The group head through a passage some seventy feet long and at the end of it they peer into a larger, but low ceilinged cavern. To one side the ceiling drops down to little more than three feet in height over a region strewn with bones and bits of old flesh, while to the ceiling bulges up in a dome shape - six circular, pod-like alcoves line the cavern wall at this side.
As you approach you here snarls and movement, and are sure the creatures are aware of you. They burst into action just as you exit the passage!
Alexite sucked in some air as he recognized whatever ghoulish creatures lived in a place like this. The snarls and movement gave the range ample warning of the monsters' presence.
"Beware! Missiles first! only close in when necessary and fight to keep them from touching you. Remember these things fester with disease."
The ranger shot two arrows in quick succession at the creature making its way through the narrow tunnel (X10). With one arrow in its gut and the other in its chest, the monster simply slumped down and no longer moved.
Finding herself at the back of the group, with no enemy in clear sight, Quinta starts to croon one of her battle-hymns to support the others.
Initially Joll could not tell where the creatures where coming from. The shadows in this place made everything confusing. When Joll sees the creatures he recognizes them but stumbles over his words trying to warn the others and as a result he is slow to act. But when he gathers his wits he draws on the power of Asmodeus to strike at the unlawfully animate dead.
Disrupt Undead targeted at Y4
Ranged Touch Attack
Joll hurls a small tongue of bluish fire at the unliving thing but his aim is wide and the flame disappears into the darkness.
Both remaining creatures charge at Joll howling and bite at the inquisitor. The first hits and sinks its teeth in dragging Joll to the floor of the cave and swallowing a hunk of his flesh!
The second lunges for him, but its fangs are turned aside by his armor.
Jack sidesteps behind Alexite, ending up near the eastern exit of the chamber. Once he has a clear shot, he fires an arrow into the creature nearest to him.
*
*
Joll fights wildly to keep the beasts from putting his back flat on the cavern floor. He pushes against the one biting him and slides his hip outward at the same time in order to get leverage. Then, with his left arm across the throat of his enemy he pushes his knee into its abdomen to create room and swings his right hand as best he can at its head. But there is not enough room and Joll's cestus lands on the creature's back without enough force to cause harm.
Attack from prone position
Round 1:
Dragolan steps around Joll and takes a swing at the nearest creature, but misses cleanly.
Quickly discarding his bow, the ranger whipped out his magical blade. He squeezed between the girl and Joll and struck at the undead being that was thrashing the inquisitor.
Splitting its skull in two, the ranger stepped on its carcass and virtually punched through the torso of the last ghoulish threat. The thing gurgled blood as it slid off the ranger's blade.
And Alexite slashes through both Festrog's, but the one that bit Joll manages to stay up, though it is obviously grievously wounded.
And Alexite slashes through both Festrog's, but the one that bit Joll manages to stay up, though it is obviously grievously wounded.
1d2
Quinta steps into an opening so she can get a clean shot at the festrog savaging Joll and chants a brief spell: "Nisil mors, nisil vivens, terminus est!" A golden ray blasts from her finger, sizzling and crackling.
And the last creature drops as the positive energy sizzles into it!
Joll spits out dust and flakes of dead skin that fell from the attacking corpses. As bad as it was being covered by cannibal blood, this was worse. He reaches out for his morningstar and then stands upright.
"Thank you all" he says to the others. Then he is ready to carry on.
"Who was wounded by these creatures? Let me examine the bites; their teeth are filthy."
"One of the wretches managed to sink its teeth through my armor and into me" Joll says, indicating the small rent left in his mail coat.
Jack shrieks and jumps back, pointing an accusatory finger at Joll.
"He's infected! We have to put him down before he turns."
He claps Joll on the shoulder with a grin.
"Just kidding. It'll be at least a couple of days before you turn. We have plenty of time!"
"Stop being an idiot." Joll is clearly not amused.
Joll takes a moment to inspect his wound.
Heal check
Joll feels well enough for the moment at least, and knowing no better the group decides to press on. Neither of the creatures appears to bear any resemblance to the unfortunate former Captain of the Jenivere, but the group are able to find several copies of his last words etched in blood, or simply scored into sheets of leather and scraps of linen.
The group move forward taking the only route available to them a narrow passage that curves to the south east. They emerge in a silo shaped cavern, fifty feet high, with a dark pool of water at its center. A five foot wide ledge of stone winds down to the pool below passing several cave entrances along the way. The two ledges to the west of the cavern are about ten feet above the ledge with no obvious means of accessing them from this cavern short of a difficult climb.
When they enter the cavern, Joll squats down and examines the ground as best he can for traces of movement across the ground. But the uneven flooring combined with the shadowy light from Dragolan's mace make his effort futile.
Survival to track
Dragolan calls on his life energy to imbue himself with a sensitivity to life's opposite before looking around the cavern.
Since his attempt to gain information proved fruitless, Joll decides to take the opportunity to gain the guidance of the First.
