"What have you found?" I ask, intrigued. "Have you identified it yet Gashelle?"
Keeping the Detect Magic effect up, Gashelle turns her attention towards the pit and the tunnel beyond.
Tristan can report our findings. But I'm sorely glad that the statue didn't get a chance to use that wand.
After examining the wand, Tristan says "This seems to be a wand of Burning Hands, as far as I can tell."
Tristan goes back over to the cistern and eyes the swimming crawfish. "Do you think we can catch some of these Eltariel?" he asks. "If I recall correctly they are very tasty when boiled in beer!"
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Gashelles scan of the corridor and pit reveals no energy sources.The corridor is different from the mine tunnels you have been traversing.The walls are dressed stone, the floor is flagstone and the ceilings reach 12 feet in height although the tunnel itself is still a mere five feet wide.
The whole place is a quiet as the grave...until suddenly a weird piercing wailing cry sounds in the distance.It cuts off as suddenly as it starts.
Avinar closes in on Eltariel, "that does not sound good, I hope its just the wind...Shall we check it out" The goosepimples grow larger on the back of Avinar's neck he looks as if he is trying to protect Eltariel from the sound, but to those who look closely, it is he who is scared and is seeking comfort. "Gashelle have you ever heard that type of wailing before?"
The strange piercing cry draws Tristan's thoughts away from dinner. He closes his eyes and listens intently to the sound, trying to determine its source.
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Tristan is unable to tell where the sound comes from..it might be 50 feet away..it might be hundreds....sounds in these tunnels are strange.Tristan remembers the words of adventuring bards and recalls their tales of Strange creatures and stranger places.The tunnels meanwhile return to their eerie silence
"This seems to be a wand of Burning Hands, as far as I can tell."
"Burning Hands? I know that spell, I should be able to use it, or Sasha too as a sorcerer."
"Do you think we can catch some of these Eltariel? If I recall correctly they are very tasty when boiled in beer!"
My answer is cut off by the eerie cry.
"That does not sound good, I hope its just the wind...Shall we check it out Gashelle have you ever heard that type of wailing before?"
"Something else is down here, other than clockwork contraptions I think ... or perhaps that was another alarm. Either way," I set my jaw, "yes, I think we should. But would not rest here, now - I'd return to the upper levels for that." I move closer to Avinar unconsciously; my oldest friend, I rely on him for both his skill at arms and his companionship. I certainly would not be half so courageous without his presence.
Gashelle have you ever heard that type of wailing before?"
Gashelle raises one eyebrow as she leans forward and squints into the darkness. "Y- Years ago, I h- heard the cry of a t- tormented undead shriek as she drifted through a cursed forest. And I've heard a c- couple of bird that make that kind of c- call." Still looking down the hallway, she straightens up.
"So, hideous spectre or r- red-breasted bird. One of the t- two."
Gashelle turns towards ... ah, Tristan or Sasha, not wanting to interrupt a tender moment of terror. She takes the rope from her belt and offers it. "Before we leave, m- might s- someone be willing to help me d- down the pit?"
Sahsa takes the proffered rope giving Gashelle a quizzical look....
"You think theres something in there?..it looks pretty empty to me"
Gashelle takes a deep breath, composes her thoughts, and begins, "Sure d- does, but I want to know wh- what it's doing here.
"Was this a trap th- that was s- set off; if so, b- by whom, and where did they g- go?
"Is it something else, p- pretending to be a p- pit trap, and stil d- deadly?
"Maybe it's j- just designed to k- keep the attacking statues trapped on th- this side, or maybe there's something w- worse on that side.
"Oh. Before I g- go down, might I b- b- borrow the feather token?"
"Great the question we have to ask...To block us from entering..or to block something from leaving...." Avinar muses
"If it was to block all access then it's blatantly not going to work - we can bypass it easily," I point out. "But it would be very effective on certain creatures less adept at climbing. If we leave ourselves a few lengths of rope anchored in place, we will be able to get back past this relatively swiftly." I dig another piton and some rope out of my pack ...
