"If we need to hire a cleric to do this, we're gonna need loot... "
Horatio watches Seijiro take the coin off the corpse, and looks at him over his shoulder for a moment.
His own muscles are tight from the wound of the trident; but he'll worry about healing later, it seems.
"We'll get someone - and don't worry; we got plenty of currency," he says grimly as his hand tightens on the butt of his pistol.
He calls out to Adular.
"Hey padre, keep an eye on the gang, I'll be back," he says with a nod.
"Afore you go, Horatio, I think it best if you'd let me increase your chances if you run into trouble." Unless the man stops him, Adular will use some wand magic on him.
"Come to think of it, why don't you let me take him? I'm faster thanks to this vest, and I'm not wounded thanks in no small part to Besmara's luck and armor."
"Afore you go, Horatio, I think it best if you'd let me increase your chances if you run into trouble." Unless the man stops him, Adular will use some wand magic on him.
Horatio stops and gives the priest a small smile.
"My thanks, padre," he says to him and prepares to head off to the surface.
"Come to think of it, why don't you let me take him? I'm faster thanks to this vest, and I'm not wounded thanks in no small part to Besmara's luck and armor."
Horatio pauses, then slides the body gently off his shoulder and hands him over to Adular.
"Aye.." he says to the priest with a nod as he passes over the body of their dead friend gently.
"Amen-set'll watch over the body for sure; she's kind of sweet on the sorcerer, though; so I'm pretty sure she won't let harm come to him," he says to Adular.
"Meantime, there's a bunch of things to finish searching and I reckon we ought to hustle; these spells won't last forever," he adds as he pauses and reloads his pistol.
As Adular is ready to leave, he calls out to him -
"Good luck, padre," then he turns back and moves back to the others.
Seijiro, as you pass your hands over the body of Krelloort, several items begin to glow with a soft white light. He is wearing two rings, his trident, his armor, Amulet, belt, as well as two potions.
Unless the man objects, having given his reasons, Adular will take Dhaavan's body to the surface instead, "Be right back..well, sooner than anyone else could be."
And in a wink, he's gone.
Seijiro, as you pass your hands over the body of Krelloort, several items begin to glow with a soft white light. He is wearing two rings, his trident, his armor, Amulet, belt, as well as two potions.
Horatio moves back to the body and stares long at Seijiro; his eyes lingering long on the kitsune, but he says nothing.
His eyes flick to Rain for a moment, studying her recently healed wounds, but he says nothing.
Then he turns back to Variel.
"Well, Captain-General, if that thing was really some kind of some 'tribal king' than maybe we ought to see what he's got in his throne room," he says to him; then takes out his other pistol and reloads that one as he studies Variel thoughtfully.
When he's finished reloading he holsters the weapons and heads north into the chamber that his "Kelroot" was in.
|
Variel couldn't believe his fortune and misfortune at the same time. He was alive and so was Rain but Dhaavan had died. Lost in the agony of pain, blood loss, fatigue, and anger he heard little of what was said around him. A distant part of Variel's mind told him he was in shock but the rest of him didn't listen. It wasn't until Adular healed his wounds and Horatio spoke that the haze started to lift.
Horatio, that is a noble sentiment and Adular I appreciate your willingness to go but after that none of us should separate again. We all will go in case we run into any more Sahuagin or sharks. Let us finish with this area first to claim what we came here for. Then all of us can escort him as is only fitting. Dhaavan deserves the respect of an honor guard. Flynn, once we are ready would you lead as you and him were closest. Then the rest of us can file in on either side of him.
Horatio, that is a noble sentiment and Adular I appreciate your willingness to go but after that none of us should separate again. We all will go in case we run into any more Sahuagin or sharks. Let us finish with this area first to claim what we came here for. Then all of us can escort him as is only fitting. Dhaavan deserves the respect of an honor guard. Flynn, once we are ready would you lead as you and him were closest. Then the rest of us can file in on either side of him.
"I think the padre's already gone; he'll be back soon," he says to Variel.
"I reckon we won't have much time, though - the water-breathing spell won't last forever," he adds.
"Besides, I'm willing to bet that the Lord of the Rock doesn't really need an honor guard; the way I see, it, he's just on sabbatical..." he says with a tight voice.
