Freddie interrupts the conversation smoothly, "Hey, Filge, maybe you should come with us, you know just to make sure these skeletons don't do anything foolish. We would not want to have to cause any further damage than we have already."
"Oh, somethin' dangerous, of course," Filge says. "I wouldn't be wanting to put living people at risk. That would just be cruel of me. It ain't got nothing to do with money. Me work is quite dangerous.
It's a bald-faced lie.
Freddie interrupts the conversation smoothly, "Hey, Filge, maybe you should come with us, you know just to make sure these skeletons don't do anything foolish. We would not want to have to cause any further damage than we have already."
Filge's eyes widen in surprise and concern. "Just what have ye been damaging?" he cries. "Ye haven't been upstairs already, have ye? Or me dinner guests! Oh gods, ye've wrecked me dinner guests, haven't ye?"
Dara laughs, "Seriously? An I'm the queen o' Highhelm! C'mon guy, at least put some effort into it if yer gonna try an spin a tale!"
"Ye haven't been upstairs already, have ye? Or me dinner guests! Oh gods, ye've wrecked me dinner guests, haven't ye?"
Bear does a 360, taking a look at all the magic webs that spring into existence before his magically-enhanced eyes. Guess I shouldnt' be surprised that a necromancer's joint is bursting with necromantic energies.
"Listen, pal, only thing we broke on the way in was the little nasty piece of work guarding your shed. And no, before you ask, we didn't steal anything."
He nods at his teammate's suggestion that the man should join them to re-take the bodies, "You'll be kindly showing us around your house until we're happy, champ. Sorry for the rudeness, but as 'clean' as you woud like us to believe your hands are, you are trafficking in stolen remains of dead folk. Not exactly on the up-and-up. We got no wish to hurt ya. If we did, your walls would be decorated with your own innards already. That's not so much a threat as a reality. So you have a choice to make. You can come with us, and make sure any nasty surprises waiting for us are disarmed... or you can come with us and the first time we're attacked by something - anything at all - it will get real unpleasant for you real fast."
He looks over at teh head of the woman (being the odd-man out in terms of magical auras) and gestures with his blade, "Also, what the hells is that?!"
Filge looks over at the head and the figure holding it. "Ah, that be a mummified goblin in a suit and top hat. It just be me idea of a bit of fun. A mock butler coming to serve me. The head is that of me dear, departed mum. When she died, I couldn't bear to let her go, so I preserved her head and she's ever by me side. And since I suspect ye've been scanning the room for magical energies, there's a magic mouth spell on her that screams out should anyone try to steal her. I love me mum too much to let her fall into the wrong hands. As for showing ye all around, I suppose I can do that. Least I can do in return for ye not killing me and all." He pauses and looks at everyone sheepishly. He pulls the covers up even closer to his face. "Ye wouldn't mind all turning your backs a moment while I get dressed, would ye? Or at least the womenfolk? I'm not exactly decent at the moment, you see."
"Ye haven't been upstairs already, have ye? Or me dinner guests! Oh gods, ye've wrecked me dinner guests, haven't ye?"
UU looks at him blackly, "Been setting up a little necromantic tea-party upstairs, have you? I think you should be less worried about your dead pets and more worried about how quickly we can make you join them."
"We're all adults here, tiger, and I'm pretty sure you don't have any parts these girls aint seen before. Hop up and change. Sorry to be rude, but again, I don't like takign chances."
Dara rolls her eyes. "Ain't ye never gotten dressed under yer sheets before? See if ya kin find our friend 'is clothes..."
Bear laughs and nudges Venny in the side, "Then how's our song-bird here gonna have any fun?"
"Ye'll find me clothes for the mornin' already laid out in that closet over there." Filge points to the southwest doors and waits for someone to bring his clothes to him.
The southwest room is just like the northeast one, containing numerous identical suits of clothing. Laid out on a table is another one of these sleeveless long coats, a shirt, a pair of breeches, a dagger, a key, two syringes filled with liquid, a small vial of liquid, and a bird-skull amulet with a leather cord.
