Esta smiles a little as she watches Karras work at the door. "Unless y' want me t' burn it down, I don't think I know anythin' that'll help." She thinks for a moment then grins. "Though if I'd've known we'd need t' break into a buildin', I could've prepared somethin' that'd let Radag smash right through it."
Esta smiles a little as she watches Karras work at the door. "Unless you want it burned down, I don't think I know anythin' that'll help." She thinks for a moment and grins. "Though if I'd've known we'd be breakin' into a buildin' today, I could've prepared somethin' that would've let Radag smash right through it."
Doffing his hat and wiping his brow, the Doctor continues his work. "We may yet need to burn this house down, Ms. Vyrelian. Keep that spell in your back pocket, just in case..."
I don't need your magic to break anything down. These hands have bent bars. Radag says making like he has claws. Oh, and I have this jemmy. Radag grabs up his backpack where a crowbar has been fastened.
"Then assist me in keeping guard, if you will Ms Vyrelian. If I were these children this is when I would choose to attack."
He smiles grimly at the banter "I would not be averse to firing the fields ere we depart. I might have a spell to help in that situation as well."
Where the fastly-nailed door frustrated the Doctor and his delicate tools, Radag and his 'jemmy' make short work. With a bit of effort and some splintered wood, the party stands inside a quaint country home. A combination kitchen and dining room, neat and tidy, make up the majority of the first floor with a set of stairs leading up to the bedrooms.
It takes little work to determine which was Karin's, as one is furnished for a young girl.
From someplace outside, the dreadful song of the attic whisperers returns.
Radag moves to keep an eye out for the whisperers when their ong starts again. I'll not let these spirits menace us, he mutters peering outside and toward the cornfield.
Nodding thanks to Radag, the Doctor swings the door open and finds himself in the ground floor of a the family's modest home.
"Glad you're with us, master Irefist," Karras says, absently taking in his surroundings. It was too much, too cluttered to make sense of.
Taking a quick spin about the room, the Doctor holds his pepperbox in one hand and opens the kitchen cabinets, before turning his attention to the stairs.
"Well, unless any of you are having more luck finding any clues, should we head up the stairs?"
Upon hearing the return of the attic whisperer's tune, Esta hurries into the house with Oolong on her heels. At the doctor's suggestion, she starts slowly up the stairs.
She peeks into a room before slowly pushing the door open. "I found th' girl's room," she calls down the steps before stepping into the room. She drags her fingers delicately over the furniture and toys as she moves through, before approaching the window.
Looks like a normal window, she thinks to herself. She runs her hands over the glass and sill, cocking her head as a thought occurs to her. A completely normal window with no marks or... "Doctor Karras?" she calls into the hallway. She summons a ball of light and affixes it to the nearby furniture so that they can see in the dim, fading light. "Look at th' window," she says when he enters the room with her. "It's latched closed from th' inside. Nothin's broken, not even th' glass." She turns to him. "There's no way Adam could've gotten in through here without somethin' breakin', 'specially th' glass." She looks at him, cautiously hopeful.
"Stay together!" orders Aduard. "Such creatures will instinctively seek to divide us, so as to go against those alone."
True to his word he stays with Irefist, but protests. "We should go up with the others."
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Esta takes her conjured light upstairs, leaving the others shrouded in gloom. The eerie singing of the dead children continues to rise in volume.
Little Marten loved to run, until he ran to Brother Swarm
Shooting bow's was Garad's fun, until he was no longer warm
Allen wanted t' be a knight, now he takes another form
Rachel's pranks were filled with fright, now she fears a differ'nt storm
Elsa and her glitter-staff, more to keep the keeper warm
Karin he did save for last, now they all buzz as his swarm
The singing abruptly stops, followed by a rush of discordant whispers. The sound is jarring, but beneath the cacophony, all of the voices appear to say the same thing.
"He's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here."
From her vantage upstairs, Esta can just make out a dark, conical mass drifting above the crops towards the house.
Aduard freezes for a second, his mind running through hundreds of battles where undead faced isolated humans.
'The trick' he remembered 'was to split them apart, then turn the smaller party. Probe their abilities using a disposable minion. Use Fear. Drive them into a place with walls that incorporeal undead can reach through. Convince them to engage in a competition of endurance with those who lack the living's capacity for lethargy.'