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The two rings are a ring of protection +3 and a ring of ferocious action,
his trident is called Zul and is a +1 Human Bane (which I forgot to use lol) Trident (This attack deals 1d4
points of Dexterity damage and slows the target (as the
spell) for 1 round as its flesh calcifies. A DC 16 Fortitude save
negates the slow effect but not the ability damage. A target
reduced to 0 Dexterity is permanently petrified, transformed
into inert, mindless coral. Break enchantment or restoration
reverses all of the effects of this calcification. This ability can
be used up to 7 times per day.),
his armor is +2 Eel Hide Armor, Stormlure Amulet, belt of Physical Perfection +2, as well as two potions of cure moderate wounds.
Knowing from Variel's spellcrafting that none of the items are going to destroy the haversack he wears , he stashes the goods in the sack and joins the others in the throne room.
He casts detect magic and looks around, but stands off to the side with a sour expression on his face and lets the others search and collect anything of value.
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To those searching: You find Among the personal items in Krelloort’s
bedchamber is gold-plated conch shell engraved with images of sea elves and hippocampi (worth 1,200 gp) that holds a selection of putrid fish and humanoid livers (a sahuagin delicacy), a gilt tattooing kit that he uses on his slaves and concubines (worth 50 gp), and a burnished brass hand mirror (worth 20 gp). In the seaweed bed there is also a gold Varisian music box (no longer functional) that holds the ivory image of a dancing harrower (worth 400 gp). Inscribed on the underside of the lid are the words “For my darling Isabella.” There is also the massive stone throne.
Dhaavan wallows in the cloud of his own blood that escaped as the human bane trident punched a hole in his heart
Horatio studies the room; his eyes roaming over every detail intently -
. Inscribed on the underside of the lid are the words “For my darling Isabella.” There is also the massive stone throne.
He considers the words on music box thoughtfully; guessing what they may mean...
Rain had remained mute for a time after the Krelloort had finally expired under their repeated attacks. She had felt every wound given to her by the multi-armed Sahuagin leader.
He turns back and sees the blood on Rain's flesh and gear.
"You alright, Pilot-Major?" he asks her, his face hard.
Rain's turquoise eyes fixed on Flynn's and she gave a brisk nod in the affirmative. I am better than the sorcerer. The unspoken words filled the caverns of her mind as her eyes strayed to the lifeless, floating form of Dhaavan. She bowed her head in his direction -- a tribute to his efforts this day and since they had become shipmates on the Lady.
As she tread water, assessing the worst of her injuries, she felt a tap of the healing wand on her shoulder and then a few more soft taps. The gaping flesh from the maw and claw attacks began to knit before her eyes and she began to feel the relief of the healing magic. And then the physical pain was no more. Turning to the Besmaran priest, she inclined her head in gratitude, "//Thank you, Adular; the magic has healed all my wounds."//
Rain watched as Adular then moved to Variel, Jiro and Flynn and performed healing on them via the wand.
Flynn and Adular discussed drawing Dhaavan's body to the surface and having Amen-set guard it until they all too could reach the surface. It was decided that the priest, with his magical vest, could perform the task faster than any other of the companions and so he set off to undertake the task.
Varial had appeared desolate upon Dhaavan's death and kept to himself at first and she left him to his private mourning. Rain felt his eyes on her for a moment, and, noting she was alright, did not linger.
The party would search the throne and the surrounds and then head back to the top before the water-breathing spell would expire.
Retracting her magical pike and stowing it on her back, Rain swam around the chamber with Flynn and Jiro and searched diligently.
As you search the throne you spot a slight gap between the base and the stone floor. Finding an iron bar behind one of the golden curtains, you manage to slide the several thousand pound stone throne backwards, revealing another chamber below. The chamber is bare except for two chests...each as different as could be. One is a iron-banded chest decorated with skulls that seems to have held up remarkably well considering its immersion in seawater. The other is a stone box with the image of a fish-headed demon carved onto its lid, whose seams appear to have been sealed by lead.
Seijiro will cast detect magic on the chests to see if there are any magical traps... and if none, he'll look for mechanical traps...
