Thistle has a close look at the body. It looks like she's been dead for three days, having died from a cardiac arrest. She's wearing mustard-colored robes, and a brooch of the goldenfire order. In fact, her description closely matches that of Tiawask, Jharun's companion.
Bruce investigates the statue and detects two separate auras: one fro the statue itself, the other from the flickering star in its hand. It looks like it can be removed.
Caranthir investigates the eastern hallways, which holds a similar statue: an ancient Azlanti warrior, her hands positioned as if casting a spell. Her left hand is held palm out, revealing an empty, star-shaped depression.
Another inscription reads:
“Eternal is the Seal of Estrekan. Eternal is her vigil against evil.”
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Thistle's shoulders slump ever so slightly as he realizes who this woman is.
We have failed, in a way. We could only rescue one.
He grabs the brooch and reverently unclasps it from the woman's robe. He rolls the robe up carefully and places it in his pack. He then carefully picks up the body and brings it back towards the elevator, saying a prayer to whatever god listens to him before laying her down and covering her face.
Turning back to the task at hand, he looks around for clues as to why Tiawask was continuing to delve this far into the spire's depths. Was she still looking for a way to escape? How did she make it through the denizens that he and his companions had laid waste to, which was no easy task? What had she learned about this strange thread of power that seems to go deeper and deeper into the earth?
Eventually he grasps the flickering star in the statue's hand and walks over to the spell casting statue. Making sure the others are ready, he places the item into the depression, and looks around, waiting for something to happen.
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Caranthir can make nothing of the other inscriptions, and returns to join the others.
Upon seeing what Thistle has found, he says "These are dangerous depths she explored. It is not a surprise, I suppose. We will see to her burial on our way out."
The elf looks at the doors blocking their way. "Bruce, would you do the honors?" he asks.
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Thistle nods to Caranthir. He is saddened, though he isn't sure why. Lost potential perhaps in this mysterious young woman. A life not yet completed. He takes a deep breath and moves back to the matter at hand. The star piece and the matching depression.
Yes, more to do. They were close, he could tell.
Thistle takes the star-shaped magical stone from the western statue, leaving the depression in that statue empty. He then places the stone in the depression in the statue. The sculpture glows briefly.
The double doors to the north end of the room look to be warded by some magical seal. Some part of the runes are now glowing, mostly to the east side.
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Thistle speaks up, something he is uncomfortable with, not being able to hear his own voice.
"We have seen several of these stones throughout our trek through these halls."
As if to accentuate his point, he takes the star shaped stone and places it near his forehead, concentrating on the statue of the spellcasting knight, trying to will himself to appear just as the azlanti warrior.
Bruce identifies the star-shaped item as an eastern star ioun stone, a red crystal cut in the shape of a five-pointed star, which helps the wearer understand all languages ().
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The light bulb finally goes off in Thistle's head regarding the cardinal directions of the ioun stone, and the location of the statues and depressions.
Thistle places his Western ioun stone in the western statue, then checks back on the door to see if the runes on that side light up and open the door.
Thistle remembers the crystalline star he took off the fallen automaton master Klarkosh, and puts it in the western statue's hand. In the center corridor, the rune flash brightly then fade, a creaking sound signalling the unlocking of the door.
The doors open to reveal a huge room. Two ramps against the east and west walls lead to a ledge that runs along the north side. Two enormous statues of a wizard with a bristling beard loom from floor to ceiling in the southeast and southwest corners.
A third statue made of metal stands still in the middle of the room. The eyes of this last statue are large spheres of polished quartz, the size of a human head. When the group enters, the statue swivels its face down to glare at the door and thunders, “Who dares intrude in the domain of Nhur Athemon? Begone!”
Four humans - they seem to be neither alive nor dead - are bound to the floor with chains. They bow and scrape in front of the metal statue. Their mouths and eyes are sewn shut.
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Thistle feels the resonance of the booming statue's declaration, but with no lips to read, the words are lost on his deaf ears. He absorbs the sights, the crystalline orbs, the statues and the groveling subjects, and looks for the hidden aspects of the scene in front of him.
There is always someone behind the mask or curtain.
He steps in, narrowing his eyes to help his already sharp vision. He looks for something, or someone, who might be controlling this massive statue.
Thistle tries to smell out the presence of anyone in the room, but all he notices is the grinding, ticking sound of something inside the largest statue. Bruce sees it for what it is: a huge, animated clockwork leviathan. As the party lingers, the statue makes it moves against the intruders.
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Caranthir
Bruce
Fellgrim
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Construct
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Thistle
Jelani
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Caranthir rapidly readies his bow and fires before the construct is well into motion. His first two arrows damage the plating of the statue, just before the third goes off-target. Bruce looks at the creature, identifying weak spots.
Fellgrim readies his bombs, and throws them out as soon as the construct moves. He hits the leviathan, dousing it in flames. Despite the powerful blast, the construct doesn't seem to be much worse off when the smoke dissipates.
