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Post by moralhazard on Apr 17, 2019 20:57:34 GMT
“All right, kid, we’re nearly at the entrance,” The (lowered) voice of Roend Underhill drifted back down the darkened hallway towards Malakbel. There were, admittedly, few who might dare to call the yuan-ti kid, especially those so much shorter than him. The halfling, however, was a grizzled-looking veteran of the Underdark, surprisingly spry for his apparent age, with just a slight hint of the potbelly that so many mostly-retired halfling adventurers seemed to develop.
Malakbel had first met Roend when the halfling had been describing how he and his party of brave adventurers had found the entrance to the famous tomb of Avin’rauv the drow, beloved warrior of Lilth, slain before her time and rumored to be buried with an incredible horde of treasure. Tragically, the other members of his party had been killed in a horrific onslaught of monsters just after opening the door. He had only left because without the rest of his party, he couldn’t hope to face the challenges sure to await any brave adventurer – but he had sealed the tomb before fleeing, so that no other parties might possibly have the chance to pillage it. Naturally, he hoped to go back himself someday, although he was older now, and having trouble finding anyone brave enough for the attempt.
It had taken some convincing, and a not inconsiderable amount of coin, but eventually Roend had agreed to lead Malakbel to the tomb – with half the coin upfront, of course. Roend had even promised that the area around the tomb was clear of traps and monsters which, so far, had proven true.
Even with his halfling guide’s guaratees, the trip through the Underdark could not exactly be said to be pleasant. There were a lot of wet, slimy hallways to walk through, and more than one corner where the pathway seemed identical in either direction, not to mention one pathway where Malakbel had needed to crawl on his stomach in order to fit. Even finding his way back without Roend’s help could be a challenge for the yuan-ti; on the other hand, Roend seemed confident and sure at every turn, as he led the yuani-ti further and further from the Yawning Portal.
“There we go,” Roend stopped at what looked very much like solid wall, turning to Malakbel. “One magic word, and all of Avin’rauv’s treasures await, if you’re strong enough to get them. I’d be happy to release the spell – after you give me the rest of my coin, naturally.”
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Post by Malakbel on Apr 18, 2019 4:16:14 GMT
"Thanks gramps" He responded to the halfling wording of "kid". He didn't really mind. He was a bit fascinated with the haflings as a whole, and yet on one hand he was constantly wondering how such a small species had managed to survive this long in the world without being enslaved and bred into different species by stronger, bigger species. It sure happened to other races as far as he knew, goblins at least and some hobgoblin dominated societies as far as he had read. Maybe though halflings -were- themselves the result of some rather large eugenics project. They certainly had qualities that were rather useful.
In truth Naizelos, or Malakbel as he had made himself known in the city of Waterdeep, was a bit worried. Tackling on a dungeon himself was something dangerous and he knew it, but then again it was not like he had any friends he could ask around. He had told Citrine that if he wasn't back in about a week he was dead, so she should think about bribing a cleric to bring him back to life. He left her a piece of his body, and he wasn't really sure about what constituted such since he couldn't find anything in books. Would hair and part of his ear be enough? He sure hoped it would be, but if it wasn't, it was not like he would realise that, being dead.
His affairs settled, he ventured forth. Darkness did not bother him as much as it would other species, one of the few advantages for all the social drawbacks he carried within him. He made it a point to draw a map of the road he was taking so he would be able to find his way back should he forget it for some reason.
When the little man requested his payment, Malakbel looked at him with a faint smile upon his lips. No witnesses. And the spell would certainly fade after the original caster was dead. He raised his hand towards him. And then handed him the coin.
"A pleasure doing business with you, heck, I might drop by to give you first chance to buy whatever it is I find down here"
He said, and eagerly awaited for the halfling to undo the spell. And then he could kill him, just in case the spell wouldn't be undone with the death of the original caster. But he wouldn't do that, really. He wasn't evil. Was he? No, he wasn't, he thought. But the hafling was just about the only person that could betray him then; maybe he had sold him up from the start and brought him to a trapped place only for him to die and then he would come back down and strip him of his possessions. Or maybe he would just set up an alarm and wait for him to come back tired, and then try to take care of him.
