Coop works his way through the crowd.
"EXCUSE ME. SORRY. NO ONE EVER BUILDS TEMPLES FOR COMFORT."
Firas drops his sword, and draws a chakram before trying to chuck it down the crowded hall.
George adjusts his position to give room for others to step in, Lyon carefully stows bow and draws a rapier. Closing on, Coop lands a hit on the oversized bug, while Firas launches his disk towards it and watches as it sails out the door.
Round 2
21 Yellow -15
16 Lassandra 13/13
14 George 11/11
07 Firas 13/13
06 Coop 14/14
22 Lyon 9/9
As the pistol shot rings out, the giant fly falls to the ground, one wing still twitching reflexively.
"OKEYDOKEY."
Coop shoulders the earthbreaker and walks back into the temple's main room to have a look around.
Taking a closer look at the room, beyond the dust, the only other things here are the destroyed undead and a masterwork warhammer under the bench it had been seated upon. The creature also has a belt pouch containing two vials of a red liquid, a golden ring on it's finger , and a crushed wooden holy symbol of Torag.
There is however a sensation of foreboding, hanging in the very air. Like something breathing down your neck, that seems to grow the longer you stay in this room.
”We should not linger here. I sense abyssal corruption here.”
George looks in amazement at Firas after looking around the room.
"This looks like a great place to stop. Coop has taken 2 slashes that have him looking pasty. The one with a broken leg looks like she needs a rest. And here we have found a place of Torag that needs a little attention. If we can rid the sense of evil, it should be a welcome refuge for travelers."
As Firas looks around, eyes glowing faintly with holy power, he senses that the area is not evil itself, but that the original purpose of this temple has been twisted. As most of the structure is sound, it would be possible to reconsecrate this building to Torag, or possibly another deity.
"Hmm, then again perhaps with some effort this place could be restored to its former glory. If others wish to rest and recover strength, I will spend my time purging the filth form this place. Does anyone know some prayers that could be spoken?"
"I CAN SAY SOME WORDS. THIS PLACE WAS SACRED TO SOMEONE ONCE, AND EVEN IF THEY ARE GONE I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD DISRESPECT THEIR MEMORY BY CONSECRATING IT TO ANOTHER GOD."
Firas gives Coop a nod of respect, "I agree. I can admit I was tempted to dedicate this place to The Healing Light, but I know that she would not approve of what would be tantamount to theft--and theft no less from a trusted ally in the defeat of Rovagug so long ago."
He calls out to the others,
Coop nods back at Firas.
While he is cleaning the space, he'll offer up trail rations to the others, if they have none. He also has coffee and a full canteen.
"IF WE DON'T FIND OUR WAY OUT BEFORE TOO LONG, FOOD AND WATER COULD BE AN ISSUE."
Before settling down for the night, he'll set his bell tripwire trap up on the door into the temple, taking the full five minutes to set it up carefully.
The group sets about cleaning up the old temple to Torag. It takes a fair bit of time, and has left many of the group tired, but in the end, the oppressive feeling has dissipated.
When Firas calls to the others to join in the temple, only Aravashnial and Avenia heed the call. Avenia looks sheepish and says, "I didn't want to disturb you folks while you were working in here. He said he didn't want to wait any longer and headed down that other tunnel."
George makes himself useful, or at least not a hinderance, during the cleaning. He makes a few pointers to Coop, but seeing he has a good grasp on things, moves onto other things.
Prestigidation soon has coffee boiling and gear cleaned. If the others are willing he gets weapons shining. A bit whistfully he looks at Lassandra's pistol, you can tell he is anxious to get hands on a firearm.
Upon hearing of Horgus departure, he shakes his head.
"A human in the dark, with maybe a dagger and a few candle stubs.... I am all for helping those that need it. Not to certain about charging after someone that is willingly putting themself in danger. He is certainly old enough to make his own decisions." He looks at the rest of the group. "He knows we are here, and could come back if he wanted. Odds are, we will find him sitting on a rock a few miles down the way."
