In elven to Nathalin
Nathalin says back to Terevalis in elvish, "A half elf you say, indeed I shall make sure the Half breed is not shown our enclaive. In addition I am not sure if half elves are immune to the Sunblight. I do not want to risk having the sickness spread further on the surface."
Nathalin leads the group down some alleyways and you eventually reach what looks like a grate covered tunnel with a stairway leading down. Nathalin goes to the grate and lifts it out of the way, showing that the grate is not attached and is a fake used to cover the entrance. He looks to Terevalis and says, "I leave the rest to you Terevalis. Wait in the sewers until I retrieve the others and then proceed to lead the to the enclaive."
With that he heads on his way to find the others. Three other elven rangers join him in the search. As for the Dark Knight search it eventually teeters off as some old beggar getting killed in the streets is far less than their priority and their increased interest in the search was more the method the old woman died as it suggests dangerous arcane magic afoot.
Dove and Jor end up in the Wounded Crow tavern where you both hide out at a table in the edge of the bar area. Fortunately the Dark Knights rarely come into this place. Still Nathalin being a skilled tracker is able to find you there and approaches your table.
"Greetings again warrior Jor. It appears you were able to dodge those pursuing you thus far. However my leader wishes to speak with you so I am obligated to escort you to the others. Your companion must remain here however. Due to security reasons we cannot allow a half-elf into our home. You are free to return later once your business is concluded Jor."
Dove says in elvish "I would expect that from you elf... but I respect your wishes."
Dove looks back to Jor and says, "You are free to go Jor. I have connections in this tavern so I should be able to stay here safely until the search is called off. With luck the Dark Knights won't even know if I am involved. I will wait for your return my love."
As for Mithas Aran he sneaks around for a while but eventually meets with two elven rangers who say in elvish, "Mithas Aran. Your presence is requested to attend a meeting with our leader. We would request you come with us so that we can bring you to the others you are traveling with and be lead to the Enclave."
Glancing around and nodding then at Dove I understand. I will see you after a while Dove and with that Jor stands up to follow Nathaniel
The elf will do as he was bid. He will lead the group who is with him to the sewers and there wait for Nathalin and Jor.
"Lead on."
Mithas follows the rangers.
So the Elves lead everyone together and you all meet up at the entry point of the sewers. Nathalin says to you, "I need to leave now and set up some distractions for the Dark Knights. I will have one of my scouts come along with you to guide you towards the enclave in my stead. We will meet again later."
With that he leaves. A young looking Elven ranger remains with you. He bows and says. "I am Quintis. I will see that you reach the elven enclave safely. Please follow me."
Following him you move deeper into the sewers. The sewers of Pashin are unusual in that the craftsmanship appears to be of carved stone of Dwarfven design. The sewers are also fairly dry but still reeking of filth and affail. Quintis leads you down some tunnels but as you close on one place you hear the sound of gnashing teeth and cracking bone.
Quintis puts his hand up for everyone to stop and then he sneaks and peaks around the corner. He then goes back and says, "There are some foul creatures in the other room. They look like hideous naked beasts with claws and sharp teeth. They are eating two of my people. Nathalin would want me to do something about this. Are you willing to provide me aid?"
"Eating! By Zivilyn's grace, we must put a stop to it".
The mage will begin the concentration necessary to cast a spell.
The group moves down the tunnel and looking into the room that looks like one of the main junctions they see a grizzly scene. Hideous creatures with warty mishappen bodies, claws and razor sharp teeth feast on the bodies of two dead elves. When you get close however they sniff the air and turn to your direction and hiss.
Religion DC 15: These are Ghouls!
Ghoul initiative
Knowledge Religion
Initiative
"Beware their filthy touch can paralyze you, these are Ghouls, eaters of the dead!"
Know religion
These creatures cannot paralyze elves but their claws and bites can still kill. I can defend us a bit with my magic if you remain close.
Iniative
standard action 1 cast mage armor Ast prenu drain
Second standard action: activate protective ward
Protective Ward (Su): As a standard action, you can create a 10-foot-radius field of protective magic centered on you that lasts for a number of rounds equal to your Intelligence modifier. All allies in this area (including you) receive a +1 deflection bonus to their AC. This bonus increases by +1 for every five wizard levels you possess. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier.
