"Yasmin, Rallos - you want this? Might be useful if you need to make a quick escape?"
Rallos turns the key, unlocking the door with a satisfying ‘click’ and, cautiously peering into the room finds a strangely near empty room. Wisps of decayed and sagging spider webs droop from the walls of this room, which appears to be empty except for the long-dead dismembered corpse of a giant spider and a stout, freestanding wooden closet in the southwestern corner. The ceiling is covered with dusty spider webs bulging down from a grid of wooden beams and plaster fifteen feet above the floor. Faint moans and plaintive sobbing come from the closet.
The sounds of movement put Gray on alert, and so the fighter readies his sword and shield for what potential danger might arise. Almost stepping into the room, he remembers the pit traps his friend Rallos has fallen victim to. Gray hesitates, then looks to his friends.
"Hear that? Someone...or something is in that furniture. I'm looking for another trap before we step foot in there."
Sister Zalinsel puts her hand on the warrior's arm to keep him going in right now
I've heard that sound, Grayface. It seems someone is ..crying? Could there be someone still living here, among spiders and rotting walking corpses? I don't think it could be a restless dead trying to trick us, but be careful.I don't pretend to know everything about undead, and remember someone down there has tried to be gorishly creative with corpses old and new.Maybe some spell mimicking sobbing?
Ea’s suspicion is proven to be founded when she reaches out for the auras in the room…and sees the swirling patterns of Illusion around the closet in the corner of the room.
Meanwhile, Grayface is pretty sure that there are no traps within the room…
Meanwhile, Grayface is pretty sure that there are no traps within the room…
It's an illusion, Grayface. I can't say if it was triggered by opening the door or if someone has just cast the spell. Assume a foe is there, waiting for you.
An illusion? How odd...
Rallos checks for non-magical traps.
Rallos, checking the room for anything untoward, agrees with Grayface - it certainly doesn't look like there are any traps in here...
Yasmin also looks about. .
"Even if we can't see it, there's no doubt a trap or ambush awaiting us."
"Illusion magic? What if I shoot an arrow at it?" He gestures toward the closet. "That might...shed some light on the mystery."
Grayface sheathes his sword, stows his shield, and pulls out his bow and arrow. He waits for a nod or a better idea before proceeding with his excuse for a plan.
It works for me....
Rallos readies his rapier, scanning the area for threats.
"go ahead" Emerald ensures there is a wall in the way, in case of... well explosions.
Yasmin also take a look and is equally convinced that, at least as far as mundane physical traps go, there is nothing to be afraid of within this room...
...so Grayface lets loose with his arrow, the bowstring snapping taut with a 'whack' and the arrow fizzing towards the closet...where it embeds itself into the dark wood with a dull thud...
...and nothing happens...
Grayface lowers his bow, turns to his friends, and shrugs. "Well, the closet is real. Maybe you read the magic signs wrong?" He then stows his bow, and once again draws his sword and board.
Gray steps into the room, taking the lead, hoping to face head on whatever danger might lurk within the room. For the moment he remains a healthy distance from the moaning closet.
Moving into the room, Grayface swats and swishes at the spiders webs that hang limply from the ceiling...but nothing jumps out, fires at or otherwise attacks the perplexed fighter...although the sobbing from the closet does continue unabated....
Rallos follows Gray towards the closet. When he gets close enough, he searches the area surroundingthe closet.
Wait one moment....
Ea focus her attention on the walls and ceiling, where spiders might be
To a soundtrack of gentle sobs, Rallos and Ea assist Grayface looking around the room...Rallos remains unconvinced that there is anything amiss but then Ea spots it...a section of the ceiling, which seemed curiously different to the rest of this level, has a very definite line around it....almost as if it was a hatch or removable section somehow. Looking at the floor below, Ea finally notices the pressure plates that align with the section of ceiling...
...the sobbing continues...
Beware, all. There's somthing wrong. There's a pressure plate on the floor, just under something like an opening in the ceiling... I guess if you step on the plate, something falls on your head.
Good eye, Ea. I must be rubbing off on you....
Rallos moves towards the plate, wary to not get to close to it. He pulls out chalk to outline the plate more clearly.
As Rallos chalks out the outline, nothing much changes within the room... The sobbing continues... But Rallos is astute enough to note, as he passes with his chalk, that there isn't any sign of movement from within the closet...
I was looking for spiders, and theses beasts can hide right over our heads, or in the corner of two walls.That's why I spotted the trap.
"Can we just throw something heavy into the closet and watch what happens? I wouldn't be surprised if spiders came out to attack us again."
Well, I am not able to throw Gray, but there must be something we can use...
Rallos looks for a rock or something substantial to toss at the closet.
Rallos returns to the corridor and finds a suitably large chunk of rubble. Lifting the rock, (a task he certainly would not have been able to have performed whilst in recovery from the spider bite), he returns to the room and lobs it against the wooden closet in the corner where it smashes into the door…the closet rocks under the force of the blow…
…and then, with a sudden noise of gears and cogs, it falls apart revealing a corpse in an advanced state of decay; curiously, the corpse is held in an upright position by a leather harness secured to the wall behind it…you have barely a second to take in this change in circumstances before the noise of gears and cogs ends with a sharp ‘clunk’ sound from the floor area marked by Rallos and a sudden discharge of electricity around the corpse’s harness…
…it’s eyes snap open and in a cold empty voice it moans, ”Hungry….”
Frowning at the walking corpse
Rallos, this zombie is uncommon... they are supposed to be slow, and I don't think it should be able to talk. That harness looks strange too, probably another experimentation from a mad tinker in necromancy.
