Maas takes a shortsword from Ura, shoving it into Juppo's hand, who proceeded to simply drag the blade along with him.
The cavern continued to fill up with the fog, limiting vision even further ((all vision limited to 20 feet)). However, upon descending the staircase, back into the hall, where they had only recently combated the assassins, they found the air here to at least be void of the fog.
The floor of the hall was also now void of the thrashing tentacles. However, the tentacles themselves were still there. Instead of a horde of wild tendrils whipping around, through some unholy portal opened by the cultist, the tentacles laid enmass across the floor, seemingly severed by the closing of whatever portal they were coming through.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Current creeps forward slowly and takes a closer look at the tentacles. Not touching them until they are identified, she just looks at them from afar as she thinks. "Where in the world did these tentacles come from? They don't look natural at all." She mutters aloud.
"If I had to take a guess, I'd say the plane of Xoriat,"Ura says. "That's where apparently all these eldar brains that the Berossus twins were trying to summon came from. The caught the attention of a planar walker that we met, a Githerazi from the Plane of Limbo calling himself Eccks. He said he was from some "Order of Pahzishun" and was looking specifically for those dark shards they put the villagers up to collecting. Beskars, he called them. I think they're what power the cultists' abilities to open portals and summon things like those tentacles. Hopefully all this activity will summon Eccks back to wherever the Berrosus family is conducting their experiments, too."
Perhaps from her natural exhaustion, or the low light in the hall, or a general unfamiliarity with these particular creatures, or even some decay or deterioration of the severed things, or any combination of the former; Current could make out very little regarding the one to three-foot long array of tentacle pieces laying about the hall floor.
They were not wet, though had a liquidy substance about them. They were black in color. And from the ends, which likely should have been attached to something else, a black thick liquid was draining, as if bleeding out.
"I think we might be in over our heads here," Maas said to Juppo, after hearing Ura's summation of the evidence.
Austin side steps around the tentacle remnants. "Should we keep moving, I expect they have a good welcome party already set for us, but not sure how much more time we should give them..."
"Forward sounds best. Though,"she says to Maas, mostly, but also Juppo, "If you guys want to hole up in here, it might be safer. If the fog starts coming down, if I were you I'd come after us. And if it lifts, make a break for it and get outside while you can. But you know. It's a free world, so you can do what you want. Just try to stay safe, whatever you're getting up to." She smiles wanly. "Sorry about trying to stab you and all that, when I thought you guys might've been complicit."
Ura tries to fade back into the shadows when she's done conversing, hoping to surprise the remaining cultist if they stumble across him. (Stealth: 9, fantastic). Believing herself to be well-hidden, she advances forward and peers down the corridor to try to see what awaits. (Perception: 22). And just in case, she calls her mage hand, keeping it close and invisible.
The party ventures south, through the hall, Ura under the impression that she's stealthy hidden, as rocks and sand beneath her feet crunch away, while walking down the hall's center, completely out in the open.
At the end of the long room, Maas stopped to settle Juppo down on a pile of rubble next to a pool of water. "Just take it easy, Juppo, I'm just going to look ahead with them." Maas then wedged his torch next to the halfling, into the rock pile, and followed the light of thebparty, sword drawn.
At the end of the hall, Ura found a corridor that took a turn towards the east. On the western and southern walls of the corridor were doors. Well, at least one door. The open doorway on the western wall was completely filled by rocks and sand that seemed to have caved in the room that was beyond the doorway. The blockage was solid and nothing could be seen beyond it.
The door on the south wall was another of those large double sliding-slab doors that the party had seen at the cave entrance, and within the bowels of the Castle of Aaaaargh. It was closed, and there was no sign of a pedalstal as the party had seen previously, for a way to open it.
Past the doors however, where the corridor turned a corner, it proceeded for another 15 feet or so, before becoming another descending staircase. A staircase which eventually led down into water. It appeared that atleast to some length, the stairwell had been flooded, however to what extent could not be seen from this vantage point.
"Well two ways forward, neither looking overly good." Austin says, glancing back to the closed door, then to the water-filled stairs. She glances to the others. "Any ideas for opening the door back there, or are we going to have to send Current ahead and see if this water has any places where those of us who still need air, can actually get to some?"
