[IC] Keratia: Tales of the Arisen One

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Soon they come upon the next room, which appears to be another puzzle. Sylvia also takes a moment to look around the room, and after looking at the tree door, she commented, "I don't think saying a password is going to open it this time. I wonder if there is anything that'll fit into these grooves?"

She then decided to look around the room to see if she could find any small sphere like objects that might fit into the door.

[Lucius Cypher]

You and Pylia start searching around the room while Shortfang stayed on guard to look out for any danger. It wasn't long before you spot a small purple orb on the ground. But when you went to reach it you spotted a bit of a ghastly sight; a moldy corpse. It's skin was blacken, the hair gone, and it seemed to have been crushed underneath a pile of rubble that must've fallen ages ago. The purple orb was just a few feet away from the corpse's hand, likely the last thing it had grasped before it's life was extinguished. It was hard to tell what else the corpse had; it's clothing has since rotted or possibly fused with it's skin. You couldn't even tell if it was a male or female. As for the purple orb when Pylia came closer to you to provide illumination, it looked somewhat like an ornate eyeball gemstone. "Did you find something?"

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia let out a startled yelp when she spotted the corpse as she reached for the orb. She groaned to herself, "Why do I always find things near dead bodies?!" She answered Pylia when she came over, "I found something alright...It looks like the corpse was grasping that orb before it died..."

She slowly and cautiously reached for the orb, and grabbed it quickly before rapidly pulling her arm back, as though something near the orb would bite her arm. When she's holding onto the orb, she told Pylia, "I think this goes into the door..." She then would head over to the door with the orb in hand, and see if she can find the correct place for the orb.

[Lucius Cypher]

Fortunately nothing happened when you grasped the orb. Heading back to the door you placed the orb in one of the slots. It seemed that the orb could fit any of the five slots so it was just a matter of finding enough of them. Once you do put the orb in a small metal sheet clamped down onto the door, possibly surprisingly you, and makes the ball look almost like a purple eyeball at the end of the branch. Pylia nodded. "Okay, so we just need four more of these weird eyeball things. I saw a hall on the left side of there, it might lead further into this cave. Maybe we'll find the next orb over there." Hearing this Shortfang was already heading over there, quiet and focused on finding any dangers. "Shortfang hear water ahead. Maybe wet, maybe river. Be careful."

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia jumped a little at the sight of the metal sheet clamping down on the orb. Well, she hadn't expected that. But she guessed that it meant that the orb was in the right place. At the mention of the hall to the left, Sylvia answered "Sounds like a good place to start searching," She followed Shortfang, and she nodded at his warning. With her staff in hand, she continued down the hall, bracing herself for any attacks that might come her way.

[Lucius Cypher]

Soon the group round arrive to a fairly small cave formation. There was a thin amount of water on the ground that seemed to get drained out into a crack in the ground, and the water itself dripped from the ceiling. "Shortfang see path ahead, to right." Once more he took the lead, but as he went ten feet into the hall suddenly something flew down more quickly than you or Pylia could've reacted. It looked like a stalactite, but then you see it flip over and reveal it's terrifying squid like form and wrapped it's body around Shortfang and started crushing him. At the same time another flew towards Pylia, fortunately for her she saw this one and had enough time to try and take a swing at it, forcing the creature to somehow fly away from her attack and out of her range.

"DARKMANTLES!"

The creatures continued to attack the party. The one attacking Shortfang continued to crush him as the little kobold screeched out in pain. The other one fly well out of Pylia's reach and came right at you, grabbing onto your arm and squeezing you, it's teeth biting into your arm and drawing blood. Meanwhile Shortfang roared his monstrous roar once more, finding a reserve of energy within himself to keep on fighting as he fell over. This might've been a bad situation for anyone that didn't have some Kobold Cunning; this Darkmantle was completely wrapped around him, falling to the ground with Shortfang. He tried to get a stab on the creature though it had a tight grip on the kobold. Pylia looked between the two of you and was getting ready to head to the kobold. "Sylvia, hold that thing off! I'm going to get that monster off Shortfang!"

