Vyn'al looked for signs of where to go. Following tracks wasn't a strength of his, but he had a fair eye for spotting them in the first place.

07:24, Today: Vyn'al Ethinos rolled 17 using 1d20+4.  Perception

The group gave a quick look to the rooms to the south of the ambush site, finding 2 rooms with the same sickly gardens, to the south and the east. The way forward seems to be going north.

"Did you see that, Ken.  It tried to run away."  A faint, reddish glow pulsed from the palms of his hands as the gnome ran them over the rent and damaged sections of his creation.  "Goes to show that they aren't crazy."

A glance over one shoulder revealed the others seemingly still in pursuit of the mysterious Belak.  That, and the litter of bodies scattered across the floor.  "I wonder if any of them have something worth taking," speculated the gnome.

OoC: Use Mending to heal Ken.  Back to full.  One minute taken.

Erky Timbers rolled 10 using 2d6 with rolls of 6,4.  Mending.

Brankx frowns at Keely and places a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be quick ter assume all will go in our favour lass - remember th' cat? She was quick ter move without thinkin' and look where it got her."

He looked her in the eyes. "I don't say this ter scolde ye lass, i say it becase despite me gruffness, i care about ye and don't want ter see ya killed." He removed his hand. "...just think before ye jump lass. I won't always be here."

He let the gnome search the bodies, as he cleaned off his axe and waited near teh north door. "If any o' ye need rest, i suggest we hold up in one o' these rooms and try patch up our wounds. If not, lets get this done."

---

<OOC: Short rest?>

Keely brushed off the dwarf's hand with a grunt.  She clearly wasn't ready to hear it, despite him probably right.  She stoked her fury, banking it for a time when it could be unleashed in full.

The party continued north, discovering a large octogonal room with the same sickly garden in it. A door in the south west quadrant is closed.

Erky's search of the dead creatures mostly found some agricultural equipment, but the bugbear was carrying a pouch containing 5 gold pieces and 17 silver pieces.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:39, Fri 26 Apr.

"I don't need the rest, but I'm not opposed, if anyone else feels that they do."

Keely moved to check the other door before she turned back to the others.
OOC: is the door locked?  Does it open into the room, or out of the room?  Just thinking in terms of bracing the door against entry.

"Are we resting?  Again?"  The quirk of the gnome's mouth suggested a shrug.  Then he nodded, gave Ken a comradely pat on the shoulder, and pocketed the coin from the bugbear.  "This last little set to did its best to bloody us a bit.  And it would be in our better interest to be at our best when we encounter this Belak fellow."

Keely checked the door, finding it unlocked. It opened towards the octogonal room and revealed a wide corridor, ending with a domed room. Dragon-carved granite blocks line this chamber’s walls and ceiling, though many are crumbled and broken, leaving stony debris on the floor. A huge marble statue of a rearing red dragon stands in the curve of the western wall. The eye sockets of the dragon are empty, but a red glow lingers there, providing reddish light throughout the chamber. The radiance casts an inky shadow behind the statue’s wide wings. A five-foot-diameter, circular tile of dark stone is set in the floor in front of the dragon statue. Runes are carved around the circular tile’s inner edge.

Keely shut the door, and set her back to it, sliding to the ground.  "The way ahead is clear for now," she said.  "If we're going to rest and tend to our wounds, this is a good place to do it.  Master dwarf, if you could block the other door, anyone else would have a hard time getting in."

---

OOC: Short rest in the octagonal room.

The party spent the next hour resting, nothing disturbing their rest, save the dripping sound of a crude irrigation system.

ROLL: Keely Navila rolled 22 using 2d12+6 ((6,10)).  Short Rest HD Healing.
OOC: Brings me back up to full (48hp).

---

Keely spent the hour wiping away at the edges of her wounds with a damp cloth, and binding the more serious ones.  Nothing was life-threatening, but she knew that goblins sometimes fouled their weapons intentionally, and she didn't want any chance for infection to set in.  When she was done, she got to her feet and opened the door into the corridor leading to the dragon statue.  "Let's go," she said brusquely, and led the way.

