The fire spread, making the paralyzed surveyors glad for the numbing effects of the Ooze.
Need to get that fire out quickly or Nisfeollyn is toast, Cadeyrn thought to himself when he saw his allies burning after being freed from the ooze.
He dropped his axe while bringing forth some of his divine power. Water started pouring over his allies.
Cad quickly douses Nisfeollyn and Bladud, snuffing out the fire and washing away most of the acidic slime. They both looked terrible, their paralyzed bodies laying limply on the ground like rag dolls, much of their clothing all but destroyed, their exposed flesh covered in acid and fire burns. Nisfeollyn in particular looked like he didn't have much skin left at all.
Cad continued to spray water putting out the flames on Dvalin as well and soaking the area around them to prevent anyone from catching again.
Bladud's muscles slowly came back under his control. He managed to shakily roll over. Dvalin began to move shortly after. By the time Bladud had regained his feet Nisfeollyn was able to move enough to groan and spit up some of the slime in his throat.
They had survived.
"Ouch. That was unpleasant. What was that thing?" Dvalin says and channels twice to heal the team avoiding healing the cube.
When Cadeyrn was satisfied there would be no more fire spreading he stopped the downpour of water.
"You guys ok? Nearly thought we were a goner there."
Nisfeollyn gagged, coughing up the last of the slime. He lied on his back, attempting to breathe slowly. Wuntholor landed near his head and began to scratch the elf’s forehead with his beak. He shuddered and sighed in relief when Dvalin’s healing magic restored all of his vitality. He rolled to his side and pushed himself to his knees and then to his feet.
”Your healing attentions are greatly appreciated. That was a gelatinous cube. Hopefully my first and last encounter with one,” the elf said, in a rasp. ”Thank you all for rescuing me...I thought...I felt Death’s grasp slipping around me.” He rubbed his throat, then cast a prestidigitation cantrip on each person, finishing with himself last, cleaning them of the normal grime of battle and the ooze and slime of the cube in particular. The elf retrieved his sword, sheathing after a flick to throw off any last bits of slime. He opened his backpack to examine his spellbook and other gear.
"Nisfeollyn, I'm going to think you're our new trap finder if you keep that up. May Hriedmar preserve you." Dvalin casts cure light wounds on the elf.
”With my innate talent for finding them, I think I’d be a legend soon enough.” The end of his mouth curved upwards.
As everything seemed in order, Cadeyrn looked around to see if there was anything to be found in the room.
The room is layer out in alternating black and white tiles. A broken table and several chairs sit just on the other side of the pit.
At the bottom of the pit are a small scattered pile of surprisingly well preserved weapons, coins and metal objects.
You recall that the cube's acid cant' break down metal. If this was some sort of trap, all the victims metal items would be down there, and be well preserved because they'd have been inside the cube.
When Cadeyrn peered into the pit, he saw several items laying there. "I think there's some stuff on the bottom. I'll check it out." Cadeyrn then carefully lowered himself into the pit.
_____________________________________________________
”The creature’s acid was for digesting bodies, not metal. The items should be well preserved.” The elf kneels at the edge of the pit, examining his backpack for damage from the gelatinous cube’s acid. When Caderyn was ready to hand off the items, the elf happily took them.
Wuntholor swooped down into the pit and began to retrieve items two at a time, carrying them in its beak and claws, starting with any bejeweled items. On his second trip the raven cawed at Caderyn, warning him away from a shiny trinket, as he hopped over to claim it.
At the bottom of the pit Cadeyrn starts bagging up the various objects.
Most of the pit is covered in various grommets, belt buckles, and other metal odds and ends from victims over the years. Cad scooped it all up into a bag, hauled it out of the pit with a little help from the others and dumped it out again so they could go through it.
It was impossible to say how long this thing had been down here, but it was clear that it had consumed many victims.
The objects found were in exquisite condition from being kept inside the ooze. Their designs dated some of them going back to the Imperial Occupation, which indicated that this pit and it's monstrous inhabitant had been here since the building was actively inhabited.
One particular cuff bracelet engraved in an intricate Celtic knot, and an old bronze axe head are from about the same time period. They are quite old, which means whoever died here was carrying around things that belonged in a museum (family heirlooms perhaps), or this underground structure existed before the hunting lodge was built above it.
