Chapter 26: Dominion of Ruin

[Inferno]

Lair of the Cyclops, The Ruins of Thracia, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Twenty-two. Late Morning. 1st day of the month of Ublex, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia







In an explosive cascade of ravenous jaws, the gigantic hydra follows Kiri's decoy to the base of the pyramidical pile and brutally rends it asunder!

At the instant of the savage attack, Dahinna lunges south, momentarily exposed before she hides behind the next expanse of crumbling wall!

Cruloc and Torix warily edge backwards...ostensibly to keep the enormous monstrosity in sight.

The gap in the rubble before Kiri only permits him to see due south so he holds fire, arrow still nocked! As the immense creature's flank plunges past Kiri, an unsettling realization dawns upon the mystic warrior. With some dozen writhing heads, the fearsome monster out of ancient mythology may have no rear facing!

Unseen, Grandfather returns to Kiri's side as the enraged, bewildered hydra shreds the fabric decoy to bits in a fury of wrath!


Actions?!


Map Detail:

One square = 10 feet. H = the Hydra. Cy = the Cyclops. Grey rubble slows movement, white rubble is impassable.

Map:


Behind the DM Screen:

Hydra attacks decoy: [1d20]=16, [1d20]=12, [1d20]=3, [1d20]=18 Three hits.
Damage to decoy: [1d10]=5, [1d10]=7, [1d10]=6 18hp damage!

PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 15/17, Spells: 6/8 1st lvl, 3/5 2nd lvl
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 40/54
Dahinna: Zamoran Southwoman Thief 5: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 25/25
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 3/3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 20/21, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl, 0/1 2nd lvl
Torix: Pict Savage Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 31/38

PC Magic:

Unseen Servant (Kiri): Duration: 82 rounds.

Player Resources:

The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

Cruloc advances to P11, loosing two feathered shafts at the beast. (Inferno's call whether it is S range or M).

Attack with short bow [1d20]=17
Attack with short bow [1d20]=4
Damage from arrow [1d6]=2

"Pitiful slug! By chewing on the cyclops' face, he is now nearly as ugly as you! Can your lumbering legs catch you a meal, or do you merely grovel for scraps left by true warriors?"

The Cimmerian sprints southward, laughing.

[hedgeknight]

Dahinna

Trying to quell her pounding heart is near impossible, so the rogue just lets it pound! Gritting her teeth, she prepares to strike the creature from behind should it give chase to Cruloc. "Mitra make me brave," she prays.

Rolling for attack if she is able:
Short Sword: [1d20+2]=18+2=20 Damage [1d6+2]=1+2=3

[jemmus]

Torix kicks a loose stone and sends it skittering down the street. He draws the nocks of arrows to his ear and lets them fly.

[1d20]=8[1d6]=5
[1d20]=1[1d6]=5

[ravenn4544]

Amethu struggles to enter the fray to help his comrades versus searching the lair that is close to him. He reminds himself that the sacrifice of the battle is a distraction to do just that. He peers into the lair before entering....

[ChubbyPixie]

Kiri shifts 10 feet to his left to see if he can align with the monster and get a shot off through the rubble there.

If he is able to see its flank: Attack with Short Bow (THAC0:18): To Hit: [1d20]=19 Damage vs. s/m: [1d6]=3, vs. Lg: [1d6]=3

Attack with Short Bow (THAC0:18): To Hit: [1d20]=3 Damage vs. s/m: [1d6]=1, vs. Lg: [1d6]=4

[Inferno]

Lair of the Cyclops, The Ruins of Thracia, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Twenty-two. Late Morning. 1st day of the month of Ublex, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia







While the colossal serpentine monster is distracted by Kiri's sorcerous decoy, Amethu peers into the lair of the cyclops to witness Cruloc, Kiri and Torix loose arrows upon the unimaginable creature!

The Pict's missiles cannot penetrate the thick, scaled hide of the immense beast! But the Cimmerian and the Easterner draw blood with one arrow each! The gargantuan monstrosity is only further enraged!

Cruloc races southward just as the hydra charges like a bull, bursting out into the street! As it hurtles past her, Dahinna plunges her short blade into the fearsome leviathan, to the hilt!




