Shaking his head at Sorsul's recommendation, Confessing, "Sadly the Ladies candy carries positive energy, because of my genetic nature, I require negative energy to heal. Fortunately I am able to do that myself."
As he looks toward the 'Currently' locked cells, he asks, "Shall we risk moving forwards? I can channel, but it would be better if we could effect all of them at once."
Pausing, he gestures towards the healed 'bites' "Did either of you see a a ghostly figure accompanied by a flock of stirges? That is what attacked me." He scratches his head, "I believe and apparition could do such damage, but it felt real."
Gathering his thoughts, "It would be beneficial if it was this apparition that was opening the locked doors or some other source."
Not confident in the need to search the rest of the cells, Sariel sighs and turns back towards the stairs. As they descend the steps he asks, "Wasn't there a big pit in the big first room we found?"
If uninterrupted he heads back to the large partially flooded room, and inspects the hole in the ground.
Quietly she followed, pushing the thought of the walking dead behind them out of mind. The day was not yet over, and they had to descend if they were to continue.
This cavernous chamber may have once been an underground cellblock, but it has long since collapsed. The crumbled walls are thick with mold and stained with soot, and heaps of fallen stones and charred wooden beams line the area. Water drips and seeps along the walls, collecting in a dark, murky pool in the middle of the room. To the north, the twisted remains of a wood and iron lift lie in a heap in a shallow portion of the pool. A jagged hole in the roof yawns twenty feet above this ruin. To the west, a partially blocked opening seems to open up after several feet into a dark but stable tunnel.
You notice that - unlike every other room you've explored - the ground here is completely free of dust and small debris. As you reach the bottom of the pit, the room fills with a cacophonous roar of screams and howls ... but the source of the noise is unseen.
As they descend into the cavernous chamber Sariel, having a gift for pointing out the obvious, comments. "Seems we've found the elevator lift." Hearing the cacophonous roar he adds, "And more of the occupants."
As his eyes adjust to the darkness he uses his innate ability to try and sense if any 'dead' are in the immediate area, or if the voices are just some sort of residue from a haunt.
Turning towards the ladies, he Gestures towards the west asking "Shall we?" As he begins to move that direction.
”Yes.” A witty quip died before it came out. After facing the possessed items and the walking dead, she had to admit to herself that whatever was ahead was likely very dangerous. But they had to move forward…
Four dark hallways exit from this large empty chamber, each striking out in one of the four directions of the compass, and each decorated with a soot-caked brass nameplate affixed to the ceiling just above the entrance. A rubble-choked stairway leads up in the middle of the room, while eight skeletons dressed in scorched prisoners’ robes lie on the ground.
As they move into the large empty chamber Sariel realizes the skeletons are beginning to rouse. Calling on Pharasma's blessing, he channels positive energy, excluding himself, to deal with the undead.
Moving clockwise, he enters the southern hallway, and inspects the door on the eastern wall, eventually attempting to open it.
The hallway terminates in a strong iron portcullis. The eastern door opens to reveal what appears to have been a guardroom. The most notable feature is a winch, but it's clear that the fire has rendered it almost hopelessly ruined.
Wondering aloud, he turns to the two ladies with him. "Do you think the winch lifted the portcullis?" Moving to the winch he tests it to see if it will turn,
Shaking his head he turns back to the great room and moves to the western facing hallway. Arriving at another portcullis, he opens the door facing south.
A brass nameplate, its face caked with soot, hangs above a portcullis leading into a large cellblock. Many of the iron doors along the walls within the cellblock hang open, revealing empty cells within.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This guardroom contains a single large table with two chairs astride it and a single sagging cot pushed up against the eastern wall. Several battered cabinets line the northern wall, with a few arrows and bits of chainmail lying scattered on the floor nearby, yet the most eerie sight are the three fractured skulls sitting on the table next to a heavy hammer. It looks as if someone has arranged the fragments of the skulls in some sort of pattern, as if an attempt had been made to construct a fourth skull from the broken fragments of the trio on the table. The leathery body of a long-dead dwarf, his wiry red hair and beard still strangely vibrant in death, lies slumped on the ground behind the table.
