The obelisk continues to turn and the light sweeps across the room, landing on the most northwest stone slab. The writing on the slab begins to glow and the slab crumbles to the floor, revealing a Lizardfolk with rotting skin, its eyes slam open, revealing glowing green eyes.
Marcos hears the commotion and moves to get a look while continuing his stories.
Marcos yells out what he knows about the undead.
The Armored Lizardfolk continues towards Ko'Tua and unleashes a blast of negative energy.
Ko'Tua braces himself against the wave of negative energy.
Shiv trudges up the stairs and faces the Lizardfolk, slashing at it with his scythe.
Shiv can't find his footing on the stairs and swings wide.
Hamley runs past Shiv and the Lizardfolk, trying to get into an advantageous position. The Lizardfolk takes a swipe at him as he runs past.
Hamley is able to dodge the claw and stabs back at the Lizardfolk.
Now in a dangerous position, Hamley loses focus and almost drops his dagger.
Seeing the dangers of this "light" revealing itself, she now moves over to the right of the obelisk into a very precarious position and then bashes out the glass with a bludgeoning arrow.
Lash moves forward to take out the mirror, nocking a blunt arrow and shatters the glass, shards raining down around the Aasimar. The Armored Lizardfolk hisses at her.
Tenney rushes to face the Lizardfolk on the second floor, stabbing at it with his dagger.
Dark red blood splatters on the stone wall.
Ko'Tua shakes off the negative energy and charges forward at the Armored Lizardfolk.
Ko'Tua's club clangs off the Lizardfolk's full plate.
The Lizardfolk Archer makes some room and lines up an arrow at Hamley.
Hamley takes an arrow that clips his left arm.
The east Lizardfolk draws his morningstar and swings down at Tenney.
Tenney is ready and deftly dodges the attack.
The zombie stumbles out of the recess and slams a claw down at Lash.
The west Lizardfolk steps away from Shiv and attacks the wounded Hamley with its teeth and claws.
Still reeling from the arrow, Hamley is unprepared for the next attacks and the Lizardfolk tears into Hamley.
Kahli runs into the room drawing her crossbow. Seeing the zombie in melee with Lash, Kahli lines up a shot.
The bolt ricochets off the obelisk and flips through the air.
The obelisk continues spinning, though the light falling on it is not being reflected around the room any more thanks to Lash's arrow.
With the rest of the party in the room, Marcos joins, his tales echoing through the large chamber. He puts a foot on the steps and fires a bolt at the zombie.
The bolt pierces the zombies' head, snapping it back. The head flings back forward, the bolt sticking out of the left eye socket, and the zombie still very much active.
The Armored Lizardfolk reaches a hand out towards Ko'Tua, the scales glowing in an evil red haze.
The Kuru dodges out of the way and feels the heat emanating from the claws. The Armored Lizardfolk moves around Ko'Tua.
Shiv closes on the Lizardfolk and attempts to cut it down.
The scythe slices cleanly through the Lizardfolk, and it falls limply to the floor.
Hamley steps up to face the Lizardfolk Stalker.
The Lizardfolk Archer tries to back up, but the railing blocks its movement. Hamley slashes its throat and the Archer flips over the railing, falling to the first floor.
Statuses:
Everyone: Inspire Courage +2
Lash can see the wobbly form of the zombie right next to her. No doubt she can. She also sees it is so uncoordinated it can't seem to both move and attack at the same time. She decides to play off of that and will hop a bit toward the armored lizardfolk and Ko'Tua before she fires two arrows. Then Lash will briefly look at the zombie to see if her and Marcos' assumptions were right.
"I've got your back, Ko'Tua. I won't let you face him alone!"
Lash isn't quite able to get a clear shot by Ko'Tua. Her first shot is deflected by the Armored Lizardfolk's shield and her second goes wide in an attempt to avoid hitting Ko'Tua.
Tenney tries to connect again with the Lizardfolk in his face.
The Lizardfolk blocks the dagger with its morningstar.
