"I hope what ever is in here, is not like Master Happosai I heard about from my master."
"Again with the darkness and these horrible creatures. We may want to consider hiring on a dwarf, solely to mark targets such as these." Aldous will move his dancing lights into the doorway, trying to find the edge of the darkness emanation. "Did everyone else hear that door being opened eastward?"
Elizabeth knocks an arrow. I heard that, bloody darkness. I don't think we should just run in there, perhaps walk back to the intersection and wait for the darkness to fade? If it is one of those beasts, we can be ready for it. Elizabeth holds her position.
"I am in no mood to run headlong into darkness either. Let's try to skirt around the perimeter and follow at a reasonable pace," says Garuneh.
"Who has the light?"
Andrea hands her sunrod to Tina. There you go.
"Thanks"
she cautiously enters the room
"If what's in here acts like Happosai,
I have no problems giving it what it deserves."
"Hush! Can anyone hear what is happening there?"
After listening for a moment, Gunder continues: So, are we going in or out? I don't want to loose you in the dark. And who is Happosai?"
"Sounds like some sort of horrible little lewd goblin. I shall defend you, my lady. Ruckus, hyah!"
Ruckus plunges forward, trying to sniff out the creature. If possible, both will attack.
Don't worry Gunder, I won't leave you. Elizabeth chuckles. Elizabeth also listens
[ooc] Man A little backward that a rogue's class skill is tied to a stat that is no doubt lower.[/oob]
The darkness isn't penetrated by the spell or sunrod. Tina stumbles forward about 25' before running into a wall.
The sound is clearly coming from the east and is moving away from you.
You burst forward, managing to breakthrough the darkness. You enter another room. There is a table along the north wall and a small cloaked creature to the south. Its pale, white arms reach for another door. It turns its face to you, but all you see is a bright white nose. The rest of the face is covered in a black hood.
"Why are we dashing headlong into darkness?" Aldous keeps his voice just short of whining, but follows the rest into the dark if the move along. Bow in hand, he keeps his ears out for more hidden beasts. "Ser Banderswel, are you okay? Call out so we can find you..."
"Ouch"
"Stop there lad and we can sort this out!"
Garuneh follows reluctantly, using the pole end of his scythe like a blind man's stick.
"This is a very strange game you Avistanis are playing, my friends..."
Elizabeth puts her hand on Aldous's shoulder and follows him in.
"It is moving away from us - further to the east. Maybe it is just afraid of us?"
Gunder follows the group in, as good as he can, carefully feeling his way forward along the corridor wall.
???, Elizabeth, Aldous, Garuneh, Tina, Gunder, Durnolf.
You don't recognize the fellow and he doesn't heed your warnings. He throws open the door and moves through it, too. He disappears around a corner in the hallway behind.
You emerge from the darkness, but you bump into Durnolf and Ruckus. You find yourself in a room with a table to the north and an open door to the south.
Aldous moves through the darkness, and bumps into Durnolf. Elizabeth, who's following close behind, bumps into Aldous, but she is unable to see anything. Gunder and Garuneh quickly bump into the others.
she'll move to her left and hope for the best.
"Perhaps we startled a "resident" of this place. Are there any permanent workers or such that live here?" Aldous will again ready his bow, stepping to the far wall so as to get a clean shot on anyone coming through that door."Come through the darkness, so as not to be flanked."
I hope we can get through this so I can find some dark seeing glasses
*Squeeze* Oh what is that? It is soft and round and..Sorry Tina
Andrea steps into the toom and to the left to let others in.
Garuneh heads towards Aldous, avoiding any groping adventurers.
"Please don't squeeze my a**, Elizabeth.
As I don't really like it."
"If you are done making friends with Tina, Elizabeth. I think we should go towards Aldous' voice. Sounds like he and Durnolf found something. After you, ladies!"
Gunder moves towards Aldous' voice, (hopefully) following the others into the light.
"Perhaps we startled a "resident" of this place. Are there any permanent workers or such that live here?" Aldous will again ready his bow, stepping to the far wall so as to get a clean shot on anyone coming through that door."Come through the darkness, so as not to be flanked."
I am rather doubtful since I have the feeling that the priests only come down to inter corpses and then leave. If there was staff here, I don't believe we would encounter monsters.
"Besides, according to the priest 'nobody has been down here for years'. Maybe our little friend here knows a second way in."
Gunder turns to the thing (creature? person?) and tries to calm it down: "Its okay. We are not here to hurt you. Do you understand what we are saying? Do you need any assistance?"
Gunder shouts (in the most friendly and un-intimidating way one can shout) into the hallway (where the thing disappeared) that everything is all right and we just want to talk and/or help and that it should come back.