Vyn'al passed time during the rest by reviewing the spells within his spellbook, and doing mental exercises to reinforce his memory.

use Arcane Recovery to restore my spent spell slot

Brankx closes the door and leans against it, his axe in hand, he breathes deeply as he rests, taking a drink of water as he did. He smiled at the group as he did. "Well, this place has had some surprises fer us." He muttered

---

<OOC: Spend 1 HD to recover HP

 Brankx rolled 5 using 1d8+2 with rolls of 3.  hp recovery (use 1hd)

Recovered 5 HP>

"A clever mechanical toy baked into a cake is a nice surprise," commented the gnome before entering the door to the long hallway that lead off to the south.  "Stay back for a moment, Ken."  He waved his mechanical servant back for a moment as he crept forward.  Erky's voice also dropped to a whisper.  "Being raked by skeleton claws and animated nettles not so nice."

Erky Timbers rolled 21 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 19.  Stealth.  Leaving Ken behind for now.
Be vewy qwiet.  Wew hunting wabbits.

Erky decided that discretion was the better part of valor and took the lead to explore the next room, as the rest were still getting up from polishing weapons or reading spellbooks. The gnome was quiet enough to surprise an alert rabbit and entered the room with a dragon statue, a red circular tile before the draconic monument. Something seemed engraved on the red tile, but the artificer did not have the right angle to read it from the entrance of the room.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:52, Wed 01 May.

Keely followed the gnome a short distance away, letting him do his thing.

---

OOC: Following at a distance of 30 feet.

Brankx followed after Keely, not concerned with stealth at all

There was something about a large unoccupied room with a single dragon statue in the middle, and a red circular tile before it.  Something ... unsettling.  This was the place in all of the tales where the giant human in the eyeless mask appeared out of nowhere with bloody knife raised high.  Or a ten thousand ton weight dropped down from - again - out of nowhere crushing the life from you.  Something.

A brief glance over his shoulder revealed Keely and Brankx.  That was comforting.  But not enough to dispel the ominous feeling of ... Something  And so the gnome took his time.  From the corner of the hallway he gave the room a thorough study.  He pondered the purpose of the room from angles both ecclesiastic as well as historical.

"Please let it be nothing," he muttered to himself.  As opposed to, say, Something.

OoC: Erky Timbers rolled 20 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 19.  Perception.
Erky Timbers rolled 7 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 2.  History.
Erky Timbers rolled 21 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 16.  Religion.

Erky recognized that the flowing runes inscribed on the edge of the red tile were in a language he had studied years ago, long before this ordeal had fallen on his shoulder, the archaic language of dragons.

"Well, that makes sense."  The gnome straightened from a crouch.  He scratched his head.  He glanced once again at the statue, and the colored tile, and at the words etched on the edge.  "It's just a statue," said the gnome to those following behind.  "Of a dragon.  With a red tile in front of it.  And there's writing on the edge of the tile.  Looks like draconic," he reported.  He still seemed reluctant to enter the room.

"Say, didn't the kobold, um, Meepo, didn't he say that his people used to rule this place at one time?  That must be why there are so many ... well ... dragon things about."

Vyn'al went forward to examine the draconic script.

As Vyn'al got closer to examine the red block with the draconic script, he noticed a suspicious shadow moving toward him, not following at all the lights of the party.

The creature totally fumbled its stealth roll, I rolled a nat 1, initiative and first action everyone

Vyn reacted with fire, but only a strike rather than the sustained flames he was known for.

---

Initiative	17
Rolls	00:22, Today: Vyn'al Ethinos rolled 17 using 1d20+1.  Initiative
Action	cast Sacred Flame, Dex 14 vs 2 Radiant
Rolls	00:25, Today: Vyn'al Ethinos rolled 2 using 1d8.  Sacred Flame, Dex 14
Move	Back away to keep get out of the creature's range if I go before it in initiative. Otherwise, stay.