Sajan pounds after the elusive halfling. Reaching the double doors he takes a few long strides into the church before jerking to a halt.
Aside from the entry way where he stands and a few feet further, the light inside most of this, the main central part of the church, is dim. Nevertheless a few tenacious shafts of sunlight shine in through cracks in windows, wall and roof and a stream of light pours down through the central dome, cutting a neat illuminated circle in the middle of the room.
Aside from the bodies in the undermonastery you've seen no sign of the original residents of Kelmarane. Over the previous days you might have wondered where they ended up.
Apparently, for many of them, it was here.
Piles of bones litter the stone floor. Piles. Heaps. Mounds of bones. Adults, children. Apart and jumbled together. Still wearing the rotting clothes they must have died in. A towns worth perhaps.
While they take up most of the room the biggest piles are right under the central dome and on and around the steps leading up to the altar. The latter is either obscured behind or buried beneath a large chunk of fallen stone that must have come down from the ceiling.
There must have been a battle. Rusty and broken weapons: scimitars, spades, kitchen knives, lie amongst the fallen and scattered across the floor. The walls and floor show signs of ash and fire, perhaps from magical explosions. Signs of violent battle are everywhere.
Even outside the circle of light, the halfling is easy to spot, Sajan and Grall having closed the bulk of the distance between them. Back to you and arms pumping wildly she is about half way from the doors to the dais. There is no sign of the entrance to the crypt although there are two sets of interior doors in the south wall of this main room.
Sajan follows the halfling, easily catching up with her and interposing himself between the dais and her.
We aren't going to hurt you... he implores softly.
Grall- I think she is family of Nuveril. Help me grab her but don't hurt her.
Nuveril follows the others, wary and fascinated.
Sajan follows the halfling, easily catching up with her and interposing himself between the dais and her.
We aren't going to hurt you... he implores softly.
Grall- I think she is family of Nuveril. Help me grab her but don't hurt her.
Yes Sajan, she doesn't appear to be a threat unless it is luring us into a trap. Grall will move into position to try and flank the little one so he can grab her more easily.
Zeladiel moves forward warily, expecting a trap. Either the fleeing halfling has a safe place to hide, or she's bait. Either way, chasing her will make things harder in the long run.
" Wait! She..." Zeladiel's voice trails away as he reaches the doorway to use for cover.
Zeladiel's low light vision reveals the room to him almost in its entirity. He has seen many atrocities committed by the gnolls. He watched as his mother died, her throat torn open like paper. He has watched friends fall and heard their screams linger to draw others that would try to help. He has seen bodies scattered carelessly in the corners of caves, thrown aside with the other trash, refuse and filth of the gnolls. Perhaps that is what makes the sheer scale of this carnage so hard for him to bear. As he looks upon the piles and piles and piles of bones, bodies and corpses he knows each one suffered a death both agonising and horrifying.
Zeladiel shakes his head to clear it. He takes a deep breath and centres himself, as his old master taught him. His companions are alive. He must focus and help them.
A second later, the professional again, Zeladiel moves up behind the pillar to the left of the door with his bow drawn, covering the room, watching his friends and readying for trouble.
"No, wait! Something is not right!" is all that Linah has time to cry out before Grall and Sajan disappear into the ruined temple. She follows as fast as she can.
Nuveril
Linah
Khalid
Zeladiel
Sajan perception
Grall 18
?
The halfling continues to wordlessly flee from Sajan and Grall, navigating the bone strewn steps with agility
Sajan is quickest to follow, dashing after. However as he reaches the bottom step up to the dais he halts.
The bones at your feet shift and move. It looks like some kind of skeletal creature lying admidst the bone pile comprising the square. From this close you can see multiple shiftings (i.e at least the three squares in front of you are blocked).
You can see the bones at and near Sajan's feet shift. A skeletal hand seems to raise slightly from its position on the ground.
The halfling stops in place and turns to face you. It has a tiny smile which seems very un-halfling like and unpleasant.
Sajan brings up his hands and feet and assumes a defensive posture.
The skeletons in herrre arrre moving, it is a trrrap! Grall yells out, Sajan, be warrry!