----

Rolls and Info

Darkmantles (A: 22/22) (B:22/22) = 16
Shortfang (18/20) = 11
Sylvia (15/15) = 8
Pylia (17/17) = 7

Darkmantle A Sneak Attack = 9/21
Crush = 6

Darkmantle B (Not) Sneak Attack = 7

Darkmantle A Crushing Shortfang = 24/23
Crush = 8

Darkmantle B Attacking Sylvia = 18
Crush = 5

Shortfang Attack vs a Prone Target while Blind = 9

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!

Sylvia had no idea as to what the heck she just saw, but there was no time to think about it. Before she even knew it, Shortfang was engulfed by the creature, and a second one appeared, failing to attack Pylia first, before it bit into Sylvia's arm. She let out a grunt of pain from the bite into her arm.

When Pylia told her the plan, Sylvia called "You got it! Just hurry!" Sylvia then decided to try and attack the creature that was currently biting into her arm. She swung her staff with one hand at the creature, before trying to punch it with the same hand.

Attack

Quarterstaff to hit: 6
Unarmed Strike to hit: 19

Unarmed Strike Damage: 4

[Lucius Cypher]

The darkmantle was slippery, creepily so as it practically folded out of the way of your staff, though in doing so it detached from you and gave you an opportunity to punch it. It was an uncanny feeling as for a creature that seemed to be moving as if the very air itself was water, it was very firm and solid from what you could tell from your punch and when it had bitten into your arm. Meanwhile Pylia took advantage of Shortfang's cunning tactics and smashed the tip of the creature with her club, careful not to inadvertently striking Shortfang in the process.

The blasted creatures continued to attack, but without the element of surprise they weren't quite as effective in a straight up fight. The first darkmantle continued to try and crush Shortfang but now he was better at actively resisting it's pressure while the Darkmantle that you're fighting was trying to get close while also avoiding your staff, making it impossible for it to close the distance on you like it did before. For a short few seconds, you can see that despite this monster's magical ability to fly, it wasn't a very deft flyer. Suddenly Shortfang managed to grab his scimitar and slice into the darkmantle trying to constrict him. It wasn't a killing blow, but it was doing some damage now.

Rolls and Info

Darkmantles (A: 11/22) (B:18/22) = 16
Shortfang (18/20) = 11
Sylvia (15/15) = 8
Pylia (17/17) = 7

Pylia's Attack vs Darkmantle A = 20/12
Club Damage = 5

Darkmantle A Attack Vs Shortfang = 12

Darkmantle B Attack VS Sylvia = 13

Shortfang'S Shortsword Attack = 7

Off-hand Scimitar = 15
Scimitar Damage = 6

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Thanks to the bite she received and the punch she dealt, she now had a better understanding of the monster she was fighting. Seeing as it wasn't a deft flyer and it was having trouble getting closer to her, she thinks she might be able to find its weak spot. Focused on her target, she gave a battle cry and struck the creature's weak area (she guessed) with her quarterstaff first, before jumping up and delivering a mid air spin kick to it.

Attacking B!!!

Quarterstaff to hit: Natural 20!!!
Unarmed Strike to hit: 19

Quarterstaff Damage: 17
Unarmed Strike Damage: 7

[Lucius Cypher]

Your attack struck true. If you (somewhat limited) knowledge of squid anatomy was correct, the main "head" of a squid was not at it's very tip, but closer to the center of it's mass. With this information in mind you struck a solid blow against the flying squid causing it to stagger and lose altitude. This was the moment you leapt into the air and gave it a good solid spin kick, the full momentum of your attack delivered right into the darkmantle as it flew into the wall with a sickening splat. And for a short moment you swore you just saw one of it's eyes fall out from it's head, though before you could investigate further something even crazier happened.

