"Okay." Dura and Daniel walk back to Gibb's shack (keeping an eye out for any deputies that she can send the sheriff's way) and open the door to look inside.
Vrilli charges forward, but the flames of the creature hold hit at bay just enough for his strike to fly past, hitting nothing. Leeoli's hurled holy water has quite a bit more effect. As it splashes onto the creature, the flames about it sputter and smoke. Its bones begin to dull, as if losing whatever life animated them.
Still, the bestial undead creature has the power left to swing at Rufus once again.
Stumbling and staggered, its attacks are off target, and Rufus sighs in relief and resolve as he raises his hammer to strike back.
The powerful hammer slams into the bones weakened by holy power. They shatter apart like glass, showering the dusty floor with gray bits. Whatever sentient soul had inhabited the skeleton can no longer keep it together, and the form becomes inanimate once again.
ack, I hate skeletons. We needs to heal these wounds. Leeoli looks over Anyi, Rufus, and then his seeping cuts. Vrilli, if you would with wand.
It takes a number of wand blasts but Leeoli feels much better at the end of it.
Vrilli takes the wand back from Leeoli and tends to his own wounds:
Moving a little more freely, Vrilli attempts to clean some of his blood off his gear using a little water on a rag.
There's a small bedroom behind a closed door, and it proves to be even a worse sight. more piles of fur and skin, with dried and spoiled entrails find a macabre home in the dark corner. The floor is covered in dried blood, and a wooden bucket with more of the liquid is in the middle of the floor. A small desk is dotted with half-torn papers with writing on them...each of them saying. "We will be free, the woman will die!"
It appears as if Gibs was either quite a disturbed individual, or a very poor trapper or butcher.
Anyi and Rufus nod at Leeoli, and Rufus doles out a potion for himself and one for Anyi. They toast, then down them, immediately beginning to heal.
They each nod grimly, showing their readiness to continue.
Frequently practical, Leeoli looks about for loot. He looks at the skeletal remains
then the rubble to the south west,
and finally the pool of water to the north west.
Which way shall we head? North?Leeoli suggests randomly.
Clearly Gibbs is involved in some of the mayhem Kendra spoke of. But it doesn't seem that he's fully in control of his own doings. The 'we will be free' suggests multiple entities are involved. The sheriff definitely needs to see this... and I need some air.
She steps outside and take a deep breath of fresh air. "The woman must die." Who are they speaking about?
Though Leeoli is thorough in his search, there doesn't seem to be anything of worth here, save a worn old axe and some dusty old clothing, mostly charred
The Oubliette? Vrilli suggests.
Leoli.nods at Vrilli.A dungeon with an opening only at the top... Leeoli muses. Sounds inviting. Watch your step.
The group leads Henrik back to the north, past the monument, and then further north to the small hut of Gibs Hephenus. You see Dura slipping inside, Daniel watching at the door. So do the men, and they stop dead in their tracks.
Before heading North, Leeoli takes a minute to formulate another shielding extract, which he attaches to his belt.
Leeoli then takes the lead heading North, listening for sounds of enemies.
You proceed to the north, cautiously stepping over and past charred bones that you hope have now been returned to a final rest. A room in the hallway to the north opens to the left, and you know that this is the room from which the flaming skeleton had come.
The door to this guard room hangs slightly ajar. Within stands a table surrounded by a few rickety chairs, along with a pair of moldy but serviceable carts.
Ahead, to the north, lies the Oubilette. Several iron doors line the walls of this large, empty room. In the middle of the room, a hinged ten-foot-square metal grating lies over a dark pit in the floor. A thick rope has been tied to the grating and dangles into the pit below.
Vrilli shines a little lanrern light down through the grating and looks for a small bit of rubble to drop down.
You know this is a bad idea Leeoli grimaces.
Leeoli looks down and tries to guess at the depth.
OK, we know something bad is down there...I mean, what self-respecting undead lord would not like to live in that pit?
It's about thirty feet to the bottom of the oubliette, with walls polished smooth with no handholds. The rope hanging into the pit is only a few feet long, terminating in a frayed end. The remainder of the rope lies at the bottom of the pit, coiled around the broken and twisted remains of some unfortunate soul. Near the body is a small cache of misc weapons and goods - most seem to have the make of guards' weapons - as if a prisoner had stolen them and held them here.
