Jo'no's magics seem to have no affect ont eh creature, as do most of his companions attacks. The suddennes from which it came from the darkness more than anything else seemed to have put them off their game.
Mikka however, seemed to have greater luck, reaching out with natures flames and licking a tongue of the energy across the monsters face. She felt it try to resist her magic, but her force of will overcame the creatures innate abilities and the sound and smell of sizzling flesh filled the room.
It screeched in response, the sound like like the scape of metal across metal. The flame had done its job though, causing the creature to shy away and all of its flailing limbs and writhing mandibles missed Feldspar by a long Margin.
Swearing in the background, Algus reloaded his crossbow and fired again, this time striking the creature with a miraculously good shot. It screeched in pain as his bolt sunk deep into its flesh, but still it fought on.
Sinspawn As requested by Tania :)
Idrian again tries to cut down the monster.
Greatsword
to hit
damage
Mikka hurls another ggout of fire at the creature, the fales winking out from her other hand. Quickly she unstrapped the scythe from her back.
Touch attack
Still uncertain whether weapons could hurt it, Tania let's out a cry of battle as she witnesses the bolt sink in its flesh. With renewed vigor, she stabs at the fiend.
Feldspar swings his warhammer again in another attempt to strike at the sinspawn.
"To the hells with ye, foul spawn!" He cries out in victory as his hammer deals a solid blow.
Determined to help bring the beast down, Jo'no again tries to harm it with magic. He points a wand at it and releases its energy.
SR:
Dmg:
Jo'no sighs.
Idrian's greatsword practically hums as it moves through the air, but still it cannot find its target. Another bright flare of fire sees the creature swathed in flames, yet this time it seems to shrug the magical effects off again. Thecreatures skin seemed to be healing around teh bolt that Algus had punched into it as well, further adding to its horror.
Tania's wail of bloodlust added strength to her weapon, and the spearpoint sank deep into the corrupted flesh, pinning the creature long enough for Feldspar's hammer to crush its skull in a spray o dark blood and brain matter.
With a heavy thump, the spawn fell lifeless to the ground, causing Jo'no to halt part way through activating his wand and sigh in relief at its death.
The chamber it came from turned out to be an empty cull de sac. Within, the partially chewed remains of a goblinoid body were found, fairly fresh by the looks of things. The creature had obvioulsy been left here as some type of guard and this goblin was most likely one of the bodies from yesterdays battle in the glassworks.
After taking a moment or two to recover from the fight, the group look at the options again. Feldspar indicates that the first junction has slope leading down, the ground seeming broken and rent from a once smooth surface. The other tunnel contines onwards, but he thinks he can see rubble at teh end, choking the tunnel, though faint light can be seen coming from a crack in the wall up that way.
Tania's body movement makes it clear she's following Feldspar's lead.
"Perhaps we should check out the cave in? I suspect Feldspar might be able to determine if it is recent and whether it was intentionally caved in or not. It would also be interesting to learn where the light is coming from a natural or magical source."
This underground stuff is dwarf territory. Idrian follows Feldspar's lead.
Following Jo'no's advice, the group moves cautoiusly past the the tunnel leading downwards. From what Feldspar could see in the darkness, the tunnel eventually levelled into a tiled room, covered in rubble. The dwarf couldn't see any enemy in the room, and judged it safe enough to go past.
They closed withe the collapsed tunnel, and found that two passages seemed to have been sealed off here. The far one was a mess of ruptured stone and rocky debris. Everyone could tell this was and old fall, though it looked to have been recently disturbed.
The comparment to the right was strange. The rock looked to have massive stress fractures and grind lines, as if the stone here had been shered by some massive force. At the base of teh wall, a slight crack could bee seen, from which a faint bluish light penetrated the darkness of the corridoor. Jo'No's glowing light of magic was strong enough to subdue this small beam, though it still lit the cleft in the rock clearly enough.
Peering though it showed a very narrow view of a white tiled room on the far side of the wall. It too seemed to have suffered he effects of stress cracks and breaking, though it was mostly intact. It was almost inpossible to make out any details from the room, but the light itself seemed to emanate from this place.
