Hound has been quiet from the moment the scroll has been found. Taking his time as the others search the room, "Friend Ford, I believe after casting a minor cantrip of magic reading that the scroll is one of spirit weapon...hmm" Hound looks puzzled over the name. "At least thats what I think the spell name of the scroll is. I've heard of it and its a divine spell of battle, usually the summon weapon takes the form of the casters divine weapon. At least i think so."
As they move on, Hound chuckles as Ford actually causes a door to break.
At Alleran's observation, "I would say recently based on the contents on the table."
Hound takes the moment to listen into the room.
Ford tip-toed over the tripwire as he peered around the room, looking under the table and bed as well. Never knew what might be hiding underneath. "Which raises the worrying question: where is the owner of this feast right now...?"
Hound hears nothing.
Ford finds nothing under the table.
Zova, feeling she can do little more to aid the search by conventional means, scans the room using her detect magic spell. As the magic haze washes over her eyes, she realizes that she leveled up that she may once again have the ability to see the souls of different creatures. After scanning for magic she quickly does the same for both evil auras and chaotic auras.
Ford finds nothing of note laying around, and decides to continue on to the next door, testing it to see if it is locked, and trying to make sure it's not trapped or tampered with in any way.
The trap looks to have been reset in the last few days.
The height and length of some parts hints as a short race having set up the trap. Your past experience with Kobolds lets you you know that they use many traps like this to alert them of intruders.
No magic from this room, but you can see there is magic in the next room over. It feels like faint conjuration.
Nothing detects as evil or Chaotic.
The door is unlocked and you don't see any traps or tampering.
Hound follows Ford to the door and tries to listen through it.
Depending on what he can or cant hear. Hound will start casting detect poison. Focusing on the door and then sweeping the room.
|
"Hmm, this is new. Someone small made it and it's of a kind with what kobolds manufacture. We should probably be on the lookou..."
Alleran notices the two squirrels getting ready to cause more mayhem and quickly hisses at them. "Get away from there! Here's a trap, you think there won't be another?" Tiredly rubbing his face with his hand before lifting his tricorne and running his other hand through his hair, the trapper moves quietly to the inner door, searching the door for traps and, should it have a lock, moving very carefully to see if the door is locked.
Hound does not hear anything or detect any poisons.
Allean does not find any traps and the door is unlocked.
Ford nodded, carefully opening the door and keeping his weapon at the ready. "Oh, I'm aware. We competed with the little buggers for mining space back in the abbey. They're fairly unorthodox... but if possible, I'd like to try and talk to them before we starting bashing their little skulls. I always thought kobolds had too much potential as industrious little tinkerers to consider them pests..."
Ford waited to see if anything sprang out of the door, before carefully poking his head in and looking around.
Zova nods, gripping her bow tightly. "Aye, I'd very much like to avoid killing sentients, especially those who have such ordered societies like kobolds. True, some of them may be morally bankrupt, but at the very least, they have a clear sense of order."
his small cramped chamber holds two beds (one of which is covered in bird bones), a small sack, and an array of old tools. The other bed looks recently slept in.
Part of the array of old tools is a set of masterwork artisan’s tools (stonemasonry).
62 gp in assorted coins
and a single ruby gemstone worth 300 gp.
The shape makes it looks like it is one of the gems off of the anvil.
Zova's eyes take a prismatic hue as she searches the room for magic once again. open finding the sack, she searches the contents and find that the conjuration magic is coming from the gem.
"Over here. It seems like this gem not only comes from the anvil we saw... but also radiates magic. Can one of you perchance identify the spell placed on it? I am afraid I have no expertise in that field of study."
The magic on the gem looks incomplete.
Ford peered around the room, and once certain of its safety, steps inside. Ford spies the stonemasonry tools and smiles, picking them up and examining them. "Signs of a craftsman. Not sure if this belonged to the abbey long ago, or this room's latest resident, but the fact these are here tells me the room's owner has an eye for craftsmanship. If it's a kobold, that tells me he's at least interested in the craft..."
Ford smiled. He knew kobolds were industrious. The fact that this one may have the potential as a mason simply confirmed in his mind that kobolds were crafting creatures at heart. Perhaps... if he could convince a substantial group of them to side with him, he would have a very dedicated workforce to help restore this forge. The question was... how to do that?
Ford peers at the gem and takes it, examining the stone for all it was worth.
