The creature repeats its attack routine.
Tai Leng avoids the massive jaw and yellow fang by a hair's breadth. The attack hits so close that the warrior can feel the displacement of air caused by the creature suddenly shutting its mouth close in a failed bite attempt.
Eitylen's not so lucky and is hit by one of the flailing tentacles, but the elf is skilled enough to avoid a critical wound.
Eitylen's feint is ineffective against the creature's simple minded voracity, and the elf blades fails to find its target.
"Thanks, Cyrus." Leng says as his wounds close up.
He winds up and lets off with another punch.
The rushing waves of healing continue as Cyrus holds his trinket aloft.
"VANISH PAIN AND LET WAY FOR LIFE!" Cyrus declares mightily.
D:
Whatever this creature is, its mind doesn't seem to be advanced enough to use new tactics.
Leng calls upon the power of alcohol to move 5 feet.
He then tries to whack the creature again.
Poorly.
Cyrus' Elemental streaks around the battlefield to get into flanking with Eitylen, knowing full well it may be clipped in the process. It's stalwart spirit is an inspiration to us all.
Cyrus readies an action to channel when his friends get harmed.
All or nothing!
*it is actually +9 to attack.
With a quick bite, the monstrosity extinguishes the elemental. It then takes a step back and roars. As he does, the vines lying on the ground move to entangle all those who are stepping on them.
The vines successfully catch Eitylen and Tai Leng, but not before the nimble elf pushes his blade through the creature's thick hide.
The sickly vines can barely hurt the two warriors and what little damage was is quickly healed by Brother Cyrus' wave of haling energy.
The creature seems dazed by its wounds, but its ferocity remains intact.
He tries to hit it again, a little dejected by now.
The quick combination of Tai Leng's fist and Eitylen's knife finally puts the creature down.
It roars in pain as its body fails to keep itself alive. The monster slowly stumbles forward before finally succumbing to the cold grip of death. Eitylen and Tai Leng feel the vines letting go of them as they squirm into dry husks.
A few seconds after the creature's death cry, a familiar voice can be heard. It seems to be coming from the tunnel on the ceiling.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Ron's voice echoes through the tunnels "IS THAT YOU GUYS?!
Yes...Do yu have a rope?
Cyrus' face alights not only in delight of the creature finally being slain, but also at the inquiry for rope!
"I have rope!"
Cyrus literally pulls thirty feet of rope off of his robes in a short moment and throws it up.
"Also someone should search that thing. Who knows what it's eaten down here."
"What the f@*+ are you guys doing?!" he shouts "Ah, nevermind... Here! Grab this!"
A moment later, a rope ladder falls from the ceiling tunnel. It's a bit clumsy to climb, but nothing too hard.
As you climb, the vertical tunnel soon becomes a diagonal slide whose floor displays a trail of dry blood and mound. All in all, the tunnel must be about 60ft long.
Ron helps you to climb out of the trapdoor that leads to upper end the tunnel.
"Holy s~+$! You guys stink! Urgh... I hope you don't wake up the dead with that smell!" he says while waving his hand in front of his nose.
The guard then uncovers a couple bodies lying on the two tables closest to him. One of a man and another one of a girl. Both of them no older than their early 20s.
"Here is what you wanted to see."
A moment later, a rope ladder fall from the ceiling. It's a bit clumsy to climb, but nothing too hard.
Dejectedly, Cyrus tosses the rope aside and climbs the ladder.
A moment later, a rope ladder fall from the ceiling. It's a bit clumsy to climb, but nothing too hard.
Both corpses have been brutally mauled by the attacker. The girl's jaw is in pieces and most of the lower half of boy's skull is gone.
The young man's stomach is almost completely gone. Only a few straps of flesh hold the body's upper torso to its legs. His left arm and neck are so broken that the bone seems to have turned into dust.
The girl's visage is not as bad, but it's still very gruesome. She displays a fist-sized hole on her chest, right on top of where her heart should be. Ironically, she seems almost peaceful in her white dress.
Quite a few veins are visibly outlined in purple,a ll of them bordering wounds of both corpses. Probably some sort of poison or venom.
There are other subtle details on the young man's corpse, they almost go unnoticed, but Eitylen's elven eyes are sharp enough to detect them.
The male corpse displays several scars on its torso, 3 of them, to be exact. All between the ribs, and none longer than 6 inches. They all seem very clear and linear. Whatever caused them was very precise. Under his forearms there are two needle marks, very similar to those present on opium users, but these marks too seem remarkably accurate, unlike the arm of a man using opium. Last but not least, in the palm of his hands the outlines of an object, probably the handle of an weapon, can be clearly seen. Whatever it was, the lad grasped it with as much strength as he could muster. His grip was so fierce that even now, a small outline of a shield can be seen on his skin. Most certainly remains of some pointless embroidering pattern carved on the object.
