Hearing the crash of glass and a yell from her friend, Daisy abandoned her search for traps and walked quickly toward it. If I can't be an adventurer, I can at least be a hero! She thought, though any firther such thoughts were interrupted by the ranger warning her about common sense things. She whispered back, though thought it was pointless to continue the stealth in that regard, "I'm not a child anymore. I've done this before, and there was no real threat until now, and no guarantee of one still. Risk is part of life! How else does one make a name for themselves?" She smiled and continued running toward the room.

>Moving toward the room with the tanks (well, one tank now), as quickly as possible (move full speed, no stealth, dash the rest of the way, shortest route available)

At the commotion, the gnome lifted her head. It was hard to see her expression through the thick glass, but her movements certainly became more agitated as she tried to knock on the glass with her manacled wrists. The sound was dull and quiet from the outside, but she was certainly trying to get the group's attention.

The gnome called out, but the words were so muffled that it was difficult to even make out the language she used. She seemed to be fixated on Ulor; whether it was because he was the source of the green flames that cut her off from everyone else or simply because he was closest, none could say.

As for the dwarf, she was dressed in very damp but simple clothing. There was not a scrap of armor nor a single weapon on her, nor did she have a weapon or any sort of gear in sight. It was likely from her speech that she was some sort of clergy or acolyte, but there wasn't as much as a holy symbol on her. In any case, it appeared that she had been robbed of her possessions, or that she had entered this place with little more than a robe on her.

With his barbaric companions being, for the moment, kept at bay by the vision, Ulor was able to examine the remaining tank at leisure. Without heeding the dwarf's remonstrances, he turned to face it. The large vat itself did not seem very remarkable - thick, dirthy glass, warm to the touch and tinged green. Its occupant, while increasingly restless, did not seem to be in any way deleteriously affected by its contents. Either they were harmless, or they had not had enough time to act; but, considering that it was almost full, the latter would seem unlikely. The liquid's effects, then, if it had any in itself, were probably something subtle.

He sniffed the air, and a pungent, briny smell assailed his nostrils. It was strong and unpleasant, yet, for some reason, it did not strike him as abnormal. Strange. Ulor bent down to dip his finger into the large puddle that had formed from the carelessly shattered tank. It no longer appeared green. He tasted it, and it seemed no different from salt water. Perhaps it was salt water. Indeed, there seemed to be no reason for it not to be salt water. In that case, the effect of the tanks lay in something else altogether, which was apparently not here at all.

A wave of the fingers, and the flames died down, fading as though they had never been there (which, effectively, they had not). Motioning to the octopus to follow him, Ulor stepped aside, still squinting and grumbling irritatedly at the rest of the party. "See that you are more careful next time. We will not always have the luxury of two exemplars being about."

Ceria seemed taken aback by Daisy's perceived saucy disregard for the warning. "Well sor-ry then. Just looking out for you," she muttered at the plant lady's back as the elf trudged behind after a minute delay, rather deflated, to resume a post just outside the room. She took it upon herself to keep an arrow nocked in case of combat, but kept her bow pointed down with both hands so that she appeared more nonchalant and - hopefully - willing to see reason. It was her hope that some of these merpeople might be more willing to talk things out rather than just blindly start attacking them. Then again, that was probably illogical given whatever unholy purpose they stuffed two humanoids into tanks for.

She shook her head as the fresh memories of the horrid events in the cathedral above washed over her. A few singed strands fell to the floor with the motion, gently reminding the elf that her entire back side was still covered in a fine layer of soot from the drake's fire breath attacks. How had she not noticed the drake at the front of the room? Yes it was tiny, but it was bright red for gods' sake! She was supposed to be the party's expert on creatures and she had nearly fallen victim to one hiding on the floor facefirst. What had she been thinking? She stamped a booted foot angrily on the smooth stone floor beneath her and the sound echoed slightly in front of her. She turned to look over her shoulder into the room and couldn't really make out what was going on, but she frankly couldn't be bothered at the moment. The potential dangers lay behind them for the most part and Ceria would rather be damned to hell than let herself get snuck up on again.

