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Shilsen's Eberron SH (Finished - The Last Word : 9/20/15)
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<blockquote data-quote="shilsen" data-source="post: 3785163" data-attributes="member: 198"><p>Six listens at the red marble door. “I hear movement. People wearing heavy armor.” </p><p></p><p>“So not the vampires then,” says Nameless, “Though I’m sure they’re in there too. All right – let’s do this.” The Angels cast a few preparatory spells and then Six kicks the door open. </p><p></p><p>The chamber beyond is clearly a shrine, square in shape, with a seating area in each corner, consisting of stone benches for the worshippers on four stone steps. The seating areas leave a free section of floor from a door in each of the four walls, leading to a raised section in the center which supports a carved plinth, presumably used by whoever leads the services. Standing in wait before the podium are three men, sword and shield at the ready, torchlight reflecting ruddily off the Blood of Vol symbols engraved on the breastplates of their heavy armor. </p><p></p><p>Or what were once men, as the Angels see in the faces they raise slightly as the door opens. Mottled flesh is drawn tight against the bone of their faces, drawing back their lips to reveal carnivorous teeth. Pale gray eyes rimmed in red gaze forth hungrily from deep-set sockets. In unison, the three ghoul knights raise their blades and charge. The two vampires, clinging spider-like midway up the far wall of the chamber, coincidentally next to a picture of a vampire venerating the hooded figure of Vol, Queen of the Undead, bare their own fangs and scuttle quickly over the walls as swiftly as if they had been on the ground.</p><p></p><p>[<strong>NOTE:</strong> Coincidentally, Wayne Reynolds was nice enough to draw a picture for this fight <a href="http://www.waynereynolds.com/WOTCGallery2A/4.jpg" target="_blank">here</a>.]</p><p></p><p>Swift as they are, Six is quicker, diving through the doorway even before Nameless’ warning shout, “There’s another <em>unhallow</em> in there!” The warforged feels the attached <em>dispel</em> wash over him, but his protective spells remain in effect. Not that it matters, since Six has no intention of relying only on them. He changes direction, leaping up onto the second row of benches with a single bound.</p><p></p><p>The ghouls ignore him, knowing that he is beyond their reach, thundering forward at the others silhouetted in the doorway. But they are not beyond his, and Six’s chain snakes out, lashing around one’s ankle and sending him stumbling to the ground in a clash of armor. The ghoul doesn’t grunt or groan, simply rolling over and beginning to rise. Six promptly launches another blow, which smashes into its helm with the accompanying sound of cracking bone beneath, but the undead continues to rise. A second later, Six staggers, as two slim throwing daggers sink deep into the fibrous tissues that connect his head to his body, courtesy the two vampires.</p><p></p><p>Its two companions do not pause either, but each shouts “Vol!” as they charge into Korm and Gareth. Whether impelled by divine devotion, unholy power or both, the swords descend with tremendous force, bruising bone and rending flesh. The Gatekeeeper strikes back with a horizontal slash, but his target deflects it with his shield. Seeing the ghoul temporarily occupied, Gareth brings the Endless Blade down at its open right side. But as the sword descends, so does the second ghoul’s shield, edge-first on the paladin’s wrist. The blow goes awry, only the fact that Gareth’s wrist is as metal as his hand saving him from being crippled.</p><p></p><p>There is a brief flurry of blows in the doorway, Korm and Gareth slowly gaining the upper hand, though the ghouls are extremely resilient. One strikes Gareth, and as it hits, a nimbus of dark energy shoots up its blade, healing some of its wounds. The other attempts to smash Korm’s knee, a partial parry leaving the Gatekeeper with a rapidly purpling shin instead. Six, meanwhile, is kept busy by the two vampires and the third ghoul. One of the vampires hurls a fiery bolt that a previously cast protective spell blocks, but the other disappears in a cloud of smoke which flows swiftly along the wall and reforms behind the warforged, and slashing into his side. Six’s attempt to again trip the ghoul almost pulls him from his position, as the now prepared knight seizes the chain and hauls back on it. </p><p></p><p>However, the greater skills of the Angels begin to assert themselves, especially with Nameless and Luna hurling spells from behind Korm and Gareth, and the ghouls slowly disengage and fall back towards the center of the chamber, presumably hoping to inveigle their enemies into following. </p><p></p><p>Which turns out to be a significant tactical error. Luna promptly says, “Perfect!” and begins to cast a <em>firestorm</em>. Nameless yells, “Six – get out of there! Now!” As the warforged leaps down and out of the door, the alienist conjures a giant mass of sticky <em>web</em>s, the strands pinning the relatively slow ghouls in place, and preventing even the agile vampires from moving away quickly. Seconds later, the entire chamber is shot through with sheets of flame as Luna’s spell erupts around the undead.</p><p></p><p>When the flames clear, only one of the knights is still on his feet, and he quickly goes down beneath a storm of slashing blades and chains. The sole remaining vampire, clinging to a wall near the ceiling and watching the remnants of its companion seep beneath one of the closed doors, hurriedly calculates that it will be unable to follow in time. Instead, it changes to a gaseous cloud, which promptly disappears. </p><p></p><p>“Hey! Where’d that bastard go?” says Luna, glaring around, before her gaze falls on Nameless. “Why are you grinning?”</p><p></p><p>“Because he just used some sort of teleportation effect.”</p><p></p><p>“And…”</p><p></p><p>“I cast a little spell called <em>anticipate teleportation</em> today. The greater version, in fact. Which does a few things to people who try that near me.” Nameless walks over to a certain point and looks over to Six, Gareth and Korm. “Oh, boys!”</p><p></p><p>Ten seconds later, the unfortunate vampire appears, only to find himself in the center of a circling of waiting Angels. After he is swiftly returned – this time unintentionally – to a gaseous state, Luna adds insult to injury (at Nameless’ suggestion) by seizing a large tapestry in her paws and fanning the cloud out of the door leading from the main hall into the sunlight outside. The giant bear stuffs the tapestry under the door to block off ingress and growls, “Okay – let’s check the rest of this place out!”