Seeing the golem as not too much of a threat at the moment, she is fine pressing onward. If it continues to not be a problem, she will just focus on the scrags, as that is what they were tasked to take care of. What happens after that is a matter for the tribes. Undoubtedly, they know it lives here now and claims it as his own home.
She will move forward, advancing behind Krokkin with her crossbow drawn and loaded. She will follow the left-most pathway, continually choosing to go left if there are branches along the way, that way they don't get lost.
"Right. Let's go find this last Troll, and apparently we need to kill this one *in* the water. I wonder if there are any Scrags remaining other than this one..."
Thanks for the ring, Krokkin says fitting it over his pinky finger.
I am ready to continue on as needed. I mean how bad can it be when it is 4 on 1. Even if we didn't have an attack strategy we should be able to pound it into the dust. Krokkin cracks his knuckles and gets ready to head out.
Ahead of you is an open area where the water recedes leaving in its wake a large pile of bones and debris. This debris is piled at a variety of heights and lengths. Some of the “outcroppings” from the main conglomeration rise 10 or more feet in the air. These seem composed mostly of gigantic bones. Off to the right of these bones a dais filled with some sort of liquid stands.
There is a passage to the right. Water fills this passage making it impassable without swimming or some way to cross. It could also be crossed by submersion and walking across the ground possibly.
As soon as the piles of bones and debris come into sight, she will motion for the others to stop moving.
"I'm going to cast some spells ahead. I'm betting there are some scrags or something in that room. Might be that we can root them out before we enter."
If given the go-ahead, she will cast from as far away as she can see the room.
In the center of the room ahead, in plain sight, she will target her prestidigitation spell. Its effect is a ring of ripple on the surface of the water in the shape of a ring as if a spell were ending and disturbing the water. Her second spell will be a ghost sound spell, likewise in the sound of a spell ending and a voice of a person, in general, making a curious single "hmm" sound. Her last spell in combination would be a silent image spell in the shape of herself, standing in the center of the magically fading ring, as if an illusion spell like vanish has just ended. Her silent image will be facing the dais and looking curiously at it as if apprehensive to move forward. Once Ohime's casting is finished, she will nod to the group to proceed forward and hopefully whatever trap may be sprung in the next room will be done before they actually arrive.
There is a passage to the right. Water fills this passage making it impassable without swimming or some way to cross. It could also be crossed by submersion and walking across the ground possibly.
As each of the spells "goes off" the liquid in the dais glistnes as if charged by the magic but no other visible reaction occurs to the magic.
Brek calls forth the power residing in his blood as beautiful bird covered in flames rises forth and envelops him in a protective winged embrace.
With the dais reacting slightly, she is curious as to what magical effects it is representing. Is it a power "battery" in that it stores spells, or was it trying to lash out at her figment?
It appears to be absorbing or something of the sort, the magic power in the spells if not the spells themselves. Although each of your spells still manifest as you had wanted.
"Odd..." Sorogar mutters, after consulting with Brujah. "So these waters absorb a part of magic? Would a troll drenched in this be resistant to magic then?" she wonders, then remembers the Golem's message. "I wonder if that troll is really different than the others, or if it was lying and this is a trap for us..."
Regardless, she holds her sword at the ready and waits for either Ohime or Krokkin to give the go ahead.
Krokkin watches the spell manifestations with a little bit of a grin.
Winking at Ohime' he replies quietly, Looks clear, do we move forward or to the left. Looks down each to see if there is anything out of place or that could present harm to the team.
"I hope not, but we'll see..." she contemplates, wondering at Sorogar's theories.
To Krokkin, she tilts her head to the left, indicating which way she'd prefer, and then in a silly way, winks back.
Brek uses his own magic to study it.
He also decides to take a sip of the water as well.
As Brek bends forward to take a drink he notices 2 things in particular: first, no reflection of anything in the water, and second a very large skull sits against the far wall. It appears to be facing straight ahead and is covered in reds and oranges. It is tall enough that it would take 2 and a half of Krokkin to reach the top.
As Brek takes a drink a harsh feeling of fear hits him.
Going up the left channel, the floor begins to slope down steeply.
