Chapter 5: Blood and Fire

[Jeff]

Kal can see through the lightning field generated by Lamara and the two "doors," and can therefore presumably still target someone on the other side, but he has no idea in what ways, if any, the field will hinder any spells that pass through it. Unfortunately, Kal hasn't the time to deduce more about it...at least, not without interacting with it.

_____________________________

Kal's Arcana check (1d20+7=13)

[Ken]

Belarin

Belarin's eyes widen as he hears Lamara's betrayal. Looking up at the dwarf taking aim with the crossbow, Belarin angrily places his curse on him and calls out, "Ugly foe, I curse you with fear / With anguished scream, come down here!"

Move: Shift one square north.
Minor: Impose warlock's curse on the dwarf.
Standard: Attack the dwarf with curse of the dark dream: Attack vs. Will (1d20+6=13)
Damage: 3d8+4=17 plus 1d6=5 for Warlock's Curse = total 22 points, and target is shifted 3 squares.
It's probably a miss, but even on a miss, Belarin can shift the dwarf one square (save ends), which he'll do ... over the edge.
As before, if a cursed foe drops this round, Belarin will teleport 5 squares up and over to a spot adjacent to the crossbow.

Grafth

With a growl spurred by Lamara's threat, Grafth charges at the warforged with his handaxe, hoping to bring this first foe down quickly so that they can focus on the other threats. Then, encouraged by his attack and Condign's presence, he slices at the warforged again, though not as successfully, then Grafth pulls back several feet to brace for another charge.

Standard: Grafth charges at the warforged (+1 to attack) and makes a basic attack with his +1 handaxe. Charge attack (1d20+7=22)
Damage: 1d8+3=7, plus Hunter's Quarry 1d8=7
Grafth uses an action point.
Standard: Attack warforged with hit and run. Hit and Run attack (1d20+6=11) - a miss.
Move: Grafth moves east 3 squares.

[Darren]

Kal's eyes widen with surprise at Lamara's betrayal, then narrow with anger. He feels a rush of panic at realizing Tangat is trapped on the other side of the barrier and turns his entire fury towards the supposed Inquisitive. "Traitorous witch," he growls as he points Skyfang towards Lamara and focuses all his strength into producing an orb of energy that hurtles through the air towards her.

______________
Kal is using Chromatic Orb on Lamara.

Fingers crossed that it doesn't fizzle out or bounce back off the barrier.

Also, hopefully Tangat is smart enough to get out of the way in case there is adjacent damage?

[Joe]

"Blessed Host preserve us!" Streko mutters. "This is no time to hold back!"

Once again calling out Olladra's name, Streko raises his arms. An effervescent light, extends from his holy symbol outward, enveloping Condign, Belarin, Grafth and even Kalarian. The light flutters and vibrates in front of each of his friends, himself included, acting as shield to assist them ni their endeavors.
____________________________________________________

Streko casts SHIELD OF FAITH. His friends gain a +2 bonus to AC until the end of the encounter.

[Jeff]

Round 3

23 = Condign
17 = Belarin
11 = Enemies
10 = Grafth
9 = Streko
7 = Kal / Tangat
6 = Lamara

___________________________

Although for a moment unaware of Lamara's betrayal, Condign takes charge of the battlefield and utters a few sharp words to keep his allies grounded. Unfortunately, they're too scattered and distracted to take note. The warforged parries the tiefling's attack with its warpick.

Under Belarin's fey mental assault, the dwarf suddenly clutches at his head with one hand. Bodily he seems intact, but he stumbles as if heavily intoxicated...and just before stepping out into open space, he drives both feet down and sinks into a squatting position, catching himself solid. A growl of anger rumbles out from above his beard, and he turns dark eyes on Belarin. The dwarf takes aim with his crossbow, sighting down his weapon straight at Belarin's face...but his hands shake vigorously in the last few seconds—a remnant of some dark fear brought on by fey whispers, perhaps—and when the bolt snaps free, it strikes the floor at Belarin's feet instead.

The dwarf curses, then throws a sidelong glance at the red-cloaked mage. "Ey! Turian! You in there or what?!"

The warforged, weakened by Streko's call to Olladra, throws a well-aimed but half-hearted swing at Condign...which the tiefling parries in turn. Tiefling and warforged seem at the moment equally matched!

Standing beside the levers, the red mage returns the dwarf's look, his expression unreadable. He turns back to the wall and throws the second lever. Everyone in the room hears a reverberant grinding sound behind the stone walls. Then a ten foot section of the north wall slides open, folding into a recess and revealing a new, and utterly dark corridor.

There is a strange, unfamiliar, and not altogether unpleasant chemical odor that rolls out from the tunnel. To Grafth, who stands closest, the scent reminds him vaguely of the deep, deep earth.

But for the moment, mysteries have to wait. Grafth leaps forward with his handaxe, coming to Condign's side then hurtling past. Quite engaged with the tiefling, the warforged barely sees him coming, and Grafth's axe slices through the fibers of the construct's woody stomach...then the shifter seems to flow backward again like a receding tide. Grafth once again stands beside the north wall...except that now there's an open and pitch black corridor there instead.

Streko calls out to the Sovereign of Feast and Fortune once more, and blazing light casts the room a valorous light. The rest of you feel more than resolve flow into you. It feels like invulnerability.

Lamara's eyes lock with Kal's. "The only thing I regret, Lord Kalarian, is that there isn't time for me to draw my own blade across your throat. I have a very important report to make—"

Driven by anger and instinct more than any arcane word, Kal hurls an orb of pure, swirling energy from the tip of his blade. It roils and rolls and when it strikes the lightning barrier, the orb slows as if hindered....and perhaps it is Kal's imagination, but the energy seems to take a dragonlike shape as it punches through the barrier....just as Tangat jumps clear away from the target.

