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Dellan cringes at the paladin's face. He's clearly doing a poor job, but shockingly, Argus doesn't pass out. Dellan blushes slightly; he wishes he was that strong.
He touches the hand once he's set the bones (he thinks?) he whispers a prayer to Pharasma to mend the bones.
He sighs. "I think it is healed. I... I do not think I set it properly. I am sorry."
Argus flexes the fingers. There is a dull ache as he does so, but it doesn't feel like they've lost any of their strength. Another ache to add to the growing pile of his aging body, he supposes.
He nods, trying not to show any resentment and make the young oracle feel worse. "It w-will be fine. Thank you."
He looks to the room. "How do we g...get past that?"
Ray rubs his chin. "I did okay resisting its compulsion. I'll go open the door, the rest of you run through, and I'll follow you in."
Argus frowns. "That is a d-dangerous proposition. Are you sure?"
At Ray's nod, he puffs out a breath. "Very w...well. Shelyn be with you."
Knowing he can't stop to check the door, Ray makes the sign of the cross and rushes into the room and throws open the door, keeping to one side so the others can run in.
"RAY, NO!" Amanteia screams at Ray as he turns to the device, hands extended.
Amanteia snaps Ray out of his reverie, hands mere inches from the device. He snatches his hands away then turns and opens the door. As everyone else passes through the room, no one else feels the strange compulsion.
Ray takes a look around. This square room contains nooks at varying heights in the west wall, each containing a candle with an eerie, green-hued flame. Several thin mats cover the floor near the nooks. A narrow archway in the north wall leads into a garden, while doors stand in the east and south walls.
Ray leans against the wall once in the safety of the next room, panting heavily for a few moments. He saw what happened to Argus' hands; he's not keen on having warped finger joints just yet.
He moves to the really poorly hidden secret door and scopes it out before opening it.
If he finds nothing, he opens up the door, hammer at the ready.
Ray enters the "secret" room to find a simple supply room containing gardening tools such as shovels, rakes, and brick and mortar. You have no idea why this room needed a secret door, especially when there is a regular door on the other end. Curious.
As you look around, several bundles of old hay quiver and sob. If you touch them, they explode into a rain of fungus-rotted hay (but don't seem to hurt you in any way).
Surprise! It's not real.
Ray finds an odd item in the corner: an alchemical silver halberd.
Ray hands the halberd to Argus. "Weird how many silver weapons we keep finding. I think this probably belongs with you. Polearms seem to be your forte."
Ignoring the courtyard for the moment, Ray checks the south door.
Assuming he gets the all-clear (and ever-considerate of the ticking clock on Dellan's spell) Argus opens the south door.
Ray detects a faint illusion aura on the hay, but it's unlike any illusory magic he has encountered before; it's almost as if there is a touch of conjuration magic mixed in. It's not necessarily more powerful, but it is different... and unnerving.
The southern door is unlocked. Argus swings it open to find a dark storage room.
Ray lights up the hammer and steps into the storage room, taking a look around for anything of interest.
Once Ray is done checking the room, Argus quickly moves to the north entrance into the courtyard, absently flexing his still-aching fingers. He's not excited to take off his armor tonight and see just how awkwardly the fingers are bent now. With everyone gathered together, he steps up and into the courtyard, looking around.
Ray steps through the doorway... and finds himself in the writing room where they fought the scarlet spiders.
Huh. That's weird.
"What in the Hells...?" He turns back and forth, grumbling to himself. "I wonder..."
He goes to open the door he saw the ettercap step through. This place is being all twisty and weird; maybe it circumvents the room with the hand-eating machine?
From somewhere nearby he thinks he might hear a voice, and pauses. Was that Argus?
Argus immediately goes on full alert when Ray vanishes. "S~%+!" He turns to Dellan and Amanteia. "Wait here."
"Raybin!" he calls. "Raybin, can you hear me? Stay put! I'm Coming to you!"
With that, the paladin takes a deep breath and steps through the doorway Ray just vanished into.
Ray turns around, looks through the door he just exited, and sees the other end of the same storage room. He can definitely hear Argus calling for him from the other door, then suddenly Argus is in the writing room too. The half-orc bumps into Ray and they tumble into the lectern. Argus just appeared in the writing room; Ray never saw him actually in the storage room.
This must be another of Colulus's tricks.
