Zyn looked at the keys. She looked at the two yuan-ti guards, who slowly turned away and left - most likely in on the coup. She stretched her leg and bit her lip, carefully grabbing the keys with her toes. Like a gymnast or dancer, she held on to the chains with one hand and curling her legs upward in a hip raise, she dropped the keys in her foot into her hand. Lowering her leg, she took a second to release a puff of air, and winced. She used one hand to unlock one manacle, and the rest was easy.
"Ow. I think I popped one of my stitches with that move.."she said, rubbing her stomach, and inspecting the stitch.
She quickly unlocked everyone else after a moment.
"Are you guys ok? Shit, i'm glad we're not dead. Now we gotta do her dirty work, but hey, no one's objecting right?"
"Come on." Zyn encourages. "It'll be ok. We gotta find our stuff and the cubes."
Beyond the prisoner cell room, through the door, you can see another room beyond, and a long hallway. Zyn unlocks the door, and there are no signs of guards.
Kitsune will cast Disguise Self on herself, making her look like a Yuan-ti. She'll then "escort" the rest of the group, confidently striding down the hallway, towards area 1, with plans on heading south (to the left) after that. Acting like she belongs there, hoping her disguise makes it appear that she's a guard escorting the group around.
A bloodstained altar stands in the middle of this room. It has shackles bolted to its top and niches carved into its sides. Housed in each niche is a human skull. Grooves run down the altar to gutters on the floor, allowing spilled blood to drain into the walls. Clay urns overflow with wet bones and gore. To the north of this room is another door, and further down the hallways towards area 1 is another door in the hallway.
Four creatures are in this room, one in each corner. They look like eyeless velociraptors. They sniff the air as you pass through the room, but do not attack.
As you walk down the hall, the chamber ceilings are 20 feet high and corridor ceilings are 10 feet high. Doors are made from worked stone. Oil lamps provide dim light throughout the complex. Each lamp burns with a tall green flame as bright as torchlight.
AREA 1 - THE MAIN GATE
A wide passage slopes down to a set of bronze doors. Coiled serpents decorate the metal, with a sliding hatch at head height. Four-inch-wide holes pierce the base of each door. A yuan-ti with the lower body of a snake and the upper body of a snake man with four broodguards is here, standing on patrol. He notices as you enter the hallway.
"Where are you taking those prisoners?"he asks Kitsune-ti.
Kitsune responds back with a hurried "Ras Nsi ordered them to his quarters for interrogation!" (hurried, as in 'don't bother us, the boss gave me an order and I'm following it as quickly as I can') (no one bothers the dude walking around with the clipboard at work, right? They're obviously busy ... that's what I'm going for here.)
She'll turn left and head south, away from the main gate, deeper into the complex.
Four pillars carved with serpent reliefs support the 20-foot-high ceiling of this large room, in the middle of which is an 18-foot-high statue of a coiled cobra, facing north. Torches with green flames flicker on the walls, and the air reeks of dung. Two wagons are parked in one corner, and a triceratops is confined to a metal pen in another. To the west are a pair of dark alcoves, and to the south is a wide, pillared hall.
A very fat yuan-ti pureblood and four yuan-ti broodguards are stationed here. Two basilisks chained to hooks in the western alcoves are apparently trained not to look their yuan-ti masters in the eye. Chewed bits of stone litter the floor in the alcoves. There is a triceratops confined to the metal pen in the northwest corner. At the moment, it's docile. A supply wagon contains shovels and other crude cleaning equipment.
The fat yuan-ti, eating what looks like candied eggs glares at you all as you approach. His face wrinkles in contempt.
"You!"he calls out to Kitsune-ti, pointing to the floor. "This floor is dirty from the basilisks last meal! Have the prisoners clean it!"
Still looking like she's on an immediate, time-sensitive mission, Kitsune calls out "Sorry, boss, Ras Nsi requested these prisoners brought to him at once, for interrogation. I'll bring 'em right back here after Ras Nsi is done with 'em, and have 'em clean up this place with their tongues!" and she laughs a deep, belly laugh at that last comment as she drags the prisoners along with her, heading to the south to area 3.
The walls of this pillared hall bear reliefs of a giant serpent and its yuan-ti worshipers doing truly terrible things.
