Athromar falls backwards and as Phineas heals him, his body tries its best to stablilize.
Stabilize
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Phineas knows that the healing power of positive energy is the only thing that can can get Athromar back on his feet and help save them. Consequently, he calls forth that power once more, hoping that Erastil will protect him from the blows from the mighty skeletal warrior.
As Athromar flutters back into consciousness, the skeletons pay him no attention, instead focusing on Phineas and Blacklock. Phineas finds himself the focus of two skeletons, but manages to block most of their blows, with only one managing to find its way through his guard. Blacklock fares similarly, with Asar's blow going wide, and the skeleton attacking him only scoring a shallow blow.
Despite only barely being conscious, his allies giving him breathing room is all Athromar needs to once again channel his divine energy to use as a weapon against the evil dead that plague the tomb and the young heroes.
Channel Energy - Damage the Undead!
Seeing his fellow priest use the positive energy to harm the skeletons, Phineas uses his divine power once again to heal the crew which is barely hanging on.
"Father Erastil send us your blessing, deliver us in our hour of need!" he cries holding his holy symbol aloft again.
Athromar's channel, while relatively weak, still burns the remaining skeletons in holy fire, their dust settling to the stone floor. Even Asar takes a solid amount of holy power, his dry bones smoking as he slams the flat of his massive sword into Blacklock's club, knocking it away just as the rogue manages to recover it.
Athromar stands up and once more is a living conduit for his deity's divine energy.
"Fall!"
Moving forward to supply some aid to Blacklock, Phineas twirls his quarterstaff around his head once before sending an end slamming into the skeletal leader.
Asar, already extended with his attack, fails to retaliate as Blacklock retrieves his club, failing to knock the weapon back out of his hand. At the same time, while Athromar's magic leaves the skeleton smoking, it seems to have less of an effect as it should. The damage the menace takes does little to stop him from easily parrying Phineas' blow, though, and he barely seems to give the cleric any note as he guts Blacklock with his sword, leaving the rogue bleeding on the ground.
With little other good options, and knowing one stroke could be the end of him now, Phineas trusts in the good guidance of Erastil to steady his hands as he swings the quarterstaff at the head of the skeletal warrior once again.
Athromar sends a wave of positive energy flowing through his allies and himself.
Channel Energy
Phineas' attack, while hopeful, is easily parried by Asar, wielding his massive sword like a twig, "There are no gods down here. It's just you and me!" he roars, retorting with a massive swing; dropping Phineas to the ground with a singular, devastating blow.
Athromar begins to sweat profusely as he sees now Phineas drop!
He calls upon the divine once more to intervene on behalf of he and his allies.
Channel Energy -
Phineas' attack, while hopeful, is easily parried by Asar, wielding his massive sword like a twig, "There are no gods down here. It's just you and me!" he roars, retorting with a massive swing; dropping Phineas to the ground with a singular, devastating blow.
[dice=Power Attack]1d20+9;2d6+14
Asar easily avoids Blacklock's swing, and retaliates with another mighty blow of his own.
Fortunately, Blacklock, on the defensive, manages to avoid the blow.
Athromar is dismayed as Phineas is still down! He channels once more, hoping to bring all three of the group into the fight!
Channel Energy Heal self and allies -
After seeing his young life flash before his eyes, before crumpling to the blow from teh skeletal warrior, Phineas is surprised when his eyes flick open and the battle still rages. Lying prone, with no weapon, he looks up at the warrior's back side reaches for his staff, which lies nearby.
Still lying prone, he takes a swing, trying to catch the undead horror, unawares.
Blacklock manages to bring his club into a solid blow with the undead monstrosity, who roars in pain. Meanwhile, Phineas manages to score a blow on the back of his leg, and Asar moves out of reach from the cleric, focusing on bringing Blacklock down, but also fighting more defensively than before. Despite the more cautious attack, it is still devastating, and Phineas drops to the ground once more. However, Asar looks like he's just barely holding on to the last fringes of Unlife.
Rising from the prone position, Phineas 5' steps forward, swinging his staff at the undead champion once again. "Back to the Eternal Sleep with you, foul abomination!" he cries.
As his ally falls once more, Athromar grits his teeth and makes a difficult decision, "Iomedae, end this villain!"
Channel Energy Damage the Foe
Asar recoils as Athromar's channel slams into him, Phineas' blow not even fazing the skeleton as it bounces ineffectually against his armor.
"So be it! You will be the next to die!" he calls out, moving around Phineas to strike at Athromar, his bones covered in cracks, and looking as though he's about to splinter into pieces.
