New Frontiers #56

[GM Mad]

New Frontiers #56

Round 7:

The battle beneath the earth continues unabated!

Lord Acerion continues his assault on the enemy forces. Two more orcs are splattered thanks to his enchanted battle axe.

Chareos casts Web on top of the Web Argent cast upon the trolls. His web is closer and overlaps the first web. Those trolls still held inside are lost from sight.

While that is going on, Sherra ducks behind an outcropping and downs one of her Potions of Healing. Her wounds start to close and she feels better.

Once more the direction of the battle shifts dramatically as Argent casts Wall of Fire. A blazing wall of reddish-blue fire, twenty feet high, bisects the cavern. The figure of Opikus is lost within the fire and is consumed.

Those enemies too close to the wall or covered by its effects, are slain by the searing fire. More smoke fills the already smoke-filled cavern and the smell of searing flesh is almost nauseating. The fiery wall also effectively seals off the cavern as nothing can be seen through it.

Strangely enough, those Guardians close to the wall feel no heat from it. Those orcs and bugbears on the other side cannot say the same as even those 20' away feel its flaming bite. Most of the orcs and bugbears flee in terror from the fire.


Lords Corley and Validar join Lord Acerion on the front line and more orcs fall. The number of orcs trapped on this side of the Wall of Fire is rapidly dwindling between the Lords and the fire of the wall. Arocken and Valena finish off the rest with a barrage of arrows.

Over on the left flank, the struggle with the bugbears continues. Rathlar downs one while Aria takes down two. Coupled with the appearance of the Wall of Fire, those surviving Bugbears in the area flee.


Behind the front line, Laucian converts Summon Insects into healing magic and cures some of Valena's wounds.

Grondar retrieves Ivy's mace and prays upon it.

"Blessed Azrella, please hear me! I come before you in an attitude of supplication. It is true that I am not one of your flock, and it is also true that you and my patron Berronar Truesilver share many of the same values. I believe that the work we do here, combating this horde of villainy that has invaded Corunglain, is in keeping with your wishes and your greater glory.

"Having lost your servant, Ivy, we are in desperate straights. Our need is great, or I would not ask this boon of you. I beseech you to allow me to use this mace, the Kiss of Azrella, in the manner for which it was intended. I humbly ask this of you in the name of Ivy, the Guardians of the Light, and the Revered Mother."

Grondar casts his spell and the mace begins to glow a soft blue with a tint of silver. Suddenly, this glow expands in the blink of an eye and covers an area twenty-feet from the mace in all directions. Everyone covered by the light feels better and gets a warm feeling inside.

Those covered by the light include Arocken, Grondar, Chareos, Sherra, Lord Validar, Lord Acerion, and Lord Corley.


Quite suddenly, there are no more enemies on this side of the Wall of Fire, with the exception of the webbed up trolls. No bolts or arrows come flying over the fiery wall either.

However, after a time, a loud roar is heard off in the distance. A loud footfall follows. Something very big seems to be moving closer!


The Other Side:

In the City of the Dead, more and more orcs and a few bugbears continue to arrive. As they chat, both Ivy and Lyonessa get the feeling that something is calling them. It's not something they can focus upon and no one in the area is trying to talk them. Rather, it’s a feeling that they should travel in a particular direction out of this arrival plaza.

[GM Mad]

GM Notes:

There's a momentary lull in the battle. You'll have 1 full round to act before the source of the roar becomes known. Prepare well!

Argent must continue to concentrate on the Wall of Fire or it will dissipate within a few rounds.

Hit Points:

Acerion - 37 of 46
Argent - 36 of 40
Aria - 70 of 75
Arocken - 48 of 56
Chareos - 36 of 57
Laucian - 33 of 64
Rathlar - 23 of 68
Sherra - 32 of 38
Valena - 27 of 50
Validar - 73 of 76
Wolves: Brushrunner - 9 of 17
Wolves: Woodstalker - 14 of 16

Now what?

[Validar]

Lord Validar -

As the front-line fighters hack into the orcs, something goes their way in a dramatic fashion. Argent casts her Wall of Fire and it springs to life, scorching and searing dozens of the humanoids. The Wall extends from one end of the cavern to the other. More dramatically, the illusion of Opikus fades in the flames. With a smug smile on his face, Lord Validar is pleased as the pendulum swings their way, if only for the moment.

As the last of the orcs on this side of the Wall fall, Validar glances around. The trolls seems to be Webbed in more than they were. Chareos was successful as well. On the other flank, the bugbears have retreated back into their tunnel. For a brief second, there is a well-deserved reprieve. Validar feels the warmth of the healing from Grondar using Ivy's mace. It is only one of a very few times that he has experienced healing of a clerical nature. The fact that Grondar's efforts seemed to have some favor gives the noble warrior some satisfaction.

"We can use all the help we can get, right about now," Validar says in passing. For some reason, there is a fore-boding sense of danger still lingering in the air. Despite the fact that the humanoid horde has likely been routed, something still remains.

"Alright everyone! This is not over yet!" A moment later a footfall shakes the cavern to emphasize his statement and a loud roar reverberates throughout. "Anyone with healing abilities work on those of us still alive. The fallen ones cannot be helped now. There will be time to see if we can bring them back when this battle is ended!" Lord Validar knows that the Guardians cannot help but feel compassion towards their fallen comrades, but this is not the time, while extreme danger is still in the air. "Dragon," is the word that hisses from Lord Validar's lips as he looks at something unseen.

Knowing Lord Acerion's affinity and closeness for Ivy, he will take a look at his friend and comrade and offer a quick hand to the man's shoulder. "This is not over. We need your healing ability and we will need you even more." Another footfall shakes the cavern.

