Laya lets a stone fly from her sling at the back skeleton.
Sling:
The stone hits the bones, but not hard enough to do any damage.
Genisen prepares his shield while Garim brings his Morningstar down, scattering the bones of one skeleton, its skull sailing across the room.
The remaining three skeletons stand (Ofelio can get AoOs on all three) and advance, two Ofelio, the other Garim.
Skeleton 2 claw:
Skeleton 3 claw:
Confirm:
Damage: on Ofelio
Skeleton 4 claw:
Vellica is up. (Apologies on not updating the map...posting from phone)
Still shouting, "Aaaahhhh", Garim moves up to the next skeleton, crushing it with the swinging morning star.
Vellica fires another glob of acid at one of the skeletons.
Whoops, I read Ofelio moving to -A43 by mistake, but Garim is right. That means Skelton 4 didn't provoke an AoO by standing, but it also didn't get an attack (which missed anyway).
Unfortunately, the close proximity of her allies causes Vellica's acid blob to just miss.
Round 2
Timbur swings at a Skelton on Ofelio:
Damage:
Timbur blasts the skeleton apart.
Ofelio has two AoOs to take, then his regular round 2 action.
Somehow, the tiefling just can't seem to catch a break. He does, however, take a deep breath and try to concentrate on Rollynd's advice.
Only to discover the stance with this alternate weapon has to be different.
Ofelio scatters a skeleton as it tries to stand, leaving Timbur to take out the last one with his blow.
Combat over!
Just to move things along, assuming you now move to check out the chests, you find similar things to the chest from the ruined east room: rotted clothing, leather purses containing a total of 400 sp in vintage Chelish coin, and various bits of plunder (silver goblets, plates, icons, etc.) that look like they came from the Seventh Church worth a total of 200 gp. You also find a few stubs of red candles and a fragile piece of oiled canvas bearing the print of a pentagram.
In one of the chests, however, you also find a silver holy symbol of Iomedae stained with what looks like centuries' old dried blood, and a longsword of exceptional quality.
There are still two rooms left to explore on this floor.
The practice coming easier now, Garim examines the items for magical properties.
"This holy symbol, we should give to Sir Rollynd?"
Garim then moves to the western door and pushes it open. "More skeletons and I'm going to start smashing them without waiting..." he comments.
The western room seems a twin to the northern, save that two of the seven skeletons in this room are on the floor, slumped against the wall instead of lying on the cots.
Ofelio, standing behind Garim, gives him the questioning look that says, if you can get past the twitching,'there's more skeletons in there, right?'.
"Of course. I'd be disappointed to find anything less."
Without waiting Garim heads straight towards the skeletons to smash them.
Garim smashes the skeletons. None of them offer any resistance as Garim desecrates innocent remains.
In the storage chests, you find the same as the north room, except no holy symbol or MW longsword (who's taking that, by the way?).
Having searched the western room Garim opens the final door on this level.
Like the other rooms on this floor, this room was clearly a barracks of some sort, with neat rows of cots, and strong boxes beneath several. The Eye of Aroden stands prominently on the south wall, covered with splatters of dried blood. Dry-rotted blankets on the cots cover human-shaped mounds.
As Garim pushes the strong boxes out from beneath the cots to look through their contents, he comments, "So I don't understand something. Why is the symbol of Aroden a part of this place? First the door, and now this symbol on the wall. I thought Cheliax followed Asmodeus?"
Garim begins poking about, keeping a wary eye on the bodies beneath the blankets, though none stir. All of the bodies are completely covered by blankets, and their heads are under their pillows.
"They do now," Laya says, "But in the days before Aroden's death, they followed him, and conquered half the known world in his name. When he was supposed to return, it was to happen in Cheliax. Since this tower predates Aroden's death, I'm surprised there's as much Asmodeus stuff as there is."
"I guess I've just never really understood what happened here or why."
