It took a few moments more for the Mimic to die. Violent moments, moments where it thrashed and whipped a violent weapon of a tongue about and flopped on its last leg--er, tentacles. It was side-slammed by a dog. A latch went pop! and sprung, never to close again, as a strange bipedal... cat? thing? attacked it. (It had no idea what Angel was, or what any of them were, aside from having reassigned them from 'food' to 'OH NO' mentally.) Hoof-kicks, someone--swallowing??? its tongue? (WHY?), a tentacle being shorn off by painful pecks of a beak, the bounce of a rock, the flicker of cursed flame scorching it--it build up, overwhelmed, leaving the chest first trembling and then collapsing.

When it died, it did so spectacularly. Or very anti-climactically, depending on how you viewed it: the wood bowed and suddenly collapsed, the 'planks' that made up its body spilling outward as all the gems, coins, and treasure that had been swallowed up as lures suddenly came unbound. The remaining tentacles, mimic's blood--the tongue in Eleven's throat (seriously, why?!)-... It all went limp and silent. A little bit of black, cold fire coursed across the 'wood' and then went dim.

And it was time for them to claim the treasure, then--what they'd searched for before, now readily available for the taking.

When they were finished, a doorway awaited. Beyond, a tunnel: one that merged with three others, all four dungeon wings recombining into a single exit, a half-collapsed (but still traversible) open passageway that wound, quite far, back up to Lacerta's surface. The top was safe, overgrown but miraculously free of predators, and in fact not too far from the staging ground where they'd started.

They would be free to go, with the experience, minor injuries, emotional trauma regarding treasure and mimic tongues, and loot that they'd acquired--and a story to tell, if they chose to share it.

Surely Bartholomew Bear would wish to know of their survival.

Click for Loot Results!

Zephiran would find seventeen Coins along with a shield. This shield was intended for humanoids, but could perhaps be refitted as armor, or traded for something more suitable for his form. It was unenchanted, but beautifully wrought: a silvery-white metal of some kind, exceedingly hard yet quite lightweight, uniform in its very pale coloring and surprisingly untarnished by time.

Spark, in addition to the single coin they had claimed, now located a beautiful silver chain intended as a necklace or collar. It was somewhere between the thick links of a utility chain and the delicate metal of jewelry, and enchanted with Mist Cover, so that it gave off a constant (if small) cloud of mist in the area around it. It, too, was of beautiful make: shining but simple, if elegantly crafted.

V-Chaos-Eleven would find two coins and a pewter bracer. It looked plain, at first, and very tarnished--almost black--with little spikes of gemstone (red coral and violet amethyst) sticking up around it. It was enchanted, however, with Cool Down: an area a couple feet around it was kept perpetually a few degrees cooler than the ambient air. Useful, in certain circumstances.

Genghis found three coins, along with a strange, ceremonial dagger. The dagger was steel core, but plated in the gold-silver alloy electrum, with a black Jet gemstone set in the hilt. It was enchanted with Decay: wounds inflicted by it might become infected with a painful necrotic fungus that would prevent healing. As a result, the otherwise beautiful plating was strangely gray and mottled, in places, with raised bumps as though an organic fungus had somehow twisted it.

Fleas procured twelve coins, along with a strange and beautiful, exotic statuette made of glossy black gemstone, inlaid with flowing silver detailing. It featured what looked like an aquatic creature crossed with a canine: not unlike Fleas in its upper body, with an almost smiling canine face, but with webbed paws and a mermaid-like lower body with scales and fins. The idol was enchanted with Purify, and so could be used to purify water sources up to the size of a small pond, though more polluted sources would require longer contact with the item; at worst, it might require several hours.

Angel found twelve more coins to eat along with an interesting weapon until now likely never seen by Gembounds in this cave: a nunchaku-type martial arts weapon. It was unenchanted but well-made, formed of two lengths of pale ash wood that had petrified into almost stone over time, connected by a short silver chain.

Halcyon would find twelve coins, as well--seemingly a theme now--along with a beautiful piece of Aventurine. It was partially rough and porous, like soft green soap in appearance, but with a polished, angled tip in crystalline shape. It had once belonged to a beast in golden fur and feathers, striped in thin markings of magenta fading into purple. In appearance it was best described as a wyrm: long and sinuous, with two powerful, taloned legs (with retractable claws, strangely enough) and a face that, despite being reptilian, had a hard black keratin shell on the muzzle not unlike a bird's beak. Sharp yellow-gold eyes with feline slits and tiger-like ears and whiskers finished the strange appearance. This creature was approximately 17 feet long from snout to tail-tip.

Callista would find a strange gauntlet: a glove, but only one, glittering with encrusted amethyst and topaz gemstones. It was silver, beautifully crafted, etched and engraved with numerous little scenes: a fruit tree, a fish, a cat-like gembound with wings. But more importantly it was enchanted, with Transfer; moving and pushing heavy items using this glove would be much easier.

Audland would find a gleaming silver longsword (well, steel, but it LOOKED silvery) of wonderful make and balance. While technically enchanted, the enchantment was simply Glow, leaving it essentially baubled; it looked like the weapon of some holy paladin. Alongside this lay eight ancient coins.

Menkheperre would find nothing cloth or leather had survived for so long. However, there were literal treasure chests lying about. One--made of dark wood set with golden latches and bindings--was small enough to take, and sturdy enough to last, along with being compact. Within were only two coins, but the chest was notable in that it was enchanted: a Levitate enchantment meant that when it was empty, the chest happily floated a couple inches off the ground, and was otherwise a little lighter-weight than usual.

Thalia would find a pair of silvery bracers, engraved with flowing yet jagged designs. They would click together with a simple hinge and latch for each arm, and were enchanted with Call Current, providing a short and nasty shock to attackers. She would find four coins scattered nearby.

Mai would find five coins, along with a strange little gold-and-oak box. The box was a case, not a treasure chest in and of itself; within were a number of fine glass bottles, capped with a glass 'cork.' Each bore a different motif and decoration: one had silver wire with green metal leaves twined around it, another golden metal 'stars' sparkling all over, another was painted a deep flowing blue like water, and so forth. It wasn't clear what they were for; maybe they could now be used for dye or alchemical concoctions, or simply decoration.

Yew would find two coins, along with a golden metal mask that would fit her face, extending slightly over her beak. The throat latch was a metal band, and had so survived the test of time. While ornate and almost ominous, in an intimidatingly beautiful way, the mask was as-yet unenchanted.

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Characters may exit at will. After posting their exit, they may a) post in Magicka Market for the thread claim, b) add their loot to their inventory, and c) post in Update Me for a soon-to-be-released achievement!

Those who did not post this round must make up for any missed rounds before their loot search/exit/claim. This should be GM-tagged for, as this thread will no longer be checked otherwise! Other wings of the dungeon will be completed in the coming days!