Looking over at the curious Kasha Friday nods. ”Nice.”
"I had been hoping to avoid that, but I guess he felt it was necessary. One moment friday let me take a look at that wound."
A soft glow took his hands as he passed it over the painters bite wound.
I could have avoided that, Friday thinks to himself as Kavell offers to heal him. "Thank you," he earnestly tells the Paladin.
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"Sorry;" Valeria said as she made her way into the room, "there was a wall in my way so the haste was all I cou- holy hell!"
It's pretty obvious that she never got a clear look at the guy and, by extension, has never seen a werebear before. She does recognise the stab wounds though. "Okay, Friday; sometimes I forget how terrifying you are with that spear."
"Very true. As big as he was though, I doubt that all the food those cooks were preparing was for him." Kasha says after a moment of thought. "There's no way that nobody heard that fight."
”My apologies,” he says with a slight bow towards Valeria. ”You all have nothing to fear from it though.” he adds in what he thinks is a reassuring manner.
”And our earlier fights too.” Friday adds.
Once the keys have been retrieved, the party heads back downstairs to free Lute from his cell .
One of the keys on the keyring fits into the rusted lock with a scrape of abused metal, and the door swings open.
The cell has a barred window running along the entire southern wall near the ceiling that allows air and light to flow in. Sitting in the cell itself is a gaunt-looking man with diseased white hair and harried blue eyes. There are several stretch marks on his belly and back that are visible through his dirty brown rags.
"Oh, praises to the linnorms--I was certain I would never be free." Lute weakly gets to his feet, his spindly legs trembling with the effort.
”Do you need assistance?” Friday asks the freed man.
Lute holds a hand out. "What I NEED is food, water, and to be as far away from this place as I can get."
"But I suspect I wouldn't get far on my own."
"We are here to put an end to the evil coming from this fortress friend, As much as I dont want to see you come to harm after rescuing you we do not have time to guide you back. You can stay hidden here if you wish until we return, or you can eat a bit more, regain some strength and try to set out on your own if you would like."
He offered, sounding very sincere about not being able to guide him back. The evil festering here was priority though.
"Here take some more of my rations, we did clear out a kitchen near here, there should be more supplies there."
Kasha quietly observes, trying to determine the cause of the odd stretch marks on the man's body, as well as his health.
"I think I'll stay here for now. I don't fancy my chances in the cold, and especially not on my own."
Lute takes some of Kavell's rations and starts eating them.
Friday nods to the man, seemingly content to remain here as they continue to clear the fortress of troubles.
A doorway in the south wall opens up into another stairwell, this one descending into the depths of the mountainside.
The stairs descend into a plain room of mortared stones. The walls drip with condensation, giving the air a cold, clammy feel.
A door sits on the northwestern wall.
"There's moving water on the other side, an underground river?" Friday comments as they approach the door.
The door opens into a T-shaped intersection.
A deep channel of flowing water crosses the hall to the north. On the opposite side lies a heavy timber plank. A brass bell and clapper hang from the wall on this side of the stream.
A door lies directly to the west.
"Let's avoid the water for right now..." Friday comments before sneaking over to the western door.
The door opens into a natural cavern thirty feet across and fifteen feet high. A waterfall pours in through a small aperture high on the south wall, filling a turbulent pool in the floor and sending a cold spray throughout the room. A smoothed ledge extends outward from the door, and two large barrels have been set to the right of it. Another ledge sits on the far side of the pool. A smaller cask sits on this ledge, next to a heavy wooden door.
An aspergillum sits on top of the small cask.
”...or not.” Friday says after having opened the door.
”Hmm?” he lets out as something catches his eye. Moving to the wedge he picks something up from under the cask.
Friday has found an iron key. It looks like it fits the door in front of him.
Friday will attempt to open the door with the key.
Curious he moved to the aspergillum as Friday took the key.
"The natural beauty of this room and falls could have been made into something truly remarkable and they sit here using it to refill water barrels.... Still I wonder."
He cautiously cupped his hands and took a light taste of the water from the barrel.
