The hooded figure in question sidesteps Seamus's attempt to stab him.
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Howard chuckles darkly.
"Fools! You should have fled whilst you still could..."
He then casts a spell, causing Claude's form to warp and twist further, shifting into the form of a heavily-muscled reptilian humanoid covered in off-white scales, with vicious-looking teeth, and sharp claws on each of its four limbs.
Claude eagerly attempts to fillet the uninjured assailant in front of him, hissing like an over-excited kettle.
Extra Evolution also gives me two claw attacks, which I can apply to his feet, since he is a biped.
Claude viciously eviscerates the cultist in front of him before he can even scream, then steps over his dead body, his fangs bared in a bloody grin.
Now that’s the way I like it. You need to explain =) I mean I can deduce some stuff on my own, but not everything. And as long as its rules legal...you can basically do whatever you want.
Vincent again stabs the cultist, and the thing assists him in defending himself (familiar).
Vincent stabs the hooded figure in the chest, and he barely manages to keep himself standing. He desperately tries to tumble away.
Vincent runs him through his neck, and he collapses to the ground.
The remaining hooded figures, seeing they are over matched, pull out a potion from their belts and drink it. Dakash's quarterstaff swing misses, Claude bites him in the ankle and Seamus chops off his head.
The remaining cultist vanishes.
If he is revealed, Vincent will try to trip him with the flank from Claude. Otherwise he will try to pinpoint him.
"Try to capture him for questioning, if you can."
"Arrrrghhh! What foul Witchery is this! I can't see a thing!" Howard's spell reveals a frightened, glittery screaming figure.
Claude darts forward and nips him in the shin, while Vincent manages to trip the blinded hooded figure.
"I surrender! I surrender!" He drops his sap screaming fearfully as he raises his hands into the air, lying prone on the ground. "Please spare my life!"
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Howard nods.
"Very well. I accept your surrender, for now. Tell us who you guys were, whom you represent, and what in the Nine Hells you are doing around here! Failing to do so will result in Claude here having lunch, starting from your toes, and working upward, until you do talk. If we are satisfied with your answers, we will strip you of your possessions, and let you live - but if we ever cross paths again, you will regret it for the rest of your short, painful life."
The man starts blubbering, "We're from the Cult of Hastur. We were told to kidnap people off the street to be delivered as sacrifices to Him. We'd usually get 20 gold pieces per person we delivered, but we were told you guys were special and it'd be 100gp per person!"
"We were...uh paid to kidnap you?" Then he realizes how bad that it must make him look, "Ss-sorry. I know it was a very bad idea. Please let me go and I'll never do it again!"
On each of the three cultists, the party finds a chain shirt, a rapier, a sap, an oil of magic weapon, a potion of cure light wounds, an elixir of hiding, nightdrops and an extract of vanish(CL2), and an unholy symbol of Hastur, now that your captive has said it and 100 gold pieces each.
They recognize the same symbol as they saw on the bracers of armor they took off Agra earlier.
”We were told to touch our holy symbols to a strange stelae engraved with symbols of power from Him, then believe in Him. Then picture where we wanted to be in our minds, and there would be a passage through His domain bringing us there.” The cultist fumbles over his words.
”The Cult is based at Iris Hill. I can’t tell you who the cult leader is. She’ll kill me!”
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Howard gives a disappointed sigh.
"It sounds like someone needs to work on their listening..."
He then deftly removes the man's shoes, before staring pointedly at his toes.
"Hmmm... That doesn't look too tasty... I guess they need to be cleaned, first..."
He then targets the man's right foot with Prestidigitation to clean it.
"Now, where was this stelae, and who is the cult leader - not just a name, we want a description. Also, what sort of defenses are in place at Iris Hill? How many cultists are there? What sort of monsters, traps, et cetera can be found there? Additionally, *why* do you need sacrifices? What sort of boon are you expecting to get out of it?"
"But she'd make a death a long drawn out affair! At least uh... Claude wouldn't take too long since he's just hungry, right?" He looks at Claude.
