Hiro spots the ripples in the water just as the strange jelly-like creature surges up to attack Eliaera. Reacting quicker than thought, the Tien man whips up his bow and fires an arrow at the creature.
Hiro's arrow strikes the amorphous blob, and sticks in it almost comically as it wriggles into position to attack.
Ilir, grasping his glaive awkwardly, manages to put both hands on it while nearly submerged in the brackish water. Swinging it in an arc directly over his head, his swing is surprisingly accurate, coming down and nearly bisecting the creature.
Eliaera delivers the final lethal blow, magical energy coursing through her blade. The creature quivers, and then collapses like a bag full of air deflating. It slides back into the water, dead. Amelius throws his spear at it just to make sure, and he hits it - but his spear slides into the pool whilst still embedded in the creature. With uncanny luck, the shaft manages to wedge between two smaller rock crystals, thus saving the sorcerer the mundane task of fishing around a dark pool for his weapon. Garridan seems relieved he didn't have to jump in the pool wearing full armor.
A quick visual search reveals nothing of monetary value above water. Since the crystals turned out to nothing be fool's gold, even though they do have some natural beauty, Eliaera and Ilir move out of the water and back onto the relatively dry surface of the cavern floor. Doing their best to dry off (perhaps with the aid of a certain sorcerer casting prestidigitation to 'clean' them? This might involve the removal of clothing to place it in a pile, your call!), the party must now determine where to go next.
As the party regroups and travels further into the caverns, you reach a larger area where the large pond to the east seems to end.
At first, your guard immediately goes up - there are four human skeletons lying on the ground here - in the same kind of Tian style armor as those you encountered at the shipwreck. They seem inert, and make no move to rise or attack as you enter the cavern and explore your surroundings.
Eliaera notices two more skeletons partially submerged in the water to the east. While these skeletons do not seem hostile at the moment, you are uncertain if they are just skeletons, or animated undead in a state of stasis or...rest, if undead do such a thing.
Another narrow passage branches off to the north on the west side of this large cavern.
Wading back out of the water, Ilir shuddered - in part due to the cold of wetness, but in major due to the eerie nature of this cave. Skeletons, spiders, an unnamable thing of some sort... it was rather unnerving. He was happy they made it back safely, and his eyes watched the musician's safe passage back across the water before turning to the rest of the group.
"Nice stroke - the blob there, I meant." Ilir didn't mean to refer to her swim, but the ambiguity came to mind after his words were spoken. He took off his cloak, wringing it dry as best he could for a minute before replacing it over himself once more, the chill passing up his spine again.
As they ventured further, more skeletons seemed to be littered about the place. What a tomb of horrors this is... Though wary of them, Ilir was happy they did not rise to pose any threat, and he made for the passage towards the North of the cavern (though he didn't have any sense of cardinal directions in here). Turning to Garridan, he tried making conversation to lighten the mood. "When I was younger, there was a cave near the river I swam in often. I was scared to go in it initially, and I got the courage to do so after a few years. There was nothing there except a nest of rodents - which still startled me." The paladin smiled. "I guess this means I had good reason to stay out of those places, yes?"
Garridan mostly keeps an eye on his surroundings, still upset at not being able to help Eliaera. He does respond quietly to Ilir as he speaks, however. "You'd be surprised how many tales of great heroes seem to start in tiny little caves near sleepy home towns," Garridan says.
Hiro glances about the cavern, noting the skeletons in Tian armor and remembering the similar skeletons that attacked the group at the shipwreck. Without a word he stows his bow and draws his hanbo - ready just in case these skeletons should rise and attack as well - as he offers a silent prayer to Tsukiyo and Shizuru to guide and guard the fallen warriors' spirits in the afterlife.
With the amoeba put to rest, Eliaera sighs in relief, letting her shoulders relax and calming herself down by thoroughly inspecting the crystals. Fools gold though they may be--although Eliaera would never admit to foolishness!--they were still nice to look at, and certainly better than the embarrassment of facing the rest of the group after getting herself into trouble. Once she finally catches her breath, the bard picks up Amelius' spear from where it wedged in the rocks and wades back across the pool to the other side.
