The Gaming Den

Malagos takes the back, per usual.

Archimedes takes the front, heading as quickly as his iron body can carry him.

Orr stays somewhere in between the two, ready to push the water back if the path becomes too narrow.

To Thrull, "Who are 'they'?"

"You took on an obligation. A role in the ritual of marriage. Without you, the marriage cannot proceed. Those who wish to stop the marriage may interfere with you through their own agents - the Yellow Druid who was responsible for your appearance here. So long as they abide by the rules, they are limited in their number of attempts, and the scale of what they can do - they cannot, for example, seek your life unless you first harm their agent first. Of course, one never knows if they have abandoned the rules..."

A small snail with a yellow shell lands on Archimedes' head.

Archimedes pauses, pulling the snail off his head. He looks and sniffs up and around.

Another yellow snail falls. And another, and another. The low-hanging watery "ceiling" overhead is almost roiling, and it is raining snails.

Archimedes shrugs and continues his rush forward, keeping an eye (and a nose) out for anything unusual.

Yellow snails crunch beneath Archimedes' hooves. The rain of snails continues as the walls and ceilings roil. Great yellow shapes seem to flank the party on all sides, just beyond the wall of water.

Archimedes continues his march forward, intent on making it through before anything--or anyone--else can surprise him.

Yellow-shelled snails continue to rain from above and crunch underfoot, as Archimedes hauls heavy metal forward - he can even see, as they cross around the last bend, the spot of sun-dappled water where the path and the water kind of merge, a hint of a familiar landscape beyond...

...and then something beneath his iron hoof screams.

Archimedes slowly lifts up his hoof to see what exactly screamed.

In a pool of sallow ichor is the body of a large snail. It smells suspiciously like the Yellow Druid.

There is a great moaning gurgle and the side walls seem to collapse, as eight giant yellow-shelled snails emerge, the four great knobs on their head flailing about angrily.

Smells like Yellow Druid, Archimedes tells the others. Not letting them push us around anymore. Going to pounce the snails unless any of you have a plan that would require me to stay out of the way. If I do jump 'em stay back. Ideally back me up from a distance. Don't know what the key will do this time.

Assuming there are no objections from the others, Archimedes starts moving towards the snails and uses his true strike spell-like ability (which, as a spell-like ability, doesn't risk arcane spell failure). Assuming he gets the chance to act in the next round he activates his Fighting Style, activates his Whirling Frenzy, and power-attack pounces the nearest snail.

Attack routine with Whirling Frenzy:
(usual assumptions about iron body and keymace and combat school not being factored in (except for natural attacks with Combat School). He gets +4 to Strength from his frenzy. He's power attacking for 2 on all attacks)

Primary attack keymace, secondary natural weapons (slam/gore/claw/bite/tail)
Hammer at +32(?)/+12? (damage unknown, Str mod and Power Attack put it at least at), natural weapons at +12 each (slam 2d6+12, gore 1d8+12, claw/bite/tail 1d6+12 each)
He gets +2 to AC from Whirling Frenzy, and -2 from charging, so it's a wash.
First hit forces a DC 19 Fort save vs. stunning (the negative level still leaves him with 2 HD for purposes of his Fighting Style, so it's still 10+1+8). If he finishes one off, he attempts to pounce or simply full attack another (depending on how close they are) in the next round, using his fighting style each round. After 7 rounds of his Whirling Frenzy it ends and he is fatigued, if he can be fatigued.

"Right, let's get these bastards!"

Orr will power channel fire (6d6 fire damage, 5 ft radius, DC 17 Reflex halves, 40 ft range) on as many as possible and power channel water (160 ft range, sickens no save and nauseates for two rounds, DC 17 fort negates) on another one. Unless it turns out that the druids are immune to fire and/or nauseation, he will resume this pattern in subsequent rounds (if we're not doing this round by round anyway).

Malagos attempts to web as many snails as possible and keeps Gort back as a meatshield.

The party is strung out, with Archimedes and Drowning-Squid at the front, Malagos at the rear, and Orr in the middle - in between them being two pack lizards, a veritable swarm of rats, a dog, and a skeleton.

Coming at them through the walls of water are about ten giant snails - roughly five to a side. Two each converge on Archimedes, Drowning-Squid, Orr, and Malagos, coming from both sides. It also continues to rain regular-sized snails, although this is mostly a distraction.

Archimedes' key glows an eerie blue as he brings it down on the spongy head of the giant snail to his left, which splatters satisfyingly, clouding the surrounding water with a haze of yellow ichor. While he bashes the snail to death, the key's aura creeps over his entire form, and the snail on the other side of him makes an attack of opportunity, but it's bulbous, fleshy flails bounce mostly harmlessly off Archimedes' metal hide (-5 hp).

