=========
=========
The magic of the potion, combined with Petals's healing and her song, revilatiles Catina's body and mind. When the glaive comes her way as if flung by an invisible hand (which it was), she nearly pounces on it. "Petals, please stand back. We can do this!" Waiting for room, Catina steps in and reaches for the glaive that's now within her reach. She drops her own mace and holds the weapon lightly in both hands, feeling the weight of it. She prepares for something, but isn't sure what to expect. Regardless, the barbazu still presents the most urgent threat. The strikes out with his own glaive, hoping that it won't resist her strike.
--
The empathic wave of feelings suddenly stops. It lasted no more than a second in the real world, but it seemed like a prolonged meditation to you. Your will managed to resist. Now you can attack the devil.
As Catina picks up the glaive, she lets out a heart-wrenching wail. She breaths heavily and starts sweating suddenly, until she suddenly seems to regain some control. "គ្មាន..." she mutters in Infernal. Then more forceful "លេខ " As she says this, she lashes out at the devil.
--
Petals nods to Catina, though the worry about the whispering weapon getting to the person it is whispering too is evident on her face. She continues the last bit of mystic singing she has left and draws her rapier in case she has to fight.
After feeling the menace in the glaive from his brief contact with it, Alessandro panics when he see's Catina pick it up to wield.
Alessandro takes advantage of the invisibility grants by Faustinia and hits the bearded devil hard. Once his invisibility is banished, he's free to speak again.
"Die, hellspawn! We have no more time for you. Catina, 'ware that weapon. Something is very wrong with it!"
"I know," Catina replies to Alessandro, in the common tongue this time, still rather out of breath. "It's nothing like the Whisperer of Souls - or maybe it is, in its own way..." She looks at the weapon in her hands again, very intrigued but fearful as well.
⁞⁞⁞⁞ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
Lady Faustinia fails again to hit the barbazu with her crossbow, but Alessandro, immediately after, ends the fight with an astonishing blow which smashes the devil’s skull, causing an explosion of blood and brains to cover those who are close the now dead devil. Another threat has been dealt with by the Irises, although the cost was high indeed.
Now that the combat is over, and while the others focus on healing their companions, Faustinia can devote some time to the analysis of the magical properties of the glaive the barbazu was holding.
Aura moderate transmutation; CL 13th
Slot none; Price 11,508 gp; Weight 10 lbs
Alignment LE; Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 10; Ego 5
Senses 30 ft.; Communication empathy
Powers bleed at will; divine favor 3/day
___________
It's probably a testament to Catina's distress that she picks up the glaive and strikes at the devil, even when it's already been defeated. She huffs when she realizes the fight is over, and then very carefully props the weapon up against the wall, like it were about to attack her of its own volition. She looks over her companions, clear of the weapon's influence for now. "Faustinia, we should examine the weapon, carefully. When I wielded it, I felt a... a voice - no, not really a voice - a presence that battered against my judgement." She looks around the group again, making sure that they won't think her insane. "I felt... compelled for a moment to act in the name of the Prince of Lies." She nearly breaks out in a sweat again, but holds her composure. "I think it can't harm us when it's just there, against the wall. But trying to wield it could be dangerous." She prays for insight into magical auras, and relays her findings to Faustinia, to whom she defers in matters like these.
When she's done what she can in studying the weapon, Catina tends to the wounded. She prays to Shelyn and thanks her for keeping them safe against the evil they faced. A trickle of healing energy radiates out from her. She checks on Alessandro, but sadly shakes her head. "These wounds seem too grave for my magic to heal. Faustinia, will you give him that potion you offered me?" She then comes to Varius. "You, I should be able to help." She lays a hand on his wounds and softly hums a song, of rest and better times.
--
Varius tries to cover his face but fails utterly and is completely covered in bearded devil gore. Miserably, he takes a few steps out of the cell before leaning his head against a wall, groaning with pain and disgust.
"I really thought this would be more glamorous. Thank you dear," he mutters as Catina heals him.
Varius does his best to clean up the gore covering his body, quietly wishing he put water in his waterskin rather than wine. He looks warily at the glaive.
"If that glaive is infested with devil magic or something I am not touching it under any circumstance."
Fumbling in his pack, Varius produces a couple of more potions.
"I have another strong healing potion for you if you need it Alessandro. Capital shot there. Maybe aim for the ribs next time. I think I got some devil brains in my mouth."