The spell washes over the half-elf inquisitive, a direct hit. She throws up her hands on instinct, but it's a splash of blue-green ink that strikes her. Lamara screams. Through the electric barrier, Kal can see how pale she's suddenly become. Her neck and half of her face now has a bluish tinge and he can even see livid veins through her skin. She coughs and sputters, stricken by poison.

Lamara's eyes blaze with fury, and pain. "You will suffer, d'Deneith," she says softly, her voice too agonized to be any louder. She turns and begins to run, but draws a glass vial from her coat as she does and hurls it at Tangat. The vial shatters at the dog's feet, erupting in liquid flame.

Tangat yelps from the sudden blaze as it licks at his fur and singes his underbelly.

________________________

• Condign's attack (hold the line): 14 (miss)
• Belarin places a Warlock's Curse on the dwarf.
• Belarin's attack (curse of the dark dream): 13 (miss) / The effect would have slid him 1 square but the dwarven racial feature Stand Your Ground reduces being moved by 1 square.
• Dwarf's attack: 13 (miss)
• Grafth's attack: 22 (hit) / 14 damage to warforged
• Warforged is bloodied.
• Grafth's uses an action point.
• Grafth's second attack (hit and run): 11 (miss)
• Streko's prayer grants a +2 on AC to Belarin, Condign, Kal, Grafth, and himself for the rest of the encounter.
• Kal's attack (Chromatic Orb) (1d20+6=18) / Chromatic orb random effect (1d6=3) / poison damage (3d10+5=23) and Lamara will take ongoing 5 poison damage.
• Lamara's attack: 16 / 9 fire damage to Tangat

[Darren]

Kal lets out a sound that is animal in nature, as though he had been struck instead of Tangat. He advances on the barrier, eyes fixed on Lamara and filled with rage and hate. There is a promise in his gaze. If the half-elf comes within his grasp, she will die. Being out of his reach, however, the best Kalarian can do is let loose another blast of electrical energy, followed quickly by a second blast immediately on the heels of the first.

________________
Kal will move 2 spaces to the south.

He will use Lightning Orb on Lamara.

He will spend an action point to use a second Lightning Orb on Lamara.

[Joe]

Seeing the dwarf in a squatting position, Streko reaches out for him, as if attempting to grasp his arms, and calls out to Olladra for a third time, praying with all his might that his blessed Goddess will heed his call for help and feel the rage of a decade's worth of pain and suffering, calling for an end to this.

Streko then takes a step back out of immediate range of the dwarf and set his sites on the odd wizard near the levers. Once again, he reaches into his handy haversack and reboves his remaining taglefoot bag, which he flings at the robed stranger's feet.
____________________________________________________

Streko attacks with his sickle. Simultaneously, he casts LANCE OF FAITH.

Attack roll: 1d20+3=15

[Jeff's backup]

Condign sees Grafth dart in and with his handaxe open up a serious wound in the warforged's gut. The construct is now leaking alchemical fluid from the wound. With his longsword, he parries a thrust by it's warpick appendage.

Aware (now) of the Inquisitive's betrayal, the appearance of the pock-marked human, and the sudden opening in the wall off to his right, the tiefling senses the battle may be a prolonged one. He feels conserving his strength for later may help the group survive.

Condign, keeping his shield up and ready, slashes at the warforged's neck with his longsword.

----------------------------

Standard Action: Attack with longsword

Attack roll: 1d20 + 9=28

Damage roll: 1d8+1=3

[Ken]

Belarin

"Bonescrape's bloody jest!" spits Belarin when he sees the dwarf resist the effects of his dark, fey-gifted invocation. The suddenly appearing doorway to the north doesn't improve his mood. "I need to get up there," he mutters.

Realizing he has a moment before the dwarf can launch another attack, he decides to gamble -- he reaches into his pouch and quickly puts on one of the three rings confiscated from Lady ir'Turien. Then he focuses his attention once more on the injured warforged. "Created by men with foul intent / Your end is near, your shell be rent!" he chants as a scintillating blast of red energy, surrounded by silver streams, erupts from his dagger-wielding hand.

Move: Belarin puts on one of the three rings taken from Lady ir'Turien. Pick one at random.
Standard: Belarin attacks the warforged with eldritch blast (vs. Reflex): Eldritch Blast attack (1d20+6=11) -- and the dice roller continues its suckage. Shame, I really liked that rhyme.

Grafth

Grafth is not at all pleased. The warforged still stands, a new threat is presumably about to come from the north, and Kalarian has vanished out the doorway, presumably to attack the traitorous Lamara. Grafth mentally wishes Kal good hunting. Still, their group is at a disadvantage here. Bolder tactics are required.

The ranger again charges at the warforged, but this time, instead of slicing at his foe, he leaps, intending to pounce on the warforged's shoulders and use the height to reach the upper level.

Okay, Jeff, let's see how this goes...
Move: Grafth uses a running start to make a vertical jump: Athletics (Jump) check (1d20+8=9) - fabulous.
Move: Grafth attempts an Acrobatic Stunt to leap on top of the warforged and use him as a springboard for added height on the jump: Acrobatics Feat attempt (1d20+11=23)

[Jeff]

Round 4

23 = Condign
17 = Belarin
11 = Enemies
10 = Grafth
9 = Streko
7 = Kal / Tangat
6 = Lamara

___________________________

Condign renews his grip and wades into the warforged. This time his aim and his strength are in perfect concert, scraping away nothing but woody musculature and greasing his hands on the construct's alchemical lifeblood. The warforged makes a deep grunting sound, but otherwise does not react to the blow. Nevertheless, Condign can feel his opponent beginning to falter.

A blast of Belarin's fey power goes off the mark, licking at the wall just above the warforged where the metal-rung ladder used to be. When Belarin spontaneously slips on one of Lady ir'Turian's rings—which he's kept unexamined since acquiring them—he feels only a slight sense of buoyancy that he can't quite understand.

