With his bow at the ready but coughing at the stink, Vash manages, ”I need a clear shot, Teos.”
Current HP:32/49
Fort Save: Fail
Fort Save: Save
Fort Save: Save
Fort Save: Fail
Fort vs. Sickness:
Overcome with the strong stench of the room, and reeling from the savage attack, Teos strikes out with his crystalline sword.
Attack:
Damage:
Now presented with a clear shot, Vash takes a short step back to try and avoid the worst of the stench, then releases two arrows in quick succession towards the undead horror.
to identify the creature.
The stench threatened to overcome Nimaethep, but the sight of the undead and the defiled remains were enough to rally her resolve and push through the rising nausea.
Uttering a few random arcane syllables she coaxed a magical shield from the wand she held in hand before dropping the instrument. With a fluid motion she leapt across the corner of the room, tucking and rolling over the box behind the undead and landing behind the vile creature, ready to strike it as the opportunity presented.
Though the creature's claws rent his flesh, it was the horrid bite that somehow burned Teos' flesh! Drawing his sword back to strike , coughing from the creature's stench, Teos' limbs and muscles suddenly grew rigid , beyond his control. He could only look on helplessly as his friends continued the fight...
One of Vash's arrows punches into the alchemist, seeming to jolt it out of it's bloodlust, his eyes widening in seeming amazement that he was being attacked!
His eyes watch as Nimaethep tumbles past, and he lashes out with a claw as she passess...but catches only empty air as the nimble monk slips by.
"Getsss outsss ovsss mysss labssss!" he shrieks, his voice human-like, but corrupted.
You are reasonably sure that this creature is a ghast, a more powerful version of the ghouls you fought outside. Possessing the same paralytic touch, disease ridden teeth and claws, and the stench of the grave!
They tend to retain more cunning and intelligence than ghouls, but this one is different....he seems to have retained most if not all of his faculties from when he was 'alive'.
The alchemist, no longer possessed by the undead bloodlust, snatches a vial of swirling red liquid from his belt and quickly consumes its contents.
With a spitting motion, he causes a cone of flame to spring forth, engulfing both Vash and Harmini!
Order of Combat
Alchemist
Teos
Vash
Nimaethep
Harmini
Still sickened by the smell of the creature, Vash's eyes widen in shock as he sees Teos stiffen up and be unable to move. He tries to dodge the incoming flame, then fires another two deady arrows at the undead creature in the hope that he can take it down before it can retaliate further.
Vash's arrows punch into the alchemist's body with audible force, forcing him to stumble.
He catches his balance, then looks at Vash. Vash and Harmini are startle to see in his face, the man he once was; marred by the anguish of knoledge, of what he's become.
Visibly fighting against whatever urges and hungers that plague him, the alchemist, clenches his clawed hands and slowly sinks to his knees.
Looking pleadingly at Vash, he croaks, "End this....please...."
[ooc]Anyone can go...he's not attacking..."[/b]
Looking at Teos' paralyzed body, Vash looks at the man grimly, saying, "All I can do now is save you from the horror of undeath," though he does pause a moment to consider if there is any healing possible for this man--or if the only true kindness would be to kill him.
The wretch's limbs twitch violently, and he gasps, "Yesssss....quick.....quick.....", his grimace horrible to behold.
It is obvious that he's holding himself back from the violent activity his body wishes to enjoy....
Grimacing, then nodding, Vash honors the shreds remaining of the man's self control, saying, "May you find redemption in the life to come." He then takes careful aim, then sends an arrow straight at the wretched soul's heart.
Nimaethep looked at the wretch with pity. "I have no arts that would free you from this affliction. Despite everything that you have done here, I with that there was another way."
Vash's arrow punches into the alchemist's body, spraying bone and viscera out his back.
A calm look comes over his face, and he looks for a moment as if he was going to say thank you, but then the undead beast that he was took over for the last moment of 'life'. A snarl of hatred and hunger marred however he may have appeared in life. But that quickly faded as the unnatural energy that preserved it ebbed then stopped completely, it's body tipping over onto the ground, snapping the arrows that had pierced its body.
As it's limbs splay out you notice something unusual about it's robes. It seems to have a number of narrow sharp metallic needles embedded in the arms of the robe.
A look of sadness crossed Nimaethep's face as she took the corps of the shattered man and set about tending to his mortal remains. She couldn't prepare his body properly with the time and materials she had on hand, but she did what she could. With a prayer and short ceremony to Anubis she arranged his corpse in a dignified manner, removing the remains of the arrow and tidying up the wound.
