Nicholai shakes his head, as if trying to rid himself of a bad image.
"Sorry, I have to admit, this place gives me the creeps. Unless we can find the key lying on a convenient table, We may have to resort to more direct methods to satisfy our curiosity. Logic dictates that since it IS down here in a fairly well-protected part of,... whatever this tower once was, it may contain something of value. I agree with Laithe, beware of traps. However, Kaj and I should be able to determine fairly easily if it is warded by magic." Nicholai offers, watching the mage scramble down the rope.
"Here Laithe, use this." Nicholai adds, handing the druid his torch. "Let's not waste something as valuable as a sunrod if we don't need to. Drop the torch down first. If it extinguishes, THEN we can try the sunrod. Or my coin. It can also be easily replaced."
NIcholai murmurs a simple chant, and holds out his hand toward the chest, his eyes glowing with a faint blue radiance all their own. HE stares at the chest for a few moments,...
Kajetan lands on the floor with an "Oooof" as he drops the last few feet.
He peers around the chamber, before he scurries over to the now dead skeleton to inspect it with wonder.
He turns to Keidlrithe and says "The undead are animated in direct contridiction to the natural order. Though I like not this hole, I feel it is my duty to explore further and restore the natural order of this place. Though I aknowledge the timing is not great - what with Vorn possibly stalking about nearby..."
"Fine," grumbles Keildrithe, "but let's not spend any more time down here than we need to. The dark places of the earth are known not to harbour much that is good..." Sword in hand, constantly looking behind his back, the bard waits for Pharris and Nicolai to check the chest, and Laithe to determine whether there is anything of interest in the sink hole.
"Fine," grumbles Keildrithe, "but let's not spend any more time down here than we need to. The dark places of the earth are known not to harbour much that is good..." Sword in hand, constantly looking behind his back, the bard waits for Pharris and Nicolai to check the chest, and Laithe to determine whether there is anything of interest in the sink hole.
"Agreed - we should not tarry here" he answers, taking the torch offered him from Nicolai. He turns back to the hole and drops it down, watching closely for anything it might reveal.
Pharris waits for the nod from Nicolai, "surely the magic would have eroded?"
If she gets the nod, she will break into the chest as best she can.
Strength Test
Pharris waits for the nod from Nicolai, "surely the magic would have eroded?"
Nicholai nods absentmindedly, still staring at the chest.
"One would think, and usually that is true. But Magic is,... well,... magic. Kajetan can explain it much better than I, but I have heard tales of powerful magics fading after a few decades if not maintained, while the effects of the simplest of spells have been known to linger for centuries. This won't take long,..."
Nicolai, you detect no magic from the chest. There is a lingering aura of Necromancy throughout the chamber, with its strongest concentration around the smashed skeleton and the hole to below.
After getting the nod from Nicolai, Pharris makes short work of smashing open the chest with the hilt of her sword. Inside the chest is a dusty velvet bag, closed with a drawstring. Inside the bag is a collection of cut gemstones of various shapes, sizes and colours.
This must be the hidden treasure the knockers told you about.
Meanwhile, Laithe drops the torch down into the sinkhole. As it tumbles, it briefly illuminates the sides of the hole; tumbled flagstones then packed clay and stone rubble for about twenty feet, before opening up into a larger space below. The torch tumbles through air for another fifteen, twenty feet, before landing on a pile of rubble, dirt, shattered stone and broken tiles and sputtering out.
Before the torch does go out, Laithe catches a brief glimpse of the chamber below – a larger room than this cellar, a stone pillar carved with skeletal motifs, a long stone bench, an unmoving, skull headed figure sitting at it, a glint of red in the skull’s empty eyesockets, a dark passage leading away.
The light of the torch fades, throwing the chamber below into darkness once more.
NIcholai waves at Pharris to go ahead. "No magic on the chest. Plenty of Necromantic energy around the skeleton, obviously, and the hole. I don't think that this skeleton was planned or planted. It may be a side effect. Maybe?"
