Tyrus starts to comfort Luca when the others interrupt them.
He listens to Yllaine, Vincent and then Lara - his curiosity rising.
I've spent my whole life reading about old ruins and secret doors, and now it's happening to me. I wonder what's behind it? ...And this might be my last chance to find out
"Understood."
Dante's sour mood flips completely when he hears of the door finally ready to be opened. Then his brain kicks in and he analyzes the situation better.
"Hang on. Before we open it we better be prepared to search it out. We may not be able to close it. We will need supplies, somehow. Weapons, torches, food, rope, and some other things I would think. This may very well be our way out and that in and of itself makes this the most important find yet."
On the ledge of the cliff, he warmly says to Lara, "It is good to know that there is such a light in the world, if possible I will help you both. I wish you the best how ever this all turns out." He squeezes her shoulder to reassure her then lets it fall to his side again.
_______________
That night...
Logan sat next to Lara, if she was not already away watching over her charge, eating with a smile.
Once Tyrus approached him he brought his food to listen to the mage.
"Yes, either of them should do well as an assistant. I have many skills that I told the captain of what I could do, making tools or weapons likely is my best skills then being the foreman would be best for the safety of the diggers, or at least advisor."
"Whatever happens, I will not let violence come to any of you if possible. Dante we will have our time eventually to flee or stand against those who enslaved us."
Then the other three approach...
He raises one eyebrow with interest, calmly he quietly says, "I will come but I still have no weapon but a rock and a dagger. I agree with Dante, we need to find some useful items to prepare ourselves if possible, so find what you can and once all are asleep we can see where it leads."
Once the group disperses, he searches around trying to find any useful items around.
Oh, yay. She had the choice between "stay in a crumbling ruin by herself" and "go into an unknown but potentially dangerous area with everyone else". Honestly, it was probably safer to be around other people, and there seemed to be more magic in this particular group anyway... though some part of her(?) mind thought it would be better to make absolutely sure the goblins didn't overrun the fort in their absence. Struggling through a big cave system only to return and find a battle group of the little things waiting for them would be... unpleasant. She'd... well... stick with the group, it seemed. Better to succeed or fail together - besides, they were adults and probably had better judgment than she did anyway.
Logan will take his time to walk around the whole fort while everyone is awake and even play the dice game some with the other prisoners.
He tries to remember the items he saw and collects the items once everyone is asleep. He collects his armor last and only puts it on once at the door to the... tunnel?
Some people were very creative and had the ability to create useful tools from practically nothing. Others were... a little more lacking in worldly knowledge, and perhaps just a little less able to find useful things simply by using their imaginations and thinking of new ways to manipulate them. Luca was most definitely among the latter group.
In a dusty corner, hidden beneath what looks like the rotted remains of a wooden shelf, Logan finds a length of wood with a rusty iron head on it - perhaps the remains of a torch stand. It has a good enough heft to seem like it could do some damage in combat even though it isn't weighted for it.
Sadly, none of the others manage to find anything.
Logan will find Dante and ask about how he projects his weapon, "Can you project your weapon without the pommel, or do you need a material to start it? Would my knife work? I was able to find a sconce."
"The projection only happens with my hilt, but any weapon would be helpful. The spirit has the strength to make any weapon deadly though."
-Posted with Wayfinder
You all wait until the other prisoners are asleep, making every pretense of preparing to rest as well. When they are snoring away, Lara rises with effortless stealth and taps you each on the shoulder. You all make your way to the secret door.
"There's a switch back here around the corner," Yllaine says in a whisper. "Very well hidden, I found it by luck. Should I throw it now?"
At nods from the rest of you, Yllaine walks away for a few moments. You hear a click as she does something, and then the wall section you had identified as the door swings quietly inward. There is a slight grating sound of stone on stone, but it is faint - the door seems carefully constructed.
Beyond the door is a tunnel, only wide enough for one person at a time, and entirely dark. The light of your torches reveals rough-hewn stone walls and a floor covered in dust, undisturbed in who-knows-how long.
"I think you might be the best option for point man," Lara says to Logan with a smirk. She has taken out her concealed dagger, held in an easy and familiar grip.
