Nodding his head as Bharak gives his report, Elathras looks to Elena of he and Bharak discuss how to approach the thing. Shifting his fauchard he adds, "I agree straight forward is best, maybe if this one is in charge it's smarter than he others. Doo we want to take it prisoner or let it flee if it starts to?" He looks from Bharak towards Axton then Umazura, "What if we walk in and ask if it speaks common? Or perchance another language one of us know, I speak giant." His voice waivers slightly and slightly softer he adds "And infernal."
Raising an eyebrow, "Giant? And infernal? If it is not too much to ask I would love for you to teach me. I've always been intrigued of the various languages of Golarion and strive to learn as many as possible."
"Let me talk to it," Axton volunteers. "I have no fear of talking to a self-styled king, whether mite or... um, other thing."
"Do we know what it's saying? If not, do we have any means of doing so?"
Assuming nobody objects or has anything to add, Axton enters the room and slightly bows right away. He recognizes the trappings of a king, so he's hoping to show the creature that Axton recognizes it as a leader and that he's not there to fight before the mite king tries to run away.
"Greetings, o King of Mites! My allies and I appreciate you and your peoples' welcome into your kingdom as we journey forward on our task."
Felix pauses to see how the mite reacts and to see if it can even understand him.
"I can understand it as of now but I cannot speak to it. That will be another language I must add to my list."
"I can understand it as of now but I cannot speak to it. That will be another language I must add to my list."
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The Mite chirps in delight as Axton steps into the room and speaks to him. "Ah. The adventurers I sent for. Excellent!"
He gestures for you to bow before him, as he is a mighty and merciful ruler. :)
He continues in nasally common "My beloved pet Clickylegs has wandered off again." King Zuuga wants his pet (the exact species of which he can’t seem to remember) returned to him not because of any affection he had for the thing, but because he keeps his “spare crown” in a pouch tied to one of its legs.
Unfortunately, Zuuga can’t provide much more information to you, but he promises you a reward of a diamond the size of his head if they return his sleeping crown (actually the matching bracer to the one he wears on his head) to him.
What are you doing now?
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Not wanting to seem overly aggressive Elathras rests his polearm on his shoulder as he would for parade march and follows Axton down the steps. Once he comes to a stop, he crisply turns and places the butt of his weapon beside his foot holding it at parade rest. Hoping it looks more official than threatening.
'He must think were someone else.' Relieved to hear the king speaking in common, Elathras is surprised to hear his odd request. Though he wonders what's to keep them chasing the vermin off and claiming whatever wealth they find.
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He continues in nasally common "My beloved pet Clickylegs has wandered off again." King Zuuga wants his pet (the exact species of which he can’t seem to remember) returned to him not because of any affection he had for the thing, but because he keeps his “spare crown” in a pouch tied to one of its legs.
"We will look for your spider and crown along our journey, your highness. Please spread word to your *ahem* mite-y subjects to cease their attacks against us. We would hate for any hostilities to occur."
Axton and Elathras return to the others.
"It is done."
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When asked to bow, Elena, in turn, does a fluent half-bow with a swiring motion of her free arm, then stands straight with her spear in her other hand, point(s) up. The plan had been to keep watching Zuuga, but with Elthras half turning away from him/her (?) in some official drill that probably required someone do to the same on the other end for symmetry, she decides to improvise afterwards and try copying him as the other polearm-wielder.
It was a bit awkward doing a staring contest with the hellknight with Axton making mite-puns to a questionably sane one with delusions of grandeur at best and full-scale insanity at worst, but she did her best!
After the parley concludes, she chuckles at it all. "Sorry, I wasn't sure if I made it look better or worse," she apologizes to Elathras afterwards with a grin. "But it seems to have worked. Shall we be off to the next floor then and keep an eye out for this pet with a crown?"
Chuckling a Elena attempting to mirror his actions, Elathras listens to Axton agree to look for the other crown. Following Axton from the 'throne-room' he turns to Elena and smiles. "That was well done all things considered. If you want to practice more I can train you," His smile widens and he winks, not giving any clue to whether he's serious or not.
Nodding in agreement with Elena's recommendation. "We may as well proceed." Turning to he dwarf he asks, "Bharak, since they know were coming do you want to continue scouting or should we go in mass?"
"It's a good question. In this case...I think ye may be right. We're entering the lair of creatures that are smaller and more wily than me, who ride stealthy ambush predators. Already had a spider fall on me once. It's important to know one's limitations, and this be one of those times. Let's walk as a group and keep an eye on each other's backs...and the ceiling too."
Chuckling at Bharak's comment about the spider falling in him, Elathras holds the fauchard straight up, smiling. "With me beside you, it would be a dangerous proposition." He gestures back the way they came. "Shall we?"
