Eastern Tarthenol [IC]

[0nimaru]

The creature before you is three or four feet tall, but is bent over and comes up to your waist. It is green and covered in plant-like spines.

With amazing speed it attacks again before you have readied yourself.

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Attack (1d20+6)[15]
Damage (1d4)[2]
Sneak Attack (2d6)[6]

The creature's claws bounce off of your armor, which is fortuitous, as the tight tunnel was restricting your movements. The wooden protrusions which had jabbed you previously break off like rotten wood as your body brushes them.

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar feels encouraged by the creature's claws bouncing off his breastplate, and reaches out, attempting to press his wand against the creature's skin.

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Wand of Inflict Moderate Wounds: Creature
(1d20+4)[11]
(2d8+3)[13]

"You're just an ugly thing, aren't you? I can't wait to research your body and it's workings!"

[0nimaru]

The creature shows no reaction to your comment. It silently stabs out at you in the darkness a third time.

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Attack (1d20+6)[22]
Damage (1d4)[3]

It's accurate attack causes a small gash on your cheek which quickly stops bleeding.[2 damage]

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar grits his teeth as the claw passes just inches below his eye and turns his head to shout.

"Back up! I need room to fight this thing. Go back to the first opening!!"

[0nimaru]

You hear moving feet behind you as both Augh and Flatterly shuffle backwards and into the alternate passage.

There is approximately 10 feet between you and the wall you climbed down.

[Winged_Immortal]

Thankful for the extra room, Gaspar steps backward and places his wand to his chest, hoping to relieve some of the wounds he's taken during the fight.

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Inflict Moderate Wounds: Self
(2d8+3)[9]

Feeling the surge of energy remove some of his exhaustion, Gaspar readies himself to once again fight with the creature.

"Thank you both for moving back. Perhaps now we'll be on proper ground with this ugly thing!"

He grins, feeling much more confident than before.

[0nimaru]

As you pull backwards to give yourself more room to fight, your torch flickers with the motion and casts awkward shadows across the cave. When you stop and the light refocuses, the creature is gone. You listen for a moment, but the cavern is still and only the faint sound of dripping water reaches you. Above you, the sky begins to darken with clouds.

[Winged_Immortal]

As Gaspar registers what just happened he searches desperately to spot where the creature must have hid in the flickering light.

"Bloody sneaks, where'd it go."

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Search: Planty thing
(1d20+3)[10]

Unable to find the creature, Gaspar drops his guard, after pausing for a moment to consider, pressing the wand to his body again, feeling the energy surge into him again.

[Winged_Immortal]

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Inflict Moderate Wounds: Self
(2d8+3)[10]

Feeling the energy revitalize him he leans from one side to the other, considering. After a moment, Gaspar feels a slight bit of ache in his bones from the fall still and swaps wands for his Light Wounds wand, pressing it to his ankles.

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Inflict Light Wounds: Self
(2d8+3)[8]
Just need to roll one so disregard

Feeling fully rejuvenated, Gaspar turns to his companions.

"That was an interesting creature no?"

He smiles weakly, hoping he doesn't encounter it again.

[0nimaru]

Augh looks at you and has a worried look on his face; however, his voice is reassuring.
Yeah.. odd, but it seems like it had little enough patience. Seems that if it couldn't kill ya in the first couple gashes, it was gonna back off. I think we'll be just fine.

Flatterly had pulled some sort of clipboard out of his bag and for a few seconds was scribbling wildly. He tears off the scrap to show you a partial sketch of the creature which just attacked you. He obviously did not have a good view from his position, but he either has a good memory or a fast hand. He fixes his bullseye lamp to his hip and triggers a small projecting light on a band on his forehead. He stores the picture and loads new parchment onto the clipboard.
Creepy for sure, and deadly in the dark, but it would have at best taken one or two men at a time. The second team to come here was four strong. It's possible they got pinched from both sides.. so we ought to be on the lookout for more, or meaner, creepers down here. While we do.. I'm making my main pay mapping out this place. Might help us out of we get turned around as well.

