GM Dien's Salt Spire

Game Master dien

Brimble gives Argatha a nod, acknowledging they will get back to work soon.

I’ll pick a bennie when we do a team rest after exploring. I’ve got a couple offensive and defensive bennies in mind. And my list will change, in part, on the available armor options.

Altynbekh is completely unsuitable for use as a mirror. I scorn utterly such a disagreeable notion.

Having completed everything important inside the temple's secret room, Em moves quickly to gather the lantern. She has not (yet) realized that she is now capable of magic, and thus struggles for a moment to light it. Bidding the others a hasty farewell and thanking Forgewise profusely, Em hurries to retread the path back to the toilets on this level, where she expects to find a mirror. Auspicious indeed, my generous friend! Your gifts are no less gracious than one could expect, upon viewing you. She does not feel the need to point out the obvious, that such gifts must be grand indeed, as this would detract from a beneficial implication.

Em completely ignores the fact that she is moving through potentially dangerous territory alone.

Map position updated. Em will not stop anyone else from following. Unsure if I should continue using spoilers.

When Em trundles off alone, Argatha looks around to see if anyone else noticed. He shrugs, We should not be alone.

"Hey Em, wait up!" he jogs a bit to catch up with her.

I do not wish to be bundled into a bag-- I have already grown weary of a small chamber, and I will not change one confinement for another one even smaller, unless it be temporary and due to dire need. Carrying me in your hand is acceptable, or fashioning something similar, as long as I can see.

::Entirely understandable, Xira replies, and rest assured I will never restrict you like that except, as you say, out of necessity.::

She considers Zenith's size and weight. ::You are no great burden for me to carry in hand, but I will often need both hands free for one reason or another. So yes, some sort of carrier to hold you securely in front of me sounds best. Forgewise might have suggestions, or I can ask Em. She has stitchery skills.::

Mentioning Em's name reminds Xira that she really should be attending to her two-legged friends in addition to her new spherical one. Keeping a secure grip on Zenith, she rises from the floor and looks about. Her gaze catches on Raka and her impressive shield-- a proper warrior indeed! -- but then she spots a flash of purple leaving the room and catches the farewell that Em tosses back.

By the time she exits the room herself, Argatha is already in motion to follow Em. Leaning out the Temple doorway, Xira can just make him out as a dark shape faintly silhouetted by flickering light. Em must have snagged the lantern. But where is she going?

Xira itches to follow, but restrains herself. The last thing this group needs is three people haring off with no indication of destination. Instead she finds the two closest of her companions, who happen to be Phantrel and Raka.

"Em just lit off down the hallway the way we came," she informs them. "Argatha is following her, but I have no idea where she's headed."

Called back to the here-and-now by Xira addressing her, Raka blinks and looks around to realize she had lost track of her surroundings during the introduction to, and bonding process with, Bastion.

"Oh, gosh. Um... you're right, we need to stick together. I dunno what she saw, but I'll go after her." She heads out in pursuit of her friend, motioning the others to follow. "I, um, guess we can introduce our new allies later," she adds, indicating her shield.

"Hold on-- was Em wearing purple?"

* * * * *

Raka follows after her friend, discussing with Bastion all the while. Yeah. It isn't really like Em ta head out in search o' danger like this, but I think I know what ya mean. An' it's hard ta know what t'do down here especially. I mean, nobody's seen any dwa-- any stoneborn since, well, long before I was born.

"Coming," Phantrel replies to Raka and Xira, shaking his head out of his internal musings. "She didn't give any indication of where she was going?" He treads carefully as he voices a potential concern. "I assume she picked up one of the Courageous? Do we know if she is... acting fully of her own volition?" he asks tentatively. "It might be a coincidence but to go running off alone at this particular time..." He lets the thought hang, assuming the others will catch his drift.

"Hold on-- was Em wearing purple?"

"Looked like it to me," Xira sighs.

"I assume she picked up one of the Courageous? Do we know if she is... acting fully of her own volition?"

"She had, yes. That pretty little crown." Xira considers, frowning thoughtfully. "What you suggest is certainly possible, but ... Em is pretty willful in her own right. I suspect that whatever she's doing is her own choice, though it might have been the crown's suggestion."

Pausing before she follows Raka and Phantrel out the door, she thanks Forgewise and asks him to please tell Brimble and Colin which direction they went, and that they'll return as soon as they can.

If we can doesn't need saying, she figures.

