Bop it senseless then.
You have no problem knocking the derro unconscious. Once that is done, you can see there are two other passages from this room. A short hallway leading south ends at a wooden door that appears to have been recently boarded up from your side. A second passage leads east. A quick glance down that corridor reveals that it connects with a junction that has a tunnel going in each cardinal direction.
East then south.
You step over the spilled fats on the floor to explore down the eastern tunnel. After about thirty feet you reach the junction. To the north, a tunnel winds upward and ends at another closed door. To the east, is a relatively straight path that angles down and continues beyond your vision. The daylight spell illuminates the path to 120 feet away but it continues even further on. It must lead deep into the Darklands below. Finally, the southern path opens into a small cavern.
This foul-smelling cavern is bordered on three sides by ten-foot-deep pits. It is from these pits that the rancid smell of excrement and decay fills the air—each pit contains a few heaps of moldy straw, a wooden trough of filthy water, a few rotting body parts, and a couple still living prisoners. These prisoners are the missing acolytes and orphans that you've been looking for. They begin to scream for help when they hear your approach.
In the center of the room is a hideously deformed man. His skin is thick and blubbery. His face looks like a rotting vegetable.
He calls out, "Rolth? That you? Me do good. No one die this time. Wait... You not Rolth? Who you? You go in pit now. Rolth give me big reward for pretty ones. If you good, me feed you later...Maybe."
Although he is unarmed, he looks like he intends to pummel you with his fists.
Of course I am Rolth, I wouldn't be here otherwise, would I let people who don't belong here wander around?
"What joke you playing?" He responds. "You clearly not Rolth. I don't think you funny. I going to beat you first. That funny."
I'm in disguise! I use this to walk among da humans safely. Are you calling me a liar? Why you think I lie?
"I know Rolth! He don't need disguise! You lie! You make me angry! Maybe you don't go in pit! Maybe you just parts!"
Ayako is clearly angering him.
Ayako shrugs and looks to Sebastion and Lucien. I guess you two handle this then.
Lucien shrugs, greatsword in hands. "Ready when you are, Sebastian..." he says waiting for his ally to act before attacking first.
Nadya gives the thing a dark look, "I think you're going to find my friends really hard to hit."
"Not as stupid as you thought," Sebastian says, drawing his rapier. "What strange pit did you crawl out of, stranger?"
Fueled by pure rage and much to everyone's surprise, Cabbagehead shakes off the majority of Nadya's evil eye effect.
Sebastian moves forward and stabs Cabbagehead. His rapier pierces the rubbery folds of flesh and foul blood begins to pour forth.
Cabbagehead roars in anger from Sebastian's attack and bull rushes forward into him. His massive bulk easily lifts Sebastian off the ground and tosses him backwards into the pit behind him. He lands hard into a pile of fetid excrement. Tiora and Kesker are trapped in this pit. They scream, "Sebastian!" and scurry over to assist him but they are starving and have little strength to do much. Like a wrestler on stage, Cabbagehead stomps his feet and flexes his muscles. "You hurt Cabbagehead! You get the pit!" He then spins around and points a sausage-like finger in Ayako's direction. "Liar lady is next!"
"" cries out Lucien as he sees his ally falling down in the pit behind him. Lucien tightens the grip on his sword, his mind carefully planning how and when to strike. He wants to attack Ayako. I must protect here.
Mustering his courage, Lucien moves forward, blocking the way between the brute and Ayako, then brings down his greatsworn on his foe with a fiery gaze of resolution.
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Ayako waves her hand and frost covers it as the air around her fingers grows terribly cold. Flicking them at Cabbagehead, the line of frost strikes him and freezes his rubbery skin.
The lines of frost strike Cabbagehead and he shakes them off as a minor nuisance. "Brr!"
Lucien swings his sword at Cabbagehead but the blade bounces off his thick hide. "You're going to have to hit harder than that!"
As the beastly thing rams into him, Sebastian reflexively stabs it again even as he's sent flying through the air.
Sebastian hollers as he flies through the air, grunting as his body crashes into the ground.
"Hello children," Sebastian says weakly as he stands up. He throws up in his mouth a little when he smells the filth he's landed in.
"I've seen enough. Cabbagehead, you're not hurting any more of my friends. Time for a nap." Nadya changes her focus to reach into Cabbagehead's mind to try to put him to sleep.
Sebastian's attack of opportunity comes close but fails to pierce Cabbagehead's hide. He gets flung into the pit without harming Cabbagehead any further.
"What? Nap? I don't want...Zzz..."
Cabbagehead succumbs to Nadya's slumber hex and falls asleep where he stands. The effect is only temporary though.
Sebastian secures his grappling hook to the top of the ledge and climbs back to the top easily enough.
Finish him, Lucian!
Ayako will move up and get ready to slash with her sickle once Lucian strikes.
"Well done, Nadya" says Lucien with her smile to his newfound ally. He turns to Ayako with a mortified expression written all over his face. "I can't, Ayako. It's not honorable to kill a sleeping foe. Even though it's a deformed monster who was complicit in kidnapping. I...I think that Sebastian could do it. I'm sorry."
Well..Let us push it into an unoccupied pit then.
Cabbagehead starts having nightmares and talking out loud. "No, Vreeg! Leave me alone! Zzz... I'm going to tell Rolth on you when he gets back! Zzz... I said stop it! Zzz..."
Ayako helps Sebastion and the other kids out
Unless Sebastian decides to finish him, Nadya will also help to get the prisoners out of one of the pits.
You help Tiora and Kesker out of the western pit. With Sebastian's rope, it is an easy enough task. When the second child is out, Cabbagehead begins to stir and you quickly push him off the ledge.