Ko'Tua's rage end as the Kuru reaches the limit of his physical ability. He musters the strength to attack the Lizardfolk once more.
The Lizardfolk barely moves at Ko'Tua cannot connect. Ko'Tua then shifts out of Lash's way.
Spittle flies out at Tenney as the Lizardfolk hisses and attacks wildly.
Tenney can't dodge all the attacks, and the claw scratches across his chest.
The Zombie falls forward towards Lash, slashing at her with a jagged, rotten claw.
AC 19 or Snake Style
The creature's unnatural movements catch Lash off guard and the claw cuts across her shoulder blade.
Hearing Lash, Kahli notices where Ko'Tua is and charges to join him. Wanting to keep him alive she drops her crossbow and pulls her wand of healing.
Kahli, with wand at the ready, moves next to Lash on her way to join Ko'Tua.
The obelisk continues to spin, stone grinding on stone.
Marcos keeps his aim at the zombie while his tales continue to ring out throughout the room.
The bolt lodges itself in the zombie's back.
The Armored Lizardfolk swings its bone longsword at Ko'Tua, looking to end the Kuru.
Ko'Tua digs deep and is able to dodge the attack.
Shiv moves up to the railing and conjures a ball of fire on the Armored Lizardfolk.
Despite the armor, the Lizardfolk is able to avoid the flaming sphere and escape unscathed. Shiv sends the croc back down the stairs.
Hamley sees Tenney still dealing with the other Lizardfolk and rushes to assist.
Lash aims for a spot on the Armored Lizardfolk not consumed with fire at the moment, which is easy since he reflexed out of the way.
While lesser archers would hesitate while a scary zombie lingers next to them, Lash is wary of all that is going on on the battlefield. She will not provoke the zombie's ire when she fires two arrows at the Armored Lizardfolk.
"Hiss again for me," she mocks in the corners of her mind before holding such thoughts captive. It was still the ending of a life. She is not a murderer.
Lash then turns to the ugly zombie next to her and yells at it to make sure its attention is focused on her only.
"Yrar!"
Lash's first shot finds a gap and gets the Armored Lizardfolk's attention as it turns and hisses at her and he deflects her second arrow.
Tenney sees Hamley running up the stairs. "Hurry up!
The Lizardfolk is distracted just enough by Hamley for Tenney to land his strike, finally downing the Lizardfolk. He rushes down the stairs past Hamley. "Nevermind!"
Ko'Tua sees help on the way and tries to hold his own, attacking twice.
The armor is too heavy for his club and teeth to do any damage.
The Zombie sees two meals in front of it, but Lash's yelling catches its attention and it lurches forward at her.
The monk is able to stay on her toes and dodges the attack.
Seeing Lash handling things with the zombie, Kahli moves toward the battle with Ko-Tua and the armored lizardfolk. Moving in she casts a spell that causes her shield to split apart and float around her. The jagged pieces look dangerous....
23 if I was able to flank?
The obelisk continues its journey around.
Marcos begins to wrap up his story and encourages his teammates to make these last attacks worth it, taking another shot at the zombie.
The bolt connects, but the zombie seems unfazed.
The Armored Lizardfolk sees everyone closing in and lets loose a burst of negative energy.
The blast flows out and through the party members.
Shiv directs the flaming sphere back onto the Lizardfolk and hops over the railing to quickly join the fight.
Shiv tweaks his ankle and lands prone on the marble floor.
Hamley gets up next to the zombie, a very nervous look coming over his face, and slashes at it with his dagger.
Green blood splatters on the marble floor.
Lash can see the look of worry come over Hamley's face. She is certainly taking a good chunk of the brunt of the battle. She's blasted out the powerful zombie animating light, taken a blast of negative energy, and has had this annoying Zombie trying to munch on her brain for a while now. Despite her heroics, she cheers Hamley for his valiance.
"Good hit, Hamley. Show that ugly thing who is boss!"
She then congratulates her elder, "Way to be. You are getting better at that crossbow, Marcos!"
