"Wonder what's behind them, that they are barred on this side... prisoners? or something that will try to kill us? or prisoners that will try to kill us?"
Price shoulders her bow then grasps her mace, frowning the whole time. "Then what are the holes for?" She chuckles mirthlessly, "Whatever hides behind the doors mashes us through the floor, like shoving a bulb through a garlic press?" She sighs. "Only one way to find out..."
Agnostic about the garlic press theory, Price cautiously steps into the room her mace ready to smash any surprise that comes her way.
Price steps into the room, scanning for any sign of danger. The room is empty. Nothing here. But something is not right. Where? Is that... beneath the floor... what is that?
There is some sort of fog or mist beneath the floor, barely visible through the holes but beginning to come up.
"To drain water, perhaps?" Affyria spies at the walls of the room, thinking. "Or perhaps some kind of elemental?" She squints, trying to see what dwells underneath the grated floor.
INeluki stands just outside the room ready to attack if anything actually does come up out of the holes in the floor.
Asturu draws his rapier and readies himself for what is to come. If the message of predestination above the door is to be believed, conflict is coming. "Does anyone have a source of fire at hand? 'Burn thy adversary to ashes' .. I reckon it ain't one of the doors the text was refering to.""
-------------------
Rising up through the holes in the floor near Timo and Price comes cloud of crimson vapor. A coppery stench fills the air. Though unsure what it may be, the inquisitor still swings her club. A hissing screech cuts through the air and then the vapor surges forth, billowing up into a nearly coherent shape of vapor as a tendril sweeps out at Timo. In its wake, bruises bruises form across the tiefling's body... his blood literally being sucked through his skin.
HP: -3
Price watches the creature flow around her mace blow, "WHAT... by Asmodeus'-three-pronged-pecker... is that?!" She studies the creature closely as she shifts to flank the beast with Timo and smash it again.
Price is at a loss as to what this thing might be.
Timo curses as he sees something pull his insides out yet again. "For F%$ks sake... can I keep the insides of my body on the inside?"
Unsure of the effectiveness of his blade he swings out at the creature anyways.
Ineluki pulls out an alchemist fire and throws it at the creature, hoping his friends don't get hurt much by the proximity.
Affyria takes up position next to Timo, and swings her mace at the creature. "Fire is, unfortunately, not yet within my purview."
Asturu enters the room and studies the beast, giving his allies the room they need to and fight it and if possible put burning solutions to use.
Daidalos narrows his eyes, trying to think of what the thing might be, and what its weaknesses might be. While he's not sure if it will do anything, he fires a crossbow at the thing, doubting that ice would kill something weak to fire.
However, his attack whizzes through the empty space where the globe once sat.
Daidalos recognizes the fiend before them... it's a vampiric mist. Despite the nomenclature, it is not undead but rather an aberration.
"It's a vampiric mist!" Daidalos calls out, "Be careful. It's not undead, but it will still drain your blood for its own energy. It's also resistant to physical attacks, so keep that in mind."
Price: Attack and hit with Mace. 11 damage before DR
Timo: Attack and miss.
Luke: Throw alchemists fire. Miss. Counting clockwise from square closest to thrower, "5" lands in square to east, splashing all four melee combatants.
Affyria: Attack and miss.
Asturu: Study situation
Daidalos: Attack and miss.
Price swings her mace again and the strike elicits another hissing wail from the creature. Though enraged, the creature seems to begin acting with greater care and manages to avoid or deflect every other attack. Luke, trying to burn it, throws a vial of alchemists fire but his aim goes wide and winds up splashing all of the combatants. Grumblejack begins making his way into the room but, having to squeeze through the door, isn't able to attack.
The mist screeches again, this time in anger rather than pain. It swipes now at Price as it pulls back towards the northern door .
One of the misty tendrils passes through Price's shoulder, leaving a nasty bruise and trickles of blood.
Timo: -4
Price: -4
HP: -3 (from previous round); -6 (11 from Price reduced by DR 5); -1 (from fire); heals +5 = -5
- Mist Attacks Price
- Villains Go!
Daidalos tries to get a clear shot as he switches his crossbow to his off hand, and sends a freezing ray of cold at the mist.
Seeing Price getting attacked by the creature, Timo literally growls at it, "Enough!!" Timo then palms the vial of alchemist fire and goes after the creature with reckless abandon.
Price draws back from the blood siphoning attack at her shoulder. It seems the catalyst for a change in tactic. She steps away from the creature, draws her last Alchemist's Fire, and hurls it at the heart of the beast. "Suck on this!"
Affyria swings her mace at the red dust creature again.
Asturu steps on in and puts his efforts into helping Price defend herself against this vampiric abomination.
Daidalos: Ray of Frost, hits!
Timo: Flaming fist of doom. MISS! DOH!
Price: "I say we nuke the site from orbit." Hit!
Affyria: Swing and
Asturu: Aid another
Luke (botting): Sonic Attack (to be resolved below) - Miss-
Grumblejack: Attack - BAM!
