Silvio finishes off the zombies with a finesseful flurry stabs and parries. A truly exceptional exhibition of expert swordsmanship. He joins the group and greets the newcomers with an elegant bow. "Silvio Callgari Pazzi, great sea captain and hero to all, at your service. With a timely entrance like that Silvio can tell that you posses a flare for heroics as well. "
It is a please to meet you Hank Rearden. We are on a mission but the sickle has been there for some time. One hour might not hurt if that is what our new friends need. What do you think Fleet, Silvio, and Gleus? ask Amy as she leans on her staff.
"Silvio questions the wisdom of prosponing the inevidable. We stand outside the den of evil, do we not?" he says and gestures to the cave entrance. "Silvio knows that evil is best opposed early and often!"
(assuming an hour's time passes without event)
"Tell me, do we know aught else of what is on this island? Is the whole thing infested by major swarms of zombies? Or are those the only ones we're likely to see? And where is this sickle? Is it out in the open? In a Temple of Doom? Guarded by a smogy dragon? And once we have it, is that the end? Do we just wave it a bout, or are there rituals and somatic ends that would be commenced?"
"According to what we have learned this blade of necromantic evil is held somewhere within this cave. Once we retrieve the blade Silvio belives that an opportunity will present itself for us to rid the world of its evil."
"Silvio Callgari Pazzi, great sea captain and hero to all, at your service. With a timely entrance like that Silvio can tell that you posses a flare for heroics as well."
Roman's eyes widen and his mouth gapes as he recognizes the legendary hero Silvio. He giggles like a small child, and then clears his throat harshly to make himself come off as more dashing and manly.
Ignoring the conversations of the living, for now, Fleet approaches the dead corpses of the zombies. After whacking them with his shovel in the cranium to make extra sure they're dead, he sets about cracking open their skulls with his spade. Soupy, partially mushified brain matter seeps out of the broken skulls of the plague zombies when he is finished.
Dropping to his knees beside one of the corpses, the necromancer thoughtfully considers his fallen enemies. Given his previous knowledge of plague zombies, he knows that it is possible to gain certain...information, if one is willing to pay the price. His face is hardened, but he knows that he might get useful data from this source...unpleasant though it may look, to some.
Dipping two of his fingers into the mushy brain matter of one of the plagued zombies, Fleet brings a large, gray glop to his mouth and swallows it down in a single gulp. He scowls immediately afterward, making a face similar to the face people make when they shoot really strong whiskey.
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"So, you see, that it recharges using the magnetic field of the Earth wherein OH BY ALL THE SAINTS WHAT ARE YOU HURGGGHH--"
Hank violently empties the contents of his stomach at seeing Fleet's 'investigation'.
"Oh my goodness man they must have some -very- peculiar dining rituals were you come from. I've heard of consuming chilled monkey brains as a dessert treat but THAT, well, that is certainly new."
The plague zombie's brain tastes significantly nastier than your typical brain, but Fleet somehow manages to choke down a bite. His mind is immediately filled with a rush of emotions and images for a solid thirty seconds. It takes a bit longer to make sense of them.
"Gnyack. Nasty." Fleet comments, sucking a bit of loose brain matter from behind his teeth and spitting it out. "Still, useful. As I had hoped, the zombies' former lives were informative on this matter. It appears we are...yes...we are seeking a captain of some sort, that led a pirate crew. These unfortunate souls were once crewmen on his vessel," he mentions, gesturing at the fallen zombies. "There was also...hmmm...some kind of green light. It appears to have been tied to the sickle we were informed of. This sickle could be quite useful to me..."
He stands up again and gestures to the cavern's entrance. "I didn't see any others in the vision that were assigned to guard this entrance. It should be relatively safe to enter now, if we're quiet and don't draw attention to ourselves."
"I didn't see any others in the vision that were assigned to guard this entrance. It should be relatively safe to enter now, if we're quiet and don't draw attention to ourselves."
Roman finished a brief tuning exercise on his violin and then went into the opening bars of a famous Chelaxian Opera piece.
He stopped suddenly and smiled.
"Ah, perfectly tuned. Oh, I'm sorry, Master Fleet, were you saying something?"
Fleet's expression darkens when he sees how flippantly Roman is treating this whole situation. He'll feel differently after he's had to survive on this island for a few nights... he thinks to himself, then deliberately wipes away his salty expression.
"I'd be willing to lead on, certainly. Follow me, then, lads, and Amy." So saying, whatever time of day it actually is, Fleet cautiously picks his way to the cavern entrance. Peering inside, he confirms that nothing is waiting for him within, and waves over his shoulder for everyone to follow. Moving quietly and watching where he steps, the necromancer leads the group inside the cavern. While waiting for the others to join him, he takes some water from his waterskin and swishes it around in his mouth a little bit to ease the brain-flavor, which still lingers on his tongue disgustingly.
"We should see to it that John get's some proper food, his hunger seems to be getting the better of him. He must be quite desperate to dine on one of of those creatures. And on its brain, no less!", Silvio whispers to Amy when they enter the cave.