The wall reliefs show the legend of Dendar the Night Serpent and the rise of Ras Nsi. You can't help but see them as you walk by. You see very obvious scenes:
A giant serpent coils in the underworld, devouring the dreams of sleeping creatures. Yuan-ti terrorize Chultans, feeding their nightmares to the great serpent. A yuan-ti malison (Ras Nsi) wielding a flaming sword and wearing a gold crown set with a black opal leads the snake people to a great door to the underworld. The door to the underworld opens, releasing the serpent. It devours the sun and plunges the world into terror and darkness. The last scene sends shivers up your spine.
At the end of the hallways is a path that leads deeper into the complex.
Kitsune whispers to the team "Geeze, this RazzKnees guy sure thinks highly of himself!" as she leads the team quietly through the hall, and down the path leading deeper into the complex.
Kitsune will lead the group to the first intersection, and peer down the path to the southwest (note: she has Umbral Sight, so she can see 60' in pitch darkness). If nothing looks interesting down that way, she'll step a few feet forward and do the same at the next intersection (looking north, east, and south). We're looking for room 13.
Stacks of sturdy wood crates, bundles of cloth, and clay amphorae litter the floor. A giant constructor uncoils from the darkness upon your approach, giving you, and the prisoners a wary glance.
"Praise Dendar."the giant snake says. "How can Azi help you today. Are you lost? The prisoner pens are on the other side of the compound."
Kitsune acts startled, as if she just walked into the wrong room (but meta realizes that this is room 13, where Fenthaza said their equipment was stashed), but responds back to Azi "Aye, Praise Dendar! Ras Nsi sent me to pick up all these slaves equipment...they're to be sacrificed to Dendar immediately, and Ras Nsi wanted to burn them alive with all their equipment..." she hisses excitedly, as if she were looking forward to the ceremony.
Zyn looked at the keys. She looked at the two yuan-ti guards, who slowly turned away and left - most likely in on the coup. She stretched her leg and bit her lip, carefully grabbing the keys with her toes. Like a gymnast or dancer, she held on to the chains with one hand and curling her legs upward in a hip raise, she dropped the keys in her foot into her hand. Lowering her leg, she took a second to release a puff of air, and winced. She used one hand to unlock one manacle, and the rest was easy.
"Ow. I think I popped one of my stitches with that move.." she said, rubbing her stomach, and inspecting the stitch.
She quickly unlocked everyone else after a moment.
"Are you guys ok? Shit, i'm glad we're not dead. Now we gotta do her dirty work, but hey, no one's objecting right?"
Kira shrugs and nods, eyeing the door very nervously.
Stella Diamant, Human Rogue 17 (Swashbuckler), The Exploits of Misfit Company
Kat, Medtech, Cyberpunk: Red
Shi, Changeling Bard 4 (College of Spirits), Tyrant's Grasp
Dani, Human Artificer 9 (Armorer), Skulls and Starships
DM, Project Point (Teams Scimitar and Longsword)
Everything Else!
"Come on." Zyn encourages. "It'll be ok. We gotta find our stuff and the cubes."
Beyond the prisoner cell room, through the door, you can see another room beyond, and a long hallway. Zyn unlocks the door, and there are no signs of guards.
Kitsune will cast Disguise Self on herself, making her look like a Yuan-ti. She'll then "escort" the rest of the group, confidently striding down the hallway, towards area 1, with plans on heading south (to the left) after that. Acting like she belongs there, hoping her disguise makes it appear that she's a guard escorting the group around.
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
AREA 6 - SACRIFICIAL CHAMBER
A bloodstained altar stands in the middle of this room. It has shackles bolted to its top and niches carved into its sides. Housed in each niche is a human skull. Grooves run down the altar to gutters on the floor, allowing spilled blood to drain into the walls. Clay urns overflow with wet bones and gore. To the north of this room is another door, and further down the hallways towards area 1 is another door in the hallway.
Four creatures are in this room, one in each corner. They look like eyeless velociraptors. They sniff the air as you pass through the room, but do not attack.
Kitsune continues to lead her group of prisoners through room 6 towards area 1.
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
As you walk down the hall, the chamber ceilings are 20 feet high and corridor ceilings are 10 feet high. Doors are made from worked stone. Oil lamps provide dim light throughout the complex. Each lamp burns with a tall green flame as bright as torchlight.
AREA 1 - THE MAIN GATE
A wide passage slopes down to a set of bronze doors. Coiled serpents decorate the metal, with a sliding hatch at head height. Four-inch-wide holes pierce the base of each door. A yuan-ti with the lower body of a snake and the upper body of a snake man with four broodguards is here, standing on patrol. He notices as you enter the hallway.
