Baolo takes a look over Ialda's wounds, "Ooo, dat baad Ialda. Lemmee see if I ca' help. Dis might hurt a little." He runs his hands over the places the zombies have torn and chewed on Ialda. A taste of saltwater fills her mouth just before a terrible pain, nearly as bad as the original wounds, strikes as her skin and bone knit back together.
"Mmm, dat is a little bettah, more?"
AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 13. . (+3 armor, +4 Dex)
hp 16/16
Weapon Equipped Longbow, Comp. (Str +1) +5 (1d8+1/20/x3)
1st Level Spells 2/3 available
"Maybe I'll just stick with the bites next time," ialda mutters through gritted teeth. After the initial pain, she quickly noticed the improvement, nodding at her friend.
Kowaru steps forward to block the doorway while Baolo tends to Ialda's wounds. The monk mutters to himself he listens to the moans of the damned ahead of him. "How many more of these beasts are down here? What have you gotten yourself involved in, Vanthus?" He grips his kama tightly as he squints into the darkness, trying to see if any more of these abominations approach.
Kowaru does notice a munched up human body in the corner of the room, not zombie-fied.
"Well, wi know deh is no way out back deh, so forward is it."
"That is much better. Thank you, Baolo. We can lure those things back out here and pin them in again, keeping the numbers on our side."
"Sounds good Ialda, I'm always happy to have a tactical advantage. Your stride is quite quick Ialda, perhaps if you be the lure, the rest of us can move some barrels into position to only allow one at a time to approach us. I don't think their rotting brains would allow them to think of moving the barrels out of the way?"
"Very clever, Chez. Block part of the doorway, and when I lure them this way, we can choke them off even better," she agrees, as she helps the group move one of the heavy barrels into place.
Baolo helps with the barrels too, but asks "Are ya sure Ialda? Dis is a good plan if the zombies a the worst Vanthus lef fa us. But, what if deh is worst out deh? Wi need a signah if ya run into troubah."
"How about if you hear me screaming, you all come running? That can be our signal," Ialda laughs as she prepares herself to go a bit deeper into the area the undead ventured out of.
Baolo laughs, "All right mon, ya scream, wi save. Drink deep, tink fast Ialda."
Aeronniell watches as Baolo tends Ialda's wounds and nods to herself, content to see another one of their group benefiting from the blessing of a god or goddess.
Once the group blocks off the door, and creates as good a checkpoint as possible, Ialdapulls her long spear and gets one of her friends to cast Light on it, and slowly progresses down the hall from where the moaning is coming. She tries to get close without physically engaging them, so they will follow her back to the doorway.
After moving the barrels into place, Chez will take a closer look at the corpse to see what happened to it, and whether it may have anything in its possession that may shed some light on the present situation.
The body belongs to that a human male, though its face has been chomped on and is hardly recognizable. Oddly, Chez notices a lot of bite marks on the skull, so deep in fact that the skull has been opened and the corpse's brain has been digested! On the body, you find a note in his chest pocket that reads:
These bones or what remains be once Penkus, devoured by these foul undead corpses of smugglers. I can hear them trying to break the door down, their claws on the wood. I have not much time. T'was not the dead who brought me doom but one until today I called a friend. Vanthus Vanderboren! The foul treacherous cur who locked me in this room! Your name fills me with bile! You left ME here to die, after all what I done t’get ye into th’Lotus! Yer designs on the Lady of the Lotus be clear now, and with meself out th’way… ye doubtless move even now into power, slithering amid my vacancy like a hermit crab in a shell, or a cadaver worm to still-warm flesh. CURSE UPON YE! To th’one what reads this. If ye have any honor or vengeance in yer soul, know that Vanthus must die. He dwells in the lap o’ th’Lotus, below th’Taxidermist’s Hall. Seek him there, but ‘fore he dies he must know it were Penkus that undid him and guides yer killing blow. And if, by some cruel spite of fate, it be ye that read this, Vanthus, know with certainty I wait for ye in Hell, where I intend t’rival the pit itself in yer torment!
Baolo recoils at Chez's grisly report, but then puts a smile back on once the note is read, "Cha! Looks like Penkus is waiting on Vanthus in Hell instead o' us. At least wi know where he is when wi find the way out."
As Ialda sets ready to march forward with her longspear, she notices through the broken door to the west that the rest of the tunnel ahead appears partially submerged by water. The moaning comes from further west.
