Still grumbling over his findings, it takes Doozey a few moments to recognize Biscuit's findings compared to the others. When he does though, and seeing Utar even readying in anticipation of a scrap, the stoutling, lets a hand hover near his own weapon as he speaks again. "Hnn... I do not like this. If holding the point 'ere, I'll pop inside the necropolis. See if the dead were disturbed. If not, we move on the east, and see what Biscuit has found." He states, but would hold off a moment to give others at a brief change to chance his mind before creeping down into the northern chamber, keeping near southern wall while creeping about for a closer look.
After a moment of thought, Utar quietly makes his way toward the passage Biscuit seemed more interested in. Neya follows after shuddering a bit. Their collective attention then turns to Graxx, who voices some concern about leaving the Necropolis unchecked. Doozey agrees and moves forward slowly with the intention of getting a read on the area.
Stepping into the Necropolis, it's as if Doozey has entered a subterranean city. The crypts here are modeled after surface homes and other buildings, although they're only about two-thirds the size of their real counterparts. Coming from somewhere to Doozey's northeast, the stoutling hears sounds of scratching and scraping. Somewhere else in the distance, that wailing noise is repeated. How far off these sounds are coming from is very difficult to judge in this vast chamber. The stench is omnipresent, the chamber fades into darkness before any other walls can be spotted, and Doozey also notices a few disturbed simpler graves off to his right and beyond. To his left, he spots a simple wooden door, which is closed. Before he can decide what to do next, Doozey has a thought: this necropolis could house a thousand untold secrets and it likely stretches for miles beneath the surface; a person could explore its depths for days and not see all that it contains.
Back with the rest of the group, Cassyt gossips: "Rumor has it that the hidden tomb of Miltiades, a legendary undead paladin, is within this section of the catacombs, though no one has claimed to have found it."
"It would certainly be something to behold," Neya says, intrigued by the concept of the scale-modeled dwellings of an undead paladin. "Hopefully, he would be at rest should we have the luck to stumble upon it. Knowing our own run of luck, we may very well do just that."
Separate from that, she looks out for any dangers.
As Doozey has his epiphany, his spirits sinks as it too dawns on him just how unlikely it was the mission of there's was to be complete after but a single day. So it was that he would stand there for at least nearly a minute, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breathe. 'Ent Grey elt Eterna, nen noo elt Hunda'He thought, calming his nerves. He then glances one last time back to the door, before then sneaking his way back to the others.
"I'm back. And, uh... It seems what they said about this place is true. A regular city it is, and then some. Could take... could take a couple of days to find what we seek. And uh... A bit more of bad news as well. Some of the little households, uh..the simpler graves, if you will, have been disturbed. And I doubt it has been by mere grave robbers at that. So needless to say, we may have our work cut out for us, to say the least." He explained to the group, before moving on to explaining his other findings.
"Worse things is, I don't think we're gonna be able to avoid heading through the Necropolis one way or another. But, I leave it to ya. See to what spooked Biscuit here first, or... well, get things over with, as it were."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Utar raises an eyebrow at Cassyt's comments. "An undead paladin you say? Care to elaborate on exactly who that was..."
Frowning, Utar runs through a few tenses trying to make sure he gets it right, "...is...might be... for those of us who didn't keep up with our school learning?"
Utar attempts to recall whatever he can about Miltiades, although he isn't hopeful. Once Cassyt has her chance to answer, he prompts the group to press on to whatever piqued Biscuit's interest.
Graxx’s eyes narrow as he stares into the darkness and listens to Doozey’s report.
”Days of exploring underground…” mumbles Graxx.
Graxx takes out his backpack and looks inside.
”I have a little over a weeks worth of rations. Hard to tell time down here. I’d hate for us to get down here fight off all these undead only to die of lack of food as I doubt we’ll be finding anything to eat down here.”
Graxx is intrigued by the undead Paladin.
”Yes, please tell us more. Did he roam the realm as undead or only turn undead once being placed here?”
