Ludwig follows Yuria, throwing his flying light source up in the air so that it flows just above his head.
"At least it's warmer inside," he cheers Pengaal.
Moving deeper into the cavern the survivors use their various light sources to stave off the encroaching darkness. There is no light here besides what they provide on their own. The tunnel narrows slightly as the group proceeds, eventually forcing them to walk either single file or shoulder to shoulder to squeeze through. There is also stark contrast between the dry cold of the mountain face they had just left and the damp warmth of the cave. It is almost humid the further they journey into the rock and their surroundings are eerily reminiscent to the insides of some great living thing. Water glistens along the cave walls where it collects while the stench of fetid rot is ever present, wafting towards them from somewhere far ahead.
Eventually there is the hint of a light ahead. The survivors have now been walking for nearly half an hour, though it was not difficult as the caves conveniently hewn floor rarely varied in height or otherwise offered an obstacle. They push onwards towards the light and emerge into a large, well-lit chamber. The light comes from a large, burning bronze disk suspended from the ceiling in the center of the room. The room is cylindrical, and the survivors notice that all around on the walls there are great inscriptions carved, depicting dozens of humans and creatures interacting with one another across various scenes. Four large carved statues of men are placed equidistant around the room and each is shown to be holding up the ceiling in a different pose. Seven doors are placed around the room. Two are between each statue with the exception of the largest door which stands alone, stoic as its immense size stretches from floor to ceiling.
As the group starts to take in the scene before them they are also horrified to discover the source of the stench that has been plaguing them. Around the room are dozens of corpses huddled against the walls and clinging to each other. The bodies are emaciated and whithered, yet the smell is almost overwhelming as there are easily fifty packed into this space. A cursory glance for those that can manage show most of them to be woman or children, though there are the bodies of men here as well.
Suddenly the putrid warmth of the room becomes almost overwhelming, as the survivors are all suffused with the sense of death that permeates the air around them.
Though the robes the figures wore have started to rot away, it is still easy to tell that they were once the vestments worn by religious pilgrims known as the People of the Sun.
More at home in the fetid warmth than he was in the cold, Pengaal moves easily through the cave - his stooped posture and hunched gait well-suited to moving through the rock. Reaching the room, though, and even his swamp-hardened stomach turns at the sight before him.
"W- who were they? And what killed them?"
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Siegschwert remains silent and vigilant throughout the journey. As the party enters the chamber he inspects the room for possible dangers, only turning his attention to the bodies once he is sure there is none.
The Librarian Knight contains a shiver before answering Pengaal "I... don't have an answer... but I desire... to know. " he says before walking to the center of the room "Poor... devils... I don't think anything... killed them... Look at their positions... it was sickness... or hunger... what took their lives..."
He turns his attention once again from the bodies to the statues and doors, in n attempt to block the stench from his mind "We shouldn't... stay here..."
Ludwig advances through the cave well enough, stumbling a few times but nothing more than that. He shivers as they enter the chamber, but draws a deep breath and inspects the bodies. "Yuria, do you know what can cause... this?"
Siegschwert examines the statues. Each of the four statues are cut from stone (the same stone that the rest of the room is made of by the looks of it), and while they are not incredibly detailed their large size denotes a certain level of artistry that went into their creation. Each figure appears to be similarly garbed in stone robes, though the means by which they hold the ceiling above aloft varies. The two statues flanking the large door both bear their burden with ease, one holding the ceiling with the palm of its right hand while making a symbol with its right. The other holds the ceiling aloft with both hands, head held high with gaze fixed towards the sky. The other two statues (flanking the tunnel by which you entered the rooms) are depicted in a greater struggle than their cousins. One strains to bear the weight of what has been placed upon him while the other shrinks away in fear from the ceiling, only barely touching it at all.
Siegschwert then moves to examine the doors. He finds that, without opening them, they all appear to be identically constructed of sturdy planks with iron banding. Only the large door is an exception for its surface is interrupted by two tremendous iron spikes that penetrate their way through the wood, splintering it. From the way the wood erupts it is obvious that the spikes entered from the other side of this grand door. Their is a hint of dried blood on them as well, as well as a far larger stain that pooled into the chamber from beneath the door and then dried.