Then Xira picks up her staff, lights it as before, and sets out after the others, offering a thought to Zenith on the way. ::"I hope I won't have to shove you down my shirt, but I'm warning you just in case."

Having reached the bathroom door without I think any hint of danger, Em tries it to see if it's unlocked. "Perhaps you've heard, Raka," she begins, a familiar gleam in her eye, "down in these dwarven mines, as on mountain tops, one can often find a beautiful view."

Forgewise offers a bow to the thanks of first Em and then Xira, and then busies himself with the selection of clan daggers that have been recovered thus far, laying them out on the temple's stone benches though not disturbing either Brimble or Colin, who are currently lost in their respective items...

-----

Brimble catches his breath… or maybe he just inhales for the first time in several minutes. It’s difficult to say which. In either event, he has received an answer. Dranngvit’s economy of words was impressive. Time to justify her decision. He rises from the pew to make room for more daggers and slides Houndsfang into his belt. He addresses the firebeard in stone-speech. ”Master Forgewise, I haven’t forgotten what you’ve asked of us. In which directions – roughly – are Verrik Brightbrass’ quarters, the storevaults, and the armory?”

Meanwhile, Em headed off to see what she's become... followed by Argatha... then Xira... Phantrel and Raka.... so it is that Em forms an unofficial procession head all the way back through the empty halls to the doorway of the toilets. Nothing assaults her en route.

She is basing her hopes of a mirror within the bathrooms on the fact that on the level below you, there'd been two gleaming glass-and-silver mirrors (the largest she'd ever seen, in fact, as no-one in Salt Spire has a mirror any bigger than a dinner plate). Hopefully the bathrooms on this level have the same feature!

The door has no lock on it and swings open easily at Em's light push.

The room beyond looks very similar to the toilets from Iron Level: a corridor with a dozen doors facing each other in close quarters, leading to the individual cubicles for biological necessities; a door at the end of this little hallway (if your mental map is correct, that door reconnects to the maintenance corridor); two sinks right beyond the entrance, with the hoped-for mirrors above each.

Only one thing is different than the toilets from the level below you: about halfway to the maintenance-access door, the ceiling has fallen in, leaving a small pile of debris, and a puddle of grimy water that has presumably dripped from above. You can see the hole in the ceiling- not large, perhaps two feet across.

The mirrors are right here, though.

"She had, yes. That pretty little crown." Xira considers, frowning thoughtfully. "What you suggest is certainly possible, but ... Em is pretty willful in her own right. I suspect that whatever she's doing is her own choice, though it might have been the crown's suggestion."

Phantrel smiles slightly. Yes, that much seems true from what Phantrel knows of the girl over the years, and Xira of course knows her far better. "You're probably right. Still, better to be careful and make sure."

Argatha, presumably, catches up with Em in the bathroom.

Oh! Maybe she just has the runs from those fish. He wonders.

Not wanting to get in the way if she needs a moment, he glances around briefly for dangers before heading back out into the hall to keep a listen for screaming - just in case.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22 (looking around)

While he waits in the hall, he tests putting his bow away (ie not touching it) and seeing if he can still see in the dark. Then he re-grips it and continues his conversation.

::So, er, who was your last companion? A bow, even one as mechanical as you, seems unusual for the stoneborn.::

Em approaches the mirror with lantern in hand. ::What a strange coincidence, my dress is exactly the same color as your jewel.:: She examines the dress closely, shifting the ruffles that run down her chest so that some are a shade lighter than black, the rest a soft lilac. Em has heard of wicker hoops that go beneath skirts, and she draws out the fabric around her hips in approximation. A hint of crimson about the hem of the sleeves, which are puffed and trailing, completes the picture.

Satisfied, Em allows herself only a moment before her clothing transforms once again. Open lapels, a rich onyx satin, overlap below her neck, crimson buttons gleaming below. Again, her clothing transforms, this time into a yellow dress damasked with swirling floral patterns. For Brilliance, Em tries a dress of pale blue the color of sky glimpsed through wispy clouds. "Not nearly menacing enough."

There are other things Em wishes to see, things less pleasant. She recalls a story she disliked when she was younger, the kind with a moral, about a woman clothed in illusions.

Returning to the purple once more, Em walks to the doorway of the bathroom and waves at the others. "Well, with the important business settled, shall we fetch news of Verrik for our good friend master Forgewise?"

