Action Thread #11: The Greensward

[onlyme]

Malone, who by anyone's account is the most reluctant of the adventurers already, lets out a whispered yelp and, well...

To Flee or Not To Flee: [1d20] = 2

[Stonjuz]

"...... Above you haunts the grasping souls of three dwarves .....what will you do to prove your worth?"

The dwarf looks up to the ,empty I suppose, surface of the crypt. A sad face comes over Stonjuz as he ponders the theory of going back up the mountain, only to wrestle with a shade there unresponsive to reason. He spins, turns to leave and then he mumbles. "This undead is very interested in the items we have found. The TRANSFORMING rod might change the unresponsive up top, ......but I doubt it."
He looks to the others, wondering if his magic is still affecting the group.
Bless still working? Doubt it, but doesnt hurt to ask?
Now noticing Malone heading out quickly, he adds, "Malone!!! Wait for me....and the others."

[Grognardsw]

Thurinor tries to stay calm as he hears Malone yelling in fear. This ghost and its story are fascinating to the elf arcanist, and may help solve the mystery and get them home.

"We will banish the evil spirits and restore you to your place of honor!" exclaims Thurinor, hoping his confidence is not misplaced. He gathers the ghost's bones and skull in a sack (at the same time glancing about for treasure.) Then the elf of Hornwood Forest makes his way back to the surface, pausing at the entrance to observe what is going on there.

[saalaria]

Swill follows the team back to the tomb, wondering at what the ghost could mean...

[ragnboneshopper]

Day 7, Early Evening: Whither to Run?

Party initiative: [1d6] = 5; Monster initiative; [1d6] = 2. Adventurers go first!

Narrative
Malone, hit by flying pottery at the hands of some invisible foe, panics as if touched by some supernatural madness and lurches off to the southern side of the burial chamber, away from the direction from which the pottery seemed to have come. He backs into the wall and all but drops his weapon and pack in his hurry to get away, but manages to hold onto them and turns to claw at the wall, wishing it to let him pass by, if it only could.

Meanwhile, the others below have heard Malone's cries and the sounds of breaking pottery, though they linger a moment, some of them confused by the ghostly apparition's cryptic words. Summing up the group's collective question, Ogirdor asks, "These three dwarven shades are haunting your tomb, right above us?". To this the shade nods solemnly and points upward. "Their ashes were buried here long after me."

As Thurinor gathers the bones of the deceased Kharg horse lord into a sack and promises to banish the evil spirits that are keeping him from a restful deathsleep, the shimmering apparition fades with a long sigh and whispers: "My bed is in the burial chamber above, in the place of honor. To this restore me, with my life's treasure, but do not suffer the spirits above to linger, or they will cast me down again into this pit where I have been so long in unrest. Only beware the greed of the Gravenvolk dwarves, lest it grip your hearts and plunge you into darkness...". Beneath the horse lord's skull, Thurinor finds a leather pouch bound with a brittle leather thong.

It takes you a minute to climb back up the slippery shaft, and those higher up send small showers of loose stone behind them, so that only three of you make it all the way up at first. Those who reach the top see Malone cowering against the south wall of the burial chamber, attempting frantically to tear a hole in the rock and earth through which to flee. Stonjuz feels yet the effects of his blessing (3 more rounds, by my estimation ), and he also notes the extreme discomfort of the turtle he carries aloft on his helmet, a revulsion of sorts, as if some great evil has been revealed...


Assumed Climbing Order

(usual single-file marching order modified based on the most recent posts):
[A]
[OG]
[ST]
[T]
[SW]
[OZ]

BurialMound_Situation1.jpg (164.04 KiB) Viewed 762 times

Just to reiterate what has happened, Malone lingered at the top of the shaft and was struck by pottery flung by some unseen hands. You all clearly heard the smashing of pottery and Malone's yells, and given the dead horse lord's warning, you all know that three dwarven spirits of greed are haunting this place, but you can't see anything out of the ordinary in the burial chamber at this point. (Other than Malone in a state of fright -- sorry OnlyMe! I really do like Malone! I've got a warm spot in my heart for anyone who prefers to fight with a halberd! )

The lid of the horse lord's sarcophagus is lying on the floor amidst the broken pottery urns, right where you left it (marked on the map by the brown rectangle). Those of you whose initials are in black on the map are already up the shaft and in the burial chamber; those of you whose initials are in gray are still in the shaft climbing upward. Let me know if you think your character should be in a different location. If you don't post, I NPC you based on the overall direction of the group, be aware (beware?).

Let me know your actions for the next round...

[onlyme]

I dont know how long mortal fear lasts???

Malone will cower away until such time that he regains his wits, and will then, quickly remove himself from the premises.

[Grognardsw]

With Thurinor gathering bones, skull, and leather pouch, I envisioned him as last in the line.

Thurinor follows the others, taking a quick peek in the leather pouch under the skull. He pauses at the entrance to the burial chamber. He takes in the confusion and location of the sarcophagus. The elf prestidigitator intones arcane words while tracing an occult equation in the air with his left hand. An invisible barrier materializes in front of Thurinor. Keeping the shield between him and the flying pottery, the elf dashes to the sarcophagus.

