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The statues are slow to react, and Benedict's spear strikes deep through the stone, creating a series of propagating cracks all around the statue. However it does not penetrate it's hard shell enough to destroy it with a single strike.
Iddo follows Alexis example and pours out more healing upon the limping jaguar. The scars start to heal quickly, and the jaguar finds a spring in it's step once more!
With the Jaguar out of the front line, it's Eamon now who puts his foot forward, forcing the caryatid column to lay their stone weapons on him. However, their bodies start to wither slowly with every attack laid on them, and the move too slow allowing Eamon to react with relative ease.
The healing waves wash over the jaguar.
Cool water on hot day
Re-energized, she leaps at the command from Edmund- stalking and hunting the stone creature.
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The room illuminates with greater brightness as Alexis vexes the second caryatid column with glittering stardust.
Finding the right opportunity, Edmund delivers another well placed shot from his bow. The arrow embeds itself into one of the cracks created earlier on the statue. Another sure shot would be enough to cause the living stone to crumble into pieces.
Kissan hangs himself on the statue but his bite is not strong enough to penetrate the thick stony hide.
~~~
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Alani finds her shot, but the bullet ricochets off the stone without making an impact. Eamon's sword however strikes at the very heart of the column forcing it to crack further and break apart.
Benedict attempts to reach around Kissan to once more put another dent into the caryatid column. The statue retaliates against the Pathfinders by swinging once more against the jaguar, but finds his mark off this time around.
~~~
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The statue continues to engage with wide and slow swings. Eamon dodges once more, leaving an opening to arise. The Pathfinders engage and pounce on the creature, breaking the last standing rock to pieces.
With the path cleared, you are able to travel deeper through the dark and dimly lit chambers of this ruin. The walls, ceiling, and floor of this room are covered in elaborate patterns of countless tiny tiles. The tiles also form three images on the west wall: one depicts a woman in a cloak hovering above a pile of skulls; another depicts the same woman kneeling before a massive fiend; the third shows her in the company of a godlike figure standing before a massive pyramid.
Heavily damaged objects have been left behind in this room. The objects include: gold-plated idols of the pharaoh (heavily dented); a lacquered box of stale incense (covered in tooth marks but unopened); a ceremonial platinum dagger (snapped in half); dozens of pieces of pottery (smashed to bits); six scrolls (chewed up into spitballs and stuck to the ceiling—now illegible); and numerous objects of gold and silver, all dented, battered, and broken a dozen times over.
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Eamon breathes heavily as the last of the statues crumble. Your Cat is a formidable combatant. Eamon comments to Edmund. Eamon inspects his own blade for chips or cracks having struck the stone many times. The magic of the oil preserved my family blade..praise Iomedea. You should all thank the Inheritor for her mercy and blessings. It is no small thing to have one of her priest and a fledgling blade master, grace such an expedition. Eamon nods his head without embarrassment accepting the assumed gratitude before it is even offered. His pride, is at near peak inflation, after the defeat of the columns.
I believe we should move forward, There is surely more to discover deeper inside the cavern. When Eamon gets to the tiles depicting the woman hovering over the skulls he pauses to inspect the scene Hmm if I remember my studies correctly, the depicted fiend is Ahriman, Lord of All Divs.
As Eamon comes upon the damaged objects he inspects those as well Probably nothing but junk here, moved aside by the workers. I'd recognize if it were anything of value *snort*, my training and up-bringing give me an edge in such things. *sniff* Eamon moves away inspecting the rest of the room quickly dismissing things he finds no interest or value in
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As the statue falls Edmund releases a sizable breath, one he didn't know he was holding. Battered and damaged arrows lay strewn about the lower level, with so few having penetrated the stony hide of the statue.
"Come here girl!" as he squats to embrace her playful pounce, scratching under her chin. Her ears press flat against her head as she presses into her human's affection.
"She sure is, Eamon. She has saved me more times than I can count- and I her as well."
After a few moments, Edmund stands and begins to move into the new chamber. Kissan shifts back to the business at hnad, stalking alongside her human, eyes and nose searching for threats.
While the tile work and ruins are intricate and impressive, there meaning and symbolism is lost on Edmund. Glancing around the room, he attempts to discern what magical auras might be present.
