Chance suddenly opens his mouth into an exaggerated circle and smacks the palm of his hand onto his forehead. "Oooooh, right. Shopping. Riiiiiight. Um, one second!" The gnome runs off down the hallway, calling for Vendalfek. When he comes back into the room with the giggling fairy dragon riding on his head, Chance makes a big show of tying a pouch jingling with coins to one of the creature's legs.
"Now remember, Vendalfek," Chance says loudly, and gives Jisara an over-the-top stage wink. "Use this money for shopping. Vitalis, Edrakk, do you want to put your shares of the reward into the pouch for Vendalfek to bring shopping?"
Once the others have sorted out what they're going to do, Vendalfek turns invisible and leaves, still giggling.
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Unbeknownst to the PCs, Morten Shellet is indefatigable in spreading word of the PCs’ bravery and heroism—particularly in their altruism in doing so without accepting a reward! This brings many common folk to their side, but also brings about a bit of unwanted attention.
*
*
Jisara, now with proper preparations, casts a 3rd-level knock on the massive iron doors.
Success
Edrakk then gets to work, trying to get the door open before Jisara’s magic wears off.
It takes a little while, but Edrakk manages, barely, to undo the old lock without breaking his tools. He swings open the doors in success, and a wave of cold air washes over the PCs, as well as long, mournful moans of unrested souls sighing out in greeting. The air in these halls is noticeably colder—only a few degrees above freezing, in fact, and light sources seem slightly oppressed, as if Norgorber himself were making it more difficult to illuminate the halls. Distant gasps and moans and the sound of chewing and gasping periodically echo through the halls, but disturbingly, not everyone present hears them all simultaneously.
These two rooms seem to have once been small private areas, though the furniture here has long since decayed from moisture. Interestingly, each room has an elaborate hookah on the table
A long mahogany gambling table sits at the center of this chamber, surrounded by richly carved chairs fitted with silk cushions. Shelves carved into the walls hold old broken bottles, while benches with padded seats sit against the walls under these shelves. All of the furnishings are moldering and decaying...as is the skeleton of a halfling clad in dark leather armor and clutching a handful of bone dice, slumped in a chair at the northern head of the table. What is not decaying, however, is the myriad coins strewn about the table—some in semi-organized stacks, others simply strewn about.
As the PCs enter the room, a faint, milky shimmering manifests around the skeleton. A soft, musical voice echoes throughout the room.
”A wager? A game? I’ve waited ages for a game.”
Suddenly, the dice in the skeleton’s hand leap out of it, clattering all around the table and impacting with the various towers of coins. Nevertheless, each of the various six-sided dice all land on a single number: 6. The milky shimmering then surrounds the dice and, from each of the many pips on them, the shimmering slithers upward through the air, like pure-white serpents. The shimmering coalesces directly above the table into the ghostly form of an attractive, but wild-eyed, halfling woman.
The halfling speaks, echoing the same musical voice as before. ”These bones are lucky tonight! Will you wager part of yourself for my secrets, my friends?”
Vitalis looks at the ghost with distaste. He lacks the immunity to fear that some paladins are blessed with so he hides his emotions behind a mask of stone. "I belong to Shelyn alone. My soul is not free to risk. And clearly you can manipulate the dice. How could we trust you to a fair game in any case?" He gestures to the dice all showing sixes.
He looks to his allies for their opinions and keeps his weapon ready in case the ghost turns violent.
Jisara tries a different approach. "What's your name, friend?" she asks, keeping her voice casual. "How long have you been waiting for us?"
"And clearly you can manipulate the dice. How could we trust you to a fair game in any case?" He gestures to the dice all showing sixes.
The ghost’s smile melts for a moment at the paladin’s words. The various loose dice and coins on the table start to shake and vibrate, causing a number of the coin towers to topple, all while the ghost stares at Vitalis in a mixture of astonishment and offense. Just as suddenly as it began, though, the loose objects cease moving, and the ghost’s smile returns.
