"No offense to Nef, but the one thing I trust less than an angry beast on a leash is an angry beast off a leash. If he is to be part of our expedition at all, I would rather have him close by so he can be redirected, and so I can do damage control if needed... Oh, I'm sorry, El." Gewyn hesitates. "I know he is meaningful to you, and I don't mean to speak demean him before you. There's just... been some ill will cultivated with others of the group."
He pauses and takes a breath. "I want everyone to feel heard here. Which is also why I once again propose that this conversation be held later in more private company. Agreed?"
Vin looks to Nef, who doesn't seem to care at all about Gewyn's comment regarding angry beasts and leashes.
In fact, Nef is just wandering across to the tree to peer into the opening and make sure there is nothing else about to appear.
Vin listens to Gewyn, but does not respond as he asks if they all agree. He instead waits for Muir and Elthana to speak. After all, he has spoken his mind on the matter, as has Gewyn. He has no problem with the others doing the same, it's not like anyone in the room can have any less respect for their group at this point anyway.
He is also aware of Ingram entering the room, but feels it better for Ginro to respond to him.
The monster follows Sam like a hound begging for treats and gratefully swallows down the gold tossed into its mouth from a distance. The beast still with a battle axe swinging unknowingly from its jaw is a precarious thing and as it gets into the room with the group and near to the hole it doesn't seem like it realises what Sam truly wants it to do. (Sam, if you intend to grapple give me a Dex save to avoid getting cleaved by the axe)
With Sam now in the room and within ear shot, Ginro grumbles out a cough and begins to change subject, the conversation in giant he was having with Ömertyr stopping short. Instead the Djiin regards and responds to Ingram and the soldier. "Yes, what the hells indeed, a minor misunderstanding and a rogue tree summoning appear to have released these monster into our home, they also seem to have a taste for crystal and it doesn't take a very long thought process to see how that kind of invasive species could be bad. This group are going to round up the beasts with your help, I'd like you to be their eyes and ears in regards to warnings of dangerous chemicals being present or restricted access to certain labs or rooms. In short, to escort in their undertaking of this task." Ingram nods at Ginro's words but still has his mouth somewhat agape at the scene.
"Seems the monsters have been corralled....May I make a suggestion?" Muir asks to the group. "I have befriended the rocs through animal speak, which I do need to check on them at some point Ginro before they become irritable, but ....Ssssaaamm (cautiously said)....perhaps you can do the same with these things?" Muir realizing what he just suggested with fright coming over his face. The damage that can be done to Muir by the 3 of these things...."Nevermind...let's dispose of them..."
Sticks and stones can break your bones but words...
Well, damn. Nothing can wreck you like words, can it? Words can flay the skin right off ya. Twists and tear and eat away at your guts. Enflame your brain and make it implode and explode at the very same time. Pull your soul right from your very core and drag it about over hot flames, rusty barbs and miles of sand paper. Words can turn off whatever bit of light you have left burning inside you and make you forget it was ever there. All without ever leaving a mark.
As Sam led the monstrosity into the room as if it was an eager, playful puppy he couldn't help but hear some words. They left no mark but for perhaps a fleeting change of expression, a quick revealing across his face of just what they meant to him... But everyone was behind him as he walked backwards, teasing the Xorn towards him and the hole, so nobody could see just what it meant to him, nobody could even tell he heard.
Sam did flub a coin toss to the Xorn as they entered, instead of tossing a gold directly into the thing's maw he more of less dropped a spray of several gold across the floor between them. Sam feared he my lose what little control he had of the beast at the point and quickly went back to giving it his full attention, teasing it ever forward. Every towards the hole in the floor it's brethren had already made and escaped through...
Once close enough, Sam slows and then stops... He tosses the thing another gold. And another. And then he playfully pivots around it. Ideally he would make the creature turn to face him and put it's back to the hole... But the creature really doesn't seem to have a front or a back. Not really. Still, Sam aimed to put himself on the opposite side of the creature than the hole, once it was close enough to it. Once that was done, Sam finally attacks.
