Jones looks for the Bondslave Thrall.
If he sees it, he moves toward it.
It is the thing at the very top. No Perception check required.
Jones climbs up next to it.
Jones puts his hands on the handles and...thinks.
Hey Beast, here's a little gift courtesy of your father!
Jones' mind is flooded with stimuli, electric power coursing through his muscles. He sees through the Beast's eyes and feels what he feels. Deep down in his mind the Beast is terrified, but also determined. On the surface, he is nothing but rage, and power, and killing intent, laced with pain.
In his mind there are...pockets. Spaces where Jones can transfer his own power to the Beast to give him a fighting edge.
Of course, there is a downside. As soon as the device is activated, lightning begins striking the area more sporadically, drawn to the area around the Thrall, but deflected from it somehow.
Beast, try to find openings in the Promethean's defenses! Look for patterns in its movements, and attack when it leaves itself vulnerable.
The Beast listens to the advice of his subconscious, and moves differently, aiming more carefully for weak spots on the Promethean.
The Beast hammers the Promethean at the joins where it was sewn together, and rips it asunder. The Promethean slumps to the ground, lifeless.
The Beast manages to end his raging assault and calm down. He charges down the stairs to seee to his father.
Zin finds three vials of acid (though they're no longer needed) and a glass of water with a piece of bread soaking in it.
Darius breathes out and rolls up his whip. He moves up grabbing Sledge and dragging his body down before administering some small aide until he wakes up. Then looks to Zin " I brought him up... now I assume you can heal the rest of the way. As for Caromarc, get him some trail rations as well, here. " The wolfin man searching his bag for nutrients.
A incredibly powerful bolt of lightning strikes Sledge directly, but is mostly absorbed by his hulking pectorals.
/ 2 = 8
It still hurts, though.
Darius and Zin can pick Sledge back up easily enough, and unless Jones continues to use the Bondlsave Thrall, you're al safe from further lightning strikes.
/ 2 = 5
Jones leaves the Thrall and quickly runs down the stairs.
"Superbly done, Beast! I'm almost considering making you my protégé!" he laughs.
His laughter quickly dies down as he notices Caromarc's condition. He offers some of his own rations.
"I know you are under considerable pain and duress," Jones says gently, "but we need to know what happened here. Who did this to you and your work?"
Caromarc eats and drinks a bit, and looks considerably better after a few minutes.
"Haven't eaten or drank much besides the bugs and sponges of water Waxwood was able to force through the holes into my mouth. I'm doubtful I could have held out much longer. Thank you."
"As for what happened? The Whispering Way happened. They're a. Hm. Easiest way to describe them is a cult devoted to undeath. They see it as the ideal form of existence."
"In any case, when they first arrived they sent me a message saying something about 'knowing my secret'. I had no idea who they were at the time, so agreed to meet them at night at the Standing Stones to see what they really wanted. I sent the Beast in my stead."
"Apparently, they had anticipated this. They swept in and began slaughtering my guards and freeing my creations and curios. I assure you, before they arrived traversing my castle was quite safe. None of the guard beasts or traps trigger when the visitor is accompanied by one of my guardsmen, and the stairway in the museum leads straight to the reinforced hallways that bypass the tanks proper. The death of your friends is regrettable, but not my doing."
"But I digress. They came in and their leader, Auren Vrood, said he planned to use me to blackmail the Beast into working for him. But he discovered my notes on the Bondslave Thrall, and used it to control my son utterly, and they stole the Seasage Effigy from the University, leaving him to take the blame."
"Once they were done, they sealed me here and let the Promethean loose. Said they were heading to the Shudderwood, that they had what they needed from Ravengro and the University. They're probably headed to Ascanor Lodge."
"Can I ask you a favor? Hunt down these men for me. Wherever the Whispering Way appears, death (and worse) appears after. They must be stopped, and I'm in no condition to go after them myself."
"I'd also appreciate it if you did not mention what you've seen here. The inhabitants of Vieland are a superstitious lot. I know them well from my long tenure as their ruler, and they know me, but they simply wouldn't understand. I can pay you...?"
"I've indeed seen what the people of Vieland do when confronted with the prospect of the unnatural."