When they were looking over the horde of the former ooze, Cadeyrn whistled in amazement of the items amassed in front of him.
"This creature has made quite some victims while in that pit."
”Let’s see what we have here Wuntholor,” the elf said, picking through the items that Caderyn brought out from the pit. He whispered to the raven in Arcadian as they inspected the items.
He draws the group’s attention to a cuff bracelet and bronze axehead.”Please, look at this. What a fine Celtic knot. Quite remarkable craftsmanship. Quite old as well. Either the person who used these carried around ancient equipment, or the hunting lodge above was built over this pre-existing underground structure.” He lenses the two items together and then one at a time for greater detail.
”Has anyone contacted the other group about our latest encounter?”
"I was busy with checking the contents of the pit after I knew you guys were allright, so I haven't. And I think you might be right about the hunting lodge just being built on this structure, maybe unbeknownst to them."
Nisfeollyn nodded. ”Very well, I will contact them.”
"We have progressed further into this place and discovered evidence that it is ancient, predating the hunting lodge built above ground. A bronze axehead, for one piece of evidence. Beware of pit traps filled with gelatinous cubes. I had the misfortune of discovering one. After nearly drowning within the monster and being dissolved by its acidic interior, I must suffer the indignity of wearing little more than rags. The others managed to defeat it using fire, axe, and hammer. If you use fire be prepared to extinguish party members that were engulfed by the monster. We hope you are well and discovering items of historical importance."
Bladud spends a few more minutes trying to check his own gear for additional acid damage, his dark eyes watching the growing mound of gear to come out of the trap.
”Thah’s an impressive bit’o metal thaht’thing had down there.” He grunts as he gets to his feet, especially keen to look at the small lead box and the lead vial. ”Wonder what’s in these?”
He tries to open the stopper and give it a whiff.
He shrugs then moves onto the locked box, getting out his tools and trying his hand at getting it open.
Lyla's voice comes through the ear pieces in response.
"Actually after surviving an encounter with an ankheg, we have a clutch of 35 ankheg eggs. While they can be valuable and useful to interested parties, there is the risk of them hatching and infesting the campsite. The debate is whether to try to salvage and sell them or burn them right now. Any thoughts?"
"Yah," Bladud grunts, "keep that sh!t away from this group." It's unclear whether he thinks his words translate through the book or not, though you note some relief when he hear's Lyla's voice.
HIs attention snaps back to the loot pile. "I can't get this box open, and I have no clue what's in this vial." He shrugs, "I say we keep tha'jewelry, and cast a magic eye over tha'rest. Any a'you able to see if any a'this is magical?"
He picks up the well-wrought war hammer. "This might bring in'a penny or three."
"Any of you have some knowledge about ankhegs? I sure know I don't", Cadeyrn said to the others after hearing the incoming message.
"... Ah think I've'an uncle named Ankheg ..."
”In the span of time for two dozen heart beats, I can tell you,” the elf said sitting near the items. A few arcane words and simple gestures granted Nisfeollyn the ability to detect any magic auras from the items recovered from the gelatinous cube’s pit.
”As for the ankheg eggs, how quickly could they be carted away? I fear the corrupting influence to the land above may also corrupt animals below. If the eggs could be taken to a safe place and the hatchlings trained, I think it might benefit the Society.”
"Ankheg? Is that a kind of bird?" Dvalin asks.
Bladud spoke too soon as he fiddled with the box. His picks click and the latch pops open.
The vial Bladud was smelling contains a Potion of Fire Breathing.
There is something magical in the box as well. Looks like Enchantment magic, but you can't tell more until the box is actually opened.
”Drinking that will give you fire breath, like a dragon,” the elf says pointing to the vial. ”There’s a magical aura coming from the box. Enchantment aura.”
He leans in closer once the lid is popped and looks inside.
Dvalin subtly backs away from the box before it opens.
As Nis leans in (and Dvalin leas away), the highlander gives one last look at the hinges and opening before pulling the lid back for Nisfeollyn to take a look inside.
Cadeyrn looked with bated breath at the opening of the box. Like Dvalin he did so from a respectable distance.
Once it had a false bottom, but the cube's acid had destroyed any subterfuge. Now the true contents were laid bare.
It was full of gems.