A cold chill runs down Graxx’s neck.
”Cassyt, this little underground town reminds me of foul creatures. Have their ever been any stories of Drow being seen down here?”
Doozey returns after a few minutes and delivers his report. CRAP deliberates for a little while, giving Cassyt a chance to elaborate a little on her previous comment. "Miltiades was a paladin of Tyr, long ago. He had been blessed with great power and was favored by his deity until, that is, he supposedly snuck into the camp of his most recent quarry and murdered him dishonorably under the cover of night. He was then slain by the murdered enemy's men. A thousand years later, Tyr saw fit to call Miltiades back from the dead and task him with finding the city of Phlan, which had been captured by the minions of Bane. He succeeded while accompanied by many other heroes and was supposedly laid to final rest somewhere in the city he helped rescue. Little did he know that Bane's presence would not be completely removed from Phlan for many years."
Utar's memory is jostled by the acolyte's tale. He remembers hearing about Miltiades being called into service from the grave at least one other time. Tyr had called on him to retrieve one of his blessed hammers. Utar does not remember how the tale is supposed to have ended.
Neya tries to keep an eye out for danger while listening to the stories but can't fully detach her attention from the tale of Miltiades. She notices no danger.
Then, coming to terms with the grand exploration task ahead of them, Graxx and the rest of CRAP agree to investigate the sound Biscuit had picked up before committing themselves to venturing further into the necropolis.
Taking the other path available to them, CRAP soon arrives at another chamber. This 50 x 40 feet area has well-designed displays similar to those in one of the first areas of the catacombs (the First Families), but with one major difference. Where the previous displays were pleasant depictions of daily life, these are nightmares come to life. In one crypt, the skeletons of three, very young children are posed as if they are strangling a grown man, while another portrays five people holding a skeletal man in a chair and "pouring" something from a greasy, brown vial down his throat. Separately, piles of dirt and rubble have been deposited around the room.
There is only one other exit out of this creepy display room, which leads further into the catacombs. Biscuit is eyeing this exit path attentively, though no obvious danger seems to be coming from it.
Edit:"Drow?"Cassyt asks while walking with the group. "I am sure there must be some interred in the catacombs somewhere; they are quite vast and may house any number of dead. If you are asking if a bunch of Drow came by rummaging, I do not recall any records of that."
Utar lets his eyes linger on the grim tableaus present within the room. Presumably these aren't the poses these bodies had in mind for their eternal rest and have been altered from how the Kelemvorites most likely laid them out. While he could well imagine some initiates laying out the bodies to simulate various lewd poses for a jape, he highly doubts they would be allowed to continue their studies without a severe reprimand from the Doomguide.
"I guess we take this as a sign that we're getting closer to where we need to be. I don't think its going too far outside the realms of possibility to say that whatever or whoever rearranged these bodies is also behind the restless dead within the catacombs. I guess we press on and be ready to find out."
"Certainly hard to imagine all this as anything else. But, if the Kelemvorites are as neutral on things as reported, even this is not wholly outside the realm of possibilities." Doozey commented from the back of Biscuit, looking at the display with a dispassionate visage. He then looks up and over to Cassyt, and before she even says anything, he holds up his pointer finger. "Don't. Start. Even I know this is a bit much in the name of neutrality. Even so, without having been there yourself, always better to temper any presumptions, no matter how bizarre or contradictory a discovery might be." He explained, hoping to mofilied the young Cleric, if only a little.
Either way, having neither the time or the inclination at the moment to disturb the bodies or piles of dirt and debris if it could helped, Doozey urged Biscuit onward for the next exit at the head of the pack, if not close to it.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
"No Kelemvorite would do this,"Cassyt claims. "I'll have to ask the Doomguide more about this strange practice... or prank as you suspect it." She turns to Utar as to reference his words. Then, when Doozey speaks and preempts the acolyte's reaction, Cassyt can only "scrunch" her face at the stoutling to show her disapproval.
