"You do not." the paladin answers, unsure if she was being spoken to.
Having failed to protect the sisters before, she will not make that mistake again. She casts Shield Other on Gabriella, knowing she will be attracting its attention shortly.
If you and the subject of the spell move out of range of each other, the spell ends.
Gabbi cringes as Ulrich's pulse of positive energy comes way too close to her for comfort. She then draws her bow and pronounces a judgement on the horror.
Gabbi hits the coach with her first two shots, drawing its ire. It wheels about and tries to fly through her!
Gabbi lets the carriage ride through her, steeling herself against its pull. "Now you're right where I want you," she says to herself as it moves past her. She grins and calls down a bane before firing.
Allie ducks away from the coach and then infuses her sister with luck as she draws her bow again.
Targeting the flying soul-snatcher with her bow, she smites the despicable thing and fires four shots.
Both Gabbi and Amnayel hit the death coach several times. The spectral horses shriek as the entire apparition dissipates!
Ulrich leads the group into B9c, concerned that some of his spells will end if he lingers much longer.
Gabbi stops long enough to give Amnayel's shoulder a quick squeeze before following after Ulrich.
Allie just follows along, its always nice watching her sister be epically awesome and destroy things!
Amnayel allows herself a small smile at Gabriella's touch, happy to be effective in protecting the powerful inquisitor and her sister. Once everyone is ready, she heals those that still require her divine healing.
You do a sweep of the rest of the castle's outbuildings. The western tower includes an aerie that must have served as the dragon's lair before it was killed and transformed into a wyrmwraith. Here, you find a bit of treasure: bracers of armor +4, a potion of haste (CL 10th), a crown of conquest, 13,400 sp, and 2,110 gp.
At last, you approach the imposing stone gatehouse that stands as the only entrance to the fourty-foot-tall keep within Hammer Rock. Its two doorways to the east and west are both sturdy wood, although the western door is broken and hangs awkwardly from its hinges.
As you approach, the ghostly figure of a half-orc in plate mail appears before you. "Greetings, fellow servants of good. I have watched you destroy the evil undead that infested this castle. I am Captain Tsomar Trant, commander of Hammer Rock's defenses. My soldiers were wiped out by the Whispering Tyrant and his Radiant Fire, but my dedication to defending the citadel caused my spirit to be bound to this place.
"When the Whispering Tyrant stormed the gates, I emerged to fight, only to fall under the control of one of the lich’s death priests. As a slave to my sworn enemy, I witnessed the lich shattering the castle cellar’s floor, exposing a previously unknown set of stairs leading deep below Hammer Rock. Tomb giants now dwell in the cellars, and past that, the place known as Fallowdeep. It has three wings that each contain enormous numbers of undead soldiers.
"There are multiple factions in the lower chambers. Two of these factions—led by figures named Moloum and Aeonte— seem strongly opposed to each other. Some other noteworthy force occupies the third wing of the caverns, and the central cathedral is the domain of Lyanthari, a scythe-handed undead priestess of Urgathoa who has repeatedly expressed obvious disappointment in the Whispering Tyrant since the lich’s departure.
"One of the Whispering Tyrant’s lieutenants seemed detached from the army’s mobilization and remained behind after the lich departed. I encountered him after the priest controlling me exceeded the number of minion she could command while wrangling the undead legion, and I fled back to the surface. I did not catch his name, but he appeared to be a skeleton encased in shards of ice. He studied me for a moment before nodding with approval and remarking, 'Good, it is a rare specter that remembers its old self and can control its own destiny.' He then stepped aside so I could pass. If you could contact him, he might be a potential ally.
"I do not want to remain a ghost, but when taking command of Hammer Rock I swore that I would be the last defender to leave it. I saw the Whispering Tyrant’s minions carry off the ruined bodies of three of my soldiers: Karissa Drovenge, Torumard the Iron Mattock, and Zain Phelter. Until the bodies of these soldiers are returned to the surface, I am honor-bound to remain here in Hammer Rock."
"We will find them for you." Allie says with a nod. "Your dedication does you credit, sir."
