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If it's still alive...
Nigels takes a deep breath, remembering his Hatred for reptiles, moves forward, mace in hand and screams
"Die you filthy beast!"
Confirm crit: +1 size bonus +1 hatred bonus is where the +2 is coming from.
When Demario fires his crossbow the bolt traverses neatly the young troglodyte heart. It falls soundly into the floor.
A part from some coins, the troglodytes were carrying 3 javelins and one club each.
Now that you can calmly observe the room, you see racks for weapons lining the walls of the chamber. Above the racks hang various shields, pieces of armor, weapons, and standards on display. Most of the racks are empty, but a few weapons remain in place. A horrible stench flls the room as well, akin to the smell of rotten eggs mixed with the reek of an open sewer.
Most of the few remaining arms in the room have rusted away, making them useless in combat. However, your fine eye has uncovered some still useful materials.
A small check in the doors uncovers that the eastern one is stuck.
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"Are ya jus gonna kill the other one? I'd be a nice person and let it live, if ya don't mind. Though The Savoured Sting would say that this jus leaves us to get killed by him later... Your choice. Though, I'd try and open this here door , so stay a bit further away from it. Also, The Lion wants to yoink those javelins if ya don't mind."
Lionel untrained eye totally neglects the objects in the racks. The few armors there, they just seem junk to him. He finds though an old racked banner with a dolphin on it and places it on his spear.
He tries to open the eastern door without success, it just seems too stuck for him.
He though, succeeds to grapple the handle of the northern door, and it suddenly opens on doing so.
At the other side it opens what before must have been a storeroom judging from the shelves lining the walls. The darkened room contents have long since succumbed to the passage of time. A crack in the northern wall has apparently let in some rainwater, which has collected in a large puddle on the floor.
Once the light from Nigel pours into the room, close to the water pool, you see what seems a small blue lizard looking at you with interest, yet not aggressively.
The creature is an electrical beast, known by the name of shocker lizard. You have a good knowledge of the creature, and know his most dangerous power is its electrical attack.
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"Sweet! I love dolphins!" says Lionel, waving his banner around for a bit, cautious not to hit anyone. "Whaddya think, people?"
After a couple of waves later, he notices the lizard, points the group towards him and says, "Hey there, little fella! Want some treats?", and tosses a piece of dried meat ration in the puddle next to him.
The lizard looks at Lionel, not very impressed, then looks at the meat. It turns the neck while observing it, pokes it then with his hand, smells it. Then he looks at Lionel not very confident at the thing. Nevertheless he bites the piece of meat and brings it to another puddle, coming back then an approaching a bit the group, with a mix of curiosity and suspicion.
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"Those smelly things have no honor and thus deserve no quarter, but I will abide by the concensus of the party. I can't imagine they could smell any worse when they are dead, though."
Draylan cautiously turns to the lizard, prepared to retaliate if threatened.
"This little guy doesn't seem malicious in any way. Unless anyone can see something of value in this room, I'd be content to close the door with him inside, and let him be. If my inner compass is correct, we've made a complete circle and this room will merely lead outside to the door that Lionel's coin had us pass on. We should see what's behind this other door!"
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Mithrennon eyes the lizard warily. Thus far, the denizens of the Fortress ruins have proven less than friendly. There is little reason to believe this trend will suddenly change. The wizard does a quick count of his bolt case, before lighting up the loaded bolt. As he does, the light of the spent bolt peters out simultaneously.
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"I can appreciate your logic, wise wizard. But it appears this creature has simply made his home here. I put forth, that I would not have showed the same restraint that this creature has, had a group of armed people forced themselves into my home."
Draylan looks up and to the side with his eyes as he scratches his head, as if pondering a decision...
"On the other hand... bar-b-que lizard tail on a stick, IS very tasty! Sooooooooo... whichever. Perhaps we should have Lionel flip a coin for it, that seems to be our preferred method of decision making."
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Nigel will move closer toward the door to provide better lighting in the room, he'll put his mace away and draw a javelin just in case. He'll resist his urge murder what appears to be a reptile for the parties' sake.
"lets try to go the other way," Nigel pleads. "I can't stand reptiles. Oh and this should be obvious if it comes to a fight with something that is electrified, DO NOT STAND IN ANY PUDDLES!"
Nigel picks some of the troglodytes javelins, but all the weapons in the racks so far do not give any notice to his eyes.
Tulinor carefully reflects on the lizard, but there is something unnatural on him that makes it out of his skills to discern.
Draylan sage words doesn't cause any reason to go into his party companions, because Mithrenon goes into the room exploring it with his crossbow ready.
When the lizard approaches Mithrennon, he responds threatening him with his crossbow.
Seeing the aggression, all the other members of the party suddenly react.
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"Oh, hell. I kinda liked the lil' bugga. Try and knock 'im unconcious, I guess. Then I can patch 'im up.". You're not entire sure whether Lionel is referring to Mithrennon or the lizard. As his turn, he takes a 5 foot step, touches Mithrennon on the shoulder. "For luck." and splits into two Lionels waving spears with a dolphin flag on them.
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Demario looks over the weapon rack. Since he can't really use any of it, he does look too hard. They're all rusted junk. Too bad, was hoping to find something salvageable or better yet, useable. Shall we continue
Upon the next door opening, Demario reloads his crossbow, he feels there is danger behind every turn. stupid tower, I better get well compensated for all my hard work.
He sees the strange lizard, curious as to what it is. He is relieved to see it be passive, but than a crossbow trained on it gives way to another combat. Luckily Demario is nowhere near the eventual scrum.