Seeing the disgusting carrion eaters, Mithas moves to the mouth of the tunnel and fires a shot at the closest one.
Moving a bit forward and considering his options Jor decided to adapt first more of a defensive style before really lashing out against ghouls
Cole goes full defensive in the back not willing to attack any ghouls as he does not have a good shot with his Orb of Fire and his other spell Sleep is totally useless against Ghouls.
Jor moves forward and takes a defensive stance and readies himself for the ghouls to approach.
Next comes Mithas who despite shooting at a prone target hits the closest ghoul in the back digging an arrow into its flesh. It is not happy.
Next up the Ghouls go. As the ghouls have to stand up from their meal all they will do is stand up and move to close in on their foes.
Two ghouls get hit by a blast of Divine Energy. . Unfortunately the energy was not as effective as
Alathea expected and their flesh only sizzles a little. They both take 1 HP of damage.
Gabriel then moves in and takes a swing at the wounded ghoul with his longsword.
Unfortunately the Ghoul leans back from the blow and the blade swishes by him.
Quntis moves up to the edge of the hall and seeing a clean target to two of the ghouls takes an arrow shot at the closest one.
Lastly Terevalis activates his Mage Armor.
Unfortunately the arrow shot goes wide as the creature is slightly beyond the range of his Elfsight. Remember Elfsight is only 30 feet.
I have darkvision because of elven sight.
Round 2 Initiative 9
Protective Ward 3 Rounds Remaining
Protective Ward (Su): As a standard action, you can create a 10-foot-radius field of protective magic centered on you that lasts for a number of rounds equal to your Intelligence modifier. All allies in this area (including you) receive a +1 deflection bonus to their AC. This bonus increases by +1 for every five wizard levels you possess. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier.
AC: 17
The wizard will move up 20 ft and will cast acid splash at one of the ghouls farthest away. Ast tsnint mundagoe
Stay within 10 ft of me so that my aura can protect you. Cole move up closer.
Round 2
Alathea will Channel Energy once again. .
"Zivilyn bring these tortured souls final rest."
Moving a bit forward to hit the Ghoul but not wanting to give a chance to be hitten Jor keeps fighting defensively as he swings towards Ghoul
Ok lets resolve Round 2 Actions.
Cole at the top of the order continues to hesitate as he now sees these creatures in the light of his light spell and is frightened of them.
Next Jor takes a swing with his greatsword at the ghoul that is engaging him and is able to lay the creature low with a solid blow across its shoulder, spitting its torso open.
Mithas takes a 5 foot step back from the creature and does a flurry of arrow shots into the engaged ghoul.
Both arrows miss their mark unfortunately and fly off into the darkness.
The Ghouls now get to go.
One ghoul claws and bites at Gabriel
Two of the claws rip through the leather part of Gabriel's breastplate but the bite deflects off of the metal part of the armor. and wound him. He feels a paralysis move through his body when the claws dig in
Suddenly Gabriel goes rigid for rounds.
The other ghouls rush and attack the closest victim, this being Jor in the front snapping at him with their jaws full of razor sharp teeth.
Fortunately Jor being in a defensive stance evades both their attacks.
The ghouls then get hit with a blast of divine energy.
This time the channeling of energy is very effective and the ghouls scorch and burn from the holy energy of the Tree of Life. The wounded ghoul horribly burned by the channeling collapses to the ground. Gabriel still paralyzed stares but is relieved that the Ghoul that hit him is slain.
Quintis moves out of the alleyway and takes a parting shot at one of the ghouls.
The arrow flies by harmlessly.
Trevalis moves and actives his protective shield and urges Cole forward to involve himself in the conflict.
Unfortunately Cole cowers at the sight of these things and won't budge from his position.
Mithas takes a bead on one of the ghouls and fires his bow,
Round 3 Initiative 9
Protective Ward 2 Rounds Remaining
Protective Ward (Su): As a standard action, you can create a 10-foot-radius field of protective magic centered on you that lasts for a number of rounds equal to your Intelligence modifier. All allies in this area (including you) receive a +1 deflection bonus to their AC. This bonus increases by +1 for every five wizard levels you possess. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier.
