Between Gorloth, the spiders, and the fire, Yasmin is not feeling well at all. She's had enough, and runs out of the room!
The grizzled warrior wretches his trail rations onto the ground, splattering among hundreds of burnt spiders. Barely able to maintain a hold on his weapon, he is simply unable to make any cohesive attack.
Rallos supports Ea.
The feeling of acid within his blood makes Rallos break into a cold sweat even as the temperature in the room rises.
Emarald, Yasmin, use your magic to blast the spiders. Grayface, with me!
Emerald runs into the room, the fire from the burning webs extinguished on the eastern side of the room...Whispering words of encouragement, Emerald slides the healing wand from Ea's belt, waves it over her and, seeing Rallos struggling, tosses it to him.
The bone priest, oddly mute for a time, slashes at Ea one more time,
Meanwhile the Spider Swarm continue to crawl over and feed on the party
Emerald moves around Grayface and, her hands starting to smoulder, reaches out to touch Gorloth…whose flaming eyes are fading fast...
Sensing-or hoping- that the end is near, Ea whispers between her bloodied lips
Welcome to your tomb, Gorloth. Pharasma will judge you.
A pulse of gray energy silently overcome the undead, closing on him as the loving arms of a too long abandonned wife
Ea’s prayers, whispered as she struggles under the swarming spiders, are the final words that Gorloth ever hears. He screams in desperation as the flames within his eye sockets finally extinguish and, as the necromantic energy dissipates, his burnt and cracked bones clatter to the floor…
can someone do something against that damn spiders, please?
Theres a sense of urgency in Ea's words
Deciding on the fly that his weapon would probably have little-to-no effect on the swarm of tiny creatures, he steps away from the nasty congregation.
Having fled from the spiders, Yasmin is able to regain her composure. "Still agitated, Ea?" says the sorceress with a malicious pleasure. "Don't worry - I can handle cleanup." Flames begin to materialize between her hands as she walks with deadly certainty toward the remaining company. You get the distinct feeling she's going to blast the area where everyone else is standing!
As Grayface and Rallos rush out of the room and with Ea sheltered from the worst of it, Yasmin pours flame into the chamber....burning every last spider to a smouldering pile of chitin... The webbing towards the north of the chamber burns for a minute or so but doesn’t spread or put you in danger.
There is only one other exit from the chamber, the door in the northern wall.
Back in Gorloth's room and examining the table of 'offerings', you discover four longswords, a highly polished dagger, a buckler, an intricately decorated belt, a porcelain flask of dark liquid, a flask of acid, and four small leather belt pouches. One of the pouches contains 16 gp; another contains 25 gp and 12 sp. The third holds 77 gp and 8 sp, and the fourth contains a small emerald worth 50 gp and a pair of six-sided bone dice.
Wounded though he was, it didn't prevent his glee at seeing the pile of arms, armour, and valuables. "Look at this stuff, this is excellent. I'm sure we'll get more than a few gold for..." His sentence trailed off and his eyes began to wander. He suddenly remembered that the skeleton lord wielded a blade akin to his own--a bastard sword.
Grayface ran back into the room where the remains of the spider swarm and the shattered boned lay upon the floor, looking for the sword. Finding it resting on the floor, he picked it up to give it a warrior's appraisal. He also kicked around the bones on the ground, making a cursory search of the body for any valuables.
I think we need to rest....that poison is getting to me.
Ea will use her magic to cure some of Rallos wounds, silently
Then the priestess goes to the table, presses two fingers on each of her eyes while praying to Pharasma, and then will take the time to assess the value of their loot
With a small smile, she says to Grayface
I believe Pharasma will see no offense if we take Gorloth stuff by "right of conquest". I personally thank you for your help in defeating this unholy foe.
But when he starts kicking the bones, she stops her, as gently as possible
I'd like you to show proper respect to the bones of the finally deceased, Grayface. Remember he was a very dangerous foe, but now only Pharasma can and will judge him. I want to bring his skeleton back to the Fort, and bury it properly in the cemetary. That way, people will know it will no longer be a threat, and they will know that any necromantic activity will be punished by my clergy.
She touches the skull of Gorloth, tracing with her finger the spiral of Pharasma
When she has finished collecting the bones, she comes back to Rallos and says
When we'll be back to the fort, we need to buy some healer's kit to treat poison and diseases, and some alchemic fire to harm swarms.
Grayface’s inspection of Gorloth's remains reveals a vial of silvery fluid, a thumb-sized cylinder of greenish glass and, from around his neck, a key on a fine chain. Gorloth's sword is also a fine treasure (hefting it in your hands, you recognise it as a ).
