As Azmythe explains the dangers, Ratel, Holds Bear back so he doesn't accidently splash into the water. He asks the others, "Can any of you make it cold in there so we can clean the walls? Even if we can, I think we should check out the stink, I don't think anything will sneak up behind us from here. but I don't know that we can say the same from the other area."
Moving away from the water, "Come on Bear, let's go see what's causing that putrid smell." He turns around and inspects the door going West.
Ratel hears low pitched, inhuman moans and groans from the western passage.
The corridor opens up into a winding catacomb. The walls are skillfully carved with deep recesses where bodies might have once lain. All that remains now are cobwebs, dust, and the tattered remains of ancient clothing. The stench of rotting flesh is overpowering here, coming from 4 green shamblimg and bloated humanoid rotting corpses that are moaning and groaning.
Hedran's healing hex botted
Hedran moves past Ratel and Bear, and readies an attack at the first creature which may come at him - "What are these things?"
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Nigel shakes his head vehemently.
"No, drinking it vould most likely kill me. Too much positive energy is a very bad zing..."
Nigel holds the lantern high, trying to make sure those not gifted with darkvision can see what is going on.
"Yuck! Zose zings look like zey have been out in ze sun too long..."
Azmythe will ready a bottle of alchemist's fire and wait to be able to throw it from the second ranks.
Robert draws his longsword.
The first rotting corpse shambles to Hedran, then stops. It smells, really, really bad. Like rotten eggs.
Hedran slices a gash on its stomach, revealing putrefying intestines.
The rest of the other rotting corpses slowly shamble up as well, moaning and groaning.
If our group backs up enough for room for the alchemist fire, Azmythe will throw it.
'I can't move forward, I guess I'm going back.' Squeezing past Bear. Ratel moves back beside the stone square, telling Bear, "Heal, seriously get back here." He grabs Bears tail and pulls it causing the great brown bear to turn and chuff at him, but the bear follows along.
As his companions retreat, Hedran nods approvingly. He slashes the creature again, then retreats.
Hedran slashes at the same line he previously cut, and cuts the rotting corpse into two. As the two halves fall, they explode in a cloud of decay.
Robert draws his longsword and readies to whack rotting corpses along the corridor.
One by one the green rotting corpses begin to shamble up the corridor, moaning and groaning.
Robert inflicts a deep gnash from shoulder to hip on the approaching rotting corpse.
He tries to strike at the rotting corpse again but does not manage to penetrate it's rubbery skin.
Yes.
'well, I guess this is one way to do it.' Leaning around the corner, Ratel punches at the green thing. Then stepping back so Bear can attack. "Attack Bear, attack!" Bear jumps forward, standing on his rear paws, Awkwardly attacking the shambling things with tooth and claw.
Azmythe throws his alchemist fire at the lead zombie. It hits the wall instead and shatters, splattering Robert, Hedran and Ratel, as well as both zombies with burning liquid.
"Why are you doing that?" - Hedran roars at Azmythe - "You are hitting us!" - he adds in disbelief, slashing again.
Ratel stabs the lead rotting corpse so hard that despite his scizore not being fully effective he rams it right through its guts and it explodes in a cloud of decay.
Bear readies to bite the next rotting corpse in range.
The lead rotting corpse lumbers up,and Bear gives it a bite, wincing and the taste giving Ratel a mournful look. Hedran readies and slashes at the leading rotting corpse, slicing it diagonally from shoulder to hip and it explodes in a noxious cloud.
The last walking corpse lumbers up and slams Hedran in his ribs, and Hedran collapses on the ground.
Robert cuts it into two with one well placed stroke of his longsword.
Robert immediately attends to the unconscious Hedran, trying to stop his broken ribs from piercing his lung. "Someone, please help!
Azmythe realizes from the state of the bodies while they were animated that they are about a month dead,similar to the body at the lake.
The tatters of their rags after the explosion resemble those that the party found on the body by the lake.
"We talked about it, man. Remember? Burning the undead?"
Combat over? Azmythe uses the Wand of Cure Light Wounds on Robert.
Cure Light Wounds:
As Azymthe is about to tap him with the wand, Robert points his wand hand at the unconscious Hedran."I'm fine. It's Hedran that needs help. And you didn't talk about burning us!"
Hedran stands up in a terrible mood - "Thank you" - he picks up his weapons and nods at Azmythe after the healing - "But we are not undead"
"These are foul" - he adds, looking at the disgusting remains.
