I wonder if these fine gentlemen are trapped in a time loop. ... but what year is it?
"...In the olden days, it is said that we were the judges and the defenders of the people, and that there were priests amongst us capable of miracles such as healing..."
Bolgar turns back to Loges.
"I wonder about your time loop theory. If Gorm still exists, he should still have clerics. If the gods no longer grant miracles to their clerics in this place, perhaps we have traveled in time. If so, how can we go back?"
He turns back to address Arash again.
"Earlier my friend asked what year it was, and your acolyte didn't know what we meant. Perhaps you do? How to you keep track of the passage of time here? What year is it according to your calendar?"
"... the Chosen of the Unicorn..."
"...the evil of the Cyclops."
"Who is this Cyclops? Is that Zargon? And who then is the Unicorn?"
He turns back to address Arash again.
"Earlier my friend asked what year it was, and your acolyte didn't know what we meant. Perhaps you do? How to you keep track of the passage of time here? What year is it according to your calendar?"
Arash answers your questions, although he seems to be getting more terse with his answers, as if his patience is running out. Upon hearing Bolgar's questions, he turns to his acolytes and confers with them in hushed tones. After a few brief moments he returns to the dwarf's question.
"These words, "year" and "calendar", we are not familiar with them. If you ask how we measure time, well, the priests of Zargon blow the horn of work, the horn of prayer, and the horn of sleep from their temple in the Lower City. We measure time by these horn blows. Here in the Upper City we do not hear these calls, of course, but we still divide our time into work, prayer, and sleep, but have no set time as to when they happen."
"Who is this Cyclops? Is that Zargon? And who then is the Unicorn?"
Arash nods, "Yes, they are one and the same. Zargon has one eye and one horn on his forehead, so he is known by all three names. The Magi of Usamigaras also call him the Slitherer, while the Maidens of Madarua know him as the Hungerer, but those names are silly, so we do not call him that."
"These words, "year" and "calendar", we are not familiar with them."
"I suppose if you never go into the outer world those words would mean little, but if you care to know, the people of the outside world use the passage of the Sun through the sky as one 'day,' since from the time it is directly overhead to the time it is overhead once again is always the same. We typically sleep once during this period. The sun is the bright light you see outside half the time, though the other half if the time it is below the horizon. If you ever care to step outside I would be happy to show you, though your eyes may find the light hard to handle if you always stay in here."
"The patterns of stars visible at night change over the course of one year after which they return to their original positions. This period is 365 days long. We outsiders measure long periods using years. We make charts called 'calendars' to keep track of the day and the year."
"Yes, they are one and the same. Zargon has one eye and one horn on his forehead, so he is known by all three names. The Magi of Usamigaras also call him the Slitherer, while the Maidens of Madarua know him as the Hungerer, but those names are silly, so we do not call him that."
"Yes, I see. It does make more sense to describe him by his appearance rather than what he does, since other things may do the same things. I have been known to hunger from time to time myself."
"Friend Arash, I thank you for your patience with us and now I ask that we may leave in peace. You said you do not accept magicians among your number, but some of our group are warriors and we will discuss amongst ourselves whether they might be interested in joining your group."
Bolgar bows and makes to leave.
I am about to find out, Bolgar...
Loges retraces their steps to the beetle door.
Assuming they are allowed to withdraw, the half-orc pauses with the others near the closed door leading into the beetle room and speaks with his allies. "I do not understand all of what happened back there, but it sounds as though these followers of Gorm have been here a very long time - though how they can stand to stay within these stone walls and not venture into the world seems strange to me. They spoke of a 'city below' where this Cyclops rules and enslaves the children of those we have just met. Maybe this is the 'evil' that the invisible creature spoke of. And if they have a route to the surface, they might be the ones that raided our caravan and took those that weren't killed in the attack and are still missing - probably taken as slaves. If that is so, we must find a way to get down there and free them. Though it gets us no closer to finding a way through the desert, but it's a start."
"It wounds like perhaps this 'City Below' may be part of the fabled Darklands. Legends of the world below are garbled and confusing... perhaps it merely is a city alone and not part of the Darklands but that would not make sense to me. A city can not stand alone, it needs the farmers, fishers and miners to provide for it's needs. Without great magic I can not see how it could survive as anything you could call a city if it were completely cut off. So perhaps it is a place with little to no contact with the outside world of the surface but it could be some exotic city state of the Darklands?"
He looks towards Loges and the others. "I mean that makes sense to me... I have spent much of my life in cities and have seen how quickly a shortage of one supply or another can lead to chaos and strife."
