Miraculously, no guards have replaced Zeemo. Perfire sees the blank black wall of the light-eating magic.
Wymond takes his torch and winces at the dark.
"Can't see a bloody thing!" he says quietly
Triath nudges Wymond's ankle with his snout and Wymond immediately understands.
"Better to light a torch than curse the darkness, you're right."
He casts his eyes about, trying to see as much of this dark room as he can by his torch's meager glow.
Zaia, removed the flint and steel from her pack, and taking one of the torches she had gotten from Velikov's pack, she lit it and cast the torch about, trying to see a little before and around her. She put away the flint and steel inside her pack.
Perfire also lights a torch and falls into line. Realizing the darkness will limit the use of his eyes, he tries to slow his breathing so he can hear better.
You can see five feet into the cave. It's a bare stone floor. Would you like to toss in a torch?
Yirrik tosses a torch into where he'd previously tossed Zaia's light the first time.
After a moment, he tosses another torch 5 feet past the first, in each direction, straight, right and left...hoping to illuminate any passageways available to them...
Half-melted blocks of green glass lie thick on the floor. A crumbling archway to the west leads into another chamber. To the east, a barricade of rubble and wooden stakes blocks a passage leading into the tower.
'Any goblins?' Perfire whispers forward to Yirrik.
"Nothing yet..." Yirrik whispers back.
He steps into the room and picks up the middle torch and advances to the left, keeping cover at the corner.
Motioning Wymond forward, he pantomimes tossing a torch down the right hand passage , then does the same down the lefthand passage...
Yirrik tosses the torch down the left-hand passageway, revealing slightly more of its extent. Wymond can't really toss a torch very far to the right as it's blocked by the barricade.
Perfire follows Yirrick just inside the room.
Wymond "hmmms" at the barricade.
"Probably to keep folk from gettin' in their main entrance. Here's hopin' there's a back door, otherwise tearin' this thing down will make a lot of noise."
He taps Yirrik on the shoulder before he goes off again.
"At this rate we'll probably run out of torches before we've secured a foothold. You two got a plan for when that happens?" he asks quietly.
Zaia steadily moved up to stand just behind Perfire, her torch in hand, raised for light and waited on more word from Yirrik. She did not possess the skill it took to move among the shadows quietly and unnoticed, so she did her best not to make too much noise and remain behind the males for safety. She quietly called upon Desna, and, pushing her arm a little past Perfire, reached out and gently touched Yirrik's shoulder, casting divine guidance upon him before pulling back and waiting in her position.
Triath sniffs the air quietly, as pigs are wont to do.
Yirrik looks over his shoulder at Wymond, glancing at Zaia and smiling a thank you, "We'll just have to pick up the trailing torch and put it forward, for now at least. "
He steps back and picks up the torch on the ground beside Triath, pausing to scratch the pig's head.
Then he moves up to the revealed corner and tosses the torch into the space beyond, peering at what is revealed...
Yirrick can see an opening into a round tower to the southeast and another leading to a chamber in the north. All is dark and still.
"If we each carry a torch, we will have some light with which to see and guide us. Let us all move in and explore," she said in low voice to her male companions, lifting her own lit torch higher (she's carrying it in her off hand) and beginning to move inside. She strained to hear anything of note coming from inside the ruins (aside from her companions' words etc).
Wymond nudges Yirrick.
"Let's check out the tower."
Zaia hears nothing in the eerie stillness.
Perfire waits patiently with his ear cocked as the group makes their way carefully into the spire.
Yirrik takes a new torch, lights it and tosses it down the corridor to the right, watching for anything.
Then when that looks all clear he picks up the torch at his feet and tosses it into the tower chamber...
Wymond follows Yirrick into the tower and looks around.
The torch to the right shows a wider space, still completely dark. The second torch partially illuminates a round tower to the left. Moments later, a bowstring sounds and an arrow strikes Yirrik in the shoulder! Then with a growl, an ugly, hairless goblin hound leaps out of the darkness, snapping and snarling at him. The unseen archer lets out a ululating yell of alarm.
ROSTER
Goblin
Goblin Dog
Yirrik (3 damage)
Wymond
Perfire
Zaia
MAP OF THE EMERALD SPIRE, 1st LEVEL
Anyone, go!
Seeing an arrow strike Yirrik, Perfire scoops up the torch between himself and Wymond. He moves to step forward and throw the torch into the rounded tower but pulls up short seeing the hound engage Yirrik. He opts instead to float it into the tower using mage hand.
'I'll try to find the archer while you deal with the dog!' Perfire scours the darkness for the goblin.
"Roight! Yer in MY wheelhouse NOW, gobbos! For Ol' Deadeye and the River Kingdoms!" Wymond marches to the front and takes a swing at the goblin dog.
Perfire floats the torch into the tower until it reveals the archer, a small goblin with a quiver-full of arrows backed against the back wall of what appears to be a kennel.
Yirrik hisses as the small arrow sinks into the meat of his shoulder, and his eyes grow wide as the goblin dog tries to savage him.
His shortsword rings as it clears its scabbard, Yirrik can't help but smile as Wymond's accent grows heavier in the heat of battle.
Yirrik slashes the feral dog across the snout, causing it to yelp in pain and anger.
ROSTER
Goblin
Goblin Dog (5 damage)
Yirrik (3 damage)
Wymond
Perfire
Zaia
MAP OF THE EMERALD SPIRE, 1st LEVEL
Zaia, go!
Zaia takes a 5ft step back/sideways to keep out of reach of the goblin dog and goblin and touched Yirrik's shoulder once more, granting him Desna's guidance, "May Desna's luck guide your mind and hand."
The goblin fires an arrow at Wymond that sticks in his armor makes a fine noise, but does no harm. Meanwhile the dog lunges and tries to seize Yirrik's arm, but only tears his sleeve.
ROSTER
Goblin
Goblin Dog (5 damage)
Yirrik (3 damage)
Wymond
Perfire
Zaia
MAP OF THE EMERALD SPIRE, 1st LEVEL
Seeing the goblin dog attempt to bite Yirrik once more, Zaia gently dropped her torch to the ground so she could still have light, drew her sling and loaded a bullet and pointed it at the goblin dog.
Perfire also draws his sling and loads a bullet. He begins whirling it around his head and lets the stone fly toward the goblin archer.
"Hah! Doesn't feel nice does it!" Yirrik crows as his strike pinks the dog's nose.
Feeling the advantage, especially as he feels Zaia's light touch on his shoulder, Yirrik lunges forward...
Wymond swings his axe in a figure-eight, winding up for another strike at the goblin dog after Yirrik winged him.
The momentum carries into a mighty overhead swing at the verminous critter!
Yirrik runs the goblin dog through, leaving Wymond free to pursue the goblin.
Wymond clomps into the tower, swinging his axe in a figure-eight pattern to build up the momentum for a powerful overhead chop at the goblin.
Wymond's blow badly injures the little goblin, but due to its speed and agility, the little pest avoids death. It drops its bow and springs back into the darkness, striking out of the dark a moment later with a long, irregular poleaxe and ripping open a gash across Wymond's right arm.
The goblin screams a long ululating cry, and distantly comes its echo in several voices - goblins further in the complex responding to the alarm.
ROSTER
Goblin (9 damage)
Yirrik (3 damage)
Wymond (8 damage)
Perfire
Zaia
MAP OF THE EMERALD SPIRE, 1st LEVEL