Venedictus blushes deeply at Bear's joke and goes off to get Filge his clothes. Seeing the liquids, he calls back, "We have liquids back here. Somebody with a detect magic or detect poison, please."
"Gee, Filge, I sure hope these aren't poison. I would hate for you to be charged for trying to poison the good people of Baliswef. Care to enlighten us further?"
"Poison?" Filge says, a hint of shock in his voice. "I ain't been using no poison. They be potions, mate. Well, me own special variant of potions. The ones in the syringes need to be injected, like."
"Leave the potions. The tubes in here reek of necromancy, but there's nothing inherently illegal about that... ya know... unlike body trafficking." he looks back at the cowering wizard, "Now hurry up getting those clothes on."
Then, realizing some leverage in front of him, Bear walks to the table and picks up the book, "You get this back when we have what we came for and are on our way safely out the door, bub."
Filge grabs the clothes from Venedictus and squirms about under his sheets while he dresses.
Once he's dressed, he stands up. He's a thin man with a receding hairline and a short goatee. He glares at Bear and his book , then sighs. "Right, where would ye like me to show ye first?"
Fredrik looks over at the necromancer, and tries to hide a smirk, If this one feels uppity, maybe I can feed him to Pup.
"Gee, Filge, why don't you give us the 2 copper tour, and then we can take what we came for and then we can be on our way."
Filge scratches his neck uncomfortably. "Well, seeing as you're looking for them skeletons, you're probably most interested in going where they are, which is downstairs. If ye'll just follow me." He begins moving towards the north stairs, which head down.
You get the sense he's holding something back.
"Sure..."
"You wouldn't be holdin' out on us now would ya Fil? Not that ya don't have a nice place, but I'd rather not hafta come visit ya again. Least not so soon..."
Filge effects a nervous laugh. "Me? Hold out on you? You're me mates! I'd never hold out on me mates." Seeing Dara's rather intense stare, he relents. "Oh! I almost forgot. One of the skeletons ye're lookin' for is upstairs. The rest are downstairs. How silly of me to forget that."
In her best imitation of Prince Zordar of the Comet Empire, Dara declares, "We're going UP!"
"I think we should tie our friend Filge's hands behind his back in case he gets an itch to cast a spell or cause trouble. You wouldn't mind that, would you, 'mate'? And while you are demonstrating your friendliness to your new mates... maybe you should tell us about this amulet, dagger, potions, and other stuff."
"I think we should tie our friend Filge's hands behind his back in case he gets an itch to cast a spell or cause trouble. You wouldn't mind that, would you, 'mate'? And while you are demonstrating your friendliness to your new mates... maybe you should tell us about this amulet, dagger, potions, and other stuff."
Bear eyes the amulet, dagger, and key which have not been returned to the necromancer yet, "I've been wonderin' about those as well, buddy." As he waits for a response, he Detects Magic on them.
Filge looks at the items in question. "What, those? Those just be trinkets. Well, except maybe the dagger. It's a dangerous world out there, mates. A man's gotta protect himself. The key...well, it's a key. What else would it be? And me amulet. I just wear that because I think it looks good. The bird skull adds a touch of ominous to my appearance."
Bear detects magic coming from the amulet, the two syringes, and the potion bottle. Seeing that Bear has cast detect magic, Filge sighs. "Oh, and aye, the amulet has a touch of magic to it. It helps protect me from harm, it does."
"The syringes, like I said," Filge goes on, "are my own special brand of potion. One's false life and one's cure moderate wounds. You have to inject them into you, like. That vial is just a normal potion. Cure light wounds, it is."
"Shall we head upstairs then?" Filge says, and reluctantly allows Udaya to take hold of him.
Dara takes the lead and you climb the stairs to the next level. A single chamber dominates the entire upper floor. Moonlight filters through the wide slit in the roof, bathing the center of the room in a dim light. Four large mirrors are set along the outside wall. In the centre of the room is a recessed operating theatre accessible via two short sets of stairs. A blue-skinned humanoid figure is splayed out upon an operating table, its chest completely opened and pinned back against the table with long metal needles. Two long shelves cluttered with piles of papers, rotting organs, and instruments comprise the east and west extent of the operating theatre, and are only a few inches lower than the chamber's outer floor.
