Though not aware of Lamashtu’s primal secrets, Desdemona knows a bit about her. In Golarion’s medieval and early industrial eras, Lamashtu was a deeply feared goddess in a time when the wilderness posed a terrible threat to hapless travelers. Monstrous fecundity allowed her to field great legions of demons to throw against the mortal world. Though the reach of industry and civilization has pushed the grip of her faith back to the wildest and most savage parts of the world, her cult persists fiercely there, staunchly devoted to their dark mother.
...so as you can imagine, we're in for treat.
Lanatir knows less than Desdemona does about this particular deity.
"What is our next step?"
"Ha!" Zyrel lets out a single cynical laugh and acknowledging nod at the end of Desdemona's explanation.
"Alright, everyone get ready. I'm going to spend some time checking for auras and triggers before we try anything. If anyone needs to use the bathroom, now is the time, because you are not going to want to spend time alone in there."
He then pulls out a thick book and spends a quarter of an hour consulting it before carefully going over the door in front of him.
Zyrel finds no magic, nor any evidence of traps. However, trying to open the door at all yields no progress save for dust and shards of ancient wood tumbling from the cracks between the boards. As far as he can tell, this door is entirely blocked from the inside.
"Blocked. We should find another way in."
Desdemona approaches a possible opening... tryingn to make heads or tails of it.
It is as if it has been sealed from the other side
she shudders
Creepy thought
Zyrel takes Desdemona's action as fait accompli.
"Good choice." he agrees "if we end up retreating back to town I don't want something cutting us off either!"
We should look for an alternative entrance
They are not entrances per se, but openings that have developed between the structure and natural landscape.
Desdemona peers into the entrance that she stands in front of. It's hard to see much in the dim light of the complex, but she makes out a floor made of worked stone tiles and a niche in the wall opposite the crumbled-open section that contains some sort of stone box or sarcophagus.
Elsa shrugs
I suppose that depends on your perspective
"Should we get some Light in there, or just start on in?"
Let's see...
Picking up a small stone, the woman whispers a prayer... and add the stone lights up, she tosses it into the opening.
The glowing stone sheds some more light on the area. There are more wall niches containing sarcophagi, the carvings on them showing monstrously warped humanoid beings, grotesque and bestial in ways that even the most warped of the Spellscar mutants could never attain.
The center of the room contains something that looks like a large carved pillar about 25 feet across, with a statue of Lamashtu in the center. One corner of it is entirely broken, leading to the still-shadowed interior.
I'm small. Maybe I can slip in for a closer look
Elsa will try to enter, if that is possible
"Please allow me to go first, Elsa. I have trained to protect my allies."
He moves up quietly, just to the edge of the room, looking around and listening for any movement.
In the dim light of the edge of the glowing pebble, Lanait spies something...off. Within the cracked pillar, something stands. It reminds Lanatir of a mummified corpse, but it's form it stands at almost ten feet tall and warped beyond any recognition as human.
Lanatir tries to recall if he has heard of creatures resembling this form.
He stands guard.
"Something here. Statue, corpse, or foe, I know not."
Elsa squeezes in behind Lanatir
Wow, a big boy. Never seen something like that before
Zyrel shrugs, realising that as it is within the pillar Lanatir is unable to decapitate it. As he studies it he draws his bow, aiming for the head.
"Want to pick an eye?" he asks casually.
It's definitely not a statue. Lanatir thinks this may be some sort of undead, but it's not a type he's familiar with.
Well, hey there... Big Fella.
Desdemona readies her two rapiers, muttering, ...and people are just dying to get in.
Fire. Fire is good against undead, isn't it?
"Desdemona, do you know what it is?"
Desdemona is fairly certain that this is some sort of mummy. This one was likely made from the body of a large and severely warped mutant. Mummies tend to be resistant to physical damage and spread diseases with their attacks, but their linen wrappings are quite flammable.
Looks like a mummy, what it was in life... I've no idea, something... unnatural, altered.
Physically resilient, but readily flammable!
Elsa looks at the creature
Well...should we burn it? It's not doing much
Her fingers twitch. Elsa could cast fire spells, but it wasn't her favourite spell type
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Can always wait for it to move, but don't let it touch you.
Their touch can cause a flesh withering rot, if I'm not mistaken.
Zyrel nocks an arrow and fires! His arrow goes very, very wide. It does, however, attract the attention of the mummy which turns and casts its baleful gaze upon the party.
Desdemona speaks a prayer and casts Bless as she circles wide around the guardian.
Lanatir holds his ground.
Should the mummy approach, he will step up and strike at it.
Weapon is magic and adamantine.
damn!
Elsa's hands moved and spoke a word as she cast
DC15 reflex save for half fire damage
Flames exploded from her hands, expanding to cover the mummy
Lanatir immediately senses an aura of palpable dread and despair around the mummified, though he powers through it with the aid of Desdemona's blessing.
The undead beast shambles forward, and Lanatir finds that he has perfectly set up an attack on the creature, slicing into it with a blow that's equal parts precise and deadly.
Elsa follows it up with a blast of fire that scorches the husk of a mutant!
Mummy HP -41
light it up, guys
Zyrel falls back and has another attempt at the creature. "Can we lure it outside?"
"I can't easily disengage here," Lanatir responds to Zyrel.
He slashes with his sword, staying on his guard.
If she's in position to flank, Desde will... each rapier a blur.
Lanatir isn't able to make as much progress on the mummy, but Desdemona and Zyrel are both able to get some good hits in, with it's body's cohesion seriously crumbling at this point.
Despite that, the mummy looms over Lanatir, putting all it's unholy bulk into a mighty slam on the elven warrior.
-56
Lanatir strikes back at the creature, but is unable to hit, off-balance from the pain and the shock of the creature's blow. At least he provides a flank for Desdemona.
By the Goddess! You will fall!
With two deadly and precise strikes, the mummy falls!
I don't know if I could have taken such a blow, Lanatir. Perhaps, no other among us. We owe you a debt.
She claps the on the shoulder, albeit gently.
This should help a bit...