"I can't say I have any experience with the fey but I imagine most are just trying to live their lives as they see fit. If one lives here then this is it's home and I don't begrudge it the chance to live in peace. Hopefully the need that brings us here won't put us at odds."
As you enter the room and more light floods away the darkness you can see this is a rather larger room. A rusty, half-destroyed iron grating blocks access to a flight of stairs leading down to the east. There are several pillars along the southern end of the room, used to help support the ground above. At the western end of the room are stone slabs covered in what you would assume to be old, dried blood. The 10 foot depression appears to have previously been an elevator system to raise and lower livestock or equipment between the livery above and this basement area, it has seen better days and the hole in the ceiling has been boarded up.
As you look about surveying the area, you suddenly notice something odd. All of a sudden you feel a slight chill in the room as if there was some presence.
"Careful as you go, tell me if you hear the sounds of an eerie music drifting in and out. I could swear that's what I heard. Maybe it's just me, this is most unusual." the cleric says as he picks up his bow, and readies again for defending his companions. He steps nervously forward, his nose used to these rank smells from helping the infirm in the tenements.
"Its conditions like these that harbor disease." He says as he peers into the darkness, following Mawl's progress from just inside the door.
Nils had been on his way to inspect the grating when a shiver ran up his spine and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. "Something's here." he said looking around. "There's a cold presence." As he speaks his body instinctively takes a fighting stance, weapon a the ready.
"Perhaps the tales of this place being haunted weren't just to scare the local children"
As Horillo and Sorix enter the room, out of nowhere the door you had just entered through slams shut, without anyone having touched it. Turning to see the now closed door you are surprised to see the floor beneath most everyone's feet begin to fill with grease.
All but Mawl are able to stay standing in the slippery puddles of grease.
Sorix looks around and just as she is saying "I told you it was haunted..." you see small, ugly looking creatures crawling out of the walls to attack. They bear a disquieting resemblance to a half-starved, mange-ridden opossum. Sorix immediately identifies them as the Grimple's she had mentioned earlier.
Horillo, his bow ready, lets loose two arrows. "Haunted, they look real to me!" he says as the arrows fly through the air.
Mawl is cursing under his breath. I was looking up for the surprise, that had me disoriented when the grease came out
Mawl grabs gets up and releases his three-sectional staff from its quiver, and goes to carefully move out of the grease toward the vermin.
Nils spins on his heel at the creatures appearance and moves forward to attack.
There’s those disgusting little gremlins! Now seems like a good time for Mawl to grow even bigger and stronger.
Sorix moves back around the corner and activates her spring-loaded wrist sheath. A scroll appears in her hand and she begins reading the arcane writings.
Horillo lets loose a volley of arrows, one missed but the other finds its mark and slays the nasty little creature. Nils moves up and eviscerates another ones of the fey creatures. Mawl slowly stands up in the grease and pulls out his other weapon. Sorix pulls out a scroll, remaining in the grease, since the door behind her is closed, and begins casting from the scroll.
The remaining creatures attack. One of them heaves and proceeds to projectile vomit all over Nils, while another steps up and does the same towards Saniel and Rexus.
Nils swiflty moves out of the way, avoiding the line of vomit that flies for 30 feet, while Saniel and Rexus aren't as lucky.
Both of them, being covered in smelly vomit, start gagging and look nauseated. The final creature wiggles its clawed fingers at Nils as it says something, when all of the sudden Nils weapon is covered in grease.
Saniel steps forward, wanting to get out of the grease, but also attempting to not vomit himself. Rexus just slides down against the wall to sit in the grease, constantly gagging.
Mawl grasps tightly to his Bec and attacks the one reachable next to the Tiefling.
"Gads these things smell terribly, Let's dispatch them and try to find some more palatable air."
Catching sight of the fey in front of him starting a spell Nils strikes at it to try and disrupt it's focus.
