Bedlam readies to follow Anzath...
The party retraces their steps to Saracek's ornate doors (I don't think you've actually dismantled them yet). Instead of entering them, you move back towards the mush room and attempt to open the secret door.
Working together, the party determines that there are probably no traps, even as you also notice that the door is... cold.
You open the door and see a sphere hanging in midair. You feel your body heat draining from every inch of exposed flesh (and aren't we glad we don't have a Calistrian in our retinue). Icicles hang from the ceiling, with counterpart stalagmites on the floor.
Bedlam claps!
We be find'n da freezer! Now we be hav'n more den just rat jerky!
Anzath scratches her head. She has enough common sense to tell her not to approach the sphere. She simply points and asks "Vhat iz it?"
Tragershen shivers as he looks at the sphere.
Spellcraft? .
Do we see scat or claw marks on the wall that indicate some frosty nasty lairs here?
Tragershen knows that this spell is related to Freezing Sphere but you also know that such a spell wouldn't be so stable (and it'd be a lot more painful).
The only hints about the purpose of the room is indeed a few scraps of meat impaled on the various icy spikes.
Aurora nods, sagely. "Back in Irrisen we had cellars lined with ice to preserve meat for eating or corpses that were not ready for obsequies. I don't think impaling any of it on spikes of ice was standard procedure, however..." The cleric squints. "But perhaps that is just a special touch the cultists here take."
Anzath shakes her head, disappointed "Sekret chamberz should be more revarding."
"This does seem to be a utility level for the cultists. Meat storage, rat breeding, coffin production... Let's move on."
Once everyone else had taken a look, Lolygert pokes his head in to see the cold room, nodding , then shaking his head, "Too cold for beer..."
You open the secret door to the southwest. You see a rough-hewn, 20ft tunnel with a dark chamber at its end.
Inside, you find a star-shaped room. Each side of each point of the star is lined with four coffins, vertically attached to the wall. Each point contains a single black stone coffin.
If you're not entering the room, tell me if you're waiting in the tunnel or the hall.
Bedlam eyes the suspicious boxes with a grin. The dwarf begins taking out some oil, tindertwigs, and an old (well read) Goblin Tales novel.
He looks at everyone.
Wat? Be fer sum kindling.
Anzath explores the room. Seeing what she sees, she draws both scimitars.
Lolygert wanders into the room,"This must be where they store their coffins...."
Bedlam seems to be whistling as be works....
Aurora, as per her usual, stays near the squishy wizard in case something happens.
Terapin, curious but cautious, put his invisible self where he can see into the room, but is still in the tunnel. Tal is next to Anzath.
I'll go ahead and reveal the spoiler above:
"Inside, you find a star-shaped room. Each side of each point of the star is lined with four coffins, vertically attached to the wall. Each point contains a single black stone coffin"
As Bedlam begins to whistle, you hear groaning in one of the coffins. Then, they all burst open. Ghouls swarm towards you from every point of the star--each of the stone coffins contains a bigger, scarier ghoul.
Yes, that does mean 25 smart, wise, and charismatic undead are shambling towards the fighters in the center of the room.
Seeing the undead flowing out into the room, Tragershen acts quickly.
"Gelver, make sure none are circling behind us! Ippolit, block the opening of the tunnel!" He looks to Aurora and Tarapin and says "The elves should be immune to their paralysis; help the others if you can!"
In his own attempt to help, Tragershen throws out a spell on his allies to aid their melee (or hasten their retreat).
Casting haste on Anzath, Bedlam, Talathel, Aurora, Lolly, Ippolit and himself. Seven round duration; he used his extended haste earlier.
Bedlam recalls a day in the distant--and missed--past, when he did not need to smell dirty, rotten, dead ghouls!
E'cuse me; but fer dis da men's room?
The dwarf accesses the situation (dire by the way), before reaching for a Tanglefoot bomb. He directs it at those in their star.
He then moves to block any egress into their star from the others.
Bedlam gives Parrot a thumbs up!
Anzath sheaths her golden blade and plucks off a golden bead from her necklace.
Anzath and Bedlam each attack a point of the star with explosives.
Anzath's blast envelops (at least) every foe in the north point of the star:
One weakened ghoul still moves among the smoke.
Bedlam's bomb hits the ghast at the west point and catches two ghouls as well:
The ghast is dead, and the ghouls are badly scorched and entangled.
Ippolit holds back Gelver.
The wounded ghouls surge forward, meeting Talathel's flashing spear:
Tal finishes them.
Bedlam looks back at the group. The dwarf shrugs his massive shoulders.
Be sound'n like our Parrot be sad...
The dwarf laughs.
"Vhat?"
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Terapin takes a few hesitant steps backwards down the hall, intimidated by the sheer numbers of the creatures. He mutters, “Too many teeth, too many teeth. Got to break some teeth.”
The stone wall next to the room’s door seems to ripple for a moment, and a statue of a dog-lion-oni-thing bounds eagerly into the room, the scrape of stone claws on stone floor reverberating off the walls.
The Foo Dog attempts to bite and trip the nearest ghoul, and then uses its Stony Defense ability to gain Hardness 8 for the round. Hopefully some of these geniuses decide to bite back?