</p><p></p><p>* * * * *</p><p>Ten minutes later, the Angels stand in front of another of the red marble doors that seem to mark important locations in the temple. Four armored bodies lie around them, these all human, displaying the unfortunate results of having met – and attacked – the Angels. </p><p></p><p>Korm looks down at his forearm, bleeding from a deep slash that one of the Blood of Vol warriors inflicted before being decapitated. As he watches, the blood begins to thicken and coagulate at unusual speed, while tiny tendrils of flesh extend over the wound till they form a light webbing, which quickly extends itself till the only sign of the wound is a pale scar. The Gatekeeper grunts in satisfaction, knowing that the scar too will soon take on the gray-brown color of his skin. “Mordain really did some amazing work on us.”</p><p></p><p>“I know,” says Nameless. “We’ll have to go back and talk to him sometime.” He hesitates for a moment, feeling a compulsion at the words that he knows is a result of the <em>geas</em> he has detected as existing on all of them. “Not yet, of course.” Somehow, even though he knows of the spell’s existence, as well as of a <em>modify memory</em>, he can’t help but feel a surge of appreciation for the Fleshweaver, despite telling himself that he should be suspicious of precisely what it is that Mordain did to their minds.</p><p></p><p>“Keep it down, you two,” says Six, listening at the door. “I don’t hear anything. And it’s locked.” He straightens up and moves to the side, gesturing to Korm, who steps forward and smashes the door apart in a few seconds. </p><p></p><p>The Angels promptly rush in, to find themselves into a somewhat spartan living room, with closed doors leading out to left and right. There is no sign of life, but those among them with keener hearing detect the sounds of a voice behind the door to the right. The voice is clearly feminine, and just as clearly in the process of casting a spell. </p><p></p><p>“That way!” The wooden door flies apart under Korm’s attack. The huge and brightly lit chamber beyond looks like a laboratory, its walls lined with varying forms of alchemical and necromantic equipment, with multiple tables and biers lined up near them, a few of which clearly bear corpses to be worked on. A faint dripping sound suffuses the room, as a mixture of blood and alchemical fluid leaks into the channels carved in the floor to carry the ruddy streams to catch basins at the room’s edges. Not that the Angels have much time to notice such things. </p><p></p><p>Their attention is focused on the center of the chamber, which holds a huge circular depression full of bones to a height only a couple of inches below floor level. Standing on the opposite side of the pit is a short and thin middle-aged woman, wearing a breastplate that seems a little large for her. In one raised hand is a battered looking tome, with what seems to be a desiccated claw-like hand nailed to its surface, and the other clutches the symbol of the Blood of Vol that hangs around her throat. Such a symbol is also visible around the throats of the two men who stand between her and the Angels, some ten feet closer and one on either side of the pit. These two, wearing heavy plate armor and seeming much more martial than the woman, also clutch at their holy symbols. </p><p></p><p>There is a second’s silence after the thunderous sound of the door being knocked in, and then Theda Henkas, high priestess of the temple, raises an empty palm and shouts, “Wait! Who a…”</p><p></p><p>She never finishes the sentence. “No! She’s trying to confuse our minds with words!” growls Luna in a comment which later causes much merriment for the Angels, but now is the signal for mayhem.</p><p></p><p>Nameless, whose enhanced vision has already noted the plethora of magical auras in the room, on Theda and her allies, and interestingly enough, in the pit of bones, is the swiftest, shouting, “There’s another <em>unhallow</em>! Make them come to us!” even as he casts a <em>greater dispel</em>ling. To his disappointment, the <em>unhallow</em> remains unaffected, but auras wink out on Theda and on the other priests.</p><p></p><p>As his spell hits, Theda cries out, “Ghulam! Come forth and slay the desecrators!” And there is an answer from the pit. Bones shower up and outwards, fountaining out of the pit in a macabre waterfall, and for a moment the Angels – even Nameless, who detected multiple magical auras in the pit and sees them rising – assume it is some sort of explosion. But then, as the bones fall, they reveal what lay beneath. The bandages that swathe its form mark it clearly as a mummy, but it stands twelve feet tall and proportionately thick, giant arms ending in clenched fists larger than a human head. Strangely, a large number of the bones stick to its already bulky form, and as it takes a ponderous step out of the pit, they actually slide and reshape themselves till they form a rough equivalent of a suit of armor.</p><p></p><p>Unique though its appearance is, the undead called Ghulam has one trait that all mummies share, waves of supernatural terror washing over the Angels at sight of it, far deeper and stronger than from the first mummy they saw here. Any normal human being would be instantly paralyzed, and even the Angels – other than Gareth, protected from it by the grace of the Silver Flame – momentarily feel the cold chill of fear tightening their muscles and sapping their strength. And, a second later, they throw it off.*</p><p></p><p>Theda gasps in shock as her enemies remain unaffected, and she hurriedly begins a <em>recitation</em> of a prayer to Vol, imbuing herself and her allies with divine favor. Her two priestly guardians do so as well, advancing slowly. The Angels hold their position as Nameless suggested, also casting various protective spells, even Six activating a wand to <em>haste</em> his allies. Luna, of course, takes a more active approach, bringing down a <em>flame strike</em> on the mummy. Ghulam doesn’t even bother to dodge as the column of fire envelops him, but Theda has constructed him with special protections, and much of the fiery damage is negated, though he is still left smoking. </p><p></p><p>“Focus on her!” Nameless <em>summon</em>s a number of giant pseudonatural snakes around Theda, but as their coils appear around her, the <em>unhallow</em> does its work and the linked <em>dispel</em> returns them whence they came. </p><p></p><p>As Nameless curses, the mummy steps forward and slams its arm down. Korm lifts his sword in defense, deflecting the blow slightly, but its power beats the flat of the blade down on his head. Dazed at the impact, the Gatekeeper staggers and drops to a knee, and Ghulam grabs Korm’s head, giant fingers squeezing with a force that would crush a lesser orc’s skull. Gareth quickly steps forward, lifting the Endless Blade in preparation of a blow at the exposed arm – and then staggers sideways as a ray of dark energy hits him. As Ghulam strikes, Theda lifts her book and casts a spell. As she completes the words, a dark radiance seeps from the tome like pus from an infected wound, and her <em>ray of enfeeblement</em> is maximized to full potential. As it hits, Gareth feels his muscles turn weak and flaccid, unable to support even the weight of his armor and equipment. Theda’s action identifies the book for him – a Tome of Undead Transformation, a relic of the Blood of Vol that allows creation of unusual undead and helps an attuned user cast necromantic spells with increased effectiveness. But the realization is hardly his primary focus, as he collapses to the ground.