Gorkhan concentrates for a split second, releasing a sound like a small clap of thunder, just as releases his psionic focus, causing him to blur as he speeds off. He zooms out of the room and past Woki angling around the corner and up the hall.
Woki points at the necromancer with the tip of the spear as the halfling starts to slowly creep backwards, "Spirits angry with lifetaker. Spirits growl growing rage. Lifetaker feel spirits' bite soon." Once out of direct sight of the defiler, Woki begins another prayer to the spirits while static energy starts to build up in the air around the halfling.
The dwarf templar's challenge does not go unanswered long.
Moving with uncanny speed, Grit darts in, feinting toward Vackus's off-hand. Twisting inside the dwarf's reach, Grit slices the arm holding the iron mace almost to bone. A second strike carves deep into the templar's left thigh.
Surprised and off balance, Vackus is sent flying by the psionic blast Nnn'tkklik'l unleashes from the crystal staff. Catapulted backward, the dwarf's head cracks against a heavy wooden table. He slumps to the ground, head hanging at an unnatural angle.
Daina and Grit's tigone rush south to assist Woki. Seeing the tigone and the lightning Woki begins to summon, the necromancer turns and flees, although the tigone manages to sink a claw into the pale woman before she disappears around the corner and up a spiral staircase toward the surface.
Moving too fast to see, Gorkhan rushes around to the main hall, but stops short as he reaches the pit leading down to the belgoi's abattoir.
A trio of slave gladiators - two humans and a mul - stand clutching weapons in the entrance to the room where Vackus died. As Gorkhan watches, a purple-scaled nikaal rushes into the room.
Seeing Vackus' body, the nikaal lets out a wail, before turning to glare into the mess hall. The air in front of the reptilian humanoid appears to swirl and bubble before a smoking bolt of flaming erupts forth, streaking south in a line that burns Grit, Raun and Nnn'tkklik'l.
[ooc]~~~~~~~~oo~~~~~~~~
Still hasted, Grit moves to attack the caster. He closes on it and slashes at it with his scimitar. At the same time he calls out to the gladiators. This is not your fight.
The kreen moves to the left, taking cover behind a table after attempting to forcefully penetrate the slavemaster's mind to bring it into the collective. Nnn'tkklik'l hides behind the table, being unable to weather another hit and low on expendable mental power.
Raun growls as she is burnt, adding it's little flame to the pain already wracking her. She strides forward, glaring at Grit as she is left squeezed into the passage, but stretches over his head to take out her frustration on the Nikaal. "We kill your leader. Just give up!" she demands angrily her voice sounding tortured, both from the pain and the misshapen shape her head currently holds as she lashes at the psionicist.
After a brief pause to assess the new situation, Gorkhan speeds off, rolling past the gladiators and into the room to see a nikaal, rather than Vackus standing there.
With the flash fire fading in Gorkhan's eyes and the nikaal distracted by the others, Gorkhan steps forwards and lashes out with his hasted blade.
Woki finishes the prayer and is ready to unleash the spirits' fury when the halfling glances the corner of the hall to see the necromancer is gone. Woki looks at Däina nearby, "Lifetaker flee? Spirits bite lifetaker later." The halfling's steps are laborous as Woki walks past the elf-blood and back toward where the others are still fighting.
<<The defiler of the land has fled toward a higher level. Her dark magics have left me unable to hunt the witch properly so we might have more visitors soon if she went for help.>>
Grit, Raun and Gorkhan surround the nikaal, slashing and chopping. Although the dark-scaled humanoid avoids the fatal blow of Raun's hammer, it is soon bleeding profusely from several sword wounds.
The nikaal's membrane-covered eyes go wide as Nnn'tkklik'l forcefully draws it into the collective. Calling out to the slaves in a panic, the slavemaster attempts to use a power of its own, but its concentration is broken by a wild swing from Raun.
Seeing the hated slavemaster surrounded, the slaves take one look at each before turning and running north, into the wide, cage-lined hall.
The nikaal dies screaming, its body smashed and carved as Nnn'tkklik'l channels its final breaths into the collective.
