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Message: <blockquote data-quote="VicsHacienda" data-source="post: 9890044" data-attributes="member: 6965574"><h3>Unappetizing Things in the Banquet Hall</h3>"Lord Gorquith is the original master of Castle Korstull. When Coaltongue came, he had him executed. Then his Inquisitor turned him into the fell being you see within," Pilmat explains. "Because of that, Gorquith has knowledge that will aid you in your search.""What about the dozen or so undead, what's their opinion?" I ask."They were his bodyguards and other nobles," says Pilmat. "I was in service to Korstull's wizard Silmarak, so I know this."I tell the imp to stay out of sight, figuring that Lord Gorquith might not know or care about its former service and would take it as just another fiend. Pilmat heartily agrees.Osnald casts motivational speech to aid us. We agree that we will attempt not to fight at first.Pilmat says, "I would start with negotiation. They are known in the castle as being ravenously hungry.""I'll go first then!" Fafnir grins. We ready ourselves, then stride through the secret passage into the pillared banquet hall. Wings of retribution sprout from his back and he flies in. I hadn't known he could do that, but my friend is full of surprises. Ghasts and skeletons are knocked flat by its radiant power. Seeing a hideous skull-faced creature bearing a lute and a silver rapier, Fafnir attacks it twice with his hammer. Nothing worse than an undead bard, I assume.Viggo follows on Fafnir's heels and assesses the room. He picks three undead and casts flittering eyes on them.[ATTACH=full]433902[/ATTACH]One of the reeking ghasts regains its feet and bites at Fafnir, its hunger overcoming its senses. Another stumbles to Viggo with arms outstretched. Two of the direguard skeletons cast a shower of magic missiles at Fafnir.Osnald dashes across the hall and into the room and hurls his own magic missiles, taking down the dead minstrel. He ducks a swipe from a ghast. I suppose he didn't want bardic competition.[ATTACH=full]433905[/ATTACH]I follow on his heels and, after getting my bearings, send an arrow through one of the hissing ghasts, putting it down.Trevor takes a swig from his flask, mutters at Pilmat, and enters. "Fuckin' hell." His whip cracks at one of the prone ghasts, splitting its spine, reels it in, and snaps at another, slashing with the Living Blade. Both expire. The boy can deal death.Wretched skeletal limbs stretch out from within Lord Gorquith’s viscid mass of yellow-grey ooze, and sizzling pseudopods lash outward. A garbled mumbling sound emerges from his bulk, but he does not attack. The bones inside him shift, as if remembering how to stand.[ATTACH=full]433906[/ATTACH]Fafnir shrugs and lets his doom of dancing blades parry a ghast's claw. Einherjar falls, and so do his dancing blades, and a ring of steely thumps sound from the creature, utterly eviscerating it. "Fafnir mad! Kill the skeleton magic men!"Viggo casts starbust on the direguard while ghasts hammer at Fafnir. The direguard swings a longsword at Trevor, then blinks out of sight.Having no direguard to target, Osnald viciously mocks a ghast. "I say sir, you stink as much as an unwashed turd!"I leap onto a table and send a shaft through a ghast, who topples onto a chair, and shoots another."Enull... enough of thulsh!" Lord Gorquith gurgles. "Stop fulghting!"Trevor, inspired, starts singing the Song of Forms, the verses that restore bodies to those who lack them. The direguard appears, surprised but obeying Lord Gorquith.Pilmat explains that Gorquith's curse had placed him in this form.[ATTACH=full]433904[/ATTACH]The blob that is Gorquith moves, waving his tentacles as if for emphasis. "You shpulk the truth. Perhalpss you can help me escape thish.""One of our members is a follower of Nuada. Perhaps you are as well?" says Osnald."Indeed! May hish gulden arrm protecth all!""And through Nuada's might did I kick the ass of your dead followers!" crows Fafnir, proudly."Therr ish a shcrull of reshurrection. None other is powerfull enough. Therr is a room, a healing hall. Within, in a cabulnet, is a secret space. The shecond shelf behind the thurrd book. Find the shcrull. You may keep all elsh. Return and I wull provide a map of thul entire cashtle, sho that you may accesh the shecond level."<h3>Bringing Back the Cursed Corpse of Gorquith for Goodness' Sake</h3>We return to the Healing Hall and dig through the detritus, finding the hidden compartment. It contains a scroll of resurrection, a scroll of heroes' feast, a periapt of health, and four jars of restorative ointment. We bring the shcrull, er, scroll, back to the oozing lord, unsure how to apply it. Fafnir unrolls it and reads, his lips moving in concentration. It is a higher divine level than he controls, but he reads it successfully. "Don't make me do cleric naughty word!" he grumbles.[ATTACH=full]433903[/ATTACH]Lord Gorquith emerges as if shrugging off a grotesque robe of oozing flesh and skeletal limbs. He wears rich clothing. He looks sadly at his two remaining servants, who remain undead. He turns to us. "When you emerge onto the first floor, look to the south. There is a lift with a lever, which must be set in a position to allow access to another floor. In the wrong order, there will be traps. The order is DGABDHEC."He ponders. "Griiat, the Inquisitor, is dangerous. He is the one who cursed me, and I believe he remains here at the top of the lift, with Coaltongue. I will wait to see if you are successful, and reclaim Korstull for its people.""What of your undead servants?" I ask."My servants have been loyal, but I know they are tempted by their hunger. I cannot wish them any more fell circumstances. Perhaps you will let them leave.""Wouldn't they want their suffering ended, and sent to Nuada's feasting halls? They cannot do so while here in these forms," Fafnir says."You speak truth." The lord speaks to the ghast and the direguard. "Come and tell us now: do you wish to go on to Nuada and meet him in his halls?"The two kneel before him. Fafnir looms over them. "May Nuada bless you in his halls for eternity." Einherjar falls, twice.Gorquith sits on his throne, saddened. "Go now. Seek vengeance for my people. I will go to the reconsecrated temple and pray."<h3>Lifting Our Spirits</h3>We wind our way through the halls and discover the massive lift. It is powered somehow by water, repaired by the gnomish band. We greet them, pleased that they all survived. The paladin snorts at Fafnir. He must like him or something.</blockquote>

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