"Don't have time to explain. Vargouille. Don't let it bite you."
Juriya, with the pre-loaded croosbow, fires at the creature, scared for her frail life... as usual, it misses.
"shit shit shit shit"
Donimah stiffens at Juriya's warning, and her mind races as she loads her crossbow, thinking on what she might have read about vargouilles.
"More importantly, don't let it kiss you," Donimah says to the others.
Donimah remembers that these creatures are fairly easy to hit with no special resistances. It is not particularly good in resisting attacks on its mind . Upon kissing a helpless target, a 1-time Fort save prevents a slow death and transformation of the victim into another Vargouille. This usually takes up to a day. It can be delayed with sunlight and it can be stopped with powerful (for you at least) magic.
It also administers poison on its bite attack which makes it harder to heal damage from its bite.
It can also shriek which can make all around it to become paralyzed and thus, susceptible to its kiss.
"They try to paralyze you with their shriek, and then kiss you," she explains. "If you don't resist the curse that inflicts, you die as your head detaches and becomes another vargouille! Sunlight can keep the curse from advancing, but ultimately it's fatal unless you have access to powerful magic...the kind we likely couldn't find in Sandpoint. Fortunately, their wills aren't strong and they don't have any immunities or protections that would render our weapons inefficient. We just have to take it down before it can shriek at us, and keep it away from our damn mouths. And like Juriya said, don't let it bite you either, it's got venom that makes wounds harder to heal."
Arrian moves in to strike at the monster:
But misses by a mile.
Ano makes a flying leap to skewer the vargouille.
Zeldrith strides forward, his hooves splashing through the rippling water of the skull-lined fountain as he draws his longsword and slashes in one fluid motion. Not being terribly bright, a good portion of Donimah's warning goes over his head, though he does raise his eyebrows at one part. "Kiss me? This thing? Donimah, there isn't enough beer in the world for that."
"You'd be paralyzed, I don't think it's exactly going to rely on good will."
Donimah snorts at Zeldrith's joke and Juriyas rebuttal and aims her crossbow at the vargouille.
Then she curses in Shoanti.
"A mighty hunter of the Storval Plateau I am not."
The flurry of attacks is very effective. Ano and Zeldrith land powerful blows that sink into the creature's head. However, it hangs on.
"It's gonna shriek. If we can't kill it now, cover your ears!" Donimah warns.
"Second time's the charm...," Juriya says as she reloads and fires as her bolt hits the flying creature right in one of its leathery wings.
Juriya's bolt finishes the job and the head stops floating and falls on the ground, dead.
Juriya goes up, and plants her rapier right in one of the creature's eyes to be sure it's dead. "Assuming we don't find any more passages, we're good to head down the stairs now? It didn't bite any of you, did it?"
Arrian takes a look around to see if there are any traps, etc.:
Ano blinked at how quickly and effectively Juriya killed the vargouille. “Nice shot,” she told her kitsune friend. She then helps the others scout ahead.
The water in this fountain is surprisingly pure. A Detect Magic and some discussion suggest that there is a magic effect purifying this water in certain intervals.
Looking forwards, the stairways continue up and end up into a flight of spiral stairs that winds up around a circular pillar into darkness above.
There is air coming from the surface, probably providing here with fresh air. Also, there's enough room here for small animals to go up and down, such as a raven.
Tracing your way back, you go into the last unexplored corridor, the one heading east just before you found the statue. The tunnel widens here into what appears to have once been a small shrine, for to the northeast, steps lead up to a platform of gray stone. Sitting atop the platform is an ancient altar, little more than a jagged block of black marble with a shallow concavity on top of it. This basin is filled with what appears to be filthy water.
Donimah breathes a sigh of relief.
"That was a close one. Good work indeed, Juriya."
She steps into the room and takes a closer look at the water.
"Surprisingly clear for having been here so long," she muses.
She chants the spell to look at the fountain with arcane eyes.
Arrian checks the room with the fountain while the casters check the fountain and its magic.
Ano checked on the stairs, feeling the fresh air. “I think this leads back to a random part of the town,” she told the rest, “But it looks sealed up. So…the goblins definitely didn’t travel down that way.”
Arrian doesn't find anything of note. This is a very simple room.
Putting together that there is a collapsed stairway heading this way, this fountain was probably used to wash up before entering the complex below.
"I think with the collapsed stairway heading this way, this fountain was probably used to wash up before entering the complex below."
[dice=Wisdom]1d20+2
"I think with the collapsed stairway heading this way, this fountain was probably used to wash up before entering the complex below."