Lex's attempt to keep watch so as to intercept any possible unwanted pursuers was cut short by the unmistakable sounds of glass shattering and infighting. Exhaling loudly, he trudged towards the cacophony's source, squinting at the scene that unfolded before him as he approached. Upon taking a moment to examine the two captives, one of which was still submerged, he immediately struck the container with an ungraceful swipe. The blow was powerful enough to scatter shards of glass across the room and possibly splatter the garments of anyone nearby with whatever filthy liquid filled these tanks held.

The prisoner's well being, however, did not seem to be Lex's main concern. Instead, he was quick to address them both, and locked eyes with the clearly conscious dwarf. "Tell us of the ones who seized you."

The paladin's attack was more than enough to splinter the glass, sending a loud and sharp sound resonating throughout the halls. The water gushed out, drenching the nearby warlock and paladin as the gnome inside was forced free via the rushing torrent. Once she had pucked herself up off the ground, she glared at the warlock who had blocked the others from freeing her. "Took you bloody long enough!" she muttered in frustration. "But thanks. Another few hours in there, and I probably would have gone insane..."

The gnome's eyes finally left the warlock as she sized up her rescuers. "I can answer that," she replied. "The fish folk. They've been terrorizing the streets for the last few weeks. I came here to learn more, but they didn't even give me a chance to explain myself before they stuffed me in their... 'hydration chambers.' A few hours later, and in came the dwarf. If you all hadn't arrived..."

The gnome wiped some of the water away from her face, noting the hint of crimson on the back of her hand from a fresh wound caused by the glass. She grimaced at the sight, then began marching down the corridor. "Name's Eilina. I need my grimoire back, and if I'm not mistaken, the dwarf needs her armor. I saw them take her gear over there..." Eilina stopped as she reached the intersection, her hand pointing west to the collapsed tunnel. Her hand fell to her side in dejection.

"This day cannot possibly get worse."

Ceria turned around from her position in the hall at the sound of MORE shattering glass. "Would you keep it down in there people?" she hissed. Turning back around to face the hallway's intersection, she mutters more to herself but still audible to anyone who cares. "Oh sure! Let's just invite more dragons and fish people to come try to lop our heads off for the THIRD time! I LOVE nearly getting burnt to a crisp!" Another foot stamp, but this time she had the presence of mind to merely kick her toe into the stone instead of the louder heel part of her foot. The dull thud of the force of impact was therapeutic and she used the pain to focus on guarding.

Daisy regarded the new companions with some...pity, almost. Having been forced to stay in those tanks. It must have been uncomfortable. No one could hear you sing. No one would hear her sing right now, either, of course, because she'd already done enough to annoy these people, and she wanted to make the impression that she was a smart adventurer to these new people. One who had seen things. And to be fair, she'd seen - and chronicled! - these fish people before. But she hadn't done much in the way of real dungeon-delving hijinks like these others probably had.

But nothing probably prepared them for a prestidigitation-based cleanup, followed by an unusually comforting hug (and one for the crazy old man, too). "Normally, I'd give you a song. Not the time for that," She whispered into the gnome's ear, "and you'd get a nice one. I'll just come up with one later. I'll have more material to work with then anyway."

>Soothing Presence (hug was for fun), 2 psi (so 6 temp HP) to Solglia (@LovelyAnastasia), Eilina (@JBRam2002), and Ulor (@Oraculum...because she's been annoying him since before the first time they were assaulted by fish).

Yvah winced a little at the sudden crashing noise under Lex's sundering swing. But she couldn't say anything about it, since she was the one who blew cover first. Blast it all. She didn't like it, being noisy on a job. Especially not if they were going to be this slow about it. At this pace, they should be quiet. Being this loud, they should be fast. This wasn't how professionals did things. This wasn't how Yvah did things.

She sighed, feline ears curling down a little in her resignation. One day in this town and she was already sinking into to her old habits. This wasn't what the masters would want her to be seeking. This fragile rigidity. This bitterness. Yvah took a breath and straightened her frown, composing herself. Okay, this'd work. She'd make this work. It couldn't work if she was so negative. They couldn't see her like that.