"...no. Or, more accurately, I can't tell with the gem alone." Ford said, handing it back to Zova. "Whatever magic is stored in it... is incomplete. You mentioned it might fit into the anvil, yeah? I have a hunch... mind you, it's only a hunch, but perhaps reuniting the two would unlock whatever magic is contained in this gemstone. Like... a magical conduit. The energy's in there, it just... needs to be released."
Ford pauses a moment, before leaning down to check under both beds.
Under the beds Ford only finds dust and scraps of moldy food.
He sees some tracks like the ones found in the hallway, but no sign off the creature that has been sleeping here. He does see a opening at the top of the wall leading into the hallway. A small creature could climb up and get into the hall or this room that way.
Ford stands back up, exhaling a little. He'd like to know if kobolds were here, but at the same time, if they were, they were probably being skittish and hiding to ambush somewhere...
"...whatever stayed here seems to be gone. If I may, Zova, I'd like to test that theory regarding the gemstone." Ford asked, before leaving the room and returning to the anvil altar. If Zova allows him to hold the gem, he'll place it in one of the slots that was carved into the altar and wait to see if it does anything. (Assuming nothing ambushes them on the way...)
Zova gladly allows Ford the gem, and sits back and watches as he experiments with it.
Hound observing whats going on with the group in this monastery. With the discovery of the gem, Hound shows real interest in it. Having no knowledge on the gem itself.
As Ford walks into the anvil room, Hound rushes into the room reaching out to place his hand over the gem.
"Ford, may I suggest waiting on returning the gem to its most likely home till we have the time to properly prepare for any eventual outcome." Hound looks around the room.
"Not that I wouldn't mind some additional help if it could provide such, but you yourself said that this temple was to a rival god if I'm not mistaken?"
After placing the gem, the sound of a hammer striking steel echos around the room three time.
As the 1st blow is heard, a rag in one corner of the room lefts and starts to wipe the floor.
With the 2nd blow, the room feels lighter and everyone feels refreshed. As if they had 8 hours of rest.
With the 3rd blow, the gem pops out of the anvil and both the gem and the slot it came out of glows lightly.
The rag is being used by an Unseen Servant.
The room also has a permanent Consecrate effect on it now.
The gem has one charge per day.
One charge can be used to cast Cure Light Wounds.
The gem still feels incomplete.
Ford looks back to Alleran, nodding as he then smiled at Hound. "He's right. I have faith that this will work out well. It may well catch the forge father's attention, and we could use some right now." Ford turned back, his smile fading somewhat. Truth be told, he was praying hard that he was right. He wasn't exactly sure what, if anything, would happen if he did this... he just hoped it would be good.
Ford jumped a little at the sound of the ringing hammer strikes, looking around the room and watching as it started coming to life! Looking back, Ford saw the gem pop out, and caught it, studying it and looking back around the sanctuary. He grasped the hammer pendant around his neck, asking Torag to enlighten him.
Ford suddenly beamed with pride, nodding at the others. "I knew it! Torag brought me here for a reason!" Ford pointed to the rag, stil grinning like a moron. "Not to worry. It's an Unseen Servant cleaning up. This whole area is under a permanent Consecrate effect, he might just be connected to the effect."
Ford looked down at the gem, before quirking his brow a little. "This gem... we can use it to cast Cure Light Wounds once a day. But... it's strange. The magic is still... incomplete. I don't know how to explain it, but it's like... something is still missing."
"My apologize at the mistake," Hound bows his head in both Ford's and Alleran's direction.
As the various magic weaves it's way throughout the room Hound jumps at the first ringing of the hammer blow. With a nervous reaction brings his blade around scanning the room. Seeing the rag take sudden flight. Hound begins to cross the room as the second blow rings out.
"By the battle spirits, what in 9 hells is going on?" Barely pausing he's just upon the rag when he realizes it's working its way across the floor, cleaning as it goes. Thats when he feels the magic radiating a warmth of safety.
At the last hammer blow, Hound makes his way back to the Anvil. Just in time to hear Ford's explanation of whats going on. "Well now, I have a feeling what didn't know we're here just found out," Hound starts keeping his eyes on the entrances to the room. "Shall we wait here for a time to see if anyone come to investigate. On another note, Alleran you wouldn't be able to rig the doors quickly with traps?"
Ford grimaces, before marching to the door with morningstar in hand. "We could wait, but I have no intent. I'd rather meet such dangers face on." Ford poked his head out into the hallway, checking to make sure nothing was coming to eat him.
"It's safe." he called back, before heading across the hall to examine the other door, across from the one he'd smashed in earlier. "I'm intrigued to see what lies around here..."
