The skeleton with the greataxe chops Median's arrow from the air just as Silvio raises his staff and knocks its skull clean off its shoulders. All at once, the bones lose their connection and collapse in a heap to the floor. The axe clatters to the ground atop the pile of bones, still slick with Winter's blood. Recognizing that they're not out of danger yet, Silvio urges Winter forward, and the dog continues the assault on the skeleton with the polearm. Winter stands atop the newly defeated foe, growling and biting out. With a crunch, the already half-broken femur shatters and the skeleton falls to its back in the corner. Although Sledge's spell fizzles out, he takes advantage of the skeleton's defenselessness to bring his flail brutally down. His flail caves in the skeleton's chain shirt as sternum and ribs all shatter within. The dull red light glowing with its empty eye sockets dims and its group on its deadly polearm loosens as it too finds its rest again.
There remains one skeleton above-ground, and two below with Garen. The skeleton with sword and shield swings its sword around and advances on the heavily-injured frontline fighters. It tries to take Sledge out first. Swinging its blade out and trying to replicate its previous success, it merely catches air as Sledge sees the attack coming and dodges out of the way. It clangs its sword against its shield as if to say "come and get me" and stares at you with cold, dead, red "eyes".
Skeletons
Garen:
Yellow Skeleton
Median:
Sledge:
Silvio:
Winter:
Map
As Garen withdraws, one of the skeletons claws at his leg , but they are unable to pursue him despite their best efforts.
Yellow Skeleton
Median:
Sledge:
Silvio:
Winter:
Skeletons
Garen:
Map
With the tide turning in the party's favor, Silvio and Winter hope to finish off the remaining surface foe!
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Neither of them are particularly successful, but hopefully they leave an opening for Sledge.
Garen emerges above the water's surface for the first time in nearly half a minute, demonstrating the paladin's strength of fortitude if nothing else, to see that his allies have been carrying on the above-water fight in his absence. However, their final opponent seems to have taken a page out of Garen's book, wielding sword and shield to deadly combination. It maneuvers its shield to deflect Median's arrow while dodging the bludgeoning weapons of both Silvio and Sledge. Even Winter's gnashing teeth are turned away, failing to penetrate through the skeleton's armor. The skeleton then braces its shield in front of it and makes a cleaving swing, starting with Sledge.
The blade scores through Sledge's armor once more, bringing the young, confident magus to the brink . The skeleton continues with the momentum from having taken Sledge nearly out of the fight and tries to bring the halfling's mount down. But Winter is too well-trained, and steps out of the way of the swinging sword.
Just as Garen thinks he has gotten away from the underwater skeletons, one bends down and thrusts up off the watery floor after him, ascending with stunning speed.
Yellow Skeleton
Median:
Sledge:
Silvio:
Winter:
Underwater Skeletons
Garen:
Map
A disabled character with negative hit points recovers hit points naturally if he is being helped. Otherwise, each day he can attempt a DC 10 Constitution check after resting for 8 hours, to begin recovering hit points naturally. The character takes a penalty on this roll equal to his negative hit point total. Failing this check causes the character to lose 1 hit point, but this does not cause the character to become unconscious. Once a character makes this check, he continues to heal naturally and is no longer in danger of losing hit points naturally.
"Hang in there, Sledge!" Seeing his friend(?) in trouble, Silvio dismounts, steps back, and calls for Erastil's healing!
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Meanwhile, Winter continues the fight.
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And seizes on an opening as the skeleton overextends itself!
Silvio dismounts from his steed and emerges into water that comes up too high for comfort on him. But he keeps Sledge from dropping--for now--while Winter scoots in just past the skeleton's lowered defenses and manages a powerful bite. Maybe that femur will be a chew toy after it has been cleansed of its necromantic taint.
Median's arrow also ekes past the skeleton's defenses, burrowing into its skull and rattling around. It looks no less ferocious with an arrow sticking out of an eye socket, although you know that it continues to be damaged.
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Garen feels the skeleton try scratching him once more, but it comes no closer to managing to strike him than it did in most of its flurries below the water.
