Utar's ears twitch guiltily as Yovir mentions justice. He reminds himself to check in with Litta, make sure she's keeping well, wherever she is.
Before asking any questions, Utar gives the corpse a through once over, peering at the bite marks and the general state of the body. He gives the fingers and fingernails particularly close attention in case Sister Bethel was able to wound her attacker or take some of it with her as she fled.
He is also careful to examine the mouth and head, as, if Yovir and Cassyt allow, they may be able to have Sister Bethel recount the last moments of her life for them. He hesitated to suggest this recourse however, given the purpose of the Kelemvorites and their hatred of necromancy.
"Mn... Place reminds me of the Mud Blood's set up." Doozey quietly mused as the group transitioned into the next building. When it came time for the body reveal, Doozey whispers to Gravy and Biscuits each in turn. While the former flies off to find a ledge or corner to observe from a distance, the latter lowers himself and acts as a stool/raised platform for the ranger to stand and examine the body in greater detail.
Just before he can however, the newly introduced Cassyt is given a once over and a curt nod in greeting. Yet just as he opened his mouth to speak, he frowned a little at her disposition, and squinted at her. "This might sound strange to ya, but... might I have your hand for a moment?" He request, holding out his hand to her. If accepted, he adds "Bare, of course", if her's were gloved at the moment. With compliance, Doozey studies her hand for a moment, and even sniffs at it too, search for the perhaps one in a hundred chances of her bearing the signs belonging to a branching order of the Grey Hunters.
(@Lerus: Not sure if insight or perception would be appropriate here, so I'll roll both just in case.)
Whether he finds anything or not, he nods in thanks and asks what she used to treat deceased Sister Behel if anything yet, and if she noticed anything strange or interesting during any initial preparations of the body.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Seeing that Utar looking over the body, Neya decides to ask some questions of the acolyte.
"I am curious, Acolyte Cassyt," Neya addresses her, "What is the history of undead sightings in the catacombs? It seems that since a section was sealed off only recently, they aren't very often."
(OOC: We'll go with medicine for Utar and insight for Doozey.)
Although everyone gives the corpse a look, Utar is the one who examines it more closely. The cause of death is plain for all to see. Focusing on her now purplish hands, Utar indeed finds a clue. It is not dried blood as he might have expected, but flakes of dead, putrid skin. It does not look like the victim's own skin. Looking at the mouth and head after making sure the Kelemvorites are OK with it, the half-orc finds no evidence that Sister Bethel was transitioning into undeath herself. All looks as he'd expect it.
The other three CRAPers let Utar perform his examination, preferring to ask Acolyte Cassyt a few questions. She answers Graxx first: "Well, I compared the bite radius and fang marks with some of my notes on undead creatures. There is not a lot to go by, but I can say with certainty that the bite marks were not done by a simply reawakened skeleton or corpse. It was something fouler, perhaps a ghoul or a ghast."
Neya catches Cassyt's attention next: "Indeed, there have been no sightings out of Valhingen for some time, unless you count the late Brother Keefe's theories about a certain noble lady's mausoleum some time ago... Although he said the issue was taken care of. I never knew if there were any truth to his suspicions. But for the past several years, maybe even decades, there are no records mentioning a confirmed sighting. However, there is no way of being absolutely sure given how vast the catacombs can be."
Doozey then interrupts the conversation with a somewhat strange request. Cassyt is not shy and sees no issue in complying with the request, even though Doomguide Yovir cocks his head to the side indicating that he is a bit confused. The acolyte pets Biscuit for a quick second before extending her hand toward the halfling. Her hands are a bit cold, but not unnaturally so. Doozey fails to spot or sniff any signs of his own hunting order in the acolyte's skin. If anything, they smell faintly of formaldehyde. She then answers his follow-up question: "Apart from draining her blood, we have not completed any procedure on her nor treated her with any alchemical compounds." Doomguide Yovir elaborates: "We wanted to preserve the body as close to its original condition as possible, just for such occasion a close examination was advised. We have achieved this primarily through a spell granted to me by Kelemvor's blessing. You may be familiar with it; it is called Gentle Repose."
