Heh. Had no idea that would work! Raj chuckles. Let's just hope no other spirits overheard an' took exception to it!
"Indeed. Let us continue with haste though." Zed gives the room a scan to look for loot or any other dangers before continuing onwards with the rule of left.
Despite how thoroughly he searches, Zed finds nothing else of interest in the room, either supernatural or of value.
Following that, he leads the rest on to the next room.
A huge stone furnace dominates this room, large enough for a child to climb inside. An ancient fire has burned away the entire east wall the room, providing a panoramic, if eerie, view of the lake beyond. That same lake has gradually expanded into the room, flooding its eastern half.
A door also leads south from here.
Constantin looks at the furnace curiously and says, "Wonder if there's anything in there? If the furnace wasn't on at the time of the fire, it would have offered great protection from the flames outside. Though not from the heat."
As you move further into the room, Zed's instincts begin to tingle and he feels the now almost persistent presence of necromantic energy.
"More undead." Zed whispers. He tries to locate the source.
As the others tense and Zed indicates the presence of undead, Raj stands guard, his eyes flicking around the room.
The furnace's grate is black and dark and yet so like the murderous grin of a stalking killer that Zed finds his gaze settles on it time and again, even as he explores the other side of the room.
The fire that swept through the prison has completely destroyed the eastern wall of the room, providing a panoramic, if eerie, view of the lake beyond. That same lake has gradually expanded into the room, flooding its eastern half.
The inquisitor takes his time searching the room, poking through the rubble of the east wall, tentatively trying the door to the south west and finding unsurprisingly that it too is stuck, and yet always, his eye is drawn to that furnace.
That somehow grinning furnace.
That grate, so like an eager mouth ....and the flames that lick hungrily inside....
Those vents, so like a furrowed brow and watchful eyes ....and the deep red glow of a gaze that would strike him down if looks alone could kill...
The musty smell of damp and age ...that for some reason reminds him so much of the rising stink of burning flesh....
The inquisitor's stomach drops as he perceives it all at once, the nagging sense that undead reside somewhere in this room. He sees the furnace animate before his very eyes into the hideous, hungry thing he had imagined. And knowing instinctively, it is he it intended to feast on.
But this man has a will of iron and in the face of Armageddon he shows no compromise.
The suddenly animate furnace spews out smoke and the red glow of it's burning interior lights the room in an eerie crimson.
It's grate flies open and a burst of flame belches forth, streaking across the room and scorching the inquisitor.
This is a haunt and not a specific creature. Damaging the furnace with weapons will be practically impossible, it is a thick, cast iron that has weathered decades. Positive energy is likely your only hope
You detect the presence of a haunt in the room, obviously the furnace
Sitting in the raging mouth of the furnace appears to be something largely intact. It looks like a human skull
Zed gasps in pain at the sudden burn, dropping back and narrowing his eyes. "There's a skull in the furnace, it must be the focus of the undead!" He lets out a blast of positive energy at it.
Constantin hears Zed's words and looks like he's about to try a long shot. He grips his long spear and waits for an opening.
Vala nods grimly at Zed's words and waits for an opening before following Hazel's suggestion.
HP: 21/21
Negative Energy Resist 5
AC: 14 (10 T / 14 FF)
CMD: 12
F/R/W: +4/+1/+7 (+2 vs death effects, energy drain, negative energy, & necromancy)
Monstrous Insight used: 0/7
Wand of CLW: 15/50 remaining
Healing Hex targets:
Prepared spells
Orisons (4) | DC 14: dancing lights, disrupt undead, identify, read magic
Level 1 spells (2+1+1*) | DC 15: cure light wounds [ ] [ ], know the enemy* [ ], produce flame (CL3) [ ]
Level 2 spells (1+1+1*) | DC 16: spiritual weapon [ ] [ ], tongues* [ ]
Ongoing Effects
Zed realises the skull is the focus of this particular haunt and both he and Vala level their hands and unleash a blast of positive energy at it. Vala sees hers wash over the skull but unfortunately the inquisitor's aim is wayward and the beam harmlessly lights up the wall behind the furnace.
Constantin tries to reach in and hook out the skull but he withdraws his spear only to find the tip to be smoking from the sudden heat.
Kaz rushes forward and tries to menace the thing with his own spear, hoping to give Constantin a better opportunity on his next strike.
Success - Constantin you have +2 to attack next round.
Raj also tries to present a formidable figure but another blast of flame streaks out of the furnace and scorches Constantin.
Hit
Vala sends another pearlescent, needle-thin beam lancing toward the haunt, but unfortunately this time it just strikes the iron grate with an ineffectual ping.
HP: 21/21
Negative Energy Resist 5
AC: 14 (10 T / 14 FF)
CMD: 12
F/R/W: +4/+1/+7 (+2 vs death effects, energy drain, negative energy, & necromancy)
Monstrous Insight used: 0/7
Wand of CLW: 15/50 remaining
Healing Hex targets:
Prepared spells
Orisons (4) | DC 14: dancing lights, disrupt undead, identify, read magic
Level 1 spells (2+1+1*) | DC 15: cure light wounds [ ] [ ], know the enemy* [ ], produce flame (CL3) [ ]
Level 2 spells (1+1+1*) | DC 16: spiritual weapon [ ] [ ], tongues* [ ]
Ongoing Effects
Zed frowns and fires another ray of positive energy!