(So basically trying to tease it forward til within 5' of the hole... then move so creature is between Sam and the hole... And then toss it a final gold to distract it from Sam's attack. Deleting a total of say 30 gold that was fed to this thing along the way...)
Maul Attack vs Xorn: 18 to hit for 16 magical bludgeoning damage and Crusher Feat allows the blow (if it hits) to move the creature 5' in any direction Sam wants, so it is shoved towards the hole... Second Maul Attack vs Xorn: 21 to hit for 16 magical bludgeoning damage and Crusher Feat allows the blow (if it hits) to move the creature 5' in any direction Sam wants, so it is shoved towards the hole... Dex Save against axe: 18 - Sam didn't grapple exactly but if the first hit hits then he was doing unarmed combat next so ya may still need?)
(Had hoped to hit with firs attack and then just shove with second to make sure it fell down hole... but I think first attack may miss so did a second maul attack. If somehow both do hit then first one would use Crusher and I would change second to unarmed strike (2 less to hit but hits if first did) and it just be a shove towards hole if needed... but yeah, whatever)
With whatever movement Sam may have left he jumps down the hole after the Xorn and readies himself to continue fighting the monster...
Scooby, upon the start of hostilities, lets out a loud single bark and runs after Sam and the monster! The mastiff pauses at the hole and barks once down into it but then also leaps down with the goal of helping Sam going forward...
Sam coaxes the monster over toward the hole, it greedily gobbles up every spilled and thrown coin it can, the blade still swinging from its jaw. When Sam tosses the last coin in though it looks down and does not follow, turning to Sam the maul comes unexpectedly crashing into it, glancing off of the monsters stony exterior, its single eye goes wide with surprise and somehow it manages to convey the sadness at being suddenly betrayed, it croaks out a single word in orcish before the second swing pushes it down into the hole. "Why!?"
Ginro frowns shaking his head at Sam's sudden attack and repeats to Muir's recommendation, "Capturethem, your group owe me at least that much."
In the room below there are smashed tables, half eaten cabinets and the floors are slick with some kind of chemical sludge, the two monsters who had already been cast down there seem to have made a mess and then either phased through or eaten their way out of the room they were in, for now the only creature left in the room is a lonely rat, a rat who has been spending the last few minutes looking longingly up at the hole and wondering how it could scale the wall and the ceiling to return to the warmth of a certain Loxodon's pocket (not a euphemism XD) as the rat wonders a coin descends and bounces next to it, as it smells the coin with interest it does not notice the large beast that ends up unwillingly following. The rat, suddenly crushed under immense weight, bursts into light and dust which ascend into the rust coloured pouch of a descending half orc, who forgoing the learned Inversion of gravity decides to follow the monster the best way he knows how, 40ft dead drop and receiving a nice and even 10 bludgeoning damage.
Scooby circles the hole after seeing how long the drop is, and though he whines for his master, self preservation kicks in, until he is commanded otherwise he waits nervously at the hole.
Ingram moves forward to the hole and looks down seeing one monster and a Sam before looking to Muir, "you said monsters right? Plural? Because theres only one there... Seems corralling them might be a little more difficult."
Elthana puts her hand over Gewyn's as he rests it on her shoulder, grateful for the touch as she feels she has hit the bottom. She listens to the others, hearing about whether she should stay or go and slowly her resolve comes back to her.
She stands up, dusts herself off and turns to Ginro. "I want to apologize again for what my actions have done. I am only relieved that I was able to stop Nivara from her killing blow, but this.." she waves her hand to Ginro, the tree and the hole in the floor, "is all my fault." She tucks a hair behind her ear and swallows. "I know I am not directly responsible, trust me, it is beyond awful watching from the sidelines as your body says and does the most cruel and despicable things and feeling completely helpless. But it is my fault. When I was sleeping, I could feel her try to get in and I was able to stop her. But then... then I got greedy. I thought I would try to get in her mind again and try to get the upper hand. Here is where I learned that Nivara is expecting us in a couple of days, she calls me the fragment. She has told her death knight to prepare, I watched it happen. But then I caught a glimpse of the creature her castle, well, Vox's castle is riding upon and the sea of undead army that crawls upon it's skin. It froze me in terror and Nivara found me. She took over. I'm not saying she couldn't while I was sleeping, she tried, but I made myself vulnerable to try and get more info. I'm sorry."
