The second creature goes down under the combined sword blows. Ali rips another chunk from her opponent.
Kallie was grinning wildly now that she felt she was making a difference, until the sinspawn scrambling beneath the catwalk showed itself.
Without thinking, she summoned her flames again, throwing them at the oncoming enemy.
Only Sinspawn 2 and 4 are still active. Both are bleeding badly and strike ineffectually against their opponents
Muchorak will take a five foot step if needed to get to number 4 and strike at him with both blades...
Romon takes a moment to assess the situation.
Kallie's eyes were wide and wild now, faintly giggling from some mix of panic and manic glee. It's working! It's working! She pointed her shaking hand as best as she could at the beast still standing right before Marak and herself, unleashing her flame again.
Sinspawn 4 falls to the combined asault of Inikai, Marak and Muchorak Sinspawn 2 howls in pain as Ali tears its knee cap off.Kallies fire fired reflexivly, even though it was going down, scorches into the fallen Sinspawn preventing it from healing.
Romon picks his moment then plants a perfectly aimed thrown dagger into the last remaining foes eye and it falls off the catwalk,
It's the work of a few minutes to sear the wounds of the sinspawn so they cannot heal and take stock of the parties wounds.
"I am badly hurt here"Inikai says as he slumps to a seated position. "Who else is injured?" This last is spoken with detectable resentment in his voice. He fumbles about with his belt for the potion of healing. He does not drink it yet.
"We might have to retreat to gain respite. Marak Quan, Kali, how is your magical strength?"
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"We might have to retreat to gain respite. Marak Quan, Kali, how is your magical strength?"
"I have not yet tapped my magical resources," Marak admits, stepping forward and delivering a cure light wounds to Inikai. The positive energy feels like liquid fire entering Inikai's body, a surprising, but not painful, sensation.
Noticing that Ali is injured, and Inikai still has a visible wound, Marak grips the two-faced holy symbol at his neck and channels positive energy, to no great effect, and then again, to barely perceptibly better effect. Each channeling attempt feels like a warm breeze radiating out from Marak's person, a warmth that feels like standing in front of a roaring hearth, and one that leaves the side facing away from Marak feeling a sudden chill...
2, TWO!, healing to all in 30 ft. Mwa-ha-ha-ha!
He looks mildly annoyed at his holy symbol, gripping it more tightly and closing his eyes, and tries a third time.
Another 2 healing to all in 30 ft.
He let's the holy symbol thump back against his chest with a sour look, hand raised as if he'd just dropped a venomous snake. After a long breath, he mutters, "Nethys is a better provider than this. It is I, his mortal servant, that fails him today."
Romon retrieves his dagger and wipes the blood from it. Better lucky than good. He looks around. "what have we got here?"
This large chamber was obviously once a prison, as testified by the nearly two dozen cells that line the room’s perimeter. A rickety wooden platform overlooks the room, with two flights of stairs descending to the prison floor ten feet below. A five-foot-wide wooden walkway runs from the northern edge of the platform to a passageway to the east.
Skeletons lie in most of the cells, prisoners who starved to death ages ago
Muchorak looks to the eastern passageway, "Shall we take the path or go back to the doors?"
Muchorak looks to the eastern passageway, "Shall we take the path or go back to the doors?"
Romon looks around the room before pointing east and saying "Onward." He is impatient to be out of this cave and back in the sun. There's been too much back and forth.
As the last of the sinspawn was finished off, Kallie raised her fists in triumph, laughing and shouting "YES!!", completely caught up in the moment. Even then she was still shaking.
Looking around at the others and their surroundings, she quickly composed herself, embarrassed by her stepping "out of character".
"We might have to retreat to gain respite. Marak Quan, Kali, how is your magical strength?"
"I have a bit more up my sleeve. Not much, but some." She hesitated a moment. She really didn't want the truth of her bloodline getting out. Her image would be ruined. "My...inborn talents seem to be effective enough though."
"Marak, thank you. You honor Nethys with your devotion and magic."
Inikai holds his head in his hands and loudly says something unintelligible through gritted teeth followed by: "Get out of my head!" He realizes how loud he is talking when his voice echoes in the cavern.
