Re-considering after the situation and Pollux's desire to delve deeper, Caldazar caves and steps forward to lead the way down - buckler still glowing from a renewed light spell.
Before Caldazar enters the tunnel, Merax tosses him one of his two potions . He then casts his own Light spell on a coin and covers it between his palm and axe grip.
"Perhaps Castor can stay here and watch our backs then." Merax mutters with a hint of sarcasm. He shoots Castor a final glance and shakes his head as he walks past Pollux and Sclivian to join Caldazar.
As you head down the strange dug out tunnel Tok notes that no manmade tool made these tunnels. It's like the stone was torn through by a pair of claws. This image of somethign capable of ripping through stone marinates in your mind as you come near the end of the tunnel to your left is a stair case leading upward presumably to the surface. Down the tunnel the hole veers sharply to the right. The stairs lead to a boarded up door.
Occasionally trailing his hand across the roughness of the walls, Caldazar is cautious. When they reach the staircase, he turns to the party "Do we continue or turn back to the Bastards hideout?"
"We are already down here, let's follow it a little bit further and see where it leads to. This may serve as an escape tunnel that we might use later."
Caldazar nods before moving to the boarded up door and listening for activity behind it.
Perception:
Unless he hears anything interesting he'll proceed further down the tunnel where it bends to the right.
Checking the door the door appears to have been boarded up and closed off. Given time and a crowbar they could be removed in a few moments. Sclivian can hear soemthing shuffling about beyond the door but who or what cannot be determined.
Nothing that is readily apparent no.
Caldazar nods to Sclivian before bringing forth his holy symbol from beneath his armor. Touching the wooden rose to his temple, his eyes start to glow reddish as he sees through and beyond the boarded door.
Caldazar detects no evil beyond the door.
Closing his eyes the glow fades, though his holy symbol remains in free view for now. "I sense no evil beyond this portal, let us chance it's opening."
Unless bodily restrained, Caldazar will start to pry away the boards.
Pollux holds up the jar of 'tea'
"Tell me Mr. Zoon. Why would the dead folks back there have a jar of their own blood? They had enough in them, at least until they met you."
Merax thinks for a moment. "I do not know, Pollux. Perhaps some alchemical use would be my guess."
Spellcraft check:
Meraxilar stands ready with his axe as Caldazar and Sclivian pry the boards loose.
A Know Planes or higher Alchemy check would get the answers you seek.
Prying open the door takes some work but eventually you get the door open adn reveal a sawed through hole in the floor od the building beyond going through your light reveals bricked up windows and the remnants of leather. This appears to have been a shoemakers shop at one point. But now as you step through the leather you hear the crunching of bone and suddenly catch the scent of rotting flesh. There are dead dogs and half eaten people all around you there is a sudden desire to back out the door adn shut it behind you as somethign black, shiny, slick and hissing falls from the ceiling among you and attacks.
Will get the map set in the morning.
For now.
Caldazar
Merax
Pollux
Tok
Sclivian
IT
The group has the advantage of catching it off balance from tis ambush from the floor above and has a chance to flee. Or attack.
Map will be up tomorrow.
Knowledge Check:
Meraxilar brings his mighty axe down upon the ambushed foe.
Attack:
Damage:
The beast does not appear to be an outsider. The blood strikes you as odd Meraxilar but Sclivian recalls the dogs and their apparent fiendish heritage. They did not appear to be like the dogs he summons, who are natives to the infernal planes. Rather they appeared to be loacl. It is possible that the tieflins may have been feeding the dogs bits of food tainted with their blood that, over a long time, would convert them into fiendish dogs.
Oh by the way "IT" is going to start lunging for your throats now with the circular rows of teeth at one of its ends. Also here's the MAP
Switched upload sites because photobucket got on my nerves.
Following Merax's lead, Caldazar joins the fray swinging his morningstar in a downward arc onto the grub.
Morningstar: for
Crit confirm: for extra
Pollux looks at the monster...
Pollux looks at the tea...
Pollux looks at Castor
Why not?
Pollux hurles the bloody missle at the grub
Tok steps in as Sclivian steps away and with an all too savage kick smashes a number of creatures teeth in with its boot. The creature screeches and pulsates towards Tok with murderous intent biting a chunk ou of his leg but failing to find purchase to latch on and gnaw on him.
