You...you wasn't wrong 'bout th' screamin', Mister Garvid... Shaking her head slightly as if to dislodge something, Mouse ventures into the room beyond, carefully stepping around the lashing tree roots and holding her nose against the reek of rancid fat pervading the room. Ugh...this's almos' as bad as Lamm's fishery...
The sharp thud behind the door instantly draws Mouse's attention, and she tenses and swivels to face it, almost forgetting for a moment to move her feet away from an errant root. Taking stock of the rest of the surroundings, she ponders for a moment. Whatever that is, 's blocked in f'r now...migh' be 's best t' see wha's down the tunnel firs', 'afore we go openin' doors.
"Very well. In that case..." Yaziyah makes a closing motion with her right hand and the riotous plants subside into the floor, walls and ceiling, no longer threatening to snag the careless foot.
"Since there is no passage to the left, I suppose we go forward."
"Right... Just give me a second, please...", Garvid exhales heavily, setting down the earthbreaker's head onto the cracked tiles and resting on it. He looks around, wiping the sweat off his brow, frowning at the horrid smell. Abadar, smells worse than the Rat at closing time... "You seeing this?", he asks, pointing at the left. "There's some sort of hidden room over there.", he nods.
He walks slowly towards the door, putting the earthbreaker on his shoulder, turning to point towards the door where the banging was heard. "Doubt it's Torag's Apostles knocking down there. If it was them, the door might've given by now. At any rate, be ready to get a surprise from the back."
"Li, mind taking a look at that? See anything off, or should I see if I can open it?", he asks the ex-blonde.
"I be willin' ta take a look at tha door but shouldn't we be tyin' up that darro...derro? It be lookin' like it still be breathin' even though it's knocked out."
Li moves closer to the door and inspects it for anything odd.
Pietro made a beeline for the alchemical items strewn about.
His ears were still ringing but nothing would him from examining what they had just found.
Unfortunately, most of the items were smashed beyond saving or not salvageable with the exception of two flask, the liquid were the color of midnight.
Recognizing the two potions for what they were, he called the gang over, "These are darkvision potions, which are very much needed if we are to continue our investigation. We cannot rely on Garvid all the time to pinpoint our invisible enemy. I think we were lucky this time."
He handed the potions over to Mouse and Li, "From what I have seen, you two are most up front combatants we have. You should keep them."
tag?
Cal nods his approval at the doctor's assessment, still wincing from the sonic attack. "Yes, give them the potions. I have a few other tricks up my sleeve to keep me useful until the rest of you smash the derro. Music doesn't need to be seen to have its effect."
Garvid turns back at Mouse. "Yeah, wasn't really expecting that much screaming. That basketcase is still kicking though, as far as I can see. Think we should tie it up, or give it the mercy killing? Not really feeling the latter. Not right killing something unconscious."
He smiles at Pietro. "Good work, Doc. You got a point.", he says, trying to push the door to open. "When we got something up in the crypts back in the old days, we tried to get the dwarven and the half-orc guardsmen on it." He sighs. "Though it's not like we're not short-staffed in general."
Mouse accepts the dark, gently-fizzing liquid, swirling the flask around doubtfully. Even with Cal, Yazi, and now Pietro around, magic was still very new to Mouse...but if it would keep more surprises like that at bay... Well...bottoms up, I s'pose? Where there's one o' those - darrow, y' said? - where there's one, like 's not there's a crowd. 'Sides, won' that mean I c'n 'and my fire stone back t' th' back, so as we don' 'ave as much ligh' spillin' ahead if we wanna be sneaky? She offers the stone to Yazi with a small, wistful smile.
Li takes the flask offered her. She reiterates what Pietro just said with some doubt in her voice, "So with this I be seein' in pitch black? I don't be needin' any light at all? It won't be changin' me with tha magic like yers did ta me hair?"
tag Pietro
Conflicting thoughts paraded through Li's head. It be nice ta see in tha dark. It would also be nice ta be able ta do that other times. I have ta look inta gettin' another one later. Of course this was countered with, Ya sure ya should be drinkin' this? What if it be turnin' ya inta somethin' unnatural like. Mebbe that's all this derro creature is...someone who be messin' with magic.
In the end she asks the rest, "So should I be drinkin' this now? How long it be lastin'?"
tag everyone
Li takes the flask offered her. She reiterates what Pietro just said with some doubt in her voice, "So with this I be seein' in pitch black? I don't be needin' any light at all? It won't be changin' me with tha magic like yers did ta me hair?"
Pietro joked, "What? I thought you liked your new look?"
"Wait, Mouse."
