"Any excuse to grope me, eh, Love?" Gabbi responds to her sister with a sly smile, determined to move past the fear and regain her normal confidence. She raises her arms and eyes to the foul-coloured sky. "Take me then," she declares dramatically.
Alessandra does her usual 'healing' ritual, involving biting her own tongue and transferring her enhanced blood in the most direct manner possible.
"You're the medic now." She tells her sister. "Guess we'd better go."
She holds Gabbi's hand as the group heads into the tomb.
"Are you suggesting that I like playing doctor?" Gabbi responds with a smirk. She looks back over her shoulder. "No offense, Doctor."
A large, metal double door forms the entrance to Roslar’s Tomb. The door bears the beginning of a carving, but one that was never finished. Time, vandalism, and weather have worn away any trace of what the carving was supposed to depict, leaving the door’s surface strangely lumpy. The door opens with a loud scraping noise.
Streaks of mud stain the floor of this antechamber. A short pedestal bearing a metal plaque occupies a small alcove in the east wall, and atop it stands a statue of an armored man with flowing hair and a grand mustache. The knight carries a shield on his left arm, and his right arm is broken off at the elbow. Identical corridors lead north and south, both turning to the east.
The plaque on the pedestal reads, “Ervin Roslar: Paladin, Hero, Martyr,” but the last three words have been crudely scratched out and the word “Traitor” has been carved into the metal above them.
Alessandra frowns, trying to remember the layout of the tomb they awoke in, what feels like so long ago. "I think these corridors will both lead the same way." She offers, "There was a large open area below this one wasn't there?"
Out of paranoia rather than expectation Allie examines the room for magic.
Allie does not detect any magical auras in this room.
Before advancing, Gabbi takes a moment to heal more of her damage. She flinches at the last moment, though, and the damage healed is less than optimal.
"Then it won't matter which way we go," she says, walking towards the northern hall.
As Gabby approaches the passage, a chill fills the air a split-second before a huge wave of negative energy floods the tomb's entryway! For the dhampir twins, the energy infuses their bodies, healing their lingering wounds.
A curious thing happens to the rest of you. The wave seems to wash over Ulrich and Elka harmlessly, leaving them untouched. Ellie's body seems to drain much of the energy's potency, leaving her exposed to reduced effect. Cuddles, unfortunately, takes the full brunt of the assault.
In the aftermath of the energy blast, you can hear the distinct sound of bickering voices coming from the chamber on the other side of the passages. All but Ellie can identify three different voices participating in the argument: one is punctuated by the chattering of teeth, a second voice is deep and gravelly, and the third is a rough whisper.
"Unnggg!!" Gabbi groans with clinched teeth as the familiar pain fades away. "Joke's on you," she finally manages with a strained voice.
She turns to the others. "Does everyone hear the voices?" she asks quietly. Seeing the tiger's state, she approaches and rubs her hands through his fur while intoning a prayer.
She then urges the group to continue through the northern hall with an attempt at stealth. A cringe and grimace follow every clatter and clank of Ellie's armor.
Cuddles growls in obvious pain and then rubs his large, heavy head against Gabbi briefly as she undoes some of the damage.
Allie nods to her sister and treads as softly as she can.
Ellie flinches as the wave of negative energy washes over her, only to blink in surprise as she's unhurt.
"Urgh. That was NOT pleasant. Now I understand what you were complaining about." She nods at Gabbi and Alessandra.
"And this is the only way to fix our injuries." Allie gripes, before putting her finger to her lips and gesturing downstairs.
Your stealth efforts don't appear to amount to much, but it seems the occupants of the next room are still to busy arguing with each other to pay much attention as to what's going on.
Faded and chipped murals line the walls of this long hall, their exact portrayals now impossible to discern. A wide alcove in the eastern end of the room contains the base of a large statue, but nothing of the statue remains except two stone stumps that resemble horse’s hooves. A large stone door exits to the north, opposite a smaller stone door to the south.
Three undead creatures are here, bickering amongst themselves. The first one is a spectral elven woman with features contorted into a snarl of rage. The second is an animated skeleton in studded leather armor who grips a longbow. The third is the rotting corpse of a dwarf in tattered clothes.
"It's no use," the skeleton clatters. "That spirit thing is still out there, keeping us hemmed in. Figures, eh? We finally get the chance to do all the looting and troublemaking we wanted to do in life, but we get stuck in a dusty old tomb."
"Let's try to fight it!" the elf whispers harshly. "Between Kadraz's arrows, Trondus's fists, and my magic, we can destroy and be free!"
