Patches of dimly glowing fungi reveal a complex dwarven workshop. A wall of kilns, ovens and forges divides the workshop into two vast chambers, each crowded with unfinished sculptures, cobweb-covered tool racks and tables heaped with rusted detritus. The workshop’s ancient, splintering floorboards sag beneath heaped debris. Holes and cracked planks reveal an open space below the cluttered chamber, evidently accessed via stairways on the southern half of the room. Twenty feet overhead, cobweb-covered booms and racks support hanging crucibles and massive chains for hoisting quarried stone.
Perception:
There is a pit along the rear wall as well as doors on the eastern corner and the southwestern wall.
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"Well, what are we waiting for?" The big Ulfen pushes his way to the front of the group, ready to enter the room.
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The fires of the kilns and forges are lit and it doesn't seem that there is any fuel to support them.
Xarkyn looks around the room, but it mostly appears to be forging materials and tools. Trash abounds in this room. There is a lot of trash...
Xarkyn doesn't see anything of value.
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Lissa hesitantly creeps into the room, her eyes wearily darting from shadow to shadow. Upon leveling her gaze at the active kiln/forge complex, she stiffens slightly. "I sorely hope that that is working because of some magic, and not because someone is forging equipment here," she whispers before turning her attention toward the doorways.
"Okay, which way now?" , she asks the party. "My call is to try the two doors over there." Lissa points toward the doors on the eastern wall, north of the pit.
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Dariusz scoffs at Lissa's mention of magic. "Well, if it's magic, you should be able to tell. Anyone who's working with magic can see the energies, can't they?" His tone makes it clear that he includes Lissa into that group.
Dariusz walks along the southern side of the central aisle, making his way down the stairs to see what's there, bow in hand in case of trouble.
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Lissa startles a little at Dariusz's 'accusation'. "But, but, but.." she'll stammer out before Volar volunteers to look for magic. With a sigh of relief, she'll continue. "I'm sort of bizarre with what I do. I don't use magic, I channel the power of water itself. While what I do looks like magic, and feels like it, I don't have any real magical training like, say, Boris does."
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Volar finds Lissa's explanation of her power intriguing. She appears to have a link with nature, or more specifically water, yet this is in no way magic as he understands it.
"I have quite a strong link with nature and natural magics. I would very much like to talk to you about this power and skill you have in controlling water Lissa. For now we have something more urgent to deal with though, so this is something i will ask later.
Xarkyn and Dariusz keep investigating the room, but they find little of interest as anything of value has long since disappeared due to rust and decay.
Volar looks around with his special eyes and sees the arcane auras of the flames and they appear to be a modified form of Continual Flame, modified in that they still give off heat.
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Boris moves up to the nearest door and readies to open it, listening at the door before he does so.
"Boris having to do the research of peoples like Lissa. Journals sayed is the mind over the matter. Very powerful if accurate description. Boris pray Shelyn he never get on Lissa bad side." he chimes in, spoiling whatever soft sounds he might have heard on the other side.
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Volar concentrates on the magic of the fires. He finds it fascinating that this is similar to a spell he knows about while distinctly different in one very specific way.
"The magic is similar to a spell that can conjure a permanent heat less fire as a light source, except these clearly give off a lot of heat. The dwarves who created this place must have had some skilful spellcasters as well as artisans."
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Dariusz listens to Lissa's explanation. "I see." Ugh! She does not do magic, but channels the power of water? Sounds like magic to me.
Hoping not to get drawn into a further discussion on a topic he knows nothing about, Dariusz joins Boris at the door.
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Boris listens to the door, but doesn't hear anything inside. He tries the handle and finds that the door is unlocked. It easily swings open, revealing two humans and a dwarf.
The woman (human) lies bound by ropy fungal growths that encase her head and send pulsing tendrils along her limbs. These growths have temporarily blinded her.
Bizarre, agonizing growths protrude from the limbs of the male dwarf. The scars of old floggings cover his torso, slightly obscured by new welts and cuts.
A Chelish-looking man is chained across the room from the other two. His scalp sports jagged scars and he’s unable to speak, though he softly moans constantly.
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"Sure, Volar, I'd be willing to talk about it later,"Lissa responds, walking toward the door way where the others are gathering,"But I agree, now isn't the ..." then she trails off as she gets a good look at the poor people in the room.
"By Mother Moon...."Lissa stops cold in her tracks, her face expressing both anger and horror at the treatment of the hostages. "This... This is awful. We have to stop whomever is in here and get these three to someone that can help them!" She balls her open hand into a tight fist as she begins to rant a little. "and when we find this syn surového hajzel, they better find mercy in the afterlife, because I don't intend to have any."
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The Ranger retrieves his healer's kit and addresses the most serious of wounds on the victims.
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"Although i do not understand Varisian, i think in this situation i understand enough to agree with your expletive Lissa! This is no qay way to treat prisoners."
Volar digs in his pack and finds a cup from his mess kit. He then says a few words in druidic and conjures more than enough water to fill the cup ready to hand to the prisoners.