Once the others are ready to go, Elathras will keep pace with Bharak; walking beside him if space allows, or directly behind him, if it does not.
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Following Axton from the 'throne-room' he turns to Elena and smiles. "That was well done all things considered. If you want to practice more I can train you," His smile widens and he winks, not giving any clue to whether he's serious or not.[/b]
"Further training in how to best stand still? Hm..." Elena looks amused at the offer. "As a dancer, that by itself doesn't seem to suit me well. However..." She seems to study Elathras intently for a moment, then grins slightly. "I suppose military forms are used for a purpose - to invoke certain feelings in the beholder. Quite similar to most pieces of art. Perhaps there is something to studying them, yes. Shall we say, a trade then? Teach me about these military forms and I'll teach you how to dance. That is, of course, assuming we both make it back safely. Agreed?"
She holds out a hand to shake along with the offer, her pleasant violet eyes waiting patiently.
After hearing Elathras' response, she falls back behind him and Bharak as the group starts moving again. She directs her Ioun torch upward slightly as they go. "Good point, Bharak. I'll watch the ceiling from the back row, I suppose. I'd rather not have another giant spider fall down on anyone either."
You take the stairs down at B36. They take you down thirty feet to the next area.
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B38. Dungeon Entrance
This dank stone hallway is increasingly choked with spiderwebs to the south, while to the west they thin quickly.
Which way are you going first? West or South?
'Standing still as a form of art? Military forms in exchange for dance lessons?' Not able to tell if the half elf was serious or not, Elathras smiles and shrugs. "I shall consider it, if we make i back safely."
Moving down the steps with the others Elathras points towards the south, "Shall we go clockwise?"
"Clockwise is suitable for me," says Umazura from near the back.
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Axton digs a torch out of his backpack and holds it out in front of Intrepid, who sits as ever on his shoulder.
"Would you mind?"
He's answered by his rat's squeak and then a whoosh of air before a small globule of fire is exhaled onto the torch, setting it alight. He turns to Elathras.
"Clockwise? To represent our inexorable march forward into the future? Appropriate."
'Inexorable march into the future?' Turning to Axton just as the mans rat spits fire. "Neat trick."
Leaning his polearm against the wall, he fishes out his ioun stone and sets it spinning slowly around his head. Picking up the fauchard he holds the blade out at shoulder height, nodding to Bharak. "I'll be right behind you."
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Elena withdraws her hand from Elthras and simply nods. "All right. We should focus on the here and now, anyway."
She stands by, mostly listening to their surroundings as Axton and Elathras take out their light sources.
After sharing what she can, she takes a good look at Intrepid. "Your rat is amazing, Axton, for being able to cast spells on his own! Must be nice, having a familiar to fall back on. Though, am I right in assuming he can only do that once in a while?" she asks, having seen Intrepid fight every so often, but notably not all the time.
Just in case the lighting wouldn't be enough, Elena then also takes out her Ioun torch, which prompty sets to following her around. "Clockwise movement sounds fine, and a good thing to fall back on if we ever have to hurry out. But before we start moving in blindly, let's take a few moments to check the path ahead for loose tiles and magic. It feels like we're getting into the deeper parts now, and this place was associated with the Runelords. I'd expect their ruins to contain at least some magical danger. Though, admittedly, perhaps the mites have already set off most of it..."
Elena withdraws her hand from Elthras and simply nods.
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"Your rat is amazing, Axton, for being able to cast spells on his own! Must be nice, having a familiar to fall back on."
Axton beams with pride. "Thank you! I'm very proud of him! It seems he has somehow tapped into the elemental plane of fire, harnessing that plane's very energies and bringing them forth into this one!"
"Though, am I right in assuming he can only do that once in a while?" she asks, having seen Intrepid fight every so often, but notably not all the time.
Axton's mustache goes all funny as he purses his lips in thought.
"I'm not sure. He has only just manifested this ability, so I'm sure it's very taxing for him. We will have to see how his power develops."
Making eye contact with Elena, Elathras shakes her hand, then shyly looks away.
Raising an eyebrow at Axton's explanation, Elathras makes a mental note to report it in his next letter. A pet rat tapping into the elemental plane of fire was cute. An owlbear doing so would be a problem.
As the group steps off of he stairs, Elathras turns south. Keeping a keen eye out, he moves beside Bharak, asking "Shall we proceed?"
B41. Assembly Hall
This wide hall is lined with pillars, between which hang thick sheets of webbing. These do not seem to be the older, dusty cobwebs of the corridors, but rather fresh webs. The brittle carcasses of several albino crickets the size of small dogs hang among the tangle.
