There is only one thing in this room – a torturer’s rack. This cruel implement is functional and ready for use but currently empty. The chamber is lit by an oil lantern that hangs from the center of the room. There is nothing else obvious here.
Johann enters the room and looks around.
You find a secret door behind one wall and upon opening it find a brown haired man in the dress of a Mitran knight's squire cowering in a little alcove.
You also find a hidden door leading into the next room.
The Squire squeals as he sees you.
"Who are you?! What do you want?!"
Interesting, the Cardinal must have put him here to help us in some way. Given the Torturer rack it probably is information. We can always torture him if the friendly approach doesn't work but the other order is more challenging. Yanev smiles and turns to the others "We've found him." turning back to the man "We have been sent to rescue you. Are you alright?"
Annie skips on through the mist room. she pauses a bit to take a peek at the holes the mist went through.
just for fun she tosses a small ball of flame into the hole.
after that she catches up to the others.
She peers from behind the Doctor at the squire. why are you here? what happened to you? she asks. playing along with the good doctor.
she keeps one hand behind her back though as she speaks, preparing to lob some fire on the squire.
Johann also plays along, schooling his expression to look like a concerned old man.
A faint growl comes from the hole as Annie sends the flame down but nothing emerges.
"You've been sent to rescue me?!" The Squire cries in joy as the group speaks to him, then his face falls in suspicion. "Sent by who?"
"Yes, the local constabulary sent us. But more importantly are you alright? Can you walk?" The doctor asks.
"Yes." The Squire responds. "Let's get out of here!" He says, looking relieved.
"We have to go through the rest of this place first, however," Johann reminds. "There may be others here."
"I'll just go the way you came from, it's safe right?" The Squire inquires.
"I would not advise that. There may be traps and dangers still active, and I know for sure that there lies a likely very dangerous mist whose language we have not been able to discern in the previous room."
The Squire looks nervous. "I'm not sure if you all will want to move forward in this dungeon either though, I overheard some voices talking when I was hiding and they said that there were deadly snakes made of metal hunting in the next room. Pehaps we should just flee? I doubt anyone but myself is alive down here anyway."
The doctor nods "Smart, look out for your own survival first. However we have been paid well to search this whole place and I don't break my word. So you say there are metal snakes in the next room, who was talking of this? Can we assume to have to fight them too? Do you know anything else that we might face?"
"I'm not sure who was talking, except that it was a man and a woman having a conversation, they also said there is something that shrieks when light or movement comes near it and that four drowned men will arise when it does." The Squire says, wringing his hands. "Also something about a secret exit across from a staircase."
"Is there anything else you might have overheard?" Johann asks the boy. "I'd ask you to stay here while we go forward, but that carries a risk too. Better for you to stick close."
He then addresses the party. "Metal snakes... does that sound familiar to anyone? Hm.... Snakes made of metal could be some sort of underground creature or construct. Something that shrieks from light or movement... there are many things that could fit that description, but perhaps something that lives underground due to the reaction to light? As for the four drowned men rising, those might be undead." He tries to recall anything more specific that could fit those descriptions.
"Let's just focus on the snakes made of metal in the next room for now. My best plan is to summon something and let them go first while we try to take them down."
"I am sorry I didn't hear anything else." The Squire confesses.
The Mithral Cobra is a simple construct that resembles a hooded cobra made out of metal. The Mithral Cobra is typically used as a bodyguard or guardian of treasure, though its magical ability to unerringly locate creatures means it is also used as an assassin. Since an Mithral Cobra's poison reservoir can contain multiple types of venom, the construct's specific use can be further tailored by varying the poison used. Some spellcasters even fill these reservoirs with potions, so that when the cobra bites, it injects the potion into its target. This is a somewhat dangerous method for gaining the effects of a potion, but it does free up the cobra's master to do other things in a combat round apart from quaffing potions.
Johann informs the others of what he knows about the metal snakes and the drowned men, but admits he isn't familiar with the shrieking thing.
"So best not get close to either of them. Shall we go?"
