Having rushed off down the corridor, Ruika looks around. The ancient conflict disturbs her, religion never being one of her focuses she decides that a good discussion with Corneilious is probably in order.
With a spare hand she gestures to the twins and catman to catch up. The armoured skeleton, sitting there sightlessly makes her shiver slightly. 'How many aeons has it sat there? Waiting, unmoving, though he appears to have been there defending the temple - judging by his ochre armour. Trying to protect the priests.'
Alik approaches the armored skeleton with the heavy mace held high, ready to smash the skull and bones to powder if the body twitches to life. If there is no unusual movement, Alik will retrieve the dagger and offer it to Garruth.
"This might be more your style, Garruth, rather than the weightier weapons."
The skeleton remains limp and unmoving as Alik tugs on the dagger, removing it from its sheath. The dagger's untarnished blade gleams in the light. Upon closer inspection of the corpse, the ifrit notes that despite the armor's aged appearance, its craftsmanship is excellent.
Ruika looks back at the sisters appraisingly; with an approving nod she says; "Yellow, your colour? Look good!" she motion to the skeleton curtly. Then turning down the passage she takes a step forward; "Dead End here too?!"
Alik offers to assist anyone who desires the armor in putting it on their body.
"Hold a moment..hooded on... Alik only just now notices Ruika's new state of reveal. "You...you're no orc! You're beautiful!" He blurts out, his inability not to state the obvious in full effect.
She slowly turns around at the cross-roads, the pale mystical light plays across her fine features, the tips of her pointed ears stick above thick lusterous hair. With a slight furrowing of her brows at Alik; "I am pale orc." she replies proudly.
Lyssa nips at her ankles, making Ruika hop a step. The little fox then moves over to Alik and rubs against him for the compliment, making a deep purring sound.
Jaykae hurries up as she notices that she'd been lollygagging about with a tune in her mind and had fallen behind with her sister and Garruth. She notices the armour and comes forward to see the colour and make.
"Will it fit me?" She asks as she gets to the armour then looks up at Ruika, "Oh. Oh? I can make a song of your light, the way that shines upon you and your visage ... your visage shines within the glow, mystical light upon your brow ... oh that can fit! Ruika!"
The twin beams while still holding the armour but has forgotten all about it with the lyrics running around in her head just tumbling to come out.
"Good, everything has a place and there's a place for everything." Ruika nods in agreement with the beautiful composer.
'Least it seems like she isn't getting changed here, in front of the men.'
Absent-mindedly she carries on walking down the the passage at least 15' past the cross-roads, whilst Lyssa continues to look with big eyes at Alik.
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Garruth smiles, but waves his hand at the dagger offered by Alik "Thank you, but I am not well accustomed to daggers, I prefer the weight of my mace. Perhaps our lovely cloaked friend could put it to good use, I saw she threw one when we were battling the monkeys it might be good for her to have a spare."
The feline like sorcerer chuckles softly at Alik's reaction when the hood is pulled off of Ruika, he's apparently not surprised to see she is not an orc "You seem so astonished my friend, the cloak can hide her visage, but not her beauty. Her, Jaykae, and Keiko, all have such prominent beauty I think I would see it even if I were blind. Though I suppose my snuffler gives me an advantage there."
The catman sniffs lightly catching the scent of Jaykae as she hurries to catch up, then watches her pick up the armour. "You're interested in that armour my dear? I can help you get into it if you would like to try it on." he offers with certainly no ulterior motives.
Even with a thorough inspection, the stone hall proves to be as disappointingly empty as the last, occupied only by battered, unmoving skeletons.
Her pale face starts to flush slightly at all the compliments so different from the tribes; whom venerated her and the shaman but kept their distance. Glad of the shadows in which she can hide these unusual emotions, her gruff manner takes over. "Come on pugwampi and Alik the ."
'It seems that there was a fight, so many of the priest dead. The desert is cruel, but these were not the fault of the desert.... I wonder....'
She rejoins the group , then looks down the only remaining passageway . Lyssa mewls slightly her senses making her ill at ease with this underground travel or is it something more sinister.
The dancing lights bob in friont of the party illuminating the tunnel ahead like a yawning mouth, whilst providing the musical sisters with shadows if one of them wants to get changed (with or without Garruth's help).
Alik nods at Garruth's suggestion and offers the dagger to Ruika. He leaves the armor to the young bards hoping they actually choose to use it. Inwardly, he chuckles at the young felinesque lothario.
Alik keeps pace with the "unhooded one" and her adorable fox familiar.
He steals a sidelong glance at the pretty orcelf next to him almost nervously. He hefts the mace in hand and feels Freaksfire in it's holster on his back. The weapons comfort him as he feels clumsy and oddly out of place looking at the hidden flower so recently revealed.
