Haruk unslings his crossbow and fires off a bolt
Firing into the general melee, Haruk's bolt is unable to find its mark and skips off the hardened flesh of the beast.
With a pained bellow Albrekt flexes and attempts to break the beast's crushing grip;
"RRRRRRRAAAAAARRRGGHHH!!!! Strength des Rough Beast ist greater als die eines Scheiße Beast!"
:
With a roar of almost inhuman fury, Albrekt manages to free himself from the monster's grip... and plummets into the sewage below.
:
Albrekt clutches at thin air, then lands a fist full of crud as he plows into the sewer's depths...
Ventar unshoulders his crossbow and takes a wild shot at the beast...
The crossbow bolt skips off the monster's flesh and into the darkness beyond.
With a final roar of defiance, the flames finally overwhelm the beast and send it crashing to the ground in a torrent of sludge and burnt flesh. As soon as the beast collapses, its body cracks apart to release a fetid cloud of noxious gas before slamming into the sewage below. Albrekt is nearly crushed by the monstrosity but is able to scramble to the water's edge after a few moments of being tossed around by the churning water.
After the vapor has cleared and the stench of burnt flesh still hangs heavy in the air, all is silent once more save the distant dripping and sloshing of water.
Sodden in raw sewage Albrekt's cold eyes stare out from his coated skin and gear.
"Ein worthy foe nicht?"
"Well, that was, uhm, interesting. Solace looks about, hoping that nothing else is coming. "Shall we continue on or go up? Kamau, how much time left do you think we have before the tide comes in?"
Survival:
Perception:
Haruk lowers his crossbow and grimaces as the monster explodes "That was rather unpleasant."
Albrekt scoops to lift a chunk of charred muck monster as he sloshes towards the others dragging his glaive behind him
He tilts his head curiously at Haruk's remark, before sniffing the muck meat and biting off a strip with his uneven teeth;
"Nei. Tis good..."
He tilts his head curiously at Haruk's remark, before sniffing the muck meat and biting off a strip with his uneven teeth;
Assuming Kamau shares his knowledge of the tides with us: "Well, shall we press on a bit more then and see what we can find? I wonder what, if anything, that creature may have been guarding."
Albrekt looks toward Kamau and gestures with his glaive toward the way ahead;
"Vorangehen..."
Confused about what Albrekt just said, Solace will choose to assume it meant for Kamau to lead the way. Making sure to refresh the light on her short spear, Solace will continue on up the tunnel with the group. "Those things don't usually travel in pairs or anything, do they?"
"Who can say?" Kamau asks, maybe a little wryly. "I don't happen to be a scholar of undeath."
The ranger turns and heads off into the dark, again moving at the edge of the party's light.
The tunnel continues on, much as it had been, for perhaps a hundred feet or so. Signs of the creature's lair become evident as there are great piles of muck and the remains of dozens of creature both humanoid and otherwise. A low-hanging fog persists throughout the area, clinging near the surface of the fetid sewage channel and the walkways on either side.
Albrekt lumbers into the lair along with the others, as fetid and stinking as the sewer beast's home;
:
Solace motions for the group to halt for a moment. "It doesn't make sense for a fog to gather in a tunnel like this. I wonder if perhaps there is someone creating this fog...."
Haruk stops and puts a hand on his wand, in case.
Solace's jaw drops as she just comes to a realization. "Oh f~$$ me sideways. This isn't a summoned fog, it's the immaterial form of someone or something."
know arcana 1d20+10
know planes 1d20+11
"There's a good chance this mist is in fact a vampire." He says pulling out his wand.
Albrekt sniffs at the mist trying to draw his own conclusions;
:
"Ja. Vampir..."
The brute brings his glaive to bear, ready if something should appear from the mist...
On the far side of the chamber, near the extremity of the party's lights, the mist gathers and swirls, slowly coalescing into a humanoid shape. The figure is clothed in elegant deep blue silks and black lace adorned with numerous garnet cabochons positioned exquisitely by a master tailor, bearing no hint of the sewage which now surrounds him.
