For a moment, it was if some hideous, terrible eye had appeared over one of the statues. A wave of fear washes over you, but you shake it off.
That statue over there.
"REND!!! LOOK OUT!!!" Panic is evident in Harlon's voice.
Nope, not yet. But he's definitely asleep and not dead.
Harlon’s frightened cry is echoed by Karid’s cry of “Beware!” Karid then searches his memory for any information he can recall about magic rays while backing up until his back hits the big stone block.
Kn: Arcana 14 -- Magic rays are just one of the many ways spells manifest themselves. Lots of spells are rays. Traps, creatures and magic items can sometimes have magical ray effects.
Spellcraft 20 -- Even watching it happen, you're not quite getting enough information to tell what spell was just cast on Rend. You didn't see or hear anything casting. Most magic items require somebody to trigger them. Maybe a trap has been triggered?
Rend's head swivels to face where the ray seemed to have come from. Not really clueing in to the whole magical trap idea, he charges in that direction calling out "There must be someone hiding behind the statue!"
He still has not drawn a weapon, but if he comes upon an actual foe, he will attempt to grapple and suppress any more magical blasting action.
Rend's head swivels to face where the ray seemed to have come from. Not really clueing in to the whole magical trap idea, he charges in that direction calling out "There must be someone hiding behind the statue!"
He still has not drawn a weapon, but if he comes upon an actual foe, he will attempt to grapple and suppress any more magical blasting action.
Please make a Spot check.
As Rend moves Karid bellows, “Rend! It might be a trap! Strange magic’s of ancient nature are afoot!”
Rend pauses as Karid's warning call echoes down the tunnel. A trap! Well, what kind of trap could be worse then getting blasted with magical rays? Silently cursing his hesitation, he turns back to the task at hand and runs down towards the statue, looking for the cursed archer.
I quickly but carefully move over to where the the statue that Rend ran to "Wait! If there's a trap I can disable it. Wait Dammit!" I shout to Rend.
Once over to the statue I cautiously examine it, looking for anything that might indicate the trap's location and how I could stop it from going off again.
Dalzig listens to Karid's warning anxiously. Better Rend than me, it looks like he could take a few hits. Why does it have to be so dark in here? He reaches into his pack and retrieves a rod. With a grunt, he strikes the tip against the ground, causing the sunrod to flare to life.
If Rend doesn't see anyone hiding behind the statue, he'll wait for Shamus to catch up and check for traps. If he gets blasted again, though, that statue is going down something fierce.
Seeing that Rend is alright (for the time being) and that Shamus is moving to deactivate the trap, Harlon gently places Hector's limp form on the ground, out of harm's way, and assumes a defensive posture with his spear.
Rend marches over to the attacking statue and looks it over, finding nothing.
Dalzig, Harlon and Gengar back away and take up defensive postures.
Shamus reluctantly joins Rend at the statue and begins searching it for the source of the offending magic. At first, he finds nothing but another stream of air, emanating from the cupped palms of the statue. He continues his search, carefully looking for any sign of a trap. As he is about to give up, he reaches up to check the very top of the statue, stretching his had up over the statue's crown.
Shamus, as you place your hand on top of the statue, you touch something soft and giving, almost like flesh. When you touch it, it moves, causing you to draw your hand back in surprise. You look up and see a pair of eyeballs, peering over the top of the statue to stare back at you.
"What in the name of the Nine Hells?!" I exclaim in surprise, quickly withdrawing my hand and wiping on my cloak. "There's something soft and alive with eyes on top of that statue." I say loudly, drawing ym rapier again.
"What in the name of the Nine Hells?!" I exclaim in surprise, quickly withdrawing my hand and wiping on my cloak. "There's something soft and alive with eyes on top of that statue." I say loudly, drawing ym rapier again.
Craning his neck, Rend tries to see what caught Shamus' attention. Not really seeing anything that could hold a blasting stick, he shrugs and moves his hand to the hilt of his greatsword. "Uh...you want me to kill it?"
"Probably best if you did." I say, stepping back from the statue.
Harlon advances to within 10' of Rend, holding his spear at the ready in case something should attack them.
The unknown thing, startled finally from its hiding place by Shamus' searching, hits Shamus with a magic ray from one of its eyes...
...and flies from its perch, fleeing into the darkness of the unexplored room at the end of the hallway. As it flees, you all finally get a glimpse of the strange creature lurking here in the ancient tomb. Looking rather like a flying snake of some kind, the creature appears to be a twisting, slithering, three foot long strand of striated muscle, with a pair of eyeballs floating at one end. It gyrates like a ribbon in the wind as it flies through the air.
Although taken aback at the sudden emergence of a flying snake, Rend's combat instincts kick in immediately. Having not yet drawn his sword, he turns away as if cowering, but then quickly spins around, thrusting his elbow and fist directly into the path of the fleeing creature's head.
Although taken aback at the sudden emergence of a flying snake, Rend's combat instincts kick in immediately. Having not yet drawn his sword, he turns away as if cowering, but then quickly spins around, thrusting his elbow and fist directly into the path of the fleeing creature's head.