Utar gives the room a good look-around, just to be sure none of the bodies are about to attack the group. He finds no indication that any danger resides here and, in fact, picks up some shushing sound coming from deeper into the passageway. Once Graxx and Doozey both express their desire to leave this chamber as soon as possible, CRAP does just that.
As they move onward, the group notices the loose brickwork on the walls. The worked stone and bricks of earlier sections of the catacombs, often decorated with frescos or faux-pillars, is now left behind. The walls and ceiling of these tunnels are old and in poor repair. Another detail is that the 90-degree intersections that formed every turn in the catacombs so far gives way to more acute angles which come at odd places and more frequently. Less attention has been given to these deeper sections and it shows. Cassyt is completely out of her element now: "I have come across no records of such areas in my readings."
(OOC: As you advance through this tunnels, I will ask you to roll a group-stealth check. Because of the twanging noise from earlier, this check is done at disadvantage. Because Utar and Biscuit noticed suspicious noises, you would have some warning. Hence, you can prepare for these rolls -- features, spells, etc. -- as you see fit. Someone who is feeling particularly lucky can roll for Cassyt as well. Her modifier is zero.)
Edit:Neya stays behind for just a few seconds, silently studying the creepy display room.
@Drache: The choice to share the info below with others is yours:
Neya suspects that the focus on multiple persons attacking a single individual in these displays suggests scenes of revenge. What comes to mind as a possibility is that the "victims" in these vignettes committed mass murder or other atrocious crimes, and their "killers" were their victims in life. Here, the true victims are allowed their eternal payback.
Doozey silently noted the admission, acting a touch more mindful this time of his habits and words. That, and between the macabre display and blind turns, both ears and sniffer are on higher alert for trouble ahead.
(OOC: Even with that natural 1, that's an average stealth roll of 22 for the group. Those who walk with Neya walk in shadows. Also, Cassyt can't actually cast Guidance, so I ignored that roll.)
Despite some initial tripping by Graxx, the group advances as quietly as a mouse. They have Neya's magical wisps of smoke to thank, which emanated from the monk's feet as soon as she realized a careful approach was needed.
As they make the next turn, CRAP notices the the corridor opens up a bit. The space beyond the turn is too wide to just be a more spacious pathway, but it is also too narrow and odd-shaped to be called a room. Regardless of what its original purpose may have been, this space is now occupied by four roaming zombies. This space is littered with rubble and freshly turned earth. Sitting next to a barrel next to an opening on the far side of the wall, is a kobold dozing quietly in a small wooden chair. The kobold is only partially seen because of the placement of the barrel. None of the enemies have noticed the approaching group.
Keeping very still, Utar points towards one of the zombies, then at himself, marking his intended target should they decide to rush the room.
Turning at the waist, he points at Cassyt, then to the spot on which she stands, trying to wordlessly indicate that this is where she is to wait in the coming fight.
Still grumbling over his findings, it takes Doozey a few moments to recognize Biscuit's findings compared to the others. When he does though, and seeing Utar even readying in anticipation of a scrap, the stoutling, lets a hand hover near his own weapon as he speaks again. "Hnn... I do not like this. If holding the point 'ere, I'll pop inside the necropolis. See if the dead were disturbed. If not, we move on the east, and see what Biscuit has found." He states, but would hold off a moment to give others at a brief change to chance his mind before creeping down into the northern chamber, keeping near southern wall while creeping about for a closer look.
Doozey Stealth: 11.
Doozey Perception: 27. (adv. from Heightened Senses, if applicable)
(S/N: For what it matters, Doozey's False Track boots has been projecting any trail left behind as belonging to a Barefoot Kobold.)
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
After a moment of thought, Utar quietly makes his way toward the passage Biscuit seemed more interested in. Neya follows after shuddering a bit. Their collective attention then turns to Graxx, who voices some concern about leaving the Necropolis unchecked. Doozey agrees and moves forward slowly with the intention of getting a read on the area.
