and leans into the room so Bartok can grab it.

"Bartok! Bartok! Grab hold!!!"

Bartok reaches for the lifeline and (Dex Check 15) successfully grabs hold! Bruno pulls with all his might and gets Bartok 5 feet closer to the door.

Two tentacles attack Bartok to grab his legs.

The first rolls a 12 and misses, the second rolls an 8 and misses.

Bartok gets to the door successfully with Bruno.

Two Tentacles attack Dartan to grab his legs

The first one rolls a 9 and misses, but the second rolls a 13 and wraps around Dartan's leg!!

Bartok... Reaches the door with Bruno and is safe (unless he stays in the shrine, as more tentacles can attack him)

Dartan... 5 feet from portal, has a tentacle on his leg, and getting pulled toward the void.

reya, Hippee, Jules all have been sucked in.

0 minutes pass

Time: 5:11 PM

Date: Fourthday , 24 , Tarsakh

Burn with Holy Fire!

Bartok turns toward the unholy vortex and casts sacred flame on the tentacle that holds Dartan! The flame sears the tentacle it immediately is turned to ash!

Bruno throws a scimitar just as the tentacle is turned to ash, and it's sucked into the void.

Dartan is free and claws his way back toward the door (Strength Roll 18)

He advances 5 feet toward the door.

Four more tentacles attack and try to Grab dartan.

Tentacle 1 rolls an 11 and misses

Tentacle 2 rolls a 1 and misses

Tentacle 3 rolls a 1 and misses

Tentacle 4 rolls a 3 and misses!

Dartan is 10 feet from the portal and 10 feet from the door, he is not grappled by any tentacles at the moment, and can almost reach Bruno and Bartok.

What do you do?

0 minutes pass

Time: 5:11 PM

Date: Fourthday , 24 , Tarsakh

B&B&D

Bartok limps into the room above making way for Dartan to make an Indiana Jones dive if necessary. He fires another sacred flame at the closest tentacle when available.

Dartan claws toward the candelabra that Bruno extends to him (Strength Roll 20) and successfully grabs hold, as Bartok and Bruno pull him to safety!

Just as suddenly as it opened the portal collapses and is gone. All that remains in the Secret Shrine is an oily crater where the alter used to be.

Most of the carnage was sucked into the vortex, but there are a couple bits of bloody entrails left on the stone floor and some blood mixed with Demon ichor.

To be continued....

0 minutes pass

Time: 5:11 PM

Date: Fourthday , 24 , Tarsakh

Cleanup

Dartan composes himself and walks over to Bruno. He sits down and puts an arm around the wizard's shoulder.

"We have lost much today. Earlier, I spoke in arrogance and haste. However, what I said is true. It was true then and even moreso now. You ARE stronger than you believe. Without you, Bartok and I would be.....wherever Hippee and Reya are. We will find them. I swear on my life, as long as Tyr allows me to live, I will never stop searching for them."

Dartan sits in silence for a moment with Bruno and sheds a few tears himself. With a steely resolve, he stands up and looks around the room at the carnage and tries to find anything of value on the bodies of the cultists.

"We cannot linger here. We don't know what else is hiding in this cellar."

Bruno wipes the tears from his puffy, red eyes. Looking up at Dartan, he smiles weakly.

“All these years I’ve wandered, fled…tried to escape and stay ahead of these damned nightmare visions in my head.”

Bruno slowly picks himself up and finishes drying his eyes.

“The last several years of my life have been dedicated to trying to find answers to what they might mean. Shadows, fire…flames and death. I thought if I kept moving I might be able to stay one step ahead. Find some scrap of knowledge that would tell me what they meant, what they fortold, or…”

Bruno chuckles half heartedly.

“Well, I guess I did learn something today. I learned I’m not completely mad. For so long I never knew if these terrors in my head were real. Never knew if I was running from terrors of my own making. Now I have seen devils in the flesh. Watched them kill and defile.” Bruno pauses.

“The worst part is, even after all that, I’m still not convinced I’m not crazy.” Bruno looks to Bartok and Dartan and tries to stand up a little straighter.

“However, I have also learned that while these devils exist, I have seen them die. I know they can be killed. We have lost much. Too much. But I know now that there is hope. Dartan is right. We are still not out of the woods yet. Let’s bind our wounds and get to safety. We owe it to Jules, Hippee, and Reya to get out of here and tell their stories.”

Bartok searches the secret shrine, but there is nothing of value left in here.

The three of them search the sanctuary as well

Here is an inventory of what you find after a quick search of the dead.

6 x blowguns

9 x darts coated with sleep poison

7 x Scimitars +1

78 x silver pieces looted from the bodies of the acolytes and cultists

During your search of the sanctuary you find behind a tapestry, another secret door on the west wall.

Hidden behind a secret door, this tunnel has a wooden ladder at its north end. The ladder climbs a 15-foot-high shaft to a trapdoor

You have some options.

1. You can head back the way you came, and leave

2. You can head to the ladder up to the trapdoor in the newly discovered tunnel.

3. You can keep exploring, and head west out of the sanctuary

4. You can rest now, (please let me know where)

(Please Note: Experience has been awarded, please collect.)

What do you do?

The Trapdoor

The party listens at the trapdoor, it sounds a little like rain above and you see the trapdoor is a little bit wet around the seams.

Bruno climbs the ladder and checks the trapdoor for traps. It's a little out of his expertise, and he spends 5 minutes checking... after that time he looks back down to Bartok and Dartan.

"Well..." scratching his head, "I wish Jules were here. Far as I can tell, there is no trap rigged. I think we can try and open it. "

"Good work, why don't you come back down here and send walter up, and I'll crack the door enough for him to have a look."

The group agrees and this works, Walter scurries up the ladder and as Dartan opens the trapdoor, the cold damp air rushes in from outside. It indeed opens to the stable house... what's left if it anyway. As the storm still rages outside, the wind and rain blow debris into the secret tunnel and dartans face gets soaked pretty fast. Walter doesn't see anyone in the burned out stables, but there are voices nearby -- Walter takes a look and there are a half dozen or so Flaming Fist standing around the courtyard, discussing the fire. Walter does not see any cultists or representatives of the Vanthampur's present.

You can come out the trap door, and try and stay hidden or you can simply announce yourself to the Soldiers.

What do you do next?

7 minutes pass

Time: 5:18 PM

Date: Fourthday , 24 , Tarsakh