Cutting into the tiny creature he focuses on it and then attacks again.
Between Mawl and Nils the remainder of the tiny fey creatures draw their last breaths. Now all that remains is the darkness, silence and the nearly overwhelming stench of vomit. After a few seconds Saniel and Rexus appear to recover from there sense of nausea.
"Think I preferred those dogs, least they were just vicious, but could be quietened. These things ... well... I must say Nils, Mawl you and Saniel did well to remove the threat so quickly." the cleric says looking at the state of the floor, picking his feet carefully through lines of vomit. "Is there anything down here?" Horillo asks as looks around the darkened room, intoning Erastil to light his path, (when required).
Nils stays alert while Horillo searches the room, giving aid where he can.
Mawl moves away from the stench and over towards the table/altar to see if he can notice anything, and if there is anything religious he can bring it to the attention of that priestly one, with the arrows.
Let's not get too far away from each other. We need to be able to render aid quickly, especially with the sneaky little fey around. I'll be over here looking at this table/counter and whatever.
You all spend some time searching the room, but there is not much to find. However, in the depression you do find 12 gp, 185 sp, 342 cp, a pair of quartz earrings, a set of nine silver coat buttons, and a slightly gnawed cloak of excellent quality. Sorix uses her ability to detect magic and notices the cloak has a faint abjuration aura about it. Rexus takes a look at the cloak as well then notes "A rather fortuitous find, well even more so had we had it before that little vomit incident. This cloak will bolster the wearers resistance to negative effects."
Checking the iron grating, that appears to lead to the only other exit from this room, you notice that it is severely rusted, but the lock keeping it shut appears to still be doing its job well.
Nils walks up to he grate, poking at the rust on the bars a bit.
"Mawl care to try the door?" he asks as he peers past the bars and down the stairs. After a moments pause he turns back tot he group "Wasn't there a key among your mothers possessions?"
Mawl gives a little belly chuckle, not sure of the relationship with the tiefling.
I would be happy to give it my best as I was taught, and as long as you give it the ok"
Mawl scans the bars and the gate, first assessing where the weakest point might be if not the lock itself, then grabbing a purchase and attempting to wrest it open.
Mawl attempts pulling the bars off the hinge and it creaks to the strain. However, it doesn't budge. Nils, Horillo and Saniel all come over to assist and between the four of them, they are able to apply enough pressure to snap the rusted hinges and pull the door off the grating, allowing access to the stairs below.
Nils looks the door over, not seeing anything of note, while Sorix detects magic, also not finding anything of note. Mawl listens at the door as well, but doesn't hear anything, so he swiftly opens the door. Steeping into the hallway, you see a fifty-foot-diameter pool of rancid, brown slurry fills most of this circular chamber. Chunks of plaster have fallen away, leaving ragged patches behind in the walls and ceiling and mounds of rubble on the floor. What wall space remains is decorated in crude drawings and symbols of sinister form. Greasy-looking chains run between four stout pillars rising from the muck and anchor to various points on the wall.
Nils covers his nose with the back of his hand. "What is this?" he asks no one in particular. Looking towards the pictures and symbols he tries to make sense of them.
Mawl, wipes the tears from his eyes as his eyes began to water in reaction to the stench. He pulls a handkerchief from his pack and ties it around his head to cover his nose and mouth from the putrid smell.
"This has the appearance of a dungeon pit of sorts where there are monsters chained down here specifically to eat the prisoners they throw down here. It seems they have broken their chains...they are surely still around, let's be alert. I wonder what sort of nastiness would be used for such a task and survive, even thrive in this sort of environment." Mawl says questioningly.
Looking around to determine what and possibly where
Still trying to regain his composure over his stomach after the unfortunate incident with the grimples, Saniel involuntarily gags at the sight of the pool and its questionable slurry of contents. The smell invades his senses and his skin takes on a pallid shade as he turns from the mass of unidentified liquid to face Rexus. "Surely you don't think anyone would seriously consider maintaining a hideout in a place like this? The smell alone would drive away any prospects. No wonder the Ravens have vanished!" With that he heaves again slightly and joins Nils in trying to cover his nose and protect his sense of smell from the revolting stench.
