With a mighty swing 'Emil the Fragrant' crushes his bloody opponent!
All three bloody skeletons lie still in front of you. Emil's recent target doesn't just lie still but lies still in multiple parts of the room.
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"Bloody great work, my friends," chimes in Xull, "Any chance we can clear out this level before heading down? I'm sure none of you would be into the more felonious activities like opening locked doors, but if someone could attempt to muddle through the motions we can be surer to leave no enemies behind us as we delve deeper into the crypt."
Somewhat out of breath (for once) Xull pokes around the remains.
Jormel clears his throat and casts a quick glance at his companions.
"I can try to get it open. I have some experience with locks and things."
He starts the walk back to the locked door and then turns and points at Emil. "Also, still not a burglar. My business is traps, not doors."
Stepping back from the door, Jormal stretches his hands out as if to say 'see, not a burglar.'
"No good. Any other takers?"
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"Well, if we can't get through it, at least there's the hope that no-one else can get out of it. I take it we've used every key we can find. Let's just hope the Everflame (or whatever it's called) isn't in there. I say we push on to the lower levels and see if we can't avoid death a little while longer."
With that, Xull strides purposefully to where he thinks he remembers the staircase downwards was.
@Emil, no traps. Try a Str check to open.
@All, up to two can assist with DC 10 str check.
With a sigh, Jormel jumps in with his shoulder to the door. "What I wouldn't give for a burglar..."
Emil grunts loudly as he pushes on the door.
And with a great grunt the bold adventurers crash open the door with a collective flourish!
Yay.
This long corridor is flanked by a row of human statues, set into alcoves on each side. The statues look like Kassen, and each one holds a longsword out in front of it. The blades of roughly half the statues are wrapped in leather padding.
Cracking his knuckles and relaxing his neck, Jormel steps forward.
You find the pressure plate (noted with T on map) yet are unable to disarm.
Jormel carefully checks the statues, making sure not to stand in front of any blades, to see if the longswords are attached to them or easily removable.
If they can be removed, he disarms the statues on the northern side of the pressure plate, leaving the swords on the sides of the hallway.
He then takes one of the brooms from earlier - Fool probably still has one, anyway - and prods at the pressure plate.
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Perhaps fatefully, Xull thinks too late to properly interject... "Since it can be so easily avoided, are you sure that prodding it is such a good idea?"
Xull ducks down and hides behind a statue as best he can . I really hope that the pressure plate doesn't animate these statues, Xull thinks to himself, moments before Jormel touches the broom to the plate.
Jormel stops mid-prod, looks over his shoulder, and shrugs.
"Probably."
Caution to the wind, Jormel prods the trap's trigger. Common sense be damned.
Jormel's boldness and perseverance disables the trap and no one is hurt by the blunted or not blunted trapped statues. Jormel then deftly reviews the door ahead and does not find any traps.
Opening the door like curious cats, one half of this lofty chamber has a lowered floor, with stairs on either side to reach the bottom. Standing opposite the door is a tall wooden statue of Kassen grasping a gigantic wooden shield in each hand. One of the shields is inscribed with the
word “home,” while the other reads “family.”
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Xull creeps somewhat embarrassed out from where he was cowering behind the statue. Trying to make up for his prior lack of bravery (and temporary acquisition of sanity), Xull enters and surveys the room.
Upon spying the statue (and perhaps more besides)...
... Xull backs off cautiously, "My friends, if so I may call you by now," he begins, "It falls to me to inform you that the statue of Kassen over yonder is in fact a golem. It may animate at any minute, if it has not done so already. Please exercise caution while poking around it!"
"Then let's be cautious."
Ever loquacious Xull enters the room, detailing all he sees but the other timidly bold adventurers stand perfectly still. One could cut the trepidation with a knife...
Jormel followed the others into the room, still brandishing Fool's broom. He stops when Xull mentions the horrible deathtrap hidden in plain sight.
"I'm sure the golem is only here to stop burglars and the like. Why would Kassen put a statue of himself that kills people coming to celebrate his life?"
He stopped at the edge of the raised platform, slowly watching for any signs of movement.
"But just to be sure... how do we turn something like that off?"
"If we are lucky it might have an off switch."
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"I'm not sure Kassen was the one who put the statue here. However, history is rife with stories of people who want those who honor them to be tested first. Only the worthy and all that. Why, it was Cassius the Conquered who insisted upon..." Xull goes on for quite some time.
"In any case," he continues eventually, "I believe that Emil is right. Fire would be the most effective against this thing should it come to life. I have a spell that may help in that regard. However, it seems to be quite still for now. Shall we move on?"
"You know that idea does have one flaw, it's that the golem would be a flaming golem burning us as it beats us."
"Yeah, but I'm getting real tired of this testing s**t. Traps and dead things and golems and gods know what else." Jormel sets his pack down and fishes out a pair of torches. He offers them forward to his companions with a grin.
"If anyone asks, we fought valiantly and struck the beast down with an amazing display of skill. Now someone light me up."
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Xull helps his companions to make ready the fire. He will then stand so that he can light the flammable materials in front of him while simultaneously striking the golem in the cone as he prepares to cast his favorite spell.
"This spell," Xull says with a grin, "Got me out of some serious trouble back when I was a merchant. I was tied in a cart and had no idea what power ran through my veins. Fortunately, neither did my captors. I escaped with some timely flames applied to my hempen bonds."
Xull scratches his beard for a moment, contemplating the situation. "It may be that this guardian is not intended to attack us - or intended to attack us later. It may be that the best way to defeat it is using the Everflame itself. After all, it would be quite the coincidence to have a wooden guardian for a tomb renowned for its fiery contents if they weren't related in some way."
"Golems are reputed to be very tough to defeat. I'm not sure we'd have it in us to beat it if it were to attack. Inanimate it may be right now, but if we set it aflame we may trigger a condition required to awaken it. Does everyone still want me to have at it with magical fire?"
Please place your ending moves upon the map.
Holding the two burning torches, Jormel couldn't help but notice a distinct lack of anyone else volunteering to get close to the damn thing. He gestured to Emil with one of the torches.
"Hey, Emil - going to make the burglar do all the work?"