Having successfully coasted on his companion's ability to fight and won while doing nothing of value, Reynaud nods in agreement with Belle.
Unless they're of some rat-based religion we've not heard of, I suppose. Then this place would be perfect. I'm Reynaud, may I ask your name?
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"Well, at least one of ye's got some manners. I'm Brodin Rockhammer of the Rockhammer clan. An' we lost more 'n a few, I'm not so daft as to set out on a trek into the wilderness with just 2 of us. We lost a few more on the way here, before ever setting foot in the place. I thank ye for the heads up on not burying the dead here, for all that he was an elf and a fool, he was a good wizard, saved our bacon a few times before his death and I'd not want to repay him by feeding him to ghouls, or rats or whatever ye're on about. Seems I'm in need of company; if you're interested in an archer I'd be happy to join ye."
"I for one would be happy to have you. I'm Belle by the way. You will probably consider me a fool too, after you get to know me. If you get to know me. Heck, we're probably all fools. Anyway, should we poke around the rat lair and see if we can rummage up some valuables? I'm not usually so practical, but people change. I've changed."
Her voice has that dazed sound to it people get when they've been through a crisis, then she brightens.
"We didn't lose anyone that time!"
Then she darkens again
"Oh. Sorry Brodin. Your friends count too."
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Brodin shrugs.
"Nae mind. He brought it on himself. I told him that 2 were not enough to take on Rappan Athuk, but he insisted that his mighty magic would save us all. For all that he were Book-smart like ye wouldnae believe, he wasnae street-smart, and now he's dead. For all that I'll miss him. Damn fool Elf, why'd ye havetae get yuirself killed? Guess I'll have to burn ye. I know it's nae the elf way, but it'll have tae do. As fer the rat's nest, ye're welcome to a share of the loot, and It's a good place tae explore as I heard a rumour that their tunnels go tae all sorts of interesting places in Rappan Athuk. Anyone have any kindling?"
Tony recovers his blade for the rat skull, cleaning it off on the corpse's fur. Listening to the conversation all the while.
"Just plain survival instincts is lost on most people, Brodin" chimes in Tony, "but all of us being out here too could make us just as foolhardy. Tony Tanner, sorry about your friend."
Tony gives a relaxed salute to Brodin, before turning to examine the tunnels.
Surveying the battlefield, a couple things catch your attention; the armed and armored wererat corpse up the hill to the north, and the corpse of the wizard.
Tony peers into one of the rat holes. The burrows are about two feet in diameter, and he can see from examining the holes where the rats appeared that they are interconnected, and that there are side burrows. While a galling or gnome could probably navigate the tunnels while crouching, a medium size humanoid would have to crawl and even then would be severely restricted in their movement.
"We all got manners master Dwarf" - Garrosh moves closer to Brodin, extending a hand in greeting - "We were all just busy saving yours, and our behinds his all!" - he chuckles - "Name's Garrosh, and if you always shoot like that, you're damn right we need an archer!" - he roars.
"Kindling may be a problem though..." - the half-orc adds.
Belle will do detect magic and spellcraft on anything that detects as magic. After peering down the holes he adamantly states,
"There is no way I'm going down there."
There must be a better way down then through these tiny, tiny tunnels.
"Huh? Well of course there is. We already found a key that unlocks that mausoleum over there and found a secret door down. Though it looks like a trap or one way trip if you ask me."
"I'm just saying that I'm not going to crawl through that dirty tight hole in search of a rat hoarde."
She shudders delicately when she says hoarde, obviously imagining things other than shiny jewels and magic weapons.
Though Belle won't go down into a rat pit here is her appraise roll:
"I can take a look at anything you might drag out of there though. I'm a fair hand at appraising things."
"Hey, I have an idea!"
Belle casts unseen servant from her wand, and commands it to
"Go down those holes and look for anything shiney, sparkly, or does not look like it belongs in the earth and bring it out."
Tony forgoes going deeper into the tunnels, not worth the risk.
He starts foreaging through the rat man stuff at least hoping to find something to use or pawn later.
"We find anything mildly useful from these fur bags?"
"Belle, for the time being, and before we start digging up rat holes, maybe take a look at the gear this one carried?" - Garrosh laughs at her companions' reaction, motioning for the defeated werecreature - "I wouldn't have minded catching him alive though - I'm sure there would be valid information to be had"
On examination of the dead wererat, the group finds studded leather armor, a shortsword, light crossbow, 40 bolts, two vials containing liquid which are identified as magical, a jasper , a rose quartz , three pearls, silver holy symbol of a sheep skull, silver brazier engraved with human and sheep skulls as well as images of various undead, and a pouch with several coins.
