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Ozren growls at the little attacker and begins to scream and curse at it in low grunts, gurgles and screeches. He points to Lort as he does so, then reaches out to the creature, the nearly always present drops of water around Ozren's hand begin to glow white and as a frosty mist encircles his outstretched hand. He reaches for the small combatant.
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Edgar advances next to the enemy and swings his fist, only to miss by an inch.
Thaddaeus doesn't see an opening in the defense and delays.
Khalos readies himself with a sickle and magic.
Ozren's freezing touch does connect with the blue creature, who screams in pain. Despite the small frostbite, the creature still stands.
Annoyed by the surrounding pathfinders, it sees the half-orc, who has wounded it the most, the greatest threat. With a small slice and dice Lort begins to stand unsteady, staggered and bloody.
damage to Lort
Gunari keeps stinging the creature in hopes of making it stop making Lort a pincushion.
The strike is incredibly close to the creature's head. If it hadn't moved the slightest, this all would be history. Alas, the rapier makes a tiny scratch on the creature's shoulder.
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Ozren, looks to Lort, then the attacker. He spits and gurgles, looking around at the party as he decides what to do next. After a second, he looks to the assailant and gargles deep and loud at the thing as his frosty steaming hand once again attenpts to press onto the creature's flesh.
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Lort eventually recovers from the adrenaline and the blood loss. He smiles like the companions have never seen in smile before.
"Well struck, Thaddeus! And my thanks for the healing, Gunari. I feel fresh enough to fell some more of these wretches."
Without bothering to search the room, Lort follows Thaddeus up the stairs and opens the westernmost door.
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"Hang on, friends! Let's make sure we don't miss anything here. While fighting is certainly a lot of fun, getting the rewards of the fight are as well!"
To Thaddeus he says, "This one did seem a little tougher than the others... maybe that weapon was special or something."
Gunari casts Detect Magic, and checks out the room.
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The underroom is filled with garbage much like above the wooden ceiling, though there are some makeshift beds strewn all around, all fit for creatures the size of mites. Apparently this is where the mites generally reside and rest.
The fallen mite has two small short swords - the other was never drawn - 12 small darts, a small studded leather armor, masterwork thieves' tools, and a key.
Khalos doesn't find any secret doors.
Gunari doesn't detect anything magic apart from possible items his fellows are carrying. So disappointing.
The rest of the pathfinders scavenging the room for valuables do actually find something among the heaps of debris. Two ivory-handled swords are lying under the bodies in front of the door leading to the room, where they found three prisoners. Zatoma also sees a hint of gold in one pile, only to discover a golden statuette of a leaping wolf. This piece of art is undeniably valuable.
Also the manacles and locks that held the prisoners have some monetary value. There are actually more than just 3 sets of manacles of locks in the room, a total of 12 sets. There are more manacles and locks, but they are all rusted and unworthy.
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Indeed, the door Lort would have been unlocked, but the half-orc wittingly decides to blow the door to smithereens, possibly alerting everyone in the complex the pathfinders are in the house to scavenge everything they lay hands on.
Beyond the door opens a short corridor followed by an opening. Bright yellow curtains cover the other half of the chamber, pulsing blue light coming from within. An angry, gnarled voice shouts behind the curtains. "Wat! Why the interuption! Who dears?! Cursifyings!"
There's also two other corridors, the other presumably leading back to the entrance of the Gallery.
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Edgar follows Lort and Khalos down the corridor and through the door.
"You've made short work of that door my friend and now it looks as if you might have found another fight."
Edgar then responds to the voice behind the curtain, "I am Edgar, what are we to wait for? As for why we're here to deal with an infestation and to fix that door."
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"I am Lort the Mighty," says Lort, hefting his blade, "If you're here conducting business that can be interrupted, then that means the things who captured our friends are allies of yours. Prepare to face similar judgement."
Lort seems pleased to have made this simple deduction. So pleased, in fact, that he moves into a position where he may attack. For once, though, he holds off from blindly charging his foe.
