Cayde moves up to the closest undead and slashes at it with the Royal Fullblade, though he makes sure he steps far enough to the side for others to join him in the battle.
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Gorn shouts in surprise and alarm at the coven of monstrosities they have come upon.
"Excuse me, my friends. But it appears that it is time for me to practice my art. You have done so well in carrying me this far, it is time I put my shoulder to the yoke."
With speed that can only speak of magic, in a blink of the eye where once there had stood a humble leather-clad man, there now is a grey-furred snarling dire wolf!
The Gorn-wolf LEAPS into the fray, attacking a horror in the line that is next to Cayde.
Armor Class 14 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points 37 (5d10+10)
Speed 50 ft.
Seeing the drooling, grinning undead, Tek quickly puts arrow to bow and steps up to fire a shot at the one Gorn-Wolf attacked. The gnome then ducks into the shadows reaching for another arrow.
Emenius spreads out from his companion and sends a bolt of fire at an undead.
Baheera moves to a spot where she can see through the doorway, sending a thundering blast slamming into the undead creature directly across from her.
The elf steps up cover Gorn while slashing at a fresh zombie with a flaming blade...
for ... Gorns target takes 2 fire damage if still up
Gorn-wolf and Cayde both land fierce blows against one of the zombies before Tekumbray's arrow sinks into the unholy creature's forehead, returning it to the final rest of death.
Baheera and Emenius's spells slam into a second zombie just before Aethorduil's green flamed blade cuts into the creature.
Zombies lurch toward members of the party with three of the remaining five able to flail at Tekumbray, Aethorduil, and Emenius, but flailing away is all the zombies manage to do.
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In the maelstrom of combat, Gorn finds himself fighting next to the deft Eldritch Knight Aethorduil.
"That was a well-struck blow," the Gorn-wolf mind-says to his battle companion. "I shall endevour to lay them low with half as much skill!"
The wolf targets the zombie wearing the green shirt with a harsh bite!
Emenius reaches out and sends lightning from his hand into the zombie.
Cayde keeps swinging, attacking the zombie to his east who stepped in front of the door!
Baheera takes a step back before firing another roaring blast, this time at the zombie directly in front of her.
+ 2
Plucking his short blade from its scabbard Teumbray slashes at the encroaching zombie between himself and Gorn.
If Gorn takes his out I will step over it to the closest target... otherwise I'll strike it down.
for
All members of the party strike at zombies, each having various levels of success, but none fall.
The zombies pummel all within reach, with only Tekumbray suffering any ill effects.
Grunting in dissatisfaction that the zombie he slashed had the temerity to remain standing, Cayde tries to rectify the situation with an additional application of his high velocity edged implement...
Baheera sends another blast streaking into the room, trying to bring down one of the undead creatures.
Wincing in pain, Tekumbray lashes out at the attacking zombie in an attempt to put the thing down once and for all.
Emenius shocks the zombie again.
Same tactics as before.
for
Cayde's blade cleaves its target in two, while Tek's quick striking blade lops the head of another from its shoulders. All while Aethorduil sends another to its final rest.
Baheera's blast rocks her target, seemingly destroying creature, only to see it stand again.
Emenius sends electricity coursing through the body of another, just before the Gorn-wolf lopes over and savages the undead monster with a vicious bite, but yet the creature stands.
The two remaining zombies claw at Aethorduil and the Gorn-wolf, but only manages to cause minor harm to the wolf.
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"Oh confound these thrice-cursed things!" Gorn mind-rages while the wolf howls with savage jaws. "I have an overwhelming desire to gouge one in the ankle and see it fall so we might beat upon it savagely, but they resist my every attempt as if the very whips of the underworld were now upon them.
Ah well, if I can not see them stumble, then I will see them fall!"
The wolf again leaps to the attack, eager to rend and slay.
Cayde moves south to engage the last zombie, swinging at it with his royal fullblade!
Tekumbray turns and does his best to drive his blade into one of the remaining zombies before it can cause any further harm.
Seeing a few more of the zombies fall, Baheera continues blasting away, hoping to drop another.
2
Emenius moves to shock another zombie.
Aethorduil goes full defensive and looks around for new threats as yet undetermined as the rest of party mobs that last zombie.
The Gorn-wolf savages one of the zombies, dragging it to the ground. The party briefly believes it is over for that particular undead monstrosity, but the creature begins to get up again.
Cayde slices the other zombie in half with the King's blade, sending that one back to rest eternal.
Tekumbray rushes over to the zombie trying to get back to its feet, and drives his blade deep into the zombie's skull, ending the fight.
Searching the remainder of the room, you find nothing of note beyond the now, no longer animated zombies and the shattered coffin.
"Let's scout the rest of this level, then rest if people need to. We can then head to the next level," suggests Cayde, not 100% certain if they have finished this level or not.
Tekumbray nods to the big barbarian and then studies his redrawn map of the area. An ink stained finger points to a portion of empty space in the northwestern quadrant of the map.
"I think there are a couple of passages that we bypassed early on in this area over here." He says. "We can check this first passage turning south." A tap on the map. "And then explore the remaining tunnel that bends to the north."
Traveling to the northwestern corner shown on Tekumbray's map, you see a southern corridor that has silver door that has been scorched by intense heat. The wall opposite the door has been scorched as well.
