Demons What P 10

...well, at least the fungus monsters are dead.

The rest of you are still in a largely fungus filled chamber, but at least they're not atacking you anymore. The injured sailors and their captain are finally free to proceed, even if they're hanging behind you.

Serraphine stands there and looks over the Mushrooms. She frowns, sliding the swords back into the sheath as she looks to the berzerking one for a moment, then back to the mushroom, then to Celeste and... "I wanna see you eat it." She says as she nudges at it with her foot. "Do you suppose they're male, female, or androgynous?" She furrows her brow and pokes at one with her foot again.

Lucy scrambles to recover weapons she flung at the various fungus monsters and then back to her position on the flank of the crew. "There's plenty of fungus and mushrooms around here that -weren't- alive..." she points out, carefully avoiding looking to closely.

Felicia says, "I don't think they have a gender. it's be like trees having a gender, fi." She then looks to Celeste. "don't eat it. Knowing our luck, it's posisonous." She then looks down the path again. "Shall we keep going? At least the lower we get, the more chances we have for food.""

Serraphine nods her head a few times, letting out a sigh as she tilts her head to the side once more and examines the corpses once more. "I personally think they're male." A look up toward Felicia, her yellow eyes finding the dark haired Arvek and she gives another frown. "They were fun guys, even if they were very short lived." She nods again and looks back toward the mushroom, then Celeste. The look toward Celeste is expectant as she clearly wants to watch her eat these things much in the way everyone watched her eat that demon.

Malorn looks around for any more of those mushroom guys. He hmms, "I'd hold off eating any of these mushrooms, they don't look like much like the mushrooms that I found earlier." He says as he starts to look around, "So shall we try to find a way out."

"Hah, of course dere male." He motions at the 'head' of the creatures. "Wot shape you think that remidns you of eh?" The big Ork snorts as he moves slowly around the area. Poking the tip of his curved blade into nooks and cranies as he searches. His heavy footfalls echoing in the cave-room. "Ya know I once had to go with dis smarty inta a special cave to see a whole city of dese tings. They got me ta drink dere juice of dis huge giant one and den." The big Ork pauses squinting. "Den tings got weird."

Lucy looks more and more relieved every time someone suggests moving on. "This really doesn't feel like a very safe place," she remarks, then raises the tip of her spear to examine it for mushroom men remains.

GAME: Celeste rolls survival: (6)+9: 15

stands over the last of the mushroom men, panting heavily as she comes down off of her rage. Sweat drips from her brow as she wipes the blade of her sword clean on... her thigh, of all things, before slamming it into the sheath on her belt. After slinging her shield on her back, she does rip loose a chunk of the creature's... flesh... whatever it is, before perking an eyebrow upwards; she looks at Malorn, then back at the chunk of fungus, then back to Malorn, then back to the fungus, giving it a good, hard stare.

"Wasn't hungry anyway," she concludes, throwing the morsel over her shoulder.

Celeste stands over the last of the mushroom men, panting heavily as she comes down off of her rage. Sweat drips from her brow as she wipes the blade of her sword clean on... her thigh, of all things, before slamming it into the sheath on her belt. After slinging her shield on her back, she does rip loose a chunk of the creature's... flesh... whatever it is, before perking an eyebrow upwards; she looks at Malorn, then back at the chunk of fungus, then back to Malorn, then back to the fungus, giving it a good, hard stare.

"Wasn't hungry anyway," she concludes, throwing the morsel over her shoulder.

There's a way ahead to go! But other than, no mroe fungal monsters are lurching out at you.

So far.

Serrapine watches Celeste, then says rather loudly, "AwwwWWWW!" A show of disappointment clear on her face, a sigh, then she looks back down at the Mushroom. "Whelp..." She reaches down and tears off some of it as well. She nibbles on it out of curiosity. Perhaps they will be tasty and fun? She looks to Felicia with the mushroom already half way into her face and watches her. Vengeance for no one understanding her humor.

Having finished his search Baz turns and tromps off in the direction the group was traveling. His large armored form leading a glow as he points over his shoulder and cantrips 'light' into existence on the flag hanging from the spike on his helmet. The soft blue glow offering a reference point for those unable to see in darkness that may come behind. "One, two, tree, four, so we march for Kor to war! One, two, tree, never do we bend knee!"

Felicia rolls her eyes. "If you get sick, Fi.....I'm using your armored form as a sled...."

