Korriban, seeing Matoska run in, decides to follow suit. He charges in and swings his rapier at the yellow clad skeleton!
Lantressa summons a pit of acid, and one of the (still technically invisible, but surely Callie could have directed you) approaching skeletons plummets to the bottom as Callie leaps adroitly onto on of the angled rope bridges. These seem to lead down, via a series of ledges, to the lower depths of the cavern. Teodor, striding forward, raises his holy symbol and unleashes a burst of sickly, pale light that washes over the skeletons.
Korriban rushes in and stabs one of the skeletons, but then begins to hack and cough as the spores fill his nose and mouth. Matoska - who doesn't seem bothered at all - sends the blinded skeleton reeling backwards into the pit, and tugs on the leg of the remaining one. It doesn't go down, instead turning on him and raising its scimitar in an over head chop! It slices down on Matoska and catches the hound again in its backswing as it shifts its stance to more fully block the pathway.
The one remaining skeleton (which only Callie can see, as it's still invisible) strides around the pit...and then steps off the ledge and begins to drift through the air! It moves slowly, eerily floating through the air toward your group's position on the ledge.
Guardians: HP: Red 45, Yellow 34, Green 58, Blue 80 | AC/T/FF: 23/12/21 | F +9 R +7 W +5 | CMD: 26 | resist fire 10 | Yellow BLIND until rd. 10
for
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Callie pulls a vial of holy water out of her handy haversack and hurls it at the blue floating skeleton.
The flask hits.
"Way to jump directly into poison, guys!" Teodor extends an arm and palm, shooting a bright but sickly light at the flying undead.
Ignoring the poisonous gasses, Matoska steps around the skeleton and starts savaging the undead monsters to try and take it out of the fight.
With more of the skeletons around, and some in the pit, Lantressa aimed at a spot that would get the skeletons not in the pit and sent a little bead of red light lancing out that suddenly exploded among the enemies. It just missed getting any of her friends as a great whoomping sound went up and searing heat covered the area.
Korriban coughs as he's poisoned, feeling his strength being taken away from him. He swings at the red clad skeleton. But at the last minute, he quickly changes the direction his rapier stabs at it!
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Callie's flask of holy water sears the skeleton that's floating toward her, causing it to writhe in agony. Teodor shoots a ray of golden light directly into the skeleton that Korriban and Matoska are fighting; the light cuts through some of the fungal spores and blasts the skeletal being, sending it staggering backwards. Matoska, ignoring the drifting spores, lunges at the skeleton again, dragging at its limbs and beginning to pull it apart, while Korriban feints and then lunges forward, stabbing it through the eye socket and finally laying it to rest. The young man begins to cough again, though, as the spores continue to affect him... Lantressa's fireball fills one end of the room, crisping the floating skeleton...though not as much as it seems it should.
The one skeleton still invisible (though now lightly steaming) drifts toward Callie, raising a scimitar high over its head.
Guardians: HP: Red 8, Yellow 34, Green 58, Blue 52 | AC/T/FF: 23/12/21 | F +9 R +7 W +5 | CMD: 26 | resist fire 10 | Yellow BLIND until rd. 10
She sees Korriban stagger. "Korriban! Potion in my haversack, delay poison. Come get it!"
Callie grins as she turns toward the Skeleton. "So nice of you to come to me! Let me tell you about the last fool who did that!" She whips her sword into her hand with her usual alacrity, and begins the most hideous and horrifying of bardic skills: banter.
And at that she whirls her blade and swings it at the creature.
Teodor sees no for, but unleashes the Lord to destroy the unseen foe.
Teodor unleashes a burst of holy light as Callie stabs the nearest skeleton, slicing her blade through one of its tendons! It shudders, but sadly doesn't seem to slow down much...
Pausing to check on the skeleton battling Callie, Matoska takes a running leap onto the far ledge in the pit below, paws scrabbling on stone as he lands then whirls and runs down the rope bridge towards the bard and the other skeleton.
Korriban hears Callie's call. Coughing, he manages to shout, "*Cough* *cough* G-Got it!" He then runs to her, running past Matoska and Callie. He then digs through her bag. "Come on. *Cough* *cough*" He draws out the potion.
Knowing there was another invisible creature around Tressa had no idea where it exactly was so she decided to do something about the ones still in the pit. She chanted again and cast out another little bed of fire that streaked out and then dropped down into the hole far enough that when it exploded it would catch the creatures inside.
Matoska leaps to the lower ledge and races to stand next to Callie on the bridge.
Korriban also easily leaps down to the ledge and races down the bridge. As he does, though, the skeleton lunges invisibly toward him and slices his back open with its rusty scimitar! Korriban staggers but keeps going as the skeleton's invisibility fades, making it visible to all; he pops open Callie's haversack and finds a neatly labeled bottle right at the top. Which is good, as he's still coughing and choking from the spores in his throat and lungs.
Lantressa growls and launches a ball of fire toward the pit. It explodes in flames, licking out of the top of the hole.
