Thral sheaths his falchion, he says nothing just merely observes the newcomer.
The Southern Double Doors of the Laundry Room
The Goblin looks at the human, "Longshanks, you attacked by man in tattered wraps too!?"
As you look around Randee, it seems that what you experienced was a dream, a terrible dream. You were here or were you here? Where even is here? Your memory is so hazy you just don't remember much. You are dressed in strange garb, that of a patient in an asylum!
"Y-yeah..." is all what Randee is able to mumble.
Seeing that these people seem somewhat friendly, and after looking around a bit more, he gets slowly to his feet and tries to recompose himself.
"Name's Randee" he starts, not forgetting the most basic rules of politeness, even in this situation. "I can't seem to remember why I ended up here. Do you have any clue? Are you all here for the same reason?"
A lot more questions clog inside Randee's brain but, for now, let's begin with the beginning...
"Don't know why I'm here... or how I got here... Perhaps the tables are turned here and the lunatics are running the asylum? Whatever the situation, I think we'd all like to get out of here." the speaker is a small frog-like humanoid, whose eyes recede into his head oddly when he blinks.. "Come with us, Randee. We are seeking a way out."
The Southern Double Doors of the Laundry Room
Kaloora looks puzzled, "We kill enough shapechanger to get Longshanks to let us back you think?"
Randee, you vaguely remember having things... but where are they now?
Belrim grunts, "Someone get him a dagger. Let's keep going." The dwarf walks back out to the north hallway, waiting for the rest.
"I... I think I came here with some clothes... Probably you all did, right? We should have a look and see if we can find some proper clothes." He accepts the dagger without paying attention, looking to everyone instead and pointing at their attires. "If we go out of here with these, we will call attention quite too much."
Then Randee realizes what he has been handed. "A knife? I'm not a good scrapper, but I guess it's me or them. Thank you. If anyone happens to see my hat, though..."
The Hallway North
As you push north climbing over the rubble of this collapsed part of the building, you find the way farther north completely collapsed.
The eastern double doors though are accessible.
Randee, something feels familiar about those doors...
"I've been here before... could it be when they brought me in?"
The Hallway North
Randee try as you might you just cannot remember!
"Alright, let's do this..."
Randee walks to the doors and energetically opens them (or tries to).
The Hallway North
Randee finds the doors locked.
"Ah, damn." Finding the door locked takes away most of the drama. Randee turns to the others looking for help. "The door is locked. What now?"
"Move aside", says Belrim, as he remove his heavy pick from his back.
Thral examines the door, unable to figure out if something is amiss behind the wooden door. One thing was certain it was locked and he was determined to open.
"Need tools."
He jams the tip of his knife into the lock and begins to play with it.
The Hallway North
Grendl focuses on the doorway intently while Kaloora begins to pick through the ruins absentmindedly.
"WAIT!" shouts Grendl, "I hear something on the other side, a moaning soft but so close to the door..."
Suddenly the door is pushed open by a set of hands ending in sharp claws!
Randee
Thral
Belrim
Ghouls (3)
Thral quickly draws his falchion, swinging at the creature.
Grendl shoots a ray of frost at the creature at the door.
Sadly it barely misses Belrim and hits the door instead of the creature.
"oops"
The Hallway North
Thral's initial attack slices through the hand of the Ghoul but it does not even slow down as it pushes its way through the door. Though Grendl's ray misses.
The first monster lunges with its horrible breath and needle like teeth at Thral!
The second reaches out from the doorway to slice with one claw at Belrim while the third also reaches out and also attacks Thral!
The slippery Kobold manages to shift so the attacks from both of the undead horrors miss.
Belrim is not as fast as the second creature manages to slash him on the arm.
Ghoul 2 - HP = 13/13 - Attack Belrim Claw - - Claw Damage
Ghoul 3 - HP = 13/13 - Attack Thral Claw - - Claw Damage
Grendl tries again to target one of the undead with a ray
... and again, the ray misses widely.
Feeling nearly half his life drained away in that one attack. Belrim swings his heavy pick to bring as much hurt to the ghoul.
Randee reacts quickly, instinctively, though he wouldn't be able to tell how or why. Just something makes him move his hands, and a bolt of force appears and hits his enemies, craking.
Thral slashes at the ghoul with his scimitar fearing he might be the next meal.
Grandl's ray is off target due to the tight quarters of the fighting.
Belrim grunts as he takes a vicious hit from the Ghoul, he feels stiff for a mere moment and then delivers a blow that slices the creatures jaw right off slamming it into the ground, unmoving.
Kaloors sends a Divine Blast at the next Ghoul in line - - Damage
---
From nowhere bolts of lightning streak out and strikes all three creatures.
