Interjecting, Jaheira snorted, "Because he wanted to put the two of you, together, to make a halfwit." It seemed as likely a reason as any. To Alora and Minsc, she cautioned, "Have a care. That sounds like it could be more rats."
*edit to fix smart phone autocorrect errors! As always, I must blame zie smartphone!!!*
Ajantis frowns at Jaheira's comment. "My apologies if I've offended you in some way, lady."
To Anomen he adds, "He said you were on a quest to repay a debt and might need another sword arm. And... he asked me to keep an eye out for likely places to grow turnip crops. I told him plants are unlikely to grow under the earth, but he assured me it was quite possible. Then he recounted a tale about his... I believe it was a cousin named Digger... who had some sort of misadventure with magical turnip fertilizer. I confess I can't remember all the details, but suffice to say that Digger is now the size of a hill giant."
Realizing he is standing in the middle of a hostile dungeon Ajantis pulls his broadsword, adjusts his shield, and readies himself for action. Since several others are focused on Alora's explorations, Ajantis decides to act as rear guard for the moment and keep an eye on the way out.
"Wow...! Knowing Jan's stories, I'm surprised you remembered any of it at all! That's quite a feat, sir Ajantis." Aerie beamed at him, radiating her fondness for the new party member.
At Aerie's fawning outburst, Jaheira felt as if she'd vomited into her mouth. That girl was too idyllic, and way too light on the realistic, in Jaheira's considered opinion. Puffing her cheeks slightly, she returned her attention to Alora's investigations. "The sooner we fill these vials, the better," she grumbled. After all, there was too much of this valorous bluster, and far too little nature, in this adventure, thus far.
The door opens, and 5 bat-like winged things fly out of the door. These are far larger than bats, rather rounded and fat, with what looks like needles for mouth parts. Chittering and squeaking noises at high pitch comes out of their mouths.
With a startled gasp, Aerie hurried a magic incantation beneath her breath. Her hands danced with the spark of arcane-magic, before a gold orb flew from her palms and in the center of the swarm. She only hoped none of her companions would be affected by the Sleep.
Minsc's sword licks out like flame, cutting one of those stirges in half. Jaheira beats down another with her club, and Anomen and Arkanis take out two more. Ajantis cuts down the last one, splattering blood all over the corridor as the Stirge seems to explode. Soon, there is nothing left to fight, and you are able to open the door and hold it open, as it seems to have a strong propensity to try and close on its own. This room is oddly shaped… very oddly shaped and seems to run diagonally for the most part, south west to north east, with some oddy shaped bits at the top and bottom.
The walls here are smooth and there is a slight whistling noise that seems to come from two vents on the ceiling. Most of the arms formerly stored in the room, but there are a number of shields, broken and rotting, some poorly maintained bows, a two-handed sword with a broken grip and a number of swords, all in bad condition. There are a few things still in good repair, including a quiver of arrows, a long sword, a hand axe and a spear. There are also some broken and rotting bits of armor, and two open and empty chests.
The one that caught Alora's eye is in a corner, partially concealed under some rotting leather armor and a splintered shield. A few moments work with her picks has it open and reveals it to be filled with Gold coins, 620 gp worth.
There is one other exit you can see, a door at the far northeastern end of this place.
Ajantis replied to Aerie: "When you have to pay close attention to the rather verbose wisdom of elders in the order you develop an ability to grab the highlights. Necessary for survival, or at least necessary to avoid extra kitchen duty. As a result I fear I've slain far more potatoes than monsters thus far."
*during battle*
"For the glory of Helm!"
*after battle*
Ajantis compliments the other members of the party for their actions before retrieving a rag from his pack and carefully wiping away the blood from his equipment and armor. "Filthy creatures."
Jaheira forgot her momentary battle with all males, whose names began with 'A', and absently clapped the least irritating (Arkanis) on the shoulder. "Filth, they may be. Nature took the life that she gave, and, now, they will feed the earth."
