Ironfang Invasion

Game Master GM Red

Seeking to prevent any further damage to his companion, Grymwold CHARGES at the undead and runs through him, his heavy boots stomping the bones into an muddy, ashen pulp. Moved Grymwold past the green skeleton given he succeeded at the Overrun

DC 15 I think for half?
Reflex Pink: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9
Reflex Yellow: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Reflex Blue: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21
Zarena steps back, bracing her feet in the soft earth, then unleashes a searing jet of flame from her palms. As the blast fades, one of the three skeletons is gone, and the other two skeletons' ribs are cracked and black with char marks.

Saélihn's arrow strikes true, piercing through the spooky hide with a sickening sound. The skin wails and its body twists and writhes at the impact.

Who's up
Blue Skeleton (-3), Skin (-10)
Zarena (-15), Saélihn, Ghost, Grymwold
Gronilda, Lizzie
Yellow Skeleton (-3)

Map

Oh, sorry about that. Forgot to put in the save DC. It would actually be 14, and yes, for half, but looks like that wouldn't change the results.

"There is some weird skin flying here!" Gronilda finally reacts. She pleas to Erastil, enlarging herself to a giant size and slicing through the weird creature with her axe in a mighty arc.
mwk battleaxe: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23
Slashing damage (enlarged): 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (5, 5) + 3 = 13

Then steps back gesturing for Pawnies to attack.
Handle animal DC 10: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

HP 17/17 AC 17 TAC 10
enlarged 6/7

As Gronilda's battleaxe slices through the animated hide with a decisive strike, the skin gives one final violent shudder. The force animating it seems to dissipate, and the skin collapses to the muddy ground.

Who's up
Blue Skeleton (-3)
Zarena (-15), Saélihn, Ghost, Grymwold
Gronilda, Lizzie
Yellow Skeleton (-3)

Map

Lizzie walks 10ft forward, then starts swirling a bullet at the blue skeleton.

Sling, PBS, banner: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 7 + 1 + 1 = 18Dmg, PBS, banner: 1d3 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 1 = 4

Take that, you bag of bones

Lizzie's stone hits well enough to blast the skeleton into a heap of bones.

Yellow lurches 5 feet towards Grymwold, and swings both claws.
Claw: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 141d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
Claw: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 221d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Crit vs AC 23: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9
One claw lands, and cuts open a shallow wound in Grym's shoulder.

Who's up
Zarena (-15), Saélihn, Ghost, Grymwold (-4)
Gronilda, Lizzie
Yellow Skeleton (-3)

Map

And just because I find the mental image of my dwarf going juggernaut Grym leans his shoulder into his shield and tries to run over/smash/stomp the remaining skeleton

Banner+1,Relentless+2
Bull Rush: 1d20 + 3 + 2 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 3 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 28
IF Bull Rush is successful he deals 4pts bludgeoning damage

AND free action Overrun
Bull Rush: 1d20 + 3 + 2 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 3 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 14
IF Overrun successful he inflicts 2pts bludgeoning damage

If your attack exceeds your opponent’s CMD by 5 or more, you move through the target’s space and the target is knocked prone.

Zarena throws a ball of acid at the remaining skeleton.

Attack: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 3 + 1 = 17 (Hemlock Banner)
Damage: 1d3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Hemlock banner: +1 morale bonus to attack rolls within 30 feet

Zarena and Grymwold the Juggernaut finish off the final skeleton, and an unnatural silence falls over the clearing once more. The bodies of the fallen undead slowly sink back into the reddish mud.

Out of combat

"That was scary. Well done my friends" Gronilda cheers everyone, then kneels to examine closely the skin creature she has defeated trying to understand what it was.

She then proceeds to scan the area with detect magic before taking attention to the skeleton remains "We should bury these bodies with a proper blessing before they do wake up once more"

K. religion: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

As the party searches the grim scene, they uncover items that survived the destruction. A satchel contains a a masterwork kukri and a canister of gray powder (DC 15 Spellcraft or Appraise to ID the powder)

Gronilda recognizes the shredskin, a wretched undead creature created when a humanoid is skinned alive. Around its neck is a mummified hand that glows with a faint transmutation aura

Taking a closer look at the dirt where Zarena had started to dig, the party notices mangled remains of bodies, as if it was some sort of mass grave. They also notice notice glints of metal in the mud - as if there might be more valuables buried here.

