Welcome to the Halmae (updated 2/27/07)
- Thread starter spyscribe
- Start date
Fajitas
Hold the Peppers
Actually, Gemil's voice was based on that of Brent Spiner. There's a peculiar tightness about his voice that I took and exaggerated. Plus, I was always careful to grin cheek to cheek whenever Gemil spoke, and tried to limit my lip and jaw movements to up and down only.dpdx said:
It was an odd, but very fun, voice.
spyscribe
First Post
Part the One-Hundred Twenty-Fourth
In which: any lingering hopes for Thatch’s efficacy as a rogue are well and truly put to rest.
The next morning, the party cautiously ascends the main staircase to explore the upper levels of the tower.
On the second floor they find six doors arrayed around a “U” shaped mezzanine overlooking the stairs. In one corner, a spiral staircase leads upwards to a closed trap-door.
The party decides to start on the opposite side from the trap-door and work their way around. Moving slowly and checking for anything that might be magical along the way, the party discovers a water-closet followed by three empty bedrooms.
Behind the fifth door, they find a corpse lying on a bed.
The figure is a human man, probably in his thirties. He wears black plate mail adorned with a holy symbol that identifies him as a Guardian of the Barrier, and he holds a sword which radiates slight conjuration magic. The body has obviously been laid to rest by someone, with care taken to fold his hands over the hilt of his sword. He appears to have been dead for some months. He also does not especially resemble the man in the portrait downstairs.
Anvil goes down to the basement to bring Gemil to see the corpse and find out if he knows who this person might be.
“Ah ha!” Gemil says, cackling slightly when he sees the corpse. “Sir Cyrus Immodan.”
“Who is this Sir Cyrus?” Anvil demands of the skull.
“He has long been a companion of Petros. Seems to have a way with dispatching undead with that sword of his.” Gemil glances around as best as he is able. “I’m surprised you haven’t run into Appius anywhere around here, now that I think of it.”
“Who is Appius?”
“The butler.”
“Big guy?” Thatch asks, holding a hand above his head to demonstrate. “Big fists?”
“That would be him.”
“We killed him.”
“Oh… I doubt that.”
Eva quickly looks behind her. “Why’s that?”
“In order for you to kill him, he would have had to have been alive first.”
Anvil gives Gemil a hard stare. “If you are going to be snide, you can go back to the basement.”
Gemil sighs. “Very well.” But he refrains from further comment.
The party checks the last door which is another empty bedroom, and then heads for the spiral staircase leading to the next level.
Thatch goes first, getting about halfway up before…
(Yes! It’s our patented trap-detection system once again!)
An ear-splitting alarm sounds, followed almost in the same instant by a web enveloping the entire staircase.
“It’s okay! Thatch shouts over the noise. “I’m not stuck, just--- What the heck was that?!?”
The “that” in question is a tiny green pellet-like object that comes shooting down from above and >splats< into a chink in Thatch’s armor where the arm piece meets shoulder.
Thatch shakes his arm, trying to dislodge it. Whatever has hit him burns like acid.
Forget this, Thatch thinks to himself, and with a mighty wrench to one side manages to throw himself over the stairs’ railing and out of the web. He lands with an audible >thump< and immediately rips off his armor and starts dousing himself with the decanter of endless water.
“Oh!” says Amelia excitedly, “an acid arrow! That’s a very popular spell at the academy,” she adds.
“Yeah,” replies Thatch, shoulder still smarting, “it’s just great.”
Eventually, the burning sensation in his shoulder fades, and Anvil is able to restore the young fighter to full health.
Reyu lights the web on fire, clearing the staircase once again, and the party stops to consider their next move.
“Well,” Eva suggests, “maybe I should check and see if there are any more traps. You know, for starters.”
Thatch agrees that this is an excellent plan.
The group waits while Eva makes a through inspection, but she eventually concludes that Thatch has found every trap there is to find on this particular set of stairs. The trap door, however, is stuck fast.
Thatch climbs up again, carefully avoiding the trapped step this time, and pounds on the door, both with his hand and his sword hilt.
“It’s not moving at all,” he reports.
“Could be arcane locked,” Lira suggests.
“What do we do about it?”
“Well,” Lira thinks back to what she knows about the spell. “At the Mages’ Academy, it’s the same spell they were using to keep the students in the North Dormitory. So, you can get through it by just breaking the door into pieces.”
“Or,” Annika puts in. “I could cast knock.” She shrugs. “It seemed like it might be useful today.”
“Oh, well, I guess that would be the other option then.”
That is the option that the party decides to employ, and so Annika climbs up beside Thatch, and knocks open the door.
Thatch then pushes the door up and open, but he does allow Eva to poke her head up through the opening first.
Eva climbs up to the next floor, and a few minutes later calls down with the all-clear.
