Zed doesn't even attempt to dodge the flames, letting them wash over him and burn off the grime like a cleansing wave.
Zed doesn't even attempt to dodge the flames, letting them wash over him and burn off the grime like a cleansing wave.
Petros' swordcane continues to swish through the air as Vala repositions nearer to Hazel and lets a thin, pearlescent beam leap from her hand at the other fiery skeleton.
HP: 49/57
Negative Energy Resist 5
AC: 14 (10 T / 14 FF)
CMD: 16
F/R/W: +7/+4/+13 (+2 vs death effects, energy drain, negative energy, & necromancy)
Monstrous Insight used: 0/7
Healing Hex targets: haunt
Bone Ward targets: Hazel
Current Wandering Spirit: Bones
Prepared spells
Orisons (4) | DC 15: dancing lights, disrupt undead, identify, read magic
Level 1 spells (4+2+1*) | DC 17: inflict light wounds [ ], know the enemy* [ ], magic missile [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ], produce flame (CL7) [ ]
Level 2 spells (4+1+1*) | DC 18: false life* [X], magic missile (toppling) [ ], spiritual weapon [X] [ ] [ ]
Level 3 spells (3+1+1*) | DC 19: bull's strength (extended) [ ], lightning bolt [ ] [ ], locate object* [ ], spiritual weapon (toppling) [ ]
Level 4 spells (2+1+1*) | DC 20: ball lightning [ ], fear* [ ], greater magic weapon [X], spiritual ally [ ]
Level 5 spells (1+1+1*) | DC 21: dispel evil [ ], lightning arc [ ], slay living* [ ]
Ongoing Effects
Greater Magic Weapon (Vermundr)
The sword cane and the beam of positive energy wipe out the remaining skeletons and they erupt in flame.
Constantin winces as he's engulfed in fire and stumbles away from the skeletons as best he can.
Constantin moves to the front room, preparing for a possible opening against the magician.
Kaz squeezes past Vermundr out into the open and points, at the cultist. After a second, his hand clinches convulsively into a tight, grasping fist.
Vermundr lumbers up to the cultist. Without an ounce of mercy in his pale eyes he rears back for another cleaving blow.
Success
The cultist shakes off the effects of Kaz' spell in time to sway to the side of Vermundr's mighty blow.
With the skeletons all destroyed, the cultist raises an amulet on a chain around her neck and whispers something almost imperceptible. A wave of dark energy pulses out from her, washing over Vermundr and Kazamir.
Fail
Success
Zed exits the building and runs around, closing in on the cultist with Verm.
Vala moves through the smithy and around the counter until she can see the cultist and Zed squaring off against one another. She frowns and then waves her hand and Petros' swordcane leaps in response. It pirouettes through the air, coming to rest beside the cultist for only a moment before striking out with a quick, forward thrust.
HP: 49/57
Negative Energy Resist 5
AC: 14 (10 T / 14 FF)
CMD: 16
F/R/W: +7/+4/+13 (+2 vs death effects, energy drain, negative energy, & necromancy)
Monstrous Insight used: 0/7
Healing Hex targets: haunt
Bone Ward targets: Hazel
Current Wandering Spirit: Bones
Prepared spells
Orisons (4) | DC 15: dancing lights, disrupt undead, identify, read magic
Level 1 spells (4+2+1*) | DC 17: inflict light wounds [ ], know the enemy* [ ], magic missile [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ], produce flame (CL7) [ ]
Level 2 spells (4+1+1*) | DC 18: false life* [X], magic missile (toppling) [ ], spiritual weapon [X] [ ] [ ]
Level 3 spells (3+1+1*) | DC 19: bull's strength (extended) [ ], lightning bolt [ ] [ ], locate object* [ ], spiritual weapon (toppling) [ ]
Level 4 spells (2+1+1*) | DC 20: ball lightning [ ], fear* [ ], greater magic weapon [X], spiritual ally [ ]
Level 5 spells (1+1+1*) | DC 21: dispel evil [ ], lightning arc [ ], slay living* [ ]
Ongoing Effects
Greater Magic Weapon (Vermundr)
spiritual weapon: 3/9 rds
The swordcane jabs the cultist in the belly, knocking the air out of her lungs momentarily.
The cultist's pulse of corrupting energy earns a growl of pain from Vermundr. With renewed effort he continues his attack.
Constantin moves through the doorway and around the corner of the building, staying spread out in case the cultist has any magic that will strike groups of people at once. He focuses as best he can in the din and his pupils expand as he gazes past the methodically-striking Zed and unleashes his mental force on the necromancer.
(Will save DC 17 for half damage)
Kazamir grits his teeth, trying not to retch as the corrupting energy washes over him, then faces the cultist squarely once again.
With a twist and a sharp tug, Kaz clears the sword-blade of his cane and moves, circling around to surround the cultist. The silvered brand flickers out as he closes.
KAz steps out away from the recent fight, scanning the area for other signs of movement or activity.
