OOC: It's time to finish this and move on with our lives... on to the next Crusade event, that is. IC:

Due to the dimly lit nature of a room situated even further underground, Aria is unable to tell whether or not the south door is locked in any way upon entering the chamber [7+3 vs. 15 Fail]. Of course, if she were to try going through it she might find it quite impassable, in which case her search was bound to be Successful regardless.

Saber's fire spell hits its mark, and the torch is instantly lit. Oddly enough, the moment this second light is given life the original flame flickers for the last time and goes out. Leth's fire arrow gives a hiss and a clink as it soars through the dank air and into the third torch...but like with the first firelight, Saber's newly lit target is out almost instantly.

Easily realizing that the way forward in this off-putting lair is barred and decidedly impassable for the time being, Simon's attention is focused on the torches themselves. It is evident that when one torch is lit, the other is put out. This indicates to the scholarly fellow that lighting the torches in unison may be a better approach [12+5 vs 15 Pass]. Further perusal of the room reveals to the scribe that the floor is soaked with some kind of liquid, but in this dark place he can not be sure of what.

Darilan is, unfortunately, unable to find anything that might be used to make a suitable and sustainable bonfire in this room. Only heaps of bones, mostly cracked and unrecognizable, litter the floor of this place [5+3 vs. 15 Fail].

Taint watched the lightning of the torches, one failing after another. He sighed, and realized like everyone else did that an elemental explosion of fire would light every torch at once, and open the next room. He'd been through these things too many times to be interested, and sat down cross legged on the floor. This, however, brought an uncomfortable look to his face, and he wiped his hand along the ground. His attention was suddenly snagged on the liquid on the floor. It didn't feel like regular water to him, and if anyone would know, it'd be a Zora. He brought it closer to his face to examine it further. [Awareness Check]

OOC: If it's gasoline or oil on the floor, somebody is getting a pat on the back for ingenuous design.

Dotted flames winked past the veils of thickening darkness, teasing Rosen as well as the rest of the team with brief glimpses of what lay in front of them. They were brief and the cataracts of his eyes left the glow of fireflies in a jar as he could only make out the flames and their effervescent stains on his retina.

He, like everyone else, realized that this torches needed to be lit simultaneously and him being a goron of brute and limited magical acuity would seem to be useless in their endeavors. Even still he stood beside on torch, courting it until told otherwise. Hands clasped he could at least attempt to kindle it with the sparks that fell from his palms when rubbed together like flint.

The callouses that had tempered his hands could prove rugged enough to light at least one torch.

OOC:I think we all wish we could start fires with the friction of our hands. AM I RIGHT?!

"Good idea, Rosen."

Stepping up to the torch he had tried to light before, Sabertache readied his palm. "Let me know when the other two torches are manned, and we'll count down from three...Darilan, we can worry about the Madderpillars afterwards. If we get these torches lit we'll at least have some light to work with."

HP: 33/44
SPL: 9/14
Will: 9/9

Maverick stared up at the Madderpillars squirming uncomfortably above the group of adventurers and himself. He wondered if they even noticed the obvious discomfort of their glass pit prison, or if they had grown accustomed to it during their imprisonment. It probably wasn't a very roomy situation. Although, he wondered if creatures like those were able to adapt to anything.

The scholar noticed the young Zora's neck craning down to the floor in wonderment. He felt the splish-splash of liquid beneath his boots and understood that it was quite irregular for such a dark place to have such a random quantity of water. Was it some sort of underground spring? He thought not, but left Taint to the analysis.

Rosen and Sabertache seemed to have the right idea - if it were possible for only one torch to be lit at a time, it made the most sense to Maverick that they should each target one torch per person and light them simultaneously.

"I'll take this one," he said, splashing across the room to the third torch. For all his years of experience with elemental magic, he had considerable trouble casting any singular burst apart from his faithful Fire spell. It would certainly be useful now, as an explosion of fire magic would not only exhaust his spell reserves, but would potentially cause almost unimaginable trouble for everyone present. Luckily, there was a Zora focusing his efforts on that last case. If this one-person-per-torch idea failed, something drastic might have to be done.

"Ready," he confirmed, nodding to Sabertache and Rosen but waiting for a fourth to join in before he cast his flame.

Leth quickly caught on to what everyone else was thinking. Since the fires were expelled once another one was lit, the most obvious course of action was to light them all at once. Indeed, three of his companions had already positioned themselves to light the torches on cue. They only needed one more person to light the last torch. Leth took it upon himself to cover that one.

He set an arrow to the string and let the magic energy in him flow into the arrow, causing it to catch fire. He aimed it at the last torch and nodded to Saber.

"Ready when you are."

"Everyone ready? Okay. One, two, three, FIRE!"

