Atash stares at Ungor for a long stretch. "If...if we are those three...who is it that sent you?..why are you interested...in that kind of..." A pause stretches as he searches for the word. "pursuit?" Atash looks skittish about the huge lumbering form, twitching and shrinking in response to Ungor's movements.
"Sorry... I get ahead of myself. See I'm a wandering Bear Shaman and never really seem to find a home but I look for things out of balance that need to be corrected. Villagers from the local towns told me of the castle needing to be purged of undead, so I sought out this monstrosity. Along the way I ran into a druid in these local lands who knew about the castle and even traveled into the castle and spoke to the dwarf king...who really, really is sorry about creating undead dwarfs....anyway, this new druid friend of mine tells me a story about how he is helping a group of outsiders get entry into the castle to purge the undead and reach the king. So I told him that I would be willing to go help the intrepid heroes and he pointed me into your direction. Does that help?" Ungor again tries to smile as best he can as a huge dire bear that frequently results in screaming and running in terror..."If only I can master the art of smiling innocently..."
Atash's whiskers twitch uneasily but he keeps his silence. He looks at his two companions to see their thoughts.
Karti stares at the bear as his brain goes through the options of what it might be, but when the bear speaks, it all sort of comes together. A druid, but of course! The blonde dwarf visually relaxes when the druid introduces himself and his words make any and all worries about escalation disappear.
"It does help. Though, I must admit that the thought of a dwarf entering Pyrsa, having a conversation with the king, and then leaving seems far-fetched. You see, Pyrsa is inhabited by those who swore to defend it for all eternity, that's why they've become undead. And they're not mindless, oh no. Honestly, we can use all the help we can get, but, Pyrsa is a politically sensitive matter and it being the home to undead abominations is but one problematic layer ..."
As he speaks, the words come out slower and slower as he takes his time to carefully figure out what he can and cannot say. Karti runs his fingertips through his beard and then when the right words come to him, he continues. "Say we say yes, you must know that what we do in and around the castle will have widespread repercussions. Even if we fail. And what we do will reflect back on you. I do not know if you're a loner, or if you're part of a group or circle, but you and those close to you might all become involved in something somehow bigger than Pyrsa. Now, if that is no problem ..."
"Oh no...I'm not into politics or anything of the sort. I leave all that to the town dwellers... and if I'm understanding your concern right, it was not a dwarf that entered Pyrsa. The local druid became a bird that flew in and spoke with the Dwarf King a few months ago and decided to help the King fix the undead he no longer controls...as far as my allegiances or family pack, I am alone and probably unique in this world. And generally, my appearance is enough to make average townsfolk wish I was somewhere else...which is how I ended up here in the first place." It is at this point that the group would probably come to the realization that not just the bear's appearance as the pungent smell of just outdoors and nature begins to envelop them as the conversation continues.
Ungor tells his story in a matter of fact way, as if all the knowledge he has is common knowledge amongst all he comes across. "I was heading to Poulion Castle to find the outsiders but I figure that I found you sooner and no longer need to go there."
"Oh and if you want to jump onboard and can hang on, I can probably get us there faster...wherever our 'there' is?"
Torvi had been watching and listening to the bear, and her companions. Her first action upon encountering the bear had been to determine that it wasn't evil.
Having determined that, she wanted to hear the bear out. Now that the bear, Ungor, apparently, had expressed everything it seemed it have to say, Torvi was prepared to join the conversation.
"Ungor, if I may use your name. I know not what your true motivations are, but your words are not those of an evil creature. I would choose to have you join us, if my friends will have it so. What more, may I ask, do you know of Pyrsa?"
"Sure small one, call me Ungor...The only thing I know about the castle is that King Justin has some issues about evil outsiders making a pact, which has something to do with the undead curse. And something about planar barriers are weakened so the dwarven souls cannot pass into Pharisma and may even be claimed by the evil outsiders if they enter our plane of existence. It doesn't really make a lot of sense to me. I just know the old Dwarf king is asking for help and I figured I could help."
A brow furrows when Ungar calls Torvi 'small one'. Still, the man is dropping one tasty morsel of knowledge after another, and Karti's ears grow pointier by the second as Ungor speaks. "I see. That's all very interesting. Say, you wanted to go to Poulion castle? Is what is going on there vital to the defense of Pyrsa and eventually, undoing the undead curse that haunts Pyrsa?"
"I was only going to Poulion castle to find you. But it is great that I ran into you here. I mean what are the odds I would find the actual outsiders Gurtag has been helping get into Pyrsa on the road?" Ungor looks from face to face with a quizzical look."What is the plan?"
"I say we go back to where we were, and keep going."
"That works for me. We had a plan, of sorts, best stick to it, aye?"
The group, now four once again, began to move towards Pyrsa Castle. Leaving the Skirling Pass, you went back the way Ungor had already come.
As you walked, you noticed that everything seemed to be more or less how you had left it. The six Sally Tunnels that led out from the small underground complex you had discovered still hung open, shuddering in the wind. The pit trap within the road tunnel had not been reset, thankfully.
Though you knew undead ventured from the castle, evidently it did not happen every day.
By the time you reached the wood outside the castle's main gate, it was evening. Clouds had moved in from the West, swallowing the sun. Night lay beyond them, and a cold, frozen land.
You were able to find the Sally Tunnel more easily this time. It remained locked.
I'm prepared this time, tricky door. Atash peeks his nose out from Karti's backpack. "Otrusch." He says in a hoarse whisper.
The boulder shifted silently, then the door swung open. Behind it lay a dark tunnel that led down. One by one, you filed in. The air was dead, but it breathed. You had disturbed its still slumber. On you walked, the light behind you fading until you rounded a corned and it winked out completely.
Up ahead, the tunnel you had entered led into a larger chamber.
