EVERYONE
"It wasn't a headband..." - the bald one starts. "It was a stone... A dark stone that the boss' wife used on her forehead."
After reaching out for the dead Naga, Shayuri makes the connection. After bashing the corpse around, she finds a small black stone underneath a scale, lodged in the creature's forehead. The piece, encased in a silver frame, shines under the light, but at the same time seems to devour part of the energy flow, becoming opaque at some points.
Now it's the merchant that speaks.
"It might well be the case... Having another ooze inside, I mean. The boss was the only one to access that place occasionally. He had no key, also. It's as if something... Something
inside... Opened it up for him..." - he shivers once more, as if compelled by his very core.
The bald dwarf continues.
"If... You're really bound to do this, well... I've never seen that thing hurt to a point of no return. Always it recovered, and even faster when... Feeding. There's a weird detail that might help you, though: whenever it talked to the boss, or to anyone, really, it seemed to know everything going on around, as if it had eyes sprung out all over the place. Once it was discussing how to bring lotus into the valley, and it denounced one of the halfling workers for stealing from the boss. An hour later the poor sod was caught, his extra gold, taken, and his hand, cut off. Ya'see, I think... I think it
knows what happens because it has a larger body, sprung around in piece-meal oozes..." - he seems half focused and half mad as he rambles about the thing.
Given the circumstances, Arvana simply ascents to Marius' request, mostly ignoring the bald prisoner. She reassures Marius that it would be easy to manage the situation up above while they were gone. "They aren't coming back here, that's for sure..." - she smiles with her eyes, as usual. The rogue traitor quietly acquiesces, willing to help. He doesn't feel comfortable with the unnatural presence down below, apparently. Besides, the captives have no choice, or so it seems.
[Ok, you can take a short rest before moving on, if you so choose. In case you wish to return down, this is what you see...]
The abyss that separates the main corridor of the mine from the ominous door howls lowly with the sounds of the wind. Accidents on the wall resemble old gargoyles, leading towards a pitch-black darkness that even the keenest eye can't pierce from beyond a certain point. The door's housed in a stone column that also rises from the darkness. No other access leads to it, and the column stands isolated, much like a tower silently placed into an ocean of shadows. Only a pair of torches light the flanks of the massive passage. The door itself is quite the work of craftsmanship. The metal thing is decorated by the central image of a bearded, wrathful dwarven face. No hints of hinges or sections are left. Whoever forged it was indeed talented, and odds are that magic was involved. The siege gives a terrifying impression, as if made to dissuade careless travelers from attempting an entrance. Aside from that, all rests in silence, the wooden bridge that links both sides of the cave moaning under the weight of passers-by.
[If you want to take another course of action, I'll re-write the post, no problem! I only advanced for the sake of agility!]
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Neurotic @
KahlessNestor @
Shayuri @
MetaVoid
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