"We are headed to explore the ruins. Do you know much of the ancient Hilvans?" Layali asks.
While Layali is talking to the guard Leifa will walk closer to the merchants causally, seeing if she can overhear the alchemist conversation. She will also try to nonchalantly observe the merchants and appear approachable if one of them wants to talk to her.
"Why in the world would-" the dwarf starts to say, raising an eyebrow in puzzlement. She then shakes her head and says, "Sorry, right, none of my business. Do be careful, mind the signs at the edge of the ruins." After stamping the seal into the four documents, she hands them to you and says, "You're clear to cross when you're ready. Next!"
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Leifa wanders over in the direction of the merchants, getting close enough to hear while trying not to look intrusive. The merchants exchange complaints about the slowness of customs the last couple of days and how these stupid delays are going to cost them; time is money, etc. The alchemist appears to be offering some kind of cure-all to a human man who is attempting to haggle down the price by pleading a case for his sick wife.
"Please, feel free to share your concerns about the ruins. Your insight may be helpful in ways we cannot yet imagine." Layali says as she takes the documents.
The red-armored dwarf shakes her head. "That's the thing; it's an entirely wild and lawless area, outside of anyone's jurisdiction. That's the gist of the disclaimers on the signs, as well. Enter at your own risk."
"Understood. Thank you for your concerns Captain."
Layali indicates to her companions that they are free to cross when ready.
Leifa will talk to the man haggling with the alchemist. Find out if he's from the homestead the party spent the night at last night, and if so, let him know his wife is all better. She will point out Gordon as a source to verify what she tells him.
"Yes, it's true. Our cleric had the skill to heal her, and she made it through the night just fine."
While Layali talks to the guard, Leifa addresses the man who had been haggling with an alchemist, and determines that he is indeed the man from the homestead where the four of you spent last night. Relieved at Gordon's assurance that all is well, he tells off the alchemist (who had apparently been trying to add the man's horse to the price of the medicine) and as thanks offers you what he had brought to barter for a cure: two unopened bottles of 22-year-old wine. He thanks you once again, then begins his ride home in good spirits.
The wine's from a pretty good year, too!
With your freshly-stamped traveling papers, you cross the Great Bridge and immediately turn to the east, following the course of the Serpentstream River that you just crossed. The rest of the day passes with no more trouble than the sticky discomfort of the humid heat, and you eventually make camp in the welcome cooldown of the evening.
The next morning brings slightly cooler weather, with a few scattered clouds across the blue sky. You continue eastward for perhaps a mile, then just as the river makes a sharp turn south, you turn your horses north and presently arrive at the "entrance" to the eastern Hilvan ruins.
Situated on the western side of a minor mountain range that marks the border of a neighboring country, these ruins sit in the middle of a near-complete ring of low but steep foothills and bluffs, forming a sort of "waterless harbor" type of area. The opening to this "harbor" is in the southwestern corner of these foothills; one could theoretically enter the ruins from the south, the north, or the west, but it would require some rather difficult (and dangerous) climbing.
Sitting atop your steeds at this gap in the rocky hills, you see a warning sign cautioning travelers that the ruins within are wild and lawless, and nobody will be coming to help you should you fall prey to rockslides, monsters, bandits, and so forth.
Moving past the warning sign, this is what you can see:
The bulk of the area seems to be an odd mish-mash of ancient stone structures and flat-topped, almost "tiered" hills, most of which seem rather steep. To your right (east), a ruin-less "gap" of simple grass and a few trees runs along the southern edge of the area, continuing beyond sight. Ahead of you (north), a path of weather-worn stone tiles leads northward under several marble arches before terminating abruptly at the edge of one of the tiered hills. The furthest away you can see is a large structure far to the northeast (the opposite corner from where you are), which seems to sit atop a hill, giving it the height it needs to be seen from such a distance.
Gordon scans the ground as they travel, looking for signs of off-road excursions in the recent past (although he isn't hopeful, given the recent heavy rain).
"Let's head for high ground. We can get a better view from there, and look for anything odd."
Gordon is rather confident in the lack of recent traffic through the mouth of the ruins.