Chaos reigns in the chamber as fire and ice and sonic blasts begin to ricochet. Daidalos fires off a well-aimed frost blast, though the minor magic does only minimal damage against the creature. Timo leaps forward looking all the part of a madman with a volatile explosive in hand; despite his determination, the creature manages to slip out of the tiefling's path, but the move only brings it right into Price's throw. A foul stench begins to fill the room as the creature wails, the bloody vapor cooking off in the flames.
Affyria uses the moment, aided by Asturu, to land another strike with her mace, pulling beginning to pull the mist apart as it loses cohesion. Luke's sonic blast goes wide in the chaos and, into the frey, comes the ogre. With a roar that practically shakes the stone walls, he swings his newly acquired greatsword down on the vampiric mist. An altogether unnatural screech comes from the mist as the blade slices through it. Sparks fly where the blade catches stone.
And then... it falls silent. The mist stops moving with any degree of focus and begins to disperse, droplets of blood falling out of the mist and splattering against the stone floor.
Grumblejack lifts the point of his sword back up, eyeing the space where the mist had been only seconds ago, and grunts. "Grumblejack start wonder if this good idea. Me think someone try to kill you with this test." He hefts the blade back over his shoulder, then looks at Timo. "If you die, can Grumblejack have all your stuff?"
Hit Points: -5, -2 (Frost Ray), -7x1.5=10 (Price's fire), -8-5=-3 (Affyria's mace), -17-5=-12 (Grumblejack) = -32 DEAD!
Price wobbles on her feet , due to blood loss. She quickly casts a healing spell on herself and then starts binding Timo's wounds as her own wounds knit. She chuckles at Grumblejack's question, adding playfully. "Hey! If that's your way of literally getting into his pants... get in line."
"Hah, quite a show, Grumblejack. You are mighty indeed. And yes, some of these trials appear to be quite lethal," Affyria glances at the blood splatters.
She then grips her Asmodean symbol, and a wave of energy floods the chamber.
Grumblejack looks at Price with confusion evident on his face. "Why Grumblejack want his pants? Just sword. Make good toothpick." He shrugs, shakes his head as he steps out of the way and into a corner, and mutters something in ogre.
The Inquisitor examines the doors, looking for clues as to which one is the right path.
Price examines the doors, finding neither to be trapped. You should also have no trouble lifting the bars; though heavy, they could be removed some moderate effort . There are no inscriptions above either door.
Price unbars the first door and checks it out.
Price unbars the northern door, revealing a short passage. At the end is another wooden door. Unsurprisingly, there is another inscription above the door:
"Cruelty is not a pastime. Be ruthless to thy enemy but reward those who serve thee well."
Price reads the inscription aloud for those without enhanced vision. She looks to her allies, "Shall we see what's behind the other door first or participate in this lesson about cruelty?"
Daidalos narrows his eyes at the sign, "Hmmm... cruelty and rewarding those who serve you? I sense a more... subtle test ahead. Might I suggest that we all veil ourselves, to avoid tipping our hand? The fiendishly spiked armor may work against diplomacy in this situation."
He looks at Price, "I think you know my vote. This would seem to be the correct path."
"It could be that both doors are correct. Before, it seemed there was only one right path because the clue was about deception. Here, we don't have that. I'm in favor of opening that other door first - just to see what's there - and then try the cruelty door. I think your idea about looking innocuous makes sense. Looking like Tiadora hasn't helped me at all." Price waves away the illusion and resumes looking like her normal, forgettable, self.
Affyria pulls out her dagger, cuts her arm again, and anoints Timo's forehead with a drop of her blood, accompanied by an incantation.
Affyria nods at Daidalos' suggestion. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea. First impressions, and all that." Affyria then concentrates, and her appearance begins to shift, her facial features softening, hair growing, until she looks less like a devil-touched and more like a plain, waifish-looking girl.
"Let's see who's supposed to serve us," she says, moving towards the door with the inscription.
The aristocrat chuckles under his breath when Grumblejack utters some Ogrish philosophical ponderings.
When the discussion drifts as to what room to go to next, Asturu sides with those who want to go north. "It can't get much worse than this room's test, right?"
Decision made, Price moves up the corridor and checks the door to the 'Cruelty' room before opening it.
Price finds no traps on the door. Opening it reveals yet another 30x30 stone chamber. It contains a single object: a torturer's rack. It is functional and ready for use, but currently empty. The room is lit by an oil lantern hanging from the center of the room.
The inquisitor quips, "Oh, it's the bridal suite. How lovely." Seeing no obvious exits, Price starts searching for a hidden one.
Almost immediately, Price discovers a hidden door in the southwest corner of the room . Inspecting it for traps, she finds none. Listening at the slight gap in the mortar that alerted her to the secret, she hears on the other side... crying?
Crying? Price signals that she found a door, then gestures to Grumblejack to head back into the previous room, in case he sets the 'crier' into a full-fledged panic.
She whispers to the others, oddly disturbed, "I think I hear someone crying."