Thral attacks with his Falchion - - Damage
Thral's attack damn near brings down the second creature but still it manages to hold its feet and attacks Belrim once more.
The last of the creatures lunges for Kaloora sensing some sort of energy emanating from the Goblin that would be just so delicious...
Ghoul 2 - HP = 1/13 - Attack Belrim Claw - - Claw Damage
Ghoul 3 - HP = 8/13 - Attack Kaloora Claw #1 - - Claw Damage - Claw #2 - - Claw Damage - Bite - - Claw Damage
Kaloora manages to dodge one of the claws and the bite of the damned thing but the second claw slices the Goblin's arm and he is held fast by paralysis!
Belrim readies his heavy pick ready to attack any other undead that sticks it's head through the door frame.
"Hey... it was me! I wished them to die, and the rays appeared!"
Randee observes his hands as if he was wielding birthday gift.
"Let's finish this off, then!"
Grendl hopes those force missiles put an end to it, but if not, tries again to hit it with a ray.
The Hallway North
As Belrim lifts his pick to strike once more, the magic of his allies lays waste to the remaining Ghouls!
No further sound or movement comes from the room.
The Hallway North - the Final Northern Room
As the Patients' enter the room they see several workbenches that lie crushed beneath the rubble of this room’s collapsed ceiling. The sky above is an ominous yellowish grey color the likes of which none of you have ever seen before.
The northern wall appears unstable and is probably best avoided. Most of the equipment that once filled the room has been pilfered of destroyed and the rubble of the floor above now fills much of the room. The space might have entirely collapsed if it weren’t for a few particularly study supports.
A search of the room yields a workbench with a closed drawer that is still functional within you find the following items:
a Chainshirt
a Dagger
a Component Pouch
a Courtier's Outfit + Jewelry
a Waterskin still filled with good wine
a Scroll Case (empty) and
a Belt Pouch with 15 gp.
Randee these goods seem so familiar as if they once belonged to you!
Kaloora shrugs, "We find loot, now we get back to human survivors? Time for rest I thinks..."
Kaloora is right, there really is nothing else of significance to look at in this room, it seems the threat to the north has been neutralized by your group.
"I would agree... Rest sounds good... Look at all this great stuff!"
Grendl starts pawing through it all looking for anything of value to him in particular.
The items they find in the room seem familiar to Randee... as if he once owned them. "I recognise this clothes..."
While Grendl is scavenging through the gear, Randee closes in, slowly. He holds one of the objects in his hand, and a memory comes to his mind. "Yes... These are familiar items. I think... I think they're mine."
He looks over them, and thinks an armor and some weapons can do him no good. He starts donning the chain shirt, while thinking about the usefulness of the luxury clothes. "Well, one never knows, right?". The scroll case and the bags have seen more plentiful days, but still. When he finds out the wine, though, a smile covers his face.
"Hey, guys, this wine seems good quality. Don't we deserve a nice reward for our job?" He takes a large sip and handles the waterskin to the nearest companion. "Here, have some. It's quite tasty!"
"Aye, resting does sounds good", signed Belrim as he slide down the nearby wall to sit on the floor.
Grendl takes the wineskin and drinks some... then passes it on... "Good, thanks!" He leaves Randee's stuff alone after it gets claimed...
Belrim takes a swig out of the wineskin.
It's good, just not 'dwarven-good'.
The dwarf passes the wineskin down the line.
Thral picks up the jewellery and beings to examine it. Something about the jewellery reminded him of something, as to what he couldn't figure out.
Thral takes a sip from the wineskin, he nods to dwarf and passes the wine back to his companions. It was a small reward, but they deserved it.
The Sanctuary of the Chapel?
The Patients' with their new ally (?) in tow return to the southern hall.
The familiar voice of Captain York calls out, "They return. Or do they, tell me, what were the first words I said to your group when you encountered the barricade!?"
The man's paranoia is still clearly quite high.
Before you can answer the woman's voice, Winter calls out, "Let them through Captain, it is unlikely there were four more of the creatures north else we'd have been overrun..."
The climb over the barricade is tricky as the furniture is ever shifting and with the weariness of so many combats behind you, your strength and balance is not what it was when you first climbed it.
Still, you all make it over reasonably well enough.
Winter and York and two others stand nearby and watch you as you trudge towards them, "Well met. I am impressed. The madman you sent to us speaks gibberish but hopefully we can heal him. By the looks of you you did indeed face down many challenges.
Still, the group will be wary of you all as you are not human..."