He thinks for a moment and adds, "These should last for only about 3 hours so don't drink them just yet. Only drink them if the little buggers use that trick on us again."
Li blushes and then stammers a bit hoping she hadn't offended the doctor, "I...I do like me new look...but...but not fer ever. I just don't wanna be changin' too much 'cause of tha magic an' all."
Li inspects the hidden door but notices no traps. A loose stone in the wall just to the left of its base catches her eye. She nudges it with her foot, and the heavy stone unhinges with a soft creak.
The heavy thuds from the door behind you continue.
Gently pushing open the trick door, you find that it leads into another cramped tunnel, this one leading up a short flight of stairs but soon ending at a dead end. Already aware of how this game is played, you also easily discover the mechanism that opens this door. Beyond, two wide, freestanding bookshelves stand. Their shelves are filled, row upon row, with musty tomes and scrolls.
Pietro and Calcedon are especially interested in this find and take a moment to peruse the shelves. The books and scrolls are mostly treatises on necromancy and the art of crafting golems. But there’s also a surprisingly large number of books about diseases and plagues as well.
You also locate two scrolls:
To the east, a closed wooden door is nestled into the wall.
The doctor explained what the scrolls were for. He knew that the book collection was expensive but did not know how much they could get for it.
He really wanted to keep all the books about diseases and plagues, out of professional curiosity if nothing else. He would make the group an offer later when it came time to sell the books.
He looked at his companions, "we should go through that door."
But he waited until someone else took the lead...
Li watches Pietro's and Cal's faces light up as they look at all the books. Trying to be helpful, the rogue attempts to figure out what they may be worth.
But the books were beyond her ability to appraise. She was better with gems and weapons.
To keep herself busy while the others looked at the books, she wanders around the room looking for anything odd.
But doesn't find anything because her mind keeps going back to the thumping behind the door in the other room. Did we be closin' tha hidden doors we be comin' through? If'n not then they may be findin' us if'n they be breakin' through.
She finally ends up at the other door since it was a way out. She looks at it to see if anyone had monkeyed with it to keep others out.
"Should we be goin' through this door or back tha way we be comin' and back towards tha thumpin'?"
Like Li, Yaziyah keeps glancing behind them towards the room with the alchemy supplies and the pounding on the door. "I am quite reluctant to advance any farther without looking into that noise. Leaving a potentially hostile creature behind us seems unwise in the extreme to me." She gives Pietro a level look, challenging him to defend his suggestion.
The scrolls do not interest her. The magic she commands is not drawn from some dead piece of parchment, but from the living spirits of the land and the people. Their infinite knowledge and wisdom suffuses her, and she is confident that, should they encounter any mysterious magical items, the spirits will whisper to her about their making and purpose. As to the other scroll... she cannot contain a grimace of disgust at the thought of commanding the undead, desecrating their memory even further and robbing them of the dignity of their eternal rest.
Calcedon found wisdom in Yazi's words. "Yeah, the worst thing is finding something we don't know is coming only to have what we do know is coming to hit us at the same time. Let's go back and answer that door, ready to go. It isn't as if they seem to care whether or not we're ready, so we might as well be."
Discussing the finer points of strategy on the way back, Calcedon remains fairly cheerful as he pulls out his violin, plucking the strings and readying their morale.
Back in the ransacked alchemical laboratory, you find the derro still lying on the ground, but no longer breathing. The door on the south side, behind which the pounding originates, is boarded over.
As you draw closer the thudding ceases, then resumes with increased intensity.
Pietro told them to wait a second while he fished out two vials and handed them to Yazi and Cal.
He then took out his healing wand and offered healing to the rest of the group.
"We all need to be at our healthiest before getting into further trouble."
He then stepped back and palmed another explosive alchemical mixture, ready for whatever.
He nodded to Garvid, "Well bg guy, are you going to break it down or what?"
------------
"Well, it seems there's only one way out of there. It strikes me as being as likely we have a gagged prisoner in there as much as an undead. I'll give ya a hand ole boy, or you can give me one."
Li makes sure she has her crossbow at the ready while the men deal with the door. "I be ready ta shoot if'n what comes out be unfriendly."
Yaziyah thanks Pietro for the healing draught and brandishes her blessing stick at the party. "Spirits be with you. If whatever is behind that door tries to take a bite out of you, I'll curse its hide off."
I'll 'elp, too. Mouse sets one slender hand on the door frame and wraps the other around the door's thick boards, helping Garvid and Cal to pull at it.
The doctor takes a moment to tend to the wounded, especially the now-bloodied Garvid, with his medicinal instrument.
