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Karth remains standing in the doorway, listening to the goings on and keeping an eye out for any sudden movements. He starts at the sudden riddle and can't help but nod sagely as Love remarks on the nature of the device.
Karth stands up and dusts himself off a bit. He shrugs as Love points out he was wrong. "Let's check it out then," he says, waiting for the others to head out so he can take the rear position again.
Karth grunts as the floor gives way and the dangling dwarf strains his muscles. With the signal given, he begins to haul Love up. Once the dwarf is up, he remarks, "Now anybody else who finds this place will have equal trouble getting across, at least."
Karth obliges Love's command, glad he's not the one trying to fall through the floor at least. He keeps tense the whole time, ready for the floor to try and swallow the dwarf whole.
Karth looks back to Love as he suggests a light creature heading over it. "We could send Buckwell over, but that would be dangerous," he remarks. Standing straight and dusting himself off absentmindedly, he thinks aloud, "Perhaps it would be best to return later. Assuming the small dwellers of this place don't get to it before we do."
Karth looks down and nods at Buckwell as he does his thing. "Thank you," he says quietly. Turning his attention back to the matter at hand, he says, "I will go, but only if we promise to turn back at the first sign of danger."
Karth watches the show play out in front of him, looking about at the others. "I don't know about the rest of you but I'm not in any shape to be waltzing in there," he says in low tones. "That shock was..." he lets the thought hang.
"As well as it was hidden it might trigger something in the other rooms," Karth says through gritted teeth, gently moving his other hand along the injured arm. "I say we - you - should trigger it, if it is safe."
Karth jerks and seizes a bit as the electricity courses through him, finding himself on his posterior before he realizes what has happened. He mutters a few words in Orcish before pulling himself to his feet, refusing any aid standing up. "Someone else can push the other one," he growls.
Karth nods. With little fanfare, he jabs a finger into the statue's left eye, turning to observe his surroundings as soon as the deed is done.
Karth swings his body around to look at the door, exhaling hard as he realizes it wasn't a trap that had triggered. "Strange that the visor itself opened the door. What do the eyes do, then?" he wonders aloud. "Hiding the trigger to a trap so well seems unlikely... But then perhaps it is layovers to catch meddlers." Karth hesitates, waiting for input from the others on whether to explore the new doorway or to puzzle over the buttons.
Know (Dungeoneering)
Karth shrugs noncommittally, looking back to the rest of the party. He's clearly uneasy - not comfortable making decisions for the group in this situation. "I'll take help where I can get it," Karth says, agreeing to the cleric's blessing. The salty smell on the air is new to him, having spent his whole life in the River Kingdoms; he spaces out for a moment while he wonders what life might have been like had he abandoned his homeland and headed south.
Karth steps back from the statue, his thoughts interrupted by Occa. "I dislike heading down before we see what's around us. This statue... The visor can be lifted, and it has a face. The eyes look like they might be switches of some sort. Likely opens something that whoever left these," he says with a gesture to the tracks, "was looking for."
"So friend Karth, Did you meet the goblins my old group did?" Karth shrugs noncommittally. "We killed a few. Whether they were the ones you encountered or not, I do not know." Arriving at the door once more, Karth shakes his head, unsurprised there was magic at work. With Occa pointing out the tracks, he makes his way over to the statue to examine it, giving a cursory glance at the pit, wondering if someone had sprung a trap before they arrived, or if some of the dungeon's denizens used it to get to lower floors. Perception (around the statue)
"Wherever we head, I would like to be quick about it," Karth remarks. "Shall we see if Zeldin is correct about the location of the door?"
Karth nods at Zeldin's plan, and before he can interject to answer the cleric's question, Zeldin and Occa begin chattering about keys and drawings. He steps over to them and examines the drawing as well.
Karth shakes his head in response to Occa's question. "We are merely exploring, hoping to find fortune." He's relieved when Zeldin explains the recent happenings. He goes through the room more carefully, looking in each item now that its guardian has been restrained. Perception
Karth hesitates a moment before gripping Occa's hand a giving it a firm shake. "Karth," he replies. After another moment, realizing the priest had given more than his name, he adds (unhelpfully) "I'm with them. A tracker," gesturing to the rest of the group.
Now with the thing half-swaddled like a newborn, Karth maintains an expression of mild exertion as he occasionally shifts to avoid the sting. "There is a rope in my pack if we wish to restrain it... Though I'm not sure how we would go about that." With Occa's warning he struggles a little more diligently to keep the critter's pointy bits away from his flesh.
Grapple check to maintain the hold (+5 circumstance bonus included)
Karth tightens his grip on the creature, giving it a great bear hug as he maneuvers the creature and his body to keep the stinger away from him. The sight is almost comical - the tall man clutching the tiny fairy almost as a small girl would clutch a doll to her chest.
Trusting his instinct over Kend and Kathrine's alternate suggestions, Karth deftly steps into the things path and grabs it even as it attempts to dart between his legs.
"In any case, being stung certainly cannot help him."
Karth glares at the potato-thing briefly as its stinger protrudes. Having finished his circuit, he joins Kend next to the sleeping figure and quickly puts two and two together. "I don't think he chose to sleep here," he says in response to Zeldin. "That... thing has a stinger; he seems to have been stung repeatedly." After a moment, he adds, "Although what he did to provoke it that we haven't, I do not know."
