Raj tosses his vial of holy water into the furnace. There is a hissing, sizzling sound from inside, as though the water is being boiled away, but otherwise the attack has no visible effect.
Dragomir's blow connects with the the furnace, tearing a larger gouge alongside Karrik's.
Theron's spell finds an opening and sears the furnace, leaving a blackened streak that slowly fades, but that surely caused damage.
Lem, I moved you to AG16, assuming you wanted to stay close to the action. Let me know if you intended differently.
Rose fires a bar of light into the furnace as well, creating a second blackened smear alongside Theron's.
###
Just Walter and Septimus to have their turns, then--I will wrap this up in the morning--around 6-7 hours from now--if I have the opportunity. : )
Septimus continues to hold his readied action. Walter elects to wait and see what will happen before he acts.
###
Ember Maw
The furnace roars to noisy life once more and unleashes another beam of fire, which spears wide of everyone.
###
Team PC
Keep at it. : )
Seeing Raj try holy water, Dragomir tries using his own and he pours the holy water that Lem had handed off to him over the furnance.
Lem intones another spell, filling Rajuna with a slight tinge of divine power. He creases his brow as he thinks of a way to destroy the spirit for good, and recalls the professor's cache of mystical weaponry.
The evil shades cling desperately to unlife, no doubt a result of fell deeds committed here long ago. The gods grant us power to drive back our enemies, but the fire here burns too hot with damned souls for us to tarry much longer. Pharasma, and through her, Professor Lorrimor, has granted us a mighty weapon to vanquish spirits such as these. We must use a haunt siphon here, before the fire consumes us.
Seeing Raj try holy water, Dragomir tries using his own and he pours the holy water that Lem had handed off to him over the furnance.
You're in luck, it's AC is actually 1: 10 - 2 (Huge) - 5 (Dex 0) - 2 (inanimate) = 1.
The AC of the spirit inhabiting it, however, is 10.
###
Dragomir splashes his holy water over the front of the furnace, but again the attack seems to have little effect.
Lem's oratory makes everyone think about who has the haunt siphons. As it turns out, Lem gave one each to Raj, Rose, Theron, Karrik, and Dragomir. So far as I can tell, only Theron has used his so far.
Round 3
HP 13+1/19
Arcane Pool 2/4
Effects
Inspire Courage
Arcane Enhancement
"Be careful so close to it! If we could jam that grill shut..." Rose leaves the sentence hanging as she tries to send another spell into the furnace's maw, only to harmlessly bounce off the side.
A second CLANG rings out as Karrik slams his morningstar once again on the unrelenting face of the furnace. Then he steps back behind Dragomir, another bolt of necromantic energy crackling past the big human towards their inanimate foe.
"Opened up a firing lane for anyone interested!"
Round 3
Much appreciated! Theron says quickly before he casts his spell.
Rajuna can't step away without exposing the cooked Rose to more of the furnace's attention, so he braces for the hit as he pulls the haunt siphon from his sash and uncorks it.
"Time to put the genie back in the bottle."
Theron and Karrik throw bolts of energy into the furnace, and Raj is just about to twist the top of his haunt siphon when everything goes quiet...and Raj realises that the furnace is quiescent. Its grimacing visage has returned to nothing more than a normal grille--although there does still seem to be a very faint orange light coming from within.
...the furnace is quiescent.
Karrik looks around in the sudden silence, checking to see if everyone is still on their feet. "So... that was weird."
There is a low moan from inside the furnace, followed by a solid thud as of something banging into the furnace's metal interior. A series of slow clangs follows, becoming softer. It seems like something is inside the furnace. The faint orange glow does not waver.
The horror of it all has not ended for Dragomir. In the thick of combat he had little time to think, but in the aftermath, the thought of that torrent of fire that barely missed him as it went by rattles him as does the thought of the undead souls who possessed the furnace.
Instead of being frightened by noises, Theron gives the furnace a dirty look. Oh, give it up! He says as he moves up and begins looking for a way to pry the thing open so he can get a better look inside. There must be something in there causing all this...
Walter hunkered into the corner, steadying his hand from shaking by gripping it by the wrist.
Theron's eyes cloud over; he soon has that elf-eyed look again. Some of you think it reminds you more of some sort of reptile.
The grille opens with a squeal of protest. Inside is a thick carpet of ash. Near the far end, Theron can see something jutting out of the ash--it is glowing faintly, the glow pulsing from bright to dim and back again.
Casting sift, Theron extends his senses into the furnace--the object he can see appears to be one end of a human femur.
There is no visible aura of evil beyond the general malaise that seems to exist everywhere in Harrowstone.
