"Triel could have taken an extra wand on the sly."
"If we are to try that corridor, we should check there are not people on the other side again. I'd certainly put folk back into that if I knew we had been attacked here."
"Well, considering three of them died holing up there, whoever assigns posts to murder holes may have reconsidered."
Kikinnin continues opening doors in their current section of the Ruins, hoping that it will interconnect eventually.
"I w-wonder where she m-might've lost one..." Marigold ponders as they continue their slow search through the complex. "D-did she drop it in the w-water b-back at the beach or m-maybe into a crack somewhere in here? Th-this is an awfully b-big place to lose s-something that small..."
"There is the third person in this triumvirate..." reminds JJ.
"Perhaps he has the last wands."
Maxim nods, then offers another possibility with a hard smile;
"Or... It was stolen by someone or somethin' else... We seen the Kopru. Knocked heads with that spider thing... Plenty o' freaky denizens makin' here home... Hell's Teeth could be anywhere or stole by anythin'."
The gun-mage first jingles his belt pouch of coin, then taps his pistol;
"Jes' hope whatever's got it is reasonable or vulnerable..."
"Well then no time like the present to continue our search, should monetary negotiations be required master merchant you have my blessing." Ryan says with a wink to the spellslinger.
Following Kikinnin, he helps to finish clearing the rooms, circling back around to the main entrance if no other ingress is found, doubtful that the opposite room has been filled once again but willing to wait as the others check it once more.
Before they continue deeper into the complex.... "JJ, can you set something that will allow us to see if someone leaves by way of the main entrance. Wouldn't want to block it completely, never know if we may have to make a strategic withdrawal of our own. Would hate to run into a roadblock of our own making."
"I'm not really a trapsmith..." says JJ
"But I could maybe rig the cage so it wouldn't work easily. We just don't want it totally broken.."
"That will work as well, more just trying to make sure we can tell if anyone slips out behind us, if you disable the cage then the lake will tend to the other issue." Ryan admits, not having thought about the cage.
When Juraan enters the empty room to search it, he is almost to fall through the illusory floor in the center. Fortunately he perceives the strange difference in the floor and steps back.
Interacting with the floor revels it is an illusion, and ultimately you are able to see through into a pit filled with water.
When Ryan scans with his detect magic, he observes a moderate aura 7 or 8 inches long at the bottom of the water pit.
The aura is transmutation.
On the water you do observe diminutive transparent creatures, like a plasm.
The water in the pit is filled with a hungry swarm of blood bloater oozes. Bloodbloaters are Diminutive aquatic oozes that feed on blood. Individually they pose little threat, but they have a propensity to swarm in huge clouds of hungry protoplasm.
Kikinnin opens the northern door to a corridor.
"Is that about the size of a wand?" asks JJ.
Peering through the illusion he shudders. "Blood Bloater oozes. They are horrible things. I'd normally suggest fire on them, but with the water... I'm not sure if it would work. And we don't want to damage the wand..."
"Maxim, Juraan what do you see below right there?" Ryan ask pointing at the spot under the water
As JJ describes the blood bloaters..... "JJ do you think acid would have any effect on them?"
"Blood Bloater oozes. They are horrible things."
"No, really, what do you call them?" Kikinnin keeps his distance, looking through the doorway from the other room. He waffles on what to do, as he has no real suggestions. "Unbelievable. Why would Triel allow one of the wands to end up down there? Anyone seeking to retrieve it would have to endure... that's just mean."
Marigold calls upon a small bit of detection magic and studies the aura coming from the bottom of the pool closely for a few moments. "T-transmutation...that f-fits with the other w-wands..."
She looks up. "I'm almost p-positive it's our m-missing wand! As for the oozes...um, we've g-got some of the other wands already. Why n-not use one t-to lower the water level? Those things c-can't do as m-much damage out of water, right?"
Juraan was too preoccupied with avoiding the trap to think of the full details.
"I can give those nasties a blast of fire or acid, actually."
"Does anyone know which would be better?"
