Dusting himself off, Imendri stands silently and very specifically doesn't address what just happened.
Good enough that I landed safely. I need to not do that again.
Imendri strides over to the rope and tugs on it to ensure it's safe. Accepting the state of the rope, he begins to climb. Unspeaking.
Imendri falls again, this time less gracefully.
Furious, Imendri stands, bleeding fron his elbow and knee, and begins climbing again.
And lo, at last, the mighty half elf barbarian joins his bardic companion on the second floor of The Fallen Fortress.
"Gods, Imendri!I coulda drifted yer armor up here with an old pub trick I learned years back had ya' just asked, friend!" Vesilyx laughs heartily, shaking his head.
Imendri looks up at you, face creased with stress. He worries at his arm for a bit before kneeling and slapping some dust onto the wound to staunch the small trickle of blood, and then does the same to his knee.
"Mmhm. Sowry."
He turns away and begins footing around in the rubble, looking for something. Probably his own feet. Seems he's looking at his feet.
"Aw, cheer up, bub!" Vesilyx shines a winning smile at Imendri as he pats off some of the dirt on Imendri's clothes. "Sure am glad to see ya! Was gettin' a lil' spooked-like being up here on my own."
Andrea spits on her hands and scampers up the rope like a squirrel.
"What was so hard about that, Hunkmaster?"
Andrea calls down to Auric. "Hey, slowpoke, let's go. I'm not looking for more spiders to see us as easy targets."
She sits down and rubs a few of her arrows on the stone, trying to get a better edge on them. :|
Imendri looks sour for a second after Andrea's comment, then smiles back at Vesilyx.
"Fanks. Eet's jest det... clime ink is hard, and I don't haff much clofes under my armor. Try ink to be more... ehmm, like city peepel. Ciffy lies. Sow I try to stay wif my armor on."
"...de fing is, I can help pull peepel up when I get to de top off somefing, but det's only iff I can get up dere in de first playce."
He looks over the edge to make sure Auric is prepped and ok, ready to leap off and attack if something is waiting to ambush a straggler.
Auric looks up the tower at his compatriots.
"Not that I doubt you, but I would say that the youngest of the Angelesblood line stands to inherit much wealth when his predecessors go to their infernal ends...if one believes in such things.
What I entreat you to glean from this is: don't drop me and it might one day be worth your while."
Auric meets his compatriots at the top and looks back down.
"Mayhaps we should leave this here in the event we need to make a swift escape?"
"So you're naked under there? Nevermind.
I have a feeling we might be needing that rope later."
At last our heroes stand united on the second floor of the Fallen Fortress.
The two doorways yawn (not literally) before you. Dark. Waiting. Daring you to choose one, or another. Or choose both, and split the party. (Not recommended)
Satisfied that the party is safe and assembled, Imendri walks to the nearest doorway and takes a close look at it, listening for sounds beyond.
It is too dark for Imendri to see much in the room--the shadows completely engulf the interior of the Tower. He does, however, hear the slow drip of water echoing in the blackness. Other than that, silence.
Vesilyx draws his long sword.
"I prefer the lefties myself. Makes it feel like a new adventure. I always liked left entrances better, too."
"Prefer ambidextrous ones, myself, but left works as good as anything else."
Andrea leans in to the left entrance, bow drawn.
"Easy there, little girl. Let's wait for our eyes and ears to evaluate it, first."
Imendri notes the sounds and speaks up. "Eet's some watter here, can here eet drip ping... but if you like de leff, I am fine wif it. Let me listen for a second..."
He takes a few quick steps over to the left door way, draws his sword and secures his shield, and leans in, listening.
Imendri extends a pointy ear or two towards the other doorway. It smells faintly of dust, but is as silent as the grave.
Imendri notes the lack of sound, and steps inside the room, hoping to be able to see something in the darkness after his eyes adjust.
Auric uses his flint and steel to light another torch, holding it in his left hand. He draws his long sword with his right and follows about 8 steps behind Imendri.
Andrea leans forward into the room next to Imendri, peering under his arm.
