"Maybe this room is cold because of it, and it's vulnerable to ice," Marvin mumbles in suggestion. "Still, that fungus isn't there by accident."
And, shouldering his crossbow, "...Any objections?"
Rose didn't seem bothered by the cold. At Marvin's question of shooting the stuff, she shrugged. "Fine by me."
"I see no gain in it, as mold does not bleed nor move. What good comes of wasting a crossbow bolt on something that will likely not even notice?"
"You really think they'd put in the effort of growing ordinary mold in this room?" Marvin asks, looking at Kelvar skeptically.
"I never said it was ordinary mold. I just don't believe shooting a crossbow at it will be effective. By all means, please, fire if you feel it will be useful."
The humans, including the slave Harker, feel the cold seeping into their bones the longer they stay here.
Feeling the cold begin to sting, Marvin decides to fire his crossbow at the mold from across the room.
A chunk is knocked off by the crossbow bolt and falls to the ground. The mold on the door begins to regrow the section that broke off.
"Hmm, it's an interesting possibility Marvin. The fungus could need heat to survive, so it could be drawing it in, leaving the room positively frigid. Sadly, this thing appears to be a dungeon creature, and other than our brief stay at Château Branderscar, I have little experience with such things." He gives the fungus a glare as though it had personally insulted him.
The Doctor then pulls out a vial of sky blue liquid with pearl swirls in it. "If this knocks me out, might I suggest force feeding me this vial? I'm going to attempt to face the mold's 'icy derision.' If this doesn't work, we can throw the gem at it." He then walks over to the door and attempts to open it. Hopefully this little gamble works, and I will have saved the alchemist's ice for later.
As the Doctor approaches the door the temperature drastically lowers the closer he gets to to it. He is determined to open the door however and despite the intense chill seeping into his bones and feeling what he knows to be the onset of hypothermia he grips the frozen door handle and turns it. Though stiff from the cold and the mold growing over the entire door a solid push opens the door to another hallway that turns directly to the left. The passage is open to pass through but the dangerous mold remains to absorb the life and heat of any passing close to it.
Talia will nod to the Doctor, acknowledging his determination. He showed grit for a human. She will then step forward cautiously.
"Well, good news, I'm not dead. Less good news, that was...rather tiring. I fear we might want to try the alchemist's ice since the moss was definitely trying to leech out all heat from my body."
The Doctor then pauses briefly to make sure everybody is clear before throwing the icy concoction at the moss.
Talia notices faded blood stains on the stones near the base of the other 2 doors where the 'herd' had clearly gone.
The jewel hits the mold and shatters, covering it in a spray of freezing liquid. It flash freezes and dies, warmth slowly returning to the room. You are no longer shivering. Even a light tap with a staff or other hard object causes that part of the mold to break off and shatter on the stone floor.
The moss isn't really dead. Since you realise it feeds on heat, it could be possibly be revived with the same.
Now the way is clear and everyone can proceed down the new hallway which after several left turns come to another door with yet another ominous inscription.
"If you require any healing, Doctor, I have a wand that will provide some assistance. It would be best to have you at your strongest."
Kelvar will take position behind Lady Rose, since the hallway isn't wide enough for him to walk up front with her and Talia.
The door is opened and the darkness rushes out to embrace and swallow you. The room beyond is completely dark. Not even the darkvision of Rose and Talia is able to penetrate the supernatural darkness. A hissing sound can be heard coming from inside but if it is a language you cannot understand it.
"If you require any healing, Doctor, I have a wand that will provide some assistance. It would be best to have you at your strongest."
The Doctor is about to politely decline when the unknown voice hisses at them. On second thought... "Given that it seems we must next 'burn our adversary' that seems like it might be a prudent course of action. Along with handing out these two things," he indicates both the earlier blue vial and pulls out a deep golden one. "If this is the wand you mentioned earlier, best to save the blue one for when we're in a bind, yes? The other should hopefully help preventing getting in the first place."
He then indicates the dark room. "Say, do you think yon lad or lass would be so kind as to repeat what was said? If so, I could whip up a little something to aid in understanding him or her. Though I'm afraid it won't be much help talking back should whomever it is only speak the one tongue."
The Doctor identifies the mysterious and rare Aklo language.
Spoken By Derro, inhuman or otherworldly monsters, evil fey.
This ancient tongue is spoken by strange eldritch entities, and certain ancient beings.
Marvin shrugs. "'Shatter all that blinds you,' right? Simplest interpretation is there's some sort of anti-lantern making all that darkness, and if we hit it with something shattering it'll go away. You got any potions that explode?"
She is ready to move in once the darkness ends. One day darkness will be no obstacle for her. "Something with fire, preferably."
"Very well, Doctor. You will need to expose a spot of bare skin, such as the palm of your hand." After he does so, Kelvar will draw forth the iron wand with its sharp tip and stab him there, drawing blood. The wound, however, quickly heals and the Doctor feels his strength return.
"We could perhaps blindly shoot an arrow in there. If we hit, that may break whatever causes the darkness as well."