Grall starts to delay...
Linah hustles up to Sajan's former position.
Khalid and Zeladiel move up into the room. Clearly distracted Nuveril hasn't quite made it inside.
You might want to hold off on declaring an action at this stage.
Edit: On second thought a succesful perception check from Linah might inform Khalid and Zeladiel's actions so I'll make one for her. Nope, nothing to see here.
Linah perception
Looking around your shocked to discover this is the church of your dream!
You just barely spot movement in the bone pile closest to you (to your immediate NE).
Linah follows into the church and draws her mace when she hears Grall's warning. Once inside her eyes grow wide and a expression of horror and recognition flashes across her face. "This.. i dreamt this", she starts.
Perception:
Zeladiel casts light on an arrow and tosses it to land 30' in front of the altar, where it increases dim lighting to normal in a 40' radius.
You become aware of moving bones (several skeletons worth) in the near bonepile at about the same time as Khalid does.
Pulling an arrow from his quiver, Zeladiel incants a quick spell, soft blue light cascading out in a circle from the arrow, washing over Sajan and filling most of the room.
A heartbeat later and the room erupts into noise. All over the room. The sound of bones moving, shifting, scraping, falling: skeletal creatures clawing their way up through the piles and struggling to stand up on creaky feet. Pale bone gleams in the natural or magical light. Where eyeballs once were nestle tiny circles of dull red light. Perhaps one in four still bear a weapon. Only a few have any kind of armour, most are clad in rotting rags or nothing at all.
Sajan finds himself facing a line of skeletons on the step above. The closest three launch themselves at him, scuttling inanimate bones at their feet. They display no co-ordination or tactics, each trying simply to overwhelm the giant monk. But they find the forewarned Sajan no easy prey and the monk has little difficulty evading their clumsy attacks.
Claw vs Sajan (higher ground) miss
Claw vs Sajan (higher ground) miss
Claw vs Sajan (higher ground) miss
One rises up in front of Khalid a claw just penetrating his magical shield to rip a shallow cut in his left arm.
Claw vs Khalid hit
Just outside Zeladiel's light, the halfling looks on the horrifying scene with satisfaction, its mouth slightly open and curved in an unpleasant smile.
Old Bones
Round 1
Initiative
Halfing ? 23a (acted) (only just pipped Sajan here)
Sajan 23b (acted)
Grall 18 (delay)
Linah 14 (acted)
Khalid 13(acted)
Zeladiel 8 (acted)
Skeletons 7 (acted)
Nuveril 4 (to act)
Effects
- Mage armor (Sajan)
- Shield of faith (Khalid)
- Light (on Zeladiel's arrow)
Notes
- Treat each square with bones in it as difficult terrain.
- Fighting down the steps is higher ground.
- Dim light outside Zeladiel's light spell and the above specified patches of light (affecting noone currently I'll mark this in the next map update.)
Grall comes off delay as soon as the skeletons act and moves to G6 attacking the skeleton in F5.
AoO:1d6 + 7
Damage:1d6 + 4 (slashing unfortunately...)
Nuveril enters the church last of all. Looking around her, she takes in the skeletons rising all around and hefts her hammer with satisfaction; its heavy head should smash through brittle bone. As she moves past the others at the entrance, she sees Sajan near the altar and, on the other side of a line of skeletons, the halfling-thing leering. Cursing herself for allowing her emotions to take the edge off her suspicion, she growls, "It is a Gnome, after all." She heads toward the altar, wanting to get a piece of this deceiver.
AoO:1d20 + 7
Damage:1d6 + 4 (slashing unfortunately...)
Khalid has time only for a jerky thrust at the rising skeleton and the inquisitor nearly drops Tempest as he slips on the worn stone floor.
To his right hand side Grall destroys one of the rising skeletons with a powerful downward chop of his sword.
Nuveril moves into the church and around both of them heading toward the steps and the halfling / gnome.
Old Bones
Round 2
Initiative
Halfing ? 23a
Sajan 23b
Linah 14
Khalid 13
Zeladiel 8
Skeletons 7
Grall 6
Nuveril 4
Effects
- Mage armor (Sajan)
- Shield of faith (Khalid)
- Light (on Zeladiel's arrow)
Notes
- Treat each square with bones in it as difficult terrain.