She then spins and pulls out two more arrows to let them fly at the Armored Lizardfolk.
He may not notice it, but Hamley's inexperience in combat makes Lash act a bit more protective. She had been hopping to the left, inching closer to the armored lizardfolk. This time, to reward Hamley for his bravery, she will remain, taking the brunt of the attack from this ugly zombie.
"Eugghhh!!" she yells at it to provoke its attention from the bolt and dagger it just took in its side. She will wave her bow in its face to distract it.
Lash's words seem to encourage Hamley to fight on. Her first arrow looks good, but catches the top of the pew and lodges itself deep. The second arrow enters the flaming sphere and ignites into ash.
Tenney runs to join Hamley's side. "Come on, let's finish this thing."
"Or not..."
Breathing heavily, Ko'Tua doesn't back down and sidesteps to get on the opposite side of the Lizardfolk from Kahli before attacking.
The Lizardfolk easily knocks his attacks away with his shield.
Despite Lash's encouragement, the Zombie swings around tries to rip at Tenney's flesh.
However, trying to spin around disorients the zombie and it almost falls over trying to attack Tenney. "Ya dumb reptile," Tenney yells as he avoids the attack.
Round 5. Kahli feels the negative energy flowing out from the armored lizardman and grins as her wounds heal from it. "Thanks! Feels good! A little weak, but good...." She follows him, grinning as Ko'Tua maintains his flanking position.
Kahli's shield explodes into a swirling mass of shards around her and they begin to slash at the Lizardfolk. The shards harmlessly skip off the armor.
The obelisk's grinding continue as it keeps spinning.
Marcos' story comes to an end and runs up the stairs to get a better vantage point at the zombie and lets loose a bolt.
Marcos can't get a clear shot.
Frustrated at Ko'Tua's ability to dodge its attacks, the Lizardfolk swings its bone longsword with anger at him.
But Ko'Tua is still too fast.
Shiv pushes himself back to his feet and directs the flaming sphere to move back onto the Lizardfolk.
The Lizardfolk is still able to dodge the fire.
Hamley tries to move while dodging the claw of the zombie to get opposite of Tenney.
Hamley cuts the Zombie's stomach and rotten organs fall to the floor as it collapses.
Lash is getting absolutely pissed at this guy's armor and the stupid pews somehow giving him cover. She charges forward to the pew and stands on top of it.
"Get cover from this..." she mutters and takes a shot.
Somehow, she feels that her shot still could not penetrate his armor.
Free from the threat of the Zombie, Lash runs forward and vaults over the back of the pew, landing on the seat, firing down at the Lizardfolk. It was watching her acrobatics and is ready for the attack.
Tenney rushes up next to Kahli. "Let's corner this bastard!"
Ko'Tua moves to the north, trying to block the Lizardfolk in and attacks.
The armor is just too thick for Ko'Tua to break through.
Kahli steps with the lizardman and Ko'tua to keep him boxed in and flanked. She directs her shield shards to continue attacking.
"Want to channel any more healing energy to me!?! Or just drop your weapon before we chop you up into lizard steaks!"
Kahli steps up and flings scathing words at the Lizardfolk. It looks somewhat shaken at her offensive nature as the shield shards slam into his armor, denting it.
Marcos steps up to the corner of the railing and launches a bolt at the Lizardfolk, hoping for the best.
The bolt smacks into the wall.
The Lizardfolk turns once more to Ko'Tua, the bone longsword seeking blood.
Ko'Tua watches the Lizardfolk move and easily dodges the attack.
As his Flaming Sphere fades out, Shiv runs as fast as he can to get face-to-face with the Lizardfolk.
Hamley draws out a bag and runs down the aisle. "This might help if he can't move!"
Kahli steps up to Ko'Tua (G8?) and taps him with her wand while directing her shield shards to attack again.
Lash now takes her shots, hopefully, finding purchase through the hardened plates of armor. Her arrows cover the floor where they reflected off his armor some good distance away or were consumed by the flaming sphere. Now she hopes to aim for the slit in his visor and underarm.
