Sunlight streams through the entrance, making this room normal light. Just as Haka is about to approach the bodies of the fallen prospectors and Hancock is about to check one of the hallways, something seems to be moving!
Terrain Condition: Normal terrain and normal light.
Active Condition:
ENCOUNTER MAP
Character in BOLD can act!
Signet HP 28/28, AC 19
Mathilda HP 32/32, AC 19
Enemy B
Hancock HP 40/40, AC 18
Haka HP 32/32, AC 20
Malik HP 30/30, AC 20
Shurga HP 19/19, AC 18
Enemy A
"Oh, what's this?" The Carnelian Signet hears something from the hallway and Strides into the main chamber. "Well, someone is glad to see us. A kiss for our adoring fans!"
She blows a kiss at the thing dressed in Blue. The smoke from the kiss bursts into flame.
"I had hoped our fanbase would be a bit more... lively."
Mathilda activates her wayfinder, draws her weapon, and gets closer to the enemies. Signet, on the other hand, follows her as well and blows a smoky kiss into Blue's direction that turns into fire. It gets affected but not that much.
Blue starts moving and attacks the closest living creature to it with its warhammer twice.
Fortunately, both attacks miss.
Terrain Condition: Normal terrain and normal light.
Active Condition:
ENCOUNTER MAP
Character in BOLD can act!
Signet HP 28/28, AC 19
Mathilda HP 32/32, AC 19
Enemy B (Blue) -5
Hancock HP 40/40, AC 18
Haka HP 32/32, AC 20
Malik HP 30/30, AC 20
Shurga HP 19/19, AC 18
Enemy A (Red)
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Shurgha watches her companions engage with the two armored...things. I don't think the one to the south has seen me yet, but Malik and Haka seem to have it well at hand. She changes her original tactic of sneaking and instead pulls her pistol ((interact ◆)), shoots at A ((strike ◆)), then reloads ((interact ◆)).
A combination of a strike and grapple from Haka catches the enemy off-guard, causing the thing to crumble into a mundane armor. Malik positions himself into a crane stance.
Hancock rages, gets close to Red and attacks with his weapon, causing a massive damage to it, making it somewhat broken. Finally, Shurgha ends it with a pistol strike.
Haka checks the bodies of the fallen prospectors and found they have fatal wounds that came from the weapons of the defeated constructs.
"Splendid!" She smiles as the armor scatters against her allies weapons.
"We can't carry them with us, too cumbersome." And I'm tired of looking at the dead. "These must be Elsitt's allies?"
Eventually she looks to the eastern chamber. "So. East?"
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Shurgha walks up to the group and looks over the two heaps of now-crumpled and unmoving armor. Hearing Haka, she turns to him and says, "I thought you had the map." The dead prospectors catch her eye, and she bows her head and slowly shakes it, letting out an audible sigh.
She responds to The Carnelian Signet,"Yes."
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Shurgha walks up to the group and looks over the two heaps of now-crumpled and unmoving armor. Hearing Haka, she turns to him and says, "I thought you had the map." The dead prospectors catch her eye, and she bows her head and slowly shakes it, letting out an audible sigh.
Elsitt's map, sure, but I was talking about that one. Haka gestures to the carved map in the floor.
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Malik pulls out a journal and begins taking copius notes on the chamber including the map, "Hmm, an interesting idea putting a map at the entrance for visitors to know where to go."
Malik looks around at the bodies, "They aren't going anywhere. Let's finish what we came here first and get them on the way out."
Having decided to leave the bodies of fallen prospectors and one of them elaborately copies of a scribbled map on the floor, the party continues east.
One can notice that what looks like a room into their left seems something is giving off a dim light. They can also hear somebody singing softly in Dwarven. Somewhere further, one can slightly hear like somebody is moving boulders.
"I can't exactly hide right now, and they must have heard us." The Signet shrugs. "I'll start moving east unless someone objects." She coils her whip and proceeds forward.
