Dr. Si's Curse of the Crimson Throne - Beta Group

Ambrus said:

Dj'hân lets out a tired breath. "Well, I just finished tying up an all." The urchin glances uncertainly over at the three slumbering blue-skinned humanoids. "I uh... I'm just wondering what they were doing down here ya know. An whether they've got any friends we should be worrying about. Since they're tied up an all, couldn't we just march em back to the citadel or somethin? Seems kinda, I dunno, wrong ta just feed em to a drek eater."

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"Sometimes there isn't a cut-and-dried answer, it seems. Even for one as tied to structure and conformity as I. While the best course would be to take them back to the citadel for judgment, that is problematic as well. It requires that we either leave our mission now to do so, or leave them tied and helpless in this hostile environment. In which case they may be killed anyway, or freed by friends so that we have to fight them again on our way out. Also, I believe them to be both lawless and evil, and our friend Edmond informs me that city policy is that they are to be killed on sight - so they would be executed as soon as a member of the watch saw them. My belief is that avoiding this very unpleasant task - farming it out to the watch or to whatever comes on them tied and helpless - is simply killing them without taking responsibility for doing so. That also would be evil."

Manachan gives a slight start and looks around, suddenly embarrassed - even slightly distressed - at his uncharacteristic lengthy speech. He looks down and clears his throat, then continues softly.

"Um, anyway, we could possibly learn something from them through questioning. But we shouldn't give them hope of living if they answer, if we don't intend to let them live. And we should be aware that to kill them while they are conscious will be much more distressing for us . . . for me at least."

Having reasoned things through, the Monk turns once again to the business at hand.

"Do any of you speak the language of these creatures?"

"Thing, would you please leave those legs and, if you still have it, upper part of the that body, here where I stand? We have to find Shoanti and those legs have the markings of one. Did you see or eat any other tattooed bodies recently?"

He waits for the answer, absently waving Brindom away "Yeah, I'll be right with you"

After receiving an answer, he joins the rest of the group.

OOC: how much healing from Dj'ahn's 'stab'
OOC2: I'm home baby sitting and will probably be slow to post until at least wednesday

Thing puts down the legs. It then runs its sensory tentacle over the body parts, almost caressing them in a disturbing fashion. Its tongue lolls from its huge maw. Finally it retracts the sensory tentacle.

"Not got other parts of this food, not had other parts of this food," it says. "Sometimes blue men keep bits for tall man, make walking food." It pushes the legs towards Edmond. "You friend, you keep food."

[sblock=OOC]
It's a caster level 1 CLW wand, if I recall, so I rolled for 5 hp healed. If it's higher level, adjust according to a roll of 4.

Worth noting, too, the Thing looks too big to fit down either of the corridors leading to its room. Unless otyughs are especially squeezable....
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[sblock=Majenko]
From the entrance to the room, using darkvision, Majenko is able to make out that it is a long corridor-shaped room, extending to the left and right, mainly to the left. At the far left end, two exits lead off opposite each other. The faint sounds come from the exit on the opposite wall. There is no derro light seeping in anywhere - the room is in pitch blackness.

The walls are lined with hundreds and hundreds of skulls, embedded in the rock, or dried mud, in various states of disrepair. The room is otherwise empty.
[/sblock]

The urchin scrunches up his face in mild confusion as he tries to make sense of Manachan's long-winded monologue; the most he's ever heard the heaven-kin say at one time. "It aint bad ta turn over bad guys ta the watch; aint that what good folk are s'posed ta do? I don't think tha watch would kill em even if they saw em; they're already prisoners and we'b be marchin em ta the citadel. That's what the watch would want ta do with em too right? And we don't got ta leave em here alone; you big guys can drag em along with us until we're ready ta head back out.

I'll talk to em real nice. If they don't talk to us then, ya know, whatever; at least we'll have tried, right? I figure that they must speak common."