"Thank you for the affection, little fox," Alik says to Lyssa. He reaches down to pet the soft fur of the animal's head. He attempts to regain the wits addled by his notice of Ruika's beauty.
As they walk the empty corridors of this hidden underground, he like Ruika cannot help but wonder what had transpired here. Unlike the city to which they sought to free, this temple had not seen the occupation by mortal forces at least. He murmured a prayer to Sarenrae to give his eyes the clarity to see what ailed this sacred place.
With the side passages cleared, the group reconvenes in the main passage. When the dancing lights float before the party, the darkness filling the hall almost seems to vanish for Ruika. At the very end of the hallway she is just barely able to make out the shape of a single door. There also seems to be another two passages farther down the hall, obscured by shadows.
'This would be the perfect place for a trap, especially if we go rushing off towards the doorway. Creatures coming from the side passages and surrounding the group... hmmm maybe if I go on my own, I can hold them off until the others break through.' Ruika thinks as she slowly advances down the hallway.
Knowing being too incautious is dangerous, however this is tempered with her enthusiasm. In her main hand she holds the shining dagger, it's blade flat against her robed thigh.
Jaykae finally gets her mind back on the armour and puts it on, turning around and around to try to see as much of it as she can. Finally she smiles and turns to her sister and the cat man, putting her arms out to show off.
"What do you think?" She says, almost forgetting that they were in a dungeon then notices the skeletons again, "Oop. Let's get going."
She rushes off towards the others and slows down as Ruika moves to K30. She slows to behind Alik and peeks around his frame.
Ruika turns around as Jaykae shows off her new armour and moves down the corridor. "Look good, like made for you. Good protection." she compliments her quietly.
'Hope Garruth wasn't panting too much.' the lithe figure thinks to herself, her full mouth quirks into a smile at the mental picture.
The cautious positioning of her feet cause the soft sway of her hips, the sigh of her robes as it rubs with movement. Approaching the cross-roads she glances down the cross-passages.
From what you can see, the two side passages appear virtually identical to those before it. Likewise, even more skeletons litter the ground here, more evidence of past battles and desecration. The simple wooden door before you has apparently suffered from rot, but remains intact.
Alik reaches for the door handle. He raises the heavy mace up ready to brain the first threatening thing that leaps at him from inside.
He turns the handle...
The door's rusted hinges squeak loudly as it swings open.
Even in the dark, you can tell that the room within is quite big. From the doorway you see a large stone table, covered with a series of dusty glass beakers, tubes, alembics, athanors, and other alchemical equipment. Some of these vessels appear to contain a murky green substance. A familiar yet milder scent of fungal decay lingers in the air here, though it is unclear what the origin is.
'Alchemical equipment, retorts, beakers and residues? Surely they should have sublimated by now.... maybe they have? But that green substance...' intrigued and curious, her nature draws her forward into the room. However not totally without sense she draws a gauzy veil across her features, in case the fungal spores are similar to the other area.
Patting the tall Ifrit, upon the lower back in congratulations for his effort she enters the room.
The orb of light floats into the laboratory, suddenly illuminating the dark chamber. The better lighting allows you to see that the ground is covered with metal drains the size of dinner plates, spaced apart evenly by every few feet.
To the west () you see the bottom of a stairway, the bottom steps covered with a green fungus mottled with plants and mushrooms. The biomass is clearly the source of the stench in the room, though there is no indication that there are any spores being released.
Against the north and south () walls are stone tables identical to the first. Both are covered with even more alchemical instruments, as well as surgical tools and sheaves of old parchment. You can also make out the shape of yet another stone table, this one smaller than the others.
The massive basalt slab at the center of the chamber stands apart from the other stone tables. Though devoid of any type of equipment, the entire surface of the table is encrusted in green mold, much like that covering the stairway, though far less vile.
"Come - look, safe." Ruika says simply looking with awe at all this ancient and expensive equipment. Having been raised in her village and only been travelling with the caravans, she has rarely seen permanent settlements and delicate items like these. She stumbles into the room towards the table and gazes in awe.
The body language beneath the robes is of her shock at what's going on, so much so that she is surprised when the group of blue orbs fade from existance leaving her in the dull light of whomever's illumination.
Softly she'll start to chant, realising now would be the perfect time for an ambush of the little pugwampi to make a run for it.
Jaykae follows along with Ruika nervously as she eyes the room with great suspicion. She does not like that pile of ickiness and her wrinkled nose shows the disgust plainly.
"Are we sure that thing is safe?" The younger twin says as she cautiously picks her way to beside Ruika at K9.
As the lights drop temporarily, Alik allows his natural Darkvision to try and discern things which he may not have noticed in the glow of Ruika's light.