”What?! When? How long has he been gone?” he pummeled poor Avenia with questions.
”That fool is going to get himself killed! We must set out to find him at once.”
Avenia averts her eyes a bit from the paladin. "He uh... he left somewhere around when that bug thing came flying down. I dunno... it's been a while. He's a sly old man, he's prolly got some trick up his sleeve.
Seeing he’s upset her, his tone quickly softens, ”My apologies. I do not mean to blame you. I am just concerned.”
George looks toward Lassandra. It is easy to tell that he is just past the age of being considered an adult.
"I was not trying to stare, lots of glancing definitely, but not gawking. This is just the first firearm I have seen in action. I have studied the interaction of magic with muscle and torsion power." Confidence comes back, as his geek side emerges. "I guessed that my magic would imbue it, and it looks like it did. But with firearms being rare, and temperamental, I was hoping you could take a few minutes, when more convenient, to show me how it works." He finishes up weakly, and then continues working on the rest of the gear.
During the night the ground shakes and trembles a couple times. Never for very long, or too strongly, but enough that it can be felt by all.
The next "day" arrives and everyone is feeling refreshed.
Firas wastes no time in the morning. Wolfing down some trail rations, and quickly donning his armor, he hurries out the door--probably tripping clumsily over Coop's trap. He scans the 60 feet in either direction with his darkvision for any sign of Horgus returning.
With a sigh, he returns to the temple and hustles his allies along, like a parent trying to wake a groggy teenager for school.
"Up! Up! We have a long way to travel to reach the surface, let alone find our errant sheep. And these quakes worry me. Only the gods--" catching the sight of Torag's holy symbol he adds, "and perhaps dwarves--know if this cave system might come crashing down on us at any moment!"
Coop will recover his trap, eat a quick breakfast, don his armor, and be ready to move in short order.
George quickly gets ready in the morning. After looking around the others, and seeing the assorted bruises and cuts that have not healed overnight.
"I am sorry to see you all still in pain. But please press on regardless. This place is more dangerous than I thought yesterday. I will be keeping what magic I have for life-threatening injuries."
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After laying out her affects, armor and gear but before turning in for the night, Lassandra moves to the center of the room. She looks to the others, "Before we turn in for the night, I will pay my tribute to Desna and sing of the stars and constellations I know and perform my dance. If you wish to watch, I've no issue."
Lassandra begins her song, singing of the many stars and constellations she knows, not paying heed to wherever her steps may land and let's destiny take control of her movement. She continues to do so for a little while, voice echoing off the stone walls of the Temple, hair, feathers and cloths flowing as though caught in a breeze. Then comes to a halt as she finishes her song. She stands there, motionless, speechless, pondering her movements and their meaning.
Lassandra returns to her bed roll and looks to Firas. Subtley she speaks, "What I mentioned before, Firas, about the motions of your sword. This is similar to what I do each night in honor of Desna. Do not cloud your thoughts in the heat of battle, let destiny take arms and tell your blade where to strike as though Sarenrae herself was swinging your blade, you simply put the strength and your determination behind it. Only after do you ponder the events of the battle so that you may ready yourself for the next battle to come."
She looks to Firas with a smile and turns to lay down for the evening.
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Lassandra wakes, stretching her limbs with a loud yawn. After assembling her gear and equipping her armor she takes a small pinch of black powder and mixes it with a small amount of water along with any stone dust she may find into a makeshift exfoliation and begins to rub her hands and face. She then drys her face and hands off and proceeds to eat a hearty yet light meal of heavily seasoned meat rations, smelling of spices and, unsurprisingly, black powder.
After cleaning and priming her pistol, she quickly holsters and draws it in quick repetition. After finally holstering it, she's ready to move out. Before proceeding however, she takes a moment to fire herself up for the day by performing a standard stunt. She leaps into the air with a standing backflip, drawing her firearm and honing in on a predetermined stone on the wall.
