Lyra, resorting to her Orcish roots, delivers a tusky gore, the attack is enough to overwhelm the necromantic energy holding the creature together, as it starts to crumble though it delivers one last hateful strike, attempting to take its destroyer with it.
His gore tears into Lyra, and she's falls unconscious, dying.
Lyra lays face down, unconscious in a pool of blood, bleeding out.
Round 4 - Which Wight is Right
Samael 5 Damage
Stom 36 damage
Alak
Violant
Oppa / Doxie
Lyra -8 hp Dying 1 Recovery DC 11
Violant, still stressed beyond belief seeing someone she just got to know recently bleeding out in front of her, just pantomimes a healer's toolkit.
Samael will move to within ten feet of the wight.
Samael will juggle a playing card.
Samael will damage.
As the last undead fiend dies, the bloodlust in Stom's eyes fades and he shudders from both the energy expended during battle and the grievous wound he took.
Then, he sees Lyra lying on the ground, lifeless. "Lyra, hang on." Stom drops his axe and fumbles at his belt for his pack of bandages and other healing items. But, he thinks better of that plan and grabs a healing potion from the other side of his belt, and puts it to Lyra's lips.
"Oof, thanks Stom, that was too close for comfort. As much as I want to meet Lady Firesword now is not my time.'
Lyra pulls herself up off the floor and dusts herself off. "I don't know about you guys, but I think before we continue clearing out this basement and even heading down that tunnel, I think we should take a break. we could rest here or walk back to town? "
Taking some time to explore your surroundings, you recognize this as likely the Hall of Lictors, or the honored resting place of the previous masters of this detachment of Hellknights. You remember from your readings that they were each buried with a magical weapon.
Alak frowns, "That undead creature seemed reluctant to attack me, I wonder if it could tell I'm a hellknight to be, either way, I won't stand in your way if you choose to loot these crypts, just again, try not to disturb the bodies too much,"
Looking in the two already open sepulchers, you find another Halberd that gleams with magic, incredibly similar to the one you've found already, additionally you find a foot-long knife curves inward and lacks a cross guard at the hilt, you recognize as a Kukri, again with a magical gleam to it.
During the melee, you guys notice there were glowing runes inside this room that have since gone dark and disappeared.
You remember reading or hearing a story once about how Hellknights warded their crypts with Necromantic Wards that were designed to raise some of its dead to fight crypt robbers off, but that the magic was limited
"As much as I'd like to get some money for the things we've 'liberated', if we get healed up, I think we can continue where we are."
"Limited Necromantic wards. I imagine they specifically only activate for non-Hellknights like us... but we do need to bring all this to town, and I need to reprepare some spells. Hopefully I can prepare the one from the scroll," Violant says as she looks at the faded runes.
While Samael and Violant look around Lyra will treat wounds on herself and Stom.
After treating Stom and herself Lyra turns her attention to Samael's wounds. "Come over here Sam, let me bandage you up as well."
Tucking her healers kit back into her pack, Lyra walks over to on of the un-opened sepulchers.
Struggling to slide open the sepulcher Lyra waves over Alak and Stom, "We might be able to get this open, I just need a bit of help..." her words trailing off as she attempts to side it open.
Feeling much better after Lyra bound his wounds, Stom is feeling fit enough to help look for more treasure. Respectfully, of course.
"I should be able to assist with that. Samael, how about you wedge a dagger, then I should be able to lift up the lid with that leverage."
Samael and Stom get to work opening the remaining sepulchers.
success
success
success
success
It takes Samael some time but he is able to bust the locks and latches holding the remaining sepulchers tight. Inside you find the remaining bodies of the Lictors, though none of these ones rise to fight you.
Inside you find one more magical Halberd, a greatsword, morningstar, and a long whip with series of razor-sharp blades set along it, sometimes known as a scorpion whip. All four of these weapons gleam with magical, repelling dust even after being interred for so long.
Oppa watches the opening of the crypts ready to spring into action. He starts to suggest Doxie help... but she is sound asleep after all the fighting and eating monster parts.
He makes sure not to get too close to the opening, but does exclaim at all the magic weapons.
"Ooo! Lots of magic here. Too bad there is nothing I can use. Maybe I'll get someone to move one of those runes onto my sling or dagger".
He then looks at the sleeping Doxie.
"I wouldn't mind headed back to town for the night. We can always come back tomorrow". [/b]
"I'm fine to continue fighting now that I'm healed up. But, it might be a good idea to lug all our reclaimed gear to town sooner rather than later. There might be a craftsperson who can transfer runes for us.
Your group spends the better part of an hour going back through the different rooms and gathering up all the items into a large pile of loot at the entrance to the basement. Realizing its much to much to carry in one trip, you begin the process of ferrying loads of stuff from the castle to the inn the Wizards Grace.
Trinil, the proprietress at the Wizard's Grace offers you a pull cart, normally for hay, to use, to speed up the trip, so you guys are able to recover the remaining items, with only 2 trips. This process still takes you over an hour, walking slowly while burdened.
