Ray shrugs irritably. He loathes the idea of not putting every one of these monsters in the ground right f!+#ing now, but there's no arguing with these people.
"Fine," he grumbles. "Let's go."
He stomps toward the exit from the room, maybe a little more forcefully than he intended, but makes sure to keep his eyes peeled for more traps or danger.
Song breathes an audible sigh of relief. What the Hells did she get herself into, joining these people? They're a mess!
She gives a reassuring smile to Argus, Amanteia, and Jando to let them know she's with the plan, and takes up her position once more as rear guard.
Amanteia can't help but check over her shoulder as they leave the chamber. She has a basic understanding of what Song's spell does, but it doesn't make it any easier to leave dangerous creatures behind them.
Empty shelves and display cases line the walls of the next room. The room is nondescript and unremarkable, though you do find a small statuette on one of the shelves, covered in grime but emanating magic. After Amanteia prestidigitations it off, you can see it resembles a griffin made of bronze. In fact, Ray quickly determines with his cheaty identify ability that it is a figurine of wondrous power (bronze griffin).
Ray blinks in surprise and tells the others what the statuette is. "That is... a pretty potent item to just be gathering dust on a shelf." He shakes his head in wonder at human stupidity. "Well, that will definitely come in handy at some point. Who wants to carry it?"
Argus shakes his head. "I usually have m-my hands full. S-s-someone else take it."
Ray shrugs (handing it off to Amanteia if she wishes) and moves into the next room, eyes still peeled for danger.
Amanteia takes the figurine with a bit of reverence in her eye. She has never handled an item with such power (and value!). "What is this doing here?" She shakes her head as she places it delicately in her pack. "I have a feeling we will be using it before long."
The eastern half of this large hall has collapsed, creating an impassable heap of stone and masonry. Water drips slowly from several cracks in the cavernous ceiling, forming small pools on the floor. The air here is dank, and patches of mold grow on bas-relief carvings of armored knights on the western wall. Identical stone doors lead north and south.
Ray barely has time to take this all in when he notices movement in the cracks of the ceiling above. Clouds of crimson vapor reeking of fresh blood seep from the cracks, coalescing into three separate ... creatures?
Vampiric mists! Not undead! I actually gave them hide from undead saves until I pulled up their statblock and realized they're actually aberrations. But yeah, they have DR 5/magic, are vulnerable to fire, and -- as the "vampiric" part of their name implies -- can drain life (ie, con damage) with a touch attack. Have fun with that!
Amanteia (42/42 hp)
Creature #2 (0 damage, flying [10'])
Raybin (42/42 hp)
Argus (61/61 hp)
Creature #1 (0 damage, flying [10'])
Creature #3 (0 damage, flying [10'])
Song (46/46 hp)
Bold may act.
Amanteia sees the weird foamy clouds emerge from the ceiling in the next room. She has no idea what they are but they don't look like a good time. She quickly rushes past Song and through the doorway, then thinks about being fast and does some weird stuff with her hands she doesn't know how she knows how to do. A burst of energy erupts from her and everyone is suddenly much quicker on the draw.
Mist #2 swoops down from the ceiling and gets in Ray's face. Part of the mist coalesces into a claw of sorts and it swipes across Ray's neck. The wound that opens absolutely gushes blood, some of which is siphoned directly into the creature. What passes for eyes in what passes for its face close in what passes for ecstasy, and Ray suddenly feels pretty crummy .
Amanteia (42/42 hp, haste)
Creature #2 (0 damage, flying [0'])
Raybin (32/36 [effective] hp, haste, 1d6 bleed, 2 con damage)
Argus (61/61 hp, haste)
Creature #1 (0 damage, flying [10'])
Creature #3 (0 damage, flying [10'])
Song (46/46 hp, haste)
Bold may act.
Ray has no idea what the s~#$ this thing is, but he knows he doesn't like it. He swings wildly with the adamantine hammer.
Hide from undead
See invisibility
Heightened Awareness
Haste
AC 18 | T 14 | FF 15
Adamantine Warhammer +9/+9, 1d8+2 B, 20/x3
Perception + 13
Fearing the worst, Argus whispers a prayer of incantation over his glaive, which begins to shimmer with a beautiful soft glow.