At Mawl and Nils questioning Rexus adds "Long ago the city council opted to raise the street levels to control flooding, turning many of the old streets into sewers and original first-floor shops into basements. That is likely what occurred here. This probably used to be an old fountain on street level before they raised things up."
Nils moves into the room a little further to get a better look at the writing, as he does you all see movement in the water, headed towards Nils. Near the edge of the pool two roiling waves of flesh gush forward out of the water. Amid the fatty surge wriggle half-formed limbs and a dripping tumorous face.
"Devils of some sort." Nils warns as he draws his silver kurkri and steps forward to attack.
Eyeing the disgusting blobs of flesh, Saniel fights back yet another urge to gag, maintaining a bit of control over himself as to not look like some oafish novice unable to stand firm in the face of enemies.
Knowing his own weapon and skill would be no match for such creatures, Saniel gently places a hand on the large man at his side and quietly says to him, "May the Starsong guide your hand against these foes." as a brief cerulean light appears between them for a moment, imparting a fraction of Lady Luck's power to the bloodrager. He then watches the blob directly in the face of Nils, noting the way it moves and how it behaves, gaining a better understanding of the creature itself.
Horillo, used to the stench of the poor as they suffer from all sorts of ills, finds even this revolting smell worse than he normally has to bear. His robes will need a wash after this.
Immediately Horillo reacts, seeing an abomination rise from the water, he looses two arrows. "What is that repulsive creature, living in such rank squalor? If it is as you a say a devil, Nils, is there anything I should know?" Even as the arrows go on their way, he feels a slight remorse that such a creature should endure this life and cannot find redemption to breath the clean and natural air of the hunt.
HPs: 8/8
Spells Cast: 1st Calm Animals
Channels: 0 of 4
Resources Used: 3xRations (2 left in pack), 7xArrows
Money: 27gp 3sp 5cp
Bought:
Sold:
Ew, gross! Sorix gags and scrunches her face at the stench and the sight of the disgusting creatures. With a hand covering her mouth, she says, "I think I read about these things once."
"If we can draw them out of that ... muck, I can try to trip them with a grease spell."
As the putrid masses of flesh lumber toward the edge of the pool Horillo quickly lets two arrows fly. They both find their mark, but it's difficult to tell if they had any lasting effect. Nils proceeds to step up and attack as well, but can't find a good angle with the creatures still partly in the filthy water. Sorix prepares to cast if or when the creatures move out form the water, in an attempt to slow their progress and relates to the others that these devils are resistant to damage if not from a holy or silver weapon. Saniel grabs Mawl on the shoulder imbuing him with a bit of luck, as Mawl steps up to attack.
Mawl puts all his might into the swing with his polearm and nearly cuts the creature in half, as it falls out of the pool in an un-moving mass of flesh. The other creature shifts over to where its other had been in an attempt to attack Nils.
It manages to scrape into Nils with one of it's claws, ripping some flesh away from the tiefling.
"Gah" Nils calls out before gritting his teeth. Glad to see only one opponent remained he focuses on it's movements to find the right time to strike.
After the blade cuts into the foul things flesh he deftly steps back to give Horillo a cleaner shot.
With a sigh of resignation, Horillo send two more arrows at the creature from hell emerging from the stagnant pool. Despite Nils attempt to clear the way for a shot, Horillo is unable to concentrate his aim and fires wide, his arrows flying into the darkness.
HPs: 8/8
Spells Cast: 1st Calm Animals
Channels: 0 of 4
Resources Used: 3xRations (2 left in pack), 9xArrows
Money: 27gp 3sp 5cp
Bought:
Sold:
Mawl has an understanding that he needs to connect with these creatures, and connect solidly to effectively damage them. As the second one replaces the first Mawl instinctively feints, then goes in for the kill, swinging his Bec-de Corbin with an earnest desire to end the battle.
