Hand over hand, Arrika had made her way carefully down the rope - and emerged from the shaft to find two gigantic fish floating dead in the water, Elriel soaking wet and examining a solitary door, and a strange-looking woman, covered in scars and seeming to gather her thoughts. Well...that changes things a bit...she's not a mongrel-woman, I don't think...but who is she?
Finishing the climb, she greets the newcomer with a short, awkward bow as Elriel enters the next room. Arrika Telryn, of the Neverrun clan. Are you ok? Do you need any help? I've got my...friend up where I came from with my things - we have some food if you need it, and Bertholdt can see to your injuries - But upon closer examination, she realizes that it's not cuts covering the orc-blooded woman's arms...it's scars, worked into tattoos of intricate symbols and patterns.
Then, realizing she's beginning to stare, Arrika starts, blushing furiously. Sorry...I didn't mean to stare...it's just... She stands in silence for a moment as Elriel considers the problem of the trap in the floor. ...who gave you those? The...scars, I mean. she finally finishes timidly, sneaking one last furtive glance at Rukzha's arm.
Most of the markings on the visibile parts of Rukzha's body are actually tattoo's not scars, though there is a long scar going up along the side of her neck to her temple, one on the opposite chin and one going all along the arm with the ripped sleeve.
She holds out a hand in a dismissive gesture. "I'm fine. My head is still spinning a bit after what they gave me, but I should be fine soon. He needs the healing more than me, which is why I gave it to him..."
Rukzha easily notices Arrika's staring, but she's used to them. She smiles at the inquiry. "Oh, these. Most of them I made myself, but this one." She runs her hand along her arm, tracing the long scar. "Is from my dad."
"I can give you a tattoo of your own if you want Arrika, once we are out of here, as thanks for rescuing me. You being here, probably meant the cultists who put me down here are gone, right?"
-----
The girls' chatter is interrupted about Elriel's comment about tea and traps. "You've got sharp eyes nameless one. Let's investigate what you've found then." Rukzha turns to follow him slowly, though careful to not step too far due to his warning of the trap.
The girls' chatter is interrupted about Elriel's comment about tea and traps. "You've got sharp eyes nameless one. Let's investigate what you've found then." Rukzha turns to follow him slowly, though careful to not step too far due to his warning of the trap.
Elriel scoffed, "Name's Elriel, girl. And now let me see what's on the other side of this here pit."
He pointed to the well-hidden hole in the floor, "It's here. You all see it, right? Now don't go falling in."
He then prepared and jumped over the pit to the other side.
______________
Rukzha dons the mask and mutters an arcane word. "V̵̼͕̹̤͇̳͒ͭͩ̂ͮ̉̌ͭȋ̾̓҉̮̖̖̜͠s͔̣̥͎̒ͭͮ̿͆͟d̺̄̓̃e̮̞̜͚̳ͣ̈́̌̓g̡̟̬͖̞̟͎̙̟̯̐̎ͧͪ̇͋" before continuing with. "This'll help me see"
She smiles when she spots it. "Ah, yes. I can see it now. Though I'm not sure I can make that jump without effort like you. Would be good if we could somehow stop it from falling in, but sadly I don't know any such spells. They are too powerful for me currently."
Do we all even need to make the jump? Arrika replies, eyeing the faint outline of the pit cover skeptically. Seems like it only takes one to get over there and tie ropes around the chests...them we can pull them back over here and look through them without a gaping pit at our backs.
Leaving Elriel and Rukzha to deal with the pit for the moment, Arrika goes back to the base of the shaft and peers upward. ::Kelu? It's ok - there were a couple of big fish that started attacking when Bertholdt fell, but Elriel and Sabrina took care of them, and there's another woman down here who helped. She's...strange, but I think I like her.:: She punctuates the silent exchange with a grin at the leonine head at the top of the shaft. ::We'll be back up soon - there's not much down here, just a couple of chests Elriel and the orc-blooded woman were figuring out how to get at.::
Even if a bit uncomfortable with Rukzha's touch, Bertholdt feels the energy running through his veins, healing his head and stopping the headache... it was a different healing than the one he was used to, provided by his Goddess, more primal but he decided not to linger his thoughts in the matter and simply thanked the half-orc.
