"Of course I'm not trying to take you for a fool my good sir. Dr McCaskill and I were dealing with a special breed of ghoul known as Roderick's Ghouls. Very feral, basically a pack of man sized wild dogs. Very dangerous and very cunning. Not stupid to be sure but wild. These seem to be more opportunistic. I'll be sure to note the differences." Kevan says in response a serious look on his face.
"No trace of the victim." Tymos corrects with a thin smile, seemingly happy to elaborate for his lord. "But then the ghouls must be licking their plates."
"Very troubling to hear."
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"That make sense," Alden says, nodding in agreement with Tymos' explanation.
"Well," says Rabbit somewhat nervously as the conversation starts to die down, or rather go somewhat in circles, "maybe we ought to, well, can we go around your settlement and ask people if anyone else knows anything of the undead? And we will come back... um... tomorrow?" he hazards, looking uncertainly at the others, "to actually ... try and fight them. Um. It seems we should do that by daylight."
Berik cups his chin and bobs his head to Kevan's explanation. Seemingly lost in thought for the moment. Tymos gives Rabbit a considering look. "If you are amennable." he says to Alden, "I can take your group back now... perhaps I can arrange for you to speak to some relatives of the victims."
"Give them any supplies we can spare." Berik suddenly adds, "I expect they will make good use of anything we can scrounge together. Perhaps a silvered blade might be found in the armory."
Tymos scowls, but nods.
Alden nods in acknowledgement to both Berik and Tymos.
"We are grateful, not only for whatever you can spare to aid us, but also to speak with those who knew the victims. Whatever they can tell us will be more than we know now."
"Very wise decision your grace. We'll get this problem licked or die trying." Kevan says in a cheery tone as he hops down out of the chair.
With your meeting apparently finished Tymos leads the party back out, and those guards who had been waiting outside fall back in line. Stepping out of the mansion he leads the party toward what appeared to be the barracks you spotted before. Through the front door was an intersection in the foyer that went in three directions. Turning to the right, Tymos led the party down a long hallway to a thick door secured with a beam and several locks.
"I believe we might have something you can make use of." he grumbled as he went through a keychain and undid the locks. He did not fumble or need to try several keys. The man knew exactly which keys on his cluttered chain fit each of the locks.
As he pulled open the door the party was treated to what looked like a maintenance closet. Large, or it would seem if not for all the weapon racks with blades and blunt weapons, and several polearms standing propped in the corner. They were all of fine make, and even at a glance different colors of metal greeted the light from the open door.
"By all means." he stated flatly before stepping back from the door.
"Thank you very much. Hopefully we can help rid this sphere of the ghouls."
Alden examines the rack of weapons to see if there are any boar spears or pikes among the pole arms.
"Wow," Kevan says and stares around a bit. He steps into the room in awe at the sheer number of weapons. He looks about him for anything made for halfling or gnomish size.
Rabbit is not one to use weapons. (Despite once killing a goblin with a crossbow.)
"It's too bad we don't know more about the ghouls," he murmurs, gazing around at the collection. "Silver? Cold iron? We just... don't know..."
After a bit of hesitation, he takes some silver-tipped bolts for his crossbow, and cold iron as well, if there are any sized for his weapon.
"Thank you," he says earnestly to Tymos, even if the guard may not appreciate it.
"Silver, my good man, silver. Even if these ghouls are a bit different they may have some Roderick's ghouls teaming up with them and for those, it is best to use silver." Kevan says confidently looking for just such a weapon.
Most of the weapons are traditional types, without anything so exotic as a war scythe or a sai. There are a few sturdy spears and other such polearms. As the group picks through them the most notable weapons are a silvered masterwork longsword, a mythril rapier , and an adamantine mace. As Kevan pads around though he notices a trap door under one of the weapon racks.
Noticing the discovery Tymos frowns. "Give me a hand with this paladin." he brusquely tells Alden, moving to one side of the weapon rack and if so aided will move the heavy thing aside. With the rack moved, they will find three cold iron spears in a crawl space below.
