Baskir shrugs, 'Who knows what you'll find under a woman's skirt?" He laughs to himself, as Tekk frowns and Ankraten blushes a bit.
Tekk turns back to the heavy door and says, "Maybe when it is closed it is supposed to be hard to open, from the outside at least, Maybe a safety feature?"
Tekk's comment solidifies a thought that had had been bouncing around in her head. She smiles at the paladin while ignoring Baskir, "You've given me an idea, Tekk. You've convinced me that it's worth a try seeing what's on the other side of the trapdoor. Maybe there is an easier way to open it from the other side. There's only one way to find out."
Focusing on her armor, she begins to become more fluid and she loses her solid form. She oozes her body through the cracks of the trapdoor.
It is an odd feeling, becoming an amorphous blob. Shalina feels...thick, oozing. The world ripples around her as even her eyes turn to sludge. Tekk jumps back, making the holy symbol of his god on his chest. 'Are...are you ok?" he says, even as Shalina starts to slip between the door.
Baskir doesn't react except to narrow his eyes, as if merely cataloging this new found power. She does catch a trace of worry, as if he is unhappy to find Shalina more complicated then he wished.
The world goes black as she slides past the door and re-emerges into a dark and dusty stone stair. She quickly reforms into her normal shape, and there is a moment or two of reorientation required.
The area is pitch black and she has to use her magic to light the gloom. The stone stairs lead down, made of dull blue stone. Above the heavy trapdoor rests, blocking all light and air.
However, at hand is a heavy looking lever.
Shalina sits in the stone chair and focuses on her breathing as she solidifies. "Whoa," she says to the air around her. "Now that was a trip."
As soon as she's able, she begins to examine the lever. It wouldn't do to have gone through all that and not be able to open the trapdoor.
With a little elbow grease and some time to think it through, Shalina manages to get the trapdoor open. Her first view is the concerned faces of Tekk and Ankraten. With a smile and a mock bow she says, "Ta da!"
As she re-appears, Ankraten takes a step forward but Tekk holds him back. The paladin's face is suspicious, 'And how do I know it is really you? I've been in these situations before..."
Baskir has his hand on the butt of his gun, light but ready to draw.
Shalina is a little surprised by Tekk's response. "Really? You've been in a situation before where your friend melted through the floor only to reappear through a trapdoor as someone else? Tekk, it's me, Shalina. How do you want me to convince you? Tell you about how we first met at your oasis? Tell you about the rust monsters that almost ate your sword? How about the scars that I saw that are under your armor which were revealed when we both almost died fighting a demon? Take your pick and I'll tell you whatever you want to know about our time together."
The paladin's face softens and he relaxes, 'I just meant people going out of sight....I don't trust anything in these places you drag me to." he looks more then a bit sheepish at his reaction.
Baskir however nods, "Good instinct. Don't trust anyone. "
Ankraten just shakes his head and says, "Is it safe to go down?"
Shalina cocks her head to the side. "I appreciate you being cautious but really, who would want to impersonate me?"
She looks around at Ankraten's question. "Honestly I don't know. All I had a chance to do was sit in the chair and then work the lever. But we're supposed to go down so we go down. If it's not safe, then we'll make it safe. If you would all care to join me, I think it best if we close the trapdoor behind us to prevent anyone from following us."
As usual Shalina uses magic to light their way and she goes first looking for traps and hazards.
[ooc[ Sorry for the delay. I promise to prevent them going forward...[/ooc]
Shalina leads the way but there are no trace of traps on the descending, dark stairs. They are dusty, the air bone dry. Shalina has the feeling no one has come this way in a very long time, but that it was once a major corridor. The stairs are wide, deep and well-made. Even after the presumed centuries they are still perfectly sound.
Tekk marches behind, his armor heavy and loud in the utter silence. Beside him Ankraten walks along, eyes swiveling constantly. At the rear Baskir walks, surprisingly stealthy and soft, his worn boots barely making a sound.
Then they come to a round stone room. Empty except for a few faint carvings on the walls. Instantly Ankraten falls to his knees, face sober.
"This is a holy place, or it was. Those markings are the oldest and most powerful of my order. I was only just learning about them..." There is old script under the images of Sun and Dove, and Shalina squints. It is Osrion but an old dialect. Only Tekk can read them, and even he haltingly.