She tries to find any hint about that strange zombie strenghts and weaknesses, as Rallos fends it off
But nothing comes to her mind
I think we should grant it a final peace.
Rallos moves back and left one square, trying to draw it between him and Gray and readies his rapier.
As Rallos retreats, the zombie literally runs at Grayface, it's eyes glow fiercely red as it slashes and swipes at the warrior...
Yasmin carefully steps back from the zombie, then fires a controlled blast of fire that just barely misses her party members! ;
"Back to hell with yeh," The eruption of movement momentarily caught the warrior flat-footed, and his counterstrike was as clumsy as his defense.
Grayface steps back to join a more strategic attack formation with Rall and Ea.
Rallos draws his bow and looses an arrow....
Ea coldly assess the situation
Grayface, Rallos, I'll go around the closet to attack the zombie from behind. We'll be able to put it to rest easier that way, I think.
Ea uses the closet in the middle of the room to her advantage, walking around it so she comes behind the zombie
she rises her morninstar
but fail to hit the restless dead
By Pharasma, you'll be soon down.
Whilst Ea and Grayface both miss with their attacks, Rallos’ arrow finds it’s mark…spearing the flailing, rushing zombie through one of it’s eyes…whilst the gouts of flame from Yasmin’s hands cause the animated corpse to smoulder and crackle…
Ravenous, the zombie turns around and launches a rabid assault upon Ea...claw after ragged claw flail and scratch at the beleaguered cleric...
Rallos moves into a flanking position and stabs at the undead monstrosity.
"I don't think it likes you Ea," Grayface quips as he moves to engage the undead.
If it has any emotion remaining, be sure it's desperatly calling for the peace of the grave, Grayface, and not acting out of hate or malice. As a faithfull of Pharasma, I'm here to fullfill its last wills.It's not a monster. The monster was the one who animated its lifeless corpse. I keep my wrath for him. For zombies and skeletons, we can only have pity.
the forcefull blow of the animated corpse open a large wound on Ea's belly, but the young woman, full of religious zeal, manages to counter attack, grimacing in pain as her clothes are slowly covered by her own blood, but keeping silent
Rallos’ blade cuts deep into the zombie’s abdomen, long dead organs slopping out of the gaping hole that the tiefling tears…and when Ea crashes her weapon into the undead’s face…it is all over, whatever force animated the creature can’t sustain the wrecked body, and the zombie falls to the floor.
An examination of the closet that fell apart reveals nothing of interest or value although, somewhat perversely, the sobbing sound still emanates from one of the wooden panels…
Ea also notices, from her previous look within the room, that there is a well disguised, door shaped crack in the southern wall of the room…
Those wounds should be tended to...I do not think you want them getting infected. There is no telling what filth that thing carried.
Rallos checks around while the party tends to the wounds. After that, he checks the door for any alarm or trap.
If you agree, I'll keep my channeling to use against multiple undead foes, or to cure most of us at the same time. It seems wiser, strategically. I can however cure your wounds with a spell, Grayface, or we could use the wand we own on both of us. I'm wounded too, and I don't want to die before I destroy the creature who animated theses lifeless corpses. Of course, I'm ready to accept my Death if such is my Fate. Each fight is a dance towards the grave. I want to do my best for Pharasma before letting out my last breath, it is my sacred duty.
Rallos, there are no traps or alarms that you can see around the door...you also discover the loose brick that probably acts as a handle for the door...
"Sounds like a good plan to me, Ea." Yasmin enters the room, ready to go through the secret door.
Rallos manipulates the brick once his friends have had a chance to heal.
Well...shall we?
Grayface looks in disgust at the broken corpse at their feet. The level of disdain he held for the undead was akin to the priest's, though for different reasons. His friend's religion abhorred the black magic of undeath because of robbing of the dead of their rest, and the inherent sacrilege of going against the natural order; the large warrior hated the animation of the dead for another reason-- it was a binding of the soul against its will. Slavery, in other words. Grayface did not suffer slavers to live.
After Ea's strong words, the warrior looks to the broken body with a mix of pity and anger the warrior says, "I am looking forward to meeting the slime who uses this kind of black magic. We will make them pay for these abominations."
Gray looked to Rallos and nodded his approval. "Onward."
Once satisfied that the way forward is safe, Rallos pushes on the loose brick and the previously unseen door swings open...it leads into a short corridor heading south which, after about twenty feet, ends at another door...
...listening at the door, Rallos is confident that there is nothing moving beyond it and so, swings the door open...into a moderately sized room with only one other obvious exit, a door in the northern wall about twenty feet to your west...
A few wisps of decayed webbing hang from the walls of this room, but there’s none on the stone ceiling and no sign of spider movement in the room. The ceiling is blank save for four 1-foot- wide, round steel medallions, one set into each corner. The floor is equally bare except for a pedestal in the center of the floor made of a single five-foot-square block of stone, about two feet high.
On the pedestal sits a metal-framed wooden chest, and to the side of the pedestal rests a shallow hole in the floor housing what looks like a brass door handle set into the stone. A stone tile lying loose nearby is clearly designed to fit over the hole, concealing the handle.
Rallos will check the area around the pedestal, careful of his surroundings.
Keep an eye out....there might be something lurking about.
Ea will use the wand to cure Grayface, then her own wounds, while Rallos scouts around.
I'm glad to have you fighting by my side, Grayface, and even more glad to know we share the same goal.
It's not much, but it's the first time Ea says something kind. There's even a feeble trace of a smile on her thin lips..or maybe it's a trick of the light.
Rallos' examination of the room doesn't reveal anything new although he does see the padlock on the chest...the padlock is tarnished with age and doesn't look like it would take much effort to open.