Assuming they are allowed to withdraw, the half-orc pauses with the others near the closed door leading into the beetle room and speaks with his allies. "I do not understand all of what happened back there, but it sounds as though these followers of Gorm have been here a very long time - though how they can stand to stay within these stone walls and not venture into the world seems strange to me."
"They believe they are caged here, yes? Perhaps it is only a cage in their minds? We should explore further and see what we find, but maybe when we return, we should try to get one of them to leave, yes? They could be free and not even know it!"
Tamru looks pleasantly hopeful as he follows the others to the new doorway, glaive casually at the ready.
"Well, living indoors away from the sun, I can certainly see why they might think they are trapped here. They have no experience dealing with the harsh realities of the desert; I doubt any of them would survive if they ventured out. They didn't even know what the Sun was."
"Considering that, I very much doubt that what happened to our caravan was done by people from within this pyramid."
"And this 'evil' the guardian warned us about could well be that 'Zargon' that they spoke of. But we should not jump to conclusions. I think we should be on our guard, but we need more information. Though if the 'city below' is within the Darklands, then Zargon's evil should come as no shock. Though my people came from the Darklands, our stories tell of great perils and evils that await below, out of the light. Few good creatures dare dwell there, and those that venture there seldom return."
"But do not dismiss the Darklands as a source of sustenance. You can farm there, and sometimes fish, and mining is not difficult. There are even forests of tall mushrooms that can provide lumber. A well-organized city should have no difficulty meeting its needs, if it has enough space."
Bolgar shrugs.
"But do we really wish to get involved in all of this? I don't know about the rest of you, but I didn't sign on to a caravan to fight some great evil in a lost oasis. I hoped to see the world and perhaps become wealthy. Right now, I feel we should be trying to find a way to return home."
Tollo glowers listening to the translation, used to being referred to as an ugly child but still not liking it.
"I sure as hell don't want to help no xenophobic masked shut-ins with anything- but we need enough food and water to get out of here, don't we? Sooo..."
The halfling shrugs.
"Think we have to play along, if not with the Gormboys then with whoever else is around, at least long enough to stockpile food and water or get into the Darklands and try that as a way of getting back to civilization. This place is still the best option we have for finding what happened to our caravan- or at least for keeping ourselves alive long enough."
The followers of Gorm allow you to leave peacefully. Arash holds out his hand in a gesture of blessing or farewell (it's hard to know), and intones a few words in ancient Kelish.
"May it be Your will, Gorm, that You lead us toward justice, guide our footsteps toward justice, and make us reach our desired destination for life, justice, and peace. May You rescue us from the hand of every foe, ambush along the way, and from all manner of punishments that assemble to come to earth. May You send blessing in our handiwork, and grant us grace and mercy in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who see us."
Loges listens to the others as they voice their theories.
Well whatever the nature of this mystery, we do have an obligation to our kidnappings to attempt to locate, and, if possible, rescue them. Whether these things are connected seems a bit premature currently. I suggest that we check in on our camp. We can then discuss our further future actions without distractions.
The wizard smiles at Timbur.
Looks like beetle is on tonight's menu, my friend.
The mage readies to open the door with a nod from Timbur.
Horek recalls Tollo's suggestion and moves to retrieve the lizard now that they are on their way out of the pyramid to check on the camp and let their two companions know of what they found.
Tamru readies his polearm and tries to take a position near the front-liners.
Loges waves his hands and pronounces an arcane phrase. He then casts light on one of his candles.
Carry this. Go open that door.
"Shall we deal with those beetles? They are quite good when roasted on a spit, once you get the shells off."
"Let us hope we are not stuck in this desert long enough to regret not becoming giant beetle farmers!"
Tollo loads his crossbow, letting the melee fighters take their positions with an "after you" gesture.
Never one to shy away from a fight, Horek drops the carcass of the gecko and readies his greataxe. He nods at Tollo's gesture, then moves to the fore of the group along with Zuberi and the other front-line fighters, ready to burst into the room when Loges' magic opens the door for them...
"May the fortune of Gemfingers be upon you," Bolgar says as he touches his symbol to Zuberi's forehead.
"Tollo, perhaps you should stand right behind Zuberi. When he rushes in, you can take your shot with your crossbow. I know it is better for you if you can catch the beasts unawares."
Bolgar looks around. "Everybody ready?"
"Thank you Bolgar, your idea is sound let me get their attention. I've got plenty of steel and fortune protecting me now." Zuberri readies his greatsword to assault the beetles once everyone is ready.
Horek nods his own readiness, intending to rush in after Zuberi once Tollo has taken his initial shot with the crossbow.
Tamru grins gently as his eyes sparkle. "The Eternal Rose guide your blade."