Ea, tasting the liquid in the porcelain flask discovers it to be a Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds....and then, appraising the other items on the bench determines the following:
- Longswords have a value of 15GP each
- The Dagger is of Masterwork quality and has a value of 302GP
- The Buckler is well used and would struggle to fetch more than 5GP
- The Flask of Acid is worth 10GP
- Gorloth’s sword has a value of 335GP
Furthermore, there are several magical auras coming from items on the table:
- The Belt, which is intricately decorated with images of bears, has a Moderate Transmutation Aura.
- The vial of Silvery Fluid from Gorloth has a Weak Transmutation Aura.
- The Cylinder of Greenish Glass has a Moderate Conjuration Aura.
But Ea is unable to determine the purpose or use of any of the magical items.
Ea, touching Gorloth’s long dead skull feels the brief chill of awareness as she learns more of her defeated foe. Gorloth was a Bone Priest, an undead servant of an evil god, condemned to continue serving for decades or centuries after death. In life, bone priests were acolytes or underpriests who failed at some difficult task or fell in battle against powerful enemies of the faith. Their dark gods have rewarded their fanaticism by giving them another chance to demonstrate their worthiness.
I'd like to take this magical belt, if no one disagree. This...
Ea shows the porcelain flask
is a stronger version of the healing draught we're used to. It might come in handy.The other vial, I'm not sure. I sense some feeble transmutation magic in this silvery fluid. The cylinder got a more potent magic, of the conjuration kind. Maybe a spell to call something into being. If Emarald or Yasmin want to get a look at the magic items, including the belt, feel free to do. As for the mundane items, Gorloth's sword and this dagger are of exceptional quality. The rest could be bought, or sold, anywhere.
She pauses
I've learned that Gorloth was what is traditionally called a " Bone Priest", an undead worshipping evil gods, but who failed its unholy master at a crucial moment and get, in my opinion, punished by unlife. The Bone Priests see that punishment as a reward and an opportunity to redeem themselves, to fight again for their perverted beliefs. There are resistant to piercing and slashing weapons, immune to cold as every skeleton, and they retain their spellcasting ability, which makes them dangerous foes.I'm glad we have been able to put Gorloth to its eternal rest.Fate smiled upon us.I suggest we go back to the Fort right now, while we're still able to stand.
"We don't even know what the belt does. For all we know, it'll turn the wearer into an undead." Yasmin inspects the items.
"Well, I can't tell what this belt does either," she says, tossing it aside. "Same for this silver vial." She lingers much longer on the green cylinder...
With confidence and without a second thought, Gray sheathes his new masterwork bastard sword.
Gray had used his sword since the day he earned his freedom, when he stole it from a slaver and left bodies his wake. But practicality always outweighed sentiment, so he placed his previous blade amongst the other recent acquisitions. "This new blade is excellent."
He furls his brow, "Hmmm, as we don't know what magic the belt holds, we probably shouldn't be staking claims just yet. I agree with Rallos, I think we could use some rest. It's been a hard day."
So the question that remains unanswered is: do you want to rest here in the Spire or do you want to go back to the Fort?
Ea finishes collecting Gorloth's bones
The fort might be the safest bet. Then you can also figure out what these items are. And I can get something that will help me smash undead....blasted things are blade-proof.
Yes, Rallos, we should get you a light mace, or something like that. But remember that other undead, like zombies, are nealy immune to blunt weapons, and so don't discard your blade too quickly. There are times when my morningstar will not be much useful. A few vials of holy water would come in handy against the restless dead too.
Emerald takes a look at the items liberated from Gorloth but draws a blank as to what they are.
Yasmin, examining the glass cylinder, determines that it is made of very similar, if not identical, glass to the spire that pierces the ruins above – it appears to be some form of key that responds, in some way, to vocal instructions…the conjuration aura that surrounds the cylinder appears to be similar, in many ways, to that of a Dimension Door.
As Emarald can offer no more information on the nature of the magical items
Well, thank you for trying, Emarald. That will need more research, that's all
It's strange. Ea seems less cold in her attitude towards you, now that you helped her destroying Gorloth and his abominations.
It may not be much, but I'll call one last time the blessing of Pharasma upon our mortal flesh, after that tough fight. Our time to die will come soon enough.
When using detect magic or identify to learn the properties of magic items, you can only attempt to ascertain the properties of an individual item once per day. Additional attempts reveal the same results.
"Strange - I bet this glass cylinder is a key to teleport somewhere. But how to use it. If only we could ask Gorloth."
She tucks the cylinder away.
"From the looks of our map, there shouldn't be too much more to this level. Why don't we finish mapping it and then return to town?"
As you wish, Yasmin.May I suggest we use the curing wand on Rallos, Grayface and myself before any more exploration, as we suffered the most in Gorloth's attack?
