PlanetADnD.com

Grimacing, Lareth strikes out with his weapon, slicing deeply into the ghast's shoulder. The creature howls in pain and glares evilly at the elf. Imani and Locky both strike at it, but neither can seem to penetrate its disgusting callous hide.

However, Jeremy makes a near perfect shot with his bow, striking the ghast right in the heart. Surely it would have been a fatal blow, had the ghast not already been dead.

Screeching in rage, it slashes and bites at Lareth unrelentingly, but the kirath is able to hold his own and keep it distracted for the others.

Her feeling returned to her, Babushka grabs her blades. Ignoring the horrid smell that makes her feel sick to her stomach, she leaps up onto the ghast from its flank, wrapping her left arm and legs around the creature in a hug. This causes her to drop her dagger, but it allows her purchase to slam the longtooth dagger into the thing's brain. It shudders, staggers, then drops to the ground at last. The gnome tumbles to the ground with it.

There is silence a moment, then Thuskar groans as he gets to his feet.

===========

Initiative
Babushka (1d10+2): 12
Locky (1d10+6): 10
Imani (1d10+5): 8
Jeremy (1d10+7): 8
Lareth (1d10+2): 7
Ghast (1d10+3): 11

Round 8!

Lareth attacks (+1) the ghast with his frostbrand (+3) (1d20+4): 24, critical hit! for (2d8+1): 7 damage.
Imani attacks the ghast with her scimitars (+1) while nauseous (-2) (1d20-1): 6, miss and (1d20-1): 2, miss.
Jeremy fires a flight arrow at point-blank range (+2) at the ghast (1d20+2): 20, hit for (1d6): 6 damage.
Locky attacks the ghast with her hoopak (+2) (1d20+2): 7, miss.
Ghast attacks Lareth with its left claw (1d20): 11, miss; then attacks with its right claw (1d20): 2, miss; then it tries to bite him (1d20): 5, miss.
Babushka moves 25 feet southeast and into the ghast's odor range. She saves vs. poison (1d20+4): 7, fail. She suffers a -2 to hit. She then attacks the ghast with her Longtooth Dagger (+2) and her fine dagger while nauseous (-2) (1d20): 12, hit for (1d6+2): 6 damage and (1d20-2): -1, critical fumble! She drops the fine dagger. Ghast dies.
Jeremy has no target to attack.
Thuskar is no longer paralyzed.

(OOC: End combat.)

"That was tough! Thank you Lareth." Locky says as she lowers her hoopak, "I wonder what they were guarding?"

Checking each member of the group in turn she checks who is the worst injured (Healing: 1d20=8 Pass) and focuses her efforts on making them well.

Imani takes a moment to lean over her knees for a few moments to catch her breath before she winces and reaches behind her back to touch the area where she was shot in the back. "Are those things common in the forest?" she asks.

"I'm not certain," Lareth answers Locky. "But we should check it out before those that were turned decide to regroup and return."

There weren't many injuries in the fight, but the kender quickly determines that the one who was hurt the most was Imani, so she does what she can to patch the warrior up. She applies a bandage to the arrow wound in Imani's back after pulling the projectile out.

Lareth frowns as he considers Imani's inquiry. "More common than they used to be. The nightmare sometimes reanimates those who have died in the forest. When a ghoul kills someone, that person raises as a ghoul. This is how they reproduce. It's a pity we weren't able to destroy them all."

==========

Locky makes a healing check on Imani (1d20): 8, pass. She restores (1d3): 1 HP.

"They ran away from me." Locky says as she makes sure the rest of the group are ok (healing checks all round)

(Bab &Thuskar, 1d20=7, 1d20=18 pass and fail, I assume Lareth won't let her touch him)

"Shall we go in and look?" She asks when she is done.

Jeremy retrieves what arrows he can find and follows the others, keeping an ear and eye out for the return of the one that ran off.

"Is there another way of destroying the ghouls than fighting them one by one?" Babushka asks Lareth.

Jeremy manages to retrieve 6 of the arrows he fired during the battle.

Lareth says to Babushka, "A very powerful cleric can destroy them with a word. I will have to hire one, as well as gather other kirath, and hopefully track them down and finish them off for good." He looks over at the ruins. "Come, let us see what is inside then."

Stepping inside the ruins, they are immediately struck by the foul odor. There are a number of rotting and half-eaten animal carcasses strewn about, buzzing with flies. A quick search of the place turns up 5,000 copper coins (worth 50 steel altogether), 19 steel coins, 20 platinum coins, 11 gemstones, a large painting, 6 potions, 3 scrolls and a very well-made scimitar.

"Carry what you can," Lareth suggests. "And let us return to the camp before they return. Be watchful of anything that might be cursed."

=========

Locky makes a healing check on Babushka (1d20): 7, pass. She restores (1d3): 2 HP.
Locky makes a healing check on Thuskar (1d20): 18, fail.

"Ooo that looks like your thing." Locky suggests, touching the Scimitar with her Hoopak, looking at Imani.

"Could I take the Potions? And I bet Jerrard would like to see the Scrolls." (I don't suppose any of the Gems are Pearls are they?)

Her eyes keep going to the painting, it was useless really, there was no point, which was why she liked it, imagine, she had a painting! (What is the painting of btw?)

Imani moves over to pick up the scimitar. She looks it over closely before she smiles slightly. "What is a weapon like this doing here?" she asks.

"Let us not burden ourselves with the coppers" Babushka suggests. "Can you detect curses, Locky?" she asks her friend, looking at the painting with her.

Locky looks over the gems. They are a variety of colors, sizes and shapes; but alas, not a one is a pearl.

The painting depicts a scene. A massive ball of flame is falling from the night sky toward what appears to be a large city in the distance. The technique is brilliant and the painting seems to come alive when looked at. However, it has suffered some damage and appears quite old. It would have to be properly appraised to determine what it might be worth.

"Yes," Lareth says to the kender, "but do not read any of the scrolls until we've determined they're safe. And don't pick up the sword--" he stops when Imani does just that. "Well, if it is cursed, you'll find out soon enough, I suppose." He shakes his head. "And the gnome is right. The coppers don't seem worth the trouble of carrying them about."

He turns to leave. "Grab what you want, leave the rest. Then let us return to camp."

Picking up a few coppers Locky looses them in a pouch, after all her mother used to say 'Look after the coppers, and Steel will take care of itself.' She tried that once, but the Steel piece never moved...

"It's very pretty, quite old I would say.." she says absentmindedly as she scoops the potions up with one notion, adding two of the prettiest stones to her pockets she passes the scrolls to Babuskha. "Could you hold these..?"

Ignoring the money she brushes her hand over the painting, would it fit on one of the ponies?

The painting could conceivably be tied to a pony's pack and carried that way, yes.

===========

Locky adds 10 CP, 6 unknown potions, and 2 gemstones to her inventory.

Babushka takes the scrolls, but asks her friend again: "Locky, can you detect curses?"