Augrym deals a good blow, followed by a glancing one. He recalls that these zombies are dangerous for their skill with an axe, and not for their hunger for brains.
The two nearest zombies carve their way to victory. One swings its axe through Augrym and Toth, the other through Unrak, Tess, and Marc. Fortunately, the barding of Toth and armor of Unrak are enough to limit the carnage.
HIT
MISS
MISS
Round II
1. Tess, Bytor, Taranis (49/74 hp), Augrym (58/81 hp)
2. Zombies (Purple @ 49 dmg)
3. Marc (42/54 hp), John (WILL, 43/68 hp), Unrak (86/98 hp)
4. Xamanthe
The warrior ignores the hit, shifts his position to hopefully set up for flanking eventually, and continues hacking away with primal ferocity.
Current conditions: Str +1/+1; inspire +2/+2
Unrak's aim struggles, and he misses twice!
Round II
1. Tess, Bytor, Taranis (49/74 hp), Augrym (58/81 hp)
2. Zombies (Purple @ 49 dmg)
3. Marc (42/54 hp), John (WILL, 43/68 hp), Unrak (86/98 hp)
4. Xamanthe
The unmistakable face of Reykala, your beloved. She is seated about halfway down the table, the crown of her cranium ripped open, her brain removed, and her final expression contorted to one of unimaginable pain.
Through sheer strength of will, you retain full control of your faculties despite the shock.
plus...
- Fortitude: +7
- Reflex: +7
- Will: +4
- Round the Second
- Current HPs:43/68
- Inspired
John stiffens, then begins to shake with rage. He looses a volley at the dread zombie wearing maroon clothing scraps while screaming an intense war cry, the likes of which his companions have never heard from him...
First Attack:
for damage
Second Attack:
for damage
Rapid Shot:
for damage
Wailing with an anguished fury, John puts down the zombie with two well-placed shots, and pins another in the shoulder.
Round II
1. Tess, Bytor, Taranis (49/74 hp), Augrym (58/81 hp)
2. Zombies (Red @ 16 dmg)
3. Marc (42/54 hp), John (43/68 hp), Unrak (86/98 hp)
4. Xamanthe
Marc bifurcates the zombie in a single swing! Xamanthe hangs in the back, but keeps her weapon ready.
Round III
1. Tess, Bytor, Taranis (49/74 hp), Augrym (58/81 hp)
2. Zombie
3. Marc (42/54 hp), John (43/68 hp), Unrak (86/98 hp)
4. Xamanthe
"Only one remains! We have this, Huntsmen! Victory is near!"
Bytor maintains his inspiring courage and moves over to support Taranis with a Cure Moderate Wounds spell.
"Let me help with that wound."
"One remains! We have this huntsmen! Victory is near!"
Bytor maintains his inspiring courage and moves over to support Taranis with a Cure Moderate Wounds spell.
"Let me help with those wounds, my friend."
Tess moves in, using a column for cover before delivering and overhand chop with her greatsword.
"Augrym! Move to the side!"
Taranis gives Toth some magical guidance.
The instant Augrym slides over, Toth POUNCES!
for
for
for
5ft step, study new target, attack.
MISS
Thanks to her careful use of the column for cover, Tess just manages to fight off a deadly swing. Her own blade misses the mark, too, but creates an opening for Augrym and Toth to each score a blow. The zombie tries what is likely to be a final slash:
MISS
But again she beats it off by a hair's breadth!
Round III
1. Tess, Bytor, Taranis (63/74 hp), Augrym (58/81 hp)
2. Zombie (27 dmg)
3. Marc (42/54 hp), John (43/68 hp), Unrak (86/98 hp)
4. Xamanthe
Round the Third
HPs: 43/68
Inspired
John turns on the last remaining dread zombie and runs up to stand beside Unrak for a clear shot
First Attack:
for damage
John puts an arrow through the last zombie's eye! Somehow, it fights on...
Round III
1. Tess, Bytor, Taranis (63/74 hp), Augrym (58/81 hp)
2. Zombie (61 dmg)
3. Marc (42/54 hp), John (43/68 hp), Unrak (86/98 hp)
4. Xamanthe
Knowing this is the last foe on its last legs, Unrak charges the zombie with abandon.