The Chelish Citadel was a prototype seige engine used by Chelish forces during one of their attempts to conquer Absalom. It was manned by a wizard, several dozen soldiers, and somebody named Braxton Kreel. the wizard led a strike force that used magic (presumably some sort of teleportation magic) to enter the Seventh Church and steal the Inheritor's Cloak, along with lots of other plunder, which seems to have included a masterwork longsword and silver holy symbol of Iomedae. They returned to the Citadel where evidently the plan was to smuggle the Cloak back to Cheliax, but the fellow named Braxton Kreel decided to claim it himself, much to the ire of the wizard whose journals you found downstairs. According to legend, a magical stone covering suddenly appeared around the Citadel which radiated divine level magic and blocked all teleportation and divination magic from crossing it, as well as mundane means of gaining entrance. Nobody knows why it happened, just that it happened at the same time the Cloak was stolen, so coincidence or not, the two seem related. Now, looking around inside, you can see that the Citadel's complement were representatives of Aroden and Asmodeus and some foul, dark magic or energy has animated most of the human remains you've found, most as simple skeletons, though two as ghouls, who at some point had been sealed into the basement.
Laya Perception:
Timbur Perception:
As Garim pokes about and Laya recounts their current knowledge, she moves in, curious why these bodies are covered with blankets and pillows. She lifts one of the pillows and gasps in shock!
"These men are completely preserved!"
Genisen keeps an eye out for someone sneaking up from behind but focuses on Laya's story not noticing anything else for now.
Ofelio shares in Laya's horror, albeit silently. He tries to grasp the little archivist and pull her away from the remains which cannot be trusted.
As Ofelio reaches for Laya, everybody notices a sudden drop in temperature. The body on the bed starts choking, like somebody or something is smothering it. The pillow in Laya's hand suddenly becomes alive and flies at her face.
Three other pillows fly off their places through the air, one each at Ofelio, Timbur, and Garim. The preserved bodies beneath them start choking also.
The pillows bounce off Ofelio and Garim (though they continue to float through the air on unseen forces), while the two on Laya and Timbur cover their faces and begin to smother them!!
More to come soon...
Initiative:
Genisen:
Laya:
Ofelio:
Timbur:
Garim:
Vellica:
Pillows:
Order: Ofelio AoOs, Genisen, Vellica, Pillows, Garim, Timbur, Ofelio, Laya
Pillow 1 (Laya): HP 5/5; AC 12 (touch AC 12); Hardness 0; DR 5/slashing
Pillow 2 (Ofelio): HP 5/5; AC 12 (touch AC 12); Hardness 0; DR 5/slashing
Pillow 3 (Timbur): HP 5/5; AC 12 (touch AC 12); Hardness 0; DR 5/slashing
Pillow 4 (Garim): HP 5/5; AC 12 (touch AC 12); Hardness 0; DR 5/slashing
"Ah! What do we do?" Vellica says, throwing her hands up to her cheeks.
Startled, and only narrowly avoiding being covered by the pillow Garim stammers out, "Ah... eh... life energy. Positive energy."
Garim knows that, often with haunts, what created the haunt in the first place is often connected with its destruction--haunts with objects, especially.
Genisen not really motivated by religion nor having access to positive energy attacks, shoots two of the pillow that are not connected to faces
Will wait for Ofelio's AoOs before resolving Genisen's arrows.
Ofelio flails as is normal for him at this point.
Fortunately, Genisen is a bit more precise (gets luckier rolls). His arrows each fly through a pillow, taking out the ones threatening Ofelio and Garim. Both explode in a burst of feathers. As soon as they do, the bodies they had each hidden, once so well preserved, instantly give way to the ravages of time. Their flesh dries out in seconds and before the feathers have settled, even their bones are dust.
Two more pillows rise up, though they won't move until the haunt's initiative of 10.
Vellica is up, then the pillows.
Garim stumbles over his tongue, looking for the right words, "The room is haunted" he states lamely. "Something... eh.. terrible must have happened here... that the spirits stayed behind. If we can find what made them stay we can set the spirits free. The corpses... no, maybe the symbol on the wall?"
With few options, Vellica casts a spell, and a glob of acid flies across at one of the newly-risen pillows.
The glob of acid catches it centre mass, and nearly burns its way clean through.