”That would be cheating!” The venom in her words belies the wide smile on her face. ”And there will be no cheating in the Gray Master’s halls of chance.”
if you critically succeed, open the spoiler below
Jisara tries a different approach. "What's your name, friend?" she asks, keeping her voice casual. "How long have you been waiting for us?"
”Hmm…” The ghost lounges around in the air, deep in thought. ”Hmmmm. I suppose my name is no secret. I am Guildmistress Lorelu. But I will not give you my secrets for nothing, missy. You must win them.”
Upon hearing Guildmistress Lorelu, Vitalis has heard enough.
"We're well aware that these were once Norgorber's halls, Guildmistress. I've heard the history. Your cult of kidnappers and slavers assassinated our founder, Lictor Reya, and the Order of the Torrent buried you down here. Now, we're back to finish the job. Your taint will be cleansed from this place and it will be reclaimed for our own."
Jisara gives the spirit an apologetic smile. "You heard the man."
Lorelu’s smile fades completely as she stares at Vitalis. ”’Our’? ‘Torrent’?! You’re…a—?!”
The loose objects in the room start shaking and rattling far more violently than before!
Round 1
==============
Chance/Jisara
Lorelu
Vitalis
Edrakk
==============
Jisara summons a shield to protect herself from the coming onslaught of random objects, but not before imbuing Vitalis with a rush of energy. "This is your show, Vitalis. Make it worth watching!"
”These bones are lucky tonight! Will you wager part of yourself for my secrets, my friends?”
Chance immediately starts forward in response to the ghost’s invitation, but before he can squeeze between Vitalis and Edrakk, the paladin points out that the stakes might be a little higher than the gnome is willing to go.
“I’m always up for a bet, but my mother taught me not to gamble with anything I can’t afford to lose!”
With that, he darts past Vitalis and draws a vial of clear liquid. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t play. Here, catch!” The bard throws the vial at the ghostly Guildmistress.
Jisara protects herself then hastens Vitalis.
Chance throws a bottle of holy water at Lorelu, but the ghostly halfling glares at the gnome and brings up her hand, the vial abruptly stopping in midair as she “catches” it.
Lorelu’s emotions burst outward as she screams
The various loose objects around the room, including Chance’s holy water, float upward and spin around her in a tornado of coins and dice!
Failure
Success
Failure
Success
Lorelu then glares at Vitalis and then flies past him, phasing into the wall and coming back out to be next to three of the PCs.
Round 1
==============
Jisara (-7) {Dazzled: Round 0 of 1}
Chance (-12)
Lorelu
Vitalis (-4) {Hasted: Round 1 of 10}
Edrakk (-6)
==============
”…HELLKNIGHT?!?!?!”
"That's right! Come get some!"
Vitalis takes a step back and starts chopping at the ghost through the cloud of debris.
Vitalis steps back and slices his glaive into the ghost, though only the first attack manages to connect.
Round 1 —> 2
==============
Jisara (-7) {Dazzled: Round 0 of 1}
Chance (-12)
Lorelu (-10)
Vitalis (-4) {Hasted: Round 1 of 10}
Edrakk (-6)
==============
Edrakk shivers when he first enters the chambers. "Feels like my parents' freezer in here." As he walks through, he's constantly checking over his shoulder as he hears the noises reverberating through the halls, and though he takes a passing interest in the intricate hookahs, he seems a bit anxious as he makes his way.
-----------------------------------------------------
Edrakk stumbles back as the ghost appears behind him, but the nervousness on his face gives way for a second as he remembers something he prepared earlier. He starts fumbling around in his bag and pulls out a canister filled with salt crystals of muted color and clear liquid. Spotting an opening in the flying debris, he throws the canister at the ghost; on contact with the incorporeal creature , it explodes into a cloud of shimmering gas that smells of flowers on a summers day.
"Keep away from the walls!" Jisara says, darting away from the ghost and scrambling over the table, where she begins to cast a spell. "Always wondered if this would work on a ghost."
Edrakk steps back and throws a bomb of salts at Lorelu, the bomb sensing the halfling’s spiritual essence and exploding right in her incorporeal form!
Jisara retreats and sends a wave of fear at Lorelu.
