"Whaaaaat," says Kiera in a flat, incredulous tone. She scrutinizes the strange surroundings, then finally, reluctantly, says, "Seems like this was a place of study for someone working with the runes of wrath. Probably dangerous."
"But, some of these things could be of use, or value, right? The wand, the book, the scroll and if the wine is good, then we could at least enjoy it." Volkar said as he looked back at the things floating about in their respective areas of the sphere.
"I think we can leave the dead raven alone, though." Volkar winked back at Kiera. He tried to stretch towards one of the closer items he had mentioned.
The items float in midair, giving the appearance of a lounge without a chair. Volkar reaches out into the room, but everything is floating a little higher and out of reach. However, as he stretches his arm out, his arm gets a curious weightless feeling to it. Withdrawing his arm, he feels no odd aftereffects as gravity reasserts itself.
"Let's see..." says Kiera. She mumbles a spell and surveys the items slowly.
She concentrates on the various items to see if any of them have their own telltale magical aura, in addition to the obvious effects in the room.
"The wand is enchanted; the other items are mundane. Now I can swap out one of my cantrips and use a mage hand to grab anything small and non-magical. So that could nab the wine for us, Volkar. I could maybe use a mage hand on some tongs or a glove or some other tool to make them float over and push the wand toward us - since it has its own magic I can't manipulate it directly with that cantrip," says Kiera.
Through some contrivance and concentration, Kiera manages to put together a plan to retrieve the items from the safety of the hall way. When finished, she has left the maggoty bird floating in air, but retrieved a ragged book, a scroll, a bottle of wine, and the twisted iron wand with a forked tip.
Upon inspection, the bottle of wine is simply that. Still corked and sealed, it is of an average vintage and year, but notably, it is much more recent than anything else around here. It had to have been brought in recently.
Kiera, after casting another cantrip allowing her to read magic, is excited to find another ancient Thassalonian arcane scroll, this one for the spell Burning Hands (cl3)
The book is a magically preserved but still ancient book written in Abyssal. This well-read tome has many entries, accompanied by numerous woodcut illustrations monsters killing.
Kiera passes the bottle of wine to Volkar and says of the tome, "I can't read this language. Later I can use magic to translate it, but right now we probably shouldn't waste magical power on it."
"The wand holds a spell that will discharge a shocking blast of energy at a touch."
She thinks a moment, then says, "Some of these items are recent. There's a magician around here somewhere whom we still haven't seen. Tsuto didn't have the magical skills to use the scroll or the wand."
"Could have the magician in question been the winged creature we faced earlier?" Andrezi asks with a hopeful tone.
"It's possible," Kiera acknowledges. "It seemed to understand how to conjure other monsters with that strange pool."
Volkar uncorked the wine, took a deep swig, and passed it on to Daelric and the others. It was good to get something to drink, and the wine wasn't mead, but it wasn't water either.
"I suggest we head back and see where that other passage went, and maybe we can say that we are done with this place for a bit?" Volkar asked somewhat hopefully.
"Agreed!" says Kiera quickly. "Here, pass that over," she says, taking a swig of the wine and passing it on.
Taking the bottle from Kiera, Andrezi takes a healthy drink of the wine. "Let's go see what we can find."
Volkar took another swig of the wine and passed it on as he started to walk back towards the red marble stone statute of the angry woman. He kept trying to get a sense of the purpose of the place, and had to settle his mind that it may simply have been some type of prison or religous site.
Miss Kiera, would you mind telling me again, what happened to these ancients that could carve and build with stone that makese even a dwarf like me impressed?" Volkar asked as they were walking.
I go to agree with the burning of the zombies, but before I can say anything Kiera has already started shooting out her spells, so I leave her to it. Once getting to the bizarre room, I watch in silence as the others fawn over the room and its contents, but make sure to keep an eye out in case anything comes at us. As the wine is handed to me I think seriously about having some, but decide not to, so pass it on. "If I have some of it now, I may not stop and while we're in here I would rather be sober enough to protect you all if it is needed."
When everyone heads out again I take my usual position and keep another eye out for anything suspicious or dangerous.
The party moves back through the underground complex, and finds the stairway they bypassed before. gradual steps generously interspersed with landings every few feet lead gently upwards to another ancient door. This door opens easily under Daelrics touch, and reveals a circular chamber. Water ripples quietly in a circular stone pool lined with skulls, and smears of what looks like blood mar the pool’s rim in places. As you open the door, you notice a blackened, bat-winged fiend's head hanging from the junction of the wall and the ceiling. Tentacles dangle from chin and scalp, and its fanged mouth hangs agape. It hisses at you, but your time in this place has made you the quicker...
