Yekskya is just beginning to process the captain's note when Grym goes racing down the tunnel. "Grym, careful! Oh, nevermind..." Bow and a nocked arrow ready, Yekskya heads down the tunnel after Grym, ready to shoot at the new threat.
As the last creature falls and Rowena takes out her anger on the corpse, Zag raises a hand. "Fear not for your friend, Cat, I will help." He moves over to Aerys and worries over her wound for a brief moment before touching the tip of his holly and mistletoe-wrapped spear to it. "Spirits of water and seed...rejuvenate."
After healing Aerys, Zag looks over to the tunnel as Grym and Yekskya move down it. "Come, Shiv." Shield hoisted and spear poised, the druid thunders down the passage.
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The Throat
You hustle down the tunnel after Grym, towards the noise. You find the half-orc trapper at the opening to another cavern. A dark pool of water lies in the center of the chamber. A five-foot-wide ledge of stone winds down to the pool below, passing several cave entrances along the way.
Beside Grym is a humanoid creature with long, sharp teeth. Damp, dripping, pallid flesh is stretched tightly over its starved frame. Sizing up the situation, you think the creature was trying to creep down from high up on the ledge and sneak up on Grym. But the half-orc was ready for the attack, and you see a large gaping wound in the creature's chest where his greataxe bit into it. Oddly, the wound doesn't bleed.
The creature tries to sink its long fangs into Grym, but he dodges out of the way.
Initiative -
19 - Grym
17 - lacedon
9 - Yekskya
Zaghigoth: Aerys is very appreciative of you healing her again. She is nearly at full strength, and despite still feeling a bit nauseated, she follows along closely behind you, with Rowena.
-----
lacedon init
lacedon bite
Having vented my anger at the dead monster, I hurry over to Aerys, reaching her together with Zaghigoth. After the half-orc has healed her, I slap the big guy on the shoulder: "Thanks Zag. Where would we be without you?"
My words have barely been spoken when a new clamor announces more trouble from the direction where Grym just went.
Running after Zag, alongside Aerys, I ready my weapon for another fight. Emerging into the next cave, I look at the scene unfolding before us. Pointing at the obviously undead monstrosity attacking Grym and asking: "What in Cayden's name is that?" I attack the thing without waiting for an answer.
Zag gives Cat and Aerys a toothy grin as they thank him and he runs down the tunnel. Seeing that it is a tight fit, he waits stoically in the tunnel for the path to clear or for one of his allies to require healing aid.
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Round 1
Rowena tumbles through you into the high cavern, rapier drawn. She strikes out at the creature, slicing away what's left of its throat. The undead creature gurgles, stumbles, then slides down to the ground.
With the cavern cleared, you are able to get a better look around. The cavern has a high ceiling, about 50 feet high. Apart from the tunnel you have come down, there are four other tunnels leading out of the chamber.
Yekskya looks and listens to see if there is any other motion in the cavern.
If he doesn't see or hear anything, Yekskya will suggest we go through the tunnels in order, beginning with the one immediately next to us (leading east I think).
"Correction. What, in Cayden's name WAS that thing?" With the urgency of battle gone, this time I do wait for an answer.
When Yekskya suggests going through the tunnels in order, I merely shrug and start towards the nearest one: "This one's as good as any other, I reckon. Coming, Aerys?"
Rapier in hand, I carefully enter the tunnel, all senses probing for signs of danger or traps.
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After listening for movement, you turn and head for the nearest tunnel. You notice a change very quickly, as the rough rock cavern gives way to a large, carved stone chamber.
This long chamber evokes the feel of an ancient, hideous cathedral. The walls are carved with the images of serpents walking upright like humans, snakes coiling around and eating hapless women and children, and stranger scenes. Four stone pillars carved like coiling snakes support the vaulted ceiling 30 feet above. Four small cells blocked by rusted bars sit in the walls to the east and west. To the north, an immense carving of a snake's head looms, an ash-caked door clenched in its jaws, while to south arises a horrific mound of bones and partially decayed bodies in an eight-foot-tall heap arranged almost as if to evoke the imagery of a coiled snake made of corpses.
