"Cerinni-bun, if that goblin's not dead, it's pissed off that I just torched its lab and its familiar," Gwyn says, looking worriedly at the door as she backed away from it.
Eyes wide with alarm, Helena looks from the door to Gwyn, her grip on her spear tightening. "Gwyn, why did you do that?" she asks worriedly. "I mean, it worked, but you could have gotten yourself killed!"
"I was scared! I didn't know what that thing was and that thing in the cave almost killed me. I didn't want to repeat the experience," Gwyn answers, and for once, Fluff can't find a snarky comment to level at her master.
"Gwyn, are you feeling alright? You've been acting funny since well, since that first room we opened," the little Thrush asks.
Gwyn doesn't answer and avoids everyone's eyes with her own.
Even Orik notes way that Gwyn tries to avoid her familiar's question. "Gwyn, if there's something wrong, let's deal with it now. We're about to go up against Tsuto, Bruthazmus, Nualia, and maybe whatever the f**k a Malfeshnekor is. We need to go into that battle as primed as possible, and if you're not OK, we need to know now."
"It could have been me the rest of you are hunting," Gwyn says quietly. "It could have been me in that room full of goblin kids and I just torched them. I grew up alone. I had to steal, lie, cheat, and even kill to live one more day. I didn't grow up all that different from those goblins, but I didn't even give them a chance. Their parents were dead. They were orphans. What kind of a Caydenite goes around killing orphans?!"
As she blurts out that last sentence she buries her head in her hands and begins to sob.
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Cerin reaches up to pat Gwyn on the arm. "No, you would never be in the same position as those goblins. I know this because of the way you are feeling right now. You have a good heart and that makes all the difference in the world. Were your positions reversed, those goblins would have killed you and never had a second thought about it, never felt anything except pleasure at your death. Despite the necessity, you still feel bad, and that shows how good a person you are." he says softly. He just stands there, supporting her and letting her get it all out of her system, giving her as much time as she needs.
Shalelu puts her arm on Gwyn's shoulder and squuezes it reassuringly. This might be the first time you've seen the ranger's air of hardness melt away.
"Jossakin mielessä kaikki hirviöt ovat orpoja. Heidän vanhempansa lukitsevat ne häkeissä ja tekevät heistä taistelemaan toistensa kanssa selviytyäkseen. Jotkut jopa panostavat, joista he selviävät. Olen varma, että ne, jotka tapasimme, olivat lunastuksen ulkopuolella. He olivat jo hirviöitä. Ei muuta voinut tehdä, jotta voisitte muuttaa sitä."
Shalelu then brushes the tears from Gwyn's face.
"En tiennyt, että olit hukkaan. Tämä on raskas taakka sydämeen: katsella ystäväsi vanhempia ja kuolla elämisen aikana. Uskokaa ... Tiedän, millaista se on. Ja tiedä, että rakkaus tekee sen kalliiksi."
"And I can think of another irredeemable monster that deserves your magical fire. Let's go find her."
Gwyn looks from Shalelu to Cerinnibert and back for a moment before wrapping her arms around both of them. For a moment, she just stays on her knees softly weeping as she hugs both of them. Once she regains her composure, she stands and pulls both Orik and Helena into a hug as well.
"Great! We've dammed up the river of tears! Now let's get this over with before Gwyn starts crying again," Fluff chirps from Helena's shoulder.
"Oh shut up, Fluff," Gwyn mutters as she wipes away a tear and smiles at the others. "Thank you. I think I've had my emotional breakdown of the day, so let's go see if being around goblins has made any of those bastards fireproof."
After Gwyn's recovered from her breakdown, she begins making her way to the stairs down, listening at each of the doors before opening it. Along the way, she checks the chapel as well.
Gwyn doesn't find anything unexpected throughout the rest of the dungeon level. After meeting up with the rest of you, you all proceed to the stairs to the sub-level. The door remains closed, and you see that the alchemist fire trap you'd set yesterday remains in place on this side of the door to the stairway.
Gwyn grabs the alchemist fire from the top of the door and places it with the others. After looking down the stairs, she draws her wand and looks to the others.
"Wow, and I thought Marcus Ludwig was obsessive. How long has she been down there," she asks.
"She's spent a lot of time on that level," Orik replies. "She's been pretty closed-lipped about what she's found down there, at least with me. She might have shared more with Lyrie, since she was hired for her archaeological knowledge as much as her magic, but well, that ship's sailed. Maybe in more ways than one." He's silent for a moment, then shakes his head. "In any case, I know that she's not alone down there. It's her, Tsuto, Bruthazmus, and who-the-Hell-knows-what-else."