Sabrina's eyes slight changes their color while she observes the newcomer but she senses no evil in her.
After the discovery of the pit trap, Elriel easily jumps over it, landing besides the chest. Upon close examination, he finds it is neither trapped nor locked and quickly opens it. Inside it he finds a well made light wooden shield with the face of a lion in relief, a carved ring apparently made of coconut shell, two scrolls, two potions of darkvision, and an assortment of coins, totaling 250 gold pieces (900cp, 550sp, 126gp, 6pp).
With the same grace as the previous jump, Elriel crosses over with the recovered items. Arrika is able to identify the scrolls as a scroll of identify and a scroll of magic fang.
________________________________
A scroll to help in learning more about magic auras, and a scroll to make attacks with tooth or claw stronger. Arrika grinned at recognizing the second scroll; she knew Kelumarion would be rather excited. I don't know much about the shield, but the ring is meant to help with climbing - Bertholdt, maybe that one should be yours, she finishes softly with a small smile. The priest still intimidated her some, but she was starting to grow used to him - and the joke was too good to miss.
Seeing that Arrika identified the ring already Rukzha focuses on the shield. "Let me see if this works first... I could use the scroll to learn about it, but it would be a one time thing. I don't know the spell so I could use the scroll to learn it, but it would destroy it in the process." She muses while she concentrates to find out the results.
|
Sabrina stood guard as the hidden room was explored. the items brought out seemed interesting enough.
You guys take what you need, I'll work with what's left.
looking to the new girl I did not sense evil in you, but perhaps you could tell us a little about yourself. As I mentioned, I am Sabrina De'Foe. Crusader from the second crusade. I am somewhat the leader of this little group, but we all have equal say in what direction we take. We have a others up the rope there.
Smug with his jumping ability, the half-elf presents the chest to his companions. He sniffs at one of the darkvision potions and pockets it.
"So not bad. We rescued a damsel in distress, caught dinner for several days, and got some treasure... Not bad at all."
At the mention of the other people, "Yes, there are people and cat-things up there and also our exit so let's get a move on. Is everyone healthy to climb up or will we have to pull people up?"
Rukzha blushes slightly at Elriel's comment about rescuing a damsel in disress, though underneath the mask and the tattoos it's hard to spot her skin turning a slightly darker hue. "Thank you for rescuing me. Yes I can tell a bit about myself."
"I'm with the Order of Heralds as you might have noticed already." She holds her hand up to her chest to the symbol displayed there on the stretched cloth. "Though I'm afraid I'm no knight. My talents lies in other areas. A bit of healing." She gestures to Bertholdt. "And a bit other magic." She gestures to the fishes, one of whom she did put down. I don't know how much I can trust them yet. One of them could be with the inquisition. I can't very well tell them the Order rescued me from them...
"Hopefully I'll be able to climb up by myself. Let me try." Rukzha answers Elriel and moves towards the latter.
Here - we've got this, why not use it? Arrika indicates the coconut shell ring still in her hand. Everyone can put it on for their climb, then toss it back down for the next person to use. No reason not to.
"That's a good idea. I imagine that'll be useful several places. Hmm... Too bad it won't work when climbing down, tossing the ring up again would be hard, unless it was aided by magic. I've heard of such a spell, Mage Hand, but sadly I don't know it myself." Rukzha muses over the uses of the ring for climbing up and down before getting in on the plan to climb.
You are able to climb the 40ft. rope without any problem, moving forward to find Kelumarion, Lann, Anevia and Aravashnial.
Lann: Lann is a tall, thin creature with a face that melds the features of an attractive elven man, a goat, and a lizardfolk. His oversized fingers end in dull, spadelike talons.
Anevia: Anevia is a tomboyish woman with black hair trimmed short, somewhat beautiful, wearing the outfits of a scout, a shortbow in her back and a crutch to help her with her broken leg.
Aravashnial: Aravashnial is a tall elf man with white hair (even if he is not old), dressed in scholarly robes and a beautiful staff in his hands. He is using a piece of cloth to cover his eyes but many scars and burns could be seen in his face.
Lann greets the newcomer even if a little wary of her appearance. "My name is Lann and I'm pleased that you were able to be found alive... many other prisoners had no such luck."
