"Of course, it would be you of all people," Malphene says with a scowl. Her makeup is running down her cheeks--it appears she has been crying recently. "You are the ones who interfered with the task my father charged me with. I am not going anywhere with you."
"Lady Malphene, it is your right to choose to stay, here, alone, while the others come with us to safety. I would not suggest it, however, as there are fell things in the hallways and there is safety and strength in numbers. So, please come along now, so we can find a way back to the upper floor without further incident."
Bernal elects not to interfere with Elif's persuasion attempts; he feels too on edge to pick the right words for this tense situation. Instead, he stays back, eyes constantly darting to the sides, as if expecting a sudden attack.
Malphene considers your words for a few moments, then sighs. "Fine, let us all leave this place together. I lost my sword in the scuffle, but give me a weapon and I will fight by your side. This doesn't mean I actually like you, though. I just want to get out of here."
The other woman with her introduces herself. "I am Jowuan Zubari, visiting from Sargava. I was a guest of Lord Trant's at the gala tonight. I do not wish to perish here. I will accompany you, and provide healing services so long as you can pay for them. The god of merchants believes in fair compensation for services rendered."
Katria smiles -- a bit ruefully at Jowuan's words -- as the women acquiesce to being rescued.
"Hello, Jowuan," Katria replies. "I'm Katria Delaval."
She turns to Malphene afterward, telling her, "I think we have a dagger that we found in the supplies down here, plus a dozen darts, but our supplies are limited. Maybe there will be more somewhere"
A long table, its surface covered in green felt, stands in the center of the central chamber. Silver trays dot the table's surface, each hosting a set of crystal glassware and a tall decanter of wine.
The fine crystal glassware and silver dining sets are in good condition, though the wine has long since soured. The complete set weighs about 5 pounds and has a value of 700 gp. A document box on the table includes a scroll of breath of life, three scrolls of cure light wounds, a scroll of invisibility, a scroll of summon monster II.
"These must not have been used in ages," Katria breathes, as she looks at the dining set.
"And worth a small fortune!" she adds as she quickly appraises it. "These scrolls, too, are incredibly valuable. They could be very useful too if we run into more walcofiends."
Doritan, still biting back a few sarcastic remarks, but when Katria moves forward to the table he holds her back, "Careful. Not sure what those circles are on the floor, but I doubt it's good."
"Oh!" Katria says, having not even noticed the circles.
Once they're pointed out to her, she tries to determine what they do.
"It doesn't look like they're real magic circles, but ... maybe ... ?"
Maya's not happy that Malphene is given a dagger, but if the woman truly plans to aid them should another fight break out, maybe she could prove to be useful, as a distraction, if nothing else.
After the others point out the circles on the ground, Maya scratches her head. "This place is quite peculiar. Besides of course the, you know, undead in the walls."
The circles don't appear to hold any arcane significance. They seem to be little more than harmless scribbles.
Just to be safe, Maya rubs the scribbles so they no longer make circles. She thinks magic is overrated, but knows it can be potent in the right circumstances.
You check the other rooms in the hallway. Most of them appear to be empty save for dusty tables and chairs. In the northeast room, though, you discover a cowering halfling dressed in the livery of a servant. He cautiously approaches.
"Begging your pardon, lords and ladies, but I would very much appreciate it if you would allow me to accompany you to safety as well. I am Imistos Gulbend, naught but a humble servant. I fear I have little to offer save for my favorite silk hankie." He waves an embroidered blue handkerchief. "Perhaps I could provide some service to you in return? Shine your shoes? Carry your lantern?"
The northern hallway has a door set in the north wall. A rusted lock keeps it shut, but it looks like the ornate key you found in the master suite will fit the lock.
"Oh, we don't need you to do anything like that," Katria replies. "You're of course welcome to join us. We're all trying to get out. How did you get down here?"
She glances for the Senate aide's badge, hands itching to examine it even if it's likely no different than the others she's found.
