Silas was the last down the ladder into the chamber, but quickly gravitated toward the eastern door. Searching the door, he quickly determines that the door is neither trapped nor locked. He hears nothing from beyond the stone door either.
Utsuri studies the remains of the beetles, trying to determine if their inherent glow is something that might be of use. Seeing the glowing ooze still clinging to the head of Myev's maul, they suspect that very well might be the case, but has no idea whatsoever of how to go about it.
Fascinated by the mechanical parts strewn across the floor of eastern half of the room, Meebo searches through them frantically finding a number of gears of various sizes and a number of pulleys, but the hempen cables running through said pulleys had long since dry-rotted. Looking back up cylinder shaft, Meebo sees what looks like a series of levers up near the top of the cylinder. Based on this it would appear these were spare parts for some sort of contraption controlled from within the cylinders, but you do not recall seeing anything from the outside when you approached the ruins.
Tekumbay heads over the northern most of the western doors and begins his examination. Much like Silas, he doesn't find any signs of a trap and the door is unlocked. The shuffling around the room and the occasional excited chirp out of Meebo as she investigates the mechanical parts on the floor would seem to prevent the forest gnome from concentrating enough to hear anything beyond the door.
With the rest of the caravan's survivors busily bustling around the chamber, Baheera finds it difficult to do much more than split her attention among what her companions were doing.
Myev stands by while most of her companions were busily working at other tasks in the room. She curiously regards the glowing goo stuck to the business end of her maul before moving over to one of the clay urns. Without touching them or doing a more thorough investigation, she is unable to determine anything more than they are lidded clay pots.
the occasional excited chirp out of Meebo
Meebo is going to sort through the pile and put a selection of bits and bobs in the best condition into her pack, stopping just shy of her load being too heavy to carry easily, or until someone drags her away because folks are leaving.
While Meebo fills here pack with gears and bits to the point of wobbling a bit when she walks, Utsuri lifts one of the clay urns.
Sloshing it around a bit, they are certain that there is a viscous liquid inside of the urn. As a tiny bit leaks through the lid, they notice a distinctly oily smell to the cloudy liquid that had seeped out.
"Meebs, do you want me to carry anything for you? I don't have that much on me." Myev frowns, worried about her friend tipping over.
She turns her attention briefly to Utsuri, who had sidled up near her at the urns. "Do you know what it is?"
"I'm good!" she said cheerfully. She was clearly straining a bit, but few things made her as happy as new parts for new toys, so she was embracing the small silver lining around being stranded in trapped, beetle-infested ruins in the middle of the desert.
Thinking the first western door is fine, Tek walks over and checks the second. This time his does a better job of tuning out the distractions of the others in order to focus his concentration on the task at hand.
Baheera busies herself with looking at the structure they are actually in, studying the walls and architecture.
Tekumbray, satisfied with the north, western door, proceeds to investigate the door in the western wall south of him. A quick search reveals that this door, much like the one he just checked is not trapped, not locked, with no sounds coming from beyond the door.
"Both of these doors seem safe and are unlocked. Can't hear anything on the other side. Shall we forge ahead?" He says pointing to the southwest door poised to fling it open.
Meebo powers up her flame thrower, just in case. "Right behind ya, Tek. Well, Myev will be. I'll be behind her. And maybe a few other people. Point is, we've got your back!"
"This place is ancient, feels like a temple of sorts, though I cannot tell to whom. There are hallmarks of human construction, but there are some oddities that feel...different, touches that even ancient humans aren't know for." Baheera shares with her companions.
Tekumbray attempts to fling open the door, but finds the stone door a bit too heavy to fling. After a brief struggle, the door opens to reveal a 10-foot-wide corridor that runs forty feet west before turning north.
He was just about to pass it by completely when something on the southern wall of the corridor caught Tek's attention. Just as he was about to mention it, Myev noticed what appeared to be a door-like shape in the stonework of the wall. If it weren't for the lighted sandals around Utsuri's neck, the oddity would have likely been missed.
"Look," Myev says, pointing towards the door-like shape in the wall. "Secret door?" She moves forward slowly, pressing on the door shape, trying to see if it will give way without needing to find some kind of pesky switch or button.
"Sharp eyes everyone. Let us move closer." Silas murmurs, the stillness of this place giving him goosebumps. He dared not raise his voice louder than a whisper, lest something hear them in the deep.
