Tybalt first blow nearly slices the centipede in two, but it remains held together by a bloody strand, that his second blow squashes as the bug disappears in mist of blood!
Then the Dwarf steps over to attack the last centipede...
As Devin is about to act, he feels to poison coursing through his veins--
As Devin feels the toxins coursing though him he is not able to stop their pain--
--but he pierces the last centipede with a violent blow, killing it--
--and then skewering the body as it twitches.
Larraz moves in close: "I have playing cards, which helped me be patient... but I have no healing kit, does someone have one?"
If someone can lend him one, Larraz treats Devin's poison--
Devin - 9 damage - moving to 3rd round (stage 2) w. Fort Save w. +2
Bladden - 3 damage
Kamil - 3 damage
Larraz
Tybalt - 7 damage
With no healing kit, you wait till the poison runs its course through Devin's system, though the ranger does drink from the healing potion--
--at first it feels a bit better--
--but then it gets worse again, and Devin feels clumsy and flat footed--
--and continues to feel just as bad--
--before starting to feel better again--
--and then, all of a sudden, it is over!
As Devin feels woozy after the poison in his veins, Larraz gathers you all around him.
Then, as he incants in a deep voice, weaving divine symbols in the air with his hands, and showing holly leaves and mistletoe to all, you feel the air becomes fresh as spring, and a wave of healing energy washes over all of you!
Kamil is cured, Tybalt, nearly, and Devin at least feels half good.
Having avoided the crashing ceiling at least somewhat, and having dispatched the centipedes and healed up, you look around the room.
In the southeastern corner rests a large stone statue depicting a chariot wheel wreathed in flame.
Larraz tells you this statue is meaningful in the faith of Iomedae, somehow...
Looking at the statue reveals it is heavy and unwieldy.
Even if it is no longer in pristine condition, since time and battle have left their mark.
You could all five work together to lift and carry the statue--
What shall you do?
The statue does look like something important to retrieve, a relic of the glory of the College at its best.
If you all five take it and carry it down, then you would be splitting the weight--
--and could simply walk slowly along, carrying it down the steps and out to the cart, carefully placing it within... if that is what you wish to do.
|
Not being a real believer except on himself, Kamil have no idea of the importance of the statue or what it really represents, but he agrees with Tybalt about taking it.
Kamil takes his share of the burden and moves to the room on the far end of the corridor.
When everyone is next to him, he opens the door.
You have to carry the statue all together at the same time.
It's a big 16 Bulk statue.
So I imagine it is best to go explore, and then carry the statue out.
Or carry the statue out and go explore after.
Otherwise you have to carry the statue, and put it down, and then explore, and then pick it up etc..
Which does need a little coordination, and since the statue seems old and a bit cracked, it seems it could break if you drop it.
Kamil opens the door at the end, and sees it is dormitory.
You see that this small room housed teachers or students who elected to not live in separate residences
Much of the furniture has fallen to disrepair over time.
It is rather a simple place, so you feel it would take just 5 minutes to search...
You all move down the corridor, checking the doors, and see all are dormitories.
Then you split up and check all the rooms, each in a room, to gain time, and thus it only takes about five minutes.
In one of the rooms you find a drawer filled with dusty jewelry worth 8 sp, and a dirty vial marked Holy Water in one of the small chests.
That is all you find.
Do you wish to go explore the Study Area that you did not enter?
Or take the statue down?
Kamil checks around, opening the doors to the side rooms, which have nothing special in them.
Then he goes through the study, spending 10 minutes searching the shelves here and finding an antique copy of The Acts of Iomedae.
It is an aging and beautifully illustrated tome.
Having pocketed the Holy Text, you then all go get the big statue, and all five get your hands on it, and start moving down the stairs and out towards the cart--
All five of you are lumbering down the steps of one of the sweeping staircases, carrying this big heavy statue.
As you enter the cavernous main hall that was once majestic but now truly resembles a cave: dark and dank, so, as you enter it, stepping out onto the dirt and standing water that obscure the once-pristine white and gray tile, you hear a voice call out, smirking at you:
"Welcome, new soldiers! As you will join my army of undead, know that we are egalitarian and offer equal opportunity to rise within the ranks of the Wizard-King's army!"
Tybalt is up front, lifting the head of the statue behind his back, while the others, including Larraz and Larriman all carry part of the statue to their side.
Thus you have your hands busy and your weapons put away.
The voice that addressed you comes from a person who stepped out from one of the stone colonnades that stretches to the ceiling and is covered in grime and mold.
Dark skinned, with short black hair and black robes covering his deep dark studded leather, his weapon, a morning-star, is shaped like a skull, and, around his neck is some symbol.
Maybe he is a druid, or a lover of Nature?
Because the symbol is some kind of... insect?
Yes, it is a moth.
Stepping out from behind another colonnade, is some sort of armed and armored skeleton.
Wearing chain mail, and with a steel shield and longsword at its belt, the skeleton holds a knight's lance in its hands.
You also spot three undead, very much like the slow and half-rotten creatures you saw around the fountain in the village square.
They seem to be there to block the way out the doors that exit the College to the west.
As you see the smashed statues and torn paintings that line the walls here, you wonder if you too will end up smashed...
The swarthy human, clad in dark robes and wearing a black scarf around his neck, seems to have a permanent sneer plastered across his face as he mocks you: "Welcome to our world! Prepare to join our ranks, new recruits!"
He concentrates, waving his hands in the air, mumbling dark divine words, and then touching his his moth-symbol... letting forth a wave of dark energy that washes out all around him.