Luca's otherworldly companion eyed Logan for a moment, clearly in response to Logan's words... then tilted its head slightly and padded forward, stepping ahead of him to take the lead. For one thing, seeing in the dark wasn't going to be a problem for it... and on an instinctual level, animals were often more observant than two-leggers. If worst came to worst, Luca would have other protectors anyway.
Logan would gladly take point, offering up the sconce (if it is a light weapon) to others as he keeps the dagger out a ready to be used with a torch in his other hand.
"Does anyone have the ability to see in the dark? Otherwise I will take lead." Logan offers.
"But before we go, please allow me to ward myself."
After casting, Tyrus continues
"It'll last an hour or so. I normally ward Torble, but perhaps one of you would prefer it? It's a conjuration of pure force bound to these ward-points on my coat, giving it a toughness comparable to wood - albeit without the durability, weight or awkwardness. I'm afraid it won't really do much for any material but cloth, and possibly leather."
"If you don't mind I think perhaps I could stay at the back with Luca."
Carpe Diem!
"Although I could hold a torch if you like, Logan. Stand behind you. Then you'd have both hands free."
Of Tyrus's question Logan asks in response, "Mage armor? Isn't that a personal spell" He knows about some spells to a limited degree. Then to answer Tyrus' other question, "If you don't need both hands for your casting that would be great." As he already offered the dagger to any who would want it, gives the torch to Tyrus, and holds the sconce in both hands following the black furry crature of Luca's.
Dante speaks up listening to the conversation. "Actually it works on any willing ally nearby. Can't think of a reason why someone would refuse better protection. In fact. I don't think we should wonder around down here much longer than an hour anyway. So I shall cast my own spell as well. We have work tomorrow and we would probably arose suspicion if we showed up exhausted."
Fluffy
Logan
Tyrus
Lara
Yllaine
Dante
Luca
Vincent
Brandishing either clubs or what weapons they managed to find/hide, the group enters the tunnel in single file. Tyrus carries a torch, lighting the way ahead - though the tunnel has many twists and bends. As the leaders round one bend...
Luca's creature steps upon an ever-so-slightly raised section of the floor. A click is heard, followed closely by two sharp twangs like bowstrings. A pair of darts springs from the left wall, one firing from the top corner down, the other from the bottom corner up.
One of the darts strikes the monster in the shoulder, tearing a furrow out of fur and flesh. It lets loose a hissed growl, mindful of the fact that the party is trying to be quiet.
The otherworldly creature growled slightly as the dart bit into it, though it could easily withstand a few more blows of that type without falling. Still, it had its own views on the matter, even if those things wouldn't be understood too well by others. After checking to be sure it wasn't poisoned, the creature padded forward again, looking to be a little more careful as it advanced.
Though a good part of its mind was considering what else it could do to protect its summoner... and in the very near future, it had a plan for doing exactly that. She needed a little more strength as a summoner, though, so it would have to make do for now.
He pulls out some chalk marking the beginning of the pressure plate then once he has jumped over it he marks the other side.
Quietly he alerts Tyrus, "We have a trap here, alert the one behind you to jump over the chalked area."
Tyrus stands open mouthed in surprise as a genuine trap goes off less than ten feet from him. It was a lot less spectacular than he'd always expected. Just a simple, robust machine whose purpose happened to be hurting people.
When Logan tells him to get people to jump the plate he starts to shake. This is really it... he's going to have to jump that. He can do that. Just jumping. He can do that...
Tyrus turns and warns Lara."Trap. Plate. Chalk around it. Make sure you jump it."
"What happened? Was that a trap?" Dante says a little too excitedly.
Logan attempts to avoid the plate entirely, but trips on a rock and stumbles directly onto it. The floor gives a bit, but no other sounds are heard and no more darts spring out from the walls.
You continue onward, and only a moment later come to a wooden door. It is old and somewhat decrepit, with a crude iron knob.
There is a faint sound of movement from the other side of the door.
The doors hinges indicate that it opens away from you rather than into the tunnel. As old as the door is, it shouldn't be hard to kick or smash through.
From the construction of the door as well as the ill-fitting way it is set into the stone, chances are that this door is not trapped in any mechanical way.
Tyrus flinches as Logan trips
"Logan!" he says more loudly than intended. A second later he continues more quietly "Are you alright?"
