Raen holds her breath for a long moment as the cheers of her fellows go up -- she scarcely dares to believe that the chieftain Grenseldek is finished. When the giantess doesn't get up, however, relief floods over her and she hurries check on each of her companions. Vael and Whistle Pig are there behind her, grinning, and while both Hamilton and Ushyle look seriously hurt the wounds don't seem to be chilling their moods at present. Doxon hardly looks to be scratched.
She sits on a cleaner spot on one of the huge beds for a moment. It is done. She can feel some magic returning to her, the weave growing, and so she slowly takes out her spellbook for a refresher. There are still dangers in the fort.
A search of the bodies and room proves very fruitful indeed. There's a raised table tucked away in the room. Upin sits a pair of objects, their identity covered by a heavy black cloth.
The body guards are quite well equipped, though their gear is too large for any of you:
Grenseldek, too, was well equipped:
Ham is knocked away and the cross strike sends him flying back five feet just before Doxon brings her down.
You hear a gasp as Hamilton climbs to his feet and tries to collect his breath.
|
WP smiles as the giant hits the floor and breaths her last. As he walks toward the corpse, he gives Ham a knowing look and a nod. Pig squats down and stares at the face of the fallen foe. He stares into the gaping hole that was her eye for a few moments, as if looking for something. Apparently, not seeing what he was looking for, he sighs. He spends the next few minutes removing a portion of her red locks, and fastening it to his sling staff. He takes a moment to admire his trophies. He touches each in turn."Notice how you can't tell the difference between the Hag's hair and the filthy giant's hair except for the color?" his question is directed at no one at all."I wonder if she was part hag?"
WP will pick up the thunder stones.
Doxon wipes Agrimmosh and his pick clean of blood and ichor. He then walks over to the table and pulls the black cloth off.
I'm going to need to name this thing, I think, he considers, admiring the pick with a quick glance at Grenseldek's eye socket.
Doxon takes the cloth away to reveal half a geode and a human skull!
As the skull is revealed, an intangible pall falls upon the party. Melancholy seeps in like the sea in a leaking boat. It begins to weave its way to your resolve.
Ushyle is momentarily overcome by the wave of sadness, but his euphoria from the blessing of Milani during the recent combat is enough to help him shake it off.
Vael breathes a sigh of relief when the giantess falls. "Ushyle, slow down. Yer going to-" he manages to say before the wave of despair washes over him.
(+2 for spells and spell-like abilities)
The shaman, strong of spirit, has no trouble shaking the effect. "What be that?"
(+5 vs spells and spell-like effects)
As Doxon reveals what lay on the table, he can feel the pall of dread pass over him. But he is made of sterner stuff, forged in the fire of Torag's glory. Such despair has no place in his heart.
Will Save:
Ham had been humming a tavern song... But as the skull is revealed he stops and stares at it. Tears well up in his eyes and you can all see him straining to keep it in.
The skull looks a little too familiar to Raen. High cheekbones... covered by a sharp, gaunt, disapproving face. She tugs at her neck and shakes off the chilling memory, turning her attention instead to the geode.
The flames from Ham's scimitar die out. He still hasn't moved yet.
KNowledge (Geography) or (Local) from anyone who handles the geode.
Raen steps in front of the ranger and breaks his eye contact with the skull. She holds a hand up to his stubbled cheek. "You did good there. Let Vael take a look at that wound, alright?"
She gives Hamilton a small smile and moves off to find Whistle Pig, where she sits with him a moment. She rests her head on his shoulder.
When the halfling and the ranger are more like themselves, Raen steals a moment to compare the two geodes.
Raen also takes a moment to cautiously examine the skull with further scrutiny.
Vael steps towards Ushyle and again places a healing hand on the severely injured man.
Tulia then chirps and says, "It's time. If you want to help them, connect your soul with them. Let your soul's energy flow back. Go on, like the Life Spirit told you."
The brewer, still coming to terms with all these shamanic 'tricks', takes a deep breath. He closes his eyes and places a palm over his heart. His hand shakes as positive energy flows from his chest to his hand. He opens his eyes, points at Ushyle, and a beam of light lances into the half-orc painlessly. He repeats this process for the rest of the group.
This seems unnatural, but I can't overcome it. Can I... Sense anything like direction or source?
Hamilton tries to collect himself.
Hamilton closes his eyes and turns his mind's eye towards the feeling, and it simply feels like it's everywhere...
Meanwhile Raen examines the geode, and discovers that when held at the correct angle, it's a shockingly detailed map of the Mindspin Mountains. It seems to be a map to a very hidden valley in the range. The crystals in the rock provide a clear path to this place... whatever may be there, someone went through great lengths to hide it. coupled with the papers in the vault, this could be something BIG.
Hamilton stands with eyes closed and tears welling up. His next words come out labored.
The skull... Is that part of the remains we need to collect?
"It's possible, aye." Vael agrees with Hamilton. "We cou' brin' it ta tha ghost ta confirm. I cou' try and speak with it on tha morrow too. I've nae got that trick prepared, but I cou' with rest."
"I have a full map now," Raen says quietly with eyes trained on the narrow crystalline pass. "Might be something worth looking into, once the Twisted Hearts are done."
Her face darkens as she puts the two geodes securely away. "If Trunau is made safe, that is." A vague image of this Storm Tyrant and an army of giants dwells menacingly in her mind.
