Oorgratch doubles over in pain. Fear shows in his eyes, as he contemplates his next move.
From this point, he acts like he is going to collapse, and perhaps die. From that point, his mace flicks out and smacks into the skeleton's leg
Oorgatch attempts to smack the wisp.
He parries.
Yan lowers his shattered shield and looks up to the stained glass — the restless ghosts rising from decrepit graveyards. Will we die under dark glass? I know there's beauty hidden even there. He nods at the scroll Scarred One holds. Bring us some light before we go, Elder! He delays for Scarred One.
The broken shield clatters to the floor as Yan steps away.
Oorgatch is however able to feint the skeleton and smash it to bits.
Another wisp does indeed arise but Oorgatch can't connect his mace with it.
Scarred One is up!
The orc takes a swing at the ghost escaping the body
The club seemed not as vivid when hitting a ghost...
Then he spots Yan standing behind bloodied. He raises his scroll and reads its incantation
"Back to the front Yan! We are not done here yet!"
Whatever the wisp is Scarred One's shillelagh flares with primal power as the wisp dissipates from the powerful magic club smash.
Yan feels much better and repositions as he discards the broken remains of his once shinny shield, but his flail strike is of no use.
The remaining blue mist filled corpse breaths its blue must all over Oorgatch and Scarred One.
Critical Success The creature is unaffected.
Success The creature takes negative damage.
Failure The creature takes negative damage and is frightened 1.
Critical Failure The creature takes negative damage and is frightened 3.
The creature seems to suck in some of Oorgatch's lifeforce, replenishing itself.
Initiative
White Dots ??? +
Sendoski (12/14)
Oorgatch (15/21) Frightened 1
Yan (19/19)
Scarred One
Party is up!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Scarred One knows what to expect from that light...
He withstands the worst of it, taking only a bit of damage.
The Orc moves forwards "You will not escape that quickly! And your magic will not keep you undead much longer." He moves behind the last skeleton and takes two swings at the foe
The vines on the club extend whenever getting in contact with the undead and try to reap apart the bones and tissues that they touch. The roars of the animals, the howl of the wolves, growls, and roars are almost overwhelming as the club finds its mark.
If the creature seems resistant to bludgeoning, Yan draws his dancing scarf and moves in to strike at reach. Else he moves in with the mace and moves back. Either way he misses, but he keeps himself close to his friends to mitigate any incoming damage.
Despite it's making use of Oorgatch's vitality the second swing barely takes it down.
As before the Wisp exits the body though...
But is piled on and vanquished before it can cause any more trouble.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Yan says a prayer for the wisps, dancing a bit as he does so. "Rest well."
He smiles, but you can tell the battle took a toll. "An ounce of preparation is worth a ton of smashiness, eh?" He pauses. "I wonder if that fanfiction about Vol and the draugr pirate captain was entirely accurate. Come to think of it, most of that book wasn't even well-written and rather smutty in parts. Not that I read that kind of thing. I picked it up on accident, of course."
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Of course you didn't." Sendoski claps Yan on the back. "That being said, I wouldn't mind borrowing it sometime. I mean, as someone interested in the Roseguard..."
"When everyone is ready, let's go up and take a better look at this place."
Sendoski detects for magic in the area, and is particularly interested in getting a better look at the stained glass windows.
"A pint of sweat, saves a gallon of blood, as the old Warchief used to say." Scarred One takes out his healing tools and goes to Oorgatch. He lets go of his club and all vines fall to the ground.
"Show me your wounds, young warrior!" he takes a knife and makes a few pictures and cuts on orc skin
"If you want the scars, rub some dirt mixed with chalk into them. Otherwise, it would heal without a mark."
The old orc moves to Yan
"Hmm, magical healing... No scars whatsoever. Your skin looks like a toddler, how embarrassing!" comments going to Sendoski with a knife
"Don't move ruindelver, my hands are not as steady."
Here Scarred One needs to make few cuts.
"The same, rub some chalk in the wounds. You are of an age that you should have some scars. You are the scars that shape you ruindelver."
Three short flights of steps lead upward to a wider chamber to the north, where a semicircular dais supports an altar of white stone.
Beyond the altar loom four stained-glass windows, each twenty feet tall and depicting four haunting scenes of ghosts rising from overgrown graveyards toward a four-pointed orange star above.
