Attilio climbs down the rough-hewn wall of the pit, and steps around the spikes carefully until he reaches Vogma's huge, still form. He administers a potion which brings her back to consciousness.
Also, having descended into the pit, he gets a closer look at the bundle of cloth at the bottom: it looks to be a finely made, dark blue cloak with a gold trim.
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Vogma swears in a mixture of Common and Orcish...
"Holy gruknuk! I got a spike right up my graknak...and it hurt like rugugu. Thank you, Attillio for rescuing this damsel in distress. You my knight in padded armor! Ooooh look, a dark blue cloak with gold trim."
Vogma grabs the cloak, climbs out of the pit...
...and says:
"Look. A cloak. I bet it's magic. Bard, can you tell what this is?
Vogma hands the cloak to the Izothu (or whoever will take it) then turns around to make sure that Attillio got out of the pit. If he needs help, she assists.
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After the initial shock of nearly losing Vogma passes and Izotu helps the big half-orc out of the pit, he pulls out the wand from Jinara's pack.
You look like you might need a little more patching up! Izotu says with a smile.
The bard then takes the cloth and examines it intently.
About 30 feet past the pit, around a corner, there is a large plank of wood, roughly three feet wide and longer than the pit. Besides the glowing blue fungus on the walls, there is nothing else.
The tunnels continue on, leading deeper beneath the Kortos Mounts until they eventually open into a large cavern. What must have once been beautifully carved reliefs and inscriptions have since weathered heavily, their features dulled and softened to the point that it is hard to distinguish what each once depicted. A wide tunnel exits the cavern on its far side, and blue-burning torches line the passageway’s walls.
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Bobbette stops by the cloak, "You do realise that this cloak must be very magical, because I cannot see what magic benefits it gives its wearer. A cloak of extreme power."
Bobbette takes time to look at the inscriptions on the cave, "Hmmm, interesting she says, I'm not sure but .... " her voice trails off as she thinks deeply.
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Well, it seems that these caves are empty. Either there was never anyone here, or they vacated the premises as soon as they heard us coming. A mile away.
Anyhow. What are these carvings about? We should try to draw them as best we can so that the society's experts can decipher them at their leisure. And perhaps map the cave for later reference as well.
Attilio looks over the carvings, trying to discern enough detail to sketch out.
The carvings here are different in style from the petroglyphs found elsewhere in the caves. Scattered throughout the cave are inscriptions from the History and Future of Humanity, the principle holy text of Aroden, and images that depict these passages. The carvings focus on parables that feature Aroden’s 12 guises, meant to illustrate his hopes for humanity. Only four of these parables are still decipherable. The Initiates also identify that the sections of the holy text depicted are slightly different than those that appear in the known version of the History and Future of Humanity, suggesting that these might represent an earlier version of the work.
There are four parables still legible an recognizable:
The Beggar is depicted kneeling with an alms bowl raised high, representing Aroden espousing humility in all, lest they forget their shared humanity.
The Fisherman is depicted hauling in an enormous catch of small fish to take back to Absalom, illustrating Aroden’s declaration that a great host of creatures could accomplish a great task, whether that be taming the wilds or feeding a nation.
The Merchant is depicted weighing and trading coins of different sizes, a reference to the holy text’s proverb that peace brings trade and prosperity to all people.
The Tailor is depicted sewing together a long cloth of featuring many patterns that wraps around a city like a moat, referencing Aroden’s proclamation that when the fate of all peoples is woven together, it shall be humanity’s greatest strength.
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These tell a story of the lost god, Aroden. They are very old and tell a somewhat different story then what Izotu Hyr has heard. The bard says and reaches for his bag, Izotu Hyr will make some drawings to take back to the Society. They may be interested in the story they tell.
Izotu Hyr takes out a small stack of parchment and scribbles some notes with a piece of charcoal. Once completed, he follows the group towards the blue burning torches.
Pausing briefly at the first torch, he examines the flame while quietly reciting a sonnet.
The soft light of the surrounding fungus mixes with the flickering glow of the nearby torches to reveal a grand chamber. A large pool of water along the chamber’s southern edge reflects the blue and green radiance to illuminate the massive stalactites that cling to the ceiling overhead. Two other tunnels branch off from this area, leading to the east and west.
Rising up from the pool is a column of rock with steeply sloped sides and a flat top, as if someone had sawn off the top of a massive stalagmite. A miniature city carved from this same stone occupies nearly the entire surface. Tiny trinkets such as ancient coins, polished semiprecious stones, and ornately braided loops of string are scattered throughout the diorama, and pale cave frogs clamber atop it. The smooth cavern floor is covered in gravel and pebbles along the edge of the pool, and several foot-long centipedes prowl among the gravel in their search for prey.
