Kalem nodded as he continued dragging the carcass out, now pleased to have gotten some acknowledgement for his lucky blow. He didn’t think that he could repeat the feat on demand. Luckily he probably wouldn’t have to.
Zamanda bows back and quietly thanks Tekrakai for her graciousness, but doesn't volunteer anything beyond that... just finishes cleaning and mending.
She still feels uneasy about the whole Truthspeaker thing and doesn't want to deceive anyone even accidentally... but that's tough because she feels like her whole being is a deception. Born an Aasimar and supposed to be something much better than she is, and she just can't live up to that.
When Ilsa suggests that they proceed to the Thrallkeeper area and then come back, she says
It will require us backtracking a few times, because Flameford is beyond that, but I am okay with that if everyone else is. I can only conjure three carriages a day however, so we should plan to stay the night before if we need them, and since they want to hear our story, we should probably stay for that as well.
Bashiel offers a prayer to Osiris for the lost Maidens, wishing them a swift reincarnation.
'Isn't it strange? How many people have died to creatures like this, that our small group is able to dispatch with ease. Just because we've been run through a crucible in Korvosa and blessed with some gifts...'
He mulls it over a little as his ancestors comment.
When Ilsa suggests heading for the acropolis, he's snapped out of communion with the voices in his head. "The acropolis? It shouldn't be more than a day from here, if I remember the distances right. I'm not sure how burdensome a trial is waiting us there, but I'd rather go and find out than just wait around here. Feels selfish to rest while Korvosa could be worsening back home."
"But Zamanda, you're right. A rest for today won't hurt. And we do owe them a story. Osiris knows we've got a dozen."
Malen is pleased to pray for the souls of the lost Maidens, helping the survivors if they don't wave him away in preparing their dead for their final rest. These Shoanti were a strange people, but their concepts of pride and honor were reassuring after encountering the chaos of Korvosa and its amoral Queen.
When the discussion turned to Ilsa's suggestion, Malen nodded. "While we should be thorough, we should also be as efficient as possible. If we have time to perform this task, we should do so."
The Moon Maidens allow Malen to help in preparing the bodies of the fallen, but they reserve the final placements and prayers for themselves. From what the priest can tell, the maidens seem to be offering prayers to Desna.
Zamanda suggests that someone tell the story of fighting the vampire. She doesn't want to tell it herself, worried that she will embellish.
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After disposing of the corpse, Kalem kept to himself. He had come to the conclusion that nothing good would come of him interacting too closely with the priests. He had already done his part with his scythe and that was enough. The last thing he wanted was for religious minded people to start asking too many questions about *how* he got so strong. Not that he thought they could do anything about it, but it would be counter productive.
Bashiel settles down for the evening, and at Zamanda's prompting is more than happy to tell the tale of the group's desperate fight against the vampire in the midst of an Urgathoan nightmare-factory. He doesn't add any embellishment, knowing that the basic facts of the story are already incredible enough. As his story approaches the end, he says "-By that point he was grievously wounded by our focused attacks. Even so, he was confident, confident that his magic would save him. But Ilsa's mental prowess kept that magic out of his grasp for the precious seconds we needed to convince him we had him at a disadvantage. So he just-" He mimes a flourish with his hands "-poof, turned into a cloud of bats that did their best to flee. And he almost did, had we not gotten lucky and landed a half-dozen vials of acid and fire directly into their midst. With that final blow, the vampire was destroyed!" Bashiel shakes his head "Even now, I can't understand how we survived."
He chews the end of a grass stalk as he mulls it over, eventually shrugging. "Well, we did. I can only hope we don't encounter something like that again."
“Incredible,” Tekrakai says as Bashiel finishes the story. The other maidens seem to have found the story equally awe-inspiring. “Yet I sense no deception from you. For once, I am not upset to be in the presence of tshamek. That is a rare thing indeed.”
The maidens assist with the night’s watches, content to let you join them if you wish, but happy to take on the duties by themselves if you let them. With the reaver slain, the night passes uneventfully.
The moon maidens bid you farewell the next morning as you depart with the Boneslayers to the Acropolis. You expect to arrive shortly before nightfall should things go as planned.
Things go as planned and you arrive at the Acropolis just as the last of the sun descends beneath the horizon. The massive structure looms nearby atop a raised area in the shadows of the Wyvern Mountains. And yet, most of the aboveground parts of it have degraded with time, leaving only a partially collapsed tower bearing the mark of the seven-pointed star - the Sihedron. Just to the side of the mark, a pair of 20-foot-wide stone doors stand ajar, leading down to a dusty flight of stairs that descend into the ground into darkness
“This is as far as we go,” the lead Boneslayer says. “The rest is up to you. Obtain the mark and return to us.”
