"Our weapons won't work. We need to disrupt its magic!" Spriggy was not exactly sure how to do that, but a possible solution was already forming in his mind. If it was made of words, perhaps he could destroy it with words. Or at least weaken it.

The bard took note of the blasphemous chant it was uttering and quickly tried to patch together a counter-tune. Hopefully his opposing melodies would have some form of effect. Or at least buy their group some time to come up with another plan. "Maybe a countersong will help?" Spriggy belted out his tune as loudly as possible.

---

This seems like it might be a Defy Danger +Cha?
14:02, Today: Spriggy Glompgut rolled 6 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 2,2.  Defy Danger +Cha: countersong.
That is a fail unless someone can assist somehow. I'll add XP, but remove it again if someone does a successful Aid roll.

Istvan had a choice: He could walk toward this thing, and see if it backed away from him... or he could give up on the Turning, and try something else.

He decided to go with the latter.

The next step was to figure out what was even going on...

(15:09, Today: Istvan Vanoson rolled 7 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 4,1.  Discern realities: what the heck is this thing.

What is about to happen?)

Judging by the spell the creature is doing, it's still trying to animate every dead creatures in the area, and bring them here. The good news is that the wolves are too fragile to be animated again... but whatever else is in the mine will probably come around soon. And unfortunately, Spriggy's attempt at counter-spelling isn't working too well.

Kharla knew she was entirely out of her league.  She'd never had much experience with magic and the being she had unwittingly unleashed was shrugging off every mystic force her companions threw at it.  And she...all she had was her blades and her wits.

Somehow it would have to be enough.

The dagger which had shattered the skull was within reach.  She sent it flying toward the shadowy nightmare hoping it would interrupt its spell.


19:25, Today: Kharla rolled 10 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 4,4.  Volley.
✴ On a 10+, you have a clear shot—deal your damage.

19:27, Today: Kharla rolled 4 using 1d8 with rolls of 4.  Damage.

The blade spins through the air, through the creature's head, and through the room's exit and into the mine. You hear it fall to the ground, followed by a scrapping sound...

Spriggy looked around wildly as it became clear his countersong was not working. Drowning out the Word Demon's spell would not be enough of a disruption. For the moment the bard was at a loss for what to do. He quickly thought about what resources they had available to them for inspiration. There was the broken shrine, the rocks and things within the cave itself, some broken wolf bones, Spriggy's own gear which included his rapier and leather armor, adventuring gear, some rations, his songboo-

His songbook!

Spriggy quickly pulled his songbook out, flipped to one of its empty music pages, and began writing down the demon's words phonetically. He even used the note bar to indicate the pitch at which the Word Demon spoke its words. As he wrote the "words" of the demon's chant, Spriggy began chanting in unison, copying the Word Demon's spell as best he could.

If he couldn't counter the foe's incantation, perhaps he could claim it for his own! Luckily he had plenty of experience singing in a language he did not understand. Unfortunately the language he had experience with was much different than this one. He gestured for his companions to hopefully join in to possibly improve the power and harmony of his chant.

---

Spriggy is essentially trying to wrest control of the spell away from the word demon. If he can't stop the undead from rising and approaching, he at least wants to be the one in charge of the spell if possible.

Seems like another Defy Danger with Cha?
22:47, Today: Spriggy Glompgut rolled 6 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 3,1.  Defy Danger +Cha: steal Word Demon's spell.
Nooooo!!! Anyone want to help this time? If not, at least it is yet another XP...

{ "Or not!" } Kharla thought.

Normal weapons appeared useless to a being that was not entirely solid.  Surely something must be able to hurt it.  To contain it...

"The skull!  The silver!  The runes on the shrine!  Something here contained this creature, perhaps it can also harm it!"

The thief scans for any pieces of the skull she had shattered.  If this was truly another type of undead what had she heard they might be vulnerable to?

23:52, Today: Kharla rolled 3 using 2d6 with rolls of 2,1.  Spout Lore.
- wow, nevermind, +XP

Her mind a blank she felt for a jawbone or shard of the broken skull which had housed the spirit.

Istvan's natural voice breaks easily, but he concentrates on keeping his notes in only his lower register...

