Harold edges back from the hole after getting a good look at the room below, "Looks like a right mess down there. The lift is aaaht an' da stairs blocked, so might we need doin' some spelunkin' ter find aaahrselves explorin' da depths ov Hell fer 'er secrets." He turns to look at the others as they start spouting off about blood. The half-orc hefts his sword as he glances around the room, "Wut blood?"
"Indeed, I believe Master Stonehand is quite correct in his estimation of the situation," Korvus says in a much calmber tone as he straightens the pince-nez perched on his nose.
Alexei blinks as he realizes Bjorn and Korvus has likely seen something that was not there, but then shrugs and turns back to the cavernous opening in the floor. Holding his shield out to try and illuminate it again, the oracle speaks, "What should we do?"
Moving north, you see a huge stone furnace dominating this room, large enough for a child to climb inside. An ancient fire has burned away the entire east wall the room, providing a panoramic, if eerie, view of the lake beyond. That same lake has gradually expanded into the room, flooding its eastern half.
You can also see an open door on the far side of the room that leads south.
Alexei enters the room cautiously, his glowing shield held forward to illuminate the darkness. His right hand rests on the hilt of his morningstar, as he peers around the dilapidated room for anything of note.
Harold pads into the room cautiously as he looks around at the heck of a view. He motions at the furnace and the burnt-up east half of the room, "Wonder if da fire started 'ere. Migh'y big furnace fer bakin' awer 'eadin' up da place." Not letting his curiousity get the better of him, Harold keeps with Bjorn as they skirt over toward the southern door.
Korvus follows his companions, keeping a wary eye on the furnace while Maximus keeps a watchful eye on the eerily quiet lake from his perch on Korvus' shoulder.
The group moves into the room, and an eerie silence descends on the room.
A loud 'CLANG!' draws your attention to the furnace. In the dim light of the room, you can make out several crudely carved words over the wood grate. The words read 'Ember Maw'. Looking at the grate, you are struck by its similarity to a massive toothy mouth...
Rushing wind blows through the room, and the interior of the furnace begins glowing. The grate over the interior creaks as it slowly begins to open.
Alexei sees Bjorn aim his siphon at the furnace, and begins to gesture with his free hand, chanting quickly and quietly in his airy tongue. An open-palmed gesture marks the end of the spell's casting.
Harold grunts at the moving furnace before blinking his eyes several times, "Oy! There is somebody in there! They'll be a crispy side ov bacon if what fn' gets li' up!" Harold fumbles around in his pockets for his waterskin which once he finds, he aims the tip toward the interior of the furnace. He squeezes while keeping a hold of the tip, producing a high-powered stream of liquid refreshment straight into the mouth of Hell.
Harold moves toward the furnace and pulls out his waterskin. He begins spraying a stream of water into the grate, which opens wide, like giant mouth preparing to feast!
The interior of the furnace roars to life, and the room is bathed in an eerie orange glow from the fire. Two gouts of flame shoot out toward Harold, but immediately before impact, they both curve around the half-orc toward Bjorn, who watches as the flames flow into the haunt siphon!
What would you like to do?
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"אני יכול לחוש כוח!" Alexei shouts, raising his shield between him and the furnace. He reaches for the siphon tucked in his belt.
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Maximus flutters about, twittering excitedly as Harold squirts water into the furnace. The bird settles back onto Korvus' shoulder as Bjorn's haunt siphon captures the gouts of flame shooting from the furnace. "'Ere now! Ain't nobody in there! Must've been a trick 'o th' light or somethin'," the blackbird chirps shakily, glancing about the room wildly.
Korvus listens to Alexei's warning and casts a minor spell, firing a ray of bright white energy toward the furnace.
The roaring of the fire inside the furnace continues to rumble. The grate begins moving again, in time with the rumbles, and you notice a pattern. It seems the furnace is laughing at you.
Korvus attack hits the furnace and the flames inside flicker slightly before resuming their full-fledged state.
