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The tunnel only extends a few feet before opening into a collapsed stone hallway. The walls and ceiling of this eerie chamber are made from row after row of stacked bones, layers of skulls, rib cages, and arm and leg bones piled from floor to ceiling and cemented in place. On the far wall, red dyed skulls have been arranged into the symbol of an eye within an elongated hexagon.
You all spot the two centipedes clinging to the wall under the painted skulls, their pale carapaces blending in well with the bony walls.
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Heraclitus
Jazk
Hadzi
Callus
Daedîn
Thalionwen
Red
Blue
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Heraclitus points to a rune resembling an eye in an elongated hexagon. "There's our warding rune: 'Gorum's Eye,' they call it. Then there's the ones around it, let's see...'stone,' 'grave,' 'pit,' 'protection,'...and 'evil'." It gives the others a manic grin. "WELL! The road's been clearly marked, so by all means, let us proceed!"
"Seriously?!? All this lovely macabre decor and the wards and the warnings and the best they could do is a couple of centipedes? Now listen here, you two, your bite had better be transcendently painful and threaten to cause a fate worse than death, or I'm going to want my money back from this funhouse, let me tell you!"
With that, it assaults one of them with a fiery wind.
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The centipedes are easily obliterated.
Continuing down the passage, you find a small stairway leading down. A broad well with low sides plunges into the middle of this large chamber. A heavy iron cover leans against the east wall. Near the well, a mound of gnawed bones, scraps of clothing, and discarded possessions speak to some unholy feast. From deep within the well rises a susurrus of faint scratches, scrapes, and breathing. As you enter, a hunched pale figure climbs up out of the well and stops when it sees you.
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Retrieving his blade from the splattered remains of the insect, Jazk states rather matter of fact "Now that's how you deal with bugs!". Proceeding to wipe the gore off, he keeps the weapon ready as they continue you.
Looking the beast square in the eyes, he mumbles "Well that can't be good...I've a good idea what happened to those nobles though." Licking his blade again, he prepares for a fight.
Considering the situation a moment, he speaks to the beast. "Oh, our lord! We've found you! If you'd be so kind as to step back into your lair, we'll gladly give you a chance to eat us one at a time. No need to fight here, we came to be devoured by your sacredness."
'If this works, I'll have to tell Janira for sure!' considers the man.
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Struggling with the weight, Jazz quickly tries helping his companions cover the hole.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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You struggle to roll the the iron disk over to the well, and finally succeed it getting it in place just as you hear another morlock moving about below. The lid clangs into place with a reverberating echo and startles some of the sleeping morlocks below. It's obvious that the lid won't hold them back forever.
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"If you can work on the alchemical solution, I believe there is an arcane symbol that can help as well. Well, more of a religious symbol. Gorum is not my type of god, but his eye symbol can be used to contruct wards. I'll start seeing what I can put together as you mix whatever that is you are mixing."
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Callus mixes the cement and glues the lid down as Thalionwen marks out the hexagonal shape of Gorum's Eye. Once the symbol is complete it flares with light and the lid welds to the ground.
Back at the University, Professor Quolorum listens intently to your report. "Gorum's Eye, you say? Most interesting! It welded the iron once drawn? This sounds most useful! Now then, I have discerned something of the nature of these strange phenomena we’ve seen, and I think I have just the tool that may help. In my office at the Sincomakti School of Sciences here in Rozenport you’ll find a small vial of a most potent substance that I-and by “I,” I mean “you”-will find useful later. It is an experimental magical herbicide. I planned to use it on the ivy growing over my office windows, but our current predicament may call for it instead. You’ll find the vial in a cupboard on the wall behind my desk. It glows purple, so you can’t miss it. Bring it back quickly so that we can move forward in these investigations." The gnome hands you a brass key.
Doctor Quolorum's office is a single storey limestone building. There is a lock on the door, but as you get closer you see that the door is already slightly ajar. Peering inside, the contents of the room float aimlessly about as if loosed from the bounds of gravity. A large oak desk spins slowly in the center, and a matching carved oak chair floats near the ceiling. The walls are lined with low bookshelves, but the books and countless other items that once rested there drift gently in midair. Ivy-covered windows to the west and east provide only dim light.
