the figure keeps moving forward wordlessly, coming into view. What looks like a humanoid in a cloak at first is quickly shown to be something much more unusual. Vines wrap and grasp at a pair of sickles, wrapped tight into a humanoid form. Instead one head, a giant rose rests where the face of the cloak should be.
Gin shifts colors and blends into the walls and the mist.
Lwazi watches warily.
"It is like the walls of the maze," he comments. "A guardian of sorts, perhaps."
Suspecting violence is inevitable, he calls on the powers of the spirits to protect him.
Roy holds his sword and shield between himself and the creature.
We are only here to examine this land. We mean you no harm, but we will retaliate if you force us to.
With a moments' concentration Rivet's words are charged with telepathic force. "Well met. I am Rivet; by what name should I call you? Is this maze your home?"
the creature shifts a bit in place, and the rose splits in four to reveal a four-segmented mouth filled with teeth. It speaks in a strange, raspy voice, in a language unknown to most.
It's accent is odd and thick, but understandable. It offers a plain ultimatum- "yield or die."
Lwazi bears his teeth and replies in the same tongue.
the creature replies again, the exact same words, the exact same tone- as if the first time it said it was just getting played again.
"Hold, Lwazi. It doesn't sound capable of betrayal. If we just need to get through, I suggest we leave it be."
As an aside Luca translates to the others in the party.
"It makes sense to me that if you want to hide something, you put a guard in front of it. This thing doesn't seem to think on it's own. We'd just be cutting down a tree."
Roy looks to the where the feet of the thing would be to see if it's rooted or connected to any vines, etc.
Lwazi nods in agreement with the others. "It does seem to be an automaton of sorts. Do we fight past it or try another passage?"
the creature is very much capable of moving forward, taking another step, and moving into a combat stance, repeating itself once more.
"I doubt this thing will simply let us leave," Lwazi states, warily shifting to a more ready stance.
"Ehh. I would rather we not." Luca holds his hands by his side.
"I think the option of avoiding violence has passed us."
"Well yeah, if you're waving a sword around at a guard. I'd be miffed too."
"Is miffed truly the right word? I see no evidence that this being thinks, as such." Rivet backs up a few paces as he turns a crystal over in his hands - the one from the metal chamber underneath a hill.
Lwazi doubted putting his sword away at this point was a good idea, but he takes a couple of experimental steps back.
"Yield or die scarcely seems to leave room for 'sorry, wrong turn, we'll just turn around'," he comments, not taking his eyes off of the creature.
The creature takes another step forward as the group steps back, but still hasn't attacked yet.
Narrowing his eyes, Lwazi moves to continue to the east, though he keeps his gaze on the creature the whole time. His instincts scream to attack... and also to retreat, but he pushes them aside for now to see if it will follow them further into the maze.
the creature's mouth opens in a screech, darting forward at lawazi, and taking a slash...
... at his weapon, nearly taking it out of his hand.
Lwazi snarls and slashes back twice, falling into a rage as he does so.
Roy takes a step around the creature from Lwazi's side and takes his own two slashes at the creature across from Lwazi.
To-hit
damage
acid
To-hit
damage
acid
Rivet yelps and a beam of fire flashes out from his hand holding the crystal at the plant-creature.
the creature doesn't last long agiasnt the onslaught, turning to a pile of smoldering vines as the party tears it apart.
Roy nudges the thing with his sword.
"Any of you smart folks think it's good for anything? It's all Thorny, so I don't think it's a coincidence that it's here. I think we should go the direction it was guarding."
The half orc lets his sword go and it fades from existence, dropping anything staining it to the ground.
Gin fades back to his normal colors, looking at the creature's remains.
"I'll see what I can come up with."
Gin kneels down next to it.
the creature is poisonous, but otherwise mostly useless.
Lwazi, as usual, is frowning.
"It went down much too easily..." he comments suspiciously. "We must be on our guard. Worse may well come now."
Once Gin is done with his analysis, Lwazi starts heading in the direction formerly guarded by the creature.
Is that just a frown, or does Lwazi want to kill and eat something? It's so hard to tell now. Rivet swallows his first words and follows along.
"It, ah, did seem to be trying to effect a nonlethal attack," he comments, "perhaps its master will be willing and perhaps more able to talk."
continuing down the path the creature was on, It's not long before another mist cloaked figure arrives, this one much less humanoid, the figure in the mist appearing almost quadrupedal, but It's front legs are somewhat off the ground.
"Do you have anything more to say than the first?" Lwazi calls out as the figure comes into view. "We would be willing to talk, if our safety were guaranteed."
there is now reply but a low growl as the figure stalks forward, not vocalising at all- it looks just like the last creature, but shaped like one of the raptors that are relatively common outside the maze.
Lwazi growls back. "There will be no parleying with this one," he comments, tensing himself to spring.
*Sigh* "Alright, alright. I'll approach first. Luckily, I don't happen to have a sword. If this doesn't change anything, we can paste this one too. Then I'll stop bothering everyone with my pacifist garbage. Promise."
Luca approaches the vine-raptor-plant-thingy with his hands up.
"Ah, I'm not sure-" Rivet is less ready than his companions.
the raptor looks at luca quietly, snarling but not making a move.
"A lack of a fighting usually means a lack of injuries. If a fight can be avoided it is worth it to try to do so."
Gin states while watching the interaction.
"What are these things even doing here? Of course I'd prefer not to kill them, but we'll never get through this place with them guarding every damn hallway."
Roy is at the ready with his saber and shield.
Luca attempts to move past the raptor ready to turn away an attack if its turns hostile.
The raptor attempts to grab luca as he gets close. Any degree of resistance to this will prevent it.
Pushing against it reflexively, the holy bird attempts to maintain his non-hostile resolution.
Lwazi watches warily, his every muscle tensed and ready to spring, but he allows Luca to try his way for now.
the vines continue to instantly try and wrap around something- an arm, leg, doesn't matter, but it's easy to prevent. The raptor hisses slightly as Luca pushes.
Roy watches in confusion as Luca slap fights the raptor's vines.
While it's distracted with Luca, Roy tries to go around the other side, ready to shield block.
"What a peculiar guard." remarks Rivet as he tries to slip by in Roy's shadow.
the creature doesn't react, entirely focused on Luca now.
Lwazi follows the others. "It does seem rather poor at its job," he agrees.