Rain did not like the look of the second box with the fish-headed demon carved on the lid. There had to be some reason the seams were sealed, some more ominous than others. Perhaps Adular, when he returned, would know what the demon was and meant.
Rain moved aside to allow Jiro a chance to check for traps on the two revealed chests.
When Adular returns as quickly as he can, his face is still grim, "The body is under protection, better protection than a cleric provided he while it lived, to be sure."
Should the design on the lid be shown to him, his brow knits
...pain...so much pain...pain...receding...going...losing myself...numb........Oh gods....where am I?!?!
The first thing you notice is that you're not burning...which is a good sign. You always thought that when you died you'd be in the nine hells in the service to some devil or other...but this is definitely not the nine hells.
Carefully opening your eyes, you see way above yourself, a bloated moon that gives you the feeling of utter despair and hopelessness. You find yourself saying ...Whats the point? It'll all end anyway. Better to just lie down and wait for it... Trying to think through the muddling thoughts, you shake your head to clear it ...no, that's not right...I have friends...don't I?
Looking around you see graves as far as the horizon. An endless sea of headstones, mausoleums, crypts, and tombs. Some of these tombs and crypts are as tall as the tallest buildings of Absalom. You see the souls of the dead shuffling back and forth in steady streams. Looking for a moment you see a general pattern heading in a particular direction. You feel yourself being tugged in that direction as well, a force seeming to move your feet for you. After shuffling in that direction for what feels like a lifetime, you see a massive gravestone palace, glowing with a cold light. Feathered creatures with four wings and plague doctor masks flit through windows in the upper floors. Next to the doors are two massive ashen skinned humans with cruel faces and jet black wings. They hold giant flanged maces that are alive with cold blue flame. As you pass, you look back and forth inside the hall. Impossibly long, you see a white light near the front, that all the souls are moving towards. The light builds until it is painful and you feel the need to try and shield your eyes but the light pierces through you before abruptly ending. Seated on a high bench a mostly humanoid creature with a lower body that appears cocooned. Wielding a quill he says to you Name? You find yourself unable to speak for a moment before saying Dhaavan of Clan Idolis
The creature closes his eyes for a moment and then opens them...looking startled You are to be taken directly to Lady Imot. Looking over at a pair of massive outsiders, he says Take him.
Ashen hands grab you and begin to steer you through various hallways before entering a room devoid of decoration or furniture except for one wall which looks upon a vast starscape.
Seated on the floor in the Lotus position favored by some practitioners of the ancient art of yoga, is a female human woman of indeterminate age. Gesturing for you to sit beside her looking into the void she says Welcome Dhaavan of Clan Idolis. I am Imot, the Symbol of Doom. I am the prophetic herald of tragedy and destruction. I have summoned you here to me because you and your crew are very important. There will come a time in the future when you will be called upon to do something extraordinary...and I know this sounds hard to believe but the fate of not only this world...but all worlds may be in the balance. You must watch for the signs and be ready for them. I have sent this message to another who will be joining your crew shortly, she will be able to corroborate your story and will be the one to bring you back from here. You must make your way to the Lake of Mortal Reflections and there find your true form. You Varisians are a nomadic people, you do that because your form is not your true one. You wander to find it. When you return, you will be reincarnated into the form you were meant to have. She then looks at you patiently before saying Do you accept this great responsibility? Or should I return you to the line to face Pharasma's judgement and your journey to the pit of Avernus will continue...where you will face torments of unimaginable cruelty. Your decision. She seems to truly mean that, seemingly disinterested in what your decision actually will be.
"How heavy is that thing? Maybe we could take it top side before opening it, might be safer up there ..." he asks
The iron one is fine to move. The stone one is part of the floor.
Dhaavan listens quietly as Imot describes his mission, taking a seat and staring out at into the void as well. Well, this isn't what I was expecting. It's not every day you get to talk to a herald of doom, one with such unfathomable knowledge. So what happens after me and mine do this . . . extraordinary thing, I mean for me? Worst case scenario it's a stay of execution before my date with damnation, or oblivion if we fail, either way I'll take it as a win. But if we stop this thing, is that knowledge within your purview or are there any insights you can share? Will you or whomever wants this thing done break my contract with Asmodeus? Am I damned if I do, damned if I don't, not something that's knows, or something you'd even care about? he inquires. Not using flattery, put paying proper respect Dhaavan acknowledges her position and power, his position as being what is esssentially a gnat, one that has a role to play but still a gnat, and asking if she has information she would like to give rather than demanding.