She smiles apologetically at Ilir's comment. "Good enough, but it's only because of you - and Hiro, of course - that it didn't do any damage to me. Thanks."
Eliaera spends a little bit of time before moving on humming a quick little ditty to herself . As she hums, she gestures at parts of her clothing; every gesture causes a section of her cloth to magically wring itself out and quickly dry. The end result is not nearly as perfect as it would be if she had the opportunity to strip out of them... but Eliaera was hardly going to do that with all the men around! "Would you like me to help you with that, Ilir?" she asks the paladin, noticing him shivering from the cold and feeling a slight bit guilty at the fact. If he agrees, she'll do the same to the rest of his clothes, leaving them feeling warm and mostly dry.
Moving on from the cave with the amoeba, Eliaera is on high alert to notice anything else dangerous in their path. When she spots the mud-splattered curve of skeletal skulls and ribcages, she gasps, grabbing the attention of the group and pointing them out. Her injuries from the battle earlier that day still smarted, and the prospect of facing more skeletons was unpleasant, to say the least.
"Let's back up a little... we shouldn't let ourselves get surrounded by them again." She nods towards the back wall of the cavern, and takes a couple of steps towards it, buckler at the ready and rapier in hand.
"A wise precaution," Hiro agrees with Eliaera, stepping warily toward the back wall of the cavern as well. "Perhaps it would be best if we rendered these skeletons incapable of rising against us?" he suggests.
"I suggest we each position ourselves to destroy a skeleton before they rise to attack us. I am not comfortable with the thought of exploring deeper into these caverns if these bones should rise and strike at us from behind," Hiro suggests to his companions, moving to stand near the northeasternmost skeleton. "I believe a blunt weapon will serve best," he adds, hefting his hanbo in preparation of striking.
Politely refusing Eliaera's offer, Ilir shakes his head. "No need to strain yourself, my lady, but I appreciate your offer."
At the group's behest, Ilir stepped up to another skeleton, ready to dismember it if need be. Focusing on the former people, he detected an aura of evil about them. This is a rather dangerous place. I'll be glad to be rid of it.
"As you wish. Shall we cut them down now?"
Remembering the shallow gash across his forehead, Amelius is inclined to agree with the Desnan Paladin. "Yeah, better now than when they're standing up, right? Standing... upright." The sorcerer snickers to himself at the accidental joke. "Guess it works either way!"
"I'm not fond of disturbing the dead... but if they're undead, I guess that's a different story."
Eliaera moves to one of the skeletons and, after a few moments hesitation, brings her rapier down to smash the fragile bones of its neck in an attempt to sever the head from the body. It seemed to her to be the logical way of stopping the skeletons from 'activating'.
"I'm sorry," she whispers afterwards.
Hiro and Ilir move into position to deliver an incapacitating blow to the skeletons. Since Ilir is still a little damp from the incursion into the pool, he moves towards one of the partially submerged skeletons closest to the edge of the water.
As Eliaera swings her rapier in an executioner's blow, the skeleton's skull rolls away, clanging in a rusty helmet. As it does, the air in the cave becomes much, much cooler - you feel the hair stand up on the back of your neck - and the other skeletons begin to claw at the rock floor in an attempt to rise at once, almost as if some fell force was commanding them to do so.
Surprise Round:
Hiro watches as Eliaera decapitates the skeleton on the ground before her. The Tian man gives an involuntary shiver as an unnatural chill fills the cavern, but is prepared when the skeleton before him begins to rise - raising his hanbo to strike at the creature's skull.
The faintest stirring was all it took to rouse Ilir's nerves to battle once again. His wound from earlier wasn't exactly a pleasant experience, so he didn't feel like giving the bones a chance to repeat the gash.
Bringing his weapon down atop the undead's sternum, he cracked through the rib cage with a satisfying - albeit sickening - crunch. I'll have to be more suspicious of these bodies in the future... Surprised lurked everywhere, it seemed.
Garridan sees the undead start to rise, and responds with a crisp downward stroke of his longsword. "They're moving! he yells as a warning.
Amelius attempts to pin the skeleton to the ground through an eye socket, laying his scant weight into the thrust with a little more zeal than he should. The attack flies wide however, and does little more than chip a tiny piece of the creature's temple. "crap, crap, crap, crap, "
Eliaera whirls around to see her companions dispatching the skeletons as she did - only their chosen targets are moving.
