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Behind the broken-down wall, a cave is revealed. Suspended upside down from above—thin, spiked wire cruelly wrapped around them from ankle to neck—are many brutalized corpses similar to those in the previous chambers. As air eddies out from the cave, carrying with it an unsettling odor of ancient decay, the dangling mummified faces, three feet off the floor, stare back.
These strange figures, 30 in all, comprise the remaining participants in bloody sacrificial rites. The wire-bound corpses hang by chains suspended on hooks fixed in the cave ceiling 40 feet overhead. In order to penetrate deeper into the cave, you must crouch beneath or push aside these veritable curtains of dusty cadavers. The corpses twist and swing when disturbed, the wire and preservation magic keeping their brittle body parts from coming loose. When they reach the southeast wall of the cave, the PCs find a ladder made up of iron runs affixed to the rocky face. It descends 15 feet to the platform and ledge below.
Further east, the platform narrows to a rocky ledge, and the floor drops off and is replaced by a 30-footdeep pit with a floor covered in sharp and jagged rocks. Winding around the lip of the pit, the precarious ledge requires a
Just as the party is crossing the ravine, and in fact just as everyone begins to slip half way across, suddenly the room's temperature, already chilly, drops a few degrees more. Within mere seconds, you can suddenly see your own breath forms as mist.
The light from the Wayfinder begins to fade slightly, blinking out a few times very rapidly as if it where a candle's flame being hit by a sudden wind, unsure if it has the strength to remain alive.
SURPRIZE ROUND (Move or Standard Action ONLY, even if you fell)
Turak
Zandu
Ogmios
Omar
Piety
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Encounter
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Kaylee
Balomar
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Tûrak stands in total defense, waiting for the worst.
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Omar and some of the others sense something below, and has he takes a quick peak into the pit, where the group's light barely reaches, suddenly his foot gives way and he falls into the darkness. Other try to reach out and grab him, but just miss. He lands hard, though it could be much worse. Down in the darkness, his wayfider continues to shed light, but it seems to grow weaker, the light paler. He feels cold, and a growing sense of terror building within him. He knows he is not alone down there. Turak slams his back up against the wall, the words of warning on his lips, but it's too late. . .
SURPRIZE ROUND (Move or Standard Action ONLY, even if you fell)
Turak (X, total defense)
Zandu
Ogmios
Omar (-13, prone)
Piety
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Encounter
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Kaylee (X)
Balomar (X)
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With a sudden burst, the Haunt activates, sending a massive screaming flood of angry voices shouting in Thassalonian, calling for the blood of the living. A sudden wave of negatively charged wrath rushes over everyone, eating away at the soul and self.
With that, the room goes silent, or perhaps simply dormant.
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Halla and the surviving workers greet the party with great enthusiasm when they return to the seaside excavation camp. They are relieved if Pel and Saala accompany them, and sobered by the lifeless body of Riemme if the PCs have retrieved it. The archaeologist provides food and drink, insisting on a full account of their adventure and details on the location. If the party left Riemme’s body behind, Halla strongly encourages them to go back for it, reminding them of their duty to a fellow Pathfinder and explaining that the ranger was a favored agent of Venture-Captain Sheila Heidmarch.
During the voyage, Halla examines any artifacts that the PCs have collected, exclaiming that they are amazing finds that will surely yield much valuable information on Bakrakhan with further study. If the party has not yet identified the acrimony veil, Halla does so at this time and also assembles it if the device is still in its separate parts. Halla explains that she has every intention of returning to the dig at the earliest opportunity in order to study the temple complex— it’s obvious from the party’s description that the most valuable information is painted and chiseled on the temple’s walls. Magnimar’s venture-captain is certain to recruit a new archaeological team now that the players have cleared out the obvious threats.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Zandu looks down at his Poor Eidolon and summons forth his inner power, Healing Ogmios in a bid to return him to his feet. As Ogmios pulls them self up from the ground Zandu thinks on what has just happened.
"I would think that was a Haunt, nasty magic left behind from the Thassalonian era. It was calling out for our blood in their ancient tongue. Very nasty indeed. Let us find that last piece and be gone from these accursed halls yes my friends?"
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Oh, sorry. I was trying to get the post out from my phone, and I completely forgot to include that part where the final piece is found just a few feet beyond the pit in a small alcove.
HERE are the Chronicle Sheets. Please let me know if there are any issues and I can fix it.
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Tûrak was happy to help his comrades to climb up to the top of the pit. After collect the last piece, the half-orc congratulated the team: "we made a good work here, buddies". He slaps everyone on the back.
With all the pieces in hands and the body of Riemme, Tûrak completes another mission for the Society and takes leave, as soon as the meeting with the venture-captain ends.