I assume that we will retrace our steps out of here and collect anything of import as we leave? I think that we collected everything, but I would like to return the shields to their proper place and anything else that we may have upset on our way in, in case someone else has to venture into this vile place. And we still have one more area to explore on our way out.
Kassen draws his sword and salutes you all with it before slowly fading away. "Best of luck, young heroes." Then he is gone.
Seeing that you've finished your chat with the undead man, Dimira collects herself, wiping away a few last tears. "Is it time to leave this accursed place then?"
I will bit and take a drink...
Do we need to double back anywhere? The only thing I can think of that we missed was the knife that was in the fire. But I dont know that we want to mess with the thing that was in there that could, only be hurt by magic.
Jaed walks around the room while he keeps an eye on Artair. He is expecting something to happen as the dwarf drinks from the fountain.
Relieved to see he is fine, Jaed answers: "Going back for the dagger is tempting but I don't want to face again that thing that came from the fire. I still feel the effects of whatever it did to me."
As they leave the room of the everflame, Etam hears a faint and unclear whisper. Seeing no one else seemed to react to it, he shrugs 'This crypt is playing tricks on my head'.
Once they arrive at the fountain room, he moves to stop the dwarf. Once the warrior sees the water had no visible effect, he joins Artair and splashes some of it over his face. "The water seems safe to drink. Might be a good idea to fill our waterskins and then move on."
He turns to Jaed: "Though I imagine Kyra's family would be happy to have a keepsake, I think it is too dangerous. Might be wiser to leave this errand with the clerics that the mayor will surely bring to bless this crypt"
Anything else down here or should we make our way back up a level?
Artair takes the advice of Etam and fills his waterskins.
Finnrik walks to the water and fills his water skin then, cupping his hands he gets Millsy a drink.
"As fascinating as this adventure has been I am eager to get out into the sun, or under the stars as it maybe. I must admit the excitement of this place has me confused as to the time of day. Either way I am sure that some fresh air will do us all some good."
Jaed also fills his waterskin and refreshes himself in the fountain.
"You are right Finnrick. Let's pick up the others and get out of this damn crypt."
Refreshed, everybody packs up their things and begins heading upstairs to the first floor of the crypt to meet up with Roldare and company, only to be met with an unpleasant surprise: the four skeletons with burning eyes seem to have arisen once more, ready for a second crack at the group. Only sharp-eared Finnrick and Jaed hear the tell-tale clacking of bones before the creatures are upon the group.
The first skeleton rushes forward at the first person it sees, missing wildly in its eagerness. The other three simply move closer.
Etam enters the room, only to be instantly greeted by the skeleton pouncing on him. He manages to sidestep the charge and yells to his companions: "Skeletons ahead! Protect Mistress Dimira and do not allow them to flank us!"
Jaed gets alerted by a strangely familiar sound. Oh, please, no more of those things...
His fears are confirmed when one skeleton rushes towards Etam. Listening to his command, Jaed takes a step forward to his side: "I'll distract it as I did before. Hit it as hard as you can, Etam!"
Finnrick casts his final spell drawing on the forces of nature to Summon an ally from the crypt to help eliminate the skeletons once and for all.
A fire beetle appears next to Etam, illuminating the area around him and quickly takes a bite at the skeleton threatening the soldier.
"Don't worry about the bug Etam, she's mine Finnrick calls out not wanting Etam to become frightened at the sight of a bug appearing, seemingly out of nowhere, right alongside of him.
Also I don't know if beetle get average hp or if I should roll for it. But I like rolling so I will anyway.
Millsy feels restored after drinking the water from the fountain but hangs back during the begining of the encounter, still weary of rushing in.
Artair will move up alongside them on my turn, and prepare my axe. I will be on sporadically and I did not want to hold things up.
Jaed prepares to distract one skeleton for Etam as Finnrick begins chanting away, hoping to summon an ally for the group. Meanwhile the skeletons continue to advance on their would-be prey.
