"I'm not going to die today. Not until the gods are done with me." She looks in the west tower.
Charis felt some vibe trying to get to her, but she overcomes it.
There was probably something to the door, aside from being dusty.
"Alright, let's do this." She pulls out her longsword and opens the door, slowly...
The door creaks, slightly as she opens it.
Though less than what would be likely, from a long abandoned ruin.
A roughly 15 by 20 feet circular room lies inside.
The dried wooden floor is mostly preserved, save for a few places.
A rusted arms rack stands in the back, and the wooden remains of two double bunks decorate the walls.
A covered up frame hangs on the wall.
There is a faint outlining of a box sized hatch, below the remains of one of the bunks.
----------------
Opening it, there is a small lockbox, containing 50 gp and a letter.
The letter is dated just before the watchtower's mysterious fall.
It is written by, most likely, one of the watchtower's former residents, and addressed to his wife in Kharum.
While the first part is mainly about how he's looking forward to duty roster shifting him back to the city, there is mention of restless sleep, and sounds heard without an apparent origin.
"This door is surprisingly well maintained. It should have fallen off the latches, frankly." She looks at her hair for a moment, mumbles to it, then opens fully.
"Hmm, there's a lockbox under that bed. One moment."
She enters the room, looking for traps.
Assuming she doesn't find one, the maiden opens the lockbox, returns to her companions and reads the letter. "This man's final day, before the watch tower fell. He heard strange noises, but couldn't pinpoint the origin."
With the west tower complete, she heads toward the east tower and opens the door.
The door to the eastern door is locked.
"Locked. Give me one second." The Maiden removes a box from her pack.
She reaches down for a wire- no, that's not the one, this one- and guides it into the lock. It clicks almost immediately.
"Alright." Longsword ready, she opens the door and peers inside...
Charis sees no traps on the door's exterior, and after unlocking it, she pushes it open.
As she does, a mechanism is triggered from the inside.
A jet of acid strikes forth, hitting her.
---------------------
A larger area of the floor has fallen to disrepair.
What would likely have been a 2nd floor and stairs, is now nothing more than pile of wooden debris.
Some shelves with half preserved books and a double bunk stand against the wall.
The areas of floor missing, lead to a 5 feet low drop.
"Oh do be careful, my dear," Carlaya says as she watches the acid fly forth. She offers her wand of CLW to Charis. "See if this can help you at all. I do owe you one. Let's stay close together."
Carlaya examines the floor below for any sign of traps.
Carlaya will have to use a light source to explore down below. :P
The Maiden takes the wand and applies it to herself. "Thank you. I wish I saw that coming...the bite wound still aches."
Most of the acid burn wears away, leaving a small scratch where she was bitten. "Thank you." She hands the wand back.
As often happened after a fight, Grog was left panting like a marathon runner after crossing the line. He'd drunk rather a lot in a short space of time and even his prodigious tolerance was tested. In truth not only had the wind been knocked out of him, but he felt rather sick.
Hearing a sharp intake of breath (The Maiden getting hit by acid) Grog realized that maybe he should be doing something. Still feeling rather dazed he intolerantly Grog mumbled "Where'd tha angel o' mercy go? Promised ta protect her." He rather gingerly got up from where he'd fallen in his exhaustion and stumbled over to the hole and slurring his words he asked, "Ye wanna hic, go down there, hic?"
Letting his eyes adjust for the gloom, Grog stuck his head in to take a good look.
Bringing up the rear of the group, Ed Earl ducks a bit through the doorway and follows everyone into the tower, but doesn't crowd the experts ahead.
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On Going Effect: Banner: +4 vs fear & +3 to hit w/ charge, all allies, constant;
Charis enters the room and takes a look downstairs.
Below the floor, lies the skeletal remains in a dusty, but otherwise intact attire. A dusty badge hangs on the right side of its chest.
Kharum's messengers wear little on armor, to keep mobile, but they wore a distinct vest and badge.
It sits with back against the wall, holding a rusted dagger and hand crossbow.
