Dakash casts again and moves up to strike the lady.
And Dakash smacks her from behind on her head and she collapses on the ground.
Howard pours the potion down Vincent's throat and he wakes up with an aching jaw.
The party starts systematically looting the room, finding on Aggra a pair of bracers with strange symbols engraved over it.
Vincent thinks that the symbols are those to do with the worship of some Great Old One or Outer god.
Each of the cultists are clad in padded armor, and have a sap and a club. Investigating the table, the party finds that the cultists have been using a Harrow deck to paly some nameless gambling game. The battered deck itself is worth 100 gp. Rifling through it reveals the Foreign trader depicting a veiled figure in yellow bearing an armful of mishappen rubies.
Vincent and Dakash recognize that the veiled figure is a Denizen of Leng and any friendly Denizen of Leng would offer 5 Leng rubies in exchange for the card.
Searching the pallets around the room turns up a bag containing 200 gp worth of various coins and jewelry, 12 bite sized peices of jerky and a pearl tooth worth 18 gp.
Kaa savagely bites into the abdomen of the old woman, and pulls out a string of intestines and offers it to Howard, "Hey Howard, yr wyf yn eich arbed rhai coluddion, wana ti?"
Hey Howard, I saved you some intestines, you wanna?
The party then proceeds on towards the sound of strange chanting.
Cracked pillars bent at broken angles support a sagging ceiling. While most of the walls look ready to fall apart, the northern wall has done so, creating a massive gap open to the strange weather beyond. Opposite it, the wall in best repair is laden with parchment pages covered in stark lines of coal and chalk.
Three oneirnogens stand chanting, while sprouting yellow fog that fills the area around them that is being carried into the asylum grounds beyond. They appear to ignore the party, for now.
Vincent and Dakash notice that the parchment pages are fluttering in an unfelt wind. Dakash realizes it is the effect of a haunt and any creature coming within 15 feet of the wall of sketches will have to make a will save or be fascinated by the swirling effects. The only way to put an end to the haunt is to kill Ulver Zandalus.
Vincent and Dakash also notice that the sketches have text on their backsides and if 1 hour is spent collecting all the pages in the room then an additional 10 hours (minus the character's wisdom modifier) is used to place them in proper order, the result is a book of extended summoning keyed to chaotic alignment.
Obscuring Fog (Sp) An oneirogen is constantly surrounded by strangely colored fog that moves with it. Treat this as obscuring mist that fills the area within 10 feet of an oneirogen. A creature 5 feet away in the mist has concealment (attacks have a 20% miss chance). Creatures farther away have total concealment (50% miss chance, and the attacker cannot use sight to locate the target). An oneirogen cannot suppress this effect, and its vision is impeded the same as that of any other creature. If the fog is blown or burned away, it reforms in 1d4 rounds.
Creatures that enter this fog must succeed at a Will save or fall asleep.
’Saved some intestines? Yuck!; Giving Kaa a frown, ”Mae'n iawn os ydych chi'n eu bwyta, dim ond anhygoel yw gofyn i Howard gan ei fod yr un cyfeillion.”
'More folks exhaling fog, what do we do now?' looking from the room to his friends, he whispers; ”What do we do now? Can we get around them or should we kill them?”
"Wel, dydw i ddim yn ddau ddarllenwr, os nad ydych chi wedi sylwi arno." Kaa raises one of his fins,"Ond os dywedwch nad oes rhaid ei wneud, dwi'n oer."
Well, I'm not a two legger, if you haven't noticed. But if you say it isnt supposed to be done, I'm cool.
"Gall Howard gael rhywbeth arall i mi ei fwyta, cant e?"Then he gives Howard puppy eyes.
Howard can get me something else to eat, can't he?
"Er eich bod chi wirioneddol yn colli'r pethau da allan. Y coluddion yw'r gorau!" Kaa adds in.
Though you guys are really missing the good stuff out. The intestines are just the best!
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Howard shakes his head, and smiles at Kaa.
"Dim diolch i chi, Kaa; Nid wyf yn teimlo'n newynog yn awr nawr. Mae croeso i chi ymglymu, er; rydych chi'n dal i edrych yn newynog!"
Howard chews his lip thoughtfully.
"No, I think we should put them down, now. Killing them seems to disperse the fog, which might weaken some of the other horrors around here."
Vincent uses the wand on himself
"Ond nid oedd dyn gwyn bach sy'n achub fi ddim yn rhy hapus." Kaa looks between Seamus and Howard uncertainly, then decides to leave the bodies alone.
