Chapter 1 - More Adventurous

[BigRedRod]

The guilds rely upon fortune seeking idiots, I was one such idiot long ago. I was just a lucky idiot for all of those jobs only to have cost me one of my eyes.
- opening passage from Lord Roenburg of Lud's memoires


Webs and dust. Clambering down into the small hole in the earth and down the slope of compacted fallen stone blocks, soil and other pieces of unidentifiable debris which have been deposited through the gap in the ceiling, the group enter the ruin. The bright sunlight of the warm summer's day does little but pick out flecks of dust, strands of spider webbing and several bodies busy jostling one another for space in the small room immediately beneath the surface.

The site was two days from Gomorrah city. All in all there were seventeen travelling together towards the Ehb ruin. Three from the Xerxes dragoon guild, all of whom travelled together in their large covered wagon and associated little with their hirelings during the journey. Of the hirelings there were fourteen Two who seemed like regular members of these trips and had something approaching a relationship with the "Guildsman Superior", Robin his younger companion, Tak, were a friendly pair and they had picked the only surefire way of both staying alive and getting paid on an expedition, not going inside the ruins. Now they were both busily setting up the camp that would serve as home for however long the job ends up taking.

Gradually eyes adjust the gloom and the voice of one of the two guildsmen who are manning the initial descent in to the ruin wafts through the enclosed space. The cool steady voice muffled slightly by the silk mask gives a few brief orders,
"Jamis! Assemble with your men in the next room, you will accompany me this way. Guildsman! Have the remainder join you in exploring the other side."
A trio of lanterns are lit and two of them quickly move through the looming dark portal of the only open door in the room. As half of the group move to the adjacent chamber things become rather less crampt and there is a chance to have a look around.

Flickering light illuminates massive engravings covering most of the walls. Each pictures huge giants locked in battle with dragons. If the engravings are simple artwork or serve to tell a story is hard to tell, although a pair of stone benches clearly once stood in the centre of the room. One has, however, received a large stone block upon it during the upheaval that opened the entryway in to the ruin and is now just a pile of rubble. A large glass window, almost seven feet tall and over five across dominates one of the walls although it is covered in the filth of ages past and the lantern light reveals only the general idea of earth and rocks on the other side of the glass.

An impressed noise comes from one corner of the high-ceilinged room and a moment later there is a wash of neutral light coming from the peculiar metal framing surrounding each of the engravings and joined with one another. The man with the lantern, the mercenary named Leto, mutters something sarcastic under his breath about the wonders of the long dead ancients.

The sound of a quill pen dragging across paper strikes up and all eyes turn upon the apprentice guildsman. The man might be slight, but it is hard to tell with his large black robe covering his body, black silk gloves on his hands and the silk head-covering with the patterning of three red claw marks across the eyes that mark him as belonging to the Xerxes dragoon guild. The only element of colour on his person is a broach in the shape of the guild-symbol, a red panther. In one of his gloved hands, he holds a small notepad with a miniature inkpot built in to the side and some sort of covering upon it which keeps the ink inside yet allows the pen to be dipped in, his other holds a quill and is rapidly moving across the page.

Aside from the open door and hole in the ceiling only one other exit from the room exists. A large blank stone door sits between two of the engravings with two small depressions about four feet from the ground upon it. With no sign of hinges or handle the door would appear to open via sliding in one direction. Looking up from his notepad, the junior Guild nods towards the door,
"You heard my colleague. We're going that way."

Map
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*END -bguihd

[Tamarind]

Sevilin looks around with curiousity and a little awe, his attention quickly captured by the intricate engravings of giants and dragons. He gazes intently at the scenes until the guildsman's voice cuts across his reverie - with a start he turns and moves quickly to take up a position a couple of paces back from the door and to one side, drawing his blade and assuming a guarding position, leaving plenty of room for anyone who wishes to examine the door itself.

[chalice]

"Amazing..absolutely wonderful..." murmurs Inyx happily to herself, abosrbed in her study of the old stained glass window. It's unclear for a moment whether she has actually heard the Guildsman's order; but then she turns reluctantly and blinks over her eyeglasses at the group. "Hmmm...sorry...what?" A chunk of dusty cobweb has attached itself to her silver hair, and she already has a large smudge of dust rubbed absent-mindedly onto one sculpted cheekbone.

She looks with mild envy at the Guildsman's notebook-contraption - she herself is struggling to balance a small sheet of paper and scribbles her notes with a well-chewed pencil.

[Thanos]

Bollan for his part isn't interested in any of the trappings on the walls or what the others are doing. With his helmet in one hand and with his other balancing his sword on his shoulder he is more intent on being ready for danger by knowing that it is coming. When the call by the guildsman is given he is already waiting and ready to move out. Strapped to his thigh is his gladius in case the hallways become to narrow for him to even lunge effectively with his much larger sword. Fortunately he doesn't need the full flashy swing of the arena here, just the quick and powerful lever action that having a long handle allows for.

[The Alcotroll]

Hargin moves to investigate the door, polishing his steel-rimmed glasses on his beard before gingerly blowing dust from the stonework.

He gently runs his fingers over its surface, before extracting a roll of tools from his belt and prodding the depressions with a metal probe.

[OOC: check the door to see if it is locked and how to open it. Also checking for traps and picking any locks.]

[Dev]

Like most of the other spelunkers, Daison stands at rapt attention. Unlike them, his attention is fixed not on the room, but on someone standing on the other side of it. He masks his nonchalant gravitation in that direction by pretending to be interested in the glowing metal.

"Hmm," he smirks. "Jezrit? ... quaint."

He slowly sidles over to Inyx, randomly glancing at her notebook, then reaches a hand out to her hair.

"A bit dusty here, isn't it love?"

He speaks hushedly while attempting to extricate the cobwebs from her hair, perhaps 'accidentally' brushing his hand against her neck.

[chalice]

Inyx blinks again. "Dusty?...Oh, hmm, yes...I suppose it is...thank you..."

She tosses her head to assist with the extrication of cobweb from her hair...perhaps 'accidentally' causing a cloud of dust to fly into the young mage's face...before moving over to see what Hargin is making of the door.

[BigRedRod]

Hargin's assessment of the stone door doesn't take long. Rather than using the traditional system of hinges, this particular door is very clearly built to slide sideways in to a hidden cavity within one of the walls. Pressing an ear close and apply some gentle tapping around the engravings with a tiny metal hammer, which the dwarf carries for just such purposes, confirms the presence of a hidden cavity. The two depressions in the door are there to aid sliding the heavy door sideways.

The dwarf finds no traps or locks, but it seems likely that given the age and state of repair of the structure it will most likely need a bit of effort to open.

[The Alcotroll]

Hargin straightens and brushes dust from his beard, gesturing absently over his shoulder.

"'Tis quite safe, look you." he announces in a lilting accent, "There's no traps or locks. Just give it a push now."

[Thanos]

Bollan puts his helmet on and using his left hand pulls the door open as Hargin suggests.If it is trapped you will pay dearly for your failure to detect it. Bollan follows the door to the side, just in case something comes bolling through it.

"There we go..."

[Tamarind]

Sevilin tenses as Bollan heaves at the door, trying to be sure he's ready for whatever might be behind it...

Who knows what might be lurking down here?

[BigRedRod]

With the application of considerable effort the retired gladiator eventually convinces the sliding mechanism to allow the heavy stone door to open. The illumination from the metal framing isn't strong enough to penetrate much of the darkness beyond.

Squinting in to the dusty gloom, Bollan notices strips of metal running around the walls of the room at waist height and a flight of stone stairs descending down to unknown depths.

Turning to his companions Bollan sees the group heading in the opposite direction gradually disappear from view as they venture further in to the ruin. As the warrior moves his head his peripheral vision and Leto's lamplight pick out an unexpected shape and his body slips towards a combat stance for a split second before it becomes apparent that the motionless figure standing in the dark is little more than a statue. The details however, are lost to the darkness.

Map
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*END 1pilf9

[Dev]

"Ah, progress!" Daison announces boldly, grinning especially at the petite cleric nearby. "Very good, very good." He continues to nod--as if he has some authority to do so--and steps over to the doorway, looking over the shoulder of the immense Bollan. When he has to squint to see much further, he says nothing more and instinctively, his hand goes out to touch the strip of metal running along the wall.

[Thanos]

Bollan untenses and says, "Well, there is a staircase that goes down and another statue in there. Its pretty dark so we need some light."

[BigRedRod]

The soft glow gradually spreads around the waist-high metal strip as Daison briefly lays his hand upon it. Gloom is pushed back as the wizard steps into the dusty hallway. A closer look at the statue, and its companion which emerges as the room fills with light, reveals a pair of highly stylised, yet elegant, sculptures of humanoid forms carved from a light blue stone. Both clutch spears crafted from an almost black metal although it doesn't seem possible to remove either without first breaking the hand of the statue.

Peering around the room reveals little, another door and the staircase are the only other features of the room. The stone door sits at a slight angle in its doorway. If one was to lie upon the ground it would be possible to peer into the next room. A brief glance down the broad stone steps reveals little, a lack of light once again working impeding the exploration.

Map
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*END -fgwaaf

[Tamarind]

Moving up Sevilin digs out his lantern from his pack and lights it. Holding it in his off hand he moves slowly into the room, illuminating the still-dark areas as best he can.

[Thanos]

Bollan follows Sevilin clutching his sword in both hands now ready for something to come up from the stairs, the statues to come alive, or the ceiling to fall in on all of them.

Not exactly exiting, yet. Of course, for all I know there will be nothing exiting and I wont have to work any harder than opening a few old doors.

[chalice]

Inyx smiles with almost child-like delight when the ancient lighting system begins to function.

She steps lightly into the room, moving over to inspect the statues at close quarters - not touching, but walking right round them to get a good look.

[BigRedRod]

Sevilin's lantern light adds a layer of yellowish light to the neutral glow from the metal strips running around the walls as the youthful half-elf draws closer to one of the statues. The light blue stone has a thick dusty coating, but like the rest of this room, there are only small amounts of rather pitiful spiderwebs. Aside from the dust the statue carries no sign of age or clues to quite what it might represent aside from a faintly regal appearance.

Leto strides in to the room with the guildsman following on his heels, glancing about occasionally and transferring his observations to the paper. The warrior keeps one hand upon his sheathed blade as he looks at Inyx moving toward the second statue,
"Real regal looking. Maybe they were kings... Well crafted spears though."

The guildsman looks up at Leto and the silk hood shifts slightly, perhaps the man beneath is smiling,
"I wouldn't advise taking one. Those two statues are likely to be Ehb kings, the rest of the structure should contain other marks of leadership. The spears though were the mark of leadership, one for each who took power. To touch such an icon is... well, not something I'll be doing."

With a shrug Leto answers and steps towards the stairs in order to peer below,
"The ancients never were one for jewels I suppose, but if I was a King I'd want everything made of gold and covered in emeralds and rubies."

Hargin crosses the room to stand beside Leto. Splashes of light from Sevilin's lantern and the neutral glow of the room allow a few glimpses below. From this angle it is hard to see much of the room, but it would appear to be a hallway. A hallway strewn with rubble and containing several large urns.

[Tamarind]

Sevilin peers closely at the top few stairs, then glances at Hargin,

"What do you think Hargrin, safe enough to venture down them?"

Hope I'm not seeming too cautious...

He pauses to allow Hargin to examine the steps in good light, focusing his own attention on the edges of the lamplight...

[Dev]

Thoroughly uninterested with actually exploring the ruins further, Daison stands frozen with a hand outstretched towards one of the black spears. His eyes shift guiltily to the guildsman.

'Not something he'll be doing' .... what a perfect know-it-all.

He casually waves his hand back to his side with a dainty twist, then stands back for a more critical observation of the figure. He finds its ornate decorations strangely compelling, and most befitting of royalty. Daison soon finds himself lost in the figure's face--its eyes reflect the lantern light in a most captivating manner--and surely even the best sculptor in the Dagern would gape in awe at the well-chiseled features.

A work of divine art with which he would easily fall in love: if only she would stop looking at those two worthless mounds of stone!

[chalice]

"Anything in particular you wish me to do?" enquires Inyx.

Unfortunately for Daison, the offer is directed at the guildsman.

[BigRedRod]

"Umm. No, nothing really ... errr yet. Our companion the dwarf has the right idea."
The masked man hastily returns to scrawling notes. Clearly he is more than happy to answer questions regarding the Ehb but any call for actual leadership is a little beyond him.

With the draconic sorcerer overlooking his actions, Hargin carefully makes his way down the steps. Occasionally coming to a halt and investigating a random stone for several minutes before continuing. The stairs have no banister, just open space on both sides.

Dancing flecks of dust dance in the lamplight and find their way in to eyes, ears and noses making progress intensely irritating. Eventually Hargin sets his feet down upon the floor at the end of the stairs. The room below has the same lofty ceiling height as the level above, at least ten feet from floor to ceiling. Earth greets the dwarf at the bottom of the steps and in the blackness his eyes pick out the details of a shattered window before him through which the surrounding earth has been able to enter. To his right is another.

Carefully heading for one of the walls the dwarf outstretches one of his hands and places his palm against its metal strip. Light spreads outwards from his palm and fills the room with the now reassuring neutral glow.

Behind the steps the room has suffered heavy structural damage, earth and rubble abruptly ends the room where it once most likely stretched onwards. Cracks run outwards along the outer wall and Hargin quickly surmises that the outer wall suffered extensive damage at some point and now the stony earth of the surrounding land has rolled inwards and filled a section of the room from ceiling to floor. His innate understanding of matters relating to earth and stone tells the dwarf that as long as he doesn't start poking at it things will most likely not deteriorate further in the near future.

Aside from the large collapsed section the key feature of the room is the collection of large urns which could be seen from above. Each is set upon a small stone platform almost exactly the same size as the base and about two inches deep. The urns are the familiar green colour of oxidised copper and balloon outwards from their small bases to spheres of around four feet across. A lid sits atop each, topped with an outgrowth topped with a ball that serves as a handle for removing it. The urns are each patterned with similar but unique artistry. A ring of spear-wielding figures around the mid-section is a theme which occurs on each of the large copper objects. Looking away from the nearest urn, Hargin spots that one on the other side of the room has fallen from its pedestal, the urn lies upon the ground surrounded by dirt, a faint sparkle from the earth surrounding the mouth of the fallen urn briefly catches the attention of the dwarf.

Only one exit exist in the room, a plain stone door similar to those found on the upper level stands beside the dwarf. Confident that nothing is lurking in the shadows after a brief scan, Hargin looks upwards and calls to his companions,
"All is good."

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
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*END -kobvfx

[Tamarind]

As Hargrin reaches the ground safely Sevilin becomes aware he's been holding his breath and breathes quickly to make up for it. Holding the lantern high he moves quickly to join the dwarf below, pausing for a moment to let the glow from the lantern play over the broken urn, curious as to what it is that's catching the light.

[chalice]

Inyx makes a final note, carefully adds the way down to the map she is making of their progress, then tucks her pencil behind her ear and moves to follow Hargin and Sevelin down into the room the dwarf has entered.

"Isn't this great?" she murmurs to Daison in passing. "Come on, we might miss something..."

She scrambles gracefully down, moves out of the way of any following, and begins frantically scribbling again.

"Please don't touch that until I have all the context down," she says anxiously to the two investigating the broken amphora. "The context in which an object is found is awfully important, you know..."

[Thanos]

Bollan, seeing that the others are more than happy to go first, waits to go last down the stairs. Once down he makes sure to stay out of the way of the rest as they scurry and scoot about taking notes and making observations. Otherwise he stands in a relaxed state of near readiness incase something should come through the unopened door or out of a wall. Yawn

[Dev]

Daison can't help it; his overly charming smirk is automatic. He slowly raises a finger and opens his mouth, but by the time anything remotely resembling an intelligent response makes it through his head, Inyx is already out of the room and down the stairs. So he feigns nonchalance, retracts said finger, and ducks down after the flightly cleric.

[BigRedRod]

Crouching beside the fallen urn, Sevilin quickly realises that its former contents are what is doing the sparkling. The lamplight shows a clear distinction between the soil that has poured in through the damaged wall and broken windows and the lighter sparkling dust. Peering into the unlidded container confirms that the coarse dust once was inside.

The dust itself seems to be made from several different materials. Fine grey ash, slightly more coarse particles of a material that ranges through the entire greyscale from black to white and the source of the sparkle, ground gemstones. Reds, greens, blues, yellows and every colour between sparkle up at Sevilin, the gemdust itself is only partially ground with the largest chunks being almost the same size as the fingernail on a pinky while the smallest are about the same size as grains of sand.

Inyx stares over the sorcerer’s shoulder as she notes down her own similar observations concerning the mixture spilled from the tipped urn.

Bollan follows the Guildsman down the steps, who immediately makes a quiet little impressed noise and starts sketching the room paying particular attention to the position of the urns. Glancing down at his sketch, Bollan is impressed with how quickly the man can make such a detailed diagram of the room covering with everygrowing annotations.

After staring around the room for long enough to be sure its safe, Leto taps one of the copper urns, before taking more interest in the thick pieces of coloured stained glass littering the floor around one of the broken windows, and mostly hidden in the other debris that has fallen inside, but for now keeping his thoughts to himself.

