Eliza slices at the creature's soft tissue.
Miya spits the blood out of her mouth, slowly rises to her feet, picks up weapon and strikes before attempting to get proper footing. A little off balance, she throws out her weapon with a battle cry (or a cry of pain) in the hopes it will land.
+
Eliza and Miya both land blows and the creature lets out a roar of anger and possibly pain.
Another brain vanishes as it lashes out at the women hurting it. It counters with a powerful bite that threatens to fell Alexi as its back legs stab sharply at Eliza and nearly fell the older woman.
Miya gives it everything she has hoping that she has enough to take this down before another ally goes down.
+
+
+
Tadia watches the champion slash away at the creature she attempts to muster the concentration to direct more debris at the creature, but fails.
Alexi goes down, but at least she's not poisoned...
Eliza finds everything going not-so-suddenly, terribly and completely wrong but with a heroic effort of willpower she fights on!
Miya and Eliza fight on, dealing more powerful blows to the creature. It falters somewhat, but doesn't seem to be any less mean.
It bites at Miya as its claws lash out at both Eliza and Tadia. Despite Miya's redeeming power both Tadia and Eliza fall!
Miya falters on the attack and suggests retreating as she turns to the door. "Run!"
Eliza knows she just has to get her and Alexi out of here but between her and the door is the Brain Collector. She grits her teeth feints once, feints twice and then goes for it.
She just about manages to grab Alexi and drag her down the stair case, knowing the Brain Collector is too large to follow.
Battered, bloody and barely standing the four women flee the observatory and its undead occupant, saved only by the sheer narrowness of the staircase.
Retreating to 'your' room, resting and recovering occupies much of the time, but those dedicated to knowledge can always find time for a book or two.
------------------------------
The next day, rested and recovered, everyone looks to Eliza to determine the group's next move.
Still feeling the effects of the failed encounter, Tadia is quieter than normal once they've retreated and done as much healing as they can. She sequesters herself alone with books, avoiding the others.
Alexi begins to realize that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Her research efforts, much like usual, are in vain.
Eliza leaves Tadia to her own devices, knowing that talking to the girl now is likely going to involve further confrontation and resolves to herself she might try again tomorrow.
After spending a bit of time trying to recuperate herself, Eliza checks in on Miya, hoping the young girl is not mentally scarred by the repeated traumatic experience.
The next morning, Eliza does not push everyone to keep moving, but instead calls a group meeting around the kitchen table, with Ezramalkin flitting around the room.
"Look, our current tactics are not paying off. There have been too many close shaves with the next life for my liking and we need a new strategy. Has anyone got any suggestions before I suggest my own? I want to make sure we use all the expertise in the room."
As usual, Miya isn't able to make much sense of the time spent researching Tchekuth nor her time in her dreams.
"Look, our current tactics are not paying off. There have been too many close shaves with the next life for my liking and we need a new strategy. Has anyone got any suggestions before I suggest my own? I want to make sure we use all the expertise in the room."
Miya ponders over Eliza's request and is silent while she stares at the floor for a few moments. She shakes her head eventually and looks up at Eliza and says "I also am not knowing what to do. We try again. Run away if too much again."
Tadia continues the slow task of piecing together information about Ioseff Xarwin himself but Eliza makes the real breakthroughs. Thanks to references in the books collected from around the house she is certain that Tchekuth is the source of the Malevolence, and even the Xarwin Caul itself. She also feels an odd antipathy to the upper floors and finds herself convinced in her gut that the Malevolence fears the undead monstrosity that so nearly killed her and her companions earlier in the day. It's presence might not be a bad thing, at least for now.
-----------------------------------------
Ezramalkun chirrups and lands on Tadia's shoulder.
"Bad down too." She says. "Feel bad below. Look there? Find source of badness?"
Tadia reaches up and scratches the psychopomp's tiny head.
"It all feels bad," she says with a shrug of her shoulders before turning to the others. "Perhaps there's more information to be found in the basement?" she asks.
Eliza ponders the psychopomp's words - combined with her own niggling feelings there might be some value to that course of action.
"I think that is the best decision." She says grimly. "Whatever the thing is up there I'm certain that the... Malevolence fears it. And the enemy of our enemy is our friend as long as it's trapped at the top of the house at least. Let's finish breakfast and then I propose we head downstairs and see what is in the basement."
Miya agrees "Okay. We go down first. Feeling good today."
Prepared and feeling stronger and more resolute than ever before the women head down the stairs from the kitchen to investigate the lower levels. Immediately they are set upon by a pair of undead esobok's, who seem to appreciate the irony of their situation if the viciousness of their attacks is anything to go by. After a short and bloody battle the ghouls are destroyed and a pause to rest and recover from the damage done the women continue on.