The warforged looks between Condign and Grafth...then maneuvers itself along the west wall, trying to get out of the corner. It hesitates, taking a defensive stance, then lashes out at Condign again! The warpick scrapes down the tiefling's shield, then slides off the rim and cracks him in the knee. Condign growls the pain away, but he feels the steel bite and warm blood flow from the wound.

The dwarf quickly slaps a new crossbow bolt into his weapon and once again sights down Belarin, determined to kill him as quickly as possible. The spring-loaded weapon snaps forward, releasing its ammunition with another reverberant click. Belarin flinches and ducks...and the bolt skims his shoulder, the sharp point turned away by his feyweave clothing.

"Ir'Turian!" the dwarf says after cursing. "Where are ye?!"

The red-cloaked mage turns from levels on the wall and finally seems to look at the battle raging on. Haunted eyes sweep across the room. With a passionless gesture, he releases a glowing red dart of force from his fingers. The dart seems to spiral out without direction, then suddenly bolts at Streko. It hits him wit the force of an arrow, pushing the halfling several steps back as it punches at his chainmail.

Grafth steels himself for a daring maneuver, then sprints back toward the warforged. He springs for a leap, but is forced to duck too low by a the last minute as the warforged swipes at him. But he doesn't give up. On the construct's backswing, Grafth jumps up, touches two feet on its armored chest, and vaults! That athletic shifter jumps clear of the warforged altogether and arcs up toward the raised part of the room. His hands scrabble at smooth stone, then he pulls his body up completely to the top!

Grafth sees a door to his back, and the glaring dwarf stiffens at the sight.

With an ally up top now, Streko feels convicted that he can bring the dwarf down. He hurls a lance of radiant light up at the crossbowman, but the dwarf ducks aside with ease.

Kal runs down the steps and stops short of the wall, releasing two spheres of electricity in succession. The first one strikes Lamara, forcing her against the alley wall with a grunt as lightning spits across her frame. She rolls away and keeps her feet, evading the second sphere as she runs.

And run she does, looking back only as much to avoid any further spells flung her way. With one final scathing look at Kal—one he will remember—she turns the corner of the alley and is gone.

Tangat leaps and barks, hurling himself away from the fire, which has rapidly turned blue! The wolfdog is finally clear from the frostfire, but his shaggy coat is rimed in frost and he looks miserable. He turns mournful, pain-filled eyes at Kal, then turns and looks at the alley mouth where Lamara has disappeared. He begins to growl and move in that direction. Though the dog cannot speak, Kal understands his intent: he means to chase her down.

Condign, Belarin, and Streko, still fighting on the main floor of the building's interior, see a strange arrangement of shadows on the floor just outside the newly opened corridor. They can't seem to figure out what it is, though...

________________________

• Condign's attack: 28 / 3 damage to warforged
• Belarin's attack (eldritch blast): 11 (miss)
• Warforged uses warforged resolve, gaining 14 temporary hit points
• Warforged attacks: 20 / 9 damage to Condign
• Condign is bloodied. (And qualified for using infernal wrath...)
• Grafth's first Athletics check: 9 (failure)
• Grafth's second Athletics check: 23 (success)
• Warforged's opportunity attack: 27 / 5 damage to Grafth
• Dwarf's attack: 14 (miss)
• Mage's attack: 22 / 8 force damage to Streko
• Streko's attack (lance of faith): 2d4+4=8 +2 = 10
• Kal's attack (lightning orb) (1d20+6=21) / lightning damage (1d10+5=14) to Lamara
• Kal spends an action point.
• Kal's attack (lightning orb) (1d20+6=8) (miss)
• Tangat takes 5 cold damage.
• Tangat's saving throw to end ongoing damage (1d20=5) (failure).

Perception checks: Belarin (1d20+1=3), Condign (1d20+2=3),
Streko (1d20+7=19)

[Jeff's backup]

Condign sees the warforged shift his position, sliding to his left and avoiding being trapped in a corner. . .and smiles at the fatal mistake the construct just made.

The tiefling moves quickly into the corner, his wounds fanning the flames of his rage. He embraces the wrath, and through force of will, compresses it into a fine point of action.

He launches a furious attack on the warforged with both his sword and shield.

Determined to shift the tide of the battle, Condign digs deeply into his resolve. He steps forward and with a blurring whirl brings his longsword down in an arc against the warforged's shoulder. "Streko! Let's finish this creature off!"

-----------------------------

Movement Action: shift one square into the corner
Minor Action: Infernal Wrath with Ferocious Rebuke
Standard Action: standard attack

Attack Roll: 1d20 + 10=23 (standard attack +1 for infernal wrath and +1 for Bloodhunt)

Damage Roll: 1d8+4=8

Condign spends an action point.

Movement Action: one square (south?) toward the warforged.
Standard Action: Hammer and Anvil

Attack Roll: 1d20 + 9=11

[Ken]

Belarin

Belarin barks a mocking laugh at the dwarf above, then he pauses for a split-second, amazed by Grafth's leap despite the gravity of the currrent situation. He turns his attention once more to the formidable warforged, who seems to be giving Condign a difficult time. He gathers another blast of red-and-silver energy in his hands and hurls it at the foe. "Held together by screw and bolt / Your end is near, you clumsy dolt!"

Attack the warforged with eldritch blast vs. Reflex.
Attack: Eldritch Blast attack (1d20+5=21) -- Huzzah!
Damage: 1d10+4=9 plus 1d6=3 for warlock's curse = 12 total
Again, if the warforged drops to 0 hit points, Belarin will immediately teleport 5 squares to the higher level. If the warforged doesn't drop as a result of the eldritch blast, Belarin will mentally tell the "buoyant" ring to lift him up.

Grafth

"Ir'Turian!" the dwarf says after cursing. "Where are ye?!"

"Yes, call for help, cur," says Grafth, now standing mere feet away from the surprised dwarf. "You'll need it."

Taunting the dwarf to come closer, Grafth viciously swipes at the warrior ... then swiftly runs past him to confront the mage!