She pauses a bit to catch her breath, trying not to let the sorrow come back, to steel herself from it all. "To answer your question, Ginro, in my other visit to the castle is where I learned that she is attempting to turn this entire world undead, and become the Nectyran of this world. As for a little background, through some memory flashes, Nivara became obsessed with defeating death when her brother's twin died. Seeing her mother grieve over it.. it was all consuming for Nivara. She first turned to vampirism and that apparently wasn't enough and now she is a lich trying to change the world."
Having spoke more than she has in awhile, she stops, looks to her friends and sighs, "I want to stay and fight."
Gewyn nods approvingly. "Then, there is something I could try, with your permission. I daren't intrude if you are uncomfortable with it." He leans in to speak to her quietly.
Vin listens as Elthana explains to Ginro exactly what she has seen through her link with Nivara, before turning to Ingram and Gewyn and Elthana decide to speak privately.
"There were three of them, one bigger than the others. They seem to be from a realm of Earth, and have no problem travelling through or even eating the crystal walls. If we are to capture them, we will need somewhere they can't affect to trap them. I have no idea where that might be, so will have to follow your lead, Ingram", he says with a shrug. He is ok to do as Ginro asks, he just doesn't know how.
"Obviously they might not be as placid now", he adds, referring to the whack Sam gave the one after Muir told him to dispose of them.
Ginro goes quiet, contemplating and finally sighs, and approaches Elthana slowly "you remember parts of her childhood... memories burned into her through the strongest of emotions, I'm sorry you had to go through that. Any and all information you can give us on how she plans to take Nectyran's place is welcome, obviously I suspect that her ritual is part of that and her needing her 'fragment' back too. If what you saw in her mind is reality she must be powerful beyond reason. But every being has weaknesses. Here." Ginro lifts the ki blade with his good hand, the one that nearly killed him by Elthana's hand only minutes ago, and before the group can react, he presents the hilt to Elthana "you're going to need this, I realise that you didn't pick it, but I see some sense of irony in the fact Nivara picked out the blade you will use to rid the realms of her."
He then leaves the group to their private deliberations and tries to get healed up. Professor Hu quickly rushes in to the archive room and dons some glove with which he begins sorting some of the disturbed items, after a moment he pokes his head out of the room and calls over to the group, clearing his throat first to gain attention, "ahem, that black battle axe is a cursed item, please be careful with it and return it quickly" he whimpers.
Ingram shrugs at vins request, and then turns to the cloaked guard, "hey Paul, you've been posted here for a while, you got any rooms that aren't made from crystal?" 'Paul' a depressed looking pale elf thinks for a moment and then nods, responding in a slow drawl, "yeah errrr, the bio lab has this thing called wood, it apparently helps the experiments there breathe. It isn't too far." If the group follow, both Ingram and Paul step into the hole in the ground and invert their gravity as their body's turn upside down and walk along the ceiling above Sam.
Down in the room below the monster looks hurt and asks Sam once again in orcish "why hit with stick? No more gold?" And it lurches forward sniffing with it's tongue at Sam's belt pouches, the black battle axe unknown to the monster swings around its mouth and towards Sam. (13 to hit, 1 slashing dam, likely miss)
Muir follows Ingraham wanting to see the wood and experiments "Paul you mention wood and experiments....Do you mind explaining? Is this wood look like the tree that Sam created up there? Who or what are the experiments?"