As Signet and Haka approach the entrance of the room, they notice that steady drip of water from a crack in the northwestern corner falls into a small pool on the floor of this cavern. Phosphorescent blue moss glows slightly on the walls, spreading out from the trickle, though patches are missing in a series of vertical stripes where something appears to have carefully removed them. Mushrooms sprout along the pool’s edge. An ifrit is harvesting the moss while singing songs in Dwarven when he notices what he could think of as intruders.
"Ackkkk! Who are you?! What are you doing here? Get away, leave us alone. Yandara! Slayse! There are other people! Come!" the ifrit shouts, calling the others. Soon enough, two more ifrits come to the rescue, one holding a boulder, while the other holds a frying pan, ready to use them as weapons, but they are reluctant to attack, anyway.
"What?! I don't understand you. Just go away, you all! Leave us alone!" the ifrit in cavern with moss and mushrooms replies to Hancock. He gets afraid when he sees Hancock agitated.
The words of Shurgha seems to be not working to the ifrit. "Just go away, we don't need anyone here," he says. The ifrit with the boulder somewhat threatens them, "If you don't leave us, I'll, I'll throw this big boulder on you. We, we have more there." she says hesitantly but ready. "If you are here to help us, we don't need it. Keep it to yourselves. We are good here. Better to leave us alone here instead." tells the ifrit with the frying pan.
"Pathfinder Society? I could have heard it somewhere. We're not actually trapped here. We fled here, into this volcano and we found this ruins. We have no plans to leave until we’re certain those hunting us find us again. We heard a fatal battle many days ago there, but didn’t arrive in time to help, and we have no way to get past the guardians to recover the bodies. I wonder how you get past them, hmmm..." the ifrit with the frying pan tells Mathilda.
The ifrit with the boulder answers Shurgha with a look of suspicion, "I am Slayse," she tells her. "I bet I could make better cistern than you, by just looking at you. I can manage to do it myself." she tells Shurgha, not meaning to judge her as she somewhat take her words back by closing her mouth with her hands after he drops the boulder on the ground with a thud echoing inside the ancient ruin.
Haka shows how to harvest the moss effectively. As the ifrit with the moss observes attentively, he recognizes that he is indeed not doing it right. "Hey, why don't you try it with the mushrooms? They are edible, tell me how to harvest them too." he says excitedly.
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Seeing that the place is not about to erupt into violence, Bruce enters and clears his throat.
"Er, my employer, in spite of his uncouth ways, is quite experienced in medicine and survival and knows quite a bit about how the society can help. Perhaps he could show you how best to survive in this place?"
Hancock looks around in surprise, like it is shocking that someone would call upon him to demonstrate skills other than pounding things. With almost a smile, he launches into a long stream of advice only Bruce can understand.
Unfortunately, the discussion on survival breaks down when Bruce translates eating food into eating brood.
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Haka shows how to harvest the moss effectively. As the ifrit with the moss observes attentively, he recognizes that he is indeed not doing it right. "Hey, why don't you try it with the mushrooms? They are edible, tell me how to harvest them too." he says excitedly.
Yes, cutting them free is part of it, but storage especially for long term is the key...
"My dear, put the boulder down. You'll only hurt yourself trying to look scary." The Carnelian Signet taps her foot impatiently.
Shurgha says to Hancock in Dwarven, "Not yet they don't. Give me a moment to talk to them."
She then turns to the first one and introduces herself, still speaking dwarven,"Hello, my name is Shurgha Tak."
[dice="diplomacy"]1d20+5
Actually, Slayse is just shy to ask for help. "Actually, I would love too," she admits. "Please teach me how to make cistern."
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Yandara, the ifrit with the frying pan, gets upset on what Malik has said. "No offense, but you can keep your talent of cooking to yoru friends."
Rowsh, the one with the moss, does not believe what Bruce says about Hancock. "I don't think I would do that. Perhaps, I'll do it myself." he says and starts collecting his things. When she heard that skills are taught in the Society, Yandara takes note of that and tells Bruce, "I would like to know more about the Pathfinder Society. Not sure when."
