"Let us hope not," Raen replies, all too aware that necromancy is the one school she has avoided above all else. She inspects the room to the west thoroughly , then slips quietly out to the platform, hoping for a sight of the activity in the caldera below.
The cloud cover is thick to the point of true opacity. Raen wonders how they could target her so well.
The munitions pile is really nothing more than properly stacked boulders for throwing. There's a rack for ballista bolts, but it's empty.
There doesn't seem to be anything of value here.
Several stacks of spare building material—stone blocks, timber, ceramic tiles, and roof shingles—have been piled near the walls of this large chamber. It seems to be empty. Based on the smell, this was a room the mohrgs spent some time.
Frowning at the impetuous halfling, Raen gives this room a look as well .
Before we get much further... Hamilton takes 20 to either bend or rip the gate out of the way, giving Sammi and the Phantom Steeds access to the fortress.
26?
Hamilton works hard, and eventually gets the bars open enough to let the animal companions through. Meanwhile Raen gives the room a once over, finding little else.
Whistle Pig scouts south, finding a long hallway with a side passage.
Raen nods in the direction of the doors to the west.
The party takes the side passage. The room here is furnished as a break room for guards - a single table with a single chair. There is a weapons rack on the north wall which holds 10 gargantuan masterwork longspears, and a 10-foot long mattock. A massive pair of doors to the west must lead outside.
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WP wonders allowed as he inspects the huge weapons. "When this is all over, I wonder if we can keep this castle." A bit of excitement grows as she thinks, "imagine all the places we could go and the things we could do with something like this!" He giggles slightly and moves towards the door with a hop in his step.
Pig Approaches the door:
If not trapped he checks the door for sounds:
WP tries to pick the lock:
Whistle Pig opens the double doors (with a fair bit of help from the others.)
This defense deck includes a masterwork ballista still in place. It bears an intricate and rather large farglass attached to the frame. A rack contains 10 incredibly sharp looking bolts.
Ushyle follows silently, a frown gradually growing on his face until he can stay silent no longer. Something feels amiss. This place should be on high alert, and yet there are no patrols — no guards, even. Surely they have not left it all up to a handful of undead. Where is the castle's garrison?
"I do not believe they expected us to survive the ascent," Raen replies, moving to inspect the farglass. "I postulate that the castle's defenders did not know how to respond to our success, retreated, and are now regrouping."
"Either way, that's not a good thing," Vael says. "Hopefully we can find a way to get the drop on them still. We benefit when they are unprepared and underestimate us."
During the conversation, Raen detects a strong aura of Transmutation coming from the mattock. She concludes that this must be a Mattock of the Titans, a potent tool, but too large to fit into even a portable hole.
"I recommend that you elect to remain within shouting distance," Raen responds, gazing south at the intersection.
"Agreed. They already saw through invisibility magic for us to get here, so that ring of yours is not the defense it once was. Be careful, and don't get too far ahead."
At the glance from Rae, the shaman nods. He's ready to proceed south.
The party proceeds south and gets no further than back to the hall when the whole castle jerks hard to the side. It's only momentary, but it's a surprise when it happens. Everyone realizes what the motion was instantly.... the castle is free.
Not being able to do anything about it right now, the exploration continues. There's an alcove in the hall, and the hall continues past it. The giant-sized alcove off the main corridor, contains a square steel platform in the northeast corner, beneath a dark shaft in the ceiling above. A steel cupboard is mounted on the wall near the platform.
Raen frowns at the steel platform. A dumb waiter? She scans the whole alcove with an arcanist's eye.
(See Invisibility)
(Darkvision 60')
---> (Darkvision)
(Darkvision 60')
(Extra +2 if Mountains/Hills)
Whistle Pig quickly stops Raen from advancing. Part of the floor is a very carefully balanced plate. A little bit of examination reveals that it opens out through the bottom of the castle; a long fall for a person, or an easy attack for a bomber.
Indeed, while Raen doesn't find any magic, a search in the cupboard near the platform reveals four giant-sized smoke bombs that function as smoke shot siege ammunition.
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The party takes the side passage. The room here is furnished as a break room for guards - a single table with a single chair. There is a weapons rack on the north wall which holds 10 gargantuan masterwork longspears, and a 10-foot long mattock. A massive pair of doors to the west must lead outside.
...And a tapestry with a one-eyed man in a hat hanging from Yggdrasil. The words, "Hang In There, Baby", are stitched in Giantish at the bottom.
...And a tapestry with a one-eyed man in a hat hanging from Yggdrasil. The words, "Hang In There, Baby", are stitched in Giantish at the bottom.The party takes the side passage. The room here is furnished as a break room for guards - a single table with a single chair. There is a weapons rack on the north wall which holds 10 gargantuan masterwork longspears, and a 10-foot long mattock. A massive pair of doors to the west must lead outside.
"Sharp eyes," Raen nods to Whistle Pig, her feet touching the floor only in a formal sense. "West next, I believe."
Numerous buckets are stacked on steel shelves in the southwest part of this room. An overturned wooden crate in the southeast corner is being used as an impromptu table to hold several torture implements such as drills, razors, tongs, wire, and other ominous-looking tools. A giant-sized torture rack, fitted with a great winch as the main roller, stands near the north wall.