Suddenly the blood leaps from Pollux's hands and shatters all over Tok splatering everyone in the blood of evil outsiders. Oddly the effect seems lost on the already blood covered members of the group.
Group is up! Map unchanged save Tok is now in Scivians place and Scivian has stepped down the stair case.
IT is not outsider, undead, or magical beast.
Round 2
Move to D,0 if I can. Drawing crossbow on the way
Standard action to use misfortune hex on IT. dc 15
The thing finds it now preceives not only the room now but also the room that was and the room that will be. Past present and future blend and flow together. It strikes at a passing figure and it cannot be sure if will hit today's for or a stately Westcarni of a century ago.
Meraxilar reverses his axe and swings again at the Grub.
Attack:
Damage:
As Merax completes his swing, he steps into a flanking position with Caldazar.
Satisfied with the wet crunch as his morningstar struck home on the last swing, Caldazar repeats the measure.
Morningstar: for
With a rain of blows the creature falss over in a messy gooey pile of guts and pus.
Mr. Ruttle continues to scan the room for magical auras.
I'm sorry Mr. Ruttle.
The magic you are looking for is in another castle.A thorought scan reveals no magical auras beyond what you already know.
Pollux looks at the all the bodies.
"Little wormie has been busy. I wonder how they all got through the door?"
Pollux examines the fresher corpses. Waving away the resulting clouds of blackflies he looks for evidence of how they died. Were they bound and dumped? Is their evidence that they tried to escape? All of the same race or gender?
There is an exit to the shoemaker's shop. Testing the door reveals it to be unlocked but jsut as barred as the door to this place from below. The windows too have been boarded up. Moonlight coming from the roof however explains where the bodies have been coming from. A quick glance over the bodies and the various bludgeoned marks and sliced throats confirms your suspsicion that someoen has been dropping them down here. Not all are people however, most are dogs or animals. Allin all theres maybe twenty people in here and only one wiht his clothes adn boots still on him, the freshest corpse and the one most recently chewed.
There is an exit to the shoemaker's shop. Testing the door reveals it to be unlocked but jsut as barred as the door to this place from below. The windows too have been boarded up. Moonlight coming from the roof however explains where the bodies have been coming from. A quick glance over the bodies and the various bludgeoned marks and sliced throats confirms your suspsicion that someoen has been dropping them down here. Not all are people however, most are dogs or animals. Allin all theres maybe twenty people in here and only one wiht his clothes adn boots still on him, the freshest corpse and the one most recently chewed.
Any sign of torture or interrogation? Burns, rope marks etc.
None. Most apeared to have simply been murdered and dumped here to feed the worm. Yakning off a boot somehtign green and sparkly falls out of a mans boot adn castor leaps for it catching a chipped emerald between his paws and industriously gnaws at it. Disappointed at its lack of sugary flavor.
"Castor! How many times have I told not to eat strange things?"
Castor stares at Pollux
"All right, never but you shouldn't eat stones. They are bad for your tummy."
Castor hands Pollux the gem.
"Hmmm this is a pretty rock you found. Look everyone. Look at what Castor found!"
"We now have another way to the streets from here. Let's unbar the door and get back into the tunnel. Didn't the tunnel continue to the right?"
Hooking his morningstar back onto his belt to help clear the portal Caldazar replies "Aye the tunnel did continue on, lets be quick about it."
"Indeed, let's be quick about this," Sclivian adds, lending his weight to the removal of boards.
He also takes a moment to locate a decent femur which could double as a club.
To Castor: "Yes that is a tasty bone that the Tik-man found. I don't know, maybe he wants to make a stew for tratior lady. He might want to share you could always ask."
As you leave the horrors of the abandoned showe shop behind you reenter, the darkness once more to continue your mission of mercilessness. Soon you find your selves once more with a choice as going further down the tunnel it widens out and you are left with continuing downward as it veers sharply to the right once more and two sets of rough hewn stairs leading upwards into what you presume to be separate buildings.
"Hmm. These all look like they lead to various buildings, perhaps to keep their use of the Cathedral secret by entering from different buildings." Merax ponders for a moment before continuing...
"Perhaps we should return to the main building and continue our little siege instead. I'm sure Janiven and her company can cover the area if some Bastards of Erebus escape us."
"Aye, it would seem that would be a reasonable course of action. They may have found our.... 'handiwork'... already so we should be wary as we return."