"Mor'esti, did you see it? Could you tell what it was?" Garuneh calls out from the inky blackness, hoping he will exit soon.
Pardon me Aldous. Elizabeth steps into the room and out of the darkness.
"No, it had fled Ser Banderswel and Ruckus before I could view it. I believe Ser Banderswel may have gotten a look, though," Aldous casts a quizzical look towards the wolf riding halfling. "Regardless, be on the lookout."
"Oh, he's long gone," a voice whispers behind you. It appears to be coming from under the table. "Falk was never one for confrontation. Please, don't be alarmed. I am Yrex, an oracle of sorts. If you'll allow me, I can draw back the veil of mystery that cloaks the Godsmouth Ossuary, and reveal all the secrets of the Ancients."
As you take in the room you currently occupy, you discover that the theme of judgment in the afterlife is continued in the carvings on the walls of this room. A wide table stands along the north wall, draped with a heavy black cloth. A single candle burns in a tall, iron candlestick in the southwest corner, but the rest of the room is cloaked in shadows - as is the previous room you occupied, as it's still covered by the darkness spell.
"Unveiling secrets and revealing mysteries? I would greatly like that, if you to trusted, strange voice from beneath the table." Aldous steps away from the table and ducks down to peer beneath.
"We mean you no harm, lest you attack us first."
she goes towards the sound of the voice
and gets into the room.
"I find it hard to trust someone when I can't see them face to face."
"We certainly allow you, Yrex, and thank you kindly. Please do enlighten us...if that is the proper word, considering the amount of darkness in this place."
Garuneh is gracious, but is ready to use Surge if Aldous is endangered.
Elizabeth waits silently since Aldous and Gunder seem to have things well in hand.
(using guidance)
"By all means, Yrex. Tell us what secrets you know and are willing to share."
"I hope you don't mind us asking, but how did Falk and you get here? How long have you been here? We were told nobody had been down here in a long while. So we weren't expecting to find anybody alive."
You are alive, aren't you?
"I trussst that you speak the truth," the voice says. "You will not harm me."
Very slowly, a head appears to rise up from under the table, followed by a black-scaled, snake body. "Don't be alarmed by my appearance, I am simply one of the wormfolk," the creature says.
Wyrmfolk is what most Kaer Magans call Naga. This doesn't look very much like most Nagas you've seen, however.
"Information is valuable, as I'm sure you know. I will sell it to you for a reasonable 1GP per question you ask. The first is free - there is a deep, deep pit north of here. It leads to the lower recesses of the Underdark, but only the foolish - or the powerful - dare descend into it. Now, how else may I enlighten you today?"
When bombarded with questions from Gunder, she says simply, "Place a coin on the table and I shall answer your queries."
Tina will do sense motive to check if the snake is lying about anything.
Gunder places two gold pieces on the table.
"I imagine business tends to be kind of slow down here, for someone selling information. Even for one GP per question. So my first question is this: Why did you set up your business here of all places? As for my second question: What do you know about the disappearance of bodies from the upper levels of the crypt?"
"Excellent questions, Gunder...you are a mind reader." Garuneh grins and awaits Yrex's answers.
Yrex eyes the coins greedily before saying, "Yes...business is slow...didn't realize how slow it would be when I setup shop here. As for the second question...bodies, eh? No...wait...yes...there is a a human and his undead followers in this place. They live “beyond the Great Pit.” If bodies are missing - they are likely the ones who are responsible."
Yrex seems completely credible and honest.
"Thank you very much. And good luck with your business."
Turning to the group: "Does anyone else have any question? If not, might I suggest we inspect that pit to the north and the necromancer beyond it?"
"Perhaps Yrex knows about the great riddle we encountered at the beginning of this crypt. It read: “My heart beats on the wrong side of my chest, or is it right? Is left right, or is it wrong? I don’t know what it means, or why.” Aldous pulls out a meager looking coin purse, jingling it thoughtfully, "Unfortunately, I only have 7 silver and some copper to hand. Do we think this a valuable enough question to spend further coin on?"
Garuneh places a gold coin on the table for Aldous' benefit, smiling.
After Aldous has asked his question, Andrea puts a coin down on the table. When we entered the Ossury(sp) we went through a sealed door to the south and entered room that has an inscription on the wall. Though veiled behind the plumage of the soul, the Eye still sees, unblinking, through all the ages, from the beginning to the end of time. When the Three are One, and the spirit becomes flesh, the Seal may be opened and the Sleepers awakened. And the glorious apocalypse shall consume us all.
Now the room as sealed so you would know nothing about what was in the room but does this phrase ring a bell? Is there anything like sleepers in this complex?
"So there are undead down here.
That does not make the job easier,
but at least we know some of what is down here."