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"Oh? It would be my honor, Peppers-san.
Although we have a population presence in what you call, the Inner Sea region, our home is on a continent to the far east. Aside from humans, the fox-kin, like him right here, originate there."
(Obviously pointing at Corsac)
"There was once one big empire, one of several, named Lung Wa, but after a great calamity, it fell apart in about sixteen 'Successor states'.
They are ruled by a variety of people, some human, some Tengu, and some Oni of one kind or another.
Oni...what would be your word....demons."
He seems to think of the others.
"There is Yixing. It is from that empire, that the first large vessel came to this continent, in this city of Absalom, so happens."
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Mr. Peppers incantation reveals no magical auras from around the room. He analyzes the carvings and recognizes them as crude carvings of the serpentfolk race, mostly depicting serpentfolk nobles, or Purecasters. He recalls that Purecasters are the more capable of the serpentfolk race - far more intelligent, taller, and more elegant versus the aapoph, or Degenerate class.
D's sight beyond sight allows him to see further down the tunnel to the north, and the entrance to a larger chamber becomes visible.
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Gallix gratefully accepts some of D.'s salve and breathes the minty aroma deeply, his eyes closed in an expression of pure delight. When he opens his eyes again, he thanks the man and pats him on the shoulder. "That's some lovely stuff, there Sir D. Hard to believe there's some rube over in Cheliax that's tryin' to outlaw mint." He scoffs at the thought, then goes on, "Yeah, it smells pretty awful in here, 'specially up that a-way. But I'm willing to bet none o' ya have ever seen...or, more to the point...smelled the inside of a Pesh den. Now those are some hard kicks to the ol' nostril, eh?"
Gallix strides around a few paces, trying to make up his mind on which corridor he'd rather take. After a few moments, he finally comes to a decision, "I dunno about you folks, but I'm thinking it might be a good idea to check out that stench first. Might be we could figure out a thing or two about what's causing it and that might help us know how to get away from it for good." He moves over toward the northern corridor and shines his torch into it.
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As Uesugi, Gallix, and Sirettis near the entrance to the dark corridor, the smell peaks, and Gallix's torch is able to cast enough light that, at just the right angle, a creature becomes visible. The tiny dinosaur, which appears to be scouting ahead, turns and notices Gallix, letting out a shriek before rearing up to attack. It begins dashing towards the human.
The dinosaur appears to be a compsognathus, a small reptile with a snake-like neck and head. It has a bird-like body with strong legs for running, and a whip-like tail. Its bite is known to be poisonous.
It appears to be lizardfolk. The reptilian humanoid has green scales, a short and toothy snout, and a thick alligator-like tail. It's able to hold its breath underwater for a great deal of time.
Surprise Round
Gallix
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Mr Peppers scans the room thoroughly with his magic then looks over the carvings with less and less interest as he goes. "There's nothing magical about this room and these carvings are not very interesting either. Crude serpent folk paying homage to their superiors I believe. Lets investigate the stench first, afterwards when we've secured these rooms I can make some detailed notes to include in our report." With that Mr Peppers pulls a different wand and motions for Uesugi and Gallix to continue.
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What in the Nine Hells is that?! Such were the eloquent thoughts of Gallix Granbonne when a beast out of the depths of time came running toward him. Where others may have paused to study the creature, trying to trace a line of ancestry from common birds and reptiles back to this mysterious beast, Gallix's immediate and only reaction...was to punch it in the face.
After his initial shock wears off, Gallix calls back to his fellow Pathfinders, GUYS THERES A WEIRD LIZARD THING TRYING TO EAT ME HELP!
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Mr Peppers was in the middle of explaining what he'd seen in the southern room and not a second after he'd pulled out his wand did he hear the following: a shrill shriek followed by a bone crunching punch, followed by a lesser meaty thud, followed yet again by a cute little roar, followed by Mr Peppers asking Gallix and Uesugi to carry on.
They move fast or I move very slow... Feeling like he should assess the situation, Mr Peppers hurries to the north to try to see what's going on but while also being sure not to get in the way of firing lanes. He eyes the crumpled beast on the ground "What IS that thing?"
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Angered by his failure of being caught off guard Uesugi draws his katana in both hands and rushes into the next room. He moves into position allowing enough room for the others to shuffle in and positions his blade for the first opponent to test his swordmanship.
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Gallix shakes himself out of his shocked stupor and moves ahead into the large room, the light of his torch flickering in the darkness. He takes up a defensive posture next to Uesugi and prepares for the strange creatures to come within striking distance.
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The lizard yells out in its native tongue, "ɪɬɸɾɺ, ɽʁɼɭɪ ɼʀɧɖ!"
Intrudersssssss! Get them, young onessssss!
While Uesugi moves ahead and draws his katana, Sirettis attempts to will the lizard to sleep. It shakes its head furiously, trying desperately to ward off the hex, but succumbs and goes for a snooze.
The other little dinosaur dashes ahead towards Uesugi and moves its long neck out of the way of his katana. D's sand bullet follows shortly after, but the dino quickly ducks. It follows up with a bite on Uesugi, but the samurai is armored enough that its small teeth cannot penetrate.
Everyone, go!
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Hearing the lizard thing speak, Mr Peppers will translate for the group "Its calling for reinforcements, be on the look out!" With that Mr Peppers will step back near Sir D to get a better sight angle into the northern room while also being able to see down the western corridor. He readies his wand for the first hostile he sees
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Uesugi's steel blade carves a neat gash through the abdomen of the dinosaur, and it lets out a sound somewhere between a whimper and a roar. It stumbles on its legs, but remains standing, until Gallix finishes it off with another powerful punch to the jaw, bloodying his fist and sending the creature ten feet across the room.
