Father Kerdrew immediately steps forward, bringing the fight to the new wights. "Your evil will be gone! Iomedae will help us free these mines of your wretched influence!" He focuses all of Iomedae's holy might into his attacks vs the glowing blue wight.
"Oh no! More wrights, and this one was clearly a miner!" Shalissa says a few words to the gods and steps forward to touch Father Kerndrew with bull's strength "Mother of wind, give Kerndrew your strength to put these miners to peace!"
Davor moves up beside Father Kerndrew to try and help drop the first of the wights.
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The miner tries to raise his pickaxe in vain as he is surprised by the might of Iomedea. Kerndrews sword crashes into his torso sending bones flying anywere.
With one last effort The Blue miner raises his Pickaxe to retaliate, but before he can fnish his blow Davor strikes him from the side severing the sinews of his right elbow.
I one long drawnout moan the miner crumbles to the ground.
From behind you gregor rushes up, but then you hear him crying out in pain. Turning around shalissa notices him hopping on one foot as he apparently stepped onto something unpleasant.
Seeing her mate crumbling the red wight throws herself at the paladin but is easily blocked away by the iomedeans shield.
Shalissa turns back trying to understand what is going on "Gregor, are you ok?"
But when the wight attacks Davor, she resolves to keep fighting, her hand loads with crackling electrical energy that she throws over the half-orc's shoulder to strike at the remaining undead.
Davor steps up to attack the remaining wight.
Father Kerndrew gives Davor a nod, appreciating the one-two action the pair used to down the bluish wight. He shifts his attention and tries to mirror Davor's finish on the other one.
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Finally feeling Iomedeas will flowing through his arms into the cave, Father Kerndrew lets himself drawn forward b his momentum and exceutes another flawless strike at the last standing wight. Davor and Shalissa follow his lead and take the ghastly woman from both sides dropping her instantly.
Behind you Gregor is dropping to the ground holding his left feet in pain.
Shalissa breaths relieved as the undead are swiftly defeated "Good, it seems that arm has really warmed out Father Kerndrew"
As she is smiling, she notices Gregor's fall and comes to assist him "Gregor? What is going on?" she looks to help.
Davor moves closer to Gregor searching the ground for anything sharp. "Careful! There might be spikes or something here, and maybe poison...."
"I slipped when I tried to rush along the bridge. And when I stepped into the water some creature buit me. its burning like fire."
gregors Left leg is showing a brigth red bitemark. Unfortunately Shalissa can't diagnose what exactly has bitten him.
"I do not know what was that" Shalissa looks to the waters worriedly "Let's get out of here before that thing decides to attack us all"
The elf offers her weak shoulder to the ranger "Gregor can you walk?" before leaving towards the eastern tunnels.
While Shalissa helps Gregor Davor moves over to examine the blue sphere. "Those wight things were staying right here. Maybe they were guarding it? Father Kerndrew? What do you think?" He looks inside if possible.
Before moving on, Shalissa will help Davor identify the sphere, using detect magic "Perhaps is some kind of magical device that created the undead?"
"Is it evil Kerndrew?"
"Yes, it's definitely evil. My layman's guess is that the sphere is what created the undead. Perhaps they were mining and found it... and that caused all the trouble." He lets Shalissa examine it further, as his abilities were limited to just the determination of evil.
He instead inspects Gregor's leg, seeing if there's anything immediate they needed to do other than simply heal the damage.
Father Kerndrew heals the wound and inspects it further, but you are sure it was infected by whatever little creeper bit him. Unfortunately he doesn't know the local fauna good enough to know what exactly has befallen him.
In the meantime Davor and Shalissa examine the broken sphere glowing with evil necromantic energy. Shalissa also notices, that the blueish energy seems to have left the undead miner and retretated back into the sphere so she is sure that this is the source of whatever curse has befallen this place.
"We cannot leave this here" Shalissa breathes deeply, then looks at Kerndrew "Father, use the boon of Gozreh's bull's strength I gave you to smash this to pieces before it can create more undead like this."
The elf also suggests for Davor and Gregor to help "We have to cleanse this sphere as we did with the altar in Shiv's island."