"Just don't take anything you don't need." Tymos remarks, "What of the other supplies?"
Eochaidh grabs one of the cold iron spears and tells Tymos, "Without knowing what ghouls are vulnerable to we don't know what we need. I'm familiar with cold iron and it's use in battling certain creatures; perhaps it works versus ghouls?"
There was mention of garlic, tar, pitch, etc.
There was mention of garlic, tar, pitch, etc.
Continuing to converse with Tymos he adds, "Hopefully we can learn something about ghouls from the residents of our spheres and then we'll be in a better position to know what we need to combat them. Anything I borrow from the stores that I do not use I will of course return."
Alden helps Tymos move the rack, revealing the hidden cache of weapons.
"Thank you," he says, giving Tymos a respectful nod. "These will be of great help to us."
He claims one of the cold iron spears, and (unless someone else claims it first) the adamantine mace.
"If you have anything that can burn, alchemist fire, tar, or even lamp oil, that would be of great help to us, as well."
Jaxom watches the others, but stays quiet.
"Well, nothing for little ol' me here. Any chance we could get some of that garlic and salt?" Kevan asks after pondering a bit.
"Well, nothing for little ol' me here. Any chance we could get some of that garlic and salt?" Kevan asks after pondering a bit.
Eochaidh ponders "I wonder if Kevan wants the garlic and salt for ghouls, cooking, or both?"
Tymos gives a nod of satisfaction as only two weapons are claimed, but his features remained stiff, his lips slightly downturned into what might be called a frown.
"We have somewhat... limited supplies in oil and tar." Tymos admits, "But we can prepare for you in time for your return. No garlic though." He then eases thing back into order, again prompting Alden to help him with the weapon rack and leads the group out of the barracks.
As they head back to the intersection their escort stayed with them, and followed with the same level of ease as their walk in. As the party reached the gate there was an additional pair of soldiers with a woman and young man, a teen only, standing between them. They both had the same sandy brown hair, cinnamon colored brown eyes, and slender build.
"These are witnesses of the latest abduction." Tymos explains, "They do not normally leave witnesses, but we were quick in response. They will answer any questions you have." His tone did not suggest anything but complete compliance. The mother and son did not look at Tymos, their eyes downcast. The son did spare a glance through the gate, casting an obviously hopeful eye to the open terrain beyond.
Speaking to the woman and young man, "Greetings I am Eochaidh Roidal. Could you describe the attack you witnessed? Including time of night, location, numbers of ghouls, anything you can remember. Even the smallest detail could be important."
”An odd question but did you recognize any of them? I’m sure the change would make it difficult to immediately recognize them but any familiar features or mannerisms?” Kevan asks.
Alden draws upon Erastil's power to read the auras of the mother and son.
"Hello," Rabbit says softly to the two, waving a small hand. "I'm... I'm very sorry for whoever was taken. Was it a family member of yours?" he asks with sympathy.
"I'm called Rabbit, and we want to try and help your people and stop the ghouls from ever taking anyone ever again. But I'm afraid we don't know much about them. That's why my friends are asking so many questions. Maybe you could just tell us exactly what happened?"
The pair flinch at Eochaidh's straight questioning, then curl in on themselves as Kevan asks if they recognized the undead from their living days.
Of course, Rabbit is able to draw himself in from below and soothe the two of them a moment later.
"My husband." the woman begins, "My Timothy, his dear sweet da.
They tried to take Tim and he..." Her face scrunches up in pain and she begins to weep. The boy, Tim, is quiet as he looks down at the paving stones.
"They weren't anyone we knew." he explained in a flat, expressionless tone not fit for a child, "They were monsters. Grabbing at him and mobbing him. One of them bi... bit him even as they carried him off. It looked... happy." The boy shudders and goes quiet before continuing.
"It was in the dark of night, I had been going to the privy and woke up my da. He heard the ghouls banging on the door." he spoke, "I don't know how many there were... a handful."
