Emi moves kitty corner to the skeleton closest to Jerukh and while protecting herself tries to open up the undead's defense...
"Jerukh, here!"
Buoyed by his success Jerukh shifts forward and brings his club down on the next skeleton .
The normally quiet alchemist bellows in a mix of fury and fear as he cracks the skeleton;
"RAAAGGGHHHHRRRR!!!"
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Vigny grunts with pain from the bony finger rake, but her her companions are quick to simplify the threats she faces.
The last of the skeletons attacks Vigny, but it seems that whatever dark power that had given it strength was fading and his strikes are easily batted aside. Its doom was sealed and once Jerukh and Reiko managed to get within reach, it swiftly joined the bones of its comrades on the moisture slick stone.
A brief examination reveals that anything of worth that they carried had long since been ruined.
Reiko continues on through the cavern, investigating all the nooks.
Seeing its effectiveness Jerukh weighs the cudgel in his hand, nodding to himself;
Huh. A simple weapon... but most effective.
At Soliana's words, the alchemists snaps from his thoughts and he voices his professional concern;
"Who needs healing? I can activate my fierturăs... "infusions" so they are a boon to others... yes?"
"Thanks Jerukh, but his is just a scratch. I can take care of it later if I need to."
Vigny resmes her place following Reiko.
"I thought those skeletons were looking pretty good compared to the gear with them" she mutters.
Reiko finds nothing else in the furthest recesses of this lobe of the caverns. The air seems to grow even more chill as you search.
"I'll continue. What could possibly go wrong?" The ronin then sidesteps to the left and glances at the ceiling, expecting a stalactite to fall and crush her skull at that moment. She then moves on into the unexplored corner of the cave, keeping an eye open for real trouble.
Jerukh's brow furrows as Reiko somewhat brazenly leads on.
What indeed...
The alchemist shifts, club still in hand to shadow the swordswoman, without encroaching on her space.
Vigny continues on behind Reiko as before.
The final chamber is the coldest yet. Your breath mists in the air, illuminated by the light of the torches. Inside lies a chest in the driest part of the room. The remains of a warrior kneel before it, a long blade similar to Reiko's sword rusting where it had been thrust through, killing him. From the way his hands hold the hilt, the man this had once been had done it himself.
The air certainly is colder, but Vigny's magnificent boots are still keeping her dry and toasty warm. Thank you, you magnificent boots she thinks as she looks around the cavern.
When she spies the kneeling skeleton ahead, Vigny figures it's a safe bet it will be getting up to greet them as well. In any case she doesn't want a repeat of the last time such a thing happened. With a squeeze on her tankard's handle and a word, the blade of her sword begins to glow with a soft golden-yellow light.
As the group move forward into the vast chamber, Jerukh eyes the frost kissed corpse with concern...
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... then becomes aware his teeth are chattering as the cold air bites deep...
"Ach! S-S-So c-c-c-col-d..."
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Reiko shakes off the cold bite suffusing the cavern as she advances. She slides around the figure, sword ready. She addresses the corpse in Minkaian, "あなたはまだ別の侍が絶望によって堕落していますか？ それともあなたは死んだのですか？"
A dark, gravelly laugh echoes through the chamber as the skeleton stands up and pulls his blade free of his battered and ruined armor. Reiko's strike slides off it, however and the skeleton turns to glare at her with sockets filled with a sickening gray flame.
"The dead are dead. There is no honor after death and doubly so for those who fail their lords," the voice says, seeming to come from everywhere as the undead horror's mouth moves in a mocking miming of speech. His arms move as he raises his sword above his head, ready to strike.
Emi's teeth chatter as she shivers in the icy chamber.
I should be wearing my furs...
When the skeleton rises and draws its sword from its abdomen she begins chanting and gesturing as a layer of slime encases its blade...
Round 1
Jerukh watches in horror as the skeletal warrior rises, then with hands shaking from the cold pulls forth one of his alchemical concoctions.
Activiating it as his teeth chatter, the rangy alchemist lobs the glowing bomb toward the risen dead
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Reiko assumes a low-blade stance, in opposition to the skeleton's high blade. "After death? Perhaps not. But there can be honor in death - for some of us." She slashes at the creature's knees.
Since Reiko is talking to the skeleton like it's people(!) and the skeleton is taking back(!) Vigny decides to use the opportunity to hopefully end things quickly. She approaches from behind, while it's busy.
AC 17/12/15
DR 5/B
HP: 15/30
The attacks from all sides do not all land, but enough of them do to cause the skeleton to stagger some as it moves from between Reiko and Vigny. Holy energies burn it and smoke rises from where Jerukh's bomb hit.
"Then die foolish girl," the voice snarls as he brings his sword down and follows up with a slashing claw.
Reiko easily dances out of the way of each attack.
Reiko spins the bokken once then carefully resets her two-handed grip, blocking out everything save her opponent and this moment. "Cut me down, if you can." She launches a flurry of diagonal strikes aimed to pulverize the monster's spine at the most vulnerable point - the fleshless neck.
