Tibideau raises his hands and his eyes glaze over as he begins muttering something in Celestial.
Round 3
Initiative 14
Tibideau starts to summon a creature from the celestial planes.
Initiative 11
Dantrian bleeds.
End of Round 3
---------------------
Begin Round 4
Drosil 23
Anton 21
Janos 17
B'Yelka 16
Zombies 16-
Tibideau 14
Dantrian 11
gurgle
HP: -5/10
ongoing effects: dying
zzzzz...<drool>
Tibideau, B'yelka - help Drosil and get that thing! Get back to Hell, monster!
Drosil stabs again at the creature in front of him.
Round 4
Initiative 23
Drosil stabs the zombie nearest him with his rapier, giving it a minor (to a zombie at least) wound.
Initiative 21
Anton casts his undead killing spell again, targeting the already wounded zombie on the steps. Again, the inquisitor proves his worth against these foul creatures, as the zombie's head explodes in a burst of holy fire.
Initiative 17
Janos is chillin.
Round 4
splurt
HP: -5/10
ongoing effects: stable
Still babbling in Celestial, Tibideau slides up behind Anton . With a great shout, he throws up his hands and a majestic eagle appears out of thin air above the last zombie's head.
The eagle shrieks in fury as it descends on the zombie, its claws and beak going straight for the zombie's head and neck. Tibideau barks a command in Celestial and the eagle glows with holy rage.
N Small celestial/fiendish animal
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision Perception +9
DEFENSE
AC 14, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +1 natural, +1 size)
hp 5 [7] (1d8+1) [1d8+3]
Fort +3 [+5], Ref +4, Will +2
SR 5
Celestial - Resist cold 5, acid 5, electricity 5
Fiendish - Resist cold 5, fire 5
OFFENSE
Speed 10ft., fly 80 ft. (average)
Melee 2 talons +3 [+3] (1d4) [1d4+2], bite +3 [+3] (1d4) [1d4+2]
Special Attacks smite evil/good
STATISTICS
Str 10 [14], Dex 15, Con 12 [16], Int 2, Wis 15, Cha 7
Base Atk +0; CMB -1 [+1]; CMD 11 [13]
Feats Weapon Finesse
Skills Fly +8, Perception +10; Racial Modifiers +8 Perception
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Smite evil/good 1/day as a swift action (adds CHA bonus (+0) to attack rolls and damage bonus equal to HD (+1) against evil/good foes; smite persists until target is dead or the celestial/fiendish creature rests).
Round 4
Initiative 16
B'Yelka still singing her inspiring song, walks down the steps to stand over the body of Dantrian. Suddenly her voice hits a horrible off tune discordant note, and a rain of crystalline shards comes flying out from her to hit the zombie in front of Drosil.
Initiative 16-
The zombie attacks Drosil, slamming him with its rigid clawlike fingers.
Drosil is dropped by the zombie.
Initiative 14
An eagle appears from mid-air and rips the zombie's head off with a shriek. A few moments later it disappears into thin air. The final zombie crumples to the floor with a thunk.
Combat Over
Tibideau scurries down the stairs to Drosil's bleeding body and places his hand near the man's wounds. He whispers something barely audible and little sparkles emanate from his hands and seem to disappear into Drosil's body.
After healing the gray man, Tibideau slams the front door and locks it. He dashes upstairs to his bedroom and picks up his travel bag. He returns to the living room, sets down his bag, and pulls out two rolls of paper. He reads one over the unconscious body of Dantrian, and one over Janos. The same sparkles as before soar off the pages of the scrolls and float down over their bodies.
Drosil regains consciousness quickly and takes several deep, gasping breaths. Then, remembering where he is and what just happened, he scurries away from the corpse in front of him. "Ye Gods, what just happened?!" I should be dead... He shifts his gaze from the zombie to Tibideau, as the other cures Dantrian and Janos. I was wrong about that one. There seems to be quite a bit more there than I had imagined.
B'yelkas's song ends as suddenly as it began; the silence is thunderous. "Is anyone else hurt?" B'yelka adjusts here robe and keeps her distance from the many corpses on the floor.
* * *
"It is obvious that someone here does not want us here. Did the professor see this coming?"
That thing is... Was.... the professor. Anton says grimly.
He is suddenly very aware that the odd socks and longjons he wore to bed are about as ragged as could be. He also desperately tries to remember if these were the ones with the hole is the left buttock, acutely mindful that B'yelka was stood behind him for most of the fight. He feels no draft so thinks he is safe, from embarressment at least.
Ahem. he coughs. Im glad everyone is alright, those creatures were viscous. he lays a hand on Drosils shoulder. Tibideau, Dantrian - I think you are far more knowledgeable than I on these matters. Do you want to examine these... things, and after is it wise to burn them?
Drosil, Im going to get dressed. Try to keep Kendra occupied? She shouldn't see her father like this. Thanks, friend.
He smiles awkwardly at the bard as he moves past her up the stairs.