The corpses of Vackus and almost a dozen templars and bodyguards surround you. Animals and slaves howl in the cages of the arena, but so far you don't hear reinforcements. What do you do?
Loot quickly. We must be away from here before reinforcements come. Grit says as he steps back and takes a full round action action to make sure the Templar is dead. We need multiple Detect Magics going.
He will then begin to gather weapons, armor and other valuables.
You quickly scoop up the better-made weapons and other valuables from the corpses, shoving them into Raun's pack and elsewhere.
Here's what you find:
Raun hunkers down, catching her breath after the prolonged fight, her features slowly shrinking as the enchantment of the tattoo fades. She half-heartedly helping the others fill her pack with loot, but seems distracted until she finally reaches into her mouth and pulls free what appears to be a bloody fragment of bone from between her teeth.
When the loading is done, and her fatigue begins to fade she looks at the others before gesturing towards the sounds of the other slaves of the arena. "Should let them out. Then go down?."
As the last of the templars drop dead, Woki moves over to one of the dead black ones and unsheathes a bone dagger. The edge of the dagger parts the still warm flesh before the halfling reaches into the new slit under the templar's sternum and begins to remove the heart. Holding the prize aloft while the others grab more mundane loot, Woki takes a bite from the lump of muscle and wraps the rest in the templar's clothing before stuffing it into the satchel, "Mmmmh. Ones in black eat good. Heart big tasty."
Woki looks at the others with their victory wounds and grins with a bloody mouth, "Tall ones hunt good. Many trophies to take. Spirits pleased." The halfling reaches out to lay a hand on Nnn'tkklik'l and prays a blessing to the spirits. Again the halfling's hand glows blue as cleansing energy pours into the mantis.
Daina is enjoying identifying the magic items, letting the complicated task of unweaving the magical auras calm her racing heart. "...oh and this is a cruel morningstar! It's name is rather apt, you see it..." She turns, then sees Woki eating a human heart. Daina skips queasy, going strait to losing her lunch.
Nnn'tkklik'l sees the halfling eating a heart, those accustomed to reading kreen behavior find him to be unperturbed.
<<Daina, are you sick? Poisoned?>>
After the blue glow fades, the kreen says, <<Thank you for the mending, their terrible spells damaged my shell.>>
Gorkhan concentrates for a moment to regain his and his psicrystal's psionic focus before looking through their haul. "I wonder if these badges will at least get us past the door... whether or not we're a templar. This ring does look interesting, however..."
Thankfully Daina can still communicate mentally without difficulty. <<That sick little creature is eating them!>>
The eating of sentient flesh does not seem to bother the druid, but he also does not partake. <<Yes. Once a man is dead his body is only meat. The spirit has departed. You have a trained mind Daina. Choose to not let it bother you. >>
<<I'm not a wise old man, I'm an avid book reader!>> She leaves the room, trailing bile behind her.
Woki looks at Däina oddly as she seems to lose control of her stomach. <<I am confused. Have I committed an insult by not offering you a portion of my meal or is it that you do not consume meat, Däina? If the former, I shall gladly carve up another black one for you.>>
At the mention of her own portion the sounds of throwing up come back.
Woki looks at the others and shrugs. <<I'll take that as the latter.>>
<<She'll not eat meat for a day or two I am guessing. >> the druid responds, but not unkindly. <<If we have the loot we can carry let us be off.>>
Raun looks at the others as Woki removes the templar's heart, shaking her head as she moves away towards the sound of caged slaves. Unless the locks are made of giant's hair she slices and/or smashes the locks on anything that doesn't look like it will try to kill her on the spot once free.
You quickly strip the corpses of valuables but decide against a more thorough search of the surrounding rooms. Seeking to by more time, you release a dozen slaves and other creatures before retracing your steps to the level below - hopefully the escape will delay any pursuers' discovery of the concealed stairwell.
Unsure how to activate the templar's medallion, you bring Vackus's body, as well. You pass through the belgoi's abattoir without incident - three-eyed lizards and cave centipedes are feasting on the corpses, but they otherwise appear undisturbed - before squeezing into the half-collapsed catacomb tunnel that holds the warded door.