Em steps in, and begins to test the limits of her imagination and Brilliance-of-Heaven's abilities. The former is prodigious; the latter seems to be keeping pace well enough. The lantern shines on her reflection and echoes back and forth between the twin mirrors. Brilliance continues to radiate a certain smugness.

Em Per: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

The others stand in the hall or move inside as they choose. Argatha is keeping watch for any troubles in the hall, though his eyes keep returning to the small puddle and chunks of broken masonry further in the bathroom. A bit strange, really. Everything else has seemed in such good repair.

He experiments with his bow-- yes, he can still see in the dark even when his hand is not on it. Rune responds slowly to his question.

:: A servant of the god Magrim last carried me in battle. The bow is a useful weapon for a hunter, and she hunted the undead. Often they ran. An arrow travels faster than a stoneborn's feet, as a rule... But many of us were somewhat-- idiosyncratic? Perhaps. There were reasons...

Argatha tries to focus on Rune's slow, somber recitation, but his eyes keep glancing back to the puddle, the rocks. The lantern glints off the water there-- and bits of metal, mixed in with the stone. With a frown, Argatha steps closer, trying to see what's there...

Wait. That puddle is moving.

Surprise round! Only Argatha made his Per check to notice it; it (astoundingly) managed to beat him in initiative. In Surprise Round, the puddle moves 10 feet towards Em/the others; then it's Argatha for surprise round (single action), then we'll be in proper round 1.

Round 1 - Bold are up
(Argatha's surprise round single action)
Raka
Em
Puddle
Argatha
Phantrel
Xira

By GM fiat, Colin and Brimble are too far away to be aware of this, though if yelling starts, they'll get the usual chance to notice the sounds, as modified by distance.

Argatha shouts, ”Em! That puddle is moving. Get out of there, right now! I’ll burn it!”

He uses his move action to put away his bow for now as it won’t be useful in the fight ahead. Well, any more than it is generally.

"Master Forgewise, I haven’t forgotten what you’ve asked of us. In which directions – roughly – are Verrik Brightbrass’ quarters, the storevaults, and the armory?”

Forgewise ceases his careful arrangement of daggers (and inspection, one by one, of the pendant that each one holds), and considers, head tilted to one side.

"I couldn't say precisely!" he says, with a bit of the cheer of earlier slipping back into his tone. "Though thou didst state roughly. I believe Verrik's chambers are to the north-- I recall him mostly entering the temple via the eastern doors, and coming from the north in that hallway. The armories and vaults should also be north and east of this temple. The temple is on the southern section of Steel Strata, and to the west, I think, are living spaces. I think."

Em yelps, then heed's Argatha's warning. "Don't burn me!"

Double move into the hallway. Map updated.

Given their encounter with the spirit in the foreman’s quarters, Brimble wouldn’t mind company investigating the priest’s abode… But as practically everyone is off doing who-knows-what, the kobold decides to do a little reconnaissance on his own. He understands dwarven runes now, so he should be able to locate the right doors.

He gives Forgewise an encouraging nod then heads out the eastern door and turns left. He wanders up the corridor reading every sign he sees. Despite how safe things seem, he moves quietly and doesn’t let down his guard.

I moved Brimble 75’ (two turns of movement – walking until I leave the temple and then 1.5 turns of sneaky move). He’ll keep going and reading door signs unless something odd or potentially dangerous comes into PER range.

Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22

Whilst Argatha urges Em out the room (and she complies with alacrity), Brimble slips off to scout further to the east. The broad hallway contains no goblin corpses, for which he is glad. The doors set into the eastern wall are large affairs: each about eight feet wide and eight feet tall, with wheel-handles set into their centers, and flush with floor and ceiling. Each looks to be made of steel or a similar metal.

Each also has rune labels. Brimble spares a moment to thank the dwarves of the past for being so conscientious with labeling everything! It is certainly making his job easier.

The southmost door of these large ones is labeled Masonry. In smaller runes it exhorts the entrants to be sure they have 'dustbeards' and 'soundblocks' in place. A slate plaque beneath the permanent runes is chalked with the message: Guildhead: Tonkin Grayhand.

Proceeding north, the next door is labeled Finework. This room apparently requires no warning labels, but another slate-and-chalk message proclaims the 'guildhead' to be Ruby Goldgleam.

North again, and Brimble sees Glass & Lenses. Entrants are advised to have on their goggles and dustbeards. Guildhead: Silah Skywatch.

Another door past that one reads General Works and advises workers to wear.... everything, judging by the list. Dustbeards, goggles, soundblocks, fireleathers... Guildhead: Nolm Hammerfast.

