Golden light spilled forth from Allessandra's holy symbol, like the sunrise it represented. The zombies squinted against its glare and withstood its force, but the skeletons weren't so strong. They threw their bony arms up to pointlessly fend it off, and shield eyes that they did not have. Beneath the burning light, the skeletons screamed, a dry death-rattle, and collapsed into a pile of old bones.

Last Round & Round 2:

No map now, I'll update that when the zombies take their actions, probably tomorrow.

Locations:

E8 - Jorn
G7 - Gurgun
H7 - Zombie 1, prone
C10 - Zombie 2, with fancy sword

Skeletons are destroyed.

Initiative: green means go
16 - Authiel
25 - Slove
23 - Elf Skeletons
19 - Hobgoblin Zombies
16 - Authiel
11 - Gurgun
10 - Jorn
 9 - Iodaem
 7 - Allessandra


OOC: Authiel hasn't yet had her turn from Round 1, so she can still take it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:46, Thu 12 June 2008.

Realizing that she didn't need to take care of the archers, Authiel quickly changed her mind and cast a more powerful but less certain spell, once she couldn't be sure would hit, but she figured that since zombies were so slow she had a pretty good chance.  And this spell had the potential to hurt a whole lot more.  Aiming at the one nearest Iodaem, whom she temporarily moved in front of by a ways to better steady herself and aim, Authiel quickly recited her spell, and bolts of flame sprang forth from the fingers of her right hand.

[Private to GM: Ranged Touch Attack.  No Save.  Scorching Ray.
23:04, Today: Authiel Hannasiel rolled 20 using 4d6+4. Damage.
23:04, Today: Authiel Hannasiel rolled 17 using 4d6+4. Damage.
23:04, Today: Authiel Hannasiel rolled 16 using 1d20+4. Ranged Touch Attack (including -2/plane).
23:04, Today: Authiel Hannasiel rolled 17 using 1d20+4. Ranged Touch Attack (including -2/plane). ]

The flaming bolts struck the zombies, and dry flesh ignited. Immolated, the zombies staggered around with coats of fire, before they collapsed onto the glass floor, as ashy husks. The stench of burning meat filled the room.


OOC: Combat is over. XP coming next.

The adventurers fanned out into the room, taking the time to be careful over the slippery floor.

The hobgoblins had their basic gear, and a few coins, but one was much more impressively equipped. The glowing green longsword was fashioned in elven design, with leaves decorating its pommel, cross-guard and part of the blade. It might have come from the statue out in the foyer. The blade itself wasn't metal, but glass like the rest of this strange citadel. It glowed a soft green, like light through a forest glade. A flowing elven phrase ran down its length.

Of the skeletons, they had only bows, but one had its own odd treasure - A short silver chain was wrapped around a few of its ribs.

Two doors led out of the chamber, both to the east (for lack of a better word) and closed. A bloody smear on the floor trailed to one of them.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:04, Fri 13 June 2008.

Gurgun looks appreciatively at the damage wrought by Authiel's spell. Impressive... most impressive!
Moving quickly across the slippery floor with practiced ease Gurgun takes a good look at the glowing sword, then turns his interest to the silver chain. Pretty sword, but I don't really know how to use it. This looks like an amulet of sorts, any idea what it could be? he asks the priestess, keeping a wary eye on the two doors.

Allessandra looks the amulet over, utters a few divine words, her eyes begin to glow from within her iris, she can now see the auras of any magics active in the room. She inspects the amulet and the long sword for clues as to their capabilities.

[Private to GM: () indicate expended
0th level: Read Magic, Read Magic, Detect Magic, (Detect Magic)
1st level: Bless, Obscuring Mist, Resurgence
2nd Level: Bull's Strength, (Spiritual Weapon)
Granted Spells:
Lvl 1: Endure Elements
Lvl 2: Heat Metal

Granted Spells:
Lvl 1: Protection from Evil
Lvl 2: Aid]

Allessandra was surprised to see the entire building light up with a faint aura of magic, due to the enchanted glass and fairy lights that illuminated the rooms and buildings. It took her a little while to filter that out and get a proper look at the treasure.

To everyone's disappointment, the silver chain wasn't magical at all. Yet it had an odd significance. It wasn't everyday that one saw a skeleton wearing jewelery, especially tangled up in its rib cage.

But the sword was magical, displaying both the schools of evocation and divination magic, both faintly. The evocation was no doubt due to being an enchanted weapon, and one that glowed. But the divination was unusual.


OOC: It's just a plain short silver chain, not an amulet or pendant of any kind.

I'm assuming that everyone's too cautious to pick something up yet. More information will come as you experiment and decide to take a closer look.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:47, Fri 13 June 2008.

OOC: Ah, but tied to a rib... it could still have some spiritual or other significance. I meant amulet in a non-metagaming sense ;-)

"I can't determine what auras there are, but the long sword is clearly magical. The amulet is just jewelry."


