No traps spotted, the crew move forward and through the doorway into a larger round room over 50 feet in diameter at its greatest extent, but it is impinged upon by three rounded turrets to form a vaguely triangular central room. Long forgotten elven heroes bearing swords and hunting hawks stand proudly immortalized as marble statues stand in the room's center facing each of the doorways of the towers including the one the crew passes through. A damp, earthy smell rises from the carpet of moss and small fungi that covers the floor.
The Taldan looks for more tracks in the moss.
Jim catches sight of a few more prints to find a solitary trail past the statues to the door of the tower to the north.
Jim points to the north and carefully moves in that direction.
Jim and Kaul carefully lead the way across the chamber. Kaul's boots pinch as he sneaks across ( ) just before a wave of drowsiness falls across the group.
Immediately after, a loud voice starts shouting:
The Pirate Queen looks after her servant (this time), and Corliss is awake and alert when the voice starts yelling in a pretty language he doesn't understand.
Jim yawns and falls to the ground, snoring gently.
Will save
Dingus's eyes begin to droop a bit but then snap open at the loud voice.
"What"?
"What are you saying? It sounds like gibberish to me".
Kaul feels his boots pinch, then begins to drift...
... before face planting on the floor with a clatter and thump!
"Zzzzzzzzzz"
Madman Jim-
Dingus-
Corliss-
foe-
Jim and Kaul fall down, apparently asleep despite the ruckus.
Corliss shakes Jim awake before moving another 20 feet northeast...in case the sleep effect has a limited area.
The Taldan starts and sits up, looking around in a panic. "I'm awake, Commander Tu--hey, wait."
"What are you guys doing. You can sleep later. Richard go wake Kaul up".
Dingus then casts invisibility on himself, and slowly walks forward to look around the corner trusting Richard to awaken Kaul.
Dingus feels some strange resistance as he casts his spell, but it seems to work. Richard coils on Kaul's head and starts shoving the end of his tail up the burly thug's nose.
The Taldan retreats from the doorway where he fell asleep and takes cover, preparing for an attack.
The shouting stops abruptly as Corliss retreat forward and Dingus disappears before peeking into the next room. Corliss sees another statue in the corner of the room ahead. Dingus can't see much in the dark room ahead except for some glowing runes on a pedestal in the center of the room.
Jim regains consciousness and scrambles back to take cover in the doorway behind. There is a dragging and clacking sound from the third doorway closest to Corliss. A strange shape lurches forward from the dark doorway. It is tall as a man and appears to be a great pitcher-shaped plant with flailing tendrils around the base that serve as arms and legs.
Corliss gasps as he has a sudden revelation--likely a sending from his goddess! He drops his glowing rapier and sticks his fingers in his mouth. Nom!
FORT Save
Dingus steps forward into the other room and notices the terrible attempt at fooling him with an amateur illusion.
"You're going to have to get up earlier to pull the wool over my eyes".
Deciding that some light might be important he summons forth light on the end of his Hanbo... just as he hears a clattering from the room he just left.
Do I have to do everything?
Spellcraft (If Knowledge: Arcana -2) on the runes
At the sound of fingers being munched and hissing snakes, Kaul stirs... his beady eyes opening and the thug rises, leaving a trail of sleep drool as he clumsily lurches to his feet.
Corliss discovers something finger-licking good. Meanwhile, Kaul staggers to his feet rubbing eyes and nose and mouth while Richard drops and slithers back to his master. Meanwhile, Dingus lights up the next room for a closer inspection.
The wide circular room is relatively clean and clear of debris. A heap of rubble along the west wall covers what were once stairs leading up leaving a gap in the ceiling. To the north, a wide staircase descends into darkness. A stylized map woven of metallic fabric hangs on the east wall. The faintly glowing runes are embossed into a crescent-shaped pedestal near the center of the room. The pedestal is 4 feet high with its top surface sloping down toward the center of the room. Six large runes on raised buttons form a hexagon, with many smaller symbols woven around them. Dingus senses that this is ancient magic and it is fading, but he still detects moderate conjuration and evocation magic.
Feck...what's gotten into Corliss? Unwilling to chance approaching the strange plant in case it's the source of Corliss' madness, Jim unlimbers his bow and sends an arrow at the apparent enemy.
However, the arrow isn't well aimed at all.