"Sounds like a wise choice my halfling friend." Layali follows along as Gordon heads for higher ground.
Not liking her chances of having to walk back, Layali offers to mind the horses while those more skilled climb up for a better look at things.
Nathadriel dismounts and passes the reins of his horse to Layali. Looking around for a nearby, high hill, he climbs up for a better view of the ruins.
Leifa will hand her horse off to Layali and proceed up the hill. And will look around.
Gordon dismouts, and struggles to get up the hill on his tiny legs.
Having difficulty, he tries the horse.
"Wait up, guys!"
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The nearest hill is about 200 feet to the northeast, and stands about 15 feet tall. The elves clamber up easily, but Gordon can't seem to find his footing and decides to make his pony do the work for him.
Though the pony stumbles on its way up, Gordon eventually manages to ride to where Leifa and Nathadriel are standing without injuring his pony. While Layali watches over the remaining horses, the other three of you survey the area from atop the hill.
The landscape is bizarre. Aside from the strip of low ground to the south, vegetation in the area is minimal: no trees; thin, brown grass; the occasional patch of ivy on the side of a structure or hill. Buildings in the area are generally square-ish and flat-topped, and most of them seem to be built into the sides of hills. Random areas of the ground (at both high and low elevations) bear short paths of stone tile (and sometimes even a set of stairs up the side of a hill), though not always clearly leading anywhere. Paradoxically, some of the buildings are situated in hard-to-reach places, such as being surrounded by hills on most or all sides. Also scattered through the area are the occasional statue or decorative column. The ruin-free band that runs along the southern edge of the "harbor" goes all the way to the eastern edge of the area, then turns south (out of sight), suggesting a possible path.
Areas of potential interest include:
• A smallish, free-standing building to the north (in line with the row of archways you saw from the Mouth), situated in a low spot surrounded by hills. It has a clear doorway on the southern side of the building and a staircase on the northern slope leading down to where the building is.
• Just down the opposite side of the hill you're currently on is an elaborate doorway into what otherwise looks like just another hill.
• There is of course the massive structure a couple of miles away: a ziggurat at the opposite corner of the area which you could see when you first arrived.
• There's the natural path to the east that then turns south, whose end you cannot yet see.
• Exploring in any given direction could reveal more points of interest as well, or you could try looking for a particular type of feature if you prefer.
"Where to go first?"
"I'm curious about that smallish building to the north past those archways."
"I see nothing to recommend one path over another. I recommend we simply start with the nearest possibility."
After hearing what her companions have to say on the matter, Layali says "I feel like the most interesting things will be found in the ziggurat. Though I am happy to start anywhere."
"Let's split up, then."
"Let's work our way towards the Ziggurat. It seems the most significant building. If we start here with this elaborate door, then head to the small building through the arches, maybe we'll learn something useful along the way."
"Sounds like a plan!
"Sounds good. Do we want to find somewhere to stable the horses while we walk around?"
From the hilltop where Gordon, Leifa and Nathadriel are standing, a couple of minutes of meandering can actually get to a set of stairs that go down, and then take a winding path back to the doorway, all without having to climb. It's a couple of minutes of extra walking, but no climbing.
Layali will lead the horses close to the stairs and look for a place to tie them up. She will then take the stairs and follow it to the doorway.
Layali tries her best to climb up without getting dirty...
Layali ties the three horses to a sturdy-looking rocky outcropping, then clambers up the hill to where the rest of you are. Gordon and his pony lead the three walkers along a winding, maze-like path that, sure enough, eventually leads to a stone staircase that leads down into another winding, maze-like path of lower elevation that eventually leads to the door you decided to investigate.
Along the way, you see weather-worn monoliths in the shape of bird (raptor) heads, lengths of stone-tiled paths that begin and end at seemingly random places, and crumbling statues of armored soldiers with angelic wings on their backs.
Reaching your destination, you take a closer look at the door: a stone doorframe stands set into the hillside. Each side is the worn remains of a once intricately-carved column about a foot thick. Now, however, the form of the carvings is difficult to make out.