"Pretty disturbing, huh?" says Ron "Whoever did this was a mean son of a b&@&@..." he then pulls a box from under a sink and speaks "Wanna see their stuff? They didn't have much... Or maybe they were looted before we got there. Who knows?" he says with an apathetic tone.
He empties the box on the table, all that falls is a half-empty flask of perfume, a couple wooden rings and a heart-shaped brochure, which at closer inspection, is revealed to actually picture a snake twisting its body to form the shape of a heart.
To learn about the brochure
Cyrus inquires of Ron if any belongings were confirmed to be stolen from the victims.
Cyrus inquires of Ron if any belongings were confirmed to be stolen from the victims.
"Well... We couldn't find any weapon or money on any of them, which is pretty unusual around these parts. There is no way to know for sure if there was anything else to be found, but few people are foolish enough to visit the docks without carrying some change and a couple daggers... And the guy is supposedly a sailor, so he should know that"
"So what can rip people apart so brutally, and yet would still have interest in wordly possessions such as those? Or perhaps the creature or creatures committing these murders are being controlled by some person?"
"Well... To be honest, there is a good chance that whatever coin these two had on them, might have been looted before the city guard got there... That said, most folk would know better than to steal weapons or noteworthy objects from a crime scene, as the punishment for that is quite severe..." says Ron "I bet that's why she still has her brooch..."
"I don't know what could have done this... But, my friend once told me a witch summoned an owlbear to attack his exploring party, so maybe something like that? Owlbears are nasty! And there are those rumors about the black beast, but it's never been described as something that cares for gold or weapons."
"Maybe we could ask the families if the victims had anything in particular that might have been stolen that we don't know about. If it's something not everyone carries, I might be able to find it with some luck." Cyrus offers.
"Failing that, perhaps we should hunt down the Black Beast."
"I can't say anything about the boy... I only know that he's a sailor because some of the guys told me. The girl, on the other hand... I'd bet she either doesn't have a family or is not on good terms with them. She's a viper girl, after all..." says Ron as he points out the girl's brooch.
"Viper girl?"
"Yeah, that's why she has the brooch..." Ron then notices the blank stare at the three men "Ooh... I see... You guys ain't from around here..." he says as if finally realizing something rather obvious.
"This girl works... err... Used to work in the Viper's Nest. That's the only way she could have gotten that brooch. The Viper's Nest is the city's most famous... Uh... gentlemen's club. It's located at the northwestern part of town. The owner, Madam Le Fey, is very notorious. They say she has as much influence over the sailors of Blue Shell as Lord Wavebraver."
Ron laughs and adds "Hah... I thought the Viper's Nest was the first thing every man heard about when they entered this city... But, then again. It IS an expensive dream... I can't even afford the clothes necessary to be allowed inside"
"I...see." Leng says, turning a little red.
"I'm afraid I've never had much interest in such diversions."
"But, perhaps we should pay Madame Le Fey a visit? If nothing else, she might wish to hear the news that one of her, ahem, girls has been killed."
Uhm, well,..., I suppose we need to bath first - say Eitylen visibly sad.
"I'd be surprised if she didn't already know... Rich people are extremely well-informed about their business. What' really surprising is that no one came to claim the body yet." Ron carefully places the object back in the box, speaking again without raising his eyes.
"Hah! I'd be impressed if you guys somehow went from crawling in the sewers to visiting the most coveted bedroom in the city!"
Ron laughs for almost a whole minute before speaking again.
"Seriously... If you want an audience with Madam Le fey, you better have some well-connected acquaintances... Or really heavy purses. I know one of her assistants regularly shops at the Seasalt Market... Uh... You didn't hear that from me, by the way... And some of her girls work on the temple of Calistria. Maybe she knew someone by the docks? Her friend here is a sailor, after all." he says, lightly tapping the dead man's shoulder. "I wonder how they met... He doesn't seem the type that has the gold to visit the Viper's Nest."
"Looks like we've got three different leads. I'll go to the temple, Tai Leng you should go to the market and Eitylen can ask around the docks. That sound like a good plan?" Cyrus says while dusting off his robes.
"Before that... You should all take a shower... Ugh..."
Eitylen trust in the Brother Cyrus's judgement. So he go to the inn to take a bath and then to the Docks to ask some questions about the sailor.
He's been in a semi-serious relationship with a girl named Marilia for about 2 years now. He had a small room in the Snatch & Grab Inn. In the last 6 months or so, Ted was somehow making some extra money.
He didn't have enemies, but seemed somewhat agitated in the last few weeks.
Time to look for that Marilia. Asumming she is not the dead one.
Eitylen feel sad that couple that love each other was killed, but he feel somewhat relieved after discovering that the sailor was not cheating on his girlfriend with some high level hooker.
Eitylen go to the snatch and grab to ask about the sailor and his recent the extra money
Eitylen go to the snatch
Leng goes to the market, after taking a long bath with lots of scubbing, and looks around for the assistant.