Leven's eyes strain a bit as they adjust to the dark. He attempts to make the best of it and then thinks the better of it. He is just about to cast light when Jack does that very thing.
"That's a very good idea! I was about to do that myself. Well, no reason not to do it anyway. Here we go!"
Leven casts light on the end of his staff. He moves to the other trap door and opens it. He squats st the edge and lowers his staff down into the aperture, looking down for trouble.
"Someone grab that stuff, will ya?"
Morkai comes up rubbing his bruises from his fall. He is surprised as two people summon magical light.
"You both know magic? Is that arcane or divine? I'm an avid student of the arcane myself. I look forward to discussing it at length later if you will permit." he says happy to find himself among fellow casters.
Leven, you open up the next trap door and peer down to the next floor. You see the walls of this chamber have buckled precariously in several places, and masonry and dirt are scattered across the floor - the collapse above plainly caused this structural damage. The dry-rotted frames of five simple beds lie against the north and south walls. To the southwest, the room broadens into a larger chamber. A rusted, grinning iron statue stands in an alcove in the north wall between the two wings of the room itself, and in the wall to the south is an old iron door.
Morkai hangs back, he's already bruised and he wasn't the toughest guy around to begin with.
"So who wants to go down and have a look?" says Morkai
My powers are innate so i have never studied but i do know a lot about spell and other arcane stuff
Weapon in hand Jack will jump down and slowly explore the room
"We can talk about Magic and Theory et all later. Let's just find out what's going on so we can buy a nice round of drinks when we get back."
Leven climbs down through the hole. Waving his light-enhanced staff around he prepares for trouble in the form of little reptilian hellions.
Jack jumps down into a much larger room (description a couple posts up), followed shortly after by Leven, illuminated staff in hand. All seems well at first, but a mere moments later a terrifying hissing sound is heard from the western side of the room.
Suddenly, two giant centipedes burst out from behind some rubble, making a b-line for the two men! A horrifying clattering sound echoes off the stone steps as their myriad of feet carry them towards their prey. Morkai and Rau watch horrified from the hole above.
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Round 1
The centipedes race towards the two men, their horrid jaws opening as they prepare for a long-awaited meal! Each one focuses on their own target:
With his nimble reflexes, Jack is able to jump back just in time to avoid the attack. Leven is not so lucky. He catches a glancing blow to his arm and he tries to maneuver away, taking 1 damage!
Suddenly, Leven's bite begins to burn with the fire of a thousand evils!
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"Ahh! Damned think bit me! Colorum Espes!"
Leven takes a 5-foot step to G9 and blows multicolored dust from his hand, casting Color Spray (DC13 Will) which should catch both Centipedes in a 15-foot cone, but not Jack.
He then thinks back to his studies and tries to remember if he's read anything about creatures like this.
Round 1
Jack will quickly react and attack the creature that just tried to bite him.
Leven has indeed heard of these creatures before. They are giant centipedes, vermin fairly common to damp forests and underground environs such as dungeons. They are voracious hunters and are known to eat humanoids. Their many feet are coated with a substance that allows them to cling to walls and prefents themfrom being tripped. they are also notoriously fast. They secret a poision they inject into their victims that causes their movements to become slowed.
After thinking twice, Leven pushes aside his fantasy of blasting the Giant Centipedes with his color spray. Instead he focuses his magical power through his staff (swift action to activate arcane pool; +1 enhancement on his staff) and swings it forcefully at the creature near him with both hands gripping it tightly.
He then steps back next to Jack, taking a simple 5-foot step (again, to G9).
Round 1
The centipedes race towards the two men, their horrid jaws opening as they prepare for a long-awaited meal! Each one focuses on their own target:
With his nimble reflexes, Jack is able to jump back just in time to avoid the attack. Leven is not so lucky. He catches a glancing blow to his arm and he tries to maneuver away, taking 1 damage!
Suddenly, Leven's bite begins to burn with the fire of a thousand evils! (Leven, take 2 DEX damage, and make another save next round)
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Leven - After taking a moment to recognize the creatures, Leven summons up some of his arcane might and masterfully swings his quarterstaff at his attacker, bopping it on the head with a savage blow, leaving the creature unconscious and dying with a single attack!
Jack - Likewise strikes out at his attacker. He imbues his scimitar with arcane power and nimble spins and strikes at the centipede in front of him, leaving a nasty gash across its side and leaving bright green guts to spill out onto the floor. This creature also drops immobile and dying on the floor.
RAU -
Morkai -
- - - - - - - - - -
Leven, go ahead and make 5 more Fort saves to see if you shrug off that poison or not.