What's happening in that pit is anyone's guess, but what happens next outside of it is bad: the now-visible skeleton raises its arms, opens its mouth, and exudes a burst of floating spores that fill the air! Korriban staggers as the spores clog his nose and mouth, and Callie begins to cough, hacking, too. Matoska continues to be unaffected.
Korriban: 6 CON damage (-3 on Fort, -27 hp), 0 saves at DC 21, 2/12 rounds
Callie: 1 CON damage (no penalties...yet), 0 saves at DC 17, 0/6 rounds
Guardians: HP: Yellow 27, Green 34, Blue 35 | AC/T/FF: 23/12/21 | F +9 R +7 W +5 | CMD: 26 | resist fire 10 | Yellow BLIND until rd. 10
against CON
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Seeing Korriban nearly cough his lungs out, Teodor Channels Energy, this time meant to heal his allies.
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Reassured that Korriban has the potion, Callie grits her teeth and swings at the bluish skeleton in a blaze of flashing blade while still spewing praise toward her comrades and insults toward the undead.
Potion in hand, Korriban gets away from all the poison and moves next to Teodor. He then drinks the potion.
Matoska joins Callie in hammering at the floating skeleton, seizing a femur in his jaws and viciously shaking it like a terrier with a rat until the bone cracks, then biting at another.
Korriban scrambles up the ledge nearby, still choking, but manages to swallow down the potion Callie offered him. He still feels weak, but he's no longer succumbing further. Teodor unleashes a burst of holy light, but it strangely doesn't seem to affect the horrifying creatures!
Callie and Matoska continue to fight against the floating skeleton, managing not to succumb to the still-floating spores. Callie's blows lop off an arm and shatter a rib, and Matoska finally manages to shake it to pieces! Lantressa hurries toward Teodor and the panting Korriban, watching carefully for further activity.
And it's good that she does, as, from the mouth of the pit she conjured, everyone can see the two skeletons that fell into the pit hovering up into the air. They only make it that far before you all have time to react, though.
Korriban: 7 CON damage (-3 on Fort, -27 hp), 0 saves at DC 21, 3/12 rounds | DELAYED for 3 hours
Callie: 1 CON damage (no penalties...yet), 1 save at DC 17, 1/6 rounds
Guardians: HP: Yellow 27, Green 34 | AC/T/FF: 23/12/21 | F +9 R +7 W +5 | CMD: 26 | resist fire 10 | Yellow BLIND until rd. 10
for
Lantressa growled at the two floating skeletons and called out, "Hey bone bags! I didn't tell you to come out of the pit yet!" With that she sent another bead of fire out that exploded amidst the pair of floating skellies above her pit.
Presuming she can see them from where she is standing...
Seeing Lantressa's fire take out one of the skeletons, Callie points at the straggler and says, [/b]"Just DIE already! Again!"[/b] Her voice is carried mystically to the creature and explodes in a burst of sound around its head.
She then moves down the sloping bridge to get out of the spore cloud.
The skeletons writhe in the air as Lantressa's flames lick over their bodies, and Callie's shout shatters the more battered one into tiny fragments of bone and fungus! The remaining skeleton clings tenaciously to its horrible, plant-fueled unlife.
Guardians: HP: Green 13 | AC/T/FF: 23/12/21 | F +9 R +7 W +5 | CMD: 26 | resist fire 10 | Yellow BLIND until rd. 10
Sprinting along the bridge up towards the topmost ledge, Matoska moves around the pit towards the skeletal monsters.
Delay poison makes you immune to be additionally poisoned, I believe. Only existing poison resumes its effects afterward.
Teodor raises his palm and shoots an eerie light at the skelly crawled out of the pit. "GO TO THE LORD, WHERE YOU BELONG!"
Teodor's ray of light shoots through the fungal spores drifting through the air, cutting a clean swath through them, and strikes the skeleton square in the chest...causing it to shudder, falling apart and backward into the pit! A few seconds later, the pit itself grinds shut, and the spores slowly dissipate.
As you all catch your breath - Korriban still wheezing from the poison infecting his lungs - you take a few moments to get your bearings. The protrusion anchoring the uppermost rope bridge rises from a rocky ledge overlooking the sloshing waters of a sea cave. Three rope bridges descend deeper into the cave, connecting three progressively lower ledges on the wall until finally reaching a stony protrusion at ground level. One of the ledges partway down has a small, simple wooden door set into the wall, and at the bottom of the cavern - level with the seawater - you can see a pier and an area of the cave that has obviously been artificially expanded, with brickwork and what looks like a large double door set into the wall.
"Teo, is there anything you can do to help Korriban get that stuff out of his lungs?" Callie asks, herself still clearing her throat from exposure to the stuff. "I've got a healer's kit if you need it."
Once they are ready to go, Callie suggests checking out the door halfway down before continuing.
After a quick circuit around the chamber, Matoska lopes down to the wooded door set around into the ledge. Sniffing around carefully signs of other creatures or any other clues as to what may lay behind it.
