The toad manages to evade the acid but both Fergus and Paul strike it with their weapons!
Toad1 -28
Varis at 1 HP
Haldor 2nd Wisdom save needed
Move to the toad and flurry(-1ki point)
as bonus:
Varis, on the brink of death, moves over to the toad and gives it the ol' one-two, killing the beast!
Haldor looks as if he was about to pass out but he finds the will to shake off the effects of the mushroom spores!
A search of the room results in finding more mushrooms, four varieties in all, that members of the group can determine have various effects if disturbed. Moving carefully around them the party spots two different 10' x 10' shafts in the ceiling of the room, located in the northwest and southwest corners of the room. Each has a musty, slippery rope hanging down from the darkness above. A set of double doors stand closed in the eastern wall, no markings or plaques are seen on them this time, however.
Somebody with good sleight of hand should check the doors for traps and then we'll open them.
OOC: Fizz is dropping acid splash, because it's annoying and picking up Light.
IC: Fizz picks up a rock from the floor (without disturbing any mushrooms) and casts Light upon it. He will hold it outstretched for all to see.
Walking carefully over to the hole in the ceiling in the SW Corner, what can Fizz see up the shaft?
Fizz can see that the ceiling in the room you are in is about 10' tall at this point. The shaft travels through about 20' to 30' of rock before it reaches the level above you. The rope looks to be attached to the ceiling above that level at about another 10' or so. You can detect no light or sound coming from the level above you from your vantage point.
Fergus will approach the double doors on the eastern wall and attempt to listen for sounds coming from the other side.
Light has a 20 foot radius of bright light then an additional 20 ft radius beyond of dim light.
Healing word for Varis. Again, I do not know how much it should heal him.
The paladin detects no sounds coming from beyond the double doors.
Magician come and check this hole in the roof as well! I yell from the other end of the room
Fizz checks the other shaft and discovers that they are very similar to each other. No sounds or light come from either.
Fergus opens the double doors. 'Tis just as good a route as any. Onward!
Bolding opening the double doors the party looks into another chamber, this one not so cluttered with ruins and no mushrooms are present. At the edge of your light you see an old woman within a glowing magic circle within the room. You can hear her muffled voice: Get me out of here!
Fergus strides forward to examine her more closely. Is she tied up or muffled? Is she guarded? Trying to assess the situation.
fizz is going to check for any funky magics.
Fergus isn't familiar with the situation but Fizz is able to determine that disrupting the magic circle would be able to free anyone inside. He also is able to notice that the circle sometimes flickers out of existence for a split-second, giving him the chance to do so.
The woman continues to yell at Fergus to free her, though the sound of her voice continues to be muffled by the invisible force barrier that the circle creates. Don't just stand there, get me out before they come back!
Fergus decides to try to free the woman.
Before WHO comes back?
I'm gonna look around for "they."
I stand guard near where we came in.
Are you dense? The hobgoblins! Who do you think brought me here? As Fergus finds a way to disrupt the circle, the elderly woman manages to quickly step out to freedom. However, its the gnomes and ettercap that have been the nuisance. Now, you were sent on a rescue mission, weren't you? I can only assume you are a band of mercenaries hired to bring me home. Let's get a move on!
The room is otherwise empty and there are no signs of anyone approaching.
What is thy name, madam?. Fergus tries to remember the names of the captives to see who else the group might find.
Might I suggest we escort whoever she is, back to the entrance safely, regardless of her slander upon my race as a whole, and then get back to rescuing the rest of the town folk. Remember carefully through the mushrooms.
I am Zerriksa. You recall that she is the one that the townsfolk refer to as being "a witch".
The woman then looks at Fizz with a scowl. Those gnomes were foul, evil beings. They even tried to recruit me to their cause! Even after they showed me what they were capable of. Zerrika then moves closer to the paladin, looking up at him. I'm assuming you're going to escort me back to civilization, yes? I'm assuming Brindol isn't a leisurely stroll from... wherever this place is?
