(IC) Quickleaf's Rime of the Frostmaiden

[Neurotic]

Lumrolur studies the fallen zombies, ignoring the banter. His shawl is still wrapped over his face and movements are careful. He keeps to the shadows as if expecting another zombie to come from the area.

Just in case, he check the room where they came from.

 

[happylace]

Alma has been absorbed in studying the walls, the ancient images and the stories they tell. Too much so to even really think about their secrets and sequences. As the undead threat quiets again, she decides she'd better keep her focus forward. Lest the dwarves lead them into any more traps.

"I will remain in the back, if we are creating a formation. Unless anyone needs the light," she holds up a gloved hand, slick with a strange film and glowing faintly red. "Unfortunately, I don't believe my ability to sense entities will be of help here. They need to be sentient, and undead are largely mindless."

"

Zeth wipes a drop of sweat off his brow.

"I think it would be best to form a battle formation before we open any doors from now on. And we should make a plan to avoid getting swarmed, there's no telling how many undead are down there."

He turns to the rest of the group and sighs.

"This-" he waves his hand to indicate dungeon-diving, fighting, etc. "-isn't what I planned to be doing when I came here."

OOC: Zeren will make the Religion check about zombies here since he's got the time.

Alma turns to Zeth, blinking slowly. "They were very explicit about what to expect down here. Unless you mean when you came to Icewind Dale. In which case--what did you plan on doing? Why have you deviated?"

 

[Quickleaf]

Zeth wipes a drop of sweat off his brow.

"I think it would be best to form a battle formation before we open any doors from now on. And we should make a plan to avoid getting swarmed, there's no telling how many undead are down there."

He turns to the rest of the group and sighs.

"This-" he waves his hand to indicate dungeon-diving, fighting, etc. "-isn't what I planned to be doing when I came here."

OOC: Zeren will make the Religion check about zombies here since he's got the time.

GM: Zeth makes a Religion check for zombie weaknesses/special abilities that would be useful to know. 1D20+6 = [11]+6 = 17 Certain unsavory merchants Zeth has dealt with were known to use zombies as messengers, guardians, even porters to unload their ships. He's had occasion to talk at length with their masters and creators over a Zhentish port. The strength of zombies is also their greatest weakness – they only have faint glimmers of intelligence that is more instinctual than anything else. Walk up the ramp, pick up that sack, stay in this room. "Tell me what you think of this sonata?" "Did you spot any pit traps?" Well, that won't get much more than gurgling confusion from a zombie. However, they are relentless in pursuit of their assigned task. And this makes them very hard to kill – unless one strikes them in the right spot (critical hit, extreme amounts of damage) or inflicts harm on them with clerical magic (e.g. Turn Undead, radiant) or holy water (radiant), they can rise from even seemingly mortal blows.

 

[Necropolitan]

Alma turns to Zeth, blinking slowly. "They were very explicit about what to expect down here. Unless you mean when you came to Icewind Dale. In which case--what did you plan on doing? Why have you deviated?"

Zeth mentally curses, this is not the time for this! Still, he can answer the question without revealing too much.

"The ship I was on froze in the ice thanks to the plummeting temperature. The crew and passengers had to travel through the frozen wasteland to get to safety and as far as I know I was the only survivor. I either need to retrieve the ship's cargo or find some other way to replace the value of what was lost or I'm likely ruined. "

He continues as if he doesn't see the need to say more.

"Now from what I recall of zombie lore they take far more to put down than a living person. Our best bet is to use divine or light magic, pile on damage until they're destroyed, or hope to get a lucky hit on them. The good news is they're nearly-mindless and as long as they don't have someone or something more intelligent commanding them they'll just move straight at us to attack. If we move in formation and coordinate our attacks we should only have a problem if we're faced with a horde of them and we get overwhelmed."

 

[Steve Gorak]

OOC: Does Aric know if his bond fire will prevent the zombies from coming back?

