"I'll come but just... let's get this over with." He says with a bit of fear in his voice. Holding onto the bloodied axe in one very tightened hand and a large javelin in the other he even takes the lead unless someone else voices they would like point. The scepter on his belt begins to glow fiery green as you get within 30 feet of the tower. Krazok looks down and says, "Either that is good or bad... wait for it..."
If you wait... one minute... five minutes... Krazok likely will wait even longer unless someone breaks him out of being even more afraid. Nothing pops up or really even moves. It is strange that there are no insect or animal noises at all on the island, or at least since getting off the boats.
Aurora whispers with the groups she is with
"This is getting creepy, as there are no sounds of life."
"What? Wait... no, now it is even worse, Aaaaah! Do you feel like something is watching you, that they want us to leave? Its like something is at the base of my skull sucking the life out of me... but there is nothing there." Krazok says very creeped out almost ready to bolt.
Krafnik goes to the door and attempts to pull off the band aid and just yank it open so Krazok can see him take the lead.
Krazok is not himself, he follows Krafnik, straining to hold onto his axe.
Krafnik goes to the door and once right next to the door recognizes that there is no door. He shifts his perspective and sees that is was merely an optical illusion. There is no door.
The group walks and then you all hear movement coming from behind.
Valisia, Selena, and Valisia's Eiolodan are walking almost in a trance. Hands at their sides and just looking forward. Each of their eyes glow blue like the Eiolodan had before. In unison they say, "Of darkest hour, of darkest gloom, come now before me, so that ye may meet your doom!"
The ground begins to rumble and shake. The tower begins to lift and lift. It goes up nearly 50 feet before it shows an archway and what is left of the door, rotting wood. The three of them Valisia, Selena and the Eiolodan all drop to the ground as if fainting but as their allies likely try to grab them before they fall too hard, they speak just a few more words before fully being out, "Go forth champions of the emerald flame, may it guide you, trust it, and vanquish the darkness and gloom." With that a green channel comes off the three of them and removes the shaken condition from anyone affected by it, also healing you, .
He quickly goes to the women catching Selena before she drops to the ground. After the wave of green energy hits them all he looks at the others, energized he seriously says, "Jenya, I am sure this adventure will pay. I am afraid we don't have time though and must push on. My scepter tells me we must deal with this gloom before it can get to the emerald heart below that just ran out of energy to summon us to deal with the gloom. Come the itching should end soon and we got some slaying to do. Krafnik you want me to take lead again?" He moves towards the tower behind Krafnik or taking the lead he does not care and goes into the darkness.
He gets into the entry room and looks from door to door and around the room. Seeing nearly nothing of use, he asks calmly or at least trying to stay calm, "Suggestions? What are these symbols? Do I start shifting for a key or do you have a better idea? What is up with only one keyhole!? And three doors!?!?!?" As he talks he becomes less and less calm, pacing and storming a bit.
Within the tower you can see decay. Any furniture is just a pile of mush, the wood in the archway if touched falls to the ground into splinters and dust. Inside you see an entry room 20 feet by 30 feet. There are three stone doors, forward, right, or left. On each door there is an arcane symbol. On the door to the left there is a keyhole and a latch. The other two doors have no handles or key holes.
Centipede Swarm
A writhing mass of legs and poisonous pincers swarms across the ground in a deadly, undulating wave.
CENTIPEDE SWARM CR 4
XP 1,200
N Diminutive vermin (swarm)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 30 ft.; Perception +4
DEFENSE
AC 18, touch 18, flat-footed 14 (+4 Dex, +4 size)
hp 31 (9d8–9)
Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +3
Defensive Abilities swarm traits, Immune weapon damage
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
Melee swarm (2d6 plus poison)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks distraction (DC 13), poison
STATISTICS
Str 1, Dex 19, Con 8, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2
Base Atk +6; CMB —; CMD —
Feats Weapon FinesseB
Skills Climb +12, Perception +4; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception
ECOLOGY
Environment temperate or warm forest or underground
Organization solitary, pair, or tangle (3–6 swarms)
Treasure none
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Poison (Ex) Bite—injury; save Fort DC 13; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d4 Dex damage; cure 1 save. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +2 racial bonus.
right door decayed corpse that talks, will grant wishes. Perception DC 25 reveals hidden door and a staircase up. merely push on the door and it opens revealing another cetepede swarm with only 15 hp.
left door reveals many bronze, gold, and silver lamps, apparently discarded into the room. key to open door or Disable Device 30
forward door reveals a staircase down. acid spell to open door
Krazok did you know you have blood on you? Are you being hurt? Krafnik says
also your sceptre glowed more toward the door to the left...
yeah if your axe is hurting then drop it I guess
"Lizard folk blood most likely, then again it might be my blood, though my wounds have all been healed. No I am not hurt Krafnik." He says responding to Krafnik's questions. "Ah then we should go that way..." He tries the handle but it only budges a little. "Locked, would be my guess with the keyhole, or should I use my shoulder, or Axe?"
"My axe... is hurting... what do you mean Jenya?" Krazok inquires.
"Have you tried just pushing on any of the doors? There's a chance that one of them might be unlocked"
It's bloody even when you don't use it for one. I thought you swing sword types loved to keep your edge clean.
"I could push on them, but in the past there was magical traps... I thought we were low on healing. Do we have anyone who can spot a trap and/or disable one? Anyone got detect magic to see if there is a magical trap on these things? Just going through the gaumut of things I have learned from previous companions... I got my big bleeding axe here. Yup Jenya it is called an 'Omen' or so said that crazy wizard. Once I unlock its full potential I should be unstoppable in combat. It only takes a little bit of my blood to keep it running." He seems rather serious about it all, you don't think he is joking about any of it.