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Faustinia looks away as the devil’s brain matter splatters against the walls of its cell, and with a disgusted look casts prestidigitation with a snap of her fingers to start cleaning the gore off her companions. ”Nicely done, Alessandro, if a little messy.” She starts to vanish away the infernal blood soaking through Alessandro’s clothes as Catina explains the glaive’s effects. Her brow furrows as she’s distracted by the information, leaving Alessandro with a large splatter of gore on his shoes as she steps away to examine the strange weapon. ”Hmm. You know, I have just the thing for something as...unique as this,” she explains to Catina before starting to cast another spell.
She pulls out a thimble-sized container of liquid from her spell component pouch, opening it to reveal a small amount of wine. She mutters a word of power and then quickly drinks the thimble of wine, causing her eyes to glow a dark purple as she stares at the glaive in concentration. She nods as she gets closer, examining the weapon’s magical properties, and then starts to explain as the magical light fades from her eyes. ”Ah, I see. This weapon is quite rare - it contains a fragment of the soul and mind of some individual. It is essentially a construct of sorts, a manufactured body with a will of its own. Like Catina said, it can’t actually speak, but can communicate empathetic feeling to whomever holds it.” Faustinia backs up from the weapon and turns to face the rest of the group before continuing. ”It is a powerful weapon, to be sure - magically enchanted and sharper than any mundane weapon of its kind could be. It can bestow upon its wielder strength in battle and make sure those who fall in battle die of their wounds. That said, whatever being’s will now lies within this glaive is a staunch servant of Asmodeus, and it will use its magic only in accordance with The Prince of Lies’ wishes unless wielded by someone who also worships The Dark Lord.” Faustinia places her fists on her hips and lets out a sigh. ”All in all, it would be a great boon to us if we could tame its, well, frankly evil impulses. It would be very difficult to trick it into thinking that we were aligned with its goals, but the conscious part of the weapon is merely an echo of whatever mind it used to belong to - it would be very difficult for this weapon to assert dominance over any of us.”
Her explanation given, Faustinia shrugs. ”Use it if you wish, I suppose. Perhaps the evil mind within it can somehow be purged, or at least suppressed. It is quite valuable, in any case, and perhaps the temples of Iomedae or Shelyn would pay a bounty for it. For right this moment, let’s focus on getting cleaned up and our wounds closed.” Faustinia offers again the potions in her bag and finishes cleaning up the gore from the Irises’ valiant close quarters combatants.
---
Petals cheers Alessandro, despite the gore. Just took you a bit to get used to it I see she smiles talking about the hammer, and if he offers to hand to back, she'll suggest he keep it at the moment. If we get into it again with a devil, I'm still on the weak side and won't be much use. Just please return it once we are out of here again.
Petals doesn't offer an opinion on the glaive. She has one, a very specific one about giving it to the temple to have it destroyed. Same as with the books. But she also trusts Catina to fight it tooth and nail, never giving it an inch.
Alessandro takes a cure moderate potion from Catina and Varius. "Thank you friends. I'm sorry I'm mooching on all your potions."
He hangs onto the hammer at Petals bequest. "I'm not trained in such a weapon, but I can't deny that it can be effective." He glances at the gored demon with disgust.
"That weapon is dangerous. Please be careful with it, Catina. Like everything else in here, I don't trust it."
When we're ready to continue, he checks the next door for traps.
After healing has been provided to anyone in need, and once an agreement has been reached about what to do with the intelligent glaive, the party can continue its exploration of the Asmodean Knot.
There’s only one door leading out of the room with the cells in which the party fought the barbazu-it is an archway leading into a narrow corridor which turns east after about 30 feet, 20 of which are occupied by a steep staircase downward. After approximately 20 feet, the group reaches another archway which leads into a large room.
⁞⁞⁞⁞ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
The domed ceiling above this large chamber sags, with long mildewy strips of wood paneling hanging down from above like drooping branches. A large pool of churning muddy water fills much of the room, flowing down a trough further into the room between a pair of slippery stairs to gather in a smaller pool beyond. Dozens of bones lie scattered along the five-footwide ledge that surrounds the pool.
As the first Irises start to enter the room in order to allow their companions to enter as well, the muddy water in the pool begins foam in several points before four terrifying beings emerge from the pool. These humanoid creatures have long, sharp teeth, and their pallid flesh is stretched tightly over their starved frames. Webbed hands and feet clearly mark some affinity with water that these creatures must have. They are four in total, although one of them seems to be different from the others. His eyes – since he seems to have been a male, once – shimmer with an eerie shade of red, and his razor-sharp teeth are vicious and longer than those of his “friends”.
