Tahata nods appreciatively at the praise then follows Losjien and Durian into the pungent room, knowing that Maitoh must be suffering with the intensity of the smell coming from the algae. "This does not look like a healthy environment," he says, peering at the pond, careful not to touch any of the plants.
As the group moves into the room they do not notice anything particularly interesting about the layer of muck. Durian does however glimpse animal bones sticking out of the pond. He does not have long to look before he gets a great view of a large vermin bursting from the water. The smell of the creature is so bad you can almost taste and see it. All of your stomachs clench and you fight not to be sickened.
Gortrek, Durian, Tahata and Miyagi are sickened for three rounds.
Losjien and Tahata both recognize it as a Belostomatid, its bite can briefly paralyze and weaken its enemies.
As it bursts forth it tries to bite Durian.
miss
Bold may act
[u] Round 1 [/u]
Belostomatid
Gortrek, Durian, Tahata, Kagyu, Losjien, Miyagi
Sickened
The character takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.
Kagyu wrinkles his nose at the creatures stench as he wades into to range right in front of the creature. He waves his shield in the giant ticks face and stabs out with his weapon trying to draw it's attention , "Gods, you reek!"
The stink of the enormous creature that rises from the stagnant pond almost causes Tahata to empty his stomach onto the floor. He manages to keep his dignity intact and shouts out "Maitoh, cinah!". The wolf leaps to obey, loping around the pond to get to the creature's far side as Tahata gathers himself and lunges forward with his spear.
Durian takes a step back and stabs at the giant vermin with his longspear
As the scent of the creature hit the monk's nostrils, the monk's stomach heaved and made him move his hand to his mouth, trying to keep himself from puking. "Ugh... haven't felt this bad since time I tried Hagfish Challenge back in Sandpoint..." He reflected as he tried to compose himself to fight the creature.
Maitoh, Miyagi-san and Durian manager to connect with the large creature busting part of it open but it is still in the fight.
Bold may act
[u] Round 1 [/u]
Belostomatid {-24HP}
Gortrek, Durian, Tahata, Kagyu, Losjien, Miyagi
Hissing in pain from Losjien's acid attack the creature tries to bite Kagyu and then lashes out with its claws.
DC15 Fort Save - Failer = Paralised 1d4 Rounds + 1d2 Con Drain
Bold may act
[u] Round 1 [/u]
Belostomatid {-24HP}
Gortrek, Durian, Tahata, Kagyu {-19HP | Fort Save}, Losjien, Miyagi
Unable to move around the side of the giant bug, Tahata orders Maitoh to continue biting at the creature while he tries to overcome his nausea and stick it with his spear.
Durian can only watch as the giant bug lays into Kagyu, and he can tell that the cleric is hurting. He tries to push through the nausea to stick his spear into the creature again, but his weakened arms are not able to strike with enough force to do anything...
Seeing his comrade be viciously attacked by this thing made Miyagi's wrath come out in full force. He didn't care how sickened he was with its presence. He was going to make that thing pay for the damage it wrought.
The creature hit much harder than Kagyu was expecting. He grit his teeth as he he was driven to one knee, bleeding.
"...Shelyn..."
He reached through himself to channel her divinity, however, this time, something was different. The pool he had come to visualize as the source of his casting had expanded to something more like that of a large pond. Kagyu waded into it, drew from it, more energy than he ever had been able, before releasing it upon himself.
As claw and tooth marks closed, his accustomed grin flashed on his face again.
Her favor in me has grown...
Maitoh and Miyagi-san bring down the bulbous menace wither their combined blows. Looking around it is clear that Kikonu must have been keeping this beast fed or it would have starved long before now. A moment latter those of you that were sickened feel much better.
Unfortunately there is only bones and rags in the room so nothing of interest.
The door directly south on the east side of the room opens to a store room (there is a mirror to it across the hall as well) inside these rooms there are some items of intrest. 20 Cold Iron Arrows and 1 Flaming Burst arrow.
What is next.
Not having any reason to choose another direction, Durian moves with Losijien, his spear at the ready.
