Having stepped on a trapped step, Trace leaps forward and manages to catch himself on the stairway. Unfortunately, the metal chain and bucket swinging from the winch above the stairwell begins to thrash violently. It animates, attempting to wrap around the paladin’s neck.
Krask begins firing arrows at the chain, which is a perfectly normal thing for people to do in Golarion. It is, however, Barnaby’s quick reactions on the draw that save the day. He easily slices through the chain, sending it clattering to the ground below.
Apparently the stairs were trapped, so Krask adjusts the device so that it will no longer be a problem.
With that minor inconvenience behind them, they continue to the landing. Using his keen eyes, Krask notices that part of the northern wall is reinforced, potentially indicating a secret door. He manages to get it open, revealing a bunch of sacks filled with gold dust and nuggets, as well as an old ledger.
As Fyn examines the ledger, it’s apparent that the Vekkers were keeping meticulous tabs on their mining operations. At the end of the day, however, the mines are all played out. In the margins, it seems the Vekkers were also working towards a monetary goal that the mines were able to completely fulfill.
They make their way to a devastated living area. All of the furniture is overturned and broken, and there are dried blood smears spattered over everything. Barnaby and Krask suddenly feel incredibly hungry, ravenous to the point of pain. They whip out some rations and begin gobbling it up.
Trace detects evil in the room, suspecting another haunt. He sends out a burst of channeled energy, which destroys the source of the party’s hunger. On the wall, the party sees a picture of two dwarves and an elk they hunted. One of the dwarves looks exactly like the haunted dwarf who ate the gold dust on the main floor. The party presumes this is one of the Vekker brothers.
After Fyn fails at opening a simple door, the party enters a larder with iron hooks hanging from the ceiling. Outside, the weather is certainly frightful; the winds have picked up and the swirling snow makes it difficult to see more than five feet.
In the corner of the larder sits a pile of dwarven bones. As Fyn investigates, he feels a familiarity with these skeletal remains. It even appears that one of them is wearing an amulet that he has on. In fact…that skeleton looks like him!
Or so he thinks.
A Hunger Within
While staring at the bones, Fyn is filled with fear as he becomes surrounded by a dozen emaciated dwarves who begin clawing and gnawing at his skin. He flails around the room in a panic as wounds open up on his body, sending bits of flesh and blood everywhere.
Trace was unable to notice the rising whispers and slobbering grunts of the hungry dead, and Fyn takes substantial damage before the paladin can exorcise the haunt from the room. It’s nothing that a little magical healing can’t fix, however, and Fyn is right as rain in no time at all.
They continue to the east, realizing that the door opens onto the front porch of the cabin. A wide assortment of hunting trophies adorn the rafters, a testament to the dwarves’ wilderness skills. Speaking of dwarves, Fobias sees a dwarven figure emerge from the swirling snow. Again, it’s the same dwarf who ate the gold dust, and the same one from the picture in the living room.
The dwarf shouts, “Run! Run for your lives! They’re going to eat you!” He runs off to the north, but not before the damage is done. Barnaby is panicked, and he drops his scimitar before running wildly off into the snowstorm. Internally, he believes that the rest of the party are cannibals and he’s their next meal!
It takes the rest of the party a second to react before they realize what’s happening. Barnaby is running around in the snow, dangerously close to the edge. The only thing that Fyn can think is to dominate Barnaby to stop him from falling. He casts the spell, taking control of Barnaby’s mind as he is about to teeter off the cliff.
Just in time.
What happened to the dwarves here? Where are the supposed details to their Xin-Shalast expedition? Will the GM start tracking rations going forwards?