Running up to Regnir, slinging mud as she moves as the is unavoidable here. [smaller]"Regnir, someone is here."
Tilting his head to the side and looking at him hand. Lost in thought he visibly twitches when Nalnear runs up and speaks to him. The black ichor dripping from him instantly turns crimson. Turning his head to glare at her, "And?"
Round 1?
Dasur looks quizzically at the muddy shape rising from the swamp at the edge of his darkvision, stands up straight, and frowns. What is that? Perhaps it is an elemental? If it is of the Earth I could communicate with it...
Snorri takes off in a sloppy sprint towards the muck-thing, which Dasur interprets as their liege consdering the unknown entity a credible threat. The wizard abandons the idea of calling out in Terran, and instead focusing on supporting those headingg towards the obelisk.
Unfortunately Snorri is already out of range of the spell Dasur would prefer to cast on him, but this is only a minor trifle for a bender of reality.
The spellcaster casually pulls his ruby amulet from inside his shirt, lifting it up to his eyes to peer within its depths. With careful precision he tilts the trillion gem, subtly marshaling and trapping the magical energies of the Azathyr into the intricate pathlengths of his magical focus.
It appearing that combat is coming, Torvi starts her battle song.
Glenda advances with the staggered group, struggling through the mud, and once again calling for Magrim to watch over this chosen band of dwarfs to shield them from death in the coming encounter.
The muck covered humanoid lurches toward Regnir and Nalnera, moving fitfully and with difficulty.
Round 2 begins
Round 2
Dasur continues to concentrate on his spell. With the magical energies properly aligned, he mutters arcane obscurities and sprinkles iron powder on the ground in front of him.
Reaching out and touching Regnir, winkling her nose at the goo dripping off of him.
Growling and pushing Regnir's head to see the muddy creature that just rushed up to them. "Hey we need to deal with whatever that thing is before more show up."
Glaring at the dirty creature and moving to hit it.
Raging song: +2 STR/CON, +1 Will Save, -1 AC, Cannot use CHA, DEX, or INT based skills except Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate, and Ride), or any ability that requires patience or concentration.
Torvi feels her blood surge, and she moves forward and swings at the unsavory creature...
Bludgeon
Power Attack and attacking from 10’ away.
Glenda hustles to keep up with Snorri.
Snorri wades through the swamp water. "Wait a moment, it might not be hostile!"
It soon becomes clear that your skittery nerves are entirely appropriate as two more of the creatures rise out of the mud. One lurches toward Snorri and another toward Glenda.
The first to appear lashes out with its arm at Regnir.
That goes nowhere.
Begin Round 3
Raging song: +2 STR/CON, +1 Will Save, -1 AC, Cannot use CHA, DEX, or INT based skills except Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate, and Ride), or any ability that requires patience or concentration.
Torvi continues her assault...
Bludgeon
Power Attack and attacking from 10’ away.
Round 3
His initial spell complete, Dasur slips his amulet back into his shirt and calmly surveys the swamp-turned-battlefield. "Why are there undead within the mud? Is it connected to the obelisk? Did they die here long ago?
Perhaps the Water seeks to impede our progress?" He wonders aloud to no one in particular, casually moving forward to get a better look at their foes.
He stops at the end of the solid ground, tapping his staff into the ever-present mycelium to invoke simple magics. Acidic vapor boils up from the ground beneath the mud zombie engaging Glenda and Torvi.
The muck covered creature now now has Regnir's full attention, that song pulling at his mind in a primal way
Snorri feels the now-familiar stretching sensation of Dasur's spell as his axe is swinging towards the foe. He tries to balance for his new size mid-slash, but the weapon misses the muddy fiend by a hair.
"Any idea what's causing them to rise? What did those runes say?"
Stepping away from Regnir a little and swinging wide with her axe while doing so.
Stuck in the mud, Glenda draws her warhammer and, suffused with Torvi's war-chant, lashes out with her Dammerhall weapon at the undead monstrosity.
Regnir's slams find solid mass within the mud. There are definitely humanoid bodies within the thick clinging stuff.
The acid fog and Glenda's hammer blows crush the body of one of her opponent. As her hammer drives through the skull of what was once a dark elf, Glenda is spattered with the glowing blue slime that seems to fill the undead.
The two remaining slime zombies flail at Regnir and Snorri.
9 to Snorri.
Round 4 begins
Torvi will double move towards the nearest enemy.
Round 4
Dasur watches with greatinterest as the zombie goes down in a spurt of blue goo. "I have never seen such undead... Do you think they are oozes merely mascarding in the bodies of the dead, instead of true undead? Like a clan, as it grows larger it casts off its old dwelling to find a larger one?" He speculates to Glenda as they move over the muddy terrain towards the obelisk.
"I hope they are not animated by this blue slime that now covers my face," says Glenda, giving a very unladylike spit of azure goop.
Sidestepping, Snorri charges another blow, swiping at the undead foe. "I just wish they'd stop squirming so much! I can't get a decent foothold in this swamp!"
Grinning at the muck covered creature that cannot hit him.
Snorri strikes down the zombie he is facing after it is blasted by Glenda's channeled holy power.
Regnir can't quite land a blow on the slippery undead, but it is blasted apart by Glenda's holy power. As the wave of energy reaches the obelisk, a wave of dark lightning arcs over the obelisk. The final zombie sinks back into the muck. Whatever power was animating them seems to have waned.
Torvi calms down and takes a few breaths, "might there be more of these things?"