And terror goes through her eyes as she begins mumbling to herself. ”They’re all around us. Killing everything that moved!”
Chance casts inspire courage followed by telekinetic projectile.
Unlike the previous attacks, Chance’s didn’t seem to fully affect the ghost’s spiritual form.
Terror continues to play in Lorelu’s eyes as she flies straight through Vitalis and screams ”LEAVE US ALONE!!!” and the various loose objects once again whirl in a tornado of items.
Success
Success
Success
Failure
As Vitalis winds up his attack against the ghost, she glares at him and suddenly a single, telekinetically flying coin manages to fly straight into his eye, completely messing with the trajectory of his glaive and sending it completely away.
Round 2 —> 3
==============
Jisara (-7)
Chance (-15)
Lorelu (-42 from “1” attacks [before resistances]) {frightened 1}
Vitalis (-11) {Hasted: Round 2 of 10}
Edrakk (-9)
==============
Jisara backs away from ghost again, reaching her hand toward a coin of her own and flinging it right back at Lorelu.
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Round 2 —> 3
==============
Jisara (-12)
Chance (-10)
Lorelu (-60 from “2” attacks [before resistances]) {frightened 1}
Vitalis (-9) {Hasted: Round 2 of 10}
Edrakk (-9)
==============
Vitalis reflexively shields himself with his arms from the bludgeoning storm of objects but they ultimately prove to be only a minor annoyance. When the assault dies down, he roars and swings in a wide sweeping attack that drags the ghost between him and Chance, then tries to hit her again.
”LEAVE US ALONE!!!”
Us?
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Chance continues to sing, inspiring his allies.
"If there's something strange 'neath the gambling hall,
Who you gonna call? The Ravens!
If there's something weird phasing through the wall,
Who you gonna call? The Ravens!
We're not afraid of any ghosts!
We're not afraid of any ghosts!
If a late femme fatale flies through your head,
Who you gonna call? The Ravens!
A flying junk shop has you seeing red,
Who you gonna call? The Ravens!
We're not afraid of any ghosts!
We're not afraid of any ghosts!"
He plucks only other vial of holy water from his belt and throws it in the ghostly guildmistress's face, shouting, "Who's all around? Who's killing everything that moves?"
Vitalis slices multiple times into the ghost, eventually causing her to dissipate completely!
Vitalis casts lay on hands on Edrakk and Refocuses while others are Identifying Magic on the stuff in the room.
Although this room is over sixty feet across, its seven-foot-high ceiling and curtained alcoves give it a claustrophobic feel. Squat rows of columns clutter the room’s central space, while each of the seven alcoves is divided in half by a moldering curtain. To either side of this curtain in each alcove sits a once-luxurious divan, next to a simple wooden stool and a low table supporting a grimy hookah.
In the room are a trio of ghostly humans, slumped in the corners of the room in the fetal position and mumbling to themselves. As the PCs peer through the doorway, though, the figures stop and turn to look at them, revealing their twisted features and greying skin of their incorporeal form. The trio of spirits wail in anger as they leap forward to attack!
Blue rushes forward and starts twitching violently, clawing at his face.
”Please…please just one more! Just one more hit. Please! I need it. I̢̕͜ ́̕Ņ͠҉͢E̴̷̡̛E̶̢͜D̸̢̛ ̀́͘͟͝I͟҉Ţ͠!͘͜!̡̨̨̡̨!̷͝“
Critical Failure
Critical Success
Failure
The PCs listen to the spirit’s desperate ramblings and it unlocks a primal terror inside of them as they watch this pitiful being practically tear himself apart.
The other spirits, however, are not quite as self-destructive—Red rushes forward and claws at the closest creature it can get its hands on!
The ghost’s hand passes straight through Vitalis’s chest, creating violent mental turmoil in his brain of desperation and craving!
Red then swipes again at the paladin.
Yellow, on the other hand, flies over and desperately cries ”GIVE IT TO ME!” as he claws straight through the wall to the right of Edrakk to hit the tengu!