Several items on the dead wizard bear a magical aura as well; bracers, a vial with liquid in it, two scrolls and a book. He also carries some mundane gear; a regular dagger and a silver dagger.
Belle and Brodin notice the studded leather armor, and the wizard's daggers seem very well made.
Garrosh and Belle detect the following as magical. Belle is able to identify the aurae on the gear;
* wererat potion 1 - faint abjuration, identified as a potion of sanctuary
* wererat potion 2 – faint evocation [good], unable to be identified at this time
* wizard bracers - moderate conjuration, unable to be identified at this time
* wizard potion – faint conjuration [healing], unable to be identified at this time
* wizard scroll – faint abjuration, identified as a scroll of hold portal
* wizard scroll – faint divination, identified as a scroll of detect undead
* book - deciphering this will take quite some time.
The group looks at the gemstones and things they can sell them for the following;
* jasper - 30gp
* rose quartz - 25gp
* three pearls - 55gp, 55gp, 60gp
* silver holy symbol of a sheep skull - 12.5gp
* silver brazier engraved with human and sheep skulls as well as images of various undead (40gp)
* pouch with several coins, 3pp, 29gp, 106cp
Belle's unseen servant is unable to find anything shiny within 35 feet of the openings.
, , , , ,
"Hey, some of this stuff is actually nice, if you can get the stink off of it!"
Agyen scans the unidentified items with detect magic as well,, hpoing to pick up on sublte auras Belle may have missed
Tony pulls out the crossbow and the bolts from the pile. Admiring it lightly.
"Like we smell any better after having slept in a crypt, surrounded by cannibal corpses, Tony says to Belle's declaration.
"I think we were, Brodin. It should be the main entrance that we went to. The one with the well. The place was heavily guarded and full of strange dark magic." Tony clutches the paladin's holy symbol, remembering how her ghost rose up that night.
His eyes reflexively scans the area with the growing anxiety, till his eyes fall upon the silver dagger of the fallen wizard. Need that!
"Hey guys. You mind if i take the crossbow and that silver dagger?"
Take what you need, Tony. We clearly will have difficulties with Rappan Athuk. If we are still pursuing that ghoul we should get going now.
"Yes well... I guess you can say we were there and returned. But as Tony said, we never got past the entrance, and two of our own were dead when we left the place last time" - Garrosh grumbles, as he turns over the silvered holy symbol with the sheep skull.
Garrosh recoils as he realizes the symbology on the holy symbol and the brazier are of none other than Orcus, Demon Prince of Undead.
"Gods damn this!" - Garrosh spits - "I should have guessed this would be a symbol for that no good, son of a..." - and goes on a tirade before settling down - "I will want this destroyed later on" - he finishes, then turns to Tony.
"Agreed with Reynaud here, and if Brodin agrees also of course - take what you need. If half of what I have heard about Rappan Athuk is true, we are in for the challenge of our lives" - he grunts.
"Once we are finished with the bagging and tagging, we get back on track - we return to the mausoleum, and follow the ghouls from there. Brodin, can we count on you then?"
The symbol is lifted into the air before being smashed into the ground repeatedly, again and again until it is silver dust. The same is done with the brazier.
It's nice to be surrounded by good people. I know a few that would have seen only gold pieces and not evil. Hmmm..."
Belle pulls out some ink and paper and begins a sketch. Trying to scribble as fast as she can before she forgets any details. Capturing the rats, wererats, the determined besieged dwarf, the fierce looking Aygen as he smashes the evil items, anything she can remember in bits and pieces scattered on the page. Nothing coherent as she does not have the time for real Art.
Agyen identifies the potions as a potion of cure light wounds and an oil of sanctify corpse.
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"It's no' like I have anything better to do. Of course ye can count on me, I'm a dwarf aint I? Besides, hanging with a bunch o people who made it to the entrance to Rappan Athuk and returned is better than wandering around alone. Take whate'er ye like o' the loot, if ye can use it, it may save me life. Anything left we can sell and split."
"I can carry some of the lighter stuff, but the heavy things are beyond me. Now that Pill is gone, I have nowhere to put it. I'm not even sure I should be lugging about this tome. I think it's going to slow me down."
