Squirm tries to scitter around behind the creature ducking it's head low to try and avoid the viscous swings he suspects will be coming his way.
Once on the other side of the creature it tries to coordinate its coiling tentacle with the swings of Neils.
Resisting the psion's mental thrust this time the hanoshafyr growls at the caravan guards.
Tries to nimbly move about the battle field, the hanoshafyr swings at the dromite.
But misses as its attention is split between all its adversaries.
Now flanking, both the soulknife and dromite attack the beast bringing it down.
Squirm crouches over the last body, looking over it for anything interesting.
[dice=Will Save]1d20+2
Christaph checks out this room & the body for any loot.
Moving southward, the caravan guards find A strange cylinder of hewn phrenoric ore lies in a pool of water here. Thick footprints surround it, but there is no sign of the creatures that may have left the tracks.
All the caravan guards can tell that the column is hollow, though not empty.
Neils starts to examine the cylinder. He first tries to pull it from the water and, failing that, will check to see if there are any obvious means to open it.
Squirm will watch as Neils tries to man handle the strange item, keeping a bit of distance in case it explodes...
"Careful there Neils! Those arms of yours are kinda useful when the meat hits the metal. What is that anyway?"
If the thing doesn't immediately explode, Squirm's curiosity gets the better of it and it scampers closer. Looking all around the object with neils for any markings.
Upon further examination, both Neils and Squirm can see an engraving in Common indicating it was produced at Twin Mills Masonry.
Neither can see any means of opening it, but being made of ore it can be broken into.
"This looks similar to what they were working on at the masonry, when Squirm & I stopped by there. It does not surprise me it was made at the masonry, but as to it's purpose I have no clue. By the way, let's check these tracks before we mess them all up. Can anyone tell if they were made by boots or creatures or what?"
"Should we try and break it?"
The guards recognize hanoshafyr tracks.
"Yes, if you cannot find a way to open it, and you think you can break it open safely without damaging whatever may be inside, then do so. Who knows what may be inside?!"
Squirm looks up at Neils expectantly
"Well go on man, do something heroic, smash it over your knee or something."
Neils nods his head and closes his eyes. In his hand the mind blade shivers and then breaks into energy. Just as quickly, it reforms, this time taking the shape of a comedically over-sized hammer. Around his feet the earth hums gently and small pebbles levitate off the floor. Opening his eyes Neils swings the hammer above his head and brings it crashing down on the column in a flash of green light.
Using the power of his mind , Neils nonetheless cracks open the cylinder revealing a human male, alive, but barely.
"****!"
Squirm scampers forward and tries to help the man
"Christaph, quickly, give him the potion!"
Christaph will take out the cure light potion that the caravan guards had given him after the first encounter & pour it into the throat of this man very carefully. He takes a moment to look over the man very carefully.
The man, whom the caravan guards do not recognize, immediately wakes up after receiving the curative potion.
Bound by ropes, the man is gaunt and in ill health, but manages to roll over and look at the guards. "Food. Thank. You." is all the exhausted man can utter before slumping in the mire littered with broken shards of phrenoric ore.
Neils provides the man a ration from his kit and then works to free him from his bonds.
"Thank you, I cannot thank you enough. That was." the man shudders as he crams food into his mouth, chewing violently. "awful." he manages to get in before taking another huge bite of the trail ration. He grabs an offered waterskin and drains it in one long pull, wiping his mouth with the back of his dirty sleeve.
"Cannot thank you enough strangers. Can you get me out of here now?"
"Slowly big man! Don't want to make yourself sick now do you?"
Squirm walks around the man, inspecting him like a scientific specimen
"So, who are you? and well... why are you in a tube? We're going to help you out, but we need to know what's going on here"
Squirm doesn't seem at all in a rush
Christaph is also in no hurry and tries to slow the man down, "Sir, please we need to know how did you end up in this cylinder? And do you have any idea how long ago that was?"
The man looks up from his sitting position. "I am Cyrril. Cyrril Ambrose. I was just minding my own business when these goons came up to me. Thugs from House Duarran. Well they knocked me out and the next thing I knew, you were busting me out of the stanchion. And mighty grateful for it.
"My wife works at the Stone Tower Tailors with her mom and grandma. Bet she is worried sick. Would really like to see her if you all could take me back there." the man looks pleadingly at you all.
"What day is it today?
Neils will help him stand, and tell him the day.
"Cyrril...if House Durran was responsible for bringing you in here, what's to stop them from knocking you out again when you get back into town. I mean, from what I've heard they're all the rage."