Hide from undead
haste
Divine Weapon Bond (+1 cold iron glaive)
AC 19 | T 13 | FF 16
Glaive +10/+10/+5, 1d10+4 S, 20/x3
Bob goes zooming around the battlefield like a kid on a sugar high, screeching in Celestial, [color=blue][/color]
Ray is relieved when his hammer makes solid contact with the creature; they may be nasty but at least they aren't nasty and incorporeal. His magically enhanced speed allows him to land two meaty hits. Fresh blood (most -- or all? -- of it his) sprays in every direction. He definitely didn't hurt it as much as he expected, but at least he hurt it.
The good news ends there, however, as #1 swoops down to feed on Amanteia and #3 on Argus. But then the good news comes back again when they both somehow fail to touch their quarries!
Amanteia (42/42 hp, haste)
Creature #2 (?? damage, flying [0'])
Raybin (32/36 [effective] hp, haste, 1d6 bleed, 2 con damage)
Argus (61/61 hp, haste)
Creature #1 (0 damage, flying [0'])
Creature #3 (0 damage, flying [0'])
Song (46/46 hp, haste)
Bold may act.
Song fires off a few arrows at #1 from the doorway, but not before charging up her bow with magical energy.
Hide from undead
Haste
Sacred Weapon for additional +1 enhancement
AC 20 | T 16 | FF 14
Bǎxīn (Deadly Aim, PBS) +11/+11, 1d8+8 P, rg 110, 20/x3
Song's onslaught obliterates #1, but only a few rivulets of stale blood ooze from the arrow wounds. The difference between it and #2 -- who had just siphoned a great deal of fresh blood from Raybin -- is remarkable.
The creature still hovers in the air next to Amanteia, but it seems barely able to hold its head up, much less pose much of a threat to the party .
Amanteia (42/42 hp, haste)
Creature #2 (?? damage, flying [0'])
Raybin (32/36 [effective] hp, haste, 1d6 bleed, 2 con damage)
Argus (61/61 hp, haste)
Creature #1 (?? damage, flying [0'], disabled)
Creature #3 (0 damage, flying [0'])
Song (46/46 hp, haste)
Bold may act.
Amanteia immediately notices that #1 is nearly gone, so she conjures a single magic missile in her right hand and two more in her left . She sends the first one at #1 and the other two at #3.
The first missile strikes #1 and the other two hit #3. #1's amorphous form completely falls apart, leaving a not-as-bloody-as-you'd-expect pile of viscera on the ground at Amanteia's feet. #3 takes the full brunt of the other two missiles and pathetically seeps out some blood and dust in response.
#2 seems unperturbed by its colleague being disassembled; it reaches out to siphon more of Ray's life away . Ray continues to bleed alarmingly profusely .
Amanteia (42/42 hp, haste)
Creature #2 (?? damage, flying [0'])
Raybin (25/30 [effective] hp, haste, 1d6 bleed, 4 con damage)
Argus (61/61 hp, haste)
Creature #1 (dead)
Creature #3 (?? damage, flying [0'])
Song (46/46 hp, haste)
Bold may act.
Ray is really starting to feel the strain. These things are going to suck him dry like a Capri Sun.
He grips the hammer in both hands and lashes out twice against #2.
Hide from undead
See invisibility
Heightened Awareness
Haste
AC 18 | T 14 | FF 15
Adamantine Warhammer +9/+9, 1d8+2 (+3 2H) B, 20/x3
Perception + 13
Argus steps back from #3 and tries to finish it off.
Hide from undead
haste
Divine Weapon Bond (+1 cold iron glaive)
AC 19 | T 13 | FF 16
Glaive +11/+11/+6, 1d10+5 S, 20/x3
Ray's hammer lands two blows, but the first just deforms the amorphous creature. The second manages to spurt out a little bit of blood, so yay?
Argus has better luck; Shelyn's blessing on his weapon causes it to puncture right through the creature's tough and flexible hide. His three swift strikes put #3 down in the blink of an eye.
Amanteia (42/42 hp, haste)
Creature #2 (?? damage, flying [0'])
Raybin (25/30 [effective] hp, haste, 1d6 bleed, 4 con damage)
Argus (61/61 hp, haste)
Creature #1 (dead)
Creature #3 (dead)
Song (46/46 hp, haste)
Bold may act.
