Hecate also looked around the room, but mostly kept an eye on Scath, figuring that the cat would likely notice danger first... and allow her to react to it more properly. Animal aids were far from uncommon in warfare, although truth be told, technology had replaced most of that...
Roy is able to perceive Scath's scent with ease, but actively tracking him seems difficult; his path crisscrosses itself several times, and Roy is certainly not adept at tracking. But it's definitely a unique scent.
Skyscale follows Roy for a bit, before Hope chirps and informs the others of what is going on.
"Go anticlockwise around outside of cave. Not go up or down ramp. Small bridge intersect Cave, go under. Turn right. Go down ramp. Continue anticlockwise. Fourth cavern on right. Stupid Two-legs. Scath being watched but no see watcher. Not like."
Once Hecate and the others follow their noses and eyes to Scath, they're met with the same shop; they see the same man with his back turned to them behind the counter. He seems to be staring into a small pool, and patently ignoring everyone. As they enter, they likewise get the feeling that they are being observed.
Skyscale makes a chuffing sound as they enter the store, but doesn't explain himself unless asked. He moves around looking at things, completely ignoring the feeling of being watched. He seems more interested in the brightly colored armors made of the lizard-squirrel hybrid's hides.
Hecate checked her weapon again, but didn't speak up. Talking to people was... not her thing. Best to let someone who was actually good at that try to figure out exactly what was going on here.
Once the others arrive, Scath begins to sniff about the room, trying to find out where the undead went. The strange activities of the lizardfolk, upon reflection, might be simply him looking into a scrying pool, which would explain the sense of being watched. Although why he'd do that rather than look at people coming in...
He sniffs about the room, searching for the scent trail.
Scath snuffles through the room crossing and crisscrossing his own path, doublechecking trails as he comes to places they cross, before deciding on the freshest pathway. He skips several side-paths and simply heads straight to the counter, where a lot of time seemed to have been spent yet again, and then immediately snuffles towards the exit off on the left of the cavern from where he had entered.
This direction is less lit than the other directions, but Scath has little trouble navigating the space compared to some of the others.
Skyscale follows along closer than before, humming absent-mindedly as they went. There is an occassional dancing light torch as Scath travels, but this is clearly a path off from the road normally taken.
As they traveled, Hecate kept her mouth shut - communications discipline was one of the very first things they taught, because if a soldier couldn't keep their mouth shut, they could blow a lot of missions. And that defeated the purpose of having soldiers in the first place.
Pierce simply follows with a smile as the conversation died down, he does object to the robot calling them stupid but otherwise doesn't say much, content to take in the scenery.
The group continues to move along, following after Scath, as Scath follows the trail; onward and onward, ever deeper into the caverns. The darkness steadily begins to become more pervasive as the lights become more and more uncommon, yet deeper they go, to the point where the only sound is their own movement. The scent trail becomes steadily easier to follow, even as the trail itself becomes difficult and rocky. The group has pressed well beyond the point at which they likely should have camped were it not for their choice to forced march, and begins to set in.
Skyscale starts to grumble as he follows along, his steady humming and excitement becoming replaced by boredom and wear.
Hecate glanced up at the dragon as they continued moving, pondering her options - and recognizing the signs of those who truly weren't used to marching long distances. You had to break them out of that early on if you wanted to make a good soldier.
Scath, seeing he's surrounded by people who are not warriors and can't do even the most minor of forced marches, looks for a place to curl up for the night.
Finding a nice dry offshoot cavern that's big enough to hold them but isn't currently in use by others, the cat stalks in, curls up in a cubby hole, and promptly goes to sleep, leaving the two-legs to deal with their needs.
"I think little bit has the right idea. I can't keep this up, and I'm not even walking myself. If whatever the thing is is buying things, maybe it's not that bad. It could be nice."
Bear follows into the offshoot and drops to the ground with a thump. He rolls over and Roy falls off, ending with Bear on his belly with Roy pinned underneath him.
"OK. I get it. No more walkin tonight."
Roy tries and fails to push out from under the big cat-bear-dragon thing.
"At least let me get my things out out. Yer gonna break my licker bottles. And I don't know when I'm gettin more of those, ya great big thing, you."
He nudges Bear off in a less joking manor and he rolls off, letting Roy take out his hammock and take the backpack off.
The group presses onwards for just a short amount of time, before Scath finds a location he feels is safe enough to den up in.
