Ami looks in the room and confirms the number of pâté pugs.
He turns to give Mahdi and Alde the 'I-see-two-baddies' military hand gesture. He adds a reenactment of the first's head exploding (the exploding head gesture) and punctuates that with a mirthful giggle.
Round AoO
Ami:
to hit;
to hit;
damage.
Yeen:
to hit; (bite)
damage.
Yeen takes a solid bite out of the pug, but his jaws are met with some sort of resistance on the hide of the creature. It is badly wounded but still is able to make it to its destination.
Round 3, Init 23
Ami and Yeen 5' step back to get good whacks in on the Pugs and create flanks.
Ami:
to hit;
to hit;
damage.
Yeen:
to hit; (bite)
damage.
to hit; (claw)
damage.
to hit; (claw)
damage.
Pot Crit:
to hit;
to hit;
damage.
Round 4, Initiative 21
Weapon Equipped = Guisarme
Bolts = 8 of 10
Conditions = None
Aldebert moves back to the doorway and readies an action to attack the remaining pug should it leave the room.
Readied attack
or
"Good work holding them in place and thinning their numbers Amiamble. Good job!"
The combined attacks of Yeen and Ami take out the brave pugwampi. Only one remains, as Aldebert readies for it to come for him.
Round 4, Init 8
The lone pugwampi stares at Yeenoghu and begins making high-pitched barking noises at the cat.
But fails to say anything too threatening to the large feline.
Round 4, Init 15
Mahdi purses his lips as the doorway remains clear of any he might take a shot at. He raises the crossbow, walks past Amiable into the room, then levels it at the creature from ten feet away.
"You should have run while you still could, vermin. I tire of this."
With great vengeance and furious anger, Mahdi steps into the room and smites down upon the last pugwampi. The impact of the bolt sends the gremlin flying across the room in a heap, no longer yipping or yapping.
And so, after much thought, you realized that joining up with Almah Roveshki, merchant princess, would be the most advantageous in the long run. Being able to serve as a healer to those dedicated to a good cause was exciting and new! The wording of the letter was a little odd, though. Why did Gring use words like "servitude"? That seemed peculiar, but the concern was quickly dismissed.
As you headed to Solku to meet at the arranged time and place, a horrific realization fell upon you. You were late! And not only that, but the caravan had already left without you! Surely, Gringlib would be really upset if you skipped out on your job, as he seemed to put a lot of effort into securing this position for you. What other option was there than to follow?
Days passed in the sweltering heat, but the tracks and trail were easy enough to follow. The heat was unbearable at times though, and the thought of cool shade seemed like a passing dream each day. And then, finally, something came into view! A building, old and likely abandoned, but with enough walls and roof to provide a brief respite from the warmth. You were still certain the tracks went this way, so it seemed like a logical plan. Perhaps the caravan came this way for a break as well.
As you walk within the walls of the abadoned monastery, old images of Sarenrae appear left and right. Though the sun outside was hot and deadly, the monastery provides a reminder that is also nurtures life. Indeed Sarenrae, the beautiful Sun, is entwined with all things. But before you can rest too comfortably, sounds of men come from a hallway to the south. It seems you are not alone in this abandoned monastery after all...
With the grueling battle finished, the party is finally able to catch their breath for a brief moment as silence permeates the halls of the monastery. However, the calm doesn't last long, as the sounds of small feet can be heard shuffling through the archway to the north, back into the main, great hall .
Ami eyes bow mirthfully as Mahdi's bolt takes down the last pugwamp. The glee only lasts a moment as he hears sounds coming from the entrance.
Hopeful for a gnoll incursion, Ami loads his staffsling and follows behind Aldebert when he moves in that direction.
GNOLLS!
To Mahdi: [b]All that money spent on your education and shoot like a sniper. Well done./[b]
Hazim readies himself, shakes the pain of his wounds away. And then prepares for more confrontation.
Mahdi gives his brother a bright, sly grin that makes him look younger than his twenty years.
"Every now and then I can still surprise you, Hazim," he teases-- then they hear more feet, and amusement fades.
"For an abandoned monastery," Mahdi mutters, "this place is damned crowded."
He heads after the halflings and his brother, brow furrowed as he notes he is still not fully healed from the spider's bites.
This is great. Sarenrae, why do you keep punishing me so?! I can't be late, and now it's guaranteed. Pent tries to load his crossbow, drops the bolt, picks it up as he drops the crossbow. He looks towards the approaching sounds, throws down the bolt, and tries to hide as best he can.
Ami looks at Aldebert and nods, giving his brother halfling a 'you go that-a-way, i'll go this-a-way' gesture.
Ami spurs the Yeenoghu to the north of the very odd small humanoid. Ami will get in line for a clear shot about 25' way and twirl his staffsling, wondering what is going to happen next.
Brother will know what to do.
Mahdi blinks at the figure-- that's no pugwampi.
He re-loads his crossbow just in case, but stares in the direction of the pillar without aiming it.