"Anyway you won't get to her!" He starts blustering. "The Kuru who guard the place will chop you up and eat you!"
Vincent knows that Kuru are savage humanoids who are well known for their cannibalistic tendencies. And bad tempers too.
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Howard's face remains unreadable.
"Keep talking. I asked you a lot of questions, and you are avoiding most of them. I'll have you know that Claude enjoyed mayhem with the best of them when he was still (mostly) human; I can promise you that he knows precisely how to make you last a long, long time..."
”No! Not my toes! I need them for walking! Please at least be decent and just lop off my head so I don’t suffer!” The cultist whimpers as Howard begins to prestidigitate his toes. ”I’ll talk, I’ll talk…”
”There are three stelae in the city- they’re semi circular pieces of dark stone standing 4 feet tall atop a hill, near highmart, surrounded by a grove of trees.”
”The cult leader’s name is Melisenn Kororo, and she looks like some unassuming town chit, but don’t let that innocent exterior fool you. I’ve seen her happily slice up victims on an altar, delighting in their suffering. She is short, with dusky skin and her wavy brown hair tied up in a pony tail.”
”I don’t know how many cultists there are – the numbers come and go – especially since we’re trying to get more victims to sacrifice. There’s also this gaunt, long-limbed quadruped that patrols the halls. I don’t know what it is. It gives me creeps just watching it move around with supernatural grace.”
”Melisenn said the sacrifices are used to power up the Star Stelaes – so that a link can be made to his domain so that he can walk upon Thrushmoor once more.”
”Well – Hastur rewards his followers, so I’d be retiring as a rich man, able to enjoy any pleasures I chose. The more depraved, the merrier!”
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Howard nods thoughtfully.
"See? I knew that with the proper motivation, you would be extremely helpful. If cultists come and go all of the time, how do you identify one another when it comes to getting in and out of the compound? Also, what is the layout of the cult compound?"
He then turns to the others.
"Do you have any further questions for him?"
Vincent, Howard and Dakash recognize the creature that the cultist has been describing as a Hound of Tindalos. Its gaze can rip people to shreds and it can become invisible at will. Magic weapons are required to harm them.
”Oh we flash our symbols, then tell the other, “Have you seen the yellow sign? ”” He also describes the first floor of Iris hill to the party, as he admits that he isn’t high enough in rank to have gotten to the second floor yet.
The party then swiftly strips him of all his gear, and send him off packing in his skivvies.
As the party starts heading towards Pier 19, it starts to pour. The driving rain pounds into the decrepit dock’s boards, with a sound like a score of out-of –sync drummers. Gentle waves lap against the barnacle-studded posts that hold up the sagging docks. A metal pail sits rusting at the end of the pier.
Everyone spots the blob with horrid masses of eyes, mouths, and formless flesh staring in all directions trying to hide underneath the pier.
Howard and Vincent recognize it as a gibbering mouther.
It can emit a cacophony of maddening sound. All creatures other than gibbering mouthers within 60 feet must succeed on a Will save or be confused for 1 round.
It also is best harmed by blunt weapons due to its formless shape.
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Howard nods towards the creature.
"Cyfarchion. Rydym yn golygu nad oes unrhyw niwed gennych chi. Rydyn ni yma i adfer rhywbeth a adawsom yma ychydig yn ôl. Fel iawndal am ein ymyrraeth, cymerwch y cyrff ffres hyn."
”Hungry, mor hapus”The gibbering mouther moans.
Hungrrryy, so hungrrrry
Vincent realizes that the gibbering mouther doesn’t really have the capacity for higher functions – all it understands is hunger. The corpses will provide a distraction, but once it is done, it will turn on the nearest living things. Again – maybe a distraction would be long enough...
The gibbering mouther falls into a feeding frenzy, attaching its many mouths onto the bodies and sucking them dry of blood, leaving pale husks in its wake as Vincent makes good use of the distraction to lean over the edge of the pier and pull out a wrapped bundle. Then the party gets the hell out of there before the gibbering mouther is done with its meal, lest they end up on the menu.
