"I don't know Palo, but I don't like it," Relas responds, looking around worriedly. "And please don't blow up the ruin Rav, at least not with us still in it! Maybe we should just go back to the gel-barrier and hope the voice stops?"
Ignoring… or maybe not understanding Ravboom and Biggun’s protestations (or queries as to whether Tommy is in the well again)… the ‘voice’ continues – a repeated drone in an alien language.
– it is impossible to tell whether the ‘voice’ is coming from the sarcophagus in the south-eastern crypt or whether it from somewhere else… what you do know is that it only started making itself known when you peered along the corridor into the crypt.
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Globlob lets out a yelp at just about the same time as everyone else, out of a combination of shock, fear, and generally wanting to be included.
"Ack! Ghosty voice! Longshanks, make burny burny at it!" He demands as he lunges forward to grab at the hem of Palo's robes, tugging on them insistently. Not that he clarifies what he wants her to "make burny burny" at in the first place.
Globlob puffs his cheeks out in frustration as he works to quell his panic, if only for the moment. Releasing Palo's dress, he zips into the room with the bizarre fungus-covered sarcophagus. Once there, he realizes that he never finished thinking through his plan and promptly starts trying to punch at the fungus. Because that will solve everything.
Relas' look of amazement mirrors Palomia's as Globlob decides that punching the fungus-covered sarcophagus will quiet the strange voice. "Er...it might be too late now but I'll go have a look too. You guys wait here, okay?" he calls as he trots into the room behind Glob and does his best to have a look around.
Again and again, Globlob punches the soft, yielding sheets of dark green fungus that cover the sarcophagus - spores of airborne mold cloud the air in little explosions with each punch – eventually shrouding the goblin in a thin layer of black matter…
…and through it all, through this crazed display of goblin rage, the voice mutters its bizarre and alien refrain – still, the same words over and over and over…
Ravboom groans and tries leaving the area, going back the way they came, to see if the voice goes away.
...as Ravboom moves away, the voice grows mercifully less distinct...
"YES! GO AWAY FROM STONE THING!!!"
Seeing no change at all and with Biggun's lead, Globlob does reluctantly tear himself away from his frenzy of punching. Better to just get rid of the voice permanently for now than be forced to endure it. He nods rapidly at the larger goblin and scurries along beside him, three of his own steps amounting to every one of Biggun's.
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Following along behind the human and her kitty, Biggun actually started to miss the yelling voice in his head. It's shouting gave Biggun a nice tingle between his ears. Once they got to the green jelly wall, he leaned forward to give it a good sniff. "Biggun still hungry, maybe try eating wall?" he asked the others.
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The group, after much punching and impotent rage, satisfy themselves that there is nothing of interest in the south-eastern crypt and, retracing their steps, leave the fungus-covered sarcophagus - and the insistent voice in their minds - behind them. Back through the crypts, the group travel… along the dry tunnel to the north and then back into the flooded passageways… wading through the mire, the group finally arrive at the strange barrier…
…there is no sign of the snake-like shape that was previously moving in the room beyond the barrier.
"You want to eat it? You don't know how long its been here or where else it might've been before!" Relas replies, looking surprised and mildly disgusted. "It didn't seem like it actually did anything when you guys threw that mouse through it earlier. Let me try moving through at least a little and see what happens."
"Don't make that face Palo, I'll be okay," he adds cheerfully as he cautiously begins to step forward into the barrier...
"Maybe try scoop some out with long stick, see what happen.." Ravboom starts, and then Relas moves into the wall. "...or let immortal kitty go first..."
Pushing through the barrier, Relas is smeared with an extremely thin - and clear - residue that, whilst sticky for a moment, seems to evaporate away quite quickly… as far as he can tell, there are no adverse effects whatsoever. He has a few seconds to consider his surroundings – the crusty pale-orange slime that covers the floor, the rank smell of rotting vegetation and tar, the debris… before something catches his eye, a small snake-like creature – metallic plates interlinked and polished to chrome – moving towards him…
...the re-appearance of the snake-like creature, and its movement towards Relas, is obvious from the other side of the barrier...
Ravboom points the Boomrav at the green goo (and the snake beyond) and fires!
Even though he'd expected something to happen when he crossed the barrier, Relas still jumps slightly with surprise as what appears to be a small metal snake darts quickly towards him.
Wait...
"A metal snake?" he blinks as he moves in to meet his attacker.
Globlob squints his beady red eyes at the film of green ooze and draws in a deep breath to inspire greatness into his comrades. Because, well. Without him and his vast contributions, just how great are they really?
"Slinky snake, long and thin;
Shiny, looks like made of tin!
Bash it, smash it, smush that metal,
Turn it into shiny new kettle!"
