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With its teeth clinging to his shoulder, Lem's eyes blaze in cold fury. He checks his shoulder down to the ground, forcing the bat onto its back, its wings awkwardly scrabbling against the stone floor. In the same motion Lem builds momentum with Quaker behind him, swinging his other shoulder around as the halfling stands up. The bat's teeth rip out of Lem's flesh, blood dripping down his chiseled bicep as he raises both arms high at the end of his earthbreaker. And before the bat can blink Lem pulls the hammer down, aided by gravity, hate, and corded muscles. The hammer cracks through skin and bones, brain and stones, shuddering the foundations of the crypt. The columns behind you, holding up the floor of the church, shudder. Dust falls from the roof and one column shifts, barely perceptible. Your eyes hurt, the impact hit so hard.
Lem catches his breath from the brief fight. "Well, I think we got them. Onward!"
Brag heals Lem's shoulder bite with the CLW wand.
"Poof, you are healed, my tall friend."
"Wait there's still a little bleeding. Let's try that again."
"Great hit Lem! Now that you've created a new kind of puddle, let's explore this room behind the door!"
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The central room has the SW pillar loose. A simple nudge would send it falling to the ground in any direction pushed.
In the back room is a stable, complete with a trough filled with celestial hay and holy seeds for the pegasus. There is a saddle strung over a saddle holder, and a space for a large cart or wagon, though the cart and equipment is smashed to splinters. There is a pitchfork for the straw on the floor as well, and instead of the usual horse-smell, there pervades a mixture of horse manure and bird droppings. Pegasuses, despite their majestic nature, seem to have combined the worst parts of the gastrointestinal systems of both equestrians and avians.
Arbaro sees nothing worth mentioning about the pillars.
Arbaro explores the aviary/stable.
"Well, this poop is pretty gross but this pitchfork looks to be made of Elysian bronze. I am not sure why they were using this to clean up hay, but this looks to me like a Fighter's Fork, it's an extendable trident!"
Lem looks over the trident. "Interesting. might be a good idea to have one of those if we have to fight underwater again."
Thurl eyes the columns as they walk back into the main hall. He whispers the the others, ”I don’t think this crypt can take much more. Those 2 intact columns are baring all the weight above us. If another breaks, this whole place is coming down. We’ve got one more room and then there was that other door that was locked by the mirror closet. Let’s do the other artifact room first. Everyone, be alert!”
Thurl stands still and listens to see if he can hear anything while he’s in the main hall.
Brag is so confident in Thurl that he will follow him anywhere.
"I'm ready let's follow Thurl's lead. Roccavisk, are you coming with us?"
Arbaro observes the new room as well
Lem takes the lead, into the artifact room, slowly in case of danger
The next room is labelled Heracles. Inside you see a hallway with 12 doors, each labelled from a various deed of Heracles that he accomplished. "Nemean Lion," "Lernean Hydra,"Eymanthain Boar," etc. They describe the monsters Heracles defeated when his companions would not or were unable to.
But before you can enter much further, Thurl and Arbaro see shifting shadows down the hallway and the noise of ghosts behind half of the doors.
"Guys, there are some shadows and ghost noises behind half the doors. Let's ready ourselves and open them one at a time."
Arbaro readies an arrow to loose it at the ghostly creature behind the door.
Brag, by reflex, checks for the presence of evil while he readies an arrow, following Arbaro's lead.
Thurl casts shield on himself from a wand.
As Arbaro nears the door to interact with it, he realizes the door itself is an illusion, and inside each entryway is the shadowy form of the creature listed above. A boar, a hydra, a lion, a bull, a cerberus, and a bird. The creatures shift and undulate in the light
Round 1, AC 14, 50% miss chance
Round 1
enraged - rage 17/20
Ac 20, touch 19?
Lem steps past Arbaro and enters a rage as soon as he sees the ghostly figures.
Lem attacks the north ghost with Quaker.
