The Pathfinders make their way through the secret door to the north. A short passageway leads to another secret door. Opening it, they find an unexplored chamber.
This large stone chamber contains two clusters of four stone caskets each. In the center of the room, between the two groupings, stands an empty, unlit iron brazier that is covered with soot and smells faintly of past fires. Drapes of dust-covered spider webs cling to the ceiling.
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Gratus centers himself and calls forth an augmented celestial dog. He orders it to search through the room.
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Stonetree ponders the appearance of the dog for a moment, than looks Selethe"Well looks like we are out of a job..."he pauses for a moment with a thoughtful look on his face. "Well at least tell something needs properly punched in the face." Stonetree lets out a big laugh and gives his companion a firm pat on the back.
As Gratus sends his summoned creature forward, a chill breeze arises from nowhere with an eerie howl. The room seems to darken, and in the sudden gloom, scores of small spectral eyeballs appear, drifting with the breeze. They peer intensely before fading away.
A few moments pass, then the lids of six of the sarcophagi lift, revealing humanoid skeletons within!
Round 1 (bold may act)
Stonetree
Dragos
Chortles
Gratus
Selethe
Osiris
Skeletons
Everyone is up!
The face of the nearest skeleton, as well as its entire skull, separate from its body upon contact from Stonetree's fist.
Two more skeletons are blown to smithereens.
Selethe skewers one of the creatures on her longspear, despite its resistance to her attack.
Gratus' summoned dog kills another, while he disrupts the last.
The injured skeleton has just enough power left to rake its claws across Stonetree's face before the group collectively finishes it off.
Searching the room and the caskets, they find that only one contains anything other than bone and scraps of clothing. The southwestern casket contains a horn of excellent quality.
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"And that is how the punch faced butler, turned suitor, got punched in the face by the whiney mistress' vinter!" Chortles takes a deep breath and swings his hat low in a tremendous bow.
Hearing Stonetree's whining, Chortles is tempted to swing his bow as a club to "cure" Stonetrees' face but instead hits it with his wand.
"This is a grave place for merriment, let's, forsooth, move henceward!" He heads to the southern door, skirting around where Gratus' dog had been.
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"About time you had a decent idea." Stonetree turns from Chortles to Selethe "I do believe we have another door that needs opened. It is a lost art I think."
Once the group assumed its natural marching order Stonetree throws open the door and yells "BY THE GODS! WHERE IS THE ALE! and than whispers loudly to Selethe "Yup, a lost art form..."
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Having been caught off-guard admiring the craftsmanship of the sarcophagi, Dragos is completely overwhelmed by his allies as they destroy the animated skeletons, leaving nought but bones and a fine powder of dust. "Good striking my friends!" he whistles as the steps into the room, running his gloved fingers over the surface of one of the sarcophagi.
"Hmm, we have found another Azlanti rune here? We found one in the master suite upstairs, how strange... Mayhaps there will be a vault or similar?" Dragos muses before following his friends.
"I find the place rather quaint don't you?"
Stonetree opens the door, revealing a rubble-choked hallway.
The floor of this small hallway is partially blocked by heaps of stone rubble. A skeletal human hand protrudes from one pile of rubble. The debris looks old, and the few sagging strands of web draped over the rubble seem to have been here for some time.
Looking to the west side of the hallway, Selethe spots what appears to be some suspicious flooring, as if they might collapse if stepped on.
There are doors to the south and east.
Stonetree attempts to open the door to the east, but finds his skill in door opening lacking--at least when the door is locked.
The door seems fairly sturdy and the lock sound.
The tremendous kick lands with a thud, sending a jolt of pain up Stonetree's leg. The door seems to be made of stone, but does have a keyhole.
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"Let me sing you a fine song of love and heartache; Of lost and found. The greatest adventure of all time! The tale of half-man called Wounded Leg and his unfortunate affair with a Stone..." Chortles untethers his "Axe" and begins the sad tale.
Sighing the last chord, he wipes a tear, "If only love weren't so blind."
With a great flourish he bows and swipes his hat through the air as if playing for a king, instead of piles of bones. "It may be that we find the key for door number one behind door number two?" Chortles points to the southern door, "RockPlant, ATTACK!"
Selethe begins a methodical search of the rubble. Aided by Stonetree, she turns over a particular stone, under which is a nondescript key.
She tries her unlikely find on the door, which opens it with a click.
Wisps of decayed and sagging spider webs droop from the walls of this room, which appears to be empty except for the long-dead, dismembered corpse of a giant spider and a stout, freestanding wooden closet in the southwestern corner. The ceiling is covered with dusty spider webs bulging down from a grid of wooden beams and plaster fifteen feet above the floor.
Faint moans and plaintive sobbing come from the closet.
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"Not how I would open a door, but art is in the eye of the beholder" Stonetree laughs while giving Selethe a celebratory slap on the back.
"I vote we don't open the closet. Best case scenario its a monster of unimaginable horror, worst case scenario its a relative of Chortles. I mean can you imagine having two of those around?'
As Stonetree and Selethe banter about the closet , the pair happen to notice another set of pressure plates in the middle of the floor.
Taking care not to step on them, Selethe advances toward the closet and shouts into it.
The sounds continue issuing from the armoire-style closet, though nothing seems to have comprehended Selethe's question.
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Enjoying the decor of this strange and unusual place, Dragos takes the odd notes on the apparent burial practices used by whoever used to inhabit here and files it away later for research. "This is all fascinating! I bet a trove of Azlanti Lore lies lost down in the depths of this place."
Deciding to back Chortles up in case the Spider is more (un)alive than it seems, the Undertaker follows the bard cautiously with their Scythe drawn. "Wonderfully reserved specimen!"
While Chortles and Dragos investigate the dead spider, Selethe and Osiris continue to look at the closet with a skeptical eye.
Selethe, using her cantrip, discovers a magical aura: a single, faint illusion aura.
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Cautiously and to save Chortles having to wipe clear his bow a second time, Dragos pushes the spider corpse with the base of their scythe, turning it over to see if anything could show cause of death. Hearing about magic present, the Undertaker clicks their fingers and sweeps their side for the room for signs of magical auras.
"Illusory Crying? Interesting and just as annoying as the real thing! Now, why would someone bother? I am curious!"