I will ingest an extract of detect undead. If there is something down there we can rain down arrows and perhaps channeling blasts?
-Posted with Wayfinder
I will hold the divination as long as possible to gain full information Leeoli confides. Then peering down, A channel blast might reach the floor below
Leeoli stands over the pit and begins his divination. He finds, first, that there is an undead presence below. Upon closer examination, he finds that it is a strong aura, and is centered holy upon the broken figure below.
As he, and the others, watch the pit below, the figure stirs. Its legs, oddly angled as if broken - no doubt from its fall - crack as they begin to push off of the stone ground to force its upper body to move. A cold hiss comes from the figure as it slowly gets to its feet.
Anyone want to go down with it?
Anyi, do you think we can get a bowshots at it through this grating?
Vrilli clears any detritus and filth from a patch next to the grating and kneels. I think I can probably break that creature up from here...
Henrik watches as the men move up onto the small porch, their hands moving to pull out and ready their knives. As he watches, one of them attempts to look into the windows, as the other two line up to either side of the door.
Dura hears heavy footfalls outside, then catches out of the corner of her eye and grimy face peering in through one of the windows.
Anyi nods quickly. The grating is widely enough spaced that I could get a good shot, yes. Think my arrows can even hurt this thing? I'm happy to give it a try.
Leeoli eyes the doors surrounding the pit, listening.
More crazed locals? What is this, some kind of cult? Dura pulls out her morningstar and clicks her tongue at Daniel, preparing for the coming conflict.
The doors around the pit all seem to be empty, the cell doors open. One could assume that those in this pit may have been among the skeletal remains near the crumbled stairs to the south.
Look, we're just lookin' out for our friend - this is Gibs' house, and you ain't him. What gives, are you two thieves?
Dura is not sure what to make of the bucket of blood, but it doesn't seem good, especially given the nature of Gib's house of horrors. She sets her jaw.
"Gibs isn't here. He's been arrested by Sheriff Caeller. In fact, I expect the sheriff is on his way here now."
She's not sure what reaction this will get, but she recalls the "we" in "we will be free."
The two men on the porch bare their knives and throw themselves down at Henrik.
Her attack swings wild, smashing a portion of one wall. She steps to the side growling, Get him, Daniel.
The tiger steps forward to meet the man in the doorway
and tears into him with tooth and claw.
Leeoli retrieves 4 magically enhanced arrows and hands them Anyi. Try with these.
Leeoli sheathes his rapier, and draws his bow. I will do the same
Vrilli attempts to break up the dead thing...
Anyi nods, and sets an arrow to her bow as well. She fires down through the grates quickly, and with obvious practiced ease.
Alas, her arrow thuds into the grate and splits, hurling splinters in every direction. Leeoli's shot flies true, but somehow misses the creature to skid along the stone floor behind it, leaving a trail of dust.
Vrilli lines up his potent ability to combat a beast such as this, and steels himself for another fight. His bolt of light - searing to an undead creature, slams into the form below, setting it back on its heels.
The creature looks up at the pit entrance, eyes wide but purely white. It takes a short step forward on its broken legs, then begins to...float.
A ghost?
Anyi, these 4 arrows of ghost touch! The red feathered ones. Leeoli indicates for Anyi to grab them from the quiver on his back..
Leeoli draws one of his undead bane arrows, stills his mind seeking inspiration, but a bump on his shoulder sends his precious arrow fying before he aimed properly.
Leeoli mutters a dark curse, and shouts It may be incorporeal. Douse it with holy water, arcane or divine magics...but not ordinary steel
The man at the front door is able to duck aside, and Dura's attack slams into the door jamb inches from his face. The man sneers and flies back in, only to be meant to hundreds of pounds of furry muscle, tooth, and claw. The man falls under the weight, and Daniel quickly rips the front of his torso to ribbons.
The last man, seeing the swift action and terrible results, drops his knife, and falls to the ground, clutching his head in both hands and rocking slightly...forward and back.