Aishe, not a strong man, nods at Tessenarin and Vanyan and tries climbing out unless there's a better way made available to him.
"Anyone have any rope? I can climb up and lower it down after tying it to something."
He climbs well, and with some skill, before tying and lowering a loaned rope (if any).
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Vinas grabs ahold of Tessenarin before the man cuts himself open on the splintered wood. Placing his armored shoulder into the rotting wood Vinas gives it a decent push and punches a hole in the wall big enough for everyone to crawl through.
Emerging from Freemark’s Livery, you are able to look around. What remains of Roslar’s Coffer lies before you, but familiar buildings lie in ruins and plants grow wild, as if hundreds of years have passed. Shapes flit by the windows of many homes, and a white glow emanates from the direction of the cemetery on the southeast edge of town. Stranger than all that, however, is the yellowish-green cloud that surrounds the entirety of Roslar’s Coffer, arching into the sky and making the sunlight feeble and dim. The withered corpses of several birds and rabbits are visible on the ground just within this greenish fog.
Vanyan blinks, stunned by what he sees. He tries to make out details, but everything around them looks bleak and haunted.
Perception
This isn't exactly the homecoming he was expecting. He turns to the group, unsure how to proceed.
”So, umm. Looks like this green fog is bad news…” Vanyan points out the obvious while gesturing in the direction at the deceased woodland creatures. ”Let’s stick together for now, maybe. Safety in numbers? And if we get separated, let’s remember that this barn is our safespot.
Vanyan looks this way and that.
”Aishe...the graves? Which way? Or should we head into town and see if there are any supplies left in the Inn or store?”
"Woah there." Aishe restrains Vanyan. He points at the dead wildlife, "I don't think that fog is safe. At all."
He tries to make out anything living inside the perimeter. Insect, bird, varmint. Anything at all.
He'll then look for tracks. Are there any tracks leading out of the gassy area?
Vanyan tries to estimate the size of the fog dome (if that's what it is).
"I think it would be best to start with gathering supplies. If there are survivors, they may be there too, though that may be a vain hope.
"Agreed. Let's get supplies, and hopefully find survivors. It appears Desna's not done weeping yet. Stay armed and ready friends. I do not expect this to a simple task."
Vinas will strike out for an inn. That's the center of culture and a good place to look for survivors.
"There might be survivors in any of these buildings. Shouldn't we check a few as we move on?" Vanyan looks around. "Look there!" Vanyan points to one of the houses...
Shapes flit by the windows of many homes.
"What if that is someone who needs us? Or can tell us what happened?" Vanyan examines the house from the road. "You guys see that, right?"
Perception
He waves to the shape, seeing if it will wave back.
"Aishe, Tess...do you know who lives there?"
"Sure, we can check a few houses as we go, but I say we start with the general store. My bolt supply is meager, and in need of replenishment. Then the inn." he suggests.
to determine who's house that might be.
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As you make your way through the outskirts of Roslar's Coffer, you can see many buildings are destroyed or burned out, as if a massive fire has raged through the town. Many roofs bear gaping holes, while others have completely collapsed. Most structures look barely safe enough to enter, like a strong gust of wind might knock them over. Other areas are completely overgrown with ivy and weeds, and a few freestanding walls look like this overgrowth is the only thing keeping them from falling over. No signs of life remain in the town.
Peering into the window of this old house you know that Vanderhoff Steelkeg and his bride to be Calrianne were staying here. Inside is little more than dust. Down the road further you catch the fleeting glimpse of a ghostly shape flit among the ruins and out of sight. Probably just the fog.
Aishe wonders just how long they've been gone. The ancient town seems odd to him, as does the cover of deadly gas of course. Both are inexplicable.
"Let's check for weapons, then food. If everything is this old, we might get some old crops from some of the gardens, but we might be hard up to survive."
"Again."
He grips his crossbow and proceeds toward the center of town. If they get close enough to one of those 'ghosts' and can tie it to a building, he'll suggest they investigate it along the way.
Vanyan looks from building to building for one that still might hold life. He flinches when he notices something moving in the corner of his eye. Is the fog playing tricks on him? He could have sworn he saw a shape…”Did anybody else see this?", he whispers at his companions, pointing down to where he thought he saw something, further down the road.