While the others go for it, she offers some prayers to the gods, asking to cleanse the place from the vile necromantic energies.
Davor looks at the shell, and his light weapons. "Where's a heavy mace when you need it?"
While Davor tries to remember why he decided not to buy that hefty mace on offer back in Eleder he and Kerndrew start bashing the sphere with rocks to break it down with rocks lying around in the mine.
Seeing them fumble around Shep finally step up and picks up the Pickaxe of the blue miner finishing the process much more efficiently.
The evil energy of the place slowly dissipates, but doesn't disappear completely.
"Iomedae, cleanse this place of the evil we just destroyed; finish our work and drive away all the remnants." Father Kerndrew kneels by the detritus of the destroyed sphere, and channels Iomedae's energy into the crumbled remains.
Shalissa joins her voice to Father Kerndrew's prayers, using a channel energy or cure light wounds spell if needed "Gozreh, return this place to it's natural state, devoid of the undead's taint"
Channeling healing energy into the remains of the broken globe, you see the blue mist finally dissolve completely and you fell that the evil spirit has left this cave.
You are standing on the island with the remains of the two miners turned wight and remember your promise to Arytha to find her family heirloom.
Davor grins at his foolishness. Of course a pickaxe would make a great heavy weapon for breaking the shell! "Good job Shep! I was only looking at my light weapons and didn't think they'd do much.... I wonder who these poor souls were? Arytha's family or friends? Or just some of the crew?"
"Yes, thats a good pickaxe." Shep replies, "I might be inclined to keep it." Then he helps Davor search the body . The woman wear a silver chain with a small key around her neck like it is used for a small chest or a strongbox.
Apart from the pickaxe most of the Belongings of the miner are rotted beyond recognition but you find a small tarnished locket engraved with teh initilas F.C. It contains a picture of a kind looking man holding a small child.
"We should keep that key and locket for Arytha; she'll appreciate having those. If we have the time, I can minister some funeral rites for this unfortunate couple, as well."
"F.C.? These might be Arytha's parents..." Shalissa looks down suffering "Well, let's bring this to her, I guess that is the family heirloom she would appreciate to have it"
After they do some search, and guessing that is all for now there, Shalissa will follow the group to the eastern tunnels.
The party prepares to leave the cave and proceed to the northern exit of the mine, when you hear a groaning coming from the back of the cave.
Cautiously you step nearer. On the ground a man in sargavian clothing is lying on the ground groaning in pain. His body is littered with various clawmarks.
"Hei, are you ok? How did you end here?" Shalissa quickly gets interested on the man, but looks around for the source of the claw wounds before trying to approach the sargavian.
The marks look like the might be created by the wights.
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Davor moves up by the man's head, dagger ready just in case the man is a smart wight planning some sort of ambush. "Maybe a channel? or a touch from the Father? Any that would heal a man would hurt a wight, right?"
Focusing of the man he adds, "If you are a victim of the undead here relax and we'll help you. Don't mind my blade unless you are undead...."
"Father? Do you sense evil?"
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Neethan is covered from head to toe in a fine layer of salt dust. He doesn’t know why, but that dust somehow managed to get at him, making his numerous cuts itch like crazy. Oh, he has felt the necromantic energy angrily pull at him, but it never really could get a hold on him and suck the life form out of him. Likewise, the hungry looks from the undead trying to claw, bite and hit at him, but their efforts only making lines in the dust on his skin now.
He doesn’t know why he’s still alive, but he has a pretty good idea; it’s something to do with that damned amulet. When the cold chill around him got worse, he could feel it almost moving under the skin on his chest. Like some kind of tug of war between life and …, what, unlife?
He’d been terrified at first, but the body and mind cannot be in that state forever. Most beings snap, going crazy, but he’s just adjusted to his situation, and somehow resigned. He wasn’t really living, nor was he dying. It was like time itself had stopped inside him, yet he was aware of his surroundings changing. Aware, but not really caring after a while. How long had he been here? He didn’t know. There were no day or night down here, nor did he seem to have the normal needs for his bodily functions. Except for the thirst. The salt dust around him got at him mentally. He understands that if he really had inhaled all that salt dust, he’d been dead, as the water he originally carried had been drunk up a long time ago. There was water down here, even if he suspected that it would not be healthy to try to drink it. He couldn’t move an inch closer to it though. He use to sleep a lot, even if it feels it's not really sleep at all.
