Still scared because of the two standing over her with weapons, and extreamly confused of who you all are she softly speaks up; “My... my name is... Leera. I am an explorer. I learned of the expedition to this tomb from Teryl.... he’s an associate of mine, he let me have a place in the party... I had no idea what I was getting into...” As she finishes her eyes dart worryingly between the six of you standing over her and the boar.
Lanliss wonders i she is telling the truth.
Lanliss you get the sense that she is telling the truth.
Bozvrig leaves the talking to the others, letting his mere presence be intimidation enough.
As Dalron steps up and yells at her, Leera cowers back and lets out a cry and begins to tear up; “I thought it was a simple job... no one gets hurt when you rob some graves... once I found out what was going on I was ashamed... but what could I do?” wiping tears from her faces she continues fighting through whimpers. “I was afraid they’d kill me if I tried to leave! I was with them, but I didn’t help murder those poor people in the mausoleum...”
At the mention of the murdering of the guards, Dornal and Zeera, and the Yurlings, Desiree and Morgan, Leera breaks down and cries under the pressure of what is unknown about what might happen, and what she has previously been apart of.
“Listen up miss,” Bozvrig is moved to speak by her tears, “We’re here to put a stop to all de killin’, so if yer feelin’ repentant, ya best be tellin’ us all ya know.”
Scarlet carefully climbs out of the pit and then looks around at the group and the crying half-elf girl. "I guess I missed some stuff."
He winds up his rope and puts away the rope and grappling hook for later.
He then looks at the two daggers he pilfered off the girl to see if they look special.
Scarlet looks over the daggers, the seems like regular ole daggers.
When Leera hears that you are here to stop all of the killing she calms down, just a little bit. “Listen... I only came along to see a bit of ancient history... You guys do know where you are right? This is the tomb of the forgotten king... you’ve seen his statue in the hills right?” she pauses for a moment before continuing on.
“Centuries ago, a king, his knights, and his spellcasting advisors united this part of the land, bringing the people out of a dark, evil age and restoring faith and hope. But one of the king’s most trusted knights betrayed him. The two of them fought desperately, and through the king slew The Betrayer this last battle, the king perished as well. Many of his knights died too, as did those who served the Betrayer. The king’s remaining followers built this complex to hold his remains and the remains of his champions, believing that some day, when the realm needs him, the king will return.”
"I still think she might be a were-rat. Stick her with a steel knife and see if she bleeds." Barnabus suggests.
"I'm pretty sure were-rats bleed, Barnabus."
Lanliss addresses the woman.
"Specifically, please tell us how you fell into the pit, and who you were with when you did so."
"Also, what do you want to do? It might be awhile before we can head back up. Stay here? Travel with us?"
Del wanders about kicking rocks, and grumbling to himself. It's obvious he is uncomfortable in one on one conversation situations like this, and basically wants something to hit. He visibly shivers at the thought of undead protectors of tombs... it's much better when the dead stay dead. And they should be left alone once interred.
Perception (+9 if unusual stonework).
"You gotta stick were-rats with silver to make 'em bleed!" Barnabus replies to Lannliss.
"Just try to cut her with a steel knife!"
Bozvrig suddenly looks uncomfortable at Barnabus’s aggression. He sticks his axe handle on the ground and squats down to get to the woman’s eye level.
“History lesson’s all’s well an’ good, Miss, but I don’t know what dat’s all gotta do with us. Ye gotta give us more dan dat. I don’t want no one cuttin’ nobody if’n dey don’t deserve it. What exactly were ya lookin’ for down here?”
"You gotta stick were-rats with silver to make 'em bleed!" Barnabus replies to Lannliss.
"Just try to cut her with a steel knife!"
"No! That's mean! If she's not a were-rat, it will hurt her!"
Leera slowly stands up and tries to move away from Barnabus as she wipes her face off; “You will not be poking me! I am no were-rat... if you are mentioning that you must have come across that worm... hopefully you dealt with him as aggressively as you have with me.”
Looking around towards the group she turns towards Lanliss;
Continuing in common; “Thank you elf... Xeron led us around the corner to the east, my friend Teryl found a pit that we all avoided as we went into the wide room beyond. There, we saw two metal statues. There was also a complicated puzzle lock-one that Xeron had considerable trouble unraveling. He got angry and ordered his tomb robbers to smash the platform that contained the lock and break through the door to the north.”
Continuing on; “Unfortunately, when we smashed the puzzle, the chests of the statues spit out small automatons that attacked, and the statue’s mouths spewed out smoky creatures that distracted and nipped at us. Three of us, including Teryl and I, fought back while Xeron and the others smashed through the door and escaped. When I saw that happen, I ducked back around the corner and fled... right into this pit. I don’t remember anything from that point until now... thank you again for pulling me out of there.”