Alik looks at the fungus in distaste but moves cautiously into the room nonetheless. He tries to be careful not to knock over any of the philters, vials, and alembics...some things are best left unbroken. The odd colors and strange smells coming from these chemicals surely indicates this.
"This is the fungus you saw before, Corneilious?"
Taking a breath through the gauze, she turns to the newcomer. "Believe so, it is old. Caution good." Ruika says trying to quickly assess the situation.
A flick of white hair escaping her cowl, as she seems to nod in response to Alik's query.
Alik finds his eyes drawn to the newly revealed beauty of Ruika as the lights flare to life again. Once again he notices that soft furry fox rubbing against his leg. Despite the eerie situation, Alik takes a moment to bend down and scratch the animal's ears while he admires the pretty 'orc'.
"To make safe, we should burn it out," Alik suggests glancing at the others. "Is anyone learned about these potions? Maybe we can use them for such purpose."
Proudly Ruika strides forward at Alik's words, happy to show off her skills. Under the tutelage of her Shamanic leader she had learnt of many of the potions, poultices and herbal remedies.
Swirling the liquid watching the meniscus rotate and writhe against the sides of the container, then sniffing delicately at the rim of the beaker. Hoping that the fluids that sublimated are not too volatile, the woman attempts to identify them.
The green liquid within the beaker smells mildly of decay, though not nearly as noxious as the fungal growth on the stairs. It is certainly a contributor to the unpleasant yet harmless stench in the room. And yet, the witch cannot readily identify the liquid as anything alchemical or magical.
Meanwhile, the inquisitor approaches the mold encrusted stairway with a look of disdain, sparing any breath he can. He responds to Alik's question with a grunt of affirmation, before stepping away from stairs, no longer able to bear the smell. He wanders off towards the southern side of the room, before stopping abruptly, something having caught his eye.
"Some of this green stuff is moving around a bit," he remarks, eying one of the beakers on the table suspiciously.
Indeed, only then does Ruika notice that the liquid in the beaker she holds quivers ever so slightly.
"Errr..... It alive...." she responds putting the beaker down quickly and taking a step back. Eyeing the container viciously she ponders what it is, whilst hoping at the same time that none of the others saw her startled expression.
"Whoa. Green stuff? That sounds pretty disgusting. Is it some kind of monstrous ooze creature? Pretty sick," says Keiko as she enters, peering over Ruika's shoulder and standing on her toes.
"No fungus, they don't move. Ooze - possible. Or Plant that seeks breath." Ruika adds her monosyllabic tone as silken as the scarves that just conceal her fair countenance.
"Bring with us, I think? What say others." she turns around leaning gently against the stone bench, the silver knife glints slightly as it lies exposed in her sash.
Lyssa the fox rubs against Aliks practised fingers, giving them a playful nibble followed by a lick, the creature clearly enjoying the attention.
Jaykae shakes her head as she looks at the stuff while checking her memory for any natural creature the green stuff could be or if there was any similarities.
The smell seemingly muddled any thoughts of such living forms so she went about working on a new tune about them using her flute.
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Garruth moves in to look at this green oozy thing that has everyone's attention, naturally choosing the position where he's closest to all the lovely ladies. He also attempts to peer over Ruika's shoulder, putting a hand lightly on Keiko'a shoulder for better balance, at least that's what he would claim if asked.
Sniffing the air lightly he wrinkles his nose "It's kind of smelly in here... how long are we going to be down here?" Considering this moving moss... fungus... ooze thing he wonders if perhaps there's some magic about, and mutters out a quick incantation for a spell.
The catman's sense of smell only betrays him, doing little more than magnifying the already rotten odor. Fortunately, Garruth has more than enough fortitude to stop himself from retching in front of his lovely female companions. Casting his divination, like Ruika, he finds the room absent of magical auras. As he concentrates on his spell however, the eerie silence within the chamber is suddenly obliterated by the sound of shattering glass.
The dozens of beakers around the room containing liquid mold shatter, splattering the tables with their foul contents. The violent quivering of the ooze becomes blatantly visible, as with sudden coordination, each and every green puddle begins to move. Countless droplets of slime drip from the stone tables and glide across the floor, all of them approaching the center of the room. Within seconds they climb up the legs of the central table, before coalescing atop its mold-encrusted surface.
By the time the partitions finish gathering, a massive blob rests on the table, though much of its mass oozes off to the ground. Now whole, the slime mold starts to creep towards you, reaching out with a mushroom-laden pseudopod. As it does so, a vaguely human-like visage forms on the slime's surface, opening its mouth soundlessly.
Feeling Garruth's warm breath over her shoulder and the soft press of him against her back, Ruika's lips quirk at his complaint. 'That snuffler of his may get him into trouble.'