The creatures emerge from the water and seem to be about to attack!
▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁
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▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
: none
Petals
Alessandro
Lady Faustinia
Varius
Blue
Green
Red
Yellow
Catina
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”Lacedons!” Faustinia exclaims as she quickly flips through Drowned Jabe. ”They’re ghouls - gluttonous corpse-eating creatures. These ones are adept in the water, so let’s try to stay back where it’s dry!” Meeting the fanged one’s red-eyed gaze, Faustinia shudders. ”And that one is more powerful than the others, a ghast.”
Faustinia blinks, looking down at the book and back to the dripping corpses, threads connecting in her head. She looks the ghast in his eyes again, swallows her fear, and asks, ”Are - are you Jabe?” Her hand twitches, ready to attack if needed but wanting to see if the creature responds.
---
Catina listens intently to Faustinia as she describes the effects of the glaive, nodding at the description of the consciousness and its evil tendencies. "I'll be careful, Alessandro." Faustinia's expert opinion that the weapon might be purged or suppressed, is enough for her to take the burden. One more couldn't hurt. Maybe it'll scare off the devil that's attached to the curse. She shudders, but picks up the glaive, careful not to handle it like she would strike with it. "I'll just hold on to it, and then consult with the priests at the temple to see what we can do about it. Isn't it a coincidence, that I - we - came across a weapon such as this?"
Oh these things are gross. Petal swears as she moves forward a little past Catina, to hopefully keep them from swarming her, preventing her from using that worrisome glaive for their benefit. She is definitely not willing to enter the muddy water to attack one of them so instead she readies her rapier to stab one when they get close. She also whispers a prayer to her goddess while looking at the one furthest to her right. It is a hideous smelly abomination, Mother. Please help me give it peace.
Alessandro sneaks around the edge of the water, but not in it, and slashes twice at the blue ghoul.
"Even if that is Jabe, the best thing we can do for him is destroy him."
Varius cheerfully tosses his potion over to Alessandro.
"Trust me, we all have a vested interest in keeping each other alive. Just don't get hit again and we're even."
As he sees Catina take the weapon, Varius shoots her a nervous glance.
"Just don't get all.. devil-controlled and stab me. But I trust you."
==========
==========
Varius starts, his feet scrabbling wildly as he backs up while the water bubbles and the ghouls start to crawl their way out.
"Gahh! Why is everything here so evil and disgusting?!"
He shoots a worried look at Faustinia.
"That's Jabe? Well I'll try not ot become drowned Varius then."
Varius keeps his blades ready to swat at whatever gets close.
⁞⁞⁞⁞ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
Petals waits for the undead to come closer, ready to strike back as soon as one of the vile beings gets in her range. In the meantime, Alessandro sneaks around the edge of the murky pool and pounces on one of the ghouls that has just emerged from the water, catching it by surprise and managing to deal a good amount of damage to the undead with the first strike—the second one is too slow and predictable, however, and Alessandro’s opponent is able to parry the blow with its bony hand, whose elongated fingers close around Alessandro’s wrist before the Wiscrani gets rid of the grapple.
Lady Faustinia, as usual, provides her younger allies with useful information on their foes. Anyway, as she speaks, the male ghoul — a ghast, according to her insights — seems increasingly attracted by her, and when she pulls out the book about Drowned Jabe, the ghast’s eyes go wide in surprise and his attention is monopolized by the elder wizard. This allows Varius to take up a good position and prepare himself for the incoming attack. Which, can’t even say it, is quick to come. The ghouls swarm on the party from different positions, their long, disturbingly red tongues hanging from their wide-open maws. Before they can attack, however, Petals and Varius have their chance to respond. Unfortunately, the elf misses her target, which proves to be much more nimble than expected, even while still in water. Varius is both luckier and more precise, his sword penetrating deep into the ghoul’s flesh, effectively impaling it. When the fighter pulls out his blade from the ghoul’s body, it collapses into the water, quickly turning into dust.
The lacedon in front of Petals throws itself at her. His attempt to bite at her neck proves unsuccessfull however, since the elf is quick in pulling her head back. It’s not over yet, though. The lacedon attacks twice in quick succession with his claws, but Petals is able to parry the assaults with grace.