”This is ominous.” Sorsul said. ”The skulls? The vibrant hair? This is going to be one of the ghosts, isn’t it?” With a sigh she added ”Lets get the hammer away from that corpse, lest it rise up to use it.”
Furrowing his brow, Sariel looks from the skulls to the corpse, using his innate ability to detect undead.
Sariel detects no undead in the room.
Not sensing any undead, Sariel breaths a sigh as he slowly moves into the room. Wondering aloud, "What are the odds that's the hammer we're looking for? If it is, it clearly wound up in the wrong hands." As he speaks he moves towards the corpse, intent on searching it for anything of use and collecting the hammer.
As you step into the room, you feel a sudden splitting headache and notice the fragments of skull on the table begin rattling and shaking.
Seeing the fragments of skull on the table begin rattling and shaking, Sariel, calling on Pharasma's power, quickly channels positive energy.
Seeing the haunt beginning to rise, Sorsul prepared herself. She willed her shadow to grow and to reach out, ready to engulf whatever arose and to tear it apart within the darkness.
Sariel's channeled energy shatters the skulls, and they immediately cease their movement. The air in the room feels somewhat clearer, now.
Eyes brimming with respect, she turned to her comrade and exclaimed ”Well done!” She waited to see if anything happened when he finished collecting the hammer.
Breathing a sigh as the skulls 'Shatter' Sariel turns and gives Sorsul a half-hearted smile. He moves into the room, inspecting the corpse and gathering the hammer, looking at it quickly to see if it was the 'gift' they were sent after. As he hands the hammer to the ladies for inspection he gestures towards the room, "Seems to be the guards room, Maybe we'll find keys in here?" Turning he begins to search the room for anything of potential aid.
The hammer appears to be a regular carpentry or masons hammer - certainly not the masterfully-crafted warhammer you're searching for. You find nothing else of interest in the room .
Taking a deep breath, Sorsul pushed the thoughts of the danger they were in away and aided Sariel in his search. She told herself that back home she had been threatened with worse than this. And while it wasn’t a happy thought, it was at least comforting. She tried to not think about how she had ran away from said dangers, though.
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With Sorsul's help, you discover a secret alcove in the stone wall! Unfortunately, it's securely locked .
Pleased that Sorsul was able to locate the secret alcove, Sariel frowns as he inspects it, "Locked!" He turns to the ladies, "Any chance either of you can open it?"
[b[“Lady Shae, could you blast it open?”[/b] Sorsul asked, turning to their companion.”Otherwise I can see if my shadow can slowly make an entrance.”
Sorsul caused her shadow to engulf the secret door. The sizzling of acid could be heard from within the darkness.
”This seems like it will take awhile. I’ll keep at it while you look around. If nothing is within close distance I’ll stop and we will leave together to find it.”
Looking from Sorsul to Lady Shae, SAriel nods, "I'll check the door across the hall." Stepping out of the small room he turns to the northern door and attempts to open it.
This appears to be another guard room and contains a table, a few chairs, and a pair of cots. A winch is affixed to the western wall and appears to be undamaged.
Finding the winch intact, Sariel returns to the southern room to see how the progress on the locked door is going. Gesturing back the way they came he tells Sorsul. "I found a winch, I believe it is for the western portcullis."
He gestures back the way they'd come, "Once we're done here, I'd like to check the northern hall before we open any of the portcullis, just to make sure nothing untoward can sneak up on us."
”Makes sense.” She replied, as she remained focused at the task of slowly melting their way past the need to find the lost key.
It takes a little while to burn through the stone door, but it's eventually damaged enough to open. On the other side is an alcove containing several armor stands, weapon racks, and a wooden chest.
Potential Loot
MW Chainmail x6
MW Studded Leather Armor x6
MW Longsword x4
MW Heavy Mace x4
MW Heavy Crossbow x2
Crossbow Bolt x120
Wand - hold person (11 charges remaining)
Potion - cure moderate wounds x4
rope of climbing
Seeing the mundane and magical items Sariel nods his head. Picking up one of the heavy crossbows, he tucks a few bolts into his belt. "We should take the magical items and whatever we can use."
Once everyone had loaded up, he nods back the way they came. "Let's check the northern hallway before we open the Portcullis."