This is wiped from her face as the goo explodes into life, Lyssa starts forward under the folds of Ruika's robes.
At first there is shock as Jaykae tries to grasp the realities of the green stuff become this larger ooze then she fights it off to do something about it, playing her flute to distract it.
Initiative:
Action: Bard song distraction.
With only a veil now to cover her face, Ruika looks to the slime with some distaste. 'No way am I getting covered in that.' The white hair slides from under the gauze, flicking in an imagined breeze. Pale eyes flicker with a curse, reflected by the soft words under her breath.
As the beakers and other vials burst, Alik bellows in alarm. As the oozing slime from the table next to them begins drip to the floor, Alik will kick the table on its side to provide a small barrier against the ooze . He drops the mace into his belt and swings Freaksfire from its holster on his back knowing he will have enough room in this wide room to maneuver his great weapon.
His fumbling and maneuvering is probably well after everyone else in the room has gone.
ROUND 1, PART 1
Ruika - 18
Slime Mold - 17
Jaykae - 16
Corneilious - 12
Pugwampi - 8
Keiko - 8
Garruth - 8
Alik - 6
Ruika draws her dagger and targets the slime mold with her hex, but the amorphous creature does not seem to pay any heed to her supernatural powers. Its form shifting constantly, the ooze seems to notice that Corneilious is close by. One of its numerous pseudopods lengthens into a tendril, which then lashes out at the inquisitor.
However, Corneilious ducks under the rotting appendage with ease, avoiding the attack entirely. Jaykae starts to play her flute in an attempt to distract the slime mold, but as with Ruika's evil eye, the slime does not appear to notice the tune. Staying on the move, Corneilious moves towards the rest of the group, swinging the Bastard of Blackwall at the blob as he closes the distance.
The bastard sword's immense blade arcs straight through the ooze's body, sending a spray of slime flying out. The slime mold seems to reel from the blow, the mouth of it its "face" grimacing as though it were in pain.
Unarmed and faced with a creature far larger than itself, the pugwampi cowers in fear, frozen to the spot. Drawing his naginata, Alik pushes the tiny creature aside and attempts to kick the stone table over.
However, the ifrit is unable get sufficient leverage, his foot slipping off the edge of the table.
- Ruika uses her evil eye hex on the slime mold to no effect.
- Jaykae starts her bardic performance, distraction.
- Corneilious inflicts 9 damage on the slime mold.
- Garruth and Keiko delayed.
- Alik attempts to kick over the table, but fails.
Keiko draws her shortbow, and tries to find a position where she can attack.
Garruth looks up to the slimy creature, twitching his snuffler at the huge ooze. Seeing that Keiko is moving into position; he tries to distract the creature with his magical ability.
ROUND 1, PART 2
Ruika - 18
Slime Mold - 17
Jaykae - 16
Corneilious - 12
Pugwampi - 8
Alik - 6
Keiko - 5
Garruth - 4
Drawing her shortbow, Keiko moves off to the side, where she has a better line of sight to the slime mold.
Attempting to befuddle the ooze, Garruth targets it with his compulsion. However, the slime mold movement continues, unaffected by the catman's spell.
"Jaykae, or Keiko can you sing a rousing tune. Get blood pumping and stir heart." Ruika asks kindly, though her accent is harsh.
'Hmm, big powerful warriors are good.' Ruika pragmatically thinks; "Yes, enlarge man." with a glance to Garruth for a moment before she starts to chant in a low guttural melody - potentially a good counter-point to some bardic inspiration. Ruika's hands describe a fluid dance as they form the arcane shamanic symbols she was taught.
ROUND 2, PART 1
Ruika - 18
Slime Mold - 17
Jaykae - 16
Corneilious - 12
Pugwampi - 8
Alik - 6
Keiko - 5
Garruth - 4
There happens to be just enough room in the large laboratory to support an enlarged individual. However, when Ruika attempts to cast her transmutation on Alik, nothing happens.
Unhindered by the numerous magical effects thrown its way, the massive slime mold rolls forward, green slime splashing out as more of its body strikes the cold stone floor. The constantly shifting ooze's movements prove unpredictable, the erratic creature suddenly lashing out at Alik with a newly-formed tendril.
Thankfully, the distance from the slime gives Alik all the time he needs to dodge. The tentacle merely slams onto the stone table, splattering into a formless mass once more.
"Bah, Fiery man isn't human. Is Outsider, no?" Ruika exclaims softly, but with a hint of anger. Though she does appreciate the way he moves to avoid the blow; "Good, strike back." she says encouragingly.
Then Jaykae is up, she produces a flute and starts to play a merry jig. Ruika claps along encouragingly. ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