Grenz moves swiftly, making sure Cai is securely tied up and gagged. He also removes any valuables and weapons from him - "Good job" - he nods at his companions.
"Nice work Grenz, even if you didn't take the cheapy I set you up with... Still all's well that ends well. Strip his boney ass completely naked before you tie him up; he's a wizard, leave him no tricks."
As Grenz is dealing with Cai, Khamul searches the basement , taking advantage of his psychic powers all the while .
4 ranks +3 trained +1 trait +2 spirit bonus +1 guidance
4 ranks +3 trained +1 trait +4 racial (detect danger) +2 spirit bonus +1 guidance
After searching he talks about what next: "OK, once we're done here, do we head upstairs and start taking out the orderlies one after another; trying for defeat in detail? Or do we talk our way to Habe and take him out, and then try to talk the orderlies into following orders?"
"We're gonna have so many more people for jail. The Sheriff's probably gonna have to keep shipping them other places." Idun shakes her head, but aids Khamul in his search.
Grenz works to tie up the old man, making sure he has nothing more on him that he can use to cast spells or cause more trouble. Meanwhile, Khamul and Idun scour the lower rooms, trying to find anything of import. In the lab you were in, besides the four corpses, you find three more on the tables that Cai wears working at. It seems as if they should be decomposing, but they look very fresh, despite the numerous parts and pieces missing. Mostly, this room contains various surgical instruments and vials of unknown liquids and containers of body parts, probably best left unopened. You do find a small stick, about a foot long, carved and twisted with an emerald floating at the tip of it. You do not need to be a wizard to know it is magical.
The room where the zombies came out of has a distinct scent of death in it, but it is an otherwise empty room. It was more than likely simply a storage space for the zombies.
Cai’s bedroom is another matter. While the room itself has nothing to attack the unwary explorer, its simple wooden bed with straw matting and woolen blankets, along with a basic wooden chair and study table, seem to indicate that the man lived a spartan life, despite his supposed riches. Then you find his book. On the study table, under several pieces of parchment, is a black book made of some kind of skin that you feel you probably don’t wish to know who donated it. Embedded int he cover are numerous green gems that appear to be emeralds. The gold filigree on the borders tell you this was not cheaply made. Flipping through it, you find numerous notes on magical rituals and recipes, as well as some notes on what appears to be older magic. While you can’t fully understand it without further study, you do notice something familiar. He has a drawing of the seven-pointed star in it.
Khamul takes advantage of his Handy Haversack to loot the wand and the surgical tools .
He whistles when we find the seven pointed star in Cai's book and points at it, saying "I'm very glad we took Cai prisoner. I have whole bunch of things that I want to ask him about. Still, that's for later. Let's get this place under control as quick as we can. It's a good 2 hours march back to Sandpoint, and I want to be inside the palisade, with plenty of armed friends around when the sun goes down."
Having stowed the book and the parchements from Cai's table in his pack, he heads for the stairs up to the main floor, asking "So, do we go for Habe as head of the snake or take the orderlies piece by piece?"
"I think whatever waits for us up the stairs, if there is an opportunity to go for Habe, we should. But if his orderlies are waiting for us, we go through them first." Idun doesn't rule out the possibility that someone heard them fight Cai and the zombies.
"Nice work Grenz, even if you didn't take the cheapy I set you up with..."
"Next time I will pay more attention" - the monk chuckled.
"And I agree with Idun" - Grenz nods, hoisting Cai over his shoulder - "We should do our best not to allow Habe to escape - he is definitely an accomplice in all of this, and our priority" - the half-orc adds - "If we can avoid quarreling with the orderlies, I would prefer it"
Khamul looks at Grenz as he hoists Cai and asks "Do you really want to be carrying around a tied up unconscious guy into what's likely going to be a fight?"
After a pregnant pause, he continues, "Also, if we are going to be trying to talk our way through the orderlies, I think that carrying him around like a sack of potatoes is probably going to be a issue in any negotiations...I say leave his tied up butt down here. Idun still has the key, thus we can lock the door behind us. I will try to rig the door so it can only be opened from the outside once locked."
Khamul heads up to the door at the top of the stairs and after concentrating for a second begins to work to work on the lock. He calls over his shoulder, "While I work on this, you guys make double sure those 3 spare corpses can't get up and there's no familiar hiding in any of the corners down here."