The ground starts sloping down and krokkin immediately slides in the water as his feet cannot find purchase on the wet and slimy rocks. He slips a second later and roars as he falls into the water. The roar is cut off as he sucks in a mouthful of water.
Ohime will not be messing with the dais as she doesn't understand it fully, but she will investigate the skull.
"It can't be made of bone. How would it have gotten carried through these tunnels?"
Once done, and one Brek has finished, they head down the left tunnel and she will work to descend slowly.
With her failing as well, she will actually take the opportunity to test out these gills that Sorogar made grow on them.
The skull has been gilded with carefully carved symbols. Many of these depict battle and death or dying. It appears to be one solid piece of something although the exact composition is not easily identifiable. It is on solid ground and untouched by water.
As Brek sips the water, fear grips him as it tells him to flee from the water source but deep within his blood comes a song so beautiful it brings tears to one's eyes and he remembers an old friend whose blood still stains his hands soothing his nerves.
Everything will be alright.
"Everything will be alright." he echoes as he shakes himself awake once more.
"Ware the water! Some strange enchantment in it causes one to feel fear." he warns the others just as he sees Krokkin swallow some..
His curiosity piqued, he continues on to study the skull.
"Who was this once?" he asks their erstwhile guide.
"Yeah...I hadn't planned on drinking from that thing anyways," she comments to Brek with a mocking smirk. "Are you trying to get a weird disease or curse?" "I wonder if he's a little self-sacrificial?"
Krokkin continues to struggle to get back up the slope now that he is in the water. He is not helped by the fact that he is coughing and sputtering from the water that he inhaled when he fell. He is also embarrassed that he now understands the jesting comments about drowned cats that were directed at him when he first reached the big cities.
As he continues to struggle he feels the urge to hit something rise in him.
"Yeah...I hadn't planned on drinking from that thing anyways," she comments to Brek with a mocking smirk. "Are you trying to get a weird disease or curse?"
"Ohime's right. There's a very old saying amongst my tribe that wounds can be cured, but stupidity cannot. And needlessly drinking dubious water probably qualifies," Sorogar states. "However, this information can be valuable. Remember that Prissterica was rumored to be partial to fear magic, the same kinds of spells he tried to distrupt the duel. And now we find water laced with fear. There could be a connection."
Just in case, Sorogar will cast remove fear on the group when this information is relayed.
Sorogar immediately falls in the water and goes under, but doesn't particularly mind since she can breathe there now. She savors the alien feeling of breathing through gills, then nods. "Okay, time for the backup plan."
She swirls her hands in a wave motion, and a strange current seems to form behind her.
Unless attacked, she then grabs krokkin and lets the waters push them back up the slope until they get out.
Krokkin accepts the help from Sorogar but once out of the water he immediately starts wicking water off of himself and checking his weapons. Once finished he growls out in a tone that indicates that he really wants to hit something.
Are we ready to move out and clear this cave. He is clearly no longer having fun.
Ohime will await Sorogar before attempting to get out of the water. If she takes any extended time under the surface, she will descend to see what she's doing.
Brek shakes his head in self deprecation.
"Someone has to test this and though I'm not in the habit to do so. I have my own suspicions on this and thus did it. I'm glad I did. Now that we know the magic, we can draw counters towards it. Prissterica uses fear magic but that was only once we saw ourselves, the others are rumours also Said person can also hear this."
He continues examining the skull and waits for an answer from Hrine.
"Well? Do you know anything about this pool and this skull?"
Hrine replies kinda sheepishly, The pool all I know is that the big one spends hours looking into it and then sends out his raiding parties. The skull was here when they arrived and has been as long as I remember. I know nothing more about it except that you can't pry off any of the wealth nor mark it with anything or atleast mark over any of the inscribings.
"I wonder if it is a communication font. The big one taking direction from someone else? We'll have to investigate this with more magic later, perhaps with the tribal elders to see if there is a spy among them, as they were the ones being raided. Maybe this big guy was getting orders to attack various targets? I don't know...but if there is a font here and it is a communication font, then there is likely one somewhere else."
"Anyways, let us continue on."