"That thing is too strong, Cythriel. We'll just get blasted to oblivion," the dwarf mutters in his gravelly voice.
"Bah!" the elf sneers. "I thought we were the Coffer Crew, not the Coward Crew!"
Anybody who grew up in Roslar's Coffer remember this trio of miscreants. The Coffer Crew were considered to be somewhere between spineless blowhards and shiftless troublemakers. They came to town hoping to start a gang, but they lacked the connections and the initiative to undertake any serious crimes, and they were considered only a minor nuisance. Most of the townsfolk shook their heads sadly as the three miscreants loitered in front of the tavern and harassed passersby with rude comments.
The Coffer Crew’s reputation changed about a year ago, when members of the trio’s former gang came to town looking to rob and bully anyone they could. Seeking revenge for past slights, Cythriel, Kadraz, and Trondus ambushed and attacked their former confederates, leading to a running battle through the streets. The townspeople thought the three ne’er-do-wells had turned over a new leaf to become protectors of the town and cheered them on. When the fight was over, the robbers had fled and all the Coffer Crew were dead or dying. All three were buried in the cemetery with honor and an outpouring of sympathy that likely would have surprised them.
Gabbi readies her weapon with encouraging words and steps into the room.
"The guardian is gone, but it wont make any difference," she snarls. "Your existence on this plane is done." There's a twang as her bolt looses at the figure armed with a longbow.
The three undead whirl with surprise as Gabby fires her opening shot. It thuds into the skeleton's chest, piercing leather and splintering bones, though the piercing weapon is blunted somewhat. "Ugh, what a b+#~#!" Kadraz the skeleton grumbles.
"Did you hear her? The guardian is gone!" shouts Trondus the zombie. "Let's get out of here!"
"Yes, let's eviscerate these pests and flay their flesh from their bones on our way out!" the spectral Cythriel shrieks!
Kadraz takes a step back before unloading a barrage of arrows at Gabreilla! Three arrows stab into the inquisitor's chest, with the last one barely stopped by her armor. "Ha! How does it feel, you skank?!?" the skeleton cries.
Gabbi spits blood as she steps foward and reloads her weapon. "You will not escape your final judgement. The Lady of Bones will not be denied." She aims and fires again at the archer.
Allie puts her hand firmly on Cuddle's nose for a moment before charging into the fray and smacking the zombie Trondus brutally across the face and trying to grapple his undead arms!
As the inquisitor talks, Elká walks. She slips into the room and closes in on the once-elf, hoping to give the caster enough cause to withdraw instead of blasting Elká's companions with spells.
Ulrich hustles out of the hallway and casts Chill Touch. Giving Kamosh a good push forward, he says "Get the zombie, Kamosh!"
Trondus shoves Allie away, foiling her grapple attempt. Kamosh pecks the zombie, but he resists the frightening touch. Gabby scores a critical hit, her bolt shattering Kadraz's breastbone!
"Ouch! F#!# the Lady of Bones and f$%@ you, too!" Kadraz shouts. He sends two arrows into Gabby's chest, and as she falls, the skeleton shifts his aim to her sister, shooting Allie twice!
Cythriel shrieks in fury and lunges at Elka, but the changeling dodges her touch.
"I'll tear you open and eat your insides!" Trondus snarls as he unleashes a flurry of punches on Allie. She blocks most of them, but an elbow clips her chin.
Gabbi looks down at the arrows protruding from her chest. "Well, f... she begins before collapsing to the floor.
Ellie is slow to react, by which time Gabbi has fallen. Shouting in rage, she charges the zombie. "I've got this one, Allie - go get that archer before he pincushions us all! Grapple him, take his bow and make him eat it, I don't care, but go get him!"
Her flail lashes at the zombie, aiming smash his skull in.
Allie does as she's told, although the urge to run and stand over her sister is almost unbearable. Luckily she's mentally bonded with someone else and Cuddles leaps forward to stand protectively over Gabbi's prone body.
Elká is too busy to see exactly what the archer's arrows manage to do, but she can sure as hell hear it. Opting to not take any risks, the changeling keeps the elven apparition between herself and the archer.
Ulrich grits his teeth as Gabriella goes down to the archer. He steps towards her and rakes his thumb with his teeth. He kneels down, and unceremoniously sticks his bleeding thumb into her open mouth, while chanting in Necril "Repair and Rise, Repair and Rise..."
Kamosh pecks!
