It takes you about half an hour, but between Wilkezag's and Dubh's first aid and Telric's water magic, you manage to get yourselves patched up, refocused, and ready for one last battle. Your prisoners don't seem to be too upset to be locked up: they seem to think this will only be a temporary situation. You catch Falgrim whispering to Jex, "Don't worry. The old guy will take care of these do-gooders no problem, and Jeb and Topper will let us out when they get back from hunting, or we'll get out eventually on our own. This cave isn't really meant to hold people in, just monsters like Beaky. What do you say, Jex? Every wanted to be a bandit king's first lieutenant? Get in on the ground floor, right?"

While you're getting yourselves back together, Akiros finishes tacking up the bandits' two horses. They seem to be happy enough to see him, which makes you think he was probably the only one taking care of them in the first place. Hearing that the zombies have been pacified for now, he moves to reopen the gate. "Go with the gods, folks. You'll never see me again. Good luck on.... whatever it is you're trying to do. Don't know what I'm doing, but it's not hanging around people crazy enough to try to make a real nation in the Stolen Lands. The place is cursed. It'll always be cursed, no matter how you try. Maybe I'll head south and sell my sword in Gralton. Always plenty of work for sellswords there. You don't even really have to do anything most of the time; those nobles are too busy crying in their beer to actually get anything done." Unless you do something to stop him, he reopens the gate and rides off to the south and east, toward the Tuskwater.

As you police up the area, you take inventory of whatever the bandits had, both their personal equipment and their stockpiles in the armory, Akiros's storage room, and the Stag Lord's personal chambers. In the armory, you find a pretty impressive collection of longbows, spears, shortswords, and leather armor, enough to outfit a much bigger bandit company than the Stag Lord actually ran. It doesn't seem like the band used to be much bigger, either. Maybe he was just stocking up and looking to expand?

The storage room doesn't have anything very interesting, just sacks of oats and other dry goods, firewood, some tools, and a fair bit of dried and smoked meat. The Stag Lord's private room, which you're now seeing for the first time, is well insulated with animal hides (in contrast to the rather drafty and chilly nature of the rest of the fort), with a ragged bed in one corner and a sturdy chest serving as a nightstand. Inside the chest, you find mostly bedding and some other miscellaneous items, including three extra crudely-stitched leather masks. Digging deeper, you find the best (and most portable) treasures: a small pouch of gold coin (mostly Brevic), a collection of cut gems and other jewelry, and a pewter belt buckle cast with a depiction of two succubi entwined in a passionate embrace. Tricky to show off in most social situations, that. But still, even including the bandits' personal gear (adding to your stack of healing potions, but only Dovan's rapier and the Stag Lord's composite longbow are worth keeping) this is nowhere near all of the treasure that you know the Stag Lord's group has taken over the last several months. The rest must be guarded by this "creepy old guy" that all the bandits have been mentioning.

Before Akiros leaves, Will asks him about the "creepy old guy" that Falgrim and Jex are talking about.

Akiros rolls his eyes at your question. "Man, I have no idea. He's just been the creepy old dude in the basement since I joined up here. 'His Lordship' hated him, but at the same time, trusted him to guard the good stuff. Never made sense to me. I think the only one who'd been around long enough to know more than that was Dovan, but even if you hadn't killed him, you couldn't trust anything he said. The old guy, he knows some magic, I know that, but I don't know what kind. Seen him summon giant bugs. But he's completely crazy, doesn't talk, barely ever even comes upstairs. The boss used to bring him his dinner personally, when he remembered, which was most of the time."

(Have we gone out and collected our horses, yet?  You mentioned that we had left them outside, and I hadn't thought about it at the time, but why would we?  We were coming in here openly, delivering the booze; we had no reason to be arriving on foot.  Anyway, if we haven't, we will do so.)

Will brings the other heroes together, away from the prying ears of Jex and Falgrim.  "We should prepare for the two missing guys to return, as well as for whatever's going to happen with this crazy guy.  Maybe we should go ahead and open this trap door and see if he's really so crazy, or maybe they have just trapped some old guy down there and he's just really angry, and he might appreciate being let out.

"For the two guys out hunting, I doubt they will be a lot of trouble, but it's probably better to bring them in rather than letting them roam the countryside.  Maybe they are like Charlie and Venk, and they don't really want to be bandits but had no other options.  If you want to deal with them first, I can go up as if I'm on guard duty -- I ought to be able to trick them in to thinking I belong there."

Mostly I didn't want your horses nearby because there wasn't really space for them inside the fort. But I feel like they're probably too well-kept and you have too much good stuff on them to make convincing down-on-your-luck bandits, barely escaped from a band of marauding paladins. Hassling the party's mounts is boring, so they'll generally be safe enough unless you do something really stupid.

