"I doubt any of them would set foot inside Harrowstone," Eldon says doubtfully.
"I still like the plan suggested earlier, which involved fixing the broken winch with parts of the Lopper's winch."
Arval stands at the ready to break the winch apart.
"So how are we going to take it apart? Looks to me like a very complicated system."
He tries to work his brain on the winch but is unable to and its result is a headache.
The group begin examining the mechanism of the winch. It looks something like this. A large handle turns a smaller gear, connected to a larger gear. The larger gear then winds, or unwinds the chain which leads into the ceiling and presumably the portcullis.
The winch in the southern guard room has been badly damaged by fire; the handle and smaller gear need to be replaced. Although it is possible to dismantle the northern winch, it would require the appropriate tools.
"What about asking around town, to see if we can borrow the proper tools?" Eldon suggests while thinking about the tools the party probably needs. "I believe the villagers owe us after yesterday."
Which tools do we need?
A saw, probably...
"Though I'd rather first explore the other passage, now we're down here anyway."
"Aye. Not one o' them's be likely t' be comin' in here. Bu' mebbe they got some tools we ken use. Anyways, there be another hallway t' examine first. Mebbe it leads around back t' behind here."
Defeated by the portcullis, the group heads down the western hallway, which is quite long. The dungeon around you is eerily silent, wet, and claustrophobic. The typically cheerful light of Eldon's dancing lanterns only manages to cast strange, sharp shadows around as your footsteps echo down this dank dungeon. Finally, the lights show yet another portcullis. Two closed doors are to its side, one leading north, one leading south.
"North again?"
Eldon nods his head. "Very well."
He puts his ear against the door, and listens. If he hears nothing, Eldon will attempts to open the door.
The north door opens to reveal a guard room is decorated similarly to the others, with a table, a few chairs, and a pair of cots. A winch is affixed to the western wall. It appears to be uninhabited.
Arval moves to the winch and prepares to turn it.
"Everyone prepared for the fight?"
He moves the hammer to his belt in preparation for the fight.
There are no magical auras in the room. The group looks it over carefully, but it appears empty of both the living and the dead.
"Ready as can be," Eldon replies, after quickly loading his light crossbow with a +1 ghost touch bolt.
Kawrock gives a nod, "As ready as one can be in this dreadful place." His grip tightening on his sword.
Arval unlocks the winch and begins turning it. The group nervously watch the portcullis raise. Above the portcullis is a brass nameplate, its face caked with soot. Many of the iron doors along the walls in the cellblock hang open, revealing empty cells.
Eldon's dancing lights reveal row after row of empty cells. Nothing emerges from the darkness.
Arval readies himself to charge attack anything that jumps out and yells into the room.
If possible he will charge at the enemy.
|
As arval belows, lena leaps nearly a foot into the air.
what in the nine hells, the infinite abyss, and the desolation of hades are you doing! You scared a years growth off me. she kicks his foot, and then jumps about a bit in pain. ow. What are you made of, adamantium?
Muttering to herself about loud, annoying biggers, she casts mage armor on herself
Arval makes a huge ruckus as he moves into the cell block. This massive cell block which the plaque identifies as "Reaper's Hold[/b] is completely empty. Nothing jumps out at anyone. Arval continues to wander through the cell block, calling out, and finds nothing. A door leads southwards from the cell block. There is also a door beside the rest of the group, in the hallway.
"Well, that was less exciting than I expected."
Eldon moves over to the door south of where the party's standing. This time he directly tries to open the door.
Whiskeyjack scowled at Arval as the boy halooed into the darkness. He muttered, "One o' these days, he be gettin' 'is nose et off fer somethin' fool like tha'"
The dwarf waited for the gribblies to attack, and when they didn't he shrugged. "NOt today then."
He turned to back up Eldon as the bard tried the other door.
"Not really sure what you were trying to do there Avral, but it appears that it had no effect other then ruffling my feathers." Kawrock steps up behind Eldon and will assist in opening the door if needed.
Eldon opens the south door.
This guardroom contains a single large table with two chairs astride it and a single sagging cot pushed up against the eastern wall. Several battered cabinets line the northern wall, with a few arrows and bits of chainmail lying scattered on the floor nearby, yet the most eerie sight are the three fractured skulls sitting on the table next to a heavy hammer. It looks as if someone has arranged the fragments of the skulls in some sort of pattern, as if an attempt had been made to construct a fourth skull from the broken fragments of the trio on the table. The leathery body of a long-dead dwarf, his wiry red hair and beard still strangely vibrant in death, lies slumped on the ground behind the table.
