Vincent stabs the Skum wannabe, inflicting a wound in its torso.
It doesn’t really like him, and steps up, biting and clawing at him.
All three attacks bounce off Vincent's grey shield.
Leonard leans into the doorframe, inhaling deeply like a diver about to jump into cold water.
With a grunt, he straightens out, sword bursting into flames once again. The tattoos on his hand glow an electric blue, and seem to elongate down his arm. Then, all at once, Leonard explodes forward, hand crackling with power, sword pointed forward.
The first blow is deflected by a green shield, but the second strike, with the electric charge strikes home.
The skum wannabe immediately starts smoking, looking rather charred.
Waving goodbye to Dakash, Seamus looks oddly from Howard to Vincent, then shrugs and takes the wand from Vincent and taps himself a couple of times. He then hands the wand back to Vincent.
"Uck! more of the frogs?" thinking for second, Seamus begins to sing. "It's not that easy being green..."
Leonard keeps his sword up, flames crackling, as he prepares to strike again. He bounces lightly on his feet, ready to react to anything.
Vincent stabs at the one in the chain shirt as it tries to hop on a barrel.
It clangs harmlessly off a chain shirt.
The creature tries to claw at Leonard.
Leonard easily parries.
"আপনি সব মানুষ এখানে মারা হবে! হলুদ জন্য রাজা! তিনি থুথমুরের উপর জয়ী হবেন এবং নন্দনতন্ত্রের রক্ত দিয়ে চলবে!" The skum in a chain shirt proclaims.
You will all die here humans! For the King in Yellow! For he will lead us to victory over Thrushmoor and the rivers shall run with blood of the sacrifices!
Leonard steps backward and, with a flick of his wrist, wheels Angiliath around at the creature's head.
Angiliath arcs over the creature's head.
Vincent quickly draws his sword cane and strikes at the fake skum again.
He then steps 5ft diagonally around the target.
Vincent manages to stab the skum wannabe and it looks like it is losing its shape, and turning a shade of grey,though it heals up a little.
The skum wannabe tries to bite and claw at Leonard.
Leonard manages to parry its bite attempt, but is too slow to parry the claw strikes.
'Wish I knew what the frog thing was saying.' Still singing, Seamus moves to the door and shoots at the creature nearest Vincent.
The arrow bounces off a green shield.
Leonard continues his assault on the not skum. The tattoo on his left hand fades to black, the borders becoming a faint red color.
The first swing bounces off the the green shield, but the second blow cuts into the creature.
However it doesn't seem to cut into anything vital, but damages the creature badly. The creature now seems barely keeping its shape. The brand does not take hold.
The chain shirt skum begins to bite and claw at Leonard.
Leonard does not manage to parry the blow from the chain skum, but it bounces off his red shield.
He gets hit by one lucky swipe of its claws though.
Vincent steps to the side 5ft and once again strikes in tandem with Leonard.
If it dies, Vincent studies the chained skum.
As Vincent stabs it, it shudders, then dissolves into a pile of grey ooze.
Leonard dances backward, his shirt now slightly torn from the clawing. Your friend downstairs didn't surrender, I don't suppose you will either.
His left hand begins to crackle and grow blue once again, and he surges forward.
Leonard attacks the creature with two lightning quick slashes, one electrically charged, leaving it barely able to stay standing.
'Why won't this thing die?' Continuing his song Seamus draws and fires two arrows at the last opponent.
The first shot stabs him in the heart and he grasps at the arrow for a moment before he collapses on the floor, dead.
The skum in a chain shirt is wearing a +1 chainshirt and has an amulet on his neck with many claws on it, which Howard identifies as an amulet of mighty fists +1. He is also carrying a ring of keys which the party takes.
Searching the room, in the chest of drawers the party finds a wand of Cure Light Wounds with 33 charges remaining.
The party then heads down to the basement.
The party sees a door in front of them. Vincent checks the door and realizes it is neither locked nor trapped, and gets Leonard to open the door.