Minor: Grafth designates the dwarf as his Hunter's Quarry.
Standard: Attack the dwarf with hit and run vs. AC.
Attack: Hit and Run attack (1d20+6=19)
Damage: 1d8+3=8, plus 1d8=7 for Hunter's Quarry = 15 total
Grafth then moves past the dwarf to get right in the mage's face. With hit and run, the first threatened square he leaves does not provoke an Opportuntity attack; presuming the dwarf will have closed with Grafth on the bad guys' turn, Grafth might be able to run in such a way to avoid a second threatened square.

[Darren]

Kal watches in frustration as Lamara slips away. He feels Tangat's pain as surely as if he had been hurt. He silently shakes his head at the wolfdog's questioning look. You are hurt, he says silently. This fight is over for you. Stay safe. Tears begin to well up in Kal's eyes and he hangs his head.

Taking a deep breath, Kalarian spins and re-enters the room where his friends battle. Removing the wand he procured from Alvek from his pack, he point it at the robed mage, unsure of what the result will be.

________________
Kal will move to just inside the door where he can still see Tangat but also has a clear view of the mage.

He is taking out the wand and trying to use it, although I don't know what it does. Hopefully something nasty.

God help everyone if that dog dies......

[Joe]

Suddenly, Streko seems to stand taller than his diminutive 3'3" frame. He quickly survey's the terrain.

"Grafth! The dwarf! Belarin, the mage!"

He turns toward the warforged. "Condign, let's finish this one off, shall we?"

Streko charges the warforged, chanting Olladra's name as he does so! Oddly, Condign hears his name intermixed with Streko's lilting chant to the Goddess of Fortune.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Streko casts Righteous Brand while attacking with his sickle. Condign gains benefits from the hit...

1d20+3=13

...except that Streko couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a fireball. Yet another blazing miss...god I hate dice rolling....hehehe....I did so much better when Jeff rolled for me. Just shoot me...wait, that damned mage already did...nevermind...

[Jeff]

Round 5

23 = Condign
17 = Belarin
11 = Enemies
10 = Grafth
9 = Streko
7 = Kal / Tangat
5 = "cube"

___________________________

Condign throws his rage into his attack, and the sheer ferocity of the blow forces the warforged into a stumble. The tiefling's blade tears a gash into the metal plating, then sinks into woody flesh. The injury opens up its defenses even more...

Belarin's silver and red fire washes over its body, eroding yet more of the construct's musculature. It expresses its pain with a deep groan, and it sways, but it hasn't fallen yet: damned Cannith resilience! Alas, when Belarin attempts to lift himself from the ground with the power of the ring...nothing happens.

The dwarf, intent upon the closest threat—Grafth!—slaps another bolt into his crossbow, takes quick aim, and misses. The quarrel smacks into the wall behind the shifter and breaks apart.

The red-cloaked mage snarls with an bestial quality. He sees the shifter setting his eyes on him, and a strange light comes into his own. "Ah, Grafth!" he says with an unfamiliar voice but with a semi-familiar tone. "This was your last day of chasing after me..." He spits out an arcane word and points at the wall just behind Grafth. A thunderous boom hits the wall, dislodging tiny chips of stone and blasting into Grafth and Condign, who stands below. The tiefling's shield takes the worst of it, but Grafth feels his entire body ache.

Grafth steps forward and swings his axe at the dwarf. The blade cuts through the dwarf's defense and draws a bloody line across his chest. But the shifter is too dazed from the red-cloaked mage's spell to keep moving just yet.

Streko charges in at the warforged from behind, ready to flank the construct in cooperation with Condign. His sickle comes out and up, but unfortunately skitters off the warforged's steel plating.

Stepping just inside the door, Kal aims Alvek's crystalline wand at the red-cloaked mage. He feels a pulse of power within it, but Kal was never formally trained with wands, so it feels awkward discharging it now. Nevertheless, a strange green mist streams out from its tip in a straight line and dissipates when it strikes him. Nevertheless, the pockmarked man hisses and visibly slackens in his posture. Kal doesn't know what the wand did, but its power is spent for now.

Kal hears Tangat bark weakly, frustrated to be left behind. But then something new seizes Kal's attention, and soon after Streko's, Condign's, Belarin's, and even Grafth's:

Something seems to have emerged from the newly revealed corridor on the north wall, though at first you can't tell what it is. Seemingly amorphous and nearly transparent, the first real evidence of its presence—and that it's not just some trick of the light—is the fact that the beggar woman who had lain prone on the ground is suddenly engulfed by a mass of quivering...air? In one moment, she's lying still; in the next, she is afloat inside a prism of clear ooze. Her clothing starts to dissolve and her skin darkens as if burned at an accelerated rate. She remains perfectly still, so clearly she's already dead.

Condign, Kal, and Grafth know virtually nothing about this creature. It's some sort of large and squarish blob of...acid? Their only instinct is that it's dangerous to even make contact with it.

Belarin and Streko, in their studies, have heard of such dangerous creatures, parasites of subterranean origin which have no sentience, driven only by an instinct to devour and reproduce. Most can consume flesh, fluid, or even bone, sometimes even harder substances.

Belarin, specifically, believes the one in this very room that threatens everything around it may be one of the creatures called Khyber cubes, which take a preternaturally angular shape and devour organic flesh, be it living or dead. The fey have told him that they kill with acid, are resistant to it themselves, and, being blind, cannot be dazed by vision-based attacks. He knows that regular weapons and magic can harm them but that they're still exceptionally hard to kill. He also knows they can swallow their victims alive and digest them quickly...as it is doing with the poor beggar woman right now.

The dwarf, frustrated by his missed attack against Grafth, suddenly barks out a laugh when he sees the cube-shaped creature emerge. Although fairly slow moving*, there's no telling which direction it will move next!

