Kiley assists with the repairs where she can. When the group finally arrives at the dungeon, she keeps close to Molsabar. Her halberd rests easy on her shoulder, but can be brought to bear almost instantly.
The young woman listens to the tales the others share while they search the already explored rooms. The tales about undead send shivers up her spine, but it's the tale about their battle with Tall Jack that grips her heart, and she found a valuable lesson in the words.
Bravery often has a price.
(This post is gonna be horrible, I apologize.)
Harv made his entrance well known at the bar the night before, sliding in and being his usual, jovial self, getting hammered and managing to sound like he was murdering the piano, if the bar had one. If not, then he'd just be singing horrendously off-tune.
But that was then. Now, Harv was following along, old dusty knight's shield strapped to his beefy left arm, his right hand holding that ball and chain ominously. He kept quiet, mainly, though his hooves would clack along that stone floor, if it was stone.
They had a job to do.
The monk remains his usual quiet self as usual - he his educated however, greeting the new arrivals one at a time and introducing himself with a curt - "I am Zeltor. Greetings"
He keeps close watch as the group moves along, much more willing to walk alongside Harv today, than standing near the loud one last night - "Stand in silence, and every approaching enemy will sound like a landslide" - he remembers the words of his master.
As they move ever closer to the mouth of Doom, his mood darkens even further, reinforced by recent memories of lost allies and old ones of his distant childhood.
His hands never leave the bow as they travel.
Crossing across the sodden grounds to the entrance to the Mouth of Doom is uneventful, although you are quite wet and muddy by the end of it. The rocky hillside leading up to the gaping stone demon maw is refreshingly dry, although the heavy rains have caused some of the hillside in parts to dislodge. Excluding one almost dangerous slip on a bit of unsteady ground by Ninivic, the party arrives in one piece.
Determined to comb over where they'd been already with a fine tooth comb, Molasbar comes prepared with special magic to find any secret doors in the place...
Molasbar moves through the entrance hall and up to the north into one of the empty rooms they discovered, scanning for secret doors. Surprisingly, he's quick to discover one in the northern empty room on the right wall; it seems to be a simple sliding stone door, although a well-hidden one. While the half-orc and a body guard or two are scoping out further beyond, the rest of the party sets about opening up his detected secret door... and finds themselves in a very short hallway with no further exit. Spending a couple of minutes searching in this very obvious alcove (or bringing Molasbar back before his spell finishes) garners another sliding stone door that opens up into a room some of the party remembers seeing before in the bandits' lair.
In the centre of this arrowhead-shaped room is a stone sarcophagus. It's dark beyond, but a keen observer can make out the shape of six humanoid figures lurking in the darkness, standing eerily still. They don't seem to be breathing or moving at this stage, although when you open the secret door all turn their heads to stare at the entranceway...
Detect Secret Doors discussion.
Ajax peers into the room, noticing the motionless figures inside. Although surprised by living inhabitants in the dungeon, the Ifrit takes it in his stride, holding up his hands in a non-threatening manner.
"Peace." he calls out softly, hoping to open negotiations.
The figures beyond do not respond to Ajax at all.
"Ajax, those things are dead. They probably think we're lunch."
Kiley checks her weapons, making sure that the hammer at her back was going to stay out of the way. She bounces the halberd against the palm of her hand.
"So, Ninivic, do you think we should draw them into the hall? Only have to face two at a time?"
"Boy, those things look worse than old Jeb. Anyway, I'm game for whatever. Lure 'em in, go out and say hello, either way should be fun."
The big red man looks at Zeltor out of the corner of his eye, slowly unraveling that ball and chain from his right hand in preperation.
"You ready to party, kid?"
"We have been here before and there was also some sort of shuffling coming from within that stone sarcophagus - these undead creatures may not be our only foes in here - If you want them drawn out let me know and I'll showe them with arrows"
At his companion suggestion, Zeltor seems surprised - Party..?
"I had never considered combat as a... Party... Why would you call it so?"
