Seamus slides across the room dodging the claws and sending an arrow into the eye socket of the finger biting ghoul and it tumbles to the ground, dead.
Dakash clubs the other ghoul on its arm, eliciting a growl.
Vincent pulls out his rapier from his cane with lightning speed and stabs at the ghoul in front of him.
And with that, Vincent runs the ghoul through its heart ending its unlife.
"Oh thank you so much for saving me from that thing those things." The chained man on the bed answers gratefully. "Please - put an end to the fiend in the crate. Then please get me out of here."
The party searches the crates and finds two former patients with nothing on them and the third is a body of an orderly who carries a broken padded club, a +1 heavy wooden shield, three vials of green liquid which Vincent identifies as antitoxin, and a silver necklace etched with the holy symbol of Shelyn.
In the crate that the chained man was pointing in question is a frightened, quizzical looking mutt.
Vincent examines the wounds on the man, mainly as an excuse to verify he is not a doppelganger or has any self-mutilations or other indications/belongings to indicate being a cultist.
He also examines the dog, squatting near the crate and calling back, "Looks like a dog. What is it to you?" He tosses it a bit of fish that he swipes off Seamus, watching it's reaction.
It looks like the man hasn't had any food for days and is emaciated, as well as there are multiple bruises and cuts on his body where the ghouls have been poking at him. He's also bleeding from the stump where his finger was chomped off. There does not seem to be any indication that he is a cultist.
It whines at Vincent as it nibbles the fish.
Vincent remembers that there are some outsiders that can take on shapes of mundane animals...
"No! It's not a dog! It's an evil spirit in disguise!" The chained man screams out.
'Glad that's over.' once combat is over, Seamus removes his arrow from the ghouls eye-socket, he then discreetly checks he undead creatures mouth to see if the bitten-off finger is still human or if it returned to ganger form.
Seamus looks from the man to the dog. "Why would a devil type thing stay in a crate?" He begins looking for keys to unlock the man from the shackles. As Vincent takes a little food for the dog, Seamus also takes some to the man.
Vincent shrugs if he can't remember anything and makes a clean killing blow on the animal. Assuming nothing becomes of either option, he then leads the group onward.
Seamus realizes the finger is human.
As Vincent tries to kill the mutt, it reveals its true form as a creature with a stout canine torso tops a slimy mass resembling an earthworm. Disgusting veins dangle from its face.
Vincent recognizes it as an Esipil. He knows theyingratiate themselves with humanoids (particularly neutral evil spellcasters who might take them on as familiars) by acting like loving pets. They then delight in aggressive episodes, barking and snapping until called down by their masters. They return to a fawning obedience for a time—until the next inevitable outburst. They have cause fear at will.
Then he puts an end to the wolf esipil in a sheeps dog clothing by stabbing it through its heart.
'Huh, I thought it was a dog and the man was just crazy, we are in an asylum... Seamus shrugs his shoulders, and turning to the released man. "Would you like to come with us or wait here?"
Seamus manages to find the keys on the ghoul that was bit the man's finger off. Once the man is feed and the espil is slain, he says relieved, Phew, the evil spirit is dead. Im Ilki - thanks for the rescue. Can you get me out of this madhouse?"
Vincent tries to lead the party up the stairs only to find that it has collapsed. Ilki helpfully suggests there is a ladder leading up to the second floor in the room north of them.
"I don't know which would be the safer route out of here - I'd do anything so I can get out of this place!" The man pleads desperately.
Vincent checks the door and it is closed but neither locked nor trapped. He hears the sound of scrabbling and growling beyond the door.
A row of wicker rocking chairs faces this room's tail windows, staring into the mist licking the outside of the glass. A heap of broken planks lies in one corner the wreckage of a wooden stairwell that still partially clings to the wall above.
There are three ghouls scrabbling around the wooden stairwell.
Vincent draws and tosses a spear at the nearest ghoul as he moves in 20ft
Vincent manages to spear a ghoul in the back.
Seamus steps into the spot Vincent vacated and shoots the ghoul in the corner.