(When you help or hinder someone you have a bond with, roll+Bond with them. On a 10+ they take +1...

08:32, Today: Istvan Vanoson rolled 10 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 3,6.  Aid the song.

Success in helping!)

Success! Istvan's singing seems to strengthen what the bard is doing!

While Istvan isn't much of a signer, he does know about undeads. And while the turning didn't work, Spriggy's counter-chant is close enough to healing magic that your combined voices causes the creature to waver.

Oblivious to the other's magic, Kharla finds a large piece of the skull, and holds it up toward the demon, imitating the way Istvan held back the earlier skeletons. She smile triumphantly as the creature's singing turns angry, before wavering and breaking.

The light of your lanterns grow dim for a moment, but soon recovers, revealing an empty cave. The demon is gone, the menacing scratches have gone silent, and the altar has melted into valuable slag.

"...I could be wrong," says Istvan, "but I think that that skull needs to either be burned, or buried the way that the locals do it-- under six feet of soil, not in a cavern that's open to the sky... Probably ought to gather all the pieces, and put 'em in a bag or whatever..."

The thief nodded to Istvan as she regarded the jawbone she held before passing it to the cleric, "Do you think it made of anything special or was it simple enspelled?"

"I think I should prefer burning," she adds as she begins to gather the as many of the remaining pieces as she can find, "It would be terrible of they were dug up once more and put to ill use."

Once the shards of the skull are gathered Kharla will help to collect anything of value from the shrine and cave.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:28, Wed 03 Mar 2021.

"I also think burning would be best. Actually, why don't we do both just for good measure. Burn the pieces to ash, then bury the ashes deep." Spriggy did his best to help collect the pieces of skull, as well as collect as much silver slag as they could carry. "Should we keep the silver, or offer it to the towns folk? At the very least, I think a 10% finder's fee is appropriate. Maybe we should wait until we get back before we decide though. We might change our minds if those bodies from the graveyard made it to the town..." Spriggy couldn't help but wonder if the undead had been destroyed along with the altar.

---

How much Silver can Spriggy carry? I have three weight available before I exceed my Load and become over-encumbered. But if there is that much silver for the taking, I would be willing to expend another Adventuring Gear to produce something to wheel it along with. Adventuring Gear is cheap.

The skull burns quite easily, leaving you with ashes waiting to be buried somewhere. The altar's slag is a heavy, but not so much that you can't carry it.

Although, now that you're no longer worrying about staying alive, you're reminded how you've been walking all day, while it's now past midnight...

The red head yawed as the flames danced over the remains of the skull.

"Perhaps we should camp here tonight?  In the morning we can lug the ore past the collapsed section and then find a cart or wheelbarrow to help carry it out."

She even offered to take the first watch.

Remove 1 ration

06:25, Today: Kharla rolled 8 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 2,5.  Take Watch.
✴ On a 7–9, you react just a moment too late; your companions in camp are awake but haven’t had time to prepare. They have weapons and armor but little else.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:26, Tue 02 Mar 2021.

"That would be fine with me," Spriggy replied. "I'm not too thrilled about sleeping in this cave, but at least this room seems to be secure. Well, secure enough. I probably won't sleep too much, but even resting my bones sounds like it would do me a lot of good right now."

Spriggy shook his head with incredulity as he thought about the last few minutes of their lives. "Did we really just do that? Banish a Word Demon and destroy an silvery undead moon shrine? I used to think stories of adventurers were always highly exaggerated, but now I am starting to wonder what details get left out!" The bard shook his head again as he looked for a good spot to get comfy. He ended up salvaging the remnants of his fishing net to make a crude hammock for himself.

---

I can take second watch. Mechanically, Spriggy doesn't need to rest right now, but thematically he is exhausted. I marked off a ration since we are Making Camp. Should we roll for the Take Watch move? Here is a roll from me if it is needed:

21:07, Today: Spriggy Glompgut rolled 6 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 4,1.  Take Watch.
On a miss, whatever lurks outside the campfire’s light has the drop on you.

Let me know if I should add XP...

The night passes without issue, and with a bit of hard work with picks, you pry free the pile of slag that was once the altar. You make your way back to town, where you see a lot of people gathered in front of the tavern, looking worried.

