Teos gestures to the unconscious ruffians in response to Honored Seherab's question. Ask he inquisitively signs.
He lightly leaps from stair to stair, trying not to outpace the sage.
Ankhef turns to Teos "Waking them up may be more trouble than it's worth. but if you want I can be convincing."
"Do it. Ankhef, you lead the questioning." Seherab pours one of the potions down the man's throat after securing the man's arms and legs with rope.
Ankhef casts guidance on himself while Seherab prepares the prisoner.
I've always been better at good cop.
Ankef helps the prisoner up to a comfortable sitting position.
"Greetings friend, my name is Ankhef. I'm terribly sorry over how that went down, but we couldn't take any chances. I know you're in a bit of pain right now, but things are going to get better from here. We need your help though. Ptemenib ended up a guest of the Silver Chain and we're trying to sort that out. Either way you're going to live, but wouldn't you rather the blessing of the Pahmet and not have to figure out how to untie yourself?"
The party wakes up one of the guards with a little healing. The man comes to and eyes the party suspiciously. "What do you want from me?" The man barks. Listening to Ankhef, he shrugs. "Sure, but I don't know no Ptemenib."
"She's one of the Pharasmians. Why did you guys kidnap her?"
Ankhef asks, starting to get impatient.
Brynark watches the questioning, but feels that it isn't going as well as he would have hoped.
"Just knock him out and let's go get her by force. We can leave this guy for whatever carrion bird happens to want to feast on tied up human." the dwarf chimes in.
The man looks confused. "Ain't seen no woman around here!"
Once the confusion is settled the man confirms that a man matching the Pharasmin's description was brought in not long ago. He claims to have no idea on why the man was kidnapped, stating he is just a little fish and not privy to such informatiom, especially since the new leader took over the gang.
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Teos come up to the man, points at his eyes questioningly and then contorts his body into a mimicry of a limping, shambling creature haphazardly pulling itself along from point to point. The motion is not unlike the shambling of a zombie.
"We should have him take us to his new leader so we can ask the head of the snake directly, yes?" Brynark asks the rest of the dwarves.
The man looks at Teos with a completely confused look. Turning to the rest of you, he asks. "Is he asking me if I'm a drunk?"
Once Teos' gesticulations are translated, he shrugs. "Nah, we don't use no zomboes. They're just mindless shufflers."
The man's eyes widen at Brynark's comment. "Youight as well kill me now, then, because if I lead you in, I'm as good as dead."
"If yer dead either way, then at least we get something from it if you take us there." the frosty dwarf reckons to the man.
"Nah friend. I've just met ya. I fear Ekram more than I fear you. You seem like the types that would make it quick and painless."
"If you'd like, we can just kill Ekram once you take us to him and then you can leave." Brynakr shrugs, not caring if that guy lives or dies.
"Sounds like a fair plan Brynark's just offered you. What do you say? If Ekram is the one you fear then maybe you should ally with us, tell us what you know, and lead us there."
"Lead us there and you won't even need to see Ekram. You will be free once we find his hideout." Brynark tries to assure the man.
The man merely shakes his head, and stays silent.
Dealing with the man how you see fit, you make preparations, then move down the stairs. You descend into a narrow corridor. The stink of mildew and stale incense fills the air in this long chamber. Sputtering lanterns provide just enough light to reveal peeling paint on the walls and a floor covered in sand. A rickety staircase leads up to the north, while sturdy wooden doors exit the hall to the east and west.
Teos frowns, slowly approaching the West door while keeping an eye open for defenses the thugs might have left.
Seherab takes his short sword from its sheath and follows behind Teos, moving through the western door after doing his own search for traps.
(+2 stone, +2 traps)
Ankhef will gag the man as well and leave him in a nearby alley.
Ankhef will follow along, spear of the watchful guardian in hand.
As Teos begins to move forward, Seherab's sharp eyes notice a trap on the floor right in front of the party!
Seherab pulls out his tools and sets to work on the trap before taking his sword back out to lead the way.
"Well spotted." Bryn comments as he watches the man deftly set to work on the trap.
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Ankhef will guidance Seberab as normal.
