"Hey Beren I vote we go outside lock the door and burn this place to the ground."
Beren growls off the pain of the unhallowed attack and looks at Ruuz, "That would be the wise course of action, but now I'm pissed, and this 'Daugther of The Mockery' could have left clues." He roars at the three remaining abominations preparing to attack and unleash his fury.
Valessa sees the sickly light erupt from within the building, and hears an explosion of some sort. She rushes up to the doorway and perviews the scene within. “Zombies! Um … Exploding zombies!” she exclaims. “What do you do with zombies? Are they the ones that keep going when you kill them? Or silver weapons? Allergic to mirrors? Oh man….” She's panicking. This is far outside her experience.
Unsure what to do, she backs away from the doorway, and nocks an arrow, preparing to fire at any creature that comes through the door, when an idea occurs to her. “Brick! You can heal people right? You’re some sort of priest? Do you have power over the undead?!”
Witnessing one vile creature explode and examining the distance between himself and the undead, Beren looks for cover close by then draws his bow. He feels the tension as his arm slides back. “May The Keeper take you and his scythe strike you down,” he releases the arrow toward his closest foe.
Brick walks through the doorway holy symbol in hand and sends positive energy at the undead.
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Witnessing one vile creature explode and examining the distance between himself and the undead, Beren looks for cover close by then draws his bow. He feels the tension as his arm slides back. “May The Keeper take you and his scythe strike you down,” he releases the arrow toward his closest foe.
No cover within 5 feet, but you step as to be closer to the closest, which is forward and left.
Your arrow impacts against the creature, and for an instant it appears it will be turned aside, and then like a soap bubble, the creature explodes, vitrea and ichor cascasding through the air.
Critical damage against undead, for shame...
Brick walks through the doorway holy symbol in hand and sends positive energy at the undead.
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Brick radiates a powerful aura of innocence and peace, which seems anathema to the creatures before you. In the middle distance, between you him and the standing creatures, two skeletons start to stand, and another two where the creatures exploded, and then they all simply disolve.
There are still two of the original creatures standing up, who seem unphased by Bricks display.
Rokko waves his hands and mutters an arcane incantation, and a huge glob of green liquid flies from his fingers towards one of the undead.
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On 19:
The creature on the right of ther line stoops down and grabs another bit a boney flesh, and hurls it at Beren again.
The shot falls short by a few feet (stupid range increments) bursting with a discharge of the same sickly purple light.
The other creature charges straight at Beren, a mangled arm with a spiked bracelet held menacingly in its hands.
It throws itself against you with the vigor of undeath, it attack barely surpassing your defenses. For 1 damage + 1 negative energy.
Beren make a spot check: (Anyone who moves into direct conflict with the creature can also make the check.)
14+
Ruuz quickly reaches in and grabs another scroll and quickly reads the incantation.
As Ruuz finishes his incantation a green dart shoots from his hand towards the creature charging Beren.
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The creature engaging Beren is struck by the bolt of pure arcane force, its gelatinous fluid coating exploding with viscous, and nauseating results.
Beren, Brick, And Ruuz are splattered with gore and ichor as the creatures body vomits an impossible amount of fluid into the air.
Brick is immune, Beren and Ruuz need fortitude saves.
Finally, though the blood and goo and gore are gone, the skeleton at the core of the beast still remains standing.
Ruuz wipes the blood and gore from his face and just barely manages to keep is stomach from sending his breakfast back up. 'D@#! it, I am never going to get this smell out of my cloths, Beren better have a good reason for finding this she-orc'
"Ok. I can do this." Valessa says to herself as she steps back through the doorway. 'Yuck' she thinks. 'Just splatter the other way please'. Valessa brings up the knocked arrow in her shortbow and lets it fly.
Beren is unable to stop the charge from one of the abominations after letting his arrow fly. The sickly gooey body slams into him, and he feels the same shock of evil tear at his soul. He growls in pain as the goo envelops his body, but is momentarily rescued as Ruuz blasts off more magic exploding the gelatinous zombie. With his mouth in an open growl, he swallows a bit of the exploding ichors. Beren doubles over retching to get the slime out of his throat and find air. With his bow in his left hand, he draws his long sword with his right for protection but retches again before he is able to swing it.