For amusement sakes more than anything else he fills the Aspergillum with water from the water.
The aspergillum looks like it's worth about 3 gold pieces, but the alcohol you've discovered would fetch at least 100 gold pieces with the right buyer.
The key turns the lock with some effort.
The room beyond is small and musty, hewn from solid rock. Near the far wall stands a low well, its opening only a foot in diameter. A winch and chain with a rusty steel bucket hang from the wall above it. In the far corner sits a pile of old wooden buckets and other debris, rotten and broken, with several different kinds of fungus growing on their remnants.
They're inching forward as the door opens.
"So...from the look on your face I'm assuming...not poisoned?" Kasha asks, watching Kavell's expression shift slightly. She moves into the room, paying attention to the various fungii growing around the hole.
”Careful. The door was locked for a reason.” Friday says as Kasha enters.
Oh not poisoned at all. This is a very potent liqour. Tastes a bit like a fruity nutty caramel like drink. I like it very much but i dont think it would be much help... well unless its flammable."
"If these are the ones responsible for the temple, the sale of it could go to them." Kasha suggests over her shoulder
Friday nods. ”It could go for quite a bit, going off of menus I’ve seen.”
"Don't tell Kelda. We will grab it on the way out, no sense trying to lug it with us."
He said in mock solemnity but he nodded following the others further in.
When Friday, Kasha and Kavell make their way into the room, three bag-like creatures fall from the ceiling, aimed right at their heads!
One of them lands right on Kavell's head and engulfs him, blocking his vision and making it impossible to breathe!
The sudden darkness was confusing and he bit back crying out. When he felt the constriction he snapped back to the moment and realized it wasnt some magical darkness but something over him, trying to crush him. His glaive wouldnt be much help so he dropped it and weirdly calm drew out his dagger, reversed the grip and tried to stab at the thing covering him.
Kavell's stab doesn't seem to do much--he tries to dig it under the thing's skin, but fails to find purchase.
Sidestepping the creature attempting to attack her, Kasha sees Kavell'shead enveloped by his attacker. With a quickly chanted word, the shamaness channels pure violence through her hand, reaching out touch the paladin's opponent.
Kasha's hand strikes the bag-creature squarely in its centre mass...
...and its form turns ashen grey and withers before toppling off his head.
The one bag-monster who didn't drop yet aims at Kasha and jumps!
...and lands on the ground with a *THUD* next to her.
The other bag-monsters start scooting away from the party, trying to reach the walls.
Moving in after the others, Valeria gestured to the nearest one that was heading for the wall and snapped her fingers, wreathing the creature in fire.
The bag-creature lets out a harsh squealing noise as its flesh suddenly catches on fire.
Not wanting to risk pureeing Kavell's head Friday turns on the other creatures within reach and lunges.
Friday stabs at one and misses the first time, before skewering the bag-creature on the end of his spear like the catch of the day.
"Thanks... Kasha."
He panted out even as he dropped the dagger and retrieved the glaive. As he rose he feinted with it torwards the monster near Kasha.
Driven by the spirit of the hunter, Kasha strides forward, her sickle lashing out in a fierce arc.
Kasha hacks out a chunk of the bag-creature as it flees.
The burning bag-monster starts rolling around to put out its burning body...
...but to no avail. It curls up and withers as the smell of burnt flesh fills the room.
The last bag-monster lashes out with a tentacle at Kasha...
...and its wild flailing does nothing.
Friday lunges at the last bag thing.
Friday practically squashes the last monster.
When the last creature falls, a jade glow begins to radiate from the well.
"Ho there! What sounds of battle come from yon heights? Who be thee, that intrudes upon this domain?" A scratchy, yet enthusiastic voice calls out from the well.
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"I wonder if it's another piece of armor," Friday thinks aloud before turning to the glow. "It be us... we're dealing with assassins. he answers.
How else would you respond to a talking well?
"Indeed? Then your arrival is most fortuitous! I seem to be in a bit of a bind--you see, I'm stuck down here. Do you happen to have any way of lifting me out?" The voice replies.