He looks around, and mutters words that might be curses, or might be Curses. 'Only thing we haven't done is start running.'
he bellows, proving to have a surprisingly strong voice "Down here! Now!"
He turns to those with him "Irefist, hold out your sword. Unless - Doctor, do you have a way to fight if they are disembodied? I can disrupt their ectoplasm at range, if you two can hold a line."
"Remember, if they are ethereal they may be able to reach through walls - and ceilings..." He stomps on the floor - hard and listens.
Planning to burn Magic Weapon on Radag's sword, unless the doctor needs a way to affect incorporeals.
Stomping is to determine if the floor is on the ground, or whether an ethereal undead might be able to come through it.
@GM ROBOGEISHA: can I ask the time, please? Have we passed sunset?
Esta spies the dark, approaching mass right as she hears Aduard call for her from the first floor. Sprinting from the room, she barrels through the hallway and down the steps to rejoin the group.
"Somethin's comin'!" she says loudly when she reaches the others. "It's a... a big, dark mass of somethin', I dunno what yet, but it's movin' this way over th' crops outside."
Fidgeting with her cloak, she worries another hole into it. "I don' like that chantin'," she whispers, frightened.
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Karras draws his alchemy manual and begins scribbling a jagged shorthand, his mind working at a fever's pitch, analyzing the song before the words are scrawled on the page:
Little Marten - ran Brother Swarm
Shooting bow's - Garad's fun
Allen wanted be knight,
Rachel's pranks filled with fright - storm
Elsa - glitter-staff, keep keeper warm
Karin he did save for last
HIS SWARM!
Dropping the book Karras uncorks an iron vial, and surprising himself, says a quick benediction to Pharasma, and then tips the bitter concoction back.
Grimacing, the Doctor throws his longcoat to the ground, and his undershirt strains under Karras's bulk, as the doctor's body expands, Karras's face elongating, snoutlike, with canine teeth erupting from his jaws. Claws erupt from the Doctor's fingers, short, but razor sharp.
Karras, already a hairy man, sees a thicket of it sprouting from his shirt, across his arms, feels it, wiry and full, sprouting from his face...
Dropping his hat alongside his formula book, the Doctor stands, more beast than man. His words come slurred, gutteral, as he turns to address the Bookman's question.
"The Bweast gave me an idea. It sweems to have worked. I'll hold this Browther Swarm off alongside Irefist. If these claws don't hurt it, I have howly water that wwill"
"And I don't liwke that chawnting either, Ms. Vyrelian."
Spreading his pack out on the table as the chanting grows nearer, the Doctor attaches a heavy cartridge to the top of his pepperbox, and then pours a flask of holy water into the cartridge.
"Brace yourselves, my friends. Brother Swarm is near."
Str is 18, AC is 18, Int is 15.
Given time, he'll do the following in order:
1. Infuse the first shot from his pepperbox with holy water
2. Drink bull's strength extract (Str is 22)
3. Drink enlarge person extract (claws and bite increase in size one damage die. I assume pepperbox does too? Str is 24. AC is 17)
4. Drink shield extract (AC is 21)
Drazan holds his sword out for Bookman's enchantment, and readies to swing at the first incorporeal to come within reach. If it flies we're better off fighting it in these cramped quarters. Not much better since incorporeals can reach through the furniture and walls to drain your life essence.
Aduard chants over the sword while sprinkling it with a pinch of dust and making finger-twisting gestures with his left hand.
"A good point, Irefist. We should get the furniture out of the way while we can."
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The ghostly chanting of the children slows and stops, the only sound the occasional creak of Karin's abandoned home.
"Intruders," a man's voice calls from outside the building. "Why have you invaded my home? Why have you taken Garad from me?"
The voice seems kindly, like a well-meaning parent chiding mischievous children, but beneath the fatherly tenor is a low, constant buzzing, like an active hive of bees.
