Chapter 3: Beyond the Portal

[Clockwork Syringe]

As Baird stepped through the portal, he came face to face with a cobblestone floor, which caused him to jump to two conclusions. First: this was the launching base for the previous attack and that they were in trouble. Second: he was curious about the overall room as well as the side doors; who was behind them and what treasure lay behind them. Straining his ears, Baird attempts to discern whatever he can.

 

[Silanon]

Sherwood As you carefully examine the immediate surrounding for hidden mechanisms and all sorts of other dangers, you see nothing that seems of importance - which either means that there is nothing to be afraid of, or that it's too well hidden for you to notice. Either way, the first door on the left looks rather sturdy, it'd probably hard to break through by brute force. Taking a peek through the key hole, you barely get any information at all - the opening is too narrow to get much of an overview of the chamber behind it. At least, it seems to be well-lit, as it's not dark on the other side. The door handle is made of cold metal, and does not seem too big or too small; it was certainly made for beings of your size.

Spoiler: OOC

If you wish to push down the door handle, give me a stealth roll for that.

Clockwork Syringe Expecting to end up in an orc fortress or something similar, this is certainly not what you imagined. You've seen the mess that orcs tend to leave behind, and these caves show nothing of that thus far. In fact, you'd bet that this isn't orcish craftmanship at all - if they're here, they took over this place rather than build it themselves. Checking the doors, you see that they all look similar to the one Wren is examining; it'd certainly a tough task to open them all by force.

Orikanyo At first, you can't see anything dangerous in your near surrounding - however, the two lamps on either side of the exiting pathway might peek your interest. For now, they aren't lit as there's no need for additional lighting; but a closer look seems to indicate that they don't work with ordinary oil - or any other fuel, in fact. Your best bet is that they're magical in nature. Either way, you're pretty certain that these aren't typical orc lamps, just like this entire place doesn't remind you much of the ferocious warriors or any of their typical allies. Hard to tell whose craftmanship or magic formed these halls, though.
As the alchemist is quite close to the path leading out of the cave and rolled damn well on his check, he'll also be the first one to notice two silhouettes standing close to the entrance. Quite hard to see actually, as they are half-hidden in the shadows and don't show any signs of movement - you're too far to spot any important details, though, other than that they're roughly human-sized.

 

[Orikanyo]

"Hmm?" Carinall rose a unseen eyebrow, starring at the silhouettes in the distance, the lanterns were interesting and pretty, likely lit by a continuous flame he'd recon, but lower on the ranking of nessisary things to alert others of.

"Two, humanoid shapes, down the path." he said to the others in his soft tones, scurrying off to behind one of the more tougher looking party members, he hoped this wouldn't come to a fight but who knows at this rate.

 

[Shnarf]

Keiyanna walked through the portal, readying one of her domino tiles to throw at the first thing that moved aggressively at her group. Her years on the run had given her a touch of paranoia and she was always ready for a fight.

Upon the revelation that there were two figures towards the end of he cave, Keiyanna sidled over two Carinall and whispered. "Do they seem to be doing anything other than standing? I can't make out much from here."

 

[Dicer]

Veskassdak proceeded through the portal along with the others. He noticed immediately upon passing through that the air smelled wrong. There was no lifesmell in the air. This put him on edge, ready for combat at a moment's notice.
"Sssmellsss wrong here," he commented. "Not normal. Mussst watch for ssstrange thingsss."

 

[Psychie]

"Two humanoids? Where?" The paladin looks around a bit, then notices that Carinall is indicating the path. "We should be ready to welcome them." With that, she hefts her greatsword and steps forward to put herself between the others; except Veskassdak. He's quite capable of handling himself.

 

[Sherwood]

Wren pauses in her investigation of the first doorway when she hears that there are people approaching. She looks around for some cover to get behind, and decides to get behind Renna and Veskassdak, fingering her newly enchanted swords.