"This is the Chamber of Watchfulness." He reads, 'That is all. Mean anything to you?"
Ankraten shakes his head and Baskir adds, "I think their watch is ended."
Shalina's brow furrows in concentration as she mentally searches for anything she's read about any Chamber of Watchfulness.
Looking around at the supposed dead-end, Shalina murmurs, "There has to be a hidden door or something down here. I find it hard to believe that someone would build such a well-made stairwell which is protected by a nearly impossible to open trapdoor if there wasn't something important down here." She looks at Ankraten somewhat sheepishly, "Other than it being a holy place, that is."
"Ankraten, you said you were just learning about the markings. What precisely were you being taught?"
Shalina has never heard of such a place, but that isn't surprising. Obviously this was some secret gathering place or Ankraten's order.
Shalina scans the room and soon finds a partially hidden trap door. On it are more old words and Tekk reads them,
'Beware, all ye who enter here. Beyond lies the Beast.'{/b] Then he stops and in his own voice, [b]'Beast here means 'creature' not 'animal'. A very evil connotation."
Ankraten looks to Shalina, "Oh, the history of our Order. The very foundational lessons and stories. I think this may be where the order was founded, after they smashes the artifact and put the Spawn to sleep..."
Shalina slowly shakes her head, "That doesn't bode well. Tekk, you said that 'beast' has an evil connotation. What other creatures would that word have been used to describe? On a scale from evil to really, really evil where would it fall?
"Ankraten, is there anything in those history lessons that may be helpful now?"
When he mentions that they were the ones who smashed the artifact, the vision that Shalina had when she felt ripped apart came back to mind. She describes what she saw in her vision to Ankraten.
To the side, more robed figures, those of the victors, stand around a roaring fire. As if walking, but not walking, Shalina moves toward it, the world shifting around her.
Then the figure pulls the object from the burning forge, and it glows white hot with heat. With a shock Shalina realizes it is the gong she has been painstakingly reassembling. Then, with a quick motion the figure dunks the white hot metal into the River Sphinx, the lifeblood of Osrion.
Huge gouts of steam fill her vision but she can still see the water churn and boil. Then the item is pulled back out and it is shattered into the same pieces Shalina has seen before. The figure holds the broken parts about his head in triumphant victory.
"Were those robed figures part of your order?"
Tekk ponders the words and says, "The most evil. I think they mean the Spawn itself, Shalina, not some animal below. This must lead to the center of this evil sleeping thing."
Ankraten listens carefully to Shalina's words, "They probably were. My order was founded int he fight against the Spawn and the Cult of Rovagug who served it. After they destroyed the cult and put the Unholy First to sleep, they lived on, a vigilant watch to prevent it from happening again."
"Well, that went well.' Baskir snidely remarks, looking at the stone walls.
"If that's the case," she snaps at Baskir, "then what does it say about the person who gleefully kills all the people whose purpose in life is to prevent the very thing he's now trying to stop? Didn't think your actions through very well, did you? If you'd only kept your gun in your holster, we wouldn't be in this mess."
Turning back to Ankraten she asks, "Did you hear any stories specifically recounting how your order was able to defeat the cult?"
Shalina takes a long look at the trap door. "I guess the only thing left to do is open the portal to really, really evil."
Even though she knows it's their only path, she hesitates. After everything they've been through, she's uncertain they'll survive and she doesn't want to face their deaths even if it's necessary.
Unexpectedly, she hugs Ankraten and then Tekk. She musters a genuine smile for the two. "Thanks. I haven't had a dull moment since meeting you. It's been my honor to fight by your side and to call you dear friends."
Steeling her resolve, she walks over to the trapdoor. "Now let's do this." She takes a close look before touching it or attempting to open it.
Baskir doesn't even offer a snide remark at being ignored but stolidly waits. Tekk embraces her back, his armor not very fun to be squashed against.
The trapdoor looks unlocked and uptrapped, and is thankfully not a giant slab of stone, instead very old metal.
Looking up at Tekk she asks, "Do you want to say a prayer or something before we go in?"
Shalina breathes in deeply through her nose and blows out through her mouth. "Here goes nothing." She reaches out and lifts the metal trapdoor.