The lacedon Alessandro has attacked already retaliates. Alessandro is not as quick as Petals, however, and he allows the ghoul to wound him once. Although the wound is just superficial, it could cost him a temporary paralysis!
The ghast acts strangely. Instead of attacking just like his lacedon brethren, he darts toward Lady Faustinia and tries to pry the book on Drowned Jabe from her hand.
Once he’s there, the ghast tries to take the book from Faustinia…and he succeeds! The ghast’s eyes go wide as soon as he seems to find something of particular interest inside the book, and you could swear that all of his attentions will be occupied by the book for a few minutes at least.
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: none
Alessandro
Lady Faustinia
Petals
Varius
Blue
Green
Red
Catina
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The second special attack is not properly an attack, but rather an offensive ability. Ghast’s exude an overwhelming stink of death and corruption in a 10-foot radius. Those within the stench risk getting sickened if they’re fortitude is not strong enough.
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Faustinia fires off a dart of acid as the ghouls approach, but it goes flying wide; before she knows it, the ghast is upon her. She almost starts to panic until, instead of trying to rip her throat out, it rips the book out of her hands. She gags on his rotting stench, but backs up relatively unharmed. She marvels for a moment as the creature involves itself in the contents of the book, and takes advantage of its strange fascination to warn her allies, ”These creatures can paralyze with their claws! They’re likely to try to outright kill anyone who can’t resist, so be on your guard, focus on killing them while the ghast is distracted!”
Keen on following her own advice, she gets out her crossbow and fire at the ghoul nearest Alessandro. Unfortunately, her aim is still off.
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Varius gags as the smell overwhelms him, but he manages to keep his lunch down. He manages a great shout at a ghoul as it rushes in on him, and he lets out a cry of joy as it turns into dust.
"Hah! Yes! For the Eyes!" He notices the ghast making a beeline for Faustinia. "Catina, make sure that Jabe doesn't get to Faustinia, he wants that book or something."
Trying to ignore the smell, he lunges out at the ghast a tad sloppily.
========
Round 2
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The smell slams into her like a herd of rampaging pigs. Her eyes water, her innards want to rebel violently, but she manages to hold it in. Unfortunately the experience was not the best for attacking and her blade was sidestepped easily. Thankfully though, the very thought of being touched by this thing propelled her into dodging for all she was worth.
Petals does her best not to get any of that thing near her, but darts in with a quick thrust to hopefully keep its attention on her.
========
Round 2
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Alessandro tenses up as the paralytic poison tries to take hold and breathes a sigh of relief when the numbness passes.
Alessandro retaliates against the ghoul with two more cuts. He hopes to dispatch it quickly in order to help the others.
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Catina isn't as quick as the others to react to the undead storming at them. As she fumbles for her glaive and listens to Varius's advice, the ghast has already slipped by her and taken the book from Faustinia. "I'm sorry," she says. "I was... distracted, I think." The stench of the creature right next to her, makes it hard to breathe but she bravely holds her ground. "I think it's distracted by the book. Could we deal with it later? Faustinia, could it be talked to, reasoned with? Maybe the book holds a clue, that only he could spot?"
Not wasting further time, Catina steps past the ghast - Jabe? - to give herself more room to swing at the Lacedon. "Hang in there, Petals!"
--
⁞⁞⁞⁞ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
Varius hits the ghast as him runs toward Faustinia, and also manages to deal a lot of damage to it. The ghast, however, ignores him, every fiber of his body focused on obtaining the book.
Although a little late, Catina’s attack more than make up for that in precision and strength. Her blow almost destroys the lacedon in front of Petals in just one hit!
⁞⁞⁞⁞ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
Alessandro finishes off the lacedon in front of him with another attack. The creatures collapses into the water, and what emerges is only undead dust.
On the other side of the pool, Petals proves herself not to be as skillful with her rapier as she is with her hammer, but also thanks to Catina’s contribution, her efforts are enough to bring the undead down. The lacedon falls back into the murky water in a cloud of dust.
Only the ghast remains now. Varius, who has already wounded him, attacks the undead twice as he his completely involved in the reading of the book. And he kills the undead, which soon turns into dust. It will remain a mystery why the ghast was so interested in that book, but at least the combat is over now, and no one has got hurt.
***
With the lacedons gone, you have now time to explore this large room…and perhaps even the depth of the murky pool, if you feel courageous!
