Roylenna steps toward Ka'kara and casts Burning Hands defensively through Mahaffy's position to cover squares L-N/7, L-M/8, and L9.
Concentration check DC 17 to cast defensively
Burning Hands damage:
Roylenna's blast envelops the hapless Mahaffy and three of the ghouls. They are badly scorched and ghoul D collapses in a heap.
Rhianna takes the opening Badru's move provides and moves to launch her own stream of flames at the oncoming ghouls. "Veri utepra no jovose!" she shouts, and a burst of flame leaps from her fingertips.
Rhianna:
While not being otherwise able to act , Mahaffy ponders the day he had
'My beard is falling in clumps (tainted) , there is chunks of vomit in the rest (sickened) , I am paralysed and now being roasted in case the gouls love their meat cooked . some days , you should not get out of bed ... "
Rhianna follows Roylenna's lead and toasts the remaining ghouls. One of the walking dead falls in a smoking heap (#3) but the other one continues relentlessly.
Ghoul C advanced and claws Roylenna in the throat and finishes with a nasty bite for a total of 21 points of damage. The last ghoul steps up to Badru (I think) and hits him for 10 points.
You're up.
Ducking the flaming blasts, Artival sees the remaining ghoul continuing to advance on their position. "Just die, dammit...," he screams at the top of his lungs, continuing to machine gun fire his lightning blast at it.
Attack
Damage
Attack with scimitar and bless
Damage from scimitar with bless
EDIT: If crits apply, here's the confirmation attempt:
Attack
Damage
And Badru is indeed close enough for a 5' step and attack routine from ghoul #3, if Badru's attack didn't lay him low.
Back to the diminutive sorceress, having been torn open by the ghoul, she fights to retain control of her spasming muscles:
Fortitude
...and fails.
BT:
Badru swings his scimitar and manages to cleave the ghoul's head from its body, leaving it a spasming heap. Roylenna freezes as the ghoul tears into her.
Roylenna:
Artival fires a bolt of lightning at the last ghoul but realizes that he's going to hit Roylenna and hits the ceiling instead.
So now Badru and Rhianna have a chance of taking out the last ghoul.
BT:
Re: Badru's attack: I know you had the option to hand-wave that attack as too late. Thanks for counting it.
Roylenna stands rigid, blood soaking her chest, looking weak and furious at the same time.
Something about the desperate nature of their situation seems to register on Rhianna. Looking around at bodies falling or locking in horrific rictus, the evoker's expression becomes pale and grim. She points a finger at the remaining ghoul and says flatly, "Veri yslou ra jeseza."
[ooc]As long as the last ghoul is down Badru will start healing people starting with the most critical (ie Roylenna & Ka'kara). I have four left @ 1d6 a piece if people want to roll it for themselves. Otherwise Badru will make sure all ghouls are dead before healing people.[\ooc]
"MMMPHH!!! MMMPHHH!!"
As the paralyze effects fade, Lyria regains control of her body, and quickly channels positive energy twice, healing all of the group and bringing everyone to a much better condition.
When the paralysis wears off, Roylenna falls to her hands and knees. She begins to giggle quietly, getting louder until it is a full-on (and slightly insane) laugh, tears streaming from her eyes, until she's exhausted and collapses to the cave floor.
When she regains her wits and her breath, she sits up. The first sensible thing out of her mouth is, "How is Mahaffy? I didn't burn him too badly, did I?"
Her eyes still shine with some of her earlier mania, but she seems to be herself otherwise.
As everyone around him began taking inventory of their faculties, un-paralyzing others, and such, Artival collapses against the nearby wall and slides down into a seated position, getting much muck and grime on his blue outfit. He was exhausted; the fight was unlike anything he had experienced before. He just wanted to rest for a couple minutes.
Searching the cave you find diverse items: 15 cp, 32 sp, 4 gp, 1 pp, a severed hand wearing a 120 gp sapphire ring, a severed ear with a 25 gp gold earring, a 20 gp silver-plated dagger. Also one of the orc zombies wears a 125 gp emerald necklace and one small zombie's ear is pierced with a 100 gp diamond stud. A suit of platemail barding (for a heavy warhorse) lies rusting on the floor. One ghoul wears a fine (30 gp) gold chain with a magnifying glass attached.
In an alcove somewhat further into the cave there is a 75 gp gold scroll case containing a scroll of Call Lightning.
But more strangely, in a niche there is some kind of temple, with three 10 feet wide niches, each containing a small black pedestal. The left one contains a gold, half-lidded eye, about six inches in diameter, while the right one contains a gold, clawed hand, laying palm up. The middle niche is empty but there is a heart-shaped depresion in the pedestal.
No , Roylenna , with Lydia's help I'll be able to sit tonight.
And you were right to do it , otherwise , we might have been in much more trouble ...
Might I suggest taking great care with everything we find here? Last item we found in a similar place was cursed
No , Roylenna , with Lydia's help I'll be able to sit tonight.
Roylenna will cast Detect Magic and inspect the items they find, and especially the niches and their contents.
"I'm not well versed in religion-type stuff -- does this mean anything to anyone?"
Ka'kara? Did you level?[/ooc]
As Roylenna rocks herself in her hysteria Ka'kara comes over and picks her up in a hug, "Shhh...I thought I was going to join my ancestors too. We are alive thanks largely to you sister. Let us finish what we came to do and leave this accursed place behind. The sun will be a welcome sight."