Are we to know from whence this threat comes? Or is part of the task to find out what we are after? or what sort of thing it is?
I'm in, of course, regardless. But I figure I may as well see what I can learn... Dhaavan will sit quietly and listen to her reply, and a short time after until it seems that he should be going. My true form huh? Wonder what that will be
"How heavy is that thing? Maybe we could take it top side before opening it, might be safer up there ..." he asks
Horatio glances at Adular.
"Aye... and in any case, we'd have far more resources to bring to bear on the ship than under all of this..." he says gesturing around at the water.
"Besides," he says slowly "if we open it in water, the water itself may spoil whatever is inside. I've a hunch that it may be the saltwater itself that ruined the music box, but I'll let Piper take a look at it when we return to the ship."
He glances at Seijiro.
"Do you think these chests can fit in the magic bag you've got? It may be easier to haul them," he says.
His eyes study the iron bar on the stone floor thoughtfully, and they roam through the briny water as well. The combined strength of the group was able to leverage the throne with the weight of seawater pressing on it. He could accept that... but how did the iron bar withstand?
Was it more than a simple iron bar?
Who knows? For now he has no idea; he merely wishes to get aloft from this dark cesspit of filth and be gone from this gods cursed island.
He studies the evil looking signs and symbols on the box, pondering at the least the skulls of a fish-headed demon.
"It's said by the Mwangi tribesman that when they make the Black Brew to create a zuvembie that the only thing that can stop such creatures is lead or iron..." he muses as he stares at the box, the melted lead fused in the lock.
"Further, there are dark cults in Varisia where men whisper tales of dark gods of the deep, they're not worth speaking on now, but in case, I'd say that this box has a foul look to it," he says, his eyes hard.
He looks up at the others.
"Well, what now?" he asks them.
At Flynn's question, Rain looked to him first and then around the group (barring the dead sorcerer now with Amen-set),
//"When Variel and I were exploring the lower caverns, we discovered a chamber which held a pen occupied by hammerhead sharks. In the western section of the wall, I noted a small crevasse that had a fine current swirling near it. It looked as though there could be a secret chamber beyond it. However, we would need to widen the crevasse and that could take an hour. We may run out of air by that time; I am uncertain of how long we have been down, here." The Elven pilot's voice was low and sounded tired as she passed along the discovery and left it to the others to decide if it was worth investigating or not.
"The stone box seems to be one with the floor.. .taking it with us would be impossible... IF the other chest can be moved, we can take it with us I suppose.. as for fitting it into the haversack, if it will fit into the opening, it will hold it, but if it's too large for that, then we'd have to carry it ourselves."
"The chests don't appear to be trapped, so unless there are other objections, I'm going to try to open the stone one with the lead seals."
He looks for a way to open the chest, breaking the seals as needed to do so.
At Flynn's question, Rain looked to him first and then around the group (barring the dead sorcerer now with Amen-set),
//"When Variel and I were exploring the lower caverns, we discovered a chamber which held a pen occupied by hammerhead sharks. In the western section of the wall, I noted a small crevasse that had a fine current swirling near it. It looked as though there could be a secret chamber beyond it. However, we would need to widen the crevasse and that could take an hour. We may run out of air by that time; I am uncertain of how long we have been down, here." The Elven pilot's voice was low and sounded tired as she passed along the discovery and left it to the others to decide if it was worth investigating or not.
Horatio glances at her thoughtfully.
"Well, a hole in the wall wouldn't normally seem very tempting; yet in this case, based on your description, I agree with you that there must be more to it than a simple place for water to travel through..." he says, thinking about this mystery.
"I am interested in seeing more of these openings and caverns; but mainly because we know there must be more to this place. Why else should it be guarded so heavily and so well, if it was merely these rooms alone?"
"But I agree with you about the lack of air being an issue. Beyond that we are all weary and our resources nearly exhausted. As you have seen the location of this hole, perhaps we can return and explore it again in time - once we are healthier and better able," he says to her.