Still, Ilir, Hiro and Garridan have no trouble dispatching their undead foes, even as they claw and writhe on the cavern floor. Amelius, on the other hand, seems to have run out of luck with his spear thrusts. Two of the initial six skeletons still remain, and have by this time risen fully, and lash out not with swords, but with sharpened bony claws.
Round 1:
With his skeleton dispatched, Hiro quickly moves to the defense of Amelius and swings his weapon at the risen undead before it can attack the sorcerer.
Their restless spirits reacting together, Ilir wondered if there was some supernatural link between the undead as they attempted to rise. Perhaps they knew each other in life?
Regardless, their history in death needed to be short. He turned to his left and swiped the other soggy skeleton.
Hiro and Ilir make short work of the two remaining skeletons before they have a chance to strike.
Wondering what fell sorcery might be at work in this cavern, you move to the northwest passage. You fell the same tingling sensation you felt before as when the prone skeletons began to rise, and you feel a great sense of foreboding, almost dread for what lies ahead. It's not enough to dissuade you from your path however, and you make your way cautiously down the narrow passage, readying yourself to confront whatever evil dwells here.
As you enter this smaller cavern, you see three skeletons, in similar attire as those you have encountered before. They are holding wakizashi swords, held in both skeletal hands, in a guard position - yet they are perfectly still as you enter.
To the north is you see a single skeleton - this one with noticeably finer armor, and an ancient looking sword laid across its lap, the grip clutched in a bony hand. It sits upon a wooden chest of lacquered red wood with jade insets, similar to the style of the one you found in the Licktoad village.
As you approach the center of the cavern, the temperature drops significantly once again, and a chill breeze sweeps through the cavern. The three skeletons suddenly animate, performing the same action at the same time - moving their exotic swords into an attack position.
The skeleton perched atop the large chest does not move however, its empty eye sockets looking eerily at you as you attempt to defeat the skeletal guards here.
Garridan drops his lantern, drawing his sword and engaging the closest skeleton.
Round One:
Hiro's eyes narrow as he studies the skeleton seated on the lacquered chest. However, when the three guardian skeletons move to attack, the Tian ninja does not hesitate to act. With hanbo in-hand, Hiro dashes forward to strike at one of the skeletons before the undead can attack his companions.
Hiro, proving precise as always, catches one of the skeletons off guard with his hanbo, and is able to destroy it before it has a chance to strike. It collapses into the shallow water with a splash.
As Hiro dispatches the skeleton, the one on the chest stands upright, and extends a bony, rigid finger at him. Its jaw moves, and nothing but a low grating noise emerges from its empty mouth. Perhaps it recognizes Hiro's weaponry or Tian heritage?
The skeleton champion continues moving its jaw, and the other skeletons seem to look at him as if receiving some unspoken order. They move in to attack Garridan.
The baleful champion moves with supernatural speed, and executes a flawless killing stroke, slashing his wakizashi across Hiro's throat. Clutching his neck, Hiro collapses in the shallow water, his blood washing out into the still water.
The undead samurai turns, his challenge complete even in undeath.
The other skeletons are nowhere near as skilled, and their blows are deflected by the militiaman's quick sword work.
Garridan's slashing sword stroke hits, but does little to incapacitate the undead warrior before him.
Hiro!
Ilir only saw his body drop, the vision of the fatal stroke obscured by his angle behind Hiro. His ally's breaths attempts at respiration and collapse to the floor left the chieftain of these minions bare to him - the instrument of its murder plain; the Eastern sword bathed in blood was wielded by it, the skeleton's vacant gaze boring into him. Through him, almost, for Ilir's mind went to his fallen comrade. He'd never witnessed a death of that violence in person and certainly none so close.
As the red gash in Hiro's throat began to fill with water, anger took hold of Ilir. It was an emotion did did not feel often. Jealousy, envy perhaps, but he was slow to rage.
Not now though.
Shelyn, protect me, and help me protect my friends. "Back to the grave with you, monster!"