With the recently deceased tended to, she then began to replace the mummified corpses of the original tenants back into their beds. There was much more reverence and ceremony as she proceeded to restore what she could of the sanctity of the building. "Every hut is a memorial" she concluded, echoing Sebti's words before the great lottery.
Vash will help as he can with Nimaethep, and also keep an eye out for any clues about the compasses or any items which may be of use to the living.
In addition to the alchemist's unusual robe, Nimaethep finds a number of vials on his person. Each with a curious glowing mixture within, the glow fading until only a dark muddy liquid remains.
Six other small vials contain a green oily substance.
Vash sees on a back table the alchemist's lab, many flasks and tubes and alembics , dripping and steaming away. On the table is a weathered tome, an number of fine silk ribbons keeping important pages available.
As you reposition some of the mummies, you notice a portion of the south wall is actually a very well-conceal door.
Avoiding the alchemical items, Vash picks up the book and starts to carefully look through it, taking care to not disturb the silk ribbon page markings. Unless it is something he can easily decipher, he hands it to Harmini, saying, "What do you think of this tome, Lady Wakestep?"
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Harmini takes a few moments after the demise of their opponent to heal herself and her companions. She checks in on Teos, specifically to make sure there is no permanent damage.
With a huff of frustration, she continues to heal with her wands. A dark wooden wand is selected for Alabaster. Harmini retrieves her healing kit and attempts to treat any potential disease that might be afflicting Teos.
"Hold still. This will only take a few moments. We don't want any ghoul fever to spread."
After the healing activities are concluded, Harmini will turn her attentions toward Vash the mysterious items.
"Let's have a look at these items."
Vash, fully healed, says, "Thank you, Lady Harmini, I am feeling much better now."
After a few moments, Teos begins to feel his limbs again, tingling but moveable.
Harmini detects the typical harbinger's of ghoul fever around the wounds on Teos' arms, a slight charnel odor and a faint greying of the skin.
Luckily she has the correct counter-agent in her healer's kit, an unctuous moss, which she presses up against the wounds, binding it tight for the prescribed time; after which Teos' flesh is once again pink and bloody, until Alabaster's healing takes affect.
The robe emits the auras of both evocation and necromantic magic. You surmise that the knives or needles can be thrown and if they hit someone will cause them to bleed.
The tome is the alchemist's formula book, listing a number of elixirs and the instructions to create them.
Nimaethep took note of the door, but waited until her work was done and the party had finished their tasks as well before bringing it to the group's attention.
"There seems to be another way through this building here. I don't know if the alchemist and his ilk knew about it. I don't know if they covered it up intentionally or by accident but it might be worth investigating since there was one of the compasses here."
"Hmm, maybe something interesting hidden here as well. It's about time we catch a break soon in our investigation," comments Vash.
Feeling the stiffness slowly fading, the large warrior looks around sullenly.
"That was a low blow...to say the least! I did not realize such creatures could do that! I must try to find a way to overcome this paralysis for next time!"
Cracking open the cunningly concealed door reveals that Nimaethep's musings were partially correct. There was another chamber beyond, but it's roof has , at some point in the past, collapsed. Only a short area remained, protected by a strong stone arch.
There shoved up against the rubble, a short table sits. On it are four packages, tightly wound with what appears to be re-purposed mummy wrappings and twine.
Nimaethep eyed the packages dubiously. She carefully approached the table and after giving it a quick check to ensure that there were no traps, she carefully unwrapped one of the packages.
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Harmini thumbs through the book slowly, admiring its construction. She then looks over the robe once more before carefully collecting them and placing them in her haversack.
"I'm sure this tome is filled with mostly gibberish formulas from a madman alchemist but the book itself might fetch a fair price. The robe is also magical and quite dangerous. I'm thankful that it was not used against us."
Harmini snaps her fingers as she remember something and pulls an item out of her pack.
"Nima, my dear. This may help you in your search."
With or without the magical Lens, Nimaethep is sure there is no traps....the cleverness of the hidden door protected the contents enough.
Within the package is a block of a grey, clay-like substance that gives off the sweet, seductive scent of pure Mumia.
His face wrinkling in disgust, Vash says, "We should destroy this foul creation before anyone else falls prey to its dangers."