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Aduard perked up "Brother Swarm, I assume? Delighted to meet you. Please accept my apologies for the invasion. We understand this area to have been claimed by The Beast of Ustalav. That he came here, cunningly took the children to be his servants, and drove the adult residents to flee his wrath." the wizard held his breath a moment "Do I take it you are then entity who accomplished all this? Or are you perhaps one of The Beast's Servants, residing here at his indulgence?"
The Doctor nods approvingly to Aduard, mouthing the word smart to wizard. Taking a spot beside the nearest egress to Brother Swarm, Karras responds as soon as Aduard is done talking.
"I've interviewed the Beawst - he's a lowner, and perfectly capable of inflicting terror on this town on his own. This 'Browther Swarm' is neither the terror nor a servant. He's just trywing to steal some notoriety."
Radag seizes the moment and rearranges the furniture so that it is pressed hard and efficiently against the walls and out of the way.
"Claim?" the voice demands, the sound of buzzing growing louder by a degree. "Hergstag is my home, its children are my children."
A translucent form steps through the wall and into the room. The apparition appears as though it were a mild-mannered accountant, a bookish, balding man with a pair of spectacles balanced upon his hooked nose.
"That creature was little more than a vagabond, living in the willows by the lake. I saw that Karrin was growing close to it, so I brought her into my family. The Beast attacked me, but it could not harm me. A servant? Ludicrous."
"Why have you come here? Why are you disturbing my family?"
"Why to investigate the story! The Beast has been captured. All society gathers around to discuss his infamy, and judge him for it. The taking of Hergstag - or 'Beastblight' as some are starting to call it - is preeminent among his crimes." Aduard carefully did not hold his breath, relying on most undead's unfamiliarity with the habits of the living.
"We are to return with evidence as to whether he was or was not responsible, though this is largely viewed as a formality." he pauses, carefully, "I suppose your testimony would be instrumental in correcting the record. Indeed the erstwhile Hergstag might gain some new appellation, to do with yourself."
"With your permission, I'll write down what you say, and have you notarise it. If I should survive the coming fight, I'll ensure your testimony is brought before the law. If we do not, you can perhaps prevail upon one of your neighbours to do so. I assure you I can write quickly, and it will take but a moment to do so."
"There's no neewd for a cowming fight," the Doctor says, keeping his pepperbox pointed at the creature. "If we die here, the Beast gets your reputation. We have to leave to give you the credit that you deserve."
"And if you die here, we have less of an argument to make on your behalf. It is best that we have a civil discussion, and then part ways."
Karras clears his throat. "I for one believe you, after seeing you walk through this wall. It is best that we present your story, and stop the Beastblight from stealing your reputation. But we'll need your full accounting. I'm going to grab my notebook and pen, and we can begin..."
With his free hand, the Doctor reaches for his satchel...
Radag forces an unsubtle wink at Esta; his hands twitching to slay the wraithful accountant.
Though still ready to spring into action, Esta grins back at Radag, some of her worry beginning to fade as she listens to the others bargain with the apparition.
Party Buffs:
Aduard HP: 31/21 - AC 15/11/14 Status:
Karras HP: 23/31 - AC: 16/12/14 Status:
Esta HP: 25/25 - AC: 16/12/14 Status:
Radag HP: 39/39 - AC: 21/12/17 Status:
________________________________
Order:
Brother Swarm chuckles mirthlessly. "What good is recognition to me? The last time too many people knew my business, they ambushed me. Tied me to a stake, covered me in honey, and let my bees have me." A slight breeze picks up,
"I swore I'd take from them all that they took from me." As he speaks, his form flickers and shifts. His skin turns as grey as a corpse, with streaks of bone white running through it like marble.
"My home." His clothes flow like mist into a hooded robe the color of a stormy sky.
"My profession." Brother Swarm's spectacles drop away as his flesh splits down the middle, revealing an empty black space within.
"My little darlings." The ghost's voice is a swarm now, the sound of thousands of bees droning. Dozens of red, pupilless eyes blink open from darkness inside the flapping robe.
"You will pay for taking Garad from me. I will not be bullied again!"
Brother Swarm lurches towards the party, arms outstretched.
The Doctor's mouth drops open as Brother Swarm transforms. Karras's mind races through decades of past research as he tried to figure out just what this damned creature was.