Tymos placed a hand on the boys shoulder, not seemingly to comfort but the praise the lad. "We think they concealed themselves in the abandoned building nearest the home." he explained, "Then struck in the dead of night. These two will be moved to the community house now. They'll be under guard there."
Alden does not detect evil from either of the two, though Tymos still reads as evil.
Eochaidh makes mental notes of the account and waits to see if Rabbit has any further questions of the pair.
"I know we'll discuss the whole plan later but I think we need to look around the graveyard. Eochaidh is pretty good with following tracks. Perhaps we can find where they are holed up. Take the fight to them as it were and keep them from having the initiative." Kevan suggests.
The pair flinch at Eochaidh's straight questioning, then curl in on themselves as Kevan asks if they recognized the undead from their living days.
Of course, Rabbit is able to draw himself in from below and soothe the two of them a moment later.
"My husband." the woman begins, "My Timothy, his dear sweet da.
They tried to take Tim and he..." Her face scrunches up in pain and she begins to weep. The boy, Tim, is quiet as he looks down at the paving stones."They weren't anyone we knew." he explained in a flat, expressionless tone not fit for a child, "They were monsters. Grabbing at him and mobbing him. One of them bi... bit him even as they carried him off. It looked... happy."
Rabbit listens with his hands clasped before him. "I'm so sorry," he repeats when the two fall silent. "I can't imagine how you must feel. I know it's too late for us to save your Tim, but.... we'll do our best to make sure it can't happen to anyone else. I don't have any more questions for you, I'm sorry to bring up all these terrible memories."
Looking to the others he says, "I think we should check out that abandoned building that they might have been hiding in? Maybe there's something there that might give us some insight."
Eochaidh nods at Rabbit, "Everything we can learn is useful."
What he didn't say, but assumed the others knew, was that everything can be useful since they knew so little about ghouls.
"They strike at night? So we strike them during the day."
Tymos gives a grunt at the mention of checking out the abandoned building. "Don't bother. We torched it. Honestly, it should have been done before this. They hadn't reached so deep into the town before..." he says begrudgingly before stopping to think, "I wish I knew how they were getting out. They couldn't possibly be walking out of the graveyard. Not without taking a ballista bolt. Regardless, I was to escort you back out. I gave my word I would return you unharmed, and I can't very well honor that if you go into the graveyard and die first."
The mother composes herself a bit at Rabbit's soothing, and she affectionately reaches down to stroke his hair. Her son though, remains stone faced.
"Does the town have a sewer system? If not, is it built over a network of catacombs or caves? If the soil is soft, could the creatures have dug tunnels under the cemetary wall?" Alden asks, trying to think of ways the ghouls could be hunting unseen.
"Does the town have a sewer system? If not, is it built over a network of catacombs or caves? If the soil is soft, could the creatures have dug tunnels under the cemetary wall?" Alden asks, trying to think of ways the ghouls could be hunting unseen.
"A sewer or perhaps something else, something older that predates the city? It still behooves us to return and try to learn more before returning. I might, and must stress might, be able to detect their presence."
"No sewer." Tymos says flatly, "At least not since the catastrophe. Where the tunnels collapsed we filled in with sand to help absorb water, but for refuse and latrines we dig holes and haul garbage out the walls."
He frowns and looks about before dipping his chin and speaking quietly. "Listen well. I have no intention of letting you into the graveyard until you are committed." he explains, "If you want to look in from a vantage point that would be acceptable, but if you go into the graveyard you would be on your own. I can not guarantee you would be let back in until we were certain of our own safety."
Eochaidh nods at Tymos and says, "Understood. You're trying to protect the people."
"Can you take us to the vantage point now?" Alden asks Tymos.
"Does the town have a sewer system? If not, is it built over a network of catacombs or caves? If the soil is soft, could the creatures have dug tunnels under the cemetary wall?" Alden asks, trying to think of ways the ghouls could be hunting unseen.