"Maybe!" she answers in response to the use of the tanglefoot bag.
Yelling herself, she threatens the armored lizardfolk with the temptation of taking her on so that poor Ko'Tua would stop being attacked.
"Here I am. You've wanted to attack me since we started fighting. Well, here I am, come at me."
She hopes that by tempting him to take a few steps closer he will be tempted to climb up onto the pew to try to hit her. If Hamley binds him to the pew with the tanglefoot bag, then they can just knock it over and he will be proned and easier to hit.
Lash's arrows smack into the armor, which is showing heavy wear, but the Lizardfolk appears unfazed. The Lizardfolk responds to Lash's yelling with a piercing hiss.
Tenney runs past Lash and hops over the first pew and gets into position opposite Ko'Tua. "Don't you mess this up!"
Tenney doesn't connect. "Damnit, you bastard!" You're unsure if he's yelling at Ko'Tua or the Lizardfolk.
Ko'Tua raises his club. "You don't mess this up!"
Ko'Tua growls. You're unsure if he's growling at Tenney or the Lizardfolk.
Kahli steps up, tapping Ko'Tua with the wand and imbuing him with healing magic. However, her shield shards harmlessly plink off of the Lizardfolk's metal armor before reforming as a shield on Kahli's arm.
Marcos sends another bolt sailing over his companions' heads.
Seeing as he has little chance of being effective from here, he begins making his way back down the stairs, hoping to close the distance.
Seeing Tenney come up behind him, the Lizardfolk tries to punish him for daring such a maneuver.
Shiv forgoes safety and runs around to the backside of the Lizardfolk and swings his scythe.
Sparks fly, but no damage is dealt.
Hamley steps up and heaves the tanglefoot bag at the Lizardfolk.
The bag explodes over the Lizardfolk's legs, gluing him to the floor.
"Armor armor everywhere..." she grumbles as she takes another couple of shots.
To no avail...
"We have to find the sweet spot in that armor." "Imagine if each one of these foes had this armor on...we'd die..." Lash starts getting mad, more at their situation rather than at the lizardfolk.
Kahli tucks her wand away casts a spell and steps up by the armored beast. "Last chance to surrender! You can't beat us all but we can pound you to mush!"
Even though his can't move, the Lizardfolk's armor keeps him protected from Lash's arrows.
Tenney tries to take advantage of the stuck Lizardfolk.
He sticks the dagger in a crease in the armor, drawing blood, then moves to the side.
Ko'Tua steps up and hopes to put an end to the creature.
Ko'Tua yells out at Tenney as he somehow misses the stuck Lizardfolk. "What you do?! Why I can't hit?!"
Kahli's eyes flare with offensive foreknowledge as she prepares to attack.
Marcos continues running towards the group, flinging another bolt across the room.
He manages to miss Lash, but it pierces into the pew in front of her.
The Lizardfolk tries to get his revenge on Tenney.
The bone weapon cuts across Tenney's chest and the Lizardfolk lets out a chilling hiss at the smuggler.
Shiv calls the croc into position, and the croc gains a burst of speed as it closes the gap. The Lizardfolk stabs down at it.
The croc pushes through the attack as Shiv and it work together.
But neither can find purchase. Shiv then slides over after a look to Hamley.
Hamley reads Shiv's intentions and he flanks opposite of him.
The Lizardfolk is caught helpless, surrounded by a majority of the group. With Shiv's movement, it buys Hamley just enough time to get into position. Kahli's spell keeps the Lizardfolk distracted long enough for Hamley to stab his dagger into a small gap between the Lizardfolk's helmet and chest plate. The Lizardfolk screams out for a moment before slumping over, partially held up by the hardened tanglefoot bag around its legs.
The obelisk continues to spin. The hole in the ceiling is open with sunlight still beaming down through. Tenney is congratulating Hamley, who looks somewhat shaken. Marcos joins the group.