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"Sounds straightforward...but somehow I'm sure that won't be the case...
Follow me friends, I know the way..."
Once they get to the doctor's office, as Daedîn sees all the floating items, he'll nimbly try to maneuver his way through them, to the cupboard, keeping an eye open for foes and traps...if he makes it over to the cupboard cleanly, he'll use the key to open it so he can retrieve the vial...
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Daedîn nimbly maneuvers through the warped gravity and reaches the cupboard. The door is already opened and the herbicide is nowhere in sight! A large red leather-bound tome suddenly begins flapping its pages as it floats by. "Oooo, someone new! Come here so I can say hello. Or should I just slice your fingers up instead?!" A new voice issues from the tome, measured and dignified. "Silence Pelin. Greetings, stranger. I am Nhorean Luralia, famed psychic researcher. Is there something you're looking for?"
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The high-pitched, unhinged voice returns. "And any useful information woukd be helpful! Hahahaha." The book's pages flick by and a new voice emerges. "Quiet Pelin. You need information, eh? What can Zame get from you? Perhaps a trade? The Luralias know many things, but not all things." Nhorean's voice returns, "Don't beat around the bush, Zame. We have been here for quite a while, and Doctor Quolorum is not the greatest conversation partner. He also has a very specific idea of what is interesting news. Tell us of the goings-on in Golarion, and we can very likely tell you something useful."
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Daedîn nods. "I'll do my best...we were sent by Dr. Quolorum to find out 'bout strange phenomena going on in the Ustalav area, most based around the Lady Illirigarde...
We first went to Dunhob and investigated a haunted tavern...we then investigated lightning strikes with the good doctor and ran into some ectoplasmic creatures...
We went to the Illirigarde Manor and saw the ghost of Lady Illirigarde whom gave us further clues 'bout the phenomena...and saw a couple of haunts, one of which showing how the Lady died...
And then before our journey here to retrieve the vial of herbicide, we were sent to a monolith where we sealed in the deviant morlocks, to keep them from ravaging the local populace..."
Daedîn gives a long sigh. "That's 'bout all I got...will that do or is there anything else you wish to know?"
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Jazk stands there a moment, bored with the discussion. As his companions turn to look at him, he jerks back to the present.
"Oh, me?" he asks. "I'm well...my ancestors spawned from another world. One of them, somewhere along the line, sullied our blood with the mortals of this land."
"As to my specific home? I learned my skills in Uskwood. Earned a decent coin there, too. Alas, my desire to see more lead me to the join the search for artifacts."
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Pelin's voice cackles from the book. "Sullied blood and homeless elves! And the man who was late! Very verylate, and then he was floating!" Nhorean cuts him off, [b]“Two days ago a wild-eyed man dressed like a farmer and covered in dirt rushed in here and broke open the cupboard behind the desk. He took a vial from it, and suddenly everything in the room started floating around. It was quite a sight watching him kick and spin in the air. Eventually he made his way back out, but not before he’d cursed Dr. Quolorum up and down. He kept yelling about the greenhouse and how he was going to be too late.”
Finding the greenhouse requires a DC 12 Diplomacy or Knowledge (local) check to get directions, or a DC 12 Survival check to follow the muddy footprints left by the farmer who took the herbicide.
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The greenhouse is constructed from wrought iron and glass and resembles a cage as much as it does a garden. Forty feet tall at its highest peak, the structure is elegantly arched and smoothly curved. The gate on the western end has been bent out of shape and swings on a single hinge. The air in this room is humid and aromatic. Odors of earth and mud clash with crisp notes of sweet flowering plants. Farther in, a freshwater spring burbles quietly.
The plants inside the greenhouse are disturbing, turning to track your movements with large pale leaves. You see a jar of liquid lying in the middle of the path. Nearby, a gardener covered in green fuzz is standing by the pond. He slowly turns to face you as you approach and groans. The mold on his back bunches up as a small spore pod fires at Daedîn. The pod bursts and Daedîn's head swims slightly as he inhales the spores.
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Mindslaver mold
Heraclitus
Daedîn (1 Wisdom damage)
Thalionwen
Jazk
Hadzi
Callus