Lady Vanessa ignores the trashily-dressed ... trash as she glides across the floor to where Spica is examining the loot. She pulls her long flowing locks back from her shoulders and steps comfortably and confidently inside Spica's personal space. Sliding her fingertips tantalizingly up the undine's spine, she casts a simple cantrip (guidance) each time the young woman examines the items.
Sorry, Grunjar, but this one's mine ;)
Once Spica announces her findings, the Lady whispers a breathy praise of "Nicely, done, dahling," then turns her attentions to the others.
"Yes, south," she says in agreement as she leads Moo to the designated doorway. Only after everyone else has divvied up the loot and is in position does she give the zombie its orders.
The dwarf quickly recognizes the magic of a +1 heavy pick. Spica identifies the +1 full plate armor and a potion of cure serious wounds.
Lady Vanessa Reisende wrote:
"Yes, south," she says in agreement as she leads Moo to the designated doorway. Only after everyone else has divvied up the loot and is in position does she give the zombie its orders.
"Moo, open zhe door."
The corpse obeys. The door opens into a room with floors painted black and walls covered in dozens of painted handbills and posters, most likely those of previous operas performed here on the nearby stage. Dozens of costume racks and painted backdrops are set up here to be wheeled out on stage for the proper scenes. It is evident that this room is a combination storage and dressing area.
Lady Vanessa rolls her eyes at the puns flying about, and raises no objection to Derf keeping the potion. Agreeing with Nikita, she sends Moo to open the next door.
Beyond the door, various parts of a dozen corpses lie strewn about the floor. Blood and gore stain everything, making the floor slick and filling the room with a metallic aroma. Bodies lie askew, mouths hanging open in silent screams, faces contorted in fear.
"Well, this is all rather gruesome," chimes the Magistros as he follows the rest of the party into the storage and dressing area.
As they look into the room, past the lumbering minotaur zombie, Derf, Grunjar, and Spica see a pair of human “commoner” zombies among the carnage beginning to rise from the floor!
Map now revealed on Slides. 10-foot squares. Those "quarter" squares containing crates and other rectangular objects on map considered difficult terrain.
I, ZOMBIE (or I HAVEN'T GOT TIME FOR THE BRAINS) - Surprise Round Begins!
PCS in bold may take a single standard OR move action
Derf
Lady Vanessa
Grunjar
Spica
Nikita
Zombie (red)
Zombie (green)
#08-00 The Cosmic Captive Male CG Dwarf Cleric 9 | HP 66/66 | AC 25 T 11 FF 25 | CMB +7, CMD 18 | F: +10, R: +5, W: +16 (+2 vs. Poison/Spells/SLAs, +2 vs. charm/comp.) | Init +6 | Heal +12, Perc +18 darkv. 60' (Stonecunning: +2 extra), SM: +12 | Speed 30ft | Lucky Number: 9
Earlier...
Lady Vanessa Reisende wrote:
Sorry, Grunjar, but this one's mine ;)
No objection to that. ;-)
"Take the potion, Derf. I'd like to use the magic pick - at least for now, if you don't mind. Nearly all dwarves know how to wield these weapons, and I am no exception."Yay, racial proficiency! :-)
Grunjar stows his battleaxe and grabs the +1 pick. He keeps the wand of bless in his shield hand. He can still use the hand as he is just wielding a buckler.
Distracted by Spica's warm embrace, Lady Vanessa simply waits for Nikita and Derf to finish off the Red-robed zombie. If they don't, she'll send Moo into the room.
"Co-ordinating with a giant, undead, named, minotaur was not on the list of things I expected when I woke up this morning, but, here we are."
Derf dexterously duplicates the destruction of a deceased.
As the diminutive Derf does so, a deadly dog of a dude digs through the debris of the dead, discarding its disguise, and decides to deliver damage to Derf!
Move action Zombie bugbear now revealed on map. Melee (morningstar) v Derf:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19 Damage (B):1d8 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
I, ZOMBIE (or I HAVEN'T GOT TIME FOR THE BRAINS) - First Full Round Cont'd!
Party Bluffs: bless
PCS in bold may take act
Derf
Lady Vanessa(Delay)
Zombie bugbear
Grunjar
?
Spica
Nikita
Zombie (red) -18 HP
Vanessa smiles conspiratorially at Spica's suggestion. "Exactly vhat I vas tsinking, dahling. Von can never have too many minions at von's bidding."
She gazes intently at the bugbear while pulling a few little items from the small bejeweled satchel at her narrow waist. "Your name is ... Pooh," she tells her newest acquisition.
Casting another Command Undead. No save for Pooh the bugBear.
"Moo, go help your new friend kill any ozher zombies in zhat room."["
As the undead bugbear succumbs to Lady Vanessa's will and Grunjar looks around, the door to the back stage storage and dressing area bursts open as a fearsome zombie dinosaur crashes into the room!
I, ZOMBIE (or I HAVEN'T GOT TIME FOR THE BRAINS) - First Round Cont'd/Second Round Begins!
Party Bluffs: bless
PCS in bold may take act
Spica
Nikita Round Two Derf
Zombie bugbear (Lady Vanessa's plaything) Lady Vanessa
Grunjar
Zombie dino
"Vell, dahling, I did just say von can't have too many. And zis von is qvite unusual," she says as she admires the skill it would take to zombify a dinosaur.
"Ve'll make qvite zhe spectacle on our vay back to zhe inn vith all zhese in tow, von't ve?" she laughs thinking of the little parade of Pathfinders and monstrous zombies.
