Strange Aeons (blaze gamma X ShadowPlay) [NSFW]

"If we get out of this, I may take you up on that." Exilis said casually. He started to shuffle through the pile of gory trash, using a spell to move things about so that he wouldn't need to expose himself to anything unpleasant. As he was looking through it all, he tried to think about what he'd seen of the strange shapechanging woman, and if he could say anything about her.

1d20+8 = 20 ] Perception [ 1d20+8 = 16 ] Religion [ 1d20+8 = 22 ] Arcana [ 1d20+4 = 23 ] Nature (Max 10)
 
Tiana winked at him. "I might just let you do that. As long as we can avoid the nightmares. I didn't care much for that."

As they shifted through the rags and remains of that was left outside the furnace, they found a very beautiful, masterly crafted viol. It just lay there, between the rubble, the bow was missing, but it was otherwise undamaged. Inside the furnace they could see the bone fragments of several humanoid creatures. It seemed like this place had been used to incinerate corpses.

Also inside the furnace, there seemed to be a vent leading upward. It was big enough for a person to squeeze their way through.

There was nothing that came into mind about shapechangers that fitted the description of what they had seen. It was clearly some sort of humanoid shapechanger. But neither Exilis nor Tiana knew much about the numerous different sorts of humanoid creatures that existed on the face of Golarion.
 
Exilis shook his head as he picked up the string instrument and inspected it. It did feel like an insult to the fine instrument for it to reach such an ignnoble end. "No, there isn't anything about that sort of creature I could tell you."

He walked over to Tiana, the weight of the instrument enough to slow him down. "Seems like we could climb up that vent, but I don't think that seems the most... Prudent of ideas. Don't need a literal fire lit under our asses in addition to the figurative one that that wom.... well, creature was." He sighed. So, I'll suggest we head out the door. Would you lead the way?" He held up his holy symbol, speaking a small blessing to Tiana as he approached her.

Dropping consistent blessing of the faithful on her to give +2 sacred bonus to saves, attacks, skill checks, and AC. Have to refresh it every 6 seconds
 
Tiana shook her head. "I know nothing about it either. But I know it's dead, that is what counts." She looked at the instrument, seeing that the extra weight was slowing down her new companion. "You want me to carry some of that?" She asked. She wasn't burdened by her load, and even if she were, the armor restricted her movement already, that extra load didn't really bother her.

She lifted her shield as they headed for the door. "I guess it's best if I take the lead." The door were unlocked and Tiana opened it to a new room. This cellar room was smaller than the previous.

A broad chute extended diagonally through one of this cellar's half-crumbled stone walls. Beneath it were heaped more than a dozen mutilated humanoid bodies. Nearby, a flight of rickety, wooden steps climbed toward the high ceiling - an escape none of the room's current occupants seemed capable of employing. The smell of rot and decay in the room was nearly overwhelming, and the buzz of flies hung in the air.

Tiana gagged at the smell. "Fuck. This is a mess."
 
Exilis sighed as he placed the Viola into his backpack, then unclipped a chain connected to it from his belt, before handing over the nearly empty bag. "If you're offering, I'll accept such a generous offer."

When they arrived in the new room, the mage covered his nose. "What the hell is going on in this place..." He muttered the same old refrain he felt like he'd been repeating since he awoke. He cautiously approached the stairs, wondering if there wasn't something wrong with them.

[ 1d20+8 = 25 ] Perception
 
A lot of the dead in the room were wearing the same white doctor coat that the, now dead, 'doctor' behind them had worn. It was really an unpleasant sight to behold and Tiana was glad that they were moving on.

The armored woman could only agree with Exilis' words, but avoided speaking, hoping that somehow she wouldn't need to breathe in this room. But just like the man she not only wondered about this place, but also, why they had been put here. Were they just victims of some insane cult or something? Or were they accomplices that were discarded off, just like some of those that had been dressed like the 'doctor'?

The stairs led up and as soon as they exited the door, the stench of death behind them dissipated. They entered into a courtyard of some sort. Trampled flowerbeds were smeared and squashed across this muddy courtyard. On all sides, stark gray walls rose toward a narrow gap of sunless sky. And from above a heavy downpour of warm rain fell from the sky.

There was a worn path from the door they had exited to another door into the surrounding structure, not far from their location.

Asylum-B1.png
 
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Exilis paused in his steps, his constant minor prayers stopping as well. He looked down at his hands. The stark realization that he had know idea who he was started to run through his head. The only things he had to go on were a name, his abilities, the most vague memories of a temple, and a dream.

He was an academic, or so he thought, and as such, he was obligated to scrutinize. As the rain fell on his face, he began to wonder if he was the person who he thought he was. Was his companion really a human.

"Hey..." He spoke in a shaky voice. "What if... We're whatever that... thing was?"
 
Tiana shrugged at Exilis' pondering. "Well. I'm pretty sure I'm human. But I guess there's no way of knowing. But I do know that you haven't tried to murder me or have me locked naked in a cell." She smiled at him, "I know it's not much, but I will take what I can get." She told him.

The warm water that fell from the sky was unlike any rain that Tiana had ever experienced before. There were something very unnatural about it. "I must say that I'm more worried about this place. It seems quite creepy. And the fact that we both had the same dream."
 
Exilis took a sharp breath. He decided it best to try and bury these thoughts for the time being. "Seems like there's no path but forward," he mumbled after a few seconds. Beforehe began his blessings once more, he spoke a small invocation, deciding to check for any magical auras. His doubts were far from assuaged, but he didn't feel like there was any point in dwelling on things.

Casting detect magic, then resuming blessings of the faithful, woo
 
Tiana nodded. The only path seemed to be forward. The way back were literally littered with rotting corpses. "Yes. Forward." She agreed as she looked around.

The courtyard they were in seemed more or less empty, safe for a few trees. To the north a structure had once stood, but was now crumbled into a heap of bricks. The remains of a flight of stairs were seen among the bricks. To the west, just next to them, seemed to be the only exit from the courtyard.
 
"... I don't like this," Exilis muttered. "Feels like I'm being funneled down to something unpleasant. Doesn't it bother you? The fact that there only seems to be one path? Only one way to go this whole time?" He asked.
 
"Yeah. It bothers me. And it bothers me that there are so many unknowns. It's like someone has taken crucial information and hidden it from us." She said, in a serious voice. "But on the other hand, we did find the chimney in the cellar that we could have taken. Maybe we should investigate that?" She wasn't keen on climbing through that narrow passage, but he was right, if someone wanted them to take this path, maybe taking another path was wise.
 
Exilis closed his eyes. It was true, he'd forgotten about the furnace. "Hmm... Either way doesn't feel well, but considering we've come this far and not encountered anything that seems dangerous yet... We may be able to rule out the risk of an attack." He hesitated, then reached into his belt pouch. Sure enough, there was a piece of copper in there. "Well, I guess we can let the fates decide... Heads is forward and tails we climb..." He tossed the coin into the air, letting it land at his feet. A blank press faced up at them, and the man sighed. "Well..."

[ 1d2 = 2 ] 1 heads, 2 tails
 
Tiana looked at Exilis flipping a coin. Then she rolled her eyes. "Seriously? You want us to go back down there and crawl through that narrow duct? Talk about being caught like animals in a trap." She said. She didn't want to say the real reason for not wanting to go down there. The stench of death from the bodies in the cellar was making her sick.

But she resigned. He was after all right, being cautious was wise when they knew next to nothing about what happened here. "But alright. If that's a better choice, then let's not hesitate." She turned to the door leading them back into the cellar.
 
Once again, Exilis followed. "I honestly don't like it any more than you do." He Said, closing his eyes for a second, before snapping them back open. "Ah, but it may be good to inventory what our capabilities are.

"As plain as I've shown, I appear to be a mage of some sort. I also have, as far as I can tell, the blessings of Nethys, and can channel divine magics. If you are injured, I can heal you, though my capacity to do so is somewhat limited. I can also set some minor traps, but they do not last very long. And, well, there's the blessings."
 
"Hmmm. Yes. Let's see." Tiana said. "I know how to handle a weapon and fight with armor and shield." She said, giving her sword a testing swing as to prove her point. "And I can also brew some alchemical potions if I have enough time, and can make a few potions on the fly if I need to. I have a little training in the art of healing." She didn't mention that she suspected, that most of her training had not been used in healing, but rather torturing.

They quickly passed the foul place with the rotting corpses and were once again at the cold furnace. "Alright. Let's get to it. Would you like me to go first? I'm the best protected, but I'm also a bit larger than you."
 
"Well, I'm not completely undefended," Exilis said. Might be better to have someone reliable down at the bottom in case I fall and break my neck." Even he couldn't tell if he was joking or not. He spoke his words of blessing, this time focusing on himself, then made his attempt.