You have some difficulty as the thick webs make footing difficult but you dispatch the 3 Giant spiders lairing here without injury.
Exits to the South and the West again. I take you head south?
B43. Kitchen
The chamber opens out in a wide half circle. Giant brick ovens have been built into the curved wall, and fire pits outfitted with multiple spits for roasting are set nearby.
You deal with the Centipede swarm lairing in one oven.
B44. Main Storeroom
Ancient shelves hold only the dust of whatever foodstuffs were once stored here. In the alcoves to the south, iron hooks for hanging meats dangle from the ceiling.
Why there are 6 Skeletons standing around in the storeroom you can't imagine? You deal with them easily.
The secret door on the western wall is easily detected.
Which way are you heading now? Through the secret door, or back the way you came to look over the other passageways?
”A secret door? We’d be fools not to use it.” The dwarf said, as he checked for traps.
Nodding his head in agreement with Bharak, "Yes, let's find out what's behind the secret door."
Nodding, "Fair enough. After you, gentlemen."
You follow the narrow winding passage behind the secret door to its other end, finding the door there falling off its hinges making it less than secret.
B45. Meeting Hall
A damp natural grotto opens up in the earth here, its stone ceiling rising forty feet above. Fat columns of brick support the northern end of the room, and the floor of the southern end has been carved into a low dais upon which stands the moldslick statue of a beautiful woman wielding a ranseur.
The preservative magics that helped keep the Crow from eroding away have begun to fail here, and as a result, much of what was once used as a meeting hall for the dungeon guards has begun crumbling away and turning into an increasingly naturalistic cavern.
Of more concern than the decaying state of the room is the creature lurking here.
This man-sized, crab-like monstrosity clings tenaciously to the rough stone, its enormous pincers held out menacingly before it.
The party all beat its Initiative so you can act!
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Moving quickly, Bharak leapt to the attack. His hammer was a natural counter to the crustacean’s shell.
Staying close behind Bharak as the dwarf heads through the narrow passageway, Elathras notes the statue of the woman wielding a ranseur, as he begins to ask a question about the statue he see's the giant crab. As Bharak quickly attacked, Elathras wondered aloud, "Do you think this might be the mite kings pet?" Lifting the fauchard as he charges forward, chopping at the thing.
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"Hm... Could be! A crab does have 'Clicky Legs'. Is there something bound to-? Hey, wait for me!"
Moving forward to attack from behind Bharak (and overhead, due to height difference), Elena thursts with her spear. It goes wide, and and in the resulting melee she tries to discern whether the 'spare crown' the Mite spoke of could be seen on the monster's body somewhere, especially the legs.
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"We only need to recover a crown! Leaving the creature alive isn't a requirement!"
Axton moves forward and casts acid splash on the creature, while Intrepid does the same with his fire globule.
Bharak & Elthras quickly dispatch the Cave Fisher. Showing they are beginning to develop as a team.
Loot:
A small leather pouch is tied tightly to one of the cave fisher’s legs.
Within are a dozen polished rocks,
23 tiny teeth,
and a bracer of armor +2—the mate to the one worn by King Zugga in area B33.
Passages go West & East. The East path heading back to the way you came.
So you head to the West.
B46. Empty Barracks
This room seems to have once served as guard barracks, but the beds and other furniture here have long since crumbled into almost unrecognizable ruins.
South the path leads to stairs down, but you still have more of this floor to search, so you go North to B40
B40. Torture Chamber
Stairs descend into the room from the north, a heavy stone door blocks passage to the west, and an eastern corridor exits between cells blocked by doors of rusty iron bars. Scattered about the room are a number of instruments of torture from bygone days, now mostly gone to rot and ruin.
Both cell doors are rusted shut, the southern contains only bones, but the northern cell hold a deformed creature who howls in rage and throws its self at the cell door in an attempt to get to you!
This hairless humanoid lurches on back-bent, dog-like legs, its hideous mouth flanked by tiny arms with three-fingered hands.
What are you doing now?
"What manner of creature is this?"
Passing the stairs, Elathras frowns as he entered the torture chamber. Obviously it wasn't the first sort of chamber he had entered but he still didn't like them. moving through the room he stopped in front of the cell.
Turning towards Axton, he shrugs, "I have no idea." Turning back to the 'prisoner' he figured it couldn't hurt any to ask. Tapping on the bars with his fauchard to get it's attention. "So what kind of creature are you and how long have you been here?"
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Pleased that there weren't any injuries dealing with the crab, the priestess of Shelyn smiles and congratulates the fighters and Axton. "Well done, everyone! I'd say your heroics lend well to vivid descriptions in the chronicles."