Lash's arms are tired and she shows it as they flop down to her sides as the Lizardfolk finally falls down into a pile.
"My goodness..." she heaves. After a moment, she pats people on the back in half hugs. "Good job everyone. Ko'Tua, for handling this beast on your own for so long. I thought you were going to die. And for Hamley and Tenney for those marvelous hits at the end there bringing him down. Everyone did amazing. Great teamwork..." she pants, remembering and echoing the words of her master in a more fatigued voice.
"I'm just glad we didn't have...oof...five more zombies to worry about."
The aasimar rubs the sweat from her brow as she looks up at the sunlight coming through. It is her first ray of hope that she could reach the top. Surely if the light is coming down a channel, they can't be that far from the exit. Maybe five more levels?
"I don't suppose we can get up in there huh?"
With a shrug, the angelic archer will begin to pick up her arrows scattered everywhere and work with the others to search the bodies for useful gear. She tosses aside the burn arrows, no longer good, despite their high quality.
Seeing the armored figure finally brought down, Kahli shrugs and drives her dagger deep into his throat anyway. "He was dangerous and I want to be sure he isn't faking...." She sheathes the weapon and starts checking out the members of the group. "Who's hurt? I've got one cure spell ready, then I'll continue with the wand."
"That armor definitely protected him good. Can someone check it for magic? It might be usable by someone else if it could be removed and adjusted to fit...."
The party makes the rounds, gathering everything from the last two battles. To note, they find the following:
Looking around the room, the party eventually moves near the lever. You see the lever has been pushed 45 degrees to the right from straight up. It appears there are 5 total positions; Far-left, Middle-Left, Middle, Middle-Right, Far-Right. It is currently in the Middle-Right position.
If they party makes their way to the five remaining stone slabs, they will see each one has writing etched on it. Marcos casts his second use of Comprehend Languages. He reads each inscription:
Born from dark/
Cast into light/
Call down the sun/
And escape the night
The stone obelisk continues to slowly spin.
There is a slight hint of a sneer as Kahli stabs the lizardfolk again. What it means is unknown, but Lash doesn't stop her.
"I am not good in armor and I feel weighed down already," she answers the beautiful cleric of Calistria. Lash will then look back at the hole with sunlight coming through it. Then she looks to Marcos. She licks her lips as she pulls a potion from her waist.
"Marcos...come here."
When out of earshot, she will place her potion of fly into his hands.
"I want you to go. Before we start playing with levers or anything...that path is open. Fly up that hole. Go, get help. Tell them that we are here. And if nothing else...tell our tale. If one of us should fly out, it should be you. This is only going to get worse."
Although they have just met a few days ago, she feels sad to suggest it to him. She does not consult the party on this. In her mind, the act of taking an old man such as him was unjust far more than it was to the younger people there.
"Go...and don't look back."
The young aasimar will observe him with expectant eyes, wondering if he will consider it. If he does consider going, she will make sure he doesn't take with him anything vital going forward.
Kahli examines everyone's wounds, using curing magic where she feels it is needed.
Marcos takes the potion and, after a second of contemplation, nods solemnly. He quietly hands her his gear, save for his crossbow, knife, and canteen. He drinks the potion then calls out to the group. "If I don't see you all again, I shall tell stories of your heroics!" He then, somewhat clumsily at first, lifts into the air and carries up to the hole in the ceiling. Those watching have to shield their eyes as the bright sunlight is almost blinding. He pokes his head through the hole and calls back down. "It appears to be a jungle or forest of some sort. Perhaps I can fly up to get my bearings and head for the nearest town." He shares one last look at each party member. "Stay safe. Be strong." With that, he pushes himself up through the hole and out of sight.
There's only a second of silence before Kahli's pack lights up and the sound of clapping emanates from it. "Lash, that was quite a rousing speech you gave to Marcos. You must have been paying attention to his stories and picked up on some tips on oration," he says while gesticulating mockingly. "But you all should have been smart enough to know you're not leaving here with such simple means."
