Ila bows slightly to the others, speaking in a friendly tone. "I suppose it is my turn to be Mister 'Khar." she says, before turning to the ghoul. "Hello. My name is Ila Indigo, and I'm a priestess of Pharasma. We've come searching for information on what occurred here some years ago, when the building burned and the Beast was saddled with the responsibility of the incident. If you could tell us anything you know about the incident, we could happily move on to the dismembering you portion of today's itinerary. I'm afraid that you're an affront against nature and disturb the natural order of things... though you seem considerably more friendly than I'm used to. Considerably less hissing, to say the least." she adds, shaking out her arms to either side, like trying to get excess water off of them.
'Khar waits to see what the ghouls make of the group's diplomacy attempts before opening his mouth. There'd be plenty of time to beat them into cooperating after diplomacy failed, after all.
The ghoul that Ila is talking to hisses, its tongue waggling disgustingly. "You're an affront against nature!" it shouts, pointing at Ila. "You're gonna get de-membered!"
It vanishes farther into the manor.
Henry groans and pushes up his glasses. "While I'm certain you meant well," he says quietly. "Perhaps that was not... no, it certainly wasn't the best way to go about that. No avoiding battle with them now I suppose." He momentarily considers the struggle they'll likely be facing ahead. "Would anyone like a bit of support before we proceed? I've been practicing a spell that should increase your ability in battle." Once that's taken care of, he pulls out a vial of one of his stimulants and downs the mixture, grimacing at the taste.
"There never was going to be avoiding battle. The only difference is whether or not you were going to help." Ila says with a small shrug. "It is my duty as a priestess of Pharasma to cleanse the world of their kind. Otherwise, they will reproduce and do irrevocable harm to the surrounding environs and population until there are none left who are not of their ilk, leaving them to waste away in eternal hunger until they eventually accept true death as their only recourse. It is simply the way of things." she says with a small shrug.
"If you'd prefer, you can go in and tell them that I'm not with you, and you honestly have no idea what's wrong with me." she says, looking over the creeping ivy on the wall, distractedly.
"In case you have forgotten, Miss Indigo, we are on a time limit," Henry says bluntly. "We have less than a day to find evidence to save an innocent beings life, and that has just become harder because we will now have to fight our way through. Ghouls can be killed at any time, but the Beast cannot be saved if we delay. Now let's just be done with this before it costs us even more time."
"More fun this way anyway," 'Khar says before taking his shirt off and tying it around his pouch. Focusing inward his muscles begin to bulge, and within moments his skin begins to grow the striped orange fur marking him as were-tiger kin. In a deeper, growling voice he adds, "Lets beat the answer outta them now."
"Surprising that it even bothered to give us a warning," Urick remarks dryly. He approved of Ila's outlook on the situation, if not her attempt to use diplomacy. As she said, destroying them was hardly a question. "Do not forget that we are food to them. A ghoul's appetite tends to be... ravenous. Now, shall we proceed?"
Ila's flippant attitude shifts quickly as Khar's and Lainor's forms start to alter without warning. She quickly takes a step away from them, moving from a neutral, inquisitive stance to a low stance with her arms and legs spread wider. Her fists quickly grip around nothing as her clothing flaps purposelessly behind her, eyes narrowed. She isn't looking at the door, but rather at her companions.
Those more perceptive amongst the group can be just nearly certain they saw something silvery flowing along her hands during the movement.
Henry's body doesn't change as obviously as Khar's, but Ila can see his eyes dilate and his posture changes, hunching over slightly and his fingers and other extremities twitching slightly. His eyes seem to dart back and forth constantly, like he's having trouble focusing.
Perdita casts Bless on the group, and watches with interest to see who flinches.
Each ally gains a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls and on saving throws against fear effects.
The group heads up onto the stoop of the destroyed manor house. The boards creak under your footfalls, but they seem stable enough to stand on, certainly. The house appears to be three levels - a cellar, a upstairs, and the ground floor. Through the wrecked screen door is a reception area, and it seems there's a series of bedrooms to the left and a kitchen to the right. The whole house seems to croak and groan.