"uuugh... what manner of..." Dantrian mumbles as he struggles to his feet, his question interrupted as he stumbles backward catching himself on the banister. "Where... where is Kendra? Is she... safe?" His words are difficult to discern as the swelling in his jaw makes it harder and harder to enunciate. He scowls in pain, then tentatively touches the side of his face. He hand comes away bright and slick with blood.
Another wave of pain washes over him and he closes his eyes, his brow knotted, "nnnnnnngh." After it passes, he looks about for something to wipe the blood off his hand with then settles on using one of the corpses. He grabs the professors corpse with one hand and begins to drag it out the front door before Kenda comes down the stairs. His eyes are bright with pain and anger, but he pushes through without complaint.
HP: 0/15
ongoing effects: staggered
Janos rises slowly, clutching his shoulder where the zombie-Professor had torn huge gashes. "I'm glad you all came down. They took me by surprise. I could have been half eaten before any of you knew what as happening."
He walks over to the decapitated form that was the professor. "What a horrible fate for him. Petros, we'll keep Kendra safe. Even from you, old man." He turns to the others. "There is something wrong here if the dead are rising."
Tibideau surveys his colleagues' remaining wounds and only just stops himself from bursting into tears. He feels a pang of compassion when he sees Dantrian still so desperately wounded. "You reckless man, why are you pulling on that awful thing in your condition?" He reaches into his bag and pulls out one last roll of paper. Standing next to Dantrian, he reads it quickly and more sparkles descend upon him.
He frowns at the spent piece of paper. "I need to purchase more of these things. We've got more mending to do before we attempt to stir up any more excitement. Or before any more is stirred up for us."
Dantrian waves Tibideu back before he's able to use the scroll. "Thank you, but that's unnecessary. I have the materials just upstairs to brew the needed curatives. What I can't brew, is a cure for Kendra should she see this." He grimaces slightly then resumes his unseemly work, though not without offering a grateful nod to Tibideau before doing so. "And Anton, I've no idea what these are beside some obvious form of undead. Such creatures are far beyond the the typical boundaries of my studies."
Janos helps Dantrian carry the corpse of the professor out the door and find a suitable place to burn the body. As the drop it outside, he kneels down to examine the corpse. "I've seen quite a few of these in my time. Alicia made me study their movements and their latent necromatic energy."
"We should bring the other bodies out too and burn them. Whatever forces cause them to rise will be released when we burn them."
Janos sees a small notebook in the breast pocket of the professor's jacket.
"Hey what's this?" Janos retrieves a small notebook from the corpse of the Professor. He flips through it for a second before turning back to check the body for anything else.
It appears to be some sort of journal written in varisian script. Most of the book is full of entries.
After a few minutes Anton trudges back down the stairs, dressed more respectably.
Kendra, are you ok? We''ll get to the bottom of this I promise.
Dantrian, Janos, why don't you take it easy, see what you can make of that journal? Drosil and I can deal with the bodies, we''ll put the Professor back to rest, no fear. Here, take this if you need to as well. He offers the alchemist a potion of cure lights wounds.
Pleased to have others trained in the healing arts within their group, Tibideau smiles at Dantrian, puts his scroll back in his bag, and goes upstairs to put it away. After he returns downstairs, he asks Janos, "May I take a look at that notebook?"
Kendra tentatively emerges from her room several minutes after the sounds of combat have subsided. "Is everyone okay? What happened?"
[ooc]Ah I thought she was already aware for some reason.[ooc]
Everyone is fine Kendra, don't worry. there was a disturbance and some creatures broke in. We were shaken up but we took care of it. No don't go down, it's a bit of a mess, we''ll clean up, you go back to bed.
"I heard someone shouting about my father. Why? What manner of creatures attacked?"
Once the professor's twice-dead corpse is no longer in the house, he'll come back inside. Despite being intrigued by the journal, he heads upstairs back to his bedroom and begins brewing an extract.
We he returns to the group, he has a night shirt on buttoned up tight to the neck with long sleeves. His jaw is still slightly swollen and bruised, but the majority of the damage seems to have been repaired.
He turns to Kendra, "They were undead, my dear, and we believe this attack had something to do with what you father had been researching. It is good he had the foresight to insist we stay with you for a time. Now, listen to Anton and do not trouble yourself any further. We can tend to the mess before retiring for the night again."
HP: 7/10
B'yelka echoes Anton and Dantrian's sentiments, "Kendra, go ahead and settle yourself in your room, we will bring tea up to you immediately." With that, she goes downstairs, avoiding the corpses, and prepares a pot of tea large enough for everyone.
Dantrian, you are probably the most educated of us all, do you have any answers to why these things broke in here? To hurt Kendra? To hurt us? To scare us? To retrieve the books?" B'yelka's questions are fired off in rapid succession as she tries to organize her own thoughts.