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Thaddaeus shakes his head as his friends find themselves so easily goaded into the spider's web. He wisely hangs back with his weapon drawn but shouts some words of discouragement in the hopes that whoever is behind the curtain can be persuaded to let his group pass without a fight.
"My mighty friends speaks the truth. Our judgment need not be violent; but should it turn out that way be advised that you are outnumbered and outmatched. You would do well to throw down your arms, reveal yourself and be on your way."
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While they are busy talking, Zatoma will slither forward silently to poke his head a little bit beyond the curtains in order to see the what they're up against. He follows his sense of smell to find out which curtain to look into and will show Khalos what he sees for 1 round.
What's the curtains for?
Hey, you'd better see this.
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"I will show you!" shouts the angry voice. The curtain opens, only to show a deep aura of blackness; only creatures with darkvision - Edgar, Lort and Zatoma - can see what the veil holds; a small, large-eyes humanoid with dark skin and wild, white hair. He's holding a crossbow, and aiming it at the first foe he sees; Zatoma, who has slithered close enough to spot the decor of the chamber. There is also a cowardly looking goblin in rags, holding a bloody knife.
Overall the chamber is lit dimly by the glowing, bioluminescent fungi, giving off an eerie, pulsing blue light.
There's a table with a dissected mountain goat, its organs spilling out and hanging beside the table, vile and twisted instruments poked into the poor creature's flesh. Strange wires project from the goat's remains, connected to odd-looking metallic boxes.
Walls are full of other macabre tools, possibly used for similar experiments of dubious nature. From the looks of it the chamber has been used as an alchemical laboratory, later refurnished into something bizarre.
When Edgar sees the mad creature, he immediately recognizes it as a derro, a twisted species mutated from gnomes, living deep in the Darklands. He hasn't studied them, however, and doesn't know their strengths or weaknesses.
Initiative order: Derro, Goblin, Zatoma, Thaddaeus, Khalos, Edgar, Gunari, Lort, Ozren
The derro shoots Zatoma swiftly with his crossbow. Despite the expert shot, thanks to magic the bolt bounces harmlessly off of Zatoma.
The goblin just positions itself in front of the derro - apparently its master - to protect from incoming attacks. It readies its knife and looks at the slithering eidolon, both in fear and anger.
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Ozren looks to the darkened area of the room but is unable to see what Lort and Zatoma are attacking. He glances to Edgar as he charges into the shadows. He quickly mutters something, consisting mostly of clicks and gargles, he flicks his hand and a few drops if water falls upon Edgar. Ozren then moves to the edge of the darkened area and attempts to see if he can make out what Lort is attacking.
School divination; Level cleric 0, druid 0
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range touch
Target creature touched
Duration 1 minute or until discharged
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes
This spell imbues the subject with a touch of divine guidance. The creature gets a +1 competence bonus on a single attack roll, saving throw, or skill check. It must choose to use the bonus before making the roll to which it applies.
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After everyone has made their move, Torvic follows, curious about the strangely familiar voice. Once he gets inside the darkness area, his eyes widen as he sees the derro. "YOU!" he shouts in anger. "IT WAS YOU! GRAQ DHER SHERL!" Torvic draws his battleaxe, visibly wanting to behead the derro for some unknown reason.
The derro reacts to the odd words Torvic shouts. It tries to make an evasive move, just a step back away from Zatoma, and tries to shoot its crossbow. The bolt flies harmlessly past the eidolon.
The goblin shrieks in terror as pathfinders surround him. Seeing a dwarf in the group, however, somehow envigorates his strength. After a pitiful attempt to wound Edgar, it shrieks again and moves to defend its master, albeit being too terrified to do the job properly.
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Zatoma's bite hits, thanks to Gunari's divine magic, and wounds the derro. The bizarre gnome yelps in pain and looks at the eidolon in disbelief.
Khalos now detects one aura in his vicinity (in addition to those presented by pathfinders), a faint aura. The half-elf easily deduces this to the Darkness effect.