______________________________________________________
Petals will see to Alessandro's wounds quickly. Things really like hitting you, sir. she says with a smile. As her hands glow with healing energy, she adds I was worried when Faustinia accounced they could paralyze, just as I saw you getting hit. Do you feel a right?
I can't help but feel we missed something about our friend, Jabe, here. Should we see if there is anything we missed in the book? she'll say a quick prayer over his body and is happy he might have peace now.
Looking in the vile muddy water I am NOT jumping in there to look.
Varius steps back, breathing hard as the ghast disintegrates.
"Perhaps I'm thinking too simply about this but I'd rather just hedge my bets and kill those things."
After checking around for a while, Varius looks like he has an idea when Petals speaks up.
"Those bodies came from somewhere. Their possessions may still be in there and could have more clues about this place. And... well, I'm already covered in devil brains."
As the group check on their wounds, Varius ditches his pack, and with the impetuousness of someone who may have sustained a head injury at some point, he slips into the water to investigate.
"Catina I'll want you to check me for a wretched disease after this."
Varius does his best to explore the pool.
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Faustinia gasps as (what was presumably) Jabe crumbles into dust after Varius stabs him. She blinks, shocked at how soon the rush of violence is over. Once she recovers her composure, she goes over and picks up the book from the dusty remains, shaking it off with a look of mixed disgust and disappointment. ”I wish I could have learned more about what was so interesting in this book, but I think Varius is right. When dealing with the corruption of undeath, it's safer this way… Wait, what are you doing, boy?!” Faustinia exclaims as Varius slips into the water.
She closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose in mild frustration, letting out a long sigh. Realizing it's likely fruitless to try to stop him, Faustinia casts a spell and four soft balls of light pop into existence. As she commands them, they sink down into the water and follow Varius to help him see in the murky water.
After spending almost a minute inside the muddy waters, Varius' examination produces a finding: a rotted leather pouch containing 52 sp! That's not much, but there can be more in the water. Would you like to continue?
_________
Catina looks a bit incredulous at the sudden calm in the room, once all of the undead have been dealt with. "Well, at least that went a lot better than before." She had almost gotten used to the struggle of life and death against the likes of shadows and barbazu's, but it was comforting knowing that they were starting to work together and facing the challenges of the Knot.
"Yes, I suppose you're right," Catina concurs with Faustinia on the topic of learning what the ghast had been interested in. "Still, it's such a pity to realize they were once normal persons, and that perhaps some of the goals in life still drive them. Maybe we could have helped him, somehow, instead of turning him to dust like that."
She stifles a chuckle at seeing Varius head into the pool as he does, and the way Faustinia reacts. "He's right, you know. Who knows, if these undead had been adventurers in the Knot, what they may have left. Anything could be of use..." She looks somewhat disappointed when Varius only digs up a coin pouch. "Well, maybe not everything, but you get my point. Do you think you got it all, Varius?" She waits for him to come out when he's satisfied, and then will quickly check him for any ill effects of the water.
--
Petals kneels down to retrieve the bag of coins from Varius. In some areas of our fair city, a bag of silver like this could feed a family for an entire winter. she pats him on his head with a thankful smile Good job Varius she'll also clean the pouch of coins (and her hand) with a little bit of magic. Varius as well if he is getting out of the vile water.
Varius looks in disappointment at the bag of silver in his hands and then gives Petals a death glare once he gets patted on the head.
"Bah! Don't patronize me. There has to be more. If I'm going to do this to myself it has to be worth my damn time."
"Thank you Petals." Alessandro feels much better after her healing touch.
"I'll help you Varius. A little muddy water never hurt. If there is anything else, we'll find it."
Alessandro slips gently into the water and methodically begins feeling the bottom.
Alessandro will also take 20. Total Perception 34.
Varius surfaces briefly.
"Sure... muddy. I think a fingernail floated into my nose at one point."
At the end of a 15 minutes detailed examination of the pool of murky water, eventually Alessandro and Varius are convinced that nothing else can be found in the pool. During their research, however, they've dredged up some interesting items—a gold wedding ring worth 120 gp, a rotting leather glove clutching 4 fine amethysts worth 150 gp each, an ash wood wand of levitate (8 charges), and a scowling silver death mask worth 250 gp.
After their exploration of the pool is over, and probably after being cleaned up by Faustinia's magic, Varius and Alessandro are ready to guide the exploration of the group once again.
The party must proceed east, where, at the end of the room, a solid iron door awaits them. Fortunately, the door is not locked. It opens into a twisting circular tunnel whose walls are of smooth polished gray stone, shimmering with moisture and sloping downward at a sharp angle.
