Bella felt her muscles tense up.
Surrounded by ghouls, Zetty calls out "Hey, hold on! What happened to being reasonable!" as she starts to sketch. Her paper folds up on its own and sails through the air, taking the form of a paper mitflit gremlin, right in position to flank with Bella.
The mitflit immediately attacks with her shortsword, but stabs at yellow at Zetty's instruction.
Bella's muscles recovered quickly. Taking advantage of Zatty's summon, she stabbed twice at the ghoul in front of her, then prayed for divine protection. "It's not too late; repent your sins and embrace the Dawnflower!"
Grem easily fights through the paralysis effect of the ghouls, and attacks the ghoul near Zetty (Red).
◆ Mountain Stance
◆ Ki Strike (Positive;Flurry of Blows)
The grim tendrils hit Eyenia, unholy energy cutting into her spirit. Her muscles begin to tense from the paralysis but she grits her teeth and mutters, ”No…this was not foretold!” She powers through it before backing up and calling forth a blast of scintillating motes of burning light, ”Feel the heaven’s wrath!”
Eyenia’s spray of stars proves extremely effective, catching the two ghouls off guard. They shriek as the light burns their rotting flesh and leaves them dazzled! Grem annihilates the undead that attacked Zetty, crushing its skull with his staff, but he misses with his follow-up attacks. Vengis backs away and heals his wounds, then Zetty summons a mitflit to flank with Bella. The gremlin finishes off one of the ghouls that Eyenia burned, then Bella slays the other one with a sword to the back.
One uninjured ghoul remains in melee with Grem. It bites the dwarf, while the spellcasting ghoul, wary of Eyenia’s fire magic, tries to debilitate the aasimar with illusory pain.
Bella darted around behind the ghoul fighting Grem and tried to stab it in the back, "Don't you ghouls ever listen? We don't want to donate our flesh!"
Zetty concentrates on her summon spell, sending the paper mitflit scurrying across the room and waving its shortsword in the air. She continues to sketch, but now channels her magic into sending a nearby book sailing through the air at the spellcasting ghoul.
Her paper mitflit rushes up to the pink ghoul and tries to stab it.
Grem has no issues with ignoring the ghoul paralysis, and shows his contempt for the creatures with a physical beating.
◆ Flurry of Blows
◆ Parry (+1 AC)
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Pain is an illusion, this pain especially, and Eyenia refuses to believe the blasphemous magic the ghoul throws at her. She smiles as she blasts the spellcaster with holy energy as she exclaims, "There is no strand of fate where you prevail!"
The ghoulish spellcaster shrieks as Eyenia's spell sears her rotten flesh! Grem destroys the ghoul near him with his flurry, then moves in to engage the spellcaster. Zetty bashes the ghoul in the head with a book, and while her mitflit misses with her attack, the gremlin provides a perfect flanking opportunity for Bella, who is able to stab the ghoul twice!
Vengis follows Zetty's example, his projectile smashing the ghoul with such force that she falls to the floor and does not get back up!
Bella searched the ghouls and then turned her attention to Grem's wounds, as well as her own.
Zetty lets her mitflit collapse back into ink and paper, then strides over to the double doors to ensure they're well closed and nothing else is approaching them from the other side. Once it seems safe enough, she comments "You all smashed all those ghouls like it was nothing! I guess now we know they're all on one side about the Canker thing. And that there's a priestess too. We should probably make sure we deal with that problem."
"I'm guessing that's through here." She points her pen at the double doors. While Bella helps heal Grem and herself, Zetty restores her focus, then attempts to envision what the library looked like before all the destruction.
Also, since there'll probably be time, she searches the library for anything interesting among the rubble and destruction.
The books here cover a wide range of subjects and are well organized.
Zetty recognizes the scene on the double doors as the Outer God Nhimbaloth feeding on the spirits of those who worship her.
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Vengis sniffs at the fallen ghouls. "They are single-minded, if nothing else," he says.