[Thanos]

After momentarily peaking at the Guildsman's drawings Bollan perks up a bit and then slides around him to the floor. Instead of fawning over the urns he goes and stands next to the door on the side it should slide from. He has both of his hands on his weapon and it is in a ready position near his chest. His head is turned towards the opening as he waits...

[Tamarind]

Sevilin's eyes widen as he looks at the glittering fragments, glancing over his shoulder he looks at the guildsman,

"Did you want us to take samples of this sir, or simply leave it as it is?"

I wonder what this was for...offerings perhaps?

[BigRedRod]

The guildsman crouches beside one of the urns and carefully traces along the patterning with one of his hands. Hearing the question he turns to look at most of his team staring into the glittering dust,
"Errr... Yes, just a little one can't hurt."

Looking back to his page of notes, the man makes a puzzled little noise and starts to mutter under his breath,
"Wagon... Tilling... Winter?"
Sighing loudly, the man stands and crosses the room to have a look at the spilled contents of the fallen urn. After less than a second of staring at the lantern light picking out small gleaming pieces of crushed gemstones the man exclaims loudly and proceeds to rush through notes,
"Oh by the Gods, of course! I'm not sure why or who but I think this is a mausoleum."

Excitedly he almost skips a across the room to stand before a different urn where he hastily makes further notes,
"We can push on as soon as I have all of the runes written down. I can decipher them later on."

Working with tremendous speed, the man proceeds to move around each of the urns furiously making notes.

[Dev]

"I think that mayhaps 'sepulcher' would be a more appropriate term," Daison comments, if only to prove that his intellect is right on par with that of the guildsmen. What is evidently troublesome, however, is the enthusiasm expressed by Inyx. I'll have to employ a measure of creativity to convince her I'm as excited as she is to be here.

While wandering idly among the urns, Daison instinctively reachs down to pet his cat ... who of course did not accompany the team into the ruin. Thus, Daison's creativity is immediately put to the task as he attempts to recover from the irrelevant gesture and look casual in view of anyone who might have seen it. Leave it to this wizard to recall the distinction between a mausoleum and a sepulcher while paying no attention to which individuals are or aren't in his presence.

[Tamarind]

Sevilin sets the lantern down and carefully pushes some of the dust and gemstone fragments into a pouch. Drawing the string tight he ties it to his belt and stands, hoisting the lantern high once more before moving to join Bollan at the doorway and waiting.

[chalice]

Inyx sighs softly, remembering that she is here to work, not indulge her own interests, and tucks away her own notes. She examines the room carefully, alert for any signs that the dead here may not be fully at peace, sensistive to any atmosphere of evil. Sh's unable to resist attempting a quick translation of the inscriptions on the jars as she goes.

Slowly, her reluctance to leave this fascinating place manifest in every dragging step, she too crosses to join Bollan.

[BigRedRod]

The intricate symbols adorning the urns are very obviously, to Inyx's knowledgeable eyes, heavily stylised draconic runes. The words themselves seem to form roughly into sentences and clauses but nothing which seems to make any sense to the cleric.

Most with even a passing interest in the Ehb know of the huge problems in understanding their written language. Although it follows Draconic in basic structure and vocabulary the language has its own superstructure which is unlike anything else. The language is indirect and works through metaphor and imagery, to make matters worse each and every member of the Ehb seems to have had a unique writing style. The result of this is that the best one can do in the hope of understanding something found written by an ancient is to learn the language of the dragons and be prepared to spend many long days getting in to the mindset of the particular author.

Inyx catches a few brief statements about falling leaves, rising castles and other seemingly random subjects. Seeing the cleric crossing the room toward Bollan, Hargin realises that once again his services are required.

The door is a simple unadorned stone slab, which slides open as the previous did. Clearly the architect of this sunken citadel wasn't a fan of hinges. It doesn't take long before the dwarf is happy that the door is either free of traps or trapped with such a well hidden mechanism that is beyond his skill to find even if he had an hour to spend with the sliding slab. Looking up at the large tensed gladiator beside him, the dwarf offers a nod to indicate that the way is clear.

[Thanos]

In a little more than a whisper Bollan says, "See if you can't get it to budge Hargin, but be ready to get back once it opens." Bollan says in his combat ready stance, obviously waiting for the door to come open and something to pop out of it.

[Dev]

Finally, the academic aspirations and overzealous cautiousness are too much, and Daison lets out a long, bored sigh. Though he doesn't want to appear a lackey, the desire to get the sojourn over with quickly wins him over, and he mutters to himself as he also steps over to the door.

"I do hope it's the final room behind there."

[Tamarind]

"I'll do this Hargin, you've done your bit" says Sevilin with a grin. He hands his lantern to Hargin, tosses his sword to his off-hand and strains at the sliding door...

[chalice]

"Oh no, surely not!" Inyx exclaims to Daison in dismay. "Why, there must be a whole complex to explore still..." she looks longingly at the door Sevelin is offering to open.

"Leaves," she mutters to herself. "Castles...fascinating, don't you think?" she looks up at the young mage, eyes alight with enthusiasm. "So utterly, absolutely...alien. I can't even begin to imagine what we may discover further in!"

Her silver hair falls over her eyes again, and she pushes it impatiently back, apparently forgetting for a moment that she is wearing her floppy, weatherbeaten hat, which promptly tumbles to the dusty floor. "Oh, bother!"

[BigRedRod]

Hargin steps backwards to allow Sevilin a try at opening the door. With one hand busy holding his blade it takes the draconic warrior a few minutes to convince the hidden mechanism that it should allow the door to start moving. Eventually the lateral force exerted by the single hand placed in the door depression is enough and the door begins to slide fairly easily open.

The cone of light from the bullseye lantern penetrates the blackness beyond revealing a corridor stretching off ahead. A few broken pieces of stone lie a little way ahead of Sevilin's position where one of the sliding doors seems to have fallen from its frame and shattered. Towards the end of the lantern's illumination there is a similar sight, however the eyes of the dragon-blooded sorcerer focus on the shape gradually moving in to view.

Standing at perhaps five feet tall if fully straightened the hunched figure looks vaguely humanoid. It's thin arms end with three finger-like claws and its feet are split in two long toes. The head is nearly a perfect sphere apart from the two gently writhing antennae set on its forehead and the single eye, a large green gemstone that sparkles from its off-centre position giving the impression that its partner has been lost. The entire creature is jet black with a smooth skin that resembles finely worked stone. Except for the sparkling green gemstone eye there is no colour.


Initiative
Bollan
Sevilin
Green-eyed monster
Hargin
Leto
Inyx
Daison
Guildsman

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 6o 1o rs 0 0 4o -10 6o -10 6o 1o *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o o 5o
@0 *s -1 5o 24 rs 0 0 5o -4 5o 24 *s -1 68 g rs 0 73 60 g 68 0 *s
@-1 68 g rs 0 73 60 0 68 g *s -1 6s w rs 0 73 6c o 6s w *s -1 6s
@w rs 0 73 6c w 6s o *s e ce z rs 0 *s e d0 1q rs 0 *s e bp 47 rs
@0 *s e bw 3z rs 0 *s e c3 42 rs 0 *s e c8 3v rs 0 *s e ce 3o rs
@0 *s e ck 3q rs 0 *s e cl 3h rs 0 *s e cq 3g rs 0 *s e d2 3j rs
@0 *s e d5 3j rs 0 *s -1 63 1c rs 0 9zabk 63 1c 63 0 *s -1 69 1c
@rs 0 9zabk 69 1c 69 0 *s -1 68 p rs 0 9zabk 60 p 68 p *s -1 68
@18 rs 0 9zabk 60 18 68 18 *s -1 68 14 rs 0 9zabk 60 14 68 14 *s
@-1 68 w rs 0 9zabk 60 w 68 w *s -1 68 10 rs 0 9zabk 60 10 68 10 *s
@-1 68 s rs 0 9zabk 60 s 68 s *s -3 cw 15 rs 0 O *s -3 cw 2i rs 0
@O *s -3 bk 2i rs 0 O *s -3 bk 14 rs 0 O *s -3 bj 3p rs 0 O *s -3
@9e 4d rs 0 Tipped Urn *s -1 5s 20 rs 0 9y6tc 4g 20 5s 1k *s -3
@c0 5d rs 0 Blockage *s -1 6c 2g rs 0 9y6tc 6c 2g 5w 1c *s -3 cp
@1a rs 0 H *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o 0 -1o 0 -1o o *s -1 2c 10 rs 0 0
@1o 10 2c 10 *s -1 3c 10 rs 0 0 20 10 3c 10 *s -1 4c 10 rs 0 0 30
@10 4c 10 *s -1 5o 10 rs 0 0 5o 10 50 10 *s -1 50 10 rs 0 0 50 10
@4c 10 *s -1 5c 10 rs 0 9zabk 4o 10 5c 10 *s -1 3o 10 rs 0 9zabk
@30 10 3o 10 *s -1 2o 10 rs 0 9zabk 20 10 2o 10 *s -1 2s g rs 0
@73 2s 0 2s g *s -1 2w g rs 0 73 2w 0 2w g *s -1 3s g rs 0 73 3s
@0 3s g *s -1 3w g rs 0 73 3w 0 3w g *s -1 4s g rs 0 73 4s 0 4s g
@*s -1 4w g rs 0 73 4w 0 4w g *s e 41 1l hk -8x *s e 8z 21 i6 -9v
@*s e 3v 1u kd -1b2 *s e 91 1q h3 -15i *s -3 bt 1a rs 0 I *s -3
@bt 2c rs 0 B *s -3 bl 1r rs 0 S *s -3 c7 35 rs 0 D *s 3 d0 2z rs
@0 *s 8 br 30 rs 0 *s 6 4f 1n rs 0
*END neozaw

[Thanos]

Bollan quickly enteres the room crossing in front of Sevilin, as he does not know what is there, to pull any enemy fire as he moves. Noting the creature at the end of the passage, and noting that he does not have orders to kill on sight, he moves to block any advancement by placing himself caticorner from the first set of rocks in the coridor on the north side. He remains ready, but in a decidedly more defensive stance.

[Expertise used to gain +2 AC]

[BigRedRod]

Moving quickly to a defensive position to await orders of how to deal with the potential threat, Bollan moves past his companions and in to the hallway only illuminated by the cone of lantern light. Standing before Sevilin causes the freed gladiator’s shadow to blot out most of the creature's shape, leaving the sparkling green eye as the only clear sign of its position.

As he notes the presence of the mysterious glow metal running along the wall, Bollan catches sight of a black blur from his left. In a flurry of movement almost too fast for the naked eye to see, Bollan shifts to a crouching position, shifts his off hand down his sword blade and pushes against the barely perceived threat.

His quick reactions block the blow from the unseen assailant with the rasping sound of stone on metal. This creature is similar to the first but for his eye, this one having a yellowish gemstone on the opposite side of its otherwise featureless face.


Initiative
Bollan
Yellow-Eyed Monster
Sevilin
Green-eyed monster
Hargin
Leto
Inyx
Daison
Guildsman

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 6o 1o rs 0 0 4o -10 6o -10 6o 1o *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o o 5o
@0 *s -1 5o 24 rs 0 0 5o -4 5o 24 *s -1 68 g rs 0 73 60 g 68 0 *s
@-1 68 g rs 0 73 60 0 68 g *s -1 6s w rs 0 73 6c o 6s w *s -1 6s
@w rs 0 73 6c w 6s o *s e ce z rs 0 *s e d0 1q rs 0 *s e bp 47 rs
@0 *s e bw 3z rs 0 *s e c3 42 rs 0 *s e c8 3v rs 0 *s e ce 3o rs
@0 *s e ck 3q rs 0 *s e cl 3h rs 0 *s e cq 3g rs 0 *s e d2 3j rs
@0 *s e d5 3j rs 0 *s -1 63 1c rs 0 9zabk 63 1c 63 0 *s -1 69 1c
@rs 0 9zabk 69 1c 69 0 *s -1 68 p rs 0 9zabk 60 p 68 p *s -1 68
@18 rs 0 9zabk 60 18 68 18 *s -1 68 14 rs 0 9zabk 60 14 68 14 *s
@-1 68 w rs 0 9zabk 60 w 68 w *s -1 68 10 rs 0 9zabk 60 10 68 10 *s
@-1 68 s rs 0 9zabk 60 s 68 s *s -3 cw 15 rs 0 O *s -3 cw 2i rs 0
@O *s -3 bk 2i rs 0 O *s -3 bk 14 rs 0 O *s -3 bj 3p rs 0 O *s -3
@9e 4d rs 0 Tipped Urn *s -1 5s 20 rs 0 9y6tc 4g 20 5s 1k *s -3
@c0 5d rs 0 Blockage *s -1 6c 2g rs 0 9y6tc 6c 2g 5w 1c *s -3 cp
@1a rs 0 H *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o 0 -1o 0 -1o o *s -1 2c 10 rs 0 0
@1o 10 2c 10 *s -1 3c 10 rs 0 0 20 10 3c 10 *s -1 4c 10 rs 0 0 30
@10 4c 10 *s -1 5o 10 rs 0 0 5o 10 50 10 *s -1 50 10 rs 0 0 50 10
@4c 10 *s -1 5c 10 rs 0 9zabk 4o 10 5c 10 *s -1 3o 10 rs 0 9zabk
@30 10 3o 10 *s -1 2o 10 rs 0 9zabk 20 10 2o 10 *s -1 2s g rs 0
@73 2s 0 2s g *s -1 2w g rs 0 73 2w 0 2w g *s -1 3s g rs 0 73 3s
@0 3s g *s -1 3w g rs 0 73 3w 0 3w g *s -1 4s g rs 0 73 4s 0 4s g
@*s -1 4w g rs 0 73 4w 0 4w g *s e 41 1l hk -8v *s e 8z 21 i6 -9t
@*s e 3v 1u kd -1b0 *s e 8y 1q g6 -16x *s -3 bt 1a rs 0 I *s -3
@9i 1a rs 0 B *s -3 bl 1r rs 0 S *s -3 c7 35 rs 0 D *s 3 d0 2z rs
@0 *s 8 br 30 rs 0 *s 6 4f 1n rs 0 *s 6 90 1m rs 0
*END 7kwu63

[Tamarind]

"There's something moving in this passageway...some sort of little black creature with a green eye..." Sevilin relates in a low voice, as Bollan moves past him.

I wonder if they're friendly?

When the second creature launches itself at Bollan Sevilin leaps forward

I guess not.

Gripping his blade in both hands he levels an overhead chop at the creature, hoping to catch it off guard

[OOC: Half-move up to the creature, standard attack.]

[BigRedRod]

Racing to the aid of his companion, Sevilin trips on a chunk of stone from the collapsed doorway on account of the less than ideal lighting conditions of a lantern held by a dwarf in another room. Sword still in hand, the ranger manages to correct his footing and avoid and fall however.

With its trap sprung, the Green-eyed creature swiftly closes the distance between it and Bollan. The creature moves with an odd scampering motion which Bollan does not reflect upon for long as he hefts his blade and swings at the first creature. His powerful muscles push the blade upwards in a wide arc which collides as the creature heedlessly charges. Sparks fly as the sword cleaves a deep wound from it's hip to where its sternum should be. There is no blood however, no fluid seeps from the deep split hacked in tot he creature and it barely seems to notice the blow as it lashes out at Bollan with one of its three-clawed hands.

Bollan's heavy red and black armour saves him from having a chunk of flesh removed by the clawed grasp and he is left only with the knowledge that he is going to have a large bruise across his tattooed shoulder when he takes his armour off to investigate.

Initiative
Bollan
Yellow-Eyed Monster
Sevilin
Green-eyed monster
Hargin
Leto
Inyx
Daison
Guildsman

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 6o 1o rs 0 0 4o -10 6o -10 6o 1o *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o o 5o
@0 *s -1 5o 24 rs 0 0 5o -4 5o 24 *s -1 68 g rs 0 73 60 g 68 0 *s
@-1 68 g rs 0 73 60 0 68 g *s -1 6s w rs 0 73 6c o 6s w *s -1 6s
@w rs 0 73 6c w 6s o *s e ce z rs 0 *s e d0 1q rs 0 *s e bp 47 rs
@0 *s e bw 3z rs 0 *s e c3 42 rs 0 *s e c8 3v rs 0 *s e ce 3o rs
@0 *s e ck 3q rs 0 *s e cl 3h rs 0 *s e cq 3g rs 0 *s e d2 3j rs
@0 *s e d5 3j rs 0 *s -1 63 1c rs 0 9zabk 63 1c 63 0 *s -1 69 1c
@rs 0 9zabk 69 1c 69 0 *s -1 68 p rs 0 9zabk 60 p 68 p *s -1 68
@18 rs 0 9zabk 60 18 68 18 *s -1 68 14 rs 0 9zabk 60 14 68 14 *s
@-1 68 w rs 0 9zabk 60 w 68 w *s -1 68 10 rs 0 9zabk 60 10 68 10 *s
@-1 68 s rs 0 9zabk 60 s 68 s *s -3 cw 15 rs 0 O *s -3 cw 2i rs 0
@O *s -3 bk 2i rs 0 O *s -3 bk 14 rs 0 O *s -3 bj 3p rs 0 O *s -3
@9e 4d rs 0 Tipped Urn *s -1 5s 20 rs 0 9y6tc 4g 20 5s 1k *s -3
@c0 5d rs 0 Blockage *s -1 6c 2g rs 0 9y6tc 6c 2g 5w 1c *s -3 cp
@1a rs 0 H *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o 0 -1o 0 -1o o *s -1 2c 10 rs 0 0
@1o 10 2c 10 *s -1 3c 10 rs 0 0 20 10 3c 10 *s -1 4c 10 rs 0 0 30
@10 4c 10 *s -1 5o 10 rs 0 0 5o 10 50 10 *s -1 50 10 rs 0 0 50 10
@4c 10 *s -1 5c 10 rs 0 9zabk 4o 10 5c 10 *s -1 3o 10 rs 0 9zabk
@30 10 3o 10 *s -1 2o 10 rs 0 9zabk 20 10 2o 10 *s -1 2s g rs 0
@73 2s 0 2s g *s -1 2w g rs 0 73 2w 0 2w g *s -1 3s g rs 0 73 3s
@0 3s g *s -1 3w g rs 0 73 3w 0 3w g *s -1 4s g rs 0 73 4s 0 4s g
@*s -1 4w g rs 0 73 4w 0 4w g *s e 41 1l hk -8u *s e 8z 21 i6 -9s
@*s e 3v 1u kd -1az *s e 8y 1q g6 -16w *s -3 bt 1a rs 0 I *s -3
@9i 1a rs 0 B *s -3 9i 1s rs 0 S *s -3 c7 35 rs 0 D *s 3 d0 2z rs
@0 *s 8 br 30 rs 0 *s 6 8y 11 rs 0 *s 6 90 1m rs 0
*END ho5m76

[The Alcotroll]

Racking the slide on his heavy bow and stepping back slightly, Hargin sights along a brass tube mounted above the quarrel, muttering to himself s he aims.
With a heavy thunk, the stock kicks against his shoulder and a bolt flies towards the foe.

