Never one to be left behind, Dev follows along.
This is a most curious device. I wonder why someone goes through such motions. Reaching the later rooms is really time intensive somehow and not very practical, is it?
Anyway, which one should we start with? The first one, the middle one or the last?
EE agrees that following the same order makes more sense and will help remember what's in each place.
Viorr squeezes in with the rest, grinning at the comic awkwardness.
"Paranoia. Cannith mages and artificers are notoriously paranoid about other houses stealing their formulas and designs. The houses have thier rules for such things, but...most were ignored during the war desguised as various 'war missions' or similar."
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Zabeth opens her eyes, and stands.
"Time to join them?"
She resists the impulse to comment on the combined scent of her sweaty and battle-worn companions in the tight quarters.
Pink eye nods and jumps down with his narrow framed friend Tenzo stuffing the cramped space trying to get against the wall
Leaving Sharon and Aerin above to guard the wagons and horses, as best they can considering the environment at any rate, the rest of the combined mercenary groups enter the room and lay down as instructed.
The room shifts and soon enough the companions find themselves staring at the first hallway they encountered as Gauntlet activates the Blue Keycharm.
This entryway appears as a doorway into a corridor instead of a hatch in the ceiling. The hallway is dark. The light from your sources illuminates a door at the end of the 30' hallway.
Frank nods at Broulnindre, who then goes to the door, which she checks for traps.
Once she's confident that there aren't any, she tries to open the door.
Gauntlet removes the key and puts it away safely. A flat-black longsword appearing in his right hand out of nowhere, Gauntlet moves up to support Broulnindre.
"Let us not get too far ahead of the others."
He then lifts his hand and releases one of his more useful magic items. An Ioun Torch, it levitates from his hand and begins circling his head, producing a slowly moving light and helping making him a primary target as well. He then turns to the others behind him.
"Stay behind me and my light."
He stands behind the Eidolon as she opens the door.
B finds the door unlocked. Gauntlet opens the door and his light reveals a narrow corridor that runs between four rows of floor-to-ceiling shelves, with fresh bedsheets, blankets, towels, and clothing stacked high upon them. The room is completely free of dust, and the pleasant smell of clean cloth fills the air. At the far side of the room, a large washbasin is set into the floor.
Immediately Gauntlet will walk casually all the way next to the washbasin, and talk loudly.
"Is there anyone here? Monsters? Undead? Please notice me! We have a lot of this place to search yet and we need to get moving..."
EE is a bit suspicious, wondering how does this smell like clean cloth if it's apparently abandoned, but since Gauntlet already did his move, he just follows, devil may care.
Dev followed alongside EE, and calls up to Gauntlet approvingly.
"The direct approach looks good on you, General!"
Gauntlet waves off the compliment.
"I am no General really. Just practical. EE and I as constructs can handle any damage we gain better here in this realm better than you. It just makes sense to me."
"Mebbe dey hef mehgik lundry?"
Broulnindre suggests, while looking for any bits of adamantine that aren't bolted down.
...and also bits that are, as long as they aren't bolted down with too many bolts.
Coming to her feet, Meridian silently follows the others into the corridor. As she passes out of the rotating room, she glances back over her shoulder, hopeful that the room will still be there when they return.
Zabeth enters the chamber. She waved her hand in front of her face until her eyes glow slightly. She then scans the room.
The room is silent and clean, Zabeth's magic reveals that this is indeed a "magic laundry" an Unseen Servant stands against the far wall awaiting commands.
There are no further doors here. This may be the most mundane room down here and is likely a departure from the rest of what awaits. It would also be a good place to rest though no rest is necessary at the moment.
Gauntlet waves everybody back.
"A good place to fall back to if needed. Let us try the next hall. Yes?"
Gauntlet removes the Blue Keycharm from the slot and places it into the next blue slot. The room rotates again and the room comes to a stop once more. The doorway opens into yet another corridor that smells of burnt wood and charred flesh. Soot and ash coat the corridor and stick to the walls and ceiling. A metal door at the end of the hall appears to have melted into slag.
The area is lit by three everbright lanterns which hang from the ceiling every 10'. The corridor is about 40' long.
Beyond the light of the magical lanterns is a glow such as that cast by a bonfire coming from somewhere beyond the end of the hall.
You hear the crackling of crackling flames from the end of the hallway.
As you peer down the hall you notice a number of human bones mixed in with the soot and ash that covers the floor.