Sam dodges the axe easily enough, sidestepping the sniffing Xorn out of habit. "I told you three to wait. You went and ate things we needed and ran around instead. We can get you plenty and plenty of gold... but only if you all listen and follow directions," Sam responds. He's tempted to swing again with his maul but if he can convince this thing to help gather up the other two it could make everything much easier...
Sam does hold an attack though in case the creature seems to actively attack or if it tries to run off again...
"Let's get the other two and then I'll take you to the Gold Room, yes?" Sam cajoles. "And take that axe out of your mouth, it's bad for your teeth..." Sam doesn't know of the wood room or that there is a safe place to store the Xorn but he does figure getting them all together to be killed quickly is probably the most efficient way of disposing them so that is his plan for the moment.
Vin and Neferox both follow Ingram and Paul. Vin is also interested in these bio experiments, but just waits for a response seeing as Muir had already asked about them.
As he walks across the ceiling above Sam, he passes on the message from Professor Hu, in case Sam didn't hear. The Peacekeeper's seemed cursed enough already, without adding another into the mix.
"Apparently the axe in the creatures mouth is cursed".
Elthana gives Ginro a bow before she accepts the blade from him. She smiles at his last words, "Poetic justice indeed."
Then turning towards the hole with a task at hand, she goes through it, inverting her gravity as the others did to try and assess the situation. Seeing Sam holding an attack she calls down, "We're to gather these creatures, not dispose of them. Where did the other two go?"
Sam is engaged with the large sized monster and hadn't noticed the others descend down the whole and walk along the ceiling like ants. As such when Vin calls down to him Sam jerks a little, not expecting it and unsure what it was at first. Sam glances up at Vin for the briefest of moments but then quickly turns his eyes back to the monster. Sam grunts in response but otherwise doesn't answer.
A moment later there is less surprise when Elthana speaks from above but Sam is still engaged with the monster and waiting to see its response. Sam gives a bit of a shrug as his own response to Elthana's words. "Monsters tend to decide for themselves if they want to be gathered or disposed of," he answers. "Dunno about the other two, waiting to see if this one here can help find them..."
The monster's eye slowly turns upwards to its mouth and sees the axe swinging, instead of dropping it, it grumbles to Sam in orcish "rare metal tasty" and promptly tries to swallow the thing instead. "Gold room sound tasty too, I take you to others you take me to gold room?" It asks wary of the maul in Sam's hand as it does.
As the group near walking down the ceiling, the monster seems to take as much notice as Sam, ignoring them for the most part and keeping focus in the one willing to feed it. Paul looks at Muir and frowns at the question. "I do not have the word for the room in your language, maybe plant experiment room?? It is similar to the 'tree' there but flatter and darker, I'm not sure I'm explaining it properly.", Ingram shrugs in concurrence with what Paul offers.
Sam rolls his eyes and sighs as the monster tries to eat the axe. In large part he really didn't care but he did vaguely hear the kid say something about it being cursed and he had no idea what that could do to ones digestion...
"Yes," Sam answers the Monster. "You, me and the others will go to gold room. All you can eat there."
With the monster seemingly willing to talk and cooperate, Sam lowers his maul a bit and has a moment to think beyond the possible upcoming fight. Just why did they want these things gathered instead of killed? They are monsters. A total wrecking ball to this place. What is the benefit? The idea that they may just be sympathetic to the monster's plight doesn't even cross Sam's mind, these are the people who developed Mornlyf after all. "Someone wants to make a weapon out of you," Sam mutters to himself... But again, he didn't really care.
"Come on," he says louder and in a bit of a happy and encouraging tone. "Let's go get the others!"
Vin carries on waiting, not being able to converse with the creature nor deal with it without the potential for killing it.
And so he and Neferox merely follow Paul, and ponder the what could be like a tree, but flatter and darker. A bush or shrub, some kind of fungus. Who knows.