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Malen arched a brow at the Boneslayer as they stopped their progress, the statement ominous enough. Still, after yesterday's feats, the priest was feeling rather confident. And if this proved to be their end, he'd be on his way to the Boneyard to continue serving Pharasma. But he hoped that time was far off.
For now, he joined the others and called on a couple of blessings for the group before they headed inside, a warm glow settling over the party before the light faded with the sunset.
Closing his eyes, Kalem let the power within him flow freely.
Opening his eyes again, he continued walking.
Bashiel waves to the lead Boneslayer. "Right, this is our trial, after all. Though if you have any advice for us, I would be honored to hear it."
He dons the mantis helm and activates its darkvision before taking out his shield and rapier. With vision enhanced by both true seeing and darkvision, he leads the way down the dusty steps. He keeps his eyes open to spot any traps as he goes.
Zamanda follows, also keeping her eyes open for anything unusual.
The Boneslayer shakes his head at Bashiel. “We have not been inside, so we cannot offer advice. Even if we had, we would be forbidden from sharing what we learned. The trial must be completed independently by those who undertake it.”
Once your preparations are complete, you make your way into the acropolis.
The stone stairs end at a twenty-foot-wide and twenty-foot-tall hallway that leads to the east, opening into a large chamber. The floor is cluttered with dust and tiny mounds of ash that look to have been recently disturbed in places, but signs of the trail vanish to the east once the stones become clear of debris.
Four human-sized creatures seem to have moved through this area recently, traveling from the stairs toward the room to the east. The trail becomes harder to follow as the dust disappears in the room beyond.
The air in this massive, cathedral-like space seems strangely cool. The walls are carved with vertical ridges that rise to support the arch above, where the ceiling vaults into the shadows to a height of nearly sixty feet. A five-foot-wide balcony rings the room, the floor of which drops fifteen feet into a pool of dark water. Halfway between the east and west ends of the room, a bridge crosses the pool. Two large stone doors stand in the walls to the south and east. Smaller doors sit in the walls to the northwest and southwest—all four doors bear depictions of seven-pointed-stars.
The dark water in the pool is cold and stagnant, clogged with silt and a thick upper layer of dark algae.
You’re able to follow the trail of human-sized creatures which leads to the door on the southwestern side of the large room.
Narrow gaps along the north and south walls allow creatures in the passageways beyond the ability to observe events in this room, but are not easily spotted by creatures in the room you now occupy.
”Ilsa, what are you looking at-...oh. I see. Everyone, do you see those gaps in the north and south walls? Someone can observe us through them. Perhaps we should just knock the walls down there, and make our way inside.”
Zamanda speaks quietly.
Not knocking your success with brute force, which you do superbly well, but in this case I prefer a stealthy and quick approach. Noise will likely bring whatever has been killing people down here. I'd rather just avoid it if possible. The point is to go down and retrieve something, right? Let's be careful like we were in that labyrinth, and find the prize. If we have to fight, so be it, but if we don't... even better. I think we should follow the tracks, and see what happened to whoever has been in here recently. At least it will give us a way not to go if they are dead, and we should be clear for as far as they got.
(pass)
(pass)
Zamanda follows the tracks to door on the southwestern side of the room, keeping an eye out for anything unusual (like a disturbance in the water or an observer for instance, but trying to keep an open mind for other things as well).
Bashiel keeps his eyes sweeping across the room for threats, but his allies are significantly more perceptive than he is. "Unless you have a way to make me silent, I can't imagine getting through this place with any kind of stealth. Are you thinking to scout ahead through the door Zamanda?" He follows after Zamanda as he raises the possibility, adding "I'm not confident that any amount of stealth will help if there are magical defenses still here."
"And even if the tracks are from people our size, there's no guarantee that they belong to other seekers. They might be guardians of some kind, luring us into said trap. Better to stick together."
He inspects the south-west door for any abnormalities.
Bashiel and Zamanda both inspect the door to the southwest and find nothing unusual about it, at least in relation to the rest of the acropolis. It seems to be a mundane, if ornate, door.
Before you have a chance to try opening it, the door opens from the other side and you're greeted by the face of none other than Krojun.
He looks stoic as he sizes you up. He's acompanied by 3 others who also appear to be Sklar-Quah.
After he's spent enough time observing you to be uncomfortable, he nods and says, "So it is true. You plan to seek the mark. We heard a rumor of such before we left the Kallow Mounds. I had to see for myself if it was true, and that you didn't plan to fake it."
Krojun narrows his eyes before saying, "What are you really doing in the Cinderlands, tshamek? Why do you outsiders continue to plague us?"