Round 1
==============
Red
Blue
Yellow
Jisara
Vitalis (-5) {frightened 2}
Chance {frightened 2}
Edrakk {frightened 3}
==============
Vitalis pokes the bones with his glaive. "We'll need to clean up this mess when we're through here. I'm not staying in a headquarters with the bones of my enemies laying around."
"These ghosts are addicts. Whether they are Norgorberites or simply unfortunate souls, let's put them out of their misery."
Vitalis attempts to push his way through the ghost. When that doesn't work, he lashes out at the wailing ghost. (Blue)
"More ghosts! Lovely," Jisara says, throwing a jolt of electricity at the two in front before conjuring a protective barrier around herself.
Teeth chattering, Chance picks up his song again.
"If a dead addict screams in your ear,
Who you gonna call? The Ravens!
A moaning mob fills your mind with fear,
Who you gonna call? The Ravens!
We're not afraid of any ghosts!
We're not afraid of any ghosts!"
The bard pulls out his remaining vial of holy water. "We can fight them here, but I think they - and the guildmistress - will come back soon enough. We need to figure out what's keeping them here and how to put them to rest." With a shiver he throws the vial at the red ghost.
Edrakk starts shaking from fear with the onslaught of wailing, although his fearful cowering is helpful in him avoiding the raking claws of the ghost behind the wall. With shaking hands, he reaches into his bag and pulls out another vial of salt crystals and tosses it at the ghost in front of him, before bolting behind Chance and Jisara. "We can figure it out after we deal with them!" he says, his anxiety clear in his voice.
Vitalis runs though the ghosts and swings his glaive, but the spirits dodge away.
Jisara protects herself then arcs electricity.
Blue dodges away, the electricity passing straight through his form Red, on the other hand, doesn’t manage to dodge away fast enough.
Chance sings and throws a vial of holy water that hits its mark. Unfortunately, the splash damage seems to go straight through the adjacent ghost.
Edrakk flees and throws a salt bomb that narrowly manages to cover the ghosts.
As Vitalis moves forward and swings, the spirits all turn towards him. Yellow flies forward and all of the spirits all swing violently at the paladin!
*
*
Round 2
==============
Red (-19 from “2” attacks [before resistances])
Blue (-2)
Yellow (-2)
Jisara
Vitalis (-35) {frightened 1}
Chance {frightened 1}
Edrakk {frightened 2}
==============
Well this is unpleasant. Vitalis thinks as the spirits swarm him. He takes a step back and tries to fend them off.
Okay, spreading it out is a bad idea. Just hit one of them at a time.
Fix up Vitalis while you're at it.
We're all too close for sound burst, and I can't tell how much damage we're really doing flinging broken bits of old furniture at them!
Chance continues his song, feeling a little more confident now. "Come on, let's spread out a little!" The gnome pulls the dead guildmistress's sword from his belt, grits his teeth, narrows his eyes, and runs through Red into the next room.
Vitalis swings twice at the ghosts, his blade connecting each time.
Jisara hexes Vitalis (in a good way) then launches an object at Red, Chance’s music inspiring her just enough to knock that spirit into oblivion!
Chance draws Lorelu’s sword and sings as he moves over.
Edrakk Steps forward and pulls out another ghost charge and chucks it at Blue, causing Chance to use his magic to perplex the strange spirit.
plus 2 positive splash damage to Yellow.
Yellow flies forward and begins clawing at his face as he shrieks ”G҉̴̧̨Í̸̢̕V̷̀҉E̢̡̧͞ ̷̸̡͘҉Ì̷̧̕Ţ̶̀͝ ̧͏T̵́͟Ǫ̶҉̧ ̶͠M̛̕E͘͡!̶́!͡͠!̴̧҉͟“
Crit failure
Success
Failure
Blue then advances forward and swings twice at Chance!
But Vitalis intervenes as he swings his glaive and protects the gnome.
Round 3
==============
Blue (-16 from “1” attacks [before resistances])
Yellow (-2)
Jisara
Vitalis (-35) {frightened 2}
Chance (-18) {frightened 2}
Edrakk {frightened 3}
==============
Vitalis steps through one of the ghosts again to move opposite Chance and attacks the flanked spirit.