"Are you all OK? Would anyone like a drink of water?" he says to group of captives.
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Dariusz tries to keep his stony demeanor at seeing what's been done to the prisoners, but he doesn't quite pull it off. What kind of demented folk are we dealing with, here?
He beams a proud and sly smile at Lissa, at her insistence for retribution. "You're right, Lissa. We'll make the pay..." He looks behind him, at Torvic, carefully studying the dwarf's reaction.
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G'Boar and Xarkyn look over their wounds and find that the people offer little resistance or fidgeting even as you poke and prod their open cuts and sores. You don't know much other than they can use some good, old-fashioned healing.
Lissa looks at the fungal growths and finds that it is not a creature but a form of parasitic fungus that has seemingly melded with the dwarf and woman's nervous system. The first step might be to cut them free.
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"The growths are a parasite," Lissa responses after a moment of study, trying her best to keep her temper in check after her initial outburst. "The fungus burrows into the body. Someone more skilled at the healing arts then I will have to try to remove them before we can do more for them." With that, she'll step back and let those with better skill at this type of thing in to work with the prisoners.
After a moment of focus, she begins talking again as she leans against the wall by the door. "Okay, our primary job here is to find Torvic," she gestures to the dwarf as a sign that that's successed, "assist him with finding the Gallery of Wonders," another 'success' gesture to the chamber they're in, "and to find out what this," she pulls the pearl out of her belt pouch, "is a key for. At this point, we've completed most of the main goals so it's time to re-assess the situation. The Gallery here seems to be infested with some sick group of people. Doing this to people is sickening, no matter the reason. As such, our new goal is to find these wretches and bring them to justice, be it the justice of Almas or justice of the blade. Hopefully, while we're doing that, we can find out where this 'key' goes, and solve that mystery as well. If there are no objection to this course of action, then after we do what we can for these poor souls, we'll begin our hunt. After that's concluded, then we can take them to Pilen's Rest for better treatment." At this point, Lissa looks around the room pointly, seeing if anyone disagrees with her.
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The Ranger, using his hunting knife with the skill of a surgeon, attempts to remove the parasites.
"We will need bandages to bind the wounds that will remain, and clean water if possible. I will expend the remainder of my healer's kit if necessary."
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G'Boar deftly cuts through the parasitic tendrils around the woman's face, but she appears to still be left blind and immobile even without the growths attached to her.
The wildman looks over the dwarf and shrugs, thinking it best not to try anything with the dwarf.
You think you will have to carry all three out to safety when you leave this place as it is clear they are unable to walk or do anything beyond existing.
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Boris lets his companions to act as appropriate, barely suppressing a smile at Dariusz' obvious flattery. Not time for smile Boris, is something of the insanity here. Plants is to do that. How? You look, maybe is sneaky and come to attack.
"Is okay quiet elf lady with no name, you can to helped Boris watch around for big trouble. Volar, G'boar, maybe to look inside is something that explain what is with plant. Or if wanted my help, tell me and I come to help. But someone stay and watch. Something to do this. Boris believed it not far."
Once the others have assured themselves that the room contains nothing that would illuminate why the humanoids are in the condition they are in, Boris will cautiously move towards the second door, check it, listen to it and then open it quietly after motioning the others to move in behind him.
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"Nothing we can do for them now besides make them comfortable. Now let's find those responsible and exact payment."
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Volar conjures some more water and makes sure each of the freed prisoners gets something to drink.
"No man should go without water for long. This I learnt from the heat of my homeland. It may not be as warm here but I think this lesson is still important."
When he is finished he moves out of the room far enough away that the prisoners shouldn't be able to hear him.
"Do you think it is safe to leave them here on their own? I would not like to think we have freed them just to let them be attacked. They do not seem to be very aware of their situation at the moment. I hope that if we close the door we can give the illusion that they are still prisoners until we can come back to lead them to safety."
As you move through the room to find another door to kick in, a tiny blue mite leaps from some garbage and tries to sink his small short sword in Volar. "This is mite territory, biggun!" the creature yells as he stabs.
The short sword plunges into Volar's side as the man thinks the creature nicked his kidney.
The sudden loss of blood causes the Keleshite to fall to the ground, bleeding out. "Ah! Too many bigguns! Run!" the mite screams as he sees all six standing Pathfinders.
Initiative:
Initiative:
1st: Boris; Lissa; Xarkyn
2nd: Mite
3rd: Dariusz; Clara; G'Boar; Volar-Bleeding Out @ -2/10 HP
The arrow scratches the mite as it just seems to bounce off the mite as Lissa and Boris quickly react, but they miss in their hurry.
The mite looks around, worried before leaping off of the ledge into the nearby pit, drawing an opportune attack from Boris.
The mite hits the ground and tumbles, seemingly regaining his footing with ease before dashing up the stairs, leaping at the end diagonally away from Clara and rushes around a corner.
Initiative:
1st: Dariusz; Clara; G'Boar; Volar-Bleeding Out @ -2/10 HP; Boris; Lissa; Xarkyn
2nd: Mite