Let's hope we don't find any more of those giant bugs...
Tahata feels his sickness pass quickly, gives Maitoh a rub on the head to let him know that he has done well, and moves to follow Losjien and Durian.
After aiding in the defeat of the giant insect, Miyagi centered himself, not wanting his wrath to overtake him. Once he was at peace with himself once more, he moved to follow the group.
Kagyu took stock of his companions, said another prayer, and followed Losjien at close range.
Once Kagyu has finished healing the group and they are ready Durian leads them though the door to the north. Sadly he finds it is only a tower in the same state of disrepair as the one you found earlier.
Moving back to the vestibule with multiple exits the party tries the double doors.
T15. Buttersnips’s Parlor (Pg 30)
It’s impossible to tell what this room may have originally been used for, as the walls and floor are decorated with countless preserved animals and creatures, ranging from small birds and forest creatures to fearsome predators. Several of the displays look uncomfortably fresh or humanoid in shape.
You notice two things. First inside the garish tapestries there appear to be some gems and valuable rings. Also you are pretty sure the room is not empty, possible an invisible foe.
Kagyu walks closer to the animal heads and tries to estimate how recently they were killed but can't discern much.
Durian walks into the center of the new room, weirded out by the collection of animals and (maybe) other people.
He holds his spear at the ready, poking a few stuffed creatures with the spear head, imagining one of them animating or not being dead in the first place....
As he makes his way into the room, the monk feels uncomfortable. It wasn't by the sight of the grisly looking trophies. He has seen enough death here to not be unnerved by that. It was something more... dangerous... ominous...
"We are not alone..." The monk warned his friends. "An unseen foe is among us. Stay close to one another."
Tahata and Maioth follow the others into the room. The bizarre selection of preserved creatures that fills the space makes Tahata uncomfortable - the act of killing these animals purely for decoration does not sit well with his upbringing. At Miyagi's warning Tahata raises his spear, Maitoh instantly on guard as he sees his master ready his weapon.
Durian hears Miyagi's warning about an invisible enemy and takes a deep breath. instead of focusing on the displayed animals he closes his eyes and tries to listen for any sounds coming from around himself, feeling carefully for any passing movement.
An invisible attacker gets no advantages related to hitting you in melee. That is, you don’t lose your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class, and the attacker doesn’t get the usual +2 bonus for being invisible. The invisible attacker’s bonuses do still apply for ranged attacks, however.
Despite being the person closest to locating the invisible foe Miyagi-san ends up in the corner it was hiding. As he takes his final step a tiny figure shimmers into existence. This tiny figure looks like nothing so much as a very very small elf with long antenna. He movements so fast that her body and long red dress seem to shimmer and squirm before the eye.
vs Flat
Her small blade lashes out so fast it has struck Miyagi-san before his mind could catch up with her existence. Her voice shrill and fast is impossible to understand but sounds very angry.
The creature is a quick-ling, a small fey creature. Very fast and can turn invisible just by standing still.
Cold Iron bypasses the damage reduction.
Bold may act
[u] Round 1 [/u]
Durian, Tahata, Losjien, Miyagi-San, Kagyu, Gortrek
Durian hears the sound of a creature moving and then hears a grunt as Miyagi is hit.
He quickly steps up and takes a swing with his fist at the semi-visible creature.
Feeling the burning sting of a blade in his side, the monk grunted as it left but felt the burning linger, indicating a poison of some type was used on him. He cursed in his native tongue before lashing out at the creature in turn, attempting to pummel the creature into submission.
Tahata turns as he hears a shrill voice followed by the sounds of Durian and Miyagi's fists slapping into flesh. The cramped confines of the room prevent him and Maitoh from engaging the blurry creature he can just see past the others.
"Maitoh, qorumaq," he instructs, and Maitoh takes up a guarding stance by his side. He then begins to chant in Shoanti, moving his free hand in circles in the air which begins to shimmer like a heat haze in midsummer.
Much to the surprise of the quickling Miyagi-san manages to land two solid strikes but Durian cannot seem to connect.
Miyagi-san's attack is so brutal that it stuns the little quickling allowing the party to quickly end the fight.
