Karti steps into the space abandoned by Ungor and joins the combat.
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"Balls! These stairs aren't doing us any favors!"
Karti fetches two tiny vials from his bandoleers and performs some questionable-looking alchemy before handing a frothing substance to Torvi. "Drink this, for it will turn you invisible. Then, surprise the undead bastards and know we'll be charging in behind you."
"Coming!" Karti drops his active guard and starts moving towards Torvi.
"Good hit! Stay focused, there are more of them coming for us!"
Karti stays behind Ungor and follows the bear's lead.
Karti raises a hand and points at the gatehouse on the left. "Let's move up to that door, and give the husks a warm welcome!"
Karti attempts to see 'through' the illusion.
Karti sees a wall of stone materialize and, with the sudden advent of cover, rushes forward and starts climbing.
Karti would love to sit down and make sketches of this place. Work out the details in sketch and word and document Pyrsa for generations to come. Alas, that will have to wait. "If things get heated, stick together. They might be smart, but so far, the undead have been adamant in their belief that they can best us. They'll chase us if we retreat, we can use this to our advantage."
Not wanting to share Torvi's fate, Karti stays right behind Ungor and infuses him with a blast of positive energy.
Karti uses the moment of respite to continue his efforts to heal Ungor's wounds. Just because there is only one guardian left doesn't mean the fight is won.
Karti sees what the golem does to Ungor and, whilst his wand is no match for the guardian's brute strength, attempts to remedy some of the damage done.
Karti's short legs carry him to where he needs to be, but take such a long time doing so that for now, he does not contribute anything worth of note to the combat.
Karti nervously awaits what Ungor does. The humongous druid has the power to undo the defenses of these golems and if Ungor does just that, Karti intends to strike the one that is weakened by the druidic magic.
I'm here! Still yet to decide on what feat to pick up, but other than that, I'm pretty much ready.
Compared to the second level, this place almost feels out of place for it's the one part of Pyrsa that makes Karti feel safe. Safe! In Pyrsa! "Well, I guess that's that for the mines. We did manage to find a healthy amount of drownstone in case we need more down the road and a very helpful cache of potions. We could rest here, or, if you fear something or someone messing with the elevator to get us stuck down here, we could go back up before taking a breather." He purposefully does not mention the chest containing a wealth of platinum pieces.
Karti scratches his beard as he contemplates the path forward. "The fact that this place looks so normal oddly enough worries me. Hrm, well, we could venture down one of the two tunnels, and see what's what. I say we bring some of the extra torches. They might come in handy."
Karti coughs up a mouthful of nasty phlegm and deposits it in a dark corner. He then gets out a small comb and, with a splash of moisturizing beard oil, starts fixing the mess that is his golden beard. "I won't lie, I seriously underestimated the dangers of that place. With what little time the crystals gave us to explore it, I reckon they hit a bad spot and had to abandon the level. Knowing the cost of making those crystals, there must be something extraordinary at the end of that mine to make going into it worth the cost and trouble."
Karti draws the symbol of Torag in the air to fend off evil spirits. Whatever this thing is, it isn't good. No mask is supposed to talk, let alone draw people to their doom! "It's time to head back. Now."
Karti claps his hands as if to say 'chop chop'. Unlike the others, he doesn't trust this situation one bit and prepares himself for the worst by shifting a vial of holy water to his alchemical bandoleer.
Karti frowns when he sees the collapsed cave. Whoever, or whatever, is asking for their help cannot be a normal living thing. Not here, not after so long. But these thoughts, like many things in life, came too late. And with the masks that they're wearing plus Ungor being decisively faster than him, there's no way Karti can warn the druid to not mess with the rubble.
Karti goes about trying on the various masks to see if they're still in working condition. He sets aside the ones that are still in working condition.
Karti pulls a 'not bad' face as he inspects the various potions. He leaves the potions be for now, as plundering this room somehow feels sacrilegious. Said feeling is contested when the party opens the chest and soaks in the view of two hundred neatly ordered platinum pieces. "I must say that I never quite expected to find all this. We should take what we need, the crystals and the restoration potions, and leave the rest behind. Hmm, maybe we can put one of the stretchers in the elevator. Could come in handy ..."
Torvi's words are answered by a grimace. "Y'know, the ones I crafted myself cost me around twenty-five pieces of gold or so. They last maybe a minute once you start chewing on them, so ... yeah. We ought to treat them as the precious resource they are."
Karti shakes his head at Torvi and again shows her how the blasted elevator works. "Down we go." --- The sight of the masks instills Karti with a sense of confidence. Whatever challenges this mine will throw at them, they now have the tools to deal with them. That is if the darned mask will fit Ungor. "I'm sure we can jury-rig one of these here masks to fit Ungor when he shifts ... but that still leaves us with only one set of air crystals. Now, I happen to have brought a set of my own with me, but that still doesn't solve the issue that we'll need at least four. And we'll need some drownstone so we can pivot this darn, eh, pivot."
Karti visibly relaxes when it becomes apparent that the mine does not pose any immediate danger to the group. Walking around these ancient halls, their walls the result of centuries of Dwarven diligence fills him with pride and joy. "I'm sure ye wouldn't understand, but this here, this mine, it fills me with a sense of happiness that's hard to quantify. Like the first warmth of summer, it nourishes my soul."
