"I agree. This temple gives me the heeby-geebies. I've never even seen an undead before we came to this island, and they seem to be everywhere here! It wouldn't surprise me if this foul hole has cursed the whole island somehow..."
Having noticed Darius's facility with traps, the big oread turns to him. "Shall we go in and have a look for more traps?"
Darius nods and raises a finger to his lips and holds a hand to hold everyone up while he scouts ahead.
Darius doesn't immediately see anything like a trap. The majority of the holes in the wall are only three feet deep. One of the holes in the middle of the western wall has no back — it opens directly into a narrow unfinished tunnel less than three feet wide through a hole in the wall.
The pool contains real blood, which appears to be circulating gently somehow.
”Seems clear. An abomination...but I did not spot any immediate threats...”
"I wonder what made that tunnel..?" Placidus says, striding into the room and pointing at the hole in the back of the recess.
"I wonder what is causing the blood to swirl," Ilistra says, heat shimmering off her body as she nervously takes a step inside the room.
"It must be magical otherwise it would have clotted long since," Placidus comments.
As the three stand in the room looking around and talking, suddenly sheets of the strange red-streaked bronze slide down over both doorways with a clang!
Ilistra manages to leap out of the room as the barriers slam down. Darius and Placidus are stuck inside the room.
"Uh oh, this can't be good. What should we do?"
”Backs to the wall. And help me try and find a way to get the doors open,” Darius says calmly as he draws his daggers.
Placidus nods, following suit. He scans the room carefully to see if he can spot anything.
"Wait, look, there are little buttons on the column.."
A pendulum tipped with a razor sharp axe blade swings down from one of the grooves and ridges in the ceiling, scything across the entire room swinging right at Darius.
The nimble assassin manages to dodge the blade, which swings back up into the ceiling.
..s" Placidus says, pointing. He stares agape at Darius, who just narrowly dodged a serious wound. "Nice moves! Want to hit one of those buttons before another blade swings down?"
Darius moves over and activates the button Placidus pointed out.
Pressing the button causes the bronze plates to rise back up into the ceiling, apparently deactivating the trap.
When the doors slammed shut, Ilistra followed her instinct to not be trapped, so she jumped back out. She then stood at the doors, shimmering with heat but unsure what to do. She considered starting to blast it, but wasn't sure how many days to weeks it'd take for her fire to melt the bronze.
Thankfully, her team managed to open the doors from the inside, and they were free.
"Are you okay?" she asks as the plates open up.
Darian sheathes his daggers as he replies ”Yes. For the moment. Let us be through this chamber, quickly.”
He then leads the way through the opposite doors.
"Still in one piece. There was another trap, but nothing that Darius and I couldn't handle. Let's keep going? I don't like this room."
Garland immediately finds himself regretting not trying to be more proactive.
"Sounds like a plan," the masked legionnaire swiftly agrees. While keeping his senses peeled for more danger, Garland also quickly moves to follow Darius. That said, the recent chain of events leaves him a little distracted...
Two sets of double doors lead out of the trapped chamber. The doors open into a massive space. Judging from this cathedral-like chamber’s decor, this area must have once been a significant temple dedicated to some vile god. To the west, a few steps lead up to a shrine presided over by a ten-foot-high statue of a beautiful, fanged woman, save that instead of arms she possesses two upraised bat-like wings and instead of feet her legs end in talons. She looms over a glistening altar of blood-red stone that seems to weep blood into a trough below; this trough of blood runs the length of the room before disappearing to the east through a set of bronze bars in front of a wide opening in the wall that drops away into darkness. Stone pillars support the roof twenty five feet above, and two dry fountains sit opposite each other against the walls in the middle of the room. Three large alcoves, one to the south and two to the north, contain complex wall carvings. The entire chamber feels unnaturally cold, and now and then strange disembodied whispers slither through the air.
What can only be a robed serpentfolk turns from looking at the wall carvings as the legionnaires enter the temple's worship chamber. The group hears a cold, serpentine voice intrude into their thoughts as her reptilian eyes examine them without emotion. ::"Well, well, unexpected guestsss. Have you come to worship the daughter of Ysdersius, primatesss?:: As the serpentfolk woman 'speaks' four more bloody skeletons move to flank her.
The color drains a bit from Placidus's face. "Gah, get out of my head demon! A real serpentspawn. I can't believe it..."
"We've come to end whatever you're up to!" Cica says, trying to sound braver than she feels.
She reaches into her quiver, draws two arrows, and sends them flying for the serpent woman, but she her nervousness effects her aim.
::"You will not stop me from making the discovery you fragile racesss have not been able to uncover since the world broke so long ago!”::
Group 1 (Darius, Garland, Cica) 18
Yarzoth 12
Skellies 11.75
Group 2 (Ilistra, Placidus) 11
Cica reaches into her quiver, draws two arrows, and sends them flying for the serpent woman, but she lets her nervousness effects her aim and misses.
Darius draws his daggers as he moves to engage the reptilian. He springs up and off of a pillar to leap past the skeletons to get to her!
__________
Knowing that the mindless skeletons would likely engage their closest opponents, Garland boldly advanced toward his undead foes and then offered his heroic Blessing to his friends!
Upon hearing her partner's whistle, Luna stepped forward and prepared to intercept any enemy that physically attacked Ilistra!
...Or she would have had the strong scent of blood not made it so hard to focus!
The priestess looks at Darius with her cold, expressionless face and he can feel his will crumbling.
As panic begins to rise, Darius pushes it back, fighting off whatever foul spell the serpentspawn sought to weave over him. The priestess hisses angrily and steps back, saying out loud, "Defend me minionsss!"
