Out of Sight, Out of Threat Range
We are still in the room with a caged demonic entity. It seems like we've been here for days, but as the monster looks like it wants to eat our spleens and the woman we've come here to rescue is lying unconscious in the same cage we find ourselves in something of a dilemma. My solution of going back to her father and saying that she's dead didn't gain as much momentum as I would have liked, so he we are trying to come up with better ideas. Sadly, the discussion always returns to opening the cage by pulling the conveniently-placed lever and battling the monster to rescue the woman.
'But wait, how do we know the lever opens the cage?', I enquire. We've so far successfully prevented Metrius from pulling it, and because it is flush with a stone floor even Wendel, with his roguish skills, cannot make out its mechanism, so we don't know for sure what it does.
'Hmm, interesting. I suppose it is possible that this far-too-obvious lever could be a trap, and that it sets off something nasty instead of opening the cage. Maybe more caution is advised.'
Hearing this, I come to my senses, 'Oh. Maybe the trap is that it does, in fact, open the cage and loose the monster on anyone stupid enough to pull the lever.' I suppose this room doesn't lend itself to much double-guessing.
There doesn't seem to be much other option but to pull the lever and expect the cage to open, releasing the monster that we'll have to subdue so that we can recover the kidnap victim. We cast buff spells, the fighters swig some booze that increases some abilities to the detriment of others, and, as a last-second thought, I make myself invisible to pose even less of a target to the beast. As the monster radiates large amounts of heat I don't consider my fire-based spells will be particularly effective, so I'm planning to hide for the most part. I help everyone out with a Resist Energy spell as well, which seems like a good idea.
As prepared as we can be, we all get in to position. The fighters stand at almost opposite sides of the monster. Scintilla tries to stay close enough to both of them so that she can heal either quickly. I stand just outside the room, quivering, but I'm invisible so it's not immediately obvious. And then Metrius pulls the lever. It's okay, we ask him to.
The Wall of Force spell disappears and the cage rises to the ceiling. The monster is released, and the fight begins. Its massive weapon bears down on Wendel, and lands a crushing blow that sends him flying backwards ten feet. Wendel gets up and faces the monster again, only to be knocked back once more. Metrius takes a swing at the beast and tickles its ankle, getting its attention. Another large blow from the weapon, and Metrius tries to avoid being knocked back.
'I need to make a reflex save of DC26? Okay, that's my worst save, and I have -4 on Reflex saves because of the booze. So I need to roll a <checks character sheet> 21.' Even though it's a good thing a 20 always saves, Metrius doesn't, and is knocked back himself.
Whilst this is happening, I am struck by a serendipitous realisation. My desire not to be made in to a meatwad led me to cast Invisibility, and because of this I notice that I could just wander past the monster, pull the kidnapped woman from out of the cage's area, and then get someone to activate the lever again, hopefully lowering the cage. It certainly seems like a better option than fighting the monster, particularly after seeing the first couple of rounds. I head across the room, and it seems that the monster doesn't see me. I grab the woman and pull her free, still unnoticed, and then shout for Metrius to pull the lever again, which he gladly does.
Luck was with us! The lever drops the cage and reactivates the Wall of Force that surrounds it. Even luckier, the monster was too busy beating up Wendel to think about moving out from under the cage, so it is once more imprisoned. Huzzah! We have saved the prisoner in peril.
Now for our daring escape.