Nimaethep shook her head as her suspicions were proven correct. "Yes, this stuff needs to be burned. What kind of mind would even conceive of concocting such a substance? Who was the first person to think that rendering a corpse to a foul paste and then consuming or smoking it was a reasonable idea?"
She shook her head. "That alchemist's book, I don't understand what's in it, but I think it should be destroyed as well. The process of producing this might be in there somewhere and it would be immoral if we simply sold the means to replicate this travesty to someone else. If the monetary value of the book is of concern to anyone, I am willing to compensate them from my own funds for their share of whatever the book would have sold for."
"Understood and agreed, Nimaethep. I am no alchemist, so destroy the Mumia as seems best to you. Likewise with the tome--though you may wish to skim it for useful formulae unrelated to Mumia production and save those pages first," responds Vash, already considering where to go next.
"What is our next move? We need to find a working compass or three, right? asks Vash, disappointed that their find did not further their current mission.
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Harmini sighs at the righteous justifications of her companions but nonetheless complies with their request.
"I highly doubt that this is the definitive text on the subject of mumia, my dear. Nor likely the only copy containing such knowledge. It seems to me a pity to destroy it purely on principle... No matter. Do as you wish with the mumia and the book."
Reluctantly, she retrieves the alchemist's formula book and hands it over to Nima.
"Vash is correct, we should focus our attention toward finding a functional elegiac compass. I think one would suffice. We have several more leads, yes?"
Consulting the map, Vash says, "Yes, if we take the streets north from this building, we should come to another potential compass site in a few blocks. The other unexplored one is further away to the west near the exterior wall. Any preferences?"
Already thinking ahead, Vash peers out of the building and looks around for any signs of further undead activity before stepping back onto the street.
Nimaethep nodded and took the wrapped packages. She looked around the building for a stove or fire place where the mumia could be burned safely.
She left the planning for their next move to her companions while she tended to the destruction of the drug.
Once the task was complete she quickly consulted Vash's map to get a sense of where they were going. As they had left the building she closed the door and uttered a final prayer as the tomb was once again sealed.
Nimaethep finds a stove the alchemist used against one of the walls, it's chimney ending just short of a medium sized hole in the ceiling.
She notes , after placing the mumia inside, that the grey, oily smoke created seemed to struggle to ascend into the sunlight, slowly fading away into nothingness as if burned away by the sun's radiance.
As she went around ensuring all was proper, she turned off the flames fueling the alchemists experiments, allowing the bubbling liquids to cool.
Consulting the map, it appears that there are a series of streets and alleys that will take the group directly north to the next indicated location of an elegiac compass.
Stepping outside, no activity is noticed, and glancing at the sky ,you can see that the sun has begun it's descent toward the horizon. You judge it be approximately at 2 bell.
Seeing the sun begin to dip, Nimaethep asked "If we don't find the compass at the next spot on the map, we will have to consider whether we spend the evening within the Necropolis or head back before night sets in.
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Harmini looks up at the sky and pauses in thought before responding.
Right. I'd almost forgotten what it's like to be in the company of those who need rest. Was that three days ago or three years? Regardless, our situation is urgent and the danger is real. Makes no sense to detour for simple comfort now.
Harmini smiles at Nima.
"I don't require much rest, my dear. Though I understand most do. Given the urgency of our situation, I would prefer to press on. Alabaster and I can watch over you while you rest if needed. All in good time. With any luck our next stop will prove a success, yes?"
Consulting the map, Vash says, "Yes, if we take the streets north from this building, we should come to another potential compass site in a few blocks. The other unexplored one is further away to the west near the exterior wall. Any preferences?"
Already thinking ahead, Vash peers out of the building and looks around for any signs of further undead activity before stepping back onto the street.
[dice=Perception]1d20+10
Vash moves out enough to check for undead threats in the streets, but stays within 60 feet of the doorway until the others follow.
, +4 if related to Undead
Teos wobbles outside, his legs still tingling from the paralysis.
"Yes...burn it all! Such evil should not see the light of day! Let's go and find this compass!"
As you move northward, you come close to an arched , shaded section of street. What you first think are old vines hanging down from the highest point of the arch, is in stead some kind of creature! The 'vines' seem to be part of the creature, covered in debris. You only noticed it due to the fact it was swaying back and forth, but no wind was blowing.
Backing off and drawing his bow, Vash waited for the others to join, then says, "See that debris-covered archway? The vines dangling from it are part of a creature. We should give it a wide berth or destroy it from a distance."