The ranger frowned at the information gained on the captain and muttered to himself, "Poor soul...". He looked at the others, "I guess we have Ieana to thank for our shipwreck, after we find her."
Once inside the cavern, he looked around to see if there was anything out of the ordinary or any any tracks.
Quinta mutters a quick cantrip and looks about the cave.
Quinta detects nothing magical, and there really isn't a whole lot she knows about caves.
"Footprints, all over these caverns but we have already seen what may have caused them."
The ranger grabs some wet dirt and clumps it into a small pebble and throws it in the pool.
"Keep your eyes open and your weapons drawn..."
The ranger took one of his arrows and marked the passage they just came from. "Let's mark where we came from and keep going to our left to explore this whole complex."
Alexite took up his bow again and slowly stepped into the passage.
"Want me to conjure some lights?" Quinta asks. "They'll give us away to the ghouls, but at least we'll be able to see them coming."
The rotund oracle looks around the area, sausagelike fingers extended and waving gently. He pauses facing east before continuing his turn, then stops short facing northwest. "There are a few lesser undead to our east, and something much stronger to the northwest. I sense nothing else. It is perhaps best if we begin by putting the weaker foes to rest, so that they will not trouble us when we take the fight to the stronger one."
"I second that!" Quinta says. "Don't want to become the iron between the hammer and the anvil, especially not when undead are involved."
"Want me to conjure some lights?" Quinta asks. "They'll give us away to the ghouls, but at least we'll be able to see them coming."
Alexite nodded at the bard's suggestion, "Aye, gi-..., Quinta, lights would be good. Your magic and Dragolan's mace should be enough."
He turned to Dragolan, "So east to face undead. Probably more of those things we just killed. Remember, close in only when necessary."
"Dance, to remind us of dawn," Quinta sings.
"Dance, so we are in dark becalmed.
Dance, because I call you, dance!
Of seeing once again give us a chance."
Four torches spin themselves out of thin air and surround the group.
With the spell cast, Quinta starts moving very quietly, eyes and ears trained for the least sign of impending danger.
Jack just quietly follows along behind the group, eyes open for more monsters.
"Let's carry on" is all Joll says as he takes his place in the marching order.
Selecting the eastern passage the group move on wary of the undead Dragolan's spell has warned them of. They move from an uneven natural seeming passage, forced to squeeze to get through the narrow confines, to smooth worked stone and emerge into a masterfully carved cathedral-like chamber.
While it is impossible not to note the skill that must have gone into carving out such a place, it is hideous, somehow alien and jarring to the senses. The walls are carved with images of serpents walking upright like humans, snakes coiling about and eating helpless women and children, and stranger scenes. Four stone pillars carved into the shape of coiling snakes support the ceiling thirty feet above.
Four small cells blocked by rusty iron bars sit in the walls to the east and west. To the north an immense and terrifyingly life-like carving of a snakes head looms, an ash caked door clenched in its jaws, while to the south rises a horrific pile of bones and partially decayed body parts in an eight foot tall heap arranged as if to evoke the image of a coiled snake made of corpses.
As you come forward you catch glimpses of three twisted undead creatures darting off out of sight of the passage way. As the group squeeze out into the temple the lacedons, for they are clearly the same type of creature that the group faced in the pit burst forward screaming with hunger and lust! One of the creatures, the last scraps of a beard clinging to its chin and still wearing scraps of clothing moves slightly more slowly than its brethren, and in its twisted features you can still make out the ruins of Captain Kovacks.
Alexite hated cramped quarters; he dropped his bow one more time and slid out his falchion.
The blade cut in an upwards motion as it left the scabbard, from crotch to chest. The thing tried to frantically claw at him as the ranger tried to keep it at bay.
Reeling from the pain of the ghoul's claw, Joll focuses his wrath on his attacker and buries the head of his morningstar in its chest.
Attack
Damage
Edit
I just looked again and saw that this is indeed the case.
Joll's attack was against the lacedon in C14, by the way.
Round 1:
"Desist from your vain hold on life!" Dragolan takes a short step around the creature facing him and brings his mace down sharply on the ghoul's head with an audible crack.
"Raise your steel and let it fall!
Foes lie down, doom has come to call!
Bone be shattered, flesh be torn!
We'll cut you all down before the morn!"
Quinta's voice fills the group with the familiar surge of confidence and increased strength for battle.
Jack enters the room and is immediately incapacitated. Again! He manages to fight off the effects of the creature's diseased claws, at least.
Alexite's blade slashes up sheering off half the lacedon's face, but doing nothing to dull its hunger driven fury, but then Dragolan's mace cracks down on its skull shattering it and sending splinters of bone and putrid flesh flying as it collapses!
Jack seems to seize up and stands perfectly still paralyzed by the ghoul's foul necrotic touch. While Joll responds by striking the undead thing a jarring blow.
With Jack paralyzed both of the vile creatures direct their rain of claws and fangs at Joll, one striking him with a single claw and the other with both filthy claws sinking into his flesh!