"Interrogation room of some kind?" Turrok muses, eyes the leather straps.
"Interrogation at least has a purpose. This seems to have been much more...senseless."
Nebbin waits for Lucius or Saoirse -- or maybe Thom -- to tell him what to do next.
The ripe stench of decay chokes the air of this room, emanating from the bodies of two deceased soldiers hanging from the rafters. Various cabinets and tables stand around a fireplace in the south wall, and doors lead east, west, and north.
Lucius's nose crinkles as he attempts to keep his composure in the face of that awful smell.
"That's horrible. We should cut them down..." Nebbin says.
If no one objects, he moves to suit action to words.
Thom moves to help the big man. "For now we'll cut them down. Once we've cleared this place, we'll come back to bury them proper."
Once the cutting is done, Thom is ready to move on to the next room.
Turook hurriedly raises a hand to in a halting gesture. Pointing to the eastern door, he raises a finger to his lips. He stows his bow, opting instead for the greatsword, creeping quietly toward the door...
Nebbin looks confused as Turook stalks off.
"Why does he want us to be quiet?" he asks.
Saoirse looks curiously towards Turook, her grip on Radiance tightening as she starts to move about ten feet behind him, her head turning to the rest of the group, mouthing the words, "Be ready."
Nebbin waits to see what Turook discovers.
Checking first for any tampering, Turook carefully opens the door as quietly as he can manage.
Lucius waits quietly, not wishing to break the tracker's concentration.
Turook's eyes and fingers don't find anything about the door, but he does notice a copper piece balanced on the door's lower hinge. The door opens smoothly and no ill seems to befall Turook. The copper piece doesn't fall to the ground, it merely rotates around on the hinge pin's head as the door opens.
The ripe stench of decay chokes the air of this room, emanating from the bodies of two deceased soldiers hanging from the rafters. Various cabinets and tables stand around a fireplace in the south wall, and doors lead east, west, and north.
Everyone can now hear the unmistakable sound of breathing, although it sounds more like gravel sliding, in a deep and rhythmic way.
Thom wafts ineffectually at the air in front of his hound’s mask as he takes in the scene.
”These men were tortured,” comes Thom’s muffled rasp as he points with his longspear at the marks on the mens’ arms and legs, ”But what’s that sound?”
"I think something bad is coming," Nebbin says unhappily, hefting his maul and looking around.
The broken frames of several beds lie scattered about this large room. Two of the more serviceable ones have been pushed together to make a larger sleeping pallet. A table and several chairs also occupy the center of the room. On top of the makeshift bed is a grotesque figure with wings and hair sprouting down to his forearms. The creature reeks of spoilt flesh. A club-like object hangs limply from one hand, held fast by a leather cord around the wrist. The creature seeps evil all around it, even while a snore rips around the walls.
"A demon. Slay it before it wakes."
Nebbin hefts his hammer, looking to Saoirse for confirmation of Lucius' order as he begins to edge closer to the demon.
Thom nods at Lucius's suggestion, but waits for the lighter-footed folks to move into position first.
His heart racing, Turook eases toward the sleeping demon, his blade hungry for the outsider's lifeblood. He nods to Nebbin, bringing his blade down sharply.
Feeling as if it's somewhat unfair to kill something in its sleep -- even if it is a demon -- Nebbin hesitantly brings his hammer down on the creature, his heart not really in it.
The blows strike true and the Turook's greatsword slides easily into the creature's flesh. Nebbin's hammer comes down and sends the head all the way through to the bed's surface.
The creature's eyes pop open and it smiles wickedly. It opens its mouth and a rotten smell issues forth as it rasps, "Kabriri qüdrətli qulluqçusu ghouls qorumaq."
He reaches up and pulls the earthbreaker from his chest, pushing an astonished Nebbin's hand back. He slides off the bed, Turook's greatsword leaving a trail of separated flesh.
AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (-2 to all when raging), DR: 2/-, Cold resist: 1
Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +2 (+2 to Fort and Will when raging)
CMD 17
HP 54 (64 when raging)
Rage: 0/14; Mythic power: 0/5 (1d6+1 surge); Legendary power: 0/2 (1d6+1)
Effects: Terendelev's scale: good aligned (1/3)
"AAAAH!" Nebbin screams.
"AAAAH!" Nebbin thinks.
He jumps back and -- his panicked thoughts going to the valiant dragon who gave her life to defend them against just this type of horror -- activates his scale from Terendelev, his weapon becoming filled with goodness.
"Servant ghouls"? That smell? The hanging bodies weren't a gruesome tableau. They were a larder. Lucius bargains with the devils for some of the soul trade's power over life and death. <<All will obey the will of Asmodeus!>>
The creature's smile disappears suddenly as Lucius' voice permeates its thoughts, then it snarls and shakes its head. He smiles a toothy grin and chuckles...obviously the spell had no effect.
Shock registers momentarily in Thom’s eyes. Then he steps forward, his supernatural rage building as he roars at the demon in its own tongue. ”Kabriri Səni xilas etməyəcək, kir!”
Then he calls on the ocean of divine power in his mind, pushing it out in a rush to protect his comrades as he takes a vial from his bandolier … all the while slowly approaching the creature.
Turook retreats a few steps, then retrieves a vial. He douses his blade with the contents, glowering at the impossible creature.
This transmutation makes a weapon strike true against evil foes. The weapon is treated as having a +1 enhancement bonus for the purpose of bypassing the DR of evil creatures or striking evil incorporeal creatures (though the spell doesn't grant an actual enhancement bonus). The weapon also becomes good-aligned, which means it can bypass the DR of certain creatures... In addition, all critical hit rolls against evil foes are automatically successful, so every threat is a critical hit.
Lucius redoubles his efforts. <<Obey, wretch! Your petty demonling cannot protect you.>>
The creature's eyes turn into its head and it shrieks in anger. "Mənə nə istəyirsiniz?"
"Taldane danışın."
"Who and what are you? Whom do you serve?"
Saoirse starts forward for a moment but arrests her charge once she hears Lucius asking the monstrous creature questions. Turning to face Lucius with a horrified curiosity, her hands gripping Radiance tightly as she keeps half an eye on Lucius, while the rest of her attention is focused on the monster, ready to attack again if it gets aggressive.
Nebbin waits anxiously for someone -- probably Lucius, since he seems to have the most idea what's going on -- to tell him what to do.
Ok, so post was eaten.
Fancy story lingo that basically says his name is Nulkineth, he's a half-nabasu ghoul in service to Kabriri, and an Inquisitor, he's been helping a nabasu named Maugla who should be on its way today, and he's been creating ghouls from Crusaders for centuries, who are now spread around the hills.
"And why do weapons not seem to harm you?" the son of Asmodeus asks, his voice betraying no hint of horror at the creature's words.
The creature laughs disgustingly. "I have been gifted with power from Kabriri, and I am, amongst other things, a ghoul. Your cowardly attack while I rested would not kill me, it would but sting."