Lemon grabs hold of the rope and readies to pull, given a command to do so. Orvex rushes to the left side of the open hallway and offers a hand to help anyone who might be jumping across. He yells, "Come on! Get out of there!"

The center-most archers fire at Boosey, their bolts hitting their mark (5 and 7 damage). Boosey watches in horror as the glittering string backs itself up and another bolt appears in place ready to fire. The bolts in his body fade away, leaving only leaking holes.

Watching the magical crossbow bolts charge up again, Nenne's face pales. She points her finger at the statue on the left and shouts, "Stand down!" Instantly, the warrior freezes as her spell saps the magic from it (Dispel Magic).

Coming to and caught off guard by the burning material on her skin and garments, Sthara rises and begins her ascent from the pit (Athletics: 4 if needed). 

Reaching the top, she tries to push herself to make it the rest of the way out (Acrobatics if needed: 10, using her action for movement). She mutters a word of comfort to herself as she does (Healing Word at 4th level, 12).

As Sthara becomes visible to more of the bronze statues, they let loose. Four bolts sing out towards the sorceress, the first finding its mark in her shoulder, and a second slicing into her side (8 and 2 damage). To everyone's dismay, the cube in Sthara's hands puffs out of existence as soon as it leaves the shrine's threshold.

Somehow, the gnome managed to keep his feet on the sliver of stone between the traps, dropping the rope to Sthara and muttering words that brought the sorcerer conscious again.  With the rope and the aid of the others Sthara emerged into the passage, covered in the vile slime, and quickly cleared the traps with a display of agility that defied her perilous condition.  Boosey, having taken two sore wounds from the statues, glanced back down to the main chamber, not liking the line of bronze crossbows pointing at him.   Quickly casting enhance ability on himself, he turned and with the grace of a cat he made two giant leaps for a creature of his size, exited the temple to lie down panting on the grass.

"The cube has gone up in a puff of smoke," he says to the party.  "We'll somehow have to get back in there for the other!"

Once the bard and the sorceress free themselves from the trap and achieve cover, Nenne immediately casts Cure Wounds on Sthara (4 healing) and starts to scrape the slime off with the rest of the spare cloth in her pack. "Secrets hide truth, and pain as well," she mutters, flinging a ruined piece of fabric away from her before it eats her skin. "This temple is certainly unforgiving. At least we know what we must do, now. Perhaps we should allow these two to rest before we attempt retrieving the final cube?"

"It would be appreciated..." Sthara says quietly, holding the largest of the sores on her skin.

"I was sure that was the cube."

"If ye went through that much trouble Yuan, then it better be!" Lemon looked back at the temple, "Or I'll take the other with me own arms!" 

Lemon looked at the grevious wounds, however healing some now, on the body of Sthara. "Let me help ye there sorceress. Ye did good today." (Healing Word: 10)

Lemon then looked at the pit, to the other side, then back at his friends. "If ye got the cube, we should go. Me body can turn to a beast as ye know. I'll cast a spell on meself and fly us across safely. It be quicker, and safer. What say ye all?"

"Sounds a fine enough plan, only we do not have the cube," Nenne says. She points to the secret room on the right. "It must be in there. If it is not, I am at a complete loss for how to proceed." 

Lemon stands up and looks to the tower. "Aye. If it be that way..." Lemon brought forth his club and shield. The wild look in his eyes and crazy smile were back, "I mind not bursting in and getting it meself!"

Lemon stands up, raises his hands in the air and yells, "May nature bless me! Hahaha!" He turns from the group and walks to the side if the temple, ignoring anything from Orvex. Along the rightmost part of the wall (9M), Lemon transforms to what his companions see as a raptor. The raptor, looking the wall then to the group, gives a grin, and begins to beat at the wall.

Orvex protests the idea as soon as it is known to him, even going so far as to beg Lemon's raptor form on his knees not to damage the work of history and lore. To his dismay, Lemon pounds the side of the temple open. As decayes as it is, the structure holds up well and takes a great deal of busting to make a hole even in the thinnest part of the structure. Lemon screeches at his work once a sizable hole is created. Through the swirling dust, the cube is accessible from a much safer vantage point.

Nenne places a consoling hand on Orvex's shoulder. "I understand your distress, scribe," she says kindly. "In this case, however, our lives and the souls of countless innocents take precedence. We have tried our best to preserve this place. We can no longer afford to be delicate."

