Never having seen an ironbloom mushroom before, Oryn pokes at the foul smelling, moldy toadstool with his spear and shows it to Kali.
"Is this what we are looking for? It doesn't look anything like iron. Perhaps we should keep looking. Is that a door just beyond the opening in the east wall? Maybe we should look there."
When he pokes the toadstool, it releases a cloud of spores into the air around himself and Mathine. You both need a DC 12 Fort save or take Con damage.
Rao spots one book up on a top shelf that appears to not have mould on it. Now how to get it down without disturbing the mould spores...
The release of the spores causes Oryn to flinch and he reacts by attempting to blast the spores out of the room through the ruinous western wall.
Oryn is able to use basic aerokinesis is to give Mathine a +2 bonus on her Fort save.
The cloud of spores sets Mathing to coughing violently, and even when she finally manages to quell the cough, the rasp in her throat remains. Ugh. Seriously, why can't these jobs be in well-appointed mansions? 100% less mold... Still trying to clear the spores from her airways, she lets the others take the lead for a time.
Alas, Oryn was too slow to prevent Mathine from breathing in the spores. Now if only there were one of you with the ability to float potentially valuable books off of top shelves without touching anymore mould...
Stupid mold...stupid mushrooms... Mathine pouts slightly, trying not to let it crack her outwardly patient demeanor, and her eyes follow Rao's to the single non-moldy mushroom on the top shelf. But even if it is the right one, it's not like it's just going to jump down and land in our laps - And then, strangely, she feels a tiny rush of power, an echo of Iomedae's blessing that suffuses her sword during battle. And the mushroom jumps off the shelf and lands in Mathine's lap. "Wait - what?!"
Atop one of the bookshelves is a single tome that has managed to avoid
the destructive fungus. This book is written in Dwarven and contains hymns to Torag. The book is beautifully illuminated and is worth 100 gp, but might fetch as much as 300 gp if sold to a dwarven collector or cleric. Folded into the last page of the book is a magic scroll.
With only one other exit from this room (assuming you don't want to bail on the mission and head out through the breach in the wall), you slip through the ruined doorway back into the hall outside with a door right across from the entrance to the library.
(+2 to notice unusual stonework)
This door is actually in good shape. With Mathine stepping back from the lead, Bolkvar and Oryn are up front. Bolkvar tries to open the door but fails at first until he realizes that this door has been modified to open outwards (unlike all the others that are set to open inwards), so he pulls it open. This small chamber appears to be some sort of sitting room, complete with a single table and a pair of chairs, both in relatively good condition. Resting atop the table is a half-eaten crow next to a crude knife and a cracked mug. A single door leads into an inner room along the south wall.
Oryn, impetuous as always, is about to slip into the room when Bolkvar grabs him by the arm and points down at a trip wire stretching out across the entrance at ankle height. Sticking his head in the room, he can follow the ropes to a net up against the ceiling, a net containing several fist-sized rocks and a small anvil rigged to fall on whomever steps through the doorway. He can't see any way to disarm the crude trap, but it should be safe enough to step over the rope.
”I thank ye for the potion, but let us be cautious now. We can’t afford any more wounds in this place. Now, careful feet everyone. This way and back, I’d hate for this to fall on us.”
As Bolkvar shows Oryn the trip wire, he exclaims
"Oh my gosh! I almost set off that trap. Thanks for looking out for me Bolkvar. I'd be dead if it wasn't for you."
Oryn follows Bolkvar's advice on entering the room - careful to step over the trip wire.
Suddenly, the south door opens and Oryn finds himself staring down at a small, reptilian humanoids, very similar to the zombies from the night before (though this guy is clearly alive). He shouts something angry at you and reaches for the dagger at his waist.
Bolkvar is first.
The kobold has soft cover (Oryn; -4 to hit even with Precise Shot) from Bolkvar. From Mathine, he has regular cover (-4 to hit) and from Rao he has both (-8). Kali can’t even attack from her position in the hallway. Only Oryn has a clear shot, but he’ll provoke an AoO for using a blast and he’s too close to use his reach weapon. I’ll add a thing for the kobold to the map tomorrow when I’m on the computer.
Right, sorry, then stab away.
Seeing the little creature reaching for its dagger and stabbing at him, Oryn instinctively stabs back with his spear.
"You may want to drop that dagger before you get hurt."
Bolkvar formed a jagged shard of stone...which lodged itself into the cover that the reptilian sheltered behind.
Hit v FF]1d20+3
Damage]1d8+6Bolkvar formed a jagged shard of stone...which lodged itself into the cover that the reptilian sheltered behind.
The kobold whips back his dagger and throws...at the rope leading up to the trap netting.
Fortunately, his aim is as good as yours and the dagger smacks the stone wall with a spark. The kobold draws his short sword and prepares to fight. Oryn stabs at the kobold, to no avail.
Everybody else is up, including Bolkvar again. (The red splotch is the kobold.)
Unable to target the enemy, Kali opts to pull security, preparing to blast the first enemy she sees.
Unable to target the enemy, Kali opts to pull security, preparing to blast the first enemy she sees.
[dice=Readied Action vs. Touch AC]1d20+3
[dice=Damage Roll]1d6+3
Mathine tries her best to lash out at the creature at the door, but her sword skates clumsily off the door jamb.
Bolkvar drives another bolt of stone at the kobold, but the way is just too crowded, and he fails to make contact.
The kobold draws his short sword and stabs at Oryn, getting only armour.
Everybody is up again.
Oryn withdraws into the space that Rao vacated - removing himself as a source of cover for the kobold.
Oryn withdraws into the space that Rao vacated - removing himself as a source of cover for the kobold.
Oryn stabs the kobold one last time before he moves out of everyone else's way.
With his focus on getting out of the way, the feeble stab attack is easily dodged.
Bolkvar now has an unobstructed view of the kobold, and Mathine is now able to five foot step and attack (though not without blocking Bolkvar). The kobold is using this natural choke point to his best advantage.
Kali moved down the hallway to help pull security.
”Now I got ye!” Bolkvar said, sending a blast of stone shrapnel at the kobold.
Indeed, Bolkvar nails the kobold, leaving Mathine (who can easily step forward to get a good view) to attack.
Taking advantage of Bolkvar's opening, Mathine steps forward quickly, hoping to finish the kobold despite the disadvantages of the narrow corridor.
However, she stumbles on a bit of debris on the floor and her blade swings wide.
The kobold, also not being a blessed of the Inheritor, is just a lousy warrior as Mathine.
Bolkvar and Mathine are up again (Oryn too if he’s staying close enough to try to help).
Out in the hallway, Kali notices a small hole in the wall leading into the room with the kobold. It would be tricky (+4 cover bonus), but she might be able to thread a frost ray through the opening)
Finally, with her footing solid, Mathine manages a solid swing at the kobold, the faint light surrounding her sword glimmering in the gloom.
The kobold, now seriously injured, attempts to flee out the hole in the wall, only to find Kali right there, blocking his escape. With no way out, the kobold desperately charges Mathine, and falls to her blade.
Inside the room are two beds, one well used, the other not. On the spare bed is a com- plete set of masterwork artisan’s tools useful for making Craft (stonemasonry) skill checks. In addition, there is a small sack containing 62 gp in assorted coins and a single ruby gemstone. The gemstone feels warm to the touch and possesses a hint of the safe feeling the altar in the ruined chapel had.
When Mathine returns from her search of the room, Oryn asks "Any luck finding iron mushrooms?"
After she shakes her head no, Oryn suggests "Then I guess we should just keep looking. There is another side of the ruins we haven't checked yet."
There are a couple small rooms off the main entrance that are easily searched. On the south wall, you find a small cloak room, with a few tattered cloaks, and the rusty remains of an ancient chain shirt. Growing in the rusty remains you find one small ironbloom mushroom; not nearly enough to save the town, but a promising start. The door to the north room is stuck, and requires a few of you working together to batter it down, destroying an old wooden chair that had obviously been propped against the inside door handle. The mummified remains of a dwarf lie in the middle of these musty guest quarters. A shattered glass vial lies next to (and in) one hand, and a scrap of ancient parchment in the other. Written in dwarven, the parchment reads, “Forgive me, dark father of the forge, my toils shall never be enough.” Tucked into his belt is a silvered light hammer with a symbol of a flame beneath a stone arch etched into the metal.
At the end of the hall, you find another hallway, this one with two doors on the north wall and ending in open air. A ruined statue of a dwarven monk sits at the far end, destroyed with its own stone hammer.
Upon seeing body of a fallen dwarf, Oryn's face saddens. "Sorry for the loss of one of your kinsman Bolkvar. I hope he didn't suffer."
Looking at the two doors, he says "Whichever door we choose, perhaps it is best if Mathine goes in first. I don't want to get in anyone's way this time."
Kali spends some time carefully picking the mushroom and storing it gently in her pack.
So left or right? Should I flip a coin for you?
You push open the left door. This small study looks like it has been lived in recently. Gnawed bones litter the floor and tufts of gray fur can be seen here and there. An old stone desk sits in the center of the chamber, scratched and cracked in many places. The stench of wet fur hangs heavy in the air. A rough, deep voice calls from the door-less opening in the west wall.
”What is your business here?”
(+2 to notice unusual stonework)
"We're looking for mushrooms so we can make a remedy to a disease." answered Kali.
Having spent her entire life dealing with extraplanar beings, she knew that honesty was almost always the best policy.
”Mushrooms? This is quite far to go for just mushrooms, unless, do you seek ironblooms? This would be the only place in the Hollow where they can be found. In fact, I know exactly where some could be found. Perhaps we can negotiate an exchange. I have need for the services of a strong band of adventurers to help make my adopted home safer. There’s a tower here I would like to use and repair, which is the home of a very large and nasty spider. Would you rid me of the spider in exchange for two ironblooms?”
"We would be interested in an exchange. What do you require as proof that the spider has been dealt with?