Ialda quickly scans the situation and waves the group foreward. "New plan. Looks like the next room is sunken. I'll go in and see if there are more zombies, and pull them to you.
You poke the water and nothing.
If you dip your spear in it, you can tell it is about 5' deep.
She will wade out to A 21 and see if the moaning grows closer.
The seawater feels cold to the touch as Ialda wades through. You see after 10-15' you can climb out. Furthermore, she sees the tunnel up ahead splits in two.
She returns to the group and inform them what she has seen. "Fancy a swim, she questions the others, telling them they were going to have to do just a bit of swimming to follow her down the tunnel.
Kowaru whispers some sutras for Penkus after Chez finishes reading. "Another soul claimed by Vanthus' greed. Truly, his sister never knew the man he became. Redemption may be impossible for him in this life. If Penkus gets his way, he will not have another chance."
When Ialda returns to the group, Kowaru releases a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Lead the way, sister. We will be right behind you."
When you reach the split, the northern tunnel is dry and uphill. The southern tunnel is submerged. You hear moaning from both dark, damp tunnels.
"I say we stay out of that water as much as possible. Xarethi's magic would be helpful in exploring that other tunnel," she mutters as she prepares to walk down the dry tunnel, if the group agrees.
"Hey mon, I love ta swim, but not wit the dead. Mebbe north first?"
Let's do it, then, Baolo. I'll take the lead."
As you move up the tunnel, the light of Ialda's spear flickers against the walls and you suddenly hear a rush, as the moaning gets closer and turns into a gnashing of teeth!
"Are we going to make a stand here, or shall we draw them back to our choke point?"
"I think we have to fight it out here. They could be on us by the time we try to swim thought that stream again."
Ialda moves forward to D 38, and tears at the closest zombie with her long spear, as she howls in anger at the undead.
Attack
Damage
Power Attack plus Rage (round 2 of 6)
Possible critical
Attack
Damage
AC 12, HP 24/22, but 4 of those are temporary rage HP
Seeing Ialda break into a run forward, Chez turns back and looks at the rest of the group and sighs. He then rushes forward quickly to ensure his companion is not overwhelmed.
Baolo smiles in response to Chez's sigh, "Dat her way Chez. She likey dat up close an' friendly fightin'" Baolo trails behind Chez and Ialda, stopping with his back to the stone wall in the corner.
He draws out an arrow with gold and iridescent blue fletching. It glistens in the dim light of the spells. He pulls back the bowstring and fires it into the same zombie that Ialda has jabbed with her spear.
"Blessed Dreamer, guide us with a bit of your luck as the stars guide travelers in nights darker even than these tunnels..."
With her whispered prayer, Aeronniell's goddess imparts her blessing upon everyone.
Ialda's spear punctured part of the zombie's thick flesh, while Baolo's arrow bounced off it.
The zombie launches itself at Ialda, slapping away her spear, but she pushes it away with the wooden shaft.
The other zombie charges Chez, also missing!
The zombie in the back just pushes the zombie in front to get out of its way!
Ialda lets go of her spear and reaches for her flail. Grabbing it, she unleashes a huge swing at the undead.
Attack
Damage
Conditions: Power Attack, Rage round 3 of 6, Bless
AC 12, HP 24/22 (4 of them are temporary Rage HPs)
Ialda thrusted the spear at the zombie with great force and accuracy, puncturing its brain and removing its head completely off its body in one blow! The undead corpse collapses to the floor.
Round 2
Aiming past someone in a melee is nothing like shooting a still target!
*Jovial voice: Practice makes perfect, now go practice!*
Seeing Ialda and Chez in a heated combat, Aeronniell prepares an arrow and waits for what will pass for a clear shot at one of the zombies.
Seeing how ineffective her shot is, she grumbles to herself, "now what did I saw about slicing weapons, not puncturing ones..."
Baolo bends to his left, grabbing another gold-fletched arrow from his quiver and fires it at the zombie that has moved up to attack Ialda.
"Cha! I hear ya Aero. Wish I had slicin' arrows."
Kowaru rushes around the corner, only to find Ialda and Chez locked in combat with the walking dead. He rushes as close to the melee as he can, and crouches, waiting for the opportune moment to leap into the fray.
Double move to C-39.
Chez will swing his blades at the zombie that Ialda is attacking.