A set of graceful spiral stairs, constructed of black marble veined with scarlet, wind upward. The bonfire in the entry hall sends waves of intense heat flowing upwards, along with thick black smoke. Directly above the flame, at the level of the chamber’s ceiling, is a wide capstone concealing the interior of the hall’s large minaret. The stairs wrap around the capstone and end in a small landing adjacent to an egg-shaped enclosure suspended inside the minaret. The chamber’s exterior walls are wreathed in smoke flowing in wide ribbons toward the minaret’s peak. A squat stone door leads inside. The door doesn't appear to be locked.
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"Interpret as you wish, "ladies"", Erasmus said, without giving such importance to the comments of the two jokers.
"Explore isn't just come here and visit the place. We have to record the historical knowledge that we have here to register in the Pathfinder Chronicles, you know that? Beside the fact that I think that these messages on ever entrance could alert the visitors about any troubles, maybe we can explore the place first, and then I record those glyphs in my papers. But if we are caught in any trap, don't guilt me.", then he stops the translation and continues with the exploration of the citadel.
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The issue seemingly settled Raman nods, "Were it not for those bootprints, I would not press for speed." She meets Erasmus's gaze, "I will gladly wait hours or days for you to study once we learn who or what those are."
You get the feeling she doesn't make the statement lightly.
Then she follows the trail, her focus entirely on the room and any clues or threats it might hold for the group.
A set of graceful spiral stairs, constructed of black marble veined with scarlet, wind upward. The bonfire in the entry hall sends waves of intense heat flowing upwards, along with thick black smoke. Directly above the flame, at the level of the chamber’s ceiling, is a wide capstone concealing the interior of the hall’s large minaret. The stairs wrap around the capstone and end in a small landing adjacent to an egg-shaped enclosure suspended inside the minaret. The chamber’s exterior walls are wreathed in smoke flowing in wide ribbons toward the minaret’s peak. A squat stone door leads inside.
You feel a dry heat coming from the edges of the door and the footsteps seem to lead inside. The door does not appear to have a locking mechanism.
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Raman follows along, trying to watch every way at once, but mostly becoming more and more curious about the flowing heat and smoke.
"Do you think this place smoldered under the sand for all these years?" she whispers, then looks down at the bootprints, "Or has it been activated since reappearing?"
She shrugs at her own musings, then looks to Kazamir and the door.
Raman opens the door and a blast of dry heat bathes them as the devil's face on the far wall animates, scowls and yells something in a language that you do not know. The face then breathes out fire at the assembled Pathfinders on the stairs.
This chamber appears to be a dry sauna. The bonfire below heats the floor, which is cleverly designed to radiate its heat throughout the chamber. As such, the sauna is nearly 120 degrees and is considered severe heat. The Pathfinders must make Fortitude saves once every ten minutes that they spend inside (DC 15, +1 for each previous check, with a –4 penalty for characters in heavy clothing or armor) or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage.
The sauna itself is dark and bare of any furnishings, although the walls are decorated with a large mural of the Qadiran desert and a second large mural depicting a grand battle between soldiers of flame and the dervishes of Sarenrae.
Arcane sigils decorate the ceiling. Blood stains the floor, and any liquid spilled on it boils in a small gout of flame.
There doesn't appear to be any other passageway in or near the sauna.
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Raman’s prepared step carries her out of the way of the worst of the flames, and it requires only a bit of work for her wand to remove what little blistering the left on her skin. Unfortunately, the last few inches of her braided hair are singed off … and will just have to grow back naturally.
"What a f...?!", says Erasmus
"Well said."
She stalks into the room, scowling and sweating at the oppressive heat as she takes in the strange room’s decorations and function. ”A place to meditate with the heat? Or something else?”
She looks along the walls, looking for any possible exits.
The blood does not look fresh at all. The stains could easily be hundreds of years old. There are no exits aside from the door you entered.
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Frowning at their lack of finding anything useful, Raman heads back out.
The vudrani looks at the brass doors. "You were not here before," she accuses them as she goes to see if they open freely. Before opening them, she does her best to look for any threats on them as she sees if they're locked.
she gives the team a chance to prepare, then does as she did upstairs. Fling the left-side door open and steps back quickly.