4 ranks +3 trained +4 dex +1 trait +2 spirit bonus +1 guidance +2 MW tools
Khamul looks at Grenz as he hoists Cai and asks "Do you really want to be carrying around a tied up unconscious guy into what's likely going to be a fight?"
"Now that we have him, I will not let him out of my sight" - Grenz grunts - "If a fight breaks out, I will drop him down" - he adds, looking at Khamul and Idun - "But I am hoping you two can get us out of here without any more scuffles" - he adds.
"Well, I think that's gonna remove the 'pretend everything is normal" option. Let's do this!" Idun shrugged, then got ready anyway.
Khamul, channeling his inner trickster, makes the lock so that it can only be opened with the key that Idun carries with her, though the zombies show no sign of being to open a lock on any day, especially now.
You peer out of the door and find that there is no one on this floor in visible sight, but you do hear commotion coming from up the stairs around the corner. You can distinctly hear Habe’s voice barking orders at the orderlies, but what he is saying is muffled by wood and plaster. There is a clear path to the front door.
Khamul slips silently across the floor and up the stairs, straining to hear the orders Habe is giving...
3 ranks +3 trained +4 dex +4 small +2 trickster spirit -1 acp
4 ranks +3 trained +1 trait +2 spirit bonus
Grenz prepares to drop Cai if necessary, and jump on Habe.
…”and make sure those doors are locked! I don’t want any more escapes this time. All of you are on lockdown until this blows over. Especially you, Pidget. Now, once you are finished, go and see what is becoming of the conversation with our friend downstairs. I have to get to the office and prepare for the inevitable visit from the sheriff.” You then hear Habe moving towards the stairs that you are at the bottom of.
Khamul slips back down the stairs around the corner... as he does whispers using the message spell "Ok, Habe is coming down the stairs - grab him and choke him out. I will cut off the orderlies on the stairs and try to talk them down."
3 ranks +3 trained +4 dex +4 small +2 trickster spirit -1 acp
As Khamul waits for Habe to come down the stairs, he uses his psychic powers to prepare himself...
When Habe rounds the corner, Khamul lunges past him, bringing his longspear to bear up the stairs...
Grenz carefully puts Cai down, and quietly moves to the ambush spot pointed out by Khamul.
Idun continues to be at the ready to haste Grenz if a fight breaks out.
With a a bit of rustling around, Grenz lays Cai down on the ground. While he doesn’t wake the old man, Erin Habe seems perplexed as he rounds the corner. His eyes focus on Grenz and go wide, but not before Khamul slips past him and up the stairs. Idun quickly places her spell on Grenz, who is slowly becoming familiar with the odd sensation of time dilating around him.
Khamul takes a quick step past Habe into the stairwell. Seeing no orderlies following him, he lunges backwards into Habe's knees, trying to knock him off balance and make it easier for Grenz to get a stranglehold...
+3 bab -1 size +1 str+1 guidance
+4 dex +2 spirit bonus to dex checks
Idun attempts to go with a good old pantsing to get Habe off his guard!
Idun quickly grabs hold of Habe’s trousers and yanks hard, pulling them around his knees and leaving him embarrassingly exposed. At the same time, Khamul grabs him around his knees and the two topple over onto the bottom of the steps, right in front of Grenz. Before Habe can yell out, Grenz…
Khamul goes for the figure 4 leg lock, while growling at Idun "A little discretion if you please, I don't want that flopping in my face!", nodding at Habe's rod and tackle...
+3 bab -1 size +1 str +5 circumstance (previous grapple that is unbroken)
Habe is entangled and/or flat footed...
Grenz's first action is to try and gag Habe, then he will try to restrain and knock him out.
"Sorry, expected another layer! Not used to how you dress in the south." Idun responds quietly as she tries to assist.
The trio easily subdues Habe in a matter of seconds, the man trying to bite at Grenz’s arm that holds his mouth closed not seeming to work. Even as he struggles, you know he has no real fighting capability and you easily put him to sleep. Now you have an unconscious, half naked man in your arms and know at any moment the orderlies will come down the steps…
Khamul uses his message spell (yes, he forgot in the heat of battle above...), "Strip Habe and tie him up like you did Cai. I'm gonna prepare and then I'll go up to try and talk the orderlies down. Come running immediately if I shout for backup, OK".
