Anastoria |
Ana looks annoyed. "You can choose not to believe us, but you yourself said that the magi have nothing to gain from this deception. What if I speak the truth?"
Brathas |
I was hoping my comment about opposing the Priests of Zargon might change their minds, or at least let us know by their reaction if it is indeed the Priests and not the Magi who are the real enemy. But if that doesn't work, I would say let's go get some lizard steaks.
Pandora NPC |
"Surely we can better use our time opposing the Priests of Zargon and the goblins."
The woman crooks her head. "First you bring up the Magi... now you sound like the Gormites. If you seek bloodshed then by all means seek out the Zargonites and their goblin lackeys. We are not interested in idle fighting."
"What if I speak the truth?"
"If you really believe everything you say, then I would have to say that you are simply mad. Now... take no offense." She smiles for a moment. "There's a lot of that around here, and it affects many otherwise good people. Just don't expect me to partake of your particular fantasy. I don't see how it matters anyways."
Br: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30
Fe: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (17) + 14 = 31
Fi: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (6) + 14 = 20
W: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (9) + 13 = 22
Z: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19
Anastoria |
"I am taller than any goblin, would you not agree? And yet, do any of your people look like this?" Ana draws the hair back over her ears, revealing the slender points.
Brathas |
Thinking he might have a chance to salvage this, Brathas looks at the ground at the woman's feet. He shoots a quick apologetic look at Ana for intruding, but he has a hunch about this situation.
"My lady, since you address me, I shall reply. My name is Brathas. Whether I truly come from a land beyond the desert or whether this is my madness, I cannot say for certain, as you wisely point out. But I believe I am a traveler stranded here by a sandstorm. Only the gods know for sure.
That is why our faces are uncovered, we did not know your customs and have not yet crafted masks for ourselves. We mean no disrespect. I avert my gaze for this reason, that you may not have to look upon my bare face.
When I speak of opposing the Priests and the goblins, I do not mean wanton bloodshed. I would first seek to learn more and develop a strategy, that we may be guided by wisdom. So, if I may humbly ask, do the Magi at least speak true about the evil of Zargon? That it is a foul demon that devours the people of this city as sacrifices?"
Pandora NPC |
"I am taller than any goblin, would you not agree? And yet, do any of your people look like this?" Ana draws the hair back over her ears, revealing the slender points.
"Nothing looks anything like you people. But there are two types of goblins; some are shorter than you, and others are taller. For all I know you are a third type of goblin we have not yet seen."
Thinking he might have a chance to salvage this, Brathas looks at the ground at the woman's feet. He shoots a quick apologetic look at Ana for intruding, but he has a hunch about this situation.
"My lady, since you address me, I shall reply. My name is Brathas..."
The woman nods. "Well, greetings, Brathas. I am Pandora, and we are the Warrior Women of Madarua."
"Brathas... what a strange name. If amnesia has really taken hold, perhaps you got it wrong, and it is actually Brathos?"
"Well, no matter. The stories the Magi have told you about Zargon are true indeed. The Priests of Zargon regularly take sacrifices and feed them to that foul creature. It is an abomination that must be stopped."
"What the Magi probably didn't say is that they are secretly in league with the Zargonites! It is for this reason that they refuse to raise a hand against the evil Priests. They insist that we must leave the Zargonites to their 'work.' They care nothing for the lives of ordinary humans; they have betrayed their own people."
Wallia of Winterbourne Stoke |
Walia bows and says, "I am Walia of Winterbourne Stoke, I am a priest. All gods exist but some of course are wicked. The spirit and soul are both imperative for the body to be one within itself, thus the gods show us a path. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, madame."
Anastoria |
"We will find and slay this... Zargon. I have heard much about it and suspect that it may not be a divine being at all. Has anyone ever even seen Zargon?"
Pandora NPC |
"Greetings, Fistep and Wallia."
"We will find and slay this... Zargon."
"A bold claim. Many others have said as much, but most never return, while others despair of ever fulfilling such a quest. Yet it is certainly a worthy goal."
