„Right, let’s have a break,“ agrees Myrla. „We could check if that room at the entrance got new refreshments.“ 

"Good idea"

Milo sighs "Now you have mentioned refreshments, we have to go back. There is no stopping Inge"

Inge takes this as tacit approval and is already back at the cart, munching happily on another ration.  Speaking with her mouth full.

"Sho," (chomp chomp), "I can take firsht watch while the resht of you bed down."

Happy to finally be able to stop and more than okay with letting Inge take the watch, Brix sets up his alchemist kit. He set down his box shaped pack. He swings out the sides of the box after tripping a hidden latch. A few rattles of glass ware mixed with muted declarations of success as parts are assembled. Brix let's out a sigh of relief when setup is completed. He then sets about with more heat tests and prodding to see if he can make the gel to react in a way that moves it. The entire time he has a vial bubbling over a small flame.

Wadi offers to take 2nd watch.

Myrla takes watch as needed, she only needs 4 hours of rest.

The trip back to the first room feels like coming home. Tension slowly fades as more familiar and safer rooms come into view. There is a moment of hesitation when passing the hall with the angel statues, but the death angel doesn't appear to be moving and the door remains unsealed. The room with the riddles and the light is also fortunately unsealed; that is time saved from solving the riddle again and again whenever anyone returns through the room.

While the others rest and eat, Brix is busied with analyzing the strange goop. It doesn't take long to determine that the nature of the goop is very, very acidic, quite similar in strength to Royal Water, the strongest acid in the world capable of corroding gold. It should consume anything it touches if in large enough amount, even leather. The only reason leather remains resistant is the oil used to treat the leather acting as a barrier from the goop. Different from normal acid, though, the goop behaves strangely with heat. After a certain point, it starts to behave as if it is alive, writhing and reaching to get out of the vial, away from the heat. After a while, one of the goop in the vial under the strongest heat stops moving and its colour becomes a dull grey. The grey goop becomes a little bit less viscous and no longer acidic. 

{{You can spend a Short Rest for the next 4 to 8 hours, as per the alternative rest rule we're using.}}

Brix brings his findings to the rest of the group.

"Good news! I believe if we apply enough heat we should be able to neutralize the goo. I want to check out the dragon room once everyone is rested. I may have an idea.

After his rest Brix returns to the dragon room to investigate it further. He pauses at the doorway and gives the area a visual assement being very critical of the details.

(Can I get a rundown of the room again please?)

The room is dimly lit. From where Brix is facing, to his left is the door to the room full of chests and the room with the goop. Right in front of him, hovering about an inch off the floor in the middle of the room is a stone sarcophagus. Beyond the sarcophagus lies a large shape with glinting scales. A pair of cold blue eyes looks menacingly toward Brix. A silhouette of rows of glinting white teeth as tall as his height only adds to the presence. Even standing just at the threshold of the room, Brix can feel fear gripping his heart. 

{{Brix, make a Wisdom save even if you are standing at the doorway.}}

As Brix is occupied, the others in the group realize something as they enter the secret passage out of the second room. There was another with them when they entered the monument, but he left after some time. They assumed he returned to the first room, but now that they just came from there, he was not there. A check to the entrance corridor also didn't show any trace of him.

As the group waits for Brix, Wadi is the only one who hears something amiss. A grinding comes from behind the group. Rushing to check, the group can see Hunteros striding out of the hall of angels just as the stone door closes behind him without any means of opening it again. There is, however, something wrong with the picture. Hunteros looks at the corridor curiously in a very calm manner, completely different from the person everyone in the group knows. There is a sense of power in the way he now acts. A strange presence surrounds him as he finally catches eyes with each member of the group. His eyes are now a pair of slitted burning red orbs and there is a hint of madness reflected on them. 

"So, this is how they survive?" Hunteros says, voice more guttural than before. He strokes the wall gently with a satisfied grin. "I have seen this monument repelling the creatures, but never have the chance to study it. Who knows that there is this interesting creature that calls themselves dragonborns? They are such interesting people -- the perfect vessel that the creator of this tower probably hadn't accounted for. Now, shall we continue heading further?"