Yeah, those are good articles on the subject.
Regardless, the strange creature is quite small (tiny, one might even say...), and your elbow strike meets only empty air as the thing slithers by you.
Just giving the game a poke.
Shamus, a Will save and (if successful) and AoO, please.
Then Karid's turn is up, followed by Rend and Dalzig.
Karid will forgo any attack or spell and instead try to identify our unknown foe.
I’m not sure which knowledge check is applicable.
Knowledge (Arcana): 7
Knowledge (History): 6
Knowledge (Local): 5
Knowledge (Religion): 5
You've never seen or heard of such a creature, Karid, though from your glimpse of it, you'd guess it was formed from some aberrant magic gone awry, perhaps.
I try to dodge the magical ray but even though it hits me I shake off the effects.
As the creature flies past I make a wild lunge to hit the thing but my strike goes wide.
"What is that thing??" Rend cries as he draws his greatsword and charges after the snake.
Determined to prevent another blast, Rend raises his sword above his head without breaking stride and chops down and diagonally across the creature's torso.
"Someone lost their eyes!"
Dalzig 'races' forward, looking as if he is trying to scoop up the pair of eyeballs.
“Egad!” shouts Karid in response to Dalzig’s outburst. Even though Karid did not really understanding what Dalzig said or was implying, he hurries after the gnome while wondering if all followers of the death goddess are a bit addled.
o o
...wandering eyeballs, obviously.
Rend chases after the floating snake-eyeball-thing, catching up to it as he rounds the corner into the room at the end of the hall. He slashes at the writhing string of muscle and chops it cleanly in half. The strange creature falls in two pieces to the floor.
It is then that you realize how cold this room is. Your teeth start chattering, and you can see your breath in the air.
Harlon retrieves Hector's inert body, tucks it into his cloak, and then hustles to join his companions by the dead thing. "What is that thing? And why is it so cold down here?" he asks as he kneels to rub his cold, bare feet, teeth chattering.
Steeling himself against the cold, at least temporarily, Rend crouches to examine the fallen snake-thing. "Karid, what is this creature?"
I run into the room after Harlon and Rend, stopping cold as I enter the freezing room. I wrap my cloak around myself and start to shiver as I look around the room.
“I have never seen nor heard of such a creature before, Rend,” replies Karid. Karid begins to busily sketch the creature in one of his journals paying particular attention to its innards. He suddenly seems to notice the cold. He pauses and says, “Gentlemen, strange magic abounds in this place. I suggest we regroup near the entrance and attempt to learn all we can of this place. With some study, assistance, and luck, I may be able to provide some valuable information about our surroundings. Rushing headlong into whatever challenge rears it’s head or eyeballs at us may prove to be our downfall.”
“He pauses and says, “Gentlemen, strange magic abounds in this place. I suggest we regroup near the entrance and attempt to learn all we can of this place. With some study, assistance, and luck, I may be able to provide some valuable information about our surroundings. Rushing headlong into whatever challenge rears it’s head or eyeballs at us may prove to be our downfall.”
"Entrance? Do you mean the entrance to the cairn, Karid, or the entrance to this chamber?" asks Harlon absent-mindedly as he again attempts to revive Hector by shaking him gently.
Karid listens to Harlon for a moment with a look of confusion on his face. Suddenly comprehension is evident on his face and he blushes slightly while saying, “Oh. Pardon my vagueness. I was just thinking of regrouping back by the big block. You know, near the elevator.”
No, it is definitely not a snake. It really does look more like a long string of muscle, especially to you Rend, as you are likely the only one of the group who has personally seen what muscle tissue looks like when not covered by skin. And it does not have wings. In fact, Rend, you got the best look at it while it fluttered to the ground. It seems to fly by breathing, as if it held air inside its body in bladders and floated by inflating and deflating different segments of its body.
At one end, it had two eyeballs that look remarkably similar to human eyes, except that they were attached to the muscle snake by eye stalks. They seem to have been independently focusable.
Oh, and...
A map of the cold room at the end of the hallway.
That dotted area on the map, by the way, is a large patch of brown fuzzy material carpeting the floor. It also seems to be where the cold is emanating from.
And here is the promised map of the hallway.
The square with the R in it is where Rend is standing. The x is where the flying eyeball-muscle-snake's corpse landed.
I have not placed anyone anywhere else specifically, except that you were previously down the hallway a ways.
Anyone and everyone (besides Rend) that is moving up to join him needs to tell me exactly where they are moving to.
Out of combat, you can stack halflings like cordwood in a five foot square if that's your thing, so occupying the same square as Rend or Karid is easy enough.
By this point, I imagine everyone has more or less advanced to the end of the hall (Dalzig being the only not to chime in so far, but I doubt he'd linger behind once everyone else had moved up). As you all stand around the corpse of the strange creature, the chill begins to seep into you very bones. Everyone's teeth have begun to chatter, and the smaller among you are shivering hard enough to turn a cup of milk to butter.
Anyone so inclined should make Spot checks.