:
Maxim eyes the water and nods in agreement with JJ;
"Surabar's right enough. An ooze is fell news as they all err on the nastier side o' things... Spending a charge tae gain whatever is in their makes sense... Especially iffen its the errant wand?"
The gun-mage stops momentarily, then flashes a hard smile;
"Course I may have a solution that saves the wand's charge..."
He retrieves a scroll from his belt, unravelling it;
"Levitate enchantment. Can be used on folks an' objects... Reckon I can just raise it out o' the ooze pool, an' someone else snag it?"
"R-right...s-surely one c-charge won't m-make a difference," Marigold nods, eager to save themselves a fight if possible. "And if it d-does, heck we c-can p-pay them back for it s-somehow!"
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"Excellent idea Maxim, and Juraan, or JJ, with those slippers he was telling me about earlier can walk right up the wall and across the ceiling to retrieve it."
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Maxim calmly unfolds a scroll and starts casting the spell within. As the last arcane words complete, the scroll crumbles to dust.
Then, pointing at the aura at the bottom of the water pit, the dwarf makes an ascendant movement with his right hand. The aura starts to raise and a wand becomes visible through the shallow waters.
With a reversed blob, the wand makes his appearance into the room's air. It becomes a bit tricky to pull it from the center of the pit to the edge, but ultimately the group succeeds to pull it with weapon small strikes.
Once at hand, the wand looks of the same manufacture of the previously found.
You do confirm this is a control water wand with 50 charges.
Back into the exploration of the northern corridor, the group finds the door opens into another corridor full of more doors. No less than 6 new doors.
"Let's try that door to the right. That might lead back to the beach. And if Ryan is right about others trying to escape..."
He pauses.
"Isn't the last of the big three supposed to be undead now? They don't flee do they? Maybe it has living servants still... that vampire we fought certainly used living creatures."
JJ checks the door and then if there is nothing obvious, opens it.
When JJ opens the door a mechanical sound is heard. The floor of the room quickly retracts 6 inches down, revealing a forest of tiny spikes able to shred the sole of the foot of those standing inside the room.
"That would be nasty if we came from the other direction.." notes JJ, thankful they had not entered from that direction.
"Lets look further down here. And hope there are not more traps."
He goes carefully down the corridor, inspecting it as he goes.
Then double checks the first door he comes to
If nothing is discovered he tries opening it.
"Should be the right wand, but I'm not it is."
"Ugh...it's g-got bits of s-slime all over it," Marigold whines as she tries to examine the wand. "I c-can't tell what it's supposed to d-do..."
JJ opens the first door after careful inspection.
The room contains four small cages. Each can be locked with keys carried by Triel. They are all currently empty.
The next door to the right opens to another corridor with just one door at the end of it.
Meanwhile, you open the next door in the current corridor.
The room contains a desk, a chair, and a strange apparatus that looks like a wooden bed covered with various iron straps and spikes. The device
looks . . . uncomfortable.
Finally accessing to the last door in the corridor, you find out the door is secure too.
The rough, unfinished floor of the room seems to be pockmarked with hundreds of tiny holes drilled into the floor. There is no indication as to the purpose of these holes, but it must have taken someone months of mind-numbing work to drill them all.
Maxim examines the perforated floor with interest;
"Huh. Who knows what made these... either the holes serve a purpose, or they're a byproduct o' some other activity? A mighty laborious one at that!"
He leans closer to the holes, mindful that their purpose could be nefarious whilst curious if anything else can be discerned about their existence;
:
Kikinnin smiles proudly as another wand is retrieved from ooze pool, avoiding the bloody complications. As the party continues to open doors, the black-beard becomes a little more cautious, as the northern entrance proves a deadly little welcome. Working back down the hallway, he debates walking across the unfinished floor full of holes. He stands by the doorway, waiting to see which way rabbit JJ runs.
As Maxim looks over the floor, Kikinnin joins him, if only to spy the stonework. As Maxim's backside keeps obstructing his view, Kikinnin gives up without much fight.
Juraan considers at the holes in the floor (K45)
"Drainage of some sort?"
"Draining a lot blood or water comes to mind down here."
"Either that or it's another nasty trap."
JJ remembers the vampire the group fought.