Seamus shoots down the ghoul that Vincent attacked. Howard orders Claude up, to attack any ghoul that approaches Vincent.
One of them tries to tumble so Vincent can't stab it.
Vincent manages to skewer another ghoul as it gets close.
The other closes in and tries to bite Vincent. It only manages to bite his leather armor.
Ilki decides to follow the party, since the idea of more ghouls coming after him does not sound like a good idea. "Arrrghhh not more of them!" He exclaims as the party opens the room revealing the ghouls in it.
'Need to kill that one before it hurts Vincent.' Seamus steps through the doorway and draws two more arrows, firing them quickly, "Watch out Vincent!"
Seamus fires off his bow and swiftly puts two arrows into the ghoul. Howard orders Claude to rip the thing apart with tooth and claw, while he shares his voices with Vincent.
Claude manages to rake a good bit of the remaining ghoul's calf and it looks badly injured.
Dakash moves in to the room and smacks the creature with his staff.
Dakash clobbers the remaining ghoul to the ground. Searching the room yields no loot and the party heads up the collapsed stairwell, up the ladder to the second level.
Broken windows look out across a sea of churning saffron fog. Inside, dusty crates of every size crowd the room. At the center of the room, a figure kneels on the floor, spouting yellow fog from his mouth which the party recognizes as an onierogen. On seeing the party, he rises to attack.
"Hmm. The other one didn't bother moving. Be careful."
Seamus steps forward "Why is that guy blowing yellow fog?" He then releases two arrows into the yellow haze.
Seamus badly wounds the onierogen sending two arrows through its chest. But it still lumbers forward.
Dakash moves into the room, past the figure spouting yellow fog.
"Are you the source of this foul substance?" he asks as he charges his staff and attacks.
”Zandalus sees! He will remake this world into his vision! Purging all the unbelievers!” The oneirogen utters in religious estacy, and Dakash silences him by caving his skull in. In death, the mist coming from his mouth ceases, and the mist in the room starts dissipating. Searching the body yields no loot.
However Vincent, Howard and Dakash realize that the body of the oneirogen they just killed was exposed to extraplanar energies, and that the fog emanating from the body came from the Dreamlands, as if the individual somehow had a small portal inside him.
Everyone realizes that most of the body’s organs have been ripped away, consumed by some force that seems to be gone now.
”Yeah, I really really want out of here now…” Ilki mutters, seeing the horrible sight.
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Howard responds politely in the same clipped tongue.
"Helo! Credwch fi, nid oes gennym unrhyw fwriad o fwyta chi. Efallai eich bod chi'n cyfeirio at drigolion blaenorol yr ystafell hon? Nasty, smelly undead, heb unrhyw synnwyr o decorum cymdeithasol? Rydw i'n Howard, ac mae fy nghydweithwyr a minnau wedi bod yn brysur i gael gwared ar y cladd dan do o'r lle hwn. Pwy ydych chi, a sut wnaethoch chi ymdopi yma?"
The party descends the stairwell, then the ladder heading towards the collapsed wall. As they get closer, they hear a hissing voice call out to them.” "Nid ydych chi eisiau trio bwyta fi. Mae gen i ddannedd a chaeadau ac nid wyf yn ofni eu defnyddio."
You do NOT want to try to eat me. I’ve got teeth and claws and I’m not afraid to use them.
The party realizes the voice comes from a brightly colored, long-necked amphibian has six legs, a fanged snout, and numerous finlets running down its spine.
Vincent recognizes the creature as a voonith.
They can unleash a bloodcurdling howl: As standard action, a voonith can unleash a bloodcurdling howl. All creatures within a 30-foot-radius burst must succeed at a Will save or become dazed for 1 round and then shaken for an additional 1d6 rounds. Any creature that makes a successful save against a voonith’s howl is immune to the same voonith’s howl for 24 hours.
They also can pounce,and trip with their claws.
