Seeing Father once again suffer great damage, Delia decides the only way to save him and get him from out of its grasp is to send him away. After the fight she can summon him back and heal him.
Ried moves further backward and fires at the ooze.
With the creature being a puddle, Delia is concerned that anything she summons will not see it or recognize it as the target, or that without fire, or her acid splash she doesn't know what can affect it. This reminds her that she needs to learn to speak to the things she is able to call, to better give guidance on what she wants them to do. She then realizes that maybe an insect could recognize the puddle for something different, given their pheremone method of communication.
Delia dismisses the unconscious Father, the pain from his burned and crushed arm having been too much for him. She then steps forward to better see the threat.
Round 2:
Ried takes aim and looses his quarrel, but skips it instead off the stone floor.
Ember takes a second swing with her mace. . It comes down with frightening force, sending ripples through the monster's body.
Kendra and Alistair continue to wait, as no one has told them what is going on.
Delia calls forth a Giant Ant, hoping it will recognize the enemy and attack. Indeed, it steps up to the creature and attacks with pincing mandibles. The bite succeeds, and garners some form of reaction as the ooze shies away for a split second.
Valachi steps into Father's place and strikes with his spear. His weapon strikes true, carving a furrow in the ooze, and the stone beneath.
The ooze then comes back from the attacks, lashing out with its tendril at ( ) the Ant (), but glancing off the insect's carapace.
Round 3:
Again, Delia steps only a little closer just to see where the fight is, hoping to see if she could safely move in. She decides against it. The ant, however, once again nips at the ooze with its piercing mandibles. The zeal with which it bites at the thing causes Delia to wonder if it actually enjoys the taste, and is eating the thing.
"Delia, do you need to get in for a better view?"
Ried will reload a crossbow, and depending on Delia's answer will attempt to tumble over to the northern square
; DC: 5+CMD
Delia just shakes her head, adding "I don't really have much to hurt it with, and would be more at risk and in the way I think."
Valachi attacks the ooze again with his spear.
;
Reload and stay here
Ember attacks the ooze again.
A last flurry of blows from the team, a bite from the ant, a spear blow from Valachi, and a mace strike from Ember, all connect. The ooze is hammered hard, and splashes and separates as it is hit. After the last blow falls, the ooze lies still and its body begins to run, mingling with the puddles surrounding it instead of keeping itself distinct.
Cursing, Ried will switch out his normal bolt for a ghost salt one again.
"Lets continue, cautiously."
Take 10 perception as we move forward.
Valachi checks on Kendra before joining Ried in searching.
Kendra is fine, not even being aware of what was going on up front; she asks a few questions, but doesn't require much in the way of assurances.
The natural cave pathway bends around a bit, but eventually comes up to a door, and firmly wedge in as most of the others in the dungeon, but apparently originally intended to open easily from this side. It opens into the back of a prison cell, through what is clearly a secret passage from the other side.
Several iron doors line the walls of this partially ruined cellblock—the doors themselves hang askew on their hinges, revealing empty cells beyond. Partially burnt wooden support timbers still function to the north, while to the south they’ve collapsed and caused cell walls to crumble as well. Rivulets of water drip down the southwestern wall to create a shallow pool in this ruined portion of the room, with overflow filling an oubliette hole in the middle of the room nearly to the rim.
Valachi enters cautiously, holding his spear at the ready.
"Not another oubliette," Ried groans. "Valachi, I'm getting behind you this time."
The veteran crypt explorer readies his crossbow and aims just over Valachi's shoulder as they move forward.
The party cautiously moves into the main chamber of the dungeon wing, their eyes keen and wary for any signs of trouble or hauntings.
The women of the group seem more attuned to the true nature of the troubles, while the men continue to look for physical threats. Delia, Ember, and Kendra all spot the ominous signs along the walls. Dark droplets, which might at first be seen and dismissed as condensation or drips of dirty water, flash red in colour as the light from the Ioun stones reflect off of them. As the women watch, they see the droplets grow in place, and then break from the wall, leaving a rivulet of crimson behind them. Bare patches of the rock walls nearby then start to grow drops of red as well.
Surprise Round:
Delia whispers to the others, "It appears the walls may be bleeding. Ember, do you see any signs of haunts, like the many others we have come across?"
"This is a haunt, be prepared to deal with it as needed," Ember exclaims, holding aloft her holy symbol and channeling to smite it.
