GM Engleaktig |
After a bit of time and careful concentration, Cornelia opens the door to the east. This new room looks like a shrine.
A large statue stands in the corner of this L-shaped room, depicting a tall feather emblazoned with a large open eye. Though apparently carved from stone, the statue gleams with a golden-green iridescence. A pair of stone doors stands in the east wall in the short leg of the L.
This is Room 3 on the new map
Knowledge(Religion): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24
Serwe identifies this as a depiction of the Peacock Spirit, a god of mind, body, and soul, whose worship ended with the fall of the Thassilonian Empire some 10,000 years ago.
Carved into the floor between the western doors and the is some kind of inscription.
Sir Dydimus |
Neat! Sir Dydimus folds up his blanket and packs away his food before moving into the room.
GM Engleaktig |
The doors to the east radiate with magic even stronger than the previous sets of doors. But, this is no mere Arcane Lock! Some bizarre form of transmutation magic is at work here. These “doors” are featureless except for a strangely shaped depression where they meet—examining the doors reveals they’re actually one solid piece of stone carved with a seam to look like a pair of doors. (Map updated)
Serwe Incantra |
"My friends,some strange magics emanate from this new door." Serwe informs the party. "Different than the others....no mere Arcane Lock"
Some take 10s, getting a feel for the door.
Perception: 10 + 4 = 14
Know Arcana: 10 + 11 = 21
Spellcraft: 10 + 9 = 19
Sir Dydimus |
Really?!?! Sir Dydimus rushes over to touch it.
Ethendril h'Caramore |
Ethendril looks around the ancient room.
"Well done with that lock," he says sincerely to Cornelia.
He takes a closer look at the peacock statue to see if he can make heads or tails of anything.
Take 20 for 24 total
After his search, he says "We may need to try one of those other doors...this one seems difficult to bypass."
Sir Dydimus |
That would look great in my hat!
Ethendril h'Caramore |
"Interesting...I did not think to find anything there," the paladin says as he examines the feather and runs a hand over a wrinkled brow.
"It may be a hat ornament, and if it serves no other purpose it is all yours, Dydimus. We will consider it your first share of the treasure we find. But before we award you this fantastic ornament, would anyone like to examine it and see if it does anything? I would not anticipate anyone would hide a simple feather in this compartment."
Sir Dydimus |
Maybe it held sentimental value.
Ethendril h'Caramore |
"I was hoping it would prove the key to this door," Ethendril says.
"Do we wish to use the chime of opening here, or should we go back to the first room?"
Cornelia d'Malheur |
Cornelia smiles with satisfaction at the click of the lock and the doors swinging open. She rolls up her tools back, stands, and then dusts off her knees (regardless of any actual presence of dust/dirt). "Thank you, lord h'Caramore." She offers the paladin a curtsy before turning her attention to the next room.
She eyes the statue closely and listens as Serwe explains its origins. "I wonder what such an ancient religious figure is doing here?" Cornelia ponders aloud. She withdraws her journal and begins taking notes about the statue while Ethendril, Serwe, and Dydimus ponder over the token.
After a moment she blows on the ink to dry and looks up as Serwe attempts the feather in the indentation. "If that does not work, then I suggest we continue with the other doors. Though I must say, what an odd puzzle to be a tomb. I wonder why our hosts declined to inform us of it's presence."
Her attention is drawn away from the odd door at Serwe's question, shaking her head she answers. "Unfortunately, my dear, I do not believe so. I feel we will likely need to locate whatever object is keyed to this door. Or we can attempt to use the chime; however, I am not sure whether that will work on this door or not." The young woman casts a simple orison to examine the door on a more intimate level Detect Magic.
Serwe Incantra |
"Indeed darling. Perhaps what you did to open this door will open one of it's sister doors in the same chamber. Come, save our Chime. Did I ever tell you about the Pharasmin tomb warden I met at the Archive's great hall? He told me a great deal about locks, though my strength's lie elsewhere..." Serwe weaves a yarn for the young acolyte, offering her some guidance from on high.
Guidance Cornela
Cornelia d'Malheur |
Cornelia runs her hand over the door once more as she listens to Serwe's story, a slight smile upon her lips. As the group retreats from the strange, magical door she removes her tools once more, prepared to ply her lockpicking skills at the next door on the list. "Now, it will take me a few moments to work this lock as well."
Take 20 on the left door as well. With Guidance that gives a total check of 28.
GM Engleaktig |
The next room looks like mirror image of the previous one--with a few differences.
A strange statue of a half-snake, half-human creature stands in a wide alcove to the south of two large stone doors. Comprising the lower body of a coiling serpent and the upper torso of a human woman, the statue has six wings and a disk containing a seven-pointed star in place of its head. Its crossed arms hold a quill and whip, and the entire statue is covered in verdigris. The faint outline of strange runes can be made out beneath the patina coating the statue.
Knowledge(Religion): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12
Like the shrine to the east, this room is dedicated to another forgotten god. Serwe identifies this deity as Lissala, goddess of runes, fate, and the reward of service. Like the Peacock Spirit, her worship was common in old Thassilon, but has died out in modern times.
(New map. This is room 5. All known doors are pointed out with red circles.)
Sir Dydimus |
So do I get to keep the feather? Dydimus asks while fitting it into his hat.