Perception
Knowledge Religion
"Zombies, to be certain, but they are not rotting. And not moving at all. Maybe they only attack if you get to close. Or go through the other door."
"Either way, I'd say we're better off creating a killing zone out here instead of going in. Let's shoot them one at a time and see if we can draw them out. How about Zeltor and I shoot at the first one on the left, fall back, and see if they follow?"
"Yes, that seems a sound plan. If the bandits were racing through here and the zombies are still present, apparently someone is putting new zombies in here regularly or, more likely, they only follow someone so far before they turn back."
Molasbar's suspicions are indeed correct. Standing at the doorway, the duo fires a round and an arrow at one of the zombies. Despite a hole in its torso and an arrow sticking out of its shoulder, the zombie does not follow further than the far door, instead creeping back to its guard post.
"So do we torch it or try to fight them?"
Kiley looks at the others, hoping that they have a better idea.
"Last time we fought one it seemed like swords worked best, but fire would be a novel idea. We could try that."
Slightly embarrassed by his ignoranced, Ajax replies sheepishly, "I think it unwise to leave these... horrors here, and arrows don't seem to be doing much."
He gives Kiley and Harv a grin, "I can grant you both some protection from the undead attacks, if you're up for some zombie slaying. If I can get closer, I can blast them all with holy energy."
"The protection you're offering, is it powered by the blood of orphans?"
"Virgins?"
"Azatas?"
"Angels?"
"Archons?"
"Children?"
"Innocents?"
"Pacifists?"
"Fuzzy bunnies that fart rainbows and pee mead?"
Once Ajax answers the last one, she spreads her arms wide.
"Okay, Lay it on me!"
Zeltor looks dismayed at the innefectiveness of his shot - "I wasn't expecting my weapon to be of so little use against these..."
Turning to the group he questions - "Are any of you aware of exactly what these creatures are? Do they have any vulneranilities or weaknesses?"
Ajax lays a hand on Harver's shoulder and mumbles a few words, then repeats the process on Kiley. Divine energy surges through them, wordlessly promising defense and security.
"That won't last long, maybe a minute." Ajax grins as he turns to Kiley, "Make it last, you have no idea how many kittens I had to sacrifice for that." He says with a wink, gripping his spear in anticipation for the coming battle.
Kiley shoots the oracle a death-glare before smiling herself. She heads into the room, letting out a shrill whistle as she sets her stance.
"Impaling them is not likely to do much good; they do not rely on the continuing functioning of organs for animation. Nor are clubbing attacks of much use, since their blood doesn't not flow and contusions are not an issue. Bladed incisions are mostly likely to disrupt their muscles and render them harmless. That..." Molasbar fires a force missile at the closest one, damage "and certainly applications of arcane power."
Ajax steps up behind Kiley, awaiting the inevitable rush of zombies. He holds a hand in the air, preparing to unleash divine energy when the opportunity arises."...Or divine power."
Initiative: Zeltor | Ajax | Ninivic | Kiley | Harver | Molasbar | Zombies
Current Map (see note below)
I was about to ask about light sources, but you all actually have Darkvision now... lol.
Status
Zombie (Blue): 2 damage.OOC
As of posting, I can't update the map/Obsidian Portal. I will do so when I get home in about 5 hours.
After receiving some holy protection from the ifrit, the party heads on inside the arrow-shaped room intent on destroying the undead blight within. The zombies, attuned to whatever unholy command keeps them in this room, are reasonably quick (for mindless shamblers, at least) at responding to the intrusion.
Ajax begins chanting as he readies a blast of holy energy, while Kiley moves forward and gets into a battle stance. From through the previously secreted stone doorway, Molasbar fires one of his trademark arcane missiles at a nearby zombie, breaking off one of its fingers completely. (Needless to say, the zombie is rather unaffected by this.)
Ninivic steps into the room and shoots at the nearest zombie.
"Thank you friend" - Zeltor takes the offered huge weapon from Molasbar - it feels clumsy and unbalanced in his hands - he leaves it in reach leaning against a wall as he takes a single step towards the room and fires away at one of the zombies.
