Let the games commence...
Rameth takes his time and carefully picks the lock. A stone mechanism clicks and you can feel the tensions in the door lighten. After that, it easily swings open into the room. A cool air greets you inside.
This 10' chamber is hewn from stone. It contains an upright keg fashioned of rusted iron. Similarly rusted pipes lead from the keg down to the floor. A very faint sloshing sound can be heard.
It is quite obvious nobody has entered this room for eons. If any drow have been wandering these ruins, they certainly haven't tried to get into here. Maybe they don't know, or just don't care at all.
Careful. Let's take a look
Rameth does a careful search,
You aren't sure, (perhaps K. Dungeon would help), but you imagine these pipes lead throughout the complex. Quartle is pretty adamant this keg contains some sort of water source and supplied it to the citadel when it was in use. You tend to agree.
A big wheel sits atop the keg you suspect you could turn to open it and take a look inside. It appears pretty rusted so it's gonna take a bit of strength. The keg itself is about 4 feet tall by 2 feet wide and cylindrical.
lets see what is inside
STR
:)
Perhaps one of you better handle this…I do not seem to be able to get a good grip.
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Rameth blushes from the shame of not managing to turn the wheel. Just like those damn pickle jars...
Quartle rustles around in his pack, "Mmmm, I might have something in my healing kit that would help you get a better grip."
Quartle, what exactly do ya have in mind? If you can convince me, I'll give a +2 to another strength check.
Quartle kneels and pulls out a small satchel. He removes a small glass jar filled with a brown paste that looks like mud and looks at it quizzically. "Might work, but if any of you get burned later, it would be a shame to use too much up." Next he pulls out a handful of bandages. "Well, if it was greasy or something. Ah, of course!" He draws out a small bottle and removes the cap to reveal a stick covered with a honey-brown substance. "Tree sap. I use it to make the bandages stick. This ought to do the trick unless it causes your hand to stick to the damn thing." He daubs a little on few spots around the wheel. "Care to try again?"
Rameth frowns then gives it another try
Just in case taht 20 did not worked, I "aid another" to that check
With Quartle's alchemical substance and Ealasaid's additional assistance, Rameth takes another try at turning the wheel and opening this keg.
With a sudden jerk, the wheel spins fully open and the lid pops fully off, exposing the water that was contained within.
Almost immediately, a loud sound like a waterfall begins emanating from the keg. The water begins to furiously churn and splash, and then,from out of the keg, emerges a small creature apparently created of water itself.
This translucent creature's shape shifts between a spinning column of water and a crashing wave. It emits a loud shriek sounding similar to rushing water. You don't understand what it's saying but it does appear to be communicating. It also looks pissed.
knowledge planes check
Namon looked at the creature carefully...which variety of demon or devil be it...
This is most certainly a medium sized water elemental; a being from the elemtnal plane of water and as such composed of good ol' H2O. It was most likely locked in this keg to provide an everlasting source of water. Besides being able to control water, and being made of water, elementals are known to posses the following traits:
- Immunity to bleed, paralysis, poison, sleep effects, and stunning.
- Not subject to critical hits or flanking. Does not take additional damage from precision-based attacks, such as sneak attack.
My friends this is a water elemental and I unfortunately don't speak Aquan... This creature is formless and has no organs, it would be best to try appeasing it instead of fighting it...
Naia is still in the corridor keeping watch, uninterested in ancient plumbing and not cognisant of the appearance of the water elemental...
Buffy keeps careful watch out in the hall, only partially aware of the sudden commotion in the door. Her mind is occupied with thoughts of slaying monsters and vampires and other cool stuff. She does not hear or see anything out in the hall or from the other doorways.
In the pump room, the water elemental fully gathers itself and rises up out of the keg, standing atop the water held within. Its vaguely humanoid face appears to be looking at everyone in the room quizzically, continuing to make frantic bubbling watery sounds.
As Grippli is partially derived from the Aquan language, Quartle is able to piece together the gist of what this elemental is trying to say.
Basically, it is furious it has been imprisoned for eons and is trying to figure out if you are related to its captors, and if you are freeing it.
;)
Quartle attempts to piece together some rather broken Aquan from the Grippli language, "Not water captors. You free. Swim. Do you need help getting to free water?" Quartle sees his turtle's head pop back into its shell. Uh oh.
Rameth steps back. . Give it space.
Everyone slowly backs up out of the room while Quartle attempts to explain to the elemental that they mean it no harm.
+ 2 for speaking Grippli
Although your words are a little jumbled and certainly mispronounced, Quartle is able to convey his intentions to the creature.
The creature continues to look at each of you warily, and then, as quick as a forest stream, the water elemental rises up out of the water with a brilliant splash. The water in the keg rises up around it and it flies forward, out of the doorway. It knocks over anyone who chooses to not get out of the way. Otherwise, it rushes out into the hallway and crashes through the Western wooden door, leaving it nothing more than wooden planks and an opening.
well I hope that doesn't come back to haunt us.
Almost sad that it wasn't a devil, I could have sweet talked it into service...
"I think I got across the idea that it could go free. That seemed to be what it wanted. Let's see if there is anything else here." Quartle searches through the chamber, looking to see if anything else is present.
Hidden deep in the keg, Quartle finds a small pouch containing 4 lapis luzel gems. Presumably some small treasure the elemental had saved through its years of capture.
I am ready - said ealasaid with heavy flail in hand. By the way, well done quartle
Anyone going to keep track of loot for the party?
appraise
I am eager, mysteries exist within this place to tantalize even my black heart...
Did I is what the gems are worth
The gems are pretty well cut, and you think you could fetch about 120g for each one.
Ok so 1: you all go through the broken door the elemental bashed through, 2: you try and go through the northern door, and 3: you try to other door in the previous room.
Doh my post was eaten. That works however!
Same order, Rameth takes 10 on percep and stealth
The wooden door to the north opens easily when you grab the handle. The door opens to an essentially barren stone hewn chamber. This room contains no other entrances other than the door you just opened. In one corner of the room, appear to be the long decayed bodies of several small reptilian creatures. Something must have killed them decades ago.
percep
Namon made a brief invocation to the lord of the eighth and called upon the vision of Hell...
Naia scans the room, blades in hand.
Rameth, you notice two things:
1 - there appears to be a rotting wooden chest cleverly hidden in the wall in the corner of the room.
2 - these corpses, (which Buffy suspects are dead kobolds), although most definitely old, should probably have decayed to nothing but bone by now. But, alas, rotting flesh remains on the rotten bodies.
Namon, you detect the lingering stench of necromancy amongst this room as well. Someone must have gone through these ruins and laid down some epic level necromancer spells in the past.
I do not honestly know how many years ago it might have been but this was the lair of a powerful necromancer... A man who could have been the understudy of the Whispering Tyrant himself...
"So we can expect these crusty critters to rise up too, Nameth?" asks Naia, never taking her eyes from the kobold "corpses".
"Into every generation a slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. She is the Slayer."
Thank you. Never actually watched it myself, though my wife loved it and Angel back in the day apparently...