###
The top level is divided into two rooms, joined by an open doorway and a large stone hearth. One room is taken up almost completely by a large bed. The other is lined on all sides—except for the wall taken up by the doorway and hearth—by bookshelves. In the center of this room is a large desk, and on it a leather journal, still open to its last entry—dated a little more than two months prior.
But most interesting is an object on one of the shelves: A large gem that pulses with an inner, greenish, light. Under Lira’s detect magic, it radiates necromancy.
When Gemil sees it, he lets out a gleeful cackle. “Ah ha!” he crows. “I suspect Petros took a page from my book.”
In which: any lingering hopes for Thatch’s efficacy as a rogue are well and truly put to rest.
The next morning, the party cautiously ascends the main staircase to explore the upper levels of the tower.
On the second floor they find six doors arrayed around a “U” shaped mezzanine overlooking the stairs. In one corner, a spiral staircase leads upwards to a closed trap-door.
The party decides to start on the opposite side from the trap-door and work their way around. Moving slowly and checking for anything that might be magical along the way, the party discovers a water-closet followed by three empty bedrooms.
Behind the fifth door, they find a corpse lying on a bed.
The figure is a human man, probably in his thirties. He wears black plate mail adorned with a holy symbol that identifies him as a Guardian of the Barrier, and he holds a sword which radiates slight conjuration magic. The body has obviously been laid to rest by someone, with care taken to fold his hands over the hilt of his sword. He appears to have been dead for some months. He also does not especially resemble the man in the portrait downstairs.
Anvil goes down to the basement to bring Gemil to see the corpse and find out if he knows who this person might be.
“Ah ha!” Gemil says, cackling slightly when he sees the corpse. “Sir Cyrus Immodan.”
“Who is this Sir Cyrus?” Anvil demands of the skull.
“He has long been a companion of Petros. Seems to have a way with dispatching undead with that sword of his.” Gemil glances around as best as he is able. “I’m surprised you haven’t run into Appius anywhere around here, now that I think of it.”
“Who is Appius?”
“The butler.”
“Big guy?” Thatch asks, holding a hand above his head to demonstrate. “Big fists?”
“That would be him.”
“We killed him.”
“Oh… I doubt that.”
Eva quickly looks behind her. “Why’s that?”
“In order for you to kill him, he would have had to have been alive first.”
Anvil gives Gemil a hard stare. “If you are going to be snide, you can go back to the basement.”
Gemil sighs. “Very well.” But he refrains from further comment.
The party checks the last door which is another empty bedroom, and then heads for the spiral staircase leading to the next level.
Thatch goes first, getting about halfway up before…
(Yes! It’s our patented trap-detection system once again!)
An ear-splitting alarm sounds, followed almost in the same instant by a web enveloping the entire staircase.
“It’s okay! Thatch shouts over the noise. “I’m not stuck, just--- What the heck was that?!?”
The “that” in question is a tiny green pellet-like object that comes shooting down from above and >splats< into a chink in Thatch’s armor where the arm piece meets shoulder.
Thatch shakes his arm, trying to dislodge it. Whatever has hit him burns like acid.
Forget this, Thatch thinks to himself, and with a mighty wrench to one side manages to throw himself over the stairs’ railing and out of the web. He lands with an audible >thump< and immediately rips off his armor and starts dousing himself with the decanter of endless water.
“Oh!” says Amelia excitedly, “an acid arrow! That’s a very popular spell at the academy,” she adds.
“Yeah,” replies Thatch, shoulder still smarting, “it’s just great.”
Eventually, the burning sensation in his shoulder fades, and Anvil is able to restore the young fighter to full health.
Reyu lights the web on fire, clearing the staircase once again, and the party stops to consider their next move.
“Well,” Eva suggests, “maybe I should check and see if there are any more traps. You know, for starters.”
Thatch agrees that this is an excellent plan.
The group waits while Eva makes a through inspection, but she eventually concludes that Thatch has found every trap there is to find on this particular set of stairs. The trap door, however, is stuck fast.
Thatch climbs up again, carefully avoiding the trapped step this time, and pounds on the door, both with his hand and his sword hilt.
“It’s not moving at all,” he reports.
“Could be arcane locked,” Lira suggests.
“What do we do about it?”
“Well,” Lira thinks back to what she knows about the spell. “At the Mages’ Academy, it’s the same spell they were using to keep the students in the North Dormitory. So, you can get through it by just breaking the door into pieces.”
“Or,” Annika puts in. “I could cast knock.” She shrugs. “It seemed like it might be useful today.”
“Oh, well, I guess that would be the other option then.”
That is the option that the party decides to employ, and so Annika climbs up beside Thatch, and knocks open the door.
Thatch then pushes the door up and open, but he does allow Eva to poke her head up through the opening first.
Eva climbs up to the next floor, and a few minutes later calls down with the all-clear.
###
The top level is divided into two rooms, joined by an open doorway and a large stone hearth. One room is taken up almost completely by a large bed. The other is lined on all sides—except for the wall taken up by the doorway and hearth—by bookshelves. In the center of this room is a large desk, and on it a leather journal, still open to its last entry—dated a little more than two months prior.
