Caelius rushes in keeping his eyes pinned to the ground as he shifts around Baghotir's feet. He knows it's not the Basilisk cause well it has legs after all. He keeps moving until he notices scales on the floor and swings.
He watches as the creature's body seems to stiffen. "Is it okay to look now?" His curiosity gets the better of him as he can't help but look. Relief washes through him as he doesn't immediatly turn to stone and he tries to kill the beast. "Maybe they were wrong."
HP 55/67
AC 21 (+2 (23) w/ Shield) (14 w/o armor)
Short Rest Die 1/7
Second Wind 0/1
Action Surge 0/1
Superiority Die (D8; Disarming Attack, Sweeping Attack, Menacing Attack): 2/5
Caelius uses honed instincts, and strikes at the monster with his gaze averted... The blow is a good one, and once Alisanne cripples the creature with her magic, everyone rushes into the room and piles on, taking full advantage of their opening.
But it is Caelius who ends the monster. He takes his longsword in a two-handed grip, and the first swipe batters the incoherent snake to one side, exposing it's neck. The follow up is a downward chop from a high guard that claims the basilisk's head.
Each Adventurer earns 655 Experience Points.
The party stands in a circular room. You entered from the north, and there is a closed door exiting south. A staircase curves up the east wall, 25 feet to a trapdoor in the ceiling.
Ageg motions around the room.
"Here. The snake guarded the entrance to Keledek's lab, where he dwells when he is here in the complex."
"I've heard tell of beasts like this, but this was worse than the stories. Give me a moment." Venn takes a trophy and hands it to Caelius. He goes back and gets one for Alisanne. "If we ever cross weapons, I hope you spare me from that spell."
The pathfinder then takes a look about the room before prepping by the southern door.
Belwick sees Venn preparing himself by the southern door, then looks to Ageg. "Just to confirm, Keledek's lab is up the stairs and through that trapdoor, yes? If so, that is the direction I suggest we go."
Venn's sharp eyes spy something--under the stairs: a smaller size door, only 5' Tall, hidden in the stonework, leading west!
Each Adventurer earns 500 Experience Points!
Ageg answers, "Aye, so it seems... But Keledek's tricky. I doubt it's that easy."
"Tricky, you say? Well perhaps..."
Belwick trails off when Venn spots the hidden door. "Yes, I think that's exactly right. Perhaps we check that small door first."
Once you know it's there, the door opens easily. Inside is a 5'x5' square passage, and a few of you need to duck a little to traverse it. The passage goes about 80 feet and ends at another door. It looks similar to the one leading into the passage.
I will need a marching order if you're going to proceed, as the passage is 5' Wide.
"Venn, please lead the way. Caelius, I suggest you follow behind him. I have magical light, so I'll follow right after. Then I suggest Baghotir and Alisanne follow after. Lemunda, the Ageg and company to guard our rear."
Baghotir freshens his light, then lines up more or less as the Baron suggests - though he waits impatiently for others to get in line before him and he tries to look around them to the front...
He's ready to go!
The party makes their way into the passage and down to the door. Venn in front, opens the door into... Keledek's Laboratory!
There is a roughly square room with doors in the north and south walls. The man who can only be Keledek is hard at work at a workbench. Nearby stands a person wearing a sword and pistol. This pirate stands with glassy eyes and a slack jaw, drooling a little.
Behind the pair is a trio of humanoid statues that all look like horrified Saltmarsh citizens.
Keledek is an impressive man--he towers, standing well over 6 feet with dark skin and a bald pate. He is dressed in colorful robes, decorated with beads, arcane foci and a pouch of components.
He locks eyes with Venn as Venn opens the secret door into the lab. Keledek barks out, "Intruder! Slay him."
The pirate wordlessly draws weapons and Keledek The Unspoken begins casting a spell. The pirate lowers his flintlock at Venn and fires...
But the weapon's shot is wide. He closes on the ranger and prepares to duel.
and
Ageg uses his leadership ability to psych up his boys.
Keledek casts Mage Armor, and lightly touches a curious stone that hangs around his neck on a cord.
INITIATIVE!
ROUND 1
1. Ageg (18) LEADERSHIP, Ulzer and Bugbear have +1d4 to Saves and Attacks
2. Pirate (16) Draws Pistol and fires, Missing. Melee misses.
3. Keledek (14) Mage Armor, Transmuter Stone
4. Baghotir (12) GO
5. Venn (11) GO
6. Belwick/Elemental (10) GO
7. Alisanne (8) GO
6. Lemunda (8) GO
7. Ulzer (7) GO
8. Caelius (5) GO
9. Bugbear (4) GO
Able to see into the room and having heard Keledek speak, Belwick wastes no time to close distance and get the spellcaster into view. He speaks and arcane word and is immediately picked up in swirling mists only to appear in the room.
