Seherab slashes back before stepping away, bleeding heavily from the onslaught. "I've got some healing brews, I'll get to it soon!" he shouts.
Ankhef commands his 2 zombies to beat on the one they are flanking.
Ankhef will then cast guidance on Harkuf.
Seherab slashes at the northern zombie, landing a powerful strike and taking it down!
Ankhef's undead friends begin pounding on another zombie, though their attacks are fairly ineffective against their brethern! Ankhef gives Brother Harkuf some guidance!
G-1
Teos moves and slashes with dwarven grace.
Dwarven
Grace
Harkuf lands a blow against the green-tinged zombie, but the damage is resisted by the undead's rotting flesh! His summoned eagles attack the same zombie, but only one manages to land a bite!
Teos punches air!
The last two zbies keep attacking. One manages to land a blow against Harkuf!
Teos begins a kata of death, slashing a zombie over and over...
Seherab studies the green zombie for a weak spot before stepping in and slashing!
Teos takes down one zombie, while Seherab takes down the other!
Searching the wagon, you find the corpse is apparently the wagon’s driver. It seems he died with his payment of 50 gp still in his belt pouch. In addition, he wears a crude silver chain worth 50 gp wrapped around his left wrist.
Seherab replaces the dagger into his belt and sifts around the rubble. . . again. "Can't believe what's going on in this city. Somebody or something dark has to be behind it."
Ankhef nods at Seherab.
"I suggest we destroy these zombies. Even though they obey me now, I may need my focus later for more undead... Also it may give others the wrong impression about us."
Ankhef skewers the zombies on his spear.
"Agreed. It is helpful in the heat of the moment but I dislike using the undead after the battle has died down." Seherab helps dispatch the zombies.
Teos looks over the wreckage, and busies himself with preparing a rough sledge to drag the dead man to the temple - no reason to leave him as food for zombies. While doing so, he stumbles across a small trove of the man's worldly possessions.
Teos turns the mummified hand to more learned souls, unsure of what strange trinket he has discovered.
Slot neck; Price 3,000 gp; Weight 2 lbs.
Description
This mummified human hand comes from an honest man punished for a crime he didn’t commit, and is dried and hung from a simple twine thong around the neck. The hand’s scapegoat origins offer some protection to its wearer. When the wearer of a hand of the honest man is targeted by a curse or a misfortune effect such as a witch’s misfortune or evil eye hex, the curse is instead transferred to the hand with no ill effects to the wearer. The hand retains the curse (even if it normally expires after a set duration) until the effect is removed with a remove curse spell or similar effect. A spellcaster receives a +2 bonus on her caster level check to remove a curse stored in a hand of the honest man. Removing a hand of the honest man while it holds a curse instantly transfers the curse to its wearer. A hand of the honest man can hold only one curse or effect at a time. If the wearer is targeted by another curse while the hand is currently storing a curse, the new curse takes effect normally. A hand of the honest man has no effect on curses already affecting a creature.
The wearer of a hand of the honest man is riddled with guilt over any untruths she utters, and takes a –2 penalty on all Bluff checks while wearing the hand.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, remove curse; Cost 1,500 gp
"Is there anyone else here? Where did they all go? Or did they all turn into what we just destroyed?"
Ankhef will go ahead and take the hand.
Teos inquisitively points towards the auction house in response to Harkuf's question; he finishes securing the sledge and readies himself to drag it.
Approaching the auction house, you enter to find it empty, and apparently closed due to the ongoing crisis.
Leaving the auction house, (perhaps to find someone to identify the chain?), you continue to patrol the deserted streets. As you enter the Asp district, you find it just as deserted as every other district, though you suddenly hear a boom of thunder, even though the sky is clear.
Rounding a corner, you are greeted with a strange sight. A woman, guiding a tied-up zombie, is surrounded by an angry mob. A tense standoff now exists.....
Teos looks confused at the sky, and then forms a sign with his hands. Magic
"Odd," Seherab notes as he picks up on the same cues as Teos. "Why would someone want to create the appearance of a coming storm? Trying to keep people inside perhaps?"
Seeing the crowd, he steps forward and calls out, "Now what is going on here?"
