Inizii -- Logs

The High Healer shakes his head, staring down at the baker who despite Kyrel's spell, still looks horribly ill. "He's close to death," the priest mutters, then snaps up at Kyrel's words. "A Talonite ceremony? Where?" His expression instantly turns vengeful... then the other words sink in. "Cats? By the Tear Stained Gloves... I should be less hasty with the decision but... I'll have to order a purging of the city's cats, if this is indeed the carrier..."

A fluid voice pipes up at the doorway as the sparkling silver dragon monk, enters. "I don't think you need bother, from what I've been hearing on the streets," he remarks, then looks for his contract holder. "I have retrieved the bodies of my comrades, and it's time for me to be paid for my work."

The High Healer pales, then shakes his head sadly. To Gabriel, he says, "Danos hired you? You'll have to return, another time; he is weakened, we all were weakened, by the Ritual. Fortunately, it was finished a quarter hour ago."

Gabriel says, "How...unfortunate. I hate to be between jobs."

Kyrel says, "No worries about that right now. We've still got Talona's people to stop. Interested?"

Gabriel shrugs. "While I admit that they are worthy opponents, I do not seek conflict for it's own sake."

Derleth is quiet all this time, trying to think on where to go from here....eyeing Gabriel strangely. Sure, he was an ally, but....he's still awfully odd-looking. His eyes flick between Kyrel and the dragon-monk as they converse.

Silniya eyes Gabriel a moment, then smirks. "They likely have coin on them," she states simply.

Kyrel chuckles. "They have so far, at least. And right now, it's the only game in town."

Gabriel considers. "I have always fought for payment," he muses, "but I do feel a touch humiliated by their defeating of my group. One copper to help you."

Kyrel grins, and pulls one out of his pouch, flipping it in the dragon's direction. "Done. One copper plus shares. I'm Kyrel, this is Silniya, and Derleth. Welcome aboard."

Gabriel catches the copper easily, smiling. His sharp teeth gliny in the light. "I am Gabriel. It is an honor to fight beside you again."

Silniya nods, then glances between the three. "Where to?" The High Healer's assistants return, taking up the sick man. "Please, help root out this problem. The church is wearing thin. I'll need more information on this Ceremony, give it to another officer perhaps. But, I must attend to this man, I'll need to find the cure for this."

Derleth nods in wary welcome. In a way, he cannot help it: the recent events have made him all too paranoid. I'm not going to turn my back on this one.

Kyrel nods to the Healer. "Good luck. I fear we'll have more victims before long. I need to check on someone right now."

Derleth considers. "Where can we get a good map of the city? Hmm." he says to himself. He looks at Kyrel. "I have a theory, but I need to be certain."

The Ilmaterian priest nods his head, and hurries after his exiting assistants who carry the sick baker into the Hall.

Gabriel's eyes flick interestedly over the forms of his compatriots, listening to them, saying nothing yet.

Silniya nods to Kyrel, before peering at Derleth. "Perhaps the Inn's mage could help us out with a map, or someone at the Inn could at least suggest the possible 'Center of the Hub'?"

Kyrel glances at Derleth. "And we have to check Jessin anyway. I hope he hasn't gotten sick. Let's go."

Derleth says, "Sounds like our best bet. At the very least, he can point out a local cartographer."

The four make their way to the Halfway Inn, passing through the streets and what is seen is... not encouraging. People on street corners are encouraging others to exterminate cats, others are killing the beasts with crossbows and kitchen knives. The city's cats are running away from club wielding men. At one point, they pass a cart being loaded with animal carcasses. They arrive at the Inn with little problem in spite of the incipient rioting. The halfling barmaid wiggles her fingers at Derleth as he enters, taking a moment from waiting on tables. Derleth smiles at the perky lass, but is too mired in his own thoughts to be either embarassed or attracted.

Gabriel's mood has darkened during the trip. Such elimination of innocents is foolish. The source must be dealt with.

Kyrel is frowning as they arrive. And if the next plague involves rats, what will they do to stop them? He nods to the bartender. "Is Jessin in?"

The bartender looks up from fishing around for a drink under the bar. "He's on the roof," the halfling replies.

Kyrel says, "How do we get up there? We need to talk to him again."

The bartender turns. "There's a ladder and a trap door in a hall closet, on the third floor. It'll lead to the roof. Want something to drink before you go up?" He chirps.

Kyrel chuckles. "How long has it been in the barrel?"

