One of Halkale's arrows hits its target in the center of its chest, which only appears to infuriate it even more. The ranger's wounded companion Frostfur also joins in the attack, taking a small chuck of another one.
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Mel pops his wand of shield and then steps up next to valik ready to attack next round.
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Melufiuos uses a wand to magically boost his armor and moves closer into the fray.
Drawing his Lucerne hammer, Moadis makes his way behind Valik and attacks over the monk's shoulder, successfully squashing the sinspawn into pulp.
The sinspawn around Frostfur begin to reposition through the use of 5' steps, moving to use their ranseurs more effectively. Two of them attack Valik and Frostfur, but both miss. The one Halkale shot earlier, however, hits the ranger.
Initiative (Rounds 2-3)
Halkale/Frostfur [H: 10 Dmg; F: 9 Dmg] <= Up
3 Sinspawn
Melufiuos <= Up
Valik [2 Dmg] <= Up
Ophelia <= Up
Quiella <= Up
Moadis [1 Dmg] <= Up
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A wound suddenly opens in Quiella's side as Halkale finds his wounds partially closing. Quiella grunts and moves to stand at his side. Her hand momentarily glows with a faint light as she shifts her grip on her hammer to bring her hands together. As she does so, her new wounds code again. In a smooth motion she shifts her grip back to lift her hammer up and drive it down at the sinspawn before Halkale.
for
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Mel takes a step forward and attacks with both his rapier and wand of cause fear.
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After healing the wounds she received from her bond with Halkale, Quiella quickly finishes off the sinspawn Halkale shot earlier.
Halkale redirects his arrows toward the sinspawn in the back, injuring it substantially. Frostfur advances on the same creature and finishes it off with its jaws.
Moadis, Valik, and Melufiuos all turn their attention to the last sinspawn and each of their attacks hit, quickly destroying the creature.
A voice cries out from one of wounded men, "Thank the gods, they've come to save us!"
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When the sinspawn are confirmed to be dead, Ophelia herds everyone, including the prone figures, to within a convenient radius, holy symbol clasped over her chest. "O Lady of Graves, slow our passage to your embrace," she murmurs, calling on the familiar healing magic of Pharasma.
That done, she begins looking the victims over, fussing like a mother hen as she identifies their wounds.
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Thanks to injuries probably caused by the sinspawn, both men are near death when you reach them, although Ophelia's channeling helps a bit with that. Additional magical healing would be necessary to restore them to full health, but the positive energy and some first aid allow them to become ambulatory once again.
"Thank you, thank you!" One of the men says with the type of genuine gratitude that can only come from a hopeless person saved from death, "I'm Pel Morigo, and that's Saala Bry. We were part of the excavation crew of the temple that was attacked by those monsters. They slaughtered most of us, but abducted us to torture for their sick amusement. Did Shadaq manage to make it back alive? I think he was the only one who managed to run away."
His stricken gaze turns to the dead body in the corner, "Poor Riemme, they tortured him to death. I think...I think he kept fighting back to keep their attention on him to buy us more time for a rescue." Pel then trails off, allowing you to question him or Saala further if you wish.
An examination of the body reveals it is indeed a man probably tortured death. An elaborate rose tattoo covers his shaved pate and he wears a torn and bloody tunic. A suit of leather armor lies next to the corpse, but is damaged beyond repair.
Turning your attention to the sinspawn corpses, you don't find much to loot other than some rags and four non-magical ranseurs.
A more expansive search of the room discovers that each of the seven statues possess two valuable black pearls that can be easily pried off. Furthermore, the statue at the north end of the room appears to be Alaznist based on the facial features you've seen carved into the mountain. She is depicted holding a ranseur in her right hand, while in her left hand rests something that looks like the left cheek guard of some mask or veil. It radiates faint evocation magic and can be readily removed from the statue.
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Mel listens to their story with a careful ear.
"were these the only creatures? Who was controlling them? Did they take you anywhere else in the temple? Why are you here?"
Go ahead and inspect the veil thingy.
