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Locky still unconscious dreams of flying....

[ooc: oops, of course he was! And it looked like a Troll, made a guess I have described him as a bit of a 'bookworm' thus the reason why I thought he'd know]

Cursing once more Jerrard attempts to kick the arm off his leg, backing away from the Troll he raises his sword in defense, trying to fight off the Troll.

[ooc: No idea what to roll for that!!!]

The floating stone head, still wrapped up in Jerrard's cloak, hovers over Babushka's head as they walk. When they reach the portcullis, they find it has been forced open. Babushka's eagle eyes would also notice a hand print on the wall, a human's, made from podman blood. It seems likely they not only passed through this way, but were in a battle.

Meanwhile, Jerrard kicks away the severed arm and steps back, taking a defensive posture to protect himself. This doesn't stop the limb from using its fingers to crawl forward, then lashing out again. But Jerrard is ready, and he easily sidesteps the hand.

"All evil shall be vanquished!" Elvenoff shouts, refusing to back down despite his wounds. He slices again into the troll, doing considerable damage. Howling with rage, the troll focuses its fury on him alone. He lashes out with his one arm, clawing Elvenoff across the chest. It then tries to bite him, but the paladin is easily able to avoid it, thanks to his thick armor and divine protection.

While Thuskar picks up the fallen torch, Ulster drops Jerrard's bow and charges with Babushka's staff. He wields the weapon clumsily, as he is not accustomed to using a weapon designed for a gnome. The troll dodges the awkward blow.

The wounds Elvenoff delivered to the monster slowly begin to mend themselves.

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Babushka, Shay (carrying Locky), and Leafloam travel 60 feet north. They find the portcullis open and evidence of the other party's passing. (Tracking = 5, success)
Jerrard kicks away the arm and goes into full-defense (AC improves 2 points.)
Elvenoff attacks the troll with his long sword (1d20-1): 15, hit. (1d12): 6 damage.
Thuskar picks up the torch.
Ulster drops the bow and attacks the troll with Babushka's old staff (1d20-2): 11, miss.
Merithina remains in full defense.
Troll attacks Elvenoff with its good claw (1d20-1): 13, hit. (1d4+4): 5 damage. It then tries to bite him (1d20-1): 1, miss.
Troll's Severed Arm claws at Jerrard (1d20): 7, miss.
Troll regenerates 3 HP.

Round 3!

Party's Initiative (1d10): 1
Enemy's Initiative (1d10): 5

(Party wins!)

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X – Solid rock
a – Merithina’s Cage
b – Dwarf’s Cage
c – Empty Cage
d – Ulster’s Cage
g - Grinder
J – Jerrard
E – Elvenoff
U – Ulster
T – Thuskar
M – Merithina
t – Troll
l – Troll’s left arm

Jerrard continues his movement backwards, off towards the grinder. His sword up in a defensive manner, swapping places with Ulster as he moves.

(he plans to place the arm in the Grinder if it wasnt obvious)

"Merithina stay back, we will try to protect you as best we can." He shouts, never turning around.

Jerrard backs away to the grinder, luring the severed arm to it. The arm claws out at him, slicing deeply into his legs. The wizard backs away, nearly slipping in his own blood, feeling very light-headed from the loss of blood. The arm attempts to push the advantage and claw again, finishing him off, but Jerrard is able to keep the arm at bay with his blade.

Elvenoff, Thuskar and Ulster all attack at once, but the troll is more nimble than its size might indicate. It drops into a roll, avoiding all three attacks. When it comes up, it swings at Elvenoff then bites deeply into his neck. The paladin, pale as a ghost and splattered with crimson, drops to the ground, unconscious and bleeding badly.

Roaring in victory, the troll turns its attention to the other two. It claws at Ulster and bites Thuskar, but the two press on, despite being lightly armed and having no armor at all.

The troll's wounds continue to mend on their own at a rapid pace.

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Babushka, Shay (carrying Locky), and Leafloam travel 60 feet north.
Jerrard backs up to the grinder, remaining in full defense.
Elvenoff attacks the troll with his long sword (1d20-1): 11, miss.
Thuskar attacks the troll with the torch (1d20-2): 6, miss.
Ulster attacks the troll with Babushka's old staff (1d20-2): 1, miss.
Merithina backs away, remains in full defense.
Troll attacks Elvenoff with its good claw (1d20-1): 5, miss. It then tries to bite him (1d20-1): 18, hit. (2d6): 9 damage. Elvenoff falls.
Troll's Severed Arm claws at Jerrard (1d20): 16, hit. (1d4+4): 6 damage. Jerrard's Armor spell fails.
Troll regenerates 3 HP.