Sledge felt woozy there for a second. Then he felt better after Silvo hit him with healing magic. Better enough to remember some of Captain Winslow's advice regarding opponents that can cut through enemies. Seeing the low health of everyone, including himself, he decides to take a risk, and make a decisive action. He lowers his flail, braces his shoulder, and shoves the skeleton as hard as possible.
As Sledge leans into a shove, the skeleton tries to slash at Sledge.
But the attack swings high, and Sledge thrusts his shoulder into the skeleton. The skeleton skids backwards towards the water, its sword and shield arms pinwheeling as it plunges into the water.
The skeleton splashes into the water but manages to stay on the surface. It stares at Sledge as it drops its sword on the surface and then looses its shield's strap to leave its hands free.
The skeleton lifts itself back out of the water. Although it is no longer wielding its shield and its sword is lying on the ground, the party knows from experience that it is no less deadly. Its jaw unhinges and it speaks to the party. "The heroes of Kassen remain clever. But you will all die at the hands of Asar." It raises its hands, water cascading out of its bones and armor.
On the other side of the pool, one of the other skeletons splashes out of the water, a gnarled arm clutching to the side and ready to climb to continue the fight.
Yellow Skeleton:
Blue Skeleton:
Orange Skeleton:
Median:
Sledge:
Silvio:
Winter:
Garen:
Map
Now that Silvio is dismounted and has some distance, he reverts to using his staff as a sling!
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Winter steps up to the soggy skeleton and tries to add to his bone collection.
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Median sees Blue trying to get out of the water, but she shoots at Yellow again, figuring she can switch to blue if it makes it.
She misses though, sadly, since she wished the talking skeleton would just shut up. ... They weren't the heroes of Kassen. No use replying though. No brain in there to actually get through to.
Median and Silvio both miss, but Winter shows his mettle and wrenches a femur out of the skeleton's hip socket. The skeleton tumbles back onto its back, though it makes no cry of desperation.
In some cases, you may have to squeeze into or through an area that isn’t as wide as the space you take up. You can squeeze through or into a space that is at least half as wide as your normal space. Each move into or through a narrow space counts as if it were 2 squares, and while squeezed in a narrow space, you take a –4 penalty on attack rolls and a –4 penalty to AC.
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Garen's club shines with one last burst of Iomedae's light as the weapon caves in the rising skeleton's skull. It collapses back into the water, its necromantic energy fully dissipated.
Sledge doesn't know any more about Asar than he has gleaned from the basic information gained by seeing the once name elsewhere in the Crypt, on a plaque up by a mural on the first floor. He waits, his head aching from the massive blood loss he has experienced in the last few minutes.
From the ground, the skeleton shoves Winter away before it stands, teetering on its one remaining leg.
Then there is a churning in the water, and Garen sees his other underwater foe swiftly swimming up through the water.
Yellow Skeleton:
Orange Skeleton:
Median:
Sledge:
Silvio:
Winter:
Garen:
Map
As the skeleton shoves Winter backward and stands, it only makes itself a better target for Silvio's sling bullets!
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"Defend!" shouts Silvio as he sees that Winter wants to jump into the water!
Winter almost always listens to Silvio and stands guard to defend him.
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Silvio's sling bullet pierces through the skeleton's armor and he watches as the red glowing orbs within its skull fade to black. It crumbles within its armor, collapsing to a useless heap on the ground. Even as the apparent leader of this group falls, the final skeleton claws its way up from the water onto the bridge, blissfully unaware that it is the last one standing in the chamber.
Sledge, who is looking substantially worse for the wear, is fed up with this. Could all the skeletons talk? Was it just like a magic mouth effect? How smart were they? And did he care? At least he knew the answer to the last one; not really. What was important was that they had spent days looking for Damira with no avail. Swinging his flail two-handed in an upward arc, he knocks the skull clean off the skeleton with perfect golfer's form. Bone crumbles when confronted with metal.
Why is this all happening? It doesn't make sense. And why did the mayor send me instead of his daughter?
