Nadiya finds that more of those quadrupedal tracks overlay the prints left by the orc warriors and explorers who came down here. This would suggest that after they entered the festhall, they inadvertently opened the place to whatever creatures may be roaming around down here.
She also finds cast off scales and husks of chitin, suggesting these creatures may be insectile in nature or at least appearance.
These clues, coupled with information from Nirdosh about the last expedition the orc leaders send down here, suggests that whatever happened in here occurred within the past eight months. It's hard to narrow down the time frame any further.
"Four-legged creatures. Insect like, but quite large... I'm not well versed in things dwelling underground... what would they want with the iron?"
Bashuk shrugs, bewildered. "Some kind of...bug people? Who've moved in and are scavenging iron for something? Since they're not taking the barrels or tools, just the iron, I assume they need it to make something. Or maybe they're servants of these hryngar. No way to find out except by exploring further."
"Indeed. Let's move on." Since the Countess appointed Leta lead, she walked out of the hall and, as soon as the others were accounted for, headed off for the door to .
Sasha follows Let's, with Valeska nodding but a few places behind him.
In the past, Nadiya has learned about strange underground creatures that make up ecosystems utterly alien compared to comparable species on the surface of Golarion. Her keen mind lands upon the hypothesis that this is some manner of creature that consumes iron, if not metals in general, as part of its diet, physiology, or life cycle.
Leta pokes her head through the open doorway of the selected building.
"This is a very old dialect," Vreya, your dwarven liason, says as she looks at a carved sign upon the wall of the building. "I guess making us study old scrolls in lessons wasn't for nothing after all. I believe it says 'Fiery Maeve's Cookhouse.' Looks like a restaurant or tavern."
The main room is filled with benches and long tables in similar condition to the festhall, left scattered with their iron fittings removed. The walls are decorated with many eclectic curios of wood, bone, and stone that have been hung up or tucked into niches and left untouched. They might be worth some money to a collector, historian, or museum.
The large kitchen, the only other room in the building, is bereft of metal cookware - not a single pot or ladle has been spared. However, a full set of utensils, carved from the ivory of some unknown or extinct subterranean beast, sits ensconced in a display case set above one of the brick ovens.
Nadiya snaps her fingers. "Of course! They are eating it. They are eating the iron!" Then she looks around and realizes the party is already several yards ahead of her as she's been standing looking at things. She jogs to catch up with the group, sending her dancing lights ahead and behind to illuminate where they are looking.
She repeats her realization. "The creatures, some kind of giant bugs, their spit or something, it breaks down metal and they consume it as food. Common in underground and strange places. We should be careful if they are still around. Don't want to loose your swords... or your belt buckles."
She spots the utensils in the case and smiles. "Reminds me of some kitchens I've seen in northern Ustalav. Strange what seems familiar..."
Bashuk grunts in agreement, her eyes not really seeing the kitchen as she thinks about Nadiya's realization. "Iron-eaters, I can see those being kill-on-sight pests for a dwarven hold especially. No wonder they're drawn here...if you see any scraps of metal, grab it. If we run into these bugs maybe we can use it to distract them."
"I often make use of a magical iron stake spell, so I've got a quantity of iron filings in my component pouch--and I prepared the spell today, so they are ready to hand. Of course, the spell itself might distract them, although it's not exactly the most efficient use for the spell, if it saves someone's armor or weapons, so be it. On the other hand, if they are here and can sniff it out, I may draw them to us..." Nadiya frowns, checking the clasp on her spell component pouch carefully.
Leta shudders at the idea of her prize sword Stormpiercer being destroyed by some sort of rust monster. She had gotten that blade long ago from the cave or a rather murderous Ogre from which she'd rescued a small forest village.
She reaches down and comfortingly touches the hilt of the sword at her belt, a familiar spark popping out to caress Leta's hand.
Knowing is half the battle,
I suppose... perhaps arrows and bolts, Sasha's claws and... magic, then. Preserve our weapons. She followed slowly.
"Well I don't see anything here worth lingering over, let's move on." Bashuk moves to follow Leta, but picks a different building to take a peek into.
Leta moves up behind to cover Bashuk with her bow.
Nadiya, ever slowly exploring and trying to take in all around her, pauses at the curios at the wall. Using detect magic, she sees if any radiate magic. If they do she will note this to the party and try to identify them.
If none look magic, she picks up a couple she thinks may be of historical interest.
Ever lagging behind she takes up the rear when Bashuk moves on.
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It comes as a curious surprise when Nadiya discovers that the centermost ivory spoon in the display case radiates of faint conjuration magic, so she stows the small collection in her bag to more thoroughly identify once she gets a chance.