Wouldn't then the most sensible of choices be to take care of the hafling right then before he had the chance?
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 18, 2019 20:18:09 GMT
“Excellent, my thanks,” Roend took the coin from Malakbel. “Best of luck to you, kid! The spell should fade in a minute or two and reveal the entrance to Avin’rauv’s tomb – assuming I don’t get jumped by anything on the way out of here,” he chuckled, leaning close to the wall and murmured a few indeterminate words, accompanied by a hand gesture obscured by his small body. Roend set off down the tunnel with surprising quickness, taking a different turn than he’d led Malakbel through, and would be well out of sight within a few moments. The wall remained… a wall. It remained a wall just long enough that Malakbel might have started to wonder whether this had all been an elaborate ruse and he should, in fact, have killed the halfling. At least he had his map? But, perhaps to his surprise or perhaps not, the stones of the wall would shimmer before his eyes, and melt away into a square opening. The edges were stone, engraved with mysterious looking symbols. With his knowledge of Elvish, Malakbel would be able to read them: Here lies the tomb of Avin’rauv. Let all who may enter here fear the wrath of the Great Goddess, Mother of the Dark, who shall take the blood of her enemies for drink and their living hearts for meat. Woe, woe be upon you!Assuming that such a inscription wouldn’t scare Malakbel off, he would find a crumbling stone staircase would lead him down into… a hallway? There would be a large door off to his right, or a long track of hallway off to the left. The walls were hewn stone, the floor uneven flagstones; the whole thing was a bit shadowy, but nothing that would tax his eyes. The air was cool, with a faintly damp smell of must.
Tomb Map:
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Post by Malakbel on Apr 19, 2019 20:01:19 GMT
"Assuming I don't get jumped by anything on the way out" The halfling had said. Naizelos just smiled, a little bit too convenient, wasn't it? If he had to guess, he would have guessed the man was just as wary of being killed right there by him. And, thus, was bluffing in an attempt to put more weight on the other side of the scale. Little did he know the Yuan-ti had already decided not to kill him. It was odd that he went out a different way which he had come in, he noticed, and silently hoped it wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass. On the other hand, the wall did end up coming down revealing an entrance. That he liked.
He spent some time reading the writing, a good warning. Made him think what would he write if it were up to him to make a scripture against thieves and raiders. Probably something like "The gold is cursed, it'll shrink your penis irreversibly the moment you touch it". Then, he only had to think of something similarly worrying for the female half of the would-be adventurers. That was always the hardest half.
Also, he was curious about the figure of the Great Goddess, about if she would have clerics and paladins as well, about if they would be privy to spells only known to them. He thirsted for that kind of secret knowledge, and would go to great lengths to learn it. He checked his equipment one last time and then headed down, when faced with the question about which side to pick he stopped, and "updated" the map before rolling it again and keeping it safe. Then, he decided to try for the door. First he would check for traps... It would really suck to get crushed by a giant boulder or to get ran through by a trap in the wall in the very first few seconds he walked in. If, on the other hand, he did not find any such trap he would try to open it as stealthily as possible. "As possible" was key there, as it might end up being impossible.
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 19, 2019 20:06:34 GMT
((Roll for perception to look for traps))
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Post by Malakbel on Apr 19, 2019 20:09:18 GMT
Snake eyes see!
Perception check R4sJu8ft1d20+31d20+3
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 19, 2019 20:23:59 GMT
The door just next to him was wooden, high quality. Malakbel's discerning eyes would carefully search every inch of it, revealing... no sign of obvious traps.
If he attempted to go through, however, he would discern an obvious problem: the door was stuck.
