Astri directs the group to check the first door on the right. Inside the room are three beds, a larger double bed and two smaller ones. There are dolls and toys spill from an undersized chest at the foot of one of the child’s beds. A rack of clothing stands against the north wall. There is a hickory rocking chair positioned looking at the clothing, it is rocking slightly, and person is sitting there in dress in a dress and shawl. There is a light creaking of wooden runner on the floor.
Astrianna is quite surprised to find someone in the house. "Oh. Um... hello?" Ohhhh please be alive. Don't be a ghost.
The rocker creaks a bit more and the shawl on the shoulders of person moves but there is no answer to Astri's question.
As you maintain your detect evil spell, you notice that the person emits a faint aura of evil.
As Astri, chell, and Bri step into the room what are the other doing? Is protecting the hallway flanks ok, like I have you on the map?[/ooc]
You hear noises coming from the room on the left, it sounds like creaking floor board.
You notice two things: First the rug that Astri had flipped up and discovered the trapdoor under has been smoothed out. You distinctly recall it was still flipped over. Second, there is a smell of silage coming from the fireplace hearth as it begins to smoke.
Yeah, I think I hear floorboards creaking across the hall...
Chell stares wide-eyed at the rocking chair for a moment until the aura becomes clear. Its a dark, hazy black that is almost too difficult to see like smoke from a fire. Not like the pure black smoke that rose up from the trapdoor in the other room. "Remember when you said the father may have killed the whole family?" Chell asks Astrianna quietly. "Pretty sure that happened but it might not have been the father. I sense evil from her but not nearly as much as that trapdoor."
Ptahh stays outside the room keeping a vigilant watch back at the main room. Hearing Astri speak, he glances in her direction. Seems she found someone... Looking back to the main room, he notes that the trap door is now covered again by the rug. Thtat was smart... keep the rug covering it in case someone comes from that direction; it will slow them down... uh... wait a minute, I don't recall Astri smoothing out the rug. I'm sure it was still flipped over a moment ago.
"Did someone smooth out the rug over the trap door? "
Ptahh calls out, "Sorrin, this way!", and moves back towards the main room with his falchion leading the way.
You definitely notice something is manifesting itself in the fireplace. Unfortunately you don't possess anything (classwise or knowledge-wise) that can stop what you are seeing.
Ptahh shouts his warning, then he notices the smell of burning flesh. From the fireplace a flaming sphere with young child's face appears and rolls towards you.
Reflex DC 13 for negates damage.
Initiative:
Sorrin
Ptahh
Astri
Bri
zombie side RM
Chell
Zombie BD RM
You hear moaning coming from the old lady in the rocking chair as she starts to get up. A similar sound echoes from beyond the doorway on the other side of the hall.
Stand back!
Sorrin steps into the room and approaches the hoarish nightmare.
Sorrin is protecting the ladies.
"Look out!"
You smelled burnt flesh, saw smoke and then a young child's face which was the flaming ball of fire rolled at you. No need to rush to attack it since it rolled up to you.
Ptahh quickly dodges the damage, and hacks at the flaming child sphere with his falchion, his weapon passes straight through. It does not appear as it the weapon did any damage.
Round 1
Astrianna's hair stands on end as smell of burning flesh and the old lady's moans assault her senses. "Well I'm not going to be next!" She responds to Chell, firing three magical arrows into the old lady.
"Oh what the f@#~ now? Isn't it enough we gotta deal with bunch of Wyvern?"
"Astri, any idea what the hell that thing is and what can hurt it?"
The women observe Sorrin enter the room and hacks the zombie dressed like a lady down, it is destroyed.
Initiative RD 1: Update
Sorrin -moved and destroyed the zombie in the BD RM
Ptahh - hacked at the child face burning sphere
Astri
Bri
zombie side RM
Chell
Zombie BD RM - destroyed
Bri is holding her action for now. There's nothing for her to attack right now and she isn't sure what is going on.
I know and that is what attacked you. It manifested itself into a flaming child's head and attacked you. The thing is you don't ave know:religion and have no idea what it is.
Everyone does hear Ptahh cursing and shouting warnings from back where you entered the lighthouse. there is also the swishing of his falchion as it cuts through the air.
Round 1
Astrianna watches as Sorrin hacks apart the zombie, ichor mixing with dust on the wooden floors in an unholy mixture. Zombies are no problem, at least it wasn't a ghost.
Hearing Ptahh cursing and shouting gives her no time to be relieved, and she moves into the hallway with her bow drawn. She is briefly stunned by the sight of... some kind of flaming sphere? "The hells?"
You see a flaming sphere is the shape of a child's head biting and nipping at Ptahh. Although you did not see the thing manifest, you suspect it's some sort of haunt of deceased spirit. You're no expert in creepiness, but you remember something about weapons usually don't hurt them. Normally some sort of positive energy needs to be applied and then finding the method to destruct them. Without finding the method to destruct it, it will manifest again at some future triggering event.
I screwed up, I should have had you roll a perception check when you were detecting evil on the fireplace at -4. Although it had a delayed manifestation. It's too late now, I don't want to go back and recreate the scene.