The nobleman points his wand at Keledek. "Enemy of Saltmarsh, know that this is your end today!" He follows these words up with a waving of the wand and more words of magic, hurling a bolt of fire at the spellcaster.
He then moves to have some further space, using the unfortunate statues as a shield.
"Hit the tall mage," Belwick commands, and the earth spirit surges forward. It only gets as far as the pirate for now.
Condition: None
- - -
Baghotir moves up to the pirate, and circles around a bit. He attacks!
He also fires up his spiritual axe, and sends it against Keledek to keep him busy.
...though it doesn't fare as well.
Baghotir scores a hit on the pirate, who doesn't even seem to be aware of his surroundings beyond fighting the opponents in front of him.
Belwick's firebolt is a hit, but he sees half of the energy being absorbed by the strange stone!
Venn immediately rushes into the scrum, opening with a massive Oberhau:
, but when that doesn't work he immediately follows through and repeats with Sturzhau, hoping the arm crossing tricks the opponent.
for
When the man's eyes go wide, Venn rips the blade back, cutting his trapezius muscle like a piece of tavern meat
for
Venn lands a couple of brutal strikes, opening up vicious wounds in the pirate. (bloodied)
"So it is true then. We should bring him in so the Captain can deal with this one." Caelius calls out. "Might be able to get him to talk about the others."
He rushes at Keledek, intent on knocking the man unconscious.
HP 55/67
AC 21 (+2 (23) w/ Shield) (14 w/o armor)
Short Rest Die 1/7
Second Wind 0/1
Action Surge 0/1
Superiority Die (D8; Disarming Attack, Sweeping Attack, Menacing Attack): 2/5
"Ageg, you and yours help with the pirate first! We'll keep Keledek occupied!"
Ok, I'm correcting some things. I hand't realized that Venn pushed past the pirate to get to Keledek. I'm redirecting his damage to the wizard, and The Pirate gets an opportunity attack...
, HIT, Venn takes piercing damage.
The Charmed Pirate is very hale, nearly in peak form. Keledek, however, is hovering on death's door.
Caelius doesn't, because the pirate has already used a reaction.
Alisanne is still up...
Alisanne moves down the narrow hall to the entrance of the room. She quickly takes in the chaos and spies the dire straits Keledek is in.
A smile tugs at Alisanne's lips as she sees the statues towering behind Keledek and her friends. She brings her flute to her lips and plays a quick jig. The northern statues starts dancing to the tune.
Alisanne points at Keledek. "Be a dear friends and kill that wizard."
The statue steps forward and slams a stony fist down at the wizard.
force damage.
Keledek's mage armor protects him from the statue's slam, but Alisanne's use of the statues has spooked him.
Lemunda moves up and attacks the pirate...
, ,
Lemunda lands one swing... damage.
Her third strike is parried and there's a riposte to deal with..., but it's sloppy.
Ulzer pushes into the room and joins the fray, The bugbear moves up.
Ageg also moves up, trying to get into the scrum.
The Pirate stabs at Baghotir... MISS
Lemunda, HIT for
And Ulzer HIT for
Keledek casts a spell, and then he touches his weird stone and he tries to bolt...
ROUND 2
1. Ageg (18) Pushes into the room, move and dash
2. Pirate (16)
3. Keledek (14) Mage Armor, Transmuter Stone
4. Baghotir (12) GO
5. Venn (11) GO
6. Belwick/Elemental (10) GO
7. Alisanne (8) GO
6. Lemunda (8) GO
7. Ulzer (7) GO
8. Caelius (5) GO
9. Bugbear (4) GO
PARTY UP!
Having moved to be ready to stop Keledek's magic, Belwick spots the man performing magic and quickly weaves a counterspell.
He smiles with a degree of pleasure when he is indeed able to stop the spell with relative ease.
As Keledek turns to flee, the statue swings a stony fist at him.
"DIE!" for
Belwick shuts down Keledek's magic spell, at the same time that Keledek gains enhanced speed from his weird stone. The enhanced speed does him no good. Expecting the brutes next to him to be slowed by transmutation magic, Keledek turns and flees south... Venn is there to stop him, the Ranger's reflexes ending the fight.