Stepping into the Necropolis, it's as if Doozey has entered a subterranean city. The crypts here are modeled after surface homes and other buildings, although they're only about two-thirds the size of their real counterparts. Coming from somewhere to Doozey's northeast, the stoutling hears sounds of scratching and scraping. Somewhere else in the distance, that wailing noise is repeated. How far off these sounds are coming from is very difficult to judge in this vast chamber. The stench is omnipresent, the chamber fades into darkness before any other walls can be spotted, and Doozey also notices a few disturbed simpler graves off to his right and beyond. To his left, he spots a simple wooden door, which is closed. Before he can decide what to do next, Doozey has a thought: this necropolis could house a thousand untold secrets and it likely stretches for miles beneath the surface; a person could explore its depths for days and not see all that it contains.
Back with the rest of the group, Cassyt gossips: "Rumor has it that the hidden tomb of Miltiades, a legendary undead paladin, is within this section of the catacombs, though no one has claimed to have found it."
"It would certainly be something to behold," Neya says, intrigued by the concept of the scale-modeled dwellings of an undead paladin. "Hopefully, he would be at rest should we have the luck to stumble upon it. Knowing our own run of luck, we may very well do just that."
Separate from that, she looks out for any dangers.
Perception: 8
Extended Signature
As Doozey has his epiphany, his spirits sinks as it too dawns on him just how unlikely it was the mission of there's was to be complete after but a single day. So it was that he would stand there for at least nearly a minute, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breathe. 'Ent Grey elt Eterna, nen noo elt Hunda' He thought, calming his nerves. He then glances one last time back to the door, before then sneaking his way back to the others.
"I'm back. And, uh... It seems what they said about this place is true. A regular city it is, and then some. Could take... could take a couple of days to find what we seek. And uh... A bit more of bad news as well. Some of the little households, uh..the simpler graves, if you will, have been disturbed. And I doubt it has been by mere grave robbers at that. So needless to say, we may have our work cut out for us, to say the least." He explained to the group, before moving on to explaining his other findings.
"Worse things is, I don't think we're gonna be able to avoid heading through the Necropolis one way or another. But, I leave it to ya. See to what spooked Biscuit here first, or... well, get things over with, as it were."
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Utar raises an eyebrow at Cassyt's comments. "An undead paladin you say? Care to elaborate on exactly who that was..."
Frowning, Utar runs through a few tenses trying to make sure he gets it right, "...is...might be... for those of us who didn't keep up with our school learning?"
History - 14
Utar attempts to recall whatever he can about Miltiades, although he isn't hopeful. Once Cassyt has her chance to answer, he prompts the group to press on to whatever piqued Biscuit's interest.
Graxx’s eyes narrow as he stares into the darkness and listens to Doozey’s report.
”Days of exploring underground…” mumbles Graxx.
Graxx takes out his backpack and looks inside.
”I have a little over a weeks worth of rations. Hard to tell time down here. I’d hate for us to get down here fight off all these undead only to die of lack of food as I doubt we’ll be finding anything to eat down here.”
Graxx is intrigued by the undead Paladin.
”Yes, please tell us more. Did he roam the realm as undead or only turn undead once being placed here?”
A cold chill runs down Graxx’s neck.
”Cassyt, this little underground town reminds me of foul creatures. Have their ever been any stories of Drow being seen down here?”
Doozey returns after a few minutes and delivers his report. CRAP deliberates for a little while, giving Cassyt a chance to elaborate a little on her previous comment. "Miltiades was a paladin of Tyr, long ago. He had been blessed with great power and was favored by his deity until, that is, he supposedly snuck into the camp of his most recent quarry and murdered him dishonorably under the cover of night. He was then slain by the murdered enemy's men. A thousand years later, Tyr saw fit to call Miltiades back from the dead and task him with finding the city of Phlan, which had been captured by the minions of Bane. He succeeded while accompanied by many other heroes and was supposedly laid to final rest somewhere in the city he helped rescue. Little did he know that Bane's presence would not be completely removed from Phlan for many years."