Like much of the rest of the cave, the caverns feel a little unnatural; while it's entirely possible, due to the shapes of the excavations, that any given portion was created by natural means, the mostly-unfaltering size of the pathway suggested that the caverns were likely hewn to a wider shape.
The offshoot that Scath settles in appears to be more natural than most, safe and dry, with very few critters ambling around, given the lack of water. The section is respectably lit, being just off from the main path. While not immediately obvious, those who have had adequate military training, or spent a great deal of time in the wilderness can tell by which musclegroups are tired that they've been primarily ascending slowly. Wherever they're going, it's 'up'.
Skyscale, for his part, curls up near the entrance, watching Scath with interest as he finds a cubby hole. He looks around, but finds that there's no space similar for him to take advantage of, and instead rests his head on his tail after walking in circles for a few moments, facing the others.
He occassionally looks down the hallway and whines a little, but then always returns to the former position.
When the group awakens the next day, Pierce has vanished sometime during the night, and taken his belongings with him when he went.
The dragon awakens, shakes, and grumbles a few times in his own language, then moves back into the hallway and stretches languidly. He looks down the hallway, and sits, looking back to the rest of the group, before looking back down the hallway once more, clearly ready to press onwards.
Scath stands up and begins to try to follow the trail again.
The group rises, takes a bit of time to eat some of their rations, all of which involves a staring dragon (unless one of you feeds him adequately), and then set off on your way once more, moving ever onwards and upwards.
After perhaps an hour of travel (1:13 to be precise, digital technology!), it becomes more apparent that the caverns are becoming far less hewn and far more natural. Dampness begins to pervade the caverns as well, though aside from very, very occasional drips, there isn't much trickling water. Insects and (of course) lizards begin to fill the area, and interestingly enough for being this deep, they all seem to have sight. They scurry away when they spot you, and for good reason... Skyscale seems very interested in the brightly colored critters.
Until this point, Scath was able to mostly lead the way by simply walking along the lit path... but the lights seem to steadily grow fewer and further between. Likewise, offshoots become more and more common, though it is easy enough for Scath to follow the trail, still; this is a road rarely taken with little air flow.
Steadily, the group can hear a hissing noise from the direction they're traveling in. It sounds almost like the static of a television screen.
Hecate frowned a bit and raised her weapon a little higher as she heard the hissing sound, figuring that it was usually better to be cautious than not when you didn't know what you were getting into. As for feeding the dragon, she didn't have nearly enough food for that, though she did suggest that he go hunt something on his own at some point.
The next morning, a flickering of fire starts up next to Roy before he seemingly wakes up at all, heralding Bear's entrance.
"So we're still here at least. Wait. Where did Pierce go? How are we suppost ta talk with him now?"
He gestures to the dragon, lamenting the fact that their dumb luck took away the one person that was most important to their survival right now.
Roy will offer the dragon a bit of his food, and get ready for the day. It's not a meal for him, but it would be impolite not to give him anything at all.
With nothing to be done about their translator being gone, he is ready to go when everyone else is.
Skyscale seems quite pleased with Roy and sticks close to him when they begin to travel onwards. While he can't really speak with him, the message is clear; friends with food are the best kind of friend.
The dampness begins to become pervasive, but the scent is very fresh now; it would seem that whatever they are following, with its overtones of undeath, also rested nearby, or at the very least took the time to make preparations.
The static sounds becomes a dull roar, as the group enters into a huge cavern; the entire thing looks to have once been an aquifer that had been filled to the brim with water, based on the wear and mineral deposits along the walls, but now it is home to a gigantic waterfall that falls from overhead in the deep darkness, before crashing somewhere far below. The lights of the room do little to fully illuminate the massive cavern that the group has found itself in, but the way around the edge of the cavern is clearly visible. The water clearly empties somewhere below them, in the darks amidst rocks and rapids.
The group continues forward, following the stone path around the edge, and then finally across the gap, following a scent trail that meanders about the room and its walkways, before heading behind the waterfall, from which no sound escapes; the scent trail becomes impossible to follow for a moment, and there are no more magical lights along the path.
"Hmm..." Hecate mused. "Anyone got something we can light the way with?" Sadly, one thing her optical turrets DIDN'T do was let her see in the dark. She really needed to get (or, more likely, make) lens for that someday.
As soon as it got dark, Roy would've put a light on something. This time it's a sock he slips over one of Bear's horns.
