No one is moving yet so Nisany continues to stare at the strange machine and the fascinating elemental.
After a few solid kicks, the door swings open, revealing another large chamber. Even at a glance, there can be little doubt what purpose it once served. The dank room stores an ancient rack, a fanciful brazen bull, an iron maiden, a cauldron, iron chairs with sharp edges and cruel protuberances, and a wooden table upon which sit various implements of torture.
A bronze plaque affixed to the western wall depicts a crowing rooster above crossed spears. Underneath the plaque, a short phrase is inscribed in somewhat archaic Taldane:
There is also another skeleton slumped into one of the iron chairs to the north of the chamber, clad in the tattered remnants of heavy black robes.
As Lukas enters, there are no signs of life to be seen. Yet after he has taken his first few steps into the room, a raven suddenly appears sitting on the bronze plaque, seemingly out of nowhere. It hops back and forth on its perch, its head bobbing up and down excitedly.
"Caw! Welcome, welcome!" it calls out in a shrill voice. "Take a seat, take a seat!"
For a moment Lukas looks longingly at one of the cruel chairs, but then he literally smacks the side of his head and scowls.
"Damn bird," he growls. "You take a seat!"
With that, he dashes across the room and swings at it with his Bardiche.
Lukas' sudden dash seems to take the raven by surprise, but he is astonished in turn by its resilience. The corvid is not immediately cleaved in twain as one might expect, instead suffering a deep gash across its side. There is a screech as it is toppled from its perch and takes to its wings, but the sound of pain is quickly replaced by a hoarse laughter. Once more, it disappears from sight, simply vanishing into thin air.
"Oh, what a witty retort!" a voice rings from above, echoing across the chamber. "Look at you, killer! Bastard! Murderer! Did your mother not teach you to be kind to animals? No hesitation whatsoever. Surely, you will burn in the Nine Hells for such wanton cruelty..."
While still undoubtedly the same voice, the speaker seems to have removed a layer of deception from his parlance—there is no mistaking this for simple parroting. "But do come in, all you fine citizens of our glorious empire! So good to have visitors, though I fear I have no refreshments to offer. I assume you are here for the treasure? Well, I would be happy to assist, provided that you give me what I require! It has been so long since I was able to ply my trade. I ask only that each of you shed your life's blood in this chamber—simply take a seat in one of my lovely chairs..."
Looking around the room in confusion, "Why don't you come out and we can talk."
I hardier advances cautiously into the room, scrutinizing it with an eye for unusual traps.
"I'll stand for now, thank you," he says absently as he takes in the old furnishings and God skeleton.
Bel wracks her brain trying to figure out what this could be. A spell effect of some kind? She digs down into her pack, her fingers brushing the gold in the secret compartment, and she utters an ancient word for protection, aimed at Lukas.
Bel wracks her brain trying to figure out what this could be. A spell effect of some kind?
Looking around the room in confusion, "Why don't you come out and we can talk."
Nisany feels a rush of air against her cheek, as if something with wings had fluttered past. "Oh, but I am right here! It is no fault of mine that you do not have the eyes to see..."
"I'll stand for now, thank you," he says absently as he takes in the old furnishings and the skeleton.
The voice titters, clearly enjoying themselves immensely. "Well, you are perfectly welcome to stand there and drool all you want, but there is no getting past this chamber without locating the door. As it happens, I am the only living soul who knows where it is hidden. So unless you know how to rouse that bag of old bones over there, I suggest that you follow her example and take a seat! Come on now, it is just a bit of blood..."
Lukas hawks and spits. "Sit willingly in a torture instrument? I'd rather dig my way through these walls than do as you say, you s!@&e bird."
He looks to his companions. "All right, we've found plenty of secret doors in here already, haven't we? Let's just get to looking for this new one."
After casting about aimlessly for a bit, Lukas turns to examine the torture instruments, moving them away from walls, looking inside them, poking at different parts to see if anything might prove the secret lever to the door. When he reaches the black robed individual, he gives it a quick search to see if it has anything on it.
Slowly swiveling her head around the room scanning for a door while grabbing a small vial from her side. Vial in hand she quickly drinks it if she does not spot the door. Not stopping anyone from moving past her but not moving into the room.
