"Galandram!" Cei screams in frustration. He tries to pull himself out of the net again, trying to break free.
”Blasted dungeon!” Sabrine screams as she sees Galandram fall down. ”You will not take him, metal beast” she says before loosing an arrow at the metal beast. Then dropping her bow she pulls out her Elven Curved Blade.
The clockwork creature moves closer to its netted target that is still standing. It attempts to slam him with the same force that took the elf down, but the net gets in its way and it misses.
Seeing Galadram fall, Eldon looks suddenly more serious. "Hey! you, clockwork thing." He raises his hands and taking a moment to prepare himself starts chanting an arcane phrase.
Yngvilda steps up while the contraption is busy with Cei and Eldon and tries to smash it to kindling from behind.
"Hah! Take that!"
With the bow now on the ground and her blade drawn, Sabrine begins to sing a song of rage. and then moves over atop Galandram’s body immediately to the north of the guardian.
+2 Morale Bonus to Str and Con
+1 Morale Bonus to Will Saves
-1 AC
Cei, frustrated with trying to break out of the net and giving into the raging song that Sabrine sings, swings his mace down onto the creature, trying to break it quickly.
Eldon's attack misses, but both Cei and Yngvilda land solid hits on the creature, pieces of metal breaking off from their attacks. Pieces begin to spark, but you can see that the creature is starting to repair some the damage done to it. With a whir, the creature spins and throws a tremendously forceful punch into Yngvilda that she is unable to block with her shield. The force of the hit sends her flying off her feet into the wall where she crumples and collapses on the ground in a bloody pile.
The creature begins to pick apart the group, sending its second member to the floor where they are dying.
C: 19
”We’re falling left and right! We’ve got to think of something quick!” Sabrine shouts momentarily before picking up on the note she left off on. . She then takes a five foot step onto Yngvilda’s square in order to flank with Cei and swings her sword at the guardian.
Eldon carefully steps over Galandram and tries to draw on his magic again.
Yngvilda had looked at the party for a second after landing her telling blows, smiling and keen to ensure that the others had seen her succeed.
She turned her attention back to the little clockwork contraption just in time, but it hit her with so much force there was nothing she could do. Bleeding from a head wound, she hears her father's voice as she blacks out, Keep your shield up Yngvilda! Yngvilda....
Blood pools around her crumpled form
The clockwork creature is unable to a avoid Eldon's blast of electricity. Sparks flash all over its body as it begins to fry its components, taking more damage that it should from such an attack. Sabrine puts everything she has into her strike and allows her sword to deliver the final blow to the clockwork creature. Gears and springs explode from its body once the sword connects, sending the head of the creature tumbling across the room. Slowly, all of the gears inside of the creature come to a halt.
Cei watches Yngvilda fall as well, horror painted across his face. As Eldon finishes off the creature, Cei holds up the broken hourglass symbol and calls for Shyka's blessing again. The wave of energy bursts through the room heading some of Galandrama and Yngvilda's wounds. "Wonderful job Eldon and Sabrine. Now, please help get me out of this so I can really heal these two."
Seeing the creature falling to pieces, sparks crackling over it Eldon smiles broadly. Reaching down he finds one of the small gears that flew from the creature upon its demise, looks it it briefly and places it in his belt pouch. Turning to see Cei still caught in the net Eldon draws his dagger and goes to help free him.
"here Cei, let me help you with that"
Galandram gasps and his eyes flutter open as Cei's burst of positive energy undoes some of the worst harm that the clockwork servant had done. His hand shoots out to grab his rapier as his eyes scan the room for enemies. Seeing the headless construct motionless, he drops his weapon, making his ways to a kneeling position as he examines his own injuries. He turns to the group, soberly saying "Well fought by the looks of it. And thank you for healing me. My injuries seem to have eased a fair amount."
Seeing Yngvilda on the floor, his face falls, and he asks the aasimar in a concerned tone, "Does she live, Cei? Everything went black when that construct hit me, and I don't have a healer's skill."
Cei, finally free from the cursed net, moves to Yngvilda, checking her over, "I believe she is still alive, but she is badly hurt. I think I can help her though." Cei reaches down and holds Yngvilda's head in his hands. "Shyka heal her." Instantly Yngvilda looks much better, "You are all still hurt somewhat. Let me channel my energy once more." Cei does so, relieving as much of the wounds as he can.
"I am nearly out of healing energies. We will need to rest soon," he says, looking around at the others.
Once Yngvilda gets back on her feet, the group finds that the heavy iron door to the north, behind where the clockwork servant was, is locked.
Sabrine rests momentarily on her sword, trying to catch her breath, before a moment of remembering rushes over and she rushes over to Galandram’s body. ”I thought we had lost you. And Yngvilda, she still has not woken yet. I can not lose anyone you.”