Venn, feel free to narrate. You have the option to capture or kill.
The wizard no longer conscious, the spell on the pirate unravells... Teh pirate's clothes fall into a heap. A tiny rat emerges from the pile and sits on it's hind legs, regarding the party.
Each Adventurer earns 743 Experience Points!
All is still. Keledek's body lay on the floor. The rat seems unafraid of you all and watches you.
In the pirate's clothes, you find:
-A Rapier
-A flintlock pistol with materials for 10 shots
-A truly impressive Tricorn Hat
-A jeweled belt. Baghotir estimates it to be worth 100 Gold Coins.
Keledek had:
-a an arcane scroll,
-his spell componants,
-and a wand that he hadn't had the chance to draw and wield against you.
Baghotir prods at the rat a bit - surprised it hasn't run off. He looks to the Baron, "Can you explain this? Is it a smart rat?" He looks back down at the rodent, as if daring it to speak.
Baghotir notices that the rat has a wound of some kind on its head. Aside from that, it appears to be a healthy, normal rat.
Belwick looks at Baghotir, and then the rat. "If I had to hazarad a guess, I would posit that the rat was polymorphed into a human. And then instructed to fight for Keledek. I'd need to review his spellbook to confirm that though. Allow me some time to go over his items and this space and I might be able to tell you more."
The nobleman wizard, assuming that no one will mind, will take the time to cast several spells and examine all that there is to see.
The workbench is covered with forms, notes and a small alchemical lab. Enough that you could pick out and take Alchemist's Supplies from it.
Keledek seems to have been working on what, specifically, in the gaze attacks of monsters, causes the transmutation to stone and how to reverse it. There are also notes and some journal entries about the crazy number of rats in the complex, and some theories about the passages beyond the barricade--they are infested with rats and corporeal undead, and Keledek intended to press through them, convinced that great power or treasure was beyond.
Another says that, "...The monster in the dark is best left alone for now. I've no idea how it came to be here, but it is from beyond our world. It is polite but without morals as we understand them."
Another says that the, "...The Undead Guardian is powerful and wields a blade of dark hunger", referring to the one to the north.
Another, "...Blackmail! The vile fools. I will do their bidding, but I will find a way out of this. How did the Scarlet Ones discover my dark secret? Fah. I have learned their identities and am a step closer to escape and revenge. For now, they may use my caves for their illegal trade."
EDIT: Yet another, "...The Skull in the southwest room, if I can learn the secret of its removal, will lead me to greater and greater power."
One last bit mentions the foolish adventurers that came poking around. One was fed to the rats and the others make lovely decorations here.
His spell book is nowhere to be found here.
The wand radiates transmutation magic.
The scroll is a scroll of Arcane Lock
His personal supplies amount to a wizard's Spell Component Pouch.
The Tricorn radiates transmutation magic as well.
The rat continues to be curious about you all.
Belwick stows the wand and scroll for future use. But he spends a bit of time trying to puzzle out the hat. "This hat allows you to take on the appearance of a pirate. I suppose it's useful if you're looking to sneak into a pirate crew. But... did he put this on the rat so that it might resemble a pirate? Why?"
Baghotir offers a bit of cheese (assuming he has any supplies at all, he'd have some cheese I should think).
Caelius watches a Venn slays the wizard. "Suppose there was no helping it, though he may have squealed under interrogation." He grabs Keledek's body. "We need to take him and the evidence back with us to the Captain."
"Yes, and bring Lemunda back as well. Though there are most definitely secrets that need to be explored here. I would like to search this place further once we tend to things back in town. There are tools here that I think might serve us in the fight against the Scarlet Brotherhood."
"Wizard slain, pirates exposed. Seems as good a time as any to high-tail it back to Saltmarsh. And I wanna see my Dad again. Possibly buy some people some drinks to say thanks."
"That settles it then, I think. We head back and report on what's transpired with the good Captain."
He then looks to Ageg and his diminished crew. "Centurian, you have served bravely and faithfully. I respect that. Now I assign a much simpler task. I want you and yours to stand guard inside the entrance to this place. If I do not return within a week, consider our agreement satisfied your Cohort free to go. I fully expect to return well before that point though. Understood?"
Ageg displays no emotion, but salutes with his fist to his chest.
"Aye sir. We will check the barriers and resume our guard post."
The journey back to Saltmarsh is uneventful. A light wind caresses you as you march back.
