Zack attempts to finish off the creature.
Zachary easily clears the way by killing the last creature!
With the way now clear, you can fight your way further down, following the water to the back of the cave. Water cascades from narrow openings in the walls down a series of stone ledges or steps, each some twenty feet or so apart. One hundred feet below, at the bottom of the steps, the swirling waters drain into a deep black hole.
Down this, the long stair leads to a flooded cavern devoted to anguish and madness. Rusted iron cages hang from stone pillars and screams of pain and anguish echo throughout the chamber. The cavern’s floor is flooded to a depth of just over 1 foot. Each of the cages holds a human, captured long ago in the forest above. The prisoners are pale from lack of sunlight, malnourished, and quite insane after years of torture.
A hole in the floor in the southeast portion of the cavern drops 20 feet below. You again drop down to yet another lower cavern. The contaminated waters flooding this cavern lap against natural stone walls and pillars, every inch of which are covered with dreadful carvings and hung with burnt and mummified aranea, hobgoblin, and human corpses.
The charred and mummified remains of scores of victims litter the cavern. The cavern’s floor is flooded to a depth of 4 feet and strewn with rotting body parts from the corpses on the walls.
(+2)
Of course, expert adventurers like you are quick to note that swimming beneath the water are two nagas!
Zack opens up on the naga he has a clear line of sight to.
Zacharys first two shots hit the naga before it can close in on you!
Miso will draw his wand of scorching ray and ready to fire it at the first naga to come within range.
Jennix draws his katana and as the nagas slither through the water closer to you, Miso hits the injured one with a ray of fire! Both nagas then protect themselves with displacement before trapping you in the corner.
Unfazed by the creatures approach Zack continues peppering the same creature with more arrows.
Only one of Zachary's arrows pierces the naga's defenses!
Miso spends a Swift action to enter Dragon Style, then flurries on Blue with ki strike!
Terflynn focuses his mind on hexing the less injured naga, trying to turn fate against it.
Once of Miso's punches lands but the naga resists Terflynn's hex. They both bite at the party:
Terflynn shifts back and casts a spell on the less-harmed naga, cursing it to bad luck.
Terflynn curses the naga with bad luck!
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Miso flurries on Red with ki strike (shifting to Blue if Red drops)!
Miso's powerful punch sends one of the nagas slipping under the water, unconscious, and he follows this up with a backhand to the other!
Zack returns his attention to the remaining enemy.
Unfortunately none of Zachary's arrows hits the naga as it bites at Miso and back away a bit.
Terflynn brings unnatural weariness upon the creature.
Zack attempts another volley, hoping for more success this time.
Zachary puts a pair of arrows into the naga and then Terflynn waves his hand and puts it to sleep, allowing the others to kill it at their leisure.
One of the nagas wears a magnificent inlaid platinum-and-jade pendant of great size worth 800 gp. In addition, you find three porcelain pots just underneath the surface of the water in the north part of the cavern which contain a carved censer with a gold edge worth 200 gp, a pair of silver armbands worth 50 gp, a swan boat feather token, and 1012 gp.
You drop down yet another tunnel into a deeper chamber, this one with thank chains crisscrossing the room, attached to the walls and hanging from the ceiling. A female oni kowtows to you, two frightening kytons standing beside her. "Greetings, friends. I am Ochiyuo the Messenger, herald and major-domo of Munasukaru. I am sorry that my fellows have misunderstood your intentions thus far. No doubt it was the influence of the hobgoblins and I apologize on behalf of my master. Know that you are welcome in these lands, but what occurs in the House of Withered Blossoms is none of your concern. If you turn your backs on what does not concern you and return to the Forest of Spirits, all your earthly pleasures will be indulged. This is a promise from my living goddess, given as her word of honor that can never be betrayed."
Terflynn knows better than to attempt speaking with difficult individuals, so he looks to Jennix for more careful words.