Round 4!

Party's Initiative (1d10): 10
Enemy's Initiative (1d10): 8

(Enemy wins!)

Troll attacks Ulster with his good claw (1d20): 9, hit. (1d4+4): 5 damage. It then bites at Thuskar (1d20): 9, hit. (2d6): 8 damage.
Troll's Severed Arm claws at Jerrard (1d20): 4, miss.
Troll regenerates 3 HP.

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X – Solid rock
a – Merithina’s Cage
b – Dwarf’s Cage
c – Empty Cage
d – Ulster’s Cage
g - Grinder
J – Jerrard
E – Elvenoff
U – Ulster
T – Thuskar
M – Merithina
t – Troll
l – Troll’s left arm

(OOC: Breila, forgive my presumptuousness but I am assuming that even with finding the portcullis open, she'd and the others still intend to move forward this round. If I'm wrong, please correct me.)

(ooc: you bet they will move forward, finding evidence their friends passed by in battle!)

Babushka leads the group on, walking as fast as she can while paying attention to the surroundings. Is the fungus staff limp or straightened?

The fungus staff went limp after they left Leafloam's chamber, and has remained so since then.

Babushka keeps the fungus staff in her left hand as they're moving on, ready to set the lantern she holds in her right hand down and grip it with both hands as soon as it stiffens, preparing herself for defence.

Babushka and the others continue forward. Once they are about twenty feet away from the prisoner chamber, the sounds of a fierce battle can be heard echoing toward them. A monstrous roar, shouts of pain, yelling, and the splatter of blood. The fungus staff in the gnome's hands hardens, preparing for battle.

Meanwhile, Ulster attempts to whack the troll with Babushka's old staff, wielding it like a club, but the blow doesn't even bruise the troll's thick hide. While it's distracted, though, Thuskar manages to jab the burning torch into the monster's side. The flesh darkens and singes, causing the creature to roar in agony. The blackened flesh does not regenerate, like the other wounds.

Jerrard grabs hold of the severed arm, which struggles to claw at him. He tosses it up into the grinder. There is a sickening noise from within, along with the grinding of gears, and a blacking ooze trickles out of the faucet at the bottom of the device a few moments later.

The troll is doing just fine without its left arm, though. It rakes its claws across Ulster's face, causing him to scream out in pain. It then bites Thuskar's left arm, nearly tearing it off in the process. The two are in terrible shape and won't last much longer.

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Babushka, Shay (carrying Locky), and Leafloam travel 60 feet north.
Ulster attacks with Babushka's old staff (1d20-2): 9, miss.
Jerrard throws the severed arm into the grinder.
Troll's Severed Arm (AoO): (1d20): 7, miss.
Thuskar attacks with the torch (1d20-2): 15, hit. (1d6): 4 damage.
Elvenoff continues to bleed.
Merithina remains in full defense.

Round 5!

Party's Initiative (1d10): 5
Enemy's Initiative (1d10): 4

(Enemy wins!)

Troll claws at Ulster (1d20): 9, hit. (1d4+4): 8 damage. It then bites at Thuskar (1d20): 15, hit. (2d6): 10 damage.
Troll regenerates 3 HP.

(Party's turn!)

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X – Solid rock
a – Merithina’s Cage
b – Dwarf’s Cage
c – Empty Cage
d – Ulster’s Cage
g - Grinder
J – Jerrard
E – Elvenoff
U – Ulster
T – Thuskar
M – Merithina
t – Troll

(OOC: Breila, Babushka and the others will arrive in the current round, so you can post what Babushka's first action will be once she enters the room and takes in what's happening.)

When Babushka takes in that there's a troll in the room, she bellows "Watch out, I'm throwing fire!" and throws the lantern with all her force onto the troll, hoping to break the lamp, spill the oil and set the troll on fire.

(no idea which modifiers apply, and how damage is determined. Babs can throw daggers) (1d20=14) Hits AC 3

Hearing the sounds of battle, Babushka rushes ahead. "Hey, wait!" Shay calls after her. "You've got the light!" With no choice, he is forced to pick up the pace to keep up with her, as is Leafloam.

When the ranger runs into the chamber, she skids to a halt. The four cages are now empty and open. The crazy dwarf, though, is nowhere to be seen.

Instead, there is a nine foot tall creature with dagger like claws, rubbery skin, and only one arm. It is fighting Ulster, who is wielding Babushka's old staff like a club, and a podman using a torch. This podman looks different, though--more human. It almost resembles a cross between a human and a podman, in fact. In any case, both Ulster and the podman are covered in wounds and standing on their last legs.