The shine itself has an ominous atmosphere, as if something immense and distant watches through the stained glass windows. None of you are sure who or what the shrine is in reverence to.
The corpse by the secret door seems to be much more recent than the skeletons and other decay, no more than a few months dead maybe?
On his body of note is a strange branch that feels oddly light and familiar to Oorgatch... as well as four daggers, a unremarkable silver ring worth 5gp, a pure white potion and a pure black alchemical vial.
The skeletons have little remaining that hasn’t rotted or rusted away to uselessness with two exceptions: one of them has a
gold tooth worth 4 gp, while the other still wears a necklace of twisted glass wrapped around a silken cord.
|
|
Sendoski winces as Scarred One cuts him (and does 5 damage in the process!).
"This is healing negative energy damage?" Sendoski says through gritted teeth.
"I don't think I'll ever forget that fight. Still, might be nice to have a memento."
He takes Scarred ones words to heart, (a toddler?!) and, with Naught looking on, rubs chalk into the cuts, already imagining the stories he'll tell about the scars.
"I wonder what Tupelo and Marcus will say."
I would like to inspect that altar.
While the healing is going on, and the other inspections, Oorgatch takes the time to repair Yan's shield, if he is allowed.
He will also spend some time investigating, and testing out the new branch.
Searching the altar does reveal a scroll of restore senses and a wand made of chalky white bone.
After collecting those the room no longer detects as magical.
The altar does not seem to have seen any use in a long long and a further investigation does not provide any more insight into what was neing worshiped here
It could just be the stained glass but there remains an omnious feeling of being watched by something immensely distant.
The uhh, branch seems nice, like some sort of +1 rapier, should probably ID it at some point to learn if it has any other features.
Oorgatch is also able to pound out the dents in Yan's shield.
We're starting our own little graveyard here! Every marker, another soul finding their way.
After buying the corpses with due ceremony next to the kobolds, Yan would like to ID all the things. Don't think we're in a rush.
”I can manage that while the items get identified.” say Oorgatch. ”Got to ask about these wispy things. ”
Sendoski winces as Scarred One cuts him (and does 5 damage in the process!).
"Feel the pain boy, and embrace it. You will feel it plenty during your lifetime, you might as well get accustomed to it."
The Orc puts the magical items on the ground and begins to analyze them, looking for their magical properties.
"Ruin delver, start identifying them from the other side, maybe you and your cat will get something that I missed."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
There is much sitting and IDing of magical items in the creepy temple with the stained glass and the ominus feeling of being watched from afar, while others work to remove and bury the bodies.
Rapier +1
Minor Healing Potion
Channel Protection Amulet
This last one is a bit tricky for whatever reason. taking all three of you with likely some help from Naught as well.
"His cat has a name,"
"Of course he has, furball" responds smiling Scarred One
As they finally made sense of the wand the orc nodded to Sendoski
"Wise wards ruin delver, let us go and check the other building."
Says Scarred One holding his shield in one hand while the other is empty.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Yan insists upon taking several minutes to look at the windows, trying to find what's so compelling about them… even if it means being alone in the dark. "These are exquisite. Years for a glassmaker to craft, perhaps. There is something beautiful in everything, even if it's just a flicker of light."
He gets out his hooded lantern and shines it across the panes.
"And I for one am not afraid to shine a light in the dark."
He directs the lantern at the star. "Do you see Me?"
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Sendoksi gasps at Yan's actions.
"Yan, what're you doing?! Don't provoke it, whatever it might be..."
On Sendoski's shoulders, Naught rears up to hiss at Yan, but then thinks better of it.
Should he get himself killed, it'll save me some energy, he thinks.
"Ask if it can touch you too," Naught suggests
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Scarred One looks at Yan's actions in silence. He does not mind provoking whatever is here, in the past he held gods in low regards. Petty gods, but with the past years his approach have changed, he made his war mask and found some value in religion.
He kept looking at Yan but leaned towards Sendoski and in a hushed tone he shares
"The second key is to a book, whatever we find don't let Yan take it. He will throw it into his sack and we will never see it. I suspect he might be burning them when no one is looking."
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Sendoski leans in conspiratorially as Scarred One whispers to him.
"What? Yan? He'll give it back, he's just busy. I think..."
But from Sendoski's shoulders Naught says:
"No, he's a book thief! You can't trust him."