Andrezi Zeldana
Kiera Videns
Volkar Glanral
Daelric Morieth
Thing
Bold May Post
Volkar
Daelric
Andrezi
Kiera
Thing- 10 ft up
I move into the room and bring my shield up to cover myself more, I spin my axe in my hand a couple of times while waiting for the creature to come down.
Andrezi follows Daelric into the room, pulling out his crossbow as he moves. He takes up a position on the opposite side of pool from the creature.
"What in blazes is that damned thing?" Andrezi asks, just before blessing the group.
Volkar followed into the room and then readied his axe as he saw the newest nightmare flitting about the room. "Another of you, let's end this sooner than later, then."
Volkar, Daelric, and Andrezi move into positions below the nightmare head..
Bold May Post
Volkar
Daelric
Andrezi
Kiera
Thing- 10 ft up
Kiera lets out a short "eep!" followed by a bolt of acid.
Vargouilles attack by swooping in on their opponents, shrieking them into paralysis, and then biting them with rows of razor-sharp teeth. When multiple vargouilles take up a common cause and fight as allies, they overwhelm their victim with bites and shrieks, tearing it to shreds.
A vargouille's low power and hideous method of reproduction make for a dangerous combination. Vargouilles are relatively easy to summon to the Material Plane, and once here, they can swiftly reproduce, creating more and more of their hideous kind from those who fall victim to their kiss. Vargouilles created on the Material Plane in this manner are still extraplanar creatures, and as such can be banished with the right magic.
They have a poisonous bite, and can emit a paralyzing shriek. Most hideously, they can "kiss" a helpless foe, beginning a transformation in the victim that eventually leads to the creation of another Vargouille.
Kiera lobs a gob of acid at the creature, but her disgust foils herr aim. As the gob sizzles against the stone next to it, the Vargouille opens its hideously fanged and disjoined mouth and emits a scream!!
The creature spreds its foul wings and begins flapping them, ready to attack any creature that falls to its shriek.
Bold May Post
Volkar
Daelric
Andrezi
Kiera
Thing- 10 ft up
Andrezi shakes off the effects of the creature's screech and fires a bolt in the direction of the winged menace.
(bless)
For the love of good mead. ...
Kiera falls to the floor, paralyzed, while Andrezi shakes off the effects of the shriek. He puts a bolt in the air, but it does little better than Kiera's acid blob. Volkar then falls over, paralyzed as well.
Bold May Post
Volkar- Paralyzed 5 rnds
Daelric
Andrezi
Kiera- Paralyzed 5 rnds
Thing- 10 ft up
Realising that there is not much hope to hitting the creature myself I start to swing at it from beneath, hoping to distract it enough for one of the others to hit it.
Daelric shakes off the scream and tries to help distract the creature and help Andrezi, but doesn't manage to do much distracting.
The creature drops down on Daelric, biting at him.
Bold May Post
Volkar- Paralyzed 4 rnds
Daelric- 1 dmg/ Fort save
Andrezi
Kiera- Paralyzed 4 rnds
Thing- IN REACH
Seeing the creature now within reach I swing my axe at it, hoping that the thing won't fly away again.
Daelric shakes off the poison burning within the bite he sustained, and takes a swing at the hideous creature. Unfortunately, he does not manage to connect either!
Bold May Post
Volkar- Paralyzed 4 rnds
Daelric- 1 dmg
Andrezi
Kiera- Paralyzed 4 rnds
Thing- IN REACH
As the creature descends within reach, Andrezi drops his crossbow and retrieves his staff as he steps closer. Once in position, he takes a swing.
(bless)
Andrezi give the flying head a good smack, but it isn't enough to end the threat.
The vargouille slides over past Daelric and leers at Volkar before leaning in and placing its lips squarely over Volkars.
Bold May Post
Volkar- Paralyzed 4 rnds/ fort save
Daelric- 1 dmg/ AOO
Andrezi- AOO
Kiera- Paralyzed 4 rnds
Vargouille- 7 dmg IN REACH
Andrezi takes another swing at the creature as it moves to attack Volkar.
(bless)
Andrezi tries to knock the creature away from Volkar, but without any success.
If paralyzed bodies could scream, Volkar would surely be doing so, as the kiss sends venom coursing through his veins to run rampant through the hearty dwarfs body.