But as Gronilda examines the mass grave, her religious training suggests that leaving these poor souls in such a disturbed state seems wrong. The burial and subsequent desecration by undead has left the area feeling cursed. As a cleric, she also knows that proper burial rites would help these souls find peace.

Feeling too weak to shovel, Zarena rests and attempts to identify the canister of gray powder and the mummified hand.

Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12
Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27

She'll let anyone else use her anytool-shovel, but in character she's really hurt, so she is going to do something less taxing on her body.

Moving to join the others in inspecting the aftermath of the battle, Saélihn borrows Zarena's anytool in its shovel form, beginning the process of digging through the desecrated mass grave after getting Gronilda's attention and pointing out the sorceress' condition.

Lizzie doesn't have a shovel, but will help in whatever other way possible. Dragging the bodies into proper graves and such, making a short prayer to Desna for the souls of the departed.

"This place is cursed. We need proper burial for this bodies or they might become a danger once more" Gronilda points the ground and while the more physically strong of the party take the shovel to work on the earth, she conducts prayers, invoking the name of Erastil and overall pointing how the bodies need to be treated in order to bring them the final peace "Erastil, guide these lost souls to your eternal fields. Let them find the peace denied to them in life and protect this ground from further desecration. By your grace, may we turn despair into hope and chaos into harmony"

At some point she also takes the powder and attempts to identify it.
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Finally, she moves to examine the mummified hand found around the shredskin's neck. Holding it at arm's length, she murmurs a quick prayer for guidance, hoping to discern its nature.
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

The nature of the powder escapes both Gronilda and Zarena, but it's clear to them that the mummified hand is a hand of the mage

As Saélihn and the others begin their excavation under Gronilda's blessing, a movement in the branches above catches the party's attention. A large owl perches on a branch, watching the work with unusual intensity.

As Lizzie and Gronilda's prayers echo through the clearing, the party works to both recover items and treat the remains with dignity. The combination of proper burial rites and careful handling seems to lift some of the gloom from the area. The air feels lighter. The owl continues its watch, tilting its head at Gronilda's invocations to Erastil.

Eventually, the party finds the mangled and partially decayed corpses that appear to have been hastily buried, as well as 343 gold pieces, four crossbow bolts that are unnaturally cool the touch (DC 16 Arcana/Spellcraft), a plain gold wedding band, and a silver medal emblazoned with an owl on one side and the crest of Mendev on the other. I added these to the loot tracker.

As you finish the proper burial of what were likely Gristledown's residents, it's almost as if the day has gotten brighter. The owl lets out a soft, approving hoot and spreads its wings to take back to the forest.

"Well, it definitely feels like the energy here has...lightened, the air isn't as heavy." Saélihn says, wiping the sweat from her brow due to the exertion.

Zarena watches the owl, at first worried that it was a spy, but in the end convinced that if it was a spy, it was more the positive, perhaps divine sort.

When Saelihn mentions the lightening of the day, Zarena says

Agreed. Well done.

Zarena wants the owl medal, to remind her of the owl that was watching them today, but if someone else also wants it, just let me know.

Grymwold enjoys the simplicity of physical labor. Feels similar to the meditative trance he attains while at the forge. After the burial is complete he says a simple silent prayer to Torag.

We did good work here. I hope these are the last graves we ever have to dig He says this knowing full well how unlikely this is

Gronilda watches the owl for a moment, her expression softening "A fine omen..." she murmurs, rubbing Pawnies' head gently "The forest must be pleased with our work here"

Kneeling by the arrows, she mutters a short prayer and examines their aura, looking for any divine blessing.
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

Satisfied, she stands and looks to the others "We've earned a good lunch before pressing on to the caves. Best to go in with full bellies and clear heads"