Mez heads down the corridor and shines his light around the room. Cracked and crumbling frescos line the walls of this large empty room. The sections of the frescos not destroyed by the passing ages show Qadiran men engaged in battle.
He steps a few paces further into the room. A rough stone tunnel leads off to the northwest, as if the ground simply cleft in two ages ago. Mez moves just close enough to illuminate the entrance. A pile of bones rests just inside the passage.
Many wild animals have laired just inside the narrow tunnel, as evidenced by the remains of their myriad prey lying in a pile near the exit.
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Calanthe informs the group that one of the flasks they discovered is a potion of cure moderate wounds and hands them back to Targost as the original discoverer. "I am not sure of the others, however..."
The tiefling waits with Norine as she takes a rubbing of the Kelish engraving, investigating the hydra basin herself for anything curious about it.
If she discovers nothing about the basin, Calanthe will simply slot another bolt into her crossbow and be on the guard for what might be found down the corridor with the bones.
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"It doesn't seem to have anything special about it... certainly not worth wasting magical potions for, at least... however..."
Calanthe reaches into her backpack and draws out a canteen. She unscrews the lid and pours a little bit of the water within into the basin and into the three open mouthed hydra heads, curious to see if anything happens.
Both statues glow faintly when Targost casts his spell on them.
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While the more learned of the group examine the statue and fountain, Mez motions for Ebon to follow him as he makes sure there is nothing lurking in the rough stone passage ready to ambush those who examine the kelish works. "May Cayden guide you" he says, blessing them both before progressing much father into the room.
As Calanthe pours water into the basin...nothing happens.
As Mez and Ebon near the crevice, a humanoid skeleton rises from the pile of bones and rushes forward to attack!
Initiative:
The Order: Calanthe, Norine, Targost, skeleton, Dracothis, Mez, Ebon
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So absorbed in the magical fountain, it's only Calanthe's preternatural sense of beings around her that alerts her to the risen undead, and she shudders upon feeling that all too familiar cold and unnatural aura. Rushing out down the hallway, she grimaces upon seeing the skeleton and immediately takes aim at it. Her bolt hits cleanly but doesn't appear to do much to penetrate its bony exterior.
"A skeleton... these ones are mindless, they'll just attack anything that comes nearby... they're somewhat hard to take down though... you need to break and smash their bones!"
Calanthe's bolt strikes the skeleton directly in the shoulder, which snaps upon impact. Norine moves up to Mez and lends him Desna's aid. Then Targost's acid ball just manages to hit the skeleton, but burns away enough remaining bone to cause it to collapse into a crumbling heap.
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"My goodness... that was quick..." Calanthe lowers her crossbow with a sigh of relief. Once again, she hurries towards the crumbled remains of the undead and crouches over it, filling its remains with her holy power and muttering a brief prayer for its soul to never again haunt the mortal realm.
Afterwards, she makes sure her crossbow is loaded before briefly looking around the room. "Was this skeleton guarding anything...?" The room looks perfectly normal to her.
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"Well, I just wanted to make sure nothing was going to hit you guys while you examined the fountain, but even doing that, you had better reaction times than I did. While I usually don't support splitting the party, I think we should find out about the magic on that statue. Ebon and I can make sure these bones stay down, and watch for whatever made them to come back." says Mez.
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Ebon just grunts in reply to Mez and kicks the pile of bones to scatter them.
" Bones should be burned or buried. Not allowed to run around and cause mischief.
Thank you for the Healing friend Calanthe, but lets try to avoid the need in the future...That was....Unpleasant. "
He will then turn back to the area the bones came from and take a high guard grip on his Earthbreaker.
" I will crush any more that decide to walk."
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"I say that, after we have cleared the dungeon, we have the humanoid bones buried. I believe that would please Calanthe, too, unless I am mistaken. I would have buried the ghoul, too, but...", Norine's voice trails off.
"Anyway, while I would guess that Dracothis is most interested in the statues, I would suggest we first clear out any dangers, and possibly find a place if we need to rest overnight. The statues don't seem critical - perhaps this provides water (I can pray for a spell that creates water) and water would be needed in a siege castle; I don't know what the other would do - fresh air? But, anyway, I say try the tunnel or the door as a group." Norine fidgets, letting her gnomish excitability get the best of her.
Norine peers down the narrow crevice. Other than the pile of bones at the entrance, the passage is empty. Light is visible at the far end, perhaps indicating it is another way in and out of the ruin.
Calanthe notices nothing peculiar about the area. Mez takes a closer look among the bones:
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Seeing Calanthe make no move to recover the treasure seemingly sitting out in the open, Mez kicks a few of the bones away, revealing their "hidden" treasure. "Calanthe, you wanna check out these things, especially this scroll tube?" he says, as he walks to the door Norine had been asking about. "Targost, while they are looking that over, shall we take a peak here?" Assuming he agrees, Mez again calls upon the sight granted to him by Cayden Cailean and sees through the door that dares block their path.
Calanthe casts detect magic and none of the items show any signs of enchantment, other than the scroll.
Mez peers through the door. The room is mostly empty at the west end, but at the eastern edge of his sight, Mez can see heaps of rubbish on the floor and thick black mold on the wall.
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”Looks to just be their trash room. No way out, just a bunch of black gunk on the far wall.” says Mez, refocusing his eyes. ”So what options to we have for places to go? There was that door near the beginning, but that would only lead to a small room based on the rest of the layout. Do you guys have any thoughts?”
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Not really having much of a sense of direction or a feel for the dungeon shape, Ebon just shrugs as the others try to decide where to go.
" I agree with Drac, as long as we are here we should thoroughly explore the place. Pick a door or hallway and I'll be right behind you Mez."
After that he will sheathe his Earthbreaker with a sour look , and draw his father's Greatsword. The blade of which is rather mundane and unadorned, but the pommel has a steel skull on it that matches the tattoo on Ebon's right shoulder. The handle is wrapped in old, worn-smooth, dark red leather. It seems functional if not fancy.
" Maybe my ancestors will help me to fight better with Father's sword in hand."
The door bursts open and Mez enters with Ebon and Norine right behhind. Calanthe, Dracothis and Targost quickly file in as well.
When Mez's wind storm hits the trash pile, it reveals three fire beetles, which rush out and attack!
Initiative:
So, the order is: Ebon, Norine, Dracothis, fire beetles, Mez, Calanthe, Targost.
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Feeling awkward, she has a look at the scroll they discovered, mumbling the incantation for the oh-so familiar detection spell.
So absorbed in reading the scroll Calanthe is shocked by the sudden discovery of fire beetles beneath the garbage and gasps in surprise. The beetles are already upon the frontline by the time she gathers her wits, and she seems a little confused as to what to do next. "Can't... get a good aim..."