-A disturbing view, indeed... Maybe our friend here could tell us more about the meaning of this sign. -the dwarf stares Morzane.
Morzane ponders the symbol. "looks interesting."
Orik frowns. "The graves don't seem to be disturbed, but no one is too keen about messing with them. The graveskeeper is a bit disturbed, too. He's in his house, getting some rest. Guy seemed a bit more shaky than usual." Orik nods in the direction of a small house on the edge of the graveyard. Lights are on inside and smoke filters lazily from the chimney.
As you stand on the balcony looking down, you notice something.
Perception
Jansen rubs his chin thoughtfully, looking towards the other building. "More shaky? Perhaps he saw something then. We should probably talk to him."
Morzane comments, "That is an ancient Thassalonian Empire symbol. Been popping up a lot lately. I hear that there is a library to the north that might have some more answers."
"What is that...?" Ghorum mutters to no one in particular.
-So, we will have to go there and dive between those books, Morzane.
The cleric dwarf recite an orison almost imperceptible by the ear.
You scan the graveyard, but though something seems off, you can't put your finger on it. All of the sudden a loud rumble erupts from the ground near the end of one of the symbols, and a hole opens into the ground. Something moves in the darkness, and a low moan escapes from the hole. Rotten hands reach up from the hole and a smell of rotting flesh erupts into the air.
-For the peace of Pharasma! -Kromoro seems totally shocked.
"Gods above!" exclaims Ghorum as he involuntarily takes a step back from railing. Quickly regaining his composure, he slides his shield off his back.
"I got a feelin' that me axe won't be too useful 'ere" he says glumly. "Isn't that right, Father? he asks Kromoro, reaching to his belt to unhook the morningstar hanging there.
Init
Jansen's eyes go wide as the hole opens up, though one of his hands instinctively flexes to let the dagger fall from his wrist sheath into his grip before ducking down behind the edge of the balcony, hoping it will give him some cover until he can see what they are up against.
-Don't loose your faith, son, and grab that axe of yours. -responds to Ghorum.
The balcony is a stone one, with a low wall about three feet high. The hole in the graveyard is about 20 feet below and 10 feet away. Go to it!
Morzane levels his hand at the whole and waits for something to appear before shouting, "kroug'arc"
ROUND ONE:
Init:
Morzane 21
Thing 15
Jansen 13
Ghorum 4
Kromoro 4
As the rotten hand crests the top of the open hole, Morzane's magical fire flies forth. It strikes the hand, causing it to burn and smoulder, but as the creature rises, it becomes apparent that all is not as it appears...
Three vaguely humanoid shapes formed entirely of grave mud and rotten body parts rise out of the holes, flowing from the mud itself. The creatures seem to pause, then flow together toward the gravekeeper's hut...
Glancing down at his dagger then back at the thing, Jansen sighs a bit and flicks the blade down towards it, hoping to draw its attention.
Attack
Damage
SA
Crit back
Crit damage
Assuming the creature doesn't give any indication of diverting from its course, he frowns and glances towards the others, noting "You said the groundskeeper was in there? Bloody hell..." before he hops over the edge of the balcony as his movement, doing his best to soften the fall.
Acrobatics
Jansen's thrown dagger catches the lead mud creature in the "head" region, knocking a large amount of its mass away and revealing a grinning skull buried beneath. The creature stumbles slightly, but it doesn't brake its progress toward the hut. Seeing this, Jansen glances at the hut, and leaps down to the ground below, eager to join the fray!
Damage from the fall:
Ghorum proceeds to move down the stairs, hefting the morningstar a few times. He stops at the bottom of the stairs, carefully eyeing the shambling mud creatures as they emerge.
Bones squaks, "Grute! Grute!" Morzane looks up at him and comments, "Yes, yes, very ugly." Turning his hand back toward the creatures he releashes another ray of lightning. "kroug'arc."
Kromoro follows his brother in race down the stairs.
-Fast, son. Our friend Jansen could need our help urgently.
Ghorum and Kromoro make haste to move down the stairs toward the muddy creatures and Jansen.
ROUND TWO:
Init:
Morzane 21
Thing 15
Jansen 13
Ghorum 4
Kromoro 4
Morzane's spark again flies off and strikes one of the creatures with a hiss.
Meanwhile, the two lead creatures continue toward the hut, but the last one breaks off and glides through the mud toward Jansen. It gathers speed as it goes, using its body to slam into Jansen.
Damage:
Jansen, the creature looks like a slimy humanoid form, but it hits like a prize fighter. Take 8 points of damage as the creature seems to flow into you before pulling back, leaving you caked with grave mud and what seems to be the remains of a rotting doll, its dull eyes staring at you with creepy earnestness.
Jansen is up!
Fort
That creepy doll's eyes are the last thing Jansen sees as his eyes roll back in his head and he falls back into the mud.
Seeing Jansen fall, Morzane moves up and lays his hand on Jansen. "The Spirits are not done with you yet!"
Seeing that Morzane has taken care of Jansen, Kromoro charges against the creature with his mace.
-Let me bring you eternal rest! -but the wet mud in the ground make his fail- Mm... so undeads has good luck too, eh?
"Listen well, knife thrower. He awakens now, shifting in his long sleep, awaiting the new day when he will rule unopposed. The keeper has dug the wrong hole, uncovered that which was not meant to be uncovered. It grips him now, it will swallow him soon. It moves in the world, and it will awaken the others. You must stop the glutton from devouring the world. Awaken, knife thrower, and remember. The world rests on your shoulders." You feel a sudden cold light seeping into you, bringing you back to the light. When you open your eyes (during Round 3), the mud surrounding you has hardened into a constricting form, and the battle yet rages. However, the ruined doll is gone.