23:45, Today: Allessandra rolled 16 using 1d20+7. knowledge religion on amulet or amulet placement on skeleton

Allessandra couldn't be sure, but she'd heard of some religions that practiced unusual methods of treating their dead. One in particular involved taking the bones of the deceased for storage in an ossuary or crypt. Either this would be long after the flesh had rotted off, or after being burnt in a pyre, or performed much quicker using the process of maceration, wherein the flesh was boiled off in cooking pots. Some monstrous races ate the resulting stew, but she doubted it had happened here, or she really hoped it hadn't. It was the most effective means of keeping the bones clean, but the practice had almost died out in most civilizations due to the universal sense of revulsion people had to it.

By whatever means they were obtained, the bones were then collected into a bundle, and sometimes tied with string, ribbon or decorative chains to hold them together. The bundles would then be stored as required, either in a box or alcove in an ossuary or crypt.

This was just her best guess, of course. She'd have to know much more about the ancient star elves and their practices to be sure. But the bones of the skeletons were really quite clean and white...
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:47, Fri 13 June 2008.

These are just mindless pawns; who controls them... or what...? Gurgun asks sweeping an arm across the room designating the fallen undead.

He then points a thumb at the doors; So, the door with the bloody trail or the clean one? Gurgun is curious to find out what has been dragged this far.

Sheathing his own blade, Iodaem kneeled down to pick up the green-glowing blade, inspecting it carefully.  "Made of glass...  interesting," he mumbled, and gripped it tightly.

Though the blade was glass, it seemed to be as strong and as sharp any normal steel, though much lighter. Swinging it about was smooth and easy. The blade was translucent, almost transparent. Carved into the blade was flowing Elven script - Elf-friend. Iodaem barely knew a word of Elven, and yet somehow he could read it perfectly.

"Elf-friend...?" Iodaem whispered, and turned towards Authiel, showing her the script he had somehow read, to make sure it was correct.  She'd been teaching him a bit of elven, but he'd yet to pick up much - and so, he was surprised to find that he could understand this.

"Yes, Iodaem," Authiel said with a sweet smile before pronouncing it for him in elven to reinforce her lessons.  The pretty elf looked at the sword admiringly.  "It is beautiful," she whispered, running a finger lightly along the blunt edge of the blade.  "Anyone would be lucky to carry and use such a weapon."

"I...  I understand.  It must be magic, then," Iodaem whispered, offering Authiel a soft smile.  "Elf-friend...  I assume that this was not the weapon of an elf, then, but of someone close to one?" he suggested, looking at Authiel for confirmation.

"I would assume so, yes," Authiel confirmed, smiling up at Iodaem again before she went back to admiring the design.

"Then I think it is appropriate for me to take it," Iodaem replied with a nod.


OOC:  Is there a sheath for the blade on the dead body?  :p

Authiel smiled again and nodded in complete agreement as her eyes misted over with bittersweet tears.  Iodaem had nearly given his life to try and save her sister, and since they had found each other, Iodaem had done nothing but protect and care for Authiel as well.  If ever anybody had been an elf-friend, it was him in Authiel's opinion.

As the group look round the room Slove stays still and waits with his bow ready.
It clear the ranger feels that his first role is to wait ready with bow while other look place over.
He does take some interest in the sword taking in all that said.
At one point he look at Authiel Hannasiel then Iodaem and back to the elf.  Slove really can't made head or tail of the relationship and decides best just let it go.
He looks at Authiel and give her a shrug of his shoulders.
If the sword says Elf-Friend then must be gift so does not have problems with items being in human hand.  He does not see why she should not choose it next over.
He speaks again in elvish.
[Private to Authiel Hannasiel: We have much cleaning up to do to return this place to it former glory but for now we must still be careful.]

Jorn paid minimal attention to the treasures that had been gathered, instead making his way carefully across the slippery floor to the beetle. He steadied it as it rose and said, "My thanks for coming at my call.  Go in peace."

As the beetle faded from sight, returning to wherever it had come from, he turned back to Gurgun and answered the hobgoblin's question. "I'd say we follow the drag marks.  It's more likely to get us in trouble, but it's also more likely to get us answers about what's going on here."

Gurgun grins: Me like your way of thinking!

After giving Iodaem yet another smile, a very meaningful one, Authiel rested her hand on his and gave it a soft squeeze before leaving him alone to speak with Slove.  She walked over to the other elf, her sorrow at the death and destruction obvious.  [Private to Slove: "Yes, much work.  I will be proud to work with you and the others, hopefully, to do so.  And Slove, I hope you do not mind that I am kind of giving that sword to Iodaem.  I know I have no more right to it than you, and it is a long story, but Iodaem...  he deserves it more than any other I could possibly think of..."  Authiel's quiet words choked up, and it appeared she could not go on.  Clearly there was something very special that had occurred between her and the pale human.]

A simple hobgoblin-make scabbard would do for the sword. There didn't appear to be a proper one that came with Elffriend, but they recalled that the glass statue in the foyer might have had one.

The bloody trail was quite a ghastly sight, as Slove checked it over. A body, probably a freshly slain orc or hobgoblin, had been quite badly injured, possibly mutilated. Then something had dragged it across the floor. Drag, stop, drag, stop. It had been small, ground-level. But with the blood, ichor and running water, determining what it was was impossible.

Before the blood trail disappeared under the door, an awful left-over was found. A strip of peeled off skin, jammed under the door.

Are we ready? Gurgun asks, moving towards the closed door.