Kiss (Su) A vargouille can kiss a helpless target by making a successful melee touch attack (this provokes attacks of opportunity). A kissed opponent must succeed on a DC 16 Fortitude save or begin a terrible transformation that changes the creature into a vargouille within 24 hours (and often much sooner; roll 1d6 separately for each phase of the transformation). First, over a period of 1d6 hours, all the victim's hair falls out. Within another 1d6 hours thereafter, the ears grow into leathery wings, tentacles sprout on the chin and scalp, and the teeth become long, pointed fangs. During the next 1d6 hours, the victim takes Intelligence drain and Charisma drain equal to 1 point per hour (to a minimum of 3). The transformation is complete 1d6 hours thereafter, when the victim's head breaks free of the body (which promptly dies) and becomes a vargouille. This transformation's progress is paused by sunlight or any light spell of 3rd level or higher, but stopping the transformation requires remove disease or a similar effect. The transformation is a disease effect. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +4 racial bonus.
Your character has 14 hours to figure out he needs help and to get it, or he dies. Good news is that you are well within that time to get back to Sandpoint. Bad news is that this is all OOC knowledge, and your characters have to figure out what is going on and fix it.
Bold May Post
Volkar- Paralyzed 4 rnds/ fort save
Daelric- 1 dmg/ AOO
Andrezi
Kiera- Paralyzed 4 rnds
Vargouille- 7 dmg IN REACH
"Damnit!" Andrezi yells, seeing the creature continue to harm the dwarven alchemist. Undetered by his previous failure, Andrezi swings again as he steps into a flanking position with Daelric.
(bless, flank)
Andrezi swings again, but meets with the same results..
Daelric swipes across with his ax as the bat winged head swoops in on Volkar, just barely connecting.
After the gross out make out, Daelric hacks away again with his ax, this time exploding the ugly brute into bits of squiggly tentacles and pink brains.
OUT OF COMBAT
twitch...spasm...gurgle...twitch...
After a few minutes, Volkar and Kiera feel muscle control beginning to return. Sitting up from where they fell, they can see that the creature is dead.. and also that Volkars hair and beard are suddenly falling out and looking patchy. The area where the dwarf was lying is covered in hair, and more comes loose by the minute.
"That doesn't look good. We should get out of here fast!"
"Come on! We need to get back to Father Zantus! We'll need magical help to stop the vargouille's poison!" Kiera hikes up her skirt and starts running for the exit!
"Agreed. Volkar's afflictions would seem to be beyond my expertise."
Volkar reached for his face and rubbed his cheek only to have a portion of his beard come off in his hands. By the Forge what has that thing done to me?
Volkar stood and looked about. He took up a quick pace behind Kiera and followed her. "Are you sure Mistress Kiera that we can get my hair back? A clean faced dwarf is a terrible thing."
"I'm pretty sure, but... this disease will only get worse if we don't find a healer fast. You think being a beardless dwarf is bad, try dying beardless."
The party gets together, and hits the road, praying that they can make it in time. As they pass through the ruins and back through the tunnels, Volkar gets progressively worse, losing more and more of his hair and his precious beard, and spitting out teeth every so often. By the time you reach the sunlight of the Glassworks, Volkar resembles more of a bald and toothless child than the burly dwarf that descended into the bowels of the long forgotten ruins. You rush towards the cathedral, where a startled acolyte meets you soon after you crash through the front doors.
"By the gods, what's the rush?!" he exclaims, startled as you rush Volkar in.
"We need a way to cure disease - a magical cure, it has to be able to fight a magic disease! It's urgent, it's a matter of life and death, and it needs to be NOW!" Kiera shouts breathlessly.
The young acolytes eyes go googly as he takes in the dwarfs fearful visage, but Kiera's yell snaps him back to reality. "Uh... Uh.. Father Zantus! Yes, I will get him!!" He takes off through the halls, yelling for the good father. Shortly thereafter, another priest comes up, quickly appraises the situation, and escorts you to a small room. He helps you strip Volkar of his armor and gear, and gets him into a nightshirt and into the cot along the wall. "Father Zantus will be here in a moment.." he says. "The rest of you.. There is a common room down the hall." He gestures towards the door..
"Now lad, we don't need to start a scare for you and Mistress Kiera here," Volkar said as he tried working the armor's various bucklets and pulled off the chain mail shirt with tuffs of red hair as well. "Mistress Kiera, we probably need to make sure we had everything sealed and finished down in the caverns. Not sure we got all of that done, but it may be a bit.
Volkar's head seemed to spin and his eyes fluttered a bit as he tried to lay down on the prooffered cot. "What the heck did that thing do to me, lass?"