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Stumbling through the marshes, you finally find a sort of path, higher land that rises above most of the much and waters fairly consistently. It's likely one of the landmarks you where told about, meaning that you are at least close to this hidden treasury.
But as you proceed, suddenly Tuca stops you, pointing out a few plants as dangerous. One is a large bit of fungi, distinct in it's bright purplish color, though it doesn't look at all threatening. Two others also catch Hisou's eye, very well hidden along some down trees. They appear as elongated mushrooms, almost as large as a person, but in place of their spots on the headpiece, you instead see what looks like small, blisters.
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Davor stays back at Mirima's words and nods an agreement
"If it isn't in our way, we best move around it. Otherwise, we could try to burn it from far away." he states as he glares at what they were staring at.
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About an hour later, still wandering around in the mucky muck, you accidently spot a well hidden vault entrance. A set of stairs, not unlike those used as a storm shelter lie within a small patch of swamp bushes. Poking up from the murk in front of a crumbling foundation of cobbles, a cracked and faded sign swings upon a moss-covered post. It reads Barrel-Aging Caves. Within the foundation a pile of debris clogs a 5-foot indent in the ground that looks like an old stairwell. A few feet away, a muddy corpse lies face down in the murk.
Anyone examining him quickly notes he is covered with vicious, jagged
claw and teeth marks. The bite-ridden corpse is infested with ghoul fever and if not burnt or similarly disposed rises as a ghoul in eight hours.
The clogged entrance suffered a collapse, set off by Becher or one of his men, apparently to keep something from escaping. The rotten wooden stairs broke easily, as the doors, swamp mud and other debris filled the opening, but it wouldn't be too difficult to clear a path from this side.
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"What Ghoul?" asks Yoshi.
He steps back in horror as Tuca points it out and he realises how close he got to the thing. "I do [b]not want to end up with another disease.[/b]"
He looks around daring anyone to laugh.
"Can we tie a rope around a bit of it and pull it down on the undead? We still need to burn this other body."
Yoshi looks around for things than can be used to burn the existing body without activating the "trap"
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Mirima bursts out laughing at Yoshi, until she notices him staring. "Oh, you weren't joking. You know, you should make that clear before you say something so funny!" She looks over at this "trap" Tuca pointed out. At Hisao's suggestion, Mirima backs up a safe distance, until she's behind the tall Tian Yoshi.
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A you begin to clear the way down into the underground bunker, Tulca point our the danger. Trapped within the debris is an undead abomination, a Ghoul, both well aware of you and keenly lying in wait for you to have moved the right board that would cause the whole mess to collapse, both pinning you down with the Ghoul and freeing it.
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Mirima pulls out her trusty ol' flask. "Well, I might have a shot, and if it's not coming to us, I can just fire at it until it stops moving..." She starts firing off rays of fire at the thing, trying to see if there's enough room for her to hit it, but not enough for it to duck away.
As she fires away repeatedly, Mirima speaks idly to her Tian shield. "Er, if that thing breaks out, you'll keep it away from me a round or two? I can try to burn it down, but not if it kills me first."
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"Yeah, but at some point we'll want a more persistent fire for both the ghoul in there and the body out here. I can char it a bit with this magic, but the fire just doesn't seem to manifest long enough to have a lasting effect beyond the flash burn injuries."
Mirima frowns at the thought, and then brightens, and then frowns again. "But I'm working on something that may work. Haven't worked out all the kinks yet, though."
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"Hmm, we should probably save that for if a ghoul is roaming free and we need that fire here and now. This ghoul really poses no threat, being where it is and we are where we are. Once we know we can get it to stop twitching, we can just douse both with oil and burn them at the same time, at our leisure."
Mirima shivers as a sudden thought comes to her, and she looks around to make sure this particular ghoul did not have friends coming to its rescue.
"We should try to make short work of this, nonetheless." Pfsst. Pfsst. The elf wizard continues flinging rays of fire into the ghoul, trying to knock it out so they can proceed with finding the deed.
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Using the Ghoul's trapped state to your advantage, you easily blast it until it stops moving, then taking your time, manage to clear the path.
Poking up from the murk in front of a crumbling foundation of cobbles, a cracked and faded sign swings upon a moss-covered post. It reads Barrel-Aging Caves. Within the foundation a pile of debris clogs a 5-foot indent in the ground that looks like an old stairwell. A few feet away, a muddy corpse lies face down in the murk.
A sour smell of death leaks through a large, murky limestone cave. Thick shadows splay from the rough, natural columns bracing its low, curved ceiling. Dark waters flood the caves and everywhere rotten casks bob slowly, as slow drips from the ceiling smack the surface with eerie dissonance. The quagmire is waste deep, possible deeper. Deeper in, a cage-like fence of iron divides the caves. In the center of the fence, a barred door hangs bent, partially torn from its hinges.
As you begin to make your way towards this gate, suddenly you see that water begin to move. First it's to your left, small ripples spreading out menacingly. Then to your right. Then another, and yet another. You see nothing, and your feeble light flickers off the walls, casting long shadows that begin to play tricks on your mind.
It's only after you feel the instinct to flee, do the other undead reveal themselves. Another Ghoul, dressed similar to the dead man outside, and a trio of rotting mire Zombies.
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ROUND 1
Mirima ()
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Ghoul ()
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Parumartish () & Yoshi ()
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Zombie 1 (), Zombie 2 (), & Zombie 3 ()
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Tuca (), Hisao (), and Davor () // Mirima ()
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Taking advantage of the terrain, Mirima begins chanting and gesturing as she calls forth a small magical trap at the choke-point ahead of them. Then she calls out a warning to the group. "I've set a difficult area of grease for them to maneuver through. Do not enter it, but let them come to you. Use ranged weapons if you've got them, or if they manage to make it through to us." The wizard pulls out her trusty ol' flask as she strategizes with the group, waiting for the vile creatures to make their moves.
Mirima pulls out her flask of liquid ice, and fires a ray of fire at the nearest target. "If we can bring them together and hold them a round, I may be able able to mow them down. Or two.
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As Mirima sends a small bolt of flame at the nearest undead, the Ghoul, obviously the leader of the small pack rushes the party, half swimming in the much and half running.
ROUND 1
Mirima ()
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Ghoul ()
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Parumartish () & Yoshi ()
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Zombie 1 (), Zombie 2 (), & Zombie 3 ()
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Tuca (), Hisao (), and Davor (-7) // Mirima ()
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"The zombies are nothing compared to this ghoul here! Just cut them down with slashes and we should be fine. Watch the ghoul! Davor! Stop dancing so close to the ghoul!" Mirima points to the ghoul frantically, trying to pinpoint their biggest threat while offering what she can remember about the zombies.
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ROUND 1
Mirima ()
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Ghoul ()
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Parumartish () & Yoshi ()
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Zombie 1 (), Zombie 2 (), & Zombie 3 ()
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Tuca (), Hisao (), and Davor (-7) // Mirima ()