Cahal swings, and misses as the creature ducks out of the way (didn’t matter, but you didn’t have the IC bonus yet as Nidhi is after you in init). Nidhi inspires the group to greater heights with her poetry. Zilchus manages to connect and even does a little damage though most is absorbed by the creatures sticky hide as his blade nearly sticks to it completely. Florence tries to chill the opponent, but fails to connect, her icy ball slowly melting at the foot of the far column. Benedictus prepares further by drawing his crossbow.
The beast continues to focus on Zilchus, trying to bring him down. Both claws reach out and try to rip him to shreds.
Fumbling on his grapple, twice in a row, the creatures cannot grab Zilchus, though he does injure him further with a slice.
Ben aims carefully and fires a bolt at his enemy. Realizing that he's going to miss, and taking advantage of the subtle calculations of his mind, Ben adjusts his aim right at the last moment. "Tsk, I'm getting better at it!"
_________________________
Free Action: Nidhi maintains Inspire Courage.
Standard Action: Nidhi nocks an arrow in her bow, pulls back on the string, and fires at the bandaged foe.
_____________
Round 2, Init 7
"Ow!! Son uva piddlespot!" Zilchus repeats as he is struck again.
He slices with his falchion, a loud shout announcing the slice.
to hit;
slashing damage.
"Fire! We should try fire! Florence...get me a lit torch!" Zilchus asks after seeing the lessened effect of his blow along with others. He steps back after his strike, planning his options.
[ dice]1d20+5+1[/dice] to hit;
[ dice]2d4+4[/dice] slashing damage.
HP: 8/19
AC: 18 (6 armor, 2 dex)
Smite: not used
Grit: not used
Panache: are you kidding me?
Ki: not used
Rage: maybe later
Grunting: 1/4 used
Cahal stabs at the head, but misses by a shoulder as the creature ducks below the dangerous point. Nidhi just misses as Florence is in her way. Zilchus also swings wide of the mark. Florence moves into position and draws the wand of healing - just in case. Benedictus criticals, and does a little damage. More even with Nidhi’s inspiration (don’t forget to add it to your attack and damage rolls folks).
The beast cannot attack Zilchus through the column. It thinks, hard, for a moment trying to decide which way it should pass by the pillar. In the end, it goes South, stepping into flank! not the brightest bulb perhaps…
However, now in position (5’ step) it rakes into Zilchus as best it can…
Sadly, the creatures luck is not unlike the parties, and it is a very minimalist round.
"Very well, Zilchus!", Ben screams as his hand reaches out for his alchemist's fire. "This will hurt a bit. Nothing we can't heal later anyway. Ready?!"
Benedictus takes a deep breath and throws the alchemist's fire at the adherer. "DOWN!"
______________________
Round 2, Init 7
"Ow!!" Zilchus singes as the fire burns him. "No, I asked for a torch light!"
He slices with his falchion with another loud grunt.
to hit;
slashing damage.
to hit;
slashing damage.
Reflex
Zilchus worries as he weapon sticks deep inside the foe, still attached by his weapon cord...while it's on fire!
[ dice]1d20+5+1[/dice] to hit;
[ dice]2d4+4[/dice] slashing damage.
HP: 7/19
AC: 18 (6 armor, 2 dex)
Smite: not used
Grit: not used
Panache: are you kidding me?
Ki: not used
Rage: maybe later
Grunting: 1/4 used
Cahal - I believe the longspear is a reach weapon, and you cannot use it within 5'. I also don't think you can 5' step to a spot where you can use it. Would you like to try something else?
Oh, and to be clear, you cannot 5' step NE of your position - that's a hard corner. You have to walk around.
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Free Action: Nidhi maintains Inspire Courage, finding inspiration in Benedictus’ actions.
”Kill the Adherer with the heat of fire,
Fill the entire tomb, ablaze with light.
May the decaying air overheat, burn like a furnace.
Unable to retreat, the Adherer’ll cook like boar meat.”
Standard Action: Nidhi grabs another arrow and pulls the string of her weapon back. She fires towards the Adherer.
Nidhi is too focused on her lyrical words and completely misses her attack. Florence's panicked movements add to the difficulty of the shot.