It occurs to her in the tenseness of finding Malphene, she hadn't checked her badge either (or Jowuan's), which she'll attempt to rectify as soon as she's inspected the halfling's.
"Oh, er, Malphene. Would you mind letting me see your badge? I assume that's how you both arrived down here?"
Imistos shows Katria his badge. "This glowed, and then I was here!" Malphene and Jowuan both let the occultist examine theirs as well. All of them bear similar contingency enchantments.
Maya greets Imistos with a smile. Even if the man is a servant, it's nice to see one of her own kind survived the massacre above. It makes her wonder about Wyssilka.
"We've got bigger concerns than gleaming shoes and brightly lit hallways. Besides, I've got lighting covered," Maya says to Imistos as she floats her dancing lights in front of her.
"If you don't have any skill with combat, I suggest you stay close by and don't lag behind. We've already seen one unfortunate who didn't survive his journey to this place. Let's not add anymore to his number."
Maya looks at Bernal and Doritan and gestures toward the door to the north before saying, "Would one of you care to do the honors of unlocking and opening that door so we can proceed further?"
Imistos nods and stays close by Maya's side.
Pristine glass display cases stand along the walls and in the center of this immense rectangular display room. The area is more than sixty feet wide and forty feet long, with the outer walls covered in glass displays of armor, save near the two northern doors and along the southern wall. Two rusted and decayed suits of armor stand separate, protected in glass cases. Tarnished and discolored weaponry fills the cases in the center of the room. Circles of various sizes have been scratched into the glass and drawn on the walls with chalk and paint.
Maya surveys the newly revealed room.
More of those blasted circles. What purpose could they possibly serve?
Taking a few steps into the room, Maya casts Detect Magic. She directs her spell at the circles on the ground and also at the armor, weapons, and suits of armor, trying to ascertain if anything in the room could still be useful.
To her companions, Maya says, "You think these confounded circles mean anything? There sure seem to be a lot of them. Someone also apparently got creative, bored, or ran out of materials since some are scratched into the glass and some are drawn with chalk or paint."
The weapons and armor stored here hail from a dozen different historical eras, and have been labeled with faded and crumbling tags tied to each with twine. Most of them are rusted and neglected, but there is a magic handaxe in one case and a magic heavy steel shield in a second. Another case contains the alchemical lab of famed natural philosopher Dumos Fatomax, along with four magic potions.
One obvious case holds a finely crafted dark wood light crossbow whose brass fittings still glint like new. A simple brass plaque inside the case labels it "Dignity's Barb."
The glass cases look rather fragile. It would be a simple matter to smash them open and claim the items.
"I say!" Sir Plastion says as he gazes upon the displays from the doorway. "How long have all of these relics lingered here? It's amazing how so much of value could be forgotten so easily."
"Indeed," Katria agrees sadly, "too much of our history has been forgotten, or manipulated to mean what people want it to mean."
She scans the circles, seeing if these have any meaning she can discern before examining the axe, shield and crossbow.
These circles appear to be meaningless scribbles, even to Katria's trained eye. The crossbow appears to be the same Dignity's Barb that Elif heard about in the archives. Katria recalls the story of how General Gerefein used it to shoot the leader of the Kellid army from his mammoth mount.
As the occultist opens the cases to inspect the relics, the two rusted suits of armor in the chamber shudder to life! They shatter their glass prisons with heavy blows and awkwardly stagger towards you!
Before you can react, they converge on Katria, pummeling her with heavy fists!
HP 5/17
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10, CMD 13
Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +3
Inspiration (Knowledge/Linguistics/Spellcraft checks): 0/3
Mental Focus: 7; Abjuration [0/1]; Divination [2/2]; Enchantment [4/4]
Resonant powers (+1 Perception; +2 Charisma checks)
Spells/day: 1st [][][]
Effects:
Already hurt, Katria reels back, lashing out with her sword as she retreats. She has enough presence of mind to call on the protective powers of the Senate aide's badge to throw up a shield.