Anevia quickly recognizes the Order of Heralds' symbol on Rukzha's chest and a sparkle of hope lightens or her face. "Bless Iomedae for guiding us towards you! I'm Anevia. Have you been able to see the current state of Kenabres? Do you have any news about the Eagle Watch?"
Aravashnial remains silent for a while before introducing himself. "And I'm Aravashnial, a Riftwarden..."
Rukzha's eyes lit up when she recognize Avarashinal from the text she had read on the Riftwardens just yesterday. Never so bad that it's not good for something... Before she can query him though, Anevia speaks up. She decides to answer her questions first as they seem more important to their immediate situation.
"I'm Rukzha Kerzuk. About current state... It's chaos. A huge demon razing everything in sight and no one have been able to stop it so far. I don't even know how the Order is doing, I got separated by the rest. In fact I don't even know how long I've been down here. They gave me something that knocked me out for Iomedae knows how long. I'm the one who should thank the Inheritor for bringing you here. Without you I would be fish food or even worse, sacrifice to the demons."
Before the talk can continue on current current events Rukzha turns towards Avarashinal. "Avrashinal! I was just reading about you yesterday! The first name I've been able to track down. It's only a few months ago I learned I got a mark that's somehow tied to your organization. I would show you... But you wouldn't be able to see it. I've got so many questions!"
"yes, like I said before, we can all have tea after we get out of here. I'm ready, Sabrina. Lead on."
______________
"We should learn what we can, when we can, you never know when you'll need the knowledge. But of course the top priority is to proceed. We can talk while we wait for you to say the way is clear." Rukzha answers to Elriel's dismissal of exchanging knowledge.
"Maybe one of you could share what you've found down here so far while we wait for them? Also, does anyone have a crossbow or sling I could use? The cultists took all my weapons."
Struggling up the rope, Arrika finally rejoins everyone in the tunnel above, arriving in time for Rukzha's questions and Elriel's impatient dismissal. He's right - we do need to move, she answers amicably, trying to smooth over the tension. But nothing prevents soft speaking along the way, does it? she finishes with a smile.
Next to the heavy, water-stained backpack is Kelumarion, sitting on his haunches and staring at the shaft until Arrika re-emerges. When she finally hauls herself over the shaft's edge, she immediately rises to her feet and makes her way to the great cat, embracing him fondly. Except when she slept, the heavenly being was rarely far from her side; she had hated having to leave him behind.
Kelu? Kelu, this is Rukzha. She was unconscious below, but she awoke and aided Elriel in fighting the giant fish - oh, that reminds me! Lann, when we return you'll want to send your people into that cavern. There were fish in there, bigger than any I've ever seen, enough to feed a score of your people for a week!
The information passed along, she turns back to Kelumarion and the orc-blooded woman. Rukzha, this is Kelumarion. My...my clan's guardian spirit. He's bound to me - I can call upon him to take on flesh and travel by my side. The great cat appraises Rukzha carefully, then lowers his head in what is unmistakably a bow.
"Thank you, Sabrina. I'll do my best." She gives a salute and starts loading up the crossbow at once.
Excitement is clear in Rukzha's voice when she learns more about the cat. "Wow, a guardian spirit made flesh. That's cool. Nice to meet you Kelumarion. Another topic I want to learn more about, though obviously not right away." She nods towards Elriel to indicate his impatience.
"Sometimes I wish I could talk more directly to my patron." Then she shudders slightly. "Other times I'm glad they are not here." She reaches for her chest, right above her heart, where the scar linked to her healing hex is.
Anevia is known for her quick wit. Normally a friendly soul, she tends to treat everyone she meets frankly, regardless of their occupation, race, or social standing, a habit that's made her few allies among some of Kenabres's less devout or honest citizens.
Anevia and Irabeth were wedded in the Cathedral of Saint Clydwell
soon they arrived in Kenabres, with Irabeth being a local, differently from Anevia. She enjoys the prestige she receives as the wife
of a member of the Eagle Watch, and assists Irabeth's work by volunteering at the Temple of Iomedae. She reads to the sick and helps make bandages and prepare meals. On occasion, the temple asks Anevia to undertake scouting missions along the river and report on activity in the Worldwound.
