GM Euan's Rise of the Runelords (Inactive)

Game Master Euan

Val marches on towards Seamus, glancing at Izo as she walks by. "The gentlemen upstairs apparently never heard of a disembodied voice before. I would think that is hardly a novel concept in this manner of establishment, but there it is." As she ends up next to the door, she holds up a lecturing finger to Izo. "Stop. Just...stop." She finally lets out a breath as she massages her forehead with the palm of her hand.

"You, behind the door. We are not robbers. Quite the opposite. We just want to ask you a few questions."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (3) + 12 = 15

With so much going on at once, Val has difficult focusing on the matter of talking to...whoever this is. Considering she has absolutely no idea who it is also leaves her at a loss for how to figure out a good angle.

Izogoyle growls but then leaves Valena and Seamus to talk with the door while kneeling to bind the stabilized orderly and Dr. Habe on help of Kast "This place atmosphere is... unnerving" also registering them for keys or other meaningful items.

Meanwhile, Pachemu pushes with his head the unconscious doctor trying to help Kast.

Smirking at Kast's comments about finding keys, Seamus gives him a smile, that one could tell entails "Key's? we don't need no stinking keys!" Then just to prove his point to Kast and the overdressed man behind the door, Seamus drops to his knee and drawing out lock picks begins working on the door lock, telling Val, "Keep working on him, he may come out once he realizes were not leaving until we check the basement."

Hey, it's something to be doing, Seamus will take 10 (24) on disaable device on the lock, can he jamb it so it doesn't get re-locked?

Kast ties up the unconscious and tries to take stock of the situation. You do find keys on the good doctor and each of the attendants. They seem to match.

"You, behind the door. We are not robbers. Quite the opposite. We just want to ask you a few questions."

”Ask away!” you hear a muffled shout from the other side of the door. ”I saw what you did to them, I’m not opening this door.”

Seamus tries, casually, to unlock the lock and fails noting it’s a very complex lock, but it causes much consternation on the other side, ”Don’t try to open the door! I’m warning you! I know magic!” The threat would sound more likely if his voice didn’t squeak in fear at the end.

Seamus can jam the lock so it can't be relocked sure, but that'll take a standard action. So a standard to lock it, then a standard to 'fix' it, but if the guy locks it in between, you'll need to unlock it again. So tricky.

Rolling his eyes in frustration. Seamus steps away from the door, looking to Izomandakus,\. "All right, Izomandakus, I'm done. If you want to tear the doors from it's hinges, be my guest."

Kast gets up from doing the hard work and wonders what has gotten into Seamus.

"Tear the door off the hinges? Why? What are you possibly hoping to gain from that? Did you forget that we are in asylum for the sick and injured and maybe we don't need to make everything worse? How about we look around here first, then come back to this guy if we need to, okay?" Kast tries to explain patiently while standing in front of the door.

"We have keys now, we have the bad guys, I dunno, tied up and we can see that everyone is safe without going crazy." Kast hands a set of keys over to Izozilla and another to Val.

"Let's be nice and pretend that we don't want to traumatize everyone here, okay?"

Val groans, still massaging her head. ”Just slow down. Kast is right.”

She sighs and tries to force herself to relax. She leans against the doorframe with one arm and leaves her other hand on her hip as she talks through the door. ”You, behind the door. You said to ask away. Who are you? Do you work here?”

His jaw dropping, Seamus turns to Kast. "Oh, I'm sorry, it's ok to turn your fancy named polearm on people just doing their job, but god's forbid we ruin a door." Gesturing at the door, "What we'll gain is access to the basement. When you unlock the door with your hard earned keys, this yahoo will just relock the door."

Turning from Kast, he points at Izomandakus. "And how long are you going to play that game before Izomandakus just rips it off and kill him too?"

He gestures towards the bisected orderly. "And how is him doing his job make him a 'bad guy'?" He shakes his head. "I was the only one not trying to traumatize everyone or at least not kill them!" He nods towards Val, his voice calming a little. "Well, except for Meg and she disappeared."

His hands shaking, Seamus moves across the room. "I need some fresh air, let me know when you get him out of the stairwell so we can investigate the basement."

"It is a bit late for that it seems..." says Izomandakus while taking the keys.

Then he directs himself to the door as Seamus moves away and Valena takes over. He waits for a full proper answer, but if not complete information comes over...