The walls of this room are lined with weapons: crossed halberds, spears, and longswords, all decorated with flame motifs. Two shields with portraits of Moloch towering over the Citadel of Flame sit near the ceiling.
A plain obsidian bench sits on the floor, with a skeleton splayed across it. The skeleton’s armor is bedecked in stylized flames, and its scimitar’s hilt is shaped like an idol of Moloch. The room is lit by two torches.
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"And this little hole... Looks like an arrow slit... And someone tryed to hide it as part of the weapon rack! Do you wnat to take a look?"
"Me? No, thank you. I don't want to finish like him", Erasmus points to the skeleton.
"Hmm, but maybe he can help us in something...", the medium pick up an incense in his pack, lights it up and starts a concentration over the skeleton.
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Xavilon stares in horror at what Erasmus is doing and has literally his eyes coming out his eyeholes in shock.
"You... You are doing what?"
He goes in a corner, waiting for the moment to pass, and begins to scarify his left arm with his nails, bleeding a little.
"Oh, forgive me gracious and vengeful Vildeis! I did not know this could happen!"
The skeleton lurches back to life as a ethereal face materializes over its head. "The greying tower falls in the dusk of midnight and the sword brings the light to the guardian of Hell to free his charge from the grasp of Pharasma." it babbles before slumping back to the ground, the pale visage fading back into the ether.
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”Newly crafted?” Raman finally says, giving the room a glance that seems to encompass the entire building. ”Does someone mean to make this an active temple again, then?”
She looks briefly at the hidden arrow slit, suspecting a trap of some sort as Erasmus questions the skeleton. Though she does nod along to Kazamir’s comment.
”मृत मृत रहना चाहिए” she mutters as she gives a blank look between the now-quiet skeleton and Erasmus, ”Did that mean anything to you?”
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When the spirit vanishes in the air, Erasmus stands up. "Interesting...", he whispers.
”Does someone mean to make this an active temple again, then?”
"I think you're right", he agrees with the paladin. "Seems that the followers of this "guardian of hell", are trying to reactivate this temple".
"Judging by how recent are these weapons, and as our skeleton friend here, I believe we will meet a living danger soon. Maybe a fanatic group, I don't know".
Since no one volunteered to check the hidden arrow slit, Erasmus will search for any hidden trap there.
"Can somebody aid me with this arrow slit?", he asks to the others.
Erasmus looks through the arrow slit and sees darkness. What little light shines shows what looks like a tiny room, but he can't make out any details.
Raman pushes the group forward towards the next set of doors and finds a richly-appointed chamber. Against the east wall sits an ornate brass throne,
sculpted to resemble an enormous hand of flame. Wood painted to resemble tendrils of smoke rising from behind the throne merge into a detailed mural of Moloch’s idol on the wall.
Beautiful tapestries line the other walls, depicting a grand battle between soldiers of flame and the dervishes of Sarenrae. This looks suspiciously like the mural in the sauna.
From the other side of the doors to the southwest, you hear the clang of metal boots and lots of loud voices. Two voices echo out as you hear the soldiers milling about in the room that the other doors lead to.
"We have how many fire elementals?"
"Twelve middling, seven seasoned, five leaders and two elders. Plus, twenty-three salamanders."
"And all of them are amassing a few miles away?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Good. Bring a retinue of them to guard the citadel and leave the rest at their makeshift home! Pronto! I want them here in ten minutes!"
"Yes, sir!" echoes out as you hear the hurried bootsteps leave.
You notice that behind the throne, there seems to be a door. It appears to be locked.
It sounds like the group is much larger than yours, perhaps twenty or thirty men who are seemingly milling about in the unexplored room to the south. If you try, you might be able to flee back through the northern room without being caught.
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Raman tries to take everything in, especially conceded with the number of voices heard.
"I do not like this," she whispers to the team, "but we can hold the doors on both sides. Block them in so numbers will matter less. Kazamir, you and I can hurry back through to the other room. You can try to jam the other set of bronze doors with your lock-breaking skills. The rest can hold this door. Yes?"
She waits to hear agreement before rushing back the way they came, ready to support Kazamir as he jams the bronze doors closed.