"That depends on what you want to drink. I don't think we're having any barley blights."

Kyrel says, "As long as it's at least two weeks... just a small beer."

Derleth waves the bartender off. I want my head clear.

Gabriel's tongue flicks out. "Do we not have work to do?"

The halfling nods to Kyrel, seeing as he seems to be the one to get the money from, and fills him a glass of ale, offering it to the half-elf. "I'll put it on your tab."

Kyrel says, "Fair enough." He takes the glass and heads upstairs.

The ladder is where the bartender had instructed, the trapdoor already open. A muttered, halfling curse comes from somewhere on the roof.

Derleth blinks, and curiosity spurs him to be the first up the ladder.

Kyrel climbs the ladder behind Derleth and sticks his head out of the trapdoor. "Jessin? What's going on?"

Gabriel follows at the rear, watching you all.

Jessin and another halfling are squatted at the edge of the roof. Feathers seem to have been spread across the roof, stuck to both of them. Jessin glances up. "Kyrel! Hey there."

Derleth blinks, looking around as he stands on the roof. "Did a bird explode?

The halfling grins lopsidedly. "In a manner of speaking... it did." He points down off the roof. "Pigeon tried to fly into a window. Hit one of my wards." He spreads his arms. "Boom."

Kyrel blinks. "I hope it doesn't react that way to familiars."

Derleth just stares at the halfling. The sides of his mouth twitch, as if he was trying to hold back a laugh.

The mage shrugs. "It's a thief ward. It has this happenings, now and then. Poor thing. I have to re-cast the ward... after cleaning up. Else the Mistress of the house would pluck me bald."

Gabriel's lips twitch a little into a slight smile, but he seems impressed by the power displayed.

Kyrel chuckles. "It was probably going to steal something anyway." He turns serious. "The fellow who sold us those pastries turned up at the Temple of Ilmater with a new set of plague symptoms." He describes the bruised-looking sores and scratch-lines. "And it was unaffected by a Cure Disease and barely affected by a Remove Curse. It's nasty."

The halfling looks downtrodden. "Damn. I was going to eat that garlic roll with dinner! And the brownie with second dessert." He shakes his head. "Guess it's a good thing the pigeon bombed the place... Damn those Talonites."

Gabriel frowns. "Perhaps we should go to this bakery then?"

Kyrel nods. "I don't know that it's the food, but... with Talona involved, can't take any chances. We're also trying to figure out where the 'Hub of the City' might be. Our opponents seem to be planning a ritual there."

Jessin nods, and starts pulling crispy feathers off the roof, tossing them steadily into a bag. "Oh, bother this." After chanting a quick spell, a wind picks up, blowing a good portion of them off the roof. "Hmph."

The halfling glances up. "Eh? Y'mean Bureaucrat Circle?"

Kyrel says, "I... have no idea what they meant. Bureaucrat Circle? How do we get there?"

The housemage smiles at his assistant, instructing her to keep up the good work, before bouncing up the slope of the roof. Turning to point out over the cityscape, "See that tall steeple, over there?" He points to a high rise spire jutting up from a tall building, "That's the City Council. And, the squat building beside it is the Mayor's offices." He points closer, "There's the Preening Griffon, the first tavern ever opened here, and now a very upscale Inn. Treasury, it's over there too. All on the edge of a circular pavilion, called Bureaucrat Circle. And, the very center of the city."

Gabriel smiles. "That sounds like it would quailify as a hub, most certainly."

Silniya suddenly swears.

Gabriel blinks. "What? Why do you say such things?"

Kyrel turns to look at Sil, and echoes Gabriel. "What?"

"The Rakshasa," She puts in, "We never ran across it..."

Derleth smiles at Sil. "Cause she's good at it."

Kyrel shrugs. "So it's still out there somewhere. I'm sure it'll turn up sometime."

Derleth shakes his head. "It's still in the Guild, belike....and while we're on the subject, the Guild is only a few blocks away from this 'Bureaucrat Circle'. If there's an entrance to some underground tunnels beneath the Hub, I bet that's where we'd enter them."

Silniya shrugs her shoulders. "So, do we check out this Hub or...?"

Kyrel says, "Not now. The sliver moon was the time given, and I need to replenish my spells first."

Gabriel says, "I would suggest the bakery first, then. It needs investigating."

Derleth shakes his head. "It's not the bakery I'm worried about." he says to Gabriel. "It's that it's right next to the Guild."

