Fearless catches his dagger and tosses it again to fend the ooze off from reaching the Mariner too quickly. "Keep it at bay."
HP 34/34
AC 18 (22 w/ covering fire; 22 w/ mental barrier)
Spells: 1st 0/4 | 2nd 0/2
Inspiration 0/5
Tactician 0/1 (Rounds 0/3)
Challenge 0/1
Phrenic Pool 0/2
Brother Butterfly backs away as Cats shoots an arrow into the center of the ooze.
The Mariner brings his polearm back for another blow, but misjudges the ceiling height and the weapon clangs off it and misses the ooze.
Fearless throws his dagger again as the ooze forms a pseudopod to attack. The appendage darts after the flashing blade instead of grabbing the Mariner.
INITIATIVE
Cats (38/38) *Prot from evil 8 rounds
Butterfly (46/46) *Scale mail (23/25 hp)
Mariner (71/71)
Fearless (34/34)
Ooze! (-34)
The Mariner continues to scrape the floor with the polearm.
"Quit playing with it and kill it already Mariner! Before it eats more of the Shapeshifter's shoes." He twirls his dagger in the air.
HP 34/34
AC 18 (22 w/ covering fire; 22 w/ mental barrier)
Spells: 1st 0/4 | 2nd 0/2
Inspiration 0/5
Tactician 0/1 (Rounds 0/3)
Challenge 0/1
Phrenic Pool 0/2
Round 2, Init 13
"Mariner, quit catting around! Either fight or get out of the way. I'm not losing *my* boots to this thing!" Cats quoth. "Death to the boot eater!"
to hit;
damage.
to hit;
damage.
AC: 17
HP: 38/38
[ dice]1d20+9+1[/dice] to hit; (+PBS)
[ dice]1d8+3+1[/dice] damage.
Mini Smite: 0/1: Once per day as a swift action, you can add your Charisma bonus to your attack rolls and deal 1 additional point of damage for each class level you have against evil creatures for 1 round. You must have a good alignment to take this trait.
+4 Bab +4 Dex +1 magic +1 PBS -2 DA -2 Rapid=+6/+6 to hit
+2 Str +1 magic +4 DA+1 PBS = +8 damage
Cats feels like re-rolling.
to hit;
damage.
to hit;
damage.
Cats hits with another arrow, but in a comedy of errors the Mariner juggles his polearm and nearly drops on his foot.
The ooze reaches out for the Mariner again, but Fearless’ dagger again distracts it.
INITIATIVE
Cats (38/38) *Prot from evil 7 rounds
Butterfly (46/46) *Scale mail (23/25 hp)
Mariner (71/71)
Fearless (34/34)
Ooze! (-45)
Fearless continues to protect those around him. "This one seems slower than the last."
HP 34/34
AC 18 (22 w/ covering fire; 22 w/ mental barrier)
Spells: 1st 0/4 | 2nd 0/2
Inspiration 0/5
Tactician 0/1 (Rounds 0/3)
Challenge 0/1
Phrenic Pool 0/2
Round 3, Init 13
Cats fires again, with re-rolls above.
to hit;
damage.
to hit;
damage.
AC: 17
HP: 38/38
[ dice]1d20+9+1[/dice] to hit; (+PBS)
[ dice]1d8+3+1[/dice] damage.
Mini Smite: 0/1: Once per day as a swift action, you can add your Charisma bonus to your attack rolls and deal 1 additional point of damage for each class level you have against evil creatures for 1 round. You must have a good alignment to take this trait.
+4 Bab +4 Dex +1 magic +1 PBS -2 DA -2 Rapid=+6/+6 to hit
+2 Str +1 magic +4 DA+1 PBS = +8 damage
The Mariner drops the pole arm, switching to the broadsword. He can almost feel a guiding hand as he drives the tip through the ooze.
Cats and the Mariner shoot and cut the ooze into small, harmless, jiggling peices.
Sholn peels through the door at the remains. ”Wwwwhat was that?” He stammers in terror. ”Wwwhat is happening here?!”
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"Wwwhat is happening here?"
It's classic good vs. Evil happening, Sholn. Thankfully for you - the good guys are here and we are much more powerful than the boot eating bad guys.
Sholn, meet Mariner - he kills. He kills V-E-R-Y well. The Gods are great that he's one of the good guys.Brother replies to Sholn's scared demeanor. Trying to calm the young man down and implant his own brand of messaging for when he gets to tell the common folk about his narrow escape.
Additionally, his reply about Mariner is full of sincere compliment. Like he respects and sees a master painter at work. The Mariner is very much like a master painter - just a master of a different and vicious art.
Let's get you up these stairs and out the front door as planned.
Remember Sholn these outline points when you are safe: The Watchmen, Saved Fort, Evil Skum, Good Guys Winning.
"That was a blubbery boot eater," Cats explains to Sholn. "Something about Brother's feet is like tuna to a cat. They just gotta have 'em. Draws them like flies. Don't worry though, there can't be that many blobs like that around. We pretty much cleared out the upstairs."
Cats looks at Brother's bloody new shoes and then at the blob, wondering if the shoes could be used to distract if another blob shows up.