Karth, surprised to find a room like this in the middle of a dungeon, slowly paces the room. Well acquainted with fey trickery, he moves slowly around the room, opening doors on the furniture, running his hands along the curtains, and even giving the bathtub a little nudge with his boot. Kend's shout causes him to start, though he merely gives a glance over his shoulder and figures the barbarian has the right idea, even if the shout didn't rouse the sleeper.
Karth nods and wordlessly murmurs his assent. He'll draw his greatsword and follow Kathrine and Kend into the room.
Karth gives the occurrence the same stony gaze he gives most everyone. After a few moments pass with no one answering Kend, he replies, "It could be a trick. An illusion or a... disguise."
"This was the only one I heard anything behind," Karth replies, wiping ichor off his blade. He puts it back in its sheathe and stoops to pick up his bow before adding, "We would do well to check that whole room though, I think." He stands up and surveys the carnage while he awaits others replies.
Karth wades into the fray, swinging his greatsword upwards in an arc that manages to completely miss the retreating scorpion.
With melee joined, Karth sets his bow down and draws his sword, stepping forward and assisting Kathrine with her scorpion.
Karth dashes across the room, taking aim between the two defenders and letting an arrow fly. His hand hesitates between his quiver and the pommel of his greatsword, doubting that his bow will be of much help once the melee is joined.
Karth maneuvers into the room, keeping his eyes to the south. He continues to split his attention between the unseen creatures and the scorpion, which causes his shot to sail straight over the melee.
"That's a big bug," Karth remarks as he draws his bow. He takes the best look he can at the creature over Kend's shoulder, trying to discern if it's poisonous or otherwise especially dangerous. Know (Nature)
"Waiting on you to get out of the way, Kend," he says as he nocks an arrow.
Readied Attack (apply whatever penalties are relevant at the time; Point Blank Shot is included)
"It would be wise to investigate in case whoever it is finishes its business and comes up on us from behind," Karth remarks. "If it is a who. The rest of these doors don't seem to have occupants behind them."
Karth moves to rejoin the group, treading softly. "There's something beyond one of the southern doors. Sounds like... Picks." Catching up with Zeldin, he presses one ear to the door he indicates. Perception
Karth moves slowly across the room, examining it as he goes. "Indeed," he murmurs as Katherine remarks on its function. Perception
He stops at the south end, inspecting the doors and listening at them. Three doors, three rolls...: Perception Perception Perception
"They have young. I doubt we would drive them from their nest," Karth remarks. He hands the box to Errigal before leaving the room for the adjoining chamber again. "Perhaps they remember us. And if we rush past they would likely not feel threatened enough to give chase."
Perception
Apparently ignoring the back-and-forth, Karth sets about investigating the room, seeing if the previous occupants left anything of worth behind. "The western stairs are still unexplored," he answers Kathrine as they go. "I do not know if the mountain lions there would let us pass again, though."
Know (Nature)
If Karth knows it, he tells Zeldin the name. He takes another moment and adds, "I would usually just avoid it." If he knows of a means of neutralizing it he'll mention it, otherwise he shrugs and says "Hold your breath, cover your face, take your chances." "Any of the horde that have been through here are certainly unlikely to be giving us trouble," he remarks.
Survival
"Hold!" Karth bursts out suddenly. "That mold isn't something you want to kick up. We need to tread cautiously and avoid breathing it in." He falls silent a moment, considering their predicament. "Or perhaps we could return later."
"Bats, probably. Several." He takes a step back, looks around, and tries to judge how far underground they are. "Surely there's another exit to the surface through there." "Perhaps the bats themselves are not a threat," he muses. "Come nightfall they might remove themselves."
Karth follows Zeldin, holding a hand out as they approach and listening intently to the sounds. Know (Nature) to identify the sounds
"We might wish to do a little extermination before we sleep here."
Perception
Karth takes a stroll around the room, grimacing at the unpleasant air. "It does look as though little traffic comes through here," he remarks in response to Kathrine's suggestion. He ends his circuit at the other stairwell, taking a few steps up and peering into the darkness there as well.
Karth grunts an affirmative as Errigal suggests the stairs again.
Brief flashes of anger at the sort that would do this beat against Karth's sense of calm, but the only outward sign are his muscles tensing and his fist clenching. His tone remains almost eerily calm. "I'm not sure that the sacrifices are unwilling," he remarks. "There are no restraints. Who... whatever is sacrificed here give themselves freely." He turns back to the group, catching sight of some of the old murals. "We should leave this place before someone loses their cool," he says, his voice cracking at the end as old attacks and resentment start to batter down his mental barriers.
Perception +8
The sudden rush of anger almost takes Karth aback, the feeling so familiar and so foreign at the same time. With some effort, he does his best to keep things in the back of his mind, submerging the negativity and focusing on the here and now. He steps into the room and to one of the nearest curtains, pushing it lightly aside and putting a hand on the wall. "Fey," he growls, tracing some of the drawings with one finger. "It looks as though this place was re-purposed. Could this be where that... Monster from yesterday came from?" he wonders aloud. He then takes a quick stroll around the room, stopping when he comes to the altar and Errigal.
Karth will take a look around the room and rummage about to see if there are any clues about or treasures left by the occupants. Perception
"It would be best to get used to the layout, I agree," Karth remarks. He'll follow the rest in, remaining in his ever-vigilant rear guard position.
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