She then turns to Cei, bowing low to the ground ”Thank you Cei, you have kept myself alive more times today than I can count and you continue to be the one that heals us further. You must be tired, should we rest now? I know Galandram and Yngvilda probably will not complain and I have to admit, neither would I. If that door is locked then we may only need to worry about that direction? Maybe one of us can put the acid back and find a way across? That would cover our tracks in even more?”
The key is still floating in the same spot it was, yes.
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"Five more minutes..." Yngvilda groggily comes round after Cei's ministrations, eventually returning to full consciousness. She panics for a second and scrabbles to pick up her axe before noticing the ruins of the creature and relaxing.
She stands up checks herself over, looking at the blood stains and wincing at a few unhealed cuts. She wears a perverse grin "That must have been a bad one, I don't even remember it! You're a miracle worker Cei. I owe you my life, all of you."
She seems a bit wobbly on her feet and leans against a wall for support. "Did I miss much?"
"The way I see it, we've made good progress down here. That thing" she gestures at the remains of the automaton with her handaxe, "Isn't putting itself back together in a hurry, and neither is that imp. With the amount of magic I've seen thrown about by this group it's a wonder you're still standing. I wouldn't mind a quick nap myself"
"It might be prudent not to go flashing these mithral daggers and such around though, we don't want the local youths exploring down here looking for coin and getting their heads knocked off for their trouble"
She shrugs.
"Or we can press on. Maybe there's a linnorm in the next room" Grinning widely, its clear she doesn't yet realise that she's chipped one of her front teeth noticeably
Cei stops, breathing hard, a sheen of sweat covering his forehead. "Yes. A rest might be good. We might be able to finish our work here before we run out of energy, but we also might not." Cei listens to Yngvilda talking about a linnorm and shudders. "Let's hope not. If that is the case, I doubt we will make it beyond the next room even if we should rest."
"A rest would be good, I still have some of my magic left but I'm starting to feel pretty drained."
”Yes, I think I vote for a rest as well. A lady can’t go too long covered in the dungeon grime before she loses her mind. Are we thinking of heading back to town to rest in the inn? I would obviously be all for a spot of civilization.”
Before they go, either back to town or to stay in the dungeon for the night, Bri will make sure that she grabs the key floating above the guardians head and put it in her bag.
"Let's go to the inn. I'm sure there'll be plenty of opportunities for sleeping in dungeons in the future, with rooms full of beds and fresh food so close it seems the wisest choice"
Yngvilda licks her lips at the thought of fresh food, despite only just having eaten. "We can make sure the town doesn't think us dead too and send more after us"
Exiting from the rubble and ruin of the tower, you are not surprised to see all of the crowd that previously had gathered has dispersed. Returning to the Wise Piper inn, you are greeted by Talia Orem, the young proprietor. She explains that your companion Desdemar has come down with a fever and has fallen ill and has chosen retired for the evening to his bed.
Waiting on the table for you all are fresh Blackwood Berries, for which Talia grins wryly. "Better late than never. You already paid for them, so enjoy!"
Yngvilda will grab the large crest though, and stuff it as best she can in her backpack
By the time they get back to the inn, her appetite has all but deserted her. I didn't know magical healing was so tiring.
Unless her companions want to get up to anything else, she will retire to whatever bed she can find at the in and plant herself face-down in it.
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”Talia, you simply are a dear!” Sabrine squeal with delight at seeing the blackberries, ”My friends were kind enough to remind me that I should apologize to you, you are so gracious in hosting us tonight, would you allow me to entertain the people here at your lovely establishment I have trained by the Kyonin choirmaster himself?”
Sabrine begins rummaging through her bags to see if she has any sheet notes only yo find that she is missing them. ”Well I do know The Storming of Gilramore by heart if that would suffice.
As long as Talia allows it to happen, Bri will stand up and begin singing a sad love song about two lovers caught on opposite ends of military siege on a town. When the man makes his way inside the walled town he finds that his lover had killed herself, along with all the other townspeople in an effort not to be captured.
The melchanoly of the song coupled with her sweet soprano voices fills the air as the song dies.” I am tired, I think I will see you all in the morning. Good night everyone. As she turns, you catch the briefest glimpse of a tear rolling down Bri’s eyes.
Talia does not object and settles in for the performance. She claps and whistles loudly when it is over. A few other of the patrons also applaud and call for a second song.
After the long and crazy day that finds the party of caravan guards searching a crumbled tower in an unknown town, the sleep comes quickly for all of you. Night passes uneventfully and in the morning you grab a meal from Talia before returning back to the ruins once more. Along the way a few people who saw you enter yesterday stop you to ask questions about what you found.
