"If this thing is what's causing all the monsters to appear, maybe we can find the power source further below. That'd be nice to switch off and keep more creatures from causing trouble."
Agreed.
Unless someone has a reason to tarry here longer, we should get moving and do as Stochelo suggests. Perhaps our quarry has already located this source.
"Look, I may be venomous but I know nothing about taking and extracting poison. I may have been a thug, but I'm not some fancy knife in the dark," He re-wraps his hands, "Silas is right, let's not tarry. We're bound to be making noise."
Fair enough... risk is greater than reward, Grumbles concedes with a shrug.
Moving back to the circular hallway, you have two doors left to explore. Do you head north-east or east?
Clayton starts northeast and moves down the hall to the door as quietly as he can while listening in.
After determining that there are no sounds behind the door, you open it to reveal a long corridor ending in a partially collapsed rectangular room. Dust and dirt float in the same altered gravity that you have already learned to navigate.
The rubble that blocks off the room is composed mostly of stone and dirt from the ceiling and walls. Removing the debris would take days, but Elduin spots a small amber-colored gem among what appears to be broken lab equipment. It radiates magic and Silas determines it to be an elemental gem attuned to the Elemental Plane of Earth.
Leaving the ruined laboratory behind, you return and venture through the eastern door, you move into another corridor which turns south and slopes markedly down as it leads to a large circular room.
This strange dome-like room is mostly unassuming at first glance, but upon gazing upward, the magical nature of the chamber quickly becomes apparent. Looming trees with black bark and dry, writhing branches extend from the arched ceiling one hundred feet above, defying gravity and growing downward rather than up. A fine layer of soil covers the stone floor of the room below, and several sets of bloody footprints lead from the northern doorway toward the door to the west.
Wow. Weirdest room yet.
Silas scans the room for magical auras.
Clayton shrugged, "Maybe for you. When you're in my shoes all this kind of stuff looks weird." He waits for the looks, "Okay you're right, this place is pretty weird. What do you see Silas?"
Follow the bloody footprints... I mean, what could possibly go wrong?, Grumbles offers.
Silas also looks at the footprints, trying to gauge approximate size and whether the blood was present right from the doorway where they are standing, or became bloody within the room at some point.
"Of course there are bloody footprints. At least there's not a murderous little fey with a scythe in this room..."
Knowledge (nature) +5
Perception +8
Survival +8
Silas crouches down and takes his time examining the footprints.
"Yeah well bloody footprints can mean anything in this place, let's just hope that those footprints don't animate, or become haunted or whatever other fresh Hell might be waiting for us." CLayton was unsure about how to handle everything here, it was supposed to a simple in and out.
Just make it back.
He kept speaking those words to himself, there was no turning back now.
Elduin follows the rest of the group into the strange room with the forested some ceiling, carefully scanning the surroundings. After a few steps, he suddenly signals a halt, his gaze fixed on something among the inverted trees.
"No sudden moves....we are being watched! If I'm not mistaken, it's a barrow hound, an enigmatic native to the First World that can often be found among the shifting forests and untamed woodlands of that realm. It is known to be a noble and obedient creature who do not particularly enjoy killing living creatures, and instead prefer to scare them off with their unearthly howls. Perhaps this is another creature which has been transported here by the strange planar portal effects? It can't speak but probably understands Sylvan...
So all this is due to bloody fairies? Hrumph
Fey seemed to be spilling out of this place like an open wound, well not that badly but he figured it would eventually lead to that point.
"Well I don't speak feyspeech at all. Any luck from the rest of you?" He turned to Elduin, "It's intelligent enough to speak so I would hate to fight it, but we may not have another choice."
The Varisian holds his empty hands up and shakes his head, "Not trying to hurt you."
I believe Stochelo speaks Sylvan.
"Hello, barrow hound. We do not mean you any harm, were just passing through and looking for someone. Do you think we can come to an agreement?"
Stochelo calls out in Sylvan to the creature.
In response to your greeting, the barrow hound leaps down from its hiding place among the hanging trees. It lands gracefully and spends a moment regarding you with a discerning gaze. Then, apparently convinced by your peaceful gestures and assurances in sylvan, it steps backwards and nods its head toward the exit where the bloody footprints lead.
It makes no further attempts to communicate or interfere with you as you move through the circular room, but watches you attentively at all times.
I'm not sure how we will be able to help this creature return whence it came, but perhaps just being free of this place will suffice.
That is an issue for later however. We need to deal with the real problem here first. Let's find this sorceress.