Dasur stops walking when the positive energy interacts with the obelisk, watching the dark lightning crackle across its surface. The last zombie sinks into the mud, and the wizard is quick to guess at the connection between the two. "Ah. The obelisk appears to be infused with negative energy. I believe it created these zombies, but does it control them? For what purpose? Perhaps I am being too hasty in my assumption, though. The machinations could be far more complicated. This could be an energy transformer, switching one form of energy to the other? Positive energy becomes negative, and negative becomes positive... The living become undead, but the undead..? We would need to lure one of the zombies to touch the obelisk to test the latter. Oh, or a magical storage vessel for energy! That would explain why Glenda's positive energy caused a discharge..."
He rambles all the way to the obelisk, stopping a few feet from its base. A cantrip is mutter, and Dasur stares at the obelisk in search of magical residues. "I will require a living specimen to test my theories. A frog or fish would be ideal but plant matter should also give results." The last part was spoken as a request, though Dasur was sure to gather it himself if no one else does.
"Yes, well, I like knowing stuff too, but I am not interested in messing with that rock."
Torvi maintains a healthy distance.
Ribs aching, Snorri tries to clear himself of the muck. "If it's some unholy altar, we'll tear it down before proceeding. Can you read the runes?"
Grabbing one of the fallen corpses, the giant dwarf wipes some of the mud off it, looking for anything peculiar.
The runes on the obelisk move and glow, crawling across and beneath the surface.
There are also magics here, spells. The text is fragmented and would take time to decipher, but this could teach you much.
Erebos chuckles and calls out,
"Dasur, lick the column. I think you will be surprised."
Snorri finds a rotted dark elf corpse beneath the muck.
Dasur cannot read it without magical assistance, but he recognizes the script. "This text is of the Heavens, Elysium, and Nirvana. Celestial. I am not versed in it, but perhaps I should be if there are magical obelisks in swamps entombed with arcane runes in this script. It is grammatically similar to Draconic, after all. In any case, there are many magics and spells here. I propose we stay so we can study the obelisk. There is much to learn, and I believe Stone has waited long for us to find this momument, to aid our journey."
Confused, Dasur turns to Erebos and shouts back. "I am already surprised it is here, Erebos. Is licking it the trigger for this magical item?"
Misunderstood jokes aside, Dasur prepares Comprehend Languages for a cursory reading of the text. "Xan Z'ggu Zara Uranoth Shub Shub" He mutters, stroking his beard with one hand. "Could this be a marker of the battle from legends, when the Champions of the gods slew the Titan Xan Z'ggu Zara? Why is there Celestial runes on an obelisk infused with negative energy? Are the runes sealing something away inside?"
There was endless speculation to be had, and the wizard is already settling in to thoroughly study the runes and magics of the obelisk.
Torvi steps forward, holding some paper, a quill, and ink. She mutters some words, and the quill magically dips into the inkwell, and commences to copy the words from the stone onto paper.
When the entirety of the words on the stone are recorded, she puts away the pen and ink, and she hands the pages to Dasur, "here, study it at your leisure."
Ignoring the others in favor pressing his hand against the obelisk again. The fight immediately forgotten in an attempt to reclaim that previous feeling. Chuckling quietly at Erebos's jab and quickly scowling. Turning to glare at Dasur, "You are an idiot."
Rubbing her head and listening to everyone and reaching out and hitting Regnir on the back, "Last warning."
Easily meeting the glare he gives her and shaking her head as the ghost returns his attention to the obelisk, "Dasur he was joking."
Glenda absorbs the discussion impassively, but after Regnir insults Dasur, she says, "He's smarter than you. After all, he's not dead."
Dasur turns to Regnir, looking at him curiously. "Please explain, Regnir. I only wish to understand this obelisk."
Nalnera's scolding and explanation follows, and a look of recognition crosses the wizard's face. "Ah. I am sorry I did not understand your joke, Regnir. Humor has always been difficult for me, as I tend to take all matters literally instead of figuratively."
Glenda's insertation into the situation causes him to pause for a moment, and then he laughs at her words- or at least tries to laugh. It's more of a caricature of laughter, forced and unnatural. When no one else joins Dasur abruptly stops, frowning. "....was that not a joke? Because the comparison of trinary life-states in relation to memory recall ability is an absurd suggestion that..."
Thankfully, Torvi passes Dasur an transcription of the runes on the obelisk, which is takes a sudden and all-consuming interest in. "Ah, thank you Torvi, this is much easier than tracking the runes across the surface!"
Turing a deep crimson and twisting around towards Glenda only to vanish with his mouth open, clearly to yell at the mouthy Dwarf.
Flinching at the noise in her head. Pinching the bridge of her nose, "Dasur it wasn't Regnir I was talking about but Erebos. There is no reason to lick the obelisk. Regnir is just an ass right now and he will not be bothering anyone but me until he can behave."
Glacning over at Glenda, "While I get it please don't say things like that. You jump on him but say nothing to Erebos who started this whole thing by telling Dasur to lick the obelisk. Don't be cruel and petty like the man who has been dead and alone for centuries." Flinching again and leaning against the obelisk.
With a plopping sound, Snorri drops the former elf in the muck, then tries to wipe his hands clean, only succeeding in spreading the filth around the armor. "My friends, as much as I may love a moment of insults, recrimination and general pettiness, I believe that it would be in our collective interest to get out of this swamp. The words are unknown to me, but they don't sound friendly, do they? But then, why were them in the language of angels?"
Erebos calls out from beyond the muck, "You mistake me, friend dwarves. While I do enjoy scorning your occasional foibles, in this case I was offering a potential path to enlightenment. We have all assumed that this is a piece of carved stone, but I think that, perhaps, it is not. The application of a a bit of lingual probing would make the determination. I would do it myself, but since you lot are already mussed with the slime, better for you to do it."