The Necromancer's Skull (Judge - covaithe)

[garyh]

Skalisss and Trevor heave mightily, and with a thud the lid of the sarcophagus lands on the floor. In the flickering torchlight, a human skeleton can be seen laying in the sarcophagus, a black robe now sunken over the bones and a hood fallen back from the skull, which it likely covered when the skull still had flesh upon it.

The necromancer's skull is, finally, within reach.

 

[Vlastos]

I'm thinking we should kill him, again, first, but...

...excuse me, excuse me, interrupts the Wizard as he jostles his way into position near the head of the crypt. One skull coming up, he says as he reaches down with his only other bag, carefully removing the skull from the bones without touching it by enveloping it into the sack.

There. That was easy, he says in relief when he's got the skull fully secured. Retrieval, Steppyn, Vixo is normally rogue's work, but I felt a professional connection to this fiend - he had a certain power at one time. Anyway, that's over. Well done, eveyone, he trumpets. Let's go get paid.

Skalisss, why don't you take the main relic from here on out - in the end, arcana perverted, it seems like a religious matter entirely, he says with a surprising firmness and disgust as he offers the skull sack to the dragonborn.

 

[garyh]

Vlastos ensackens the object of their quest without problem, and the party now has accomplished both their primary objective and the secondary possibility that Trevor foresaw.

 

[JRYoung]

"Yesss Vlastosss, I will carry the ssskull, may Netari sssee us sssafley through" replies the Dragonborn. Skalisss takes the sack and puts it in his pack. "Let usss be gone from thisss foul place" he declares as he leads the way out of the crypt.

 

[Brain]

Vixo lingers by the sarcophagus a moment. "Should check it out and see if he was buried with any other valuables or objects, right?"

Vixo searches around amongst the remains. (roll for me if neccessary, +6 perception)

 

[garyh]

Vixo finds nothing in the sarcophagus but bones and the robe. It would seem Skelleks had all of his final trophies on display.

The now-skull-laden Skalisss leads the group safely out of the crypt. It's midday as the group resurfaces in the graveyard of Marlowe's Grove. Now that they know the path, the group can reach Daunton by dusk if they press hard.

 

[Vlastos]

OOC: We press, we must get gold - exit the intrepid adventurers from the haunted town, enter them into the dwelling place of Lauto.

 

[Velmont]

"Let's go back to the town. I really need a good bath. Those crypt stink."

 

[garyh]

The group safely navigates the now-familiar path through the Starkreach Woods and returns to Daunton as the sun starts to set. Upon entering the grand temple of Lauto - with its white marble facade of scenes of death, huge gem-encrusted solid gold doors, and well-armed guards - a balding, an officious tiefling man directs the group to Latanos' office.

Latanos' looks up from a large book, its text in a language none in the party understand, and takes in the group, slightly battered, somewhat bloodied, and certainly smelling of a tomb.

"Ah, yes," the priest says as he marks his place and closes the book. "Welcome. Can I assume both by your survival and your presence before me that you have successfully located Skelleks' tomb and acquired the necromancer's skull?"

 

[JRYoung]

"Yesss we have Latanosss" responds Sklaisss. "The tomb wasss infesssted with undead and heavily trapped, but we prevailed." He reaches into his pack and pulls out the sack containing the skull, but waits for Lantanos' response before offering it forth.

Insight check: 1d20+7=27
Skalisss is trying to get a read on Lantanos, is he genuine? Is he up to no good with this skull? Have we been used as pawns in an evil scheme? Does he intend to come through as promised?