After checking to be sure the others were ready, Azri pushed open the door and took a look around the chamber, ready to jump back and out of the way if something nasty had managed to hide in there after all.
She was also being very cautious while opening it, trying to avoid attracting any undue attention... though if there was anything inside, it had probably heard the battle earlier... sigh. Still, she was good at sneaking, noticing things, and sensing the motives of others - she'd probably have made an excellent bard or thief (and was there even a difference? Heh), but her true calling was magic, so she hadn't gone down either of those paths.
The door opens easily, revealing a short corridor with a series of door leading off it to either side. A small shrine at the end of the corridor sits, unlit. Indeed, the whole corridor is dark, barely lit at all by the small sky light overhead.
"These are the clerics rooms," Kira whispered as she approached.
"So, what do we do? Try each one of these doors?" Selena asks. If no one stops her, the half-succubus moves to the closest door and opens.
Something is so going to jump at me...
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"It seems unlikely that this Redemption fellow is napping in one of the clerics' rooms, but we'll feel foolish if he is and never checked, right?" Ayreth moves towards the rooms on the right as Selena moves to the ones on the left. As Selena opens the first door, Ayreth pokes her in the back and shouts, "Boogity!" with a big grin.
Azri joined the others, carefully opening the doors one by one after listening at each one for any sign that something was inside.
...She did manage to hear her friends talking! They were very... audible. But more seriously, she was trying to figure out if any other clerics remained here, and more importantly, if any of the rooms had information about the facility they could use. Probably in some head cleric's room if there was any at all, but she figured it was worth checking as long as she was here.
Aibek walked slowly into the room, around the others, pausing underneath the skylight. A soft short chuckle passed the witchwolf's lips as Ayreth's joke reached Aibek's ears. Seeing the others listening at doors, Aibek's amber eyes looked up for a brief study of the window and the skyline, looking for an estimation of the conditions outside and hoping a clear desert sky would make it easy to see how much time had passed.
Aibek thought for a moment quiet, before softly speaking Kira, are there windows like this throughout this place? Other than the wide open courtyard rooms? " Even Aibek thought it was likely an odd thing to notice skylights, but with things coming from everywhere, above began to itch at Aibek's thoughts...
Mihara follows along quietly, paying close attention to any threats that might be coming.
The rooms themselves are relatively normal, ten foot cells each with a bed, some basic furniture and whatever decorations the clerics chose. Since Sarenrae didn't demand Her worshipers remain celibate it was likely these were the quarters for any preists or clerics that were not married. Of the six doors, five revealed the same basic cell, whereas the sixth revealed a small bathroom with several large tubs.
Inside the baths a figure lay, arm outstretched towards the far wall. A large wound carved into the robed figures back, the blood dried and crusted, suggested the cause of death.
Kira, still at the entrance, replied to Aibek, "Yeah, a lot of the inner areas use sky lights. Apparently normal windows let in too much heat along with the light, and the sky lights let some of the heat that does get in escape during the day."
Azri carefully examined the body, checking for signs of traps or magic, then quietly closed the figure's eyes and left the cell. "Doesn't seem like there's anything worth noting here." she said, returning to the main hallway and moving to the northern door. Once again, she bent over to listen through the door, taking her time while the others figured out what they wanted to do. Personally, she didn't want to rub the body of a dead holy man inside that holy man's church when the god involved would probably smite her... yeah, best to stay away from that.
"May his fellow devotees give this man the proper funerals he deserves." Mihara murmurs. "There is nothing we can do for him, except to avenge his death and set things right. Let us move on to just that." She adds.
"Nope, nothing..." Selena says while she turns to the other, when Ayreth pokes her. Suppressing a gasp, the half-fiend stares at the witch for a moment, and then chuckles "You looked like a way more serious person, at a first glance. Not that it's a bad thing: hanging around with someone stiff is incredibly boring. Unless you tease him, of course." she adds, grinning at Nigrum.
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After giving a quick glance at the baths, Selena stops for a moment, "Isn't it weird?" she asks to the others. "We didn't find any other corpse since now: all of the priest had been brainwashed. Then why is this guy dead?"
