As the metal figure slides under the door, Boosey is as surprised as anyone that he reacts quickest, landing a mighty blow with his staff on its helm. The impact rings out like a bell in the enclosed space, and the armour on the creature looks as if it cracked with the impact. "Finish the job, Allister, or we're dead," he shouts, adding inspiration to the words. "Kill it!"
Instinct takes over as the creature dives toward her, and Nenne teleports away from danger. She extends her finger at its armored head and shouts, "Do it now!"
Even though the golem is trapped under the door it can block two attacks with its mailed fists. When Allister stabs a third time at the head, the creature tries to grab the flaming blade but all it achieves is that half its hand is cut off and burning. With no way to intercept the next attack the rapier pierces through the golemˋs visor. Allister leaves the blade inside the head for a few seconds to make sure the creature doesn’t get up again. When he pulls the blade out he looks at Boosey and winks. „Told you we will be fine.“
After celebrating another successful fight with no damage to the party agains the meat bag, Allister and Glimbul talk about checking the other tomb. After discussing the game plan the duo moves carefully to the coffin without disturbing the salt more. Glimbul looks over the coffin slowly before backing away for a bit and giving Allister the ok to open it.
Inside the sarcophagus is an urn filled with tiny bones and what looks like a petrified egg inside an urn. Three potion vials, filled with a red liquid; one of which is a bit bigger than the other two are laid at the base of the urn.
Boosey studies the metal corpse for a long time in silence before following the others into the rooms with the pentacle.
“We were fortunate we reacted quickly with that thing. Had it got loose in there,” he motions to the other room and shuts his eyes tightly, “there wouldn’t have been much left of us. Still,” and he gives a deep sigh, “I’m glad it’s dead. I swear you’re the most dangerous thing in this place, Allister.”
He looks to the now open coffin and simply nods at the other gnomes suggestion. A hand appears hovering over the potions and eggs, then begins to lift them out in turn. He leaves the egg until last and as it’s lifting he brings it to eye level in front of the company.
“What do you think it is?” He asks, the egg hovering in mid air clutched in the hand.
Nenne stands just inside the secret tunnel, leaning her back against the wall, as she surveys the scene. "I could not say, other than I would imagine that is the source of the magic I detected earlier."
The shadows obscure some of the sober blues that surface in her complexion. "Now that each of us is playing host to an entity, however, it is time we had a strategic discussion about our next steps." She shifts position to face them better and folds her arms.
"There are five gods remaining of the Nine: Nangnang, Wongo, Unkh, Shagambi and I'Jin. We know it is possible to utilize their artifacts without becoming their vessels, as I did with Moa's staff, and that if we are very strong of will, we can fight them off before they take residence in our minds. We also know that some" - she eyes Boosey - "are malevolent. There is too much external danger in this tomb for us to be fighting evil in our own heads. Moreover, these gods have poor history with one another." She glances pointedly from the bard to the fighter. "I would rather not experience what more deific rivalry would do to our group. So I think we should decide right now what we are and are not willing to risk. As for me, I am already potentially the permanent vessel of Moa, and I will not risk allowing any other god to share space in my mind unless he or she is equally as virtuous. I do not think I could cope."
Boosey listens intently to the cleric. “I do not believe Papazotl to be evil. Arrogant and self serving, but not evil as such. I sincerely regret losing Moa, but that was necessary in the end, and worth the sacrifice, for you are still with us Nenne!” He looks to the others.
“Believe me when I say I am not some toy for this god to play with, though occasionally it may be wise to heed their advice. Alas, I don’t think we will find another such as Moa. The other gods are somewhat more capricious. “
„We don’t know what happens if someone tries to host two gods. We don’t know if they will fight inside our heads. I don’t have the mental stamina to have two gods fight inside my head or try to prevent it from entering when I touch it. This one here“ Allister points at the egg „seems to be a pain in the ass from what the stories tell. But we will probably need the magical artifacts to stand a chance against the lich.“ He looks at Nenne. "I guess what you’re saying is leave the tombs alone and concentrate on the Soulmonger.“
She sighs, long and weary. "I once believed we could stand against Acererak on our own merits. But this place..." She closes her eyes and winces.