Nicholai raises an eyebrow at the hole. He looks to Laithe.
"So. Shall we drop down the coin? I can easily replace it."
"Yes please, and then you can lower me down on a rope. Do we have a rope? Otherwise its a bit of a climb down there."
Pharris looks at the pile of gems and pushes them around a bit but not with any great love. "Magical gems? Nicolai"
"Are we sure we want to do this? The dead are best left undisturbed... all the more when they are not quite as dead as they should be..."
NIcholai waves at Pharris to go ahead. "No magic on the chest. Plenty of Necromantic energy around the skeleton, obviously, and the hole. I don't think that this skeleton was planned or planted. It may be a side effect. Maybe?"
Nicholai raises an eyebrow at the hole. He looks to Laithe.
"So. Shall we drop down the coin? I can easily replace it."
"It's a 40ft drop to a large chamber below. There looks to be at least one more animated skeleton below. Drop the coin to get some light below, but whoever goes first should also carry one of Alton's glow sticks as a back-up."
"Are we sure we want to do this? The dead are best left undisturbed... all the more when they are not quite as dead as they should be..."
Laithe stands and turns to Keildrithe. "I agree and disagree brother - the dead are best left undisturbed, but here that has not transpired. They have already been disturbed, apparantly by foul magic, and the natural order needs be restored. I am not sure I want to do this, but I know that I must. Though I have no wish to drag you into something you don't want to do, I would be far more confident with you by our side."
As she has volunteered Laithe makes ready to asist in lowering Pharris into the chamber below. "Take care Cynpharrisong. I will follow closely behind."
Pharris makes ready to descend, sword in one hand, light in the other. Before going the girl impulsively grabs Keildrithe in a hug.
"Don't worry. This is what we do, undeath is a wrong to me and my people. And if you don't believe me then you will just have to jump down too and save me."
Then Pharris laughs and nods to be lowered. Just before she goes out of sight, the elf maiden looks up and winks at them all.
"No sign of enchantment. They're 'just' gems." Nicholai says with a smile, amazed at the elf's casual contemplation of a small fortune.
Nicholai obligingly tosses down the coin into the hole as Pharris gets ready. As LAithe explains that he must restore the natural balance, The dandy pulls out another copper piece and once more casts the spell which causes it to glow as brightly as a torch.
Pharris's wink, clearly visible in the light of the coins glow, causes NIcholai to grin like a schoolboy. He shakes his head in wonder as she disappears into the hole.
"That is one amazing woman." He observes softly, to no one in particular.
"Right. Who's next? Laithe?" He asks, bringing himself back to the task at hand.
Pharris makes ready to descend, sword in one hand, light in the other. Before going the girl impulsively grabs Keildrithe in a hug.
"Don't worry. This is what we do, undeath is a wrong to me and my people. And if you don't believe me then you will just have to jump down too and save me."
Then Pharris laughs and nods to be lowered. Just before she goes out of sight, the elf maiden looks up and winks at them all.
"O-of course I will," replies Keildrithe shakily, taken aback by Pharris's unexpected hug, laugh, and expectation of him. Regaining his composure, he looks down into the hole as she starts her descent, and begins to softly recite the words of an old Karandic ode... "For courage..."
In response to Nicolai's question, and as if bolstered by both the ancient words he just recited and the elf maid's behaviour, the bard prepares to be the second to descend. "The old words of courage have greater effect when the one uttering them remains close to the one they are intended to inspire... And Alton lent me his dagger, which has some enchantment upon it... In case something foul and unnatural should rise against us... I'm not much of a climber, though -- someone better be holding on tightly to the rope!"
"That is one amazing woman." He observes softly, to no one in particular.
"Right. Who's next? Laithe?" He asks, bringing himself back to the task at hand.
