This door opens to a dark collection of sleeping quarters. Simple beds, and some makeshift sleeping areas made of hay are the only things of note in this room. There are two doors leading out of this 40'x40' room. One to the southeast and one directly south.
The chanting remains constant.
Redemption looked around, slowly becoming more bemused by how this chanting seemed to be both everywhere and nowhere. It seemed impossible, but Redemption was more experienced with the Fey. Impossible was fairly normal. Since there was no obvious danger in the room, but the worst dangers were never obvious, the warforged scanned the room.
Sven doubts between both exists, so he opens both doors to check at first sight what's after each of them.
Looking to score something over the cultists, the tiefling lets her curiosity explore the obvious bunk rooms for anything worth taking there. However, she rather likely finds nothing as she far too unnerved by the sound of chanting continuing on.
Shandi prepares for new dangers by watching Sven open the doors. Chanting makes her nervous, but after her consciousness became free from the oppressive presence of the child's spirit, she seemed to cheer up.
Blaze stamps a hoof nervously as the others search the room. "Where is that coming from? Why doesn't it get louder or quieter?"
She grips her axe and prepares for the worst.
Nothing of value seems to be in this room.
"One of them goes further down" Sven announces. "I think we should get this level cleared before venturing downwards." With that, he gestures to Blaize towards the Southeast corridor. "Do you want first, or would you rather leaving me there? It might be a bit narrow for you."
"The southeast corridor makes sense. I can go second, behind whoever wants to go first."
"I am happy to go first. My senses seem sharp." Which was mildly ironic, given nothing else about the Warforged seemed to be. He moved down the southeast corridor, scanning for danger as he did.
Blaze didn't like not going first, but it did make sense in these narrow corridors for somebody else to lead the way. Instead, she took rear-guard; that way, she wouldn't be trapped in the middle should fighting occur. Still carrying her lantern and her axe, she brought up the rear after Velspira and Shandi.
With Redemption's great perception he recognizes a pit trap ahead down this hallway. Most of the party can maneuver around it, but Blaze will have some difficulty.
"Mmhh... Do we have a rope we can use to give Blaze a more stable crossing?" Sven's thinks aloud at the sight of the difficult moment for the brave centaur. Sure her folks are fierce warriors, effort in warfare when on their native plains and prairies, but here he can understand her struggling.
Blaze stares at the trap for a while, sizing up the situation. "I think I can do it," she says. The tightness of the corridor will actually work to her advantage.
Handing the lantern and her axe to one of the bipeds, she moves to the edge of the trap. There is a tiny edge along the walls, enough for the light bodies equipped with feet, but too narrow for heavy bodies and hooves. But she can reach both sides of the corridor with her hands.
Blaze leans forward a bit, and reaches her arms out to each side. Putting her hands flat against the rough stone walls, she pushes with all her strength against the two walls. The muscles in her back and shoulders ripple and bunch with the effort. Thus supported, she walks her hooves out onto the narrow ledges, until they're as far forward as she can reach.
When she's sure her hooves are stable, she releases her hands, leans forward, and stabilizes herself again, before she can slip from the ledges. The centaur then repeats the procedure, hoping to get across without falling.
Redemption paused near the pitfall on the opposite side, hoping to help if Blaze fell. It did not apparently occur to the construct that a centaur would be vastly heavier than a human, and Redemption was nowhere near strong enough to catch them.
You guys are able to get Blaze across without issue.
You come to a room with the door destroyed. The items inside have been broken and the floor is in disarray. This looks like it might have been a storage area or meeting place, maybe a bit of both. There is another door across from this door in this 40'x50' room. The chanting and darkness are constant.
Redemption once more began to examine the room in passing. The chanting was starting to be...grating? It felt like it was slowly rubbing against the corners of there mind, a seeping, insidious sensation.
Blaze breathes an unconscious sigh of relief to be in a larger room, even if only for a while. The damage was surprising, as so far it felt as though nobody had been down here for years.