Four metal-and-glass tanks, each large enough to hold a human, flank the short stairs leading to the operating theatre. Each tank is full of yellow liquid streaked with rust. Indistinct, vaguely human silhouettes bob silently in the soupy fluid.
A five-foot-tall human skeleton stands, unmoving, by the east wall. Filge points to the skeleton. "There it is. That's one of the ones ye want. Ye'll have to go get it and carry it. It ain't animate, so it won't follow you around." He looks at the group, waiting for someone to go get the skeleton.
You don't trust him one bit!
Edit:
"Seriously, man, you are the worst liar I have ever met."
Freddie looks at Bear, "What, you want me to give him pointers?"
Venedictus shakes his head at the suggestion. "Too far. I'd have to go about ten feet into the room, I'd say, up between those two vats. I suppose I'd get anything inside them too, if the glass wouldn't block it, which I guess it would."
Does he think that if he stood on top of the operating table, he'd be high enough for his energy to get in through the open tops of the vats at any undead waiting within (or do the vats even have open tops)?
Venedictus shakes his head at the suggestion. "Too far. I'd have to go about ten feet into the room, I'd say, up between those two vats. I suppose I'd get anything inside them too, if the glass wouldn't block it, which I guess it would."
Does he think that if he stood on top of the operating table, he'd be high enough for his energy to get in through the open tops of the vats at any undead waiting within (or do the vats even have open tops)?
Venedictus shakes his head at the suggestion. "Too far. I'd have to go about ten feet into the room, I'd say, up between those two vats. I suppose I'd get anything inside them too, if the glass wouldn't block it, which I guess it would."
Does he think that if he stood on top of the operating table, he'd be high enough for his energy to get in through the open tops of the vats at any undead waiting within (or do the vats even have open tops)?
"Let's spread out a bit, just in case this goes bad and we need room to manoeuvre."
He steps ten feet due east and channels energy.
Will DC 15 for half
The sound of beautiful music sweeps forth.
"No!" Filge cries. "Arise, my beautiful monstrosities and destroy these interlopers!"
The skeleton collapses into a pile of bones. The forms in the vats shudder and begin to move.
Order: Udaya, Bear, Filge, Venedictus, Dara, Bugbear Zombie, Troglodyte Zombies, Fredrik.
Up First:
"Ye done made me angry, Fil... Ye ain't gonna like me when I'm angry!"
Round 1: Dara will rage and unleash hell upon Filge.
Venedictus will channel energy again, excluding Filge.
Then he'll move back towards the doorway.
Udaya smirks, "Music to my ears." she mutters as she moves into the room, drawing her blade in front of her in preparration of the first opponent to come into range.
Bear moves into the room… taking up a defensive position, brandishing Kalath menacingly and calling his magic to his defense.
Freddie sees things deteriorate, and curses to himself. I hate necromancers!
Udaya moves into position, much to Filge's delight since she is no longer right beside him. Bear casts his spell and moves as well.
Filge then backs up on the staircase and casts a spell of his own. Bear and Dara feel a wave of fear rush over them.
Dara manages to fight some of the effect off, but Bear suddenly finds himself terrified by what is happening.
Venedictus channels again and the heavenly music spreads across the chamber.
The undead all thrash about in their tanks, but do not stop moving.
Dara steps up and swings her axe at Filge . A moment later, his head goes tumbling down the steps, a shocked look on his face. His body stands a moment longer before toppling over.
The four tanks shatter, spilling liquid across the floor of the room. Unfortunately for them, they are slow-moving and can't do much more.
Udaya makes her attack on the troglodyte zombie before her. Her scimitar slices into it. A mere moment later, Fredrik fires his spell at it. The beam hits and the flesh around where it hits sizzles.
Next Up: Venedictus, Dara, Bugbear Zombie, Udaya, Troglodyte Zombies, Fredrik.
Snarling like a mad dog, Dara laughs. "Heads, I win!"
Turning to see the monsters breaking free, she roars,