"Thank you for the healing Kelden. I agree with blocking the path and suggest that we explore the rest of this area."
Thetin pulls the rest of the arrows out of his armor and continues to finish blocking off the door.
Thetin shoves the heavy stone slab over the hole in the floor.
It was my pleasure Thetin, I merely wish i could do more.Should we call the others forward to keep an eye on the hole while we explore the rest of the place? I cant imagine it will be easy to move that slab from underneeath it on a rope but...
Yhe young cleric looked at the blockage obviously trying to calculate things. It was a bit beyong his training this situation.
Kyra glances at the heavy slab for a moment, and then glances at the door to the door they have not yet gone through. "I say we keep moving, our presence is known... any ground we give up now may well be retaken. That could prove badly for us." She looks around at her companions and the arrow wounds most of them have sustained. "Even more than it already has, of course."
She glances at the bloody patch on Kelden's thigh and her eyebrows shoot upward... She whispers a prayer to Sarenrae that it was not a serious wound...
"Perhaps Thetin should lead our advances into each room with his shield in front of him to prevent more rains of arrows. Ilse, you could follow behind him, and then I could file in behind?"
"And I'll be close behind. Time is not really our ally right now."
Thetin opens the north-east door of this chamber and almost immediately regrets it. This narrow hallway slopes downward steeply. The walls are stained with foul- smelling streaks of refuse. A mound of rotting garbage lies heaped at the far end of the hallway.
Carilain stifles a gag reflex. "Lets leave this one for last." Given how many bugs they have encountered so far, this tunnel is no doubt infested with something truly horrible. Not to mention disease.
"perhaps back in the town they have gallons of fuel to burn out such wastes." Kelden said covering his mouth and nose as well. He kept glancing behind them more often than not, still leary about somehow the enemy having a way up to them.
"Forget coming back! I say we call this room explored and move on, never to see or smell again. Frankly if a mongrelman is hiding in that lot, he deserves to be live to be captured when Sull comes with his forces later. That would be some serious dedication to hiding." Alesie mentions, stumbling away from the horrid smell.
Even Kyra, who was used to the overwhelming smells of the docks of Sothis, recoils at the stench. "Agreed, if we even need to search this hallway..." She steps away from the door, seemingly noticing the dead cultists for the first time. "We should find where these two came from and continue that way."
Thetin gags as the smell hits him and quickly shuts the door and steps away. "What a wretched smell. Anything we find down there is probably not worth keeping if its covered in that filth. I vote we search this last. But only if it is necessary."
With that Thetin moves into the main room and waits for the others before opening the door to the north.
Stripping the cultists you find:
Treasure
2 potions of cure light wounds, 2 scrolls of cause fear, 2 scrolls of comprehend languages, 2 unholy water; 2 mwk chain shirt, mwk glaive, mwk scythe, 2 daggers, 2 spell component pouches, 2 unholy symbols (Baphomet and Deskari), 20gp
Thetin opens the north door. The worked stone walls of this large room hold a number of shelves, each of which display the preserved bodies of dire rats, bats, rock vipers, cave lizards, and other creatures that pose in eerie stillness. A pair of bed rolls have been laid out to the southeast.
The tunnel to the north ends at a ladder that leads 10 feet up to another chamber.
Upon going through the gear on the dead cultists, Kyra immediately takes the two unholy water flasks and throws them against the wall, destroying them each. "Disgusting. I say we do the same to these cult symbols as well."
Upon entering the next room Kyra looks around at the strange preserved bodies. "How strange... Perhaps we should check the tunnel to the north first, before going into that room?"
Carilain casts the cantrip that allows him to detect magic, then examines the preserved bodies, from a distance. He is curious to see if the work was done using magic.
Taxidermy was the method used to preserve these bodies. Some were stitched better than others.
Something skitters about in the room above, the sound of clawed feet echoing down the hole.
"Up should lead to out..." Carilain eyes the ladder leading to the hatchway above, with apprehension. He doesn't fancy the idea of intruding himself headfirst into a hostile area. Still, it will have to happen at some point.
"Lets check the rest of the doors on this level, eh?"
Beyond the door to the east:
A muted roar echoes down the walls of this hallway. Near the eastern end, the worked stone give way to natural cave walls, just before the hall ends at an open shaft. Hanging over the edge of the shaft is a knotted rope-the other end tied to an iron spike driven into the ground.
Kelden follows along glancing down the hole that leads to the water.
I wonder why they have a rope ladder down? is this their source of water?" He wondered aloud shaking his head at the thought of climbing down daily for water. He certainly wouldnt do it in his armor that was for sure. He didnt think it lead anywhere important.
Let's double back to that other path and see where it leads shall we?"
"We found their privy. This must be their water source." Carilain crouches down and grabs the rope. Then, hand over hand, he pulls it up, laying the cord out in a neat coil.
"This might be connected to those other chambers on the lower level. If it is, that nasty archer won't easily come up this way."
Carilain shrugs, a worried expression on his face. "Unless she already has. We better assume so, and keep alert."