Initiative: Zeltor | Ninivic | Molasbar | Kiley | Harver | Ajax | Zombies
Status
Zombie (Red): 5 damage.
Zombie (Orange): 5 damage.
Zombie (Yellow): 10 damage.
Zombie (Green): 5 damage.
Zombie (Blue): 4 damage
Zombie (Purple): 2 damage.
Zeltor moves inside and fires off a single arrow into the zombie he had tried to attack before. Yet again it seems to have no effect; the zombie now has two arrows poking out of its shoulder bone. Ninivic's bullet likewise seems to be completely ineffectual. Harver takes up a point beside Kiley, shield and flail at the ready for the oncoming horde.
The zombies begin to encroach! Kiley lashes out at the blue zombie, but finds her hands clammy and her swing too weak to penetrate the zombie's body. More to the point, she's too busy fending off grasping zombie arms to do much work on them. Harver likewise has to throw off the mindless gnashers, although he manages to land a nasty blow into one of their skulls, crushing bone splinters into what was once its brain.
As two more zombies clamber over the sarcophagus in their attempts to get at the party, Ajax determines that they're close enough to blast with his searing holy energy, and a sudden flash of bright light fills the room as he does so. A couple seem able to resist, but most howl in what would be pain if they could feel such a thing, flinching back away from the light.
"Nice Ajax! A lot better than me endlessly wasting ammunition on them." Nonetheles Ninivic reloads and fires.
Ajax gives Ninivic a toothy grin, pleased that his skills are of value to the team. He turns his attention back to the shambling undead, raising a clenched fist above his head and unleashing another wave of holy power.
Leather creaks as Kiley tightens her grip on the halberd, and swings. Hard. The blow is clusmy though, and a growl of frustration can be heard rising above the shuffle and groaning of the zombies.
"I can fight better than this."
I'm not sure if that channel took out the yellow zombie by Molasbar. If it did, he'll fire a force missile at the purple one. If not, then yellow.
Damage
Initiative: Zeltor | Ninivic | Molasbar | Kiley | Harver | Ajax | Zombies
Status
Zombie (Red): 8 damage.
Zombie (Orange): 11 damage.
Zombie (Yellow): DEAD!
Zombie (Green): 11 damage.
Zombie (Blue): DEAD!
Zombie (Purple): 5 damage.Ajax: 7 strain.
Molasbar: 7 strain.
Zeltor shoots off a flurry of arrows into the nearest zombie to him, sending his arrows directly into the zombie's cranium as if it were a bullseye board. Boom, headshot! Though his arrows until this point had been ineffective, it seems he managed to find the one weak point--the zombie's brain. Ninivic, however, is not so lucky... the rat-man realises it himself that he's largely just wasting ammunition at this point.
Molasbar peppers the purple zombie with another force missile while Kiley clumsily attacks one of the three that are threatening her. It's only through sheer dumb luck that the zombie raises its arms at the exact right time, and she accidentally (albeit fortuitously) eviscerates the monster before it lunges at her again. Harver tries to repeat his skull crushing experience, but has no luck this time; the spiked ball hits the zombie in the stomach and does very little.
Ajax delivers another pulse of holy power, and the zombies shriek loudly as they quite literally melt in the face of it. Two seem to be particularly affected; the green and orange zombies appear to have lost most of their flesh, and their eyes are completely burnt away in their sockets. Every time they make contact with something, a tiny part of themselves falls apart and crumbles into ash. However, for now, they still remain standing.
Incensed by the magical energies being flung their way, two of the zombies stumble towards Ajax and Molasbar. The wizard suddenly has to deal with an unholy shambler's arms grasping around his neck, choking him; he wrestles with the purple zombie and manages to throw it off, gasping for air as he does so. Ajax finds himself in a similar state as the orange zombie grabs his arm with an unnaturally powerful strength, almost yanking it out of the socket. The remaining two zombies continue to focus on Harver and Kiley, but their strong defences prove impenetrable.
