Viorec looks over the bodies scraping away bits of the slime and muck to reveal various cuts and gashes. I am unsure what it was but it appears that one of them was attacked by something besides the slimes. As he points out the damage.
Her voice remained low for caution's sake.
"Maybe they were attacked by the fire beetles, too, and when they made to get away, they walked straight into the slime moulds and were trapped." Dejah shrugged, for they did know what befell the Halflings for a fact.
"Come, let us proceed with caution." And waited for Cade to take lead again and stepped in behind him, pike in hand, her mismatched eyes still watchful of their surrounds.
The party continues along the water, moving through a narrow passage at the end of the cavern.
It opens up into another cavern, this one much bigger than the last one you were in. The ceiling here is 20 feet high and thick with stalactites. The bank of the pool has what seems to be some sort of garden of toadstools and dark mould to the east. Two exits lead from this cavern, one to the southwest and the other due south.
Sitting in the garden is a curious froglike creature, small and hunched and with incredibly pale skin. Its hands and feet are webbed, and its filmy, milky white eyes glow slightly. There is a brand of some description on its flank--it's a word in a language unfamiliar to most people. It is growling and pacing, looking among the toadstool garden for something to eat.
Cade pauses and squats low to appear less aggressive. He smiles and keeps his hands in the open, hoping the creature is intelligent and understands his body language. He whispers, "Does anyone have any clue what it is? Please try not to enrage it."
Dejah stopped at Cade's gesture and mimicked his crouch. She could not read the words of the brand for the text was unfamiliar. Yet, from its form, she could make out what manner of creature it was. She turned down her gaze so not to look at it directly.
Answering's Cade's question in a quiet voice/whisper, ensuring the other companions behind her could hear as well,
"It's a magical beast called a Blindheim. They dwell in caves far beneah the earth and are great climbers and swimmers. Be wary of their eyes -- the sheer brightness of their glow can blind a person for hours."
At Dejah's words, Cade lowers his gaze toward the ground. He tries to keep an eye on the creature with his peripheral vision without looking directly at him.
Dejah's whispers carry to her companions...
...and, unfortunately, to the blindheim. It perks up and starts scratching its head before looking around the cavern some more. It growls in irritation.
Dejah froze as the Blindheim heard her whisper, but its growl signalled that it had failed to spot them and she inwardly/silently breathed a sigh of relief.
She shrugged apologetically to Cade and the others. She had done her best to keep her voice as quiet as possible and still allow them to hear what she was saying about the magical beast.
Dejah began to use her hands to quietly motion/gesture on whether they should move closer and attack the creature, hoping Cade or one of the others would understand without words.
Viorec nods his understanding and indicates his wish to engage the creature by pointing in the general direction of the Blindheim with his weapon wielding hand before making a throat slitting motion with the other arm.
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Tabitha nods in agreement with Viorec. If we don't take care of it now, we might not be able to continue. She thinks.
She then sheathes the dagger with the light spell cast on it, only letting a little show just to be able to still see somewhat.
With Viorec wishing to deal with the Blindheim, Tabitha points to the left, then the right, then making a gesture of opening her hand. Are the areas to the left and right open? Trying to get things across like this is hard.
Dejah nodded her head in understanding that they would move quietly forward and then attack the Blindheim.
From her position (and using her Darkvision), Dejah could see the open area to the right of her and pointed in the direction, opening her hands to suggest open area/passage. Would it be wiser to attempt to slip past it and go down to the right passage or engage the creature now and put it down for good? Dejah silently mused the options before her.
Cade watches the others gesture each other. He frowns at the throat slitting motion. This is probably that little guy's home. I'd hate to kill him. Cade takes the lead and attempts to sneak to the right without alerting the thing. He quietly grabs his hammer and moves. He points the right direction out to the others.
As he kicks some rocks, he grimaces and kneels looking down without moving.
The blindheim spins on its heel and hisses, now fully aware of the party.
Cade moves up and unleashes hell on the poor frogman before it has a chance to attack his friends.
*SPLAT*
When Cade is finished with his swing, what's left of the blindheim can fit into a coffee mug.