You feel a sudden, splitting headache while at the same time you notice the fragments of skull on the table begin rattling and shaking.
"Agh, my head!" Eldon exclaims as he places his hands against his temples. "Something's messing with those skull fragments, and my head!"
Eldon casts detect magic on the skull fragments, and tries to figure out what could be going on.
"Based on how my head is feeling something bad is about to happen."
Eldon does not detect any magic, however he knows at this point that haunts and undead do not detect as magical.
The group remains crowded at the door, staring in. A few receiving splitting headaches as a reward for their perceptive skills.
Eldon does not detect any magic, however he knows at this point that haunts and undead do not detect as magical.
The group remains crowded at the door, staring in. A few receive splitting headaches as a reward for their perceptive skills.
Arval raises an eyebrow as some in the group start complaining about headaches.
"You guys... alright?"
He asks hesitantly.
Rustom winces with the sudden pain in his head. "Those skull fragments... everyone get ready, something is about to happen, I'm sure of it."
With the group all looking in, nothing happens.
"One o' me brethren locked in this place fer 'is eternal rest. A shame i' is, 'im no' bein' able t' return t' the lands o' 'is fathers." Ignoring the others' portents of danger, Whiskeyjack walked into the room to kneel beside the dwarf's corpse. He searched the body for any signs of clan affiliation, typically a ring, medallion, or sometimes a tatoo.
Hoping it'll remove the headache, Eldon takes some distance from the room.
"You do that, Whiskeyjack... I'm going to stand here for a bit... Agh..."
As Whiskeyjack stomps into the room, things begin to happen rapidly.
Three of the heads suddenly rise up, screaming out a horrid cacaphony which chills the party to their bones! Arising with the head, a ghostly form of a sobbing dwarf arises; a ghostly skull floats in the air near him, its cranium laced with cracks with a missing shard of bone in the side. The Mosswater Marauder has arisen, and his pain will be yours.
Eldon
Lena
---
Skulls
Mosswater Marauder
---
Kawrock
Rustom
Arval
Whiskeyjack
"Get ye back, ye undead monster!" Whiskeyjack readied his hammer and shield and prepared to receive the enemy.
"We will not be so easily shaken this time! We have full bellies!"
"Ack! Another ghost!" Eldon shoots the +1 ghost touch bolt he'd loaded onto his crossbow at the Marauder.
After watching the bolt connect to the evil ghost, Eldon quickly reloads his crossbow with another +1 ghost touch bolt.
The moment Arval sees everything taking place he grabs his charm and looks frightened.
The bolts flies right through the Mosswater Marauder. Eldon's expertise in all things leads him to believe he's dealing with a haunt, rather than a ghost. However, Lena's disrupt undead smacks into the Marauder, who fades out slightly as he continues weeping.
The skulls rise up and begin attacking, hammering their way at the group. One manages to bite nastily down on Whiskeyjack.
The Marauder himself suddenly swoops from his position, moving faster than could be imagined. He appears by Eldon's side and a CRACK sounds out as he brings his hammer down. A ghostly fragment of Eldon's skull floats through the air to join the skull at the Marauder's side. He returns to his original location, sobbing.
Arval suddenly feels a strange compulsion come over him.
Rustom moves into the room sliding along the wall behind Whiskyjack, then readies the hand axe.
"Wait! Is this one o' them haunt things? What o' those items ye found are left?"
Arval seems Rustom inching along the wall and decides he will do the same. He moves into the room and drops his sword to grab the hammer.
Eldon starts a tale about hunting haunts. Something he claims to be experienced in, despite his earlier oopsie.
As Arval creeps against the wall, a strange compulsion takes over him. He grabs the hammer, but instead he starts trying to kill Rustom in the head!
The hammer smacks into Rustom's head as Arval starts sobbing uncontrollably. "SHE WAS MY WIFE!" he shrieks.
He knows that if he can just get the pieces of Rustom's head, everything will be all right.
Nonetheless, the hammer seems to have an adverse effect on the Mosswater Marauder.
Inspire Courage Active
Eldon (6 dmg)
Lena
---
Red skull
Black skull
Green skull
Mosswater Marauder (7 dmg) (
---
Kawrock
Rustom (7 dmg)
Arval (possessed)
Whiskeyjack