Also short on ranged weapons Persephone leaves the basement to search for something to throw at the thing.
"What have you found down there?" Father Grimborrow inquires.
"Thousands of rats and some large translucent cube that might want to eat us."
The chain continues to drive the cube to perdition.
Menan draws his crossbow as he moves across the room. He cranks it.
Arawyn moves with Menan and fires her bow at the cube.
[dice=damage] 1d8 [/dice[ (x3)
Persephone picks up two stones and walks down the stairs again.
The cube shuffles further and starts scooping up dead rats.
Faerveren suggests to Father Grimburrow that she could use some healing before she approaches any kind of monster.
Father Grimburrow holds up his holy symbol and channels positive energy to heal.
"Better?"
Arawyn moves with Menan and fires her bow at the cube.
(x3)
Menan moves across the room and fires looses a bolt.
(/19-20)
The chain of perdition continues to entangle the cube.
Menan and Arawyn keep sinking arrows and bolts into the thing.
The cube keeps scooping up rats.
Persephone raises her hand to throw, but stops halfway as behind the cube appears a large skeleton and starts ripping the cube apart.
"I guess it's not our problem anymore."
Faerveren comes down the stairs again, grabs the stone from Persephone's hand and throws it at the cube.
"We can still feed it rocks."
Menan looks up at father Grimburrow and says "Did you summon that?"
"Did I summon what?" Father Grimburrow inquires from the safety of outside where he can't see nothing of the fight.
"That skeleton attacking the cube." Faerveren spreads the word.
"That thing has appeared every time we got stuck in a fight. Must be something with the place." Persephone suggests.
The cube changes direction and tries to swallow the skeleton.
But the skeleton, jumps out of the way. The cube, not very fast to notice has to bear some more attacks. Which reduces the cube to jelly on the ground. And ugly mix of burst rat corpses mixed with corrosive remains of an ooze.
the skeleton stands around awkwardly as there is nothing to fight anymore.
Menan speaks to the skeleton. "Good job and day. I am Variel, counsel and friend to Fallon. Do you require healing?"
The skeleton is either a snob that doesn't talk to elves, or it is a mindless undead that doesn't converse at all. Menan gets no reaction.
Arawyn stows her bow and retrieves her rapiers.
Menan stows his crossbow and searches the area where the blob was to see if it engulfed anything of interest or value.
It looks like one of the goblins walked into the cube. Little is left of the guy. Only two daggers. They are normal sized for humans and finely made.
Anyone in need of daggers? Two here." He will take the daggers if there are no volunteers. He heads further in seeing what is around the corridors.
"I can for sure use some." Faerveren replies.
Around the corner to the right is a dead end. Around the left corner is a flight of stairs leading down. Following the stairs down while they turn almost 180° leads to a short corridor that is blocked by a heavy iron door which has a bad case of rust at all moving parts.
Menan inspects the door looking for locks, traps, and if the rust will aid or hinder his opening it.
The door doesn't look trapped, but the rust will make it very hard to move anything about the door. But it is not enough to help break it. The lock also doesn't look promising in regards to the moving parts.
"That skeleton attacking the cube." Faerveren spreads the word.
"More undead?" Father Grimburrow replies irritated. He marches down the stairs to look into this.
He is startled by the size of the skeleton, as he would have expected a human skeleton, but there is not much time for wondering, as the thing winks out of existence a moment later.
"That is strange."
Faerveren takes a look at the door that Menan found and especially the lock of it.
The stone boxes in the room are on closer inspections stone coffins. They are well worked and the gap of the lid is minuscule, but the small brass plates with the names and years written on them give it away.
Different generations of the family 'of Seacrest' found their last resting place here. The latest of them being Duke Fallon of Seacrest. Not all of the coffins have a badge though. The years of death start on the right and go counterclockwise. The last two have no plates.
This device is properly disabled. But not in the way one would wish. It was once a lock of very high quality, but all moving parts are rusted in place.
But Faerveren can at least tell from her expertise, that there are many formerly moving parts, that hold the door tight in it's spot. All four sides of the door are held in place with bolts.
While Faerveren works with the lock, Menan's attention goes to the stone coffins. He makes note of the names on the ones that have plates. He traces the lid on Fallon's coffin and eventually attempts to open it.
"That is a pity. If we want through this door, we need brute force. Or a way to make all those parts work again, if that is possible."
The lid is four inch of solid granite with a full size human statue on top of it. It doesn't move any when Menan tries to move it.
"A little help over here."
"Let us give Menan a hand." Persephone suggsts and grabs the lid on one corner.
With everyone including Father Grimburrow putting a hand at the lid it is still not possible to lift the lid.
"Well that is as frustrating as the $%^$ door. Recommend we come back with crowbars for the coffins. Oil for the lock and the door. A wrench for those bolts. Maybe a small battering ram. The oil and the wrench alone might get the door. That is the starting place in my opinion. "
"I could help you out with some muscles." Persephone, who is still hulking out due to magic, offers.
To shorten that, she hits Faerveren, Menan, Arawyn and Father Grimburrow with Bull's Strength.
With another attempt all together manage to lift the lid an inch and turn it on top of the coffin.
The Duke inside is only dried skin and bones. He is buried wearing a crimson cloak and royal garments. His hands hold the hilt of his longsword that is placed on him. On his head sits a coronet ( Something like this.).
"Seems like he was put to rest properly and his grave wasn't disturbed." Father grimburrow concludes.
He uses the opportunity to consecrate the place. Just in case.
"Thank you, father." Menan looks for anything but expressly for the last will and testament.
There is no parchment in the coffin.
"What is....Notice the stains under his hands? Is that normal?"
"Don't know. I haven't seen that many dead people."