"Sir," Hannah said, completely unphased by the ugly thing; a complete contradiction to herself. "You really should go back to your eternal rest. This is not the plane for you."
Noting the others focusing on the creature, she padded to Lachen. Gently touching his shoulder, she said, "Sarenrae be with you." A golden glow emanated from the contact, and Lachen's bruises lost their sting.
Though a little surprised at the sudden violence, Broom was unfazed. She knew that their interrupting his sleep was rude, but this was completely uncalled for!
She took the opportunity to duck into the room so that her friends were not in the way. With a clear line she concentrated and filled her palm with a viscous black substance with a purple sheen. The faint smell of vinegar filled the air. She thrust her palm forward and the liquid leapt from her hand, stretching out into a bolt of corrosive fluid.
"Why, Reine asked rhetorically, "do all these undead freaks insist on getting themselves killed again?"
She stepped forward and away from Lachen, leaving room for the big man to move around the opposite side of the... thing, to flank it. Using her hypnotic, melodious voice - and the razor-sharp, claw-like nails at the end of her fingers - Reine did her best to get and keep the thing's attention.
"You," though the words were hard, Reine's tone and cadence were almost those of a seductress speaking to her most cherished lover, "are a pathetic abomination, and I am going to end you, here and now. Stop for a moment. Reach inside yourself. Feel that? It's fear. It's the knowledge, in what little remains of your shriveled, worthless, damned shred of a ghost of a soul, that I'm telling you the truth. Your existence ends. Right here. Right now. At my hands."
Lachen is frightened, and acts out by pure reflex, smashing his hammer into the undead
Let's see who dies first...
The terrible, yellow eyed humanoid, clearly comfortable in its inhumanity and familiar with the sensation of making others afraid, looked in horror at Reine, feeling the sensation itself for the first time in what was likely years if not decades. The foul creature turned to run.
Desdemona followed Reine's lead, her shadow lashing out with a tidal wave of smashing fists of its own as she darted tiny, flesh ripping shadows at the monster.
As frightened as it was of Reine, the undead thing was still disquieting to those who viewed it. Even Desdemona's shadow was discomfited by it. In spite of that, it struck the monster solidly as it turned away and Desdemona's hungry shadows peeled away bits of black overcoat.
Lachen did the same, smashing his huge hammer into the thing's back, nearly knocking it to the ground as it tripped over the edge of the coffin in its haste.
Broom's strange black acid sizzled and splashed, taking it full in the face as it charged toward her, intending to retreat down the long hallway to the east.
Blinded by blackish-purple goo and suffering from an unnatural fear it had never experienced before, the monster tried to flee but Reine slashed it across the back as neatly as any surgeon, severing skull from spine and dropping it to the floor.
Broom watched with a little dismay as her ooze continued to burn the man. Despite the fact that he was almost certainly dead, she felt uncomfortable with the realization that she didn't know how to stop the corrosive substance if she wanted to.
"We should put him back in his coffin, it seems like the right thing to do."
She put down her pack and began to tug at the strange man's arm, dragging the corpse back to the coffin from which it had come.
"Let me help you," Hannah said as she grabbed another limb and helped drag the unfortunate soul back to his eternal rest.
"Check it - and the coffin - first," Reine suggested, though her tone was a bit more firm than the average "suggestion" might be.
"See if there's anything that would have turned the corpse into... whatever this was. Or something that someone might've decided this kind of thing was worth using to guard it."
She looked down at the decapitated head, trying to determine whether there was anything of the acid-smoking wreckage of a skull that would be safe to use as a handle. Eventually, she decided on an undamaged ear, and picked the thing up by it, between two fingers. She held it out, being careful not to let anything drip onto herself.
"Then let's lock it away."
"Good idea!" Hannah said. While she helped put the corpse away, she gave everything a good once-over.
Broom appreciated the help as the man was quite large.
With the body back in the coffin she took a towel out of her pack and gingerly retrieved the head from Reine, offering the woman a clean rag in return to wipe away anything that may have gotten on her fingers.
The sorceress then carefully arranged the head where it should be and began to tidy up the corpse and put it into a respectful pose. At Reine's request she also poked about a bit to see if there was anything of interest on the corpse or in the coffin.
With the deceased properly tended to she fretted over the mess on the floor "We need a mop and bucket to properly clean that up. Maybe there is a servant's closet somewhere else in the building."
"Oh, no need for all that," Hannah said as she was already in the motions of a spell. A flick of her hand and the mess was cleaned.