Like the feelings of Vinas, instead of a triumphant return, they are now trapped in a bizarro version of their hometown. For as much as he’d love to rush straight to the cemetery, he sees Aishe’s point about trying to restock some ammunition first. They might run into potential targets for those bolts sooner than expected. ”Ai’ght, let’s head for the store, and then find the inn, just in case,” he concurs with the rest of the party. When others lead the way, he will follow, longspear at the ready. He doesn’t believe for one second that the moving shapes are just the shifting fog.
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Nervously gripping his crossbow Aishe looks around as the group slowly heads to the Inn and the store nearby.
The silence is broken by the slow, dragging thud of hoofbeats from a nearby street. Four dead elk lumber into view, bones and muscles visible through gaps in their rotting flesh. They turn their milky eyes upon you and begin to advance!
Aishe (34/34)
Tessenarin (27/27) *Needs updated to lvl 5
Vinas (53/53)
Vanyan (33/33)
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Zombie Elk
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Atium (50/50; Raging 58/58) *Needs updated to lvl 5
Tessenarin will tell if there is anything worth knowing or special about the elk, he then pulls out his bow and shoots one.
But he is wildly off target.
Round 1, Init 9
"Oh dear!" Vanyan says, seeking the Elk. He scans them for telltale signs of ick...
Religion
Ignoring his own advice about slashing weapons, he moves up and sets his pointy longspear for a charge.
to hit;
damage.
And AoO possibly:
to hit;
damage.
hp: 33/33
AC: 16/14/12
Saves: F4/R5/F9
Eyes: bugged
Smite: unused
Panache: not enough
Broken Lightbox: 0/1 used
PoP 2: 0/1 used
GlitterYourFace: 0/2 used
Elk are no match for the essence of a Polar Bear! Bears feed on elks! Shakra Bear!
Round: 1
Conditions = None
Weapon Equipped = Crossbow
Regular Bolts = 0/6
Silver Blanch, Cold Iron Bolts = 14/14
Crossbow: Attack: BAB +5, Dex +5, Masterwork +1, (Deadly Aim -2) Damage: Dex +5, (Deadly Aim +4)(crit 19-20 x3)
Melee: Attack: BAB +5 Damage: +0
Grit = 4/4
Lay on Hands = 1/1 (d6)
Aishe shrugs, knowing the blade is better than the bow on such creatures. Seeing there are four, he takes his shot quickly on red - his last regular bolt. He has only cold iron left.
(point blank) (point blank)
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Vinas echoes Aishe's words, "Again." The tone is grim.
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Upon seeing the dead elf, Vinas mutters, "Erastil, I weep for your fallen. Iomedae, give me the strength to return them." [ooc]What are these?
His prayer ends not with an "amen" but with a horizontal slash of his blade from under the tip of his heater: for
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Aishe fires a bolt right into the undead elk's eyeball. Ooze sputters out, dribbling down it's face. The pain or effect doesn't seem to bother it too much though.
tessenarin recognizes the elk as in fact being undead zombie elk. Due to their undead nature they are a bit more resistant to weapons unless they are of the slashing variety.
Unnerved by the zombie elk Tessenarin fires wildly. Vinas rushes in to block the elk and lops off part of the wounded one's face, killing it for good.
Vanyan moves in with his longspear, ready to jab it where necessary. Two of the elk stagger right past Vinas as they set to gore those around them as one sets its sights on Vinas himself. The elk lumber on broken hooves that hang at gross painful looking angles.
Aishe (34/34)
Tessenarin (33/33)
Vinas (53/53)
Vanyan (33/33)
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Zombie Elk
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Atium (50/50; Raging 58/58) *Needs updated to lvl 5
Round: 2
Conditions = None
Weapon Equipped = Crossbow
Regular Bolts = 0/6
Silver Blanch, Cold Iron Bolts = 13/14
Crossbow: Attack: BAB +5, Dex +5, Masterwork +1, (Deadly Aim -2) Damage: Dex +5, (Deadly Aim +4)(crit 19-20 x3)
Melee: Attack: BAB +5 Damage: +0
Grit = 4/4
Lay on Hands = 1/1 (d6)
Aishe, displeased with the closeness of the smelly, biitey beast, steps back and shoots yellow. He might not be doing much damage, but it’s the best he can do.