"Frontline fighters! Move near to the Wall of Fire! Spread out evenly across the cavern! About 20 feet back from the flames! Let it come to us for the moment!" Lord Validar takes his position about 10 feet from the wall to his right and about 10 feet forward from where they finished the battle with the orcs.

"Arocken! Ivy had two healing potions on her. Check to see if they are still intact. If so, take one and give the other to Chareos." The mage is standing right there, so he makes the most likely choice. Validar also has some need of the fighter-mage, so he may not have time to receive any of the healers' gifts.

Argent indicates that she needs to concentrate on the Wall of Fire or it will dissipate in a few minutes. "Chareos, if you can still Fly and Sherra, we need some reconnaissance. Get yourself some altitude for the briefest moments to see what is coming. Do not tarry and do not show yourselves. Just raise up enough to see what it is and get back down immediately. Do not expose yourself." Lord Validar figures that whatever it is, it will be too unintelligent to notice something peeking over the flames or too overconfident to be concerned. In either case, it shouldn't notice them.

"Once the healers are done, spread yourselves out. Do not line up with anyone else in front of you! Mages! Prepare any defensive magicks that you are able. Argent! Keep the Wall of Fire up as long as we are unsure what is there." Validar tightens his grip on his sword, as he looks to his comrades.

Acerion. Corley. Sherra. Arocken. Argent. Grondar. Chareos. Valena. Aria. Laucian. Rathlar. Lyonessa. Ivy. Their names will be etched in the local legend if they are victorious. They will be lost here in this dark cavern if they fail and die. Narrowing his eyes, Validar readies himself for the next battle to come. He feels that this one will be their greatest test yet.

"Do not waver, whatever comes! Fight to your last breath! Glory stands at our threshold! Let us welcome her with all our might!!"

[Acerion]

Acerion:

Lord Acerion continues his assault on the enemy forces. Two more orcs are splattered thanks to his enchanted battle axe.

Lords Corley and Validar join Lord Acerion on the front line and more orcs fall. The number of orcs trapped on this side of the Wall of Fire is rapidly dwindling between the Lords and the fire of the wall. Arocken and Valena finish off the rest with a barrage of arrows.

Acerion cuts down more orcs as Argent's Wall of Fire erupts among the remaining ranks. Steel swung by the Lords Corley and Validar cut into those remaining foes as arrows sail in to finish off the humanoids. As the scene unfolds in front of Acerion, he feels a warm glow from behind, washing over and through him, healing him. "Iv....," Acerion begins as he turns, instead seeing Grondar holding Ivy's mace. "Thank you, friend Grondar," the paladin manages, his face still grim.

Knowing Lord Acerion's affinity and closeness for Ivy, he will take a look at his friend and comrade and offer a quick hand to the man's shoulder. "This is not over. We need your healing ability and we will need you even more." Another footfall shakes the cavern.

"I know," Acerion replies, his eyes locking on Validar's. There is pain in them, but they are coherent with the understanding of what still needs to be done, and the unknown threat approaching. "I am here, and you know you can count on me to see this through to the bitter end if need be."

With a sense of urgency, Acerion turns and quickly scans those who are injured, which seems to be everyone. Hearing Validar order the dispensing of Ivy's potions, Acerion heads towards one of the others not included in that order. Approaching Rathlar, he walks up quickly and offers, "If I may be of some assistance to you." If he accepts, Acerion will use Lay on Hands, and, if time permits, convert his one clerical spell into a Cure Light Wounds before returning to the new front line.

[Validar]

Lord Validar -

Knowing Lord Acerion's affinity and closeness for Ivy, he will take a look at his friend and comrade and offer a quick hand to the man's shoulder. "This is not over. We need your healing ability and we will need you even more." Another footfall shakes the cavern.

"I know," Acerion replies, his eyes locking on Validar's. There is pain in them, but they are coherent with the understanding of what still needs to be done, and the unknown threat approaching. "I am here, and you know you can count on me to see this through to the bitter end if need be."

"If Ivy can be recovered, we will do so. You have my word on that. And let us hope that the end of this battle is not much more bitter than it already tastes." Validar knows that the Guardians have been highly successful so far, and very much so in that fact that until this battle, no one has fallen. In the Seekers, almost every major battle resulted in the loss of life and fallen friends. He is determined that this battle will not end this way, but a terrible shadow seems cast over this battle. Every time they try to turn the tide, it turns back upon them worse than the moment before. "We will need everyone and everyone's abilities in this next battle I fear."

Lord Acerion walks towards Rathlar and offers his healing. The ranger had taken some serious blows it appears holding that flank with the dwarf Aria. She seems none the worse for wear. A good sign; her strength will be needed. Lord Validar salutes the two with his sword. "Good job holding the flank. If you would be so kind as to join us on that flank again. Everyone spread out about ten to fifteen feet between you. When the behemoth approaches, we can swarm in from the flanks and we expose only one or two of us at a time to the front."

Lord Validar heads for Lord Corley. "You did an excellent job at the point of this battle, my good friend. Exactly what I counted on. We will need your strength at the point again," Validar says, clapping his long-time friend on his back. "Steel your nerve and strike as quickly, as deeply and as strongly as you can. Together, we can defeat whatever we face." The noble warrior indicates Lord Corley's place on the line next to Lord Validar and about 15 feet to his right. "This will truly be the battle that songs will be sung about," he says, a hidden smile crossing his face ever so quickly.

[Grondar]

Grondar:

"It's just an illusion!", Argent finally calls out. "It's not displaced or a Wraithform spell in operation. Those magicks do not work that way! The illusion cannot be harmed! Silence deadens all sound within the area, regardless of its source! That is why that spell worked!"

Grondar hears Argent's words and mentally nods. She is far more of an expert in the subject than he, so he has no reason to believe otherwise.