You also remembers that Ghortuk sold Irabeth a special elixir when she came back, an elixir capable of permanently changing a person's gender. You think the elixir was used by Anevia and that she was formerly a man.
Aravashnial's face shows a mix of proud and arrogance before answering. "It's Aravashnial actually... but I'm intrigued to know about this mark. Was it presence since your birth or it appeared afterwards? The implications are numerous and..." The elf is cut by the current urgency in Sabrina's and Elriel's words, frowning a bit.
As Sabrina climbs up the old iron ladder, she enters a foul-smelling room with a long corridor to the right. In a corner she also notices a pile of shredded cloth. As Elriel comes up, both of them notice that the 'pile of cloth' starts to move and three horrendous rats emerge.
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Round 1
Dire Rats
Elriel - up
Sabrina - up
Round 2
Arrika
Kelumarion
Elriel
Rukzha
Sabrina
Dire Rats (delayed)
"Yeah, like she said. Large rats good for catching by a large cat-thingy. Get it up here Arrika!"
The half-elf then unsheathes his blades, hops over the hole in the floor, and goes to work.
________________
I am not a merrre kitten forr yourr amusement! Kelumarion deftly leaps forward, landing next to Elriel across the hole and snapping fiercely. But between the precarious position and a hint of soreness at Elriel's jibe, his attack goes wide, his teeth closing on empty air as he lets out a frustrated growl.
"Let me through. I can see in the dark to help with whatever is up there." Rukzha says as she moves towards the ladder, hoping to get up quickly enough to be of help against whatever is up there. If she manages to get up and there are still enemies remaining she'll try to hex one to sleep. It'll repeat the process from before, making the scar along her neck up to her temple contract painfully. This time Rukzha can't help let out a small moan from it. "Ugh."
The conjunct attacks of Elriel and Sabrina almost finish one of the rats... it seems this breed is specially strong. Scared, the rat tries to flee but Elriel is able to finish it quickly as it turns his back to him.
One of the rats tries to attack the rogue but fails miserably and the other chooses Sabrina as its target but sneezes in the middle of his attack, being dazed for a moment.
Sneeze!: You are dazed for 1 round.
________________________________
Arrika - up
Kelumarion
Elriel - up
Rukzha
Sabrina - up
Dire Rat#2
Dire Rat#3 [dazed]
Round 2
Elriel moves aside as the large cat gets through the hole. I wonder if he's going to eat them rats?
The rogue continued to make more cat food as he slashed and stabbed.
________________
[ooc]Damn you, dice roller...
Lashing out again, Kelumarion attempts to tear apart one of the rats...but some misfortune continues to throw off his aim, or bolster his enemies. Once again, the bite goes wide.
Kelumarion enters the room and tries to bite one of the big rats but the creature dodges him easily. Elriel, once more with his deadly twin-swords, cut deep into the rat's hide. Rukzha tries to force her will into the creature's mind but it resists her, perhaps driven by fear. Taking advantage of the poor state of the rat in front of her, Sabrina cuts it through its spine, dropping it is a pool of blood.
The surviving rat tries to escape and neither Elriel's sword nor Kelumarion's jaw are able to stop if from running away through the tunnel to the east... from the same tunnel, two mongrelmen appear, one holding a club and the other a longspear. Both attack Kelumarion but neither succeeds in breaching the god's defenses.
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Round 3
Arrika - up
Kelumarion - up
Elriel - up
Rukzha - up
Sabrina - up
Mongrelmen
"One rat leaves and two more show up!"
the rogue's twin blades continue to hack and slash at his enemies as he takes advantage of his enemy's startled looks.
________________
"Mongrelmen!" Rukzha exclaims in alarm as she tries to recall what she knows of them.
Then she gets away from the ladder to allow more people to get up before once again focusing her power to hex one of the Mongrelmen, targeting whichever seems the least injured. I can't even take down a mere rat? Where have my powers gone? I gotta focus harder. She tries to send one of them into the land of dreams, to dream of being trapped in a small cave with huge fishes, just like the situation they put her in.
Kelumarion takes a vicious snap at the mongrelmen; when it once again has no effect, he then ducks swiftly backwards, leaving room for Sabrina to approach and swing at the intruders while still holding them into the tunnel. Sabrrina! Forrward!
