Discovering himself trapped with the naga, JJ renews his determination that he has to end this one himself. Clinging with one hand to the column the young man strikes with Alakast in the head and with stunning skill he makes spin the staff in a single hand to strike twice more breaking another rib!
Unable to reach JJ, Kikinnin raises Abadar's symbol and channels vital positive energy to sustain his companions under the tentacles!
The tentacles keep a reckless hold on the corridor group, but Kikinnin manages to endure the poison and avoid the grasp of the black appendages.
The naga shows clear signs of pain but her voice booms still confident You are protected to fire? Best for you, you will find a good time at Hell. What about this!???
5 missiles of pure force burst on JJ's chest but part of the damage is divinely channeled to Kythel.
Marigold's Round 9
Marigold feels the welcome surge of healing that washes over her but it only marginally counteracts the pit of fear in her stomach as she hears Kikinnin's words, stating that they're firmly cut off from JJ for the time being.
Come on JJ, you can do it!
"No.. that hurt." agrees JJ. "But hopefully not as much as this..."
"Why won't you just stay dead?" he asks, as the blue light continues to spill from his wounds, before taping off.
Ut oh..
:
:
Held fast by the ebon coils, Maxim does manage to cease his dry wretching long enough to pull forth a potion from his magical bag...
"Need to heal these darned busted ribs!"
With every second of battle the naga keeps through magic at JJ and the man, with great effort, maintains his hold on the pillar while striking at the naga with his staff.
When the naga seems it will never fall, JJ hits her in the head, then he swings once more and strikes on her spine, and when he does Alakast seems to howl, and when it strikes, the pillar bone of the naga shatters and Xail's body loses all stability, its bones falling deep into the pit around the Soul Pillar!
But the tentacles remain there, pressing everyone in the corridor, including Kikinnin who is trapped once more by the appendages!
Holding onto the pillar, JJ judges his distance to the walkway, and commits to another jump.
He then dashes toward the entrance, swinging Alakast to try and break whatever magic is holding the rest of the group at bay.
Marigold's Round 10
Still unable to see and only hearing strange howls and clatters and battle cries, Marigold isn't sure of what's going on - but she hopes that JJ is continuing to hold his own against their foes.
All she can do is wait and hope that the magics trapping herself and the rest of the group dissipate - and soon.
:
Still held fast by the tentacles, Maxim tries to focus between bouts of retching...
... with a shaking hand he sips at the potion in his hand in an attempt to offset the crushing damage;
:
JJ jumps back to the platform and reaches the transparent wall landing a solid hit on it. The surface does not suffer any scratch though!
The group suffers under the hold of the tentacles and the sickening cloud, but just some seconds later the tentacles suddenly disappear finally releasing everyone!
A few seconds more and the cloud dissipates, and while Kikinnin and JJ keep attempting to break the solid wall of force between them, the surface disappears too allowing the group to finally, happily, reunite themselves!
Although the naga bones are naked, the half-orc had some equipment.
potion of cure serious wounds
+1 full plate
+1 amulet of natural armor
+1 greataxe
throwing axes (2)
magical belt
cloak of resistance +1
250 gp
belt of giant strength +2
Kikinnin's bull's strength spell comes to an end.
According to what you read about the Soul Pillars this columns with tortured creatures must be some of those mythical artifacts. Your readings impart you the knowledge of the ritual required to use the pillars. One of you could devote the required time if you wanted to use them now.
"I n-n-never want to s-s-see another t-t-tentacle for as long as I live," Marigold gasps as the naga's spells finally dissipate, allowing her and the rest of the group to reunite with JJ. Unable to stop herself she runs up and hugs her brother tight.
"I'm s-so glad you're okay! We c-couldn't get to you and th-then I c-couldn't see and I felt so s-s-sick..."
The halfling laughs weakly, wiping at her eyes. "B-but I shouldn't have w-w-worried, huh? You t-took care of yourself j-just f-fine."