Cahal kicks out at the creature, but misses as it slides out of the way. Nidhi continues to inspire courage, but her shot goes wild and clatters down the stairs on the far side… into the darkness below. Zilchus slashes the creature deeply with a critical! Florence flails in the fire and the pain (strangely before Benedictus throws! - watch your inits folks). Benedictus plants a nice alchemy blast squarely on the creature, and it lights up brightly - and of course Cahal and Zilchus are splashed each for 1hp.
Under normal conditions the sticky beast would now put itself out. Sadly, Benedictus’ flames - energized by Nidhi’s poems and Zilchus’ critical, is enough to down the creature. It collapses onto the floor, burning another round before eventually going out. The whole chamber reeks of burnt flesh and ancient wrappings, mixed with a tarry sticky substance which smolders long after the fire goes out.
Nidhi reaches behind her to put her bow away. ”Nice going with the fire Benedictus,” Nidhi nods in the dark even through the party may be unable to see due to the narrow space and subpar lighting. Nidhi squats down (as well as she can manage in the tight space) to search for and pick up her Everburning Torch. Nidhi’s head may accidentally bump into Florence’s skirt or leg as she searches the forest of legs and feet.
Ugh, burnt flesh really reeks. ”Perhaps we should come back after the place stops smelling so… bad. Maybe explore the house a bit?” Nidhi suggests, finally standing after locating her dropped torch. She uses her free hand to cover her mouth and nose with the sleeve of her traveling cloak, attempting to mask the smell.
“Thank you Nidhi” Ben wipes some dust off his clothes and looks at the other, trying to evaluate the damage caused by his alchemist’s fire. “In Cheliax we call it devil’s blood…Perhaps because, as a contract, it grants some benefits, but at a cost. Is everyone alright?” Ben walks to Cahal and smiles at her. “Thank you, Cahal. Fire was not the only possible option, but it was the only one I got, actually”.
Ben breathes a sigh of relief when he realizes that Cahal is not going to reproach him for using the alchemist’s fire. “I’m sorry for the collateral damage…”
After ensuring his companions are fine, Benedictus raises a skeptical eyebrow at Nidhi’s suggestion. “I think we should search this room now…Perhaps we can find something useful to explore the house”.
And with that said, Benedictus starts looking around, in the hope of finding something useful for their exploration.
______________________________
As the party begins its search the room quiets down, and you hear… nothing, from the stairwell below.
This room is clearly a shrine to Pharasma, where the family could come to pray for their deceased loved ones. The goddess’s spiral symbol is carved into the top of the altar.
The shrine has seen something in the way of violence, however. There is damage to the columns and altar - not as if they were attacked directly, but rather as if some great fight occurred in this room, many years ago.
You find nothing further of note.
"Mmmh...This is actually very unusual", comments Ben, a little bit of delusion clearly emerging from the tone of his voice. "I was expecting to find at least something worth guarding here. I mean, we all know that usually undead are kept in a place in order to guard something. The fact that there's nothing noteworthy here surprises me".
Those of you who made the Knowledge Check (link) should remember, it was not an undead.
Perception checks reveal that the ooze on the creatures body which acts as glue, is still quite sticky. But more than that, the adherers nature eludes you.
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Zilchus seems surprised that his blade slashed so well into the adherer. He lets out an exultant cheer to himself. "Look at that! You just have to swing hard! You see that?!"
Zilchus looks around to see that no one noticed for cared. "You guys didn't see that?! Ah c'mon..." Zilchus' young and peevish nature comes to the fore.
"Good idea Professor! Looks like fire was the perfect thing to bring it down..."
I WAS THE ONE WHO SUGGESTED THE FIRE!!! Zilchus opens his mouth to let loose with a petty tirade of credit lost, taking a deep breath...
As she walks to the middle of the room, she gives a 'good job' tap on Zilchus's shoulder. Warriors don't need words.
Sense Motive
He shuts his mouth, mollified. Oh, she's trying to include the Professor...right. Of course I did it. She knows.
Zilchus beams at Cahal, then tends to his sword (wiping it off on the adherer his cloak.
"Thanks for the healing, Florence. As much as I'd like my armor to stop these guys, they always find a way to hit me."
"Then what do we do? I propose we go through the stairwell, but if you think the house it's better...then let's go there", comments Ben, looking around himself to get the others to speak about their will.
Zilchus looks at the damage in the room, trying to piece together what happened.
Survival
"What about the stairs?"
"Yeah, what about these stairs?" Zilchus repeats, walking over to look down. He casts light on a rock and tosses it down.