But raven haired guy who saved me from nasty ghouls didnt sound too happy.
Vincent gets the impression Kaa is not eating the bodies because it would make Seamus unhappy and not because he feels it is the wrong thing to do.
Seamus nods at the corpse, "Mae'n iawn os ydych chi'n eu bwyta, dim ond anhygoel yw gofyn i Howard gan ei fod yr un cyfeillion."
Nodding in agreement with Howard, "We may as well get it over with." Seamus steps into the room and fires one arrows at the creature to the right.
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Howard gives a hollow chuckle, removing his smoked spectacles to once again remind Seamus that he has slit, serpentine pupils, and a fine patina of almost colourless scales across his eyelids.
"Gallai'r un rhywogaeth fod ychydig yn anghywir, o safbwynt penodol, ond rwy'n gwerthfawrogi'r teimlad."
He then puts his spectacles back on.
Howard helps Vincent to get in touch with the background insanity of the universe...
...whilst Kaa trundles forward, and experimentally tries to bite one of the fog-spouting unfortunates.
Kaa is delighted when Howard removes his glasses showing that he, too has eyes like him. ” Yr oeddwn bob amser yn amau nad oeddech chi'n ddau ddarllenwr arferol! Rydych chi'n fwy fel fi!” Kaa squeals excitedly while clapping his claws.
I always suspected you weren’t a normal two legger! You’re more like me!
Seamus shoots one of them with his longbow, hitting orange on the shoulder, wounding it.
Kaa manages to bite the other and drag it down to the floor.
Vincent draws his rapier and charges it with energy as he moves to stab the downed one.
Vincent manages to stab the prone oneirogen in his leg.
Dakash moves into the room with his staff at the ready.
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Howard winks at Kaa.
"Wel, mae'n debyg fy mod yn agosach atoch na Seamus yw ... Er bod yr hyn yr wyf wedi'i alluogi yn anadlu, mae'n ffordd deg yn ôl, ac ychydig yn fwy o sarff..."
One of the oneirogens approaches Kaa, trying to attack him.
Vincent looks for a moment about to fall asleep on breathing in the fog, then he straightens and fights off the effects of the fog.
The lucky blow just manages to clip Kaa, and he hisses.
The other Oneirogen stands up and Vincent tries to stab it with his rapier, but he can't see it too clearly because of the fog and misses.
The Oneirogen tries to slam Vincent, and manages to punch him in the face.
The last one closes in with Dakash, and as the fog rushes in...
The Oneirogen only manages to punch Dakash's leather armor harmlessly.
Kaa drags the unbordered oneirogen to the ground and then rips off its head. The detached head falls to the ground and rolls on the floor in one direction as the body collapses in another.
Vincent growls angrily, "Damn this infernal fog!"
He maintains his position to try to prevent his allies from getting flanked.
Vincent stabs the red Oneirogen in the arm but it doesn't make a sound.
'I don't want to go into the yellow fog!' Fearing the yellow fog, and not wanting to hit his friends, Seamus attempts to inspire them by singing one of his favorite show tunes "Her name was Lola, she was a ..."
Dakash attempts to cast and attack the cultist.
He manages to cast the spell and swings his staff to deliver it
And misses. He swings it around to slam with the other end.
On his backswing he manages to catch the oneirogen in the ribs.
The oneirogen manages to fight off the effects of Dakash's touch. Then it moves forward, spreading the fog.
Vincent manages to remain standing, but Kaa is less fortunate and falls to the ground fast asleep after inhaling the fog.
Dakash blocks its attempt to slam him with his quarterstaff. For a moment it seems like one of the blows are slightly off, but warned by some strange sense, it manages to correct the swing at the last moment and punches the other fist into Dakash's ribs.
The remaining Oneirogen tries to punch Vincent.
It manages to punch Vincent's shoulder.
'Crap, oh crap, oh crap, that had to hurt.' continuing his song, Seamus draws two arrows and fires at the nearest fog-breather.
The oneirogen manages to dodge both arrows.
The oneirogen manages to dodge both arrows.
Kaa drags down and eviscerates the orange oneirogen with his claws, despite lying prone on the ground and missing one attack due to fog.
Vincent tries to hit the thing again with his rapier.
Vincent runs the creature through its heart and it collapses on the ground, dead.
The party searches the oneirogens and the rest of the room not affected by the haunt but do not find anything useful.