"We're not afraid of any ghosts!
We're not afraid of any ghosts!"
Chance continues his song, and lashes out at the blue ghost (assuming it's still up) with the guildmistress's shortsword.
◆: Cast a spell, inspire courage
◆: Strike,
◆: Strike,
Jisara sends another chunk of loose masonry flying at the blue ghost, before pulling another shield into place in front of herself.
"I'm not sure that's how that song goes, Chance!"
Vitalis swings at the ghosts, but only manages to hit on his follow-up attack.
Chance continues singing and slices against Blue with Lorelu’s shortsword.
The unfrightened Jisara protects herself and launches a chunk of masonry at Blue, causing the ghost to dissipate.
Not wanting to waste his reagents, Edrakk advances forward to flank Yellow with Vitalis then swings his gale blade.
The tengu then disengages to make room for the gnome that can hit better.
All Yellow can do is shriek at Vitalis as it claws desperately at the paladin’s physical form!
Round 4
==============
Yellow (-2)
Jisara
Vitalis (-53) {Fast Healing 6: Round 2 of 4; frightened 1}
Chance (-18) {frightened 1}
Edrakk {frightened 2}
==============
"This is starting to hurt."
Vitalis staggers back a step and swings twice more at the ghost.
Edrakk Steps forward and pulls out another ghost charge and chucks it at Blue, causing Chance to use his magic to perplex the strange spirit.
Swallowing his fear momentarily, Edrakk dashes forward to swing at the ghost again before backing out of the way once more.
Chance continues his song, then realizes that there's only one ghost left! He dashes forward to get into position, flanking with Vitalis, and strikes out with the dead rogue's sword.
Vitalis swings twice at the ghost, but misses both times.
Edrakk runs forward and swings at the ghost and manages to hit it!
Chance moves forward and swings Lorelu’s shortsword at the ghost, but the spirit dodges away.
Jisara casts telekinetic projectile.
She then casts discern secrets on Chance to see if he can recall anything else about these spirits.
If you used loremaster’s etude, open the spoiler below
The spirit once more swings wildly, this time at Chance!
But Vitalis once again interposes himself as he protects Chance completely from the attack and swings at the ghost!
Round 5
==============
Yellow (-23 from “2” attacks [before resistances])
Jisara
Vitalis (-47) {Fast Healing 6: Round 3 of 4}
Chance (-18)
Edrakk {frightened 1}
==============
Vitalis continues his attack hoping the spirit will dissipate.
"I have had it with these monkey-fighting ghosts!" Jisara says, exasperated, before flinging more debris at the remaining spirit.
Vitalis swings in retribution and then attacks, both hits disorienting the spirit before it ultimately dissipates.
Vitalis uses lay on hands on himself, and Jisara casts life boost on Chance. The two then Refocus.
Lying on the beds in this room are three dead corpses of what appears to be well-to-do members of higher standing with some expensive jewelry (worth 50 gp in total).
This oval-shaped chamber is dominated by a twenty-foot deep pit. Narrow ledges, only two feet wide and slanted toward the pit, run along its edges. Two rusty iron winches sit to the east and west sides of the room, connected by a length of sagging, moldy rope that hangs over the pit. At the bottom of the pit is the skeleton of what appears to be a long-dead giant snake, now covered in pale yellow fungus.
Any moderate force put on the rope causes it to snap, and the winches themselves are practically useless in their current state. Moving across the small ledges will require some acrobatic finesse . Vitalis does not trust his acrobatic skill enough, so he opts for the simpler choice: jumping the pit.
The others, unfortunately, will have to balance across.
They choose to go across the north ledge.
As soon as Edrakk gets halfway across the northern ledge, the ledge suddenly drops out from under him!
Edrakk loses his footing and desperately tries to Grab an Edge!
Edrakk gets his fingers around an edge, but the crumbling masonry does not hold his weight as he falls into the deep pit! As he lands and smashes the snake skeleton, the yellow mold coating the skeleton is dispersed!