"Time for a bit o' caution, friends, lest we end up all eaten-like." Dev gestures down the hall, and makes a show of shaking out his shield arm in preparation for the unknown.
Mindblade in hand, Gauntlet moves up to the hallway.
"Let me go first. Everyone else stay back a bit."
<Can sense a fire and human bones there.>
As the Warforged begin clanking ahead the end of corridor lights up further as a mass of roiling rolling flames exits from a doorway ahead!
Living Flaming Sphere
Viorr
Dev
EE
Kana
Frank
Zabeth
Gauntlet
Pink-Eye
Meridian
Channeling his mental energy into a tangible ball of force, Dev hurls it down the hall at the ball of fire, reasonably conviced this is a better plan that assaulting its mind--if it even has.
"You got it General, staying back!"
Gauntlet follows suit with Dev and launches his own force attack!
Before Broulnindre can charge in, Frank casts a spell and tags her with it. "Mage Armor."
As a faintly yellow translucent field surrounds her torso like a breastplate, Broulnindre flashes Frank a smile and charges in.
Before Meridian fully processes the scene before her, there is a raging inferno headed toward them and the warforged and a Frank's strange companion charge in.
Cursing softly in draconic, Meridian hurls a crackling bolt of lightning down the hall at the .. ball of fire.
Suspecting the living fire creature can't be feinted, made to bleed or targeted at specific points of its anatomy, EE decides discretion is the better part of valor and retires, leaving his friends to deal with it either with brute force or magic.
Guessing that his blades would be largely useless, Viorr waits to see how his more magically inclined colleagues deal with the blazing threat.
Pink eye commands Tenzo back away from the fire... Easy for his friend to do and he attempts to summon his priestly power and shoot the thing.
Zabeth fires a bolt at the approaching ball of fire.
The group unloads on whatever this thing is!
Force, Electricity, and projectiles race down the hallway at the thing.
The spells and eldritch energy seem to impact it but the bolts just melt away against its fiery body.
The thing literally rolls forward at the first thing in its path which right now is B! Fortunately, due to Frank's protection spell, the thing cannot get close enough to burn her.
Living Spell - HP = 8/37
Slam and Engulf vs. B
Gauntlet and Frank both conclude that this appears to be a spell that for some reason has not ceased functioning and somehow has gained a semblance of sentience. Though it appears to be an elemental in type its movement is closer to that of an ooze...
Gauntlet moves to hit the thing with his mindblade!
Frank's eyes go wide as he stares at the ball of fire "That looks like a spell, but how would it not fade after use?"
Coming to his senses again, Frank takes a shot with his crossbow, hoping a non-magical bolt might still do something.
Broulnindre looks down at her translucent yellow breastplate and then looks up at the ball of fire.
"Hah!"
She then attempts to use her claws in spite of the heat.
Dev closes his eyes to regain focus, meditating briefly and taking the opportunity to consider the benefits of cold damage.
"Have you ever heard of a spell behaving like this?" Meridian aims carefully at the ball of fire, more aiming at not-her-friends, really, and unleahses another crackling blast of lighting.
A few choice draconic curses follow as the electricity misses by a wide margin.
Meridian's bolt going wide catches Frank's eye.
"Missing? Sure. -OH the fireball? No. These are The Mournlands though. Might be related."
if everyone backs off I can negative channel against it
<Uh, sure, just a second...> EE backs off as asked. He doesn't know whether negative energy can affect a Warforged, but he's not sure it's the best time to try.
Seeing her attacks prove ineffective, Zabeth backs off to make room for the others.
The group presses against the far wall, all but B who is still engaged with the ball of rolling flame though her attacks are ineffective against its own magical protections.
Pink-Eye channels energy at the thing.
Channel Negative Energy
The thing dims a bit but its light does not become extinguished by the channel.
Living Spell - HP = 4/37
Slam and Engulf vs. B
Once again the thing tries to engulf B and once again her magical protections hold it at bay.
Broulnindre flinches from the negative energy, but it doesn't seem very effective against her.
She then seems to hesitate, screwing up her face in annoyance.
"Hyu are no fon!" she announces in the general direction of the fireball before withdrawing to Frank's side.
"I think it just needs a bit more of that, Pink-eye. Don't worry about B, she's fine." Frank calls out. Not sure what else to do, he reloads his crossbow.
Crit?