GAME: Serraphine rolls Fortitude: (18)+8: 26

Malorn keeps his guard up as he follows after the others. He nods to Celeste, "Good choice." He said as he shakes his head at Serrapine. He starts to move on with the rest of the group, "Come on let's go."

Serraphine frowns, then takes a bigger bite. She chews on it, a little rubbery but... "It taste like chicken." She'll take up her spot near the back again - making sure those in the middle don't get lost in the darkness as best as she can. Well, that and eating the Mushroom, "Who would guess? The fun guys taste like chicken? Huh."

Celeste's eye twitches following the pun; she finds herself needing so supress an urge, suddenly, to treat Serraphine to a swift uppercut. Her finger uncurl and she rumbles as she walks. She quirks an eyebrow up and gives Malorn a brief nod. "Let's keep moving." She rattles her sword in its scabbard, letting her hand rest on the pommel afterwards. "Let's not forget we're in a hurry."

"Can we just get a move on??" says the Captain, impatientyl. She nods further down the tunnel with clear anxiety written all over hr features.

Felicia says, "I've been saying this since the start." She says tromping her way forward.......at the pace of a force march."

GAME: Felicia rolls survival: (11)+3: 14

GAME: Baz da Ork rolls survival: (11)+9: 20

GAME: Celeste rolls survival: (2)+9: 11

GAME: Serraphine rolls Survival: (19)+1: 20

GAME: Malorn rolls survival: (2)+3: 5

"We wanna go to war today, and the master of the lash says, 'bout damn time! Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!" The big Ork sings as he tromps along, curved blade over his shoulder. A massive wall of green flesh and metal that prooves to be somewhat musical, though his tune could use quite a bit of work. "Where there is Kor, there's a war, where there is Kor, there's a war. Left, right, left, right, to the fight! We will march all night and day, waiting for the chance to slay, slay, slay. All for the glory of the Blood Red Lord, all hail the Kor and heed the call of war!"

Off you go into the wild... fungal... tunnels.

Rr The mushrooms are getting thicker by the moment, in actualiy, s you push your way through.

At least so far you're not encountering more fungal-monsters, thoug, even as you head deeepr into the mountain.

...meanwhile, all the soldiers are staring at Baz because 'really oh god we're all gonna die'.

"Now this is getting ridiculous." As Celeste marches, she draws sword and shield once more, walking with them held in hand and ready for the mushrooms to misbehave. Just once; go on, provoke the ork. Dare you.

"Left, right, left, right, left, right, left.." The big Ork pauses as if he forgot what was next then continunes a few moments later. "Right." His heavy trod and marching tune a steady ryhtmic cadence designed to help those not used to it lose themselves in the march. To get their mind's off the pain in their legs and backs and just keep moving forward. "The crack of the hammer means there's gonna be a war. For we are the arms of the Blood Lord Kor! We're gonna march all day, all day, all day. A crack on the back means we're gonna fight, we're gonna march all day and night." So sings the marching green and metal wall with the softly glowing blue light hanging from his helmet.

Malorn nods a little bit as he follows along with the rest of the group. He looks to the soldiers, "Nonsense we've made it this far and haven't died yet."

Felicia keeps her pace, but keeps her eyes open as she makes sure there aren't any more mushroom guys here......

Finally, you see a tunnel which looks lighter in fungus than the rest and push through to that. tunenl. Seems the right way to go.

While you're covered in sporous ugliness, you do manage to make your way to it and by the end you're glad to be out of there.

Now you can hear... water? Running water? Sounds like it. The tunnel ahead widens and then curves.

Celeste grunts softly. "Running water," she observes, just in case anyone didn't hear it. "MIght be drinkable... might not be, so don't just stick your lips in it. Might help us find a way out, too." She shrugs lightly. "Or, it could be infested with monsters, so be ready."

Felicia says, "Should've never said 'don't do it', Celeste." She says with a meaningful look at Serraphine."

"May not be worth trying." Baz rumbles as he pauses in his march. "Kor blesses the march wit da power to summon water to keep his troops moving." The big Ork sniffs a few times and tilts his head. "But water flows down, down means we on the otherside of the mountain maybe? Time getting closer ta leaving here and dese demons. Wit our stick we was orderd ta get?" He flexes his armored fists slowly then shurgs and resumes his march.

Felicia says, "Serriel can create water too....I have been. But...can also purify it too.""

