"Our cause is in her interests. Why would she not?"
Francis follows along with the paladin, smiling at the words. "Indeed!"
Elliander stands ready with sword and shield, waiting for their next challenge if/when Rediz manages to get the door open.
The doors open into a ten-foot wide hallway running both to the right and left, bending to the north on either side after some 35' or so. Double doors can be glimpsed at either end of the passage as well, set into the far walls.
Fireday, the 30th day of Gozran, 4714 AR
Weather is clear and fairly hot by mid-afternoon.
Two hours after sunrise.
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Rediz edges up to the corner as the fighters follow to back him up should he run into trouble, but not wanting to give the sneaky ratfolk away, should he spot anything with his darkvision. However, the ratfolk finds that the corridor appears to be empty and dark, with wall sconces meant to hold torches – though none are set within. At the very edge of his vision, he can see the hallway slant off to the right, his view cut off by the obtuse corner of the wall. Another set of double doors is set in the left-hand wall near the end of the hallway, same as the ones near at hand. On the right-hand side of the hall, a small wooden door is set into the wall.
--------------------------------------------
Party Health & Notes
Francis 47/47
Elliander 57/57 [Armor Crystal - DR 1, has absorbed 0 (of 10) damage this day]
Soumral 45/45
Rediz 35/35
Amenhep 42/51
Elliander is not comfortable in the dark, but he tries to be patient despite wanting to cast Light on his shield. He waits for Rediz to come back and tell them to continue.
The Biter again seems full of anticipation, so the duskblade expects that they are not alone down here.
As soon as Rediz tells them the corridor seems empty, Elliander casts Light on his shield and then Detect Magic to sense what might be hiding, either invisible or behind the doors. He then moves over with Rediz to the first set of double doors. Unless he can detect any magical auras that might direct them, they will have to use a search pattern.
“We might as well start with this one.” he tells Rediz, nodding at the doors and indicating that the ratfolk should continue looking for traps and open doors, while the duskblade watches the corridor.
Rediz notes no traps on the stone double doors, nor are they locked. Elliander watches the corridor ahead, though without the light shed by Amenhep's spear, the duskblade can only see about ten feet or so in front of him, the stone walls and floor only very dimly lit by the ambient glow behind him. The rest of the corridor ahead gapes like an open, hungry mouth of darkness, which is unnerving to say the least. He hears no sounds though, which doesn't really help calm him for some reason...
Practically feeling the darkness Francis adds to the light with his own spell cast on the tip of his dagger.. "Seems darker than it should."
Elliander waits for the rest to join him and Rediz by the checked-out and then he carefully opens it. He uses the light from his shield but also has his Detect Magic spell active to scan into the room. He hopes they don’t have to search every room to find what they are looking for, but his one will otherwise be behind them if they continue and it’s good to know they didn’t miss anything right from the start.
Fireday, the 30th day of Gozran, 4714 AR
Weather is clear and fairly hot by mid-afternoon.
Two hours after sunrise.
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Elliander uses his magic to cause his shield to glow, and he sees the corridor before him is indeed empty, a single door set into the right-hand wall a bit further up and, dimly, he glimpses the hallway elbow to the right just beyond a second set of stone double doors set into the left-hand wall.
Rediz steps aside and allows the duskblade to open the nearest stone double doors, which reveals a long, narrow burial chamber leading off to his right, with walls lined with stone biers - each holding an open sarcophagus engraved with spirals and birds in flight. At the far end of the room, barely in his field of vision (just past the inside of second set of double stone doors he saw in the passage outside) Elliander glimpses a stone table laden with books and other small items.
Much closer at hand, and of great concern to the duskblade, are five creatures that are crawling around the floor and inside the biers. Hideously malformed, they are pustule-covered corpses that turn as one when the door is opened, snarling like undead hounds rather than men as they lope toward Elliander on all fours!