Gabriel says, "The Guild?"

Derleth nods. "The Thieves Guild. We've had our eye on tha place a while now, but more urgent events keep distracting us.

Gabriel says, "Well, I know of no more urgent events. I would suggest going there."

Derleth eyes Gabriel critically. "We'll need to get you outfitted first."

Gabriel says, "Why? I have my bow, and my fists. What more could I need?"

Silniya glances over the monk. "I'm pretty sure he has what he needs. I gather the only real thing he needs is better tactics," She offers with a rueful grin.

Derleth smiles wryly at the stranger-monk. "Because Rakshasa can only be killed by blessed bolts or arrows." he says matter-of-factly. "And the more people shoooting, the better chance we have at skewering the bastard."

A horrible mrrrowling sound, like a tortured cat, rises to their ears.

Gabriel frowns. "I suggest we hurry. Without cats, there will be more rats, which is not good."

Derleth sighs. "It's not that simple. The place is trapped to high heaven...we'll need to get in contact with the trapper."

Gabriel says, "So we should start that then. Standing here on the roof is not moving us towards our destination."

Derleth does not seem to look forward to seeking out the trapper. "A'right, then. Let's just make a quick stop by our rooms..." He makes for the ladder.

After an hour of preparation, Kyrel renewing his spells while everyone else suits up, the four make their way into the business section of town, heading toward the guild. A block away from the guild, a street urchin tugs on Derleth's cloak, looking up at him with a dirty face. "Coin, sir?"

Derleth smiles kindly at the boy and gives him a couple silver. "Lliara's blessing on you, child." he murmurs.

The child lets go of Derleth's cloak, and takes the coins, smiling brightly. "Thank you, sir, thank you!" The urchin scurries away.

The sky is growing light, the sun getting close to sinking away. The four make it to the tailor's place.

Gabriel watches, curious. Give away part of one's hoard for no apparent reason? Seems foolish.

Kyrel knocks at the door.

The door opens, up peering the tailor. "Oh! There you are."

Derleth blinks suddenly, feeling something odd, and pulls up his cloak, peering suspiciously at the corner the boy grabbed. There's something there... a small thing, no more then an inch long, looking like some... insect. It's eyes slide open, shining.

Derleth gahs! and unclasps his cloak in a flash, darting away. "Ware! Insect!"

Kyrel nods. "I was hoping you'd still be open. I'm still interested in...." He spins around at Derleth's yell. "What is that?"

Derleth's cloak lays crumpled on the floor. He looks at it, worried. "The boy...where he grabbed my cloak, there was an insect of some kind..."

Gabriel is ready, looking at the offending cloak. "An insect?"

Derleth shivers. "A fly..." He looks distastefully at the cloak. "I'm not certain I even want to put the damn thing back on. Best to burn it where it lies."

Gabriel frowns. "Perhaps freeze it?" he inquires, considering...

Kyrel says, "Because of a fly? You're getting twitchy, Derleth. There's flies all over the city. Horses attract them."

Silniya unsheathes her shortsword, and creeps over, poking at the cloak. She turns it over slowly. Clinging to a part of the cloak's side is, indeed, an insect like thing; legs curled under it, wings down. It shines, however, appearing made of gem and metalwork.

Derleth shakes his head. "Don't waste your breath on it, sir..."

Gabriel peers. "A tiny machine. How curious."

Kyrel blinks and peers more closely at the thing Silniya has uncovered. "Ah. A most unusual fly. Is it really of metal?"

Derleth blinks. "A metal...fly? Who in the name of Gond would create such a thing? And why?" He takes out his flail. "Get back, Sil."

Kyrel holds a hand up. "Just a moment, Derleth..." He mutters a cantrip, to detect any magical emanations from the thing.

Gabriel frowns, surprised at the nervousness you show. "Simply crush it. Or cover it in a pouch."

As the illusionist peers at the metallic fly, he notes that it does glow of magic. He stares at it for several moments, trying to ascertain what sort of magic it is, and is rewarded as the pale glow brightens as the spell intensifies. He soon is able to sense the soft violet pattern of Divination. Kyrel hisses after staring at the thing for a few moments. "Ah-hah... Someone is scrying on us, I think."

Gabriel smiles. "I see. Crush it, then?"

Kyrel nods. "I think so, yes. Instructive technique, but we don't have time to play games at the moment."

