Saeri pulled out one card and glanced at it. "...Definitely bad." she said, a distinctly worried tone in her voice as she held up The Lost. With that, she started moving backwards, towards the entrance to the area and, ideally, away from anything that might be about to be all kinds of bad.
Chaia reached out and laid her hand on the odd egg. It was smooth, slightly colder than the surroundings, and a large fist made of solid rock burst from it and smashed into her face with nearly enough force to knock her out. The egg shattered, collapsing to rubble to show a vaguely humanoid form made entirely from rock and churning earth.
Haytham rushed forward and laid his hands on the elf, praying, "The Sacred Infirmary is open to us all." Chaia's wounds vanished, filled with a blood red light that faded to leave unmarked flesh behind.
The elemental gets surprise because, yeah...
Inits
"Oh, for F***'* sake", Janus exclaimed as he rushed forward at the elemental, his Falcata ready to strike.
"Oh, for F***'* sake", Janus exclaimed as he rushed forward at the elemental, his Falcata ready to strike.
[dice=Slash]1d20+8+2 [dice=Kerpow]1d8+4
Remembering how things had gone earlier, Saeri focused her gaze on the one Janus hadn't attacked and sent out an Evil Eye towards it, aiming to lower its defenses and make it much easier for everyone else to pile onto.
Lu followed in Janus wake, ready to strike a blow of her own. But that blow was, to put it mildly, a disappointment.
Chaia?
“OW!” A cry of pain burst from Chaïa’s lips as the force of the blow snapped her head back. Feeling her wound close almost instantly, she was very grateful Haytham was so quick on his feet: she quite liked her nose where it was, thank you very much.
Still reeling, she took a few paces back and hurled another one of her strange bolts at the creature.
With Chaia healed, Haytham advanced and slashed at the elemental. His blade cut deep into the churning earth and rock, sending dirt flying.
"Oh, for F***'* sake", Janus exclaimed as he rushed forward at the elemental, his Falcata ready to strike. Strike he did, a slash that knocked the elemental back as still more dirt fell away.
“OW!” A cry of pain burst from Chaïa’s lips as the force of the blow snapped her head back. Not particularly eloquent, but Chaïa’s reserves of dignity are boundless. She’ll get over it. :) Feeling her wound close almost instantly, she was very grateful Haytham was so quick on his feet: she quite liked her nose where it was, thank you very much. Still reeling, she took a few paces back and hurled another one of her strange bolts at the creature.
The bolt took the creature through its center, blowing a neatly round hole in it that stood for a moment before the entire body collapsed in a shower of dirt and stone.
With a moment's reflection, Chaia decided that it must have been an earth elemental. The egg may have been a form it took in some kind of dormancy, though she didn't care to think how long an immortal, tireless creature might take to become bored.
Though her wound had been healed, it still left a bit of a mess, and Chaïa paused to wipe a smear of blood from her face once the room fell still again. "So," she said, forcing a note of cheerfulness into her voice, "the Mountain of Doom's minions seem as friendly as one might expect. What with the bugs, that trap, those ice elementals, this one, does that just leave fire, really, for the next part of this place?"
"Sound, pure Force, the form of energy powering undead, ...", Janus feels compelled to continue Chaia's listing, in a fatalistic tone:"...please, if you must touch something, do give us a short warning so we can prepare for anything happening...can you do that much, Chaia?"
"Yeh." Lu agreed. "Especially if it is somezing that looks on fire!" She looked around in the small chamber again, though she didn't think there was much more in it. Unless it is all triggered by touch? "Hmm. Where next? Not so many choices ..."
"Yeh." Lu agreed. "Especially if it is somezing that looks on fire!" She looked around in the small chamber again, though she didn't think there was much more in it. Unless it is all triggered by touch? "Hmm. Where next? Not so many choices ..."
Lu found nothing new in the chamber, except some very fresh blood she believed to be elven, but on closer examination she believed that the staff the statue held was a separate piece and would make a serviceable weapon. She also believed the red metal pedestal on which the the elemental egg had sat might be worth some coin.
