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Lini chuckles, "Your eyebrows are a tad singed. So, which side did we want to explore first?" Giving a wide berth of the statues, Lini explores one of the the seemingly empty "alcoves".
"Before we go, do you think this a puzzle, or just a good defense system? Far be it from me to pass up a good mental challenge, but no reason to poke a bear in the winter, if you catch my meaning."
"I told them we wouldn't harm them, and there was food back there. They then told me about someone named 'Snarltongue' who had been making them fight each other for food. Experimenting on subjects in unnatural ways, forcing animals to fight, sounds like the kind of guy Droogi would like for dinner." Lini begins looking around the top portion of the room and seeing no immediate threat signals Droogami down to the room with her. After a cursory glance for motion from the stairs directly in front of her, she proceeds to start checking the "lower" portion of the room. "This appears to be quite the hub, 3 doors, 2 less formal entrances, how do we want to proceed? I know no one loves an enemy at their back, but we have more paths than people, and I have no desire to split us up."
Lini looks at Seelah and frowns. "Do not be so quick to judge yourself. Maybe your god has softly pulled his hand away to allow you to see what your mortal hands have done, to assess if it was always the right decision, or only under these circumstances. The way I see it We walked in, were faced with an obvious and aggressive threat, and dealt with it. After the skirmish the cowards conceded, and being that they were obviously mutilated, unnatural, and in pain, and no obvious hints to how to help them, I acquiesced and allowed Harsk to euthanize them in a method that at least looked quick. If anything in the room had shown promise of how they were made this way, or how to unmake them, then that event would have ended differently, but we worked with what we had. We had an angry mob of suffering humanoids that we subdued, questioned, and did the only thing we saw how to end their pain. Your god sees that, and he likely just wants you to see what could have happened, and how that could have been handled differently given different circumstances." Looking to the rest of the group "This is no reason to cease our journey. Understand that in the future, EVERYONE, not just myself and Harsk, will get a voice on how prisoners will be treated, BUT that is not the mission at hand. This is no Confirmation, we are not fresh off the boat of Absolam, we are Pathfinders, tried and vetted, so let's get back to what we do best, exploring, working together, and reporting." Observing the rats below, Lini apologizes to Droogami, who them walks as far away from Lini as she can and sits completely still. "If our three friends down there run past, let them. The gods are fickle today, and if the Green decides I need some time of introspection, Droogi will eat us all before i let you raise a hand against her." Lini walks back to the previous room, placing 2 rations down in the center of the room and a bowl of water, unwrapped, then walks back past Droogi, looking sadly into her eyes and sighs before gasping for air. When she speaks again, it is high pitched squeaks directed at the rats
Spoiler:
"I tame big ones behind me, I tame big cat, I kill green skins, big room safe now, green skins dead, meat, bread, water in big room, pets won't harm you." Lini's voice, squeaky at first, returns to normal "Well, either I just told them we would let them through, and bribed them with food to stay out of our way, or I just alerted them we are here. Either way, let's get going."
Thanks, and I was worried I was slowing down the group. I am generally able to post 2-3 times a day, we have been doing a lot closer to 5 posts a day LOL If I could be brave, and speak for Harsk, I think he would be ok if he was only expected to post 2 or 3 times a day, but it's a tad intimidating to spend our 15 or 30 minute breaks at work trying to read posts, visualize roll20, and compose well-thought out responses. I have coped by telling y'all when my posting will massively slow down for a few hours, giving permission for ghost actions, but Harsk may just feel that if he can not contribute as much as the folks that are posting crazy often (me included). As long as Harsk feels like he isn't hindering the group, and able to contribute with his 1-2 posts a day, I think we can keep him. As for me, can't shake me! I'm here to the end ;)
Lini sighs and runs her fingers through her long green hair. This is far from ideal, but I'll make due. Walking over to Speedy "Could you describe the person who did this to you, nine hells, what DID they do to you? trying to compose herself "Ok, better question, when is the last time you saw whoever did this to you, are they still here?" Lini continues glancing around the room for anything that might explain how this happened to them, be it surgery, magic, alchemy, or some combination.
Lini seems visibly shaken by Seelah's words. "So you propose we let five victims of unnatural torture just die of starvation, infection, or thirst while we explore. Seelah, I mean nothing too terribly personal, but without the knowledge of what was going on here, what are we doing here other than gathering trinkets? It was my understanding we have a VERY limited visa within these parts, who is to say the next team will be here within a month, a year, or more? Let's break that down, a strategic man would tell you leaving them alive and in their current state puts an enemy at our backs for when, not if, the survivors break free. A smart man will likely tell you this is a chance at collecting intelligence for future threats we may face, and a man with any kind of heart would say it is cruel and inhumane to let any being unnecessarily suffer like this for an indeterminate period of time. So which are you, Strategic? Smart? Humane? I know we have but 2 days, but in the time we have spent bickering on how to handle these goblins we could have charmed them to get our intel, put them out of their misery, hindered them from being a future threat, or found clues on how to reverse the effects ourselves. I fear the experiments here are the beginning of something more, and I have a hard time believing the time we would save just walking past this would warrant the loss of intel, the holes in our reports, the risks to our lives, or the damage to whatever passes for a conscience within us. I am all for us keeping moving, but we are here, now, and we best take advantage of this experience, for the sake of our health, our reports, and our souls." Having said her rant, she backs away from the table and stands near the entrance. "Harsk and I were placed in charge of this mission, his vote is obviously a bolt to each's head, a note in our reports, and proceeding. If that is what sits best with the rest of you, I will accept it and move on with that course of action. My vote is an attempt at some level of data collection from evidence and subjects. If we must leave them alive but unrestored, we need to stabilize them for the next team, but if there is nothing that can be done for them, granting a humane death is the right thing to do versus forcing them to wait for a visa like this to arise again. Trust me when I say if whoever did this is within this place, they will not get a humane death, but any information that can be gathered to protect us, or thwart threats, must be acknowledged. I still have hopes the secrets are in this room, but in the event they are not, we can not leave these goblins in the state they are.