The brave noble ventures forth into the darkness using the light from Hank's device to illuminate the way.
When he approaches the cavern entrance, Fleet notes that Silvio was already ready to go, and is more than happy to cede the point position to the Dashing Hero with an "after-you" gesture. Despite his interest in acquiring the Sickle, he had no zombie protection anymore, and was not anxious to be the first one inside.
Amy stay back as the group gets ready to enter. "Call out if there are any more undead so I can try to protect us." Then Silvio whispers to Amy and she give a small smile. Amy tries to be prepared for anything as they enter the cavern.
The cave is larger than it first appeared, and you can see a faint green flickering in the distance. To get to it, you'll have to traverse a narrow passageway lined with vinelike plants.
"Do we have any botanists with us? Silvio does not like the look of those plants. " Silvio enquires. "If that sickle is behind the corruption of this island, who knows what it could do with those vines. Mr Rearden, can you do this science to the vegetation? Or perhaps somebody has something to prod them with. Silvio is afraid that his rapier does not have the prefered range."
"I'm not confident in my ability to dodge a sudden ropelike thing attaching itself to my ankle..." Fleet mutters, looking grimly at the narrow walkway. "Unfortunately, without Harriman, I'm at a loss for how to make the trip safer. I do have a bit of rope we could tie around our waists, and go across one at a time. How does that sound?"
Hank easily recognizes the plants as cissus hypoglauca - a form of vine commonly found in rainforests and other humid jungle regions. The tensile strength of this plant is extremely strong, allowing intrepid explorers to use it as climbing rope. The specimens in this cave, however, have an odd greenish glow about them. The plant zombies from earlier had a similar glow....
"Silvio will lend a hand", Silvio announces and helps Hank with the task of retrieving and chucking one of the plant zombies at the mass of vine zombies. "Are you sure that this science will work? Silvio can't help to feel that the glowing vines would have more of a reaction toward something other than them, like fire or acid."
Amy is also having doubts about science but she will trust her team.
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"Eh? Do we know aught of these plants other than that they are plants? I'm trying to surpass any confirmation bias regarding their status to being malignant or benign. Once we know if they are more than simple greenery we may proceed accordingly. Who knows? Do we even now know if they are other than simple grasses?"
As soon as the undead touches the vines, they snap to life and grab it. Within seconds, the zombie has been ripped limb-from-limb and absorbed into the walls.
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Hank exclaims, "AhHA!" and begins scribbling furiously in a notebook. "Fascinating! And that certainly settles the 'benign vs malignant question' eh?"
After taking sufficient notes, Hank stands back, lines up his Zero Canon, and begins launching a few volleys into it. He points his arm at it, and a tiny, red, targeting mechanism pops up from it. He fires three small blue-electric sphereoids that seem to glisten, as if they contain an infinite number of stars, at it.
Then he pauses to see the plants' reaction.
"I've got a bit of dwarven fire whiskey in my bag. It's practically lamp oil. We could throw some on it, and light it on fire-"
Roman then watched as Hank fired off his gadget into the plants.
"Or that. That's also an option."
"Fascinating. These vines are certainly carnivorous, and violently aggressive. I'm very glad that we seem to have our heads screwed on straight, and we didn't just forge on into them with our own feet! By God, they're faster than piranhas..." he mutters, staring in awe at the hungry vines. He watches with interest to see the results of Hank's strange gizmo.
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"Indeed, good Fleet, indeed. And do not thy hand stray far from your firewine, sir Andari. This is merely an experiment to see if normal detriment has any effect. Methinks that a broad-based fire must needs eventually be used, tho."
Hank scribbles some notes after his zero canon hits, and will let Roman torch the stuff if he wants to.
The vines vanish where Hank's energy balls strike them, leaving only blank patches of wall. However, this doesn't spread, so only a few tiny patches are eradicated. Clearly this isn't a very effective way to clear them, although it can be done given enough time.
"Dwarven Fire Whiskey it is," Roman says with a nod. "Just do me a favor and never tell a dwarf you meet that I did this. Half of them would kill me on principle."
He pulled out the bottle from his pack and then struggled with the cork for a moment before a loud pop was heard. He made the mistake of taking a whiff, and it made his eyes water a little. He hadn't been kidding about the liquid basically being lamp oil. If anything, he had been underselling its combustive potential.
"Stand back."
With some careful jerking of his arm, he spread the viscous liquid on as many of the plants as he could without getting too close. He then made his way to stand behind Hank.
"Have at it, Professor," he said indicating his weapon.
Amy takes a match that she was carrying and tosses it on to the liquid and watches it go up in fames. At the same time Amy lets the spells that she was holding go.
" I have the ability to enhance a weapon to cause more damage. Any one want me to spell their weapon? ask Amy.
"Shouldn't be necessary for me. If I have to use this dagger...I'm probably already dead," the necromancer says with a helpless grin.
Roman looks at the conflagration with confusion.