When the smoke does dissipate, though, the construct has moves into position to exhale a jet of vapor and heat, making it the adventurer's turn to be doused in flame.
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Thistle
Jelani
Caranthir
Bruce
Fellgrim
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Construct (53)
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Resist Fire 20 - 40 minutes
Protection from Evil - 4 minutes
Bless - 10 minutes
Shield of Faith - 10 minutes (net gain of +2 deflection bonus)
Mutate - 100 minutes (+4 STR, -2 INT, +2 AC)
Enlarge Person - 10 mins (via wand charge)
Holy Weapon Balm on Earth Breaker (Next hit)
Expeditious Retreat - 10 mins
Fellgrim spontaneously heals 28/35 HP and drinks his Haste extract.
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Thistle nearly sees the blast of steam to late to do anything about it, but is able to throw his cloak over his head just in time to shield himself from a good portion of the blast. Even with his magical protections, the heat seeps into the cracks in his scales causing him to sweat and causing a few red welts to appear on some of the exposed portions.
In defiance of the construct and its jet blast of heat, Thistle releases a pulse of divine light, bathing all of his companions and repairing the damage caused.
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Caranthir seems out of position for once, and takes the full brunt of the fire effect. It burns through his false life spell, and it is only thanks to Thistle's magic that he isn't more seriously injured.
The elf responds with a counterattack of his own, drilling holes into the side of the construct with his arrows.
Fellgrim and Thistle can only react to the statue, but Caranthir remains steadfast despite taking the brunt of the steam attack head-on. Two more arrows bore themselves into the construct, causing steam to vent from all sides.
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Thistle
Jelani
Caranthir
Bruce
Fellgrim
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Construct (110)
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Bruce makes it past the snapping jaw of the construct, but takes a blow from the tail
The construct grabs Bruce in a stranglehold, but fortunately this is when jelani moves his feet, and pounds down on the brass armor, smashing it to bits.
The humans do not move against the pathfinders, nor do they make any sound. It soon becomes apparent why, as their mouths and eyes have been sewn shut.
The floor is strewn with the debris of the construct, gears and springs lying everywhere. In the middle of the pile of cogs and sprockets is an intact clockwork heart, still rattling away.
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Thistle catches Bruce's eyes, then nods to the clockwork heart. He is quite confident that the enterprising man would be very interested in the device. He is curious himself, to be sure, but that could wait until the smarter of the men in the group could give him answers.
Until then, there was the matter of the slaves. He moves to each of them, touching their shoulders and helping them to their feet. He gently touches their faces, inspecting the cruel surgery and looking for ways that it might be undone. Having spent so much time without the ability to hear, he sympathized with their loss. While he couldn't hear, he could still at least see the beauties of the world. He could communicate, something that these poor souls would struggle with, at least at first.
"If you can hear me, nod your head." he says in his warbly voice.
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"Is there ought you might do for them?" Caranthir asks.
"If not, perhaps it would be a mercy to put them out of their misery."
As Thistle tends to them, the elf begins making a circuit around the room, starting on the north wall and continuing clockwise until he has investigated all the walls thoroughly.
The chained men just seem to cower as Thistle speaks, lowering their heads and covering it with their arms.
Thistle has a closer look at the wounds on the bound men. The sewing doesn't seem to be recent.
Bruce has a closer look at the heart. It's about the size of an ogre's fist, and a constant thumping comes from tiny mechanisms that whir and grind inside it.
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Thistle does his best to calm the fears of the cowering servants. He even casts a small spell that is usually earmarked for his companions when they face great fears, hoping it will help to calm their fright.
We cannot just set them free, they would be unable to find anything in the lands above the spire unless someone was there to show them the way.
Thistle stands and stretches his back and looks around. The mutilated slaves wouldn't get in the way too much down here, and so could probably be left right where they were while him and his companions continued to delve deeper into the area. He catches Jelani's lips moving and reads them as he speaks, nodding along.
He takes out his smooth, worn board and writes on it, half taking notes for himself, and half for the other's benefit.
"Clanky, The giant magnet, Klarkosh..." he jots down a few that come to mind quickly, knowing full well he hasn't covered even half of what they have come across.
"Who would care so much about all of this technology?" he muses. "Numeria isn't far from here I suppose, could this all be linked?"
Caranthir notices that the statues on the west and east side of the room have sockets in their belt, into which the eyes of the destroyed leviathan may well fit. He also hears a chanting coming from the north side.
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When Caranthir points out the obvious puzzle pieces, Thistle moves to assist. He takes his mace and a dagger and sets to prying out one of the eyes while someone else works on the opposite. As soon as it is free of its current sconce, he holds it aloft, his curiosity overcoming him.
With a shrug of his shoulders eventually, he moves to one of the statues and inserts the device into the belt socket, then turns to see what happens when the other one is inserted.
The chanting from the north part of the room is lost on the deaf Nagaji, but he has come to trust his companions to notice such things.
Caranthir and Thistle each insert an eye into the statue. Both of them notices a mechanism unlocking a passage - it seems like the statues can be slid aside.