________________________

• Condign's attack: 23 / 8 +3 (ferocious rebuke) = 11 damage to warforged, and the warforged grants combat advantage to Condign's allies until the start of his next turn
• Belarin's attack (eldritch blast): 21 +2 (combat advantage) = 23 / 12 damage to warforged
• Dwarf's attack: 13 (miss)
• Mage's attack vs. Grafth: 25 / 9 thunder damage to Grafth, and Grafth is dazed and unable to do a move action this round.
• Mage's attack vs. Condign: 14 (miss)
• Grafth's attack (hit & run): 19 / 15 damage to the dwarf
• Grafth's save to end effect (1d20=3) (failure, he will remain dazed next round).
• Streko's attack (righteous brand): 14 (miss)
• Kal's wand attack (??) (1d20+3=22) / necrotic damage (1d10+1=10), and the mage is weakened until the end of Kal's next turn.

*The cube has a speed of 3 squares per round.

Nature checks:
Belarin (1d20+6=26)
Condign (1d20+2=8)
Kalarian (1d20+1=11)
Grafth (1d20+9=12)
Streko (1d20+7=23)

[Darren]

Kal's eyes widen at the sight of the cube. It could be fear or surprise, but Kal's pulse quickens and there is a small flash of...excitement? Tangat's plaintive barks bring Kalarian to his senses and spur him to action. Deciding that he has time before the cube becomes a direct threat, he instead returns the wand to his pack and again points Skyfang at the mage, unleashing another ball of electricity.

__________________
Kal will move three squares to the right (east?) and will use Lightning Orb on the mage. I'm assuming that that move will put Kal out of range of the cube for next round? If not, he'll move four squares, instead.

Geez, Jeff....are you TRYING to kill us?

[Joe]

Streko tries yet again to hit the warforged with his sickle, calling out to Olladra for assistance and mentioning Condign's name throughout his prayer! After his attack, he takes two steps back toward the door in which they entered.
____________________________________________________

Righteous Brand with the sickle. (Not sure what the bonuses are for a flanking maneuver and such...not to mention that Streko has an extreme aversion to acidic jello.) I will let you roll this one, Jeff. I'm just not sure. Sorry.

[Jeff's backup]

Condign sees the warforged weaken from the onslaught of attacks from him and his friends. His sense of satisfaction is brief, however, when he sees a . . .a thing emerge from the tunnel. A feeling of horror washes over him as he watches it cover the dead woman and she starts to burn.

Condign knows he is weakening from the blood loss; he will be of little use to the others if he can not fight. And it has just become more dangerous.

To the warforged, he says: "You can not win! No matter how hard you try, you and the others will fail! I am a ghost guardian, an initiate of the Binding Flame! And we do not fall!"

Health floods Condign. Inspired, he drives his shoulder into the wounded gut of the warforged, hoping to catch it off guard. "Streko, one more time!"

---------------------------------

Movement Action: Jeff, Condign is standing next to the warforged already. I specifically had him move there last round.
Minor Action: Inspiring Word
Standard Action: Furious Smash

Attack roll: 1d20+11=21 + any assistance from Streko if needed

Damage: 3 points of damage to warforged and Streko gets +3 to attack and damage rolls

Condign uses Inspiring Word and heals 9 + 1d6=3 for a total of 12 points

[Ken]

Assuming the warforged has fallen...

Belarin

The warlock barely has time to call out, "Don't let that Shadow-cursed thing touch you!" before Condign's killing blow against the cursed warforged triggers the familiar caress of the shadows around Belarin. He feels his body momentarily evaporate into warm darkness, instantly reforming on the upper level, close to the mage. "Good day, idiot mage in red / For the sake of all, it's time you're DEAD!" The flames of Belarin's hatred shoot out of his consciousness and seek to envelop the mage's mind.

Free: Belarin teleports up and over 5 squares, arriving 2 squares east of the mage. (Belarin gains concealment.)
Minor: Inflict warlock's curse on the mage.
Standard: Attack the mage (prime target) with witchfire vs. Reflex.
Attack: Witchfire attack (1d20+6=19) - Yes!
Damage: 2d6+4=15, plus 1d6=6 for warlock's curse = 21 total fire damage. I take back all the evil thoughts about the dice roller!
The mage suffers a -4 penalty to attack rolls until the end of Belarin's next turn.
Move: Shift 1 square west.


Grafth

Grafth's head pounds with pain. Sounds around him are muffled, as though he's swimming underwater. But he's aware enough to recognize the threat posed to his friends by the abomination that has just appeared. Knowing he needs to quickly shake off the effects of the mage's attack, he drops into an animal-like crouch and swings at the dwarf's legs with his axe.

Standard: Attack the dwarf with hunter's bear trap vs. AC.
Attack: Hunter's Bear Trap attack (1d20+6=26) - natural 20!! My first in this campaign!
Damage: 19 max for the attack, plus 1d8=8 for Hunter's Quarry (max again!) = 27 total, and the dwarf is slowed and takes ongoing 5 damage (save ends both).
End of turn: Saving throw to shake off being dazed: 1d20=19 -- success!

[Jeff]

Round 6

23 = Condign
17 = Belarin (delays)
11 = Enemies
10 = Grafth
9 = Streko
8 = Belarin
7 = Kal / Tangat
5 = gelatinous cube

___________________________

The conviction of his own words gives Condign the resolve to keep fighting strong. He shoulders his way into the warforged's already wounded body, throwing it off balance as he does. Seeing that Condign and Streko have the construct hemmed in, Belarin anticipates its fall and waits a moment longer...

The dwarf steps back, away from Grafth, as he slaps another bolt into his crossbow—slung on his back is a wide quiver thick with them. He cranks the winch back, raises it, and releases. Grafth jumps and twists his frame sideways to avoid a straight shot to the heart, but the bolt sinks into his left thigh.

