Two skulls are shattered by weapons, the attacks of magic miss the small targets. The skulls go for Asaran, as they rush him, he swings as one approaches.
Asaran takes damage.
Party up -- AoO for Asaran
Asaran curses he misses the skulls, I let them in too close before swinging... Bad move..., then winces as he's bitten. Well, I'm not likely to scare them off, but maybe I can make myself a small bit of space... He then leans forward before taking a quick step back, using the small amount of space he's created to take a full swing of his heavy blade.
A whip and falchion shatter skulls and leave two left hovering above the ranger.
Iskender again casts disrupt undead, preferably at an injured creature.
Dusty and Iskender miss, and the two skulls harry the ranger again.
Asaran swings as they close (AoO would negate damage of )
Party up
for
Asaran chops down one of the skulls as it flies toward him, then quickly steps back, repeating his last manoeuvre... but swings a little too quickly, the heavy blade passing wide of the skull.
for
Asaran shatters the skull BEFORE it can bite him. His follow up misses.
One skull is left.
Iskender again casts disrupt undead, at the last skull
The whip shatters the last skull.
Combat OVER
The group prepares to move further into the house.
Asaran rubs his throat, "Well, that was scarier than it needed to be."
"While I agree with the sentiment, I am left wondering just what an appropriate amount of scary would have been?"
Asaran chuckles, "Fair question. Maybe about half that much. I mean, it wouldn't do to be attacked by fuzzy poppets. We'd never take them seriously."
"Unless it's undead, don't expect much from me."
Asaran moves to explore the inner courtyard to the south.
A form of a woman made out of sand emerges from the center of the house grounds.
"I am the spirit of this house. Welcome to my abode. Who intrudes upon the crypt of Penteru?"
Asaran bows his head to the figure, then rubs his throat, warming it to speak, "I am Asaran Neitekh, chosen of Anubis."
"How could this go wrong?"
"I am naturally a pessimist I suppose."
The creature, which has formed out of sand, looks like an attractive female. She speaks suspiciously with the aid of some magic.
"Well, as long as you do not disturb the spirits of the dead, you may be at peace with the Penteru estate."
To the southwest, a staircase leads up:
A large staircase climbs to the second floor from this room.
Sand and dust cover the floor, and painted columns stand in
all but one of the corners. Pieces of broken wood, shattered
pottery, and disintegrating fabric litter the room’s perimeter.
To the south:
Brightly colored columns stand in the four corners of this
foyer. Hieroglyphs cover the walls and tiled floors, obscured
in places by piles of dust and sand. Open archways lead to the
north, east, and west, while a set of stone double doors exit
to the south. This is the main entrance to the house.
To the southeast:
A large tiled pool sits in the center of this chamber,
surrounded by sloping tiled floors. A few steps descend into
the basin, which has accumulated a deep layer of sand on its
bottom. Faded murals on the walls depict scenes of life along
a river, with recurring themes of running water and aquatic
life running through the artwork. In the northeast corner, a
tarnished bronze spigot juts from the wall just above head
level. Archways lead north and west, and a stone door stands
in the eastern wall.
Not addressing the woman, but rather his companions, Iskender comments, "seems fair, it's not like our existing mission parameters don't already want us to be respectful of the dead, right?"
Asaran nods, "We will do all we can to keep them at peace...", bows his head to the figure, then continues on, following Sunjeet's lead.
Moving up the stairs to the second floor:
This balcony wraps around a twenty-foot-square opening in the
floor, overlooking the inner courtyard below and connecting
the rooms of the second floor. Above, a square skylight in the
ceiling provides natural light to the ground floor and ventilation
for the entire building. To the southwest, two small staircases
ascend from a landing on the grand staircase between floors.
Six different sets of doors lead off of this balcony.
The second floor contains the family’s bedrooms
and Pentheru’s private study. Traces of a wooden railing
around the balcony, long rotted away, can be seen.
You consider exploring the top floor.
Note: the second floor map is now revealed somewhat -- under link to current map
"I suppose, but it creeps me out. Let's check around and get out of here."
Iskender looks around.
"Let's try that door." he points to B24.
Asaran nods, "Getting out was always part of the plan."
Opening the door (B24):
The walls of this room are decorated with a scenic vista of
a river valley running through a desert, resplendent with
verdant life and greenery near the shores. Only a few pieces of
lacquered furniture remain in the chamber. A faint, musty odor
of decomposed wood and fabric lingers in the air. A set of doors
stands in the western wall.
The body of a human man lies on its back in the small
alcove to the east. Unlike most of the remains in the
house, the body is only a year old, and its flesh is in a state
of advanced decomposition. The head is missing,
You notice that the body’s head seems to have been pulled off
rather than having been cleanly decapitated.
except for a simple gold wedding ring worth
50 gp. An inscription in Osiriani inside the
band of the ring reads, “To Akar from Panhet,
Love Eternal.” You can find
clumps of hair on the floor beneath
the body’s headless shoulders.
these clues together to identify
the telltale signs of a vargouille’s
victim. This person suffered
the effects of the vargouille’s kiss, the
unfortunate man fled into this
room, lying down here to rest. He
died just a few hours later, then
rose as a vargouille.
Asaran nods, drawing his Falcata and scanning the room, "Can't say having my head pulled off doesn't sound pleasant.."
"Indeed, that is a bit disturbing"
"Is it magic?"
Iskender casts detect magic and checks out the ring.
After moving from the ruins where you found the ring and finding no magic auras. You start searching the office for a while, turning up nothing, you move to a dusty, dry bedroom.
This creature is a blackened, bat-winged fiend's head. Tentacles dangle from chin and scalp, and its fanged mouth hangs agape. Although expected, it still has chosen a place of concealment in the bedroom near the ceiling.
Iskender
Sunjeet
Asaran
Dusty
Vargouille
Dusty or Sunjeet surprise round if PER DC 15
Taking a 5' step if needed, Iskender casts disrupt undead at the creature.
The vargouille shrieks a hideous shriek, loud and penetrating.
Dusty Sunjeet up -- those that saved
ORDER
Surprise
Iskender if save casts disrupt
ROUND 1
Sunjeet (if save)
Dusty (if save)
Vargouille