Cira lets out a heavy sigh when she sees her bolt bounce uselessly off of the construct's head. And then it started to undo the damage Francis had inflicted on it.
Wonderful.
She slides a new bolt into her crossbow, briefly wondering if she should use what would essentially be her last spell until she had time to rest.
She decided against that though, and aimed the crossbow at the automaton ahead of her. With the way things were going, she figured she should probably save what spells she could for whatever was waiting for them down the road.
She tries her best to aim around her allies surrounding the construct, squeezing the trigger, sending the bolt flying for the head - and hoping it would be enough to do... anything.
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Grargath hacks into the already damaged arm, the blade driving deep into the constructs delicate machinery. The clockwork contraption stumbles, giving Kade an opening to deliver a thundering knee strike. Finally, Cira's bolt flies true, punching through the glass plate on the automaton's face. The light beneath flickers and then dies. The clockwork servant lies still.
"Ha!" Grargath sheathes his axe as the clockwork contraption shuts down.
"I'm beginnin' t' think th' gods are smilin' on us. Yer doin', I suppose?" he winks at Francis. Grargath makes a mental note to check out that lever if no one else gets to it first, and goes to inspect the room more closely for anything of interest, besides the obviously magical floating key. Probably better if the magic users checked that out first anyway. Could very well be another trap.
"That was" Marcus says as he lowers his blade, breathing heavily; "easier than I expected." Looking down on the ruined contraption with a mixture of pride and regret.
ingenious device
Marcus casts Detect Magic and looks about the area, searching for anything interesting.
Cira grins at Francis as she puts the crossbow away. "That was definitely quite a swing. I'm impressed."
Moving to stand next to the now stationary metal being, she begins pulling various bits and pieces of it aside as she intently studies its parts and inner workings. She was sure there were more important things she could be doing, but she also couldn’t imagine ever having the chance to look so closely over something like this again. It was truly a brilliant machine, and she couldn’t help but be in awe of it.
And maybe there was something of value to be found in it as well.
"Thank you" Marcus says as he feels Francis' healing magic wash over him.
"Truly impressive work between you, Grargath and Kade. Woe betide any who oppose this group. We've yet to find any kobold down here yet, apart from those two above. I suspect when we find kobold again, we'll find our reason for the collapse."
Then again, looking again at the ruined machine before them he mutters.
"Though it would be strange that any could get past that thing without a fight. Maybe they had this crest it was looking for."
Francis lifts up his holy symbol and a powerful wave of holy energy washes over the group, healing acid burns and wounds from battle.
Grargath pats himself down as he feels the lingering pain from the sludge vanish. "Thanks, lad."
"Truly impressive work between you, Grargath and Kade. Woe betide any who oppose this group. We've yet to find any kobold down here yet, apart from those two above. I suspect when we find kobold again, we'll find our reason for the collapse."
Then again, looking again at the ruined machine before them he mutters.
"Though it would be strange that any could get past that thing without a fight. Maybe they had this crest it was looking for."
Grargath grins at the compliment. "Aye, tha' seems likely," he says in response to the kobolds. "Hopefully we're gettin' close."
Grargath shakes his as he searches the room. He eyes the lever with lingering curiosity. Might as well try it now. Maybe they'll find another secret passage. He moves to pull the lever.
Looking around the room Marcus determines the only magical thing left is the floating key.
"Well the key seems to be the only magic left in this room, I haven't a clue what it is for, however." Turning to Cira he queries, "Maybe you have some idea what this floating key is for?"
Noticing Grargath approaching the lever, Marcus nods and prepares for what might pop out next.
Archdemon this time, no doubt.
Cira is pulled from her study of the automaton as she feels the warm wave of healing energy emanating from Francis wash over her. Looking down to her arm, she sees that the shallow wound is completely gone and smiles her thanks to Francis.
She’s just about to go back to inspecting the defunct contraption when she hears Marcus speak.
Turning to Cira he queries, "Maybe you have some idea what this floating key is for?"
"What? Oh right. The key. Sorry.” She takes a step back and passes her outstretched hand over the key, casting Detect Magic.
"There's a faint aura of conjuration around it," she murmurs after a moment. Reaching up, she plucks the key from the air to get a closer look. "The key itself isn't magic," she says, turning it over in her hand. "The aura was coming from the spell holding it in place." She looks around and shrugs. "I don't think it has anything to do with this room, though."
She slips the key into her bag and nods to Grargath. "Let's see what the lever does."