The captive dwarf was on her feet rather quickly, and chiding her fellow escapee just as swiftly. She was having the same thoughts Yvah was, it seemed. But it had been a while since they all arrived. Long enough now that if anyone heard them stomping around or breaking stuff, they'd have come already. So, either they were slow to the draw, or they were setting up an ambush while everyone here was bickering, if they heard any of it at all. Yvah didn't like the idea of an ambush, and people never missed a smash like that. But, looking to her companions, and unless they had a whole guild of fishmen, Yvah thought that they'd still have a run for their coin in a fight. Ambush or not.

Yeah, they had this. Easy-peasy.

Yvah plucked her tools for the umpteenth time, the trusty things always having their use. She knelt beside the dwarf as the yet smaller rescuee slipped out of the chamber. With a furred hand, she raised the surly cleric's bonds into her view and set upon them with nimble motions. With tongue in cheek, Yvah focused on the task until the telltale click loosened the shackles. The feline looked up to the dwarf and gave a small but reassuring smile as she unlatched the things. "We'll get you blasting in no time, Miss."

Tools still in hand, Yvah moved toward the other, Eilina. This time the shackles were a little easier to crack open, and Yvah was able to steal a curious glance toward the rubble beside them as she went. As she felt the click in her fingertips, she noticed something toward the top. An opening. About big enough to squeeze herself through. "Oi," she said rather softly, looking to Eilina, "You see that?" she pointed out the gap in the rocks, "Go tell the others about it. But be quiet. There might be fishies waiting for us on the other side." Yvah gave a nod to the gnome, and made about climbing the rocks as silently as she could manage.

>17 to unlock Solglia's chains. Success.
>18 to unlock Eilina's chains. Success.
>9 Insight on Solglia.
>19 Insight on Eilina.
>20 to Stealth up the rubble.

@LovelyAnastasia@JBRam2002

Climbing up until her ears nearly ticked across the stone ceiling, Yvah saw that the tunnel seemed to end in more stone. But there was a flicker of light at the end without a shadow. One more hoist upward and she slipped into the tight enclosure. Once her tail flicked out of sight from her companions, the tunnel dipped into a sharp turn, and shortly led into the source of light.

The rubble opened up to a tight, enclosed room with no visible exit. It was furnished haphazardly with gems, statuettes and other assorted treasures. Among them was a clattered pile of shaped steel that must've been armor, as broad as it was. There were two packs tossed into the same corner, each a little frazzled. The most prominent thing in the enclosure stood against the wall opposite Yvah. It seemed to be a guard, entirely oblivious of her presence, staring upward in what seemed like total boredom. Boredom, so close to obvious intrusion. He must have known. Yvah could still hear the party bickering behind her. But he couldn't have expected someone to find him, either.

Upon seeing him, Yvah's ears flattened backward and her head stooped low, just low enough to see and remain unseen. Slowly, she gripped the staff strapped to her back, unable to pull it from its sheath in the confined space. Her claws dug into the lip of the tunnel and pulled her forward quickly until she perched at the mouth of the tunnel. By the time the guardsman looked in her direction, she had already dismounted, leaping to the center of the room and sprinting forward. Before he could react, the end of her staff already met the underside of his jaw, and her heel swinging widely to connect with the side of his head. He collapsed to the ground in an unconscious pile of scales and leather.

"Oh," she muttered to herself, awkwardly recovering from her combat stance and moving to a crouch. She poked the unconscious body with her staff to find no reaction. "I thought he'd last longer."

Yvah shuffled over a bit to his things. Nothing useful. She rose, and the staff pressed into the ground. She lazily leaned on it and she scanned the room for a moment. There were some valuables here. Easily hidden ones. Maybe the others wouldn't miss them.

Yvah shook her head. "All clear, guys!" she called out at the tunnel.

>Attack rolls (with Advantage) 23, 17 and 13, 15 for 9+7 (16) bludgeoning damage.
>Guardsman is nonlethally taken down during surprise round.
>Searched the guard to no avail.

Lots of noise.
Lots of grumbling.

Araerys had thrown all caution to the wind as soon as Yvah had brought the first tank crashing down, and was only vaguely surprised when Lex clambered down to them and smashed into the remaining container. Thankfully she had still been standing a ways away from the hall when he did so, dodging the shattered glass and repulsive liquid that spewed from the thing. Soon the two captives were freed, bringing their group number to a total of eight; that would be enough to take down whatever or whoever heard their ruckus, right?

