Round 1 Summary
The sounds of combat fill the dark passageway as battlecries and spell-chanting ring out over the moans and groans of the handful of zombies. Mulahey's magic-infused words seem to warp the air around him and scrabble madly at the minds of those who hear.
Dieter and Runeson charge forward, heedless of the undead around them - though if they were able to look closely, they'd see the once-human features and plain workclothes of Nashkel's missing miners. Dieter gets shoved hard against a wall by one zombie (
Dieter takes 5 dmg) and his momentum nearly fails... but seeing Runeson beset by two more of the monsters gives him the motivation to recover. The young fighter pushes his way through the reaching arms and slams one of Runeson's opponents away with his shield, just barely keeping the paladin from suffering additional wounds (
Dieter's Protection style turns one of the hits against Runeson into a miss. Runeson takes only 6 damage).
The two warriors are nearly trapped then, halfway through the passage, when Calliope wades gracefully into the mix and unleashes a wave of fire that for a moment looks like a great phoenix spreading its wings. Then, before any zombies can turn to grab at her, she disappears in a whirl of burning feathers, immolating the fingers of the closest monster.
A moment later the hallway shakes with thunderous power as Aiwe unleashes her
thunderwave spell, blasting burning limbs off of zombies and hurling half of the creatures against a wall, making an opening for Dieter and Runeson to press on towards Mulahey. An arrow from Imoen sinks deeply into a zombie's eye, but hardly slows it down (
Z4 takes 13 dmg). Stella's ice arrow is much more effective, burying itself so forcefully into the chest of one zombie that the entire monster turns to ice as it falls, and shatters into pieces on the stone ground (
killed by a crit, Z1 doesn't rise again).
Dieter cries out in triumph as his sword flashes at Mulahey, but the evil priest doesn't even blink. Just before the fighter's blade would strike true, a fifth zombie shambles from around the corner and throws itself onto his weapon, sacrificing itself for its dark creator (
Mulahey uses his reaction to Protective Thrall reaction, forcing the zombie to take Dieter's 1st hit instead). As Dieter stumbles under the weight of this new foe, Runeson steps up with shield and warhammer at the ready, standing toe-to-toe against Mulahey's ominous presence. The paladin strikes out, but Mulahey catches the weapon's haft in one gauntleted hand and raises an enormous morningstar in the other, ready to bring it crashing down on the unfortunate Runeson.
But Dieter has other plans. He calls on his reserves of stamina as he so often does, pushing himself to the limits of his physical body yet again to keep his friends safe. He kicks the zombie off of his sword and swings mightily at Mulahey's upraised hand, intercepting the blow meant for Runeson and destroying the gauntlet there. Mulahey cries out in pain and drops his morningstar to the floor with a clatter.
Unarmed, and with two capable warriors threatening him, the dark priest spits out the rest of his spell, a prayer to the Prince of Lies...
(
Runeson and Dieter fail their Wisdom saves against Mulahey's Beguile legendary action)
And suddenly Dieter and Runeson find themselves back in the common room of the Nashkel Inn, sharing a drink with Mulahey. The amiable half-orc raises his mug in toast to the heroes' bravery. "Well done, my friends! You are the talk of the town, and rich besides!"
As Dieter and Runeson sway on their feet, caught up in Mulahey's magical charm, suddenly a
second Mulahey appears just in front of the rest of the party, imposing and dark.
"Fools! Did you think you could stand against me?" Sheemish's lightning leaps from his gauntlets, but he misses.
"I've broken 'heroes' far stronger than you whelps." Mulahey casually flicks his finger toward Sheemish, and a conjured dart sinks into the artificer's neck. The small wound aches with poison (
Mulahey's Cantrip legendary action, Sheemish takes 9 poison damage).
"And now I'll slay all of you, and animate your corpses to guard this mine's secrets until your flesh falls off your bones! He waves a hand, and the remaining zombies form up beside and behind him.
Araklusta sent a note to Carcabob,deoelvenmage
and the scene around them flashes back to reality for an instant, with their friends struggling for their lives in a dark tunnel far beneath the earth's surface. It lasts only a moment, however, and then
Dieter and Runeson are back to having pleasant conversation in the warm and bright Nashkel Inn.
"What will you do now, heroes of the realm?"
"What will you do now, heroes of the realm?"