Teos waits nervously, doing forms to calm himself as he watches Honored Seherab work.
Brynark watches the dwarf do martial arts forms quizzically. "That doesn't look very dwarvish, Brother Teos." he comments. "Learned from the above world?"
Seherab begins attempting to disable the trap, and nearly fails, but some last second inspiration carries him through as he jams the trigger on the pit trap.
Teos leads the way, opening the west door. Inside, cracked ceramic tiles cover the walls and columns in this expansive chamber. In the center of the room, iron posts connected by chains delineate several smaller subsections, each crowded with boxes, crates, urns, and sarcophagi. The stink of soot and the leathery smell of death hangs heavy in the air.
Teos begins his hand language, but then pauses. He motions to his shaven head, short mustache, and then writes onto a small scrap of parchment with charcol. He hands it to Brynark.
Ouat, of Tar Kuata it says, simply.
Once inside the room, he looks about carefully, trying to divine what reeks of the dead so strongly.
Brynark takes the scrap of paper and read the text. What in the nine hells? he thinks as he looks quizzically at Teos. He holds his tongue as he sees his fellow dwarf brother trying to remain silent.
As you enter the room, you hear the sound of a ceramic jar falling over and rolling. Seconds later you see movement to the southwest. Looking, you see a strange sight, a collection of cast-off organs rolls and squeezes against itself, forming a writhing mass of viscera that hovers in the air!
+2 underground
"Look out!" Seherab calls out. "It's a tekenu! Physical damage won't do anything, it's just preserved guts! Brother Ankhef, you are our best hope! Control it!"
Not having much to do against this thing, Seherab takes a defensive stance as he backs away.
On Ankhef's turn he will attempt to command the strange collection of organs.
Seherab identifies the creature and does his thing! He also knows that the collection of organs can almost act like a swarm, a swarm of organ!, therefore it likely to be subject to flanking, nor spells that target specific numbers of creatures!
The organ swarm flies forward and smacks Teos with a spleen!
Ankhef tries to harness the flying organs, but it resists!
Brynark moves across the room a bit and conjures a ball of ice and snow. "Digest this, ye organs!" he yells as he throws it.
The snowball slams into the organs, freezing them pretty good.
Seherab steps up and tries to puncture the large intestine!
Teos doesn't cry out, but he does have to hold back retching. He strikes out with half a dozen punches, his fist lighting as he does.
+
Brynark conjures a snowball and hurls it, hitting a lung! The organs seem to slow down as they're frozen a bit!
Seherab tries to stab the floating organs, but misses!
Teos punches out hitting a liver and a stomach! The scorched liver almost smells like dinner!
The organs moves right to Teos' face, smacking him with a gall bladder and dripping viscera fluid on him!
Seherab tries to stab again, holding back his lunch.
Teos retches as the slime crawls up his throat
Unable to gain control of the organs Ankhef starts moving around and stabs with his spear.
Brynark looks at the floating organs in disgust as it lung slaps Teos. "Dodge the intestines!" he says as he conjures another snowball to crush the bodily functions.
Seherab stabs the flying organs, but barely wounds it!
Teos find himself unnerved and sickened by the ghastly organs!
Ankhef stabs, but misses!
Brynark conjures another ball of ice, hurling into the organs, hitting a stomach! This time, the organs seem to ignore the chill!
The floating viscera continues to batter Teos, smacking the monk with a bloody kidney!
Teos clears his retching throat. Thanking the skies above that he is beardless after that episode, he lashes out again!
+
Seherab tries to put all of his parrying and positioning into a final feint and stab.
The master of cold decides to keep his stronger powers in check and reverts to weaker ones, hoping that they can finish this thing off without expending most of his abilities in his first fight.
He fire offs a concentrated ray to chill the organs, but he misses and nearly snipes Teos in the head. "Duck!"
Ankhef continues to attack with his spear.
"Man, this is extremely gross." Brynark comments. "Couldn't my vision led me to a group that wasn't fighting floating organs." he opines.
Ankhef deadpans I response "Agreed, I would have preferred to be eating pudding."
"Don't mention pudding after seeing this gelatinous creature rise from the urns..." Brynark mentions as he feels the need to almost vomit.