After disarming your traps from the door leading down, you look down the passage. Stairs carved from the rock descend about five feet to the west, ending at a landing, where the stairs continue to descend to the south into darkness. Gwyn leads you downward. About ten steps down on the second set of stairs, Gwyn's foot slides out from under her! You all then hear the sound of marbles skitter down the stairs.
At the bottom of the stairs is a short corridor heading east. There's something a bit odd with this corridor: It is sloped upward sharply upward toward the east, and ever-so-slightly downward toward the south.
At the end of the corridor to the east is a closed door made of stone. The detailed carvings that once covered its surface have been defaced by chisel marks and hammer blows to the extent that only a few remnants of images remain: mostly gemstones and crowns.
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"Gwyn! Are you all right?" Cerin whispers, instictively reaching out to catch her as she slips even though Orik is between them.
When the reach the bottom of the stairs, he gazes along the corridor quizically and runs one hand lightly along the walls. "Interesting. This passage was here before the rest of the keep. What is it with Nualia and ancient ruins? I hope this isn't like the last one!"
Gwyn gives a little surprised gasp before tumbling down the stairs. As she comes to a halt at the bottom, she lets out a groan. She slowly and shakily gets to her feet and favors her left side.
"Owie," she mumbles as she rubs her left shoulder. The elven mage is looking worse for the wear she was receiving this trip.
Once everyone was down safely, Gwyn begins to examine the door and see if there are any traps or locks.
"'Snot the first time I've done that," Gwyn murmurs in reply, none of her usual good humor in evidence.
"Seriously, marbles?", Orik scoffs as Cerin heals her cracked rib. "What's next, is she going to drop a toy wagon on us?"
"I don't know whether that's one of the funniest or scariest thoughts that's struck me," Helena sighs, pushing the marbles aside with her spearhead as she makes her way down the stairs.
After Cerin heals her scrapes and bruises from falling down the stone stairs, Gwyn begins examining the stone door. Given the amount of dust and spiderwebs on it, the damage to the door seems very old. Still, it appears that the damage had been done in an attempt to open it long ago.
Probing under the door with her lockpicks, Gwyn detects a wooden post that she thinks is leaning against the door from the inside, and that opening the door will cause... something... to fall down onto whoever pushes the door open. However, she can't get enough leverage on the post to knock it over from this side: it's got a fair amount of weight on it, and there's less than a sixteenth of an inch of space under the door to work with.
The stone door does not appear to be locked; indeed, it looks like is should easily swing open.
"Oh, why didn't I think of that,"Gwyn says before standing and clearing the area in front of the door.
Monster Status
Archer 1: hp 19/19
Archer 2: hp 19/19
Archer 3: hp 19/19
Bruthazmus: hp 31/31
At Cerin's suggestion, Helena moves forward and uses the butt end of her longspear to push open the door. A pile of broken rocks crashes down behind the door as it swings open.
Perched on Gwyn's shoulder, Fluff cocks her head and says, "Hey! Those would have fallen on your head!"
The door opens to a darkened chamber. Before you can really assess the room, two goblin-made arrows fly out of the darkness at Helena, but they both harmelessly hit the walls.
Round 1
"Thanks Fluff what wou– WHOA! Helena are you alright!"
Gwyn moves to the front and flames dance on her fingertips as she recalls the words to her spell. She pours a little more power than normal into it, causing them to burn hotter before she unleashes a miniature inferno on the goblins.
"Gwyn! Are you crazy! I don't wanna be up front," Fluff twitters shrilly.
...fail
...succeed
...succeed
...hit
...miss (splash)
...hit Overruled: Miss.
...hit
Monster Status
Archer 1: hp 6/19
Archer 2: hp 5/19
Archer 3: hp 13/19
Bruthazmus: hp 25/31
Round 1, continued...
Against Fluff's better judgement, Gwyn moves to just inside the doorway. With her elven vision, she can clearly see three goblin archers in the room beyond, and Bruthazmus the bugbear behind them. Thinking quickly, Gwyn casts a spell, and the four goblinoids are engulfed in magical flame.
"Oooh!! AAARHGH!!" say the goblins, at first fascinated then scorched by the flames. Two look horrifically burned, but they stay on their feet.
Bruthazmus says, "Ow! Hey-- nice ears, little elf. I can't wait to add them to my collection! Get her!"