Kade didn't move away from the clockwork creature upon the latter's defeat. Instead he watched as Cira began probing its innards, revealing dozens, no, hundreds of gears and parts within. The metal man was really purely mechanical then? Kade was honestly amazed, although on his face this merely translated to a slight lift of the eyebrows. He had never even considered it possible to create something so complex as an entire being without magic.
The powers of technology was perhaps something to consider at another time. Right now Kade was content that everyone had come away from the machine unharmed (especially so thanks to that flash of energy from Francis), and shifted focus to the room they found themselves in. The lever and floating key (Well, that's certainly not tech,) were the two items of interest.
He briefly considered offering to grab the conspicuous key, but decided against it. His recent caper with the cipher was still too new for the party to let him get away with that. And besides, with no guarantee that the key was trapped or that said hypothetical trap only affected whoever grabbed it, there was no point.
Instead Kade settled for readying himself for the first sign of trouble should the lever Grargath was eyeing unleash something disagreeable.
The lever is stiff with age, but after a moment of pulling it gives way. A scraping, clanking noise can be heard from the room the party just came through.
Further inspection reveals that the floor of that room had dropped away, revealing a 10-foot-deep pit.
Grargath stares down into the pit that has just opened up.
"Tha's a nasty drop," he mutters, and looks up to Kade. "Good thing we got th' pass phrase right, eh?" He grimaces as he takes a look around the room. "Looks like tha's all th' lever did. Shame. I was half expectin' t' find th' treasure that imp was talkin' about."
Marcus looks at the drop, then to Kade.
"Again I appreciate your bravery, friend."
Looking down the only remaining hallway he saysaid wistfully.
"Maybe it's down that hall, a vast hoard unguarded by any more horrible monsters." He sighs, then "at least the baroness' reward is likely down that hall. Shall we?"
He hefts his blade and buckler, prepared to move on.
Cira peeks back out through the previous door, eyes widening when she sees the deep pit. Knowing that they had been standing directly over it made her a bit sick.
She looks towards Marcus. ”I’m glad you remembered what the ghost was saying. That would have been a nasty fall for Kade otherwise.”
She listens for a moment as Grargath and Marcus discuss the possible treasure. Truthfully, after all that had happened, from losing out on their earnings from their caravan job to the nastiness they’d faced since entering the tower, she was starting to hope for some kind of compensation at the end of it all.
Hopefully the imp had been telling the truth.
With a quiet sigh she moves to follow the group into the next hallway.
The hall turns north ending at a locked heavy iron door.
A trapped room that dropped you ten feet down a pit, a clockwork servant guarding the room right after, and now another locked door. Grargath wasn't sure what to think about where they were headed. He hoped they were headed for the treasure the imp had spoken about, but he remained uncomfortably aware that they hadn't found the source of the tower's collapse yet.
Grargath glances at Cira and shrugs. "If one key opens ev'ry door down here, they did a poor job designin' th' place. But I'll go ahead an' try mine first, jus' in case."
He walks up to the door and tries his iron key on the door.
Grargath's key does not work.
Cira pulls the key from her bag and moves next to Grargath, sliding the large key into the keyhole and turning it hopefully.
Cira's key fits and turns easily, unlocking the door. The room beyond is covered in dirt, dust, and broken stone. An area along the south wall is enclosed in a cage of thick iron bars that extend from floor to ceiling. Within the enclosure sits seven black iron chests. To the north, the stone wall has collapsed, revealing a roughhewn tunnel.
A pair of dead kobolds lie on the floor.
As the group files into the dusty room Marcus' eyes light up at the chests.
"Maybe that's the treasure! Then he notices the rather formidable iron bars surrounding the chests "Crap, hope we have a key or something."
Although we do have several strong arms in this group, perhaps we can break the bars if need be.
Looking about, he sees the dead kobolds,"Love the decor, we're getting close I think." Thinking further "Um, wonder what killed them..."
Cira eyes follow Marcus' gaze to the dark chests locked behind the cage of iron. She clutches the key in her hand, expecting a door to use it on, but...
”I don’t see an opening anywhere,” she says, frowning in confusion.
Walking forward, she skirts around the dead kobolds, thinking on them and the rough tunnel nearby only for a moment before checking around the cage and the surrounding room for another way into the enclosure. There had to be one somewhere.
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As Cira steps forward to use her key, Francis prays to Sarenrae for guidance.
"Cira, I'm glad your key worked. As much as I was looking forward to using the machine man as a battering ram this was much easier." as they walk into the room and see the dead kobolds lying on the floor, Francis quickly scans the room to make sure there aren't any surprises waiting.
More dead kobolds. They must be getting close.
"Maybe that's the treasure!" Then he notices the rather formidable iron bars surrounding the chests "Crap, hope we have a key or something."