Here the cavern’s ceiling stretches 20 feet overhead and is crowded by dozens of stalactites, some measuring 10 feet long from base to tip. Despite the impressive geology, the cave’s focus is the sloping, 15-foot-deep pool and its tiny city.
Kneeling in the water up to mid-thigh is a lone gillman. As the Initiates step into the cavern, casting blue, flickering shadows over the pool, he briefly turns to look at them. He appears to be a ruddy older humanoid, with a tall wrinkled forehead that rises up to thick, wavy dark hair. His eyes are a piercing blue, and three-slit gills move gently on either side of his neck. After examining the group, the barest hint of a smile plays at the corner of his lips, and he turns back around without saying a word.
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Izotu Hyr agrees with you, Culsar. That does look like Absalom. the bard whispers. It also looks like Vogma found one of the gillmen's cloaks.
He steps forward and bows deeply in the direction of the gillman.
Ho, friend! Izotu Hyr and friends wish you well. Izotu Hyr says with a smile and loud enough for the gillman to hear. Izotu Hyr wishes to know more about your clan. Izotu Hyr asks for your permission to sit together and tell the stories of our people.
The gillman smirks at the group, apparently amused, but says nothing and remains in his pool. It does indeed appear that he has an interest in the cloak from the pit, his eyes following it as Vogma transfers its ownership to Izotu.
The gillman's smirk turns into a genuine smile as Izotu speaks, his eyes flicking back and forth from the cloak to the oldest (or at least the oldest-looking) Initiate. He rises from the pool, and returning Izotu's bow, speaks: "I am sure that that garment belongs to one of my people--a shame that they have lost it." The gillman's voice in punctuated with small releases of air from the gills on either side of his neck. He also has a strange accent; although he sounds not so much like someone who is not a natural speaker of Common; instead, his words are pronounced somewhat clumsily and fat-tongued, although there does not appear to be anything wrong with the aquatic fellow's mouth.
"This is a generous gift you give me to return to whatever fellow has lost his cape. Ah, but I have not introduced myself. I am Uori, and I am a pilgrim to this cave. This is a site sacred to the gillmen. It was once sacred to Aroden, the dead god of humanity, as well, but over the past century, the carvings in the nearby room have weathered and melted. Soon, I believe, Aroden’s influence will have faded completely. If you'd like, I can try to help you discern what the carvings to the north chamber signify--assuming that you haven't already figured them out yourselves."
Uori approaches Izotu, and accepts the cloak from him. He wraps it around his own shoulders, and fastens it with a silver clasp. He smiles again, looking to the bard and the energetic Aryn. "I was not expecting to find such polite greetings on my pilgrimage, once I reached the pool. Certainly not any who were not gillmen, in any case. Please, accept this as a token of the good will between us; it should keep you safe in times of need." He reaches into the folds of his dark blue robes, and pulls out a wand, which he explains is a wand of shield of faith.
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A broad smile forms on Izotu Hyr's face. He hands the cloak to the gillman and bows deeply when he receives the wand.
Izotu Hyr is honored to meet you, Uori. Izotu Hyr recognizes some of the stories of Aroden, but the carvings are too damaged to read completely. Izotu Hyr didn't know the gillman worshiped Aroden or this was a sacred place to the gillman. Izotu Hyr speaks slightly slower and tries to enunciate his words.
Is all the cavern sacred? We would like to pass through, but don't want to disrespect the gillman.
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"How do you know?" Aryn asks Vogma. She voicing the question with her hand in front of her mouth, pretending to scratch the bridge of her nose.
"Nice to meet you, Uori," Aryn says after removing her hand, "I'd love to learn more about this place. If you're willing to help us, I'd much appreciate it. What makes this place sacred for the gillmen, Uori?"
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I believe that you are correct Vogma, but given that Uori cannot hear your words, it would seem rude to prevent him from seeing your face when you speak. I expect that he most likely is already aware that he cannot hear, so it is not as though it is a secret to be preserved from him.
Uori, are these caverns sacred to your people on their own, or is it Aroden's influence that makes them important? What will the gillmen do once it fades completely?
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Vogma notes narrows her eyes at Attilio Sennas .
"I don't appreciate the scolding, half-elf. Keep it friendly 'tween party members, them's Pathfinder rules."
Vogma then smiles at the gillman and bows slightly.
"Greetings, Uori. I am the Mighty Vogma. These are my friends, and Izotu Hyr here is a good man."