Brick looks over at the creature that attacked Beren.
"Hey, That's not nice." He lifts his Greatclub and swings.
Somewhat disgruntled at his miss, Rokko tries a different spell. A cold blue ray emerges from his fingertips, aimed at the repulsive undead creature. But his aim is way off, zapping the ground 5' in front of the monster.
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On 19:
The remaining creatur takes a 5' step close, stoops to grab another chunk of orc-unition, and again lobs it at Beren. Unfortunately, the creatures poor choice of missile sent in spiraling off target, a sickly trail of purple energy flowing from the creature to the errant missile. Then without warning, the blood and gore surrounding the creature collapses to the ground, leaving only the skeleton behind.
As the glowing bone whips by Beren Ruuz reaches behind him and grabs his shield and morningstar. 'Well I am already dirty so let finish this.'
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As the glowing bone whips by Beren Ruuz reaches behind him and grabs his shield and morningstar. 'Well I am already dirty so let finish this.'
If your BAB is +1 or better you can move to reach the last one standing, which is still near the middle of the room, if not, it is a move action to ready your gear.
Either way, you are 30' away now.
Ruuz starts toward the last skeleton engaged with Beren.
“Gah!” Valessa yells in frustration, realising that she had released her arrow too soon – and with abysmal aim to boot. She nocks another, and moving up beside Beren, looses another at the remaining creature, trying to ignore the carnage and stench around her – block it from her mind for now, deal with it when this is done.
Her aim seems true, although at the last minute she wonders just how effective her small arrows will be against this skeletal thing.
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“Gah!” Valessa yells in frustration, realising that she had released her arrow too soon – and with abysmal aim to boot. She nocks another, and moving up beside Beren, looses another at the remaining creature, trying to ignore the carnage and stench around her – block it from her mind for now, deal with it when this is done.
Her aim seems true, although at the last minute she wonders just how effective her small arrows will be against this skeletal thing.
Your arrow passes right through the creature with no effect.
Noticing the ineffectiveness of Valessa's arrow, Beren drops his bow and unsheathes his shortsword. Now carrying double blades he approaches the last skeleton with a snarl.
"Hey Beren, you look hurt. I can help. Where are you going?" Brick follows Beren as sparkly magic dances on his fingertips. Once Beren stops, Brick reaches him and touches his shoulder.
Beren sheathes his shortsword but holds onto his longsword. He then retrieves his bow and flings it over his shoulder. Then he starts looking around for clues, a trail, and any survivors of the massacre.
As the boys make short work of the remaining skeleton, Valessa lowers her bow and looks around in horror. “By the Keeper, what happened here? Who is this person you’re tracking Beren? I need some air.” She stumbles back outside, bent double, hands on her knees, breathing heavily.
After a minute or so, she makes her way back inside. “What are you hoping to find Beren?” she asks. “Can I help?”
After a minute or so, she makes her way back inside. “What are you hoping to find Beren?” she asks. “Can I help?”
"Who is this I follow? This is pure evil. Even in the war, I have not seen such carnage.” His voice becomes a screech of frustration, then get lower, deeper, and with a growl he says, “Whoever she is, whatever she has done in the past, now I know this is not just a mission of personal vengeance. This orc is evil beyond evil. She must be destroyed." He ends this outburst with another growl.
He then looks at Valessa. "She seems to have left no survivors,” Beren says as he starts tossing body parts around. “But I will not give up hope. Hopefully someone was able to hide from or at least survive the devastation. Also, I say again, she must be stopped. I am hoping she left a clue of where she is, and where I can find her.” Beren then looks at all of his companions, “I fear I have involved all of you in something way beyond my personal vendetta. This evil must be stopped.”
Ruuz cautiously walks towards the remaining skeleton ready to crush it with is heavy morningstar. Suddenly Beren charges up and swings his sword into the skeleton and pieces of bone fly everywhere.
