Chamber 5-5: Run!

[Vondal]
Vondal's last efforts are in vain, and he collapses in a heap of bones. RIP.

[Ambrose]
Ambrose attempts to leap across the illusion-covered pit. Alas, his strength is not that great, and jumping never his forte. He vanishes through the floor and lands with a sickening thud 20 feet below... a most unsettling landing indeed, as a quasit bone he lands on pierces his abdomen in the fall. Ambrose loses consciousness.
OOC: Ouch, natural 20 on the fall for max damage. Down to -7 hp. You manage to roll a 19 on your Death Save. (If you fail three death saves in one encounter, you die.) Note, I did factor in a +2 for Aid Another for Joryn, but Athletics is NOT your best skill... and you rolled low to boot.

[Joryn]

Joryn convinces the demon to do his bidding, but the demon doesn't like it. The demon sneers and looks at the runes, and speaks them aloud in Abyssal! Wait, was he supposed to speak them aloud...?

When the deed is done, symbols appear! Suns, moons and stars appear on both sides of the double doors, burning themselves into the twitching flesh surrounding the doors.

The demon looks back and says to Joryn in a snide way, "What next.... boss?"

OOC: I started up a new blog post just for posting the new picture of the Sun/Moon/Star symbols. We're down to two conscious dungeoneers. Will this chamber be the end of you?

Good Luck,
MilwaukeeJoe

Chamber 5-4: Run!

[First Vestibule]
Darts pepper both Tharl and Vondal. Tharl is prepared and takes cover. Vondal is forced towards the middle due to the terror of the ethereal vorpal skull-blades that springs up from the floor.
Tech: One hit on Vondal, for 4 points damage from the darts. Vondal pushed 1 square towards the middle.

[Second Vestibule]
The blackfire jets of the second vestibule ignite once again, filling the chamber with burning pitch. Ambrose is safe between the two vestibules, but oh is it hot!

[Third Vestibule]
The Dread Marilith Statues continue their attack on the chamber with slashing iron blades, but there are no targets to fight. Joryn stands just outside their reach.

[Deathwave]
The wave of death once again proceeds down the hallway, passing through the doors and through the bodies of Joryn, Ambrose, and Vondal. Joryn's vampiric makeup somehow helps him resist, and the only thing keeping Ambrose from suffering Finding's fate is his Shield spell. Vondal is not so lucky, however. His flesh and equipment are vaporized, and he too now is a dwarven skeleton.
Tech: The push by the darts combined with the deathwave (which recharged, roll of 5) was bad news for Vondal. Vondal is now a skeleton with no EQ and will die on his first failed save of 9 or less.

OOC: I know I skipped Tharl, but I'll allow him two standard actions this turn to make it up.

Initiative
18 Joryn
17 Tharl
07 Vondal (Skeleton)
07 Finding
06 Ambrose
05 1st Vestibule - Fiendish Rust Monster Saliva-Coated Iron Dart Wall
05 1st Vestibule - Ethereal Vorpal Skull-Blades 05 2nd Vestibule - Blackfire Jets05 3rd Vestibule - Dreath Marilith Statues
05 4th Vestibule - Deathwave (recharge on 5 or 6)

A lot of death going on here, but this chamber is still winnable!

Good Luck,
MilwaukeeJoe

Chamber 5-3: Run!

[Ambrose]
What the heck, Ambrose thinks, I've kissed stranger things to get what I wanted. Leaning into the image of the succubus' face, he purses his lips and returns the offer of a kiss with a kiss.

[DM]
Three things happen when Ambrose kisses the image of the succubus. First, he hears her chuckle very softly. A mocking soft laugh, as if she knows what's coming up and is delighting in the fore-knowledge.

Second, Ambrose receives a vision within his mind. It is of a massive, fleshy, purple, three-pupiled eye set into the floor, and somehow Ambrose knows this abhorrence of reality lies somewhere within the deeper part of this very chamber. The sight of this... thing.... gives Ambrose a chill like he's never felt ever. As the images fades, he sees undulating purple energy rising up from the three pupils...

Third, Ambrose is pulled straight through the wall as if it weren't even there! He stumbles right into the ethereal vorpal skull-blade trap, and it's all he can do to quickly jump back and avoid the blade as it shoots out of the floor! His hand pushed against something mushy in the process.... and he realizes it's a pile of goo that was once his best friend's face!
Tech: 11 points cold/necrotic damage. Amborse is down to 17 of 28 hp. Actually, this damage was from two attacks, one for opportunity, one for being on the trap's turn.

Meanwhile, Joryn and Finding get a closer look at the second vestibule. In the west side, they see snarling stone demon faces set into the wall, set around another of the strange cube devices. This cube device is blank.

In the east, strangely empty. Another cube though, a SUN showing. As the two are about to explore further, Joryn gets a strange vibe from the floor. Did it ripple? For a moment it looked oddly flat, like it didn't show the shadows properly.

The way past the second vestibule is blocked once again by another soul wall.

[The Traps!]
In the first vestibule, darts fire from the holes in the eastern alcove, peppering Vondal, Tharl and Ambrose. Ambrose and Tharl are hit, and can tell right away that there's something coating these darts. The smell is unmistakable - rust monster saliva!
Tech: Vondal took 6 damage (natural 20) and Tharl 5 damage. Both are wearing hide armor, so are immune to the nasty rusting side-effect of the darts. Vondal is pushed 1 and is in the "danger zone" of the blades. The blades missed him.

The stone demon faces of the western alcove, second vestibule activate as well, vomiting forth a fountain of burning black pitch!
Tech: Luckily, nobody was in the second vestibule, so nobody got hit by the blackfire.

Time for the truly horrific...

The main hallway is filled suddenly with a wave of undulating purple energy, as if pushed from the further areas of the chamber. Joryn, Finding and Ambrose are caught in the blast!

Joryn and Ambrose are pushed back but manage to survive it. Finding is not so lucky. The blast disintegrates  all of Finding's equipment, clothing... and flesh. Yet Finding still stands, a skeleton. She looks down to see her hand, a skeleton's hand!
Tech: Misses against Joryn and Ambrose. A hit on Finding. Finding is now a skeleton until she fails her first save against the effect. The moment she fails a save, she collapses to a pile of bones.

Now, to give you that Twilight Zone feeling, I will offer that the slaying screen recharges on a 5 or 6! Insert evil cackling laugh here!

Initiative
18 Joryn
17 Tharl
07 Vondal
07 Finding
06 Ambrose
05 1st Vestibule - Fiendish Rust Monster Saliva-Coated Iron Dart Wall
05 1st Vestibule - Ethereal Vorpal Skull-Blades 
05 2nd Vestibule - Blackfire Jets
05 ??? Vestibule - Deathwave

  

Ah, Fourthcore!

MilwaukeeJoe