The skeletons spring to her command. Three of the skeletons move to attack Darius, while the other guards its mistress.
With a flurry of parries Darius manages to deflect the incoming claws.
Placidus charges forward into a flying side kick aimed at one of the skeletons' on Darius back.
"YAH!" he yells as his foot shatters the skeleton's spine.
Ilistra recovers from her shock of seeing a serpentfolk in the scaly flesh and summons her corona of fire. In a few sweeping gestures, she channels a fiery aura around her which she then sends in a blast to roast the skeleton in the middle.
Round 1
Cica reaches into her quiver, draws two arrows, and sends them flying for the serpent woman, but she lets her nervousness effects her aim and misses.
Darius draws his daggers as he moves to engage the reptilian. He springs up and off of a pillar to leap past the skeletons to get to her!
Knowing that the mindless skeletons would likely engage their closest opponents, Garland boldly advanced toward his undead foes and then offered his heroic Blessing to his friends! Upon hearing her partner's whistle, Luna stepped forward and prepared to intercept any enemy that physically attacked Ilistra! ...Or she would have had the strong scent of blood not made it so hard to focus!
The priestess looks at Darius with her cold, expressionless face and he can feel his will crumbling. As panic begins to rise, Darius pushes it back, fighting off whatever foul spell the serpentspawn sought to weave over him. The priestess hisses angrily and steps back, saying out loud, "Defend me minionsss!"
The skeletons spring to her command. Three of the skeletons move to attack Darius, while the other guards its mistress. With a flurry of parries Darius manages to deflect the incoming claws.
Placidus charges forward into a flying side kick aimed at one of the skeletons' on Darius back. "YAH!" he yells as his foot shatters the skeleton's spine.
Ilistra recovers from her shock of seeing a serpentfolk in the scaly flesh and summons her corona of fire. In a few sweeping gestures, she channels a fiery aura around her which she then sends in a blast to roast the skeleton in the middle. Her fireball burns the undead to cinders.
================================
Initiative
??? 21
Group 1 (Darius, Garland, Cica) 18
??? 17
Yarzoth 12
Skellies 11.75
Group 2 (Ilistra, Placidus) 11
The contubernium can hear a strange noise coming from beyond the grate the blood channel drains through. It sounds as if a group of people are muttering to themselves, laughing, screaming, crying... It's as if a large group of madmen were approaching through an echoing cavern.
Darius dips and twists around the altar towards the serpentine woman, then leaps up in a spin bringing his curved daggers down towards the things long neck!
__________
With two of the skeletons defeated, Garland decided to join the fray. The masked legionnaire raised his awesome scythe for a powerful attack... and then (heroically) slipped on some blood!
Seeing that Ilistra was unlikely to be physically attacked in the near future, Garland called Luna for assistance. At her partner's whistle, the wolf raced forward and swiftly latched her teeth onto the femur of the same skeleton. With a pull of her head, she attempted to trip her undead foe!
Cica fires off another arrow as she advances into the room.
Cica fires off another arrow as she advances into the room.
As she comes in she drops her bow and draws her greatsword.
Darius stabs the serpentfolk, Luna and Cica destroy another of the skeletons.
The serpentfolk steps back from Darius and her form suddenly multiplies into seven mirror images.
The remaining skeleton attacks Cica with its claws.
Ilistra gasps when the serpentfolk suddenly multiplies. Not sure which one is the real one, she summons another blast of flame and throws it at her best guess.
Placidus circles around to the other side of the snake priestess, hoping to support Darius.
The contubernium can hear a strange noise coming from beyond the grate the blood channel drains through. It sounds as if a group of people are muttering to themselves, laughing, screaming, crying... It's as if a large group of madmen were approaching through an echoing cavern.
Darius dips and twists around the altar towards the serpentine woman, then leaps up in a spin bringing his curved daggers down towards the things long neck!
With two of the skeletons defeated, Garland decides to join the fray. The masked legionnaire raises his awesome scythe for a powerful attack... and then (heroically) slips on some blood!
Seeing that Ilistra was unlikely to be physically attacked in the near future, Garland calls Luna for assistance. At her partner's whistle, the wolf races forward and swiftly latches her teeth onto the femur of the same skeleton. With a pull of her head, she attempted to trip her undead foe!
Cica fires off another arrow as she advances into the room. As she comes in she drops her bow and draws her greatsword.
Darius successfully stabs the serpentfolk, Luna and Cica destroy another of the skeletons.
The serpentfolk steps back from Darius and her form suddenly multiplies into seven mirror images.
The remaining skeleton attacks Cica with its claws, but misses.
Ilistra gasps when the serpentfolk suddenly multiplies. Not sure which one is the real one, she summons another blast of flame and throws it at her best guess. She destroys an image.
Placidus circles around to the other side of the snake priestess, hoping to support Darius.
================================
The strange noise coming from the grate grows louder as whatever is making it approaches. Cica, Garland and Ilistra feel the maniac voices picking at their sanity, digging to the deepest recesses of their psyches with jibbering madness.
Ilistra blinks hard against the susurrus of voices and shakes her head. She starts babbling, not understanding the madness but joining it anyway.
Darius steps up opposite Placidus and lashes out with his two blades, but only manages to destroy two of the images...
Thanks to the power of heroism, Garland was unphased by the evil spell!
"Luna, I have an idea; you attack first!" suggested Garland, hoping that the wolf could grab and trip the remaining skeleton. If it fell, then he would be setup for an easy attack.
The noble wolf stepped forward and promptly... slipped on some blood too.
...Regardless, she still distracted their undead enemy long enough to let Garland score a powerful hit with his awesome scythe!