Derleth lashes out with his flail, trying to smash the thing to bits. The flail strikes down, but the item seems to survive the assault. He blinks. "Tough little bugger."

Still standing at the door of his shop and glancing left and right, the gnome pipes up. "If you gentlemen feel the need to break a magical item, could you do it somewhere else? I don't want this place to blow up. It'd be bad for my alchemist reputation." He turns to Kyrel, "Need anything?"

Derleth smiles. "Well, we could always just leave it behind. Let it listen to the cloak."

Suddenly, an apple sized globe of fire streaks into the shop and detonates. For a moment, the building is engulfed in flame as it explodes, leaving walls smoldering, some clothes on fire.

Kyrel has just a moment to see the fireball appear and dives away, trying to pull the shopkeeper away, but missing his grab. Derleth and Silniya are caught by the edge of the blast leaking through the windows.

The gnome is a groaning, smoking heap of crisped clothing and burnt hair, crumpled against the wall.

From deeper inside the shop, the kobold rushes out, shortsword drawn. "What in the nine hells just happened?"

Derleth groans and picks himself up off the ground, hissing in pain. He makes several unintelligible remarks regarding the sexual practices of all Talonites.

Kyrel says, "Someone's tossing fireballs around."

Derleth looks blearily at the kobold. "Unsuccessful assasination attempt, looks like."

Racks of clothes now crackle with flame tongues, crawling up the wall. Swearing like a sailor, Sil is trying to put out a fire with her cloak; she looks as singed as Kyrel does from the detonation.

Gabriel peers up from behind a horse-watering trough where he'd found shelter from the blast. "It would seem so."

Derleth picks shards of glass from his face and hands. "Fucking Talonites and their fucking pet mages...."

Kyrel says, "Though I'm not really sure against whom. That thing detonated inside the shop." He goes inside to rescue the gnome, who seems to be still alive, if badly hurt. "Derleth, you have a spell to spare for this fellow?""

Gabriel quickly moves to look out the window the fireball came in, to see if they hung around.

Derleth nods grimly, ignoring his own wounds for the moment and going to the side of the gnome, calling forth healing light...

The tailor points a finger under the counter. "Healing potion..." Regin glances around at the devastation, shaking his head. "Good thing that didn't hit the back. I think we'd be standing in a crater, if it'd reached his chemicals."

Gabriel spies the fading light of a portal closing from across the street. He frowns. "Portaled out, the cowards."

Derleth's healing magics flood the little tailor. He seems a bit better but is still looking hurt. The cleric lays hands on Kyrel next, as his robes are far less protection from the flying debris than his own armor was.

Gabriel turns. "Everyone is alright?"

Derleth coughs. "More or less."

Kyrel says, "We're all alive... if a bit scorched. Portaled out, eh?"

Silniya calls over her shoulder, "A little help here!" as she tries to put out the small fires.

Derleth goes to Silniya next, but seeing her predicament, he concentrates on the fires first....summoning several gallons of water over the fires.

Kyrel moves to help Silniya with the fires before things get too out of hand. "Where'd that damned fly get to, anyway?"

A glance to where Derleth's cloak was shows it in scraps. The floor seems to have been melted through, but not from the fireball; pieces of the spy item are scattered around, almost as if it blew itself up.

Kyrel says, "Ah, good. Either you broke it, or the fireball did. Good riddance."

Derleth's water hits the fires, and a loud hiss comes, as the flames are extinguished.

The gnome snatches a vial from under the counter, and downs it, looking instantly better. His expression is horrified at the devastation the fireball did to his wares... With a heavy heart, he moves into the back room, returning shortly with another vial, offering it to the healer. "Here." Derleth takes the vial thankfully from the gnome, but puts it aside a moment, as he looks to Sil's condition first.

Gabriel frowns, trying to watch all the entrances. I would not stop with a single attack.

Regin resheathes his sword and glances around. "I have the feeling it's not wise to associate with you all. I've been fine for a year, I meet you three, and my location is spell-assaulted."

Kyrel shrugs. "Could be us... we're trying to take out the same people who broke up the Guild, though. Are you still interested in getting some revenge?"

"I'm interested in leaving!" He retorts. "But, if we're going into the guild, I'd like to get it done soon."

Kyrel asks the gnome, "Did that fire-resistant cloak come through intact? I'm suddenly very, very interested."

The tailor points into the back. "It's back there, with the rest of my alchemical items."