On the western wall, Brimble comes up to a pair of normal-sized doors with a plaque that is the twin of the one on the other side of this block of rooms: Steel Guildhall.

He can see that up ahead, there seems to be a gap in the corridor going west. All seems quiet, just now.

And she thought the rats were nasty.

”Em! That puddle is moving. Get out of there, right now! I’ll burn it!”

Xira's first thought is heat up a sling bullet! But no, that risks turning whatever Argatha is about to do into a one-shot.

But there are other means. "Argatha! Does your spell let you keep your distance?" she calls. "Heat up my staff if not!"

At the warning from Argatha, Raka brandishes Bastion in front of her and pulls the now better-than-ever axe from her belt.

Wait... a puddle? She's pretty sure her axe isn't really meant for cutting puddles. Bastion should prove useful though. "Get back after you strike. I'll cover you!"

Move action to draw weapon, not much else to do right now.

A flurry of responses to the realization that you're being attacked by... a puddle? ...

It flows forward once again, sliding over the stone floor like a bead of oil skittering across a hot pan. The 'puddle' looks to be mostly dirty, oily water, with pebbles and other bits of detritus suspended in it-- Argatha catches a glimpse of what looks for all the world like a belt buckle. Right before it surges up to him and tries to... hit him? Yeah. The front edge of the puddle congeals up into a blob that lashes out at Argatha's shins.

Attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

It's not very effective, however. Argatha easily sidesteps the clumsy 'attack.'

Round 1 + 2
Argatha
Phantrel
Xira
Raka
Em
Puddle

For Brimble...

Per: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

...he still hears and sees nothing alarming in the corridor that he is traversing (nor from elsewhere). He creeps forward a bit, til he is nearly even with the 'General Works' door. Ahead, the corridor still continues. Another door appears on the eastern wall, a normal-sized door with a plaque too small to make out at this distance. The gap he'd noticed in the western wall appears to be a full-on corridor, ten feet wide. Another door is visible near the edges of his vision in the western wall. So many doors!

Colin, continuing to read? It likely hasn't been the full ten minutes at this point, so if you ceased reading right now you wouldn't (yet) get the benefit. I can easily see Colin being enraptured in his book and oblivious to all else, but I don't want to assume that for you if you had other ideas.

Em figures that if Argatha can't burn the puddle, the group can probably run away. Not having legs must come with some disadvantages, after all.

Waiting to see results of Argatha's turn

Argatha spreads out his hands, and fires a Burning Hands Reflex DC 12 for half of damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3

Satisfied, he moves back to make room for others.
This does provoke, but Argatha, simpleton that he is, can’t imagine a puddle getting an AoO unless they shared a space…
Silly boy.

As he moves, he gets out his sling.

Brim’s gonna alternate between some sneaky travel and regular movement to speed up the recon process since everything seems quiet here.

The kobold finds all the signs helpful and a bit intriguing. What’s in ‘Glass and Lenses’? Is it like a hall of cut glass? He resists the temptation to try the big wheels that control the door locks so can take a peek inside. Since he hasn’t yet found the armory or Verrik’s quarters, he continues exploring. He snorts to himself, At this rate, they should call me Door-a the Explore-a!

He stops in the east-west corridor, giving both directions a good look…

MOVE: Regular 30’ to get to the side corridor for a looksee.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

…before continuing northward quietly. The modest doors up there could lead to private lodgings.

MOVE: 15’ = sneak across the corridor and move toward the next door quietly.

Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

Bastion, what the hells is this thing? And how do I kill it? Raka has heard of dangerous acids and poisons, but she certainly has never encountered a puddle that can move and attack on its own.

Does anyone have something they want to do that requires being adjacent to it? If not, Raka will move into that square to body-block. (A limitation of PbP, and this party especially, is that we don't really know what each other likes to do in combat.)

Colin looked up from his book to remark, "This book is really quite the find!" Suddenly a frown creeps over his face "OH! Where is everyone?!"

AOO vs Argatha: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Argatha learns things! Argatha learns that this puddle can try and blob-smack him in the midst of his delicate spellcasting. Fortunately, 'try' is the operative word-- once more he is able to jerk his legs out of range of the creature's reach.

Fire erupts from his fingers-- once, a spell used to scare wolves away from the livestock! Now...

