Lash darts forward her rapier lancing out to strike.
Selena conjures a ball of brilliant glittering light to her hand.
The ball of light shoots unerringly towards the creature fumbling toward them.
Mird draws back his bow and fires unerringly at the creature. The arrow penetrates the creature's left eye socket and literally pins the creature back against the door. The creature reaches up and wrenches the arrow both from the door and back out the eye socket before continuing to move forward. It's gait, however, is obviously more off than normal and you can see the creature smoking a bit.
The hit from Mird's shot staggers the Cauldron Magen out of line of Thantos's already flying crossbow bolt, which hits the stone wall of the dungeon and shatters, a clean miss.
Fyird's singing fills the corredors as he runs forward, axe raised and takes a swipe at the already off balance creature. A clean swipe, a clean hit and the Magen's head comes clear of it's body. Almost immediately the creature explodes into flame, blinding all of you temporarily and knocking Fyird to the ground (no damage). As each of you recovers all that is left of the Magen is a small pile of smoking ashes practically at Fyird's feet.
Down in the pit, the clean hit the stinger gave to Armand seems to have thrown it a bit off balance as it fails to retract it's spike from Armand's shoulder quickly enough. As the ball starts to fly up and away from Armand it starts spinning end over end and literally bounces off the ceiling of the pit, having to stop and reorient itself. Unfortunately for the Stinger, that's put it back within reachable distance for attacks.
Your sword swings through the air but the small metal ball's ricochet from the ceiling has saved it from your slash, it's flight path just ahead of your swing.
Having dropped her torch in the fall, the guttering light source chooses just the wrong time to flicker as Lash shoves the sharp point of her rapier at the small ball, the strike coming no where close to the stinger as it darts ahead, spike extended directly for Lash.
Turning her thrust to a slash and spinning right the ball sails past and starts to make a wide turn when the flat of Lash's blade smacks the ball in her spin, sending it, again, into the wall to bounce off (this time we'll call it 1 point of damage), darting back in at the two remaining combatants.
Armand is still standing unnaturally still in the middle of the room where he was struck. You can see his eyes moving, following the action, and his chest heaving, (he does still seem to be breathing), but no other motion seems to come from his body.
Fyird begins to frantically search for a way to open the hatch, or another way down.
The noise and flash of the explosion obviously dulling his senses.
Stinger Attack: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
Trying to keep up with the quick moving metal ball, Dirk carefully lines up another over-hand swing!
Thantos begins to fiddle with the torch holder on the right wall trying to turn it in both directions, pull it down, etc. in hopes of releasing the mechanism open the trap door in the floor.
"Mird, give me a hand with this."
Lash reorients attempting to time her attack with Dirk's
Thantos continues examining the torch holder.
Perception check:
"Damn, the torch fell into the trap with the others. Does anyone else have a way to create fire? Maybe if we light this torch on the wall we can see around here better and then maybe we can find a way to open the floor again."
Lash/Dirk:
The stinger makes a pass at Lash, the now common spike coming in fast. Seeing you at the ready, lash gets an evil grin as she connects her rapier with the spike in a block and leans to the side, pushing the ball out from it's flight path and turning the spike to the right...
Lining up a strike from Dirk. Your overhand chop smacks into the little ball and takes a huge (almost a quarter of it's mass) sized chunk off of it and sends it flying right back at lash, rapier at the ready. A quick thrust and the phase stinger is impaled upon the blade. Immediately it flashes with light and simply disintegrates into dust.
As Lash picks up the guttering torch from the floor the both of you glance around the room for other combatants. Seeing none, you both move toward Armand.
Still frozen in place, you note Armand's muscles are simply locked, no matter how you try to help, he simply won't move. His breathing has calmed a bit and you notice him blink, a first sign that the effects of the sting might be temporary.