Letting the fire burst forth from his hands, he tried to stretch it out enough to last over a long period of time, just to increase the likelihood that his torch would be getting flamed at the same time as the others. [Fire]

HP: 33/44
SPL: 4/14
Will: 9/9

Maverick was the second to let his spell unleash itself. He stood holding his left hand out towards the torch he had agreed to light, and at the exact moment Saber cast Fire the mage was quick to follow. [Fire] He made sure - just as the mercenary had - to hold the spell in limbo until Rosen and Leth had successfully lit their own targets. He guessed it would be difficult for the Goron to light his torch simultaneously with the others with such an unorthodox method, but he would be duly impressed if this plan worked out for the group. Maverick never doubted Rosen's ability to light a fire with his bare, rock-like hands, but he was for his part slightly worried that the timing might be off.

He tried to remain a bit more optimistic. This had to work; what else could they possibly do?

SPL: 14/33

His hands raced back and forth in the air like that of a miser's raccoon, black hands in the stale air rubbing faster and faster until the heat rather than sweat perspired from his palms. Instead of beads of water spouting from his fingertips a soft glow snapped and crackled between his knuckles as soon the grease that laced his tired hands would become swallowed by them. Rosen's grin churned above as the shadows of fireworks played across his face and he was sure that despite being starved of magic he could surely light up a single torch. I mean, surely, fire can't be exclusive to mages and wizards, could it!?

OOC: For the love of progress, RG! LET ME MAKE FIRE THIS ONE TIME!

"Fire!" Called Saber.

Leth Instantly released his arrow, and watched it zoom towards its unlit target. He hoped he had timed it well enough that the torches would all light at once, so they could finally move onward... He had been careful to release it exactly when told to.

For one so aquatic as the young Zora, he is unable to decide just what sort of liquid is lightly covering the floor [6+1 vs. 15 Fail]. It may well be water, and Taint would probably be better off taking a sip to be sure. Although, if his suspicions were to prove correct he would not be better off after all. It is simply too dark for the time being to analyze the large puddle, short of ingesting some, anyway.

Saber and Maverick are able to keep their flames burning just long enough for Leth's fire arrow to pass through the top of the brazier. The oil contained in the torch lights instantly, and at just that exact second, as if by some sort of miracle Rosen's mighty flint hands send a suitable shower of sparks into his own station. The torch catches, so quickly that his hands are nearly seared by the flame he was able to produce. It seems the old Goron's thoughtfulness was paying off.

The bars on the south door did not budge, although the room was now fully lit and much more comfortable, if comfort was what one might call the warmth and light in this cold, dark place. Not surprisingly, if one were to look up he might notice that the glass suspending the Madderpillers above had completely disappeared. He might also find himself right in the way of falling beasts. As soon as the Madderpillers hit the ground, they begin to slide around the room as madly as their name implies.

A squeaking can also be heard. With light intruding on their slumbers, a group of four Keese shoots down from the ceiling and each dives blindly to feed on the fresh adventurers who had woken them.

Madderpiller x2
STR – 6; DEF – 8; AGI – 3; INT – 2; SPI – 10; SPL – 10; HP – 40;
Calm Defense – As long as Madderpiller remains calm, it cannot be damaged.
Angry Attack – When attacked, Madderpiller becomes enraged for two turns. During this time, its AGI and STR are doubled.

Keese x4
STR – 4; DEF – 3; AGI – 6; INT – 2; SPI – 1; SPL – 1; HP – 20

Before he could realize anything else about the liquid, the room lit up, and death rained from above. A larger than life bug landed near him, and splashed some of the liquid on him. He groaned and hopped back a bit. After a bit of a safe distance from the creatures, he realized that there were Keese in the room too.

More annoyances.

His number one concern right now was his best and only friend. "Lilly! Get in my clothes!" She buzzed around angrily. "I can handle myself! Besides, your pants are all icky from that stuff on the floor!" Taint looked her dead in the eye with a fire that she hadn't seen in him since that fateful day when he rescued her.

"That wasn't a suggestion."

She realized the danger immediately, and came to terms with the fact that he wouldn't be able to concentrate if he was watching her back too. She brought her tiny hands to her chest, and chattered, "Be careful, okay!" With that, she fluttered into his pocket. He turned his attention to the fight now. His team mates had already engaged the beasts.

The bats would have to be the first to go. He knew that when the Keese were gone, Lilly would be safe as long as she stuck to the sky. With this in mind, he chose his first target. Keese #1 was closest to him, and so he decided that it would be a simple to task to do away with it at this range. He felt the energy rising in him, and launched an elemental burst of a random element towards the little monster. It was only his first goal to rid the air of these pests.

