Saoirse's eyes widen as the dead dwarf lunges from the bench it sits on, banging up against her shield with its clawed hands out stretched, a half scream erupting from her throat. Barely thinking, Saoirse braces her shield against the dead dwarf and tries to stab her longsword into the undead's torso. Whispering to herself, "Iomedae protect me from the wicked," Saoirse's eyes flare to a white light that extends to a faint blaze across the sharp edge of her longsword.
Activating Smite Evil as a swift action and Power Attacking.
Attack:
Damage:
"Ah, it's alive! Why's it trying to kill Saoirse?! Someone stop it!"
Saoirse's longsword strike rewards her with the sound of metal digging through meat. The thing staggers for a moment before twisting its features into raw hatred, dust and dried flesh falling like dirty snow from it.
Aero's well calculated rapier thrust finds its mark easily and the tip lodges itself in the brain of the creature. A slow gasp escapes the creature, eerily sounding like "Cuuuurse Toooooraaaagg!"
Lucius steps forward and reaches down to rifle through the hecuva's belt pouch, withdrawing two small glass vials. He peers at them for a moment. "These are more curative magic. There's also another magic aura here. Something...unsettling."
He pockets one and tosses the other to Saoirse.
"The former dwarf here was a hecuva, they're often associated with old shrines. Afraid I don't know much more than that, however. We can't stay here too long. For all we know it'll get up again."
"Hey, look, there's a big hammer!" says Nebbin as he hefts his much larger earthbreaker.
He looks around to see if there's anyone who might want or be able to use it.
"I wonder what killed him..."
"I'd say being trapped underground, but isn't that what dwarves normally do? It could have been down here centuries. My best guess is something happened when the Worldwound opened in the first place."
Lucius prods the body with the tip of his mace, seeing if he can elicit any more reaction. "Bashing it to pieces seems...inelegant somehow. But we must ensure it cannot arise again." He hefts his pack, thinking of the pints of oil within, cringing as the weight re-settles on his wounded arm. "How much oil does it take to burn a body?" He tries to think of how Torag's dwarves normally dispose of their dead.
"Ravanna, you said you have more healing magics? Could you tend to my arm and Saoirse's shoulder?"
With no one else seeming to want it, Nebbin picks up the hammer and stows it in his pack.
"They do break sometimes," he explains with a shrug if anyone seems interested, hefting his own larger maul. "It might be good to have a backup, though I don't think this one was intended to break rocks, like mine. Seems too nice to use it for that almost, but Thamos always said you sometimes have to make due with what you've got."
"I have one more healing spell until we stop and rest. I have been saving it until we have an absolute emergency. Unless you are on the verge of unconsciousness, I recommend waiting."
Saoirse shudders and sucks in a deep gulp of breath, saying out loud to no one in particular, "I hate the undead."
Catching the potion in her gloved hand, Saoirse tucks the vial away in her belt pouch and looks over the still body of the dwarf. Saoirse takes a moment looking down at the body considering what to do. "Hopefully Torag will accept the situation we are in, either way, this dwarf is long beyond our help."
Hefting her longsword, Saoirse sheathes it for the moment and looks about the shadowy room. "This shrine is the best place we've found for a camp. Its been a long and horrific day... if it is even still daytime up above us. Most of us are injured now," Saoirse unconsciously reaches up to touch her red stained shoulder, "and could use some rest I think. Lucius, if you have oil to burn the body with we can take it outside while the rest clean out this room to serve for a nights rest. Everyone else can help clean and prepare a meal, yes?"
Saoirse looks around the group seeing if everyone else agrees with the idea of making camp.
Bluff:
Saoirse appears to be shaken from the fight with the undead and possibly more. Her eyes shift quickly back and forth from the party to the undead to her sword and back around again. Her talking seems to be an attempt to push past and hide her fear from the rest of the party.
"Let us secure the door as best we can and make camp here. It sounds like we could all use a bit of rest."