Mwk quarterstaff
Red metal pedestal that weighs 200 pounds worth 300gp.
Saeri glanced towards the bug hole and winced slightly. "Not sure that's worth it." she mused. "Shall we head somewhere else for now?"
"Sound, pure Force, the form of energy powering undead, ...", Janus feels compelled to continue Chaia's listing, in a fatalistic tone:"...please, if you must touch something, do give us a short warning so we can prepare for anything happening...can you do that much, Chaia?"
Chaïa nodded in what looked, for an instant, like contrition, but she brightened rather too quickly. “That’s fair. Although if I can give a general warning in advance, might we proceed on the assumption that if it’s mysterious and not obviously dangerous I’m likely to touch it at some point?”
“After all,” she continued, while Lu scanned the room one last time, “sinister runes aside, how often do you run into sculptures that hatch into malevolent elementals?”
In answer to Saeri’s question, she added, “Back up to the lantern room, I suppose, and then we can decide if we’re feeling bold enough to examine the indigo alcove more carefully.”
“After all,” she continued, while Lu scanned the room one last time, “sinister runes aside, how often do you run into sculptures that hatch into malevolent elementals?”
A thorough search of the level took some time, but revealed one new secret. In the room with the fountain and the pillar found a hidden catch on the pillar's face. After ensuring it was safe, and restraining Chaia long enough to be sure, Yellowknife's explorers tried the catch. A stone column, cunningly hidden in the pillar's side, rose ito the ceiling. Beneath it rested a crushed human skeleton wearing shiny silver chain and a crushed, dry leather sack holding the remains of three statuettes that somehow endured the weight: a grand palace, a slime spire with seven smaller towers connected to it, and a grand arena. Pressed to the floor beneath it were a pair of metal lenses connected by a fine bronze chain and two slim metal wands.
The statuettes are worth 200gp each
+1 chainmail
goggles of minute seeing
wand of unseen servant (16 charges)
wand of shatter (7 charges)
"Hm." Saeri said, looking up from her examination of the items. "Not too bad. Shall we call it a day and be content with this, or did you want to press on?"
“Well, imagine that!” Chaïa’s excitement was audible; all too clearly, the way the magic items’ auras interacted evidently affected her like even the scent of a heady wine could affect other sensitive souls. Still, the apparently mundane objects caught her eye too. “What odd little statues. Do you think they could represent real places? Something that might have been built in the area once?”
After a moment, she shook her head as if to clear it, and answered Saeri’s question. “Perhaps we should at least see what the climb looks like either up to that … ledge? in the blue alcove, or down the green? Just so that we can get a better sense of how we might want to prepare, unless anyone’s feeling particularly bold. I’m not much of a climber.”
[dice=Knowledge (arcana)]1d20+7
[dice=Knowledge (engineering)]1d20+7
[dice=Knowledge (history)]1d20+7
Chaia believed that the stadium would be possible to build without magic, unless it were all carved of a single piece. Its design reminded her vaguely of antique Calishite construction. She's read a few descriptions but doesn't know of any such structures still standing. The airy towers of the other statuette, if it's contemporary with the arena, suggest they would have been made or made after the images of structures from between a struggle or struggles -the chronicles she has seem sometimes refer to them as the same conflict, but other times treat them distinctly- the Wars of Air and Water, the Steam Clashes, the Ajhuutal Mutiny and the Era of Skyfire. Chaia is much more confident that the latter is a singular event stretching over most of an elvish lifetime because she knows of it by glancing references in the histories of the People.
That would make the carvings at least four thousand years old, perhaps significantly more.
Before stowing them away and moving on, Chaïa glanced down at the statuettes again, and something fell into place. “The Era of Skyfire… that would make these very, very old,” she murmured. “I’ve only ever seen mention of it in passing before. Now, where was it? It would probably be a good idea to put our heads together with our patron, I imagine...”