Jim's a bit rusty with his archery skills and his shot flies astray. The weird plant slings a couple spiny vines at Corliss slashing him
Corliss snaps out of his sudden urge for some finger sandwiches.
Kaul, still in a dwam, looks around for Lopper.
Jim tries another couple of shots. By the second one he's settled down into something like a decent stance.
Corliss wills a copycat of himself into existence. Then the priest takes a step away from the creepy plant before trying to retrieve his glowing rapier.
"Why is the light gone?" Corliss ponders aloud as he and his fake doppelganger attempt to retrieve his dropped rapier. Assuming he's still alive after the attempt, he also casts guidance on himself.
Take 5-Foot Step
You can move 5 feet in any round when you don’t perform
any other kind of movement. Taking this 5-foot step
never provokes an attack of opportunity. You can’t take
more than one 5-foot step in a round, and you can’t take a
5-foot step in the same round that you move any distance.
5-foot step's a freebie action as long as you don't also move (not take another move action). If retrieving provokes, so be it. To quote ol' Jack Burton (Big Trouble in Little China--he would've made a great pirate), "You never know 'til you try!"
Corliss ducks and steps back as he grabs his blade in the dark. He's clubbed by a saw-like tendril for his efforts. Corliss casts a minor spell, but feels the magic leak away before it can take effect!
Jim fires into the dark and hears his second shot hit! Kaul is unaffected by the darkness and recovers his wits and weapon.
As everyone's eyes adjust, they note that Dingus' light still dimly glows from the doorway of the next room.
Dingus hears all the ruckus from the main room and comes running back in his light proceeding him.
Now what? I can't leave you guys alone for a minute. We really need to buy a couple of lanterns".
Dingus rushes back and his light blinks out as he enters the room.
"Hey! Cut it out".
Dingus stops his head long rush as the light extinguishes, then tries to magic up some more light, as he remembers he has an old dust covered lantern, and starts pulling it from his sack.
Corliss nearly collides with Dingus who appears momentarily at the door before the lights go out again. Then he hears the shuffling and rustling sounds of the plant approaching before a tendril slashes him again.
Cursing, the Taldan retreats from the doorway and rummages through his pack for a torch and flint & steel.
Lopper restored to his paw, Kaul grins and moves towards the plant-that-walks eager to bring his hatchet to bear;
"Hur! Pruning time!"
Kaul chokes... on something in the air and sneezes just as he swings, fouling his strike.
Getting a bit slap-happy from the plant's attacks, Corliss opts to channel positive energy to heal himself and his crewmates.
Kaul's eyes dart crazily around his immediate vicinity, well, slightly more crazily than usual. His jaw sets and he begins laying waste to the stone at his feet while muttering about 'leggies' or something. Corliss is relieved to find that his channeling still works despite his spells being squanched.
Jim and Dingus dig through their packs feeling for something nearly forgotten at the bottom. Jim finds a torch and a spark kit and sets to lighting the torch. Dingus, likewise, finds his rarely used lantern and tries to remember what he uses to light it!
Kaul feels pain in this leg. . Did one of the crawlies bite him? Despite the crazed lopping, Lopper's eyeball focuses on its wielder with what might be concern.
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Realizing that somehow he forgot to repack his flint due to his dependence on magical light Dingus decides to fight fire with fire. Since Jim has provided light he will wait for a target then cast Dispel Magic.
Caster level check.
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Pain and the withering eye of Lopper gives some clarity to Kaul's murky mind...
Kaul blinks at the sting of the leg lashing and realizes that the only threat before him is the plant-like thing whipping at him with thorny vines.
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Seeing Kaul regain his regular murderous clarity, Corliss decides to provide a flanking buddy for the half-orc, stabbing at the plant's core with his enchanted rapier.
for
Corliss leaps back into the fray with a stab at his pithy opponent. It doesn't appear to hit anything vital, but it is a dangerous distraction.
Dingus continues looking for a threat and then realizes that the spell squelching isn't a targeted attack, but more of a magic dead zone within the statue chamber.
Keen to do some pruning, Kaul shifts forward and brings Lopper to bear on the plant man with a mighty swing;
regaining his wits, Kaul slips around the leafy menace and hacks deeply into the creature . Jim moves forward lighting up the chamber again. Sap oozes from the creature as it flails at Kaul wildly yet ineffectively.