In response to Nicolai's question, and as if bolstered by both the ancient words he just recited and the elf maid's behaviour, the bard prepares to be the second to descend. "The old words of courage have greater effect when the one uttering them remains close to the one they are intended to inspire... And Alton lent me his dagger, which has some enchantment upon it... In case something foul and unnatural should rise against us... I'm not much of a climber, though -- someone better be holding on tightly to the rope!"
Laithe nods, making ready to begin his climb. However, seeing Keildrithe step forward with quiet determination in his eyes, he smiles and steps back, taking up the rope once more to aid in Keildrithe's descent. "Ehlonna will stand by you in this, as will I" he says quietly to the hedilye as he begins his descent.
Once Keildrithe is half way down, he says a quick prayer to Ehlonna that he may make the way down safely and makes ready for his climb down.
NIcholai nods, and readies himself to steady the rope for Laithe. As Laithe approaches the hole, the dandy calls up softly to Alton.
"We're doing a little spelunking, keep the front door open for us!" He says cheerfully, with a wink at Kajetan.
"Do you want to go? OR would you rather stay here, and steady the rope for me? Unless the chamber is particularly large, there's probably no need for all of us down there,... I hope." He asks the mage, adding the last with a grin.
Kajetan stands a healthy distance away from the hole, his curiosity has not yet over come his sense of fear at heading into an undead filled donjon with only a had full of spells left:
0 level
Ghost Sound
Disrupt undead
Message
2nd Level 2
Detect Thoughts(d)
Since Pharris is lowered down with sword and light at the ready, she doesn't climb at all. But lands as quietly as she can.
The illuminated coin that Nicolai throws down the hole does not illuminate much more of the chamber below than the torch did, though it I longer lasting, allowing more detail to be discerned; for example, the skull-faced figure sitting at some sort of stone bench is not a complete skeleton, but consists of a crudely formed clay body with a yellowed, oddly deformed skull atop it. Pinpoints of red light glow in the skull’s eye-sockets, and a greatly rusted sword rests on the bench in front of the sitting figure.
Pharris prepares herself to descend into the hole (with another light-coin provided by Nicolai in hand), when the group realizes that between them, they have no rope. Fortunately, Alton, looking down on them, sees their predicament and throws them down the coil of fine silk rope, fifty feet long, that he keeps in his pack.
Pharris takes hold of the rope, tying a loop at the end to slip her foot through, and then Laithe and the other men lower her down into the hole. The descent is a little bumpy as the warrior-woman passes through the sink hole, then she swings freely as she passes through into the chamber below, before reaching the stone floor.
This stone clad underground chamber is quite large, about fifty feet by seventy feet, with a twenty foot high ceiling. The sinkhole opens up near the north-west corner.
The walls of this chamber appear to have once been lined with timber panels, but most of that has rotted away, revealing the rough stone block walls behind. Pillars of stone carved with skeletal imagery support the somewhat dome shaped ceiling, that was once covered in coloured tiles, many of them now fallen away revealing great hewn stone slabs.
A rocky throne stands atop a low pedestal at the far end of the room. Two long stone tables run along the length of the chamber, surrounded by granite stools. Metal flagons and knives, corroded by rust rest atop the tables, amongst broken pottery. An empty rectangular fire pit occupies the space between the two tables.
A dozen rough clay statues depicting the bodies of barbarian warriors sit atop some of the stools in various positions. A rusty longsword lies near or on each statue – on the table, or stools beside them, layed across a statue’s knees or fallen to the floor. The statues are headless, but someone has placed real skulls on their clay shoulders. The old, yellowed skulls look odd, longer than human skulls, with flattened brows and long, sharp canines. A dim red light glows within the eye sockets of each skull, but the statues or skulls show no other sign of being animate.
Two passageways lead away from this chamber, one in the west wall not far from Pharris’ position, another on the east side of the chamber behind the empty throne.
"When next we set foot in civilization, the first thing I shall do, after imbibing a healthy dosage of alcohol, is to buy a bloody rope!" Nicholai mutters as together they lower the warrior woman down the hole.
