Now too close for the skum's polearm, and with Grease preventing the skum from backing up, Brannart gives only a small grunt as the creature's claw hits him. Better that than being skewered.
"Good spell, Vexas!"
He strikes back with his longsword.
Fenna begins encouraging everyone with a lively and highly optimistic speech.
Vexas's rapier, thrown just a bit too high too avoid his companion, dances across the room. As it passes by Urlgryber, it disappears, only to reappear in the Halfling's hand. This motion distracts the large Skum just enough for Sho's arrow to bust through the beasts shoulder. It lets out an angry snarl and spittle sprays out over Brannart. It eyes Sho for just a moment, but that is all that Brannart needs. Hearing Fenna's heavenly voice pump adrenaline through his body, the veteran Crusader slashes the beast across its gut. I fine red line begins to leak out the monster's life force. But it is not down yet, it turns to glare at Brannart.
Since the Skum approached him Malakar doesn't need to move closer he will attack the skum in front of him.
:( I think 1 higher would have hit.
"What's going on up there? I have two skum on the ramp here. Should I hold the line or come help?"
Vexas, hearing Malakar's voice, yells back to him over the din of battle.
Hold the line! I suspect you'll be finished with them soon anyway...
The Skum’s trident clangs against Malakar’s scimitar, the druid’s blade almost getting past the beast’s defense. As it catches its breath, Malakar smells the stink of rotten flesh coming from its gizzard.
The other Skum finds its footing and attempts to push past Malakar and move up the ramp. The Druid, using the narrow ramp to his advantage, stops the beast in his tracks.
Brannart ducks under another claw attack, but as he does, the veteran realizes his mistake. The claw swipe was a ruse as Urlgryber's mouth comes down on the warrior. Brannart feels serrated teeth tear in to him and the warmth of his own blood start to cool on his skin.
The Skum looks down at Brannart, blood covering its lips as it chews. Urlgryber growls out, "I will take you bite by bite human."
Fenna continues her oratory but also changes position so she can slip her long spear past Brannart to support him with attacks on the large skum warrior.
Brannart registers the pain of the bite, but keeps his head. He's fought demons in the Worldwound, after all. The Skum may be large and strong, but Brannart has fought things that were literally evil incarnate.
Nobody said this soldier job was easy... just got to make sure that the other guy falls down first.
And Fenna's song helps keep his mind foused.
Brannart adjusts his footing and swings again, landing another solid hit.
"Vexas, use that Desna box!"
Vexas nods at the soldier, reaching into his pack for the Desna box. As soon as it sees light he flips the lid open and activates it!
Fenna finds a small space between the wall and Brannart to jam her spear into the beast. He seems shocked with the spear thrust which distracts Urlgryber enough for Brannart to slash the Skum from shoulder to side.
Listening to the veteran, Vexas pulls out the dark cherry box with the engraved blue and white butterfly. He opens it and grabs the rock inside. A purplish glow springs from the rock, encapsulating the area and showering fine golden sparkles which begin to swirl around Vexas and his allies.
Edit
Malakar adjusts his footing as the Skum attempts to move past him. With a quick movement of his blade, he skewers the beast. Inspired by Fenna’s words, the Druid fluidly removes his blade and slashes at his original foe. The scimitar slices right through the creature’s neck. As the body splats into the Grease at its feet, its head sails through the air and bounces down the ramp in a series of sickening thuds.
The recently skewered Skum fighting Malakar watches its companion beheaded and it growls with bloodlust in its eyes. It strikes out with its trident, but the weapon is met by Malakar's blade.
Urlgryber is starting to look like a bloody pin cushion as it takes another of Sho's arrows, but once again the beast finds a gap in Brannart's defenses as vicious teeth tear into the veteran. Still growling, the monstrous Skum spats, "Bite by Bite."
Fenna continues her speechifying and looking for chances to poke at the big skum.
Brannart winces as the creature finds a gap once again.
Have to do better. Stop getting careless.
The power of Desna calms him and guides his hand as he once again drives his longsword at his foe.
While Fenna continues the assault with her spear, Brannart attacks with his sword. Whether it is his own adrenaline, Fenna's song, or the magic of Desna, the veteran issues a deep cutting slash across Urlgryber. In his head, he hears a woman's voice, "The courageous make their own luck."
Amazingly, Urlgryber still stands.
Brannart will 5' step back to give Vexas a better shot.