Nyzaj joins in peering around the room, scanning for any sign of the mentioned secret door. The dark, dank room feels like home to the formerly tunnel-dwelling kobold; it's familiar territory, and he's got a good idea of which nooks and crannies are likely to hide more than they appear. Psst...Look-us? he hisses in a whisper to the burly guardsman. What'f what we're lookin' for is what this thing's hidin'? If we gotta get past it...I mean, I got scales, so the chair can't hurt me too bad...
Khardir shrugs. "I've been in enough old ruins to know better than to just agree to whatever terms some random invisible voice demands," he says.
Bel waits while the others search the rest of the room, and decides to speak to the creature.
"Hail there, friend. Are you a member of the House Canteclure? Were you part of the uprising?"
Bel waits while the others search the rest of the room, and decides to speak to the creature.
"Hail there, friend. Are you a member of the House Canteclure? Were you part of the uprising?"
The voice scoffs. "One of them? Oh no, I was but a mere servant. Yet I still persist, while they lie dead and buried. I am surprised any still remember their pitiful existence, to be honest..."
When he reaches the black robed individual, he gives it a quick search to see if it has anything on it.
Just like the ones elsewhere in the dungeon, the skeleton still has some dried-out skin and muscle clinging to its yellowed bones. Little of value remains on the corpse. Aside from its tattered vestments, there is a rusted iron amulet worn around the corpse's neck. The amulet itself depicts a circle of tear-shaped impressions around a feminine face, and its chain is inset with painful-looking spikes.
The bronze plaque also looks like it might be worth something to a collector of antiquities.
Nyzaj joins in peering around the room, scanning for any sign of the mentioned secret door.
Nyzaj has more luck than Lukas, focusing on the walls instead of the various implements of torture littering the room. After a bit of searching, he finally manages to find a door hidden under a layer of plaster to the northeast of the chamber. It is much like the ones you have found before, though it remains in better condition. This likely due to the fact that this part of the dungeon has not been affected by the collapse as badly as the others.
As he makes his discovery, the voice lets out a forlorn sigh. "Oh, I am afraid you are still wasting your time. You see, the door is locked with a rather ingenious device designed by my late mistress. The key is hidden somewhere only I can reach it. Look at you, scampering around like animals. Would it not be easier to bleed a little? Nothing in life is gained without a little suffering, after all..."
The creature is lying through its teeth, its tone tinged with a hint of desperation.
Slowly swiveling her head around the room scanning for a door while grabbing a small vial from her side. Vial in hand she quickly drinks it if she does not spot the door. Not stopping anyone from moving past her but not moving into the room.
"Ah! Do let me see that plaque," says Khardir, his eyes lighting up.
"Hmm... very little patina... good quality, the bronze is very smooth."
Reaching over and tugging on Beldraim. Motioning for her to lean down and waiting until she does before mumbling, "On the north eastern wall there is a door that has been plastered over. It is not locked but I think we need to break apart the plaster. Should I just say it. That will piss off the, I think it is a ghost."
Bel turns to the others and says, "Lukas or Khardir, you might have the strength to break through the secret door. See if you can try."
Ha! Nyzaj cheers under his breath. Carefully, he begins scratching and flaking away at the plaster, hoping to reveal the door beneath.
"All right. Let's see if we can't replace this tricky key mechanism with old fashioned brute force."
Lukas props his bardiche beside the secret door, takes a step or two back, then hops forward and forward kicks, thrusting from the hips, letting out a grunt as he plants the heel of his boot in the center of the door.
Lukas steps back, scowling, examines the door, then decides to place his foot where the locking mechanism should be. If there was one.
"Ah! Do let me see that plaque," says Khardir, his eyes lighting up.
"Hmm... very little patina... good quality, the bronze is very smooth."
The metal is indeed of the highest quality. Without exact knowledge of its historical value, Khardir thinks the plaque would be worth at least ten gold to a smith as scrap.
Also worth noting is the fact that the plaque is an unwieldy item, about two and a half feet in diameter and weighing about fifty pounds.
Lukas props his bardiche beside the secret door, takes a step or two back, then hops forward and forward kicks, thrusting from the hips, letting out a grunt as he plants the heel of his boot in the center of the door.
With a few solid kicks from Lukas, the plaster crumbles, revealing an ancient iron door. The voice does not seem happy at this development. "NO! Stupid mortals... You will stay and suffer!"