Not about to allow the bony foe to brush past him to get at Athromar. The young priest gathers his strength, reaching down for that last moment of strength and determination. "For Kassen! For Erastil" he cries as he brings his staff down upon the foe.
Asar, having dropped his guard just a split second too soon, just barely misses blocking Phineas' attack. However, the effect is dramatic, with the Phineas' quarterstaff, guided by Erastil himself, it would seem, connecting with the skeleton's skull. In his empty eye sockets, the blue flame lighting them flares, and his skull shatters, his skeleton fracturing like glass as it crashes to the ground.
For a moment, there is nothing but the sound of his sword clattering to the ground, then silence. It hits you: you've won!
Leaning heavily on his staff for a moment, Phineas can hardly believe the fight they went through. After regaining his breath, he leans down to tend to Blacklock despite the pain and wounds he feels himself.
He pours all the connection he has with Erastil out in a series of prayers, trying to bring some healing to both of his fellows.
Once it appears Blacklock will recover, Phineas stumbles over to the prone form of the girl, hoping she is unharmed, or at least not beyond saving.
Athromar gasps as well, "Well done Phineas!"
He is bleeding profusely but checks on Blacklock first, "My friend, are you alright"
"Not sure. Let's find out but first".
Athromar heals Blacklock - CLW
The girl wakes up easily- she shows signs of being injured recently, but her wounds have been healed in part by the steady flow of healing energy in the chamber. As Phineas continues to heal, her wounds vanish, and when asked, she begins to tell you what happened,
"Thank you so much for saving me. As you may have figured out, I was part of a group of villagers that came out to set up non-lethal traps, set out puzzles, and otherwise make the quest something of a challenge. Nothing that hasn't been done a dozen times before. However, this time was... different. The first day went fine- we se the pillar of arrows up with blunted arrows, put pillows at the bottom of the pit traps, reactivated the golem, and so on. However, that night, we were set upon by skeletons. So far as I know, I was the only survivor" she wipes away a tear, "Asar dragged me away, and asked me all sorts of questions about what the town's defenses were like, what had happened since it was founded, and other questions like those. He was keeping me alive while he decided what to do with me, but I don't know how long I was unconscious, but apparently he hadn't decided to kill me. Once again, thank you so much for saving me. I don't know how I could ever repay you."
Once the lady is safe, Phineas bends to the work that they came here for originally, taking the ornamental lantern from his belt and lighting the wick from the flame above the crypt here.
"Well, that wasn't too bad..." deadpans the Erastilian."Now we just have to make it home again."
As Phineas lifts his lantern to the flame, the magical fire sparks and lights the wick with ease. As the lantern, too, begins to glow, a gentle, warm breeze drifts through the room, coalescing into a ghostly blue figure that you recognize as Kassen himself, sitting on the end of his own coffin, "Thank you, heroes. I may once again rest easy thanks to your efforts."
Athromar smiles at the apparition, "We... well... you're welcome!"
The cleric is well and truly humbled by an experience he believed to be a mere rite of passage. He turns to his allies Phineas and Blacklock, "No matter where my journey in life takes me I promise you both that I shall ever remember you and always consider you both my brothers. No more fully are the virtues of courage and determination so singularly personified in mortal man as they are in both of you".
Kassen sighs, "Tomb raiders. They came some months back and stole something very valuable to him and I. He returned as a spirit of vengeance, I merely returned from my rest."
"I think we found evidence of these tomb raiders in several places throughout the complex. So they took something that belongs to you, Kassen? Is it something we can recover to ease you?"
Being the spirit of the town founder, Phineas is very reverential to the ghost of Kassen, whereas he has great animosity towards most undead.
Athromar watches the interaction awaiting the answer to Phineas' query.
Asar hesitates for a moment, then tells you, slightly reluctantly, "A bit of history, first. You see, long ago, Asar and I were adventuring companions, but shortly after we found a great deal of treasure, we parted ways. I used my share of our spoils to found your hometown, but I'm sure Asar must have felt cheated after our last quest, and I imagine that's why he attacked in the first place. As for what was stolen, the only thing they took was an amulet from each of us- a memento of our final adventure. They are two of three parts to a map and key to a great treasure vault." he pauses for a moment before continuing, "Don't worry about me, young ones. By putting Asar to rest, you have also restored me. The amulet matters not to me now- the primary cause for my return was because of my old companion's desecration. With the tomb now cleansed, I may return to my rest as I please."