As Reko and Vigny engage the skeletal horror, Jerukh once again steels himself...
Still feeling the fell chill in his marrow, the alchemist mixes compounds and arms another shining bomb before throwing it at their undead foe
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With a disbelieving howl of denial, the skeleton crumbles under the assault. The air seems to warm considerably in a short time as a warm breeze begins to blow through the cavern. The air is no longer oppressive and the faint calls of the swamp can be heard echoing through the passages.
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Reiko taps the bone shards off the bokken and then puts it away. "Pity. He failed in his duty while alive AND in death." She inspects the chest and skeleton cautiously.
Vigny lowers her sword when the skeleton breaks apart and falls.
"Reiko, it sounded like you two had a personal grudge match with each other. What was that all about?"
Reiko considers the question. "I understand why it looked personal, but it wasn't. In a way, he was honoring me by challenging me according to the code of bushido. He was acknowledging I was an adversary worthy of killing. Had he wanted to insult me, he would have treated me as one of you. Among samurai, being ignored by another is a great dishonor." She shakes her head, acknowledging the peculiarities of her own culture. "Oddly, I wish he had fought better. Perhaps it would have redeemed him in eyes of the Empress of Heaven." She looks at Vigny, "And that is the least samurai thing I can say."
The chest is a work of art made of cherry and jade and Reiko does indeed find the key to it on the remains of the skeleton she had just helped to fell. Inside the velvet lined interior are spaces where numerous potions and fireworks had been. Despite the obvious signs of pilfering by goblins, there are still several potions and fireworks, a ring, a wand, a cold iron wakazashi, a masterfully crafted chain shirt, several pieces of jewelry, and a mountain of coins. The chest and its contents are easily fifty pounds.
As you search the remains of the last skeleton, you see that his armor is not beyond repair. Even more interesting is the katana he wielded that seems to be whispering in haiku as you look upon it. It is not only in better shape than the rest of the gear on the skeletons, underneath the grime it looks as if it had just come from the smith's shop.
Reiko looks on the treasures in the chest and motions to Emi and Jerukh to inspect them. "There are things here beyond my ken." She turns away from the pile of riches, almost drawn to the skeleton. She pulls the katana from his grasp and cleans it against her trousers until it shines like new. She murmurs to the blade, "你說什麼，光榮一個？"
A voice whispers softly as you make out the engravings of a shrike on the limb fo a blossoming cherry tree.
A message he bore
To protect a son he swore
Thought lost to the sea
Jerukh scans first the the chamber, then and chest contents with curious eyes.
At Soiliana's theory the lanky alchemist shrugs his shoulders;
"Mmm... The dead rising to steal back what was theirs from the zburdalnică..."goblins" makes sense. Driven by honour perhaps?"
His eyes widen at the beauty of the recovered blade;
"What măiestrie... craftsmanship yes?!"
Reiko looks up at Jerukh's comment, startled for a moment. "Craftsmanship and mystery. The blade is speaking to me. He or she," Reiko fumbles over the pronoun, not wanting to insult the weapon, "says - A message he bore / To protect a son he swore /
Thought lost to the sea. It is a haiku, a poem-form of the Dragon Empire. Maybe this is the task that the dark captain failed. If the message was written down, we should try to find it."
Reiko strips the armor carefully from the dark captain's body - preserving it and examining every piece before searching the corpse thoroughly.
After going through the warrior's remains, Reiko pulls the fan/map from her bandolier. She opens it and sniffs both sides carefully.
Reiko finds no notes on the captain, nor does she smell anything citrusy under the smell of goblin.
Reiko closes the fan with a dissatisfied snap.
"I think ve hafe collected as many treasures, and mysteries, as ve can carry..." Emi observes, "perhaps ve should head back to Sandpoint?"
Jerukh nods in agreement;
"Home it is then."
Vigny watches Reiko sort through the chest's contents, curiously but without touching anything.
"What does a talking weapon sound like? Is it inside your head? Male or female?"
"Why in the world would a band of samurai be dragging heavy, fancy chests around a swamp on the other side of the world from where they would have come from? That's what I'm wondering."
"Nice stuff, very beautiful, but this is weird."
The journey home is not an easy one. It takes almost the rest of the day before you arrive back at the village. From there, the journey is a little less arduous and your arrival at the town's gates is timed almost perfectly with the setting sun.
You're escorted to the Rusty Dragon where Ameiko insists on hearing the whole story as she, Shalelu, and Koya, who had arrived with Sandru's caravan that afternoon, help identify all of the potions and scrolls. Belor, in a rare display of good humor counts out the hundred and fifty gold for the ears and the three hundred for Chief Gutwad's head before announcing the start of a party to much cheering. The loudest coming from a familiar half-orc who throws an arm around Jerukh as he goes on and on about instructing him in the ways of "vimmins" and how to cut loose to attract them.
"Hyu seez, Jerukh, dey likez de guys dot knows how to haff a goot time und laff," he says as he starts to guide him to the bar.