You head back to the Grande Lodge where you are currently staying. After a night's rest and preparing for the tasks ahead you get ready to set out. You verify the missions with Ambrus Valsin, and confirm they can be undertaken.
Once the group has made the necessary preparations, you head off to your destination with the directions you were provided. You find travel to the site to be arduous; the terrain is rocky and marred with the scars of millennia of wars, making it thirsty work for you to get to your destination, but you encounter no resistance. The directions you have lead to a small gully. At the end of the gully, about fifteen feet above the ground on a cliff face, is an ancient, ironbound door. Its wood is dried and cracked. Directly in front of the door is a steep slope of rubble and dust-crusted debris that, as luck would have it, provides a path— albeit a rough and difficult one— right up to the door. The areas of flat rock are wind-blown pillars of sandstone standing 10 feet off the ground. The walls of the canyon are 20 feet tall.
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Grisbane takes a few moments once they arrive to summon Ozi to his side, aware that danger could be lurking at any corner in the ancient ruins. The eidolon materializes shortly thereafter, appearing as a hulking humanoid creature with shaggy white fur and long claws. Grisbane then turns to his companions and asks, "I'm assuming one of us has some knowledge of traps and their discovery and removal? If so, now might be the time to put that training to good use."
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Terrill looks at his new companions and smiles wistfully, "We used to work with a little halfling fellow who was quite good at such things, but he disappeared on us. So I think your assumption may be misguided today. As I recall, we even found a magic wand that would have let us open the door - cast something that our magic-user friend called knock. But I think we must have turned it in to the Society. In an case, I'm better suited to simply breaking the door down. It looks pretty tough, but perhaps age has weakened it some. Anyone care to lend a shoulder? Maybe your big shaggy friend, Grimsbane?"
As you talk and decide on your next actions Magda spots something near the top of the cliff face above the door. Before she gets a word out you all see a shape land on the rubble just before the door, apparently having jumped down from the top of the cliff.
After Magda chimes in, the creature, not having been attacked, addresses you in hissing Common, rather than moving to attack.
“How long will it take you all to cure, I wonder? You seem so full of life, and I am oh so hungry.”
Looking at the creature it appears to be undead, but something seems oddly familiar about it.
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Grisbane, casting a sidelong glance at Terrill, asks "What do your senses tell you about this creature? Is it evil?"
"We were warned about the undead in the area, my guess is we have just met one of them, even if it speaks. Recall the pledge we made, to release any bound to this slavery to the afterlife."
Grisbane holds his action, waiting for the party to provide a response to him as well as the creature.
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Terrill chuckles a moment, then says "My senses tell me no more than your own, I fear. But the creature intends to dry-cure our corpses, so he may eat them over some days or weeks to come. Strikes me as fairly evil." Reaching for the sword slung over his right shoulder, he continues, "Shall we free him from his slavery?"
As Magda speaks the creature's head jerks, and her expression softens as the foul light of undeath drains from her eyes somewhat. She straightens from her crouch, and calls out to you, “Friends, I am Maurit Zergo, a Pathfinder, even in this horrid form. I can help you, if you will take the help of someone as damned as I.” She almost seems normal and living for a second, but soon shambles back to her crooked slouch.
Maurit head spasms again and she straightens slightly, "I was... am a Pathfinder. We ran across these ruins on our trip to another site. We were attacked by a foul undead, I was gravely wounded, with nothing left to do the others ran with the creature chasing after them. I awoke days later as this." she motions to herself, an almost human look of sadness on her face.
Thinking she shurgs and replies "I don't want anything in specific, only to help. I assume if you are here you are with the Pathfinder Society. Speaking of which what brought you here?"
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I don't trust this thing any further than I could throw it. Undead are bad business.
Grisbane thinks to himself for a moment then adds, "I assume you know you are some sort of undead being now, whatever life you knew before has come to an end. If you were indeed a Pathfinder in life then I'm guessing you know what long and torturous fate awaits you if you cling to this existence. How many people will fall to your hunger? How many innocents? I'm sure even now you feel it gnawing at you, don't you?"
He looks to Terrill and whispers, "A merciful death is about the best this pitiful thing can probably hope for."
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Terrill responds quietly to Grisbane, "While it might be a mercy to end the thing's life, I'll not make that decision for her. She can speak, and think, and control herself to some degree - I've no more wish to take that from her than I'd want it taken from me. But I'll watch my back and yours," he concludes with a wink and a quick smile.
Turning back to the unusually verbose undead creature, he says in a clearer voice, "Maurit, was it? I am Terrill Mayern, a traveller of Lady Luck. As to what brought us here, why our feet did, and I do hope they'll take us away as well, in good time. At the moment what drives us is our wish to see what lies beyond this door. We were just about to attempt to open it, do you know anything of it?"
She looks at Grisbane and her head jerks again, her posture moving into a slouch almost to a crouch, and hisses back "Why yes... I am sooo hungry...." The eerie haunt of undeath present in her eyes once again yet she stands her ground still not attacking.
As Terrill chimes in her head twitches once again and the eerie light of undeath drains from her eyes, "My apologies friends..." she shivers and straightens up "I do my best to not think on the hunger and keep my wits about me." A small amount of excitement is visibile as she continues, wanting to provide aid. She nods, "Yes I can provide a map that may assist you." She moves toward Magda as she is the closest slowly with her arms raised as to demonstrate she means no harm, when within 5 ft of she kneels down on the ground and starts drawing out a map in the dirt with her undead claws.
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Magda slowly backs away a little, watching in fascination. Then Magda realizes there may be other danger near, move atop a nearby rock, and starts keeping a vigilant watch all around, leaving her friends to watch this sad, strange creature.
