"The pickaxe made of skulls seems to be to be a crude unholy symbol of Zyphus, God of accidental Death and tragedy. This has the look of a shrine, but it is add, as if the one who made them did not know whom he prayed to. This is an unconsecrated area."
Watching the valley through the window, Sharae looks for signs of movement or anything else unusual - using her innate sense if direction, she tries to work out whether the view of the valley and specifically the angle that she is observing it from, makes sense according to her knowledge of the area she fought the skeletons in...
...Is this a window or some form of scrying portal?
A chill runs up Sharae's spine when she realises the religious nature of this place... contemplating the pictograms for a moment she muses aloud, "This entire place seems to be the aftermath of some terrible accident... could it be that someone survived long enough to create a shrine to those who died? Or....", Sharae comes to a dreadful conclusion, "Professor? Would a Ju-Ju have enough innate inteligence to create a shrine? Is that even possible?"
The juju is intelligent, that much is certain. It spoke to us and reasoned with us... well as much as something insane could reason anyway. I think based on what we saw in the 'slate' journal of the deceased travelers in the pillar room we can make a guess at what happened.
The Professor takes of his glasses and rubs them clean on his tunic as he sighs.
Torch and Silver Mount are a part of the same structure. A ship that travels through the stars. Thousands of years ago it got into a fight with another ship of what seems like their deadly enemies. They lost and crashed here in what we call the Rain of Stars. Breaking apart into at least two sections, one is Silver Mount, the other is where we are now, buried under Torch.
The Professor pauses for a bit before continuing.
Tragic enough, but at least for this section it gets more tragic still. The two travelers survived at least for a little while, trapped here for a while before they perished from their injuries. They seemed to be not warriors but researchers however and as a part of their travels had picked up volunteers from species native to other planets for study. They, the Kasathas, survived too and the woman in her kindness released them before she died. I do not think it went how she would have hoped however, for, bereft of their native stars, they cannot die. I think, in its despair the juju reached out for any sort of divine help and tuned into Zyphus and over the six thousand years of its tormented existence has been trying to unsuccessfully plead with him for release.
He pauses again.
I will not forgive them for what they did to Ardash. But if we can give them back the sun and stars I think The Kasathas would be able to move on. Nothing deserves this.
"After we find Khonnir, then maybe we find a way to bring the sun and the stars back to these wretched undead...killing them day after day will not bring Ardash back but ending this cycle may, at least, stop their violence...it is a worthy cause", turning her attention to the problem at hand, "Is there anything obvious that will help get us past that other door? Because, if not, someone is going to have to press that button..."
Anody looks closer at one of the skulls to try to see what is making the green light in them.
anody, please make a will save, DC 15
Anody closely examines the unholy symbol of zyphus,
Then with an act of will, anody pulls himself away.
He flings himself backwards his face pale, swearing under his breath.
Valia watches the party's back as all this is going on.
Don't... look into the green glow.. there's something... very wrong with it
Anody casts Detect Magic and tries to figure out what happened
"I did say it was an Unholy item, which should invoke caution about it."
Actions?
Staying far away from the glowing green eyes Anody searches every other part of the room as thoroughly as he can while keeping his Detect Magic up.
"What are you looking for, Anody?"
Maybe something that can.. perhaps.. control the time of day in the desert? It's obviously an artificial... zoo.. environment for the Kalasthas. If it can be made to change then maybe we can give them the sun and stars they need to stop coming back all the time.
Anody searches, but finds nothing else
I want to hit the button. Perhaps you should stand back?
Valia gives pause for everyone to position themselves, then activates the colsole by pressing his hand down.
We should destroy that shrine as soon as we are capable.
Anody will stand at the entrance of the first room trying to see what happens when the button is pressed.
The sign does say 'Environmental Control Room', and that panel is the only clear 'control' we've found? I admit I'm very curious to see the effects!
Criek makes his way back towards the mouth of the passage, to watch for any change in the larger cave.
"Why? Why should we destroy the shrine? What prevents a free-willed creature raising a monument to whatever deity they please...what gives us the right to deny them their worship?", frustrated at Valia's suggestion that someone's faith could be callously discounted, Sharae questions, "Is Zyphus an evil god?"
What it almost did to me was most definitely evil Sharae
I do not know much of this Zyphus, Sharae, but if this shrine, as it were, is providing the animating power that drives these undead? And which drags them back to their undeath each day? I should think that releasing them from their suffering -- centuries upon centuries of it, from what Anody has found -- is reasonable cause to remove this monument.
The unsafe way. Destroy the shrine. Could be bad. There are many stories about what happens to those that do this, none with happy endings
We would need to cast protection from evil and then consecrate before destroying the shrine. Otherwise... well... let's say that it would not be wise to do it any other way.
"It is a shrine made out of skulls. I've never seen Pharasma find any need to desecrate souls in one of her shrines. And is not the green light associated with our friend, the fiend?"
"That means I'd need to ask one of the town's kirks to help purify this site."
Valia presses the gold panel. It depresses slightly with a faint click. Nothing happens for a moment. Then a low buzzing can be heard. The purple column lights up. A voice speaks.
Two new panels light up. The symbols on the panel are
Press the Y button Valia. We'll have light here.
Valia hits the one on the left. Anody told him earlier about this "rule of left".
He panics briefly, believing the adroften means some kind of explosion is imminent.
Bands of light start to ripple up the column, moving slowly at first, the more quickly, accelerating. A rythmatic, pulsing noise can be herard as the ripples accelerate faster and faster.
Suddenly the lights switch on. All of the panels activates, and the windows on one side show the main desert area. It is dawn, and the sun, and strange orange one, rises. You see a spectral image of the juju zombie, but now looking undesiccated, with his people standing around him. Sound floods in as another circuit closes.
At last. The spirits have answered. At last the darkness has faded. Oh my tribe, we can go to our families. With laughter they start walking in a line and slowly fade from view.
Moving through the crowd of spirits, ignoring them (and they it) a silver sphere moves past, moving directly to the cave that leads to your location. You have about three rounds to decide on a course of action.
As a side note, a card emerges from one of the consoles. It looks like the brown card, but is black, with a star on it. Also the party notes the card swipes now have an activation light on them.
Oh dear, we have less than two days before something very bad happens.
Anody tries to figure out what exactly the sphere is
Its the robot that fought the aberration when you first entered this place. Sonic attacks and rather dangerous.
Criek falls back from the cave entrance towards the environmental control room -- If the sphere is coming to investigate the power failure message, maybe we can hide, and it will open the locked door?
...Anody, should I make ready with fire or cold, should it come for us instead?
"Let's try and even the odds a little - I haven't tried this before so, it may not go quite as planned...", Sharae clenches her eyes tight and, reaching out to her goddess, calls forth a small whirlwind of dust and crackling energy... Seeing the figure form, she smiles and prepares to command it to attack...
Valia grabs the card from the machine, the black one with a star on it, and shoves it into his shirt.
(two rounds later)Criek comes running to the party It's close! It's coming down the tunnel he warns
Sharae holds the storm - keeping the elemental straddling the divide between her world and the Plane of Air until just before the robot arrives.
Valia wants to walk up to it and say "Hail" but will wait to see what new knowledge Anody has to share.
Give me the card Valia. Anody says quickly. Let me try and talk our way out of this. Or at least get us a round of surprise attacks. It is toughly armoured but should be susceptible to electric energy attacks. Oh dear I hope this works.
Anody quickly hums a tune to help him get
Holding his card as well as the new one with the star on it Andoy speaks as soon as the robot becomes visible.