"I share your view on the artifacts. I fear we need them. Tomorrow, I can strengthen our ability to fight the gods' possession. I cannot risk it today. So let us keep the egg as we did the amulet and continue our search for the Soulmonger once we are rested. If one of you is bold enough to try to battle Nangnang in the future, tell me and I will aid you. Just...not today, please."
"They may bicker like children, I would guess. Maybe I should ask my guest how they feel about sharing a space with another! The artifacts may be vital to our success though. I'm sorry it was destroyed, but think of Moa's staff," he looks sadly at Nenne. "That staff was powerful and useful beyond measure, it saved you, Allister, and Nenne in the tumbler. It stands to reason that other items will be just as powerful. There will be other items worth finding that may just give us the edge over Acererak. Our goal is to destroy the soulmonger, anything that can give us an advantage should be embraced."
Nenne frowns at the bard. "Neither Allister nor I disagree with you that the objects are useful. All I am asking is that we avoid risking further possession until I am able to help strengthen your minds against it. Also," she raises an eyebrow, "Moa will not countenance anyone else, even Shagambi, whom he describes as honorable. I vowed to respect his wishes to the best of my ability."
The party decides it would be best just to wait longer, holed up in Nangnang's tomb. Time slips by slowly. Eventually, the spell casters feel as if their spells might be restored with some sleep. Nenne, Boosey, and Glimbul get their rest first while Allister takes watch. The warrior wakes up Glimbul next, who has an almost as uneventful watch than Allister. When he wakes Boosey and Nenne for their watch, Glimbul is taken aback at how Boosey actually looks less rested than before.
The bard looks pale and wan and as he starts his watch he seems to be shivering violently. His eyes have dark rings around them and his reply to Glimbul is soft, distant, strained and nonsensical.
"Nightmares, nightmares, nightmares," he repeats the words in a half whisper to himself, his eyes shut tight. "Worms, bitter worms, eyes with ants, crawling, crawling with ants, ants, ants...." he tries to take a deep breath, but he starts hacking violently, coughing hard. Once the coughing subsides he spits continuously on the floor for a minute or so, as if to rid his mouth of something. "Faces, so many faces, tight, like leather, so many.....lips cracked like......blood, insects....faces..."
His mouth opens and shuts silently for a while, then he looks at Glimbul in the eye. "It came again," he says, then returns to his mutterings.
Nenne emerges from her trance with beads of sweat on her forehead, and opens her eyes to a scene not much better than what was replaying in her mind mere moments before. She darts over to Boosey and takes his face in both hands.
"Look at me," she intones, her voice gaining an authoritative bite that hearkens back to her military days. Gold shimmers faintly in her hair. "You are here, right now, with me. Look at the color of my eyes, count the scratches on my armor." She takes off her amulet and puts it in his palm. "Feel this. Heavy for its size, and smooth. Listen - that's Allister's breathing, sound asleep. These are real. These are happening to you right now."
She clenches her teeth and cups his face again, not daring to look away until he acknowledges her.
The gnome looks at Nenne as she speaks, still shaking and muttering to himself. Gradually the shaking eases and the muttering slows until he is saying nothing at all, although he his breathing is shallow and rapid. It seems for a time that Boosey isn't seeing the Cleric, despite looking at her but eventually the light of recognition returns to his hollow eyes. He looks down and fumbles about clumsily in a pouch, retrieving the ten goodberries that he had produced before the group had settled down for their rest.
"It.....it...it....it's c..c..c..ome b..b..b..b..back. L..like t..the Jungle." He gradually gets his breathing under control and holds the goodberries out to Nenne, his face even paler if possible and his eyes wide with fear. "I...I have n...nothing left."
The cleric takes the berries and hands them to Glimbul without looking. Calmly, and sternly, she speaks to the bard.
"One thing at a time, storyteller. We will deal with each obstacle as we always do, together. Now...what came back? Take your time. I am a patient woman."
