Chapter Four: Barren Wastes of the Desert

Sigurd's sword came down and sliced cleanly through the corpses neck. The head dropped to the ground and rolled a few feet away. Silence followed.

Ashwyn breathed a sigh of relief when nothing happened. "Good. I was NOT looking forward to fighting those things again...." She said, remembering how close Sigurd had come to death from the draugers before.

She began her inspection of the doors. She started at the door to the east. She looked carefully at it.

"Stay away from this door. It has a trap on it. Not sure what... but it won't be good." She moved to the door on the north. "This one seems okay." She turned back to Sigurd and smirked. "You may as well. Enjoy it while it lasts." She said, stepping back from the door.

Outside the door was a longer hallway. The longest portion was 20ft long by 5ft wide. The shorter portion was 15ft long. There was a door leading back to the first room they were in, then a new door on the shorter portion of hallway.

Letting out a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding, Lo grins sheepishly. "Yeah me too...it's good to know that sometimes a corpse is just a corpse." Walking up a little closer, Lo closes her eyes and quietly whispers last rites. Who knows who this was, and what happened...still, a life is a life. Straightening back up, Lo watches Sigurd and Ashwyn with the doors. So many of them! "I hope that strength lasts until we get out of here...with all these doors, who knows what leads where!"

Sigurd was tempted to kick in the trapped door but with a crippled gnome on his chest he thought better of it. He chuckled to himself in giddy excitement as he plowed his fist through another door vaporizing it to splinters "I think I'm gonna miss this..." He said to the others. It was quite amusing despite having almost swallowed a giants toenail....

Ashwyn looked both ways down the hallway beyond. There wasn't much to see. Sandstone walls leading to the petrified wood doors.

"Well... no sense in heading back the way we came...." She turned the corner and began inspecting the other door. "Seems the same as the others.... no traps that I can find. You wanna break this one down too?" She smirked at him, then paused. She placed her ear on the door.

"I... thought I heard something... Sig, can you hear anything in there?" She asked, lowering her voice.

[Sigurd can choose to listen from where he is or press his ear against the door. Sigurd chooses to press ear to the door.]

Inside the room can be heard a strange sound. It sounds vaguely like liquid but thicker than water. A strange slop sound.

Watching Sigurd clearly enjoying himself is almost as much fun as watching the doors be turned to dust! With nothing to do other than walk through yet another hall, another door, and wait for the next door to be broken Lo idly wonders where one would get more of those potions and how much coin they would take. Hmmm, where did they get the first one anyway? Thinking back REALLY hard...Lo is not known for her enhanced memory...a vague recollection of the stuff they'd found in the room with the Grimstalker comes to mind. They'd found cheese and ale as well...it's all in the bag of holding, might be worth going through that again soon...

Lopiena's recollections are interrupted by Ashwyn talking about something behind this next door. Instantly on alert, Lo readies her staff and...oh. "Sigurd, do you want me to look after Zane? Just until we know what's behind that door?"

Sigurd growled, something was alive in there. And that something was going to die. Nodding to Lopiena he handed the bundle of babbling gnome to her before squaring up to the door. He planted his foot dead center and sent it cascading off into the next room, following behind it carefully.

The door shattered, just like the rest. The room beyond was about the same size as the first room they'd fallen into. 15ft by 15ft and mostly empty. Along the northern wall was an old divan that stretched across most of the wall. It was made of stone and any cloth once on it was long gone now. There were a couple of other small side tables with dinning wear on them, covered in dust and sand. The eastern wall had a ladder propped against it. Under the ladder was a large trunk with an old brass lock on it.

But the most notable thing in this room was the large blob like creatures bobbing in the corners. In the north eastern corner was a large ochre jelly; golden yellow in color it was taller than even Sigurd and spanned most of the corner on it's own.

In the south eastern corner there were two other creatures of the same color but much smaller. Standing around 3 feet from the floor.

As the group entered the room, the jelly's slowly began inching their way towards them, moving very slowly.

Ashwyn followed Sigurd in and then frowned. "Ugh... Jelly's...."She glanced at Lo. "Don't let them touch you. They'll try to suck the flesh off your bones."

[It's a fight! Roll Initiative!]

(rolled 14 for Initiative)

With Zane next to her, Lo doesn't plan to move much, and really there's not much she can do against jellies...no idea if they just eat flesh or will consume the wood of her staff, as well! Checking Zane quickly...the herb clearly effects Gnomes different than humans; normally that would be an interesting point of study, but right now she's worried that his babbling is some kind of Gnomish spell...Lo readies herself for a fight.

Sigurd glared at the three blobs, he felt like his sword wouldn't do much good against a moving pile of goo. It would be like cutting water... He stretched his arm outward towards the Largest Jelly and smirked "Fire Bo-" a stabbing pain in his forehead broke his concentration. That fall must have been further than he had thought...