Holding the lantern up as Redemption searched, she gripped her axe tight in her other hand. "I don't understand where the singing is coming from. Is it ghosts? Want does it never get louder or quieter? What are they singing ? It's not very musical."
I don't know. Are you still trying to rationalize the horror that is happening around you? Shandi answers the centaur and quickly approaches and opens the only door.
"I just try to go with it at this point, not much can much worse than dead damned kids I reckon that," the tiefling chimed in. She had just about enough of all this haunted house malarky and was growing increasingly wanting in an attempt to leave and burn the whole house down to the foundation.
Following along, she kept her dagger out, crossbow swinging softly snug at her back.
"Ghosts seems likely. Considering the bodies of the children and their nanny had decomposed into skeletons I doubt anyone could still be alive down here." Malaya glances around the room before continuing onwards.
As the party advances through the wrecked room, they notice a creature stirring. You are all perceptive enough to anticipate its attack. A giant snake like creature with a beak and four tentacle like appendages protruding from its head leaps out.
Initiative Round 1
Malaya 22
Blaze 19
Velspira 18
Shandi 14
Sven 13
Redemption 11
? 6
Blaze shrieks in alarm at the sight of the tentacle-headed snake-thing. Thrusting the lantern behind her, she shouted, "Take it!"
As she felt it be taken by somebody behind her, she gripped the greataxe with both hands, and swung at the hideous creature. It writhed and wriggled towards her and Redemption, and she didn't even come close to hitting it. "Be careful! It's wiggly, and looks bitey!"
Sven closes in, using his thunderous fist to punish the strange creature. This time, though, he stays, knowing he could be able to deflect blows that others could not.
Grunting, Redemption fought back with the staff, as it seemed to be as good an idea as any. At the same time the Archer took its shot.
Initiative Round 1
Malaya 22
Blaze 19 Attempts to hit with axe and misses
Velspira 18
Shandi 14
Sven 13 Hits the beast with a shocking graps. The large snakelike creature shimmers with electricity and shakes with the attack.
Redemption 11 Deals some damage to the creature, but the arrow did not seem to faze it much.
? 6
Without crying out or uttering a single superfluous word, Shandi illuminates the room with a short flash of a ray of fire.
Initiative Round 1
Malaya 22
Blaze 19 Attempts to hit with axe and misses
Velspira 18
Shandi 14 Hits the creature with a firebolt causing a slight burned mark to appear on the beast's scaled body.
Sven 13 Hits the beast with a shocking graps. The large snakelike creature shimmers with electricity and shakes with the attack.
Redemption 11 Deals some damage to the creature, but the arrow did not seem to faze it much.
? 6 The creature hits Blaze with a powerful tentacle and pulls her close to its beaked jaw for a bite but the bite falls short. Slashing damage from the tentacle.
A terrible fury fills Blaze. This is one insult too many in this house of horrors. Screaming at the tentacled monstrosity, Blaze swings the axe down with all her might.
Redemption was mildly confused why the Stars had failed to do much damage to the thing. But it was a bonus, and so Redemption tried to do both again, to see if the same happened.
Initiative Round 1
Malaya 22 attempts to hit it with a ray of frost
it hits and does points of frost damage.
Blaze 19 Attempts to hit with axe and misses
Velspira 18 attempts to hit it with fire bolt
Shandi 14 Hits the creature with a firebolt causing a slight burned mark to appear on the beast's scaled body.
Sven 13 Hits the beast with a shocking graps. The large snakelike creature shimmers with electricity and shakes with the attack.
Redemption 11 Deals some damage to the creature, but the arrow did not seem to faze it much.
? 6 Tentacle attack vs Blaze: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19 The creature hits Blaze with a powerful tentacle and pulls her close to its beaked jaw for a bite Beak attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6 but the bite falls short. Damage tentacle: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (2, 3) + 2 = 7 Slashing damage from the tentacle.
Blaze and Redemption finish the creature off. It wails and the tentacles squirm in the darkness for a while before all movement in the creature stops. The chants however, continue...