"No!" the red-cloaked mage shouts with an evil grin. "There's no walking away from this one...not for any of you!" It's still the voice of a man you don't know, but to Kal and Grafth, who've heard the tone and vaguely Aundairian accent before, they know it is Malov himself possessing the man. The mage widens his fingers and holds them out: Violet-colored lightning spews out, forking into three independent bolts. In the same instant, the energy lances through Grafth, Belarin, and even Kal before dissipating; in that split second, they feel their bodies seize up with pain and their muscles fail them. The next second they're still standing...but it hurts like hell.

A mantle of magic fire suddenly wreathes Kal's body, ready to retaliate.

The warforged turns its head quickly in the direction of the cube-like ooze, seeming to decide moving that direction is not a good idea. Instead it whirls on Streko, aiming to spit the halfling on its pick. Its aim is good, but Streko's chainmail defies the sharp weapon and prevents a serious injury.

Grafth moves in low and sweeps his axe at the dwarf. The exotic weapon deals a crippling line across both of the dwarf's legs, nearly dropping him to his knees and prompting a howl of shock and pain.

Citing both Olladra and Condign in his battle cry—a curious notion to the tiefling—Streko sinks his sickle into the warforged's arm as it makes its backswing. When Streko wrenches his weapon free again, a glowing symbol seems to be etched into the plating...which draws Condign's eye, giving him focus for his next attack... But there is no need. The warforged freezes in place, then its entire arm breaks free from its socket, hits the floor, and the rest of the construct's inert body follows suit with a loud crash. Dead as the raw materials from which it was made.

Belarin smiles as he feels his body dissolve and relocate itself in a flourish of winking faerie lights. For half a thought, he stares across a vast, unknowable dark space, and another figure looks back at him. Somehow he knows it is the consciousness of the bearer of his dagger's twin. Then the moment is over, and he finds himself standing only a few paces from the Malov-mage.

Immediately Belarin levels a curse at the red-cloaked man and invokes his unseen patrons to do their worst. Instantly, silvery fire erupts from the mage's eyes, nose, mouth, even his hands. He screams his pain and staggers back. Belarin then promptly closes in.

Kal moves past the wreckage of the door, seeing that its backside has steps mounted to it (for dwarf door-watcher, perhaps) and some other unidentifiable mechanism attached. He turns, then, and flings a sphere of electricity up. Although Belarin is now engaged with the mage, Kal is confident he can avoid hitting his friend. And indeed, the ball of lightning crackles over Belarin's shoulder and explodes into the already hurting mage.

Glassy-eyed, the mage looks up again, his face twisted in pain. "Devils will have you," he says, though Belarin can't tell just who he's talking to.

Without any sign of intent, the great gelatinous creature slides across the floor, and suddenly it is upon both Streko and Condign. The dissolving woman inside moves with it, her corpse ushered along for the ride, reminding both halfling and tiefling of what their fate may be. Her lips have already melted away, revealing burned gums and a rictus grin.

The creature's cubular shape seems to warp and stretch and suddenly Streko is struck! Its strength is surprising, but Streko's armor takes the worst of it. Nevertheless, the creature's touch feels like that of a massive jellyfish—a strange, almost electric sensation. Then Streko realizes he's stuck to it..and it's starting to burn...

________________________

• Condign's inspiring word heals him 12 hit points.
• Condign's attack (furious smash): 21 / 3 damage to warforged, and Streko gains a +3 bonus on his next attack damage against it.
• Dwarf's attack: 25 / 6 damage to Grafth
• Mage's attack vs. Grafth: 27 (critical hit) / 10 lightning damage to Grafth
• Grafth is bloodied.
• Mage's attack vs. Belarin: 23 / 6 lightning damage to Belarin
• Mage's attack vs. Kal: 6 / 9 lightning damage to Kal
• Kal uses dragonflame mantle. Until the end of his next turn, anyone who melee attacks him also takes 1d6 fire damage.
• Warforged's attack: 14 (miss)
• Grafth's attack: 26 (critical) / 27 damage to the dwarf and the dwarf is slowed and takes ongoing 5 damage
• Dwarf is bloodied.
• Grafth's save to end being dazed: 19 (success!)
• Streko's attack (righteous brand) (1d20+4=21) +2 (flanking) +3 (Condign's furious smash) = 26 / 1d6+2=5 damage to the warforged
• Warforged falls!
• Belarin teleports.
• Belarin's attack (witchfire): 19 / 21 fire damage to the mage, and the mage suffers a -4 penalty to attack rolls until the end of Belarin's next turn.
• The mage is bloodied.
• Kal's attack (lightning orb) (1d20+6=25) / 1d10+5=7 lightning damage to mage
• Cube's attack: 17 / 4 damage to Streko, and Streko is immoblized - he cannot move from his space, although he can be forced to move by a pull, push, or slide. He can still otherwise act; he just can't physically move to another space.

Geez, Jeff....are you TRYING to kill us?

Isn't that my job? ;D

A reminder: in my post signature below, italics next to your hit points represents temporary hit points. Damage eats through that before it touches your regular hit points again.

[Jeff's backup]

Condign watches the warforged fall under Streko's attack! He smiles and nods to his friend.

From above, he hears a voice say, "Devils will have you." He has a few moments to look around with a what-did-I-do-now expression on his face before he sees the cubed creature advance in their direction.

He sees the creature's gelatinous body stretch, arching around to attack Streko. A part of the blob affixes itself to the halfling. His friend struggles to move away from the touch of the creature, but he appears rooted in place. Condign moves to flank the creature.

"Streko! The construct was no match for you! And neither is this thing! Do not let it stop you! Move!"

Condign then slashes at creature with his longsword, wondering what may happen to his weapon when it strikes the cube.