Having a new (and purely mental!) problem to cudgel her brains with, the volatile mage could easily be safely steered at the party’s direction.
"Could try to take a look at least. Just a quick one." Lu offered when their future course of action was discussed - after they had gathered the loot of course. "And-" she continued. "I'd rather go up zen down. Zat way zere is at least an easy way out yeah."
After getting some help getting out of her armour (not that she needed it - it was just that she was sure Janus *loved* helping with such things ...) and throwing the coiled up rope over her shoulder Lu was ready to give the brief climb a shot. "Pitons. Remind me to get some ..." she murmured to no-one in particular and then she was off.
Uninhibited by the weight of armor, Lu climbed the wall of the blue tunnel. Soon enough she reached the ledge she had seen from below. There she looked down a passage reaching into the shadows to the northeast.
Janus was most helpful when getting Lucrecia out of her armor.
Surely, she just imagined his hand gently brushing against the underside of her left breast when he lifted up the front plate of her armor.
At least, nothing in his behaviour implied otherwise...
Looking up after Lu climbing up, Janus tried not to get distracted:"Aye, Pitons. More rope, too...you see anything?"
"No much!" Lu called back down without taking her eyes away from the tunnel. "Another of zese tunnels. Hang on ..." She picked up the piece of glowing rock and threw it into the shadows.
"No much!" Lu called back down without taking her eyes away from the tunnel. "Another of zese tunnels. Hang on ..." She picked up the piece of glowing rock and threw it into the shadows.
The rock flew about twenty feet before slidding to a stop. It revealed still more tunnel reaching back, straight as an arrow.
"Yeah. It is a tunnel all right. Long tunnel." Lu grunted. With a shrug she looked around for anywhere to secure the rope and then rappel down to rejoin the others.
"Yeah. It is a tunnel all right. Long tunnel." Lu grunted. With a shrug she looked around for anywhere to secure the rope and then rappel down to rejoin the others.
The tunnel remained in good repair, but Lu found a few stones that had slipped out of place over the untold ages and fastened her rope to them. She descended without trouble.
"Lovely - unnecessarily long passages." Saeri mused. But then, she was a city girl... most things weren't built to be too much larger than necessity demanded. Not unless someone was showing off, anyway, but it did help to teach you about the creator's personality.
Chaïa cast a bemused glance in Saeri’s direction. “Aren’t most of the finer things in life unnecessary, strictly speaking? Hanali knows, I’m glad that’s no objection!”
She frowned down at her charred robes, the talk of finer things reminding her of the day’s misadventures, and things she would have to remedy once they returned to Daggerford. Chaïa tugged thoughtfully at a loose lock of hair as Lucrecia quickly descended to the group, and wondered aloud, more seriously, “Still, it does make you wonder what this place was for. It was a long way to put that workshop, or whatever it was, and it sounds like this section is also going to be rather stretched out. Do you think all of the alcoves that go someplace would be arranged like this?”
"Aye, unnecessary is good. The act of love-making would be displeasing indeed if reduced to the necessities of procreation.", Janus muses in reply, as he watches Lu descent.
For a moment, he blushes as he realizes his mind was wandering, and his eyes were staring, but he's back to normal by the time Lu is down on the floor again.
Quickly picking up the different topic, he answers Chaia:"Well, the prominent Sarcophagus does suggest some ritual place, something of religious relevance. Since we found a proper workshop, and elaborate mechanisms and traps, I don't think it's a tomb. Seems more like a proper temple complex to me. I mean, why go to the trouble of trapping that place downstairs for a tomb - if the work is done, they could simply have collapsed that section, or left it open...unless we missed something meaningful down there, there should have been no reason to secure the place, unless it was still in use when this place became vacant for whatever reason."
"To catch curious tomb raiders maybe?" Lu mused as she touched down and looked around for her armour. "Lemme get into zis and zen ... we gather our zings and return home?"