(point blank) (point blank)
Tessenarin takes another shot with his bow.
This time doing much better with his aim.
"You good back there?!" Vinas yells as he tries to focus on the one before him. He makes for a quick cut at the long legs,
for
Round 2, Init 9
Vanyan draws his dagger and slashes at yellow.
to hit;
slashing damage.
hp: 33/33
AC: 16/14/12
Saves: F4/R5/F9
Eyes: bugged
Smite: unused
Panache: not enough
Broken Lightbox: 0/1 used
PoP 2: 0/1 used
GlitterYourFace: 0/2 used
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Aishe sticks another bolt into an undead elk's neck while Tessenarin follows up with an arrow of his own.
Vinas chops a single leg right off of another elk. The rotting appendage flings down the cobblestone path. leaving a green oozing stump. Vanyan draws his dagger and begins slashing feebly to keep them at bay.
Aishe (34/34)
Tessenarin (33/33)
Vinas (53/53)
Vanyan (33/33)
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Zombie Elk (Yellow -10) (Green -8)
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Atium (50/50; Raging 58/58) *Needs updated to lvl 5
Atium spits saliva and flemph from his mouth as he lets out the words of his transformation in a mix of diction and growl.
BBBEEEAAARRR!!
without weapon in hand he takes on the undead elk that stands before him and tears into it with hand and even bite.
slash
slash
slash
He might greatly lament the bite onto the rotted flesh- but Atium's not thinking so clearly right now.
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Atium spits as he leaps headfirst onto the undead elk, clawing and biting into the rotten flesh. One hand grabs loosely at the backside, slipping free as the soft flesh there is mush and slides between his fingers, like jelly. The second grasp is a bit more firm as he grabs ahold of the spine and breaks it free. Gripping his teeth onto the snout, Atium pulls free and is left holding an intact spine and head, like some sort of gruesome whip as the rest of the elk collapses at his feet.
The remaining elk attempt to gore Vanyan and Vinas.
The undead don't move the greatest anymore as they hobble and fall.
Aishe (34/34)
Tessenarin (33/33)
Vinas (53/53)
Vanyan (33/33)
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Zombie Elk (Yellow -10) (Green -8)
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Atium (62/62; Raging 72/72)
Round: 3
Conditions = None
Weapon Equipped = Crossbow
Silver Blanch, Cold Iron Bolts = 12/20
Crossbow: Attack: BAB +5, Dex +5, Masterwork +1, (Deadly Aim -2) Damage: Dex +5, (Deadly Aim +4)(crit 19-20 x3)
Melee: Attack: BAB +5 Damage: +0
Grit = 4/4
Lay on Hands = 1/1 (d6)
vs DC 20 & 25
Aishe stands his ground and plucks at yellow, hoping to help shed him from Vanyan.
(point blank) (point blank)
Tessenarin will take a shot at Green.
Perception
Vanyan looks around, noting something.
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Atium whips his head around, staring up at the horizon of housetops. He spits out the muzzle of the Elk and it's remains go clattering to the ground.
Atium sees, but doesn't see far enough (nearsighted, forgoing perception check) what is out there. He then moves quickly to the other enemy. Looking to turn it into a collapsing wreck.
Rage PA Flank
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Atium spits out the previous elk and pushes his hands into the ribcage of the next one fingertips first. Grasping either side Atium pulls hard and splits it at the chest before throwing the second one to the ground.
Aishe sends a bolt into the last elk's body. It shudders a moment before falling to it's side, ichor oozing from the wound.
Aishe (34/34)
Tessenarin (33/33)
Vinas (53/53)
Vanyan (33/33)
Atium (62/62; Raging 72/72)
After the elk are felled, Vanyan looks again for the leather clad half orc.
"Did any of you see that? On that building?" Vanyan points to a standing building about 2 blocks away. "I saw a figure, probably a half orc there. Not sure if it saw us or what. We should check it out. Might be a survivor or someone who knows something about what is happening here."
Vanyan will follow the party to the building, which in theory is still strong and whole enough to hold a person within.
Aishe reloads his crossbow, "Was the half orc all ethereal? Or flesh and blood? We've seen a lot of misty forms out here."
He follows Vanyan to investigate, checking for tracks as they arrive.
