"If zhere is more of zhose sinspawn about it's going to get a lot messier."
"Let me check that door..." Delendir approaches taking the masterwork thieve tools in case the door is locked he firstly checks for traps.
Daud will more than happily step to the side to allow Delendir to work.
Delendir quickly finds that the door is not locked, then retreats to the back as Sunday moves forward to open the door. Beyond is a short corridor that extends for 15 feet before taking a sharp left turn.
Playing the Delendir Shuffle game, the ranger scouts ahead quickly, finding nothing of consequence down the 30 foot corridor he spies. As the others follow, he creeps to the end of this hall, where a sharp right turn awaits him. A corridor extends to the right (east) about 10 feet down, while the current passageway appears to open up into a small chamber some 25 feet down the hall. The half-elf's keen eyes can just make out the edge of what seems to be a statue in this room, though most remains hidden behind the passage wall.
Jessica continues on with the group, ever wary for something to happen, "Is it just me, or does anyone else feel...uncomfortable here?"
"As a claustrophile vho likes dark spooky places? No... My apologies."
"I can jut see what seems an statue. Perhaps inspecting it from close we can discover what the original purpose of the tunnels." Delendir looks at the casters "Any magical emanations?"
The half-elf then follows the party to the statue room.
"I suppose it would be bad form to use my ghost sounds spell to make the status moan and wail." Grace murmers as she follows the others.
"Amusing, though"
"Only if you don't vait till someone gets near it." Daud murmurs back without looking.
Jessica looks over the statue, curious about what kind of art piece would be found down here. "Strange to find something like this down here."
As you pass the first passageway to the right, you see that it extends to the east for a sizable difference. As you enter the small room with the statue you see:
The red marble statue is of a strikingly beautiful but, at the same time, monstrously enraged human woman, her stony expression twisted in fury. The woman wears flowing robes, and her long hair is held back from her face by an intricate headdress of hooks and blades. In her left hand she carries a large book, the face of which is inscribed with a seven-pointed star. Her right hand holds a glittering metal-and-ivory ranseur.
To the north lies a closed door. To the west, the worked chamber quickly meets more of the unworked area through which you entered. To the east, there are a series of stone steps leading up.
Delendir looks at the statue impressed "Wow! What kind of sage is here represented? So weird we haven't know of this in Sandpoint. I have never heard of a ranseur sage or god."
"Where do you think we should go next? The door or the stairs? Can someone check that door?" While the party takes a decision, the half-elf makes a look to the cavern going to the north just in front of him, squeezing himself to the wall in order to avoid being seen.
The elaborate ranseur is not part of the statue, and looks like it can be worked loose with a little effort.
Taking a step into the unworked passage, Delendir can see that it clearly links up with where the companions entered. The passage continues north about 25 feet, where it abruptly ends.
Grace studies the statue for a moment.
"That reminds me of Peri Perone. Remember her, Elisai? Wonderful voice. Gorgeous voice but a terrible attitude."
Taking all of the statue in he reaches out to grasp the ranseur, gently working it out from the marble lady's grasp.
Perhaps surprisingly, the enraged woman does not prevent Sunday from taking the ranseur. Even more surprisingly, despite all its trappings and ornamentations, Sunday can feel the weapon's fine balance and weight and realizes it would make a very serviceable weapon, for one who would want to use it.
Giving the weapon a quick spin to get used to it he'll offer the marble lady a bow before moving on with the others.
"Give me a moment to inspect the cavern dead end." Delendir approaches the end wall and searches for secret doors.
Coming back to the team he looks at Daud with a smile "Fine weapon you found. Let's hope for the marble woman not to come back claim it." he then approaches the door and checks it same.
"If I could take the vhole statue I vould." he amusingly quips back.
Elisai frowns slightly at Grace's comment, struggling to reconcile Grace's opinion with how she herself remembered Peri Perone. "Are we thinking of the same person Grace? She had a lovely voice certainly, but in my experience she had a wonderful attitude, at least around me that is...did you not feel the same vibrant spark from her that I did?"
The statue looks at Sunday passively as he offers his bow, obviously unimpressed. Meanwhile, Delendir searches for things, finding nothing to interest him. He also finds that the northern door is unlocked. Silence reigns in the abandoned complex.
"Both the cavern and the door seem clean, and the door is unlocked." looking at Grace and Elisai "So, what have you been working together to find so many singers around?" and the half-elf stops in the middle of the room suddenly distracted by the chat while Tal checks the statue.
Initially examining the disturbing statue, when she hears Grace and Elisai talking about a singer, she turns her attention to them, particularly when Delendir begins asking about it.
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"Elisai and I both trained in the opera houses of Egorian." Grace answers Delendir's question. "In fact, I was her understudy in a production of Romance upon the Black Altar when my agent exposed her heresy to get me her part."
Grace shake her head at the memories.
"Madame Perone's vibrant spark had more to do, dear Elisai, with what else of your's she wished to vibrate. I wasn't her type so she put on no mask for me."
Tal ponders the statue for a few moments, then shrugs, at a loss. Whoever this woman was is apparently a well-kept secret, considering she resides directly under Sandpoint itself.
Delendir does not seem to fully understand the complex romance interactions of the singers. With a simple shrug of his shoulders he says "Well, some women seem specially god touched I supposed. Men usually get around them without much explanation of what they obtain from it, as they don't even show any kind of friendship. I suppose it happens between women sometimes."
Seeing Tal is not going to get anything from the statue and looking both at the door and the stairs the half-elf says "I suppose we have to take a direction." he waits for a bit then he decides to take the lead and moves towards the northern door opening very carefully.