Khamul begins to concentrate, casting psychic spells, prior to talking to the orderlies...
"Maybe we could throw a blanket over them and walk very confidently out the door before they ask anything? Orderlies weren't the most talkative types."
With a nod, Grenz proceeds in stripping also Habe, and tying him up like Cai. In the meantime he keeps also an eye on the Necromancer wannabe, just in case.
"Maybe we could throw a blanket over them and walk very confidently out the door before they ask anything? Orderlies weren't the most talkative types."
Khamul whispers back while concentrating on his casting: "Front door is just over there, but I thought you wanted to rescue the patients now..."
"There's a big difference between leaving while these two masterminds are able to keep scheming and covering their tracks, and leaving when only the thralls who are just going to wait for orders are here." Idun offers. "That said, maybe you should just try talking, and we'll be ready for a fight. Didn't expect Grenz's 'up front then beat their teeth in when they say no' strategy to work, but it did!"
As Grenz takes care of disrobing and disarming Habe, Idun keeps watch while Khamul confidently heads up the stairs. He almost runs into two of the orderlies as he is trying to talk to his comrades and concentrate on what he is doing at the same time.
”Hey! Aren’t you supposed to be downstairs with Master Cai?”
Khamul's grin is huge, behind the flashing point of his longspear.
"We were and it's time to have a little talk about that. The jig is up, and you orderlies need to start thinking for yourselves and making some choices. So, things you need to know: both the necromancer and Habe are unconscious prisoners. The zombies are destroyed. We're a team of professional warriors with magical support, not individual mental patients. If you guys follow orders from us now, maybe you can get away with pleading 'we was just following orders'; if you try and fight us, well, you'll have pretty clearly thrown in with this little necromantic cult thing. You'll lose, hard; we don't need prisoners as we already have the leaders in the bag. So that's your choices..."
+3 trained + 4 ranks (trickster's edge)+ 1 cha + 2 spirit bonus (trickster)+1 guidance
2 ranks +3 trained +1 trait +2 spirit Bonus +2 seance boon
+4 Dex +2 Spirit Bonus
4 (Dex) +4 (Armor) +1 (Size)+2 spirit bonus
The orderlies look at each other for a moment, and then back at the tiny halfling. They easily are over twice his size, based on their obviously orc heritage. Still, something in what Khamul says seems to strike them as much as a cave bear might. ”Are they… are they dead? The other inquires further. ”No, you idiot, he said uncon.. ink… knocked out.” He holds out his wrists to which you notice small tattoos of an intricate design. His partner shares the same. ”Can you remove these? We would be free without them.”
You can easily tell that these orderlies are both frightened and confused at the same time.
Khamul peers foward and takes a careful look at the tattoos . Looking closely he says "I've seen something like that before." Cocking an inquiring eyebrow at the 'smart' one, he continues "Tell me more, how would you be free without them? How were they put on?" He pauses to let the orderlies answer.
His eyes narrow in concentration, and he replies "Yeah, it'll take some time and work, but I think we can do something about those... They surely will help in convincing the mayor and the council that you were just following orders!"
2 ranks +3 trained +1 cha +1 trait +2 spirit bonus +1 guidance
He continues with "But in the meantime, we need to get this place sorted out. Can you orderlies keep things under control overnight without Habe and the necromancer? It's either that or we evacuate everyone to Sandpoint overnight... "
Grenz listens around the corner and waits.
They both look at each other and nod. ”We can keep them locked up overnight. As long as Pidget doesn’t find a way to get out again. The rest will be too confused to realize what has happened. Will you be returning tomorrow morning?”
"I've got an idea. How about Grenz and you take the two captives away and get help soon as you can, I'll stay here and see if I can't figure out any alchemical stuff to buy those infected some more time." Idun offers from below.
Khamul looks up at the orderlies, and says "Ok, that's the plan. You guys keep a lid on things tonight and we will be back tomorrow morning with reinforcements."
He turns back to Idun and Grenz "Before we head back to Sandpoint, we toss Habe's office and quarters, there might be clues in there."
Khamul heads off with Grenz and Idun to search Habe's office and quarters. While there he has a quiet word with Idun "Not sure I like leaving you here for the night without backup. I'd say grab as much of Cai's stuff and any notes as you can find, but come with us back to Sandpoint tonight."