Sendoski looks toward his friend waving the lantern at the window.
"I'll think about it..."
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
No response from the ominous window to any of Yan's light or other examinations although the ominous feeling continues. There seems to be no more to do here at this time... if only you knew who or what the shrine was to.
After a later start after a long night, a long time spend IDing items, thoroughly searching the temple room, burying bodies, healing up, repairing a shield and arguing with a cat we've gotten into the early afternoon and a few more Mitflits have woken up and are out and about training their giant maggots in the large chamber for combat.
It's easy enough to stay out of their way and a trip through your newly founded graveyard around the north end of the keep, passed the outside of the stained glass, where seeing the image from the outside looks similar it does not impart the feeling of being watched.
As you approach the bridge to the larger outbuilding a purple wisp of sorts appears in the air near the front door.
Speaking in common and in a voice far too deep to be a mite "I am the dangerous wispy-ghost named Spookywisp. Speak your purpose before you cross the bridge to my island."
Yan shows empty hands and bows. ”We are explorers and pilgrims, recently come from planting a beautiful graveyard outside the unholy cathedral. We walked here from the lands beyond SKRAWNG’s to seek knowledge of Spookwisp Island. We may have met some of your cousins, though they seemed less like property owners and more like hungry squatters, starving among the empty bones. We have learned enough to be wary of wispy-ghosts.
”Do not need to fight.” says Oorgatch. ”Just want to pass. Are you a good wispy ghost?”
Your best guess as to what Spookywisp is... is the result of a dancing lights spell. Although you're not quite sure why it can talk.
Spookywisp responds its seemingly unnaturally deep voice booming "Of course, forgive my small inaccuracy I wanted to make sure you stopped to talk, I don't know who these others are you talk of but I arrived here only a few days ago, drawn to a shiny in the building here... but there's a mean, blank-faced doll that tried to squish me. If you agree to bring me the shiny I promise to tell you the three secrets I've learned about the area."
"And where did you come from? And what is this shiny that you speak of?" says Orc shifting and leaning on his shield
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
”And please show your true self..” says Oorgatch. ”Oorgatch get annoyed when no show true self ”
|
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
That’s ironic, Sendoski thinks, considering how guarded the orc seems to be. But he nods in agreement with Oorgatch.
”We’re not afraid of any dolls, although I admit the blank face part is kind of concerning. Still, we can bring you this shiny, but what is it and why do you need it? You don’t exactly have a physical form.”
Yan nods at Sendoski. A light cannot grasp a shiny, can it? We're all friends; don't be shy!
A bit of frustration seeps into the deep voice
"Look, I just need it. I neeeeeeed it. It'll be obvious when you see it. Do you want my secrets or not?"
Scarred One nods his head to his allies
"Their secrets could be useful or complete non-sense. This could be some fey in the look of a golden coin. Who knows."
It responds "A coin, hrmf, nothing that banal. The shiny sparkles. It shines. I wants!"
If you want to hurt others with the Shiny Sparkles, then we will not give it to you. If you promise to be nice, tell us your three secrets and we will get it for you.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
”you want Oorgatch to trust. But no show self. Me wonder if you out to betray Oorgatch. ”
”Oorgatch wanna trust, but has been hurt before. ”
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Okay Spookywisp, we can get this shiny for you. But fair warning, I had a dream last night about a screaming wisp exploding into nothingness. So, it could be that we're delivering you your doom. But, if you don't want to tell us what the shiny is, that's your decision."
"Sorry you had bad dream, doll and shiny in the south-west room, will go back invisible for now. POOF!" and the light disappears.
Shall we?
Yan makes his way carefully across the bridge. Along the way, he leans over the railing s\and looks below. He then crosses to the doors on the other side.
Scarred One limps forwards, shield in one hand the other is empty.
”I guess. ” Oorgatch moves up to take point, new magic branch at the ready.
Once at the door, Oorgatch checks it carefully. If safe, he will try to open it, carefully.
No traps, the door does stick and Oorgatch and Yan's efforts to get it open only seem to get it stuck further.
Eventually you're able to pry it open but there's not much door left by the time you're done. Inside you see a study that feaatures several bookshelves, a desk, and two chairs. The books and objects here lie in disarray with torn pages strewn haphazardly across the room.
No movement or other immediate threats, several inside doors.