You see a long, narrow presentation space for visiting academics, adventurers, and pathfinders to share their knowledge. The stage at the north end is raised 2 feet higher than the seating area, but is otherwise unremarkable.
Both of you see a large staff office, with chairs and a desk with stacks of paperwork. Basil spots a hidden panel in the desk and he pulls it, finding a contains a collection of letters written by Nigel to an anonymous contact in the elven homeland of Kyonin where he is negotiating a deal to smuggle out several historical relics.
"Looks like some sort of lecture hall. I don't see anyone in it."
He then opens the door to check it out more thoroughly.
The lecture hall looks like the way it is as you remote viewed it, a long, narrow presentation space for visiting academics, adventurers, and pathfinders to share their knowledge. The stage at the north end is raised 2 feet higher than the seating area, but is otherwise unremarkable. Some chairs seem to have been askew, as if someone was trying to leave the place in a hurry.
The other northern doors are staff offices, containing a desk and a chair, piled full with paperwork, but less lavish then the first one. There's a mug of half drunken coffee on the desk of the left most room, but other then that, nothing remarkable.
Both of you head south. Warm colors and skillful paintings of scenes and landscapes lend an inviting charm to this salon. A few small tables and chairs have been up-ended and scattered around the floor. Double-doors to the east are labeled “Hall of Incantation,” while open passageways lead north(from where you came) and south.
Basil spots movement from an innocuous looking decorative potted plant, next to the Hall of Incantation. He takes a closer look. It really is bigger then any potted plant has a right to be, vines and all. And...when he looks quite carefully, he seems to make out the shape of a MOUTH on the plant.
"That... is a big pot plant!"
He then tries to work out what it is.
Pod Prison
This works like the swallow whole ability, except the moonflower can only use it once every 1d4 rounds, and the swallowed creature is immediately wrapped in a tight digestive cocoon and expelled into an adjacent square, where it takes damage every round (2d6 bludgeoning and 2d6 acid, AC 15, 25 hp). The cocooned target cannot use Escape Artist to get out of the cocoon. Other creatures can aid the target by attacking the cocoon with piercing or slashing weapons, but the creature within takes half the damage from any attack against the cocoon. Once the cocoon is destroyed, it deflates and decays. Each creature swallowed by a moonflower is encased in its own cocoon.
Hearing your voice, it suddenly turns and looks at you. Now that it is not trying to keep up its masquerade, you can see it has a twisted trunk clustered with bulbous blossoms holdding up a gaping maw ready to swallow a victim whole.
"That is an alien plant - it can emit pulses of bright light, is resistant to non-slashing weapons, and if it can grab you in its 'mouth', will try to swallow you to insert you into a seed pod."
He then steps back 5', studies it, and then unleashes a flurry of arrows...
It shierks with rage. Your first arrow hits a joint but fails to penetrate far enough. The second arrow hits it but does not seem to penetrate fully, though you can still see it harmed by the electricity. The third arrow bounces off its unnaturally tough stem.
Both of you see the 2nd arrow Basil shot being slowly pushed out of the moonflower as it heals itself of the damage.It uproots itself and charges at Valda.
It bites you with its maw and sucks you in.
"Gah!"
Basil backs up, and keeps shooting at the giant plant, hoping to take it down before it can swallow Valda.
Basil's hands move in a blur as he somehow manages to get three arrows up in the air at the same time. All 3 hit the same spot on the moonflower, pushing the initial arrow deep enough to penetrate its heart. It screeches horribly, then collapses in death, dropping Valda down into a pile of vegetative matter.
Both of you see something glittering in the moonflower's now abandoned pot.
A pearl, whip feather token, and a circlet with a topaz embeded in its centre.
Basil breathes a sigh of relief when the plant stops moving. He makes *sure* it is dead (since it seemed to be healing fairly fast earlier), then follows Valda.
Valda realizes that is a lavatory. On opening, she sees separate facilities provided, with ample space for guest lecturers to wash or change. There is no one inside.
There really isn't much of the plant except scorched vegetative matter, after Valda has gone through with the remains with her flaming sword.
The Hall of Incantations displays magical objects of historical significance that have fallen into the hands of the Blakros’ family. Spellbook pages depicting nearly two-dozen cantrips have been carefully framed and hung around the room’s perimeter. Beyond, both of you see 3 strange metallic creatures with each of its arms holding a strange tool. They see you as well. "Targets Detected. Collector bots deployment initiated. "Both of you hear mechanical voices in sync from all of them as their rotors whirl and they come to life.
