Trusting Jo to finish off the first hell hound, Teldon follows Arsith into battle with the new arrival, reaching over her shoulder to attack with his longspear...
,
With the second hellhound arriving, Joanna acts decisively to end the threat of becoming surrounded – her blade cutting the legs out from beneath the infernal canine… it collapses in a heap of fur and ashes…
…whilst, acting quickly to stop the friends becoming overwhelmed, Arsith, Ziomarra and Teldon all attack the new arrival. Ziomarra’s card slashes the hounds muzzle but neither the iridescent butterfly summoned by the Cartomancer, Arsith or Teldon are able to strike the imposing creature.
Shadlah, also seeing the threat, rips stone and throws it at the hound…
The second hound, already wounded, opens its jaws wide and roars a gout of flame into the corridor… the iron plates that line the passageway briefly glow orange as the temperature becomes unbearable…
…snarling with breath that is pure sulphur, a third beast charges around the corner near Joanna and, clambering over the corpse of its pack mate, bites at Joanna…
Arsith weapon hits its target, but the blow isn't very severe.
The warpriestess frowns
...nope
Zee uses her Evil Eye power on the hellhoud that Teldon, Arsith, and her butterfly are fighting.
Despite its scorched wings, the butterfly continues trying to sting the hellhound.
Joanna finds her rhythm again and neatly blocks the savage bite with her shield. She can feel the heat at her back, but she has other worries, and this one was kind enough to daze himself.
"That's right, eyes on me," she says softly as she grins at the bloodied hound.
Teldon grunts a little as he gets scorched by hellish flames, again. Steeling himself, he studies his new adversary and tries again to stab the beast.
,
As the third hound charges around the corner at Joanna, Shadlah spreads her hands wide. Loose rubble and pebbles dance across the ground near her, shaken by unfelt tremors, and a low rumble emanates from the walls around her.
Suddenly, she drops into a squat, bracing one hand against the ground even as she throws the other high above her head, fingers splayed. This time, the stone flies low, weaving through Joanna and Briana's legs, striking into the hound and throwing its legs out from underneath it.
Ziomarra's butterfly, badly burnt by the hellish beast, misses... but, aided by Ziomaara's hex, Arsith and Teldon both strike...
Arsith's mace strikes a glancing blow but Teldon, seeing an opening, stabs forwards... and the beast collapses at the end of his spear...
At the other end of the passageway, Joanna tries to press an advantage... but the hound ducks her slashing blade at just the wrong moment. It bares its fangs cruelly as it moves forwards - and then the hound is brutally knocked over by a rush of stone...
...covered in rubble and standing, it bites at Joanna...
Joanna's grin grows wider as the hound is tripped up and sent sprawling on the floor by Shadlah's rocky assault. When it tries to stand and bite her, Joanna slices at it twice, her blade flashing in the glow of the iron plates.
Turning back towards Jo, Teldon grits his teeth as his movement drags his clothing painfully across his blistered arms and neck.
Jo and Shadlah have that one almost dead already, but it hasn't used its fiery breath yet... no need to play at being a hero...
Instead of charging at the last hell hound he pulls out his healing extract and downs it, then studies the devil in case he needs to engage it later.
Joanna strikes twice, once as the hound rises and then again after she has been bitten... the heat coming from the beast is nearly overwhelming in the tight tunnels - overwhelming enough to put Briana off as she strikes...
Needin" help, sweetie pie?
Arsith walks toward Joanna and Briana
Zee commands the celestial butterfly to attack the remaining hellhound. It flies above Joanna's head and tries to sting the infernal beast.
Zee moves closer to it and uses her Evil Eye hex to slow its reactions.
As the butterfly moves around the hound, it leaps at it, attempting to rend its wings... the wound it deals is grievous but it doesn't quite kill the summoned creature - the butterfly's sting, thrust downwards at the beast's flank, doesn't quite hit though...
Still crouching, Shadlah brigs her hands together, fingertips pointed at the hound, sending what she hopes is the final barrage.
...and that final shower of rock is enough to stop the hound, just as it was readying to howl flame within the iron-lined passageways of the labyrinth - with a whimper, it collapses next to its already slain pack-mate...
Joanna stands there for a moment before moving forward to cut off the heads of the beasts.
"Thank you Shadlah. I've got burns enough for today, and he looked ready to give me some more." she says with a grin to the Shoanti stonesinger.
"Yeah, I'm feeling a little tender where I did get burned, but I'm okay. I should be able to keep on for now," Joanna replies to Briana.
"I should be alright for now..." Teldon says frowning at the remaining burns on his arms, "we should keep moving though before my extract runs out."
Situation was a little hot, but I can still carry on.
For a few moments, the only sound within the labyrinth is the metallic sound of the iron plates cooling and contracting… and then, silence. Cautiously watching the side passages and the route behind them, the friends make their way through the remainder of the iron-lined maze… the chamber at the centre of the maze is discovered relatively quickly and, unsurprisingly, it is here where there is the greatest of evidence of infernal incursions – hundreds, if not thousands, of charred bones are scattered across the floor whilst the iron plates here show signs of melting.
