Zertin nods thoughtfully at Ashlyn's comments. Something to think about later. Just now it looks like there are other matters to be dealt with first.

"Some undead stink worse than others, don't they Q? Ghouls and ghasts in particular, if I recall correctly."

He stays well back (at least 20ft) from the suspiciously malodorous grave, with his favourite wand in hand ready to blast anything that might suddenly emerge.

"Most of the cemetery is clean now, but that grave... " the paladin indicates the one with the skewed marker, "That one is still tainted by something."

Caesius steps forward, closer to the partly opened grave.  His sword and shield are held ready as he peers into the opening.  "I believe there is something down there.  Something that must be destroyed."

Saeko's nose wrinkles, but it is clearly a reaction to the stench itself, and not the prospect of walking into it.  She glances at Zertin, nodding.  "And younger vampires, if they refuse to bathe," she adds.

Zertin chuckles softly at Saeko's joke about young vampires and bows his head to her.

"Shall we surround it, with weapons ready, then wrench that gravestone out of the way?"

"I have rope, but I wouldn't want to have to go close enough to tie the rope to that gravestone. Does anyone have a grappling hook?" he asks, speaking softly.

"Yes it does smell bad."  Qvar turns out his pockets (a few crumbs and bird seeds) and shakes his head at Zertin with an apologetic smile.  He moves closer to stand with Caesius next to the opened grave.  He readies his staff and raps it twice on the skewed tombstone.

Zertin chuckles softly as a childhood memory comes back to him.

"Who's there?" he calls softly to his brother.

Caesius smiles.  If only good humour were enough to drive out the world's evils, then Zertin and Qvar would be true champions of righteousness.  Sadly that is not the case, but the paladin is glad that the pair keep trying.

"I have no grappling hook, but I do have a crowbar in my pack."

"No one..." Qvar grins back at Zed.

Zertin grins back.

"No one who?"

Violet studies the hole with trepidation.  She shoots brief, disbelieving glances at the others as they banter; the stench, for her, holds no humor.  Nor does the hole.  If more of the un-dying lie within that place...  Perhaps those with whom she now travels whistle in a graveyard, and nearly literally?  Or perhaps such things are old hat to them, now.

But she knows what sort of work this is: a simple thing, one better suited to one who is neither mighty warrior nor blasphemous sorcerer.

"Best that you all be ready to fight," Violet murmurs before turning to Zertin.  "If you grant me your rope, I'll tie it off."  The young woman holds out one hand.  "I'll just slip up on the other side from the hole."

Zertin frowns but fetches his rope out of his backpack and hands it to Violet.

"Allow me to give you Protection from Evil, as well," he adds. "Better safe than sorry, as my Mother always used to say."

Zertin will hold Violet's hand and cast that spell upon her unless she refuses outright.

"Caesius, thank you, but I think we would prefer to see a sword in your hand rather than a crowbar, this time."

The stench is bad enough, but Caesius confirms the speculations that something evil lurks below ...

Even as he jokes with Qvar and Saeko, Zertin casts a warding spell upon Violet before the young woman approaches the grave with caution, tying off the rope the wizard produces around the headstone before backing away.

Between you, there are enough strong backs that the pulling aside of the stone is but a small matter ... and doing so reveals no grave, but a rough-hewn tunnel, barely six feet wide, leading down into the earth.

It takes no great skill to tell that the tunnel was burrowed with clawed hands and feet.

Protection from evil?  What sort of sorcery was this?  Shuddering slightly, Violet manages to hold steady, but it's a near thing; the mage's hand is akin to a tarantula approaching her, and her skin crawls as the magic touches her body.  Somehow, she manages not to flee.  Qvar holds no rancor against his brother, and Zertin has tried to help them (even if he uses sorcery to do so).

It's a relief when he finishes, though Violet wonders if the touch of magic has stained her soul.  But...she's already in Hell, does it matter?  If I want to get out of here, it might.  Too late, that thought; rather than speak it, the young woman nods in agreement with Zertin's assessment of where he'd rather have Caesius's hands -- sword hilt, indeed.

From there, it's a careful walk to the stone, a quick loop and knot about it, and back to the others, where strength proves the victor over the sodden ground.  And the fallen stone reveals...

Violet's stomach rolls over.  Wonderful.

"Lantern," she mutters, delving into her pack and coming out with said tool.  The young woman carefully pours in a small amount of oil; then, with deft use of flint and steel, she ignites the wick. Light spills out, adding to Qvar's holy aura.

"Now we see the nest of evil." Caesius growls, glaring at the tunnel mouth, Razor clutched in his fist.

"There are creatures of weal that dwell beneath the earth in some places, but I would wager that this is not one of those places, and that the denizens of this pit are of a darker sort."

"No one you'd invite home to meet Mum."  Qvar finishes with an apologetic grin to Zertin for the lame finish.

He smiles at Violet bravely preparing to enter the pit.  "Pull three times if you want us to pull you up ... or just scream if we should pull fast."