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"Shadaq made it to the camp, but..." her face takes on a sympathetic appearance
"I'm sorry to say he died of his wounds." She hardens her face and straightens her posture, raising her Lucerne hammer to its full length. "We are here to cleanse this temple. The way back should be clear, but... one harpy did escape from us on the way in. I know not if it will return to harass you."
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Examining the cheek guard for magical resonances, Melufiuos determines it's most likely part of an Acrimony Veil.
Both wounded men visibly flinch at Melufiuos' questioning, but the vocal one appears completely sincere in his answers, "They're the only monsters we've seen, they were torturing us most of the time so we didn't have a chance to see if they were controlled by someone else. Like I said, we were part of the excavation team and they pulled us down here!"
In response to Quiella's less interrogational approach, both men relax slightly, "You'll escort us out, right? I mean, the Society will want poor Riemme's body returned and we're in no shape to carry it back."
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Mel grabs the veil and the gems. He also grabs the eyes on the big statue on the way out.
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After Melufiuos picks the place clean of gems, the group heads out the temple with little difficulty, although both wounded men need spotters as they climb out of the shaft.
Returning to the camp, Halla appears very happy to see Pel and Saala rescued from the temple, but her joy is tempered when she discovers the fate of Riemme Batelle. Nevertheless, she thanks you for your help and offers you the most comfortable tents to rest in for the night.
The next day the group wakes early in the morning for another trek into the temple, and the journey is quite uneventful once again. Re-entering, you find all the rooms you've explored still cleared of any dangers.
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Before they go to bed, Quiella offers the men further healing, along with any of the party that seems to need it.
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Quiella makes many instant friends and brings hope to the workers when she heals all those who are injured, including Frostfur.
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Mel grabs a pick axe of something to make breaking walks down easier. He also pops his last sunstick when it gets dark. Ooh, and he grabs his scroll of light from his Porter
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Mel suggests that nothing beyond those walls can sneak up behind up. "Maybe we should check the north passage first. We still do not know who sent those creatures."
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"Agreed. The walls will provide at least a barrier to any creatures beyond them coming up behind us."
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To the north, on a raised platform, stand leathery brown statues of withered and emaciated humans poised as though attentively observing passersby. The statues have a grim, realistic appearance, and each one is flayed and modified in an unique way.
The passage opens up to a larger room to the west.
Your closer examination of these gruesome "statues" reveals that they are actually the petrified corpses of sacrificial victims. The figures have their throats and wrists slit and most of their mouths are sewn shut. The uniform color of the corpses and distortion of features from their death agonies make details difficult to discern, but you can probably learn more of how they died if you are inclined to spend more time looking at each mummy individually.
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Quiella grimaces at the sight of the bodies, then her brow furrows in sadness as she studies them further and sees that these statues were once living creatures. "Erastil protect us. Friends... these are not mere statues" She studies each of them carefully, anointing their bodies with holy oil as she goes.
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Some of them have their forearms separated between the ulna and radius, splitting even the fingers of the hands to create additional appendages. Others have portions of their skulls removed and replaced with a different, leathery material. Some have modifications to their torsos, in which the ribs have been split, pried out, and sharpened to points. One figure in the middle of this display sits with its arms raised, palms out. Its teeth have been pulled out, filed to points, and then embedded into its hands.
Quiella uses the rest of the holy oil given to her by the Silver Crusade in an effort to relieve the souls of any torment they received by their deaths and deformities.
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"This place creeps me out" complains Mel quietly as he watches Quiella rub oil on the tortured corpses. "I thought I'd seen evil before, but this is just sick. I think I see some of what drives you paladins, now."
Meanwhile, he keeps his bow drawn and grimly watches the way forward. No one is going to interrupt this.
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After she finishes applying the oil, Quiella steps down from the platform, jaw clenched and fingers tight on her hammer. She glances down the hallway, and then begins resolutely walking down it, murmuring to the gods as she does so.
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After finishing her grim task with the mummies, Quiella leads the party west to see that the wall decorations of cultists engaged in horrific rituals continue into this large chamber. Ages-old blood stains the floor and walls in dusty flakes. A mosaic similar to the one in the temple above covers the floor, partially obscured by dozens of naked, desiccated corpses scattered across the floor