Fireballs and Gunpowder

Continuing on from the previous session, we continue our battle against the gnoll slavers in our game of Strange Aeons. There’s no more sign of any slaves, just gnolls and their giant hyenas. It does seem that the gnolls are well prepared, but aren’t quite used to fighting the likes of us. Costian doesn’t do much this session, he mostly leaves it to his phantom sister Catiana to be one of the front lines. With half the party invisible, it’s hard for the characters to know who is where and what’s going on.

12th Gozran, Toilday (continued)

We are in a corridor full of dead basilisks, gnolls and hyenas, several of which have been charred which doesn’t do much for the aroma. Erasmus channels healing energy for us, and as soon as he’s done that Sheena charges up the slope to the next level of the tower.

There is a rattling noise, a cry from Sheena, and then the sound of large amounts of liquid coming down the slope. Gregor flies up, and Catiana docges to the side as acid washes down into the room. These gnolls seem to have had time to prepare their defences.

Gregor and Ray fly up to help Sheena, with Ray throwing a fireball into the room above. The explosion which follows is somewhat louder than normal – and there is the sound of parts of the inner tower wall falling to the ground below. It appears that the gnolls had some kegs of gunpowder stored up there as well.

Catiana grows in size, barely fitting into the room, then pulls herself up through the ceiling into the room above, leaving myself and Erasmus down below. Above, there is a group of gnolls behind a barricade who are shooting muskets at the others, but behind the stairwell are a second front of gnolls and hyenas who only Catiana can see, so she takes on those whilst the others deal with the barricade.

Catiana takes a lot of wounds from the hyenas and musketeers, but gives better than she is taking. Some more fire from Ray and Erasmus takes out the gnolls behind the barricade, and eventually all but one of the gnolls in front of Catiana is taken out, with help from Sheena.

The last gnoll runs up some stairs, and there is a rumbling from the room beyond – a gnoll comes charging in carrying a small barrel. Catiana punches her, and she goes down, dropping the barrel at Catiana’s feet. Two more gnolls with barrels follow, then the gnoll up the stairs shoots down at one of the barrels.

When Catiana can hear and see again, there is no more sign of the gnolls (apart from a plastering of charred blood on the walls), and the floor is looking very fragile. Sheena tries to run forward, but the floor collapses, forcing her back. She activates her flight, and chases up the stairs after the gnoll. Catiana drops down to the ground floor, and climbs up the other side, her huge size being convenient in this situation. Squeezing up the stairs is harder though, especially when she bumps into something she can’t see. Before she can rip it’s head off though, Ray identifies himself.

This last though exhausts her, and she drops back to being only large, and no can’t get back across the collapsed floor back to me, and I’m now the only one left over the far side since everyone else has flown across – or at least I think they have since half the party is invisible.

Catiana shrinks back to normal size, and she and I are stuck on opposite sides of the collapsed floor. I really don’t fancy trying to find a way round the back of the tower, since I don’t know if that’s safe to do by myself.