A small red-skinned humanoid with bat-like wings and a whipping scorpion's tail appears above Lukas, lashing at him from behind. Before anyone can react to the diminutive threat, it has managed to sink its stinger twice into the back of his neck, cackling maniacally all the while. The wounds do not seem healthy, with blackened veins and an angry red rash appearing around them almost instantly.
Unlike most devils, imps often find themselves free and alone on the Material Plane, particularly after they’ve been summoned to serve as familiars and their masters have perished. With no way to return home, these imps, freed of their bonds to arcane masters, can become dangerous pests. While small, they share other devils' resistance to mundane weapons, requiring either silver or consecrated steel to truly pierce their hide. They also brush off damage from most elements, especially fire, which is so ubiquitous in the Pit. Imps also have some limited magical abilities, the most bothersome being their innate ability to change shapes and turn invisible.
Before Lukas can react, the imp is upon him, stinger lancing deep into the thick muscles of his neck. Lukas roars in pain and surprise, and tries to spin, to bring up the bardiche, but pain clouds his vision as blood pours down to soak his chain.
Lukas staggers, drops his bardice, and claps his hands to the wounds. "B...bastard..." he managed, before crashing down to the floor.
Bel reacts quickly upon seeing the Imp. She yells out, "An imp! Don't use fire or mundane weapons!"
She taps the connection to her hoard and draws it out into her and funnels it toward the creature.
Slumber Hex (su) on imp. (DC 14 will save or fall asleep for 1 round).
She taps the connection to her hoard and draws it out into her and funnels it toward the creature.
The imp yawns, dipping slightly in the air before shaking its head vigorously. "Who did that? I will punish you next!"
Pulling out the mithral dagger and moving further into the room. Pointing the dagger at the imp. Grinning widely, "That would be me."
Seeing Nisany pull out the mithril dagger, Nyzaj follows suit and withdraws his own. The blade still feels a little unwieldy in his hand, but he'd spent his entire life using unfamiliar weapons - and if Bel's warnings were correct, his teeth and fists were likely to do little good anyway. Better an awkward something than nothing at all. With his flag in one hand, he uses the other hand to strike out with the dagger, stepping over (well, atop) Lukas' prostrate form in a protective stance.
Khardir steps next to Lukas and uses Nyzaj for cover as he once again brings forth the old dwarf statue and mutters dwarven words to coax forth another blessing.
The imp dodges Nyzaj's blow with relative ease, turning to Nisany with a fanged sneer. "YOU! Stay right there, and await your doom!"
Noticing the glint of mithral in Nyzaj's hand, the imp sweeps up and disentangles itself from the kobold before circling around the chamber towards Nisany. After a quick feint, its stinger sinks into her shoulder, pumping sulphurous venom into the wound. Though the little devil spits foul curses at witnessing Khardir's holy ministrations, it does not seem all that worried about Lukas being resuscitated...
Trying to dodge out of the way but like most things that failed. Letting out a pained yelp as the stinger sinks in. See this is why I don't try and do good.
With a groan Lukas rises to his feet, nodding his thanks to Khardir, but a fresh wave of pain and nausea ripples through him, almost laying him low.
With a growl, Nyzaj leaps off of Lukas as the big man struggles to his feet, nimbly hopping across the room almost as fast as the imp can fly. You don't mess with my friends! he crows, striking out again at his foe.
Bel draws on her power and emits a torrential scream from deep in her chest, directed straight at the creature. Then she draws her crossbow, ready for the combat to continue.
The imp shrugs off most of Beldraim's sonic assault, screeching back curses as it grabs its tiny ears in discomfort.
Meanwhile, Nyzaj's dagger pierces the imp's hide, a stroke of black blood upon a red canvas. The imp hisses at its aggressor and his mithral blade, clutching at its side. The wound seems to be closing swiftly, however, beginning to knit itself together almost as soon as it is made. The kobold is in turn struck by his foes venomous stinger, receiving the smallest taste of infernal suffering.
Feeling feverish, nauseated, and cloddish to boot, Lukas tries to take a step forward, tries to focus on where the fight is taking place.
The poison raging in his system however is too much. With a groan he collapses to the ground, eyes wide and staring, unable to move.
Bel fires her crossbow into the melee, though untrained at firing in such close quarters.
Khardir continues to minister to Lukas, trying to assist him in recuperating - or at least not dying - from the poison.