The injured pillow wobbles through the air towards Ofelio, while the other targets Garim. Ofelio can have an AoO against both.
Assuming Ofelio doesn't destroy one or both, I need Fortitude saves.
Garim is up (but probably needs Ofelii's AoOs resolved first.
Botting Ofelio's AoOs...
It explodes in a shower of feathers, and the body it had covered dissolves away into dust. Another pillow rises up to replace it, but doesn't move this round.
Catching his stride, Ofelio's glaive strikes true both times, cutting both pillows out of the air. Another pillow rises to replace the second pillow.
Now Garim (without needing a Fort save, as the pillow never reached his face).
Timbur and Laya currently have pillows stuck to their faces. Over the beds, two more pillows have risen up but not moved, and there are two pillows left on beds that haven't yet moved at all.
Vellica sends another glob at one of the remaining pillows.
Garim moves to the wall where the symbol of Aroden is displayed. He presses his hands against the symbol, where the blood has stained it, and wills life energy to flow into it.
Casting the spell into the symbol/blood has no effect...however
Despite the appearance of being dried, some of the blood comes off easily onto Garim's hands. As he wipes off a bit, the pillows stagger for a moment. As they recover, they all (except the ones on Laya and Timbur) turn towards Garim. The other two pillows that hadn't yet moved rise up as well, and they turn towards Garim.
Timbur draws his dagger and stabs at the pillow on his face.
He shreds the pillow. Feathers fly into the air and he staggers back, sucking air into his lungs.
Ofelio is up. Vellica, when we get back to you in round 2, you'll probably want to change your action.
Ofelio prioritizes getting the pillow off of Laya first. Hitting the same stride as before, he shreds the fell cushion.
Laya, looking way bluer than a single round with a pillow over one's face should suggest, desperately sucks air into her lungs. "We have...to find...the focus..." she rasps, her colour slowly returning.
Round 2
Order: Genisen, Vellica, Pillows, Garim, Timbur, Ofelio, Laya
"Isn't that thing by Garim the focus? Garim I'll try and keep them off of you!"
Of the four remaining pillows, Genisen nicks one. A few feathers rain down out of the tear, but the pillow itself is still mobile.
Vellica, would you like to change your action, or help Genisen keep the pillows off Garim?
Vellica will aim for the blood instead.
Vellica flings a glob of acid at the blood. While the acid doesn't do anything specific to the blood or symbol, it does help wash off a bit more of the blood as the acid runs down the wall.
The four pillows fly at Garim, aiming for his face.
Three of the pillows connect with his head, completely surrounding him in life-and-air-sucking negative energy (and feathers). I need three Fortitude saves. Fail, and...
You feel an unnatural cold grip your lungs, drawing all breath from you instantly. You cannot breathe or speak, and you know that if this pillow is not off you in mere moments, you will be dead. You hear the sound of someone desperately gasping for air and realize it's yourself. You suffer no other ill effects...yet.
Garim is up!
"The blood. Scrape awa...." Garim's voice is cut off as he frantically pulls at the pillows covering his face.
Suddenly the sleeves of his shirt elongate, forming razor sharp spikes protruding out past his hands.
It's not so much not knowing exactly where the pillow is, but where your weapon is! I'm afraid Garim is a bit too leary about swinging his metal sleeves so close to his neck and over-compensates.
Timbur grabs a once animated pillow case and attacks the bloody wall, scrubbing the blood with the cloth. The pillows droop, but don't quite fall away from Garim. One more good scrub ought to do it.
Ofelio is up.
Ofelio turns barely-concealed homicidal rage onto Garim's facial embracer.
He barely misses.
"Not again!" he snarls, gripping the haft of his glaive with white knuckles.
Laya moves to join Timbur at the wall, scrubbing off the last of the blood. The pillows drop away from Garim, leaving him cold and blue, but still sucking in air.
The pillows continue to twitch on the floor, however. You are easily able to coup de grace the pillows.
The tiefling is at least graced enough to be able to do that. He goes to town on those cushions. He starts hacking them apart with so much pent-up aggression that he no longer accepts anything in his reality other than the pillows marked for destruction.