"ANd a, what's it called, grappling hook?" He adds with a shake of his head. "I was raised in the city. It seems I seriously underestimated the equipment needs of being a traveling adventurer."
"Possibly because I did not realize that was what I was doing until it was too late." He adds bemusedly with a half smile. WIth a wink at Kajetan, the others realize that he is simply nervous, and just dealing with it as he usually does. HE nods towards the hole and looks at Keildrithe and Laithe.
"Go on, ONE of you two go next! We can't leave her down there alone!" He says in an exaggerated chastising tone. "We'll follow once we've tied off the rope to,... something." He finishes lamely as he looks around the room and realizes the condition of the few remaining pieces of wood. He purses his lips together.
"Perfect. Perhaps Alton has a grapple hook as well???" He muses aloud.
Seeing Pharris make it down to the bottom and no immediate danger apparant, Laithe suggests to the others that they lower Keildrithe down and then look for somewhere to tie off the rope. While he starts hauling up the rope, he looks around the room for something on which to secure the rope.
Kajetan looks down the dark hole and swallows down a lump, "I don't think I can make that climb," he says with some nervousness.
"Can you lower me down before you tie it off?"
Pharris takes a moment to listen while the others sort themselves out.
She starts with the nearest passageway then gradually moves round to the other when one or twom more people reach the bottom.
Listen
As Keildrithe reaches the bottom, he draws his sword and stays put, waiting for Laithe to climb down. His eyes go wide with awe and wonder as they fall upon the clay statues. He then whispers to the elf maid: "Pharris, let's wait for the others to come down before we start taking a closer look at these strange statues and the other contents of this chamber... We shouldn't take the risk of awakening anything until we have more reinforcements on the ground..."
He remains alert, looking and listening for signs of movement coming from anywhere in the chamber...
Pharris and Keildrithe stay put in their corner of the eerie underground chamber. All is quiet down here, apart from the drip of water from above. Water drips down the hole, forming a small pool here amongst the stone blocks that comprise the floor.
Laithe and Nicolai spot a large crate, that looks mainly intact – a side of it could probably be laid partially across the hole if it was torn apart. Alternatively, a heavy looking barrel, three quarters filled with brackish water, could be manhandled next to the hole and the rope tied around its body.
Laithe and Nicolai are easily strong enough to together lower Kajetan into the hole – is that the plan?
Eyeing their options as he and Laithe lower Kajetan down into the hole to join Pharris and Keildrithe, Nicholai nods to the barrel as the light mage touches the ground below.
"I'd like to try the slats of the crate, but in the interest of NOT waking anything, else, up, I vote we roll the barrel over here and tie the rope to it." He whispers to the druid.
"With the rope tied off, one of us should still be able to help the other down easily enough. It's getting back UP I'm worried about!" He adds with a raised eyebrow.
"So, whose last? How are you at climbing?" Nicholai asks casually, as if discussing the cloudy morning.
Eyeing their options as he and Laithe lower Kajetan down into the hole to join Pharris and Keildrithe, Nicholai nods to the barrel as the light mage touches the ground below.
"I'd like to try the slats of the crate, but in the interest of NOT waking anything, else, up, I vote we roll the barrel over here and tie the rope to it." He whispers to the druid.
"With the rope tied off, one of us should still be able to help the other down easily enough. It's getting back UP I'm worried about!" He adds with a raised eyebrow.
"So, whose last? How are you at climbing?" Nicholai asks casually, as if discussing the cloudy morning.
Laithe nods at the sorcerer's suggestion, moving over to the barrel and attempting to shift it to a suitable position nearer to the hole.
"I'll give you what aid I can in your descent, with the rope tied to the barrel as a back up. Then I'll try my luck at climbing down." he says, grunting as he puts his shoulder into the barrel. "How're are you at catching by the way?" he asks after a moment, his face serious but a twinkle in his eye.