"I could light one on fire, if anyone's got oil... but I'd need to know where to aim."
"An anti-lantern? So the darkness is just some kind of reverse light? Instead of breaking it, could we just throw a cloak over it and take it with us? I can think of all kinds of good uses for something like that." Rose said with a grin.
"Good idea." Talia will take off her cloak and hold it out in front of her, trying to find the source of the darkness. "Back me up if it attacks. If there's fire, don't worry about getting me in the blast."
With that, she'll enter and try to find the source.
Talia carefully moves into the room with the cloak. It's so dark she can't even see the nose on her face. Several steps into the room you bump into a waist high column. Something on top of it wobbles. As you throw the cloak over it wondering if it might be the source, the hissing sound returns, this time beside you. You have successfully found the source of the room's darkness and your sight returns to you, so too does The Doctor's Ioun Torch shine into the room. It is another chamber shaped the same as the rest though the floor is different and has many tiny holes in it like a grate. A stone podium in the center rises to waist height and an unknown round object sits on top of it, covered by the cloak which, although thick, still lets through a small amount of darkness as if the light landing on it has difficulty returning to your eyes. There are 2 more doors in this room in the north and east walls.
Between Talia and her allies is an amorphous red mist-like form which doesn't seem to like you bringing light into its realm. Tendrils grow from it snaking quickly around your legs, searching for a spot of exposed skin. It finds some and like a needle pierces your skin and drains away your blood. Invigorated by its meal it sinks into the floor through the drain holes, out of sight for now.
"Guess we know what we're supposed to burn." Rose said looking at the grating in the floor. She pulled a stoppered skin from her satchel, along with a tinder twig.
"Indeed. I suspect cutting it may not prove useful. Still, I have a trick or two that might help if it doesn't burn easily."
Marvin points his stick at the ground, preparing a probably-useless blow against anything that pops up near him.
The Doctor nods his thanks to Kelvar as the numbness recedes from his extremities. Then he once again waves the two vials at people, holding both in one hand as he draws a third vial from a jacket pocket. This one appears mostly clear except at the bottom, where a number of small red rocks have sunken. He holds it in one hand, ready to shake it up and throw it when the red mist re-appears. "Luckily, I'm better with fire than ice. Though if anybody is missing a source of fire, I do have some incendiary bolts."
She strikes at the mist and steps to the side to try and draw it's attention away. Now that she can see it, she hopes to be able to sidestep it's draining touch.
Kelvar begins muttering words and moving his hand. Suddenly a dark, corrupted light appears around his hand, and sits there, waiting for release.
Talia turns and swings at the creature but it has sunk beneath the floor out of sight before she has a chance to strike. Everyone waits to see if the creature resurfaces and you don't have to wait long as it comes back up through the holes behind Talia again. The Doctor lets loose his bomb and scores a direct hit, part of its misty form burning away quickly, revealing it's vulnerability to fire. It hisses loudly in Aklo and attacks Talia again, easily finding more exposed flesh to drain blood from. It does not drain enough blood to heal from the burns though and seems slower than before, unable to disappear as quickly.
Talia staggers back through the door, keeping out of the Doctor's line of fire. "I think I need a little help."
The cold iron wand still held in his other hand, Kelvar will say, "This will hurt a bit." He then stabs Talia with the wand, drawing blood - but Talia feels rejuvenated and the wound quickly heals.
The Doctor waggles vials at Talia again. "Blue for some renewed vigor. Gold for defense against the thing." He then pulls out another clear vial with red rocks. He flicks his wrist a few times, causing the rocks to dissolve and the liquid to take on the same color as bubbles begin to form. He waits just a moment for the gas to build up inside the stoppered vial before throwing it once more at the creature. As soon as the glass shatters, the liquid explodes into red tendrils seeking out flesh to latch on to. Though clearly acting as a living fire, the red of the flames isn't the same as a regular fire. Instead, they're almost painfully bright, neon red.
Assuming it would retreat into it's grating if wounded enough, Rose squeezed her water skin and sent a strong, narrow stream of oil across, and into, the holes in the floor.
Marvin moves in and strikes the creature with his staff allowing Talia to retreat to Kelvar who stops her bleeding; he hits it but it almost seems to bounce off ineffectively only leaving a small imprint in its form. Rose's oil spreads across the floor and seeps through the holes. The Doctor stikes true again burning away more of the creatures body and also igniting the oil.
The creature hisses in fury again and turns to the new target, Marvin, but it fails to find any skin this time so retreats below the floor. It finds its home on fire and hurls profanities back up at you, unmistakable in any language.
Kelvar moves into the room and prepares to strike the creature with his spell once it surfaces again.
Rose sprayed more oil into the grating, spreading the flames in it's lair.
The Doctor cackles, a mad gleam in his eye as the creature retreats into its home only to be covered in yet more flames. It didn't matter that he couldn't understand the Aklo cursing; the language of pain was universal. He dramatically pulls out another vial and raises it above his head, prepared to strike at the creature once again. "Come out to play-ay." It would not escape the flames. Not in its home and not out.