[OOC: Java's not playing, so I can't see the map. I'll shoot at the nearest.]

[chalice]

"Oh my!" Distracted chasing her hat, Inyx is slow to respond, but now she pulls herself together, focussing her concentraion and murmuring "Lilleth aid us," as she casts a Bless spell on herself and her companions.

Other than that, she tries to keep out of the way of the more combat-oriented members of the group, and racks her brains to see if she can recall ever reading anything about such creatures as they face.

"Automatons...I suppose...going for the jewels might be effective..." she suggests hesitatantly.

It so often is...the thought brings a distinctly unpriestly grin to her face.

[Dev]

The sight of some sort of scuffle by the door brings Daison's whimsical thoughts to a close and a quiet "Eh?" to his lips. As he's virtually in denial of the possibility that anything "dangerous" would happen on their sojourn, the mage only slowly steps over next to Hargin, taking the dwarf's cue and readying his own crossbow.

[BigRedRod]

Moving sideways to gain a better view through the doorway, Hargin sets his lantern down on one of the steps before him to keep the battle illuminated for the others and draws his hand-crafted weapon. Taking careful aim in to the unfolding melee the dwarf fires. Missing Sevilin by less than two inches the bolt strikes a glancing blow on the head of the creature and is deflected sideways shattering against the wall.

"Ghola!"
The words escape from Leto as he swiftly enters the passage and places his off-hand upon the track of Jezrit running around the room. Gradually the neutral light fills the room. With no immediate way to join the unfolding battle, the swordsman assumes a defensive posture and waits for an opening.

Instantly it becomes perfectly clear what the two creatures are. Ghola. The mysterious creatures found haunting each and every ruin of the Ehb but never anywhere outside them. Myths and legends of all kind surround the creatures, both describing their origins and their weaknesses. A slave race, kept to perform manual labour, possibly a race constructed by the Ehb or maybe one they just encountered and bred? Does the light of the full moon really cause them to revert to their true form? Can they really steal the souls of those they kill? Is salt a deadly poison to Ghola? And a hundred other questions spawned by a thousand other tales.

Hearing Inyx's plea for aid the Goddess blesses the priestess and her companions. A shower of gold, silver and blue sparkling dust can be seen in each of the party member's peripheral vision and they feel divine guidance aiding them in battle.

Quickly taking position on the other side of the stairs to Hargin, Dev readies his own crossbow and prepares to show the dwarf how such a weapon should be used. Moving up beside Daison, the masked guildsman takes a position which allows him to use the doorway as cover,
"Be warned, only the mightiest of blows will penetrate that stone skin of theirs."
Muttering a few arcane syllables the masked figure holds one palm slightly cupped while the other gestures above. Pulling his upper hand away the mage reveals a jagged green sliver of energy resting in his palm. With a vague gesture the missile flies in arcing path toward the creature wounded by Bollan. In the collision the fragment of mystic energy is destroyed by it leaves a deep cut on its target's hip.


Initiative
Bollan
Yellow-Eyed Monster
Sevilin
Green-eyed monster
Hargin
Leto
Inyx
Daison
Guildsman

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 6o 1o rs 0 0 4o -10 6o -10 6o 1o *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o o 5o
@0 *s -1 5o 24 rs 0 0 5o -4 5o 24 *s -1 68 g rs 0 73 60 g 68 0 *s
@-1 68 g rs 0 73 60 0 68 g *s -1 6s w rs 0 73 6c o 6s w *s -1 6s
@w rs 0 73 6c w 6s o *s e ce z rs 0 *s e d0 1q rs 0 *s e bp 47 rs
@0 *s e bw 3z rs 0 *s e c3 42 rs 0 *s e c8 3v rs 0 *s e ce 3o rs
@0 *s e ck 3q rs 0 *s e cl 3h rs 0 *s e cq 3g rs 0 *s e d2 3j rs
@0 *s e d5 3j rs 0 *s -1 63 1c rs 0 9zabk 63 1c 63 0 *s -1 69 1c
@rs 0 9zabk 69 1c 69 0 *s -1 68 p rs 0 9zabk 60 p 68 p *s -1 68
@18 rs 0 9zabk 60 18 68 18 *s -1 68 14 rs 0 9zabk 60 14 68 14 *s
@-1 68 w rs 0 9zabk 60 w 68 w *s -1 68 10 rs 0 9zabk 60 10 68 10 *s
@-1 68 s rs 0 9zabk 60 s 68 s *s -3 cw 15 rs 0 O *s -3 cw 2i rs 0
@O *s -3 bk 2i rs 0 O *s -3 bk 14 rs 0 O *s -3 bj 3p rs 0 O *s -3
@9e 4d rs 0 Tipped Urn *s -1 5s 20 rs 0 9y6tc 4g 20 5s 1k *s -3
@c0 5d rs 0 Blockage *s -1 6c 2g rs 0 9y6tc 6c 2g 5w 1c *s -3 cs
@1u rs 0 H *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o 0 -1o 0 -1o o *s -1 2c 10 rs 0 0
@1o 10 2c 10 *s -1 3c 10 rs 0 0 20 10 3c 10 *s -1 4c 10 rs 0 0 30
@10 4c 10 *s -1 5o 10 rs 0 0 5o 10 50 10 *s -1 50 10 rs 0 0 50 10
@4c 10 *s -1 5c 10 rs 0 9zabk 4o 10 5c 10 *s -1 3o 10 rs 0 9zabk
@30 10 3o 10 *s -1 2o 10 rs 0 9zabk 20 10 2o 10 *s -1 2s g rs 0
@73 2s 0 2s g *s -1 2w g rs 0 73 2w 0 2w g *s -1 3s g rs 0 73 3s
@0 3s g *s -1 3w g rs 0 73 3w 0 3w g *s -1 4s g rs 0 73 4s 0 4s g
@*s -1 4w g rs 0 73 4w 0 4w g *s e 41 1l hk -8t *s e 8z 21 i6 -9r
@*s e 3v 1u kd -1ay *s e 8y 1q g6 -16v *s -3 bt 1a rs 0 I *s -3
@9i 1a rs 0 B *s -3 9i 1s rs 0 S *s -3 bk 1t rs 0 D *s 3 bw 29 rs
@0 *s 8 b1 12 rs 0 *s 6 8y 11 rs 0 *s 6 90 1m rs 0 *s -3 6i a rs
@0 Green *s -3 6i 31 rs 0 *s -3 7m 32 rs 0 Yellow *s -1 4g k rs
@0 9y6tc 34 -c 4g k *s -1 4g 1c rs 0 9y6tc 3s 1c 4g g
*END -ub8rer

[Thanos]

Now that there seems to be some kind of order to attack Bollan does not hold back. Taking a step back he drops his guard seemingly for a moment in reaction to the armor clanking blow that the green eye'd monster delivered. His blade point wavers to the left, but with both hands on the hilt it is a simple matter to make it strike from the right in a crushing blow crossing the creature in the opposite direction from his first blow.

[Standard Attack, with some flair]

[BigRedRod]

Bollan's blow is swift and devastating to the creature passing straight through the tough rocky flesh from waist to the centre of the torso. A shower of small fragments of the Ghola spray outwards and produce an odd sound a moment after Bollan withdraws his blade. His quarry remains upright but barely and its one green eye sparkles wildly.

Ignoring the powerful blow landed against its companion, the Ghola with the single yellow gem-like eye rakes at Sevilin with its powerful claws. The added distraction of crossbow bolts coming very close to him does little to affect his reflexes as the warrior hopes backward slightly and leaves his foe flailing uselessly at empty air.

Initiative Bollan
Yellow-Eyed Monster
Sevilin
Green-eyed monster [Disabled]
Hargin
Leto
Inyx
Daison
Guildsman

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 6o 1o rs 0 0 4o -10 6o -10 6o 1o *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o o 5o
@0 *s -1 5o 24 rs 0 0 5o -4 5o 24 *s -1 68 g rs 0 73 60 g 68 0 *s
@-1 68 g rs 0 73 60 0 68 g *s -1 6s w rs 0 73 6c o 6s w *s -1 6s
@w rs 0 73 6c w 6s o *s e ce z rs 0 *s e d0 1q rs 0 *s e bp 47 rs
@0 *s e bw 3z rs 0 *s e c3 42 rs 0 *s e c8 3v rs 0 *s e ce 3o rs
@0 *s e ck 3q rs 0 *s e cl 3h rs 0 *s e cq 3g rs 0 *s e d2 3j rs
@0 *s e d5 3j rs 0 *s -1 63 1c rs 0 9zabk 63 1c 63 0 *s -1 69 1c
@rs 0 9zabk 69 1c 69 0 *s -1 68 p rs 0 9zabk 60 p 68 p *s -1 68
@18 rs 0 9zabk 60 18 68 18 *s -1 68 14 rs 0 9zabk 60 14 68 14 *s
@-1 68 w rs 0 9zabk 60 w 68 w *s -1 68 10 rs 0 9zabk 60 10 68 10 *s
@-1 68 s rs 0 9zabk 60 s 68 s *s -3 cw 15 rs 0 O *s -3 cw 2i rs 0
@O *s -3 bk 2i rs 0 O *s -3 bk 14 rs 0 O *s -3 bj 3p rs 0 O *s -3
@9e 4d rs 0 Tipped Urn *s -1 5s 20 rs 0 9y6tc 4g 20 5s 1k *s -3
@c0 5d rs 0 Blockage *s -1 6c 2g rs 0 9y6tc 6c 2g 5w 1c *s -3 cs
@1u rs 0 H *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o 0 -1o 0 -1o o *s -1 2c 10 rs 0 0
@1o 10 2c 10 *s -1 3c 10 rs 0 0 20 10 3c 10 *s -1 4c 10 rs 0 0 30
@10 4c 10 *s -1 5o 10 rs 0 0 5o 10 50 10 *s -1 50 10 rs 0 0 50 10
@4c 10 *s -1 5c 10 rs 0 9zabk 4o 10 5c 10 *s -1 3o 10 rs 0 9zabk
@30 10 3o 10 *s -1 2o 10 rs 0 9zabk 20 10 2o 10 *s -1 2s g rs 0
@73 2s 0 2s g *s -1 2w g rs 0 73 2w 0 2w g *s -1 3s g rs 0 73 3s
@0 3s g *s -1 3w g rs 0 73 3w 0 3w g *s -1 4s g rs 0 73 4s 0 4s g
@*s -1 4w g rs 0 73 4w 0 4w g *s e 41 1l hk -8s *s e 8z 21 i6 -9q
@*s e 3v 1u kd -1ax *s e 8y 1q g6 -16u *s -3 bt 1a rs 0 I *s -3
@9i 1a rs 0 B *s -3 9i 1s rs 0 S *s -3 bk 1t rs 0 D *s 3 bw 29 rs
@0 *s 8 b1 12 rs 0 *s 6 8y 11 rs 0 *s 6 90 1m rs 0 *s -3 6i a rs
@0 Green *s -3 6i 31 rs 0 *s -3 7m 32 rs 0 Yellow *s -1 4g k rs
@0 9y6tc 34 -c 4g k *s -1 4g 1c rs 0 9y6tc 3s 1c 4g g
*END -ub8ri7

[Tamarind]

Avoiding the creature's blow gives him a little extra space to work with as he sweeps his blade in a flat arc from right to left, seeking to cut its legs out from under it.

If I can get it down then stabbing through the jewel should be a lot simpler...

[Standard attack, two handed for extra oomph]

[BigRedRod]

Given the close quarters combat, Sevilin's attack was almost unavoidable. Moving with surprising quickness however, the creature reacts in time and twists its stance. The blade impacts against the rocky hide but rather than bite in to the creature it is deflected downwards with a small trial of sparks and no mark upon the target.

Lunging in desperation the green-eyed creature leaps forward at Bollan raking with both sets of claws. Slowed by its severe injuries the gladiator has more than enough time to sidestep the attack, allowing his foe to land in a twitching heap upon the tiled floor at his feet.

Initiative
Bollan
Yellow-Eyed Monster
Sevilin
Green-eyed monster [Down]
Hargin
Leto
Inyx
Daison
Guildsman

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 6o 1o rs 0 0 4o -10 6o -10 6o 1o *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o o 5o
@0 *s -1 5o 24 rs 0 0 5o -4 5o 24 *s -1 68 g rs 0 73 60 g 68 0 *s
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@w rs 0 73 6c w 6s o *s e ce z rs 0 *s e d0 1q rs 0 *s e bp 47 rs
@0 *s e bw 3z rs 0 *s e c3 42 rs 0 *s e c8 3v rs 0 *s e ce 3o rs
@0 *s e ck 3q rs 0 *s e cl 3h rs 0 *s e cq 3g rs 0 *s e d2 3j rs
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@rs 0 9zabk 69 1c 69 0 *s -1 68 p rs 0 9zabk 60 p 68 p *s -1 68
@18 rs 0 9zabk 60 18 68 18 *s -1 68 14 rs 0 9zabk 60 14 68 14 *s
@-1 68 w rs 0 9zabk 60 w 68 w *s -1 68 10 rs 0 9zabk 60 10 68 10 *s
@-1 68 s rs 0 9zabk 60 s 68 s *s -3 cw 15 rs 0 O *s -3 cw 2i rs 0
@O *s -3 bk 2i rs 0 O *s -3 bk 14 rs 0 O *s -3 bj 3p rs 0 O *s -3
@9e 4d rs 0 Tipped Urn *s -1 5s 20 rs 0 9y6tc 4g 20 5s 1k *s -3
@c0 5d rs 0 Blockage *s -1 6c 2g rs 0 9y6tc 6c 2g 5w 1c *s -3 cs
@1u rs 0 H *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o 0 -1o 0 -1o o *s -1 2c 10 rs 0 0
@1o 10 2c 10 *s -1 3c 10 rs 0 0 20 10 3c 10 *s -1 4c 10 rs 0 0 30
@10 4c 10 *s -1 5o 10 rs 0 0 5o 10 50 10 *s -1 50 10 rs 0 0 50 10
@4c 10 *s -1 5c 10 rs 0 9zabk 4o 10 5c 10 *s -1 3o 10 rs 0 9zabk
@30 10 3o 10 *s -1 2o 10 rs 0 9zabk 20 10 2o 10 *s -1 2s g rs 0
@73 2s 0 2s g *s -1 2w g rs 0 73 2w 0 2w g *s -1 3s g rs 0 73 3s
@0 3s g *s -1 3w g rs 0 73 3w 0 3w g *s -1 4s g rs 0 73 4s 0 4s g
@*s -1 4w g rs 0 73 4w 0 4w g *s e 41 1l hk -8r *s e 8z 21 i6 -9p
@*s e 3v 1u kd -1aw *s e 8y 1q g6 -16t *s -3 bt 1a rs 0 I *s -3
@9i 1a rs 0 B *s -3 9i 1s rs 0 S *s -3 bk 1t rs 0 D *s 3 bw 29 rs
@0 *s 8 b1 12 rs 0 *s 6 8y 11 rs 0 *s 6 90 1m rs 0 *s -3 6i 31 rs
@0 *s -3 7m 32 rs 0 Yellow *s -1 4g 1c rs 0 9y6tc 3s 1c 4g g *s
@-1 4o o rs 0 9y6tc 40 o 4o 0 *s -1 4o o rs 0 9y6tc 4o o 40 0
*END 5d32rg

[chalice]

Inyx considers her lightwieight crossbow ruefully - not much chance of doing anything helpful if they need to be hit with great strength - if it's possible to do so* she instead slips through the doorway, sticking close to the wall behind Bollan, aiming to place her hand on the strip that will hopefully cause the room to be illuminated. She's careful not to get in the way of the fighters.


