[IC] Illistera - The Great Divide

[Toxic Mind]

Vistra

"I heard it cry out - whether that was a death scream or something else, I think it bears checking - it would not do to leave such a beast alive."

[miinstrel]

Mellok looks at Vistra as though noticing her for the first time during this exchange. His eyes seem focused on your facial scar, and you can't help but follow the twisting path of his own across his nose and right cheek. "You heard the captain," he says over his shoulder to Adler. "Find some damn rope. And I expect to see you here tonight..." he says not so much threateningly as asserting his authority. Adler clenches his jaw and heads toward a small supply door near the gate, returning a minute or so later with a hefty coil, tying one end around a beam on the gate and throwing the rest into the pit before walking off.
"Nice kill," he commends the group as he leaves.

"This is going to interfere with traffic in the morning," the Silver Scale pipes up. "Lady Storm needs to be notified."
Mellok seems exhausted at the thought. "Right. Well, first things first. Kalinara: your kill," he says implying the closure is your responsibility.

After a pregnant pause, Mellok addresses everyone, "We need more people like you." He stands awkwardly for a few moments leaving an opportunity for comment before departing with the Scale member who also gives you a nod of acknowledgment.

Spoiler: OOC

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If anyone wants to continue conversations with any of these guys before they leave please do so, I'm just staging the post to move forward if that's the way things develop.

[atlastrembles]

Aurix Brightscale

Aurix's vision swam with spots of bright light and swirling darkness. The last thing he remembered was a tight feeling around his torso, a looming grey mass, then a feeling of weightlessness. Had he been...thrown? Did he fly? He couldn't remember, but something had definitely happened. He knew he had scored a direct hit on the Titan, had pushed all his power into that searing bolt of light, but the rest was hazy.

His ribs, arms, legs, neck hurt, but he was thankful to be alive. He could feel Mutt licking and nipping his crest and forehead. He pushes him away and groans as he tries to sit up, feeling something grind and shift inside his chest. Definitely broke a rib or two I think he muses as he levers himself up. Judging by the absence of sound and a massive monster, the Titan had been defeated.

The scaled human...Kali, was it?...offers him some berries which he chews silently as he takes stock of what happened. They ease the pain in his chest but Aurix knows that he's still badly injured. He closes his eyes and focuses on the light within himself, guiding it inwards towards the points of pain within him. He feels a searing sensation, then a cooling, as the light subsides - Healing Light - (2d6)[5] -- and he stand shakily.

What happened? he asks to no one in particular, shuffling over to where his companions are gathered around a large...hole? Was that there before?

[Armored Walrus]

Bren

Bren picks his way down the stairs and steps up behind Aurix, placing a hand on his hard-scaled shoulder. "You okay, friend?" he asks solicitously. The dragon man seems steady enough on his feet, so Bren moves his attention to the two officials standing there awkwardly.

"Stag Master," he says, extending a hand; and "Lieutenant?" he offers to the other, unsure how their rank system works but figuring this is a generic enough title to not cause offense.

"I take it you wish us to pursue the creature down this hole? Is this something the Council and/or the City Guard is prepared to compensate us for? I'm by no means a greedy man, but, well, my landlord does charge rent..."

[Toxic Mind]

Vistra

She meets his stare unflinching. There was no shame in her scars, at least not in the appearance. They marked her as one who had known combat and survived, tasted failure and lived through it. For true warriors, that mattered more than any medal or commendation. Vistra nods her head at the acknowledgement from the Stag Master. It seemed scant praise, but inwardly she could not have been happier. She knew that their efforts would bear fruit and would be sanctioned, even unofficially, eventually, but to receive it so soon from such a prominent member of the military forces - high praise indeed.

She snorts at Bren's question, and leaves to go check on Aurix - the lad looked pretty shaky. "You all right there? Looks like you took a pretty nasty hit." she says softly, so as to not draw attention or embarrass him if he were worried about such things.

[ProudGrognard]

Groth

Groth can feel some internal agitation, but he is not sure what is happening. Neither does he understand why noone seems to be discussing the tunnel more.

"This is good team, yes? There is a tunnel in the hole. Should we not investigate?"

