"High ceilings, lots of room for... bad pouncy things," Grob observes.
"And a low floor to boot. I can't imagine it'd feel nice falling onto all those coins." Rain looks around for a few long moments before offering with a shrug, "Well we have to cross I suppose. I'll test the rope?"
She gingerly tests the end of the rope with one foot, gradually easing her full weight onto the taut cord. As it seems to hold, she drifts out across the gulf, gliding comfortably along the rope with as much confidence as if it were solid ground.
Talarin starts to edge her way along the rope. In fact, it seems rather easy to cross.
She's only managed about six feet when a dark naga appears from under the coins, as if some underwater creature that swims in gold.
It seems to be moving slowly and is merely watching Talarin as she crosses. You suspect it can't reach the rope and is instead waiting for someone to fall.
"Watch out down below - looks like someone's waiting for a snack."
Rumha waits until Talarin is safely to the other side before starting his own careful trek across. Thinking on it, He ties a rope around his waist and hands the rest of the coil to Grob. "In case I fall."
"You got to be kidding me," Grob says, looking at his armor
"This is going to be a problem..." - Heledar ponders, looking at the rope.
Talarin is almost all of the way across when a figure slips from behind the door on the far side of the room and cuts the rope before slamming the door behind them.
Talarin manages to jump to safety and the rest of you are still on the other side.
As the figure bends down to the rope, Rain's shoulders sag. "Oh stront." Glancing down at the waiting naga below, she quicksteps across and just catches the lip of the far ledge as the rope falls free beneath her. Glowering at the shut door after she hauls herself up, she looks back across the way to the others and draws her crossbow. Gesturing toward the creature veritably swimming through the coins with the weapon, she looks to the group and shrugs as if asking 'Should we shoot it?'
Thinking that the creature would simply bury itself again if they began to shoot at it, Rythan answered Talarin's shrug with one of his own.
"With another rope, we could try shooting the doorsill over there and get across while Rain guards the rope? Maybe we could winch Heledar across," he added with a grin.
Noting they've been separated, "That's a problem. Okay, do we HAVE another rope?"
Runmha starts spooling up the cut rope (if possible)."I've got a good rope. Let's tie the ropes together, and throw the other end to Talarin. She can tie off to the platform and we can monkey across this thing."
"Talarin... No!" - Heledar's instinct is to wade into the coin filled moat to meet up with his companion, but he stands fast, listening to Rumha's words, and offering his assistance.
"Careful, it's not just poisonous, it's a spellcaster," Rythan warned the others as he peered down at the creature. "And it can spit that poison a good long way - around thirty feet. But I've read that they're intelligent - maybe we can offer it something it would rather have than us? Like our quarry," he said, a touch vengefully.
"I do not want to fight that thing unless I have to, but I'm pretty sure i'm going to fall..mmm." He looks around.
The naga looks at Rythanus. "You mention a quarry. What would you offer me in return for your lives?"
"Tell us what brought you to the golden city, that we may think on what we could offer that would please you," Rythan called down, stalling for time. He glanced at the others, and whispered, "Any other ideas, guys? Shall we offer the life of ? Would that be enough?"
"Oh!" Rain gasps in surprise as the naga speaks. She then blushes in embarassment as she realizes she just casually discussed shooting it without realizing it understood her every word.
"I do not offer the lives of others to some dark creature to stay alive myself, or to avoid confrontation Rythanus" - Heledar pipes in - "But I have nothing against trying to find an agreement of other sort"
The dark naga pauses for a few seconds. "I wish for luxury, wealth, and power over others. I have as much gold as I need - so what can you offer?"
Rain shrugs at the question. "Do we look like genies?"
The creature eyes talarin for a few seconds and then returns its gaze to Rythanus. "Tell me of this creature you might offer me."
Rythan hemmed and hawed a bit. "Well, she intends to take your wealth before the city floods with gold... perhaps an alliance would be preferable to giving you this woman?" He glanced at Heledar, willing to defer to the wiser man. "If you let us pass peacefully, we will prevent her and her lackeys from robbing you...?"
The dark naga pauses - clearly thinking. "You offer to rid me of this woman and allow me to keep my wealth? I agree. You will have to pass tbhis way to leave, so if you have cheated me, I will know. You may pass unharmed."
Rain's eyes narrow in suspicion at the naga's words, "We can pass now and as we depart unharmed, right?"
"That is a pretty crucial point," Grob agrees
Heledar is terribly uncomfortable in dealing with this dark creature, the will to throttle it boiling in his chest... He remains silent however, for the greater good of the group, gritting his teeth.