Vermundr hacks brutally at the cultist, slicing her deeply across the chest and then sending her staggering with another vertical cut. Before she can react a bolt of force like a boulder smashes into her chest and she is thrown bodily through the air, only to come to rest in the tendrils of the mist.
Kazamir looks around and holds his breath to listen for more enemies. Thankfully, the battle was violently short and the village falls silent again, at least nearby. In the distance, there is the distinct sound of movement and every now and then the whisper of a voice - though indistinct.
Wand of command undead (6 charges),
Bloodroot poison (4 doses);
Masterwork light crossbow with 20 bolts,
Masterwork short sword,
Cloak of resistance +1,
Ring of protection +1,
Whispering Way amulet
65gp
The outline of more buildings can be just about made out south and north east.
Kazamir, satisfied for the moment that he can sense nothing in their immediate vicinity, begins stepping cautiously into the mist, his demeanor sharply focused and cold as a killing frost. He gestures to the southeast and turns to verify the direction with his companions.
This way?
Beneath his stony exterior, his heart is beating heavy and fast. All of his years as a constable, an inspector, a private agent, he had lived, had succeeded, had thrived by maintaining a stark detachment, keeping emotion from clouding his observation.
I cannot allow myself the luxury of rage, of the hope of vengeance, even now... he cursed at himself silently...but in his heart of hearts, he knew that the detachment was a lie. He was riding the crest of a cold fury, letting the seething fires of adrenaline carry his senses aloft to a buzzing clarity.
And he was ready to kill. He had trailed, studied enough murderers to recognize the process by which impulse turned towards the ending of another sentient life, and this was it. He was ready to kill.
Zed slowly bends over and picks up the wand used to manipulate the dead. He stares at it for a moment, then tucks it away in his gear. Telling undead to walk off a cliff is a worthy use I suppose.
The bastardized inquisitor looks to the structure before them. He knew not what lie in store for them. Perhaps they would be unprepared. Perhaps they will have have to retreat and come back again. And again. But the conclusion was inevitable. One of two must die. The rest of the lives involved are at the mercy of luck. But of him, and his target, only one can live. Of that he will ensure.
He fears not the conclusion. Losing either life would be a benefit for the world.
Zed moves forward.
Constantin pauses and doffs his hat. He rubs his forehead, then his temple. The aching has slowed to a dull pulse now that the fighting is over.
His eyes flicker over Zed, Vala, Vermundr...
Everyone here hates me. And well they should, he thinks, unbidden. Destroy Vrood, rescue Kendra... then I can end this misbegotten life before my mind destroys anyone else.
"This is it", Vermundr growls as he kicks the broken body of the slain cultist. "We've caught up with the Way. Now we find Vrood and we end him."
Zelda buzzes alongside her master, silently mirroring his anxious energy.
Vala strides out of the building, mists swirling and clinging to her ankles, and comes to a halt beside Vermundr. Her face hard and with occasional crackles of energy dancing across the back of her hands, she offers darkly, "If only we could burn it all down." Shaking her head at their inability to do so, she sends a small beam of pearlescent light into the dirt beside her left foot, scattering the clinging mist. "The vision from Desna showed us Vrood, but he was in front of a broken tower. If we find the tower, we find that miserable snake."
As you step back out into the street you notice a larger building to the south, now just about visible through the mist.
At first glance it appears typical of the others, decrepit and in disrepair. And yet there is something altogether different about it, a strange eldritch glow from within that moves and shines through the cracks in the wooden walls and the shuttered windows. It is only faint, but definitely present.
Vermundr peers through the gaps in the tired old building. At first he can just see the remains of tables, chairs and a long bar running the length of the wall.
To the east is a staircase that one led up to a second sorry which has collapsed, leaving great holes in the ceiling exposing beams and broken plaster.
The eerie glow pulses and fades and Vermundr strains to identify it when suddenly a pale, green face of a man appears at the crack, mere inches from Vermuundr's!
It mutters something and then fades away only to rematerialise further away in the bar. The spirit is of a middle aged, quite portly man with receding hair and a pained expression. He wanders hither and thither through the bar, ringing his hands and occasionally covering his face in grief
Vermundr backs away from the ruined building slowly before turning to address his companions.
"There's a spirit of some sort inside - an older man gone to seed. If he's the helpful kind of spirit, he might be able to tell us what the Way are up to out here."
Hazel eases the ruined door of the former inn open and though she grits her teeth, it swings surprisingly quietly, with little more than a whisper in fact.
Moving in cautiously, at first the spirit is nowhere to be seen, just the smell of mildew and rotten wood.
Then it materialises in an instant beside her, hands raised like claws, it's face a twisted mask of horror...!
But then it fades back and is once more the worried, old innkeeper.
I thought you were them. it says in a slightly echoing voice, full of fear and dismay. With all your Whispering outside I thought you were them.