As he is saying that, the image on the orb changes to show Marcos flying up above the canopy, following him up. From this vantage point, you can see that he is above a vast forest with an ocean beyond. Marcos spins around, the "camera" following him, showing that this forest sits on a large island with nothing but water to the horizon in every direction. "There has to be civilization somewhere," Marcos mutters to himself before flying away, leaving the camera behind. The camera lingers on Marcos as his silhouette gets smaller, and the old man's voice speaks up once more. "Of course, isolation is not our only means of protecting our interests..." With that, two large winged creatures swoop past the camera, shaking the image with the turbulence they create, and chase after Marcos.
The image changes back to the old man, contently sitting in his chair. "Perhaps it's all for the best. Our donors have requested new blood, and without their support, there would be no show. So, Shiv," he pauses as Shiv straightens his back, hand gripping his scythe tighter. "It is with a heavy heart we must bid you, and your companion, farewell." The old man slightly bows his head and Shiv and his croc begin fading away. Having seen this happen to Sim, Shiv steels himself and quickly hands his valuable equipment off. He leans down and pets the caiman, giving everyone a nod, before they disappear entirely.
Another moment of silence is broken by the old man speaking up. "Well! We can't just remove two of you without replacing them! That is against our best interests. So, without further delay," He lazily waves his hand across his table and the stone wall on the north side of the western platform begins to slide down...
Johan: The last thing you knew, you were settling down for another restless night of sleep, ever wary of being found. You awaken and immediately sense something is off. It's pitch black and the air is humid and warm. You run your hand along the ground expecting to find dirt, but feel smooth stone. The sounds of animals at dawn are replaced with muffled conversation. You quickly sit up to prepare and defend yourself, but before you can, you are caught off guard by a loud grinding sound as light begins to flood around you. You grab your shield, ready for the worst. As the stone lowers to where you can see over it, you see a group of people, one holding an orb, standing in a large room with marble flooring, staring back at you...
A chill goes down Lash's spine at the sound of clapping. What once was hope now turns to bone-melting fear. With the powers of scrying being seen now, showing Marcos' every move, Lash covers her mouth with a very tired hand. "What have I done?"
Tears of molten red begin to fill the aasimar's eyes and drip downward as she sees interceptors coming in. The runes upon her flesh flare to life as her tempers rise.
"No..." she whispers in a pleading tone. "Please..." she voices again behind her covering hand. When Shiv begins to disappear, she moves to hold onto him before he goes, but finds her hands going right through him. There is sadness and now rage flowing through her as he vanishes.
Johan can see this anguish in her face as the stone rolls down. The monk looks at the orb with ferocity and threatens him.
"If you harm a hair on their heads, no force on this plane or any other will stop me from ripping you limb from limb."
Her lip quivers in sadness and fear. The strong monk is broken. As his image fades in the orb, she collapses from weakness and just sobs in defeat. She has to remind her hand not to squeeze so hard as to crush her bow, because she feels like she would at this moment. A second later, she punches the hard stone at her feet, full force and primally screams. A lesser trained individual would have broken their hand, but she is a monk and has broken many a stone. This one, however, is so thick it shows no sign of cracking. It is stronger than the monk. A fitting example of the tower and its owner. Only by ascending could she conquer.
Kahli feels the anger, similar to but perhaps not at the same intensity as Lash. She holds the orb ahead of herself and glares at it. "Your best interests? Your best interests would be to stop this game and let us return to our lives. But we know that isn't what you want."
She stuffs the orb back in her pack, ignoring any reply for now and faces the new encounter. "If you intend to attack us, know that we will defend ourselves. The meddler that was just speaking though has indicated that you are prisoners here just as we are. If you are peaceful we can perhaps explain a little of where we are."
Johan blinks as light fills the chamber, his shield and axe at the ready.
A look of steely determination fades to utter confusion as he takes in his surroundings and processes Kahli’s words. ”What!?” he exclaims, a thick Taldane accent at odds with his clearly Ulfen features.