[darkmoonrise312]

Kalinara

Kali puts her arm down somewhat awkwardly, realizing her default to salute was unneeded for the Stagmaster. She was a little ashamed of hardly striking a blow against the beast, but that hardly mattered now. Her new allies had come together and defeated it, and now what was important was finishing the kill. Alder returned with the rope as the task force began to surround. The only one with any injury - Aurix she thought his name may be - was standing and recovering. Good, no more would die today.

Realizing her weapon was laying on the opposite side of the wall, she went to go run to get it when she realized Groth had acquired a more fitting weapon of his own. "Hey Groth, may I have my ax back please."

"If we're all ready, lets head down there and make sure it is dead."

Spoiler: OOC

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Insight check (1d20+3)[7]
Athletics check if needed to climb down the hole: (1d20+2)[7]

[miinstrel]

As Bren extends his hand to Mellok and he doesn't reach back, the other fellow takes your grasp, graciously avoiding at least some of the embarrassment on his colleague's behalf. "Fenton, Scaleguard to Lady Storm. A pleasure."

Mellok replies, "I can't do that. Hunters get room and board - This is just part of the job. And seems the hours are getting longer..."

"Perhaps there's something... else, they might assist with that could provide some compensation?" Fenton interjects. Mellok flashes him a disapproving look, but between Fenton's innocent suggestion and the friendly persistence in Bren's eyes, he finally adds, "Find me later," before heading off in a huff. Fenton raises his eyebrows and watches the half-orc leave with a sidelong look as though hoping to avoid his wrath before sending you all a quick smile and nod of the head as he follows.

Meanwhile, Kali eagerly makes her way below the surface. The rope holds true, but some of the footing isn't as solid as you thought and you slip a bit during the descent. After about 30 feet the light tapers off and visibility decreases. Another 10 feet and your foot hits a firm, flat spot on the wall you'd wager is stone. The air down here is choked with dust and dries out your sinuses.

Spoiler: OOC

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Athletics checks to descend the rope if/when you do so.

After 30' down you need either Darkvision or a light source to see properly.

[ProudGrognard]

Groth

Groth gives the ax back.

"I thank you for this, yes. But wait, crazy man! Don't go down alone, and you still can see! Wait for me to come back!"

Groth runs to take his own gear and arrives back, geared. Seeing that Kali is already down, he sighs and yells.

"Kali! Not go down alone! Pull you up, yes? And then we all go down!"

[Bounty Hunter]

Valmora Level 3 Bard AC : 14 DC : 14 Spd : 30 Init : +3 Current HP 21 / 21 Hit Die 3 / 3 Inspiration 1 / 1 Bardic Insp 1 / 2 Spell Slots 4 / 4 2 / 2

'Luckily no one was seriously injured or killed. But that certainly could have gone much much better.' The young dragonborn thinks to herself as the encounter with the titan seems to draw to a close. She makes haste to attend to Aurix and his wounds; luckily there were others in their little posse who also had healing magiks on-hand--for which she was extremely grateful. "How's the head after that thrashing? Just one or two broken ribs... you going to be alright?" She asks, hoping her drinking buddy wouldn't be out of commission for too long. She makes her way down to the street with the others and stands at the edge of the large burrow the titan had made. "The air tastes weird, is it from the beast?" She asks, but is quickly interrupted by the sight of the approaching Huntsmen. As they approach, she takes a few steps away from the hole and takes up a semi-casual stance... she'd not done too much interacting with the Hunstmen yet and didn't know the proper way to go about it. The introductions and conversation seem a bit overly awkward so she fights the urge to speak up for fear of making things worse. She addresses Groth's inquiry about the tunnel though and agrees it bears checking out. If there is time to do so, she'll head back up the road to Finnean's and collect the rest of her pack and bow--certainly will help to have proper weaponry when danger rears up again. Arriving back on-scene with her companions, she waits for the first person to descend and then offers to go next. Spoiler: Out of Character Show Being a Tabaxi, I have a climb speed, let me know if that matters here. I also have Darkvision. Heres a d20 if you want athletics or anything just in case: (1d20)[11]

[miinstrel]

Groth departs with a dash returning 3-4 minutes later slightly winded. Valmora's trip is shorter since Finnean's is only a block away.