Despite starting to surround the mostly surprised group, only one claw manages to land, making a slight scratch in the mostly-healthy Etam. But Artair is quick to retaliate, smashing the skeleton near him as a small beetle appears in the vacated spot to take a small bite out of the skeleton next to it.
As the skeleton tries to claw him a second time, Etam hears a faint voice laughing behind him whilst drawing his shield and hammer. Confused, the warrior barely sees the claw already upon his chest. Shrugging it off, he goes for a wide swing, trying to hit both skeletons in front of him:
He nods in gratitude at Jaed and says: "I'll move to flank the next one, hold tight!"
In a great show of force, Etam crushes the two skeletons in front of him with a quick one-two.
"Ok, I'll try to attract its attention!" Jaed turns to face the last skeleton and starts to hit his sword against the wall, hoping that the skeleton won't notice Etam.
Finnricks fire beetle takes flight and flutters towards the skeleton illuminating a 10 ft. orb around him.
When Finnrick finishes summoning the fire beetle he moves around the corner into the hallway and Millsy is hot on is heels, still weary of charging in.
Unaware that it's re-death was soon approaching, the skeleton continues to gleefully attempt to take a chunk out of the rogue.
But Jaed continues to easily dodge the creature's overly grabby claws.
Didnt we kill these foul things once? I hope this is the last time....
With a clatter, the final skeleton collapses in a pile of bones once again.
Erazmus looks significantly better than when you saw him less. He seems neither hysterical nor catatonic. One of Runvald's wine skins lies half full next to him, the depressant likely related to his calmer demeanor. The same cannot be said for Roldare, who seems to be in a corner muttering to himself and occasionally gnawing on his fingernails. The blood on a few of them indicate that he's probably been at it for a while.
With a cry, Dimira pushes past all of you and moves to kneel next to her brother. She pulls his hands away from his face, saying soft, soothing words to him. Slowly the man's body stills. She turns his face to her, saying "Brother, look at me." There are several long moments during which he seems to look right through the girl. After more soothing, meaningless words, his expression gradually turns from vacant to confused to finally joy. He throws himself upon her, sobbing. Words come in a jumble from his mouth. For the most part it's completely incoherent but occasional phrases like "thought you were dead" and "monsters" can be made out.
Distracted by this display, Erazmus has taken the opportunity to rummage in your magical bag, oo-ing and ah-ing over everything magically you're thus far procured. Each item seems to be accompanied by a lecture to no one in particular about the various magical properties of the items and philosophical ruminations about the process of binding magic to otherwise mundane objects. The whole spiel is delivered at almost a manic pace, though it can still be followed by anyone bored enough to pay attention.
Once Roldare finally stops sobbing, everyone packs their things and prepares for the journey back. The trip is somber and uneventuful. Surprisingly, none of your companions seem at all interested in what you found in the lower parts of the tomb. Any attempts to talk about it only result in Runvald drinking more (though if that's in response to the content or simply his love of alcohol, it's a bit hard to say), Roldare and Dimira going pale, and Erazmus childishly putting his fingers in his ears and yelling "LALALALA". Though for the most recovered from their ordeal, a few lingering scars remain.
When you arrive back at Kassen, a great cheer goes up from the gathered villagers. There are banners and music and a great deal of food, clearly all in your honor. The merriment and joy are diconcerting given the ordeal you all just went through. Mayor Uptal hurries towards you, a huge grin on his face that slowly fades as he gets closer to you, clearly sensing that something is amiss. "What happened?"
As the tale unfolds, his expression grows more and more horrified. His shaking legs almost give out on him, but he's caught by a man none of you know, though some of you have seen him loitering around the Seven Silvers. He had come up unseen as you were all sharing your tale. He speaks to the mayor, voice sounding like sandpaper. "Go. Tell the others." Uptal nods, face sagging in grief and weariness as he slowly heads back towards the main group of villagers.