Knowledge Dungeoneering or knowledge Geography DC15. Dwarves get a racial bonus for stonecunning etc.
Knowledge geography
Knowledge: Dungeoneering
Knowledge: Geography
Feldspar looks closely at the damage and what little he could make out of the room behind.
"Interesting. I can't quite tell what happened here but perhaps it was something natural? It seems we will have to pursue the other tunnel. Unless one of you would prefer to risk widening the crack here."
Jo'no will try peering through the hole. If there is anywhere to teleport to within 5' on the other side, then he will attempt to do so.
Jo'no peered through the hole, noticing the base of some large red statue or collumn. Near to it, a small space of room could be seen to which he felt he could teleprt. Closing his eyes briefly, he pictured himself standing at the spot and suddenly he was there. The slight dizziness that accompanied his tansference was replaced by a shooting pain through his eyes as he suddenly found himself in bright light, seemingly emanating from the walls themselves.
The shouts from the room he'd left had him momentarily confused until he realised that he had taken his own light with him as he teleported, plunging the group in the tunnel into an almost complete darkness.
What was worse, he found himself in a bright room looking through a dark slot in the wall well above his head height. Getting a view of that space to teleport back was going to be very difficult.
Luckily, he could see no immediate danger from where he stood, only a number of passageways leading off from this location, and a large statue carved from some strange red stone. The statue showed a woman who would have been strikingly beautiful if it had not been for the look of absolute rage upon her face. In one hand she held a large stone book, the face of which has a carved motiff of a many pointed star. In her right hand she held a magnificent Ranseur, the metal gleaming blue in the light and showing no signs of corrosion or damge despite the time it must have been resting here.
Back in the other tunnel, the group found their eyes slowly adjusting to the very dim light provided by the small crack at the base of the tunnel. The humans couldn't see more than five feet or so, while Idrian and Feldspar had more sight available to them. Jo'no's impetuous plan had certainly left them a little vulnerable.
Tania points her spear to the darkness ahead, willing her mind to block thoughts of what lies behind that black wall.
"Jo, are you okay? What do you see?"
After a brief moment, she frees a hand and conjures four orbs of light to provide a sense of safety. (Dancing Lights)
Mikka reaches into a pouch on her waist, producing a firefly. She whisped something to it as the little insect alights on the blade of her scythe, a glow enveloping it until it casts light akin to a torch around the area.
A smile crosses her face as the insect flies off.
Feldspar sighs as everyone is left in darkness and confusion.
"Be wary. Whatever evil lurks down here will want to take advantage of us if they can. It is not well for us to be divided."
He holds his warhammer at the ready and moves to the other side of the tunnel so he could keep a watch back the way they'd come.
After adjusting to his new environment Jo'no hears Tania calling out for him. Jo'no answers that he is fine and that he is just going to take a close look of the statue,
Jo'no will first call forth a spell that will allow him to detect any magical auras in his presence. Jo'no will then examine the statue and will ponder to see if he recognizes it.
Once Idrian realized that Jo'no was alright and had, in fact left them of his own will, he let out a sigh of frustration.
"Feldspar, do you think that if we went back to one of the other tunnels we could find our way to him?"
Jo'no will crouch down near the hole and will say, "Let me take a quick peek around this room. I don't have a lot of interest in exploring these passages by myself. In theory, if you hold a light source near your end of the hole, and if I get right up close to my side of the hole and cover myself with my cape then I should be able to block out the light from behind me and thereby giving me enough of a visual to teleport back."
The lights blaze in the broken and twisted tunnel as both Mikka and Tania summon their magics to aid them here. It quickly reveals no threat to them, though their shouting to Jo'no had echoed along the corridor a little.
From the other side of teh wall, Jo'no finished his inspection of the statue, having found almost nothing he could use to tell him about the women represented there. That she was someone of importance was obvious, but exactly whom remained a mystery. The walls themselves held a magic to them as he attuned his vision to this medium, most likely the effect causing the light to emanate from them. To his left he found a short passageway leading to an iron door similar to that they had opened to enter this place, but without the corrosion.
Another corridor led directly from his position at the statue, before vanishing from view as the tunnel roof sloped downwards, possibly as a flight of stairs.