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"Nope, nothing..." Selena says while she turns to the other, when Ayreth pokes her. Suppressing a gasp, the half-fiend stares at the witch for a moment, and then chuckles "You looked like a way more serious person, at a first glance. Not that it's a bad thing: hanging around with someone stiff is incredibly boring. Unless you tease him, of course." she adds, grinning at Nigrum.
Ayreth smiles and then her eyes go wide. "Sooo... you like to tease stiff guys?"
When encountering the corpse, she asks, "Is he pointing at the wall? 'Cause that's not creepy at all. Oh, I'm a poet and didn't know it." She walks over to the wall and inspects it.
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Remaining in the hallway, Aibek nodded solemnly as the others called out their finding. Turning towards where Aibek had heard Kira's voice, the witchwolf replied, That's what I thought. The small windows should prevent much coming from above, I imagine creatures attracted to heat would enjoy what's likely a baking roof until it begins to cool later..." Aibek trailed off in thoughts of the roof, cutting them off with snorted laughter sputtered from the witchwolf as Ayreth's comments floated through the hall. "So where to next, Kira?
Kira replied, "The roof has got something up there to prevent people messing around on it. Plus it's either baking hot o freezing cold with only about an hour one way or the other, so we should be safe from there. As to where next...I'd go back to the central sanctum and search the rooms nearest it. There's a barracks and the high priest's room."
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"Like teasing people? That's my job, dear: I love it!" Selena laughs. "Like, there was this Priest of Abadar that came to check over the temple's ledgers. The whole thing was later known as "The accountancy afternoon", and it involved a brass paperweight, creative use of ink and ink-pots, and a very embarrassed Abadaran apprentice." the half-succubus grins. "I'd tell you the whole story, but there are too young ears here. Maybe one time little Kira isn't around."
_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_
"Anyway, when we're ready, let's go to the barracks first."
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"Like teasing people? That's my job, dear: I love it!" Selena laughs. "Like, there was this Priest of Abadar that came to check over the temple's ledgers. The whole thing was later known as "The accountancy afternoon", and it involved a brass paperweight, creative use of ink and ink-pots, and a very embarrassed Abadaran apprentice." the half-succubus grins. "I'd tell you the whole story, but there are too young ears here. Maybe one time little Kira isn't around."
"And how stiff was he after your teasing?"
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a faint series of scratches in the rock near the wall the cleric was pointing towards, curved in such a way that the wall curves outwards.
Ayreth points out the scratches in the wall. "What do you make of those?"
She looks at Emmitt for a moment before reaching out to touch and push on the wall.
"Make of...oh." Kira's voice paused as she finally looked into the room, seeing the dead man. "That's Cleric Kadalman. He used to pass me extra desert when he helped in the kitchens. I...wondered where he had gone. I hadn't seen him among the controlled or the other dead people."
Kira sniffed loudly. "OK, alright. We can burn him to ashes later. He'd want to be with the others. I can cope. What were you...oh, hey, scratches? I guess the rumour was true. The Clerics kept some emergency supplies in a hidden room near where they stayed. Looks like it opens out into the room...so I guess there's a switch somewhere?"
In the bathing tub the cleric had been in is a small switch, a simple bump in the wood that would barely be noticeable if not for the attention the cleric had drawn to it.
Pushing the button causes the wall to slide out, revealing a small store of weapons, armour and potions for emergencies, as well as several symbols of Sarenrae and other supplies.
Four Masterwork Scimitars
One +1 Scimitar
One Masterwork Elven Curve Blade
Four sets of Masterwork Chainshirts
One Mithral Scalemail.
4 potions marked 'Cure Serious Wounds'
12 potions marked 'Endure Elements'
100 feet spidersilk rope
Two spell pouches
Five canteens of water.
Nigrum nods at the discovery.
"Well done."
Looking over the supplies, he picks up a potion and the scalemail.
"If no one objects, I would like to make use of these."
Unless any object he proceeds to change armor and place the potion in his bandolier. The armor, thanks to it's material, was much like his chain shirt in weight and movement but granted greater protection.