Yovir then speaks of a request of his own: "I hope you are finding this useful, and please do not interpret this as me rushing your analysis, but I do have a request. You may remember me saying that dealing with the undead is the charge of the Most Solemn Order of the Silent Shroud. I hold fast to this belief and would request, and in fact insist, that one of our Valhingen Kelemvorites join you in the catacombs when you are ready to go. I am of the mind of sending either Brother Drolo or Sister Fedya, and..."
Acolyte Cassyt interrupts him: "No, no, I'll go. I can be of use... share information... and you always tell me to spend more time in the crypts, right? Pick me, pick me!"
Doozey lofts a brow at the last request, and soon the other brow rises from seeing Cassyt's... enthusiasm. Before speaking his piece however, the stoutling looks between first his animal compatriots, and then to the rest of the party, gauging their reaction. Anyone looking back at him however can see reluctance, if not some wariness whenever the halfling happens to glance back at Cassyt.
Biscuit, however, is happily wagging his tail and even "Boofs!" happily in agreement, nearly throwing Doozey off of him in the process at least once, before then being curtly chided after.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Utar ponders the dead putrid skin under Sister Bethel's nails. Whatever did for her, Utar feels a spark of pride knowing she fought back and likely brought something back from her ordeal to help. Turning to Yovir, Utar suddenly becomes slightly nervous.
"Yovir, I wonder if you might permit me to cast a spell of my own on Sister Bethel? Speak with dead would let us relive the last few moments of her life with her. My fellow Tormites use it occasionally in circumstances similar to this to gather information. However, it might err a bit too closely to necromancy and I wouldn't want to use it without agreement, especially if it might offend your beliefs or Sister Bethel's."
Not noticing Doozey's reaction but feeling spurred on by Biscuit's shared enthusiasm, Cassyt faces Neya's and Graxx's questions with conviction: "Well, It is true I like my books, but that is only because I am very curious. I am very curious about the catacombs too, but quite afraid of them if I can be honest. The four of your are the stoutest adventurers I have ever seen. This is the best opportunity I'll have to go into the catacombs and not succumb to my fear." She looks about to gauge CRAP's reaction, and then adds: "Plus, no one else in this place will be able to share as much information on the catacombs as I will, unless you want to hear about gardening! Trust me, this is a win-win situation."
Doomguide Yovir can't help but let out a brief laugh. He looks slightly proud of his young acolyte. Utar's request brings him back to the graveness of the situation. He responds: "You are a kind and respectful cleric, Tormite Utar. Kelemvor watches over the line between life and death. To him, death and the afterlife are a foundational part of the multiverse. To desecrate the peace of the dead is an abomination. Kelemvorites seek to put wandering spirits to rest, destroy the undead, and ease the suffering of the dying. Kelemvor's blessings allows us to stave off death for a time, particularly for a person who still has some great work to accomplish in the world. This is a delay of death, not a denial of it, for death will eventually get its due. Sister Bethel still has a part to play before she crosses the line into the afterlife. You may cast your spell."
Having been given the go ahead by Yovir, Utar busies himself preparing for the ritual. Powdered incense is carefully poured in a circle around Sister Bethel's head and Utar removes a flint and striker from his tinderbox.
"Once the spell begins, we'll likely only have enough time to ask a few questions. I think adding for a description of her assailant and the place of her attack would be good places to start, but I'm open to other suggestions too. Remember though, Sister Bethel will only recall what she knew in life and uh, her answers are going to be...unusual. I think it's a side effect of the spell."
(OOC Spell gives five questions. If we go with those two, we've got three to play with. In order to move things on, happy to proceed to enacting the spell once we have the questions.)
"You've certainly demonstrated your knowledge by answering my first question without any hesitation. You've certainly committed your learning to mind," Neya nods. "And the will to better yourself by overcoming your fears is admirable as well. I don't have an issue with you accompanying us. Mind you, that is only my take."
She then turns to Utar and adds to his list of questions, "I believe asking Sister Bethel if she had noticed anything else out of the ordinary could also help."
