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Acidios pale complexion began to turn red as he continued yelling, the pitch in his voice gradually becoming higher and higher.
COME ON LISBETH! YOUR JUST HELPING BARLOWS MOCKERY THAT I LOOK LIKE THESE VERMIN! AND I AM NOT SQUEAKY BARLOW, I'M FIERCE!
Acidos, full of rage, infuses his sword and hand with magical energy as he steps forward to attack the closest rat.
Lisbeth bursts out laughing at angry squeaking from Acidios (or at least she was fairly sure it was Acidios). "Acidios, that is truly pathetic!" When Acidios swings and misses, Lisbeth begins laughing so hard that she can't hang onto the rope any longer. She is still laughing as she falls to the ground.
She manages to land on her feet, but she felt something pop ominously in her left ankle.
That really hurt...
It smelled down here, horrendously so. Lisbeth draws her daggers and stabs with her main hand toward the closest rat.
Laughing at Acidios' outburst, Barlow tries to shake the rat off of his leg.
Get off of me, you disgusting vermin!
He shakes his leg around quickly and, unable to remove the rat, decides to kill the pest.
As he feels the skull of the rat yield under his weapon he smiles widely.
No more of that. And little one, you should really take some tips on stress management from me. Just hit things and you'll feel better.
Barlow laughs loudly as he turns toward the next rat in his path.
The rats each attempt to take a bite out of their attackers.
The first rat tries to bite barlow only to be stopped by a boot. The second rat latches onto the calf of Acidios and tears a big chunk out.
The rats turn and flee climbing down the side of the ledge.
Barlow swings toward the creature but, hearing a high pitched squeal, gets distracted and stumbles.
What the...?!
Acidios with all of his might slashes down and chops the head of the rat off. The body goes rolling over the cliff and the head rests at Acidos' feet. Barlow tries to smash the rat running from him only to hit the ground destroying the bones resting on the ledge.
with the rats gone the silent depths of the switch back stairs lay before you. At the edge of sight, a fortress top emerges from the darkness. The subterranean citadel, though impressive, seems long forgotten, if the lightless windows, cracked crenallations, and leaning towers are any indication. All is quiet, though a cold breeze blows up from below, bringing with it the scent of dust and a faint trace of rot.
Without the rats to distract him, Barlow looks out from the stairs to see the citadel. He stretches his arms out and then grunts.
Looks like we found it. I'm hungry. Is anyone else hungry?
He looks at the dead rats, eying them curiously; seeming as if he is weighing his options.
Probably not worth the sick stomach later. And not for me, for you two. He points at Acidos and Lisbeth in turn. You would not enjoy the smell I don't think.
With that he readies his Earthbreaker and heads toward the stairway leading down.
"Hmph..." Lisbeth sighs. "Stinks far too much to want to eat anything really, don't know how you're managing hunger at this point, Barlow. Nevermind the fact that you'd just eaten, too, but I suppose that doesn't surprise me." Feigning disgust, Lisbeth steps past Acidios toward the stairs. Her ankle was hurting mildly, and Lisbeth attempts to walk on it as though nothing happened. Perhaps it was just a small twist and it would work itself out.
The Fetchling folds her arms and stands at the top of the stairs, looking down over the citadel. It looked ominous and foreboding, and if the Goblins hadn't completely ransacked all the valuables from it, the three of them could likely make a killing.
I'm a growing boy, Lissie.
He nudges her shoulder playfully as she walks past him to the head of the stairs, careful to nudge her in the direction of he land, instead of out towards the edge of the ravine.
Let's head down, I want to get back as soon as we can. I think I'm going to get a nice, fat, spit-roasted hog when we get back. Mmmm I can almost taste it already.
His mouth is visibly salivating as he thinks of his future meal. After a moment of day dreaming he shakes his head, clearing it of all the food it could be imagining, and sidesteps past Lisbeth and begins his descent down the stairs; knowing that should something come at them, he should be in the lead to take the brunt of the attack and keep his party safe.
The narrow stairs empty into a small courtyard, apparently the top of what was once a crenellated battlement. The buried citadel has sunk so far into the earth that the battlement is now level with the surrounding cavern floor. The floor stretches away to the north and south, and it is apparently composed of a layer of treacherous, crumbled masonry, which reaches to an unknown depth. To the west looms the surviving structure of what must be the Sunless Citadel. A tower stands on the wets side of the courtyard. A door leads into the tower.
His tracking senses kicking in, he goes into hunt mode. He looks for any sign of the people they were sent here to find.
"Mmph!" Lisbeth can't help but grunt as Barlow nudges her. He honestly must not know his own strength. It didn't help that she was also rather petite as well. Not as petite as Acidios, however, who was currently hacking the rats body to pieces with a disturbing frenzy. Casting a judgmentally disgusted look on Acidios, she followed behind him and Barlow, feeling comforted and somewhat at home in the darkness that began to surround them.
Not quite being able to discern one set of tracks from another, Barlow quickly dismisses this area from his interest. He walks forward towards the door in front of him, assuming that is where the party must have gone.
"You shouldn't be so hateful toward your own kind," Lisbeth muses as she follows the pair.
HAHAHA!
Barlow doubles over with laughter at Lisbeth's comment.