As Dellan looks around, he feels something ... intruding ... on his thoughts. It feels like little tendrils trying to reach into his brain and extract its secrets. He shakes it off and then notices Amanteia looks like he feels; whatever tried to get in his head did the same to her.
Argus sheepishly helps the occultist to his feet. "S-sorry. What in the H... Hells was that?"
He glances around, then looks at the door leading west. "Do we try it...?"
Ray shrugs. "Worth a shot." He steps back and lets the paladin go first.
Bob coughs. [color=blue]"This is gonna be hilarious."[/color]
Argus takes a deep breath and opens the door.
Amanteia nods, jaw clenched. "Someone tried to read our thoughts. Colulus, no doubt. The others need to come back now." She moves to the doorway and calls for Ray and Argus, but doesn't go through.
Ray steps through the door and finds himself back in the meditation hall with Amanteia and Dellan. Argus steps through the door and finds himself... back in the kitchen. He whips around and sees not the writing room, but the clerks' room where they spoke to the handless wyrwoods.
Argus feels a strange tug at his mind, similar to what the others experienced (though he doesn't know it happened to them as well). Fortunately, he also fights off the intruder.
Which is when Colulus blinks into existence in front of him. His face contorts into a twisted perversion of a smile, mandibles dripping with poison-tinged saliva. "Strong minds, oh yes! It will be especially sweet when I finally penetrate them. And I will! Oh, I will..."
Before Argus can react, Colulus's form disintegrates into a swarm of tiny spiders and scurries away.
Ray looks around in frustration. "Argus? Argus!" He growls. "He was right behind me! This place f#!%ing sucks."
Argus snaps his glaive into place, but before he can even think of doing much else, the creature is gone. He looks around uncertainly, then hustles back down the hallway toward the room with the mangling machine.
He hesitates there, mutters, "Shelyn guide me," and hustles through the room to the other door.
Argus rushes back through the chomp-chomp room.
He takes the time to moon the machine on his way out.
Once back in the room with the others, he puffs out a breath. "I'm ab...bout done with this place. Let's keep m-m-moving."
He steps into the courtyard to the north.
Ray breathes a sigh of relief and nods, following Argus to the north and keeping an eye out for trouble.
As you walk into the garden, Amanteia shouts, "Spider in the tree!", but it is too late. The spiders are upon you.
#2 drops down, almost directly on Ray's head, and attempts a bite.
The spider's silk rope suddenly snaps, dropping it to the ground, directly on its mandible.
#3 drops to the ground and scurries next to Argus.
Spider #2 (0 damage, -1 to-hit until crit)
Spider #3 (0 damage)
Amanteia (28/29 hp)
Bold may act.
Amanteia reaches her crossbow between Dellan and Ray and fires at #1.
All three spiders make pathetic attempts at bites and miss terribly.
Spider #1 (0 damage)
Spider #2 (0 damage, -1 to-hit until crit)
Spider #3 (0 damage)
Dellan (34/34 hp)
Amanteia (28/29 hp)
Argus (40/40 hp)
Raybin (27/27 hp, 1 str damage)
Bold may act.
Argus hustles up behind spider #3 to flank #2 with Raybin. He swipes over the head of the adjacent spider down onto spider #2.
Ray swings the hammer at #2 in an attempt to smush it. These damned spiders are getting on his nerves; he wants the big one.
Amanteia moves again for a clear shot and fires a bolt of acid at #3.
All three spiders lunge at Argus as he maneuvers by, but their mandibles can't pierce his armor. Shortly afterwards, #2 is dead and #1 is missing a handful of legs. The two remaining spiders decide to go after easier targets, #1 biting Dellan and #3 biting Amanteia . They both feel the cold poison coursing into the wounds.
Dellan fights it off but Amanteia starts to feel just a bit weaker.
Spider #1 (6 damage)
Spider #2 (14 damage, dead)
Spider #3 (0 damage)
Dellan (34/34 hp)
Amanteia (28/29 hp, 1 str damage, poisoned [3 rounds])
Argus (40/40 hp)
Raybin (27/27 hp, 1 str damage)
Bold may act.
Seeing both Dellan and Amanteia struggle, Argus makes a snap decision. Dellan can generally hold his own at least for awhile, but Amanteia is, for lack of a better word, "squishy." He moves to the east to flank with Raybin and hacks at #3.
Ray tries to return some semblance of dignity to the party.