"Or there may be another vampire hidden down there... Didn't that journal say something about one of the leaders becoming undead. Maybe he got the bugbear to bite him..."
After some good dwarven specialist inspection, Maxim concludes whatever the holes are for, it is some not concluded work.
Juraan appreciates the holes fit with the kind of trap you just found in the northern entrance where spikes appeared after the floor receded.
Kikinnin skirts the hole-filled floor, angling towards the door on the other side of the room, checking the door himself. He hopes to clear the room, so everyone can focus on the new hallway leading to the northwest.
Kikinnin moves uncontested through the room.
The door is not trapped (under Kikinnin's close inspection).
Looking over his shoulder, he makes sure there are eyes on his back, then he turns to open the door, and inspect the next room for more opposition.
Opening the door brings Kikinnin to yet another corridor. Once he reaches the next door and opens it a group of guards react to his movement with a welcoming draw of weapons "They are here! Triel was right! Protect the treasury!"
Earlier
Ryan inspects the new wand, noticing the similarities....
but not quite 100% sure.... "Well it could be one of them."
Current - Round 1
As Kikinnin opens the door and the sound of voices and steel rings in the air, cuts from the last fight make themselves known once more. Taking a moment to convert one of his spells, Ryan heals himself.
35/40hp
AC = 22
HP = 54/54
Weapon Equipped = MW Dwarven Greataxe
Condition(s) = None
Kikinnin steps through the doorway, instantly aware that another gaggle of hillfolk require expunging from the ruins. He announces their presence with an axe swing.
"You need to start protecting your lives. Triel is dead. Surrender now, and we'll consider sparing your lives. If no, you'll soon feel our young swordsman's wrath. Mine is but a scratch, compared to him. Your choice."
Juraan goes up to the open door and fires an acid ray at one of the guards (green)
JJ dashes through the doorway to help Kikinnin.
His sword lashes out at the bandit in green.
Juraan shots an acid ray while Kikinnin and JJ go into the chamber before the hillfolk can really react.
Kikinnin's swing scratches the face of the one in green clothing.
Then, Juraan's acid ray hits the flatfooted man in the face, his skin melting horribly as he cries in pain.
JJ finishes the job with a well placed stab in the man's kidney.
Unable to hold the tide, the man falls to the ground!
"No! Eirlinaki!" shout their companions. They look at Kikinnin then "Liar! Triel is worthed ten time your swords!"
They attack ensemble with their longswords to Kikinnin as a response.
Two of the swords are deflected by the dwarven armor, but another one succeeds at bitting Kikinnin's skin.
The last hillman jumps in the back "Retreat to the tunnel before we get trapped here!"
Ryan casts a spell calling for Abadar's mercy and some of his wounds quickly disappear.
As the melee presses inside the room, Maxim holds near the door.
He holsters pistol, and draws his shortsword afore awaiting an opportunity to step in to the scrap.
Juraan runs into the room and, standing over the fallen guard, starts casting a spell:
« ברענען זויער הענט »
Maxim readies his shortsword while Juraan enters the room to cast a spell.
The hillman swings in the air nervously as jets of flames spring from Juraan's hands engulfing all the guards!
The men start shouting as their skin gets attached to their clothes due to the terrible heat!
Ryan moves to the doorway, looking in the room. "Son of Malachite, may your blade be sharp and your arm strong!"
inspiring word 1 of 7, +2 for 2 rounds to attack, save and skill checks
JJ seizes the opportunity presented by the flames and presses the attack on the distracted men.
"Flee, like the rats you are!"
The first blow is the worst that anyone has seen for a long time. The Hillman laughs, but it seems that folly is followed by genius, or it was the best feint of all time. JJ's old family sword sinks cold iron into the stomach of the bandit in white, sending blood and guts everywhere.
AC = 22
HP = /54
Weapon Equipped = MW Dwarven Greataxe
Condition(s) = Inspiring Words (+2 for 2 Rounds)
Kikinnin works towards the corner of the room, working Red, now that the man's been properly injured, and still fails to submit.
"They remain bold when they have the numbers, you've got to give them that."