*from the map, I think so, but was not totally sure

[Dev]

Daison winces to himself a bit, with his aim wavering between Sevilin and the monster beyond him. While it doesn't immediately occur to the wizard that he shouldn't risk hitting a member of the expedition, he lets himself be interrupted by the passing Inyx. With a small huff, he lowers the crossbow for just a moment, before rechecking its quarrel. He then simply waits to fire should anything come past Sevilin for the door. [Ready action]

[BigRedRod]

Hargin's vast weapon is reloaded in a matter of seconds courtesy of his own personalised improvements. Slowing his breathing, the dwarf once again takes careful aim and sends a bolt lancing forwards. Passing at least two feet to the right of Sevilin, the bolt comes close to the yellow-eyed monster's head but a sudden movement at the last moment changes the hit to a glancing blow. Striking the very tip of one of the target's writhing antennae and severs the top half inch or so, damage that the creature seems to fail to notice.

Moving with both grace and tactical insight, Leto carefully moves around Bollan, over the fallen creature and sets himself up behind the creature in order to divide its focus. Now wanting to risk another shot in to the swirling melee that may not be powerful enough to damage the creature, Inyx simply moves forward in to the passageway.

Not convinced that the Yellow-eyed creature is the only one hidden in the immediate vicinity of the party, Daison tightens his grip upon his own crossbow and peers past the combat and towards the gloom beyond the fallen door. The glow which illuminates the sepulchre and passageway beyond along with the lantern which rests of the steps behind him allows him to see a set of stairs leading downwards but little more.

Standing beside Daison, the guildsman is clearly wracked with indecision about what he can to help. His own spell had some effect but he seems to hesitant to perform more incantations and settles for just staring at the three skilful warriors surrounding the remaining foe.

Initiative
Bollan
Yellow-Eyed Monster
Sevilin
Green-eyed monster [Down]
Hargin
Leto
Inyx
Daison
Guildsman

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
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@-1 68 w rs 0 9zabk 60 w 68 w *s -1 68 10 rs 0 9zabk 60 10 68 10 *s
@-1 68 s rs 0 9zabk 60 s 68 s *s -3 cw 15 rs 0 O *s -3 cw 2i rs 0
@O *s -3 bk 2i rs 0 O *s -3 bk 14 rs 0 O *s -3 bj 3p rs 0 O *s -3
@9e 4d rs 0 Tipped Urn *s -1 5s 20 rs 0 9y6tc 4g 20 5s 1k *s -3
@c0 5d rs 0 Blockage *s -1 6c 2g rs 0 9y6tc 6c 2g 5w 1c *s -3 cs
@1u rs 0 H *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o 0 -1o 0 -1o o *s -1 2c 10 rs 0 0
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@10 4c 10 *s -1 5o 10 rs 0 0 5o 10 50 10 *s -1 50 10 rs 0 0 50 10
@4c 10 *s -1 5c 10 rs 0 9zabk 4o 10 5c 10 *s -1 3o 10 rs 0 9zabk
@30 10 3o 10 *s -1 2o 10 rs 0 9zabk 20 10 2o 10 *s -1 2s g rs 0
@73 2s 0 2s g *s -1 2w g rs 0 73 2w 0 2w g *s -1 3s g rs 0 73 3s
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@*s e 3v 1u kd -1av *s e 8y 1q g6 -16s *s -3 aa 17 rs 0 I *s -3
@9i 1a rs 0 B *s -3 9i 1s rs 0 S *s -3 bk 1t rs 0 D *s 3 bw 29 rs
@0 *s 8 8d 1n rs 0 *s 6 8y 11 rs 0 *s 6 90 1m rs 0 *s -3 6i 31 rs
@0 *s -3 7m 32 rs 0 Yellow *s -1 4g 1c rs 0 9y6tc 3s 1c 4g g *s
@-1 4o o rs 0 9y6tc 40 o 4o 0 *s -1 4o o rs 0 9y6tc 4o o 40 0 *s
@-1 20 1o rs 0 0 20 -10 o -10 o 1o *s -1 1m 12 rs 0 9zabk 14 10
@1k 10 1k -c *s -1 1k w rs 0 9zabk 14 w 1k w *s -1 1k s rs 0
@9zabk 14 s 1k s *s -1 1k o rs 0 9zabk 14 o 1k o *s -1 1k k rs 0
@9zabk 14 k 1k k *s -1 1k g rs 0 9zabk 14 g 1k g *s -3 x 12 rs 0
@Down *s -1 1g o rs 0 9y6tc c g 1g o *s -1 1s g rs 0 73 1s 0 1s g
@*s -1 1w g rs 0 73 1w 0 1w g
*END tashj

[Thanos]

With the yellow eyed monster being the only remaining foe Bollan is careful not to step on the fallen green eyed one as he makes a calculated swing such that it can't be deflected into Sevilin.

[Regular Attack]

[BigRedRod]

Concerned with Leto stood behind it, sword in hand, and the draconic warrior it has already had to do battle with, the creature is entirely unable to divide its attention further to Bollan. Swinging his blade as he moves in a powerful overhead arc, Bolan brings his blade down upon the creature's head. The force behind the blow sends it burrowing deeply in to the creature, so far that it actually meets the glittering yellow eye of the beast before it stops.

With its head cleaved in two, whatever life the thing had quickly vanishes as it drops to the stone floor with a loud thump. A spray of glittering yellow gemdust spirals through the air as the gladiator triumphantly pulls his weapon free.

Looking down at the fallen pair, Leto gives a nod of respect to the man who managed to deliver both killing blows but doesn't sheath his own blade.

From the urn-filled room, the Guildsman emerges and manages to look at his group and even say a few words before the notepad reappears in his hand and the scritching noise of notes being made strikes up,
"Umm, well done. Those things can do terrible things to a man...Glad to see that nobody panicked or tried to be a hero. Good work. Now, let us continue onwards. So much to see."

The room from which the yellow eyed Ghola ambushed looks to have been a large storage room originally. Three levels of stone shelves ring the room, the first at around shin height, the next at the waist and the highest at the shoulder. Aside from enough dust to make most maids faint, only a few objects seem to have survived the ages and all of them seem to be related to cleaning.

The debris covering the floor is made up of door fragments and what looks to be ancient bedding. Most of the bedding is in the centre of the room, it looks to have served as a nest of sorts for the two, now deceased, creatures in the hallway. The stone shelves are absent from one corner and instead a four foot high stone cylinder stands. Runes and pictograms are carved into the cylinder, the engravings have been picked out by what looks like some kind of glossy varnish of deep blues and greens. A circular cap rests upon the top of the cylinder. Leto pokes his head in to the room only briefly but turning his eyes on the broken door at the end of the corridor.

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 6o 1o rs 0 0 4o -10 6o -10 6o 1o *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o o 5o
@0 *s -1 5o 24 rs 0 0 5o -4 5o 24 *s -1 68 g rs 0 73 60 g 68 0 *s
@-1 68 g rs 0 73 60 0 68 g *s -1 6s w rs 0 73 6c o 6s w *s -1 6s
@w rs 0 73 6c w 6s o *s e ce z rs 0 *s e d0 1q rs 0 *s e bp 47 rs
@0 *s e bw 3z rs 0 *s e c3 42 rs 0 *s e c8 3v rs 0 *s e ce 3o rs
@0 *s e ck 3q rs 0 *s e cl 3h rs 0 *s e cq 3g rs 0 *s e d2 3j rs
@0 *s e d5 3j rs 0 *s -1 63 1c rs 0 9zabk 63 1c 63 0 *s -1 69 1c
@rs 0 9zabk 69 1c 69 0 *s -1 68 p rs 0 9zabk 60 p 68 p *s -1 68
@18 rs 0 9zabk 60 18 68 18 *s -1 68 14 rs 0 9zabk 60 14 68 14 *s
@-1 68 w rs 0 9zabk 60 w 68 w *s -1 68 10 rs 0 9zabk 60 10 68 10 *s
@-1 68 s rs 0 9zabk 60 s 68 s *s -3 cw 15 rs 0 O *s -3 cw 2i rs 0
@O *s -3 bk 2i rs 0 O *s -3 bk 14 rs 0 O *s -3 bj 3p rs 0 O *s -3
@9e 4d rs 0 Tipped Urn *s -1 5s 20 rs 0 9y6tc 4g 20 5s 1k *s -3
@c0 5d rs 0 Blockage *s -1 6c 2g rs 0 9y6tc 6c 2g 5w 1c *s -3 cs
@1u rs 0 H *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o 0 -1o 0 -1o o *s -1 2c 10 rs 0 0
@1o 10 2c 10 *s -1 3c 10 rs 0 0 20 10 3c 10 *s -1 4c 10 rs 0 0 30
@10 4c 10 *s -1 5o 10 rs 0 0 5o 10 50 10 *s -1 50 10 rs 0 0 50 10
@4c 10 *s -1 5c 10 rs 0 9zabk 4o 10 5c 10 *s -1 3o 10 rs 0 9zabk
@30 10 3o 10 *s -1 2o 10 rs 0 9zabk 20 10 2o 10 *s -1 2s g rs 0
@73 2s 0 2s g *s -1 2w g rs 0 73 2w 0 2w g *s -1 3s g rs 0 73 3s
@0 3s g *s -1 3w g rs 0 73 3w 0 3w g *s -1 4s g rs 0 73 4s 0 4s g
@*s -1 4w g rs 0 73 4w 0 4w g *s e 41 1l hk -8p *s e 8z 21 i6 -9n
@*s e 3v 1u kd -1au *s e 8y 1q g6 -16r *s -3 aa 17 rs 0 I *s -3
@9i 1a rs 0 B *s -3 9i 1s rs 0 S *s -3 bk 1t rs 0 D *s 3 ax 1l rs
@0 *s 8 8d 1n rs 0 *s 6 8y 11 rs 0 *s 6 90 1m rs 0 *s -3 6i 31 rs
@0 *s -1 4o o rs 0 9y6tc 40 o 4o 0 *s -1 4o o rs 0 9y6tc 4o o 40
@0 *s -1 20 1o rs 0 0 20 -10 o -10 o 1o *s -1 1l 11 rs 0 9zabk 15
@11 1l 11 1l -b *s -1 1k w rs 0 9zabk 14 w 1k w *s -1 1k s rs 0
@9zabk 14 s 1k s *s -1 1k o rs 0 9zabk 14 o 1k o *s -1 1k k rs 0
@9zabk 14 k 1k k *s -1 1k g rs 0 9zabk 14 g 1k g *s -3 x 12 rs 0
@Down *s -1 1g o rs 0 9y6tc c g 1g o *s -1 1s g rs 0 73 1s 0 1s g
@*s -1 1w g rs 0 73 1w 0 1w g *s -1 4o 10 rs 0 9y6tc 40 10 4o c *s
@-1 4o 10 rs 0 9y6tc 4o 10 40 c *s -1 50 1o rs 0 0 3o c 3o 1o 50
@1o 50 c *s -1 4w 1k rs 0 1edc 4g g 4o o 4w o 4w 1k 40 1k 40 o 3s
@g *s e 97 2r rs 0 *s e 9d 2i rs 0 *s e 9l 2o rs 0
*END b6fa1

[Thanos]

Bollan makes sure that the area is clear of additional monsters before he puts his sword tip on his armored boot and inspects his blade from top to bottom. Finding nothing wrong other than a little dullness in places he rubs his chest a little under his armor where he was hit testing to see if any real damage was done.
Meanwhile he says, "Are there any other creatures, common to most ruins, that we should be made aware about...and do they have any weaknesses other than hitting them very hard?"
---
When he gets a chance to gives Selivin a hardy slap on the back of the shoulder and says, "Not bad, not bad."

The eye of the monster that was not shattered is looked at to see if it can be removed as a prize.

[The Alcotroll]

Finding himself surplus to requirements, Hargin busies himself inspecting the room and looking for objects of material value...

[Tamarind]

Sevilin glances ruefully at Bollan,

"Hmm. I rather think you carried the weight this time Bollan, I'll hope for better luck next time."

He glances down at the broken bodies at their feet, his expression almost a little sad,

"I wonder whether they were just defending their nest..."

[chalice]

Inyx makes her way over to Bollan, seeing him apparently checking an injury. For once, her attention does not seem distracted by their fascinating surroundings - quietly and seriously, she asks: "Were you much hurt, Bollan? Do you require assistance?"

She inspects him closely, without waiting for a reply, and clicks her tongue disapprovingly.

"If you will allow me..." Inyx places both delicate hands on Bollan's chest, and bows her head, eyes closed in prayer and concentration. Visualising the Sanctuary spell she had been holding in her mind, she 'drains' the power from it, pouring it into a wave of healing energies focussed on the ex-gladiator's injuries.

[OOC: memorised spell 'converted' to Cure Light Wounds and cast, at +1 level, on Bollan]

[BigRedRod]

The Guildsman shrugs at Bollan's question,
"Rats, bats, spiders, various other kinds of vermin seem to think that ruins are a good place to make a lair. Especially the really big ones... Ghola are the only native species as far as I know, anything else will have crept in at some point."
Noticing that most of his team are busy looking into the supply cupboard, the masked man adds one more comment before returning to his feverish note taking,
"No need to worry about in there yet, we'll come back on another run for salvaging after we've got everything mapped and safe."

While Inyx sets her hands upon Bollan's armoured chest and sets about channelling divine energies through his body, Leto sees fit to add his own thoughts to the Guildsman's words,
"Those were little ones. I've seen some that are as tall as ogres, taller if they stood up straight."

The gladiator's damaged flesh is gradually coaxed back to health by the warmth spreading from the elven-blooded cleric's hands. As Inyx steps away, the man stoops and prises free the eye of the creature Bollan felled first. The back of the gemlike eye has a number of root like growths which bury themselves within the creature's head. A sharp tug suddenly separates eye from head with most of the crystalline roots intact, despite the lack of gore involved the eye is a grizzly looking object.

From underneath the mask comes a brief chuckle,
"Help yourself to their eyes, the ugly little things aren't something that we covet."

[Dev]

Daison shoulders his crossbow, and stands in the doorway with an expression of half disgust and half confusion. His eyes had found the two shadowy corpses on the floor; forms that he hadn't had a clear view of earlier. He was clearly unsettled, perhaps because of their otherworldly look, perhaps because of what Leto had just said about bigger ones, or perhaps about something more. Yes, the Guild had mentioned something about dangerous creatures in the ruins earlier, but ... well ... for some reason, he didn't actually expect them to find any.

"Ghola..." he mutters under his breath, then takes a few steps into the room. He tries to coat his apprehension with an air of annoyance. "Are we indeed mandated to kill every moving thing we come across?"

[Thanos]

Bollan thanks Inyx sweetly having not often experienced the hands of a women nor the healing powers of the divine.

"As big as Ogres you say...and should we have a ballista or two brought down to help deal with them perhaps?"

[Tamarind]

Sevillin glances at Daison,

"They attacked us Daison, they didn't really leave us much choice...even if they were just defending their territory."

He stoops, picking up the lantern again in his left hand, blade still held in his right. He frowns as Bollans suggest bringing in a ballista or two, considering,

"I'm not sure we'd be able to maneuver a ballista down here that effectively Bollan, the doorways are pretty narrow. Maybe if we press on, get a better idea of the layout of this place, then if we come across an area where they'd be more effective we could send for them?"

[BigRedRod]

Leto smiles broadly at Bollan's suggestion for bringing in a Ballista and manages a few steps down the passageway before Sevillin's response that brings a rather more pained expression to his face. With a quick head shake, Leto attempts to change the subject back to something more related to the task at hand
"Anybody got an strong opinions on what to do next? We have a row closed doors and one that has been opened for us"
The older man peers over his shoulder briefly at the stairs beyond the collapsed door as he waits for a response

The guildsman makes a small hand dismissive hand gesture before speaking in a rather more commanding tone than the masked man has managed so far, but offers no comment on Leto's question directing his words to Daison instead
"These survey and salvage missions are dangerous, I'm sure you knew that. Don't feel pity for the Ghola, there is no reasoning with them... we've long since given up trying. Violence won't solve every peril, but it is a course that you must be willing to follow when necessary."

[Dev]

"I don't suppose I'd like to be a puny ghoul living in this scrappy tunnel. Certainly don't pity him, anyway," Daison mutters, as he moves along, glancing idly at the remaining closed doors. Staying close to the light source, he hisses just behind the ranger's back. "And I think it's perfectly clear that the man was joking about the ballista, Sevillin." What he took to be a wisecrack remark, he returned with another.

[Thanos]

Bollan on a serious note says, "We can take each door with Sevilin and myself on each side and our Rogue friend checking it out. If the door is stuck then I will attempt to force it and let Sevilin go in with me following. Otherwise Sevilin can open the door and I will go in first. Our friendly, if ineffective, crossbow wielding duet could spend a moment to touch the glow strips in the rooms or perhaps provide light in another manner that would be very helpful." In a less serious tone colored with just a bit of sweetness, "Oh, and less apt to give me an ear or perhaps neck piercing."

[chalice]

"I'm inept with a crossbow too," says Inyx, not wanting to be left out.

[Tamarind]

Sevillin looks genuinely perplexed, then briefly irritated by Daison's comment. He glances over his shoulder,

"I'm glad you thought so Daison, I thought it might be a helpful suggestion for establishing a bridgehead down here. Perhaps in future you could spend as much effort focusing on your aim as on interpreting conversations?"