They were big and set in individual compartments. Every color of the rainbow, each one larger than the last joint of a finger, roughly the size of a sling bullet, cut in an impressive "egg" shape, with one large flat facet on the front.
There were tiny symbols etched into each small facet, leaving the large central one clear.
There is something inside the topaz gem.
It looks like a very small person.
Bladud whistles at the gems, then something catches his eye. He scratches his chin as he points to the topaz gem. "Uuuuuhhh... look at that one. Looks like it'has a wee person in it."
He looks up at the crew as if to say, 'what does that mean?'
There are extremely potent Necromantic magics that can trap a creature within a gem. The easier of the two traps them bodily. The most powerful one traps their very soul.
Cadeyrn looked at the gem shown by Bladud. "I have no idea myself. Nisfeollyn, does it detect as magical?"
Nisfeollyn didn’t touch any of the gems as he examined them. He was looking to see if all the gems emitted the magical aura or if it was only one gem. The symbols piqued his curiosity. He spent a few moments thinking he could decipher them.
”Yes, you're right about there being something inside the topaz. "
"Nisfeollyn, does it detect as magical?"
The elf quietly examined the gems, looking for any additional clues to the nature of the gems. He also checked the aura of the gems, looking for an enchantment aura.
"Necromancy can trap a being within a gem. Either the body or the soul. To trap a soul within a gem requires powerful magic. We should reseal this. Do you think dwarven craftsmanship accounts for the fine cut of the gemstones? I wonder how old it is.”
These stones would be a perfect fit for the empty slots on the door you found earlier.
"Are you saying someone is trapped in that gem?"
"Sounds like a prison." Dvalin interjects leaving unsaid who usually lives in prisons.
”Yes, I believe someone is held within the gem, physically or spiritually. Perhaps a prison or perhaps a trap, much like the pit I fell into,” Nisfeollyn said with a head nod towards the pit. ”The topaz has enchantment magic radiating from it, so perhaps it preyed on one’s natural avarice. The other gems appear ready for magic. I am not sure what their purpose is. Speaking of ‘purpose,’ do you think there is a purpose to the white and black tiles floor?”
The elf looked at his ragged clothes. ”Shall we bring the recovered treasure to our camp?”
"It might indeed be a good idea to bring these items back to camp, but don't forget that we are still in the search of that monstrous spider. If we do not, Jonas' assistant might truly become the spider's meal today."
"Actually," Bladud says, pulling an empty sack from his backpack and scooping as much of the loot as possible into it, "I think the other crew's on the trail of the spider."
He shrugs as he hefts the full sack onto his shoulder, "A bit of a mix-up, but thaht poor bastard is in their hands, now."
He begins hauling the loot back to the main staging room, one sack-ful at a time. "Let's hold onto anythin' thaht seems particularly useful or expensive. Hate for loose fingers of one'a the workers to lighten our paycheck."
Once the entire pile of loot is stashed on one side of the entry room , Bladud folds his empty sack back up, re-checks his gear, and looks for the next best path to search.
"Should we let you magic-users get a wink before movin' on?" He looks at the crew to see if they'd like that. If not, he moves towards the unopened door on the north side of the barracks room , where he proceeds to quietly check it for traps, then presses his ear up against it.
”An excellent point about loose fingers,” the elf said as he helped Bladud load his sack with treasure.
”How very considerate, but I don’t need any rest at the moment. No more than anyone else. I have a spell for secret doors, so if you find a place that might have one, or is some area feels suspicious, let me know.”
"In this place?" Bladud pauses and looks around the room where they fought the ooze, "any room could have a secret door. This room... the next..." He shrugs, then continues his haul of the loot.
"Let's push on. We can use your secret door spell at the end of the day to sweep everywhere that we've cleared."
Bladud quietly gets to work on the chosen door.
"Let's get moving then. I still have quite some fight left in me before I need to call it a day."
Bladud moves forward, turning the corner to see another old, stained hallway that ends in a door to the north.
When you go back to stash your loot, a palate of supplies are being lowered down into the room. A staging area is about half built and Fala has her crew working fast to finish it. She leans in the doorway watching Bladud work, looks at your singed and acid burned equipment and smiles.
"Looks like you boys are having a good time. Whatever was happening sounded pretty messy from here. Glad you're all in one piece. Want me to have Noros appraise anything for you?"