GM Jiggy |
The old man gives Tolbert a confused look.
"Eh? He does handle the graveyard, does the last rites and whatnot when somebody croaks, but he doesn't 'skulk' or whatever. Dunno what yer talkin' about wit the makeup an' music. Anyway, he's usually either at home—that house over yonder—or else he's tucked away in his lab that he set up outside of town. He took up a room in some old ruins on the other side of that hill there, where he could get some distance from the village while he works. Keeps us safe from anythin' that's catchin', you understand. I'd try his house first; if he ain't there, he'll prolly be home fer lunch."
Garnult Tarnhammer |
Wait a minute, he works in the graveyard. At night. Has a lab outside of town in some old ruins. Garnult says an idea forming in his head Probably nothing amiss then eh.
Cassidy Montblanc |
"Yes, nothing suspicious about this at all." Cassidy whispers to her teammates as they leave.
"Shall we try the house, graveyard, or lab first. I vote for the lab in the hopes this all blows up out of sight of the villagers."
Tolbert "Beetle" Musgrave |
"However, if things come to blows, it might be better if we have eye-witness accounts to back up our story later. Perhaps confronting him in public is a better idea."
GM Jiggy |
At night.
You said that, not me. Just for the record. ;)
You approach Garreth's house and knock on the door, but hear no answer. About ten yards away, a pointy-eared woman in her early 30s exits a different house holding an empty basket, probably on her way to pick fruit or some such. Seeing you waiting, she calls out to you.
"Oh, are you looking for Garreth? He went to his lab right after breakfast. If you want, you can wait for him to come back for lunch, probably in an hour or two. If you need to see him sooner, his lab's in the old ruins just past that hill over there, but make sure you follow the signs to the right door; not safe otherwise."
Cassidy Montblanc |
Before we approach the house Cassidy says, "I agree, Warren, this could have a reasonable explanation and Garreth could be a nice guy. Perhaps on guard, but not jumping to conclusions is in order."
Garnult Tarnhammer |
"Let's check his house first as it seems on the way to his lab. This does sound a bit fishy but lets see if we can find out what's going on before killing anyone, ok Garnult?"
Ok. No killing anyone until after we discover that they are an evil necromancer bent on world domination the stocky dwarf says.
GM Jiggy |
In case anyone missed it with the brief backtrack:
You approach Garreth's house and knock on the door, but hear no answer. About ten yards away, a pointy-eared woman in her early 30s exits a different house holding an empty basket, probably on her way to pick fruit or some such. Seeing you waiting, she calls out to you.
"Oh, are you looking for Garreth? He went to his lab right after breakfast. If you want, you can wait for him to come back for lunch, probably in an hour or two. If you need to see him sooner, his lab's in the old ruins just past that hill over there, but make sure you follow the signs to the right door; not safe otherwise."
Garnult Tarnhammer |
Seems a likely place to find an evil necromancer...
GM Jiggy |
Sorry for the delay; had a busy weekend.
Heading in the direction you were told, you follow a dirt path around the base of a large hill. Butted up against the east side of the hill are the worn remains of a smallish stone keep.
The core central structure seems to be a rectangle, and mostly intact. The four corners have short towers, but each has suffered varying levels of collapse, leaving large chunks of stone on the ground near the walls; the southeastern tower is almost completely reduced to rubble. Much of the surface of the stone—both that which has fallen and that which still stands—is covered in moss and lichen.
The south wall faces you, and bears a massive doorway. The rusty and moss-covered remains of a large door remain in place, though the wooden planks which must have composed most of the doors' mass have long since rotted away. More recently, the doorway has been roughly boarded up and marked with a sign that reads "Danger: Use Other Entrance" in multiple languages. Multiple freestanding signposts stand along the path you're on, giving similar instruction to go around to the east side and use the door there.
The eastern wall bears a much smaller doorway; it may have once been a servants' entrance or some such. It bears a much better-looking door, probably only a few years old at most, which has a sign hanging from it that reads "The Healer Is In; Please Enter".
The northern wall bears no doors at all, though narrow windows line the walls all the way around the keep, each sitting about 15 feet above the ground.
The western wall cannot be seen, as the keep seems to merge with the hill. It is unclear whether the keep was built into the side of the hill (perhaps continuing deeper underground) or was perhaps built next to a taller, steeper hill that has gradually eroded to a wider, flatter shape that threatens to engulf the entire keep if given enough centuries to sprawl.