4 ranks +3 trained +1 trait +2 spirit bonus +1 guidance
and add another +4 to detect any dangers (like traps...)
Starday, 19 Lamashan 4707, 15:27pm. 46 degrees, Clear. Habe’s Sanitarium.
You spend the better part of a couple of hours scouring Habe’s office and trying to find something, anything of importance. More specifically, incriminating evidence. While the orderlies tend to the patients upstairs, you are free to ransack the place. Habe is meticulously organized and his notes on each patient are extensive. While much of it is clinical jargon and is perhaps beyond most of your ken, you realize that his finance statements are altogether different. There seems to be a large amount of entries in his ledger from anonymous donations, upwards of thousands of gold sails each month. In his personal journal, you are able to find some recent notes about the ghouls and something about another benefactor, but the details are vague, saying only a bit about a blue coated man who kept his face hidden in the night and who had a certain ‘unappealing aroma, but good manners’.
"Well, well, well, where have we met a blue-coated man with an unappealing aroma before. Not to mention that's a LOT of money. That's much more than it cost to build this place, so what was that going to. Habe needs to answer a lot of questions..."
Khamul makes sure he grabs the financial statements and the journal. But then he turns to Grenz and Idun "If we want to make it back to Sandpoint before dark, and I certainly do, it's time to go. Let's go see if we can find a cart to haul our prisoners in. If not, my hound could maybe lug one if Grenz can lug the other. But really, time to shake a leg..."
"I'll be fine, if anything bad happens I'll haste and run into the wild, they won't catch me in my domain, even if I'm not either your or Grenz's match in a straight fight. I plan on tending to the patients to give them the best shot of surviving until help arrives." Idun volunteers to stay.
Khamul's eyes widen at Idun's plan. He siddles his hound over to Idun for a quick hug and a word of advice "Brave Lady, it's your call, and I hope to see you happy and well in the morrow's sunshine. I don't like burying friends, so remember you'll have to run hard, long and fast to outrun the dead..."
Starday, 19 Lamashan 4707, 19:38pm. 44 degrees, Clear. Sandpoint Gates
Leaving the Sanitarium, Khamul and Grenz haul their load of prisoners to the gates of the Sandpoint, traveling the main road and staying away from any of the farm trails, lest any of the purported ghouls accost them as they go. Dragging the two men is a tedious and slow process and eventually during the journey, the two of them slowly start to come to. They are groggy, but visibly angry, though the gags prevent anyone from understanding what possible obscenities might be issuing forth from them. As the sun begins to dip below the last bit of late autumn’s horizon, you can see Sandpoint’s night torches being lit at the gates. As you approach, two of the guards come down from their post at the gate and move towards you, hands near their weapons. ”Oy, what have you got there?” You don’t recognize them as any of Sheriff Hemlock’s men.
Habe’s Sanitarium
Meanwhile, Idun stays behind at the Sanitarium, looking to prevent more of the patients from turning into ghouls. She spends most of the evening in the lab downstairs, concocting what she can of chemical she is studying, but Cai’s notes are not easy to decipher. It would take weeks to fully come up with an exact copy, but she does find that she can make something similar, though how well it will work will need testing. The orderlies, for their part, spend their time keeping the patients cared for at a minimum, giving them dinner and water, but otherwise leaving them in their cells. They leave Idun alone for the time being, but even down here, the echoes of at least one, possibly two, of the patients screaming and howling, make their way into Idun’s ears. It is enough to be unsettling and even more difficult to study. One of the orderlies makes his way down the stairs, ”Miss, we thought you might want some dinner. It isn’t much, but it’s all we have.” He presents a tin mug of what smells like cleaning solution and a cracked ceramic plate that has boiled potatoes and what appears to be a tiny bird leg, plucked and boiled.
khamul is suspicious that he doesn't recognize the guards as Sheriff Hemlock's people. He figures in a town the size of Sandpoint and all the interacting he's had with Belor's people in the last week, they wouldn't be unfamiliar... He takes a careful look at them before replying.
4 ranks +3 trained +1 trait +2 spirit bonus
and add another +4 to detect any dangers (like say fakes disguised as the town guard...)
2 ranks +3 trained +1 trait +2 spirit Bonus +2 seance boon