Dirks cranes his neck to see what is going on in the hallway. Unable to join the fray and not wanting to risk a xbow shot, he can only shout encouraging words at his comrades.
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Seeing no room to join the fray, Dirk steps in close behind Mird and aids him however he can.
Dirk casts a concerned glance at Lash, "I'll go. If this is a trap I can take the brunt of the damage." Dirk edges up to the entrance of the 10' hallway and takes a closer look before heading in.
"I think that does it for this floor. We've searched every room. Let's move up to the final floor to make sure it's secure before we take our rest."
Dirk nods his agreement and moves to the door.
Dirk moves to inspect the bite marks on a piece of hanging meat. Reaching up, he turns the meat for a better look at the bite. "It appears we have, at least, one more occupant unaccounted for. " Dirk drops his gaze to the floor and looks for any evidence of tracks left by the creature.
As the group moves into the room carefully walks the perimeter checking for any sign of danger.
Dirk visibly relaxes as he nods at Selena's comment and snaps his weapon back into it's sheath. Then looking at Thantos he says,"I agree with the Mage. We'll have to keep moving if we're to clear this place before dark."
Dirk smiles and shakes his head in agreement with Mird's observation, just before hearing Selena's anxious voice. His warrior instincts go on full alert as he immediately grabs for the pommel of his weapon. "What is it!? Are you being attacked!?"
Dirk knows very little about the arcane arts, so he quietly listens to the on-going conversation about the mystery of the shards before offering his observation. "We've learned that these shards are pieces of one, or more likely several Mirror's of Life Trapping, and, if my understanding is correct, these are typically used to trap one or more prisoners... and if the 'mirror' is broken, which these clearly are, the prisoner is released." Dirk, rubs the stubble on his chin with a thumb as he considers the mystery. "How could this mechanism be used to facilitate dimensional travel? Could these broken pieces still have the power to 'trap'? Perhaps allowing someone, or something, to intentionally trap itself and then subsequently release itself via a separate shard?" "If this is possible, that is, to travel via broken shards, then are we serving any purpose by breaking them further? Are we simply creating more gateways for these creatures to travel by?" Intrigued, Dirk walks over to the mirror and scrutinizes the shard. Leaning forward he tries to look beyond his reflection.
Dirk nods in agreement with the conversation, "Well, if there are more creatures about, let's not keep them waiting."
Raising an eyebrow at Lash's observation, Dirk cautiously moves to get a better view of the desk's back and underside.
Dirk nods at Thantos, then steps out of the doorway to allow Lash to take the lead.
Standing near the door, Dirk adjusts a strap in his armor that has somehow gotten twisted.
Dirk stays on guard as the others inspect the mirror. His eyes continually scan the room for signs of danger.
Dirk bends down to wipe the blood from his sword on the creature's fur. Standing back up he nods in agreement with Thantos. "I've had a mind to break those shards since we found the first one." Sliding his weapon back into its sheath, he pats the leather-bound grip with his hand. "Say the word and I'll bust it with my pommel."
Stepping into the baboons path, Dirk meets it with a viscous attack.
Dirk draws his falchion in a heart-beat. Stalking toward the place he swears he saw movement. As the movement stops Dirk spins around to face the group. "Ready yourselves!" Taking the last step or two he kicks aside the cloth he saw moving.
Looking at the ground, Dirk chuckles softly as Armand's words bring back memories of better times. Shaking his head free of the old memories, he looks back up to the group. "We should clear as much of this place as possible before darkness sets in. We can return to this room to rest if needed."
Shaking his head, partially at the gory scene, and partially at the frustrating mystery of the mirrors, Dirk says, "We left unexplored areas on the first floor in our haste to get upstairs. Perhaps we should secure those areas before moving further up the tower."
Ducking under the doorway, Dirk moves back into the hall and towards the next door.
Looking over the group to see if anyone else has anything to add, Dirk merely shrugs, definitely not his area of expertise. "We may as well press on. Let's clear this place so we can get some rest."
Dirk smiles at Lash's idea, then chuckles as he is struck by an idea of his own, "We could face them all together, then prop the final one facing out a window."
Skidding to a stop, Dirk puts his falchion to immediate use.
Dirk growls in frustration at the sight of the empty room, then again as the fiend appears at the other end of the hallway and disappears around the corner. Dirk nods at Thantos's suggestion and he immediately begins back-tracking his route around the hallway.
Dirks shock is complete as Thantos's spell causes him to grow to 12' 6" with a weight of over 1500 pounds! That, coupled with Selena's spell, causes Dirk to feel nearly invincible. With a wicked grin and a deadly look in his eye, Dirk leans out with his 10' reach, grabs the door handle and pushes (pulls?) the door open.
The hairs on Dirk's neck stand-up just before he hears the sound of the approaching fiend. Taking a quick assessment of the situation he concludes that Armand and Mird are forming a protective barrier for Thantos and Selena. Satisfied that they are protected, Dirk decides to take a circuitous route to the beast. "I'm going around!"
Dirk nods at Thantos' suggestion to leave the shard. Then, on a hunch, he grabs a piece of clothing from one of the chests and lays it over the leaves (and shard). "I don't know how long those magic leaves will last. But, I don't want to risk something catching us from behind." Making eye contact with Lash, "Ready when you are."
"Could be that the leaves prevented an attack?" Dirk says as he shrugs.
Straightening himself, Dirk says to the mage, "Thantos, I've seen you move things from afar, can you reposition the shard so it is face-down on the cot?"
Dirk raises a hand upon entering the room, to indicate to everyone to stay clear of the area around mirror. In a quiet voice Dirk says, "I know little of magic, but I am trained to see patterns in battle. Each time we've seen one of these shards - save the one in the entry way - we've been attacked. The creature always seems to appear and/or exit near the shard. For example, the shard near the fireplace, the baboon creature escaped up the chimney; the Jelly dropped from under the table that the shard rested upon. Now we have a shard sitting on this cot." Leaning (from a distance) to peer beneath and around the area of the cot, Dirk continues, "Could the magic of the shard be triggered by proximity?"
"Well I'm no longer cold." Dirk says as he inspects the fire-blackened hair of his left arm. Wiping the gelatinous residue from his club, he continues, "I had hoped that we only had one dangerous creature to deal with in here, but it appears that we'll be facing more." Re-hooking the club to his belt and retrieving his falchion, he says, "We've chosen our course, we may as well continue."
Dirk pauses sheathing his falchion as he hears Thantos' shout. Trusting the mages information, Dirk nods at Selena's advice and begins chopping at a the leg of a table hoping to fashion a make-shift club.
Dirk's warrior instincts scream at him as he watches the creature grope for Lash, "Ware its touch!" Not wanting to get near the disgusting thing (unless necessary!), Dirk sheaths this falchion and draws his heavy crossbow (fitted with an incendiary bolt).
Dirk nods approvingly at Mird's concern for Armand. "I find this whole place odd and I suspect these broken mirror shards are some how related to this destruction." Looking at the mirror shard that is propped on the chair (that is atop the table), Dirk allows his gaze to continue up to the ceiling.
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