Drowning-Squid leaps high into the water; you can see her form flit beyond the water walls, coming upon one of the giant snails from behind. The other snail moves through the water wall to take her place - which means Archimedes is now surrounded by two snails, though the one he is currently pummeling is dying.

The snail that Orr chose to channel fire at seems resistant, the energies sliding off its shell, and it sneezes on the half-fey, covering him and the surrounding area of the path with a layer of thick, slimy, mucous. The giant snail that Orr channeled water at curls up in its shell, retracting all of its fleshy parts.

Malagos casts about for points to anchor his web, as there are few points of fixed terrain that are suitable, and finally decides on a pair of stone pylons just beyond the water-walls - this provides a web some thirty feet long, protecting the party's entire left side (Archimedes' steps back from his dying opponent in time to avoid getting entangled). The other giant snail sneezes on Malagos, covering him an the area with a slimy layer of mucous.

Malagos carefully casts his fell animate chill touch, preparing to coup de grace the dying snail for his undead army.

Archimedes leaves the dying snail to Malagos, activates his Fighting Style, and full attacks the snail that has just approached him. He avoids using the key this time lest it hurt the necromancer again, instead opting to crack the monster open with his bare hands (and teeth, and horns, and stinger tail).

6 attacks (he's still holding the key in one hand so he can't claw with that hand). 2 Slams (primary attack, using Whirling Frenzy bonus attack for a second) at +12, others at +10. slams 2d6+18, gore 1d8+12, claw/bite/tail 1d6+12. DC 19 stun on first hit.

Orr will spend a fire token (free action) to boost his blinking fly speed to 41.75 feet. He'll then fly up and away, trying to move to keep something in between him and as many snails as possible. On the way (flyby attack) he'll expend water tokens to try to nauseate two snails (160 ft range, sickens no save and nauseates for two rounds, DC 17 fort negates).

The snail, seeing Archimedes turn on him, retreats into its shell. This does not save it, as the iron half-minotaur's blows crack the shell and pulp the yellow organs within. However, the giant snail that had come up behind Archimedes gets in its own attacks, though the fleshy flails do little damage on his metallic hide. (-5 hp)

Behind the web, you can see the darting form of Drowning-Squid among the entangled giant snails.

Malagos attempts to get to where he can touch the dying snail, but slips on the slime and falls prone. The giant snail on his right charges, bashing through Gort and over Malagos (-10 hp).

Orr flies up - and pretty much immediately hits the low water ceiling, finding himself adrift among hundreds of swarming tiny yellow snails.

Malagos crawls at the dying snail like a boss, trying to look as unobtrusive as possible.

Archimedes turns around and unleashes his frenzied fighting style upon the snail that just wounded him, throwing caution to the wind and opting to use the key as his primary weapon again:

7 attacks, all at +10: 2 key attacks (???+4 power attack damage +12 full Str bonus), slam 2d6+12, gore 1d8+12, claw/bite/tail 1d6+12

Fort DC 19 stun for 1 round on first connecting attack

Orr swims back down and tries to power channel water to sicken/nauseate two giant snails, landing anywhere that doesn't have slime on it and if possible getting some cover and/or concealment from as many snails as possible via a stone pillar or something.

As Archimedes smashes the key into the snail, a small fiery pellet seems to shoot out of the key, hit the snail's shell and bounce back to smack the iron half-minotaur between the eyes.

There is a sudden explosion of flame. The force and heat of the blast is enough to boil away the immediate walls and ceiling around Archimedes, and the extent of the explosion captures all the snails and the entire party (except Drowning-Squid) in its radius.

The snails (giant and normal), pack-lizards, and a good portion of the rats are flash-fried immediately. Thrull, the dog, Malagos, and Orr all make their reflex saves for half damage; this leaves the dog and Malagos critically injured (-8 hp and falling), and Orr unsteady on his tentacles (1 hp remaining) is fine. Archimedes feels rather good (all hp damage healed) and laconic (under a slow effect from the heat).

The way forward is now clear, but the water path looks increasingly unstable.

Thrull crawls forward, fur smoking, and lays hands on the half-baked dog. A pale yellow glow emanates from his fingers, and the canine's wounds begin to heal. The rat matters something about "Didn't your mother ever teach you about evocations in a confined space?"

"I'M BAD!" Archimedes roars triumphantly over the fried snails, before noticing the effect on the rest of the party. Never knew my mother nor evocations, so no, Archimedes tells Thrull. But duly noted for the future. Can you heal Malagos, or help me keep him from dying?

Archimedes attempts to give First Aid to stabilize Malagos (Heal +8)