Underneath the floorboards you can hear, see, or smell a small group of ghasts crawling. Evidently they are hoping to ambush you from below.
You can hear some ghasts in adjacent rooms. Though they are attempting to be sneaky, the drip of saliva or a creaking floorboard or an inadvertent zombie groan gives them away. They're likely behind furniture or hiding in closets, waiting for you.
Upstairs on the second floor, there are more ghasts. Though they are trying to be sneaky, you can hear floorboards creaking loudly, and what appears to be a sawing noise. Perhaps they are going to attack through the ceiling.
"They're are hiding in there, waiting to ambush us, be careful!"
"We will need to speak on this, later." Ila says, strangely calm, as she reaches up to her necklace, just barely touching it with two fingers, and causing it to radiate a soft, silver light.
"Later would be better," Henry says, his voice clipped slightly. "I can hear them coming from above."
Tassa's no longer surprised about 'Khar's monstrous nature...but she's still (quite obviously) shocked at how cheerily he assumes his form.
For her part, she declines to release the tentacled thing within her at first...but when Tassa hears ghasts scurrying within the side rooms and through the ceiling, she relents and her right arm dissolves--replaced by black, rubbery tentacles covered with eyes and fang-rimmed mouths. The tentacles snake about, hungrily.
"I hear them too, and I'm ready for them." Tassa glances nervously at the newcomer, Ila, and at Urick.
________
"Lady of Graves, what have I done to fall into this den of monsters?" Ila asks, beneath her breath as Tassa rapidly changes as well, edging away slightly with clear concern in her eyes. So, not a fan of sea creatures, then. "Am I to assume that Mister Tirrell and Miss Gallowglass are also keeping secrets?" she asks aloud.
"Why spoil the surprise Dear?" Perdita answers with a pleasant smile.
As the group enters the house, a horrid smell of rotten flesh and death washes over the group.
Ila moves into the building, breathing slowly through her mouth as the first wave of horrible scent washes over her; she was thankful that she'd overreacted moments before; she likely would have been overwhelmed if not for the change in her focus from local dangers to combat.
The stench inside is overpowering for 'Khar's sense of smell, but he manages to power through it anyway. He was pretty sure he'd never smelled anything quite so terrible, though, even the festering meat they used to feed the monsters in the arena. "Ugh, th'smell," 'Khar grumbles. "Better off gettin' rid of whatever is makin' this stench."
He makes note of the two groups preparing to attack them but stays calm to avoid giving away that he is aware of their presence.
Tassa sighs at Ila's reaction, and gives the newcomer some distance. She's right to fear me though, isn't she? Tassa feels the hunger inside her, and knows it's far more interested in human flesh than rotting undead.
Tassa's rumination is interrupted by the wave of stench. Her face crumples in revulsion and she spits on the floor, but she manages to resist being sickened.
Knowing they've got foes above and beside them, Tassa looks around for a more defensible place to fight them.
Henry gags a little as he smells the scent of dead flesh, but it's hardly worse than the scent of preservatives and vivisected flesh. "There are going to be a lot of them coming," he mutters at the sheer overwhelming nature of the smell.
Perdita wrinkles her nose as the stench assaults it. "Smells like the male students dorm." She comments. Casting Dancing lights to give everyone a better view.
1. Red Ghast, Brown Ghast, Gray Ghast, Negative Ghast
2. 'Khar
3. Henry (mutagen)
4. Light Yellow Ghast, Orange Ghast
5. Perdita (bless on party)
6. Green Ghast
7. Urick
8. Tassa
9. Pink Ghast, Dark Yellow Ghast, Purple Ghast
10. Ila
As the group takes tentative steps into the manor house, the floor and ceiling both explode with shards of wood flying in every direction. Several ghouls drop from the ceiling, while more crawl from holes in the floor. Even more start to jump out of cover as they overhear that they've been made, pouring from various other rooms in the place. The group is quickly surrounded, and they aren't quick enough to raise their guard in time for the first ghouls to make their move against the outermost members of the team. 'Khar, Tassa, Ila and Perdita are the first to feel the ire of the ghouls as the fastest ones lash out with their claws.
