[Passwall]
An arched passage appeared in the wall of rubble in front of Momonga. The casting of the spell was immediately followed by Sebas and Seelah charging through, towards surprised foes at the far end of what seemed to be a temple, complete with pews and an altar at the end.
Seelah charged at the nearest foe, a magic caster who managed to unload a single [Magic Missile] that struck her shoulder before her blade cut the wizard down. The blow from the spell knocked her blade swing off target only enough that the fatal blow she had aimed at the cultist's neck instead bit deeply into his shoulder, turning what would have been a quick death into a painful, drawn-out experience before the paladin realigned herself and put the wizard out of his misery.
As she took stock of the rest of the cultists, Seelah spied that the three others had all been dealt with at incredible speed by the elderly monk. Guess the saying "beware the old in a profession where most die young" holds true. Now, what's this altar? The paladin thought as she approached what seemed to be a fountain, but with a spring of blood in place of water.
"That's disgusting. [Detect Evil]. Yep, that's got an evil aura to it alright. Ugh, it smells awful too."
"It appears to be the blood of humanoids, with something else added to the mixture." Sebastian noted, dipping his index finger into the blood mixture and bringing it to his nose. "Demon blood, I believe, though the precise type eludes me."
"You can tell all that from the smell? You need to teach me that trick at some point." Seelah said, impressed as even her own divine abilities did not reveal its nature.
"I would be glad to teach one with such potential and strive for justice."
"The cultists here drink that blood as a part of one of their unholy rituals, they believe it grants them strength. The fools." Wenduag commented from beside Momon as the two approached.
She gives me the creeps, constantly skulking in Momon's shadow like that. "And how'd you know that?" Seelah suspiciously glared at the Mongrel who simply shrugged dismissively and turned her head.
"I saw them once whilst I was looking through this place. I also saw this." She replied, moving over to an unlit torch on the west side of the room and turning it. A grinding sound echoed throughout the evil chapel and a section of the wall next to the torch slid open to reveal a staircase descending downwards. "I must warn you, master, ahead are some true demons, foes much stronger than the cultists we have faced. Though no match for you, of course."
"Umu, good work Wenduag. Sebastian, Seelah, could you resume taking the lead?"
"Uh, right." Seelah moved past the caster and archer and to the side of the monk. Fortunately, the stairs were wide enough that they could advance side-by-side, though she couldn't help shake the feeling she should be expecting an arrow from behind.
Sebas had been pushing his draconic senses as far as he could, barring dropping his current form. Hmm… two foes in the room immediately in front, plus an additional two lizards in a room adjoining that one. In the room to the right are two foes, an earth elemental lies in the room beyond, and down a different route are an additional four foes. Barring any stealthed opponents, none appear of noteworthy strength. Sebas reached the bottom of the stairs which led into a corridor facing to the party's right. A door was immediately in front of the group and so, following Momonga's instructions of following the left-hand wall, Sebas moved into position in front of the door.
Seelah moved adjacent to him and looked to Sebas for guidance. Sebas held up a pair of fingers indicating two foes and, after a nod of affirmation from the paladin, held up three fingers and began to count down.
Sebas flung open the door and rushed the furthest foe, moving directly past the closest cultist who could not have tracked his movements even if he were expecting the ambush. The furthest cultist did not have time to turn to face his killer before Sebas had dealt a lethal blow to the man's cranium, blowing it apart. Seelah was not far behind, charging the remaining cultist and running him through as he was mid drawing his blade.
The room appeared to be still under construction, the far wall was unworked stone and a makeshift scaffolding was erected against it. A series of cages lay against another wall, one having been burst open from the inside and another containing the skeletal remains of a humanoid.
"What is all this?" Seelah moved to the caged skeleton and crouched down to inspect it. After staring at the bones for a few moments she rose with a sigh. "No idea how long it's been here but this many cages, do you think they're abducting people from Kenabres?"
"It could also have been a Mongrel. These cages are also made for larger creatures and it's unlikely a normal human did that," Momonga pointed towards the broken cage.
"I believe it's as you say, Momon-sama. There are two cave lizards in the adjoining room."
"In that case, could you deal with them?" Momonga asked Sebas, who responded with a polite bow.
Ah, this place really does seem to just be a low-level dungeon, after all. At least I can take this time to get some information.
"Miss Seelah, would you mind if I asked you a few questions about what led you down here?"
"Hmm? Sure, though you can drop the "Miss" thing, no need for such formality among comrades in arms, right?"
"Seelah, then. How did you end up below the city?"