Malakar emboldened by shark like bloodlust (and Fenna's words and Desna's blessing) he swings at the remaining skum to try and finish him off.
If that takes down the Skum Malakar will move up the ramp to see what is going on with the rest of the group.
Vexas sprints a short distance back up the passage until he has a clear shot at Urlgryber. He still keeps a bit of distance and flicks his rapier at it...
Again it flies through the air, and as soon as it lodges it Urlgryber, tearing open a wound, it speeds back towards the halfling's hand.
As Malakar drops his second Skum Opponent, Urlgryber finally falls to Vexas’s rapier and Sho’s arrow.
Brannart will drop his sword (planning to clean and sheathe it later) and pick up his ranseur again, in case more foes come from around the corner.
"Malakar, do you need help?"
"All clear here!"
Malakar comes up the ramp to see what too the whole rest of the groups attention.
"Wow, gald you are all ok that looks like quite the beast. Anyone need some healing? The wand still has miracles to grant."
Brannart, ranseur back in hand, inspects the second floor of the tower.
As previously realized, this tower floor is a library. Bookshelves, covered in the dust of deteriorating paper and leather, wrap around the western wall. Opposite the bookshelves, on the western side of the floor, is a small stone plinth holding a clockwork bust of a nondescript woman. Against the southwest wall is a desk suitable for quiet study. There is also the table and stools on the eastern side of the floor. The table holds several colored, oval-shaped gems. With the immediate danger perceived to be over you are finally able to examine the plague in Azlanti text on the wall next to the double-doors to an inner chamber. The southern wall offers a ramp up to a third level.
With some study and Sho’s assistance, the plaque reads, ”Lower Level Tank and Observation Deck.”
The halfling circles the floor, running his fingers along the spines of books in Azlanti. He wonders if there are some spells hidden amongst the volumes, but he figures now is not the time to drag Sho through the shelves.
Arriving at the study desk, he scans it for any hint of recent activity or interesting clues.
As soon as the skum are finished off, Fenna sees to Brannart's various bites.
"Stop and be still for a minute Brannart, you're a mess. Malakar, over here with that wand."
Brannart is a surprisingly good patient. He sits still and makes no complaint, other than to say, "If you have some whiskey to splash on that, can I splash a bit down my throat as well? That's the Caydenite remedy for getting chewed up by a Skum."
"Yeah, it's not great. But it looks worse than it is; my armor took a lot of the force of it."
"Thanks for having my back, Fenna, Vexas, Sho. And thanks for taking on the other ones, Malakar. I think our group here makes a good team."
Malakar retrieves the wand from his belt and waves it over Brannarts wounds willing the magic from within the wand.
"Indeed, I feel we are becoming an effective team. I may not be very talkative with you all but I appreciate your skills and am happy to be your frontline next to Brannart here. Vexas! Why don't you put your new magic to the test? Check out that big beasts spear for Brannart. Than after that lets move on I feel we apporoach a breakthrough in the mysteries of our new home.
Fenna pulls out a bottle that's about 3/4 full and hands it over to Brannart.
"So what do you think? Are the skum using this place simply because it's an intact building, or are they trying to do something more here? How smart do skum tend to be Malakar?"
As Brannart is getting healed, Vexas searches around the bookshelves and the desk. A small amount of disappointment sets in when the Halfling finds many of the books have crumbled to little more than dust, but then he finds, hidden under all of the dust, a few books that have survived the test of time. Two books of engraved metal plates along with three other books of seemingly standard paper and ink somehow survived. The rogue turned mage does pick up on the fact that one of the paper and ink books must have recently been looked at, since it lacks a layer of dust. This particular book has rigid runes along its spine. A sixth book appears to be an ancient spellbook.
On the desk, Vexas finds a bright blue oval-shaped gem. This gem is very similar to the other gems found on the table, but this gem seems to glow brighter. As Vexas examines the gem, he is reminded of a very similar gem inside the clockwork creature they caught and he had a chance to tinker with.
"Skum can be as smart as any human Fenna. They are evil and devious. The only saving grace is they can't breed without another human race they are all male. Usually they serve a more powerful leader than this guy tho."
Vexas looks curiously at the disturbed books. He hesitates for a moment, and then decides to go ahead and take them all. He plops his pack down onto the chair in front of the desk and piles all six books into it.
Sho! I've found what looks like a spellbook here. When we have a more leisurely pace I might take your help translating it.