"Um, I could use some help with this. Not gonna lie," Karti says as he uses the tongs to get the hot drownstone to where it needs to go. "This is trickier than I thought it would be. The first time's the charm, right?" Once the drownstone is in place and the brakes are released - accompanied by a rumbling noise that could have awoken whatever creatures and things reside in the halls below - Karti shows the others how to operate the elevator using the lever. "So, to the first floor?"
Karti doesn't like what Ungor has to tell them. Not one bit. Pyrsa's legacy is twisted enough as is, and it definitely doesn't need another layer of cultism and blood magic to stain its history further. He tries to empty his mind of the implications of their presence, for now, and instead focus on the task at hand. "We ought to bring some chalk if we decide to hit the mines. We can take it slow, and map out what's what so that we can make a hasty retreat if we have to. Whatever the cultists are up to, it's apparently taking them such a long time that they need to grow their own food within the walls of the castle."
Karti's expression conveys confusion when Ungor suggests he turn into a grizzly bear bird, but other than that, he likes the plan. "That is a sound idea. If we can keep the guardians intact, it will keep those who might ride our coat tails into Pyrsa lagging behind."
Karti is stunned by what they find and how it works. And that it works. "And here I thought my wife was thinking on another level by applying hydroponics in our herbal garden to ensure optimal growth rate ..." After a moment, Karti continues. "Do you all mind if I sit down and take some extensive notes of our findings here? I know, I know, but if we are to proceed into these mines at some point, we must have a comprehensive understanding of how all this works.
"The frozen shade is now behind us!" That information, he quickly realizes, is not of much help to Ungor who is currently stumbling around without sight. Still, he's in no shape or state to fight, and even if he wanted to, he can't bridge the gap between himself and the shade in just a few seconds.
Gravely wounded, Karti knows it is time for him to fall back. Torvi bears the protection against cold, and hopefully, it will see her through against the shade.
Hating the fact he has to take a massive risk, but knowing that to wait is to squander an opportunity to seize victory, Karti dashes forward and strikes at the reeling captain.
Karti steps up behind Torvi and presses the attack. Seeing the undead mirroring their tactics puts shivers down Karti's back, but the need to undo this grave wrong outweighs his fear and worries.
Karti's eyes widen as distress washes over his face. But the dwarf quickly finds his resolve and steels himself for what's to come. "Crud! Alright, let's get on with it!"
"Well then, it seems we've secured ourselves a key to the castle. I must say, I'm happily surprised that there are no undead haunting this particular room."
With Ungor taking care of his wounds, Karti joins Atash to inspect the reinforced door. "Perhaps it leads into the castle proper, or another underground system. If we find a way to open it, we should also figure out a way to close it. Just in case we find ourselves in the unfortunate position that whatever is on the other side is not to our liking."
Karti tries to mimic Torvi and taps into his inner spiritual self when he speaks. "Your watch has come to an end, Sokos. Go, and join your brothers in the eternal halls. Drink, feast, and make merry - you've deserved it after so many years of service."
Karti steps up and assists Ungor in removing one more soul from its mortal husk.
Karti moves forward and struggles to retrieve a vial containing holy water from his bandolier. Rather clumsily, he then throws the vial at the closest foe.
Karti's eyes light up when he sees the necklace. A gift fit for a queen and yes, why not his queen, Rauda? Karti has to shake off the feeling this magnificently decorated room gives him, for he is neither a hunter of frost giants nor of enough status to be thinking of giving his wife gifts like this necklace. Perhaps part of it had been the encounter with the undead dwarves. The cold insidious twist on life that is their existence bothers him, and apparently, it bothers them as well as the undead dwarves greet them with cold steel. "We will return with food, brothers. I give you my word. Our lord needs us right now, so we must go, but we will return."
Sure, Karti is an experienced undead hunter, but an interaction with the undead like this one made for an altogether new experience that left the dwarf rattled. The undisciplined and naive side of him felt nothing but pity for the undead soldiers yet he knew that the point where one should feel pity was passed long ago. They deserve absolution now, not pity. "Imagine that their souls are like roots, and because of their purpose in life, that soul has dug in deep into this world. Now comes the trauma caused by their manner of death, which makes everything endlessly more complicated. Right now, their trauma has pushed away their identities and warped their last purpose in life. To know who they are grants us the ability to speak to their soul, to the real them, before the tragedy, before the immeasurable trauma." Karti hopes that explains it a bit. Most matters undead, like all things religion, can be a bit vague, but given enough experience, anyone can taste the truth in his statement. Even if the truth needs a bit more salt. Or, a better explanation. "They deserve to be welcomed by the gods and it is for us to both create the bridge to the divine and push their souls over it."
The hair on Karti's neck shoots right up when the undead greet them. Nothing about this, about them being here, about them talking, is right. Not wanting to see this turn violent, the dwarf racks his brain to think of something to say that might defuse the situation. Alas, no solution comes to him for he fears that the food that they crave might very well be their life essence. Although ... Perhaps Torvi could convince the dwarves to let them leave the room.
Karti steps back and lets Ungor go at it. The big man's imposing strength should take care of the stone, and free their companion. But, just in case he fails to do so, Karti readies his mutagen and an enlarge person extract.
Karti readies the wand of healing, but with no easy way in or out, he can't do anything but wait for now.
"I suggest we hunker down and wait for however long it will take Ungor to make this darn hole big enough so that we can retreat through it. I know it is not exciting, but it sure beats dying like a fool if things are to go wrong further in."
"But if we need to run, where do we run to? Our 'out' won't work if anything is attacking us. Perhaps we ought to address that first, before venturing forth. Us dwarves ain't made to sprint ..."
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