Giantslayer: Battle of Bloodmarch Hill [IC]

[BuckGodot]

Before opening the door, he will pause and focus his thoughts on his armor for a few seconds, then adjust his footing. Then swing the door open.

Spoiler: Technical Information

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Activate Armor Attunement
Enter Circular Stance
open door

[lostsole31]

Aasgar verifies the feeling of his soul attached to his armor, giving him the increased protection he already knows.

He opens the door, and it looks like a very wide cross passageway that is in ruins.

[BuckGodot]

Aasgar steps forward into the passageway, trying to make enough room for everyone to enter and fan out.

[lostsole31]

The group steps out and clumps in a 10-foot-wide passageway traveling east-west.

To the east, Aasgar sees part of a ruined hall, but doesn't have that much detail right now. There are a set of double doors to the west, and another set of double doors to the south, just west of the party.

What do you do?

[BuckGodot]

"Let's secure the open area first and then double back to the doors. Agreed?"

If everyone agrees, Aasgar steps east to look at the open hall.

[lostsole31]

Abenor will move with Aasgar in front, with Cici and Imrijka mostly behind.

Looking through most of this area and south, the support walls and pillars that once connected the Plague House to the huge boulder behind it have burnt and crumbled in this ruined chamber, revealing nearly the entire face of the monolithic stone as well as much of the sky above. Jagged red runes have been painted onto the rock in long, broad strokes that reach from top to bottom. A cabinet on the southeast wall and a tall bookcase against the northeastern wall are all that remain of the room’s furnishings.

What do you do?

[BuckGodot]

After a quick cursory investigation of the bookcase and cabinet, where doesn't expect to find anything, he'll look at the runes more closely.

[lostsole31]

Aasgar doesn't expect to find anything, but does! An abandoned hopeknife sits in plain sight on one of the shelves in the bookcase to the northeast. Its blade bears the inscription, “For Rodrik, my love.” This is the hopeknife that Brinya originally gave to Rodrik, but it seems that he misplaced it here.

Cici will take the hopeknife, promising that it is too be returned to Brinya after Kurst sees it as the evidence it is.

In addition, Aasgar spots “R + B” carved on a support beam near the bookshelf—a possible lingering reminder of the last time Rodrik and Brinya met in the Plague House to share their love.

Surprise Round ...

S25: No sooner does Aasgar hand the knife to Cici, then he sees the reflection of something in that knife towards the ceiling above him. Too late, though, as it moves far faster than himself! Something ugly and hair bites him in his left cheek for 5 DDP.

S7: Aasgar, roll a Fort save vs. poison! This is a surprise round, so you may then respond. Your axe is in your offhand (no action to put two hands on), and while you may make FAs/SwA freely, you may take only a MA or a SA. What do you do?

[BuckGodot]

Aasgar brings both hands to his axe and swings at the bug...

Spoiler: Technical Information

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Attack using Risky Strike FF: (1d20+10)[30]

Damage: (1d12+17)[26]

[BuckGodot]

Spoiler: Crit Check

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Crit severity: [roll]1d20[/roll]
Possible crit bonus damage: (3d6)[14]

[BuckGodot]

Spoiler: Reroll Crit severity check

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Oops. Typed a \ instead of a /.

(1d20)[1]

[lostsole31]

S7: Aasgar brings both hands to his axe and swings at the bug, hewing mightily for 29! And yet, it still lives...

Spoiler: Maneuver

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Rising zenith strike gained.

Begin Round One ...

R1T25: The spider bites again, hitting Aasgar's armor hard, but not penetrating.

R1T23: Abenor begins giving tactical advice as he steps forward with his long-armed stance. He quick draws his shorter blade and ALSO crits, this time killing the spider.

Combat Ends ...

Abenor cleans the goo off of his wakizashi and then takes the spider off the furniture, moving it to the side, even as the pain of the bite hits Aasgar for 5.

[BuckGodot]

"Ouch. Thanks, Abenor." and he cleans his axe as best he can. Aasgar resumes his search and then branches out to the room.

[lostsole31]

Aasgar's "spreading out" naturally takes him to where he was first interested - the large runes. The runes painted on the rock (which Cici can tell you that older Trunauans sometimes refer to as the “Freestone”) spell out the name “Skreed” in Orc.

[BuckGodot]

"Hmmm... I wonder what that name could mean?" mutters Aasgar. Do the runes look newish?