He reaches over to Zuberi and touches him on the shoulder, a soft pink glow forming around him.
And here we go....open the door.
Zuberi charges into the midst of as many of the fire beetles as possible swinging his greatsword as he closes the gap and brings the heavy blade down with a crunch on the oversized critter's carapace.
Horek moves into the chamber after the others, maneuvering to take on one of the beetles by himself, if possible.
vs DC 12 = Hit!
slashing damage (+1 additional if Horek only is threatening it [Trait bonus])
"Ach, here we go!"
When he gets the chance, Bolgar rushes into the room behind the others.
Tollo fires at one of the fire beetles the second the door opens enough for him, he then moves to a spot in the room out of the melee but with a clear line of sight.
Loges commands his invisible servant to open the door, giving a quick view into the entrance chamber. Little has changed since the party was last there. Most of the fire beetles are huddles in the northwest corner of the room, with one other further out in the middle.
Despite the crowding of the group in the hallway, Tollo takes a snap shot into the room, impaling the lone fire beetle in the room's center with a crossbow bolt.
Tamru blesses Zuberi with a mote of his goddess' power, suffusing the human with a soft, warm sensation.
Zuberi and Horek rush past him into the room, ready to strike at the nearest standing vermin, followed a second later by Bolgar.
Zuberi makes short work of a second beetle, obliterating it into smithereens with his greatsword.
If you are able to take only a standard action on your turn, you can still charge, but you are only allowed to move up to your speed (instead of up to double your speed) and you cannot draw a weapon unless you possess the Quick Draw feat. You can't use this option unless you are restricted to taking only a standard action on your turn.
Bolgar looks around the room for a likely target. He rushes forwards, and strikes at a beetle already engaged by someone else. "Ha! Let's put these vermin down!"
I'll just let my attack in my last post stand, since I didn't get to make it in the Surprise Round - if that's OK?
Happy to put an end to one of the beetles so quickly Zuberi hefts his greatsword and prepares to to bring it crashing down on another firebeetle.
Tamru calmly walks into the room and swings his glaive down at one of the beetles.
The warriors of the group make quick work of the beetles, who are all dispatched within seconds.
Loges smiles as his companions prepare supper.
Entering the chamber, the wizard directs his Unseen Servant around the room.
Tollo takes a good look around the room.
He pokes some of the debris on the floor with his foot and stoops to look at something in the northwest corner.
"Huh. The beetles were digging this out- maybe they were going to lay eggs or something?"
"Yes, you're right! This one was going to lay eggs, it looks like. Maybe we should save the eggs for breakfast. Too bad there's no bacon! Heh."
Bolgar heads over to the beetle carcasses with his dagger.
"If we're going to harvest the meat of these things, we should do so now. If we leave the carcasses here, they may attract scavengers."
"We should carve out the light glands. They keep glowing for a while, even when dried out."
Horek is oddly sad that they had killed a pregnant female - even if it was only a bug. He helps to harvest what meat they can, then retrieves the gecko, leaving the others to drag out the beetle meat. The half-orc isn't even entirely sure if the stuff is edible. But the thought of bacon makes his stomach rumble and he figures they will have some time to eat before returning to the pyramid in order to explore further.
Zuberri will gladly help move the beetles to the front. The lizard sounded more appetizing but it would mean they could hold onto their rations for longer. There was obviously food below but this structure was dangerous, an easy win was welcome.
Tollo kicks a piece of masonry into the excavated hole.
"We coulda left 'em be and just poached the young, huh? There goes sustainable food... but I reckon we didn't come this far to be beetle farmers now did we?"
He wrinkles his nose.
"Dwarves eat these, right? How are you supposed to cook 'em, Bolgar?"
Timbur never even had a chance to come out of his stunned reverie before the combat was over. He sheepishly moves into the room, helping butcher the bugs, while studiously avoiding the gaze of everybody else.
"Dwarves eat these, right? How are you supposed to cook 'em, Bolgar?"
"Lots of ways," Bolgar says cheerily. "The best way is to boil 'em in a big pot still in the shell. But I don't think we have a pot big enough. But you can fry the meat in a skillet with a bit of oil, or cook 'em in a stew, or just roast the meat over a fire on skewers. We could smoke it too, if we have time."
"Don't worry... it tastes a lot like chicken. And I suppose I wouldn't mind a little lunch break."
Tamru looks almost sadly down at the slain beetles. "There was beauty in even these creatures. It is a shame they could not be more friendly...
or more importantly, less substantial." The garundi man taps his round belly with a gentle smile. "I am hungry."
With that, he stows his glaive and almost reverently lifts the beetle he slew and hoists it up to his shoulder to carry to the camp.