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Round 1 - Initiative Order & Combat Notes
Soumral 45/45
Rediz 35/35 [+4 to Perception and Darkvision 60’ (Crypt Breaker’s Draught) for 60 minutes]
Undead Creatures
Elliander 57/57 [Shield is shedding Light (20’); Armor Crystal - DR 1, has absorbed 0 (of 10) damage this day]
Francis 47/47
Amenhep 42/51 [Spear is shedding Light (20’)]
Yes you can! Though if the 'trigger' doesn't happen (even if it seems likely to do so) you'd lose your action for this round.
And Rediz has also never seen these creatures...
Apologies Francis, you DO in fact recognize these beasties. I had thought DC 15+CR was the target, but after looking up Knowledge I saw it's only DC 10+CR.
So you all know (except for Rediz... sorry!) it's something called a festrog. Basically a malformed, disease-ridden zombie. You know that when it's struck with a weapon that pierces or slashes through its flesh, the attacker can find themselves subjected to the goo that explodes forth from the pustules. The disease is, unfortunately, contagious and can sometimes be fatal to those that are not in good physical shape (relatively low DC save, CON damage).
In addition, Elliander and Amenhep both know that the thing is more animal-like than human, even to the point of attacking more like a huge hound or big wolf (50' movement when running on all fours, trip attack.)
Amenhep is also aware that when these things get the taste of flesh in their mouth, it makes them stronger and more focused on bringing down their prey (gains temporary hit points after a bite attack.)
So I've got Rediz' readied attack, just waiting for Soumral and we'll get this party started! :)
Soumral moves up in front of Francis for a better view into the room. When she sees the horror inside, and hears more, she throws down a layer of magical grease on the inside of the doorways entrance.
She hopes they are no more agile that typical for the undead. If it is true, they will not so easily attack or rush through a defense of the doorway.
Soumral moves up a bit and, seeing the horror inside the room, unleashes a spell that causes a thick layer of grease to spring up between the party and the ghoulish-looking monsters! Rediz readies himself to hurl a bomb once the creatures bunch up a bit more and the things seem eager to do just that!
When the two nearest encounter the greased floor, they slow down and try to negotiate the slippery stuff. One of them (Red) slips and falls, the other is able to pass through it though, and its fanged jaws clamp down on Elliander's leg, ripping and tearing as it feasts on his flesh and blood!
Down the hall, the far double doors open and two more come loping out, attesting to the fact that these undead are not stupid at all. The pair move in to flank, leaping at Rediz!
vs DC 10 = Failure and falls!
vs DC 10 = Success!
vs Elliander's Flatfooted AC = Hit!
vs Rediz' AC = Miss!
vs Rediz' AC = Miss!
Hoping to keep the hacking on the creatures to a minimum, Francis holds his holy symbol forward and calls out to Pharasma to end the unnatural condition of the creatures.
Amenhep calls out, "Rediz! Get back, I will close the gap!"
Elliander is concentrating too much on detecting the source of the ka’ pulse and is first caught off guard by the quick attack. He gets a glimpse of the strange undead creatures attacking him and sort of remembers that his sharp sword may be effective against them, but may also put himself in danger of attracting a disease.
His initial hesitation makes him just ineffectively raise the sword, before a sharp signal from it breaks through to him and he manages to stick the ancient weapon in the throat of one of the enemies in a second thrust.
The Biter: critical miss
The Biter:
Channeling Disrupt Undead
with Bane(Undead) and Arcane Strike
against disease
Soumral steps back again behind Amanhep's protective cover and takes up one of her wands. The Festrog that fell is otherwise unattended to so she sends a bolt of force into it.
Amenhep moves up to where Rediz was, putting his all into a mighty thrust of his spear. "Die, foul creature!"
Fireday, the 30th day of Gozran, 4714 AR
Weather is clear and fairly hot by mid-afternoon.
Two hours after sunrise.
