"The cloud should be gone in less than a minute. And I'm fine, thank you." Since his flying trick would still last some time and considering even the dead would have heard their fighting, Aru flies over the chasm so he can take a look of what lies ahead of them.
"Minor injuries. Should get patched up before continuing. How's everyone back there?" Marcus growls back to Yazi. He picks up his shield and also glances down the hole to see if there's any immediate danger. He didn't seem overly concerned because based on Yazi first asking about him, nobody back there could be in too bad of shape. He's glad he made the right call to let them hold their line.
Yaziyah scoffs at what Marcus calls 'minor injuries' as she concentrates on a powerful healing ritual. He wasn't at death's door, it was true, but the wounds were serious enough to warrant intervention while Aru was scouting ahead.
The Shoanti then glances at the armored figure, wondering if it was still the Gray Maiden at the reins. "I think you got injured as well. Let me take care of that." Seeing the woman's sluggish reactions, she frowns, then performs the restorative ritual as well.
Marcus watches the healing with curiosity, both brows going up when no scars are left. Interesting. Very interesting. He silently nods a thanks to Yazi and peers over the pit.
Once the battle concludes, the Gray Maiden retrieves her sword and shield slowly, dropping to one knee when she finishes collecting the items. She tries to clear her throat and catch her breath, the effort noticeable as it echoes inside her helm.
Though she makes no verbal plea for help, Yaziyah's healing magic silently welcomes her arrival. She remains on her knee, an implicit acknowledgment of her need for the assistance offered.
As Yazi's magical healing washes over her, the Gray Maiden lifts her gaze, a silent thanks conveyed through the eye slits in her helm before she verbalizes her gratitude. "Thank you, Yaziyah Tanja," she says, her voice gaining back some of its usual firmness. "Your aid is... deeply appreciated."
Peering over the edge, the party notes that there are ledges that protrude from the cave wall. The protrusions rise from a rocky beach overlooking the sloshing waters of a sea cave. Three rope bridges descend deeper into the cave, connecting three progressively lower ledges on the wall until finally reaching a stony protrusion at ground level. Seeing and hearing no enemies in the area, the party descends the first rope bridge to the protrusion that has a closed door set in the cave wall.
Marcus listens at the door, also looking for any notable traps, hoping that Magda does the same with her superior senses.
Not known for her ability to spot traps, TGM looks about for signs of trouble in any form, while the others with more specific skills diagnose the new area. She keeps her place in the formation, protecting the rear of the group.
At the door, Mags knows what she's to do. Get close and get to know the door, which is lonely and distracting the poor half-orc. Grumbling as she straightens, after listening, it sounds like her grumble is "[b]no and never [/i]" to response to whatever it was whispering.
Marcus raises a brow at Magda, and once she gets back into position he raises his shield and slowly opens the door.
"Seeing anything?" He asks Marcus, equal parts curious and anxious.
Magda cranes her neck from behind the others, but seeing over the wall is impossible.
This simple chamber contains a bed and a number of shelves carved into the stone walls. All manner of animal figurines, some crude and carved of wood, others exquisite and sculpted from stone or even metal, decorate these shelves. A heap of raw materials for crafting more of the animals lies against the western wall.
"Interesting." Mags says when she sees "Let me look." she moves forward, slipping past the Wall. "Can someone check the magics?"
Her nature wants to methodically look through every little bit, slow and steady, but she knows spells and things have only so much power. So she looks as best she can as quickly as caution allows.
Magda finds some things that might be valuable, but nothing hidden and no traps.
"Sure thing, let... me take a look." Nothing, uhn? Great that there was nothing dangerous, but a tiny bit disappointed as well.
In moment, Aru concentrates on the wisps and weaves of magic traces, opening his mind's eye.
After Magda and the magic checkers do a once over of the room, Marcus shrugs. "Next room than."
With a silent nod, Aru moves to the next door and tries to hear something.
The armored warrior nods to Marcus and marches along "silently" (as a pot falls down a flight of stairs). Keeping her guard up, she remains wary of the next source of danger.
Following closely behind Aru, Yaziyah stands ready to threaten anything that threatens the other Shoanti, although with all the noise they've been making it is unlikely there was anything in this are still unaware of their presence.
Mags leaves the valuable nik naks, almost painfully, but she manages. At the next door, she slips by again, listening, looking, and sniffing for danger and traps.
The party moves down to the door, and listens intently. As they move down, Magda and Aru notice there's some movement of some sort of large creature under the water. The southern doorway seems to be on one of the landings at the same level as the dock.
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Marcus frowns down at the water. "Not easy to swim in this armor. I don't see another way across though. Can we bait it out to see if it's dangerous?" Marcus inquires, having no idea what they're dealing with.
"Not easy to swim in this armor."
Mags has no idea about baiting anything. "We could go back up and get some of the poison cloud mushrooms and toss them in?"