With the cube in view, Sthara makes the decision to take on the burden of attempting to take it herself. The redness on her skin from the acid burns has become dried over and scaly and she tests its safety by poking at the crust. Satisfied, she says to the group, "I have already failed once to bring the correct cube out for us, so I will try again for the right one." 

She makes her way to the cube that is in view now that Lemon has destroyed the wall. She picks it up and rushes towards the group.

To everyone's relief, the cube stays whole once it is outside the shrine. Sthara comes out unharmed.

Back as himself, Lemon slaps the back of Orvex and gives a hearty laugh. "It be okay scribe! It be fer the better of the world!" He looks at Sthara, now holding the cube, then to the pit of lava. His face smiles in glee. "Ye know. I can still turn to a flyin' beast and get us all on the oth'er side. It take but a minute!" He goes to the edge, about 10ft from it, then looks to thr group. "Everybody ready? If so, let us move from this 'er hell hole. Literally." 

Lemon stood on the edge, "I can take one by one. Aye, but due to ye smaller... less meater folks," and he glances as Orvex and Boosey, "I can handle two."

Lemon raises his hands in the air and begins to chant. Low words emitting from his mouth when his body begins to change. He grows larger, lean, and feathers grow all over his body. Finally, after some seconds, stands a Giant Eagle... with the same lone bald spot on the top of it's head (Bald Eagle fellas). It's head jerks in a gesture to let everyone on one by one. First to go is Allister, to keep a helpful eye on Nenne who is next to go since of her condition. Afterwards is Sthara, then Orvex and Boosey at the same time.

Upon dropping them off the Eagle once more beckons Allister. They both take flight once more and head the the camp. In only a minute, the Bald Eagle sets him down. Once Allister is off, he sets into flight once more to catch the others. This time, the eagle takes Sthara, then Nenne. And lastly Boosy and Orvex together. After the safe landings of all this teammates, the bald eagle swoops in the air once more, this time with Boosey alone still on him, with plenty of time left in his spell, and surveys the surrounding land, traveling as far as to scope the whole city three times over. He surveys the land, making his rounds, in hopes of finding anything for his friends. And as something to clap himself on the back for carrying everyone, a place to get tasty food once he can polymorph once more. He is always hungry.

While the druid is flying around the city, Nenne reaches into her pack and takes something out for later. A small scrap of clothing falls out - a palm-sized swatch of fabric that didn't get eaten by slime. She picks it off the ground with a delicate hand, folds it, and puts it away. 

To Sthara she says, "You've had two brushes with death in as many days. How are you feeling, my friend?"

Returning on the eagle Lemon after their flight around the city, Boosey looks a little queasy and unsteady on his feet as he returns to terra firma.  "I've seen the locations of the other shrines.  Apart from the one behind our compound here, the others are well to the north and east.  One is up near the amphitheatre, but the other three are a bit more difficult to get to," and he describes their location to the others.  "These two," and he points to the shrines that are swamped with water, "are being attacked by your people Sthara!  The Yuan-ti are there in force, and here" he points to the northernmost shrine, "they seem to have been victorious.  It looked like the shrines were being defended by a group of Grungs.  I do not envy their fate."  He looks a little sheepish.  "I...I'm afraid I didn't see much more.  I've had a little too much experience of flying recently and.....and......well, falling from a great height doesn't make one a confident flyer!"

He points at the shrine that the party has visited but not found the segment of story.  "We should return there and see if we can find more of this story.  I'm convinced these snippets are linked with the puzzle cubes, and we may need them to figure this mystery out.  There must be one for each shrine."

While the others aren't looking, the gnome casts goodberry and gives all ten to the druid.  "For seeing safely back here off that god forsaken island," he whispers

"Thank you both for your reconnaissance," says Nenne, bowing slightly to Boosey and Lemon. "I'm leery to enter another temple with both our spellcasters in such delicate states, but I see the need for haste. I shudder to think what those Red Wizards are doing with their time. I would recommend a brief respite to allow the storyteller and lady mage to recuperate further, then we should decide where we will go next. But before that, we should rendezvous with our missing companion."

Her expression brightens and, for the first time in many weeks, a hint of springtime happiness blooms in her cheeks. "I saw Eku entering the city when our beastspeaker friend was flying me over the chasm. Give me a location and I will message her to meet us."