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 several 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.
"Awww, he's happy." Since the others haven't moved just yet, Sheridan checks under the nearby mattresses and cots, lifting the stained pads with his sap, checking for coppers and lewds. He leaves the toppled shelf for the folk who are crowded into the back of the room.
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"I'll take the torch, Ms. Ngai. I believe your hands would be better suited to wielding weapons than lighting our way." Kane offered, willing to take the torch as he climbed down into the lower quarters.
Holding the light up, Kane opts to try and slip by to inspect the statue. "Having been on a few excavations, I can safely say that splitting up is often more dangerous than if folks stayed together. We will make progress. No need to rush." he said, giving the statue a good look and seeing if anything about it registered in his memory... and of course, if it registered as magical.
As Sheridan starts flipping mattresses, searching for..really, anything, she finds a few things, though nothing of value. Broken and rusted bits of armor or boots. Tattered scraps of clothing. Things not worth the time to salvage.
The wizard, upon gazing upon the statue, doesn't seem to know anything about it.
In vain, the noble son tries to sense any magical elements around him. The only thing new is an aura of evocation coming from the cleric's holy symbol.
Sheridan holds up a slug-eatten leather bracer, walking over to Kane. "A guardhouse? Clean as a nunnery. What's smiles about?"
Discarding the refuse, Sheridan glances at the door at the end of the hall and retrieves the ring of tools. His eyes trace an invisible line coming out from the statue's eyes and mouth, and he's careful to avoid crossing it.
Ngai replies, "Thank you, Lord Kane." She hands the torch over, and draws her greatsword.
As Kane and Sheridan move into the room, Ngai follows, her eyes peeled for danger, ready to give warning.
Yantri nods as the others chime in. "There's safety in numbers, that's true. Moving as a group sounds fine."
Seeing Kane look over the statue, she joins him as Sheridan and Ngai proceed further into the room. "That's a curious looking thing. Doesn't mean anything to me, but you're more of a scholar. Any idea what it might represent?" She peers carefully at the thing, searching for anything of interest.
While at first Yantri admits to not recognizing the statue, her eyes narrow as a realization hits her.
”I applaud your bravery and initiative Yantri, but I feel like the others. Keeping together is usually the best course in our current situation. As others have noted we have tourch light and smoke and my holy symbol giving us away as it is. Anything that lives in the pitch black already has advantage on many of us.”
”You are our Ace in the Hole, maybe our most valuable operational asset for the environment.”
HIT!
Bold may act: Sheridan, Yantri, Kane, Stone, Ngai, creatures
Global Condition: None |Global Condition:
Kane HP: 12/12 - AC: 12/12/10 Status:
Sheridan HP: 10/10 - AC: 17/13/14 Status:
Ngai: HP: 13/13 - AC: 16/12/14 Status:
(HP: 15/15 - AC: 14/10/12)
Cleric HP: 10/10 - AC: 16/12/14 Status:
Yantri HP: 11/11 - AC: 16/13/13 Status:NPCS:
??? (red): HP:?/? - AC: ?
??? (blue): HP:?/? - AC: ?
----If there are beasties still allive when it falls to Ngai's initiative----
Ngai yells in shock, momentarily losing her control over her rage, And a moment is all it takes.
With a growl deep in her throat, here eyes turn to a verdant green, and her hair lengthens and takes on the appearance of hanging vines.
"" as she lashes out against the enemy.
----If the beasties are dead by the time it gets to Ngai----
Stone steps over and places a hand on Sheridan’s shoulder. The rogue feels a rush of noble righteousness.
Yantri flinches as the attacks come out of the dark, but then raises her musket at the one that bit Kane and tries to find the right shot in the chaos.
In the space of a heartbeat, Sheridan glances at the stupid cot that's in the way, and decides against an heroic tumble behind the enemy line. Instead, he moves up beside Ngai, almost rolling into an uppercut, but aside from looking great doing it, he doesn't accomplish much.
The large creatures lunged from the shadows at Ngai and Kane. The battle-trained fighter managed to avoid injury, the noble-raised academic... not so much.
Luckily, the wizard wasn't poisoned also.
But no sooner it happened that Ngai underwent a surprising and terrifying transformation. Her eyes and hair changed and she was like a feral Mother Nature! With a swing of her greatsword, she struck the creature, not the one that attacked her, but the other. A loud yet non-verbal shriek of pain erupted from insect, as the blade had left a noticeable gash in its carapace.