Once the barrel is in position, Laithe glances inside and pauses for a moment. He sweeps off his wet cloak and holding it over barrel says "Ehlonna, lend me some of the deluge you just sent us, enough to fill this barrel." He then wrings out the cloak - with more water than the cloak could possibly hold spilling out of it to fill the barrel to the brim.
"Hopefully that will add to it's stability" he notes to Nicolai, tying his cloak back on. He then takes up the rope, looking to secure it around the barrel. "How are you at knots?" he enquires, one eyebrow raised.
Once the knot is secured to the best of their ability, he takes up the rope, preparing to assist Nicolai in his climb down.
"Catching? Better than I am at climbing, but not much." Nicholai returns swiftly, grinning and obviously comfortable with the banter.
He raises an eyebrow as the druid fills the barrel with even more water.
"That's a handy trick." He says, impressed. And helps Laithe to tie off the rope as well as possible.
"That should hold, But before we trust our lives to it, let me try something first." He kneels down next to the hole, and holds out his hand, palm down over the hole.
"I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier,..." He mutters, and there is a slight shimmering just visible for a moment under the hole. He then swiftly sits, swings his feet into the hole, and jumps.
A moment later, his head slowly rises up through the hole, a look of concentration on his face.
"Well, don't just stand there! Unless you'd rather climb down?" He says with only a hint of a smirk. "I can hold us both, but watch your step, the circle of force is only three feet across." He adds, lowering his head back out of the hole and reaching up with his arms to steady Laithe.
Nicholai grabs Laithe's hands to steady him, noticing that the druid's hands are far more calloused than his own. Once Laithe is next to him, he concentrates and they are lowered slowly to the ground. Once Laithe steps off, the disk rises to about two foot from the floor, Nicholai still standing on top of it.
"Better view from up here." He offers, keeping his floating field of force away from the skeleton. He pulls out his cross bow and loads it. "And we still have the rope tied off, in case we need it. But I should be able to lift us all out safely,... one at a time."
"Well, don't just stand there! Unless you'd rather climb down?" He says with only a hint of a smirk. "I can hold us both, but watch your step, the circle of force is only three feet across." He adds, lowering his head back out of the hole and reaching up with his arms to steady Laithe.
Laithe hesitates for a moment, his natural instincts warning against stepping out onto thin air. But seeing Nicolai's grin and offered hand, he takes it and steps carefully onto the disk. The descent is much more comfortable than climbing the rope would have been, though standing so close to the impeccably groomed sorcerer he does feel a little self-conscious about his own rough appearance.
"Thanks Nicolai - I was a little nervous about venturing down via the rope, I must admit." he says, stepping carefully off the disk when it reaches the ground.
He turns to Pharris and Keildrithe who have had some more time on the ground to get a better view of the place. "Where to now? should we search this chamber or head down one of the corridors?"
Nicolai’s spell allows the pair to get down safely, with the rope tied apparently securely around the now full and heavy barrel of water.
Everyone is now gathered in the corner of the cold, oppressive chamber below. The chill in the air seems as much mental as physical.
Nicolai’s spell allows the pair to get down safely, with the rope tied apparently securely around the now full and heavy barrel of water.
Everyone is now gathered in the corner of the cold, oppressive chamber below. The chill in the air seems as much mental as physical.
While waiting for an answer from the others, Laithe carefully scans the room, listening while he does so.
Nicholai follows the druid's example, turning slowly around and examining the room from atop his floating magical disk, his crossbow at the ready. At first glance, he looks to be standing on air, but in the darkness there is a telltale glow from the magic that outlines the small, circular magical platform he stands on.
All is quiet and still. The pin points of red light continue to glow faintly in the eyesockets of the skulls, but there is no movement. The two passageways yawn darkly. The air down here is still and close.
As Laithe and Nicolai reach the chamber safely, Keildrithe, Alton's dagger firmly in hand, takes a closer look at the clay statues and their yellowed skulls, trying to determine whether they truly are human or something else, and what their cultural background might have been. He avoids touching them. "Rest, ancient ones," he murmurs, breath visible in the chill air. "We mean you no harm, and have no wish to disturb your slumber."
