The foul, undead menaces focus on Jin as if bound by some demonic oath, ignoring the others,
“You don’t get away that easy, “ taunts the first Flameskull as he moves back to release a bolt of arcane flame. Mervin and Riardon are on top of him instantly, slicing his wings and crushing him before he can get the shot off.
The other Flameskull howls at the demise of his brother, the wailing sound summons four more undead minions who swarm around Jin in a feast of flesh. Claws rip into the oriental swordsman with evil hatred that the undead reserve for the living. Riardon manages to skewer one as he makes room for a comrade, but his efforts are not enough. Jin falls, and is no more.
The Flameskull chuckles, glaring down at the dead ranger on the floor,
“Hehehehe. Shouldn’t be so curious,” he turns to face the group,
“A warning, perhaps, for the rest of you. Ask yourselves, ‘Is gold really worth that much to you?’”
With that, he makes a ceremonial pantomime of a tipping hat, and disappears in a puff of flame. The undead minions dissolve into thin smoke, and the room, though smoldering in ashes and dying flame, is once more deathly quiet.
A friend has fallen, and the rest are left wondering why.
[sblock=Mechanics]
Flameskull1
Move: Shift (in flight) to J29
Riardon’s OA 1d20+10+3=22 for 1d8+5+3 = 12 damage
Mervin’s OA 1d20+1=20 for 1d4+1+3 = 5 damage
Flameskull1 is Dead.
Flameskull2
Standard: Call of the Grave.
Effect: Deathgaunts appear at I28, H27,
J28, and J29,
Deathgaunt1
Standard: Claw
Target: Jin
Attack:
1d20+14= 26 vs. AC for 7 damage
Effect: Shift to H28
Deathgaunt2
Move: to I28
Standard: Claw
Target: Jin
Attack:
1d20+14 = 31 vs. AC for 7 damage
Deathgaunt3
Standard: Claw
Target: Jin
Attack:
1d20+14 vs. AC for 7 damage
Move: to J30
Jin’s OA: 1d20+8 = 15 vs. AC miss
Fenwick’s OA: 1d20+9 = 12vs. AC miss
Riardon’s OA: 1d20+10 = 25 vs. AC Hit (Dang. Almost made it!)
Mervin’s OA 1d20 = 5vs. AC miss
Deathgaunt4
Move: Shift to I28
Standard: Claw
Target: Jin
Attack: 1d20+14=vs. AC for 7 damage
[/sblock][sblock=Status]
Jin: J27 -20/32 Dead
Fenwick: K27 Alive
Riardon: K28 Alive
Mervin: K29 Alive
[/sblock][sblock=For Reference: Map at the BEGINNING of this sequence of turns]
[/sblock][sblock=NPCs]
X2
[/sblock][sblock=Mervin]Mervin notices a pile of gold in the chest [sblock=If you inspect the pile of gold]It turns out to be 500gp.[/sblock] Mervin's insight is also keen enough to put 2 and 2 together. The chest was cursed to summon the two Flameskulls and relentlessly attack anyone who read the inscription on the chest. At some point, someone was smart enough to cake mud over the words so as to obscure the inscription and thus prevent accidentally triggering the curse. Mervin further muses on the complexity of the curse. The curse affects the reader, not the opener of the box. This could have made a valuable weapon providing an alibi for the owner, should he/she wish to murder someone.[/sblock]