"Argh!" Constantin shouts as the flames scorch him badly. He posts his spear with a muttered curse and fumbles for the haunt siphon, then shouts out, "I'm going to use the siphon to trap it! I don't know what kind of supernatural energy it holds - don't look into the trap!"
I looked at the trap, Constantin...! Raj says, wide-eyed as the psychic twists off the top and releases the eldritch energy within.
The green smoke snakes over the rim of the jar like creeping fingers and then in a sudden rush billows out, far too much than could logically be contained.
Then, just as suddenly, the smoke is sucked back in - all happening in the space of mere seconds.
The furnace emits a long, low groan and the fire within sputters and goes out.
A haunt siphon that neutralizes a haunt can no longer be used to harm haunts, but it can be used as a grenadelike splash weapon that deals 1d6 points of negative energy damage with a direct hit. Every creature within 5 feet of the point where the haunt siphon hits takes 1 point of negative energy damage from the splash
Vala sighs heavily as the haunt's screams and the roar of flame is silenced by Constantin. "Oh, thank heavens. That was dreadful!" She then gasps at Constantin and hurries over to him, "Good gracious, look at you! Let me help, dear."
HP: 21/21
Negative Energy Resist 5
AC: 14 (10 T / 14 FF)
CMD: 12
F/R/W: +4/+1/+7 (+2 vs death effects, energy drain, negative energy, & necromancy)
Monstrous Insight used: 0/7
Wand of CLW: 15/50 remaining
Healing Hex targets: Constantin
Prepared spells
Orisons (4) | DC 14: dancing lights, disrupt undead, identify, read magic
Level 1 spells (2+1+1*) | DC 15: cure light wounds [X] [ ], know the enemy* [ ], produce flame (CL3) [ ]
Level 2 spells (1+1+1*) | DC 16: spiritual weapon [ ] [ ], tongues* [ ]
Ongoing Effects
Zed grunts at his burn marks, looking at his hands as well. This ability is both a blessing and a curse. The irony of my using it anyways.
Zed summons malevolent negative energy to heal his burn wounds.
With a sigh he nods. That should do for now.
"Thank you, Vala," says Constantin with some obvious relief as healing energy floods through his badly-burned body. He slumps back against a wall, then winces and stands up, and takes a few moments to pat out the flames that still lick parts of his clothing.
"I think I'm well done," he says ruefully. "Save the potion, Hazel -- Vala's at least put me mostly together. I'll finish this with a mild sunburn!"
Vala looks to Zed with a frown, "I'm sorry I can't be the same help to you, dear."
Zed looks at his burned hands. "You have nothing to apologize for. This curse is not your burden to bear. I only apologize that in my studies I was forced to learn this destructive magic to keep myself alive, meaning I cannot aid in your wounds. But things that cannot be changed should not be dwelled upon. Let us continue."
Zed tries the next door, the one to the south and to his surprise it opens easily.
The northeast wall of this room has partially fallen, revealing the dark, murky waters of the pond outside. Moldering training dummies and other similar equipment hint that this room may have once been a training area for the guards. In the northeast part of the room, the floor around a dark, jagged hole is surrounded by black scorch marks.
The is a door in the south west corer of the room which logically must be beginning to circle back to where you began in the foyer.
"Who had the betting pool on 'animated training dummies'? I think you're about to collect," Constantin quips.
Vala smirks at Constantin's stab at humor but can't bring herself to chuckle. She does, however, nod at the gaping hole in the ground. "If the stairs down are still blocked from the collapse Hawkran triggered, maybe we can access the lower portions of this dreadful place through that sink hole." It's obvious that while she may be willing to attempt the presumed climb if it's necessary, she's certainly not keen on the idea.
Raj's lip curls at the prospect.
I gotta be honest, I don't fancy going down into the bowel less we have to. We ain't even been upstairs either.
Zed gives a soft "Hmm" at Constantin's words, then takes out his crossbow and fires it into the nearest dummy.
Vala nods at Raj's suggestion as Zed's bolt thunks into one of the weathered dummies. "I agree with you, dear. I'd much rather take a look at the second floor before clambering down into whatever mess that made. Nethys knows how difficult it might be to get back out."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Zed's bolt slams into the training dummy. A plume of dust bursts out of the back and glitters in the light that pours weakly in through the collapsed wall.
Suddenly, the dummies all lurch to life at once, stumbling forward on wooden legs, arms raised with spectral force.
.
.
.
.
The inquisitor shakes his head at the vision, as if wiping cobwebs away. He watches the bolt thud harmlessly into the dummy.
"Agreed. The rule of left has a clause about clearing individual floors as long as it's possible. Onwards."
"Basically, never leave a potential enemy behind you."
Moving on, you enter what must logically be the final place to search on this floor.
The doors open into a massive auditorium. Several rows of wooden benches, all spotted with mould and sagging with neglect face a stage screened off from the rest of the hall by a wall of iron bars.
"Somehow this place turns even something normally jovial like a stage into a mess of tension and foreboding." Vala shakes her head disprovingly at the room before them, wondering inwardly what twisted haunts or spirits lie in wait within.