"Well, when Deskari attacked I got a front-row seat. Was right in the middle of the festival square when he showed up, killed Terendelev, and split the city. At least Prelate Hulrun being a stick in the mud probably saved a bunch of lives by sending people home early."
Sebas' return from the adjacent room indicated it was time for the party to continue onwards and so the group returned to its standard formation.
The next room contained a large statue of a winged, goat-headed demon -the demon lord Baphomet- and a pair of red-skinned humanoids with black horns sprouting from their heads. The creatures had leered at the party when they'd first entered, though their faces had twisted into ones of horror as a single [Fireball] from Momonga reduced the pair to ash.
"Cambions." Seelah said in disgust. "They're actual demons, guess these cultists aren't just playing dress-up after all."
"I did warn you after all." Wenduag's voice was filled with vindication. "There should be more though, master. I saw at least four when I was last here."
"Momon-sama, there appears to be a large, heavy creature beyond that door." Sebas pointed towards one of the two unopened doors in the room. "I believe it to be an earth elemental."
"Sebastian, would you mind?" Momonga asked. "If it's more than you can handle, retreat back to this room. Wenduag, could you scout ahead through the other door? Don't engage, simply observe what may be ahead and report back."
"Of course, master." Wenduag spoke as she slinked off.
Momonga turned towards Seelah. "Camellia mentioned Deskari earlier, as well as something called a "Wardstone"? Forgive me, I was new to the city."
"Ah, yeah, sorry. I guess I just thought everyone knew about Iomedae's gifts but that must just be my bias since I was actually in the city on a pilgrimage to see the Wardstone. The Wardstones were placed by Iomedae's Herald and they form a line that protects against demons from the Worldwound. They're supposed to prevent demons from crossing the line they form, as well as block teleportation but something must have happened to it. It'd already been damaged in 4692 but, to my knowledge, should have prevented Deskari's attack. If it's gone, the whole world could be threatened by the demons."
"That's quite severe indeed." A worldwide demon invasion? This is starting to sound more interesting, though blocking teleportation could be a problem. I'll need to discover which side of the "Wardstone line" Nazarick is on, assuming the Wardstones reach underground. "Then what do you intend once you return to the surface?"
"I'll fight the whole Abyss by myself if I have to. Though once the Queen hears of Kenabres' fall, I imagine there'll be a new crusade declared so I'll look to join any order I can. What about you? I know you scholar types usually avoid being directly on the battlefield but the crusades could use someone of your power."
"Hmm… it does sound like quite the adventure." And it would be a good excuse to avoid staying in Nazarick where the NPCs might realize their idea of me is not true. "I'll consider it. Ah, good, you're both back." Momonga noted as Sebas and Wenduag returned from each of their respective missions. "What should we expect ahead?"
"Four additional Campions, master. They're guarding what appears to be a prison of sorts, though I didn't see any prisoners."
"There might be some clues as to where the Mongrels are or anyone else these cultists might have caught." Seelah replied, readjusting her shield.
"Right. Back into formation, let's go."
The room that contained the cambions could be called a prison if one were being generous, though a more apt description would be "torture chamber". All manner of devices, from racks to iron maidens were scattered around the edges of a pit that sat in the center of the room. A 20x20 foot arena was dug into the floor with spikes around the edges to prevent anyone from climbing out.
As the party entered the iron smelling room, the four cambions turned to look upon the new intruders, briefly considering what suffering to inflict upon the intruders before the eldest of the intruders ran straight towards the furthest of the cambions, clearing the central pit with a single leap and delivering a flying kick to one of the demon-spawn, sending it flying and impacting the wall behind it. A second campion that was stood a short distance away was momentarily stunned by the display before a globule of acid splashed against its upper body, turning everything from its waist up into brown sludge.
Seelah moved towards one of the closer cambions, using her paladin ability [smite evil] as she did so to mark the target. The cambion swung its scimitar at the approaching paladin, its blade impacting solidly against her shield as it brought its free clawed hand up, trying to swipe at Seelah's unprotected head. Seelah leaned her head back just as the claw reached her face, protecting her eyes from damage but leaving a cut across her cheek. In retaliation, she swung her shield outwards, her enhanced strength throwing the cambion off balance and to the ground, and brought her blade down on the cambion's exposed nape, decapitating it.
The final cambion had a longbow drawn and was hastily aiming towards the weakest target it could see. Monks sometimes had abilities to catch arrows mid-flight, whilst the paladin was wearing thick armor and engaged in melee with his ally. Between the lightly armored mongrel who was observing him or the robed wizard who had just cast a spell, the weakest was easy to pick out. And so, he directed a shot towards the fragile-looking mask of the caster, expecting it to pierce straight through. Instead, the arrow shattered harmlessly off the mask.