"If it was only a source of water, a bucket on a string would be sufficient. Got to be something else down there to bother with a way down..." Alesie muses... "Might be worthwhile to check out at some point."
Kyra sends her dancing lights down into the waterhole to see if anything is illuminated with the magical light while Carilain pulls the ladder back up. "Indeed, we should continue on; however, this would be a good place to return and check before we leave. We ought to be very weary going up into that tunnel, it sounds as if something was skittering about up there..." She grimaces, remembering all the giant insects they've encountered down here, below the earth.
The appears to be a shallower portion, maybe knee deep, along the eastern edge of the cave, as the lights move about illuminating the chamber the flash of white scales of some sort of creature can be seen momentarily before it retreats deeper into the river.
Kyra spots the sheen of white scales beneath the water just before they disappear deeper. "I volunteer to not be the one to investigate. There's something down there... In the water." She brings her lights back up from the hole, the glow casting a shadow on her face... which shows a scowl. "By the Light I hate this accursed place. I'm never going below the earth again!"
She suddenly turns and storms out of the room, back into the strange taxidermy storage room. "Let's hurry and kill whatever terrible mutated monstrosity rears its ugly head so that I can feel the kiss of the sun up my skin again!"
Thetin listens to his companions intently as he appraises the entrance to the room above. Upon hearing the news about something in the watering hole he grunts. "I'm not to sure about the rest of you but i'm not the swimming type, so i say we leave whatever is in that watering hole alone for the time being and explore upstairs."
Thetin then goes over and puts a reassuring hand on Kyra's shoulder. "I swear on the light of the forge and my honor that i'll get you up to the sun in one piece kyra, just hang on for a little bit longer."
With that Thetin begins to climb to the room above ready to be attacked and defend his allies.
Kelden like Thetin drew closer to his sister in faith. Giving her a slight hug he smiled and lifted up her chin. "Be at ease Els, we are closer to our goal and the goddess is guiding us. Lets follow the paladin up eh? before he does somethign all heroic or foolish."
He said smiling at her before following after Thetin.
Kyra unfolds her arms and turns at the hand on her shoulder to see Thetin and Kelden standing next to her. She lets out a heavy sigh, embarrassed by her outburst. "Of course, Sir Dorvas."
She returns Kelden's hug and smiles back. "I know... this oppressive darkness is wearing upon me." She turns to see Thetin suddenly scaling the leader leading up. "Yes, let's. You know those Toragites, we must keep an eye on him..."
Why have a rope down if there is something else living in the water? This place is just confusing...
Alesie passively follows Kyra, lost in her own contemplation.
Carilain stuffs the warhammer under his belt for safekeeping, then takes his turn at climbing the ladder.
The old iron ladder, bolted to the wall, leads up to a foul smelling chamber. The room is unlit and filled with torn cloth and droppings from large rodents.
Once he makes it up into the chamber, Carilain draws his hammer and has a look around. He does not neglect the ceiling overhead.
As soon as everyone is up, the young cleric will nod to the paladin expecting that the valiant warrior would certainly want to be the first to bring the fight to their foe. Though he would make sure Sarenrae was well represented in smiting such wicked foes
You find the remains of three large sewer rats in what appears to have been a nest. There is a glow of light coming from down the hall to the east.
"Glowing light... well that's always a good sign." Alesie sighs with apprehension, and tries to skirt further into the dark.
Thetin moves towards the light down the hallway cautiously, his shield raised, ready for an attack.
Kyra follows the rest of the group up the ladder and lets out a sigh at seeing the giant rats. "Well, at least they are dead. Tired of giant rodents and insects..." She grips her scimitar lightly yet with a steady grip.
A rusted iron door sits in the center of the eastern wall of this small chamber. A copper brazier hangs from the ceiling above a flimsy wooden table.
Two mongrel men stand watch here, one sitting bored a the table the other whittling at what appears to be a part of a human femur.
Kelden froze at the sight of the Mongrels, a moral quandry held him in its grip. Tacticly they should charge in while the mongrels were distracted but to not offer them a chance to surrender seemed wrong somehow.
Alesie slowly draws her bow from her back, careful to keep quiet, and looks for a suitable vantage point for combat.
Kyra stops when she spots the mongrelmen; however, after a moment she realizes they haven't spotted the group yet. She hesitates for just a moment until she suddenly rushes forward, slipping around Thetin towards the mongrelmen... "You will not stand between me and the Light!" she shouts as she bursts into the room towards the nearest mongrelman, her scimitar dancing towards her target! "Surrender or die."
Carilain follows Kyra in but he stops behind Thetin, realizing that the mongrelmen will get to attack him as he climbs the barricade.
Thetin runs up and strikes the closest mongrelman over the top of the barricade.
Attack it is
Alesie lets loose an arrow quickly at the other mongrelmen not currently engaged with Thetin and Kyra.
Seeing his friends rush in Action Kelden goes to follow closing with them to provide aide if the need it
The mongrelmen are quickly over powered in the sudden rush of attackers.
Treasure
The guards had a deck of cards, loaded dice, a light crossbow with 15 bolts, a iron key and, 23gp.