Luckily, they didn't seem to have to worry about that. At the moment, at least. She had let the others work on the tanks while she stood guard along with Ceria, a ready hand at the hilt of the rapier at her hip until her gaze found the feline shimmying into a gap at the top of the rubble of the collapsed western hall. A few choice exclamations flashed through her mind, wondering what the girl was thinking putting herself into that enclosed space alone, and immediately hurried over just as Yvah's tail disappeared.

"Psst!" she hissed hurriedly (but quietly), waving a hand to get the attention of those who could see her, knowing that the gnome would pass on Yvah's message to the others who couldn't. Ary wordlessly pointed at the space up top before she began to climb herself, and just as she reached the top she heard the feline's call of all clear. A breath of relief saw her into the tunnel, which didn't take her long to get through as she saw no reason to be quiet about it.

Upon seeing Yvah's familiar form standing alone in the new room, Araerys straightened up from all fours and dusted herself off while her gaze jumped from one point to another, finally landing on the unconscious guard. Her eyebrows lifted, impressed, and she nodded her approval. "Nice one," she said as she moved toward the cat, giving the man a little touch of her toe as she scanned the rest of the room. "Oh, look, it's their stuff."

And finally, after she'd completed her examination of the items in the area, she chuckled softly to herself. Bemused, and knowing Yvah had already noted this, she stated, "No exit, huh? Maybe the others shouldn't be following us in here..."

The water pouring from the shattered tank would have been a relief for Ulor's sparsely burned skin, had it but been less salty. As it was, however, it produced a rather unpleasant and more than slightly painful tingling over the scorched patches. Nonetheless, it was ever so slightly fresh, which, in other circumstances, would have made even it a welcome change. Yet, as it stood, it only made things worse. The dungeon was cool and damp enough on its own, and this seemed to be an ideal way to catch himself a rheumatism. Fortunately - though how fortunate that really was was debatable - he did not even have to exert the least mystical effort to dry himself, as the vegetative tiefling took it upon herself to provide to his and the paladin's sanitary need. The feeling of no longer being wet was pleasant; less so was the fact that she seemed convinced that hugging was a necessary part of the incantation. Grumbling something indistinct, he wagged at her a finger that seemed for a moment to smoothly change its shape into that of a tentacle tipped with a ferociously snarling mouth.

Waving away the gnome's remonstrances like a circling fly, Ulor headed back into the corridor, the octopus dutifully following a step behind. What there was to see in that room had been seen, and, while its physical contents had been somewhat disappointing, they had hinted at something else to be found down there. Something that would have rendered keeping diminutive people in tanks of salt water worthwhile (phrased this way, it appeared to be a ridiculously specific goal, but presumably these sectarians did not just waste their time like that). His first impulse was to head to the east, towards the light, as it was probably there that said something was more probable to be found - unless it did not need ready access to the tanks. However, seeing that the rest of the group was focused on the collapsed tunnel, he wisely decided against wandering off alone and hobbled towards the impromptu wall, which the bestial scoundrel had already clambered over.

He was still thinking of what he should do next when the half-breed followed into the breach, after the rogue called out that the way was clear. That might very well have been; yet it was always better to be safe, lest these savages topple something over him just as he entered. He motioned to the octopus, and the creature floated up and through the opening in the wall. Even as it did so, Ulor cast the greater current of his mind into its psychic mould. Its eyes were his, and his spirit pulsed through its mystic veins. Through its somewhat faded view, the mage could see the chamber's two occupants, the fallen guard and, most importantly, what he had been guarding. Dim pupils darted from side to side, seeking something on value - perhaps that very something that could solve the mystery of the vats.

Being in a party is making me go soft, Ceria chided herself as she belatedly caught a flicker of Yvah's tail slithering over some rubble to the west of the intersecting corridors. The words echoed some of the arguments that Arthera had made to her on quiet nights around their crude fire pits out in the wild. Ceria snapped out of her reverie by the sounds of a scuffle off in the direction Yvah went.

Araerys's hand motion barely registered with Ceria as the thoroughbred elf girl fast overtook the halfblood one, abandoning stealth for haste. With all the noise they had made at this point, stealth was almost a fruitless exercise. Besides, clambering up the rubble pile like she was headed for, stealth was a fruitless exercise among so many loosely packed stones. That and surely any people they encountered who were hostile had long since heard or even felt their presence. The unnerving feeling like she was being watched made Ceria's spine tingle as she made to retrace Yvah's exact route through the rubble, bow in hand with her quiver and pack with Chip inside jostling a bit against her back.