Ravana isn't interested in Torag or his shrines and doesn't really care about the shrine being desecrated unless the hecuva gets back up. If we rest, she will cast her last cure light on the most injured person and will sleep outside the shrine.
Lucius unpacks some rations, enough for a luncheon.
He'll drag the hecuva (with any possible assistance) outside, prop it against the cavern wall, douse it in a pint of oil, then set it alight with flint and steel. He mutters to himself about how it will probably smell terrible as he comes back inside. "I agree we can all use a break, but we should keep moving if we want to get out of here before we run sort of supplies. There's also some kind of magical aura here I can't quite put my finger on. A heavy door is better protection than sleeping in the open, but it might not be wise to wait to long if there is harmful magic about."
He'll let the others eat, while in investigates the basin. He'll renew his detect magic, then scrutinize it as best he can.
Nebbin settles in to eat. "Thanks!
If Lucius can't make anything of the aura, he'll see if he can get Aero, Aravashnial, or Saoirse to figure it out.
Once Lucius drags the body outside, she decides that a stout door is better then the smell of burnt flesh and will find a corner of the shrine away from the font.
Nebbin looks around as he eats.
After lunch Aero will feel refreshed and ready to continue.
"I was glad to be off my feet for a bit, but it's time to move on. Something about the place unsettles me but I can't quite place it. Let's pack up and head out."
"You are right. We need to get to the surface. If our house is still standing...well I can find some help."
"Hmph...Yes...my house will be a bastion in this demon damned time."
"I hope the Blackwing library is still standing. The Riftwardens have long used it as a headquarters and much of our knowledge is there."
Gwerm and Anevia give surprised glances at Aravashnial—who of course fails to notice.
You finish eating and packing back up uneventfully.
Heading back to the southern route you see that stone figures are carved into the walls of this cavern. Each depicts a different crusader clad in armor and wielding weapons, but their carved stone features contain expressions of sadness.
"They look sad," Nebbin says sadly.
"After seeing that dragon slain, it might not be wise to make any assumptions about what is still standing on the surface."
Not seeing any other way to go, Nebbin continues forward, holding his maul up for light.
Gwerm's jowls jiggle defiantly at Lucius but he says nothing.
I am fine with going on. Ravana will take up here spot at the back of the group.
Aravashnial pauses for a moment before one of the statues, hands running over its stone features. "Interesting. I've always wondered if the First Crusaders who were exposed to those horrific Abyssal energies had anything to do with the mongrelmen below the city. It would only make sense that their deformed children would cause them to be ostracized. Moving down below..."
A small campfire and a well-used bedroll, along with a few utensils and tools, sits near another cave opening in the far wall of this cavern.
Nebbin looks around.
"Hey, there's a fire," he says, perplexed.
"Oh, there's a dwarf!" Nebbin adds, excitedly.
"Hello," he calls. "Can you help us? We're trapped down here and want to get back home!"
Aero awaits the Dwarf's response to Nebbin.
Ravana waits to see what happens.
Lucius will float his dancing lights over to the dwarf, and tries to look him over closely: the last dwarf they spotted turned out to be an unliving monster that wanted to kill them.
"CRUSADERS!!!! ACH!!! THEY'RE EXPERIMENTS!!!" the dwarf shrieks in response.
Dwarf?
Nebbin
Ravana
Aero
Saoirse
Lucius
The dwarf utters some arcane sounding words and jerkily motions with his hands. Suddenly, he looks...hard to see. The outline of his body is out of focus somehow.
Lucius is Flat Footed, so he can't even say anything before his turn comes up. If no blows have been struck by his turn, he'll cast charm person on the dwarf.
Ravana holds her action until it is possible to enter the room.
I thought you can't take actions at all while flat footed? Eh. Either way.
"Huh? Experiments?" Nebbin looks around to try to figure out what the dwarf is talking about, hefting his hammer high to shed more light.
Aero will call upon the power of Pulara to protect him and cast Protection from Evil on himself.