Utar's memory is jostled by the acolyte's tale. He remembers hearing about Miltiades being called into service from the grave at least one other time. Tyr had called on him to retrieve one of his blessed hammers. Utar does not remember how the tale is supposed to have ended.
Neya tries to keep an eye out for danger while listening to the stories but can't fully detach her attention from the tale of Miltiades. She notices no danger.
Then, coming to terms with the grand exploration task ahead of them, Graxx and the rest of CRAP agree to investigate the sound Biscuit had picked up before committing themselves to venturing further into the necropolis.
Taking the other path available to them, CRAP soon arrives at another chamber. This 50 x 40 feet area has well-designed displays similar to those in one of the first areas of the catacombs (the First Families), but with one major difference. Where the previous displays were pleasant depictions of daily life, these are nightmares come to life. In one crypt, the skeletons of three, very young children are posed as if they are strangling a grown man, while another portrays five people holding a skeletal man in a chair and "pouring" something from a greasy, brown vial down his throat. Separately, piles of dirt and rubble have been deposited around the room.
There is only one other exit out of this creepy display room, which leads further into the catacombs. Biscuit is eyeing this exit path attentively, though no obvious danger seems to be coming from it.
Edit: "Drow?" Cassyt asks while walking with the group. "I am sure there must be some interred in the catacombs somewhere; they are quite vast and may house any number of dead. If you are asking if a bunch of Drow came by rummaging, I do not recall any records of that."
Utar lets his eyes linger on the grim tableaus present within the room. Presumably these aren't the poses these bodies had in mind for their eternal rest and have been altered from how the Kelemvorites most likely laid them out. While he could well imagine some initiates laying out the bodies to simulate various lewd poses for a jape, he highly doubts they would be allowed to continue their studies without a severe reprimand from the Doomguide.
"I guess we take this as a sign that we're getting closer to where we need to be. I don't think its going too far outside the realms of possibility to say that whatever or whoever rearranged these bodies is also behind the restless dead within the catacombs. I guess we press on and be ready to find out."
Perception - 25
As they move through the macabre scenes, Utar keeps a wary eye out for anything that might be hiding among the bodies, ready to ambush CRAP.
"Certainly hard to imagine all this as anything else. But, if the Kelemvorites are as neutral on things as reported, even this is not wholly outside the realm of possibilities." Doozey commented from the back of Biscuit, looking at the display with a dispassionate visage. He then looks up and over to Cassyt, and before she even says anything, he holds up his pointer finger. "Don't. Start. Even I know this is a bit much in the name of neutrality. Even so, without having been there yourself, always better to temper any presumptions, no matter how bizarre or contradictory a discovery might be." He explained, hoping to mofilied the young Cleric, if only a little.
Either way, having neither the time or the inclination at the moment to disturb the bodies or piles of dirt and debris if it could helped, Doozey urged Biscuit onward for the next exit at the head of the pack, if not close to it.
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
"Good thing we don't have to worry about Drow while we're done here."
Graxx scowls.
"I want to be through this room as quickly as possible."
Graxx stops his walk and looks at the young children. His eyes flare with anger.
"I don't understand why someone would use innocent children in such a way."
Graxx will follow directly behind Doozey.
"These displays seem very aggressive." Neya observes. "But, in each, the anger is directed at one person."
Neya tries to infer the context of the horrific dioramas.
Insight: 22
Extended Signature
"No Kelemvorite would do this," Cassyt claims. "I'll have to ask the Doomguide more about this strange practice... or prank as you suspect it." She turns to Utar as to reference his words. Then, when Doozey speaks and preempts the acolyte's reaction, Cassyt can only "scrunch" her face at the stoutling to show her disapproval.
Utar gives the room a good look-around, just to be sure none of the bodies are about to attack the group. He finds no indication that any danger resides here and, in fact, picks up some shushing sound coming from deeper into the passageway. Once Graxx and Doozey both express their desire to leave this chamber as soon as possible, CRAP does just that.