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No magical aura's are present in the current chamber. And after discerning the worth of the junk the group once more delves deeper into the ruins.
A well-preserved wooden chest sits atop a platform against the south wall of this room. A series of arcane glyphs burnt into the top of the chest forms a spiral. Iron bindings reinforce the chest, and it has no apparent lock or key. A series of heavy latches keep the lid tightly shut. The latches are apparent that they can be easily manipulated to open the chest. The arcane glyph bears a resemblance to that of the one on the floor upon your entrance into the ruins.
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The glyphs on the chest nor the chest itself are not magic in nature. If it once was, the magic has long died. The arcane symbols are nothing Alexis is able to recognize, but there are some similar resemblance to ones used in ancient necromancy.
However, Alexis is able to determine that several objects within the chest emit a weak aura of divination.
Kissan paces around the room, sniffing and exploring the corners and articles. By her second lap, she has contented herself that there is nothing threatening year.
She trots back to the group, takes a big stretch and a yawn, before flopping over on her side next to her new friend Alexis
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Eamon doesn't know anything more of the glyphs than Alexis. As he searches around for a possible false bottom, in search of hopeful answers, his eyes momentarily turns clouded white.
The woman stands surrounded by the aftermath of a great battle in the desert. She examines the wounded and dying with interest, ignoring their cries for help. She kneels by a dying man, places her hand on his forehead, and says, “Were you one of ours? One of theirs? It matters not. The Plague loves all of you the same. Do you feel it? As your body dies, does your mind cling to life? Yes—I sense it. Wonderful! I must try again. Soon even the Lady of Graves will have no hold over my fate.”
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When Eamon "comes to" he says,Whoa! Now I didn't expect that! Why do I keep getting pulled in to these adventures with Crazy spirits that have an axe to grind?! Eamon says to no one but, himself. He then turns to the others and explains the horns hold some type of memory residence. Eamon then relates everything in his vision after touching the horn..to others in the group.
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Edmond listens intently to the story told by Eamon, though he personal lacks the desire to experience it for himself.
"I am a bad judge of value- are any of these artifacts worth bringing back to the surface, or back to the pathfinders?". He motions around to the damaged and discarded objects throughout the room.
"Might something unfortunate occur by removing this chest?"
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As you reach and touch the horn Immediately you receive a flash of a vision. You feel as if you are a disembodied, floating being, always in the presence of a woman dressed in Ancient Osiriani garb. Any distinguishing features of the woman blur and shift. The voice, you recall to be the same as the one that spoke when you entered into the ruins. The spoken language is Ancient Osiriani, but you seem to understand it even if you normally don't.
Screams echo around the dark halls as the woman snarls. “They die too quickly! There is no time. I need healthier subjects.” She looks up, but her features remain obscured. “Go to the training grounds. Tell the captain I require another full squad of his most able-bodied guards for the Dungeons of the Ever-Dying. Perhaps they can survive long enough to further my studies. No—not one squad. A dozen fresh recruits each week.”
Feelings of intense pain and desperation accompany this memory. The woman mockingly waves one of the horns into view. “What better material to preserve a memory than the horn of a creature fundamentally obsessed with knowledge? Perhaps I shall find others like you, take their essence, and perfect my magic. Pain? Yes. There will always be pain for you. I will leave you those memories. A suiting gift for a traitor.”
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The party backtracks towards the entrance and continues to walk down the unexplored path into a series of small chambers. A chest, made of rotting wood, sits in the first room’s western alcove. Although in a poor condition, looking easily breakable, the locks surprisingly hold.
Within are mostly dozens of small, dull gray stones with no apparent value. Many of the stones have cracks, divots, and pockmarks. Four onyx gemstones stand out as possibly being valuable.[/sooiler]
[spoiler=Kn. Arcana or Appraise DC14]
The stones were once flawless gemstones and that they were likely used as components in the creation of a spell or magical effect
These stones represent failed attempts at necromancy of some kind.