Satisfied for now, Yellowknife's explorers gathered up the orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet lanterns to add to the indigo they found elsewhere in the ruin. With them and the other findings, they returned to Daggerford.
The trip took rather longer going back than it had coming in, considering the extra baggage they carried. The lanterns proved bulky nuisances and the red metal pedestal took two strong backs to move at all. Shar cast her cloak over the sky a good two hours before the explorers caught sight of town.
Yellowknife listened closely to all his explorers had to say and examined the relics they brought forward with care.
"I'm sorry to say that this might be the product of any number of civilizations. The aeromancers of Netheril come to mind at once, especially in light of the Auran aspect you note at the site. There are some who believe they caged great elemental, earth to carve the tops of mountains away and air, locked in burning spheres, to invert and make those mountaintops fly. That would have been five hundred years ago, at least, but it has long been my suspicion that some bards got carried away on that point."
"Still, it is interesting that they come in those hues. You have seen them in the rainbow, of course. There are sages who believe all light is somehow made of them, so that they cancel one another out somehow by the union. I cannot say. No Art has carried me to a rainbow."
"If I had rubbings or a sketch I might be able to say more. Those are surely names, as you surmise. They might belong to architects, builders, lords on high... You describe them in places of prominence, so I wouldn't think them the work of vandals or rogue carvers."
"I believe Chaia has it right. These are of antique Calishite vintage. It is said they learned the art of slavery from beings of the sphere of air and otherwise copied their arts. A thoroughly despicable people, I must say. The statues you describe may depict such beings. I have read copies of scrolls that call the men who are not men, for the lack of the gendered aspect."
"And this settles the matter," Yellowknife said, hefting the staff and feeling its grooves. "The marks are far too precise to be chance. Praise the Binder and the Lady of Mysteries, we have found something truly ancient! This is a model of the Shattered Scepter of Calim. You have found the work of his Wind Dukes or something meant very much to recall it."
Yellowknife paused for a moment, as though that answered everything.
"Ah, yes, too much time with the scrolls. This is a founding legend of Calimshan, one of several. The Wind Dukes either came to the people of Calimshan in their most primitive state, or brought humans and perhaps halflings with them from the Sphere of Air. They founded the First Empire of Calimshan."
"The Wind Dukes' enemies followed them from the distant spheres, let by the efreet general Memnon who was either the son, lieutenant, or avatar of Kossuth, Lord of Fire. He came to the Realms to the north of Calim's empire and founded his own, Memnonnar. The two empires clashed for a terrible age, the Era of Skyfire. Their battles were so terrible that they turned the fertile plains of Calimshan into the Calim Desert, a dead land to this day. So great was the destruction that it roused the elves of the North against them. They descended upon the warring genies and slew them in a great working of Art. Calim then held his scepter, a mighty artifact forged in the heart of the Sphere of Air and quenched in the heart's blood of a forgotten god. It was too mighty to be contained, but shattered against the magic and its seven parts scattered across the planes."
"There are people in Calimshan to this day who go questing for the Staff, but I don't think any have found so much as a piece in many centuries."
"A sketch? Hang on! I zink I got one of ze portal glyphs." Lu started to dig trough her bag, sending a quiet prayer that she hadn't accidentally burned that parchment too when dealing with the swarm.
---
"Sooo...." Lu started, pinpointing the most important part of their employers explanation. "Why would anyone make a copy of an artefact to display? Museum or longing? Maybe ...?"
“Longing sounds likely,” Chaïa opined. “Even after it was lost, such a thing would be a powerful symbol for Calishite rulers trying to represent themselves more impressively. Or, could work on the complex have begun before the Sceptre was shattered?”
“Though, speaking of longing,” she added, as a troubling thought occurred to her, “do you think our rivals and predecessors have any idea of what they might have found? If we’re not the only ones looking for the Whispering Cairn, what are the others looking for, precisely? Given that the Seekers were involved, dare we hope that it was blind greed for whatever an unlooted tomb might contain?”