Mird/Thantos/Lash/Selena: A loud clang of metal on metal rings out and then most of the noise from the pit simply ceases. The fight has obviously ceased, but whether to the good or ill of your companions none of you yet know.
Mird/Thantos:
You start examining the torch sconce closest to the area where you know the pit to be. It is made of iron, is pretty standard, and, unfortunately, no matter what kind of twisting, pulling, pushing, or otherwise seems to get it to move. Examining the bolts and the the wall itself you can discern nothing that would cause this to look like any kind of trigger.
Fyird: As you move around the small hallway something catches your eye on the left wall almost at the corner, a small deformity/depression in the stone that strikes you as somewhat odd. You'd have missed it were you not making such a thorough search of the area.
Examining closer you note a small catch that when turned opens what could only be described as a small compartment, not much more than a man made "hole" in the wall, about a foot square with a small lever inside it, the lever is currently in the "up" position.
As Dirk realizes his friend is in no real danger his concern slowly turns to mirth. Standing directly infront of the still unmoving Armand, Dirk lets a smile spread across his face. With raised eyebrows he says,
"So... the little shiny ball took you out of the fight, eh?"
With a quiet chuckle Dirk continues,
"Fear not my friend, it seems the effects are already beginning to wear off. I'm going to lay you down so you don't impale yourself on something when control returns to your legs."
Dirk will take Armand and gently lay him prone.
Looking back up at Lash, Dirk grins and says, "You're not half bad with that little sword of yours."
As his eyes move around the room Dirk asks, "I don't guess you know any tricks to get us out of this hole?"
Lash grins back, "A sword doesn't need to be big to do the job y'know. Didn't think I'd need a grappling hook down here so thatt's out. Hmm..."
She looks around taking in their surroundings.
Knowledge Dungeoneering
Lash/Dirk:
The stinger makes a pass at Lash, the now common spike coming in fast. Seeing you at the ready, lash gets an evil grin as she connects her rapier with the spike in a block and leans to the side, pushing the ball out from it's flight path and turning the spike to the right...
Lining up a strike from Dirk. Your overhand chop smacks into the little ball and takes a huge (almost a quarter of it's mass) sized chunk off of it and sends it flying right back at lash, rapier at the ready. A quick thrust and the phase stinger is impaled upon the blade. Immediately it flashes with light and simply disintegrates into dust.
As Lash picks up the guttering torch from the floor the both of you glance around the room for other combatants. Seeing none, you both move toward Armand.
Still frozen in place, you note Armand's muscles are simply locked, no matter how you try to help, he simply won't move. His breathing has calmed a bit and you notice him blink, a first sign that the effects of the sting might be temporary.
Mird/Thantos/Lash/Selena: A loud clang of metal on metal rings out and then most of the noise from the pit simply ceases. The fight has obviously ceased, but whether to the good or ill of your companions none of you yet know.
Mird/Thantos:
You start examining the torch sconce closest to the area where you know the pit to be. It is made of iron, is pretty standard, and,...
"Wait". "I think I've found something". Fyird says as he pushes the switch to the down position".
"What 'ya find there?" Thantos moves to the side of Fyird. Preparing himself to assist Fyird, Thantos grumbles, "I hope that doesn't smash down on his hand or head."
As Dirk finishes taunting Armand, a cold look comes into his eyes and his left eyelid twitches as well as his hand...if looks could kill...
Dirk and Lash begin to search the pit for a way out.
Meanwhile, above, all of you turn toward Fyird at his call and see a little alcove he's got his hand in, only seconds later Fyird throws the switch and the floor snaps open, leaving the pit wide.
Fyird keeps his hand on the switch and holds it in the down position (ensuring the pit doesn't close on those climbing out) as the other three of you extend a rope down for Dirk, Lash, and (after a few minutes of waiting) the now recovered Armand to climb out.