Also I forgot to mention some of the Stag Lord's personal loot, so here you go.

As you recover from the big fight you take a little time to clean up, lugging the slain bandits outside after stripping them of anything of value. The Stag Lord's impressive antlered helm catches your eye. Although the bandit king wore it mostly for intimidation, it does seem to have some kind of magical virtue, something to do with archery. Dubh or Wilkezag would have to sit down and really study it to figure out what it is, but they're too busy recovering their poise right now; or maybe you should just bring it back to one of your companions who's more of an expert. Inside his shirt, the Stag Lord also wore a lock of leaf-green hair, tied up with a red string. A token from a past lover, maybe? But, bright green? The color is natural as far as you can tell, and a gnome with hair this long would have at least a foot of it dragging on the ground behind her.

Dubh and Wilkezag can take an extra 10 minutes to attempt to Identify the helm, but it's actually divine magic, so your chances aren't great. For this particular item I would also allow you to Identify it with Erastil Lore, but that doesn't help you much either. Jhod Kavken will recognize it automatically, when you get a chance to ask him. Anyone can try Fey Lore to recognize the lock of hair.

Let me know if you're waiting for Topper and Jeb to come back before heading downstairs (it will be a few hours), or if you want to deal with the old guy first.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:20, Wed 08 May.

Will casts Read Aura on the Stag Lord's helm, learning that the magic in it is Divine.  He tells Dubh everything he gleaned from the spell, but let's the druid study it before he tries to summon up the little that he has learned about religion.

This should give Dubh a +2 on his Identify Magic roll.

"I'm not sure we should put the dead bodies outside just yet.  It will likely tip off the two missing bandits that something is amiss inside the fort.  I was hoping that we'd get them to enter while still off their guard, and we could convince them to surrender.  I suppose if we put them off where the zombies would be if Telric and Dubh hadn't downed them all, then they won't see them.  They might smell them, but perhaps that will take a day or two before they surpass the odor of the undead."

Once that task is managed and Dubh has had a look at the helm, Wilkezag shares his thoughts with the others, "If the other two bandits are out hunting, they probably won't be back until it's nearly dark.  Let's go confront the crazy old guy, and see if he's as aggressive as these guys make it sound."  Will double checks that the two prisoners remain bound, then herds the cats heroes to the trap door.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:22, Thu 09 May.

In reply to Wilkezag (msg # 145):

"Easy enough for me to bury the bodies inside the camp then. We could even put something heavy on the grave in case we are worried about them getting up and trying to kill us." Telric points out.

Hauling open the trapdoor in the kitchen, you're greeted with a steep, unlit stairway leading deep into the earth. With her mismatched eyes piercing the darkness, Sophia has no problem leading the way downstairs. As you reach the bottom, you can see some kind of light gleaming from around the corner, although it doesn't flicker like a torch should. Luminescent moss? Or just straight up magic? You can't easily tell from here. The short halls to the left and right seem to contain chests and crates of... stuff. Nothing catches your eye immediately: going through all the stuff in detail will take at least an hour or two. The middle passage, where the light gleams from, turns a corner quickly; you can't see much beyond there.

Let me know if you're trying to be especially stealthy (and roll Stealth for the privilege), but Sophia sucks at Stealth so it's not really going to work well. The stairs (where you're all standing) are considered difficult terrain, if it matters (but it probably won't).
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:40, Thu 09 May.

Will feels inclined to call out, to say that we are here to rescue whoever is down here, but thinks better of it and lets Sophia take the initiative.
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 23:40, Thu 09 May.

OOC: Sorry all, life got ... lifey. Catching up!

Sophia seemed to have a similar idea to Wil. "Hey!" she called down then "Is anybody down here? I'm coming down. Don't do anything rash, ok? Come out and say hi."

Dubh was starting to pull on the primal energies around him to turn into a spider and scout ahead when Sophia calls out. He releases the energy before shifting with a tiny fizzle. "So much for subtle." He mutters in an undertone. "Let's get off the stairs, shall we?" He says while his shadow strains toward the light.

Telric armors up once more, not wanting to be caught defenseless by any nasty surprises. He rumbles down the stairs, like some sort of animated statue.

As you stride cautiously into the lit passageway, you see that it just has a dogleg and then ends in the same roughly-carved stone as the rest of the basement. You think you hear a reedy, thin voice chanting, but when you round the corner, there's no one there. This middle passageway contains a nest of crude rags, furs, and ropes, lit by a pair of active light spells. Judging by the scraps of wood and twine, it seems like someone was carving some kind of totem or fetish? What it does not contain, however, are any old men, creepy, insane, or otherwise. But someone was here, only moments ago, and there doesn't seem to be any way they could have got out past you.