Yazi once more invokes her spirit stick and Cal begins a rousing salvo, just as Garvid smashes the wooden beams with the earthbreaker.
The door bursts outward in a shower of splintered wood. Immediately, a foul cloud seeps out into the room, carrying bits of rotted matter and newborn flies. A disgusting half-man lurches forward. A lurching mash-up of rotting flesh, jagged bone, and coarse hair, this humanoid monstrosity reeks of death and decay! It clutches a severed arm marked with tattoos.
Calcedon, perhaps especially sensitive to such dark experiments, succumbs to the overwhelming smell.
Mouse
Stinky
Li
Yazi
Garvid
Calcedon (nauseated - a single move action per turn)
Pietro
___________________________
G:
FAIL
pass
pass
pass
pass
pass
Rules on darkness are listed here They are rather complex. To summarize, if you are blind in darkness:
You lose your sneak attack.
You must make a DC 10 Acrobatics check to move faster than half speed. If you fail you fall prone.
You can’t run or charge.
You lose Dex to AC and take a -2 penalty to AC. You are subject to sneak attack!
You take -4 Perception and most Str/Dex skills. You automatically fail any skill relying on vision.
All opponents have total concealment (50% miss chance)
Pinpointing your foe: I’ll assume Garvid pinpoints all foes he can see. Otherwise, you must pinpoint the location of your opponent in order to attack. Make a Perception check as a free action each round (DC equals opposing Stealth). If you beat the DC by 20 you know where the opponent is (but they still have concealment). Alternatively, You can make a standard action to make a touch attack with a weapon. Pick two adjacent squares. If the target is in one of those squares, there’s a 50% miss chance on the touch, but if successful you have pinpointed the location. Yell it out, because if the creature moves its location becomes unknown.
If you’re struck by an unseen opponent, you pinpoint the location of that opponent until they move.
If you have scent, you automatically pinpoint unseen creatures within 5 ft of you.
After getting the morale going for the crew as they prepare for whatever is beyond the door, Calcedon is overwhelmed by the smell of the thing. The smell, a cross between jellied fish and fermented cabbage with a hint of rancid beef, washed over him in waves. He tried to get away, brushing past Yazi, but only managed to get just past her before he painted the wall.
Wha's that? Mouse gets out, managing to keep from heaving at the sight and the smell (though it sounds as if someone behind her is less successful). Thinking quickly, she rushes up and kicks at the monstrosity, trying to trap it in the narrow corridor - and as she stares down the beast, she comes to a sudden, horrible realization. Field Marshal said 'e had a buncha tattoos... Yazi! she calls out, trying to catch the shaman's attention. Th' arm it's 'oldin - them the right kind o' tattoos f'r Gaekhen?
Mouse kicks out fiercely with her boot but is surprised (and disgusted) when it merely sinks into the creature’s rotted torso with a sickening squish. Seemingly unphased, the creature groans, then roars at its newfound plaything. It flails the severed arm about, trying to hammer Mouse like a crooked, exposed nail. But the girl’s too quick, and twists here and there, easily side-stepping its swings.
ROUND 1
Mouse
Stinky
Li
Yazi
Garvid
Calcedon (nauseated - a single move action per turn)
Pietro
ROUND 2
Mouse
Stinky
Li
Yazi
Garvid
Calcedon (nauseated - a single move action per turn)
Pietro
___________________________
G:
miss
miss
"Yazi! Th' arm it's 'oldin - them the right kind o' tattoos f'r Gaekhen?"
"Yes, it is", Yaziyah answers through gritted teeth, her eyes burning as she sketches the gestures for a curse. She fairly trembles with anger as she shouts at the monster in Shoanti. Tears trickle down her cheeks and the stamping of her foot raises a small cloud of dust.
Pietro could not believe his eyes. He was seeing what he only read about and saw some badly drawn sketches. Was that a carrion golem.
He quickly called out, even as he prepared to strike, "That thing is immune to magic and piercing weapons are less effective. And they carry disease."
He hoped on the table with his augmented dexterity and then chucked an explosive at it, hoping his fire still burned it.
----------
[ooc]bomb, squares where allies are with no splash damage]
Garvid grunts, swinging his heavy hammer at it. "Abadar, I've been in the sewers, but that's...", he speaks out nasally, clearly attempting to breathe through his mouth.
The earthbreaker impacts heavily into the ribcage, a flank of flesh flopping on the floor with a disgusting noise. A splatter of nearly green viscera covers the planks, the floor and some of the earthbreaker, as Garvid holds back a small retch. "Didn't think it could get any worse...", he whispers.