Ilir put as much force as he could into his swing, using the curving path of its circular arc to give momentum to the impact. He could only hope to knock it down; if it got close enough to swipe him, he would be done for. Hiro seemed more seasoned in battle than he, and if he was felled in a single stroke...
"HIRO!"
Eliaera looks on helplessly as their newest companion falls in an instant, downed by the sickly-curved Tian blade, seeing his deep crimson blood mingle with the cloying cave water. It had all seemed like fun-and-games until now. The heroes in the stories she had read did sometimes get injured and did sometimes die--but it was always so distant. It was never happening here and now in the flesh. The sight of his crumpled body caused
Ilir had stepped forth to attack the skeletal champion, summoning forth the power of his faith as he did so. Trusting in the paladin to protect her in the meantime, Eliaera slips behind him, splashing through the shallow water and kneeling beside Hiro. She gently lays her hand on his forehead and begins to sing a song; it is one familiar to the both of them, one of Ameiko's favourite Tian songs that she often played, a song that connected the two of them together. As she sings through the first few stanzas, the first few lines, a blueish light gathers at her fingertips and coalesces into his wound; it sews the wound back together as if it was not there in the first place, although the skin remains pink and tender and he would no doubt feel a little weak from the blood loss.
Eliaera worriedly (but gently) shakes Hiro's shoulders; "Hiro? Are you okay?"
As Amelius determines how best to lend his talents to defeating this menace, Eliaera rushes to the aid of Hiro. Singing softly, she is able to close the horrific wound somewhat and staunch the blood loss, enough so that Hiro regains consciousness. Looking confused, he assesses his situation - he is alive, but the undead samurai is still threatening his companions. The bard is kneeling next to him, and he feels cold, but otherwise normal - as much as can be expected having one's throat slashed.
Ilir calls upon the power of his goddess Shelyn, and the touch of the divine blesses him with the power to smite his undead foe. The samurai reels from the holy retribution as the paladin's glaive strikes true with divine power. The severed pieces of ring mail from its armor and bone from its body splash in the water, and the undead samurai hunches over from the force of the blow. Not yet out of the fight however, it brings up its sword in a guard position, its jawbone issuing a wordless taunt at the paladin.
Amelius, seeing Hiro crumple from the undead samurai's vicious strike, resolves to protect himself from a similar fate, and begins uttering quickly the words to draw forth a measure of protection from the primal energies at his disposal. A protective shield materializes for the briefest of moments before shimmering into nothingness once more. He then raises his spear, his face about as grim as a kitten, and he surges forward to Garridan's rear, intent on assisting the militiaman in any way he can.
Round Two:
Hiro's eyes blink open as he returns to consciousness, looking up wonderingly at Eliaera. "Her beauty constantly takes my breath away, but now she's made it possible for me to breathe again," he thinks to himself. "Thank you," he whispers to Eliaera gratefully.
Hiro glances around, quickly assessing the precarious nature of his prone position in the shallow water at the feet of the skeletal samurai. With few favorable options, the Tian ninja draws his wakizashi and slashes at the skeleton's ankles in an attempt to distract the creature - hopefully providing Ilir an opening for a powerful strike.
Amelius casts an invisible shield of force with some arcane gestures, and moves up to support Garridan the best he can. As he does, a tiny, hairy, wrinkled face appears from his backpack. "Master-sorcerer Amelius, do you really wish to fight these creatures? Let the others take their gashes and lashes, and we sneak in, take the treasure box, and sneak sneak sneak away, hee hee! Or, if you insist, Skitterfoot can summon his rodents from strange planes to assist...but only if you ask nicely, hee hee."
The undead samurai takes a five foot step, but stumbles when Hiro draws his own wakizashi and attempt to distract it. The samurai skeleton moves directly toward the creature that smote him, directing his attack at the half-elf paladin.
Ilir manages to deflect the blade somewhat, but feels it bite into his armor nonetheless, drawing blood.
The two other skeletons attack - this time they do not act in sync, one of them attempts a high strike, the other going low. It is almost as if the samurai is directing them to act through sheer force of will. They continue to harass Garridan - distracting the armored fighter while the evil undead samurai tries to pick off its targets one by one.