"These wretched things pass their rage on through their bites. Should one of us succumb the others would have to restrain him or her and hope that it passes. Against foes we have been deadly, I hope we would be able hold back against friends. For my part, if it seems as though I am turning into one of them (he points at the sin-spawn) then kill me as quickly as possible."
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Marak nods his thanks to Inikai for the kind words and returns to making sure that the creatures do not recover.
Instead of the touch of a torch, he simply points at each one with his right arm, and the tattoos on his arm, appearing as blocky Thassilonian characters, flare up with a greenish-gold light, starting up near his shoulder and rippling down like some sort of strange waterfall, until reaching the final characters on the back of his hand and disgorging a wash of acid that bubbles and scorches the flesh of the sinspawn. He targets the face in each case, and the creatures like almost human, with their hideous features melted away...
"Marak, thank you. You honor Nethys with your devotion and magic."
Inikai holds his head in his hands and loudly says something unintelligible through gritted teeth followed by: "Get out of my head!" He realizes how loud he is talking when his voice echoes in the cavern.
"These wretched things pass their rage on through their bites. Should one of us succumb the others would have to restrain him or her and hope that it passes. Against foes we have been deadly, I hope we would be able hold back against friends. For my part, if it seems as though I am turning into one of them (he points at the sin-spawn) then kill me as quickly as possible."
Inikai's outburst startled and confused Kallie, but his next words worried her even more.
"What?" She was clearly shocked and upset by the idea. "We don't know that for sure! You're feeling better now aren't you? Isn't there some way we could know for certain?" She looked towards Marak when she asked this. She wasn't willing to believe the possibility that those harmed could be doomed to such a fate.
Inikai holds his head in his hands and loudly says something unintelligible through gritted teeth followed by: "Get out of my head!" He realizes how loud he is talking when his voice echoes in the cavern.
"These wretched things pass their rage on through their bites. Should one of us succumb the others would have to restrain him or her and hope that it passes. Against foes we have been deadly, I hope we would be able hold back against friends. For my part, if it seems as though I am turning into one of them (he points at the sin-spawn) then kill me as quickly as possible."
Inikai's outburst startled and confused Kallie, but his next words worried her even more.
"What?" She was clearly shocked and upset by the idea. "We don't know that for sure! You're feeling better now aren't you? Isn't there some way we could know for certain?" She looked towards Marak when she asked this. She wasn't willing to believe the possibility that those harmed could be doomed to such a fate.
Insensitive to the anguish of others, not wanting to confront the logical potential consequences, Romon tries to brush away the ramifications of Inikai's speech. "Muchorak was wounded by the others, yet he seems fine. You'll be okay, Inikai."
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"There is no danger of turning into one of the creatures from a mere bite. They pass on their wrath, which can unbalance one, but to create more of their kind, they must return to this runewell, whether with bodies or prisoners, I am not certain..." Marak says firmly, his attempt at sounding authoritative robbed of it's fire by his uncertain trailing off at the end.
"At some later date, I would like to return here and give these poor souls a proper burial." he says, as he looks upon the skeletal remains left in some of the cells. He carefully makes note of exactly how many skeletal sets of remains there are, as he would wish to bring seperate sacks to carry each individually from this place, rather than all jumbled together, in this hypothetical future mission.
"Marak, thank you. You honor Nethys with your devotion and magic."
Inikai holds his head in his hands and loudly says something unintelligible through gritted teeth followed by: "Get out of my head!" He realizes how loud he is talking when his voice echoes in the cavern.
"These wretched things pass their rage on through their bites. Should one of us succumb the others would have to restrain him or her and hope that it passes. Against foes we have been deadly, I hope we would be able hold back against friends. For my part, if it seems as though I am turning into one of them (he points at the sin-spawn) then kill me as quickly as possible."
Muchorak looks at Inikai, his expression serious, "On my honor." Then nods his head, looking back to the passage that lies ahead, "Wolf Spirit lead on."
Once everyone is ready, Ali heads down the passaage.
Inikai rises and joins the rest in their progress.