And, as if on cue, the passionate Dwarf took aim and shot at the same cretinous creature. And hit. And not just hit. Her shot entered through the head of the creature and traveled through the entire length of the creature, turning it's insides to shreds!
The bluish tinted insect tried to bite the bullet, and failed... miserably.
Global Condition: None |Global Condition:
Kane HP: 7/12 - AC: 12/12/10 Status:
Sheridan HP: 10/10 - AC: 17/13/14 Status:
Ngai: HP: 15/15 - AC: 14/10/12)
Stone HP: 10/10 - AC: 16/12/14 Status:
Yantri HP: 11/11 - AC: 16/13/13 Status:NPCS:
Creature (red): HP: ?/? - AC: ? Status:
Creature (blue): HP: -43 - AC: 14 Status: Dead
Bold can act: Kane
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As she reloads her musket, Yantri mutters under her breath, "Good, I knew it would work this time."
The wizard recoiled momentarily as this creature lunged up and bit his shoulder. That hurt! he thought. His analog brain, however, quickly realized this was a perfect opportunity to “field test” his newly acquired axe. Before he could attack his assailant, though, the quiet one, Ngai, had swung her formidable greatsword right into the carapace of the creature in front of him, ignoring the one that’s just tried to lunch on her. Even more surprising, her eyes were now a piercing green, and her hair had become a tangle of ... vines? Again, he had no time to dwell on this because the dwarf shot the insect and obliterated it.
Left with only the one target anyway, he decided he’d return the favor paid to him by Ngai.
Global Condition: None |Global Condition:
Kane HP: 7/12 - AC: 12/12/10 Status:
Sheridan HP: 10/10 - AC: 17/13/14 Status:
Ngai: HP: 15/15 - AC: 14/10/12)
Stone HP: 10/10 - AC: 16/12/14 Status:
Yantri HP: 11/11 - AC: 16/13/13 Status:NPCS:
Creature (red): HP: ?/? - AC: ? Status:
Creature (blue): HP: -43 - AC: 14 Status: Dead
While not nearly as impressive as Ngai's mighty swing, the wizard did manage to crack the carapace of the other other creature with his axe. The giant insect apparently wasn't impressed either, or didn't feel the blow, as it's attention had not wavered from Ngai. It lunged up again to attack!
Maybe Kane hit it harder than he thought, because the insect's "lunge" was more like a jerking forwards to bit Ngai's ankle. It missed completely, instead darting right through her legs.
Bold may act (in any order): Kane, Ngai, Sheridan, Stone, Yantri, creature.
Global Condition: None |Global Condition:
Kane HP: 7/12 - AC: 12/12/10 Status:
Sheridan HP: 10/10 - AC: 17/13/14 Status:
Ngai: HP: 13/13 - AC: 16/12/14 Status:
(HP: 15/15 - AC: 14/10/12)
Stone HP: 10/10 - AC: 16/12/14 Status:
Yantri HP: 11/11 - AC: 16/13/13 Status:NPCS:
Creature (red): HP: 1 - AC: 17 Status:
Creature (blue): HP: -43 - AC: 14 Status: Dead
Sheridan spins, bringing his sap back around to strike the creature across the cranial carapace.
Sheridan spins, bringing his sap back around to strike the creature across the cranial carapace. His aiming was perfect. The creature immediately seemed to slow, wobble for a second, then dramatically fell on its soft underbelly, maybe a full 8 inches! Some of its feet are still moving about occasionally. Is it dead? Or just unconscious?
One creature obliterated, with innards scattered (some of it dangling on Kane's shoulder and hair), another subdued, if only for a moment.
The silent aftermath is thick.
What do you do?
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Kane panted a bit as his axe lodged itself in the large centipede! Pulling it back quickly, his eyes gave it a brief once over, cheking for chipping or damage... nothing! Incredible... it was well worth the price and patience to get it!
And with the battle ending as the creepy brute seemed to be out of commission for the moment, Kane took a moment to start cleaning himself and his axe free with a few shakes and hand gestures....
"" Ngai thunders as she rears her sword back for a blow on the (unconscious?) bug.
Ngai then lowers her sword, trying to get hold of her temper - always an exhausting process.
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...only to have Ngai splatter the second bug practically all over the place... and his newly cleaned veneer. Pausing a moment to collect himself, Kane looked down at himself, before pulling out a slip of paper and waving it. "Ia'orla."