Lash is first up the rope, practically running up the side of the pit as she exits. Armand goes next and "accidentally" clocks Dirk upside his helmeted head with the metal elbow-guard of his armor. "Opps, you should be careful where you stand Dirk." says Armand as he grabs the rope and quickly climbs out of Dirk's reach...chuckling to himself.
Finally, the three of you are back up in the corridor, your marching order all sorted. You each immediately move back down the hallway to the entry room to search for a way out. The stone blocks that were once part of the wall of the entry room have shoved together, creating an impenetrable barrier blocking your access back to the stairs. Search as you might you can find no secret alcoves, levers, or other devices to open these walls, and there are no niches or holes that any of you could fit through. You are, effectively, trapped down here till you can find a way past the barrier or find a different way out of the Laboratory.
Shrugging in resignation (there's got to be SOME other way out, Kavorquian wouldn't create a trap he couldn't get past), the seven of you reverse your direction and make your way back down the hall and approach the room you were moving toward when you were interrupted by the pit trap, obviously avoiding the section of floor that opened. That said, as you approach the trap, this time cautiously, no voice rings out from the wall and the pit stays closed. You suspect that the trap has to be reset each time it's triggered.
The wooden door to what is obviously a small storage room hangs mostly ajar from the Cauldron Magen's exit. As you peer in, you see a small room, about 20' on a side, littered with dust, cobwebs, and some small, rotting, chewed up remains of furniture stacked in a corner. A couple of rolled up moldy rugs lay against the north wall in the north east corner. The room was obviously inhabited (the dust is broken in many places by footprints and what looks like things being dragged around) at one point but there are no occupants now. A quick search of the room reveals nothing else of interest.
"Well Thantos... where to next?"
After studying the map again, Thantos recommends, "To the right is probably more storage. If we go to the left we will head further into the basement. I suggest we head to the left."
Thantos gestures toward a door down the hall to his left.
"Any other suggestions?"
The door to the room barely squeaks as it opens. As you enter the room you see a rather agreeable lounge, with arm chairs, a flickering fire in the grate, rugs, mahogany furnishings (not well maintained) and a liquor cabinet. There are a pair of spears mounted above the fireplace, and a mantel with some ornamentation on it. All in all the room gives off a very cozy atmosphere and, other than the somewhat broken down and somewhat threadbare furniture, would make for a very nice sitting room in any castle in Norwold.
Or it would be, if not for the heat in the room, which is quite daunting. The fire seems at a full blaze in the hearth and with the door having been closed for so long, the room is almost stifling with heat. On closer inspection you realize that there is no fuel feeding the fire at all (there are no logs or wood of any kind). Curiosity getting the better of her, Lash tosses a small scrap of fabric, having fallen off one of the chairs in the room, into the fireplace and indeed it does burn to ash.
The Liquor cabinet, while unfortunately empty of Liquor, does hold a set of 6 silver goblets (10 gold each) and a crystal decanter (50 gold) again of high quality workmanship.
The only other objects of note in the room seem to be those on and above the mantle place. Most of the objects on the mantle are junk (broken pipes, small pottery statues of various things (gnomes with hammers, dwarves fishing, etc.), and other knick knacks that you are sure would not only not bring a profit, but you assume you'd have to pay others to take off your hands.
Two items, however, do look exceptionally well made, if a bit fragile: a crystal bird statue of exquisite make (you estimate to be worth about 75 gold) and a sandalwood box with a mother-of-pearl inlay (another 75 gold).
The spears above the mantle, upon closer inspection, seem to be a bit warped and the heads are quite rusty and potentially brittle (you can't get close enough to one to see and they seem firmly attached to the wall). There are blue pennants with no detail hanging off the spear shafts, which help assure those of you with any combat experience that these spears are more ornamental than functional.
Not much else lies in the room and your search turns up nothing else of interest. You're all VERY happy to get back out into the corredor, the majority of you sweating profusely in the almost stifling heat of the parlor room.