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"Not a bad idea," Ayreth says as she fingers one of the shirts.
She tosses one of the CSW potions to Selena, then one to Aibek. She starts the underhand motion toward Azri, but stops midway. "Oh, right...," she offers awkwardly. "Uh, well, I suppose that I'll hang on to this."
She offers up the Endure Elements potions as well. "Azri... still no?"
Once that is settled, she also changes armor without modesty.
"Some of us don't need to worry about that type of thing." Azri said, a faint grin on her face. It was quite convenient, actually - she could easily travel through many environments that others couldn't, and would quite possibly be putting that to good use throughout the day. "Unfortunately, I can't really use the armor, either... never liked the stuff." Not that death was anything more than a minor inconvenience... But then, she wasn't terribly surprised that the priest in question hadn't prepared anything for an undead witch. She was happy to see that the others were more protected, though - she'd been starting to worry for them.
Mihara gives the lot a quick overlook, objecting as the potions are passed around.
"Ayreth, you've proven to have great skills in healing; perhaps it would be best if I held onto one of these. Should you fall, it would be a simple task for me to administer it to you if I were holding it. If we are ever in a pinch, it seems to be that it would be safer for each of us to have a source of healing on hand."
"As far as these weapons and armors go, there is little I can make good use of. I wouldn't know heads or tails of how to move in such a bulky suit of armor, Mithral or not, and my own armor outclasses these shirts."
She does, however, claim her fair share of Endure Elements potions and, if other such potions went unclaimed, she would also lay claim to one of the spares.
"Well, he..." Selena is about to continue her chat with Ayreth, when Kira speaks. Falling silent, the half-fiend stares at her feet, lost in thought.
There must be a reason if this priest was the only one killed...Damn it! Whoever is behind this got into the temple with no problems and took control of it with the same ease with which they poisoned grampa Zhen! They will curse the day they were born when I get my hands on them...
For a moment, the half-succubus's eyes flash with malice, clenching her fists so hard as to almost drive the nails into her palms.
They will curse it so hard...
Before Selena's mind drifts to much darker thoughts, Ayreth tosses her the potion, which she easily snatches out of the air. She pauses for a second, regaining her composure, and then moves for the secret stash. "I don't know if it's sturdy enough to bind someone, but it's best than nothing" Selena says after picking up the Spidersilk Rope, testing its resistance."More than for us, we should pick the potions for the priests: if the spirits controlling them are preventing them from being killed by the heat, as soon as we defeat them things could turn bad." she adds, her voice less cheerful than before.
"C'mon, let's go."
"A wise thought, Selena. I agree."
Hearing what Ayreth had found, Aibek kept quiet while listening to what the others were gathering. Aibek couldn't really think of needing anything until Mihara and Selena spoke. Having healing quickly to hand for them was a good idea...
Aibek nodded solemnly after Selena spoke, finally moving and taking the last the cure serious wound potions, a couple endure element potions, and a pair of water canteens. Pausing in thought while storing things in the belt pouches, Aibek asked aloud You okay, Kira? Do you need anything? Are you comfortable using any of the weapons or armour, at least while those enslaved dervishes and this Redemption and other creatures are jumping out of everywhere? Or some water?"
"A sword? Well...I suppose I can try... One of the swords floated up for a moment before vanishing. After a second there was a clang and the sword reappeared, the curved and razor sharp edge buried in the tiles on the floor. "So...maybe a dagger?"
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Ayreth reaches her foot out and slides the sword toward herself before picking it up and putting it back in the cache. "Right, so, a dagger it is. Remember, pointy end out." Ayreth winks in Kira's general direction. "Though, I don't have one to offer."
Scooping up any unclaimed EE potions, she offers them to Selena. "For the priests. It was a good idea."
"Shall we move on?"
"Hold on."
One moment, Mihara apparently doesn't have a dagger; a blink of an eye and a faint clicking sound later, she is.
She flips the weapon into the air and catches it by the flat of the blade, held between two fingers, pointing the weapon's hilt in Kira's approximate location.
"Do be careful with it; I keep my weapons very sharp."