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"No offense to Nef, but the one thing I trust less than an angry beast on a leash is an angry beast off a leash. If he is to be part of our expedition at all, I would rather have him close by so he can be redirected, and so I can do damage control if needed... Oh, I'm sorry, El." Gewyn hesitates. "I know he is meaningful to you, and I don't mean to speak demean him before you. There's just... been some ill will cultivated with others of the group."
He pauses and takes a breath. "I want everyone to feel heard here. Which is also why I once again propose that this conversation be held later in more private company. Agreed?"
Vin looks to Nef, who doesn't seem to care at all about Gewyn's comment regarding angry beasts and leashes.
In fact, Nef is just wandering across to the tree to peer into the opening and make sure there is nothing else about to appear.
Vin listens to Gewyn, but does not respond as he asks if they all agree. He instead waits for Muir and Elthana to speak. After all, he has spoken his mind on the matter, as has Gewyn. He has no problem with the others doing the same, it's not like anyone in the room can have any less respect for their group at this point anyway.
He is also aware of Ingram entering the room, but feels it better for Ginro to respond to him.
"It seems those creatures are stuck in Thaeir now. The portal in the tree has closed", Vin says after looking across to meet Neferox's gaze.
The monster follows Sam like a hound begging for treats and gratefully swallows down the gold tossed into its mouth from a distance. The beast still with a battle axe swinging unknowingly from its jaw is a precarious thing and as it gets into the room with the group and near to the hole it doesn't seem like it realises what Sam truly wants it to do. (Sam, if you intend to grapple give me a Dex save to avoid getting cleaved by the axe)
With Sam now in the room and within ear shot, Ginro grumbles out a cough and begins to change subject, the conversation in giant he was having with Ömertyr stopping short. Instead the Djiin regards and responds to Ingram and the soldier. "Yes, what the hells indeed, a minor misunderstanding and a rogue tree summoning appear to have released these monster into our home, they also seem to have a taste for crystal and it doesn't take a very long thought process to see how that kind of invasive species could be bad. This group are going to round up the beasts with your help, I'd like you to be their eyes and ears in regards to warnings of dangerous chemicals being present or restricted access to certain labs or rooms. In short, to escort in their undertaking of this task." Ingram nods at Ginro's words but still has his mouth somewhat agape at the scene.
"Seems the monsters have been corralled....May I make a suggestion?" Muir asks to the group. "I have befriended the rocs through animal speak, which I do need to check on them at some point Ginro before they become irritable, but ....Ssssaaamm (cautiously said)....perhaps you can do the same with these things?" Muir realizing what he just suggested with fright coming over his face. The damage that can be done to Muir by the 3 of these things...."Nevermind...let's dispose of them..."
Sticks and stones can break your bones but words...
Well, damn. Nothing can wreck you like words, can it? Words can flay the skin right off ya. Twists and tear and eat away at your guts. Enflame your brain and make it implode and explode at the very same time. Pull your soul right from your very core and drag it about over hot flames, rusty barbs and miles of sand paper. Words can turn off whatever bit of light you have left burning inside you and make you forget it was ever there. All without ever leaving a mark.
As Sam led the monstrosity into the room as if it was an eager, playful puppy he couldn't help but hear some words. They left no mark but for perhaps a fleeting change of expression, a quick revealing across his face of just what they meant to him... But everyone was behind him as he walked backwards, teasing the Xorn towards him and the hole, so nobody could see just what it meant to him, nobody could even tell he heard.
Sam did flub a coin toss to the Xorn as they entered, instead of tossing a gold directly into the thing's maw he more of less dropped a spray of several gold across the floor between them. Sam feared he my lose what little control he had of the beast at the point and quickly went back to giving it his full attention, teasing it ever forward. Every towards the hole in the floor it's brethren had already made and escaped through...
Once close enough, Sam slows and then stops... He tosses the thing another gold. And another. And then he playfully pivots around it. Ideally he would make the creature turn to face him and put it's back to the hole... But the creature really doesn't seem to have a front or a back. Not really. Still, Sam aimed to put himself on the opposite side of the creature than the hole, once it was close enough to it. Once that was done, Sam finally attacks.