Round 1| HP: 71/71 | Judgements 2/2 | Spells 1: 6/6 2: 3/3 | Perfect Strike 4/4 | Gravity Bow Wand charges 21 | True Strike 1/1 | Blood Scarab 1/1
Arbaro takes a step back after seeing that the door isn't a jar but an illusion. After bumping into Thurl, he decides to stay where he is and fire at the north creature.
"They're incorporated! I mean incorporeal! and there are 6 of them! Two of them are way to close to me!"
Round 1 | HP 52/52 | AC 19 | Lay on Hands 7/7 | Smite Evil 2/3 | Arrows 51/54 | Spells: 1st - 1/1; 2nd - 1/1
Brag moves closer and casts Protection from Evil on Arbaro. " Protect Arbaro from the evil in this temple."
"Remember only magical weapons will hit these incorporeal creatures. Wait, do we have any weapons that aren't magical?"
Lem smashes a shadow boar back into oblivion.
"Of course, incorporation!" One of the heads of the shadow hydra says. "That way we wouldn't be liable if the Soulless One were to be redeemed or slain."
A second head nods. "Yes, then our mission of desecration and defamation of Theseus could continue outsider of the sole owner of Evil Kamalani. As it stands, if she were to die, the quest would dissipate."
"Think of the tax deductions!" says another head.
The hydra continues to talk with itself, momentarily distracted.
Round 1
The shadow creatures move in, three flanking Lem and two flanking Arbaro.
Round 2, Party is up.
Round 2
Rage 16/20
Lem strikes again at the ghostly figures from north going clockwise if any more die.
Lem takes a 5 foot step to the north and yells at the ghost southmost
Round 1 | HP 48/48 | Advice 16/18 | Awaken Divinity 7/7 | Ki Pool 9/10 | Bardic Performance 8/9
AC: 32 FF: 29 T: 20 CMD: 25 Barkskin, Mage armor and Shield active
Thurl says, "Stand firm, we have to protect Lem."
Thurl punches at the damaged ghost.
Thurl's blow lands, but the shadow is hard to damage, even with Thurl's magical fists.
Round 2 | HP 48/48 | Advice 15/18 | Awaken Divinity 7/7 | Ki Pool 9/10 | Bardic Performance 8/9
Thurl moves forward
[ooc]Also, that Ghost rager power is, as the kids these days say, clutch.
Round 2| HP: 71/71 | Judgements 2/2 | Spells 1: 6/6 2: 3/3 | Perfect Strike 4/4 | Gravity Bow Wand charges 21 | True Strike 1/1 | Blood Scarab 1/1
Arbaro takes the step back that he attempted earlier and unleashes another pair of arrows into the creatures.
The first arrow goes into the one to the north and the second into the one to the south.
"That'll teach you to sneak up on me!"
{edited} Round 2
Brag does NOT cast the lesser restoration spell on Lem.
Brag casts protection from evil on Lem.
Lem hits only shadow.
AoO on Thurl.
AoO on Arbaro.
Round
One shadow boar moves into range of Lem and strikes again, the other two too far back.
Round 3, party is up.
Round 3 | HP 52/52 | AC 19 | Lay on Hands 7/7 | Smite Evil 2/3 | Arrows 40/40 | Spells: 1st - 0/2; 2nd - 2/2
Brag unleashes arrows at ghostly boar closest to T & L while looking through his Goz mask. If that one dies, the eastern most evil critter get the remaining arrows.
Adamantine +3 Longbow Point-Blank (+1), Thurl-enhanced (+2), Rapid-Shot (-2), Deadly Aim (-2, +4 Damage) Attack
Round 3 | HP: 71/71 | Judgements 2/2 | Spells 1: 6/6 2: 3/3 | Perfect Strike 4/4 | Gravity Bow Wand charges 21 | True Strike 1/1 | Blood Scarab 1/1
Arbaro aims down the hall at the furthest ghostly creature.
Brag is disappointed in the Goz mask.
Brag is also disappointed in concealment rolls. At least he looks scary for a short dude - when he wears the mask.
Roccavisk says, "Ah yes, combat!" and casts Acid Arrow at the final shadow beast.
Arbaro, Bragoleb, and Roccavisk kill the final 3 shadow beasts.