But most interesting is an object on one of the shelves: A large gem that pulses with an inner, greenish, light. Under Lira’s detect magic, it radiates necromancy.
When Gemil sees it, he lets out a gleeful cackle. “Ah ha!” he crows. “I suspect Petros took a page from my book.”
KidCthulhu
First Post
Would that be the page that says "How to be an evil litch in 10 easy steps"?
spyscribe
First Post
Part the One-Hundred Twenty-Fifth
In which: the party embarks upon a little light reading.
Lira rounds on Gemil. “You mean Petros is in there, trapped in the gem?”
“What’s left of him, I suspect. He put me in there once. Terribly uncomfortable. Can’t see. Can’t talk. What a shame.” Gemil does not succeed in sounding particularly sincere.
“How did he get there?” Eva asks.
“How should I know? I was trapped in a basement.”
Lira snaps her fingers. “The basement! I remember now, when I was looking through Petros’ notebooks, there was one that had a sketch of the gem. I didn’t read it very carefully at the time, but I think he called it some kind of ‘receptacle.’”
“I’ll go get it,” Annika quickly offers and heads off down the steps.
“I could tell you about the gem…” Gemil offers, “for a price.”
Lira is not biting. “Can you tell me something I’m not going to learn in ten minutes when Annika gets back?”
Gemil’s jaw snaps shut with an audible >click<, and Anvil has to quickly pull his fingers out of the way to avoid losing them.
In the meantime, as they wait for Annika’s return, the party turns to Petros’ journal.
(And you, dear readers, can too. And while I'm stepping out of the narrative, welcome aboard BlueAnt!)
In which: the party embarks upon a little light reading.
Lira rounds on Gemil. “You mean Petros is in there, trapped in the gem?”
“What’s left of him, I suspect. He put me in there once. Terribly uncomfortable. Can’t see. Can’t talk. What a shame.” Gemil does not succeed in sounding particularly sincere.
“How did he get there?” Eva asks.
“How should I know? I was trapped in a basement.”
Lira snaps her fingers. “The basement! I remember now, when I was looking through Petros’ notebooks, there was one that had a sketch of the gem. I didn’t read it very carefully at the time, but I think he called it some kind of ‘receptacle.’”
“I’ll go get it,” Annika quickly offers and heads off down the steps.
“I could tell you about the gem…” Gemil offers, “for a price.”
Lira is not biting. “Can you tell me something I’m not going to learn in ten minutes when Annika gets back?”
Gemil’s jaw snaps shut with an audible >click<, and Anvil has to quickly pull his fingers out of the way to avoid losing them.
In the meantime, as they wait for Annika’s return, the party turns to Petros’ journal.
(And you, dear readers, can too. And while I'm stepping out of the narrative, welcome aboard BlueAnt!)
Last edited:
spyscribe
First Post
Part the One-Hundred Twenty-Sixth
In which: let’s make a deal.
Although the journal and notebooks are helpful in shedding light on why Petros came to Bountiful, they do not give the party one crucial piece of information. If Petros’s soul is in the gem, how are they going to get to his body?
Annika returns presently with the notebook and the information there sets off another round of speculation and strategy.
(See attachment at the bottom of this post.)
As the investigation continues, Gemil turns his eyes up towards Anvil. “Might I have a word… privately?”
“Why?”
“You want to talk to Petros, I can tell you how to make that happen.”
Anvil looks over at the others. They are still pouring over books, debating various strategies. However, they seem no closer to coming up with a way to contact Petros than they were an hour ago. Anvil takes the skull and withdraws to Petros’ bedroom.
“Yes?” Anvil prompts Gemil when they are out of immediate earshot.
“I would like a favor. If you are able to restore Petros to his body, or to some body, I will still be trapped in this skull… helpless. Subject to his… whims. I have no desire to spend the rest of my existence like that.”
“What is it you want of me?”
“I want your word, Justicar. If I tell you how you can communicate with Petros, I want you to promise me you will take back to Ebis.”
“Back to Ebis.” Anvil repeats the phrase carefully, considering it. If that is the letter of the agreement—
“Now now. Let’s not get tangled up in technicalities,” says Gemil, perhaps anticipating Anvil’s line of thought. “You will take me to a place I know inside the Empire of Ebis. I do not demand immediate action, but you will do it in a timely manner. Likewise, I will not lead you into some kind of trap, or attempt to otherwise engineer your death while you doing me this service.”
“Will you kill us afterwards?”
“I will grant you safe passage away from my abode. Beyond that, while I have no intention of killing you... well, one never knows where our future paths might cross.”
Anvil considers carefully. Unfortunately, no one in the group appears to be on the verge of an insight.
Anvil takes the golden skull, places it on the bed, and casts detect law at it.
