Mortika's "Citadel of Flame" (Inactive)
Game Master Chris Mortika

James is silently pulling up the rear.

Seeing the others pasuing, Shel takes a deep breath and steps to the front. "I'll see if there are any traps. Stay a good bit behind me, ask Moulini what can happen," she tries to joke, and hide the nervousness she feels.

She carefully examines the statue and its surroundings, looking to see if there is a trap she can find. If so, she tries to disarm it, if her friends are back behind her.

Shel steps into the room and crosses carefully to the statue.

(Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14)

One of the torch sconces has a hole at the bottom, at about eye level. It appears to be a peep hole that would allow someone in the center room (the room with the tile floor, hidden behind the small door) to see into here.

(Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25)

The idol, the table, and the corner of the room appear untrapped. Shel estimates that the statue weighs about 40 pounds.

i'll pick it up and pocket it covertly..

Pick up and pocket what, Moulini?

"There are peepholes all over this damned place. We are being watched everywhere we go in this place!"

"lets cover that one up... also when your done with the statie i wouldn't mid having it for my collection" i state to Shel trying to figure out where the hole is...

"I will make sure that they will not be able to use their eyes once I get hold of them.... grrrrr"

Traps are mot always magic, contraptions, or poison. Maximo says, staying close to Shel, ignoring her suggestion to do otherwise. Sometimes they consist of evil monkeys ambushing you from banana trees.

"You are certainly brave, Max. But you might be out of your mind, you know. Well hopefully you are good uck, and we don't get blown to pieces."

Gryne pulls out his Hammer and strokes it with a blessing. It has been a while old friend. Let those that accompany us feel your comfort and those opposing us hear your battle cry
Gryne readies for imminent battle and stays near James to support him while he watches the rest of the party.

"You know, I know I saw him in the last peep hole. Further, I am afraid that who ever it is, he can chase us around all over this place from that passage. Finally, we have started a hole in the wall so we can access his secret corridor. Somehow, I bet his secret passage is significantly less trapped than the rest of this infernal place. I think we should throw that grappling hook through that hole, and see if we can pull down enough of that wall to let us in to the passage. Perhaps we should check the next couple rooms before putting in the effort, but if it appears that this entire place has peep holes...."

Hadassah is trying to stay between Maximo and Gryne whenever possible.

Anybody who wants to discuss pulling down walls should make a Knowledge (engineering) check.

"Let's not immediately assume whatever watching us is hostile, we are after all possibly invading their abode"

Here's what 'common knowledge' can tell you.

You might be able to take down a wall, but

• Some of you have heard engineers talk about a "load-bearing" wall. If this is one of them, the entire structure could come down.

• It's one thing to kick in a little wooden door. Pulling down a masoned wall that has stood the test of centuries is much more difficult. It would have been best if you had brought chisels for the mortar and sledgehammers for the bricks. Your best bet may be to, as Hadassah suggests, use a grappling hook and rope, and tie the rope to your horses outside and use their strength. You'd want to hope that the wall gives way before the rope snaps or the grapple fatigues and gives way. (It would be much easier to take down a wall that's already cracked or crumbling.)

• The major concern is probably time. The citadel is obviously occupied, and you haven't given that occupying force a chance to react to you. Taking down that wall will be loud, and will take the better part of an hour. It would be unrealistic to imagine that the current residents would not use that time to their advantage.

So, you might be able to take it down -- you are certainly free to try -- but expect the defenders to act accordingly.

Current locations: Shel, Maximo, and Moulini are in the southern room with the 3-foot bull-headed idol. There is another door in that room, heading east.

Hadassah, James, Gryne, and Azatoth are in the main reception room (the one with all the pillars and the bonfire) There is a small window into the center room, and a door on the northern portion of the eastern wall. There is also a door at the top of the spiral staircase.

i think lets continue forward as in down this way

Might I suggest we clear the room where we sprung the fire trap, since whomever is up there is certainly aware of our presence.
Gryne looks to James.I hate to have James so occupied with what may be coming at us from behind that he cannot help our front line fighters.