As you enter the chamber and look around at the horrible carvings, you hear a clattering from the pile of bones. Two creatures very similar to the one you just fought clamber down from the pile, hissing loudly and reaching towards you with their clawed hands.
The undead come closer, and with a cold pang of dread you realize that you recognize one of them. Despite the tattered clothing and twisted features, you can identify it as the Jenivere's Captain Kovack! You recognize him, but he no longer seems to have any memory as you as he approaches, merely seeing you as an intruder, and meat to be consumed.
Initiative
12 - Yekskya
12 - Rowena
12 - Aerys
11 - Zaghigoth
6 - Grym
6 - lacedons
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Aerys perception
Grym perception
Rowena perception
Yekskya perception
Zaghigoth perception
lacedo init
Aerys init
Grym init
Rowena init
Yeksya init
Zag init
"'Ware behind us. I heard sounds from two of the other tunnels as well. We could have company." Yekskya's eyes widen at the sight of the Captain. "Looks like we finally found him and he's happy to see us for all of the wrong reasons!" The archer puts two arrows to his bow in quick succession and fires them into the monster directly in front of him.
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Male Half-Orc Ranger (trapper) 2
CG Medium Humanoid (Orc)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60ft; Perception +7
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AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15 (+5 armor, +2 Dex)
HP 23 (2d10+4)
Saves Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +2
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Speed 20ft
Melee greataxe +5 (1d12+4/x3) or gauntlet +5 (1d3+3/x2) or unarmed strike +5 (1d3+3/x2)
Ranged comp. shortbow +4 (1d6+1/x3) [70ft]
Special Attacks favored enemy (animals)
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Str 17, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 7
Base Atk +2; CMB +5; CMD 17
Feats Cleave, Power Attack -1/+2
Cleave If you hit a foe, attack an adjacent target at the same attack bonus but take -2 AC.
Power Attack -1/+2 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Skills Acrobatics -2, Climb +3, Craft (bows) +3, Escape Artist -2, Fly -2, Handle Animal +2, Heal +6, Intimidate +4, Know (dungeoneering) +4, Know (geography) +4, Know (nature) +4, Perception +7, Ride -2, Stealth +2, Survival +8, Swim -1
Traits Jenivere Crew, Jungle Walker
Jungle Walker (Mwangi Expanse) +2 trait bonus on Survival checks in jungle terrain.
Languages Common, Orc
SQ orc ferocity, track +1
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Half-Orc Abilities
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Orc ferocity - (1/day) when brought to 0HP but not killed, you can fight on for 1 more round as if disabled. The next round, unless brought to at least 0HP, you immediately fall unconscious and begin dying.
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Ranger Abilities
Enemies: Animals (+2 bonus) (Ex) +2 to rolls vs Animals.
Track +1 +1 to survival checks to track.
Trapfinding +1 +1 to find or disable traps.
Wild Empathy +0 (Ex) Improve the attitude of an animal, as if using Diplomacy.
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Equipment greataxe, comp. shortbow (+1 Str), 40 arrows, scale mail, backpack, bedroll, blanket, flint & steel, hooded lantern, 1 pt oil flask, iron pot, belt pouch x4, 50ft silk rope, shaving kit, tent, 50ft small twine, waterskin, whetstone, whistle, signal
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Round 1
Whirling to face the fane's horrid defenders, Yekskya snaps off two quick arrows at the closest of the briny undead. With a thud, the arrows pierce the creature's throat. It shudders violently, then falls to its knees and slides the rest of the way down the pile of bones, lying face down. The other creature, your former captain, continues to advance.
Zag shakes his head in dismay as he sees what the captain has become. "A good man turned abomination by foul magic and bad luck, I say...Come Shiv, we put him to rest," he mutters. Moving forward with shield and spear and crocodile, the druid sets to work putting down this corruption.
Shortspear:
Damage:
Shiv Bite:
Damage:
Yekskya spins on the former captain, "It's better that we put you down captain. I wish it didn't have to end like this." Yekskya leans away from the captain and draws two more arrows, firing them into the walking corpse.