There was a pause as the knife vanished and then Kira added, "Sorry, keep forgetting you guys can't see me nod. Thanks, I promise to try and not stab myself of any of you guys with Mr Pointy." She paused for a moment, and continued, "So whats the plan?"
"As I said before, let's check the barracks first."
Aibek nodded, "I agree, let's head back to the central area, then to the barracks..." Aibek paused, then chuckled before starting to walk back towards the central sanctum, "I was going to ask you to lead the way Kira since you know this place better, but that's likely a bad idea in multiple ways" . Aibek continued walking out in front, stretching wrists and arms while moving forward in the quiet lull of action, before clenching fists and pulling the shadows around the claws in preparation for what Aibek felt as to come, eyes darting around while approaching the central sanctum but the brightness made Aibek feel uneasy.
Azri pat Aibek's shoulder. "Let me worry about watching for stuff." she suggested gently, noting the nervous way he was looking around.
Now if only she could stop looking at people and start looking around instead... but even at her worst, Azri was an impressively observant person. She was, for example, able to pause and admire some unremarkable rocks.
As you reach the inner sanctum Kira's voice whispers, "The barracks is through the northern doors. The high's priest chambers are to the south, facing the morning sun. Which do you want to try first?"
"We might as well start with the barracks. If we're being awaited in the high priest chamber's, and that is what I suspect, then it is best to take out any potential reinforcements first."
Though the northern door is the now familiar style of corridor that the temple is filled with. More double doors to the north and east, but unusually a single door in the western side. Kira adds, "Double doors to the east are the barracks. Door to the west is the centre of the cooling mechanism, so I've never been in there."
After Mihara checks the door and discovers no traps, it is possible to see a light flickering through the gap in the door.
Azri waved a hand to let the others know they'd located a light, then indicated that it would probably be best to avoid speaking too loudly for now. They didn't know if there was an enemy inside - though reason suggested there was - and she wanted to be careful after their previous experiences in this place.
Selena nods at Azri, and quietly draws her Dan Bong while moving to the door. She waits for the others , then opens the door when everyone's ready.
I really hope we find someone with arms in there, this time...
Mihara prepares to fight as well, sap ready in one hand, short sword in the other.
With the Lady of Foxes as my witness, I'll see this temple freed from its captors; I can only pray that our foes will prove less... bizarre from here on.
The door swings open easily, well oiled bronze hinges allowing the door to swing openly easily. A heavy scent of incense wafts from the room, no doubt from the burner glowing bright on a table at the end of one bed. Several lanterns on low are the source the light you could see.
Four bunk style beds, each with a large storage chest attached to the end, sit in the middle. Four of those beds are occupied by un-moving figures. The other four are neatly made.
"I smell faint rotting flesh over the incense."
Selena steps into the room, trying not to stay too far from the entrance in case enemies managed to slip behind her.
"Rotting flesh you say? Dammit!"
That priest over there wasn't the only victim...
Azri wrinkled her nose at the smell, though the stench of rotting flesh didn't bother her - quite the opposite, really. Sensing the nervousness of the others, however, the Lich crossed to a corner of the room and crouched down behind one of the beds. Stealth was one of her talents (courtesy of not needing to do things like breathe), and if there was going to be trouble, she wanted to be in a good position to surprise any enemies they encountered.
Aibek rolled footsteps instinctively while walking around the room, hearing the comments from Nigrum upon entering the room had made Aibek wary yet sad. Amber eyes sliding over the beds, Aibek tried to keep distance both in respect and in worry that the controllers might be able to use them too. Walking in the shadows of the room, Aibek melded into them naturally while shadow encased claws pulled anxiously down at the hem of Aibek's vest. Aibek moved forward into the room quietly, rolled footsteps making hardly a sound...
As you enter the room the blankets covering the four figures are thrown aside. For a moment it appears as though four more temple guard are rising, but it becomes quickly and unpleasantly obvious that these ones are now dead. Dried and desiccated by hideous heat of the desert until they are almost skeletons, they rise to there feet in silence.
Then they burst into flames.
The four undead moved forward with a shocking and brutal speed, there wasted fingers forming claws as they surged forwards.
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