Unfortunately, something blocks your path. There's a Wall of Force preventing you from entering the room...
"I prepared an arcane solution to unravel the threads of reality binding this wall together," Raen announces. But she looks to the dwarves. "But perhaps one of you has prepared a more certain remedy? The walls are stone, and can be shaped into an ingress around the edge of the wall."
"It'll be a tight squeeze, and Sammi will have to stay on this side, but I can help."
Vael then begins to chant, calling on the Spirits of Stone to provide egress for the group. The stone to the right of the wall sloughs away, providing a tunnel two feet high that the group can crawl through.
He then looks at Whistle Pig, who is short enough that he could probably crouch through. "Do ye want to scout for us?"
Vael's shaping of the stone is enough to get around the thin wall. Whistle Pig moves to enter the room.... and finds another Wall of Force here. It appears that there's on to reinforce the stone wall too?
For a split second, the plucky halfling sees an incorporeal spirit within the room, but after he blinks, the vision is gone.
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...And a tapestry with a one-eyed man in a hat hanging from Yggdrasil. The words, "Hang In There, Baby", are stitched in Giantish at the bottom.The party takes the side passage. The room here is furnished as a break room for guards - a single table with a single chair. There is a weapons rack on the north wall which holds 10 gargantuan masterwork longspears, and a 10-foot long mattock. A massive pair of doors to the west must lead outside.
TOIF... Thank Od It's Frigg's Day!
I don't like this. Why put up a magic mojo wall? What are they keeping out? Or...
Suddenly the ghost reappears. It's face oscillates between rage and utter sorrow. The changes slow down and eventually settle on sorrow.
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I don't like this. Why put up a magic mojo wall? What are they keeping out? Or...
"...or what they are endeavoring to contain within," Raen finishes Hamilton's thought. She considers the specter for a moment. "I surmise that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and recommend we attempt a dialogue."
First, though, Raen tries to identify the spirit's qualities.
Raen believes that it is a genuine Ghost... And it may well be reasoned with against a common enemy, if one keeps a cool head.
When Tulia gives Vael a look, the shaman nods. "I can do this. What's one more spirit in my life, right?"
Vael moves closer so that the spirit can see him and perhaps reveal itself. He says, "Spirit, we come as a friend and mean you no harm. We are foes of the Storm Tyrant, who has imprisoned you here with magic. I would like to know your story and, if we can, would like to free you and release you from your torment. It may be that we can help each other."
" I am Vael Oakfist, of Trunau. I give this freely to you, as names have power. Who are you?"
Unfortunately, the wall is hermetic....
"Tarry a moment," Raen interrupts as Vael starts speaking to the ghost. She lays a hand on the invisible wall, straining her arcane power to unwind its threads.
Raen's magic drops the wall blocking the hall. Whistle Pig nearly falls as he was leaning on it.
The ghost immediately manifests, but in the center of the room.
"Friend or foe? And do not lie..."
Vael repeats himself now that there's a way for his voice to reach the ghost.
There's no reaction.
The ghost stares.
...And stares
"Friend," Raen offers.
"You have found yourself an ally dwarf and friends. Stay a while and listen. Hear my tale and hear it in the room in which I was tortured to death."
The ghost sites down and begins to strum. The notes are so deep that some of them you can only feel in your chest.
Raen's face is impassive, but she is cautious as always.
"In life, my name was Renfal and I was the high priest of Gozreh and the chief cloud engineer of Zephyr Hall. I was one of the few keepers of the alchemical secrets of these legendary, star-powered artifacts. I divided almost all of my time between my job and my passion for the harp, taking pride only in my excellent performance as both engineer and musician. I often mediated between parties of good and evil dispositions, with varying degrees of success. Such was my nature."
"My last attempt to work out a peaceful solution between two factions within the castle, however, ended in disaster. When Azarth, the lord of Zephyr Hall, passed away, his concubine Nalbia attempted to claim Zephyr Hall for herself. I opposed her claim, but hoped to find a solution or compromise that would be acceptable to all sides. However, my opposition drove Nalbia to seek the aid of the storm giant warlord Volstus, whose attack on the cloud castle eventually caused the destruction of all of the keep’s cloud giant inhabitants, save those evil ones who followed Nalbia and now serve the Storm Tyrant."
"I survived the battle, but was captured. The Storm Tyrant offered to spare my life in exchange for my servitude and expertise in controlling the cloud castle, but I refused, so Volstus ordered his minions to torture me. Under duress, I eventually revealed the powers of the cloud diadem to Volstus. With no further use for me, Volstus had me tortured to death by the crucidaemon Dyzelke. It happened on that table there."
Indeed, the table is covered in blood.
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WP is torn by this tale. This Ghost is a giant, and by default it evil and deserves to die, but the way he died was so horrible that he feels sorry for this Renfal.
"Those evil ones?" is very confused by that statement."Every single giant I have ever met has wanted to kill me. Aren't you all evil and some are just more evil than the another?"