Responding to Zetty, he says "I agree--this Canker thing seems to be pulling the levers here, perhaps with this priestess underneath him or her? I suppose we should try the double doors and perhaps obtain an introduction with our own conditions."
Zetty takes a look at some of the books and nods "Well, we can come back here if there's something we really want to research, but this is way too many books to lug around." She heads back to the double doors "In the mean time, I get the feeling that Nhimby is even more popular around here than we guessed. Not sure if the ghouls are worshippers, or if the whole Canker thing is separate, but..." She waves at the relief on the double doors "We'll probably find out through here."
Zetty gets ready to go through behind the more tough members of the party.
Bella examined the double doors, commenting, "Somehow I get the feeling we're not going to find nice things in here." After making sure that they weren't trapped (as far as she could tell), she confronted her misgivings and opened the doors.
Soft light illuminates several display cases in this vast room. Once used to display books, the cases stand smashed and empty. Along the curved north wall stands a hideous, towering figure of a woman. The form is composed of hundreds of portions of stitched‐together flesh from a variety of different creatures and draped in tattered, filthy sheets. The stench of rot from the statue fills even this large room.
A single ghoul works here, stitching more flesh to her masterpiece. When she sees you, she sneers and grabs a skull-topped staff from where it was leaning against the wall. ”Glorious, is it not? It is the Canker, and I am Nhakazarin. Abandon your gear and your lives, and I can promise you glory with the Canker. You will accept the fever into your bodies, and become like us!”
Bella focused on breathing through her mouth, lest the overwhelming stench make her throw up. She knew that conflict with Nhakazarin was inevitable, but was determined to learn as much as she could before they came to blows. "I've heard your followers say that the spirit of Belcorra has returned. I thought she was slain by the Roseguard. What makes you think she is back?"
Nhakazarin laughs imperiously, a wheezing, hollow sound. "That's what Belcorra wanted them to think! She was gone for centuries, but now she has made a triumphant return! And we will provide her with the body she deserves in order to exact her vengeance on the people of Absalom! Now, I will give you one final chance to join us willingly. Otherwise, we will do things the hard way..."
The ghoul grins at Vengis. "At least one of you is reasonable, it seems! As I said before, I am Nhakazarin, and I am the high priestess of the Cult of the Canker! Centuries ago, I was one of Belcorra's chief necromantic advisors. Now that Belcorra has risen again as a powerful ghost, we labor to build her the perfect physical form to inhabit to strike fear into the hearts of her enemies. Now, kneel before me, and accept the fever into your body, that you may become one of us!"
Eyenia shakes her head, ” I have not seen her grand return in the stars. Your final end, however, is long overdue, hers even more so. Yours comes today!”
If this adventure had taught her anything it was that the undead, almost without exception, were to be returned to the River of Souls.
Zetty advances into the room, knowing that she doesn't look like as much of a threat as someone like Grem. When the ghoul priestess announces Belcorra's spirit having returned, Zetty asks "Where is ghost Belcorra right now? Maybe we can undertake a pilgrimage to her. Did you talk to her? I'd like to get an interview before I get all canker-ed up."
She gives a sidelong glance at Eyenia and then a shrug as the oracle speaks up with threats. It was going to be a fight sooner rather than later, it seemed.
Bella replied to Nhakazarin, "See, I've got a thing about liking my flesh just the way it is. So I'll have to politely decline."
Nhakazarin snarls. "Enough prattling!"
She chants the words to a spell, blasting you with a burst of cacophonous noise! She then speaks a swift spell, raising a magical shield.
Success: The creature takes 7 sonic damage.
Failure: The creature takes 15 sonic damage and is deafened for 1 round.
Critical Failure: The creature takes 30 sonic damage and is deafened for 1 minute, and stunned 1.
Buckling under the sonic attack, Zetty sinks for a moment to her knees before she rights herself. No longer able to coordinate with her allies thanks to the ringing in her ears, she sticks to inspiring them visually by sketching a very unkind rendition of the ghoul priestess. She also imbues Bella's weapon with extra potency.