"What would you suggest if we desired to convince the two hostile factions to turn on each other?" Ulrich asks
"I don't know. I only heard about them and their names, but I can offer no further advice on how best to proceed," Trant says.
Gabbi frowns, clearly not comfortable with the group allying with either of the two factions, but knowing that the chances of victory are significantly smaller otherwise.
Amnayel studies the ghost, unsure what to make of it. Many of the values she had clung so firmly to in her life were now being challenged. She never would have imagined allying with a necromancer or undead spirits who were willing to assist them on their quest. Yet here they were.
"I agree with Alessandra. Even beyond death you remain loyal. I only hope to continue with such courage should death find me again." she says to the Captain's credit.
"Interesting, is it not? Use your divine sight, Amnayel, and look upon this holy undead." Ulrich smiles behind his mask
Allie stamps on the wizards foot.
Amnayel turns to Ulrich, facing him. Though they have passed an occasional word back and forth, the two had not conversed since the incident. Looking at him from behind her own mask, she stares at him silently for several seconds. Eventually, she reaches up and undoes her helm and holds it in her left hand again her body.
Looking at him now with her new face, she asks "Does it please you so to continue to jab at me, Ulrich? Having killed me and brought me back in something that grates at me every second of every day is not enough? Does your hatred of me run so deep that you mock me even so? You say you are sorry for what you have done, yet I sense you were not true in your words."
She purses her lips before continuing, "I may no longer possess the beautiful skin that I once did, and I may not be as intelligent as you with your magic, but you cannot take from me my values, no matter how hard you try."
She does not wait for a response and puts her helm back on and walks away from Ulrich.
"Ouch!" Ulrich gasps. He mumbles "Why are you stomping me? I'm right."
Having no wish to be controlled by another necromancer, the ghostly Captain Trant remains in the keep as you press on. The great hall of the keep features a large mosaic depicting knights vanquishing orcs as a blue dragon roars in the background. You recognize the knight's leader as the paladin Mandraivus, who led heroes and knights against Kazavon, a blue dragon who nearly united the orcs and conquered the region several centuries ago.
Stairs lead down to the cellars of Hammer Rock. The broad landing at the base of the stairs allows for considerable traffic. From here, you can hear intermittent scraping and soft drum music through the east doors and several voices arguing quietly through the doors to the south.
Gabbi silent indicates the doors to the south where the arguing is heard from.
Decorated with elaborate scrollwork along the tops of the walls and a tall relief carving of a dwarven citadel along the north wall, this chamber has eight sturdy columns, three battered tables, and several old chairs.
Two tall, gray-skinned tomb giants sit at a table, playing a game of chance with a third creature. This slim figure’s proportions are wrong, and its disturbingly long arms end in claws, save for an oversized, boneless index finger. The creatures seem to be using human skulls as gambling chips.
When they see you, the giants reach for their weapons, but the other creature holds up its finger. "Buh, buh, buh! Not so fast, boys. It's been a while since we've had new blood at our table. Care to join us? A simple game with the right stakes could spare everyone unnecessary bloodshed."
The giants seem confused, but defer to this third creature.
"Oh, how interesting. I was expecting undead, but I have never come across any of your kind. What is this game and wager you offer, pray tell?"
”The game is Old Chimera,” the creature says, gesturing to a Harrow deck and a trio of six-sided dice. ”I propose distributing an equal number of gambling tokens to each of the three parties: one of you, myself, and one of the giants. Whoever runs out of tokens first loses and has to pay up. I shall offer all of the treasures I have accumulated in the past year, including those I’ve won from these giants here. You and the giants will put your own skeletons on the line. What do you say?”
The giant hesitates but agrees, eager to win back her treasure.
"I cannot say it intrigues me, as none of you look very imposing to us. Perhaps you can sweeten this pot so we may win something that we couldn't pry from your cold, dead, hands?"
"I've played that," Gabbi says and then glances at her sister. "Although I've never played for tokens." She smirks.
"Do you use standard scoring?" she asks as she takes a seat at the table.
Allie winks at her sister and has flame strike waiting at her fingertips.