A search of the corpse, reveals a notebook with a few hastily written passages.
In light of recent events, i deem it proper to write down the strange phenomenae of late, in hopes of ever delivering this to the city council.
We've all been having bad dreams, that gradually turned to nightmares, over the course of the last month. By Abadar's coin purse, that isn't natural. One of the lookouts just vanished overnight, just like that.
(-------Some illegible words-------)
I don't know what the hell happened. It all went down so quickly.
As if a tear in a sheet of cloth, some rip appeared in the air near the gate. It was horrible, a multitude of eyes stared at us, the next moment this...-thing-, came through and tore half of us to pieces.
Some of us went to the nearby escape tunnel at the north end, but were caught by surprise by people in sinister robes and cowls.
I hid here in the turmoil. There is no way i can escape the watchtower, i'll have to try and sit this out.
"A messenger from Kharum. He has a note. He decided to wait here for the best."
She picks up the note and keeps reading. "It appeared near the gate. Some people fled to the escape tunnel at the north end, but they encountered resistance." She shakes her head.
"They were not prepared. By the gods..." She shows the note to anyone else who wants to read it.
"I guess that acid spring was his doing. Maybe the northern tunnel will hold another clue?"
Renee takes the note, and reads it himself.
"Poor people... Such horrors..." the half-orc shakes his head as his eyes scan through the note.
"Vraiment, mon ami! Northern tunnel is where we should go. But where does it start?"
Ed Earl pulls a torch from his pack, ready to find this northern tunnel.
"Yea, where is this tunnel? We will not be surprised like these others were."
With the hint that a secret tunnel should be to the north end of the ruin, the team joins effort, and after a bit of searching, do find it.
A hatch, looking like the ruin's ground, opened with a earth colored ring, partially hidden underneath soft dirt.
The team descends a 10 feet wide stone stairs, soft tiny patches of mold hugging the steps after time had passed, without a caretaker.
Down below, an unlit brazier stands near a dark wooden door.
"Looks like is it. If someone can lead the way, I'll follow the best I can."
The Maiden checks for traps immediately at the door, and then proceeds as silently as possible.
Grog thought he was very stealthy, of course in reality he was too tipsy for any pretence at stealth. Still loaded up with liquid courage, he had no fear whatsoever of being in front. After a wee nip from his hip flask for fortification,
he announced, "Th'Dark nae bother meh. I'll go."
He bumbles on ahead, bushy eyebrows quivering as he looks one way then the other.
"I'll keep watch at the back. Wouldn't to get ambushed, dears." She keeps her bow at the ready. "Rags, quit drooling and stay close to me." She bonks the snake on the head with her bow.
Charis, can i get a willsave DC 15 please.
If you don't pass, you feel an incredible urge to attack the nearest ally for 1 round as best you can.
The door's lock doesn't yet budge, but something clicked..whether that was good?
-----------------Utter silence--------------
From the walls fly many tiny darts at everyone in the room in a 20 feet radius from the door.
Jiggle Jiggle Jiggle CLICK
"...whoops"
"Another sick joke."
"Another trap! Pas drôle du tout..."
Getting pierced by the darts is mostly annoying for Renee, as the tiny weapons cause only slight damage. The half-orc is worried that there was some poison in the tips, but he doesn't seem to feel any ill effect.
Still, in order to remain in good condition for future battles, he uses his healing wand to close the wounds.
Charis turns around at Grog, who is standing right behind her, her eyes filled with rage. For some reason, his face really pisses her off right now.
"That's all you can do? Taunt me, kill my sisters, curse my very being!" Charis pulls out her longsword, calling upon her luck. "Every day is a struggle and you won't let me die!"
Charis hacks away at Old Grog. "What do you want from me!~"
She stumbles back, dropping her longsword and stumbling to the ground. Eyes covering her face, she holds out a hand. "Damn it hurts so much. Now they make my allies enemies."