The paladin nods and takes to one bended knee. Bowing his head he intones, in his raspy, desert worn voice, "Oh, Old Gods of Osrion. You see all, from the humble beetle crawling over the most distant sand dune to the rise and fall of the River. Nothing passes your gaze. Keep your eyes upon us as we go forth to defeat this great evil which assault both you and your people both."
After a long moment of silence he says, "Let us hope they are listening. Can even the Gods hear us in this evil place?"
The door opens soundlessly, ancient hinges well oiled (or kept by magic). It reveals yet another darkened stone stairwell, well trodden in the past. The air flowing out is very dry and very cold.
Shalina stands respectfully as Tekk says his prayer. She then contemplates his question. "I have to believe that they can hear us even in this place. Otherwise it means that the evil is greater than the gods and that would be very disheartening. I mean, if they can't stand against the evil then how could we? But, in believing they hear us then we still have a chance."
Shalina peers down the steps and shivers as she's hit by a blast of cold air. "At least no one has been this way in a long while. Either there's another way down or the cultists don't know about this place. That's slightly encouraging."
Making sure her glaive is magically lit, she says, "Same drill as before. I'll go first and keep a look out for problems."
They file behind as Shalina leads the way, looking for traps. She finds none, but she does see long disused brackets in the wall for torches and signs of old magical lanterns. A few old signs and symbols are carved here and there on the walls.
Ankraten peers at them then says, "These are the signs of the dead." A pause and he looks around, 'Somewhere close by are the fallen of my Order."
As they go on the stairwell levels out to a smooth passage, made of close cut stone. It slowly widens until the walls vanish into inky blackness, outside the scope of Shalina's lights. All around the world is a perfect black sphere, although the cold air is the same....Shalina detects a dry, dusty smell of old stone and rotting linens.
Tekk coughs and says, "How can you be sure we are going straight without the walls? We are like an ant walking across the surface of a plate."
The smell of rotting linens in conjunction with Ankraten's earlier comment about the fallen being near, Shalina believes that the space they've entered is probably a tomb.
"If my studies have taught me anything, or the stories I've been told, it's that those in the past were very ingenious with lighting systems. We saw brackets for torches and lanterns along the way. This suggests that there has to be a way of lighting this place, we just have to find it."
Shalina is sure she has heard of this in other Osrion tombs (or at least in notes by other explorers). She turns back and examines the other brackets behind them, but they are empty and old.
Just as she is about to give up, she sees a faint glimmer on the wall just as they start to fade into blackness
Going to it, it appears to be an empty lantern of some type.
Shalina feels the familiar rush of excitement when something she reads about in history comes to fruition. She eagerly takes a closer look at the lantern to determine how to light it. With a voice full of enthusiasm she muses, "Maybe this is it. There's only one way to find out."
After some examination Shalina decides to cast Light on the inside of the lantern. As she does so the item instantly blazes into a blindingly bright white light. As she suspected this light is caught by a series of mirrors, which lit up the area. Even Baskir whistles at the quick change from pitch black to near daylight.
It turns out they are all in a large room dotted with massive stone coffins. From end to end, they lie quietly at rest, in neat rows. Each one is carved in the likeness of the man or women buried within. Some are warriors dressed in armor, others priests and priestess, a few merchants. It is like an entire small town buried here.
At the far end is a heavy black steel door.
There is no trace of the Spawn here.
Shalina takes in the enormity of the room with awe. "To see such a thing untouched, unmarred by plunderers is truly amazing. If we weren't trying to stop the end of the world, I could spend days down here. What's even more encouraging is that it remains untouched by the Spawn's taint."
As she takes in the variety of vocations respresented, she turns to Ankraten somewhat perplexed. "I thought your order only consisted of monks. Yet these fallen include armored warriors as well as merchants. Did your order start out as something different?" Her voice takes on a sad note, "If that's the case, then that's a piece of lost history. Such a shame."
As they move throughout the room, Shalina keeps a sharp eye on Baskir to make sure he doesn't disturb anyone or anything. Not that she has any thoughts of disturbing anything, she wonders if there was anything contained in this room that could help them. She begins to hum as she walks, looking for magical auras.
Ankraten simply shrugs, "I do not know."
Shalina sees every coffin is surrounded by a faint magical aura, very dim. She can't read the names carved into the resting places and even Tekk struggles with them. Ankraten seems to be caught in a reflective silence, pondering his Order, of which he was the last.
