"Hello. Thomas not eating. Thomas never hungry." The beast shrugs.
"That's convenient" Kendra comments, before adressing Thomas himself.
"Thomas, I would like to look into your memory. See what you saw, hear what you heard, and I can do that with a spell. It won't hurt you, but I don't want to do it without you saying it's ok."
"Ok." Thomas shrugs.
Kendra says a quick spell and reaches out to take the beast's hand.
Kendra furrows her brow.
"Well, that didn't work." She looks disappointedly back at her friends, before forcing a smile and looking at the beast. "Thank you, Thomas, for trying."
"So off to the sanctuary?" Jominda asks.
The Sanctuary lies some 3 miles north of Lepidstadt along the Lesser Moutray river. A narrow track follows the western shore of the river, passing through depressingly gray marshland before arriving at the lonely ruins of Sanctuary on Karb Isle. The sad remains of a broken building lie on a spur of land jutting into the river. The burnt timbers of a large house sag into the undergrowth of nettles and thistles. Nature is taking back this charred ruin, as if trying to erase dark memories. Nearby, a small cluster of gravestones jut from the weeds. Though called an island, Karb is actually an isthmus and is connected to the mainland. There are a total of 12 graves along the cobbled track to Lepidstadt. The ruins of Sanctuary are choked with fallen debris.
Herm purchases 5 sun rods
Herm will pull out a sunrod and tuck it into his belt for easier retrieval. Taking his large hammer off his back and laying it across both hands.
"Keep a good look out"
Kendra keeps here eyes peeled as she walks up to the sanctuary, reading the gravestones for anything odd, and eventually noticing something on the south side of the ruin.
"Look," she says as she points the 3-foot-wide hole out to her fellows, "An entrance here. And by the gods, it reeks. I fear we might find those ghasts if we descend here."
She grits her teeth in determination as she adds "But I also think it allows our best chance of finding any clues."
"Or we take this chest here." Jominda replies as she stumbles over the strongbox. "Any idea how to open it without a key?"
"Let me have a look if I can open it." Harrold says walking over. He pulls out his thieves tools as he does so. He kneels infront of the box and tries to pick the lock
When that doesn't work he rubs his chin thinking, "We could possibly use an acid to corrode the metal." he says looking at the state of the box.
"Did someone bring a crowbar? Maybe we could force it open." Jominda suggests. "I'm not sure if acid is potent enough to seriously damage that. And we don't have something to keep the acid in place until the process ran it's course."
"I didn't bring one. Herm?" Harrold says turning to the armored man
Kendra takes a look at the box, and then at their surroundings. "maybe there's another metal rod here that we can use as a crowbar."
Herm shurgs his shoulders.
"Another item to add to my wish list of items to buy?" Herm moves towards the hole, lighting a torch he drops it into the hole.
"Jominda... Could you like... have a substance that would light most of the bottom floor there on fire? I reckon the ghouls wouldn't like that, and they'll be easier to cut down if they come out screaming and on fire. And any evidence down there would have to be fireproof already."
meanwhile she looks around for anything that can be used as an improvised crowbar.
"Worst case, we take the chest along and open it in town." Jominda comments.
"I didn't bring lamp oil, but I can stock that if you want to use fire as a default solution in the future. But if there is any evidence down there, then it's probably not the best to set everything on fire."
"Hasn't everything been on fire already?" Kendra suggests
"That's true. But I still didn't bring oil. So what are we going to do instead?" Jominda.
"I will go down and draw them to me, can you attack them from above and support me as you can." Herm hands his hammer to Jominda then sits down at the edge of the pit, nodding to the group.
"when you are ready."
"What shall I do with your hammer?" Jominda asks.
"Hand it to me when I am down, don't want to throw it down and draw them out when I am not ready."
Kendra quickly casts a spell upon Herm , and then proceeds to work one for herself
"Are the ghasts deaf? If not that plan might fail." Jominda replies.
You stand in front of a hole that is three by three feet wide, which is brick built, and that leads 15 feet down. Then it opens into the cellar which is 15 more feet to the ground. directly under the hole are some crates piled up, probably as a crude set of stairs to reach the shaft from below.
"You can hold your own weapon, I'll make sure you land safely" Kendra says, before taking hold of her pendant and smiling
"Ready when you are."