"St-still...you're h-hurt and so are the r-rest of us. And Kythel! K-Kythel, s-s-sit down before you f-fall down! L-let me mend some of these w-wounds..."
"Th-there! That's a st-start. K-Kythel, do you need m-more healing from m-me or do you w-want to use your own m-magics?"
"Oh, I recognize that belt! It gives you the strength of a giant. I think Kikinnin and JJ probably have better, though."
______________
JJ offers Margild a big hug in return.
"I was so worried when I couldn't get into the corridor. All those tentacles...."
Looking at the pillar he asks "Do you think we can free the outsider trapped within it? Or is that even a good idea? Kikinnin, can you tell if the spirit within is good or evil?"
Kikinnin blinks deliberately to clear his eyes from the stinking cloud, doing his best not to rub his gloved fingers into his sockets. When his vision returns, he surveys the damage done.
"Sorry, Kythel. Had I known you were beaten so bad, I might have spent more time radiating Abadar's Healing, than wading through the black ropes. When we lose each other to sight, we should keep our voices raised." Kikinnin moves to Kythel, and lays a hand on the Pharasman's shoulder.
Moving into the room from which he was so hostilely denied, the black beard takes in the Pillars. He doesn't speak for a while, as his magical strength wears off, leaving him feeling drained, until Marigold's healing commences.
Kikinnin doesn't quite know if his Look will have anything to fixate on, given that the Pillars aren't People. At least, he prays to Abadar that they aren't considered as such...
After his initial observation, he turns to his companions. "Carin' Curl is proving to be more dangerous than any of our previous hunts. If we cluster, we're struck down like a wasp's nest. If we spread out, we're penned off like sheep to the slaughter. And we're moving forward blindly." Kikinnin turns back to the Pillars, a deep frown creasing his brow.
"For all we knew before we arrived, we've ended Fetor Abradius, one of the names we knew. We still have another name- Dittziss Bale. The undead lich dragon. It's in here, somewhere, with us." Kikinnin feels the power of Eldgammel still coursing, as well as the Aid still resting on his shoulders. He debates with himself for a moment, before bringing it to the Watchers.
"I still have some time with my blade made stronger, but a dragon is no little thing. I got lucky against the demodand, and JJ was isolated in his fight. Well done, by the way, JJ. I don't want to fight the dragon with anything less than our full strength. So, what do we think? Do we push on, or do we take some time to study the Pillars, and seek something we can use against the lich? I don't rightly know how I'd answer that, myself."
"I admit to feeling a tad fatigued myself." confesses JJ>
He turns to Kythel. "It was amazing... whenever I was wounded, it felt like .."
He shakes his head. "I don't know. It was almost as if Pharasma herself was lending me the life forces that the undead had taken from others, to help defeat it. My own heritage helped... but only partially. Nothing that undead monstrosity and its fiendish bodyguard did seemed to... work. Well, it did work, but it was liked I was wrapped in cotton, and their blows and spells had much of their impact absorbed."
Maxim nods at Kikinnin's words;
"Once again my Bror got the right o' it. We need to fight savvier, that much is sure. Had Surabar not won out in the end we'd have all been mighty easy pickings for them coils and those foes."
The gun-mage reaches for a stogie, attempting to straighten it out before lighting and puffing in thought;
"You pulpit preachers should know a thang or two on the lore o' undead lich wyrms no? What we facin' in this Dittziss Bale creature?"
He pauses, blowing a smoke ring as he dredges his own learnings...
:
"The S-Soul P-Pillars are b-basically divination artifacts, r-right? So we could t-try to learn s-something from them, b-but...I d-don't know, it s-seems dangerous, s-somehow. And w-wrong?"
Marigold gazes at the pillars, shivering as she thinks of what powers them - spirits of the outer planes, trapped ages and ages ago.
"We'd also n-need to f-figure out what to ask, even if we d-do try t-to use them..."