Myev pushes on the door-like shape in the wall, and to her surprise it depresses and slides into the wall leaving a five-foot wide opening.
As the light from Utsuri's spell floods the now open chamber, seven creatures that appear to be akin to very large mosquitos come to life and begin flying around the chamber. A faint glitter catches your eye from the center of the room as the creatures fly toward you.
Not fancying the prospect of being a living blood-shake for a bevy of hungry mosquito's Tek takes a step back into the shadows and then snaps off a quick shot toward the big bug fluttering near the center of the room.
Utsuri quickly enters the room and unleashes a flurry of unremarkable attacks, leaving them open for the mosquito like creatures swarm the silver-skinned monk.
Tekumbray drops back and fires off a shot that pierces clean through his target, dropping the creature instantaneously dead.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
While flailing harmlessly at the large mosquitos, Utsuri loses balance of two of four oil pots in their hand. The pots smash to the ground, spilling the thick oil on the ground around the silver-skinned monk.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Light shines from the holy symbol of Lathander, shimmering over Utsuri, Myev, and Tek. Even in this lightless place deep under the earth, there the sudden sensation of feeling the warmth of the sun on one's skin. Lifting his shield up, he prepared for the onslaught of flying creatures to attack.
Silas casts his spell to bolster the abilities of a few of his companions, before some of the mosquito like creatures swarm Utsuri, but only one manages to pierce their strange, silver skin.
"Hammer's probably a bit of overkill, here..." Myev says, chuckling a bit. Shev moves into the room, gripping the handle of her maul tightly, and takes a heavy swing at the closest bloodsucker.
Myev's suspicions prove to be correct as she splatters the stirge all over the floor of the room.
Moving to where she can see into the room, Bageera looks at the swarm of huge mosquito-like creatures surrounding Utsuriand takes a risk. With a gesture and a expression of will, the Djinn-bound conjures a small flame to set light to the oil beneath the flying creatures.
Baheera sets a magical spark off on the oily ground. Slowly the flame begins to spread as the fire begins to produce a dark, sooty smoke.
"Huh?" Meebo dropped the two gears she'd been examining and grabbed her fire hose. "What is it?! Is that smoke?" she called, running to the doorway. "What's everybody -- Oh!" Seeing the large buggy thing south of Myev she unleashes a glob of fire in its direction.
Meebo's burst of flame roasts one of the stirges, dropping it to the ground.
Tek slips another arrow from his quiver and steps up to the door. Spotting one of the creatures near Utsuri, he snaps off a quick shot before the creature disappears behind the growing cloud of smoke.
The haze of the sooty smoke is enough for Tek's shot to be just off the mark, the arrow rattling around the stone walls of the chamber.
Utsuri scurries out of the room with one of the creatures still attached it their shoulder.
Tek takes careful aim, but only by grace of Lathander does his arrow find its target through the smoke, striking down another stirge.
Silas stands behind his comrades, focusing the divine will of the Morninglord to protect these travellers through the dangers before them. Lifting his holy symbol once more, he would quickly say another prayer.
"Lathander, give us your gaze. Smite these beasts with your glorious flame!" The shakiness in the acolyte's voice was gone, filled with a powerful conviction that seemed strange on that naive and friendly half-elf's person. Amidst the fire, a brilliant light would begin to manifest to strike the creature closest to Myev.
(vs. AC 18 - half cover from smoke)
A brief, bright flash of flame strikes down near one of the mosquito like creatures, but it seems to dodge the blast. Seemingly uninhibited by the smoke, one creatures in the room remaining attacks Myev, while another is still attached to Utsuri syphons more of the silver-skinned monk's blood, dropping them to the ground.
The lying parasite lands on Myev and begins to drink her blood.
Myev utters a guttural growl when the stirge attaches itself to her. She grabs it with one hand and firmly yanks it from her neck, wincing. She then backs out of the room to leave an opening for someone to get the last one.
Myev pulls the offending creature out of her skin and hurls it away before exiting the smoke filled room.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
As Myev forcefully extracts the storage from her skin, a roiling violet blast of energy Lombard's it while in her hands.
Baheera blasts the unfortunate stirge splattering across the room as it leaves Myev's grip.
"Well I guess that means they have blood...or else these things drink metal," Meebo mutters, squinting one eye and trying to take careful aim at the stirge on Utsuri. She pulls the triggers and lobs a small blob of fire at the bug, reeeally hoping she doesn't hit her new weird interesting friend.