...Izogoyle bangs the door menacing to break it out of its hinges "Answer Val... Meg! Who the heck you are? What are you doing here? And... and... what is this magic you know?!"
Intimidate: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30

”You, behind the door. You said to ask away. Who are you? Do you work here?”

”I am Caizarlu Zerren, and you have invaded my home. I live here.”

...Izogoyle bangs the door menacing to break it out of its hinges "Answer Val... Meg! Who the heck you are? What are you doing here? And... and... what is this magic you know?!"

”I… I did! I did answer, uh, the woman.” he cries out in fear. ”I live here, and I dabble in a little magic to pass the time. Strong enough to use on you thieves, but I do not like violence.” He seems to get a hold of himself a little, ”So leave, and leave now, and there doesn’t have to be further bloodshed.”

"I'll be right back!" he shouts briefly before disappearing for a moment.

He'll be gone about a minute, maybe two. Not long. What do you do in the meantime?

What do you do in the meantime?

Unlock the door?

Kast unlocks the door. He opens the door.

”You stay here. I will go check unseen whether he is doing anything concerning.”

Val turns herself invisible once more and follows after, trying to maintain a quiet approach.

Stealth (full speed, invisible while moving): 1d20 - 5 + 8 + 20 ⇒ (14) - 5 + 8 + 20 = 37

Realized her stealth should be +8 now, not +7

Kast goes through all the keys (three identical sets) and none of them fit this lock, which is a little different from the others upon closer examination. You also know, beyond the lock, it's also barred.

You'll need to rip it from its hinges (hardness 8, hp 30, Break DC 26), or utilize Seamus' particular set of skills on the lock and the bar (two disable device checks, DC 30). It's a tough modern door, iron reinforced, like the one upstairs that Valena saw (though with a different lock of course).

K. local: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19
"Caizarlu Zerren..." Izomandakus tries to open the door when the key is not found but finds it is barred or something from behind "We just wanted to talk, but the doctor and his orderlies were not collaborative. Perhaps you will be more helpful to find out the undead who is killing people around Sandpoint... will you?" he shouts through the door to make himself heard down below.

Despite running out of patience, Izomandakus does not lose the hope the group can make sense of all this "Do you know if Dr. Habe had more patients with ghoul fever? What was he doing with them"

Walking towards the door Seamus heard the man from behind the door say his name, 'Caizarlu Zerren.' As he walked out on the porch he paused for a moment wondering about the name, sounding it out trying to figure out if he had heard it before. For some reason it seamed familiar.

Standing on the porch looking at the piebald mare he had rented. SEamis ponderd Hosk had offered him a good price for her. He could ride back to Sandpoint, pay Hosk for the mare, grab his gear and keep heading north, or maybe to Kaer Maga. How had they come to this. Killing a law abiding citizen for just doing his job.

knowledge: local: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28

Val groans before calling after Seamus. ”Sea, you can try the door now. He left. We need to be quick if he is trying to hide evidence of something.”

Kast waits to see what happens with this friends actions. He’s happy to try to keep things peaceful and calm as they make sure this crazyhouse is safe for the people they are leaving behind.

"Caizarlu Zerren..." Izomandakus tries to open the door when the key is not found but finds it is barred or something from behind "We just wanted to talk, but the doctor and his orderlies were not collaborative. Perhaps you will be more helpful to find out the undead who is killing people around Sandpoint... will you?" he shouts through the door to make himself heard down below.

Despite running out of patience, Izomandakus does not lose the hope the group can make sense of all this "Do you know if Dr. Habe had more patients with ghoul fever? What was he doing with them"

”Just a minute!”, you hear Caizarlu shout from quite a ways off beyond the door.

Izomandakus hasn’t heard the name.

Let me know what you’re doing in the now 1 minute that he’s still away from the door (as far as you can tell). Obviously, you don’t know when he’ll return exactly. :)

Stepping down off of the porch, Seamus steps up to the mare, patting her on the neck. "There's a good Buttercup. Hopefully we'll be out of here soon." Not sure what to do, Seamus finds himself wishing he had brought his lute.

Whenever he was bored or upset he would find a quiet place to play. Still petting the mare, he begins to hum 'Lady Lucks Dream.' He paused a moment, the last time he had played it was that the festival. It was the song he was playing when Kizzy dropped that old gold coin in his hat. Did he piss her off or what when he insisted she take it back.