Running into this cave complex to avoid the deadly deinonychuses, had seem to be the right thing to do at the time, but he never should have ventured so far in. The signs of an old mine had intrigued him, and he’d been careless. The undead had found him, blocked the exit behind him and started to chase him. He had run away from their sharp claws without knowing where to, just using his Light spell to give him enough light to see. But they had known the place better than him, and they had had all the time in the world to catch him or to perhaps drive him towards the source of the strong necrotic energy he could sense.
He had felt the evil energy as he got closer. The hair on his arms stood right up and the familiar tingling he had learnt to recognize at The Academy was all to present. Out of breath and wounded also from the fight outside, he’d been out on his last limb, but then something had happened. A rivaling force had pressed him against the cave wall and fought for him. Stuck between two magic sources, he’d been swayed back and forth like a buoy on the waves, without really going anywhere. The undead had been blocked from really hurt him too then. Sustained and held in stasis, he’d finally resigned. He’d tried to think at first, to keep his spells memorized in case things changed, but what was the point after a while? He was bored. Bored and thirsty. Even the undead hadn’t bothered to try to attack him for quite a while now. He closed his eyes again.
Something awoke him though.
Voices?
Not the strange, muffled grunts the undead uttered. He opens his eyes.
Neethan can feel there is change in the air. The grip the evil energy had on him has evaporated, leaving only a bad dream. Similarly, he can feel the amulet almost giving up a sigh of tired relief.
Two people are standing close to him, trying to make contact. He can’t really believe it, nor make out what they are saying.
”What …?” He tries to focus.
”Water …”, is all his chapped lips can manage in a raspy voice.
Neethan feels so weak. His fair hair and torn sturdy linen clothes are full of dried blood from several cuts and scratches, some deep.
The onlookers can see a man in his mid-twenties, with chiseled features of one of the colonials living in Sargava. He wears no armor and has some arcane symbols on the cuffs of his sleeves. He’s slumped back, still wearing his backpack and with a quarterstaff lying on the ground beside him.
It doesn’t take much to see that he’s just one step away from death.
Focusing of the man he adds, "If you are a victim of the undead here relax and we'll help you. Don't mind my blade unless you are undead...."
"Father? Do you sense evil?"
"I think that is a good approach Davor, let's try it" Shalissa raises the leaf holy symbol around her neck and calls positive energy to heal everyone around taking good note if the man is not healed "Lady of Waves close the wounds of the living"
Noticing the call of the man for water the elf requests "Here, join your hands like a bowl" and then says more prayers still holding her holy symbol and creating water on the man's hands for him to drink.
"Do you feel better?" she tries to shake him slightly to see if he reacts "What is your name?"
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Neethan hears a female voice calling for healing and a small amount of positive energy finds its way into his exhausted body. It’s enough for him to at least raise his head and look at her. Her promise of something to drink makes him totally ignore the rest and he nearly gets cut again, this time by the dagger being held against him. He forms his hands to a bowl almost maniacally, then first wets his lips when there’s some water in them. Somewhere in his head he understands that he must drink carefully, or it will just come right back up again. But it tastes so good! He almost laps like a dog at first before getting the hang of it. He doesn’t want to miss a drop. Some water of course runs down his wrists, but most of it gets where he wants it. He coughs and the drinks some more.
A moment later, he has satisfied his worst thirst and tries to answer the question.
”Neethan. Neethan Levandri. From Eleder. How did you find me?” His voice comes in small, short bursts.
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"In normal times, I would answer 'luck,' but in this case, I have to think it the good will of Iomedae." With a glance towards Shalissa he adds "Or Gozreh."
"I am Father Kerndrew, and I do the work of The Inheritor out in this wild. How did you find yourself in this... unfortunate state?"