Walking into the room eventually, Lini's face goes from a veneer of serene to pity, sadness even. This is unnatural, even to goblins...There must be some way to fix them," whispering at the end "or putting them out of their misery" Lini's eyes roll back in her head for a moment, consulting the Green for any way to reverse the mutations, but even with a fresh day to seek stronger spells, none within her grasp are strong enough. Her eyes begin looking at the implements and tools, trying to reverse engineer what may have been done to them. She keeps her wand at the ready and her distance from the cages. Whispering again "Remember me saying there would be little to learn from an autopsy, call me wrong." Droogami keeps a wary eye on the goblins while Lini slowly looks around, fighting to ignore the goblins' words, focusing on her examination.
"They seem quite, insane, so if one of you" Looking at the bard "could work a little persuasion on them, magical or elsewise, we might gather more information of this place before we..ahem..deal with the goblins." Lini's wicked smile reveals that she agrees whole-heartedly with Kyra, going so far as to mimic the motions of shooting fireballs out of her want toward imaginary targets, getting worked up staring at the door. Droogami rubs up against her side, and Lini visibly calms down, gently petting her with her off hand and sighs. "Yes, an attempt at diplomacy, even if mostly fueled by magic, would make exploring this place simpler, an autopsy only shows so much, but I do hope no one will be too offended when we slit our new friends' throats once they stop being useful."
Backing away slowly, Lili turns to the party and whispers "We have what sounds like a few goblins in maybe a kitchen or a lab" then conveys what she interprets them saying, including that much of what they are saying is gibberish. "How do you guys want to proceed, wands blazing or are we heading south?'
With the room searched, all wounded mended, and Lini's fashion intact, the gnome looks to the Ranger, "Harsk, I feel prepared for us to delve deeper, just forgive me for hanging back a tad." Assuming the party proceeds forward, Lini and Droogami both are searching continuously from the "middle" of the group. She has redrawn the symbol upon her head, made sure the light shines brightly from her sickle, and now carries her Wand boldly in her hand, feeling more prepared, and paranoid, than before. Making a hand gesture, Lini signals the party to the door to the east "not a bad place to start" Walking up to the door, she listens for a moment before deciding if she wants one of us, not her, to open it.
Lini smiles from ear to ear at the gesture, then attempts to rearrange the shawl to her liking. "Thank you dear, when we get back to town I will need to buy myself a shawl like this, I think it's a good look!"
Druid 4 | 35/35 HP | AC:16?, T:13, FF: 15? | F:+8, R:+3, W:+8(+4 vs. fey and plant–targeted effects, +2 vs. illusions) | CMB:0, CMD:12 | Init:+1 | Percep:+12 | Speed: 20
Lini looks quite a bit "worse for wear", her clothes in tatters, blood staining what little remains. "Well then, as far as starts go, that could have gone better" Staring down at the remains of the blob, Lini sighs, rearranges her rags for at least some modesty "At least it was not all for naught, now who here would make the best use of this until we get out and catalogue it?" Lini holds up a shining pearl, to her glowing with magic. "I do believe from now on we will send our more durable companions in first to investigate. Overconfidence, not exactly the most healthy of sins. So how is everyone, wounds mended? Weapons tended? " Lini carefully examines Droogami, bringing out a small piece of sandpaper and filing away a cracked nail. "Good girl, be careful next time, but good girl." Lini pets her softly and looks over the group, one eye still red and stinging from her "experience"
Lini looks at her party, assessing each's skills and strengths. Making a quick nod to each, she walks into the large chamber. She wrinkles her nose looking at the stagnant water, but dusts off an area of the ground in front of it and sits down. Droogami settles herself next to Lini, watching the room carefully as her master meditates. "Do as you wish to prepare yourselves, the stench here alone is quite..oppressive. We will get going in a moment, assuming exploration is our clear and present objective, Harsk?" Lini pulls from her bag the husk of a firefly, putting it close to her mouth she softly blows on it, the firefly "comes alive" and flies over to her sickle, resting on it and growing pale as the sickle begins to glow. From the same bag, Lini brings out a tiny jar of paste, sticking a finger into the paste, she collects a dot of it, then draws on her forehead the symbol of an eye. Bringing a small hempen journal from her bag and a thin charcoal pencil, she begins to softly hum and examine the room, both physically and magically, making notes as she observes. "While we wait, let's see what secrets may hide in plain sight."
Lini looks up from a small brown spider that was crawling across the table, "Call us whatever you wish, the objective appears relatively clear, and my report will be on your desk upon our return. Are there any special supplies you predict us requiring for the journey? I came here with nothing but the pack upon my back, for nature has always provided for me, but I would never turn down the advice of a senior officer..I mean "advisor". Her stare is intense, yet her excitement bleeds through with a smile as she looks at the map of the ruins. "Far be it from me to jinx a mission, but I would risk to say, this will be quite fun."
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