Kua stops coughing, breathing freely again. His eyes are red and watery, his face and arms pocked from the dust underneath the grey-white coating. Somehow the half-orc just got a little uglier.
Kua pulls his water skin and dumps it over his eyes and nose. "What in the nine hells was that?"
"A pretty clever trap, if you ask me," the wounded Sister Mara responds shakily to Kua's question. "But at least we may have found a way into the necromancer's lair. Detressa? What can you tell us about this Svilennius Tripe? Is he someone that we can handle in our current state,?"
"Let me think ..."
Detressa:
Yang approaches the half-orc, then roughly grabs his face with his own chubby fingers. He examines Kua closely, trying to figure out what that was that affected him.
knowledge (arcana)
knowledge (dungeoneering)
knowledge (nature)
knowledge (planes)
spellcraft
“I know his name but little more,” Detressa answers Mara. “He was an acolyte amongst the morticians I believe, our paths rarely crossed. I can say with a certainty that lady Pharasma would be aghast at what he is doing, and he will have lost any clerical powers that she may have seen fit to grant him ... although clearly he has other means to power.”
Detressa joins Yang in examining Kua, trying to determine if there is anything she can do to ease the man’s discomfort and soothe his twisted face.
Detressa:
“Kua, you have inhaled Ungol Dust, a rather nasty toxin ... it’s by the grace of the gods that you are as tough as you are, you appear to have resisted the worst of the poison, but there’s little I can do about these pock marks without more powerful curative magic than I currently have access to. You shouldn’t suffer any more ill effects until then though. I advise everyone to be very, very careful in handling that corpse ... now, what next?”
“Let me take a look at those injuries Mara,” Detressa fusses over Mara’s wounds for a moment, then places her hand over the worst of them. The hand is icy cold, but when she removes it, the wound is partially healed.
Uwais stands impassively behind the party, petting Waya soothingly. Both halfling and wolf sneeze every few moments, the poison dust from the zombie upsetting their delicate noses.
"I still have my spells. I cannot use them when everyone blocks my way. So I do not care if we rest or not."
“I’m inclined to press on,” says Detressa. “If we delay further it may give Tripe a change to entrench his position or move on. I can provide further healing, and we still have some potions.”
Kua looks to Chen. "Before we move on, do you want to discuss tactics, wizard?"
Kua looks to Chen. "Before we move on, do you want to discuss tactics, wizard?"
"Yes. What would you suggest?"
Waya sniffs the air, her hackles raised slightly. She turns in the opposite direction, whence you came, and gives a low growl.
Auron:
"I have no problem with our current.." the half orc trails off at seeing Waya hair standing up. Kua turns silently, with his axe at the ready.
Waya barks a few times, the sound echoing down the halls.
Auron:
Waya continues to growl, her hackles raised, as you see a large hound slowly advance down the corridor, followed by an armored figure carrying a torch.
Jhaik, stay.
Auron advances slowly, torch in hand. Maybe these were the filthy bipeds the snake was talking about.
"Let me in front. I can cast my blast of flame, them move behind. What exactly is it you hear?" Yang whispers to Kua and the rest.
bump
“Who is there?” Detressa calls out, raising her hand and renewing her light spell to bath the corridor in a pale glow.
In your cold magical light you can see a large man clad in chainmail, a rampant cockatrice painted on his shield and a warhammer slung at his side. A large hunting hound is next to him, clad in padded barding. The new dog and Waya keep their distance from one another.
"I am Auron Rurikski, a knight of the Cockatrice. Would you be the other 'filthy bipeds' that talking snake was referring to?"
"I imagine so," Sister Mara replies to the knight's question as she also renews the light spell on the symbol on her armor.
"Sounds like you met Yrix as well, Sir Knight. But if I may ask, what brings one of your Order down here? And more importantly, how did you get down here?" the inquisitor asks, a hint of wariness creeping into her voice.
Yang remains poised and ready to cast a spell. "How do we know you are not with the one who is irrelevant?" he asks the newcomer.
Detressa eyes the newcomer warily.
Auron blinks at Yang's question.
"Whom?", he says.
"I found my way here after an extended pursuit of some goblins stealing from the cellars in Widdershins. I became separated from my comrades and found my way to a room with an irritating talking snake. Now- who are you and where are we?"
DM Screen:
Detressa:
Sister Mara studies the knight intently as he answers her questions.
Sister Mara glances toward Detressa, seeking guidance from the priestess of Pharasma as to how she wishes to answer the newcomer's questions.
Detressa shrugs very slightly in response to Mara’s look. “We’re on an important mission from the Cathedral of Pharasma – we currently represent the interests of the Church in this area,” she says. “As a matter of fact, you have wandered into the lower levels of the Ossuary.” She avoids the words ‘intruded’ or ‘trespassed’, but the implication is there.
"Very well.", Auron says,"Will you direct me to the exit then? I'll return to the surface and leave you to your work."
“I would be happy to, but it is not so simple,” Detressa answers. “The entrance is locked and will not be opened. We have a means of opening the door, but only when our task here is complete – we have been tasked by the church to stop someone who has been stealing corpses from the tombs. We have confronted this person, but were unable to defeat him, and are on our way to try again with a different approach.”
She looks thoughtful. “We could use a strong warrior. If you are willing to help us, we can help you get out of this place.”
Waya's unease proves to be infectious to her master, as Uwais gives the man a suspicious once-over.
“We could use a strong warrior. If you are willing to help us, we can help you get out of this place.”
"If it helps to sway your decision, we believe we've found a secret entrance into the necromancer's lair," Mara adds, pointing to the open secret door and the remains of the dust-filled zombie sprawled across the threshold. "We may be close to completing our mission and returning to the city above."
A knight of the Cockatrice don't turn away a chance of earnin' coin doing what 'e does best. I be interested, I think you trouble yourselves down 'ere on a gettin' coin from the church, huh? *points to his mutt* Jhaik 'ere has a bottomless gut, and me pouch has gone lighter since.
"Happy to have more steel on our side, as long as Jhaik here gets along with Waya." Kua lets Jhaik have a sniff of his hand.
Yang looks the newcomer over. "You talk different one moment to the next." He seems sctually curious as he looks closer. "Do you have many people in there?"
Eh? Whats that? I thinks enough of me in 'ere, fo' the two of you's out there. Must be what 'appens when I be away fron drink too long. Got any on ye eh big man? Auron looks at Yang's bloated frame with some interest.
Sister Mara loads her crossbow as her companions converse with the newcomer.
"Before we break out the bottled spirits, let's see about putting down that necromancer Tripe. The first round when we return to the city above is on me," Mara offers.
Moving toward the secret door, the inquisitor offers a brief prayer to her Goddess, invoking a touch of divine guidance.
Beyond the secret door, a passage runs to the left and right; on the left the passage ends at a large stone door about five feet away. To the right, the corridor continues ten feet, turning west around a corner.
Any of yous got a good brush with Tripe? Jhaik 'ere gots a good nose fo' trackin' things down. Mebbe his nose can show us the way.
“I don’t think any of us got that close ...” Detressa keeps a somewhat wary eye on the large hound.
"Whichever way we go, it won't hurt to know whether or not we can pass through this door."
Kua will check the large stone door for traps.
Perception: