Gervase bends down to pick up her hammer, but swiftly looks up again as Rossby yelps in pain as he walks through her splash of weakened brown mold...
...and is followed by Nalaia...
...who doesn't seem to notice the chill. Igor continues to pummel the unconscious kobold, his missile pushing its limp body back from the grate.
Rami searches the other side for another opening mechanism...
...but doesn't spot anything in the muck.
Round 16! Bold may act!
Rossby (-5 nonlethal)
Gervase (-24)
Rami (-3)
Igor
Nalaia (-4)
Blue (-7, Unconscious 4/??, Blinded 4/??, Stunned 4/??)
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“I don’t think we should split the party down here.”
I’ll have to make do without my club and spear – which isn’t the end of the world.
Gervase re-slings her bow, and casts a frustrated look over her shoulder at the unconscious Blue-eyes.
Oh, well. Maybe he’ll be less enthusiastic about fighting us again?
With polearm in hand, the ranger attempts to leap the brown mold as she strides after Rossby and Nalaia.
“Some extra healing would be most welcome, Nalaia.”
Gervase follows after Nalaia and Rossby, hissing in pain as her repurposed trap chills her feet.
Rami follows after the other Pathfinders, trying his best to avoid the mold...
...but alas, it is of no avail.
Igor hears the kobold yelp in pain as he pummels her again with magic. She writhes in pain on the tunnel floor, but does not seem fully recovered from Nalaia's spell.
As Rossby rounds the corner, he spots a set of rough-hewn steps leading out from the tunnel. Collapsed at the base of the stairs is the other kobold - unconscious, but still breathing. At the top of the stairs, a small sliver of light is barely visible underneath a door at the end of a hallway. Suddenly, a guttural reptilian voice booms all around him!
Round 17! Bold may act!
Rossby (-5 nonlethal)
Gervase (-24, -8 nonlethal)
Rami (-3, -8 nonlethal)
Igor
Nalaia (-4)
Blue (-9, Prone, Blinded 5/??, Stunned 5/??)
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“Igor, an act of mercy might be a better play at the moment.”
Gervase steps 5’ to the west, draws her CLW antler wand and ✨taps herself.
She then calls out calmly, “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but we’ve knocked out your sentinels and you’ll need to hire a new tentacle-beast.”
“Bluster and violence doesn’t seem to working too well for you, does it? But there is another option … Diplomacy.”
“That’s the way civilized peoples address their differences. If you, ser are incapable of negotiating the kinds of alliances required to safeguard your people in the treacherous world we all share, perhaps there’s someone else we might talk to?”
Igor continues his heroic assault on the helpless kobold, who cries out in pain while the half-elf's companions heal themselves. The booming voice does not respond to the Pathfinders' attempts at communication - diplomatic or otherwise.
Round 18! Bold may act!
Rossby (-5 nonlethal)
Gervase (-18, -2 nonlethal)
Rami
Igor
Nalaia (-4)
Blue (-14, Prone, Blinded 6/??, Stunned 6/??)
Igor joins his companions on the other side of the brown mold, chilling his feet in the process. Gervase pushes on ahead up the rough-hewn stairs to a small passageway, almost slipping at one point on the too-small steps. At the end of the hallway, faint light flickers from underneath a closed wooden door. The guttural reptilian voice is nowhere to be heard.
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“Cayden backwards on a donkey naked! This is a darn trap!”
Gervase takes a step back, harnesses her polearm and again ✨taps herself with her CLW wand, before stowing the item.
“The water on the floor has gotta be a clue, but I dunno what to …”
She studies the walls, floor and ceiling looking for traps.
“I’m not sure my wayfinder sheds enough light to see the whole picture. Have one of you spell-casters got dancing lights or similar so we can inspect the entire setup?”
The ranger frowns at the lonely door. “Does the door at the end of the passage look water-tight to anyone?”
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Rossby double moved to be right behind Gervase last turn, so he should be closer than the others.
He will look around, although he can't see very well.
Depending on what kind of trap people thinks this is, Rossby does have Obscuring Mist and Water Sight - if we're worried about an ambush he can drop mist to cover the doorway. It won't help if it's some kind of water trap - although he'll note that Gervase and he both come from water backgrounds and can swim.
Gervase and Rossby both look around suspiciously, but don't see anything out of the ordinary in the hallway. The doorway at the end of the passage does not look watertight - just a simple wooden door in a crude wooden frame.
