Herm follows the ladies down, holding the rope steady for Harrold to come after him. Seeing the dog didn't take the bait Herm puts away the other ration that he was pulling out.
"No like a regular dog, lets hope we can avoid it. What did you find in here Jominda?"
"Alchemical things, acid, nushadir - whatever that is - tanglefoot bags, thunderstones, ... and straw." Jominda replies. "Nothing unexpected for a Chymic Works."
Kendra swings down after Jominda, leaving Herm on the boom to help Harrold down. Trusting Jominda's assessment of the boxes, she looks around for exits - and more importantly, entries into the chymic works proper
Harrold gingerly climbs down the rope to Herm. "It could just be well trained, and besides, i wouldn't eat trail rations if I had the choice either."
"We talked to Thomas. He told that he doesn't eat at all." Jominda tells. "Come in, you don't want to sit out there if someone comes looking why the dog barks."
After the two come in Jominda closes the sliding door and tries the door that leads further inside the building to take a peek.
Kendra looks worried. " If even the guard dog here is a construct, and there's never any workers seen here... what if the workers are constructs as well? All my spells will be useless."
This chamber occupies a whole side of the building, from the cellar level below up to the roof high above. Seven iron vats, each ten feet across, occupy the majority of the room. Furnaces fuel the vats at cellar level, while at the ground floor level a series of planks have been laid across the vats to allow passage to a ladder that leads to an iron walkway on the level above. Two ladders also allow access from the planks to the floor below. The air in the chamber is cloying and acidic.
The door Jominda opened leads to that iron walkway that connects the rooms on the 2nd floor. Two more doors are at the walkway around the corner. The vats seem to contain two different substances, judging by the color. Three strange humanoid creatures walk around on planks and watch the process of the production. They look like a mix of different kind of creatures and everyone of them totally different.
"That is acid, and bleach." Harrold says at a whisper pointing as he does, "And those are Mongrelmen. Hard working chimeras of humanoid races. They are, understandably, shunned from society normally."
"Let's make sure this floor is clear first" Kendra whispers.
"Do you think they will be friendly and just leave?" Herm asks hammer at the ready.
"Maybe if we're sneaky they won't notice?" Jominda asks and slips out of the door. Following the suggestion of Kendra she moves to the next door, staying close to the wall.
The stealthy part doesn't work too well, but at least she doesn't stumble over something noisily. Once the others follow she opens the door.
The Mongrelmen don't notice anything so far. The whole area is noisy and their attention is directed downwards to the vats and the fires. But the smell here is nauseating.
Kendra follows in pretty much the same manner as Jominda went.
Except Kendra needs to do her best to keep her dinner in - she gags with nearly every step.
Jominda opens the door hoping that they can move inside and there being better air quality.
As much an abattoir as a bedchamber, this room contains not only a four-poster bed, but also numerous workbenches and alchemical gear. The walls are lined with shelves and strange-looking objects in jars of liquid. Bits of rags litter the floor, and the air is heavy with the stench of spoiled food mixed with acrid chemicals. A ladder leads to a trapdoor in the ceiling. The thing to stand out the most is the head and shoulders of a person floating in fluid in a bell jar. It looks like it's from a swamper from morast.
But the room is not empty. The impolite 'gnome' is also in this room. And he is not amused.
Grine turns around, pulls out a handaxe and slashes at Jominda.
Jominda gasps as she is cut with the axe.
Clenching her teeth she throws a bomb at the ugly little guy, setting him aflame, and moves back, leaving the melee to Herm.
Grine's flesh looks pale and moist, his eyes are milky white and a foul stench of sweat and spoiled food comes from him.
Seeing him being agressive at Jominda without any warning whatsoever, Kendra moves on the offensive.
Her acid splashes moderately harmlessly off of the nearby wall though.
Recognizing the Gnome for what he really is, Kendra warns her companions. "This is no Gnome," she says, "But a dark creeper! He can't cope with bright light very well."
Herm decidies that holding his breath would be best to get through this area, once he has caught up with the rest he will lean against the wall of the new room catching his breath. Upon hearing the explosion Herm will snap into action.
"By the Inheritor all we did was come to ask you some questions, not you attack us?"
What dark creepers also can't deal with very good is being hit with a hammer. Herm brings Grine within an inch of his life. He steps back and puts out the fire, to not burn to death.