Perception
"When you all are ready to move on..." Zilchus will go down when they are.
Zilchus is certain there was a battle here in the distant past, but the nature of it is lost to time.
He tosses a lit rock down the stairs, which are steep, but not as steep as the first set. There is another room beyond, but beyond the dirt floor you see nothing of note as yet.
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"Wait...was that magic just now?" She wasn't sure why it hadn't clicked with her before, especially since she'd seen him pull the same trick back in Akhentepi's tomb. "You know how to use magic too? For real?"
Zilchus looks up at Florence, taking his eyes off the stairs for a moment.
"Uhm...a bit. I know a few things, you know. Not a lot, but I don't walk alone when I walk," Zilchus points down to the green crocodile pinned to his armor.
This room is clearly a shrine to Pharasma, where the family could come to pray for their deceased loved ones. The goddess’s spiral symbol is carved into the top of the altar.
The shrine has seen something in the way of violence, however. There is damage to the columns and altar - not as if they were attacked directly, but rather as if some great fight occurred in this room, many years ago.
"Mmmh...This is actually very unusual," comments Ben, a little bit of delusion clearly emerging from the tone of his voice. "I was expecting to find at least something worth guarding here. I mean, we all know that usually undead are kept in a place in order to guard something. The fact that there's nothing noteworthy here surprises me".
Nidhi turns slowly around the room with a superstitious eye. Nidhi’s love of stories and her wild imagination always makes her eager to speculate how things could have happened – regardless of how outlandish the claims may be. ”Perhaps an unworldly battle happened here? And the result was this… adherer. It’s not from this plane, you know. Perhaps it ‘slipped’ through.” Nidhi stops talking, her thoughts taking her inward. Then, excitedly: ”Do you think there are those tooth-stealing fairies down there?! Perhaps this tomb is infested with otherworldly things!” Hopefully no more bugs though.
”I think you’re right Benedictus, perhaps we should finish examining this area first.” Nidhi looks eagerly at her companions. ”Does anyone have any turnips? I’ve heard that the otherworldly can’t stand turnips…. Or was that my great-great-grandmother Padma?” Nidhi looks off into the distance but her eyes aren’t focused on anything.
”Perhaps someone with knowledge of the supernatural should follow behind Zilchus,” Nidhi suggests. Nidhi is ready to proceed further into the tomb.
----------------
How didn't I notice that before?
"Um...I'm afraid I'm not sure which god that symbol belongs to. It looks kind of familiar, but I'm still learning which is which here." Then a small, knowing smile creeps across her face. "But even so, I think I understand you a little better now - always a good thing, right?"
Nidhi is mildly curious, but indifferent to which god Zilchus serves. "You're faithful to Sobek? So that's why you favor that weapon." Nidhi wriggles the everburning torch she's holding to gesture at the hilt.
"You're faithful to Sobek? So that's why you favor that weapon."
"Yeah, of course. With blades like these, the might and will of kings is established," Zilchus says, seeing that the party is ready to move down. He descends the stairs. "The falchion and the crocodile symbolize the might of the Ruby Prince. And Sobek is his steady march of boots that ensures his reign."
You walk down the stairs without incident, and very much unlike your last tomb, there is no door at the foot leaving you to walk into the next area easily.
The air in this chamber is cool. The walls and ceilings are tiled with stone, but the floor is hard-packed earth, giving the area an unfinished quality. A long stone table rests against the western wall, flanked by two large brass urns. A flight of steps ascends to the south where you entered, while two passages lead north and east out of the room.
This is where the dead would lie in state and be mummified while their tombs were being prepared.
Nidhi silently follows closely behind Zilchus into the next room. She looks around for traps or sneaky, sneaky, tooth-stealing critters.
"Zilchus!" Nidhi hisses in a whisper. "Don't move. You just stepped on a trap! ...but it didn't go off."
Nidhi bends down to examine trap more closely. What does it do?
Nidhi fidgets with the trap using her masterwork thieves tools. She also pulls out a piton, hoping it might help somehow.
Nidhi whispers up at Zilchus: "Keep holding still."
Nidhi bends down, and investigates.
Do you still try to disarm it just to be safe?
"The top stair and the bottom stair are connected to a trap. I'm going to try to disarm it," Nidhi alerts her companions. "Zilchus, do you want to wait at the top with the others while I try to disarm it?"
