** spoiler omitted **
The mimic grins widely, showing off its sharp teeth. It then begins devouring one of the rations, talking between mouthfuls.
** spoiler omitted **
"We thank you. Could I bother you with a question? Do you know anything about children being brought through here?"
"Children? Haven't seen any, but some skulks raid the surface for slaves and bring them to Kazmojen's hobgoblins below, in the Malachite Fortress. The skulks work with a gang of dark ones led by that good-for-nothing Yuathyb. I don't really know much more. The hired me to watch that morsel of food you've got there and said I couldn't eat it. Lately, though, this whole thing has just grown tiresome."
The mimic seems to forget about you as it tears into the rations, then it looks up. "Feel free to leave anytime. Say, now. You may have given me food, but I haven't forgotten about that blade you threw at me."
Darthal moves forward and picks up Starbrow's cage, figuring that someone who threw food rather than a knife MIT be the best person to get in range of the mimic. He also doesn't want to let the rat out until we've confirmed that it is the familiar and not just another trick.
Valamont stares blankly at Dreygard after the exchange has ended and Darthal's recovered Starbrow. "Well? What did it say?"
He then turns his head to the side and harshly whispers, "Hush! We're knee deep in important negotiations here!"
"Uh, yeah. I think we should get moving." Dreygard makes his way to the northeast corner of the room,
"Definitely," Darthal says, as he edges past the mimic, wondering just how fast the thing can move,and tying Starbrow's cage so it hangs from the back of his pack.
The door in the northeast corner of the room is another of the gear doors. Like the others, it is locked.
After Dreygard translates and everyone starts shuffling away, "Wait - what's a Kazmojen? Who's You-a-theeb?"
"Hmmph," the dwarf grunts. He listens at the door and checks it for traps. "Traps, traps, traps. Good thing I've got you Matilda." He lightly kisses his lockpick before going to work.
As Dreygard messes around with the door, the mimic grows visibly agitated.
The mimic seems to be growing impatient with the lot of you.
"We wouldn't be messing around if we knew how to open the door. Tell it: it it can tell us, we'll be gone right through that door," Darthal offers, once Dreygard translates.
And if not, we'll have to go right out the other door. Hope it doesn't think of that. And perhaps I should get Dreygard to teach me this language... might be useful.
You inspect the door and indeed find a trap. As you begin to work on disabling it, the mimic speaks . Do you ignore the mimic and continue tinkering with the trap?
"Perhaps this chamber is a little too crowded? I think I'll wait back around the corner."
Valamont then heads back out of the room through the southern entry and will head east so he's out of the mimic's line of sight (however the heck it sees without eyeballs). If more people come with him, he'll continue a bit farther to the strange indoor forest.
He can be heard softly whispering to his sword, "No, I'm not sure when we're going to return Starbrow to Ghelve. Yes, you're right - sooner would likely be best."
Unless the mimic wants to tell us how to open the rune door, Darthal moves to join Valamont. No point antagonizing the thing too much when it was nice enough to talk instead of gluing us to itself.
"Don't mind me. Just one more second and I think I got it. We have to get into this room here. Thank you truly for your patience and understanding."
The mimic is mollified by Dreygard's words, and allows the dwarf the time necessary to disable the trap and open the door.
The door opens into a short hallway leading to another door to the north. The door is yet another “gear” door with a rune inscribed in the middle. This is a familiar rune, however – it’s the same as the one on the door in the “forest” room.
Presuming he (and whomever else is with him) are fetched from around the corner, Valamont will nod deferentially to the mimic as he passes back through the room. He is also still adamantly positive that these crazy gnomes would have hidden a door in the shared wall between this chamber and the forest chamber and as such will take 20 searching for it. As he does so, he mumbles softly to himself (or to his sword, it's hard to tell sometimes) about needlessly complicated gnomish invention.
"Thanks you again and I appreciate your understanding. Enjoy your foods."
Dreygard will make his way up the hallway searching for traps.
"I got a bad feeling about this hallway," he whispers.
Adolphus follows the others into the newly found passage.
So does Darthal.
"Nice work, Dreygard. Can you teach me that thing's language sometime?"
Diurn nods to the mimic and follows.
"I thought we were taking Starbrow back."
"we got to find those kids first."
Valamont glances over his shoulder to Diurn and Dreygard as he methodically searches the wall, "We should start facing the idea that even if were to find the children in the very next room, how much good would we be to them with half our number exhausted? They're sure to be guarded - much more securely than little Starbrow and had that mimic not been reasonable, what shape would we be in? We must find some kind of balance between urgency and caution."
So does Darthal.
"Nice work, Dreygard. Can you teach me that thing's language sometime?"
"Yeah. Over coffee after this bit we are doing here."
