PBEM - Episode 336. Duchess, Goblins, and More

THREE HUNDRED THIRTY SIX

(I/C)

“What…the…fuck?!” Abraxas snarled. “Where’s they go?” He went to go to the corner to look down the hall at the “T” but the Iron Statue whirled on the Fighter and his oversized Scythe, its visor flashing red and a series of rumblings coming from its midsection. “Puta. I want to look. Senora, por favor.”

“Come on,” Lyra motioned the Statue, “It’s ok.” It looked back at her and the visor shifted to purple, but the statue started to move back down the hall back to the Alchemist Lab. “No. Wait. Stop.” She held her hands up but the statue was taking one step at a time and pausing long enough for the party to either make way or risk its visor flashing red if they didn’t.

Meanwhile Wyn stepped back through the dark hall to the door, opened it again, and slipped through, shutting it as the sound of the door at the top of the stairs opened up and voices and personages began hitting the stairs quickly. He jogged across the chamber to see the hall had the group in it and the Iron Statue blocking the far end of it, trying to come back this way. “Hobs coming from de west,” he whispered loudly, fingers pointing, “en gobs woth de cat coming from de east.” He then pointed north.

At this point the group was able to head the sounds of armored figures jogging down the hall coming closer to the end of the “T”, and Abraxas STILL could not get past the Statue as each time he tried to, it whirled on him and Lyra had to struggle to calm it down.

“Why won’t you listen to me?!” She was getting frantic, hands on the statue’s shield, hoping to physically stop it, but the construct refused to change, instead it kept heading east.

“I didn’t see dem go south,” Wyn whispered, he pointed at the far door. “They go there?”

“For all the good it does us,” Lannis griped. “Horsey McHorseface’s Iron Vibrator is fucking up our plan.”

“No chance I can go look now and NOT be seen,” the Fighter growled.

At this point we heard VERY loud Hobgoblin voices called out as well as some wavering light most likely belonging to torches, “Who rang their alarm bell!?”

“Optio, fire.”

“I too can smell it.”

Then a bit further away, a female voice sounded, “Fury! Hahah, Come come and see! Hahah!”

“On my way, Greisee,” the first hobgoblin replied. “You three come with me, you eight, search around, find whoever rang their bell, and find out where that fire smell is coming from. The Blessed One does not know how much oil they had already taken before it was destroyed, but it is well known their penchant for setting things ablaze.”

“Yes, Optio Joe.”

With no way to make it further down the passage to either the door the group thinks Duchess had slipped behind, to say nothing for the end of the hall, and the Iron Statue undeterred in its desire to head back to the Alchemy Lab regardless of Lyra’s will or intention, the group had only seconds to make a decision or their presence would be discovered.

Time now is Day 8, 11:27 AM

(OOC)

Iron Statue flashes Red to anyone with a weapon within 10’ of it, or an arcane caster – and it IS heading back to the Lab, only Lyra’s presence slows that possibility down. You have 4 choices – stay in hall, back to Lab, south middle door, or south eastern door. And you need to decide very fast as you have 10 seconds at max before being discovered if still in the hall.