Chuckling at himself. Seamus looks at the door of the sanitarium. Well, he may as well help them finish. Patting the mare one more time he walks up the steps of the wrap around porch, going through the office he enters the room where they had fought. Staying near the office door, looking to see what progress they had made on the door.

Seamus was gone three minutes, I will try and jump back in the conversation around then.

Val kicks the door as she realizes Seamus is not coming back quickly. ”Now would be a good time to tear the door off, Izo, before that whoever he is destroys evidence. I am not particularly equipped to do so.”

Her only weapon that could get through the hardness is her rapier, and I hardly think that an appropriate weapon for hitting a door

Izomandakus looks at the others confused as Caizarlu asks for a minute and leaves the door without really answering the party doubts.

When Valena tells him to tear the door open a smile draws on his face. Turning to the barring obstacle Izogoyle starts pounding it with his horns and and claws "I thought you would never ask!"
Bite+AS: 1d4 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 2 = 10
Claw+AS: 1d6 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 6 + 2 = 9
Claw+AS: 1d6 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 2 = 14
Gore+AS: 1d4 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 6 + 2 = 9
Round 1: 10 damage

Pachemu looks and hides behind the table while the pounding continues.
Bite+AS: 1d4 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 2 = 10
Claw+AS: 1d6 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 2 = 14
Claw+AS: 1d6 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 6 + 2 = 11
Gore+AS: 1d4 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 6 + 2 = 11
Round 2: 24 damage

Some blood starts to appear on Izomandakus hands but he does not seem to mind as he continues to beat the door.
Bite+AS: 1d4 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 2 = 10
Claw+AS: 1d6 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 6 + 2 = 11
Claw+AS: 1d6 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 6 + 2 = 13
Round 3: 34 damage

On the third charge the door finally breaks into splinters!

"What are you hiding Caizarlu! Show yourself before things get worse!" says Izomandakus taking wood splinters out of his mouth.

Kast doesn’t like the chaos, but doesn’t really feel he can control it. He waits to see what happens.

The Sheriff is going to have my badge if there isn’t something untoward going on here.

Seamus takes a moment to take stock, while Valena urges Izomandakus to further violence - this time against a door. Izomandakus complies, tearing it from its hinges in a few seconds.

”Oh, my, you are thieves and cutthroats!” you hear the older man cry as the door is burst asunder - still assuming you are thieves… and worse since you already have his jingling pouch. As you get the broken pieces removed and out of the way so you can enter, the entire area is suddenly filled with fog! The stairs descend into he pea soup, but you can still see clearly on this floor.

The hall turns and descends into the stony shelf beneath the structure. The basement is a bit rough, having been carved from the rock and is largely unfinished - though there are fine doors below, once you can see them/touch them, etc.

You can see 5’ in front of your face, but no farther down here. Feel free to move on the map. I’ve opened up the room a bit, but keep in mind your visual issues. We’re not in rounds exactly, but do limit your actions to a few rounds worth.

Please also check that I have the correct perception bonuses for your characters below.

Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

Val rears back at the burst of fog. ”What the devils is this? You know you are supposed to smoke outside.”

Two can play at that game. She turns herself invisible once more with a vanish and advances down the stairs, getting as far into the room as she can while trying to see if she can notice anything or anyone.

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Cast vanish and move

Yes, Kast’s perception is +0. Thanks for rubbing it in. I never said he was good at the ‘watch’ part of his job. Or ‘guarding’.

Kast keeps up the diplomat routine.

”We’re not here to rob you. We just need to check things out. We’ll be done in a moment, and just keep calm.”

1d20 + 12 ⇒ (12) + 12 = 24 Diplomacy

Kast remains where he is, wondering why the mists were necessary.

You know, most guards in the books have terrible Perception even burning a feat on Alertness, so Kast is within the 'standard' guard xD

K. arcana DC 21: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27
"An obscuring mist..." Izomandakus states when the fog appears behind the door "It is magical. It will remain there for some minutes. If you have some magical fire, it can consume the fog"

The gargoyle brute descends slowly and carefully the stairs after Valena.