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar considers that for a second and pulls out a second torch, lighting it and handing the lit one to Auugh.

"If they were pinched then you should definitely stand in the middle while Auugh and I take up the front and back. Auugh, would you prefer the front or back?"

After hearing Auugh's answer he turns back to the tunnel they just backed up from.

"Whatever it was seems to have had some sort of power over plants or something. When it struck me,"

Gaspar motions to the wilted roots around the cave tunnel.

"those lashed out and struck me too. We definitely need to be cautious."

After Auugh and Flatterly switch places Gaspar continues on, albeit at a slower pace now, Moderate Wounds wand at the ready, watching for any more of those plant creatures.

[0nimaru]

Spot: Keeping eyes open

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(1d20-1)[19]

You see no signs of the creature as you continue on the wet downward slope. Despite the slickness, the grooves in the floor provide adequate traction, and the slope remains constant. Fist sized rough holes pock the walls and ceilings of the cave with no consistency. Shining the lantern into the holes reveals little. They seem to be natural shaping, and most turn after a foot and you are unable to see further.

After following the tunnel for what you estimate to be half an hour, you've dropped at least a hundred feet of elevation, and the cave splits in two. Thirty degrees to the left of the old path the walls narrow into a squeeze for an undetermined distance. You notice a shiny glint down this passage reflecting from your light, but you can't make out what it is. Ten degrees to the right of the old path the tunnel slopes more rapidly and the ceiling descends. You would have to crouch to make your way forward, and if the ceiling continues down Augh would soon be crawling.

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar looks back and forth between the two passages. Both are easily a spot they could be ambushed from, and that isn't a possibility he likes in any way. However, the old trail is likely a more definsible position if the unwanted comes about.

"...To the right I guess..."

Gaspar swallows and crouches down, continuing into that tunnel hesitantly, on edge for what could happen.

[0nimaru]

As you crouch down and travel through the low tunnel you feel the ground beneath you shift. You realize that where before there was grooved stone, there is now loose earth. The walls and ceiling on this branch are smoother and more angular. There is a worn right angle where the ceiling meets the walls. The ceiling continues to descend and soon you too are crawling with your hands in the damp dirt. There is no more stream of water, but from the wetness of dirt it may have found it's way underneath your path. After fifteen minutes of crawling, your hand strikes a sharp object buried just below the surface of the dirt. From what you can see, it is a sharp stone tip. With only about a centimeter exposed from the dirt, you're unable to move it.

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar inspects the stone for a moment, holding the torch closer in an attempt to allow more light to be cast over the stone.

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Search: Pointy stone
(1d20+3)[22]

[0nimaru]

Brushing some of the dirt aside and digging downward slightly, you reveal a handsized stone wedge pointed like an inverted V. The point flattens lower down, and then curves back again, giving the impression of a stone spear-head. After uncovering the entire stone tip, the object is still firmly lodged in place. It feels as though more of its mass lies deeper under the dirt.

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar feels satisfied with his discovery and continues on, mindful of the sharp wedge while crossing it with his knees.

"Careful of that stone point I just dug out. Its very sharp."

[0nimaru]

Heading forward the slope continues downward just as it did before. The smoothly sloping ceiling ceases it's downward angle and angles upward from it's current position. Due to this you gain more headroom and eventually you are able to stand again. Soon after your feet leave dirt and strike solid, worked, stone tiles. The ceiling is a spacious 12 feet from the floo, and before you there is a vacant door frame which leads off into the darkness. Going forward through the frame you find the hallway continues onward in the darkness, but there are two closed stone doors across from one another on either side of the hallway.

[Winged_Immortal]

Happy to be standing up again, Gaspar moves to allow the others space to stand upright and stretches his back momentarily before looking between the two doors.

"I'm glad we got out of that cramped area but look, we have another branch."

