LogFAQs > #904133680

"F-Fah, um... Lady Fah, that is, should I-... um..." Jamison looked nervously on, frightened about the prospect of touching her clothes or the lady herself even if it was in an attempt to free her. Though, at the same time, he was having a panic attack at how unseemly it must be for him to leave her trapped there without offering to help. This complete inability to reconcile with either resolution left him paralyzed with indecision.

While this was going on, Kidd was making his way to the far side of the room. He couldn't help but focus his attention upward. The barnacles on the ceiling were quite alarming. And there was a strange fluid dripping from inside of them. He definitely didn't want to let any of that touch him. It wasn't just because it was gross, either. That kind of sickening goop could be dangerous. There was no way to test it without putting himself in harm's way.

But, in the end, maybe he should have kept his eyes ahead and watched where he was going. The moment he heard the 'snap' beneath his feet he knew he had done something wrong. "Shit!" he cried out, trying to backpedal quickly. And that instinct had likely saved his life.

The weak floorboard beneath his foot split in half. If he had kept his forward moving pressure on that foot it was likely his leg would have gone through the floor. The jagged wood punctured downward, stabbing into a colony of bulbous sacs below. And those exploded in a flash of light and heat; releasing spores upward.

Jen grabbed the back of his shirt, yanking on him, and he had to be somewhat grateful for that. A small explosion rose in the place where he had been standing. It was impossible to say if Kidd would have gotten out of there on his own. Even if she had only helped by an inch or a centimeter, that might have made the difference.

A second later there was an answering explosion on the stairs. A column of light erupted upward, taking out a section of the stairwell, and caught the railing as well as the inner hall above on fire. There was a shrieking sound from upstairs which reverberated in every direction at once.

As they backed off, Kidd took a moment to glance over his shoulder to call for help from the others. At that moment, Aaron had already lunged away from the wall and was moving forward. He was well trained, that one. Unfortunately, he had no experience dealing with soundless foes that made no noise when they moved.

The side door which Aaron had passed grew dark as a shadowy figure emerged from it. Uncrossing its arms, its gills bulged outward and then receded in size, the fish creature began to move in on Aaron's flank to catch him off guard with a surprise attack.

Worse than that, one of the creatures had started to enter the building through the front door. Apparently this explosion had triggered the senses of the monsters in the nearby area and brought them down upon the party. Fakeru was stuck on something near the front door as well, so it was likely she couldn't get away easily, and Jamison was too distracted trying to free her that he didn't even notice the monster.

"Behind you!" Kidd called out, hoping that was enough to cover both of them. He couldn't specify one or the other, because an ambush was coming from both sides. Both... no. That meant-

Kidd spun around, facing the stairwell. The shriek he heard from upstairs had not been a coincidence. His hand went to his holster and he ripped his gun free. It spun through the air and then he caught it in mid flight with the barrel pointing straight ahead.

He had seen a shape emerging from the shadows even as he turned his head. Now all he needed was time to take aim. Its figure was wreathed in flame and burned, sickly flesh was coming down from its right shoulder all the way down its arm and part of its body. Apparently that monster had been caught in one of the explosions on the stairway.
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