Post date: Dec 30, 2013 9:43:19 AM
((Andreas, Christer, Henrik, Lars))
The pagoda turned out to be filled with aranea, and traps. Lots and lots of traps. They usually handled the traps by Illtyr seeing them, and directing Muahah to trigger them by walking into them (being ridiculously difficult to damage as well as immune to poison has its advantages...) The aranea (and some mohrgs) fought them as they progressed up towards the top floor where their leader Akinosa managed to panic Muahah using his Guangu (drum of panic), blasting the others with multiple chain lightnings, polymorphed Eggal into a dirty little rat (that promptly fled) before finally being slain by Thorcel. After dispelling the polymorph failed, they realized that some kind of magic field prevented them from leaving the pagoda. They tossed out Eggal - apparently animals could leave - but Koya failed to dispel the polymorph.
Deciding to try again tomorrow they set up camp in one of the now emptied rooms, but were assaulted during the night by a horde of hobgoblins led by the Swine Shogun - Buto Fotutsu. Thorcel challenged him to an honorable duel, which Buto accepted. After the general melee was over - during which Buto had fallen unconscious - Thorcel healed Buto with a healing potion - a very honorable act indeed, which caused Suishen to give a rare spontaneous compliment to Thorcel - after which they dueled in the Samurai way. That is, they stood a few paces apart staring at each other until Buto crumbled and attacked first - missing - and Thorcel with a single perfect blow cut him nearly in half and propelled his body towards a trap that neatly cut off his head...