Arval's sword smacks into one of the skulls, sending it across the room before it collapses.
Kawrock grabs the closest villager and drags him outside.
Kawrock yanks a village outside of the burning building. Meanwhile, Lena sends a blast of disrupting magic into an ectoplasm, which sends a splatter of slime across the room.
Arval
Lena
Kawrock
Townsfolk
Whiskeyjack (6 dmg)
Eldon
---
Yellow skeleton
Orange skeleton
---
Rustom
--
Orange skull
Purple skull
Green ectoplasm (6 dmg)
Grey ectoplasm
Black ectoplasm
"Everyone, move out of the building!" Eldon yells over the noise, pausing his story for a moment. "Come to where we are, and get out! What are you fools all doing holed up at the wall opposite of the exit?!"
Eldon then calmly continues the story he was telling to inspire his comrades.
Whiskeyjack ignores the blleding wound and raises his shield a little higher. With a dwarven battle roar to Angradd, he lashed out at the nearest undead. "Ge' ou' o' th' flames ye bloody fools! Dinnae make me hafta come an' haul yer carcasses ou' th' door!"
Whiskeyjack's mighty swing collapses a skeleton. Lena fires off another disrupt undead, which manages to do a fine job of disrupting the ceiling.
At Eldon's calm words, the villagers begin to file towards the exit at an orderly fashion but begin crowding in on the melee with the group. The sheriff leads them, and tries to draw the ire of the ectoplasmic humanoids guarding the exit. He takes a vicious wound but remains standing, barely.
with a mighty swing Rustom brings his axe down no the nearest enemy.
Arval attacks the green create to the top left of him.
"MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!"
He yells to the crowd.
With a mighty swing, Arval turns the ectoplasmic spirit into a splat, opening a way for the townsfolk to get to the doors without being attacked.
Kawrock rushes back inside and takes a swing at the ectoplasm creature blocking the sheriff's way.
Kawrock swings out hard, and the ectoplasmic creature splats into nothingness.
The undead leap into action, head-butting, biting, slamming, and clawing at our courageous heroes. Whiskeyjack manages to ebat back most of a skeleton but takes a nasty claw wound to the shoulder. Eldon gets knocked back by a randy burning skull. An ectoplasmic humanoid leaps on a terrified-looking man, covering him with slime.
The townsfolk stream for the doorway, and many manage to escape as the fire spreads! One man is trapped by the fire, and falls unconscious.
Arval
Lena
Kawrock
Townsfolk
Whiskeyjack (12 dmg)
Eldon (6 dmg)
Rustom
---
Yellow skeleton
Orange skeleton
Orange skull
Purple skull
Green ectoplasm (6 dmg)
Grey ectoplasm
Black ectoplasm
Kawrock will pull the man from the fire and try and get him out.
While keeping up his story to Inspire Courage, Eldon draws his rapier and attempts to stab the purple skull.
Eldon pokes the floor instead. "And while talking to the seven dwarves I poked the floor like this, to examine the quality of the wood. It turned out to be much like the wooden floor here, which is to say quite sturdy."
Rustom takes another swing with his axe.
A skeleton explodes from Rustom's mighty swing, and Kawrock manages to yank a man out of the flames before he is burned alive. Eldon's great story manages to keep the morale up, but his rapier doesn't do much good.
Arval moves to the orange fellow and tries to give it an overhand blow with his shield.
The bleeding wounds were starting to get to Whiskeyjack, but he just hefted his shield with doughty dwarven discipline and lashed out at the skeleton that had attacked him.
Arval and Whiskeyjack work together and dispatch all the undead near their part of the building. Two more remain, who are gaily trying to rip off parts of Eldon.
Lena fires off a disruption at one of the undead. The manages to nail a burning head in the face, and it fizzles out into nothing.
The final ectoplasmic humanoid lunges at Eldon, who ducks under the slimy tendril.
Still screaming, people continue fleeing in droves from the building.
Shouting a battle cry, the sheriff charges at the ectoplasmic humanoid, swinging as hard as he can! The swing manages to splatter the creature across Eldon, covering the halfling in slime.
End of Combat!
The remaining fiers are quickly put out and a cheer arises from the remaining commoners; several have rushed off. Kendra runs over to all of you, gasping for breath and covered in ash.
"Oh Gods... nobody died. Thank you! I can't imagine your timing could have been better. We all thought you died in Harrowstone but you're here. The zombies... getting worse. Please... I'll be at my home so you can rest."
Councilor Hearthmount, the unofficial leader of the town comes over and roughly claps Rustom on the back.