The rest of the rooms behind Heracles' statue are empty.
Brag casts lesser restoration on Lem to restore his strength.
"Lem, that didn't work very well. I have one spell left. Let me try again."
"Did anyone get injured? I can heal you before we tackle finding the artifiacts."
"Anyone see anything interesting in here? If not, I want to talk to the halfling cobblers again and those lazy dragon soldiers."
"If I had to put a number to it, I would ballpark missing 27 hit points..."
Lem hefts Quaker with a bit more aptitude than he did in the fight.
"I feel a bit stronger already Brag. How is everyone else doing?"
Lem looks around at his allies, ready to go forth and beat in some more ghosts.
Brag heals Lem with the CMW and CLW wands.
"There you go, all healed up.
Lem, I'm sorry that I couldn't restore more of your strength. Tomorrow, I can try again."
"Lem, When we're done here. Let's head over the halfling cobblers and see what else they know. Then all of us can check on the non-functioning dragon slayers at the tavern.
Down the street in Chimera Cove you come to the two Cobbler businesses.
COBBLER
Come and bare your sole
COBBLER
We have the kind you can eat
The food-cobbler is dark inside, no smoke billowing out of the chimney. The shoe-cobbler, however, has a few patrons sitting, barefoot, just inside, and you can see the halfling couple nailing soles onto a pair of shoes while one of their children laces up a boot.
Inside, the two halflings recognize you, but their eyes go wide in fear and they shake their heads.
"Ah, hello, new customers I have not seen before this moment! As you can see we are a little busy, but wait just a moment, browse around some, and we will be with you shortly."
One of the patiently waiting patrons slaps her knee and laughs. "Ha! Shortly! I get it."
The wife halfling slaps her with a leather shoe-shining strap. "Heightism will not be tolerated here."
The shop is full of shoes, boots, sandals, clogs, slippers, and every kind of imaginable footwear for any kind of weather. A row of socks and stockings in all colors sit near the checkout counter. Snowshoes, waders, flippers and other unusual footwear adorn a wall marked "Specialty" at the back. What most catches your eye is the shelf labeled "Magic!"; you can see on it Boots of the Cat, Sandals of Lightest Step, Fungal Slippers, Ghungaroos of Entrancement, Boots of the Earth, and Boots of Striding and Springing.
Brag senses something about cobbler's comments.
"Hey, Lem, look! The cobblers are halflings like us. Who knew?"
Out of sight of the other patrons, Brag gives Lem a knowing wink, as in play along with them.
"Let's check out the Magic boots over there while we wait." He drags Lem over to the magic boot section.
Lem seeing Bragoleb wink shrugs lightly and says "Ah, uh yeah, let's take a look. Hey, Those boots of the earth look cool, but so do the boots of striding and springing."
Arbaro walks in and starts browsing the shop.
To himself mostly he says "I wonder if they have Cobbler's Cobbled Cobbels, the shoes leave a trail of tiny pies instead of footprints but only on cobbled roads. They are very strange."
After seeing the Specialty section:
"Weren't we needing some swim gear to go after Jabu-Jabu or was it named Monstro? I think we just needed to breathe underwater now that I think about it."
He moves on to the Magic! section with the others:
"Oooh these Fungal Slippers look fun but so do the Boots of the Cat for when I was going to try and fly around on Dewayne's back. I haven't seen Dewayne in a while. Decisions, decisions.
Lem, I think the Earth boots would be a good choice for you but it is ultimately up to you. The Fungus is growing on me, I think I'll pick those up. Unless someone objects."
When checking out:
"I might as well get some new socks. I haven't had replacements since before ran into Dead Eye himself!"
Thurl browses the shop looking at the various offerings and hears the cobbler's anxious request for some time so he dillydallies until the other customers have completed their business. At Arbaro's comments, he says, "That was Lord Ubaj if I'm not mistaken. We can probably procure a couple more scrolls for that, but this footwear does look interesting none-the-less."
To himself mostly he says "I wonder if they have Cobbler's Cobbled Cobbels, the shoes leave a trail of tiny pies instead of footprints but only on cobbled roads. They are very strange."