Uthal begins to examine the sliding door for any indication that it's been opened recently. "Somehow I can't imagine the fancy royals being much for swimming."
Perception: 7
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Gronk in Bastion, Kingdom of Medrin Elixisysin Talaveroth (Team 2) Uthal in Lost Continent of Theviranne
Upon inspecting the door, Uthal can discern that it is in fact a door, it can open, and has likely done so at some point in time. However, whether or not it had been opened recently is unknown. The ground around the door and the hall itself has been disturbed so often that there's no way for him to tell.
Current lifts an eyebrow in question to the others, "I don't mind checking ahead, but if this isn't where the source of the danger is, then I'm not sure that it's worthwhile. Besides, if the black tentacled creature that I had seen earlier is somewhere down there, then it might not be so safe."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“The mark of a successful DM is when you have caused more player deaths with doors than dragons, demons, or devils.”
"Easy way first,"Ura replies, inspecting the door for any sort of traps. (Investigation: 19) Having grown paranoid, she spreads her hands before the door and tries to feel for any sort of arcane energy that might not be visible to her naked eye. (Magic trap search: Arcana: 14). Once finished with those tasks, if she deemed it safe, she simply presses her ear to the door and listens for sound on the other side. (Perception: 8)
Stepping back after her thorough inspection, she shares her findings with the group.
Ura's precursory inspection of the door allows her to say with great confidence that it contained no physical or arcane traps, at least none on this side of the door. No magics or arcane energies seemed to resonate from it.
Neither, though, does any sound. Pressing her ear against the cold stone slab, he does not hear any sounds other than those being made by the present party.
(Anearis short rest hp recovery: 9)
(I swear I did not manipulate those rolls. The forum bot is being weird)
Maas takes a shortsword from Ura, shoving it into Juppo's hand, who proceeded to simply drag the blade along with him.
The cavern continued to fill up with the fog, limiting vision even further ((all vision limited to 20 feet)). However, upon descending the staircase, back into the hall, where they had only recently combated the assassins, they found the air here to at least be void of the fog.
The floor of the hall was also now void of the thrashing tentacles. However, the tentacles themselves were still there. Instead of a horde of wild tendrils whipping around, through some unholy portal opened by the cultist, the tentacles laid enmass across the floor, seemingly severed by the closing of whatever portal they were coming through.
Current creeps forward slowly and takes a closer look at the tentacles. Not touching them until they are identified, she just looks at them from afar as she thinks. "Where in the world did these tentacles come from? They don't look natural at all." She mutters aloud.
Intelligence Check: 7 (+2 if Arcana or Religion)
(OOC: Wow... I hate exhaustion.)
“The mark of a successful DM is when you have caused more player deaths with doors than dragons, demons, or devils.”
"If I had to take a guess, I'd say the plane of Xoriat," Ura says. "That's where apparently all these eldar brains that the Berossus twins were trying to summon came from. The caught the attention of a planar walker that we met, a Githerazi from the Plane of Limbo calling himself Eccks. He said he was from some "Order of Pahzishun" and was looking specifically for those dark shards they put the villagers up to collecting. Beskars, he called them. I think they're what power the cultists' abilities to open portals and summon things like those tentacles. Hopefully all this activity will summon Eccks back to wherever the Berrosus family is conducting their experiments, too."
Perhaps from her natural exhaustion, or the low light in the hall, or a general unfamiliarity with these particular creatures, or even some decay or deterioration of the severed things, or any combination of the former; Current could make out very little regarding the one to three-foot long array of tentacle pieces laying about the hall floor.
They were not wet, though had a liquidy substance about them. They were black in color. And from the ends, which likely should have been attached to something else, a black thick liquid was draining, as if bleeding out.
"I think we might be in over our heads here," Maas said to Juppo, after hearing Ura's summation of the evidence.
Austin side steps around the tentacle remnants. "Should we keep moving, I expect they have a good welcome party already set for us, but not sure how much more time we should give them..."
Current nods, "Unless we want to try going back through the black mist, forward seems to be the only option."
“The mark of a successful DM is when you have caused more player deaths with doors than dragons, demons, or devils.”