Leera turns towards Bozvrig; “I am not really sure... Xeron leads the tomb robbers, but a hobgoblin priest of Zon-Kuthon also has some clout. Xeron is some sort of arcanist-he’s also young, intense, and without mercy. To be honest, he scares me, and I’ve tried to keep from attracting much notice until I could escape from his band of cutthroats. He’s looking or something deeper in the catacombs, and only his personal magnetism has kept the tomb robbers from escaping with the treasure they’ve found already. He thinks someone is bound to be pursuing him by now, though, and has talked about finding a different exit from the tomb rather than the hole we dug to come in.”
“The hobgoblin cleric-Krootad, they called him-elected to stay behind and take care of the pursuit. You must have already run across him. He wouldn’t shirk when it comes to raising the dead and the possibility of killing decent folk.”
“I think the remaining tomb robbers are nothing more than servants and hirelings, though most seem reasonably loyal to Xeron. Supposing nobody fell in the next room, he still has Teryl, a few more Vargas, three hobgoblin warriors, a halfling male I think is a sorcerer, and a nasty goblin female. We left several goblinoid and undead behind us, as well as some of Xeron’s twisted pets. Many members of our band have died in the run through this place.”
"Yes, we encountered this Krootad. Does this Xeron or anyone else have the ability to raise undead?"
Turning towards Lanliss, Leera pauses to think; “I don’t think there are any others that can raise the dead. If you ran into Krootad and took care of him, then thats all. But... Xeron keeps a choker as a pet, and he also kept a tattooed horror that’s something like a hound. Both of these were left to guard the way we came in. The runehound, as Xeron called it, is on the surface.”
Answering Dalron; “I do not think there are any more. Well, if there are more they never showed and signs of it.”
Looking around the group who is currently surrounding her she offers up more information; “Listen, I just want to go. I’ll tell you what I know, but I don’t want to be part of this... Xeron isn’t a human or elf. That I am sure of. I don’t know what he is, but something about him makes my skin crawl. He is definitely working for someone. I remember Xeron and Krootad quarreling about how to carry out their superiors’ wishes, which makes me believe that Xeron is either already a member of an organization or trying to join one. He certainly knows a lot about the tomb complex, though he appears unsure of what dangers he might face as he explores. It’s as if his map- yes, he has one- has no notes or specific details about the area.”
“Xeron is secretive about what he is exactly looking for. It must be something powerful considering all of the items he is allowing the rest of his hirelings to keep...”
“Sounds ta me like dis Xeron’s de one we’re after. Miss, de way we just came is filled with demon leeches an’ transmogrifyin’ mazes. Ya sure ye don’t wanna stick wid us?”
"We already cleared the exit on the hole you guys cleared. So that way is clear."
He tosses the daggers that belong to her at her feet.
“Sounds ta me like dis Xeron’s de one we’re after. Miss, de way we just came is filled with demon leeches an’ transmogrifyin’ mazes. Ya sure ye don’t wanna stick wid us?”
"How did you get past the leeches, anyway?"
Leera gives Scarlet an annoyed look as she bends over to pick up her daggers; “You know, I didn’t know things would turn out like this. I had no idea that I was in way over my head until it was too late. By the time he killed those guards and the family what was I supposed to do? Had I tried to leave or even tried to stop them I would be just as dead as they are...”
When Lanliss mentions the leeches she looks kind of surprised; “I am not sure what you are talking about... we did not see any leeches. Then again, Xeron knew how to navigate that labyrinth, so it is possible we went a different way?” she pulls out her waterskin and takes a drink.
“I don’t remember how we came through the labyrinth, and we did loose a few men in there, so I would prefer if I tagged along for a little bit. Xeron did say there was a waterfall that lies just ahead. I think it leads outside... I would rather risk the water than being trapped in a labyrinth until I died.” she pauses for a moment and clears her throat; “That is, if you’d have me follow...” she gives Scarlet a look of concern. As if he would prevent her from following.
As she looks at Scarlet, Lanliss casts detect poison on Leera and her equipment.
Ultimately, abandoning her isn't an option for Lanliss, unless someone wants to get very creative with their reasoning. He'll tell anyone who asks as much. He's ready to move on with her in tow.
Scarlet taps his chin and then looks at the pouch Leera has, "I guess we could let you tag along, for a price..."
Scarlet lets his roguish ways surface.
Lanliss nearly strains himself rolling his eyes, but he doesn't say anything.
Lanliss begins to cast a spell. As he is saying the incantation and moving his hands in the precise way to formulate the spell Leera begins to frown. “I don’t know what you just did, I don’t pose any harm to you.” turning towards Scarlet; “and you...” tears begin to swell up in her eyes; “... not every job our kind take turns out to be what we think... your payment is there...” Leera points to the belt pouch that she previously threw on the floor. She begins to make her way towards the labyrinth. If anyone were to try to talk to her or stop her she completely ignores the group and leaves.
Lanliss do not detect any poison.
Within you find a set of thieves tools and 30 gold
"Let her go. We've got enough trouble without having a companion we can not trust along with us."
"I hate to abandon her, but aside from asking for money, we weren't being unreasonable," Lanliss agrees.