He turns his attention to Bollan, his mood lightening again,

"That sounds like a fine stratefy to me, happy to do my bit."

[Dev]

"What do you know about my aim, I've not even leased a bolt," Daison has lowered his voice to a mumble, now that it's clear that the group is wasting no time to continue. Catching only a small bit from Bollan about light strips, he steps back to the wall across from the closed door under investigation, and lays a few fingers on the Jezrit there in case no one else has.

[BigRedRod]

Silence draws in around the group as each member realises that now is not the time to argue over impractical solutions to problems which have yet to arise and may well never.

Hargin silently sets about checking the first door for any sign of a hidden mechanism and once more he determines that there are no signs of a trap. The large sliding slab is, however, firmly held in position. Slinging his epically proportioned sword across his back, the gladiatory sets his hands in the slightly depression upon the door and starts to coax it sideways.

The minutes tick by as Bollan grunts and pushes. Little by little, the door begins to move, revealing a tiny strip of blackness. With his reclaimed lantern, Sevilin attempts to see past his muscle bound companion to assess any lurking threats. Thankfully there seems to be nothing hostile lurking in the darkness. After revealing a crack about an inch and half wide the door suddenly gives up clinging to the doorframe and rushes sideways, vanishing into the hidden recess with a loud bang and propelling a cloud of dust upwards.

Moments later there are a few more, rather disturbing sounds. At first the sound is little more than a creak which is quickly joined by sounds of tiny pieces of tumbling rubble dropping down upon a stone surface. These are then silenced by the loud crash with almost deafens the group. Another wave of dust races out of the room and then there is only silence.

Despite his stout stature, Hargin manages to slip in to the room beside Bollan and carefully lay his land upon the strip of metal running around the room. Surging around the strips it takes mere seconds for the origin of the sounds to become clear.

Once a squat v-shaped stone table dominated the room. Now around half the table remains. A crack runs across the ceiling and stops at a gap in the ceiling. A gap which had once held a very large and heavy stone block. A stone block which fell from the ceiling and demolished much of the table.

The table itself was carved from stone of purest black and with small pieces, of what looks to be, bronze set in to it. If it was still intact it would have been an item of great beauty and unquestionable value.

Looking down to the floor, one corner of the room is laced with obvious cracks and the rear wall even contains a small hole where a stone block has been broken in half and one part has fallen backwards in to the next room. The hole itself is roughly square and less than a foot in its dimensions.

Chairs ring the remains of the magnificent table, although they are little more than metallic skeletons covered in scraps of fabric in a variety of age muted colours.

Half a dozen paintings cover the walls of this particular room, and each looks as though the paint has only just had a chance to dry rather than having been sat in a dusty Ehb building beneath the ground for uncounted years. Each shows a rather tranquil landscape. A rocky beach, a forest filled with gigantic trees, an underground lake, gentle rolling hills, heather covered moors, a swamp at twilight and the unmistakable crystal vegetation of the Dor Wood. The paintings are framed in polished wooden frames of rich brown wood.

The six paintings are quite the contrast to the rest of the dusty room scattered with rubble.

A distant sound of gently splashing water replaces the silence of the rest of the ruin, although the source is clearly not in this room.


Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
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@w rs 0 73 6c w 6s o *s e ce z rs 0 *s e d0 1q rs 0 *s e bp 47 rs
@0 *s e bw 3z rs 0 *s e c3 42 rs 0 *s e c8 3v rs 0 *s e ce 3o rs
@0 *s e ck 3q rs 0 *s e cl 3h rs 0 *s e cq 3g rs 0 *s e d2 3j rs
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@-1 68 w rs 0 9zabk 60 w 68 w *s -1 68 10 rs 0 9zabk 60 10 68 10 *s
@-1 68 s rs 0 9zabk 60 s 68 s *s -3 cw 15 rs 0 O *s -3 cw 2i rs 0
@O *s -3 bk 2i rs 0 O *s -3 bk 14 rs 0 O *s -3 bj 3p rs 0 O *s -3
@d2 4j rs 0 Tipped Urn *s -3 c0 5d rs 0 Blockage *s -1 6c 2g rs 0
@9y6tc 6c 2g 5w 1c *s -3 ar 2i rs 0 H *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o 0 -1o
@0 -1o o *s -1 2c 10 rs 0 0 1o 10 2c 10 *s -1 3c 10 rs 0 0 20 10
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@0 B *s -3 a9 1s rs 0 S *s -3 av 16 rs 0 D *s 3 ax 1l rs 0 *s 8
@9s 1l rs 0 *s 6 8y 11 rs 0 *s 6 90 1m rs 0 *s -3 6i 31 rs 0 *s
@-1 4o o rs 0 9y6tc 40 o 4o 0 *s -1 4o o rs 0 9y6tc 4o o 40 0 *s
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@2c rs 0 9zabk 44 1o 44 2c 58 2c *s -1 58 2c rs 0 9zabk 44 1o 4s
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@24 5c 2k 54 2c 5k 2c *s -1 5k 2c rs 0 9zl6o 5c 24 5k 2c *s -3 8i
@64 rs 0 Floor Cracks *s -1 5c 2w rs 0 9y6tc 5c 20 4g 2w *s e ak
@3w rs 0
*END -cvt9ru

[Tamarind]

Sevilin speaks quietly to Daison as Bollan strains at the door,

"Look, I'm sorry I snapped at you - I was mad at me for failing to land any real blows back there, not you."

He looks a little bleak,

"Sometimes my temper gets the better of me...but that's no excuse. I'm sorry."

He turns back to the door as it starts to move, not wishing to make any further mistakes.

Moments later he tenses at the loud crash, then relaxes as the cause becomes apparent and looks into the room, frowning at the cracks in floor and ceiling,

"Hmm, not sure we really want to be moving about in there if it's so shaky...the paintings look like the most interesting bits, maybe we could lift them out with magic?"

He looks around at the others inquiringly.

[Dev]

In response, Daison can only provide Sevilin with a series of confused blinks. He hadn't thought anger or anything of the sort was involved, simply an excellent opportunity to get in a few smarmy retorts. The apology, however, seems to stump him in terms of what he might be able to make fun of, producing only a quiet "uuhhmmmm" that's punctuated by the roaring crack of debris inside the room.

Daison winces, then shuffles curiously closer to the doorway, tipped off by Sevilin's suggestion. "They rather look out of place, of course; I wonder if our black monster friends got bored and decided to explore their inner artist."

[chalice]

Inyx is bouncing up and down on tiptoe in her attempts to peep past the taller Bollan and Sevelin into the room beyond.

Though she retains sufficient priestly dignity not to beg 'Let me see, let me see!' aloud, her face is bright with eager anticipation.

"Oh, I don't know, I think the pierced ear thing might be a look for you, y'know..." she murmurs to Bollan, mischief dancing in her eyes.

[Thanos]

Bollan for his part, having done what he was suppose to do, takes a step back so that the others in the group can take a look. He is rather unhappy that his efforts pruduced a cave in. However, he washes it away knowing that he likely saved a life or five as taking the table out of there would have caused a cave in as well.

[The Alcotroll]

"Let me through boy, let me pass."

Muttering and shoving, Hargin elbows his way into the door of the chamber, from where he surveys the room with a critical Dwarven eye, drawing on experience of the mine back home to asess the chances of a further cave-in.

[OOC: Dungeoneering? It's a +6]

[BigRedRod]

The dwarf strains his ears as he peers around the room of dubious stability. After a few moments, Hargin contents himself that the walls and ceiling of the room are not producing any sounds characteristic of an impending collapse and that he can venture a little further forwards in his investigation.

It doesn't take long for a conclusion to be reached, the ceiling itself seems perfectly stable so long as nobody starts poking at it and the walls do not seem to be in any danger of suddenly tumbling. As for the floor, the cracks running across one section betray an underlying weakness and any extra weight which finds itself upon a weak point which most likely set a series of rather catastrophic events into motion. So long as only one or two members of the group are in the room, and providing they stay near the walls and away from any obvious cracks then the floor's collapse and any further consequences should be avoided.

[The Alcotroll]

Having relayed his findings to the the rest of the mob outside the chamber, Hargin takes the opportunity to cast about for anything valuable enough to catch his Dwarfish eye.

[Tamarind]

Sevilin steps back from the doorway to let others get a better look,

"With my bulk and armour I think I'll stay out here for now, no sense in pushing my luck. Call if you need me."

With that he moves to take up a guarding position a little further down the corridor, blade drawn and ready.

[Thanos]

Bollan follows suit as he has checked his blade.

Looking to Sevilin, while the others are busy, "So far so good I suppose..?"

[Dev]

Daison smirks at the departing warriors and takes a few steps closer to the doorway, peering just over Hargin's shoulder. He glances down to the dwarf.

"Right then. Since you're so confident about it, perhaps you should be the one to see what other invaluable little dustballs you can find in there."

[chalice]

"I'll come too," Inyx says eagerly. "I'm very light."

She will, though, wait for the expereinced dungeoneer to go first, if that's what he's doing.

[BigRedRod]

Leta says something that might have been "Be careful" as the two set about their explorations.

The elf-blooded priestess carefully slips through the doorway as the dwarf sets about working his way around the edge of the room. After a few steps there is an unsettling groaning noise as stone pushes against stone after spending countless years without any extra weight being placed atop of it.

With the cracks showing no sign of spreading, Hargin continues around the corner to get a better view of the rest of the room with Inyx close behind. The only extra feature of the room that the two encounter is a large vase stood in one corner. Standing almost as tall as the short dwarf, the vase is an impressive piece of art. Hargin quickly surmises that there must be something anchoring it to the floor, perhaps a concealed bolt driven in to the floor, as the tiny circular base is barely a foot in circumference giving it the impression that any slight knock should send it tumbling over. To Inyx the feature that stands out the most is the patterning, swirls of a hundred shades of purple wrap themselves around the sparkling reds beneath and not a trace of any symbols, letters or imagery. The lip of the vase flares upwards towards the back far more than at the front, and peering inside reveals nothing but darkness, the strips of glowing metal are not positioned to illuminate the contents of the decorative container.

A closer view of the table makes it no less impressive than it was at the doorway although it increases the sense of loss that such a well crafted and attractive object was destroyed.

Aside from the skeletal remains of the chairs there is little of interest in this room bar the small hole in the wall. The hole is firmly within the cracked region though and both Inyx and Hargin are well aware of how dangerous it might be to investigate. The sound of moving water seems to be emanating from this gap in the wall.

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
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@w rs 0 73 6c w 6s o *s e ce z rs 0 *s e d0 1q rs 0 *s e bp 47 rs
@0 *s e bw 3z rs 0 *s e c3 42 rs 0 *s e c8 3v rs 0 *s e ce 3o rs
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@-1 68 s rs 0 9zabk 60 s 68 s *s -3 cw 15 rs 0 O *s -3 cw 2i rs 0
@O *s -3 bk 2i rs 0 O *s -3 bk 14 rs 0 O *s -3 bj 3p rs 0 O *s -3
@d2 4j rs 0 Tipped Urn *s -3 c0 5d rs 0 Blockage *s -1 6c 2g rs 0
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@64 rs 0 Floor Cracks *s -1 5c 2w rs 0 9y6tc 5c 20 4g 2w *s e ak
@3w rs 0 *s -3 8r 3q rs 0 o
*END 91m8sf

[Tamarind]

Sevilin smiles,

"I guess, don't think I really carried my weight in that fight though - left you with most of the work. Maybe next time I'll be able to give you a breather."

[Thanos]

To Sevilin's remark, "Its not the little ones that worry me much. We could likely hold off a tunnel of them for a good long time given the mage and the cleric were almost directly behind us. Its the big ones that we might encounter...the others bolts did nothing to the small ones, a big one might be untouchable by even a big blade like mine. Then we are in a lot of trouble."

[Dev]

Daison fires a weakly annoyed look at the conversation nearby him, since he's trying to focus all his attention on the pretty lady who just disappeared around the corner.

"Hallo! Still alive there? What have you found?"

[chalice]

Carefully, Inyx makes her way back to the group still outside the room, and enthusiastically describes what they have found.

"Oh, I'd love to find out what's on the other side of that hole in the wall!" she finishes longingly. "Maybe if I were attached to a rope in case of the floor collapsing or anything..."

[Tamarind]

"Well, if you're sure you want to try it either Bollan or I could easily hold the rope secure whilst you ventured in and the other could maintain a guard so we don't get surprised...I'd recommend poking a lantern through on a stick or something first though, just in case."

[chalice]

Inyx nods eagerly. "All right." She scrabbles in her pack, eventually producing a length of rope, which she hands to Sevelin.

"Hargin, is there anything we could use to strengthen some of the floor?" She looks rather vaguely around the room. "Some - uh - wood, or something?"

[The Alcotroll]

Hargin sucks breath through his teeth with a whistling noise; a sure sign of an engineer's dissaproval.

"Could be done, I'll grant you," he admits reluctantly, "With a spare hour, some decent timber and good tools..."

"Might be better to come back another time lass," he adds more kindly. "We've other things to concern us now, look you."

[chalice]

Inyx's face falls. Then she sighs. "I suppose you're right. Perhaps later..." she casts one last longing look at the damaged area.

Then her full mouth curves into a self-deprecating smile. "I just hate to pass by on a mystery...but I'm sure this place still has lots of surprises waiting for us!"

Her eyes brighten at the thought.

[BigRedRod]

Leaving the room with the cracked floor behind, the group move back out into the corridor and put their door-opening drill in to practise once again. The dwarf looks over another door and finds no indication that it has been rigged with any manner of trap and so Bollan once again summons his strength to shift the stone slab sideways across the hidden ancient rollers.

The door slides sideways with a strange squelching noise that sets everybody on edge. The lantern light soon reveals the cause of the sound. Possibly once the room served as sleeping quarters for a resident of the building, a vague shape taking up most of one corner seems most likely to have once been a bed. There are no other features which it is even possible to guess the former function of, just a number of rolling shapes on walls and floor. Fungus covers ever inch of the room, purple aqua, red and brown. Most seem to subscribe to the traditional form of a mushroom or toadstool, with caps between three inches and half an inch across. The aqua members of growth shed a little light from their caps and seem to be the largest and rarest species.

From behind comes a short laugh, Leto is smiling at the bizarre contents of the room,
"A room full of mushrooms is a first even for me. Disgustingly pretty, isn't it?"

It quickly becomes apparent that the squelching noise came from the growths on the back of the door being crushed as it slid open. The crushed growths now seem mostly spread across their brethren on the ground. In order for anything of the room itself to be seen would require a great deal of work by the looks of things.


Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
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@0 *s e bw 3z rs 0 *s e c3 42 rs 0 *s e c8 3v rs 0 *s e ce 3o rs
@0 *s e ck 3q rs 0 *s e cl 3h rs 0 *s e cq 3g rs 0 *s e d2 3j rs
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@-1 68 s rs 0 9zabk 60 s 68 s *s -3 cw 15 rs 0 O *s -3 cw 2i rs 0
@O *s -3 bk 2i rs 0 O *s -3 bk 14 rs 0 O *s -3 bj 3p rs 0 O *s -3
@d2 4j rs 0 Tipped Urn *s -3 c0 5d rs 0 Blockage *s -1 6c 2g rs 0
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@2c rs 0 9zabk 44 1o 44 2c 58 2c *s -1 58 2c rs 0 9zabk 44 1o 4s
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@24 5c 2k 54 2c 5k 2c *s -1 5k 2c rs 0 9zl6o 5c 24 5k 2c *s -3 8i
@64 rs 0 Floor Cracks *s -1 5c 2w rs 0 9y6tc 5c 20 4g 2w *s e ak
@3w rs 0 *s -3 8r 3q rs 0 o *s -1 3o 10 rs 0 0 30 10 3o 10 *s -1
@4c 10 rs 0 0 3o 10 4c 10 *s -1 4c 1s rs 0 0 4c 1w 2c 1w 2c c *s
@-1 3c 14 rs 0 0 3c 14 3c w *s -1 3o 1n rs 0 9zabk 34 s 3k s 3k
@1w 34 1w 34 s
*END -99iofa

[Tamarind]

"Hmmm, I don't much like the look of this - shall we seal it up again for now and move on?"

He moves towards the remaining door nearest the staircase, cautious but resolute.

[Dev]

"You have got to be joking." Daison smirks at the retreating Sevilin, and takes a few steps into the newly opened doorway. "Where's your sense of adventure?" He glances to Inyx to gauge her reaction, hoping perhaps for some support.

"There's probably just some dying mouse in the corner, or that's at least what it sounded like. And besides that, what if these caps are a rare breed? Have you any idea how valuable they might be in certain markets?"

[Thanos]

Bollan looks between Sevilin and then Daison in mock horror, "You mean people eat those?"

[Dev]

"Er. You could say that." Daison raises a brow while trying to examine some of the mushrooms from where he stands in the doorway. Then he quirks a curious glance to Bollan, and after a moment, he's unable to contain a few laughs. "But really! I'd have thought a battle-hardened soldier such as yourself would know a thing or two about the, er ... more exotic uses for vegetation like this."

