Morrick eyes Damien and moves over to him.
The will of Asmodeus is mine to deliver!
Se'Liss rolls her eyes.
Oh, for the love of-- JUST HEAL THE MAN! Geez!
Morrick places his hand on Damien's chest and produces healing energy.
He then stands, and looks at the rest of the group.
That's all I've got. Asmodeus... isn't the kindest God when it comes to injury, I'm afraid.
Morrick lays his hands on him and the wounds heal and Damien comes around. ”Uh?” Damien looks around groggily. ”Why are you touching my chest?”He weakly protests at Morrick. ”Were you trying remove my heart to sell it to Asmodeus?”
Navin attempts to swing through the door as well.
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As Damien is resuscitated, Faust and Navin cut down the doppelnurse.
With her gone, you're able to get a better view of the room beyond. Several wide tables and gigantic washbasins ll a laundry equipped to service hundreds. The place looks as though it were repurposed as a failed surgery, though, with at least one table heaped with remains while corpses lie discarded in corners. A stained sheet hangs between two of the basins, dividing the room roughly in half. A lantern shines on the far side, near a six foot tall freestanding mirror.
Three 6-foot-tall, 10-foot-diameter washtubs stand in alcoves along the west walls, two short folding ladders leaning near each. The tables here have been cleared of their mundane work and used as surfaces for operating and dissection. The remains of several humans and doppelgangers lie spread across these tables, butchered beyond simple scientific inquiry.
Three pull chains hang from the ceiling along the south wall.
A snarling sound can be heard from the center washtub. Peering over reveals a heavily wounded, emaciated ghoul trapped inside. She seems too weak to clamber out.
The doppel-nurse herself carried 72 gold pieces, an unlabeled potion, and a dagger that radiates a magical aura.
Cure Light Wounds
Just a +1 dagger
Near the lantern is a set of high quality surgeon's tools, bloodstained but of high quality.
A satchel nearby also radiates a magic aura. Within the extradimensionally large space, you recover 4 platinum pieces, a lustrous pearl, and a leather headband with a small wooden box attached. The box is inscribed with a Pharasmin spiral.
Unfortunately, there is still no sign of an exit, either to the exterior or the remainder of the asylum.
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Howard breathes a sigh of relief when the creature goes down.
Somewhat horrified by the room's decor, he instead focuses on identifying the magical items scattered around the area.
"That is a Potion of CLW."
"That is a +1 Dagger."
"I am not sure what the bag is."
"That is a Phylactery of Faithfulness."
"Lastly, that is a Pearl of Power (1st)."
He then looks at the bag thoughtfully again.
"If no-on else can identify that, I can always prepare Identify..."
"Look, I've nearly been murdered twice today. And maybe nearly got my heart cut out as a sacrfice to Asmodeus." Damien complains, as he slowly picks himself off the ground."Now, where's my longspear?" He looks around till he finds it, then looks into the room beyond.
"What in Irori's name have they been doing in there?" Damien exclaims, his mouth dropping in horror at the sight.
"I'm so sorry." He apologises to the ghoul. "May Pharasma judge you kindly." He then tries to stab the ghoul through its vile heart.
"We'd best get Zandalus back to the barricades. God knows what more horrors lie awaiting us."
Navin observes, "Well we found another dead end but at least we know this whole wing is clear now. Let's take all the useful stuff and try the rest of the hospital."
He takes a look around the rest of the dissected creatures and various medical knickknacks. "What do you think they were doing in here?"
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Professor Faust lowers his mace, takes a look into the room, and his normally gray cast turns a little more green. He runs into the corner and vomits.
Looking up sheepishly, he wipes his mouth with a fist and shudders.
"I'm starting to think we won't get out of here very fast," he murmurs.
Looking at his companions and the wounds they have sustained in each battle, he says "We should go heal up and maybe rest. I can keep going, but want to make sure you are all okay."
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The raving man has slipped into unconsciousness. Searching him reveals a dirty hankerchief. Inside is an eye, about the size of a gold piece. Its X-shaped pupil winks shut every few moments, and the eye pivots to focus on whoever is closest.
When you do return to the barricades, Winter will gather you all close, raising her holy symbol.
"Pharasma, these souls have fought to cleanse the taint of corruption and undeath from these halls. Reward them with the gift of vitality!"
When you tell her about your discoveries, she is horrified to hear of what the doppelgangers have been up to, and distraught that there doesn't seem to be an easy way to reach the rest of the facility.
One of the nurses identifies the man as Juglan Rivercane. After nearly drowning in a Lake Encarthan shipwreck, he suffered from a sever case of aphasia, uncontrollably repeating the first word of each sentence, and wracked by nightmares about the incident. His vocabulary seems even more restricted now, and he never showed any signs of religious devotion before.
Winter will tell you, "You have already done much to make us safer. Thank you. I was hoping you'd find access to the rest of the facility, but there is another option, which we have been unable to bypass. I know you are likely tired and want rest, but I should show you this first, so you know what face." She gestures to the curtain blocking off the other hallway.
" That way leads to the main entrance. Assuming everything remains as it was, you could access the front door. I don't recommend that. We don't know what lurks out in the mists. You should be able to access the library, the east courtyard, and the east ward from there, if the paths are undamaged. The library should lead to the staff offices. Unfortunately, there is an unusual obstacle between us and there."
She peels back the curtain. The hall ends just beyond the dingy curtain, but the wall here suffers some sort of otherworldly parasitism. A mass of stringy, yellow fungus stretches across the stone blocks. At its heart bulges and blinks a watery eye the size of a wagon wheel.
Navin recoils from the eye. "Ugh! What is that thing? Has anyone tried to kill it?"
Damien shakes his head. "I don't want to know."
He goes to Professor Faust's corner to offer him emotional support. Yes, I know its horrible, but we can't do anything for the victims. We need to pull ourselves together or we won't be able to get out of here alive!" He gives a sigh. "I miss Bella too. I want to go home, have dinner with her, and just go back to being normal."
"Winter, you're a miracle," Damien exclaims gratefully as the healing energies was hover him and his wounds knit.
He decides to show Winter the amulet of the eye with teeth. "Do you know anything about this? Is it safe to keep this? I really don't like that eye staring at me."
"I hope you'll be able to help Julgan, he was cohabiting with a ghoul. Not really what I'd call...a good neighbour. It was a wonder he wasn't eaten!"
When she peels back the curtain, revealing the other watery eye the size of a wagon wheel, guided by some strange instinct Damien takes out the eye he took from Juglan. He raises the eye and faces it directly at the watery eye the size of a wagon wheel, then waits to see if anything happens.
He also converses with the people who are at the closed doors. "Sorry sir, but what lies beyond those doors?"
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Faust regains his composure a bit at Damien's words. "Thanks for taking charge...I'm not sure I could have gone on without all of you leading the way," he says.
Looking at their options, he says "First, is everyone able to go on without rest? I know I am fine to keep going, but if any of you need spells or what not, we could rest."
He looks at the bizarre eye creature. "So we could go explore where we had been exploring, or try for the library? I guess the library sounds fine..."
Morrick scoffs.
Asmodeus has no interest in your heart... he wants your soul. He's willing to bargain for it, you know.
He stays quiet for the most part, until the eye-fungus is revealed. He recoils back, and shakes his head.
Is everything here vile and strange?
"Fine with me. As long as it's happy looking at the other side of this curtain, I'm happy too."