Seeing that Relas has made it through the barrier unharmed, and then seeing movement beyond it, Biggun jumps through… his chain swings in a devastating arc and clatters against the metallic snake in a shower of sparks… Following up the oversized goblin’s charge, Ravboom sends another salvo of Boomrav into the barrier - the bullet bursts through and strikes the construct but, other than a cacophonous metallic ringing, makes little impact…
Relas, even though he is near adjacent to the snake when it emerges, cannot strike the quick-moving thing… fortunately Palomia manages to throw a globule of acid before combat is truly engaged – it lands with a sizzle of corroding metal…
Badly damaged after being struck by Biggun’s chain, yet still moving, the snake rears up and bites at Biggun….
…drifting in and out of consciousness, you are aware of being in some kind of a pit – and, in the darkness, three or four goblins sullenly awaiting whatever fate is in store…
…and a voice in your head, an insidious presence that seems to reach into your mind, sifting through memories and knowledge… and then blackness once more…
…you suddenly jolt awake, somewhere in the darkness beyond the top of the pit, a commotion… and a familiar voice shouting, ”Biggun no eat metal!!! Bad Snake!!!”
As the metal snake turns on Biggun, Relas steps around to its side and unleashes a fury of teeth and claws!
But the snake proves surprisingly agile and unsurprisingly durable for a creature made of metal and the eidolon's attacks seem either glance off harmlessly or miss entirely.
The second globule of acid thrown by Palomia seems to burn through something essential to the snake's function... with a sizzling noise followed by a terminal metallic 'clank', it wilts to the floor...
With reluctance, Ravboom moves through the goo, although he reloads the Boomrav first, and then puts it and the gunpowder in a sack to protect it from the ooze.
Once through, he makes a face. "Eww, ick, nasty..."
Then the little goblin promptly begins taking hte snake's innards apart, cackling over gears and bits of metal that have arcane functions...
The room, covered in an orange slime, doesn't contain anything of interest... although, it is somewhat intriguing that the membrane barrier has prevented any of the water in the flooded passageways from entering this area.
Out to the west, the room leads on to a passageway that curves to the north...
Grumbling and rolling his eyes, Globlob steps up to slap Biggun across the face when he flops down. Sure, there is a bit of healing magic going on behind the slap, but really it is the slap that is important.
"Sure thing Palo!"
Moving as quietly as he can muster, the big cat pads towards the western passage to see if he can see or hear anything of interest...
Ravboom makes sure the snake can't start up again, and then puts the rest of it in Palo's backpack, climbing up her back to gain access and stuffing it in. "Palo store for Ravboom, could be useful. Very well made. Someone spend lot of money on it." He swarms back down the taller woman once he's done shoving it in her pack. He gets his gun back out while Relas scouts. "Maybe look around here in detail, maybe other stuff under slime? Left by people not able to kill snake before snake kill them?"
Silently moving along the corridor to the west, Relas travels along the passagethat quickly turns to the north and leads to a large room. This large room includes an open area to the south (from where Relas would enter) next to a raised dais and a passageway that leads to the east... further north, the floor drops away into a wide pit along the back wall.
Between the open area and the pit, several strands of a thick, glue-like substance stretch from floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall, creating a maze of ropes to navigate. A low level of moaning comes from somewhere in the pit, Relas is not yet close enough to see how deep the pit is or what may be in it...
Moving through the strands towards the friends, a creature somewhat like an embalmed and mummified corpse – dirty linen strands appearing to hang from it…
Worse still, weapons that strike an adherer can become stuck fast to the creature’s adhesive flesh…
...thus far, the creature in the room to the north remains oblivious to Relas' presence...
Eyes wide at the bizarre sight, Relas quickly attempts to retreat back towards the others as stealthily as he can manage...
As Relas attempts a silent retreat, he knocks over a metal pole that was propped in the corner… it falls with a loud clatter and, instantly, the mummified beast looks along the corridor… and, seeing Relas, lets out an inhuman scream…
Unsure of whether or not the creature is able or willing to give pursuit, Relas darts back down the hallway to where the others wait.
"Paloooo, we've got companyyyyy!" he shrieks. "It's got grabby tentacles!"
Ravboom, looking disappointed at having found nothing in the debris, sighs. "Nah, swamp was worse, remember all the bugs? They no bite Ravboom and Relas, but Palo had lumps all over face." He spins the cylinder on his pistol, and holds it up, laying it over his wrist as he prepares to fire at whatever comes out.
Seeing Relas in the passageway, the strange mummified creature moves towards the entrance into the passageway… but, apparently showing caution, rather than pursuing the retreating eidolon it moves off to one side of the ‘doorway’.
Globlob shakes his head and heaves an exasperated sigh, peering up to Palo. "You no let big cat sneak no more. Glob do it. Better sneaker." And with that settled, he draws in a deep breath before she can get more than a word in edgewise and belts out a tune.
"Creepy, shrieky, scary ghost!
Grab and squeeze and make it most
Icky little pile of goo!
Smush it down under your shoe!"