Ser Armithia seems to be following the direction of the sounds of drums that Zane pointed out.
Zane followed along behind Ser Armithia, trying to keep close to the paladin as the undead seemed to be gathering nearby. Grasping his holy symbol tightly, he held faith that the Morninglord would see them through the night and help them destroy the necromancer and ensure New Phlan would survive the onslaught of the undead.
Kardas makes sure every potion is accounted for - check - and then falls in behind the paladin. "A second," he requests the others as he hastily casts a spell of shielding.
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"Alright" Ishta agrees, "let's seek this orc necromancer and show him due respect. The Watchers of Dawn are polite guys, right?"
The Paladin of Helm smiles under his golden helm.
Yeah; polite.
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"So, if we all agree..." Ishta searches for one of her scroll cases and picks a piece of paper. "Let's try to find out our host's whereabouts" she says before reading the text on the scroll. While she does so, she focuses her mind on the distinctive wand the orc used to teleport away.
Zane smiled at Ishta and the others, but otherwise remained silent. As they were invisible to the undead around them, quiet was their ally. As the arcanist signaled her intent to use a scroll to locate the necromancer (or something he possessed, at least), the priest eyed his surroundings carefully, lest the creature or its minions ambush them.
Meanwhile Ishta's servant continues to ferry silver trade bars, there's quite a sizeable pile now.
Azarra loads up more trade bars as she waits.
She tells the group that there is scraping coming from behind the north door (G).
The Paladin moves to guard the group from that direction.
Ishta feels the wand closer than she would have thought. She takes a piece of cloth or paper and writes down a message for her friends that she doesn't want to be intercepted, even through her communication spell.
"Location 50ft NE. Pretend you don't know. Ready to strike when revealed."
Azarra nods to Ishta's note, and casts open on the door that leads that way (door G).
Unless something bursts out at them, when Ser leads that way, she follows.
Just before Azarra opens the door, Ishta whispers through the Message spell. "We've got to venture further inside, whatever's behind that door is not what we seek."
Zane nodded his understanding to Ishta after reading her hastily scrawled note, mace in hand as he followed Ser Armithia to the door at the end of the short hallway. With the half-orc's spell revealing the close proximity of the shaman they had just seen, the cleric prepared himself for battle.
Who is Kardas to go against Ishta when she's the one wielding truth-bringing divination magic? "Alright, let's push up. More and more walking dead are pouring into the one exit we know of, so haste is of the essence here."
The Paladin stands ready as Azarra casts Open on Door G.
With a soft metallic sequel the door swings open to reveal a four way junction. Ahead (north) is a short corridor in which a large carved marble coffin has been installed. There is a brass plaque reading, "Nessa Cadorna, gone but not forgotten."
To the left is a heavy door that's ajar which leads into a medium sized room. To the right is a corridor which recedes into the darkness, you noticed some stairs descending at one point (I).
(fail)
(succeed)
(nothing in the spoiler to reveal though)
(fail)
Azarra says softly
We should check the coffin to make sure it isn't a vampire or something before we go past. Can you guys lift the lid? If there is nothing, we go east.
Azarra whispers
I hear something to the east, and maybe there is a secret door.
After they check the coffin, Azarra moves towards what she saw (towards the wall opposite door E).
The priest whispered, "Azarra's right...the lid on that coffin is off-kilter. It's been tampered with recently. Though it could just be a grave-robber." Zane wondered how Councillor Cadorna would feel about one of his kins-people being defiled in the crypt, and decided the man probably wouldn't care one way or another. The priest did, though...even though it was only a shell, the body still demanded respect.
The young man looked at the half-elf with concern, but stayed put. Her elven eyes were far more keen than his, and she moved very quietly in the murky light, which would be for naught if he clanged along behind her. Looking back to make sure nothing was sneaking up on the group, the cleric waited to hear what she found.
Ser Armithia stands ready to answer Azarra's call.
When Azarra warns the party, Ishta tries to act normally, though she focuses on the wall she's been told about, trying to find out if the wand is or could be there.
"Guys, get ready. I'm going to open up with the artillery, then you finish it, okay?"
The lid proves to be rather heavy, you'll need to make a strength check (I think Azarra has an anytool which should help). It also won't be quiet since the lid will grind over the lower surface of the coffin.
Azarra hands her anytool to Ser so he can get the lid open.
