Curse of the Crimson Thread: Seven Days to the Grave II [IC]

[Moriar]

Vivino cracks his neck and darts into the room. He closes in on the one attacking Lem and swings his mace at its neck.

Spoiler: Zombie friends

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With his speed of 40 will move to use the outflank to flank the green zombie.

If acrobatics are needed to get into flanking position: (1d20+12)[14]


Then swing his mace with both hands using flank:

To hit (1d20+12)[22] and damage of (1d8+8)[10] and sneak damage of (4d6)[18]

[lostsole31]

R1T14: Vivino cracks his neck and darts into the room. He closes in on the one attacking Lem and swings his mace at its neck. He doesn't quite get the neck, but does get the upper check to crumple in its torso some and destroying the plague zombie, which explodes in a burst of decay and bone and sprays of necrotic gore.

R1T13: Harsk was ready to let fly, but he was distracted while Vivino ran in, as his whole body's musculature seems incredibly tense and taut and he seems to be in pain. It lasts for a few seconds, but then Harsk is focused again. He shoots Blue in the chest for 3 mod + 5 fire, speed reloads (a frickin heavy crossbow) and says, "Biter, stay."

He then shoots again, hitting Blue in the arm for 3 mod +1 fire ... and reloads again.

R1T13: Dane, there's no way to tell, but if what Lem said was true, then Vivino and Lem were both exposed to plague. What do you do?

[Rithryn]

Dane moves forward toward the zombie and lifts his earth breaker up and brings it down on the zombie with all his might.

"Get ready, it'll likely blow here!"

Spoiler

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Moving south 2 squares to flank with Lem than Vital strike + Risky strike on the zombie. (1d20+17)[22] (4d6+17)[41]

[lostsole31]

R1T13: Dane moves forward toward the zombie and lifts his earth breaker up and brings it down on the zombie with all his might, while calling out, "Get ready, it'll likely blow here!"

Sure enough, Blue does exactly that ... splooshing goosh all oover the booys.

R1T7: With an impressive ability to corner and turn, Lilim flies through the door the men went through and circles around to threaten the last plague zombie. From her hands form a black staff that grows out until a large, crescent-shaped blade forms at the top end, edged by water appears to be some type of flowing, silvery water. She cuts downwards and destroys the zombie in a single blow, which explodes all over herself and Adelaide.

Combat Ends ...

Now the party has a chance to take stock of their surroundings. Eight unpleasant-looking beds stand here. Their sharp iron frames are threaded with worn manacles and stained leather straps. Several are occupied by what were once obviously unwilling patients; all are bound and dead, their throats having been slit. Between them stand several small tables strewn with gore-soaked pans, flasks of mysterious fluids, and all manner of cruel-looking cutting instruments. A sizable brown-crimson stain covers much of the eastern wall, as if all the blood from a body once held there had exploded forth in a single violent eruption.

There is a set of double doors on the western wall quite a bit to the south.

[Kvard51]

Seelah steps into the room shield first, but sees no more enemies to smite. Lowering her bulwark, she takes in the gore-soaked appearance of those already in the room, ”I have the ability to cure this plague on you all, but limited uses each day. Should I do so now? Or should we wait for symptoms to show to be certain you have contracted it?”

[lostsole31]

Lem smiles. "Save your wares, Big Gal, I lead a charmed life."

[Rithryn]

Dane seeing the gore and obvious signs of torture let's out an angry roar slamming his earth breaker into the wall, than looks around and looks a little embarrassed.
"Sorry, I know that these jobs aren't pleasant but when I listened to the others their stories were always heroic. I guess these details are left out, save your magic for once the deeds are done lest we waste your blessings in the next few minutes."
Dane unlodges his hammer and looks around the room.

[Moriar]

"Thank you Seelah, but I agree woth the others on waiting in case we get exposed again.

Does anyone have magical meals to clean us?" Vivino asks

"Then do we wish to continue south west or head back to the east through the previous room?"

As people answer, Vivino also begins looking around.

Spoiler: Yuck

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If no one can help clean then Vivino will do his best to clean himself.

Then would like to use senses and possibly lore to examine the room and then if have time will examine the south west doors for traps and lock.

[lostsole31]

Big chunks of stuff still need to be removed, wiped off, but Lem casts prestidigitation as often as needed to minimize the effects of gore and goo on everyone.

As it just seems like there is to be a basic check of the room (rather than a deep exploration), the three dead people strapped to the bed are dead. It was a middle-aged man, and both a man and a woman in their prime. The double doors to the south are sturdy, and made of iron. It takes a hair over four minutes to do a cursory check of the room.

The door is checked safe, and nothing is heard on the other side. Adelaide's keys unlock the double doors, and then she steps back, put keys on belt, and gets out her bow.

Dane and Seelah open the double doors. Iron doors with slotted windows, much like one might find in a prison or asylum, line the walls of this chamber. Faint bloodstains fleck the straw-strewn flagstones.

Through whatever means of care, doors will be safety checked and all opened. Five of the cells all held prisoners. A medical check of their bodies show no signs of blood veils. Also, they all seem to be of Varisian ethnicity. They were killed by way of ingested poison, signs of their last and deadly meals on trays on the deck, and vomit and other bodily eruptions in horrid smelling pools around them. They appear to all have been killed within the last day.

[Moriar]

Vivino stares blankly for a moment and then in a soft voice, " we might have been able to save these people if we had been more careful last time...perhaps we should move back to those other double doors?"