"hold on one second, please," Shel tells Max and Moulini. She pokes her head back out the door and calls to the others, "Let's stay together. With all these possible traps, we don't need to get separated too much. I'm fine with looking in either room,but safety says we should all look through that room together."

Nodding his head"I agree let's stay together"

i'm thinking that the room is down here

Azatoth nods to Gryne "I agree now when we have fried some of our comrades with that trap then we should at least make sure to check what they are soo keen to have guarded"

"I know nothing of traps. If the one near the door is sprung, it makes a certain amount of sense to explore there before whoever has a chance to re-arm it. On the otherhand, this path seems clear. I will follow either way, but I strongly suggest we listen to the rogues' opinion."

Hadassah uses her time while the group decides which path to take to survey the room

"I'm fine with checking the room where I was toasted earlier. There is a chance it could have reset, and that would be very bad. But I'm in if that's what the ret of you want. Keep in mind, we found a small bull headed statue in the next room, though. It looks interesting."

"They're hiding something if it must be trapped "

Hadassah: understood.

The rogues and Maximo step back into the main room and the party proceeds up the stars, James and Gryne taking up the rear.

The squat stone door at the top of the stairs remains cracked open. Shel pushes it in further...

and a wave of heat rolls out of the area beyond. This entire citadel is warm, but the space up here is hot, between 130 - 140 degrees. (That is, between 55 and 60 C).

Directly above the flame, at the level of the chamber’s ceiling, is a wide capstone concealing the interior of the hall’s large minaret. The stairs wrap around the capstone and end in a small landing adjacent to an egg-shaped enclosure suspended inside the minaret. The chamber’s exterior walls are wreathed in smoke flowing in wide ribbons toward the minaret’s peak.

The room itself is dark and bare of any furnishings, although the walls are decorated with a large mural of the Qadiran desert -- several cities are marked, but others are obscured -- and a second large mural that’s a perfect copy of the face of the small idol downstairs.

The ceiling is covered in arcane sigils, and there are bloodstains on the floor.
(Hadassah's Knowledge arcana: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11)
(Gryne's knowledge arcana: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21)
Gryne, the sigils mark this place as the center of a ceremony requiring a blood sacrifice. As yet, it doesn't look like the effect is active.

Looks as if this has been used as a blood sacrifice and may be prepared to do so again.

Might I request a perception check to see if there are any documents underneath the murals or hidden within the room and a perception check on the egg.

Wow pretty hot in here moulini state sweat pooring off her head...

Gryne looks about for any hidden work or materials.

Normally, I'd advise taking 20 for something like that, Gryne, but you are literally being cooked in this room, so you might not want to take the ten minutes or so it would require to search an area this large that thoroughly.

Perception 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23 -- The inquisitor doesn't find anything hidden in this room, but does get the sense that something about the mural is gradually shifting. One of the Qadiran sites that had been visible has faded from view, and another one has taken its place, elsewhere on the mural.

Whew! I think I actually prefer the desert to this. Maximo stays close to Shel, keeping his shield and hammer at the ready. Although he believes himself to be quite perceptive, he is easily distracted, and often misses details right under his nose.

This looks familiar... He says, pondering the mural of the face for a moment before looking around the room.

If someone came up here, where did they go?

Is there another exit from this area?

Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13 ; a brief but careful scan of the room does not reveal any other entrances or exits. Indeed, this room seems to take up the entire minaret that you saw at the top of the building before you stepped inside.

(Oh, and Gryne,

Is there anything else you want to examine up here, or are you headed back to the passages to the east downstairs?

To both rogues"Where to next ladies?"

This mural seems to be shifting like the eyes we saw downstairs. This Qadrian site has shifted in place of the previous site. Pointing at the mural. A quick knowledge check for the Qadrian sites importance/significance Feeling the heat, Gryne steps out of the room.
Phew Brushing his brow, Gryne takes out some parchment and chalk and draws a crude sketch of the mural emphasizing the changes.