Mapping the rest of this level is ok with me...we can get more money from our benefactor.
"Thank you sister, your goddess' healing is welcomed. I think we are in agreement then--finish mapping this floor, then head back to Fort Inevitable. Shall we rest first before going on?"
A rest here would be good. I will set up an alarm and rig the doors shut.
"Alright, I suppose we can rest and recover."
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When everyone is ready to get some rest, Sister Zalinsel will use the curing wand on those in need
If we take a day's rest, I'll be able to use the healing kit we got from the Hellknights to treat the spider's poison.And we could try to find out what this belt and the other magical items are.
Resting within Gorloth’s throne room, the party are undisturbed…and feeling refreshed and well rested, , push on into and beyond the scorched spider nursery. The door in the north of the nursery opens into a corridor that heads back east. Immediately opposite you, another door leads north whilst, a short way to the east, the corridor turns north and ends in a door... This door is held slightly ajar by a lump of masonry...
Peeking through the door to the north, you see a corridor that, after thirty feet or so, ends at a door that must surely lead to the stairs you originally descended (although, as far as you recall, this door is locked). So heading East, Rallos moves forward into the corridor, intrigued by the door that is held ajar, he stops suddenly…his attention caught by the tell-tale signs of another pit trap. Positioned halfway along the corridor, the misaligned floor slabs cover a 10ft by 10ft area and, unless made safe, will be unlikely to support the weight of someone crossing. Wedging the trap door closed with chunks of stonework, he makes the pit safe to cross.
Arriving at the open doorway, looking through reveals a large square room with doors to the east, south and west; this large room has a wide hole in the centre of its floor. A heavy, welded steel ladder descends straight down from the lip of this shaft…the extent and depth of the space below are concealed behind the many crisscrossing, whitish-grey spider webs filling the pit.
Rallos draws out the final details of the level.
This place has enough pit traps, i think.
Grayface nods in agreement with Rallos' sentiment, then peers into the descent, shaking his head at what he saw.
"More spider webs. Well people, here is a ladder going down. It appears we have completed our survey of this level. Do we go down or head to Fort Inevitable?"
I think we'd better go back to the Fort.And next time we go to the Spire, we should try to locate that troup of bandits the Hellknights seek.
"Ea is right. I was hoping to find some sign of them in the tower, but I find it difficult to believe mere bandits would dwell on this level, or below. We must consider searching elsewhere."
"Who knows, maybe there's some other entrance to this tower that the bandits have. Let's head on back to the fort."
*EDIT*
"By the way, does anyone else want to keep this Horn of Fog handy? I think I've figured out how to call forth this sort of magic myself."
Re-emerging into the daylight, you find the sun high in the sky...a midday sun bathing the snow covered Spire Glen with glaring brightness. The fresh air filling your lungs is a relief after too long spent underground and, with a renewed sense of vigour, you strike out for Fort Inevitable. Emerald appears lost in thought for the entire journey.
The trip back is, whilst slow due to the drifting snow, uneventful and as you emerge from the forest, you see smoke from the various chimneys within the Fort. The gate is open as you arrive at the town walls and, with barely a word spoken, the Hellknight guard at the gate wave you back into the safety of the town. The snow isn't as deep within the town, with the roads and walkways shovelled clear...
The Oread, who had been so quiet, asks for a moment of your time before you go about your business. "Friends, it has been an interesting few days in your company but, what I thought I was seeking...I couldn't feel whilst we explored the Spire...my destiny, it seems, lies elsewhere. I wish you the best of luck should you go back there...but I cannot come with you. Maybe our paths will cross again...I certainly hope so"
It was about four in the afternoon when you arrived and, for the most part, traders and shops are still open for business.
Remember that if you sell the Horn of Fog,Yasmin, I don't want any money out of it. It would be a sin to my goddess, as you took it in a coffin. Speaking of coffins
She says the word as if it was the most normal word in the world
You can contact me at the local temple of Pharasma, where I act as an undertaker and a priest.I'll talk with the current priest about burying Gorloth. You'll be most welcome, as your help was crucial to bring him down
She turns to Emarald, from head to toe
Follow your Fate. I won't blame you.
And thats all she says to the Oread.
Yasmin nods in agreement as Emerald departs. "Well, I don't blame you. It's pretty dangerous in that place, and the rewards have not been as impressive as I'd hoped."
Without any pressing needs, Yasmin heads for the Juliver Arms to get some food and hear the latest news.
Good luck on your journey, Emarald.
Rallos then turns to Yasmin.
I think a drink or two is well deserved. Will you join us later, Ea? I know you must do some of your work at the church, but come join us when you get some time away.
Rallos pulls out his drawings of the Spire.
We must also take these to get our reward. Then we can equip ourselves better to clear that infernal place.