"You don't look to be one of the dog-faced wretches infesting this place," he calls out. "But thank you for the free crossbow, little shadow!"
Hazim stands at the ready, not sure what to make yet of the hiding gnome. Hazim keeps his weapons at his sides, down but ready. Hazim attempts to make eye contact with the gnome to indicate that Hazim can see him. When eye contact is made, Hazim gives a slight nod.
Aldebert readies his guisarme, but he does not close or strike.
Gnomes are not Gnolls though their names are similar.
"Hail! What are you doing out here exactly? I'm Aldebert, me and my friends here are commissioned to clear the place out."
"Hey, hey, hey, hey!!! I paid good money for that crossbow, oh." A very late realization that he's been engaged in conversation dawns on the gnome's face, the failed attempt to hide obvious now.
"By the looks of you, you must be defeated or done. I hope done. Who commissioned you? I'm due to report to Gravel for my orders. I'm a soldier now. I got orders." Pent slowly approaches his crossbow, like a small dog trying to bite at scraps with bigger dogs afoot.
"My name is Pent, and I'd appreciate if you could point me in the direction of that camp." Pent eyes Hazim, and nods in return. "I don't have any money on me, if you're weighing your options." Pent eyes Mahdi, as his hand makes contact with his crossbow. He completely forgets about the bolt.
"We're not thieves," Mahdi says disdainfully.
(Okay, his brother sometimes is, but Hazim has done his best to keep that bit of his past from Mahdi's full knowledge, and Mahdi, in turn, doesn't think about it much.)
"Pent, is it? Well met, which is more than Garavel will say to you. Our mutual commander lacks charm," Mahdi says with a drawl, and disengages the bolt from his crossbow again as it seems no violence is brewing.
"We can escort you back to the camp once we are done, which is not quite yet. There's a few corners we've not poked our heads into. Also, spiders about, and pugwampis, if you know what they are.
"I am Mahdi al-Jabira. My brother, Hazim. I will let our good halflings speak for themselves."
"Pent, my brother is Amiamble" Aldebert gestures to his brother, "And as Mahdi said, we're not quite done yet. When we are though, we'd be happy to escort you to our dour employer and make introductions."
"If you could just wait over there, we'll be with you shortly."
With that, Aldebert moves to the door of the next chamber and prepares for more spiders, pugs, baboons, or worse!
Garavel sent *him*? To help us or the pugwampii?
Ami nods to Pent during Aldebert's introduction, not taking his eyes off the gnome or his unloaded crossbow. A low growl escapes from the cat.
Ami absentmindedly strokes Yeenoghu's neck to calm the cat down. He eventually leans down to whisper in the cat's ear.
"Oh calm down, kitty. I'm sure he's harmless."
* * *
Only mostly disappointed at not seeing any gnolls to kill, Ami whirls on Yeenoghu and returns to A17, standing at the doorway and peering in.
Perception
If the coast looks clear, he will nod to Aldebert to enter, and he will follow.
A17
Three long wooden tables and dozens of chairs that once lined this mess hall are in shambles, mostly rotted away with the passage of years. Light shines through several large holes in the ceiling, illuminating a closed door on the east wall.
A18
Ten bunk beds in various stages of disrepair fill this chamber, which must once have been a dormitory for students. The roof is mostly intact, and an open arch in the north wall leads to a large hallway. The east and west walls both bear sturdy wooden doors leading to other rooms, and an open arch in the south corner of the room leads into a darkened antechamber, perhaps a large closet.
In the southern end of this chamber, a door blocks off further entry. A collection of mold has grown through the cracks, which seem to make it difficult to open.
If Garavel sent you, then you are welcome to come with us. We still have a few more areas to secure. Just try and hold your crossbow a bit more securely. I don't want to accidently get shot in the back. Or front.
If Pwent comes, Hazim suggests the group heads back to the door he missed earlier. He also checks on the now catatonic Malki to see if he can get some healing out of Lacali.
Ami and Yeenoghu carefully pad up to the mold, stopping short of eating any.
Know (Nature)
Perception
If it looks safe, Ami will put his back into opening the door.
Str Check
Str Check
Str Check
Str Check
Tired of failing, Ami looks around for help in opening the door.
Unfortunately, Ami is unable to figure out what the mold is, and finds himself unable to open the door.
Malki will channel again for those that need aid.
Aldebert, seeing his brothers frustration, steps up to help open the door.
Sadly, Aldebert is also unable to budge the door open.
Ami goes to help his brother.
vs. DC 10 = +4 to aid,
vs. DC 10 = +4 to aid,
vs. DC 10 = +4 to aid,
vs. DC 10 = +4 to aid.
Ami looks at his brother and nods, counting so that they strain at the same times.
vs. DC 10 to aid Aldebert;
vs. DC 10 to aid Aldebert;
vs. DC 10 to aid Aldebert;
vs. DC 10 to aid Aldebert.
Aldebert's rolls:
Str vs. Door (Aldebert);
Str vs. Door (Aldebert);
Str vs. Door (Aldebert);
Str vs. Door (Aldebert).