Kaa pads over to Howard, whimpering, ” Roeddwn i'n breuddwydio fy mod yn ôl yn y Dreamlands, ond roedd y denau hynod llwyd, a oedd wedi ei gludo mewn carchau llwyd, nad oeddwn erioed wedi gweld o'r blaen, yn dod allan o'r niwl. Daliodd i fyny ataf a dechreuodd gofalu am fy wyneb. Rwy'n teimlo'n sarhaus!” Then he clings to Howard and starts sobbing.
I dreamt I was back in the Dreamlands but there was this nasty grey thin that was clad in gauzy grey rags that I had never seen before come out of the fog. He caught up to me and started caressing my face. I feel violated!
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Howard pats Kaa consolingly.
"Shhh. Mae'n iawn. Rydym yn bwriadu cael gwared â'r creadur gwael hwnnw, os gallwn ni, neu o leiaf ei atal rhag niweidio pobl yn y byd deffro..."
He then tosses holy water at the haunt's focus, until it goes away.
Kaa grabs Howard tightly and seems rather pale. ” Ond rwy'n ofni, Howard. Fe wnaeth fy nghyffwrdd â mi ac rwy'n dal i deimlo ei gyffyrddiad eithafol ar fy nghyfraddau ... dydw i ddim eisiau ei weld eto!”
But I’m scared, Howard. He touched me and I still feel his vile touch on my scales…I don’t want to see him ever again!
The party proceeds on and Vincent checks the nearest door, hearing no sound behind it, and the door is closed but not locked nor trapped. He opens the door to find a room filled with rubble. Nothing useful can be salvaged from the rubble.
Walking down the semi collapsed hallway, the party arrives at a chamber.
Comprising multiple toppled cells, this chamber looks as though it could collapse at any moment. Thousands of parchment scraps cover the walls as if in a pitiful attempt to plaster the countless cracks. The flickering of dozens of candles illuminates the artwork’s subject matter: innumerable forlorn, surreal landscapes stretching into bleak infinities. The magnitude of visions transforms the room into a threshold of nightmares.
The artworks look oddly familiar to the party, showing numerous repeated images, swirling skies, empty cities, towering monoliths and threatening figures cloaked by the mist.
A gaunt man with a ponytail of long and exceptionally straight white hair sits cross legged upon the pallet like a Keleshite mystic. He wears multiple patients gowns that have been shredded and stitched to create a layered robe. His arms and much of his chest are exposed, revealing lines of charcoal and yellow chalk that streak his flesh, the most prominent of which appears to be a yellow flame on his forehead.
Upon seeing the party, his eyes go wide and his mouth falls open. A voice like a tempest wind hissing over broken glass sheers from his split, motionless lips, as though something other than him speaks from inside the body. ”You’re supposed to be dead. I already killed you. Why aren’t you dead?!” With that, the man yanks upward as if a puppet on invisible strings.
Vincent recognizes the man as Ulver Zandalus.
Dakash has the impression that the Yellow Flame has something to do with a cult. Which one, he has no idea.
"Are you the cause of all this?"
Dakash cast's touch of fatigue and moves forward to smack Zandalus.
Picking his arrows up, Seamus, hearing Kaa description of his dream, interrupts. "Gwnaeth hynny yn eich breuddwyd hefyd? Nid yw'n syfrdanol."
'Wow that is some ugly art, and his outfit leaves something to be desired also.' Seeing the man down the hall, Seamus turns and ask Howard, "What does he mean that the thought he killed us? I've never seen him before."
Realizing that Dakash was moving to attack, Seamus draws two arrows as he moves forward and begins to sing, the only show tune that came to mind. "Well I won't back down, no I won't back down, you can stand ..."
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Howard rubs Kaa at the base of his neck.
"Ni allaf warantu na fyddwch byth yn ei weld eto, ond gwnawn ein gorau i ei roi i lawr, os gwnawn ni!"
Howard touches Vincent, allowing him to hear the voices, each trying to offer advice about how to bring Zandalus down.
Meanwhile, Kaa moves into the room, and tries to bite Zandalus!
I thought it had to be done for the First Steps 2 where it states you can pour water on the well edge to clear the haunt. If a 50 gp solution would work fine, what are haunt siphons for?
Though technically First Steps 2 is retired so I could talk about it.
Or for that matter, haunting of Hinojai - what's stopping a party from filling their flasks with holy water and just simply throwing it at everything
"Ie, mae hi'n creep."Kaa answers Seamus.
Yeah, he's a creep.
Kaa moves in and bites Zandalus but does not manage to drag him to the ground.