From what you can see, Krojun and the other Sklar-Quah occupy a narrow corridor from which they appear to have been observing you. A door at the other end of the short hallway is closed.
This didn’t feel right. Was this part of the test? Kalem didn’t respond at first, rather he looked at the men quizzically.
In response to Bashiel following and ruining her stealth, Zamanda says
Staying together doesn't have to mean walking next to each other, Bash. Scouting a little bit ahead isn't a bad thing, and some distance helps us avoid area traps or effects. Remember how we were all together when Cindermaw surprised us? We don't want to do that if we run into a trap, or someone who can target an area. I could make you silent if it comes to that, but honestly, I wish you just wouldn't follow me and allow me to check it out.
When they end up at the door, Zamanda is disappointed that the tracks just lead to Krojun, and after already being on edge because she's been thinking about her own unworthiness, and then Bash shooting her down, she ends up letting her frustration show.
Our other Shoanti friends stayed above, insisting that they weren't allowed to interfere. Are you intending to interfere, Krojun? If so, stop playing and fight us. If not, please just leave us and allow us to continue. There's no secret agenda here. We're just trying to save our city from an evil queen, and even though we jump through every hoop you ask and help in every way possible, we still have to deal with this ignorant assumption that we are evil merely because we were born somewhere else or look different than you do. That kind of cowardly discrimination is unworthy of you. You seem honorable in every other way, so why can't you back off and let us prove *our* worth?
Bashiel awkwardly rubs the back of his neck as Zamanda lays out the flaws in his reasoning. All he manages is a chagrined "Sure." before Krojun and his tribespeople show up behind the door. He furrows his eyebrows in confusion at their appearance here of all places.
Still somewhat off-kilter from Zamanda's dressing down, he doesn't immediately respond to Krojun's challenge. After his allies have spoken, he just adds "We want nothing more than to help our people. But why are you here? Shouldn't we be in here alone to prove we received no aid once inside?"
Malen silently followed with the others through the complex, understanding Bashiel's frustration at a plan of stealth. The priest wasn't a klutz, but he wasn't especially nimble, and with the armor he wore the group's chances of surprising an enemy were unreasonably slim. He wasn't sure he felt good about any of them forward-scouting, either, as it exposed the point person, but that was for Zamanda and any others who volunteered for the position to determine.
When Krojun came into view with his other trio of warriors, the cleric sighed quietly in exasperation, hoping the confrontation wouldn't lead to any violence. Even if the group were defending themselves, Malen felt they would be hard-pressed to make any headway with the Sklar-Quah after killing their tribesmen.
The priest understood the lovely aasimar's frustrated speech, though he nodded in agreement with Ilsa and Bashiel's responses. "Feel free to observe, then, Krojun. Please just make no effort to assist so that our success with this task is not tainted."
Krojun seems taken aback by Zamanda’s words and doesn’t readily have a retort. He just stares blankly at the aasimar.
He shakes himself out of his stupor as Ilsa speaks. Her words seem to calm the man a bit, though he still doesn't seem friendly. “Bah, ‘twas but a simple game. You hardly proved yourselves through it.”
Krojun turns his gaze to Bashiel at the paladin’s questions and says, “You keep claiming to be here to help or save your people. What could the Cinderlands possibly offer that would provide salvation for your city? Why do you think we would give it to you even if it’s here?”
The barbarian spits to one side at Malen’s comment. “As if we would aid a bunch of bloody tshamek.”
Zamanda, seeing that talking is pointless and not wanting to squeeze her way past the Shoanti, and basically pretty much done with talking to anyone right now, walks away and examines the next door down the hallway.
”How’s this for a game? Get the hell out of my way while you still can. Go talk to the ones above about what I did to that Red Reaver in your temple if you’re curious. Or, you know. You can do something stupid here and find out for yourself.” Kalem said, his anger starting to rise.
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Ilsa was done playing nice. If Kalem had made a dark turn, hers was enough to give the bravest of warriors pause.
"You must not have heard what I did to Cindermaw, did you? I bent him to my will. I made him my personal plaything. Its mind will never be the same. We have played your games. We have asked you politely to step aside. But I'm done negotiating. You will step aside, or you can find out for yourself what I did to Cindermaw. That is, if Kalem doesn't run you through first. Now get out of our way!"
Bashiel squares his jaw at the building hostilities. There was no sense in threatening the people they were trying to appeal to for wisdom. Unless this was some elaborate Shoanti posturing, this clash wouldn't earn the team the Sklar-Quah's appreciation.
Still, Ilsa and Kalem had already said their parts. Too late to take anything back. Bashiel merely adds "We seek nothing more than wisdom and knowledge, and your elders may have it. But you and your kin have demanded we prove ourselves first, honoring your traditions while our friends suffer and die. As you see, my friends are tired of dancing the the Shoanti drumbeat."