"Damn fine job you lot, damn fine job! I have to say the townspeople were convinced you were causing this mess, and can't be happier to prove them wrong, eh? I heard you have ventured into Harrowstone. Any luck there? What's the story?"
When the sheriff mentions the word 'story' Eldon immediately comes over. "I shall tell you, sheriff!"
Eldon gives the sheriff a detailed summary of the events in Harrowstone. The details have been slightly altered though, giving Eldon a more heroic role whenever the encounters inside the prison are mentioned.
Arval slumps down against the side of the buildinglooking very tired. When eldon starts talking he groans.
does this day never end?!
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Psst Eldon, he is the councilman, that's the sheriff over there Lena whispers to Eldon before helping Arval.
Lean guides Arval away from the burning building he is slumped against to slump against a safer one, then sits beside him, watching the town hall burn down as Eldon spins his tale.
Well the records there are toast now. At least no one was hurt. Cheer up big guy. True you have to listen to Eldon now, but we did good today.
The group receives a ringing endorsement from the Mayor and a promise that the Town will do what they can to keep the rising hordes of undead at bay if you can clear out the rest of Harrowstone.
The group finally, after a brutally long day, makes its way to Lorrimor Place and collapses into a restful sleep.
Morning intrudes rudely as it always does. The smell of Kendra trying to get to the kitchen before anyone else can start ruining breakfast awakens you.
Whiskeyjack wakes in his usual fashion, blinking bloodshot eyes balefully and reaching for his flask. The burning sensation from the whiskey is what normally motivated him to get out of bed in the mornings, and today was no different. He sniffed the air and smelled the distinct odors of breakfast cooking. Smacking hi slips he dressed, and headed down to the kitchen area.
"Ah, them be some good smells comin' from down here. Kendra, lass, ye sure know the way to this dwarf's heart!"
Getting up early to meditate and prepare his spells, Kawrock dressed and headed out to the woods. After his morning rituals he finds a decent quarter staff out in the woods before returning to Kendra's for breakfast.
You stifle a scream as you wake up; unbelievable pain lances through your neck for a moment before fading.
After a healthy breakfast and a farewell from Kendra, the group make the trek back to Harrowstone. Once again, the claustrophobia sets in as you step onto the grounds and continues to press in, becoming almost unbearable as everyone descends down the rope to the dungeons below. Thankfully the place is much as you left it; the dead don't get around much.
The group now stands in the central dungeon chamber, lit by Eldon's dancing lights. Unexplored passages lead to the west, and to the south.
"I have a feeling we should go south first," Eldon says, and moves over to the southern passage.
Eldon draws his crossbow, and takes a look into the passage.
Arval prepares his weapon and shield and starts walking.
"South it is then!"
He says with an optimistic and cheery voice.
Kawrock follows the group south keeping an eye out for anything unusual.
"So how many more super ghosts are left?"
Lit by Eldon's dancing lights, the group begins to head southwards. In the hallway you spy a door on your left. The tunnel ends at a lowered portcullis which blocks entry into a huge cellblock to the south.
Arval will try the door, if it doesn't budge he will try to force it.
"Let us see then if it is the same."
Lena is proven correct; the door opens easily enough to reveal an unoccupied guard room with a winch. It appears that the fire which once ravaged these passages has spread down into the guard room. The fire didn't do enough damage to collapse the area, but the winch controls in here are almost hopelessly ruined.
"Hmm...appears this one ain't gonna be so easy t' be raisin' as th' other. Might hafta put our backs into i'."
Eldon decides to step up and provide some valuable insight: "I of course know how to fix it, but I fear my hands are too small for the task. And it'd take ages to explain it to you, no offense."
A painful silence follows, and Eldon nervously shuffles his feet a bit.
"Can't, uh... one of you brute force types just break the thing open?"
This part of the dungeon has been ravaged by fire, there isn't any usable furniture. Rubble is in plentiful supply though thanks to the deadfall that was triggered on the stairs leading up.
Arval grabs some rubble and places it in front of the portcullis. He places his shovel on top of it and wedges it under the portcullis and tries to lift it up.
The portcullis doesn't budge, as Arval strains he realizes he'll snap the shovel before he moves the portcullis.
"Looks t' be th' only way through th' thing is t' batter i' down. Or, mebbe we could take th' winch from th' Lopper's area and use it t' fix th' one here. Might be a bi' o' work though. Unless ye wan' t' be going through th' western door first?"
"Lets try and see if we can use that other winch from where we dispatched the Lopper."
The group head to the northern winch and try it out - it appears to control the portcullis in front of the Lopper's room only. It has no effect on the southern portcullis.
"We could maybe ask someone from the village to come fix it for us? They do owe us at least one favor."