"What really puzzles me," I add as I work, "is the difference in the stonework."
What really puzzles me is the difference in the stonework."
As Gashelle's head emerges from the pit, you see the traces of a satisfied smile.
"This seems to be a good d- demarcation for our first day's work. Do we want to explore that s- side corridor back behind the m- moss before we find a safe place to rest and d- discuss our situation?"
"That sounds a wise idea - this pit would at least hinder anything from further inside coming this way, while we have no idea what's beyond that slime," I grimace, "or even how deep it is."
"Whatever and wherever you two ladies decide to go I will follow, you both have my trust and my sword arm" Avinar looks at Eltariel and wants to add ...and my heart...but is too scared to say such a thing, he looks to the charming bard, and wonders where his confidence with members of the opposite sex comes from, maybe...Avinar wonders, maybe he can help me tell Eltariel how I feel.
"Sounds good to me"
On the way back to the cart room, Tristan gives the Burning Hands wand to Eltariel. "Just be careful where you point it, won't you?" he asks.
Taking off his heavy pack, he finds a dry spot to set it down. Then walking back over to the previously hidden passage he climbs up on the cart and into the passage way. "Who else is up for a swim?"
Gashelle smiles at Tristan. "We've b- been careful so far, my f- friend. Let's approach this with c- caution, too."
She addresses the rest of her comments to all four of her companions. "Can anyone b- burn away the moss covering the hole?
"I propose that Tristan tie an end of th- this rope around h- his waist. If he gets all the way to the w- water line without f- finding any more traps, we can discuss our options th- then."
"I could, but you cut away most of it earlier, Gashelle," I point out. "You aren't afraid of a little darkmoss* are you?" I smile slightly.
* so called because it grows in the dark without the benefit of sunlight ...
You aren't afraid of a little darkmoss are you?
Gashelle takes a moment to adjust her headscarf, then takes a breath and says, "No, mil-* E- E- Etariel. Not a- any more than I f- fear a little b- box or a p- patch of ground. But we d- do not kn- know wh- what hides behind the r- remaining bits of moss c- curtain, and umthir eglos quarthod, amthir lam-rhond ol."
An old Elvish maxim:
She feels foolish, quoting this to the Lady Elessand.
"Anything around here might be dangerous," I point out. "One of the other trucks could come to life, but we haven't smashed all of them. One of the villagers could sneak into your house, stab you in your sleep and make off with your silver, but we haven't killed all of them either ... if you want to kill anything that might threaten you, you have to kill the world. We don't because we respect and trust the people around us," I sigh. "In truth, if you cannot trust the lowly moss, what can you trust?"
"Ladies I think Paranoia is getting the best of you two, plus we are gettign tired, we have had a long day. Tristan why don't you check for traps in that tunnel and see what lies ahead, maybe we can find a secure spot to rest, or maybe its a dead end, at anyrate, whatever threats are out there they are not going away". Avinar gestures to tristan to scout the tunnel Avinar follows behind in case any assistance is required.
Now, that Avinar has joined him in the tunnel, Tristan turns and makes his way down to the waterline, checking for traps as he goes. . He also picks up a small stone or bit of debris and casts light upon it.
Assuming they make it to the water without setting off any traps, Tristan tosses the light stone into the water to try and determine how deep it is.
With a little difficulty I scramble up after Avinar and Tristan.
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The small tunnel slopes down from the cart room and a set of natural stairs descends into water. The water is completely choked with
floating pads of slimy moss. The tunnel splits into two directions twenty feet after the water starts. There is about three feet of air above thewater’s surface. The water’s depth is unclear from here.
Tristan
When he reaches the bottom, Tristan waits for the others to descend the slippery stairs.
Tristan points down the left hand passageway "I saw a glint of metal down that way. Be careful, it could be another clockwork construct."
Tristan then draws his dagger and lowers himself into the water. If it is shallow enough to walk he will proceed slowly down the passage towards where he saw something.
