Yeda looks down at the repugnant ooze, and then with resign at the situation defers to Zeldana.
No risk, no reward. What're you thinking Zel?
"Let's find out why it wants in there. But testing my hypothesis." Zeldana said as she dropped her bag, taking out a cup from her mess kit as she did so. "Yeda! Cut a piece off! If this goes wrong I want to control it as much as possible, Loxley, Sazzat, keep it cold! Even more so to the piece Yeda cuts off!" With that Zeldana bolted into the room with the well.
Running up to the well she plunged the cup into the water, bringing it up full. "... Please don't go too wrong..." She muttered to herself before running back to join the group.
The moment Yeda had a smaller piece cut from it she threw the water from the cup onto... Then waited nervously.
Yeda frowns, and hesitates for just a moment. Well, we don't know what it will do even just with me cutting it, but... I don't have any better ideas.
The warrior walks up to the slime, places her sword on the ground across it, and slowly, deliberately drags it back towards her making a line that severs a roughly one-quarter sliver off of the end.
As Zeldana rushes off, yeda makes her cut. Her blade cuts across the oozing blob, and the blob itself cuts easily, but flows back together as soon as the blade passes through the viscous material.
The cold blasts has practically immobilized the ooze.
"I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to accomplish."
"Do we have any idea exactly what this thing is?"
"This thing isn't acting normally."
"I would have thought it would just try to attack and consume us."
Zeldana paused when she heard Sazzat's words. She looked at the cup which was filled with the water from the well. Looked to Yeda who was having a hard time slicing, or well keeping it sliced.
She held up the cup, "Lets... See how this goes?" She asked the group.
He readied the polearm from the statue just in case. After all the thing didnt show up until after they had removed it, so maybe it was special.
He tilted his head to the side and nodded readying a wicked slash into the puddle of goo if need be.
Yeda cocks her head in confusion, one eyebrow higher than the other.
It's... a sad slime?
He turns to Zeldana and nods.
Yeah, try the cup. It seems we are to do creature experiments here in the depths...
Zeldana, having burst through the double door securing the strange orange glowing runewell in the other room, comes back with a filled clay cup of water.
Here we go she says with a grimace.
she dribbles the contents of the cup onto the surface of the ooze. It hisses and spittles violently, a horrific reaction similar to sulfur being exposed to the air. The water eats its way along the surface, etching paths of travel from the top, down the sides, and staining the rock floor the same black color. In reaction to the reactants, the ooze seems to flatten out, twisting its body in an effort to consume it's lost essence.
Zeldana stopped and stepped back as the water seemed to eat away at the ooze's surface. She covered her mouth with her free hand as she backed away. She looked to the others, watching their reaction and wanting to hear what they think. "Maybe... I picked the wrong one?" She asked.
"I went to the runewell, I got some of the water from within... the well may not be active any longer but that well will hold magic till we shut it down. But it isn't the only well in there... Did I choose wrong?" Zeldana asked.
Yeda shrugs. There's only one way to know. You want me to slice of another piece or you want to just douse the whole thing?
Tamm blasts it again with cold.
(touch attack)
Loxley wasn't sure exactly what Zeldana was trying to accomplish. But she was willing to let her give it a shot. She watched with some fascination at the results of the witch pouring the cup's contents. But, not wanting the 'blob' to have any wiggle room.
Loxley adds her own ray to the mix again.
"It doesnt like that water for sure... at least from the way its trying to avoid it... is that a good thing or a bad one though? I wish we had a shovel or something, so We could perhaps scoop out some of whatever this is and toss it away maybe to experiment on a smaller sample before something crazy happens."
He mused outloud mostly to the nervous and curious Moose staying far away from the wiggling mass of goo.
"Someone definitely owes me a new blanket." Tamm says as we see the ooze.
"What happened to the dead mutant guy?"
"I'll help you get a new one." Zeldana said. "Also, you know adventuring is a dirty business yes? Often many items will get destroyed or sullied." she added.
Yeda makes a disgusted face at the ooze. Okay then, don't drink the local water. Noted. We have to keep moving and get topside...
"I don't think we're taking this guy back for burial."
Is the ooze moving?
"I say we leave it alone and get out of here." Tamm says.
"I've had enough of this place."
Loxley blanched at the sight of the black ooze leaking out of Sazzat's blanket.
"Okay, that is gross."
She gives the remains a wide berth as they pass it.