Regardless, the monstrosity would be on them in a second. Shaking himself to action, the Doctor squeezes the trigger on his pepperbox. A loud clap fills the room, acrid smoke drifts from the gun's barrel. Without waiting to see if any damage was done, Karras drops his weapon and closes to melee, a long string of spittle dropping from the Doctor's now lupine lips.
and next round takes or Brother Swarm can take a full-round action to extinguish the flames
Attacks:
Pepperbox + 4 damage 2d6,
claws +10 damage 1d6+7,
bite +10 damage 2d6+7
bombs +5 damage 2d6+3 Note: bombs target touch attack, but doc does not have the precise shot feat, so he'll suffer a -4 penalty to fire into melee. He has the precise bombs discovery so allies won't take damage from his bombs.
"I liked 'im better as an accountant," Esta laments to Radag in an attempt to hide her bubbling unease.
Ducking around Aduard, the witch traces patterns in the air as she chants her incantation.
Adaurd's spell rips forward even as the darkness forms, splitting into 4 ethereal arrows that all curve into the eye-spattered darkness ahead.
In the sudden shock at the loss of so much magic his mind reels as the true face of what they fight is revealed.
Was looking at the ray, but technically there is -4 for shooting into combat, I think, though given the spell will only hurt the undead I don't care if it hits people....
Focussed spell magic missile. CL 8. 4 missiles. No miss. Force damage.
If possible, aid the doctor's roll to id.
We'll see about that. Pharasma take you! Radag moves to engage the many eyed wraith with the spell imbued blade.
Party Buffs:
Aduard HP: 31/21 - AC 15/11/14 Status:
Karras HP: 23/31 - AC: 16/12/14 Status:
Esta HP: 25/25 - AC: 16/12/14 Status:
Radag HP: 39/39 - AC: 21/12/17 Status:
Brother Swarm HP 39/57 Status: misfortune hex
________________________________
Esta uses misfortune hex. BS fails Will save. Misfortune for 1 round.
Aduard casts magic missile for 12 damage.
Radag hits BS for 10 halved damage.
BS hits Radag for 10 halved damage.
The Doctor's pepperbox roars, its holy water infused bullet ripping through Brother Swarm's undulating form, but his incorporeal nature prevents him from catching fire.
He his followed by Aduard’s missiles, each finding their mark and ripping into the spirit. Radag adds his own effort, his magic sword disrupting the ghost’s incorporeal form.
Brother Swarm hisses in pain and lashes out at Radag with a clawed hand. The blow connects despite Esta's hex. The ranger feels a lance of icy pain shoot through his heart, but he shrugs the worst of it off.
Aduard winces as Brother Swarm shrugs off his most powerful spell, and he is reduced to his disruption cantrip.
Grimaces in the wake of Brother Swarm's claws. They sure feel more feel than his incorporeal form lets on. Radag commits to carrying out the lady of graves purpose, to end undead at any cost, and he attacks again hoping the magic on the blade holds long enough.
Greatsword, mstwk, pwr atk-2/+5:
Swearing when she sees Brother Swarm shake off her hex, Esta changes tactics, whistling for Oolong. Kneeling to her familiar, she cups his head in her hands and eases a blue-white light into him. "Go!"
The fox bounds towards the ghost, exploding in light as he passes through the incorporeal form.
"A gwhost," the Doctor growls, abandoning his plan to melee Brother Swarm, for his attacks would be harmless. Shifting to the side of Radag, Karras fetches flask of holy water from his belt, and popping the cap, flings its contents towards apparition.
Pepperbox + 4 damage 2d6,
claws +10 damage 1d6+7,
bite +10 damage 2d6+7
bombs +5 damage 2d6+3 Note: bombs target touch attack, but doc does not have the precise shot feat, so he'll suffer a -4 penalty to fire into melee. He has the precise bombs discovery so allies won't take damage from his bombs.
Party Buffs:
Aduard HP: 31/21 - AC 15/11/14 Status:
Karras HP: 23/31 - AC: 16/12/14 Status:
Esta HP: 25/25 - AC: 16/12/14 Status:
Radag HP: 39/39 - AC: 21/12/17 Status:
Brother Swarm HP 28/57 - AC: 16/16/15 Status: misfortune hex
________________________________
Esta uses misfortune hex and cackles. BS fails Will save. Misfortune for 2 rounds.