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Elliander reacts as one of the creatures bites into his leg, channeling his arcane power into Biter and slashing at the monstrosity with the heavy blade, dealing a nasty wound that opens its chest up, sending pus and other fluids from its sores in a wide spray that coats his leg. Fortunately, the duskblade doesn’t seem to feel any worse for wear, but the creature is still clinging to life. Francis calls upon the divine power of Pharasma as he brandishes his holy symbol, destroying all four of the unholy creatures he can see in a heartbeat!
Amenhep, warned of the other lurking at the end of the corridor, readies an attack with his spear should it come at them as the others did, which occurs nearly a moment later and the holy warrior impales the monster on his weapon! As before the hideous boils erupt on impact, and Amenhep finds himself showered in the disgusting fluids they contained (OOC – Fort Save please!) The fierce but brief battle is over and silence again reigns in the dark passage and the room beyond the now open doors.
vs DC 17 = Failure! Destroyed!
vs DC 17 = Failure! Destroyed
vs DC 17 = Failure! Destroyed
vs DC 17 = Failure! Destroyed
--------------------------------------------
PC Health & Notes
Soumral 45/45
Rediz 35/35 [+4 to Perception and Darkvision 60’ (Crypt Breaker’s Draught) for 60 minutes]
Elliander 54/57 [Shield is shedding Light (20’); Armor Crystal - DR 1, has absorbed 1 (of 10) damage this day]
Francis 47/47
Amenhep 42/51 [Spear is shedding Light (20’)]
Amenhep feels as though he has nothing to fear...
Rediz and the others slip into the room to investigate, and though there are a good number of trinkets, books, and even dried food, they appear to be of a personal nature - probably important to those long since interred, but of no real interest or value to the party. Taking up positions near the others as they search, Amenhep and Elliander can see through the open doors along the passage at the far end of the tomb. They can make out a staircase that heads down on the left hand wall, but beyond that point their light doesn't reveal much more of where the corridor leads except straight on into the darkness.
"Damn! That was glorious!"
Soumral is obviously impressed and excited by how quickly the festrogs were dealt with. She dismisses her spell lingering on the floor by the entranceway and follows Rediz to get a peek at what's next.
Once he feels the fight is over, Elliander tries to check his wounded leg. It doesn’t look too bad. He cleans the wound a little and then wraps a strip of cloth around it. Meanwhile, his allies are checking out the room.
Elliander then watches the corridor for more trouble together with Amenhep. He can see a stairway leading downwards, but also a third door on the opposite side of the corridor. He renews the Light spell and then casts Detect Magic again to scan his surroundings. He also actively listens for anything approaching them from the dark or from below.
“Search this level first, right?” he asks Amenhep, as they both look at the stairway.
No magic auras are detected.
Once the enemy are all killed again Francis says a quick prayer to Pharasma, then moves to check any wounds. "The creatures are diseased. Any wounds should be cleaned and healed. We didn't spend the coin on healing wands to not use them!"
He follows as the group moves in to search the room. He stows the healing wand and readies the wand of Bless.
To Francis he says, ”Thank you, friend. Blessings of Ra be upon the Lady of Graves.”
He nods at Elliander, ”Indeed, let us make sure no wickedness persists here that could pounce upon us from behind in the darkness below.”
If nobody objects, he heads down the corridor beside Elliander, spear at the ready.
They seem to agree to continue with the closest door and Elliander let’s Rediz check the door across the corridor. When the ratfolk is ready, he positions himself beside Amenhep. With a look back to see that the rest are ready with spells and potions, Elliander opens the door carefully.
Fireday, the 30th day of Gozran, 4714 AR
Weather is clear and fairly hot by mid-afternoon.
Two hours after sunrise.
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Determining that there is nothing of real interest in the burial chamber, the party moves on to investigate the single wooden door. Rediz finds no evidence of traps, nor is it locked, and Ellianer opens it as the ratfolk steps back and Amenhep stands at the duskblade’s side.