Many of the regulars, drinking in the inn, oooo and awww at the loot you all pulled from the place, "Your best bet to sell any o' that is at Quarters and Bits," one old timer reminds you.
Trinil sees the trussed up birds, one under each of Samael's arms, and says "Aww, sugah, ya brought us back some dinner did ya?"
"I definitely want to have one of the runes transferred from one of the halberds onto my deck of cards. It'll make solitaire so much better!"
Meanwhile, Samael will be looking for the red-haired girl...
At Trinil's mention of the birds Lyra pipes up, "We are thinking about selling them, but we arent too sure where in town we might go. Any suggestions where we might take these beauties?"
Lyra also asks the innkeeper for a bowl of stew and mug of ale. "We've had quite the day exploring the old citadel..." She sits at a table with my of the townsfolk and shares a story or two of the days adventure.
After sharing a mug of ale with Lyra and the others, Stom sets about the long and tiring process of lugging a lot of gear to Quarters and Bits. "I'll be back in awhile, but I figure selling our loot should be done soon as we can. Keep my spot warm!" Stom starts to leave and turns back after a few steps. "I'll let one of you lot to handle the birds. Ha! Still surprised we got them all the way here without one of getting bit!"
Trinil quickly lays out some soup and ale, adding a hot loaf of bread after a short while, "Fresh from the oven," she says with a wink.
Addressing Lyra, "If you aren't gonna eat them, maybe the Shelynites would like such pretty birds, I'm sure they'd just love painting pictures of 'em rather than contributing something useful to society," rolling her eyes, indicating she likely thinks very little of the frivolities of the Shelyn temple.
Sam notices that Ginger, the red haired bar maiden, brings out his soup with an extra helping of meat in it, placing it in front of him, with a shy smile. Whispering, "I'm glad you're back from Hellknight Hill, such a scary place,"
"Come on Lyra. Let's go to Shelyn's temple and see if we can get rid of these overgrown chickens".
He then looks at Doxie "If they try to run away Doxie they are yours to do with as you please".
Oppa, Doxie and Lyra head off to town to find the Shelynite Temple, emperor birds stuffed under your arms as they continue to struggle against their bindings. Its not long before you find the aptly named Shelyn's Smile. This segmented building on Breach Creek is both the headquarters of Breachill’s artisan guild and a temple to Shelyn, goddess of art, beauty, love, and music. In one wing, the faithful worship the Eternal Rose through sculpture and painting classes as well as via choirs and orchestral performances, and priests offer healing to those in need.
Stepping inside, you are greeted by a blond haired, Elf with piercing solid blue eyes, her pale skin completely unblemished, her hair perfectly tied up, to be both out of her way but still visually appealing. Her voice, high and sing-songy, "Hello, I am Tarindlara, Cleric and Artisan, what ever might I do for the two--three of you, beauties?"
"Hello, I'm Lyra and this is Oppa and Doxie."[/b] She gestures to the gnome and his dragon. "We were tasked to help save some goblins from the old Hellknight citadel just outside of town and we came across these strange, beautiful birds. We wanted to check with you lot to see if you wanted them before we take em back into town and possibly the butcher."
She waves her hand at the tied up birds as she talks.
Tarindlara brushed a stray lock of blonde hair back as she studied the exotic birds, her saphire eyes catching the glint of their feathers in the sunlight streaming through the guild hall’s open windows. The Emperor Birds were resplendent, their plumage an array of iridescent blues and purples that shifted with each movement.
“These creatures,” she murmured, her voice laced with admiration, “are the very embodiment of Shelyn’s grace.” She looked up at the party members, her gaze steady yet curious.
Turning to Lyra, Oppa, and Doxie, Tarindlara nodded. "I shall offer you 125 gold pieces, and I promise these birds will be treated as treasured guests here, a living testament to beauty's resilience in dark places."
”125 gold per bird is an excellent deal, seeing as these are so rare and not from around here.” Lyra extends her hand to shake and seal the deal.
Oppa, let’s help her bring them in.”
Lyra notices that the elf hesitates to shake her hand and seal the deal. "Mistress Tarindlara?"
Looking at the outstretched hand, "Ahh, I think you are mistaken my orcish friend, I meant 125 gold pieces of the three birds, not a piece. Alas that would be outside my available budget for such things,"
She retreats to fetch the money, offering it to you in a bag, sealed with blue ribbon tied into a bow. A few acolytes join her, and help take the birds off your hands.
The two young acolytes mutter to themselves, "How are we going to train these, they are basically wild animals," The other shakes his head, "Better get the leather armor out, this is gonna be tough to paint,"
Meanwhile Stom and maybe others has been busy offloading the excess gear and equipment at Quarters and Bits, the excited halfling overjoyed at the new stock to add to his inventory. Telling Stom he plans to hold these weapons and sell them to the town guard when they are low for a big profit.
