Succeeding in wheeling their seige crossbow up onto the turret, the undead defenders fired a bolt at the huge elemental, and then began to reload. Their weapon twanged loudly, enough to make a living man flinch. "Stay your hand," came the voice from before. It was eerily close. "See how the monster does not attack? We must treat with it, as we have done before." There was a moment of silence, and then the undead apparition repeated his question from before. "Why are you here?"
The two archers on the tower held their weapons, one quickly reloading. Down below, one of the archers entered the tower, the other following slowly behind.
The party crept out onto the eastern wall walk, as yet unnoticed in the clamor.
The flames of the elemental shift from orange to red.
It echoes in response to the voice. The flickering flames and bursts of steam seem to calm somewhat.
Atash continues to invisibly follow the others.
Atash's quiet voice floats from within the party. Invisibly he pulls out a shaving of licorice root. "Ready....ready...zhen temepilt! Go, go now!"
Torvi turns the corner and starts moving towards the nearest enemy (40' because of haste).
Razaniel quickly follows Torvi.
Razaniel quickly follows Torvi.
Karti ran forward, staying close to the others.
Already prepared for a fight, your opponents reacted quickly to the sudden new threat. "Loose," came the voice from beyond. You heard a pair of crossbows twang from atop the tower, and then watched as Atash's illusion exploded, sending sparks in a thousand directions. The reloading siege team barely seemed to notice.
A shadow seemed to deepen atop the tower. Far away now you could hear the same sinister voice chanting. Even as you ran across the wall, a thick fog rose around you, obscuring the way forward. You could see dead faces in the vapor, attached to mutilated bodies that dripped with gore and rot. They pressed in from all sides, except the way you had come. The dead faces opened their mouths, their blackened tongues speaking with a disembodied voice. "Leave this place."
+2 vs poisons, spells, and spell-like abilities
Torvi double moves and gets next to the skeletal archer.
Karti can't do much more than press a forearm against his mouth to keep the worst of the stinking cloud out and run forward.
Atash continues dashing forward, undeterred by the voice as well as the fog. Close to the door, still invisible, he whispers and attempts to open it from afar with ranged legerdemain.
Razaniel begins wretching, and is unable to do anything but stumbling forward amidst the noxious fumes.
Rounds nauseated.
Razaniel felt the press of unquiet spirits around him. Then the others left, leaving him alone. A drip of wet rot fell on his shoulder from above, soaking into his clothing and staining it black. Looking up, a ruined face grinned down at him, its cheeks torn away by carrion crows and maggots to reveal a row of yellowed teeth. To his left, a hanged man swung towards him. A very corporeal bolt from the siege crossbow came rushing past, its wind tugging at his hair. He could dimly see the team across the coutyard, now reloading.
Atash reached for the lock on the door with his mind. An archer had run through not long ago, leaving the door unlocked. Once, there was a sconce for the door to be barred from within, but that had long ago been destroyed.
Karti dashed inside the tower. As he ran by the archer on the wall walk, it reached out and grabbed at his face. The taste of blood filled his mouth. Inside, there was an iron grate that wrapped from wall to wall, barring the way further inside. Thankfully, the door to this secondary layer of defense had long ago been removed. A crossbow bolt thudded against his breastplate. It broke on the steel, the tip splintering and catching his shoulder.
This floor of the tower was bare and empty save for the carvings on the walls. Karti could see a stair inside the tower's far wall that led up. Another skeletal archer stood atop the stair, reloading. If he kept sprinting, he would be on top of it before it could fire again. There was another stair leading down. He could hear something coming up from below, far away but moving fast.
When Torvi reached the archer on the wall walk, it dropped its crossbow and reached for her with fingers of bone. It could do little more than scrabble at her steel armor.
From atop the tower, the incorporeal dwarven apparition pointed at Torvi. "Begone." A black ray projected from its pointed finger, missing the paladin by a hair's breadth. It soaked up the light around it, leaving the stones at her feet blackened. There was a whisper then, a muffled sound like the rustle of autumn leaves, whose words you could not make out.
Ray of Exhaustion
Beside the Spirit of the Damned, you could now see the two Skeletal Archers. One looked down through a machicolation above the tower door Karti had just entered, the other prepared to fire from a crenel at anyone on the wall walk.
Torvi will attack the skeletal archer next to her...
Bludgeon
twice (if need be)...
Bludgeon
Razaniel continues stumbling along.
Atash continues to sprint, ignoring the battle going on around him. He swiftly draws a vial from his pack and swallows it in a single go.
Atash leaps onto the wall and begins scrambling up it to get to the skeletons on top.
Stuck in a dance with a heap of bones, Karti bobs and weaves while using the heavy weight of the giant-sticker to smack and smash the skeletal warrior to bits.
Kart thrust his giant sticker into the skeleton’s skull. His blade could be seen through its empty eye socket. It reached for Torvi, but was too feeble to scratch through her armor.
Atash made it about halfway up the side of the tower.
”There is no place for the living here,” came the unearthly voice. A mote of darkness drifted down from the tower. It grew into a solid hall of shadow, then exploded. For a moment, there was a blackness in the air that was more than the mere absence of light.
Two crossbows sounded from above. One bounced off Torvi’s armor, the other skipped off the stones at Karti’s feet.