Janos pages through the journal after being relived of his work with the corpses. At first he holds the book normally and leafs through it, but then turns the book sideways, looking troubled, and finally holds it upside down before skiing in frustration. "This is in Varsian, but it seems to be in a code much like the other book we saw. I can't read it." He offers it out to anyone else.
Drosil, glad for clearer heads than his, assists in dragging the bodies outside, searching the professor's body once more, and burning them. As they burn, he stands outside with Anton and speaks up. "Gods, Anton, you have not been idle since you left Magnimar. When we get some more rest, you are going to have to tell me how it is that you were able to do that..."
He takes a deep breath. "Thank you, by the way. Whatever you did, you likely saved our lives." And with that, he goes back inside.
Dantrian pauses briefly to consider B'yelka's questions, "No, I'm afraid I don't have any of those answers. I can hazard a guess that it's related to the professor's work, but it is little more than a hypothesis at this juncture." He waves off the offered tea, not wanting to socialize in the middle of the night. "If anyone else is somehow able to divine the thoughts and motivations behind whatever force brought these grotesque creatures here, by all means, please do so." His tone is sharp and more than a little condescending, his wounds and frustration obviously showing.
Anton grins widely at Drosil.
I've walked many roads since Magnimar. And as for saving you, well, the world would be a far less interesting place without you in it, friend. Something... evil… is happening here. These others, they all seem brave and capable. But whatever fate or providence brought us back together, I'm glad it did.
After the grim business of burning the bodies is done, he heads back inside.
Thank you for the tea B'yelka. he doesn't try to hide the fact he slips a shot of brandy into it, a hand wiping at his fraught brow.
"Sometimes the dead rise on their own. Necromatic energy can gather unexpectedly. This is what happens in long forgotten gravesites back in the swamp, but it's still unusual and random. Other times the dead have help from a mortal source. I hope this is not the case here, but seldom to the dead rise in a town without that kind of help." Janos takes some tea and sips it.
Tibideau glances over Janos's shoulder. "Ugh. I can't make anything of this." He turns to Kendra. "Dear hostess, I apologize for the interruption of your sleep. I hope you haven't been too troubled."
Tibideau lets out a tremendous yawn. "I'm exhausted, I think I'll skip tea, thanks B'yelka. We'd better get our rest if we have any more undead attackers, whether they rise on their own or are summoned by some necromancer. See you in the morning." He turns around and trudges up the stairs, singing a lullaby to Bonbon.
Dantrian stalls for a moment at the top of the stairs, just catching Tibideau's departing remarks. He glances back, his look piercing and appraising, and regards B'yelka for a few long moments before shaking his head and returning to his room.
Kendra descends into the living room as all the hubbub is going on after the disposal of the corpses. She sees the notebook being bandied about, and the color drains from her face. "That's my father's journal! I was looking all over the house for that. Where did you find it?" she says, taking the book from Janos.
Janos' head whips around when Kendra spots the journal in his hands. "Um, I found it outside. Perhaps the Professor dropped it out there." He quickly moves on to ask, "Can you read this, Kendra? It appears to be in Varisian, but it's all jumbled. Do you know how he wrote his notes?"
She gives Janos a long hard stare before snatching the book. "I'll see what I can make out." she says icily. "I am returning to bed. I suggest you all do the same. I'll see you in the morning."
Without another word, she turns, and book clutched in hand ascends to her room.
After Kendra leaves, Janos looks at the others. "Was it something I said?" he says with a mix of innocence and frustration. He shakes his head. "Perhaps we should tell her. She's a grown woman and doesn't have her father to protect her from things like this anymore. If something really is amiss, she'd better be prepared too."
I think you're right Janos, are we really helping her by shielding her from the truth? I'm not sure we have the right to anyway. Ill tell her, I was the one that put him down afterall.
He sighs deeply and takes a few steps up the stairs. He turns and asks: B'yelka will you pass that brandy please? Thank you. Although im not sure if its for me or her.
He pauses, hand raised outside Kendra's door. Kendra, are you decent? he knocks.
"I'll come with you, since I owe her an apology. But I'm not great dealing with people, so I'd appreciate you taking the lead." Janos unbuckles his armor sprayed with blood and follows Anton up the stairs.
Anton can hear a soft sobbing coming from within. It stops as soon as he speaks, and several seconds later comes the reply "You may enter."
He nods at Janos' comment and, doing as he is bid enters the room closing the door softly behind him.
Kendra, look. I'm sorry we weren't completely honest with you. But you must understand that we were only trying to protect you.
He draws up a chair and takes a seat opposite the Professors daughter.
The creatures that broke in here were zombies. Janos tells be they are animated by necromantic sorcery. They burst in and laid our ranger friend here low before any of us had stirred. Dantrian was also severly injured before the rest of us were able to defeat them.
He sighs deeply.
Kendra, one of the corpses was your father. he hurries on before she can say anything, taking her hand between his own. But my lady its important to know although it was your fathers body, his soul has started a new journey, it was an empty vessel. There is something evil at work here and if any good can come of it, perhaps it is in your fathers journal.