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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Joshua Randall" data-source="post: 920228" data-attributes="member: 7737">Brogun picked through the aftermath of the battle against the ciquali. Only the two ciquali farthest from the entrance had survived Dellarocca’s magical assault, and they fell quickly under Brogun’s axe. Now, he was regretting that he hadn’t left one of them alive to answer questions.But he had prepared a speak with dead spell for just such a contingency, so Brogun knelt beside the corpse of a fallen ciquali.“How many ciquali warriors inhabit this place?” Brogun asked.The corpse’s mouth moved in a grotesque imitation of speech. “Two… hundred….” came the reply.Brogun frowned in dismay, then asked, “Do any of the ciquali use magic?”“Yes,” responded the corpse.Brogun frowned again. Should’ve asked something more specific, he thought to himself. Ah well.Looking around, he noticed that Dellarocca was not present. “Where’s your brother?” Brogun inquired of Sara.“He has gone to retrieve the rest of the small army we travel with,” she replied.Ah yes. Baron da Silva had insisted that a small unit of his men accompany the Kestrels on their reconnaissance-in-force, and a group of crocaryx had joined as well. At the last moment, an Herbalish scout named Kell had arrived in Lof and attached himself to the motley crew. In order to keep the adventuring group down to a manageable size, and to prevent the reconnaissance from turning into an invasion, Brogun had talked sergeant Tomás into holding his men back from the initial foray. The precepts of Kirabá applied: The timely arrival of reinforcements will win the battle. Brogun had also used his clout with the crocaryx to convince them to remain hidden until the ciquali disposition was determined. As for Kell – Brogun knew next to nothing about him. He claimed to hail from Bautar, along the Tentarias far to the south. He said that his Order had commanded him to journey to Lof, there to confront a great evil. Brogun had ordered Kell to remain with the reinforcements, and was surprised when the Herbalish assented. There’s something strange about such passivity, Brogun had decided.Now the whole assemblage came noisily down the hall and entered the stair room: Tomás and his five men, including Guillermo; six crocaryx led by one slightly larger (they had given names, but Brogun could not tell them apart); and Kell, slouching along at the back of the column, carrying an unstrung bow.Everyone wanted to descend into the waiting darkness of the flooded levels. But that would tax the Kestrels’ magical resources to their limit, so Brogun imposed his will again with another plan: he, Dellarocca, and Sara would use magical aid to survive underwater. They would be accompanied by the crocaryx, who were naturally amphibious. Tomás, his men, and Kell would remain in the stair room to secure the group’s retreat. If any ciquali showed up, they must be dealt with quickly and permanently, lest a general alarm be raised throughout the complex.This plan established, Brogun, Dellarocca, and Sara returned to the hidden treasure room for a night’s sleep. (During the night, four ciquali guards entered the stair room from below, where they were swiftly cut to ribbons.) Upon waking, the Kestrels prepared spells in consultation to afford them the best mix of offensive and defensive capabilities. Sara passed out potions of water breathing, and Dellarocca placed a spell of darkvision upon himself and his sister. Brogun contributed endure elements, for without such protection, they would not survive long in the frigid water.It was now time to descend, and Brogun eyed the murky water with trepidation. What if the ciquali had superior darkvision and could see the adventurers approaching? What if they were struck with dispel magic? How accurate was the crocaryx map, and what modifications had been made to the fortress?He had no answers. Now it was time to trust to luck. Involuntarily holding his breath, Brogun stepped into the water. He rolled his eyes and told himself to relax and breathe. The cold water felt strange in his lungs, and Brogun had to suppress his gag reflex at first. As his eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, Brogun could see that the group had descended into an entry chamber, with passages leading off to the west, north, and east.The group quickly developed a plan: the crocaryx would scout ahead in a direction indicated by Brogun, who would consult the map of the old fortress to get a general sense of where they were headed. Their goal was to scout things out at thoroughly as possible while at the same time remaining undetected.For a while, this plan worked perfectly. The group managed to navigate unseen into the northeast corner of the complex, where according to Brogun’s map, another set of stairs would lead to the bottom level. Descending, they came upon a large troupe of ciquali forming up to go on patrol.Dellarocca obliterated the ciquali with an expertly placed electrically substituted fireball.Continuing onwards, the group found a crossroads of sorts. From the north came hideous screams, amplified by the water. Thinking quickly, Brogun led the way south, noting a slight downward slope in the passage. It ended at a set of double doors; beyond, he could make out faint grunts and muffled cheering. Baffled, Brogun edged open on of the doors and looked upon a strange scene.In the center of what could only be an enormous arena, two ciquali warriors tore and bit at each other, their blood billowing in the water around them. Around the arena, row upon row of stone benches stretched away towards the ceiling, many of them occupied: Brogun counted over fifty ciquali scattered throughout the stands.He closed the door and started an urgent whispered conversation. Dellarocca wanted to barge into the arena, reasoning that the ciquali would be caught off guard and make easy prey. Sara advised finding a way to seal off the area, and revealed that her brother was carrying a scroll of wall of stone. Brogun favored Sara’s plan, but after speaking with the crocaryx and looking at his map, decided that it was unfeasible because there were at least two other entrances to the arena. In the end, the group decided to avoid this area, over Dellarocca’s strenuous objections.There was but one thing left to do: explore the northern hallway, from which the hideous screams were heard. Brogun gripped the haft of his axe and crept northwards as quietly as possible. He could begin to make out a wide but narrow room with a series of barred doors along the far wall. The screams were coming from the left. Motioning to his companions, Brogun burst around the corner, axe at the ready.</blockquote>

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