[ 1d20 = 18 ] Climb
 
"Alright, I'll watch your ass and catch you if you fall." Tiana said with a smile.

The climb in the shaft was, though being tight, quite easy. There were plenty of handholds and neither of them faced any real danger climbing the 20 feet. While climbing they realized that this wasn't a chimney, but rather ducts that were most likely designed to distribute heat around a large complex. Several offshoots of the ducts were going in several directions as they ascended. None of them was large enough to climb.

Therefore, they ended in the one place, where the duct was wide enough to lead them. They exited in a large boiler room where the large boilers stood, rust covered and with piping piercing the walls in many places. There was a door on the east side of the room.

Exilis noticed a faint light from beneath the boilers toward the end of the room.


Asylum-B9.png

Climb take 10: 10+4 = 14
 
Exilis coughed slightly, casting a small spell to clear any soot or tar from his clothing. "Well, that wasn't too bad." He took a knee and inspected the light he'd seen. "I'm sure it was absolutely nothing for you, though, was it?" He asked, switching to see if the light was something magic, before using mage hand to grab at whatever it was.
 
Tiana coughed as she exited the tight space. "That was a tad too tight for my taste." She said answering him. "Next time you want to explore a tight space is should be a little more pleasurable."

As Exilis bent down to look under the boilers, he saw three creatures huddled together in the back along with some rubbish. The creatures were two rats, the size of a dog and an even more strange creature. The last one looked like a cat-sized rat with simian limbs and a mouth full of tentacles. It seemed like the light under the boiler came from the eyes of this strange creature.
 
"Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay..." Exilis stood up stock still, then started backing away. "Not a trap... But we should probably get out of here..." He shook his head and swallowed dryly. "There's uh... Something under there... Along with some rodents of unusual size."
1d20+8 = 12 ] Arcana
 
Exilis knew that this creature was a Zoog. An otherworldly creature with a taste for the flesh of sentient creatures. It was often found together with rats and the likes and feared cats.
They were not brave creatures, preferring to attack in numbers or to scavenge.

So backing away from a confrontation ensured that the three hiding under the boiler weren't frightened into attacking.

Tiana shrugged. "Not that I mind seeing you on your knees." She winked at him. "I guess we aren't here for pest control. But do you think they'll leave us be?"

She looked at the singular door in the room. "And now it looks like we have one way out of here. Should we try it?" She asked as she approached the door. This didn't seem like a place where traps would be prevalent. But Tiana was cautious none the less. "The door seems free from any unpleasant surprises."

[ 1d20+4 = 21 ] Perception Tiana
 
"On their own like that, as long as we leave them alone, they should leave us alone..." Exilis breathed, just hoping not to see more of the things. "Just try not to end up passed out around them and you should be okay." He stepped up to the door. "I'm surprised you can be so... Chipper; considering the circumstances." He chose his words politely, as he was still unsure what to make of his companion.

Ever so cautiously, Exilis cracked the door, peeking out without opening it fully.

[ 1d20+8 = 18 ] Perception
 
Tiana swallowed something. His comment hit hard. Why was she in such a mood? Some part of her knew that it was because she tried to mask the terror that tried to take hold of her. But she would never admit such a weakness to someone she had only known for so little time. So instead of being honest, she shrugged, "Well, we either live or die. And if I'm about to die, I will not run around being scared of my own shadow."

The door opened up into a 10 feet wide hallway that stretched in the north-south direction. From their vantage point, they couldn't see the whole hallway. For that, they would need to go into the hallway. They could however see that on the opposite site of the hall was a door. And about 20' to the south they could see a barricade having been erected out of furniture and various building materials.
 
Exilis shook his head, running a hand through his hair with a small sigh of exasperation. He would have to make an internal note that he was not blessed with the gift of gab. "Don't get me wrong. I'm hardly complaining. It's admirable, to be able to keep up one's spirits as such even when faced with such a troublesome situation." He decided not to push the door shut, but he didn't step through yet. "There's another door and a barricade. Seems like there's still plenty of madness going on down this way too. The good news is, there may be some other living souls here who aren't with that thing from before." He crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

"I guess there's not much point in hesitating, is there. I wonder if the barricade is to keep something trapped on this side or to keep something from getting to the other side..." Exilis mused aloud. "Well, guess we should just check the door, no?" He asked, walking up to it and pressing his back to the wall, waiting for Tiana before he prepared to knock.
 
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