Gabbi plays a few rounds of Old Chimera and comes out ahead, with the odd humanoid coming second and the giant in dead last. ”Looks like you lose. I’ll take your skeleton now,” the creature says calmly.
”No deal!” the giant declares. She and her partner knock over the table as they rise and reach for their weapons. The humanoid shakes his head as he scoots back, not interested in joining the combat.
Gabbi quickly fires several arrows into one of the tomb giants, but her aim is off and she only lands her first manyshot. She steps behind Amnayel as the giants move in, attacking with their scythes! One misses the paladin, but the other nearly scores a critical hit! The weapon drains Amnayel's life force.
The damage she took shouldn't hurt this bad, at least that's what Amnayel tells herself as she groans in pain. She doesn't protest too loudly, there will be time to heal later. For now, she was a shield wall.
Standing between Gabbi and the giant, she smites the creature and tries to wail on it with her sword.
"I hate poor losers," Gabbi declares as she pronounces a judgement upon the giants.
Allie taps her sister on the shoulder, infusing her with Divine Power.
Amnayel slices into the giant that hit her, then Gabbi takes it down with more arrows. She shifts her aim to the second giant, bolstered by her sister's divine power, and that one falls as well before it can attack again!
"There's nothing worse than a sore loser, am I right?" the strange humanoid says, clucking his tongue. He extends his finger tentacle and pierces the flesh of the giant who had been playing the game. He tugs, and with a horrible spray of blood and gore, the giant's skeleton tears free of its body! The skeleton stands up and cracks its neck before falling in line behind the humanoid.
"Thank you for a good game!" He grins and maintains eye contact with Gabbi for an uncomfortably long time. "I'll see you again soon." He then touches his new skeletal minion, and both of them fade into the shadows and disappear.
"I'll be looking forward to it," Gabbi mutters into the empty air as she slings her bow.
After giving the room a quick search and refreshing her magical enhancements, she recommends heading back the way they came and investigating the drum sounds.
"What?!" Amnayel says, disappointed. "Do not run away from me!" she shouts in frustration, before slumping a bit as the drain on her life sinks in.
"Don't worry, Amny," Gabbi says. "I'm sure we'll be seeing him again. He's not undead, but if he gets in our way, I'll happily put him in the ground and end his vile ways."
You move through the east doors to investigate the drum music. Sturdy square columns support the vaulted ceiling twenty feet above the stone floor in this storeroom. Alcoves in the northwest and northeast corners contain jumbles of lumber, stone, and iron. Near the east wall is a heap of desiccated corpses, most still wearing armor and tabards with the flag of Lastwall.
Three tomb giants are here moving crumbling boxes at a leisurely pace. They look up with furrowed brows, but don't immediately attack.
Accompanying the giants is a bleachling gnome who quietly plays and returns a trio of summoned drums. "Hey, guys," he says drolly. "I don't think you're supposed to be here. These giants like to kill, dismember, and reanimate intruders. Might be best for you to shake a leg."
"We just saw a strange creature rip the skeleton off a giant just like these ones." Ulrich replies, wondering how the Gnome might respond to this information.
"Oh, I see you met Clatchol. He's a laugh, isn't he?" the gnome says flatly. He bangs out a soft drum beat in the style of an Andoren marching song.
"Is he a problem for you?" Ulrich replies, with a hint of suggestion.
"Gabbi, you've got thirty more seconds on my spell tops." Allie points out quietly. "Why waste them?"
"We're we supposed to find an ally in here? Perhaps this is it?" Amnayel whispers back to the twins, overhearing their conversation while Ulrich talks.
”Not for me, but the giants are losing all their valuables to him in card games.”
Gabbi detects evil auras around the gnome and the giants.
"How come they don't rise against him? Or have they lost their sense of pride and dignity, and just let Clatchol have his way with them? Have they become meagre shamblers before even becoming his play things?" Ulrich mocks
The giants growl angrily and reach for their scythes. ”Uh-oh. I think you made them mad,” the gnome says, tapping out a Shoanti war beat on his drums. ”Last chance to run before things turn ugly.”
Amnayel does not run from evil, that just is not how things are done. Instead, she turns to her companions and casts spell(s) to help protect them.