The fighting rages on, but Grondar notices little of it due to his focus on the Kiss of Azrella. Still, even he cannot miss the sudden appearance of the Wall of Fire that bisects the huge cavern. What seems strangest, is the lack of heat radiating from it - at least in their direction. Clearly those on the far side are much less comfortable.

Only slightly less amazing is that Grondar's gamble has paid off. "Blessed be Azrella and the Revered Mother!" Grondar shouts in elation. "Cooperation amongst the gods is truly a beautiful thing! Thank you, Azrella, for the generousity you have shown us!"

As Grondar's voice falls away, it is answered from beyond by a terrible roar and the pounding of the ground. It is the sound of a great beast approaching! However, Azrella's words linger in Grondar's ear. This Opikus dabbles in illusion, and this might well be the same. With that thought, Grondar tries to sense whether there are vibrations in the ground at his feet to accompany the sounds of the heavy tread.

There appears to be a bit of a lull in the fighting, and Validar begins shouting orders. Grondar responds as best he knows how. "All who are injured, gather round quickly!" Grondar calls out, stepping closer towards what he perceives as the middle of the group. "Azrella granted my request once, and may do so again."

As soon as those who wish further healing have gathered around, Grondar will pray once more. "Beloved Lady of Life, I come before you to ask your blessing to use this Holy Instrument once again. As you know, this battle is far from over; the forces of darkness and the enemies of life seek to place all of the fine people of this city beneath their thumbs. Their wickedness and depravity will sweep over this land unless they are stopped here. I beseach thee, please aid us once again in this, our hour of need."

His prayer concluded, Grondar converts a Hold Person and casts Berronar's power into the Kiss of Azrella once more.

Whether it works or not, Grondar will then zip over to his place on the front line between Aria and Lord Corley. As he does so, he switches the Kiss of Azrella with TruthGiver, so that he can face the assembled hordes with his own holy weapon. His mind returns to feeling for the telltale vibrations in the earth to match the approach of whatever great beast Opikus has sent against them.

[Lyonessa]

Lyonessa:

In the City of the Dead, more and more orcs and a few bugbears continue to arrive. As they chat, both Ivy and Lyonessa get the feeling that something is calling them. It's not something they can focus upon and no one in the area is trying to talk them. Rather, it’s a feeling that they should travel in a particular direction out of this arrival plaza.

Lyonessa turns to look at Ivy, "You sense that?" She's pretty certain Ivy does, but is curious to see if they will be led off in the same direction. At any moment, Lyonessa expects their paths will split from each other's and she will be walking alone. Her thoughts begin slipping from thinking about what she's lost and hadn't accomplished to seeing in what fashion she can serve her goddess now.

[Sherra]

Sherra:

Sherra takes one of her potions of Healing and feels the effects immediately. Then a glowing warmth fills her mere moments later, and her wounds are nearly gone. She pokes her head up to see Grondar having used Ivy's mace. She smiles at her dwarven friend. The sound of a heavy footfall, if that is what the noise truly was, distracts her and the others from their momentary victory and lull in the action.

Argent indicates that she needs to concentrate on the Wall of Fire or it will dissipate in a few minutes. "Chareos, if you can still Fly and Sherra, we need some reconnaissance. Get yourself some altitude for the briefest moments to see what is coming. Do not tarry and do not show yourselves. Just raise up enough to see what it is and get back down immediately. Do not expose yourself." Lord Validar figures that whatever it is, it will be too unintelligent to notice something peeking over the flames or too overconfident to be concerned. In either case, it shouldn't notice them.

"On it," Sherra replies simply, tossing the torch onto the body of one of the trolls she hasn't finished dispatching. She uses her Boots of Levitation and rises up above the Wall of Fire just high enough to see what's going on and, more importantly, what's coming their way.

Once the sight is revealed, she will quickly lower herself to the ground and relate everything she saw while picking up the torch once more to finish her task. If time permits, she will then get back into a position and ready her bow for whatever it is that is coming for them now.

[Chareos]

Chareos

Chareos casts Web on top of the Web Argent cast upon the trolls. His web is closer and overlaps the first web. Those trolls still held inside are lost from sight.

Chareos lets a smile cross his features only for the briefest of seconds then resumes looking toward the next target.

Suddenly a light glow surrounds him and soon the Fighter-Mage feels himself begin to feel better as some of his wounds begin to heal. He will turn to his dwarven counterpart and voice his thanks.

Quite suddenly, there are no more enemies on this side of the Wall of Fire, with the exception of the webbed up trolls. No bolts or arrows come flying over the fiery wall either.

However, after a time, a loud roar is heard off in the distance. A loud footfall follows. Something very big seems to be moving closer!

The roar of a creature sends chills down his spine as a loud footfall pummels the ground as Validar isssues orders.

"Arocken! Ivy had two healing potions on her. Check to see if they are still intact. If so, take one and give the other to Chareos." The mage is standing right there, so he makes the most likely choice. Validar also has some need of the fighter-mage, so he may not have time to receive any of the healers' gifts.

Argent indicates that she needs to concentrate on the Wall of Fire or it will dissipate in a few minutes. "Chareos, if you can still Fly and Sherra, we need some reconnaissance. Get yourself some altitude for the briefest moments to see what is coming. Do not tarry and do not show yourselves. Just raise up enough to see what it is and get back down immediately. Do not expose yourself." Lord Validar figures that whatever it is, it will be too unintelligent to notice something peeking over the flames or too overconfident to be concerned. In either case, it shouldn't notice them.

Chareos takes the healing vial from Arocken and downs its contents. Upon hearing Validar’s orders Chareos replies, “ If I scout there may not be time to set up any defensive spells that I still posses,” he will tell him frankly,

If Validar insists, Chareos will fly up and scout then drop back down and tell of his findings.