You have two or three rounds while Nugrah finishes buffing up, but if there's nothing else you really want to do, go ahead and roll Initiative. If it becomes important, I consider AN33, AN34, AU37 and AU38 to be full squares; treat all other partial squares as walls.

Status report:
Telric: Armor in Earth
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:32, Fri 10 May.

In reply to GM (msg # 152):

Ooc-19:25, Today: Telric Televentor rolled 16 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 9.  Initiative . – 16

Wilkezag is suddenly creeped out by the stench, the disappearing creepy old man, and the claustrophobic feel of the place.  He plays a Courageous Anthem, as much to keep his own spirits up as the rest of the group, but he does not yet try to imbue his focus into it.  Instead, he casts his last second rank spell of the day, a Heightened Biting Words, but without firing its first salvo.

23:18, Today: Wilkezag rolled 14 using 1d20+9 with rolls of 5.  Perception for initiative.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:41, Sat 11 May.

"Oh come on. Come out, come out wherever you are! If you keep this up and insist on hiding and casting we're just going to go outside, close the door and come back in an hour and repeat until you're out of spells. Or at least the good ones. Come out, let's talk. We don't have to get all zappy."

As she spoke though she had her sword out and moved to put some distance between her and the others, spreading out to make it harder to get caught by one exploding... whatever. She staked out the SE corner, moving about 15 feet off in that direction.

---

23:24, Today: Sophia Akhova rolled 9 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 2.  Perception for initiative. – 9

21:38, Today: GM, on behalf of Dubh Oiche, rolled 16 using 1d20+11 with rolls of 5.  Perception for initiative.
21:38, Today: GM, for the NPC Nugrah, rolled 27 using 1d20+14 with rolls of 13.  Perception for initiative.

As you take a few seconds to look around, wondering what is going on down here, an old human holding a wooden club melds out of the wall in the back corner. "Dealt with my idiot son, have you? Something I should have done decades ago. I always told him he would come to a bad end. Still, you'll not find me such easy pickings, ha ha ha HA HA HA! I will be the lord of the Stolen Lands once more, and all will respect the Master of Storms!" He... doesn't seem to be all there, but he does seem quite aggressive. He clambers up to the corner of the ceiling, sticking to the carved stone walls like glue, and begins to chant at you.

Every single one of Nugrah's buffs changed names, because of course they did, even one with stone which he just Dismissed to get out of the wall (but now doesn't have enough actions left to do his summon). Telric and Dubh are up first. He's 15 feet from the ground; out of range for Sophia's sword.

Status report:
all heroes: courageous anthem
Telric: Armor in Earth
Nugrah: gecko grip, oaken resilience, tailwind

In reply to GM (msg # 156):

Telric tosses a boulder, once again very accurately smashes the older man directly in the face. A follow up ice orb appears...which quickly follows the first attack.

Ooc:

07:40, Today: Telric Televentor rolled 7 using 1d8+4 with rolls of 3.  Pre Crit damage for 1 action blast. Total 8 with spell bonus. (16 total)Cold damage.–7

07:39, Today: Telric Televentor rolled 14 using 1d8+8 with rolls of 6. Blunt Damage for two action blast. 15 with spell, possible crit for 30. – 14

07:38, Today: Telric Televentor rolled 25 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 20.  1 action blast, thrown. Total 26 with spell. – 25

07:38, Today: Telric Televentor rolled 28 using 1d20+10 with rolls of 18.  2 action blast, thrown . Total 29 with spell, possible crit. – 28


This message was last edited by the player at 14:58, Tue 14 May.

Dubh morphs his hands quickly into savage looking claws that lash out like the tongue of a frog. The claws gouge into the wood near the crazed man, sending splinters into the air but causing no damage.
"No Master of Storms would hide underground." He taunts.



OOC: I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that if it wouldn't hit me it misses him.

All 3 actions on Gouging Claw modified with Reach Spell
16:57, Today: Dubh Oiche rolled 18 using 1d20+10 with rolls of 8.  Spell Attack. – 18

Despite the distance and height differential, Telric manages to heave two massive elemental boulders directly into Nugrah's head. "How dare you! Earth magic is mine alone!" You're at one range increment here for your thrown attacks, so you actually take -2 on these attacks... but 27 is still a critical hit! The second shot is a critical automatically; you rolled a natural 20.

Dubh, however, is well out of range of even a Reach gouging claw. You should use a different spell, and additionally move up if you choose. You'll keep your 18, which actually does hit; Nugrah isn't wearing armor and isn't as spry as he used to be.

Dubh needs to make a different decision, followed by Wilkezag.

Status report:
all heroes: courageous anthem
Telric: Armor in Earth
Nugrah: down 44 (wounded), gecko grip, oaken resilience, tailwind

edit: I forgot the resistance 2 from oaken resilience, although that doesn't apply to Telric's ice blast!
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:04, Wed 15 May.

