As Klassalka begins to stir, the continued sobbing and wailing of children flows out of the supernaturally dark room. However, no further attacks come from the creature within - it's preservation of self perhaps holding more weight than the consumption of the living...at least for now.
You give Klassalka a quick break as you head back to the encampment to warn Winter of this peculiar little beast and the darkness in which it hunts. The camp in fairly good spirits, considering the situation. One would think that they're just happy to see some, if any, progress to help their current situation. Captain York offers his usual grunt of response to the undead menace, but notably heads right over to brief his team of press-ganged security.
Winter sighs as you indicate your need to head back out, but she knows no one else can do it. She offers a short prayer to Pharasma to heal any wounds you may have, then nods her thanks as you head back out.
You head back to the large room, thankfully not encountering any rivers of blood or fox-skull children lunging out of the darkness. You see only two feasible ways in which you could go - to the south beyond the room of beds with the now dead ghoul strapped in, and into the small room just beside the darkened chamber.
Ramul nods in thanks to Winter for her healing before heading back to continue exploring the asylum.
Cerio squints as the bright light from Winter's magic consumes them. Healing magic is useful, but he can't quite understand the priestly obsession with the gods. It just feels cold and sterile. He works his elbow, making sure the kink is out, then follows the others.
He nods in agreement with Ramul.
Ulfric thanks Winter for the healing.
Once more into the breach! Ulfric thinks as he opens another door fro the party to explore.
Ulfric detects no magic through the door, and it opens freely to reveal a small room with racks of cleaning supplies and bins of stained laundry. With these stewing here in the close space, the closet has a unique, acrid reek. There is a body here - a woman with multiple stab wounds. She is quite dead and appears to have been for some time.
On the woman's person you find a suit of studded leather armor, an embroidered cloak, and two vials filled with liquid. The aura of magic emanates from the last three, but not the armor.
Cerio holds a hand over his nose as he pulls the magical items free from the body. "Eeesh! This'n sure is ripe!" He looks for a name tag or other identifying information on the body and in the room.
Passing his hand over the vials, his eyes glow a ghastly green. "But look here! This here's a potion t'keep th'haints off. Drink it 'n them nasty critters'll have a harder time gettin' t'ya." He offers it to Ulfric.
Holding up the cloak What do you know. My friend back home had one of these. It's a cloak of resistance. That potion smells just like a potion of Bulls Strength..Could be wrong.
Not sure what's what, Ramul trusts his companions' expertise.
"Hopefully we can make better use of this stuff than that woman did. We'd best stay vigilant... as usual... lest we end up like her."
"Thank you Cerio, but I feel Klassalka or Campus will be better able to use that." Ulfric says. Ulfric will examine the cloak and don it.
"I guess we had better move on." Ulfric will lead the way south when everyone is ready to proceed.
The cloak almost matches mine, Klassalka says.
I wouldn't mind that potion, though... she points at the PfE potion, figuring it'd help in positions ala last time. She's been subject to too many curses!
You head south, following Ulfric's lead to a point at which two hallways meet beneath a lofty ceiling. High windows, alive with the nauseating fog beyond, give the space an airy feel. A portion of the western hallway has collapsed, blocking it with tons of rubble. You approach with caution, having heard a clatter as you came from the north. A good plan, it seems, as you come upon a decayed walking corpse that you know to be a ghoul. It is furiously trying to dig through the rubble to head west. So enthralled is it in this task that it doesn't notice your approach.
Nasty things, and more nasty things. Campus thinks. She raises her spear, stepping softly behind Kalasalka. Not too close. Stopping 10 feet away, she hefts her spear. Now! Die! She trips slightly on a waggling tail, and her spear goes wide.
Let's put a quick end to this! Ulfric thinks as he charges.
With his sword away and no time to draw it, Ulfric takes a hold of his shield with his second hand and uses it to assault the ghoul.
Cerio bites his tongue as he tries to freeze the ghoul with the darkness within his own mind.
Ramul quickly gathers the energy for an electric blast upon seeing the ghoul. At least some foes in this place are easy to recognize.
...He manages to miss the ghoul entirely.
Its like this ghoul has a magic shield or something. Everybody's bolts, motes, swords, and spears are flying wide. She grimaces at the ugly flesh eater.
Klassalka hefts her greatsword over her head, calls on a surge of rage to overcome her fatigue, and moves forward- at less than a charge to bring it down.
And slams the blade down into the ground, missing the ghoul.
The ghoul whirls about and snarls as the attacks come out it with ferocity. It looks down at its own body in near disbelief as somehow all of its assailants miss. Satisfied with the result, it sets itself, and charges in towards its attackers, now emboldened by its perceived invulnerability.
Cerio runs south and around Ulfric's back, releasing another spiraling wheel of those nauseating colors that seep from between the spectrum of earthly hues and must find their origin in some unfathomable corner of distance space.
Ramul moves south as well and hurls another blast at the horrific creature.
Ulfric has a simple choice, and makes it. He draws and swings his sword at the ghoul.