While others do not seem to notice, Pachemu does notice Seamus has left. Concerned the pig follows and snatches him by the trousers pulling him back into the room and pointing him to the stairs very altered "Oiiiiink! Oiiink!"

Meeting Pachemu in the reception area, Seamus kneels, poking a finger through the gap in pigs leather armor helmet, scratches the pig behind his ear. "So did you need a breath of fresh air too?" He glances towards the kitchen sewing room. "Is it still a hot mess in there?" Exhaling a heavy sigh, he stands up. "I guess we better see, right?"

Walking into the large now bloody room, Seamus notes the bodies still where they died or were tied. The door in splinters on the floor and the light fog rolling up the stairs. With Kast standing where Seamus had last seen him. Neither Val nor Izomandakus were to be seen. Seamus assumed Val was invisible somewhere, still a neat trick that. While Izomandakus still in the altered form feeling invulnerable, probably charging down the stairs.

Walking up to his friend, he stands, his hands fidgeting. "You know when I agreed to help the watch, this was not what I had in mind." He puts one hand in his pocket, then gestures towards the door with the other. "I assume Gargoyle Izomandakus charge down the steps after he went through the door?" Putting the second hand in a pocket. "Did you notice if Val did too? Or did she turn invisible before she moved." Then realizing she may still be in the room, he calls out louder, "Or is she still in the room, giving me that look she has?" He turned to Kast, shrugging, "Just in case."

Valena moves carefully down the stairs and, eventually, into the room - going invisibly as she does so. Feeling around in the fog, she eventually finds a table. Peering through the mist, she sees a dead man lying on the table, covered in a sheet.

Removing the sheet you see the man is missing his left leg, and from the looks of the stump, it was an old injury. He’s also missing his left arm, also an old injury. It’s hard to tell in the mist how the man died (see heal check below), but there is the smell of death down here for sure. A very strong smell of death and rotting though this corpse seems to be fairly fresh.

There’s no response to Kast’s sincere missive and promise of peace - to the contrary of all the man has seen of you so far.

Izomandakus correctly identifies the fog, before descending into it to watch Valena’s back as she investigates (he can also make the heal and/or knowledge checks if he closes up with the table).

Seamus and Kast chat upstairs, heading toward the second floor where they still hear two old men shouting, while the other two search the basement below.

Please continue another few rounds. Thanks!

1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28 Know (Arcana)

Kast continues to guard the back, and is in no rush and can wait for the mists to fade.

"Seems pretty unnecessary to mist things up," Kast calls down. "We're not here to cause problems so no sure why you'd do that."

Kast shrugs and waits.

Val, still invisible pulls the sheet back to investigate the body.

Heal (untrained): 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (7) - 1 = 6

Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

”Uh, guys. There is a dead body on a table down here. Missing an arm and a leg, too.”

She does a lap around the table, both to check the body and see what is adjacent to it, hoping to finally spot this increasingly-suspicious man.

Hearing Valena, Izomandakus turns back and shouts to "Hold the door we do not want him to escape while we search the mist!"

Sure Kast experience on guarding the stairs escape, Izomandakus approaches the body.
K. arcana DC 21: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 18

But does not notice anything more than Valena "It seems this Caizarlu was up to something very unnatural and unsettling..."

Meanwhile, Pachemu oinks and jumps trying to point Kast and Seamus to the right door.

Raising an eyebrow at Kast, Seamus is surprised his usually chatty friend didn't respond to his question, but instead mused about the 'wizard' misting things up. 'Was he as disturbed by this as I was? Is that why he's not talking?' About to ask again, he hears Val's voice rising from the basement, Shrugging, "Huh, guess that answers at least one of the questions." Hearing Izomandakus chime in with "Hold the door" Seamus looks towards Kast, gesturing towards the basement door in the other corner of the room, asking. "You think he means you or me?"

Realizing that Pachemu is jumping and oinking. Seamus smiles and kneels beside the pig. Chuckling, "What Pachemu is that nasty old armor causing an itch?" He reaches out and starts to scratch Pachemu's shoulder, between the joint in the leather backplate and the leather head gear.

Looking up to Kast from his kneeling position. He asks, "You think that wizard believes were not here to cause trouble," Remembering the image of monster Izomandakus ripping a man in half. "After what he walked in on?"