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Round 1 continued
Rowena takes a few steps forward, screening Yekskya from the former captain. As she raises her rapier in a defensive stance, the disfigured undead staggers down the mound of bones.
Aerys takes a similar action, moving down along the wall of the enormous temple and likewise screening the archer.
Zaghigoth charges into the fray, with Shiv close behind smacking his jaws. The half-orc thrusts his spear at the undead abomination, but the once-Kovack dodges the blow. The move exposes him to the crocodile though, and Shiv bites into the captain with a wet, rending crunch.
Grym hustles up the other side of the chamber, trying to line up an attack from behind. He brandishes his great axe.
Surrounded, Kovack suddenly lashes out, an eldritch gleam in his eye as he leaps at Zaghigoth, claws flailing and fangs gleaming as he dodges Zag's spear and barrels into the half-orc. The lacedon manages several deep scratches to Zaghigoth's face and chest.
Round 2
With a heart wrench, Yekskya chooses between the captain and saving his friend. Firing two arrows at the abomination, the second pierces Kovack's skull, "killing" him instantly. The corpses slides over sideways, skidding down the bones to lie on the flagstones of the temple.
With the room secured, and once you have seen to Zaghigoth, you have a chance to look around. On closer inspection, you think the bone pile has been deliberately put together in such a fashion so as to create a sort of crude altar. The fight with the lacedons has dislodged many of the bones, and it would take quite a bit of work to return the pile to looking like an altar again.
Looking at Kovack's body, he seems finally to be at peace, despite his wounds, his face no longer twisted by hunger and pain. He doesn't appear to have anything of value on him.
The chamber is larger than you realized at first. On the west and eastern sides, are a handful of alcoves, empty grooves that once held sacrifices. At the northern end of the chamber is a door, which from the ashes and damage round about it looks like it must have been magically warded at some point. You find several empty potion vials nearby.
The door hangs open, and you can see another, smaller chamber behond. Inside in the center of the room, you see a low stone altar, its sides carved like coiling snakes and its top carved to resemble a yawning viper's maw. The walls of the chamber are carved with images of antropomorphic serpents using strange, pointed megaliths of stone to work great feats of magic - transforming an army of humans into zombies, calling down flaming bolts of lightning from the stars, or parting the waters of the sea to dash human ships upon the exposed rocks of the seabed below. This final image seems to have been cleaned of dust, and several lines of text have been made more legible via the application of inks and perhaps blood.
Numerous carvings in some alien language abound here, but the only one that seems to be legible are those near the carving of the receding tides. Smaller carvings nearby depict serpentfolk splashing blood on curved runes carved on upright stones before a red mountain, and then holding venomous snakes against the blood that they might lick the stones, pouring water onto a pyramid-shaped block of red stone from a bowl, and standing before the pyramid of stone with arms upraised and mouths agape as if shouting to the heavens as a bolt of lightning arcs up from the stones into the sky.
Aerys examines the carved text closely, then looks sharply at the rest of you. "This is Aklo. I can read this. It says:
'To Command the Very Tides to Rise Up and Eschew What Lies Below:
Empower the Four Sentinel Runes with the Blood of a Thinking Creature Tempered by the Kiss of a Serpent's Tongue.
Anoint the Tide Stone with Waters Brought from the Sea in a Vessel of Purest Metal.
Invoke the Lord's Sacred Name to Wrap His Coils round the Sea Itself
that He Might Lay Bare What Lies Below and Cast Down Your Enemies
on the Waves above.' "
Her recitation finished, she looks up at you quizzically.
------
Kovack
damage
claw 1
damage
claw 2
damage
Aerys percept
Grym percept
Rowena percept
Yekskya percept
Zaghigoth percept
Yekskya helps to search around the rooms, bewildered by the strange creatures and rituals that are depicted. When Aerys finishes translating the text, he observes "I have no idea what half of that means, but it sure doesn't sound good. It doesn't look like there is any way out of here. Should we check the other passages?"
