Ashlynn renews her light spell on her crossbow, and tentatively follows, glancing at the shadows along the ceiling as she passes them.
"Did I mention I love this place?" Khatín mutters, stepping over a pile of rocks on the ground. "Could make a lovely starter home. My parents had one just like this, and now look at where the are in life. Dead."
I'd say they were going after a deep long term investment opportunity, Borden quips absentmindedly.
He continues to use his long spear to probe ahead.
"Seems they got a bad return on...the deep kind is...fu-" Khatín stammers off, then chuckles dryly. "I don't know where I was going with that. Thought I had a joke, but it didn't agree. Where to?"
Ashlynn sighs heavily.
"All we have left is forward. So we might as well walk forward into the next trap..."
Borden, Ashlynn and Khatin move forward to where the corridor splits and goes left and right.
To the right, around a corner can be seen the entrance to another room, light as if from a clear summer's day streaming forth from it.
That floor of that entrance is covered by a orangey-brown substance. The chill in the air detected earlier grows noticeably stronger from that direction.
To the left, Ashlynn's light reveals the entrance to another room, the contents of which lays in shadow.
"We've got light up here."
Nym trundles along towards the rear of the group.
He gestures Khatin forward, "Well, let's see what it is."
Since she has the light, Ashlynn points it toward the shadowy room and moves forward carefully while she shakes her head.
"Who puts orange and brown carpet in a dungeon! How terribly silly. Everyone knows dungeons need...bearskin rugs and exotic silk carpets from Tian Xia. What else would work in such a place!"
Mac will follow along keeping an eye out.
You realize that you're falling behind and trot a bit to catch up.
As you do so, you feel a tingling sensation on your left shoulder blade, as if the flesh there went numb for a few moments
You frown as you look at the strange orange and brown 'carpet', then a flash of memory comes to you. You remember having read an account of a jaunt into the spaces beneath the ground, and the narrator relating encountering a strange brown mold....that gave off waves of coldness, enough to kill a man outright should he approach to close. The narrator related that ultimately it was applying magical cold to the mold that ended it's danger to himself and his companions...well minus the unfortunate one killed by the mold!
Something strange is happening here. I felt my shoulder go numb for a few seconds.
You're not sure. There was no sound or movement that you could detect. The feeling was similar to that when your foot or leg goes asleep....very tingly.
You're not sure. There was no sound or movement that you could detect. The feeling was similar to that when your foot or leg goes asleep....very tingly.
Can someone take a look at my shoulder?
Knowing she’s not much of a healer, but the closest thing the group may have to one, Ashlynn steps up with concern.
“Are you in any pain?”
Naw. It just went numb for a few seconds, which hasn't happened before. No one was near me as far as I can tell.... Mac says in response to Ashlynn.
Well well well, says the so called ex pathfinder society agent expansively as if he is some sort of sage.
What we have here is an aberrant mold my friends. This strange brown mold here will give off waves of coldness, enough to kill a man outright should he approach too close. The secret to overcoming this obstacle? Why it is applying magical cold to the bugger! Now... anyone have a frost cantrip or some alchemist liquid ice available?
Grimacing, Ashlynn shakes her head.
"Cold magic really isn't my thing. Could we just burn it away if the fire were large and fast enough? Its just a fungus, right? Who has ever heard of a fungus immune to fire..."
Its magical fungus, he says waving and wiggling his fingers, to further emphasise his point.
He thinks.
I have this long spear here... I might be able to use it like a 10 ft pole, scrape and push it away or at least to one side to let us past. We'd take some frost burn but... , he shrugs.
Best plan I got. Anyone else?
Khatín stands back quietly, peering over everyone's shoulders at the fungus.
Ashlynn snaps her fingers at Borden's words.
"I don't have cold magic, but I DO have other magic! I can create an invisible hand with magic and with good range. Give me something light and flat, and I can use it to scrape the fungus back or into a hole or something. Maybe even cover it with something? I would think a blanket or cloak of any sort would give us some basic protection from its emanations at that point."
Brilliant!, he says snapping his fingers! I too have a similar cantrip... use a dagger? Two magic hands are better than one after all.
Ashlynn frowns then holds up a finger pointing upward, then at him.
"I wouldn't use anything you can't live without. You might need that dagger in the future, and I'm pretty sure you don't want to get frostbite using it!"