The other door opens and a humanoid creature that looks like it is missing it's skin comes out. He shouts down to the mongrelmen.
"Stand down!" Kendra yells at the two men opposing them in the room, while trying again to throw an acid splash onto the not-Gnome.
but once again only scarring the wall
The mongrelmen come running towards the ladder that leads up. But Harrold has the back of the group and will stop them.
"How about you stay down there and let us deal with this, doesn't look like they treat you very well anyway." Harrold shouts down at the Mongrelmen.
He quickly pulls out a vial and throws it at the skin stealer.
"The flayed one is a skin stealer, its an evil fey!" he shots as he throws the vial
He then quickly pulls another vial and readies to attack the mongrelmen if they start to climb.
Jominda moves further away from the skinless guy and throws a explosive bomb at it.
The skin stealer is hit by the bomb from Harrold, and again by the bomb from Jominda. But it is clear, that this creature can take a lot more. But obviously he is not willing to take any more. Downing a potion he starts climbing up the wall towards the chimney.
[ooc]Herm does yes"[/b]
"Yield and I will show you mercy, other wise you die"
Grine doesn't move, and doesn't say anything, but looks concentrated. And suddenly darkness falls over the room and like light would the darkness also spreads out through the door leaving Herm in the dark.
Herm takes a step forward and swings his hammer into the dark hitting something that is not the floor. A slight glimmer shows shorty in the darkness.
Trying to trick the skin-stealer in the darkness, Kendra speaks in Aklo. <Don't run, you fool! We have them now!>
She touches Jominda on the shoulder, making sure she has a bit more luck when she throws her next bomb to help counteract the darkness
"I Need to procure a ranged weapon for just this occasion."
HP 48/48
LoH 4/4 (2d6)
Channel 2/2 (2d6)
Smite 2/2 (+2 Hit, +4 dmg)
Divine Bond (Angelic, 1/day) +3 (Su) As a standard action, halo sheds light and grants enhanced protection from evil to allies in 20 ft.
Shared Defense (2 rounds, adjacent, +1 AC) (Su) Lay on hands use: Aura provides AC and other bonuses to allies.
Paladin (Divine Defender) Spells Prepared (CL 2nd; concentration +4)
1st—bless, knight's calling APG (DC 13)
Herm will attempt to figure out where he is going.
The darkness spreads only in the room (the 3x3 one) and on the square in front of the door. The Mongrelmen are moving over and climbing the ladder, but they are obviously stalling.
Herm feels around to find a way in the dark room. The inhabitant of the room seems to be gone. Checking on what he hit he only grabs a hand full of ash.
Jominda keeps throwing at the man without skin.
Vorkstag is hit again by the bomb and is still burning from the last. He continues to climb towards and into the vent in the roof and disappears from sight.
"S!!#, s+&~, s&+#! Kendra, do something. Don't let him get away!" Jominda laments.
Harrold throws the bomb at the mongrelman highest up the ladder.
He then shouts down "I warned you, stay down there and I won't have need hurt you again."
The mongrelman falls dead from the ladder. The others freeze in fear.
Kendra quickly climbs up the ladder after the skin stealer.
Kendra quickly moves to underneath the vent that the skin stealer disappear into, and points upward.
An arrow of green acid springs forth from her outstretched finger and races up the chimney...
The Acid hits just before the man disappears from sight.
Still burning and now also threatened by the acid the creature first tries to smother the flames. You hear as he climbs over the metal roof down. Unluckily there is no way to easily leave the building quickly to pursue him. Even looking out is a challenge as the windows are small and the glass blackened. Only going past the dog would be an option, but even for that you'd need to hurry to not lose him.
Jominda's pleading look on her face gives way to disillusion. "I guess magic can't solve everything." she says.
"Do we chase?" Harrold asks
In Grine's room is a ladder through a trap door leading up the tower you climbed from the outside. But there still is the trapped trap door at the top of the tower that you would have to pass.
"If herm would volunteer to hold off the dog for the time we need to leave the yard." Jominda replies. She hurries towards the ladder, but then simply jumps down onto the platform at the entrance of the production hall.
"Aargh. Curses." she voices her pain.
Kendra follows Jominda quickly, but seeing Jominda hurt herself decides to hurry down the ladder instead. "Come on!" she yells to the rest as she climbs down.
Arriving at the lower platform, she quickly checks "Are you all right?" before hurrying on towards the outer door.