~~~
Further in, Detritus litters the next room, including bits of metal, broken furniture, crushed glass, leather strips, and shredded parchment. The walls, ceiling, and floor are covered in deep gouges forming words and phrases in multiple languages. You attempt to decipher the words written covering very surface of this room. An opening leads west towards the next chamber.
“I will seek the Dungeons, find the screams, remember your name, KILL YOU”
“I will seek the Dungeons, find the screams, remember your name, KILL YOU”
“I will seek the Dungeons, find the screams, remember your name, KILL YOU”
Taking some time to study the room, you decipher that the room once contained a table with thick leather restraints, a single stool, and a small writing desk.
You note scraps of parchments that contain Ancient Osiriani writing, arcane symbols, and sketches of gemstones and humanoid skulls.
These musings date back to the Age of Destiny, around seven millennia ago
~~~
Intrigued by your discoveries, you traverse once more deeper into what seems to be a curving hallway to a dead end. Over a dozen small alcoves line this hallway, each containing rusted shackles bolted to the walls and copious amounts of dust. Three of the alcoves contain brittle skeletons hanging from the shackles. Frantic whispers echo around the otherwise-silent chamber, seemingly originating from the skulls of the deceased.
You know that unquiet spirits can be put to rest through spell use (bless, consecrate...etc), or possibly holy water if one is able to say the right prayer.
The bones once belong to adult humanoids who suffered from multiple horrific and fatal diseases
only magic or divine energies could have kept these people alive long enough to contract so many deadly diseases, and that force is likely what preserved the bones
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As the party ventures through, the weird religious themes and symbols continue to baffle Edmund. I must learn more about these ancient mysteries if I am to be wandering about through ruins and not woods
Even still he purposefully checks each room, looking for things that might be of value to the team- drawing others attention to things that catch his eye.
Upon finding some scrap papers with interesting glyphs, he draws Alexis' and Benedict's attention. "Does this mean anything to you guys?" gesturing to the writings and symbols on the pages.
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Benedict easily opens the poor lock and examines the contents. "Hmm, these stones were once used for some sort of necromancy. Which makes sense given the nature of the visions we received. These writings, atleast the ones I can translate all say the same thing. 'I will seek the Dungeons, find the screams, remember your name, KILL YOU' See these scraps of paper? They are musings that date back to the Age of Destiny, around seven millenia ago. Fascinating." Benedict tries his best to keep his resolve around the frantic whispers. "If we had any holy magic or even holy water, we could put these spirits to rest. They clearly suffered as they were subjected to multiple fatal and terrible diseases, only kept alive by divine magic." He states examining the skeletons.
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Alexis struggles to keep up with the longer-limbed, less-encumbered Benedict, but it just so happens that the two of them complement each other splendidly when it comes to languages, and she confirms that the Ancient Osirian hieroglyphs translate (with alarming accuracy!) to the same horrible promise.
"If necessary, I can invoke The White Signet of Zahur," She adds, moments before it proves a moot point. For the time being....
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Having spent an unnerving amount of time staring at the ruins' walls, Iddo suddenly snaps back to when Benedict lists his findings. He listens diligently, making a mental note of every piece of information.
"I, uh, must say, Mr. Stark... 'I will find the Dungeons, seek the screams, remember your name... KILL YOU'... isn't that a bit of an, er, unnerving message? Do you have any idea to whom it may be addressed, or who wrote it, or what's it about? Dungeons, screams..."
The young human trails off, staring just above Benedict's head, awaiting an answer.
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Although there are a few questions left unanswered, the ruins seemed to have revealed as much as it can to you. Satisfied with your discoveries, you thread back to Obahar who waits patiently and eagerly for your return at the entrance of the ruins.
"Well, what have you discovered?" He immediately asks when you are within reach, as he frantically jots and goes through his notes of the ruins and incidences that have taken place. He head nods rigorously as you relay every detail you can to him "Mhmm. Mmm."
"I have not heard of the Dungeon of the Ever-Dying, but there must be a means to discover this." He states, ever so eager to learn more of the situation at hand. "You should rest for the day, let me compile my notes on the leads for you. I suggest you visit the Thrice-Shrouded Necropolis in case the reference to the Lady of Graves is significant. Come back to me when you have enough clues and maybe we can figure out where this Dungeon is."