As Arbaro mutters to himself, a house centipede scuttles up the shelf to Arbaro's eye level. Its many feet are covered in tiny shoes, boots, slippers, etc., each a different style and make. It says in Common, "No, but we have the Cobbler's Cobbled Cobbler, which is a pie made with a leather crust and filled with nails." It winks at you.
Also there's that locked door off of the hallways to the mirror room in the crypt.
After the current patrons leave, the only people left in the room are the two halflings and yourselves.
The wife sighs and takes off her leather apron. "Whew, that was a close one. How can I help you fine folks? I don't believe we introduced ourselves last time. Name's Klompen, and this is my husband Winklepicker. We're the Crumbles."
The husband shakes the two halflings hands vigorously. "Thank you for your indiscretion regarding our... arrangement. Please, feel free to take a pair of anything you want!"
He gestures to the "Magic!" shoes. Klompen tries to stop him but quickly gives up. She goes to the ledger and pulls out a red quill and starts scratching resignedly.
As you shop, Winklepicker tells you in a loud-whisper, "Now I don't like secrets, no no, but the locals here... don't know we run *both* stores. Ends are hard to make meet, you know? I can cook, she can cobble, but due to some old traditional laws around here non-locals can only open one place of business per family. Hard to believe, right? No hard feelings to the people of Chimera Cove, of course, they're good people, but they don't pay much attention to us halflings. I'm sure you've noticed. The only time they mention the store across the street is to comment on how it must be nice to have other halflings to talk to around here."
"My dear Crumbles, your secrets are your own. You can trust us with this knowledge. You are most kind to offer such generous gifts. I have Boots of Elvenkind that I can swap for the Boots of Striding and Springing. IF that would not offend you?"
Brag doesn't sense any motives in the two halfling cobblers, but he does tell them of the party's time in the temple and what they discovered. "What do you think of that? Did we miss anything?"
"The Boots of the Earth would be a fine addition to my wardrobe, but surely we can do more for you than keep a secret in trade. We are adventurers and have proven adept at overcoming danger … for the most part. If there is anything we can do for you while we are here I hope you will let us know!"
Lem looks around remembering that Brag and he were the only ones who met them before, "Ah, the taller one over there, that's Arbaro, and the dwarf is Thurl. Arbaro and Bragoleb could shoot an apple off your head, and Thurl could tell you about any obscure historical references I'm sure. Or most anything you want to know if you give him a minute..."
Brag agrees with Lem's assessment and offer using his very best halfling manners.
Thurl eyes the strange centipede and looks at the cobblers with interest. He pays special attention to the books they interact with to see if one is a spell book but sereptitiously.
Klompen looks at Bragoleb's old Boots of Elvenkind with an appraising eye and says, "Hmm, well partner, I think we can buff out these scuffs and resell them, no problem."
The two halflings get a little nervous when you mention the temple.
"Well, Mr. Helbling, since you mention it..." Winklepicker says, hat in hand, "We have had a problem with our... tunnel below. See, to keep our double businesses a secret, we found an old sewer drain and had it remodeled (the dwarf construction team was very discrete) into a short tunnel where we could walk unseen between our two Cobbler business. A simple passageway, hidden out back behind both business, about 15 feet underneath our feet here, but tall enough for us halflings to stand up in. But since the fisherfolk haven't had any success out on the islands, they've been living on the shore, dumping their refuse in the streets like the rest of us instead of out in the water like a proper sailor would. Which means our sewer have a few more critters feeding off the rubbish, and..."
"Oh they don't want the whole backstory, Wink!" Klompen says. "We've got rats. A whole swarm of 'em. Down in the small tunnel we use to get between our shops. Can you get rid of 'em?"
Thurl blinks at the mention of rats. "Rats? We should be able to handle a little thing like that pretty easily. Show us how to get to the passage and we can clear it out in no time."
"We can take care of rats! Is it one straight pipe so we need to catch them all between two groups or is this more of a 'we might get lost in the maze of a sewers' situation?"