Then, he sees the gem and pauses. He stops to turn his arcane eye on it to see if he can understand it better.
Regardless of the result, he returns to his teammates and reports briefly on his findings, quickly turning his attention to the spear as requested.
These stones are either the brains or the power sources for the clockwork "agents" that their civilization kept, I think...
Then Malakar explains about how Skum procreate and he gets a sickened look on his face.
"Saving grace"...?! But how do they convince the...? Oh, nevermind.
His face goes through a series of confused, disturbed expressions before he shakes off the train of thought.
Brannart also winces at the implication.
Could the missing colonists have been abducted for that reason? This unknown leader will pay dearly.
"I too thought of that outcome," reacting to everyone's faces. "however, that doesn't explain the missing men we should have found more dead than missing. Also I would not wish that fate on them so lets keep hope a bit longer."
"Saving grace"...?! But how do they convince the...? Oh, nevermind.His face goes through a series of confused, disturbed expressions before he shakes off the train of thought.
When Brannart passes the bottle back, Fenna takes a swig of her own from it.
"Yeah Vexas. They don't. Trust me."
After putting the bottle away, Fenna has a quick look around of her own.
"If the parts for the constructs are here, does that mean the skum were using that little spider one to spy on us? Somebody was running it, right?"
"I sense whatever is in the center or top of this tower is to blame for the spy. Not that the Skum aren't capable, but they revel in more brutal methods."
"I would suggest we first explore the center of this floor, through those double doors, and then look to ascend after that."
Vexas, focusing his newly studied magical abilities, forms arcane hand gestures over the gem. The arcane student senses a faint magical aura on the gem but cannot glean anymore information from his spell.
Learning from his first attempt, Vexas moves onto Urlgryber’s dropped ranseur which is partially laying in a drying pool of blood.
Once again, forming the arcane gesture, but subtly changing the position of his thumb, Vexas senses a more potent rendering of his spell. Vexas clearly recognizes two magical auras. Abjuration being a dominant aura while also showing a secondary, but still moderately powerful, transmutation aura.
Vexas recognizes that the magical properties allow the wielder of such a weapon to be quicker, more accurate, and offer more powerful strikes. There is also an inherent aquatic feature to the weapon allowing it to be wielded in underwater environments as if it were being wielded on land.
________________________________________________________________________
While searching the presumed Skum leader’s body, also found is a vial of a dark blue liquid and four distinct keys stashed in a pouch at its side.
As Brannart points out, there are the double doors leading to an inner-chamber and a ramp leading to a third floor.
"Good!, keys now we shouldn't have to worry about traps. I agree with Brannart kets check this central chamber before ascending up more."
Brannart sets his polearm aside and picks up the Skum's magical ranseur.
He positions himself outside the double door.
"Ready!"
"We should take things as they come. Everything here before going up."
Vexas quickly runs down the properties of the ranseur, handing it off to Brannart.
Thank you! That was fun. Exploring magical auras is still new to me. It's like... wandering a forest alone using signposts that only you know, with your expertise!
After that it's obvious he's less interested in the weapon itself. Then, hearing Fenna's remark he nods, turning to her and remarking.
I agree Fenna. Did you have anything else in mind on this level?
Fenna says "oh!", slightly startled.
"I guess I wasn't making much sense. I meant the doors in the middle of the room here first, then we go on up, like Brannart and Malakar said."
Vexas glances over the references doors, looking for traps first. Then he quickly scans them for magic.
Sho scans the room but finds no immediate danger. Vexas senses a moderate magical aura coming from behind the door. Finding no traps, the Halfling opens the doors.
The inner chamber is an octagonal walkway illuminated by a soft, pervasive light. The overwhelmingly dominant feature is another chamber inside the area, which has transparent walls and appears to be filled with gently bubbling water. This cistern or tank appears to extend up into the next floor, although there is a stone ceiling fifteen feet above the external walkway. On the east side of the tank is a transparent door complete with an opaque handle.
With the tank now in sight, Vexas can tell that the magical aura is Abjuration magic.
Curious by the new site, Vexas inches into the room, looking carefully at the bubbling what in the tank.
Well, I wonder what this is for... incubating those creatures? Perhaps?
Fenna doesn't immediately know what to say about the odd tank of bubbling water. She takes a walk around it slowly and gives it a good looking over, trying to find something in the structure that might help explain it.