Kikinnin finds a dim aura of evilness around the pillars.
Maxim recalls what he and Marigold uncovered at the library about the bony dragon and Skie's advices about the philactery.
Meanwhile Marigold heals up the group.
You spend 10 minutes performing the ritual and attuning required.
Give me up to 5 yes or no questions and 2 Intelligence rolls.
"It radiates evil, but I suppose we shouldn't be surprised, given the horrors we've seen here, in these halls." Kikinnin eyes the ugliness of the surface of the Pillars, and waits to see what the others might do. There is black knowledge here, to be sure, but he's unsure of his mind's ability to process what might be learned.
"I won't judge any who seek to do what Fetor did, but we should take care, and respect the danger here." Kikinnin looks at Marigold and JJ, a little longer than the others. He's still unsure what to make of Kythel and his Pharasman ways, but he assumes the man would shy away from the touch of evil.
"I've had all I want to do with it, climbing over the pillar to get to that dead snake woman." shudders JJ.
"If one of you want to try, fine, but if it is evil, then I think we would be better to avoid it. " He thinks for a moment.
"Kikinnin, can you tell if it is the spirit within the pillar that is evil, or just the magic binding it? Did you get a sense of evil from the elven or dwarven spirits we met before? Surely the magic holding them must have been evil.." he starts to think... out loud.
Maxim enjoys his stogie and recounts the knowledge they gained earlier , then turns his attention to the pillars.
The gun-mage mulls the warnings from the others, then smiles wistfully;
'Y'all know I'm a scoundrel at heart. Ain't got the blessin's from on high that you pious lot have. Ah'm willin' to take me a gamble for the greater good..."
He cracks his knuckles as the end of his cheroot glows bright;
"So... What in the Nine Hells y'all want me to ask these fonts o' evil knowledge?"
"Maybe ask about the dragons phylactery? What is it and where is it? No point in going toe to toe with an undead dragon if he springs back into existence the moment we beat him."
He pauses to think. "Assuming we can beat him. I mean what is to stop him flying around dropping spells and acid on us until we are all dead? We need to think about that too."
Maxim would know that the questions must be yes or no questions.
Maxim pauses, puffing thoughtfully as he answers JJ;
"Answers'll likely be o' the yes an' no variety so alas locales o 'phylacteries an' such won't be revealed... We'll only get a pentad o' questions too, hence we need to be canny."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"That's going to l-limit our options a b-bit," Marigold sighs. "B-but m-maybe we're b-being a little sh-shortsighted...m-maybe we sh-should be asking about the C-Cagewrights or the p-people back in C-Cauldron. It m-might be a good way t-to confirm susp-p-picions about what they're up t-to or who's involved..."
______________
"Oh good thinking Marigold." gushes JJ.
He then pauses wondering what the most important question might be.
"What about the Blue Duke? We have not heard much of him. We could maybe ask if he is working for the Cagewrights?"
Kythel shrugs at Kikinnin, "Hard to even cry out with that noxious gas preventing breathing.
My wounds were more due to the spell link I placed with JJ than from the tentacles. I am glad that it worked so well! Had you fallen JJ I do not believe I would be here so the thanks goes less to me and more to your skill at arms.
I am running low on spells my friends. I believe I need to retain the extra water breathing spell in case we need to retreat from this place. That leaves me with little else moving forward..."
After that he remains silent as he has not been with the group to discover as much as they have about the plot the Watchers try to face down here. He does not look very comfortable "communing" with the idea of soul pillar.
Maxim extends his hands towards the pillars and starts to recite the words of the ritual as you found in the library. For a period of 10 minutes for each word you say, you see the figure of a face in the pillar to take life momentarily and perform a gesture. The words of power are precise, and the clear focus of the dwarf takes control of the pillars.
As the ritual advances you can see Maxim's skin becoming paler and colder to the touch, while the blond dwarf starts to hear tortured voices surrounding his mind.