Barlow walks up to the door and a trap opens beneath him. Falling 15 feet down into a pit. Disappearing from sight.
The rat tries to bite your face but you mange to dodge it using the dead goblins body as a shield.
Of course, small one. If you promise to catch it, I will throw it to you.
"No!" Lisbeth gasps in shock as Barlow falls, the sound of him hitting the ground coming too far after he disappeared from sight to mean anything good. She hurries to the edge, standing next to Acidios. She peers over the edge, barely able to see him among a pile of corpses in the pit. "You IDIOT!" she hisses, disguising her fear with anger. "You can't watch where you're going?!"
I blame you, Lissie. You distracted me! I can't help but not pay attention when we're making fun of the small one
Seeing the rat readying its attack again, he turns his attention to it instead of the party's goading. He quickly regains his footing and pulls his weapon back, readying a heavy swing with both hands.
Having had enough practice killing these rats today, Barlow easily dismisses this new threat. Looking up at Acidios, his face pulls into a wide grin; obviously thinking of something mischievous.
Here you go, small one. I'm keeping my word.
Barlow slings his Earthbreaker to his back again and picks up the Dire Rat corpse from the ground; hoisting it over his head. He takes aim at the Gnome and chucks the body towards him.
Barlow finishes off the rat as quick as it started. Picking up the body and hurling it at Acidios. hitting him square in the chest.
Oh, you meant the live rat? I can throw a live rat at you next time.
Barlow chuckles heartily and begins to dust off his hide shirt.
Lisbeth rolls her eyes and scoots away from the foul smelling corpse. "When you two are done flirting, do you see a way out of there, Barlow? Or do 'Squeak' and I have to haul your arse out of the hole, a feat we all know, is likely impossible?"
Barlow looks around, gauging his surroundings.
No, I think I can manage myself, Lissie.
He goes toward the wall nearest the door he was attempting to go through and tries to climb up the wall.
When he gets to the top, he turns toward the party and bows low.
Majesties, would you like to make your way over the pit? You seem a bit standoffish.
Chuckling, Barlow stands up straight again.
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Acidios growls at Lisbeths comment.
Just you wait Lissie! First mistake you make, I'm going to give you the most humiliating nickname in history! My wit has no contest! As for you Barlow, I'm calling you 'Pits' from now on.
He chuckles out loud at his own cleverness.
Lissie has a point though, how are we going to get you out of... oh... you can climb. Good work Pits.
"How about you have a potion right quick before you hurt yourself," Lisbeth scolds. "You look awful." Turning her gaze to Acidios, she raises one eyebrow in a challenging smirk. "We'll see."
Potions are for the weak, I am hardier than that.
He looks pointedly at Acidios, winking at the Gnome and grinning wolfishly. He then turns around and looks into the next room. He takes a step in to give the other two room to step through as well, but taking care to watch his footing as he moves. He also searches for tracks of his quarry.
Come on you two, let's keep moving.
This circular area is cobbled with cracked granite, upon which sprawl four goblins, all apparently slain in combat. One stands with its back against the western wall, the killing spear still skewering it and holding it upright. three wooden doors lead off from this area. Above, a hollow tower of loose masonry reaches 30 feet, but the intervening floors and stairs are gone, except for a couple of crumbled ledges.
Lisbeth approaches the goblins warily and nudging the nearest one with her foot. "These fools look less than happy."
Once she felt safe that they were dead, she stooped and began to rummage through their belongings, looking for anything useful.
It appears these goblins have all been stripped of anything valuable.
Don't kid yourself, small one. It's okay to be weak. We need someone to make fun of, don't we Lissie?
He gestures his elbow towards Lisbeth when he says her name and then begins laughing. After Barlow has exhausted his laughter, he goes to check out the next rooms. He goes to a door and opens it, looking inside.
The masonry walls of this 20 foot wide hall are in poor repair. The far end is especially bad, as it has completely collapsed, filling the southern section with rubble. The western wall is in much better shape than the other walls, and it holds a stone door with a rearing dragon carved in relief upon it. The door contains a dingle keyhole, which is situated in the rearing dragons open mouth.
Yeah, yeah, Squeaky. I'm sure you found a spoon or something. Barlow waves a hand in the Gnome's direction. They have a serious rat problem in this place. I better be getting paid well to be their exterminator. Squeaky, come say goodbye to your brother before I kill him.
Barlow pulls out his Earthbreaker but holds his ground, not stepping toward the rat he sees at the end of this hallway. He seems to have learned his lesson about rushing into rooms before thoroughly checking them first.
Lisbeth snorts, but says nothing as she approaches the door to which Barlow had just stepped into. The whole place looked like it was ready to collapse. "Anything interesting, Acidios?"
Acidios opens the door and hears a click.
Instantly an tiny dart shoots into his shoulder.
You instantly feel poison entering your system.
This pocket chamber is damp and cold. The skeletons of three long-dead archers slump against rubble-filled arrow slits along the east and south wall.
Hearing Acidios' squeal, Lisbeth turns around and steps over to him. "Oh that's interesting... Secret door. Well done... hey... What's that in your shoulder? Did that just happen?"
Lisbeth glances into the room that opened up.