"Ah, that theory would indeed make the most sense dear Grace", Elisai nods sagely, "Sometimes I feel unable to look outside of a given situation which dampens my perceptive abilities".
Upon remembering her retreat from Egorian, Elisai tilts her head to one side, the memories obviously still irritating her. Sure, enough time had gone by for her for the wounds to heal, but it still rankled that the identify of your patron deity determined whether you could get your part. Elisai didn't begrudge the Cheliax people their ability to worship whoever they liked, or make whatever rules they desired, she just didn't understand why skill wasn't the determining factor in deciding who would sing on opening night.
"Same. I'm only aware of zhe immediate. Not zhe past or zhe future... Or zhe outsides."
Delendir sneaks through the northern door, quiet as a hunting cat. He enters a large chamber that once was almost certainly a prison. Twenty cells line the room's perimeter, while a wooden platform overlooks the area. Two flights of stairs, one to the east, the other to the west, descend the ten feet to the floor. A five-foot-wood wooden walkway run to the east from the northern portion of the platform, disappearing into a passage further on.
Of more immediate note to Delendir are the three creatures on the floor level of the room, seemingly squabbling over something. Unfortunately, perhaps due to the nimbus of light that accompanies the ranger into the room, two of the creatures look that way and notice him, snarling.
Surprise Round: Sinspawn, Delendir
Round 1: Elisai, Tal, Sunday, Jessica, Sinspawn, Grace, Delendir
The two sinspawn things that noticed Delendir rush towards him, getting on opposite sides of the ranger, eager to rend his flesh.
The stout ranger steps to the northwest and starts looking carefully at every single movement of the creatures to avoid their attacks.
"More vile sinspawns lurking here!"
Daud will step up and stab at the sinspawn on the left with his new polearm.
"These corridors don't really allow us to maximize our fighting potential, do they?" Grace says softly before she begins steps to the left, into the corridor, and begins singing once more - continuing her song from earlier.
"She would always like to say
"Why change the past
when you can own this day?"
Today she will fight
To keep her way
She's a rogue and a thief
And she'll tempt your fate
Elisai sees Sunday attack the sinspawn on the left, and immediately steps lightly forward, swinging her blade at the sinspawn on the right, hoping that the twin arcs from both weapons would cleave through these creatures.
Jessica steps into the door way, staying just inside the hall,"More of these things?!" and attacks the left sinspawn with her glaive.
Delendir takes a defensive stance as he steps out of a flanking position, waving his weapon before him warily as he awaits backup.
Backup arrives in the form of Elisai, as she comes bounding into the room, large blade in motion. Perhaps the creature was used to grizzled middle-aged men coming into the dungeons alone, as it is completely unprepared for the ferocity of the attack. To its credit, even though the weapon bites deeply into its shoulder, the beast does not fall.
Tal chants the spidery words of the arcane, holding up a piece of butter (hey, what did he have that for!?). The area underneath Elisai's sinspawn and to the northwest. The sinspawn, perhaps not being the most graceful of creatures, collapses in a heap of sprawled limbs. Looking closely at the beast, Elisai can see all its hopes and dreams fade as it peers up at her, certain it will not live another six seconds.
Sunday, feeling left out of the monster-bashing party, steps forward, striking with his new-found toy. To his delight, the weapon pierces flesh just as easily as it spins, and he looks rather stylish doing it! He'll have to clean the dark goop off the end of it, though.
The fallen sinspawn, perhaps feeling lucky, or perhaps just wanting to meet its fate more quickly, attempts to rise. Elisai looks on without pity, attempting to remove the creature's wretched neck from its shoulders. Overconfident in her ability to hit her fallen foe, the skald somehow misses. The sinspawn, overjoyed at its new lease on life, attempting to bite her face off. The emotions of the moment throw the sinspawn's attack off, however.
Meanwhile, Delendir's sinspawn decides to try to make a tasty treat of the gruff ranger, biting and clawing at the man's defensive posture. One of the claws almost makes it to the grizzled ranger's face, but he slaps the hand aside with the haft of his flail at the very last moment, a comical "ahhh" escaping his lips at the close call.
The third sinspawn, deciding the other two just weren't up to its standards of ineptitude, finally notices the commotion, dropping the femur it was concerned with. It attempts to climb the stairs to join the fray. After alot of slipping, sliding, and limb-waving, it manages to fall down.
Grace starts to sing another verse of her favorite battle song, making everyone feel as though they are more capable of disposing of these wretched excuses for monsters.
Summary:
Elisai sinspawn - 13 damage
Delendir/Sunday sinspawn - 9 damage
Initiative:
Round 1: Elisai, Tal, Sunday, Sinspawn, Grace, Jessica, Delendir
Round 2: Elisai, Tal, Sunday, Sinspawn, Grace, Jessica, Delendir
Wearing a particularly malicious smirk Sunday stabs into the creature again.
If I use Rage Song, do I get to keep the Inspire Courage bonuses or are they replaced. IIRC, I think I get to keep both, but I think I remember reading about a situation where that would not be possible.
"Those claws were close beast!"
Feeling largely protected by his friends spells and songs, Delendir moves diagonally into the wooden platform when the blood from the spawn next to him splashes over him on Daud's hit.
Waving his flail over his head to get inertia, he tries to land a hit over the fallen spawn.
Jessica sends a prayer to her goddess, her hands glowing a pale golden color, then she waits until Sunday has moved out of her path and moves up to touch Elisai with the golden light.