"Don't you mean that you get the water from Serriel?" Serraphine asks as she looks to Felicia with a frown.

Felicia says, "You know what I meant, fi.""

Lucy readies her tiny spear. "Should I go check it out?" she offers. She takes a step forward, and her glowing Ioun torch follows along contentedly. "Er, that is, maybe someone who can see in the dark can check it out." She runs her eyes quickly over all the members if the party. "Well, that is..." she takes up her spot next to the crew. "Maybe we'll just wait here," she finishes in a small voice.

Serraphine stalks off in the direction of the water with a look toward Felicia, "You know, I was actually never thinking of drinking it, but /now that you said that/ I will out of spite." She gives that raise of her eyebrow still, then turns back and draws her sword. "I'll go."

Very intereting, that."

Up ahead, then, those who are not Lucy and the Airship Crew who are definitely not in the skt right no (and really wish they had diamonds for that matter) find what appears to be a moving underground stream crossing the tunnel you're on, diagonally stretched from one end of the tunnel to the other. It's a little quick, but most inteterstingly, there's a small stone bridge over it.

Very intereting, that.

Without much further ado Baz stomps forward and into the water. Like some lumbering zombie he simply marches into the stream and splashes around in it. Taking a moment to even submerge as much of himself as possible. Likely to get the fungal spores, multiple days of marching and near endless supplies of demon goo off his armor and flesh.

Serraphine, by contrast, walks on the bridge to see if it's safe to cross. As the saying goes, if it'll hold an Arvek in Fullplate... That and she doesn't feel like getting in the water considering it might be runoff from the ice above and that would make it quite frigid.

Celeste walks up to the waters edge and there, for the moment, stops. She flexes her fingers around the grip of her sword, and glances this way and that; she would go further, but... Baz is already in the water, and Serraphine is already crossing the bridge. No sense in risking the whole party, just yet; might as well just see what happens to them, first.

Felicia stays with Celeste. She understands. totally...

It's made of stone and it seerms more than capable of holding the weight of one Serraphine.

Malorn watches for the moment and he waits to see which one of them is going to get in trouble first.

Serraphine stands roughly in the middle of the bridge and starts jumping on it. Just to make sure.

Nothing happens.

The bridge remains a bridge.

Serraphine was more worried that it might collapse under the added stress, but the fact that it's still a bridge is good news.

"Good news, everybody!" Serraphine says as she points down at the bridge she's been jumping on, "I've discovered it's quite sturdy."

Stomping out of the water on the otherside Baz takes a few moments to shake like a dog and make various grunty noises. "Oy, waters frick'n cold I can feel me mushroom man all shrivled up." He raises his right arm and sniffs then grunts once, his tusks glistening with water. "But naow I don't smell like a giant dog's anus. Demon blood might as well be piss for all it does ta me nose." He blinks slowly as he peers from cave to stream. "So if dere is a bridge here, someone must use dis pass right?"

"Last time I saw a bridge underground, it was alive," Celeste points out. "It was a mimic and it tried to hold one of our number hostage for money." She pauses, watching as Serraphine jumps on the bridge. "This, however, is either the most patient mimic in history, or it's just a bridge."

GAME: Lucy rolls knowledge/engineering: (18)+3: 21

"And if it's small, might not even be giants." Serraphine reaches up and strokes her chin, frowning for a moment before shruggs, "But my guess would be that if this here is a bridge, and that cave up there wasn't exactly habitable, then my gold is on there being another entrance or exit in here somewhere."

Lucy leads the semi-hapless crew forward at the sound of Serraphine's proclomation the bridge is sound. That sounds like it could use a second opinion, and who better than a Gnome to inspect it. You know the saying, 'Khazad build, Gnomes re-build it right'. Wait is that a saying that non-Gnomes know? Perhaps not.

Malorn hmms, "As much as I hate to admit it it does seem like pretty solid construction. I'd say we get the others to go over the bridge."

Lucy nods knowingly. "I'd wager its gnome-made!" she says happily. "It should be perfectly safe!"

Celeste perks an eyebrow upwards. "Leaving aside the obvious question of just what the hell a bunch of gnomes are doing building a bridge *here*, of all places, we remain short on time. Let's get everyone across and keep going, yes? The sooner we reach safe territory, the better."

Felicia starts to walk over the bridge....."May as well risk it. Baz isn't dissolved by now...."