If Validar agrees with his objection, Chareos will then cast Mirror Image upon himself.

[Laucian]

Laucian

There appears to be a bit of a lull in the fighting, and Validar begins shouting orders. Grondar responds as best he knows how. "All who are injured, gather round quickly!" Grondar calls out, stepping closer towards what he perceives as the middle of the group. "Azrella granted my request once, and may do so again."

As soon as those who wish further healing have gathered around, Grondar will pray once more. "Beloved Lady of Life, I come before you to ask your blessing to use this Holy Instrument once again. As you know, this battle is far from over; the forces of darkness and the enemies of life seek to place all of the fine people of this city beneath their thumbs. Their wickedness and depravity will sweep over this land unless they are stopped here. I beseach thee, please aid us once again in this, our hour of need."

His prayer concluded, Grondar converts a Hold Person and casts Berronar's power into the Kiss of Azrella once more.

Hearing Grondar’s call for those who need healing Laucian will go forth to him. Once Grondar has completed his praying to his patron, Laucian will assess who is in the most need of healing and convert his Entangle to heal them.

If there is time Laucian will move to a point that give him a clear view of the cavern and nock an arrow to his bow awaiting the new threat.

[Validar]

Lord Validar -

The Guardians begin to move out to take advantage of their momentary break in fighting. Healing is done, both from the clerics and from healing potions (Grondar should have 2 healing potions on him as well).

Sherra, camoflauged in her magick armor, levitates into the air immediately. However, Chareos has a question.

Chareos takes the healing vial from Arocken and downs its contents. Upon hearing Validar’s orders Chareos replies, “ If I scout there may not be time to set up any defensive spells that I still posses,” he will tell him frankly.

"We do not need you to take much time. Simply gain altitude, see what it is and come back down. It shouldn't take more time than this conversation," Validar will explain. "I want to have an extra set of eyes just in case it is not obvious, what is happening there."

In game terms, it is just movement, so it won't stop Chareos from casting his Mirror Image this same round. It would just delay it to near the end of that same round.

As Validar awaits the reconnaissance, the rest of the group finishes their preparations.

[GM Mad]

In game terms, it is just movement, so it won't stop Chareos from casting his Mirror Image this same round. It would just delay it to near the end of that same round.

This is incorrect. As per the rule books, casting a spell is considered a full phase action. Nothing else can be done during that time. Chareos can either fly and scout or cast a spell. He cannot do both.

Really? So no movement is ever allowed when you cast a spell? Interesting? People have tried to cast a spell while riding. And it is pretty common for clerics to move and cast a healing spell as well. I think there are lots of cases in this game and the others where mages or clerics have moved and cast spells.

This is basically saying that a mage cannot walk into a room and cast a spell, without a delay. I think the precedent was already set in opposition to this, but please issue a definitive ruling, so we know what we're up against.

If this ruling stands and since Sherra can do the scouting, then Chareos should cast his spell.

A small amount of movement is permitted. Such as changing the direction your are facing or taking a few steps to get into a better position. You're just not allowed to take any long movements, and off hand, I'd say nothing longer than 1/5th of your total movement rate.

Casting spells on something moving, a mount or a ship, does not interfere with this as the caster himself is not moving, what he is on is. (Although such situations may ruin the spell because of the unstability. Typically this means a DEX roll needs to be made to see if the spell is safely cast.)

Since we cannot be certain of distances and such, we will have Chareos cast his spell and leave the scouting to Sherra. She is better camoflauged anyway and for her actions, movement is not as hindering as in casting spells.

for those who are curious, it would be possible for Chareos to complete the task however. Fly gives 18 movement and 1/5 of 18 is 3.6, even assuming not rounding to a whole number of 4 (which would be the likely practice). Since movement in both up and down, you calculate each leg as part of the whole, not separate. Going up gives half the movement rate, or doubles the cost of those inches, while lowering altitude doubles movement rate, or halves the cost of those inches of movement. Since Chareos has to raise about 15 feet for his head to clear, we can assume even 16, or 1.6 movement factors. That leaves 2 which is more than enough to drop the same distance (which only comes to 0.8 or rounding to 1).

But there are other factors that you're not taking into consideration. Chareos is also going to down a potion that Arocken is trying to find on Ivy. That alone would account for 1 full round for Arocken as he has to find them. In the post down below Chareos cast his MI first and then drank the potion in the next round as it made more sense in that order.

The cavern is choked with smoke as has been noted many times in the post. Even someone with excellent eyesite like Laucian had trouble when he tried to find Opikus on the other side. So it wasn't simply a matter of look over the wall and then drop. He'd have to hover and try to pick things out thru the thick smoke which would eat up even more time.

Because of all these factors it was clear that doing everything Chareos originally stated was impossible to accomplish in just one round.

Based on all that, I agree. My comment was that is was possible based soley on movement rates and distances for explanation's sake.

[Validar]

Arocken -

Arocken's elfin ears hear the word "Dragon" hiss from Lord Validar's ears. The hairs on the back of the warrior's neck begin to stand on end.

Arocken had just started his time with the Seekers when they encountered the Green Dragon known as Woodstalker. He had already been wounded in his fight at the ruined city and was not a factor in the battle. This would be his first battle with a dragon if his friend was correct. A mirthless smile forms on Arocken's face.

"Arocken! Ivy had two healing potions on her. Check to see if they are still intact. If so, take one and give the other to Chareos."

Wordlessly, Arocken moves into action. They need to make the most of their free moments. Arocken will search Ivy's body for the potions, hoping that the vials are still intact. When he finds the first one, he gives it to Chareos and downs the second one himself.