Although neither Median nor Garen find much success in their efforts, Sledge brings the melee to a close. After a tense minute of finding themselves worn down by the blades and arrows of their undead enemies, the only sound that remains now is their panting post-exertion.
The large wheel sits unmolested in the back of the room, more directly familiar to Sledge and Silvio who fought fiercely near it. The wheel is attached to chains that rise up into the ceiling. The young adventurers remember well the message inscribed in the first room on this lower floor: To the south you might take your ease, to rest and reflect on Kassen’s deeds. To the east lies the wheel, to open the gate. To the west is the resting place of Kassen, hero of the Fangwood.
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"Before we do anything else," Garen says pulling off his waterlogged pack and digging in it. He pulls out a rope. "Would one of you take an end of this and tie it off to that wheel? I left my sword down there and it could come in handy." Once the rope is tied off he steps off into the pit from whence he came and feels around on the bottom for the cold iron longsword. Once he has it, climbs his way out (assuming it is DC 5 since he has a rope and something to brace his feet against he will take 10).
Finally, after pulling himself out of the hole he says heaving in a big breath, "Okay, I'm ready to continue. Wheel or back to the West?" he then shoulders his pack.
Silvio checks on his wounds and those of Sledge and Winter as Garen and Median engage in a flurry of activity. "When we're done opening up an exit from here, I think we need to rest. I've spent all my miracles for the day, and we need to recover from our wounds. Hopefully opening the exit gives us an escape route if we end up needing it."
Winter certainly seems to appreciate Silvio's attentions.
Garen retrieves his sword with little difficulty, while Median gives the wheel a few mighty turns. The chains pass from the ceiling down into a ratcheting mechanism, and off somewhere else in the chamber the party hears creaky iron rising up.
Winter's back left leg thumps as Silvio finds that right spot.
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Yeah, it sounds like it opened up something somewhere at least. Let's go see.
She goes with the party back to the circular crossroads passage at the beginning of this floor, drying herself off thoroughly after she gets out of the water.
The poem says "To the south you might take your ease" ... and I agree with Silvio that we need to rest. If the poem is correct, we can probably rest there. Should we risk it, or should we just rest here?
Returning to the crossroads, the party's noses are once again assailed by the unpleasant stench of rot coming from the west.
"The poem might have been right at a different time. Not sure if it's right now."
Silvio considers what gates they've seen while here. "Maybe we check upstairs to see what's changed? There was a gate where all those nasty pit traps were. We could check how Khuvaan and Roldare are doing."
Garen:
Median:
Silvio:
Sledge:
Winter:
"Well, if you do want to head South, at let me sneak ahead to see if it looks safe. And hang on to this." Silvio will hand Garen the wand of cure light wounds.
"Okay--you all stay here while I see if the way south is clear. If I come running, there's probably something horrible behind me!"
And with that, Silvio sneaks ahead!
The short passageway takes a bend before ending in a small chamber dominated on the far side by a silver fountain quietly burbling perfectly clear water. An inscription above the fountain reads "Kassen's legacy lives on with his people. Drink and be refreshed."
Silvio continues ahead. If all looks well (as it seems to), he'll call back. "Looks clear--fresh water here."
"Thank you Garen," Sledge says, surreptitiously slipping his infernal healing wand back into his pack.
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Sledge approaches, reads the inscription, and then promptly casts his spell.
Sledge focuses on the fountain, opening his vision to magical auras. He finds that there is indeed magic in the room, focused on the fountain. The aura appears to be of moderate strength as well. With his arcane knowledge, Sledge could identify the school of magic, or perhaps even the spell or spells involved.
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Median already believes the inscription, so after Silvio calls them in, unless the snake reacts badly or something, she just drinks from the fountain.
She uses some of the water from one of her waterskins to clean off the slime left over from the frog and undead water, then she finds someplace to put down her bedroll so she can rest.
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As Median drinks from the fountain, she feels her vigor restored, as her wounds from the day are relieved. The water tastes very fresh.
She feels only the mildest lingering bother from the earlier inhaled spores. Even that seems to be getting better.