Magda keeps an action ready, as if in combat. If anything threatening and sudden happens she will Channel Positive Energy to harm undead.
Whispers to her companions,Wow, a map might be very helpful! Perhaps, once she's done with the map, she can tell us about what's on the map. Then we can give her an appropriate reward and go about our business.
As she draws she explains what she knows of the place: "A small tribe of kobolds dwells within, led by a strange, color-shifting humanoid. Also, strange creatures stray into the ruin from a deep well, and there is a second well that seems to be haunted. There is another way into the ruins, a secret entrance that leads deeper into the complex, and I will even lead you to the cave that accesses the tunnel."
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Magda is intrigued by the prospect of a second entrance, but leery of letting this creature lead us anywhere. Magda fears treachery. She is anxious to help this former pathfinder find final rest.
Magda glances at the map and correlates it with the real world. Wow, this will certainly be helpful!
"Companions, do we want to learn of this second entrance, or shall we appropriately reward this brave Pathfinder right now?"
Magda hopes someone else makes the first move.
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Polami looks over the map, impressed by the skill with which it was drawn. She must have been quite a Pathfinder.
"Thank you Maurit. That will be very helpful. I don't know about this other cave, though -- how far away is it? "
A thought occurs to Polami. Perhaps we can help her after all, in a fashion.
"Who are the companions who abandoned you here? If you tell us their names, we can report back the results of their faithlessness."
She looks at Polami "The cave, it's not too far maybe an hour or so walk. It is, however, difficult to find within all these ruins and you would likely not locate it for some time without my assistance." She shrugs "It is only another option, not a necessity. As for my companions, they had no other choice. We were not preparred for the fight and they did the best they could. Running was their best option once I fell."
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"I hate making decisions," Polami says. "Maurit has been most kind and helpful, but even her strength of will has limits. And an hour is a long journey. I am interested in seeing this second entrance, but I also wonder. Where are her new companions?"
Polami pauses.
"I am not afraid, however. If others wish to take that journey, I will too. But it would not be my first choice."
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Grisbane considers their options for a moment, "My concern is that while she seems rather tame now, the force that has her in its grips is not going to release her. She could jump on us and tear our eyes out at any moment. You saw her reaction earlier, she is hungry, and it isn't for a nice lamb chop with a side of potatoes." Grisbane pauses for a moment, letting that point hit home, then adds, "We have our information, more than we had when we reached here, which we should be thankful for. My advice is that we end the suffering of our former fellow Pathfinder, this is no life for one such as her to have to endure. Even with her moments of clarity, she is and will forever more be, undead."
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"Maurit, you have been very helpful. I shall see to it that the Pathfinder Annals record that you faithfully served the Pathfinder Society even after death. For this I thank you. We shall now reward you with the final rest you deserve."
Magda now goes fully tactical. For her first action she moves behind Polami, then she Channels Positive Energy to Harm Undead. She's always wanted to do that. Rolls are in Roll20.
Magda blasts Maurit with divine energy, as she shreeks in pain. The light of undeath returning to her eyes and she slouches down, ready to attack. Polami moves up drawing her weapon, and putting herself between the group and Maurit. Omar takes a crack shot but misses his target.
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Using the tremendous speed granted him by Desna, Terrill speeds past his companions, drawing the long curve of his elven blade over his shoulder as he does so. He steps close to Maurit and holds his sword up, in an attempt to block any attacks at her. He calls out "This is not your choice to make! She has come to us and asked for help! And given us aid in return! You would thank her by killing her? A human spark yet lives in her!"
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"That's an interesting philosophical stance, Terrill. I wish you'd said something earlier. Feel free to protect Maurit, now that she's become a self-willed undead monster, but I doubt you're doing her a favor. I expect she'd as soon snack on you as me. If it were me, I'd want you to put me down, rather than let me continue as some sort of ghastly undead freak. Maurit, do you have an opinion on the matter?"
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"She is undead!" Omar shouts. "This little spark will go out soon, remember what the Andoran eagle knight said: Any undead you encounter along the way should be freed of their earthly shell! As Undeath is the worst kind of slavery! The only thing we can offer her is to free her from this slavery! This is a good deed, not letting her roam the area freely!"
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"I zapped her with positive energy, channeled to harm undead, to be absolutely certain. Only undead would be harmed by what I did. Were she a lich, or some other semi-rational self-willed form of undead, negotiation might be possible, but she clearly suffers from an almost irresistible urge to feast on our flesh." Magda waves a forearm of tasty gnome flesh at Maurit. " I doubt her willpower will hold much longer. It seems kindest to destroy her shell before she commits some vile act. Also, you should all be aware that no deity, including Desna," looks at Terrill " will hold a person accountable for acts they commit in undeath, because it's not really them."
Magda's eyes challenge Terrill to a friendly debate about the nature of the soul & body, undeath, and the religious implications thereof, particularly as they involve salvation and damnation. It's not as if this sort of thing is theoretical, given what we know of the afterlife! Why, Magda expects to be able to Speak With Dead one day, and knows people who have traveled to other planes and spoken with dead souls. Gosh, can you imagine the terrible moral ambiguity of living in a world where we didn't know such things for certain? How strange would that be?
Grisbane and Ozi move up to get in position for the fight, while Terrill moves in to try and defend Maurit. As he banters with the others, Maurit slowly hunches over once again, the life draining from her eyes, being replaced by the eerie glow of undeath. She hisses at you all "I shall rend your flesh and suck the marrow from your bones!!!"
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Terrill's shoulders drop in disappointment as he says, "Damn! I wanted her to make the choice for herself, and had hoped she was not so far gone. But her choice is made."
He spins quickly and lashes out with hs blade, slicing through Maurit's neck and nearly severing her head from her body with a single stroke.