Arocken may be close enough to Grondar when he casts the spell, but if he still has wounds, then he will move closer to the dwarven priest as well. "I would welcome the touch of either Azrella or your Revered Mother," he says simply.

All that completed, Arocken will move to a position near the wall on the first terrace (approximately where Chareos is listed now). He will attempt to conceal himself in shadows caused by the flickering flames and the rocks. He nocks a sheaf arrow to his bow and prepares to fire.

[Aria Stonehand]

Aria:

The battle ends suddenly as the bugbears run off.

"Flee you miserable vermin!", Aria taunts as they run away. She considers lobbing her throwing axe at them, but decides to hold it. Looking around the dwarf can see that much damage has been done to the others and that at least two are down. More trouble seems to be on the way as well.

Lord Acerion walks towards Rathlar and offers his healing. The ranger had taken some serious blows it appears holding that flank with the dwarf Aria. She seems none the worse for wear. A good sign; her strength will be needed. Lord Validar salutes the two with his sword. "Good job holding the flank. If you would be so kind as to join us on that flank again. Everyone spread out about ten to fifteen feet between you. When the behemoth approaches, we can swarm in from the flanks and we expose only one or two of us at a time to the front."

"Understood", the dwarven warrior responds, raising her own axe up high.

Casually she'll take her position near the Wall of Fire and wait for the enemy to arrive. Her throwing axe will be at the ready to toss at anything she sees. After that, she'll use her regular battle axe in hand to hand combat.

Grondar steps up and fills the gap beside her. "I am pleased that you are unscathed. Let us show these lowlifes the strength of the dwarves in battle!"

[Corley]

Corley:

The battle comes to an end after Lady Argent performs her impressive display of magick. A Wall of Fire separates us from the bulk of the enemy.

Looking around, Lord Corley gasps in shocking upon seeing that both Lady Lyonessa and Lady Ivy have fallen during the battle! Poor Lord Acerion must be devastated. However the time for mourning is not at hand as a new foe appears to have entered the field of battle.

Lord Validar heads for Lord Corley. "You did an excellent job at the point of this battle, my good friend. Exactly what I counted on. We will need your strength at the point again," Validar says, clapping his long-time friend on his back. "Steel your nerve and strike as quickly, as deeply and as strongly as you can. Together, we can defeat whatever we face." The noble warrior indicates Lord Corley's place on the line next to Lord Validar and about 15 feet to his right. "This will truly be the battle that songs will be sung about," he says, a hidden smile crossing his face ever so quickly.

"My strength is ready for whatever lies ahead. I'll face whatever comes with the strength and the conviction of our ancestors or die trying."

[Ivy]

Ivy:

Lyonessa turns to look at Ivy, "You sense that?" She's pretty certain Ivy does, but is curious to see if they will be led off in the same direction. At any moment, Lyonessa expects their paths will split from each other's and she will be walking alone. Her thoughts begin slipping from thinking about what she's lost and hadn't accomplished to seeing in what fashion she can serve her goddess now.

"Yes, I do," Ivy answers as she looks about. "Perhaps we are being summoned? Although it does not seem to be an urgent summons. Perhaps we should wait here for a little longer to see if anyone else is unfortunate enough to arrive?"

[GM Mad]

Post Continued:


There's been a pause in the battle after Argent erected a Wall of Fire. Those remaining enemy on the Guardians side of the wall are quickly dealt with. A roar is heard off in the distance and the loud thud of giant footfalls is felt and heard. The ground trembles slightly from each step.

Using the pause to their advantage, the Guardians quickly make use of healing magic and realign their forces.

Arocken fumbles through Ivy's backpack in an attempt to locate her Potions of Healing. After some searching he locates them and hands one to Chareos. The mage just completed casting Mirror Image on himself and there are now four Chareos'. The pair down the potions.

Lord Acerion meets Rathlar halfway and Lays Hands on the Woodsman. While this is going on, Laucian casts Cure Light Wounds on Valena, while she adds her own cure to Rathlar. Rathlar gathers his wolf companions to him and speaks to them. In response, the wolves turn and run off and back up the tunnel to the surface.

As soon as those who wish further healing have gathered around, Grondar will pray once more. "Beloved Lady of Life, I come before you to ask your blessing to use this Holy Instrument once again. As you know, this battle is far from over; the forces of darkness and the enemies of life seek to place all of the fine people of this city beneath their thumbs. Their wickedness and depravity will sweep over this land unless they are stopped here. I beseech thee, please aid us once again in this, our hour of need."

Once more the mace flashes bluish-silver and those in the area are healed.


Elsewhere, Sherra uses her Boots of Levitation to rise up and scan over the Wall of Fire. It's not as simple of a task as it might sound. Smog from numerous spells has flooded the cavern with thick smoke that grows thicker the higher you go in the cavern. The dark-haired thief is forced to strain to see through the haze.

Finally, something does catch her eye. A dark shape can be seen obscured by the smoke and a huge golden eye meets hers! The eye is easily 4-5' wide! Sherra lowers herself back to the floor of the cavern.


A deathly silence comes over the cavern as the Guardians wait for whatever it is to come through the Wall of Fire. Tense moments pass and there is nothing.

Unexpectedly, the Wall of Fire begins to bow out towards Lord Acerion as if something on the other side was pushing it foreword. This bow begins to travel down the length of the Wall of Fire and appears to be nearly twenty feet in diameter. It comes out from the Wall of Fire nearly ten feet. As it nears the far end of the Wall of Fire, the bow weakens and then fades all together. Those with sensitive ears could make out a faint 'whooshing' sound over the crackling of the flames.

[GM Mad]

Other Side:

Far away in the City of the Dead, Lyonessa and Ivy have been summoned, but it is only a gentle summons for now. Ivy suggests that they wait to see if any other Guardians arrive.