Reflex save for a puddle.: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (16) - 1 = 15

As clumsy as it seemed while attacking Argatha, it somehow manages to 'dodge' the worst of the fiery blast (or maybe it's just that it's moist). A little steam hisses off the surface of the puddle where the fire hit it, but it still seems very much active and dangerous.

Bastion makes no immediate reply to Raka's hurried question-- perhaps it's thinking.

Raka, Em, Xira, and Phantrel still up - Raka conditionally planning to move in. I doubt anyone else has anything melee planned, but I could be wrong.

Colin looked up from his book to remark, "This book is really quite the find!" Suddenly a frown creeps over his face "OH! Where is everyone?!"

An excellent question, Colin. Peeking back from the secret chamber that holds the Courageous reveals... an empty temple, other than Forgewise classing daggers.

The celedon looks up at Colin. "Some went back the way thou came; the drakeborn went the other direction," he offers helpfully. Then resumes work on daggers.

************

Brimble creeps forward again and this time he is rewarded in his searching. The side corridor leads west and ends in another door that is starting to look familiar-- even if he couldn't now read Dwarven, he could recognize the strident warning symbols that have been present on the other FURNACE doors.

Two less intimidating doors are labeled Conference Chamber and-- heck yeah-- 'Verrik Brightbrass.' One down!

A bit further, and he can see the main hallway seems to curve west. Before that point, however, there are more doors: two on the eastern wall that both read Battle Forge (Guildhead: Honnakhon Cleavetwain), and one on the western that has another dark glass panel and the words Steel Vault - No Access Without Authorization. (Vaultmaster: Tyree Forthright)

Two for two?

Yasss!!!

Brimble turns to celebrate the find with his comrades… only to see he stands alone in the corridor. His breath deflates slightly. Then, very briefly, he considers trying to break into the Vault.

A fantasy flashes through his reptilian mind… Brimble wears a suit of black and gold plate armor, carries half a dozen deadly dwarf weapons on one shoulder, and struts back into the temple to the goggle-eyed reaction of the other miners. ”Oh this?” fantasy Brimble says casually, ”Just a few goodies I found in the Vault.”

Fortunately, Brimble is grounded in reality and the fantasy pops like a soap bubble. He probably couldn’t carry plate armor, let alone wear it. And, if there is any place on Steel level that is likely locked and trapped, it is the Vault. The No Access Without Authorization sign pretty much spells that out.

O’ course, maybe the Vault isn’t the Armory. Could be adamantine bars and jewels in there. Best to be sure. Brimble slinks forward to the turn of the corridor, wondering if he will find yet more doors and maybe one labeled ‘Armory’.

Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Stealthy Turn! 30’ total

Sweet Desna, that thing gets uglier the closer it gets. Coming up blank on things to try, Xira curses softly in Thassilonian.

Hold on. Maybe...?

For the first time, Xira reaches into the newly enlarged space where her magic lives and finds what she needs. Her right hand drops her staff and moves until it is perpendicular to her face, fingers pointed upward. The Thassilonian curse fits this spell perfectly, so she repeats it with a flicking hand gesture toward the blobby beast before her. A strange shimmer, like air rising from summer-heated stone, flows from her hand to the blob.

Gritting her teeth, Xira closes the door, then steps back from it. Hopefully she can do so safely.

Standard: Cast Twisted Fortune
Move: Close the freakin' door

Will Save for a Puddle, DC 13: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (18) + 0 = 18 LOL. It's making the saves, but at least it's not hitting yall.

Xira feels her magic (her magic! She has magic! Technically, of course, she always has-- but this is new magic) reach out and try to twist the lines of fate and destiny that surround the creature (?) or whatever the puddle is...

...but it seems destiny has nothing in particular in store for this blob, one way or another. The fortune-curse feels like it had no effect.

Time for more mundane measures: Xira reaches out and hurriedly closes the door. That done, she steps back.

Raka, Em, and Phantrel still up before the puddle.

Deciding that her improvised shortspear won't be of much use against the puddle, Em fishes around for a bottle of lamp oil. Realizing that she doesn't have any, she instead withdraws a tindertwig. Already a fair distance behind the others, Em steps slightly closer. "Anyone have some oil?"

Move: retrieve lamp oil (none). Move: retrieve tindertwig. 5ft step.

"Thanks, suppose I'd better catch up with them!" replied Colin. He wasn't sure why Brimble had gone off on his own, perhaps the others would know. So without any great hurry Colin, head in the clouds as ever, decided to try and find them. He hoped he might be able to hear them and figure out exactly where they were that way.