Surfacing, Sorogar relays her findings. "Strange. There are a lot of runes underwater all throughout this room, and they radiate faint conjuration magic."
She regards the group's arcanists. "Does either of you have a theory on why that is? Think the big troll summons smaller ones to send out here, or something similar?" she wonders as she starts following the group to the other path.
"Well, it's something to ponder for later. We still have a dangerous foe to fight first."
Brek prepares rope and ties one end to himself before passing the other end to Krokkin.
"I'm going in to take a look at these runes. Perhaps I might be able to make sense of them." with that said he enters the water as well. Swimming downwards, he attempts to study the runes.
The runes are calling and summoning runes they are in a language you don't recognize.You've seen their likes before in your past with the cleric of nethys
They are faint conjuration aura. Sorogar's hypothesis that they may be used to call or summon other scrags may seem to have some credulance now.
[spoile=brek]you realize that if you can damage them that they might not work. Being magical, they will be resistant to damage however.[/spoiler]
Krokkin Braces the rope for Brek metering out the rope as Brek moves away, relieved that he can do anything other than standing there wet in his embarrassment.
Ohime will nod to Sorogar and will take a look with Brek. She will assist him to figure out what they are.
Not being a conjuration specialist, nor has she seen many clerical magic markings, she is unsure. She doesn't know what the skull is or what it does. She doesn't know what the dais is or what it does and now doesn't know what the markings do. Her only benefit to the group so far has been her singing, which has helped them in some regard.
Coming up out of the water, she will cast a prestidigitation spell on Krokkin to dry him out.
"There...You looked...irritated."
When Brek heads down again, Sorogar decides to follow, curious on what he was going to do. "So these runes summon something, and you feel we can deactivate the runes by damaging them?" she remarks when he shares his findings. "We could, but does that serve a purpose? All we have to do is find and kill the troll leader. And he supposedly is on the other side of the cave. Shall we head there first?"
After making her suggestion and climbing back on land, she sees an odd bend in the cave and shuffles closer to take a look. "Actually, come take a look at this. It looks like... a table of some kind? A living room, maybe?"
The table is lavishly covered in food of all kinds. Multiple of the containers holding the food are exorbiant in their decorative nature and wealth. Standing in the corner behind the table is a very large troll. He is grinning at you and motions for you to sit at the table.
As you go past the skull you feel a tingling sensation settle down on you and you feel very melancholy and calm. You approach the table and see that it is covered in meat and fruit. THe containers are rather odd and not decorative. In the back corner stands a very large troll. He is grinning and motions you to sit at the table.
Ohime will head down whatever path Krokkin leads. She is not brave enough in here to be on her own. When the troll comes into sight (which she should have seen as she went to the left), she will raise her crossbow, ready to fire.
"I am not sitting at that table, nor am I going near it. There is no way that's something you'd find down here."
She will call out to the troll, "You can talk to us from here! Why have you been attacking the lizardfolk clans!?"
Opting to go via the table, Brek feels curious as he notes his temperament changes. He had never being one for impulsive urges but this gave him a clinical detachment. It may or may not be a good thing but then he remembered the water and the possible chance that this troll was intelligent which may indicate that he had other tricks hidden as of now.
Walking forward, secure in his protective magics Brek goes towards the table but stops about 10 feet away.
"A Meal and a table. An invitation to be sure. I don't suppose you can speak the common tongue fluently as well. For a troll, you seem fairly prepared for our arrival. Would you provide your name for us to address you?"
Krokkin swims across the water toward the table. As he comes out of the water he walks near the table but does not take a seat. He grips his halberd but is calmer and more relaxed than he was earlier.
"Careful. Ohime's right! That's not a normal table, and I wouldn't take a Troll to be such a cook! Maybe an illusion?"
The orc shaman attempts to pierce the image in front of her to see the real truth, in case one was hidden from her.
The table is real and the food is real but the serving ware has been glamorized with magic. You can still see the expensive looks of the stuff but you can see beneath it as well. Under it all is just meat and a few scraggly vegetables. Meat is predominant.
"Before we give you our names, why don't you answer my question!?"
Brek focuses his eyes as his magic swirls around him enabling him to see magical auras......