Lexi volunteers for first watch, but dutifully points out that she should be on the same watch as Adistan so she can periodically renew light spells for him.
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The group sets up watches and everyone eventually gets some rest. The tower girls don't return and with nothing else behind them they don't run into any troubles. If there is anything further in through the cobweb covered corridor, it either isn't aware the group is there or knows this area has been sealed for so long that it doesn't come to check. Either way, the group manages to get a full 8 hours of rest.
During his watch, Gurk attempts to grab up more food before being stopped by the shortshanks. Sullen, he spends the watch munching on his stash.
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Bixby settles down for the night, alternating alternating waking hours with his familiar, Ripley, to ensure that one of them is always awake.
"Foot outside the covers...that's how they grab you." he exclaims once during the night, waking the others up.
Still, he rests well, and after a good night's rest, he feels much better.
"This is exciting!" he says. "This has not been explored for perhaps a thousand years or more! Think of the conspiracies we might unravel!"
Temmer arises in the morning.
"I guess we should continue on now," he notes gamely. "If everyone's rested?"
He hefts his quarterstaff, glad once someone casts some light again so he can see more clearly.
When Davor heals up most of the charring on Lexi's hands, the young aasimar tears up. "It looks like I'll be able to turn book pages again after all! Thank you!" The skinny geek gives the hulking half-orc a big hug.
Lexi sleeps like the dead. Her eyes snap open and rarely blink as she does her morning exercises, physical and mental. As she gears up, the aasimar tells the others that her mind expanded overnight, and more of the 'mysteries of the multiverse' were revealed to her in her dreams.
"My spell repertoire has expanded a bit--I know more spells, and I can cast more spells," she announces. Sounding a bit dejected, Lexi adds, "I'm still far from all-powerful, but...maybe that's a good thing."
While using one hand to eat some rations for breakfast, Lexi casts a spell and magically cleans her hair and clothing with the other. Once she's clean, her spell hand surreptitiously points toward Gurk, who is engaged in his breakfast of leftover rat.
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Gurk pauses in the middle of eating as a strange smell hits his nose. Strong longshank smell. Gurk must get clean soon, he thinks, continuing his meal.
Once the group's ready to head out, Lexi renews the light spell for Adistan. "That should last for half an hour now before it goes out!" she announces proudly.
Moving up to Gurk, the young aasimar announces that she's learned a new spell that might be helpful. "It's called resistance, and it helps protect against, well, everything! Poison, spells...even your reflexes! I figured since Gurk's usually scouting ahead, I'll cast it on him regularly. And maybe on someone toward the back of the party, say...Verris! The bad news is it only lasts for a minute, so I'll try to renew it each time we stop to make a decision on which way to go, or outside a closed door. Sound good?"
Verris nods approvingly as Davor uses his last spell to heal Lexi's burnt hands. Her watch passes uneventfully and she falls into a deep restful sleep, awakening feeling as if she was stronger than before. Reflecting on the movements of her companions in combat she feels like she could now more easily target the enemy with her bow without fear of hitting any of her allies.
Her connection to Erastil seemed to have changed as she slept as well, becoming deeper and more solid. She felt as if the healing Erastil provided had become stronger, capable of more than before . In light of this deeper connection, the things that once caused her anxiety and fear now seemed trivial, one way or the other her god was on her side and nothing could change that .
She grins as Lexi casts her spell on Gurk and Gurk's subsequent reaction. She nods when Adistan asks his question, "I'm ready to go whenever." She looks interested as Lexi explains one of her new spells.
Temmer nods his head in gratitude.
"My thanks, Lady Dusk," he says.
He watches as she begins casting spells and thinks how he has no such preparations to take. He stretches a little to make sure he's ready should they be required to fight.
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Starting to make sense of the Thassilonian script around the doors, Davor reaches back to his exchange agent training and after a few hours in the early morning, finally decodes the ancient language.
"Ah, I knew there was a key to this. I believe I have found it..."
With his newfound comprehension, he goes over the entire door one more time, as well as the various wall reliefs and frescoes, looking for information.
When everyone wakes in the morning they gather up their things, see to their morning routines, and then get ready to depart having found nothing else or use or interest past what was already discovered.
Gurk leads the way pushing through the cobwebs, which sadly still leaves plenty behind for the taller people to deal with. The hall leads north before reaching another staircase leading down. Heading down the stairs you come to another hall that heads east and then north before opening to a room. A green, scum-covered pool extends across the far end of this room. Passages exit to the sides and one, dug out tunnel leads to the south. The floor and walls are streaked with dark smears of guano in thick layers.