 

[Dicer]

Upon hearing that two probably mammal things were approaching them, Veskassdak prepared for combat. He stepped in the direction indicated by one of their newest mammal allies and stood ready to protect them. When he needed to, he would let his ancestral blood flow into him and become a deadly foe if those approaching became enemies. He flexed his claws in anticipation. He was already on edge because of the strangeness of this cave. He did not like it.

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

Hearing Cairnall alert the group to some humanoid shapes, Baird mentally prepared himself for battle. Since his crossbow was no longer a solid option anymore, he would need to rely on his claws, something he was not comfortable sharing with Cairnall and Keiyanna yet.

 

[Silanon]

While you all prepare for a possible fight, the silhouettes do not seem to move at all; at least from what you can tell from the distance. As if they were frozen in place, they seem to watch over the cave's entrance. If they already noticed you, they certainly show no sign of that - in particular, they do not show any intend to get closer to your current position.

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

Seeing that the silhouettes stay where they are, Baird suddenly becomes curious and wonders if they are even physically there at all. Or if it is some kind of magic that is In play. Regardless, Baird attempts to search his memory of anything he has learned in the past that seems similar to is exactly like what they were encountering here.

((26 arcana))

 

[Orikanyo]

"Perhaps... statues?" Carinall questions his earlier theory. Perhaps they should make a noise to see? He took out a small flask a placed the stone from before inside, he looked to the others. "Should I? Noise to draw."

 

[Sherwood]

"Statues?" Wren lets out a snort. "Well, that would explain it. I guess I'll go back to examining these doors. From what I can tell, there is no trap on this first one. We should be safe to open it."

 

[Orikanyo]

"I said perhaps pantsless one, not for certain." Cairnall hissed, angered at her sudden jump to conclusions. He rattled the stone in his vial to make noise, the tinging aound producing a small, somewhat satisfying tinking noise.

 

[Sherwood]

Wren nods, "Well, let me go take a look, then. If it is a pair of people, I can probably approach them much better than Renna can, with all the clanking she does as she walks. If they are nasty, I'll come a'runnin' back."

With that, she does her best to stealth along the pathway, moving slowly to get close enough to make a positive determination of exactly what is out there.

Spoiler

Hit Points: 32

Armor Class: 20 +1 vs Trap Attacks
Fort Save: +3
Reflex Save: +9 +1 vs Traps
Will Save: +3
Perception: +13 (+15 to Locate Traps)
Stealth: +12

 

[Silanon]

Clockwork Syringe : From the given distance, it is hard to deduce any kind of conclusions - you'd probably have to get a lot closer to really get any kind of useful insight. However, your gut tells you that the two ahead of you aren't ordinary guards.

Orikanyo : As you begin the produce noise to get their attention, you suddenly feel watched - though that might just be a delusion. Did the right silhouette just turn its head towards you? Hard to tell from the distance - if it did, it stands completely motionless again right now.

Sherwood : As you move forward into the tunnel, you feel like you're standing completely in the open, even though you do your best to stay in cover. Especially after the alchemist starts to produce noise, you feel like the right one of the silhouettes is watching every single one of your steps. You think you saw a sudden movement of its head, turning around to face you - but a split-second later, there's already no sign of movement at all. Maybe your eyes just played you a prank, and the thing ahead is indeed just a statue - in the shadows, the being appears to be stone grey. From your current position, you can see a pair of wings on its back, and a spear in its hand. For now, you can't really see details of the other one. How close would you like to get?

 

[Sherwood]

Wren will continue to advance, moving slowly and cautiously, swords in hand. These things may be some kind of gargoyle or automated constructs. I still need to be careful.

Spoiler

Hit Points: 32

Armor Class: 20 +1 vs Trap Attacks
Fort Save: +3
Reflex Save: +9 +1 vs Traps
Will Save: +3
Perception: +13 (+15 to Locate Traps)
Stealth: +12

 

[Orikanyo]

"or perhaps these are but beings of shadow it'self...?" Cairnall contin ued his thoughts as he tried his best to gaze at the creatures further... only thing that would tell is light.. but light would reveal their pantless friend... A connundrum... perhaps waiting for the sneaky one to find out would be best.