The horde of orcs around them unexpectedly separate as something comes closer. At first glance it is a swirling mist of light that seemingly and randomly changes colors as it advances. The colors are those of the rainbow.

The glowing mist suddenly changes form into that of a tall, handsome man with rust colored hair and green eyes. There is a very strong resemblance to Lord Acerion, but it is not him. This man is older and shows the wisdom of age in his eyes.

"I bid you ladies welcome", the man says as he steps forward. "I've been charged to give you a message that you must pass on to my son when you return to the Prime. It is of the utmost importance."

[GM Mad]

GM Notes:

And so we kick off the third year of New Frontiers! For those who do not know yet just what you are facing, I'll direct you to check out post #101 of The Frontier in the Q-Link section of the main sight. Specifically, locate Validar's last post. (There's a big Spectrum's Comments right after it making it easy to find.) From there, go up and you'll come across a pair of GM Notes. In the larger of the notes you'll find Sharadin talking about and experience that changed his life and the certain dragon he shared it with.

The combat map has been updated. There were some inconsistencies to where folks wanted to be lined up, so I mostly tried to come up with something that fit the posts and reality too. (Validar wanted to be 10' in from the right hand wall, but then wanted Lord Corley 15' to the right of him-- or inside the wall!) That was a typo, obviously. Should have been to the left.

Hit Points:

Chareos - 45 of 57
Laucian - 43 of 64
Rathlar - 50 of 68
Sherra - 32 of 38
Valena - 44 of 50
Validar - 73 of 76

Now what?

[Lyonessa]

Lyonessa:

Lyonessa decides that waiting a bit longer would be alright, not that she hopes any others join them. Soon though, it seems like that is the case, although only at first.

The glowing mist suddenly changes form into that of a tall, handsome man with rust colored hair and green eyes. There is a very strong resemblance to Lord Acerion, but it is not him. This man is older and shows the wisdom of age in his eyes.

"I bid you ladies welcome", the man says as he steps forward. "I've been charged to give you a message that you must pass on to my son when you return to the Prime. It is of the utmost importance."

"Your son? Return to the Prime?" Lyonessa is a bit overwhelmed, not just at the fact that the resemblance to Lord Acerion is so strong, but that he says we'll be going back. "Of course we would do such a task for you, but how would you know we would be returning?" she asked, clearly confused, "Are you... do you.. have some sort of sway or power here?"

[Chareos]

Chareos

Chareos casts his spell and soon 3 more of his form come into being as he drinks the healing potion given to him. He awaits the dangers that lurk within the fire wall as a Dragon surveys them.

Chareos’ knowledge of dragons is limited except for what his master Sharadin had told him of a few encounters that he has had with red dragons. (Mad what would be acceptable here? IE his background)

If the Dragon rears its ugly head Chareos will then cast a Magic Missile spell to hit the Great beast.

[Validar]

Post Update -

The post was edited due to a miscommunication on several people's part. Unfortunately, the post went too far with some people's actions at the expense of others.

Therefore, the post is now ended at the point where the Wall of Fire was bowed out. The dragon has not yet appeared and Corley is perfectly fine. He is where Lord Validar is indicated on the map and Lord Validar is between him and Lord Acerion.

The post has covered two full rounds and two rounds of players' actions. Please post based on next round. We are assuming that Sherra saw not just the dragon's eye, but that it is in fact a dragon as Validar suspected all along.

Also, Ken has been having some computer problems, so there will not likely be a post this week. He has to reformat and reload his machine. Expect a post on the following week. We have a little time to post our actions and decide what to do and also for those who posted (Chareos and Laucian) to edit them if they choose.

Ken also promised to put up a table indicating what can be done in a round to help make this clearer and to avoid any future misconceptions.

Please let me know if there are any questions and I can pass them on.

That is all...

[fanchergw]

[[OOC: Does Sherra let the others know what she has seen. Grondar's thoughts and actions would be affected by the knowledge of what was coming, as opposed to speculation.]]

The assumption made would be YES, but now it can actually be posted. Rest assured that Validar will certainly ask Sherra what she saw. Therefore, you can wait until she posts to post if continuity is vital or you can assume that she will tell what she saw and post actions accordingly.

The current situation is not ideal for the next two weeks, but we'll work through it. And knowing that it's a dragon isn't that much help anyway. We still need to find a way to beat it and keep everyone alive!

[Validar]

Lord Validar -

As the group gets into place, Sherra gets airborne to scan the other side of the wall. She drops down soon after.

"Sherra? What did you see?", Validar asks calmly, but insistently.

A moment later, the Wall of Fire bows out along the length of the its expanse. Unsure of what the enemy is doing, Validar does not like the idea either that it can see them through the fire or perhaps is simply toying with them.

He signals silently to Acerion to his right to move down abotu 5 feet, while doing so himself. He then motions to Corley and the others past him to do the same, just in case this weird effect was some attempt at scrying them.

Lord Validar motions to those behind him to spread out a bit more as well.

Validar will then ask Argent if she can Dispel this Wall of Fire. "Argent! Can you drop the Fire Wall as easily as you created it? I would like to see what's going on and not allow the beast to have an advantage of being unseen!"

Validar considers his options, as he awaits the answers from the women. His mind considers both retreating from the wall and charging through it to attack. Clearly, they cannot stay here when their enemy likely knows exactly where they each are standing.

[Validar]

Game Update:

Ken has apparently had to buy a new computer instead of reformatting his old one. So while this is sure to work now, he still has to transfer everything to the new one and load all the programs.

He said there will be no post this weekend due to all that and the Crucible post is past due.

So we still have a week to prepare before a post update, but Mad should be around to answer questions now.

