The door bursts inward, scattering everything that the man had used to brace it closed. He is dressed in tattered bedclothes, torn and ripped, and one arm is red still with the claw marks of a skeletal grip.
His eyes are haunted, and as you rush in, he grabs the crossbow, frantically looking behind you.
"The angry bones! They'll come for me!" he screams.
Roldare is barefoot and not very coherent. It looks like he managed to grab his pack and his crossbow and flee the skeletons. His wounds, while they look quite horrible, are superficial... he was grabbed but escaped before the claws could cut severely.
Cole puts up both hands after being flung into the room with his efforts.
Like I said, easy, fella. We're here to help. The skeletons are done fer. Please put down the bow.
"Roldare! Calm down! There are no skeletons behind us. My friends have dispatched them all. We are safe, all of us. Come now, is this how Dimira would want you to act?! Tut tut, no, no, this won't do. This won't do at all. Relax, come with me, I'll take you to the foyer of the tomb, you can rest there safely, with one or tow of Rankev's bodyguards." Aldelenna follows Rankev's lead in being forceful of tone, and yet her eyes and facial expressions remain caring, soft, graceful, imploring Roldare to come back to his wits, to realize he is in fact, safe, at least for the moment.
Finlogan surveys the room and lets Aldelenna do the talking.
Roldare seems agitated... he's more afraid of Rankev than cowed by him, but more than that, he clearly does not believe that the dead no longer walk the halls.
"No... you don't understand. He took her. The one that speaks, he took her below, and I'll never see her again. Just a coward. My poor sister! The bones walk... they still walk."
He shrugs away from Aldelenna and crouches by the corner. You notice that oddly the room seems to be setup as a place of respite. There are bedrolls here, rations and supplies. Roldare nervously glances at the door, as though unwilling to leave it unwatched for too long.
Through his ramblings, you discern that they arrived three days ago "to prepare" and two days ago they were attacked. Six from the village were here, and Roldare saw the two in the hall being swarmed by skeletons. His sister was torn from his hands by "a creature in ancient mail, death that speaks!" and though there were two others with them, he cannot fathom any surviving.
But throughout his rambling it's clear... he's sure his sister is alive. Whether its the mad hope of a desperate and broken man, or a fragile hope that she still lived when she was dragged off, you cannot be sure. But the only strength in his voice is when he insists that "she lives! The voice took her, and she lives!"
"Where did they take your sister? If she's alive, we'll follow and find her." Finlogan asks and assures.
"This place stinks of death. We must reassert the balance and rid the tomb of the necromantic influences that have taken hold. Fear not human, we will go after your sister and this "voice". The balance must be upheld."
She gently takes the man's hands as she speaks to him, using the voice and gestures she usually reserves for skittish wild animals she is trying to help.
Fin: in addition to the bedrolls, you find two bullseye lanterns, 4 flasks of oil, 5 days worth of rations, and two small bottles filled with a reddish liquid labeled "healing"
Roldare seems to calm down, but is determined that he will not leave the crypt without his sister.
You are able to get from him that he believes the undead menace originated on the lower level, because they'd been all over this one without seeing anything for a day before they appeared. There are traps and he says that you'll need to get the key and the shields. But he's still not very coherent.
Finlogan offers two small bohttp://paizo.com/campaigns/CryptOfTheEverflame5eConversion/gameplayttles filled with a reddish liquid labeled "healing" to Cole, "are these cure potions?"
Turning back to Aldelenna, "It would be great if you can figure out what he means by the key and shields, because they sound important. Otherwise, we should get moving."
Finlogan offers two small bottles filled with a reddish liquid labeled "healing" to Cole, "are these cure potions?"
Turning back to Aldelenna, "It would be great if you can figure out what he means by the key and shields, because they sound important. Otherwise, we should get moving."
|
"Can I ask," Rankev begins, now that most of the crucial data has been gotten out of Roldare, "what you meant by 'prepare'? I see the pillows in the traps, and I see you have made yourself quite at home here. Were the lot of you...sent here in advance to make this place safe for us?"
Power was beginning to have doubts about this whole charade. He imagined that he would be part of a great crusade, a party of worthies picked to undertake this sacred quest of danger. But it was looking more and more like it was meant to a cakewalk--a birthday party for the kids with all the dangerous things and any corners with sharp edges already made safe by grown ups---and such infantile assumptions were chaffing him raw!
That it was turning out to be an -actual- quest of danger did not fully mollify him.