 

[Psychie]

Renna suddenly smacks herself in the forehead. "Curse me for a fool! Why don't I use my gifts from Iomeade? If the figures are evil, I will soon find out." She murmurs a brief prayer to her Goddess, then focuses her Detect Evil out towards the two figures.

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

A sense of uneasiness washes over Baird as his gut tells him "these are no ordinary guards." Still, as he sees the group begin to move, Baird does the same. Keeping his wits about him, he inches forward ready to act if something happens.

 

[Silanon]

Focussing her mind on the surrounding, the paladin can indeed sense an evil presence somewhere close. It takes a moment for her to actually locate its source; all four chambers to your side seem to be free of evil influences, and so is the right one of the figures. The left one, however, has an aura that seems to seek much of what you despise - it's quite weak, though, so nothing too worrisome. That does, of course, not mean that there is no danger ahead.

As Wren sneaks further forward - this time doing a bit better at avoiding the apparent gaze without shaking off the feeling of being watched - she can get a better look at both of the figures. They do indeed look rather statuesque, though that doesn't quite describe them properly. While they are made of stone, the amount of details is way too high for any usual craftmanship. For example, the wings of the right figure show every single stone feather on them, as if the creature was actually converted into stone. As for the general appearance: The right statue/figure/something else is a female mixture between bird and human - you'd be inclined to call it a harpy. The face is humanoid, though its shape still reminds you of a bird - the eyes are actually closed, but the head is turned right into your general direction. The other statue (the one that Renna recognized as evil) is more muscly - its a hulk of a man wearing heavy armor. Hooves and head are those of a bull - two crooked horns look dangerously spiky. A minotaur? You only get a look from the side - its head is tuned towards the cave's exit.

 

[Dicer]

Feeling that some kind of fight was about to begin, Veskassdak unslung his new bow and nocked an arrow. He would call upon his ancestors blessing to fill his blood with rage, draw the bowstring back and let the arrow fly if either Renna, with her evil sensing god gift, said they were a threat or if Wren came running back quickly, indicating that the two figures were hostile and needed to be put down. Either way, he would be ready.

 

[Psychie]

Renna frowns, then says, "Whatever those figures are, the one on the right possesses an aura of evil to it. The other figure does not, and I don't sense any evil beyond any of the four doors next to us. I believe that our dear Wren is about to walk into a fight, and I do not like the idea of missing out on the fun. Shall we?"

With her greatsword in hand, Renna heads down the path towards the figures, at least attempting to be somewhat quiet with her armor on.

Spoiler

Hit Points: 34
Lay on Hands: x8
Smite Evil: x2

Armor Class: 20 - Armor of Light Fortification
CMD 17
Fort Save: +9
Reflex Save: +6
Will Save: +9
Perception: -2

 

[Shnarf]

Keiyanna simply waited as everyone went about their individual tasks. Seeing as she was pure ranged and healing she knew she need to somewhat wait for others to act so she could respond accordingly. Seeing Renna walk forward though, Keiyanna decided that it was time. A white glowing domino streaks through the hall towards the status on the right that had been identified by Renna. "Back off Wren, things are about to get fun and we do not want you to get smacked out of it before you get to enjoy it." Keiyanna shouted out just before she threw her domino.

 

[Silanon]

As Renna moves forward, Wren can clearly hear the hasty approach of her allies. Moreover, you can see how the harpy statue on the right opens her eyes for just a split-second, icy blue and filled with life - certainly the eyes of a living being.

Renna certainly feels watched the moment she does make her first step, and so will all the others potentially following up behind her.

Shnarf The moment that you grab the domino to fire it off, you suddenly have the feeling that it'd be a horrible mistake to mess up the tidiness of this place with a fight. On the other hand, you likely still feel the urge to deal with the danger announced by Renna - if you wish to fire off the domino, please provide a will save.