"Back! you vile beast, you will not have any satisfaction here today"
Not seeing anything else as an immediate threat, Mawl holds his ground looking for an opportunity to strike this one again should it present itself.
Saniel watches as the blubbery fiends surge forward, one quickly dispatched by the massive man's polearm. The remaining fiend drags a putrid claw across the tiefling's body, leaving a nasty wound in its wake. Knowing the rogue's silver knife was one of only two truly effective weapons in this fight Saniel knew it was paramount to keep him in the fight. Quickly sliding around the corner to avoid contact with the devilish creature, he takes up a position behind Nils. Pulling upon his inner reserves of power once more he brings his hands together briefly and then places them upon the tiefling's shoulder. "May the Tender of Dreams tend this physical form as well, and return vitality to he who supports freedom." A warm golden light briefly bathes the immediate area in its glow as Saniel channels divine energy into the wounded man.
Nils lands a solid blow into the devil, cutting away a chunk of it before stepping back. Horillo took aim at the creature but his arrows missed, flying off into the darkness somewhere. Saniel steps behind Nils to heal him of the recent injuries. Sorix waits patiently outside of the room for the monster to step out of the muck, but the devil doesn't seem to want to cooperate. Mawl swung once more, putting his might into the attack and just barely missed as the creature moved over in the pool to attack Nils once again.
The lemure scrapes into Nils once again, tearing away more flesh, putting him back to where he was before Saniel's aid.
The relief Saniel's healing magics gave were short lived as the vile devil once again raked Nils body and drew blood. Continuing to focus Nils once again struck out hoping to end the battle quickly.
Mawl, irritated and embarrassed about his ineptitude in striking the animal and allowing the tiefling to once again get flesh raked off. Still maintaining his control and taking another swing at the creature.
GRAH!
Tiefling, I am here, I am trying to distract him at the very least, come behind me if you still need aid. Let him try and attack someone his own size...errr um I mean ...Die you vile beast!
Seeing the vile creature once more drag his claws across the tieflings torso, Saniel quickly comes to the conclusion that he must take a more active role in the battle against the hell-spawned abomination. Stepping clear of Nils he once more quickly studies the fiend, determining where to strike. Seeing a possible opening he spins the four-bladed star in his hand and hurls it at the creature, praying to Desna that his strike would land true.
Horillo seeing the creature still standing after Nils attack, waits for Mawl to deliver what he hopes will be the final deadly blow, to end the creatures sorry life.
In the event the creature survives the attack, Horillo drops his bow, taking out the silver dagger from his belt and approaches waving the weapon in front of him. Its bright blade glints in the magical light emanating from the bow. "Your hellish life, will not be ours, death will send you back to hell."
Nils takes another chunk out of the fiend, but it seems to just keep coming. Mawl caught up in his anger attempts to attack the creature again, but is unable to connect as his anger distracts him. Horillo drops his bow, pulling out a dagger and moves up to assist the frontline but just as he gets there Saniel moves to attack. Saniel steps back and tosses his starknife and the creature, it sticks into it and the devil falls back into the muck un-moving. With the horrible creatures defeated Rexus steps up "It appears I picked the right group to champion this rebellion, being able to take down minions of Hell like that."
He looks at the infernal writing in the room and quirks his eyebrow for a moment, then turns to the others "I don't know why these devils were here, but perhaps this disjointed writing might explain it. Are any of you knowledgeable about the planes or the arcane?"
As you check the bodies of the devils there is nothing to find, other than the sour stench emanating from the filthy pool of water.
"I have a little knowledge regarding the arcane, perhaps I can help" the cleric says as he moves toward Rexus pointing at the markings. But the markings are like none he's seen before, as he shrugs his shoulders, "I can't help, though others may have more experience of this than I."