To his right he could see another passageway, though this one had a side branch near the end, as well as turning at right angles itself.
This place seemed to be complex in design, and well built. The destruction of the other tunnels appeared to have missed this place completely, though how that was true was beyond the mage.
Turning back to the wall and its little crack, he hauled himself up to look through. Now that the others had lit the passage way, could see the tunnel and willed himself ack there. There was some swaering as he suddenly appeared amongst them again, slighlty jostling Feldspar when he staggered from teh teleport effects and the rough ground of teh tunnel. At least he was back amongst them though.
Feldspar looks to Idrian. "It's possible but there's no way to tell how long such a route would take. These tunnels could wind their way through the earth for some time before leading to this particular room. If at all."
He reaches out to steady Jo'no. "We would not leave you behind. It might be beneficial for us all in the future, however, if you would give us a moment's warning before you leap into unknown territory, friend Jo'no."
"I certainly agree Feldspar. Sometimes my curiosity overrides my logical thinking and it appears I fell victim to that once again." Jo'no grins.
"If we find no way to enter that area though, then I would like to return another day once I have prepared other spells that would help keep me safer. There were a lot of other entrances into that room though so it is very likely we will find a way into there."
"If you are done being reckless, we can continue exploring."
Having regrouped, and now surrouned by bright globes of magical light, the party moved back down the corridoor to the sloping passage.
The passageway emptied into a room covered in strange light blue ceramic tiles. The floor had masses of broken pottery and pieces of shattered rock scattered across it, suggesting this may have once been a store room of some sort before whatever cataclysm befell this place.
Jo'no's magically enhanced vision hinted at traces of magic, flickering and sparking amongst the tiles. Their power was extremely weak, and seemed to blink in and out as he watched though.
The door leading into the next corridoor was made from heavy iron and completely free of corrosion. Using the key they had retrieved earlier, they opened the door, which swung ponderously on oiled hinges. As it did so, the sounds of mechanical gears and springs ratcheting into place told of some other mechanism at play behind the walls.
As the door opened they were bathed in bright whitish blue light. The corridors from here seemed to be in perfect condition, and glowed from the tiles themselves. Jo'no recognised the effect from his little sojourn into the statue room. The entrance led to a narrow corridor, that twisted to the left before making a sharp turn. At this point, Jo'no told the group it joined where he had teleported to. There were still no signs of any life here, leaving Mikka with a sense of dread and emptiness. Feldspar felt it too, a power that seemed to disrupt his divine connection.
Jo'no shakes his head in disbelief at Irdian's remark and simply replies, "Actually, I was exploring. But your disapproval is duly noted. I do appreciate your concern about my welfare though, but have no fear -- I do have many tricks up my sleeves." Jo'no grins.
Jo'no turns to Feldspar and asks, "should we close and lock the door behind us in case there are more of those abominations lurking the halls?"
Trying not to fidget with her longspear, Tania looks around: "Seems like we can't lock all access. But we should probably make it as hard as possible for them to get to the surface."
She turns to Feldspar: "This place is strange... Are we below the town? I wonder whether we're in someone's "basement"..."
Commanding the sphere to move ahead of the group, she focuses her attention to the flickering darkness.
Jo'no waits patiently on Feldspar to choose a direction.
Feldspar nods in answer to Jo'no's question. "That is surely wise."
"There's something up ahead that may be worth investigating further. Let's take a look up there first. I would assume we're underneath the town...we have not gone that far."
Ignoring the passageway closest to them, Feldspar led the group up to the red statue that Jo'no had seen earlier. The group spread out around the room a little, making sure the entrances were covered and watched, allowing any who needed to search in realtive safety
The door
The door here was made from heavy steel, as the others seemed to have been, again without corrosion or pitting. It had a locking mechanism, similar to the one for the other two doors. It would seem obvioius that the key the group carried would unlock this passageway as well, though in this case it was not necessary as the door seemed to be unlocked. There was no sign of writing nor marking to tell where it led.
Perception DC 10
The Statue
The great red statue stands about 10 feet tall, depicting a beautiful yet extremely angry looking woman. Carved into one hand, she holds a large tomb, the cover of which has a many pointed start like sigil upon it.