Afterwards, he will carefully examine the throne for sigils or other markings, again without touching it.
.
"Head down one of the corridors? Yes, I'll do it." she nods at the suggestion and taking a light starts down the nearest corridor, greatsword in her other hand.
After a few feet she stops and waits. "I think this is the kind of place that a maiden needs to stick close to her friends in. Even I know that someone should come too."
The warrior waits for the others. "Does anyone know anything about undead. It seems like we fight things a little out of the ordinary since those gnolls when I first met you. What should we be doing. And please no one say we need silver because that is what we didn't have in Lichford."
Nicholai ponders Pharris' questions as he scans the room, then smiles charmingly at the warrior woman.
"Quite right my dear! I get the feeling that this is a place that no one should be left alone in! It's straight out of a spooky campfire tale! And besides, no young lady should ever be left alone without an escort!" He says with a grin.
"Anything interesting Keildrithe?" He asks the bard who is cautiously examining the throne.
"Quite right my dear! I get the feeling that this is a place that no one should be left alone in! It's straight out of a spooky campfire tale! And besides, no young lady should ever be left alone without an escort!" He says with a grin.
"Anything interesting Keildrithe?" He asks the bard who is cautiously examining the throne.
Not having any particular knowledge of the undead or of dungeons, Laithe remains quiet, instead moving over to aid Keildrithe in his search of the place. Seeing Kajetan standing somewhat at a lose, he motions for the arcanist to join them in their search as well.
Nicolai, the Church of Arton has it that walking corpses and ghosts and such tend to arise when bodies are buried in unhallowed ground. Obviously this does not happen in all cases, but there may be some truth to this; hallowing a grave site does tend to make instances of undead less likely, and corpses or spirits that may have somehow been more pre-disposed to rising after death are much more likely to do so if buried in unhallowed (or cursed) sites.
There are a number of forms of skeletal undead; the most common, simply called ‘skeletons’ by most, are just that; skeletons, human or otherwise, animated by foul magic. Although such undead sometimes seem to arise spontaneously, it is usally at the bidding of a necromancer or some curse.
The common undead skeleton is virtually mindless (though they sometimes seem to have an instinctual hatred of the living) and can be destroyed with ordinary weapons, though having no flesh to cut they are quite resistant to slashing and particularly piercing weapons.
As Pharris and Nicolai step into the westward leading corridor, Keildrithe and Laithe move across the chamber to examine the skulls and then the throne.
Almost as soon as the bard moves in front of one of the skulls, before he properly has a chance to examine it, there is a faint scraping sound from behind him – the rusted longsword lying on the stone bench beside him appears to have shifted slightly.
Before he can react, the sword begins to rise up into the air, as if held by some invisible hand. The other eleven rusty blades within the room likewise begin to rise.
Keildrithe feels a tug at the dagger in his hand, and feels the longsword in its scabbard at his belt begin to loosen …
Laithe, tense from the start given the unnatural feel of the room is quick to react at the first sign of shifting swords.
"Ah, crap," mutters the bard eloquently, as the blades begin to move...
Pharris tries to keep slightly ahead of Nicolai and his magic circle.
Kajetan has been cowering at the back, his natural curiosity not over coming his fear. He lets out a muffled gasp as the swords rise into the air and:
Will Save: +4(class) +1(wis) = +5 :
promptly fails what ever save it was he had to make.
NIcholai turns at the sound of scraping metal,
"That can't be good,..." He mutters,...
He is so preoccupied by the vista of floating weapons before him, he takes a moment to actually react.
Keildrithe’s longsword and dagger, sheathed at his belt, leap from their scabbards to join the rusty blades floating eerily in the cold air. He also feels a tug at his hand as the magic long-dagger tries to join them. Similarly, Kajetan’s little-used dagger floats from its sheath to hang before his cowering head.