The walls of this cool and surprisingly dry subterranean room are lined with sturdy shelves with chopped wood. A couple of axes sit propped in the corner and a small hatchet is driven into a stump used to split smaller logs and make kindling. There are 3 hand axes in the room, but nothing else of value.
The party sees a door to the south and a door to the east. Vincent checks them out and realizes none are locked nor trapped, and gets Leonard to open the south door.
Vincent hears the sound of singing in an unknown language from the eastern door.
The many wooden shelves in this room are stacked with wooden crates, paper-wrapped pockets, and small clay jars sealed with wax. Smoked trout and other dried fish hang from metal hooks fixed to the celling. A number of boxes and containers have been emptied and smashed, and now lie in pieces on the floor, along with discarded fishbones and other refuse. There are about 10 days of dried rations consisting of dried figs and smoked trout in this room.
This musty cellar contains a dozen wooden kegs, several demijohns and dozen of empty bottles standing on shelves along the wall. There is nothing of value in the room. There is a door to the north which Vincent realizes is both locked and trapped. He disables the trap and opens the door with his key.
This room is built around a water well, which opens to the sky above at the apex of the ceiling and descends into a shaft at the middle of the floor. Searching the room reveals nothing of importance except it looks like an underground well.
This dark hallway leads to a row of three doors along the northern wall, each fitted with a small grate in the middle. A single door stands in the southern wall.
The party run into a skum leading his other two skum in chorus.
” প্রথমে আমরা দ্রাক্ষা, এবং তারপর আমরা বেকন,
আগামীকাল আমরা একটি ভাল খাবার করতে হবে।
সংস্কৃতিবিদদের তাদের মজা আছে পরে জন্য,
মানুষের বন তৈরীর জন্য এটি নিখুঁত!”
First we brew, and then we bake,
Tomorrow a good meal we’ll make.
For after the cultists have had their fun,
It’s perfect for making human buns!
As they see the party, they raise their tridents and prepare to attack.
"That's, not bad, but you frogs need a baritone. Let me show you." Hearing the frogs song, Seamus begins singing his own, hoping it will inspire his friends. "Do you ever feel like a plastic bag..."
Stay put! Leonard yells, left hand flashing forward and throwing something white. It sails across the room, then explodes, sending thick strands of webbing in every direction. He steps forward, stabbing at the nearest skum with a now flaming sword.
Stay put! Leonard yells, left hand flashing forward and throwing something white. It sails across the room, then explodes, sending thick strands of webbing in every direction. He steps forward, stabbing at the nearest skum with a now flaming sword.
The ones at the front and back are stuck in the web, only the red one is not.
Leonard strikes at the yellow skum, slicing a large gnash from shoulder to hip.
The skum next to Leonard drops its trident and tries to bite and claw at him, but the webbing gets in his way.
The one that is not grappled tries to move out of the web.
Leonard slashes at him as he moves past.
He cuts a deep cut in its abdomen.
The skum tries to bite him but is deflected by a reddish magical force field.
The last skum tries to break out,but the webbing holds him fast.
The red skum tries to get out but doesn't get very far before he gets stuck in the sticky webs.
'Tridents, what is it with these frogs and tridents?' Continuing his song, Seamus steps behind Howard and fires two arrows at the frog right in front of the new guy.
The first shot skewers the yellow skum through throat and it gives a gurgling sound and falls back into the webbing, dead.
The second shot strikes the red skum in the chest, leaving it barely on its feet.
Fe ddylech chi ildio, fel arall bydd fy ffrind gyda'r spear yn eich taro chi a bydd fy ffrind gyda'r bwa yn eich saethu... Leonard moves into the corner of the room, holding his scimitar just above his shoulder, ready to slash.
You should surrender, otherwise my friend with the spear will strike you and my friend with the bow will shoot you. It sounds almost like Leonard is giving casual advice, he's clearly well within his comfort zone telling monsters to give up or die.
The skum do not seem to understand what Leonard is saying!
Vincent moves to stab the closest skum after studying it.