</p><p></p><p>So too does Korm, only some distance away and significantly worse off. Ghulam lifts him off the ground by his head and tosses him casually into the chamber. Korm skids to a halt, pain shooting up along his strained neck, and then feels the worrying sensation of the room’s <em>dispel magic</em> wash over him, taking his <em>death ward</em> with it. Which becomes quickly more worrying as the two priests rush at the prone orc. As he rolls over, two gauntlets strike him, and he feels twin <em>vampiric touch</em>es leech more vitality from his form.</p><p></p><p>Seeing Korm’s situation, Six snaps, “We have to go in!” and leaps forward. “All right, but someone <em>dispel</em> the damn <em>unhallow</em>,” says Nameless, “I’m out of <em>dispel</em>s.” </p><p></p><p>“But I’m not!” says Luna, moving forward so that she can see where Korm is. Six leaps forward, a split second before her huge form almost blocks the doorway, and tumbles into the chamber. Deciding not to make himself a target for the mummy, he rolls past and away, heading for a far wall. </p><p></p><p>Behind him, Luna casts and this time Nameless sees the <em>unhallow</em>’s aura shimmer and then rapidly fade, while another protective spell disappears off Theda. “Yes!” The alienist promptly casts a <em>wall of force</em>, blocking off half the room and Theda from them. Now it is the high priestess’ turn to curse, and she hurriedly casts an <em>air walk</em> and rises slowly into the air, feeling the magical wall and searching for an opening. </p><p></p><p>“Help!” Luna turns at the plaintive cry from beside her to see Gareth rolling back and forth in a vain attempt to rise. “Fine!” she growls, “But this is my last one!” Her giant tongue licks out, covering Gareth’s arm with a coating of giant-bear-saliva, but more importantly, <em>dispel</em>ling the weakening effect. As the paladin springs to his feet, the bear begins to growl, “Now get i…,” before a thunderous punch from Ghulam slams into her muzzle. </p><p></p><p>Luckily, Luna’s making a target of herself has drawn the mummy’s attention away from Korm. Unfortunately, he has left the Gatekeeper with a little gift. Trying to buy some time, Korm bats away the two priests’ attacks and then casts a spell of his own, causing an insect-like sting to protrude from his palm. He slaps it against the thigh of one priest, causing the man to cry out in agony. But though the <em>healing sting</em> inflicts damage, it fails to complete its job. As the health stolen from the target shoots into Korm, he feels a cold sensation at the back of his skull, where Ghulam’s arm had hit, and the spell dissipates without healing him. “Hey! What the crap?”</p><p></p><p>From the doorway, Nameless shouts, “You’ve been cursed with mummy rot!” Korm dodges aside from another attack, temporarily able to keep the priest’s at bay but yet unable to rise, and shouts back, “I’m flat on my back with you idiots out there and these fools trying to kill me! Of course, I’m bloody cursed!” As if to underline the sentiment, Ghulam turns and slams down a fist that knocks all humor out of the orc.</p><p></p><p>“Just a second!” says Six, currently being ignored by the enemies, as he calls on another of the powers of his modified harness. There is a creaking of crunching of metal and wood and then he begins to grow, expanding in bulk and height until he towers as tall as the mummy. </p><p></p><p>Across the battlefield from the growing warforged, Theda has finally reached the top of the <em>wall of force</em> and found an open space, and she calls down Luna’s favorite spell. A <em>flame strike</em> slams down on Luna, Nameless and Gareth, but with all of them warded against fire, inflicts only minimal damage. Peering past the giant bear filling the doorway, Gareth shouts, “I’ll take her! Luna – duck!”</p><p></p><p>“What?!” For a moment, Luna wonders why Gareth thinks that a transformation into a small waterfowl will help their chances, but then she realizes what he means and drops to the ground. Gareth raises his sword and says, “Time to fly, Blade!” The Endless Blade snaps, “Sure! You’ve been f*cking useless so far,” and propels the momentarily speechless paladin forward through the gap between Luna and the doorframe.</p><p></p><p>Theda has only a moment of shocked surprise as three hundred pounds of armored paladin slam into her through the opening in the <em>wall</em>, and before she can respond Gareth has her in a clinch.</p><p></p><p>“Oh, great! He’s beating up the woman again,” groans Korm, rolling away as a massive fist hits the ground where his head had been a second later. “Someone get this mummy off me!”</p><p></p><p>“Done,” says Nameless, firing an emerald-colored bolt past Luna. It strikes Ghulam in the chest and, for a moment, the undead giant is outlined in green flame. And then it shakes off the effects of the <em>disintegrate</em>, only a few bandages falling apart. “Son of a bitch!”</p><p></p><p>As Nameless curses, Six darts forward, muttering, “Let’s do this the old-fashioned way.” His chain, now the size of a ship’s hawser, wraps around Ghulam’s ankle and he tugs. In his normal form, Six would have no chance against the creature’s huge size and strength, but in his <em>enlarge</em>d form they are closer to equals, and Six’s expertise tips the balance. And Ghulam, whose giant arms windmill uselessly as he hits the floor. </p><p></p><p>“Great!” grunts Korm, a second before another attack from his two smaller assailants further saps his vitality. “That does it! Luna – Cocoon me! But first….” Korm roars in rage and gives up all attempts at defense, letting in to his berserker fury and spinning in a circle on the ground, his sword leading the way. The priest who touched him, assuming that the prone orc was helpless, stares in shock and then screams. As he collapses and swiftly falls silent, blood jets and pools around him from his two legs, both of which Korm has neatly hacked off just below the knee.</p><p></p><p>The second priest gives back for a moment and then reaches forward, hoping to drain the wounded orc’s remaining life force, even as Ghulam sits up and brings down his fist too. But a split second before either can hit, a giant tongue reaches out and touches Korm’s leg, causing a greenish yellow cocoon of force to spring up around him. </p><p></p><p>Unable to strike at Korm, Ghulam changes direction, smashing his fist into Luna’s side. The giant bear grunts at the impact, now seriously hurt. From behind her, Nameless drops an especially powerful <em>fireball</em> in the chamber, placing it precisely so as not to touch either Luna or Six, but enveloping Ghulam and the remaining priest. The cleric screams in mortal agony as the spell, modified by the alienist’s ring, blasts him with streams of acid, reducing him in seconds to a bubbling mass of flesh. Ghulam’s resistance to fire is useless against it, and entire chunks of undead flesh melt away, along with the bandages and protective bone armor above.