[Elemental Burst Lv1]

* * *

Strength- 3(base+Goron StrengthLv3[=6])=................................................. 6
Defense- 3(base[3]+human defense Lv2[=5]+L1 Jerkin[=18]+Deku Shield[2])=....... 20
Agility- 2(base+Deku Agility Lv2[=4])=....................................................... 4
Intelligence- 1(base)=........................................................................... 1
Spirit-1(base+Racial bonus[=2]+Zora Spirit Lv3[=3])=..................................... 5
Spell- 10(base+Spirit[5]=...................................................................... 15
Will Power- 9...................................................................................... 9
Health Points- 40(base+Spirit[44]+Exceptional Health Lv2[74])=....................... 74

HP: 41/74 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
SPL:9/15 IIIIIIIIIIIIIII
WILL: 4/9 IIIIIIIII

IC: Simon was not in the least bit surprised by the occurrence. He was no physic, but he did know some information on planning a dungeon. Certainly, the Madderpillers had not been forgotten by the scribe. They had to serve some purpose. Now, that purpose was obvious, to challenge whomever managed to solve the puzzle of the braziers. Thus, when the glass disappeared, this was no startling revelation to him.

Yet he had not expected the Keeses. Those fowl demon bats often employed by Ganon and his followers. Simon frowned. Yet, a strategy came to him soon enough. Luckily, Taint already was running with a good idea.

"Fellow adventures, I suggest that we focus our attention on the far more nimble Keeses. Then, once all of them have been dealt with, we could break down into sub-groups to eliminate the Madderpillers," Simon called out to his companions.

Meanwhile, he got out a scroll, and jotted down a quick poem that had just come to mind. He then read it to his companions. It told the story of an old Hylian man clinging onto his humble tradition rather than bending his codes to adopt some way of life that would enable him to cut corners [Epic Poem L1].

OOC:

Stats (as boosted)
STR: 6
DEF (rating): 23
AGI: 5
INT: 8
SPI: 6
SPL: 45
HP: 36

Talents (Most recent update)
Goron Strength L2 (included in stats)
Deku Agility L1 (included in stats)
Hylian Intelligence L2 (included in stats)
Exceptional Health L1 (included in stats)
Train: 2H Sword L1
Train: Boomerang L2
Elemental Burst L2
Life L1
*Epic Poem L2
Shield L1
The Quill is Mightier than the Sword L1
*Speak: Gerudic L1
*Master of Linguistics L1

DMG (modified to fit stat boosters)
Deku Staff:15
Deku 2H Sword: 20
Deku Boomerang: 11 (+1chance to hit)
Bombs: 9
Magic: 24

CURRENT
HP: 33/36 (stat boosted max)
SPL: 27/48 (stat boosted max)
Will: 9/9
Bottle: Broth/Stew as added to by Saber

Unpleasant.

Solving a puzzle just couldn't be solving a puzzle anymore, could it? Well, at least they had light to fight by. Sabertache immediately drew his blade as the group came under siege, his eyes scanning the air. Keese were far more simple to kill, and it was with great aplomb that he leapt after one, his sword flailing about in the kind of uncontrolled attack that comes from having a half-seconds preparation.

HP: 33/44
SPL: 4/14
Will: 9/9

The Keese closest to Taint is taken by surprise as it swoops too closely, unable to avoid the Zora’s magic. A vicious gale erupts forward and catches it by the wings, sending it sailing in circles around the room before depositing it with a crash into the south wall above the room’s exit. It falls to the ground and makes a weak attempt at flight before it is able to shoot into the air, obviously dazed. It makes no attempt at retaliation and simply flutters about in its stupor [Keese 1 -16 HP].

Simon’s poem is not lost on the combatants in the room, and as the linguist reads his piece aloud a tremendous surge of motivation lifts their spirits. Monsters do not care for such poetics, nor do they understand them to begin with. The scribe casts an advantage over his allies [+2 to all stats, 2 Rounds].

In spite of his lack of preparation for the onslaught of the Keese, Saber’s flailing sword hits the furry, winged nuisance and sends it off with a shriek. The effect of Simon’s poem only adds further inury to what would already have been a hefty blow [Keese 2 -17 HP].

The two undamaged Keese and the physically injured other appear to have not fed in quite some time. The third Keese takes a dive at Taint, with the fourth following suit. These two are unable to hit the Zora, and end up getting on one another’s way. Keese number two, unhappy with Saber but fearing his blade might be the end of its wretched life, swoops unmercifully at the scribe across the room, but Simon is just able to avoid the bat’s attack.

Madderpiller 1: 40/40 HP
Madderpiller 2: 40/40 HP
Keese 1: 6/20 HP
Keese 2: 3/20 HP
Keese 3: 20/20 HP
Keese 4: 20/20 HP

Richard Valens: 41/41 HP