It seems to burn you, blistering your skin--
Tybalt has no idea of what the skeleton and walking-dead thingies are, specifically.
He gets ready to set the statue down when the others do--
The skeleton moves forward, and jabs his knightly lance, first at Devin, missing him, then jabbing his lance at Tybalt... and striking very hard!
The point of the lance pierces right through the dwarf's armor, and slices deep into his organs.
Tybalt goes down, bleeding.
He lets go of the statue--
As Devin hesitates--
--the orange-hued undead steps forward, and swings at Kamil, hitting him hard in the ribs.
Then the yellow-tinted undead moves forward, hesitating as to which way to go, but turning towards Devin.
He bashes Devin hard in the face--
--but Devin remains standing, woozy, but standing!
Standing close to an undead, Larraz invokes once again the Healing powers, and, mumbling some words, waving his free arm, that ends up touching his holly and mistletoe again, you feel the wave of positive energy wash over all of you, and all the undead-- except the red undead, in the far corner.
You all feel your wounds close up, and Tybalt opens his eyes.
You see the flesh of the two undead dissolve like crazy under the impact of this wave--
--and they disappear into twin piles of smoking dust.
The bones of the skeleton totally resist this wave of positive energy, and do not seem affected whatsoever!
Kamil, Larraman and Devin--
The last three who were straining to carry the weight of the statue, all three put it down at the same time--
--leaving Kamil to act now that all have free hands.
The red zombie comes trudging over, up behind Kamil, and bashes him on the back of the head, hard!
The necromancer smiles, and chuckles: "That should knock some sense into you!"
Then he takes a step back and weaves his hand in the air, while chanting some dark words-- before pointing a finger at Kamil: "If you will not die, then LEAVE!"
• Success: you are frightened 1
• Failure: you are frightened 2
• Critical Failure: you are frightened 3 and fleeing for 1 round
After Tybalt heals up a bit--
--the skeleton warrior seems to feel Larraman is dangerous, and jabs at him, but the cover from the wall protects him.
Then the skeleton jabs at Tybalt... and nicks him, slightly cutting his cheek.
Finally, the skeleton tries to skewer Kamil, but misses.
Tybalt wants to move, but he has to wait a couple seconds...
Though frightened, and even without any help from Tybalt, yet, Kamil's magic makes his sword seem to hit twice, once hitting, but the other blow hitting real hard, and that is the one that counts... besides, his sword seems to slice into it very deep!
The undead remains standing, but its body is nearly sliced in two... it is barely held together by a thread.
Kamil feels less frightened.
Devin sees this, and moves in, lunging at the skeleton, emulating the critical blow of Kamil's!
His rapier pierces into the bones, but since there is no flesh, and the bones are hard, this seems a lot less effective than it should be. Thankfully his blow is deadly, so it does some damage...
Larraz picks up his staff, that he had place on the statue, and then points a finger at the undead facing Kamil, sending a ray of energy at it... but does not manage to connect.
Larraman suddenly kicks into action.
With really fast movements he yanks a flask from his pocket - glances at it to see what it is - and is about to toss it at the undead facing Kamil--
--when the skeleton jabs at Larraman with his lance, seizing the opportunity the alchemist gave the skeleton!
The lance manages to avoid the cover given by Devin, and skillfully hits Larraman in the thigh.
Then Larraman is able to toss his bomb.
Even with the pillar in the way and all, the bomb expodes on the red creature's chest, and starts to burn... snapping the last thread that held it together.
The enemy topples to the ground: "dead".
Kamil is happy to see that Larraman is skilled enough to not have splashed any fire on him!
Then Larraman moves forward, wincing... but the skeleton does not jab at him again with the lance.
Larraman yanks out another bomb - glancing at it to see what it is - and tosses the second bomb at the skeleton, having a nice clear line of sight.
But the flask bounces off the skeleton's armor, and drops to the floor, not harming it directly.
Acid bubbles, but does splash the enemy, dealing some damage as it burns the bones a little, smoking away...
Smiling and laughing, the Necromancer opens up his arms wide, and, once again lets out a wave of dark energy--
--as the skeleton's bones heal up somewhat, you all feel your own bones weaken, and you try to fight off the effect...
• Success: you take 1 damage
• Failure: you take 3 damage
• Critical Failure: you take 6 damage
Larraz's skin blisters ever so slightly--
--while Larraman's starts popping up with boils and rashes and bloods pours out of the wounds!
Now Tybalt manages to step into action--
--and, though the dark energy wounds him--
--the dwarf manages to remain standing, and steps into the skeleton's lance, passing it and facing the armored undead knight.
With what very little he has left, Tybalt swings his warhammmer--
--his first blow smashing into the skeleton's ribcage, hurting hit, while his second blow does not manage to pass the chain mail.
The skeleton might try to smile, but without any flesh to do so, who knows... it drops its lance, and unsheathes its longsword with one hand, grabbing its shield with the other, before swinging its sword at Tybalt--
--yes, Tybalt knew what was coming.
He felt it in his dwarven bones as he saw the sword rise... and it was confirmed when the sword smashed into the top of his head, cracking his skull.
Aye... a beautiful critical sword-blow! What a knight this skeleton must have been.
Tybalt falls to the ground.
The skeleton raises its sword in victory!
Larraz moves away from the Necromancer, as far as he can get, and once again points his finger, sending a surge of energy, to disrupt the skeleton this time.
But, once again, he misses.