Pylia continued to swing at the darkmantle on the ground, still doing her best to avoid hitting Shortfang but in doing so ended up hitting a lot of ground as the monster kept twisting and turning to avoid getting struck. Noticing it's partner go down the strange eyestocks on the monster started to grow dark before suddenly Pylia's lantern went black and the entire room returned to darkness. It was at that same time Shortfang felt the monster release him, allowing him to stand up and roar. Pylia however was more worried. "Hold your action! That monster must have summoned darkness, everyone get close to me, follow my voice!" Even Shortfang's natural night vision couldn't see anything in this profane darkness, so he did as he was told and stayed close to Pylia, readying to Attack the monster if or when it gets close to him.

Rolls and Info

Darkmantles (A: 11/22) (B:Dead) = 16
Shortfang (18/20) = 11
Sylvia (10/15) = 8
Pylia (17/17) = 7

Darkmantle B is dead!

Pylia's Attacks vs Darkmantle A = 7/8

Darkmantle A summoned darkness and detached itself from Shortfang.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Huh...! She did it! She got rid of one of those monsters! She stuck her tongue out and let out a disgusted "Blegh!" at the sight of the eye falling out. However, that slight bout of silliness didn't last long. Soon everything was enshrouded in darkness! She heard Pylia's advice, and she decided to follow it. She moved closer to where Pylia's voice is, and she told her and Shortfang, "I'm here! Shout if you feel something, and I'll try and hit it!"

Sylvia's action

Sylvia uses her movement to get closer to Pylia and Shortfang, and she'll ready her action and attack. The trigger for her attack will be when one of her friends' shout from being attacked, and then she'll attack the area where she heard the scream with her quarterstaff and unarmed strike

[Lucius Cypher]

Huddling close together the three of you waited with bated breaths as the darkmantle circled in his unbreakable darkness. Not even Pylia's lantern provided any illumination despite the heat you could feel from being so close to her. Suddenly the creature attacked, latching onto Pylia. However she held her breath for a moment as the create started to crush her head. She needed to gather her breath, remember her incantation, and then shouted. ^SMITE!^ Suddenly a flash of light struck the monster through the darkness, disrupting it's concentration and dispelling the darkness. It recoiled back in pain right as your staff crashed into it's body, loosening it's grip on Pylia who was not trying to push it off of her. That's when Shortfang leapt into the air and stabbed the monster right through it's eyes, dragging it off Pylia before chopping it in half.

The beast flailed wildly as Shortfang kept it at blade's distance, but soon it's twitching would die down before finally expiring. But just for good measure Shortfang stabbed it again. Pylia was bleeding a bit from her head but she looked over to you with a look of concern. "Are you alright? I saw you got hurt pretty badly. Do you still have anymore goodberries? I still have one of mines." Shortfang took out a goodberry and popped it into his mouth. "Shortfang has two more."

Rolls and Info

Darkmantles (A: Dead) (B:Dead) = 16
Shortfang (18/20) = 11
Sylvia (10/15) = 8
Pylia (12/17) = 7

Darkmantle Sneak Attack = 13/20
Crushing = 5

Darkmantle Constitution Save = 6

Radiant Damage = 4

Shortfang Attack = 6/18
Shortsword Damage = 7

The final Darkmantle is dead!

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia took her chance when the opportunity came and she smacked the creature. She was scared when she saw that the thing was latched onto Pylia's head, but thankfully, Shortfang finished off the creature.

She looked to her friends in concern as well. She nodded shakily as she answered Pylia, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm ok. I still have all three of my goodberries," She pulled one of them out of her backpack and popped it into her mouth for the healing. She asked them, "How about you guys? That was freaky!"

[Lucius Cypher]

Pylia ate the last of the berries she had. She poked the dead Darkmantle before uttering a silent prayer over it. "I'm fine now. I should've guessed that they might be here, damned things. We should be extra careful, who knows if there's more down here." Shortfang went to go make sure the other one was dead too, chopping it up with his scimitar when he picked something up. "Hey! Shortfang found eye!" He came back to the others and showed them a dark blue gemstone eye, similar to the purple one you picked up earlier. Pylia looked at it and nodded. "It's the same shape as the other one. We must be on the right track then." Pylia pointed towards another small hall leading further beyond. "If I had to guess, the other three gemstones we're looking for are just through there. Doubtful that we'll just stumble upon them though. I'm sure there's some danger waiting for us ahead."