Above the door is a stone block, situated as a cap to the two columns. By contrast with the columns, this block is completely plain. Where the door should be, there is instead a sheet of stone (about an inch thick) which covers roughly the bottom 3 feet or so of the doorway, ending in an irregularly slanted edge and leaving the top half of the doorway unobstructed.
Through the opening, a little bit of light reveals a dirt-strewn interior of unclear size. Those of you with darkvision see that there is a room or hallway about 10 feet wide but which extends beyond the 60ft reach of your vision. Pictographs and other markings line the walls, and openings (hallways?) open from the visible room about 20 feet back on either side, and again just at the edge of your vision on the right.
Nathadriel will spend some time investigating the doorway, paying particular attention to the capstone and the pillars. Looking for anything out of the ordinary, he'll also ponder what he remembers of Hilvan lore, in case he recalls any useful snippet of information.
Gordon studies the door, looking for clues.
Layali will reference the book on Hilvan lore to see if anything helps get an idea of what they may be looking at.
Nathadriel notices no clues on the doorway, instead lost in thought about how he always thought the ancient Hilvans were very primitive, not producers of fine, delicate carvings.
Gordon examines the "door", and notices that some of the stone sheet's features vaguely resemble those of a wooden door. Could this have been, for some reason, carved to look like an ordinary wooden door?
Layali eagerly opens up the green book from the Korkas library, only to remember with a bit of dissapointment that it's a reference for translating the Hilvan language, not a history book.
Layali closes the book and pouts.
Leifa will step (hop?) over the door on it's low side and enter the room. And starting with the wall closest to her she'll look/investigate the room going clockwise.
"Can someone help me over?"
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Nathadriel pauses for a moment, then kneels on all fours, presenting his back as a step for Gordon to climb over. Once everyone else is in, he steps inside also, unslinging his shield and casting light to examine the entry chamber.
With a little bit of teamwork, everyone gets inside without issue. Nathadriel lights up his shield, and suddenly an angry noise, like a cross between a hiss and a rumbling growl, echoes through the room as dark figures come forward from the other end of the chamber, somewhere beyond the darkness.
Entering your field of vision are two gray, lizard-like creatures about four feet high at the shoulders and about 6-7 feet long, not counting the swaying, curving, stinger-tipped tails.
Looking angry, they approach!
These aren't technically reptiles (they have smooth skin), but are sometimes called "cave lizards", or alternatively "cavern crawlers" or "darkstings". The latter is perhaps the most appropriate, as they tend to live in dark places and then use their stingers for hunting. Those which live near the surface come out at night to hunt, while those in subterranean habitats are active around the clock, sleeping only intermittently (napping, basically). Their stingers have a nasty poison to them.
The elves react first!
"Darkstings! Careful of their tails - they have a nasty venom.
Nathadriel moves forward to prevent the darkstings from getting close to the others in the group. Drawing his sword, he prepares to strike as soon as they come near.
Readied attack, if it comes off:
,
using her super speed, Leifa will go up to a lizard and attack with flurry of blows......
,
,
,
If one of the unarmed strikes hits, apply Dex save or prone.
Nathadriel moves forward, ready to take the front lines, when the swift monk rushes past him and tears into one of the lizards with everything she's got!
After a wallop with her staff, she gives it an upward kick that flips it onto its back!
Nevertheless, her final swing misses!
The injured creature rolls back over and retaliates against Leifa!
,
,
It bites her badly, but misses with its stinger!
The other creature advances on Nathadriel, taking a wound from his ready blade before lashing out at him!
,
,
Nathadriel is both bitten and stung!
Nathadriel is seized by deadly venom!
Gordon sends an arrow whistling down the length of the chamber, missing everything!
Layali hurls a firebolt at the one that Nathadriel is fighting!
Layali scorches one of the darkstings!
Damage tally:
18
14
Leifa will attack the lizards, starting with the one in front of her, spending another ki point. Dex save or prone if unarmed strike hits.
,
,
,
Leifa whacks the creature with her staff, and it collapses to the ground! Moving to assist Nathadriel, she barely manages to hit it with a kick, but brings it down as well!