HIT
Unrak charges in, heedless of the danger. He takes a slash across the shoulder and drives his greatsword into the zombie's skull, pressing deeper inch by inch.
Somehow, the seams hold for an instant longer.
Round III
1. Tess, Bytor, Taranis (63/74 hp), Augrym (58/81 hp)
2. Zombie (84 dmg)
3. Marc (42/54 hp), John (43/68 hp), Unrak (70/98 hp)
4. Xamanthe
Marc's glaive sails wide!
Round IV
1. Tess, Bytor, Taranis (63/74 hp), Augrym (58/81 hp)
2. Zombie (84 dmg)
3. Marc (42/54 hp), John (43/68 hp), Unrak (70/98 hp)
4. Xamanthe
Bytor moves up, takes aim, and fires a shot at the remaining zombie with his bow!
Meanwhile, he continues to inspire courage!
Tess swings hard with her mighty sword, delivering the strike with a shout. "DIE!"
Tess buries her sword in what is left of its rib cage just as Bytor puts a second arrow into its single eye! The zombies are no more.
Amid labored breathing, you are left with the heavy stench of death and the incredible horror of the scene before you. Seated along great stone table running across the chamber's center, no less than 33 human corpses are locked in their death throes, mouths agape in anguish, the top of the cranium brutally removed, and the brains within excised.
John fixates on one in particular: a woman with erstwhile fair features and tattered robes worn in the fashion of New Stetven.
Members of the original Huntsmen company also recognize three seated at the far end of the table. Maegar Varn himself heads the macabre feast, dressed in his now brain-spattered characteristic black with the crest of House Varn done in grey across the chest. Seated to his left is Caspar Morgarion, whom you also met in your visit to Varnhold long ago; he still wears the priestly robes of Erastil's faith. Seated to Varn's right is the body of his former sergeant-at-arms, Howitt Gurney. Like the others here, all three have expressions twisted in agony and are missing their brains.
Humble John Fletcher is fixated on the woman for long minutes in a nearly catatonic state. Then without warning he takes one of the dread zombies' axes and in a screaming shaking rage commences hacking away at the zombie corpses until either the axe breaks against the stone floor, or the zombies are completely pulped.
Once he is through, he calms slowly and the rage is replaced with deep, wracking sobs as he approaches the woman, holds her hand and kneels beside her corpse in agony.
John observes, with an admixture of fear and hope, that the only meals served at this table are adults.
"No grief stricken friend John. I have never known family outside of the Huntsmen. I know little of what you are currently experiencing. If your children as still amongst the living, I assure you we will find them. We should give these people a proper burial as well. They did not deserve this fate and do not deserve to stay here in this state."
John nods numbly and takes Reykala's wedding ring. He hangs it from a leather thong around his neck. With his hunting knife, he tears three strips of cloth from her dress where he can find spots free of gore and tucks them away for his boys. He then gathers her in his arms and awaits direction for a proper burial.
After John's rage plays out, Unrak quietly stands next to the sobbing man, and places a firm hand on his shoulder. He does nothing to hide the few years that trickle into his beard.
Tess gives John space as he vents his rage, but watches him let it all out. He needs to do this, but we all need to see it too. Too easily do we lose sight of why we're here, or what the stakes actually are.
When things calm she whispers a simple spell to reveal magical auras, scanning the area to see if there's any tools that could help in their task.
"Do you have a way to help me find my sons? Some magic or skill one of you might have?"
The zombies each bear a masterwork battleaxe, sizes for a giant. Tess detects no magical auras in the room, only the heavy stink of death.
"Although I know of such magic, it is complex and not something I have learned," Tess answers, recognizing that her elven upbringing has made her the local expert on the arcane. "If we can get to a larger settlement, I promise to do my best to look into the spells necessary. But please know that it won't be easy."
"Do you have a way to help me find my sons? Some magic or skill one of you might have?"
No magic, only a little trailcraft. How tall are they?
While John is distracted, Unrak crosses to Augrym and mutters to him
clarification: the corpses are *seated* at the table, or *presented/served* ON the table?
