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"Fascinating!"
The Professor steps forward and glances at the slime enthusiastically.
"These would make excellent gnomish night masks! I will say my people sometimes struggle to get a little shut eye with the bright lights of Absalom in the night sky!"
The Professor, like all professors of old, leans forward with an outstretched finger, seemingly willing to stick a fleshy digit into the substance before any attempt to identify it is made.
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"Something that smells so bad would work poorly as a sleep mask I feel." Ronin replies in disgust to the Professor's suggestion. The sludge could easily be Ichor from whatever planar creature had been summoned here, but it was strange that they had not seen any of it in the rest of the carnage around. "You may want to be careful with that old man, it could burn the flesh from your fingers."
Going off his hunch, Ronin takes a knee and tries to see if he knows anything about the residue.
"Anything which consumes all in blackness must surely be an enemy to the Dawnflower. It must be destroyed."
Ronin's analysis shows that it is something not of this plane, but there are a number of esoteric creatures that could create such a substance. He figures there's a 90-95% chance that the substance is not caustic.
The door is unlocked, but hard to move. It feels as though it has been barricaded from the other side and Phantomblade hears nothing from over there.
Kyra rolls up her sleeves. "I can't break through that barricade alone, but I can help."
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Before trying to open the door, phantom will place his hands on the wall for 6 seconds.
-Posted with Wayfinder
The walls of this long chamber are of brick, the ceiling supported by stone arches. Remnants of bedrolls and other camping equipment lie along the southern wall.
A large pile of rubble has been hurriedly placed before the door, though it is movable.
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The Professor flexes his fingers and waddles over.
"Out of the way! I have this!"
He leans against the door with all his weight as beads of sweat trickle down his forehead.
"As long as there's no shadows beyond, I'm perfectly capable of.."
The Professor falls flat on his face before gets up and dusts himself off.
"Now door, I've had it with you!"
Valyssa and Phantomblade take their time and heave against the door. Rubble clatters from the other side and after some work the door opens inside. Revealed on the same wall is another wooden door leading further into the underground.
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As the group hefts the rocks away, Ronin leans in and does their faire share, dust covering his already tattered clothing. Standing up and brushing the dirt from the scabbard of his Katana, the exiled Samurai steps cautiously into the room and keeps his eyes peeled. His natural sight allowing him to pierce the gloom of the corners and his soul-sight allowing him to see if those people are alive or dead.
"Bedrolls? This is a strange place." He says softly.
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"Strange?"
The Professor seems to be responding to Ronin.
"I'll say it's one of the more normal places... have you been to the Blakros Museum? Now there's certainly a strange place with its constant overlapping dimensions, simian fogs, Numerian relics and who knows what this week..."
He nods to Valyssa.
"And yes, might as well descend further. See if we can find that wizard that conjured our reckless monstrosity."
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Phantom will put his hands on the new to check it out. He will also search for traps leading up to and on the door
-Posted with Wayfinder
Mounds of rubble line the walls of this partially collapsed chamber, but here and there patches of brickwork are visible on the floor and walls. One rounded alcove remains in the northern wall, though it lacks a sarcophagus. There is another pile of rubble stacked against the door, but no signs of anyone to do it.
Other than the bedrolls and camping equipment in the room you are currently in there are no other signs of occupation, and with the door to the other room still closed its hard to say if there's anything in there.
"The Dawnflower shall protect us from whatever dark horrors live here!" declares Kyra as she throws open the other door.
This door, like the previous one, is extremely difficult to open, though it is unlocked.
More shoving and muscle bulging occur, and after another strenuous minute the door is open. Everyone can see the mounds of rubble and patches of brickwork visible on the floor and walls Phantomblade saw with his gloves. There are still no signs of anyone within.
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"Hai, the Blakros Museum is a strange place. The curator surely gathers many strange Mwangi relics too..." Ronin replies to the professor as they search through the bedding for clues. With none to find, he presses on with the others.
As Phantomblade gives the room a cursory check, Ronin darts in to follow the Tengu, though it feels odd to follow the Ninja they can see. Eyes moving and ears focused, the Tiefling's claws tighten around the Katana at their waist as the paranoia begins to build. It had been quiet so far in this place, too quiet for the Ex-Samurai's liking especially with the signs of planar meddling.
With a hoarse cry in a strange language none of you understand three cloaked figures appear from the shadowy crevices of the room and attack with their daggers!
The Creepers take advantage of their surprise to move forward and continue stabbing with their short thick blades.
"They are susceptible to light, are they? Perfect! May the glory of the Dawnflower shine upon us as we destroy them!"
Phantomblade swiftly kills the Dark Creeper nearest him before the Professor drops a small bead which explodes into a large fireball in the middle of the room. The flames avoid Phantomblade and Ronin as the Professor pulls out a rod, but completely engulf the creepers, burning them to a crisp and causing them to explode into light as well.
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Instinctively fending off the attacks from the creepers with their drawn shield, Ronin is ready to spring into action when a fireball engulfs the room and the Creeper's are banished. Looking around in confusion, Ronin begins to search the room for signs of what the creatures were doing here.
"Creepers? Why were they in the basement? or have we gone lower than we know?" he ponders aloud during his search.
Ronin checks high and low, but doesn't see any evidence of this room being important, other than as a hidey-hole for the darklings.