Gareth takes a moment to size up the wall, before volunteering, "It's jammed, isn't it? You know what? I'll take a look up there and see if I can open it myself." He starts to scale the wall.
Alright, how many climb checks do we need here? I'll start off with two if necessary, and then attempt to open the door.
Gareth chuckles. "Oh, lighten up, Hascya. A little curiosity never hurts anyone." He pushes on the door as hard as he can (can't beat DC) with no success.
"Hey, I have an idea. We've still got that blasting powder, right? Leto, why don't we get your servant to hold a sack of it up there and let 'er rip?"
"Good point. Let's sleep and then go on after. I only have one spell that I can cast other than my cantrips. And they would not be very useful in combat if there is anything waiting on the other side. Let's get ready for bed and get the eagles fed and then sleep."
As we make a fire and settle in for the night, Hascya takes a lump of brown resin from a pouch at his belt and throws it into the fire. A faint, pleasant smelling smoke fills the room, and hangs there all night. It's warm, and you can feel it working its way into your flesh, relaxing you and soothing your wounds.
Each person gains an extra 1hp/HD in addition to the normal healing during rest.
It is the resin of the plant Myrrh, which has great healing properties. It does not grow in our home, which rains too much, but our people trade for it with others.
With trade and knowledge, there is an herb for each situation. We've never had herbs from the Merin'he Valley before, but I've heard you have some berries with... shall we say unusual properties? He smiles broadly.
The Ashlands are a hot, tropical rainforest. A ruined, burned city lies inside the jungle, the remnant of a battle millennia ago in which the jungle and its surroundings burned to the ground. While the forests have since regrown, the name "the ashlands" stuck. The area is populated by semi-nomadic tribes.
According to the tales you have heard, the region is dangerous. Strange magical rifts and odd creatures roam the jungle, forcing most of the region's inhabitants to move frequently or be endangered. Despite these dangers, there has been a recent upswing in interest in the area from Altin's merchants and adventurers, who seek ancient secrets and treasures within the region.
"I have heard that your land contains strange magical rifts. Does anyone know what caused them?" As Leto says this he packs up his things gets ready to press on, and casts mage armor on himself as he does so.
"It is known that in the Ashlands were the ground one which a great battle once took place. A battle that gave the lands their name despite being a rainforest now. But now it is a land known to be filled with strange creatures and magical rifts."
"I personally think we should get moving as we don't know how those half-lings will respond to having thier fortress attacked, and we lose our headstart every hour we stay here, but then again there might be something worth it up there."
The demonholes are created when a good man's spirit is no longer honored in the pamya. We are very careful to keep the tales of our great ancestors in our minds, but if a tribe is eliminated in war, their tales die and the demonholes appear. There was a great war long ago, and many demonholes appeared then which still plague us.
Martin chats amiably as he puts on his armor, getting up and putting out the camp fire. "I don't think we should use much more than a stick or two. Any more than that and We're likely to bring the whole place down."
Martin walks away from the fire, back to his pack, riffling through for his powder bags. He takes two from his bag and places them on the ground by the bag, rearranging the contents once more.
Then thats what we shall do now!
Leto walks over the ties a piece of rope to the bag. Then re-levitates it up to the door. Then Leto goes the maximum distance away while still able to cast spark. Then he casts spart at the far end of the rope (Assuming everyone else has gotten far away from it) and gets the heck out of buffalo.
As the "fuse" burns down (up? towards the bags, anyway), you beat a hasty retreat down to the first floor. About a minute later you hear a crash, and an explosion reverberates down through the tower as dislodged dust particles fill the air.
Back up on the second floor, and you see the broken and twisted metal trapdoor loosely dangling from its one remaining hinge. The stonework around the metal hatch is scorched, but appears otherwise undamaged by the blast. Through the opened hatchway, you see another room. It looks abandoned and in better shape than the rest of this tower, but you will need to climb up into it for any more detail.
Once up through the hatch, he looks around the room. If there doesn't seem to be any kind of immediate threat, will take a length of rope out of his pack, secure it to anything nearby that will hold it, and allow the others to climb up.
Gareth secures the rope to a stone column at by the hole and lowers it for the rest of you.
Inside the third-story room, things are much better maintained. There's no dust in this chamber, and what particles of it that drift upwards vanish before they can attach to anything. A wooden bookcase has fallen over into the center of the room. It looks as though it had been blocking the trapdoor. A curved, black sword rests on a stone shelf at the far side of the room. An unrolled scroll has been weighed down atop a table, and a chest stands closed next to the table. A staircase leads upwards, to another trapdoor. This trapdoor is locked closed, with the lock hanging from a length of chain. There are no windows on this floor, and the light comes from the several ioun torches that drift lazily around the ceiling. The only other piece of furniture is an engraved wooden chair in front of the table.
Leto clambers on up and casts detect magic. "Let's see. Nothing on the sword, Nothing on the scroll. Ah! but the chest has a weak abjuration and the room at large has a weak universal field."
Knowledge (Arcana: For the things in the room with magic): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25
Knowledge (History: Do I know anything about the history of anything I see?): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
Knowledge (Arcana):1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13
Knowledge (Arcana):1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25
The writing on the scroll is in a strange script. Stylistically, the script itself is ornate and vertically jagged.
The sword is short and curved, made out of adamantine, and its pommel resembles the head of an open-mouthed, fanged serpent. A pair of rubies have been set as the serpent's eyes. Writing, in a script similar to that on the scroll, has been engraved onto the blade.
Leto:
You think that both arcane and divine magics have been used in this room.
The writing, on both the scroll and the sword, appears similar to the scripts you believe the ancient empire used. This tower, and the items in it, could easily have belonged to that ancient empire.
You have no idea about the chest, but the room as a whole features an ongoing prestidigitation effect. This effect has likely preserved this room and kept it clean.
I should also point out that your serpentfriend ability does not let you read any script. It lets you speak with and be understood by snakes. That is all.
Martin clambers up the rope, climbing into the chamber not too gracefully.
Taking a look around (Percp:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10), Martin says, "We should be careful for traps, I especially dont like the look of that chest. Someone took the time to lock this place up good before abandoning it, and it doesn't look like too many others have been this way. We should be cautious."
Twohey aid on Chest 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1
Twohey aid on Room 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (13) - 1 = 12
Mmmm, yes, Twohey feels the magic too. It is weak, though, and hard to grasp. This is a spirit magic. Perhaps boar, or sloth... No, Twohey believes it is most likely the vine spirits. Or dew...