Ok Cure Light Wounds:
"Like, you guys weren't supposed to be there, ya'know."
In a recess in the southeast corner of the room rests a backpack.Sitting atop a large bloodstain, this pack holds some rotten rations, a map (detailing the area and pointing out the entrance to the crypt), a potion, a pouch with 13 gp, and a small handbill (of a type typically found posted in taverns). Although faded, the handbill clearly reads as a notice of employment, telling all those interested to meet at “The Ranger’s Lament.” The coins are the same type as those found on the body at the lake side.
Nigel and Azymthe easily recognize the potion as one of cure moderare wounds.
At the back of the room is a door which Robert determines as neither locked nor trapped. He hears a few faint squeaks behind the door.
"Hmmmmm, are you joking Azmythe? If we weren't there, they would have been upon you in no time" - Hedran tries to understand if his companion is maybe jesting.
Before they open the door, Hedran releases the sling from his belt and motions it to Nigel - "Nigel, do you know how to use this? You can borrow mine"
"No, yeah man. Maybe it wasn't supposed be where you were at."
"I think you have really bad aim." Robert sighs.
Ratel opens the door.
A shallow reflecting pool divides this long chamber, running from one end to the other. The water looks cloudy and stagnant. What must have been marvelous murals covering both walls are now scorched and ruined, the original subject lost in the destruction. There is a closed iron portcullis at the end of the room, where the high pitched squeaks are coming from.
Both Nigel and Azmythe recognize the squeaks as coming from bats. From the sound of it, there's probably a colony of bats beyond the portcullis.
Bats,being skittish little critters, would likely form a swarm and attack if they're disturbed.
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Nigel gives Azmythe a dour look, when he splashes the rest of the party with fire.
"You seem to have an unfortunate habit of being a tad careless vhen it comes to zrowing around your abilities..."
When he hears the bats, however, Nigel perks up, and slowly moves forward, high-pitched squeaking emanating from his mouth.
Nigel hears some high pitched squeaks back.
Okie! Please turn off the lights and don't make loud noises. It hurts our ears. Or wait a while, we're about to leave to go hunting. Lots of insects to munch!
Then he hears another different set of squeaks.
Ooh fruit? We like dried fruit!
A couple of bats flock over to to him from the portcullis with their eyes closed, then they perch on him, looking for fruit.
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Nigel smiles and squeaks back.
He then turns to the others, and whispers.
"Ze bats are quite friendly, but do not like light, or loud noises. I am going to go give zem a friendly snack. Zey say zat if we are quiet, and douse our light, ve can go zrough zeir home, but since zey are about to go hunting, if ve vait, ve should be able to just go zrough unhindered. How about ve check zat other corridor, vhere ve heard ze gurgling, and zen come back after zey have gone hunting?"
Nigel then moves forward, and passes two days' worth of dried fruit through the portcullis, before heading back to the other corridor.
As Nigel moves over to the portullis, he has a sudden urge to look into the cloudy pool. He looks at it and sees a horrid rotting reflection of himself stabbing Hedran. He's filled with fear, and flees screaming.
The bats, hearing his screams, get agitated, giving more high pitched squeaks!
Arrrghhh I don't like all these loud noises! My ears are going to bleed! We need to stop it!
Oh the pool. We suggest you close your eyes when you go by it. You see something scary that makes you squeak.
Some bats fly over to Nigel, with their eyes closed. When they land on him, then they go around munching dried fruit left out.
With his eyes closed, Nigel easily feels his way around, and can't look at the pool anyway. He manages to get to the other side of the portcullis to leave the dried fruit.
As the party approaches the first closed door, they hear croaking. "Ribbit. Ribbit. Ribbit."
When Hedran offers him the sling, Nigel smiles, and shakes his head.
"Thank-you, but no."
"Very well" - Hedran nods, putting the sling back into place at his belt, and continues after the others.
Nigel hears a few squeaks back.
Thank you for the snacks! We hope you have good hunting too!
Ratel yanks the waterlogged door out of its frame.
The room is filled with water, probably as deep as the outside corridor. The chamber is in an advanced state of decay, with a gaping hole in the ceiling admitting a constant trickle of water and moonlight. The three stone sarcophagi in this room are almost completely covered in a thick carpet of moss and fungus.
The party sees a giant frog on one of the sarcophagus and the frog in question looks rather thin, like it hasn't eaten well for a while. It eyes the party hungrily.
Nigel and Azmythe know that giant frogs can grab with their tongues or bites.