The cape is, at it's core, a very fancy looking cape of protection +2. Beyond that though it appears to be a wondrous magical item of singular nature.
Rabbit actually read about it in a book of Malice's once. Ostenso, in it's infancy as a city and before it was properly a territory of Andor, was once under siege. A thief who primarily stole from the rich helped the poorer citizens of the outer wall first by stealing them food, and then to defend their homes when the lord had abandoned the wall to their enemies.
Using this cape he hid people from attackers, and working with his group of friends he managed to retake the outer gate and trap some of the enemy army between the walls. Saving many people and turning the tide. He ultimately vanished, assumed dead along with his friends. This must have been the final resting place of their tokens and his magical crimson cape, though who knows if the ancient hero truly died or merely slipped out of legend.
On top of it's innate protection it cannot be stained or blemished, and anyone prominently wearing it will receive a +2 competence bonus to charisma checks. In addition, so long as the user is standing next to a solid surface that could provide cover (wall, furniture, tree, etc) they can pull up the hood to turn invisible as per the invisibility spell. Moving from their position will also break the invisibility.
When the user uses the cloak to hide in this fashion it will leave an indelible crimson shadow mark on the surface used to hide.
Kevan hands the cloak to Rabbit, "Here buddy, study that thing up. As to fighting here, I don't mind cause we're going to win. You can't be such a drooping daisy. But, I like the idea of leaving the lady here. Gets her out of our hair so we can go do the manly stuff. I guess we'll let Rabbit tell us what this cloak does and then go deal with the ghouls. Did I ever tell you guys about the time me and a warlord by the name of Kang the Merciless went into a den of vampires? I was just his squire of course, carrying holy symbols, his back up weapon and a bunch of turnips. I hate turnips but apparently so do vampires. Anyway,..." Kevan continues until Rabbit has made a pronouncement of what the cloak is or until someone says it is time to go.
"OK. Let's go kill some ghouls."
He straps his axe-gauntlet to his hand.
Nodding at Jaxom, and Kevan's logic for once, "Indeed it's time to end this fight between the living and the undead. Once we identify their leader I'll use Alden's enchanted spear."
The group decides to leave their charge in the hidden room and press on to the final chamber to end things. Kevan secures the secret door again to hopefully keep anything from disturbing her slumber. Leading the group forward the halfling peeks into the unlit room beyond, noting a group of ghouls arranged in a loose formation inside. Standing and waiting, but not quietly. They jerk their heads around, seeming to twitch and making guttural sounds in their throats.
With no intention of sneaking up on them the group steps forward, arranged proudly for battle. Tymos makes a show of unsheathing his sword and pointing it to the center ghoul, the one wearing leather they had spotted before.
"Your head is mine!" he announces loudly.
Initiative Order:
Party
Ghouls
Tymos
"We should hold the line here," Alden suggests. "If we enter the room, they can flank us."
"You stink of the grave and your momma dresses you funny!" Kevan shouts as he lets fly with an alchemist fire at the northern most ghoul. (range 30' -4 to hit)
Ready for the battle Jaxom holds with Alden's advice. "Right. Let them come to us. Then we'll destroy them."
Rabbit's heart beats a nervous tattoo in his throat as the battle unfolds. He quickly steps up behind Alden and touches him on the back. "Good luck, Mr. Cooperson."
Once again the half-giggles start.
@Eochaidh- Going to say no to that since you had a chance ahead of the fight to cast it and the other melee already posted their actions. Probably for the best sitting behind the DM screen here.
Kevan's alchemist fire doesn't seem to cause much damage to the ghouls on the top end of their formation, but when Eochaidh's conjured rocks hammer down they crumple under the brutal hail of rocks. The short lived flames were marred and smoldered wounds, and every ghoul present had been battered, bearing horrible contusions and blunt damage wounds that seeped black blood.
The two ghouls on the bottom of the formation scramble forward over the rubble in a disorganized rush at Tymos. Alden cuts the closest one down. The armor wearing ghoul steps back though, moves to the wall, and pushes past a ragged tapestry into a space beyond.
Now only one badly wounded ghoul remained, and Tymos glared at it before striking.
Despite the haggard condition of the only remaining foe Tymos somehow managed to have it sidestep his swing.
"Wow, this is pretty fun. I may have to embellish this story. Little easy right now." Kevan says as he wings a bullet from his sling. "Tymos, my good man. You've got to get that giant grape of yours out of the way when a halfling is trying to hurl a sling bullet. Oh well. I'll work around it. But you do have a pretty big head. Eochaidh, don't you think he's got an unusually large head?"
Jaxom moves in to attack.
Alden moves forward and swings his sword at the remaining ghoul.
"Not now Kevan. The ghoul wearing armor is trying to escape - we can't let him get away. I'll move forward and see if I can locate him."
Eochaidh, in case the creature can hear them, nods towards Alden's spell-enhanced spear and moves towards where they last saw the ghoul.
Tymos seems unfazed by Kevan's comments for once, though his brow does furrow. He guards against the ghoul, adjusting his position enough to keep it's attention. Which makes it all the easier for Jaxom to plunge his gauntlet into it from the side. The blade bites deep, more than enough to end it.
...but for good measure Alden cleaves down through it's collar to it's midsection to nearly split it in two.
"Time to go after the one that got away," Alden says.
”Let’s go get him.” Kevan says and hustles across the room.
”Let’s go get him.” Kevan says and hustles across the room.