Neya has a chance to voice her agreement to Cassyt's wish before Yovir agrees to Utar's spell. The acolyte answers excitedly: "Thank you, thank you! I won't let you down. So, with the shaggy dog and the lady of the group, that's two 'yay' votes. One more and I am part of the team!"
Before that conversation can conclude, Utar gets the attention of the group to turn back to Sister Bethel. He explains to CRAP how the necromantic spell works and asks for suggestions for inquiries. He prepares the needed materials and makes sure all is accurately set up, but insists on the group agreeing on five questions before actually casting the spell, or at least agreeing on leaving a few questions open to provide flexibility during the interrogation. Here's a version of what they came up with so far:
Can you a describe your assailant?
Can you describe the place in which you were first attacked?
How many attackers did you have to face in your last moments of life?
Did you notice anything else out of the ordinary while in the catacombs?
Pending question.
(OOC: Let me know if you are ready to pull the trigger.)
Doozey side-eyes Cassyt's, only to moments later brush aside her excitement with a soft and shake of the head. Biscuit never loses hsi enthusiasm, and looks up pleadingly between the remaining party members. However, in the case of the stoutling at least, his brows remained furrowed and faced scrunched in consternation. ".... Aside from hearing her personal last request, I'd save that last question for depending on how she answers the rest. That way, if she neglects to elaborate on something, we can dig up more... I suppose." Doozey suggeste.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Graxx looks to Cassyt and thinks of Brother Keefe.
Graxx sighs.
"You can come only if you promise to listen to any of our commands. If a situation gets out of control and we tell you to flee back to the exit then you must promise to obey. Do not try to be a hero and stay to save us. I cannot fight to my best if I am worried about your safety. Do you agree to this?"
The group starts to come around to allowing Cassyt to accompany them into the catacombs. She nods her head rapidly and kisses her index and middle fingers in response to Graxx and Utar: "Yes, I promise."
With that matter settled, Doozey confirms that he in comfortable with leaving one question unformed for the purposes of the incoming spell. With that, Utar begins. The accumulated smoke from the burning incense begins to pool about the Sister's face. With a gasp, the body seemingly inhales the smoke and jolts upward, almost to a sitting position. The neck creeks as the woman turns to face Utar and only Utar. Yovir is visibly uncomfortable. Cassyt is juggling fear and amazement.
Can you a describe your assailant?
"They had a pale, greenish-gray skin, not unlike yours but lacking proper life. No hair. Terrible bright green eyes that sparked in the darkness. Hunger. Hunger for flesh. Hunger. Hunger."
Can you describe the place in which you were first attacked?
"Past the first families. I laid flowers but heard something coming from beyond the bone pit. Many bodies. Wood smoke. Curiosity killed the cat."
How many attackers did you have to face in your last moments of life?
"A pack of them. I saw at least three. Three. A pack of them. I saw at least... at least... maybe more. Organized."
Did you notice anything else out of the ordinary while in the catacombs?
"One was armored. Yes... At least three, but one was armored."
Sister Bethel sits there, starring blankly at Utar and waiting to either be released or be asked a final question.
Doozey, for his part, looked neither disturbed or wary once the magic took its hold on the woman. He just listened with interest, and even went as far as to pull out ink, pen, and paper to jot down a short hand of the conversation. "Hm... Definitely dealing with intelligent undead then. Focused to, to an extent as well. Which means..." Doozey trailed off for a moment, scratching his fuzzy chin. "... Could ask if she saw if any of them had identify marks on the armored one, perhaps? Or alternatively, if they let slop their plans for that matter, assuming it extended beyond just hunger. But a tough call if this be our only shot."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
"That detail about wood smoke grabbed my attention," Neya notes. "That can only mean one thing."
"I can't imagine what benefit an undead creature, even an intelligent one, would get from a fire." She follows up, being careful not to ask a question.
Utar's ears twitch guiltily as Yovir mentions justice. He reminds himself to check in with Litta, make sure she's keeping well, wherever she is.