Cunning and aggressive, vooniths are amphibious nocturnal predators with voracious appetites and mild intelligence. A voonith’s howl is said to freeze the blood and is more than capable of stopping a creature in its tracks. Vooniths usually howl when they see prey too far away from the water’s edge to ambush. While the vooniths are native to the strange Dimension of Dream, many have found their way out of that realm and into the waking world to take up lairs in the swampy fens and remote coastlines of the world. How the vooniths originally managed to make this transition between worlds is unclear.
While not evil, vooniths have a decidedly dark sense of humor, and take great pleasure in concocting violent poems or grisly jokes. Punch lines in which non-voonith creatures—particularly humans, cats, and gnomes—meet gory and ironic fates are the most entertaining to vooniths. Some tales speak of canny travelers who, with the ability to speak Aklo, manage to strike up unlikely conversations with lurking vooniths. In truth, vooniths are quite social, and when one breeches the awkwardness arising from interspecies conflict, a friendship with a voonith can be an unexpected reward. Vooniths who befriend travelers often escort them, quietly and unseen, through dangerous bogs, and when such travelers fall prey to other dangers of the swamp, a friendly voonith will provide what aid it can.
”Yr oeddwn yn crwydro yn y diriogaeth o gwmpas fy morsen, yna fe wnes i syrthio i mewn i sinkhole a daeth i ben yma. Dim syniad sut ddigwyddodd hynny! Dwi'n Kaa, a'r rhai sydd yn anhygoel o dan anfantais! Maen nhw wedi bod yn ceisio bwyta fi am ddyddiau! Ac rydw i'n colli ac yn newynog, ac rwyf am fynd yn ôl at fy nythod!“ The voonith complains.
”I was wandering in the territory around my swamp, then I fell into a sinkhole and ended up here. No idea how that happened! I’m Kaa, and those nasty undead stink! They’ve been trying to eat me for days! And I’m lost and hungry, and I want to go back to my swamp!”
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Howard nods sympathetically.
"Mae'n ddrwg gennyf glywed hynny, ond o leiaf ni fydd yn rhaid i chi boeni am y gouls yn yr ardal hon mwyach - ymdriniwyd â nhw; Rwy'n credu eu bod yn rhoi 'pop' yn foddhaol pan fyddant yn marw. Felly hefyd y rhyfedd cŵn rhyfedd hwnnw oedd yn cuddio yn y cât; dyna oedd un sy'n poeni yn sicr yn waeth na'i blygu!"
He then offers it some rations.
"Mae gennyf ofn nad yw'n llawer, ond gobeithio y bydd hyn yn gallu lleddfu chi chi nes i chi ymdopi i ddod o hyd i rywbeth mwy sylweddol..."
” Ydych chi'n gwybod ffordd i mi fynd yn ôl at fy mors? Diolch am ddelio â'r ghouls! Riddance da i sbwriel gwael! Oooh diolch am y bwyd!” The creature purrs at Howard. ” Os ydych chi'n dod o hyd i ffordd yn ôl i fy nghors, rhowch wybod i mi!
”
Do you know a way for me to get back to my swamp? Thanks for dealing with the ghouls! Good riddance to bad rubbish! Oooh thanks for the food!
If you do find a way back to my swamp, do let me know!
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Howard shakes his head sadly.
"Mae arnaf ofn, ar yr adeg hon, nad wyf yn gwybod sut i fynd yn ôl i'ch cors, ond os caf i ddod o hyd i ffordd, byddaf yn siŵr eich hysbysu. Yn y cyfamser, fodd bynnag, os na allwn ddod o hyd i ffordd, unwaith y bydd y niwl hon yn cael ei drin, credaf fod y lle hwn yng nghanol cors; efallai na fydd eich cartref chi, ond gallai fod yn gartref i chi ..."
” O annwyl! A yw hynny'n golygu na fyddaf byth yn gweld fy nythyn eto?
” It clings onto Howard and starts whimpering, ” Ond rwyf am fynd adref ...!” After Howard calms it down, it reluctantly returns to its lair. Then the party proceeds.
Oh dear! Does that mean I’ll never see my swamp again?
But I want to go home…!