Along the way, Ungor asks his new companions about the Castle size and expected threats so he can get up to speed on how best to support.
Before entering the tunnel and it is about that time of day when Ungor's 8 hour bear shape will wear off, Ungor will take only a few seconds to shift to human form and then immediately take a large bear form. For those that catch a glimpse of Ungor, you will see a hairy human form that retains bear like features in his face and hands. But he is wearing a single plate of armor that has leaves impressed over every square inch of this chest plate, but other than the armor, Ungor's human form looks very unmenacing. and with that, the armor melds once again as he shakes his head--almost like a dog trying to dry off.
"Ok. Small bear this time into the tunnel."
Torvi shakes her head, "so that was disconcerting."
The group moved forward into the chamber. Torvi clattered noisily, while Karti’s armor made a soft shifting sound. The noises reverberated off the stones, making a strange and eerie sound. The room you had entered was perhaps forty feet square of rough-hewn rock. On the wall behind you, running parallel to the tunnel you had just traversed, you could see two more tunnels. They must have led out to other sally locations. On the far side of the room, there was a set of stairs that led up.
Far away, you can hear something moving at the end of one of the other tunnels.
+2 vs unusual stonework
Loathe to breathe in the stale air deeply, Karti slowly shuffles forward. It's between two steps that his ears pick up a sound from deeper within, and Karti halts. He puts a hand on Torvi's shoulder and, when she turns around to look at him what's what, he taps on his ear with a finger and then points ahead.
Torvi nods back at her companion and points to the two tunnels questioningly.
Ungor is looking at the ground, but hears nothing to back up his new friends.
"So...druid than." Atash notes aloud. "Do you find...your human form...uncomfortable?"
Atash nods to Torvi's suggestion to track down the noise.
The group moved down the tunnel, Torvi leading the way. Ungor's large form filled the tunnel behind you, his fur brushing against the walls. You walked forward, moving slowly.
There was another sound up ahead. Something moving. You stopped to listen. So did the sound. Your own breathing echoed in your ears. Something moved towards you, clanking in armor.
Two translucent shades came racing down the tunnel towards you. You recognized them as belonging to a pair of Frozen Shades, the same you had fought before. The shades glided towards you...and then passed through Torvi and Karti.
"Remember, bludgeoning or slashing weapons, not cold!"
Torvi will 5' step away from Ungor, so she is 10' from Ungor, and she will ready to attack one of the shades, if it materializes here.
Karti gulps down an extract and then surges forward. The bear-man will need all the space he can get, and Karti doesn't care much for being sandwiched between it and the walls.
Atash puts a finger to the back of Karti's head, then scampers out of the way of the incoming shade.
Torvi and Karti push forward enough to see the Frozen Shades, which scramble back into the darkness. The eerie, translucent images of the shades continued moving through Ungor and down the tunnel, back towards the chamber you had discovered earlier. They too vanished, leaving you with only darkness on both sides.
There was another clanking noise down the tunnel, in the direction you had not yet explored.
"Guess...they got better things to do." Atash is happy to let them be on their way.
"Not that I don't like my human form...I just feel more myself in bear form. Nature seems to agree because it lends me the power of Gozreh more in bear form."
"Ok team?....Anyone want to explain what that was? I guess I should have asked for a threat explanation before barging into the tunnel. How about now? What can we expect down here and are those 2 things coming back? Are there any ill effects now that I've been slimed?"
Oh, right. We didn't inform him of what's going on.
"Undead...infest these halls...those were frozen shades...incorporeal undead...don't use cold magic on them...seems they had other...business than us."
"There still sounds to be something down here though."
Torvi turns and starts leading the group further down the passageway.
The shades disappearing worries Karti. After all, they're the intruders, so whatever is producing the clanking noise won't be any friendlier than the shades. "They're not completely mindless, don't forget that. They're protecting Pyrsa, after all, and we're intruding. They'll come back for us, possibly with friends."
The party moved down the tunnel, intent on exploring it fully. It sloped gently upwards, back to the surface. As you walked on, a single Soulless Husk came into view. The Frozen Shades were nowhere to be seen.
It began to charge.
Karti lowers his giant-sticker and braces himself, ready to throw his full weight into the attack once the husk comes within reach.
Atash fires a particularly nastily aimed glob of acid from Karti's pack!
Ungor sees that the front lines are full of competent dwarfs. So he will wait to see how he can best support.
The single enemy charged in, axe held high. Just before it reached Torvi, Atash caught it in the face with a glob of acid. It tripped, dropping it's weapon.
You finished it off in short order. Nothing else jumped out to attack you. Dimly, you could hear the receding sound of two Frozen Shades retreating down the tunnel, back the way you had come. The way to the end of the tunnel lay open before you.
"Ungor, perhaps you should move to the rear of the group. With those two back behind us, it might be good to have someone of your stature back there, just in case."
Torvi turns and continues down the tunnel.
Ungor looks around...squeezes his head backwards to look behind the group and then back forward.
"Uhh? ... I'm already at the back or rear of the group. As I count, there are you 2 dwarfs up front and the ratman pops out like a wizard's familiar wherever is safest...so I am already guarding the rear"
Led by Torvi, the group continued on down the tunnel. Before long, you saw light up ahead. It was red, as if from fire, but as you drew close you saw that it was daylight. The sun must be burning low on the horizon by now.
The tunnel's exit had been smashed to rubble. There was only a small space through broken stones, just wide enough for Atash to fit through, that led out to the surface. Torvi and Karti could recall that, in the days of the Sieges of Pyrsa, the invading humans had found and destroyed some of these tunnels. Perhaps that had happened here.
It was very hard to tell from this angle, but you thought you could shift some of the rubble in order to open this tunnel again.