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'What the hells up there Andolphas?' "I can't describe it," responds the cleric in a murmur. "This thing is like none I have seen, or even heard of before. It's floating in the air... a pair of disembodied eyeballs, joined by a thick string of what looks like twisted tendon or muscle hanging down in a long strand beneath the eyes..."
Andolphas frowns, then points to the shadowed recess of the alcove behind and above one of the statues, the second one along on the right hand side (facing away from the gas filled room). "I think I heard something up there," he whispers, clutching his spear defensively while waving Da'gret forward.
"Brashen!... Has the green mist crept closer and overwhelmed his senses? Everyone, cover your mouths and hold your breaths!" Andolphas does just as he instructed the others to do, but carefully scans the area for any other signs of suspicious things before moving to the fallen warrior.
"Try as I may, I am not sure if the religious, historical or other significance of the carvings and statues. I do believe that we must be in a section of the tomb that is of greater importance than the previous one we explored, if only due to the more elaborate artwork we have found in this passage. Help me remember, dear companions... have we found something thus far that would fit well within the cupped hands of these statues? I sense air blowing from the hands, which is consistent with the theme of the motifs we have found thus far... I imagine that if something were placed in the hands of the statues, then the items would either rise in the air and levitate, and/or their placement would trigger something... These statues truly are wondrous, for I can see no mundane method for generating the draft that comes from their hands..."
Andolphas immediately holds his breath, buries his nose and mouth in his cloak, and retreats towards the cylinder.
Spoiler:
Brash will move to the stone blocking the exit of the room and try to peer over the top, holding the everburning tourch forward to try and see down the passage beyond. As he does so he calls to Andolphas 'See if you can get that lift back down' "May as well wait for the others to come down, don't you think? If it has returned to the main chamber, they should be able to come down with it, just as we did..." That having been said, Andolphas searches the area where the cylinder dropped them off for some obvious mechanisms, but finds nothing...
As the party climbs out of the bug shaft, Andolphas stands and dusts himself off. "I have confirmed that the sword is enchanted... would either one of you gentlemen care to wield it?" he asks Brashen, Da'gret and Strevlik. "I will hold onto the wand... for safe keeping," he adds, looking Boland square in the eyes.
"Here, let me see," mutters Andolphas with irritation in his voice as he murmurs a prayer in some unfathomable words to the Dark-Eyed Lady and holds his hands out to the rod and sword that were retrieved by the half-orc.
He nods in a agreemen when the others speak of proceeding to investigating the tunnel that Brashen had ventured in previously. "I have a few scrolls with healing magic, and a few minor prayers I can invoke," adds the somber cleric quietly.
"So should someone go down and have a look down the other passage. Hopefully the only danger there has already been lured out. If Strevlik an Da'gret dont want to go back in I can do it, though may not be the best in water." "If you want to tempt the Fates (or risk catching a whooping cough), then by all means, go ahead... I would imagine that, given the circumstances, if there remain unexplored chambers in this crypt, then they would lie beyond this submerged passage... but I have no desire to head down there -- as I mentioned before, I'm not much of a swimmer. But I will keep a firm grasp on the rope for you, my friend..." The somber cleric tugs on the rope for emphasis and attempts what can only be described as a feeble grin...
"Yes, what indeed?" echoes Andolphas. "I'm not keen on going under water, and am not much of a swimmer... It would take something truly spectacular, or the Word of the Lady Herself, to convince me to go in there... I suspect that Boland will feel the same..." The somber cleric thinks for a moment, his gaze lingering on the ring with the eight-pointed star. "Hmmm... so it would appear that one of the Seekers met the unholy fate of a water ghoul... This suggests that the passage would have been submerged even before they began their explorations, and that other water ghouls already populated this part of the complex, or that some evil animated the corpse of this Seeker when he passed away... assuming, of course, that the ghoul didn't just take the ring from a Seeker victim..."