The stranger stares at all of your, appraising. He meets each of your eyes one at a time before nodding, more to himself than you. His clothes are a mix of dark greens and blacks, in good repair but obviously well used. The hood of his long cloak is pulled up, though with him facing all of you it does nothing to hide the ugly purple scar down the left side of his face. Suddenly he barks, "Jimes! You get all that?"
A slightly sheepish looking halfling comes out from where he had been hiding. "Errr...most of it."
The man doesn't even bother to turn around as he addresses the short rogue. "Get the others. Fill them in." As Jimes "Short Change" Iggins hurries towards a cluster of villagers, the stranger continues in a softer, though no less gruff, voice. "Name's Cygar. Pathfinder*. I'll see what's known of these tomb robbers. I'm sure the Society* would want them dealt with. Perhaps you could help. If you're interested." He looks at Erazmus, who had wandered out of earshot, and the precariously swaying Runvald. "I'll ask for reinforcements. I'll be in touch when I have news." Without waiting for a response, he turns on his heel and walks into the village.
As he leaves you're all approached by the group Jimes had been talking to, each of your recognizing your mentor. Guard Captain Wisslo barks out a demand for a report only to get smacked upside the head by a scowling Ilimara Oniri. Ilimara rolls her eyes at him before dragging Runvald off to sober up. Wisslo forces his harsh, captain's demeanor to take on something a little less stern as he pats Etam on the shoulder. The gesture is clearly meant to be comforting but is really just awkward.
A warm breeze seems to follow her as Olmira Treesong glides her way to Finnrick and Millsy. She embraces the half-elf warmly before petting Millsy's head. When she draws back, the places a crown of flowers on Finnricks head before skipping around him while throwing some spicy smelling plants in the air. "Purifying" his aura.
Braggar Ironhame the dwarven blacksmith doesn't say anything to Artair. He just hands him a large mug of ale and orders him to drink up, his frown slightly less severe than normal. He lets out a string of curses as a loud POP indicates that Holgast has teleported off with Erazmus somewhere .
For his part, Jimes regales Jaed with silly tales of things that had happened since the young man had been gone. There are plenty of jokes thrown in as the halfling tries to keep the conversation light, clearly unused to dealing with more serious matters.
The usher the group in to the town square where the feast is still held in their honor, though it's a melancholy affair. Many of those there are drinking to help forget that they have lost friends and loved ones. Plans are made to return to the crypt, both to purify it and to bury the slain townsfolk. Meanwhile there isn't much to do but rest while waiting to hear what Cygar can discover from his contacts.
A few days have passed since the events at the Crypt of the Everflame and life in the town is beginning to return to normal. The folks are still quite wary of the dark, worried that some overlooked undead fiend might stalk from the crypt. The relief is almost palpable as word spreads that a few clerics from the Pathfinder Society have come to cleanse the crypt. The young heroes Etam, Finnrick, Artair, and Jaed were just beginning to wonder if this meant Cygar would have news for them when they receive a message asking them to prepare for travel and to meet the man in question by the docks that afternoon.
Cygar stands towards the beginning of the dock, dressed much the same as when you first saw him. With him are a young man and an Elven woman who you don't recognize. As you approach, he nods, jerking a thumb at the two people with him. "This's your backup. Backup, these are the adventurers." Now done with introductions (at least as far as he was concerned), he skips straight down to business. "The mask you found belongs to followers of Razmir. Go to Tamran. Meet up with Reginar. He's been keeping an eye on the cult. See what you can find out about those tomb robbers. If possible, you'll want to recover the amulet fragments. I've booked you passage on the Black Mist." He jerks his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the river barge currently docked behind him. "Come along when you're ready."
Without waiting for a response, he turns and heads towards ship, apparently moving to talk to someone. Although given his rather terse debrief, "talk" might be a generous term.
The man who is waiting alongside the elf is a lithe man of some kind of Tian descent, with lightly tanned skin and brilliant emerald eyes behind narrow lids. His hair is shoulder length, dark, and wavy, accentuated by a similarly colored goatee that looks impeccably trimmed. He appears to be nimble, sturdy, and attractive, though average in strength and barely average height. He does seem to present himself well, albeit strangely as far as an inner sea resident would be concerned.