Song does her best to put two magic arrows into #2 and finish the damn thing off before it drains Ray dry.
Hide from undead
Haste
Sacred Weapon for additional +1 enhancement
AC 20 | T 16 | FF 14
Bǎxīn (Deadly Aim, PBS) +11/+11, 1d8+8 P, rg 110, 20/x3
Song's arrows easily penetrate the last remaining creature, but she can't quite put it down.
Amanteia (42/42 hp, haste)
Creature #2 (?? damage, flying [0'])
Raybin (25/30 [effective] hp, haste, 1d6 bleed, 4 con damage)
Argus (61/61 hp, haste)
Creature #1 (dead)
Creature #3 (dead)
Song (46/46 hp, haste)
Bold may act.
Amanteia's eyebrows raise at Argus and Song's impressive displays. She fires a few more missiles at #2, fully expecting to put it down.
Amanteia's missiles obliterate #2. Every party member and every surface in this room is now covered in blood, and even the air itself has a red hue and metallic taste.
All the creatures are dead, but the danger is not yet over. Ray is still leaking his essence onto the cold stone floor .
Amanteia (42/42 hp, haste)
Raybin (24/30 [effective] hp, haste, 1d6 bleed, 4 con damage)
Argus (61/61 hp, haste)
Song (46/46 hp, haste)
Bold may act.
Ray grumbles, "I feel woozy."
Argus mutters a quiet curse under his breath and touches the occultist. With a quick prayer to Shelyn, several of Ray's wounds seal up, staunching the bleeding.
He frowns, looking at Ray's dilated pupils. "You've lost a lot of blood."
Song stows her bow and comes over, grasping her holy symbol. "Here, let me." She places her hand on Ray's forehead and closes her eyes, whispering a long litany. With each syllable, the air around Ray hums and vibrates, a soft shadow falling over him. The shadow is far from ominous, however; it reminds one of the quiet, contemplative dark of a night spent safe under the stars as a child.
When it's over, she sighs tiredly, but the occultist has a little more color in his cheeks. "Best I can do. You should heal more with a good night's rest." She glances uncertainly at the dank, crumbling walls and cobwebbed corners. "If such a thing can be found here."
Bob practically crash-lands on Ray's shoulder, panting hard. [color=blue]"HolycrapthatwasfastIwassofastdidjaseethatbossmyheartisbeatingreallyfastist hatnormalitdoesn'tfeelnor"[/color]
Bob tumbles off the occultist's shoulder the second the haste spell wears off and hits the ground with a plap!, almost immediately snoring loudly.
"Huh," Ray grunts. "Didn't even know he could snore."
Argus and Song's healing return Ray to mostly full strength. He's going to feel pretty drained for the rest of today.
The eastern half of this large hall has collapsed, creating an impassable heap of stone and masonry. Water drips slowly from several cracks in the cavernous ceiling, forming small pools on the floor. The air here is dank, and patches of mold grow on bas-relief carvings of armored knights on the western wall. Identical stone doors lead north and south.
It would take at least several dozen hours of backbreaking labor to remove enough of the rubble to squeeze through, and even then the effort might cause another collapse.
Amanteia points at the rubble. "Looks like the ceiling collapsed, huh?"
"Ayuh," he says, slapping his belly. "Shor dyid."
Argus nods in satisfaction when Ray is brought back closer to full health. "L-let's keep g...going." He gestures for Ray to lead the way.
Ray mutters quietly to himself how dumb he is, pulling out the Extending Metamagic Rod and hitting himself with shield before moving through the south doorway.
Hide from undead
See invisibility
Heightened Awareness
Shield Extended. +4 shield bonus to AC for 12 minutes, blocks magic missiles.
AC 21 | T 13 | FF 18
Adamantine Warhammer +9/+9, 1d8+2 B, 20/x3
Perception + 13
Four narrow stone pillars stand against the western wall here. One holds a marble bust of a haughty human woman, while the others are surrounded by dozens of large chunks of broken statuary. Tarnished metal plaques at the top of each pillar may have once stated the names of the busts, but they have long since been scratched out. A set of stone stairs descends to the east, while a simple stone door exits to the north.