With that one dispatched, Cats turns his attention to the door (near D22) and gives Brother the lookie-looky signal at the door.
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Defeated, and a bit dejected - that an adept of the spoken language - lost a battle of words with Kast. His shoulder's sag, he places his hands on the door. Giving a prayer to Desna to see beyond.
Oh Desna, let me see what evil lie behind this door. An Evil that makes the current terrors balk. Let me see what is in this other room and report it's contents to the others - so they may decide.
he speaks over his shoulder. You may need to open the door and throw in a torch and close it quickly- if there's no light- I'll give you the cue .
Brother Butterfly concentrates on the door. Though he is sure his sight penetrated the sturdy wood he sees nothing but black.
Fearless bends down and examines the ooze. "Wish we could have studied it further. I wonder was it controlled or acting on more of a primal instinct." He wants to take a sample but knows better after seeing what the ooze did to Brother Butterfly's shoes.
Hearing how dark it is Fearless grabs a coin from his pocket. "We can see if this works again." Concentrating the coin slowly brightens to the illumination of a torch. "This is getting easier." He smiles. Bending down he slides the coin underneath the door as much as he can.
Fearless’ glowing coin does the trick, illuminating a storage room beyond the door. The chamber has been clearly undisturbed for years. A heavy coat of dust lies on sealed crates full of old clothing, out-of-fashion furniture, outdated militia uniforms, disassembled weapon racks, broken furniture that someone had planned to repair at some point, tapestries in need of patching, extra bedclothes and chamber pots, and older files that have been moved from the archives to make room for more relevant records. A plastered portion of the wall in the southwest corner of the room has begun to crack.
The Mariner nods in approval at Fearless's ingenuity, whereas he would have done exactly as Brother says - light something big on fire and throw it in the room. For the moment, he throws his weight on the door to keep the shut whole Brother pervs out.
Cats gets into position behind Mariner with his bow ready.
Let's catting do this!
Fearless keeps his dagger at the ready and whispers. "Fishman in first. Three, two, one....GO!" Fearless calls out.
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The Mariner steps back, kicks the door in and bursts through. to add to the theatrics. Anything that moves - dies.
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Brother holds for a prayer. One of his last, but a potent prayer. Waiting for the other shoe to drop.
In the corner- there's crumbling plaster. That seemed out place for this room - along with the fact that the maids or housecleaners haven't been in here for a long, long time.
Also check out the tapestries. Those might cover something important.
The Mariner busts into the room, weapon at the ready. Nothing gives him cause to use it. Motes of dust stirred up by his entrance hang heavy in this room’s stale air.
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Seeing that the room and the plaster is odd. He also notices that the room was originally constructed differently. That a modification happened. Maybe a secret door?
Guys, something really weird about the plaster area in the corner. Maybe some modifications. The craftsmanship was hasty, as it's now crumbling over time and dampness. Maybe a secret door or a boobie trap built into the wall. Approach with caution.
"The plaster?" Cats asks, keeping his bow ready. "Yeah, I cat what you mean."
He examines it closer, for danger or ways to find out what is sealed behind it.
Perception
Disable Device
If that fails, he'll let Mariner break it down.
There does seem to be a passage beyond the wall, but it's going to take brute to break through, or time to pick off the plaster and pull out the bricks.
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Not liking this situation still. He really wants to leave this room alone until the very end- or tomorrow -when he is refreshed.
We checked out the room. Let us leave it alone. We can always come back to it. The room has dust, so nobody has disturbed it for a while. I don't like the ominous warning from our young friend, so let us just back out of here and take on the chainmailed Skum. We satisfied Kast's curiosity by opening the door. Let's leave and close it behind us.
Brother Butterfly is still not in the room. He's in the corridor. He's been in harms way far too often today.
"I'll agree with that", the Mariner turns to Brother, "Let's find a defendable spot and take a break."
Kast stares at the plaster, knowing it could be undone and wonders. He waits to see how Fearless opines on the topic before doing anything.
As Cats examines the plaster and waits for a consensus, he feels a sudden chill in the air. Then a man steps through the wall as though it were immaterial. Rags hang loose upon an emaciated pale body. The only real color are red stains that stream down his torn shirt - blood from a half dozen wounds to his chest, neck, and face. His sunken eyes take in the Watchmen with hopeless desperation.
This is a ghost!
When a soul is not allowed to rest due to some great injustice, either real or perceived, it sometimes comes back as a ghost. Such beings are in eternal anguish, lacking in substance and unable to set things right.
In most cases, it's difficult to destroy a ghost through simple combat: the "destroyed" spirit restores itself in a few days. Even the most powerful spells are usually only temporary solutions. The only way to permanently destroy a ghost is to determine the reason for its existence and set right whatever prevents it from resting in peace.
Fearless' eye have bags underneath them and his stomach grumbles. "I could use a bit of a break, now that you mention it." Though not to mention it he was even too tired to argue with Brother Butterfly, let along think the man or group was planning to kill him.
For now he was beginning to trust them, well some of them anyways.
Turning he hears an audible gasps and spins back around coming face to face with what he recognizes as a ghost.