Light pebble on ground, if two leg too stupid to pick it up, then they too stupid follow. He says, mildly amused.
"In the lilt of Irish laughter, you can hear the angels sing... Hey. Do we even know where we're going anymore? I've slept since then, and surprisingly we're still here..."
As the group moves forward, they see their first hint of light from the front... and hear something akin to moaning from the next room; it's not in pain or any other particular emotion, just a steady droning in a language that the group does not particularly understand. A slumped figure covered in a dark robe doesn't even bother to look in your direction as it continues to work near the water.
A trail of tiny maggots starts at approximately the door, where a blue-black lizardfolk hide rests as if having been sloughed off. The scent trail Scath has been following ends there, replaced by the scent of nothing but the magots that seem trailed along the pathway before him.
The room takes on an obviously hewn appearance compared to the rest of the caverns. The walls are well-cut and smooth aside from carvings and shapes reminiscent of Hope's bunker-home architecture. There are sweeping lines and curving arches, and even small rails built into the walls. Small metal beetles sit broken and scattered across the floor in places.
The room smells old, and there are cobwebs everywhere. The ground is covered in dust, save from a slick line from the entrance to where the creature awaits, though the trail is also smudged along the edges. It is clear that until recently, no one had been here in decades.
The room is dimly lit by the multi-colored lanterns you have seen before, making it exceedingly easy to hide from those without the benefits of darkvision.
The room is well-lit, with no source for the light, and comfortable, lined with large chunks of black rock. There are silk-lined beds with pillows around the room, couches, and a slowly-bubbling brook, coming from one end of the room and moving to either side of the dais you're resting on.
You hear in your head, in a soft, melodic voice that immediately reminds you of Skylar, 'Oh, good morning. I'm glad you have awakened. Your friends are nearly here, and I suspect they're going to be dealing with that... thing... soon. I only had enough energy to pull one of you here to explain what was going on, but... you were sleeping. It would be quite nice if you would go outside and stop the thing from doing what it is trying to do.' The woman's form animates as she speaks, as if talking, but no sound comes out, the intermediate just vanishing, as you hear her voice in your head as if thoughts.
There is a single very large door opposite you that you can see without getting up. 'I've kept it locked out, but I'm not sure how long that is going to last'
Channel healing energy, but to hurt undead, when I roar. If no can do that, warn others that maggots like jungle ants, one no hurt, but thousands eat you alive...
Scath then moves forward silently, staying in the shadows.
Moving more on instinct than anything else, Hecate hurried over to the side wall, checking her weapon again as she peered around the corner at the door. If it was locked, she could probably just shoot the lock off - and either way, she wanted to remain in cover as much as possible.
Roy hops off of Bear and scampers over to Hecate.
"I think Mr robe guy skinned a lizard man," Roy whispers.
Bear moves over next to him again the wall, flanking Roy with Hecate.
"It smells like month old deer in here..."
He pulls his blow gun and loads a special metal dart in it.
As Scath moves across the room quietly, Hope peeks out of the beltpouch he keeps her in, to get a better look at the outside world.
'Ooooh. Very good architecture. Dumb dog-lizard-men do this? Two legs or four-legs? Reminds hope of home. Even has clean-rails for clean-beetles. Looks like someone too forceful with beetles. Now not clean. Sad day.'
The floor is smooth, with small round divots down the middle, as if something were once placed into the gaps, that have been pried out. Whatever the man is doing he appears to be oblivious to Scath.
It isn't until he steps into the dim light of another overhead torch, as he slinks forward, that he notices the maggots, and they seem to notice him. He is much quicker to react, and knowing what to look for, he quickly sums up the threats around him.
The oversized larvae have a pair of oversized pincers, and a tooth-lined maw. They cling to the walls near breaks in spiderwebs and leave disgusting streaks behind them wherever they have gone. They have white-green skin, and several large black eyes. tiny black, chitinous legs grow out like thorns all over their bodies.
Initiative:
Hecate (Unaware)
Scath
Pierce (Unaware)
Unknown (Unaware)
Roy (Unaware)
Maggotses.
Surprise rounds call for move or standard actions, not both. :)
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
[dice=Dungeoneering Scath]1d20+6
As the group moves forward, they see their first hint of light from the front... and hear something akin to moaning from the next room; it's not in pain or any other particular emotion, just a steady droning in a language that the group does not particularly understand. A slumped figure covered in a dark robe doesn't even bother to look in your direction as it continues to work near the water.