Krojun’s derisive demeanor fades and seems to be replaced by a cold fury. He looks to Kalem, then to Ilsa.
In a low, calm voice he says, “Here’s a bit of wisdom for you: watch your tongue among my people. The Sklar-Quah do not rollover like the Lyrune-Quah, or fraternize with tshamek like the Skoan-Quah. Our elders will hear of this and you can be certain they will never speak with you or share their knowledge. You’re no different than any other outsider.”
Krojun pushes past the group along with the other three Sklar-Quah. He pauses for a moment before turning and adding, “In fact, just go ahead and cut your tongues out. Save you from embarrassing yourselves in the future.”
The barbarian turns away again and the four Sklar-Quah warriors make for the acropolis’s exit.
Zamanda doesn’t notice anything off about the doors she moves to examine. They are ornate like the others she’s seen, but seem perfectly safe to open.
When he saw that the Barbarian wasn’t going to do anything but whine, Kalem smirked. As the barbarians left he flashed a rude gesture to their backs.
”Bunch of whining children. If their words count for anything here then there isn’t any wisdom to be gained. Forget them.”
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Ilsa scowls at them as they leave.
"You already said you would never 'aid a bunch of bloody tshamek,' so there was not chance we could persuade you anyway. Your mind has been closed from the moment you saw us. Your prejudice knows no bounds. Go do what harm you will--we will prevail and you'll eat crow like you did last time."
Malen sighed as Ilsa and Kalem hurled taunts (valid taunts, of course) at the Shoanti, but inwardly he shrugged. The group consensus was right...this Krojun seemed to have a very large prejudice against 'tshamek', and there was little the group could do to convince him. Still, the way the other three deferred to him made the priest think he had some influence over the Sklar-Quah, and it would not help their cause to insult him in front of a larger audience. The cleric made a mental note to speak to his companions about it before they visited the Sun Shamans.
With the distracting Shoanti out of the equation, for now, Malen turned his attention back to the hallway, seeing the impatient Zamanda already working on examining a door. Chuckling softly, he moved closer to the portal, ready to continue the party's quest and deliver a trifecta of feats to the Sun Shamans when they came calling.
Zamanda opens one of the doors and peers inside.
"Children or not, they might still have some kind of clout among the Sun Shamans we're trying to impress. Hopefully whoever their elders are, they can see that Krojun's opinions are mostly hot air." Hopefully, given that show.
Bashiel stays back otherwise and lets Zamanda do her thing.
Krojun and his cohorts continue to make their way out of the acropolis and soon disappear up the stairs.
Opening one of the doors, Zamanda reveals the room beyond.
The floor of this otherwise empty chamber contains a five-foot-diameter hole in the center, surrounded by a ring of tangled runes. Inside the hole, a shaft filled with brilliant emerald light drops into the depths. Two doors exit to the east of the room.
The glowing shaft is a magical elevator called an illumacore. A traveler who steps into the ring receives the benefit of a feather fall spell. Once at the bottom of the shaft, a traveler who crosses the matching ring of ruins on the floor and enters the shaft is affected by levitate, allowing him to safely ascend back to this chamber. The spell effects terminate each time the traveler steps out of the shaft.
It seems someone else has been in this room relatively recently. Though the tracks look different than those that led you to Krojun and the other Sklar-Quah, they still appear to have been made by medium-sized humanoids.
(fail)
(pass)
Zamanda looks back and motions everyone forward, not seeing any immediate danger in the room ahead.
Zamanda walks up near the hole to get a closer look.
”Two doors. Anyone have a preference for which one we try first?”
Peering into the hole, Zamanda can see the bottom, though it is at least 50 ft below, much too far to survive in a free fall.
I've got plenty of featherfall spells and a good long rope we can tie to the door. Let's go down the hole first. That's where the tracks lead.
From outside the room, Bashiel looks at the two eastern doors and the well. "Anyone have any sense for what that green light is? The well seems like the right place to look first, but if that's some kind of magical trap, we'd do well avoiding it until later."
"Alright, might as well test it then."
Bashiel takes a javelin from his pack and puts the wooden end in the green light beam to check if its inherently dangerous. If it doesn't get eradicated, he cuts a small piece of wood off the end and tosses it into the hole to see what happens.
Bashiel sticks the wooden end of the javelin into the light and nothing happens. The piece of wood he throws down the hole falls freely and you hear it clatter against the floor below a few seconds later.
”Hole it is. Featherfall me and let’s go. Before our spells run out.”
Zamanda casts featherfall on Kalem.