◆ RK: What are these... and weaknesses
◆ Seel: What are they doing here and is there anything activating / controlling them.
◆ Command Doxie
"Ah! What are these things"?
◆ Stride
◆ Strike: Claw... these things don't look too tasty.
Claw
Talons (Slashing)
When a Hellknight is decapitated, the ghostly undead known as a hellcrown is an occasional result. Consumed by the desire to bring about order by inflicting cruelty, hellcrowns haunt battlefields and abandoned castles, slaying all they encounter. Hellknights regard hellcrowns with a mixture of disgust and respect, considering the individuals who transform into these floating undead to have been resolute in purpose but weak in body.
They can fly, are undead, but they aren't resistant to anything nor weak to anything either. Each hellcrown usually possesses unique abilities related to the Order it served in life. Like most undead, they are immune to death effects, disease, paralyzing, and poison
Oppa thinks back on what he knows about Hellcrowns while commanding Doxie to pounce!
She does, critically slamming into the blue Hellcrown, crushing it under her talons into a malformed hunk of metal.
Round 2- Hellknight Horrors
Stom
Samael
Hellcrown Yellow 7 damage
Violant 4 damage
Hellcrown Green 9 damage
Oppa/Doxie
Lyra
Samael will juggle out a second dagger, stride forward, and
Stom squeezes past Samel to move to the other side of the hellcrown and then swings his axe at the creature.
◆ Stride
◆ Strike
◆ Strike
Samael throw a distraction dagger, giving Stom a chance to hustle around the ground and deliver a powerfully critical blow, smashing the tiny undead helmet into a pulp.
Round 2- Hellknight Horrors
Stom
Samael
Violant 4 damage
Hellcrown Green 9 damage
Oppa/Doxie
Lyra
Violant takes a step and sends another ball of fire at the Hellcrown, wondering what form of connection it has to the order since it sent out... a literal nail. In a place associated with the Order of the Nail.
Violant launches a small sphere of fire, engulfing the crown, it writhes in pain, before glaring evily at Violant.
It screams from no known mouth, the sound reverberating off the walls before flying froward to launching two more nails at Violant.
Round 2 / 3- Hellknight Horrors
Stom
Samael
Violant 10 damage
Hellcrown Green 15 damage
Oppa/Doxie
Lyra
Stom rushes over to the last remaining enemy, jumping over the barrier in the middle of the room. "Your oath has been fulfilled. Join the river of souls!"
◆ Stride
◆ Strike
◆ Strike
Samael will juggle out a playing card.
Samael will damage.
Samael will damage.
Between Stom and Samael they are able to bring down the last Hellcrown, the necromantic energies possessing the helmet falling still.
Searching this Ossuary, you guys find many shrouded, decaying bodies of former Hellknights. Being careful to not disturb the bodies, you guys spend some downtime searching the room.
Altogether you find a a number of mundane rings, amulets, bracelets and other trinkets worth about 12 gp. Though Alak frowns a bit at this bit of grave robbing.
Additionally you find one small 9.5 inch wooden stick, decorated with pearls and silver. Violant believes it to be magical.
Its a wand of Heal (1st level)
With few options left, you guys explore the door at the end of the room. Opening it you guys find a room with rows of large, metal-and-stone lockboxes line the winding walls of this storeroom, as do occasional shelves and what look like filing cabinets intended for the storage of documents. The lockboxes hang ajar, having been opened and emptied long ago. A set of obvious tracks in the dusty floor suggest someone recently moved about in here. A pile of ashes and a few melted candle stubs lie atop a low table in the center of the room.
You can piece together the mysterious visitor’s movements—they entered from area B17 and went to the center of the room where the ashes and melted candles are, before moving to the door to B13. At that point, the tracks retreat to area B17’s door—these tracks indicate the unknown person was running
Alak steps up, "This place looks familiar," He makes his way carefully around the vaults, looking in a few key places. After a few moments, he reverently pulls a small box out from a vault with a false bottom. He pulls a key from his belt, unlocks the box, and finds his family’s signet ring placed carefully there on a bed of crushed velvet. The armiger slips the ring on a finger and is quiet for several minutes. "I remember sitting on my father’s lap and turning this ring on his finger when I was but a boy," He says softly, a warm smile on his face, looking reverently at the ring, "Thank you for reuniting me with those memories, my friends. You have the Order of the Nail’s gratitude—and mine.”