He leaps back, drawing his dagger as he slams his back against the wall. His hand shakes. He had never seen an actual ghost before. He had only read of them in books or heard folk lore stories in passing. he never actually believed them. He holds the dagger out. "Don't suppose you just wanna talk, maybe have some unfinished business to help return to your eternal slumber perhaps."
Probably not He thinks as he looks at the numerous gory wounds.
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"..." the Mariner says as the bit of jerky he was starting on falls limply from his mouth.
"..." with wide eyes, he turns to Brother to do something. "..." shakes his head at Cats.
Cats keeps his mouth shut for the moment, returning Mariner’s gesture with a ‘whyareyoulookingatme,likeiknowanything?’ look.
He waits to see if the apparition attacks or speaks.
He also looks at the ghost with his Cat’s Eyes.
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He takes in a deep breath and then he exhales it out. Signifying the weight of what we have encountered. A Ghost is nothing to be tiffled with- and very powerful. He takes in another breath - hopefully not one of his last- and Brother speaks smoothly and purposely.
Oh Great Traveler, we have before us one that defies all your purpose and being. It can not travel the world, seeing your glories. It is bound to this place due to hate or some other base emotion. It is also no longer of this mortal realm. This ghost refuses to go to it's place of peace or limbo. Protect your servents. Please protect us from it's life taking touch.
BB touches the Watchman in front of him- Kast
A ring of pure vibrant white light goes forth from Kast. A light that illuminates, and calms, and invigorates as it bathes those in it's area. Mariner, Fearless, and Brother get the effects that seem centered around Cats - it extends out 10 feet.
Brother Butterfly prays for Desna’s protection as the other Watchmen stand wary of the ghost.
It turns to focus on Fearless, the only one to address it. It’s voice is bone-chilling. ”Have we succeeded? Is the Baron... gone? Nemira... where is Nemira. Where are you, my love?”
Cats tries to figure out what the ghost is talking about.
Know (Local) - Baron?
Know (Local) - Nemira?
"Uh guys, let's be catful. Not sure this is a friendly ghost," Cats quips as he readies his bow and accepts Brother's protections.
+ vs Psychic spells. +2 vs Fear
Fearless lifts from the ground. His little feet wiggle in the air as he is pulled towards the ghost. "Wha....what's happening to me?"
If a ghost ask you If You've Succeeded - you say YES! The Mariner thinks as he keeps quiet. When Fearless begins floating, he wonders about two things, first, WTF?, and second, Can the magical blade cut ghosts?
Fearless feels a strong pull on his body, but manages to withstand the ghost’s powers thanks to Brother Butterfly’s spell of protection!
”You... are HIS men! No... no... I cannot take any more! Namira! Namira!!”
Objects in the area begin to rattle and shake, dust and papers swirl about the room.
You think this ghost is referring to Countess Nemira Lowls, Count Hasteron Lowls III‘s wife, and mother to the current Count Hasteron Lowls IV.
Nemira was born to a merchant family in Kersee. She moved to Rozenport to attend the Sincomakti School of Sciences. Though her studies were officially in the sciences, it was rumored that she was enthralled with the occult and was delighted that Ustalav possessed so many sites of supernatural interest. Nemira took well to the scholarly life, and with her wealth, she was able to stay in Caliphas instead of returning home during breaks, and it was during one of these breaks that she met Haserton Lowls III. Most believe she pursued Haserton for his wealth and title.
After her graduation, Nemira married Haserton and moved into Iris Hill. After Haserton became count, he involved himself in the administration of the county and was away from Iris Hill
for weeks at a time. In his absence, Nemira raised their son, and when young Haserton Lowls IV was old enough to attend school, she encouraged him to enroll in her alma mater.
Rumors were that Nemira entered into an affair with a man she had met at the Sincomakti, an occultist and bookseller from Rozenport named Clymes Prett. When the Count became ill with a mysterious wasting disease he accused Prett of cursing him and had him arrested. The Count died a few weeks later, but Clymes Prett was never seen again.
Young Haserton Lowls IV returned to Thrushmoor to assume the role of Count, and to care for his mother who apparently also suffered from same affliction that killed her husband. It was little surprise when Lowls announced Nemira’s death shortly thereafter.
INITIATIVE
INITIATIVE
Group Effects: circle of protection from evil
Mariner (71/71)
Cats (38/38)
Fearless (34/34)
Ghost
Butterfly (46/46) *Scale mail (23/25 hp)
Round 1, Init 15
"My Catrenrae's Light, let me cat this right," Cats utters, already certain this apparition is evil.
Cats smites and shoots.
to hit;
damage.
to hit;
damage.
AC: 17
HP: 38/38
[ dice]1d20+9+1[/dice] to hit; (+PBS)
[ dice]1d8+3+1[/dice] damage.
Mini Smite: 0/1: Once per day as a swift action, you can add your Charisma bonus to your attack rolls and deal 1 additional point of damage for each class level you have against evil creatures for 1 round. You must have a good alignment to take this trait.
+4 Bab +4 Dex +1 magic +1 PBS -2 DA -2 Rapid=+6/+6 to hit
+2 Str +1 magic +4 DA+1 PBS = +8 damage