Actions?!


Map Detail:

One square = 10 feet. H = the Hydra. Cy = the Cyclops. Grey rubble slows movement, white rubble is impassable.

Behind the DM Screen:

Hydra was surprised, so Party acted first.

PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 15/17, Spells: 6/8 1st lvl, 3/5 2nd lvl
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 40/54
Dahinna: Zamoran Southwoman Thief 5: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 25/25
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 3/3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 20/21, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl, 0/1 2nd lvl
Torix: Pict Savage Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 31/38

PC Magic:

Unseen Servant (Kiri): Duration: 81 rounds.

Player Resources:

The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[jemmus]

"The thing closed the gap quickly," Torix thinks. He can only run and put some distance between it and his bow.

Runs 9" to U3.

[ChubbyPixie]

Unable to see the beast any longer, Kiri will sprint for the opening at D12, with Grandfather following after, a look of pure glee and excitement on his face. He looks like he’s never had so much fun in his afterlife.

[hedgeknight]

Dahinna

Ignoring the splatter of blood on her face and clothes, the rogue seizes the opportunity and strikes again!

Short Sword: [1d20+2]=5+2=7 Damage [1d6+2]=6+2=8

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

Cruloc cannot believe what he is seeing: Dahinna stands alone against the gargantuan avatar of blasphemed nature!

"Crom's dented helmet! I thought the footpad was meant to burgle the temple while the Pict and I pricked it with our arrows! Is she eager to see the afterlife?"

His bowstring hums, and two more arrows streak along the marbled avenue!
Attack with short bow [1d20]=15
Attack with short bow [1d20]=12
Damage from arrow [1d6]=1
Damage from arrow [1d6]=6

[ravenn4544]

Amethu uses the distraction of the combat to scale the pyramid the hydra was in per the plan. He yet keeps his silence spell at the ready should he need to provide further distraction.

[Inferno]

Lair of the Cyclops, The Ruins of Thracia, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Twenty-two. Late Morning. 1st day of the month of Ublex, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia







With a sickening sensation, the burglars of ancient history helplessly watch their scheme unravel before their very eyes!

Cruloc and Torix flee according to plan but Dahinna stands within a sword stroke of the great, multi-headed dragon, and she stands alone! The savage Pict can no longer see her or the Hydra but the sounds he hears tell him something has gone terribly wrong.

The gigantic monster roars! Undulating snake-like heads writhe in every direction and their slavering jaws find Dahinna!

The woman wearing her dead friend's serpentine armband...



... is beset by the deadly, serpentine horror!

Her second sword thrust is beaten aside as she is mercilessly rent asunder like Kiri's rag decoy! (12hp damage!)



Seeing the danger to Dahinna's life, Kiri abandons the plan and hurtles toward his friend!

Shouting, Cruloc keeps to their stratagem and rains two more arrows upon the fearsome, scaled behemoth! One feathered shaft grazes the giant but the other sinks deep! However, they do not divert the ferocious creature's terrible attention away from its bleeding prey, Dahinna!

Meanwhile, Amethu the sorcerer-priest, lifelong aspirant of secret knowledge, cannot help himself. He clambers unsteadily up the one-ton marble blocks of the cyclops' pyramidical pile, from which the hydra was unleashed, and peers into it! Deep within the darkness inside that Pandora's box shimmers the glint of silver.


Actions?!


Map Detail:

One square = 10 feet. H = the Hydra. Cy = the Cyclops. Grey rubble slows movement, white rubble is impassable.

Behind the DM Screen:

Initiative: Party: [1d6]=5, Monsters: [1d6]=4 Party wins.
Hydra attacks Dahinna: [1d20]=9, [1d20]=15, [1d20]=2, damage: [1d10]=4, [1d10]=8, [1d10]=10 Two heads hit for 12hp damage.

PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 15/17, Spells: 6/8 1st lvl, 3/5 2nd lvl
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 40/54
Dahinna: Zamoran Southwoman Thief 5: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 13/25
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 3/3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 20/21, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl, 0/1 2nd lvl
Torix: Pict Savage Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 31/38

PC Magic:

Unseen Servant (Kiri): Duration: 81 rounds.