"I think it would be better for me to be next after Muchorak. This way I can use my power with less chance of catching friends within its effect."
Inikai rises and joins the rest in their progress.
"I think it would be better for me to be next after Muchorak. This way I can use my power with less chance of catching friends within its effect."
Romon shrugs and follows the others down the hall.
Muchorak follows Wolf Spirit down the passage.
The natural tunnel does not break into the cells..The map shows it as a dotted line and I interpret that as it passing above..maybe only a matter of inches but enough not to link them
You push on down the catwalk and along the narrow corridor which soon opens into an other room.
This room contains several ancient relics of what appear to be torture implements, although their function and style seem strange and archaic. In one corner sits a spherical cage with spikes protruding inward from itsiron bars. In another stands what appears to be a star-shaped wooden frame,its surface studded with hooks. And in the center of the room is along table covered with leather straps and a number of cranks that seem designed to rotate and swivel.
Closed doors are to the south and east
Staring in morbid fascination, Romon wanders about the room. He occassionally reaches out to touch an object. He tries to work out how some of the mechanical devices may have functioned.
After a few minutes, or if called to duty by someone else, he turns his attention to the doors by examining them for traps and listening to hear anything beyond. His interest re-invigorated by the sinspawn behind the last door, he takes his time and does a thorough job.
Not really understanding the purpose of the strange devices (unless someone happens to explain them to her) Ali largely ignores them. She will join Romon at the doors, being careful not to disturb him but also reaching out with her senses to try and determine what may be beyond them.
Perception (1d20+6=16) (+2 to taste & smell)
Muchorak sees the torturious devices and can only but feel pride in his peoples lands...with the buildings of such cities as Magnimar and Korvosa does he know what these devices are, constructs of man who has refused the Spirits...Muchorak sighs and looks at Inikai, "There is blood in you that would not create such things, keep that in mind and you will shake the wrath the demons bring."
Muchorak moves over to Inikai and places a hand on his shoulder, "Choo mei teruor!"
Then as if he never spoke, his stern demeanor resumes and he moves to which ever door Romon is currently working on.
Romon notices the others interest as he works at the east door. "I'm just checking this one. I want to look over the other too before we open one."
Muchorak sighs and looks at Inikai, "There is blood in you that would not create such things, keep that in mind and you will shake the wrath the demons bring."
Muchorak moves over to Inikai and places a hand on his shoulder, "Choo mei teruor!"
"Choo annam teurn"
Inikai examines the torture implements with open. "It seems the goblins did not take anyone here or else there would be signs of recent use.Goblins would not ignore a place like this. Someone must have exercised great control over them."
"Marak Quan, were the Thassilonians know as torturers? If they saw virtue where others saw vice this could be consistent with their ways. Perhaps they saw indulgence in base drives as something to celebrate."
Normally I would ask for a DC 20 check but in this case....
Marak remembers the ghoulish tales of his childhood about evil Thassilonian lords and the trials they put various heroes though..somehow those always seemed to involve torture of the hero or one of his loved ones.
Romon ..you can take twenty on a check to search for traps...it will however take 10 minutes per door to accomplish this.
You satisfy yourself that there are no traps on either door and cannot hear a thing.
Ali..theres a faint scent of goblin here
Everyone..the torture devices are in a decrepit state and not fit for purpose
Kallie was wondering what Inikai meant by "his power" when they moved into the torture chamber. He must have magic in his blood, like me... As she entered the room behind Marak, her newfound bravado was supressed by the horror of the sight. This, along with the remains in the previous room, left her even more troubled than the other sights thus far.
"Gods...let's keep moving, please..." she whispered to the others.
Ali switches briefly back to Gnome form to let everyone know that she smells a faint scent of Goblin. If there'e no other questions for her she switches back to four leg form.
South..or East?
South..or East?
As soon as Romon declares the southerly door open Muchorak will open it or nod for Marak to open the door with his weapons at the ready.
When everyone is ready, Romon announces that he is opening the door and pulls it open.
The crumbling remnants of several chairs and a long table clutter the floor of this room. To the south stand three stone doors,each bearing a strange symbol that resembles a seven-pointed star.