Zelani listened enraptured while walking behind them, her glittering eyes flickering over to study the building's feature as they moved through it.
.
Glancing at the others, Shalluk focused his eyes on the coins. He did not believe for a moment that the things were real. His luck might be changing, but such wealth was beyond his imagining.
Instead he looked to see if there was magic, perhaps illusion or curses, and to see if there was something living or undead hiding within.
Zelani listened intently to the stories, eyes flicking about as they moved through, bright brown eyes landing on the strange door.
"This place is rather ghastly..." she comments in a tone that is a mixed bemused and aware what an understatement the words would be but felt a need to say something as she looked around.
"What is the next step, gentleman?"
Shalluk sighed. Well, it wasn't shocking, but a Tiefling could hope...?
Heading for the doors to the South, Shalluk nodded to the others before opening them.
Zelani followed the others' lead, peering curiously through the door while re-adjusting her cloak and skirt before walking through.
Shalluk glanced at the Sacophagi, and decided to make sure they, and the rest of the room, was empty before advancing. He once again searched for magic, the living and the undead.
Zelani slowly, carefully walked into the room, glancing with unease at the sarcophagi and then up toward the statue.
"Not a very cheery-seeming person, is they?" the aasimar quipped...
Shalluk looked at the creatures, trying to identify them, and fired a crossbow bolt into there inky forms.
Zelani jumped back, fingers raised at the sight of the creatures, her tattoos glowing and sweet, warm musical notes fell from her mouth a moment later as a barrier rose around her on instinct. "Well, they're new...and also not very cheery looking" Zelani comments, remaining in a defensive stance on the balls of her feet.
"Şenay" she sings softly in a warm but firm voice. A few moments later, a medium black snake slithers from under Zelani's cloak sleeve before gently wrapping around the aasimar's arm. Sparkling brown eyes staying on the strange creatures, Zelani seemed to be...cooing to the snake in a different tongue...
Shalluk screamed out as his strength was drained. With no obvious way to hurt the creatures with his weapon, Shalluk reached out with one hand, trying to pour positive energy into the creature.
However, he could not hold the spell, and moved back five feet. He muttered curses in Aklo, his eyes darting nervously between the three creatures. Another blow like that and he may not be strong enough to stand without help...mentally, he prepared his Astral Caravan to get them out of there if things continued to go sour.
Zelani examined the creatures carefully through the barrier, but through a mix of emotions little came to mind. The aasimar didn't like fighting anything this close, let alone something this unpleasant, unknown, and with so little discernable anatomy.
Tattoos sparked back to light, a new song on Zelani's lips, one hand gently holding onto the snake and the other stretching out her skirt. Zelani turned, her brown eyes focused on the area near the door, and with a twinkle Zelani vanished...and reappeared again with a light step, back to the wall, standing a few steps from the door they'd entered through. Zelani's sparkling eyes looking from one gentleman to the other as she planned her next move...
"Do either of you have a plan? I'm all ears..." she comments nervously, raising her hands again, the snake appearing to begin moving down the aasimar...
Shalluk replied to Zelani that they needed to fall back. Of course, he answered in Aklo, his Curse forcing his tongue into the speech of the undead. He added a curse, because he was tired of that little limit, but there was no help for it.
With few choices, Shalluk chose to use his most unusual gift, and closed his eyes for a moment. Focusing, he gave up the powers the Sun granted, and instead embraced those of Life.
With the warm light of the sun temporarily replaced by the pulsing energy of life, Shalluk moved out of direct danger and raised his hands and with a word unleashed that power.
Zelani screeched, angry Sylvan words that likely shouldn't be translated came out. She had hoped to be able to restore some strength to the others, but now she was feeling weariness coming over her. She felt a bit silly, so used to fighting in shadows but fighting shadowy creatures - and the first attack she should be dealing with the group - and she was already struggling to be useful...
Moving towards the tiefling with quick careful steps, since he had been hit, Zelani's tattoos shinied in the room. With a soft song and gentle touch, the aasimar tried to restore some strength to Shalluk...
...before turning to guard his back. The black snake finally dropped from Zelani, coiled to strike as it sat between the aasimar and the tiefling. Zelani made comments to the snake in Sylvan as she watched the room nervously...
Shalluk waved for Zelani to fall back and heal, babbling once more in Aklo, and pumped out another Positive Energy with a gesture. He knew it would fade, but he truly wished he could remember how to perform this trick under normal circumstances...
Zelani cried out as her strength was taken from her. Pushed to the door, she hunched down, reaching for the snake while cooing in Sylvan. Shaking her head, Zelani felt she was no good like this, she had to at least get out of the way...get out of the way, get a new barrier up, and heal if she could get the energy to do so.
The willing Şenay wrapped around the aasimar's hand before Zelani's tattoos lit up, a song from before coming out more strangled than before, followed by her disappearing and reappearing as far down the hall outside the door as she could.
"C...Close the doors, if you please to, if you can..." Zelani requested before slumping against a nearby wall. She did not know if it would do any good against those things but if the doors were a good enough barrier, she could start to heal herself and the others sooner...
The snake coiled defensively next to the weakened aasimar, putting themself between Zelani and the doors.
Shalluk cried out once more as he was touched again. With a snarl he unleashed another charge of Positive Energy before moving towards the exit of the room. These things would need to be destroyed before the ruins was safe, but at least they could withdraw from the fight.
Zelani smiled weakly as she spotted Shalluk coming out of the room..and that the shadow creatures did not seem to be following them out of it - yet at least.
