Jim contemplates the assembled volumes, then looks around. "Any of you speak Elvish? I suppose we could pack it all up and have Be--the Cap'n read them, if not."
Corliss shakes his head at Jim's question.
"Press on while we can, mates? Come back an' collect goodies after?" The priest eyes the descending tunnel.
"Aye. I'm a mite wary of yon tunnel, though. There's another door behind us--let's see if there are any more of these elves lurking about." Jim backtracks and listens at the other door before opening it.
"Yes. Let's try that other door first. Say... this is some nice light armor and has some kind of magic on it. It's too restrictive for me to wear, and it's not my color as well... but it might be good for one of you fighty types".
Dingus points out that the bomber's suit of black mithril chainmail might be worth using or selling as the crew gathers at the other door in the main lower room. The door sticks a little, but opens to a smaller round room. The bright light of the dead goblin's hand pendant dangling around Dingus' neck reveals a curious spectacle. Based on previous experience, Jim surmises that the chamber was once a shrine to Calistria, but has been defaced and desecrated. The once ornate altar looks like the stone has been deformed so that only pieces of the elegant wasps that once decorated it are still visible among the deformed stone that looks partly squashed and twisted as if it were clay figures pounded and pulled by wrathful giants. The wall behind it is likewise gashed and mashed into the rough forms of eyes and vines or tentacles. Strange sigils identical to those carved into the foreheads of the strange elves appear among the mutated stone.
The only untouched remnant of the former temple are the ornate manacles hanging from the walls. Two creatures are held by the restraints. One is some sort of small, brightly colored fungal humanoid. The other may very well have been a regular elf, but now it appears more like a fleshy shrub. A branch or two ends in elongated fingers or toes with flaps of flesh hanging off like demented leaves and along the trunk a twisted face moans and blinks at the light.
Jim shades what seem to be the elf's eyes with his off hand. "Here, who are you? You know Common?"
Leaving the questioning to Jim, Corliss casts detect magic and scans the chamber for magical emanations. He also tries to figure out any religious symbolism the defaced shrine might have.
Corliss does not detect magic or understand what meaning the rough desecration of the shrine is intended to convey. The deformed creature chained to the wall whispers at Jim's prompt. "Yess, I understand. I am... was? Caldion, a Shin'Rokarath of the Mierani Forest."
The Taldan shudders. "Well, mate, I'd say you've seen better days. You won't attack us if we get those chains off you, will you?"
The broken elf shudders and the flaps of skin rustle along its twisted limbs. "Do not bother with the chainss. The light has restored my memory, my sanity, for a moment, but it will not last. Please. Go to Crying Leaf. Tell Kaereshiel of the shadows here and what they have done to me... My ring! You must recover my ring from Inexora and take it to Crying Leaf. Please. How long have I been gone?"
Jim gives them the date. Hmmm...maybe if these elves owe us a favor we can get them to just tell us what to use against the Stone. "Who's this Inexora? One of those purple elves?"
"Purple? The scar sigil? Yes, that marks their house, um patron... uh, marks them as traitors to our people. Inexora is their high priestess and leader here. She was allied with Allevrah and... another.. Aesha. It is hard to think. The pain..."
Jim stops short. "Wait, Aesha? Red Aesha? Feck! Seems our enemies are your enemies, hey?"
"Garn! So we might be crossin' paths with Aesha in this very tower?" The thought seems to alarm the Besmaran priest. "Iff'n we're to cross blades with her, a high priestess, an' gods know how many other o' these elves an' sluggly abominations...well, I be really low on healin' already. We might wanna slow our explorin' pace a bit an' try to rest afore goin' after dearest Red."
Still wanting to make brownie points with the fair Lady Heidmarch (and still hopeful the noblewoman has an equally hot sister), Corliss asks Caldion if he knows the meaning of any of the sigils and symbols the party's seen up to this point.
"Corliss, this one doesn't have much time left 'fore their trip to the Boneyard. We'll do what we can to get your ring to Kaer--what was that name? Kaereshiel, and let 'em know what happened to you." He fetches out a flask. "Want a drink for the trip?"
What remains of Caldion doesn't seem to take further notice of Corilss and Jim. "How long has it been? Allevrah and then Aesha. Years? The darkness. The pain. The... Celwynvian was retaken. I remember. But Allevrah and then Aesha... corrupted. You must warn the Council.. Spire... Crying Leaf... Stop... Alghollthu...Warn them... Only Inexora and her fleshwarper pet... Zolv..ahhhh.. the pain..." The warped elf begins moaning loudly and the fungal creature chained across the room begins to murmur anxiously, "gom. gom. gom."
Jim looks over at the fungal creature. "I hope you can understand me. You know what we have to do, right?" Then he catches Kaul's eye and draws his thumb across his throat. "Make it quick."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Kaul nods and catches in turn catches the eye of Lopper.
"Hur. Be our pleasure Jimmer."
Flashing a jigsaw grin at the prospect of butchery, the thug moves forward and brings Lopper to bear on the corrupted elf with all the finesse of a Freeport melon seller cutting a slice....
It's not exactly clear what to lop on the monstrously mutilated creature so Kaul just splits the difference by burying Lopper into the central face of the creature. The keening that has begun to ring through the minds of the crew ends suddenly and the fleshwarped being slumps unmoving.