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Post by Malakbel on Apr 19, 2019 20:39:54 GMT
Well... It shouldn't really surprise him that the door was stuck. After all, it was a tomb that had been forgotten for quite some time. That thought, he brought both of his hands towards the door, and tried to force it open.
Athletiiiiics 7K9f|g7d1d20+21d20+2
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 19, 2019 20:49:12 GMT
With Malakbel’s mighty application of force, the heavy wooden door would groan open, slowly, revealing a long room beyond. The north wall had a balcony that led nowhere, with a frayed rope hanging from it, and the south-west corner of the room had patches of musty-smelling mushrooms sprouting in it. There were two other doors visible, one almost directly south, and the other southeast. There were also two giant bats hanging from the balcony. One after another, they stretched their wings and dove at Malakbel.
Roll initiative please! GB 1: ZeazAHp|1d20+3GB 2: 1d20+3 1d20+3·1d20+3
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Post by Malakbel on Apr 19, 2019 21:00:01 GMT
Mal's strongest score Initiative! rOo5uzB51d20-11d20-1
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 19, 2019 21:04:01 GMT
The two bats weren't exactly moving at the same pace; it seemed like one had spotted Malakbel before the other. It leapt from the bottom of the balcony, wings pumping through the air, and charged him with vicious ferocity, aiming sharp little bat-teeth directly at him.
Attack: kBE51LRa1d20+41d20+4
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Post by Malakbel on Apr 19, 2019 21:16:34 GMT
"Oh great"
He managed to whisper just as the saw the two giant bats alerted to his presence, one was quicker and quickly flew towards him trying to attack him, but his thick armor did what it was supposed to do and kept the small natural weapons of the beast at bay just enough for him to raise his free hand and cast a spell at it.
Firebolt at the little bugger nOSJbn3p1d20+7
Damage 2d10
And, immediately, he retreated back to the tunnel he had come from. It was narrow, and thus, useful for his purposes. Ten feet back, ending up just at the bottom of the stairs he had just came down from.1d20+7·2d10
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 19, 2019 21:22:36 GMT
The giant bat snapped at Malakbel as he retreated back down the corridor, missing him again. It let out a high-pitched shriek when the fireball hit it, faltering in the air but staying firmly afloat.
The second bat swooped passed it, attacking Malakbel from high in the air as he retreated down the hallway, but missing, the armor turning aside his teeth.
The first bat hung back, hovering in the room still, biding his time and readying himself to dodge.
GB1: Attack of opportunity: nuMR0KU51d20+4GB2:
Attack: 1d20+2
((should be +4, but still unsuccessful))
1d20+4·1d20+2
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Post by Malakbel on Apr 19, 2019 21:43:46 GMT
The first part of his really-not-a-plan was working just as he intended. That was, he wasn't dead yet. After backing down where he had come from he tried to cast another firebolt at the frenzied animal, but being so close to him, with the flapping of the wings and all made it hard to aim and the bolt ended up landing elsewhere with a seething sound, much to his chagrin.
Firebolt at the bat in front of him!
Disadvantage
Uhm2EwbF1d20+7 1d20+7
Damage
2d101d20+7·1d20+7·2d10
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 19, 2019 21:54:10 GMT
The second bat swooped up over the firebolt, and attacked Malakbel again, missing him yet again, teeth skidding off his very impressive armor.
The only problem with moving back into the hallway was that, well - sound traveled. In this case, it traveled down the long hallway behind Malakbel, and, out of nowhere (from his perspective) appeared a small kobold, armed with a dagger, which charged at Malakbel from behind.
Flanking him against the giant bat, the kobold slashed at him with its little dagger, hitting a small blow.
The first bat still stayed out of sight, probably worryingly.
GB 2 Attack: TWACVVkp1d20+4
Kobold initiative: 1d20+3
Kobold Attack (with advantage): 1d20+5 or 1d20+5
Damage: 1d4+3
1d20+4·1d20+3·1d20+5·1d20+5·1d4+3
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