Maya rolls her eyes as the suits of armor lurch forward.
Walcofindes, now animate suits of armor. What's next? Maya wonders. Probably not a good question to contemplate for long.
Her sling having proven ineffective before, Maya decides to try a more direct approach this time around. She steps up to one of the suits of armor and swings at it with her longsword.
Doritan quickly moves forwards, thrusting with his dagger, unsure as to where exactly vitals might be on an animated suit of armor.
The rigidity hit her like water from a winter lake. The sense of danger seized her as was the way of her misbegotten curse; yet she was unable to prevent the threat from coming to pass.
As the prophetic sensation began to fade, Elif moved ten feet forward, closer to Doritan and providing protection for Dame Malphene Trant who was closest to her. "Stay..behind me, ..Lady Malphene," Elif managed to warn as she regained some semblance of speech and motion.
Bernal takes in a sharp breath when the suit of armor lurches at Katria. Without thinking much, he charges forward, trying to slither away from the first and strike at the second, all the while blocking Katria away.
,
Maya moves in and slashes with her sword, but it skips harmlessly off the creature's grease. As Katria backs up and swings her sword defensively, Doritan moves in and plunges his dagger in between a gap in the nearest undead's armor. The thing staggers but remains standing.
Bernal twirls in between the two phantom armors and chops at the further one. His falcata splits its helmet in two, and the empty armor clatters to the floor!
Elif staggers forward to protect Malphene, but the burly woman scoffs. "I don't need your protection." She walks around a display case and tries to hurl a dart at the undead, but her throw falls short.
The phantom armor tries to slam Doritan, but he manages to dodge its swings!
HP 5/17
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10, CMD 13
Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +3
Inspiration (Knowledge/Linguistics/Spellcraft checks): 0/3
Mental Focus: 7; Abjuration [0/1]; Divination [2/2]; Enchantment [4/4]
Resonant powers (+1 Perception; +2 Charisma checks)
Spells/day: 1st [][][]
Effects:
Katria again swings at the creature, trying more to distract than hit it, before falling back, next to Elif. Her wounds are too telling, however, and the wave barely comes close to it, certainly not enough to distract it.
Doritan steps over the fallen armor, flanking with Bernal to take down the remaining one, and strikes again, now with a bit more finesse.
The metallic clang of falcata on helmet sends a shiver down Bernal's spine, but he continues with the rhythm of combat, attacking the remaining foe while it's distracted by Doritan's dagger.
,
Doritan's blade scrapes against the armor, failing to leave a mark. However, the distraction allows Bernal to chop into the back of the creature's breastplate. His falcata slices open a deep rent, disrupting the animating spirit, and the suit of armor collapses in a heap at his feet!
"Hmph. Not bad," Malphene comments.
Doritan looks at his companions, "Mind if I use the handaxe until we escape? It's better than the dagger for now until I can get back to my sword. Similarly, does anyone particularly want to use the dagger?"
"I don't know," Katria says, looking at her bloody clothing. "If they hadn't acted as quickly as they did, I might be dead. We're going to have to stick together if we're going to survive (much like Taldor itself, for that matter). It's dangerous down here ...
"But this? It's Dignity's Barb. I think. It's seen better days, but hopefully we can restore it to its glory."
She seems to forget her wounds as she talks about the impressive crossbow.
Once finished, she turns to those who've joined them in their escape.
"Can any of you help fight if we come up against any more of these, or whatever's responsible for these circles?"
HP 5/17
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10, CMD 13
Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +3
Inspiration (Knowledge/Linguistics/Spellcraft checks): 0/3
Mental Focus: 7; Abjuration [0/1]; Divination [2/2]; Enchantment [4/4]
Resonant powers (+1 Perception; +2 Charisma checks)
Spells/day: 1st [][][]
Effects:
Maya looks down at her longsword and shakes her head. At least the others are effective in combat. She'll just have to compensate with her satirical quips.