Grargath's eyes light up as he looks through the iron bars. "Well, we got a couple keys 'ere. They look too thick to jus' break down." He frowns, searching for any kind of opening in the bars that look like they might fit one of their keys.
”I don’t see an opening anywhere,” she says, frowning in confusion.
"Aye, I don' either lass. There must be somethin'...."
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As Francis looks around the room, he notices two slots on the floor near the treasure. "Hey guys, there are slots in the ground over there by the treasure."
After saying his piece, he stoops down to carefully examine the dead kobolds.
"These Kobolds were killed recently. The blood is still fresh. It looks like whatever killed them ate part of them too. They've been pretty heavily ravaged.
Keep your eyes peeled. Whatever killed them is probably still nearby. Don't get so focused on the treasure it has a chance to get the jump on us."
"Chests are probably full of sand anyway" grumbles Marcus as he glares around the room warily. "Or more giant centipedes."
Cira grimaces at Francis' description of the kobolds and looks around nervously, eyes lingering on the tunnel opening. "Something tells me we'll be finding out for ourselves soon enough."
"Chests are probably full of sand anyway" grumbles Marcus as he glares around the room warily. "Or more giant centipedes."
She looks at the chests somewhat longingly, but smiles at Marcus. ”But then again, maybe not, right?”
She kneels next to one of the slots in the ground, running a finger over it as she thinks about what it could be for. After a moment of contemplation, an idea comes to mind. ”Hey Grargath,” she calls over, slipping her mithral dagger from her belt. ”I want to try something. Could you go to the other slot and put your fancy dagger into it?” She slides her own into the small opening and waits on Grargath.
A treasure chest was an inherently intriguing thing, no doubt about that. Seven of them even more so. But Kade's attention was drawn elsewhere. The kobold corpses meant that the party were nearing their goal. The tunnel, no doubt the work of the tunneling species, showed them exactly where to go next. But the owner of the scaly legs moving in the dark could spell the end of their search, in more ways than one.
Every muscle in Kade's body tensed. He knew what he had seen. Did it know? Had the kobold noticed that he had detected it? His eyes were merely human and no good in the dark; he had seen it retreat further into the passage, but couldn't be sure if it wasn't still watching. Would it attack the second he gave any acknowledgement of its existence? What if there were actually multiple of them, there in that dark chasm? The others hadn't noticed. For one long moment Kade stood still and rigid as a rock, locked in a stare-down with the increasingly intimidating black maw. His imagination ran wild with images of a full on assault as soon as he stirred.
His body moved before his mind could reach a decision. No, there was no use in deliberating. If they were watching then the element of surprise was entirely on their side. The best thing Kade could do was to negate that advantage.
Without taking his eyes off the tunnel even once he moved over to where the others were pondering over the chests.
"Guys," he started, speaking very quietly and very intently. "We're not alone."
When met with questioning looks Kade raised one hand and pointed to the hole in the wall.
"Kobold."
Hearing the quiet seriousness in Kade's voice, Cira's head snaps up to look at him, her eyes then following his outstretched hand.
Good job, Cira. So focused on the valuables, you completely missed the important stuff.
Rising slowly from the floor, dagger back in hand, she she moves next to him. "Are you sure?" she asks quietly. "What did you see?"
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"Legs. Scaly legs. Can't see them now. They retreated into the tunnel."
Try as he might, Kade couldn't make out the shape he had seen earlier in the dark. But then, perhaps there was something to be done about that darkness. He looked to the torch Marcus had given him, still radiating merry beams of light.
Now that the others were warned, Kade felt just a bit more daring. Raising his hand slowly back he suddenly threw the scintillating stick towards the mouth of the tunnel. Either the kobold was still there watching or it had retreated further in. Hopefully they were about to find out.
Marcus watches the torch fly in fascination. Kade sure had a direct approach to danger and he quite appreciated it. Made it easier to shove a blade into said danger.
He generally found stabbing things to be a good way to solve problems. At least when in underground torture dungeons full of ghosts, machines, kobolds and God's knows what else.
"We'll, here we go." He mutters as he prepares for hordes of screaming kobolds to boil out of the hole like a kicked bee hive.
”Hey Grargath,” she calls over, slipping her mithral dagger from her belt. ”I want to try something. Could you go to the other slot and put your fancy dagger into it?” She slides her own into the small opening and waits on Grargath.
Grargath looks at Cira, confused. "Th' dagger? Are yah sure?" He pulls his out and examines it, when he notices the strange notches on the hilt. I can't believe I missed those! Clever lass.
He's about to move to the opposite slot when he hears Kade's voice.