The skull itself doesn't appear to be magical. Whatever causes the curse, it's beyond the realms of simple magic.
Whistle Pig checks the door, and decides it's safe. A balcony skirted with stone crenellations offers a commanding view of the fort’s inner yards and buildings. Two ornate doors, one in the north and one in the east, provide access to the keep’s upper floor. The halfling knows that if he goes to the edge, he'll be in plain view of the whole fort...
Raen unfurls the sketched map of the fort assembled back at Blix's way-station. She gazes through the open door and counts her hands against the sky beneath the sun to judge the lateness of the afternoon.
"I warrant there is a basement to this tower," she says to milling Trunauans. "Would not do for any guards or cooks down there to find their chieftain missing. Down the stairs, make it safe, then I will get us across back to the chapel and we can hopefully put that thing," she nods at the skull Vael carefully places in his satchel, "to a better rest."
She rolls of the map and stuffs it into her pack. "Tomorrow: the orcs."
She gestures for Whistle Pig to lead the way down the stairs.
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WP is still an emotional wreak. He ponders if he should just return to Cheliax and the life of a slave.
Somehow he finds the will to move on. He travels down the stairs past the cage with the winged lions and down to the first floor. He hands his pack to Ham for safe keeping while he does he following:
stealth down the stairs:
Check the double doors for traps:
check the double door for sounds:
Picks the lock if needed:
Whistle Pig straightens his back and sets to work. The stairs are quiet, but then everything seems quiet compared to the horrors at the top of the tower.
The door is locked, but the halfling takes no time at all to open it.
Rows of decrepit, mildew-covered wooden shelves line this storeroom. Ancient bloodstains soil the floor beneath piles of filthy bedding. A large cast-iron cauldron lies on its side in the northwest corner of the room under a thick layer of dust, undisturbed except for a single large handprint in the grime. A pungent, sour stench fills the air.
Raen follows the halfling down the stairs. "The rest of Fabian might be down here," she says quietly, eyeing the bloodstains and the cauldron, which may well have once contained the gruesome human rations. The handprint unnerves her, and she sends out a cautious magical feel for the place.
Ham knows he's been cursed. Raen reaches out with her senses, but the cauldron is too far. No magical auras appear within the room.
Whistle Pig creeps into the room...
The cauldron lurches and rights itself, filling with a thick, steaming stew containing recognizable chunks of human flesh (ears, fingers, feet, hands, etc.)
You see a vision of you gorging yourself on the horrific meal and are filled with such profound remorse at the cannibalistic act that you feel like you've been struck by a giant's club.
The party watches in horror as the already fragile halfling begins screaming in agony. He rocks back and forth before he starts to smash his face against the ground. His cries are incomprehensible as the trauma of the head smash drowns out any words.
It looks like Whistle Pig has been overcome by the haunted room. It seems that he's planning on smashing his own head into the floor until he's unconscious and dying.
Round 1:
Ushyle: Go
Raen: Go
Whistle Pig: TBD
Doxon: TBD
Vael: TBD
Hamilton: TBD
I think I'm even lower. Initiative is an ability check, technically, right? I'm at -2 because of the curse.
Raen gasps and holds up an arm to keep the others back. "Vael! Can you get him out of there?!"
What th...no!
Ushyle reaches out to his halfling friend, trying to restrain him from self-punishment.
But the inconsolable Whistle Pig slips out of his grasp.
Ushyle can't get a hold of the halfling.
Round 1:
Ushyle: Miss
Raen: Go
Whistle Pig: TBD
Doxon: TBD
Vael: TBD
Hamilton: TBD
Raen summons all her arcane energy and concentrates hard. She bores down on the maddened halfling and makes every effort to sever the threads that bind him to the haunted cauldron.
Raen's spell fails miserably as Whistle Pig slams his skull into the floor, trying to banish the vision
Round 1:
Ushyle: Miss
Raen: Fail
Whistle Pig: SMASH
Doxon: Go
Vael: Go
Hamilton: Go
Vael waves his hands and chants as swirling starlight surrounds Whistle Pig. The spiritual energy pulls him fro his current location, gently depositing him next to the dwarf.
Whistle Pig takes the leap, but the feelings of devastating guilt remain. He continues to try and bash his own head in.
Round 1:
Ushyle: Miss
Raen: Fail
Whistle Pig: SMASH
Doxon: Go
Vael: Leap
Hamilton: Go
Doxon rushes over to the thrashing halfling, laying a hand on his back and calls to Torag to lend his divine protection to the afflicted WP.
Cast Protection from Evil on Whistle Pig.
Doxon tries to purge Whistle Pig's mind of the haunted energy: , but the haunting is too strong for Doxon's spell.
Round 1:
Ushyle: Miss
Raen: Fail
Whistle Pig: SMASH
Doxon: Protection from Evil
Vael: Leap
Hamilton: Go
Ham chokes back some tears and moves to restrain Whistlepig.
Grapple!: Vs. CMD...
Hamilton gets Whistle Pig under control. The others quickly jump on and pin the poor halfling. For the next half minute the heroes of Trunau have to simply watch as their friend wails and moans, trying to break his own skull.
It's horrible and macabre.
Thankfully it's not for long. Whistle Pig eventually calms down and regains his senses, though the horror of the haunt will linger in the reaches of his memory.
Raen notes that the cauldron seems to go inert not long after. The room is likely safe for now.