Kikinnin retraces their steps, returning to the ground level of the obsidian statue room. He waits for everyone to be tightly grouped, so they spend the least amount of time in the large chamber, in case they summon something vile, again.
Taking to the stairs, the black beard moves constantly, until he reaches the third floor, and the gap in the floor preventing them from accessing the double doors. He produces his Rope of Climbing, and looks for a way to secure it between both sections of floor, at a height that will allow even the shortest of them accessibility.
Once everyone appears to be ready to move forward, Kikinnin looks over the double doors, and waits for JJ and Maxim to ply their trades, and investigate for traps and the like, before reaching for the doors, and opening them. His mind tries to keep track of where they had been when resting, so he places a hallway just beyond the doors, which should shoot both left and right, but not straight.
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"I do find the pious morality o' you Cudglites a might confusin'... I mean we executed an apparently repentent Alleybasher on the grounds he was rotten to the core. Black Drake's ain't exactly known fer their benign personalities..."
He re-pockets his flask, then continues;
'Know the Drake ain't troubled fare Cauldron, nor the delve... yet. Threats like wyrms an' such tend to just arrive in a hale o' flame... or acid... 'Course, by then its too late..."
Ryan nods sure that Maxim isn't the only one to feel such, just the only one to voice it out loud.
"I have no love of the drake, nor belief that he or she may be of a benign personality, but we came here to rescue Zenith.
Yes, we diverted for the sake of a group of kidnapped fairies, that to my way of thinking, was the morally responsible thing to do. Slavers deserve no quarter here nor above.
The purple worm was a fluke that came from that folly, as some may have seen it, and were it not for several favors granted from above, Master Surabar would not be standing here. Afterwards in our weakened state we were quick and prey for those same slavers we went to find.
We tangled with a wounded dragon once before, in defense of the one source of info we had for this place, would we have done the same should it have been attacking another of the Darkland's denizens I know not.
The Darklands are full of evil creatures, I could well be an aged old man before we returned to Malechite or Cauldron if we want to see to removing them all." Ryan isn't being argumentative about this just a pragmatic view of where they are at the moment.
AS they reach the top of the platform, Ryan draws his own rope from his pack to create a second source of support as they cross over the gap.
Marigold trails along with the rest of the group, quietly mulling over what each of her friends have to say on the matter of the dragon. As they reach their destination and the ropes are rigged up, she patiently waits her turn on one side of the gap for JJ and Maxim to secure the doors.
_______
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"Ryan, no one faults you for your position. It's a difficult decision, to let lie a black, still reasonably young in its time. Maxim's right- it'll grow, given the chance, and it will sow a deeper evil than you see for its current condition. The judgment you pass so easily on slavers should find little doubt on a dragon of that color." Kikinnin breathes deeply, considering.
"I don't remember suggesting we commit ourselves to ridding the Darklands of of its evil denizens, though it is a noble pursuit." It's apparent in the black beard's tone of voice that Ryan has hit a nerve in speaking on the Darklands with such hyperbole. "You'd die an old man, and never bring peace to this dark place."
"For our mission here, I would suggest that any of the frog folk here would be marked for death who would stand against our goal, at the very least. It is a kind of fluke that Dhorlot happens to cross our path, and should be bested, like we did the purple. Abadar even served it up on an indoor platter for us. We're not sneak thieves, Ryan, we're a herd of bulls, and all of Ball Hamtuggin knows it now."
Kikinnin finishes securing the Rope, and helps where he can to see everyone safely across. He doesn't stop to speak to Ryan, only does so while acceding to the wishes of the others to investigate the top floor of the obsidian statue room.
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Maxim chuckles dryly at his companion's words, clapping the priest on his shoulder;
"Forgot you langshanks tend to fret o'er yer stunted lifespans..."
Before arching a sooty eyebrow at his fellow dwur's;
"Not everythin' is divinely ordained bror... Some crud in this world is just plain bad luck, same's true fer good fortune. You keep spinnin' everythin' as being the will o' the gods an' I might have to call you Splintershield! Har!"
The gun-mage eyes the double doors, wary of traps and welcome of a distraction from talk theological and philosophical;
:
:
"It m-might be that we'll h-have to c-come back to the dragon anyway b-before we leave this p-place," Marigold finally speaks up, quietly. "I'd th-thought that a d-dragon would never w-willingly cooperate to m-make those things we f-fought, but it s-sounded like I was w-wrong. So wh-who knows wh-what else D-Dhorlot m-might've b-been helping the k-kuo-toa with?"
Kikinnin listens to Marigold's thoughts, and finds himself unable to answer her query. He shrugs his shoulder blades, uncomfortable with the idea that the dragon might be anything more to the frog folk than a defiler. Something nags at him, and it takes the manual labor of the ropework to smother it away from his surface thoughts.
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While the dwarves do their work, Juraan talks to Marigold:
"Dragons can be a capricious and unpredictable lot."
"But they also have colossal egos."
"I was just lucky I was able to appeal to Dhorlot's"
"Now that I think about it, this is probably Dhorlot's Lair."
"The one Gotrod was on about when we found Jared."
