Obsidian accepted Dyer’s flask with a quick nod. “Thank you for your consideration.” She uncorked the vial and clasped it in her hands. “A sample would be a good idea…if what I seek to sample doesn’t attempt to sample me in turn.”

Trin watched and waited, relaxed but ready returning her bow and arrow to her pack. They were in corridors now and with their numbers it felt a bit too congested in here for bows. She also liked having her hands free if possible. If it really came down to it, she had a couple darts in her sash.

She watched the dark-haired woman with unease. She supposed there might be some merit in taking a sample of the green stuff, but she honestly didn't know what it could be. Still, the essence of wisdom was recognizing what one did not know, so she watched and waited.

Tobias nodded to Jaemys as he moved to check the door. "Hopefully there isn't anything, but after the last door best to be careful." He then set to work checking the secret door for any traps. Of course Obsidian's trepidation about the green goo was mirrored in his own mind. So he tried to keep an eye out for any possible danger.

OOC:
10:31, Today: Tobias rolled 15 using 1d20+6.  Perception.
10:30, Today: Tobias rolled 24 using 1d20+4.  Investigation.

Obsidian studied the slime. It was not only nor hostile but completely sessile other than its slow dripping down the wall. Closer examination showed a leak from above that was likely feeding it. She scraped some into the flask. It made a wet slapping sound as it hit the bottom of the flask. It appeared to be some sort of natural unintelligent slime mold, but closer examination by an expert could tell more.

Tobias checked the door for any mechanisms. There was a wire and catch. Without disabling it opening the door would cause spears to launch out of the opening. While unique the quality of the trap was quite low. The trick was noticing it, but now seen it could be disarmed with ease.

OOC: Disarming it is DC10, even if you fail you get a Dex Save to avoid being hit by the spears.

"Hmm. Well it is trapped but it isn't the most sophisticated trap so disabling it shouldn't be a problem." He quickly went to work with his thieves tools. "May want to be ready to dodge the spears if this doesn't work." As he finished he poped open the door, ready to dive out of the way just as a precaution.

OOC: 11:36, Today: Tobias rolled 11 using 1d20+5.  Thieves tools (Disarm Trap).

With a deft hand Tobias undid the trap and the door loosely swung open. On the other side was a small landing. The scents of dust and mist were much stronger here. The spears were still but the tips could still be seen in recesses in the far wall. To the right was a stone stairway that looked to go about 20 feet up before another landing. Small streams of flickering light shone through from the side at the top.

Trin watched the deft-handed man work at some mechanism he'd found and nodded in satisfaction as the fellow apparently kept one or all of them from getting spears launched at them.

"Nicely done," she said in a barely audible tone. Whether it was simply commentary or a compliment was impossible to tell.

She regarded the stairway going up and then the other possible directions, looking to the others. Her curiosity had her wanting to explore the concealed stairwell first simply because she wanted to know what their adversaries wanted to hide, but tactically she realized it might not make the most sense to leave something at her back.

A little louder, though it seemed like the little elf girl had to force herself to speak above a murmur "What do you all suppose? Secret first? Or clear first, then up?"

“I’ve always found secrets quite enticing.” Obsidian looked up at the hidden passage. “What are they hiding?”

Jaemys looked and paused. He frowned for a moment and then nodded towards the stairs. "Well the stairs lead up as well so we might get up to the above floor anyway, right?"

He headed in and started heading up.

Jaemys headed up the stairs. No other traps triggered along the way. Upon reaching the landing a door could be seen. It would easily be open from this side with a latch. The smell of moldy hay was strongest here. The sound of snored was much more imminent. It was a slow gurgling low note of a snore. The room beyond was lit by torch light as evidenced by the several rats of light pouring through the gaps in the door.

Trinithira crept up behind Jaemys and then looked at the door suspiciously. Anything that snored that loudly had to be pretty big. Many of the bigger humanoids she was familiar with weren't terribly bright. Would such a creature be able to manage coming and going through a trapped door? Perhaps this was not the primary entry and exit to the room beyond, though. If it was seldom used, it very likely could be trapped.

Regardless of likelihood, it seemed the prudent course of action was to let one the more trap-savvy individuals take a look, so Trin flattened her petite form against the wall to let someone pass and take a look.

Jaemys hesitated at the door. He listened for a moment. He frowned at the door, really hoping that there was no trap on it. He let out a quiet sigh before drawing in a deep breath and holding a moment...