"Master, look out!" The Mongrel yelled, interposing herself between the cambion and caster, and loosed an arrow of her own at the cambion, striking it directly between the eyes, killing it.
"Hmm? Ah, thank you, though it is unnecessary to place yourself in harm's way, low-level -er, I mean, weak attacks cannot penetrate my defensive spells."
"of course, master. I just wanted to make sure you were unhurt." Wenduag responded.
"Really? Because to me, it seems like you were holding back and let them get off the first shot." Came the voice of Seelah who was busy cleaning blood off her blade.
"I was lining up a shot, being careless can lead to injuries. Maybe you should try a bit of focus next time." Wenduag defensively replied, locking eyes with the suspicious paladin.
"We're all allies here, there's no need for us to fight amongst ourselves."
"Momon-sama". Sebas' voice drew the staring contest to an end as both turned to look at the monk. "There appears to be a hidden door here."
Sebas was standing before a blank section of the wall that had a series of colored numbers on either side of it – a red and blue button to its left, and a green and yellow button to its right.
This must be a puzzle of some sort. A low-level dungeon like this probably has a simple solution such as it being painted on a wall or the symbols meaning someone. Ah, I've got it! There was that blood fountain room, so that'd be red. Then there was that unworked stone area so that's probably yellow. I'll need to ask Albedo what sort of rooms the others encountered for the whole code though.
"Momon-sama, if you'll allow me." Eh? Does he already know the solution? Momonga thought as Sebas walked up the wall… and delivered a single punch that blew the hidden door apart. But… the puzzles! I guess that works too. Shame though, puzzles can be some of the best – or worst – parts of dungeons.
"Is this…? It is, this is the sword, Radiance! How'd it get down here?" Seelah, who had entered the secret room, approached an altar that had a seemingly unremarkable sword laid atop it.
"You know this weapon?" Momonga asked, having been brought out of his lamentations for the full dungeon experience by Seelah's voice.
"Yes, it once belonged to the hero Yaniel. It was legendary back in the days, said to glow with holy light and inspire courage of all nearby. Now though? Well, now it seems like any other sword, it's lost all its luster. We need to take it with us, maybe we could get it restored but even if we can't, we can't just leave it down here in a demon's den!"
A holy relic that needs to be restored to its former glory? Definitely taking that, hopefully, it doesn't turn out to be a junk item.
"Yes, we will take it with us. Now, let us continue onwards."
Wenduag smiled to herself, everything was going so well, barring that paladin's suspicions. No matter, she is not important here. She thought as she skulked slightly behind her new "master". I will need to be careful with Savamelekh and Hosilla, if either of them reveals my previous allegiance, I may be discarded or even killed. Yet that I was permitted to retain my memory both grants me an opportunity – and makes me a liability.
As the party approached the ritual room, Wenduag knew her time to devise a plan was running out. Had she appeared subservient enough? Would her loyalty be called into question? These and many other questions raced through the Mongrel's mind, and she struggled to find a definitive answer.
The ritual chamber was a large room with a ring of pillars in the center and an intricate summoning circle was drawn on the floor between the pillars. A pair of dretches were the only creatures present in the room and were swiftly taken care of by the monk and paladin after Momonga had cast [Dragon Lighting] on one of the dretches, only for it to have no effect.
"Interesting, so fire and acid are viable but they are completely immune to electricity. That's similar enough, I suppose."
Is he… studying the demons? Surely an accomplished wizard, especially one as old as he likely is, should already be aware of most demons' traits. Unless… are the undead senile? If so, can I use that in any way?
"[All Appraisal Magic Item]" Momonga cast a spell targeting the summoning circle. "Interesting. This magic circle was used to summon a creature known as a Vrolikai. It was created by a creature named Hosilla and it requires fresh sacrifices to activate."
"A Vrolikai was summoned beneath Kenabres?!" Seelah was alarmed at the prospect of such a powerful creature having access to a city full of innocent people. "Do you know how to destroy this circle? We can't let such a creature even possibly be summoned, not when the city's already being attacked."
Oh, you poor fool, Savamelekh is likely already here.
"I think this should work. [Greater Break Item]." Momonga cast and the magical circle fizzled before shattering like a thin layer of glass, leaving behind no traces of the profane ritual site.
"Master, I believe the other door out of this room leads to another chamber, one where we might encounter this "Hosilla". We should prepare carefully and attack swiftly, if she created this circle, she could be a formidable foe." Wenduag spoke, trying to sound as helpful as she could.