Harold pats at his eyebrows to make sure they are still there after the blast of fire that diverted about him. The half-orc growls in anger as he starts making a warding motion at the furnace, which looks more like him telling the inanimate object to do choice things with its non-existant anatomy, before spitting into the laughing face of the contraption. He restows his waterskin and hefts up his sword once more afterward.
Alexei pops the top off his his Haunt Siphon, aiming it directly at the laughing maw of the furnace. "להסתלק, מפלצת!"
Round One
23 Alexei
19 Harold
17 Korvus
07 Ember Maw
03 Bjorn
Alexei releases the lid catch on his haunt siphon and aims the opening at the furnace. With a rushing noise, fire from inside the furnace swirls outward directly into the haunt siphon. After several seconds, the lid snaps closed on the now-glowing vial.
The fires inside the furnace have dimmed noticeably, and the laughter once coming from Ember Maw has turned into a roar of anger.
Harold flings a spell at the furnace, and a bright green light flashes as it connects.
Round One:
Korvus retrieves his own haunt siphon from his belt pouch and points the vial toward the furnace as he twists it open.
Seeing the effect of Alexei's haunt siphon, Korvus quickly retrieves his own, opens the lid, and aims it at the furnace.
A gout of flame shoots out of the grate, spinning in a tight spiral toward the haunt siphon. With a massive clang, the grate slams down and the fire goes out inside the furnace.
Alexei tucks the now glowing vial back in his belt, sighing heavily. "Haunted furnaces? Really? Is there anything in this place that isn't a ghost or undead? Dawnflower forgive me, I almost wish this place had completely collapsed." Drawing his morningstar, he walks over to the side of the no-longer-animated stove, poking it cautiously with the weapon's head.
That, coupled with your knowledge about undead matters, indicates to you that this furnace was likely haunted by the dead person's spirit. The only way to end this particular haunt for good is to put the spirit to rest.
Alexei frowns as he notices the charred human remains inside the furnace. "It's likely this poor soul was the one haunting the furnace. They probably just want to be put to rest... maybe removing the bones and burying them somewhere would be enough?"
The oracle places his right hand on his chest, saying a short prayer for the deceased. "May the Dawnflower's light find you," he finishes, before looking to the others.
Harold moves to help Bjorn, "Probably be best ter just stick 'em in a bag until we can bury 'em proper-like in da cemetary on sacred ground. Soul might rest easier there."
The bones, however, are very hot. Both of you think the bones would be hot enough to start a fire if they were to contact anything flammable, and they are certainly hot enough to burn your skin.
"Here, Master Stonehand. No need to risk setting yourself on fire," Korvus says as the Ulfen begins to bundle his arms in cloth. The half-orc wizard recites a short mystical phrase as he beckons toward the bones with one hand. Responding to the minor magics, the bones begin to float out of the furnace one-by-one and stack neatly on the floor.
The bones are removed from the furnace, but everyone can still feel the heat emanating from them, even from several feet away.
Alexei frowns again, looking at the piping-hot bones. He rubs his bearded chin for a moment, before he seems to come to a conclusion. "...I have an idea," the oracle starts, while gesturing towards the bones, incanting under his breath. Suddenly, water begins to pour forth from his hand, cascading onto the pile of remains.
A loud hiss occurs when the water hits the bones, with steam and smoke rising from the remains. As the spell ends, a transparent image of a man rises from the bones and flies up into the air, disappearing through the ceiling. Before he disappeared from view, everyone saw the look of peace on his face.
With the spirit finally laid to rest, the bones holding it to this place now crumble into dust.
A clang sounds from behind you, and the group turns to see the furnace now appearing as if the time and weather of five decades have finally affected it. The entire thing is now little more than a rusted and broken heap of metal.
As the bones fall into ash, Harold glances at the others before coughing, "So on'ard then?" He heads toward the northernly door by the fallen wall leading into the pool of water.
Alexei seems to honestly smile for the first time since entering the prison, "Yes, onward." The bearded oracle puts a hand to his chest and says another short prayer for the deceased, before drawing his morningstar and readying to move on.