He turns to his companions "On the other hand, I think I can make an educated guess as to why the townsfolk have been acting so strangely - and where our missing guards may have gone. We need to explore the rest of the cave quickly. Christaph, you're a smart guy. Do you and Squirm think you may be able to figure out some way to reverse this?"
"Christaph is a smart guy isn't he..."
Squirm lets the comment hang in the air for a moment
"Do you smart guys care to share your ideas with little old me? Whats your theory?"
"I've had a thought about this ... a VERY, VERY, HORRIBLE thought! I shudder just to think of it! I suspect that somehow the townspeople are being abducted one by one, put into these cylinders, and either somehow the process changes them into the mindless drones, or else they die & they are somehow replaced by mindless drones. If the original person is still alive, I have no initial idea how to go about reversing the process. Some sort of strong shock to their system I would suspect perhaps? ... Mr. Ambrose, are you too weak to move? Or do you fear going back by yourself? We should really search the rest of this place to see if there is anyone else in such a dire situation as you were in."
"Right - brainwashed! As nefarious as nefarious ever was" concludes Neils, rubbing his chin.
"Cyrril...if House Durran was responsible for bringing you in here, what's to stop them from knocking you out again when you get back into town."
"Gotta risk it to get my family out. Don't know who you are or what is important to you, but I love my wife and family and I need to get them out of here."
"Mr. Ambrose, are you too weak to move? Or do you fear going back by yourself? We should really search the rest of this place to see if there is anyone else in such a dire situation as you were in."
"I am not sure if I am strong enough, but I will do what I can to get out of here. Promise me you'll help me when you get out of here. Promise me?" The man looks pleadingly at the caravan guards.
"Sir, if I may, you're not strong right now. And we are not clued up on what is going on here. Let us investigate here, we will be quick but thorough. Rest here and gather your strength, then we may all return to town together. I promise you that.
"Yes, my friend Squirm here, makes a good suggestion! My name is Christaph & I also recommend you wait here & recuperate while we do a little more exploring. If you want some more food I'll even provide it for you. Just rest here for a bit & then we will all help you back to town & see what we can do about getting your family out of this town."
"I ... I ... I will stay here. And wait. Do not tarry, please." the man tries to rise a few times before falling back to the muck.
"Let's head deeper into the mine."
Squirm offers the weak man a little nod, then ushers Neils forward.
As the caravan guards push even further into the mine around the corner. A wall of ectoplasm blocks any further progress into the mines. Waves of green slime are pressed against the ectoplasm, blocking further sight into the mines. A series of phrenoric ore columns stand guard in rows, with the encroaching slime seeming to slowly reach out, threatening to engulf them. To the northwest, a crude nest has been made out of straw, while a small desk and chair sit nearby with some scattered papers laying upon the surface of the desk. Just as you finish taking in the room, three of the antelope-headed creatures attack.
The hanshofyr, seeing intruders, begin to attack. While two hanoshafyr reposition themselves, the other hanoshafyr swings his mighty club at Neils bashing him over the head.
Squirm slips forward, past Christaph, to stand beside Neils. The horrible appendage that has no place in polite society whips out to slap the creature before him.
Neils reacts on an instinctive level when the beastmen appear and attack yet again. He sets his jaw and stares down the hanshofyr and when the club collides with his forehead he remains immobile. In a display of heroic stubbornness and force of will, he ignores the attack entirely. Indeed, were it not for the incessant buzzing that filled the room and plagued Neils mind, he would have immediately set into the creatures in return - introducing them to the fate that their earlier brethren had met. Instead he grips at his temple and tries to shake away the noise to no avail. He is left holding his mind blade in a defensive stance, the psychic construct clearly sputtering as its master struggles to concentrate.
[ooc]Not that you are aware of at this time. Very, very nice post. Perfectly done!
"I'm getting tired of seeing these guys!"
Squirm reaches out a tentacle and wacks the hanoshafyr, causing it to stumble backwards.
Neils' swirling blades, humming and vrooming around him, are enough to thwart the hanoshafyr's club attack. He takes up a defensive stance on the balls of his feet, anticipating the next besital attack.
Christaph once more tries to jumble the mind of the beasts, but ultimately fails to do so.
The beasts once more begin to attack the intruding caravan guards.
The beast connects with its club, knocking the dromite back.
The beast once again connects with its club before the soulknife can counter-attack.
The Soulknife's counter attacks are too much and the hanoshafyr falls to the mud dead.
With an insectoid screech Squirm reels back from the Hanoshafyr's visious club. But fear is not an emotion that its strange brain tends towards. Stepping forward once more the little insect reaches out...
but the tentacles flinches away at the last moment