Upon seeing the result, he addresses Gemil once more.
“Very well,” he says, “you have my word.”
###
Gemil explains that, following Petros’ notes, it should be possible to transfer his soul into the gem and Petros’ into the golden skull. Petros had, in fact, done it previously and detailed the procedure. Once the transfers have been accomplished, the party will be able to converse directly with Petros and find out what he knows about whatever is going on inside the keep.
Lira scowls at Gemil. “But if this is successful, what’s to keep us from just leaving you in the gem, trapped?”
Gemil almost manages to look wounded. “You gave your word.”
“He did,” Eva clarifies, indicating Anvil. “I didn’t.”
“Ah…” Gemil does not seem overly concerned. “But you’ll have to move Petros back into the gem if you’re going to put him back into his body.”
“Assuming he still has a body to go into,” Lira points out.
Gemil’s omnipresent grin twists. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
“Do we know Petros’s soul will only go back into his own body?” Thatch asks.
“What other body did you have in mind?”
“Well…” Thatch shifts, uncomfortable. “I mean, Sir Cyrus is just lying there…”
Gemil positively howls with laughter.
“Oh, that would be delightfully ironic. Putting the soul of a wizard into the corpse of his companions, months dead… I don’t think he’d thank you for that one.”
”No one asked you what you think,” Eva snaps at him.
Gemil does not volunteer any other information, but he does continue to chuckle quietly to himself.
###
Late that evening, Annika is finally ready to attempt the transfer. With Petros’ notes and Gemil’s consultation, she has rigged up an elaborate apparatus with the gem in a holder at one end and the skull at the other.
“You will remember your promise?” Gemil asks, rolling ruby eyes up suspiciously at the party.
Lira shrugs. “This was your idea,” she reminds him, and Annika sprinkles some kind of powder over the delicate metal armature and begins to recite an incantation.
The light in the gem pulses and a glow envelops the arcane machinery. “Umm…” Thatch asks, “Is that supposed to happen?” Annika ignores him and keeps chanting. Then, for an instant, the light in the gem winks out entirely.
The party feels a passage, almost like a gust of wind, and as the light returns to the gem the skull cautiously opens its jaw, and a new voice, slightly hoarse and deeper than Gemil’s croaks, “What…? What has happened?”
“Petros.” Anvil says, in a way that is only partially a question.
“Yes.”
“You are in the golden skull. We have switched you and Gemil so that we might speak with you.”
“What is the date?”
“February 16th,” Lira supplies.
“The year!” he croaks urgently. “The year!”
“152.”
The skull seems to relax a bit. “Only a matter of months then.”
The party nods.
“I hope you will excuse us,” Reyu puts in, “but when we arrived we did read parts of your journal.”
“Ah,” Petros sighs. “I suppose, under the circumstances, it could not be helped. If that is so, you already know most of my story. It is as I said. I went into the keep at dawn, thinking they would be at their weakest. That proved to be a fatal miscalculation. I had to fight my way past hundreds of skeletons. There were ghouls as well—which I was overcoming—when I was suddenly surrounded by several wights. My spell resources had already been depleted on the skeletons. I was overwhelmed.”
The group waits for a moment in respectful silence.
Finally, Thatch speaks up. “Umm… What’s a wight?”
The skull’s ruby eyes examine the party members in turn, all of whom shrug uselessly.
Petros explains. “They are undead, but, unlike the skeletons, quite intelligent in their fashion. They kill by draining their victim’s life energy. When the prey perishes, the body rises to become another wight in thrall of its creator.”
“Well that’s pleasant,” Eva mutters.
“You think that’s what happened to your body? That it’s still in there, as a wight?”
“I imagine so, unless the ghouls ate it first. They are flesh-eaters,” Petros explains, in case the party is unfamiliar with ghouls as well, “in this valley they have little sustenance.”
The party excuses themselves to go upstairs for a private consultation as to their next move.
Petros calls after them, “There is a great evil here, if you do not eradicate it, someone else must!”
**********
Upstairs in Petros’ sitting room, Eva is unconvinced of the wizard’s logic. “I don’t see that this is our problem. We’ve found Petros, we can take the jewel to a high cleric who can resurrect him without a body, and our job is done.”
Reyu is more pensive. “We must consider that if we do not deal with what has happened in this valley, more innocents are likely to suffer.”
Kiara does not approve of any plan that involves her going anywhere near the keep again. “Petros said that the Sovereigns have quarantined the valley. If they aren’t going to do anything about it, why should we?”
Annika gives Kiara a reassuring squeeze. “I don’t want you to go there again, but I also don’t think Professor Alexandra would be thrilled if she asked for an archmage and we gave her a glowing gem.”
“Also,” Eva points out, “if we don’t get Petros back to his body, he probably can’t operate the tower, which means we’re going to have to walk all the way back out of the Sovereignty.”
“Don’t worry,” Benedic assures her, “I got you through the Ketkath once, I’ll get you back again.”