The dark naga nods. "Both directions unharmed as long as you have kept your side of the bargain. Agreed."
Rain still regards the naga with bald distrust, but she shrugs and looks across the divide to the others as if to say 'Your call, boys.'
Grobradon shrugs but certainly understand's Rain's distrust Deal or not, we need to watch our backs around that thing
"I do not wish to dally any further in dealings with this creature" - the Paladin ends up blurting out - "The deal is done - let us please proceed, or I will not be able to restrain myself any further" - he glares at the naga.
You all make your way across the pit unmolested. Ahead of you is a closed door. Talarin saw it closed by what she presumed was one of the cultists.
Rain helps each of the others up out of the coin pit and turns to regard the door. She whistles lowly as she regards the complex lock set into the door. "Those stront voor de hersenen cultists reset the vervloekt lock. Maybe they had a key? Ugh. Maybe I can bypass it. Klootzak Razmirans..."
She kneels down beside the door and begins to gingerly test the various bits of the mechanism with a set of fine tools.
Talarin is able to unlock the door with relative ease. With all of the 'security' you've passed on the way here, locked doors were clearly an afterthought.
"Ah, I think I got it." Rain rises and grins in the darkness. Opening the door, she dips into an exaggerated bow as she gestures to the room beyond the door. "After you, boys."
"I do not wish to dally any further in dealings with this creature" - the Paladin ends up blurting out - "The deal is done - let us please proceed, or I will not be able to restrain myself any further" - he glares at the naga.
"Sorry, Heledar Grobradon can tells this bothers the man, and he's not crazy about it himself, so they hastily move on.
.........
"After you, boys."
Grobradon smirks, "So kind." And he steps into the room. Perhaps his darkvision will help here
The paladin nods at Grob as they move - "Take my word friend, the dealings with this creature are not finished yet" - he sighs.
As his companion takes point after the door, he follows closely behind - "I am here, let us thread with care"
Before you waltz in, you take a peek through the door.
You see a large room with high, arched ceilings and a floor made of simple white tiles. Four statues frame the room, two of them recessed in wide alcoves along the south wall and two more standing against the north wall. The statues in the southern alcoves are carved from granite polished as smooth as glass. Both statues depict the same man, tall and regal with a full head of windblown hair. They are both completely nude, and each statue has one hand crossed behind its back while the other hand points toward its twin.
The two statues against the north wall are sculpted from lightly veined marble and depict two different women, nude to the waist and draped with robes from the waist down. The one to the east scowls and points accusingly at a plain wooden door in the north wall. The one to the west smiles and regards the door with a curious expression.
As importantly, the last remaining cultists of Razmir are here, but there is no sign of Iramine.
There appears to be a senior cultist, standing in the west alcove and two priests waiting in the east alcove.
As they enter the grand chamber, Rain jokes, "You'd think they could afford some pants and shirts with all this gold." As she shakes her head at the evocatitve statues, she notices the cultists lurking in the alcoves.
A dark expression falls across her face as she regards the remaining Razmirans. "Time to end this silly chase." She draws her sword in one hand and pulls a flask free with the other. As she begins to stalk into the room toward the west alcove, she drinks from the flask and vanishes from view.
= 10
The cultists react by drawing their weapons and advancing on you.
All three have rapiers and are carrying light shields.
Rain slips around behind the approaching Razmirans and, rather than shatter the tenuous magics keeping her hidden with a premature attack, she instead invokes a quick spell.
HP: 32/32
AC: 17 (13 T / 14 FF)
CMD: 16 (18 vs disarm)
F/R/W: +2/+6/+4
Second Chance: [ ]
Shadowstrikes used: 0/7
Shield charges used: 5/42
Spell Slots:
Cantrips (--) - arcane mark, dancing lights, daze, detect magic, ghost sound, mage hand, prestidigitation, ray of frost
Level 1 (5+1) - [X], [X], [ ], [ ], [ ], [ ]
Ongoing Effects
invisibility
true strike (next attack roll)
Grobradon eyes the cultists, "Three of them we can see, their leader missing, that can't be good. These guys could be a delaying tactic to something bad. Or have a card in the hole we're not seeing. Regardless, I'll play badger hound and see what engaging them flushes out. Heledar, flank them if you can. And everyone be ready for the horse shoe in the pugilist's glove"
And with that, the half orc steps up to meet them, while leaving the entry way open so others can join him and attacks, striking at the 'bookends' of younger novices if he can, hoping to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Talarin casts (not that any of you can see it of course) and Grob steps forward to take on the younger acolytes.
Neither goes down immediately but from the blood they've lost, some serious damage has been inflicted.