Grem just stands with his friends, arms crossed over his chest, looking as gruff as ever as they treat with the undead monstrosity. As the others banter with the creature, he just grins, waiting for the inevitable.
Grem shrugs off the attack and quickly makes his way to the undead priestess and tests her defenses.
◆ Stride
◆ Mountain Stance
◆ Flurry of Blows
"How rude!", Bella exclaimed indignantly. She rushed forward to try to flank with Grem, and stabbed at the horrific sculptor.
The calamitous burst of sound strikes Eyenia as if she stood in the eye of the storm. She staggers, able to do little else than faintly whisper a prayer to the Cosmic Caravan as she channels healing energy back into herself.
Vengis’s magic missiles batter Nhakazarin. Her shield spell protects her from Grem’s attack, but Bella slips her blade past her defenses, stabbing her in the back!
Snarling, the ghoul renews the shield spell before casting another spell and reaching out for Bella, her hand crackling with negative energy!
Zetty winces as the ghoul's touch lands, but she keeps up her valiant artistry. She telekinetically picks up a piece of rubble and sends it spinning at the priestess.
Bella shuddered as the touch drained her vitality. She desperately stabbed the ghoul priestess.
Eyenia reaches a hand towards Bella as a beam of life-giving light springs from her hand, healing some of Bella's wounds.
"Keep your ugly mitts off my friends," Grem growls at the undead priestess, unleashing his attacks against her defenses.
◆ Flurry of Blows
◆ Parry
Bella felt some of her vitality restored by Eyenia's healing.
Eyenia heals Bella as the battle continues. Zetty's projectile bounces off Nhakazarin's shield, but Vengis's rock clips her in the head. Grem lands a light blow, then Bella stabs the ghoulish priestess again. She expends her shield spell to block some of the damage.
”Curse you all!” Nhakazarin shouts. She infuses herself with negative energy to heal her wounds, then she bites and claws at Bella. The halfling nimbly dodges the ghouls teeth, but her nails rake across her chest.
Zetty continues to focus fire on the priestess, hoping that the ghoul's magical life-stealing and other defenses will run out of oomph soon. She lays out three sharp strokes on her page and sends another piece of rubble spinning through the air at the priestess.
Bella muscles seized up; she tried to stab the ghoul once more, but couldn't.
Most of your attacks miss this round, Nhakazarin dodging hurled projectiles and divine energy. Grem lands a powerful blow, though, getting the ghoul's attention. She retaliates against the dwarf, ripping into him with teeth and claws! The monk falls!
Eyenia sends another burst of healing light at Grem, hoping that the dwarven monk can keep up the fight for just long enough to kill the ghoul.
Recognizing the need for a distraction, Zetty quickly sketches out a small winged creature on her pad. With a flick of her pen, the sketch folds itself up into a paper grig, fluttering over to the east end of the room. It flexes its paper wings and then rubs its inky legs against one another, sending tiny sonic ripples in the direction of the ghoulish priestess.
Vengis and Zetty's summoned grig both miss the ghoul, but Eyenia heals Grem, restoring the dwarf to consciousness. Grem hops up on his feet before delivering a brutal combination of blows, shattering Nhakazarin's sternum and snapping her jaw! With a final blow, he twists her neck at an awkward angle, and the high priestess of the Cult of the Canker falls lifeless to the ground!
Zetty gasps as Grem manages to come back from the brink of defeat to take down the ghoul with a couple of well placed hits. She rushes over, paper grig floating just over her shoulder, to check on Grem and Bella and provide healing if they need it.
"She really did a number on you guys... Sorry I couldn't help more."
After a minute, Bella's muscles started responding and she could move again. "Praise the Dawnflower! I thought that was going to be the end."
She started healing herself and Grem, not stopping until they had both recovered from their wounds.
After searching the chamber she suggested, "Let's return to town and get a proper rest. We pushed our luck here, and almost paid the ultimate price."