Saniel retrieves his starknife and scans the walls, eyeing the strange writing. "Not something I have knowledge of, nor would I strive to learn the hellish tongue." he says, turning to the others. He takes a moment to study the wounds on Nil's body, making sure the wound is not in any way infected by the creatures or the vile muck they crawled from.
Nils takes a few breaths to settle himself after the short but vicious combat. He stares at the repulsive devils now motionless on the ground and then looks to his own hands. Shaking himself from his revere he allows Saniel to look at his wounds.
"Thank you for your aid, both magical and with that knife. You're a follower of the Great Dreamer then?"
To the group he says, "I don't have any arcane knowledge but I can read what's written. It's disjointed and doesn't make much sense but I can translate for someone."
When Saniel is done with his ministrations the teifling cleans his knife and provides what aid he can in deciphering the writings.
Sorix steps cautiously into the putrid-smelling room. She recites some arcane words and moves her hands in a deliberate motion. As the spell finishes, all the muck and grime disappear from her clothes, face, hands, and boots.
Would anyone else care for a cleanup?
Sorix looks around the room, noticing the writing. After reading it, she gasps and appears startled.
Someone or something tried to open a portal to hell down here!
"Seems they had some success. Is this pool a portal of some sort then? Can it be closed?"
Looking towards Horillo he asks, "My friend could I beg your gods blessing to close some of these wounds?"
Nodding to Nils, Saniel explains, "Indeed. An agent of my Lady helped release me from involuntary servitude, and thus I have made it my life's work to do the same for others who are similarly oppressed and denied their freedom. This city seemed the best place to start."
At the offer of magical cleanliness he raises his hand and offers a smile and a nod to the wizard, appreciating the chance to have some of the filth and vomit removed from his soiled attire. "My thanks indeed, although I fear these garments may be soiled further before this search has concluded" he says, continuing to scan the room and appraise their situation. This was definitely not what he had in mind when he got out of bed this morning.
He wasn't terribly shocked at the mention of someone opening a portal to the lower planes here, it was an almost daily practice in this city, the various factions and families always struggling to attain more power or another piece of information to use against a rival.
Keeping a safe distance from the putrid pool of slop, Saniel walks north, examining the area for any other signs of recent passing. Nothing the room opens up to the north he stops and gazes into the darkness for any signs of movement.
HPs: 8/8
Spells Cast: 1st Calm Animals
Channels: 1 of 4
Resources Used: 3xRations (2 left in pack), 9xArrows
Money: 27gp 3sp 5cp
Bought:
Sold:
After Sorix explains her thoughts on the meanings of the writings Rexus nods in agreement with Nils "That would make sense, especially with the two devils you put down." He purses his face a moment as he thinks "Though, this must have been some time after the Silver Ravens disappearance, if this is actually one of their old hideouts. I don't recall ever hearing anything of them consorting with devils." He shrugs.
As Horillo's warm light washes over the group some of Nils wounds heal up, but the tiefling remains slightly injured. As Saniel walks off to the north he sees that the room continues on past the pool of foul water. These rooms further north have fallen mostly into disrepair. Chunks of plaster hang from the walls, exposing rough stonework beyond. Scattered furnishings that once outfitted bunkrooms, a kitchen, and even an armory lie scattered about in states of complete disrepair, and doors hang from hinges in the crumbling archways that lie between the chambers.
"Thank you Horillo." Nils says as he gently tests the newly stitched wounds. His skin was still torn and he imagined there'd be a nasty scar but at least the bleeding had stopped.
"I can't imagine this was their doing either if any of the tales are true. Perhaps, as you say, it came later or was used as part of an attack on the Ravens."
Giving those more knowledgeable in the arcane time to consider the pool, Nils kept an eye on the surrounding area, ready to lead the way further on when they were ready.