Cromwin comes running past Brin, swinging his hammer at the cube, splattering more of its contents against the surrounding walls.
Cromwin AC 19
The mindless thing once more seeks out the most food and turns back trying to engulf Cromwin and Brin, while Grok hangs helpless in its translucent form feeling the acidic slime continue to eat away at his flesh!
Brin draws the incredibly crafted sword, maybe for the last time.
No one is written about when they run. Let's try this steel.
Brin lets out a battle cry.
"To the pages!"
"GROK!" Cromwin screams and defiantly swings at the oncoming ooze, seeking to blast the last vestiges of his friend free rather than flee.
Brin and Cromwin join Grok it the corrosive ooze floating besides various pieces of debris and staring out at the world outside tinted a pale green. Grok is growing short of break realizing that he cannot breaht within the terrible cube!
Brin's body locks up and pieces of his flesh begin to dissolve within the gelatinous cube.
Well old boy, it was a good show.
Grok strains, hard, but he simply cannot command his body to move. Dammit...come on, you have a sword for a reason, don't you? It just opened itself up to you, hit it. Hit it!
As Brin is swept up into the goopy corrosive mass Cromwin's blade flashes out, tearing through the already leaking thing and seeming to split open the permeable membrane that keeps the creature together. With a wet splurting sound its innards drain, Grok and Brin spilling out onto the floor alongside, a finely wrought chainshirt, a metal scroll case, an amulet containing a pale pink gemstone shot through with a white star, a falchion, and 4 platium pieces, all gleaming brightly the acid having scoured away any grime.
As Cromwin is swept up into the goopy corrosive mass Brin's fine new blade flashes out, tearing through the already leaking thing and seeming to split open the permeable membrane that keeps the creature together. With a wet splurting sound its innards drain, Grok and Brin spilling out onto the floor alongside, a finely wrought chainshirt, a metal scroll case, an amulet containing a pale pink gemstone shot through with a white star, a falchion, and 4 platium pieces, all gleaming brightly the acid having scoured away any grime.
Grok finds himself able to twitch his fingers and within a few seconds of release it able to move again, and more importantly breath, although his skin is still corroded and sore. Cromwin finds himself unable to move for almost a minute.
As the party wait for Cromwin to recover they hear a tremulous boyish voice from the west, "Hello? Is someone there? Please help! You have to get me out of here... Please? Help me?"
Grok gasps and sputters, his hands going to the floor and his eyes rolling in his head. He gets some of the ooze in his mouth and promptly begins coughing. He stands up slowly looking around and wincing. You all saved me, thank you.
Then Grok hears the boy shout, and immediately he grabs his bow and walks straight off, cautious but quick, towards to source of the noise. Come on, let's see what's ahead.
Cromwin flops out of the remains of the cube, hacking and coughing convulsively on the ground, unable to make any purposeful movements. His skin burns, flaring red and sore from the digestive juices. Panic rises inside him as he realizes he still can't move a muscle. N-No! I can't move! Will I ride again? Am I going to die?! Anvil...I'm so sorry. Take care of him Jac...
Cromwin continues hacking, his coughing soon dying down to heavy panting as his lungs clear and the acidic glop dries and drains away. He begins to be able to twich some of his muscles, small spasms signalling a soon return to life as the boy's cries echo through the room. I'm...I'm going to make it. I'm going to be ok. And I'm bringing Anvil down here, NOW, narrow spaces and twisty corridors be damned. If I die, I'm not going to die apart from him like this.
Brin watches as the membrane of the cube finally gives way under the masterwork sword's sharpened blade. The acid and contents flow everywhere and the bard jumps to and fro trying keep the acid from getting on his skin.
He sheathes his sword and comes running to where Grok and Cromwin lay on the ground, their skin still burning the stench being almost unbearable.
"By the gods...Crom, Grok hold tight. We can bring a priest if we must. I...uh,...those wounds..."
The scroll case, rather fine itself, proves to contain a scroll of Hold Portal, nothing else detects as magical.
"Othdan, please, I just came in on a dare last night and some half orc knocked me out and I woke up in here. I'm in some sort of furnace room." The voice comes back.
"Err, what? I'm sorry I don't know most of those words..." the boy responds, voice quavering.
"Yeah, well my Ma is the butcher? But I have nine brothers so she probably ain't even noticed I am gone yet," Othdan calls back miserably.
"It's one of those Butcher boys who run about town. If he was captured by Half-orcs down here we better get him back to town and warn Kurt!"
"I don't think so, it wasn't around when I woke up. I got bitten by a weird rat so I'm on top of the old furnace, please get me out of here!"
"Z-Zo..H-Horse. H-how? W-when?" Cromwin's face twitches, and his hand flops over to point vaguely at Snickers.