Since the water is shallow enough to leave his arms free, Tristan exchanges his dagger for his rapier. Then he makes his way down the flooded passage, checking each footstep for a hidden drop off that would plunge him into deeper water.
When he reaches the area where he saw the glint, he stops to search the area throughly.
I watch carefully as Tristan descends into the slime, wary of the possibility of something nasty in that water ...
Gashelle follows, glaive at the ready. She casts Detect Magic again, scanning dwon both corridors..
Avinar also stands ready with his Mother's Kiss in his hands keeping a keen eye out for danger.
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Tristan finds no sudden changes of depth in the slimy water.
Gashelle registers the presence of Magic in the area that Tristan is heading for.She has to enter the water herself to scan the passageways.
Eltariel stands behind Gashelle light stone in hand at the edge of the water with Avinar close behind.
Sasha guards the rear in the cart room.
As Tristan reaches the end of the tunnel thers a swirling in the water and two vaugely humanoid amorphous shapes rise up. the first strikes at tristan and he staggers as the blow connects hard(7 damage)
The second sends a wave of water crashing over the three others in the tunnels drenching them in the foul muck. Had you been carrying a toerch it would have definitely been extinguished.
Surprise round over. initiative order is
Gashelle
1st creature
Eltariel
2nd creature
Tristan
Avinar
Sasha
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Tristan finds no sudden changes of depth in the slimy water.
Gashelle registers the presence of Magic in the area that Tristan is heading for.She has to enter the water herself to scan the passageways.
Eltariel stands behind Gashelle light stone in hand at the edge of the water with Avinar close behind.
Sasha guards the rear in the cart room.
As Tristan reaches the end of the tunnel thers a swirling in the water and two vaugely humanoid amorphous shapes rise up. the first strikes at tristan and he staggers as the blow connects hard(7 damage)
The second sends a wave of water crashing over the three others in the tunnels drenching them in the foul muck. Had you been carrying a toerch it would have definitely been extinguished.
Surprise round over. initiative order is
whoops..swapped Tristan and Avinars places in the init order.
Gashelle
1st creature
Eltariel
2nd creature
Avinar
Tristan
Sasha
Gashelle is an arcanist, she knows what this wand can do ...
"Gashelle, get down!" I shout as I draw and level the wand of Burning Hands.
If Gashelle gets the hint on her turn and either ducks or gets to one side I can fry this creature ...
Avinar rushes to aid Tristan (move action) he slices at the creature and attempts to make himself a more appealing target than Tristan
Tristan takes a step back from the creature and casts cure light wounds on himself.
Tristan takes step to flank with Avinar if possible and attacks the creature with his rapier.
Swift Action Unless Gashelle can immediately tell that these creatures are not living (like she could with the gnome golems), she casts Blade of Blood, taking the 5 points of damage.
Standard Action Gashelle attacks Water Dude 1 with the glaive. (And yes, it would seem that Invisible Castle is down.
Dice Roller at Lilith's DM Tools
Her attack roll is 1d20+5 #3357 1d20 + (+5) = 25 (Natural 20!)
Her damage roll is 1d10+4 #3358 1d10 + (+4) = 9
Plus another 3d6 if Blade of Blood affects them #3359 3d6 + () = 5 (well, that's disappointing)
If these creatures can take a critical hit,
#3361 1d20 + (5) = 18
might allow the glaive to do triple damage.
Move Action Gashelle takes a deep breath and drops under the surface of the brackish water.
As Gishelle disappears under the water I cut loose with the wand in Creature 2's direction, bathing it in arcane fire.
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Gashelle annihilates the first creature then sinks below the water as Eltariel blasts the second. Tristan and Avinar are unable to close with the second creature as Gashelles body blocks the way.
The creature strikes at Gashelle but even with the advantage it has with her kneeling it fails to connect.
Tristan will go ahead and cast his cure light wounds for the measly 3hp then.
Avinar will attempt to tmble past Gashelle and thrust up at the creature with his elven blade.