As Oz is wracked with indecision, Uriah is unaware that they have decided to mobilize. That is until Tanjvats moves up and asks for a blessing to be placed on them all. It is then that Dareon rushes forward into whatever it was that stopped them. He runs right through the tripwire, which is accompanied by a small ringing bell in the next room, all the while yelling himself.
Dareon's rush fuels Uriah to move up, drawing his crossbow as he goes, his little floating light source moving with him. With two more of his allies pressing forward, Oz's concerns of being separated once again are quelled and he follows Dareon's lead. He activates a hidden sheath, and runs off after the woman. His unarmored speed allowing him to not only catch up to, but pass, the woman and block her passage.
With the man rushing up right in front of her, she is shocked, and tries to twist away to try and dance around and through him in the tight hallway. His sudden appearance was too much, however, and she twists to smack into the wall. Oz uses this to his advantage as he stabs her while she is disoriented. She jerks from his blade and tries to reverse her spin to go around the other side, but Oz manages to keep up the dance to keep her penned in. As the fight officially erupts with Oz's stab, a voice is suddenly heard from the only remaining patch of darkness "Tellavee, what the hell's going on?" As sounds of someone moving come from the space.
Hoping to stall things and keep the alarm from being raised in earnest, Faedrin dashes to the edge of the room and quickly intones the spell on the scroll in his hand.
HP: 12/12
AC: 19 (15 T / 14 FF)
CMD: 17
F/R/W: +3/+4/+4 (+2 vs enchantment, immune sleep)
Arcane Pool used: 1/5
Harrow Points remaining: 2
Spells Prepared:
Cantrips (4) - dancing lights, daze, ghost sound, read magic
Level 1 (2+1) - jump [ ], obscuring mist [ ], silent image [ ]
Ongoing Effects
spell dance: 1/10 rounds
As Faedrin barely manages to draw the magics from the scroll, he directs his cantrip to situate itself in the center of the room.
Use a Scroll: Normally, to cast a spell from a scroll, you must have the scroll's spell on your class spell list. Use Magic Device allows you to use a scroll as if you had a particular spell on your class spell list. The DC is equal to 20 + the caster level of the spell you are trying to cast from the scroll. In addition, casting a spell from a scroll requires a minimum score (10 + spell level) in the appropriate ability. If you don't have a sufficient score in that ability, you must emulate the ability score with a separate Use Magic Device check.
Tanjvats hustled to keep up with the others, his heavy pack bouncing on his shoulders and his crossbow swinging from side to side.
As Faedrin moves closer to the fight, his light zips further ahead of him to illuminate what all is exactly going on. They are not just in a hallway, but instead it opens up twice as wide to form an open room. A semi-circular fountain in the west wall dominates the majority of the space, roughly twelve feet in radius. A tinkling rill of water runs from a demon-shaped mouth on the wall into the fountain. A bedroll and several bags sit on the floor just to the north of the fountain. Standing atop the bedroll is another one of the Tower Girls, surprised by what is going on, and looking to be rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
Round 2:
Dareon - Runs to M6
Uriah - Moves to S5, draws and loads his crossbow
Oz - Ejects dagger, runs to H6
Tower Girl 1 - 5 damage Failed twice to Acrobatics through Oz
Tower Girl 2 - Woke-up, and stood up
Faedrin - Double-moves to Q7, moves lights to
Tanjvats - Double-moves to R6
Sword in hand, Dareon grimly moves into the room. It really was a shame. He'd have to come back here later, to scrub the blood from these ancient stones and make sure the fountain was untainted and remove the bodies. He'd probably do it when they were done and didn't have any sort of pressing chore at hand.
He closes on a Tower Girl, noting Oz on the other side of her, and moves in to stab her in between her ribs.
With light bringing the whole place to, well light, Dareon quickly spots an advantage. Moving up behind the girl that couldn't get past Oz, he strikes hard. He nicks her just enough with his sword to hit the tendon he was aiming for.