"With a great stroke of luck maybe we could find Gotrod's loot on the way out."
After that, he ponders his conversation with Dhorlot:
"Strange that Dhorlot was interested in Kikinnin as well as me."
"Some black dragon taint in his family history?"
"Maybe something he's not even aware of. Curious."
"I don't think I'll ask him about. Yet."
"I'll probably need to fill him with some particularly potent grog first."
"And ask him from a safe distance at that!"
With the help of Kikinnin's and Ryan's ropes it becomes a feasible task for the group to climb up to the last floor. Remembering how the last time he searched for a way to open the bridges, this time Ryan just tries to push open the doors.
And that it works.
The doors open into a long hallway depicted with frescoes of fighting kuo-toas. The state is ruinous, but it is clear the richness of the art was way greater in this area than in the other rooms visited until now.
A couple of winches are set at side and side of the halfway. Past it another set of doors to right and left lay closed for the group to decide on his own way.
Kikinnin heartens to see a small travel way to the next set of rooms, one way or another. In his distraction, Kikinnin doesn't wait for either JJ and/or Maxim to check the doors. He moves to the western doors first, and opens them, to see what lies beyond. Expecting conflict behind every door, he prepares himself to lay eyes on more horror. Should he find none, he moves to the eastern doors, and opens them as well.
"K-Kikinnin, w-er, never m-mind..." Marigold starts as Kikinnin pushes open the western doors.
Wow...I guess all this business with the dragon really has him riled up or something....
Ryan follows Kikinnin into the passageway, watching the eastern door while Kikinnin opens the western one. Shield and mace at the ready.
Juraan follows the others onto the platform.
Bow at the ready.
Waiting to see what happens next.
As Kikinnin opens the doors a wide cavern opens in front of you, dimmly lighted by the phosphorency fungus on its walls.
The floor of this large, T-shaped room is covered with bellcapped purple mushrooms standding a foot or two high. Two massive pillars are the room's only other visible feature. The southern pillar has partially collapsed and no longer reaches the ceiling. The northern pillar is cracked but otherwise intact. From the ventage point of the door, you can't see into the alcoves of the north and south.
Maxim shadows his fellow dwur, eyeing the ruined grotto for potential threats or boons;
:
Uninterested in a field of fungus, Kikinnin closes the western doors, and moves to the eastern doors, opening them up, and hoping to see some sign of dwarf ahead.
"No sign of him I take it." Ryan says as Kikinnin quickly passes back by to open the other door
"Yeah, I don't figure they'd leave his body to rot on a floor of fungus. Not when there's pictures of plate mail on their walls..."
Kikinnin doesn't object to those who want to be thorough about their investigations, but he's also no longer interested in finding anything other than Zenith, before he turns his attentions back to the black dragon.
The pitch black room breaks its darkness as the groups lights penetrate it when Kikinnin opens the doors.
This lozenge-shaped chamber has more frescoes, this time of kuo-toas emerging from the sea and marching into holes in the ground. The floor is covered with the same porcelain shards you found near the entrance. The eastern corner of the north wall features a set of double stone doors.
Kikinnin moves on to the next set of doors followed by the rest of the party. But some seconds after the last of you has entered the room, a kuo-toa ninja hidden in the ceiling shadows and dressed like a monk assassin jumps over Juraan with a death flying kick!
The kuo-toa assassin is surprised though by Juraan's magical defenses and his mortal kick is suddenly stopped by a magic armor barrier!!!
He lands acrobatically and unharmed between Juraan and the doors, closing the groups retreat. He looks unimpressed, almost as if he knew before hand you were coming.
Surprised by another Kuo-Toa's appearance, Juraan backs up 5 feet and casts a spell at the new threat:
« მდნარი მჟავა » . .
Woken from his slump by the sudden appearance of the assassin, JJ blinks in surprise.
"Where...."
"ಓಹ್, ಒಂದು ಚೋರ ಒಂದು! ಔಟ್ ವೀಕ್ಷಿಸಿ, ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಇರಬಹುದು!" Marigold gasps as the ninja nimbly vaults away from Juraan after his failed attack. Realizing that the kuo-toa had targeted who he thought would be the easiest prey among them, she reaches out and calls upon Sarenrae's light to shield Juraan from the sneaky frog's attacks. Marigold then falls back to allow Kikinnin and the others to advance.
"Oh, a sneaky one! Watch out, there might be more!"
_______
As the professor attempts to melt his would be attacker, Ryan moves to draw his attention until JJ and Kikinnin can close in.
AC =
HP =
Weapon Equipped = +1 Dwarven Greataxe
Condition(s) = None
His back largely turned to the sudden appearance/attack from a lone frog-man, Kikinnin hears Marigold's warning, so sidles over to Juraan's side, and readies a swing, should it try and make another attack.
"There's only one? It's got a death wish, then?"
The monk-assassin hides his head letting Juraan's ray pass away!
Marigold touches the Professor then moves away into the room.
Ryan attempts to stop the kuo-toa with his mace, but he dodges as well.
Kikinnin approaches, readying his axe with ill intentions.
The kuo-toa smiles, then makes a salutation by joining both hands and steps out of the room closing the doors behind him.