Jominda hands the weapon back to Herm and readies a bomb. Then she lights a sunrud and throws it into the hole. The torch she considers not bright enough. "Last one in is a lame duck." she tells as she jumps. As she knows her boots will save her if she is too fast for Kendra.
As all jump in after Jominda you find yourself in the center of the workshop which is about 50ft by 25ft in size. Four ghasts stand just outside the area you could see from above with their claws and teeth waiting to jump you.
Kendra follows Jominda in instantly, and lands lightly on her feet. She quickly turns to the ones on the bottom right, while she looks around for any possible strategic advantage to be gained by moving to the side - a more defensible position or even just to lure the ghasts to follow them and all come from the same angle.
She exclaims a word of power and flings a dart towards the righthand ghast.
Harrold follows them in after readying a flask himself.
Herm jumps down the hole, feeling odd as he floats down to the ground safely. Reading his hammer, Herm takes a swing at the bottom left group to keep the focus fire going.
"Iomadae grant me your blessings to defeat these undead abominations"
Herm them moves to engage the group
HP 39/39
Channel Energy 1/2 (2d6 DC 14)
Lay on Hands 4/4 (2d6 HP)
Earth Breaker +8, 2d6+6
The holy energy flows through all the undead but affects only one of them fully. Harrold destroys one of the undead with his attack, Kendra damages one further.
One of the ghasts comes at Herm.
The look of these undead is creepy. Jominda thought she had seen it all at the Harrowstone, but this is another kind of terrifying.
"Eeeeeep!" she voices her surprise and disgust and looks around where to get cover. Not finding any she throws a bomb at the ones before her.
Herm feels his muscles start to tighten but fights it off.
"Not today undead, the Inheritor has called upon me to vanquish you from this plane."
Attacking one on the left.
HP 39/39
Channel Energy 1/2 (2d6 DC 14)
Lay on Hands 4/4 (2d6 HP)
Earth Breaker +8, 2d6+6
The bomb reduces the stinking undead to flayed meat, but it still stands.
It's neighbour manages to evade most of the fire spreading out from the bomb.
The remaining ghouls attack.
Kendra watches in satisfaction as the acid of her previous attack keeps eating away at the undead she had damaged. However, the smile turns into a grimace as a claw draws blood on her outstretched arm and her muscles start locking up.
She only just manages to release a grunt.
Herm looks over his shoulder as the Ghouls attack the others as well.
"Beats attack me!"
Herm swings his large hammer at the Ghoul on Kendra.
HP 33/39
Channel Energy 1/2 (2d6 DC 14)
Lay on Hands 4/4 (2d6 HP)
Earth Breaker +8, 2d6+6
After corroding almost to death, Herm destroys the undead with a mighty swing of his hammer.
The ghast exploded by Jominda burns to death. Or un-undeath. It is destroyed.
Jominda chucks another bomb at the ghast.
But she misses and as a result catches herself besides the ghoul in the explosion.
The ghast is destroyed. And Jominda is seriously wounded.
Harrold throws another vial.
The remaining ghast is disintegrated by the explosion.
The hospital’s damp cellar, which contained Dr. Brada’s private workshop, escaped the fire remarkably unscathed. A pair of large water casks sits beneath the entrance shaft to climb upon. The cellar itself is some 15 feet high, and is a mess, as the remains of Brada’s workshop have been flung about and otherwise thrown into disarray. A ghastly trophy made of burnt heads dangling on chains from an iron candelabrum hangs from the ceiling near the shaft.
Buried among the debris in the cellar are 12 silver crossbow bolts in a quiver, a slightly melted gold belt buckle worth 15 gp, and an iron bracelet with silver filigree work depicting a moon eating an owl worth 75 gp.
Grine, Chymickal Bleach” can still be read.
Kendra's muscles slowly come around to move again, and she rubs them to get them a bit more supple again.
"That was unpleasant. At least we cleared out the threat." she says.
she looks around the room.
.
I don't think this is everything," she says. "I'm expecting some hidden room or another."
Herm walks over and picks up the bottle.
"Does anyone know who Vorkstag and Grine, Chymickal Bleach is?" Herm hands the bottle over to Jominda and Harrold for inspection.
"I don't know who Vorgstaf and Grine is. But I know what Chymical Bleach is. It's an alchemical substance you can use to clean. For such a workshop for example. Not good for clothes or skin, but things made of stone or metal." Jominda explains.