Leven shudders with pain from the poison and catches himself on Jack's shoulder.
"Mphf! Sorry friend. Thanks for the help though."
Leven, take another points of DEX damage but after that you manage to shrug off the poison as it leaves your system.
Morkai comes down into the hole and sees the two centipede corpses.
"Now those are some large insects. Are you two alright?" says Morkai
I am perfectly fine he says exploring the room weapon in hand
"I won't be running any foot races for a few days, but I should be okay. I'm just going to be a bit stiff and a little more vulnerable."
Leven kicks the corpse of the Centipede that bit him again for good measure. Then raising his staff again, he peers around the room.
The room appears empty save rubble and strange grinning statue to the north and an iron door to the south.
RAU comes down, and squats next to the dead centipedes for a moment.
"Fascinating," she says. "A shame I lack some sample vials. This poison might be harvested... Oh, well."
The Kellid girl rises and joins the others in scrutinizing the room.
RAU, you notice that the statue is not a statue at all, but actually appears to be an iron maiden, an ancient torture device covered in what you now recognize as ancient blood stains. The device hangs open ever so slightly, and when you attempt to open it its one-time-prisoner spills out to the floor below. The device's last victim lays at your feet a pile of bones.
As the bones fall out, you notice a slight gleam in the torchlight. bending down, you find a rusted key amidst the rubble.
"Ah," RAU says as she straightens up, examining the key. "This may be useful. Or not. Better safe than sorry."
She puts the key safely away, then bends down again to examine the skeleton for cause of death - just to make sure whether the poor soul died due to the iron maiden's attentions, and whether they were male or female, adult or juvenile, fun information such as the skeleton may provide.
After the examination, RAU calmly pads over the the door and checks whether the key fits its lock -- if, indeed, the door is locked.
The body appears to have been a middle aged male human, and appears to have spent its last days in this device before he was forgotten and eventually time worn the thing down to its current state.
The door to the south is, in fact, unlocked. The key does not appear to fit into it.
RAU communicates her findings to the others -- and then steps back from the open door. "Some magical reconnaissance seems wise," she says.
Morkai will cast detect magic on the door, if he detects no spells and Rau spots no traps he will try to open the door and see what is on the other side.
Such a hospitable place says jack pointing out toward the device
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RAU glances from Jack to the iron maiden, and surprise briefly flickers across her features. "It is a most efficient device," she says. "The victim need only be placed inside, and then the door can be swung shut. The material's own mass assists the closure, and thus the termination of the subject, while smothering any unpleasant noises that may issue. In addition, the external decorations intimidate the prospective victim, possibly encouraging it to provide information to save its life and freeing the torturer from the necessity of clean-up later."
RAU pads over to the iron maiden and pats it almost companionably. "Yes. Very efficient. Do not hate the device for the purpose others crafted it for, nor the locale. Any negative association originates with their creators, not the materials. Those merely serve the purpose granted to them -- or perhaps, forced upon them."
Jack just looks at RAU once again amazed by her inner workings
Morkai detects no magic on the door and RAU does not find any traps. Just your average ol' iron door. Surprisingly, it is not locked. You move south through the iron door. The next room goes about 20' east/west before hitting a hallway on each side leading south. Numerous jail cells lines these long-abandoned corridors. Each of their solid iron doors hangs ajar, and includes both a peephole at eye level, covered with a piece of sliding metal, and a smaller slot for food and water and floor level. Down the hall to the southwest, a curious semicircular stone ridge runs along the ceiling. The hallways also appear to continue on further than you can see in both directions.
RAU calmly marches past the cells, sliding open each eye-slot as she passes and checking their contents as she approaches the semi-circular stone ridge.
Although RAU cannot even hazard a guess as to what function this ridge serves, it does appear to be hollow and makes a sort of metallic sound if tapped.
Following the others he wonders why this had to be the part of the tower to survive. "Such a warm and welcoming place...
At the apparent fork, he looks each way. Um, right or left? I vote left."
"Either way is fine as we will likely investigate both eventually." says Morkai
leave no area un explored.. agrees jack
"Ah, I understand," RAU says, as she digs a silver penny out of her pocket and flips it. "A fair randomizer to determine our course of action. Heads left, tails right."
The Kellid girl catches the coin and declares the result to be ... "We go to the right."
"sure. I think you should go first, Jack"
Jack just shrugg his shoulders right and goes left inside the corridor.
RAU shrugs and follows Jack, her expression impassive.
"Be cautious," she suggests. "Structural integrity may be impaired."
Leven follows soon after Jack, still keeping his eyes open to the signs of danger.
Morkai follows alongside Leven