The Tainted Flesh (IC)

[Admiral Squish]

The first strike catches the old man in the gut, but the second is moving too fast to re-target as he collapses, glancing harmlessly off his shoulder.

Ilrecc turns his attention to the older gentleman, staying carefully out of the reach of the undead beast as he pours holy energy into his elderly frame.

Spoiler

Show

Healzorz!
(2d8+6)[16]

Ducks:

Spoiler

Show

As your consciousness returns, you can feel a deep, burning pain in your arms and legs, even as the cleric's magic draws torn flesh together, though it recedes quickly.

[Meat Shield]

Tosk

"Why! Won't! You! Just! Die!" <pause> "AGAIN!!!!" The ogre brings his flail around one more time, trying to put a hole through the skeleton's chest the size of a pie pan.

Spoiler

Show

Power attack for 2
Attack flail (1d20+12)[20]
Damage (2d8+19)[32]

[GrassyGnoll]

Aldan

Jolted by his slipping in and out of consciousness, Aldan gives a hacking, bloody cough. The major scrambles to recover his balance and push his shield out between himself and his undead assailant. Aldan spies Tosk's wide wind-up for his swing and tucks in.

"Hey ugly!"

The old Karrn throws himself into a tackle against the skeleton's pivoting hip. He throws his arms out to catch its buckling legs and hold them still.

Spoiler

Show

Aid Another against AC 10, Aldan makes that automatically and boosts Tosk's attack to 22.

If TRM would care to note. Multiple uses of Aid Another stack.

[Admiral Squish]

As the skeleton starts to shift and dodge out of the way of Tosk's flail, the aged paladin throws himself in an unexpected tackle, and the creature hesitates for that crucial instant. It's empty sockets lock onto Aldan's eysy and it airily breathes out. "Always remember..." It hisses, just before tosk's flail caves in it's chest plate, the momentum tearing the upper half of the skeleton from it's legs, still held by the paladin. The warped metal of the half-plate chest clings to the mace head, the skeletal body dangling like a macabre trophy, limp and lifeless.

[GrassyGnoll]

Aldan

Aldan breaks his fall with a drawn in elbow. The taxed limb flares in pain as it gives way and drops him to the dusty floor. His recalcitrant cough returns with a fury as the old man rolls over onto his back.

"Don't just stand there," he gasps between haggard breaths. Aldan holds out his other arm expectantly.

[Meat Shield]

Tosk

The ogre grins evilly as he watches the skeleton's torso impact the far wall. "Gods I hate the undead...."

Never the swiftest of wit, it takes him a few moments to switch from battle-mode and notice Aldan is still down. "It's OK, Gramps. I got 'em!" as he gingerly reaches down and helps up the aged paladin, surprisingly gentle for one his size.

[GrassyGnoll]

Aldan

Aldan's legs flail around in search of the ground as he throws his weight against Tosk's forearm. The old man stands weary as he examines the severed body of his quarry. Aldan blindly gropes down the cuff of the undead's half-plate, fishing for a dog tag.

"Get me a barrel and a broom, altar boy," the major barks unceremoniously. He clears his throat and rasps a begrudging, "Thanks."

[Admiral Squish]

Ilrecc scowls. "How vast your gratitude to the man who saved your life, old man..." He mutters as he moves over and begins patching up Tosk with his magic, his body still caked in zombie-grime. "Get them yourself, I need to try and patch up all these wounds before something else comes from behind and tries to bash all our brains in."

The corpse of the skeleton lays strewn across the floor, it's spear laying idle in the dust, still soaked in the old man's blood. Something glitters near the tip of the weapon.

[GrassyGnoll]

Aldan

Coolly regarding the priest's insubordination, Aldan lays a supporting hand on his ribs and leans down to inspect the spear and its gleam.

"Well if we're going to all pat ourselves on the back now," he sniffs caustically, "You did your job, congratulations."

[Meat Shield]

Tosk

"Yeah, you be nice ta Gramps! He's old n' stuff!"

[TRM]

Silver

After heroically helping to bring down the skeleton, Silver pauses to catch his breath. He looks at his companions, both considerably more battered than he is, and then scans the room.

"Are we going to have this much difficulty moving through every chamber?" he asks. His voice cracks, parched from exertion, and he grabs the water skin tied to his hip and sips it quickly. "Because perhaps we need to reevaluate our strategy to avoid further bloodshed. Grandfather Karrn, you are our expert. We need to finish this mission quickly, and get out before we are overwhelmed by the undead."