Player Resources:

The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[ChubbyPixie]

Seeing it is too far to charge, Kiri moves 10 feet southwards and unleashes two more arrows from his bow in an effort to distract the beast from Dahinna.

Attack with Short Bow (THAC0:18): To Hit: [1d20]=16 Damage vs. s/m: [1d6]=3, vs. Lg: [1d6]=4

Attack with Short Bow (THAC0:18): To Hit: [1d20]=19 Damage vs. s/m: [1d6]=5, vs. Lg: [1d6]=2

[jemmus]

Aware of the danger of hitting a friend with a stray arrow, Torix draws a shaft to his ear. He and Cruloc must draw the monster's attention away from Dahinna. He yells a Pictish battle cry, Gu ra liy em!*

[1d20]=8[1d6]=1
[1d20]=4[1d6]=3

"I will kill you!"

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

The urge to clash steel against fang warred with reason in Cruloc's mind.

"The beast must be drawn away - else she perish before my blade tastes blood."

Attack with short bow [1d20]=10
Attack with short bow [1d20]=5

"Bah! My hands are made for crushing skulls, not stringing twine!"

[hedgeknight]

Dahinna

Spitting up blood, the rogue knows she is about to die. Zahra's face appears in her mind and she gives a red smile to the beast intent on killing her. "Save me...a seat at the...bar, my friend. I'll...be there s-soon."
Then she somehow gets to her feet and tries to get up under the hydra's body, away from its many heads...as she jabs and stabs at its chest and belly.

Short Sword: [1d20+2]=10+2=12 Damage [1d6+2]=3+2=5

[ravenn4544]

Amethu's eye glint at the possibility of what else may lay in the darkness amidst the silver. The clash and clamor of battle pulls his attention away as the plan starts to show it's weaknesses. He scrambles down the rocky lair and, using the pillars and formations as cover, sneaks his way to Dahinna and out of site of the monster.

[Inferno]

Lair of the Cyclops, The Ruins of Thracia, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Twenty-two. Late Morning. 1st day of the month of Ublex, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia





The adventurers' plan is betrayed... by one of their own!

In horror, they watch helplessly as it all goes wrong. Has Dahinna finally had enough of this unearthly realm of terror and death? Does she long to be with her lost loved ones...






...whose memory still haunts her every step? Or does she merely wish to be at peace, after everything she's seen. Whatever the motive, whatever the desire, Dahinna stands alone and fights with a devil-may-care smile upon her bloody face.

With bows and arrows, her friends try in vain to lure the giant, multi-headed monster away from its wounded prey! Only Kiri's shafts land true.

Then, with a terrible inevitability, the towering amalgam of writhing serpents strikes! Snapping fangs rip Dahinna's body apart without mercy. (15hp damage!)



Amethu pulls himself from the allure of treasure and rushes through the broken rubble as close to Dahinna as he dare get. Sheltering behind an ancient wall, he arrives in time to hear her lifeless, crimson body collapse to the stones!


Actions?!


Map Detail:

One square = 10 feet. H = the Hydra. Cy = the Cyclops. Grey rubble slows movement, white rubble is impassable.

Behind the DM Screen:

Initiative: Party: [1d6]=1, Monsters: [1d6]=3 Monster wins.
Hydra attacks Dahinna: [1d20]=6, [1d20]=13, [1d20]=9, [1d20]=15 Three heads hit.
Damage to Dahinna: [1d10]=5, [1d10]=1, [1d10]=9

PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 15/17, Spells: 6/8 1st lvl, 3/5 2nd lvl
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 40/54
Dahinna: Zamoran Southwoman Thief 5: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: -2/25
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 3/3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 20/21, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl, 0/1 2nd lvl
Torix: Pict Savage Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 31/38

PC Magic:

Unseen Servant (Kiri): Duration: 80 rounds.

Player Resources:

The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[jemmus]

Torix watches grimly as his Zamoran thief companion is rendered by the great monster. They failed her. But perhaps they can avenge her. And perhaps he can offer a couple of its heads to Jhebbal Sag in repayment. He looses more arrows at the thing.

[1d20]=3[1d6]=4
[1d20]=5[1d6]=1