Gesturing back to the room. "I don't know if you know it or not, but My step father Zandu was Sczarni." He looks up at his friend then quickly back at the pig. "He told me Officers of the law, like the 'watch' would collaborate lies. To reflect their own actions in as good of light as possible and make the criminals look as culpable as possible."

Focusing his eyes on the pig, scratching it's shoulders so not to look at Kast. "You and Izomandakus are my friends. And you know I don't mind telling the occasional white lie." Swallowing, "Heck, I even pride myself on doing it." Stammering, "But this is different. The Sherriff trusted us, I'm not going to lie to him about this. I'm sorry if that's not what your planning on doing. But I don't want to be like those officers or my stepfather."

Standing from scratching the pig, intentionally not looking at his friend. Seamus walks towards the door stepping over the mutilated and tied bodies. Stopping near enough to the door to make sure the wizard doesn't escape. "I thought I should tell you. I at least owe you that."

"You think he means you or me?"

Kast spins his head from looking into the mists, to look at Seamus. ”Oh, I think he meant me. I’m definitely guarding this door.” He reaches down to idly scratch his belly. ”I got this door covered. But I’m not sure what is actually going on here, or down there. Lots of people have very good reason for cut up cadavers in their basements. Could be very good reasons for it. I mean, I wish the old man would explain them, of course, but maybe he’s just crazy or whatever. Doesn’t mean we attack him. Or destroy things. Our job is to protect Sandpoint, not attack the citizen therein. I’m already worried about the people here who won’t have care now that I’ve knocked out two of the caretakers, and kilt a third. That’s not...good.” He responds to Seamus’ questions.

"And you know I don't mind telling the occasional white lie. But this is different. The Sherriff trusted us, I'm not going to lie to him about this. I'm sorry if that's not what your planning on doing. But I don't want to be like those officers or my stepfather."

Kast seems really confused.

”What makes you think I would be planning on lying to the Sheriff? Me? ME?” Kast’s eyes narrow. ”No, I have no plans to lie. What’s happened here so far hasn’t been ideal, but I gave all these people here notice of who we were and why we were here. Nope, at a certain point, we have to do what we have to do. And we’re in the right here. Grayst was turning into a ghoul or ghast or something...and it’s our job to protect. I won’t lie about that. I have no need to.”

Kast looks down at the mists, then back to Seamus.

”I’m much more concerned about what you think I would need to lie about. I don’t like what Izo has done with the door, nor all the yelling and provoking, but those haven’t been my actions. I’m responsible for what I do. Izo is responsible for his actions.”

Valena moves around the table and finds another table, with another body under another sheet. This one is a very old woman with no teeth. Again, like the first, she seems to have been dead a while, but is not rotting.

She then finds a wide range of tools sitting on shelves and boxes along the wall. The tools are clearly of a medicinal nature, but she can’t quite place exactly what they might be used for. She also finds a wand next to the woman’s body.

Izomandakus continues to follow Valena, watching her back as she moves around the room checking it out.

There’s also a map of the hinterlands on the wall, but it’s hard to make out in the mist - though there is writing on it.

As you finish examining the open area of the basement, Seamus hears the sound of the horses being spooked by something, and possibly a shout. Hard to say though, as you’re in the basement, and the building is very solid - blocking most of the noise. Probably the only reason you heard it was the open doors leading outside.

Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

Her eyes pop as she makes the connections. No wonder the doctor wanted to keep them away! This may have just all paid off.

”This man is a necromancer!”

Val grabs the wand—whatever it is, it is better in their hands than in a necromancer’s hands—and tries the door downstairs, having cleared everywhere else.

Pachemu stops jumping and oinking forgetting about everything, just because she is being very well scratched by Seamus.

K. arcana: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21
"How do you...?" asks Izomandakus but his question dies of when he also spots the tools in the table "Critters! We found the necromancer!!!!"

The gargoyle looks around for the man "There is a map here... we will need to wait for the mist to disperse..."

Seeing the wand floating in the air as Valena holds it he advises "Better hide it behind your clothes Meg, I can see where you are"
Perception (searching for the man): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14

Looking at as Kast as he began to share, Seamus was glad his friend was talking a little. At least he wasn't in shock or something like that. As Kast talked about the old man and the basement then the fight. Seamus wasn't surprised that Kast was worried about the people here, Nodding as Kast admitted the situation wasn't 'good.'