"Guys," he started, speaking very quietly and very intently. "We're not alone... Kobold."
Grargath quickly spins around, dagger in hand ready to fight. "Kobolds? Are yah sure, Kade?" As the monk tosses the light into the tunnel where the kobold was spotted, Grargath readies his shield and switches out the dagger for his trusty axe. "Hopefully we didn' jus' wake up wha'ever ate those two," he mutters, glancing aside to the dead kobolds sharing the room with them.
What comes around the corner is no kobold, although it drags a partially gnawed one by its neck. Gaunt, hairless, and humanoid, its pale, paperlike flesh stretches taut over its bones. The creature's teeth and claws are long and sharp, and it appears to be bleeding thin, black liquid from a shoulder wound.
The monster shrieks and charges. It leaps on to Grargath, sinking its fangs deep into the fighter's shoulder.
Realizing he doesn't want to block the path to the monster savaging Grargath, Marcus moves forward and begins a song about the might of good vs evil, in the backdrop of a dragon slaying knight.
His throat begins to strain, and Marcus knows his singing voice is nearly spent for the day.
Bardic music 1/6 rounds remain
That's not the kobold I... No, wait, there it is. Oh.
Out of the tunnel came a creature that looked like something that should have stayed in its dirt pit. The kobold had met an end more unfortunate than anything the party had planned for it. The emaciated thing repulsed Kade. It set off instincts he didn't even know he had; instincts that told him this creature was all wrong.
Said instincts were also largely redundant as the monster proved its wickedness by immediately jumping for Grargath. Kade leapt into action too late. He was no dragon slayer out of Marcus's song, but he wasn't about to let his companion get savaged just like that.
One fist flew forward, aiming straight for the creature's shrunken stomach.
Cira tries to yell a warning to Grargath, but in her surprise and panic when she sees this horrible creature, all she can manage is a strained yelp. Moving backwards, she pulls out her crossbow, quickly loading it and taking aim at... whatever it is.
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Grargath cries out as the beast sinks its fangs into him. "I thought yah said it was a kobold!" he shouts as he raises his axe to swing at the creature.
Grargath's body rapidly locks up. The dwarf finds himself unable to move. Luckily, the creature turns to face Kade; the monk would keep it from snacking on the immobile dwarf. As it does, a bolt from Francis's crossbow plunges into its gut.
Howling in pain, the monster attacks Kade. Grabbing the monk's arm in its mouth, it opens deep gashes in his gut with razor-tipped claws.
Watching fearfully as Grargath’s form becomes rigid and unmoving, Cira places another bolt into her crossbow with trembling hands. As she takes aim, Francis’ own bolt rips through the creature’s middle, but instead of faltering, she watches as it turns and attacks Kade, cutting him down in a matter of seconds.
”Kade!”
Fighting back angry tears at what looks to be the potential loss of not one, but two of her companions, Cira takes a deep breath, steadying herself as best she can, then lets loose yet another bolt.
The monster looks as if its about to rush Marcus next before Cira's bolt hits it in the neck. It collapses, black ichor gushing from the wound. It convulses for a moment before dying.
"What in the hells was that thing?" Marcus shouts as he rushes forward to render what aid he could to the downed monk and the .. paralyzed?.. dwarf.
He had been horrified to see Grargath stiffen up, then Kade go down. Luckily Cira's marksmanship had been sufficient to take the monster down, though he dearly would have loved to take it apart with his longsword. That would have to wait and he works to render what aid he could to his companions.
The arrow whizzed past Kade's ear and into the fanged creature's neck. He wasn't sure where it'd come from - had to be either Francis or Cira - but it was a real nice shot. He didn't know what drove this monstrosity, whether hate, envy or hunger, but he saw it leaving the creature as it went limp and released his arm from its teeth. Hearing the monster's death rattle didn't give him any pleasure, only relief that the thing was gone from this world. Spindly legs giving out, it fell into a heap at Kade's feet, dislodged its clawed hand from his perforated stomach in the process. There was a bloody hole where abdomen used to be. And that's when the pain started.
This wasn't the sharp pain of the centipede mandibles earlier. That pain called for action, for retaliation. This was a dulling pain. This was a pain that ran through his body like molten iron, incapacitating every limb. The stuff was pouring from his core as pulses of agony. He felt heavy. Was someone calling his name? He couldn't tell; the same sluggishness that affected his body had reached his mind. He managed to lift his uninjured arm up to his stomach, this seemed important. What he found was soft. Was the molten iron real or just something his pain-addled mind imagined? He could swear that he smelled iron. As his head drooped forward he found the probable cause. That was quite a lot of blood.