If no one objects Fyird takes the goblets, and decanter and carefully wraps them in cloth before putting them in his pack. "I'll hold on to these for now" Fyird states. "Now shall we move forward"?
"Yes Fyird let's move on. There is another room just next door . Unless anyone has any other business here, I suggest we move on."
The door to the room opens and the seven of you enter. This largish room is obviously a formal dining room. There is a large table with six chairs around it and six place settings of silver and china. A painting of an imposing old wizard hangs on the west wall. A side table with glasses, a bowl and vases of long-dead flowers rests under the painting. A splendid crystal chandelier that glows with a soft, magical light is mounted on the ceiling above the table.
The painting shows a man in his seventies, wearing blue and cream robes. He is thin, almost 6' tall with graying brown hair and brown eyes.
The place settings are clean if a bit dusty, the room has obviously been unused in quite some time.
Dirk will step just inside the door and keep a quiet guard over the room as those with a better aptitude for searching a room filter in.
The door to the room opens and the seven of you enter. This largish room is obviously a formal dining room. There is a large table with six chairs around it and six place settings of silver and china. A painting of an imposing old wizard hangs on the west wall. A side table with glasses, a bowl and vases of long-dead flowers rests under the painting. A splendid crystal chandelier that glows with a soft, magical light is mounted on the ceiling above the table.
The painting shows a man in his seventies, wearing blue and cream robes. He is thin, almost 6' tall with graying brown hair and brown eyes.
The place settings are clean if a bit dusty, the room has obviously been unused in quite some time.
Fyird will approach the painting to see if he recognizes who it is...Any family resemblance etc, or the period / painter, or anything unusual about it or where it hangs.
Perception
Knowledge History
Knowledge Nobility and Royalty
Int check
"So wait, nobody thinks it weird that this guy's been dead for a while and the fire's still burning? What the hell?"
Lash takes the crystal bird
Thantos carefully scans the room looking for the items that the group is in search of, but he doesn't actually touch or move anything. He pays special attention to the painting on the wall using his extensive knowledge of history and historical events to determine who or what the painting pertains to.
Perception
Knowledge (history)
"Lash, it is peculiar, a magical fire that persists after the death of the conjurer." Thantos' mind returns to his magical schooling searching for an answer regarding if a magical fire could continue to burn after the caster has died. Spellcraft
"As a student of wizardry I have accepted that at times certain magical mysteries will remain concealed for longer than I wish them."
While there is almost no resemblance at all to Kaerin, after studying the portrait for a short while there is absolutely no doubt in your mind that the portrait is of Kavorquian.
The man's bearing and dress shows him as a wizard, the background seems to be local as is the style of painting and framing of the portrait itself. The canvas is of somewhat lower quality and many of the inks in the portrait itself seem to also be of lower quality, and possibly hand made by the artist. You remember seeing pictures of this ilk and quality in some of the various places in the area you've visited (even some upstairs) and note that other "figures of import" have been painted in much the same way (even some in the same pose) which lead you to believe that the man in the painting was a local figure of some import. The rest was easily figured out.
See above under Fyird, while you're a bit less sure you do note some of the same elements and come to a guess at the same conclusion as Fyird.
As you are each searching the room for various bits and pieces Armand gives a quick "WHAT?!" and stands straight obviously staring off into space as if he cannot see. "I'm blind!" he confirms as he stops moving and rests a hand against the nearest piece of furniture. The color and pupils of his eyes seem very hard to see as they are glowing with a white light.
Perception 1
Perception 2
"Lash, aaaaa, eeeee, the broach, ummmm, what was its function anyway!?"
"I don't know why but I can't remember it correctly"
Perception Check 1:1d20+6
Perception Check 2:1d20+6
Concern etches Dirks face as he sees his friend in distress.
Quick reactions please? Nothing more than a quick shout or message: We'll call this a half round action.
"My Eyes". "My Eyes", Fyird shouts. "It's so bright". "My eyes".