Cautiously making your way back to the room with the clockwork servant, you are relieved to find that it is still in broken pieces scattered across the floor. The heavy iron door to the north still remains locked. Studying the lock you find that it is shaped like your mithral daggers again which apparently double as keys here.
Once you are ready , you push the door open and head in. An area along the south wall is enclosed in a cage of thick iron bars that extend from floor to ceiling. Within the enclosure sit seven black iron chests. To the north, the stone wall has collapsed, revealing a rough-hewn tunnel.
When you enter, a creature is lurking in the mouth of the tunnel to the north and swiftly turns its attention to you. This humanoid creature has long, sharp teeth, and its pallid flesh is stretched tightly over its starved frame.
Ghouls are undead that haunt graveyards and eat corpses. Legends hold that the first ghouls were either cannibalistic humans whose unnatural hunger dragged them back from death or humans who in life fed on the rotting remains of their kin and died (and were reborn) from the foul disease—the true source of these undead scavengers is unclear.
Ghouls lurk on the edges of civilization (in or near cemeteries or in city sewers) where they can find ample supplies of their favorite food. Though they prefer rotting bodies and often bury their victims for a while to improve their taste, they eat fresh kills if they are hungry enough. Though most surface ghouls live primitively, rumors speak of ghoul cities deep underground led by priests who worship ancient cruel gods or strange demon lords of hunger. These "civilized" ghouls are no less horrific in their eating habits, and in fact the concept of a well-laid ghoul banquet table is perhaps even more horrifying than the concept of taking a meal fresh from the coffin.
Galandram makes his way to his feet, picking up his rapier. "Many thanks for your concern, Bri," he says with a sad smile. "I too do not wish to lose those near to me." His dark blue-black eyes briefly meet Sabrine's, and for a moment they are filled with the overwhelming sadness of one who lost those near to him over and over again.
As the party discusses the benefits of resting, Galandram agrees, his voice tired, "I agree, a rest does sound good."
At the inn, Galandram first cleans the filth of battle off of himself and his equipment, and then makes his way to the common room. The elf hardly touches his food that evening, sitting politely but quietly in the common room. He listens to Sabrine's song (ballad?), eyes closed and sitting upright as the melody washes over him, seemingly rapt. He joins in with the audience's applause at the end of the song, clearly appreciative of the artistry, though he looks exhausted from the day and does not clap with quite the vigor of some of the other patrons.
Shortly after Sabrine finishes her song, he steps out of the tavern, and returns after about a half hour, having walked the town for a bit to clear his head. He retires to his sleeping quarters, and rises early the next day, spending a couple of minutes carefully mixing together various powder and liquid reagents from his alchemist's kit.
As the group approaches the locked door, Galandram again consumes one of his extracts, gaining a state of heightened awareness. He draws his rapier before the door is opened.
On seeing their new opponent, Galandram looks slightly annoyed. I like this tower less and less every minute I spend in it, he thinks. His annoyance changes to alarm when he recognizes the creature the group is facing.
"Undead! Ghoul!" he shouts. "Beware, it carries a foul disease, and its strikes will paralyze you! Cei, they're resistant to channeled energy."
As he is shouting this information to the group, Galandram quickly strides towards the ghoul, moving past it to set up a flanking position if possible. His rapier darts out at the ghoul, aiming for its exposed neck.
Sabrine wakes up in the morning feeling very refreshed and happily follows her friends back to the tower. Seeing Galandram pull out his rapier, Bri grabs her blade as well in both hands.
At least we rested last night Sabrine thinks as the door is opened and the creature bounds toward them,I’m not sure we would have survived had we come in here.
”Thanks for the warning Galandram!” Bri shouts as she saddles up next to the ghoul on the opposite side of Galandram, flanking the creature. As soon as she gets there she brings her blade down on the creature in a swift downward arc.
Waking up the next day full of vim and eager to get back into the dungeon to explore and hone her fighting skills, Yngvilda is straight into the thick of it when the enemy is sighted. She almost doesn't hear Galandram's warnings over her battle cry.
Galandram, Sabrine and Yngvilda all connect with the undead creature on their attacks, both the elf and the Ulfen critically striking it. Before it even has a chance to react, the undead creature drops to the ground.
On returning to the inn, Eldon asks for food and wine and happily talks with the rest of the group and towns folk. He listens intently to Sabrine's performance and cheers and claps loudly once she is done and eagerly attacks the food and refreshments provided before finally heading for his bed.
He wakes early and joins his fellows ready to return to the dungeon. Hearing Galandram's warning he barely has time to raise his hand for a spell when Yngvilda, Sabrine and Galandram dispatch it. Looking up at Cei he says. "Wow, I don't think they need us!"