Staring at the large Jelly for a moment he fiddled with his sword in his hand, the blade would probably glide right through it.. but the large flat side.. maybe. Nothing to lose! Sigurd ran forward to the large Jelly and brought the flat side of his great sword down with full intent to splat it all over the walls.

ATK: 18+6= 25
DMG: 2d6+5: 9+6=15

Seeing Sigurd hesitate mid-spell is concerning, but Lopiena doesn't want to leave Zane. At least Sigurd is able to splat the blobs against the wall; that's something at least! As the large blob starts reforming itself, Lo wonders what elemental weaknesses these things might have. Muttering an incantation in Druidic, Lo opens one hand as though picking a flower.  "Fire." Making the small flame grow to the largest size possible, Lo launches the fireball at the largest blob. That should do something,  considering it's spread out with the largest surface area! Following fire with ice, she points one finger at the same blob. "Frostbite."

(Attack roll =12+3 proficiency)
(Spells: Cantrip Produce Flame, 1d8, rolled 6; Cantrip Frostbite, 1d6, rolled 1...plus spell mods, so that should be 10 fire damage and 5 ice damage? Oh, and target gets Con roll to avoid Frostbite)

The jelly hadn't yet fully reformed when Lopeina's spells hit it. They caused the jelly to ripple with the power of the spell.

[Jelly 1 Large takes 15 points of damage]

Finally reformed, the jelly moved towards Sigurd. It latched onto his foot and began sucking him inside of its mass. For a creature that seems to move slowly, it's sucking power envelopes Sigurd's leg easily and quickly. Even with his enhanced strength, Sigurd would find it difficult to pull back.

[Jelly 1 Large attacks: 17. Bludgeoning damage: 6, Acid damage: 3. Sigurd takes 3 bludgeoning damage and 3 acid damage.]

Ashwyn watched the jelly's and how they moved. They were certainly vulnerable to magic but even Sigurd's attack just seemed to inconvenience it. She looked at her weapons and... nothing that would really do much to it. And her magic was so limited to tracking. There really wasn't... anything she could do.

She moved back to where Zane was laying. He seemed to be regaining some form of conciousness but still seemed pretty out of it. Finally deciding she had to attempt SOMETHING, she moved to the nearest side table, picked it up and swung it with as much strength as she could towards the large jelly.

[Ashwyn attacks with bludgeoning weapon: 15. Damage: 6. Jelly takes 6 damage]

Zane was still too out of it to really do much, but he was concious enough to see what was happening.

While the group was fighting the large jelly, the two smaller ones began to climb the walls. One climbed up the east wall while the other climbed the south wall. They reached the ceiling and turned, heading towards the group.

Sigurd growled as he watched his foot disappear into the undulating muck. Jerking himself backwards he found he didn't make much headway, Oh well, It worked once before it would again! Bringing his sword over his head he held it flat before swinging it down hard in front of his leg hoping to splatter the jelly away from his leg.

ATK: 14
DMG 2d6 (3+6+5 = 14) to Jelly 1 (large)

Grinning at Sigurd's swinging sword, Lo is momentarily distracted by the jelly melting into the floor. What a strange sound! But the other two blobs are concerning, especially since they're almost above the group...if one of those things plops down who knows what damage it would do! Aiming at the blob closest to her, Lo opens her hand like a flower two separate times. "Fire...fire!" Lobbing two more fireballs at the closest blob, Lo grins wildly. This is fun!

(Cantrip Produce Flame, d8 rolled 7+4 spell mod =11; 2nd roll 3 +4 spell mod =7, total 18 woot! Yay cantrips!)

The fireballs hit the nearest jelly and the shock from the blasts caused it to fall to the floor with a splat. It rippled in what could have been pain or anger before continuing it's path on the floor towards them.

[Jelly 2 small takes 18 points of damage]

"Oh no you don't." Ashwyn said. She picked up the table again and crossed the room towards the one on the ground. She turned the table on end and used all her strength she smacked it down top first over the creature.

[Attack roll: 14. Damage roll: 6 + 2 + 2 = 10. Jelly 2 small takes 10 damage. Jelly 2 small is Dead]

The jelly creature made the same gurgling sound before also melting into the stone. The third one, still on the ceiling, continued to move forward. Once it was over Sigurd, it dropped, aiming for his head.

[Jelly Attack: 8] The creature missed his head and landed on the floor right at his feet.

Sigurd took a quick step back and watched as the colourless mass flopped in front of him. Keeping with the same strategy as the other jelly, if it ain't broke don't fix it, he swung his sword, flat end towards the jelly. It wasn't the satisfying slice he was used to, but there was something amusing about batting these stupid things around the room.