Malaya clutches her mace tighter as the creature falls. "I wouldn't have expected such a creature down here. I wonder what it's been eating. Perhaps the centipedes?" Her attention is quickly torn away though as she looks towards the next door. "All we can do is move forward. Either we'll find the source of the chanting or we won't, but there's no point to staying here any longer."
Blaze breathes hard, her nostrils flaring and her tail swishing. After a moment, her posture deflates a bit as she relaxes. Looking down at the unknown monster, she takes her dagger and cuts the beak out of its mouth. Tucking it into a pocket, she takes the lantern back and says, "All right, let's keep going, then."
Sven nods to his companions' words - the wisest thing now is to go all in. He helps search around in case there's any detail they're missing.
Velspira lets the flicker of flames from her hands dissipate as the threat of the giant bug was exterminated from this existence, "Creey crawlies and the what not down here. At least ain't another ghost mind you," she says while putting her hands on her hips.
"You alright horse girl?" she asks Blaze after she had been attacked by it.
"You alright horse girl?" she asks Blaze after she had been attacked by it.
Blaze glances down at herself, where the strange tentacles had squeezed and suckered her. A few bruises and abrasions, and it hurt a bit to take a deep breath, but nothing that wouldn't heal. "I'm alright, goat girl."
Nothing is found in this room. There is a hall that leads south, the door is open and broken probably from the snake creature. There is another door that leads east, you came from the west.
Blaze wrinkles her nose at the powerful smell of rot coming from the hallway. She sneezes powerfully and shivers, a ripple running down her body and making her tail swish. Holding the lantern high, she leads the party forward to the intersection.
Having a look at the pantry and not finding any other exit, Sven gives the vital he just found to Blaze.
"Use it if someone with healing powers goes down."
Then he prepares to check the other way.
"South, it is."
Redemption nodded, getting rid to head South unless someone else wanted to lead the way.
As you are about to approach the intersection, the baby rattle begins to make noise.
Shandie wraps a scarf around her nose and mouth. I'm not sure that it will help from this stench, but at least a little... It's already good.
"Undead" Sven comments, pointing southwards.
Malaya pauses and stares at the rattle. "Is that why you wanted it?" If Thorn had told Sven the rattle could sense the presence of undead it became a useful item indeed.
She clutches her holy symbol tightly as they continue moving down the corridor. "If necessary I can try to censure them. Undead creatures are often frightened by the faithful."
The smell unsettled Blaze far more than the ceaseless chanting. Her tail began to droop, hanging limply down in unhappiness. As they approached the intersection, she tried to determine which path smelled the best, or the least worst.
Velspira rolled her eyes at the centaurs response getting back exactly what she had put out made her grit her teeth. She was getting annoyed being here, stuck in some damned haunted house that regardless of the potential loot that was there she was worried a ghost would follow her back home.
"If I didn' think you all smelled bad," cringing at the smell, "What could that all be?
Blaze goes into the intersection bravely, but because of the rattle is not caught by surprise by 3 ghouls waiting.
Round One
Ghoul1 22 The first ghoul claws at the mighty centaur and misses
Ghoul3 21 Another claw misses Blaze
Redemption 20
Malaya 18
Velspira 16
Ghoul2 The third ghoul gets a claw in Blaze.
Blaze 5
Shandi 4+
Sven 4-
Dropping the lantern, Blaze cried out in alarm and pain as three creatures attacked her. She parried a few attacks with her axe, but one of the clawed hands got through, gouging her flank.
Fury flooded her; she gripped her axe with both hands and swung hard at the creature who'd hurt her. The blade sliced through it like grass, nearly cleaving the creature in two.
Redemption considered the situation. Those claws looked less than friendly, and so the Warforged hung back, using longer ranged spells and keeping an eye out for those that needed healing.
Oh, gods ! Shandie exhales in horror. Only her eyes are visible from under the gypsy scarf on her face, and they are dilated with fright. As many as three creatures and with such huge claws... Nevertheless, a trained combat magician from Cyre knows what to do, and her hand will not waver.