Wilkezag squeezes past Telric to get into good taunting range of the old man.  (Moving to AT35.)  He quickly puts together a catchy melody about Master of Storms, finishing with "tempest in a teapot."  However, he was so pleased with his final rhyme that he failed to achieve the appropriate level of contempt for his Biting Words to have much effect.


A1:  Move
A2:  Courageous Anthem with Lingering Compoistion
A3:  Fire a Biting Words salvo

09:04, Today: Wilkezag rolled 26 using 1d20+13 with rolls of 13.  Performance for Lingering Composition.
09:05, Today: Wilkezag rolled 15,16 using d20+10,4d6+1 with rolls of 5,2,6,6,1.  Biting Words (Inspired, Heightened).
Well, Dubh's 18 might have hit, but I doubt a 15 does.  Of course, I rolled damage that at least didn't suck.

This message was last edited by the player at 14:12, Wed 15 May.

I'm going to assume that Dubh is happy with a slashing gust instead of his gouging claw, and I'll move him up a little so he has better range for his next trick.
19:10, Today: GM, on behalf of Dubh Oiche, rolled 11 using 3d4+1 with rolls of 3,3,4.  slashing gust damage.

Dubh's spiraling winds slice deeply into the old man's shoulder, causing him to cry out in rage. "All of you! Usurpers! Cowards! Lord Gozreh and I will show you the true meaning of nature!"

The old druid is driven into even more of a frenzy by Wilkezag's mocking lyrics, near frothing at the mouth. No doubt this is why his more directed insults seem to slide off the old man's back.

Sophia is up to end the round, although Nugrah is well out of sword range right now. Still, you have plenty of other options.

Status report:
all heroes: lingering courageous anthem (2+ rounds left)
Telric: Armor in Earth
Wilkezag: biting words (2nd rank) (2 shots left)
Nugrah: down 53 (badly wounded), gecko grip, oaken resilience, tailwind
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:19, Thu 16 May.

"Nice job all. I'm kind of useless while he's up here. Well, not entirely useless," she pulled the returning dagger, thanking Cayden for the second time today that she had it and threw at him.

"OK, entirely useless," she added, missing badly.

---

Action 1: draw dagger
Action 2: Step S
Action 3: miss badly

14:51, Today: Sophia Akhova rolled 13,6 using 1d20+10,1d4+5 with rolls of 3,1.  throw returning dagger with inspired. – 13,6

Nugrah barely even notices Sophia's flying dagger as he skuttles around the walls and ceiling to get a clear view of the statue-person who attacked him with the earth itself. As his chanting swells to a crescendo, an enormous insect crawls out of the ground in the narrowest part of the passageway: an ant, but five feet long and nearly four at the top of its spindly knees, with clacking chelicerae and a stinger dripping with venom. "Ha ha, I have you trapped now! This place will be your grave! This will teach you to steal the magic of the earth!" Nugrah commands his new insectile minion to take his enemy down for good. Even though Telric tries to deflect it with a quick burst of water, the ant manages to catch Telric's thigh in its mandibles and crunches down hard, although the kineticist manages to wrench away before the insect pulls him over.
19:44, Today: GM, for the NPC Giant Ant, rolled 22,12 using d20+9,d8+4 with rolls of 13,8.  attack Telric (AC 21). I finally managed to roll some decent damage against you, instead of just for enemies fighting each other! I assumed Telric uses Deflecting Wave against this; you have no reason not to.
19:46, Today: Secret Roll: GM, for the NPC Giant Ant, rolled 14 using 1d20+8 with rolls of 6.  Grab Telric (DC 21).

Dubh and Telric are up, now with something to fight!

Status report:
all heroes: lingering courageous anthem (2+ rounds left)
Telric: 35/44, Armor in Earth
Wilkezag: biting words (2nd rank) (2 shots left)
Nugrah: down 53 (badly wounded), gecko grip, oaken resilience, tailwind
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:54, Today.

In reply to GM (msg # 163):

"Ow! Ya little bugger!" He shouts after a sheild of water only partly stops the bite. Telric smashes down with one hand made into an earthen hammer, but the large insect ducks back. The ice claws on the other hand find more success against the creature.

Ooc:

Using deflecting wave. Rolled a 14 on my 1st attack, second got a 23 for 8 ice damage.

01:41, Today: Telric Televentor rolled 7 using 1d8+4 with rolls of 3.  Cold damage. – 7

01:40, Today: Telric Televentor rolled 23 using 1d20+8 with rolls of 15.  Backswing, agile. – 23

01:38, Today: Telric Televentor rolled 14 using 1d20+11 with rolls of 3.  2 action EB on ant. – 14


This message was last edited by the player at 05:51, Today.