Returning to the larger room he takes the hall north to the western door. Pausing to investigate the door, crossbow in hand, he eventually attempts to open the door.
The door to this guard room hangs slightly ajar. Within stands a table surrounded by a few rickety chairs, along with a pair of moldy but serviceable cots. A winch is affixed to the north wall, presumably for the portcullis farther up the hall - although that portcullis is currently raised.
As you approach, a headless burning skeleton charges out, wielding a flaming axe.
Seeing the headless buning skeleton charging at them, Sariel, instinctively steps back and calls on Pharasma's power, channeling positive energy.
The skeleton charged in, axe aflame. It charged directly into Sorsul’s waiting shadow. She moved, pantomiming crossing her hands around its neck as if though she held a pair of daggers. She savagely pulled her hands back, as if though doing so would shatter the skeleton’s vertebrae. Her shadow, of course, mimicked this…
The headless skeleton staggers for a moment under the joint effects of Sariel's channeled energy and Sorsul's shadow, but it then steps forward and continues to wildly swing its flaming axe.
Stepping back from the flailing creature, Sariel uses his ability to manipulate undeath and attacks the creature.
Moving to flank the skeleton, Sorsul willed her shadow to attack once more. Darkness enveloped it, and would have shattered its skull…if it had one. It was certainly a foolish attack to have made.
Special: This ghost strike affects any creature with a skeleton, exoskeleton, or other similar body structure, bypassing any racial immunity to Fortitude saves or death effects the target may possess.
Sariel's magic staggers the skeleton, allowing Sorsul's shadowy attack to finish it off. It promptly explodes, sending flaming bone shards flying.
Realizing the skeleton has 'exploded' Sariel asks Sorsul "Are you OK?" looking to Lady Shae, hoping the chocolatier would provide candy styled healing.
Breathing a sigh, he moves into the room the skeleton had occupied and quickly searches it for keys or anything else helpful.
You find no keys or interesting items in the room, but you do notice that with the skeleton's destruction, the flames engulfing the axe have gone out.
Potential Loot
Handaxe
Frowning at the axe, Sariel picks it up, turning it over, looking it for a moment. As he extends it to either of the ladies for inspection he nods back the way they came. "Guess we should try the lever for the portcullis.
Walking back to the room in the western hallway, he pulls on the lever hoping it will open the portcullis.
The door to this guard room hangs slightly ajar. Within stands a table surrounded by a few rickety chairs, along with a pair of moldy but serviceable cots. A winch is affixed to the north wall, presumably for the portcullis farther up the hall - although that portcullis is currently raised.
”I have the feeling that once we pass this, it will drop.” She said, warily. ”But we still must go forward. I’ll head in first, please be ready to lift it if this happens.”
Several iron doors line the walls of this large, empty room. In the middle of the room, a hinged ten-foot-square metal grating lies over a dark pit in the floor. A thick rope has been tied to the grating and dangles into the pit below.
Waiting and watching to see if the portcullis did in fact drop, Sariel admits, "I hope not, but we will wait here to raise it again."
Relieved the portcullis is still in place, Sariel turns to 'Lady Shae' asking, "M'lady, please wait here, if the portcullis drops you would be able to open it." With a nod he follows Sorsul into the large empty room.
Seeing the thick rope he sighs, "It looks like we may eventually be descending." Nodding back the way they came he asks, Sorsul "Should we make sure the keys are not on this level before we descend?" He frowns slightly, "And can we pull that rope up and shut the gate to make sure nothing ascends behind us while we finish our search?"
”We could. But we are here…” She chewed her lip thoughtfully. ”Yes.” She began pulling the rope up. ”A very good idea. Let’s finish our search here first.”
The portcullis doesn't drop when Sorsul enters, so with Lady Shae guarding the room the the winch, Sariel joins her in the cellblock. As she enters, a horrifying figure floats out of the grate. Sariel immediately recognizes it as the entity that attacked him in the town square. The sound of its axe clanging against the metal grating reveals that - unlike many of the entities you've encountered thus far - this is no haunt....
The spirit drifts toward Sariel, grinning madly, and swipes at him with its giant axe.