Your examination does not glean a wealth of information, but you are able to tell that none of the dead had suffered any life threatening wounds prior to their demise. You also know that given the heat and humidity of this place these bodies are likely no more than a few weeks old, a month at most. However, the rotting clothing is ponderous as it can take quite a bit longer for cloth to rot in this manner.
"That's strange..." he mutters to himself and then turns to Siegschwert. "We shouldn't rush forward either. Let's check every door and what's behind them, before opening the main one."
"This is not a good place. Yuria, does the path continue past here?" He indicates the impaled door and the pool of blood.
Yuria looks about the room. The smells, the feeling, the death.....
She feels as if she had just been here, and as one hand caresses her sacred chime, the other touches to her tattoo like rune on her body. "....This..... I feel like this is so similar to when I touched the lantern.... The death, the heat of this place...."
Yuria throws up as her head swirls- something about her touching the rune had just combined the feeling all together. It was as eerie and disgusting as that previous temple had been.
The vomit relieves her just enough to focus on the ground, searching desperately to see if anything still guides her way, as she mutters, "Siegschwert.... Champion.... are you sure you don't recognize anything here?"
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Siegschwert turns to Yuria and examines her "I... don't... but I did have suspicions..." says the Librarian Knight as he caresses one of the statues "Even though... I have no proof of this... I think we are in the... Titan Range... I remembered it before we arrived here... and I don't believe it's... coincidence."
Sieg walks towards the main oor, the one with the metal pikes, before continuing "An alliance... of the People of the Sun... and Twilight Order... fought a great battle here... but I don't know who was their enemy... and I desire to know."
"Titan Range? So that is..." Ludwig trails off, before speaking again. "There were a great battle here indeed, sir Siegschwert of Eissenhorn. People of the Sun and Twilight Order united against a madman, who wanted to execute everyone who professed any kind of religion. Many good men were lost."
He now looks at the grand doors with a concern in his eyes. "Twilight Order hid a great secret inside these mountains."
Felicia stares half dazed at the figures as her mind reels back to foggier scraps of memory and teachings. Her eyes linger on the blood pooling beneath the door as she breaths, "We lost..." She grips her Twilight lantern that hangs at her side tightly, seeking any comfort from it's shrouded cold light.
With no response to his question forthcoming, Pengaal moves slowly through the fetid air to one of the side doors. Feeling the carvings with his hand, he pushes experimentally.
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Siegschwert puts his hand on Felicia's shoulder, trying to confirt her "We... lost... but we... fought... for what we... believed... There's... great honour... in such a defeat."
Turning to Ludwig, the Librarian Knight meditates what he said "I did not... know why they fought... or I do not remember it... memories are... hazy. But the madman... may have waken... as the Flower Witch did. If that is... the situation... says Sieg as he gazes Yuria "We shall... stop him in the name of... the People of the Sun... and the Twilight Knights."
Having said that Siegschwert moves towards the door Pengaal is trying "May I... try?" he asks if Pengal can't open it.
Taking a step back, the Knight puts all his strength on a powerful kick to force it open.
Pengaal pushes on one of the side doors, though it does not budge. He does notice with some ammusement that the markings on the floor as well as the handle imply that it is meant to be pulled open. Perhaps with a small chuckle he goes to pull the door open, but is interrupted by Siegschwert slamming the door with an armored boot. The wood cracks and snaps loudly, and one of the hinges becomes loose yet the doors holds.
Slowly, sheepishly even, the door slowly swings outwards to welcome the two survivors - perhaps it fears further abuse?
Poking his head through the badly beaten door, Pengaal takes a look around.
There's a small room behind the door, barren of any real furnishings besides a burlap rug on the ground. It's no more than 5 ft long or wide, though the ceiling is quite high, and is made from the same hewn stone as the rest of the area you have visited. The room is also noticeably cooler when you cross the threshold. You may suspect the solitary hole in the ceiling as the culprit - cursory examination yields that it may go all the way through the mountain beyond, evidenced by a solitary beam of light that enters the room and casts directly center on the burlap mat.