At one coffin, showing a sleeping man dressed in the simple robes of a scholar or sage, Baskir pauses. The gunslinger leans down and remarks, 'Pearls. Big ones." and goes to remove one.
"Stop! Don't...touch...anything! Unless there's a huge sign saying 'you must take this to stop the Awakening' then you don't touch it...understand? Not only is it disrespectful, you could trigger a trap set for unscrupulous grave robbers." Shalina doesn't mention the magical auras around each coffin but it wouldn't surprise her if something was in place to discourage touching.
As Shalina goes to slap his hand,t he gunslinger's hand catches her instead. The move is more of a blur then anything else, hands honed to speed after long hours of training. His grip is firm, although Shalina feels she could break it if she wished.
"Now, now. We are working together, I'm not one of your pet dogs, like those two." His horrible melted face fills her vision, his one pale eye glittering in the light. He pulls her close, his voice a low gravelly sound. Shalina can smell a mix of gunpowder, sweat and old leather "Say please."
Shalina doesn't break Baskir's gaze or his hold. Smiling a fake, sweet smile that never reaches her eyes she says, "If your delicate ego requires that I say please then I'll oblige. Please, don't touch anything. These resting places are surrounded by magical auras - probably to discourage unwanted touching." At the last of her words, her eyes flick down to where he's touching her.
The gunslinger merely squeezes tightly, grins then glances at Tekk over her shoulder. The heavily armored paladin's sword is half out of his scabbed. Tekk doesn't look angry, merely questioning, at Baskir's glance. His stare seems to say, Shall we?
After a long moment Baskir lets Shalina go and stands up straight, "So no looting? Very well. Lead on." A nasty grin as he adds, 'O Glorious One, or don't you go in for that anymore?"
With the fake smile still in place she reiterates, "Yes, pleeease no looting."
She turns to lead on when Baskir callously references Fylor. She pauses mid-step and her fist automatically balls into a fist. A memory of her punching her less-than-scrupulous brother in the face flits through her mind and she remembers how satisfying it was. But she wasn't going to give Baskir the satisfaction of getting a rise out of her. She whirls to face him but only gives him a cold smile and shrugs, "Not really. It lost its appeal awhile back." Then she pauses before adding, "You know Baskir, you remind me a lot of my brother."
The gunslinger looks a bit confused at this non-sequienter. After a moment the pale eyed man recovers and says, 'Was he devilishly good looking as well?"
"It's like you're twins," she says dryly. "But it's more like you're both reprobates that make me want to punch something whenever you speak."
The gunslinger chuckles dryly, "I've always preferred shooting folks in the back then punching them in the face. Much higher rate of success." he glances at Tekk and Ankraten and adds, 'besides, the odds are a bit stacked in your favor, so save me the tough talk. Shall we go on?"
Shalina shrugs, "Perfect example of the old idiom of catching more flies with honey than with vinegar. Not my fault that they'd choose me over you."
Shalina moves up to the heavy steal door and takes a closer look to determine how easy it would be to open.
The door looks heavy and imposing but doesn't seem to be trapped or locked.
Ont he door is raised lettering, old and grimy. With great difficulty Tekk and Ankraten piece the words together.
'It seems to be some sort of test." Tekk says, "For those who seek the Beast within. Ankraten guesses it was a trial for the initiates in his order many millennia ago." The paladin shrugs, 'Doesn't give much of a clue of what is on the other side. We think we are close to the center of the Spawn however."
Shalina tries to help read but the lettering but is at a loss. "Good thing you guys are here to translate. I thought I was good with old languages but apparently I was deluding myself."
She looks at Ankraten questioningly, "Any idea what this trial would entail? What did you have to do as an initiate? It couldn't be that different, could it?"
Shalina goes to open the door. "We didn't come this far to quit or fail. Whatever test faces us on the other side of the door, I'm up for it. It can't be much harder than rotating rooms or poisonous spiders, can it?"
Ankraten shakes his head, 'I never did anything like this. For all I know this ritual was ended thousands of years ago or was only used for those in this sect. Perhaps they trained more warriors in those days?"
At Shalina's question Tekk says, 'Are we allowed to at least hope the test is out of order after no repairs for millennia?"
Shalina raises an eyebrow at Tekk and gives him a lop-sided grin, "You seriously think that something as important as a test protecting the entrance to an evil beast like the Spawn will ever be out of order? That's pretty poor execution on their part if that's the case."
