Simon purses his lips, "A good question Vondal.
We know that this secret door may be a station for those Orcs, and that Wizard to either guard something or stage raids in this area of the dungeon. I say we explore this secret area a bit first, but with an eye towards whether those that fled return with reinforcements.
After that, we can either try and follow their trail, or simply head the way we were already headed".
Simon dispels the grease he cast and grabs his everburning torch, intent on searching the room where these Orcs were first holed up.
Astrillith nods at Pac then turns to the others to get their attention
"The spear, it may be something of value" as she starts to study it for a few seconds
"Sounds good", Vondal answered. "I'm going to look around the corner."
The godling steps into the new room to look around, and will motion the others to enter when safe.
You step around the corner of the short hall and look into the room. It is a large, open room. You see strange ornaments hanging from the walls, a sort of macabre tapestries. You are about to turn your head away from the room when the sound of chains catches your attention. You look back, and see a bugbear standing next to one of the strange tapestries...
the tapestry moves, and gives a horrific wail of agony!
Pain and horrors flow through this wail, agonies of sufferring are communicated in this sound! You look closer, and see chains.
everywhere are chains. chains set into the floor, set into the walls. Manacles hang from the chains, clamped onto the limbs of this strange creature. creatures. your eyes dart around. more of them! 12 of them! 12 strange creatures! Tall and skinny, they hang from their shackles. You shake your head, catching more! they have wings! pale wings in your darkvision. and they are outstretched, spread wide. Black dots mar the paleness, the otherworldly beauty. Nails! they can only be nails! This bugbear and his orc minions, they shackled and nailed these things to the walls.
your focus, your gaze, lands upon the bugbear.
he wears a long hood, but its thrown back. strange white eyes stare back at you, even from this distance you can feel them upon you.
it waves a hand at you...
and the greatest horror you have ever experienced begins to assail your mind!
as astrillith squats low and examines the spear, you see Pac slither up to one of the dead orc mush. It's tongue slithers in and out, and then it opens its mouth wide. very, very wide. as if its eating something. its dead eyes seem to catch an unholy glow of green gold for a moment, before finally the intensity disappears and the mouth closes.
at that moment, you hear a cacophony of sound, of tortured screams and agony come from the secret room. The sounds of chains rattling, of mouths crying out to be heard, to be freed!
"MOTHERFU<KER!!!"
"The spear seems to be made to harm those of a more goodly orientation" she clarifies before she turns her head towards the screams "Can someone try and silence the wailing. It is rather hard to have a conversation with so much noise"
Not bothering to respond to Astrilith, Hellig hastens in the direction of the screaming.
These are not tapestries! you think to yourself as you gaze upon the horror on display
Pain and horrors flow through this wail, agonies of suffering are communicated in this sound! You look closer, and see chains.
everywhere are chains. chains set into the floor, set into the walls. Manacles hang from the chains, clamped onto the limbs of this strange creature. creatures. your eyes dart around. more of them! 12 of them! 12 strange creatures! Tall and skinny, they hang from their shackles. You shake your head, catching more! they have wings! pale wings in your Darkvision. and they are outstretched, spread wide. Black dots mar the paleness, the otherworldly beauty. Nails! they can only be nails! This bugbear and his orc minions, they shackled and nailed these things to the walls.
I commend you, dwarf! it snaps out in a growling deep tone of common. Your hatred of the orcs proved greater than my control over the simple minded creatures. And! you do prove your race well, being able to resist my phantasmal killer spell. I shall be seeing you!
the bugbear waves his hand and a wall slides across, closing the door.
The aasimar walks up to the wall slide, checking to make sure it can't be opened. "I think it safe to approach", Vondal shouted to the others.
Shocked by the chained creatures in the room, Hellig takes a closer look at them and their predicament.
Ceirn walks into the room.
Astrillith follows the rest as they enter the room, scanning it
"So the source of the noise. Hope it gets quieted soon" she holds down her staff to the ground as Pac joins up with her again. Giving him a nod "Let me know when it's done"
Simon will approach to investigate!
This is a torture chamber. Whoever that wizard was and his orc minions, they had a field day with these... well, youre not sure what they are. looking past the dried blood, the oozing puss, the horrific tears of flesh still hanging limply from bodies where flies circle idly awaiting their next meal, they are strange. They look like elves. Pointed ears, slanted almond shaped eyes. but they look taller than an average elf. More skinny too, almost to hte point of being too frail. and wings! they have wings! Long, outstretched wings, clad with feathers... nailed to the wall. two nails are driven into each wing, forcing it open. large clumps of feathers have been ripped out from them, some tossed onto the floor, others stuck into the winged elfen bodies.
blood and offal lay thick upon the floor beneath each elf thing, with bugs and other insects of disease crawling around in the filth.
The agonized cries of help slowly subside, the humanoids collapsing, fainting from apparent exhaustion.