He looks back to his companions before asking.

"Any direction either of you are partial to? I could care less which door we take. We'll be exploring every tunnel eventually anyway, right Flatterly?"

[0nimaru]

Flatterly scratches his head with the hand holding the pencil, he already has the clipboard and parchment back out. You're not positive whether or not he was mapping while crawling, but you wouldn't put it past him.
Well. You're the boss, since you're paying.. but I'd just sniff up next to each door and go through the one with the least foul scent. Or if they're both rancid, go straight on.

If you sniff about

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Then ask me, and I'll tell you.

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar, not about to sniff a doorway, goes to each and pauses for a moment before standing back between them and answering.

"Well... right I think. I guess."

He steps back to the stone door on the right and attempts to open it.

[0nimaru]

You find grooves worked into handholds near the edge of the door and pull on them. The door slides smoothly out of the wall as a light dusting of debris falls on you in a sneeze inducing cloud. When you recover yourself, you cast your light into the room. Inside the room there is a low stone table with two dark stone chairs pulled up to it. A pile of workman's tools lie on the table on top of a pile of dust. In the corner to your left, behind the table, the bones of a skeleton stretch across the floor, reaching away from you. The far wall has a similar door to the one you just opened, although it is lower and wider.

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar lets his eyes cast over the situation and is surprised by what he finds.

"Curioser and curioser...Got a body, a table, and some tools. Another door too."

He steps into the room and inspects the room, looking for anything of note.

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Search: Work Room
(1d20+3)[15]

[0nimaru]

What you took to be worker's tools may in fact be, but of no make that you've ever seen. There are odd pincered clamps and wrenches with hexagonal openings. It's hard to make heads or tails of the pile, although it appears they may have been stacked or contained together at some point as most of them have similar degrees of wear and aging.

It is difficult to come to any conclusions about the skeleton. It is shorter than a human, but not familiar to you. Any clothing it may have worn is no longer there, not even in scraps. Its body was left pointing away from the door, about a foot away from the table. One of it's arms looks like it may have been pointed at the unopened door.

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar takes in the room again after a closer look and sighs, still having no answers. But the skeleton pointing to the unopened door... maybe crawling away from the door he just came in?

"How do things look out there? There's another door in here. I think we should check it out, long as you're all comfortable with continuing on?"

Gaspar turns to ensure his companions are fine, having heard little from them since entering the room.

[0nimaru]

You hear Augh's voice from outside the room.
Aye. We're fine. I'm watchin' back the way we came, and Flat is lookin' towards the way down the hall. No sound so far, but things underground are pretty good at sneakin' around.. prepare to be surprised, and always look at the ceilings.. especially in the corners.

With this sage advice, you do look specifically at the four ceiling corners of this room. They appear to be empty except for a few aged cobwebs.

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar feels his stomach drop as he realized he hadn't looked in the corners until this moment, but then feels an immense wave of relief fall over him as he sees they're all empty.

"I'll keep that advice in mind, Auugh. Thank you. Would you all like to come in and we'll continue through this next door? Or shall I foot it alone."

Gaspar steps quietly next to the other door and waits for their answer. His hand is just inches from the handle.

[0nimaru]

I'd rather us not all bunched up together, t'be fair.

I agree. And I've already mapped that room. From the contents of it, I'd venture that the next door should be either an extremely large room of importance.. or a closet. It's either of those possibilities, I'm certain.

[Winged_Immortal]

"Fair enough. I'll open the door and let you know."

Gaspar reaches out and attempts to open the door, opening it wide to allow the torch to illuminate the room.

[0nimaru]

The room in front of you is rather large, as predicted. At the same time, it has the feel of closet. Dust, heavier and thicker than any of the previous rooms fills this room. Filling the room are 20 statues, in a 4x5 formation, all facing towards the wall from which you entered. The statues are covered in dust, but look to be the work of fine crafters. They are short and stout, but match no race you know of.