You return in the early hours of night. The atmosphere is tense, and there are a lot of extra guards on duty. It looks as though all of the reserves have been called up and activated.
Lemunda has been away for some time, and though change comes slowly to Saltmarsh, she looks around in wonder. Streets and businesses look the same, but none of the guards are folk she recognizes.
Caelius stops a fellow he recognizes and learns the news... Captain Eliander Fireborn was found murdered! He was discovered in the home of Ingo The Drover, his body battered and broken. The wreckage of some kind of magical golem nearby seems to be the murder weapon. Captain Fireborn put up a fight! Ingo used the thing to kill Captain Fireborn, then he took poison and committed suicide. Everyone's on edge--mourning or just scared.
Gellan Primewater also turned himself in for running the local smuggling cartel. He is in the town jail awaiting extradition to Seaton for trial and sentencing.
Lemunda's eyes go wide and she rushes off to Ingo's home.
For rescuing Lemunda and escorting her to Saltmarsh, each adventurer earns 750 Experience Points.
The streets are quiet and tense. Guards patrol, clearly on edge. Only Caelius' presence keeps you from being confronted and interviewed.
Baghotir offers a bit of cheese (assuming he has any supplies at all, he'd have some cheese I should think).
You have befriended a surprisingly intelligent rat with a head wound.
The news has Belwick on edge. After all, the captain had been a staunch ally. "Keledek dead. Ingo committed suicide. Gellan in prison. This is... far too tidy for my liking. We are going to need to speak with Gellan as soon as possible. And I wish we could get answers from Ingo and Captain Fireborn on just what happened."
"I admit, I also don't like that Lemunda does not recognize the guards here. Caelius, do you know who the senior-most person is among the guard? And how long they've served here?"
Condition: None
- - -
”Hey, before we leave, give me a minute.”
Before the team departs, Baghotir rounds up the wounded, including - or maybe especially - the rat. Anyone still injured (up to four others, NPCs included, plus Bahgotir and rat) each heal:
Belwick looks at Baghotir, and then the rat. "If I had to hazarad a guess, I would posit that the rat was polymorphed into a human. And then instructed to fight for Keledek. I'd need to review his spellbook to confirm that though. Allow me some time to go over his items and this space and I might be able to tell you more."
”Thanks Belwick. Do let me know. He seems rather smart for a common rat. So I can’t help but wonder if he’s trapped in that form from another still. I think I’ll call him Rolly for now. Until we learn more.” He feeds him another bit of cheese.
When they reach town, Baghotir is displeased, ”Fireborn murdered! By the hells. I agree Baron, this is tied up too neatly in a knot for my tastes. Rarely are such things so clean from the outside. We should certainly investigate, but we must tread lightly. Everyone is going to be uneasy about this and I don’t want to get trampled by the mob, you know?”
Baghotir isn’t sure what the best next step is, but he agrees, speaking with the dead should be on tomorrow’s schedule. ”I can ask but five questions per ten days, and we should question Ingo as well. So we should carefully consider our needs. And the answers may be cryptic or brief, so we should have a care for what we ask.”
Venn stares at the rat... I mean, stares. "Hey, that thing is a bit odd. Can one of you wiggle-fingers determine if it's some kind of magicked enemy?"
As per slack... The Rat is magical, and Detect Magic picked that up. No specific school.
"The rat is magical in some way. I cannot see any specific school of magic associated to it, which unfortunately makes this challenging to determine its purpose. That said, I do not think the aura coming from the rat is false. I know a dweomer that could possibly do that, but it doesn't work this way."
Belwick mulls over the magical options he has at his disposal. "If the creature spoke, I could use magic to determine what it's saying. That might be worth trying. But I would think using a spell that allows you to speak with animals might suit better."
The rat is at full health, despite the visible wound on the top of its head. Poor guy--a good portion of its skull seems to have broken off. Miracle it's still alive.
Alisanne considers a moment and summons Bimz out from his pocket. She gives it some affectionate pets.
Bimz, we have a new friend. See if you can communicate with it and let me know what you learn. We'd like to know who it is and what's happened to it.
Bimz yawns and stretches before alighting off of Alisanne's shoulder and gliding down to the rat.
Bimz purrs and preens and then regards the rat.
Then he steps back, as if lightly slapped. He hops on Alisanne's shoulders.
In her mind, Alisanne gets the feelings of confusion and caution, and the word and image for SHIELD, or maybe, CASTLE or... No... FORTRESS.