Forgoing that option for the moment, the party travels a winding corridor south, then west, then north, the east, and then south again, ending in a wall.
As you return from the dead end passage, you see two spectral forms taking shape - the ghostlike figures of a man and a woman. They are dressed in royal finery, and both wear golden crowns - not dissimilar to ones in your possession. The man raises his hand and gestures for you to stop.
"Go no further," he warns, "lest the curse of King Alexander overtake you!"
The woman then speaks, "I am Queen Zenobia. Turn back, only death awaits you!"
The spectral forms chill you to the bone, but soon the pair disappears just a suddenly as they had appeared.
You note the outline of a door in southern wall as far west as you could travel.
Searching the door, you open it to reveal the checkerboard floor you saw just before the swinging blades nearly took Tekumbray's head off the previous day. Satisfied that you have explored the area you continue back from whence you came.
Illusions? Or psychic phenomenon? Either way... unsettling. Even so, we have defeated them once, and can do again if they get feisty.
He notes the group seems to have circled.
Anything more?
Looking at the scorched door and the wall opposite, Cayde says, “Odd. Perhaps there was a fire in the hallway, or perhaps a trap that went off while the door was open.”
Cayde looks carefully on the door, floor, walls, and ceiling for anything that would indicate the source of the fiery blast, though he doesn’t stand in the “line of fire” while searching.
Tekumbray nods at the warrior's assumption, doing his best to focus on the mundane possibility of a trap rather than the spectral apparitions that so recently occupied the hall. "A trap is likely. Perhaps that is the source of Alexander's curse." The gnome says spending some time to further investigate the area for the source of the scorching.
As he searches, his brows furrow in consternation. The ghostly figures of the former King and Queen sticking in his mind. "I don't understand." He mutters aloud. "If we defeated the ghosts of the King and Queen within their own tombs, then why would they appear here to warn us away? And why would Alexander's curse be placed upon this door if we already found their tombs?" He adds pointing to where the two crowns were packed away and the massive sword carried by Cayde.
Perhaps the artefacts have been some how sensed, trigger this?
"It could very well be magic devised to sense the items in the possession of anyone approaching. A final deterrent to potential graverobbers." Baheera suggests.
While others contemplate the reasons for the appearance of the King and Queen's ghostly forms, Tekumbray examines the scorched door.
Approaching closer, Tekumbray notices the outline of a man-sized humanoid etched into the wall across from the door and that the door is slightly ajar.
Satisfied that what ever trap caused this destruction had already been triggered, the gnome peers inside the crack in the door to see the now standard murals on the walls of the chamber, this time of priest performing ceremonies, a priest wearing a mask not dissimilar to the one worn by Kanadius. On a raised dais in the center of the chamber lies an open bronze sarcophagus, huddled over the open sarcophagus are three hideously long-tounged, razor clawed creatures. Fortunately for Tekumbray, they seem not to have noticed him at this time.
Face going pale, or more pale than usual for the pale-faced gnome, Tekumbray slips back from the slivered opening of the door. He quietly relays the number and description of the ugly undead currently encamped around the ancient sarcophagus. After doing so he readies his bow and checks his short blade in its scabbard assuming his allies will wish to deal with the unwelcome fiends.
Cayde listens carefully and suggests quietly, ”I would be happy to lead the way in and distract them, but perhaps someone would like to soften them up first?”
I have no major magics available but a bolt of fire should be within my means.
Cayde prepares to rush in and engage the toothy undead, but as he expects to be the primary initial target, he sheathes his fullblade for the moment and equips his shield.
Once whatever magics or channel divinities are slung by his allies, Cayde rushes in and engages all three of the undead!
Emenius whispers, "I may have something for this occasion." He goes first into the room releasing a wave of thunder and then moving aside, so Cayde can move into the room.
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The Gorn-wolf loped along contentedly. In animal form it was impossible to talk, so he found himself less chatty by nature. The mind-speak was perfectly serviceable, but he found it unwieldy, and betimes others found it unnatural, so he was less inclined to use it as he might his mother tongue.
When the phantoms appeared, he was fully non-plussed. His animals senses found nothing to bite, and if the spirits of the long-dead monarchs wanted to come to claim their trinkets, then let them! The Laws of Acquisition and the Rights of Conquest were open to all. His wolf-influenced brain found nothing to fear here, and his human soul found not means enough to make it care.
As the curious gnome again finds hateful undead invading this place the wolf form salivates at more of the blood-dance.
"I will be right behind you, Cayde. Unto you is the honor of Firstblood. Do not let us down."
As the warriors prepare to charge in after Emenius' spell, Baheera moves to the doorway, preparing to blast any enemy remaining standing.
One of many things Tekumbray learned throughout his only moderately successful adventures to date was to never get in front of a group of spellslingers intent on destruction at a large scale. Thus the gnome is perfectly happy to stay in the hall until the flame and fury have subsided and he is able to pick over whatever might remain living in the aftermath.
Emenius's spell roars through the room, knocking two of the ghouls backwards. Getting to their feet and turning toward the door, the undead beast hungrily look at you.
Cayde rushes into the room, engaging the first ghoul from the side and stopping short of the others. He raises his shield and works to deflect all incoming attacks as he partially transforms and his barbed tail flexes defensively behind him as well.