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Lyon wakes, putting a pot of water to boil, than starts his morning stretching route (stretching his arms, legs, and back) after his stretching than pulls something out of his alchemy kit, add to the boiling water.
Drinks with light meal from his rations. After drinking the black water it seems he alert and more wake now
Coop pulls up his trap, and shortly after, Firas stomps out to look at the tunnels. There are indeed tracks heading to the south.
Anevia and Aravashnial both gladly accept Coop's offer of food.
Lassandra does a fancy flippy routine while Lyon does his morning yoga.
Once everyone is gathered, the group heads out and to the south, following the only path in sight. After nearly an hour, the walls widen a bit. Stone figures are carved into the walls of this cavern. Each depicts a different crusader clad in armor and wielding weapons, but their carved stone features contain expressions of sadness.
”What magnificent depictions of the glorious crusade!” Firas says completely oblivious to the sadness depicted.
George takes a moment to enjoy the majesty of the carvings. "Just think. With no wind or rain to wear away the stone. These probably have not changed much from the day they were carved."
Coop walks a bit forward and has a look around.
Firas moves up along side Coop. Once again his eyes glow as the scans the dark tunnel for the presence of evil.
As Anevia and Aravashnial move closer to the statues, Ane comments on the way they look.
Aravash speaks, "Describe them to me?"
Anevia relays the info and Aravashnial looks contemplative for a moment. "Sounds like depictions of soldiers from one of the earlier Crusades. Likely the First Crusade. There is an old legend that after the First Crusade, a group of crusaders had become infected with Abyssal energies. They fled into the caverns to raise their deformed children in peace. Some say that their descendants live on today in the tunnels beneath the city. Finding these here, that could give some weight to those old stories."
Firas scans the room, but senses nothing evil nearby
"What!? Surely that can't be true! Someone is clearly trying to disparage the good names of those heroes!"
With a scoff he hurries on, deeping into the tunnel, continuing to scan for threats.
Marching forward proudly, Firas doesn't even notice that the lights have suddenly gone out. Seconds later, a flapping sound can be heard from above, as several creatures descend upon the group.
Round 1
Bless, +1atk/+1 vs fear
20 Red
16 Lassandra 13/13
14 Yellow
13 Blue
11 Coop -1/14, prone, dying
09 Firas 13/13
09 Lyon 9/9
07 George 11/11
Red makes it's move, trying to knock Coop about. He batters and then squeezes the human in the darkness, rendering him unconscious.
Yellow attacks Firas, while Blue flies over to Lassandra. Both strikes miss their mark.
he shouts in warning, far too late to be useful. In a rage he raises his shield to hold one of the strange creatures at bay as he pushes past it to approach the one wrapped around the human. Drawing and slashing with his scimitar in one fluid motion, he attacks.
...and whiffs badly. In frustration and to attract attention, he roars.
George whips his head around, seeing Coop fall, 2 occupied and one able to roam freely.
Seeing the only weapon that has worked was the pistol, he points at Lassandra.
As the by now familiar pulse settles into weapons, George moves to stand over Coop.
Firas stumbles and misses his swing, while George starts to chant and power up his allies.
Coop, laying on the ground is able to fight off the creeping hand of death.
Lyon is on delay.
Round 2
20 Red
16 Lassandra 13/13
14 Yellow
13 Blue
11 Coop -1/14, prone, stabilized
09 Firas 13/13
09 Lyon 9/9, delay
07 George 11/11
Red will release Coop and move to the side of George and attempt to slam him, but misses.
Round 2
20 Red -10
16 Lassandra 13/13
14 Yellow
13 Blue
11 Coop -1/14, prone, stabilized
09 Firas 4/13
09 Lyon 2/9
07 George 11/11
Lassandra fires at the creature and nails it for the second time.
Yellow continues to go after Firas, while blue moves over towards Lyon.
”Unhand me, villain!” Firas shouts.
He tries to push the creature away with his shield, just far enough to slash with his scimitar.