Vincent realizes the door is closed, but not locked nor trapped. He hears the sounds of ghouls and another creature he cant quite place growling from beyond the door.
Cracked, river-green tiles cover the walls and floors of this communal shower in wavering patterns. Dry metal spouts jut from several walls, overlooking grates in the tile floor. A sizable portion of the floor drops into a shallow pool, filled with something other than water. A vile stew of corpses and blood. The smell of rot and copper fills the air in this room. Three alcoves, providing minimal privacy, run along the south wall. In the center, a simple chair has been transformed into a gruesome throne covered with draped viscera and gnawed bones.
On the throne sits a bigger looking ghoul with only one hand, that smells like rotting flesh. ”So you’re the ones creating all that ruckus.” It growls at the party.
Vincent and Dakash recognizes the one armed big ghoul as a ghast. It has stench, and its attacks can paralyze. Elves are also not immune.
Its bite also spreads disease.
Ghast’s exude an overwhelming stink of death and corruption in a 10-foot radius. Those within the stench must succeed at a Fortitude save, or be sickened for 1d6+4 minutes.
Ilki catches some of the scent and is overwhelmed by it, retching outside.
"Kill them all!" The ghast orders imperiously. The ghouls move in to attack Dakash.
Both their bites only nibble his leather armor.
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Howard pats it gently, utterly unfazed by its strange appearance.
"Hush nawr, cadwch yn dawel. Gallwch ddod gyda ni, os ydych chi'n hoffi; a ddywedodd, yn ôl ei seiniau, mae gennym fwy o ysgogwyr i ddelio â hwy, ac nid wyf yn siŵr, yn symud ymlaen, y byddwn ni o gwmpas swamps llawer. Wedi dweud hynny, mae gennych fy air, os gallaf ddod o hyd i ffordd i ddychwelyd chi adref, byddaf yn rhoi gwybod i chi amdano."
”Deuthum gyda chi! Rydych chi'n ddau gysglyn braf sydd wedi fy nwydo i!” Then it snuggles up to Howard.
I’ll come along with you! You’re a nice two-legger who’s fed me!
Seamus follows blissfully along, watching the interaction between Howard and his little friend. As the leave the area they found Kaa, seeing it is following Howard he shrugs his shoulders and smiles, "fy nhahaith, Kaa dyna'r siarad mwyaf rydw i wedi clywed i Howard ei wneud, byddwch chi'n dda iddo."
'What is that smell? Oh, Why does it have to undead?' Seamus looks from the undead things to Howard, and back, he then begins to sing to attempt the inspire his friends. "Ever since I was a young boy..."
”Rydych chi'n golygu nad yw fel arfer yn siarad? Ond roedd yn ymddangos yn eithaf cain a chyfeillgar i mi! A dau bopur braf!“ Kaa answers happily.
You mean he usually doesn’t talk? But he seemed pretty chatty and friendly to me! And a nice two-legger!
The foul smelling ghast moves up to the entire party, then tries to bite Dakash.
Everyone except Dakash is sickened by the horrible smell.
Dakash is bitten on his arm, and feels an icy chill seep from his arm throughout his body, freezing him in place.
Seamus' song is interrupted by the sound of vomiting, but he continues his ballad, looking from his vomit covered armor to the stinking one-handed undead abomination. He quickly fires two arrows at the thing and steps back.
Howard drags a paralyzed Dakash out of the way of the ghouls teeth and claws.
Kaa bites the thigh of the ghoul and drags him to the ground. He quickly spits all the ghoul bits out, wincing at the taste." Mae hynny'n ddiflas!"
That's vile!
Seamus manages to shoot the ghast on its torso, injuring it.
Vincent groans as Dakash gets paralyzed. He pulls out his rapier and stabs at the ghast.
The ghast is now badly injures after Vincent's rapier thrust that does not manage to hit anything vital.
The wounded ghoul tries to stand up. Vincent stabs it with his rapier in the eye and it goes down permanently.
Seeing Vincent put down its fellow ghoul the other ghoul tries to bite and claw at Vincent.
Vincent dodges the bite but the two claws rake him horribly on his torso.