ROUND TWO:
Init:
Morzane 21
Thing(s) 15
Jansen 13
Ghorum 4
Kromoro 4
Kromoro swings his mighty mace, but the wet, slick ground is not his ally. His attack goes wide.
[ooc]
Ghorum, seeing Jansen fall, growls with suppressed rage and hefts his morningstar as he steps up to the slime beast. He takes a vicious swing at the creature.
Ghorum swings his morningstar, but the creature does not so much move as flow. It slips back and the morningstar hits a grave marker, chiping a chunk of stone out of it.
ROUND THREE:
Init:
Morzane 21
Thing(s) 15
Jansen 13
Ghorum 4
Kromoro 4
Morzane slips forward and heals Jansen. The mud creature surges forward, moving toward Ghorum with evil intent.
Attack:
Damage:
Ghorum, the creature moves toward you, but you're able to manuever behind the grave marker. It hits the marker, and seems to flow around it, leaving a portion of its mud behind, but missing you.
Opening his eyes as the wave of healing washes over him, Jansen sucks in a breath and flashes a pained smile up at Morzane. "We've got stuff to talk about, and I don't just mean the walking dirt. Lets get this taken care of..."
Attack(no modifiers)
Damage
Sneak(if app)
Jansen struggles to his feet, but finds the mud creature to be too far away to easily attack. Sensing his dagger's lack of utility, he unsheaths his morningstar and grips it tight.
Kromoro keeps punching the thing with his heavy mace.
-You are persistent to be undead, aren't you? -then realizes that Jansen is in top condition again- Be careful, son. this thing has no manners at all.
Kromoro keeps punching the thing with his heavy mace.
-You are persistent to be undead, aren't you? -then realizes that Jansen is in top condition again- Be careful, son. this thing has no manners at all.
"Aye...No manners, and no chance of hurting anyone else again!" Ghorum boasts. He begins humming a dwarven funeral dirge as he swings his morningstar with a hard backstroke.
Kromoro and Ghorum circle the mud creature, keeping it off balance and skittish. Kromoro darts in, striking it a with a well-placed blow that causes it to stumble right into Ghorum's blow. The morningstar blows through the creature, dissolving its form and returning it to the mud from whence it came.
ROUND FOUR:
Init:
Morzane 21
Thing(s) 15
Jansen 13
Ghorum 4
Kromoro 4
The remaining two creatures have reached the hut by the time the last is felled. They ooze through the door, leaving it hanging from its hinges behind them. A light comes from inside, and now that the door is open, a low moaning can be heard, punctuated with sobs.
Morzane looks over his companions, "We need to be after those creatures!"
A low chanting, in a voice that has obviously been used too much recently, begins in the hut. A strange dual keening noise is added to the voice, as a sympathetic vibration begins to thrum in the stones and grave markers around you. Clearly something is happening, but from outside the hut, you have no idea what it is.
I'm waiting for Kromoro's turn to make a double move.
Init:
Morzane 21
Jansen 13
Ghorum 4
Kromoro 4
Morzane waves Bones to take a perch nearby. Morzane stands next to the door and readies himself, "When you all are ready."
Morzane waves Bones to take a perch nearby. Morzane stands next to the door and readies himself, "When you all are ready."
"A moment, lad..." says Ghorum. He deftly returns the morningstar to his belt, and proceeds to remove the peacebonding from his Waraxe.
Hefting his shield and tightening his grip on the Waraxe, Ghorum smiles at the half-orc. [b]"Now, I am ready..."[b]
The door is mostly blow off its hinges by the passage of the two mud-men. Inside you can see a small, cozy hut with a single room and a small ladder leading to a sleeping loft. At one end of the room-hut, there is a large fireplace. The gravekeeper, a man with a twisted back named Navver Vosk, sits in front of it, in a wooden rocking chair. Vosk's eyes are open, but it seems he's not seeing what you're seeing. He faces the two mud-men, who seem to be watching him and swaying as they keen some sort of high pitched tones. Vosk is chanting in a low voice, periodically broken by a sob or harsh rasp. The rocking chair is rocking in time to the chant, and you can tell by Vosk's bleeding lips that he's been like this for a while. To the side of the chair is a large, mud-covered chest. It's open and rotten cloth can be seen peeking out of it.
As the mud-men sway, you catch a better glimpse of Vosk.
Perception
-Brothers, -he is talking to his comrades- that poor man won't flee. We have to help him now.
Morzane stows his spear, brings out his crossbow and fires at one of the mudmen.
Morzane's crossbow bolt hits the creature in the back of the "head", embedding deep into the mud man's form. Without exchanging a word, the stricken mud man flow backward toward the party, moving agressively. The other mud man's form gives a shudder, then a second mouth opens on the side of its "head" keeping up the keening chorus.
The agressive mudman charges across the space and attempts to slam into Morzane.
Attack:
Damage:
The mud man strikes Morzane, flowing into him with devasting force!
ROUND ONE:
Init:
Morzane 21
Thing(s) 15
Jansen 13
Ghorum 4
Kromoro 4
Jansen glances towards the others, calling out "Something odd about that book, but he seems to be able to distract them with whatever he is doing. If we can keep just one of their attention at a time, thats all the better."
With that said he advances on the mudman, bringing the morningstar into both hands to deliver as hard of a blow as possible.
Attack(not counting flank if I can get it)
Damage
Sneak Attack(in case)
Acrobatics(if needed)
-Careful, son! -Kromoro sees the big hit of the mudman against Morzane and runs besides him. He touch the chest of the half orc and whispers a short orison- Pharasma, bring us balance.
Then a bright light flows from the hand of the dwarf cleric and enter the body of Morzane, healing his wounds.
Morzane moves back, reloads his xbow and fires again.