Searching the rest of the room, you guys are able to find 4 scrolls; Darkness, Darkvision, Heal and Magic Missile.
Additionally, thrown into a dusty corner, looking much like a forgotton silver paperweight, you find a large silver medallion, with a woman's face in profile, facing left, wearing a smiling mask on the back of her head.
This is a holy symbol of Alseta, a curious trinket to find lying about in the dust of a long abandoned Hellknight castle.
Using his time of being on the road as his guide, Stom attempts to determine the path of the tracks left in the dusty.
"It is no problem, Alak. I've heard stories of Hellknights ranging from heroic deeds of rescuers to horrid torturers -- so it was enlightening to hear and read about this Order's duties and its stories."
Violant then turns her head... and her attention isn't caught by scroll or wand, it's caught by the holy symbol, immediately. "What... what in the Welcomer's name is her holy symbol doing here? Both her and the Hellknights are lawful, yes. But Alseta acts more as... impartial Arbiter. It'd be Axis's job, along with its inevitables, to slay Chaos at its source -- so out of the three gods I worship, Otolmens would be closer in duty to Hellknights... so why is there a holy symbol of Alseta here?"
She picks it up, examining the face in profile, then turns to Alak. "Do... you know why this holy symbol is here? Alseta to me has been with me about as long as your signet ring has been in your memories, so I'd... personally like to keep this. It hasn't been with me as long as the holy symbol around my neck has, that... has admittedly been with me since I was around eight or so," she says with a chuckle, remembering how she was introduced to the Welcomer all those years aho by a Chamberlain passing through Roslar's Coffer.
She then goes silent for a few solid minutes, threatening to tear up remembering... everything. The Radiant Fire, Lastwall, her home, so many memories she would have to go through mountains upon mountains of undead just to revisit.
Alak steps over to take a look at the Holy Symbol of Alseta, "Hm, it appears to be pure silver, not sure if our blacksmiths made it, but it looks old. Really old. I've never heard of Alseta having any relation with Hellknights though, it is strange. Maybe some old trophy from conquests past, used as a paperweight or held onto to use for melting down and turning into a sword,"
Lyra looks over the wand and her eyes brighten as she examines it. "This is a wand of heal! I have a feeling this will be very helpful in the rest of our exploration of the citadel." Lyra takes the wand and carefully places it in her bag.
Listening to Stom describe the tracks in the dust Lyra suggests that we should head down that way to investigate.
Samael will collect his weapons, and, after some healing occurs, he will say "Let's go through this door next," indicating the door to B17.
Opening the last door, you find various storage racks and cabinets clutter this long, narrow space. Some are empty, though others still contain dusty banners with the Order of the Nail’s sunburst insignia, stylized Asmodean paraphernalia, and other trappings clearly designed for formal funerals. Curiously, in the back of the room, a dirt-walled tunnel opens in the wall and stretches into the gloom; and a set of tracks leads from this tunnel to the door leading back into the vaults.
Spending 10 minutes searching this room, you find a large fully intact and not moth eaten banner. When unfurled its a huge, 10 lb flag for the Order of the Nail, likely worth 30 gp to the right collector.
The tunnel extends as far as you can see, trending into darkness beyond your eye sight.
You believe this tunnel was built long ago using magic. You can imagine how long it would have taken to magically dig this tunnel, given its location though and how its incorporated into the Dungeon itself, likely was acting as an escape tunnel for Hellknights
Violant gathers the rest of the scrolls, surmising to copy what she doesn't have into her spellbook later. She isn't, however, as enthusiastic as she was about Acid Arrow, an easily manipulatable spell. She takes and strings the holy symbol around her neck, placing it next to the nearly two-decades old holy symbol that the visiting chamberlain once gave her.
"Should we clear the rest of this place before heading down the tunnel? The wand of heal should help us if we manage to get hurt while exploring."
"Dunno. I can't tell what this is... Today."
"Sure. Let's finish this place first."
Arcana
"Cool Trinkets. I suggest we leave the personal items with the dead. I'm still conflicted on what happens after we die and would prefer not to take any chances".
Oppa then walks over to the tunnel down and peers in.
"Hmmm! This tunnel was created with magic, not the honest work of picks and shovels. I say we finish up here before risking travelling down some old magically created tunnel".