When Kast started asking why Seamus thought they might be planning on lying Seamus raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. He resisted the urge to blurt, "Because that's what people do" Or "because your friend will ask you to." Or "Because you don't want to ruin your chance to go to Last Wall with a recommendation from the Sherriff." As Kast finished with "We have to do what we have to do and were in the right here." Seamus scoffed. shaking his head and mumbled. "We didn't need to kill anyone."

While Kast ask him point blank 'what they would need to lie about' Seamus looked at his friend, imagining how to communicate the fact that if Kast thought 'they did what they had to do' then he was already lying to himself, he saw Kast turn his blade to cut. As he was about to speak he heard the sound of the horses being spooked by something, and possibly a shout. The only words that came out of his mouth became, "Blast! the horses!" as he turned and ran towards the exit back outside.

I moved Seamus 60 ft, that's a double move. If he can run, (I realize there are several turns) he would be further. Anything going on?

’We didn’t need to kill anyone, especially not Grayst. We weren’t sure what was going on with him,” Kast repeats and agrees. Thankfully, he didn’t kill anyone and genuinely tried to keep things civil.

He turns his head towards the downstairs and the yelling about necromancy. He shrugs.

”Well, at least we know they were hiding something.” He continues to wait at his post, guarding the door.

Valena is excited at her find as she shouts up to the others. She moves to the western door and discovers it is locked. Heading to the other door, she finds it unlocked, and opens it to reveal a room rapidly filing with mist from the main chamber, and… zombies!

I’m hand waiving the fight as there are only three regular zombies against Valena and Izomandakus, but it does keep them busy for at least a few rounds as they (presumably) attack the undead stacked in the room. As usual due to their slow plodding nature, but it should be noted, the zombies don’t attack first.

Seamus, chatting with Kast, suddenly realizes something may be amiss. He rushes outside to see what’s going on. He sees the old man, Caizarlu Zerren, clinging to the back of 1d4 ⇒ 3 … Seamus’ horse, riding hard to the west and north following the trail to the Lost Coast Road!

Just as annoying, he has loosened the other horse's reins, and they’ve scattered a bit (presumably at his shout and possibly a firm slap on the backside or two), each trotting a little off so as to be hard to capture and mount.

He’s a hundred feet away and gaining speed fast. Buttercup is a good horse…

Hearing the sound of hoof beats, Seamus was not surprised to see one horse gone and the others scattered. Calling back, "Kast! Get out here. he stole a horse!"

Pulling his bow from it's scabbard as he realized the missing horse was the piebald mare. Cursing as he drew an arrow, "Blast, Hosk is going to be pissed." Drawing the arrow back to his cheek, he lined up his shot, angling the arrow up and released, hoping to send the old man a reminder of their meeting.

move action Draws shortbow, Attack: MW Short bow (+1) range 60 ft
attack: 1d20 + 7 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (11) + 7 + 1 - 2 = 17 for damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Ride: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (10) + 0 = 10 vs DC 5

The old man takes the arrow to his back as he rides away, but though unskilled, he manages to stay in the saddle as he flees.

We're out of rounds, the mist will fade in a few minutes, and you'll have the place to yourself, so I'll proceed a bit with a search of the basement.

Though he took any notebooks, diaries, or spell books with him, he did leave behind a notated map. Perhaps he hadn’t gotten to it in time, or it wasn’t as important to him. In any event, it is of some value to you, for it shows an increase in ‘ghoul sightings’ in the southern farms and along the Lost Coast road.

A note scrawled in the margins wonders if a ghoul’s lineage can be tracked back through generations, but admits it is too hard to ascertain to be sure. He seems to be frustrated by the possibility of new knowledge yet with no way to confirm it. Still, he feels the rise in ghoulish sightings suggests a ‘ghoulish source’, perhaps in the Brinestump Marsh due to its isolation and access to the Soggy River.

The remaining chamber in the basement is a bedroom, well appointed and comfortable.

In his room, Seamus notices a financial ledger, fallen behind the bed. Caizarlu must have missed it in his rush to gather things before departing. In it you find the meticulous man kept careful track of his various monies and investments. He is quite wealthy indeed, owning land in Kaer Maga, and even a little in Magnimar. This doesn’t give you access to those holdings of course, just lets you see where the money is.