Spoiler: Valmora

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You may skip the athletics check given your climb speed. The ground is soft in spots, but you can easily work your way down without difficulty.

[darkmoonrise312]

Kalinara

Groth's words ring true as she touches down. The momentary examination proves the beast is not at the bottom of the hole, and thus could still be a threat. So it would be best to retrieve weaponry. She asks to be pulled up by the half Orc, and informs the group of the lack of corpse. As Groth and Valmora head off to grab their more effective weaponry, Kali heads to the other side of the wall to pick up her fallen ax. As she turns the corner of the gate, she sees the slain body of the guard turned thrall and remorses. With a few pieces of wood and scraps of cloth, she makes a small ramshackle Triskelion on the guard's body, silently asking the god of protection to let the guard's soul rest in peace. And to also ensure the body doesn't rise up again. Once she returns with both her axes, she lights a torch and prepares her team for the decent.

[atlastrembles]

Aurix Brightscale

The silver dragonborn manages a three-quarters grin / one quarter wince as his friends ask after his health. I'm fine, mostly. Still seeing spots, but I'm alright, thank the Light. Better than that poor guard...wish there was something we could have done.

Sighing, he moves over to the hole in the ground and peers down into the darkness, frowning. He grabs a nearby rock and mutters a short incantation, causing the rock to glow brightly. Heads up! he calls as he drops the rock into the hole, illuminating the tunnel before he begins climbing down. He's surprised that he can manage this feat despite the beating he had taken, but it was just further proof of the power he now held. No mere researcher was Aurix anymore, and he would continue to prove it.

He waits at the edge of the tunnel for the more martial characters to head down first, then climbs down himself.

Athletics - (1d20)[3]

[Toxic Mind]

Vistra

At Aurix's mention of the guard, Vistra smiles sadly. "We put him to rest again. That is enough - do not let his death weigh on your heart." They are small words of comfort, but they will have to do for now. The climb awaits.

As they descend, Vistra follows right behind Kali, glad of the rope, but otherwise strong and sure-footed.

[miinstrel]

Aurix's rock bounces once... twice... down the hole before landing on something soft and round and rolling to the side, clattering on the stone floor below. In its glow you see the hulking mass of the Titan apparently unmoving. With the light you see the tunnel hole leads through a domed, stone ceiling with about another 15 foot drop to the floor. The Titan provides an uncomfortable platform to brace against for the final few feet. While most of you descend with a modicum of effort, Aurix finds the dusty air just a little too tickly and unleashes a violent sneeze causing him to lose his grip and his balance as he makes the transition to the free climb. Valmora jumps out of the way, but Aurix lands with a thud on the hard stone.

Once on the floor you see the Titan is impaled on some kind of stone statuary, rivulets of blood running down it to the cracks in the floor. The chamber seems to be about 15x20, and the floor is littered with dozens of small, round, stony objects. The light from Aurix's rock casts long, rounded shadows across the walls from these odd pebbles. At about chest height on the wall, a relief carving of two undulating lines intersecting each other runs around the circumference of the chamber.

A round doorway leads into another chamber on the northwest corner. A second passage seems to have collapsed in on itself in the northern wall, rubble spilling out into the room.

Spoiler: OOC

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Groth and Vistra can't fail the climb check so no need to roll.

Aurix takes (2d6)[12] falling damage.
EDIT: OUCH! Sorry atlas :P

[Bounty Hunter]

Valmora Level 3 Bard AC : 14 DC : 14 Spd : 30 Init : +3 Current HP 21 / 21 Hit Die 3 / 3 Inspiration 1 / 1 Bardic Insp 1 / 2 Spell Slots 2 / 4 2 / 2

Valmora peers around the large subterranean room where the titan had finally met it's fate. It seems they hadn't killed it after all and that the thing had tried to escape too quickly which caused it to run afoul of a deadly drop. At least it had opted to burrow underground rather than rampaging through the city streets though; a hole in the road and damage to some forgotten catacomb was much more preferable to ruined houses and business. Her curiosity of the strange stones on the floor is interrupted by a sneeze from behind and above, which is quickly followed by a sickening sound of someone tumbling down the tunnel. Wheeling and dodging, she gets out of the way just as her complain clatters unto the ground near the group. Inhaling long and slow, Valmora laments what a terrible day Aurix was having. She no longer feels terrible for having missed a few measly shots with the crossbow compared to his luck. "I know some minor healing spells, but he's hardly going to be in the shape to carry on at this rate." Spoiler: Healing for Aurix Show Rolled in the OOC to give Aurix 8 HP. Two spell slots which could have healed for up to 20, squeaked out a massive 8 and 4 of them were guaranteed due to modifier.