Aduard casts magic missile for 12 damage.
Radag hits BS for 10 halved damage.
BS misses Radag.
Aduard casts disrupt undead. The spell misses BS.
Radag hits BS for 11 halved damage.
Esta casts cure light wounds through Oolong. Oolong hits BS for 2 halved damage.
Karras misses BS with holy water.
BS takes 5fs and summons bee swarm.
Bee swarm hits Radag, Esta, and Aduard for 7 damage. Fortitude saves passed vs. poison and nausea.
Adaurd’s cantrip actually hits Radag in the swirling melee, although the positive energy scatters harmlessly across the ranger’s body. Radag’s sword rises and falls, hacking another portion of ectoplasm from the creature. Oolong leaps through Brother Swarm, deliver Esta’s spell accurately. A brief flare of white light flashes, seemingly searing the ghost.
Brother Swarm hisses and flies away from Karras’s splash of holy water, hovering just above the dusty dining table. The ghost tear at its robes and a swarm of bees cascades from within, buzzing and stinging in a cloud around the apparition. Esta, Radag, and Aduard are each caught within the writhing maelstrom of these apparently real insects.
The Doctor moves quickly, pulling two small glass bottles, tied together with twine, from his satchel. Inside the bottles, a variety of regents, including the most important - concentrated methane, that when exposed to air along with the phosphorous and willow-wight, would create a short lived, but extremely violent reaction - and hopefully disperse the bees.
Finishing his motion with a sweep of the arm, Karras lets the bottle fly at point where the swarm seems thick - close to Brother Swarm's pulsating, buzzing corpus.
Pepperbox + 4 damage 2d6,
claws +10 damage 1d6+7,
bite +10 damage 2d6+7
bombs +5 damage 2d6+3 Note: bombs target touch attack, but doc does not have the precise shot feat, so he'll suffer a -4 penalty to fire into melee. He has the precise bombs discovery so allies won't take damage from his bombs.
Esta stares intently at Brother Swarm as she keeps chanting, doing her best to ignore the insect swarm as she makes sure her hex stays in place. As she does so, she reaches out and grasps Aduard's arm, her hand glowing with a golden light that dissipates into his body.
Your spirit was weak in life, as it is pathetic in undeath. Radag taunts the thing like it's part of his fighting style, before turning to his party to announce, If the bees are too much, I have a repellent that will keep them off. Then Radag presses through the cloud of bees to attack the wraith.
Greatsword, magic:
Aduard hesitated, swatting at bees. 'No chance we'll be able to keep casting spells long term in this blasted swarm. My ray will be intercepted by the bees, so no chance of hitting the wraith. Retreating from the swarm leaves us far enough out to be hit. Given time Radag should be able to take the gost, and the doctor the swarm... given time. On the other hand... it sounds very much like this man died from beestings. Given how Banes work, it is possible the means to put him down is tied up with the swarm as well...'
"They are!" Aduard called, moving to the back of Radag "Where do you keep it, man!"
On one hand Aduard is looking for any particular weaknesses - on the other he thinks he might have found one.
Aduard has reasoned that since Brother Swarm seems to have died from being stung to death by bees, and that this torture plus his desire for revenge provided the impetus for him to become a unique undead - and that that is the reason corporeal bees are so linked to his incorporeal body.
Haunts and Ghosts often have something that can be done to reduce the bonds that tie them to this world.
Aduard reasons that the bees are such an anchor.
Seperate the bees from Brother Swarm, and one may sever the anchor. In this case that takes the effect of applying Insect Repellent (to repel the bees) and potentially something to ease the pain.
Even Brother Swarm himself might not have realised this is a weakness, if indeed it is.
Party Buffs:
Aduard HP: 14/21 - AC 15/11/14 Status:
Karras HP: 13/31 - AC: 16/12/14 Status:
Esta HP: 8/25 - AC: 16/12/14 Status:
Radag HP: 22/39 - AC: 21/12/17 Status:
Brother Swarm HP 28/57 - AC: 16/16/15 Status: misfortune hex
________________________________
Esta uses misfortune hex and cackles. BS fails Will save. Misfortune for 2 rounds.
