is awake, standing watch and sees nothing of what's written below.
Roscoe lays down to sleep and immediately sits up. A wrathful spirit slowly separates itself from his body. Her face turns to him and says, You should have asked me for help, Roscoe Elring. I could have saved you. And maybe your friends, if you had asked nicely.
The medallion around his neck burns like fire, like acid, live molten anger, hating his flesh! Standing in a circle around Roscoe are four wavering spirits.
The Grey Mage: One is gray and fraying. His face is greedy. But he is powerful. He waves his Runelord's glaive and the fraying reverses, the edges of his spirit solidifying. But he remains gray and distant.
The Unreachable Envy: A robust spirit looks upon the grey man and turns her attention to the room. She looks at Roscoe and his friends, sleeping. She stares into Roscoe's eyes with envy. She reaches out towards him, but her form is too far away and her arm grasps empty air. She steps forward and reaches again, but her hand misses again, somehow still too far away to touch Roscoe.
The Sacred and the Bored: Another spirit (a man? woman?) looks on with a lazy attitude. They turn away from Roscoe and stares northwest, through the stone walls, looking at something of great interest. Their green and blue cloak rustles, as if in the wind. They turn and look at Roscoe and smile. Beckoning.
The Distant and Departed: The fourth spirit is grey and distant. Roscoe can't even make out a face. As if it is far far away and irrelevant.
The Sliver of Wrath: The wrathful spirit spits upon the stone floor and steps in front of Roscoe so that he can no longer see the others. Yes, choose them. They are pathetic. As are YOU. Only I am a worthy ally, Roscoe Elring!
As the runelord of wrath begins to speak again, a radiantly beautiful, redheaded woman strides through the wall of the room and flicks her fingers at the spirit! "BEGONE, Sliver of Alaznist. Do not speak of worth!"
The spirit of Alaznist vanishes at the woman's command. At the same time, the woman snaps her fingers and intones,
“I am Runelord Sorshen, but I am not your foe. Alaznist has risen, as you fear, and we will both benefit from her defeat. She has left Hollow Mountain to seek power elsewhere, and as she does, you must prepare. I have been watching. You seem heroes who might stand against her, but not without assistance. Seek out old Thybidos, Alaznist’s murdered predecessor, in the Forlorn Sepulchers beyond the weeping dragons. With an Abyssal runestone from the Gauntlet of Fury, his unquiet spirit can be compelled to aid you—yet perhaps not without some conflict. But exercise caution, for even humbled as he is today, the serpent still has teeth. When you are done with him, seek me in Korvosa. We have more to discuss!”
Along with this message, each of you has a vision of a partially collapsed stone archway carved in the shape of two weeping dragons, their necks raised up so their horned heads lock together. The archway is overgrown with foliage, but a cave entrance is visible within. This archway exists nearby, you are completely sure, on the lower slopes of Rivenrake Island. You have a desperate, burning desire to find it.
Each of you falls immediately back into undisturbed sleep. As Roscoe lays back down, he sees the woman walk away. But she leaves behind a wispy remnant of herself, translucent, yet puissant, to stand among the other spirits. Roscoe's medallion upon his neck is no longer burning. It is cool and pleasant, alive and waiting.
Roscoe's spirits
Roscoe can feel the presence of the Wrathful Champion, the Slothful Heirophant, and the waiting Lustful Trickster. The remnant of Sorshen, the Runelord of Lust, is particularly powerful this morning, as if the Runelord herself has stood in this very room with Roscoe recently.
[dice=Perception]1d20+1
You see and hear nothing. You eventually lay down and fall asleep.
[dice=Ayita perception]1d20+16+2-4
[dice=Yazhi perception]1d20+5 incl. scent
Ayita notices how quiet it is. And how this room is undisturbed, likely for thousands of years. Yazhi, too, smells nothing in the room.
The weight of empty eons presses down here.
"Let us continue our exploration. I am assuming zat others are down here as well. We must be ready for anything. I say we explore za ozer doors to za east and zen make our way back to search za ozer corridors."
Nasir finishes eating his breakfast and straps on the rest of his gear.
"Roscoe Elring, will you do your morning rituals now? Hopefully, your spirits will give us an edge zis day. I feel like I have already been touched by spirits in my dreams last night. Did you see any?"
"Let us continue our exploration. I am assuming zat others are down here as well. We must be ready for anything. I say we explore za ozer doors to za east and zen make our way back to search za ozer corridors."
Nasir finishes eating his breakfast and straps on the rest of his gear.