“Oh good.”
Lira, who has to this point remained uncharacteristically quiet, finally speaks. “That keep is certainly a challenge, and Ehkt has just given me the ability to turn undead. I don’t see how it’s our problem, but I don’t think I’m supposed to walk away from it either.”
As Anvil has already made it clear that the infestation of skeletons is an affront to Kettenek’s Justice, and Thatch has yet to find a place Anvil is going he is not willing to follow, the party—despite some misgivings—agrees to enter the keep and attempt to replace Petros’ soul in its usual home.
###
Everyone takes the time to carefully study Petros’ portrait in the tower’s foyer. The archmage has sharp features, and a distinctive black goatee. Petros (in the skull) assures the party that the portrait is a good likeness, and should allow them to recognize his body.
Assuming his body is still in one piece.
In which: let’s make a deal.
Although the journal and notebooks are helpful in shedding light on why Petros came to Bountiful, they do not give the party one crucial piece of information. If Petros’s soul is in the gem, how are they going to get to his body?
Annika returns presently with the notebook and the information there sets off another round of speculation and strategy.
(See attachment at the bottom of this post.)
As the investigation continues, Gemil turns his eyes up towards Anvil. “Might I have a word… privately?”
“Why?”
“You want to talk to Petros, I can tell you how to make that happen.”
Anvil looks over at the others. They are still pouring over books, debating various strategies. However, they seem no closer to coming up with a way to contact Petros than they were an hour ago. Anvil takes the skull and withdraws to Petros’ bedroom.
“Yes?” Anvil prompts Gemil when they are out of immediate earshot.
“I would like a favor. If you are able to restore Petros to his body, or to some body, I will still be trapped in this skull… helpless. Subject to his… whims. I have no desire to spend the rest of my existence like that.”
“What is it you want of me?”
“I want your word, Justicar. If I tell you how you can communicate with Petros, I want you to promise me you will take back to Ebis.”
“Back to Ebis.” Anvil repeats the phrase carefully, considering it. If that is the letter of the agreement—
“Now now. Let’s not get tangled up in technicalities,” says Gemil, perhaps anticipating Anvil’s line of thought. “You will take me to a place I know inside the Empire of Ebis. I do not demand immediate action, but you will do it in a timely manner. Likewise, I will not lead you into some kind of trap, or attempt to otherwise engineer your death while you doing me this service.”
“Will you kill us afterwards?”
“I will grant you safe passage away from my abode. Beyond that, while I have no intention of killing you... well, one never knows where our future paths might cross.”
Anvil considers carefully. Unfortunately, no one in the group appears to be on the verge of an insight.
Anvil takes the golden skull, places it on the bed, and casts detect law at it.
Upon seeing the result, he addresses Gemil once more.
“Very well,” he says, “you have my word.”
###
Gemil explains that, following Petros’ notes, it should be possible to transfer his soul into the gem and Petros’ into the golden skull. Petros had, in fact, done it previously and detailed the procedure. Once the transfers have been accomplished, the party will be able to converse directly with Petros and find out what he knows about whatever is going on inside the keep.
Lira scowls at Gemil. “But if this is successful, what’s to keep us from just leaving you in the gem, trapped?”
Gemil almost manages to look wounded. “You gave your word.”
“He did,” Eva clarifies, indicating Anvil. “I didn’t.”
“Ah…” Gemil does not seem overly concerned. “But you’ll have to move Petros back into the gem if you’re going to put him back into his body.”
“Assuming he still has a body to go into,” Lira points out.
Gemil’s omnipresent grin twists. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
“Do we know Petros’s soul will only go back into his own body?” Thatch asks.
“What other body did you have in mind?”
“Well…” Thatch shifts, uncomfortable. “I mean, Sir Cyrus is just lying there…”
Gemil positively howls with laughter.
“Oh, that would be delightfully ironic. Putting the soul of a wizard into the corpse of his companions, months dead… I don’t think he’d thank you for that one.”
”No one asked you what you think,” Eva snaps at him.
Gemil does not volunteer any other information, but he does continue to chuckle quietly to himself.
###
Late that evening, Annika is finally ready to attempt the transfer. With Petros’ notes and Gemil’s consultation, she has rigged up an elaborate apparatus with the gem in a holder at one end and the skull at the other.
“You will remember your promise?” Gemil asks, rolling ruby eyes up suspiciously at the party.
Lira shrugs. “This was your idea,” she reminds him, and Annika sprinkles some kind of powder over the delicate metal armature and begins to recite an incantation.
The light in the gem pulses and a glow envelops the arcane machinery. “Umm…” Thatch asks, “Is that supposed to happen?” Annika ignores him and keeps chanting. Then, for an instant, the light in the gem winks out entirely.
The party feels a passage, almost like a gust of wind, and as the light returns to the gem the skull cautiously opens its jaw, and a new voice, slightly hoarse and deeper than Gemil’s croaks, “What…? What has happened?”