The symbol of death glows fiercely at the far end of the passage. You have Vackus's corpse as well as his amulet - what will you try to do?
Studying the aura a second time, it appears the wards are keyed to a rare but not unique talisman. Vackus's amulet may be all that is needed.
Daina finally begins to settle her stomach, taking a second look at the symbol of death.
<<I believe Vackus's amulet may be able to pass this ward without problem.>>
Ok Diana, I trust you. Lets try this.
Woki peers curiously at the door since it seems everyone else is doing likewise. It appears to be just a door to the halfling, another of the strange inventions of the tall ones that serves little purpose but to get in the way of where someone wants to go.
<<Meat is meat. Raun bit him before he even died.>>
...
The kreen waits silently with the group at the door, sensing the tension in the situation and the ambient telepathic static from half a dozen racing minds.
Raun blinks for a moment, looking at Nnn as he says she had bitten the templars. She... kind of remembered something like that, but things tended to blur together when she got into the spirit of the fight. While the others are squinting at the distant door she unslings the corpse from her shoulder and settles the amulet around his next, so that it rests prominently on his chest. As the others seem to come to the agreement that it should be the amulet Raun simply shrugs. Not bothering to pull the amulet back off him again she hefting the whole body, brandishing it in front of her and walks casually towards the door.
<< Raun. Wait. We have to consider the possibility that the badge only grants access to the wearer. I am not sure if the badge will turn off the ward or only prevent the wearer from activating it. Daina? >>
Daina gives a mild shrug. <<I'm not entirely sure. We could pass through and toss the amulet back to each person individually.>>
Gorkhan glances at Raun holding the corpse ahead of her, an eyebrow raised. <<She's practically wearing the person wearing the amulet. It probably counts. From the nature of traps in general, I expect that once the door is opened, the power is deactivated, at least until it's closed again. Of cours the magical nature...>> he pauses with a shrug. <<I guess we'll see.>>
<<Practically doesn't work in magic, and assumptions get you killed. Put the amulet on.>>
Raun looks on as the others debate the next step. Sighing in frustration, she hefts the dwarf templar's stiffening corpse and pushes it along ahead of her down the narrow passage. Dark lightning lances out from the glyph, crackling and sparking as it dances around the amulet at Vackus's neck. The symbol flickers and dims as. There's a dull grinding sound as the stone door appears to settle in its frame, dust puffing out with the release of air.
Carefully, Raun creeps closer, but the glyphy remains inactive. More confident, the half-giant sets rough fingers into the carvings on the door and pulls. The portal scrapes on stone as she pulls it closer, then slides it into a recess to one side.
Light plays on the cloud of dust floating within. As it settles you can make out a still form lying on a stone bier. Clad in a wine-colored shroud and appearing a breath away from waking, the body within is unmistakeably that of the sorcerer-king, Kalak.
Daina nearly jumps at Raun, but seeing the trap is disabled she simply gives a nervous nod.
Almost reverently she looks down upon the clone of Kalak. Before anything else is done she scans the room with detect magic.
Woki struggles to keep from sneezing because of all the dust in the air while studying the shrouded body within. The halfling looks at the others and points with the spear at the body. <<For what purpose do you seek this slumbering tall one? It would seem that you each put your lives' in some danger hunting the black ones above so that you could get into this room. The spirits shy from this place. Who is this tall one?>>
Gorkhan pauses, glancing over at the halfling before responding, thinking of his earlier gruesome actions. <<Food,>> he replied with a smirk. <<Have you ever tasted the flesh of a god?>>
Daina says nothing, but the look she gives Gorkhan suggests she's considering doing things to him that somebody as nice as her usually never thinks about.
Grit follows the half giant. How do you kill a god? he says, his gaze shifting from the still form to his blade. He quickly casts Detect Magic to survey the room. I wonder if there are other guardians?
Woki looks at Gorkhan with cocked head before nodding in understanding. <<In my people's land, you may taste the flesh of the gods whenever you wish. You must merely tilt your head back and wait for the heaven's to weep. The spirits bless the world with each precious drop.>>