Sister Mara carefully removes the medallion and bracers from the body within the sarcophagus and hands the items to Master Chen.
“If these things can help us here, we should make use of them,” Detressa says.
After handing the items to the wizard, Mara searches the small room for any other means of egress.
"So where to next?" Mara asks her companions. "Shall we still investigate the albino dwarves and spiders to the south and west before tackling the necromancer to the east?"
"I would tackle the necromancer first, while we are fresh and powerful, and before he has any time to prepare for us. The longer we leave this animator of the dead, the more dead he will animate - especially in such a fertile ground as a mortuary," Uwais says.
Kua nods as Uwais speaks. "Agreed. Yang, are you able to identify those items? They may prove useful against this necromancer."
Detressa nods in agreement with Uwais. "The necromancer should be our primary concern."
Sister Mara carefully removes the medallion and bracers from the body within the sarcophagus and hands the items to Master Chen.
Appraise medallion
Appraise bracers
"Well, if we need to wait to identify the items, so be it. For now, I guess we head east."
Kua hefts his axe over his shoulder and begins making his way around the pit.
"Agreed. Let's deal with the necromancer and his foul abominations and return to the surface. I long to see the sun," Mara says, following along behind Kua.
The party exits the secret sarcophagus chamber and walks back down the hallway where you fought the "ghoul-dogs" or festrogs the previous day. Passing the mysterious black monolith, you turn right and head south down a long ten foot wide hallway. For approximately 85 feet, you continue steadily south down the silent hallway until you have to descend a flight of stairs- from the top of the stairway you can see a matching stair on the opposite side returning to your present elevation. At the bottom of the stairs (about ten feet) there is another descending stairway on your right, leading east and down about 30 feet to a set of double doors.
Straight in front of you is another stairwell leading ten feet up again and continuing south.
Kua turns to face the rest of the party at the lower landing. "If we head right here, it will probably lead us below the bridge in the cavernous room with the statues. We know that room to be clear of enemies, but it may not hurt to have a closer look. What do you think?"
"That sounds good," Sister Mara agrees with Kua, renewing the spell of illumination on the holy symbol on her armor as she peers down the stairway.
Uwais nods. "Agreed." He rests his hand on Waya's coat as he hurries to keep up with his long-legged allies.
You smell it before you catch sight of the source: a reek of corpserot and pungent chemicals. About halfway down the stairs you come to a small landing before the next staircase. A heap of festering body parts lay there, beneath an opening in the ceiling about ten feet above.
"Hmm. It would seem to be we have found some person's trash." He turns to Detressa. "Is this not unusual for this part of the tomb? That the parts are ... fresher?" He thinks a bit. "Of course, if other bodies have the gentle repose, that could be ..."
Kua silently edges onto the landing a bit, careful not to touch the mound of parts. Once he is below the opening, he looks up for any sign of where the parts came from.
Stealth
Perception
Looking up into the ceiling, Kua can tell that he stands beneath a corridor running north to south, but it's difficult to discern any other details.
The Duskwarden is startled as something in the pile of corpse bits starts stirring! Shortly thereafter, three severed hands crawl spider-like out of the reeking pile!
initiative
Detressa:
Crawling Hands:
Waya:
Initiative- Round 1
Kua- 18
Uwais and Waya- 16
Sister Mara- 15
Yang- 11
Crawling Hands- 7
Detressa- 6
The cadaverous limbs skuttle across the tiles on the floor. You can pick out one with a tattoo ont he back: a stylized owl.
Knowledge- Local DC 15:
"Hmm. It would seem to be we have found some person's trash." He turns to Detressa. "Is this not unusual for this part of the tomb? That the parts are ... fresher?" He thinks a bit. "Of course, if other bodies have the gentle repose, that could be ..."
“It is,” Detressa agreed. “They must be bodies taken from the newer levels.”
Before she has a chance to expound further, the pile begins to crawl with moving hands!
The priestess holds forth her holy symbol, calling on Pharasma to dispel the unlife from these abominations.
