The Crimson Pools
They find the sound to be a lake of blood running the expanse of this hall from wall to wall. Stone platforms isolate the square of space immediately into the room where Yshven, Quorbin and Casval now stood and the other features they find inside. Pillars line opposite sides of the room in the form of stone minotaur statues. A stone walkway divided the room crosswise, starting midway from the left wall across to the other side. In the middle of each of the two formed rivers, and on stone-platforms themselves, stood two hulking, bronze minotaurs. Each of them holding a equally huge bronze flails, its chain and barbs presently coiled inert about them. On the far wall, just a little off the corners, two platforms each held pedestals. On one, the dagger they sought and on the other, its hilt.
Yshven scans the hall warily. The sanguine river is reflected upon everything in the room, painting it in a sinuous ever-moving blood-red pattern. The tinny smell of blood is pervasive but not intolerable. No ambushers appeared to be lurking. He takes a moment to decide and then bolts into a running jump across the platform gap toward the nearest bronze monstrosity. He lands safely across. There is a metallic clink of gears and suddenly the bronze statues’ torso whips around dragging the monstrous flail in a deadly arc about the room. All of them are raked and knocked prone except the elf but fortunately none are knocked into the lake. Quorbin fires in quick succession against the bronze machine. One finds a gap between its bronze shell into the moving gears but doesn’t lodge in to make a difference. The other bounces off its metallic hide. Casval retreats into the corridor with Garrosh who readies against any attacks that might rise to threaten them.
Yshven picks himself up and undettered, continues his leaping journey toward the prize. He lands just short of the walkway platform but finds he has landed on some steps rising from the river and onto the walkway surface. Nevertheless, he lands on the blood and its poison seeps in through his clothes and into his flesh. His amulet glows green signifying its poison-staving activation. Once again there is the clatter of winding gears and now both bronze statues rake around, spanning the room completely in their double arcs of grief. This time Quorbin is hit and he is knocked off his feet but not enough to fall overboard. Yshven suffers the same but owing to his greater stability, is not moved toward the edge. Again, twin arrows. Again, one finds its target. Casval steps up and hurls a fire spell at the same target, the armor shielding the gears start to melt. Garrosh guards the rear.
Yshven leaps a third time, realizing he isn’t going to make the longer distance and splashes midway into the sanguine depths. A faint glow marking the center of quickly fading concentric waves. There is movement in the murky liquid and he finds himself flanked by a pair of demons. They rake and bite, bubbles break the churning surface of the thick fluid.
Quorbin retreats into the corridor with the dragonborn cleric. The statues whip around, Casval is knocked down and slides shy of the edge, he escapes to the corridor. In the pool, the dwarf hears the heavy swish above his head, he has his own problems to worry about.
Yshven swims toward the nearest platform amidst the raking of his adversaries. He attempts to climb up the side but fails, The statues whirl. Quorbin steps out, fires an arrow which connects and steps back out. Casval steps up and casts, the heat takes out the plating this time and distorts the gears besides, the first statue grinds to a halt, its inner workings damaged.
Meanwhile, Yshven attempts to climb on the platform once more and this time succeeds. The submerged monsters do not follow and dive unseen beneath the red murk. Yshven drenched in blood, but as much his own as from the ‘water.’ Again he is hit by the whirling flail and with a splatter, he finds himself looking at the ceiling again. Quorbin lets fly against the automaton safely from the other side of the room, Casval covers the elf just in case any surprises erupt from the bloody depths in their immediate surround. Garrosh enters and jumps across the gap. He falls and is attacked but he ignores it and climbs up successfully.
Yshven recovers and leap to the blade pedestal platform, he makes it but is sorely hurt by the combined beating of the statues and the blood-demons. Again the minotaur whips around and again the dwarf is hit. This time he stays down, trusting in his martial training and racial constitution to let him recover. The elf continues raining arrows at his target which finally succumb.
Quorbin and Casval snag a rope onto the first minotaur statue and the door handle and swing across to the other side joining Garrosh. They tie two more rope pieces together which the archer launches across to the next minotaur statue to snag another line. With this, they swing across to the walkway. Meanwhile, having recovered enough, Yshven dives into the bloody river and this time confront the demon tandem beneath. This time, he is supported by archer fire. Finally the demons fall. Yshven recovers the hilt and all swing out toward the door, making sure to recover the rope as they leave the area.
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