His frame is lithe and powerful with bone-white flesh, piercing red eyes, and stark raven hair. The man is both beautiful and terrifying to behold, but he makes no hostile movements towards the party. Instead, his mouth splits in a fiendish grin as he crosses his arms before him. He speaks with a dark, velvety voice that seems to carry well within the confines of the sewer tunnel.
"I had not expected more visitors so soon. Undoubtedly Milo informed his superiors of his party's failure and they have sent you to attempt what they had failed? Hmph," the vampire casually glances away, shaking his head. "I must say I am quite inconvenienced by your intrusion. You've slain both my trusted pet and my youngest child."
His cold eyes survey the group, flicking out to spot Kamau lying in the shadows ahead of the others. His tongue clicks in displeasure. "You Pathfinders just don't know when to quit, do you?"
Albrekt eyes the newcomer with a mixture of caution and contempt; the brute's instincts tell him this is a foe beyond his ken and yet a yearning for glorious destruction and unlife tease him into action...
The fell warrior shifts uncomfortably baleful gaze affixed on Vampir.
Haruk moves up to the ruinous warrior and says quietly "Albrekt, allow me to try talking to him. Please. "
Kamau looks doubtfully at Haruk as he says this. With his hands on his serrated blades, eyes narrowed mistrustfully, he nonetheless holds still for the moment, letting Haruk speak his piece.
The creature tilts his head slightly, looking at Haruk expectantly.
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Solace will try to remain quiet for a moment for Haruk to attempt to talk to the vampire, but she couldn't help but snicker a little at being called a "Pathfinder".
"I don't know anything about Milo, or what he was doing down here. We're just some opportunsitic exploreres who heard there some great treasure hidden in the sewer depths. The only reason we killed your pet and childe was we feared for our lives"
The vampire purses his lips a moment as Haruk speaks, his eyes still monitoring each of the party in turn. After the infernalist finishes his statement, the vampire pauses in consideration for a moment and finally nods.
"Very well. There are indeed some potent items of interest in my possession, the same items Milo and the other Pathfinders came looking for. Unlike them, however, I sense that you and your associates are more open to making arrangements like civilized people, yes? I do not much care for thieves," the man's normally soothing voice takes on a decidedly darker tone at the final statement, his forehead creasing slightly.
Albrekt grunts a laugh;
"Nicht alle civilised..."
The brute keeps his gaze on the apex undead, mesmorised by its necrotic power...
"What sort of arrangements do you have in mind and what sort of potent items do you have?"
"The items are of little interest to me personally. It is believed that they are parts of a key of some kind, or perhaps they are tools to find this key. To be honest, I am uncertain of their true purpose. All I know is that the Pathfinder Society and the Church of Pharasma were very protective of them and are currently seeking their return," the undead lowers his hands to his sides, adopting a much more casual stance as he paces in the dim light of Solace's spell.
"What I am interested in is acquiring capable, competent agents to act on my behalf during daylight hours and in places where I cannot tread. There are... persons... within the city of Caliphas whom I need to be rid of. These persons are quite aware of my intentions towards them and, perhaps more unfortunately, aware of my... condition. It is because of this that I find myself unable to deal with them in person. I want these people removed. Permanently. For each of them that falls, I shall see fit to release to you one of the items in my possession," the vampire tilts his head, revealing a predatory grin as he looks to the gathered adventurers.
"If you are particularly enterprising, there are items in the possession of these individuals that I may find worth trading for additional treasures from my collection. What say you? Can we come to an accord?"
"So you want us to kill off a few people, and in return, you'll give us not only the items that two factions seek, but also trade us some of your own personal treasure if we're able to collect some items of interest for you as well?" He thinks this over for a moment or two. "I have no problem with this"
"Sounds like a decent deal to me." Solace is favoring the vampire with a predatory grin of her own.