[sblock=Dr Simon]While the mammals upstairs discuss what to do about the envenomed derro, the camouflaged pseudodragon cautiously pads down the length of the corridor to stealthily peek around the intersection's corners.

OOC: To clarify, do the odd-shaped dead-ends of the skull-lined corridor appear to be hewn from solid bedrock or have they somehow been cut short by a cave-in or something else? The southern end especially appears as if it should continue on to somewhere.[/sblock]

"You know we could tell them that we know a hungry Thing that won't mine... you know." Brindom says shrugging his shoulders.

"But I'm not saying we should feed him, just that they won't know.. oh I don't know... we should ask them about the tall man though." The young cleric looks to be at a loss as what to do so he quiets down and waits for the others to decide.

The prisoner debate continues whilst you wait for Majenko's poison to wear off, and the derro captives to awaken. You now have half a Shoanti warrior, but no sign of the rest of him. Meanwhile:

[SBLOCK=Majenko]
majenko pads silently down the long gallery, until he can make out that one of the "tunnels" is just a niche, but the other leads to a closed door. Faint blue derro-light seeps around the edges.

Suddenly there is the sound like the inhalation of breath, and the skulls lining the corridor begin spitting globs of acid. One hits the pseudodragon, burning his scales. If others had been in the gallery, they too would have been caught in a caustic crossfire. After a single barrage, the acid-spitting stops. There is a rattle of bones from either end of the corridor. Two skulls detach themselves from the wall, dragging a snake-like column of vertebrae behind them. They slither into the gallery like undead, skull-topped snakes.

OOC: Not sure why the bottom end of the corridor is drawn like that. The room is roughly hewn, but there is no evidence of cave-in.

Majenko has the initiative over these things. There's no sign that they've seen him, but they might be using senses that camouflage will not affect.

2 points of acid damage, as well.
[/sblock]

[sblock=Dr Simon]The lone pseudodragon tries to contain a hiss of pain. Majenko turns and backtracks hurriedly along the bottom of the skull-lined wall and back up the short flight of stairs into the workroom.

OOC: Just a brief reminder that, if the acid trap was magical in nature, a spell penetration roll might be required for it to breach Majenko's Spell Resistance of 12. You might have taken that into account already, I dunno.

Majenko will double move back the way he came as a full round action. He'll communicate telepathically with Dj'hân as a free action.[/sblock]
The ongoing debate is cut short by the sound of hissing issuing from the top of the staircase in the south eastern corner of the workroom. Majenko suddenly becomes visible as he flares his wings and his mottled gray scales shift to bright crimson. A panicked thought crosses Dj'hân's mind as the urchin sucks in a breath in surprise. Two skull

Turning his direction towards his little friend, the pseudodragon directs a panicked thought at Dj'hân. Two skull-headed skeletal snake things are in the corridor downstairs. They might follow behind me in a moment. There's also a derro glow behind a closed door down there.

A look of fright marring his cherubic features, the urchin turns quickly towards the three men as a gust of wind surges up around him. "He says that two skeleton snakes with skull heads are coming up behind him! Try and be quiet; he thinks there's another derro close by too." The guttersnipe begins to move towards the stairs with the wind at his back.
[sblock=Dr Simon]Can Dj'hân figure out what those creatures are by Majenko's description and a Knowledge (religion) check?[/sblock]

[sblock=Ambrus]
Yes, it's not a spell affected by spell resistance.

Dj'hân thinks this sounds like a necrophidius, an undead combination of human and snake. Like a snake, these things have a poisonous bite, and they have the ability to hypnotise a person with their rythmical swaying.
[/sblock]

"What about...?" Brindom starts to say and then just shakes his head. "Time for the derro later," he says giving his cudgel a swing.

He then moves to a postion a few feet away from the archway Majenko just emerged from. Making sure his holy symbol is bear for all to see he starts a prayer to Erastil.

[sblock=actions]
Move to 10' in front of doorway. Ready action channel energy vs. undead [/sblock]