Edrakk immediately notices the spores in the air and realizes the danger presented to him, but his years of working with various toxins (and accidentally being exposed to some) gives him the internal resistance needed to be unaffected by these spores.
Vitalis thinks fast as he pulls out his rope and throws it down to Edrakk, who climbs up it with minimal issue.
The PCs then realize that Jisara being focused on moving quietly and Chance detecting magic made them possibly miss some things, so they hold fast and look around for any other shenanigans this pit is hiding.
The PCs don’t notice a similar falling-ledge trap on the southern ledge, but Edrakk miraculously notices that the southern wall of the pit is coated in that same yellow fungus, which has started growing on the central portion of the southern ledge. With the help of Jisara casting discern secrets, Edrakk recognizes this fungus as the aptly-named yellow mold—a mold that releases incredibly toxic spores if disturbed whatsoever. Edrakk also recalls that the mold has two primary weaknesses: it does not grow (nor release spores) in sunlight, and it winces at damage from fire Based on his observations from previously, Edrakk realizes that the spores can only go so far , so he advises Jisara and Chance to step back and for Jisara to take many pot-shots at the mold using ray of frost in an effort to freeze it off!
Whether due to poor accuracy or just bad luck, it takes Jisara five minutes to properly freeze the mold over. During this time Vitalis uses lay on hands on Edrakk and begins to Refocus.
With the southern ledge cleared (and after another 5 minutes for Vitalis to Refocus), Jisara starts to move across.
And then Chance.
And while the PCs all manage to get across, the space is not very…spacious, so they open the next door.
Two pillars support the ten-foot-high ceiling of this chamber. The floor is decorated with five-foot-square colored tiles, the reds and yellows and blues and greens faded with the passage of time and appearing to have no real pattern. The mangled skeletons of two people lie slumped in the center of the room.
The PCs look around, but don’t notice anything suspicious in this room, other than the two skeletons (obviously).
"Who would paint a room so garishly? This definitely screams trap. But that's not my expertise. Do you think the different colors mean something?"
“First of all,” Chance harrumphs, “the floor of my bedroom when I lived with my parents was painted a lot like this. So was the ceiling. And the walls. But I don’t think the thieves guild here had particularly refined tastes, so I agree, it’s probably a trap. I wonder...”
The gnome bends down to peer closely at the nearest floor tiles, then straightens up slowly, tracing a path with his finger. “I think I know how this works. There’s a path of green tiles to those double doors. There’s a more direct path of red tiles, but one of them has a skeleton on it, so I think it’s a good bet that the red tiles aren’t all safe. Same for the yellow ones, but we couldn’t get to the doors just on yellow tiles anyway.”
Chance gives the green path one more look.
Chance grins. “May as well roll the dice, right?” He steps past Vitalis onto the nearest green tile. If nothing happens, he moves forward cautiously, one green tile at a time, short sword in hand. He stops to look for anything of interest near each skeleton, but otherwise continues slowly to the green tile nearest the north doors unless something stops him.
He does have the good sense not to open the door.
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Chance moves across the room, one green tile at a time, and is actually fairly surprised when he finds that he makes it to the other side completely unharmed. Figuring it best not to test their luck, the PCs follow the gnome’s lead and move along the green tiles. As they do so, they notice that the yellow tiles are actually lids and hold items beneath them—each yellow tile contains 35 gp worth of coins, jewelry, and other assorted valuables. Similarly, the two skeletons collectively have 45 gp worth of jewelry on them.
The colorful room leads into a simple, L-shaped hallway with a single door to the west and a set of double doors to the east.
Thick layers of dust lie over the long central table and shelves of this room. Several large parchment maps sit on the table, along with a curved dagger and a dozens of stacks of dusty coins. At the the head of the table, slumped in a chair, is the long-decomposed skeleton of a tengu, wearing all sorts of gaudy and expensive jewelry and finery. Numerous moldy and dusty ledgers and scrolls sit on the shelf to the south. To the west hang four faded portraits, each with a plaque beneath it written in a different language.