---------------------------

Movement Action: move 3 spaces east and 2 spaces south to flank the cube

Minor Action:use Shake It Off on Streko

Standard Action: attack with longsword

Attack Roll: 1d20 + 10=12

[Jeff]

Condign's use of Shake It Off allows Streko a chance to make a saving throw even before his turn comes up. Unfortunately, even with the bonus it grants, the result is no good. Saving throw (1d20=5) +3 (Condign's Charisma modifier) = 8 (a 10 or higher is needed to succeed)

Good try, though, Brian. This is precisely the sort of moment that power was made for. Streko will still get his usual saving throw at the end of his turn, depending upon what else transpires.

[Darren]

Kal marvels for a moment at the flames that have, surprisingly, sprung up around his body. This is new. Kal grins at the feeling of power. He decides on a bold course of action.

Despite a natural inclination to stay away from the thing, Kal rushes forward, replacing Skyfang in its sheath as he does so. He raises his sharrash and swings in a wide arc at the cube.

________________
Move action: two squares north, then two squares west.
Minor action: re-sheath Skyfang.
Standard action: use Reaping Strike on the cube. I should be able to do this from that square because the sharrash has reach. If Kal hits, he will use the power of the sharrash to immobilize the cube.

[Joe]

"Olladra protect me!" Unable to move his feet, Streko is still able to focus his will and energy through His holy symbol, calling out to his Goddess. A brilliant beam of whitest light erupts from the holy symbol and strikes the cube, sparks of energy explode from the impact point, providing a bullseye for any others attackers that may come to assist him.

Streko turns his head and sees the Tiefling. "May Olladra's light guide you, my friend Condign!"
____________________________________________________

Lance of Faith (+2 power bonus to Condign's next attack roll against the cube)

Damage = 1d8+4=10

[Ken]

Grafth

Grafth growls with savage delight after seeing the dwarf stagger. Expecting another attack, he tenses his muscles, ready to interrupt the dwarf's move within a split-second notice.

He then stares menacingly at the Malov-mage after Belarin's and Kal's dual attacks cause the mage to stagger. "Truly, my last day of chasing you..." he says mockingly. He looks back at the dwarf, ready to deliver the killing blow....

Grafth prepares disruptive strike as an immediate interrupt if the dwarf moves to attack him again, which he expects. If the dwarf stays where he is, then Grafth will hurl the handaxe at him: +7 to attack (Prime Shot applies).

If the dwarf still stands after disruptive strike:
Minor: Draw a dagger.
Move: Shift 1 square toward the dwarf.
Standard: Use the dagger to attack the dwarf with hit and run vs. AC. Hit and Run attack (1d20+6=8) -- that's a miss.
If for some reason the dwarf has closed to melee before Grafth's turn, then Grafth will instead use his move action to head toward the Malov-mage after the hit and run attack, stopping 1 square north of him.

If the dwarf has fallen from the disruptive strike attack:
Minor: Use wildhunt shifting.
Move: Head toward the Malov-mage, stopping 1 square north of him.
Standard: Attack the mage, using the +1 handaxe and careful attack (Prime Shot would apply): Careful Attack attack (1d20+9=12) -- probably not going to work.

Belarin

Belarin, his muscles still twitching from the excruciatingly painful lightning attack, nevertheless tries to keep the pressure on the red-garbed mage. Could this BE Malov? he wonders. Probably another vessel.

Glimpsing Grafth's battle with the dwarf in his peripheral vision, Belarin tries to position himself between the mage and the dwarf, waving his pact dagger threateningly. "Hedge wizard with poor expertise / Your eyes will burn, your feet will freeze!" Without warning, a whirlwind of fey energy whips around him!

Move: Belarin will shift to position himself so that the mage and the dwarf are adjacent to him. If he can't do both, or if the dwarf is dead by this point, he'll shift so that he's one square away from the mage.
Standard: Attack the mage and the dwarf with otherwind stride vs. Fortitude. If he is positioned properly, Prime Shot will apply for both attacks. Otherwind Stride attacks (1d20+6=21, 1d20+6=20) vs. mage and dwarf, respectively.
Damage: 1d8+4=8, plus 1d6=3 for warlock's curse (both enemies were cursed) = 11 total, and the targets are immobilized until the end of Belarin's next turn.
Belarin then teleports to the square with the switches.

[Jeff]

Round 7

23 = Condign
11 = Enemies
10 = Grafth
9 = Streko
8 = Belarin
7 = Kal / Tangat
5 = gelatinous cube

___________________________

Condign's strike cuts a fine line into the cube's body, but doesn't seem to leave a lasting effect. The blade penetrates easy enough, but the tiefling knows he'll need to cut away whole chunks at a time to harm the creature. And despite his words of encouragement, Streko can't yet pull himself free,

The dwarf takes aim again and...Grafth's handaxe sinks into his shoulder. The dwarf howls, stumbles over towards a table—upon which are scattered loose bolts—in an effort to put some distance between himself and the savage shifter. Although bleeding badly now, the dwarf hasn't given up trying to kill Grafth. He looses another bolt, again with remarkable aim. The bolt thuds into the shifter's side, sharing the damage between his leather armor and the flesh beneath. He feels the crack of a rib.

The Malov-mage backpedals away from Belarin, but he snarls an arcane phrase and points at the man's face. Magic missiles surge from his fingertips, but Belarin ducks them just in time, feeling them buzz past his ears.

Despite his terrible injuries, Grafth growls and launches himself at the bolt-loving dwarf. He draws a dagger from his belt as he does, and stabs at the dwarf's skull...but the dwarf pushes away from the table and the blade scores the wood instead. Grafth growls and readies the dagger for another strike.

Streko clutches at his holy symbol and calls upon Olladra...the cube responds to his vulnerability, slapping at him again, but its mass rebounds against his chainmail. A lance of radiant light forms in Streko's hand, and he finds it not at all difficult to merely jam it into the wall of gelatinous flesh. The magic seems to melt away part of its body, leaving a mist of lights behind. The attack gives him the energy he needs, and Streko pulls himself free from its touch!