One of the members of the mob turns to the party of dwarves. "Crazy old bag is leading around an undead! She claims its her husband! We going to put a stop to it!"
"Ma'am, is that truly your husband? Perhaps if you'll allow us, we can escort you to the temple and the priests there will see what they can do for him."
Teos moves in closer to the center of the action, quite unsure of which side poses a greater threat. He will take a look at the zombie and the woman, looking for signs that the woman is not who she says she is.
Ankhef remains silent and observes for the moment, not wanted to tip his hand and further scare the locals.
The woman nods. "I had just finished preparing for my husband's body for funeral, yesterday, when he suddenly animated." She looks over the city. "It seems he was not the only one animated...."
"No, indeed not. But don't you think he should be put back to rest? This abomination is not healthy for anyone."
The woman fixes an icy stare at Seherab. "My husband's rising is a gift from the gods. I will take him back to my workshop and restore his mind." To this a low, angry murmur travels through the assembled mob.
Teos raises a bushy eyebrow at the mention of "workshop" and restoring minds. He balls his fists reflexively as he considers the woman.
Ankhef will frown and shake his head at the woman.
"I'm afraid it is merely his body that remains. His spirit flies restless elsewhere, not able to come to peace while his body is inhabited by the throes of undeath. Please, he needs to be put to rest. Honor his memory and soothe his spirit. You know in your heart what must be done."
"Indeed, you say it better than I could, brother." Seherab nods along to Ankhef's suggestion.
Teos believes the woman is being rational when she mention restoring her husbands faculties, though, it is obviously tinged with grief.
As Ankhef speaks, the woman shrugs. "You may be right....." She says thoughtfully.
As you speak to the woman, the mob continues to grow agitated. "Kill the abomination!" Someone yells. "Kill her if she gets in the way!" Another yells. The mobs begins working ups its courage, pushing firward a bit, as the woman bristles and begins reaching to a spell component pouch.
Ankhef turns to the crowd. "We are Pahmet Dwarves, we will help this poor creature properly into the afterlife, but we need space and quiet to ensure the proper ritual of rest is complete."
The crowd listens to Ankhef, as the woman bows her head and begins to cry. Mumbling to themselves, the crowd begins to disperse in two and three before soon you are left alone with the woman and her dead husband. The woman looks up through tear-streaked eyes. "I believe you speak wisely. I will return to the temple and have my husband put to his...final rest." She says, choking on the last words.
"Wise decision. Let us escort you. Don't want any more mobs beating you up along the way."
Ankhef nods to the woman and follows along.
Teos shrugs, not sure where to go at this point. He falls in behind Ankhef.
Escorting the woman back to the temple, she relinquishes custody of her husband to the temple, so he can be destroyed and his soul, hopefully, sent to the Boneyard for judgement. Still only midday, the party enters the streets again.
Moving to the Necropolis, you near the Precinct of the Left Eye, the headquarters of Wati's town guard. A low sandstone building-worn smooth from centuries of exposure-stands out among the larger, more recent constructions. Statues lining the wall hold swords and scales, but fresh corpses scattered on the street outside the doors hint at something darker withing. The corpses in the street appear to be inanimate, but irregular bloody paths trail behind them, as if they stumbled or crawled from the courthouse's front doors before finally succumbing to their wounds.
As you near, it is immediately apparent that each corpse has an eye removed.
Ankhef ponders "Something old, too old has risen to kill these men. Once in Wati, justice involved taking eyes. A barbaric practice, long since left behind. I suspect these were prisoners here at the courthouse, and someone... something has killed them."
Teos grimaces at Ankhef's revelations. He quaffs a potion of bull's strength and begs another applications of the wand of mage armor. He'll then dart ahead of the group, hoping to act as the bait to lure out whatever perversion of justice lies within the courthouse.
Ankhef will wack him self with the cure wounds wand before casting false life on himself.
"Indeed, I have read those accounts as well, brother. Are you suggesting that some ancient power who may have practiced that tradition when they were alive has returned to this city? I do not like where this is heading...."
Ankhef nods to his clanbrother "Yes... Hopefully I am wrong though."
Entering the building, you see five skeletons apparently holding court. One skeleton, wearing the robes of a judge, is pronouncing judgement upon a citizen being held by a skeleton bailiff.