In her right hand, a metallic Ranseaur is held, looking as if it may actually be able to removed and used. It's quality is remarkable and it is free of rust or age damage like the rest of the gear in this place.
Perception DC20
The corridor of stairs
The long corridor seems to have many sets of stairs, all of them leading up a few feet, though at one oint the corridor tilts slightly from a minor twist caused by whatever destroyed and buried this place. It was hard to tell how high up the corridor ran as a consequense of the twist and change in orientation. The last two flights of stairs were also difficult to navigate, requireing careful stepping. This corridor ended in a door as well.
Perception DC10
Jo'no whispers softly first to Feldspar and then the rest that there is something snarling and making noice from the other side of the door.
Jo'no examines the scuplted, held book to see if it is of any significance.
Although hearing the noise coming from the stairs, Jo'no's primary attention is on the door and the sound coming from the other side.
perception
perception
perception
Tania, intrigued by the statue, tries to see if she can identify the lady depicted, or the style, to try and identify the age of those 'ageless' corridors.
She then grabs the ranseur, looking at Feldspar: "Should we grab it?"
If Feldspar agrees, she'll try to wrestle it free.
"Nevermind."
Perception +2 v Humanoid (goblinoid)
My bonus allows me to automatically succeed on the other two rolls.
Idrian continues to follow Feldspar. He keeps a sharp look out for any trouble.
Feldspar looks at the statue first, as that was the reason he'd chosen this direction in the first place.
Nothing seemed to stand out about it other than the weapon but he also wondered if there was something familiar about the figure the statue was created to depict.
"I'm not sure if we should do anything with the ranseur. If this statue is here to commemorate this woman in some way, it would be improper to take it."
He turned his attention to the door next.
"Hmm. There seem to be some dogs behind this door. If we open it, we'll draw a fight. Yet it would make sense for our enemies to guard the way we need to go most carefully. But first..."
He turns to the stairs. It seemed that the earthquake that had ruined the previous tunnel had also damaged this passageway and he wasn't eager to try traversing it. Neverthless, it was worth a look.
Aside from the damage, nothing stood out to him. Feldspar turns back to the first door and readies his warhammer. "Shall we see what it is the dogs are guarding?"
The dwarf waits for the others to ready themselves (or suggest a different opinion) before opening the door.
Jo'no nods approvingly at Feldspar's suggestion, and moves into a position where he can target creatures coming through the door, yet maintain a line of sight on the long hallway.
"If this statue was built by whatever designed this vile place, I question whether anything they would choose to commemorate can be any good."
Mikka rubs her hand along her arm despite the warmth.
Tania nods at Feldspar, holding her spear pointed resolutely at the door, ready.
Idrian nocks an arrow and prepares to fire.
Grasping the door, Feldspar pushed it open, the metal swinging ponderously again. the clunking of something behind the walls again heralded the doors opening.
The corridor that Feldspar stood in opened onto a woodedn platform overlooking what appeared to be a series of cells in a lower floor area.
Two sets of stairs led down into the recessed floor, one on either side of the platform. A more crudely constructed plankway also led from the platform, and turned before exiting through another passageway across the room. A strange low groaning noise could be heard coming from this area.
Of great concern was the pari of Sinspawn slavering in the middle of teh room though, They looked to have been tussling over the remains of some type of bone and meat, but the moment the door had clunked open, the two had snapped their heads towards the doorway. Their mouths opened at the sight of Feldspar, and both of them screamed. The sound was like steel blades scarping against each other, and it echoed around the room.
Tania moves with Feldspar, making sure she covers his advance with her spear. "Those don't look like dogs!"
I'll wait for Feldspar to enter, then follow him and create pin cushions of the sinspawn.
"It's more of the sinspawn! For Torag's honor!"
Holding his shield out before him, Feldspar charges forward, hoping to strike the first sinspawn down before it can act against them.
Jo'no advances forward and throws out a streaking missile with quick flick of his wand, at the abomination Feldspar is combatting.
Spell Resistance:
Magic Missile:
Jo'no looks down at the wand in his hand and gives an approving nod.