After recovering from the reeling blow and paralysis, Zag looks around at the many depictions in awe, and searches his mind for any information on them. He glares at the altar with disgust, recognizing it to be some tool for aberrant magic. He finds himself lost on the pictures, unsure of what they all mean or what it represents, but he does notice the potion vials. These once held curative potions, I say. I recognize them from the ship. Irena's...and oh! The mountain on that mural, that looks to be the red mountain we have seen, I say.
After Cat translates the text, Zag narrows his eyes and nods. This writing seems be linked to the pictures, I say. The snakes and the blood and the water...I don't know what lord it speaks of. There are many spirits of the deep sea, and most are not very friendly. This one sounds bad, I say. Might this be the reason the scholar wanted the ship to bring her here?"
Knowledge: Geography
Knowledge: Geography
Knowledge: Nature
"We'd better find her. Should we see if she's still down here or if these tunnels lead anywhere and then head to the mountain if not?"
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Once you finish your investigations in the dark shrine, you return the chamber with many passages and the pool of stagnant water, to resume your explorations. Systematically you choose the next passage, but all you find is an empty chamber, with a passage leading west. However, at the edge of your light you see faint carvings just visible on the eastern wall of the cavern. Arys moves forward, beckoning the light closer so that she can get a better look. "Hey, this is Aklo too. A lot of it I can't make out, but this bit over here is pretty clear: 'All glory to Great Ydersius."
"Has anyone heard of this Ydersius? Is it some sort of king or a demon or a god?"
"Sorry Yeks. All I know about gods is that I stay out of their affairs and that I pray to Cayden Cailean. That's all."
"Well, let's move on to the next chamber." Yekskya gets an arrow ready and moves counterclockwise with the rest of the group without going back to the center chamber.
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A Ghoulish Cavern
Still trying to work out who this Ydersius is, you decide to move on. You head into the next chamber, leaving the scrawlings behind. Here, you see bones strewn about the floor of the next cavern. The grisly remains appear to have been gnawed on so that they are cracked and jagged.
You hear a scrabbling noise from the other side of the cavern, and you see what has been gnawing on the bones: another slick, watery ghoul. Seeing you, it gives a hideous shreik and makes for the passageway on the far side from you.
Aerys and Grym, first into the cavern, move across to try to block the undead monster's escape.
[ooc] The lacedon is about 10 feet away from you, and hungry for flesh!
Initiative
22 - Aerys
22 - Grym
20 - Rowena
20 - Zaghigoth
9 - lacedon
7 - Yekskya
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lacedon
Aerys init
Grym init
Cat init
Yeks init
Zag init
Moving closely behind Aerys and Grym, my rapier in hand, I hear the shriek of the undead monstrosity and immediately move to strike at the creature before it gets a chance to run.
"There is no end to these monsters, I say, Zag laments as he raises spear and shield. "Ending these unnatural things will please the spirits." The druid moves in a bit more cautiously after having been paralyzed before, and stabs at the creature as Shiv attacks.
Shortspear:
Damage:
Shiv bite:
Damage:
HP: 22/32
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Round 1
Before the undead can escape, Rowena pounces forward and thrusts with her rapier, neatly skewering the once-born and stepping back. It has a neat slice in the middle of its slick chest.
Grym, standing towards the back of the group, moves to cut off the ghoul's escape, blocking the other exit to the cavern. He brandishes his greataxe, daring the lacedon to try to get past him.
Zaghigoth, more cautiously, stabs forward with his spear. He misses, but Shiv wades into the attack as well and rips the lacedon to bits.
The lacedon tries to flee, this one shrieking at the top of its lungs, but it is cut down messily by Zaghigoth and his crocodile. As you end its life for its second time, a hush falls in the cavern. But with that hush you can hear, with ravenous, insane fury, the padding of many feet coming your way from the cavern tunnel opposite the one you entered!
------
Grym attack
damage
Rowena aoo
damage
Zag aoo
damage
Shiv aoo
damage
"Let's form back up quickly! It sounds like trouble coming. There's no way we're getting back up top quickly enough to avoid them, so we're just going to have to fight them off." Yekskya gets his arrows ready to begin firing if any lacedons or similar creature appear through the opening.