"We've already saved this place from the flame today, and I'm sure if they knew of the carnival you keep here they'd be back in larger numbers."
"I hope you can pay a lot."
-Posted with Wayfinder
"Many of my assets are tied up right now, but I could pay you a tidy sum. 450 platinum pieces, say?"
Once he's restored to not-dying, "You got somethin' to fix the damage leech poison causes? My joints have been stiff since they sunk their... whatevers... into me. And I gotta say that little smackdown I just experienced didn't help much either."
Caromarc gets up, unsteadily, and works his way over to his alchemy lab.
"That, my friend, I CAN help you with." he begins mixing up several Extracts, which he then passes off to you.
"These should restore you to full working order."
Z raises her eyebrow.
"Each?"
" Would be a nice sum... I however dont NEED a reason to kill agents of an organization that would do such a thing "
"I kinda do. It's risky work, man."
"Unfortunately, I do not have the funds needed to quadruple that payment. Apologies."
" Just because I said need does not mean I will not take due compensation. I am not a charity. However I must ask... are you fine with our group procuring some of the .. materials below to fund our adventure further. I'm sure with your monetary revenue restored it will be no problem. We also lost two valuable members during this venture "
"You saved my life, and much of what I really care about has been destroyed anyway. Take what you need, with my blessing."
"Thank you. We will do what we can to bring the Whispering Way to an end."
Jones looks around the room, at the devastation of Caromarc's workstation.
"And after that..." he says solemnly, "...if there is anything I can do to assist you in restoring your work, please let me know at once. It pains me beyond words to see the fruits of your scientific labor go to waste like this."
After chugging the extract, Sledge says, "Hey, man, you got a bag of holding somewhere around here? I'll return it, just need to borrow it for a while."
"And listen, you may want to move. They came here once, they can come here again - so you're probably best off taking only what you absolutely need and disappearing."
Darius grunts in acceptance " Well then, that settled, this Ascanor Lodge is a Lodge in name or station I'm sure. We would need the location and possibly any important information needed to properly track them there. With that we can leave this place, prepare ourselves appropriately and Hunt some cultists that deserve death. Hrm, perhaps I shall take some pointers from the other faction of my family. "
Caromarc's face hardens and contorts with rage.
"I will not leave my home. They caught me by surprise this time, and I was only able to kill a few of them. Next time, they will not find me so easy to take don. No, they will regret crossing Alpon Caromarc." he takes a moment, and calms down.
"But following them should be simple enough. They likely took the Silent Path, one of the few safe passages through the Shudderwood. Leads straight to the Lodge, as all paths through the Shudderwood do eventually. I myself traveled it in my younger days, there are a wealth of useful herbs and toxins in the area. There's an entrance to the Path less than a mile from here, actually. Quite convenient."
Darius gives a bow, and says like a pledge, " I , Darius of House Ral'Algul, Monster Hunters, shall promise you Alpon Carmarc that they shall bother you.. less. And do please.. take care of your Son. BEAT, keep your father safe, we all have parents and often only one. Let us report to Daramid, then sell wares.. I assume our trip will not go uninterrupted. "
Darius will turn to Sledge and Zin " You two do not have to come if you do not wish it, the danger at this point is gone but if you travel with us I cannot guarantee your safety. Considering the previous members of this original task are.. no more. I realize I am not part f the previous members either, but my personal reasons for continuing may not necessitate your own. "
The Beast waves goodbye, teary-eyed (or at least, the look you have come to associate as him wishing to cry) at your departure.
"You guys are the best friends I've ever had. Only friends, really. Please, take care of yourselves."
" Do not be afraid to contact us if there ever is a reason Beast, hopefully you shall have a slightly more enjoyable life.. for what you are at least... The soul of that little girl and all those who see you as you are... surely are happy. "
"As long as we're still here, would you terribly mind allowing me to copy some formulae from your book? It would help immensely with our hunt of the Whispering Way."
The sarcophagus is stone. Come on, guys. Let's not do the "strip everything down to the bare stone" game.
"Hey man, I'll come along. I'm always looking for adventure, and what's the point of living if you ain't living on the edge?"