Well there is certainly magical forces at work here, let's share this info with the rest of the party.

Upon catching up with the party downstairs, Gryne will share the knowledge of the murals with a crude sketch, showing the changing Qadrian sites.

(Craft [cartography]: 1d20 ⇒ 16) Gryne draws a reasonable map of the Qadira mural, backed up by his written descriptions.

Knowledge [geography]: 1d20 ⇒ 20 -- Gryne, some of the locations on the map are given unusual prominence or obscurity. For example, Dimayen, a struggling village in decay, is represented prominently. But there doesn't appear to be any pattern to the favoritism. (For example, it's not the case that centers of Moloch-worship are given emphasis.)

Hadassah approaches the room from the rear, "Let me take a quick look, heat is not so hard on me."

Hadassah removes her silk rope from the her pack. I will tie this around my waist, and check around the fire since we cannot see what is behind it. I will be talking to you the entire time. If I shut up, pull me out!

"Looks like we have covered this room," Shel says, mopping her brow with the back of her hand. "Which room do the rest of you want to search next? I am quite sure they are all trapped, so one's no better than the other to me," she utters as she steps back out the the super hot room.

Azatoth looks at Moulini "Your right Moulini, there are indeed some hotness in here". Azatoth eyes Moulinis fiery red hair and at that moment he is notices that she indeed are a quite beautiful lady.

Azatoth becomes surprised by himself and quickly says "Any room will do for me as long as we progress forward since I have some unfinished business with these critters occupying this place"

Gryne wonders if this map could be a battle strategy or course of action.
I'll have to keep my eyes open for other subtle hints as to the intentions of our inhabitants here.
You ok Hadassah? Hoping she is, because Gryne is not too comfortable with heat.

Gryne uses Create Water to fill a water flask and offers it to the party members. Drink up. We need to stay alert in here.

Hadassah: the fire isn't blocking sight lines in the room at the top of the stiars. The bonfire from below warms up the egg-shaped contraption, which channels heat throughout the room. The smoke from the fire rises around the outside of the room and out through vents near the ceiling.

(Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4) You find nothing new in the room at the top of the stairs.

There are two doors downstairs: a brass-decorated door in the main room, on the east wall near the north corner, and an eastern door in the room with the idol of Moloch.

"How about we check the door in the room with the idol? If that leads nowhere, we can check the other door, off shooting from the main room downstairs," Shel suggests.

Shel will search either door, looking for traps, moving the group back if she finds one, then trying to disarm it.

I agree with Shel, now that we know the room upstairs is clear....well clearish
The allure of magic is always difficult to turn away.

Hadassah stows her rope and slips her pack back on, then follows the others back down the stairs to the next room.

"To the idol room?"

Hadassah nods at James. "Aye, I think that best."

i would agree... On Ward! to the idol room Moulini states leaving the heated room of doom...

"After you Moulini, and Shel." While we are sweating bullets, Hadassah seems unaffected by the temperature, interesting

(Moulini's Trap-finding Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16)
Shel's Trap-finding Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18)

Neither rogue finds any traps on the door leading east.

The room with the idol is 15 ft north-south, and 20 ft east-west. The door leading east is ten-ft wide, in the north corner of the east wall. The idol is on a table right next to it, in the south-east corner.

I'm assuming that the rogues are standing next to the door as they check it for traps, Shel in the north-east corner of the room and Moulini between the halfling and the idol.

Where are Azatoth, Hadassah, Gryne, James, and Maximo?

Wiping away the trails of sweat pouring from his brow, Maximo stays just behind Shel. When the all clear is given for the door, he steps up beside her.

Moments like this call for a certain reversal of chivalry, my lady. He says with a crisp bow. If you would, please allow me to enter first.

"If you want to go ahead, Max, feel free. Nice to see that chivalry isn't dead." I really hope I didn't miss a trap, or Max is going to be really sore at me!

James will proceed to take the rear, looking out for any possible encroachment from behind us.