Holding the paper up, it fluttered into the air a moment, before floating down and latching itself on his cloak. Almost immediately, the buggy residue began to ebb away, cleaning itself off him and his axe. In a matter of minutes, the bug guts have been nearly removed entirely from his clothing. "Ah... so much better!" he said, patting a finger on the slip of symbol covered paper.
"Cleanliness charm. Used by Shintari priests in Lung Xiao to keep their temples clean as they meditate. My research shows that we know it as a Prestidigitation spell, but intriguingly, their use is broken up by the symbols used for the paper! A fascinating subject and, surprisingly, under-researched! That topic alone could fill a book on the matter." He pondered that, perhaps considering the idea of actually penning such a book...
Sheridan gives his sap another spin before returning it to his belt. "Nobody speaks longbug?" He chuckles. "So... where were we?"
Ngai, leaning on her sword for support for a moment, musters a tired chuckle. "That's excellent, Lord Kane!"
Okay, so while the unconscious and helpless creature isn't dead, it's definitely in critical condition.
For a moment, it seemed as if the transformed woman had lost all sense of her former self, gone completely feral, as she swung down and sliced the last foot or so of the creature's six-foot-long exoskeleton clean off.
The creature writhed and seemed to be awake for a moment, inching along, then completely lost consciousness again.
All stood and watched as green-tinged beast-woman, now appearing exhausted, slowly morphed back into the one they knew as Ngai M'katu.
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Kane seemed quietly lost in thought a moment, before shaking himself free of his thoughts and looked back at Ngai. "Anyways! That is a topic for another day. Now, normally, if a person turns into a dryad herald of war, I grow a tad concerned, but you seem to have it well in hand... however, that does not explain your... symptom? So, if I may be so bold and borrow a favored phrasing from the streets of Riddleport... what in the name of Clistria's divine t&&& was that!?"
Ngai looks downward for a second before replying, "Without going into my life story, a tragedy befell my village when I was young. Since, I've found myself able to channel their rage against the dying of The Green - what your people would call an avatar of Gozreh, perhaps? I constantly struggle to control it, to varying degrees of success." She ruefully looks down at the dying bug.
"In any case, to business." Ngai will move to the position indicated on the map and begin searching the rubble for further evidence of goblins.
Notably, Sheridan is neither concerned with killing the creature, nor bothered by the party's intention to do so. "I'll see if there are any more back here..."
Sheridan gives the cots on this side the same treatment as he checks the far end of the barracks for more longbugs.
Ngai wanders over to section with debris to search for Kobolds or anything to provide answers. The toll on her energy must have been higher than she thought, however, as it was all she could do to lean against some of the rubble and stair at spot on the floor. Here on the floor was a rock.
The rock did not look interesting.
The rock is unimportant.
Ngai stared at the rock anyway.
Sheridan's energy, however, was up as always. He kicked over a few beds, looking to find either more giant insects, or something actually useful. Perhaps it was, as he turned his gaze toward Ngai to flash her a smirky grin, that he noticed something, and it seemed that Ngai saw it too... or did she?
She looked a little zoned out.... and pretty...beautiful even...focus!
Sheridan searches through the rusted weapons and ruined armor fragments pile that made up the centipede's nest, and found a tightly latched iron case.
It's not locked.
What do you do, Sheri?
With the monsters dead and Sheridan and Ngai checking the rest of the room for more, Yantri turns to Kane. "I see you can use that axe of yours for more than just its runes. Nice work there. Now, how's that bite of yours? I know that bugs like these can sometimes be venomous, and it'd be best if we don't let it fester if they were." She turns her attention to the remains and looks them over carefully.
As she sifts through the bits of bug, nudging them with her toes and bending over to squint at the larger pieces, she points back to the "statue" they had both been looking at before the surprise attack. "By the way, that thing's not a statue. If you look carefully at the middle there's a seam. It opens up, I think with a little latch I spotted off to the right. It's also covered with dried blood, and given it's shape and size I don't even want to think about what happens inside."
Yantri, having lived in nature for nearly all her life, knows these are centipedes, an insect not that uncommon. But these were something like six feet long! Centipedes often were poisonous, but usually fast acting. At their size, their poison would be immediate and potent. The fact that Kane is standing is evidence enough that he will be okay.