Moving up to the north, you find the next door is set in the antechamber leading to a much larger building with a curved western wing and an arching roof. At first it looks like a chapel, but Vreya clarifies that, based upon signage that has endured, this is actually the city's grand library.
The stone door lays flat upon the road in front of the entrance, its hinges but a memory, leaving the way inside wide open.
Holding up a hand for silence, Bashuk points to the open doorway and falls back a few steps. "I don't think the iron-eaters are gone, I hear something inside. I'm not sure if they can smell iron but if so I think they'll notice us soon. Be ready." Flexing her hand, the half-orc gathers a fist-sized ball of golden fire and watches the library carefully.
Nadiya creeps closer to the others. She whispers to Bashuk. "What if I web the door? Or will that get in your way?"
Bashuk considers this, then shakes her head. "If I strike I'll just burn your webs. Save the spell, we might need it soon."
Nadiya nods, steps back, and if there is time, casts bear's endurance on herself.
Sasha cautiously slinks over to take a closer look... as Valeska silently concentrates on her eidolon.
Those of you that creep forward, into the antechamber and up to the door looking into the main library hall, can peer inside and find that the creatures in question are currently heaped together, sleeping in a big communal nest. The way their chitinous hides settle together make it hard to accurately quantify how many of them there are in total, but you'd guess there's at least six of them.
Their feathery antennae occasionally twitch as they sleep, and the mandible clack in irregular rhythms.
"Do we risk attacking them in tighter confines in order to get the drop on them?" Bashuk muses aloud when this information is relayed. "Maybe Sasha could drive them away--she doesn't have any metal on her, maybe they'd prefer to flee than fight her."
Nadiya replies via message, which she's been keeping going since they entered. "Or could we block the way to the nest so they can't get out? That way we do not have to risk Sasha."
Do any have non-metal weapons? Perhaps we attack with bows and crossbow... leading them out a few at a time.
Perhaps toss some coins to the other side of them and towards us.
She considers.
I do not relish destroying these
She seems torn.
Leta waits, her bow partially drawn. She stands ready to assist in a missile attack if asked, but does not relish attacking sleeping creatures, regardless of potential future risk.
"Crossbow bolts are steel. Arrowheads are steel. I do not know if they will hurt them--unless perhaps magic protects them, then my crossbow will work. But I do not see the point of waking them and luring them toward us." Nadiya sighs. "But the longer we equivocate, the more likely they waken. We either sneak attack out of necessity, with fire and ingenuity... or we seal them within. Which is it to be?"
"Seal them, if we can," Leta nods.
"They'll likely get out over time, it's less sure a death sentence than killing them outright."
Bashuk shrugs. "Okay, how do you want to do that without waking them up and trigging a fight anyway? I'm not crazy about leaving behind a nest of monsters, even if they just want to eat our stuff instead of us."
Nadiya rolls her eyes as she hisses through the message spell. "Then stop wasting time and lead the charge!" She is not usually so blunt. She stops herself from immediately apologizing and will only hope she has time later. But she is well aware the creatures will not sleep forever, and she finds the back and forth frustrating.
She reaches for her spell component pouch. "Or I shall cast web over the door and that will hold for 70 minutes while we prepare a barricade with the wood debris we found here. Stop me, now, if you wish a different course of action."
She prepares to cast.
With a sigh, Bashuk waves off the others and moves back to the doorway. "Your light might wake them," she messages as she sets to work. Slowly, quietly, the half-orc collects several loose pieces of wood from collapsed barrels and other items and uses them to wedge the hingeless door back into place. She does the same with the shutters over the window, then steps back with a shrug.
"I doubt that will hold them long if they're determined to get out, but we should at least hear it happen," She messages before rejoining the group.
"Time to move on, yeah?"
Having no abilities that could be of more than marginal assistance in blocking off the door, Leta accepts Bashuk's work and lowers her bow. If the creatures break out and attack the party later, we'll deal with it then.
"We should definitely remember this location, though, to Orc leaders above of the presence of this threat."
It's an interesting dilemma. But Leta may have the right of it, let's move on.
Don't know how long we'll be and we may need that trick in there...
The Countess looks over her fellows, waving them on.
Before Bashuk begins, Nadiya as promised (quietly) casts web over the doorway to prevent any creatures waking up from immediately charging them as they work.
It is tense, cautious work, but you eventually get the old library barricaded, thus sealing in the metal-eating creatures. There are a few tense moments when their feathery antennae flutter, and you worry that they might be sensing the metal you carry, but ultimately the creatures remain asleep.