He floats to the centre of the bar and you see he has a ghostly rope looped in his hands. Standing on something that isn't there he throws it over an invisible beam. He misses. Loops it up and throws again.
He suddenly steps off whatever he was standing on and vanishes. Only to rematerialise behind the bar moments later.
This time. This time it'll work. Oh please, let it work...!
Vala rounds the corner and presses in just behind Hazel, and when the ghost sudden appears before the younger Desnan, Vala seems ready to blast it into the ether but the moment is fleeting and passes quickly.
Her demeanor then softens with profound pity and sadness as she and others watch the innkeeper struggle in helplessness. "I'm so sorry, we didn't mean to give you the impression we were with Them, dear." Her voice is soft and gentle, an echo of how she used to sound back in Ravengro and the years prior. She smiles softly, then gestures to the rope in his translucent hands, "Why are you trying to do that with the rope?"
Zed stares suspiciously. After a moment he begins scanning the room to detect undead.
"What was done here has kept you from your final freedom, hasn't it?" Kaz asks, quietly.
"Why are you trying to do that with the rope?"
Well it worked before, it should work now! Oh, Pharasma please I beg you, don't let me stay here. Not with Them, not again! it wails.
For the first time you notice a pile of bones that look like an intact skeleton lying in a heap in the centre of the room. An old, decayed rope is still looped around it's neck.
It's you! it says with irritation. You're putting me off!
It tries to loop the rope once more, it's face growing annoyed.
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Zed says a brief prayer to Pharasma and steps up with Hazel. "We are here to help. Pharasma sees your pain and wishes it to end. That is why we are here. Please, tell us what happened. Let us help you."
Vermundr crouches near the skeleton. "At the very least I'd say you deserve a proper burial."
"Was there a shady spot that meant something to you life nearby? That might be a good place to start."
Oh that you could help me. the spirit says miserably, sitting heavily on the ghostly chair rather than climbing atop it. 18 years ago the soldiers came. They drank and ate and swore and laughed all night and then in the morning the killed us and burnt us. My family gone. My friends…. Like that last drop of ale in a tankard, all swallowed up.
I hid. he says shamefully. In a barrel in the cellar while the screams of people I knowed all my life was in the air. But I never lifted a finger to help or to hide them. When the soldiers left I crawled out like a rat but the town was gone, just smoke and blood. They threw all the bodies in a mass grave in the centre of town and that was too much and I came here to end it all.
And that was it. I was drifting. I remember just floating through the town, miserable in my lonliness, the other spirits here are trapped and angry and just haunt the place. I was fine to wallow alone, I deserve it.
But now the Dark Riders have come, they call themselves the Whispering Way and a man called Vrood leads them. I don’t know what they are doing exactly but I think they want to trap the spirits and take them away from here. I’ve tried to stop them but they have power over spirits and have banished me dozens of times only for me to come back . I can’t do anything about it, so I came back here to end it all…. Again.
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Zed looks in pity at the trapped soul. "That must feel horrible. To not be able to help the ones you love in their time of need. But you must understand, you would have only been another body on the pyre. There is no cowardice in not wanting to throw your life away for nothing."
"But this can be made right. Help us to set you and the rest of the spirits to rest. Tell us about this Whispering Way, and Vrood, and we will put an end to them. We will do it together."
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"Like the spirit of the Warden of Harrowstone," Kaz mutters, almost to himself.
Zed looks in pity at the trapped soul. "That must feel horrible. To not be able to help the ones you love in their time of need. But you must understand, you would have only been another body on the pyre. There is no cowardice in not wanting to throw your life away for nothing."
"But this can be made right. Help us to set you and the rest of the spirits to rest. Tell us about this Whispering Way, and Vrood, and we will put an end to them. We will do it together."
That's very kind of you but I really don't think there's any hope. I don't know what Vrood's purpose is, only that he's diggin' up all the poor folk who lay here in Feldgrau and turning them into walking dead. Personally, as one who is dead you should take it from me - don't waste your lives. Run, and don't look back.
Oh how death changes us. "Where, where is he? The living shall not suffer the dead, so we must put them to rest."
I don't know exactly. But the south east side of town is getting mighty busy with skeletons and zombies these days. Seriously, there must be nearly a hundred, I can't see how you would get through them before you came back here to join me in the spirit world.
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Vala nods somberly at the spirit's words, then gives Hazel an encouraging squeeze on her shoulder. "Hazel said it quite well just now. But you shouldn't be tormenting yourself like this over and over again. You may have acted in cowardice when those dreadful men swept through your town and betrayed your hospitality, but you are more than that one decision. There is a very good reason why we each need to pass before Pharasma in judgment. Or do you think yourself more well suited to that job than the Lady of Graves herself, hmm?"
Vala's tone is light and soft as she kneels before the spirit so that she can look upward to hold his gaze. "It sounds like there are a great many skeletons and worse out there for us to contend with. If we were to return here later to rest and recuperate, would you watch over us and protect us?"