[Stonjuz]

Stonjuz says, with all sincerity, "I got no idea best coarse a'action.
Maybe we ought to just keep going on down the mountain. We can always come back, after we ......you know.....better prepare ourselves.", as he spreads his arms, as if to make way for Thurinor to come up the shaft, with the items.

[Sir Clarence]

Andrin has never fought incorporeal and invisible opponents before and is clueless about what to do. "They're undead spirits. Can't you try and turn them, Stonjuz?", he calls over to the dwarf.

[Stonjuz]

With the dwarf's arms stretched out for Thurinor to get by, Andrin's words stray into Stonjuz ears and the cleric realizes he does indeed have the power to turn undead.
"Genius, I mean Genius. You all are the best. Sure. I'll give it a try."
With arms still extended, Stonjuz closes his eyes , raises his hands slightly, mumbles a few indiscernable words and throws his arms down as if he were a flagman at a horserace.
(cant remember if the DM rolls for this or the player)
Turn attemptturn [1d20] = 12

He opens his eyes to assure himself that he said the words correctly.

[zebediah]

Ogirdor also tries to turn undead:


PbP Forum code: [1d20] = 5

[ChubbyPixie]

Feeling completely out of his element, Ozborn yells to the others: "Would the unbroken urns contain the remains of the ghosts? Or maybe the ashes scattered on the tomb floor are theirs? Would it help to disperse them somehow? Of gather them up? Perhaps if we pushed the scattered remains into the crypt below we could trap them there as the other spirit was trapped?"

[ragnboneshopper]

Whither to Run?: Round 2

Party initiative: [1d6] = 6; Monster initiative; [1d6] = 3 Adventurers go first again!


Narrative

Stonjuz and Ogirdor, alerted somewhat by Andrin's query concerning undead, both show their holy symbols and call upon their deities to drive forth the evil spirits they know must abide in this place of rest for the dead. At first they cannot tell what effect this might be having. There is only silence in the burial chamber.

Malone meanwhile, still panicked, looks wide-eyed at his companions but cannot bring himself under control. Deep down he knows he should not be this afraid, but he his compelled to keep moving away from the source of his fear. As the rock and earth do not seem to be giving way before him, he slinks along, toward the tomb entrance, still scrabbling at the wall to give way beneath his fingers, but as Stonjuz holds aloft the symbol of Boccob the Uncaring, the location of Malone's fear seems to shift. Now he feels the fear ahead of him, as of a presence streaming out of the place like a smoke or a fog that is driven by the wind. A howling wind is heard outside the burial mound. On the back of the wind come shrill death cries, and then the wind is gone and all becomes still again. The terrible fear that had gripped Malone relinquishes its grasp, and the quiet-mannered warrior can barely recall what startled him so.

Even as the rest of the party looks on and speaks with some confusion about what should be done, it is over. Thurinor, by this time realizing he need not finish intoning the words to his spell of shielding, looks inside the leather pouch taken from beneath the horse lord's skull and finds three fine bloodstone gems carved with three runic letters unknown to him. If he detects for magic, he finds no aura upon them.

All hear a deep sigh, and a now familiar voice whispers, You have broken the ties that so long held the three spirits of greed to this place. Now fulfill your promise: restore me to my rest. Then you shall go with my thrice-uttered blessing...

And though the supernatural chill that had infested this place seems now banished, all again note the hard, almost threatening and desperate edge in the whispering of the Kharg horse lord's restless spirit...


Good call, Andrin! Ten was the magic number, Ston. Winning initiative was key, or that might have gone very differently...

- 15 XP to each party member
- Stonjuz gets 50 XP for successfully turning undead and saving the day

Next actions? It is drawing close to full dark outside...

[Grognardsw]

"...To this restore me, with my life's treasures..." remembers Thurinor. The elf medium hastily dumps from the sack the Kharg's skull, bones, and (with reluctance) the magic rod, amulet and bottle potion.

"Let us put the magic serpent sword, whetstone and pendant in here as well!" yells the elf. (I don't recall who's carrying those.)

[saalaria]

Swilbosh passes the whetstone to the Elf

Are we all agreed we should deposit all these items here? You don't think we would need them later on do you? Supposing we do have to face a giant one-eyed serpent?!!!

[zebediah]

Which of these are his treasures? asks Ogirdor.

I'm a bit confused, aren't the treasures those items that were glowing in response to the ghost?

[Grognardsw]

I'm assuming anything with serpent insignia is his. If the Kharg is "restored" in his resting place, we can ask if we can have some items to fulfill the prophecy of the poem, or as reward for restoring him, and if he knows that which the poem refers to.

[Stonjuz]

"Well.....? You heard 'im. Put them there. Give the poor soul some peace...again."
"We be on our way after that."

[onlyme]

Malone offers up the sword, in case it helps.

Again, I assume it is the same sword Malone grabbed at the goblin cave?

[zebediah]

Ogirdor nods in agreement and helps laying down the items with the remains of the deceased barbarian.