ATK: 10
DMG: 2d6+5 ([1] 3+5+5=13)

Keeping a careful eye on the distance between the jelly and everyone else, Lo takes a short step away from Zane just for a moment. She doesn't want to accidentally hit Sigurd with a fireball! It's certainly a nice surprise to learn that the simple flame spell she'd learned as a child can actually do some real damage, especially since she simply doesn't have the energy for much else. Grinning again, she opens her hands twice more. "Fire...Fire!" Two more gestures, two more fireballs, little to no energy expended...just borrowing the flame always ready at hand.

(Actually remembered attack roll this time, rolled 11+3 proficiency =14; Produce Flame cantrip, d8 rolled 4+4 spell mod = 8; 6+4= 10, total 18 again. Woot! )

The flames this time caused the jelly to ripple and gurgle, causing it to reach boiling point.

[Jelly takes 18 fire damage. Catches fire, causing additional 2 fire damage. 20 total.]

Ashwyn went to pick up the table and throw it at the jelly once more, but it was stuck to the floor from the remnant of the former jelly. She frowned and pulled out her falcata. If it worked for Sigurd....

She swung the sword, flat side towards the creature, aiming away from her companions as it was getting rather close.

[Attack roll: 14. Damage: 7]

The jelly slapped against her blade and launched across the room, hitting the wall. It hit, gurgled and then melted down the side of the wall.

[Jelly takes 7 damage from blade and an additional 2 from hitting the wall. Jelly is dead]

[Success!! Each party member receives 450 XP!]

Sigurd looked at his foot and watched as the acidic burns slowly started to vanish "Stupid blobs...that almost had me concerned.." he said softly to himself. Looking to the others he took inventory of his companions. Ashwyn did some find table throwing, Lopiena was a pyromaniac in the best of terms, Zane.. well Zane was there. "Everyone alright? no serious damage?"

Ashwyn sighed as the jelly's finally melted away.

"I hate those things..." she grumbled. She turned to Zane, who was beginning to regain consciousness. When Sigurd questioned everyone, she turned to him. "I'm alright." She knelt next to Zane.

"Are you back with us?" she asked him.

Zane woozily looked at her. "I... I think so." he looked around at the others. "I... I can't move my legs." He looked up at the others. "Sigurd.... Did you...swell?" he tilted his head to the side, confused.

Ash put a hand on Zane's shoulder. "The fall was... Well... Eventful for you. Don't try and move too much. If your awake the pain is likely to follow soon."

Zane nodded to her. "But... You're all alright?"

Ash smiled. "Thanks to you." she nodded.

He blushed and looked away. "Oh... Good." he looked up at Lo and Sigurd. "I'm glad you're all okay."

As they stood there, Sigurd's magical strength began to leave him until he was back to his normal self.

Already prepared with another fireball, Lo dismisses her flame with a closed hand and a sigh. Darn...that was fun! Still, those blobs had gotten much too close. Next time they might not be so lucky. Kneeling next to Sigurd, Lo checks the acid burns on his legs...already halfway healed! Shaking her head in amazement, Lo watches his skin slowly recover. "That is quite possibly the most amazing thing I've seen, and you've done some absolutely amazing stuff. Still though, that can't be comfortable. Are you ok? How's your head?" Looking into his eyes again, Lo notes that his pupils are still dilated...though that could be anything from the fight to the dim lighting. He seems more or less ok, and as the strength potion wears off Lo has to assume he'll be fine. Turning, Lo kneels next to Ashwyn and Zane. "Ashwyn, how about you? More or kess ok?" Quickly checking her back, Lo nods slightly to herself. More or less ok...she'll be stiff for sure, but at least there's no permanent damage. But Zane...feeling his forehead, checking the alignment of his splinted legs, Lo tries to hide a worried face. He's stable, but without more healing it'll be a long slow struggle to knit back together again. "Zane, thank you for your Featherfall spell, you saved all our lives. You're going to be just fine...just try not to move, ok? I don't want to give you too much of the painkiller, it'll mess with your system...but if it becomes too much to bear, let me know." As bad as he is, Lo doesn't dare try to heal him again just yet. She might have the energy for one more spell, but will be worthless if anything else comes up.

Ashwyn turned to Lo and smiled. "I'm fine. Don't worry so much." She winked at her.

Zane listened to Lo as she spoke of painkillers and he nodded. "Yes yes... of course..." He looked down at his splinted legs. "Well.... this will be awkward..." He said, tapping at the splints supporting his legs.

Ash frowned at him, concerned over his legs and his ability to heal. Not to mention the time it would take to heal. "We're going to get you out of here, Zane. We'll get you healed up just fine." She wasn't sure if her words were for Zane's benefit or her own.

Zane looked up at her and smile. "Oh I doubt that very much." He chuckled. "Oh not the getting out of here. Of that I have no doubt. But I do not believe fine is the appropriate moniker for what I will be." He looked down at his legs, examining them.

His words were like a sharp pain inside of Ashwyn. This man, who at first she wasn't fond of, saved her life. Saved all of their lives. He was their friend now. She glanced up at Sigurd with a sad look in her eye, but she was trying not to let it show to Zane.