The Lady speaks the words of power in the necromantic tongue and commands her newest plaything to wait where it is.
Yeah, let's do this. One more Control Undead for the Dino. I just hope she doesn't run out of 2nd level spells before GM runs out of new minions for her.
With a bit of magic, Lady Vanessa Reisende brings the latest battle to an abrupt end as the megaraptor zombie falls under the Pathfinder's command.
The corpses and zombies here are a mix of merchants and wealthy nobles, several of which wear fine livery indicating their recent allegiances to various merchant houses.
Grunjar moves to the door across the room, casts guidance and looks for anything suspicious.
This room is another combination storage and dressing area. The floors are painted black and the walls are covered in dozens of painted handbills and posters of previous operas performed here. Dozens of costume racks and painted backdrops are set up here to be wheeled out on stage for the proper scenes.
A few slain bodies, gripping makeshift weapons and torn by the puncture wounds of a heavy pick, rest upon the floor.
Fortunately, the corpses are all quite inanimate.
Grunjar finds nothing else of note within the room
If you search area B:
A gaudy, marbled hallway with finely carved pillars makes up this area, known as the Violet Entrance. The white floor here is split by a deep violet carpet. This entrance is reserved for the king and anyone he considers to be part of the royal court.
If you succeed at a DC 15 Perception or Knowledge (engineering) check, you may open the spoiler below:
Spoiler:
You note several large cracks forming in the last column on the right closest to the doors to the central performance area. Each is large enough to allow a stone to easily slip between the cracks and disappear inside the column.
Otherwise, there is nothing more of note in this area.
If you search area D:
This bar is known to regulars as the Immortal Drunk and served theatergoers before the opera, during intermission, and hosted after-parties for wealthy merchants or socialites who are not part of the nobility. The red carpet indicates that this room is also an entrance for wealthy non-nobles.
There is nothing more of note in this area.
That leaves only the steps leading downward to explore. Any preparations or actions you wish to take before proceeding?
AC 24, (T17, FF 20*UnDodge) CMD 23 - Fort 9, Ref 15, Will 6 HP 30/56 Init. + 6 Per 14 +2 vs traps, Trap Spotter 20' SM 7
"Can anyone use a Wand of Feather Step on all of us? Or do I need to try myself? Also, now that I have my magic boots, I don't need this Longstrider wand if anyone can use it."
Sooo ... how long do you have them under your thrall for? Spica asks.
And indeed yes .... you have a Mino-Taur ... a Dino-Saur and a Bugbear with a Roar.
"About a veek, dahling. Zhough I don't plan to keep zhem around zhat long." She laughs at the thought, "I mean, vhatever vould I do vif zhem for a whole veek?"
She starts to head into the dressing room, calling to her new dino-pet.
"Come along, ... hhmm. Zhis von needs a name. Spica, you're zhe smart von," Vanessa coos to the undine, "be a dear and give zhe dino a name, please."
As Spica conjures an appellation for the dino, the Lady stops when Grunjar compliments her. "Tsank you, Grunjar," she replies graciously. "It's just a part of my nature, I tsink. At least zhey alvays do vhat you tell zhem, unlike some people," she says with a side-eye glance at the Magistros and a wink to Grunjar.
She then thanks Derf for casting all those buffs on her and her minions, though she admits that she has no good pre-buff spells herself. She tucks a stray strand of hair up under her headband/tiara before sending Moo and Pooh down the stairs, keeping the to-be-named dino back to guard the rear.
m LG human Paladin 9 | HP 76/76 | AC 20 T 13 FF 17 | CMD 23 | F+13 R+11 W+11 [+2 vs illusions] | Init +4 | Perc +0 | LoH 6/8 | Bond 0/1 | Smite 3/3 |
Nikita rubs his chin thoughtfully. I vould like to underrrstand wherrre puppeteer of zis terrrible spectacle of death is. Ahem. I'm sorrry, Lady Vanessa, I'm not talking about you.
I made all the UMD checks, everyone has 10 minutes of Feather Step[ooc]
Each party member feels a little pep in their step.
Grunjar wrote:
"It looks like we need to use the stairways to find out where he is", Grunjar answers.
[ooc]Ready to move down.
As the party chooses one (or more) of the stairways to descend, it becomes clear that the mindless, lumbering forms of the large undead, the newly-named "Dino" and the horned "Moo" and incapable of using the steps, each getting their carcasses wedged against the narrow walls of the encapsulating each stairway.
The zombie bugbear--guided by the words of its mistress--manages to make the descent, only bumping into the wall four times and tumbling down the final eight steps.
Bugbear zombie stats now added to Slides.
A skittish Magistros follows, trying to remain close to Spica while keeping his distance from the decaying bugbear.
The steps lead down into the Main Storage area, used primarily to store larger set pieces no longer used. There is nothing of value among the items stored here.
Instead, this musty basement is now the home to a dig project that extends into the bedrock east of the room. This room is well lit by standing lamps.
To the east of the room extends a tunnel cutting through solid bedrock, which must have taken months to chisel through. The tunnel splits ahead into two. Glistening with water, the slick walls and floor of these tunnels were recently carved from the thick bedrock beneath Oppara.
Terrain Notes: Each of the tunnels is well lit by standing lamps, but the floors are slippery with ground water. A creature can walk within or through the slippery area at half normal speed with a DC 10 Acrobatics check. Failure means it can’t move that round (and must then make a DC 12 Reflex save or fall), while failure by 5 or more means it falls (see the Acrobatics skill for details). Creatures that do not move on their turn do not need to make this check and are not considered flat-footed.