</p><p></p><p>Some distance away, on the other side of the <em>wall of force</em>, Theda struggles in Gareth’s grasp. Desperately, she seizes his throat with a hand glowing with necromantic power, but he too is warded against the effect. <em>At least he cannot use his sword</em>, she thinks for a moment, and then sees the blade shrink to the size of a dagger, a second before Gareth drives it into her side. As she cries out, she notices that the paladin is looking past her. Even in her agony, Theda twists to see what he is gazing at, only to see Six’s huge form leaping up, one metal hand clasped around the edge of the <em>wall</em>. The other is already in mid-swing, and the hapless priestess has no time for another scream before it smashes her skull into smithereens.</p><p></p><p>Behind Six, Nameless says to Luna, “He’s badly hurt. Heal him now!” The druidess looks at Korm, who is gaining none of the healing benefits of the <em>cocoon</em> due to his cursed state. “But I can’t reach him!” The alienist rolls his eyes. “Not him! The mummy!” Luna looks confused for a moment and then she smiles viciously. “Oh yeah!”</p><p></p><p>She reaches forward, ignoring a hammer-blow from Ghulam, and slaps her paw into his chest, before casting her spell. And the incredible healing energy of a <em>heal</em> pours into Ghulam, its positive energy anathema to the dark powers that bind his undead flesh to his will. The mummy thrashes violently, trying to shove Luna away, but she holds her paw in place. Tiny holes appear, swiftly expanding, as beams of energy shine out of its body, dissolving the long-dead bones and muscle as they expand. And then, with a soft hiss, the giant form collapses in on itself, till all that remains is a pile of smoking bandages, dust leaking slowly out of them.</p><p></p><p>“Nicely done, folks,” says Nameless, walking into the room and dissolving his <em>wall of force</em>. “Now let’s find out what exactly is here.”</p><p></p><p>Korm, emerging from the <em>cocoon</em> only marginally healthier than he entered, interjects, “Can someone do anything about me? I’m still not healing properly.”</p><p></p><p>“No problem,” says Gareth, pulling out a scroll. “We just need to <em>remove curse</em>.”</p><p></p><p>While the paladin takes care of Korm, the others examine the rest of the chamber. Luna scowls as she notes the various corpses on the tables, some with a mixture of alchemical and necromantic fluids keeping them in a state of near-life, leaking blood into carefully placed channels and basins. “Why the hell do we always run into this kind of sh*t? These necro-idiots friends of your aberrations or what, Nameless?”</p><p></p><p>“No,” says the alienist shortly, turning to scan the area. “She’s got a fair bit of magical equipment. And that relic of hers.” Then he stops and points at a large doorway set into the far wall. “That’s got a lot of protection too.”</p><p></p><p>“I’ll take this,” says Gareth, walking over to pick up the Tome. “We should destroy it. Maybe I’ll take it back to the Archierophant and let her do it. That might make her happy.”</p><p></p><p>“Call me a cynic, but I doubt anything you do right now will make her happy,” says Six, kneeling to check Theda’s corpse. “And call me a cynic, but I’m still not sure this is an Emerald Claw cell.”</p><p></p><p>“Either way,” argues Gareth, “They were holding people against their will and sacrificing them. And the presence of all these strange undead is suspicious.”</p><p></p><p>“If you think that’s suspicious,” says Nameless, having opened the door with the now recovered Korm’s aid, “Come see this.”</p><p></p><p>The others walk over and look through the doorway. “DAMN!!!”</p><p></p><p>The chamber beyond is oval in shape and empty expect for one occupant. Lying stretched on its side in the middle of the floor, attached to the wall by a chain and a collar around its throat is a gigantic hound. Three things about it stick out instantly to the watchers. Firstly, it would stand twenty feet at the shoulder if it stood upright. Secondly, it cannot actually stand upright, since it is the first half of a dog, its body ending midway down its torso. And strangest of all is what forms that torso. The creature is entirely made up of scores of humanoid corpses, most in a state of partial decay, somehow held together in a ghastly agglomeration.</p><p></p><p>“What the f*ck is that?!”</p><p></p><p>“I think it’s a charnel hound,” says Nameless. “I’ve heard of that, but never seen one. They’re incredibly rare, and crafting one requires incredible necromantic power.” He glances at Gareth. “Or the right relic.”</p><p></p><p>Gareth opens his mouth to respond and then quickly raises his sword. As he and the others watch, the gigantic half-hound opens its eyes. With a mighty effort, accompanied by the scraping of bone and flesh against stone, it levers itself to an upright position.</p><p></p><p>And then, even as the Angels watch in fascinated horror, it drags itself painfully forward with its forelegs, a low and strangely pathetic whine emanating from its throat.</p><p></p><p>“Aww! The poor thing!” Luna turns to the others. “Can we keep it?”</p><p></p><p>“Are you crazy?!” Gareth shouts, causing Nameless to grin and say, “It would definitely take care of door-to-door salesmen, you know.” The paladin just glares at him and then turns on Luna. “You’re kidding, right?”</p><p></p><p>“Look at it. It’s pathetic. And kinda cute. Well, not as much as it would be if it weren’t made of corpses, but…”</p><p></p><p>“No! This is not up for discussion! We are destroying this thing now!”</p><p></p><p>“Fine, fine,” mutters Luna irritably. “I guess it’s too big to take back with us anyway.” </p><p></p><p>The semi-completed charnel hound whines one more time and hitches itself a few feet closer, and then a storm of magical energy envelops it, quickly returning it – and its components – to a real death.</p><p></p><p>With the creature dealt with, the Angels proceed to check the rest of the area. Beyond the door on the other side of the living room they passed through, they find Theda’s bedroom and study. Six finds a locked wall safe that contains some money, and within it a second, concealed, compartment containing documents, more money, gems, some scrolls and a skull crafted in tarnished silver.</p><p></p><p>Gareth weighs the skull in his hand and says, “I know what this is. It’s a talisman that aids in controlling or destroying undead. It should come in handy.”</p><p></p><p>“Look at this.” Six holds up a small red gem. “Same as the one the spy on the airship had. I wonder if that means she really did have a connection with the…”</p><p></p><p>“Emerald Claw. Definitely,” confirms Nameless, having quickly scanned the various documents.</p><p></p><p>“See?” says Gareth, turning to Six. “The information was accurate. It’s not as if we were set up or something.”