Before asking any questions, Utar gives the corpse a through once over, peering at the bite marks and the general state of the body. He gives the fingers and fingernails particularly close attention in case Sister Bethel was able to wound her attacker or take some of it with her as she fled.
He is also careful to examine the mouth and head, as, if Yovir and Cassyt allow, they may be able to have Sister Bethel recount the last moments of her life for them. He hesitated to suggest this recourse however, given the purpose of the Kelemvorites and their hatred of necromancy.
Perception 27
Medicine 17
(OOC Utar's shield gives advantage on perception checks but if medicine is the preferred check, I've rolled that too.)
"Mn... Place reminds me of the Mud Blood's set up." Doozey quietly mused as the group transitioned into the next building. When it came time for the body reveal, Doozey whispers to Gravy and Biscuits each in turn. While the former flies off to find a ledge or corner to observe from a distance, the latter lowers himself and acts as a stool/raised platform for the ranger to stand and examine the body in greater detail.
Just before he can however, the newly introduced Cassyt is given a once over and a curt nod in greeting. Yet just as he opened his mouth to speak, he frowned a little at her disposition, and squinted at her. "This might sound strange to ya, but... might I have your hand for a moment?" He request, holding out his hand to her. If accepted, he adds "Bare, of course", if her's were gloved at the moment. With compliance, Doozey studies her hand for a moment, and even sniffs at it too, search for the perhaps one in a hundred chances of her bearing the signs belonging to a branching order of the Grey Hunters.
(@Lerus: Not sure if insight or perception would be appropriate here, so I'll roll both just in case.)
Perception: 27.
Insight: 18.
Whether he finds anything or not, he nods in thanks and asks what she used to treat deceased Sister Behel if anything yet, and if she noticed anything strange or interesting during any initial preparations of the body.
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Graxx's nose furls at the sight of the body. He wishes to enact this justice.
"What did this will be put to a permanent rest Doomguide."
Graxx turns to Acolyte Cassyst.
"What do you make of the wounds Acolyte Cassyt? Have you seen or read anything like this?" asks Graxx.
Seeing that Utar looking over the body, Neya decides to ask some questions of the acolyte.
"I am curious, Acolyte Cassyt," Neya addresses her, "What is the history of undead sightings in the catacombs? It seems that since a section was sealed off only recently, they aren't very often."
Extended Signature
(OOC: We'll go with medicine for Utar and insight for Doozey.)
Although everyone gives the corpse a look, Utar is the one who examines it more closely. The cause of death is plain for all to see. Focusing on her now purplish hands, Utar indeed finds a clue. It is not dried blood as he might have expected, but flakes of dead, putrid skin. It does not look like the victim's own skin. Looking at the mouth and head after making sure the Kelemvorites are OK with it, the half-orc finds no evidence that Sister Bethel was transitioning into undeath herself. All looks as he'd expect it.
The other three CRAPers let Utar perform his examination, preferring to ask Acolyte Cassyt a few questions. She answers Graxx first: "Well, I compared the bite radius and fang marks with some of my notes on undead creatures. There is not a lot to go by, but I can say with certainty that the bite marks were not done by a simply reawakened skeleton or corpse. It was something fouler, perhaps a ghoul or a ghast."
Neya catches Cassyt's attention next: "Indeed, there have been no sightings out of Valhingen for some time, unless you count the late Brother Keefe's theories about a certain noble lady's mausoleum some time ago... Although he said the issue was taken care of. I never knew if there were any truth to his suspicions. But for the past several years, maybe even decades, there are no records mentioning a confirmed sighting. However, there is no way of being absolutely sure given how vast the catacombs can be."
Doozey then interrupts the conversation with a somewhat strange request. Cassyt is not shy and sees no issue in complying with the request, even though Doomguide Yovir cocks his head to the side indicating that he is a bit confused. The acolyte pets Biscuit for a quick second before extending her hand toward the halfling. Her hands are a bit cold, but not unnaturally so. Doozey fails to spot or sniff any signs of his own hunting order in the acolyte's skin. If anything, they smell faintly of formaldehyde. She then answers his follow-up question: "Apart from draining her blood, we have not completed any procedure on her nor treated her with any alchemical compounds." Doomguide Yovir elaborates: "We wanted to preserve the body as close to its original condition as possible, just for such occasion a close examination was advised. We have achieved this primarily through a spell granted to me by Kelemvor's blessing. You may be familiar with it; it is called Gentle Repose."