The otherworldly monster quietly examined the door in question - it was hard to tell what it thought about such... hominid devices.
It didn't seem to be getting much information at all from it, and merely perked its ears up a moment later.
A faint sound could be heard, and the creature promptly started growling towards the door - mainly for the benefit of those behind it, to let them know that it probably wasn't safe to simply waltz on through.
"Wh-what's going on?" Luca asked quietly from her place towards the rear of the group.
"I am luckily fine, only a bruised ego... well at least there is no more darts." He says a little more humble than normal. He looks around and collects the two darts thinking about range in the future.
He whispers to the dark form in front of him, "You ready fluffy?! I will break down the door you go in!"
He gives it a moment to understand and he then charges forward putting his full weight into the door to slam it open...
Combat Map: The Room Beyond the Door
Logan easily busts through the door, ripping the rotting wood out of the doorjam and breaking it to pieces as he barges through. His extra momentum actually causes him to stumble slightly into the room, and the light of Tyrus's torch floods in as well.
You can see that the room is fairly large, with shelves and tables already seen in the reach of the torchlight - as are several huge centipedes, nearly as large as a person themselves. Ichor drips from their mandibles and their shells carried many-hued sheens - broken potion bottles litter the floor. It seems these creatures have been feeding off the magical liquids the bottles once contained. Their legs shiver in excitement - or hunger - as Logan breaks through the door.
Continuing into the room and seeing the creatures brings my weapon in front of me, ready to strike.
Round 1
Now adjacent to two of the centipedes he attempts to cleave through one of them with all his force and keeping up his defenses more than normal.
with combat expertise and PA,
with combat expertise and PA,
with combat expertise and PA,
Hearing the commotion, Dante rushes to the for front, just inside the room. His heart races with excitement at what discoveries this room might hold. His excitement turns to fear as he finds enormous insects populating the room. He doesn't hesitate, however to pull out the dagger and stand defensively before the others.
Logan can go before me.
Moments after the door was blown open, the strange creature Luca had called moved forward, darting alongside Logan before lashing out with its jaws for a vicious bite.
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Further back, however, Luca's eyes had taken on a strange glint as words whose meaning could barely be comprehended by mortals spilled from her lips... and what were her guardians for, if not being sent forth at times like this?
Tyrus braces himself behind his torch...
Init Order
Luca (using summoning mastery)
Tyrus
Fluffy
Dante
Logan
Yllaine
Lara
Vincent
Red Centipede 1
Red Centipede 2
Blue Centipede 1
The fighters in the party don't hesitate to flood into the room to face the danger. Vincent squeezes past Luca, giving her an odd look as she stands still in the corridor, mouth moving with strange sounds.
Logan and "fluffy" charge directly at two of the oversized creatures, whose chitinous shells give off a faint red sheen. Logan deals a devastating blow to one of them, shattering its exoskeleton and laying it out onto the stone floor with ichor spilling from it's wound - however, his followthrough stroke misses the other creature. A moment later, Luca's guardian darts forward and tears a few legs off of it. The centipede gives a reedy shriek of pain but does not fall.
Dagger in hand, Lara stabs at the third overgrown insect, and manages to slice through the tough chitin to score a wound. The majority of the others remain by the door, though Vincent makes his way around them as he tries to enter the fray.
The insects, recovered from their initial bestial fright, try to latch their jaws onto whatever foe is nearest...
Lara twists aside and avoids the attack, but the wounded creature attacking Fluffy manages to bite down into flesh. Venom sacks pumps poison into Luca's guardian, sapping its movements of some of their fluidity.
Init Order
Luca
Tyrus
Fluffy (10/14 HP, 1 Dex damage)
Dante
Logan
Yllaine
Lara
Vincent
Red Centipede 1 (10 damage)
Red Centipede 2 (7 damage)
Blue Centipede 1 (4 damage)
Blue Centipede 2
Red Centipede 3
Yellow Centipede 1
Yellow Centipede 2
Yellow Centipede 3
As the commotion of battle begins, more chittering and scrabbling legs are heard from the darkness, and a moment later several more centipedes crawl out of the gloom, eager to overwhelm the food that has walked into their nest. Some of them aren't quite as large or powerful looking - it seems these may not have had quite the potion-rich diet that the others did. The creature struck by Logan, initially apparently dead, starts to twitch again - the hole in its side already seems a bit smaller.
