”Unghh...” Bartimaeus groans over breakfast. ”I’m going to need a good healer, or a good week of rest, before I can go back down there.”
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Once again sneaking back into the sewers, the group nearly has to carry the nearly delirious Bartimaeus back in to drink the blessed fountain sewer water. As the group does so they quickly find out that it heals them once more.
Tegan (18/18)
Grek (8/15)
Bartimaeus (2/19; Wounded 1)
Dufek (17/22)
Gorotha (25/25)
Hey cleric. Hosa bout you do the healing thing before we face a maybe vampire. Grek smiles in what he thinks is a winning way.
Gorotha nods brusquely. "Get him on his feet, he's no use to us right now."
Tegan nods and casts Cure Light Wounds on Bartimaeus. When her spell doesn't seem to have much of an effect, she casts it again.
Tegan blushes furiously. "I- I'm sorry my heals are a bit... small." She casts her healing magic one more time.
"That should be good enough, right?" She looks nervously from one companion to another and tucks a strand of stringy black hair behind her ear.
She casts Light on her Starknife and waits for the others to proceed.
Dufek sees all their healing go up in smoke, and the party is still not fully healthy. ”OK, now no one get hurt.” he grins.
”Can any one do anything about these traps? Can we just walk around it?”
He’ll peer down the hall unhappily, not sure what to do about the trap.
Tegan looks at her companions nervously. I hope one of them is good with a crowbar. Her eyes settle on the goblin. They were goblin traps after all.
Dufek shrugs, as no one seems to be able or willing to deal with the trap - or even comment on the problem. He approaches cautiously, and does what he can, trusting to luck. Hoping Torag isn't watching, he murmurs a prayer to Desna before beginning.
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Dufek tinkers with the hourglass and carefully pulls it from the statue, setting it carefully on the ground.
The group is able to pass by unhindered. Unsure if it is thanks to Dufek or that the entire group has drank the holy Pharasman waters from the fountain.
Dufek pushes on the door. While it doesn't seem to be locked it is wedged shut.
Grunting her approval at the group evading the trap, Gorotha stalks her way up to the door and unceremoniously tries to kick it open.
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Gorotha puts her shoulder into the door and it opens with a loud pop as this door had not been opened in some time.
While this room may have been used as a shrine long ago, its contents are now a ghastly mockery of its former purpose. To the south, an altar upon a raised dais is surrounded by mosaics depicting a stern woman with long, flowing white hair, all of which has been slathered in filth and gore. The whole area reeks of decay and cloying, clotted blood.
Hunched over the altar, Drakus the hobgoblin vampire (alleged), feasts on the body of a recently slain goblin. Fresh blood runs from his strange three-pronged tongue (which is certainly not a hobgoblin trait) as he growls venomously at the intrusion.
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Bartimaeus (2/19; Wounded 1)
Dufek (17/22)
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Dire rat
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Grek (8/15)
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Drakus the Taker
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Gorotha (25/25)
Tegan (18/18)
Round: 1, Initiative: 21
HP: 17/22
Class DC: 15
Hero Points: 1
Resonance Points: 0/0
Weapon Equipped: None
Conditions: None
Dufek rushes up to the first rat (•>), gets into his stance (•>) and attacks with a flurry (•>)!
Before...
As Dufek fiddles with the statue Bartimaeus bows and lauds Tegan for her healing powers. He had gone from dead on his feet to nearly dancing, and all for the miracle of Tegan.
Now...
”You must be Drakus.” Bartimaeus points at the blood-drinking goblin. ”You claim to be a vampire, yes? We are here to test that theory with hard-sole boots!”
Running forward, Bartimaeus tries to make good on his promise.
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Drakus shifts to the side as Bartimaeus foot easily goes past the side of the hobgoblin's head. He utters a sneer of disapproval as the rubber boot flops about. "Your blood will be mine as well human."
The dire rat screeches and nips out at Gorotha's foot.
+ Filth Fever
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Bartimaeus (15/19; Wounded 1)
Dufek (17/22)
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Dire rat
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Grek (8/15)
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Drakus the Taker
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Gorotha (22/25)
Tegan (18/18)
”Damn these cursed ill-fashioned goulashes! Had I my fine Cassomir brogans you would be tasting leather right now!”
Grek moves and strikes the nearest foe
Hunched over the altar, Drakus the hobgoblin vampire (alleged), feasts on the body of a recently slain goblin. Fresh blood runs from his strange three-pronged tongue (which is certainly not a hobgoblin trait) as he growls venomously at the intrusion.
Round 1:
Tegan's eyes widen but she manages to stifle her scream. The priest moves into position and hurls her glowing Starknife at the vampire's pet dire rat.
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Grek hangs back as he sees the doorway blocked from the inside by a giant rat.