He adopts a defensive posture, but his eyes show desperation; not hostility.
”What scheme is this!? Where are we? Are you Stavian’s men?”
Johan appears well-equipped. His shield of exemplary craftsmanship, and appears to be made of mithral. He sports a fine breastplate and has a longbow slung over his back. A backpack laden with supplies sits at his feet.
The teary-eyed Aasimar looks to Johan with such pity, it may give him pause in his accusatory questions. She grasps at her shirt over her heart and bites her lip. She cannot answer him at this time but she must.
"No..." she weakly states, slowly rising from the ground with finality, as though what is done is done. She cannot weep like a little girl there any longer, not when such an unknown and capable person is nearby. Who knows his motives? This could very well be a trick. The monk wipes her eyes, although that doesn't stop the tears from filling the void of what was wiped away. "...most certainly not. We are victims here too, and arrived much like you just have."
She will give him time to soak in her words for a moment before weakly expressing, "We have just lost a great companion. A valiant man. You were brought in his place. Another has faded also. I am unsure if there will be another one sent to replace him. This place," she gestures around them sorrowfully, "...is akin to a colosseum. We are meant to fight or die. You are the overlord's captive now, just as we are. We few have banded together in hopes of perhaps overthrowing him...if we can manage it. Though at this moment it seems... hopeless" Breaking, her voice waivers. She once again cups her hands up to her face to hide her crying. Something traumatic clearly just happened.
Johan will easily recognize that Lash is an aasimar. A beautiful one at that. Her creamy facial complexion seems to ombrés into reddish hues and then into blackened skin the lower he looks. The skin on her arms and feet are black as night and seem to have a feather-like quality to them. Lash's hair seems to be every moving, as if slightly blown by a breeze, but also seems to hold a metallic quality to it, like red silk ribbon in appearance. Where her tears have fallen, instead of a salinated solution, they have the appearance of molten lava. She is truly an odd sight, but wonderful to behold.
Kahli stands beside Lash. While she also grieves she does her best to hold it in. "Stavian? That name means nothing to me. I come from.... well, technically Varisia, but I was born in the Valashmai Jungle. But that is a long story that doesn't matter. Lash is right and where we currently are is all that matters. The face in the orb, and the voice. We all were brought here by some twisted fiend that is throwing enemies, mostly creatures in our path. I think our actions are for its entertainment! We hope that as we progress up in its labyrinth that eventually we will reach the top and gain a chance to pay it back for the tortures that we have endured."
"Barring that, we hope to find a way to escape, and return to our homes."
Johan's shoulders begin to relax. He'd been a warrior his entire adult life, and he knew how to read an ambush. Two to one in completely unfamiliar terrain and backed into a corner, if these women meant him ill there was little reason for an elaborate ruse.
A few moments later and both arms drop to his side as he sighs heavily and leans against the entrance to the chamber he awoke in.
"Aroden's bones, I don't know if this is better or worse than my lot when I nodded off last ni...", his voice trails off as the gears in his head turn. "I suppose I have no idea how long it's been."
As his mind continues to catch up with the information, he offers a sincere grimace. "Sorry about your friends. You said the only way out of here is up?"
Kahli glances up, then replies. "Up, as in facing the challenges ahead, defeating them and facing whatever this creature is that is enjoying our struggles.... Sadly, yes. Our companion that flew up and out of here? No. That's not a mistake that anyone should repeat."
"Can we not talk about it?" she voices weakly and wipes the final pattering of tears off her cheeks. "I don't want to give his 'viewers' the satisfaction of seeing our misery." "Particularly mine..."
It is difficult, but in pure monk fashion, she pushes the pain down and strangely centers herself. Within a few moments, the redness of her cheeks fade and she hardly seems affected by the moment. So great is her resolve to stick it to the overlord. She vows to shed not a single tear ever again for his audience. In fact, she would prefer to make such a boring spectacle, his viewers might call to let them go.