Round One:
Startled by the sudden appearance of the crawling hands, Sister Mara takes a step back up the stairs and calls upon the blessings of the Everlight to launch a ray of holy energy at one of the creatures.
Startled by the sudden movement, Kua drives his axe down almost spear-like into the hand at his feet (AT/27).
Attack:
Damage:
Uwais gives a commanding growl to Waya as he loads his sling. He touches Kua's back, giving him a bit of divine guidance.
Yang fires a ray of greenish energy at the claw furthest back.
disrupt undead attack
damage
Knowledge- Religion DC 11:
Kua's axe splits the foremost hand in twain as it skitters toward him, but its cohort easily evades Waya's jaws. It displays less luck, however, in evading the Sister's divine ray of positive energy. The other diminutive extremity dodges Yang's similar ray.
The wounded hand with the owl tattoo claws at Kua, while its unwounded ally goes for Waya.
Claw vs. Kua:
Claw vs. Waya:
Both the wolf and the half-orc feel brittle nails dig into their flesh as the hands crawl for their necks!
Grapple vs. Kua:
Grapple vs. Waya:
Waya shakes the clinging hand from her fur with a growl as Kua yanks his own assailant off with a rather similar growl.
A wave of gray light answers Detressa's prayer, searing into the crawling hands.
Will save 1:
Will save 2:
The tattooed hand falls apart, the undead flesh flensed from the bones. The other continues its spastic assault, though somewhat worse for wear.
Round Two:
Sister Mara calls upon the blessings of the Everlight again to launch another ray of holy energy at the remaining undead hand.
Uwais lays another hand on Kua, calling on nature's guidance to aid his ally. "Well hit, Kua - now see if you can do that again," the halfling gently teases. He moves back behind Yang and Detressa. "I'll get out of your way now," he says to the two of them.
As Waya shakes her attacker off, she growls and bristles, snapping at it before it can attack her again.
Kua swings his greataxe in another brutal arc!
Greataxe vs. remaining hand:
And cleaves the sentient severed appendage in twain! The remaining pile of body parts remains still, having learned their lesson that movement or shenanigans of any kind will not be tolerated.
"I have not seen these before. What type of unliving beings were they? Do you know, Sister? Mistriss Detressa?"
“Crawling Hands,” answers Detressa grimly. “Undead assassins with the ability to mark a specific creature as their quarry and hunt them through some extra-sensory ability, even climbing walls and ceilings to assault their quarry. Usually they simply strangle their target in the unfortunate creature's sleep.”
With all sentient appendages taken care of, Kua pokes through the pile of body parts with the tip of his great axe.
"What do you think caused this mess?"
Perception
While Kua pokes at the heap of bodies, Sister Mara casts a Light spell on a silver coin and tosses it up through the opening in the ceiling into the north-south trending passageway above. With the area above better illuminated, she looks for a suitable place to secure a rope or other means to ascend to the upper passageway. "Does anyone have any rope?" she asks.
Once Kua is done poking through the body parts.
"Hmm.. I've got a rope, but no grappling hook. I suppose we could tie the end of it to my crowbar if there is anything up there to catch on."
DM Screen:
Sister Mara:
Even illuminated, it's difficult to tell what's up there. The opening in the ceiling is about ten feet square and it reaches to each side of the corridor above. Sister Mara works out that there must be a very narrow ledge on one side of the pit.
"Wait, Kua," Sister Mara halts the ranger as he pokes through the remains. "There in the pile... there's a severed hand with a gold ring on its finger. See it? It's set with an emerald in it."
As Kua continues to poke through the pile, Mara continues to examine the opening in the ceiling with a critical eye. "You know, I might be able to climb up there and secure a rope for the rest of you to use to climb up," she says consideringly. "Kua, do you think you could give me a boost?"
Kua pulls the ring off of the severed hand, huffs a few breaths on the emerald and wipes it on his sleeve. "Not sure where the line between aiding our cause and grave robbing stands. I'll leave that to up to you priestess." Kua flips the jewelry over to Detressa.