As the others talk, Aric summons a second bond fire to burn the second zombie. He really doesn’t like them, and wants to cleanse the room.

OOC: cast create bondfire on second zombie

 

[Quickleaf]

OOC: Does Aric know if his bond fire will prevent the zombies from coming back?

As the others talk, Aric summons a second bond fire to burn the second zombie. He really doesn’t like them, and wants to cleanse the room.

OOC: cast create bondfire on second zombie

GM: Massive damage applied quickly seemed to do the trick in this fight. Which is the opposite of the Bonfire spell which applies a little damage consistently. But can see hints of scorching on even the zombie that remained untouched by your Bonfire, which is puzzling.

 

[Steve Gorak]

After looking closely at the second zombie, Aric says "This one has burn marks, even if I haven't burned him yet. Once you are done investigating, I will completely burn both of them".

OOC: Once the others are done, he'll cremate both corpses until there is only dust. Casting create bondfire

OOC:

 

[Aethmud]

Jack blinks, twice, in astonishment at Aric's handling of the undead remains. He's without words, but just for a moment.

Then, he glances at the smoldering heap with a mischievous grin, some thoughts taking shape. "Well, if we're turning undead to cinders, why not be efficient about it? Once the keepsakes are somewhat charred, let's just stash them in Logrim's bag of holding. Ensuring the bones are safely stowed away will let us properly dispose of them later. No need to linger for a full cremation now. We can reduce them to ash and dust when time is less pressing!"

"And besides," Jack gives Aric a knowing look, "there's going to be plenty more zombies to come, so maybe we ought to just cremate them all at once later on." Jack purses his lips, contemplating, "Or maybe we'll come across some vast chasm down here, and then we'll just toss them down. Or, better yet, some lava pools!" Jack's eyes alight at the thought of passing by some lava during their jaunt through the underdark. He's never had a chance to see real lava pools. They're probably just a few rooms deeper, he muses.

Focusing again on the matter at hand, Jack chuckles a bit while fluttering a step closer to the flickering fire that engulfs the zombie remains. "Lingering over a bonfire of zombies is hardly my idea of a cozy setting. I've got campfire tales aplenty, but let's keep the march moving. We've got places to get to, after all."

 

[Quickleaf]

GM POST

Jack lets out a lighthearted chuckle as he floats closer to Brydum, his eyes and wings twinkling with mirth. "Brydum, my friend, you haven't had too many of Angrom's 'mountain spring waters' influencing your button-pushing decisions, have you?" he jests, a playful smirk playing on his lips. "But no matter, you've done us all a favor to show how we can handle unexpected guests with such finesse!"

Jack considers Zeth's suggestion about the battle formation, and responds, "Going forward, I reckon those clad in scale mail and the finest dwarven armor might take the lead. Meanwhile, I'll hover just a whisper away, ready to unleash a frosty surprise on anything that dares challenge our might." Jack’s lighthearted nature aims to keep everyone's spirits high.

With a snort, Brydum suppresses a chuckle, scratching his beard and swearing up and down he was sure that was the right button. "Aye, best we press on. Now I'm certain as a flint strikes steel this is the right one."

You're arrayed into formation, the smoking corpses of the zombies reduced to char, as you brace for another secret door mistakenly opening. This time, however, Brydum gets it right and the stone in the revealed chamber grinds and a second secret door opens...

You enter into a 40-foot long passage strewn with eight corpses of zombies – some derro, a few drow – with much more of the scorch marks that Aric noted earlier. The passage ends in an arch with opens into yet another turning to the west.

Brydum nods towards the double doors part way down the passage. It has a symbol indentation that's hard to make out, but Brydum is quick to point out, "Which of you received the Silver Star Key from the Dain? That'll open the doors down..."

GM: @Neurotic If Lumrolur moves to the front and peers around the arch – without passing through it – you can see the end of the 85-foot passage which is engraved with a giant dwarven with an open mouth. Owlbear Rodeo A more bear-able virtual tabletop www.owlbear.rodeo