This seems to be the only path leading further into the Asmodean Knot, so the group will have to figure out a suitable method to descend the tunnel. Using the tunnel as a sort of natural slide is possible, but it requires some agility, otherwise there's the risk to get hurt in the process.
Catina takes the items that Varius and Alessandro finds in the water, and lends a hand to help them out when they're done. She colours slightly at hearing Petals down-to-earth appraisal of the sack of silver. She's right, of course. It's wonderful to keep such a mind to others, even when we're under such stress ourselves. Still, she's happy that the search didn't just turn up a sack of silver. "A wand that makes you hover above the ground? That might come in useful later, maybe when we have to get back up the rope, where Alessandro made that jump?"
However, a possible use for the wand comes even quicker than Catina had anticipated. She makes a face when she looks at the twisting tunnel. "We're not going to slide down there, are we? Who knows what's at the end." Her face then lights up. "Wait a minute. Could we use that wand, Faustinia? And then gentle push ourselves down along the wall? If you're worried about wearing out the charges, maybe someone could go first, to check out what's at the end. If it's safe, the others could slide after all."
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Once the Faustinia magically lifts away the last patch of muck from the two swordsmen and disappears it into nothingness, she starts to form a plan for the tunnel. She turns over the ash wand in her hand, feeling the weight of the smooth, pale wood, and says, "This could prove quite handy for the task at hand. Some of you young people may be able to take this slope, but I'd rather not slide down only to break my neck. If I levitated myself, I think I could push myself off the walls. It's a slow method, obviously, but much safer."
Turning to the others, she meets their eyes looking for input. "What do you think? This wand only has so much magic left within it. I could use it on all of us now, but it might be a good idea to save some of it for if we have to climb back up this tunnel. Some of you are nimble enough to make it down alright, I'm sure..."
---
I'm fine with trying the slide without the wand for myself. Could we minimize the ride by using Alessandro's rope? It might not be long enough for the entire slope, but might make the difference. she thinks for a moment or two, then adds I am a little wary though. This entire place seems intent on killing us: prisons that don't hold their captives, creatures that hurt you even when you hit them, so on. Finding a tool that specifically makes the next trouble easier makes me worried. Could you check the tunnel for magical traces before you use it?
Alessandro glances warily at the shaft. "That looks like it goes down a long ways. I'm not sure my rope will be long enough. That wand definitely will come in handy. I think I might be able to climb down though."
Alessandro carefully slides down and will report from the bottom.
Petals blinks at Alessandro's sudden but skillful descent, still carrying his rope. So the rope idea is out, but at least we'll get an idea what is down there before the rest of us try. she looks down the shaft and waits I do hope he's okay. she adds quietly.
Varius emerges, pleased with himself and utterly mistaking Petals' sincerity about feeding the poor.
"See? No need to tease me about the silver, I found something actually useful." He does a slow spin as Faustinia wicks away corpse-goop and by the end of it is feeling pretty good about himself.
---
Varius looks a little uneasily at the group as Alessandro descends and then shrugs over to the group.
"I'm quick enough, I think. I'll let you know if I fall on Alessandro. Save the wand for yourselves."
With considerably less skill than Alessandro, but at least some natural agility, Varius descends.
Alessandro’s descent brings him through a narrow and dark tunnel which turns and twists several times before eventually terminating into a small cavern. Sliding down the tunnel is an experience somehow similar to entering a slide, with the difference that the tunnel is not perfectly circular, quite the contrary. Thanks to his abilities, however, Alessandro manages to avoid bumping into the rocks and reaches the relative safety of the cavern below without one wound.
Varius does the same as Alessandro, and although he’s not as agile as his ally, he nonetheless manages to descend the tunnel without one wound.
Lady Faustinia, Petals and Catina all make use of the recently found wand to levitate down the tunnel. This allows them to use the ceiling as a support and to slowly descend into the cavern, where they meet up with Alessandro and Varius.
Catina’s and Faustinia’s arrive coincides with light. Magical light. A light that allows the group to get a better sense of their surroundings. There are two paths leading out from the small cavern in which the Irises of Westcrown find themselves pressed one against the other, one on the south terminating in a stout wooden door, the other on the west. Those reaching the intersection between the two passageways can take a look at what awaits the group if they follow the path leading west.