"That's odd. I've never seen blue fire before."
The vines went up in a rush of blisteringly-hot air. The blue flames blazed high, but as the fire burned down, they turned a nauseating shade of green before dying out completely. A minute later, you heard growls and moans from the chamber beyond.
"Haha, well done everyone! Something in there is not pleased with our progress" Silvio says in triumph. "Unnamed beast, or beasts, present yourself for your inevitable defeat! Or hand over the sickle. That is also an acceptable outcome."
Roman drew his rapier in excitement.
"For wine, women and song! Huzzah!"
"Huzzah!" Fleet shouts, trying to muster up some enthusiasm to cover up his nervousness. He didn't want to appear craven before these newcomers, or Amy.
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Hank frowns at the sound of the growls and steps back a pace.
"Are we to venture in, or try and bait the beast out of it's lair? I sense that we may be marching forward, so I shall enhance our offensive capabilities...defensively! Since the fair Amy shall be granting favor to good Silvio, perhaps I shall grant boon to the other swordarm.
Roman, stay still a moment."
Hank draws forth another device. It's a small, metal box-like structure. A name is engraved upon the side: Anbaric Pressure Clockwork Projector. "This device generates a vast number of teenee tiny clockwork robots, which can then be configured into a number of temporary constructs. Here, I'll put around you a protective field:"
Hank makes some adjustments on the box then turns on the device, and a barely discernible stream flows from it toward Roman.
A sphere seems to glow around him briefly, then disappears, no longer discernible to the human eye.
Roman salutes Hank with his rapier. He had already seen this particular device in action and thought it a marvelous invention.
"Tally ho!"
Roman moves across the way, arrives at the door, and flings it open dramatically.
"Meet your doom, evil-spawn, and despair. Sir Silvio the Magnificent and his retinue are upon you now!"
Standing in front of Silvio, Amy starts a small chant to Sarenrae and Sivilo's sword starts to glow for a second.
John's words provided the final creative flourish needed to successfully complete Roman's magic. Hank's tech functions as expected, and Amy's able to further boost Silvio's weapon. Preparations done, you head down the corridor and open a plant-covered door to reveal a large chamber dimly lit by torches flickering with sickly green light. The floor is covered with fungus and spore-filled mushrooms. Slumped over a vaguely chair-shaped mass of vegetation is a man. Or, at least, what used to be a man. Clad in ragged pirate garb, he now resembles a dying plant.
As you enter, he jerkily stands up and locks eyes with Amy. "You. Can. Keep. Away. My. Minions. When. I. Take. Your. Power. I. Will. Finally. Be. Able. To. Leave. This. Place."
Raising the sickle he carries in his right hand, he channels forth a green light that solidifies into a multitude of beams. The plants they touch begin to animate and reshape themselves into humanoid form.
As you enter, he jerkily stands up and locks eyes with Amy. "You. Can. Keep. Away. My. Minions. When. I. Take. Your. Power. I. Will. Finally. Be. Able. To. Leave. This. Place."
"Silvio shall do you one better! He will skewer this retched form with his blade and perhaps then your spirit can pull free and find peace in the after life", Silvio says and lunges to disarm the undead pirate captain.
"Now that Silvio has his attention, try and disarm him!"
Roman moves in behind Silvio, and figuring that the dashing hero has everything well in hand, he instead drives his rapier into one of the reforming plant monsters.
Fleet immediately slinks to the back of the party when the captain begins animating his plant minions. He presses himself to the wall on the left side of the chamber, hoping to avoid attracting the attention of any of the plant-things, and creeps quietly toward the far end of the room, so he could approach the captain unobserved...
Let me know if I need to roll anything for that, or if I can just avoid attention by letting the guys blasting away with their guns and swinging their swords take all the heat.
Amy also slides to the back of the group to support.
Amy begins her chant and holds up her symbol to offer protection from the undead.
Silvio's blade swats the sickle out of the captain's hand, and it falls to the ground. Immediately, a tendril of vine wraps around it, holding it fast. The dashing hero also realizes that that the vegetation under his feet has begun to grow exceedingly fast, and he's going to have a difficult time moving from his current position.
Roman plunges his rapier deep into the chest of one of the reforming plant zombies, but the creature just continues to grow. To keep from being knocked off his feet, Roman is forced to let go of his weapon. As it finished forming, it becomes clear that this particular enemy is at least two feet taller than he is, and the plants forming it have a similar hue to that surrounding Silvio's blade.
Hank's energy ball strikes the captain squarely in the chest and knocks him back a step. Instantly, the wound begins to repair itself, as new plants grow from inside the wound.
Fleet creeps stealthily along the wall. He hasn't been noticed. Yet...
Amy creates a protective field around her, but it's strangely muted. It's possible that the sickle's evil energy is weakening the Cleric's connection to her goddess. The "anti-undead" aura can hold her and a single other person.
Drawing his knife, Fleet makes a dash for the sickle. When he reaches where it lies on the ground, he begins to frantically saw at the vines holding it in place.