[dice=Per]1d20+10
The group hurries across the scattered stones as best they can and, throwing back the tapestry, discover where the ghoul disappeared to. A fissure in the stone had been widened out and a crude tunnel had been dug. It was a little short and uncomfortably narrow.
The light the party brings with them penetrates some distance into the passage before the gradual turn of the earth and stone beyond blocks vision.
"Well, since my head is so large." Tymos muses, "Best send one of the little folk." As he spoke it was clear he was looking directly at Kevan. He had also not sheathed his sword, though his posture wasn't threatening.
There might be the trace of a smirk on his lips. No, you probably imagined it.
Eochaidh tries to suppress a chuckle at Tymos's comment.
"The ghoul rushed through. Not likely any active traps...."
Unless someone else gets ahead of him Jaxom moves through.
"The ghoul rushed through. Not likely any active traps...."
Unless someone else gets ahead of him Jaxom moves through.
Alden offers his shining dagger +1 to Jaxom. "If you're going in first, take this. It will light your way, and be useful in a close-quarter fight."
Jaxom takes the dagger and leads the way.
"Ooo, use me as bait. Good call. I'll try to lure them out. I am delicious after all." Kevan says as Jaxom pushes past. He follows on Jaxom's heels. He can see in the dark but the light is ok.
Squeezing
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.
When a Large creature (which normally takes up 4 squares) squeezes into a space that’s 1 square wide, the creature’s miniature figure occupies 2 squares, centered on the line between the 2 squares. For a bigger creature, center the creature likewise in the area it squeezes into.
A creature can squeeze past a creature while moving but it can’t end its movement in an occupied square.
To squeeze through or into a space less than half your space’s width, you must use the Escape Artist skill. You can’t attack while using Escape Artist to squeeze through or into a narrow space, you take a –4 penalty to AC, and you lose any Dexterity bonus to AC.
Eochaidh follows Kevan, spear in hands.
Alden waits for everyone to move forward, then enters the narrows last, as the rearguard.
Alden waits for everyone to move forward, then enters the narrows last, as the rearguard.
Rabbit hangs back at the rear as they move cautiously forward after their scouts. The last of the good luck that he can manage to invoke on his friends has faded to nothing, and he supposes he should have saved it-- but there were so many ghouls! Perhaps if you fight a lot of battles you become good at knowing which ones are the truly dangerous ones... he never thought he'd be someone fighting those battles.
At least he can still heal people, he supposes. He licks his lips nervously as he picks his way ahead of Alden-- pausing a moment as he realizes he never cast a basic protection spell that day.
The group presses forward through the confining tunnel the ghouls have dug out. You pass through hundreds of feet of uneven and various terrain. Always suffocating. Sometimes it is mostly packed earth, sometimes carrying the smell of peat, and sometimes it bends around solid limestone. You don't hear any sound other than the party scraping and shuffling through.
Then, after what felt like a very long time you see a dim glow ahead. The tunnel widens, seemingly carved with tools for the last twenty or so feet, and exits into a small stone chamber. It was still a squeeze for the group, being only ten square feet, but a ladder near the wall went up almost two stories to a closed hatch.
Eochaidh keeps his light source on Jaxom so he can clearly find his way.
"So this is their secret path I assume."
Jaxom climbs the ladder slowly, pulling each rung hard before putting any weight on it. He doesn't know much about raps but imagines a loose rung causing someone to fall would be nasty....
”We can’t forget to come back down and retrieve the lady,” Alden reminds the others, as they begin climbing.
Kevan follows Jaxom up the ladder. He figures the fighter is wily enough to stop at the top and listen but just in case he puts a hand on the man's ankle when they get to the top. He puts his finger to his lips to motion for silence and just listens for a moment.
If it seems clear, he gives Jaxom a thumbs up.
As Jaxom reached the top of the ladder he stops, and feels the hand on his ankle. He nods and grabs the side of the ladder to let the smaller halfling climb to look over the trapdoor, and listen. The man seemed to know traps....
Once cleared and with the group ready to move he bursts through.
Kevan can hear faint conversation through the trapdoor. As if the voices beyond were muffled by an additional wall or door beyond. No sign of ambush beyond they come up through the trapdoor into what looks like a closet.
The conversation stops. After a brief pause there is a familiar voice, and Tymos stiffens. "Ah yes, do come in my friends." come the familiar voice of Berik, "I believe we should have a conversation." The man sounds eerily cheery.
Kevan looks down at the group and mouths "I knew he was a monster under that mask."
If Kevan...
Kevan slowly lifts the trapdoor just enough that he can see the room beyond it.
if Jaxom...
Kevan looks at Jaxom and says just loud enough for him, "Slow and quiet."
Last on the ladder, Rabbit strains to hear-- is that... Berik? Kevan's mouthed statement seems to confirm it. The smaller halfling swallows, not sure what to expect now. Will Tymos turn on them...?
He waits, nearly holding his breath.
Eochaidh tries to mimic Rabbit's calm but he's thinking the same thing, "Treason - that explains it. Is Tymos with Berik or not? Should we kill him now and then open the trapdoor?"
"He knows we're here. No need for stealth. Tymos, you know the truth, your Lord Berik is the source of the ghouls. He must be destroyed."
Eochaidh waits for Tymos's reaction and to see who, or what, else is in the office.
Hearing Alden's words Jaxom watches Tymos for a response.
"You don't know that." Tymos says bluntly, "Hear him out first." He extends a hand, gesturing toward the door.
"I hope you are right and I am mistaken," Alden replies in a skeptical tone.
Alden then moves across the room and opens the door. He takes a steadying breath and walks into Lord Berik's office.