Taking one look at the temple and missing heart shaped depression where she guesses once contained another gold item, "Someone probably desecrated this holy place by stealing whatever was there. That is likely what made the vengeful spirits rise up and attack the living. I want no part of the likely accursed items from this place." Suddenly remembering and touching her face gingerly as more skin sloughs off, "Well....unless it helps in breaking this curse that is."
Roylenna will cast Detect Magic and inspect the items they find, and especially the niches and their contents.
"I'm not well versed in religion-type stuff -- does this mean anything to anyone?"
The whole area radiates faint transmutation magic, but the items themselves don't radiate any magic. Knowledge (religion) might indeed come in handy.
As soon as the battle is over, Rhianna almost seems to forget that it occurred, examining everything within the cave with a careful and thorough eye, taking notes and frequently casting detect magic as she goes. A number of small vials suddenly have bits of ghoul or zombie in them as well, before she is done. At the odd pedestal, she bites her lip and murmurs, "Hunh," as though staring at a picture of a vase only to realize it might also be a picture of two faces looking toward one another.
Rhianna:
For a while after the fight, Lyria keeps quiet while feeling ashamed that she was knocked out so quickly and could have got the party killed. After healing the group, she silently walks around the cave with the others, looking for anything interesting. She stops next to the small niche, which she seems to be attracted to, and looks at the items and pedestals, trying to recall if she knew anything about these shrines.
There is no writing around the shrine, unless you consider the dried head totems some sort of message.
Are you finished exploring the cave and where do you want to go next?
"I wonder about the theory that this shrine was desecrated, causing the evil in this cavern. I would like to see if we can remove the taint from the cave, perhaps by locating the third object from the shrine?
"Nonetheless, the items that were carried by the various corpses seem unlikely to be related to the cause of the taint. I should think that we might be able to collect them and sell them to pay for removal of our respective taints. None of them appear to be magical. I am unable to check for curses, however.
"It might be in our best interest to visit with the clerics in town to determine what they might know about this shrine and its symbols. As well as to see if they might be able to remove the taint we suffer from.
"But that's just my thoughts - what do the rest of you think?"
Nope, still dark.
seems if our priest and magic men have no other idea , roylenna's idea is the best
"Anything that might get my regular vision back," the sorceror mutters from his sitting position. "And get us out of this place," he adds, standing up, realizing the nastiness of the cave he had just been sitting in.
Badru's spiritual vision tells him that the totems manifest a stronger evil than even the cave itself, and he and Ka'kara (and possibly Mahaffy) set about with gusto chopping them down and destroying them. As the last totem falls, the darkness dissipates and you can see again. The evil of the place is still there and you dare not touch the relics, but with a sigh of relief you notice that the symptoms of taint that you've been manifesting are gone.
As you do the sensible thing and return to Warwik and high priest Thaban to level up and sell some of your loot, after a few divinations he grudgingly admits that you're finally even. The missing heart, he says, is probably lost somewhere in the dungeons of Barakus, but he'll put together a party to search for it. At least the undead won't plague the surroundings any more. Some of the lesser priests even venture to cheer for you but Thaban says that this is not a time to get excited.
Anyway, you are free to go wherever you like.
Badru's spiritual vision tells him that the totems manifest a stronger evil than even the cave itself, and he and Ka'kara (and possibly Mahaffy) set about with gusto chopping them down and destroying them. As the last totem falls, the darkness dissipates and you can see again. The evil of the place is still there and you dare not touch the relics, but with a sigh of relief you notice that the symptoms of taint that you've been manifesting are gone.
Roylenna sighs with relief as the effect twisting her tiny feet inward is suddenly eased and she can walk normally again.
As you do the sensible thing and return to Warwik and high priest Thaban to level up and sell some of your loot, after a few divinations he grudgingly admits that you're finally even. The missing heart, he says, is probably lost somewhere in the dungeons of Barakus, but he'll put together a party to search for it. At least the undead won't plague the surroundings any more. Some of the lesser priests even venture to cheer for you but Thaban says that this is not a time to get excited.
"Good Father Thaban, can you identify what the eye, the heart, and the hand might signify? I'm just curious - it's more important to hear your divine sight shows the threat to be no longer present."
Back in Warwick Ka'kara asks for Roylenna's and Mahaffy's help in finding a long-spear for her. Her unfamiliarity with the city making her very anxious about trying it all by herself.
Leaving the undead haven did wonders for Artival. His vision cleared, and his good sense returning, once he got back to town, the first thing on his plate was to get his clothes cleaned. Asking the local innkeep to take care of that, Artival's next idea was for a bit of downtime at the local pub.
"Anyone up for a good bout of drinking?" he asked the group after things settled down a bit.
Putting down her half finished tankard of ale Ka'kara gives him a incredulous look, "You haven't started yet?!" Following up with a huge grin to show she is only joking (well half-joking he senses) she gives him a powerful blow to the back while bellowing, "An excellent idea! Yes, let us celebrate our victory over the dark and restless spirits! Who will join us?!"
Artival made a mental note to stay at a little more than arm's reach from the barbarian during drinking time. But she seemed friendly enough.
Artival decides to wind her up a little bit, for jollies. "I think some of them," nodding his head at the rest of the group, "are scared to drink with us. Let's challenge them to a drinking contest."
Laughing, "You here that?! Art here says he can drink any or all of the lot a' ya under the table. He also said he's more than a match for any of you in an arm wrestlin match to boot! What do you all have to say to that?!" She leans conspiratorially close to Artival and whispers, "Careful of Lenna, she's a mean drunk."