Sergei grits his teeth and says,

“Let’s get this over with.”

indicating they should go to the source of the chanting.

"I agree..." Alev answers to Sergei, but stays a little behind as he inspects his new dagger, not paying that much attention.

"...Is this just a decorative detail, or is it a real rat's skull?" He babbles, looking at the pommel. "If it is, well, poor little thing I guess. Since it might have been a cute little beast once, it could use a name. People name their weapons all the time. The Rat King? Nah, that sounds too big of a name for just a little old dagger. Rat Prince, maybe? I'm calling it Rat Prince..."

He shuts up when he sees the humanoid form and stares at it, trying to see what it could be and if it is dead or alive, and not daring to get too close to it until he's sure of what it is.

Investigation: 18

Following in Rudicks wake, and seeing the humanoid form upon the dais, Skip moves to investigate the body, to see why race it is, if it’s dead or alive, method of death, it’s pockets 

investigation 8

Rudick merely grunts as he wades deeper into the chamber on his way to the altar. "One or two of you should be by that." He gestures to the wheel. "Thing may be rusted to the nine, but I'd rather not put out my back lifting that again if it should drop behind us." He said prior to getting to far. And unlike Skip, he was less interested int he body itself, but moreso the construction of the altar and how best it might be to dismantle it.

At least such was his intent on making his way closer.

Sergei hurries to follow Rudick into the room. He's scanning everything he can with his eldritch sight.

"Or we'll just do that." Leann says, following the others inside. She turns to the winch and makes sure the exit is open for their eventual way out.

The chanting stops as you enter into this 40' square room. The smooth masonry walls provide excellent acoustics. Featureless stone pillars support the ceiling, and a breach in the west wall leads to a dark cave heaped with refuse. Murky water covers most of the floor. Stairs lead up to dry stone stairs that hug the walls. In the middle of the room, more stairs rise to form and octagonal dais that also rises above the water. Rusty chains with shackles dangle from the ceiling directly above the stone alter mounted on the dias. The alter is carved with hideous depictions of grasping ghouls and is stained with dry blood. The water is about 2' deep and is black.

As you approach the altar, you see the prime form of Lucan atop it. His clothing is torn to shreds that barely cover his body. You can't tell where the blood begins and where flesh ends. He is badly beaten and barely clinging to life. As you take a closer look, you see his gaunt and skeletal. The skin you can see is dry, shriveled and beginning to take one a hue similar to the undead you fought before. His chest barely rises as he draws in rattling breaths.

As you climb atop the altar to look at him, chanting rises once more as 13 dark apparitions appear on the ledges overlooking the room. Each one resembles a black-robed figure holding a torch, but the torchs' fire is black and seems to draw light into it. Where you would expect to see the faces are empty voids with two white pinpicks of light for their eyes.

 "One must die!" they chant, over and over. " One must die! One must die! "

Sergei regards Lucan's withered and wounded form. A part of him marvels that he can do so without recoiling; he has already seen horrors in this place that have hardened him. Or numbed him. He'll sort that out later. He whispers to Lucan,

"Lucan, what happened to you..."

But already the wheels are turning in Sergei's mind. Probably the rest of the group won't agree to it.... But.... It's a despicable idea, but also a practical one. Is it diabolical? Is his reasoning being corrupted by his mental...companion? He will gauge their reactions before saying anything.

He doesn't pay much mind to the 13 spectral figures above. They seem to want something specific, and Sergei thinks he knows the solution.

Reaching the body of Lucan, seeing he is still breathing, but mauled beyond belief, Skip looks up to Sergei. 
“We can’t leave him here like this. Can you save him? Heal him? We can try and hold off these...whatever they ares”

Leann secures the winch, making sure the exit to the chamber is open for them if they need it. She then glances to the others. "He is likely beyond our aid at this time." She says with a sigh. "If one must die..." She leaves the rest unsaid, as she does not know this person who is clearly becoming undead, nor his relationship to these others.b

As soon as he recognizes Lucan, Alev's fear of the body is immediately replaced with shock. He moves closer to the agonizing bard, but doesn't dare to touch him out of fear that he would just harm him further or that the undead hue that seems to cover him might be contagious.

He didn't knew Lucan long enough to consider him a friend, but... "He doesn't deserve this" He mutters. He glances at Sergei as Skip asks him the question before he can, then looks up to the cleric and the paladin. "Can't you do something?" He asks them, tilting his head. 

He seems to be completely ignoring the chanting ghosts. They can wait till later.

Skip looks down at the silver sword at his hip, weighing it up in his mind. 
he draws the short silvered blade, and looks to Sergei again

”Will silver be enough?”  He growls out, anger evident in his voice

Sergei avoids Skip’s eyes as he says,

“My powers lie in destruction, not salvation. I say we put him out of his misery, and maybe appease these spirits at the same time.”

Skip thrusts the silver short sword into Lucans chest, towards his heart

**(DM if you want a roll for this let me know what to roll)**

Alev does nothing as the others decide, as he becomes more aware of the creepy apparitions looking at them, chanting for the death of one of them.

So when Skip uses the silversword to put Lucan's out of his misery, all he does is awkwardly pat the dying half-elf, trying to comfort him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Sergei, seeing Skip wasting no time, hastily raises his hands towards the apparitions and intones,

“Here is one of us, dying, let this appease you and free us from this place.”

(If possible, Rudick would try to stop Skip by grabbing him by the arm. And if able to, see below:)"

"We came here -- /I/ came this far to destroy the heart of this madness. Not feed into it." Rudick would state firmly, having spent the past quiet few moment running a marathon in his head, as others debated among themselves. "If death is to be his salvation, let least it not be on the altar. For without a doubt, if was not damned before, you'll be assuring it by making that 'sacrifice' on 'their' behalf. And you likely with him.... But if that's so acceptable to you..." With that, he let's go and even takes a step back to give Skip at least some breathing room.

If he did not decide to follow through with the act in the next few moments, OR someone didn't boldly accepted to do so in his place, only then it is with some care that Rudick would go to take Lucan off of it, set him aside, then in turning upon the altar state. "In the name of the Wondermaker, I return this creation to rubble, so that it may become the foundation of something grander works." Then, in came the blessed warhammer right for the base of the altar. Though he had faith in the stroke being enough, it would not be shaken if it was but a crack. Rather it is with a gusto that from that cracked base that would begin to push, and push, and push until it fell off to the side.

If not able to, or too late:

As Rudick is too caught up in his own thoughts, when Skip decided to act, eliciting likely some pained noise from Lucan, it is with wide eyes that he regarded the scene. Shock after nearly a solid minute then gives way disappointment and mild anger as he turned on the gnome. But as he'd been too slow to act, the Orc couldn't bring himself to say a word. Instead, he then looked to the hooded figures waiting for the inevitable...

**i like Orileo’s idea. Rudick stopping skip is a great idea (I was hoping it might happen lol)**

"...He's right" Alev sides with Rudick, but his voice is trembling with fear."I... I'm willing to go with whatever you all decide, but what if we are just feeding him to the house if we kill him? We would be dooming him to stay trapped here, like Rose and Thorn were..."

Sergei knew 100% that this is how Rudick would react, and Sergei is also relieved at the intervention. Sergei will back the team up to face whatever ill consequences come from this course of action.