[Tamarind]

Sevillin glances back over his shoulder,

"The noise was just those fungi on the back of the slab being crushed - I'm worried about breathing in spores or other unpleasant stuff...lots of fungi and mushrooms are lethal poisons too"

He looks at Bollan,

"I'd strongly recommend we close that room up now and move on"

[Thanos]

Bollan waits, for everybody to leave and does as suggested without comment.

[Dev]

The frown slowly grows on Daison's face as neither Bollan nor Sevilin seem to care about his little hobby. There is a brief game of waiting for the wizard to move out of the doorway, but amid loud scoffing, he finally does. He brushes past to grudgingly continue down the hallway, moving so that his quiet muttering is within earshot of Inyx.

"Cowards all ... no sense of adventure!"

[Tamarind]

"Thanks Daison, let's have a look behind this last one shall we? Hargin would you check it out?"

Sevilin moves up to the door, ready to give Bollan a break from doing the hard work but pauses to allow Hargin to pronouce it clear first.

[BigRedRod]

Before the door to the previous room is halfway closed, Hargin has already started the careful process of checking the next door. As he does so the others gather behind him, a surreptitious glance through the destroyed door reveals the passageway beyond is blocked by rubble where an outer wall has collapsed inwards.

A sudden noise sends Hargin leaping a step back from the sliding stone doorway. Loud scrabbling and scraping is clearly audible from within the sealed room.

"Another Ghola without a doubt."
Leto speaks while drawing his blade once more and looking to Bollan for word on whether they are going to investigate or not.

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 6o 1o rs 0 0 4o -10 6o -10 6o 1o *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o o 5o
@0 *s -1 5o 24 rs 0 0 5o -4 5o 24 *s -1 68 g rs 0 73 60 g 68 0 *s
@-1 68 g rs 0 73 60 0 68 g *s -1 6s w rs 0 73 6c o 6s w *s -1 6s
@w rs 0 73 6c w 6s o *s e ce z rs 0 *s e d0 1q rs 0 *s e bp 47 rs
@0 *s e bw 3z rs 0 *s e c3 42 rs 0 *s e c8 3v rs 0 *s e ce 3o rs
@0 *s e ck 3q rs 0 *s e cl 3h rs 0 *s e cq 3g rs 0 *s e d2 3j rs
@0 *s e d5 3j rs 0 *s -1 63 1c rs 0 9zabk 63 1c 63 0 *s -1 69 1c
@rs 0 9zabk 69 1c 69 0 *s -1 68 p rs 0 9zabk 60 p 68 p *s -1 68
@18 rs 0 9zabk 60 18 68 18 *s -1 68 14 rs 0 9zabk 60 14 68 14 *s
@-1 68 w rs 0 9zabk 60 w 68 w *s -1 68 10 rs 0 9zabk 60 10 68 10 *s
@-1 68 s rs 0 9zabk 60 s 68 s *s -3 cw 15 rs 0 O *s -3 cw 2i rs 0
@O *s -3 bk 2i rs 0 O *s -3 bk 14 rs 0 O *s -3 bj 3p rs 0 O *s -3
@d2 4j rs 0 Tipped Urn *s -3 c0 5d rs 0 Blockage *s -1 6c 2g rs 0
@9y6tc 6c 2g 5w 1c *s -3 4u 1r rs 0 H *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o 0 -1o
@0 -1o o *s -1 2c 10 rs 0 0 1o 10 2c 10 *s -1 3c 10 rs 0 0 20 10
@3c 10 *s -1 5o 10 rs 0 0 5o 10 50 10 *s -1 50 10 rs 0 0 50 10 4c
@10 *s -1 2o 10 rs 0 9zabk 20 10 2o 10 *s -1 2s g rs 0 73 2s 0 2s
@g *s -1 2w g rs 0 73 2w 0 2w g *s -1 3s g rs 0 73 3s 0 3s g *s
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@g rs 0 73 4x 0 4x g *s e 41 1l hk -8l *s e 8z 21 i6 -9j *s e 3v
@1u kd -1aq *s e 8y 1q g6 -16n *s -3 6x 16 rs 0 I *s -3 46 14 rs
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@4e 1l rs 0 *s 6 8y 11 rs 0 *s 6 90 1m rs 0 *s -3 6i 31 rs 0 *s
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@1l 11 1l -b *s -1 1k w rs 0 9zabk 14 w 1k w *s -1 1k s rs 0
@9zabk 14 s 1k s *s -1 1k o rs 0 9zabk 14 o 1k o *s -1 1k k rs 0
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@*s -1 1w g rs 0 73 1w 0 1w g *s -1 4o 10 rs 0 9y6tc 40 10 4o c *s
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@1o 50 c *s -1 4w 1k rs 0 1edc 4g g 4o o 4w o 4w 1k 40 1k 40 o 3s
@g *s e 97 2r rs 0 *s e 9d 2i rs 0 *s e 9l 2o rs 0 *s -1 5o 2o rs
@0 0 30 o 30 2o 5o 2o 5o 1k *s -1 70 24 rs 0 9y6tc 4s 1g 70 24 *s
@-3 bp 6a rs 0 Hole *s -1 5s 30 rs 0 9y6tc 5c 2c 5s 30 *s -1 58
@2c rs 0 9zabk 44 1o 44 2c 58 2c *s -1 58 2c rs 0 9zabk 44 1o 4s
@1o 58 2c *s e ae 49 rs 0 *s -1 5k 2k rs 0 9zl6o 5c 18 5k 1o 4g
@2k *s -1 58 2k rs 0 9zl6o 50 2c 58 2k *s -1 5k 2k rs 0 9zl6o 54
@24 5c 2k 54 2c 5k 2c *s -1 5k 2c rs 0 9zl6o 5c 24 5k 2c *s -3 8i
@64 rs 0 Floor Cracks *s -1 5c 2w rs 0 9y6tc 5c 20 4g 2w *s e ak
@3w rs 0 *s -3 8r 3q rs 0 o *s -1 3o 10 rs 0 0 30 10 3o 10 *s -1
@4c 10 rs 0 0 3o 10 4c 10 *s -1 4c 1u rs 0 0 4c 1u 2c 1u 2c a *s
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@1s 36 1s 36 o *s -1 3a 1v rs 0 0 o 8 o 1s 3c 1s *s e 30 3c rs 0 *s
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@e 3l 3c rs 0 *s e 3e 3e rs 0 *s e 37 3h rs 0 *s e 31 3h rs 0 *s
@e 2w 3k rs 0 *s e 3f 3k rs 0 *s e 3k 3k rs 0 *s -3 1o 4o rs 0
@Blockage *s -3 2e 4f rs 0 *s -1 1o 24 rs 0 9y6tc s 24 1o 1g *s
@-1 40 10 rs 0 9zabk 3c 10 40 10 *s -3 67 4l rs 0 Fungus Room *s
@-1 40 20 rs 0 9y6tc 3c 20 40 w
*END -288jk6

[Tamarind]

Sevilin's eyes light up at the prospect of a chance to redeem his earlier performance, his blade slides from his scabbard.

"Shall we?"

[Thanos]

Looking to Sevilin, "Indeed sir we shall. I will let you open the door and fill the gap myself. If there is but one or two I will step back and allow it into the hall so that we can flank it. If the room is full of such beasts then I am inclined to take each one on individually by staying in the door way and not letting them out unless I need a desperate break. If the latter I would appreciate our beautiful cleric to stand behind me and our mage to stand behind you."

With that Bollan 'the Bold' readies himself by donning his helm and crasping his sword in both hands.

[Dev]

"Ohhh yes!" Daison smirks at the sight of blades being unsheathed and folds his arms. If nothing else, it seems the mage has perfected the art of injecting words with sarcasm. "Those puny things really aren't giving us any choice this time! Better defend ourselves quickly, yes, just give me a minute to get into position..." Daison makes a show of again readying his crossbow and moving to where Bollan indicated. "Oh, and let me know if you need me to run and fetch that ballista."

[chalice]

Inyx moves to the position suggested by Bollan, one hand going almost nervously to the Holy Symbol around her neck.

[Tamarind]

Ignoring Daison's comments Sevilin sheathes his blade and moves to the stone door. Standing a little to one side he plants his feet firmly and pulls on the stone slab, muscles straining to move the mighty stone.

[Thanos]

It is a shame, but I guess all mages conform to the same archtype. I had hopes for Diason, as he seemed a reasonably fellow. To bad he does not see the intricacy of my suggestions. If they force me back then their is a front line warrior in each side and if they flood out into the hallway forcing us both back, the mage is safe behind Sevilin and their back is towards the surface. Meanwhile as the more heavily armored and stronger I can hold out longer not needing to flee to the surface. Having the cleric backing me up with divine energies to heal me, the two of us could survive an onslaught of such creatures given hallways and archways to keep backing up to. That and my suggestions might just allow him to live to be powerful enough to smash them with more than a crossbow bolt...

[BigRedRod]

As Sevilin lays his hands upon the depression in the door the scrabbling sound stops, bracing himself he gradually slides it open, allowing Bollan to block the anticipated rush of gem-eyed monsters.

There is a moment of disappointment as nothing happens. The door finishes sliding and the only sound left is that of the party's own breath. Gradually the glow from the corridor mixes with the light from the lantern (once again in possession of the dungeoneering dwarf) and the squat shape of the entity can be seen.

Bollan steps backward, remembering his plan and attempting to lure the creature into a more favourable position. The squat creature remains motionless a few feet back from the door, blending near perfectly with the shadowy interior of the bedroom. It's eye is almost devoid of colour apart from an elusive blue sparkle deep within the crystal.

Initative
Sevilin
Bollan
Daison
Guildsman
Ghola
Inyx
Hargin
Leto

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 6o 1o rs 0 0 4o -10 6o -10 6o 1o *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o o 5o
@0 *s -1 5o 24 rs 0 0 5o -4 5o 24 *s -1 68 g rs 0 73 60 g 68 0 *s
@-1 68 g rs 0 73 60 0 68 g *s -1 6s w rs 0 73 6c o 6s w *s -1 6s
@w rs 0 73 6c w 6s o *s e ce z rs 0 *s e d0 1q rs 0 *s e bp 47 rs
@0 *s e bw 3z rs 0 *s e c3 42 rs 0 *s e c8 3v rs 0 *s e ce 3o rs
@0 *s e ck 3q rs 0 *s e cl 3h rs 0 *s e cq 3g rs 0 *s e d2 3j rs
@0 *s e d5 3j rs 0 *s -1 63 1c rs 0 9zabk 63 1c 63 0 *s -1 69 1c
@rs 0 9zabk 69 1c 69 0 *s -1 68 p rs 0 9zabk 60 p 68 p *s -1 68
@18 rs 0 9zabk 60 18 68 18 *s -1 68 14 rs 0 9zabk 60 14 68 14 *s
@-1 68 w rs 0 9zabk 60 w 68 w *s -1 68 10 rs 0 9zabk 60 10 68 10 *s
@-1 68 s rs 0 9zabk 60 s 68 s *s -3 cw 15 rs 0 O *s -3 cw 2i rs 0
@O *s -3 bk 2i rs 0 O *s -3 bk 14 rs 0 O *s -3 bj 3p rs 0 O *s -3
@d2 4j rs 0 Tipped Urn *s -3 c0 5d rs 0 Blockage *s -1 6c 2g rs 0
@9y6tc 6c 2g 5w 1c *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o 0 -1o 0 -1o o *s -1 2c 10
@rs 0 0 1o 10 2c 10 *s -1 3c 10 rs 0 0 20 10 3c 10 *s -1 5o 10 rs
@0 0 5o 10 50 10 *s -1 50 10 rs 0 0 50 10 4c 10 *s -1 2s g rs 0
@73 2s 0 2s g *s -1 2w g rs 0 73 2w 0 2w g *s -1 3s g rs 0 73 3s
@0 3s g *s -1 3w g rs 0 73 3w 0 3w g *s -1 4s g rs 0 73 4s 0 4s g
@*s -1 4w g rs 0 73 4x 0 4x g *s e 41 1l hk -8j *s e 8z 21 i6 -9h
@*s e 3v 1u kd -1ao *s e 8y 1q g6 -16l *s -3 5i 1t rs 0 S *s 3 72
@1n rs 0 *s 6 8y 11 rs 0 *s 6 90 1m rs 0 *s -3 6i 31 rs 0 *s -1
@4o o rs 0 9y6tc 40 o 4o 0 *s -1 4o o rs 0 9y6tc 4o o 40 0 *s -1
@20 1o rs 0 0 20 -10 o -10 o 1o *s -1 1l 11 rs 0 9zabk 15 11 1l
@11 1l -b *s -1 1k w rs 0 9zabk 14 w 1k w *s -1 1k s rs 0 9zabk
@14 s 1k s *s -1 1k o rs 0 9zabk 14 o 1k o *s -1 1k k rs 0 9zabk
@14 k 1k k *s -1 1k g rs 0 9zabk 14 g 1k g *s -3 x 12 rs 0 Down *s
@-1 1g o rs 0 9y6tc c g 1g o *s -1 1s g rs 0 73 1s 0 1s g *s -1
@1w g rs 0 73 1w 0 1w g *s -1 4o 10 rs 0 9y6tc 40 10 4o c *s -1
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@50 c *s -1 4w 1k rs 0 1edc 4g g 4o o 4w o 4w 1k 40 1k 40 o 3s g *s
@e 97 2r rs 0 *s e 9d 2i rs 0 *s e 9l 2o rs 0 *s -1 5o 2o rs 0 0
@30 o 30 2o 5o 2o 5o 1k *s -1 70 24 rs 0 9y6tc 4s 1g 70 24 *s -3
@bp 6a rs 0 Hole *s -1 5s 30 rs 0 9y6tc 5c 2c 5s 30 *s -1 58 2c
@rs 0 9zabk 44 1o 44 2c 58 2c *s -1 58 2c rs 0 9zabk 44 1o 4s 1o
@58 2c *s e ae 49 rs 0 *s -1 5k 2k rs 0 9zl6o 5c 18 5k 1o 4g 2k *s
@-1 58 2k rs 0 9zl6o 50 2c 58 2k *s -1 5k 2k rs 0 9zl6o 54 24 5c
@2k 54 2c 5k 2c *s -1 5k 2c rs 0 9zl6o 5c 24 5k 2c *s -3 8i 64 rs
@0 Floor Cracks *s -1 5c 2w rs 0 9y6tc 5c 20 4g 2w *s e ak 3w rs
@0 *s -3 8r 3q rs 0 o *s -1 3o 10 rs 0 0 30 10 3o 10 *s -1 4c 10
@rs 0 0 3o 10 4c 10 *s -1 4c 1u rs 0 0 4c 1u 2c 1u 2c a *s -1 3c
@14 rs 0 0 3c 14 3c w *s -1 3m 1r rs 0 9zabk 36 o 3m o 3m 1s 36
@1s 36 o *s -1 3b 1t rs 0 0 n a n 1u 3b 1u *s e 30 3c rs 0 *s e
@36 3a rs 0 *s e 37 39 rs 0 *s e 3k 3b rs 0 *s e 3l 38 rs 0 *s e
@3l 3c rs 0 *s e 3e 3e rs 0 *s e 37 3h rs 0 *s e 31 3h rs 0 *s e
@2w 3k rs 0 *s e 3f 3k rs 0 *s e 3k 3k rs 0 *s -3 1o 4o rs 0
@Blockage *s -3 2e 4f rs 0 *s -1 1o 24 rs 0 9y6tc s 24 1o 1g *s
@-1 40 10 rs 0 9zabk 3c 10 40 10 *s -3 67 4l rs 0 Fungus Room *s
@-1 40 20 rs 0 9y6tc 3c 20 40 w *s 8 71 x rs 0 *s -3 4i 1i rs 0 *s
@-3 4c 1n rs 0 I *s -3 65 1p rs 0 *s -3 67 1r rs 0 H *s -3 6c z
@rs 0 *s -3 6c 13 rs 0 *s -3 6q 1l rs 0 *s -3 6j 1m rs 0 *s
@-3 6m 12 rs 0 *s -3 64 10 rs 0 *s -3 66 14 rs 0 D *s -3 5j 2r
@rs 0 *s -3 4z 18 rs 0 B *s -3 4f 1i rs 0 *s -3 65 10 rs 0 *s
@-3 63 13 rs 0 *s -1 3b 1r rs 0 9zabk 2s o 38 o 38 1s 2s 1s 2s o
@*s -1 2c 1s rs 0 9zabk 1o 1c 2c 1c 2c 1s *s -1 2w 1s rs 0 1edc
@2w 1s 2w 1k 1c 1k 1c 8 *s 6 50 2d rs 0
*END 2848dr

[Tamarind]

Sevilin draws his blade and awaits the creature's move, stepping forward very slightly to enable him to strike the creature should it venture through the door

[OOC:<5' step and holding attack]

[chalice]

Inyx looks to Leto and the Guildsman. "Can these things simply be...deactivated?"

[The Alcotroll]

Standing on tiptoe to raise the lantern high enough for it to be of use to anyone but himself, Hargin surreptitiously shuffles towards the rear of the party.

"I could shoot at it..." he offers, "But one of yous had better take this pretty light off me!"

[chalice]

"I'll hold the light," Inyx offers, not having unhooked her crossbow from her belt.

[Thanos]

Bollan goes down into a combat crouch, ready to lunge into the room and attack if needs be, but in essence holding while more light is shed on the subject.

