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Johann loses his honey right there on the floor. He groans and clutches his stomach. "These monsters, such power, ughhhhh... I'm afraid that this might take more than a day, friends."
Johann flops over to Lucius' side and dumps a potion down his mouth.
Then he drinks one himself.
And since that did nothing more than warm his insides, he drinks another one.
Mystic Bolts (Su): A warlock can sling projectiles of magical energy at will by shooting a bolt or touching her foe. A melee mystic bolt requires the target to be within reach, and a ranged mystic bolt is a ranged attack with a range of 30 feet. A mystic bolt deals 1d6 points of damage plus 1 for every 4 vigilante levels the warlock has. The warlock must choose one type of damage for her mystic bolt: acid, cold, electricity, or fire. Attacking with a mystic bolt takes the place of one of the warlock’s normal attacks, and she can make a full attack using mystic bolts. The warlock vigilante attacks with mystic bolts as though they were light one-handed weapons, and the bolts can be used for two-weapon fighting (with each hand creating one mystic bolt) and feats and abilities that apply to weapon attacks (unless they’re excluded from that feat, such as with Power Attack). Weapon Focus (ray) doesn’t apply to mystic bolts, but a warlock can take Weapon Focus (mystic bolt) and apply it to both melee and ranged mystic bolts.
Creating a mystic bolt requires the hand to be free, but the bolt appears only briefly, so a warlock using mystic bolts has a free hand any time she isn’t attacking with a mystic bolt. The warlock threatens with a mystic bolt, but only if she has a hand free. Because mystic bolts are impermanent, a spell that targets a single weapon (like magic weapon) can’t affect it, nor can a mystic bolt be made with magic weapon special abilities. Abilities that affect all weapon attacks the warlock makes, such as the arcane striker warlock talent, function with mystic bolts.
At 7th level and every 6 vigilante levels thereafter, the warlock chooses another damage type from the list above. Each time she creates a mystic bolt, she can have it use any one of the damage types she has selected.
This ability replaces vigilante specialization.
Piercing Bolts (Ex): At 3rd level, the warlock can choose one mystic bolt per round to be a touch attack. This turns a melee mystic bolt into a melee touch attack or a ranged mystic bolt into a ranged touch attack. At 5th level, the warlock can treat all of her mystic bolts as touch attacks.
This ability replaces unshakable.
Quinlan stands hunched over, heaving. "Well that could have gone better, but none of us are dead. Might I cast my vote for a hasty to retreat to the surface where we can rethink our plan."
Arc wipes the rot and gore off his longsword before sheathing it. Placing the holy water back on his belt, he glances at the rest of the group and winces. “My apologies. That odor was most foul, wasn’t it?”
Cardinal Lucius finds himself in a hedge maze blooming with fragrant honeysuckle and jasmine... A beautiful Roman lady in a white gown leads him toward a golden radiance near the center of the maze...
In Celestial, she sweetly speaks: It is not yet your time to meet our Creator, my good sir... He has work for you yet to do on Earth... You are in the correct maze!... Now, awaken, good Lucius, to love and serve the Lord!
The blissful vision fades as the Borja churchman regains consciousness, to find the worried face of Johann looking down at him...
A trio of brown rats perched on skulls begins to chatter in high-pitched squeaky voices that sound like Italians on helium...
Aaaaaayy! Padre! You alright? It looks like ya got yer clock cleaned pretty good by them dead fellas! HEHEHE!
Ya, but you fellas set 'em straight with your swords and what not!
Ya! Yous guys are awesome!
Zagathoth crouches next to one of the twice-dead corpses and uses it’s tattered grave clothes to clean his new sword. When the cardinal opens his eyes and sits up, the orc smiles and says ”In nomeny Patri, et Phili, et Spiritu Sancti,” while making the sign of the cross towards him.
I could swear that big goombah was a bear a second ago!
Ya, that's why I was holdin' still, ya know? You were wigglin' 'n jigglin'...
Hey, don't get too cozy, fellas... There's a Fox with these guys... Don't make any sudden moves...
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Johann approaches the mice perched on the skulls and chuckles. Just like home. I love it.
"Hello, little ones. Yes, that was a pretty ugly fight wasn't it? And you are right, you should watch out for the fox, but I am just a huggable bear. I bet you three know all kinds of secrets down here, don't you?"
Johann concentrates for a few seconds and casts calm animal on one of them.
Oh, sure! I know all kinds o' secrets 'bout this place! Haha! Ya, those dead fellas are pretty ripe, right? Hehe!
All three of the rats scurry closer to Johann’s cheese, and sit on their rumps like humans would in a ring around the morsel...
All the monsters seem pretty powerful to us, chief! chuckles one rat as it rips a smaller chunk off the chunk of cheese and stuffs it in its mouth...
The pretty lady ghost! squeaks the second rat, between gulps of cheese...
Oh, ya, her... chirps the third rat... The other dead things seem to respect her, like she’s some kinda boss lady or somethin’...
All of the corridors leading out of the vault are about 10-feet-wide-by-15-feet-high, with hewn limestone walls riddled with shallow alcoves in which the skeletal remains of the deceased are interred...
Occasionally, mysterious noises can be heard from some of the dark corridors—faint moans of subterranean wind or the undead; scraping sounds; distant shrieks of terror or torment; subtle whispers echoing; hoots, howls, croaks, and gibberish...