What’s more interesting to you are his more recent transactions with Dr. Habe. Apparently Caizarlu Zerren has been buying the dead from the Sanatorium. That’s how Dr. Habe has managed to keep the place afloat. By selling dead patients to a necromancer in his basement and by the somewhat exorbitant rent Mr. Zerren paid for his rooms there.

You still have the upstairs to search. Your prisoners will be unconscious for at least an hour, and are well bound.

"Critters!" exclaims Izomandakus at the sight of the zombies, before launching himself with Valena to defend the place.

Once things settle up, he scans the place for magical auras, in case the necromancer left some magic behind.
K. arcana: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (3) + 11 = 14
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (17) + 11 = 28

And observing the map "Interesting... it seems Caizarlu has been tracking some ghoul activity. I wonder if his activities here in the Sanitorium are behind the raise on the undead infestation, or if indeed there is a problem in the Marsh"

"Anyway we probably should check that next" Izomandakus takes the map "Besides, where is the necromancer?"

Seeing the arrow strike the man only improved Seamus' mood slightly. Storming back in the building as he puts his bow away. "The old man got away." Kicking a chair in the kitchen/sewing room. "And the bugger stole Buttercup." Storming through the kitchen/sewing room he headed down stairs, calling over his shoulder to Kast. "Let's get this over with!"

Moving downstairs Seamus searched the last room with a fine tooth comb. eventually finding the financial ledger behind the bed, mumbling to himself. "Well, at least we know where to look for him at."

Tucking the ledger in his pack he grunts at the others. "If I'm walking back to town, I'd just as soon get this over with." He then heads back upstairs, not bothering with the keys. he checks the door in the foyer assuming it was an office.

ok, taking 10 (16) on perception checking for traps, and taking 10(16/14) on disabling any traps (16) or locks (14)

Val cleans the zombie guts off her sword. She lets herself fall back against the wall as Seamus comes back with the bad news. S*@!. ”Well, we found a necromancer. Maybe not *the* necromancer, as we have not confirmed yet, but I was right that the doctor was trying to hide something.” She has proof that she was right to follow her instincts, and that is enough for her. ”If he is tracking ghouls, maybe our killer is an experiment of his that got away? Maybe more than one experiment. I suppose it could just be some random ghoul he is interested in, but that seems rather unlikely.”

She tries to comfort Seamus with a pat on the shoulder. ”I am sorry for how messy this got, Sea. You can use my horse if you want.” Remembering what happened, she strides over to Izo and gets up in his face. ”What the hells was that, Izo? That was completely uncalled-for, eviscerating that man. This situation could have been far more easily and cleanly resolved if you had just held back. Do not do that again.” She holds up a finger to Kast. ”And do not even think of saying that Sea and I were just as bad for striking down Grayst. As far as we knew, he was undead already, and you cannot subdue undead like you can the living, and he could have easily passed that contagion on to all of us if we did not do something quickly.” Truthfully, she had not thought through everything to that degree in the moment, but the reasoning was sound. She also did not turn into a bloody gargoyle to do it.

Izomangoyle just shrugs "I did not want things to go like that. Grayst did not need to die. Then something made me lost my mind when they attacked Kast like that. And afterwards... I do not know, I did not expect them to die that easily" the goyle looks at the claws still smeared with tiefling blood. The boy's eyes look quite confused.

If/when the group follows Seamus, he does indeed go after him.

At the very least, Pachemu follows the half-elf when he goes up and does not leave him alone.

Val sighs, exasperated. ”Stop trying to make this about Grayst! And don’t you dare shrug at me. ‘Something made me lose my mind’...is that the best you have? You think the sheriff is going to accept that explanation and just toddle along?” She forces herself to close her eyes and take a long, slow breath. None of this feels good. She finally opens her eyes and looks at Izo with tired eyes on the edge of tears. ”Just...I need to know this will not happen again.”

When the ruckii (Plural of ruckus, probably.) happen, Kast is first to head down the stairs to help with the active combat, only to emerge way way too late to help Seamus or stop the fleeing necromancer.

"Alright, not argue about who kilt who. We came to do a job and they attacked us, we did the best we could. Now, let's see to what is happening here. Priorities are to secure the 2nd floor, then make sure we have care for the other patients. We may not be able to leave them unable to get fresh food and water. If they are locked in, we need to tend to them."