Wisdom 11

Inge stands and steps in front of the others, glaive in hand.  Her voice is light and conversational, though she senses something is very wrong.

"What's wrong with your eyes, Hunteros?  And your voice?  You catch a cold or something?"

Brixie - where has Brixie gone off to?  He had just been talking about the goo, how we could maybe burn it...

She focuses her attention back on the strange not-Hunteros figure.  Glaive ready.

Myrla observes Hunteros with growing worry, "Why did you do that? Why did you close the door?" She fingers for her rapier but doesn't want to escalate a situation that's already sufficiently loaded. It occurs to her that Hunteros must be possessed or worse, "And what's wrong with Dragonborn?" She asks, though she doesn't expect an answer for any of their questions.

Wadi, gripping his quarterstaff nervously, says "Friend, are you OK?"

Before he can answer, he realizes that Brix is missing, as well.

Milo was going with Brix to the dragon room, but realised he had left his water behind after the rest. He went back to get it and on his way back out saw Hunteros. He decides that Brix can handle himself, he is sensible enough to not do anything rash alone, and he moves up with the rest of the group to work out what is wrong with Hunteros.

A deep sense of dread falls over Brix as he looks upon the Dragon effigy. The blue eyes seem to pierce his soul. He finds himself short of breath as if the Dragon had sucked all the air from the room. He looks back in hopes that Milo is close at hand. The realization that he's suddenly alone only serves to deepen his fear. Looking back at the statue he once again locks gazes with the steely eyed stare. He runs after Milo.

The light in the hallway suddenly turns red. It blinks warningly. 

"Oh, it appears the administrator realizes my presence here," Hunteros says amusedly. "Who is here?" He asks aloud. "Is that you, Galen? Oh, I know. From the riddles and the puzzles. It's Prana, isn't it? Little Prana who loves to ask questions and solve numerical problems." 

The light stops blinking and the corridor plunges into a deep red. 

"Is that what this body is called?" Hunteros asks the group. "Hunteros? A fitting name, I suppose." He looks around the corridor once again and draws the longsword strapped to his waist. He scrutinizes it for a long moment before discarding it. Raising his hand into the air, a pair of scimitars made of fire suddenly materializes out of his hand. "I think I understand the purpose of this monument. Choosing another batch of heroes, Little Prana? Well, let me remind you how that would just end the same way as last time." 

Hunteros looks at the group with a hint of regret and pity in his eyes before he roars. For the first time, the group sees something that has been thought impossible. Dragonborn was thought to be able to breathe fire, frost, acid, and even lightning, but that has been disproven many, many times. It was supposed to be a myth perpetrated to elevate the Dragonborn in society. However, a spark seems to ignite within Hunteros. Veins of shining yellow burst out from his chest as a torrent of fire comes out of his mouth. 

As the fire nears, everyone in the group hears a feminine voice in their head. There is a deep regret in the voice tinged with a sense of fear with how it trails off at the end and trembles at certain words. "Survive. And I am so very sorry for your loss."

{{Make a Dex save and roll initiative. I'll upload a battlemap when I have some time. But, from the latest map, Hunteros is standing at the end of the south corridor outside the Hall of Angel (the diamond-shaped room to the left} while the rest of the group is near the first bend. So, about 30 to 40 feet away from Hunteros.}

Myrla can't believe her eyes when Hunteros suddenly releases the stream of fire from his mouth, no less. Stupefied she neglects to jump out of the way and receives the fire full on. (DEX save 5 and Initiative 6, rolled a 1 and a 2)

"Galen?  Prana?  The hell is wrong with..."

Inge's voice cuts off in an angry shout as she is caught completely unaware by Hunteros' fiery scimitars and breath.

Inge DEX Save:  8 (5 on d20)
Inge Initiative:  4 (Nat. 1 on d20)