Demario, wonders if loosing a crossbow bokt is a good idea, and waits to see if the others can dispatch it without his help.
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Sudden recognition causes the wizard to take a step back involuntarily. "A shocker lizard! What's it doing here?! Watch its electric shocks everyone." Not wanting to be the victim of a demonstration, Mithrennon lets loose an acid dart at the critter!
In his haste, the shot goes far off mark, and flitters by the reptile harmlessly.
The shocker lizard is to small a target for Mith who fails for little his acid dart.
In response, the lizard gets angry and steps next to the wizard. The little thing starts to focus on the elf and electrical power emanates from his skin, going up and down for a second before jumping in an arch over the wizard thundering around the chamber's air before shocking Mithrennon.
The shock is terrible, the energy goes over his whole body leaving the wizard numb and staggered.
Nigel throws then a javelin that ends on the lizard's feet and moves into the chamber bringing the light with himself.
Draylan tries to hit the creature without success while Lionel duplicates himself.
Doing his best not to damage his companions, Demario ends firing over the lizard head.
Similarly, Taulinor also shots too high while Mith withdraws after too late realizing how dangerous the little beast can be.
Seeing Nigel approaching, the lizard's skin engulfs in electricity again a bolts a new shock, this time over the gnome.
The sorcerer moves swift avoiding most of the sparks.
The shocker lizard, flanked by Nigel and Lionel, tries to dodge the attacks in vain.
First Lionel, then Draylan, they reduce the creature with terrible blows.
Once the combat ends, the party searches the room, but nothing of interest is found.
The lizard remains unconscious in the ground like seeing stars floating around his head.
On opening the next door, you see the initial room from where you arrived to the second floor.
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Lionel leaves the rest of the meat from his pack next to the lizard, pats him on the head,
"Ow... Yeah, silly me...", he mutters as a jolt of lightning zaps his fingers, and says.
"Well, this one is gonna have a helluva concussion... Let's get going then.
Lionel gestures to the party to leave, and takes caution to close the door afterwards.
Lionel and Drylan combined forces are enough to free the door and open it.
The dust moves around as you enter into the small room of the staircase. A bunch of rubble covers the broken stair below.
Upstairs though, the way is open and it seems safe. As the party climbs up to the third level, you find a door going inside the new floor. The stair though seems to continue also to the fourth floor.
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Lionel channels for a second, then touches Mithrennon. The buzz of insect wings and faint chanting in Elven is heard again as the glow fades.
"Well, I say we let The Favoured Sting decide, unless someone objects. She is the most knowledgeable of us all, after all" says Lionel as he takes a coin from his purse.
"Well, seems like we should head at the third floor. I suppose it gonna be full of interesting stuff. Also, I'd hate ta go to the top one, and then something comes here and suprises us all from the rear. Ya never want nothing surprising you from the rear." Lionel says and grins at his bad joke.
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Happy that Draylan and were able to help him take down his hated reptiles, he pulls out a potion of enlarge person and holds it up.
Hey guys if you drink this you'll get bigger, I was gonna drink it to make myself your guys' size, but I thought about it a little more. If you drink it, you guys will get really big! Which one of you wants it?
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"Thanks, Nigel. I'ma suggest givin' it to the Captin, though, since I got this here stan-dard with the lil' dolphin on it, and it ain't gonna be fair in my eyes." Lionel winks at Nigel, waves the old banner around for a bit, and readies to go forward.
"So, Nigel, wha's the deal witcha and reptilian? Or issat jus some Gnome thing? Demario, ya hate reptiles too?"
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"Thanks, Lionel. I needed that." Mithrennon thanks the cleric for the divine healing as he feels vitality returning to him. Bolstered, the wizard sheathes the sword and keeps the crossbow at the ready as he follows the group towards the stairs.
"I suggest we work our way one flight at a time. Like Lionel said, moving onwards toward the fourth floor could mean leaving our backs open to any threats from the third."
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"Reptilians and goblins have been the bane of gnomes since my ancestors can remember! I don't know if Demario is different, but I grew up hating reptiles and goblins."
With that said I appreciate all your help taking them out. Here you go Draylan. Nigel says as he hands the potion of enlarge person, his only one btw, to Draylan.
As Draylan tries to open the doors he finds out they are closed.
Demerios though tries to open them, and after a bit of trial and error he succeeds to open them. The party talks for a while about reptiles and the gnome's hate while he is in work for almost 20 minutes.
Two stone altars, one black and one white, sit at either end of this large chamber, which takes up two wings of the tower on this level. The crumbling remains of wooden benches sag in front of each altar beneath rotting ceiling tapestries. Carved symbols and writings snake along the walls. The burnt corpses of two troglodytes lie on the floor in the center of the room.
You identify this room as a temple dedicated to Nethys, the god of magic, in both of his aspects: protection and destruction. The writings
on the walls are quotes from Nethys’s holy book.
A couple of humanoid skeletons, wreathed in auras of eternal flame wander in the chamber protecting the altars. They seemed aware of you, probably by so much working in the door prior entering, and attack as soon as they see you.
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If Demario is working for 20 minutes, after a while Lionel is going to start casting Mending on his new dolphin banner.
"Be careful, people, that symbol right there is the symbol of Nethys, god of magic, so, watch out for magic!", claims Lionel with as much eloquence and obviousness he can.
Assuming that the obvious fact of piercing weapons is useless against skeletons is obvious, he's going to turn to Draylan and say, "Go get 'em, Captin!", gesturing towards his potion of Enlarge Person, and then giving him a touch that releases another buzz of insect wings.
He will then put his spear down and put both his hands on his enormous dress cane's hilt, ready to protect the gnomes and the elves.