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Neethan notices there are more people around.
”Whether luck or divine intervention, Father, I thank you all. Not sure how long I would have lasted here without going insane.
I first took shelter in this cave when a group of dinosaurs attacked my team, only to found out there was more dreadful things waiting for me here. Did the Gold Crown send you or was it my parents?”
Neethan manages to stand up, testing his limbs for stiffness. He sways a little, then he bends and slowly picks up his fallen quarterstaff, his empty waterskin and whatever else of his belongings that have fallen out of his pockets.
With the nod from Father Kerndrew, Davor sheaths his blade. He grins at the others words and watches as the man drinks more than he should.... "I'd add Pharasma to the list. But the Lady of Graves wouldn't likely be involved except to get rid of the undead abominations. And I think we've completed that work here. At least I hope they're gone for good. That sphere is destroyed and we're pretty sure that was the source. Strange thing."
He offers a hand to help the.... mage, up. "I'm Davor Krill. We're looking for a fast route through the jungle, with a larger group behind us. We're headed to.... Ah, I mean exploring the jungle. But Father Kerndrew is right. How did you end up in here, miles from nowhere? And how did you avoid the wights?"
Neethan listens to his rescuers. It seems they have not been sent to search for him, but rather stumbled upon him. It appears they have a similar task as his own team. His former team. He wonders if anyone else of them made it.
He nods at them. ”The Gold Crown Company has sent out several scouting teams in the Bandu Hills. I was part of one of them. Due to the unrest among the Bandu tribes, it’s important to find safe passages and good places for a camp site, when travelling to those Stasis Fields. We were supposed to have a good native scout guiding us, but the bastard skipped on us, taking the maps and our money. He told us he was a Kalabuta, but he might well have been a Bandu too for all I know. I can’t tell the difference. He ran away in the night after we’d heard some drums in the evening before.
We couldn’t really go on without knowing the area and instead backtracked down south to find another guide or maps to work with. We were attacked by a group of deinonukes?, .. deinony..ses?, .., those birdlike dinosaurs with a large extra claw on their feet. They are fast! We tried to fight them as there wasn’t much to hide in or any large trees around to climb. They jumped us and used their claws to rip open our legs where the armor was no good. I managed to flee inside this cave system and hide. Not sure if anyone else made it.
Turned out, I wasn’t safe here either as some undeads found me. I was wounded and out of spells, so I fled further inside, ending up here ready to die. Then something … weird … happened. I don’t know how to explain it. I was somehow protected from them, but couldn’t do anything else. I’ve been here a while. Must be … weeks?”
While he talks, Neethan makes the familiar check without knowing it; his hand moves up and makes sure his tunic is well laced up under his chin.
"Nice to meet you Neethan of Eleder. I am Shalissa of the Mordant Spire." the elf does a small vow and listens attentively to Neethan's story while checking there is no more injury left on his body "The Gold Crown Company? What is this organization?"
"You were lucky to get away alive from such an air based attack. I am not sure what would we do in such a case, because we promised our friend Athyra we were no hunters."
Neethan bows and thanks Shalissa for the healing and the water.
“Oh, I don’t think they can fly. They run real fast though. No way you can outrun them on open ground. They are like ‘raptors, but bigger and with a gutting talon on each hind leg. Can rip you to pieces with those talons. They look a bit like birds, because they have feathers, but not much in the way of wings. Indeed unwise to try to hunt them. They hunt YOU.
As for the Gold Crown Shipping and Mining Company; you’ve not heard of it? You’re not from around here then? The Gold Crown is one of the major players here. They run mining operations all over the Bandu Hills. I guess that’s why I went further into the caves when I saw it was a mine. Might get some help if I found any miners.
The company also handles transports of cargo, both on land and along the coast, even some on the rivers. Head quarter in Kalabato. They rival the Rivermen’s Guild.”
Neethan doesn’t really know much about the river trading, but his parents are in trading, and he has at least picked up something.