He wears a robe that looks to be made of beautiful red and gold silks and reinforced with polished steel studs. The top of the robe is worn with the front wide open, exposing a triangular swatch of bare chest ending just above his navel, all tanned in the same way. His belt is a white woven rope that ties to a knot at his left hip. His legs are swathed in a black pair of pantaloons and he wears shoes that have his heels and toes exposed.
The only apparent weapon he has is a simple dagger looped into the rope belt at his waist.
He gives the group a slight bow. "Greetings, adventurers." he purrs, his voice smooth but with a notable foreign accent. "My name is Shisui Sato. Among friends such as you, Sato will do just fine."
"Hello," the elf says simply. She seems a bit shy, clad in a dark brown robe with gray-and-black fur trim at the collar. Though she is clearly not a dark elf, she seems to have a much more swarthy complexion than most elves, with nearly black hair and eyebrows and similarly deep eyes. Again, as with most elves, she bears a sword and an especially well-made bow; she has no armor, and indeed seems content with a halter, hood, and lengthy skirt.
Hello, I am Artair the Dwarf. Dont say much. Glad to have you with us for the next leg of this adventure.
"Hello, Artair," says the elf. "I'm... um... Lily." She brushes her hair back behind her ears in a nervous gesture that comes across as slightly awkward and charming.
It will be nice to have some casters with us this time. Those that were with us before....well....sort of lost it.... He trails of in a mumble as he thinks of his lost companions and what happened to them.
Sato grimaces as he hears the news. "Ah. Something terrible was found, yes?" he asks, scratching his chin. "Worry not, we're of strong mind here. I have worked for the Pathfinders a while now."
"I would rather say with me on your side, it's your enemies who will be suffering some... mental issues. Mind games are my forte."
"What... lost it? How so?" says Lily.
Jaed seems changed since he first left for the crypt. The once timid youngster now looks rougher. He has seen that there is an awesome world outside Kassen and he is eager to explore it. He has spent the past days training hard and he found that the feeling of one sword in each hand makes him feel safer. I was very naive when I started my first adventure. That won't happen again now I know what is waiting for us out there. The risks and the rewards...
The distrust in his eyes is apparent as he inspects the two new additions to the party as they talk. He finally decides to speak.
"I hope you're more useful than the drunkard and the crazy wizard. We almost die down there and they did nothing but sit on their butts."
"I know I can trust these guys," he says pointing to his old companions, "but can we trust you?"
Shisui shrugs, stroking his goatee. "I could say a thousand things to try to convince you that I'm trustworthy..." He begins. "But in the end I will tell you to judge me by my actions. Because of my magic, I could make you trust me, but that's hardly a... trustworthy deed, wouldn't you agree?"
He holds his hands up in a gesture of ambivalence. "And that kind of tomfoolery makes for good parlor tricks but poor working relationships. So, again, I insist that you withhold judgment until you see what I can do."
Finnrick spent the last few days outside under the sun. The crypt had been both fascinating and frightening and he was glad to have gone be eager to get back to nature and to Olmira. Millsy and Finnrick stayed with Olmira and told her tales of the crypt and she in turn helped Finnrick and Millsy learn new secretes of the land that would help them in their adventures to come.
Upon arriving at the docks Finnrck appears his cheerful self. Dressed in a green tunic over which he wears a hide vest trimmed with fur and on his head he bears the crown of flowers that Olmira had presented him and they seem to be as vibrant as the day she had laid it on his head. His light brown hair shimmers in the sunlight and falls to his shoulders with wooden beads and feathers (the ones he found in the crypt) woven in.