Ser Armithia takes the abytool and begins to perform his rendition of Can-Opener.
The Paladin broke it...
Ready for whatever could come out from the lid, Ishta points at the stairs, though, signalling the place where the locating spell is detecting its target.
Ser Armithia raises the anytool up over his head with both hands. He then begins to do some stretches.
Zane bent forward and added his strength to the gold elf's, attempting to help the paladin muscle over the lid so they could more fully examine the contents of the coffin.
Ser Armithia tries once more and this time getting a much better grip. He manages to force the tool under the lid and with his muscles straining he manages to move the lid making a horrible grinding noise. A strange stench of ancient decay is released and for tense heartbeats you fear for the worst but the tomb proves to be empty, containing nothing but discarded funerary wrappings. It appears somebody got here first.
The smell is terrible enough on its own, but knowing that a person's physical remains are stored within that box of decay bothers Kardas. A lot. "Ugh, no ancestor deserves to be stored and sashed within a stone mausoleum. No, it is better to be mounted atop a horse and have your remains be set on fire as you ride off to the afterlife ..."
The Paladin prepares to continue.
Azarra notices a locket mixed in with the funerary wrappings. She tucks it away to examine later, and then proceeds on her aforementioned journey down the hallway.
Azarra heads east down the corridor to take a closer look at the wall. It looks and feels remarkably normal except when she looks at it out of the corner of here eye where it seems to shimmer and sway in a decidedly nauseating way. Feeling sure this must be a powerful illusion she grits her teeth and takes a determined step through the wall. Just as her head was about to hit the onrushing wall she filched but then a strange thing happened, rather than unyielding stone the surface of the wall felt rubbery like jello. She pushed and suddenly it gave way becoming insubstantial as the mist revealing a chamber beyond.
The dried husks of half a dozen bodies litter the floor around a central statue of Waukeen. Chained to it by her neck is a pallid yet beautiful, perhaps even regal woman. Her pale dress is smeared with blood and her eyes are closed, it is as if she is sleeping while sitting on the statue's boots.
Suddenly her blood red eyes snap open and she throws herself at Azarra with a dreadful hissing noise only to be stopped short by the ugly spiked iron chain that's wrapped around Waukeen's statue. She strains every fiber aching to get close to Azarra and sink her talons in, but the chain is unyielding. She stares menacingly at Azarra!
Stunned, the Paladin races after the bard!
Azarra notices that she looks like she is related to Councilor Cardona
Azarra notices that she isn't breathing.
Azarra attempts to jump back when the undead creature lunges, and is grateful when it cannot reach her.
Azarra observes that this creature is a vampire noble. If not mind-controlled at this point, she shares that information with the rest of the group.
Zane followed along with the others, staying somewhat behind as the clever half-elf stuck her hand through the 'solid' wall and beyond. Seeing Azarra flinch and the rattle of chains, the priest lurched forward, though still had the presence of mind not to speak lest they give themselves away to the horde of mindless undead.
Ishta jumps back when the evil creature tries to attack the group. She takes a hand to her chest, trying to breath again, when the chains stop it from reaching them. "Wow!"
After Azarra reveals the facts, Ishta comments if it would be a better idea to wait until someone else has seen this...
"Damn illusions!", hisses the swordmage who himself tends to rely heavily on mirror images to see him through combat unscathed.
Azarra felt a raw magnitisem to the woman's eyes, it was as if she knew deep down her only purpose in life was to please her. With a mental wrench she managed to break contact and recoil away from the straining vampire. The chains groaned as she struggled, feet digging ruts into the floor, yet despite her fury they held! Sinking back she snarled something furious in some fowl guttural language.
For Kardas seeing Ishta's reaction and hearing the rattle of the chains and the raving of a monster was enough. The game was up and the wall dissolved into a translucent overlay which seemed scarcely there at all!
A few moments later a distant bestial voice echoed from down the corridor!
She should be able to change shape and get out of the chains. They must be magical or something. I still don't know if we'll survive, but all we can do is try.
Zamanda starts singing to give everyone a boost, and moves into the room, staying out of the range of the chains.
The Paladin looks upon the chained woman with Detect Evil and DeathWatch Eyes.
The Paladin then calls down Helms guardianship (Divine Bond +1).
The swordmage utters a few choice words and then splits into four separate images. "Okay, let's do this. Enough talking."