"Forward sounds best. Though," she says to Maas, mostly, but also Juppo, "If you guys want to hole up in here, it might be safer. If the fog starts coming down, if I were you I'd come after us. And if it lifts, make a break for it and get outside while you can. But you know. It's a free world, so you can do what you want. Just try to stay safe, whatever you're getting up to." She smiles wanly. "Sorry about trying to stab you and all that, when I thought you guys might've been complicit."
Ura tries to fade back into the shadows when she's done conversing, hoping to surprise the remaining cultist if they stumble across him. (Stealth: 9, fantastic). Believing herself to be well-hidden, she advances forward and peers down the corridor to try to see what awaits. (Perception: 22). And just in case, she calls her mage hand, keeping it close and invisible.
The party ventures south, through the hall, Ura under the impression that she's stealthy hidden, as rocks and sand beneath her feet crunch away, while walking down the hall's center, completely out in the open.
At the end of the long room, Maas stopped to settle Juppo down on a pile of rubble next to a pool of water. "Just take it easy, Juppo, I'm just going to look ahead with them." Maas then wedged his torch next to the halfling, into the rock pile, and followed the light of thebparty, sword drawn.
At the end of the hall, Ura found a corridor that took a turn towards the east. On the western and southern walls of the corridor were doors. Well, at least one door. The open doorway on the western wall was completely filled by rocks and sand that seemed to have caved in the room that was beyond the doorway. The blockage was solid and nothing could be seen beyond it.
The door on the south wall was another of those large double sliding-slab doors that the party had seen at the cave entrance, and within the bowels of the Castle of Aaaaargh. It was closed, and there was no sign of a pedalstal as the party had seen previously, for a way to open it.
Past the doors however, where the corridor turned a corner, it proceeded for another 15 feet or so, before becoming another descending staircase. A staircase which eventually led down into water. It appeared that atleast to some length, the stairwell had been flooded, however to what extent could not be seen from this vantage point.
"Well two ways forward, neither looking overly good." Austin says, glancing back to the closed door, then to the water-filled stairs. She glances to the others. "Any ideas for opening the door back there, or are we going to have to send Current ahead and see if this water has any places where those of us who still need air, can actually get to some?"
Uthal begins to examine the sliding door for any indication that it's been opened recently. "Somehow I can't imagine the fancy royals being much for swimming."
Perception: 7
Gronk in Bastion, Kingdom of Medrin Elixisys in Talaveroth (Team 2) Uthal in Lost Continent of Theviranne
Upon inspecting the door, Uthal can discern that it is in fact a door, it can open, and has likely done so at some point in time. However, whether or not it had been opened recently is unknown. The ground around the door and the hall itself has been disturbed so often that there's no way for him to tell.
Current lifts an eyebrow in question to the others, "I don't mind checking ahead, but if this isn't where the source of the danger is, then I'm not sure that it's worthwhile. Besides, if the black tentacled creature that I had seen earlier is somewhere down there, then it might not be so safe."
“The mark of a successful DM is when you have caused more player deaths with doors than dragons, demons, or devils.”
"Easy way first," Ura replies, inspecting the door for any sort of traps. (Investigation: 19) Having grown paranoid, she spreads her hands before the door and tries to feel for any sort of arcane energy that might not be visible to her naked eye. (Magic trap search: Arcana: 14). Once finished with those tasks, if she deemed it safe, she simply presses her ear to the door and listens for sound on the other side. (Perception: 8)
Stepping back after her thorough inspection, she shares her findings with the group.
Ura's precursory inspection of the door allows her to say with great confidence that it contained no physical or arcane traps, at least none on this side of the door. No magics or arcane energies seemed to resonate from it.
Neither, though, does any sound. Pressing her ear against the cold stone slab, he does not hear any sounds other than those being made by the present party.
"So, can we open it?" Austin asks as she leans against the far wall of the tunnel.
"I don't think it's blocked. Someone a little stronger than me can do the honors, though, that thing's stone," Ura says.
Uthal puts a shoulder into it.
Athletics: 25
Gronk in Bastion, Kingdom of Medrin Elixisys in Talaveroth (Team 2) Uthal in Lost Continent of Theviranne
Seeing Uthal open the door with ease, Anearis comments.
"Seems you recovered your strength alright"
He then peers into the room beyond to see what awaits them.
Perception: 17
Ura tries to fade back into the shadows, just as skillfully as the first time. (Stealth: 15)