[Ivy]

Ivy:

The glowing mist suddenly changes form into that of a tall, handsome man with rust colored hair and green eyes. There is a very strong resemblance to Lord Acerion, but it is not him. This man is older and shows the wisdom of age in his eyes.

Ivy can’t help but notice the new arrival as he approaches. Her heart soars for a moment, as the man seems familiar, but quickly realizes that is not exactly who she thought it was.

"I bid you ladies welcome", the man says as he steps forward. "I've been charged to give you a message that you must pass on to my son when you return to the Prime. It is of the utmost importance."

"Your son? Return to the Prime?" Lyonessa is a bit overwhelmed, not just at the fact that the resemblance to Lord Acerion is so strong, but that he says we'll be going back. "Of course we would do such a task for you, but how would you know we would be returning?" she asked, clearly confused, "Are you... do you.. have some sort of sway or power here?"

Ivy is just as confused by the man’s words as Lyonessa is. She is elated that this being appears to not only be Lord Acerion’s father, but that he seems to believe that we’ll be returning to our lives on the Prime Material Plane!

“Yes, Lyonessa is correct. We’d be happy to carry out this task for you. I am thankful that our visit to the afterlife is to be a short one. I can’t help but wonder if you are Lord Acerion’s father? Does that mean you’ve passed on as well?”

[Argent]

Argent:

The Invoker has remained quiet as of late as she concentrates on maintaining the Wall of Fire. It was far larger and grander then she originally envisioned when she first learned the spell.

Validar will then ask Argent if she can Dispel this Wall of Fire. "Argent! Can you drop the Fire Wall as easily as you created it? I would like to see what's going on and not allow the beast to have an advantage of being unseen!"

“The magic will remain for several minutes, perhaps as many as ten once I cease concentrating upon it. That is why I suggested using it to cover our retreat, as it would remain in place without my direct control. There is no danger or heat on our side of the wall, but the other side can be deadly.”

[Validar]

Lord Validar -

Assuming that Sherra says that it's a large red dragon (since that is what it is)...

Argent - “The magic will remain for several minutes, perhaps as many as ten once I cease concentrating upon it. That is why I suggested using it to cover our retreat, as it would remain in place without my direct control. There is no danger or heat on our side of the wall, but the other side can be deadly.”

"Right now, that's an advantage for the dragon as much as it is for us. Whoever uses it to the best effect will have the upper hand," Validar says, as much to himself as anyone.

Stand our ground. Retreat. Charge. These are the only options that Validar can imagine. They are low on magick power and two of their clerics are down. The trick now is to try and keep the rest of the Guardians alive while still defeating this monstrosity.

"Standing our ground is potentially deadly", the noble warrior thinks, "as long as the beast has any intelligence at all."

Retreat is not an option that Validar can accept. Plus they would be extremely vulnerable while trying to remove the bodies of Ivy and Lyonessa. That is clearly not an option since the Wall of Fire is no deterent to the Red Dragon.

"Charge it must be," Validar thinks, as a wry smile crosses his face. "Perhaps they will manage something unexpected that will bring them victory." It is clearly important to involve as many of the Guardians in the attack as possible and only with the Wall of Fire not in their way can they possibly have a chance at a 'fair fight'.

"Laucian! Try to Dispel the Wall! Concentrate the center directly between Lord Acerion and me," Validar commands with a point of his sword. "Chareos and Sherra, prepare to get airborne a little in case the Wall is not brought down or opened up! Front line!" Validar says no more, not wanting to tip their hand. Hopefully, it will at least open up a small part of the Wall for the mages and archers to fire through. If not, then the six of them will be on their own against the dragon.

Validar points with his sword and charges forward! He will try to clear the Wall of Fire by as much as possible and attack the dragon as best he can.

[Validar]

Arocken -

The war elf thinks grimly about the alternatives that facing a dragon bring, especially a large Red Dragon. Gritting his teeth, Arocken readies his bow and nocks an arrow waiting for any moment to fire. "I am ready!", Arocken shouts.

If the ranger elf is successful in Dispelling all or part of the Wall, then Arocken will fire at the Dragon from his slightly elevated position. If the Wall of Fire remains intact, then Arocken will ready both his blades and also charge through the Fire and assist his friends in attacking the evil lizard.

[Sherra]

Sherra:

Elsewhere, Sherra uses her Boots of Levitation to rise up and scan over the Wall of Fire. It's not as simple of a task as it might sound. Smog from numerous spells has flooded the cavern with thick smoke that grows thicker the higher you go in the cavern. The dark-haired thief is forced to strain to see through the haze.

Finally, something does catch her eye. A dark shape can be seen obscured by the smoke and a huge golden eye meets hers! The eye is easily 4-5' wide! Sherra lowers herself back to the floor of the cavern.

"I can't really... whoa!" Sherra reflexively ducks upon making out the large eye staring at her. Collecting herself, she peeks over again, knowing what to look for and confirms what the beast must be that is attached to that large eye.

As the group gets into place, Sherra gets airborne to scan the other side of the wall. She drops down soon after.

"Sherra? What did you see?", Validar asks calmly, but insistently.

"A large dragon," Sherra says, "there's nothing else it could be, not that big, and the fire doesn't seem to be bothering it at all." As if on que, the dragon starts "playing" with the Wall of Fire, or at least that's what Sherra thinks it's doing.

"Laucian! Try to Dispel the Wall! Concentrate the center directly between Lord Acerion and me," Validar commands with a point of his sword. "Chareos and Sherra, prepare to get airborne a little in case the Wall is not brought down or opened up! Front line!" Validar says no more, not wanting to tip their hand. Hopefully, it will at least open up a small part of the Wall for the mages and archers to fire through. If not, then the six of them will be on their own against the dragon.