Looking inside, Ford finds a small chamber that was used to store the traveling cloaks, coats, and hats of visitors to the monastery. Now only a few moth-eaten rags hang on the pegs and a single soiled hat rests on the table.
Hiding in the southeast corner of the room is a single ironbloom mushroom. While not enough to save the entire town, the lone mushroom is a promising
start.
Ford peered around the room as he held his hammer pendant, grimacing a little, and was just about to leave it, when something caught his eye in the dark. It was dim, but he could see it! A grin crossed his face as he stepped further in to retrieve his prize.
Coming back out, he triumphantly held up the ironbloom mushroom he'd picked. "Found one!" he declared proudly, showing off his acquisition. "I was a little off. The forges must be right below out feet... but the little buggers are here!"
Clearly pleased with himself, Ford placed the mushroom safely in his satchel, patting it and looking down the northern hallway. "Come on. There must be more around here somewhere!" If nobody bothered to stop him, Ford will stroll down the hallway with confidence.
Zova smiles as her ally finds the single mushroom, lowering her bow in relief. "Well then that is mighty fine work thus far Mr. Benett. Still, we ought to be on our guard as we collect the others. We never know what we will run into here. The forces of darkness and chaos may be lurking around any corner..." She fiddles with an arrow nervously and her eyes suddenly shift into a crimson red hue as she scans around for evil, using a standard action every round to continue it.
This long hallway ends with a ruined dwarven statue. Smashed long ago, the statue is barely recognizable as a dwarven monk. His stone hammer sits on the ground next to the shattered remains of his head.
On the north side there are three doors. One at the far end near the statue, the other two on the near side.
On the south side there is only a door leading back into the court yard.
Ford peers carefully down the hall, and once sure it was safe, stepped out. Peering down at the monk statue's broken head, he frowned, before stepping up to the nearest door. Checking to make sure it wasn't locked, he twisted the knob and pushed it open.
Growling can be heard when Ford opens the door.
The stench of wet fur hangs heavy in the air. This small study looks like it has been lived in recently. Gnawed bones litter the floor and tuft of gray fur can be seen here and there. An old stone desk sits in the center of the chamber, scratched and cracked in many places. The growling is coming from a wolf stands on top the desk and a 2nd wolf next to the desk.
Hound readies his weapon as he hears the growl, approaching the door he gazes inside to try and find its source.
Upon hearing the growling, Zova raises her bow and gets ready for a battle. Looking at her surroundings, it was clear that these wre bloodthirsty beasts she was dealing with, probably looking for their next scraps of food.
Up closes you can tell this statue got the same treatment as the one outside. It was defaced.
The chamber to the north is entirely shattered, with much of the outer wall and ceiling completely crumbled.
A lot of bats have made that room their home.
There is some movement in the courtyard to the south, but in the darkness it is to hard to tell what.
As more people move near their room, the wolves growl louder.
Ford blinked as he came face to face with a pair of clearly hungry and irritable wolves. Great... just what they needed. More wild animals. Ford hated the notion of evicting these creatures from the home they'd made here, but if he was going to clean the place up, they had to go...
...or did they?
"Wait!" Ford whispered back to the others, motioning for them to pause. "This is their home... maybe they can be tamed, and serve as guardians for the Forge!" Slowly kneeling down, Ford grabbed the hammer on his neck, inhaling calmly and asking Torag for some guidance. Carefully, lowered his backpack off his shoulders and opened it, keeping an eye on the wolves. Slowly, he reached in and pulled out some meat he'd been saving for himself to eat, showing it to the wolves.
Darn... and this was mutton, too. I was looking forward to this... but if it saves us any undue violence. Ford cautiously placed the mutton hunk on the ground in front of him, sliding it forward in hopes that the prospect of food that won't fight back will draw their attention more.
Lowing his voice, "Wolves tend to be loyal creatures from what I've seen." Backing away to give Ford as much room as possible to do his thing.
Zova stands back as Ford decides to play with the wolves. Shaking her head, she turns to Alleran. "You see, when I brought Diana along, its because she was friendly to start. These things are bloodthirsty and simply looking to make a meal out of us."
The wolves ears flicker hearing the many voices around the doorway. As the party groups up around the door, the wolf on the table jumps to the side and into the side room. the 2nd wolf move back into the other room while growling.
"So whats happening in there Ford?" Hound edges back to the corner of the door as he hears the sound of the wolves fade back.