Oppa takes some jerky from his pouch, and first offers a bite to Doxie... which for the first time ever she refuses, belching and shaking her head. Oppa shrugs and pops the Jerky in his mouth.
"Oh how sentimental. Alak finds his father's ring, and Violant finds a keepsake of her weird god. Maybe we'll run across my swaddling cloth in the next room. Almost brings a tear to my eye".
"I'm going to be blunt, Oppa," the professor says as she heel-turns, her lips bleeding a little. "The holy symbol is one of the few keepsakes I have from back home in Roslar's Coffer. Apologies if I get a little sentimental when I find another. And given how deep this tunnel looks, it isn't exactly what I would call dishonest work. Might have been done in secret though, that'd warrant using magic to do it."
She pauses a little, looking through the scrolls, then turns her head up to face Oppa and ask a question. "I do have another question, can you learn spells from scrolls? I've seen you utilize magic before, I figured I should ask."
Responding to Violant and agreeing with Oppa, Lyra pipes up “I think it might be wise for us to finish exploring this level of the basement first before we head down any magically built tunnels. Who knows what’s down there or where it exits!”
Stom tries his best to interject as Oppa and Violant discuss the newly found 'trinkets'. "Oppa, I can't fault someone being attached to a doll, or a ring, their god's holy symbol. Myself, I'm attached to sharp blades, sturdy armor, and a mug of ale. Very likely, you are attached to someone I'd find worthless." Stom shrugs. "That's just the way of things."
Hoping to leave that topic behind for now, Stom quickly moves on. "I agree with the group. That tunnel could go on a ways - for who knows how far. Let's explore that center section first."
Gathering your group and setting off to finish exploring the rest of the dungeon, Alak comments, "I'll help you finish the rest of this, but now that I've found my ring I need to head back to Varisia. They don't give us Armigers much leave, and I don't want to be late returning,"
You guys pass back into the middle hallway, again running into the struggling tied up birds, that continue to roll around on the floor in distress.
Heading toward the middle wing and set of door ways, you guys notice another wing to the right that you never found where it connected to inside the crypt, following the tunnel down you quickly find it comes to a dead end.
Alak, Stom and Oppa all give it the cursory glance, examining the smooth wall for anything out of the ordinary. Stom realizes there is a something odd about one of the smooth stone bricks and when he places a hand on it, it pushes in, revealing a hidden doorway.
Inside the room, Six looming, raised daises stretch from east to west in this chamber, each bearing a massive stone coffin with a carving of a fully armed and armored Hellknight lying in stately repose. Upon closer inspection, the details of the various weapons and minor variations in the armor of the figures distinguish these tombs. Two of the coffins loom ominously open. The east wall bears a complex series of inscriptions composed of faintly glowing pale blue runes.
Stepping in to explore the room, as adventurers are want to do, two creatures sit up in the coffin, undead eyes aglow!
Wights are intelligent undead spawned through inescapable cycles of spite. This spite might come from their own malevolent will in life, or can be instilled by necromantic rituals, typically involving the desecration of burial sites. Wights usually haunt burial grounds, catacombs, or other places of the dead. Their hunger is targeted toward the living—those whose pumping hearts and ruddy warmth inspire visceral hatred. creatures slain under a wight's curse can become wights as well, all it takes is a single wight and a handful of unlucky graveyard visitors to create a veritable horde of these undead. Thus, canny priests and adventurers know that the best solution to a wight problem is swift and total eradication. Care must be taken, though, to destroy wight spawn before attempting to destroy the parent wight, for spawn without a master gain the ability to create spawn of their own.
Round 1 - Which Wight is Right
Samael
Stom
Alak
Violant
Red Undead
Oppa / Doxie
Blue Undead
Lyra
Stom attempts to hold back his anger, but he cannot contain it as the undead beings appear in his vision. Knowing that the coffins would be difficult to squeeze between and that Violant and Oppa are nearest an enemy, Stom draws his greataxe, squeezes past his allies, and charges at the undead on the other side of the coffins.
◇ Rage on initiative
◆ Draw Greataxe
◆◆ Sudden Charge
Samael moves behind Stom, pulls out the hatchet, and slashing and sneak attack damage
Stom and Samael run past Violant and Oppa, leaving Lyra to fight the other Wight. Stoms lays in with a vicious blow from his greataxe but the wight dodges.