"A sewer or perhaps something else, something older that predates the city? It still behooves us to return and try to learn more before returning. I might, and must stress might, be able to detect their presence."
"I wonder if we could circle the outside of the graveyard and look for any tracks?" Rabbit suggests uncertainly. "If they're not getting out through the route that is covered by the ballista, then... well I mean, they have got to be coming from somewhere."
"I wonder if we could circle the outside of the graveyard and look for any tracks?" Rabbit suggests uncertainly. "If they're not getting out through the route that is covered by the ballista, then... well I mean, they have got to be coming from somewhere.""Does the town have a sewer system? If not, is it built over a network of catacombs or caves? If the soil is soft, could the creatures have dug tunnels under the cemetary wall?" Alden asks, trying to think of ways the ghouls could be hunting unseen.
"A sewer or perhaps something else, something older that predates the city? It still behooves us to return and try to learn more before returning. I might, and must stress might, be able to detect their presence."
"I can certainly examine the area for tracks."
Tymos seems to get an amusing thought as the party speaks. A thin smile crosses his features. "Very well, allow me to lead you." he says before turning and waking toward the graveyard. The group soon arrives without incident, and Tymos waves to the men atop the tower.
It was a thin structure, with no real interior. Instead it was a stone platform about as high as a well built home, with gothic style stairs worked around it. Most of the wear was loose brick and places on the sides where the mortar had rotted and flaked off. There was little more room up top than for the two man ballista crew, and one of them steps down at the gesture from Tymos. The other man scans the fence line and the graveyard beyond.
Eochaidh climbs the stairs to have a look.
As he's scanning the area he will also use his Spirit Sense.
”How often does a ghoul emerge into the open? When was the last time your men sighted one?” Alden asks Tymos.
Kevan will look over the graveyard more closely than the cursory glance when they entered. He looks for any breaks in the fence, is there a fence? Are there any obvious holes in the graveyard from his vantage point or even if he walks about halfway up the steps? How many mausoleums can be seen?
As Eochaidh looks out over the graveyard he notices a few things of note. The ground here is slightly sloped unlike the rest of the city. Either because it's ground were never flattened as the city was, or that over long periods of time new graves were placed over old. There was no rigid grid structure either, with headstones at different angles bearing no obvious pattern.
Or maybe you're just not seeing it?
There is however one easily noted pattern in the cemetery. At five different points there are large statues serving as headstones. It is impossible to make out the wording on their plaques, assuming they are not worn with age, but each depicts a warrior in spiked plate or a devil standing next to an unarmored person.
At the center of those points is a paved pentagram stone platform, and in it's center a squat, square mausoleum with wide stairs leading down. The druid does not sense undead.
*****************
"They peek out on occasion, to make sure we're watching." Tymos explains, "But we've not caught them in the open since our failed assault. They are very cautious not to surrender the advantage they have over us. If they did, I would lead another assault and exterminate them myself."
*****************
Kevan walks along the wrought iron of the fence, noting the makeshift enhancements that have been added to it. Wooden spikes jutting inward like a palisade, scrap metal hammered onto the existing fence to heighten and barb it, even planks of wood lashed to it. Anything to make it more defensible. Of course there are also places along the fence where small gaps exist. Not enough material or makeshift construction not covering what it should. Not enough for a medium race like a human to pass through, but you could likely squeeze if so desired.
Eochaidh will share what he learned when he climbs back down.
He then asks Tymos, "Does anyone know about the mausoleums with the stairs leading down? Where they go, do they connect, any information could be useful."
"When you lead your last assault against them, when did they attack?" Alden asks Tymos. [b]"Did they attack when you entered the cemetery itself, or did they wait until you entered the mausoleum itself?"
"The place is a warrens. I don't think anyone knows how deep it runs." Tymos say with disdain, "Catacombs and tombs of the wealthy who died in service to house Thrune. We cleared a number of passageways before we were ambushed."