She looks at them all, "I can go and you can stay here. If I make it then maybe I can come back for the rest of you. If I don't make it then one of you will have to try."
"Not even allowed to hope?" Tekk says, sighing.
At her remark about going alone, Ankraten simply stares at her while Tekk laughs. "I don't like Toth would approve of me abandoning you at the end."
From t e back, Baskir says, "I'm not letting you out of my sight, tomb-breaker so don't even try it."
"Tekk, you can hope all you want. Far be it from me to take that from you. Just don't be disappointed when we're faced with the test."
Shalina is relieved when the three of them express their intent to stay with her. She would have continued on her own but is glad that she doesn't have to. "Awww, you all know how to make a girl feel wanted. And for the record Tekk, it's not abandoning me if I offer to go alone. But if we're all going then let's go. Brace yourself, lads."
The archaeologist takes hold of the door handle and opens it.
As Shalina takes hold she feels a slight tremor in the door. It is very faint but there is rhythmic...thumping, reverberating through the dark door. The archaeologist hears nothing but the sensation lingers as she opens the door. No one else seems to have noticed anything.
It reveals a round room, made of silent stone. The air is cold here, but not as dry as the crypt behind. The floor is smooth flagstones, and empty except for a vast pile of bones in a corner. Across the way lies another door.
Above it, are more words in that old script.
As Shalina peers in, she hears a very faint sound, like the beat of a distant drum, barely audible.
"That's weird," Shalina murmurs as she feels a rhythmic pulsing through the door. As she leans in and hears something similar to what she just felt she says, "That's even weirder. It almost sounds like a heartbeat. I hope that's not true."
She points at the far door, "Can either of you read that?"
She looks suspiciously at the pile of bones in the corner. "That looks like trouble."
The distant beat continues on, muffled by distance.
Tekk and Ankraten peer at the distant door but shake their head. 'Not from here.'
The floor is patterned with symbols of the dove they saw above, but she notices no pattern or message. The walls are bare but she does note there is a raised area, like a bench, along the outer wall.
Wanting to collect as much information as possible before stepping into the room, she turns to Ankraten and asks, "The symbols of the dove on the floor, do they mean anything? Up above the doves lead us to the trapdoor based on their wings. Is this something similar?"
Ankraten scans the floor but shakes his head, "It looks to simply be a decorative pattern but who knows what knowledge has been lost?"
Shalina shakes her head sadly, "And that's why I'm an archaeologist. I'm trying to prevent that kind of knowledge from being lost. History needs to be preserved so that past mistakes aren't repeated."
"I have no doubt that there is something challenging awaiting us in this room. I fully expect that pile of bones to come to life but maybe I've read too many stories. What I do know is that I'm going to take all the help I can get. This time my usual magical light won't be sufficient." Shalina begins to hum an intricate tune over her glaive and soon it is glowing with a brighter light which helps to augment her mind and all her senses.
Taking a steadying breath, Shalina takes a look at the floor and takes a test step into the room. She doesn't fully transfer her weight until she's certain the floor is solid.
The room brightens in her flaring light, and Shalina can see it used to be brightly painted, but the colors had faded to black over the long centuries.
Unsurprisingly, as soon as she steps, old gears turn to life. The entire floor except the outer ring of dove covered stones sinks a few feet into the floor. It creates a sort of terrace bowl, with the bench being the outer rim and now a raised stairs where she is standing.
The pile of bones moves a bit as the ground moves beneath it, but it certainly doesn't come to life.
Tekk looks hopeful, "Maybe it died after so long?"
Distantly the drumming goes on, a far off throb.
Not wanting to damper the paladin's spirits again Shalina agrees, "Anything is possible."
She looks around the room. "There must be a reason for such a physical arrangement. People would not go through such an effort to put in the necessary mechanisms to move a floor if it wasn't important. The dove covered stones seem the friendliest to me. I'll try staying on them. Unless the floor keeps moving down as we step forward. Anyone have an opinion on which way I should go?"
No one adds anything, so Shalina takes a step forward to the next dove. Again, the center of the floor sinks, making another terrace fall into place.
A few bones scatter about and Tekk offers, 'Maybe when it was alive, the idea was to fight it? The moving floor might simply been an extra challenge?"