The pain draws her back from the darkness and Gabbi's eyes snap open as her lips form a snarl.
"Lady of Bones, sustain me against those that stand as a insult to your judgement," she mutters to herself as she stands.
She pushes herself to her feet and retrieves her weapon .
"Thank you, Ulrich," she says softly, not taking her eyes off the enemy archer.
Elly smashes Trondus with her flail, but the zombie's dead flesh seems resilient against her bludgeoning weapon. Allie dodges an elbow from the dwarf as she moves in on Kadraz, but the skeleton sidesteps her grasp. While Ulrich heals Gabby, Elka's claws rip through Cythriel's incorporeal form.
Cythriel shrieks and then chants a spell. Waves of icy energy shoot from her fingertips at Elka and Elly.
Trondus assaults Elly, landing one powerful punch to her gut.
Kadraz steps back against the wall and fills Allie with arrows, dropping the dhampir!
Gabbi steels herself as she sees her sister fall. She feels the loci spirit's blessing settle upon her.
She then raises her crossbow again and fires at the archer.
"Together forever, m'Love," she whispers to herself.
"Trust me, I'm a doctor." Replies Ulrich. He points to the archer and grabs at it with his hand, casting Boneshaker upon it.
Boneshaker
An undead creature takes no damage. Instead, you manipulate the undead, forcing it to take an immediate action to either move up to its speed (provoking attacks of opportunity as normal) or make a single attack against a creature of your choice in its reach. Either of these is the most basic version of the action the creature can take (it doesn’t activate any special abilities that it could apply to the movement or attack, such as grab). A successful saving throw negates this effect. A mindless undead creature doesn’t receive a save against this effect.
Kadraz shudders briefly but fights off Ulrich's spell! "Ha! You missed--OW! F~@$!" he curses as Gabby's bolt slams home!
Try as she might, Elká fails to dodge the arctic blast. The cold snap, however, fails to hold back the changeling as she continues to haunt the undead elf with sharpened claw and deadly intent. "Just die already! You were useless in life and you're even more useless in death!"
Ellie avoids the worst of the magical attack and focuses on taking her opponent down.
Elly batters Trondus twice with her flail, knocking deep dents in his rotting corpse. He snarls with fury but refuses to fall!
Elka's claws tear through Cythriel again, further destabilizing her spectral body.
"Screw this! I'm out of here!" Kadraz rattles, rushing through Cythriel and exposing himself to Elka as he tries to flee!
"Coward!" Cythriel shrieks as she reaches for Elka again. This time, her hand plunges into the changeling's chest, and Elka can feel something inside her mind trying to rise up and overthrow her personality!
"I'll murder-ize you!" Trondus howls, once more unleashing a flurry of blows at Elly! This time, he fails to follow through on his threats, as the fighter blocks all of his strikes.
Changing tactics, Ellie swings her flail at the zombie's legs, aiming to take him down.
She strikes at him as he falls.
Then she strikes him again when he's prone.
Eldarel pulverizes Trondus's head as he topples to the floor! The zombie's body falls lifeless once more, bits of bone and brain leaking out from the remains of his skull.
"You cannot flee judgement!" Gabbi yells out at the skeleton as it attempts to flee.
She reloads and fires at the archer.
Elka lashes out as Kadraz tries to rush past, gripping the skeleton's skull and ripping it off of his body with a mighty tug! His body collapses into a pile of bones, and as the light in his eye sockets fades, he manages to snarl one final curse--"You b@@*~..."
Elká hisses and jumps on the cornered elven apparition. "To Mictena's arms with you!"
Elka manages a good hit, ripping at Cythriel. Then Gabby's bolt strikes the spirit, and with a final shriek, the elf discorporates! The battle is won!
As the ghost falls, Gabriella shoulders her crossbow and dashes to her sister's still form. Her hands reach out as she utters a prayer to the Lady of Bones.
Ellie cleans the zombie gunk from off her flail, muttering to herself as she does so. "I do NOT like archers..."
Gabbi raises an eyebrow at Ellie's comment but turns back to assist her twin.
Ulrich sits down and leans his back against the wall, drained more emotionally than physically. "That was... worrisome. I thought we might lose our terrible twins." He chuckles slightly to himself.
Gabbi looks down at the rent holes in her armor and gives Ulrich a rare grin. "Not a vampire," she says simply. "Takes more than a stake through the heart to put me down."
Looking down again, she sighs as it sinks in how much her current energy level is magically supplemented. With that in mind, she speaks a quiet prayer and braces herself for the pain.