Yovir then speaks of a request of his own: "I hope you are finding this useful, and please do not interpret this as me rushing your analysis, but I do have a request. You may remember me saying that dealing with the undead is the charge of the Most Solemn Order of the Silent Shroud. I hold fast to this belief and would request, and in fact insist, that one of our Valhingen Kelemvorites join you in the catacombs when you are ready to go. I am of the mind of sending either Brother Drolo or Sister Fedya, and..."
Acolyte Cassyt interrupts him: "No, no, I'll go. I can be of use... share information... and you always tell me to spend more time in the crypts, right? Pick me, pick me!"
Doozey lofts a brow at the last request, and soon the other brow rises from seeing Cassyt's... enthusiasm. Before speaking his piece however, the stoutling looks between first his animal compatriots, and then to the rest of the party, gauging their reaction. Anyone looking back at him however can see reluctance, if not some wariness whenever the halfling happens to glance back at Cassyt.
Biscuit, however, is happily wagging his tail and even "Boofs!" happily in agreement, nearly throwing Doozey off of him in the process at least once, before then being curtly chided after.
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Utar ponders the dead putrid skin under Sister Bethel's nails. Whatever did for her, Utar feels a spark of pride knowing she fought back and likely brought something back from her ordeal to help. Turning to Yovir, Utar suddenly becomes slightly nervous.
"Yovir, I wonder if you might permit me to cast a spell of my own on Sister Bethel? Speak with dead would let us relive the last few moments of her life with her. My fellow Tormites use it occasionally in circumstances similar to this to gather information. However, it might err a bit too closely to necromancy and I wouldn't want to use it without agreement, especially if it might offend your beliefs or Sister Bethel's."
Neya decides to let Cassyt keep her skepticism, even though she was involved with that incident in the mausoleum, along with Graxx and Utar.
"What spurred this on...?" She asks, curious about Cassyt's sudden change in demeanor.
Extended Signature
Graxx smiles a bit at the anxiousness.
"It will be dangerous as you can see. Adventuring isn't for everyone. Are you ready to take that risk?"
Not noticing Doozey's reaction but feeling spurred on by Biscuit's shared enthusiasm, Cassyt faces Neya's and Graxx's questions with conviction: "Well, It is true I like my books, but that is only because I am very curious. I am very curious about the catacombs too, but quite afraid of them if I can be honest. The four of your are the stoutest adventurers I have ever seen. This is the best opportunity I'll have to go into the catacombs and not succumb to my fear." She looks about to gauge CRAP's reaction, and then adds: "Plus, no one else in this place will be able to share as much information on the catacombs as I will, unless you want to hear about gardening! Trust me, this is a win-win situation."
Doomguide Yovir can't help but let out a brief laugh. He looks slightly proud of his young acolyte. Utar's request brings him back to the graveness of the situation. He responds: "You are a kind and respectful cleric, Tormite Utar. Kelemvor watches over the line between life and death. To him, death and the afterlife are a foundational part of the multiverse. To desecrate the peace of the dead is an abomination. Kelemvorites seek to put wandering spirits to rest, destroy the undead, and ease the suffering of the dying. Kelemvor's blessings allows us to stave off death for a time, particularly for a person who still has some great work to accomplish in the world. This is a delay of death, not a denial of it, for death will eventually get its due. Sister Bethel still has a part to play before she crosses the line into the afterlife. You may cast your spell."
Having been given the go ahead by Yovir, Utar busies himself preparing for the ritual. Powdered incense is carefully poured in a circle around Sister Bethel's head and Utar removes a flint and striker from his tinderbox.
"Once the spell begins, we'll likely only have enough time to ask a few questions. I think adding for a description of her assailant and the place of her attack would be good places to start, but I'm open to other suggestions too. Remember though, Sister Bethel will only recall what she knew in life and uh, her answers are going to be...unusual. I think it's a side effect of the spell."