The little mushroom-man across the room slumps a moment and then flinches as the crew turns toward blinking the four eyes along the lower edge of its cap. "Gom? it seems to ask as it rattles its chains.
The Taldan shrugs. "Let's get you out of there, hey? If it's a mistake, we'll carve you cap and gill." He approaches the little fungus and checks its chains to see if he can free it. "Can you write Common? This 'gom, gom' thing is hard to follow."
"gom. gom." the thing repeats. The manacles are bolted, but in poor repair. A couple good blows or a close shave with Lopper would likely break them.
"Kaul, can you cut this little critter loose? If it attacks us, kill it."
The adamantine axe makes short work of the corroded manacles. The thigh-high mycoid man gives an appreciative , gom, and then paddles for the door on stunted legs.
Kaul mugs a lopsided grin as he opens the door for Gom;
"Hur. Been a while since we 'ad a little 'un in the crew O' Kauly trusted. Reckon this little turnip'll fit right in iffen' he's a mind to join up."
Gom gives a nod and passes through the door. In the big room, it turns south to the book room and then the moldy passage beyond.
"Well. Shall we see where he's headed"?
Dingus moves to follow the little fungoid.
The little moldman disappears down the tunnel.
"Wait! We need to rest so the priest can get his mojo back."
"Oh! I guess. Where can we rest"? Dingus still peaks around to see where the shroom is headed.
"Sorry Corliss. I forgot being holy and a vessel of the gods is such hard work".
"Aye, better safe than sorry!" Corliss quips as he seeks out an area of the tower not covered in slime, puke, or burst innards. He sleeps like a rock, dreaming of Lady Sheila, now converted to Besmara's cause. The noblewoman's got a new outlook on life, a sense of freedom, and has dumped her loser husband in favor of a certain debonair priest of the Pirate Queen. Cap'n Corliss and his fair Lady Heidm-arrrrr-ch have become the scourges of Golarion's seas and plunder together as one....
When Corliss awakens, he senses that Besmara may have peeked in on his little overnight fantasy and isn't very approving, but that's about par for the course with him, ain't it?
The group retreats to the first basement room of the tower which has the least offensive amount of gore, stench, and/or mold.
The group is thankfully not further disturbed during their rest and Corliss is able to tentatively pray for Besmara's begrudged blessings.
Ready for further adventure and vengeance, the crew moves to the moldy tunnel and finds that it oddly seems to have been gouged out by hand, the walls literally bearing the marks fingers that seemingly pulled the stone away. Furry green and black mold fills in some of the traces on the walls, but at least the moderately sloping floor is free of the slick fungal growths.
The tunnel is wide and high enough to allow side-by-side passage as it describes a wide descending arc. It open into a small natural cave that hosts a colorful riot of fungi. A narrow path winds from north to south between mushrooms four feet tall with violet caps as large as shields. A jagged opening in the rocky southern wall reveals a tunnel that leads down into pitch blackness.
Corliss continues on his way. I wonder if any of these mushrooms would be any good in an omelet?
Perception
Perception (Richard)
"Hmm. Lots of fungus among us".
"Huh...there's critters living off of the mushrooms."
The crew moves along the trail through the fungal forest until Jim points out movement among the mushrooms and a pair a dwarf-sized fungifolk emerge ahead to block the crew. They are potbellied with white-spotted purple caps and a face of sorts formed from the gills below the cap. They bare their three-fingered claws at the crew.
Keelhaul Kaul-
Madman Jim-
Dingus-
Corliss-
fun guys?-
Corliss raises three fingers on his buckler hand and says, "Gom-gom!"
Jim lowers his blade slightly and waits for the result of Corliss' attempt at diplomacy.
Corliss raises three fingers on his buckler hand and says, "Gom-gom!"
A moment later a "Gom?" in response is heard as a familiar form emerges between the crew and the funginoids. It clear that Gom and the newcomers are very different creatures as Gom appears much more deformed and asymmetrical with brightly colored yellow and green covering spots and multiple eyes stretched along its wide, flat cap.
Gom turns to the other fungals and gives an enthusiastic "gom". The pair remain silent , but a couple puffs of pollen seem to pass between them. Then they step to the side to allow the crew to pass.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Corliss gives Gom a polite nod before shrugging at Jim to see if the Taldan wants to proceed onward.
Jim shakes his head. "Huh." Talking actually worked. He lowers his blade further and proceeds.
Talking actually worked.
The crew passes the shroomy sentinels and follows the narrow path to the far side of the cavern. The air grows subtly cooler and dryer and the fungus recedes as the low natural passage descends before opening into a wide cavern split through the center by a deep chasm. Air wafts up from the chasm, circulating throughout the chamber and to the chamber roof twenty feet above.
Kaul mugs a grin and jabs a mechanklaw toward their fungal friend;
"Hur. Knew e' would be 'andy to 'ave 'round... More than any longear an' them little rat 'alflings..."
The thug lumbers along, Lopper hefted and readied.
Yup
The crew advances to the edge of the chasm and suddenly everything goes black! The hiss of arrows fly past and Jim feels a sharp pain in his side. Only Kaul can see the three short elves along the walls.
Keelhaul Kaul-
Madman Jim-
Dingus-
Corliss-
foe-