There is a clear crack in the imp's confidence as both Nisany and Nyzaj manage to nick it with their daggers, slowly driving it towards a corner. Beldraim is also able to get in a shot with her crossbow, sinking a quarrel into its side. Though not as effective as the daggers, the great force behind the projectile penetrates at least partly through its unnaturally thickened hide. The small devil tries to strike back at Nyzaj with its tail, but the steady barrage of attacks from multiple directions seems to be overwhelming both its attention and its ability to recover from its wounds.
Despite Khardir's desperate attempts, Lukas' paralysis doesn't let up. Instead, the large man shakes and shivers, and blood flecked foam begins to ooze forth from between his clenched teeth. His heels drum on the stone floor, and then he sighs, and relaxes.
The light goes out in his eyes, and Lukas goes still.
Unaware of his friend's plight, Nyzaj continues to drive the imp back toward the corner, striking once more with the dagger and snarling in frustration.
Bel reloads her crossbow and attempts again to fire at the creature, but cannot line up a good shot in all the confusion.
Reload crossbow
Fire at Imp
Khardir shakes his head and says, "It's too late... he's gone!"
Then he rushes to help Nyzaj, in hopes of avoiding the same fate.
Swinging her newly acquired dagger but the swing goes wide when Nisany hears Khardir, "No!"
The fight seems to have turned into something of a stalemate, with the imp managing to dodge most of Nisany and Nyzaj's strikes, while also being held back by its fear of their mithral weapons. Its wounds keep closing, however, visibly stitching themselves together as it flits back and forth in the air. This, more than anything, seems to help it maintain its arrogant composure.
"What a waste," it mocks from above. "All I wanted was a bit of blood. You can still choose to submit, and I may spare your lives..."
Bel's face contorts in a mask of barely-controlled rage. She takes the scratched coin from her pocket and holds it high in the air, letting her hoard's power pour through her muscles, her mind. She pulls on it, coalesces it into her throat.
"No more!" she screams with supernatural volume at the imp.
Use hoard to cast ear-piercing scream again.
So...so the bird was you! Dwarf, move in here! Angrily, Nyzaj ducks to the side to face off against Nisany, getting the imp between them and hoping Khardir will take the cue to step into his place and hem in the tiny outsider. The mithril dagger flashes again, and the kobold is so enraged at Lukas' demise that he even brings his teeth to bear. The only blood you get is yours!
Khardir joins the fray, driving the imp further back with his hammer, as his smaller companions keep harassing it with their daggers. While it manages to dodge the dwarf's swings, Beldraim's second scream takes the imp completely by surprise. With its senses momentarily overwhelmed, Nyzaj gets a chance to sink his small teeth into its side, dragging it down. Nisany follows up with a precise stab, driving her dagger deep into its chest. By this time, the small devil seems considerably less confident than before. Dodging one final blow from Nisany, the imp wriggles free and flits over the rack, disappearing from sight once more.
"Fine, fine!" it screeches from somewhere above you. "Go then, you damned misers! Leave me alone, and take your dead with you! I'll see him back in the Pit, I am certain..."
Twirling around and hoping to spot the imp. Desperately trying to focus on anything but the dead man in the room.
The moment the imp disappears, it's out of Nyzaj's mind - he instantly scampers back across the room, his tail smashing into the iron maiden as he rushes past. With a small skid, he comes to a stop beside Lukas' prostrate form and nudges the body gently with one foot. Look-us? You... It was a good trick, but you can stop playing now... The baby monster's gone... Look-us?
Khardir shakes his head. "No trick."
Twirling around and hoping to spot the imp. Desperately trying to focus on anything but the dead man in the room.
There is no immediate sign of the devil, who seems to have retreated to invisibly sulk at its defeat.
With the ceasing of hostilities, the room becomes eerily quiet. Lukas' still form proves unresponsive to Nyzaj's entreaties, staring up at the ceiling with a slack expression on his face, as inscrutable in death as he was in life.
The secret door hangs ajar, as does the way back to the surface.
Bel kneels at Lukas's body, a somber look contorting her features. She places the crossbow on the ground and looks to the others then back at the body.
"May Pharasma guide him on his way."
After a long moment, she stands. Her mind, though grief-stricken, is able to compose itself and cut through to heart of the matter. The imp is still a problem, but without Lukas, she does not view their odds favorably.
She says, "We do not know what's in the rest of this place. Without backup, I say retreat for now and find others willing to take up the contract. Does anyone have a better idea?"