When he starts posing the group's questions Maxim hears the responses in his head, imparting the knowledge of the ancient souls trapped here by the dreamweavers, and all they have learnt about the Cagewrights through their interactions with the Pillars. Yet for each response, Maxim feels the pain of a cruel death under his own skin.
"Are the Cagewrights trying to break Adimarchus out of Carceri?" yes
"Is the Blue Duke working with/for the Cagewrights?" yes
Three more responses are allowed for today...
Many of the Cauldron Watcher's spells fade back and disappear, the resist energy cold, aid and divine bond effects are gone.
Kythel is still considerably injured.
Kikinnin doesn't like the look of Maxim interacting with the Pillars. Now that he's engaged them, he worries about what remaining questions they can pose it. He barks out a couple of questions, not sure his friends will consider them worthy of asking the Pillars, but he doesn't want to take any more time than is necessary.
"Is the Blue Duke in Cauldron, as we speak?"
"Have we already met the Blue Duke, and didn't know it?"
Kikinnin broods a moment more.
"Bror, ask it if Vhalantru is working with the Cagewrights. Cauldron looks much worse under his rule, and a church in his city was corrupted with little resistance."
Given their delve, the black beard looks Kythel over, still injured. "If we need to rest, we need to secure ourselves some safety. Fetor's dead, the guardians up to this point are slain, and JJ cleared this chamber. We can defend ourselves... maybe back in Fetor's black mirror room? A door, a narrow hallway leading up. Yeah, maybe we should rest, before we take a stab at the dragon."
"Th-that all s-sounds like a g-good idea to m-me," Marigold nods, also clearly uneasy as she watches Maxim interact with the Pillars. "S-same for the questions. These P-Pillars are d-dangerous...I hope we d-don't have to use the m-more p-powerful ones..."
"Although more than a yes or a no would be good..." notes JJ.
"[b]I thought Vhalantru was one of the good guys?[/]b" says a confused JJ.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Focused in the ritual, Maxim merely nods to the other questions proposed. He poses the questions and you notice his breath creates a mist due to the coldness surrounding him.
"Is the Blue Duke in Cauldron, as we speak?" yes
"Have we already met the Blue Duke, and didn't know it?" yes
"Is Vhalantru working with the Cagewrights?" yes
Maxim muscles relax as the ritual ends and the tortured souls take distance from him once more. The arcane trickster feels tired and cold, but otherwise healthy.
Given the current situation the group retreats to the Scrying Chamber where the group found Fetor. The room is secured and watch turns are taken. While the group passes a tense night mulling the words revealed by Maxim's ritual with the minor Soul Pillars, the rest goes uneventful and you wake up, hungry, cold but rested and ready for more.
"G-Grimmer and grimmer b-but there's not m-much we can do about it n-now except p-press on," Marigold sighs when the group rouses themselves after their rest. "M-Maybe we'll be able to f-find more p-proof of things the f-further in we g-go..."
The night before, Kikinnin paces the Scrying Chamber like a fat tiger. He didn't quite know why he felt the need to ask the questions he did, but it drove the point home that they were still blind to the forces controlling the dragonchess board.
Kikinnin makes his way over to the Scrying Mirror. "We should use this, I think." He gives Maxim a steady look, before putting his hands on the surface, and closing his eyes to think.
The black beard makes a list in his head, and begins Scrying, like his life depended on it.
He thinks on the Blue Duke, though he knows only so much as the others have related.
Next, Vhalantru.
"Celeste had to leave town to tend to an emergency, I am sorry for having to inform you..."
Kikinnin's next focus is Celeste.
Next, Gemma.
Next, Todd.
Next, every Shackleborn he can think on.
Lastly, he targets Xokek.
For the ones he can't snag, he looks to his fellow Watchers to try and, uh, Watch those he couldn't.
Maxim shivers a little and imbibes a shot (or three) of medicinal spirit to warm his belly and soul.