Malorn starts to move to the bridge, "Gnomes do strange things. Best not to question them."

Serraphine waits on the other side of the bridge, then takes up position near the back again.

Across the bridge and stream you go! Some of you are wetter than others in the process. The s streamwater, at least, seems /mostly/ clean.

Mostly.

Not that clean water is in shortage for the lot of you. After a short waalk, the stone ground seems to be growing more progressively, artificially smoothed, as do the walls.

Baz da Ork once more takes up a position in the lead, now dripping wet and squeaking now and then. He seems oblivious to the smoothed artifical walls and just keeps on marching away.

Felicia has noticed. "and....We've got something that's making these walls smooth...."

Lucy nods in agreement. "Gnome tunnelers like to smooth them out," she says, voice full of sage wisdom. "In case Lucht come to visit." She drops her voice to a whisper. "No shoes, you know."

Serraphine stuck near the back, her hand reaching out to touch the walls and her mouth pulling to the side. Yep. Just another mystery, maybe it was- "Oh, Gnome tunnelers? That makes so much more sense than a giant acid-spewing worm." She nods her head, "I rather like the idea of it being Gnome Tunnelers."

Further down the tunnel yuou go!

Yay tunnels. Up ahead, it branches into every possible direction at this next intersection.

Great.

"Great," says the one-eyed Captain with a sigh.

Malorn hmms as he starts to look around, "Let's just hope there isn't any wild giant acid-spewing worms still roaming around."

Lucy turns her head to look down each passageway in turn. She mutters something in Gmomish under her breath, and based on the context and because everyone picks up curse words in virtually every language most people would have an even chance of correctly translating to "Damned tunnelers."

GAME: Baz da Ork rolls Surival: (13)+Surival: 13

GAME: Baz da Ork rolls Survival: (4)+9: 13

GAME: Celeste rolls survival: (12)+9: 21

Rolling to a stop the big Ork sniffs, raises a finger. Stomps a few times and listens to the echos then he turns back towards the group and raises his right hand and sagely announces. "I dunno know which path. Dey all look alike ta me." He peers around again and then finally shrugs and snorts. "Mebe call a bivouac and tink on it?"

Celeste, perchance, is stnading right beside Baz doing exactly the same thing. She leans her head back and inhales, deeply snorting air up into her lungs. "They do all seem the same," she agrees, breathing out once more to empty her lungs. "...Except this way" She points down the north-western passage. "I can't say why, but it's different. I suggest that way."

The rest of the tunnels are all dark and possibly full of demons that want to eat you. Or fungus. Or worse of all gnomes.

"Because Baz took a bath!" Serraphine calls up to Celeste when she comments on the different smell. She's still at the back of the pack.

"Ya, and I'm da only one who did whiffy! Dats why you at the back." The big Ork roars in response to Serraphine then chortles and peers at Celeste. Then he shrugs and nods. "All right, sounds good enough. We need ta pick one and Celeste seems ta think dat one is different."

Felicia says, "got any ideas then?" She asks rather plainly. "It seems we've left the demons in the dust for now. For now....""

NORTHWEST YOU GO.

Now the passage goes from smoothed stone to actually limestone tiles set into the ground. You're definitely approaching something, but if the overgrowing moss is any indication, you're the first people to've actually been here in a while.

Felicia pops her neck and heads down the tunnel. Something is definitely there.

"Ey, de grass is glwoing." Baz remarks simply. He stares down at it and then chuckles. "I wonder if we get a cow in here if it'd make glowy milk, ya?" He pokes at some of the moss with the tip of his huge curved sword. Then continues on stomping away.

Serraphine brings up the rear again, "Glowing how?" She says to Baz's comments. "Glowing like bad, or glowing good, or glowing like the light spell, or glowing like the crap in the ocean?" She looks toward the moss herself to see if she can see the glowing moss effects too.

Malorn walks through the passage and he looks around, "Looks like the moss is glowing." He replies as he continues to keep up with the group in a guarded stance.

...and that's when you find it. A village, it seems.

Well, it was at one point. Now, it seems abandoned and quiet. The tunnel has widened into wa cavern where what was definitely a gnomish village once lay, the buildings careved on either side of you to give the representation of some kind of main street. Mana lights that have long sicne ceased functioning decorate the path you're on. AS you come closer, you find a great many statues.

Of gnomes.

That look like they were caught in the act of fleeing something.

Very promising, that.