Sherra will hover in place while she gets her bow ready. She will be prepared to get some elevation should she need to, otherwise she will open fire, using her remaining magical arrows first since she doubts her normal shafts will do much against a beast that huge.

[Acerion]

Acerion:

The waiting, knowing something is coming, gives Acerion too much time to think. Too much time to miss the Lady Ivy. Sherra rises up to scout out the area, coming down quickly, informing all of us that it's a large dragon, a red one from the sounds of it.

A moment later, the Wall of Fire bows out along the length of the its expanse. Unsure of what the enemy is doing, Validar does not like the idea either that it can see them through the fire or perhaps is simply toying with them.

He signals silently to Acerion to his right to move down abotu 5 feet, while doing so himself. He then motions to Corley and the others past him to do the same, just in case this weird effect was some attempt at scrying them.

Acerion leans back as he sees the Wall of Fire bow, then catches Validar's signal. Nodding, he moves to take up his new position. He clenches his Axe even tighter. More waiting.

"Laucian! Try to Dispel the Wall! Concentrate the center directly between Lord Acerion and me," Validar commands with a point of his sword.

Acerion sets his feet, ready to leap through the dispelled wall as long as Laucian can bring it down. He notices Validar charge forward a second later. "That wall will hurt us worse if it doesn't come down and we go through," Acerion says, although it might be too late. If Validar has protection from fire, he didn't check to see if the rest of us did. Not wanting to be burned alive, Acerion waits until either the wall drops or the dragon comes through.

[Chareos]

Chareos

"Laucian! Try to Dispel the Wall! Concentrate the center directly between Lord Acerion and me," Validar commands with a point of his sword. "Chareos and Sherra, prepare to get airborne a little in case the Wall is not brought down or opened up! Front line!" Validar says no more, not wanting to tip their hand. Hopefully, it will at least open up a small part of the Wall for the mages and archers to fire through. If not, then the six of them will be on their own against the dragon.

Chareos will Elevate off the ground, (1/5 movement/cast) and wait for the dragon to emerge from the wall. If the Dragon takes to the air Chareos will do the best he can to stay out of its claw and teeth reach.

Only knowing very little of battling dragons from Sharadin's tales Chareos is at a loss for thought and reacts solely on the orders given to him.

If the Dragon merely comes through the firewall, Chareos will cast a Magic Missile spell and aim them all at the large dragon.

[Laucian]

Laucian

The Fire wall begins to Bow out as Sherra tells of sighting a dragon. His hands begin to sweat on his bow hand as he realizes just what they are up against And he silently prays for Ehlonna’s blessings.

Hearing Validar’s orders, Laucian begins to cast his Dispel Magic and target it where Lord Validar has indicated hoping that both Ehlonna and Tymora are with him this moment in his hour of need.

[Grondar]

Grondar:

Arocken may be close enough to Grondar when he casts the spell, but if he still has wounds, then he will move closer to the dwarven priest as well. "I would welcome the touch of either Azrella or your Revered Mother," he says simply.

"If this works once more, friend Arocken, you shall receive a little bit of both," he says with a smile.

Then a glowing warmth fills her mere moments later, and her wounds are nearly gone. She pokes her head up to see Grondar having used Ivy's mace. She smiles at her dwarven friend.

Grondar returns his friend's smile before returning to his prayers and healing.

Grondar's second attempt to use Ivy's Kiss of Azrella for the benefit of his companions is as successful as the first. "Blessed be the Blue Lady and the Revered Mother for shining their love and healing warmth down upon us! May they continue to watch over us and bring us safely through this terrible battle."

Grondar steps up and fills the gap beside her. "I am pleased that you are unscathed. Let us show these lowlifes the strength of the dwarves in battle!"

"As I am by your continued good health, Aria," Grondar replies. "I have no fear that we will continue to give a good accounting of ourselves. No true dwarf has ever been a laggard in battle."

"Sherra? What did you see?", Validar asks calmly, but insistently.

"A large dragon," Sherra says, "there's nothing else it could be, not that big, and the fire doesn't seem to be bothering it at all." As if on que, the dragon starts "playing" with the Wall of Fire, or at least that's what Sherra thinks it's doing.

A dragon? Here? thinks Grondar to himself. Hmm... It's hard to believe that all these goblinoids have been bunking down here with a large red dragon all this time. Plus, this Opikus has shown an inclination to use illusions. It seems more likely to Grondar that this dragon is either an illusion - real as it might seem - or was summoned here. Fortunately, Grondar still has a Dispel Magic at his disposal, which should be effective against either an illusion or a summoned creature. And it just so happens to be one of the spells that Berronar grants her priests a special potency with.

Grondar notes the bowing out of Argent's flame wall and takes a short step back. It appears to be the work of the dragon, causing Grondar to consider the likelihood of it being summoned greater than that of it being illusionary. Still, that doesn't change his plans. Readying his spell, Grondar prepares to cast it on the dragon as soon as it shows itself or Laucian's spell takes down Argent's Wall of Flame.

Validar urges them to charge forward, but Acerion voices Grondar's concerns with that plan quite well. The flames must be quenched before they can do so.

[Corley]

Corley:

Like many of the others, Lord Corley pauses as he sees the command to advance through the Wall of Fire. What would possess Lord Validar to follow this path of madness?

The answer comes in a rare bolt of clarity to the young nobleman. His magical ring! Any wounds that Lord Validar endures would be rapidly healed by the enchantment of the ring!

Even more significant, Lord Corley possesses a similar ring, although his heals wounds by harming others. Once clear of the fire and his sword struck dragon flesh, then the pain of the fire would be quickly undone.

Yelling an incoherent battle cry, Lord Corley charges forward braving the Wall of Fire.

“FOR THE CROWN!!!”

[GM Mad]

Post Closed