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Teodor shakes his head "no thanks" at Callie, bringing out his own healing kit. "So, Korriban. Next time we see three poison clouds are you going to jump in the middle of them? Hmmmmm?"
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Matoska sniffs around the door, but doesn't find anything alarming or detect any creatures; Korriban confirms that there are no traps armed on it that he can detect, and neither Lantressa nor Callie detect any magic. Matoska does, however, find some footprints in the packed earth: they seem about the size of a human's, but they're padded and have claws like that of a great cat! The tracks lead down toward the lower levels of this chamber.
Carefully opening the door, you peer into the chamber. This simple room contains a bed and a number of shelves carved into the stone walls. All manner of animal figurines, some crude and carved of wood, others exquisite and sculpted from stone or even metal, decorate these shelves. A heap of raw materials for crafting more of the animals lies against the western wall. You take a few minutes to do a cursory search of the room, but find nothing of interest beyond a few of the more cunningly crafted statues, which could potentially be sold. They all seem to be of local, Varisian animals.
You proceed onward, moving cautiously down the swaying rope breezes into the lower levels of the sea cave. The sound of the surf echoes up the cavern, creating a confusing, constant rushing sound. On the last ledge, one rope bridge before reaching the ground itself, Matoska pauses, sniffing. He follows a fresh breeze to a place where it shouldn't be: the stone wall of the cavern. Korriban follows him, and the two quickly find a hidden door set into the wall of the cavern!
The strange clawed tracks, however, lead toward the ground level, where you can now clearly see a set large, ornate double doors...
Korriban: 7 CON damage (-3 on Fort, -27 hp), 0 saves at DC 21, 3/12 rounds | DELAYED for 3 hours; has a +4 bonus on next two saves thanks to Teo's Heal skill
Callie looks around the room, and examines the statues with detect magic.
She muses aloud, "Someone must have been staying here and made these... but how long ago?" Is the room dusty or does it seem to have been occupied recently? Bed moldy or clean? Etc.
If the room appears to have been occupied recently, she leaves the items in the room alone. If it seems to have been long abandoned, she may take a few items that look like they are made of unusual stone or wood (including the raw materials themselves), more for visual interest than value per se, and put them in her haversack (presuming detect shows no danger).
Later, when Matoska sniffs out the secret door. "Might hopefully be an easier way to the next area? Let's see where it leads, at least."
"Agreed. Being amusement for the rich chafes on me."
When he discovers the footprints Matoska barks, though not loudly, to get the others attention and points out the prints. Continuing along, he smells the sea air of the secret door and points that out too, scratching at the stone.
After a glance at the others and a small ruff the wolf pads quietly into the small tunnel behind the secret tunnel, ears tilted forward.
The small bedchamber does seem to have been recently used - the bed is unmade and shows no more than normal wear and tear, and the entire area is reasonably well-kept, though not especially neat. Callie decides to leave the trinkets, just in case.
Moving cautiously, you all proceed down the secret passage way. It winds for nearly 100 feet into the very rock of the island itself, and the sound of the waves soon recedes behind you. Just as you're wondering whether it could go any farther, the tunnel reaches its destination. It curves sharply to the north here, ending at a set of large bronze doors, each carved with images of tigers chasing other tigers in four adjacent circles. At the center of each circle of tigers, a snarling tiger head looks out.
This would seem to be a place of some import.
Korriban: 7 CON damage (-3 on Fort, -27 hp), 0 saves at DC 21, 3/12 rounds | DELAYED for 3 hours; has a +4 bonus on next two saves thanks to Teo's Heal skill
Korriban is hacking as Teodor approaches with his healing kit. At his chastising, Korriban grumbles in a wheeze. ”No.”
In the first room with the carvings, Korriban says, ”Nice craftsmanship. Didn’t think that there was anything capable of this down here.” Seeing Matoska point out the footprints, Korriban kneels to get a closer look. ”Well, that’s interesting. And foreboding.” He follows the others down the secret tunnel. At the end room, Korriban looks around at the tiger statues. ”Oh boy. I wonder what will happen in here,” he says sarcastically.
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As they walk through and look around, something dawns on Callie. "It is a labyrinth right?" She pulls out her chalkboard she used to use for setting up her corner for street performances, and with chalk from her pouch, she starts sketching a very rough map of what they've seen so far. She restows the board in between her sketches, as it shouldn't get too marred while in the extradimensional space.
She helps look for trouble in the statue room.
Callie begins to sketch the area that you've all been through, and she and Korriban investigate this area carefully, examining the doors and running their hands over the smooth, slightly damp walls of the underground tunnel. Neither finds anything of interest or suggestive of danger, and the doors appear to be unlocked and safe to open.
Korriban: 7 CON damage (-3 on Fort, -27 hp), 0 saves at DC 21, 3/12 rounds | DELAYED for 3 hours; has a +4 bonus on next two saves thanks to Teo's Heal skill