Her voice trails off as she sees Randee, "I see you found another survivor. Regardless, rest and tomorrow or tonight, I have lost track of the days and nights in this place, we can decide how else we can find a way to compromise. For now, you'll need to rest in the hall. I hope that is agreeable. We will provide you bedrolls, food, water, and a watch".
"Well met." Randee tips his hat. "It is nice to find some hospitality here. My name's Randee."
Randee lets the kobold play with the jewels. After all, baubles are not an important thing when you're trapped in an asylum besieged by zombies. He even smiles slightly at the thought of that, knowing some days ago he would have never let anyone touch his things (and much less his wine).
And talking about things... "Here, thank you. I won't need it, I think, and if so I have mine." Randee returns the dagger to the dwarf. "I guess it can be much more useful in the hands of other."
Then, walking around to check the place, he asks to no one in particular: "Okay, now... would anyone be so kind as to tell me what the Hell are we doing here?"
"No one knows. Most of still don't even remember who we are", spoke Belrim.
As York and Winter leave the heroes along, the dwarf speaks to Randee in a low voice, "I don't fully trust Winter. I suspect she's a shapechanger as well. I will watch over us as you sleep, then you watch for a few hours, while I get some shuteye."
Randee opens his eyes wildly, and alternates between looking at Belrim and Winter. "Wow. Yes, count m- wait" he goes, as he realizes one thing, "What do you mean 'as well'? Are there other shapeshifters?" Randee looks everywhere in paranoia, not sure if he will be able to sleep at all.
Grendl settles into an unfurled bedroll and mutters something about waking him up for a watch later... and promptly falls asleep. He has disturbing dreams about shapeshifters and his new companions.... things keep overlapping and slipping in and out of relative reality until he wakes up later...
The Sanctuary of the Chapel
Randee, as Belrim mentions it, you in fact remember nothing, nothing at all! Not how you got here or who you are or what you can do! It is disconcerting...
You think and things happen so at the least you were once skilled in the facets of combat that you displayed but even your name was difficult to remember.
---
The group sleeps uneasily with Belrim standing guard followed by Thral, no one really trusts Kaloora on watch.
---
---
As Grendl wakes for his watch. York approaches you on your side of the hallway.
"Alright. Winter wants to speak to you in the Chapel now. But you gotta leave your weapons". The look on his face indicates that he's not in agreement at all with this idea.
"Me or all of us?"
Belrim laughs bitterly, "Not a chance in Hell."
Thral hisses as he pulls out his falchion.
"The York we know wouldn't be so kind to us, he's one of them or under their control!" Angrily yaps the small black kobold.
The Sanctuary of the Chapel
Kaloora wakes up not looking so hot...
"All of you. Why not? We're helping you out dwarf!"
York's face turns beet red after Thral's accusation, "Nice to you? Why you lousy little lizard! I knew you'd turn on us!" He draws his weapon as well.
The guards near the Chapel open the door and bellow in, "Winter, come quick, York and the Kobold are gonna fight!"
"Woo, hoo, hoo, wait a minute" Randee interrupts, while putting himself in the middle of the two scrappers. "No one's gonna fight no one until we know what's happening here." He points at York. "You and Winter will explain us what does all that secret thing means, will you? I'm trapped here, full of zombies and don't know even why, so I want my choices clear or we all go to bloody hell."
Randee tries to appear as menacing as possible, hard task in the current situation.
The Sanctuary of the Chapel
Randee manages to slow York's desire to fight down enough that Thral holds but does not swing his Falchion.
After a few tense moments, a woman exits the Chapel doors, "What is going on here! Put those weapons down! It's bad enough we are trapped in here and now you all want to do battle with each other? "
She pauses.
"I think the danger you placed yourselves in for our, and your, benefit means you are not one of "them".
I am not sure what took all of you so long to escape from wherever you were trapped but I am glad you did.
I get the sense that whatever took place here had the effect of scrambling the minds of those who were here when whatever happened, happened. Still not sure if you all were employees or patients' but you are currently trapped with us in a place called Briarstone Asylum. It’s a hospice stuck on a rock sitting in the Danver River—a convenient place
to forget inconvenient people.
I’m Winter Klaczka, a sister of Maiden’s Choir Cathedral in Caliphas. My
associates and I were helping a Royal Accuser investigate strangeness in Thrushmoor.
I am sure you have questions, go ahead and ask and I'll answer as best I can".
"How do we get out of here and off this island? I don't like it here." Grendl says honestly and to the point.
Lots of questions appear on Randee's mind, but he knows assaulting them qith an interrogatory would do no good, specially with the tension that's floating in the air.
"Okay... for how long are you trapped here, and what kind of creatures have you found? Are the creatures the only thing that impedes your escape?"