The warrior looks around, grimly and sadly. *sigh* I had hoped to find our Varnhold friends alive, but that hope seems pretty dim right now. Let's find survivors, and then avenge the ever loving SH1T out of the dead.
He sighs again. I hate to say it...but I think we should postpone the task of burial for after finding survivors. We want as fresh trails as we can manage.
The brainless corpses are seated at the table, and shackled cruelly to their chairs (indeed, John had to struggle mightily to free Reykala from her bonds). There is nothing atop the table itself, save for spattered ichor and blood that fell there while each prisoner's brain was excised and consumed.
Unrak's skill at tracking fails him this time.
|
Marc stands stoically as the man burns his rage out on the floor. He has seen this response a few times on the frontier. He whispers to the group, " It's best to let this pass through him. We will need to watch him closely. This rage can destroy a man from the inside. He will need help before this is over..." His voice trails off as the man's eye rest on the fellow holy man of Erastil.
When the room is calm again. Marc walks over to the body of Casper. He says a quiet prayer of the body. "Rest easy in the hall of Erastil. You can now ride in the Eternal Hunt at his side."
He will make sure that all the bodies are clean and buried properly. if not possible, he will build a pyre or a way to preserve the bodies until they can be put to rest properly.
He will make sure that all the bodies are clean and buried properly. if not possible, he will build a pyre or a way to preserve the bodies until they can be put to rest properly.
Unrak watches his friends' reactions to John's heavy grief, and observes their starting preparations to deal with the fallen. He takes a deep breath...
Look...this is going to sound cruel, but it's the truth. We need to keep moving, and come back to lay the bodies later, when we're done. We will do more honor to the dead by finding who did this, and bring them painful justice. The longer we wait, the colder the trail will get, and the less likely we'll be to find them. And, we need to search for the living as well.
Working together, you spend hours breaking each citizen of Varnhold free and preparing them for (eventual) final rites as best you can.
The stairs go up, to an open balcony above you, though what else the balcony accesses remains to be seen. As Marc recalls, there is also the unexplored catacomb behind you, in which you briefly glimpsed an unidentified corpse.
John is carrying Reykala wrapped in his bedroll with the group. He lays her gently on the ground when it looks like there may be a fight in the offing.
Marc leads the way back to the under-explored catacombs. Approaching the corpse sprawled at the end of the hall, you see that it is fairly fresh, and was once a middle-aged Ulfen man.
Before you can investigate further, however, a wispy shade makes its presence known, floating through the wall at the far end. It lets out a silent scream, expression twisted with unchecked hostility, and hurries towards you!
+2 if Surprise
Round I
1. Marc (42/54 hp), Augrym (58/81 hp)
2. ??? Kn Religion
3. John (43/68 hp), Unrak (70/98 hp), Taranis (63/74 hp), Bytor, Tess
4. Xamanthe
Marc recognizes this shade as a spectre, a fearsome ghost that can sap the lifeforce of the living with ease.
Marc strides forward and slashes with his glaive. The blade cuts right through the shade, though its appearance dims somewhat.
Round I
1. Marc (42/54 hp), Augrym (58/81 hp)
2. Spectre (15 dmg)
3. John (43/68 hp), Unrak (70/98 hp), Taranis (63/74 hp), Bytor, Tess
4. Xamanthe
Move, study, knowledge.
"Do you have a way to help me find my sons? Some magic or skill one of you might have?"No magic, only a little trailcraft. How tall are they?
[dice=survival, tracking]d20+7
While John is distracted, Unrak crosses to Augrym and mutters to him
** spoiler omitted **
Augrym looks at his brother, truly hurt.
"I know not what I have done to make you believe that I do not understand the fragility of humans, especially tiny ones. You are all jumbled balls of emotions lumped into squishy sacks of bones and blood. Some even more emotional than others, rage filled brother Unrak."
The spectre lurches towards Marc, wrapping icy fingers around his throat, to throttle him where he stands.
Desna smiles on Marc!
Round I
1. Marc (42/54 hp), Augrym (58/81 hp)
2. Spectre (15 dmg)
3. John (43/68 hp), Unrak (70/98 hp), Taranis (63/74 hp), Bytor, Tess
4. Xamanthe