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As the metal figure slides under the door, Boosey is as surprised as anyone that he reacts quickest, landing a mighty blow with his staff on its helm. The impact rings out like a bell in the enclosed space, and the armour on the creature looks as if it cracked with the impact. "Finish the job, Allister, or we're dead," he shouts, adding inspiration to the words. "Kill it!"
Instinct takes over as the creature dives toward her, and Nenne teleports away from danger. She extends her finger at its armored head and shouts, "Do it now!"
Even though the golem is trapped under the door it can block two attacks with its mailed fists. When Allister stabs a third time at the head, the creature tries to grab the flaming blade but all it achieves is that half its hand is cut off and burning. With no way to intercept the next attack the rapier pierces through the golemˋs visor. Allister leaves the blade inside the head for a few seconds to make sure the creature doesn’t get up again. When he pulls the blade out he looks at Boosey and winks. „Told you we will be fine.“
After celebrating another successful fight with no damage to the party agains the meat bag, Allister and Glimbul talk about checking the other tomb. After discussing the game plan the duo moves carefully to the coffin without disturbing the salt more. Glimbul looks over the coffin slowly before backing away for a bit and giving Allister the ok to open it.
Allister nods to Glimbul and opens the sarcophagus carefully.
Inside the sarcophagus is an urn filled with tiny bones and what looks like a petrified egg inside an urn. Three potion vials, filled with a red liquid; one of which is a bit bigger than the other two are laid at the base of the urn.
Seeing the items inside Glimbul calls out to Boosey. “Could we use your mage hand to pick up these items? There seems to be more than 1 this time.”
Boosey studies the metal corpse for a long time in silence before following the others into the rooms with the pentacle.
“We were fortunate we reacted quickly with that thing. Had it got loose in there,” he motions to the other room and shuts his eyes tightly, “there wouldn’t have been much left of us. Still,” and he gives a deep sigh, “I’m glad it’s dead. I swear you’re the most dangerous thing in this place, Allister.”
He looks to the now open coffin and simply nods at the other gnomes suggestion. A hand appears hovering over the potions and eggs, then begins to lift them out in turn. He leaves the egg until last and as it’s lifting he brings it to eye level in front of the company.
“What do you think it is?” He asks, the egg hovering in mid air clutched in the hand.
Nenne stands just inside the secret tunnel, leaning her back against the wall, as she surveys the scene. "I could not say, other than I would imagine that is the source of the magic I detected earlier."
The shadows obscure some of the sober blues that surface in her complexion. "Now that each of us is playing host to an entity, however, it is time we had a strategic discussion about our next steps." She shifts position to face them better and folds her arms.
"There are five gods remaining of the Nine: Nangnang, Wongo, Unkh, Shagambi and I'Jin. We know it is possible to utilize their artifacts without becoming their vessels, as I did with Moa's staff, and that if we are very strong of will, we can fight them off before they take residence in our minds. We also know that some" - she eyes Boosey - "are malevolent. There is too much external danger in this tomb for us to be fighting evil in our own heads. Moreover, these gods have poor history with one another." She glances pointedly from the bard to the fighter. "I would rather not experience what more deific rivalry would do to our group. So I think we should decide right now what we are and are not willing to risk. As for me, I am already potentially the permanent vessel of Moa, and I will not risk allowing any other god to share space in my mind unless he or she is equally as virtuous. I do not think I could cope."
Boosey listens intently to the cleric. “I do not believe Papazotl to be evil. Arrogant and self serving, but not evil as such. I sincerely regret losing Moa, but that was necessary in the end, and worth the sacrifice, for you are still with us Nenne!” He looks to the others.
“Believe me when I say I am not some toy for this god to play with, though occasionally it may be wise to heed their advice. Alas, I don’t think we will find another such as Moa. The other gods are somewhat more capricious. “
„We don’t know what happens if someone tries to host two gods. We don’t know if they will fight inside our heads. I don’t have the mental stamina to have two gods fight inside my head or try to prevent it from entering when I touch it. This one here“ Allister points at the egg „seems to be a pain in the ass from what the stories tell. But we will probably need the magical artifacts to stand a chance against the lich.“ He looks at Nenne. "I guess what you’re saying is leave the tombs alone and concentrate on the Soulmonger.“
She sighs, long and weary. "I once believed we could stand against Acererak on our own merits. But this place..." She closes her eyes and winces.