"If Torag smiles upon us, it may be a season of hibernation for them," Vreya whispers encouragingly. "I've also developed a theory about these creatures and our investigation. Look up there."
Your dwarven ally points up at some of the stout columns supporting the heavy roof and the weight of Urgir above.
"There are furrows in the columns that don't appear to be part of the decorative carvings. I think there used to be iron bandings reinforcing these supports. If those creatures have been climbing up and consuming the iron, it would weaken the columns and compromise their ability to bear the weight of the surface city. That could be the source of the tremors and collapses."
Scouting ahead, Leta pauses near an old, dry fountain statue at a crossroads. To the west appears to be a courthouse and advocates' offices, while to the north there seems to be an academic district.
"Hmmm. Laws or scholarship?" Leta sends back via Nadiya's message spell, gesturing to each direction so Nadiya understands it's a nascent choice.
"Good thought, Vreya. I am no engineer, but that would make sense. But if that is the case, are we in danger of the place collapsing on us?"
If Leta reports on a nearby academic district, Nadiya suggests they might find records of how the place was constructed.
"If these creature's eating habits might cause it to collapse, we should go back and destroy them!" Bashuk plants her feet and points back the way they came. "The earthquakes tell me the damage is already great--if the city collapses thousands will die, and vultures will come to pick at the corpse of Belkzen's first real attempt at engaging with its neighbors!"
"They are trapped for now. And we should continue our investigation; Vreya's theory is good but we should be sure there is nothing else going on here. If it is just the rust eaters then the orcs will no doubt gladly perform an extermination. That prior investigations failed suggest there is more going on down here and we should save our resources for that." Nadiya pauses, then hastily finishes, "On my opinion of course."
She is otherwise ready to follow Leta's lead into the next area.
If Leta reports on a nearby academic district, Nadiya suggests they might find records of how the place was constructed.
"Good thought, Vreya. I am no engineer, but that would make sense. But if that is the case, are we in danger of the place collapsing on us?"
"I should say that my forebears' architecture and engineering should be able to withstand a few...compromises," Vreya replies, sounding a little less than certain towards the end of her statement. "They wouldn't create a support system that would fail if a single element was removed. Our ancestors built these citadels intending them to endure as the mountains themselves."
When Leta's message gets passed along, Vreya becomes very excited by the prospect of learning more about her ancestors, whether through law or academics. The young dwarf scout, still a bit overwhelmed by her first foray into the world beyond her secluded stronghold, is utterly unable to decide between the two options.
"Lets try the academics' district then. There might be a broader range of subjects to learn about there? I don't know, not my area."
Hearing this, Leta waits for the others to catch up and then turns north.
Nadiya nods at Bashuk. "Agreed."
She adjusts her dancing lights as needed as the party joins up with Leta.
Thank you all. Something about the whole thing makes me... uneasy. Unlike me... She looks around in wonder.
Good to know, Vreya. Yes, yes... academia. She seems to unconsciously follow Sasha's path. The companion only paces ahead.
Leta scouts ahead and finds an intersection running along the academic district.
On her left is some manner of archive or repository. The door yawns open, offering access to the dusty hall of knowledge. To her left is a row of collapsed shops - a barber, a tailor, and some kind of import goods shop - that have succumbed to their age, as well as multi-ton hunks of rock falling from the ceiling.
At the crux of the intersection is an old dorm or enclave for the scholars that once lived and worked in this neighborhood. Parts of it have also collapsed, but other sections appear still accessible. To the left of this enclave is a large shrine or small temple, while a tavern that once catered to the long-passed scholars sits to the right.
Once the party catches up with Leta, Nadiya eyes the archive, and involuntarily takes several steps before it. She's never had a formal education, but has always had a great thirst for knowledge. Whether listening in on lectures in larger cities where she traveled to or discovering old books on sale in caravans and seeing what new worlds they led to. And, after all, she is now, through some ridiculous turn of fate, magister of a whole county, so it would only be her duty to gain what information she could while the opportunity presented itself.
She pauses, catching herself at her own movement. "I think I'd like to see what's in there," she explains, belatedly. "Though perhaps as long as we go not to far from each other, we might split up and explore what else is here."
"I've got your back, Nadiya," Leta says, drawing her sword. The bard will follow Nadiya in 10' behind when she enters.
Nadiya turns to nod in gratitude to Leta as she advances.
"I'll stay here, and keep an eye on things in the street."
Valeska nods, Kain, your watchful eye is ever appreciated.
The Countess looks about and steps a handful of paces from Bashuk and Kain, as Sasha steps a similar handful of paces beyond her.