Come on, back up to the bedroom, time to see about getting around the portcullis. Grok begins to walk up the stairs, two at a time, then stops, hand on the wall. Ow. Weak. He strains back up to his feet, pausing for a moment. Slime's not pleasant. Let's go. Then he staggers on up the stairs.
Maybe some other way around, indeed. Grok shakes his head, massaging his arms and blinking several times. His eyes do not focus when he opens them. You lead, I'll follow.
"Tell me, did the weird rat that bit you have black eyes?" Maurie calls to the poor lad as she rewraps her rope dart around her once more. "And is it still in the room with you, regardless of eye color?"
"Urghph." Cromwin sits with Zove's help, strength rapidly beginning to return to his limbs. "L-lets never do that again. *cough*. Nice spell, Zove. He looks just like a fine animal, if a little skittish. " Cromwin winces in pain, then moves all his limbs in turn. "Everything hurts, but nothing seems to be too broken. That was a well timed blow, Brin. I think Grok and I owe you our lives. " Cromwin stands, gathering up his hammer and raising his voice. "Othdan, this is Cromwin Ganson, the horse trainer's son. Stay put, we're going to come get you. I'm going to go bring Anvil down here, and we'll get you out of here."
Cromwin will head up to the top of the stairs, where he will summon Anvil and walk him down below. I'm not leaving you again, my friend. Not for something as simple as some stairs and narrow passages.
"There must be a way to open this portcullis. A lever to shift the counterweight or something."
"Yeah black eyes, it bit me and everything went cold, but it left after a bit once I climbed up on top of the furnace, it just went through the wall!"
Cromwin leads Anvil down the stairs and, once Snickers is moved out of the way ,the group advance into the room that held the gelatinous cube. In the light of Zove's lantern, Cromwin is able to make out a barely visible gap in the stone behind the statue which upon inspection proives to be a secret door. Beyond the door is revealed a narrow cobwebbed passageway with thick undisturbed dust covering the floor.
The passage is twenty feet long and ends in a door which mirrors the rear of the secret door you entered through.
"Hm. Thick dust, no tracks. Nothing alive has come through here in some time. The fact this door was hidden...we should search back here to see if there are any treasures, like the sword we found, but only after we find Othdan."
Cromwin will pull back and look through the room with the ooze to see if there is a way that has more evidence of someone's passage.
"I see. Stay put, that rat is not living. We can deal with it, but only if you stay still when we get to you." Turning to her companions, Maurie sighs. "Sounds like he ran afoul of that undead rodent we faced earlier. At least, I hope so... the thought of a whole warren of those things being down here is a mite bit unnerving, even compared to that ooze of death we just faced down. After all," Maurie's smile is grim but good natured, "that at least died after sustaining enough blows... or from indigestion, I couldn't say which." She winks at Grok and Cromwin as she pulls out her vial of holy water.
"There was a room with a holy symbol prominently standing in the middle. It should be right over this way."
Brin moves up past Grok.
"It's through here, I think."
Naurgost comes slinking up behind, nipping at Grok's heels and drawing blood from the burnt skin. Ow. Grok turns around and taps the wolf's head gently, drawing it up next to him. Day's not over yet, Grok says, half to himself, half to the wolf, best follow them now, stagger after where you can. Ya. Grok cracks his knuckles.
And help those found on furnacetops.
Embedded into the floor of this chamber is a ten-foot-diameter granite emblem of a faded gold and white longsword. Four passages lead out of the chamber in different directions. A portcullis blocks the southern exit, and a sturdy wooden door leads west. A small chest and decrepit bookshelf face one another from opposite walls, with the seemingly replaced ladder in the corner.
"You sound closer!" Othdan calls his voice seeming to come from the end of the newly discovered secret passage, "please get me out of here... It was only a dare!"
Cromwin looks around briefly, then gives a soft whistle to signal Anvil to enter the room. "It almost sounds like he's through that secret passage, but whoever put him in there clearly didn't go through there....perhaps there are multiple paths to the room? This place has me jumping at shadows, but I would feel better sticking to where I know someone has been." Cromwin moves towards the north end of the room. "Ten, Twenty, maybe Thirty feet...plus the space from the other room...Maurie, I think we're getting close to where you fell down, so that rat is likely about. Everyone, get your holy water ready, and be prepared to run if there are more than a few of them."
Cromwin will follow his advice and get his holy water out, then inspect the door and far wall carefully. If he finds nothing strange, he will open it.
Maurie nods. "Exactly Crom, especially given the description of its eyes and effects on the poor lad match our experiences earlier today." Maurie raises her vial of holy water to the horseman in a mock toast, before lowering it and keeping her senses open.
"Remember, if the thing comes at you don't bother trying to hit it with physical attacks... it is incorporeal and you will pass right through it. Stick with the holy water."