“Petros.” Anvil says, in a way that is only partially a question.
“Yes.”
“You are in the golden skull. We have switched you and Gemil so that we might speak with you.”
“What is the date?”
“February 16th,” Lira supplies.
“The year!” he croaks urgently. “The year!”
“152.”
The skull seems to relax a bit. “Only a matter of months then.”
The party nods.
“I hope you will excuse us,” Reyu puts in, “but when we arrived we did read parts of your journal.”
“Ah,” Petros sighs. “I suppose, under the circumstances, it could not be helped. If that is so, you already know most of my story. It is as I said. I went into the keep at dawn, thinking they would be at their weakest. That proved to be a fatal miscalculation. I had to fight my way past hundreds of skeletons. There were ghouls as well—which I was overcoming—when I was suddenly surrounded by several wights. My spell resources had already been depleted on the skeletons. I was overwhelmed.”
The group waits for a moment in respectful silence.
Finally, Thatch speaks up. “Umm… What’s a wight?”
The skull’s ruby eyes examine the party members in turn, all of whom shrug uselessly.
Petros explains. “They are undead, but, unlike the skeletons, quite intelligent in their fashion. They kill by draining their victim’s life energy. When the prey perishes, the body rises to become another wight in thrall of its creator.”
“Well that’s pleasant,” Eva mutters.
“You think that’s what happened to your body? That it’s still in there, as a wight?”
“I imagine so, unless the ghouls ate it first. They are flesh-eaters,” Petros explains, in case the party is unfamiliar with ghouls as well, “in this valley they have little sustenance.”
The party excuses themselves to go upstairs for a private consultation as to their next move.
Petros calls after them, “There is a great evil here, if you do not eradicate it, someone else must!”
**********
Upstairs in Petros’ sitting room, Eva is unconvinced of the wizard’s logic. “I don’t see that this is our problem. We’ve found Petros, we can take the jewel to a high cleric who can resurrect him without a body, and our job is done.”
Reyu is more pensive. “We must consider that if we do not deal with what has happened in this valley, more innocents are likely to suffer.”
Kiara does not approve of any plan that involves her going anywhere near the keep again. “Petros said that the Sovereigns have quarantined the valley. If they aren’t going to do anything about it, why should we?”
Annika gives Kiara a reassuring squeeze. “I don’t want you to go there again, but I also don’t think Professor Alexandra would be thrilled if she asked for an archmage and we gave her a glowing gem.”
“Also,” Eva points out, “if we don’t get Petros back to his body, he probably can’t operate the tower, which means we’re going to have to walk all the way back out of the Sovereignty.”
“Don’t worry,” Benedic assures her, “I got you through the Ketkath once, I’ll get you back again.”
“Oh good.”
Lira, who has to this point remained uncharacteristically quiet, finally speaks. “That keep is certainly a challenge, and Ehkt has just given me the ability to turn undead. I don’t see how it’s our problem, but I don’t think I’m supposed to walk away from it either.”
As Anvil has already made it clear that the infestation of skeletons is an affront to Kettenek’s Justice, and Thatch has yet to find a place Anvil is going he is not willing to follow, the party—despite some misgivings—agrees to enter the keep and attempt to replace Petros’ soul in its usual home.
###
Everyone takes the time to carefully study Petros’ portrait in the tower’s foyer. The archmage has sharp features, and a distinctive black goatee. Petros (in the skull) assures the party that the portrait is a good likeness, and should allow them to recognize his body.
Assuming his body is still in one piece.
omrob
First Post
Bright Lights...Big Undead City...
Hey, so anotha caught up reader, and return customer.
Things I like about this SH are:
1) Cliffhangers
2) Excellent one liners
3) Out of the box, creative problem solving by all the players.
4) The visual aids, maps, journals etc.
5) Easy to understand religious establsihments, while preserving uniqueness and deep flavah
6) Easy to understand well-developed, distinct cultures between city states and countries.
7) The Elves!
8) The romantic elements and "drama"
9) The sense of justice and morals the pcs share
10) The regularity of the updates and their excellent compsition
11) The birthday posts
Well - nuff said...
Thanks
Hey, so anotha caught up reader, and return customer.
Things I like about this SH are:
1) Cliffhangers
2) Excellent one liners
3) Out of the box, creative problem solving by all the players.
4) The visual aids, maps, journals etc.
5) Easy to understand religious establsihments, while preserving uniqueness and deep flavah
6) Easy to understand well-developed, distinct cultures between city states and countries.
7) The Elves!
8) The romantic elements and "drama"
9) The sense of justice and morals the pcs share
10) The regularity of the updates and their excellent compsition
11) The birthday posts
Well - nuff said...
Thanks
spyscribe
First Post
Hey omrob! And the multi-media extravaganza continues.