- Fighting down the steps is higher ground.
- Dim light outside Zeladiel's light spell and the above specified patches of light (affecting noone currently I'll mark this in the next map update.)
The halfling smirks at Nuveril as the barbarian heads toward her.
Its rounded, cherubic features seem to melt away like mist leaving a hideous skeletal face framed by shreds of stringy hair. It grows taller, broader, its body taking on a masculine appearance. Slaves rags are replaced by grubby, ash-stained vestments not disimilar to Linah's.
It speaks with a hideous, slurred voice, as if through a mouthful of soggy parchment.
The prodigal daughter returnss. heh heh heh. Welcome to my cchurch. Did you like my facce? Your motherr or ssister or ssomething. Can't keep tracck can I. heh heh heh. But the blood. I ccan alwayss tell the blood it ssmellss soo ssweet! Sshe's here ssomewhere. With the otherss. heh. heh. You musst have ccome to join them!
It seems to drag its eyes off Nuveril with an effort, looking to the rest of you. When it sees Linah it .. hisses.
MY CCHURCH! MINE!
My faithfull ccongregation will ssee to you. Oh yess. heh heh.
It gestures and where one creature was standing there is now four, each version shifting and moving around the others. It (and its swirling doubles) moves forward ten feet, just in the dim light (B,-8).
The creature seems to be a hecuva, a cursed undead who was once a living priest it commonly haunts the locations it occupied in life and uses illusionary magic to entrap its victims.
It is resistant to weapons except those which are magical or made of silver.
As above.
A hecuva's claws inflict a horrible wasting disease, filth fever. It is also resistant to positive energy channeled by goodly clerics and can share that resistance with other nearby undead.
Disguising itself as it did as a much smaller creature not to mention creating illisionary doubles of itself should have been beyond the hecuva's capability.
Its speech also implies a much greater level of intelligence than you would have thought possible.
You've heard rumors of more powerful forms of such creatures. Perhaps it is one of these.
Round 2, initiative 14
Horror and shock transforms into conviction as Linah strides into the temple . The cleric spreads her arms like wings and a soft glow restores the dawnflowers precence on the holy ground, if only for a brief moment .
"This is a holy place of the Dawnflower, and you shall be clensed in her light!" Linah calls back to the rotten priest. "It is only weak to magic and silver. Do not let it rake you with it's claws, they are a carrier of a foul disease!" she tells her companions.
The channel resistance, is that something that lowers the damage or a bonus to it's save? Just wondered because my sun domain ability counters the later.
Knowledge: Religion
"Magic and Silver? Let's see about fire!"
Zeladiel tosses the light arrow into the middle of the room and and nocks a silver arrow into his bow. Instead of shooting, he recites words of magic and the air around him hardens to mage armour.
Sajan delays.
You've all felt the effect of Linah's channeling by now. It feels like a cool breeze, the warmth of a cosy fire on a cold night. This is different. It radiates out from the priestess in a near blinding light, a wave of positive energy that feels like a thousand ants crawling just under your skin.
The effect on the skeletons is dramatic, as the wave sweeps over the closest bone piles it simply blows them apart. Those standing, those climbing out of the pile. In a heartbeat they've returned to pieces of bone lying on the ground.
On the steps only one skeleton outside of the radius of the channeling is left standing, although beyond it several more skeletons are rising from the bones.
Khalid casts a spell while Zeladiel tosses his enspelled arrow while casting a protective enchantment.
NOOOOOO!
Blue light streaks from Khalid's hand to the skeletal priest, apparently striking the creature itself as it shrieks in pain from the divine attack.
With the way forward cleared by Linah, Sajan grimaces a little at the task he has set himself. He moves up behind the foul undead creature and readies an action to grapple when the beast is flanked.
Linah follows into the church and draws her mace when she hears Grall's warning. Once inside her eyes grow wide and a expression of horror and recognition flashes across her face. "This.. i dreamt this", she starts.
"Linah! I don't suppose your dream had any other clues on what to expect and how to defeat them?"