At that, one of the archers drops her bow and steps forward, slashing at Gwyn with her dogslicer. Not expecting a melee rush, Gwyn raises her arm defensively, and the goblin slashes a nasty gash across it.
Another goblin takes out a ceramic flask and throws it at Gwyn. It smashes on the door frame, spraying flaming chemicals.
Another goblin fires a volley of arrows, but they harmlessly bounce off the wall.
Bruthazmus then draws his bow and lets an arrow fly. His aim is true, and Gwyn feels the sudden shock and pain of an arrow striking her squarely in the chest. With a look of shock, she sinks to her knees and then blacks out.
"GWYN!", Orik shouts as the elf drops from the assault. He steps over her, his blade drawn. "Helena, get her away from the door!" He slashes at the goblin in front of him, hoping to cleave its head from its shoulders. Regardless of the strike, he points the tip of his blade at Bruthazmus. "This is where you die, a**hole."
Gwyn, stubborn elf that she is, clings to consciousness just long enough for her eyes to meet Helena's milky orbs.
"S-sorry Hel...en..." she tries to gasp before coughing up blood and falling to the floor.
"Gwyn!" Helena cries in shock, before biting off the words as a pain springs into her chest. Reaching down and grabbing the back of her friend's shirt, she attempts to pull her out from under Orik and back to safety.
...miss
...miss
...hit
...miss
Monster Status
Archer 1: hp 6/19
Archer 2: hp -5/19
Archer 3: hp 13/19
Bruthazmus: hp 12/31
Round 1, continued
Bow in hand, Shalelu waits for her friends to move into the room.
Stepping over Gwyn's unconscious body, Orik decapitates the goblin in the doorway, then issues Bruthazmus a challenge.
Helena drags Gwyn back down the corridor, and up the stairs to the higher landing. The magical link between them siphons some of her own vitality to her fallen friend, and Gwyn's wounds stop bleeding.
Cerin then casts a spell, and a sphere of flame erupts around the enemy bugbear. Bruthazmus' expression of smug confidence turns to alarm, and he screams in pain. "I'm gonna skin you alive, gnome!"
Round 2
Gwyn stirs and comes around. Fluff, fluttering franticly, peeps, "Thank the gods you're alive! Don't ever scare me like that again!!"
The two goblin archers let fly arrows at Orik, but they harmlessly bounce off the door frame.
Bruthazmus steps back out of the flaming sphere and snarls, "Welcome back, Orik. Time to die!" and fires at his ally-turned-enemy. This arrow punches through a chink in Orik's armor.
Shalelu then moves past her friends and into the room. "This ends NOW, Bruthazmus!" She fires at him, but the bugbear manages to duck out of the way.
Gwyn stirs and leans against the wall to steady herself. She was in no shape to fight and can only bite back a whimper of pain as she twists wrong and aggravates her wounds.
"Sorry, Fluff," she mutters before turning her attention to Helena, "c-can you help me get this arrow out?"
"Damn straight it is!" Orik shouts in response. "For you!" He scowls as he scans to find a route to the bugbear, but is at a loss. "Fine, I'll cut my way to you. Makes no difference to me how much goblin blood I spill today." He pushes past the archer and stabs at its chest.
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Cerin concentrates on the sphere, which rolls quickly towards the bugbear to engulf him again. He looks up the stairs at Gwyn and Helena and hesitates. "You have her? She'll be all right?" Looking relieved as Gwyn moves to sit up, he turns back and jumps over the rocks to stand shoulder to shoulder with Shalelu and Orik.
I've got her!" Helena calls back down to Cerin. "She's going to be fine." Gritting her teeth, she snaps the end off of the arrow, gives the elf a second to brace herself, and yanks it free, closing the wound with a whispered word and a soft green light.
...hit
...hit
Monster Status
Archer 1: [dead]
Archer 2: [dead]
Archer 3: hp 13/19
Bruthazmus: hp 12/31
Round 2, continued
Gwyn stands up, still woozy. Shalelu fires at Bruthazmus, but misses. Helena calls to the spirits of life, healing her friend. Fluff seems mightly relieved that Gwyn is still standing.
Orik slashes at the goblin archer in front of him, cutting her throat. She clutches at the wound, gurgling, as blood gushes from the wound, and she falls over.
Cerin sends the sphere of flame toward Bruthazmuz, but the bugbear sees it coming and dodges out of the way.
Round 3
Seeing Orik cut down her friend, the remaining archer reaches into a pack and retrieves a small clay pot, which she throws at Orik. The pot smashes on Orik's shield, spraying sticky liquid that immediately bursts into flame, scorching him, and sending a few burning droplets at Cerin.