Round 2:
Uriah - Moves to S5, draws and loads his crossbow
Oz - Ejects dagger, runs to H6
Tower Girl 1 - Failed twice to Acrobatics through Oz
Tower Girl 2 - Woke-up, and stood up
Faedrin - Double-moves to Q7, moves lights to
Tanjvats - Double-moves to R6
Dareon - Moves to L5, hits Tower Girl 1
Move:P4
h'Quit h'your screaming h'girl, h'you're hurting h'my ears and h'messing with h'my aim.
Uriah comes up around the corner, trying to fire into the melee, and subsequently make a joke. It seems both don't quite hit their mark.
Oz, now that he has Dareon's support, draws his silver dagger since they don't know who is or isn't a were-rat. He stabs the woman between them, holding the lantern, and she grunts and crumples to the floor. Oz takes a menacing step closer to the next combatant.
Seeing the other one drop, the second girl also tries to slip past the two men. She didn't see the other girl fail, so her intentions may be misinformed. She has better luck, though, and just manages to dance between both men and get a little further up the hallway.
Round 2:
Faedrin - Double-moves to Q7, moves lights to O5
Tanjvats - Double-moves to R6
Dareon - Moves to L5, hits Tower Girl 1
Uriah - Moves to P4, misses with his crossbow
Oz - Draws silver dagger, hits TG1
Tower Girl 1 - 16 damage Bleeding Out
Tower Girl 2 - Acrobatics to I5
Tanjvats shuffled further down the corridor towards the others, trying to get shot off on the fleeing woman.
EDIT
Dareon chases after the fleeing woman, sure that she's badly injured and will be easily defeated. He draws back with an arm while he charges, swinging his sword just in time to meet the woman with the wide side of it as he gets close, so that he doesn't have to stop moving.
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If Daeron's attack drops G2, then Uriah will head back to recover his pack.
Else...
Move:L6
Faedrin dashes forward, slipping just around the girl as he slides his blade free. The swirling globes up by the ceiling follow along and come to a rest over the downed tower girl.
HP: 12/12
AC: 19 (15 T / 14 FF)
CMD: 17
F/R/W: +3/+4/+4 (+2 vs enchantment, immune sleep)
Arcane Pool used: 1/5
Harrow Points remaining: 2
Spells Prepared:
Cantrips (4) - dancing lights, daze, ghost sound, read magic
Level 1 (2+1) - jump [ ], obscuring mist [ ], silent image [ ]
Ongoing Effects
spell dance: 2/10 rounds
The skill and grace Faedrin used to maneuver past the next fleeing woman makes the first one look like she had learned to walk just that morning. Not only did he draw a kukri, but to get past her in the tight hallway, he managed a spinning dive roll to go over her shoulder. This stops her up short as he now stands in front of her.
Tanjvats moves up beside Uriah to also fire his crossbow, but with Dareon between him and the girl, and Faedrin now in dangerous proximity, the bolt flies wide of its mark.
Dareon, runs up after the girl as she begins to dash off, and is met with good fortune as she is stopped by Faedrin. She turns away from the elf, only to twist right around into the arc of Dareon's swing. The blade cuts a deep gash right across her stomach as she crumples to the floor along with some exposed entrails.
Seeing the crisis averted, Uriah turns back toward the hall they entered, and retrieves his pack.
"Well, at least things are still quiet, far as we can tell. Good job, guys." As the kukri snaps back into its sheath with a soft click, the lithe elf kneels down and scoops the woman's body up, carefully so as to not have her innards spill all over himself or the floor. He carries her body over to the bedroll she had been in and lays it down gently as he closes the eyes with a brush of his hand. He looks for a blanket or sheet to pull over the the corpse's legs and mid-section to hide the wound, then returns his attention to his surroundings.
"A fountain with the leering face of a demon? What were those ancient Thassilonians into anyway?" He washes his hands in the water, then begins to search the sleeping area in earnest.