Temmer wrinkles his nose, being reminded most unpleasantly of the bilges, though he'd never express such sentiments out loud. A leader should keep a positive outlook, to help keep the crew's thoughts in the right place.
He looks around to see if there are any tracks or anything to indicate what might have dug the tunnel.
Gurk tosses a pebble into the pool in curiosity to see if anything is within.
Lexi "Ooh!"s and "Aah!"s when she finally gets a look at the colorful Thassilonian murals beyond the burning doors. "Lady Heidmarch should see these herself!" the girl whispers to no one in particular.
Afterwards, she silently follows the others, belatedly remembering that they're all in uncharted territory and that there might be enemies about. When she nears the pool she casts detect magic and scans the water for emanations before turning about and checking the rest of the room.
Verris takes her customary position as the rearguard, looking at the ancients murals with interest as she passes them. When they reach the chamber with the pool, and more importantly the guano, she frowns.
She points out the guano to the others, "Guano means animals, or something akin to that, still alive down here. We should be careful. Could be dangerous." Warning given, she looks around to see if she can spot anything or to see if there are any tracks to indicate what left the guano or the direction it might have last headed.
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Bixby awakens for the morning full of excitement.
He casts his major image for the day, this time returning to the rough-and-tumble dwarf bodyguard he had initially exhibited. The dwarf has the sides of his head shaved and tattooed, with long braids along the top trailing down the back of his head. The illusion keeps a close eye on Gurk.
As they proceed, Bixby looks at the ancient ruins in fascination.
"There are a thousand ways these places could be trapped. Gurk, you go first."
Before Gurk sets off, Lexi moves to the goblin and whispers something in his ear.
"Ew! I think you've got ear mites!"
"Um, also...I'm pretty good at finding traps myself, but nowhere as good as you at sneaking, so if you find something you think may be trapped, call me forward and I'll help you check it out."
Gurk turns to the longshank and replies, "They be good snacksies. Gurk have many if longshank wants one."
Lexi makes an 'Icky-face,' sticks out her tongue, and shakes her head at Gurk.
Gurk moves up a bit and tosses a pebble at the water it hits and kind of sits on the surface a moment before slowly sliding deeper in, almost like the water is thicker than normal. However, he doesn't notice anything moving.
With nothing in the water, Gurk moves on to the next passage, carefully searching for anything useful or harmful.
With Gurk again scouting ahead, Lexi scoots back to her regular position in the marching order.
Temmer stays in position to be able to help Gurk quickly, while also not wanting to betray his position. He knows he can't move that quietly.
As he passes the water, he glances in himself, to see if there's anything there that Gurk might not have thought worth reporting on.
Just as Gurk is about to advance Verris calls out for him to stop She see's something moving ever so slightly in the water, several something in fact. They are translucent and hard to see but she is pretty certain that something is living in there.
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As Verris indicates something is in the water, Bixby nods vigorously.
"If there is a body of water, there are likely multiple organisms concealed therein. The fact that they are nearly invisible is, as I have noted previously in my journal, almost a guarantee."
He scribbles a few notes.
"Gurk, please dive in and see what they are."
"Let's keep well clear of it," Temmer advises. "No need to borrow trouble."
He tries to get a closer look.
"They be tasty?" Gurk asks, looking back at the water.
Adistan tries to look at what is in the water but it is hard to make it out since it looks like it is part of the water itself. However, it is pretty clear that if anything gets near the water whatever is in there is likely to attack.
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Davor blanches his trident with silver while people make a decision, slowly rotating the thines over the fire. His eyes lost in the flame, he says "I suddenly find myself wishing there was a rotisserie chicken at the end of my trident right now... let us be done here so we can be back at the Manor yes?"
"If fishies not be tasty, then Gurk want to go," Gurk says.
Verris rolls her eyes at Bixby and Gurk's back and forth, although she grins as she does so. She stands ready for action if the group decides to investigate whatever is in the water.
Verris raises an eyebrow at Bixby's explanation, dubious... but then, the gnome did know a lot about these sort of things. Perhaps it was true.
Temmer blinks, having never heard of such fish. Then again, if only a handful survived, that might make sense.
"Another thing we shall have to tell Lady Heidmarch about," he says, thought straying to the many fish he is aware of from his time at sea.
Instantly gaining interest in the fishes once more, Gurk pulls out one of his dogslicers and leans over to stir the water with it.
As Gurk moves over to the pool, believing Bixbies lies several blob of somewhat transparent protoplasm begin oozing out of the scum-covered pool to attack.