"Take the handaxe, Doritan. Maybe one of our new companions can use the dagger," Maya says, glancing back at the others.
To Malphene, Maya says, "As you can see, we're quite effective... overall... in combat. It's in your best interest to stay close. Like Katria said, we need to stick together if we want to survive."
-----
Once the conversation is finished, Maya walks over to the doors on the other side of the room and casts Detect Magic on each. Between the walcofindes and the animate suits of armor, it pays to be careful in this place.
Assuming the doors are safe to open, Maya will gesture once again for Bernal or Doritan to lead the way.
Malphene raises an eyebrow as Katria expounds upon the history of Dignity's Barb. "Impressive. A fine weapon like that will definitely stack the odds in our favor." She looks down at Maya and nods. "Agreed. At least for now, we will work together."
The other three nobles look quite shaken by the assault from the suits of armor. Lord Botoles shakes his head. "I fear none of us have the constitution for pitched combat against monsters like that! We would likely just get in your way." The others nod in agreement.
"I would be happy to heal your wounds for a modest fee," Jowuan says. "5 gold to channel energy, or 10 gold to cure light wounds."
Maya can detect a single faint aura of magic coming from somehwere behind each of the two doors to the north. The western one is an illusion aura, while the eastern one is a transmutation aura.
Maya nods to herself, glad she decided to check out the doors before they moved on.
She says to her companions, "The western door has an illusion aura behind it, and the eastern one has a transmutation aura behind it. Seems like they might lead to different places, so we should probably open one at a time. My vote is for the eastern one first."
Katria sighs in relief as the scrolls do their job, her wounds healing, though she suspects her clothes will need much more attention when she gets a chance -- assuming they escape from this subterranean chamber.
She looks curiously at Jowuan -- "Those fees certainly seem reasonable, though one wonders: Would you be as amenable to a charge for each room we lead you through? Perhaps with a hazard fee tacked on should we find any other mortal dangers?"
Her tone is soft, as she's trying to more make a point than actually asking for money for their escape.
Katria will take the shield, strapping it onto her arm.
"It goes so well with my fancy clothes," she says in amusement.
HP 17/17
AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 13, CMD 13
Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +3
Inspiration (Knowledge/Linguistics/Spellcraft checks): 0/3
Mental Focus: 7; Abjuration [0/1]; Divination [2/2]; Enchantment [4/4]
Resonant powers (+1 Perception; +2 Charisma checks)
Spells/day: 1st [][][]
Effects:
"I might be amenable to those conditions," Jowuan says. "Perhaps one gold piece per room, or two should the room prove dangerous. Shall we work out some terms? Draw up a contract?"
Lines of shelves run from north to south in this square room. Glass windows—some with handles and others bearing locks—cover the front of the shelves. Dozens of objects line the shelves, resting on satin pillows behind the protective glass covers. A door exits from each of the four walls.
This chamber houses numerous antiquities, most claimed from lands conquered or visited by the Armies of Exploration—orc scarificators, Kellid war drums, a ceremonial Brevan scabbard—all broken and faded from time. The items stored include dwarven mining equipment, a stone-and-gem chunk from an elven aiudara gateway, the bone totem of an Isgeri shaman, and even an inert technological gadget from distant Numeria. The magic aura is emanating from a silver figurine of a raven inside one of the cases.
Your senate aide badges buzz as you hear Martella Lotheed's voice in your heads. "Not all military are with Stavian. Assassins seem to be collection of foreign agents. City guard in chaos. Lion Blades and Eutropia's allies fighting back."
Bernal is satisfied with his swift and efficient destruction of the living suits of armor, though he prefers to remain quiet for the time being. The presence of Malphene Trant does not do much to increase his confidence, though luckily his fellow spies seem to have a good grasp of the situation. Taking a glance at the loot, Bernal doesn't find anything fit to replace his trusty falcata, and leaves it for the rest to divide among themselves.