Part the One-Hundred Twenty-Seventh
In which: guess who’s coming to dinner…
Petros gives the party a rough description of the inside of the keep, and reiterates his advice not to go during daylight hours.
“The skeletons begin their dance at midnight. They leave the keep and spend close to an hour wending through the villages and surrounding countryside. During that time, you can sneak into the keep and destroy their masters.”
“And who are their masters?”
“Several ghouls, and at least three wights. There would be four now—I suppose—but I believe their leader to be incorporeal. Some kind of specter, or ghost.”
“Incorporial?” Eva asks, “As in, it doesn’t have a body? How are we going to fight something that we can’t touch?”
“Sir Cyrus’s sword has enchantments that allow it to damage such creatures. You may take it with you if one of your number has the skill to wield it.”
Anvil nods. “I do.” He indicates Thatch’s greatsword, “I can also enchant your weapon. It will not be as effective, but it will allow you a chance of hitting your foe.”
The rest of the evening and the next day are spent in preparation. Eva and Kiara both fashion crude maces, in case they encounter skeletons that do not participate in the nightly dance. Lira and Reyu both prepare magic stones for Kiara to use in her sling, for added potency against the undead.
Kiara is also given the task of holding the gem containing Petros’ soul. As she is far and away the most mobile member of the party, they trust that she will be best able to reach Petros’ body once they locate it. And—in the event that something goes horribly wrong—if Kiara is carrying the gem when she shifts into swallow form, Petros’ soul will be protected.
At last, at midnight on the 17th, they are ready.
###
Midnight finds the party once again inside the city of skeletons. The hypnotic drumming begins, and despite her knowledge of the danger, Lira finds her foot tapping unconsciously along with the clattering rhythms. The skeletons dance by within meters of the party, once again hidden from undead.
Lira isn’t the only one entranced by the macabre music, but thanks to the magic circle against evil surrounding the party, no one leaves their huddle to join the dance.
The skeletons dance off into the city, and as the drumming fades, the lingering itch to join the procession goes with it.
The main gates from the street to the keep’s courtyard are still open from the skeletons’ exodus, and the party pauses just beyond them to invoke last minute spells and blessings. Anvil, in addition to bless casts magic weapon on Thatch’s sword and bull’s strength on the fighter himself. Reyu casts barkskin on herself and Eva. Lira finishes last, putting her four cat’s grace spells on whoever can best use them, and then casting a shield on herself for good measure.
Finally, she nods to Anvil, who gives the go signal. The tight knot of adventurers sprints through the gates and across the courtyard, heading not for the main doors of the audience chamber, but for a side door on the East Wing, where Petros fell three months ago.
**********
Above the courtyard, a skeleton on sentry duty remains. Perhaps he is sad not to join the dance of his fellows. Perhaps he feels nothing at all. Perhaps he was, in life, a she. With the party hidden from undead he cannot see, or hear, or smell their dash across the courtyard. He does however, notice the East Wing door open of its own volition, and then, equally without assistance, swing closed again.
Skeletons are not, as a rule, intelligent. However, this one does know that doors do not move without someone or something pushing them. He clacks his teeth at his partner, who gives a sharp nod in return, and climbs down from his watch-post to check the door.
When he reaches it, the door is locked.
**********
The interior of the East Wing is, like its twin on the west, a large open rectangular building subdivided by paper walls and sliding screens. The party moves quickly and quietly, checking rooms as they go.
Whatever the rooms’ former functions might have been, they are now in complete disarray. Tables have been overturned, books scattered from shelves. However, the party finds all of them empty of occupants, living or undead.
Until, that is, Anvil slides open the door of a dining room at the end of the corridor. Four ghouls crouch around a low table, as though gathered for a midnight meal. A fifth ghoul serves as the main course.
Annika swallows back rising bile. The others pressed in behind him, Anvil raises his holy symbol and cries out, “Back foul things! Kettenek’s Justice demands it!” And his holy symbol of Kettenek begins to glow…
One can only imagine the scenario from the ghouls’ perspective. One minute they are having a comrade for dinner, and the next minute a group of men and women have mysteriously appeared in the doorway. And although the ghouls may not know where these intruders have come from, they are at least sure that they do not want to be anywhere near the bearded man with the holy symbol. They flee.
No longer hidden from undead after Anvil’s attack, Thatch draws his sword and cuts down the first cowering ghoul where he stands. The second ghoul does manage to run past the party, making to escape through the main audience chamber. The third runs for a side serving room, pursued by Anvil. The fourth can do nothing but cower uselessly in a corner and Benedic and Thatch close in for the kill.
Running several steps behind the fleeing ghoul, Anvil just catches a glimpse of the creature leaping into a pit that has been knocked out of the floor in the adjacent serving room. That can’t be good Anvil thinks, but best we finish here before going after him. Decision made, Anvil leaves Benedic and Thatch to the room clean-up, and leads the charge into the main audience chamber.