Kyrel nods. "I think I'll just buy it, then, and give you a start on getting your shop back together. Shall we?"

Gabriel frowns. "Perhaps they were trying to scare you from joining us, tailor." he says.

A shake of the gnome's head. "I don't know who They are." He nods his head to Kyrel. "Come this way," and leads the way into the back of the shop. Kyrel follows along.

Pulling a blue fringed red cloak from a rack of clothing, he offers it over to Kyrel. "I would give you a discount but, I need to be getting money back, now. Three hundred?"

Kyrel nods. "Done. If we're not back by tomorrow midnight, we'll have failed - and this city will be in big trouble. I'd recommend you leave town if it comes to that.. the Talonites are going to be doing something big that'll destroy the place by disease."

He nods a little. "Gotcha." A pause, as he spies the wizard's quiver of arrows. Moving to one of the shelves, he removes two arrows, tossing them to the illusionist. "Here. The heads are filled with Alchemist's fire." Kyrel twitches an eyebrow. "Thank you. I'll make them count."

Derleth takes a moment and lays hands on Sil's hurts. All of the warrior's aches and pains are cleared up. She smiles to Derleth. "Thank you; the touch is quite pleasing."

Derleth looks at the vial then...his first instinct it to save it, but he's already used several spells...and he doesn't want to have to burn several of the more useful ones unless it becomes necessary. He drinks it, and blushes slightly at Silniya's comment, but strangely enough, doesn't look away this time. "Part of the service, swordlady." he murmurs.

Gabriel slips out, even scales the roof, peering about. He sees that... several people are coming out, peering at the now fire-scarred building.

Regin nods, absently, to himself. "If we're to depart, let's depart. I want to get this done."

Derleth looks up at the kobold's comment. "All right then...Let's be about skewering some Talonites."

The rogue gestures out into the street. "We'll have to take to the sewers to get to the opening."

Kyrel nods to the kobold. "Do you still wish to lead the way, sir?"

Derleth smiles grimly. "And where else would we find such filth, anyways....." he says, more to himself than anything.

"Have I a choice?" Regin counters. "I've got a knowledge of the traps rigged before I left; I installed a good many of them." He opens his cloak briefly, showing leather armor riddled with pockets, pouches, and loops holding various tools, as well as a satchel on his hip. "I've got the equipment as well."

Kyrel nods. "Let's be off, then, before anything nastier happens to us."

The group follows Regin into the sewers. The first thing they notice is that there seems to have been an increase in the rat population. Packs of them move about in the sewers. One the size of a dog sniffs in their direction, before skittering deeper into the lightless muck. One group seems to be picking clean a dead cat. The kobold stops, before an unmarked wall, eyeing the ceiling. "Someone, give me a boost."

Gabriel offers a hand, a platform for the kobold's foot.

Derleth eyes the rats with disgust. He starts to pull his cloak about him, and then remembers his cloak is a smoldering rag on the street.

Regin, meanwhile, is taking several bars out of his bag, snapping them together. On one end are three prongs that adjust inward. He sticks a stake into the prongs, and, using the monk's help, he probes the ceiling. When he finds the right spot, he stabs upward, wedging the stake into an unseen crack. Gabriel lowers him back down, and he finishes hammering the stake into place. When he's satisifed, a twist at the base of the pole releases the prongs. "Ok, we're safe... as long as the door isn't further rigged."

Kyrel says, "But at least the ceiling won't fall on us, eh?"

He nods to Kyrel. "Right." The kobold looks at the door next, inspecting it before nodding to himself. An unadorned stone is pushed aside, the rogue's fingers finding a crack. With a slight click, he slides open a portion of the wall itself, and checks again before stepping inside. "We're good." A stone hallway is revealed, lit by wall sconces. Regin stops. "This is new."

Kyrel says, "That's not good." Derleth watches the kobold at his work. He's suddenly so nervous that he's almost afraid to breathe.

Gabriel says, "What is it that is new?"

"The sconces." After looking over the stone floor and the sconces themselves, he breaks out into a grin. "Of course!"

Derleth looks at the others. "I say after this is all over, we invest in a trapmaster for our party...if Regin wasn't here, we'd be in deep shit."

Kyrel looks at the sewer. "You mean deeper than this?"

Derleth sniggers. "Parry and thrust, Ky."

He moves across the hall, and begins adjusting a part of the floor, extracting a tool with a wire, working under it... and suddenly the sconces spit fire, blasts of flame erupting from the sconces themselves.