Having taken the time to examine the structure as the friends navigated their way through, Teldon determines that by prying off enough iron plates – probably ten - from the walls of the labyrinth (no two of which can be closer than ten feet apart), the entire rift siphon could be deactivated… however, each time a plate is removed, the resultant surging and rebalancing of energies may open the rift wide enough for a creature to pass through.
With no activity in the central room – and no sign of the Suzerain – the friends take a passageway towards the south and arrive at a room just outside of the circular labyrinth. Devoid of any furnishings or features, this room has a stout portcullis blocking the other exit (to the west); a winch for the portcullis stands to the side of the sturdy iron gates… on the far side of the bars. A skeleton, still in the scorched half-plate it wore in life, is slumped over the winch.
...I should wait to tell them about closing the rift until later... if I mention it now we'll never find that imp in time...
"This is only a guess," Teldon says very tentatively, "but I suspect this could be the border of the imp's domain... if we can't find some sign of it passing through, I think maybe we should backtrack and look elsewhere..."
As he speaks he steps carefully up to the portcullis (suspiciously eyeing the skeleton) and inspects it in search of signs that the imp has passed through one of its openings.
After the final hellhound is destroyed, Zee calls the butterfly to her. It alights on the ground before her. She strokes its head and then with a gesture, the celestial butterfly disappears.
Zee also inspects the summoning chamber.
While examining the panels, she asks Teldon if he thinks that changing the orientation of the panels of the walls would disable the summoning chamber. He mutters a noncommittal response, and she decides not to press the matter.
At the chamber with the portcullis, Zee says, "Well, it would appear that we need to turn that winch to proceed in this direction." She then casts detect magic and looks for any auras on the skeleton, winch, or the rest of the room.
There is no evidence that the imp passed through this way, in all likelihood it could get through the gaps in the bars of the portcullis but the door beyond is closed...
...there are no auras upon the skeleton, the winch or the portcullis - everything seems mundane and very ancient.
Zee casts detect magic to look for auras. "I do not sense anything magical here...including an invisible imp. I would agree, Teldon, that we should return the way we came."
"I know we need to hurry, but after we deal with the imp, can we come back and put whoever that was to rest," Joanna asks as she follows behind Teldon, "It feels wrong to leave someone like that."
Shadlah stares at Joanna for a few moments, before nodding. "It would be best," she says quietly. "No one deserves their body to remain in such a place for eternity." She turns her back on the body, taking a deep breath before following the others, trailing her fingers through the stone wall as she walks.
Retracing their steps through the labyrinth, into the central area and past the scorched bodies of the hellhounds... already seeming to turn to ash... the friends soon find themselves walking back along the passageway that led them to the maze in the first instance...
...back at a crossroads of sorts, the friends could head north back into the huge hall with the fantastical mural or could explore either of the doors that lead southwards - whilst the friends decide, Teldon looks around a little... but there is no evidence of the imp.
There are so many potential hideout for the imp... And it can stay invisible too. I guess we'll have to be very cautious.
After a few seconds thoughts at the porticullis
Teldon do you think your lance could pass through the gate and hit the winch? Or could we use some magic to move it?
As everyone turns away
Oh.Nevermind.
"I agree with Briana," Teldon answers, "neither of these doors show any signs of being used recently... lets go check the hallway off of the great hall."
Without waiting for confirmation he begins scouting through the big hall towards the passageway in the far corner.
"I'm a bit leery of leaving so many unexplored passages behind us. I think we should go through the hall with the mural and see what's down the passage at the end of it. Once we have explored what's behind us, we can then press forward again."
Joanna follows Teldon, trying to get his attention as she jogs to keep up.
"Teldon, shouldn't–– shouldn't I go first?"
"Well, I'll certainly be safer if you do," Teldon answers with a grin. "Just try not to touch anything before I have a chance to look at it- hopefully I can keep you safe too."
He lets Jo past but follows close behind her.
Leaving the labyrinth behind and returning to the pillared hall… a hall that must have many places for a tiny, and devious, creature such as an imp to hide… the friends slowly pick their way through the detritus that litters the floor. Twice, a sudden noise makes hearts skip a beat and brings weapons to hand, but both times prove to be nothing more than loose items falling to the floor as the first people in an age make their way through the room. In the end, the friends convince themselves that the Suzerain is not hiding anywhere within the room and, walking past the imagery of the mass of tentacles emanating from the mountain, make their way into the corridor that heads northwards from the eastern end of the hall.
The corridor leads northwards for around thirty feet before arriving at a small chamber; this chamber is bare save a single statue depicting a regal-looking woman wielding a ranseur – she stands in a battle-ready pose with the tip of the weapon aimed at the northern entrance to the room. There are no doors to this room (indeed, it may be better to consider the room as a local widening within the corridor - which continues northwards into darkness beyond the statue).
"Well, it's clear Alaznist was fond of statues of her self," Teldon answers, "but you're right, this does seem an odd place for one... Zee, can you check if it's magical while I look for any signs of it being trapped?"
He grabs another extract and drinks it quickly before scanning the statue and the area around it.
I'll keep watch while you check the statue.
It doesn't take Teldon very long to realise that the statue is almost certainly trapped - blackened and scorched bricks within the room suggest that there has been a fire here at some point... and furthermore, scorch marks upon the tiles of the floor seem to radiate from the statue.
"So does it go off if you get near it or if you touch it," Joanna asks Teldon.