"Floundering flippers, huh...?" Bemused was an understatement, quite apparent in Ary's tone of mumble as she tore her eyes away from the dwarf - not because she was much interested in the girl's physique, but because she recognized a lack of hesitation that would fit nicely into their motley crew. Her vocabulary was certainly one to keep around, if anything.

With the four of them (as well as Chip) in the room and still no obvious exit way, Araerys began a sweep of the walls, fingers dragging along the stone as if she might uncover a way out. "Well, I'm with ya there, girly. But unless you're seeing something that I'm not, I don't think there's any way out except to go back through the tunnel," she stated, just as her gaze fell onto a table that held many items of interest; most importantly, was the grate that lay just beneath it.

In her excitement to point it out, she knocked over a small, black statuette of a dog from the surface of the table, having lunged to point at the bars on the floor and consequently bumping into the thing. "Or through there!" she squeaked, then backpedaled a little as she retrieved the little canine and replaced him on the table. "Though it looks rather small..." She trailed away suggestively as she surveyed the looks on the rest of the girls' faces.

It took Eilina somewhat longer to convince herself to follow Solglia through the rubble, but the need for her gear eventually overtook her. Once the gnome had safely crawled through, she tumbled down the mound to the other side, looking around impatiently for her items. Upon spying her bag, she pushed her way through the now semi-crowded room, tore open the backpack with unfettered haste, and withdrew a leather-bound tome, which she immediately embraced. "Thank whatever god the dwarf follows that it's safe," Eilina muttered before searching for her other items. A light-brown blouse and vest was quickly donned, followed by a pair of sturdy pants and boots, and a few casts of prestidigitation and a hairband later, one would never guess that she had spent nearly an entire day in a water tank. An offer was also extended to the dwarf for some cleansing magic, should she decide to accept.

With the changing complete (which took far less time than the armor-clad paladin), Eilina glanced throughout the room. "Some of these items are quite impressive," she muttered quietly. "That statue you almost broke, half-elf, looks quite valuable..." Her voice trailed off when she realized the implications of Ary's suggestion. "You aren't suggesting that I go in there, are you? No thanks, nuh-uh. I plan to spend at least a few more hours not stuck in a tiny enclised space, thank you. But perhaps..." She turned her gaze to the octopus subtly floating along and watching the dwarf change into her armor.

"Let's rejoin the others first," Eilina suggested. "We can always come back here. I'll take this statue as well, as I suspect it may be magical." Without another word, she climbed the pile of rubble again, sighed heavily, and darted through the narrow opening. As she arrived on the other side, she pointed south. "Looks like another of those openings. Which should we check first?"

Araerys nodded her head in agreement with the she-gnome, nonsensically mumbling as she followed along after her, "Right. Magical."

Figuring the grate merely led to the sewers or somewhere equally unpleasant anyway, the bard heaved herself up and through the tunnel after Eilina, dusting off her person as she straightened up to the suggestion of the southern route. "Wait," she said, speaking more to herself than to anyone else, really, "there was a room down this way..." Ary padded all the way to the middle of the eastern hall, the one she had initially wanted to search before Yvah had discovered the tanks holding their newest members. The source of the sound of water was finally revealed in the form of a river, running vertically from where she stood - which turned out to be a bridge, leading toward her hopeful destination. Araerys stopped in the middle of the walkway and took in her bearings, noting that what she assumed to be sewer water because of the unfortunate smell that surrounded her took a sharp turn on either side of her, as if the room was sectioned off by the dirty waters.

She covered her mouth and nose with a piece of fabric from her sleeve as a shiver ran down her spine; the horrible thought of more 'floundering flippers' spawning from somewhere down those paths struck her, until her attention finally landed on the entryway of the eastern room. The dim lighting suggested a number of possibilities, and unfortunately the half-elf couldn't resist the lure of potential prizes. And even with the lack of response to the group's loud announcement of their presence, she wanted to be as sure as she could be that there weren't any (too) crazy surprises waiting for her inside. Even a little closer than she had been when she initially glanced at the room, she couldn't really make out much of anything. A sweep of her hand toward the entrance and there appeared somewhere near the doorway a static image of herself, seemingly waiting for... something. Anything? The real version waited with bated breath to see if there would be any sort of reaction to her illusion.