'I have another of the potions if its needed.' Brash includes Da'gret as well as Strev in this offer, as both companions look the worse for wear. 'How about you priest? Can't you use some of your magic to heal them?' Andolphas kneels beside Strevlik, and looks from the ranger to his other wounded companions with a grim expression. "I regret having to inform you, Brashen, that adherents of the Dark-Eyed Lady are not particularly gifted in the healing arts... quite the contrary... we concentrate on aiding those souls who must make the long journey from this life into the next. That having been said, I do have one of the Seeker elixirs at my disposal, as well as a few scrolls, and a prayer that might heal the most superficial of wounds... Had I known sooner what kind of abomination we faced, I would have invoked the goddess' power to compell it to flee..."
Catching a glimpse of the horrific creature that is drowning Strevlik, Andolphas attempts to determine whether it resembles something he might have heard or read about during his religious studies, while continuing to tug on the rope. "It seemed, undead... didn't it?" he mumbles to know one in particular.
Andolphas nods in agreement. "Those ripples don't look good, and he's been down there too long... He must be struggling against something... And I hate to imagine what..."
"Hmmm... I suppose it would have been too much to ask the big oaf to rope up before diving in... how long do we wait? And who will be first to go looking for him? I fear that the Dark-Eyed Lady all too frequently has a way of inviting the reckless and foolish into the Great Beyond sooner rather than later... and if such were her designs, and if the lad had willingly charged into his doom, then who would I be to interfere? It might be futile and just as foolish for any to go in after him, should he fail to surface..."
Andolphas takes the everburning torch from Boland's hands and tosses it down the shaft. "Light source incoming," calls the cleric to Brashen, careful not to hit the half-orc. Once Da'gret reaches the bottom, Andolphas begins his own cautious rappel.
"No signs of tracks, or scents, of those who might have lit the lantern, Da'gret? If not, I guess we can head back for the shaft and explore the submerged area..." I wonder if a swim will get rid of that stench of wet goat that clings to him... or whether it will just intensify it, thinks Andolphas to himself.
Once all the members have once more assembled at the Cairn, Boland stammers the questions "So, sh-should we head back in? Back to the room with the lifts maybe?" "Yes. And I think it might not be a bad idea to give a second look to the shaft that Brashen explored on his own... I have a feeling that something may have been missed down there. And you'll be happy to know, faithful companions, that my Order has agreed not to lay claim to anything we find in the Cairn, although they do wish to be informed of any discoveries we might make that could shed light on the tomb's original builders. You see, you needn't have worried... the edicts of the Order of the Green Lady are perfectly reasonable..."
Andolphas rises at dawn in order to engage in morning prayer to the Green Lady with his brethren. Then, after a quick breakfast, he joins with Boland to head back to town. "No, she has shared nothing more of the impending darkness with me... All will become clear if and when the Dark-Eyed Lady wishes it to be..."
As the audience with Amariss ends, Andolphas waits a moment for Boland to leave the chamber, then bows again before his superior. "My Lady, we thank you for your guidance and blessings, and will do as you requested." As he prepares to rise, he addresses her again, with some hesitancy: "My Lady, given the forecoming darkness you have foreseen, I wonder if our Order would have any magical devices that it could lend us in order to aid our quest..." Once she provides her response, he thanks her again, utters one of the faith's customary aphorisms: "Honour the dead," then exits the chamber in order to rest for the night.