A circular pit takes up much of the room to the west. Thirty feet above, dozens of strange shadowy stalactites descend from the ceiling, their lengths transforming after a few feet into iron chains that descend into a tangle of chains suspended over the center of the pit below—the tangle wraps and suspends what appears to be a mutilated humanoid body at its core. Many chains dangle from this sphere into the glowing red depths of the pit below, but several chains float and writhe in the air like strands of seaweed in a churning tidepool, the tips of each fragmented and flaking away in bits of rust.
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With her motes of light surrounding her, Faustinia pushes herself away from the exit of the tunnel, dismissing the floating spell and landing softly in the receiving cavern. She dismisses Catina’s and Petals’ levitation with a thought as soon as it's safe, taking a look around to get her bearings. ”Do the rest of you hear that? Some lovely singing… and chanting?”
Peeking down the passageway to the west, and sending her lights out ahead of her without entering the circular chamber proper, she furrows her brow as she tries to register what she's seeing. Backing off a little and returning to the others, she says, ”This place continues to horrify. That ball of chains looks like some Kuthonite nightmare - I can't tell if the singing and chanting are coming from it or from further on. I don't trust any of it, but there's certainly no guarantee that the door to the south will lead to our prize without more trouble.” Looking back to the western chamber over her shoulder, Faustinia furrows her brow again, deeper, before turning back to the other Irises. ”What do you all think? Everything down towards the west seems bristling with menace. Perhaps it would be better to take the unknown route and try to head through the door?”
Varius freezes as he hears the chanting and remains still as the rest of the group arrives. "I do... unsettling is a better word than lovely though."
Varius peers around the edge of the hall, sticking his head around the corner to stare at the horrifying red chain-pit with slack-jawed awe. "I... I have a bad feeling we're going to see that pit regardless, but I agree. Let's go south. Maybe we can find something useful in the room that isn't horrifying."
Flipping his swords nervously in his hand, Varius waits for someone to listen at the south door before pushing through.
I hate this place Petals mumbles as she stares at the writhing mass of chains around the mutilated corpse. At the suggestion to skip it, she says I am all for going south in the hope it is what we need, but we will have to check out the singing before we leave. I agree it is probably a demon or shadow or something worse, but it could be a normal prisoner, like I was. We can't take the risk of leaving someone in here. shuddering a bit at the thought.
She is resolute, but offers I still have a potion of invisibility. Once we are done to the south, if we are truly done with this place, I can drink it and hurry to the west to see. If it is nothing we could leave or if it isn't... she doesn't want to force any of them.
"No normal person would be singing down here. Its definitely something horrible. That ball of chains is equally horrifying. Does the mayor truly use this place for storage? I can't imagine that pudgy stuck up noble traversing this."
The group quickly comes to a decision. The party will head south.
Alessandro opens the door, which fortunately isn’t trapped. A junction in the hallway presents multiple methods to progress. A wooden door sits in one wall, while a rough, cave-like tunnel winds away to the side. Opposite the door, three stairways proceed—two leading down to the left and right and one leading up in the center. Wooden signs with writing on them hang above the entrance to each flight of stairs.
The signs are written in Infernal.
The siging also puts Catina's hackles up. "I also hear the singing, but it doesn't sound 'lovely' to me. It... I don't know, it gives me the creeps. Could just be this place getting to me." She takes a deep breath and tries to forget what she saw in the room to the west. "I don't think the Lord-Mayor actually uses this space, except as a Vault. At least, I hope he doesn't."
Seeing writing in Infernal, Catina decides to translate for the sake of her companions. "Arachnophobia, Observation, and Ophidiophobia," she says, pointing at the signs from east to west. "That's spiders, and some other kind of critters, probably. I say we take the middle one and go up. 'Observation' doesn't sound so bad."
Varius looks over the signs with his brow furrowed, trying to sound out the words to himself.
"It's easier for me if it is written. Ahh... I think this one has something to do with spiders and..." He smiles as Catina reads the languages easily. "Thank you. Frankly since I'm doing this hero thing now I should grab a book and brush up. That tutor was expensive."
Varius quietly taps the flat of his sword against his leg as he thinks. "Ophidophobia is fear of snakes. Preying on fears is an Asmodean art. If I was to guess one room is a pit of spiders, the other is a pit of snakes, and the third one is to watch people get eaten in said rooms. Observation sounds best. That said... this place doesn't make sense. How would you even get here to watch in the first place? Perhaps there's another entrance."