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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rel" data-source="post: 1953394" data-attributes="member: 99">“Let’s GO!!” cried Marius.  “That is BLOOD down there and it is coming up HERE, FAST!!”His allies scrambled to the edge of the pit and looked down seeing the oozing column of blood rising up from below.  What could it have come from?  The quantity was mind boggling and wherever it had come from there was more as it continued to rise at a rapid rate.Cathal had not joined the others and instead was wresting the huge belt from around the waist of the Guardian.  The bronze buckle was the size of a platter but as it came free the whole thing seemed to shrink somewhat.  The Brigante draped it over his shoulder and joined the others near the pit.  Having heard their concerns and now seeing the source for himself he wasted no time in taking action.  He took a few steps back from the edge of the pit and then ran forward, his legs bunching right at the lip and sending him shooting upwards into the chamber above from whence the Watcher had descended.He arrived in the smaller room above and whirled around looking for any signs of enemies.  Finding none he dropped a rope down to his friends and they immediately began to climb.  Marius was first with Lazarius and Marcus close behind.  Speaks was already in eagle form and flew up into the chamber to join Cathal.The room appeared to have once been used as an armory and storeroom but the weapon and armor racks now stood empty.  A goodly number of crates sat around in small stacks.  Some were obviously empty and others looked musty and as if they had been undisturbed for a long time.  Regardless, there seemed little time to go through them in detail now.The storeroom had another hole in the ceiling, presumably made by the Watcher to allow it access to the chambers at different levels.  But there was also a wooden door on one wall.  Speaks looked back toward Cathal to see Marius emerge from the pit but Lazarius and Marcus were struggling to climb the rope.  Given how slowly they were able to climb, Speaks decided that their best course was to move laterally for now and not attempt to ascend to the upper levels of this series of chambers.  He flew to the door but lacked hands at the moment in order to open it.  He let loose a piercing cry that echoed through the old armory.Marius looked toward that end of the room and then back at Cathal and the others climbing.  Cathal nodded his head toward the Druid, “Go!”  His arms bulged and his jaw strained as he hauled on the rope, attempting to hasten his companions rise to the top of the pit.  Marius dashed away to see what Speaks was squawking about.Lazarius was desperately wishing he had prepared his spell that allowed him to Fly.  He had another that served a similar purpose but the close confines made it impractical at the moment.  So he continued to pull himself up the rope, rising a few feet and then sliding back down to find himself sitting atop Marcus’ head.  For his part, Marcus was faring little better.  His muscles were powerfully strong but his armor was powerfully heavy as well.  In the end it was sheer willpower that made the difference.Marcus was nearly ready to give up and try another means of getting to the top of the pit.  But as he glanced down he saw the churning, crimson blood rise up into the room below and spill out around the edges of the pit.  Man-shaped things within it clambered over the edge of the pit and moved fitfully around the room.  To descend the rope now was to drop into a world of blood creatures the like of which he did not wish to contemplate.  He reached up for another handful of rope.“Locked dammit!” said Marius.  He pulled at the door once more in frustration and then dropped to his knee to get to work on the mechanism with his tools.  Speaks fluttered onto a nearby crate and watched expectantly.  The Imperial Explorer slid a thick hook into the lock and eased it back until it caught on something within…and hung there.  He pulled at it with increasing strength and cursing for a few moments before it pulled free.  He grabbed at the door handle and pulled with no results.  “Pelor’s fiery balls!”  He looked over at Speaks to find the eagle’s head cocked to the side.  “Go see what’s happening back there!  You’re making me nervous!”Cathal had little strength left in his arms and now simply clung to the rope as his legs bunched and pushed in short bursts and he backed away from the edge of the pit.  With relief he finally saw one of Lazarius’ scrawny arms hook over the side as the Wizard scrambled onto the floor of the room and rolled onto his back, panting.  That left only Marcus on the rope but he was the heaviest.  Cathal continued to back up, pulling his friend to safety.Marcus spared another glance down the pit as he neared the top.  He saw that smoke was coming from the rope where it touched the surface of the blood.  Not good.  He hauled with all his strength and finally managed to swing himself over the upper edge where he found Cathal panting from the effort and Lazarius regaining his feet.  Cathal gestured to the two of them breathlessly and hurried to the other end of the room where Marius continued to work on the door.“Oh for Hell’s sake!” said the Imperial Explorer as his latest attempt to pick the lock failed.  He saw the others approaching and yelled out behind him, “This is going to take a little time!”Marcus climbed to his feet and peered down the hole again.  The blood was on the rise once more.  How was that possible?  Shouldn’t it have been pouring through the open passage they had been unable to enter?  The bottom end of the rope smoked and dissolved and Marcus decided that they could not count on the viscous liquid below to behave as normal blood would.  “Time is a rapidly vanishing resource!” he yelled toward the others.Cathal waved Marius aside and rushed into the door with a tremendous slam.  Despite his great strength, Cathal was incredibly tired from his battle with the Trollkin, the Guardian and helping his friends up the rope.  The door held.  On his next attempt, Marius joined the Brigante and they rushed the door again.  It still did not yield.The Blood seemed to reach up from where it was pooling and immediately began to push upward into the last few feet of the pit they had just ascended.  Marcus backed away from the edge of the hole and drew his mace and Shield.  “Hurry UP!” he yelled over his shoulder.The Brigante and Imperial slammed again into the door as the Wizard and eagle looked on.  They thought they heard a crack that time but weather it was the wood of the door or the bones of its assailants was unclear.A half-dozen humanoid shapes, drenched in blood bounded out of the hole to land on the edge of the pit.  Marcus wasted no time and smote the first to land with his mace and was satisfied as its form yielded and blood splashed the floor.  The strength of his blow carried right into the next one but it seemed just a bit more solid than the first.  The Blood creatures attacked with inhuman ferocity and Marcus discovered that they had claws.  His armor and Shield protected him as best they could but he felt the jagged claws penetrate a couple of the joints in his mail.Cathal and Marius saw these foes leap from the pit and looked at each other.  Cathal let out at great warcry and together they charged…the door.  Their combined ferocity was too much for it this time and the door slammed open into a broad, square chamber with doors on all three other walls.  The doors on the far wall were ten feet up off the floor and accessed by twin staircases to either side.  Marius dashed forward to these doors and Cathal dashed backward to aid Marcus.</blockquote>

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