Kade decided to sit. He felt that sitting was imperative, especially in light of the fact his legs didn't feel like they would hold him. It did worry him, however, that he felt something trying to come out of his stomach wound in doing so. Who was this now? Someone was coming up next to him. Marcus, judging from the build. Why was his vision going blurry now? Didn't matter. Despite everything Kade did know that much; he still knew what was really important. He turned his head toward what was probably Marcus.
"Is Grargath... alright?"
She hears Marcus asking a question, but can’t find it in her to answer.
While he works on stabilizing Grargath and Kade, Cira drops her crossbow, raising a hand to cover her mouth as she holds her breath, glancing back and forth between each of them. Her other hand moves to her chest, fingering the space where her crystal used to rest as her mind races.
Grargath was one thing. Poison could be cured, and for that she was immensely thankful. But Kade? Her stomach turns as she looks at him again, shocked at the amount of blood that was steadily trickling from his wound. It was a frightening amount. She knew healers could do amazing things, but seeing such a severe wound in person… she was having a hard time wrapping her head around it.
She couldn't believe he was still conscious and standing upright. And then he sat clumsily, a dazed look on his face as he glanced down at his stomach. She sits on the ground next to him, placing a hand on his back and uninjured arm to help steady him. There wasn’t much else she could do.
”I'm… so sorry," she says quietly. She squeezes his arm, giving him a shaky smile. "Just... hang on. Marcus and Francis will fix you up." She hoped she sounded convincing.
"Is Grargath... alright?"
She chuckles wearily. Of course he was asking about someone else, even as wounded as he was. "I think he'll be okay. Let's focus on you for now, alright?"
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"Hang on Kade and Grargath. I'll get you patched up. Francis says. He pulls out his holy symbol and instructs the others "Help Kade over to Grargath so I can heal them both."
When the others are done he channels divine energy, sending a healing wave out around him. As the wave washes over Kade and Grargath, their wounds begin to close.
He decides to do it again..
Next Francis lays his hand on Kade and calls out to Sarenrae "Holy Dawnflower, please grant me your healing power." Holy energy courses through Francis, and spreads into Kade's body.[/b]
Francis stumbles for a second and then smiles weakly as he straightens back up. "I'm afraid the only healing I can do is channeling healing energy one more time. I suggest once we examine this treasure chest we take a break for the rest of the day to rest and recuperate."
Grargath feels his body lock up as he reaches to attack the creature. Helpless, he can only watch in horror as...
Howling in pain, the monster attacks Kade. Grabbing the monk's arm in its mouth, it opens deep gashes in his gut with razor-tipped claws.
Kade! Dammit, wha' did the monster infect me with!? He continues to struggle against the paralysis as he suddenly hears it howl in pain and drop with a thud to the ground.
"Is Grargath... alright?"
Dinnae worry about me, lad. I saw wha' tha' monster did t' yah. Grargath continues to struggle to move, to see, to do anything. He silently cursed himself, he hated to be powerless like this, unable to help or even to know what was going on.
"Hang on Kade and Grargath. I'll get you patched up. Francis says. He pulls out his holy symbol and instructs the others "Help Kade over to Grargath so I can heal them both."
When the others are done he channels divine energy, sending a healing wave out around him. As the wave washes over Kade and Grargath, their wounds begin to close.
Thank yah, Francis. I dinnae know wha' we'd 'ave done without yah.
"I'm afraid the only healing I can do is channeling healing energy one more time. I suggest once we examine this treasure chest we take a break for the rest of the day to rest and recuperate."
Grargath shakes his arm as the feeling begins to return to his limbs and the rest of the body. Relieved, he turns around to see what's been happening behind him. It looked like Kade would live to fight another day. Thank Torag for that. Though it was Sarenrae, wasn't it? the dwarf corrects himself.
"Aye, I agree. Tha' was a close call. Who knows wha' else is waitin' for us past tha'... tha' thing."
Marcus looks at the dug out hole dubiously.
"This room doesn't seem to be very secure, unless we can lock ourselves in with those chests and I feel the mystery we are chasing is right around the corner. On the other hand, I have also nearly exhausted my magic and rest can only help" I hope "my poisoned leg."
Then, looking at the chests in the room; the bard's eyes light up with avarice.
"That would, also, give us some time to investigate these chests here as well."
He then thinks of the mission they are on. How long would the Baroness give them before getting upset at their lack of results. Surely treking back to town was no option, he had no money to pay for a round anyway, let alone a room. No, they needed to solve this mystery as soon as possible. Yet they needed rest, he didn't know the right choice.
Turning to the group he sighs and says. "I will do whatever you all decide, I don't know what the best option is"