As he collect he things, he is still looking at how Haka does the harvesting. "Impressive, now I know how to do it right." [ooc](Success)
Signet admonishes Slayse, which is true, she is trying to look brave. She kicks the boulder sideways. But Mathilda turns things different, making Slayse to pick up again the boulder but stops herself. ""Yeah, really? Now that's how you intruders treat us, huh?"
"Well, you threatened us first. I'd rather kiss and make up rather than kiss and burn bridges."
She blows a puff of smoke in Slayse's direction.
Shurgha keeps to speak with Rowsh, who in turn enjoins her on harvesting moss and mushrooms. ”You see, we are ifrits. We are refugees from the dwarven city of Taggoret, which is close here to Droskar’s Crag, home to many spontaneously born lavasoul ifrits. While most are welcomed by their parents, a few -- including us -- are cast out by families who fear Droskar has corrupted us. Recently, we found ourselves in trouble after a heist went wrong. We fled to the volcano, and found these ruins.” Rowsh tells her their short story. ”What brings you here?”
Slayse counters what Signet says about them as she fans away the smoke onto her, "Well, you are right, but we came here first. Wonder why would your group come here."
"Let's all stop now," Yandara concludes. "It seems your group means no harm to us at all, we're are rude on our part. We’re sorry. Anyway, I am Yandara, and this are my friends, Slayse and Rowsh." she points to others. "It seems you want to explore these ruins. "How can we help you? We can answer you with what we know here, to help you all with your exploration."
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With a distrustful scowl, Hancock puts his maul away, then leans against the wall feigning disinterest in the yammering that is soon to follow. Bruce, on the other hand virtually lights up when the efforts produce a truce.
Bruce: "There! You see Hancock, it is much better to just talk things through rather than just bash your way through troubles."
Hancock: "Nathx2tauwe."
Bruce: "Humph. A little appreciation would be nice."
Turning to his new friends he asks, "We heard that these are historically significant dwarven ruins, and we have come on the behalf of the research arm of the Pathfinder society to discover it's secrets. Though we were informed that the last group that came down here, a party of dwarves not nearly as prepared as a PFS expedition met grievous harm, which was borne out by the evidence in the last room. Good news, though! The automatons that protected the entrance are now scrap metal courtesy of my employers enthusiastic maul. Can you tell us if there are any more dangerous areas ahead of us? perhaps we could neutralize them for you too."
Yandara, acting as their leader, speaks for the group and answers Bruce. We've been here for days only. But if you will go deeper, just be careful going there , there is some haunt going on there, spirits of dwarves going about when stirred. Passing further there though is a small room surrounded by molten lava. Be careful not to linger there if you are not prepared for it. If you get past that room, there is something what looks like a pen. There are shackles there on the walls. I haven't gone further than that." she tells him. "On that way," she continues , "downstairs from where you came from, there is another way leading there from here . There is a room there with a stone box in the middle. We didn't attempt to explore, we don't know what is it." she adds.
"About those moving armors, they were already there when we got here," Slayse answers for Yandara instead, "and we didn't get past them actually, we came from there," she points behind her to the room to her right . "I piled rubble there to block the entrance, and keeping watch from there because I think those hunting us from Taggoret will come from that direction."
"No worries, we're used to it, hehe." Rowsh tells Malik, now that he is finished harvesting some moss and mushrooms. "You better keep going, we're are staying here, keeping an eye on those who might intrude."
"Your help and information is greatly appreciated." The Signet grins. "Maybe we can give those restless spirits some eternal sleep? Then we can deal with the lava. I do like it hot."
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Shurgha, her brain still thinking in Dwarven, is slightly confused by the directions given in Common. "Miss Signet seems confident, though."
She nods in agreement to the whip-wielding woman, Since we are expected to explore, one path is as good as another, as long as we tread on all.
"To Fight or Work, I am Ready," she mutters her family's motto to brace herself for what is to come.