On the way through the barracks and then the torture chamber, her mood sombers a bit on the respective wasted and morbid surroundings.
However, that's nothing compared to the hulking alien horror in the cell, and when it crashes against the bars she gasps, eyes wide and hand over her mouth. "U-um... Umazura? Do you know, or how it could have survived being locked in a prison for thousands of years?" she asks, glancing towards the knowledgable half-orc.
When Elthras walks forward to confront it directly, her eyes snap back to the beast and the arms sprouting from next to its mouth. "Be careful not to get in its reach!" she calls after the hellknight, just in case it made a difference...
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He was trying to think of a witty comment to Elena’s compliment, but stopped when they came across the monstrosity. ”Im sure it just wants a hug.” Bharak said, dryly, as he eyed the creature’s many arms. After a moment’s thought he added:
”Wrathspawn. Heard about them. Magic-made shocktroops. Used to be quite common. This kind is made out of anger, or at least that’s what the longbeards said when they grumbled about how the old days were harder than what the beardlings faced nowadays. It would be a kindness to the world to destroy it while it is stuck in that cell.”
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Seeing the response from caged creature shriek, howl and rage, Elathras turned towards Bharak as he explained what the creature was. Nodding his head slowly he repeated the word, seeming to chew on them as he watched the thing. "A kindness to the world?" Instead of tapping the cage with his fauchard, he thrusts it at the shrieking creature.
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"Yes... maybe that's best for everyone. If it's a creature made of pure anger, locked up for thousands of years... not much can be left of its mind. But even if there were, it'd be a danger to the scholars behind us, and I don't see talking to it being a possibility now, if ever. If I were in its place, I'd... probably want to die," she reasons, and approaches slowly, still carefully observing the large sinspawn as if expecting it to burst through at any moment. She ends next to Elathras and readies her spear. "Go to Pharasma in peace, if you have a soul," she says solemnly.
"Hmm. Let this be a reminder of the dangers of peoples past," Axton murmurs, almost to himself. He and Intrepid contribute to putting the Wrathspawn down.
Without any way to safely attack the creature, Bharak sat back and watched, interested to see how difficult it would be to bring one of these long forgotten soldiers down.
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The creature expires easily. Its thousands of year imprisonment finally ended. A creature of pure wrath it holds no other emotions but a need to destroy all before it.
B39 Cellblocks
Three long cell block corridors extend out from a central guardroom, each hall featuring numerous iron cell doors.
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B42. Perpetual Pool
This circular room is empty save for a ten-foot-wide circular pool filled with clear water. The water appears to be only six inches deep and is crystal clear, leaving the tiled decoration of a swirling vortex plainly visible on the pool’s basin.
This pool radiates faint conjuration magic—it constantly refreshes and fills with fresh water that, even after over 10,000 years, retains its magical healing qualities. The waters of this pool heal 1d8+3 points of damage and affect those who drink from them with lesser restoration, but a single creature can only benefit from this effect once per day. Water gathered from this basin retains its healing and restorative qualities for 8 hours.
This just leaves you with the stairs going down to the south.
C1. Ancient Welcome
A red statue of a beautiful woman armed with a large ranseur stands in the center of this chamber. Slime cakes the floor.
The statue is that of the Runelord of Wrath. Alaznist
The slime coating the floor is produced by the disgusting creature lurking in the room.
This creature looks like a puffy and bloated human-sized whitish-yellow maggot with purplish veins pulsating under its fleshy form. A vaguely humanoid head sits atop its body and its facial features are twisted and distraught as if the creature was in a constant state of pain. A pair of large, downward-curving horns juts from its head, just above its sunken eyes. Its mouth is lined with filthy and sharpened fangs.
The thing is surprised by the arrival of guests after so long. You have a round to act.
What are you doing now?
Raising an eyebrow at the sight of the disgusting creature, "Well, the statue is that of the Runelord of Wrath: Alaznist. As far as the overgrown worm is concerned... I cannot seem to recollect any information about it. I feel like I should know something about it but for some reason I am drawing a blank."
'What an odd place for such a pool.' Learning what the pool actually was, Elathras dips his hand in the water, lifting to his lips to taste it. Turning to the others, "Odd that his place was abandoned, this pool alone would make it worth renovating."
Heading down he steps behind Bharak, just over his left shoulder, Elathras keeps the fauchard's blade so he can quickly defend their Ranger. As they step through the doorway, Elathras eyes immediately set upon the woman and her polearm, then they light upon the giant worm. 'That is a monster.' His years of training with the Disciples of the Pike kicks in as he steps forward lifting his fauchard and chopping at the giant larva.