Having spoken, Silas moves across the chamber to the far door.
"I'm sure they can find their way back, they have magical noses right?" He had no idea if that was true, but he hated to seem like the dumb one here. "Either way, we have a bigger problem to handle. Like you said, there is a sorceress floating about with her portals and whatever relics."
He walks to the door, and nervously adjusts his fistwraps.
Grumbles grunts and follows, arrow nocked on the string.
Silas examines and listens at the door.
After careful examination, you detect no traps or sounds of movement beyond the door. Opening it, you find a short hallway which turns north after about 25 feet.
At the end of it, there is another door. Listening, you can hear faint signs of movement beyond.
Silas points at his ear and then the door indicating that he hears something, or someone. He waits for everyone to motion that they are ready and then opens the door.
Clayton stands at the entrance, opposite to Silas. "Footsteps and movement, could this be it?" He gives a hand sign that he was ready and waits for the mage to push it open.
Hurray, Grumbles says dryly.
"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess."
Stochelo will use an arcana pool point to regain a shocking grasp spell, holding his rapier at the ready.
Drinks potion of cats Grace
Clayton takes out some wet moss that the druids had given him and starts chewing them.
No good to me if I'm dead. They said I might need them.
Seeing everyone is ready, Silas nods and then decides to cast vanish upon himself just before opening the door.
With all preparations done, Clayton opens the door to reveal a large, square room.
An enormous machine takes up the majority of this chamber, its various complex and seemingly illogical components made up of a combination of stone and black wood.
Half-engine half-gnarled dead tree, the tendrils of this otherworldly device crawl up the walls in every direction as if to choke the chamber that holds them. A faint sound like that of a breeze rustling through leaves can be heard coming from the machine.
A dark-haired female whom you assume to be Elessia, the changeling lover of Pavo Vos, is standing by the machine trying to get it to work. She's clad in a chain shirt and armed with a whip and a light crossbow.
Between her and you are four bulky humanoid skeletons, slightly larger than humans. They all ooze fresh blood and some hold broken weapons.
At the sound of the door opening, Elessia angrily says "What is it? I am in the middle of important work that cannot be interrupted...!" before turning, obviously expecting Vos or one of the hobgoblins. As she sees you, her mismatched eyes - one green and one purple - widen, and she pales. However, she recovers her wits almost instantly and utters the words and gestures of a spell.
Then she vanishes from sight. Her disembodied voice hisses "SLAY THEM ALL! to her undead guards before you hear the sound of footsteps as she shifts position.
The bloody skeletons turn to face you and form ranks, raising claws and weapons.
Note:Elessia token on the map indicates her last known position before turning invisible.
Villains
Heroes
She has turned herself invisible, Silas informs the others.
He then wastes no time in casting his own spell in response, conjuring a large mass of sticky webbing that fills the area where Elessia stood last, and catching all four skeletons.
His own invisibility ended, Silas then snaps his wrist to place his trusty wand within his hand.
Stochelo draws a vial from his belt and downs the potion within, a brief blur surrounding his form as a bell-like chime rings out.
"Well done, hopefully that will keep them contained for the time being."
Only one of the bloody skeletons manages to evade the sticky strands. A loud curse from the back of the room indicates that Elessia has also been caught.
The ranger puts two arrows into the skeleton... it probably won't do much but it's worth a try.
Longbow rapid shot
One arrow strikes the skeleton that was not entangled in the webs, but it barely scratches it and you can see the minor wound begin to heal immediately.
"Undead now too?! What is this place?"
Before moving into the fray though, he pulls out a potion of Cure Light Wounds and chugs it down, before positioning a little forward
Elduin follows Stochelo's lead and quaffs a potion of protection from evil.
The trapped skeletons struggle to break free of the webs. Two of them succeed, but one immediately becomes trapped again as it attempts to move forward. The other is able to exit the web and move up to threaten Clayton.
The skeleton who was not caught in the web also steps out and moves around the sticky strands to take a swing at Clayton with a rusted morningstar.
Flanked between two undead, the brave brawler is caught off guard and takes a solid blow to the head.
Further back, you see the stands of the web move and shake to indicate that Elessia is also struggling to free herself.
Villains
Heroes
Heroes are up.
If you have at least 5 feet of web between you and an opponent, it provides cover. If you have at least 20 feet of web between you, it provides total cover.
Silas blasts grazes one of the skeletons with his wand.
Concentrate on the one on your right, I will cast grease to your left Clay.