Urick chuckles at Ila's remarks halfheartedly, while denying her a proper response.
Assailed by the hideous stench, Urick's nose wrinkles like a prune. His stomach threatens to turn, but he is no stranger to the stench of death. With a slight adjustment to his breathing, it becomes a nonissue.
"There are occasions where I hate being right," Henry says, sounding far more chipper than his words suggest. He spins around and stabs his rapier into the ghast that leaps between him and Urick, aiming for its center of mass.
"Hahaha, sounds like y'like it more than y'hate it," 'Khar says responding to the professor. "Time t'have some fun!" Filling the room with his roar, his body begins to grow in size even further than he'd been originally, growing several extra feet in height. Brandishing his claws, he grins toothily at the ghouls before him. "Time t'die..." he says as he lunges at the one to his side.
As the ghasts charge in, Tassa's hungry tentacles whip into action, leaving gashes in the rotting flesh of the one in green rags and the one in grey.
Tassa howls in pain as Grey responds with a viscous bit to her leg, and two red lines start to streak down her pantleg.
'Khar, Tassa, and Henry retaliate against the ghasts, tearing into their flesh and stabbing into what would be vital spots on a human. Unfortunately, these foul creatures are quite tough and strong and don't fall to a mere one or two hits.
Another ghast dashes from one of the side rooms, although it's supernaturally forced to slow down as it draws near to Tassa and isn't able to engage her in combat. A second ghast pops up from the ground outside, moving in to attack Perdita. It hungers for her soft, vulnerable flesh, and leaps in for a bite attack.
Fortunately for her, Perdita seems to be lucky this time around. Its jaws clamp down around her bone armor, unable to penetrate.
Perdita takes a 5' step, putting her back to Urick's. She drives her short spear +1 into the Orange Ghoul. Thinking that this Ila might need to be informed that she should fight her own battles, rather than dragging the party in with her.
Perdita's strike is quick and accurate, and drives through the unliving horror's tough skin to create a small wound. Unfortunately, these creatures don't rely on internal organs the same way that a human would.
Severely wounded, one of the ghouls that dropped through the ceiling fixates on 'Khar, the largest and most intimidating target. It lashes out at him with claw and tooth, trying to paralyze him so it can feast on his deliciously enlarged brain.
The ghoul manages to get in under Khar's guard. Though his armor and savage muscles protect him from the worst of the harm, the ghoul still manages to leave two thin lines on the skinwalker's chest. He feels his muscles seize...
Tassa glances briefly at the walking corpse with the ripped green trousers, canting, ”You’re next in line, and coming quickly | Don’t be surprised if you feel sickly.”
Then Tassa turns to the ghast that bit into her leg. She--and the tiny, sharp-toothed mouths that cover her writhing tentacles--all hiss in unison.
The tentacles converge and attempt to dismember and consume the grey-ragged ghast that bit her.
"Foul creatures! Your end is at hand!" Urick calls out, the tip of his crossbow bolt suddenly ablaze with divine fury. Seeing that Perdita appears to be in the most danger, he steps back and fires a shot right past her head and into the ghast standing before her. Without a second's pause, he snatches another bolt out of his quiver and loads it.
Though the ghoul's paralysis tests 'Khar's fortitude, his rage gives him the strength to shake it off.
Tassa lashes out with her toothy tentacle mass, savaging one of the already-wounded ghasts. While her attack doesn't quite assure it's demise, it certainly brings the creature closer.
Urick's attack is less of a precision strike and more of a holy blast - empowered by divine energy, his crossbow attack drives the ghast attacking Perdita back a step, blackening the area around the bolt even further.