Garridan again proves adept at evading their attacks, using his longsword and moving quickly enough to avoid taking any damage.
Eliaera winces as the sharp Tian-make blade carves its way through Ilir's armour into his flesh, although the devotee of Shelyn seems to manage to stay standing despite it. With the skeletal champion coming ever-closer, the Varisian woman feels trapped between a rock and a hard place, wishing she could run away and hide under her bed where none of this was happening...
No... I have to be strong! Eliaera tightly squeezes her rapier's hilt and lets her voice rise into the air, shaking at first but gradually gaining confidence.
"C... Come on, friends! We can do this! We fought off the goblins before, we can fight off these undead now, too! Our journey will take us much further than this cave!"
"Sandpoint!" Garridan shouts his warcry, swinging his sword at one skeleton, and his shield at the other.
The tiny ratling chants an arcane phrase, punctuated by a 'hee hee', and both it and Amelius walk through a rift in space, disappears for a moment, then reappears, stepping out of somewhere directly behind one of the skeletons. Readying his spear, he looks for the best opportunity to assist Garridan as they flank the undead guardian.
Eliaera initiates a bardic performance, hoping to spur her companions onward with inspiration and courage as they confront the undead samurai and his minions.
Garridan strikes out to his right with his longsword - the thrust hits, and the skeleton doubles over as its spine is severed by the sharp blade - it collapses to the cavern floor with a clatter. The fighter's attempt to bludgeon the other with his shield falls short however.
With another skeleton eliminated, there is an opportunity for the half-elf paladin room to move into position and attack the undead samurai with his long glaive weapon.
The sound of bones falling to the stone floor behind him was an alert to Ilir - he needed to step back. His weapon of choice was no good in clusters such as this.
His feet tracing their way backwards, he feinted his glaive to the right of the samurai, then sharply back towards its head.
Ilir steps back so the full effectiveness of his weapon can be brought to bear on the samurai. He strikes, and between the power of his goddess and Eliaera's performance, the paladin feels his confidence rise as he strikes true yet again, severing bone and chainmail. The skeletal warrior is undeterred, and continues to brandish his deadly blade.
Round Three:
Seeing the skeletal warrior step away from him, Hiro climbs shakily to his feet. With his wakizashi held before him, he steps forward to take up a fully defensive stance between Eliaera and the undead samurai.
The remaining skeleton attempts to bring its wakizashi to bear on the fighter in front of it.
Again, the fighter's defenses prove unassailable.
The undead samurai steps in close, trying to avoid the reach of the paladin's weapon while also attempting to find an opening to attack Garridan.
Garridan's longsword deflects the strike from the samurai's curved blade before it can touch him.
Seeing the greater danger of the samurai, Garridan turns his full attention to it, trusting his armor to keep him safe from the normal skeleton. He launches a probing strike with his longsword, before following it up with a powerful slam of his shield.
"Drop the leader, it's the real threat!"
Eliaera follows through with Garridan's order, thrusting forward with her rapier on command. However, the movement causes her to lose her footing in the mud of the shallow pool, and she gasps in surprise as she almost falls head over heels. It's only through her acrobatic prowess and sheer luck that she doesn't land face-first in the muck or stab Garridan in the side with her thin blade.
The combat was getting too close for Ilir - both his weapon and his comfort.
Stepping to the West away from the immediate fray, he relayed to Garridan "Fall back! Don't let them surround you!"
Amelius thrusts his trusty spear at the last of the skeletal minions the samurai seems to have some kind of command over. "Yes, like the great fighter, smash and crash! Wait, you are a sorcerer - what are you doing, master?" Skitterfoot bobs up and down in Amelius's backpack like a fan at a gladiator arena. "Yes, go high, no, low! What are you doing, hit it harder!"
Amelius puts his spear through the skeleton, but it simply clatters around in its ribcage. The sorcerer desperately tries to get it free, and is jerked around as the skeleton moves around to try and get another strike on the shielded fighter in front of him. He eventually does retrieve his weapon.
Round Four:
Flanking the skeletal warrior with Garridan, Hiro swipes at the undead creature with his hanbo.