A trail of tiny maggots starts at approximately the door, where a blue-black lizardfolk hide rests as if having been sloughed off. The scent trail Scath has been following ends there, replaced by the scent of nothing but the magots that seem trailed along the pathway before him.
** spoiler omitted **...
"...wait what?" Pierce blearily groans out haven just awoken "waz going ons? Who're you?"
Skylar pauses for a moment, taking him literally, then repeats herself verbatim. To the end, she attaches, "I am Skylar Neet, welcome to Origin!" which comes out melodic and excited.
Scath goes right past the maggots then (they are still surprised until their initiative, and therefore can't make AoO on Scath!), and with a last second snarl to surprise the creature he attacks!
+
while skylar talks Pierce subtly checks to ensure he has his armaments and tries to determine where he is. "I apologize for sleeping when you needed to talk. I would love to hear what you have to say, but first I must know how my team is doing. What are they about to face, and are they likely to need immieate assistance"
"I do not know. I am terrible with divination. I am attuned to magic of all sorts, and specifically the energies that run within them. I am much better with necromancy and evocation. Something outside is using evocation as we speak, though I am unable to determine what sort. I was only able to pull you here because of the magic within your blood." All of your possessions are still on you; if it 'belonged' to Pierce, it traveled with him.
Meanwhile, Hecate gets the signal that Scath is in position as he tears into the monster on the other end of the room. As she peeks around to line up a shot, she sees several lumpy, disgusting maggots in pursuit of him. He yowls as he digs his claws into the unaware creature, and while they shred through his clothing, something reminiscent of the last time he chased an undead creature occurred: His claws have a hard time finding prize. They catch and shred, but on the other side of the ruined cloth is a mostly-devoured corpse. Maggots swarm across the body, and where there is flesh, it is bone-dry. The thing slowly looks over its shoulder as if surprised, but it isn't reacting any time soon.
The maggots skitter after Scath, but only the one that he initially noticed manages to assault him, and its attempts are laughable at best.
Hecate/Scath are up!
Hecate scowled slightly as Scath somehow got into the middle of a massive horde of maggots, and she moved forward before aiming at the maggot closest to her (the red one, I believe) and shooting a single bullet from her gun.
for
Hm... not the best shot she'd ever made. Well, she was going to continue firing in a moment, and hopefully that would be enough to thin down their numbers.
Hecate's shot hits dead-center, but unfortunately, any given component of the critter seems less necessary than it would be on a human target. Even still, she nearly cleaves the thing in half.
Scath snarls, and unloads into the creature again, this time doing a full attack!
+
+
+
Scath bites and rends and tears, and what veins it does have are split open, but are bone dry. As he grabs hold of the creature, and prepares to continue his deadly assault, maggots begin to pour from the open wounds. Like the others, the teeth are oversized, and they're covered in tiny gripping legs. Unlike the others, they're of just above average size.
Scath takes four damage from the voracious swarm, but his superior constitution prevents their venom from having any real effect on him.
The creature struggles against Scath, and manages to break his hold long enough to deliver a vicious backhand... but Scath's hold prevents him from maneuvering properly for the blow.
Meanwhile, back at the doorway...
Skyscale stands just outside the open entrance to the cave, whining. He's right next to the sloughed off lizardhide, but he's not bothering with the hide. He seems to be scratching and clawing at something ahead of him, to the point where he is standing on his hand legs, and his forelegs are pressed against a solid surface, his claws physically digging slowly through the air. To everyone on this side of the place where the digging becomes perfectly worked stone, it looks like he's doing an excellent miming impression.
Roy and Fao's turn!
Pierce may enter combat as soon as he exits the room with Skylar (Specifically, he's running asynchronously; whenever the conversation ends is when he appears down here.)
Roy casts Bull's Strength on Bear, and they both move ad far in as they can, meaning Bear is a ways ahead of Roy.
Several of the creatures follow after Scath, while only the slowest among them seems to notice Bear. It moves towards him slowly, muzzle and tiny legs clicking as it goes.
The vile vermin clamber over each other and past each other, moving into position to bite and snap at Scath, but only one finds prize, and the one attacking Bear doesn't manage to succeed in its assault, either. Scath doesn't even really register the wound as the nerves deaden at the site it bites, but the venom doesn't move beyond that.