He looks around the group with no response he shakes his head and says, "Oh yes I tried this one, it moved a little but not much, locked. Let me go try this one then." He goes over to the forward door and pushes on it and says, "it glows green letters." He then goes over to the right door and pushes on it unless someone stops him.
Likely not, and the door falls in, before anyone can do a thing Krazok blows a stream of fire from his mouth and backs up.
(Reflex for half; DC 16).
Surprise Round
Just as Aurora pulls out the key from a pile, a few centipedes come from the same pile and others, Krazok pushes on the door to the right room and puts a stream of fire into it. Swarms of centipedes come from that room. The first swarm moves away from Krazok and fills Aurora's and Krafnik's squares, biting and swarming over them, you both my take an AoO on the swarm as well as Krazok,
31 hp -12 = 19
15 hp -12 = 3
Krazok
Jenya
Aurora
Albinius
Krafnik
25 Jenya
22 Swarm 2
14 Krazok
14 Aurora
18 Albinius
15 Krafnik
7 Swarm 1
Aurora jumps back from the swarm.
Krafnik will withdraw from the area saying alchemist, hit it with some fire or some such!
Gah don't like bugs
Jenya gets out a vial of alchemist fire and throws it at swarm.
Albinius mixes two vials together and throws the resulting mixture at the swarm of centipedes
Jenya hits the swarm with her alchemist fire, dispersing the first swarm that came through the door. The second swarm comes charging forward towards Aurora and Krafnik. Albinius throws his bomb at the second swarm to enter the room, dispersing the swarm with his splash damage and bomb.
Krazok squishes a few of the centipedes that are still moving around the room and goes in to investigate the room beyond the door he just opened.
You see Krazok enter the room and leave the view of the door to the left.
Aurora follows Krazok.
hey there is a secret door here and Krafnik pulls the stone and reveals the stairway up hoping Krazok will come back.
Albinius follows Krazok and looks curiously at the talking corpse.
[b]"Who punished you? How can we help?"[b]
He is in the room with Krafnik and any others that come into the room. He states in reponse to Krafnik, "Nice find Krafnik! What should we do about the talking corpse?"
Avoid dead people is a good rule I think
The corpse responds to Albinius continuing to croak and cough out answers, "I was... not the first... here... I killed the last... thing that was cursed... I took its place... I don't know... who... punishes me... there is little... any of you... could do..."
You believe this is not an undead, just a poor soul that is barely being kept alive by a curse of some kind. If you had a remove curse spell or greater spell it would likely relieve the soul of the curse but likely end him as well.
"Corpse, I wish without moving you from your present location to have the heart of this castle beside your body." Krazok asks hoping to be quickly done with this place.
It croaks back with even more pain in its voice, "I am sorry I cannot grant that wish, magic is blocking such an action. Please try again." Moisture begins to form on the flesh of the corpse.
"Anyone else want a wish from him? If not I want to try something." He asks the group.
Aurora is still a bit shy, and nervous around the cursed corpse.
"Since I don't know if the using a wish is has a payment that will need to be made later, it is quite vexing.
Even nature has the rule of give and take and using a wish gives something, the question would be, what would it take from me or others?"
Gonna keep with my policy of not messing with curses and the like
Krafnik will come around the corner and bless the corpse and pray for its peaceful passing.
"Aurora, it would seem that you might contract a curse, disease, or something of decay. With that I ask Albinius who has not voiced an opinion yet before I try something." Krazok says in response to Aurora and then asking Albinius.
"It's quite fascinating, the curse seems to be keeping him a sort of strange 'half-life' neither truly alive nor undead. I've never seen anything like it before. Us making wishes seems to restore it's body somehow as well, possibly at the cost of our own condition if we make multiple wishes. A remove curse spell may be sufficient to end his suffering although this seems a remarkably potent curse, to be capable of jumping from one individual to another, sustaining a soul in an otherwise lifeless corpse, and granting wishes. Corpse, I wish for a full and complete understanding of the curse that afflicts you.
"Curses, that sounds bad."
The corpse responds slowly, coughing as it does, "The curse... I know... little about. One wish se... seems to have no effect. One fellow... wished... three times... his leg began to wither. You are one of three groups to have... come... since I killed the last... cursed, thus my present situation."
greed will not prevail here. Let us leave this thing here and use the wishes cor healing or some such emergency if needed and come back and deal with this soul hopefully able to find some magic to release it before we depart here? Krafnik says with grim purpose.
"So then we leave it. Up the stairs then, unless someone found a key or know what words are on the door?" Krazok says ready to be moving again.
"You mean a key like this one from that pile?"
"Yes! Would you like to do the honors or do you want me to do it?" He asks with a toothy grin, that likely looks more menacing than he is hoping for. He puts out his open claw to receive the key. "Krafnik mark the lever with some chaulk just in case the door closes on its own, I want to get in that other door now.
Aurora unlocks the door and opens it.
A bright blue glow comes from outside. She walks in her tattoos and eyes are radiant blue. It seems like Selena has merged with Valisia's Eiolodin. She walks past the door and you hear a great tearing and then a great crash.
Going back into the entry room you find the metal door ripped from its holding and thrown into the corner. It is bent and torn. The blue light still emits up the staircase that is now visible.
Jenya listens to Krazok before following down the stairs.