It takes some effort to bring all that water in, but with the cistern's room is setup so all fluid spilled into the room will drip down into the pool. You just to need to bless it.

OOC: Make your rolls for any spells you want to cast!

Russel is happy to grab a bucket and help haul water.

Idi looks thoughtful at the new suggestions. "I could put a blessing of Sanctuary on the place, although what good it'll do... Well who knows. It will make this a consecrated space, good for healing and peace; ill intentions will stand out immediately. It doesn't normally drive out evil, but I couldn't hurt. Perhaps in conjunction with the holy water..." He walks around the room, praying and setting up the Sanctuary, while Spriggy prepares the buckets. Once the water is ready, Idi holds what water he reasonably can and blesses it.


Idi rolled 11 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 5,3.  Cast a Spell - Sanctuary.
I'd happily use "empower" to double the effects, but I don't know that it would do anything for the circumstances (I guess any healing done would have double the bonus)?

Idi rolled 11 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 2,6.  Cast a Spell - Sanctify (holy water).
I imagine, realistically, Idi could maybe hold one of those buckets while he casts a spell?

Once the first pail of water is blessed, you start to pour it into the cistern. You keep as far as you can from the smoke rising from the pit, but it fills quickly fills the room until you're forced to head back out.

Once it clears up, you can see the amount of noxious fluid has clearly gone down. There also seems to be less red slime than before.

Sir Gorrid worked on pouring in the second bucket, then headed up the stairs, waiting for the air to clear

Spriggy watched with curiosity and helped with gathering more water where he could. There was little he could contribute at he moment, and so he simply observed. "It seems like it may be working," he commented.

You pour a few more buckets, only for the last bucket of holy water to do almost nothing. Looking into the pit, you don't see anymore of the red fluid below. The slime has turned a gray-black color, and no longer shivers.

"Perhaps we should fill the well with holy water as a source, to feed into any surrounding tainted groundwater. If we want to be thorough." Buck says after inspecting the stone structure in the floor.

"And perhaps Spriggy could take to the air and find the source pond from Idi's vision?" he adds, his gaze settling on the bard.

"It would be my pleasure. I will be back shortly." The bard returned outside and focused on the form of a vulture. Black feathers etched themselves across his skin before emerging like flower petals in bloom. The hair on his head was slurped back into his head like they were strands of spaghetti. His legs shortened and narrowed until they were stick-like with clawed toes. And he could literally feel the bones in his body become hollowed out.

With his lips hardening into a powerful beak, the transformation was complete. Spriggy pumped his wings and took to the air. He did his best to search for the body of water from Idi's vision. And sadly, he figured the vulture's ability to smell death might help aid his search.

---

13:39, Today: Spriggy Glompgut rolled 9 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 2,6.  Shapeshifter - to vulture.

The paladin muttered a short prayer again, scanning the room to see how much of an evil tinge remained.

With Spriggy setting off and Sir Gorrid in prayer, Buck poses a question to Russel and Idi;

"Is it foolish to think the evil performed here has crumbled along with this aged tower?"

The druid is of the opinion that someone (or something) bent on such experimenting or evil alchemy is unlikely to be deterred by merely having to change venues.

Considering the question, Russel said, "Can we tell if the pool was fresh created or had been here for ages?"
"I would think that if it had been here for ages, and the leaking just started, then whoever created it is long gone. From this area anyway."

"If they were just testing a theory and have moved once sure of success, I would think a city would be the next place it was done."

The evil of this place seems to have faded, dropping for a cloying stench down to a displeasing, lingering feeling. It will fade over time, just making the place unpleasant for anyone staying here.

There's little to identify who this tower belonged to, but you can guess a few things. First, they haven't come here in a very long time, likely longer than any of you have been alive. Second, they didn't plan on leaving. There's just too much material left here. Third, their research is extremely specific and unusual. If anyone knew of it, it wouldn't just be in a city, it would have to be a wizard's college, and even then they would be unlikely to know much about it.

Flying over the area, Spriggy does spot a pond that seems tainted. At least, judging by the red-tinged plants surrounding it. It's much more diffused than the plants surrounding the tower, though.

Spriggy returned to the others to reveal his findings. After reverting to his natural form, he said, "I think I found the place. I'll lead you to it." After waiting for anyone to perform any final tasks at the busted building, he would do exactly that.

Idi ponders for a minute before answering Buckthorn's question. "I think Russel's right, whoever originally did this hasn't been back in a long, long time. I don't even know if evil was their purpose, or just their... method. A by-product. It reeks of wizard-work honestly, which is all a little beyond me." He shrugs, and takes another look around the place. "If we want to know more I suppose we can gather what's left--that can be moved, safely--and ask some wizards about it." He pokes through the remnants of the notes and research again, taking a few likely scraps in the hope that someone somewhere might have some insight. When Spriggy returns with info though, he's ready to leave the place behind.


I don't remember if this got answered, but do the bones and remnants in the place count as a "corpse"? For the purposes of a Speak With Dead spell.

OOC: I'd have to say no. We're talking about mixed bones that have stayed there for hundreds of years, so I can't really see any way they could really be questioned with Speak With Dead.

"I want to give these bones a proper burial, but agree we should take care of the contaminated pond first.". He waited for someone to lead the way.

Spriggy led the way.

Russel took up his normal position near the cart as everyone began to move.

Thankfully, as the bones all belong to orcs, it's simple enough to give them their preferred burial: a pyre. As Gorrid is well aware, the orcs consider having their remains burned to be the most honorable way to be laid to rest. You're not sure how historically accurate it is, but it's supposed to be related to an ancient war between orcs and dragons.

It's just a short trip to the pond, settled in a bit of a dip in the area. There's clearly signs that the local fauna uses this as a watering hole, but there's very few recent tracks.

The volume of water they were looking at here was significantly more than what they'd faced in the ruin, however the anger was theoretically less concentrated.

"So I guess we scoop up buckets of the water, bless them and dump them back in a few times until we stop seeing a reaction?"

Unless anyone else had a better idea, the paladin set about doing precisely that.

Shortly after arriving at the pond, Buckthorn wanders off just out of sight into the tainted plants surrounding the water. He sits on the ground and takes stock of how the evil has changed the life around the watering hole, placing a finger in the dirt he draws a circle around himself then closes his eyes and breathes deeply.

As Gorrid steps closer to the pond, Buckthorn shouts a warning, moments before the water rises up, taking the form of a watery owlbear, howling in anger.

As the watery owlbear rose from the water, Spriggy drew his weapon and took up a defensive stance. With concern, he asked, "Buckthorn, what are we looking at here? Can we just throw a bucket of holy water at it?" Spriggy knew a lot about a lot, but this specific phenomenon seemed to bee more in Buckthorn's wheelhouse.

Do I have a bucket of holy water yet, or was I just collecting a bucket of contaminated water to bless?