The chamber is illuminated by a soft glow, revealing large wooden cabinets lining the walls, their fronts lined with numerous labeled drawers fitted with brass knobs. The walls of the room are of thick paneled wood. To the left, at the far end of the room, a large cedar table stands against the southern wall. The chamber’s soft illumination emanates from a flameless candle that sits upon the desk - which also reveals a most disturbing tableau.
A skeleton clad in heavy armor sits at the desk, busily scribing into a journal from the looks of it. Before him, perched upon the desk next to the candle, is a gilded cage that holds the desiccated head of an elderly woman. Unbelievably, the severed head is speaking to the skeleton in a scratchy, high-pitched voice and it appears that the undead creature is transcribing her words. Two more skeletal warriors stand flanking the unlikely pair, and when the door opens their gaze shift toward the source of the intrusion as they draw their swords. The head begins to shriek madly even as the party reacts to the horrifying scene. “The living have no place here!! Meddlers! Thieves! Destroy them my servants! Kill them, for I cannot abide their foul presence!”
Elliander and Francis are the quickest to react to the threat…
--------------------------------------------
Round 1 – Initiative Order & Combat Notes
Elliander 54/57 [Shield is shedding Light (20’); Armor Crystal - DR 1, has absorbed 1 (of 10) damage this day]
Francis 47/47
3 Skeletal Warriors Red - Unwounded; Green - Unwounded; Blue - Unwounded
Rediz 35/35 [+4 to Perception and Darkvision 60’ (Crypt Breaker’s Draught) for 60 minutes]
Soumral 45/45
Amenhep 42/51 [Spear is shedding Light (20’)]
Severed Head Unwounded
Francis steps into the room but not toward the fight. The warriors of the party are better suited to the melee. He holds up his holy symbol and calls on Pharasma to destroy the undead creatures.
This time Elliander is more alert and quickly notices there are several enemies in the room. Channeling enemies through a narrow doorway has worked well for them before and the duskblade takes a step to the side, preparing to strike at any enemy coming through the door.
5’-step to the side.
Ready action to attack any enemy entering the doorway
The Biter:
Channeling Disrupt Undead
with Bane(Undead) and Arcane Strike
Fireday, the 30th day of Gozran, 4714 AR
Weather is clear and fairly hot by mid-afternoon.
Two hours after sunrise.
----------------------------------------------
At a quick motion from Elliander, Francis holds off on charging into the room and channels positive energy, which washes over the skeletal warriors he can see. True to Elliander’s instinct, the warriors come through the open door, and he swings at the one in the lead, striking true – though the bladed weapon seems to be somewhat ineffectual (-5 DR, 9 total damage). The one in the lead swings his own blade at the duskblade but misses, as does the one standing halfway through the door. The one behind, rather than wielding sword and shield as do the other two in front, holds the cage with the old woman’s head inside rather than its shield. The head is shrieking shrilly. “Kill them! Filthy tomb robbers! They seek the Mask!” The sight of the thing is disquieting to say the least, the hate from its gaze is palpable and causes those around it to feel upset and barely able to focus! (OOC – I need everyone to roll a Will save vs DC 16!)
vs DC 17 = Failure!
vs DC 17 = Failure!
vs DC 17 = Success!
vs Ellander’s AC = Miss!
vs Ellander’s AC = Miss!
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Round 1 – Initiative Order & Combat Notes
Elliander 54/57 [Shield is shedding Light (20’); Armor Crystal - DR 1, has absorbed 1 (of 10) damage this day]
Francis 47/47
3 Skeletal Warriors Red – Wounded (16 damage); Green – Wounded (7 damage); Blue – Wounded (3 damage)
Rediz 35/35 [+4 to Perception and Darkvision 60’ (Crypt Breaker’s Draught) for 60 minutes]
Soumral 45/45
Amenhep 42/51 [Spear is shedding Light (20’)]
Severed Head Unwounded