[Armored Walrus]

Bren

Bren slithers down the rope behind Aurix, doing his best not to also sneeze in the dust kicked up by the dragonborn's unfortunate fall. "Looks like he's got the wind knocked out of him. Probably his own healing magic is his best bet, at the moment."

Assuming Aurix will be able to take care of himself, and that the members of actual martial groups will take care of making sure nothing will jump out at them from the mysterious tunnel, Bren pulls out a bundle of parchment and starts taking notes. The up-angled, harsh light from the stone is murder for writing, but he jots down a quick word-sketch of the titan, the strange statuary on which it's impaled, and any details about the unknown tunnel in which the group finds themselves.

Spoiler: OOC

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While I'm looking around I want to check whether this chamber is used or long-forgotten. ie. how thick is the dust, any tracks? etc. Guess that's Survival? (1d20+1)[3] If Perception, same bonus, if Investigation, it's just the flat d20.

Okay, what the actual *%^&?

[miinstrel]

The Titan's mass covering most of the statue besides its square base. It would need to be hoisted off somehow to get a proper look. The chamber is quite plainly loooong out of use though. The dusty floor is thinner in some spots than others but it's difficult to say if that's from live traffic or just how things settled after the tunnel collapsed.

[Toxic Mind]

Vistra

"I had no idea something like this was down here. At least we know the Titan is dead, but I would be lying if I said my curiosity wasn't a little piqued." Vistra says, looking around the room. It was ancient, that much was clear. She tries to think back to her schooling, if anything like this had ever been mentioned, or even hinted at.

Spoiler: History

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(1d20)[15]

[darkmoonrise312]

Kalinara

As Kalinara touched down on the floor of the long dead hallway, she took a moment to assess the monster that had fallen. So it is dead. Thank the heavens we don't have to go on a chase through the sewers.

As she began to examine the monster, a huge sneeze and thumb brought her attention away from the Titan to the dragonborn now laying on his back, winded. "You are having no luck today." She said as she went to help him up.

Returning her attention to the monster, she picked up the glowing stone to examine the creature more carefully. Knowing your enemy is vital, and any information she could gleam on titans could be the key to stopping the next one. Maybe it had some poison glands she could harvest?

Suddenly a thought comes to her, If this thing could make undead, it could return to unlife itself. With that in mind she quickly goes to hacking the beast apart with her axes, chopping through the creature until she finds a heart, or something equivalent and carves it out of the beast. Hopefully that would mean it would stay dead.

Spoiler: OOC

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She is going to examine the Titan closely, but I don't know exactly what roll you would want. So a flat D20 roll: (1d20)[14] If its perception or survival, its plus five; if its nature +1. if its investigation -1.

Separate survival roll to see if I can find poison glands or something else useful. (1d20+5)[20]

[Bounty Hunter]

Valmora Level 3 Bard AC : 14 DC : 14 Spd : 30 Init : +3 Current HP 21 / 21 Hit Die 3 / 3 Inspiration 1 / 1 Bardic Insp 1 / 2 Spell Slots 2 / 4 2 / 2

"The city itself is ancient; I wonder if there are just parts of it that weren't discovered." Valmora comments once the group is once again all conscious. She helps her dragonborn friend to his feet if he needs it as she continues. "Or maybe it was discovered but deemed best to seal of for one reason or another. The tunnel there is collapsed for example, perhaps its not safe to be down here or the collapse cut off this area from the surface?" If no one else does so, she will pick up the glowing rock to better shed light around the room.

[Armored Walrus]

Bren

"Was the tunnel collapsed before the titan fell through it, I wonder?"