"Roscoe Elring, will you do your morning rituals now? Hopefully, your spirits will give us an edge zis day. I feel like I have already been touched by spirits in my dreams last night. Did you see any?"
CLWs cast before we went to sleep:
[dice=Ayita CLW on whoever is down the most]1d8+5
Doc:
OK. We'll continue on. Everybody let me know what their HP is at.
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Starting at:
STATUS
-----------------------
Ezranadir (38/38hp)||
Roscoe (38/45hp) || -12+5=-7hp
Nasir (28/52hp) || -24hp
Doc (43/48hp) || -5hp
Ayita (39/51hp) || -12hp
Yazhi (51/51hp) ||
Ter (25/25hp) ||
Frantino (21/45hp) || -24hp
Nasir gulped 2 potions for +7 so:
STATUS
-----------------------
Ezranadir (38/38hp)||
Roscoe (38/45hp) || -7hp
Nasir (35/52hp) || -17hp
Doc (43/48hp) || -5hp
Ayita (39/51hp) || -12hp
Yazhi (51/51hp) ||
Ter (25/25hp) ||
Frantino (30/45hp) || -15hp with + 9 from Ayita
Doc will heal too, then we get the overnight healing.
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Happy to expend as many wand charges as folks need.
Wand charge count decremented.
Anything further needed?
Roscoe - seance?
The further rooms off the hallway are more storage rooms with moldering, ancient weapons.
The closest room (i.e. the next one past your overnight hideaway) is different. It appears to be an ancient workshops of some kind.
Stone tables stand along the east and west walls in this chamber, ancient tools lying on their dusty surfaces. Collapsed wooden racks that once held weapons clutter an alcove in the south of the chamber.
Most of the weapons here are ruined, but searching the debris you find two weapons in mint condition, a kukri and a mace.
Frantino will check the mace first, offering the kukri to Ezranadir for analysis.
Frantino will check the mace first, offering the kukri to Ezranadir for analysis.
[dice=Spellcraft]1d20 + 11 + 1d6
Frantino will check the mace first, offering the kukri to Ezranadir for analysis.
As Frantino examines the mace, he assumes it is magical somehow. The body of it is simple steel and should be showing the effects of eons down here.
As he touches it, a HOWL OF FURY erupts!
At the same time, a cacophonous sound of work hammers striking metal bursts forth in the room.
Frantino feels the rage of dead artisans sucking the very life force from him. His skin pales a bit and his eyes become slightly sunken as strength is sucked from him!
Enervation
You point your finger and fire a black ray of negative energy that suppresses the life force of any living creature it strikes. You must make a ranged touch attack to hit. If you hit, the subject gains 1d4 temporary negative levels (see Special Abilities). Negative levels stack.
Assuming the subject survives, it regains lost levels after a number of hours equal to your caster level (maximum 15 hours). Usually, negative levels have a chance of becoming permanent, but the negative levels from enervation don’t last long enough to do so.
An undead creature struck by the ray gains 1d4 x 5 temporary hit points for 1 hour.
"Haunts. I hate haunts. How do we put these spirits to rest?"
Not quite feeling himself, Frantino looks for clues to figure out how to destroy the haunt.
"Haunts. I hate haunts. How do we put these spirits to rest?"
Not quite feeling himself, Frantino looks for clues to figure out how to destroy the haunt.
Knowledge religion: 1d20 + 10 + 1d6 - 1 ⇒ (3) + 10 + (6) - 1 = 18
You're not sure. Something about the ghostly cries...
Roscoe sits bolt upright quickly in the morning. "Did--anyone see that?" he asks, disturbed at how overt the spirits were becoming.
"That dream--or vision. We need to seek out this Thybidos, right? That seems really important."
"As for the seance--I think the trickster seems most powerful for now. I'll try that one if anyone wants to join me.
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Upon everyone waking and hearing the discussion, "I do not know what any of you are talking about with these dreams. I did not have any and there was nothing present affecting you that I could tell while on watch. Perhaps those of you who had them are just suffering from emotional or mental health issues from what you have encountered so far."
Ezranadir will join the séance as well, choosing Spellcraft.
In the other room he will look at the weapon that Frantino indicates but when the Howls erupt he takes a step away from the weapon not touching anything. He will examine it at a distance and relate what he can tell as well as any knowledge of Haunts.
In the other room he will look at the weapon that Frantino indicates but when the Howls erupt he takes a step away from the weapon not touching anything. Spellcraft on Kukri Weapon: 1d20 + 16 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 16 + 1 = 26
Examining the kukri, without touching it, you sense what you recognize as an ancient Thassilonian magic designed to sap power from any opponent it strikes.