Slumping against the wall, warm singing and shining tattoos filled the hall for a brief moment as the aasimar tried to restore some of her own strength.
She sighed quietly in frustration at the situation and her own inability to feel truely helpful, but quickly tried to cover it with a smile as she looked around the area...
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Tyranius' legs nearly give out as the shadows leech his very soul from his body.
Shakily he leaves as quickly as he can without drawing more attention to himself. Vanishing in the smoky mist he withdraws from the room with the others.
Once out of the room his drops to his knees, his breathing ragged and uneven.
The aasimar sighed in relief at seeing Tyranius escape the room, though this was quickly replaced by concern. This was not what Zelani had expected and from the looks of things, not what the others had expected either.
"I...I can try to restore your strength a bit, then we may wish to make further plans from here since they are not following. I would suggest closing and further marking that door at some point..." Zelani said with a forced smile to Tyranius, before making comments to the snake in Sylvan which brought another idea to mind that turned her sparkling brown eyes to look to Shalluk.
"It may be wise for me to learn that language of yours at some time, though for now for the sake of speed, we should consider common concepts that you can use gestures for if that is possible. Şenay only responds to Sylvan though I'm not sure if that is all they understand or if it is their stubborness that they choose only to use it." Zelani said, gesturing towards the snake, more warmth coming into her smile as she begins to try to right herself and consider her next move: restoring what the shadows had taken as best she could was obviously a priority, beyond that would more likely be up to the gentleman.
Shalluk considered, hiding his face. Perhaps he had babbled in the speech too much. No one else had commented..."Yes, I am sorry. It is Aklo...the speech of the dead. It is...part of the curse I suffer from, I am afraid. I can learn Sylvan in return, if you would like." He nodded a greeting to the snake.
Turning back to the doors, he added, "I have some items that mean I can keep carrying even with my strength reduced. Heal yourselves. I can cast one more Positive Energy, and then..." Shalluk coughed. "I can call upon my mother. As a Shade herself, her weapons are of Force, and she cannot be harmed by energy drain. I believe that will be able to destroy these things. I do not think we can let them have time to heal, but we should remain close to this door since they do not wish to leave."
Zelani spoke with a sweet smile and tone to Shalluk, "No need to apologize or fear, these things are as they are, you simply seemed frustrated by it and it would be of benefit to all if we found a way to make your suffering of this less, with gestures for common things until it can be learned seems a good solution to me. I could teach you Sylvan later if you wish though I do not know if Şenay will listen beyond when they wish to as they do for me." the aasimar said with a tired chuckle before moving slowly over to the other gentleman, the snake seeming to follow indirectly but clearly and continuously placing themself between Zelani and any others.
Leaning on the wall near Tyranius, her tattoo's warm glow began to spark to life again, singing a simple tune, hand gently placed on his shoulder, she tried to restore a little of what was taken, a little was all Zelani could seem to manage at the moment, the aasimar gritting her teeth in frustration though tried to hide it behind a tired smile...
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Tyranius continues to shake and pant. A small portion of his strength is returned to him. Placing a hand on the wall he shakily rises.
"Thanks... where the hell did they all come from?"
He tries to catch his breath but he feels so tired. I don't know how much farther I can go today. They almost had me... He almost seems frustrated with himself for being caught off guard as much as he was.
"None of us expected them," Shalluk replied. "My suggestion is Zelani," he nodded to Zelani, "Hold back behind us." The very idea made his stomach shrink in horror, but Shalluk continued, "While you use the magically coated weapon and I my final Channel. I will then call upon Mother, and hopefully we can finish two or three of them. We shall focus on one target and make sure at least one of them falls before we withdraw. If needs must we can return tomorrow, and finish the others." In his hood, Shalluk was sweating nervously. This plan involved too much personal risk. But...it seemed like the simplest way to destroy the three monsters.
Shalluk nodded, took a deep breath, and stepped into the room once more. With a gesture he expelled the final pulse of positive energy.
Zelani nodded to Shalluk's instructions. She took a few slow steps behind them, surveying the room a best she could from several feet away from the doors, guilt pushing her mind to come up with some helpful option that she could do for them. She considered her barriers...maybe she could pin one behind something, preventing it from reaching them...or maybe a personal deflection aegis on them would be better though that would use more of her limited magic energy which a barrier would not do and they may need her to have that if things went badly.
Zelani had to try something, had to be helpful. She spoke quietly in Sylvan to Şenay before she looking into the room again. Tattoos sparkled brightly, song warmly coming from her and she tried to focus in front of her, to the pillar shortly within the room, to create a barrier box with its perimeter that short way up to the first pillar and then to the wall, hoping to cut off at least one even better two of those shadows for a short time while the gentleman dealt those on this side of the barrier.
"I'll do my best to keep you gentleman safe from back here..." she said with a small smile, her eyes still surveying the room while keeping her feet back, Şenay sitting coiled in front of the aasimar.
Without any more Channels, Shalluk let the ability slip away once more. He moved into the room as bait, hoping to draw the creatures out, and murmured under his breath. Once more the shade he called took the shape of his mother, raising her crossbow and waiting to attack.
Shalluk watched, nervously, for one of the creatures to show themselves again, dark tongue licking his dry lips. Perhaps if this didn't work it would do to simply nail this door shut...
Zelani bit the corner of her lip, trying not to let her nerves show or effect her as she watched Shalluk in the room, unsure of how well her barrier would do or remain against such creatures...
With a small gasp Shalluk collapsed to the floor, his strength too badly drained for his heart to continue beating.