An eldritch wind swirls out from Belarin as he calls to his fey patrons, and its concentrated force tosses his enemies about like dolls. The dwarf thuds his head against the table, then rolls up and onto Grafth's naked blade. With a groan, the dwarf collapses in a spreading pool of blood. The mage is thrown against the stone wall, where Belarin hears the telltale crack of skull. The mage crumbles, wordlessly, to the ground. Belarin's body dissolves and reforms ten feet away. The three levers on the wall in front of him.

Kal strides toward the cube until it's within reach of his sharash, bringing it to bear and scything the air. Like Condign, he cuts too fine a line, and the sharash exits all too smoothly, having displaced much too little of the creature's body to do it any real harm.

The cube's body seems to convulse, as if contracting some sort of formless muscles. Its flesh quivers and reaches out at both tiefling and halfling. Streko steps away just in time, but the adhesive ooze snatches Condign and sucks him into its own body. The tiefling's senses are muted as the acidic ooze surrounds him in all sides. He can barely breath, or think. An instinctive panic sets in, but he is no novice to adversity; he knows he can try to force his way free. But he also starts to feel the tingling sensation that precedes a chemical burn...

________________________

• Condign's attack: 12 (miss)
• Grafth's immediate interrupt attack (disruptive strike) (1d20+7=24) / 1d8+3=10 damage to dwarf
• Dwarf's attack: 19 / 10 damage to Grafth
• Mage's attack: 11 (miss)
• Cube's opportunity attack vs. Streko: 12
• Streko's attack (lance of faith) (1d20+6=23) / 11 radiant damage to gelatinous cube, and Condign gains a +2 power bonus on his next attack against the cube
• Belarin's attack (otherwind stride) vs. mage: 21 / 11 damage to mage
• Belarin's attack (otherwind stride) vs. dwarf: 20 / 11 damage to dwarf
• Kal's attack (reaping strike) (1d20+7=17) (miss)
• Streko's saving throw to end immobilization (1d20=10) (success)
• Gelatinous cube's attack vs. Condign: 13 (hit). Condign is pulled 1 square into the cube's space and he is dazed. He will take ongoing acid damage on subsequent rounds until he escapes the grab (i.e. the cube's body).
• Gelatinous cube's attack vs. Streko: 9 (miss)

Dazed = You grant combat advantage; you can take either a standard action, a move action, or a minor action on your turn (you can also take free actions). You can’t take immediate actions or opportunity actions; you can’t flank an enemy.

To escape the gelatinous cube's body, Condign must use a move action (which is ALL he can do, since he's also dazed) to make an Athletics or Acrobatics check (whichever's easier for him) vs. the Fortitude of the cube. If he succeeds, he can shift to an adjacent square at the same time. If he fails, he can try again the following round.

[Joe]

Streko again calls upon his beloved Goddess for good fortune, seemingly tempting it by placing his open palms inches from the cube's gelatinous hide and allowing the glory of Olladra's power to invade and destroy as much of the creature as possible.

"Kalarian, your magic may be of greater use here, but I am not sure. Regardless, may Olladra's favor grant you a boon!"
____________________________________________________
Lance of Faith (+2 power bonus to Kalarian's next attack roll against the cube)

Damage = 1d8+4=8

[Jeff's backup]

As Condign prepares to bring his longsword down upon the creature, he sees it flex -- and he is suddenly drawn into the cube!

He feels a tingling pressure over his entire body. The viscous fluid presses against his nose and mouth; Condign realizes he can not breathe! He feels panic start to well up inside him! But his training takes over and he remembers a lesson taught to him by Lorjad: a warrior who stops thinking is a warrior who stops living.

Condign forces himself to calm down and think. He needs to break free -- and quickly -- before reflex makes him to take a breath and inhale the acidic matter. The creature's skin is not solid like some kind of shell. He may be able to push himself out!

The tiefling bends at the knees. He contacts his muscles into a knot of compressed strength. With a mightily heave, he tries to vault backward out of the cube.

------------------------------

Athletics Check vs. Khyber Cube's Fortitude 1d20+4=23

Condign shifts one square north out of the cube.

(See, Jeff, I told you I'd find a way to fit "shell" into a post! )

[Darren]

Kal grunts as the force of his swing carries him too quickly through the acidic cube, throwing him momentarily off balance. He hears Streko's words, and feels emboldened by his friend, even as the flames wreathing his body begin to subside. Not yet ready to give up on his idea, he swings his sharrash again in an opposite arc, once again slicing into the cube.

_________________
Kal will hold his position and use Reaping Strike again. Again, if he hits, he will immobilize the cube.

Also, unless the cube has some sort of damage reduction, Kal should have caused some damage (+2 for his Strength modifier) to it last round.

[Ken]

Grafth

Grafth has no idea what Belarin just did -- he's never seen the warlock do that before -- but he nods in appreciation of their enemies' deaths nevertheless. He recovers his axe from the dwarf's corpse, then spins to help Condign, yet that move alone causes severe pain in his side and thigh.

Knowing that he'll be of little help as a corpse himself, Grafth takes a moment to staunch the bleeding as best he can, then he allows the primal nature of his ancestry to rise to the fore.

Minor: Grafth recovers his handaxe.
Standard: Second Wind, and Grafth uses a healing surge.
Minor: Grafth uses wildhunt shifting to gain back more hit points.

Belarin

Belarin looks quite pleased with himself for a moment, then his pleasure turns to dismay when he sees Condign enveloped by the abomination. He quickly flips the first lever -- the one that he saw the red-garbed mage manipulate to retract the ladder.

He gathers the power in his body and glares at the cube. "Monster of ooze, may you -- oh, to Khyber with it! I won't waste a good rhyme on THAT!" He points the pact dagger at it as his eyes glow with corruscating energy.

Minor: Belarin flips the first lever back to its previous position.
Minor: Inflict the cube with warlock's curse.
Standard: Attack with eyebite vs. Will. 1d20+5=11
Damage: 1d6+4=7, plus 1d6=1 for warlock's curse = total 8 psychic