This irregularly shaped room appears to have been some kind of barracks. Forty beds fill this room, along with half that number of chairs and stools. Pegs on the walls hold a variety of things; Canteens, a sword, a bearskin, 20' of coiled chain and so on. A couple of long, trestle tables are to the south, and a huge chest of drawers that appears mostly empty. Only a few bits of scattered cloth remain. It appears the room was abandoned in some haste, but with admirable completeness. A small opening at the bottom of one of the walls exudes a faint odor that seems to confirm this was some sort of crude toilet facility. (Only Boo could fit through such an opening in any case.) Torch holders line the walls, but there are no torches visible- not even leftover stubs, which argue that this place was abandoned according to a plan, rather than because of panic or say, a siege.
There are no other means of entrance or exit visible.
"Hmmm, what a place. I bet we could fix this place up and create a place to live! Think about it; a group of adventures setting up a base in the darkest of dungeons! We would definitely become the stuff of legends."
Alora will check the walls and floor of the room for secret doors. If she finds nothing she will go back to the corridor and head to the north-facing door in the western passage. There she will do her usual routine of listening, checking for traps and finally unlocking and opening the door.
@Vallmyr Yes. Tell me what spells you have on you. At first level you get 2, one must be a Wild Magic spell.
Alora is unable to find any Secret doors, and no one else feels any, either. Retracing your steps to the northern facing door, you find it untrapped and not locked. You hear nothing, and when you open the door, it is to an austere bedchamber indeed. The northern wall, for the most part, is a mosaic showing an older, bearded man casting a spell from high on a promontory over an army, which is fleeing in fear and panic and confusion. This occupies most of the 90' wall, except for the extreme eastern and westernmost 10' of wall.
The eastern and western walls are unadorned, save with rows of pegs, presumably for hanging garments, but currently empty. The southeastern corner contains a bed with a headboard, foot board and sides of carved rosewood, the name "Zelligar" carved into it and picked out in gold leaf. The bed, while dusty, seems in good condition otherwise. There is a single nightstand next to the bed with a closed drawer.
Elsewhere in the room is a oak table surrounded by four chairs and topped by a silvery pitcher and three mugs of the same material There are two other doors in the room, one to the southeast, and the other to the southwest about 20' from the end of the room. The room is a slightly irregular rectangle, 30' wide to the east and 20' wide to the west of where you enter, with a 10' anteroom as you come in the door.
Both doors are closed, and the nightstand drawer has a lock that you can see.
OOC: Zelligar and Rogahn were the two men who owned this stronghold. Zelligar was a mage and Rogahn a warrior.
Alora finds no traps, but when she lays her hand on the drawer pull, she feels something penetrate her hand. In moments, her hand feels like it is on fire and begins to swell. Her skin is pulled tight, and the hand is unusable.
Everyone else sees Alora's hand turn a bright red and swell outwards, until it looks like she has one clown-hand from the wrist down. This stuff doesn't really "poison" in the way most people think of poison, but her hand is in agony- probably the worst pain Alora has ever felt in her life. It's so bad, she can only speak in a whisper, and tears fall unchecked from her eyes.
"A-Alora!" Aerie rushed to her side. She marveled at the halfling's hand, swollen as if besieged by a dozen bee stings. "A-Are you all right!?"
Without waiting for a response--the tears were proof enough that she was most certainly NOT all right--Aerie reached for the magic within her soul and tried to heal her hand.
OOC: Aerie's casting Cure Light Wounds on Alora, whether it'll work or not.
OOC: /cuddles Alora, things will be ok QQ Also, I'll say I have Nahal's Reckless Dweomer, Blindness, and Magic missile known with Nahal's Reckless Dweomer and Magic Missile prepared. It's so hard to resist my normal necromancy-only type spellcasting XD I don't think Neera would use Larloch's Minor Drain and Chill Touch.
Neera reels back a little as she sees this occur.
"Oh. Do we have a licensed Cleric? I think we could definitely use one of those. I mean I could try something but no one wants that."
"There might be a piece of paper in the drawer that says where the pools are. The man who owns the pools might have written it down so he wouldn't forget. And people shouldn't go round locking drawers in the first place it only makes other people wonder what they have put in them."
Cure Light Wounds does nothing for Alora, unfortunately. It takes nearly an hour for the swelling in her hand to go down, and her fingers still tingle a bit, but her hand is finally usable once again.