"I might need one of those curative potions," he says finally, his walcofinde wounds starting to take a toll on him.
Lady Lotheed's message catches Bernal by surprise, having nearly forgotten the badges' capabilities. One Taldan hero, Bernal thinks to himself, irritated; using foreign assassins to butcher his own people.
Elif was content with the Elven-branched spear in her hand and she also had her own, like spear hidden in the kitchens above. In addition, she had taken in her kunai, which she kept in the pocket of her skirt.
Elif had used two of the scrolls on Katria's wounds and watched as Bernal drank one of the healing potions. "If you need another curative potion to restore you to full health, then take it now. We do not know what other dangers await us."
Looking to the others, Elif added, "I will take one of the healing potions in case of trouble."
Having heard Martella's message through the badge, Elif pondered how readily the troubles had escalated. Least there were peope fighting back. Elif cast a brief look at Malphene Trant, Least Katria managed to get her on side.
Once through the door, Elif looked at the shelves with their varied antiquities. The silver figure of the raven inside one of the cases caught her attention.
Elif recalls that several wealthy nobles use similar silver raven figurines to deliver messages. When a command word is spoken, the raven transforms into a full-sized bird which can fly to any designated location nearby.
"See the silver raven, such figurines were used by nobles to deliver messages. Upon a command word it can transform into a full-sized bird and can fly to any nearby destination of our choosing."
Looking to her companions, she asked, "Would any of you know what the command word could be? My knowledge of such things is very limited at present."
"I agree that we cannot know what lies ahead, but neither do I know just how potent these potions can be, and I believe my remaining wounds aren't much more than superficial wounds. I can take a bit of pain to not waste our little resources."
Bernal furrows his eyebrows when Elif explains to the group the silver raven's function. "A magical, artificial messenger would be indispensable at our current situation", he thought out loud, "though I doubt it could function properly after so long, and in an underground environment."
"Oh yes," Katria says excitedly, her attention leaping from the new crossbow across her back to the array of treasures in front of her. "I've heard some Chelaxian rebels use such tokens regularly, and have even taken their name from them, though I think they were all stamped out years ago. It's horrible to say, but I'm almost thankful for what happened above for uncovering all this here. If only it could have happened without the death...
She give the case a quick look before opening it, adding "I'm certain I can figure out how to operate it."
Katria doesn't notice anything unusual about the case. Unfortunately, when she opens it, she sets off a trap! Waves of electricity arc throughout of the floor of the chamber, zapping Bernal, Elif, and the occultist! Fortunately, the trap is intended to incapacitate those who set it off, so the damage isn't lethal.
She seems surprised at Jowuan's response. "I wasn't actually trying to get money from you. No offense to your god, but this is a time for us to work together, not quibble over bureaucratic details. That's what's hurting Taldor!"
"Ow!" Katria cries as the trap shocks her before she can react. "I think the High Prince is determined to have me dead one way or another."
Once she's recovered, she sets to examining the bird, passing it off to Elif with the command word before returning to peruse the rest of the room. It's clear she may need to be dragged to the next area.
HP 17/17; 9 nonlethal
AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 13, CMD 13
Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +3
Inspiration (Knowledge/Linguistics/Spellcraft checks): 0/3
Mental Focus: 7; Abjuration [0/1]; Divination [2/2]; Enchantment [4/4]
Resonant powers (+1 Perception; +2 Charisma checks)
Spells/day: 1st [][][]
Effects:
The raven is indeed a silver raven figurine of wondrous power. Katria is also able to identify several other valuable objects among the displays. These assorted cultural trophies are worth 500 gp and weigh a total of 10 pounds.
Maya shakes her head at Katria, "Perhaps it would be best to thoroughly examine things before touching them. This place has already proven to be quite the death trap, let's not make its task easier."
The halfling walks over to the door to the west and says, "I'm guessing this door leads to the same room as the other door in the room we were just in."
After thoroughly examining the door, Maya opens the door.