(So basically trying to tease it forward til within 5' of the hole... then move so creature is between Sam and the hole... And then toss it a final gold to distract it from Sam's attack. Deleting a total of say 30 gold that was fed to this thing along the way...)
Maul Attack vs Xorn: 18 to hit for 16 magical bludgeoning damage and Crusher Feat allows the blow (if it hits) to move the creature 5' in any direction Sam wants, so it is shoved towards the hole...
Second Maul Attack vs Xorn: 21 to hit for 16 magical bludgeoning damage and Crusher Feat allows the blow (if it hits) to move the creature 5' in any direction Sam wants, so it is shoved towards the hole...
Dex Save against axe: 18 - Sam didn't grapple exactly but if the first hit hits then he was doing unarmed combat next so ya may still need?)
(Had hoped to hit with firs attack and then just shove with second to make sure it fell down hole... but I think first attack may miss so did a second maul attack. If somehow both do hit then first one would use Crusher and I would change second to unarmed strike (2 less to hit but hits if first did) and it just be a shove towards hole if needed... but yeah, whatever)
With whatever movement Sam may have left he jumps down the hole after the Xorn and readies himself to continue fighting the monster...
Scooby, upon the start of hostilities, lets out a loud single bark and runs after Sam and the monster! The mastiff pauses at the hole and barks once down into it but then also leaps down with the goal of helping Sam going forward...
What Ratatouille is up to... Only DM knows.
Sam coaxes the monster over toward the hole, it greedily gobbles up every spilled and thrown coin it can, the blade still swinging from its jaw. When Sam tosses the last coin in though it looks down and does not follow, turning to Sam the maul comes unexpectedly crashing into it, glancing off of the monsters stony exterior, its single eye goes wide with surprise and somehow it manages to convey the sadness at being suddenly betrayed, it croaks out a single word in orcish before the second swing pushes it down into the hole. "Why!?"
Ginro frowns shaking his head at Sam's sudden attack and repeats to Muir's recommendation, "Capture them, your group owe me at least that much."
In the room below there are smashed tables, half eaten cabinets and the floors are slick with some kind of chemical sludge, the two monsters who had already been cast down there seem to have made a mess and then either phased through or eaten their way out of the room they were in, for now the only creature left in the room is a lonely rat, a rat who has been spending the last few minutes looking longingly up at the hole and wondering how it could scale the wall and the ceiling to return to the warmth of a certain Loxodon's pocket (not a euphemism XD) as the rat wonders a coin descends and bounces next to it, as it smells the coin with interest it does not notice the large beast that ends up unwillingly following. The rat, suddenly crushed under immense weight, bursts into light and dust which ascend into the rust coloured pouch of a descending half orc, who forgoing the learned Inversion of gravity decides to follow the monster the best way he knows how, 40ft dead drop and receiving a nice and even 10 bludgeoning damage.
Scooby circles the hole after seeing how long the drop is, and though he whines for his master, self preservation kicks in, until he is commanded otherwise he waits nervously at the hole.
Ingram moves forward to the hole and looks down seeing one monster and a Sam before looking to Muir, "you said monsters right? Plural? Because theres only one there... Seems corralling them might be a little more difficult."
Elthana puts her hand over Gewyn's as he rests it on her shoulder, grateful for the touch as she feels she has hit the bottom. She listens to the others, hearing about whether she should stay or go and slowly her resolve comes back to her.