Ninivic holsters his pistol and reaches for his vial of holy water tossing it at the ragged looking zombie next to Ajax.
Molasbar stumbles back from the zombie, gasping for air and twisting his head to make sure his neck is still intact. He falls back behind his allies to recoup and snatch up his axe from where Zeltor leaned it against the wall.
Withdraw to B3, ready greataxe.
Shocked at the zombie's strength, Ajax tries desperately to hold off the undead with his left arm while, once again, holding a clentched fist into the air.
This has to work this time...
Another blast of light emanates from the oracle, searing undead flesh from its bones.
Kiley's hair glows lightly at the tips as another growl escapes her mouth.
"I know I can fight better than this!"
As Molasbar withdraws, Zeltor grits his teeth and decides to stay put, firing two arrows at the closest zombie.
Initiative: Zeltor | Ninivic | Molasbar | Kiley | Harver | Ajax | ZombiesStatus
Zombie (Red): 10 damage.
Zombie (Orange): DEAD!
Zombie (Yellow): DEAD!
Zombie (Green): DEAD!
Zombie (Blue): DEAD!
Zombie (Purple): DEAD!Ajax: 7 strain.
Molasbar: 7 strain.
Kiley: 10 strain.OOC
Ninivic, holy water deals 2d4 damage to undead and evil outsiders, not 1d6. I'll reroll for you:Molasbar, withdrawing is a full-round action; you'll have to pick up the axe next round.
Though trying his best to replicate his last headshot, the flurry of movement around Zeltor causes his shots to fly askew, instead piercing the zombie through its impervious torso and having little effect. Ninivic, finally deciding to ditch the pistol, pulls out one of the flasks of holy water they discovered some time ago and lobs it at the nearby zombie. The flask smashes open on its face, the water sizzling its flesh as if it were strong acid. With a supernatural howl of pain the zombie melts away into nothing, leaving only a puddle of blackened water behind. A couple of droplets of the holy water splashes onto the nearby red zombie, leaving small, sizzling holes in its flesh.
Molasbar retreats back behind the artillery, rubbing his sore neck and reaching for his axe. Kiley starts to feel the rage growing in the pit of her stomach as she continues to completely miss her target, and she struggles to keep it under wraps. Harver switches his attention to the purple zombie in an attempt to protect the back line; he slams his flail into its chest, smashing through its ribs and sternum; the zombie still stands, but seems to half flop over, unable to properly sustain the weight of its upper half. Ajax's next blast of holy energy completely eradicates two of the three remaining zombies, burning their bodies into ash.
Not knowing the state of his fellow undead guardians, the final zombie lunges at Kiley, powerful hands finally managing to find purchase around her neck. The aasimar warrior chokes and splutters, unable to break free and having the air practically squeezed out of her...
Zeltor tries to dissuade the zombie from hurting Kiley further by peppering it with arrows, but it seems determined to take her down with it. With a roar of frustration, Kiley kicks the zombie away from her, and in one movement brings her halberd blade around to lop off its head.
Apart from the zombie corpses that were not melted or turned into ash, all that remains in this room is the stone sarcophagus...
As he approaches the sarcophagus, Zeltor is still apalled at his own inneficiency against these creatures - Never had I encountered undead so resilient against my arrows...
Making a mental note to advise with his companions on how to best improve his abilities against these creatures, he starts searching the sarcophagus thoroughly.
Zeltor inspects the sarcophagus closely. It is relatively nondescript, being carved from stone but not having any other identifying features. The top seems to be relatively easy to remove by sliding off, although is still quite heavy and may take some help from another to do so.
Still groaning with pain, Ajax taps Zeltor on the shoulder. "Do not open it yet... Give us a time to recover. The dead do not rest easy here and disturbing them unprepared would be folly."
Ajax wanders over to Molasbar, also noting his injuries.
Molasbar's injuries are mostly in the form of reddish finger markings around his neck, although those are quickly fading. The half-orc just needs a bit of a sit-down to be all right, maybe some gentle massaging to speed the process along.