Vincent opens the bundle to find a scroll with his name “Vincent” on it, which Howard identifies as a scroll of protection from energy. The other item in the bundle is a ring the shape of a coiled snake. Howard identfies it as a ring of sustenance – with the special property it does not require the usual 1 week attunement period.
The party heads down to Avalon Bay, but when they get there, due to the torrential downpour, they don't see any cave.
Howards attempts to hire a boat do not catch much success. People do not rent boats when it's raining cats and dogs.
Howard asks around for an hour and manage to find Toli, he's in his house in a wooden hut on stilts. Howard knocks the door and the door is opened by a dour faced, skinny man with greasy black hair.
"Why aren't you sitting in some warm inn on such miserable weather and coming to my house to bugger me?" Toli positively radiates sullen discontent. "I was having a nap when you knocked on my door and woke me up."
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Howard nods to the man.
"Unfortunately, this is a matter that cannot wait. A mutual acquaintance indicated that you had seen strange lights coming from a cave in the area, and feared that it might portend a resurgence of evil in the region. Could you indicate to us where that might have been? We would like to investigate further, and deal with whatever trouble might be present there."
”Good manners dictates that I should at least hear you out.” The man grumbles. ”Yes I saw a green light coming from one of the caves. Unfortunately the entire area is generally used…for hiding things that you don’t want to be taxed on…if you get my drift?” He raises an eyebrow. ”Most people wouldn’t want to talk about it…lest someone take offence.
I wouldn’t be surprised if no one wanted to rent you a boat as well.”
”I guess I could bring you there myself – but it’d be a gold piece for my trouble, and I want to be promised a safe sanctuary after.”
True to his word, Toli gets a boat, and starts rowing the party through the torrential rain across the bay. Toli rows the boat closer, cursing colourfully as he does so as he has to fight the current. He docks the boat and drops the party at the beach. ”The cave is over there,” he points to the entrance of a low cave partially concealed by vines. ”I’ll be waiting for you for an hour – if you’re not back by that time, I’m going to go home.” He then erects a rough shelter for himself on the boat with a tent.
A small strip of muddy sand choked with reeds sits at the entrance of a low cave just at the tip of the bay. Scraggly vines drape over the top of the cave and hang like tangled hair over its mouth. The party sees faint green light emitting from within.
Claude drags the rocks down the cave and everyone climbs in.
Vincent and Howard spots some luminescent glowing green fungus on the cave walls. There are some moss and scrubs growing on the muddy cave floor. The muddy cave floor is tracked with footprints, and a wooden barricade seals off the tunnel at the back of this area.
Vincent spots that one of the shrubs isn't what it is - but is an assasin vine in disguise!
Vincent knows that assasin vines can grab with their vines, and cause plants within 30 feet of it to animate and grasp at foes.
Vincent shouts out a warning to the others and tries to pin it with his spear.
Vincent manages to deeply stab the assasin vine in its stem and lots of green sap oozes out.
The assasin vine no likes Vincent! It causes all the shrubs to grab the party .
Everyone except Claude manages not to get entangled.
The assasin vine starts smacking Vincent.
But Vincent manages to duck out of the way.
Vincent grunts and pushes the spear deeper in response to the attack.
Vincent skewers the assasin vine and it twitches, then dies. The party searches the area but finds no loot. Vincent realizes there is a nasty poisoned blade trap at the barricade which he manages to disable.
The small cave system opens into a large chamber with a sooty ceiling. A table littered with cooking pots, glass flasks, and other tools sits against the wall in the southeastern part of the room near a smoldering campfire and a wooden crate.
A woman with leaves in her auburn hair, clad in wooden armor, brandishing a spear snaps at the party, "What are you doing in my cave?!"
She is accompanied by two wolves that seem to have plants growing out of them.
Vincent realizes the wolves are fungal wolves-wild wolves infested with spores. They have all plant immunities, have poisonous spores and can trip, and are poisonous.
The wolf Claude claws spurts out a spore cloud as it tries to bite Claude back. The other wolf also moves up to attack Claude.
Cluade feels lethargic after breathing in the spores.