</p><p></p><p>Six shakes his head sadly. “No, it just means that we were set up but they sent us to a Blood of Vol temple which, completely coincidentally, actually did involve an Emerald Claw cell.”</p><p></p><p>“Sheesh! What the hell happened to make you such a pessimist?”</p><p></p><p>Six shrugs mechanically. “I began living with you people.”</p><p></p><p></p><p>* The bums rolled godawfully well on Will saves, all beating the DC 27 Will save by a fair bit. Admittedly they all had immunities or a <em>Freedom of Movement</em> to protect them anyway, but it would be nice to see a failed save. But noooo…</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="shilsen, post: 3785163, member: 198"] Six listens at the red marble door. “I hear movement. People wearing heavy armor.” “So not the vampires then,” says Nameless, “Though I’m sure they’re in there too. All right – let’s do this.” The Angels cast a few preparatory spells and then Six kicks the door open. The chamber beyond is clearly a shrine, square in shape, with a seating area in each corner, consisting of stone benches for the worshippers on four stone steps. The seating areas leave a free section of floor from a door in each of the four walls, leading to a raised section in the center which supports a carved plinth, presumably used by whoever leads the services. Standing in wait before the podium are three men, sword and shield at the ready, torchlight reflecting ruddily off the Blood of Vol symbols engraved on the breastplates of their heavy armor. Or what were once men, as the Angels see in the faces they raise slightly as the door opens. Mottled flesh is drawn tight against the bone of their faces, drawing back their lips to reveal carnivorous teeth. Pale gray eyes rimmed in red gaze forth hungrily from deep-set sockets. In unison, the three ghoul knights raise their blades and charge. The two vampires, clinging spider-like midway up the far wall of the chamber, coincidentally next to a picture of a vampire venerating the hooded figure of Vol, Queen of the Undead, bare their own fangs and scuttle quickly over the walls as swiftly as if they had been on the ground. [[b]NOTE:[/b] Coincidentally, Wayne Reynolds was nice enough to draw a picture for this fight [url=http://www.waynereynolds.com/WOTCGallery2A/4.jpg]here[/url].] Swift as they are, Six is quicker, diving through the doorway even before Nameless’ warning shout, “There’s another [i]unhallow[/i] in there!” The warforged feels the attached [i]dispel[/i] wash over him, but his protective spells remain in effect. Not that it matters, since Six has no intention of relying only on them. He changes direction, leaping up onto the second row of benches with a single bound. The ghouls ignore him, knowing that he is beyond their reach, thundering forward at the others silhouetted in the doorway. But they are not beyond his, and Six’s chain snakes out, lashing around one’s ankle and sending him stumbling to the ground in a clash of armor. The ghoul doesn’t grunt or groan, simply rolling over and beginning to rise. Six promptly launches another blow, which smashes into its helm with the accompanying sound of cracking bone beneath, but the undead continues to rise. A second later, Six staggers, as two slim throwing daggers sink deep into the fibrous tissues that connect his head to his body, courtesy the two vampires. Its two companions do not pause either, but each shouts “Vol!” as they charge into Korm and Gareth. Whether impelled by divine devotion, unholy power or both, the swords descend with tremendous force, bruising bone and rending flesh. The Gatekeeeper strikes back with a horizontal slash, but his target deflects it with his shield. Seeing the ghoul temporarily occupied, Gareth brings the Endless Blade down at its open right side. But as the sword descends, so does the second ghoul’s shield, edge-first on the paladin’s wrist. The blow goes awry, only the fact that Gareth’s wrist is as metal as his hand saving him from being crippled. There is a brief flurry of blows in the doorway, Korm and Gareth slowly gaining the upper hand, though the ghouls are extremely resilient. One strikes Gareth, and as it hits, a nimbus of dark energy shoots up its blade, healing some of its wounds. The other attempts to smash Korm’s knee, a partial parry leaving the Gatekeeper with a rapidly purpling shin instead. Six, meanwhile, is kept busy by the two vampires and the third ghoul. One of the vampires hurls a fiery bolt that a previously cast protective spell blocks, but the other disappears in a cloud of smoke which flows swiftly along the wall and reforms behind the warforged, and slashing into his side. Six’s attempt to again trip the ghoul almost pulls him from his position, as the now prepared knight seizes the chain and hauls back on it. However, the greater skills of the Angels begin to assert themselves, especially with Nameless and Luna hurling spells from behind Korm and Gareth, and the ghouls slowly disengage and fall back towards the center of the chamber, presumably hoping to inveigle their enemies into following. Which turns out to be a significant tactical error. Luna promptly says, “Perfect!” and begins to cast a [i]firestorm[/i]. Nameless yells, “Six – get out of there! Now!” As the warforged leaps down and out of the door, the alienist conjures a giant mass of sticky [i]web[/i]s, the strands pinning the relatively slow ghouls in place, and preventing even the agile vampires from moving away quickly. Seconds later, the entire chamber is shot through with sheets of flame as Luna’s spell erupts around the undead. When the flames clear, only one of the knights is still on his feet, and he quickly goes down beneath a storm of slashing blades and chains. The sole remaining vampire, clinging to a wall near the ceiling and watching the remnants of its companion seep beneath one of the closed doors, hurriedly calculates that it will be unable to follow in time. Instead, it changes to a gaseous cloud, which promptly disappears. “Hey! Where’d that bastard go?” says Luna, glaring around, before her gaze falls on Nameless. “Why are you grinning?” “Because he just used some sort of teleportation effect.” “And…” “I cast a little spell called [i]anticipate teleportation[/i] today. The greater version, in fact. Which does a few things to people who try that near me.” Nameless walks over to a certain point and looks over to Six, Gareth and Korm. “Oh, boys!” Ten seconds later, the unfortunate vampire appears, only to find himself in the center of a circling of waiting Angels. After he is swiftly returned – this time unintentionally – to a gaseous state, Luna adds insult to injury (at Nameless’ suggestion) by seizing a large tapestry in her paws and fanning the cloud out of the door leading from the main hall into the sunlight outside. The giant bear stuffs the tapestry under the door to block off ingress and growls, “Okay – let’s check the rest of this place out!” * * * * * Ten minutes later, the Angels stand in front