One however, remains awake. his breath is labored, slow. he gasps out
Please... help them.
smells like home. Pac chimes within your head. those souls not strong enough to board the ferry extrude a pleasant odour when they gaze upon the journey. Charon will be pleased
it pauses a moment, its head twisting weirdly before it mouth opens and a small green gem is vomited out. [i]another one for you
"Free them, I will keep an eye out." Ceirn says as he moves to have a view of the entry in the north east of the room.
Vondal nods, and unhooks Gloryhewner from his weapon belt. Carefully, the aasimar begins to hack at the chains of the torture victims.
"Keep an eye out for a key, everyone!"
Astrillith nods and pockets the item before she gets her staff ready again
"This place feels... Familiar" she says dryly
"This is simply horrible..."
Simon is wary but gets close enough to everyone to trigger healing.
Channel Positive Energy to Heal -
The cries of agony and horror renew, louder even! Simon's healing provided much needed aide to all 12 chained creatures. some that were passed out awaken and begin to cry out!
Vondal swings his axe, easily cutting chains.
The godling blinks as he sees channelled energy outside his periphery. Vondal spins around and guesses the energy came from the team's new trap expert.
"Whasthat? Simon? Did that positive energy come from you? I thought you were a lockman, not a divine spellcaster! I can channel energy too, but it comes more naturally for me!"
Simon nods, though as he hears the chained creatures cry out he frowns, "How else can we help you?" He begins to pick locks to free these beings.
He glances back at Vondal, "Well, I was training to be a member of the Church of the Binder, so I did pick up a trick or two".
"Oh! Oghma!" Vondal finally recognizes. "I heard my father talk about him. He had to ask his help on a real obsure legal term used in a contact one time."
Bear in mind, Vondal is having this conversation among moans of pain.
"Does anyone here have the knowledge to remove the chain from these folk?"
"A rust monster would be handy right about now." Hellig says, looking at how the pins are driven through the flesh of the captives.
"I found the secret door that they fled through. I think I see the rock here that you can press to open it. I am not sure what traps they have left behind though." Ceirn says as he glances back at the terrible scene behind him. He then responds to Vondal and says, "Not I. Brute force would be all I could aid with."
"I think before we continue, we must exit Undermountain once more and remove these beings. They need assistance! This is simply terrible".
"We can just put them on the elevator with a couple of coins and send them up. That is worth doing. We can send the elven woman up as well, but I am not sure if we need a coin for her since she is no longer living." Ceirn suggests.
Vondals nods, glad both Simon and Ceirn are in agreement.
The aasimar looks at the wounds. "I've got a small hammer and chisel in my jewelcrafting tools. I wonder if it would help these poor folk?"
Simon exclaims, "You do! Yes, I'm happy to use them to remove these horrific bonds".
"I do not see much we can do for them. So unless there are powerful clerics, prolonging their suffering would be worse. But that will be for those on the surface to determine. Our resources down here are limited." the grimmspawn eyes those in chains. Though the way she looks, if she was to stand in a similar position, she would blend in well
The godling hands his toolset to the halfling. "I'll help."
Vondal helps hod the tortured still while Simon works.
Vondal's axe proves very effective at cutting the chains from the strange elf like creatures. Quick, proficient strikes sever soft iron chain links, and the discarded spear from the dead orc proves a good enough make shift pry bar, easily lifting and removing iron nails.
Everyone works diligently and carefully, helping to lower each creature to the floor.
My- one of them, a male with pale hair, pants out My thanks, strangers. Out of the 12, this one seems to be more hale than the others. A horrid thing. So many things. Food. do you have food for all of us? Or better, water? something to drink? he grunts and groans as he makes an involuntary gesture, only to have the weight of the manacle dig into his forearms. he drops his arm to the ground with a soft clack, and a trickle of blood begins to flow out from it.
Gaeldon, hearing the commotion, steps into the room and approaches. She looks around and walks up to select individuals. I will help those that are in the worse shape. she kneels down before one who is passed out. A soft whisper escapes her lips, her hand picks up a slight blue glow, and she touches the forehead of the creature.
the effect is immediate!
Shallow breaths are suddenly stronger. Pale features grow color. blood that flowed from still open wounds close up some. Thankfully, the creature does not wake up.
Hellig passes the speaker a waterskin, then fills any handy and clean containers via Create Water. He will refill containers as needed.
the speaker drinks deeply, ignoring the pain in his arms to lift the waterskins to his lips. water escapes and runs down his neck. finally he stops, and hands it back to hellig.
my thanks, good sir. What are you to be called? What are all of you to be called?
Gaeldon says loudly some of these... well, whatever they are. some of them are in very bad shape. even with our healing, it isnt enough. add to that the lack of cutting tools... We need to move them to the lift.
she kneels down and lays hands upon another.