The combined effort of the Piddlespot brothers is finally enough to force open the moldy door. Behind it, a mold-encrusted stairway leads down into darkness.
Aldebert heaves open the door and looks to the darkness.
"A little help brother?", Aldebert begs for light from his trusted companion. Assuming he gets it, Aldebert will cautiously descend into the darkness carrying his guisarme high providing light to the dim spaces of the earth.
Mahdi is fussing over his brother's injuries, at least until the channel goes off, so he comes late to the door-party.
"Hold a moment before you go plunging into that mold! It could be toxic," he says, hurrying forward to examine it.
@Mahdi: You know this particular type of mold isn't poisonous or toxic. However, the distribution of the mold is far less random than what it normally looks like growing along walls.
Mahdi tilts his head in slight bemusement.
"This species isn't innately dangerous," he says slowly, "but it almost looks as if it were intentionally grown along these walls. Gardened, even. Perhaps it's an edible species. Or perhaps it's there to conceal something under the moss!"
His eyes alight with the thought he might have discovered some ~secret~, Mahdi uses his dagger to scrape away some of the thickest moss.
Ami casts light on Aldebert's guisarme and listens to Mahdi's wisdom before going down the stairs.
That was nice of Mahdi to explain that.
Mahdi glances over to the others to see if they respect his genius observation, then frowns as he notices Ami going down the stairs.
"Hold on, hold on!" he calls. "Look, if that door was budged so solid it took you several tries to batter it down, and if someone is intentionally growing this moss-- then that someone must reach this spot of the wall via those stairs you're about to charge down! You might be heading into a nest of the pugs-- or something more dire. We should all go together."
Unfortunately, the moss seems to be hiding only the craftmanship of the walls and nothing else. The mold continues down all the way to the bottom of the stairs and into the room beyond.
Mahdi harrumphs to himself in irritation. "Very well. Now we may continue."
He gestures his ~permission~ to the Piddlepost brothers, and follows them down the stairs.
Aldebert hesitates as Mahdi checks out the mold, then happily continues on when he's done.
Ami continues into the room at the bottom after taking a quick look around.
Perception
Hazim hunches down, tries to move from corner to corner, shadow to shadow, to scout ahead. He looks around the room.
Perception
stealth
The gnome continues following and stays close behind, seemingly ignoring Aldebert's command to wait back. Malki decides to hang back at the top of the stairs, waiting to warn of any more pugwampi ambushes coming their way.
A19
This chamber seems to be an enormous laboratory. Against the north and south walls are two identical daises raised about five feet from the laboratory floor, each accessed by a wide set of curved stairs. Atop each dais is a wide workbench covered in a bewildering series of glass beakers, tubes, alembics, athanors, and other alchemical tools. Some of these containers are filled with a murky green substance.
A massive mold-encrusted basalt table dominates the entrance of the room, flanked by two small tables to the east and west containing surgical tools and sheaves of old parchment. The walls of the subterranean lab were clearly fashioned from the living rock under the monastery, but carefully cut mold-encrusted tiles line the floor, interrupted occasionally by metal drains the size of dinner plates.
@Hazim: The room is deathly silent and cold, the smell of mold strong in your nostrils.
Once Hazim gives the signal to follow, Mahdi steps after his brother, peering around with intrigued eyes. He is no alchemist, but the basic tools of the trade are not entirely unknown to him either-- iron does not powder itself, after all, nor does a toadstool dry itself, nor does eye of newt come unless you start with a newt. Mahdi's last master had been of the school that thought that apprentices should pay their dues by long hours preparing their own components.
The mold is everywhere. Mahdi makes a little face of distaste at it, and, because his typist is a dipface, will now consult knowledge of plants rather than his knowledge of dungeons, as he should have done from the start.
He'll also detect some magic up in here, y'all.
Aldebert moves into the room, revealing a door in the north. The lab, in all it's complexity, doesn't interest Aldebert much. He'd rather be in the wide open spaces of the surface...
"Mahdi, see anything valuable among all this stuff?"
Ami follows Aldebert around for a bit in the room before getting bored and searching a bit.
@Mahdi: Your study of nature only turns up the same information that you knew before. There are no magical auras in this room.
@Aldebert:
@Hazim: As you quietly search around, you see a number of documents on the southern table that look interesting. They are some of the only papers here that aren't completely ruined and are still legible. As you look at them, they appear to be formulas of some sort, but aren't labeled as to what they are exactly.
As the party slowly pokes around the old, abandoned laboratory, one of the beakers full of thick sludge suddenly begins to shake violently. A moment later, another beaker follows suit on the other side of the room. The glass containers fall off of the tables, shattering on the floor. The green sludge that was within each beaker begins to congeal on the floor and writhe around.
Round 1
Aldebert. . . 19
Mahdi. . . 15
Amiamble. . . 15
Pent. . . 13
Hazim. . . 7
Slime 2. . . 4
Slime 1. . . 3