Drakus hurls the goblin's body to the ground with a thick, wet thud of the fresh kill. The hobgoblin's form begins to shiver and contort as muscles spasm. The hairy skin stretches until it splits open in a grotesque manner and falls away in thin , bloody sheets to the floor, leaving in its place a hairless, leathery biped that has a face dominated by grotesque and unsettling whorls and slits instead of actual features.
The strange creature with the forked tongue claws out at Bartimaeus.
+ Grab
Bartimaeus feels a handful of long, thin claws wrap around his neck as the forked tongue inches towards his neck.
Afraid to hit Gorotha Tegan launches her starknife into the doorway, but it misses and catches the wall instead.
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Bartimaeus (10/19; Wounded 1; Grabbed)
Dufek (17/22)
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Dire rat
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Grek (8/15)
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Drakus the Taker
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Gorotha (22/25)
Tegan (18/18)
Round: 2, Initiative: 21
HP: 17/22
Class DC: 15
Hero Points: 1
Resonance Points: 0/0
Weapon Equipped: None
Conditions: Tiger Stance
Dufek moves around the statue to get into flank on the dire rat (•>) and attacks with a flurry (•>).
(flank)
(flank)
- - -
(flank, second attack)
- - -
Gorotha lets out an enormous roar before swinging at the rat, wildly and repeatedly.
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Gorotha kicks the rat right into Dufek's hands where the dwarf snaps it in two and tosses it to the floor. Dufek turns and closes in on Drakus.
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Bartimaeus (10/19; Wounded 1; Grabbed)
Dufek (17/22)
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Dire rat
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Grek (8/15)
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Drakus the Taker
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Gorotha (22/25)
Tegan (18/18)
Bartimaeus struggles with the... thing... swinging his foot back and bringing a knee up at its face twice.
Grek scuttles into the room and shoots his crossbow
Round 2:
Tegan takes out her other Starknife and moves to get a better shot of the vampire.
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Bartimaeus kicks a knee up high and Drakus catches it tossing it back down. Just as Grek's crossbow bolt shatters against the wall.
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Bartimaeus (10/19; Wounded 1; Grabbed)
Dufek (17/22)
Grek (8/15)
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Drakus the Taker
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Gorotha (22/25)
Tegan (18/18)
Round 2 Continued:
Tegan chucks the Starknife.
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Drakus pulls Bartimaeus in tight as the forked tongue pierces his neck and begins to drain his blood at a rapid pace.
Drakus draws its longsword from its sheathe and slashes it at Dufek as the long tongue swirls in the air. "This one tastes delicious."
The blade slides right through his ribs.
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Bartimaeus (9/18; Wounded 1; Drained 1)
Dufek (6/22)
Grek (8/15)
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Drakus the Taker
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Gorotha (22/25)
Tegan (18/18)
Snarling, Gorotha goes the long way around, charging in to swing at Drakus.
”Argh! Nasty!” Bartimaeus exclaims at the goblin giving him tongue. Struggling, he tries kicking the little sucker off again.
Round 3:
Seeing one of her companions get bitten causes Tegan to shake in her muck-crusted boots. No, no, no! This can't be happening!
Tegan pushes forward in an awkward run, arms outstretched towards the vampire. She closes her eyes tightly as she prepares to make contact with the evil being. Upon touching the creature, positive energy surges from Tegan's fingertips and into Drakus.
Round: 3, Initiative: 21
HP: 11/22
Class DC: 15
Hero Points: 1
Resonance Points: 0/0
Weapon Equipped: None
Conditions: Tiger Stance
Dufek steps into flank on the nasty foe (•>) and attacks with a flurry (•>) and attacks again! (•>). He’s eager to end the foe before he himself is ended.
(flank)
(second attack, flank)
(third attack, flank)
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Gorotha goes teh scenic route, climbing over the altar to reach Drakus the Taker as she sweeps her axe down at his shoudler.
Tegan reaches out sending positive energy to try and harm the undead into Drakus. Though she quickly finds that her positive energy has no effect on whatever creature he seems to be.
Bartimaeus manages to kick Drakus in his sensitive bits, knocking him back a step.
Dufek claws at Drakus' chest. The blow knocks the Faceless Stalker into the altar. It smacks it's head as it crumples to the ground.
Originally sacred to the Pharasmin faith, the altar in this room was crafted to help ease the dead in their journey into the River of Souls, but it was also the focus of many ceremonies for the living to let go of their loved ones. Currently it has been defiled with so many goblin sacrifices.
The door to the north appears to be locked.
There is also a tunnel leading northwest.
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Bartimaeus (9/18; Wounded 1; Drained 1)
Dufek (6/22)
Grek (8/15)
Gorotha (22/25)
Tegan (18/18)
Gorotha grunts at Bartimaeus and Dufek. "Hmph, try not to get hit so much."