(OOC Spell gives five questions. If we go with those two, we've got three to play with. In order to move things on, happy to proceed to enacting the spell once we have the questions.)
Graxx is pleasantly surprised that they are allowing the questioning to occur.
"Maybe asking how many attackers she saw would be beneficial as well." states Graxx.
"You've certainly demonstrated your knowledge by answering my first question without any hesitation. You've certainly committed your learning to mind," Neya nods. "And the will to better yourself by overcoming your fears is admirable as well. I don't have an issue with you accompanying us. Mind you, that is only my take."
She then turns to Utar and adds to his list of questions, "I believe asking Sister Bethel if she had noticed anything else out of the ordinary could also help."
Extended Signature
Neya has a chance to voice her agreement to Cassyt's wish before Yovir agrees to Utar's spell. The acolyte answers excitedly: "Thank you, thank you! I won't let you down. So, with the shaggy dog and the lady of the group, that's two 'yay' votes. One more and I am part of the team!"
Before that conversation can conclude, Utar gets the attention of the group to turn back to Sister Bethel. He explains to CRAP how the necromantic spell works and asks for suggestions for inquiries. He prepares the needed materials and makes sure all is accurately set up, but insists on the group agreeing on five questions before actually casting the spell, or at least agreeing on leaving a few questions open to provide flexibility during the interrogation. Here's a version of what they came up with so far:
(OOC: Let me know if you are ready to pull the trigger.)
Doozey side-eyes Cassyt's, only to moments later brush aside her excitement with a soft and shake of the head. Biscuit never loses hsi enthusiasm, and looks up pleadingly between the remaining party members. However, in the case of the stoutling at least, his brows remained furrowed and faced scrunched in consternation. ".... Aside from hearing her personal last request, I'd save that last question for depending on how she answers the rest. That way, if she neglects to elaborate on something, we can dig up more... I suppose." Doozey suggeste.
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Graxx looks to Cassyt and thinks of Brother Keefe.
Graxx sighs.
"You can come only if you promise to listen to any of our commands. If a situation gets out of control and we tell you to flee back to the exit then you must promise to obey. Do not try to be a hero and stay to save us. I cannot fight to my best if I am worried about your safety. Do you agree to this?"
Utar takes on the suggestions of CRAP and notes the questions as well as some sage advice from Doozey.
Taking a moment away from his preparations for his spell, he looks towards Cassyt.
"The last thing any of us want are more dead Kelemvorites, do as Graxx says and you have my blessing as well."
The group starts to come around to allowing Cassyt to accompany them into the catacombs. She nods her head rapidly and kisses her index and middle fingers in response to Graxx and Utar: "Yes, I promise."
With that matter settled, Doozey confirms that he in comfortable with leaving one question unformed for the purposes of the incoming spell. With that, Utar begins. The accumulated smoke from the burning incense begins to pool about the Sister's face. With a gasp, the body seemingly inhales the smoke and jolts upward, almost to a sitting position. The neck creeks as the woman turns to face Utar and only Utar. Yovir is visibly uncomfortable. Cassyt is juggling fear and amazement.
Sister Bethel sits there, starring blankly at Utar and waiting to either be released or be asked a final question.
Doozey, for his part, looked neither disturbed or wary once the magic took its hold on the woman. He just listened with interest, and even went as far as to pull out ink, pen, and paper to jot down a short hand of the conversation. "Hm... Definitely dealing with intelligent undead then. Focused to, to an extent as well. Which means..." Doozey trailed off for a moment, scratching his fuzzy chin. "... Could ask if she saw if any of them had identify marks on the armored one, perhaps? Or alternatively, if they let slop their plans for that matter, assuming it extended beyond just hunger. But a tough call if this be our only shot."
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
"That detail about wood smoke grabbed my attention," Neya notes. "That can only mean one thing."
"I can't imagine what benefit an undead creature, even an intelligent one, would get from a fire." She follows up, being careful not to ask a question.
Extended Signature