While Viorec began to move into position Caedmon swings and ends the creature. With the fight done Viorec moves from the crouch he had been in. Well that was quicker then I expected, nicely done Caedmon.
Cade stands over the mess and tries to catch his breath . He frowns at the pile of flesh. "Thank you Viorec. I hate that we had to kill it though. We are invading HIS home." He stops and ponders the event. "It was my fault for letting him hear me. BUT...I couldn't take the chance of him attacking or calling friends once he spotted me." He attempts a smile at Viorec. There is sadness in the scarred man's eyes. He wipes the blood off in the sand and awaits the next move.
He looks over to Dejah, fearing her repulsion of his violence. Which way short stuff? Do you think you should sneak in the darkness a little bit ahead of us to spy out trouble?"
In an understanding whisper, Dejah simply responded with "You ended it without tarrying", having learned last time to keep her words short and very low lest it draw any kind of attention. The Blindheim must have belonged to someone for it had a brand on its flank. She wished she had been able to read the text.
At Cade's suggestion, Dejah gave a nod and moved forward on her own to examine the area ahead for any sign of trouble and then report back to her companions. She cautiously proceeded ten feet forward at first (not too far ahead of them in case she got into any kind of trouble); her pike in hand, ready. Seeing light suddenly filter back into the chamber, Dejah turned her head and signalled to Tabitha to put her magically lit dagger away, again.
Using her darkvision, she looked up ahead and around her.
Dejah's footsteps make nary a sound as she creeps forward. Val, on the other hand, audibly gags when she sees the blindheim's pulverized remains. "Eww... nasty."
As Dejah turns to leave the cavern, something in the pool catches her eye--a half-eaten corpse of a man, his clothes and personal effects ruined by a mix of water and presumably blindheim jaws. There's a belt pouch on his person that appears to have survived mostly intact.
Before proceeding forward to discover what the dark passage ahead contained/revealed, Dejah had noted the corpse and the belt pouch in the pool. She used her pike to drag the body closer and she removed the pouch and inspected inside.
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The contents of the pouch are:
--42 GP;
--A small, silver pickaxe that appears to have been made from a human femur, rib and skull, fitted with a lanyard through one of the skull's eyes;
--two watertight potion vials filled with clear blue fluid.
Dejah studiously examined the clear blue potions and silver pickaxe.
In quiet voice, she pointed to the corpse, "Possibly one of Parda's men."
Handing the pickaxe to the priest for his own inspection, she added quietly, "Viorec, it has the unholy symbol of Zyphus, the god of accidental death. I am not certain of its worth."
Lifting the potions, she continued quietly, "Potions of Cure Light Wounds." She pocketed one (in case she needed to save herself or Tabitha, for the girl seemed determined to find trouble) and gave the other over to Cade, who would need it since he led the party and fought in the front.
She divided the coin between them: 8 gold each, with two to spare. "Extra gold coin for two people" as she passed the coins to them. Dejah did not care who took the extra coin; she simply placed her share (8gp) into her pouch. She handed over the belt pouch to whomever wanted it, for she already had one.
Cade takes the potion and coins. He places them in his bag. "Thanks. You guys can keep the extra coins." He wrinkles his nose at the half eaten body. "Looks like the frog thing liked flesh. The pick axe may be of use later."
Dejah, pike in hand, continued down the southern tunnel, cautious and mindful of her surrounds.
when Caedmon show concern about the creature Viorec is moved to speak up. I understand your feelings Caedmon but if there is anything that my time on this earth has taught me there are many creatures that simply can't be reasoned with its diet certainly would put it in that category to my mind. I think your conscious should be clear on this kill at least. Viorec pats the large man on the back in a good natured way before turning to the rest of the group about the matter of extra coins.
We could put the uneven split of coins towards the expedition itself in case this trek should go on for awhile even after we find Val's father there is still the matter of the torch which may take some searching to put right. At the end of things what we don't use we can always split up when we go our own way.