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Invigorated by the vision of Saint Cecilia, although churchman enough to know what such visions mean, Lucius is more than moderately relieved to find himself waking with Johann in his face and the mangled latin words of Zagathoth.
Even the talking mice do little to shake him, although the talk of a pretty ghost lady intrigues him.
"piccoli amici, puoi dirmi di più sulla bella signora fantasma?"
"piccoli amici, puoi dirmi di più sulla bella signora fantasma?"
La bella signora fantasma vive nella scatola di pietra bianca...
The second rat adds: Vive nella scatola con sopra la donna addormentata...
The third rat chimes in: Ya, it's thataway... He points toward the eastern archway...
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After a rat translation, Johann looks at his claws and quarterstaff. "Let's leave the ghost alone... Maybe she would talk to us, but if she is angry ... Do we even have anything that will hurt a ghost?
Turning back to the rats, he says, "Little friends, have you seen anything shiny? Gold? Gems? Weapons or armor?"
The Ogon Fox suddenly becomes aware of a beautiful Roman lady in a white toga smiling at him from the dark arch to the east...
Sei un amico del maestro, si?
The Ogon Fox is taken aback by the beauty and grace of the figure before him, but he has still the presence of mind to ask his companions if they see and hear what he does.
"Am I alone in witnessing this figure in the east archway? She speaks in Italian, which I cannot understand."
"Cardinal Lucius, la voyez-vous?"
To everyone except the Ogon Fox, the east archway is empty... Not even Cardinal Lucius can see the sweetly smiling Roman lady that the Ogon Fox can see there, waving at him...
Informa il tuo amico, adoro i suoi nove mottetti!
The lovely Roman lady sings the melody of a motet that is very familiar to the Ogon Fox!
Traaaa-laaaa-la-laaaaa.... Faaaa-la-daaaa-di-daaa-daaaah!
Her bright, ringing soprano voice echoes enchantingly in the catacombs to the ears of the Ogon Fox alone...
Zagathoth listens intently to all that's going on around him, although he only understands a fraction of it. Confused and on edge, he latches on to Johann's comments about fighting a ghost and asks "Why is not ghost in Heaven or Hell? How do humans and orcs fight ghosts?"
Quinlan looks suspiciously at the east archway. "I see nothing. Can you attempt to repeat her words? Perhaps I can translate for you."
Hey fellas, look! There she is now! The pretty lady ghost we was tellin’ thems about!
A rat points at the eastern archway, and the other two look and nod. Yep. That’s her!
Zagathoth looks to the eastern archway, no less confused than he was a moment ago...
Having sung several bars of one of The Nine, the pretty lady fades like a dream at break of day...
In response to Johann’s inquiry regarding “shiny things, weapons, armor, etc”: Shiny things? Ya gotta go deeper for them. No shiny stuff up hereabouts... But down in the deeps, ya...plenty o’ shinies! Shiny stuff out the wazoo!
As Quinlan requests, the Fox begins to repeat the lady's words. "First she said, "Sei un amico del maestro, si?" and then just now she added, "Informa il tuo amico, adoro i suoi nove mottetti!" "
That word "mottetti" still in his mind (it sounds very much like a French word and a Dutch word that he knows), the Fox's eyes widen as he hears the melody take shape, following a path as well-known to him as the walk between his bedroom and the sanctuary at the Church of Saint Waltrude, that path he could tread with his eyes closed.
"Ma Dame, veuillez attendre!" he cries, leaping toward the eastern archway with pleading hand outstretched. But she fades away...
The Ogon Fox's face shows the marks of unexpected delight and the sorrow of its sudden passing...but as he ponders what the rats had said at first, his face begins to turn to fearful apprehension.
"Did you say that she is in league with the horrid undead, commanding them?" he asks of the rats, hoping against hope that it is not so.
Arc peers at the archway, looking far more curious than perplexed. Seeing nothing, he turns to Ogon and says, “Il semble que vous ayez eu une épiphanie, mon ami.” He smiles reassuringly before directing his attention to the group’s discussion about the ghost and how to deal with it.
The Ogon Fox's face shows the marks of unexpected delight and the sorrow of its sudden passing...but as he ponders what the rats had said at first, his face begins to turn to fearful apprehension.
"Did you say that she is in league with the horrid undead, commanding them?" he asks of the rats, hoping against hope that it is not so.
Nah, she don’t tell the other dead things what to do... They just seem to stay outta her way, capische?
The Fox breathes a sigh of relief, then turns to Johann. "Nonsense! If only you had seen the grace and beauty and goodness of her, you would know it as I do. We must venture that way, to her tomb. I cannot abide the presence of these disgusting creatures, desecrating her place of rest!"
“Not necessarily, Monsieur Johann,” Arc replies. “It may be worthwhile to fully investigate the mystery of this ghostly woman’s appearance.”
I never seen the pretty ghost lady hurt nobody, Mister Bear... But I seen the other dead things get outta her way in a hurry, is all I'm saying... I think she'd like a big, cuddly goombah like you! Hehehe!
She was sure singing a pretty tune just now, Mister Fox! Don't you think, sir?
[/OOC]Yes, Lucius realizes who St Cecilia is, winning the party some XP... Well done![/OOC]
"It sounds like the other dead fear this ghost. Perhaps following her will result in less dismemberment. If we are to continue into the catacombs I say we take the road least likely to end in death."