Garnult Tarnhammer |
Well. Seems he's in. Garnult says as he heads for the door. Opening it as soon as everyone notices what he is doing.
GM Jiggy |
The door opens easily to reveal a room that has been thoroughly cleaned and even furnished with simple chairs, giving the impression that it's a waiting room. A single door (in good repair) stands in the northern wall of the room, marked with a sign that reads "Please ring the gong and wait for me to come out." Sure enough, a small gong sits on the floor near the closed door.
Garnult Tarnhammer |
Well thats obliging... Garnult says and he smacks the gong hard with his warhammer.
GM Jiggy |
A few moments pass, and soon you can hear footsteps approaching the door. However, instead of opening gently, the door is smashed to the ground as two skeletal figures burst into the room, bearing the decrepit remains of swords, shields and armor!
No surprise round, everyone's in the room.
Initiative:
Garnult: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (8) + 0 = 8
Tolbert: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
Cassidy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15
Warren: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18
Skeleton 1: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Skeleton 2: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10
Warren and Cassidy react first!
XXSSX
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Garnult Tarnhammer |
Of course! Garnult says, not surprised at all. Now we can do some serious bashing! Kn:Religion: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
Garnult is only holding his warhammer right now, not his shield so AC is only 20
Garnult Tarnhammer |
Bashem with hammers! Garnult calls out
Warren Connery |
Two-Bladed Sword Attack 1: 1d20 + 6 - 1 ⇒ (19) + 6 - 1 = 24 Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 2 = 9
Two-Bladed Sword Attack 2: 1d20 + 6 - 1 ⇒ (12) + 6 - 1 = 17 Damage: 1d8 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 2 = 9
Warren steps up an attacks the skeleton on the right.
He shouts back to Garnult, "I don't have any hammers! This will have to do!"
GM Jiggy |
Confirmation on Warren's first attack: 1d20 + 6 - 1 ⇒ (16) + 6 - 1 = 21, Crit damage: 1d8 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 2 = 9
Warren clobbers the skeleton with his first swing (despite a clear reduction in damage), but his follow-up just misses!
Identifying Warren as the primary threat, the two skeletons attack!
Sword: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13, Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Sword: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14, Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Both skeletons miss their mark!
Party up!
Damage Tally:
Skeleton2: 13
Tolbert "Beetle" Musgrave |
Tolbert drops the magazine he was browsing, and grumbles as he pulls out one of his wands and fires it without standing up.
Magic Missile on the injured skeleton.
Magic Missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Garnult Tarnhammer |
Garnult grumbles about getting his hits in and attacks! Warhammer 2 handed: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8 but he misses because Cassidy is swinging her sword about.
Warren Connery |
Warren adjusts to flank the skeleton and attacks.
Two-Bladed Sword Attack 1 PA: 1d20 + 6 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (17) + 6 + 2 - 1 = 24 Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 4 + 2 = 7
Two-Bladed Sword Attack 2 PA: 1d20 + 6 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (11) + 6 + 2 - 1 = 18 Damage: 1d8 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 3 + 2 = 10
Garnult Tarnhammer |
Garnult attacks the skeleton Warhammer: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22 Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Garnult Tarnhammer |
I think it has "probably dead" written all over it mostly... Garnult grumbles as he kicks the bones a bit.
What's in here? Garnult says as he looks through the door the skeletons came from.
GM Jiggy |
Hist:C/T: 2d20 ⇒ (13, 9) = 22
Local:C/T: 2d20 ⇒ (19, 3) = 22
Perc:C/W/G/T: 4d20 ⇒ (7, 3, 17, 10) = 37
The destroyed skeletons carry nothing of interest; their gear is battered and rusty and nonmagical.
Thanks to your knowledge of history, you recognize the style and make of the armor and weapons of the skeletons. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years ago, it would have been standard issue for simple guards.
You notice that both skeletons' swords have blood on them, despite only one of them managing to successfully stab Warren.
Beyond the door doorway through which the skeletons came lies a hallway. From what you can see from here, one side is the outer (eastern) wall of the keep and is studded with wall-mounted torches bearing continual flame spells, and the opposite wall is lined with doors. At the far end of the hallway, an open archway grants access to a stairwell, which seems to be part of the northeastern tower that was seen from outside.
Garnult Tarnhammer |
Hullo! Hullo! any evil necromancer's nearby? Garnult calls out, half jokingly as he moves down the corridor, shield and warhammer in hand.
Tolbert "Beetle" Musgrave |
"Good idea."
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