The foo dog's ghoul fool attacks the beast!
Its attacks futile, it hollers "Don't bother with thisss one, brethren and sistren!"
The next ghoul heeds the warning and attacks Talathel, weaving to dodge under his spear:
Talathel's spear drops precisely into the skilled dodge of the ghoul,
And then it bites:
As Tal twists away from snapping jaws, they shout, "This one is quickkk!"
Talathel deadpans back at the ghoul, "The quick and the dead."
He stabs:
The ghoul crumbles. Tal uses a foot to shove the corpse off his spear, then moves to stand between the party and a point of the star that hasn't been bombed. Yet. "I'll hold them here, blast a different corner, Bedlam!"
Then, two ghasts advance. Those in the center of the room are suddenly overwhelmed by an awful stench:
Anzath and Bedlam are Sickened for at least five minutes!
Tal tries to remember what he knows about ghasts:
He nervously reminds everyone, "The big ones can paralyze elves, too! I'll try to keep them at a distance!"
He sweeps evil off its feet at a safe 5 ft distance from himself and his comrades. If he didn't have such command over his emotions, he'd be looking sorta smug right now.
But there's more trouble than that. Four regular ghouls rush the fighters!
Talathel swirls in a whirlwind of precise attacks, choosing to try to kill the weaker of the ghouls that can't paralyze him and... someone...
The first breaks through and attacks
The second breaks through and attacks
The third breaks through and attacks
The fourth breaks through and attacks
...for some reason, this wave of ghouls is attracted to Lolly, for the most part. Anz has one in her face, too. Neither the dark slayer or the jolly barbarian are ever in any real danger, though.
Talathel has landed 7 attacks this (extended) turn--he looks pleased, but he warns the party, "I don't have any more attacks in me just now. Someone do something, please!"
Bedlam watches the elf work. He is chewing popcorn.
"Might I strongly advise a tactical retreat?" Aurora calls out.
Drawing a pinch of flint and silvery powder between her fingers, she utters the incantation of a spell: a burst of brilliant white light appears in the midst of the largest group of ghouls not engaging her allies just yet.
Its attacks futile, it hollers "Don't bother with thisss one, brethren and sistren!"
Its attacks futile, it hollers "Don't bother with thisss one, brethren and sistren!"
Aurora moves up, perhaps jostling the invisible Terapin, then fires a spell into one of the corners where the ghouls have yet to move.
[dice=Ref Save Ghast:
A burst of light washes over the creatures in the corner. Some are blinded--others dazzled--all are scorched.
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Its attacks futile, it hollers "Don't bother with thisss one, brethren and sistren!"
Dude, ghouls and ghasts are smarter, wiser, and cooler people than... people! Check out the ghast statline: Str 17, Dex 19, Con —, Int 17, Wis 18, Cha 18. I can't figure out why the ghasts aren't running everything.
Three ghouls move in on the fighter-types. With Talathel's AOOs exhausted, they swarm in unopposed, taking flanking positions.
Nothing gets through the defenses of the party.
Lolygert frowns as the ghouls and ghasts emerge, then scowls as they attempt to scratch and bite him. The worst thing is the ones that speak, "Stop yammering...it hurts my ears!" he shouts as the rage consumes him...
Lolly dispatches the three ghouls closest to him with little effort. The next, biggest wave blindly stumbles into combat! The keen senses of the ghouls and ghast make up for the loss of vision, to some extent, but the party will benefit from full concealment in that thickest of fog spells.
The last ghast brings its stench to bear:
Lolly and Talathel are used to fouler stenches. But will they be so successful avoiding claws? The ghouls move into flanking positions with their brethren and sistren:
The ghast moves on Anzath, its jaws dripping with gross:
She also has to deal with a standard ghoul's less paralytic attentions:
The blind monsters fail to bite their nimble prey, as Anzath easily anticipates their moves and gets out of the way.
One normal ghoul makes a stumbling break for Aurora in the doorway, blindly (literally) seeking revenge:
Another lunges forward:
Neither pierces the cleric's defenses.
One shoves its way through the crowd around Talathel, leaping over its ghast-ly commanders:
Tragershen's magic gives the elf just enough speed to twist away.
Bedlam begins laughing! The dwarf hoots, hollers and even giggles; as he dances amongst the ghouls and ghasts!
The dwarf yells
Ye can't be handling da truth!
Tragershen frowns as he surveys the scene and catches sight of Bedlam. Is he trying to bite them? He shook his head. No, I must have seen that wrong.
The elf steps out of the cave, behind the relative safety of the Nethys cleric. He pulls a bit of black spongy material from his pouch and flicks it out into the fray.
Anzath grips Kritfisher in two hands and tries to match Lolly’s fury.
As black tentacles erupt opposite the door, the fighters take their vengeance, focusing first on the closest ghast, then on non-blinded immediate threats. Bedlam knocks out the blind ghast with his first swipe. His second kills a healthy ghoul in one blow. He then... bites one... so hard that it is nearly dead-dead.
Anzath finishes the one attacking her, then finishes what Bedlam had started with his bite. She steps over to the one attacking Talathel, finishing that one, too.
Tragershen's tentacles find fewer targets than they may have before that mayhem. Stay tuned for the results!