"I share your view on the artifacts. I fear we need them. Tomorrow, I can strengthen our ability to fight the gods' possession. I cannot risk it today. So let us keep the egg as we did the amulet and continue our search for the Soulmonger once we are rested. If one of you is bold enough to try to battle Nangnang in the future, tell me and I will aid you. Just...not today, please."
"They may bicker like children, I would guess. Maybe I should ask my guest how they feel about sharing a space with another! The artifacts may be vital to our success though. I'm sorry it was destroyed, but think of Moa's staff," he looks sadly at Nenne. "That staff was powerful and useful beyond measure, it saved you, Allister, and Nenne in the tumbler. It stands to reason that other items will be just as powerful. There will be other items worth finding that may just give us the edge over Acererak. Our goal is to destroy the soulmonger, anything that can give us an advantage should be embraced."
Nenne frowns at the bard. "Neither Allister nor I disagree with you that the objects are useful. All I am asking is that we avoid risking further possession until I am able to help strengthen your minds against it. Also," she raises an eyebrow, "Moa will not countenance anyone else, even Shagambi, whom he describes as honorable. I vowed to respect his wishes to the best of my ability."
The party decides it would be best just to wait longer, holed up in Nangnang's tomb. Time slips by slowly. Eventually, the spell casters feel as if their spells might be restored with some sleep. Nenne, Boosey, and Glimbul get their rest first while Allister takes watch. The warrior wakes up Glimbul next, who has an almost as uneventful watch than Allister. When he wakes Boosey and Nenne for their watch, Glimbul is taken aback at how Boosey actually looks less rested than before.
Concerned for the fellow gnome Glimbul asks Boosey, “Are you alright friend? It looked like you were having a nightmare before”
The bard looks pale and wan and as he starts his watch he seems to be shivering violently. His eyes have dark rings around them and his reply to Glimbul is soft, distant, strained and nonsensical.
"Nightmares, nightmares, nightmares," he repeats the words in a half whisper to himself, his eyes shut tight. "Worms, bitter worms, eyes with ants, crawling, crawling with ants, ants, ants...." he tries to take a deep breath, but he starts hacking violently, coughing hard. Once the coughing subsides he spits continuously on the floor for a minute or so, as if to rid his mouth of something. "Faces, so many faces, tight, like leather, so many.....lips cracked like......blood, insects....faces..."
His mouth opens and shuts silently for a while, then he looks at Glimbul in the eye. "It came again," he says, then returns to his mutterings.
Nenne emerges from her trance with beads of sweat on her forehead, and opens her eyes to a scene not much better than what was replaying in her mind mere moments before. She darts over to Boosey and takes his face in both hands.
"Look at me," she intones, her voice gaining an authoritative bite that hearkens back to her military days. Gold shimmers faintly in her hair. "You are here, right now, with me. Look at the color of my eyes, count the scratches on my armor." She takes off her amulet and puts it in his palm. "Feel this. Heavy for its size, and smooth. Listen - that's Allister's breathing, sound asleep. These are real. These are happening to you right now."
She clenches her teeth and cups his face again, not daring to look away until he acknowledges her.
The gnome looks at Nenne as she speaks, still shaking and muttering to himself. Gradually the shaking eases and the muttering slows until he is saying nothing at all, although he his breathing is shallow and rapid. It seems for a time that Boosey isn't seeing the Cleric, despite looking at her but eventually the light of recognition returns to his hollow eyes. He looks down and fumbles about clumsily in a pouch, retrieving the ten goodberries that he had produced before the group had settled down for their rest.
"It.....it...it....it's c..c..c..ome b..b..b..b..back. L..like t..the Jungle." He gradually gets his breathing under control and holds the goodberries out to Nenne, his face even paler if possible and his eyes wide with fear. "I...I have n...nothing left."
The cleric takes the berries and hands them to Glimbul without looking. Calmly, and sternly, she speaks to the bard.
"One thing at a time, storyteller. We will deal with each obstacle as we always do, together. Now...what came back? Take your time. I am a patient woman."