of another of the red marble doors that seem to mark important locations in the temple. Four armored bodies lie around them, these all human, displaying the unfortunate results of having met – and attacked – the Angels. Korm looks down at his forearm, bleeding from a deep slash that one of the Blood of Vol warriors inflicted before being decapitated. As he watches, the blood begins to thicken and coagulate at unusual speed, while tiny tendrils of flesh extend over the wound till they form a light webbing, which quickly extends itself till the only sign of the wound is a pale scar. The Gatekeeper grunts in satisfaction, knowing that the scar too will soon take on the gray-brown color of his skin. “Mordain really did some amazing work on us.” “I know,” says Nameless. “We’ll have to go back and talk to him sometime.” He hesitates for a moment, feeling a compulsion at the words that he knows is a result of the [i]geas[/i] he has detected as existing on all of them. “Not yet, of course.” Somehow, even though he knows of the spell’s existence, as well as of a [i]modify memory[/i], he can’t help but feel a surge of appreciation for the Fleshweaver, despite telling himself that he should be suspicious of precisely what it is that Mordain did to their minds. “Keep it down, you two,” says Six, listening at the door. “I don’t hear anything. And it’s locked.” He straightens up and moves to the side, gesturing to Korm, who steps forward and smashes the door apart in a few seconds. The Angels promptly rush in, to find themselves into a somewhat spartan living room, with closed doors leading out to left and right. There is no sign of life, but those among them with keener hearing detect the sounds of a voice behind the door to the right. The voice is clearly feminine, and just as clearly in the process of casting a spell. “That way!” The wooden door flies apart under Korm’s attack. The huge and brightly lit chamber beyond looks like a laboratory, its walls lined with varying forms of alchemical and necromantic equipment, with multiple tables and biers lined up near them, a few of which clearly bear corpses to be worked on. A faint dripping sound suffuses the room, as a mixture of blood and alchemical fluid leaks into the channels carved in the floor to carry the ruddy streams to catch basins at the room’s edges. Not that the Angels have much time to notice such things. Their attention is focused on the center of the chamber, which holds a huge circular depression full of bones to a height only a couple of inches below floor level. Standing on the opposite side of the pit is a short and thin middle-aged woman, wearing a breastplate that seems a little large for her. In one raised hand is a battered looking tome, with what seems to be a desiccated claw-like hand nailed to its surface, and the other clutches the symbol of the Blood of Vol that hangs around her throat. Such a symbol is also visible around the throats of the two men who stand between her and the Angels, some ten feet closer and one on either side of the pit. These two, wearing heavy plate armor and seeming much more martial than the woman, also clutch at their holy symbols. There is a second’s silence after the thunderous sound of the door being knocked in, and then Theda Henkas, high priestess of the temple, raises an empty palm and shouts, “Wait! Who a…” She never finishes the sentence. “No! She’s trying to confuse our minds with words!” growls Luna in a comment which later causes much merriment for the Angels, but now is the signal for mayhem. Nameless, whose enhanced vision has already noted the plethora of magical auras in the room, on Theda and her allies, and interestingly enough, in the pit of bones, is the swiftest, shouting, “There’s another [i]unhallow[/i]! Make them come to us!” even as he casts a [i]greater dispel[/i]ling. To his disappointment, the [i]unhallow[/i] remains unaffected, but auras wink out on Theda and on the other priests. As his spell hits, Theda cries out, “Ghulam! Come forth and slay the desecrators!” And there is an answer from the pit. Bones shower up and outwards, fountaining out of the pit in a macabre waterfall, and for a moment the Angels – even Nameless, who detected multiple magical auras in the pit and sees them rising – assume it is some sort of explosion. But then, as the bones fall, they reveal what lay beneath. The bandages that swathe its form mark it clearly as a mummy, but it stands twelve feet tall and proportionately thick, giant arms ending in clenched fists larger than a human head. Strangely, a large number of the bones stick to its already bulky form, and as it takes a ponderous step out of the pit, they actually slide and reshape themselves till they form a rough equivalent of a suit of armor. Unique though its appearance is, the undead called Ghulam has one trait that all mummies share, waves of supernatural terror washing over the Angels at sight of it, far deeper and stronger than from the first mummy they saw here. Any normal human being would be instantly paralyzed, and even the Angels – other than Gareth, protected from it by the grace of the Silver Flame – momentarily feel the cold chill of fear tightening their muscles and sapping their strength. And, a second later, they throw it off.* Theda gasps in shock as her enemies remain unaffected, and she hurriedly begins a [i]recitation[/i] of a prayer to Vol, imbuing herself and her allies with divine favor. Her two priestly guardians do so as well, advancing slowly. The Angels hold their position as Nameless suggested, also casting various protective spells, even Six activating a wand to [i]haste[/i] his allies. Luna, of course, takes a more active approach, bringing down a [i]flame strike[/i] on the mummy. Ghulam doesn’t even bother to dodge as the column of fire envelops him, but Theda has constructed him with special protections, and much of the fiery damage is negated, though he is still left smoking. “Focus on her!” Nameless [i]summon[/i]s a number of giant pseudonatural snakes around Theda, but as their coils appear around her, the [i]unhallow[/i] does its work and the linked [i]dispel[/i] returns them whence they came. As Nameless curses, the mummy steps forward and slams its arm down. Korm lifts his sword in defense, deflecting the blow slightly, but its power beats the flat of the blade down on his head. Dazed at the impact, the Gatekeeper staggers and drops to a knee, and Ghulam grabs Korm’s head, giant fingers squeezing with a force that would crush a lesser orc’s skull. Gareth quickly steps forward, lifting the Endless Blade in preparation of a blow at the exposed arm – and then staggers sideways as a ray of dark energy hits him. As Ghulam strikes, Theda lifts her book and casts a spell. As she completes the words, a dark radiance seeps from the tome like pus from an infected wound, and her [i]ray of enfeeblement[/i] is maximized to full potential. As it hits, Gareth feels his muscles turn weak and flaccid, unable to support even the weight of his armor and equipment. Theda’s action