The northernmost portrait depicts a red-haired man with goatlike horns and sharp teeth. The plaque beneath says Gildenmeister Baccus: Drogen-Herr der Schwarzen.
The next image to the south depicts a stern-looking, young Tian-Shu woman with a narrow face and short, dark hair. The plaque beneath reads 公會會長黑粉：父親的殺手.
The next image to the south depicts an attractive (and very familiar) halfling woman. The plaque beneath reads Kilttatar Lorelu: Mestarin krupieri.
The southernmost painting depicts the juxtaposing image of an ungroomed and ruffled tengu wearing regal and expensive jewelry and furs. The plaque beneath says ギルドマスターチョク：死神の番人.
The PCs spend upwards of an hour trying to identify the magical dagger on the table and the magical mask on the tengu skeleton. Vitalis eventually figures out that the mask is a Secret-Keeper’s Mask (Reaper of Reputation), but none of the PCs are able to figure out what the dagger is. The tengu skeleton wears 100 gp worth of jewelry and finery. On the table are 7 pp, 56 gp, 378 sp, and 411 cp.
The various ledgers and other tomes will take time to properly go through . Of more relevant note are the maps on the table: One is a floor plan of the now-destroyed building that sat above the Lucky Bones. Another depicts the current floor of the Lucky Bones, including the locations of all of the floor’s secret doors! Notes on this map indicate that Guildmistress Lorelu and Guildmaster Tchok were to defend this floor and Guildmaster Baccus was to defend the smugglers’ tunnels (this includes an indication that Baccus should call upon his “pet devil” Shurshogot for help, but provides no more insight there). Guildmistress Hei-Fen’s role was to attempt an escape via the smugglers’ tunnels to bring news of the assault to their allies in the nearby city of Vyre. Finally, the remainder of the maps are of the city of Kintargo, focusing on now-out-of-date information about where patrons, allies, and enemies of the Gray Spiders lived. However, these maps of Kintargo also detail numerous hidden routes along the rooftops and through the sewers—many that, luckily for the Silver Ravens, still exist to this day.
An intense battle occurred here, as indicated by gouges and old bloodstains on the walls and floor, scorched patches from old fires, and the moldering skeletons of several men and women sprawled on the floor. The middle of the room features a ten-foot-diameter iron capstone over what appears to be a well, next to which stands a winch made of wood and rusted iron. A large carving of a strange, tall, lanky man in a cloak adorns the capstone. The man’s four eyes are softly glowing gemstones.
The foul stench of rotting flesh permeates throughout the room, and as the PCs open the door, they notice the source of the foul stench: there are several bald, gray-skinned creatures in this room. As the door opens, the beasts slowly turn to look at them, staring hungrily with glowing orange eyes as they leap—quite literally—into battle!
Edrakk and Vitalis find their nostrils overwhelmed with the smell of pure decomposition that lingers on these beasts!
Edrakk
But the paladin and alchemist manage to keep down their respective lunches.
Round 1
==============
Edrakk
Vitalis
Jisara
Chance
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Purple
==============
"Who would paint a room so garishly? This definitely screams trap. But that's not my expertise. Do you think the different colors mean something?"
"...I kinda like it, it seems very bright and fun..."
Edrakk and Vitalis find their nostrils overwhelmed with the smell of pure decomposition that lingers on these beasts!
Fort vs Stench; DC 16:
But the paladin and alchemist manage to keep down their respective lunches.
Edrakk holds his hand over his beak for a second as he forces down the vomit in his throat. "...this place is introducing me to all sorts of interesting smells, huh?" he mutters to himself.
Not wanting to waste any more time, he grabs a vial of reddish gas and crystal and throws it at one of the creatures in the back. Probably a safe bet. Given the stench, I'm not going to assume they'll feel anything from the poison. As the crystals form on the ground, he takes a step back from the doorway for some fresh air.
"I hate this place," Jisara mutters, conjuring a slick layer of grease under the feet of the front line of the creatures.
"I don't know what manner of undead this might be but they look solid enough for my blade to cut through."
Vitalis attacks the enemy in front of him and tries to recall from his studies which undead he is facing.