Grim-set the gun-mage offers up his flask to anyone who fancies a nip, before addressing the group at large;
"Hell's Teeth that's bitter news. Perhaps our elusive Blue Duke is Vhalantru hisself?'
Blonde beard watches Black as the warrior attempts to locate friends, foes and those whose unknown...
"Ware Bror... these items can oft work both ways..."
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
While you ready yourselves to rest, Kikinnin places his hands on the freezing scrying device. For an hour he focuses on finding the Blue Duke. Ultimately the group does not know how he does look, and trying to find him by reference finally fails.
Next, Kikinnin devotes another hour to the scrying device focusing on Vhalantru. Despite he is familiar with the nobleman, his location continuously eludes the dwarf, as if he was protected by some magic.
Resolved, Kikinnin focuses once more on the device, this time trying to locate Celeste. This time, after an hour of atonement, an image starts to form in the ice and you are able to witness Celeste's surroundings, although to your surprise, you see a framed picture of Celeste where it should be the woman:
The picture depicts the beautiful but horrified blonde woman imprisoned in a metal cage that looks almost as if it were made of iron ribs and adamantine skulls. Around the picture you see a room whose walls are carved with myriad bas-reliefs depicting various Darklands creatures and terrains. The hall also holds an impressive collection of monstrous statues, arranged in a semi-circle and all very lifelike. The picture is on an archway that leads to a perfectly circular corridor and in front of the picture, at the other wall, there is another painting that depicts what looks like Cauldron under a burning sky. The image is quite and silent, perfectly still for about 15 minutes, then you witness a shadow flying through the circular corridor just before the beholder that took Terrem appears! The eyed orb floats through the hall and disappears after moving out the image range! The hall is quite and still for the remaining 5 minutes before the effect ends.
Deprived of the power for the day the device remains useless, but the next day after you wake up, Kikinnin sets himself for another 3 more sessions of scrying.
After another hour of looking through, Kikinnin finally finds his sister:
Gemma sits in St. Cuthbert's library, sit on a table studying hard. At some point she raises his head and smiles. She starts talking with someone about the day. The person closes up and you see Ryan much recovered and points Gemma about some pages on the nature of dragons the girl seems interested. Then, the man suddenly looks directly at you and states someone is spying at them. He starts casting and the connection suddenly closes, the image disappearing
As for Todd Vanderboren, the device works once more after one hour of concentration:
The laying corpse is accompanied by some Abadar acolytes. You recognize some of them. Rufus Laro appears and explains the acolytes that the Vanderboren have provided the materials and paid the church and Jenya will soon perform the rites to see the young man raised. Rufus imparts orders about how the ritual will work. Short before the spell ends Rufus has finished giving orders and the acolytes continue working with the corpse.
As for Terrem, if the device is able to find him, it is clear the boy does not want to be found after an hour of work.
The device shuts down, once more deprived of its daily capabilities.
Kythel rests and when he wakes, adjusts his spells based upon the nature of the foes faced thus far.
"Ware Bror... these items can oft work both ways..."
Kikinnin nods, though he doesn't look away from the Mirror. "Maybe it's about time they felt us, Watchin' them."
After Scrying Celeste, Kikinnin pauses, trying to understand what they were looking at. "So, she's trapped. That's not just a picture of her, that's her. The Mirror understands that much. Vhalantru lied to us about her. Maybe the eye creature works for him, and took her, like it took Terrem. Maybe..." Kikinnin doesn't finish the thought that tangles in his mind. There's more to it than just the fifteen minutes they've witnessed.
"That's a hoot. The Watcher back in Cauldron felt us Watching. It's good to see Ryan. Looks almost normal, doing his priestly works. Seeing my søster and him, though... they're in Cauldron, as is the Blue Duke, and Vhalantru..." Gloved knuckles press into the smooth surface of the Mirror, anxiously.