"Not sure we'll have a choice. Unless you have a way for keeping them back." Yanev says getting out a few potions and drinking them.
temporary Hp (for 4 hours or until used up)
Strength Mutagen (40 minutes)
Shield (4 minutes)
Then drawing his spear he leads to the next door.
Johann follows, ready to perform a summoning at any moment.
Yanev nods to Johann [b]"I'll give you a 10 second count done, on zero I'll open the door and you summon through it. 10. 9..." At zero he flings to door open.
Johann summons a fiendish pony into the room, letting it draw all attention.
The next door has the inscription; “The chosen are revealed by their might. The weak deserve no sympathy.”
Entering the room you find a bare chamber lit with a single overhanging lantern and little else besides dust, on the south wall is a barred door.
In the center of the room, thirty feet away, are a pair of mithral cobras, hissing with a metallic rattle and moving to attack.
Johann immediately does as he stated, summoning a pony directly behind the ponies to help flank the cobras, and to draw attacks.
Yanev allows the pony to close then movies to within 10 ft of the nearest cobra and thrusts at it with his spear.
As the pony flanks, the good doctor sinks his spear into the nearest cobra. The blow sparks and meets much resistance on the metal hide but still punches through.
Both Cobras retaliate against the Good Doctor.
Neither proves capable of harming Yanev.
The pony strikes with both hooves against the cobra the doctor injured, unable to do much but providing a distraction and a tempting target.
Meanwhile, Johann evokes magical energy into two darts before directing them at the damaged cobra.
Yanev drops his spear and pulls out his morning star and brings it down on the head of the damaged creature.
"Once we have dealt with the first one leave the second and I'll try to capture it." Yanev says.
The magic missile and morning star combo spell the end for one Cobra whom shatters into pieces but the second lunges for the Doctor again.
It barely misses.
The pony continues to flank for Yanev as Johann pulls his hands into his robes. "I'm sure you know what you're doing."
Yanev drops his morning star and reaches out to grab the snake.
The Cobra snaps at the Doctor.
But fails to land a blow.
The snake makes another snapping lunge.
But can't get its teeth around him.
Grumbling the doctor takes a step back and pulls a flask from his belt and drinks it. He grows in size to fill the space he stepped out of.
"Get something to tie thing up with." He says in deep bass voice.
Reaching out with his now huge hands he tries to grab the snake again.
Johann isn't carrying any rope and tries to think of where he can get something to substitute.
The snake keeps attacking Yanev.
Before Yanev successfully grapples the construct.
Annie tried her best to stay away from the big metal snakes. there was no time to get Tibbers to help right now.
Annie's hands are suddenly engulfed in flames as she steps into view of the snakes.
she lets loos a bolt of fire
she quickly follows suit with another
Johann warns Annabelle before she goes wild. "Your fire might, ah, damage the material you know...."
Yanev will try to pin the snake to allow the others to restrain it more permanently.
Once Johann has bound the creature he'll take a moment to get out is manacles (masterwork) and lock and see if there is anything he can do with them to secure the snake more securely. In addition he'll rip some fabric in a long strip off his tunic to wrap up it's mouth and face. he bends and scoops up the remains of the other snake and hands them to squire "Carry these, and be careful not to drop them. They are evidence of what we had to face down here." he says kind but firm voice.
Once done he looks for ways out of the room.
Annie restrains herself from blindly blasting things.
soooo, what we gonna do now? I can still blast things if you want me to.
Annie looks for an exit to move forward.
"From the sounds of it we'll have some undead soon, I personally have no problem with you blasting them. The snake is likely more expensive and more useful than most undead."
Having secured the snakes, living and dead, the party moves on.
This exit also bears an inscription: “Suffer not the fool. Stupidity is our faith’s cardinal sin.”
Beyond is a square chamber with a podium in its center. The chamber is lit only by a hanging oil lantern. Upon the podium lies a pendant of silver -- a dragon with sapphire eyes.
To the east a wide staircase climbs to the next room.