Arrika makes her way into the room as well; as she enters, she gives Kelumarion a soothing pat on the hindquarters, bolstering him for his next attack.
Most mongrelmen live below the surface of the world in hidden caves far from civilization. Despite their varied physical forms, most mongrelmen average 5–6 feet tall and weigh between 150 and 250 pounds on average. A tragically short lifespan limits the creatures’ population growth... mongrelmen rarely live past 35 years.
You remember no special strengths or weaknesses about them but do remember they have an ability to mimic voices.
The mongrel in the front evades Kelumarion's bite, even with Arrika's help. Elriel missed his first attack, hitting the wall of the tunnel, but his second attack is able to slash the mongrel's gut, making him bleed profusely.
The mongrel with the spear falls to the ground, his mind away, trapped in some unknown realm. Even if Sabrina steps forward to attack, she isn't able to finish the wounded mongrel.
Mostly in a reflexive and lucky move, the remaining mongrel hits Sabrina in her chest, making her lose her breath for a while.
Gut Slash: Double damage and bleed. Target cannot swallow whole.
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Round 4
Arrika - up
Kelumarion - up
Elriel - up
Rukzha - up
Sabrina - up
Mongrelman#1 [10 dmg - wounded (-2), bleeding (2)]
Mongrelman#2 [asleep]
Sabrina finishes the last mongrel standing, hitting him in the same place of Elriel's attack, almost splitting him in two if not for his spine. The other guard still stood asleep but Bertholdt moved forward and finished his life.
A rusted iron door sits in the center of the eastern wall of the next small chamber. A copper brazier hangs from the ceiling above a flimsy wooden table.
"Finish off the last one, or at least disarm and bind him if we want to question him. He'll wake up in a moment." Rukzha says as she rushes over to Sabrina. "Let me heal you." She says before touching the paladin. There is no incantation, but the scar over hear heart contracts painfully. She's used to the pain and doesn't make much noise though. The healing is not like divine healing at all. There is no light and the wounds don't magically dissapear, instead the flesh and bone knit themselves together. It's not pain-free, but it's not as painful as reciving the wound either and once the process is done the pain is certainly less.
"Damn, that wasn't very effective." Rukzha comments and this time she incants an arcane phrase.
-
"K̤̞̞̹͓̭͗͑̿̾n̢̪̝͖̍ͥͅỉ̢̛͖͚ͣ͆ͨ͐̈t͚̫̜̱̣͐ͥ̌̊ͨ̿ ̠̺̏̽ͫ́ͪ͟t̪̰̠̩̑ͬ͐͜o̫̫͈̪͉͚̿̊̂͐̐̓͋ͬ̈g̷̤͍̼ͮͪ͌̓̂̚e̡̺̘̪̟̤͇̐ͧ̏͂̐̂t̸̥̦̦̹̞͐̒͜͡ẖ̨̦͎̥͒ ͪͭ̈́͑͛ͅͅe̶̮̩̲͎̭ͮ̔͒̓ŗ͈̺͉͕̺̟͓̭͌̍̏̈́̑͡ͅ"
-
Arrika watches as the half-orc woman tends to Sabrina's wounds, fascinated by the rituals and incantations. It looked nothing like the priests' magic, that much was sure; their healing was all warmth and holy radiance, but this woman's was different. More...primal, visceral almost. R...Rukzha? she ventures timidly as the woman finishes. I...I don't know that I've ever seen magic like yours. How...how did you learn it? Do your tattoos help you control it? Or were you born with it -?
Sheepishly, she lapses into a moment of embarrassed silence. It's just...I'm beginning to learn how to control magic, too. Kelu said it was to be expected, as we began to grow closer and more of his energy began to cross our link...but it's made me...curious on the topic. And I've always found it fascinating, how some people could conjure things or energy from thin air...and if I'm to learn how to use it, I'd like to know how others do, too...
Magic, they are discussing magic...
A practical Elriel slits the throat of the slumbering mongrel and proceeds to search for anything that might be of value.
He then nods to Sabrina making sure she was ready to move along.
"C'mon people, we can chit-chat later... over tea. But let's get outta here, yes?"