The fall jolts Cabbagehead awake and he roars in rage. "Hey! Let me out! When I get out, I'm going to smash your heads!"
Cabbagehead begins clawing at the wall. Currently, he only succeeds at tearing some rocks loose, but it's only a matter of time before he pulls himself back up.
Kesker and Tiora hug the party with tear filled eyes. "Please get us out of here. We want to go home. We're so scared."
"No, you won't" says calmy Lucien to the ogrekin. "If you get out of there, I will kill you".
"Calm down, kids. We are going to take you home. Come on guys, let's get the out of those pits" says the paladin as he works hard in order to the remaining kids out of the pits.
Ayako glares down at Cabbagehead. YOU STAY IN THAT PIT OR WE"LL TIE YOU UP AND LET VREEG BEAT YOU UP ALLLL DAY!
"No... don't get Vreeg."
You successfully intimidate and Cabbagehead stops attempting to climb out of the pit. Instead he simply paces around in frustration like a caged animal.
With the half-ogre subdued, you drop rope down the remaining pits and help the prisoners up. They are all starved, tired, and scared. They silently huddle around you and expectantly wait for direction. Occasionally someone let's out a quiet sob but are otherwise silent. They are too exhausted and frightened for conversation right now.
We should get them out, it is too risky to let them g on their own. Perhaps Col and Majenko can help.
"I agree. Those stirges could be back by now. Let's at least get them out to Col or Majenko and all the way out if we need to. We can always come back."
You lead the rescuees back towards the entrance. Col is still working in the western cavern to seal the tunnel to the Darklands but agrees that bringing the children and acolytes safely back to the Temple of Pharasma is more important. It will be safe enough traveling through the Gray during daylight hours but he will wait with the group at the cathedral now until you return. Majenko will join him as well.
You now have two options of where to head next. The passageway north of the prisoner pits or the room to the south of the alchemy lab.
Lucien was relieved for having been able to rescued both the children and the acolytes. "The priests will take care of you now" he said to them before joining his companions in the Dead Warrens again.
"I suggest we search the room to the south of the alchemy lab. It's always best to know what's behind you. When we're done there, we head north. Agree?" he asks to his allies. Strange. I've only known them for an hours or so, but I already feel involved in their venture. They're brave individuals and skilled adventurers.
South of the alchemy lab is fine.
You head back to the door south of the alchemy lab. The door has been hastily boarded over from the outside (your side). You can try to pry the boards off or bash the door down.
Lucien gazes upon his allies, a resolute expression on his face. "I can pry it open if needed "
Ayako pokes Sebastion with her wand since he was hurt in the fall.
Let us pry inside
"As you wish, milady" says Lucien before attemping to bash the door down.
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It takes you three minutes to pry all the boards from the door. It is a noisy process but does not seem to draw any attention. Once the boards are removed, the door opens easily.
This room, once a pantry, is in shambles. Broken crates and shelves lie strewn about the place, with the foodstuffs, firewood, and other supplies they once contained scattered across the floor.
A humanoid creature stands in the center of the room. It is a lurching mash-up of rotting flesh, jagged bone, and coarse hair that reeks of death and decay.
The golem clutches a severed arm marked with Shoanti tattoos. As soon as the door is opened, it turns and attacks you at once, wielding the arm like a club. There is no reasoning with this berserk construct.
An overwhelming foul stench of decay wafts out of the room emanating from the carrion golem. Ayako, Lucien, and Sebastian manage to shield their noses and stomach the stench, but Nadya is overwhelmed and vomits on the floor.
Creatures with the nauseated condition experience stomach distress. Nauseated creatures are unable to attack, cast spells, concentrate on spells, or do anything else requiring attention. The only action such a character can take is a single move action per turn.
Realizing that the carrion golem is going to be a challening task, Lucien picks up his potion of shield of faith and drinks it, stepping into the room to allow his companions to place themselves in good positions.
Nadya barely gets the warning about the golem out before she feels her last meal coming back up. She bends over and is sick all over the floor.
Ayako waits for Sebation to act.
Sebastian takes advantage of the golem being flat-footed and rushes past it to set up flanking. He recalls Nadya saying it is resistant to piercing weapons so he swings at it once with his mace. He fights defensively hoping to avoid the rotting golem's fists. However Sebastian gags from being so close to the creature's stench and fumbles the attack.
Lucien drinks his potion and Nadya is nauseated this round.
The raging golem turns towards Sebastian simply due to proximity. Despite Sebastian's attempt to avoid the golem's attacks, the construct swings the Shoanti's arm with surprising speed and pummels Sebastian over the head with it. The golem follows up with it's off hand and Sebastian just barely manages to dodge it.
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Lucien steps forward resolutely, now that he's the protection of his god, and swings his greatsword violently aiming for the golem's head.
"Come on Sebastian, we can do it!" he cries out confidently as he wades into the fray.
He avoids looking back to Nadya, but he's worried about her. We must end this soon! he thinks to himself as he strikes.
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For a moment, Nadya feels slightly better, having completely emptied her stomach on the floor. She begins to straighten back up, but is seized by a round of dry heaves that twist her insides and force her to bend back over with her hands on her knees. Finally, she manages to pull things back together again.
Ayako moves behind Lucian and casts Bless
Sebastian and Lucien both flank the golem and swing their respective weapons. The golem bats them both aside with its arms as if they were but a minor annoyance.
Nadya continues to retch but recovers after emptying her stomach this round.
The carrion golem divides its attack among the two fighters flanking him now. The severed arm comes down on Lucien but his armor absorbs all of the blow. Sebastian ducks and dodges out of the way of the high punch in his direction.
Ayako sends a sling bullet against the creature
Ayako lands the first blow. The bullet puts a nice dent in the creature's skull. The stone seems effective enough to cause damage.