GM WhtKnt's Darkness Within: A Carrion Crown Adventure Path

Game Master WhtKnt

Lorant nods.

"Wise words, Judah. Lead the way."

He looks around and sniffs the air a bit.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

The first set of doors on the right proves fruitless. They open onto a set of stairs that probably once led to a lower level, but are now choked with rubble, timbers, and stone, the result of a collapse. Mathus notes that the collapse did not occur naturally; rather it was triggered intentionally, probably rigged to do so.

The second set of doors to the east open onto a staircase that ascends to whatever awaits upstairs.

Lorant nods at Mathus' description of the collapse.

"This must be the deadfall the Warden activated during the fire, sacrificing himself to keep the prisoners from escaping to wreak havoc."

He strokes what's left of his beard.

"The rat said the source of the evil here was below. I imagine we'll have to find some way to get past this to explore the lower levels."

Ella purses her lips. "I mean...there is that hole we discovered earlier. But it would be ideal not to have to...rappel down from this floor." She peers upward. "In the meantime, is it worth investigating the floor above?"

Deeper the crypt the thicker the evil - thats what I read once. Lets head up.

"Upwards it is, then."

Lorant nods in assent.

Your group ascends the staircase, coming to another pair of doors. These are checked, with the expected result, and opened onto a corridor going north and south. To the north, it opens into a large room.

"I propose we examine the larger room first," Lorant says.

Ella nods. "That's as sound as any other option," she murmurs, checking that her crossbow is loaded. "Hopefully we'll find some evidence there...but I have a sinking feeling that we are, at some point, going to have to delve into that hole we found."

"I've done my fair bit of delving into interesting holes, I'll tell you that much. Heh heh."

"Silence, Edmund!" Lorant snaps.

Ella, looking furious, attempts to smack her half-brother upside the head. Since he's incorporeal, she settles for gritting her teeth, knitting her brow, and provoking a howl of pain from him instead.

"Raise your hand if you want to year the dead guy talk about his love life?" Judah said flatly. "Anyone? Anyone?"

Looking over his shoulder at the phantom, Judah shrugged. "Sorry buddy, nobody cares."

"How about you make yourself useful and stick your head through those doors?"

Next time, on EVERYBODY HATES EDMUND! :P

Lorant folds his arms as he waits for Edmund to do what he's told.

Ella glares at Edmund.

The phantom sighs. "Very well, very well. Don't get your knickers in a twist..." Grimacing, he strides up to the door and passes through it.

He'll look around that space and then return to report!

Assuming that you mean for him to investigate the space to the north, as there are no doors here aside from the doors leading from the staircase, which you have already opened.

Edmund floats into the darkened space and is gone for several seconds. When he returns, he says in a bored tone, "Nothing but dust in that old dining hall, chief."

"I'm starting to wonder if the haunts here won't reveal themselves when Edmund scouts. He's a ghost like them, so his presence isn't really going to agitate them the way we will. We may need to examine this room ourselves."

He looks at the door, and then back at their doormen, Cas and Jude.

Cassiel sighs and moves to open the door.

Lorant follows him, looking to guard his flank.

There is no door; the corridor opens into a large space to the north and to the south.

Proceeding to the entranceway to the north room, you find that wooden benches once lined this large hall, but several are now stacked in a jumble and others are overturned in disarray. Weakened by fire, the entire east wall has collapsed away, creating an unintended entryway to a wooden deck beyond. The view of the lake beyond would be beautiful if the silence were not so eerie.

"Have we already been here? Or is this another room with a broken wall overlooking the lake?"

It's another. The previous was on the ground floor.

Ella, torch lifted high, looks around the room. "Well, there are certainly plenty of passageways to explore here...but this room seems innocent enough." She glances at Edward. "We may as well continue experimenting. Go on through that door." She points at the double doors revealed to the southeast, just south of the crumbling vista of the lake. Edward scowls, but complies, phasing through the door and out of sight.

"The lake must have been quite a calming sight from this vantage when the prison was whole," Lorant muses. "You can almost see the Lorrimor House from here.