Because I botched the perception check you get the following: You realize (without needing to roll Know: Religion) that a haunt appeared and that is what has manifested itself in the shape of burning child's head. You know positive energy is needed to harm it. You also realize that will only temporarily suppress the haunt, to truly destroy it you need to find the source or method. But you suspect it centers on the fireplace.
Round 1
Astrianna curses when she realizes the flaming sphere isn't some wizard's spell, but a haunt. "PTAHH! Only positive energy can hurt it, get away from it!" She calls into the nearby room for the priestess. "Chell, we're going to need an exorcism in here, I think the spirit of the child that was burned in the hearth has manifested itself as a flaming sphere. Yes, seriously! It's a haunt!"
How will we destroy this haunt...? Maybe if we consecrate the ashes and skull with holy water? Or we could just burn the entire place to the ground. Fight fire with fire and all that.
** spoiler omitted **
Chell is too wrapped up in trying to figure out what is going on that she doesn't realize the woman in the chair has already gotten up and is moving towards her. And before she had a chance to retaliate, Sorrin was already flying into the room and has hacked it to bits. She stands there stunned and unable to move for a moment after. What is going on? Then she hears Astrianna say haunt and things click. "The fireplace," she says out loud. She thought the extreme blackness of the aura was just from the trapdoor but the fireplace was behind it. That must have hidden its aura. She moves down the hall behind Ptahh and channels positive energy which should suppress it. "We need to find the source. Check the fireplace."
Chell moves down the hallway towards Ptahh and channels the positive energy. The child's head screams in pain, but it is still present.
You know something needs to be down with fireplace, but you are not sure what until you get to examine it closer.
Initiative RD 2:
haunt -
Sorrin
Ptahh -
Astri
Bri
zombie side RM
Chell
Zombie BD RM - destroyed
------
The haunt flaming bite nips at the half-orc.
Ptahh a reflex save DC 13 to negate damage.
The half-orc dances with the flaming sphere avoiding it's reach.
Round 2
Astrianna shouts back towards the room with the slain zombie. "Sorrin, Embri, I think there's another undead in the other room. We'll handle this haunt."
She slips past Ptahh and the fiery spirit, trying not to draw its ire. Astrianna produces a wand of cure light wands from her haversack, and hopes it isn't going to sputter today.
Ptahh's hair's a bit singed but he avoids any real damage as he dances. Astri uses Ptahh dance as a distraction to slip on into the room, grabbing her wand has she goes.
Initiative RD 2: update
haunt - attacked Ptahh but no damage to the H/O
Sorrin
Ptahh -
Astri - moved to J:10 retrieving Cure wand
Bri
zombie side RM
Chell
Zombie BD RM - destroyed
Embrianna, stay in here but keep a line of sight to that door. Fire work? Shout if something else comes up.
Sorrin steps out of the room to stand back to back with Chell, waiting for an opportunity to charge whatever emerges from the unexplored doorway.
"Excuse me. Can you keep that busy?" Chell says as she shimmy's past Ptahh to get a closer look at the fireplace. Maybe it was the bones, or a secret door like the trapdoor.
Bri stays were she is since she has nothing to effect the sphere.
Bri you notice the door across the hall opens and two zombies, one dressed in a day suit and the other in old threadbare fishing garb, begin to shuffle out towards the noise.
Initiative RD 2: update
haunt - attacked Ptahh but no damage to the H/O
Sorrin - moves to the back of Chell
Ptahh -
Astri - moved to J:10 retrieving Cure wand
Bri
zombie side RM -door opens and two begin to shuffle out
Chell - moves to the fireplace
Zombie BD RM - destroyed
As long as the zombies appear solid, Bri will try to move in such a way that she can get both of them within range of her Burning Hands.
Bri:
Both zombies take full damage and both go down - destroyed.
Ptahh roars at the face of the burning child and thrusts his falchion through the flames. "Return to wherever you came from!'
I meant the eye thing, but hands work... Nice job.
Hey, maybe the child was tossed into the fireplace... Proper burial?
Initiative RD 3
haunt - attacks Ptahh
Sorrin -
Ptahh -
Astri -
Bri
zombie side RM -
Chell -
Zombie BD RM - destroyed
the haunt continues to attack Ptahh
DC 13 reflex to negate damage.
"Proper burial of what? The flaming face ball? Or are there enough remains left in the fireplace to give a decent burial too?"
Bri will stay where she is for now since she would have to move past the flaming ball to enter the other room.
Round 3
Astrianna sees Chell is occupied with determining how to destroy the haunt for good, so the bard takes it upon herself to banish its current manifestation.
She puts away her bow, which was of no use, and flicks her wand in the air dramatically. "Expecto Patronads!" The bard shouts the command word, flourishing the wand and expecting a gush of positive energy to engulf the specter.
Much to her dismay the wand sputters and dibbles a bit of magic on the floor instead.
Bri you hear more shuffling coming from the room across the hall.
Astri blasts the flaming child's head one more time with the healing wand, this makes it disappear.
Sorrin mentions a proper burial which gets Chell looking at the ash in the fireplace.
Initiative RD 3
haunt - attacks Ptahh
Sorrin -
Ptahh -
Astri - uses cure wand again.
Bri
zombie side RM -
Chell -
Zombie BD RM - destroyed
RD 3: Zombies in side RM
Two more creatures shuffle out of the room towards Bri and Sorrin.