Moving slowly and cautiously, Pengaal approaches the mat and the sunbeam for a closer look.
Yuria follows, but only slightly. Distracted by the nostalgia and nausea she shakes her head "No. We have not remembered enough. We do not know enough. Spirit of the Nexus of this place, of this Temple... Sorrel, if you are there...."
Yuria snatches up another one of her bound souls but instead of crushing it, she stretches it to span across the cowering pillar and the powerful one that stand on either side of the great door "Tell us what happened here. Tell us the story of this place. Tell us what is here to fear...."
Yuria begins to let her eyes close as she finishes- any more talking aloud in such a clear manner, and she may vomit once more from the remembrance of the lantern.
You confirm the specifics of what the others where saying. The Titans Range was once host to a great conflict between the Order and an army led by a man known as the Distant Prince. The latter would be the victor, while the former suffered devastating losses
Pengaal moves into the room to investigate the beam of light. There seems nothing particularly unusual about it, though when it strikes him he gets the faintest sense of vibration from somewhere inside his brain. Not an uncomfortable sensation, but a surprising one.
Siegschwert moves the rug and finds that it only concealed further stone floor.
Ludwig looks inside the room, not entering. "Some kind of chapel, maybe?"
He then moves clockwise to the next door and opens it just a bit to see what is inside.
Ludwig opens another of the doors and finds a similar, if not indistinguishable, room. A single burlap rug with a beam of light gently falling in the center.
"Huh," he turns to his companions. "The same rug and the same hole in the ceiling."
He proceeds to the next room, opening it and peeking inside. "Let's see if the others are the same."
"For meditation, I think. The light makes my brain tingle." Moving in the other direction from Ludwig, Pengaal checks inside the other lesser doors.
Curious, the survivors make to check the remaining rooms. Each one is identical to the last, with one exception. One of the rooms that flanks the large door is slightly different. In the right hand wall, about 4 or 5 feet of the ground, is a large hole. By the looks of the crumbled stone on the floor, you'd guess that this hole was not an intentional part of the design. The hole seems just big enough that someone could squeeze through with enough effort, though it is dark on the inside.
"Let's see what manner of creature died on the other side of this door - and what made this hole."
Tossing his torch through first, Pengaal hoists himself up and makes to squeeze through.
When Pengaal pushes his torch through the hole he can see on the other side a length of thick chain extending vertically. He attempts to force himself through the space, though it is incredibly uncomfortable. His clothing is caught up in some jagged stone and rips loudly in several places. The ordeal continues as he finally makes it to the other side where he falls a good five or six feet onto something that feels faintly like metal. The fall is painful, but there is no real damage done besides, perhaps, to his pride. The torch lies within reach.
Whatever area it is that Pengaal has entered is claustrophobic, barely enough room for him to move around. He has found footing on a large metal object (possibly iron judging by how its color and slight patina). The chain he had seen earlier is attached to this object and its surface is very slightly rounded. It does not fit perfectly into the small square space it occupies, each corner has just a few inches of space between the object and the wall.
Yuria gives a small gasp at the excitedness of Pengaal as she now hoarsely whispers, forcibly looking at the hole instead of the gore in the room "Pengaal- be careful champion! It isn't wise to be alone!"
She gently clasps her hands together as she keeps an eye over his torch shadowed figure, praying that she would not need to expel his blessing so early into a dangerous, almost remembered, place.
Felcia stands off to one side, "Anything of note Pengaal?" This place was making her nervous between those strange masked figures and now this apparently abandoned place.
Picking himself, and then the torch, up and holding it high, Pengaal turns slowly to take a good look around.
"A chain - probably for the door mechanism. If I follow it, I may be able to find the lock."
Griping the torch between his teeth, Pengaal begins to climb.
Looking around Pengaal confirms that he is trapped in a tight vertical shaft. The walls are featureless except for wear marks - presumably from the chain moving up and down.