identifies the book for him – a Tome of Undead Transformation, a relic of the Blood of Vol that allows creation of unusual undead and helps an attuned user cast necromantic spells with increased effectiveness. But the realization is hardly his primary focus, as he collapses to the ground. So too does Korm, only some distance away and significantly worse off. Ghulam lifts him off the ground by his head and tosses him casually into the chamber. Korm skids to a halt, pain shooting up along his strained neck, and then feels the worrying sensation of the room’s [i]dispel magic[/i] wash over him, taking his [i]death ward[/i] with it. Which becomes quickly more worrying as the two priests rush at the prone orc. As he rolls over, two gauntlets strike him, and he feels twin [i]vampiric touch[/i]es leech more vitality from his form. Seeing Korm’s situation, Six snaps, “We have to go in!” and leaps forward. “All right, but someone [i]dispel[/i] the damn [i]unhallow[/i],” says Nameless, “I’m out of [i]dispel[/i]s.” “But I’m not!” says Luna, moving forward so that she can see where Korm is. Six leaps forward, a split second before her huge form almost blocks the doorway, and tumbles into the chamber. Deciding not to make himself a target for the mummy, he rolls past and away, heading for a far wall. Behind him, Luna casts and this time Nameless sees the [i]unhallow[/i]’s aura shimmer and then rapidly fade, while another protective spell disappears off Theda. “Yes!” The alienist promptly casts a [i]wall of force[/i], blocking off half the room and Theda from them. Now it is the high priestess’ turn to curse, and she hurriedly casts an [i]air walk[/i] and rises slowly into the air, feeling the magical wall and searching for an opening. “Help!” Luna turns at the plaintive cry from beside her to see Gareth rolling back and forth in a vain attempt to rise. “Fine!” she growls, “But this is my last one!” Her giant tongue licks out, covering Gareth’s arm with a coating of giant-bear-saliva, but more importantly, [i]dispel[/i]ling the weakening effect. As the paladin springs to his feet, the bear begins to growl, “Now get i…,” before a thunderous punch from Ghulam slams into her muzzle. Luckily, Luna’s making a target of herself has drawn the mummy’s attention away from Korm. Unfortunately, he has left the Gatekeeper with a little gift. Trying to buy some time, Korm bats away the two priests’ attacks and then casts a spell of his own, causing an insect-like sting to protrude from his palm. He slaps it against the thigh of one priest, causing the man to cry out in agony. But though the [i]healing sting[/i] inflicts damage, it fails to complete its job. As the health stolen from the target shoots into Korm, he feels a cold sensation at the back of his skull, where Ghulam’s arm had hit, and the spell dissipates without healing him. “Hey! What the crap?” From the doorway, Nameless shouts, “You’ve been cursed with mummy rot!” Korm dodges aside from another attack, temporarily able to keep the priest’s at bay but yet unable to rise, and shouts back, “I’m flat on my back with you idiots out there and these fools trying to kill me! Of course, I’m bloody cursed!” As if to underline the sentiment, Ghulam turns and slams down a fist that knocks all humor out of the orc. “Just a second!” says Six, currently being ignored by the enemies, as he calls on another of the powers of his modified harness. There is a creaking of crunching of metal and wood and then he begins to grow, expanding in bulk and height until he towers as tall as the mummy. Across the battlefield from the growing warforged, Theda has finally reached the top of the [i]wall of force[/i] and found an open space, and she calls down Luna’s favorite spell. A [i]flame strike[/i] slams down on Luna, Nameless and Gareth, but with all of them warded against fire, inflicts only minimal damage. Peering past the giant bear filling the doorway, Gareth shouts, “I’ll take her! Luna – duck!” “What?!” For a moment, Luna wonders why Gareth thinks that a transformation into a small waterfowl will help their chances, but then she realizes what he means and drops to the ground. Gareth raises his sword and says, “Time to fly, Blade!” The Endless Blade snaps, “Sure! You’ve been f*cking useless so far,” and propels the momentarily speechless paladin forward through the gap between Luna and the doorframe. Theda has only a moment of shocked surprise as three hundred pounds of armored paladin slam into her through the opening in the [i]wall[/i], and before she can respond Gareth has her in a clinch. “Oh, great! He’s beating up the woman again,” groans Korm, rolling away as a massive fist hits the ground where his head had been a second later. “Someone get this mummy off me!” “Done,” says Nameless, firing an emerald-colored bolt past Luna. It strikes Ghulam in the chest and, for a moment, the undead giant is outlined in green flame. And then it shakes off the effects of the [i]disintegrate[/i], only a few bandages falling apart. “Son of a bitch!” As Nameless curses, Six darts forward, muttering, “Let’s do this the old-fashioned way.” His chain, now the size of a ship’s hawser, wraps around Ghulam’s ankle and he tugs. In his normal form, Six would have no chance against the creature’s huge size and strength, but in his [i]enlarge[/i]d form they are closer to equals, and Six’s expertise tips the balance. And Ghulam, whose giant arms windmill uselessly as he hits the floor. “Great!” grunts Korm, a second before another attack from his two smaller assailants further saps his vitality. “That does it! Luna – Cocoon me! But first….” Korm roars in rage and gives up all attempts at defense, letting in to his berserker fury and spinning in a circle on the ground, his sword leading the way. The priest who touched him, assuming that the prone orc was helpless, stares in shock and then screams. As he collapses and swiftly falls silent, blood jets and pools around him from his two legs, both of which Korm has neatly hacked off just below the knee. The second priest gives back for a moment and then reaches forward, hoping to drain the wounded orc’s remaining life force, even as Ghulam sits up and brings down his fist too. But a split second before either can hit, a giant tongue reaches out and touches Korm’s leg, causing a greenish yellow cocoon of force to spring up around him. Unable to strike at Korm, Ghulam changes direction, smashing his fist into Luna’s side. The giant bear grunts at the impact, now seriously hurt. From behind her, Nameless drops an especially powerful [i]fireball[/i] in the chamber, placing it precisely so as not to touch either Luna or Six, but enveloping Ghulam and the remaining priest. The cleric screams in mortal agony as the spell, modified by the alienist’s ring, blasts him with streams of acid, reducing him in seconds to a bubbling mass of flesh. Ghulam’s resistance to fire is useless against it, and entire chunks of undead flesh melt away, along with the bandages and protective bone armor above. Some distance away, on the other