Juror's Guilt

[Throndir]

"I'm finding a way out!" Malgrim declared as he strode into the room. All of a sudden the doors slammed shut the moment he walked in. The force of the impact was powerful as dust was thrown into the air. Alarmed, Sir Rekkart moved towards the door that had just closed and began opening it. Lightly at first, but when he noticed that it was shut tight, he began pounding his whole body's weight against it.

"It's the exit..." Tablark said gloomily as he pointed towards the southern door responding to your question. He pointed to the large opening that both he and Malgrim had worked on to create. "It's... not working."

Its then that the group hears a peculiar sound coming from the now shut room that Malgrim disappeared into. A harsh staccato whisper builds to the rasping croak of a strangled man that echoes through the entire courthouse. Malgrim screams frantically over the horrid sound. "No! Get away from me! You're dead! I saw you swing! No!" The jangling of a chain and wet gurgling follow. Then all goes silent.

[Throndir]

Aetius:

"I have experience fighting the undead friends." I say as I raise up my spear towards the door Malgrim went through and get into a fighting stance. "I will buy you the time you all need to escape. All of you! Give everything you have! Attack the door. I'll see you on the other side!" I run at the door where Malgrim was probably killed and charge into the room cursing the spirits name. "Come at me you cowardly specter come at a man not afraid to die! Not afraid of you! You were as weak in flesh as you are now! COME AT A MAN WITH A DEATH WISH!" I scream as I set my shield ablaze."

[Throndir]

Rekkart continued pounding on the door, but it continued to be shut tight. When you arrived however and barked your commands, you expected the door to give some resistance, but as you pushed on it at the same time Rekkart did, the door swung open. You had nearly lost your balance with the western door suddenly giving way.

But instead of the undead, you were greeted by a hanging corpse. It was Malgrim,with his own spiked chain wrapped around his neck like a sick excuse of a hangman's noose. As Malgrim, quite dead, was hung on the rafters, his fresh blood continued to pour down, drenching his clothing in red, and creating a red pool of blood just underneath his swinging boots.

Madge, who was watching from the doorway, gasped as she placed a hand over her mouth. Sir Rekkart moved forward too, though he had turned around to beckon the others to move to the southern doors.

This next room was very similar to the first courtroom. In fact it looked like a mirror of it. However, unlike the eastern courtroom, this one was in a worse state. Much of the furniture in this old courtroom has been splintered into kindling. It looks like someone has ruthlessly smashed almost everything in the room. Beyond the carnage, the bench has been overturned and the jurors' box is in shambles. The windows here are crisscrossed with heavy boards. Where the nails breach the plaster around the windows, rust stains seep like bloody wounds in the courthouse walls.

But what you noticed the most were a variety of ravens, each with glowing red eyes staring down at you from both the rafters, and the window sills. They didn't quite yet attacked, and the ravens only stared, each of their eyes looking towards you.

(I need to make a gridmap, but its basically a mirror of the first Courtroom, just flipped as it's the west courtroom. In game terms, there are two swarms of ravens that are 30 ft. west, and 10 ft. up)
"The others should escape when they can" Sir Rekkart said as he drew his sword. "I'll be the last one out along with you, Aetius." He looked grimly at Malgrim's hanging body.

[Throndir]

Aetius:

"Rekkart. Help me take his body down. We'll take it out with us. I'll tell you Rekkart, I have an idea, I just feel like it's a risky idea, but it's my back up plan... before I get to it, I have three questions." I clear my throat. "Question one: What did you and Madge find before we all returned to the great hall?"
"Question two: Do you think that window would be easier to get through than the door the team is trying to break through in the great hall?"
"Question three: Have you ever heard of a spirit that could do this much and have powers this great? The power to drug us? Bring us here? Create haunted contraptions like that clock?"
"I hope you don't mind my questions Rekkart."

[Throndir]

"When you went to the eastern courtroom, Madge and I opened this one. We only took a few steps in when we noticed those ravens on the windows." He pointed towards the ominous swarms that gathered up in the rafters and the windows sill.

"Their eyes aren't natural, we didn't have a chance to go deeper in and see if those ravens will attack us until we heard Malgrim's cursing. We headed back out, only to find the hobgoblin pushing Madge aside, and entering the courtroom himself."

"As for the door, I believe Tablark and Malgrim have widened it more." You heard sounds of wood being torn as well as thudding. "I assume the others are already working on taking the door apart, at least for the larger ones to get through."

For your last question, Rekkart slowly shook his head.

"I haven't heard of a spirit who could drug us. Spirits usually only haunt one location they are tied to, and never have I heard any stories of spirits dragging its victims to its lair. As for the haunted contraptions, if the spirit is powerful enough, then yes, they can affect our realm. Undead, zombies, and wraiths aren't as rare as you would think. This place however..."

He shook his head as he banished his dismal thoughts.

"Lets bring down the body quick, those ravens continue watching us, and keep your guard up as well."

[Throndir]

Looking at how Malgrim was hung up, you can see that the spiked chain was only hastily tied at the top. Pulling it down with the body wihth some force should be able to bring down both Malgrim and the weapon. As you examine the weapon, you know for a fact that it was Malgrim's own weapon that he had brandished out before. It was a Spiked Chain. Though you weren't particularly proficient in the weapon, you knew that it was a common enough that some fighters fought with the exotic weapon. It was a finely crafted weapon, and as you brought it up closer, you noticed that each of the sharp razors that made up the spiked chain looked to have streaks of ice on it, and the tips were abnormally cold as well. If anything you realized that it was indeed a masterwork weapon, and magical too, if the unnatural coldness was any indication. Near its handle, you notice an engraving on it, that simply read 'Grindle-Slash', you assume that to be the name of the weapon.

