Giggles was carrying:
--1 masterwork flail
--1 suit of medium-sized studded leather armour
--1 light wooden shield
Karralo was carrying:
--1 warhammer
--1 suit of chainmail
--1 heavy steel shield
--1 light crossbow
--1 case of 6 bolts
--20 gp
Vreeg was carrying:
--1 Small masterwork dagger
--1 ring with a rat's skull set in it
--1 vial of blue whinnis poison (5 doses)
--1 ratty, patchwork robe
--1 knobbly wand carved from oak
Nalun's search of Vreeg's bedroom turns up only one worthwhile item (aside from Gaekhen's remains): the mad derro's spellbook. It appears to be bound in leather, with pages of yellowed parchment. The writing inside is penned in blood and arcane symbols that can make a man's eyes hurt.
Cantrips
--All cantrips, except those of conjuration and illusion
Level 1 Spells
--Cause Fear, Chill Touch, Feather Fall, Magic Missile, Ray of Enfeeblement, Shield, Sleep
Level 2 Spells
--Command Undead, Darkness, False Life, Blindness/Deafness, Scare, Scorching Ray, Spectral Hand
Level 3 Spells
--Fly, Gentle Repose, Water Breathing
Karri pushes the Legion down. You are all spent anyway! She goes to Vreeg and checks him for magical trinkets. She finds three and divines the purpose of two.
Do we have what we need now? Can we report back to the Field Marshal? Nalun asks the others
"If I remember correctly there is one more in the pantry that we haven't checked. And while we're here we might as well stop their leader."
"So you know, Legion is not going to be much help..."
"Well then we will depend on you to help." Demitri smiles.
The extract wears off and Lyla returns to her normal size. She nods in agreement with Karri, and confronts Demitri. "Well, chief, I'm kinda spent myself. Out of supplies and all. Unless I can find something back in that lab, I won't be of much help." With her lef thumb, she points to the room. "In any case, let's get the rest of the Shoanti dude, that's what we came here for. An also... this! Yes!", the halfling exclaims in excitement, picking up Vreeg's spellbook. "I bet I'll find something here for my cookbook!"
Karri blushes, embarrassed. As if *you* could without us!
Once the party gathers up Gaekhen's torso & arm (it flails and claws at them, but a quick smack puts an end to it), it's a simple matter to return to the lab area and retrieving the Shoanti brave's head. Karralo timidly follows behind the party, his hands securely bound. Giggles is completely unconscious, and must be carried around.
Soon, only one room in the warrens remains unexplored--the pantry. The party has all of Gaekhen's parts--torso, left arm, head & legs--but one... his right arm.
The door to the pantry sits at the end of a short corridor, and is boarded over with many haphazardly-placed planks.
Nalun looks trepidatiously at the planked over pantry. Uhh. Who's gonna deplank it? he says after a moment. His eyes drift toward Karralo..
"I will. Let's get this over with."
Demitri starts tearing off planks.
*SNAP* *CRACK* *POP*
As he starts working on another plank, his work is interrupted by a pounding on the door.
The planks on the door start loosening with each pounding!
Nalun says Quick, get back Demitri! hoping the man backs up to allow them both to swing at whatever comes out of that door.
Karri prepares a bit of acid for whatever comes out of the boarded up room.
for
"Strike hard, my friend," Ortik says, laying a comforting hand upon his shoulder. "You have this."
Demitri will get back and draw his blade. "I'm planning on hitting hard and not getting hit hard."
Nalun readies his bow to fire
As the party repositions themselves, the pounding at the door gets louder and louder!
The door is violently battered down, the planks holding it closed splintering and flying off as the thing on the other side of the door finally breaks through. The creature before the party is as tall as a man, and appears to be crudely stitched together from the parts of several men. The reek of death, viscera & embalming fluid floods the room as the beast steps forward, maddened fury in its dead & rotting eyes. A tattooed arm is in one of its hands--the last piece of Gaekhen that the party needs.
As the creature's horrible stench blankets the room, Lyla and Demitri feel incredibly nauseous.
Demitri, though trying to keep his breakfast in, will stay where he is.
As Demitri stands his ground, Karri's bolt of acid flies at the creature and impacts on the doorframe.
Lyla coughs and closes her eyes, retching. "Oh-okay. That... that's AWFUL. How do these derro even *work* with that stench?!"
The golem lurches forward, and Nalun's arrow strikes true! Unfortunately, while the arrow does hit, it doesn't go as deep as it could have.
The reek goes straight to Nalun's stomach, but Ortik shrugs off the stench with ease. Evidently, years of living in Korvosa's gutters have acclimated him to all manner of foul odors.