"Well done my savage friend." Ruuz says his voice strained from breathing the fowl stench in the room. The carnage was brutal, who ever Beren was chasing must be some thing straight from Kyber.
Ruuz has seen some terrible things in Sharn and has heard of stuff from nightmares but to actually stand in the middle of it was almost too much.
"Beren this she-orc you are fallowing couldn't have done all this by herself could she.....? I mean come on all of these orcs couldn't have been killed by one person." Ruuz starts looking through the carnage helping search for survivors.
After searching through a couple piles of dead orc Ruuz looks up "Beren if she did this by herself there is no way we are strong enough to take her out, you might want to rethink your vendetta for a little while."
"Phew," says Rokko, his gorge rising slightly at the sight of all the carnage and as the thrill of combat fades. "Looks like quite a party in here last night. I'll, er, just step outside for some air with Valessa."
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For the group at Muskor dur Rast:
The search for clues goes unwell. It is obvious from the damage that blades, and claws were used, and it appears that in some cases orc turned on orc.
Beren is drawn inexorably towards the one real clue, the message painted in blood on the far wall. The letters are tall, large enough to be plainly read from across the room, squared and sharp letters, similar to the orcish script you are familiar with, but the words are plain Galifaran.
The stench of this area is heavy with the deathly reek of your target; she spent a great deal of time here preparing this missive. You are nearly certain you have drawn every clue you can from this, until your eyes catch the glimmer of a matted wad of hair on the ground a few feet away.
Lifting it up, and taking a delicate sniff, you confirm that this was the brush she used to letter the wall, and more to your horror you realize the hair was a lock cut from your patron so long ago.
…
For Sari d’Deneith:
Your recent hopes have been dashed. The house was hiring a band of adventurers to go deeper into the jungle on some minor expedition. You had hoped for another chance to be out in the wild, perhaps to piece together another few bits of the Drow language, another clue to the scroll. However, your superiors still look at you with some suspicion, your long time away leaves them less than confident in you, so that expedition has left without you.
Instead you find yourself here, on a shadeless corner near the verge of the city, delivering information to one of the obese, incompetent, bribe pits the town tries to pass off as a squad of the watch. The leader is yammering on about his gratitude and his continuing hopes of some such when an Orcish female, grievously wounded, with blood streaming from open wounds and frothing from a hole in her chest staggers out of the woods near by.
“t-t-th-they’re killing us…” she rasps, “at Muskor, *cough*, Muskor ras-s-s-t. Five or six of them, s-s-s-laughtering orcs like *cough*…” She continues on this way for a while, falling to her knees between you and the guard squad leader. She raises a bloody hand to each of you, imploring youo for help, before she collapses face first onto the ground.
At some distant level you realize your clothes are probably ruined from the smudge she left behind, but you are more focused on helping those in dire need. The portly squad leader assigns to of his men to take the orc to Jorasco to see what can be done for her, and takes off at a trot towards the orcish bar, within seconds he is sweating an wheezing, but he obviously revels in the chance to earn some glory and fame for himself, and more to the point a reward.
Muskor dur Rast:
Valessa has stepped back inside, to help Beren with his search for clues, and the diminutive Goblin follows along, though he stays near the edge, away from the congealing soup of orc innards.
You hear pounding footsteps coming up the bridge, and all have just enough time to turn back towards the door, when a rather rotund beast of a man stomps up to the door, “All right, all of you, drop your weapons and submit to the justice of… Keeper’s claws, what have you done, and which of you is Beren? It seems we caught you after all.”
He has swagger and pomp to spare, the proverbial cat catching the even more proverbial canary, though he would be more impressive if his “uniform” weren’t an obviously piecework suit of stolen bits of gear. Then another person pushes her way through the other few bodies slowly lining up on the bridge behind the leader. A female, bearing the mark of Denith on both her uniform and her neck.
Beren turns around at the mention of his name. He looks across the tavern, over the amassed bodies, and sees a corpulent, unorganized guard speaking in the doorway. With longsword still in hand, he covers half the distance, makes eye contact with the figure of authority, and says in a deep and monotone voice, "I am Beren." Then in a disdainful voice, "You can't possibly think we did this?"