"Ok, I've been willing to accept that you might know your way around some parts of this place but how could you know that? Or are you telling us you're so stealthy you can sneak through the one entrance into this brightly-lit room, somehow avoid anyone who might be in here using these thin pillars as cover, and somehow sneak out afterward? Call me a cynic, but I don't buy it." Seelah spoke with a blatantly accusatory tone. Sebas stood nearby and seemed to share Seelah's suspicions from the glare he was giving the Mongrel. Momonga remained silent, his features hidden by his mask -not that his bare skull would be much more expressive- and was simply looking at Wenduag expectantly.
"Alright. The truth is… I was previously a captive here. I was captured whilst exploring this place and how I knew about their blood-drinking rituals wasn't because I once saw it happen, it was because I partook in the ritual. The demons here force their captives to drink from that blood fountain and feast on humanoid flesh. The combination drives you into a frenzy and many of my fellow captives went mad from the experience. I… I don't remember how I escaped, only that I wandered the caves outside the maze for weeks, feeding on spiders, lizards, or even unlucky hunters." Wenduag answered, combining truths and lies.
Normally, the idea of trying to invoke sympathy would disgust the proud Mongrel but now? Now she was choosing to place survival first.
Seelah stared at Wenduag for a few moments, studying her before relenting with a sigh. "Look I'm, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to dredge up those sorts of memories with my questions. The Inheritor instructs us that our strength is in our heart, not our sword and I let my suspicion harden my heart. If you can find it in yourself to forgive me, I'd like to start over."
That worked?! No, it worked on her. Wenduag took a quick glance at Sebas, whose suspicious look had not abated. He might have seen through me. Well, so long as his leader approves of me, I shouldn't need to worry about that one. "Hmph. Seeing as how we are allies; I can forgive you for the sake of our mission."
"Excellent. Now that we are all on the same page again- hm?" Momonga paused mid-sentence to raise his hand to his ear. "Aurora, what is it? Ah good. We may have found where the leader of the dungeon is located but have yet to find the young Mongrels. "Rabid Mongrels"? No, we have not encountered any. Water! That must have been blue… ahem, please forget that part. Well, take your time and look carefully, rare items could be hidden anywhere."
Momonga lowered his hand from his ear and turned towards the group. "Right, it seems the other team is nearly complete with their section and will be joining us shortly. If you believe the foes ahead to be particularly dangerous then we shall use this time to buff- er, prepare ourselves."
Now I just need to make sure that loudmouth Hosilla doesn't say anything.
Author Notes:
Hey there! Double release this time, of both teams' exploration.
In "Overlord" Demons cannot directly lie about their name… I'm pretty sure that's only a rule from the New World. The only source we have is Evileye who says experiments show that using a false name might make angels and demons disappear, and we know it couldn't have been true in Yggdrasil (how would that even work? Delete Ulbert's account if he ever used his real name?). There's also not really enough evidence to show it's true in the New World -yes, Jaldabaoth is another name for Demiurge in Gnosticism and so he might have used it to avoid whatever happens to lying demons… or he might have just used it because it's another name that his creator would approve of.
Evil Lord Wrath never actually refers to itself as Jaldabaoth but doesn't correct others when spoken to by that name so at the very least Albedo's fine so far since she's only been called Aurora by others. As for going forward? It doesn't seem to be a rule on Golarion so unless anyone's got a source that the rule originated as fluff in Yggdrasil and not the New World, I'm not going to have it apply.
There are quite a few things in pathfinder that would give trouble… actions like creating the Worldwound… Yeah, definitely. The stats a creature has is its basic "ready to go" abilities that very much leave off its full capabilities (Cthulhu, for example, has stats but a campaign with him as the big bad would spend most of its time dealing with problems beyond his character sheet such as worldwide madness and a concerning increase in the number of face tentacles). But things like these are more plot devices for the DM to use than they are actual abilities and so I didn't take them into consideration when estimating strength.
imo the story would flow better if you don't focus on dragon ball-esque power level crunching. I agree and don't intend for power level to be anything more than a rough guide, I just needed a way to answer questions like "who here wins?" since one of my favorite things about Overlord is exactly as you said, it doesn't have moments like: "OF COURSE HE WOULD WIN AGAINST THAT VILLAIN BUT PLOT TWIST THE VILLAIN ACTUALLY PRETENDS TO BE WEAK…". No disrespect to anime that do, but there are only so many times someone can get a power boost mid-combat before you realize that's how every fight's going to go (to those of you who've played WotR: Yes, I know).
As for increases in power? There will be some as part of the nature of the story but, again, I'm not intending to focus on power level and am wanting to get to more character-driven parts of the plot too (which is one of the reasons why I split the party into groups of 4, it's easier to write dialogue where everyone can contribute).