The shield is mounted snuggly in the stone centaur's grip. Realizing she cannot remove it with one hand, Loriel sheathe's her longsword and uses both hands to try and pry the shield free.

With a little finesse she manages to slip the shield from the stone hand holding it. The centaur remains in silent vigilance, his hands now held over his head in a deperate attempt to block the oncoming spear of the horse headed man.

Standing there, giving the shield a look over, the shield is incredibly light, and the central 8/10ths of the shield is a mirrors finish. Small pieces of quartz are surrounding the central shield. 8 in total. On the back of the shield is an inscription, also in a language none seems to understand.

Loriel carefully examines how the spear is held in the figure's hand. She is thinking that it might be possible to tie onto the spear and yank it from a distance. That or see if she can grab it and run. in 10 feet she can be out of the room' Looking at carefully. SHe lips the rope off herself and fastening it behing the speaar point and will use a sharp downward jerk for a point halfway out of room and jerk it down and out of his hand and leave the room is a flash.

Fastening the rope around the spear haft, Loriel steps back and tries to yank the spear out of the horseman's hand. However the angle of the spear, sitting i his 'O' grip on the spear won't allow the spear to be pulled out. One would have to pull it forward on an angle equal to the incline of the spear to release it.

Loriel is disappoint but not done yet. She moves back to the statue and gives it a direct pull downward to clear the spear beom the stone hand gripping it.

Realizing once more it will take two hands, Loriel sets the shield down, and yanks on the spear. It grinds a little against the stone hands wielding it, but comes free after a second tug. Everyone is on edge that the room will somehow retaliate against the thievery, but are surpised to find nothing so much as whispers to hint of foul play.

The spear is warm to the touch, and the gemstones sparkle in the light of the spear tip. The gemstones are red, similar to... or perhaps actually garnet.

Loriel swiftly hefts the spear in one hand and scoops up the shield in one quick motion. She placing even as she moved rapidly across the toom into the relative safty of the hall, retraces her traverses the room.

Only when Loriel was safe outside she she take and deep breath and exhaled it rapidely. She looked about to the others. "I was afraid that at any moments that statue would spring to life or that something else would suddenly appear as I took the spear out of the statues hand." Loriel moves close to MOonshadow taken some strength from the great wold dog who had been her companion for several years now. She tries to steady her breathing until it came more normall. To say she had been anxious while she was in the room was an understatement.

Aelistae peered into the darkened room. The statue of a horse-headed figure locked in mortal combat with a centaur caught her eye, even as Loriel moved to salvage the weapons worked into the piece of art.

“That’s not the first time we have seen an image of a man with a horse’s head here. But I have never seen or heard of any creature who looks like that. Perhaps this whole complex was a temple once, to some forgotten God?”

[OOC: Aelistae will try a Knowledge (Religion) check. I doubt it’ll reveal anything though]

Aelistae shrugged. She was not a scholar, and she knew that there were many mysteries out there that were beyond her power to solve.

“Be careful of the shield and the spear,” she cautioned Loriel as she returned with her prize. “It is not wise to wield items that may be magical, until we know if they are enchanted and what enchantments they might hold.”

Aelistae bit her lip as her eyes returned to focus on the darkness ahead. They had come seeking an ogre and his captives, but there had been little sign of either.

‘Where are you?’ she wondered.

Artanis found a few useful items amongst the dead orcs. She put the money in her money pouch and secured one of the falchions, and the water skin to her belt, the remaining three to be put in the party wealth. She placed the copper ring in a separate pouch. The human necklaces, she left where she found them, cringing at the site of them.


And so the party moved on. As they came to a couple doors, Artanis opened the door to the left. She didn’t see much in there, but the smell that greeted her proved to be unpleasant. She silently concluded the containers must hold long forgotten food.

She heard the loud creaking of the opposite door, as Xaris opened it. She turned to look inside. Loriel moved quickly and removed the strange statues of their weapons. When Loriel emerged from the room with the shield and spear, Artanis asked, “May I take the shield? I have been in the market for a good shield, and I have yet to find one. It would be of great assistance as I stand at the front ready to take on what enemies may think to overtake us, while you prove their attempts to be futile as you take them out with your excellent aim with the bow.”

Kas nods to Loriel as she comes out. With a practiced eye she looks over the spear and the shield, both are of exceptional quality. She listens to the warrior woman ask for the sheild, and in truth the Elven archer would be hampered by it, and Kas's bastard sworn precluded her from using it easily. So what took her interest was the spear, but she found it difficult to ask for something someone else risked their life for.

"Loriel, if you have no skill with a spear, I do. I realize the weapon is of great value and is yours by right, but it could also be of great service. If nothing else I will carry it for you as you would have to put it aside to use your bow."