Campus unfortunately misses her mark against the dodging ghoul, but then Cerio's spell takes effect. Instantly, the ghoul seems to stop moving - its eyes grow wide but unseeing, and its body visibly slackens, as if the muscles just ceased to work.
With the creature largely unable to dodge, Ulfric's blade cuts deeply into the undead creature's torso, cutting it from shoulder to center of chest. Just as Ulfric begins to draw out his blade, Ramul's blast angles in and slams into the creature. Ulfric is thrown back, and his sword arm tingles a bit with electricity even as the ghoul falls back the other way, its skin sparking and burning. It falls to the ground, lifeless once again.
Nice work with yer colors 'ol man Cerio. Where next?
Ramul nods in agreement with Campus. "Good work, indeed."
To Campus's question, Ramul says, "I suspect we should continue our investigation to the south. See what other horrors this place holds."
Klassalka yawns, "See, that wasn't so bad."
Cerio looks at his hand blankly. "What'd they do t'us?" he asks weakly.
"Wonder what it was diggin' fer? May be it knew th'way outta here. Which way now? Thar?" He points south.
Cerio's question niggling at him, Ulfric steps forward and looks at where the ghoul was digging and digs a bit deeper, trying to see if there's anything of interest.
If there's nothing, Ulfric leads the way southward agiain.
Klassalka looks at the hole too (5 - 1 for fatigued)
Ramul also takes a look before heading south with the others.
You look, but find nothing of note within the rubble. If the ghoul was searching for something special, then it was only special to him.
Continuing to the south, you come to what looks to be the first of four patient rooms. Ulfric pushes in through the unlocked door after some basic checking for traps, magic, and evil. Inside, human-shaped carnage covers the bed - apparently remains of a patient trapped here and set upon by hunting ghouls. There is a broken window on the west side of the room - it opens into a narrow corridor that meets up with the rubble pile to the north, but continues for a bit to the south.
eh nice bauble. Wonder whose it was? Campus shows Cerio who notes no signs of magic in the ring.
Cerio averts his eyes from the gore, but bites the ring with his yellow teeth to ensure it's real gold. "Fancy. Not that it's doin' us much good in here."
Having no means to investigate the ring, Ulfric proceeds to the next door, examines it, and prepares to use what force is required to open it when everyone else is ready.
Ramul shrugs at Campus's question and says, "No clue. It looks valuable, though. Maybe Winter or one of the others would know whose it was?"
The kineticist makes sure to follow behind Ulfric when he moves on to the next door. It's dangerous to go alone.
Ulfric proceeds to the next room in line and once again finds the door unlocked. A shapeless mess of sheets and pillow piles lie atop two plain beds herein. Bold chalk letters high on the opposite wall proclaim this to be "Brenton and Debis's Room."
You remember a young boy named Brenton - he was among the survivors with Winter.
"These must be Brenton's toys. He would probably like them returned." Ulfric says as he points out he toys.
These must be the boys... so innocent... Ulfric thinks as he bends down to pick up the wooden nights. I will return them to him...
Ulfric pockets the knights, and then moves to the next door. Readying to open it.
Campus nods in agreement, but the perverted nature of the ward affects her trusting nature. Ulfric. Nothing is as it seems here. For all we know, those are animated, and will murder the child tonight in his sleep. Might as well detect evil. Campus is only half joking.
She pauses, taking in the room. I don't recall a Debis at the camp. Standing back from the beds, she lifts the sheets from the bed using the tip of her cold-iron longspear.
Ramul examines the room from the doorway, but decides not to enter. Ulfric seems to have found the only thing of interest and someone needs to watch the hallway in case that evil little thing - or something worse - tries to sneak up on them.
He follows behind Ulfric when the paladin moves on to the next door.
Ulfric heeds the advice, and detects evil, but finds none on the wooden knights.
The next room down is also unlocked, and Ulfric cautiously enters. Three robed figures lie dead in this room. Two wearing the yellow robes you've seen before lie slumped on the floor, having apparently suffered repeated vicious blows to the face. A third - an old man easily in his eighties and wearing a light cloth dressing gown - has fallen back across the bed. He is ded, but has a satisfied smirk on his face and still grips a sturdy leather boot with blood and bits of hair on its heel. The boot's partner lies on the floor nearby.
A quick inspection shows nothing else in this room of note.
Good boots, eh?
Dear Cayden, this place is infecting me.
"Well at least we know others fought back besides ourselves and those in the survivors' colony. As problematic as it is to say, I'm glad to see dead people in yellow robes rather than the living variety."
Ulfric nods, and leads them into the last room in the row. In this room, the ceiling had given away at some point and dropped bricks and stone on to the bed and floor. It is still intact, but seems far from stable. The room is otherwise empty.
No, I can't let him have all the fun! Klassalka says, as she takes the lead.
Ulfric falls in behind Klassalka, but does his checks before she goes through the door.
Cerio trails behind, making sure none of the bodies rise as more ghouls.