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“OK, I’m guessing this is a water/wave trap, with the water coming from above us in a torrent fast enough to wash us all downhill into the Otyugh room.”
Gervase points at the door. “That’s the trigger. I’d speculate there is a room behind it, but you need to open the door in a particular way to prevent the trap from being sprung.”
“I’m the designated big, dumb fighter. What say I try to force the door open and take one for the team?”
“Meanwhile you guys retreat to the downpipe above the Otyugh’s lair and wait for me to get flushed downstream. If I’m wrong and when I open the door ten kobolds pour out, I withdraw screaming to your position.”
“Thoughts?”
The Pathfinders discuss their plan of action in hushed voices as the light of their spells casts dancing shadows along the cramped stone tunnel.
As her companions pull back to a safe distance - Rossby staying within sight - Gervase squares her shoulders, takes a deep breath, and opens the door. On the other side, a two-foot recess holds nothing but an everburning torch atop an iron stand. A slight noise catches the ranger's attention, and she looks up to see a molded string connected to the door running into a narrow hole in the wall, brushing against stone as the door pulls it.
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Gervase freezes, with the door barely ajar. She gives Rossby a quick rundown of the set-up and then calls:
"I'm going inside the 'closet' to cut the string to see what happens. I'll keep the door barely cracked with the heel of my back foot while I'm doing so."
The ranger draws her dagger and attempts to do just that.
Gervase squeezes into the small closet, grateful that the everburning torch does not give off heat like a regular fire as it pokes her in the back. With one fluid motion, the ranger slices cleanly through the string and leaves it hanging limply from its hole in the stone wall. The Pathfinders freeze for a moment, but nothing seems to happen in response.
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Gervase slips her dagger back into her boot and backs up a little, so that her derrière keeps the door about a quarter open. “I’ve cut the cord and so far so good, Rossby.”
“I’m gonna check the torch for traps and to see if it moves. It might be safe to come and help me – but I can’t guarantee it.”
“Can you convey to the others what’s going on and let me know if you wanna take a look?”
The ranger then inspects the torch for traps and whether there are any concealed bearings or hinges that indicate it is designed to move like a handle.
Gervase and Rossby examine the torch and its bracket, but don't spot any moving parts or other surprises in the small room. Igor walks forward to see what's taking so long, but can't examine the room or get close with both Gervase and Rossby in the way. As the half-elf's eyes wander across the walls, he notices a faint crack in the stone that appears too straight to be natural. With a push, a section of wall pivots back to reveal a hidden passageway!
Igor creeps into the tunnel and peers around the corner. Ancient sconces with everburning torches cast an odd blue light on what looks to be an old shop. More light streams in through dirty windows in the front of the shop on either side of the wide double doors on the far side of the room. The entryway the Pathfinders are in, howerever is a small, more recent addition that has been carved out of the surrounding rock. The walls are decorated with red wallpaper that is falling off due to mold and mildew. Perhaps this was originally a retail shop; now every available surface is covered in alchemical supplies and half-built traps. Shelves that might have once held candy and gifts have been repurposed to hold a massive collection of well used books.
A pair of dilapidated stairs on either side of the room leads up to a loft overlooking the first floor. A large steaming cauldron and trapmaking equipment are visible on the second floor, as is a small writing desk. On either side of the second floor, large bay windows look out onto a lit, indoor chamber beyond. The room is silent, save for an occasional blurp from the cauldron.
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That Otyugh was nasty, but …
“Despite the inconvenience, I’m interested to see what the Sewer Dragons have *ahem* cooked up for us next.”
Gervase peers at the old shop’s shabby dressing from the doorway before *shrugging* “We could spend an hour second-guessing what the set-up is.”
“But I’m gonna treat it like any other dungeon and just get on with it.”
The ranger draws her polearm and enters at floor level cautiously. She’s alert for traps and ambushes. “Igor, can you see anything? What is keeping that cauldron bubbling?”
“Nalaia, do you think it might be worthwhile directing some created water onto the outside of the cauldron to cool it down?”
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"Could just ruin the thing with water in general if we're worried about it." posits Nalaia. "I do assume something awful's going to happen here, though. Not a bad call."
Nalaia will at least make sure the cauldron is filled with created water before letting a bit bubble over (slowly), hopefully dribbling over the sides to put out the fire and dilute whatever's in there in the same spell. "Whoever made this can't be too mad. It'll disappear eventually."