The Battle of Ten Barnies
Session 12
Barnabus, fully embodying his transformation investigates the rocks forming the walls, channeling his rock troll costume and dwarven ancestorial knowledge. After finding no further information Barnabus remorsefully hands Elmire the note he pulled off the wall before the group descended into the enchanted passage.
Elmire explains to the group that she has taken the shape of a Dyrad past lover, she is conflicted with comfort and discomfort by her transformation. Looking back at Reya; the last to cross, Elmire guides her as she makes her way through the passage. Restricted by compromising spell options Reya steps on the Illusion tile and with a slight transformation takes the form of a high-ranking Hell Rider, wearing impressively decorated armor and an elaborate cape, clearly a symbol of high rank.
"Barnabus, having never seen himself at that angle begins to charm himself"
Tauriel; feeling inspired by her constantly changing companions, magically disguises herself as Barnabus and begins to read the symbols of enchanted tiles ahead to the group. She reads a tile ‘teleport’ and quickly steps on it, teleporting to the other side of the passage. Barnabus, having never seen himself at that angle begins to charm himself. With extra confidence in his step, he steps onto the next tile and chooses to change shape into a tall, handsome Elf noble.
Warm laughter hangs on the air, drawing those who hear it deeper into the emerald shadows.
Valeria has an idea and joins Barnabus on the tile, changing into Flennis, her hunched, frail pale body in contrast next to the well-built Elf. She turns her gaunt face towards Barnabus; distracted by the unattractive figure standing next to him and steals Flennis’ necklace from his pack pocket and loops it casually over her head.
"Barnabus begins breast stroking in the air and makes his way down"
Disguise Self, Illusion
You make yourself, including all your gear to look different until the spell ends
Disguise Self, Illusion
You make yourself, including all your gear to look different until the spell ends
Elmire, teasingly shoves Barnabus into the water as she steps onto the same tile changing herself into a hideously featured Dwarf women (the most putrid character she has ever met) and finds great contentment when her appearance repulses Barnabus.
Barnabus, head held high and speaking in his most proper and sophisticated voice announces to the group his is continuing and steps forward onto a tile, activating its levitation spell and slowly begins floating. While remaining completely in character, Barnabus theatrically composes his floating state to an almost graceful haul.
Valeria teleports to the other side of the passage, an experience that unsettles her. Once she reaches the floor, she bends over and throws up.
Barnabus begins breast stroking in the air and makes his way down the ceiling of the passage avoiding all the enchanted tiles. Tauriel (as Barnabus) laughs at him, but Barnabus just finds himself more aroused by his own appearance.
Elmire teleports and once landed staggers over next to Valeria in the corner of the landing and throws up.
Infernal
The language of devils and of the Nine Hells. Apart from being used for communication between the devils, in its written form it was also used to pen down infernal contracts.
Infernal
The language of devils and of the Nine Hells. Apart from being used for communication between the devils, in its written form it was also used to pen down infernal contracts.
Reya is last to teleport herself to join the group, she takes a moment to ground herself and marches up to the group as they all stand together looking at the old stone coffin raised in the middle of the room. A thick and heavy stone lid seal it shut, carved with etchings of a language foreign to most. Tauriel steps forward and reads the words in infernal. This is the tomb of Regal -the speaker.
Skeptical of what lies inside, Elmire and Valeria suggest to Barnabus that he should open it. In full confidence and literally feeling on top of the world Barnabus floats above the chest and easily double kicks the lid open. The group all peer into the coffin and see a skeleton head, following its decomposed body they notice it is covered in faded armor. The body positioned with its gauntlet cuffed hands clutching a black pristine dagger. Barnabus’ eyes widen as goes for the dagger and takes it. As soon as the dagger leaves the skeletons grip magic crackles around them and down the halls behind them. The magic holding the space around the tile’s simmers and quickly vanishes to nothing. All the enchantment traps are now disarmed.