Aduard casts magic missile for 12 damage.
Radag hits BS for 10 halved damage.
BS misses Radag.
Aduard casts disrupt undead. The spell misses BS.
Radag hits BS for 11 halved damage.
Esta casts cure light wounds through Oolong. Oolong hits BS for 2 halved damage.
Karras misses BS with holy water.
BS takes 5fs and summons bee swarm.
Bee swarm hits Radag, Esta, and Aduard for 7 damage. Fortitude saves passed vs. poison and nausea.
Karras hits bee swarm for 26 damage. BS immune to splash damage.
Esta cackles and casts guidance on Aduard.
Radag misses BS.
Aduard retrieves vermin repellent from Radag.
BS expands bee swarm.
Bee swarm hits party for 10 damage.
- Karras fails save vs. poison. 3 Dex damage, 5 rounds remaining.
- Esta fails save vs. distraction/poison. 4 Dex damage 5 rounds remaining.
- Radag passes saves.
- Aduard fails save vs. poison. 2 Dex damage, 5 rounds remaining.
Hundreds of charred insects drop to the floor, incinerated by Karras’s swarm, but Brother Swarm laughs and opens his cloak wider. Thousands of bees pour forth, filling the room in a droning, stinging swarm. Radag swings at the ghost, but is nearly blinded by the density of the bees, and his blade misses the mark.
Fumbling through Radag’s pack, Aduard finds what he needs: a vial of white paste: the vermin repellent. His theory that the bees might be a weakness of Brother Swarm’s isn’t the craziest idea. Desperate times call for desperate measures and the situation was rapidly becoming dire as each party member is viciously swarmed by the bees.
There was little doubt in Aduard's mind that the vermin repellent could turn the fight - but how? 'Can't apply the repellent to a ghost - it'd go right through him. I could apply it to something and put it inside or around him - but he'd just walk away. I need a force effect, and I've cast all mine. Wish I could put the damned mage armour around him, then I'd...'
Aduard froze for a second, brought out of his stupor by a dozen insect stings.
"Karras, Esta! Smoke, NOW!" Adauard uncharacateristic familiarity drizzled into grumbling as he danced past his ally in a rush, hands waving "So help me Radag, if you let it kill me..."
Whimpering in pain from the stings, Esta tries in vain to escape the swarm.
Karras's vision blurs, his fingers shake. Fighting through the sluggishness, the Doctor removes another bomb from his pack and flings it at the bee swarm, smiling flatly as more insects sizzle in the explosion.
Pepperbox + 4 damage 2d6,
claws +10 damage 1d6+7,
bite +10 damage 2d6+7
bombs +5 damage 2d6+3 Note: bombs target touch attack, but doc does not have the precise shot feat, so he'll suffer a -4 penalty to fire into melee. He has the precise bombs discovery so allies won't take damage from his bombs.
poison -3 dex
Seeing the charging wizard, Brother Swarm ceases disgorging bees and swipes at the wizard. The incorporeal blow doesn't do obvious damage, but Aduard collapses to the floor, cold mist running from his nose and mouth.
A second bomb from Karras destroys most of the remaining bees, their deafening buzz dropping to near silence. Brother Swarm howls in rage and spins away from Radag's next swing. "This isn't over," it promises, before retreating through the wall and out of the house.
Aye, we'll finish the job soon enough! Karras thinks, dropping to his knees besides the Bookman. Gashes, broken bones, and other physical maladies the Doctor had the facility to mend, but Karras feared this wound may be too much, for the wizard was clearly beset by something of supernatural origin. The Doctor worked at stabilizing the Bookman, stuffing his satchel under Aduards legs and slapping the wizard's face with force.
"Esta!" Karras barked, need for efficiency winning out over decorum. "Quickly, lass! Use your magics!"
Esta rushes to kneel at the doctor's side. "I don' see anythin' wrong with him," she muttered to Karras as she traced her glyph in the air inches above Aduard's chest. White light emanated from her hands and gently permeated the wizard's body. "C'mon, Mister Bookman," she plead quietly. "I know you're not gonna let some dumb ghost thing get the better of you."