Samael took advantage of the distraction and launched a handaxe, it thunks into the wights undead flesh, wounding it slightly.
Alak runs into the room, assessing the tight corridors and hopefully has a plan that'll aid him and Lyra. "Uncommon to find so much undead, I wonder why theya re so restless!"
He runs past Lyra, runs up to the Wight and attempts to reposition it, so Lyra and him can flank.
Instead he is stopped dead in his tracks by the angry Undead creature, unable to reposition, his plan failed.
Round 1 - Which Wight is Right
Samael
Stom
Alak
Violant
Red Undead
Oppa / Doxie
Blue Undead
Lyra
Violant sends out, as is usual at this point, two bolts of electricity from her fingertips, magically guided to (almost) never miss, one at each Wight.
The two undead are shocked by these adventurers blasting them with lightning.
But not that shocked!
The red undead hesitates in front of Alak, you notice its seems to be struggling to attack him. It will try to reposition past him to get to Lyra.
It grabs him and spins him around, then steps off to attack Lyra.
Able to make one claw swipe at her.
You are cursed by the terrible energies of the Wights attack, it saps your life force. Need a Fort Save DC 17 or suffer a curse; Stage 1 drained 1 (1 round); Stage 2 drained 2 and doesn't treat any creatures as allies (1 round); Stage 3 As stage 2, except drained 3 (1 round); Stage 4 As stage 2, except drained 4 (1 round). Every round you make a fortitude save or the curse strengthens
Round 1 - Which Wight is Right
Samael
Stom
Alak
Violant
Red Undead 2 damage
Oppa / Doxie
Blue Undead 6 damage
Lyra
◆ Command Doxie
◆ Recall Knowledge: What might be causing this activity??? or Perception???
◆ Cast: Protect companion
"Too...much... undead..."
◆ STRIDE: (Going the long way to hopefully circumvent Reactive Strike).
◆ Attack: Claw: (Off Guard)
Talons
Oppa looks around at both the wights and his surroundings, but is unsure of what could be causing all these undead. Someone must have just really pissed off the spirits here.
Doxie runs around and clambers over the raised coffins, getting behind the Undead Creature and takes a bit out of it! The undead flesh curdling in the poor dragons mouth.
The Blue Undead, its red glowing eyes filled with hate, savagely tears into Stom.
You are cursed by the terrible energies of the Wights attack, it saps your life force. Need a Fort Save DC 17 or suffer a curse; Stage 1 drained 1 (1 round); Stage 2 drained 2 and doesn't treat any creatures as allies (1 round); Stage 3 As stage 2, except drained 3 (1 round); Stage 4 As stage 2, except drained 4 (1 round). Every round you make a fortitude save or the curse strengthens. Need two saves, if you fail the first, second is unnecessary, if you make the first, need you to roll for the second save. Can only be cursed the one time
Round 1 / 2 - Which Wight is Right
Samael
Stom 17 damage
Alak
Violant
Red Undead 7 damage
Oppa / Doxie
Blue Undead 6 damage
Lyra
Violant sends out more bolts of electricity at the two Wights, her spells already wasted unwisely as she mumbles something in Utopian. She raises her shield, blocking the bolt... but jerks her hand as it moves around the shield at the last minute.
As the wight attacks Lyra she quickly and reactively raises her shield to block some of the attack.
The holy symbol emblazoned on her shield begins to glow as she raises her voice, "Klllarkisha Sarenrae brisshhraka liikk! thill srhuakkk yulll“
Stom fights off the lingering effects of the undead's sapping touch. Then, he rears back for a hefty swing of his axe, while menacing at his foe. He follows up that fearful swing with an overhead arcing attack at the wight.
◆◆ Intimidating Strike
◆ Strike
Violant launches another arc of electricity, crackling between the two undead.
Lyra takes a damaging claw attack before raising her holy symbol and spirit energy radiates out from her, closing wounds and damaging the undead.
These undead creatures seem particularly hardy against any and all magic, divine and Arcane, as the shrug off the electricity and spirit magic.
What they aren't hardy against is Stom axe planted that cleaves the blue undead, its undead magic holding it together only barely.
Alak seeing the tiny dragon in front of him, pulls out a Javelin and launches it at the Red Undead.