"I'll ask, but his mental state seems to be so frazzled I'm not sure even if I get an answer it'll be coherent or factual." Aldelenna says to Finlogan, then moving over to Roldare, and treating him, almost as a small child would a wounded animal, delicate, gentle, with soothing tones and soft words, she reaches a hand up and slowly plays it through his hair. She pulls his head to her bosom, and continues to run her dexterous fingers through his hair, just like she were playing an instrument. "Roldare, sweetheart, please, calm yourself. If your sister is here, I promise we will do everything in our power to find her. If we're to do that though, we need to know everything you know. What key and what shields are you talking about? Where should we find them, and what other traps should we be on the lookout for?" Aldelenna continues to gently caress Roldare's head as she speaks, hoping to bring him to a state of full calm, to ease the answers from him gently.
Cole tastes the potions, just enough to attempt to identify as healing potions.
"Sister... not leaving without my sister..."
Roldare sits in a corner and curls into a ball.
"Angry bones... they're coming, clawing, slicing. The voice! Soon you'll all hear it too. He walks! Ancient and deadly, he'll come. He took my sister. He'll take us too." Then he quiets and rocks, hands reflexively going for his crossbow.
Aye, Fin, they are healin' potions. I will take one, and you can have the other, unless someone need to drink 'em now?
"Come, let's find these 'walking bones' and lay them to rest. That poor man's sister is down there somewhere too. Come on, before we arrive too late!"
Venssa moves down the corridor and stops outside the door.
Finlogan stows the potion and offers, "aye, don't think we're getting anything useful from him. Are we going?"
As you leave the room, you can hear Roldare once again shifting heavy items to block it.
"Find my sister" he pleads, a final time, and grows quiet.
Noticing that she had walked down the wrong corridor, Venssa curses under her breath.
"How can anyone find their way in this mix-up of passages? Give me the open land and forests any day!"
She backtracks and stops outside the western door.
Venssa: As the person at the door, you think you hear some chittering sounds behind the door. It's hard to be sure. Corridors echo strangely and you aren't used to them.
Listening intently, Venssa tries to identify the sounds...perhaps they are some sort of animal??
Perception:
"I thought I heard something behind this door...a kind of ...squeaking?? I am not too sure"
Cole steps to the door and listens carefully.
Aldelenna cups her ear to listen for what Venssa may have heard behind the door.
"Hmmmm." She says, "I don't hear anything..."
Venssa looks over at the noble and frowns
"What if it is innocent animals stuck in there? I would not wish to harm them if possible. Let me open the door and peek inside first."
She moves to open the door and examine the interior.
The door opens and you get a few feet into the room before realizing that there's more light than there should be... because the light is reflecting off of not drab ceilings, but a cocoon of webbing dripping from above. Buried in a couple of feet of webbing is a cocooned body, wrapped in the silvery webbing. Prodding that engorged, silver-wrapped flesh is the sharp foot of an insect born of nightmares. Eyes, beady and black and too many of them, turn in your direction.
Making some chittering noises, Venssa attempts to speak with the creature and calm it down.
Group 1: Cole, Finlogan
Group 2: Giant Spider
Group 3: Rankev, Venssa, Aldelenna
Group 1: Cole, Finlogan
Group 2: Giant Spider
Group 3: Rankev, Venssa, Aldelenna
It is round 1. Current turn is Group 1.
Waiting on Cole, Finlogan
The chittering grows quiet as the creature shifts to the lower level of its web, dripping onto the floor in a movement like flowing liquid. It's eyes focus on the door. The hard clack of chitin on stone fills the room.
Seeing Venssa facing a giant spider alone, Finlogan rushes into the room in front of her like a fool. He draws his sword and strikes at the spider. The blades hits the thorax spraying ichor.
Cole moves in quickly and sets to work on the spider.
Spider limbs flail wildly as black ichor sprays across the room. The spider chitters and backs away, then steps firmly forward, all at once. Stone chips as the hard chitinous hooks at the end of its feet scrape at the stone.
Group 1: Cole, Finlogan
Group 2: Giant Spider
Group 3: Rankev, Venssa, Aldelenna
It is round 1. Current turn is Group 1.
Waiting on Cole.
Current turn is Group 2.
The Giant Spider screeches in pain as Cole lops off one of its great limbs. It staggers and screams again, then turns all eight black eyes on Cole. It lunges forward to bite!
Its vicious bite sinks through Cole's armor piercing deep into his shoulder.
It's a serious hit, and worse, Cole can feel the venom seeping into his bloodstream, like liquid fire in his veins!
---
Group 1: Cole, Finlogan
Group 2: Giant Spider
Group 3: Rankev, Venssa, Aldelenna
It is round 1. Current turn is Group 3
Waiting on Rankev, Venssa, Aldelenna.
Surprised by the sudden and swift attack by her friends on the attacking spider, the gnome strikes out at the creature as well with her blessed staff.
Attack:
Crit Damage:
"Damnit! Aldelenna screams, and draws her rapier stabbing hard.