"Hey, Gaeldon. Maybe don't heal them so much", Vondal offered. "I know it sounds cruel, but keep them healthy, yeah, but fully heal them once the damn metal is out of their systems. Otherwise the muscle and bone will have to reknit."
"I mean, I'm no cleric or anything, but just wait to fully heal them", the godling reiterated, seeming very much reserved and not like his normal self.
"The way out is close. We can provide you some coins to get out of here safely. Can you tells us your tale before you go. Any more information on what you have seen down here might be useful." Ceirn says.
Simon frowns, "The tools are not sufficient to chip away at these terrible bonds. I am sorry, you will need more help than we are equipped to provide.
I'll look at the wall now Ceirn".
Simon checks the area that Ceirn had analyzed for traps.
Perception - Trap Finding
Gaeldon glares at Vondal Thats exactly my point, vondal. she snaps back even with all our healing here, these creatures are so close to deaths door that we are doing nothing more than prolonging its arrival... which is what they need. she waves her hand at the last winged humanoid that one, if i had been a moment later with my prayer, it would have died.... she rocks back on her heels for a moment, taking a breath. even still, if it isnt taken to the lift post haste, i fear that death is now an hour or two away for it...
she smashes her fist into the floor what do we have to make litters out of? she asks, anger fully filling her voice
We! the winged man says loudly, with pain, are not creatures. we are Alastriel. In the common tongue, we are the winged cousins to elves. We share distant ancestry, but where the elves moved into the woods, before the hateful drow betrayed our races and were driven underground, we took to the high mountains and developed our wings. he sips more of the water. That creature you fought off. Ofhga is his name. a nasty bugbear... he looks like he has just risen from its own dirt grave. It's pale flesh looking sick, and it's eyes are just blots of rotted white orbs. he he cuts off, coughing hard, red flecks of blood spraying out, staining his lips and chest.
he captured us. all of us. High in the mountains. I do not know what youd call them, but we call them the Alastrielicth, home of the alastriel.
he lays back, breathing hard, gasping for air. We- he- caught us. he- key. had key. brought us here... to sell... he gasps again, his eyes begin to close a buyer... he passes out, going limp.
Vondal steps forward. "Listen, Friend. We'll find that bugbear and get that key. Either way, we'd like to send you out of the dungeon and into safety. But those bindings are in your flesh. Your bones. If we don't find that key, the only way to remove those bonds would likely be as brutal as when you were given them" The dwarf states.
"Will they survive if we leave them here? We can try and find this bugbear, but I still think just cutting them free and putting them on the lift with some gold would be safer then leaving them here alone." Ceirn says.
Hellig attempts to answer Ceirn's question, but is apparently quite unfamiliar with alastriel biology.
gaeldon shakes her head. we need to move them, now.
Kolaiah! the spears! she shouts for help
we'll fashion some litters to carry them to the lift. we'll have to make several trips, but i think, with all of us, we can make this safe before the owner of undermountain or this bugbear comes back...
Simon nods to Gaeldon, "Agreed, you don't uh happen to have a spell that can boost my strength temporarily? One thing I am deficient in is raw strength".
She sighs "Why not just smash the locks for now? My staff would easily break such a rudimentary locks and chains. Just need to exert enough force to do it. The shackles can then later be removed one we have the tools or they can request such services later" as she holds out her staff to Vondal
"Sounds good to me", Vondal begins to craft some stretchers to carry the injured.
the breaking of the iron chains and making of stretchers is quick work for all of you involved. Kolaiah and Gaeldon take one, while Cerin and Vondal take another. Simon, astrillith, and hellig stay behind to protect those that are not the first to be carried.
The Male Alastriel who had been talking for the others lays propped up against the wall. he sips at the water.
otherwise, everything remains quiet, aside from the soft moans of pain and cries of agony or joy at being rescued.
[bigger]HO UP THE SHAFT[BIGGER] kolaiah bellows up the shaft.
There being no answer, kolaiah growls how are we to get picked up down here? they can no hear us! she kicks the ground, spreading sand and a couple of hidden coins around the room. ack! im an idiot! she drops her kit bag to the ground, and starts to dig through it. within moments, she pulls out a small box. She pops the lid and pulls out a small scroll. Here we go! this'll get them to hear us
she reads the scroll, her lips easily forming the draconic language of magic. her lips glow a dull yellow, and upon completion, she bellows up the shaft! The sound of trumpets fills the small room, echoing loudly within the confines. A moment after the spell is cast, a strange black object appears far up the shaft. after that, the large platform begins to be lowered, oh so slowly.
Come on! gaeldon says. kolaiah and I will go back for another alastreil. you two stay here and guard the others. with that, they turn and go.
Ceirn pulls out some coins and gives one to each of the Alastriel.
Hellig keeps and eye on the exit to the northwest, just in case.