It sticks in the creature, impaling it.
Round 2 - Which Wight is Right
Samael
Stom 14 damage
Alak
Violant
Red Undead 20 damage
Oppa / Doxie
Blue Undead 30 damage
Lyra 7
Samael will attempt to
Samael will pull out a dagger and regular stabby damage sneak attack damage, if applicable.
Samael tumbles through the wights area, doing a cool parkour flip before ending up behind the undead and slashing it viciously, its necromantic essence barely holding it together.
The Red undead has two targets and will split its attacks, two against the holy cleric, which it looks at with hate in its eyes.
Spinning to attack Doxie behind it,
before attempting to claw Lyra one last time.
Round 2 - Which Wight is Right
Samael
Stom 14 damage
Alak
Violant
Red Undead 20 damage
Oppa / Doxie
Blue Undead 38 damage
Lyra 14 damage
◆ Command Doxie
◆ CAST: Protect companion
◆ Raise Shield
"Come on girl. I know it taste nasty, but you don't have to swallow... just spit it out".
◆ STRIKE: BITE (Off guard)
Teeth
◆ STRIKE: Claw (Off Guard)
Talons
"Hack! Cough! Spit!
Doxie tries to bite the red undead, but its able to dodge aside the pesky dragons bite.
The Blue undead, on the verge of destruction is able to lay into Stom again. Trying to impart is undead curse onto him.
The undead creature tears into Stom, ripping chunks of flesh and beard away from the dwarf as Stom does everything he can to hold the creature at bay.
Round 2 / 3 - Which Wight is Right
Samael
Stom 38 damage
Alak
Violant
Red Undead 20 damage
Oppa / Doxie
Blue Undead 38 damage
Lyra 14 damage
Samael will .
He'll look crosseyed at the dagger, then and
Samael gives a dizzying amount of stabs, barely registering that one of them hit as the undead's red glowing eyes fade slowly to black, with its last dying energy though it reaches out delivering on last corrupting strike to Samael.
It rakes Samael across the chest, before its eyes fade fully to black and it falls the ground in a plume of dusty flesh and bones.
Alak will pull out another Javelin and throw it at the Red Undead, trying to support the fight.
He launches the javelin into the red undead, nearly staggering the thing with the force of the blow.
Round 2 / 3 - Which Wight is Right
Samael 7 Damage
Stom 38 damage
Alak
Violant
Red Undead 30 damage
Oppa / Doxie
Lyra 14 damage
Since Samael didn't need to stab the third time, instead, will begin juggling a second dagger.
Lyra once again reaching out with her emblazoned holy symbol yells as it begins to glow.
” "Klllarkisha Sarenrae brisshhraka liikk! thill srhuakkk yulll“
The glow bursts out enveloping the room.
Violant repeats the same course of action, trying to recall information on the undead... even if post-(post-)humously.
With a nod to Samael, Stom shows his gratitude that one undead creature has been dealt with. For a moment, Stom leans against the wall to gather what remains of his fighting energy and holds a hand to his chest to stop some of the blood flow.
With no clear path to the remaining enemy, Stom moves into position to support Lyra.
◆ Stride
◆ Stride
◆ Nothing
Lyra once again offers a wave of radiant spirit energy wash over the room, however her connection to her God is shaky down here in the crypt, so far from the Sun.
But the Undead seems to be hurt by her spirit energy, it recoils just as violant blasts it with more lightning.
Which it suffers from, the electricity seizing its long dead muscles.
You don't know anything about this specific kind of undead, it looks like some kind of hate filled zombie but you are sure there is more to it than that, you just don't know unfortunately
Stom, shaking off the curse runs to the other side, ready to support Lyra.
The undead, with its remaining fragile unlife will attack Lyra and Doxie again.
The first blow rakes Lyra, grievously wounding her, she nearly falls unconscious but is able to remain standing and fend of the undeads remaining attacks. Doxie also dodges an attack, nimbly avoiding its corrupting claws.
Round 3 / 4 - Which Wight is Right
Samael 5 Damage
Stom 36 damage
Alak
Violant
Red Undead 39 damage
Oppa / Doxie
Lyra 26 damage
Lyra leans forward toward the creature and attempts to gore it with her tusks.
As she pulls back from her attack she raises her shield in place.