Derleth gahs, dodging backward, even though he hadn't even entered the hall yet.

Kyrel flinches backward, but the flames don't emerge from the hall. "Nasty. Mechanical, too. I didn't get a twitch from my cantrip."

Gabriel looks worriedly to Regin. The kobold is lying flat on the floor; fortunately, the flame jets were aimed at standing targets. "Oops." He stands up, and shakes his head. "I should've plugged the sconces..." Spitting on one, extinguishing the still burning flame, he points to a small hole in its frame. "There's a mechanism that spits oil through this."

Derleth winces. "Clever. Maybe it's that same fellow that made the clockwork fly."

Kyrel nods. "Obvious in retrospect. You okay?" He shakes his head at Derleth. "Nay, that was magic."

Derleth shrugs. "It's all magic to me, even those things the Gondites claim are not."

Gabriel says, "Maybe two masters working together."

Regin grins. "I'm a cat, my friend." He creeps down the hallway, and inspects the stone stairs leading upward. "These are safe."

Kyrel follows Regin down the hallway to the stairs. "That's good to know."

Gabriel follows carefully, wary of the traps he's already seen. "I hate this. If the cowards would come out and fight us, I could do something."

Derleth glances at Sil. "You want to take rear guard, or shall I?"

Regin dismantles his prop again, stowing the pieces about his person. Once he's satisifed that there are no other new traps, he leads up the stairs and then checks the door at the top. "This should lead out into the street level of the guild. Hey! Pull the door closed. We don't need anyone else finding this place." Silniya complies, and pulls the door shut, nodding to Derleth. "I have it."

Derleth nods, positioning himself between SIlniya and Gabriel then.

When the door is opened, the smell of dust and mold greets their noses. "There were no traps installed on this floor before. It was the front, and main House of the guild, it's the lower sanctums which were more trapped. None the less, be wary of everything."

Kyrel nods. "They aren't using it as a front anymore, so they might have done something."

Gabriel looks around for opposition. There must be guards...

"Exactly." Regin pushes forward, and leads into a hallway that connects small rooms, looking like business offices caked in dust. "The stairs are in the back." He stares at the ceiling. "That does not bode well."

Kyrel glances up, wondering what the little fellow noticed. Holes. Inch wide holes drilled at regular intervals in the ceiling, through which glimpses of the second floor can be seen.

Gabriel looks down at the dust, checking for any paths traveled by their opponents.

Derleth takes a moment then to load his crossbow, nocking one of the blessed bolts he was given.

Kiri squeaks, inside Kyrel's cloak. The mage stops for a moment. What is it, Kiri?

Kiri chitters back to the wizard.

Kyrel whispers, "Heads up, people... Kiri heard a popping sound. I don't like the looks of this."

Kiri squeaks again.

Gabriel says, "I have not liked the look of this since we descended."

Derleth stops, readily prepared to backpedal if necessary: he hates traps.

Kyrel passes on the bat's observations. "Another one. From there," he says, pointing to the front of the building, "and then there." He points to where the hallway turns.

Derleth lips curl into a snarl. "This isn't fear, tiger-head. This is anticipation of finding out what Rakshasa flesh tastes like."

Kiri squeeeaaaks!

Kyrel starts swearing in Draconic again. "Lots of these sounds, folks. Let's get a move on before things start happening."

Derleth says, "He knows we're here, Kyrel. He just tried to intimidate me...talked in my head."

Around the corner shamble two... three... blobby things. They seem vaguely human, but somehow melted, evil twisted mounds of flesh, their faces distorted. A fourth. A fifth.

Kyrel says, "Didn't work, I gather. Get a line on where he's hiding?"

Gabriel nods. "And I. I will enjoy meeting the arrogant being.

Silniya unsheathes her swords, then growls. "It's taunting me in my mind. Show yourself!"

Kyrel says, "That would explain the popping noises. Our friend is gating these things in from the Hells. Lemures."

Gabriel smiles. "Finally, a tangible enemy," he says, "should I attack them directly?"

Kyrel says, "They're slightly resistant to mortal weapons, Gabriel. I think you should be able to handle it, though."

Regin sighs, regretfully, and unsheaths his shortsword. "I don't like this."

Kyrel says, "Expect ... nine total. Kiri heard that many pops."

Gabriel laughs. "Can you handle one each? I will gladly deal with the rest."