...while he opened the door slowly.

Obsidian watched Jaemys open the door with what looked like a little anticipation. She hoped nothing sprang at him or the party. Traps, such an anxious part of a dungeon crawl.

Tobias hung toward the back of the group as Jaemys ascended stairs and then opened the door. Thankfully the stairs had not been trapped, with luck the door wouldn't be either.

The door opened with no problems into a damp humid room. It was circular and about thirty feet across. Wet straw was strewn over the wooden floor. The walls were made of fine granite ashlar. The ceiling was fifteen feet up and made of similar wood if in better repair. A barred chained door was on one side and across from it were spiral stairs that went along the perimeter leading to a higher floor. Torches sputtered in sconces but provided a flickering light enough to see details.

The source of the snoring came from the center of the room. It looked like the creatures from the market but at least twice the size. It slept on large cushion, its head nestled against its fore spikes. It’s head bobbed every time it breathed out.

Trinithira regarded the massive creature with concern. It was very large, but it's current slumber put her in the unpleasant position of having to decide whether to pounce on the opportunity (and the creature) or to take the absurd risk of waking it in the hopes that the violence of its offspring(?) was the result of these cultists machinations.

Even to herself, the very idea seemed ridiculous and yet there was no part of her that was prepared to murder a defensless creature without knowing for certain its disposition and/or intentions.

Trinithira frowned as she padded into the room quietly, keeping an eye on the monster. It slept on a cushion which led her to believe that there might be some sort of symbiotic relationship between it and the cultists. Otherwise it would likely be chained or caged, at least to her thinking.

Decisions, decisions.


OOC:

Trinithira rolled 15 using 1d20+5.  Stealth. Just in case.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:27, Fri 17 May.

Finally, the party found the source of the snoring after they climbed the stairs. Obsidian’s eyebrows rose when she saw an enormous beast that resembled the creatures that attacked the marketplace. She hung near the back, looking the great beast over from a safe distance. The cult worshiped a dire Elder God. Was this a creature from the same plane?


OOC:

03:15, Today: Obsidian rolled 16 using 1d20+3.  Arcana check


 

Jaemys paused after opening the door. The sight before him made him stop in his tracks. He was really hesitant about waking it up immediately. It was so much bigger than the others they'd fought, but it was definitely of the same...type of creature or whatever.

He frowned as Trinithira began to creep in to the room. He winced and stood firm, knowing his armor made him...less stealthy. He made a mental note that he might want to get something more benign to sneaking around at some future date.

He kept his sword in his hands and made ready to rush across the room should hostilities begin.

Trinithiria snuck into the room and the creature did not stir. From her new position she could smell the musty books again coming from the floor above. After she stopped moving the creature stretched and rolled over, its mouth hanging open and tongue lolling. The snoring stopped but the chest kept moving, it was still asleep.

Obsidian flattened against the nearest wall when she recognized the beast. She glanced at Tobias, attempting to make eye contact. Then, she plucked out a lock of her own hair without any pain. She held out her plucked hair toward Tobias, nodding silently at him.

Dyer stops and gently sets his chest down to free up his...self?

Tobias looked past the others into the room. The creature was so much larger than the others. His first instinct was to urge the others to fall back and possibly seek aid in dealing with the creature. But unfortunately Trinithira was already reconnoitering the room.

He noticed Obsidian as she held out a strand of her hair to him, he quietly took the strand waiting to see what she had in mind.

Obsidian smiled gratefully as Tobias accepted her token.

The scent of musty tomes took Trin back to her memories of home and immediately she realized that the symbiotic relationship she was speculating upon was right in front of her. This was a guardian, clearly.

Taking the room in, Trin looked for a way up to the books she knew were there.  Perhaps she could slip by and see what was so important to the cultists?

OOC:

Trinithira rolled 17 using 1d20.  Perception/Investigation checking out the room for anything of interest/route upstairs.
Perception is +5 so that would be 22
Investigation is +0 so that would be 17

Jaemys had his eyes mainly glued to the monk's form as they stealthed in to the room. He nearly had a small heart attack when the beast suddenly moved and rolled over. He hesitated for a second, but shifted his weight slightly to charge in...but then heard snoring. He let out a small breath.

Then Obsidian removed a hair, he winced in apparently-unneeded sympathy. Then she handed it to Tobias. Jaemys blinked a few times, not quite sure what that was about.