Rolls and Info

Shortfang (20/20)
Sylvia (14/15)
Pylia (16/17)

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia was relieved to hear that her friends were okay, and she nodded in agreement at the suggestion of being careful, "Right. Looks like we'll need to look carefully at the stalactites a bit more as we continue," Then Shortfang mentioned he found the eye, she smiled and praised "Nice job, Shortfang!"

At the mention of the gemstones being further down the hall, Sylvia answered "Okay. If we're ready, then let's continue. I think the same marching order would be a good idea,"

As they continued on, Sylvia couldn't help but wonder why there were puzzle doors and monsters in here? Who created this place? And why did they feel the need to put in so many door puzzles and monsters? The only reason she could think of would be that the figure they were looking for was a threat. But to who...?

[Lucius Cypher]

Once more the group settled forward through the small hall. This part seemed to be natural or at the very least, lacked the stone brick structure of the main hall. However before too long the party would reach a rather large open area with some sunlight pouring from a hole above. It provided some much needed illumination to the room, but not so harsh that Shortfang couldn't bare it. Additionally about ten-to-fifteen feet below was a large pool of water, seemingly flowing somewhere as the water was somewhat clear though there was a lot of plant growth in it. The path seemed mostly clear and lead to another cave hall at the end of the path, though Shortfang and Pylia were still on guard. "Very open area. Let's be careful here though." The two took a moment to look around, though they didn't spot anything of particular note that wasn't obvious already. "We should move on." Pylia mentioned.

Rolls and Info

Shortfang (20/20)
Sylvia (14/15)
Pylia (16/17)

Shortfang perception check = 12

Pylia's perception check = 10

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia cautiously looked around the room as well, wondering if one of the gemstones would be hidden around here. This place seemed serene, but Sylvia remained on guard as she took the time to look around. Sylvia answered Pylia as she kept looking cautiously, "I'll be with you in just a moment..." She kept looking. Maybe she'll find something that Pylia or Shortfang possibly missed.

Perception roll for this room

14 for Perception

[Lucius Cypher]

Between looking for danger and looking for clues, Pylia and Shortfang didn't find much. As for you, looking around you didn't seem to spot much either until you take a closer look into the water. It was dark, and there were water weeds in the way, but you could see... Another corpse down there. Sunken at the bottom, stripped to the bones. But there was something reflecting light in his hands. Dare you go investigate?

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

There! That light and the corpse! Considering the where the last two gemstones were found, it wouldn't surprise her if that light was a gem. She knew there was something in this room that they were missing! But it was in a pool ten to fifteen feet below...

Hoo boy...

Sylvia called to Pylia and Shortfang, "Guys! I see something reflecting light down there. I think it might be a gem!" She wanted to investigate, but she knew better than to just jump down there. She was going to need some way of getting back up again. Plus...who knows what could be down there? She would need Pylia's and Shortfang's help as well...

[Lucius Cypher]

Pylia and Shortfang came over and seeing the corpse, they started looking through their bags. Pylia brought out some rope and pitons. "We could hammer some stakes into the ground and tie the rope to it so you can climb out." Shortfang on the other hand took out his fishing tackle, and even quickly constructed a rod with a strange hook at the end. "Shortfang have just the thing! Small fish net on fish stick! Fish eyeball out!" Pylia seemed impressed at first but shook her head. "I'm not sure how you plan to get the net underneath the gemstone. It's a safer idea I'm sure, but letting Sylvia swim down there with the rope will be faster." Shortfang shrugged but kept his rod out. "Dunno what in water. Fish stick safer! If monster, only stick break, not boss."