"This room was a dead end. But now it appears not. We came from that direction over there, sir. My name is Lash Vaeledi, this is Kahli, Tenney, Hamley, and Ko'Tua of the Kuru. The members we have lost so far were Marcos, hailing from Golarion, Sir Sim Calinean, Knight of the Whiterose, under the service of Queen Elaine of Almoth, and Shiv'Raston of the Crocodile Tribe. We almost lost Hamley here a second ago...are you feeling alright now?"
She will as Hamley as she looks him over. He was a bloody mess. While he still probably is, she will at least see if his wounds are healed. When finished, she will look to this newcomer.
"Your name is?"
Hamley and Tenney regain their composure from the events that just transpired. Ko'Tua, surprisingly, keeps his calm in contrast to his previous outburst at the orb. It seems Kahli's explanation of who the man is and what the orb does has kept him composed.
Once the wall drops, Ko'Tua reaches for his club and Tenney for his dagger while Hamley takes a step back. They ease when they see the single man and allow Kahli and Lash to calm the tension.
When Lash addresses Hamley, he brushes his chest. "Uh, yeah. I feel better after Kahli's wand. Those lizard people mean business."
Johan sees the three men in the back. Hamley and Tenney look like average human men, both carrying daggers and wearing leather armor. Ko'Tua looms over them, his tall, lanky build covered in lean muscle and red-tinted skin. Looking closer, Johan can see two small horn protruding from his forehead. Hamley gives a slight wave. Tenney and Ko'Tua stay silent.
Johan offers a half-hearted wave to the men standing behind Lash and Kahli.
"Johan. Johan Vetland. From Taldor..." His eyes narrow as he begins to put something together in his head. "Also Golarion. Do you mean to imply that some of you are not from Golarion? How is that possible?"
Thoughts run through her head, reminding her of her home in the countryside. That brief time in her life where she was not imprisoned like she is now. Would there be a thief this time to rescue her, or was she strong enough to make it herself this time? To Hamley, she sees a sense of courage that makes her faintly smile.
"Make sure you look over this gear and see what you can use going forward," she instructs Hamley and the others.
With introductions ensuing with Johan, she nods her head at his name and then shrugs. "Marcos was a strange man with a great deal of knowledge. A bard of many tales from strange lands. I myself am from Golarion. I think all of us are, but Marcos introduced himself in such a way as to say he was from Golarion. Perhaps he thought there may be some of us who weren't from Golarion or that he was no longer on Golarion? I suppose it's possible with the magic I've seen done by the overseer that not everything we will face in here is going to be native to our world..." She thinks back to Shiv. "Shiv may have been an otherworldly being of some kind. I don't know what the Crocodile Tribe is, but he wasn't a human. Human-like to be sure, but different. Sim was a halfling but I'm sure from his titles he was from Golarion, although I'm not so educated as to know what country it was..."
She then shrugs and continues, "Anyways, you are welcome to join us if you can work with us as a team member. Otherwise, endure the dungeon on your own."
Johan nods. "Yes, I suppose we're all in this together then. I have a great deal of experience in small units on a battlefield, so trust that I can be of help."
Scanning the group and seeing little to no armor amongst them, Johan clears his throat. "In fact, why don't I take point?"
Hamley steps forward. "Tenney and I are definitely from Golarion. We work, well, used to work, in Vyre on th..." Hamley is cut off when Tenney's hand smacks Hamley's chest. "Ey, why don't you shut the hell up. These people don't need to know so much about us." Tenney makes his way over to the table to organize the loot.
Ko'Tua finally perks up when Johan offers to take the lead and speaks to him in broken Common. "You look like Warrior and you think like Warrior. If you have honor, I join you at front." He gives a quick side-eye toward Tenney.
Quarion: It only takes you a moment after coming to to realize you are not where you were. Your mind races through various situations that could have led you to wherever you currently are. Before you can gather your thoughts, you hear the muffled sound of people talking. You can make out five, no, six different voices, though you can't quite make out what they're saying.