Pengaal begins to climb up, passing the hole in the wall by which he entered and another thirty feet beyond that. A fall from this height would be far more painful. Pengaal has arrived at an apparent ceiling that the chain extends into, passing through a small hole no more than two fists wide. The ceiling is slightly curved to match the shape of the metal object below.
Grunting softly, Pengaal begins the climb back down.
Pengaal climbs back down successfully.
Squeezing back the way he came, Pengaal looks to the others. "It's a chain, attached to what might be a weight. There's no sign of what made this hole though." He moves back into the main room, stepping around pools of blood and over bodies until he reaches the main door and gives it a hard shove.
The door does not give in the slightest. From wear marks on the floor Pengaal could guess that the door was meant to swing into the room, though any attempts to pull are equally fruitless.
Perhaps cutting the chain...
Before he tries that, Pengaal moves to examine the carvings on the walls, looking for clues on the door as well as any stories they may tell.
The carvings are all of one continuous image. You find the start near the double doors and then follow it counterclockwise around the room. There is depicted a group of people with large rolling clouds hanging above their heads. As they move through life they come across much strife in the form of beasts, pestilence, bandits. Always the group faces these things together and survive through that bonding. They eventually find themselves at the foot of the mountain. A tall figure from emerges from the group and ushers them up from the mountain, away from the hardships. The mountain takes the group above the dark clouds and they find a glowing, glorious object in the sky beyond. They climb the mountain upwards in a rush to be closer to the orb. The carvings end showing the group holding hands, encircling the mountain peak.
"Anything useful on the walls?" asks Aidan, while pushing on random places on the walls near the doors. Maybe there's some secret lever or something?
"A story, but it says nothing about this door. It seems that the ones we saw last night have been here for a long while, and that salvation lies at the mountain peak."
"As for the door, cutting the chain may release it - or make it impossible to open."
Yuria ponders this for a few moments before looking back to Pengaal "Perhaps I can finally be of more direct assistance...."
Yuria pulls out another wisp, and it apparently disappears into thin air without the usual sound of crushing or stretching she performs. Whispering out she thrusts her arm forward towards the large door "Go, Spirit. See if you can discover what locks the door on the other side!"
A voice out of thin air gives an icy cool response "Dooooooor."
Ludwig begins to push against the walls, but it is a large room and it will take some time to thoroughly check the space for any concealed panels. So far, he has found none.
Yuria releases one of her spirits into the chamber. At first it appears to be little more than a gently churning ball of air that occasionally emits a ghastly moan. The sound makes the survivors realize they cannot see the creatures true form, and for that they are thankful.
At Yurias command the shuffles through the door, passing through with virtually no effort whatsoever. Small stones and trinkets that had been picked up in the whirlwind collide with the wood surface and clatter to the ground. Moments pass and the creature returns, indicated again by the sudden presence of ominous floating objects. An inhuman voice, hissing and deep emanates from the ball of air as it delivers its report:
"A man holds the doooooor. Many men lie around himmmmmm. The waaaaaay is cloooosed by him."
Then the gathered air disperses and the creature returns to its repose as quickly as it came.
Siegschwert inspects the large door again, this time looking for weakness. Despite its imposing size, the door appears to be no more than sturdy wood banded with iron. With enough time and effort simply hacking their way through would be possible.
"Well then. If a man holds the door.... it is either a statue- or someone we need to convince to open it, friend or foe.
Pengaal, you are the only one to observed the chain and scout ahead- what do you think we should do?"
Yuria would share the information shared to her by her poltergeist if no one was able to hear it at the time, in her own whispered voice.
"Or a body," adds Ludwig grimly. "I don't think this pool under it and these two spikes are supposed to be here."
"The chain occupies a simple shaft; there's no way to see beyond the door. But still..." Stepping up to the door, he pauses before knocking loudly.
The knocks echo loudly, yet still there is no answer.
"Hm. The only way I can think of to proceed inwards is to cut the chain."
"Let's try to cut it, then" sighs Ludwig. "I have no other ideas."
Felicia sighs "The worst that may happen is nothing, so I agree."