Eldon then begins to search the room.
Seeing the ghoul fall, Galandram lets out a relieved sigh before wiping his blade. To Yngvilda and Sabrine, he says simply, "Well fought," as he cleans the filth of the ghoul from his blade with a piece of cloth. Turning to Eldon, he bows slightly, saying, "Next time no doubt, Master Cade."
No longer distracted by the ghoul, he too examines the room.
Yngvilda's instincts for protection kick in, and she goes to stand guard by the tunnel in case there are more creepy creatures lurking, but not before asking for some light.
"Eldon would you mind using your light spell on one of the spikes on my shield?"
She then goes to stand by the tunnel, using her shield to illuminate it, and peers in.
A quick search of the room reveals two slots in the floor, one just east of the cage and one just west. You don't have to look very hard to determine that these slots are made for the pair of mithral daggers you are getting good use out of. Insert both devices and turning them simultaneously lowers the bars down into the ground.
Inside of the cage are seven locked iron bound chests and one locked teak case.
”If these chests are anything like the rest of this dungeon, I’m wary that they are in fact treasure. Knowing the good Baron, maybe they’ll suck us in and close the lid.”
Sabrine will take a look at them from a distance to see if they look locked or dangerous.
Sabrine notes that the chests are dusty, old and have been sitting here for a very long time. She notices nothing else untoward about them.
Galandram gives a quiet chuckle as Sabrine mentions the chests swallowing us whole. "I agree, Bri," he says quietly. "I don't trust anything we find down here."
He spends about 20 seconds carefully examining the chests and box, focusing intently as he searches for anything out of the ordinary, or for any evidence of traps.
Cei looks around in amazement as the two take down the ghoul in moments. "Well done," he says as the group begins to examine the treasure chests.
"I could try to break them open," he suggests wearily. "But the chests themselves may be worth something in the end."
Galandram hears what Cei said and replies in a polite tone, "Cei, I might be able to pick those locks without damaging anything, though I'd like my odds better with a proper lockpick."
At Yngvilda's request Eldon quickly moves over and casts light on her shield spike. He then looks around the room and then takes a slow walk around while concentrating on a detect magic spell.
Cei steps aside, "By all means then, they are all yours Galandram."
Galandram inspects the chests and does not believe there are any traps protecting them. Kneeling down beside the first one, he goes to work and finds that without a set of picks that this lock is beyond his skill to open. Inspecting each of the chests and their locks reveal more of the same.
Yngvilda wanders over to the chests while Galandram is working on them, her shield throwing shadows all over the room as she moves.
"Did anyone notice if the town had anything resembling a shop? I almost passed out from tiredness last night but if it did we could go and see about getting Galandram some picks. I'm sure Cei and I could smash these chests up if necessary, but I know i'd feel a lot safer down here if you had the right tools Galandram."
She slides her handaxe into her belt loop and pats the very large bulge in her backpack.
"We have this crest that looked valuable, maybe the shop would take it in trade for some nice picks?
Yngvilda must have been too exhausted or really hit her head hard if she forgot that Talia explained the town basics at dinner.
"Tymek's is the general store and is run by Caspar Tymen, a friendly chatty fellow who would be more than willing to take your coin. Let's see, there's Delbin's Devices run by Phedra Delbin the tinker, Belhaim Woodworks owned by Selia Woldenar, Marcus Chance operates the Chance Smithy, Xemne of Demgazi has her Xemne's Tonic shop, Jacoba Kivris is our barrister, Dodgion Livery Stables are run by Lezara Dodgion."
"There's also the Mason's Guildhall, Odayalle's Fur's, hmmn what else? Ah, Woolen Goods is a feltmaker, Greyhans is a tavern run by Swerlo Grayhands, Soorey's Garments run by Dorcas Soorey the tailer and Sensina Hides is a run by Theon the leatherworker. We have a cobbler, cheesemaker, clotheir, cattle farmer, moneychangers, undertakers, barber, fishery, grain mill and herbalist too."
Nodding she adds, "There's a good two dozen other shops around town if you are looking for something specific, but those likely will get you started. Check back anytime if you need assistance."
Bri begins pacing the floor as Galandram initially sets to work on picking the locks, ”Be careful Galandram.”, the relief on her face when nothing happens is palpable although immediately turns to disappointment when the elf is unsuccessful in opening anything. ”I am of the same mind of Yngvilda, although maybe we can contiune exploring this tower and the next time we find ourselves topside we can pick up some lockpicks.”
Pointing with her sword towards the open tunnel,”Should we contiune through the tunnel? It’s not like anyone else is going to be exploring this dangerous tower and steal our well earned treasure.”