Kikinnin tilts his head, when speaking directly to the others. "I didn't realize how much time that was going to take. I hope you agreed with most of my choices, but the Mirror'll wait for us to finish our commitment here, against the drac. Who else might we Scry, before we leave Carin' Curl?"
The black beard takes his time gathering the prayers to Abadar that should see them through the upcoming destruction. "We didn't lay eyes on Dittriss. Suppose we'd just see what it looks like, with little regard to its surrounds. No use regretting that now, I guess."
When they're all ready, Kikinnin follows towards the front, relieved that there are no Tentacles to harry them in their search.
"When we think we've arrived, I've got several protections from Abadar waiting to be cast. I'll try to cloak us against Cold, Acid, and Evil."
"N-no...your ch-choices made s-sense to me," Marigold replies solemnly. "I'm g-glad Ryan and your s-sister are all right at least, b-but...p-poor Celeste! We have to t-try and rescue her, if we c-can!"
"B-but...I know we n-need to finish our b-business here, f-first," she adds with a heavy sigh. "Whatever they w-want with her, h-hopefully it's enough for them to k-keep her alive."
As the group gets moving again, Marigold nods with understanding as talk turns to protections and wards. "M-my magics d-don't last long, as you kn-know. S-so r-right before we engage, or d-during battle, I'll w-work them."
Maxim nods his head in agreement at the strategm being mooted;
"Makes sense. I've enchantments for Surabar an' my Bror to augment their combative qualities. Also got a dispelling magic readied should the lad get beguiled again..."
The gun-mage flashes a hard smile toward JJ, then adds his final point;
"Listen. Iffin' things go south against this risen-drake then I got a spell that'll create a pea-super o' a fog. Nuthin' can move through it... living nor dead. We feel that turnin' tail is fir the best then I'll drop it betwixt us and the dracolich... Try to be on the right side when I do."
Short after the scrying session, the group completes their daily preparations and readies to continue the exploration of Karran-Kural. Kikinnin leads the way towards the corridor full of doors, this time without worrying about nasty black tentacles.
This long hallway is lined with numerous iron doors, each of which is choked over with ice.
Each door opens into a small cell that houses an empty spell weaver coffin; an empty cylindrical hole in the floor about five feet in diameter and eight feet deep. Other than this, the rooms are bare and featureless, except for a few of them where someone has recently stored mundane supplies like food, torches, frozen water and tools.
Moving forward you find another bifurcation. A corridor ahead has two doors, while a longer corridor to your left features a large quantity of lattices. At the end of the longer corridor, the dwarves with their darkvision, spot the shadow of a metallic door.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Another Fetor corridor. He blasted us from the doorway, while we chipped away at the Lattice. We should only let one of us in the corridor at a time, in case something wants to throw down at a distance."
"Bror, if we're headed at a drac, I don't want to be stuck on the ground with my Axe. Do you have enough of your magic to see me skyward? JJ's a monkey on the Pillars, and I'll not have another Iverson throwing magic at a distance with impunity."
If the Empty Coffins' doors open easily, then Kikinnin steps forward and opens each door, one at a time, expecting in this section of Karran Kural that the doors won't be locked. He's not interested in getting attacked from behind, before they take to the long hallway.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Maxim nods grimly as he walks, checking and reloading his pistols as he goes;
"Aye Bror. I've magicks to see you skyward, though you'll likely have all the grace of an anvil shot from a catapult."
He flashes a hard smile, then nods toward the doors;
"Hold. Let me check fir traps an' such afore we go opening them portals."
:
"I can't see that dragon wanting to fight us on the ground. I still have that flaming bow. Not that it is Alakast, but if worst comes to worst, maybe it will be a help in that type of fight. I'd prefer to be up, close and personal with it though." sighs JJ.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
"That anvil is gonna be launched at the drac, grace or no." Kikinnin watches as Maxim expertly examines the doors for signs of sabotage.
"I can't see that dragon wanting to fight us on the ground..."