*whispers*"I'm not sure what evalutations are, but I bet there's something super scary in there. Let's kill it."
This octagonal room is empty and coated with a fair coating of dust on the floor. It has clearly been abandoned for a long time.
You notice faint, three toed prints in the dust, some milling about in front of the northwestern door, as if something or things, reptilian, bipedal, were in front of said door for a bit.
Oh...uh, and there's a door to the northwest. Closed. You hear nothing further of note in the room save for the heavy soundless presence of the Fortress. Waiting. Watching. For you to justify your save.
Andrea crouches down, peering at the floor and surrounding area.
"*sniff*"
"Scaley guys were here. They found something interesting with" She points to the northwestern door. "THAT door. Some kind of lizardfolk, I'm guessin'. Probably related to the snotty one."
She grins at Auric from across the room.
"Perhaps some of our poorer relations from...I'm sorry, where did you say you were from?"
Auric take a few tentative steps towards the northwestern door, following the tracks.
The tracks meander all around the area in front of door, and may even include something not from a foot--kneeling, maybe?--but they also go through the door.
Imendri tries to follow the ins and outs of the conversation, and doesn't really seem to. With a shrug and a shake of his head, he steps up to the door, looking for these signs of tracks, and takes a listen.
"Hoy, I see de tracks. I don't here no fings in de room, but maybe is dat dey're sneek king. Keep ice peelt." There's a pause, and then "...dat's how dey say, right?" Imendri looks pleased with himself for having remembered a turn of phrase in common.
Vesilyx draws his crossbow and arrow and prepares for combat.
"After you, friend!"
As Imendri steps up to the door, he notices the tile directly in front of the door is slightly raised. He steps on it with a noticeable click...
A javelin comes hurtling out of the wall to impale the half-elf.
It pierces his abdomen and sticks into his flesh.
"NO!!!!!
Imendri tears the javelin from his belly and looks to Andrea, whom he remembered had the wand full of healing magic.
Grunting and holding his gut, he blurts out "...ow. I fink I need de magic in de want... det's a bad one." Blood leaks out of his armor, spilling onto the floor in a slick.
"Was just getting to it, Hunky. Hold on, I gotcha. Hang in there, buddy."
Andrea rushes over to Imendri and activates the healing wand, pointing it at Imendri's giant, gushing side.
"There we go, that seemed to help a bit. You're less....grey."
Imendri's serious wound closes at Andrea's ministrations with the wand, leaving an angry red welt that does not look fully healed.
"Fanks Ondrea. Oof, eet's steel som pain, but sow much better. Somefing waiting for us on de offer site off dis door. Somefing what is going to be kilt."
Scowling, Imendri rubs his belly, runs his fingers along the door jam looking for anything else fishy or bad, keeping an ear to the door.
Imendri opens the door and walks inside, very confident that nothing else is wrong - prepared to destroy those little scaly freaks who set that trap.
Imendri is, first off, assailed by a foul stench like a thousand rotten eggs deposited in an open sewer and left to ferment for a few decades.
His olfactory senses reeling from the stink-assault, he sees that he has entered an old armory. Weapon and shield racks line the walls--mainly empty, but a few still remain. Shields, armor and standards are still in place above the weapon racks. Most importantly, though, two reptilian humanoids glare at him, hissing and speaking something incomprehensible. They immediately spring to attention, hurling smallish javelins at the doughty barbarian.
One javelin sticks into Imendri's calf. This is not Imendri's day for javelins.
Round 1 - Fight!
Andrea
Beasties
Auric (please roll DC13 Fort Save)
Imendri (keep your Fort Save roll in mind; see below)
Vesilyx
Sickened: The character takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.
Imendri yelps in pain and begins to hyperventilate, eyes tearing up with nausea.
"Bloody heaven!" screams Auric as he pulls his sleeve to his face.
And throws up in his mouth a LITTLE bit, but with takes a shallow breath and readies his sword.
Andrea moves up, while pulling her jerkin up over nose; steadies herself and whispers, "Pointy arrows pointy arrows, come on, pointy arrows."
"POINTY ARROWS!"