She stands up, dusts herself off and turns to Ginro. "I want to apologize again for what my actions have done. I am only relieved that I was able to stop Nivara from her killing blow, but this.." she waves her hand to Ginro, the tree and the hole in the floor, "is all my fault." She tucks a hair behind her ear and swallows. "I know I am not directly responsible, trust me, it is beyond awful watching from the sidelines as your body says and does the most cruel and despicable things and feeling completely helpless. But it is my fault. When I was sleeping, I could feel her try to get in and I was able to stop her. But then... then I got greedy. I thought I would try to get in her mind again and try to get the upper hand. Here is where I learned that Nivara is expecting us in a couple of days, she calls me the fragment. She has told her death knight to prepare, I watched it happen. But then I caught a glimpse of the creature her castle, well, Vox's castle is riding upon and the sea of undead army that crawls upon it's skin. It froze me in terror and Nivara found me. She took over. I'm not saying she couldn't while I was sleeping, she tried, but I made myself vulnerable to try and get more info. I'm sorry."
She pauses a bit to catch her breath, trying not to let the sorrow come back, to steel herself from it all. "To answer your question, Ginro, in my other visit to the castle is where I learned that she is attempting to turn this entire world undead, and become the Nectyran of this world. As for a little background, through some memory flashes, Nivara became obsessed with defeating death when her brother's twin died. Seeing her mother grieve over it.. it was all consuming for Nivara. She first turned to vampirism and that apparently wasn't enough and now she is a lich trying to change the world."
Having spoke more than she has in awhile, she stops, looks to her friends and sighs, "I want to stay and fight."
Gewyn nods approvingly. "Then, there is something I could try, with your permission. I daren't intrude if you are uncomfortable with it." He leans in to speak to her quietly.
Vin listens as Elthana explains to Ginro exactly what she has seen through her link with Nivara, before turning to Ingram and Gewyn and Elthana decide to speak privately.
"There were three of them, one bigger than the others. They seem to be from a realm of Earth, and have no problem travelling through or even eating the crystal walls. If we are to capture them, we will need somewhere they can't affect to trap them. I have no idea where that might be, so will have to follow your lead, Ingram", he says with a shrug. He is ok to do as Ginro asks, he just doesn't know how.
"Obviously they might not be as placid now", he adds, referring to the whack Sam gave the one after Muir told him to dispose of them.
Ginro goes quiet, contemplating and finally sighs, and approaches Elthana slowly "you remember parts of her childhood... memories burned into her through the strongest of emotions, I'm sorry you had to go through that. Any and all information you can give us on how she plans to take Nectyran's place is welcome, obviously I suspect that her ritual is part of that and her needing her 'fragment' back too. If what you saw in her mind is reality she must be powerful beyond reason. But every being has weaknesses. Here." Ginro lifts the ki blade with his good hand, the one that nearly killed him by Elthana's hand only minutes ago, and before the group can react, he presents the hilt to Elthana "you're going to need this, I realise that you didn't pick it, but I see some sense of irony in the fact Nivara picked out the blade you will use to rid the realms of her."
He then leaves the group to their private deliberations and tries to get healed up. Professor Hu quickly rushes in to the archive room and dons some glove with which he begins sorting some of the disturbed items, after a moment he pokes his head out of the room and calls over to the group, clearing his throat first to gain attention, "ahem, that black battle axe is a cursed item, please be careful with it and return it quickly" he whimpers.
Ingram shrugs at vins request, and then turns to the cloaked guard, "hey Paul, you've been posted here for a while, you got any rooms that aren't made from crystal?" 'Paul' a depressed looking pale elf thinks for a moment and then nods, responding in a slow drawl, "yeah errrr, the bio lab has this thing called wood, it apparently helps the experiments there breathe. It isn't too far." If the group follow, both Ingram and Paul step into the hole in the ground and invert their gravity as their body's turn upside down and walk along the ceiling above Sam.
Down in the room below the monster looks hurt and asks Sam once again in orcish "why hit with stick? No more gold?" And it lurches forward sniffing with it's tongue at Sam's belt pouches, the black battle axe unknown to the monster swings around its mouth and towards Sam. (13 to hit, 1 slashing dam, likely miss)
Muir follows Ingraham wanting to see the wood and experiments "Paul you mention wood and experiments....Do you mind explaining? Is this wood look like the tree that Sam created up there? Who or what are the experiments?"