side of the [i]wall of force[/i], Theda struggles in Gareth’s grasp. Desperately, she seizes his throat with a hand glowing with necromantic power, but he too is warded against the effect. [i]At least he cannot use his sword[/i], she thinks for a moment, and then sees the blade shrink to the size of a dagger, a second before Gareth drives it into her side. As she cries out, she notices that the paladin is looking past her. Even in her agony, Theda twists to see what he is gazing at, only to see Six’s huge form leaping up, one metal hand clasped around the edge of the [i]wall[/i]. The other is already in mid-swing, and the hapless priestess has no time for another scream before it smashes her skull into smithereens. Behind Six, Nameless says to Luna, “He’s badly hurt. Heal him now!” The druidess looks at Korm, who is gaining none of the healing benefits of the [i]cocoon[/i] due to his cursed state. “But I can’t reach him!” The alienist rolls his eyes. “Not him! The mummy!” Luna looks confused for a moment and then she smiles viciously. “Oh yeah!” She reaches forward, ignoring a hammer-blow from Ghulam, and slaps her paw into his chest, before casting her spell. And the incredible healing energy of a [i]heal[/i] pours into Ghulam, its positive energy anathema to the dark powers that bind his undead flesh to his will. The mummy thrashes violently, trying to shove Luna away, but she holds her paw in place. Tiny holes appear, swiftly expanding, as beams of energy shine out of its body, dissolving the long-dead bones and muscle as they expand. And then, with a soft hiss, the giant form collapses in on itself, till all that remains is a pile of smoking bandages, dust leaking slowly out of them. “Nicely done, folks,” says Nameless, walking into the room and dissolving his [i]wall of force[/i]. “Now let’s find out what exactly is here.” Korm, emerging from the [i]cocoon[/i] only marginally healthier than he entered, interjects, “Can someone do anything about me? I’m still not healing properly.” “No problem,” says Gareth, pulling out a scroll. “We just need to [i]remove curse[/i].” While the paladin takes care of Korm, the others examine the rest of the chamber. Luna scowls as she notes the various corpses on the tables, some with a mixture of alchemical and necromantic fluids keeping them in a state of near-life, leaking blood into carefully placed channels and basins. “Why the hell do we always run into this kind of sh*t? These necro-idiots friends of your aberrations or what, Nameless?” “No,” says the alienist shortly, turning to scan the area. “She’s got a fair bit of magical equipment. And that relic of hers.” Then he stops and points at a large doorway set into the far wall. “That’s got a lot of protection too.” “I’ll take this,” says Gareth, walking over to pick up the Tome. “We should destroy it. Maybe I’ll take it back to the Archierophant and let her do it. That might make her happy.” “Call me a cynic, but I doubt anything you do right now will make her happy,” says Six, kneeling to check Theda’s corpse. “And call me a cynic, but I’m still not sure this is an Emerald Claw cell.” “Either way,” argues Gareth, “They were holding people against their will and sacrificing them. And the presence of all these strange undead is suspicious.” “If you think that’s suspicious,” says Nameless, having opened the door with the now recovered Korm’s aid, “Come see this.” The others walk over and look through the doorway. “DAMN!!!” The chamber beyond is oval in shape and empty expect for one occupant. Lying stretched on its side in the middle of the floor, attached to the wall by a chain and a collar around its throat is a gigantic hound. Three things about it stick out instantly to the watchers. Firstly, it would stand twenty feet at the shoulder if it stood upright. Secondly, it cannot actually stand upright, since it is the first half of a dog, its body ending midway down its torso. And strangest of all is what forms that torso. The creature is entirely made up of scores of humanoid corpses, most in a state of partial decay, somehow held together in a ghastly agglomeration. “What the f*ck is that?!” “I think it’s a charnel hound,” says Nameless. “I’ve heard of that, but never seen one. They’re incredibly rare, and crafting one requires incredible necromantic power.” He glances at Gareth. “Or the right relic.” Gareth opens his mouth to respond and then quickly raises his sword. As he and the others watch, the gigantic half-hound opens its eyes. With a mighty effort, accompanied by the scraping of bone and flesh against stone, it levers itself to an upright position. And then, even as the Angels watch in fascinated horror, it drags itself painfully forward with its forelegs, a low and strangely pathetic whine emanating from its throat. “Aww! The poor thing!” Luna turns to the others. “Can we keep it?” “Are you crazy?!” Gareth shouts, causing Nameless to grin and say, “It would definitely take care of door-to-door salesmen, you know.” The paladin just glares at him and then turns on Luna. “You’re kidding, right?” “Look at it. It’s pathetic. And kinda cute. Well, not as much as it would be if it weren’t made of corpses, but…” “No! This is not up for discussion! We are destroying this thing now!” “Fine, fine,” mutters Luna irritably. “I guess it’s too big to take back with us anyway.” The semi-completed charnel hound whines one more time and hitches itself a few feet closer, and then a storm of magical energy envelops it, quickly returning it – and its components – to a real death. With the creature dealt with, the Angels proceed to check the rest of the area. Beyond the door on the other side of the living room they passed through, they find Theda’s bedroom and study. Six finds a locked wall safe that contains some money, and within it a second, concealed, compartment containing documents, more money, gems, some scrolls and a skull crafted in tarnished silver. Gareth weighs the skull in his hand and says, “I know what this is. It’s a talisman that aids in controlling or destroying undead. It should come in handy.” “Look at this.” Six holds up a small red gem. “Same as the one the spy on the airship had. I wonder if that means she really did have a connection with the…” “Emerald Claw. Definitely,” confirms Nameless, having quickly scanned the various documents. “See?” says Gareth, turning to Six. “The information was accurate. It’s not as if we were set up or something.” Six shakes his head sadly. “No, it just means that we were set up but they sent us to a Blood of Vol temple which, completely coincidentally, actually did involve an Emerald Claw cell.” “Sheesh! What the hell happened to make you such a pessimist?” Six shrugs mechanically. “I began living with you people.” * The bums rolled godawfully well on Will saves, all beating the DC 27 Will save by a fair bit. Admittedly they all had immunities or a [i]Freedom of Movement[/i] to protect them anyway, but it would be nice to see a failed save. But noooo… [/QUOTE]
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