Ma'am, would you happen per chance to know where some of your townsfolk might be imprisoned, or were you separated for a reason?
Well, I'm the only one down here. All the others must be up there. SHe then points to the ceiling. The hobgoblins thought I could turn them into toads so they put me in here.
As far as the others go, well, I don't know exactly where any of them are. Two days ago the ettercaps showed me Kartenix’s corpse, half-wrapped in webbing. Disgusting. And yesterday one of the gnomes brought the boy Thurann to the edge of the circle and threatened to slit his throat, again trying to convince me to join them! They only want me to since they think I'm a witch... I'm not. I'm merely a herbalist. SHe then glares at all of you. Don't tell the others though! I have a reputation to uphold, you hear me?
Regardless of what it is you do for a living we must get you out of here. Can you find your way back to town from the entrance? If not You should wait there until we have freed the rest of the townsfolk.
But, if we leave her, then they may ask her again to join the cause and end up killing another captive. We have to bring her along with us.
Find my way back? Can't you hear? I don't know where "here" is! And why wait at the entrance? At least in this circle I was safe!
Looking at Holdor you see the old woman's face contort to what might constitute a smile. Ah! You must be the brains of the outfit! I'll say close to you then.
Fergus chuckles, envisioning Haldor as the "brains of the outfit."
Where art thy fellow townspeople, madam? Up yon ropes?
Also, dost thy foes fear thee and thine, err, "witchcraft?" Mayhaps we might put such trepidation to good use!
I'm not going to climb those ropes, we can go back up the stairs we came from and try those others doors. Maybe her townsfolk are there
I'm a herbalist, not a witch. You are the heroes, not me! She then adds, Yeah, neither am I, gnome! They should all lead to the same place anyway. I wish I knew where they all were but I've been down here the whole time.
Before we go back, we shouldst at least inspect the rest of the room. Master Lightbringer Fizzlebomb, come along with me.
A search of the room with the magic circle presents no new discoveries.
Well, back up the stairs, I suppose.
Taking care to avoid the braziers, Fergus walks to the double doors on the right (east?) side of the room and opens them.
Boldly opening the doors, Fergus leds the party into a hallway that turns to the north and leads to a set of stairs going up. Scaling them, you then reach a doorway where the words “Von Jallach Family Tomb” is carved above it. A square bounded by glowing runes dominates the floor in this room. The east wall has two doors. The walls are covered with empty alcoves designed to hold dead bodies, however the ones you can see from your current vantage point seem to be vacant save for some debris that has accumulated in their back corners.
Fergus tries to see whether he can make sense of the square and glowing runes.
To be clear, Fergus is not stepping on the glowing runes -- just looking at them.
Fizzlebomb takes his light rock, and tosses it into the middle of the room so that the room should be lit in some form in all of the corners.
Fergus steps closer to the runes. With help from the wizard they are able to figure out that the runes spell out “Von Jallach” in a phonetic alphabet that wizards sometimes use.
When Fizz tosses the light into the room, two swarms of insects become evident and they start to move out of the alcoves with hostile intent!
for
Sain instinctively fires an arrow at the insects, however the projectile moves harmlessly through the swarm!
The swarms move around the runes and close on the paladin and the fighter!
Varis will light a torch and wait.
I step out of the swarm and swing my axe at it
Varis lights a torch as Paul moves away from the swarm and swings his axe at the creatures, though his weapon does not have as much effect as it might normally have!
Suddenly, a gnome comes out of his hiding spot in one of the alcoves, firing arrows at the fighter!
for
for
One goes wide but the second connects, just finding a weak point in Paul's armor!
Paul -7
Varis -??
Swarm2 -6
Correct, he was not fully healed.
I'm gonna give the gnome a free javelin.
The gnome refuses Haldor's gift of a free weapon, barely dodging out of way!
Attacking the Swarm in front of Varis
FireBolt range 120ft
Fergus moves slightly south and takes a swing at the swarm to his east (the one between Varis and Paul).
Shoo!