Sam dodges the axe easily enough, sidestepping the sniffing Xorn out of habit. "I told you three to wait. You went and ate things we needed and ran around instead. We can get you plenty and plenty of gold... but only if you all listen and follow directions," Sam responds. He's tempted to swing again with his maul but if he can convince this thing to help gather up the other two it could make everything much easier...
Sam does hold an attack though in case the creature seems to actively attack or if it tries to run off again...
"Let's get the other two and then I'll take you to the Gold Room, yes?" Sam cajoles. "And take that axe out of your mouth, it's bad for your teeth..." Sam doesn't know of the wood room or that there is a safe place to store the Xorn but he does figure getting them all together to be killed quickly is probably the most efficient way of disposing them so that is his plan for the moment.
Vin and Neferox both follow Ingram and Paul. Vin is also interested in these bio experiments, but just waits for a response seeing as Muir had already asked about them.
As he walks across the ceiling above Sam, he passes on the message from Professor Hu, in case Sam didn't hear. The Peacekeeper's seemed cursed enough already, without adding another into the mix.
"Apparently the axe in the creatures mouth is cursed".
Elthana gives Ginro a bow before she accepts the blade from him. She smiles at his last words, "Poetic justice indeed."
Then turning towards the hole with a task at hand, she goes through it, inverting her gravity as the others did to try and assess the situation. Seeing Sam holding an attack she calls down, "We're to gather these creatures, not dispose of them. Where did the other two go?"
Sam is engaged with the large sized monster and hadn't noticed the others descend down the whole and walk along the ceiling like ants. As such when Vin calls down to him Sam jerks a little, not expecting it and unsure what it was at first. Sam glances up at Vin for the briefest of moments but then quickly turns his eyes back to the monster. Sam grunts in response but otherwise doesn't answer.
A moment later there is less surprise when Elthana speaks from above but Sam is still engaged with the monster and waiting to see its response. Sam gives a bit of a shrug as his own response to Elthana's words. "Monsters tend to decide for themselves if they want to be gathered or disposed of," he answers. "Dunno about the other two, waiting to see if this one here can help find them..."
The monster's eye slowly turns upwards to its mouth and sees the axe swinging, instead of dropping it, it grumbles to Sam in orcish "rare metal tasty" and promptly tries to swallow the thing instead. "Gold room sound tasty too, I take you to others you take me to gold room?" It asks wary of the maul in Sam's hand as it does.
As the group near walking down the ceiling, the monster seems to take as much notice as Sam, ignoring them for the most part and keeping focus in the one willing to feed it. Paul looks at Muir and frowns at the question. "I do not have the word for the room in your language, maybe plant experiment room?? It is similar to the 'tree' there but flatter and darker, I'm not sure I'm explaining it properly.", Ingram shrugs in concurrence with what Paul offers.
Sam rolls his eyes and sighs as the monster tries to eat the axe. In large part he really didn't care but he did vaguely hear the kid say something about it being cursed and he had no idea what that could do to ones digestion...
"Yes," Sam answers the Monster. "You, me and the others will go to gold room. All you can eat there."
With the monster seemingly willing to talk and cooperate, Sam lowers his maul a bit and has a moment to think beyond the possible upcoming fight. Just why did they want these things gathered instead of killed? They are monsters. A total wrecking ball to this place. What is the benefit? The idea that they may just be sympathetic to the monster's plight doesn't even cross Sam's mind, these are the people who developed Mornlyf after all. "Someone wants to make a weapon out of you," Sam mutters to himself... But again, he didn't really care.
"Come on," he says louder and in a bit of a happy and encouraging tone. "Let's go get the others!"
Muir with an idea roots through his things and hands him his journal opening to a blank page. “Write in your language the answer to my questions”
Vin carries on waiting, not being able to converse with the creature nor deal with it without the potential for killing it.
And so he and Neferox merely follow Paul, and ponder the what could be like a tree, but flatter and darker. A bush or shrub, some kind of fungus. Who knows.