Edmund phases through the door and disappears. Before his return, there is a sudden flurry of activity from somewhere near the ruined wall. Three insectoid creatures, each sporting two pair of bat wings and long, sharp proboscis burst from the ruins, intent on attacking the party!

INITIATIVE
Lorant
Judah
Cassiel
Stirges
Mathus
Eleanora

Lorant, Judah, and Cassiel are up!

Round 1: Actions
Move Action: Move to Stirge 3
Standard Action: Chop chop!

Cassiel grimaces when the three insectoid... things flutter into view with hungry eyes. "Oh boy..."

He steps up to one and swings his sword!

Chop: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
Damage?: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

"Watch the blood come out the pipe. Feeds the stirge, so nice and ripe," Lorant somberly says to himself as he draws his morningstar and attempts to strike the same stirge Cassiel is attacking.

Morningstar Attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21
Morningstar Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Ella shudders as the stirges whir toward them, subconsciously clutching her arm where she was attacked before.

"I'm not saying rhymes because I've gone crazy, I swear!" Lorant adds. "I'm just saying the presence of these stirges is probably due to the spirits of one of the prisoners."

Judah let out a strangled "Gha!" and fell back on his butt while firing his crossbow.

Attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 3

Lorant easily dispatches the first stirge. (Switching Cassiel to number 2.) Judah, even though his shot was startled, still manages to hit one, though he only succeeds in wounding the vile thing. Cassiel swings at his opponent but misses by a country mile.

The stirges close for battle, both attacking Cassiel and attacking themselves to the few areas of bare flesh not covered by armor on the paladin. They quickly pierce his flesh with their vicious proboscis and begin draining away his precious life fluids! (Cassiel takes 2 points of Con damage.)

Lorant steps over the stirge he just squashed and attempts to smash the next stirge.

"Ozem for Iomedae!" he cries as he swings his morningstar.

Morningstar Attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13
Morningstar Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Did that attack hit the stirge, or did I miss?

Was waiting for the others to respond, but...

Lorant, determined to end this, swings at one of the attached stirges, slamming it hard, but the tenacious little thing holds onto its prey.

Round 2: Actions
Standard Action: Slash at one of the stirges on me!

Cassiel lets out an undignified squawk and swings his sword wildly at the uninjured stirge on him.

Chop: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10 ...and my Paladin Curse strikes again.
Damage?: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Sorry for the delay!

"Edmund! Get in here!" Ella cries, panicked, as she focuses on shifting him to his ectoplasmic form once he's through the doorway.

"What? Oh--aaaaarrrgh!" Edmund howls as he phases back through the door and is suddenly "pushed" into ectoplasmic form. "G&%&@#it! Get off him!" Crossing to Cassiel, he punches at one of the insectoid forms clinging to the paladin.

I can't seem to move Edmund (perhaps because of the doorway?), but he should move up to be adjacent to Stirge 1.

Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Cassiel misses with his attack, but Edmund does not, striking down another of the foul vermin.

Judah and Mathus are up!

Scootching backwards on his but and reloading, Judah fired again.

Light Crossbow: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22
damage: 1d8 ⇒ 4

crit confirm?: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11
crit damage: 1d8 ⇒ 1

"An excellent shot, Judah!" Lorant calls out.

Judah skillfully removes the last of the threats by skewering it with a crossbow bolt.

Combat over!

Huzzah

"Ugh. I loathe these creatures," Ella mutters, kicking one of the twitching bodies with her shoe. "At least they didn't cripple anyone...you're well, Cassiel?"

After Cassiel's responds, she turns to Edmund. "Well, did you see anything of interest in there?"

Lorant hangs his morningstar back on his belt. He offers a shoulder for Cassiel to lean on, and looks to Eleanora and Edmund to see what that a!*!#!*~ ghost had found.

Cassiel wobbles on his feet. "...no. F~$@ing mosquito-bat-things did more harm than I thought."

Judah got up to stand on shaky legs, amazed that he'd hit his targets both times.

"You don't look so good, Cas. What should we do?"

"Surprise, surprise," Edmuind chides, "It's a *gasp* kitchen!"