Vinas joins Aishe looking for tracks
Atium calms down from the transformation. The Bear did, in twelve quick seconds, take down two beasts of prey.
He is sated, but tired.
When people say that there's an actual LIVE person... other than themselves.. he is intrigued.
It would be nice to find another living person. A Half Orc isn't automatically an enemy. It would be double nice to not have to kill him. One can only hope.
He waits for half a minute (5 rounds) to catch his second wind and will also look at the ground for tracks.
"I think we should finish going around town first. We still are low on ammunition."
"As much as I want to pursue, Tess is right. Especially if that's a trap."
”Let’s check the building he was standing on though. At least it was strong enough to support his weight. Might be that that is his home,” Vanyan offers a middle ground, not veering to track someone, but finding where they came from. ”Then on to find supplies.”
Perception at the building where the half orc stood
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Leaving the runner to his own devices the group heads to the building that the half-orc was watching from. Overall the building looks to be rotted out and abandoned. A single sturdy looking rope, handing from a pipe in the roof hangs to the ground allowing on easy access to a good vantage point.
Finding nothing more that tracks headed north towards the woods Vanyan leads the way to the shop and the Inn. Much to his dismay, the Inn is little more than a massive pile of rubble on the ground. Though the nearby shop still stands, though barely. Entering inside you find it to be extremely looted. Most of what is left has been left on the ground and broken. Fortunately a few mundane items are left behind:
Climb vs. DC 10
Vanyan tries passively hard to climb the rope, then actively hard, then he gives up. He looks up to the rafters in hope of going up there and scouting, but his noodly-arms are not up for the task.
”Do one of y’all want to go up there and take a looksee?” Vanyan asks before leaving for the Inn.
* *
Vanyan looks crestfallen when they discover the inn to be little more than a sad heap of debris. He sighs, moving on quickly to the shop next door. "This doesn't look much better.. but check it out, Aishe, there's a bunch of bolts for your crossbow". He also points out the scattered arrows, before taking a closer look around, in case whoever was there before them may have missed something.
Perception
”Oh hey! Look!” Vanyan moves over to pick up a wand from the ground, taking a moment to ID it. Spellcraft
”Ha! This will work nice enough. Might even keep *Wank* alive for a bit.”
When asked to climb up and see out at a long distance.
I don't want to go. Let someone else.
He doesn't want the others to know he can't see far and needs to squint at times. He's much rather just be rude.
Aishe eyes the bolts carefully, lining them up, checking their straightness, going over the fletching. "These'll do I suppose, but boy I can't wait until we can get some proper gear."
He hands the arrows to Tessenarin and pockets the bolts, filling his thinning quiver and wrapping the rest carefully in his pack.
"I'll take a look." he says and moves toward the rope.
He climbs up and takes a look around, especially toward the trees where the half-orc fled.
"I don't see much. Looks like a treeline to me. Could be anything hiding in there."
"These will be helpful, thank you. It is sad to see this inn looking so bad. I enjoyed working here at times cooking meals. But I suppose there is no looking back. But we need to determine what has happened here. We owe it to the residents to figure it out."
This is indeed sad. I went along with an escort of knights that came to Rosler's Coffers to shore up the defenses. They are certainly dead along with the rest of the population. Let us to our best to get away. Maybe return to Dotort's Ranches. I know people there. It's a few days travel, but a place that I know will be a home.
"I am not sure it safe to travel through this mist that surrounds us. and again, we owe it to the residents. It's our duty" Tessenarin sounds hard when uses the word "duty"
Vanyan looks around again.
”Maybe we should circle the fog, from the inside...see if there are any gaps? Might be possible to go under the fog, too, like if there are any caves,” Vanyan poses, then considers again. ”But also, I’m not sure we *want* out. It might be that we’re supposed to be in here and supposed to figure out what is wrong here.”
Vanyan stretches and thinks more.
”We have to decide what we want to do: escape or fix. The ‘pomps we met certainly felt it was our duty to figure things out here. So...that’s what I want to do. I have no place else to go.”
Vanyan pauses, then continues.
”I guess we can try that glowing light in the cemetery if we want answers. That’s where the light is coming from, right? That’s where we go. That’s where the dead are. And we’ve been spending a lot of time with the dead. I see no reason to change that now.”