Two more ghasts pop out of adjoining rooms, rushing to the fore of the combat. One of them opens itself up to Tassa, allowing her to lash it with her tentacle mass. The other is simply forced to slow as it enters her aura of suffocating energy.
One of the ghasts already in combat, having dropped from the ceiling, attacks Henry with everything it's got, slashing with razor-sharp claws before lunging it, drooling, teeth-first.
Henry's reflexes are sharpened by years of fencing training and a powerful cocktail of drugs. He dips and dodges, weaves and evades. The ghast is unable to land a single finger on him.
Ila catches the strange look that Perdita gives her and offers an eyebrow raise, not quite focused fully on the combat, just yet. She shrugs and takes a few steps forward, lunging, and bringing her arm past her target's shoulder, before bringing her leg up and around, slamming a bolt of pure silver force towards her foe's chest. "Back to back, yes, Miss Tassa?" She grins, before assuming a playful stance, bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet, and letting some of the negative energy she'd summoned up with her goddess's help sap its way into her target's mind.
"Would you all kindly focus on a similar target? If we pool our resources we're much less likely to be overwhelmed. Miss Tassa and Mister 'Khar, you seem to both have left your targets wobbly. Together, you'd have likely grounded one." Her voice isn't condescending, but instead characteristically chipper, as she lets her hands fall to her sides with practiced ease.
With a powerful lunge, Ila kicks at one of the ghasts, and while she isn't able to penetrate the thing's hide the strength of her force magic slams right through its natural armor.
Continuing to press inwards, several of the ghasts lay in on 'Khar, Tassa, and Ila. Outside, one of the ghasts that had been savaging Perdita loops around, loping on all fours, and lashes out at Urick with a claw.
Despite the absolute fury of attacks, the ghasts only manage to get a few attacks in, tiring the group out, making minor nicks, and pressing ever further inwards. Ila gets the worst of it, receiving an infected bite wound. While the ghoul's teeth barely penetrate her coat, she still feels a minor sting.
Ila's attack drives one of the ghasts back, which draws the ire of everyone in range.
The first claw seems to barely slow Ila down, but she doesn't quite withdraw quickly enough and the ghoul grazes her skin with its flesh for a second time. She crumples unceremoniously to the floor with a thud.
Henry shifts to give 'Khar more room to move before adjusting his stance slightly and aiming a second stab at the ghoul's chest.
The ungodly tentacles emerging from Tassa's rib cage continue to grope hungrily for the ghasts.
Between shaking off the pain of the ghouls' claws and fighting off the paralysis, 'Khar seems not to be listening to Ila's call to coordinate with Tassa. Instead he focuses his efforts on the ghoul he'd hit before, continuing to assault it savagely.
Just as the ghoul attacks 'Khar turns to face it and unleashes a savage roar, daring the ghoul to follow through with its attack.
'Khar and Henry continue the assault on the creatures that they're already facing. Khar's scything claw strike cleaves through the ghast before him, but it stubbornly stays standing, even though it's clearly on its last legs.
Tassa's writhing tentacles can't manage to get a good grasp on any of the creatures that are approaching, but she gets another chance... One of the creatures looks down at Ila, slavering at the mouth. Drool drips all over her as it leaps down, clawing at her scalp, trying to burrow through her skull and get to her sweet, delicious brains.
Meanwhile, one of the ghasts on the outside of the house attacks Perdita, its limbs flailing as it tries to carve her apart.
Struggling against the aura surrounding Tassa, one of the ghasts goes mouth-first towards Ila, prone on the ground.
Perdita would start spellcasting, sadly she is in reach of a Ghoul, she tries her best to get rid of him.
Unfortunately, Perdita can only stab the ghoul in her mind. She falls to the ground and drops her weapon, paralyzed.
Meanwhile, one of the ghasts attacking Tassa changes targets to 'Khar (given that he is huge and roaring).
The ghoul's claws only graze off of 'Khar's enlarged and toughened musculature. Frustrated, it goes in for a bite but is met with a terrifying roar from 'Khar. It backs off, waiting for a better opportunity...