Eliaera distracts the skeletal champion with a quick feint, ducking and weaving beneath his sword blow to thrust her rapier into its pelvic area. Her logic: if spears could go through its ribs, attack the part with a reasonably wide surface area!
Hiro attempts to dispatch the skeleton samurai, but he may still be shaken from his near death experience, and misses.
The remaining skeleton continues its assault on Garridan...
...and continues to be unable to inflict any pain on the stalwart fighter.
The samurai targets the fighter also, wielding its wakizashi with deadly intent, in retribution for the strike the fighter landed earlier.
The strike slices deep as Garridan reels back, his impressive defenses yielding for a moment.
Garridan grunts in pain, gritting his teeth to try and keep from screaming as another wakizashi finds its way through his armor. Without hesitating he presses the attack, swinging sword and shield at the samurai.
Garridan's sword swing goes wide, but as the undead samurai evades it, the fighter brings his shield to bear, smashing the samurai apart. It's bones clatter to the floor, and as it does, the other skeleton collapses as well - the samurai's will being the only thing keeping it animated.
As you recover from the grueling battle, casting healing magic or using your wand of cure light wounds as needed, you take stock of your surroundings now that the undead creatures have been defeated.
Of primary interest is the chest. An examination of it finds it locked. However, as Garridan looks over the bones of his vanquished foe, he finds a bronze key on a chain necklace hanging around the thing's neck. It opens the chest easily, and the contents inside are revealed. It appears that some of the items may be missing, as some of the velvet lined pockets within are empty.
5 potions of cure light wounds
2 potions of cure moderate wounds
3 potions of lesser restoration
a ring of climbing
a wand of identify (19 charges)
a masterwork chain shirt
a masterwork cold iron wakizashi
11 Desnan candles and 4 skyrockets
3,820 sp, 421 gp, and fine jewelry worth 560 gp
The chest itself is also valuable, worth 250 gp undamaged.
Eliaera notices, as she examines the vanquished undead samurai's weapon, that it is in fact a magical weapon, with a Tian inscription that translates as "Whispering Shrike". She also notices that the pommel contains a hidden compartment. A miniature mithril scroll tube rests inside the weapon's grip - too small to hold a magical scroll, but what it does reveal is something much more interesting...a letter.
Lonjiku -
My son, my heir. You know now that I have kept secrets from you. You were always a perceptive son, and while you may not understand my reasons for secrecy. I hope that you realize it was necessary. Know that I was not angry with you for opening the warding box – I was angry with myself for witholding the truth from you and forcing you to seek out what I should have given to you. The words I spoke to you were from anger with myself, and it shames me to think of them now. I write this note as an apology, and to beg you to leave these secrets to history.
The next few days will be the most important I have faced in many years. If our family’s enemies have, as I hope, forgotten us, I shall reunite with you and your wife, and your mother and I shall reveal the truth to you. But if they still seek the contents of the warding box, I fear that I may not speak to you again. The box holds our family’s greatest treasure, so I have returned it to Kortun’s care, and it shall remain hidden in the secret third vault under Brinewall Castle – obscured from our enemies, I hope and pray. I will not grant our foes the satisfaction of killing me themselves – if it comes to it, let my death, by my own hand, be my final act to protect you, so that our enemies believe our line ended.
I have instructed Tsutamu to keep this letter from you, delivering it to you only should I fail to return as I hope to. If I can, I will reveal all to you myself. If I cannot, this final missive from a father to a son must suffice as an apology in place of an explanation, and you must destroy this letter, flee to the south, and never return to Brinewall. If our enemies find what I have hidden, there will be nothing here for you. If they do not, they will lie in wait forever for your return.
I hope to see you again soon, my son. But my heart tells me I will not. I am sorry to have failed you. But I am proud of you , and I know you will survive this old man’s shame. You are strong and you must remain so. For if you are reading this and I am gone, know that our enemies will never stop searching for us, and that is why I cannot reveal the truth to you until I know there is no chance of them finding us again.
Rokuro Kaijitsu
Sunday, 29 Desnus, 4687
Ameiko will definitely be interested in this.
"Nice work, Garridan!" Ilir slaps a hand on his shoulder.
As the chest is opened, he sees a plethora of treasure. Drawing his eyes were the sorts of jewelry though.