She then pulls a small iron pot, usually for cooking or similar, from her pack that is already showing stains and wear from travel-use.
"This should work for me. I will scoop up as much as I can and place it in a far corner or hole that I can see. You grab something to scrape up the rest and then maybe find a spare blanket from someone or a heavy cloak we can throw over the entire lot of stuff to be sure we are safe."
"There are alchemical concoctions that can create burst of cold. Perhaps we should avoid this hazard and return when we are properly outfitted for this challenge. I could whip up a batch, but that would take so time, but we might be able to to find a flask or two for sale in town."
Ashlei smiles again with excitement as she readies her old pot...
"Its immune to fire and vulnerable to cold, but wouldn't acid melt it? It might not be as effective I guess, but isn't vials of acid in your repertoire of alchemical concoctions at hand? Once we have the entire carpet scraped together, if you have any acid, you could toss it on and dissolve the whole lot. Right?"
I am with Ashlynn here. Lets see if our magical mitts can't clear a path first.
"Acid I can do. Scrape away then, and let's see if you can remove enough to make the passage safe."
The devilishly handsome teller of tall tales ("Truth will cost extra") looks around for rocks, bits of discarded pottery, bits of tile etc, the summons up a mage hand from 20 feet away and begins using the hand to scrape away at the mild.
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Borden looks about, and is not successful in finding any discarded detritus to use, but then remembers he has a mess kit in his pack. Pulling out an equally dented pot, he joins Ashlynn at a safe distance from the mold and begin the laborious process of scooping the mold and the substance it inhabits further away.
As the mold and orange sludge is moved, pot-full by pot-full, a basin is revealed in the western side of the near by wall....filled to the brim with the orange sludge.
keeps her eyes peeled.
Mac will also keep an eye out.
When your shoulder went numb you were facing towards the moldy mess on the floor. And since the air only gets colder the closer you get to the mold, you figure the mold had nothing to do with your shoulder.
Then when you're keeping an eye out, as you glance back the way you've come from, you're positive you saw something blink back at you before disappearing into the darkness above.
Uh..I think there is something else down here with us. I also think it is behind us.
Khatín spins on her heel, readying herself for an attack. "What?! Where?"
With a simple gesture, Ashlynn places the contaminated pot on top of the nasty pile. She turns to Mac at his declaration, and raises her crossbow to illuminate the area behind them.
"You saw it too? I saw something earlier! Eyes! Right? If it means us harm, why hasn't it attacked? Aren't monsters supposed to attack people like us?"
Yes! I saw them blink! Mac says in confirmation to Ashlynn.
Borden unleashes a string of curses that would make a priestess of Calistra blush as he turns and levels his long spear at the area.
If you're following us, might as well step out and introduce yourself, he says, issuing a command and challenge at the same time.
Trying to look serious, Ashlei points her crossbow over the area threatened. The shining light plays over the area revealing…
As Ashlynn hold her illuminating crossbow up, light fills the vaulted ceiling of the corridor.
There all see, just as it slides into a small crack a the top of one of the carved figures, a strange creature. Two bulbous eyes, connected together by a sinewy cord of muscle.
The trailing eye blinks, then follows the rest of the odd body into the crack...
It appears to be what's known as a Lurking Strangler...a aberration of the deep underground.
They tend to hide in the darkness and attempt to strangle unsuspecting victims.
Their eyes have magical properties allowing them to emit a ray that can cause sleep.
Smiling like a child, Ashlynn points at the strange eyes.
"Told you! TOLD you! Something was there! Nobody believed me..."
She stops by covering her mouth, suddenly aware she was being annoying as hell. She manages to squeak through her hand.
"Sorry."
Anybody know what that thing is? Mac asks befuddled.
"What in the abyss was that?"
Never one to waste an opportunity to blow hard...
It appears to be what's known as a Lurking Strangler...an aberration of the deep underground. Pathfinder education and all that. They tend to hide in the darkness and attempt to strangle unsuspecting victims. Not sure if the speak or not BUT probably best to kill it. Ready yourselves!
He braces his longspear and readies to attack.
Got anything that can attack that crack? Alchemist fire?
Grimacing, Ashlynn looks sheepish.
“I know a lot about fire, both arcane and divine. But I don’t have any alchemy supplies. I breathe fire… a little. Its not much yet: Only once a day. ”