Perception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (20) - 1 = 19 Oh maybe dicebot wants this to happen?

"I've got some in my pack, Em," Phantrel says, rummaging in his bag for it and producing a flask. He holds it up to show her, while returning his focus to the door.

Closing the door seems a prudent move as Phantrel judges it unlikely that the puddle will be able to open it. Whether it will somehow be able to wriggle beneath it is a different matter and he says as much. "I think we should stand back in case it can squeeze its way between the door and the frame." He doesn't follow his own advice, however, instead he prepares a spell for just such an eventuality.

Retrieve oil flask as move action, ready ray of frost if it comes through the door in some way. Readied attack rolls below in case.

Attack vs touch: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
Damage: 1d3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

While the others fire off ranged attacks from a (more or less) safe distance, Raka jumps forward and holds out her gleaming shield in front of her, still hoping Bastion knows what this thing is. She wonders whether the shield itself, as large as it is, might be a more effective weapon against such a creature.

Readying an action for if the puddle attacks. Raka certainly isn't keen on slamming her new shield on the ground (what with her recent experience hitting the ground with things), but if it forms one of those pseudopods again she'll attack that.

Readied action (Shield Bash): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14
Damage: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Quick retcon based on discord message

Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 + 1 = 15

Realizing that this is an ooze resistant to bludgeoning, Em believes that other weapons will be able to hurt it. "I doubt your shield will hurt it, Raka, but your axe might."

Colin heads the direction that Forgewise indicates the others have gone towards. Once out in the hallway, he hears... he thinks he hears... some yelling? Maybe?

Took the liberty of double-moving Colin before his Per check takes place, which puts him close enough to hear some of the rest of the party. We'll consider him to be in the initiative order.

Brimble, haven't forgotten about you, just don't want to get too far ahead of the other 'now' that is happening.

****

Xira shuts the door! The fledgling heroes hold their breaths-- Raka steps into position to shield the others-- and you wait to see if this simple door will stymie the weird puddle.

I'm stupid. But I can sense you all out there. What's an ooze to do? High = good for party: 1d100 ⇒ 71

The door jerks and rattles in its frame as (you presume) the blobby puddle slams blindly against it, but without the necessary forward PUSH it would take to actually open it again.

Door remains shut. "The way is shut!" Party is up again (sans Brimble).

Now there's a thought! Seeing Phantrel break out the oil, Xira wonders briefly if another new spell of hers might be flammable.

But she has higher priorities right now than experimentation. She slides Zenith down her shirt with an apologetic thought. (Maybe it can see out a fastening gap?) Then she again reaches within to ready a spell.

"Raka," she murmurs, then forces her voice to its normal level. Whether or not it can hear, the thing already knows they're there after all. "I can improve your defenses with a force screen. If the blob shows any signs of getting through the door, I'll do it.

"Which brings us to the next decision." Xira directs this to the group in general. "Stay here and try to end the thing, or run like blazes and hope it can't catch up?"

Move: Stows Zenith
Readied action: Casting mage armor

Argatha, ever learning, puts his sling away, and draws his regular dagger (not dwarven both of which he gave up). ”I say we face it now. We need to spend some time on this level yet, and rest for the night. Let’s take it!”

He also 5' steps up in case he can get in a swing around the corner should it come out. Can he open the door from where he is? No actions left this round, but next...

Colin probably won't make it there for perhaps 3 rounds. I double moved him towards the noise.

The garbled noises sounded bad, so Colin bustled towards them in case he was needed.

She slides Zenith down her shirt with an apologetic thought.

...
"Raka," she murmurs, then forces her voice to its normal level. Whether or not it can hear, the thing already knows they're there after all. "I can improve your defenses with a force screen. If the blob shows any signs of getting through the door, I'll do it.

Of course I'm not jealous of Zenith. Sorry, what was the question?

Raka nods, her attention still focused on the closed door. "We need to end it now. Who knows if it needs to eat, or sleep, or can just chase us forever." She steps to the side, getting ready to open the door so that everyone will have a clear shot. "Everyone ready?"

Will wait until everyone has a readied action-- well, readied-- then I'll open the door.

Swapping Mage Armor for CLW.

"We need to end it now. Who knows if it needs to eat, or sleep, or can just chase us forever."

"Right." Em nods in understanding. "Plus, it's very important that we maintain access to that room." Putting her tindertwig back, Em readies her poker and moves to stand with the others.

Readied Attack: 1d20 ⇒ 19

Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 3