[lostsole31]

Aasgar has no idea, but calling Abenor and Imrijka over, they each say that these "runes" (more like graffiti with paint) can't be more than a couple days old.

[BuckGodot]

Looking closer, he will ask Cici if it seems to be the same compound as the other paint?

[lostsole31]

She shakes her head. "No. In fact, where alchemical dye marker is expensive, this is like a cheap war paint."

[BuckGodot]

Hmmm. Okay... Could the orcs be planning something? Let's keep at it."he says and then looks around the rest of the room.

[lostsole31]

Abenor finds something. The bookcase contains a false back. The small cubby behind the false back holds an ornate gold coffer studded with numerous gems. He opens it, but it's empty. Still, it looks like it might be worth something.

Imrijka is digging a little deeper. She pushes aside the rotted boards in the cabinet to the southeast to reveal two iron flasks filled with odd fluid; a beat up steel scroll case with three parchments with strange writing on it; and two flasks of Iomedaean holy water.

All of these things seem to have been placed here some time ago, not recently deposited.

The group begins to look carefully at what there is. Abenor appraises the gem-studded gold coffer to be a valued at 250 gp. Cici determines that the first iron flask contains oil of magic weapon. The other potion of shield of faith. Neither Imrijka nor Cici have have read magic known (for Imrijka) or prepared (for Cici), so the scrolls will have to be looked at later.

This was the main part of the Ruined Hall, but Aasgar looks north. The wooden staircase here that once led to the upper story has all but crumbled to ashes. The northern wall has collapsed, and the floor underneath has sunk entirely, leaving a dark, gaping hole in the ground surrounded by rubble. A single door exits the room to the northeast.

[BuckGodot]

"Let's head back and check the doors in the hall before we do any doors here." and if everyone is amenable, he heads back west to look at the double doors to the south.

[lostsole31]

Okay, you are at the double doors.

[BuckGodot]

Axe at the ready, he glances back at the others and opens the doors.

[lostsole31]

He and Abenor both open the doors at the same time...

Two rows of scorched, wrought-iron bedframes take up most of the space in this soaring chamber, resting between a fire-blackened altar to the southwest and double doors to the northeast. A second set of double doors is the set you both just opened, and a single iron door exits the chamber to the southeast. Brightly colored holy figures stare down from the stained-glass windows built into the blackened stone walls, their visages noticeably less damaged than the rest of the room.

[BuckGodot]

Aasgar steps in to allow the others to follow and begins a thorough search of the room.

[lostsole31]

The vaulted ceiling is 25' high in this room. You and Abenor search the western section first, and then down the northern aisle to the double doors before then carefully moving down the middle isle. Imrijka stays at the norther double doors, and then Cici peels off to guard the eastern double doors. This is a "thorough" check, so this alone takes several minutes.

Abenor sniffs the air, saying, "I smell the stench of burning flesh. It wasn't here a minute ago."

Suddenly, the burnt corpses of plague victims appear on the bedframes, sitting straight up and screaming, their mouth full of fire and ashes!

Aasgar, roll a Will saving throw!

[lostsole31]

None of the working-on-their-title-as-"heroes" are scared, but everyone does deal with the sudden shock. As quickly as they showed, the vision of the burning plague victims goes away.

Imrijka says, "That was a haunt. Not intrinsically dangerous, but scary. The magic to permanently put it to rest is beyond us, but we do have to be aware of another "eruption" in the future. Such haunts, when you move into the trigger area ... like that central isle, probably ... reset after an hour."

The party will find two primary things. First, over the years, occasional visitors to the Plague House—especially young Trunauan couples—have accidentally left behind belongings in the ruins. Searching through the ashes of furniture and in the corners of the room turns up a small haul of ornamental valuables, including an ornate hopeknife (worth 350 gp, a little more than standard), a heart-shaped gold locket (worth 25 gp), and 32 pieces of silver.

The next thing you find is under one of the beds by the area where the haunt appeared, there is a what appears to be a trap door.

[BuckGodot]

"I don't think there is much more on this level to secure... Unless anyone has objections, shall we head down?" Aasgar asks.

[lostsole31]

The rest of the group is fine with that, looking at Aasgar expectantly to open the trap door.

[BuckGodot]

Aasgar sighs and moves the cot out of the way and giving the door a look over, he opens it.