AC: 17
The wizard will move down ft and will cast acid splash at one of the ghouls across from him. [b] Ast tsnint mundagoe. /b]
And misses.
Alathea sees Gabriela go rigid but maintains her composure once again allowing Zivilyn's will work through her.
Channel Energy
Swiftly changing his stance to his another foot Jor swings his Greatsword in an arc towards Ghoul to attempt to decapacite it while keeping his distance from it
Ok for round 3
Cole cowers away from the fighting.
Jor takes a swing but misses as his caution makes him less accurate with his attack.
Mithas puts an arrow through the throat of one of the ghouls and misses with his second arrow but the ghoul drops from the attack.
The final ghoul seeing the rest of his fellows dropped and badly burned from the channeling shows unusual intelligence and does a full withdraw from combat running toward the north passageway in the room.
Althea considers channeling but the Ghoul is far out of range to do so her channeling. She can change her action if she wishes.
Terevalis likewise cannot shoot the ghoul from his distance.
The Elven Ranger moves up and does a parting shot at the ghoul.
20 percent miss chance due to dim light as the ghoul is out of the range of his elfsight
But fortunately the shot in the dark hits for damage but it only grazes the creature.
Alathea will still use that Channel to heal his allies who were injured.
Round 4 Iniative 9
The elf will move over in front of the knight.
This would move Protective Aura. 1 Round left. Cole, move up into the protective aura
In elvish Quintus can you tell who the ghoul's victims are?
Looking at the 1st body you see its almost unrecognizable as the elven corpse is nearly consume of flesh. Still by the looks of the scraps it looks to be probably one of the elves who was perhaps travelling back from the surface. He does not look like a warrior, just a commoner by the left over garb.
The elf will concentrate and cast detrct magic. Ast tsinthon redeinth
Mithas moves after the fleeing ghoul and looses another arrow,
Moving after the escaping Ghoul but not wanting to risk to spring some trap just because he was eager to kill it Jor decided to move a bit forward but kept wary of his surroundings
Gabriel has time to think a few moments as the others chase the ghoul. He is mad at himself for his sloppy shield work and allowing the creature to break his defense.
Mithas Aran's arrow drops the ghoul hitting him in the back but it still is twitching a bit on the ground. Quintis moves up on his turn and pops an arrow into the corpse and it stops twitching. (End of combat).
Searching the room you find there are two dead elves one male and one female. Quintis looks at corpses and utters a prayer in elvish and looks rather disheartened by the situation. As for the bodies, they have little of value on them. Some dirty foodstuffs, some cheap looking daggers and a handful of copper coins (12).
After about half a minute Gabriel recovers from his rigid posture although still remembers the situation as unpleasant.
Quintis after checking the tracks looks back to the party and says, "By the tracks I suspect those creatures came from the north. There could be more of these creatures and for the safety of further kin I would appreciate if you can assist in investigating and dealing with the remainder of these beasts. Still I shall not obligate you to do so as I have given my word to take you to the Enclave. Still this cannot be left unattended and if you do not aid me with this I will have to inform the high kirath Radelia Clearbrook and have her deal with the problem. I leave the choice to you."
"These creatures are outside of the natural order and upset the balance. Zivilyn w dictates require me to set this right. The poor creatures should be laid to a proper rest. You have my aid".
Jors lips twist, for a better or worse result, as he hears about extra work or confronting more of these beasts "As much as I would like to help, I am afraid that I am not so pleasant person. Others there might share their values more towards exterminating their kind but I am just sword-for-hire"
Eyeing up the dead ghouls and seeing what happened to Gabriel Jor sheathes his greatsword "I was in believe, that elves had the situation under control here as they life but as I see, there happens to be still some monstrosities left. Also the current encounter just showed that fighting against these creatures do have some dismerits" clearly indicating if fighting against Ghouls there was a possibility of ending up as Gabriel during fight
We are here. This nest must be obliterated. These creatures of the Lord of Bones might begin to threaten the surface as well. says the elf.