Lyra takes the pouch of gold and places it into her pack. ”thank you mistress. Good luck with the birds!”
And with that Lyra, Oppa and Dixie head back to the Wizard’s Grace to meet up with the rest of their party and see how they faired selling the loot.
Stom performs the party's transactions at Quarters and Bits, and has lots of opportunity for banter with the staff.
"Yes, I believe this is the last of it."
"Yes, I know. We did acquire a lot of loot." Who know the citadel had this much stuff."
"No, we aren't stealing from the goblin tribe, I can assure you."
"Oh, if he hasn't been here yet, my friend, Samael, wants to hire you for some rune work. Just giving you a heads up."
After lugging all that gear to the store, Stom has worked up quite a thirst, and sees the others have returned. "It took several trips, but I was able to sell all of our unused gear. We netted quite a profit. Were you able to sell the birds? I'd hate to have to simply release them to the wild. Not sure if they would do well in this climate."
”The Shelynites took the birds and” reaching into her bag pulls out the coin pouch, ” and gave us 125gp for them. I tried to negotiate for more but that’s not my strong suit. “
"Admittedly," Violant says after finishing a drink at the Wizard's Grace, getting a tad intoxicated in the process, "They'd probably fetch for 125gp EACH down in the Expanse. I have a feeling we might get there. Alsetan holy symbol, god of teleportation, and creatures from the expanse? But anyways," she says as she takes a bite, a tad stressed, "That's only a hunch, and 125gp is a lot more than it used to be, you know?"
"I'm still counting the gold from the coins from the sale of the gear. Looks to be around 40 gold for each of us. I just need to double-check the math."
Lyra nods her head and takes a drink of her ale listening to Violant. ”aye gold is worth more these days that’s for sure.” Lyra hiccups as she finishes off her mug.
"Haven't sold the symbol yet, though. Doubt any of you a Chamberlain nearby?" Violant says as she chuckles. "Heh. I hope to the gods that the Warg pups are okay, myself or Samael should probably check on 'em tomorrow. Not that good with animals, or people, but they're cute as dickens with their scrunched up muzzles. "
"A chamberlain? What's that? Doubt I know one, being so new in town."
Later on, Stom decides to change the topic. "Is everyone prepared to head back into the citadel? A night's rest and then set off in the morning?
"Eh. I just want to give this to someone who won't melt it down," Violant says as she slurs her words. "Could give it to the Shelynite temple or find the nearest Alsetan priest -- a Chamberlain. But yeah, night's rest -- Samael want me to make any bombs for him? All I'd need is gold for the materials."
"I've got about 30 gold. What kind of bombs can you make?"
"Well. Most of my alchemy books are being sent to, or are already at, Lepidstadt, but I have a paper I wrote that relates the recipes of rleatively weak versions of Acid Flask, Alchemist Fire, Bottled Lightning, and Frost Vial to certain weak spells. So, any of those.", Violant slurs. "All the gold I'd need is for the material. Won't make you pay extra."
"Well, it'd probably be good to have one of each. Just in case."
You guys spend the night at Wizard's Grace telling stories of your adventures so far, Alak joins in the festivities, enjoying the night of drinking and story telling. The villagers don't mind his presence, many of them remember when the Hellknights still occupied the Citadel not that long ago.
Rising early, the five of you set off on the mile hike back to the Citadel, your burden much lighter, but your coin pouches heavier. Alak bids you all farewell, "Good luck, and I don't know if it's been mentioned, but legend has it the deed to the citadel was left behind. If you find it, I can't think of better care takers. I saw how respectful you were of our honored dead." He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, his armor jingling, "I'll be in town for one more day, gathering supplies before I begin my journey back to Varisia. I hope we cross paths once again, I enjoyed our adventure."
You guys find the castle much the same as you left it, The Goblins are still huddled in the side room barracks, their Goblin dogs bark at you all but the Goblins quickly hush them.
Violant and Samael detour to the Worg puppies, you guys find they are still where you left them, hungry, thirsty but alive and well.
Violant brings some relatively-fresh meat for the Warg pups, still marvelling at the scrunched muzzle. "Aww, hello!"
Oppa does his best to hold Doxie back, but she is determined to tussle and wrestle with the Worg puppies.
"Get back here you rascal. We don't need anything else to be responsible for".
Stom gives Alak a hearty pat on the shoulder, assuming he can reach, of course. "Best of luck, Alak. I'll miss having another heavy blade in battle."
Stom helps Oppa distract Doxie. "Here, I'm sure one of the goblins is up for a tussle."
Lyra tries to help Violant with the puppies but they are too timid and scared of her Orcish tusks.
”Those puppies sure are cute. Once you finish up feeding them, let’s head back down and finish exploring the basement and then we can head town that tunnel we found.”
As Violant and Lyra feed the warg pups, Stom finds the Goblin tribe leader to ask a quick question. "Were there any disturbances last night while we away? Any noises or commotion from below?"