"Uh, if I go to the top of the stairs, won't I just set it off?" Zilchus asks, worried and trying not to move.
"Maybe I should jump down and off the stairs? Or not? What does the trap do? Do you know?"
"I have no idea what the trap does. I guess we could just not step on the top stair?" Nidhi stands, blinking at Zilchus. She sounds uncertain. Shouldn't I disarm it though? "I think the trap goes off after the bottom stair and the top stair are activated. The top stair hasn't been activated yet."
"If it goes off it might kill us all. Are you prepared to die today, Zilchus? What if a giant boulder comes crashing down on your head, hmm?" Nidhi is speaking in her normal voice again (not whispering.) "If I fail to disarm it we could die - but I guess that's the risk we take." Nidhi partially wants to see what the trap does.
"It's a bit thrilling, isn't it? We could die today - not that I want to die." Nidhi adds quickly.
Zilchus shrugs, his eyes wide. His anxiety rises as Nidhi offers uncertain solutions.
"Of course I don't want to die today, but I *do* want to find the best option *not* to die today too. If you say going back to the top step will set off the trap, then you should disarm it right now. But if that's a bad idea, then I don't know."
Zilchus stays put.
"If we die, we die together." Zilchus offers a not-so-good smile to Nidhi.
"Okay, here I go... It's been nice knowing you Zilchus!" Nidhi approaches the top of the stairs and bends down to attempt to disable the top step.
Nidhi tries to disarm the trap, but fails, and triggers it by mistake!
Dozens of wooden spears jab and stab through a myriad of holes in the pattern of the wall, very well hidden indeed. They attack everyone on the stairwell.
Nidhi can hear the trap reset, and tries again to disarm it, armed with the knowledge of how it works (and a critical roll!).
There may be healing or other conversation in between, but happily, she succeeds on her second try.
Nidhi exclaims. Nidhi's neck and arms are slick with blood. Her traveling cloak is smeared and stained with Nidhi's blood and torn in a few places from the spears. "That really hurt." Nidhi looks annoyed. Nidhi slowly gets to her feet, "I need healing. And my beautiful cloak that my grandmother made is damaged!" Nidhi frowns, an uncommon expression to pass her face. She eyes one of the sleeves, creasing her brows.
Nidhi can hear the trap reset, and tries again to disarm it, armed with the knowledge of how it works (and a critical roll!).
There may be healing or other conversation in between, but happily, she succeeds on her second try.
Nidhi groans when she hears it reset. "Florence, may I see the wand please?" Nidhi heals herself using the wand of cure light wounds (offers it to Zilchus) then successfully disarms the trap on the second attempt.
Nidhi's blood makes her grasp on the wand slippery and she only manages to heal herself slightly.
Her second attempt works better.
"I feel much better."
I bet my drying blood smells delicious to horrendous creatures like that bug we faced. Nidhi is unhappy that her cloak became damaged but is grateful she thought to wear the ancient leather armor they found yesterday. Well, the situation could have been a lot worse. Nidhi sighs, "It's disabled. Let's get off these terrible stairs please." Nidhi descends the stairs again.
----
Nidhi looks around the next room wearily.
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Zilchus holds his stomach where a spear impaled him.
"Ah piddlespot. Did you see my spleen come out, Nidhi? Can you push it back in? Ow. Ow." Zilchus waits for healing, accepting only after Nidhi has been checked out.
CLW -Nidhi
CLW -Nidhi
CLW -Zilchus
CLW -Zilchus
When that ordeal is over, Zilchus will enter the room and look for tracks and bad things.
Perception
Survival
"Ah piddlespot. Did you see my spleen come out, Nidhi? Can you push it back in? Ow. Ow." Zilchus waits for healing, accepting only after Nidhi has been checked out.
"I'm fine. I'm fine," she assures Zilchus. But I can't say the same about my precious cloak.
"Gah! If it fell out; I'll help you look! It can't have gotten far," Nidhi comforts. Those organs can be slippery little beasts.
__________
Zilchus and Nidhi enter the mummification chamber and find little but dirt. He thought there was a pattern of some sort in the dirt, but on closer examination, it was nothing.
He and Nidhi see something of the next room as well, through the open arch to the east.
An earthy scent fills this large chamber. The ceiling and walls are tiled with stone, but the ground is still bare earth.