"For myself I would like to return our ship and check the status of the vessel very soon, though."
His eyes narrow as a frown crosses his face.
"We saw both the aged and young Sahungian in the cavern that were made like slaves. They were not bound, killed or befriended; yet as of now, they are no longer there. Where did they go, then? Did they escape to deeper depths, or perhaps rush to the surface itself?"
"If they, or that cursed shark we saw earlier, made it to the surface we may find our ship and our friends in trouble if we don't return soon," he adds, a touch of concern on his face.
"I saw we take what we've found, return to the ship and at least rest aboard safely before we make our next choice," he says, then does what he can to start to gather the remaining gear and prepares to head to the surface.
"The chests don't appear to be trapped, so unless there are other objections, I'm going to try to open the stone one with the lead seals."
Not having understood that the second stone chest was sealed to the floor, Horatio will move to assist Jiro.
"I suggest the rest of us back up a bit... just to be on the safe side while they work." Adular backs up to the entry way of the room
"I suggest the rest of us back up a bit... just to be on the safe side while they work." Adular backs up to the entry way of the room
Horatio glances toward Adular as he works.
"Good idea, padre... Say, did the girl give you any trouble when you found her?" he asks, knowing that sometimes Amen-set can be a bit testy and felt like she may be less than pleased to see Dhaavan's condition!
Then, getting a bit frustrated at the lack of progress the lock, he turns to the iron crowbar that was somehow able to pry open a thousand pound throne trapped under the weight of water and attempts to jimmy the chest as well.
I'm not sure why I'm doing this, but for some reason I feel like I ought to open this... for Dhaavan's sake, but I don't really know why...
From his spot over, "She was clearly upset, and apparently was seeing to a ritual. I believe meant to protect his spirit. I didn't see her lighting a pyre, so I wasn't worried. I told her of our plans to bring him back. I think any creature trying to touch him that ain't part of the crew will get a bellyful of her steel."
With Flynn's acknowledgement of what she had imparted regarding the hidden chamber, she gave a nod and as Adular instructed for them to put some distance as Jiro attempted to break the seals and open the chest attached to the floor (with Flynn's assistance), Rain complied and swam over to where the Besmaran priest tread water.
From his spot over, "She was clearly upset, and apparently was seeing to a ritual. I believe meant to protect his spirit. I didn't see her lighting a pyre, so I wasn't worried. I told her of our plans to bring him back. I think any creature trying to touch him that ain't part of the crew will get a bellyful of her steel."
He grunts with a somewhat amused gleam in his eye.
"She likes to fight... and she's sweet on Dhaavan; I had a hunch that she'd be perfect to watch over him," he responds as he continues to help Jiro open the box.
He pause a moment a he works, then looks at Adular with a little confusion in his eyes.
"She was doing a ritual? Hmmm..." he says, pausing to think a for a moment, then continuess to work.
At Flynn's question, Rain looked to him first and then around the group (barring the dead sorcerer now with Amen-set),
The message spell would cease when Dhaavan died but with the Water Breathing spell you can speak to each other normally.
--------------------------------------------------------------
As you open the stone chest a burst of red explodes out of the seals and covers everyone within this room and bleeds out into the throne room.
After about a minute, the red dissipates.
As you open the stone chest a burst of red explodes out of the seals and covers everyone within this room and bleeds out into the throne room.
After about a minute, the red dissipates.
Gong through the completely unnecessary motions of dusting off his lapels, he sighs and looks over at Seijiro.
"You alright?" he asks the kitsune, as he waits for an answer, he looks in the chest to see what's inside.
Seijiro, enveloped in the red cloud, coughs and sputters as the damage overwhelms him a bit... but manages to avoid the worst of the effects, the draining of his already depleted constitution.
"Well, not completely unexpected, but annoying nonetheless.. "
Once the cloud dissipates, he peers cautiously into the box to see what, if anything, the trap was protecting.
Horatio looks around at everyone.
"How about the rest of you?" he asks, then he leans in and tries to see what it's in the box.
As he peers in, his mind tacks back to when he attempted to ascertain the meaning of the name on the music box; meanwhile, he continues to try to find out what's in the box.