[GrassyGnoll]

Aldan

"The walls are crumbling, we have an ogre, you figure it out," Aldan grumbles.

[Meat Shield]

Tosk

The ogre was flicking bits of rotten flesh off his flail when the aged paladin made his last comment. "Ahroo?" the ogre said as he turned his head towards the others, sure he was being talked about, yet not entirely understanding.

[Admiral Squish]

The spear is largely soaked in your blood, but near the tip you can see a fine chain wrapped around the haft of the weapon, and a set of blood-soaked tags dangling from that chain. The spear itself looks quite well-made, deep black and sleek from the tip to the butt.

[GrassyGnoll]

"They don't make them like that often," he observes, "Sturdy, well-set, most of the bones were his own. He had a clean death."

Aldan pulls the haft of the spear out of it's crevice. With a clerical finesse, he draws the chain up until the tags are in reach and light enough to be legible.

[Admiral Squish]

Aldan

Spoiler

Show

As your fingers close around the spear, you can feel a wave of energy slide up your arm. Suddenly, you know the nature of the weapon.

The Spear of Lies is imbued with innate illusory and transmutation effects with a number of uses.

You can spend 30 seconds concentrating to turn the spear into a black ring, which appears on your finger. It can be turned back by 'drawing' it.

By turning the spear's tip down and uttering a command word (standard action), the spear becomes an unremarkable walking stick, and can be returned to normal by 'drawing' it.

The spear registers as nonmagical to a detect magic spell.

3/day, the spear can turn invisible with a brief thought (Move action), which lasts one minute, or until it strikes an enemy. A foe is treated as flat-footed against an attack made with the spear while it is invisible.

[GrassyGnoll]

Aldan scrapes the back of the armor's empty socket with his spear attempting to hook the mysterious chain.

"Is sifting through the dead another job too base for kids these days?" his murmured misgivings grow louder, "Am I the only one who wants to escape this tinderbox?"

Spoiler

Show

What's the enchantment bonus?

[Meat Shield]

Tosk

"So nows what, Illrec? We's got more skulls to crack, or can we blow it all up yet?"

[Admiral Squish]

Aldan:

Spoiler

Show

The tags give you the name and rank of an enlisted squad commander, but strangely, they lack the proper identification marks for an undead soldier.

OOC: Give me a spot check, would you?

Ilrecc continued casting his healing spells to bring the warriors back to peak, panting softly by the time he was done. "As far as I can tell, we just need to double back and get all the sites we missed, and we'll be done here." He explained. "I don't see any passages we haven't been down already."

[GrassyGnoll]

Aldan squints over the dog tags. He nods absently at Ilrecc's orders.

"Hmm, yeah," he grumbles, "Just as long as we rubble this tinderbox quick."

Spoiler

Show

Spot: (1d20+10)[18]

[Admiral Squish]

Ilrecc reached into his pouch and produced one of the spheres, planting the orb in the corner of the room with a satisfied nod. "Alright, then. Let's go back and plant the last of them." He said, and started off with a determined stride out the door.

About ten minutes later, the task was done, and the four stood outside their improvised entrance. Ilrecc had picked up one of the intact zombie-worg collars that seemed somewhat magical while he was setting a charge in the far corner of the courtyard. He breifly looked to a small plate in the pouch at his hip. "The timer says we still have fifteen minutes or so before the charges go off. Do you guys wish to stick around and watch, or are we just going to head back to Flamekeep?" Ilrecc said, looking at each of them in turn.

[Meat Shield]

Tosk

The ogre leads them out of the ruined fortress, and sits down on the top of the small berm outside, laying his flail across his lap. "I did all dis werk; I'm gonna enjoy da show before I get outta here!"

[GrassyGnoll]

"Neither."

Aldan sizes up his cohorts with a level glare and continues.

"I've seen enough crumbling forts already and her Holy Prepubescence has already told us we're beyond her care. Up north, past town and across the lake is the border and a fine road to start a trek to the Tower of the Twelve."

[Admiral Squish]

Ilrecc takes a deep breath and turns to the elderly paladin, his teeth gritted. "Perhaps I failed to make myself clear. After I see this tainted fort leveled, I will be taking that ship back up the river to Flamekeep. You can come, if you so wish. However, this ship in not yours, and I am not your soldier." Ilrecc spelled out quite clearly. "I will have no more to do with you from here out. You can swim your way up the river for all I care." He added, before tromping off towards the water again.