Presuming Theron is happy to relate the above information to the rest of the party, anyone can attempt the Knowledge check below.
Karrik's morningstar once again rises defensively in front of him as he crouches, rooted in place.
"What. Is. That?"
There are bones in here, and I think they are the 'focus' of the haunt. My guess is that someone was thrown into the furnace and burned to death. Theron says to anyone who is willing (or able) to listen. He thinks for a moment and then draws his sword to use as a makeshift tool to pull the bones out (unless there is something better nearby). Maybe if we give them a proper burial this won't happen again.
Sorry Theron--the bones are a good fifteen feet away. Unless Theron has go-go-gadget arms, he's going to have to crawl in...
(Mwahahahaha...)
What? Who said that?
Lem tries to recall hearing anything about such restless spirits, but can't. He trusts Theron's judgment, though.
The priest shrugs his shoulders, pulls out a scroll from his backpack, and says: This should keep me safe. Anyone got a rope?
Lem nods to whomever is willing to hold the rope and prepares to climb into the furnace to retrieve the bones.
Well, at least if I fail, you won't have to go through the trouble of burying me. He tries a smile, then nods to and asks a quick blessing from Desna before casting the spell from the scroll and climbing into the furnace.
After glancing around and realizing that somehow everyone else was shaking in their boots because of noises the spirits were making, Theron decides to pull the remains out of the furnace himself before they actually became dangerous again. The inquisitor casts Light on his sword and then carefully crawls in. He attempts to use his sword to fish the bones out, but remains ready to call upon iomedae's protection if need be.
That all sounds fine.
###
Lem crawls into the furnace, and quickly realises he is going to have to move agonisingly slowly if he wants to avoid kicking up noxious clouds of ash.
He makes his way laboriously over to the bone he can see jutting out, and tries to fish it out carefully--and then has to use his sleeve to prevent the coughing paroxysms that result from sending up even more ash. The bone isn't whole, but it feels hot to the touch--hot enough that Lem can only handle it for a few moments before putting it down.
Knowing there are probably more bones in the furnace somewhere, Lem uses his hands to slowly cast around in the ash, and over a period of a few minutes, finds several ribs, parts of a skull, and a few finger bones to go along with the partial femur.
All of the bones are hot; someone rouses Dragomir long enough to get him to fish his sack out of his backpack, which is handed carefully to Lem, and then Lem places the bones carefully inside. Still, by the time Lem reaches the furnace's opening, the sack is starting to show singe marks.
Rajuna backs away from the banging furnace...
Walter stares at the bones. "I think... there's a spirit inside. What should we do with it?"
Walter stares at the bones. "I think... there's a spirit inside. What should we do with it?"
Theron gives Walter a somewhat surprised look. Well, at least means it is likely that we've found the source of all this. Interesting... he can sense things that I can't.
My best guess is that we should just take these outside and give them a semi-balance of a proper burial before they burn a hole in the bag. Or, I suppose we could take them back to the town cemetery, but I'd be worried about attracting attention.
This place is even more violent and terrible than our last visit... I'd not have thought that possible, says Dragomir, still shaken.
If we must leave, I won't pretend I am not gladdened.
Lem holds the bag carefully away from himself while uncorking another vial of holy water. He slowly pours the water onto the bones while speaking solemnly:
Be still, child--the trials of this world no longer concern you. No matter what sins cling to you now, the waters of Pharasma will wash you clean. May you forget the evils of this life as Desna speeds you along to your eternal resting place.
Theron tried to watch impassively as Lem cleansed the bones. A nagging voice in the back of his head was telling him that he should be giving them a blessing from Iomedae. However, he knew that such a thing was beyond him; he was simply an instrument of judgement. A blessing from him would simply be words with little to back them.
Lem pours the water into the sack, which quickly becomes steam. The bones remain hot--judging by how quickly the holy water evaporated, you think you're going to need an awful lot more; you doubt even a rain barrel full of the stuff would be enough. You need to find a much larger body of water.
As the holy water sizzles and bubbles, the voices in Walter's head become louder for a moment, as though they are all crying out in sympathy.
###
Other than by wading into the lake or climbing over the rubble to the north to reach the grounds, there is no way out of this room except for the door you came in by. Your remaining options are:
- Going through one or more of the three doors in the west wall of the infirmary (V12, V14, V16).
- Going through the door in the northwest corner of the corridor at the bottom of the stairwell (V17).
- Going through the door in the southwest corner of the corridor at the bottom of the stairwell (V26).
- Going through the double doors at the south end of the corridor at the bottom of the stairwell (V26/W26).
Let me know where you're headed.