Li fights the urge to drop her crossbow and cover her nose and mouth against the stench. By the time she steels herself against the horrid smell, Mouse and that thing had traded swipes.
As she aims her crossbow and lets loose the readied bolt, she hears Pietro's voice telling them that her weapon wouldn't be very effective but she hopes for the best.
Cal finishes painting the wall and, wiping his chin with his sleeve, returns to the battle . Garvid reacts quickly to fel the monster, but with the wall’s corner and Mouse’s body between them, his hammer strikes the ancient stones. The entire room shudders and dust rains from the ceiling. Yazi attempts to bewitch it, but within its mind finds only a raging blackness .
Pietro’s higher vantage point gives him the perfect angle from which to attack. He sends a flask flying through the air that crashes into the monster, casting it in flames . The creature’s movements become lethargic and stiff, and the smell intensifies . Li is also successful, sending her crossbow bolt flying just beside mouse and impaling the creature .
Mouse strikes out again with fist and boot, but is unable to locate a point of structural integrity on the creature. Her strikes bounce off uselessly .
The flaming golem slowly lashes out with its free fist, but Mouse ducks out of the way .
ROUND 2
Mouse
Stinky
Li
Yazi
Garvid
Calcedon
Pietro
ROUND 3
Mouse
Stinky
Li
Yazi
Garvid
Calcedon
Pietro
___________________________
G: injured, slowed
pass
miss
miss
miss
As Pietro's flask drenches the creature in flames, Yaziyah screams, jumping up on the table next to the doctor: "No fire! You'll damage the boy! you'll hurt Gaekhen!" She is the most distraught that her companions have ever seen her, seeming to no longer think straight as she is confronted with the horror of her compatriot's dismembered body. Pain and rage mix in her expression as she puts out a hand to steady herself on Garvid's shoulder. "Destroy it! DESTROY IT!"
Li's bolt barely finds its way through the steadily increasing crowd of bodies before the golem. She needs to find purchase in order to make her shots more effective. She quickly looks around to find somewhere to move but she also needs to get another bolt into her weapon. Her quick hands make quick work of reloading her crossbow and she takes another shot.
"The boy? There's no boy, just that abomination that's trying to kill us. If we don't put it down, it will kill us."
He added, "I'm sure the Shoanti would rather have a slightly burned body than none at all."
He lobbed another missile at the golem.
-----------
splash damage of 6
It seemed to prefer fists for weapons - its own and others' - but Mouse's fists were dangerous, too. Once again she lashes out with fist and knee, trying with all her might to find the best place to hit in order to disable the monster.
Li hops up on the table to gain a better view to gain a better shot. Unfortunately her itchy trigger finger causes her to misfire and the bolt slams into wall to the golem’s left . Yazi’s anger surges at the realization of Gaekhen’s fate, though she centers herself well enough to bestow good fortune on Garvid. Her charm seems to work, for Garvid’s next slam connects, sending a section of the golem’s torso flying into the room behind it . Calcedon’s music continues to inspire, though he is unable to draw close enough to the creature to strike.
Pietro deftly tosses another bomb that once again explodes directly on the creature’s body . He expertly aims it so that its splash damage projects backward and completely avoids his allies. The creature staggers, nearly overcome.
Mouse reels back and lands a powerful punch to the creature’s rotting head. The ragged seams holding it in place tear free, and the head rolls back at a nauseating angle before the golem falls lifeless to the floor.
____________________________
Yazi runs and carefully extracts the tattooed arm from the burning remains . You examine the room beyond. Once a pantry, it's now in shambles. Broken crates and shelves lie strewn about the place, with the foodstuffs, firewood, and other supplies they once contained scattered across the floor.
Yaziyah lays her cloak on the floor, gently placing the dismembered arm atop it. She spends a few minutes praying over the remains, then backs away and shuts the door behind her. "Alright. Alright. Let's find the other pieces. When we find them, we bring them here. Make Gaekhen whole." She does not bother to examine the room where the golem had been imprisoned, wanting nothing to do with the creature, but she would not stand in the way should someone else wish to search through the broken crates.
Cal nodded at Yazi's reverence, although he wasn't too upset about the flames. He remembered Thousand Bones mentioning that his body was to be burned anyhow, so as long as they got the whole thing back they'd be all right. Of course, it could have been someone else's arm too. Hopefully the rest of the body wasn't as piecemeal.
When Yazi spoke up about needing to move on, he agreed. "Well, I think the decision to investigate this was sound. You all performed admirably, but unfortunately we have more grizzly work to be done. Let's get back to where we were and proceed in the same fashion as before until we reach our goal."