Yaziyah frowns at the shadow in the water. "If these caverns are connected to the river, I suppose the Arkonas wouldn't want them unguarded. So I will assume that whatever is down there is both dangerous and hostile." She keeps a healthy distance from the water, back against the wall of the cavern and her lucerne hammer at the ready.
"Seems like something that'd want to eat us. Lets look at the sneaky door." she points back up toward the landing. While the others talk, she checks that one for traps and critters on the other side (listening and smelling)
The sneaky door opens up into a winding tunnel lit with some long-burning oil torches. The tunnel goes for a few hundred feet, and then curves sharply to the north here, ending at a set of large bronze doors, each carved with images of tigers chasing other tigers in four adjacent circles. At the center of each circle of tigers, a snarling tiger head looks out.
"Big cats and angry heads. Does this mean anything?" she asks those with more knowledge than her as she inspects the door and listens/smells for enemies. She will also search the walls for secrets. Then steps back for the magic eyes people can do their thing.
"I'm not sure," responds Yaziyah, eyeing the carved doors. "It certainly seems to be a strong motif. Perhaps it means that the Arkonas see themselves as predators, or perhaps they really, really like tigers."
The Gray Maiden approaches the ornately carved bronze doors, eyes scanning the detailed imagery. She pauses, taking a moment to appreciate the craftsmanship.
"These doors... they're symbolic, no doubt. Perhaps a testament to the Arkonas' power and influence?" she muses aloud, her voice echoing slightly in the tunnel. She places her gloved hand on one of the tiger heads, feeling for any mechanisms or oddities in its construction.
After a thorough inspection, she steps back, allowing space for the more magically inclined members of the group to examine the arcane aspects of the door. "If there are no traps, we should proceed with caution. Whatever lies beyond, it's protected for a reason."
"Animals of all kinds have been a very common theme throughout this whole manor."
Aru and Magda are taking stock of the situation when they both realize, almost at the same time, that the eastern wall, just south of the door, is not, in fact, a real wall, but an illusion.
"The wall isn't a wall, just looks like a wall." she crotches, gets a pebble, and chucks it lightly at the base of the wall to prove her point.
"Hah! So this big, fancy door is a decoy? Or perhaps a trap. Very well, let's see what is through this not-a-wall, then."
With a glance at Aru to confirm that the other Shoanti wasn't sensing something terribly dangerous on the other side, Yaziyah sticks her head through the illusory wall with just a moment of hesitation.
As Yaziyah cautiously peers through the illusory wall, the Gray Maiden positions herself just a step behind, her shield raised in front of her and her sword ready. Her stance is protective, ensuring that she can quickly react if a threat emerges from the other side.
Her gaze is focused, tracking Yaziyah's movements closely, prepared for the possibility of an ambush.
When Yazi peeks through, it's dark, but the party's dancing lights pass through easily and she can see the outline of a door to the east. A few seconds of work leads the party to indicate that there are no traps. Listening at the door, there is the sound of movement on the other side.
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"The wall isn't a wall, just looks like a wall."
"Yes we all know you're talking about me."
she crouches, gets a pebble, and chucks it lightly at the base of the wall to prove her point.
Marcus stops. "Oh."
Once Yazi is not attacked Marcus grunts in satisfaction, moving forward, shield up, exploring the space behind the not-a-wall.
"Somethings on the other side." Mags takes her ear off the door and whispers to the others, then moves back to her place, grasping her spear ready to fight.
Chill, chill, it is time. Aru flexes his fingers and massages his stiff neck. "I'm ready, I think."
This large room is lit by a heartily burning firepit in the room’s center. Cages hang on chains dangling from hooks in the ceiling, while racks, strappados, gibbets, and other implements of torture fill the floor space. A set of immense wooden doors stand in the wall to the north, while to the south stand several narrow cells.
On the other side of the room, a six-armed woman has three fanged faces on her head. She wears colorful robes, and her hands wield several exotic weapons. She is strapping a filthy, exhausted man to what appears to be one of the torture racks. He is sobbing, quietly.
One of her faces spots the party, and with a curious sound, she wheels around, ready to engage.
"What in the-!" this was a very strange creature, and Yaziyah is at a loss for a moment.
"Ancestors, protect us against those who would harm us and the city," she prays as she strides past Marcus into the room, positioning herself out of the way of his charge. She has no illusions that they would be able to talk this... being into relinquishing her prisoner and surrendering.
"Yikes!"
"That is an Upasunda, an asura!" He warns Yaziyah. "Asuras are outsiders with the purpose to undo what the Gods have created..." Which was everything to be honest. "... and an upasunda does this through sheer martial prowess."
"Don't bother flanking it and they are too fast to be caught in spells, even if we manage to pierce its resistance! And we need to hit him good to harm it and stop its regeneration, and when I mean good I mean holy pure soul I'm going to Heaven good!"
The asura looks annoyed at the spell, and glances at the way Yazi is dressed. At least two of her eyes narrow, possibly in anger, and it looks like she's considering something. Watching the long reach of the hammer, she steps back slightly to give herself more space as she watches the others in the door.