[u] Combat Over [/u]
A quick search of the room reveals very little outside of the gems and jewerly woven into the tapestries.
Those in the group with a good memory remember on final door off of the throne room as well as stairs to both an upper and lower level. The day is however growing long, you have about three hours of daylight.
After seemingly knocking the wind out of their miniature foe, her defeat from there was cakewalk. Once she was taken care of, he sighed and grabbed the side she struck with her weapon and rubbed it. "Miyagi going to be sore in morning..." He bemoaned before how much daylight they had left. "Should we call it day or keep exploring?"
|
Losjien barely eludes the creature and could barely catch a glimpse before Miyagi strikes her down!
This creature eluded my vision
"Have we slayed everyone in this place and with no answer? We are running out of time. There must be a door of the theater north . We need to pry whats left quickly before night."
Tahata lets the magical energy ebb once he sees the small creature fall beneath Miyagi's blow. "We should keep exploring while we can. There are chambers to the north we have not explored, and we have passed many stairs," Tahata says, agreeing with Losjien.
"Let's go while the light still holds," Kagyu says as he hefts his steel shield and walks off towards the un-searched room.
I'm good to keep going as long as you magic users are feeling up to it! Durian says cheerfully.
The group moves back though the throne room to the final unopened door. A narrow hallway leads the forwards to the next room.
T17. Haunted Donjon
Old tapestries depicting a seaside castle hang askew on the walls of this circular room and a thick layer of dust cakes the floor. The air is musty and weirdly cold. Old bloodstains splatter the walls, along with numerous brutal gashes and slashes to the stone itself. Two doors hang askew on hinges in a passageway to the south, while to the north, a third door lies in fragments on the floor, opening onto a flight of stairs leading down into darkness. A second staircase leads upward against the north wall.
Two the south is a short hallway ending in two doors.
The are three options, doors, up or down.
Actually there are many more options. Those are just the options in this room.
Thinking of his own upbringing Losjien makes a suggestion.
"We must find answers fast more likely in the top of a tower than down in a dungeon"
"Not as of yet. We must clear all rooms first. Otherwise, or backs are ripe for stabbing." The monk wisely said as he opened one of the doors before him.
Tahata nods his agreement with Miyagi - leaving their backs open would invite disaster. He and Maitoh follow Miyagi down the corridor, ready to assist should something try to attack.
There are many stairs in this fort! tell me friends, do you know what you seek to help your comrade? if we are looking for records, journals or information about this place then i agree with Losjien that up is our best bet.
If we are looking for a relic, or an ancient item or a curse that needs to be broken, however, then the dungeon might be the perfect place to be looking!
Durian does agree, though, that there is no reason not to look in the last few rooms before picking a new level of the castle to check out.
"Whatever we decide, we wont have enough daylight to pursue. We should finish exploring this floor and retreat back to Ameiko with what we've discovered thus far."
Miyagi-san and Thata lead the way to the unexplored room and opens the western door before Losjien can move for the stairs.
T18. Captain’s Office
The officer’s desk and the chairs that once decorated this room lie in shambles on the floor. A flight of stairs leads up to the southeast. The battered door to this room hangs askew, revealing a short hallway beyond.
Brinewall Clue: A DC 15 Perception check reveals several scattered and hastily written notes among the desk’s shambles, one of which is part of a letter mentioning an attack on Brinewall Castle. The letter describes the attack as a night assault by men dressed in dark robes. The letter is unfinished and contains no further information.
From your respective positions you each hear a noise coming from behind the other door. A clink of armor, a weapon leaving a scabbard and a low moan.
Looking through the office itself, the monk manages to spot a few papers. Quickly rifling through them revealed some clues on the conflict that brought this place to ruin. Before he could go into too much detail, he heard noises coming from the opposite door. "Miyagi find something! And something in last room find Miyagi!" He shouted to warn the rest of his companions.
Hearing the samaran shout, Kagyu drops his stance and raises his shield.
Kagyu strains his ears, "You have sharp hearing, my friend. It is good to have you back!"