"Where are you taking those prisoners?" he asks Kitsune-ti.
Kitsune responds back with a hurried "Ras Nsi ordered them to his quarters for interrogation!" (hurried, as in 'don't bother us, the boss gave me an order and I'm following it as quickly as I can') (no one bothers the dude walking around with the clipboard at work, right? They're obviously busy ... that's what I'm going for here.)
She'll turn left and head south, away from the main gate, deeper into the complex.
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
You go down the hall into AREA 2.
AREA 2 - THE HALL OF WAR
Four pillars carved with serpent reliefs support the 20-foot-high ceiling of this large room, in the middle of which is an 18-foot-high statue of a coiled cobra, facing north. Torches with green flames flicker on the walls, and the air reeks of dung. Two wagons are parked in one corner, and a triceratops is confined to a metal pen in another. To the west are a pair of dark alcoves, and to the south is a wide, pillared hall.
A very fat yuan-ti pureblood and four yuan-ti broodguards are stationed here. Two basilisks chained to hooks in the western alcoves are apparently trained not to look their yuan-ti masters in the eye. Chewed bits of stone litter the floor in the alcoves. There is a triceratops confined to the metal pen in the northwest corner. At the moment, it's docile. A supply wagon contains shovels and other crude cleaning equipment.
The fat yuan-ti, eating what looks like candied eggs glares at you all as you approach. His face wrinkles in contempt.
"You!" he calls out to Kitsune-ti, pointing to the floor. "This floor is dirty from the basilisks last meal! Have the prisoners clean it!"
Still looking like she's on an immediate, time-sensitive mission, Kitsune calls out "Sorry, boss, Ras Nsi requested these prisoners brought to him at once, for interrogation. I'll bring 'em right back here after Ras Nsi is done with 'em, and have 'em clean up this place with their tongues!" and she laughs a deep, belly laugh at that last comment as she drags the prisoners along with her, heading to the south to area 3.
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
AREA 3 - THE HALL OF SERPENTS
The walls of this pillared hall bear reliefs of a giant serpent and its yuan-ti worshipers doing truly terrible things.
The wall reliefs show the legend of Dendar the Night Serpent and the rise of Ras Nsi. You can't help but see them as you walk by. You see very obvious scenes:
A giant serpent coils in the underworld, devouring the dreams of sleeping creatures. Yuan-ti terrorize Chultans, feeding their nightmares to the great serpent. A yuan-ti malison (Ras Nsi) wielding a flaming sword and wearing a gold crown set with a black opal leads the snake people to a great door to the underworld. The door to the underworld opens, releasing the serpent. It devours the sun and plunges the world into terror and darkness. The last scene sends shivers up your spine.
At the end of the hallways is a path that leads deeper into the complex.
Kitsune whispers to the team "Geeze, this RazzKnees guy sure thinks highly of himself!" as she leads the team quietly through the hall, and down the path leading deeper into the complex.
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
"One snake too many." Zyn says nervously, looking around.
Which path do you wish to take?
Kitsune will lead the group to the first intersection, and peer down the path to the southwest (note: she has Umbral Sight, so she can see 60' in pitch darkness). If nothing looks interesting down that way, she'll step a few feet forward and do the same at the next intersection (looking north, east, and south). We're looking for room 13.
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
Southwest appears to be a storage room. South appears to be a distillery, north appears to be a temple, and east appears to be a pit of some sort.
Kitsune whispers "As tasty as a good ale sounds right about now, we need our weapons and equipment....let's go check out that storage room."
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
AREA 13 - STOREROOM
Stacks of sturdy wood crates, bundles of cloth, and clay amphorae litter the floor. A giant constructor uncoils from the darkness upon your approach, giving you, and the prisoners a wary glance.
"Praise Dendar." the giant snake says. "How can Azi help you today. Are you lost? The prisoner pens are on the other side of the compound."
Kitsune acts startled, as if she just walked into the wrong room (but meta realizes that this is room 13, where Fenthaza said their equipment was stashed), but responds back to Azi "Aye, Praise Dendar! Ras Nsi sent me to pick up all these slaves equipment...they're to be sacrificed to Dendar immediately, and Ras Nsi wanted to burn them alive with all their equipment..." she hisses excitedly, as if she were looking forward to the ceremony.
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
Insight: 11
"Burn them alive? An odd request. Burning means less blood. And we require blood for the sacrifices to appease Dendar and his eventual return."
Kitsune's deception check: 2
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?