07.11h: Dungeons of Inconvenience

[Wyvern]

((Continued from here.))
Tinder leads Alys, Jiga, and Cameron on a somewhat wild path; a mad dash through impossible angles and sulfurous flames that don't quite have time to burn the less fire-resistant members of the party. The spatial distortions aren't limited to just the environment, either; if you ever wanted to know what your insides look like (without actually cutting yourself open), for example...

For Cameron, this is pretty easy to follow - your attunement to the Pattern affords you an intuitive understanding of the pathways Tinder is opening up ahead of him, as well as some degree of protection from, say, temporarily turning inside-out.

For Jiga, it's probably a lot more disconcerting, involving walking into cracks and corners that really don't look like anything could possibly fit. Alys does, however, offer Jiga a hand to hold on to - and will, if necessary, literally carry the Tengu.

The scene on arrival in the dungeons is... grim, however. There are about 50 still-living prisoners - and about twice that number dead, mostly as a side-effect of Ch'talo's battle. Cages and cell doors are smashed... as are cell walls and the occasional support pillar; every so often another chunk of ceiling falls, especially around the hole Ch'talo used to enter the area.

Alys moves immediately to start helping the still-living - bandaging or flat-out cauterizing wounds. "Furball left quite a mess," she comments. "One of us should stay here, see what we can do for the survivors. The other... well, if this is the kind of collateral damage we can expect, we need to make sure it does not get to Rogbar. And I think we should send Tinder back to fetch a proper healer; at the least, my abilities there are quite limited."

[khadjair]

Cameron eyes the destruction with the eye of an architect, mostly unfazed by the death around but he does sidestep a couple corpse-parts.

"Quite a mess indeed. I can treat lacerations and the like, but anything involving bruises or disease or malnutrition I'm useless for. Or I can try and find my way towards the front gate and find a way to let the others in. It shouldn't be a problem..."

[ShadowOfPreservation]

Alys' offered hand was clearly welcome and possibly necessary to get her through and into the dungeon. If her feathers weren't jet black, it's clear from Jiga's expression she'd be quite pale from her experience of the last few minutes. Finally releasing her grip, the Tengu gapes at the scene, momentarily stunned at the carnage. Her companions' comments give her a moment to recover.

"I'll be no help if we run into whatever did this. I spent the last half a year living among priests and clerics so my first aid knowledge is rather fresh. I'll do what I can here." The task breaks her out of her shock and she quickly surveys the injured, taking stock of anything that can be used as makeshift bandages and prioritizing where to focus her attention.

[Wyvern]

"Sounds like your first aid is neither better nor worse than what I can manage," Alys replies to Cameron. "I will go on ahead, then; it appears that any serious combat has moved on, and it should not prove overly difficult to defend this room if you have to. Tinder, fetch a healer, and then report back to Aibne."

Tinder turns around and heads right back the way he came, with a slightly annoyed sounding "Rraau" that echoes oddly off the broken stone.

There's a brief moment (as Alys finishes amputating and cauterizing a prisoner's crushed leg) where someone could interrupt, or suggest a different division of responsibilities - and then (if nobody does so speak up) she's simply gone, departing at standard ninja 'I'm not teleporting, really' speeds.

[khadjair]

Cameron hefts the Star and eyes the entry from above. "Alright. Actually if I'm reading this right the otter came in from the ceiling here so that may be a sneakier way for me to get to the walls. I'll go up there for a look and try and help the others in. I figure by now they'll be deciding what kind of artillery will be necessary to get rid of those flying sentries."

He looks over the rubble, moving a couple pieces to ease his way up. There will occasionally be a surprisingly dull *thud* when he banners on a stubborn piece or rock, which just bends like he'd struck a hot sheet of metal.

[Joshua]

So, some bad news... After Ch'talo left, the roach monster must have disincorporated. After a few moments of healing and bandaging, a pair of the necrotech lizards will break into the room. "They're... incarcerating?" Still, that's a spear at Cameron and one at Alys, with sounds of reinforcements on the way.

[khadjair]

"So much for the element of surprise," Cameron grouses as he swings the Star in a rough parry of the incoming spear. He's more of a brawler than a fighter, but is fairly certain he can just power through.

[Joshua]

Cameron's lot in this fight is made significantly easier by the fact that his parry cleanly bends the spear in half (without breaking it), causing that franken-lizard to back off slightly.

(OOC: Wanted to get this posted before I forgot. It's an awesome image.)

[Wyvern]

Alys glances momentarily at where Cameron was trying to make his way up the rubble (and is now dealing with a necro-lizard coming down from above), and sighs. "I will get the main entrance, then."

She sidesteps the spear that was aimed at her and charges forward, grabbing that necro-lizard by the throat and carrying it out of the room, clearly intending to take the fight to her opponents rather than simply holding the fort here. (And not-so-clearly planning to open combat against their reinforcements by throwing a burning necro-lizard into its allies...)

[khadjair]

Cameron watches your spear bend around and smiles entirely too pleased as he steps forward and down, raising the Star to bring it down on the head of the lizard beast that went for him. As he does this he takes a look to make sure there are no more that could threaten Jiga, and that the entry that Alys is covering is the only one they're coming in through.