In the tunnel, a warp in reality briefly appears and then vanishes again - and standing in front of Luca is yet another otherworldly creature.
It seems that the influx of magical fluid has permanently altered this creature's biology, show by the red sheen to its segments. It seems to be regenerating, if slowly. You'll need to smash it to bits before you can be sure it's dead.
The creatures with the blue shell seem to have had a diet consisting of shield spells. They may be much harder to hit than others of their kind.
Luca took the best glimpse she could at the creatures the others were fighting - and realized that she knew nothing about them. She did, however, manage to complete the chant that called forth one of her guardians - a reassuringly solid creature apparently made of stone, and called as close as possible to its enemies. Rather stronger than others of its kind, the beast lumbered forward to smash at the blue centipede. Those who recognized otherworldly monsters would know it as a Vilstrak, a type of creature that lived deep within the ground and shared a strange bond with the earth, though this particular creature was stronger than its kind normally was. Meanwhile, Fluffy was getting quite busy as it worked to literally tear the centipede into tiny fragments of its former self.
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"Careful, the red ones are regenerating." Dante moves up to the red one Logan already damaged, intent on keeping it down.
Tyrus stands frozen, cowering behind the flame of his torch.
He's been telling himself that he's changed, but a lifetime of quiet safety overwhelms the voice in his head telling him to charge into battle. Quickly his internal voice tries to explain to him why he's doing the right thing.
If anything happened to the torch flame, we'd all be blind! I'm protecting the torch!
Instead he quaveringly advances just into the room and waves the torch about a little to encourage the flame.
Most rooms have a sconce, or a candleabra, or something. There must be another light source!
Desperately he peers around, trying to work out what sort of room this is, to remember what he can about centipedes, and to try to work out how to prevent the regeneration.
When his downed enemy starts to twitch and rise again, Logan brings the heavy iron sconce down in an obliterating two-handed blow to finish it off.
Though much of your mind is consumed with fear, the analytical portion in the back of your brain never ceases to study the situation. You know that these centipedes of many types possess poison, and these seem to as well . Your knowledge of arcana, nature, and alchemy also tell you that there is no way merely feeding off magical potions could produce a permanently affected creature - something else must have combined with their diet to give them such gifts. Various spells which nullify magic may be able to temporarily interfere with the effects.
Your Vilstrak cannot reach the fight this turn. I had it meld through the rock and move adjacent to the centipede you targeted.
Fluffy scraps with the creature that bit it, and the insect manages to evade much but is caught by one punishing swipe of the guardian's claw, tearing further rents in the carapace and the centipede falls - but moment by moment the wounds begin to bind. Dante and Logan both assure that the first downed foe won't be getting up again. Between them they make mincemeat of it, and bits of chitinous shell and globs of gore splatter over everything nearby as the creature ceases to exist in any recognizable form.
Lara manages to strike her enemy again, felling it. Vincent moves forward, but hesitates rather than throw himself directly into the fray. Then the centipedes, perhaps emboldened by their numbers, surge forward again.
Fangs sink into Lara and Dante - and one of the latters foes manages to latch its jaws deep into the lad's leg. Blood gushes forth even as poison pumps in. Lara's movements become a great deal more sluggish, and she stumbles where she stands as the poison takes effect.
Init Order
Luca
Tyrus
Fluffy (10/14 HP, 1 Dex damage)
Dante/Eidolon (9 damage, 3 dex damage)
Logan
Yllaine
Lara (5 damage, 5 dex damage)
Vincent
Red Centipede 2 (12 damage, incapacitated)
Red Centipede 3
Blue Centipede 2
Yellow Centipede 1
Yellow Centipede 2
Yellow Centipede 3
The melee continues as hungry insects vie with the adventurers!
"That...really hurt." As the poison courses through his veins his muscles begin to sieze, reducing mobility. As best he could, he stumbled behind the other defenders. Using the blood from his new open wound he pulled it into his spell and redirected it to the gashes in his armor.
Eidolon 6/11 HP