[lostsole31]

The party backs out to the "art" gallery, to the eastern set of double doors. Dane does a safety check, and nothing nothing, he and Seelah open the doors (her longsword stowed momentarily). The stinging scent of harsh chemicals chokes this high-ceilinged chamber. Three huge metal vats bubble here, each more than six feet tall. A sturdy series of catwalks ten feet off the ground stretches over and around the vats, allowing those above to attend whatever slurry produces the foul green-brown mist emanating from each gigantic vessel. Circling the upper portion of the room is an elaborate mosaic of white, black, and green stone that depicts a giant half-skeletal woman in black veils dancing among fields of the dead, undead, and dying.

There are a couple of dead bodies in the near distance, another body in the middle distance, and on the far end of the room are two bodies on the catwalk.

[Kvard51]

Seelah draws her sword again as soon as doors are opened. She Gives the bodies a cursory once over, looking for signs of how they died. The mosaic draws her full attention as she seeks clues as to what it means.

[lostsole31]

Adelaide and Harsk can tell the rest (including Vivino, as his battle never brought him here) that the dead bodies are cultists, killed by a variety of the weapons that the heroes had to bring them low. However, it seems that the bodies and their equipment were sprayed down with acid, destroying anything salvageable, ability for proper forensices, or identification so that the cultists could not be identified (including complete mutilation of jaw and mouth to dissuade speak with dead spells).

The body in the middle of the two vats in the center of the room is that of Doctor Reiner Davaulus. He was killed by the heroes. His body was stripped of anything useful by the enemy, but not destroyed and was left here to sit for the past two days. There are two other bodies of cultists that Harsk can identify Iluvar having single-handedly killed up on the catwalks.

Meanwhile, there are a series of doors in this room.

There are two doors to the south, 15' from each other. There are two doors to the far esat, 15' from each other. All four of these doors are on "floor level."

On the catwalk to the north (so, "upper level") is another door.

What does the party do?

[Rithryn]

Dane does a cursory look to make sure no one is hiding anywhere and the moves towards the eastern door staying 5 ft away.
"Alright, we should look around but not for long than move on."

Spoiler

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See invisibility still active.

[lostsole31]

"We should search these rooms first, not just the big one," says Lilim.

[Moriar]

"Lilim, are you suggesting that we search this room as well as the north/south before going east?" Vivino asks as he begins doing a quick search of this room.

Spoiler: looking

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Will use his senses to search this room and lore to help figure it out

[lostsole31]

"We might as well," she answers. "It's not like we are on a rescue-the-innocents timeframe anymore."

After searching the room (which does NOT include any messing with any of the doors), besides the bodies, the three massive vats include a slurry of fluid. It reeks, and it is nauseous, but Adelaide and Harsk can both tell you it isn't bad as before. See, the blood vats are no longer tended, and no longer heated, so the wretched fluid is congealed. Unfortunately, Vivino doesn't carry any spare specimen collection vials.

Spoiler: Vivino

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You may not repurpose or assume that an alchemy crafting kit gives you anything outside of specifically what is designed for, i.e., the ability to use class features. If you want vials or other things to collect specimens, they need to be procured separately.

Nothing else of interest is found in this room.

[Moriar]

"If anyone has or knows of any spare glass vials that I could use then I can obtain a sample to study later." Vivino says. "If not then let us move on...perhaps south?"

Spoiler: Spare vial

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If anyone has or knows of a spare vial will get a sample. otherwise will move on with the others.

[lostsole31]

Nobody has any such thing, as nobody's interests lie quite that way.

Which of the two doors to the south do you check first? The one more west or more east?

[Kvard51]

"Sorry Vivino. Closest I've got is my waterskin. And I expect to need that at some point.", Seelah says, wrinkling her nose at the idea of putting any of the sludge in her drinking skin.

[Moriar]

"Let us start with the southwest door." Vivino says.

[lostsole31]

The party gets into position. Dane checks the door safe, and then opens the door. Little more than barrels of water, kindling, and long stirring poles are contained in this room. The party takes a minute to search here casually, and find nothing of value.

[Rithryn]

Dane leaves the room once clear that it is supplies.
"Alright fair point we'll search the small ones. Stay nearby and we'll hit'em one by one "

Dane will systematically move to each side door and wait for his team before getting within 5 ft and checking them.

[lostsole31]

The next door is checked and opened. The southeastern corner of this otherwise empty room seems to be unfinished, and a large mound of rubble fills the corner.

[Rithryn]

Dane walls up the stairs leading to the door on the catwalk, once his team is in position he will check and open the door.

[Moriar]

Vivino will move up onto the catwalk to support Dane but not be close enough tp get in the way nor to be caught in possible traps.

[lostsole31]

Meanwhile, Harsk takes the far western edge of that walkway ... as Adelaide is on the opposite side of the room ... both with ranged weapons ready as needed.

"Come in, dwarf!" calls a creaking voice from inside. "Your mouth-breathing is tiring to listen to, and the quicker you can be on your way, the better."

[Moriar]

"No need to keep the rude person waiting?" Vivino whispers.

[lostsole31]

Despite Vivino being several feet from the door and whispering outside of a stout, closed door, "I believe you will find my desire for protocol more elaborate than your own. You find waiting outside a door with weapons drawn rude. I would personally have just knocked to see if anyone was home."

[Moriar]

"Friend dwarf, would you mind doing the honors?" Vivino asks.