The kuo-toa surprises with a readied punch attack directed at letting the door opener without breath!
JJ dashes forward and opens the door.
oof
The Lad almost has the wind knocked out of him. Almost but not quite.
He returns the gift, with his own sword, but the trust is weak after the assassins strong blow.
Marigold quickly moves within line of sight of the door, drawing her crossbow as she goes. She raises the bow and attempts to fire...
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"Stay on your toes JJ, you've dealt with worse than a monkish fishman." Ryan calls our to the swordsman.
Inspired Word on JJ, +2 to attack, saves, ability checks for 3 rounds, use 1/7 for the day
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Cursing under his breath that the new threat evaded his spell, Juraan tries his bow instead:
AC = 22, No Shield
HP = 74/74
Weapon Equipped = +1 Dwarven Greataxe
Condition(s) = None
If Kikinnin has a clear way forward, and a clear target, he steps forward, and gives the ninja frog a two-handed swat for his troubles. No words forthcoming, as he's focused on frog, and the others are doing well enough to engage in their own ways.
As the Kuo-Toan ninja makes his attack with seamless ease, Maxim curses;
"God's be damned! Reckon we need to ware traps o' the organic kind as much as the usual types!"
The gun-mage draws his Wand and applies a charge to himself
Watching the monk-fish-man dodge their attacks with consummate ease, does little to stem the furrowing brow of the dwur wizard.
He belts his wand , then moves forward, drawing his loaded pistol as he goes
Kikinnin steps forward opening the doors for JJ. The young boy miss with his sword, but the dwarf follows up with an unstoppable axe swing that bloods the kuo-toa.
Marigold's bolt is easily dodged by the assassin, but he does not see Juraan's shot coming. A large thorn arrow lodges in the kuo-toa's neck, the monk fights to remove it unsuccessfully.
Ryan inspires JJ to keep his feet save and skillful while Maxim readies his pistol.
Impressed by the groups performance, the kuo-toa walks back and disappears behind the first corner, through the corridor you initially took.
You observe there is no trace of the assassin.
"He must have gone invisible. These frogmen are wiley, I'll give them that. Let's get in there and close the doors, He'll be trapped."
JJ moves to the intersection, ready to charge any of the doors that are opened.
Ryan moves into the hallway, taking total defense remaining vigilant for the next attack.
Though she can't understand JJ's words at the moment, Marigold still gets the gist of the plan when the group starts to follow the kuo-toa only to find him vanished. She raises her crossbow and readies to fire as she carefully inches along after her friends.
Following Marigold's example, Juraan stays still and readies his bow to fire again.
As the Kuo-Toa vanishes Maxim curses his choices of spells;
"Hell's Teeth! Shoulda prepared Glitterdust..."
He eyes the surrounding area warily, conscious that an attack may come from any angle;
:
Pistol raised, he too readies an attack...
0 - Detect Magic
1st - Disrupt Undead, Magic Missile, Magic Weapon & True Strike
2nd - Bull's Strength, Knock & Scorching Ray
3rd - Lightning Bolt (x2)
AC = 22, no shield
HP = 69/74
Weapon Equipped = +1 Dwarven Greataxe
Condition(s) = None
Kikinnin takes position at the doorway, not moving forward until he's reasonably sure the other set of double doors won't open, and strike at their more vulnerable crew. If a frog man reappears anywhere near him, he takes a swing, just in case.
"Keep a lane clear, would you? If anyone comes through those doors, I want a path on 'em."
While the group readies to combat an unseen enemy, there is no trace of the kuo-toa assassin.
The western doors remain closed.
Is the northern door open still, or is that closed?
Ryan moves towards the western door, keeping his back towards the wall.
Total defense - AC24
JJ goes up to the open doors to the north and shuts them.
"At least we will know if he comes back."
AC = 22, no shield
HP = 69/74
Weapon Equipped = +1 Dwarven Greataxe
Condition(s) = None
Kikinnin waits impatiently, as the flitting frog tries to draw them away from the next set of doors in the northern wall. "We so sure the frog took off into the obsidian statue room? If it's invisible, is it just as likely standing still, and waiting for one of you to let down your guard?" He debates a little further.
"Why don't we all come back into this room, and close these doors, too? Can't be invisible while you're trying to sneak back into a room, if the doors are closed." The black beard readies a swing on a sudden foe appearing, while standing next to the doors.
"Kikinnin is right. For now, at least, let's stick to this room, with the door closed."
Maxim eyes the others;
"The invisible frog got all day... We don't. Thought we were fixin' to grab Zealot Splintershield. We spend time tip-toein' around when they know we're here ain't our usual style..."
The gun-mage grimaces and holds any actions until best course of action
After shutting the doors, JJ heads back to the first room.
"Lets see what we was guarding shall we? Maybe he was a prisoner too and also just wanted to escape?"
JJ shuts the hallway northern doors.
There is a tense quietness while the group gathers back in the first room.
Nothing else happens.
JJ peers through the doorway that the assassin first appeared behind.
"Either he is still here, or he has fled. If he is here, there is little we can do to find him, so we had may as well press on."