Out of the kitchen cellar a pale green phosphorescence dimly illuminates a sudden drop downward into a cavern some 20 feet below. An old bridge made of wooden planks, several of which have fallen away, crosses the chasm where a narrow, rickety-looking wooden staircase descends down from the eastern side. To the south, the rough cave walls become worked stone. Here, eerie ripples of pale, glowing green fluid dribble up the sides of the pale lavender stone walls to pool impossibly on the ceiling, glowing softly as the fluid fills the carvings of crescent moons, stars, and other astronomical designs. A stone double door stands in the wall to the south.
"This seems much older than the cellar." Eliza says, looking around with a discerning eye. "These might even date back to the Order of the Starless Night. Let's try the bridge first, carefully!"
Alexi nods in agreement. She holds her blade in one hand and her amulet in the other, slowly approaching the bridge beside Miya.
Miya heroically leads the way over the bridge, if it holds her it should hold everyone after all. Just as she reaches the centre of the bridge the chasm below shifts and ripples, transforming into a vast, gaping mouth filled with countless sharp fangs. A puckered, rasping tongue lances up from the noxious gulping depths below to lash and taste. Two words boom up from the vast throat below: “Iä Tchekuth!”
Tadia's eyes widen and she takes a half step back before invoking magic to bolster her against such phenomenon.
She then attempts to press her will against the spiritual threat.
Miya fights against whatever lurks below, holding strong against the raspy voices.
She tries to join Tadia in exorcising the phantasm, but she's too busy fighting against it to truly focus on it.
Tadia reaches deep into her occult knowledge and cries out a name before which even the Malevolence quakes. "Ia Chthulu!" The vast maw quavers for a moment and then vanishes entirely, leaving Miya largely untroubled as she crosses the bridge.
The air of the sprawling cavern beyond is cold, moist, and glowing; soft, green light emanates from no discernible source. Moisture glistens on the walls and floor, and much of the cavern’s central portion is taken up by a wide but shallow pool of water in which the bones of what seems like over a dozen humans have been strewn.
The rest of the group crosses one at a time but as Miya leads the way further into the room a grotesque monster of tangled bones held together by black ectoplasm arises from the water and sloshes doggedly through the water towards the paladin.
Fortunately the paladin is primed and ready for danger and Eliza is much too wise to not to expect danger.
Eliza pulls out the heavy crossbow recovered from the rooftop armory, sights briefly and fires at the creature as it approaches.
"Nice shooting!" Miya exclaims, watching Elzia's excellently placed bolt fly past her.
Miya may be feeling better today, but she sure doesn't translate that into effectiveness. "Hey you! Go now!" she shouts, trying to demoralize the creature.
Recognizing that didn't work well, she raises her shield to try and protect herself.
Eliza's bolt flies true and crashes into the bone pile, but it disappears without obvious effect.
Miya's attempt at intimidation falls short - very short. Shorter than a vertically challenged sprite who suffers from dwarfism. Still the creature surges forwards towards her, sending a wave of water ahead of itself and (adding insult to injury) drenching the champion from head to toe!
It lashes out with a claw, which Miya only just manages to stop from being a critical blow and then seizes the champion in its bony grasp!
Recognizing the creature's skeletal nature, Alexi adds some heavy weights to her axe as she moves in to attack. She keeps her amulet raised to ward off its blows as she slices at the monster!
Miya slashes out with her weapon, attempts to break free and then raise a shield.
+
"What are you waiting for?!" Tadia yells out at the warrior woman. "Hit it!"
Elize schemes for a moment and then decides that for this cause she'll have to get her feet wet, wading into the water to strike the undead in conjunction with Alexi.
Eliza and Miya prove to be a potent team, landing three blows on (or should that be in) the tanglebones and snapping a number of bones. Alexi correctly identifies the creature and notes its weakness to bludgeoning damage, but can't actually land a telling blow.
Tadia surprises no-one by being a bossy prima donna.
The tanglebones gnaws down on Miya with dozens of skulls and then lashes out in a storm of claws, femurs and other pointed bones. Everyone is hit, but thankfully not too badly.
Alexi wards off some of the damage to Miya with her amulet as she tries to attack again. She lands a critical blow!
Miya isn't able to avoid whatever disgusting diseases the the skulls contain, but fights through it and swings at the stupid pile of bones twice before raising her shield again.
+
+
Allowing her anger to fill her, the bits and pieces of broken bone surrounding her rise into the air and form a whirlwind of shards and bits.
With a simple thought, a shattered skull flies forward towards the undead. She then blasts it with the force of her rage.
Trying her best to ignore the flying bones, Eliza continues to strategise as she sloshes through the water, trying to keep the undead's attention divided.
Unfortunately the creature has proved quite capable of attacking in all directions so the investigator takes a moment to staunch the worst of her wounds.