Spoiler:
As Andolphas reaches Lady Amarris' audience chamber, he kneels and bows his head before her. "And Her blessings be upon you, as well, Lady Amariss," he whispers in reponse to his superior's greeting. "Magic is the key to all." Still kneeling, he looks up towards his superior as he begins to relate what the party found during their explorations of the Cairn. "There are things in the Whispering Cairn unlike any I have ever seen in similar cairns, Lady. A short distance into the cairn, we came upon a massive domed chamber, with a marble sarcophagus on a dais set in the centre of the chamber. On the sarcophagus was carved the likeness of a slender, androgynous figure -- it was difficult to determine whether it represented a human or not, but likely not -- it was about 7' tall. One of the figure's hands was missing a finger, which we found near the entrance to the cairn. If still attached,the finger would have made a pointing gesture... The other hand has closed in a fist. A scarab with glyphs I could not decipher was carved into the marble, and hung from its neck. "The chamber was beautiful -- glass chips and metal set in the domed ceiling reflected the light that was cast by what evidently was some arcane or alchemical torch set in a lantern made of blue glass at the end of the chamber. I say arcane or alchemical, because the flame never died, any may very well have been in the lantern for centuries. The light that reflected on the domed chamber was akin to starlight on falling snow. "Seven short tunnels radiated outward from the main chamber, all of them coming to a dead end with curved walls. Coloured lanterns hung from the ceiling at the end of most of these rounded, dead-end tunnels. If I remember correctly, only two of the tunnels did not have lanterns at the end of them. "You remember Boland, my Lady? He assembled the expedition into the cairn. While he still shows reverence for the Ruby Sorceress, some of the men he recruited to explore the cairn were far less pious, uncouth heathens. These men began to push the sarcophagus, and it was indeed possible, with great effort, to swivel it. Doing so resulted in the emergence of lifts rising from the floor in some of the tunnels -- these lifts were cylindrical, and made of a bright metal I have never seen before. Our experiments resulted in two of these cylinders emerging from the ground in different locations -- as they emerged, doors would slide open of themselves, revealing a small chamber within. These lifts were most wondrous -- whoever designed them to truly was gifted with exceptional skill and intelligence. "One lift, we soon determined -- blessed be the Dark-Eyed Lady for her guidance -- was a trap that would have resulted in the gruesome end of whoever had set foot inside that particular cylindrical lift. We investigated two others. One of the swordsmen went down one of them by himself, and concluded that there was nothing worth investigating at the bottom of that shift. The third cylindrical lift that we brought up eventually collapsed back into the depths from whence it came. Swarms of acid beetles then crawled from the shaft, and would surely have slain us had the Dark-Eyed Lady not smiled upon us. Some other fearsome, beaked and winged creature flew up from the shaft, hurtling bolts of lightning. We slew the creature, or so it seemed... but shortly after it fell dead, its body vanishe, suggesting that it was a guardian from some other plane. "We proceeded to climb down the shaft, a distance of approximately 50'. Once at the bottom, we sought to explore a few other chambers, but found little save more beetle swarms -- some of the creatures were of monstrous proportions! -- and the mummified remains of what appear to have been members of the Seekers, covered in some strange orange substance. Clearly, we were not the first to have explored that part of the Whispering Cairn, but none seem to have been there since. Four steel flasks containing what I presume to be healing elixirs were found on the mummified remains -- the flasks were marked with the symbol of Pelor. "We also came across a flooded chamber, and another one where some enchantment threatened to put some of my companions to sleep. There, we were confronted by a living statue and a living ooze that nearly took our lives. There, I channeled some of the Lady's gifts in a way that I had never done before -- she imbued my body with her radiance and enabled me to send forth rays of light against the ancient guardian. Wounded and spent, we retreated after that encounter. Again, I take it as a sign of the Dark-Eyed Lady's favour that not one of us perished during this first expedition, though the Great Beyond seemed could have opened before us on numerous occasions. That having been said, the heathen and some might even say blasphemous disrespect of the three who accompanied us were of great concern to us... "In addition to the healing elixirs, in our explorations, we retrieved the following items: . a gold armband of elven make;
"If you should grant us permission to resume our explorations of the Cairn, my Lady -- and something draws me back there, I feel there is something of great importance within that has yet to be discovered -- then my companions request that they be allowed to keep the items that they have retrieved. I informed them that your blessings would be required in order for us to keep that which was found in the resting places of the dead. Two of our associates are currently keeping watch over the cairn's entrance; one returned with Boland and I, but will be staying in town and purchasing supplies. I must concede that despite their heathen ways, their skills are most impressive, and I am doing everything I can to instill respect for our patron in them. I thought you would not object to Boland spending the night with us, in our sanctuary. I believe that he has more knowledge to share with you... he waits outside... "What is your bidding, wise Amarriss? Can you help us understand what we have come upon, and what we should now seek?"