She looks over the strange faceless stalker for a little bit, seeing if it has any valuable loot before she takes a little bit to clean off the goblin guck over it. "The Gods have enough to worry about, they don't need this crap," she mutters.
Hmpf! Now death goddess have a little conversation with him.
Grek stretches. Good fight. We win
”Vampire!? I think not!”
Bartimaeus gives the tongue-monster a kick for good measure. Then, straightening his collar, he looks to the door.
”Does anyone see a key? No?”
With a running start, he gives the new wooded enemy a flying kick!
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Digging through the Faceless Stalker's equipment Gorotha finds some useful items.
Just as Gorotha grabs at the key ring Bartimaeus shows the power of his rubber golashes as the door splinters open.
Beyond the door is a short hallway that leads to a flight of stairs, ascending into a small chapel. This space is perfectly still and spotlessly clean, a stark departure from the grime and filth that has marred the rest of this complex.
Atop the stairs is a small chapel dedicated to the Lady of Graves. This is the one place that even Drakus refused to defile, for merely entering it made him extremely uncomfortable. Unlike the other chambers of this dungeon, this small shrine remains a sacred place of Pharasma. Her imagery appears again here, in a simple mosaic on the wall above a stone altar. Atop the altar is a book, a dagger, and a silver bowl.
The book on the altar is a copy of The Bones Land in a Spiral, one of Pharasma’s sacred texts. The book is open to a passage discussing the proper litany to be spoken when sanctifying a creature’s passage into Pharasma’s realm.
The silver bowl is filled with a dose of holy water, but as long as the bowl remains on the altar. Glancing into the bowl of water Bartimaeus sees a much older version of himself through a vast desert at night, while the stars wheel at a dizzying speed overhead before blinking out into darkness, one by one.
The dagger upon the altar appears to be magical as well.
Dufek looks into the room and whistles, "Nice shrine. Glad they didn't defile it too."
I never knew of this.
Grek looks at the dagger
Do you think the lady of death would mind if I had the dagger? For that, I would become her devoted follower
He nervously looks about for some sign.
Bartimaeus shivers upon seeing his reflection in the water, then gives it a second look.
”You know, I think I’ll age well.”
Looking around the altar, and noting the religious instructions, he departs for a moment and returns with the “vampire”.
”I say we send this little monster on his way to judgement.”
yesss! Lady of death may like that.
Gorotha stalks up, looking over the book. "Anyone better with words than me? Bet if we read this it may get some of the goblin stink out of that ruined shrine. I'd prefer to have the Lady of Death on my side - we all have a meeting with her in the end."
Grek looks at Gorotha. And blinks.
"Not terribly good with words, no. Understand a little about religion though, but that doesn't really help just reading it off a page." he grins, though he agrees with Gorotha's suggestion.
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With one final cavern to explore and Drakus taken care of the group heads into the hobgoblin vampire's chamber. This cramped cavern reeks of stale sweat and dried blood. Tucked into the far corner is a filthy straw bed made from ratty hides and moldy clothes. Off to the side sits a pair of chests, one of which is open and filled to the top with a strange assortment of clothes.
The closed chest appears to be locked, though the master key carried by Drakus seems to not only unlock it but also disable a poisonous trap set within.
Drakus used this chamber as his personal lair. The foul-smelling heap of rags and straw is where he rested. There is little of value here, but taking 10 minutes to sort through the heap, you uncover a lost coin purse that contains 2 sp and 7 cp.
The open chest contains a wide variety of clothing— garments worn by Drakus whenever he needed to change his disguise. These include barbarian hides, merchant clothes, noble attire (with fake jewelry), and even a city watch uniform. Sold together, the clothing here is worth 10 sp.
Inside the closed and trapped chest is all of the treasure stolen over the last several months by Drakus and his goblins. A large amount of loot can be found within, consisting of an expert-quality crossbow, a feather token (bird), three light arrows, a scroll of bless, a scroll of magic weapon, a wand of produce flame, a vial of oil of mending, a collection of rare inks and powders (worth 8 gp),
a series of related esoteric books (worth 10 gp), a bag of gemstones (worth 80 gp), and a small sack filled with coins (5 gp, 74 sp, and
183 cp). This treasure is, of course, all stolen property from various Magnimarian citizens.
Of more important note also found within the chest are two items of importance. These items include the Star of Desna, the heirloom Keleri Deverin sent you into the sewers to retrieve, and a thick journal with the title Notes on the Last Theorem scratched into its cover.
"Cool, I think this is what we're here to get. Mission accomplished - and ahead of schedule too!"
He picks up the Notes on the Last Theorem and opens it, leafing through to see what sort of tome it is.