Grym rolls his shoulders before he hustles over to the side of the entrance that the sound of feet are coming from.
"I'll hit them from here!" he says to his compatriots.
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Round 2
The padding feet come closer. Aerys raises her fists into a boxing stance, while Grym and Rowena move to the cavern tunnel and ready weapons, the half-orc roaring a challenge.
Suddenly, four shapes come rushing at you out of the darkness. Lacedons, their bodies slick and dripping as if they've just stepped from the sea. Some run like humans, while other seem to have become more bestial and charge with an odd two-legged, then four-limbed gait.
As they swarm towards you, Grym takes a few quick swings with his greataxe, wounding one of the undead and missing another. Yekskya shoots two arrows past you into the foe, dropping the first lacedon and wounding another.
Shards of bone clatter everywhere as the closest lacedon barrels into Grym, wrapping arms tightly around him in an attempt to pin the ranger. Grym swings downwards with his axe and drops that lacedon as well. But before he can congratulate himself, the next lacedon tackles him, distracting him as the next lacedon is able to move past. Rowena skewers it with her rapier as it attempts to move past into the middle of the group, badly gouging it. It tries to fight back, clawing at the half-elf, but misses.
Initiative
22 - Aerys
22 - Grym
20 - Rowena
20 - Zaghigoth & Shiv
14 - lacedons
7 - Yekskya
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lacedon 2 CMB
lacedon 1 roll - unused
lacedon 3 CMB
lacedon 4 acrobatics
lacedon 1 roll - unused
lacedon 2 attack
lacedon 3 attack
lacedon 4 attack
init
init
Aerys attack
damage
Rowena rapier
damage
Zag spear
damage
Shiv attack
damage
Grym aoo
damage
Encouraged by the success of my opportunistic attack on the lacedon trying to tumble past us, I grin at Aerys: "Two down. Only two more to go. Let's get these monsters!"
Stabbing at the monster again, my rapier darting in and out in quick strikes, I am satisfied to see the third lacedon go down. My grin turning wider and more wicked, I kick the dead creature for good measure, as I say: "Scratch that. Three down! Let's go help Grym!" Turning, I focus my attention on the lacedon that is trying to turn Grym into its next meal. "Aerys, can you try to get it between us? That way, it will have to divide its attention, making it easier to hit it."
Seeing Cat finish the lacedon attempting to slip past, Yekskya focuses on threading the needle that is Grym in the monster's hold and tries to shoot it without hurting his friend.
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Round 2 continued
Yekskya tries to help his friend Grym by shooting at the lacedon grappling him. The lacedon next to you, tries to take advantage of your concentration on your aim, and rakes at you with its claws. Yekskya is able to dodge out of the way, and still manages to hit his target with his second arrow. The arrow bites deep, severing the spinal cord, and the undead collapses to the ground.
Round 3
Aerys turns, ready to pound the remaining lacedon into pulp, but Rowena beats her to it. With a neat slice of her rapier, her strike very well cuts the lacedon in half. Just to be sure, she gives the creature a kick with her boot, before looking round for any other targets.
Initiative
22 - Aerys
22 - Grym
20 - Rowena
20 - Zaghigoth & Shiv
7 - Yekskya
------
lacedon 4 claw
Yekskya releases a breath he didn't realize he was holding after the short, but intense fight. "Are you all right Grym? I was worried they would begin eating you. Everyone else ok?" Yekskya looks around, ready to begin firing again if all the foes are not down permanently.
"Looks like we're all clear! Where to next? Up where they just came from?"
Zag looks around at the fallen bodies and gives a solemn nod of approval. "Well fought, I say. These caverns are too tight for my tastes, we should move on. Does anyone need healing?"
"I'm all right Zag and I think we all escaped that round without injury. Let's move on up that tunnel. Stay alert." Yekskya trains an arrow ahead and continues moving toward the tunnel.
Grym shakes his muscles loose again and looks around.
"Aye, moving up the tunnel seems the right course of action," Grym takes up position at the head of the party, ready to charge into the fray if needs be.