Vincent moves next to Leonard and stabs the nearest skum, killing it.
The remaining skum decides to just sit in the web, since it can't see anyone.
Let's just burn away a few feet, open things up so you can shoot them some more, eh? Leonard looks at Seamus, then begins cutting away sections of web until the skum is more visible. These seem to be weaker, and I don't think they understood my Aklo. My language skills are excellent, it's probably not the result of any sort of accent on my part. I wonder if these things are connected.
Vincent moves up beside Leonard ready to strike any skum approaching.
Leonard uses his flaming sword and burns up some of the web.
'A flaming sword, how handy.' Singing the last refrain of his song, Seamus fires two more arrows at the last frog thing.
Seamus shoots the remaining skum, through the web, through its forehead, and it falls into the webbing, dead. Leonard then dismisses the web spell. The party finds 3 tridents that the skum were using.
Vincent checks the doors and finds they are neither locked nor trapped.
The jail cell is currently empty and the dor is ajar.
The jail cell contains the butchered remains of two humans, one male, one female. Vincent recognizes the male body has a magistrate’s badge on it, while the female body has a constable’s badge on it.
Curled up in a corner is the sobbing ball of someone with a mop of blond hair. The party can see a scar on his left index finger. As the party approaches, he raises his head and the party can see he has a mole on his chin. He looks the party with frightened eyes, ”Get away from me! I don’t want to be sacrificed to your king, you lunatics!”
I don't bow to any king, Leonard replies, sword sheathed.
You didn't always feel that way.
He kneels down, searching for the man's eyes. You're alright now, we killed the skum outside, you'll be safe if you come with us. Leonard's tone is even and reasonable, as if he were casually greeting a man on the street.
He has no magic on him and seems genuinely afraid of the party.
"Oh so you're not one of those sick psychos?" The man heaves a sigh of relief.
"They already sacrificed Magistrate Padgett and Constable Cesyll at some Stelae.. to their King in Yellow? To open a... Gate apparently?" He replies tentatively back, not expecting to be believed.
"And they said that I'd be next, after they returned with more sacrifices.Please, you need to get me out of here, my sister Hollissa is waiting for me at home!" The man clutches Leonard's blade arm frantically.
King in Yellow? And here I always thought yellow was the color of cowards.
And of mist.
Leonard touches the man on the shoulder, how many were there, would you say? Seeing that the man is clearly very afraid, Leonard adds, focus, your sister could be in danger, and everyone else you know, if you don't help us stop these people. Does the name Itsqaal-Thoal mean anything to you?
He concentrates, trying to think. " I heard four different voices. I'm not very sure, as I was just waking up here with a very bad headache. He fingers a lump at the back of his head.
"I heard some of those creatures out there say the name... And they'd point upwards. But I don't understand what they were saying." The man replies.
"And sometimes I catch sight of a ghostly figure roaming these corridors. You really need to get me out of here!" He pleads.
The party notices that the ring of keys they took off the skum in a chain shirt has a dog leather tag with inscriptions on it in a language only Howard can read.
Itsqaal-Thoal
Vincent checks the door to the south and finds it locked but not trapped. The door itself does not appear to have been used for a long time.
’I wonder if this is Sholn, that girls brother.’ As Seamus approaches the young man he notices the cleft chin and the scar, he taps his new companion on the shoulder, ”May I speak to the young man?”
Seamus puts on his second best smile, the one he uses for adoring fans and places his hands on his hips. He nods to the boy, ”I’m Seamus Passeri's of the Karcau Passeri’s, and though I have played a very believable lunatic in the opera I have never been one. Interestingly we were asked by a certain young lady named Hollissa to find her brother. Your appearance is very similar to the description she gave us. Could you tell us your name and what brought you here? I just want to make sure your not part of the dopple gang.”
Seamus’ smile widens, ”So where was this Stelae you were speaking of? We met some of these yellow clad lunatics and I would certainly like to avoid anyplace they might be at.”
Seamus gets the keys and unlocks the young man, "We're going to inspect the door, you may want to stay here."