The golem turns and swings Gaekhen's arm at the bounty hunter!
The swing goes right over Nalun's head as he doubles over, trying to keep himself from vomiting!
Nalun drops his bow and draws his falchion
"Gods, you stink," Ortik says as his nose wrinkles at the stench. "And I know from stink." He readies his shield and bangs his warhammer against it. "OI, PIKER! HAVE THIS IN YER GOB!"
Ready my shield and strike at this guy.
Ortik's hammer misses the golem as it steps to the side.
Lyla straightens herself up and eyes the golem with a critical eye before firing her crossbow at it!
The bolt flies wide of its target and hits the wall. She grumbles and reloads.
Gentle Repose spells will render it stiff and helpless, whereas Animate Dead spells will cause serious damage to the creature.
"It's a carrion golem so if you have any fire, use it. Arrows and bolts won't work so well but hammers and blades do. And as usual don't get hit and no lightning please."
Demitri's swing manages to take a chunk out of the golem's dead flesh!
Looking for higher ground, Karri scrambles up on top of a table. Then she turns and screams, a hollow eerie sound, as she drags her finger into the flesh of her arm and pulls more of the Legion from her flesh.
for
Karri's glob of acid sails at the golem and soars past it, hitting the wall behind it.
The golem turns on its heel, brandishing Gaekhen's arm and a fist! It attacks Demitri in a berserk rage!
Demitri's shield blocks the blow from Gaekhen's arm with a meaty *SMACK*, and the golem's fist is easily sidestepped!
"Carrion golem, hm?", Ortik says, raising an eyebrow. "Guess that explains the stink. This one's riper than a dead axebeak in Arodus." He swings his warhammer again, still trying to attract the thing's attention.
Same as last time, but with less poor rolls, hopefully!
Nalun studies the golem, searching for a spot where the stitching isn't as tight.
Ortik's hammer bounces off of the golem's hide without hurting it, but Nalun's falchion cuts open the golem's back, spilling out a mixture of embalmed & decaying organs!
Lyla winces as the golem's back is carved open before turning away. "Well, I think you guys have this handled."
Demitri continues to slash at the creature.
Another screech and more acid!
for
Both Demitri's and Karri's attacks miss, with Demitri's blade bouncing off a very thick part of the beast's torso.
The golem whirls on its heels, swinging wildly with the Shoanti arm and its own fist at the bounty hunter!
Evidently, the wounds on its body are taking its toll--Nalun is easily able to dodge both of the monster's clumsy swings.
Nalun swings down hard with his falchion, hoping to end this threat quick
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Nalun's falchion comes down in an arc, but the golem swats the blade aside, causing it to take a chunk out of the operating table next to them.
"It'll be handled once the blasphemy is on the ground," Ortik says, raising his hammer to continue to distract the thing, hoping he might connect at some point.
Ortik's hammer finally makes a solid blow, tearing off a chunk of one of the golem's legs. It wobbles again, but somehow remains standing!
Demitri slashes at the abomination again.
Demitri's blade strikes the golem, but unfortunately it strikes it squarely in its remarkably thick free arm--the skin there is too thick to cut through.
More acid!
for
Karri's acid once again misses, thanks to the golem's staggering causing the glob to hit the wall next to it. Lyla once again holds her action.
The golem takes two more swings, this time attacking the dwarf that last struck it!
The golem finally has some success, braining Ortik with Gaekhen's arm and slugging him in the chest with its free hand!
Nalun says I've got your number bub!
Nalun's brutal attack finally brings the golem crashing to the floor, well and truly destroyed!
"Nice work." Demitri scoops up the Shoanti arm.
Nalun nods at the guardsman Let's get out of here..this place assaults my nostrils in a most unpleasant way.
Ortik cries out as the carrion golem finally wheels on him, striking him twice in the chest. He coughs up blood, and a look of fear crosses his face in the moments before Nalun's vicious slash cuts the beast nearly in half.
"Thank you, son," Ortik breathes in relief to Nalun, his beard still streaked with red. "I suppose I got what I asked for there. I don't think I could have taken another few bashes like that." He makes a mental note to check himself out for disease after they get out of the catacombs.
Now that the fight is over, Karri slumps down from the table she was standing on. She whimpers and shudders as she pushes Legion away from her. Too long in my eyes, in my mind. I need quiet. After a moment, Karri vomits nothing, just a dry heaving.
She finishes and looks up, not acknowledging what just happened. "Ortik, that was brave but stupid. Be more careful." She watches impassively while Demitri and Nalun pull the arm off of the golem. Better to send it home than let it stay on that abomination. Kasdaye pipes up, a mocking lilt in his voice, Abomination. You would know that from experience wouldn't you?