"I don't believe that any one person, or even a small group, could ever hope to defeat Zargon. Our goal is to bring Zargon forth, and force him into the open. Where an individual, no matter how bold or skilled, might fail, the combined might of all of Cynidicea could succeed. If Zargon turned against the city, everyone would have to stand against him; even Zargon's priests would have to oppose him, for fear of their lives."
"I have heard much about it and suspect that it may not be a divine being at all. Has anyone ever even seen Zargon?"
"In that you are certainly right. Zargon is a foul and powerful creature, but the only claim he has to a right to sacrifice is his wrath if he does not receive it. He is a physical being and not a deity, though he certainly seems long-lived."
"None of my people have ever seen Zargon. But it is said that a part of the initiation of new Priests of Zargon is that they witness a sacrifice to Zargon. They sometimes come unhinged at this point, though they rarely were that stable to begin with."
Zynazyr |
Zynazyr is content to stand back and let the others speak with Pandora. He seems troubled when she mentions that the magi are in league with the Zargonites. He does realize, however, that this warrior clan may interpret the magi staying out of the conflict as condoning the priests' actions.
Pandora NPC |
"Where is Zargon? Can you lead us to him?"
"We don't know the exact location of Zargon's lair, but it is said to be deep below this pyramid. Only the Priests of Zargon know the exact route, and only a select few of them."
"There are those within our order whose duty is to see what these Priests are up to, but that's not my job. Our duty here is to maintain a calendar and watch for the changing of the seasons."
Anastoria |
"Thank you," Ana says curtly, then turns to her companions. "I think that we're done here. These people seem to mean us no harm and I see no reason to endanger that sentiment."
Lost City DM |
So what now?
* The scary pit at #4 can be accessed at the moment without rotating the turntable?
* You could go back for the lizard and the basket of snakes at #5?
* Up the main hallway at #6?
* The passage with the Madaruan statues at #7?
* The unexplored crooked hallway at #1?
* Back towards camp through the main hall at #2?
* Back towards the Magi at #3?
* Something else?
Ferrous Grimgond |
Ferrous leads the group away from the warrior women. Thoughts on where to head next? My preference is for exploring as much of this place as possible. What about that pit across the way? Have we determined anything about it yet?
Lost City DM |
That's 3 votes for #4, so good enough.
11:40 AM, Day 4
TIER 3 MAP updated.
The party returns to the turntable and crosses to the other side. Opening the door at the far end reveals the passage with the pit the same as the party recalls from before.
The party emerges out on to the small landing in front of the pit. From here you can see the far end; the pit fills the 10' passage from one side to the other and is 20' across. At the far end there is a wall.
On the floor in front of the pit is a large pentagram, done in a silvery-white paint of some kind. A similar though smaller pentagram is on the far wall across the pit. The pit itself descends into darkness and the bottom cannot be seen. A faint but foul, rotten stench rises from the pit. Along the lip of the pit and around the edges are large gouges in the stone, that could have been made by a creature with large strong claws.
The party has searched the area up to the edge of the pit and has found nothing.
So now what?
* Examine the pit somehow? (if so, how?)
* Try to get across somehow? (if so, how? Note also that there isn't really anything to get across to)
* Try to climb down into the pit? (if so, how?)
* Give up and pick another passage? (if so, which #?)
* Something else?
Ferrous Grimgond |
Perhaps we should drop something to better discern the depth of the pit. If we do so I would suggest leaving quickly afterwards. Maybe a lit torch if we have one to spare. So we can see the bottom when it lands.
Lost City DM |
You have only used up one torch so far out of your initial gear as you have been relying on fire beetle glands for light since the first encounter. So you should have lots if that's what you want to do.
Lost City DM |
Two party members have torches: Brathas and Fistep. To speed things up I will assume that one of them volunteers one.
The party lights a torch and Ferrous tosses it gently into the pit. It falls silently. As it goes down the walls of the pit are revealed to be uneven and rough-hewn the deeper it goes. After falling about 120' the torch fades from view - even its light seems to be gone. You can hear no sound from the torch striking anything.