The room itself is fairly nondescript, beyond the fountain that dominates the majority of it. The walls, being the first you've seen lacking either decoration or years of abuse, are oddly well-preserved and carefully fitted masonry. Either the Thassilonians were impecable masons or all constructions were created magically. The fountain itself is a bit of an oddity, as there appears to be neither an opening where the water originates from, nor one for it to drain, yet it flows constantly from the demon-shaped mouth and never overfills the basin.
The only thing of any value in the room is what each of the girls has with them. They look to each be wearing a matching set of tools and accoutrements, almost like a standard issue of gear for the gang.
While the others gathered gear and moved the bodies, Tanjvats stood briefly over each fallen Tower Girl. Moving his hand in a spiral motion he whispered to each. "May the Gray Lady find you a better home than this one."
When done, he asked the others if he might have the smokestick.
Dareon grabs the clothes of one of the Tower girls, running his blade across them to clean them quickly as Fade approaches to hoist them up. Then he kneels, taking off his backpack and setting it on the floor. "I've got a bedroll to cover one of 'em, if you like." Dareon offers, indicating the rolled-up bedding attached to the side of his backpack.
"Assuming that more of this place is particularly...vertical, it might be a wise idea to take all of their climbing gear."
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Looking down at his weapon Oz somewhat trembled, but only a little. He'd drawn blood for the first time in his life, and he was rather certain that it wouldn't be the last time, or that it wouldn't be long before he did so again... Coming back to his senses, he kneeled down to the ground and took the girl's tanglefoot bags, but nothing else. He figured they may come in handy soon. Hopefully they were of fine make.
Looking to Dareon, he tosses one at him, knowing that he may very well know what it is, considering his latest lines of interest.
Dareon is familiar with Thassilon, more for the fact that they are known to have been deep into the wielding of arcane power. Whether that has any bearing on the design choice of the fountain is unclear, but it's not obvious like the Chelish.
Once Uriah returns to the group with his pack, he's going to try and recover his bolts. Hopefully, one of them is still useable.
Faedrin nods at Dareon, "You're right. If they're all outfitted like these two, these harnesses probably see some use within the complex." As the gear is distributed amongst the group, Faedrin steals a few moments to examine the scroll he'd been prepared to use. Shaking his head, he approaches Tanjvats. "Tanjvats? I think you might actually be able to make easier use of this. I don't know if I got swindled when I bought it or if I plucked the wrong scroll from the ones rolled up on the shelf, but this looks much more complicated than I'd first thought. Well, complicated for me, at least. I'm really only familiar with some rudimentary magics, and this looks to be a priestly spell beyond my reach. Would you be able to make use of it? Perhaps if we run into another startled Tower Girl or two, you'd be able to use this to keep them from calling out an alarm or something similar?" He extends the scroll of silence to the half-orc as he speaks, his voice still low in the hopes it doesn't carry down the corridor to who-knows-where.
Tanjvats nodded and took the scroll from Feadrin. He tucked into his belt pouch where he could retrieve it easily.
"Ok, so the gear's been split up suitably? Everyone good to go? If so, let's press onward." Faedrin indicates the continuing length of hall the one tower girl had intended to flee down. "Same approach as before. Don't forget to keep an eye out for cracks or creases or joints in the walls and floors. Natalya found one secret room where Dareon's shard was hidden, and our benefactor suggested there might be more. If the stonework throughout the place is as skilled and fitted as the fountain here, they might be especially hard to find."
Checking his gear and renewing his cantrip, Faedrin references the sketch Natalya made then nods, ready to procede further into the strange complex.
As the group gathers once more in march order, collecting what they will from the fallen and allowing Faedrin to light the way once more, they travel only a short ways down the hallway before it forks. There is a side passage running to the right, just about twenty to thirty feet north of the fountain room, and going about twenty feet deep before opening into a semi-collapsed chamber. The eastern wall of this room is buried under an ancient pile of rubble. Sitting near the entrance is a wooden crate and a dull gray amphora.