The group searches through the rubble in the golem's room but finds nothing valuable, or even interesting. Instead, Calcedon's advice is followed and you return up the crooked stairs to the library chamber. Mouse carefully tests the door and finds it unlocked. Perhaps it would have been better if she hadn't...
The nauseating mixture of decay and strange chemicals fills the air of this large room. Glinting saws, pliers, long stitching needles, and other surgical equipment are organized on shelves and benches along the walls. A sturdy wooden table in the center of the room supports a large humanoid shape: a thing stitched together from a patchwork of dozens of different bodies. The thing would stand nearly seven feet tall if it rose. It looks to be a creature similar to the one you just encountered.
The head stitched to the body is strangely small for its massive frame--a head crowned with brown hair and bearing a distinctive scar upon the left cheek.
I...I found the next piece of 'im, Mouse manages to choke out through the thick miasma of smells in the room. Th'...th' 'ead...'s on another one o' them...sewn-up body things. Ain't movin'...f'r now. She keeps on her guard, waiting for the patchwork of body parts to rise as the last had. We...we're gon' 'ave t' take it off...ain't we?
No stranger to handling corpses, Pietro volunteers to taking care of the two parts they found.
He continues to inspect the chemicals in the room to see if anything is useful is found.
"It looks like we need to continue in this hell hole to find the rest of the youth's body. Let's get this over with."
Li gags again as more offensive smells waft over her. She stays near the door, not wanting to expose herself to more of the horrors in that room. "Whoever be doin' this be sick. Mebbe not physically but they definitely be sick in tha head an' in tha soul."
*snip* *snip*
Pietro's scissors easily cut through the rotted stitchery as he separates Gaekhen's head from the unanimated carrion golem. With a gentle tug the head pulls free, dragging with it a bit of viscera and the remnants of cervical vertebrae. Swallowing thickly, the Doctor quickly hides the gruesome sight from the others.
Through the bend to the west, you find living chambers. This room holds a large four-poster bed and a simple writing desk, along with a full-length mirror propped up against one earthen wall. Searching the desk produces nothing of value. A few quills and parchment sit atop it, along with hastily scrawled notes concerning reanimation of gangrenous flesh and the efficacy of lesser known preservatives.
However, you can't help but hear a strange thrashing coming from the room to the east. With some anxiety, Cal sends his dancing lights forward to illuminate the area. The well-kept chamber contains a narrow bed, a relatively empty shelf containing only a few books and some bones and skulls, and a long bench. A man's torso, the chest bearing numerous tribal tattoos and with the right arm still attached, lies on this bench. The arm periodically thrashes and clutches at the air as if it were alive.
Garvid frowns, turning slightly paler. "I'm really starting to itch to get that bastard, even more than I did beforehand..." He shakes his head at Pietro. "That takes a special kind of courage, Doctor...", he says as the head is precisely and surgically removed. "Don't know how you keep those hands steady..."
"Yeah, Mouse. That's almost as f#@~ed up as Lamm. Almost.", he spits out, shouldering his hammer. "Let's just... keep going."
Arriving in the sleeping chamber, he takes a look through the notes, and frowningly puts them in his bag. "Not like we need any more evidence, but it never hurts. And it's better we know where that knowledge is, rather than having someone find it later and decide to work on it." Hearing the shuffling, he takes point scouting the east room, then coughs as he sees the sight. "Is that... Gaekhen?" He chuckles in a dark, nervous tone. That's one f@%!ing grim jigsaw. He slowly walks forwards. "Uhm, Pietro. Do your thing, I'll wait in the other room.", he says, swallowing.
He joins Li. "How you holding up, kid?", he asks. "Saving the city all you thought it to be?", he asks with a dark smile.
Pietro calls over Yazi so they can both inspect the torso on the table.
He's trying to determine whether it belong to the youth and why it's still twitching.
He keeps his distance at first and prods the thing with his dagger...
"Yazi, what do you think? Does it belong to the Shoanti?"
--------------
Seemingly calmer than before, Yaziyah follows the doctor into the room, examining the torso.
"The tattoos... Probably, yes.
As Pietro pokes it, the arm thrashes out wildly, almost slapping the doctor across the face.
You both recognize the twitching as a tell-tale sign of latent necromantic energy. You know that a mere application of positive energy (healing) will neutralize the dark magic.
He joins Li. "How you holding up, kid?", he asks. "Saving the city all you thought it to be?", he asks with a dark smile.
Li matches Garvid's dark smile with a weak one, her face pale. "I be expectin' people ta be treatin' each other poorly after workin' fer Lamm but this be a whole new low. It be unnatural. Never thought that savin' tha city would be involvin' this."