Stepping back and away from the flaming sphere, Bruthazmus glares at Shalelu with a look of extreme hatred. "You have crossed me for the last time, elf!" He fires at her, hitting her squarely in the chest, and the arrow punches right through her leather armor. She grunts at the impact, with a look of shock and pain on her face. She then nocks an arrow of her own.
Stepping back and away from the flaming sphere, Bruthazmus glares at Shalelu with a look of extreme hatred. "You have crossed me for the last time, elf!" He nocks a black-fletched arrow and fires at her, hitting her squarely in the chest, and the arrow punches right through her leather armor. As it hits, the arrow pulses with a shimmering aura of blackness. She grunts at the impact, with a look of shock and pain on her face. Blood begins to drip from the wound, but she doesn't make an attempt to remove the arrow. She then nocks an arrow of her own, aiming it at the bugbear.
Gwyn nods for Helena to yank it out as she grits her teeth. Even then, she nearly faints from the pain and lets out a small cry as the arrowhead comes out, Helena's magic, though soothes it away, and soon she's almost as well off as before she took the missile.
"Fluff, stay with Helena," Gwyn commands the thrush as she fishes out two vials from her pack.
"Which is Gwyn-speak for, 'Imma doin' sumthin' stupid!' right," the little songbird clarifies.
"...Maybe..."
"F**K!", Orik says as the tar splashes over him, seeping through his armor and burning his flesh. His swearing continues as he beats at the flame with his fist, trying desperately to put it out.
"Of course she is," Helena sighs. "She can't help herself sometimes. Stay close, Fluff." With a wink and a smile to Gwyn, she squeezes the wizard's shoulder before making her way down the stairs, tapping the stone floor with the butt of her spear to call on a burst of healing light.
Monster status
Monster Status
Archer 1: [dead]
Archer 2: [dead]
Archer 3: hp 13/19
Bruthazmus: hp 11/35
Round 3, continued
After being healed, Gwyn rummages through her pack and retrieves two potions.
Gritting her teeth through the pain, Shalelu fires a volley at Bruthazmus, but her aim is off due to the arrow stuck in her side.
Orik beats out the flaming tar that had been burning him.
Helena moves into the room and channels the spirits of life, excluding your enemies. Green energy shimmers up from the floor, healing everyone.
Cerin moves forward, commanding his flaming sphere to roll forward over Bruthazmus. In his ire at Shalelu, he fails to notice the approaching magical flame in time, and it burns him badly. "Aargh! You're next, gnome!"
Round 4
Bruthazmus staggers backward and retrieves a potion from his belt pouch, which he quaffs. You notice that many of his burns seem to heal.
Realizing that she just might have a winning strategy, the remaining goblin archer throws another flask of alchemist's fire at Orik. This one smashes against his sword arm, sending more burning tar all over him.
"Oh, to Hell with this!", Orik cries, gritting his teeth as he lets the fires burn his flesh to strike down the flask-flinging goblin.
Gwyn hears the fighting down the stairs and downs the two potions as quickly as she can.
"May Cayden bless you with his luck," she tells Helena as she begins to weave a spell.
...miss
...success
...hit
...miss
Monster Stats
Archer 3: hp 1/19
Bruthazmus: hp 10/45
Round 4, continued
Gwyn retrieves a second potion and quaffs it. She feels magically stronger, and her skin stiffens and coarsens, as if it were the bark of an oak.
Ignoring the pain of the flames that burn him through his armor, Orik lunges at the goblin pyromaniac. Orik's sword easily cuts through her armor, slicing a deep gash across her abdomen. She clutches the wound but keeps fighting.
Helena moves into the room, assessing the situation. She moves behind Orik, attempting to attack the goblin from there with her longspear. Orik manages to zig when she expected him to zag, and she fails to connect.
Cerin directs his flaming sphere toward the bugbear, but this time he manages to avoid getting burned. But his dodge of the burning ball puts him exactly where Cerin expected, and the druid slashes him with his flaming scimitar.
Round 5
Stepping aside, Bruthazmus drops his bow and takes out a two-handed flail, which he smashes down on Cerin's shoulder.
In desperation, the remaining goblin drops her bow, draws a dogslicer, and attacks, but can't get past the warrior's shield.
Gwyn mutters an arcane chant and, with a flourish, vanishes from sight. She makes her way down the stairs as quickly and quietly as she can, hoping the noise of combat will hide her footsteps long enough to get into position, and the noise of her drawing her sword.