Silniya glances to Kyrel and Derleth. "Should I stay back here, just in case?

Kyrel nods. "Some of the pops came from that way, yes."

Derleth hastily agrees as he thinks on his plan of attack...

Silniya nods, and turns to watch their backs.

Kyrel steps a little to one side, and pulls out the dwarven wand. Murmuring the command word, he sends a bolt hurtling into the approaching creatures. Three of them simply fall dead from the bolt, blackened and twisted. Two remain, having been missed, and then two more come around the corner.

Derleth winces with a smile as Kyrel electrocutes the lemures. Seeing that things are mostly in hand, he waits, keeping one ear behind them just in case he needs to aid Sil.

The lemures charge. The closest to them being Gabriel and Regin, they attack them first. Three seem to try to gang up on the small kobold, while a single one rushes at the monk. The three assaulting the kobold get in each other's ways, their attacks ineffective as he simply wriggles away from them, deflecting a single blow with his short blade. The one that rushed Gabriel scratches his cheek with a dirty claw.

Gabriel blurs into motion, but seems shocked at being scratched by the creature. He's thrown off, and his first punch misses - but the other fist doesn't and the final roundhouse kick destroys the creature. While the dragon monk is engaged, though, a plane of ice froms right behind him and Regin, filling the entire hallway with a two inch thick frozen wall.

Regin, trying to back away from the pack around him, runs into the cold wall. Lunging forward, he stabs at the creatures repeatedly, and opens up the stomach of one. The bodies begin to shrivel up and smoke, leaving a disgusting stain on the floor.

Silniya swears. "It's dividing us up." She glances at the wall and then suspiciously around the hallway.

Kyrel nods. "It'll melt soon enough, but it's a problem for now." He looks around, worriedly, and Kiri stays on his shoulder listening.

Once more, the creatures ineffectively assault the kobold. Derleth grimaces at the ice wall, but he can think of nothing that he can do to take it down magically. Instead, he grimaces and starts to hammer at the wall, trying to batter it to pieces. The wall quickly breaks. However, though the ice shatters, the place where it stood remains filled with frigid vapors.

Gabriel simply steps up, and wades into the two, an elbow shattering one melted face, a kick to its side crushing bone, or whatever equivalent the creatures possess, and it falls to the ground and begins to melt away. The second is simply brutalized by the monk, its head caved in and its back bent at a weird angle before it, too, evaporates. There is an all too brief respite, and then a sense of fear fills the air for a moment. Gabriel shakes his head, dispelling the feeling... and Regin stiffens and screams, as a hole appears in his side. A figure appears before him, a grinning, sinister skeleton from the lower depths, unholy light in its eyes. A bony tail extends, a stinger the size of a hand pulling back, then ripping further into the kobold's side.

Kyrel says, "Bone devil. This is getting worse. How many is that now?"

Regin tries to thrust at the skeletal creature but his weapon simply bounces from the bones. The devil cackles, wiggling the end of its stinger at the kobold.

Kyrel growls the syllables of the magic missile spell, and green bolts fly toward the bony thing. They don't seem to do anything, however, and disappear harmlessly as they strike it. It simply grins more menacingly and a dry voice chuckles evilly. "That tickles."

Silniya charges in, diving through the opening in the icewall and shouting as she passes through the supercold mist. Her blades strike the evil apparition in the chest, cutting into bone, and her second stroke shatters a rib.

Kyrel's eyes widen in alarm as the spell bounces off the creature, and he readies his bow with one of his remaining charmed arrows. If that doesn't work, these will. The arrow streaks in, and hits it, right in the eye. It writhes and gives a pained, horrified shriek. Kyrel grins, a bit nastily. "Did that tickle?"

Gabriel steps up, and rains blows down onto the Osyluth, cracking bones, shattering the skull, even breaking the tail as it comes up to block a kick. It falls, quite dead, and like the lemures smokes and melts into the floor.

Derleth grimaces and dives through the cold mist at Regin, calling forth a healing prayer for the stricken kobold and ignoring chilling pain of the coldmist. Gabriel pauses, looking for more opponents, then relaxes just a bit, deactivating the haste effect of his belt.

Kyrel looks around, suspecting another opponent or two to be lurking yet.

The kobold moves to stand, watching the healer as his touch knits flesh back together. A little blood stains the leather armor, but no other trace of the injury remains. After some examination of the spot, the cleric sees the signs of poisonous residue on the wound, apparently having been expelled from the kobold's body. "I'm fine, I'm fine," he insists, waving Derleth away.

