After a moment’s respite, FCG steeled themselves and headed further into the eleventh level of provision C. As the party rounded the corner of the dimly lit bronze halls, they came across a larger chamber. Part of the chamber seemed to have caved in on the left side, but the rest of it was lined with large test tubes, some shattered, some still housing Aeorian Hunters, the likes of which the party had encountered before. FCG made a note to tread carefully around the full tubes and began proceeding towards the chamber’s left exit.
Malcolm was the first to hear the chittering whispers coming from the opposite side of the room. The fighter’s face twisted with horror as a large gangly bi-pedal lizard like creature, covered in snapping, drooling, mouths stepped forth from the shadows and engaged the party. Malcolm rushed in to meet it, shielding his friends from the immediate threat. Unfortunately in doing so, Malcolm left the back line exposed. It was at this moment that another of the Aeorian Reversers (hairless pink-green dog-apes) came charging in from the adjacent hallway and right up into melee range with Endrin and Triple J. Artaema reacted quickly and covered the Reverser with a heavy golden ichor, slowing it’s attacks and movements. Endrin wasted no time in misty stepping away, while Triple J attempted his tried and true dissonant whispers to no avail.
Eris gave her robe of stars a whirl for the first time and cast magic missile at the multi-mouthed creature with one of the red stars. The creature attempted to counter spell Eris’ attack, but Endrin reacted quickly with a counter spell of his own. The magic missile succeeded in damaging the entity but also caused wild magic to spark around Eris, ultimately resulting in the princess being turned to stone. Nyx then cast bane on both of her enemies, weakening their defenses. The Nullifier (multi-mouthed creature) grappled Malcolm in its hulking claws and began biting into the warrior. Malcolm found himself quickly overwhelmed by the chittering mouths of the creature and the side effects of Timorei’s pact and was stunned, motionless, in the creature’s grasp. The Nullifier cast a protective barrier on itself to dispel the adverse magical effects still clinging to its form and retreated with Malcolm behind the debris.
FCG focused their might on the slowed Reverser instead, trusting Malcolm to fend for himself for the moment. Triple J attempted to move the statuesque Eris to safety while, Artaema, Endrin, and Nyx laid into the creature with arcane force. In its death throes, the Reverser lunged toward Triple J and dealt critical damage with its fanged maw before falling lifeless to the ground. Meanwhile, Malcolm channeled Timorei’s boon to disrupt the Nullifier’s attacks while dealing heavy damage of his own to the creature. The Nullifier attempted to escape with Malcolm down one of the hallways, biting and clawing up the fighter as it lumbered. Unable to damage or affect the Nullifier with magic, Nyx ran towards it while Endrin nudged Eris away as much as he could. When Nyx arrived, she grabbed hold of Malcolm’s arm and whisked the grappled fighter away with Dimension Door despite the Nullifier’s attempted counter spell. Angered, the Nullifier charged in towards the party and managed to catch Endrin with one of it’s claws. Running out of options, Artaema chucked a small rock at the Nullifier. The minor impact of the stone was enough to cause the creature to lose concentration and drop its anti-magic shell. Nyx seized the opportunity and banished the creature.
With less than a minute before the banished Nullifier was set to reappear, FCG scrambled to get the two ton Eris statue to safety. Luckily after about thirty seconds of strained pushing and pulling, color returned to the princess’ face and she regained control of her body. Quickly, FCG readied their spells and attacks and unleashed them the moment the Nullifier returned. Eris and Malcolm both swung and missed, but Triple J managed to incapacitate the creature with the use of his Psychic Lance. Malcolm and Eris, both succumbed to the gibbering mouths resulting in Malcolm being stunned and Eris running away in fear. Fear, however, was not enough to stop Eris from hucking another magic missile from her robe at the Nullifier. Nyx extended spectral wings and healed the party with a mass cure wounds leaving Endrin and Artaema to finish off the incapacitated Nullifier with fire and ice.
Unwilling to rest amongst the still living hunters within the test tubes, FCG pressed further into the laboratory. The party came across a room containing many ruined notes and a lifeless, malformed, abomination in another large test tube. From the notes, the party discerned that the Aeorians had been working on creating a new hunter, the grotesque corpse hanging in the tube. The party also learned that the level directly below them had been used for disease production in the past. Enticed by the revelation, FCG threw caution and the idea of rest to the wind. The party proceeded onwards with haste, passing by two doors in search of a staircase or alternate means of passage to level twelve below.
Eventually, the party arrived at a large, ruined, foyer with a dark, empty, doorway at the back. Malcolm proceeded carefully up to the doorway and discovered that it opened to an elevator shaft. A gem shaped socket an a blinking red light helped to reveal the nature of the shaft. Before attempting to activate the elevator or scaling down, Malcolm grabbed a small piece of debris and dropped it down the shaft. Instead of a metallic clang, the fighter heard the rock hit something soft and fleshy. The sound was immediately followed by a rumbling growl emanating from below.