Tanjvats craned his neck, trying to see what was happening up at the corner.
Remembering himself, he checked behind them, to see if anything was creeping up in the darkness behind.
Suspecting that more of the Tower Girl lair is going to be notably vertical, and wanting to be prepared, Dareon tucks some of the Tower Girls' climbing gear into his pack and moves on. Besides, he's a Pathfinder. Pathfinders need exploring equipment. It's standard.
As they enter the new room, Dareon, who is in the lead, goes to check out the crate and the amphora. Peeking into the amphora, perhaps even pouring the contents out if it's shadowy or perhaps empty, and opening the crate, Dareon looks to see what's inside.
Faedrin watches cautiously as Dareon probes into the area near the rubble. "I wonder what they use this room for." He references their position to the sketched map Natalya made for them. "It's a shame we don't have an easy way past that rubble. There could be who knows how many untouched relics past it if there are other passages beyond."
All the different pieces in this room don't feel like they go together, almost as if they have been gathered for convenience. The small amphora looks to be an older Thassilonian make, and is filled with gold coins of a similar age, especially since the mint looks completely unfamiliar. The crate is filled with loose packing straw, amongst which is a bronze statuette of a broad-chested being covered in runic markings.
"Hm." says Dareon, looking between his findings, the crate lid on one hand and the amphora in the other.
"Probably compiled by the Tower Girls from other parts of the piling, I'd guess. Let's move on? Take the gold, and the statue, maybe?"
h'I'm a h'little concerned h'that h'they would h'leave h'money so obviously h'unattended. Traps h'are not h'my h'area h'of h'expertise. But a h'little caution h'may be just h'what the healer h'ordered.
Despite the fact that Dareon had already rummaged around the crate, and looked through the small collapsed room, Uriah gives a suspicious once over. In the end, it turns up nothing for him. It may even imply a certain level of lackadaisical security in their new hideout to assume that their spoils could be just piled up here.
"I doubt they'd fear to be robbed by one of their own. Well, at least until Natalya pulled a fast one on them. Let's bring it along. At the very least, Heidmarch will probably be pleased to see these remnants of a bygone age."
Leaving the collapsed dead-end to proceed further down the hallway, you find that it ends in a deep stairwell leading down into darkness. Following said stairs, they turn back more than a couple times before opening into a room that is so big that those at the front cannot see either the walls or the far wall.
"Wow. Big room."
h'If h'we h'are going to be giving h'ourselves h'away because h'of h'light, then h'all h'we can do h'is h'mitigate the h'amount of h'lead time h'we give h'our foes. So, h'if h'we keep h'our h'light close to h'us, h'or h'even h'a h'little behind whoever h'is h'on point, then h'at h'least when h'we come h'upon a guard, they h'will have h'little time to react.
Tanjvats nodded in agreement to the light conundrum. While he could see in the dark, he wasn't much of a scout. But he was willing to help.
"If you think it'd be worthwhile, I could scout up ahead a bit. I'm not quiet, but at least I can see." As he spoke, he rubbed his thumb on his leg, like he was trying to wipe out a persistent stain.
"Perhaps you and Oz can move together as a unit, Tanjvats and I'll bring the lights further back as Uriah suggests. I'll try to give Oz enough light to see by, but only barely."
Tanjvats agreed, and moved forward to help Oz. And be helped by him.
The trip down the stairs could have been a lot worse, as Dareon kept almost slipping and stumbling down the stairs in an attempt to keep quiet. His efforts could have been even more detrimental, had Oz not been so close by to pull him away from the walls, catch him before he toppled down the stairs, and generally arrest his movement in times of haste. The big room at the bottom is greater than the limits of almost everyone's vision or position allow, except for a just visible side passage going south. Just peering around the corner, however, Faedrin can see that it appears to also have a passage on the opposite side, and another to the north.