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Kane seems once again lost in thought, as if given Ngai's condition some sincere thought. An intriguing subject... one that, given the opportunity, he'd love to have a closer look into. Though it strayed into the realm of divine magic, it was nonetheless an interesting mystery.
Yantri's inquiry snaps him out of his thoughts, before looking down at his bug bite. "Ah, yes... normally, I'd brush off a minor injury like this, but... I do believe a closer look is warranted. Thank you."
At Yantri's explanation, Kane studied the statue a bit more, before nodding. "Ah... sounds like an Iron Maiden. Which would make this part of a dungeon. In theory, anyways... I don't suppose I could convince anyone to open it up so I can inspect it? I've found more useful things in stranger places."
So vulnerable when she's worn out. Soft, like heated metal. Woe betide any who faces us at our best.
Sheridan, holding the ring of thieves' tools in one hand and the other tracing the seam and hinges of an iron case, looks up at Yantri's suggestion. "Oh, I uh, should I... Which should I jingle the keyring at first?"
Taking the first suggestion voiced, Sheridan tests for wires and springs on the lid, giving the others time to decide on their next course of action.
Having finished her examination of the Centipedes, Yantri looks again at Kane. She notes his apparently stable condition and nods, relieved of that particular worry. Her attention then turns to Sheridan across the room and the box he's examining. "Might as well do that one first I'd think. It seems less likely to have something awful in it, and if there's anything in this ... Iron Maiden was it? Anything in there will have been waiting for long enough that a couple minutes more won't hurt it."
Ngai snaps out of her fugue after a few seconds, looking up to catch Sheridan's eyes on her. She smiles at the Ifrit, and gives him a quick wink. Well, that went better than I hoped. I was worried they would cast me away once they saw me channeling The Green.
Not wanting to distract Sheridan, she just lets her hand rest on his shoulder for a second as she passes. She then continues to near the doorway, standing guard should the sounds of earlier combat draw notice.
Stone sets his boot heel on the still writhing bug then settles his weight on it.
<<<smoooshh>>>
"Very efficient."
The cleric takes up a covering position with his bow low ready on the doorway Ngai is watching.
"Maybe there will be potions in the box. you find such things in torture chambers at times."
Sheridan, you don't detect anything amiss regarding the box. If it had been tampered with, the giant centipedes would probably have set it off a long time ago.
Ngai and Stone don't hear anything coming from beyond the door.
Kane patiently waits for Sheridan to open the small lock box so that he or someone will open up the Iron Maiden.
Sheri checks inside the iron case because it doesn't have any traps whatsoever. Obviously.
If he's not turned to stone, he'll check the happy statue for traps. The tools jingle as he shifts over to flat poker thing number two and the tiny mirror-on-a-stick.
Yantri watches Sheridan work with the Iron Maiden for a bit. We don't seem to be in a huge hurry here. I've looked this over somewhat carefully, perhaps I can help? Talk me through anything you might be looking for and I'll see if I can tell you if I saw it.
Sheridan opens up the tightly latched lockbox. What's inside takes his breath away for a brief moment. He finds a pair of mithral daggers lying inside; the knife-edge as pristine as if the blacksmith had newly made them. Carved into the flat edge of each blade, however, is a strange series of notches.
The rogue steps over to the Iron Maiden. As others have already pointed out, there is in fact a latch on the side. And what everyone initially thought to be rust was definitely dried blood. But from what you can observe, this iron maiden is definitely ancient. It's possible this think has been opened for at least a couple hundred years, or more!
"Kane! Some sharp things with stuff scratched into them. Maybe these shoot lightning! I'll let you figure those out. They're the shiniest thing we've seen all day, and that says magic to me."
"Hmm... it's a little hard to get the flat pokers in, on account of the dried blood, but I'm pretty sure it's safe to open. It'll probably take a strong arm though. Who wants to pull it open, and who wants to stand in front and stab whatever falls out?"
"I don't think that we need to pry it open. We should be able to release this latch right here ..."
Yantri moves to the side and manipulates the latch to open the Iron Maiden. She braces herself for what will be revealed.
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Yantri, with a bit of effort, swiftly flips the latch on the side of the Iron Maiden, right around her eye level.
Sheridan, not expecting her to just... go for it... wasn't prepared for the skeletal remains that fell toward him when the doors opened up on their weighted hinges! But, even unprepared, he was still quick. In his standard style, "Everything with a side of flourish," he scooted out of the way just in time as the previous occupant crashed to the ground.