"Ah, coffee... One of the human's best discoveries.. From what the mimic said, it seems as if there is little on this level, which fits with the fact that defenders have not been boiling out of the woodwork at all the noise our fights have been making. Perhaps we can see what else lies up here and then rest. I think we can go on for a while yet, finding out what is here... And if we discover the way down, perhaps we could arrange to block it, or guard it."
Dreygard inspects the northern door for traps but does not find any. He tinkers with the locking mechanism but is unable to unlock the door.
Valamont goes over the eastern wall of the hall closely, and finds a loose stone in the wall. When he touches it, in slides inward and a door opens next to him, revealing the forested room.
Valamont leaps back, barking a triumphant "A!" as the passage opens. "I just knew those blasted gnomish devils couldn't resist secreting a door in a shared wall like this. Ha! And they thought they were so clever." Seeing the attention his little outburst has garnered from his companions, he then visibly calms himself and adds, "At least with this open we won't have to disturb the mimic again."
Darthal shrugs and continues watching the rear in case more skulks are trying to creep up on them.
"Thanks you again and I appreciate your understanding. Enjoy your foods."
Dreygard will make his way up the hallway searching for traps.
"I got a bad feeling about this hallway," he whispers.
Dreygard spends several minutes fiddling with the door and eventually lets out a triumphant chuckle as the door slides open, revealing an octagonal room. The floor of the room is actually a large wooden platform supported by taut iron chains looped over eight enormous pulleys bolted to the fifteen-foot-high-ceiling. One end of each chain is fastened to a corner of the platform, while the other end drops through a hole in the platform, connected to something far below. Set into the northeast wall is an iron panel with an iron lever jutting from it.
Standing just a few paces from the entrance are two humanoid creatures with gray skin and tiny, observant eyes, armed with javelins and longswords. As the door opens, they both throw readied javelins at Dreygard.
Both javelins pierce through Dreygard’s leather armor with ease and lodge in the unfortunate dwarf, who falls to the ground, blood pouring from the wounds.
"haghgrglgrgle...aagh..."
Hearing the sounds of heated combat, Valamont turns his attention from the secret door he conquered and casts shield upon himself. He then draws his trusted bastard sword, looking for the best avenue for attack.
Hobgoblins? What are hobgoblins doing here?
-No, I don't know, that's why I asked you.
-Alright! Alright! I'm sorry, I didn't know hobgoblins were such a sensitive subject for you!
Dorian raises his hand and sends a telekinetic fist at the hobgoblin on the left.
Darthal takes a 5' step forward and casts cure light wounds on Dreyguard for of healing.
"he may not braid his beard properly but you will NOT get a chance to mount it on your helmets!"
"ghaa...hmn, thanks Darthal!" The prone dwarf spins on the ground as he draws a dagger and stabs at a hobgoblin.
Adolphus charges forward with his greatsword, also hacking at the hobgoblin in front of him.
for
Darthal’s healing spell brings his fellow dwarf right back to consciousness, closing most of his wounds. The injured Dreygard waits for a hobgoblin to get within reach, and when the one on the left steps forward, the dwarf slices his dagger upward, slicing the creature from the groin into its midsection. The goblinoid’s guts spill out from the mortal wound, and it sinks to the ground, unconscious and bleeding badly.
Dorian’s telekinetic fist nearly hits the other hobgoblin, but his aim is spoiled by Luc and Adolphus standing in the way of the strike. Adolphus charges forward, but his swing is easily parried by the hobgoblin.
Valamont's spell calls forth a shimmering field of force surrounding him, and his sword whistles as it leaves its sheath.
The remaining hobgoblin yanks out its sword and says, "Ye'll all pay!" With a quick slash, he lays open Adolphus's throat, dealing what will surely be a mortal wound if not tended to quickly.
Diurn rushes to Adolphus aid
Darthal steps over Dreyguard's prone form to shield him from the hobgoblons and swings his pick at the enemy's leering form, aiming to bury it somewhere in his lungs.
Amazingly, he succeeds.
Round 2 - Initiative (way at the bottom)
Valamont tries to move forward and close with the hobgoblins.
Dorian flings a ball of acid at the remaining hobgoblin, trying to aim between his companions.
.
Dreygard waves his dagger in between Darthal and the hobgoblin, attempting to foil an of its attacks on his dwarven acquaintance.
Diurn's healing spell revives Adolphus while Darthal somehow manages to land his pick in the hobgoblin's hide. The hobgobiln's eyes are shift between Darthal, Dreygard's dagger, and the ball of acid flung by Dorian, which just misses the creature.
The hobgoblin strikes at Adolphus again, baring its teeth at the party, but the longsword clanks harmlessly off the prone fighter's armor.
Valamont takes a mighty swing at the beast but his aim is off as his sword sails wide.
Dreygard changes up his feints with the dagger, this time, trying to mask offensive strikes from Darthal.
Round 3 - Initiative (way at the bottom)
If the hobgoblin is still standing, Valamont will try once more to strike it down.
Diurn ferociously charges swinging his flail.