The tanglebones takes a pair of mighty blows from Alexi and Miya as the pair work to shield each other. Tadia's temper shatters some more bones and as Eliza patches herself up the invesitigator is sure that the creature's mass is far smaller than it was before.
The creature lashes out again, catching Tadia in the stomach with a thrown bone and clawing at Alexi but that proves to be its final effort and another barrage of blows shatters it entirely!
A glint of gold catches Eliza's eye and she manages to fish a gold nodule aeon stone out from the bones and brackish water. There is nothing else of interest in the pool so Miya leads the way onwards.
After a lengthy walk around the pool and squeezing through a narrow passageway, the women emerge into a 10-foot-high irregular cavern, adorned with ancient carvings — images of stars, comets, and moths near the ceiling. Near the ground, images of monstrous shapes appear buried deep underground. A 10-foot-wide hole in the ceiling leads up into darkness.
As Miya enters the room a motionless figure on the far side of the room shudders into life, shaking a thick coat of dust from her bones and the faded blue robes which cover them. The movement triggers strange flows of ectoplasm, which drip between the bones. The figure steps forwards with hands wide and outstretched.
"Step forward and become one with the Lord Below!" It declares.
Alexi shakes her head sadly when she sees the corrupted being. "She was a psychopomp once. A catrina, if I'm not mistaken. Perhaps we can get through to her and remind her of what she once was."
"There are different types of psychopomps?" Tadia questions, demonstrating her ignorance of religious matters.
She frowns as her gaze returns to the corrupted creature. "Like Ezramalkun?"
"Hey," she calls out. "Aren't you supposed to be a ... a catrina?" The girl glances at Alexi, hoping that she got the phrasing right. "Doesn't that mean you work for Pharasma? Helping people along to the Bone Yard?" She waves her hand vaguely in the direction of the hole. "Why would you misdirect people this way?"
"I doubt she has a choice in the matter, dear." Eliza says, trying to steer Tadia away from a potentially... sensitive matter.
"Why did you come here?" She asks instead, hoping to draw the psychopomp out by more indirect means. "You came for Ioseff Xarwin perhaps? For what he did against death."
Despite Tadia's less than tactful approach she seems to make some headway with the psychopomp who floats closer.
"Ezramalkun?" It asks, but then Eliza cuts in and the creature screeches. "Xarwin! He must pay! Join the Lord Below!"
Successes: 1.
Failures: 0.
Alexi steps forward and presents her holy symbol. "I am a servant of the Gray Lady, just as you once were. Remember the oaths you swore. Remember the purpose you were created for. Turn away from the madness and may your spirit be cleansed."
The heroes start with 4 influence points over the catrina. Each round the PC's can attempt skill checks to increase their influence. Examples might include Diplomacy to pursuade the catrina to ignore the other supernatural influences in play, Religion or Occultism to discuss her original purpose or Deception to mislead the psychopomp. Roleplay appropriately.
A successful check will add 1 influence point and a critical success will add 2 points. Each turn on it's turn the catrina (or rather the Malevolence controlling it) will decrease the heroes influence by 1. A critical failure on a skill check may also decrease influence by 1.
If influence reaches 0 the heroes lose. If it reaches 9 they win.
The psychopomp is a level 7 monster so skill DCs will reflect this.
"Yes, like Ezramalkun, you were created for a noble purpose," Tadia adds, attempting to continue Alexi's argument. "To serve a higher power. You're meant to be the hand of Pharasma. Don't give in to corruption. Don't throw that away because of ... of ... selfish desires."
Mentioning Xarwin directly seems to be an ineffective tactic, so Eliza moves on to what she knows - the occult.
"Great evil dwells here, powers that pervert the course of life and death." She says, "It is an affront to the way everything should be. There is a true order to the world and the Dark Tapestry corrupts it. It takes great strength to resist it and even more to throw it off afterwards. I have never known beings of greater strength and passion than you and your kind. Remember that."
Miya studies the creature, squinting and trying to place it alongside what Alexi has already told them. She struggles to follow the conversation and logic with the others and blurts out the something, anything, in an attempt to diffuse the situation.
"Yes. Like Tadia says. Do not be so selfish or corrupt."
It seems that the party have found a rich vein of persuasion to mine with Alexi's honest faith, Tadia's earnestness and Eliza's erudation.
Then Miya speaks and something about her blunt words strikes a chord with the Catrina - an angry one!
"Corrupt! Corrupt the world!" She cries. "The Lord Below will take you all!"
"Focus on more positive things!" Eliza hisses at Miya before waving to re-attract the psychopomp's attention.
"Focus girl!" Perhaps a little of her own frustrations start seeping through as Eliza addresses an immortal outsider as 'girl'. "We have fought numerous undead here - affronts to Pharasma. It is your duty to assist with this!"