The intact bust is Ervin Roslar's mother, Emmillisa. You presume the others once portrayed other Roslar family members.
As Ray pokes through the marble chunks, he finds another stone tile. This one has a stylized heart carved into one side.
The only way out of this room appears to be the staircase leading down.
Amanteia studies the intact bust. "This is Roslar's mother. I think her name was Emelia...? Emerson...? Emmillisa!" She looks at the smashed busts. "I'm guessing these were other family members. I'm starting to get the feeling someone doesn't like Roslar very much. I wonder why they left his mother though?"
"Mm," Ray mutters, studying the pummeled busts with mild curiosity. "My money's on a black sheep. Maybe Roslar had a sibling who hated him but not their mom? Anybody know if Roslar was an only child?"
You descend the stairs into darkness that is somehow even darker than the total darkness you've already been barely illuminating with magical light. You arrive in a small, rectangular room. The south wall hosts the remnants of an elaborate carving, much of which has been chipped away. The only parts still discernable are an arm holding a thin sword, and a metal boot. In addition, a few words above the image read, "... the Red Crusader," but what comes before is unreadable.
The title "Red Crusader" was attributed to Arazni, Aroden's former herald who was slain by Tar-Baphon. Later, the ghost-king Geb stole her body and turned her into a lich. She is now known as the Harlot Queen. Pretty f@#+ed up.
Ray grunts. "The 'Red Crusader' was Arazni, Aroden's former herald before Iomedae took it up. Few people in history have been continually shafted the way she was." He shakes his head. "Murdered by the Whispering Tyrant, then had her corpse stolen and turned into a lich by Geb. She became what she fought, and against her will. It's beyond blasphemy."
He looks morose for a moment, but eventually turns away from the eroded statue and peers down the long corridor ahead.
Argus stares at the carving for several moments, muttering to himself, before he pulls out his small leather lyric journal and jots down a few lines.
Not all heroes live on in the heart
Some are left ground into the dirt and blood
on the battlefield of history
Yet while unsung they toil in tragedy
the power of their deeds echoes in
the ancient halls
of the gods.
He considers the lines, frowning. Not his best work, but it's not bad for a spur of the moment, he supposes. He blows on the ink to dry it before snapping the journal shut once more.
Song appears over the half-orc's shoulder. "Whatcha writing?"
Argus has to bite his tongue to keep from yelping.
"I--er--n-n-n-n-n-n--" He coughs, sputters, clears his throat. "J-just some d...daily ab..b..b..lutions to S-S-Shelyn. N-n-nothing w..w..worth reading."
He can feel the absolute fire in his cheeks. His lyrics and poems are good enough for him. He has pretty low standards, considering how he was raised. The home he grew up in didn't exactly put an emphasis on the fine arts.
Song can't help but grin. It's pretty adorable watching the usually calm, collected paladin trip all over himself. Still, it doesn't seem right to keep making him suffer. She squeezes his arm.
"Okay, it's fine. I won't pry. But if you ever feel like sharing, I'd love to read some of your work. Only if you're willing."
She turns away and, to help him save face, starts scanning the rest of the room in case there's something the occultist missed.
Amanteia shudders when Ray talks about Arazni's fate. From herald and demigod to dead to lich against her will? She can't think of a crueler punishment.
Ray and Song find nothing else of interest in this room at the bottom of the stairs, so Ray moves northwest . This small alcove in the western wall interrupts this hallway as it runs from northwest to southeast. Several stone shelves line the walls of the nook, holding moldering sacks and boxes.
Ray sees nothing shiny in this alcove, so he continues north. Two corridors lead out of this marble-walled chamber to the north and south. A colorful image of an armored knight riding a horse into battle against a throng of undead creatures is carved into the eastern wall. Time has not affected this bas-relief, which looks as vibrant as the day it was made. A massive pile of rubble blocks off the remainder of the chamber to the west.
Amanteia points at the carving. "Magic coming off of that, probably to preserve it. Why was this one preserved when nothing else seems to be?"
Ray scowls at the picture. "Good question," he mumbles, inspecting the painting.