He sniffs the pit thoughtfully, trying to discern what type of creature made the tunnel based on the stench and claw marks.  He does not seem overly disturbed at the smell.

"Q, that's no way to talk about your ghoul-friend!" Zertin shoots back at Qvar, grinning broadly.

He watches Violet's preparations, wand in hand, and moves to whatever position offers him the best view down the tunnel beneath the grave.

Violet's eyes shift to stare at Qvar as he quips, and for an instant they reflect terror.  One, two, three, they flick around the group, and comprehension dawns.  Oh.  Teey're expecting...they want...because of the lamp...

Oh.  But I...thought light...

Thoughts stutter and stagger to a halt.  The young woman offers a wan smile in response to the jest; it crosses her face like a limping fawn.  "Of course," she whispers hoarsely, fear's jagged teeth gnawing at her gullet.  Somehow she summons the will to still her quivering fingers as she approaches the yawing gullet before her.  Lamplight penetrates only so far, just enough to show the jagged teeth of stone and roots surrounding the throat before her.

Stooping, she takes up the rope with one hand.  The fibers slide between her fingers as Violet makes her way into the pit, face ashen and lamp held high, a useless talisman against whatever awaits.

"Oh!" Comprehension dawns on Qvar's face at seeing Violet's terror.  A wash of guilt momentarily dims his holy glow then spurs him over the lip and scrabbling down the hole with rope in hand to stand with her.  "Bravely done." he smiles reassuringly, then, letting go of the rope "Your healing touch in my hand, o' Shining One." he holds a golden glow in his right hand.

Examining the hole, Qvar confirms the thoughts of both Caesius and Zertin that the signs are all too clear - this tunnel was made by ghasts. 

Seeking to shine a light into that fell darkness, Violet finds herself somehow volunteered to brave the descent, fifteen or so feet, though the priest of Pelor swiftly steps up to accompany her, the two of them disappearing from sight as they follow the winding tunnel ...

"Ah, it seems to be deeper and more extensive than I had assumed," Zertin observes as Violent and Qvar disappear from sight.

"No point us all waiting out here then. One in, all in?" he asks even as he steps forward toward the hole.

OOC: Zertin is obviously about to follow V and Q into the hole but will let anyone else who wants to go ahead of him.

Moving closer to the hole, Caesius peers into the abyss,  By rights, he should have been first in.

But he is intelligent enough to realise that an armoured man is at a disadvantage in such a confined space.  Better to let an expert explore the tunnel first and ensure that there is room for him to function down there.

As Qvar and Violet move out of sight, the paladin's patience runs out.  He seizes the rope and makes to descend, giving Zertin a wry smile.  "Last one in is a bugbear."

Then he drops into the pit, intending to follow the scouts...

Light peals forth about her as Qvar adds his own presence to hers, and Violet feels her stomach roll over as he offers approbation.  Brave?  It doesn't feel that way.  Oh, she knows of the need for fear to overcome as a prerequisite for bravery, but it's only the expectations she had seen that forced her into this pit, the wishes of eyes upon her, not some surge of inner strength.  And now Qvar -- unarmored, with only the light of the god he worships for a weapon -- joins in, placing himself in danger as well.

Her guts are ice water within her.

Deeper dredges this throat into which she pads, finally opening into a surprisingly large stomach.  Violet puts out a hand, warning Qvar from continuing; this open space screams of 'lair' to her.  Behind them, a thud -- something heavy hits the damp-packed tunnel floor.  She hopes it is an armored ally; someone actually capable of protecting the holy man beside her.  Shaking her head, she raises her finger to her lips.

Bad enough that their light spills into this verminous place; better there be no sound until someone joins them.

Saeko looks Zertin over briefly.  "You should not be the end of the line," she decides.  "I will be the bugbear."  She follows Zertin after Qvar's fading light, faintly irritated with herself for having let Violet be so distantly separated again.

"Ghasts..."  Qvar whispers to Violet, seemingly untroubled by the stench.  "...the stronger type of flesh-eating ghoul, but we shouldn't have too much trouble with them."  He smiles reassuringly.  "They're cunning, probably hiding, waiting to pounce if we go in.  Don't let them get behind you."

He leaves Violet to keep watch and backtracks along the tunnel.  "Ghasts." he repeats in a whisper to Caesius, pressing his back against the earth wall to allow the paladin to pass him.  "I can't turn them." he informs the paladin sheepishly, "I've run out." At the shaft he beckons for the others to come down, waving with his golden-glowing right hand, then returns to the chamber behind Caesius.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:26, Sat 16 Nov 2019.

With a smile, and a nod to Qvar, Caesius continues along the tunnel, and into the chamber where Violet waits, moving as quietly as possible.  The stench brings a brief grimace of distaste, and he surveys the nest.

The paladin moves to stand closer to Violet, giving her a (hopefully) reassuring smile, before raising a finger before his lips.