Comments
*edit to fix smart phone autocorrect errors! As always, I must blame zie smartphone!!!*
To Anomen he adds, "He said you were on a quest to repay a debt and might need another sword arm. And... he asked me to keep an eye out for likely places to grow turnip crops. I told him plants are unlikely to grow under the earth, but he assured me it was quite possible. Then he recounted a tale about his... I believe it was a cousin named Digger... who had some sort of misadventure with magical turnip fertilizer. I confess I can't remember all the details, but suffice to say that Digger is now the size of a hill giant."
Realizing he is standing in the middle of a hostile dungeon Ajantis pulls his broadsword, adjusts his shield, and readies himself for action. Since several others are focused on Alora's explorations, Ajantis decides to act as rear guard for the moment and keep an eye on the way out.
OOC: Somebody cast sleep!
With a startled gasp, Aerie hurried a magic incantation beneath her breath. Her hands danced with the spark of arcane-magic, before a gold orb flew from her palms and in the center of the swarm. She only hoped none of her companions would be affected by the Sleep.
The walls here are smooth and there is a slight whistling noise that seems to come from two vents on the ceiling. Most of the arms formerly stored in the room, but there are a number of shields, broken and rotting, some poorly maintained bows, a two-handed sword with a broken grip and a number of swords, all in bad condition. There are a few things still in good repair, including a quiver of arrows, a long sword, a hand axe and a spear. There are also some broken and rotting bits of armor, and two open and empty chests.
The one that caught Alora's eye is in a corner, partially concealed under some rotting leather armor and a splintered shield. A few moments work with her picks has it open and reveals it to be filled with Gold coins, 620 gp worth.
There is one other exit you can see, a door at the far northeastern end of this place.
Ajantis replied to Aerie: "When you have to pay close attention to the rather verbose wisdom of elders in the order you develop an ability to grab the highlights. Necessary for survival, or at least necessary to avoid extra kitchen duty. As a result I fear I've slain far more potatoes than monsters thus far."
*during battle*
"For the glory of Helm!"
*after battle*
Ajantis compliments the other members of the party for their actions before retrieving a rag from his pack and carefully wiping away the blood from his equipment and armor. "Filthy creatures."
A den of stinking evil...
@Permidion_Stark Where does Alora lead everyone next?
There are no other means of entrance or exit visible.
And considering their last adventure, Aerie was positive that they would need rest at some point.
Alora is unable to find any Secret doors, and no one else feels any, either. Retracing your steps to the northern facing door, you find it untrapped and not locked. You hear nothing, and when you open the door, it is to an austere bedchamber indeed. The northern wall, for the most part, is a mosaic showing an older, bearded man casting a spell from high on a promontory over an army, which is fleeing in fear and panic and confusion. This occupies most of the 90' wall, except for the extreme eastern and westernmost 10' of wall.
The eastern and western walls are unadorned, save with rows of pegs, presumably for hanging garments, but currently empty. The southeastern corner contains a bed with a headboard, foot board and sides of carved rosewood, the name "Zelligar" carved into it and picked out in gold leaf. The bed, while dusty, seems in good condition otherwise. There is a single nightstand next to the bed with a closed drawer.
Elsewhere in the room is a oak table surrounded by four chairs and topped by a silvery pitcher and three mugs of the same material There are two other doors in the room, one to the southeast, and the other to the southwest about 20' from the end of the room. The room is a slightly irregular rectangle, 30' wide to the east and 20' wide to the west of where you enter, with a 10' anteroom as you come in the door.
Both doors are closed, and the nightstand drawer has a lock that you can see.
Alora finds no traps, but when she lays her hand on the drawer pull, she feels something penetrate her hand. In moments, her hand feels like it is on fire and begins to swell. Her skin is pulled tight, and the hand is unusable.
Everyone else sees Alora's hand turn a bright red and swell outwards, until it looks like she has one clown-hand from the wrist down. This stuff doesn't really "poison" in the way most people think of poison, but her hand is in agony- probably the worst pain Alora has ever felt in her life. It's so bad, she can only speak in a whisper, and tears fall unchecked from her eyes.
Without waiting for a response--the tears were proof enough that she was most certainly NOT all right--Aerie reached for the magic within her soul and tried to heal her hand.
OOC: Aerie's casting Cure Light Wounds on Alora, whether it'll work or not.
Neera reels back a little as she sees this occur.
"Oh. Do we have a licensed Cleric? I think we could definitely use one of those. I mean I could try something but no one wants that."