As the party continues on they can see that there is a large amount of tracks heading beyond, and only a few returning towards the labyrinth. As Dalron is talking and trying to follow the tracks, Barnabus from behind grabs his arm. Dalron looks and Barnabus is pointing towards the floor where suddenly all can easily see the pit trap that Leera had been talking about.
Once the party has settled down from almost a full party fall into a pit, they are immediately overwhelmed with an unfortunately familiar smell.
The smell of blood and entrails reach you from this large, oddly shaped room. A hobgoblin lies at your feet, twisted and broken in death. Dark spatters and smears point towards another body near the center of this room. Beyond it is a pile of rubble that might once have been a stone table or platform. To the north, a set of stone doors lies in shambles, their frame forming a dark opening to what might be a stairway. The most prominent features of the room are two large light-colored metal statues, one to the south east and one to the north west. Dried blood is visible around what looks like compartment doors in each statue’s chest.
"The elf lass told ya there be a trap and yet you do yer best to walk right into it!"
Del shouts after the retreating girl. "Good luck! Hope you make it out"!
Then settles in to travel with the others.
"Wow you guys must have had some bad s&~~e go down before I joined up. Not a whole lot of trust or compassion in this room".
Picking up the fleeing rogue's pouch and putting the loot into the bag of holding.
"Even if she didn't mean to, she still took part in killing the parents of that girl we rescued before and the guards sent to investigate."
Looking at the dead hobgoblin, "Wonder what killed him."
Barnabus pulls out his flask and takes a long pull of whiskey.
"Aye, nothing is going to bring back the dead parents of the girl we rescued."
"But maybe we can burn the ones that are responsible."
Bozvrig frowns as the half-elf runs off, and simply scratches his head and follows as the others press on.
In response to Scarlet and the dead hobgoblins, “She said sumthin’ ‘bout smashin’traps an’ things attackin’. Must be what she’s talkin’ ‘bout.”
“Xeron led us around the corner to the east, my friend Teryl found a pit that we all avoided as we went into the wide room beyond. There, we saw two metal statues. There was also a complicated puzzle lock-one that Xeron had considerable trouble unraveling. He got angry and ordered his tomb robbers to smash the platform that contained the lock and break through the door to the north.”
Continuing on; “Unfortunately, when we smashed the puzzle, the chests of the statues spit out small automatons that attacked, and the statue’s mouths spewed out smoky creatures that distracted and nipped at us. Three of us, including Teryl and I, fought back while Xeron and the others smashed through the door and escaped. When I saw that happen, I ducked back around the corner and fled... right into this pit.”
For the benefit of anyone who didn't hear, Lanliss repeats what Leera told them about the trap in this room.
"I'm not really much into the carnival tricks, Dalron. If you go over there to investigate and something goes wrong, I can set you on fire." Barnabus replies dryly as he takes another shot of whiskey.
"I'll check to see if the trap is still active and if it is, disarm it."
Scarlet cautiously moves forward to investigate the statues and any traps that might still remain active.
"So Lanliss we should just sprint across into the broken door way?"
"We've had success getting past traps and puzzles in this complex so far. I think we should try and solve this one, first."
As Scarlet moves forward into the room you hear a clicking noise coming from the room.
Each statue spits from its mouth a tiny creature that looks like nothing more than animated smoke with luminous eyes and a humanoid form. The chest of both statues open. From the one in the south east leaps a small, vaguely humanoid creature that looks like it’s made of stone, but it’s covered in dark spatters and has burning eyes. Each of its four appendages is a long spike. On two of these it runs with good speed.
To the north west, a black, metallic animallike creature tumbles from the statue, its four pawlike limbs used to run and support its oversized jaws, which are filled with sharp teeth. This creature, too, has dried blood all over it, and both of the constructs appear to have suffered damage in an earlier battle.
The creatures act as if they were readied for you as they charge out of the statues. The creature with the smoke like creatures swarm around Scarlet distracting him while the stone and animal like creatue attack out and land two vicious blows.
Initiative
Barnabus & Lanliss
Creatures
Scarlet
Bozvrig
Del
Dalron
@Barnabus & Lanliss you’re up!
Wordlessly, Lanliss swiftly draws an arrow and fires it at the stone thing with the spiky appendages.
Lanliss’ arrow flies and somehow finds a gap between its stone exterior. It winces and looks towards Lanliss.
@Barnabus You’re up!
Barnabus throws a force missile at the one that Lanliss damaged.
Barnabus cast a Force Missile that strikes true. The stony creature still has his eyes and begins to tumble across the floor. It begins to roll with its spiked arms and legs pointing out. As it reaches Lanliss it opens up and tries to jab Lanliss with one of its spikes, but fails to do so.
The animal like creature bites into Scarlet once again with its oversized jaws.
Initiative
Barnabus&Lanliss
Creatures
Scarlet
Bozvrig
Del
Dalron
Feeling slightly woozy from the repeated bites , Scarlet tries to slip away and to safety behind his companions.
As Scarlet withdraws, Bozvrig lets out a roar as he charges forward, bringing his axe down on the metallic construct.