Atash continues to ignore the fear and finishes climbing the tower. He looks around to see what the top looks like, paying special attention to any entrances, if they're open/shut/locked, and what the enemies are like.
"Now's the time to start cracking some skulls, 'ey!" And to show he means it, Karti swings his giant sticker at the skeleton's skull with reckless abandon.
+2 vs poisons, spells, and spell-like abilities
Torvi is blinded for...
Rounds
And takes...
Damage...
Blind Torvi will attack the skeleton next to her...
Bludgeon
Hit
Bludgeon
Miss
and she will heal herself...
-
Razaniel moves inside the tower to stand next to the Skeleton Archer.
Atash climbed invisibly to the top of the tower. He had heard from Karti that the dead could sense the living the way a shark can smell blood. But nothing could sense him.
There were two undead archers working their crossbows. Beside them, the incorporeal Spirit of the Damned hovered, watching the battle unfold. His belt of gold was inscribed with dwarven runes that identified him as Duin, son of Darun. There was a trapdoor near the middle of the tower, currently open. Stairs led down.
Karti demolished the skeletal archer the group had closed with. Torvi swung at empty air, managing to avoid bludgeoning her ally.
The skeletal archer inside the tower stepped back, fired at Razaniel, and then dropped its crossbow. The warpriest was able to push the crossbow aside at the last moment, deflecting the bolt.
Razaniel could see a soulless husk, armed with axe and shield, coming up from below. It moved to block the doorway he had just walked through, barring the way forward for Karti and Torvi.
From the top of the tower, two crossbows twanged once again. Neither bolt hit its mark. ”Life is fleeting,” came the ghastly voice from beyond. ”Death is eternal.” Then it began to chant.
Communal Protection from Good
Across the courtyard, you could hear running.
Blind Torvi again attacks the skeleton next to her...
Bludgeon
Miss
Bludgeon
Hit
and she will heal herself...
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"Come, let me guide you to the tower," Karti says to Torvi as he reaches out for the blinded dwarf's shoulders.
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Finally shaking his torpor, Razaniel summoned a blessing from the Goddess to enhance his weapon (Sacred Weapon = Flaming) and waded in on the skeleton, attacking with preternatural speed. His sword blazed like a beacon.
Razaniel cut down the skeletal archer with two sweeps of his flaming sword. Charred bones fell off the side of the stair the two were on, scattering in every direction where they bounced off the floor.
Atash unfurled a scroll from his bag. Looking towards the heavens, he shrieked, calling upon the rage of a thousand storms. He materialized beside the tower's defenders with a crackling bolt of energy pulsing outward from his fingertips. The lightning arced from one enemy to the next, nearly knocking the two archers from their feet. For a moment, the gold belt on the incorporeal Spirit of the Damned seemed to melt. And then the undead spirit recovered.
Turning to face this new threat, it raised its own hands, which dripped with a dark magic. "You cannot hide. Death finds us all in the end." And then it reached for Atash's eyes.
Blindess/Deafness
The two archers turned and fired at the tiny ratfolk as well, but he nimbly avoided their bolts.
In the doorway at the base of the tower, the Soulless Husk raised its shield and prepared to withstand an assault from Karti and Torvi.
Across the courtyard, the siege team ran inside the Southern Gatehouse.
"There's another of 'em boney bastards up ahead!" Karti calls out the steps left before they come into contact with the archer, and once within range, removes his hand from Torvi's shoulder to strike at their foe.
Having moved with Karti, blind Torvi attacks the skeleton that Karti has directed her towards...
Bludgeon
Miss
And then, whenever that casting creature goes, Torvi regains her sight this round.
"Where is Atash?!" - Razaniel grunted, and flanked the Soulless Husk with his companions.
---
Atash targeted the most damaged skeleton with a splash of acid, melting the creature into a pile of smoking bones. He then climbed down the tower to avoid being targeted by further attacks.
Karti and Torvi closed in on the Soulless Husk that blocked the way into the tower. Ready for their assault, it deflected their attacks with its shield. Razaniel, however, was able to hack away at it from behind. It barely seemed to notice him even as he inflicted heavy damage.
The Spirit of the Damned called out after him. "Flight will not save you. We will find you, in the end." It glided to the edge of the tower and cast the same spell it had cast before, again targeting the ratfolk wizard.
Blindness/Deafness
The remaining archer moved to the edge of the tower and fired down at Karti through the machicolations. The Soulless Husk engaged Torvi, ignoring Razaniel. The two dwarves were able to avoid both attacks, however.
Razaniel could dimly hear some creatures approaching from within the gatehouse to the east.
Torvi, her eyes functioning again and flanking the creature, took her best shot at it...
Bludgeon
twice...
Bludgeon
As Razaniel continued to hack away, Torvi landed a strong blow that crushed through helm and skull alike. The undead monster let out a last low moan as it fell to the ground, destroyed.
The way into the tower lay open for Karti and Razaniel, though there were still two more floors between the first level and the roof.
"Perhaps with your aim...you're the blind one!" Atash squeaks out at the undead monster. His heart was in his throat, but his luck was up as he had avoided any unfortunate consequences for his brash actions thus far.
Atash scampers away on the wall, trying to conceal himself again, only to pop up next to the standing skeleton on the roof and firing a ball of acid at it!
Karti takes a tactical position to the side of the door and listens, eager to find out whether or not the undead guardians are coming down to fight them.