A keeper’s primary purpose is to haunt and persecute unbelievers who witness the Yellow Sign or, worse, have a document or item that bears the dreaded symbol, such as a copy of The King in Yellow or another artifact of Hastur’s cult. Against these favored victims, the keeper uses dream to create a sense of anticipation and awareness of its victim’s forthcoming doom. Although a keeper’s actions are mainly motivated by a sadistic eagerness to spread pain and misery, the creature can also perform special duties on behalf of a cleric of Hastur, such as slaying her personal enemies or harassing cultists she considers unworthy. These monsters also have an odd, morbid attraction for art in all its forms, favoring bizarre and decadent creations.
A keeper of the Yellow Sign can be found anywhere there are active cults of Hastur or in ruins where a cult once existed, especially those locations marked by a Yellow Sign. Keepers rarely travel far from the site of their creation, preferring to live reclusive, solitary existences in nearby communities. They seldom congregate with others of their kind, except when multiple keepers serve the same priest of Hastur. The undead retain their memories of life, and those rare independent keepers that share the company of other keepers often knew one another in life—likely they came from the same cult of the Unspeakable One and took part in the same transformation ritual. Despite this connection, however, even paired keepers yearn to be alone with their despair and insanity-wracked thoughts, coming together only for protection from outside threats or to overpower potential targets that are more powerful than a lone keeper could handle.
To the east, the hallway led to a low, circular stone wall marking the edge of a well in the center of the room. A bucket sat beside a block and tackle attached to a wooden frame near the wall. Looking up, the group could see the roof over the well in the center of the grounds. Looking down, the shaft descended 50 feet to still, dark water.
To the north, the short hallway ended in a solid looking, locked door.
What the trouble with the cleanliness? Fighting is dirty, you get blood and worse on yourself. I understand a warm bath does some good, and fresh clothes too, but why do these girls have to clean a room right after a fight?
Pointing to the bucket, Lachen teases Broom
Here's the bucket you wished for. If I knew it would work so fast, I would have enjoyed you wished for a banquet, not a bucket.
Lachen walks toward the northern door and works on the lock
If that doesnt work on the first time, he doesn't get angry, stay focused, and takes his sweet time on the second try
"Oh, no need for all that," Hannah said as she was already in the motions of a spell. A flick of her hand and the mess was cleaned.
Broom was happy to have help with the cleaning spell. It didn't give the same gratification as doing the work herself, but the results were still immensely satisfying. Seeing that Hannah was willing to take a few moments to tidy up Broom also cast the cleaning spell to help.
...
"Here's the bucket you wished for. If I knew it would work so fast, I would have enjoyed you wished for a banquet, not a bucket."
Broom smiled brightly and happily took the bucket, tossing down the well and pulling up a pail full of water. She placed the full bucket on the lip of the well. "Now We have a full bucket ready if We need it. We still don't have a mop but that is fine."
...
Broom watched from a respectful distance while Lachen worked on the lock. Us skittered up the door and sat beside the lock peering with keen interest at both the work being done and the person doing it with different sets of eyes at the same time.
It took Lachen a minute but eventually he did get the lock opened. The heavy door turned out to lead into an ice cellar. The walls of the bitterly cold room were clad with raw wooden boards, while a ladder was mounted in the northeast corner that led up and out of a trap door and a dumbwaiter door was fixed in the north wall. Many blocks of hazy ice and wooden crates of various sizes were stacked around the walls.
More immediately, though, the party surprised a pair of fish-faced skum rummaging through crates. They spun around as Lachen opened the door.
"Oh! What's this?" Hannah queried. "Something raiding the stores?"
She padded after the group, keeping her distance from the creatures just in case. Once she was in the room, she flicked her hand, sending the flaming blessing of Sarenrae towards the rearmost creature.
"Surrender," Reine said, even as she raised her bow and walked directly into the room, an arrow drawn and pointed at the closer of the two fishmen, "surrender now or die in dark, cold terror, alone and screaming." Her voice was both musical and icy, and whether the words were understood or not, the message was unmistakable.
Lachen puts himself in the room, near Reine- or at least as near of her as he dares.
His hammer, of course, is ready to strike.
You heard the girl. Surrender now. We are more than able to kill you, don't make us feel the need of ending your life.
Strangely, Lachen tone and words are even more frightening than Reine's.
For once.
Broom dashed into the room behind Lachen and Reine as the flurry of activity erupted. She didn't want to do anything before the fish men had a chance to surrender, but she felt responsible for letting the rotund man in the coffin hurt Lachen.
She watched the fishmen carefully for any sign of aggression and prepared to cast a spell if they tried to hurt anyone.
The fish-faced monsters didn't seem to understand but one of them looked shaken at Reine and Lachen's threats. Still, both attacked instead of retreating.
Broom, ready for such a situation, launched a handful of black burning goop at the closest skum.
But her aim was just a bit off and the sizzling stuff seared away the edge of a supply box instead.