[Bounty Hunter]

Valmora Level 3 Bard AC : 14 DC : 14 Spd : 30 Init : +3 Current HP 21 / 21 Hit Die 3 / 3 Inspiration 1 / 1 Bardic Insp 1 / 2 Spell Slots 2 / 4 2 / 2

"That shouldn't be to difficult to determine once we take a closer look. Where should we start?"

[Armored Walrus]

Bren

Bren glances around at the group. "Well, I'm uncertain what our quest here is at this point. We've verified the beast is dead, as the Stag Master required. Although I'm curious,what else may be down here, it's worth noting we're under no obligation to explore this any further." He stows his writing materials and dusts his hands. "However, if we are going to study this discovery, I'd like to start with whatever might be under this corpse. Think this thing is too heavy to move?"

Spoiler: OOC

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How heavy do we think this titan is? Would we be able to lift it off the statuary and see what it fell on?

[atlastrembles]

Aurix Brightscale

Aurix coughs and winces as he sits up from his fall. Everything hurts he grumbles, but stretches the kinks out of his neck. The pain is soon forgotten as he looks around the room, enthralled by this mystery. What IS this place? he thinks as he gets his bearings.

He waves off his friends' concern, not wanting to appear weak, and wanders around the room, looking for any inscriptions, pictoral carvings, or any sense of a pattern the stones on the floor might make.

Investigation - (1d20+4)[10]

[miinstrel]

As Kalinara hacks away at the Titan's softer underbelly, the pieces fall away easily, much of it already disintegrating and seeming more and more decayed the further toward the center she gets. Like a skilled lumberjack she chops away pieces until the thing slides off the statue, vital organs catching on the triangular point and ripping from its rib cage. The statue is square at the base with several small alcoves no larger than your fist carved into each of the sides. Each alcove is empty except one that has tiny broken fragments of something that may once have been blueish inside littering its base. It looks like it may have once been about the same size as the spheres on the ground. The top is triangular forming a stony spike about 3 feet tall.

The tunnel to the north had clearly collapsed long before the Titan's intrusion.

Spoiler: Aurix

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A cursory look around the room notes a lot of round motifs... a domed ceiling, a circular exit to the northwest... the room itself actually almost seems ovoid in shape now that you look at it more carefully. Accidentally stepping on one of the small pebbles as you walk around emits a delicate *crunch* from beneath your boot. Lifting your foot you see it's collapsed to dust under the pressure, seemingly hollow. Glancing around you see evidence that others seem to have broken previously, some remnants covered in dust like the rest of the chamber and others less so.

Spoiler: Vistra

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Given your work rooting the seedier elements of the city out of their hiding places, you are aware there are pockets here and there tucked away from view. You have encountered a subterranean area similar to this that was repurposed as an opium den when you were in the heat of your Baros pursuit, but for the most part these aren't common. And especially not this deep under ground.

Spoiler: Kalinara

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Looking at this creature up close, it's no wonder it wasn't seen until now... the thing is built to dig. With each Titan varying dramatically from the others it's difficult to learn anything truly useful from the corpse to help with future threats. Prying open its mouth you see no evidence of poison glands, though the tongue muscles are exceptionally long and tightly coiled near the back of the throat.

[Armored Walrus]

Bren

Bren casts about for one the small spheres on the ground and experimentally inserts it into one of the niches in the statue.

[miinstrel]

It fits perfectly, nestling into the slightly curved base with about an inch of open space on all sides. As you insert your hand you notice the small alcove is slightly warmer than the air in the rest of the chamber.

[ProudGrognard]

Groth

Groth is the last to come down, and by the time he gets there, the titan has been chopped and people are putting pebbles in strange niches. He knows nothing of these things, so he spends some time looking around.

Perception (1d20+2)[16]

"I will go check around a bit, yes", he says before moving as silently and as cautiously as he can a bit up the corridor. His eyesight is much better for this, rather than most of the others

Stealth (1d20+3)[16] and scouting a bit up the corridor,as the others are making things happen.

[Armored Walrus]

Bren

"Curious," Bren mutters audibly to himself. He starts looking around for more spheres to add to the statue.