The two shorter women -- though admittedly not much shorter than her own diminutive stature -- gathered their belongings and slipped into fresher clothing. Yvah, contradictively too impatient to rest her chin on her staff for the next ten minutes in wait, got to task with gathering the unclaimed items within the room. A couple handfuls of assorted gems were plucked from the miniature hoard and openly placed into a belt-pouch. Sensing eyes on her as she did this, she looked about her allies' faces questioningly. "What? Someone has to carry them topside." She pooled the rest in the bag, letting a little yew wand fall in last, and clipped it to her belt beneath one of the folds of flowing cloth she wore.

One of the newest offered the other a magic bath, which gaze Yvah a quizzical look. She could do that? By now the feeling of crusted blood under her nails was something she was begrudgingly used to, but the sight was still blatant to her as she gathered the valuables. "Hey, um..." she trailed off a little as she broached the subject, "Could you help with this?" Yvah raised her open hands to show how the fur was matted with past exsanguination. She didn't seem very proud of it as she looked at them, and quickly deflected the feeling by putting on a little smile and offering two thumbs up in a distractingly casual gesture.

Eventually the stout woman had fully donned her armor and they all scuttled their way out through the tunnel. Still no fishmen. The lack of response was becoming increasingly uncanny for her. Araerys left to scout, and so Yvah went as well, splitting off to the right to take a look at the southern hall. It was dark here, dark enough for them all to have missed that the hall veered off to the side instead of what seemed to be an abrupt dead end. At least darkness wasn't much of an issue for her.

Other than the hallway itself, there was another grate leading downward. Like its twin in the other room, it was simply too small for her to venture through herself, though this didn't stop her from crouching to get a curious glance into its depths. It seemed to lead to water. Perhaps not the friendliest place to send their new vertically challenged friend. Yvah waved off the notion and stood, turning to face the hall. It was indeed quite dark, since even her feline eyes couldn't see the end to it. The only thing in sight was... something shiny. Her curiosity compelled her to reach for it. While she overcame the urge itself, she still decided to move onward and did so with caution.

In a quiet crouch, she steps forward. But she felt herself being pulled forward into the next step. She immediately pulled back in reflex against the unknown force and nearly stumbled off her feet in doing so. She could see now a faint, liquid shimmer spanning the hall's perimeter. "Oh, shitshitshitshitshit!" she yelled as she understood the danger she found herself in.

>Disadvantaged Dex save at 24 22 to pull away from a gelatinous cube.

@corneredbliss - Ary hears Yvah's loud shouting and runs to rejoin the group, and upon seeing the big gelatin thing, remembers hearing stories about this creature before. "What the - Don't get near it! Don't let it touch you! It will literally swallow you alive if you get too close!" She frantically waves for Yvah to get back over to them, then uses Dissonant Whispers aimed toward the blob, dealing 9 psychic damage! However, there is nowhere for the ooze to move.

@Oraculum There's not much a lone octopus can do at that distance. Hearing the commotion, Ulor sends our tentacled friend to see what the matter is, keeping at 15 feet's distance from the blob-thing.

@Ms Ravenwinter - She may not know exactly what this thing is capable of, but she's seen it before. One of her friends lost an arm to something like this. In immediate terror, Yvah slinked down on her paws and scuttled backward in withdrawal. Once she backed out to the corner of the hall, she turned and darted full speed away from the monstrous cuboid slime.

Gelatinous Cube - The cube meandered forward, splorping and sloshing across the floor. The octopus deftly blurbled out of the path of the oncoming cube with ease, and the ooze was only slightly slowed down as it rounded the corner, squeezing through the narrow passage and pressing up against Daisy and Ceria, sucking them towards its slimy interior. Daisy and Ceria must make Dex Saves!

Ceria passes with ease, backflipping away from the oncoming danger, but Daisy was blindsided as the ooze rounded the corner, becoming engulfed by the ooze and taking 13 damage! (Edit: Forgot temp HP. Daisy is alive.)