As the lizard awakens and stands up, D fires a sand bullet, but misses. Like a bat out of hell, Mr. Pepper's magic missile storms into the chamber and slams into the lizard, shredding up a few of its thick scales. It stumbles and then speaks in common,
"Foools-s-s... Do you really think you can s-s-top us, wretched mammalssss? You do not belong here!"
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The morningstar strikes Gallix square in the chest, knocking the wind out of the young man. He spits out a gob of blood and spittle, and says through his clenched teeth, "That didn't feel very good." In a blur of movement, Gallix jukes right, then quickly steps to his left, keeps his arms covering his torso for protection, and follows through his step by swinging his right foot up into a lighting-fast roundhouse kick to the creatures lizardman's skull.
As he pivots into his kick, however, his foot slips in some loose sand, and his kick goes completely off track, and he is barely able to maintain his balance and remain standing.
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Seeing Gallix take a massive strike to the chest from the heavy spiky morningstar he tries to instill some wisdom "No need to be a hero all by yourself Gallix, fallback and rely on your allies. You aren't alone in this fight!" With that Mr Peppers will ready another blast from the wand to go off if it looks like the lizard is about to make another move other than falling prone or surrendering.
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Mr Peppers holsters his wand once the remaining lizard is disemboweled by the serious looking Tian. "We should secure the immediate area and take detailed notes on everything we find here. Remember, we can't take out anything we find here with us, only knowledge and lots of notes. I would expect though that we could make use of anything we find until we leave. I have a journal and ink and volunteer myself to write the notes. If anyone else wants to duplicate this effort you are encouraged to do so. As far as these lizards are concerned, I'm trained in the study of animals and could distinguish any anatomical differences with our present day lizards, an assistant to do the dissection would be helpful. Any other useful tidbit should be noted... architecture, diet, weaponry, etc" Mr Peppers prods people along and reminds them of their 300 minute time frame here.
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Gallix watches as the Tian swordsman rushes up behind the lizard and, with a single, decisive stroke, cuts the creature down. As the lizardman falls and its blood begins to pool beneath it, Gallix breathes a heavy sigh of relief and clutches at the heavily bleeding wound on his chest. "Thanks for that one, Uesugi. Nice work." He looks around at the others mounted on the steps behind him, "Any o' you good for a bit o' TLC? I'm not exactly feelin' in prime condition at the moment."
"We should secure the immediate area and take detailed notes on everything we find here. Remember, we can't take out anything we find here with us, only knowledge and lots of notes...."
Gallix turns to Mr. Peppers and listens to his suggestion about taking notes and studying the creatures and so on. He pauses to think for moment and, with an embarrassed look on his face, he scratches his head and says, "Ehhh...I think I fall more into the 'keep the researchers alive' category that Shaine was talkin' about before. I don't know much about any o' that stuff you wanna look at, but I guess I could help with the dissecting or somethin'."
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Mr Peppers gives a quick glance over to Gallix and Corsac and nods as he thanks them for their willingness to participate in information gathering. "I'm sorry I can't help you with your wounds Gallix, I have spent my time focusing on the study of the Arcane and never really gained any interest in the workings of the human body. Maybe Sirettis has some training in that area?"
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Gallix examines the lizard alongside Blaster. "You know. That does look like some of the lizards I've seen around Katapesh..."
"I'm sorry I can't help you with your wounds Gallix, I have spent my time focusing on the study of the Arcane and never really gained any interest in the workings of the human body. Maybe Sirettis has some training in that area?"
"That's alright, Peppers. None of us can do everything. I certainly can't blast an opponent from half a field away like you can. That's quite the talent, though."
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"I appreciate the complement, but it was just a wand. Anyone can learn to use a wand if they put in a modicum of effort. True arcane talent takes many years of study, practice and inherent intelligence... unless of course you were born a gnome. They just make it out of diapers and start casting basic spells. If only we were all so lucky." He says as he shakes his head in disgust.
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Mr Peppers gives a quick glance over to Gallix and Corsac and nods as he thanks them for their willingness to participate in information gathering. "I'm sorry I can't help you with your wounds Gallix, I have spent my time focusing on the study of the Arcane and never really gained any interest in the workings of the human body. Maybe Sirettis has some training in that area?"
"A wand capable of healing wounds? If you have one, I can use it." She shakes her head. "Unfortunately I do not have that innate ability yet."
She takes a passing glance at the fallen lizard man.
"I am not sure what I can contribute to your investigation."
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"Gnomes...the little folk that come up to my belt only, right?
Another bit on Tian, many of the races common here, aside from humans, are a rarity to see in Tian Xia.
They stand out as much as Uesugi and myself do here. Elves, however, have settled as merchants near a port in Yixing."
"This lizard is not much different from the reptiles we have back east.
Its weak spots are here, and here."
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Uesugi looks down at the slain body of his fallen enemy. He knew the importance of studying this new enemy would be of use down here.
Kneeling down he called for the light to come closer so he could inspect the anatomy of the lizards. Drawing his fingers over the dense skin he routinely presses his fingers into the body to determine any weak points noting them out loud so that it could be recorded.
"Yes D. Those are weak spots as well as here. The bones do not meet at this point. Striking it here would greatly weaken it."
"One of you pass me a dagger or a knife and we will see if this creature differs from the lizards found in your lands."
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As Uesugi pokes through the slain creatures' bodies, he carves through its innards with surgical precision to locate its weak points, and his spoken details of what he sees are clear and concise. The notes taken by Mr. Peppers are complete with illustrations, and both Gallix's and D's prior knowledge of similar creatures contributes to eventually form several sheets of notes and drawings - overall, a complete picture of exactly what these creatures of days past were composed of.
From this large cavern, a narrow corridor continues north, and two wider exits stretch to the east, with much stone rubble covering the ground.