Elmire and Tauriel investigate the coffin further and remove the resting skeletons necklace. Valeria leads as they all back track to the main altar room and take a moment to rest and regroup. Tauriel takes off eager to explore the rest of the passages. The lights illuminating the tunnels are flickering on their last lights. Tauriel pulls out her drift globe and begins to light the way, Valeria joining her keeping at a distance remaining in the darkness, easing the discomfort the bright light puts on her eyes. Barnabus remains a while, entranced by his newly acquired dagger.
"Valeria gladly accepts the dagger, intrigued by the dark power it holds"
Valeria and Tauriel investigate and enter a part collapsed chamber, leading to multiple rooms. They find a few shut doors, empty ransacked rooms and a freshly collapsed ceiling. Reya joins them and begins to kick the stubborn doors down and after a few empty rooms reveals another coffin room. The room is old and has been completely looted, including the coffin lying eerily empty in the middle of the room.
Barnabus joins the group and offers Valeria the black dagger, telling her that its dark magic and energy seems better suited to her. Valeria gladly accepts the dagger, intrigued by the dark power it holds.
The Black Steel dagger claimed from the crypt of Regal the Speaker
The Black Steel dagger claimed from the crypt of Regal the Speaker
Tauriel franticly checks doors, finding looted tombs and a room with a grim pile of bodies, recognized as refugees. She calls to the group to help, Barnabus first to arrive to her aid. When he arrives, he is stopped by his nose, as he smells tobacco behind the nearby door. Suddenly a voice yells from behind the door. Yelling orders to move more bodies. Valeria hears this and getting her daggers ready. Barnabus disguises his voice and replies to the cultist behind the door, as Valeria throws herself in the pile of bodies pretending to be one of the deceased.
During the back and forth between the closed door the cultist begins to speak with a tone of suspicion and tries again to enter the room. Barnabus blocks the door and convinces him that the door must remain locked because some of the bodies have a contagious disease. The cultist seems satisfied and goes back to his patrol.
The symbol of Bhaal, worn by his followers.
The symbol of Bhaal, worn by his followers.
Valeria gets up from the body pile and looks to Barnabus for a plan. Barnabus takes out his disguise kit and dresses as a cultist and Valeria gives him the necklace she stole from him earlier. A plan is made, to gather information. Tortoise – is the safe word, if his cover is blown.
Tauriel and Reya aren’t sure this plan will work and are keen to stay back and see how it plays out. Reya arms herself and Tauriel produces flame.
Elmire takes a deep breath and runs down the hallway, as claustrophobia almost cripples her.
Barnabus, composed and in character steps into the room, Valeria not far behind him, hiding out of sight in the shadows awaiting the safe word to aid in attack. After a bit of friendly chatting the fist of bane cultist gladly shares a smoke with Barnabus. While this happens the sound of distant fighting echo’s down the hall, the cultist reminds disguised Barnabus that they need stop the escape of Mortlock.
"the sound of distant fighting echo’s down the hall"
Barnabus casts influence others on the cultist who obeys the suggestion that he must leave his patrol and take a long nap. Once the cultist leaves to rest in his nearby quarters, the others regroup. Impressed by Barnabus’ performances the group comes together to listen to the intel Barnabus received about the bodies, Vaaz and Mortlock.
While they all agree that they need to press on and investigate this noise further, Valeria leads into an extremely dark passage and carefully moves to the opening on the other side undetected. The room before her, flooded like all the chambers before, but rising in the center, a dry stone platform. Atop, like a stage, Valeria watches as a battle unfolds. Between Vaaz and Mortlock. Mortlock, a huge and deformed human taking skilled blows from the agile moving Vaaz. Covered in gashes, Mortlock attempts to swing his deadly huge weapon but is too slow for the untouchable, wiry thin Vaaz. Vaaz armed with daggers, face covered in a steel mark almost dancing around Morlock with swagger. Valeria tries to whisper back down the line that Mortlock is huge, almost a goliath, the size of ten Barnabus s. But in a chain of terrible Chinese whispers, Elmire is last to receive the message. Confused that there are ten Barnabus s in the room ahead.