The ravens staring down at you were called Carrionstorms. Where the dead walk, the carrion birds follow. In most cases, the unfortunate birds that feast on the remains of fallen undead creatures simply grow diseased and die. Yet the flesh of some ghouls has an altogether different effect upon such scavengers, and when they die of the poisoned repast, they do not stay dead for long. Alone, an undead crow or vulture is little more than a hideous mockery, but in rare cases where ghoulish activity is thick, entire colonies of carrion birds can succumb to undeath, retaining their flock mentality yet no longer seeking the flesh of the freshly dead to sate their hunger. Carrionstorms, as these flocks of undead birds are called, find brief respite from their morbid hunger only when their meals are warm and screaming.

Carrionstorms are typically found near graveyards, haunted structures, or abandoned villages where ghouls have been active. Many necromancers and cultists have a particular fondness for carrionstorms, and since the birds have a strange respect for the symbol of the Pallid Princess, rookeries of them are often found roosting in the nooks of the goddess of undeath's macabre cathedrals.

Although the individual undead birds that make up a carrionstorm are little more intelligent than they were in life, as a whole, a carrionstorm forms a rudimentary hive mind that grants its members a slight bit more intellect than the typical bird. This not only allows the undead birds to utilize basic tactics, but allows rudimentary speech as well. Most carrionstorms understand a few dozen words in Necril, the language of the dead, and the sound of thousands of these undead carrion birds croaking out strange words can be truly unsettling to those who aren't prepared for the horror. This same hive mind allows necromancers to treat an entire carrionstorm as a single undead creature with regard to the effects of spells like command undead and control undead, or feats like Command Undead. The swarms make excellent scouts, and even better threats against small towns and superstitious communities.

(DEFENSE
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 size)
hp 11 (2d8+2)
Fort +1, Ref +0, Will +5
Defensive Abilities swarm traits; Immune undead traits
Weaknesses vulnerable to channeled energy

OFFENSE
Speed 10 ft., fly 40 ft. (good)
Melee swarm (1d6 plus distraction)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.)

[Throndir]

Aetius:

"Here's my plan Rekkart. We first need to pull Malgrim down, then we'll retreat back and close this door behind us. We'll assess how the others are doing with the door and I'll adjust my plan from there." I then explain to Rekkart what I know about the Ravens.

[Throndir]

As you begin to bring the body down, the ravens started murmuring, they said strange words that you couldn't decipher, and all at once, they began to flock and swarm towards you and Sir Rekkart. You used your ability, encouraging Sir Rekkart as both of the swarms came close. They were trying to encircle you altogether, and you found an opportunity to attack..

You attacked with your spear as they came close, piercing a couple of the ravens in your attack, as well as injuring more than a couple in that single strike. You followed up again, striking the dark mass of birds that circled you.

[Throndir]

Aetius:

"Rekkart! Let's back up and fight them in the doorway. That way we won't be hit from behind!"

[Throndir]

Your readied action hit, and like before you managed to take down a couple more ravens in that attack. Rekkart two took his attack of opportunity from earlier with his blade coming down on a handful of the ravens, completely slicing them as his sword fell. He followed up with another slash of his sword against the swarm, but he missed. He heard your shout of getting closer to the door, and he took a 5 ft. step closer, while still maintaining his guard against the circling ravens.

The whirling of the ravens is mesmerizing, and you feel yourself starting to get queasy trying to keep track of the fast moving birds. But you hold out against it.

Sir Rekkart however, was having a much harder time, and you can tell that the movements of the creatures flying around him was making the knight hesitate.

[Throndir]

Aetius:

"Rekkart, this place is full of busted up wood and cloth, it's practically a match ready to ignite. All we need is a spark. If you strike that marble just right you'll set this place ablaze and flame will purify the spirits of this place. Once it takes I'll grab Malgrim and we'll get out of here."

[Throndir]

"With my sword?" Rekkart asked questioningly. "Flint and steel should work better, unfortunately, I do not have any of my regular gear with me when I was drugged out."

[Throndir]

Aetius:

"It's the best we have. I'm afraid if I take Malgrim down dark magics will raise him against us. All we need is a spark friend."

[Throndir]

Sir Rekkart began looking around for any pieces of cloth or wood, with the city being so close to the ocean, Beldrin's Bluff literally at the edge of the cliff that was the western ocean, most of everything was slightly damp. He did find some splinters however. There was some marble that made up the columns, as well as arches of the door, and using that, Rekkart bent down, placing the splinters of wood at the base, then began striking the marble just above it.
(It'll take a couple rounds for Sir Rekkart to start a fire up, and will probably need some other starter logs to help the fire, feel free to state any other actions while Rekkart is starting the fire, and gathering usable tinder)

[Throndir]

Aetius:

"Rekkart I forgot. I have a flint and steel in my pack. Here!" I toss it to him. "I'll keep you safe while you get the fire burning." "Tablark, Killian, Patrissa come here quick!" I yell.