"Thank you, brother," replies Andolphas with a bow, "I shall see the Lady right away."
"Yes, Boland, I think it would be appropriate if you waited here - I will send for you when we are ready," says the cleric as he disappears into the shadows of the cairn.
"Wise choice, Boland, wise choice. That oaf Brashen will pay for his reckless and godless ways... when he least expects it. And when that day comes, he may find his soul being pulled in the most unpleasant of directions. But there is time yet for him to repent... Now let's hurry to the barge, Boland... I'm sure that Amariss will be happy to see you... almost as happy as you will be to see her!" A beaming smile that is most decidedly atypical of the sinister cleric crosses his lips as he utters those last words and looks at the shy wizard out of the corner of his eye. He leads the way towards the docks.
"Boland, Brashen, if we wish to avoid attracting unwanted attention, and to have our questions concerning the trinkets we've gathered answered by those who could identify their powers, then I propose that we immediately take the barge to the far side of the lake and spend the night in my order's quarters... the last barge may be departing before long. The Lady Amariss is not unaware of what we have been up to, and I'm sure that she would be willing to accommodate you both for the night. Once we figure out what we can and should sell, then we will be in a better position to gather new equipment and supplies in the morning... what think ye?"
"Gladly, my timid friend, gladly... Yet know that there is nothing to debate, since I have but enunciated the truth, in accordance with the Dark-Eyed Lady's divine law..." With those last words, the raven-haired, emerald-clad cleric turns his back and sets down the dusty trail towards Diamond Lake.
"Charity?" Andolphas can't help but sneer at Brashen. "Poor fool... Those who plunder the vaults of the dead, under the watchful eye of the Dark-Eyed Lady, would be wise to show Her proper respect, if they wish to remain in Her good graces (and something tells me that NONE of you are prepared to make the journey to the Great Beyond, despite your bold facades, even though we may soon encounter even greater peril). You can remain in Her good favour by acknowledging that whatever you recovered from the barrow is in facts Hers... unless She communicates through one of Her devout servants, such as the Lady Amariss, that She wants you to keep what you have found. The Ruby Sorceress could have taken any one of our lives, including yours, brave Brashen, at any time, without warning... but She did not... Not this time... Is it too much to ask that offerings be made in gratitude? I hardly think that such offerings would constitute charity... Quite the contrary, you may find them the best investment you have ever made... we may even be granted boons or items of far greater value than the trinkets you so jealously cling to, if you should decide to forsake your greed and honour Her spiritual law..."
Brash takes Da'grets coin and agrees to buy a great axe for him if possible. 'Ive got some coin, enough for rope and torches and the like, though I expect to be fully reimbursed before we split the loot.' He pauses and looks at Boland and Andolphas. 'Either of you think we could get something in town that will let us get into that submerged chamber?' "We might mention our needs to Amariss, the head of my order... Boland knows her." A smile creeps across Andolphas's lips at this last comment. As a matter of fact, the poor lad was quite smitten when he last saw her years ago. "The Cult of the Green Lady may expect something in return for their assistance -- after all, your "loot" was in fact plundered from a burial mound that should be considered under their protection (but which we have explored, fortunately, with the Cult's consent), and the magics they may be willing to lend us would not be easily parted with. It may also be wise to have that ring inspected, Boland, if you wish to remain on Amariss's good side... and if we wish to avoid whatever horrible curse may be linked to it... She may be able to tell you it works, and might even be willing to let you keep it. I will be happy to travel back to town with you, if you believe it would be helpful." He glances at the half-orc and his trail of steaming urine, then adds, more forcefully: "come to think of it, this is no matter for debate. Boland, Brashen, I will accompany you back into town."
"We have gone as far as we can down here... let's make for the surface, my friends, before our light sources expire. For all that I will welcome the day when it finally comes, let us not tempt the fates and risk making a premature journey to the Great Beyond. We have tasks yet to accomplish on this Oerth." Andolphas, torch in hand, starts to make his way back to the shaft, glancing over his shoulders to ensure that his companions are following...
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