Hannah flicked a bolt of sun-yellow flames at the other one but had much the same luck as the two creatures advanced on Lachen and Reine.
Both came close, obviously well trained with their weapons, but they couldn't pierce their targets armor.
Reine's face became an icy mask of focused fury as the fishmen stepped forward to attack her. She managed to avoid one blow, and divert the second with her bow, so that it skittered harmlessly off of her armored shirt.
"Very well," Reine said, her voice cold with anger and yet still lovely, "you have chosen death and terror."
Dropping her bow and arrow, Reine stepped to her left, crowding the creatures that had attacked her closer together, and slashed out at the one in front of her with the razor-sharp nails at the end of her fingers.
Even as she struck out, she sent a wave of sharply focused terror through her right hand, seeking to shred the psyche of her opponent as much as her nails would shred its flesh.
Hannah bit her lip as her initial shot went wide. "Oh poo." She shifted her focus and reached out with her other hand, sending three glowing bolts of energy into the creatures.
Lachen fails to connect with his attacks, as if his hammer was suddenly allergic to fish
Broom tossed a handful of sizzling black shadows at the skum but missed.
Reine might not appreciate the comparison but she shredded the skum's face with the ferocity of a cat ripping the guts out of a rat. And with much the same effect- her sharp nails sliced furrows in the thing's fishy face and psychic energy blasted through the monster's head, dropping it to the floor convulsing in agony.
Lachen lashed out at the remaining skum but the creature somehow managed to fend off his allergic hammer.
Hannah's magic missiles streaked over the warrior's shoulder to slam into Lachen's opponents one after another after another, the skum jerking at each impact.
Desdemona's shadow slithered across the floor to loom up like an enormous black cobra.
It smashed the magically wounded skum down to the floor with its enormous fists, finishing the fight.
"Well," Reine said, picking red-grey goo from under her fingernails with a grimace, "shall we see what they were looking for, and where they came from?"
As far as Reine could tell, the skum had just been rooting around in the containers for food. Several containers were jumbled up, things were missing, and there was some evidence of food on the floor.
"Dead end," Hannah commented, gently pushing a fish-corpse with the edge of a sandal. Whether she noticed the ladder or not wasn't clear. "Wasn't there another door back near my... uh... room?" She padded over to the corridor and peered down it. "Maybe we should look there."
Broom sighed and shook her head at the mess on the ground. Upon seeing Reine cleaning her nails Broom offered a cloth from her pack. While everyone searched, to the surprise of no-one at this point Broom took the time to do what she could to clean up the spilled goods, bloody corpses and anything else that needed tending to.
"The kitchen is probably up that ladder" she commented as she cleaned.
She nodded at Hannah's suggestion "There might be more people locked up, we should have a look to make sure."
Well, I wasn't up to task in the fight, but I can only do better next time. Let's keep being cheerful, and go on our merry way. To the next door!
Reine nodded, pushing some of the detritus aside with her foot.
"Let's not leave anything dangerous behind us down here."
The group backtracks to the double doors on the west end of the long storage room and finds them unlocked. This elongated subterranean hall was another burial chamber, but instead of Pharasmin symbols this one was draped with yellow tapestries and had a huge symbol of Hastur painted on the wall.
A human corpse dressed in the outfit of a royal accuser is laid out on top of one of several sealed sarcophagi. A humanoid figure clad head to toe in yellow was perched over the accuser's body, using some kind of bizarre device on it.
Her voice had an unnatural buzz, making it unpleasant to the ears. That voice was familiar to all of them; it was a voice associated in their heads with whips, chains, pain, and torture. "I told her we should have killed you as soon as we heard you were back from the asylum," she said. "Coming back here was a grave mistake. Lowls should have finished the job of sacrificing you instead of sending you to that... doctor. You won’t interfere with Melisenn’s work any longer.”
Hannah visibly cringed at the sound of that voice. Why did that illicit such strong negative memories? She cradled her head in her hands for a moment, pushing those fuzzy thoughts away. She looked up when the woman finished her monologue. A step to Lachen, she laid a hand on his shoulder. Her hand, warm to the touch, imparted energy that made him feel stronger.
"Go get her, big man."
"I feel like you and I have some unfinished business," Reine said, her own voice conversational. She knew the creature's voice. Knew that in the past it had sent chills of fear through Reine's mind. But now... Now the tendrils of fear, memories of pain, all of it... it just fed the cold fire within her.
"Mistakes were made," Reine agreed with the figure before them, and as she spoke a subtle chime rang once in the minds of everyone near her, "and now we're going to kill you."
"and now we're going to kill you."