Meeting his new companions fills Finnrick with wonder and excitement. "New and, hopefully powerful magic users it seems. Hopefully they are of sound mind, poor Erazmus." Finnrick thinks to himself, pitting his short term companion who's mind could not handle the strains put on it in the crypt. "How I do love the companionship of Etam, Jaed, and Artair, but they understand little of the magic that courses through me. It will be good to be among others who understand." It scared Finnrick seeing Erazmus wither away in the crypt and there were times that he too felt as though he was going mad but he had not and he was stronger and much more confident after spending time with Olmira who had been helping Finnrick teach Millsy some new tricks as well as writing down some magic that she assured Finnrick would be useful.
"Hello and welcome," Finnrick says, addressing the newcomers."It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Finnrick and this here is Millsy he says patting the black cat on the head." to which Millsy growls at Sato and the hairs on her back begin to stand up. "Millsy, is that any way to treat our new companions?" Millsy's only response is to reposition herself behind Etam and continue to growl never taking her eyes off of Santo.
"My apologies sir, she seems...overcome. No matter we shall have plenty of time to get acquainted. Finnrick says dismissing Millsy's reaction but in truth is quite concerned "It is rare for Millsy to dislike anyone, I must have words with her when we are in private."
Turning to the Elf woman Lily, what a lovely name. The graceful lily. Olmira grows a lily whiter than fresh snow you must visit her and gaze upon their beauty when we return." He plucks a flower out of his hair. "For you my lady," he says offering her the flower which resembles a daisy with faint red petals.
Shisui's words seem to calm Jaed. "Fair enough. I didn't mean to be rude but we had some close calls in that crypt and I'd rather not risk my life for someone who won't do the same for me. But I agree, everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt so welcome to our party."
"I'm Jaed by the way," he says as he offers his hand to the sorcerer.
"A pleasure. Sato replies, glancing at the growling cat with a raised, perfectly manicured eyebrow. "Perhaps it's my perfume?" he offers.
"I'm not sure what to say," says Lily. "I'm a magician too, though my focus is different from Sato's. Um, it's not the most... palatable. But I heard that there was a problem with undead and a crypt here, so I came to help. I guess I got here too late for that, but there's still plenty to do, so I will do what I can!" She squares her shoulders with a sense of some conviction.
Well, as long as yo dont go running off howling at the first sign of terror, leaving us in a lurch. And that was when we were facing something only harmed by magic. I dont like magic much. But I like those who help me and I do see the need for it. Maybe you can fill that need, but as a group of young adventurers who had people desert us, we are a bit of a tight knit group.
Artair then pets Millsy trying to calm the cat, or maybe himself.
So Sato the Sorcerer, and Lily the Mage replace Runvald the Drunken Bard and Erasmus the Skittish Mage. Joining Jaed the Rogue, Etam the Fighter, Artair the Dwarf, Finnrick the Healer, and Millsy the Cat. We are a motley bunch...
"Oh, ah, no, I have faced some tough times before, I won't let you down," says Lily.
"Um, your cat is very pretty, by the way," she adds.
"I prefer to prevent fights from breaking out, but if they happen, I am not against tightening my belt and helping take care of it." Shisui comments, noting the cat still hasn't calmed down. "Perhaps I should lay off the rose petals, then." he murmurs, perplexed.
"Ha! in that we agree, Sato. I have tried many times to sneak past our foes to prevent starting a fight but it's not easy with the loudest dwarf in the country and a fighter wearing so much armor that sounds like a rattle," Jaed says grinning at Etam and Artair. "Only Millsy here seems to understand me." These two may actually be useful. They look seasoned and well traveled. I may be able to learn one or two things from them.
Jaed turns to the elf. "So, which kind of magic would m'lady practice?"
HMMMMPPPFFFFFFFF!
"Oh, er, I'm a... well, I'm a necromancer," she says, the words coming out in a rush at the end. "Not the shambling skeletons and zombies and raising undead and seeking eternal life at the cost of one's soul kind, though. I just... have a talent for manipulating... necrotic energy."
That's and interesting kind of elf... Artair is still petting Millsy, trying to clam them down. You would have been useful in the crypt.