Part the One-Hundred Twenty-Seventh
In which: guess who’s coming to dinner…
Petros gives the party a rough description of the inside of the keep, and reiterates his advice not to go during daylight hours.
“The skeletons begin their dance at midnight. They leave the keep and spend close to an hour wending through the villages and surrounding countryside. During that time, you can sneak into the keep and destroy their masters.”
“And who are their masters?”
“Several ghouls, and at least three wights. There would be four now—I suppose—but I believe their leader to be incorporeal. Some kind of specter, or ghost.”
“Incorporial?” Eva asks, “As in, it doesn’t have a body? How are we going to fight something that we can’t touch?”
“Sir Cyrus’s sword has enchantments that allow it to damage such creatures. You may take it with you if one of your number has the skill to wield it.”
Anvil nods. “I do.” He indicates Thatch’s greatsword, “I can also enchant your weapon. It will not be as effective, but it will allow you a chance of hitting your foe.”
The rest of the evening and the next day are spent in preparation. Eva and Kiara both fashion crude maces, in case they encounter skeletons that do not participate in the nightly dance. Lira and Reyu both prepare magic stones for Kiara to use in her sling, for added potency against the undead.
Kiara is also given the task of holding the gem containing Petros’ soul. As she is far and away the most mobile member of the party, they trust that she will be best able to reach Petros’ body once they locate it. And—in the event that something goes horribly wrong—if Kiara is carrying the gem when she shifts into swallow form, Petros’ soul will be protected.
At last, at midnight on the 17th, they are ready.
###
Midnight finds the party once again inside the city of skeletons. The hypnotic drumming begins, and despite her knowledge of the danger, Lira finds her foot tapping unconsciously along with the clattering rhythms. The skeletons dance by within meters of the party, once again hidden from undead.
Lira isn’t the only one entranced by the macabre music, but thanks to the magic circle against evil surrounding the party, no one leaves their huddle to join the dance.
The skeletons dance off into the city, and as the drumming fades, the lingering itch to join the procession goes with it.
The main gates from the street to the keep’s courtyard are still open from the skeletons’ exodus, and the party pauses just beyond them to invoke last minute spells and blessings. Anvil, in addition to bless casts magic weapon on Thatch’s sword and bull’s strength on the fighter himself. Reyu casts barkskin on herself and Eva. Lira finishes last, putting her four cat’s grace spells on whoever can best use them, and then casting a shield on herself for good measure.
Finally, she nods to Anvil, who gives the go signal. The tight knot of adventurers sprints through the gates and across the courtyard, heading not for the main doors of the audience chamber, but for a side door on the East Wing, where Petros fell three months ago.
**********
Above the courtyard, a skeleton on sentry duty remains. Perhaps he is sad not to join the dance of his fellows. Perhaps he feels nothing at all. Perhaps he was, in life, a she. With the party hidden from undead he cannot see, or hear, or smell their dash across the courtyard. He does however, notice the East Wing door open of its own volition, and then, equally without assistance, swing closed again.
Skeletons are not, as a rule, intelligent. However, this one does know that doors do not move without someone or something pushing them. He clacks his teeth at his partner, who gives a sharp nod in return, and climbs down from his watch-post to check the door.
When he reaches it, the door is locked.
**********
The interior of the East Wing is, like its twin on the west, a large open rectangular building subdivided by paper walls and sliding screens. The party moves quickly and quietly, checking rooms as they go.
Whatever the rooms’ former functions might have been, they are now in complete disarray. Tables have been overturned, books scattered from shelves. However, the party finds all of them empty of occupants, living or undead.
Until, that is, Anvil slides open the door of a dining room at the end of the corridor. Four ghouls crouch around a low table, as though gathered for a midnight meal. A fifth ghoul serves as the main course.
Annika swallows back rising bile. The others pressed in behind him, Anvil raises his holy symbol and cries out, “Back foul things! Kettenek’s Justice demands it!” And his holy symbol of Kettenek begins to glow…
One can only imagine the scenario from the ghouls’ perspective. One minute they are having a comrade for dinner, and the next minute a group of men and women have mysteriously appeared in the doorway. And although the ghouls may not know where these intruders have come from, they are at least sure that they do not want to be anywhere near the bearded man with the holy symbol. They flee.
No longer hidden from undead after Anvil’s attack, Thatch draws his sword and cuts down the first cowering ghoul where he stands. The second ghoul does manage to run past the party, making to escape through the main audience chamber. The third runs for a side serving room, pursued by Anvil. The fourth can do nothing but cower uselessly in a corner and Benedic and Thatch close in for the kill.
Running several steps behind the fleeing ghoul, Anvil just catches a glimpse of the creature leaping into a pit that has been knocked out of the floor in the adjacent serving room. That can’t be good Anvil thinks, but best we finish here before going after him. Decision made, Anvil leaves Benedic and Thatch to the room clean-up, and leads the charge into the main audience chamber.
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