Lachen nods at Reine's words, and adds
Violently. Bloodily.
and charges, his muscles overgrown with the magic of the priestess
Lachen charged into the room and laid into the eerily familiar stranger. She was fast, almost inhumanly so, and easily dodged the enormous hammer. "Too slow," she taunted. Even with that alien buzzing to it, the group could hear the condescending smile behind the words.
Reine moved forward and threw fear at the horrid woman in front of them.
Weiralai- the strange name came unbidden into everyone's mind- sneered at the fearsome woman. "I no more fear you now than I did years ago, girl." Reine knew the woman's formidable mental defenses had protected her from the terror.
"You!" Desdemona's voice was full of hate. Her shadow stretched out in front of her, growing to the size of a giant before it detached and flowed across the stone floor toward the yellow clad woman.
Broom moved into the room and threw a glob of sizzling black... stuff at Weiralai. Fast as she was, she couldn't dodge out of the way this time. The black acid ate through some of her yellow robes but didn't seem to do any damage to her dusky skin.
Dodging and spinning, the woman in yellow sprang at Lachen, the veil across the lower half of her face falling away to reveal a nightmare maw of teeth and tentacles that opened three ways as she ripped a chunk out of the warrior's arms. Lachen immediately knew something was wrong; he suddenly felt slower and heavier in spite of Hannah's magical blessing.
Quick as a snake, she followed the attack with a stab of steel-hard claws into Lachen's side before dancing back and away from the man.
"You'd be better served getting back on your knees, whelps. At least then there might be a chance you'd survive the day."
Hannah ran into the room after the others, just in time to see the horrible woman take a bite out of Lachen. horrified, she started a spell to try and help protect her new(?) friends. Getting in between everyone but Lachen, she performed a little spinning dance to touch them all to finish the spell.
Lachen might be clumsier, but he isn't weaker, and his mastery of his favorite weapons shows off.
Too slow? Won't care, if that means I can kill you more slowly and make you suffer even more...
The man's eyes seem to take a red, outwordly hue, and a demented, vile smile appears on his lips as the big hammer catchs fire for a few seconds, just befire striking. Even his voice changes, becoming deeper and with a sharper edge.
Let's strike the iron while its hot, as they say...
Reine hadn't even blinked. Even as the recognition of Weiralai - and her seemingly effortless resistance to her mental attack - sent twin thrills of fear darting through Reine, that fear served only to feed Reine's rage, giving it a glittering, focused edge.
Then Lachen let fly with his hammer.
That, Reine blinked at. Then she smiled.
"By all means," Reine invited the... thing... in yellow, even as she felt the terror-fueled rage flow through her, "feel free to try putting us on our knees. I doubt you'll enjoy it."
Then she let the rage flow freely, and to her own disquiet, the power of her rage caused the air around Reine to ripple and distort. After a moment, it was as though she was in a multi-faceted bubble that had manifested in the air around her.
Frowning, Reine nevertheless raised her clawed fingers.
Wand of death knell (18), Wand of infernal healing (15), Wand of bless (13)
While Broom was disturbed the the strange sounds and vague familiarity with whatever this was, it was one of her statements that shook her the most. "The Count wanted to sacrifice us?"
Was this a revelation, or had she just suppressed the knowledge in some misguided hope that the Count was just a victim in some larger scheme like they were? Why did she assume the Count was innocent in all this anyway?
Her self reflection was cut short as Lachen suddenly suffered grievous wounds at the lady's claws and terrible maw.
"We are going to find the Count, he has a lot to answer for and your aren't going to stop us!"
Conjuring up a palm full of black good, she thrust her hand forward and sent the viscous projectile hurtling towards the woman in yellow.
SR=none
If it hits, burning 1/3 rounds
Lachen caught the whip-fast alien woman, smashing his hammer into stomach and shoulder in quick succession, throwing her back a few steps. Her yellow robes are scorched where the burning metal made contact and her eyes blazed in fury- and was that a little fear, as well? Perhaps.
She took another step back, clearly intending to say something but was interrupted by Broom's black goo splattering across her face. "YOU STUPID MONKEYS!" was all she could summon up in her rage.
Desdemona's shadow swirled around Lachen's feet, enormous insubstantial fists flashing in from the left and the right as if the warrior had black, vengeful wings.
Weiralai danced away from the shadowy fists, regaining some of her temper as she did but apparently deciding taunting the group was not the best path forward.
She slashed Lachen with her claws again, grinning- if indeed that's what her multi-hinged tentacle mouth was doing- at the warrior. "I'll take you with me, at least, you stinking ape."
"You're not taking anyone with you," Hannah said as her prior spin came to an end. She padded around Des' shadow, and touched Lachen on the shoulder once more. "Sarenrae is with you," she whispered.
I'll end in Hell, but please go first and warm a seat for me...