[dice=Knowledge (Religion)]1d20+5
Juriya just stands there... staring at the fountain, completely oblivious. "Cool fountain! Why is there a fountain here. When did it even get here..? Was this fountain always here, I missed it laat time."
She's hopeless and clueless.
Zeldrith shrugs, stabbing the dead head-thing one last time for good measure before scraping the thing's dead form off on one of the decorative skulls at the pool's edge. The more intricate discussions of the complex's purpose and a passage to the outside are largely beyond his rather limited imagination - instead, he nods down the corridor they came from, sheathing his blade. "Some sort of third passage, wasn't there? I'm a little concerned - unless this head-thing was this place's creator, I doubt whatever's down that last passage will be friendly."
Zeldrith shrugs, stabbing the dead head-thing one last time for good measure before scraping the thing's dead form off on one of the decorative skulls at the pool's edge. The more intricate discussions of the complex's purpose and a passage to the outside are largely beyond his rather limited imagination - instead, he nods down the corridor they came from, sheathing his blade. "Some sort of third passage, wasn't there? I'm a little concerned - unless this head-thing was this place's creator, I doubt whatever's down that last passage will be friendly."
"Lots of strange creatures down here."
Arrian will search the area:
Arrian doesn't notice anything interesting. Just this basin and the filthy water inside. There's a set of double doors just beside it. Behind the double doors, Arrian doesn't hear anything but thinks the room might be big.
Zeldrith glances disinterestedly around the small shrine, nodding towards the befouled altar. "Basin there was probably for the blood. I've seen some Bakrakhani murals in Magnimar - their priests were not nice people." Moving to the double doors, the old soldier draws his blade, grinning back at Arrian and the others. "This has the feel of an ambush. Ready to fight, my friend?"
Ano looks at the tiefling. “Sooner we get rid of whatever runs this place the sooner we can get out of here.”
Donimah nods and follows after the others, taking time to load her crossbow anew.
"Willing and able."
Arrian nods, shield and rapier at the ready.
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You have another vision. You are in a very confined space. It's dark. As you try to move around, you are not very strong. You bring your hands to your face. You have fangs and long ears and very soft skin.
Upon reflecting for a moment, you realize you are a baby in a womb. And you are a monster.
Then you come to your senses and realize again where you are. You feel like the shrine is somehow connected to your vision.
Juriya does the same, loading her crossbow with both hands while storing her rapier in her mouth momentarily by the hilt. Granted, yes, this was a horrible idea -- but you need two hands to load otherwise it's going to end terribly.
"Ruhhdy, wuhllng buhhl" she says behind her rapier, before moving it to her free hand.
Juriya senses the same as Arrian.
Ano freezes, taking in what she’s seeing with immense horror. Her blood becomes cold as ice when she sees her horrid form…but by the end of the vision it becomes too much. She screams as loud as her lungs are capable of, falling backwards, her fur bristling hard and her spots flaring light blue as she falls backwards in a panic.
Cherry hovers in a panic, shrilling, “What, what?! What’s wrong Ano?!”
“MONSTER, WOMB, FIEND, I-NOBODY ELSE SAW THAT?! I WAS A MONSTER, MY MOTHER HAS BEEN CARRYING A MONSTER!!!” the catfolk shrilled, bewildered by her terrible vision.
Trying to calm Ano, Arrian says, "No it's just like what I thought I heard earlier - it's just this place messing with our minds. You're not a monster!"
“I saw it I tell you!” she shrilled, “I was some demon baby in my mom’s womb! At least…I think it was…I didn’t see her face, and I didn’t look like myself, I think I looked less like catfolk and more like…I…” After a long silence, she looked at everyone with scared, bloodshot eyes and asked with a whimper, “What in the Nine Hells is wrong with this place?”
“I saw it I tell you!” she shrilled, “I was some demon baby in my mom’s womb! At least…I think it was…I didn’t see her face, and I didn’t look like myself, I think I looked less like catfolk and more like…I…” After a long silence, she looked at everyone with scared, bloodshot eyes and asked with a whimper, “What in the Nine Hells is wrong with this place?”
"It's cursed or infused with dark magic that apparently isn't fond of intruders. Try to breathe, relax, and focus on the moment."
"We should clear this place and figure out what's going on as soon as we possibly can," Juriya says hurriedly, getting a bit spooked by Ano...
Donimah glowers, more at the situation than at any person.
"The picture's becoming clearer, and it's not a pretty one. I think the reason you're the one getting this visions, Ano, is because something happened to Nualia here. Something terrible. And because you were the only friend she had, you can sense the pain she left behind here better than any of us can. This place...it's carrying a remnant of Nualia in it, one that desperately wants to be heard and understood, and you're the only one it thinks might understand."