Gabriel says, "Healer, will you examine my scratch? It's nothing, but I worry about poison."

Derleth shrugs. "Can't be too careful, trapmaster. Especially with the poison of devils." He goes to check Gabriel next.

Derleth pats Gabriel. "You're jsut fine, man." He looks back at the others. "All right...now what."

Kyrel says, "Now we either wait until the icewall melts, or we speed it on its way. Anyone have an actual torch?"

Gabriel shakes his head. "Heat isn't my deparment."

Kyrel reaches down into his pouch and pulls out a torch and his flint-and-steel striker. "This won't take a minute..." He sparks until the torch lights, then plunges the burning end into the cold mist where the wall of ice was broken. The flame hisses in the cold, but fire disrupts the spell and soon the remnants of the ice are melting on the floor. The mage steps through the shards, smoke writhing around his torch, before rising and filtering through the holes in the ceiling.

Kyrel doesn't comment on the little rogue's apparent immunity to poison. Could be magical, or it could just be his natural constitution, after all. "Let's continue, before that cat-demon conjures up any more playmates for us."

Gabriel nods. "Do you think the floor is safe?"

Everyone appears fine, although Derleth and Silniya have a bit of frost still clinging to them from the mist. Regin nods, and pushes on forward. "Hey," He offers, "Could that thing have...warned anyone deeper in?"

Derleth snorts. "Depends on how arrogant it is."

Kyrel says, "I don't see why not. It could if it wanted to. If it assumed it could stop us, it might not. I think we've just demonstrated to it that we're not going to be easy to stop, though..."

Amazingly enough, the four move on unmolested. Regin stops at a wall panel, checking it thoroughly, then slides it open, to show a set of steep wooden stairs leading downward. He gives a quick once over to the set of stairs, and nods to himself. "Safe."

Everyone starts down the stairs, but as Regin passes the middle stair, there is a click, seeming loud in the quiet. "Uh oh." The stairs grind, and shift downward, suddenly forming a rather slippery chute. Everyone tries to get a grip on the walls, but Kyrel misses his grasp and slides down the stairs, hitting the floor at the base of them... and is gone, as a door snaps open, dropping him down to hit the floor of a pit with a thud. To make matters worse, a glyph flares up on the wall, and a snarl fills the air as a demonic-looking wolf appears standing over the magician, glaring down at him, looking none too pleased by the summoning trap.

The wolf snaps at Kyrel's prone form, but misses. Kyrel grumbles. "That's it. I'm definitely going to make those boots of levitation...." He glares at the wolf. "Idiot animal. I'm not the one who forced you here." He slides his dagger from its sheath and starts to move away from the wolf.

Kyrel says, "Sil? Could you talk to a wolf before I have to hurt it?"

Gabriel lets go of his perch, sliding down the flat stairs and drops into the pit, chasing after his comrade. He skirts the edge of the pit, slowing his fall by bracing against the walls, before reaching the bottom of the pit. Silniya carefuly moves down the slide, and peers down after them. "Um...that's a devil wolf, Ky."

Kyrel mutters something under his breath. "I'll take that as a 'no', then."

Derleth eases after the others, raising his crossbow and preparing to fire down at the wolf.

Gabriel cuts the wolf off, and with his fist knocks it clear over backwards. The following knee misses, the wolf falling in a way the monk didn't expect, though it looks woozy enough as it is.

Derleth shoulders his crossbow and fires, missing.

The wolf, growling, and definitely in pain, tries futilely to bite Gabriel in the leg. Kyrel tries to stab the creature, but misses as it snaps at Gabriel. He tries again, and this time drives the weapon into the creature. It howls in pain and, like the other devils, its body evaporates as it dies and returns to its own plane of existence. Kyrel blinks. "You're right. It was extraplanar..." He stretches, wincing at bruises and scrapes. "Shall we get out of this pit?"

Regin, resigned, takes a coil of rope from a pouch on his belt, and offers some of it to Silniya, and Derleth. "Here... no, we need better footing. Need to get across the pit first."

Silniya helps Regin across, by the simple expedient of tossing him over, before moving herself. The three brace the rope, to allow the other two to climb up.

Kyrel clambers up the rope, willing to accept a hand up for the first few feet. Gabriel follows while the other four brace and Kiri watches for danger.

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Last modified: 2001-Apr-19 23:10:57

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