Miso considers the oni's words a moment before speaking. We thank you for your apology, Ochiyuo; but I fear we must disagree with your view that what occurs in the House of Withered Blossoms is not our concern. We have been asked by the kami to investigate here, and we have promised that we would.. He nods to his companions and continues. One's word is a bond that should not break even in the face of the fiercest storm. It would seem, then, we have reached a point where neither can justly accommodate the other.
"That is unfortunate to hear. I can not allow you to reject my goddess' blessing and leave here alive, I'm afraid."
Terflynn, annoyed by the missed opportunity for paradise, curses the oni with ill fortune for a time.
"Kill the kytons!" He declares.
Terflynn decreases the oni's luck but she only snarls and waves her hands to let out a severe blast of cold.
The kytons then move forward and whip their chains at Miso!
Ochiyo: x3 d20 rolls
Terflynn steals the breath from the oni's lungs.
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Regrettable indeed. You seem a decent fellow; I hate to kill you.
Miso dodges the blast of cold, evading it entirely. he is less successful evading the chains, as both hit.
With a Swift action he enters Dragon Style, then five-foot-steps up to Blue and flurries with ki strike!
The oni starts clutching at her throat as Terflynn's magic takes hold but Miso only swings and misses at the kyton.
Ochiyo: x3 d20 rolls, 0 HP & unconscious, -1 HP & dying, dead; may make new save each turn to delay effects by 1 turn.
Zack weathers the storm and returns a volley at the nearest kyton.
Jennix's dagger cuts into the kyton and the poison begins taking its effect immediately! Meanwhile Zachary finishes off the other one! The poisoned kyton turns its chains upon Jennix!
---
The oni is still gasping for breath but has not yet fallen over from lack of oxygen.
Ochiyo: x2 d20 rolls, 0 HP & unconscious, -1 HP & dying, dead; may make new save each turn to delay effects by 1 turn.
red: 5 dmg, 2 Con dmg DC 20 round 2/6
Terflynn hexes the oni with poor fortune.
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Miso five-foots over to Red and flurries again!
Terflynn continues to bring bad luck down on the oni as Miso lands a pair of kicks on the kyton!
Ochiyo: misfortune, x1 2d20 rolls, 0 HP & unconscious, -1 HP & dying, dead; may make new save each turn to delay effects by 1 turn.
red: 24 dmg, 2 Con dmg DC 20 round 2/6
Jennix cuts into the kyton a bit!
Ochiyo: misfortune, x1 2d20 rolls, 0 HP & unconscious, -1 HP & dying, dead; may make new save each turn to delay effects by 1 turn.
red: 32 dmg, 2 Con dmg DC 20 round 2/6
Zack begins working on the second kyton.
Zachary's arrows drop the kyton to the ground and, with luck turned so much against it, the oni eventually falls unconscious gasping for air.
Beyond this chained chamber is a hall leading north and south. To the south is a sizable library. Long shelves filled with books and scrolls line the walls of this dusty chamber. A score of carved figures scowl down on the room from the walls above the shelves. Each of the images has been defaced, but they are still clearly recognizable as oni.
This library details the history of the kami and oni of the Forest of Spirits. The collection includes carved stone tablets, calligraphic writings on bone and tortoise shell, rice paper journals with bamboo covers, silk scrolls scores of yards long, and countless other tomes, some of huge size. The entire library would fill multiple carts or wagons. Scattered among the shelves re a green jade plaque set in gold worth 1,300 gp, a pair of antique gold lions worth 3,500 gp, and a magnificent hinged silver bracelet set with turquoise and emeralds worth 6,100 gp.
To the north is a smaller room. Detailed carvings and paintings of a powerful female oni decorate the walls of this otherwise simple room. Twenty feet high, the images loom over the chamber, a tribute to monstrous domination. A single door stands to the north.
Miso spends as much time in the library as the party will permit, looking for the Kaijitsu name, but also the name of his patron Korada, and perhaps the names Paiva once gave him during their time together. He eagerly takes anything he finds and stows it away for later reading.
Once dragged away from the library, he reflects on the oni carvings and paintings in silence, taking in the contours and artistry as Jennix looks to the door in his customary fashion.