Viorec looks over the unholy symbol that Dejah offers I will take your word on the patron that uses this symbol. I don't recognize it but then again I have never been formally trained in faith practices and was only blessed with Cayden Cailean's gifts much latter in life so I am still learning as I go. Viorec smiles at the last bit as if from an internal joke before continuing. We should probably move on.
"I understand your feelings Caedmon but if there is anything that my time on this earth has taught me there are many creatures that simply can't be reasoned with its diet certainly would put it in that category to my mind. I think your conscious should be clear on this kill at least. "
Cade smiles back at the priest. "Thank you sir. Well spoken." He did appreciate the priest's words and his willingness to comfort him. He too found some solace after seeing the half eaten remains. It still did not remove the thought that he had invaded the creature's lair. Cade pondered how he himself would react if strangers entered his "home" brandishing weapons. I appreciate the man's kind words. I am glad he is here.
Turning back to the cave passage south, the party presses on...
The south passage narrows slightly in the middle before widening out, and the smell of rusted metal pervades the room at the end of it. A collection of crates, boxes, rubble & scavenged metal lies heaped in the northwest section of this damp cave. Several strange chalk drawings of twisted, spiny plants, a strange three-legged creature and emaciated four-armed humanoids mark the walls. There are two exits from this cavern, aside from the one the party entered from--one to the southwest, and the other to the southeast.
The three-legged creature depicted in chalk looks remarkably similar to the repair drone the party encountered at the Foundry tavern.
You could swear you saw the outline of a human pressed against the southeastern exit from the cavern.
In quiet reply, Dejah addressed Viorec's suggestion of putting spare coin into the expedition. "I am in accord with your idea, Viorec. You may hold the extra coin. If we cannot trust a goodly priest, then who can we trust..." A strange smile fixed itself on the Changeling's lips.
They continued down the tunnel.
Different smells, was the single thought rolling around Dejah's mind. Now it was rust from all the moisture in the cave and the discarded metal scraps. Dejah pointed to the three-legged creature in chalk on the wall and spoke softly. "Val, that looks like the crazy drone you tried to repair back at the workshop, doesn't it?"
Dejah looked down at the closest pile of rubble, and, using her pike and hands, carefully picked through it. She discovered seven small, silver discs and lifted them to take a closer look/examine them. Then the archaeologist lifted the small discs for the others to see.
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"Val, that looks like the crazy drone you tried to repair back at the workshop, doesn't it?"
Val nods. "Yeah, no kidding. Looks more... well, 'fixed' would be my best way of putting it."
It dawned on her what the discs were and quietly shared her discovery,
"They're batteries and can be used as currency in Torch and other advanced technological towns of Numeria. They're equivalent to a platinum a piece as currency, but their significance lies in the fact they can power a variety of technological devices. A boon, indeed." Dejah showed the companions the seven discs one more time before carefully wrapping and placing them inside the pouch at her waist. "I will hold onto them for now", she quietly declared to the group before standing from her crouched position.
"Val, did you want to note the drawing down on parchment? Would it help you fix your repair drone?"
Several strange chalk drawings of twisted, spiny plants, a strange three-legged creature and emaciated four-armed humanoids mark the walls...
Dejah pondered the chalk depictions again, trying to ascertain what manner of creatures they were.
"Tabitha, what do you make of these drawings?"
Viorec gives a silent nod to acknowledge Cade's thanks before they move on.
Viorec notices the silvery disks as well but misses the significance of them until Dejah picks them up and explains there use. When the others start to examine the drawings Viorec examines them only for a few moments before speaking up after Tabitha asks after there meaning. It looks like someone might have been drawing what they saw around the caves maybe. Shrugging his shoulders Viorec turns away from the drawings and takes up a position to watch the side tunnels for any danger leaving others better equipped to understand the strange technology and the significance of the art within the cave.
"Val, did you want to note the drawing down on parchment? Would it help you fix your repair drone?"
"I imagine it would, if it hadn't been reduced to scrap." She says, looking over at Cade.
Dungeoneering/Nature: The twisty plant in chalk is definitely not of a species you recognize from Numeria, or even the rest of Golarion for that matter. It could be an extraplanar being, or perhaps from beyond the stars...