JOINING THE BATTLE BETWEEN VAAZ & MORTLOCK
Barnabus still disguised as a fist of bane runs behind vaaz and tries to form an ally as the rest of the group enter the room pretending to be in pursuit. Vaaz takes a second and pauses but believes him and goes back to his vital mission of ending Mortlock. Flanking aid with Vaaz, Barnabus rushes and tries to stab him in the back with his spear. But misses as his spear gets caught in his cultist cloak. After half stumbling as he over steps the attack, he looks up at Vaaz, face painted with guilt. Vaaz draws one of his daggers to him & keeps his other on Mortlock. Barnabus pulls out a dagger in response and goes to stabs him, but as he drives it in his leather armor, his dagger surprisingly bounces off him. Vaaz is untouchable.
Tauriel enters the battle and casts entangle into the center of the room surrounding the two, narrowly missing Barnabus. From her satchel she scatters her beloved seagrass into the shallow water, as it extends and forms into beastly vines, crawling around, caging them.
Valeria shoots an arrow, but it gets lost in the entanglement of vines surrounding them.
Vaaz attempts to stab Barnabus but misses and gets flipped off. Infuriated Vaaz goes to slice off Barnabus s middle finger, but in the last second Barnabus drops it, and Vaaz misses a second time. Barnabus winks. Vaaz catches his eyes and tries to intimidate and stun him, but Barnabus meets his stare, staring into the darkness, completely unafraid. Elmire armed with her bow, misses her first shot, loosing acoustics of the room because of its numerous pillars, but casts hunters mark.
Morlock goes for a massive swing and finally catches Vaaz, clobbering his shoulder. Reya charges an attack, commanding the attention of the room with her chilling war cry, both weapons drawn.
Vaaz's Stunning Gaze
If successful the target cannot move, automatically fails strength and dexterity saving throws and all attacks against the target have advantage.
Vaaz's Stunning Gaze
If successful the target cannot move, automatically fails strength and dexterity saving throws and all attacks against the target have advantage.
Tauriel casts frostbite and Vaaz is smacked in the face with a deadly chill, his mask appearing to freeze with ice crystals.
Valeria seeing the entanglement surrounding the battle, realizes she needs to close the space between them as she lightly steps behind Mortlock. From behind him she fires an arrow at Vaaz but it misses, again swallowed by the vines.
Vaaz looks into Mortlocks almost defeated eyes, stunning him. With Mortlock unable to move. Vaaz escapes the entanglement and moves to a north opening of the room, creating some distance between himself and all of his attackers.
"Vaaz looks into Mortlocks almost defeated eyes, stunning him"
Elmire attempts another shot, but the narrow doorway Vaaz slips near hinders her accuracy. Mortlock still stunned begins swaying on his feet before he topples to a knee in the entanglement. Reya charges Vaaz with her swords and delivers two big blows which would usually devastate an enemy but because of his unstoppable reaction, he remains untouched.
Blindness/Deafness Necromancy
Blind or deafen a foe. Choose one creature that you can see within range to make a Constitution saving throw.
Blindness/Deafness Necromancy
Blind or deafen a foe. Choose one creature that you can see within range to make a Constitution saving throw.
Barnabus casts blindness/deafness, successfully disarming him. Tauriel produces flame and launches her fire ball towards the now unaware Vaaz, but the flames clips his hair and singes his fringe. Although Vaaz cannot see or hear the interaction, the shear heat and smell of burnt hair paint a good picture of the attack. Before Vaaz can react, Valeria shoots an arrow, piercing into his shoulder. Vaaz in a rage of magic casts his own spell and his sight and hearing is bought back, his arena of enemies back in full sight.
Elmire, having time to move to a perfect vantage point shoots an arrow into his neck and Vaaz takes damage. Mortlocks stun spell fades and he manages to get up and tries to break out of the entanglement. The cost is great and his already beaten body takes more damage from the thorns. He pleads to be saved from Vaaz and is thrown a healing potion from Elmire. Reya unleashes another attack with her short sword but with his vision returned, dodges the first strike and unstoppable reaction dissolves the second. Reya begins to boil with anger and is desperate to kill him.
To be continued..