Vala starts to chuckle at Hazel's observation, but a wave of worry emanating from Pyth snaps her focus back to the buried room. She calls out, "Pyth? Be careful! I don't know what has you so worried, but don't do anything too risky!"
She looks to the others and offers, "I don't know what he's found, but something down there has him upset, like he's being hunted."
At this point, Pyth flits back up out of the whole and nods, He darts up to his previous perch on a crumbling bit of blackened wall and turns back to the group, looking at Vala but speaking to everyone.
Zed walks to the edge of the hole and circles it, scanning for undead.
Zed detects the tell-tale stain of undead creatures within the basement.
"We may have no other choice but to climb down there and deal with them", Vermundr says when Zelda flies back up to join the party. "I can go first."
"I can disguise us from undead. I suggest a rope so we can return this way."
"If they're lying in wait as they are, Zed, it sounds like they might be intelligent. Will this spell work any better now than it did down in Harrowstone?"
"Like many other spells, it may or may not. But if we intend to enter, I would at least give us a chance at that advantage."
Vermundr looks around for something to secure a rope to and eventually finds a beam that looks reasonably untouched by the flames that engulfed the Sanctuary.
He secures a rope to it and then places it across the hole, the rope dangling down.
Zed climbs easily down the rope and touches down in the cold, fetid water that lines the floor of the basement.
The rest of the group watches on, peering through the small hole and offering words of encouragement. Two vague shapes move through the water and shrink back into the shadows in the far corner of the cellar.
To Zed, the shapes look like grey-skinned, feral humans who still wear the straight jackets they possessed when the sanctuary was functioning.
Vala frets from above as Zed, descends the rope, "Oh, Zed, be careful! You know I can't patch you up like I can the others!" Vala watches protectively from the top of the hole, ready to call upon Petros' aid if it looks like the creatures are able to see through Zed's obscuring magics.
Zed tags the first five people with his hide from undead spell, then himself with protection from evil. Then he takes a deep breath, and casts weapons against evil on everybody except Vala, hitting their weapon of choice. Then he heads down.
KAz will descend after Constantin
Fail
Success
Fail
Success
The majority of the group descends the rope, swinging slowly through the dank air until they touch down.
From here, you can see the four gaunt figures, their flesh grey and loose on their thin frames. Still wrapped around their bony shoulders are the remnants of leather straight jackets they died in.
Two of them hiss as the group gathers, the other two seem completely oblivious. The ones aware of the group lurch forward and slash with wicked claws of sharpened bone but Kazamir ducks and Zed turns the claw aside with his long club.
Miss
Miss
Safely in the back ranks, Constantin launches bolts of mental force at the creature that attacked Kaz.
Zelda flits defensively over Vermundr's shoulder as the big northerner readies his two-handed blade. "Kazamir get behind me!" he warns.
Zed flinches back, then smashes his tetsubo down onto the creature's head!
Kazamir almost dances aside from the things claws, then pauses, head cocked, studying it for nearly a full second. Cane in hand, he turns the half-twirl into a full spin, bringin the heavy brass knob around to just where he thought the creature's head would complete the motion imparted by the claw-strike...
From her vantage still up above, Vala squints to try and determine what manner of undead might be assailing her friends before she calls upon Petros' aid yet again. After a moment, his spectral sword pops into being and bobs through the air as it swipes at one of the undead.
HP: 27/27
Negative Energy Resist 5
AC: 14 (10 T / 14 FF)
CMD: 13
F/R/W: +4/+1/+8 (+2 vs death effects, energy drain, negative energy, & necromancy)
Monstrous Insight used: 0/7
Wand of CLW: 14/50 remaining
Healing Hex targets:
Current Wandering Spirit: Life
Channel Energy (3d6) used: 0/5
Prepared spells
Orisons (4) | DC 14: dancing lights, disrupt undead, identify, read magic
Level 1 spells (3+1+1*) | DC 15: inflict light wounds [ ], know the enemy* [ ], magic missile [ ] [ ], produce flame (CL7) [ ]
Level 2 spells (2+1+1*) | DC 16: glitterdust [ ], lesser restoration* [ ] [ ], spiritual weapon [X]
Level 3 spells (1+1+1*) | DC 17: lightning bolt [ ], locate object* [ ], speak with dead [ ]
Ongoing Effects
spiritual weapon: 1/5 rounds
Ghouls! Kazamir shouts. Foul creatures. Be wary of their claws and bite - they carry disease and can causes paralysis!
Even as the investigator shouts his warning the group fairly decimates the undead creatures. Constantin blasts one, sending it reeling back into the darkness only for it to lurch forward with half it's head missing. A head that Vermundr soon decapitates with his blade.
Equally unequivocal, Zed simply smashes the skull of another Ghoul into red/black paste whilst Vala's conjured weapon, Lorrimor's sword cane, lashes out at a third.
Miss
Miss
Hit
Fail
Success
Miss
Hit
Fail
Success
The remaining ghouls launch themselves at the group, regardless of how easily dispatched their fellows were. Their claws flash in the dim light of the basement but only their bites land, clamping down on Hazel and Kazamir's arms.
Zed shifts to Kaz's side, tetsubo flinging gore across the room in an arc as it comes sideways to the next undead.
Vermundr whips his large blade overhead and cleaves into the next ghoul.
Constantin concentrates and unleashes another set of force bolts at the ghoul that remains.
Constantin blasts the ghoul with similar levels of effectiveness as the previous one. It's clawed hand grasps for the lower portion of it's jaw, blown off by the power of the spell.
Though Petros' spiritual sword cane swipes and misses, Vala steps forward and says;
Oh be away with you, bothersome creature!
before unleashing her own barrage of Magic Missiles to finally end the thing's existence.
The hospital’s damp cellar, which contained Dr. Brada’s private workshop, escaped the fire remarkably unscathed. The cellar itself is some 15 feet high, and is a mess, as the remains of Brada’s workshop have been flung about and otherwise thrown into disarray. A ghastly trophy made of burnt heads dangling on chains from an iron candelabrum hangs from the ceiling near the shaft.
A hand clamped over the vicious bite on his arm, Kazamir begins a slow walk around the workshop, examining it thoroughly.
Vala calls down from above as the last of the creatures falls to her spell, "Are any of you hurt? Come back up here if you are!"
This damp cellar, which appears to have once been a private workshop, escaped the fire remarkably unscathed.
Whilst the thin layer of water appears to have been seeping in through cracks in the wall, the remains of the workshop have been flung about and thrown into general disarray.
A grisly display of severed heads dominates one corner of the basement. Of the dozen heads hanging from iron chains, although all show clear signs of charring from fire, one is of a human male and has no evidence of physical deformity or medical scarring - unlike the rest.
Among the debris you also find 18 silver crossbow bolts in a quiver, a slightly melted gold belt buckle (50gp) and an iron bracelet with silver filagree work depicting a moon eating an owl (200gp).
Also among the ruins are numerous shards of broken glass from dozens of shattered bottles. However, rolled into one corner is an unbroken flask with a label on the side. It reads: - Volkstag and Grine, Chymickal Bleach.
"Our CHymists, again...Volkstag and Grine. Though this might be an innocent enough purchase. I dislike the 'co-incidence'." Kaz says, holding up the bottle.
"What do we make of the scarring and deformities? And the lack on this head?
Constantin reaches toward the undamaged head, then carefully takes it from the display. His fingers crawl over the scalp as he purses his lips.
"Who were you..." he murmurs.
(using phrenology)