After seeing the limited effect that the holy water had on the bones, Theron glances at the lake as an idea crosses his mind. Lem, let me see the bag...it won't be as good as holy water, but maybe we can use that lake to cool those off. I'll try to not drop them in.
I figure I'll offer some solutions, since I'm the one with the clearest picture of what the place looks like and any specific restrictions that might exist that you might otherwise spend lots of time discussing.
Potential solution #1: wet the sack with some water so it doesn't burn (I'm sure someone has a waterskin or something), head upstairs, go to the edge of the mess hall where the wall is missing (e.g. AF12), and lower the bag down on a rope.
Potential solution #2: climb over the rubble (AE11 to AG11 on the Ground Floor map) to get outside, tie the rope to the sack, throw it in the lake. Then you can retrieve it again.
Potential solution #3: as per #2, but just put the sack in the shallows, with or without the rope.
Potential solution #4: as per #2, but climb up the wall pieces so you're over the water, and dangle the sack in on a rope (e.g. AJ11 on the Upper Floor map).
I am presuming that at no point do you want to wade into the lake.
Karrik -- still trying to stamp down the overwhelming fear he'd experienced -- eyes the bag as he reclaims his blade. "It's probably somewhat obvious to everyone, but if those bones are what animated the furnace into such a force of malevolence, it might be prudent to be cautious about what objects we place the bag of bones near." Once again, he reclaims his bowler hat off the floor, running a cupped, meaty hand over its surface as he whispers a few arcane words. The dust and ash seem to melt from its surface, falling in a grayish-white cloud to the floor.
He settles it on his head, carefully seating it in just the right spot, "Other than that, I agree that lowering it into the lake to get a closer inspection may prove fruitful."
###
Lem ties a rope around the neck of the sack and then makes his way carefully over the rubble, as does everyone else. When he reaches the shore of the lake, Lem whirls the sack around like a sling, then lets it fly. The sack arcs out over the tranquil waters of the lake, then lands around fifteen feet from the shore with an overly loud plop.
Lem stands motionless, both hands on the rope, as everyone tenses, waiting for something to happen. Seconds pass...and then a few bubbles start to form on the surface. Quickly, the handful of bubbles becomes a roiling mass--which spreads to encompass an alarmingly large area, around six feet across--and then a water spout erupts from the boiling lake surface and quickly spirals up to the clouds. At the same time, the rope jerks in Lem's hands.
Lem is jerked forward. He manages to keep his feet, but he finds himself ankle-deep in the water.
Ahead of him, four hulking shapes haul themselves up ponderously from the lake. Water sluices off skulls, drains from eye sockets, cascades down rib cages--just as it did earlier, the lake has disgorged more skeletons. They stare at you. The malevolence is palpable.
The process is going more-or-less as expected, so far. The most important thing for now is to ensure Lem is defended against the skeletons that are about to menace him.
Team PC
Average: 13
Team Skeleton
Average: 14
Team Skeleton wins.
###
Team Skeleton
The skeletons make their way laboriously through the shallow water at the edge of the lake, before striking at those they can reach on the shore.
Well, that was pathetic. : )
The skeleton rakes one of its clawed hands across Raj's chest, one finger catching at the base of his neck and tearing a significant gouge--but fortunately missing any vital blood vessels. Raj's hand immediately moves to his neck--but as he probes for damage while trying to keep his defence up, his hand comes away unbloodied. Then the pain hits him--the wound has been cauterised. In front of him, the water droplets that still remain on the skeleton's bones begin to turn into steam...
###
Team PC
Your turn. Your target AC is 12 (or 14 for Skeleton #1, facing Dragomir).
Having a skeleton nearly tear his throat out sobers the thief. "Fall back and draw them away from Lem!" Putting words to action, Raj attempts to tumble away from the creature and anticipates searing claws across his back.
For all his tiny stature, Lem holds the rope like Dragomir. Though surrounded by foes, he holds his ground and shouts fearlessly at the burning skeletons.
The very waters of the lake appear to recoil from Lem as he intones his sermon, before they explode outwards in a shower that covers everyone within thirty feet. Where the waters land on the skeletons, they hiss and sizzle, leaving blackened marks on their bones.
Skeleton #1: Healthy---Bruised---Wounded---Near Death---Unconscious---Bleeding Out---Dead
Skeleton #2: Healthy---Bruised---Wounded---Near Death---Unconscious---Bleeding Out---Dead
Skeleton #3: Healthy---Bruised---Wounded---Near Death---Unconscious---Bleeding Out---Dead
Skeleton #4: Healthy---Bruised---Wounded---Near Death---Unconscious---Bleeding Out---Dead