No xp for the night's Watch, since there was no real threat at the time.

Spriggy was hot, sweaty, and tired by the time they returned to town, but he was looking forward to cashing in their hunk of slag and taking it easy for the rest of the day. Probably at the tavern. So he was a bit dismayed to see worried people gathered there. "This can't be good," he commented to the others. "What do you think happened?" The bard scanned the settlement for clues that might allow him to answer that question for himself.

---

Might as well use my bard ability, even though we haven't been gone long:

A Port in the Storm
When you return to a civilized settlement you’ve visited before, tell the GM when you were last here (around sunset). They’ll tell you how it’s changed since then.

Seeing how the group seems focused on Arund and Brom, and how they're waving toward the graveyard, you're guessing they learned of your arrival. And they're worried that you didn't come back yesterday.

"Here, what's all this now?" the redhead called out as they approached the group, "Don't tell me the dead are STILL restless.  Surely not after last night."

The crowd stops speaking when they hear Kharla. Arund raises her hands, and says "Zohlkahn bless, You're alright! I was worried something happened to you when you didn't come back! Are you alright? What happened?"

Brom and the rest of the villagers also seem relieved to see you.

Spriggy plopped the melted altar onto the ground in dramatic fashion and did his best to stand in a heroic stance. "We solved your town's graveyard mystery, that's what happened." He let his words sink in for a moment before continuing. "We found a silvery altar in the collapsed portion of the mine that was activated by the light of the moon. When activated, it would try to animate any dead nearby. People and animals alike. But we banished the dark magic within, causing the altar to melt and become useless for raising the dead. I plan to stay one more night to be sure, but I think your graveyard worries are over."

He scanned the crowd, hoping for some kind of applause or cheering or something. Whether or not he received any though, he added. "We had to fight a few wolf skeletons and a minor demon in the confines of the mine, so we decided to hole up in there for the night and get some rest before returning here this morning! How did the town itself fare last night?"

"Not much happened here," Brom says. "That's not to say people slept well, but if that altar you broke puts an end to the trouble, everyone will be happier. "

A few of the villagers examine the chunk of slag you brought, clearly impressed by the piece. "Hey Brom! Looks like we'll have silver for you after all!" Turning to you, the miner says "we can give you 500 coins for that thing, on top of your reward."

Spriggy glanced over to his companions, then back to the miner and nodded. "That sounds like a good deal to me! If you have a few good shops in town, I'm sure I can find a way to spend some of it right away. A room for the night and a round of drinks in the tavern for starters!"

Then he addressed Istvan and Kharla again. "What do you say? Spend the day resting, celebrating, and shopping? Then we can see tonight if the graveyard remains quiet. Sound like a plan?"

---

Split three ways, we should all receive 333 coins. Spriggy will buy a round of drinks and a room for the night (let me know what to subtract, GM). He'll buy other stuff too, but I will discuss that in the OOC thread.

"That sounds good to me," Kharla smiled, both at the thought of the coin and a nice warm bed, "I think I need to replace my short sword, a rapier like yours looks like it might suit me better.  Ah and a bath."

A look of seriousness crosses her face as she adds, "And yes, I take pride in my work and would not have any employer say I failed to deliver as promised.  If the dead indeed rise tonight then our task is not done and I would not leave until it is."

With that the red head looks for any store which might carry weapons to suit her.

There unfortunately no weaponsmith in the village, especially for a 'fancy' like a rapier. Meanwhile, the villagers enjoy Spriggy's generosity. Many of them bring some food as well, turning the celebration into a small festival that lasts most of the day, once the dead have been buried once more.

After a good night of sleep, you get up early to join a few miners to check the cemetery... and find that, for once, the dead rested in peace.

You can manage a round of drinks for 12 coins, and the left-overs from the party can replace the rations you used in the mine.

If you want to make a Carouse check, spend the 100 coins instead, and make your check. Otherwise, unless there's something else you want to check, you can return to the Phoenix's Nest after a week long time skip, to pick your next job.

Also: add yourselves 3 xp for completing your quest!
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:24, Fri 05 Mar 2021.