Shalissa listens attentively and even asks a few further questions about the company. Then helps Neethan up "Ok. We are heading to Kalabuto. We are the spearhead of a larger expedition. If you wish you can shelter with us until we reach the city, or if you prefer, we can give you some supplies so you can make your way back to Eleder."
"From what you have explained, it seems there is an exit to the east, if you can guide us out of this mine, it will be helpful..." the elf completes looking into the darkness and renewing the light on Kerndrew's longsword.
Davor steps to the east, looking ahead then back. "But, since you don't know how long you were.... protected, maybe I should lead? I'll scout in case anything dangerous has moved into the path. Just point me to where I need to lead."
He steps out as soon as everyone is ready. Hopefully Athyra hadn't run into any of the raptors that Neethan had mentioned.
Neethan is visibly relieved when they make him an offer to come along to Kalabuto.
”Thank you. Yes, I came in from the east. If I can travel with you to Kalabuto, that would be great. There is safety in numbers, and I can find out more at the company’s office there.
Though he doesn’t remember much from his frantic flight and how he got far into the caves, he’s ready to try to lead them back out of the mine. The wizard has no magic to help with without studying his spellbook, except the simple Light cantrip he’s been using enough to remember.
He takes a few steps, amazed that his muscles have not withered during his time here. It’s more of a mental effort to command his body to move again. Neethan is still badly wounded but see this as maybe his only chance to get out. Some of his wounds start to bleed again giving new red stains on his ripped clothes.
Davor studies him and easily sees that Neethan is not a front figure, at least not in the wizard’s current state. When the half-orc volunteers to scout ahead, Neethan is grateful. He casts Light on his quarterstaff and watches the walls of the cave they’re in. Trying to remember how he got here, he picks a direction and points.
”That way.”
"No need to bleed back to death, wait a second" Shalissa, seeing the ill state of the new companion, raises again her holy symbol channeling positive energy on all of them.
Then focuses on Neethan's healing with a couple more blessings "Lady of Waves, bring back this man to health."
Only then, she follows Davor and Neethan to the east "Did you lose any equipment here around we need to recover?"
Neethan has stupidly tried not to appear a burden to his rescuers, but Shalissa quickly sees that healing the wizard will make them all go faster. The elven cleric lets her healing energy pour into his wounded body, and he instantly feels much better.
”Thank you. I owe you. Though I’m versed in The Art, I’ve not your blessed ability to heal myself.
He straightens up, with a firmer grip on his quarterstaff and more power in his step.
As to her question about his equipment, Neethan answers:
”I think I have everything I brought here. The equipment of our scouting party, like tents and provision, was stored on three pack horses. The dinosaurs attacking them first, was likely the reason I could get easier away from them. I saw at least two of them going down and the third being chased. The place where we were attacked is not far outside the mouth of the cave. I’ll take you there to see if we can find any trace of survivors or left equipment.”
"That may give us a clue as to how long you were protected down here, too." Father Kerndrew adds, eyeing the man with a bit more interest than before. Is this the hand of Iomedae at work in the world? Is it she who kept this man safe down here for so long, only for us to find him? The coincidence is too strong for my mind.
Davor calls back to Neethan, "A word of warning though. The young lady that we are expecting outside grew up in the wilds, and has a trained dinosaur and demanded that we not hunt dinosaurs on 'her land'. We're certain that she is a child of someone that died here. Don't react to her dinosaur, and hopefully any of the ones that attacked you have moved away.."
Neethan can’t fathom anyone wanting to have those bloodthirsty monsters as a pet. If he doesn’t see one again, it’s alright with him. He has no intention to start hunting them but will defend himself if he must.
He just nods at Davor and continues to follow.
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You move forward along the main drift. After a while it opens into a large cavern filled with immense piles of rock salt chunks. Shovels, picks, and other mining tools lie scattered about the chamber. At the opposite end of the shaft, a neatly excavated wall supports a pair of double iron doors.
You open the door and sunlight shines through, lighting a small valley on this sied of the Bantu hills.
In the shadow of a rock outcropping to the left you see Athyra and her pet dinosaur sitting and waving at you.
"You made it through that place? I wasnÄ't really expecting to see you again. What did you find below ground?"