Knowledge-Religion on Haunts: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30
You realize the haunts HATE seeing their ruined works, moldering in this room.
"Ezranadir, do you have za magic that can move objects without touching? Maybe we tear off enough material from that corpse in za other room to cover za weapons and zen you pull them out of za room one at a time? Will zis work?"
"I, too, had a similar dream. I thought it was just a nightmare, given that this would mean that two runelords, Sorshen and Alaznist, are out in the modern world! Once our tasks here are done we should see if these weeping dragons are on the island, since we're already here."
"Moving or covering the old weapons might do it, if that is what it takes to be able to safely take possession of these two magical weapons. I also have mage hand, maybe we can make quick work of this between the two of us. Are any of those old carts strong enough for one more job? Maybe put a blanket on the ground? If we only have to move the old weapons a very short distance this may allow Nasir and the others to then push or drag them safely to another room en masse without touching them."
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__________________________________________________
"Ezranadir, do you have za magic that can move objects without touching? Maybe we tear off enough material from that corpse in za other room to cover za weapons and zen you pull them out of za room one at a time? Will zis work?"
Hatfield will look for appropriate, safe-to-use items (blankets? tapestry?) to cover the stuff.
__________________________________________________
Hatfield will look for appropriate, safe-to-use items (blankets? tapestry?) to cover the stuff.
[dice=Perception]1d20+1
Doc notices Nasir's sleeping blanket poking out of his backpack.
Keeping the Detect Magic up, Ezranadir also visually examines the mace Frantino has in his hands.
[dice=Spellcraft]1d20+16+1
"It may be a good idea to move these ruined works to another room and clean up a bit. Maybe that will help dissipate this Haunt. What do you think, Frantino?"
This heavy mace, it appears, is made from a single piece of roughly spherical, polished granite. It glows with transmutation magic. You notice several magical sigils etched into the haft of the mace that, when activated, will release the mace's head and cause it to grow!
If we can move the debris and clear the room with Mage Hand either utilizing a cart or blanket without touching anything further then we try to do so.
Ezranadir relates the properties of the mace & kukri.
Once you move the refuse out of the room, the howls of despair and anger fade away. For Frantino, the howls echo in his mind.
Nasir takes a minute to handle both weapons and test their weight.
"I could make use of either or both of zese weapons. Anyone else interested in zem?
Let us finish exploring za remaining doors on zis hallway and zen we double back to explore za rest of zis area."
Nasir readies his shield and sword again and continues to progress further down the hall to check out the last two doors.
Roscoe looks at the weapons. "I would take one if they were smaller--but they're not. So have at it," he says, drawing his weapon and following Nasir down the hallway.
The further rooms off the hallway are more storage rooms with moldering, ancient weapons.
"I could make use of either or both of zese weapons. Anyone else interested in zem?"
"The mace is interesting, but as a ranged and area of effect weapon, not necessarily as a melee weapon. Either of us or Ayita could carry and make use of it in that way. If you think you'd use it then keep it handy, but if it's just going in the bag I'll carry it or hand it to Ayita. I don't see when I'd use the kukri instead of Fury."
Frantino will help scan the last few rooms with detect magic. Assuming there is nothing of interest, he heads back to the old carts at the intersection.
"We can head back up this hallway past the face to the further corridor we haven't explored, or we can keep going down this new passageway. I think we should double back just to make sure there's nothing behind us, but I'll go whichever way the group decides."
Frantino looks at the dusty floor to see if there are tracks going down the west hallway.
"We know there's another group down here given the burnt body we found, and those Peacock people, including Viralane, are on the island somewhere. Anyone else see evidence of their passage?"
Frantino looks at the dusty floor to see if there are tracks going down the west hallway.
Perception: 1d20 + 15 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 15 - 1 + 1 = 22"We know there's another group down here given the burnt body we found, and those Peacock people, including Viralane, are on the island somewhere. Anyone else see evidence of their passage?"
The floor in the hallway is not pristine. It looks like somebody has passed this way.
Nasir tucks the kukri into his belt next to the other one he has and offers Ayita and Frantino the mace.
"If you brefer to use it, it is yours to use."
"Zis is not a bad idea. Ayita, will you scout za way?"
After offering it to Ayita, Frantino will hang the new mace on his belt.
Frantino holds Fury and prepares to move back up the north passage with everyone else as Ayita scouts for traps.
Frantino hands the boulderhead mace to Ayita. "A Large boulder would perfectly fill most pit traps. Too bad it'll collapse into rubble or we could use it to hopscotch to the far side! If only we could use it more than once every 24 hours. Well, lead the way!"