Ethendril h'Caramore |
"Yes, the most valuable share of the treasure goes to you, Sir Dydimus," Ethendril says absentmindedly as he begins searching the new room.
Having found a secret compartment in the last statue, Ethendril searches this new statue with equal scrutiny.
take 20 perception: 20 + 4 = 24
Are the doors on this side the same as the other side? (i.e. a wall that looks like a door?
Sir Dydimus |
Sir Dydimus puts on his newly decorated hat, So Ambrosius, what do you think?
The dog cocks his head to the side before laying down and covering his face with his paws.
Humph! What does a dog know about hats anyway?
Ethendril h'Caramore |
Before Dydimus can take the other feather, Ethendril hands it to Serwe.
"Do you want to check this one out, too?" he asks the little witch.
GM Engleaktig |
(Oh, no!) 1d6 ⇒ 6 (You lucky duck!)
Ethendril plucks the feather from the statue. As he does, his body is limned with a blood-red glow. The paladin feels even more virtuous than before. (Let me worry about the mechanical effect. There's nothing for you to keep track of, at the moment.)
It's obvious to everyone, even Ambrosius, that "something" just happened.
Sir Dydimus |
After the event Sir Dydimus is the first to break the silence. Can I have that feather too?
Ethendril h'Caramore |
Ethendril looks around, unsure what just happened.
"After Serwe examines it, most excellent halfling," the paladin responds to Dydimus.
Serwe Incantra |
"What was that? And what have we here?" Serwe asks, looking at the paladin's prize. If the party's luck holds they'd fill the halfling's hat with plumage before daybreak.
Detect Magic, Detect Poison
take 10 Know Arcana: 10 + 11 = 21 then Guidance myself
take 10 Spellcraft: 10 + 9 + 1 = 20
GM Engleaktig |
No poison.
This is another feather token (whip).
A token that forms into a huge leather whip and wields itself against any opponent desired just like a dancing weapon. The weapon has a +10 base attack bonus, does 1d6+1 points of nonlethal damage, has a +1 enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls, and a makes a free grapple attack (with a +15 bonus on its combat maneuver checks) if it hits. The whip lasts no longer than 1 hour.
But the glowy-magicky effect on Ethendril did NOT come from the token. It could not have... Could it? Hm...
Cornelia d'Malheur |
"How strange!" Cornelia quips at the strange glow that suddenly overcomes the paladin. She casts a simple spell to allow her to view magic and begins to look over the paladin very closely. Occasionally she pokes and prods him, picking up his hand and examining it in depth. "Yes, yes. The doors can wait, we should really examine you before moving on. That artifact could cause you some sort of disfigurement..." Ethendril notices Cornelia's lips twitching slightly as she speaks the last sentence.
Serwe Incantra |
Serwe asks for guidance from her Dark Mother, once again hooking her curve off evil spirits. Some of which appear to be pestering her new young friend. On occasion, the small wayang woman wards the air around Cornelia as well, swiping her dark little fingers through the air around the Chelaxian's knees and waist, as high as she could reach.
"I must admit, so far this is a true mystery. Feather tokens, false doors, arcane locks. I have heard it said that mysteries have a great deal in common with the quilt. Given 'nuff time both unravel eventually." the woodswitch remarks off-handedly.
Guidancing myself every so often.
Olga-Warpriest |
Gives a puzzling look to the wayang, I have a quilt that has been passed down for generations in my family, well over 300 years. I've never met one of your kind, so I am not sure of your life-span, but do you really want to spend that much time here?
Ethendril h'Caramore |
Isn't that what I was examining when the red glow happened to me?
"Should we try the door to the west?" Ethendril asks Cornelia. "It does not look as difficult to get through as the one to the east," he observes.
Cornelia d'Malheur |
After Cornelia examines the paladin, she turns her attention to the strange statue. Again she casts her spell to examine the statue magically, while avoiding actually touching it. "We should really speak with the Pharasmin about these strange relics. I cannot believe they did not warn us properly." She makes a tsk sound as she continues to shift through any magical auras on the statue.
Sir Dydimus |
They were probably afraid we'd tell them to take a hike!
GM Engleaktig |
After Cornelia examines the paladin, she turns her attention to the strange statue. Again she casts her spell to examine the statue magically, while avoiding actually touching it.
There are six different auras in effect, here: evocation, divination, enchantment, abjuration, necromancy, conjuration. You're pretty sure the conjuration effect fired on Ethendril. But you don't know what it is/was/will be.
Cornelia d'Malheur |
Cornelia turns and smiles at Sir Dydimus. "I believe you may well be correct, Sir Dydimus." As she begins to sort through the various magical auras, Cornelia hums a wordless tune softly. "Fascinating. I wonder what this could mean..."
After a few moments she turns to the rest of the company. "It seems this statue is imbued with six different magical auras; evocation, divination, enchantment, abjuration, necromancy, and conjuration. From what I have observed, I believe Sir Ethendril was affected by the conjuration magic. Unfortunately, I am unable to determine exactly what the effect was from the magic. We should keep a very close on you, sir. In the meantime, I suggest we do not touch this statue again."
She smiles and pats Ethendril on the shoulder. "Until something happens, I suggest we continue on!" With that she approaches the nearby door to determine if it is locked or not.
Sir Dydimus |
Do you think it summoned something inside of him? Dydimus asks while looking worriedly at the Paladin's abdomen.