From the body of one of the bugbears, Eva found a large hollowed out bone from some giant creature. If felt magical in Eva's hands, and she could hear something from inside. Placing her ear to the bone, she could just make out her mother's voice calling her to come home, and a child's laugh that reminded her of her childhood in Thundertree.
Among the items was also an arm from a statue, weighing roughly 8 pounds, and strangely intricately carved.
Feeling a lack of respect for the thugs, the party decided to dispose of the bodies of the bugbears and Redbrands. As they dragged the bodies to the pit, they noticed the body of the woodcarver, whom the Redbrands had killed in town, at the bottom of the crevasse.
The nothic, staring quizzically while clinging to a stone pillar, said, "I was hoping for the wizard or the staff, but I am willing to trade. Body for blade?"
He then skittered down into the pit. A single clawed hand appeared from under the northern bridge, placing a sword upon it. Lemon retrieved it, noticing a crest on the blade with a letter "T" etched in it.
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Noticing Lemon with the sword in hand, the redbrand looked up in alarm, reaching for his sword.
Before he could say anything, the nothic proclaimed, "Do you mind if I take this one myself?"
The redbrand turned to look toward the nothic above him in surprise and horror. As their eyes locked, a wave of magical force flooded from the nothic’s large grotesque eye, rippling through the air like heat rising from the road on a hot day, enveloping the man standing before Lemon.
[DM note: Rotting Gaze, DC12 CON save (redbrand=+1, rolled 6), 3d6 necrotic damage (rolled 18, redbrand had 16 HP, now -2 hp)]
The redbrand dropped his sword and tried to scream; however, reminiscent of the ending scene in Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark, his face melted leaving behind exposed skull. He fell to his knees, tumbling into the pit below as he crumpled. The nothic, smiling grotesquely, looked up at Lemon and cocked his head, then skittered down like a spider, disappearing into the crevasse.
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"Do say hello to Aldith Tresendar and his family for me.
They’re dying for some company…
Hahahahahahaha!!!!"
Entering the room, they found themselves in a large mausoleum. Three open stone sarcophagi, each with a skeleton inside, lined the walls. Fearing a magical trap, they prodded and poked the skeletons. When no reactions came, Lemon pinned one through the rib cage using a javelin, "just in case."
Two doors remained unopened; a smaller plain door at the northern end, and copper plated ornate double doors with a crying angel emblazoned upon them at the southern end of the room.
Durial opened the small plain door, and suddenly took two shots to the gut from crossbow fire. Surprised by the two Redbrands inside, Durial slammed the door closed. He had the moment to notice the prisoners behind bars in the North and South sections of the room.
As Durial held his wounded stomach, and Lemon held the door closed, and the skeletons in the room began to move.
However, the skeletons were a minor inconvenience, and were subsequently smashed with maul and sword.
From the crumpled forms, smoke rose rapidly into the air, accumulating into small clouds.
Three ghostly forms coalesced, the incorporeal bodies of the Tresendar family forming out of the vapor.
A middle aged male, his face gaunt, with a thin beard, rose from a slumped position and looked Lemon in the eye.
A middle aged female, with hair floating as if in water, breathed raggedly with her head tilted back and mouth wide.
Finally, a shadowed form made of coalesced smoke and shadow, with an eerie absence of sound, pulled smoke from its hand, forming a large glinting dagger.
The bearded male gasped "Freedom..." as he rose. "Intruders?" he questioned weakly, looking the party over. Noticing the sword, he pointed at Lemon and bellowed "Thieves!"
Holding out his hand, a duplicate ghostly apparition of the sword Talon formed.
Lemon, realizing the danger they were in, bowed before the ghost and offered the sword.
Surprised, Aldith Tresendar held up a hand to stop his kindred spirits, and picked up the blade from Lemon's hands. "Explain yourselves," he calmly commanded.
The party quickly explained that ruffians had desecrated the tomb, and had prisoners in the next room.
Aldith solemnly nodded, and drifted through the door to the jail cells. The sword in his hand clattered to the floor, unable to go through the wooden door as his incorporeal form did.
[DM note: I actually did a quick few rolls to determine how the fight went behind the door; it was brutal, the Redbrands didn't stand a chance...]
[DM note: I actually did a quick few rolls to determine how the fight went behind the door; it was brutal, the Redbrands didn't stand a chance...]
Several seconds of screaming later, Aldith came back into the room. Satisfied, he nodded at Lemon.
"Come, Darenia, Denrid.
The war is over. Let us take our
leave."
The three ghosts dissipated upwards towards the ceiling,
smoke billowing as their forms dissolved. Light filled the room momentarily, and the bones on the floor crumbled, leaving behind piles of dust, each
topped with a platinum ring.
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[DM note: made her roll a CON save to not throw up at the gore of the Redbrands' remains.]
Averting her eyes the best she could, she extracted the keys to the cells from the remains of a piece of bloody belt hanging from a wall, and opened the jail cells.
The woodcarver's family, Mirna Dendrar with her son and daughter, emerged pale faced and shaking. Mirna could barely stutter a "th-thank you" as they were lead back to the goblins guarding the prisoners.
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On a shelf in the crypt room, they found an ivory figurine. Noting a surprising resemblance to Halia Thornton, they decided to take it with them.
Intriguing.
ReplyDeleteThe Tresendar ghosts were a great idea!!!
ReplyDelete