Elvenoff lies on the ground, torn to ribbons. He does not move.

Jerrard is behind the grinder, so she just barely sees him. He looks in terrible shape. He is favoring one leg, as the other is clawed up terribly. He is quite pale and visibly bleeding.

Merithina is in the back, holding Locky's dagger and looking ready to faint with fear.

Shay steps in right after her, carrying the unconscious Locky. "The Dark Queen's tits!" he exclaims, his strongest oath to date.

Leafloam steps in last, a 12 foot tall tree with eyes and a mouth.

Apparently recognizing the creature as a troll and knowing it has a weakness for fire, Babushka chucks Shay's hooded lantern right at it. Shay cries out for her to stop, but it is too late (and with his hands full, he cannot stop her).

The lantern sails through the air and crashes right into the monster's back. The glass shatters, spilling burning oil all down its body. The oil also splashes a bit, causing small flaming gobs to splatter on Ulster, Elvenoff, and the podman.

The troll shrieks and wildly attempts to bat at its back, to put out the flames, but would have trouble reaching even if it had both arms. Its skin seems to be a very flammable material, and the oil only fuels it further. The flames spread down its back, blackening the flesh and giving off a terrible smell. After a moment, the troll crashes to the ground, its body being consumed by the flames.

The lantern lies on the ground nearby, broken. The stone head flies over to the burning troll, bobbing above its burning corpse.

Shay, sighing deeply, finds a spot to gently set Locky down.

===========================

Babushka throws Shay's hooded lantern at the troll. (14, hit).
Hooded Lantern's saving throw against crushing blow (1d20): 12, fail. The glass shatters.
The Troll takes (2d6): 11 damage. The troll falls.
Thuskar takes (1d3): 1 damage.
Ulster takes (1d3): 2 damage
Elvenoff takes (1d3): 1 damage.
Elvenoff continues to bleed.
Merithina remains in full-defense.
Shay gently sets Locky down on the ground.

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X – Solid rock
a – Merithina’s Cage
b – Dwarf’s Cage
c – Empty Cage
d – Ulster’s Cage
g - Grinder
J – Jerrard
E – Elvenoff
U – Ulster
T – Thuskar
M – Merithina
t – Troll

(Jerrard and Leafloam still have actions in this round. The lantern oil will continue to burn the next round.)

Babushka lets out a deep sigh as a rock the size of the troll falls off her heart (don't know if the phrase exists in English, but I'm sure you get the meaning).

Jerrard limps slowly towards Elvenoff, pulling him away from the burning Troll, and pulling off the bottom of his robe and binding Elvenoff's wounds as best he can.

"Let it burn." He says wearily, barely acknowledging Babushka for a moment. "The Grinder, put it in the Grinder when the fire goes out." Turning around he sees Merithina scared, barely able to function... Turning back he doesnt hear the Kender, "Locky..." He mutters, going to say something else, his head is woozy, his brain fighting to function. He collapses to his knees.

(ooc: Hey the guys on 1hp.. He is all but unconscious.)

While Jerrard patches up Elvenoff to stop the bleeding, Babushka sighs in relief. However, the troll suddenly leaps back to its free, roaring. Its flesh melting, giving it an even more monstrous appearance.

The flames continue to burn, though, and it drops again. Shay quickly approaches and dumps the contents of another flask of oil on it, finishing it off for good. The flames eventually go out, leaving nothing behind but smoldering ash.

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Jerrard stabilizes Elvenoff.

(OOC: Blast, I was nearly free of him! I mean, hurray, Elvenoff is saved!)

Round 6!

Troll regenerates 3 HP.
Troll burns for (1d6): 6 damage. Troll falls again.
Shay dumps a flask of oil on the burning troll (2d6): 7 damage. The troll dies.

End Combat.

"I'm sorry about your lantern, Shay" Babushka says. "But I saw no other way of saving us all. You are the least wounded, could you stand by the caverns entrance and listen for anyone approaching? Leafloam, can you help him?" She turns away, not checking if the two do as she asks them.

She moves over to Jerrard, helping him patch up Elvenoff. When he mentiones Locky, she says quietly."Locky is wounded and unconscious, but seems stable, at least to me." Wwhen Jerrard drops to his knees. She says "Careful! Lie down, you're badly beaten yourself." and helps him to do so.

She then approaches Merithina, taking her by one arm still clutching the dagger. "Merithina? Merithina, I need your help. Do you know anything about caring for wounds?" If she reacts, she takes her over to care for Jerrard together, if not, she will go alone and bind Jerrard's wounds.