Must get one of those fireless torch stones put onto the forhead of my helmet...soon, very soon!

[chalice]

"If you bring it over and hand it to me," Inyx adds to Hargin, staying exactly where Bollan told her to.

[The Alcotroll]

Grumbling, Hargin shuffles towards the Half-Elf, while trying to remain facing towards the direction of the threat, and not fall over. Clearly this is no mean feat

Once the lantern is passed on, he will start to prepare his bow.

[Dev]

Daison remains standing where Bollan had indicated, crossbow raised and ready, though he's quickly beginning to look quite bored and uninterested in fighting anything again.

[BigRedRod]

The guildsman stops making notes and takes half a step backwards down the corridor as the rest of the group set about holding their positions until the Ghola makes a move or Bollan signals otherwise.

For now the creature remains where it is stood, the only moment the thing makes is the occasional twitch of its antennae. Hargin's wide frame bumps past Bollan, as he adjusts is position and hands the lantern over to Inyx. In the hands of the cleric the lightsource is rather more useful and illuminates the room around the stationary creature.

A light metal framework stands in one corner covered in clumps of decomposing materials. No doubt it was once a rather elegantly wrought bed. A desk stands in the opposite corner, a stout looking stone construction set with several wide drawers which just goes to reinforce the preference that the Ehb showed for stone and metal even where wood may have been a better choice.

Above the desk there is a single shelf which runs around nearly half of the room. While the desk is dominated by a large open book, a book with hardly any remaining pages. Shredded scraps of ancient paper cover the area around the desk, The shelves are mostly empty, populated by the occasional trinket sat with a good foot or so of open stone on either side. The items are a strange collection, a small metal hammer, a cog, a bowl and a sheet of metal about half an inch thick covered with black and white stone shapes, it may be a game of some type.

And in the centre of the room remains the Ghola.

Leto turns so that he can prepare for anything approaching from behind, seemingly trusting the other to deal with a single foe.


Initative
Sevilin
Bollan
Daison
Guildsman
Ghola
Inyx
Hargin
Leto

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 6o 1o rs 0 0 4o -10 6o -10 6o 1o *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o o 5o
@0 *s -1 5o 24 rs 0 0 5o -4 5o 24 *s -1 68 g rs 0 73 60 g 68 0 *s
@-1 68 g rs 0 73 60 0 68 g *s -1 6s w rs 0 73 6c o 6s w *s -1 6s
@w rs 0 73 6c w 6s o *s e ce z rs 0 *s e d0 1q rs 0 *s e bp 47 rs
@0 *s e bw 3z rs 0 *s e c3 42 rs 0 *s e c8 3v rs 0 *s e ce 3o rs
@0 *s e ck 3q rs 0 *s e cl 3h rs 0 *s e cq 3g rs 0 *s e d2 3j rs
@0 *s e d5 3j rs 0 *s -1 63 1c rs 0 9zabk 63 1c 63 0 *s -1 69 1c
@rs 0 9zabk 69 1c 69 0 *s -1 68 p rs 0 9zabk 60 p 68 p *s -1 68
@18 rs 0 9zabk 60 18 68 18 *s -1 68 14 rs 0 9zabk 60 14 68 14 *s
@-1 68 w rs 0 9zabk 60 w 68 w *s -1 68 10 rs 0 9zabk 60 10 68 10 *s
@-1 68 s rs 0 9zabk 60 s 68 s *s -3 cw 15 rs 0 O *s -3 cw 2i rs 0
@O *s -3 bk 2i rs 0 O *s -3 bk 14 rs 0 O *s -3 bj 3p rs 0 O *s -3
@d2 4j rs 0 Tipped Urn *s -3 c0 5d rs 0 Blockage *s -1 6c 2g rs 0
@9y6tc 6c 2g 5w 1c *s -1 5o o rs 0 0 5o 0 -1o 0 -1o o *s -1 2c 10
@rs 0 0 1o 10 2c 10 *s -1 3c 10 rs 0 0 20 10 3c 10 *s -1 5o 10 rs
@0 0 5o 10 50 10 *s -1 50 10 rs 0 0 50 10 4c 10 *s -1 2s g rs 0
@73 2s 0 2s g *s -1 2w g rs 0 73 2w 0 2w g *s -1 3s g rs 0 73 3s
@0 3s g *s -1 3w g rs 0 73 3w 0 3w g *s -1 4s g rs 0 73 4s 0 4s g
@*s -1 4w g rs 0 73 4x 0 4x g *s e 41 1l hk -8i *s e 8z 21 i6 -9g
@*s e 3v 1u kd -1an *s e 8y 1q g6 -16k *s -3 5i 1t rs 0 S *s 3 72
@1n rs 0 *s 6 8y 11 rs 0 *s 6 90 1m rs 0 *s -3 6i 31 rs 0 *s -1
@4o o rs 0 9y6tc 40 o 4o 0 *s -1 4o o rs 0 9y6tc 4o o 40 0 *s -1
@20 1o rs 0 0 20 -10 o -10 o 1o *s -1 1l 11 rs 0 9zabk 15 11 1l
@11 1l -b *s -1 1k w rs 0 9zabk 14 w 1k w *s -1 1k s rs 0 9zabk
@14 s 1k s *s -1 1k o rs 0 9zabk 14 o 1k o *s -1 1k k rs 0 9zabk
@14 k 1k k *s -1 1k g rs 0 9zabk 14 g 1k g *s -3 x 12 rs 0 Down *s
@-1 1g o rs 0 9y6tc c g 1g o *s -1 1s g rs 0 73 1s 0 1s g *s -1
@1w g rs 0 73 1w 0 1w g *s -1 4o 10 rs 0 9y6tc 40 10 4o c *s -1
@4o 10 rs 0 9y6tc 4o 10 40 c *s -1 50 1o rs 0 0 3o c 3o 1o 50 1o
@50 c *s -1 4w 1k rs 0 1edc 4g g 4o o 4w o 4w 1k 40 1k 40 o 3s g *s
@e 97 2r rs 0 *s e 9d 2i rs 0 *s e 9l 2o rs 0 *s -1 5o 2o rs 0 0
@30 o 30 2o 5o 2o 5o 1k *s -1 70 24 rs 0 9y6tc 4s 1g 70 24 *s -3
@bp 6a rs 0 Hole *s -1 5s 30 rs 0 9y6tc 5c 2c 5s 30 *s -1 58 2c
@rs 0 9zabk 44 1o 44 2c 58 2c *s -1 58 2c rs 0 9zabk 44 1o 4s 1o
@58 2c *s e ae 49 rs 0 *s -1 5k 2k rs 0 9zl6o 5c 18 5k 1o 4g 2k *s
@-1 58 2k rs 0 9zl6o 50 2c 58 2k *s -1 5k 2k rs 0 9zl6o 54 24 5c
@2k 54 2c 5k 2c *s -1 5k 2c rs 0 9zl6o 5c 24 5k 2c *s -3 8i 64 rs
@0 Floor Cracks *s -1 5c 2w rs 0 9y6tc 5c 20 4g 2w *s e ak 3w rs
@0 *s -3 8r 3q rs 0 o *s -1 3o 10 rs 0 0 30 10 3o 10 *s -1 4c 10
@rs 0 0 3o 10 4c 10 *s -1 4c 1u rs 0 0 4c 1u 2c 1u 2c a *s -1 3c
@14 rs 0 0 3c 14 3c w *s -1 3m 1r rs 0 9zabk 36 o 3m o 3m 1s 36
@1s 36 o *s -1 3b 1t rs 0 0 n a n 1u 3b 1u *s e 30 3c rs 0 *s e
@36 3a rs 0 *s e 37 39 rs 0 *s e 3k 3b rs 0 *s e 3l 38 rs 0 *s e
@3l 3c rs 0 *s e 3e 3e rs 0 *s e 37 3h rs 0 *s e 31 3h rs 0 *s e
@2w 3k rs 0 *s e 3f 3k rs 0 *s e 3k 3k rs 0 *s -3 1o 4o rs 0
@Blockage *s -3 2e 4f rs 0 *s -1 1o 24 rs 0 9y6tc s 24 1o 1g *s
@-1 40 10 rs 0 9zabk 3c 10 40 10 *s -3 67 4l rs 0 Fungus Room *s
@-1 40 20 rs 0 9y6tc 3c 20 40 w *s 8 71 x rs 0 *s -3 4i 1i rs 0 *s
@-3 4c 1n rs 0 I *s -3 65 1p rs 0 *s -3 4a 15 rs 0 H *s -3 6c z
@rs 0 *s -3 6c 13 rs 0 *s -3 6q 1l rs 0 *s -3 6j 1m rs 0 *s
@-3 6m 12 rs 0 *s -3 64 10 rs 0 *s -3 66 14 rs 0 D *s -3 5j 2r
@rs 0 *s -3 4z 18 rs 0 B *s -3 4f 1i rs 0 *s -3 65 10 rs 0 *s
@-3 63 13 rs 0 *s -1 39 1r rs 0 9zabk 2u o 3a o 3a 1s 2u 1s 2u o
@*s -1 2c 1s rs 0 9zabk 1o 1c 2c 1c 2c 1s *s -1 2w 1s rs 0 1edc
@2w 1s 2w 1k 1c 1k 1c 8 *s 6 50 2d rs 0
*END w1llvf

[Thanos]

Sealed room, no appearant exits other than this doorway. No poop or food evident...is it a child locked up and kept safe while its parents defended the nest? Are they that smart that they heard us and knew we would come? Its eye is a different color, does that mean anything and if so is that a good or a bad sign? To many questions here in the real world....oh for the simple life of the arena where I knew that it was kill or be killed, attack or die.

[Dev]

Having appealed for a pause before possibly unnecessary conflict, Daison isn't sure what to do now that he has one. Determined to prove that the creature might not be aggressive, he makes an earnest attempt at communication. He leans a bit to the right so he can see clearly around Sevilin.

"Hallooo in there! ... ah ... sorry to have startled you. Er," Daison blinks, seeing the reason for his fellow travellers' hesitance: the creature hasn't shown any signs of movement. "... say, are you alive?"

[Tamarind]

Sevilin watches the creature closely, interested to see if there is any reaction to Daison's attempt to communicate with the mysterious Ghola. His blade is held ready in case it reacts badly...

[BigRedRod]

Seeing the party hesitate, the guildsman coughs and speaks up nervously,
"I've never heard of one of them speaking... but they're cunning... err... maybe we could catch it? Perhaps this Ghola is something special that requires further study? Be careful though..."

In response to Daison's questions the clear-eyed creature remains near motionless, giving no response but a sudden flick of one of its insectile antennae.

Initative
Sevilin
Bollan
Daison
Guildsman
Ghola
Inyx
Hargin
Leto

[chalice]

"Hm, if we plan to catch it, should we shut it back in and collect it on the way out? I can't imagine being able to carry it around with us..."

I can't imagine being able to catch it, either, but that isn't really my problem...

"Study would certainly be useful if we might discover how it works...and how it can best be made not to work."

Inyx leans around Bollan for a better look, her curiosity once again pulling ahead in its ongoing battle against common sense.

[The Alcotroll]

Stock of his crossbow now planted into his shoulder, Hargin looks round peevishly.

"So can I shoot it or not?"

[BigRedRod]

Leto turns back to face the rest of the group, sword in hand and wearing a scowl. He strides gracefully past Daison and stops by one of the windows which looks out packed earth
"With all due respect, I don't think how it is anything special. I've seen a hundred of them, everyone has a different eye. We all heard the blighter scrabbling away at the door and as soon as it saw we had it outnumbered it just froze. Say what you will but they have a brain somewhere inside them and this one is just more cunning than usual. As soon as anybody gets too close it'll just tear out their throat and try to get away."

The mercenary folds his arms and leans against the window, a pose which looks slightly strange given the longsword still in one of his hands pointing down toward the stone flags.

Initative
Sevilin
Bollan
Daison
Guildsman
Ghola
Inyx
Hargin
Leto

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
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[Tamarind]

"That may be so" Sevilin replies to Leto, "but I'm not going to strike it down in cold-blood. It doesn't seem like much of a threat, let's shut it in again for now and move on"

OOC - based on the blows of the last one does Sevilin think it likely this thing could open the door by itself?

[Tamarind]

So saying the young ranger sheathes his blade and pushes at the door, starting it sliding back into position. It's harder to push it back from this less-than-ideal angle than it was to pull it free, the strain shows in his corded muscles but he's not foolish enough to stand defenceless in the doorway and heave at it.

[BigRedRod]

With a little persuasion from Sevilin the door glides closed, leaving the near motionless creature in the darkness once again. Leto grunts and smoothly returns his sword to his scabbard.

Stepping through crumbled remains of the door reveals only two things. A blockage which would take a good many hours to start clearing and wide stone steps leading further downwards within the sunken structure.

A few high pitched notes echo through the corridors and reach the party. Being so muffled and muted and lasting for only a brief instant, it is difficult to even hazard a guess as to what might have made them.

The yellow-orange glow of lantern light dances on the stairs. Clods of dirt and hunks of stone litter the lower steps indicating that the outer wall may have also been breached on lower levels. All is still apart from the dancing shadows cast by the flickering flame trapped by glass.

[Tamarind]

"Well, the way forward seems plain enough - down again."

Relighting his lantern he holds it aloft in his left hand, drawing his blade once more with his right as he advances to the head of the stairs and gazes down into the gloomy depths...

[chalice]

"Be right there..." Inyx's face scrunches up and the tip of her tongue shows briefly between her lips as she concentrates on trying to add to her scribbled notes without dropping the lantern she is holding.

[Dev]

"And back to the drudgery." Daison can't help a stoic sigh. He shuffles unenthusiastically in Sevilin's direction, while glancing sidelong at the struggling Inyx. "Care for me to hold that for you, love?"

[Thanos]

Bollan seems as cheerful as ever and takes his place.

[chalice]

"Oh, would you?" Inyx beams at Daison, her dusty face lighting up with gratitude as she hands him the lantern. "Thank you!"

She frantically scribbles a few more lines before taking her place in the group. Casting an envious look at the guildsman's hand-held writing desk, she sighs "I have got to get one of those. So sensible!"

[BigRedRod]

A number of piercing squeaks echo out of the gloom as the lantern light pushes back the darkness. Small brown forms scurry away as the party descend, vanishing through tiny gaps between the stone blocks which form the walls.

Stillness and silence reign as Leto reaches sideways and runs his palm along the jezrit strip. The corridor is flooded with the now familiar neutral glow revealing that much of the floor is covered with a loose layer of black soil. The way ahead is blocked as it was on the floor above with stone blocks from a fallen outer wall.

The other direction contains a mound of earth reaching almost eight feet in height where a window must have broken and the outside has spilled in. Glittering pieces of glass and small stones stand out amongst the dark soil. The two feet of clearance might be a bit of a squeeze but the mound is far from a dead end. This section of the sunken ruin is cold and carries a faint unpleasantly unplacable fetid smell.

Map
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
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*END -yntyp4

[Tamarind]

After casting a wary glance over the blockage ahead Sevilin moves to join the others at the soil mound,

"Looks like an easy enough scramble if a bit tight at the top...could quickly dig that out a bit though"

He holds his lantern high to give those closer a better view.

[Thanos]

Bollan, the Bold, looks at the Dwarf when the subject of digging is mentioned. Doing so in full armor does not seem like a bright idea.

[BigRedRod]

Hargin is already trundling off toward the blockage leaving Bollan's eyes to look upon his back. Trails left by small animals, the largest which seems to be no larger than an adult fox, are everywhere on the impressionable surface. Drawing closer it becomes clear that whatever made the tracks also enjoys burrowing, the area above the broken window has been dug out and a tunnel far too narrow for the dwarf to clamber through extends into the earth beyond.

Without a shovel, clearing the earth will be a difficult and lengthy task although it shouldn't be particularly dangerous, the tunnel through the window means that it is highly unlikely more soil will simply flood in if any is cleared. Hargin sighs loudly and shares his findings in his lilting tones.

In response, the Guildsman shrugs,
"Somebody could return to camp for shovels. Perhaps the rest of us should turn our attentions back to the rooms above?"
His voice remains uncertain and it is clear that his words are more suggestion than demand.

[chalice]

"Like that room with all those fascinating jars?" Inyx pounces eagerly on his suggestion, obviously itching to examine all those weird carvings she had to walk away from before.

She pushes her glasses more firmly up her nose and beams at the guildsman.

[Tamarind]

Sevilin nods,

"I'll go for shovels if you like - anything else we need whilst I'm up there?"

[chalice]

"There's a shovel and a miner's pick up with my kit," offers Inyx brightly.

[Tamarind]

"Right, back soon!"

So saying Sevilin turns and holding his lantern securely in his left hand jogs back up the stairs, retracing their steps back to the surface.

As he nears the entrance he calls ahead, mindful that the guards may be getting edgy,

"It's me, Sevilin, I'm coming up - we need a few extra bits and pieces"

[Thanos]

Bollan waits patiently for the action to get going again. In the meantime he is looking and listening for any possible surprises.

[The Alcotroll]

After a moment of shuffling his feet, Hargin elbows the slender half-elf at hip-height. "Shall we go an' have a look at them rooms then?" he asks. "There's nothing else to do, like."