Kast shakes his head at the zombie remains.

"I'm glad we had the chance to stop this while we did. But it's strange that this necromancer isn't the one causing our ghoul problem? That means...we have two of them?"

Kast will join the party in exploring more.

Izomandakus finds no further magics, either in the basement or elsewhere in the complex (including the upstairs which we’ll get to in a bit). The good doctor however has a couple magic potions (cure light), +1 padded armor, a masterwork scalpel, and masterwork manacles if you want to take them. The two orderlies have nothing of particular value (leather armor and short swords).

He’s also able to identify the wand Valena found - it’s a wand of gentle repose (17 charges)

The party discusses recent events as you move through the structure, seeing what there is to see and learn.

On the main floor, to the north lies Dr. Habe’s personal bedroom and desk. Within is a small coffer on the headboard. Though well locked you have a key (and Seamus!). Within is a mere 41gp in assorted coinage along with a deed to several acres here where the Sanatorium is located as well as the structure. Presumably the doctors savings. Do you take it?

You also see the doctors patient notes, though it’ll take some time to sort out his organizational scheme and find any specific documents - other than Grayst’s which are on top. It’s clear at a glance that while he doesn’t have many patients, he does at least keep fairly meticulous notes on them. Do you violate the doctor’s privacy and read the patient file?

The next two rooms to the west are clearly the orderlies rooms. Searching them quickly you find nothing of particular value, though between them they have about 15gp if you wanted to take it. Let me know.

The next room south is a large storage closet containing food and water stores, bolts of cloth and sewing supplies, and a variety of other things you may need in the hinterlands. Finally the last room is a sort of mudroom with a few oiled raincoats, boots, and other outerwear.

Ready to move on upstairs but wanted to give you a chance to continue to chat and respond to what’s been found so far.

Izogoyle looks at Valena with saddened eyes "I feel confused. There was Gryast kill. There was also the slaughtering of Nualia's people while they were unconscious and defenseless. But you get angry at me for killing a half-fiend that was actively trying to kill Kast. I did not want him to die, but this... brutal thing... the-the half-fiend seemed so scarily menacing... and yet it died so easily..." once more Izomandakus shrugs not knowing how to help Valena.

"By the way, that is a wand to preserve the bodies for a time so they do not rot and decay" Izomandakus points to the wand held by Valena.

Izomandakus definitely picks the patient notes, in case the group might find relevant information there, but proposes to press upstairs before spending time here that would expire ongoing magic.

Having finished his search in the basement, Seamus smiles at Val when she offers to let him use her horse. "Maybe we can ride double back to town, neither of us are very heavy. but I guess I will not be buy Buttercup off of Hosk after all." He moves to the map on the wall, taking it down. "We should probably take this with us."

Looking from Val to Kast to Izomandakus, Seamus raises an eyebrow as izomandakus voices his confusion. If Izomandakus couldn't see the difference in killing an undead ghoul and an orderly just doing his job, then that was on Izomandakus. As for killing the prisoners at Thistle Top, that wasn't on Seamus or Val either. Shaking his head he moved back upstairs. Focusing on searching the rooms.

Moving in the doctors rooms he searched everything, separating the papers about Gryast from the others, making a mental note to give them to Val. Moving to the other two bed rooms he searched them thoroughly looking for anything else about the case. The searching helped keep his mind occupied. It was like the mill. If he focused on the search, he didn't have to think about what happened.

Heading to Val he hands her the Doctors notes on Gryst. "Here Val, take a look at these, maybe the doctors notes will give us more information." Willing to leave any further investigations into the sanitarium in the sheriffs hands, Seamus proceeds to the second floor.

As he heads to the second floor Seamus remembered something Kast said, turning to his friend. "We don't need to worry about the patients, We just Hamberder the doctor and orderly and leave them back in charge. They won't close up immediately, they have the money from Zerren's purse to cover expenses until the Sherriff does an investigation into what's really going on here."

edit: Just looked at the map and realized this must be the stairwell. Will change the post
Stopping at the northern door on the second floor, Seamus checks the doors for locks and traps, then disables whatever he finds. Intent on opening the door to the last room on the second floor, so they can be finished and leave this place.

Taking 10 (14/16) on perception and disable, just in case