The items on-display are actually nonmagical replicas of genuine artifacts. You didn't think they'd be putting the real stuff on display, do you?
All collector bots fire their guns at you.
All their shots glance harmlessly off your armor.
"Lovely. Flying constructs..."
Shaking his head, Basil chain-guns the northernmost of the two northern robots, after marking it.
Basil shoots both robots out of the airspace in quick succession with his longbow.
Valda hits her construct with a grievous clang, but her heavy axe doesn't seem to penetrate as far as she would have expected it to, as if the metal these robots were made out of was a little too hard...
And the fire doesn't seem to affect it at all.
The robot tries to grab at Valda with its grappling hook hands.
Both blows clang harmlessly off her armor.
Nodding in satisfaction, Basil attempts to finish-off the final robot.
Basil shoots the remaining robot out of the air. Now both of you are left with 3 sizzling robots on the ground. Basil also notices to the east where there's a "Caution - wet floor sign", inside the signpost, there is a bomb.
Basil rolls up his sleeves, gives himself Guidance, and attempts to disable the bomb.
Basil easily disables the bomb. He finds himself in a gallery is a collection of unexplained or bizarre curios from the Blakros archive, more akin to a carnival sideshow than a museum collection. Noteworthy exhibits include a colorful folded manual brought back from an empire across the Arcadian Ocean, a pickled gnoll fetus, a series of twelve quartz crystals carved to look like brains supported by frail humanoid bodies, and a clockwork device with no apparent useful function. There are 2 staircases leading down to the first level. He manages to find all his arrows.
A gigantic reptilian beast is on display in the center of this expansive gallery, ferociously leering over the collection of taxidermied animals and monsters. Many exhibits have been smashed or torn apart, scattering limbs and sawdust across the basalt floor.
A small door at the eastern A small door at the eastern end of the room is labeled “Private Events Only.”
This impressive gallery features all manner of beasts from across three continents, mostly felled by members of the Blakros family. The biggest draw is a stuffed “tyrant lizard,” but the gallery includes almost anything worth hunting, from marlins and a tiger to a cockatrice and hippogriff.
Both of you also see 4 sludge like things bobbing on the floor.
Basil joins you heading south.
Advanced Hungry Fleshies With that roll you'd know everything.
Upon seeing the blobs, Basil wrinkles his nose in disgust.
"Those are hungry fleshes, a type of ooze accidentally created by alchemists investigating regeneration. They live only to consume. In addition to being able to regenerate (which is bypassed by acid and fire), they actually grow bigger when hit with slashing and piercing attacks - *So only using bludgeoning*! They also deliver a nasty disease with their attacks, which will eventually turn you into one of them..."
He then unleashes on the closest oozes with a pile of blunt arrows.
One ooze stops quivering. The moment Valda strikes the ooze with her flaming sword, it burns up, giving a disgusting mixed odor of burnt decaying flesh.
The rest of the oozes slither in, leaving trails of reddish slime but behind only two manage to get close to engage Valda. The back ooze seems to compress itself, in order to become smaller.
Valda easily sidesteps one of their clumsy lunges, right into the way of the other. Luckily the lunge does not have enough force to penetrate armor.
Basil nods.
"That sounds like an excellent plan, Valda - I'll tag them, you bag them!"
He then keeps up the steady stream of arrows.
Basil fires 3 arrows into an ooze. It stops quivering, and Valda finishes it off with an acid flask, dissolving the fleshy remains.
One of their slams nearly connect, but Valda manages to get out of the way in time.
Now that the herd of quivering flesh as been thinned a little, Basil stops using Bane, and instead marks the final remaining 'big' ooze, before firing upon it.
Only two of Basil's arrows hit the mark, but the oozes stops quivering.
Valda dissolves the remains of another oozes. There's a disgustung odor of acid mixed with decaying flesh in the air.
The remaining ooze tries to attack Valda.
It hits only air as Valda steps out of the way.
Basil marks it, and then pops another trio of arrows past Valda!
The last arrow misses, and this time the ooze does not go inert.
"Sorry about that, Valda - give me a second..."
With a frown, Basil pours another wave of arrows into the ooze.