There does not seem to be any reaction from anything that might be in the pit.
So, what now?
Zynazyr |
Zynazyr inspects the pentagram. Am I familiar with what this could be for?
"Let me try something. Better stand back since I don't know exactly what will happen." Assuming no one objects and I don't know anything about the pentagram ...
Zynazyr steps into the pentagram. Concentrating, he casts a cantrip to try to "push" the pentagram on the wall.
Lost City DM |
11:50 AM, Day 4
TIER 3 MAP updated.
1d6 ⇒ 2
Zynazyr reaches out with his mind and pushes on the pentagram on the far wall.
*CRASH!*
There is a sound like the shattering of glass windows. Broken pieces of wall, ceiling, and floor seem to flake away, dissolving into nothing. When the debris has cleared, the passageway is still there, but the pit and the pentagrams are gone. The floor is painted black while the walls are a deep indigo. Silver stars dapple the walls, and glow with a faint blue-silver light.
Lying on the floor in front of you where the pit once was is a burning torch.
Probing ahead, the pit really seems to be gone, and the floor is solid. Fistep recovers his torch.
The hallway is not a dead end; at the far end the passageway turns to the right into a hallway that was not visible before. This passage continues north for about 15 feet; there is a narrow passage branching off to the west that ends after 10' with a door. You believe this leads back to the ritual chamber of the Magi.
So now what?
* Visit the Magi again?
* Return to the turntable? (if so, where to next?)
* Return to camp?
* Something else?
Zynazyr |
Zynazyr proudly smiles as the illusion disappears. But it is short lived as Wallia and Fistep react. His smile fades to a look of concern. "I wasn't expecting that. I hope the Magi aren't upset and can recreate the illusion. I certainly didn't mean to expose them."
He turns to the others. "It appears to have been an illusion. The pentagrams gave me a clue as to how to bypass the pit, but I wasn't expecting that. We should finish exploring the area so we can return the magi's supplies. Although, I suppose I should let them know their illusion is gone."
Lost City DM |
Right now I see two votes for going down the #6 passage, but Zynazyr has suggested dropping in to the Magi to speak to them about the illusion.
Any other votes? Or any other suggestions?
Ferrous Grimgond |
Ferrous coughs when the pit vanishes.
Sorcery.
He mutters and spits on the floor.
Aye we best tell the magi their trick is dispelled accidentally. But perhaps try doing whatever it was you did to make it disappear. Maybe it acts like a lever of sorts.
Zynazyr |
Zynazyr shakes his head at Ferrous' suggestion. "As you can see, the pentagrams are gone. There may have been a way to bypass it, but it would appear that I dispelled it."
He then turns to Wallia. "Since they probably count on the illusion to keep intruders from this entrance, I would not want them surprised by some unwelcome guests. If you wish for me to speak with them on my own, I can. That way if they are truly upset, the rest of you won't incur their wrath, at least at the moment," he says waiting for a response before moving down the hallway towards the door, looking for traps the best he can.
Lost City DM |
3d6 ⇒ (2, 3, 6) = 11
While looking around the area, Ana realizes that there is still some kind of enchantment in place in the hallway around them.
Ferrous has seconded having Zynazyr speak with the Magi so let's move ahead.
Zynazyr moves carefully up to the door and then knocks. The door opens, and as you suspected, it is the ritual chamber of the Magi that you have already visited.
Auriga Sirkinos NPC |
"Oh, hello again," Auriga smiles. "I see you found your way past our little trick! Heh heh."
When Zynazyr explains the situation, Auriga smiles again.
"Oh, don't worry about that. Our little illusion will take care of itself. It will restore itself after you leave."
"Any luck finding those supplies?"
Lost City DM |
Does anyone have anything more to say to the Magi?
If not, what now?
* A suggestion was made to go to passage #6. This may connect to the mold room you found.
* There is still the lizard in passage #5.
* You have not yet explored passage #1.
* You could return to camp via passage #2.
* Or something else?