"If we strike hard enough, it may not manifest."
Round 1:
Delia, Ember, and Valachi feel a rush of confusion and mental weakness set upon them all of a sudden. As they search around the room, their eyes each settle upon a point on the wall. As they do, they see the blood leaking from the walls run together and congeal into the first letter of their name. You feel the the rush of the energy leaving you concentrating into that point, as though your will, or your very soul, is being channeled off by the formation of these letters. What will happen when your name is complete? Perhaps by destroying this writing you can reclaim the small piece of yourself that has been stolen...
"What are you doing? Stop it!" Ried will pull them away from the wall starting with Ember, "Snap out of it ... this has to be the SplatterMan's doing... Alistair! Where is that book?"
:)
Valachi rages, howling and attacking the letters with his clawed hands.
; ;
; ;
; ;
Valachi will continue until the writing stops or someone stops him.
Ember uses her mace to smash at the letters.
Delia looks on confused, wondering what Valachi and Ember's intentions are, "Guys it's blood on the walls, why would you hit it? Here let me try to help another way." She calls forth the energies she guides so often, and requests the aid of a being from the plane of water. She points to the letters, and as best she can she mimics wiping them away, hoping the thing will take her meaning.
Round 1:
Ember and Valachi pound at the walls where the letters appeared. As their blows land, the bricks that held the letters are destroyed, and the characters themselves disappear.
The elemental approaches the wall and using a stream of water from its body, sprays the letter. However, the blood refuses to budge, and does not wash away. It seems that destroying the letters is the only thing that is effective.
Round 2:
A second letter in Delia's name appears next to the first, and Delia feels her mind clouding, as though that which makes her her is being bled away. She must destroy those letters!
The others feel some malevolent presence in the chamber, trying to draw away their essence, fighting, but for the moment they are able to hold it at bay...
"What is going on here ...?" Ried looks around drinking an extract of detect undead
Delia, frustrated that the water isn't working, decides that acid should remove the offensive stain. She lobs one of her usual acid globs at the place where her letters are.
Valachi stands still, looking around for something to attack.
Round 3:
Ried downs one of his mysterious extracts. As his eyes adjust to the effects of the strange concoction he sees the definite presence of an undead aura suffusing the room.
Delia throws acid upon the latest letter, the liquid burning away the blood.
Valachi stands, looking confused, seeing nothing he can actually sink his claw into.
Ember also looks confused, and stands indecisive, not sure how to react.
Letters again begin to appear, beginning the names of Ember, Reid, and Valachi, and re-adding the second letter to Delia's.
Round 4:
Ried drops his crossbow and attacks his letter with his rapier,
Ember again hits her letter with her mace.
Valachi grunts and returns to clawing at the wall.
; ;
; ;
; ;
Something in the room, a tension, or a sense of dire magic, shatters as the onslaught on the walls continues. There is a moment of silence, where no new letters form, and the urge to destroy them all leaves. And then comes a cackle, a hollow sounding disembodied laugh. Whatever mystical force that had kept this room from collapse under the damage from the fire, the flooding, and the pressure of the buildings above, give out, and parts of the room come caving in, and raining down on those within the chamber.
Pieces of stone, mortar, debris rains down on the entire party, some being hit with little more than a few pebbles, like Delia, to some who are hit with large stones, like Valachi.
The laughing continues, and rises up into practical hysterics as the image of a ghost, a frail old man in robes, rises up out of the flooded oubliette.
Round 1:
Delia steps away from the flooded floor, and uses her magic to assist Valachi. "Val, I have enchanted your right hand, with it you should be better able to hit the thing."
Valachi nods and attacks the ghost with hate-fueled abandon.
;
;
The Splatterman regards you as you prepare to combat him. Looking at the exchange between Delia and Valachi he points at the latter and then says, "Were that but true. I am beyond harm; beyond any of you!"
With that he reaches out a hand and strikes out with bolts of force. They slam into most of you, with only Delia and her creatures spared.
Alistair 21/15 HP
Delia 18/15 HP
Ember 21/1 HP
Kendra 16/10 HP
Ried 23/7 HP
Valachi 35/14 HP
Ant 22/18 HP
Elemental 17/17 HP
Ried picks up his crossbow and fires the loaded ghost salt bolt, calling on a bit of luck as he does so.
Ember channels her last of the day to heal the party and herself.