Kikinnin thinks about the floor above, and their relative position in Karran Kural. "Big thing like that, then we're like to find it in a chamber suitable to its skill. Unless the spellweavers did us the favor of chaining it down, or even tucking it away in a coffin..."
Kikinnin looks down the too-long hallway. "You think it's trapped? Otherwise, I'd start smashing the Lattice, just to clear it away." The black beard continues to ponder the situation.
"It can't fit, could it? Unless its bones are snake-like... What if it's a big, bony dragon, and it can't follow us back into the corridor? Fetor knew we were coming down the hall, and blasted us for it. I don't want to make the same mistake twice, if I can help it."
While the way to go about the lattices is carefully planned, Maxim quickly searches for traps at the two doors in the shorter corridor and determines they are safe. Kikinnin proceeds to open them.
The original purpose for this chamber is unclear, but someone has been using it recently as a campsite. A simple bed sits against the wall opposite a desk and chair. Large stacks of paper are piled on the desk.
This bedroom has seen much more use than the corridor. You determine Fetor has been coming in and going out of this room by magical means only.
A quick glance at the notes here makes you understand these are the personal notes of Fetor Abradius. The wizard was using complicated language to write his stuff down, but the information here might prove paramount to understand the Soul Pillars and learn more about the Cagewrights.
This empty chamber contains an intricate pentagram carved into the stony floor and inlaid with some form of metal. The pentagram seems to be empty.
This circle is a permanent magic circle against evil, it can be easily used to bind outsiders called with the planar binding spell.
"Well, who ever lived here did a lot of walking around and not much travelling in the corridor. " summises JJ.
"So maybe this is a bolt hole for him, and he travels here and away by magic? Tends to suggest he didn't like the corridors, or didn't need them."
He peers at the piles of notes. "Hah, it is Fetor's room. I could learn a bit here..."
"If you want to stay and study the pillars, this looks more like my type of place. I bet these are in a code of some kind..."
"I can't see that dragon wanting to fight us on the ground. I still have that flaming bow. Not that it is Alakast, but if worst comes to worst, maybe it will be a help in that type of fight. I'd prefer to be up, close and personal with it though." sighs JJ.
Maxim pauses, tapping JJ's boots with his own, then nodding toward his cloak;
"Them purdy boots make ye jump better than a fairground flea, and that cloak means ye climb like a spider. O'er an above the drake lad, then drop down and give it hell... Kinda forlorn stunt I'd expect o' ye!"
He chuckles, then claps the young warrior's shoulder warmly.
The gun-mage pauses at the fell wizard's campsite, peering in the strewn notes as JJ attempts to make sense of them;
"What's the consensus? We hold fire an' study these or forge on an' find this deader-drake?"
Maxim moves into the chamber opposite - mindful of Kikinnin's tactical mind worrying about being taken by surprise from adjoining rooms and corridors;
:
He calls out to the others as the room's main feature eludes his ken;
"Got us a summoning circle in here. Ain't too sure on its nature, so anyone else is welcome to have a tilt at its purpose..."
"Um...I could t-try," Marigold offers as she moves into the chamber with Maxim. She carefully kneels down, studying the pentagram carved into the floor.
"O-oh! This c-circle is enchanted with a p-permanent ward against evil," she exclaims. "It's a p-perfect setup to b-bind outsiders called by way of Planar Binding. B-but it m-makes me wonder who or wh-what has been s-summoned lately..."
______________
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Marigold thinks the demodand could have been summoned and bound here.
JJ picks up Fetor's notes for later study.
Following with the group's strategy, Kikinnin breaks all the lattices in the corridor one by one with the help of others.
Short after you initiate your lattice destruction, you do reach the last door.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
JJ makes sure his jumpng boots and climbing cloak are securely attached.
Kythel remains quiet as his companions inspect the corridor and rooms. He does check the door for traps as well.
Perception (Find Traps)
"I suppose now is as good a time as any to heal myself and aid you all".