She looks up and sheathes her blade, pulling out her wand. "I- I'm sorry. Sometimes the gods play tricks on me." She pulls the dart from her backside. "Or maybe this dart was a hallucinogen." She shakes her head. "If I do that again and won't come to my senses, take my head off. But for now, let me reverse the damage I did, at least..."
She then applies the wand to herself to close the dart wounds.
First a dart hits Grog, and he grunts in surprised pain, then inexplicably Charis attacks him. "What?!" he roared, "Why I oughta... Oh." Now he simply looks confused when she healed the nasty cut she'd just inflicted. "Dis place..." he muttered darkly as he took a long pull from his hip flask.
From behind his bushy eyebrows, Grog peers at the environs, just daring it to do something else!
Ed Earl is not quite sure what is going on after being hit by the dart, but he tries to fight off whatever effect it may have.
Carlaya grimaces in pain from the poisonous? dart, then tightens her grip on her bow as Charis is overcome with confusion. "We know it wasn't intentional, sweetie. This place is bringing out the worst in just about everyone. Next, Rags is going to grow wings and start breathing fire. Hey, now that'd be something."
"Oh, cherie, monsieur Dwarf is not your enemy!" Renee cries out, alarmed. But the he relaxes as it becomes clear Charis was just under influence of foul play.
The half-orc looks around at his companions. "Anyone else feeling sudden anger or frustration? Let us know before hitting anyone, s'il vous plait"
The darts slightly dulled the senses of Carlaya and Ed Earl.
You take 1 wis dmg.
For the next 3 rounds, you take 1d2 wis dmg.
Fort DC 15, 1 save = cured.
The door isn't unlocked, but Grog gets the impression it is no longer rigged to pose any danger.
Since Charis eventually opens the door.....
=====================
A dark corridor lies ahead. A faint glow comes from a corridor to your right.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
On Going Effect: Banner: +4 vs fear & +3 to hit w/ charge, all allies, constant; -2 Wisdom dmg, constant;
"Let's go already." The Maiden heads down the hallway, quietly.
And by quietly I mean noisily.
Seeing how everyone is making tons of noise, Grog decides to amble on after the maiden. He tries to pay attention to his surroundings, looking for danger or any tracks, but he mostly pays attention to his insatiable thirst. Too much spirits must be counteracted with ale!
Carlaya scratches her head. "I'm feeling kind of strange, but whatever. The Maiden's right. Let's be off."
Renee follows the lead, keeping as quiet as he can.
Charis turns into the corridor where the glow is coming from.
Contrary to expectations, it turns from 5 feet wide into a room.
A small lamp stands in the room, softly shedding light upon the interior.
A large barrel stands near a table with a few low boxes.
Its contents are..unexpected.
One has some dead rodents in it, another holds black candles, and another a variety of plants and roots.
Some of the plants look like herbs for incense sticks.
A duo of unlit candles stands with a small bowl in the middle, just before the table. The bowl is full or crimson liquid.
There is a sweet smell in the air.
"Huh. These herbs could be used for incense sticks."
She takes a look.
With nothing of significance, she continues east, turning east at the intersection and heading to the far door.
Since Charis had entered the room and inspected the place....and this'll start when she decides to walk away.
There seems to be a faint hint of movement in the shadows nearby.
Oblivious to any skulduggery, Grog sniffs the crimson liquid, and turning to the party asks cheekily, "D'ye think that's good ta drink?"
Carlaya immediately stiffens up and points her bow towards one direction in particular. "Guys, something's here. I see movement in the shadow over there."
The form breaks loose from the shadows ahead, as Carlaya is pointing into its direction. It is transparant, but clear enough to see a humanoid shape with malicious glowing eyes and several appendages.
[Error...no data entry on subject]
------------------
Carlaya
-----------
Entity
-----------
Ed Earl
Old Grog, Renee, ZIra @ Charis
"What?" Charis is slow to react, but Carlaya's notice draws her eyes to some long forgotten memory. "What- is that?" The memory breaks and flashes to leaves, a volcano, her sister's death, rats, tentacles, before fading to chaos.
"ARGH!" Haunted by things she cannot understand, she is slow to react.