"I think my exhaustion is out weighing my curiosity right now. Some other time I'd have taken a closer looked, but right now..."
She shakes her head as she leaves the sentence unfinished.
Yeda nods at Loxley's conclusion and begins leading the way out with her lighted sword forward.
Indeed, this place has no end of curiosities and unanswered questions, but I think we all need to fresh air and rest.
"can you imagine how strange it would be if that goo started to move? Dewdrop wants to feel the wind in his fur again, i dont blame him."
He said following behind Yeda, only pausing every now and then to make sure the others were indeed still behind them. This creepy place would be best forgotten about that was for sure.
"I need a drink, a meal, a bath, and a good night's sleep." Tamm says.
The raccoon rubs his little hands together as Tamm mentions eating and drinking.
"Yes... Let's go..." Zeldana agreed. She looked back at the double doors that lead to the runewell. For a moment she thought about remaining to guard the well, even more so now after all this happened. But she needed to regain her magic before trying such a thing.
Thus she moved and followed after the others.
You cross over the threshold that was once a wall that seperated these underground environs from the outside for who knows how many years, and you begin your long trek from below up to the surface. Behind, you have discovered an ancient dungeon that, at one point in time, looks like it may have been part of the Thassilonion empire, replete with ancient wonders, magics, and strange creatures. Overall, you feel a sense of accomplishment, having found and secured the newly discovered catacombs from the outside world. Plans to have Father Zantus come down into these catacombs and purify that strange well have been started, and a guard has been posted at the end of the tunnel under the Glassworks, ensuring that no one enters the newly discovered dungeon, and no goblins sneak up the path and enter the town undiscovered again.
Walking the tunnel, you make the long trek up, a gentle slope up towards the glassworks, and the village of Sandpoint. The transition from wild, dangerous, untamed wilderness to that of civilization occurs in this tunnel, and as you spot the opening and the light denoting the guard post, you breath a sigh of relief.
HO THE GUARD POST! WE'RE COMING UP! Yeda shouts from the front, informing the post that you were friendly.
After several seconds, and some trudging steps, Yeda calls again, louder. her voice echoes up and down the tunnel, a litany chiming off the stone walls....
but still, nothing is said. no movement is noticed. no shadow upon a wall to indicate if anyone is there.
"Trouble?" Tamm asks, looking back and forth between the others.
He reaches down to check his dagger in its sheath.
After a few moments of nothing, worry settled back into Zeldana's gut. 'We were gone too long...' She thought as she moved past her friends and out into the area in which the guards had been left.
"Hello? Anyone here" She called.
Oh no...
Yeda creeps closer to the entrance, edging and edging closer to peek around the corner, looking for bodies for foes...
Tamm follows behind Yeda on light footsteps.
He winces slightly as the scabbard of her sword drags along the wall of the passage.
yeda's scabbard scraps hard along the stone wall, filling the narrow confines with the non-stealthy sound. Yet, sazzat and yeda proceed forward, and cross into the area where the guard was posted.
you see the familiar guards fire stand, burning low within the container., it's light filling the room yet not much heat given off. A large bank of ashes sits below the air slits, undisturbed. Off against a wall, a short stool stands sentry upon the vacant room, with a water bag laid upon the floor within hands distance of the seat.
No signs of violence are noted within the small room.
"Just looks like the guards up and left." Tamm says.
Yeda sheaths her sword, squats down in front of the stool and eyes the waterskin.
...and left their water? They may have left in a hurry.
She stands up again and looks around for other "off" details.
Hopefully there are still guards upstairs, or just outside the main entrance.
"They must have taken them back to get care." Zeldana said as they looked around. "I hope they're alright... I'd like to check on them if we've the time." She requested of the group.
Yeda gets up and continues leading the group to the upper level of the glassworks, and finally out.
Yes, I agree. Accounting for all is best. I'm sure there's some explanation. We can stop off and check with Sheriff Hemlock before we take our rest.
"Let's find the Sheriff and report so we can get food and sleep."Tamm agrees.
Loxley followed the others up the stairs back upstairs. She was concerned when nobody replied to Yeda's calls. Above, the group looked around the guard post, finding little she had to agree with Zeldana's assessment.
"They must have taken them back to get care." Zeldana said as they looked around. "I hope they're alright... I'd like to check on them if we've the time." She requested of the group.
"I'd like to go with you." She said. "Let's hurry along to the sheriff's for now."