[BigRedRod]

And so Sevillin left his companions. Walking alone through the long abandoned sunken ruin, touching the strips of Jezrit to rekindle their illumination as he passed, gave him time to reflect upon the precision of the architecture. And drawing close to the hole in the ceiling, he finds it unsurprising that his call falls on deaf ears given that camp was some distance away and all of the mercenaries had been divided between the two excavation teams leaving none to stand as guards during the daytime.

Daylight is rather harsher than Sevilin's eyes would like to remember and it takes a few minutes to adjust. Stumbling down the hill in order to wheel back around to the camp in something of a daze it doesn't take long for the sellsword to realise that something is amiss.

Sounds of activity come from the camp and a large crowd has gathered. Far larger than the three left behind at camp, it seems that the entirety of the second team are back on the surface and circled around something.

"Get back. Get back, give me some fucking room"
Jamis' voice rings out as Sevillin draws closer. The large man stands over his wife, as she kneels by a pair of figures lying on the grass performing various actions which make the extent of the injuries clear even aside from the bloody marks covering both Joshua and Felix.

Artok the half-orc bears a grim expression and gives Sevilin a brief nod before mustering the concentration to spit out a few words,
"Spiders. Big spiders."

Off to one side stands Yan, looking fairly disinterested at the condition of his two fellows. A bloody bandage covers a fresh wound on his right wrist.

A short way away, Robin stands with Tak by a pot hanging over a fire to which he is hastily adding herbs. Ivy abruptly ceases her examination of the youth and trapmaster, looking down at the reddened grass for a moment before sharing her thoughts,
"They need a real healer. The poison has spread through them... I don't think they are in any danger anymore though. Maybe that priestess would have better luck, I've done all I can here"
Her husband dutifully crouches and awkwardly hugs her, whispering in her ear as he does so.

From the covered wagon, the red-gloved Guildsman Superior emerges at a quick stride with the remaining Guildsman at his heels,
"This is most unfortunate. Having two disabled this early with slow progress. At least you dealt with the threat before returning."
At that moment he seems to notice Sevillin and addresses him,
"And what news of the other group?"

...

Back within the ruin beneath the earth, the remainder of the party remain non the wiser concerning the dramatic events which have befallen the other group and discuss whether to return to one of the rooms previously noted to be studied in more detail at a later time.

[Dev]

Like a glacier made of fat and fur, the obese feline flattens grass as she plods toward the gathering crowd. Usually, she thought such commotion best be avoided, but Ms. Pukabury has found a new smell quite intriguing. She sniffs her way along the ground, coming laborously to the route along which the second expedition had just returned. And what was this? A warm, shiny liquid coats some of the blades here and there: a red stuff this cat has never seen! She casually reaches out her rough pink tongue to taste ..... yeuch!

...


Daison has taken to pacing incessantly, since there is nowhere to sit or lean without risking getting his fine robes dirty. The lantern he took from Inyx has been set down in the middle of the area to share its light with everyone... or, at least, so perhaps someone else will take it and Daison won't have to.

"This is really most exciting. I can see why a person would want to explore caves for a living. Would they were paying us by the hour."

As he smirks to himself, the mage--as always--lets himself drift over towards Inyx. He glances over her shoulder to see if she still has her notes out.

"So, love, what exactly is it you find so--"

His face is suddenly halted by an odd look, as though he had just taken in a rather repugnant smell, though the atmosphere in the chamber hadn't changed. His eyes disfocus and glance away, briefly, before he turns back.

"There's something curious going on up there."

[chalice]

"Oh, yes, what a good-" Inyx is saying brightly to Hargin, when Daison makes his announcement.

Her eyes focus on him with a sharpness far removed from her usual bright enthusiasm or dreamy distant pondering.

"Any idea what? Curious or dangerous?"

[Tamarind]

Sevilin looks a little pale at the sight of the bloody, wounded figures on the grass. He nods at Artok's succint explanation, his hands clenching tightly as he fights to stop them shaking.

The guildsman's question jerks him back to the moment,

"Some progress, we've found a funeral chamber I think, and encountered some Ghola...no real injuries though. I came back for some digging equipment..."

He focuses, and adds,

"I'll run back and get Inyx, she's clearly needed here"

He half-bows to the guildleader and heads quickly back the way he came, relieved to be away from the scene...

[The Alcotroll]

"Curious say you?"

Hargin gives Daison a suspicious glance, "What kind of curious are we talkin' about? The kind with sharp claws and pointy teet, or the kind wi'out? Are we gonna have to go an' look?"

[Dev]

Daison instinctively backs up a few steps when critical eyes fall on him.

"Now, I only said 'curious'! Likely the case that the misses has found an odd-shaped bug or somesuch, nothing more. If there were danger, I would also know that, and there isn't." The mage lowers his voice and rolls his eyes to himself. "I'm sorry I spoke."

[chalice]

Inyx places a gentle hand on the mage's arm. "Don't be, Daison. We're grateful for you telling us - our thanks to the beauteous Miss Pukabury too."

Her smile makes the lantern light look awfully pale.

"Perhaps we should go and see what is keeping Sevelin?"

[Tamarind]

Pounding footsteps herald Sevilin's arrival as he skids round the corner,

"Change of plan - the other group have suffered some serious injuries fighting some kind of giant spiders or something. They've beaten them off and made it back to camp but two of the survivors urgently need your healing skills Inyx - I think they may be poisoned..."

[chalice]

"Show me," Inyx says, and follows Sevelin back out into the air.

[BigRedRod]

As Inyx sweeps away after Sevilin the rest of the group organise themselves and follow suit with Leto taking up the rear. Every so often the professional stops and listens, clearly concerned that the swift movements of the others may be attracting unwanted attentions from the denizens of the sunken ruin.

Despite any worries that certain people may have, the surface is reached without event. Hurrying down the hill and around to the riverside camp allows all to see the tense agitation running through the collection of tents centered around the Guild-wagon.

The forms of Joshua and Felix lie on blankets with all but Ivy standing around in a rough circle giving the elf enough room to do whatever it is somebody does when they realise that they don't have the expertise or materials to deal with a problem set before them.

A wave of relief passes over the gathered people as they see Inyx rushing toward the youth and trapmaster. A hand lightly brushes her arm as the guildsman offers a few quiet words before moving off to confer with his two fellows,
"Do your best"

Kneeling down with Ivy the cleric is treated to a rapid description of their injuries,
"They've each taken a knocks and scrapes but it's all quite minor. The bites aren't serious in themselves but the poison... I can't draw it out."

[chalice]

Inyx puts a comforting hand on the elf woman's arm. "You've done just fine," she says softly, golden eyes already moving over the two fallen men.

She kneels beside them, setting down her pack and recovering her healer's kit from it. Some of her temple Sisters, longer in the Goddess' service could draw poison with a touch, but she would have to rely on her skill and training.

One hand comes up to touch the Holy Symbol at her throat, as she prays silently to be guided, to be sufficient to the challenge, for Lilleth to watch over her patients. Then, with a deep breath, she opens out her Kit, sets ready what she will need, and goes to work.

Her first task is to wind tourniquets in appropriate places to slow the spread of the poison, give her time to work properly rather than in haste. She works with deft, unhurried movements, her face calm, showing nothing but fierce concentration.


[OOC: use of Heal skill, improved with use of proper Healer's Kit, task performed slowly and carefully if - in her judgment - there is time for this. If the men are mere seconds from death, forget the slow and careful and just go for it.]

[BigRedRod]

Luckily for the two currently incapacitated mercenaries Inyx is a more competent and prepared healer than Ivy. Working slowly and methodically she manages to prevent the spider venom from doing any further damage. Wiping her brow, the priestess stands leaving her two patients now resting peacefully.

Ivy sighs in relief before quickly hugging Inyx in thanks and gesturing to Jamis and the others as she suggets the next course of action,
"Let's get them in one of the tents. I doubt we'll see much life out of them any time soon"

Her words ring true with Inyx who knows that even with complete rest and constant tending it'll be a day or two before they are back to their usual selves.

Seeing that the crisis has been adverted the Guildsman Superior raises his voice above the growing chatter,
"Good work and that'll do for today's explorations. Make sure that we have somebody at the entrance to the site at all times."

And with that the squat red-gloved figure turns and strides back toward the wagon with his two companions tailing behind.

Robin returns to the central cooking fire and the gathering of hirelings starts to gradually disperse.

[Tamarind]

Sevilin, who had hung back as the injured were treated returns, moving over to where Inyx is gathering up her things, he says quietly,

"That was well done - I didn't think they were going to make it. You're very gifted."

Whilst his tone is relieved there is something in his eyes for a moment, a hint perhaps of sadness or regret, then he looks down and busies himself helping gather the spent bandages and bits and pieces.

[Thanos]

Bollan has been milling around the enterence of the former sight basicly bored out of his mind, but not hoping that anything comes out to attack.

Remember, you signed up for this. Its more, yet less, dangerous than being in the arena...remember thumbs up or down...death at a stroke.

[chalice]

"Thank you," says Inyx to Sevelin quietly. "I had very good teachers." A shadow of sadness touches her eyes as she thinks of the now-scattered Temple where she grew up.

Noticing the fleeting sorrow in Sevelin's eyes, she says gently. "They also taught me to listen, my friend...should you ever want to talk..." Without pressuring him, she moves on toward the fire and a well-earned cup of spiced wine.

Seeing Bollan stationed on guard duty, she helps herself to an extra mug, and carries it over.

"Looks like you're earning this. What did you make of our first day, Bollan?"

[Dev]

Having found the restless Ms. Pukabury extremely ambivalent to the continuing spectacle, Daison returns with her under one arm. While glad to be out of the underground, he's not so encouraged by the pace of the expedition. At this rate, we'll be here for weeks.

Spotting Inyx and Sevilin, he slowly parades over in that direction, arriving just in time to see the cleric walk off. Now that he finds himself standing awkwardly next to Sevilin, he feels the need to make some meaningful comment to justify his presence.

"Maybe I wanted to talk," he mutters, having overheard the last snippet of conversation.

[Thanos]

Bollan accepts the cup with a smile and a, "Thank you."

"The day went well in my opinion. We successfully fought off initial threats that have kept the lesser races out of these places. There was no loss of life or limb and we will be up to full strength in a few days. Compaired to the Arena, it was a very successful day."

Bollan keeps up the small talk, but doesn't often look at Inyx keeping his eyes for the woods and the area around them.

[chalice]

Inyx was happy to end their watch without incident and seek longed-for sleep after checking in briefly on her patients.

[BigRedRod]

With Bollan and Inyx taking the first watch, the sun slowly starts to debate what it might be like around the horizon, although it wouldn't be anything approaching dark for a good many hours.

Sat down in the camp the others enjoy swatting at the swarms of insects which seem to have flown over from the river in order to make eating dinner a good deal less pleasant. The fare served up by Robin isn't especially unusual or exotic but the man clearly has more than a little understanding of the various herbs and spices.

Even without the annoyance of the insects, the mood of the mercenaries would hardly be light considering that two of their number had already been rendered out of action. Ivy retires to her own tent almost as soon as her bowl is emptied and a bare few are left around the fire.

After carefully cleaning his blade, Leto stands and sends Artok and Daison to relieve the other two. As they leave, he quickly assigns a watch order before collecting his gear and setting about getting as much sleep as possible before his own shift.

...

The sky is the deep blue of a warm summer's night and the moonlight dances off the river, only the central cooking fire remains in the camp, now a small reddish heap of glowing embers. All seems peaceful on Hargin and Sevilin's watch as they sit on patchy grass where nature sought to disguise the ruin.

Long can't be left for the pair to sit when a pair of shapes are picked out by the reflected moonlight. Both watchmen can clearly see two shadowy forms creeping their way along the river bank toward the sleeping campsite.

[The Alcotroll]

More concerned with tamping his pipe, it takes a nudge in the ribs for Hargin to notice the two approaching forms.

"H'rud! B'tudz Grobi!"

Excitedly, Hargin reaches for his crossbow.

"Goblins laddie!" he hisses, "Them's Goblins, an' they've not seen us yet..."

[Tamarind]

Sevilin's eyes almost seem to glow in the dim light as he rocks forward, a strange eagerness in his tone,

"I see them...cover me will you - I'll drift behind them, be sure there are no more before we show our hand..."

So saying he slips ghost-like into the darkness, heading stealthily and unerringly towards the pair.

[The Alcotroll]

Hargin holds out a restraining hand. "They're too far laddie," he whispers, hopping from foot to foot with nervous excitement. "Come on, from the edge of the clif I'll have a perfect shot!"

Without waiting for a response, Hargin scampers to the edge and raises his bow to his shoulder, muttering under his breath as he fiddles with the home-made sight.

"If yer gonna do any of yer fancy magic," he hisses over his shoulder, "then 'tis best if we do it together, see. I'll take the one on the left."

[Tamarind]

"You're right",

Nocking a shaft to his mighty bow Sevilin joins Hargin at the cliff edge and sights on the one on the right,

"Now"

he whispers, and lets fly the shaft.

[BigRedRod]

In a display of hitherto unseen teamwork and martial skill, or possibly just the Gods smiling down on the pair, the two missiles not only find their targets but each is enough to bring down a goblin. Which is what they do.

Hargin's target, the goblin taking up the rear dies near instantly as his throat is suddenly mostly replaced with a crossbow bolt. Stumbling sideways the creature is unable to make any kind of noise until he hits running water and is dragged back the way he came impacting on rocks all the way.

The sound of the splash occurs too late to be of any use to the remaining goblin who doesn't even manage to rurn around and see his companion's fate before an arrow slams into him and severs the lower half of his spinal cord. Suprised by the sudden loss of power over his own legs the goblins falls to the river bank where he lies twitching like a spider that somehow surived a direct hit with a particuarly heavy book, but only barely.

[The Alcotroll]

Replacing his pipe and blowing a self-satisfied smoke ring, Hargin rests the bow over his shoulder.

"Harumph." he says, gesticulating vaguely with the pipe-stem. "If I could think of anything witty to say laddie, I'd surely say it now."

[Tamarind]

It is a moment before Sevilin responds, in the pause Hargin is aware of the man breathing quickly and heavily, then he takes a deep breath, turning from the scene below to face his companion,

"I'll assume you did, and no one will be the wiser. We'd better head down and make sure there are no more - and alert the others, they should know."

[The Alcotroll]

Hargin stares at the shadowy corpses for a moment longer. Then he taps out his pipe and sets off in the wake of his companion.

[BigRedRod]

Moving back down to the riverside with wide eyes in case any more creatures of the night are waiting in ambush the pair reach the fallen goblin. His compaion has long vanished far enough downstream to be out of sight.

Somehow, despite Sevillin's best attempts to remedy the situation from the clifftop, the goblin remains alive. Under the pale moonlight it hard to make out any of the small creature's features aside from a general wirey ugliness and a complete stillness in his lower body. Judging from the pool of what clearly passes in goblin terms for blood which is seeping out around it, without some extensive medical attention the creature is not long for this world.

Looking up in terror, the jaw of the broken creature waggles slightly but there is no more sound than an unpleasant gurgling.

[Tamarind]

Sevilin approaches, blade drawn, wary of any trick. As they come close enough to see the creature is truly helpless he lowers the blade, pity showing in his eyes. For a moment he is held by the creatures gaze, then he quickly raises the blade and sweeps it down, cleanly severing the goblin's head. As the hot blood spurts he turns swiftly away, breathing heavy.

"I'll go and warn the others...", he mutters as he moves off quickly in the direction the goblins were headed, towards the camp.

Stay in control. Must stay in control....

[The Alcotroll]

Hargin watches the performance without comment or show of pity. There's little love lost between Dwarves and Goblins. Goblins plague mines like bigger and more vicious rats.

He grunts at Sevilin's words, still staring at the body. It's only when the man is a few meters away that Hargin jerks his gaze away and hurries after him, reluctant to be left alone around Goblins; alive or dead.

[BigRedRod]

The goblin's head rolls a short distance leaving a pool of spreading gore as the watchmen leave for the silent campsite.

...

It doesn't take long for the rest of the mercenaries to be roused. Partially dressed, cold and muttering the group cluster around the dying remains of the fire. After a few moments Leto decides to speak his mind and quiets the others,
"No doubt they were just hoping for an opportunity to steal whatever they could get their paws on. I doubt we'll have to worry about more of them seeking revenge, goblins are by no means a confrontational species. That does not mean that we can ignore them though, they'll be lairing near by and we could well attract a few more of them as time goes by. We aren't being paid to go looking for goblin holes-"

"No, you are not"
The voice of the Guildsman Superior cuts through Leto's words,
"Have another man stand watch down in the camp and the rest of you go back to bed."

Pausing just long enough for the hired explorers to reassign watches and return to their beds in order to snatch a few more hours of precious sleep.

...

Shortly after a breakfast of porridge speckled with a rainbow of dried fruit the trio of Guildsmen emerge from their wagon,
"After the events of yesterday and last night, things will be slightly different today."
The Guildsman superior pauses for a moment, seemingly to glance about at his assembled workforce,
"One group will continue downwards through the structure. Their objective is to clear a path to the lowest level. Two will remain here as guards and the rest will move more slowly through the ruin conducting a more detailed study."

Clearly content with his orders he sweeps back toward the wagon, leaving his two companions to gather their two teams to head back inside the submerged structure.

-=Chapter End=-

[BigRedRod]

Daison
695

Bollan
665

Sevillin
705

Hargin
550

Inyx
710