As they move onward, the group notices the loose brickwork on the walls. The worked stone and bricks of earlier sections of the catacombs, often decorated with frescos or faux-pillars, is now left behind. The walls and ceiling of these tunnels are old and in poor repair. Another detail is that the 90-degree intersections that formed every turn in the catacombs so far gives way to more acute angles which come at odd places and more frequently. Less attention has been given to these deeper sections and it shows. Cassyt is completely out of her element now: "I have come across no records of such areas in my readings."
(OOC: As you advance through this tunnels, I will ask you to roll a group-stealth check. Because of the twanging noise from earlier, this check is done at disadvantage. Because Utar and Biscuit noticed suspicious noises, you would have some warning. Hence, you can prepare for these rolls -- features, spells, etc. -- as you see fit. Someone who is feeling particularly lucky can roll for Cassyt as well. Her modifier is zero.)
Edit: Neya stays behind for just a few seconds, silently studying the creepy display room.
@Drache: The choice to share the info below with others is yours:
Neya suspects that the focus on multiple persons attacking a single individual in these displays suggests scenes of revenge. What comes to mind as a possibility is that the "victims" in these vignettes committed mass murder or other atrocious crimes, and their "killers" were their victims in life. Here, the true victims are allowed their eternal payback.
(Neya's check will be a regular roll as her cloak's advantage in dim/dark conditions will negate disadvantage)
Neya will take advantage of the darkness around them to muffle the group's movements (2 ki points to activate Pass Without Trace).
Stealth: 36
Extended Signature
Doozey silently noted the admission, acting a touch more mindful this time of his habits and words. That, and between the macabre display and blind turns, both ears and sniffer are on higher alert for trouble ahead.
Doozey's Stealth: 21.
Biscuit's Stealth: 20.
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Before he steps into the tunnels Utar quietly intones the words to cast guidance and nudges Cassyt to do the same.
Given past history, he winces as he begins creeping down the corridor, hoping that he remembered to oil the joints of his armour...
Utar's stealth - 7 plus 4 from guidance plus 10 from pass without trace.
(OOC Assuming that Cassyt's check will be same as Utar's (both rocking that +0 modifier) and that she casts guidance as well. Here goes nothing...)
Cassyt's stealth - 5 plus 4 from guidance plus 10 from pass without trace.
Graxx is thankful for being able to see in the dark and hopefully not step on anything that makes noise.
Stealth: 20
+10 for 12
Edit: Facepalm
Disadvantage roll: 13
(OOC: Even with that natural 1, that's an average stealth roll of 22 for the group. Those who walk with Neya walk in shadows. Also, Cassyt can't actually cast Guidance, so I ignored that roll.)
Despite some initial tripping by Graxx, the group advances as quietly as a mouse. They have Neya's magical wisps of smoke to thank, which emanated from the monk's feet as soon as she realized a careful approach was needed.
As they make the next turn, CRAP notices the the corridor opens up a bit. The space beyond the turn is too wide to just be a more spacious pathway, but it is also too narrow and odd-shaped to be called a room. Regardless of what its original purpose may have been, this space is now occupied by four roaming zombies. This space is littered with rubble and freshly turned earth. Sitting next to a barrel next to an opening on the far side of the wall, is a kobold dozing quietly in a small wooden chair. The kobold is only partially seen because of the placement of the barrel. None of the enemies have noticed the approaching group.
MAP:
Keeping very still, Utar points towards one of the zombies, then at himself, marking his intended target should they decide to rush the room.
Turning at the waist, he points at Cassyt, then to the spot on which she stands, trying to wordlessly indicate that this is where she is to wait in the coming fight.
Turning back, Utar readies himself for combat.
Neya follows Utar's example and indicates the sleeping kobold as her target. She knocks her knuckles on her head, indicating a non-lethal take down.
Extended Signature
Graxx brings his pike up and wrings his hands over it preparing for battle.
Graxx follows Utar and Neya's and makes a wide sweeping motion showing that he will charging right into the middle of the zombies.
Graxx bares his teeth anxious for battle.