"Lie a'bed when you're dead. Til then, I think we have more work here."
"Oh, I plan to have many a lie-down before the long sleep. But you're right. No sense grumping about it when there's work to be done."
"Phwoar. Let me get some... wind in the ol' bellows first, chaps." he huffs and heaves, hustling along to Argus' side. "I'm with you old boy, terribly unsporting of these fiends to neither burn nor bruise proper. My pyrotechnic and pugilistic talents are all a-waste!"
Setting his dancing lights aglow, Shackleton waits for the grease to dissipate before falling in step on the front ranks.
"Olive check the next room. Let's stay a little closer together this time."
Lyra tries to remember if the bodies of the previous devils melted away. Why does that make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up like that?
Your exploration continues, revealing a long row of stone sarcophagi lining the next hallway. Two other passageways to the north lead to other rooms.
The lid of one sarcophagus sits slightly ajar.
Philgor finally picks himself up, "Thank you all for the assistance. Not what I expected when I tried to circle around."
Straightening his gear he confidently proceeds down the hall knowing his friends are close.
Noting that one of the lids looks open he states to the group, "Be careful.It looks like someone was getting into or out of that sarcophagus."
Lisbet nods to Philgor, "Let's go see if we can figure out which?" Her still enormous legs close to the sarcophagus and she gives a kick to the lid, hoping to send the cover to the ground.
Philgor positions himself to stab anything that attempts to come out of the sarcophagus.
"Ready when you are."
*KICK*
"Rowr," adds Olive.
Lisbet kicks the sarcophagus open, and is greeted by a high-pitch shriek:
"Oh Gods, please don't kill me! I'm too young to die!"
Inside, a young man in the town livery holds his eyes shut and cowers, waving his guisarme in front of himself feebly.
Lisbet slaps his hands away and then drags him by the collar out of the sarcophagus. Dumping him unceremoniously onto the floor she asks, "How did you get in there and why weren't you out fighting?"
"Oh Gods, there were so many devils! I came down here on orders, but no one else came. I couldn't destroy them all myself so ... I hid." His voice breaks as he sobs out his tale.
Philgor crouches down next to the young man and puts a calming hand on his shoulder.
"Calm down and take a deep breath. We have a lot of questions so we will start off slow. What is your name?"
"Jerem, sir!"
"Jerem, who ordered you down here and why?"
"The mayor. He said he saw some people coming this way and he was going to find other guardsmen to join me. But no one came!"
"The mayor sent us as well. I suppose we are too join him then," Lyra wonders. She let's Philgor ask the questions though.
"Besides the devils, did you see or hear anyone else?"
"No, just the devils. That's why I hid!"
"Stick with us. Just don't try to hide again if we run into more trouble."
"Come on! Step to, old boy! This isn't the watch anymore. You're riding with the cavalry! We'll show those Devils what's what."
"O ... OK. If you think that's best. I'm sure together we'll be able to defeat any more devils ... right?"
"Of course! Let's go!"
As Lisbet moves out to explore the last of the crypt Philgor picks up the guisarme and hands it to Jerem, "Stay next to me and we may get out of this unscathed."[/b]
He watches how Jerem handles the weapon to evaluate his skill and knowledge with the weapon.
Once the guardsman is rearmed, Lisbet utters the words to her enlargement spell, "Things die faster when you are bigger than they are" she says with a smirk. Heading into the dark, unexplored regions, she also mutters one for light, casting it onto the face of her shield.
Jerem appears to be just what he said -- a guardsman, if obviously not a very brave one. Nonetheless, he joins you as you finish searching the catacombs, discovering several more plain stone sarcophagi in the final room, but turning up no more signs of devils.
Olive moves towards the front, while Lyra covers the party with her bow."One area seems missing from our searches. Head there? Could we be turning the tide?"
Olive moves towards the front, while Lyra covers the party with her bow."Back upstairs then? Head there? Could we be turning the tide?"
"Back to the mayor, then. Or where we hear more fighting."
"Before we leave I would like to see where Ogash was digging to see if we can find out what she was after."
Afterwards he looks at all the gear collected and Ogash's body.
"Vegazi what should we do with your sister's body and her possessions?
Shrugging, Lisbet wordlessly helps Philgor check the area. However, something around her has a different idea and everytime she turns her head, something moves her braids in front of her eyes. She tries to bat them down, but just manages to get her gauntlet tangled up in her hair. "Oww!" There is a titter of mocking laughter that fades away after just a moment.
"Jolly good show, everybody! We should see what trouble we can get into on the surface."
Whatever she was digging for appears to be a mystery; there's no sign of anything in the area, nor an escape route or likely attempt to cause a collapse.
Vegazi shrugs at Philgor's question.
"Left home long time. She is sister, but not really sister. Let her stay with other dead."
As he looks, Lyra checks the magic items, able to identify a few, though she leaves the scrolls for Shackleton in the morning.
The breastplate with armor speikes bears an enchantment of protection but she's not sure what the two balls of twine are.
You eventually make your way out of the catacombs, where you discover the violence seems to have finally concluded. You're greeted by a handsome, human man with a smile.
“I don’t know who you are,” he exclaims, “but I’m glad you lot are on our side. Did Wate send for you? My scouts are missing, and now we’ve got this mess to clean up.
Lisbet keeps her distance, "And who are you?"
"Ah, my apologies," he says with a grin and a small bow. "Terrin Shaw, Arwyll Stead’s scoutmaster. And you?"
"Lisbet, daughter of Bjorn. Apparent mercenary and devil hunter." She turns and says, "My friends can introduce themselves."
"Lyra Greenshell," says the half-elf, "and this is Olive. We too are hunters, though I'd never met devils before today."
"Shackleton... and you'd do well to wipe that silly grin off of your face until we're sure the town is safe." says the gnome, clapping the youth forcefully on the back. "We got em on the run, shall we give chase?"
Philgor nods to the scout and says, "Philgor."
"M'name's Argus. Argus Forester. Mine engineer, demolitionist. And indeed, reluctant devil-hunter, apparently."
"I think the raid's over. I've only just gotten back after several days out of town, but whatever was happening appears done now. The question is what was all that?"
You can see people beginning to clean up, but no sounds of combat or screams of fear reach your ears.
Time for revels then... Lisbet purses her lips and considers, "If I had planned this, it'd be a screen for the real play - the loot grab. The attack was too spread out, like trying to thin the guards so the real prize could be taken unchallenged."
"Diversion? What sort of past draws devils to a small place like Arwyll Stead? You saw nothing in your scouting that might explain this?" Lyra is patient with her questions, and listens to the answers despite the exhaustion.
"Nothing, but it could explain why my scouts have gone missing the last few days. Let's find Wate and report back and see what he needs us to do."
Exhausted from the short nights rest and the recent fighting, Philgor starts moving. As he passes by Terrin he calmly states, "Wate and your scouts are dead. We need to find the mayor."
Terrin’s face falls at Philgor's words.
"Wate's dead? When? How? I was just coming back from Trunau and my scouts failed to meet me at our rendezvous. If this is true, I fear you may be right. I guess ... Mayor Proum will know what to do."
You make your way to the official, who looks almost overwhelmed as you report.
"I fear you're right, and Terrin's news only makes me more concerned. Please, can you help us bury the dead? We can't leave them lying in the streets, and after that we can figure out what our next step is."