@Ermine - Despite being engulfed by the cube, Daisy begins the gestures and song necessary for a Witch Bolt (9 to hit, 7 damage), her wand in hand. The electricity courses through the enemy, also dealing 7 damage to Daisy. She falls unconscious, sparkling ever so slightly with arcane energy.

@Turbowraith - Hearing the sounds of fighting on the other side of the stairwell, Lex rounded the corner, maul in hand. Placing a mark of vengeance on the Cube, Lex summoned the divine fury inside him, driving his maul through the ooze and dealing 25 damage. (Concentrating on Hunter's Mark, used lvl 1 Divine Smite).

@Mistiel - Ceria sees Daisy's struggles lessening within the slime and cries forth an elvish exclamation, "Leith- nin mellon!" (Release my friend!) She backed up a few steps to try and avoid the cube's retaliation for what she was about to do. Nocking an arrow, she let it fly in the cube's direction, carefully aiming to miss Daisy (Atk: 21 for 17 damage). The chances that the slimy cube could understand her were pretty slim, but it seemed natural to say. Funny how she never thought she'd say that about anyone other than Arthera.

As Ceria stepped away, the cube grew a pseudopod and thwacked Ceria, dealing 10 acid damage!

@Oraculum - Seeing the creature is dangerous, but slow and and a large target, Ulor withdraws into the northward corridor, and begins to cast his spells on the cube. Hex was placed on the cube, but the arcane blast was rushed, missing terribly and going straight bast Yvah's nose as it crashed into the wall behind her.

Eilina stepped forward, pointing a finger towards the Cube. The sound of a bell tolling could be heard, but the ooze seemed unaffected. "Crap," the gnome muttered.

@LovelyAnastasia - Solglia grunted, hearing the scuffle and waiting to make sure nothing came up behind them. Well, that and it is a bit of a slow time for she-dwarves in heavy armor. Often others do not take well to someone clanking about ahead of them. But she moved ahead, standing in front of the magic flinger and his girlfriend, peeking around the corner at the jiggling creature. Frowning, not willing to waste her weapon on this thing, considering any weapons might be swallowed up, the war cleric put on hand on her holy relic pendant and the her other hand out toward the gloopy menace. With a chant in her guttural outlandish dwarven, a blot guided and struck the mass of slobbering slime. Energy from the hit made it glitter a bit. (Attack: 11 for 13 radiant damage)

@corneredbliss - Ary watches with horror as Daisy gets sucked into the blob, but is quickly filled with a renewed inspiration as her teammates land their blows. Knowing her own damage wouldn't do as much the others', she reaches out to Ceria after the girl gets thwacked and grabs her upper arm, casting Cure Wounds on her (+6 HP for Ceria). She then uses Bardic Inspiration on the full-blood: "Tha' was a good first shot, girl - les see if you can outdo yerself!"

@Oraculum - Having avoided the creature as it swept through the corridor, the octopus hovered in a recess for some moments. Then, as if reched by an inaudible command, it floated towards the corner behind which the cube had crawled, rising to reach the ceiling as it did. It swept over Lex, and, remaining suspended over him, aimed a small, but (mostly) well-directed spurt of ink at the ooze. If nothing else, the dubious taste of the black substance might have served to distract the entity for an instant. (Action: Help Ulor on his next Attack)

@Ms Ravenwinter - Yvah steps back as the mass of hungry gelatin barrels through her friend and narrowly missing the Elf. She couldn't risk punching the monstrosity for fear of it simply consuming her hand. Her throwing axes jangled together, strapped to her thigh. Pulling one free, she let it loose into the air and watched as the blade cleaved off the shimmering, unnatural flesh of the creature. Yvah continued to distance herself then, backing up until she was pressed against the edge of the next doorway.

Gelatinous Cube - The acid inside the ooze was potent, and already the skin on Daisy's body could be seen melting away. Its pseudopod reached out towards Lex and thwacked uselessly against the paladin's shield.

@Ermine - Daisy takes 31 damage from the ooze, which exceeds her maximum HP. Daisy is dead.

@Turbowraith - Lex attacks the ooze, dealing 12 damage and killing it... but not before it killed Daisy.

Combat is complete. All characters gain 200 exp.