Tony watches Argyn, smash the evil holy symbols into wreckage. Sorry to see such valuables go to waste, but hesitant to touch anything tainted by evil.
"Do you think we can, turn that former pile of evil iconography into something less evil and more useful? Tony says hoping to get something of worth or use out of it.
The symbol is lifted into the air before being smashed into the ground repeatedly, again and again until it is silver dust. The same is done with the brazier.
"Noisy, but effective, I'll give you that" - Garrosh laughs as Agyen smashes the icons to pieces.
"It's no' like I have anything better to do. Of course ye can count on me, I'm a dwarf aint I? Besides, hanging with a bunch o people who made it to the entrance to Rappan Athuk and returned is better than wandering around alone. Take whate'er ye like o' the loot, if ye can use it, it may save me life. Anything left we can sell and split."
"That's settled then - you're coming with us" - the half-orc nods at Brodin - "Are we ready to press on?"
"I can carry some of the lighter stuff, but the heavy things are beyond me. Now that Pill is gone, I have nowhere to put it. I'm not even sure I should be lugging about this tome. I think it's going to slow me down."
"Here, put that stuff in my backpack - I should be fine" - Garrosh offers to Belle with a toothy smile.
"Do you think we can, turn that former pile of evil iconography into something less evil and more useful? Tony says hoping to get something of worth or use out of it.
"Not my cup of tea, but I guess after being molten down... Maybe"
As the dust settles, and the group gathers what items from the fallen they can, turning their eyes to the green stone mausoleum at the other end of the cross shaped depression, the breeze picks up noticeably. Ominously, the overcast sky speaks in a rumble, presaging the possibility of rain.
You begin to pick your way across the bottom of the depression towards the statue of the dwarf, and the mausoleums, occasionally glancing at the epitaphs carved into the gravestones.
Ben Bullock, That is not dead which can lie eternal
Eternal Artificer Crux, the Mad Captive, Don’t mourn my loss, I am home
Lyle LaRue, One Man Who Fought Like Two
Magnus Tate, Stood and took it like a man.
Written in dried blood under the last epitaph is the phrase "his flesh was particularly tasty", written in almost a childlike hand.
As you approach the statue of the dwarf at the center of the cross, you notice a freshly dug grave off to the side that you did not notice before. Nearby, you see a handful of dire rats gnawing on something that you cannot make out.
Magnus...
Reynaud kneels, mutters a prayer under his breath, stands and draws his weapons.
Forgive me my thoughts of vengeance, Everlight, but crimes must not go unpunished.
He then begins walking toward the rats.
"This is a damned, damned place" - Garrosh issues a low growl as he notices the names on the tombstones, which only worsens when he sees Magnus' name - "You're not going there alone" - the half-orc puts an hand on Reynaud's shoulder, walking calmly with him - "We have an archer now, remember?" - he adds.
"Get away from there you bastards!" - he roars at the rats from a distance, polearm in hand.
"We burned all our dead. Who is that then?"
I sure hope the magic of this place did not give that ghoul a second helping of one of my friends.
Seeing the big scary half-orc stomping toward him, the rats drop their lunch and scurry for their holes.
Approaching the freshly dug grave, it does not appear that it was dug up, but rather it was dug and is awaiting a corpse. The headstone, a towering obelisk of black marble, is caked with dirt and lichen and takes a couple minutes to clear it. The name carved into the marble, and covered with years of fungal growth reads: Garrosh Saurfang
"We have encountered this before. How this is possible has yet to be determined, as my divinations have failed to discover anything relevant."
"That's weird, I know I saw a hand sticking out and the rats were gnawing on it! You guys saw it too, right?"
Can you perhaps... not-magic the blood to see where it came from, Agyen? That looks like something our ghoul would do.
He then approaches the object the rats were consuming.
Garrosh stares at the obelisk for a long time, a deep frown in his face as he fidgets with the iron symbol around his neck.
But then he begins to laugh - "Well then, the headstone actually looks good" - he roars at no one in particular - "I don't care for any of it. If the plan is to scare me off, they'll need much more than a stage trick like this one" - the half-orc adds - "Even if it is a damned good one" - shrugging it away.
"We got better things to do, right?" - then heads on over to where they initially saw the ghouls approaching for the first time, and starts looking for tracks - "Brodin, this should be the best place to track where they came from" - he comments.