Quintis says to the group, "The sewers have many dangers however these beasts seem to be a new threat to arise. I heard that before the second cataclysm that the minions of Morgion used these sewers as their place of residence. The sewers of this town are ancient and vast and even I do not know the extent of the plague-ridden monstrosities that wander these tunnels. Then again the fear of these also keep the humans out of the sewers and from finding our enclave."
"Minions, eh? Maybe left to guard something valuable?" Mithas' eyes gleam. "This sounds like a serious threat to the city, we should definitely investigate."
Mithas flicks a steel piece at Jor. "Consider yourself hired for the next hour or so. Don't let any of the beasties eat me."
Catching the Steelcoin flying towards him and smirking at Mithas "Well aint that sweet of you. The economy sure has suffered when a poor mercenary has to fight for 1 steel coin. haah, well why not." giving a bow to Mithas "I guess we are off to hunt some monsters"
The ghouls or the half-human devouring him? The ghouls would only harm the body, the half-human, well, that remains to be determined. says the elf.
"So now that I can move and speak again. It would be in our interest to help. If we are to talk to the elven conclaive it would be nice to have them owe us a favor. As you can see with Terevalis, the elven people are proud and to the point. I will pledge my sword to this."
The Silvanesti are proud and to the point, Sir Knight. The lesser elves, well, the less said about them the better.
Quintis says, "You have my thanks for your aid. I shall track these beasts back to their lair as best I can."
Cole shrugs and says, "I'm in I guess. But don't ask me to get close to one of those things."
Quintis leads the party down a series of tunnels checking every so often to pick up tracks. He eventually discerns a path most taken by these creatures. You come to what was once a bricked up wall to a side passage in the sewers except that it looks like the bricks have been pushed out and now there is a gaping hole where a horrible stench blows through causing all of you to rench with disconfort. The passage is also completely dark with no grates providing a light source.
Quintis looks at the hole and renches and then says, "This appears to be the place. The foul stench of death reaks even beyond the smell of human feces. I suggest the most armored of you go through first."
Cole refreshes his light spell as a stone in his hand glows. As you disarmed Cole of all his equipment and money he does not even have a dagger to defend himself, forcing him to use a rock as a point for his light spell. "I will provide the light source. Says Cole.
The group proceeds down the passageway that eventually leads into a chamber that looks like a long dried out and unused section of the sewers. The stench of rotting flesh and decay spreads through this room. While this room is pitch dark the light source from Cole and your other sources illuminate the room but also reveal 3 ghouls milling about, two wandering around and one near a giant pile of something.
The thing that catches your eyes however is a big bloated mishappen creature with odd sized limbs and covered all over with thick lumps of flesh. It seems to be digging its face into a big mass of meat on a blood soaked wooden table. Also you notice it has an amulet around its neck looks to be a rat claw necklace made of bronze although rather tattered looking.
It looks up and hisses, "Sssslaves, bring me more meeeatttt."
It then looks up at the light source and at your party and gives a toothy smile with its razor sharp jagged still bloody from his recent meal and hisses "I can smmmell you fleshlings. Ah yes... fresh meat... the sweeetness. It is time to feast!"
Anyway time to roll for initiative. Ghouls will go on the same initiative but the creature will have its own initiative.
Ouch the ghouls got a natural 20. However as they are a group of creatures and you sort of surprised them they don't get any other benefit from the roll other than going pretty quickly. It just means you don't get a surprise round against them either.
Fort Save
Round 1 Iniative 12
The elf will move up and active his protective ward.
activate protective ward
Protective Ward (Su): As a standard action, you can create a 10-foot-radius field of protective magic centered on you that lasts for a number of rounds equal to your Intelligence modifier. All allies in this area (including you) receive a +1 deflection bonus to their AC. This bonus increases by +1 for every five wizard levels you possess. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier.
You will devour no other elves in this place or any other spawn of darkness.
Sickened
The character takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.
Moving a bit forward and assuming his defensive stance Jor concentrates what is in front of him at the moment. Even if it was a bit mocking and not a contract at all, he did consider Mithas as his contractor for this small trip.
Better to stay a bit front and keep him behind instead of getting toe-to-toe with these abominations Jor thought to himself as he waited the next move