Kas look to Aelistea, "You speak wisely, for I wonder the kind of creature the Horse-headed Humanoid is, given that Centaurs are known to be of a non-evil nature and the statues are displayed showing the Former attacking a Centaur. If anything the peiece may be consecrated to some deity that may be of an evil nature. When we have the time and the spells, it would be best to check them both out."

Loriel looks up as Artanis asks her for the shield and shortly after thar Kas asks for the speat. Loriel wants to keep them but at the same time she comtemplates theirr requests. She know both the items were extrodinary but at the same time it was true that she was best with a bow and could only use a small buckler while using a bow. She looks to both of them they had proven themselves good companions even Kas who had been with them so shortly. They spear and shiel seemed to be very fine pieces and she wanted them but she squask the ungenerous thought of keeping them for herself.

"I can use both the shield and the spear but as you say I usually use my bow as my primaty weapon. These should be use and I will grant both your requests for these items with the knowledge that when our original mission is complete I will reclaim them or if you find something of your own to replace them with weapons you prefer or if you leave the group before the mission is completed." Loriel finished not mentionng if they dies, there was no need to mention that.

Loriel passes the spear off to Kas and the shiel off to Artanis. "Use them well for all of our sakes."

Aelistae bowed her head in thanks at the compliment Kas paid her.

“You could be right,” she replied, after the Tyrran had speculated that the statue was consecrated to some evil deity. “But if it was I think we would feel something. And, I at least, don’t feel anything here. It may be just what it is. An old statue of a forgotten people, that is slowly being eroded by the ravages of time.”

The drow priestess smiled wistfully. “Well I don’t think we’ll ever know. Come we should keep moving.”

"Yes, let's go!" Linnix says, a little bit nervous in anticipating the case that the party would actually end up fighting an ogre, and just slightly on edge in general.

The racous door had left Linnix unsettled; surely some person or something would've heard such a noise. Either that, or they were surely warned of intruders. In any case, the fact that nothing acted on it was unnerving alone, but the anticipation was driving Linnix a bit crazy.

When the party reaches the final door on the side of the hallway, Linnix murmurs, "Can you be sure first that this one won't be so loud as that other one?"

There is some writing on the base of the statue but it was not elven or common or any other language I am familiar with but I agree with you it is something that most likely needs to be looked into after we take care of Bart's mission and affter we rescue the mershant's wife and child.

Loriel has not lost sight of the fact that Bart's mission is still the primary goal though The goal of rescuing the wife and child is of the greatest priorityTo Loriel's way of thinking when lives were at stake that took precendence in her mind over the desire for reward and aiting until after Bart's mission was completed would lmost likely mean death for the two woman. To this end Loriel now tries another trail for Moonshadow to follow. Over her link with the wolf-dog Loriel asks her to find the trail of human scent. Perhaps it would bring them quicker.

Spear and shield in hand, the group of seven was anxious to be moving on. Two more doors awaited them down the hallway, and as they neared the next door, they could see the end of the corridor was filled in by a pile of rubble, as though the ceiling had collapsed some time before. Falling back into the previous marching order, they approached the first door on the left. It was a solid looking wooden door with iron bands supporting it. It should be noted that the iron bands here don’t seem nearly as old as the original complex.

Placing their ears to the door the companions whisper amongst themselves. They discussed the possible hearing of footsteps on the other side, along with a heavy breathing, and the rattling of chains. Moonshadow however was not so subtle, and growled low and deep as a familiar scent caught in his nostrils. He began pawing at the door, and barked loudly at having located the scent he was asked to track. Falling back into the marching order Moonshadow sat there wagging its tail thinking it had done a good deed, but its maw was still ready for anything to come.

At Moonshadow’s bark came the sound of a woman’s wail, and in response a heavy ‘smack’ which resulted in a gasp of pain, and then silence.

Kas moved just behing the others, with a spear she could easily engage the enemy from behind the leaders, she also readies her Flare spell, if they come upon the Ogre it may or may not be surprised. If she could catch Ogre just right then it would be blinded for a few rounds.

As the wolf indicates that it has found the source of the scent that she was sent to track. Kas takes up the spear in readiness to attack. Unfortunately Moonshadow's bark alerts those inside that a canine is outside the door, and that brings the sound of a woman in distress and a hard whack of a hand against a head.

The Ogre, had just hit the woman to silence her. They had to move right away.

For that he would pay.

~~Tyr,~~ Kas send a silent prayer to her new deity, ~~This Ogre will know your just retribution.~~

"Go now, before he can prepare!" Kas hisses at the others, not wanting to speak to loud and give the Orge warning of just whoelse was out side his door.