Niamh turns around and runs out of the room screaming.
Tauriell instead takes the other direction.
Abomentolor also.
And Gwenhwyfar follows them on the foot.
Jimmy charges towards the howls and the screams of Niamh
Niamh passes Jimmy on her way out and stops the streaming. Instead she runs a little bit faster.
Jimmy stops as he sees Niamh run past, he drops to a knee and braces his ranseur against anything that might be chasing her
Shortly the baying stops. And nothing else happens.
Jimmy stands there, spear at the ready, waiting for the rest to return or for whatever was doing the howling
Abomentolor runs until he reaches the beach. There his panic fades and the unpleasantness of water causes him to go no further.
Huffing he stands there thinking about what scared him so much.
Tauriell runs in front of Abomentolor but stops as the effect wears off. As she sands there considering if she should go back Abomentolor runs past her.
She looks back what the others are doing. Seeing almost all run the same direction she calls back "Jimmy? Are you coming?"
Gwenhwyfar runs further than Tauriell, further than Abomentolor, running on until she almost reaches the the island where they found Helanda.
Jimmy shouts back
Niamh stops.
"Something howled and everyone ran in panic. How about come here and close the door after you." Tauriell suggests.
"Fine." Jimmy says under his breath. He walks out the hallway and closes the secret door. "How was I supposed to know what happened Niamh? You keep disappearing on your own and expecting us to know what is going on."
"You saw them, didn't you?" Niamh asks surprised.
"You were the only one in the room." Jimmy says, "You seriously need to pay more attention."
"I didn't see them and I'm not going back to change that." Tauriell comments.
"Do you know what those things were?" Tauriell asks Niamh.
"I payed attention!" Niamh says even more surprised. "And I didn't touch anything!"
"Yes. These are Shadow Mastiffs. They're hard to hit because they're kind of hiding in shadows and are evil outsiders."
"Ah, yes. Not going back." Tauriell shakes her head. "So what are our other options?"
"Why not?" Jimmy asks taken aback
"For one, going there didn't go well the first time. If Niamh didn't find some real good reason to go there again I see no need."
"Second. How many of those did you see Niamh? One of these shadow mastiffs is a hard enough enemy. I like my life." Tauriell explains.
"Four of them." Niamh replies.
"Well if you two know so much about them, they must have a weakness?" Jimmy says
"Daylight." Niamh replies. "We could try another golden plate. There where the statues stand. Come on." she says and disappears into the room giving one of the statues her hand.
"I had a scroll of daylight once. But I'm pretty sure you don't want to fight four of them. Even in bright daylight." Tauriell replies. "And they have another weakness. They probably die like flies if someone holds the position at the door while a gnome stands behind for a round or two."
"But I like Niamh's approach pretty much." she says and follows the halfling.
"I don't want to be walking around and have one of those things arrive behind me than you very much. We know they are there, we can prepare for them, and get rid of them." Jimmy rebuffs
As the plates start glowing Niamh steps onto the plate in the middle between the statues and disappears.
"Well f***." Jimmy says sitting down on the beach
Gwenhwyfar comes back from the natural cave and sits besides Gemeena. "Are you alright?"
The room where Niamh is
____________________________
This magnificent marble chamber is richly appointed. Its domed ceiling is frescoed with an image of a starry night sky, while a thick rug of exquisite manufacture covers much of the floor. A stairway rises to a pair of double doors to the west, while a hallway leads away to the south. Large alcoves decorated with gold tiles extend to the north and east. Black marble benches carved to represent coiling serpents sit on the northeast and southeast walls.
There are four creatures in this room that have the bodies of voluptuous woman wearing bikinis. But with red colored of skin. And claws. And Talons. And really ugly faces full of teeths.
Jimmy doesn't say anything, just sits there, running her fingers through the sand.
Niamh laughs a bit uncertain before she disappears and steps a step away.
The creatures look at the alcove to the east as if they had seen a ghost. They only got a short glimpse as the song Niamh used to cast her invisibility interrupted their routine.
Niamh tiptoes to the alcove in the north.
As Niamh enters the alcove she suddenly finds herself on a golden plate again in the room with the statues.
"Ah. Lucky me." Niamh's 'disembodied' voice says next to Tauriell.
"Did only your voice make it back out again?" Tauriell asks.
"Gwen..." Jimmy starts talking, and then stops again
"Yes?" Gwenhwyfar replies.
"Nope." Niamh replies grinning, even when Tauriell can't see her. "But I'm for sleeping. I don't have a spell left now. And I think it's better to have some left when taking that plate." The halfling turns visible. "And the others aren't anxious to go on too."
"I want to protect everyone here... But they are making it incredibly difficult." Jimmy says slowly, thinking through each word. "If those hounds had chased Niamh we could all very well be dead right now, you were all too busy panicking to do anything. And then nobody is concerned about just leaving those things were they are and ignoring them. Do I make sense?" Jimmy asks, concerned as he seems to be the only one showing these concers
"I think we need to talk about that as a group. Let's go take a seat at that table." Gwenhwyfar replies getting up and offering Gemeena a hand.
"Sure thing." Jimmy says taking her hand and walking with her to the table
"Would you please all come over and take a seat? We need to talk strategy here." Gwenhwyfar says taking a seat at the table.
Abomentolor comes to the table "Does that include food? We did quite some running around and it has been quite some time since we had apple pie this morning. How late is it? I have no sense of time here."
Tauriell too comes to the table. "I guess only if you're offering." she replies as she takes a seat. "Having some sun and sky and starts again would be nice."