"Alright, let's make sure we're careful when we're outside, so we don't fall."
Quintus then follows Mach as they travel forwards.
Mach takes point once more.
"Careful--the room's really dark. If you've got a light source, you might as well use it now."
Petronicus nods at the tiefling's suggestion. "I guess that means we can go in without you scouting ahead with your demon vision, Pointy Ears. Hey Um'Bala, hit my guisarme with another lantern light spell, will you?"
"Good idea Um'bala."
Quintus moves over and takes the women's weapons and gear before using the rope to tie them up. He also tries to use some material to have a gag over their mouths so that if they wake up they can't make a lot of noise.
Once the party has secured and gagged the two unconscious women, they press on into the next room with Mach in the lead followed closely by the Chelaxian with his polearm.
Passing through the secret door (which looks to be hidden from view from both sides), the group finds itself in quite a large, rectangular room, roughly 60 feet by 40 feet, although tapered on the eastern end.
The walls are covered in scratched and faded murals, and several portions of the wall and floor show signs of past chipping. An empty plinth where a statue once stood stands in a small alcove on the southern wall.
Cold, fresh air streams in through the eastern exit to the room, and open passageway that seems to lead to the outside of the Crow and some kind of ledge.
No light or sound can be detected in the room, other than the whistling of the wind and the squawking of an occasional gull outside.
Mach keeps his guard up as Um'bala starts writing something down in his journal.
"Right. Wait here--lemme see if the passage there is safe." He starts walking towards the eastern exit from the room.
Quintus examines where the small statue used to be trying to determine what may have once been there.
Quintus examines where the small statue used to be trying to determine what may have once been there.
Quintus takes a look at the plinth, but there seems to be no indication of what exactly once stood there. His best guess based on the side of the indentation in the wall and the size of the plinth is that it was a heavy object, probably three to four feet in heights.
.
"Right. Wait here--lemme see if the passage there is safe." He starts walking towards the eastern exit from the room.
The tiefling carefully makes his way to the room's only visible exit: an open hallway that seems to lead outside of the Crow.
Passing through the short corridor leads to a ledge festooned with old bird nests that looks out over a shaft dropping nearly two hundred feet to sea level below. A large coil of rope sits on the ground near the shaft, one end anchored to a large piton driven into a crack near the wall. The coil looks large enough to contain enough rope to climb all the way down to the bottom of the shaft. Opposite the shaft is another ledge with a window looking out over Magnimar’s harbor. The ceiling is a mere ten feet above, and crisscrossed by a complex tangle of stone arches that support the roof. Between the two ledges, a five-foot-square wooden platform hangs from four thick ropes that hang from the stone arches. The platform is further anchored by two thick ropes to spikes hammered into the walls near the edge of the western ledge, while another pair of ropes hang from the ceiling above, anchored to a hook driven into the wall near the same ledge.
There seem no visible exits further into the building from this ledge, although the suspended platform above Mach's head is surely there for a reason.
As the rest of the party is standing around the large, open room waiting for Mach to report back, Nimt begins to shake. It begins as a slow tremor and grows in intensity as she stands in the middle of the room, her eyes growing wide with terror. Finally, she grabs herself with both hands and closes her eyes, chanting: "Please, please, no, no, no, not now."
Even though he is as far as one can get from being empathic and caring and still be within the bounds of polite society, Petronicus looks with confusion and a slight hint of concern at the druid. "Erm, Nimt, you okay? What's going on? You're not becoming possessed, are you?"
Mach whirls around, hearing Nimt and Petronicus say something.
"Bad news, guys--looks like we'll have to climb--" He starts, walking back into the room before noticing Nimt.
"Nimt?" He promptly races over to her. "Nimt? What's wrong?" He puts his hands on her shoulders, trying to steady her.
Nimt's shaking becomes less violent as her friends gather around her. Finally she calms herself enough to be able to speak, although her voice is strangely deeper and raspy.
"The door! The door into darkness must be closed! It is an open wound in fair Varisia's countenance!"
She then looks around her as if she is just waking from a long sleep and promptly collapses in Mach's arms. A quick check of her vitals reveals that she seems to be unconscious.
Mach holds Nimt in his arms, his expression going through a variety of emotions--confusion, fright, and relief.
"Okay..." He's rather reluctant to set Nimt down. "...now what? What was that all about?"
Um'bala does not detect any magic about Nimt, her condition is either supernatural or completely natural in origin, although the short speech before her collapse points towards the former.
Less than a minute later, her eyes fly open and she looks about at all of you standing round her. A terrified expression is on her face, and she speaks haltingly, as if struggling to find the right words.
"I must go. This place is death. The city needs me elsewhere, but it has warned me that I will only find pointless death her. Death that has no meaning."
With Mach's help, Nimt stands up and straightens her clothes as best she can. She then looks around at the rest of the group and finally seems to come to some kind of decision.
"I am sorry, but I need to leave. I know this makes no sense, but I have always had a strong connection to the city of Maginar. It's as if she can speak to me, as if she were a living thing. She is warning me, and I must heed her warnings. I know this leaves you in a terrible position, and I will try my best to explain all of this to my aunt. Perhaps she will send another Pathfinder to replace me?"
Nimt then takes a number of things from her pack and takes off her ring, placing it in Mach's hand. "Here, take these things. They will be of much more use to you than they will to me, and you have all earned the right to carry them."
Quintus seems surprised by Nimt's behavior, but he thinks that most of it must be due to this place.
"Okay, if you feel the need to go then leave."
Mach looks down at the ring Nimt puts in his hand before looking up at her with concern in her eyes.
"Will I see you again?" He asks, his voice unusually timid. "I mean, I understand if you have to go, but..."
Nimt smiles wanly at her companions' well-wishes and nods in response to Mach's question. "I will stay behind at the Pathfinder Lodge and help my aunt with her research into the remaining shards. If there's anything I can help you with, you can find me there."
With a short wave, Nimt conjures a ball of light and places it on her her longbow. She smiles warmly again, her gaze lingering on the tiefling just a moment longer than everyone else. Filled with conflicting emotions, she quickly retreats through the secret door and out of sight.
Petronicus shakes his head as Nimt departs. "Well, so much for aasimar dependability. I guess I can add them to the races who have disappointed me. Now let's get on with our business and press on."
The tall man turns his head toward the open doorway heading outdoors. "Hey, what's that squeaking sound?"
Hefting his guisarme, Petronicus carefully makes his way out to the ledge. He returns a moment later, a look of excitement on his face. "There seems to be a man hanging in a gibbet out there. I'm surprised you missed, him, Mach. Your ears may be pointed, but they sure aren't sharp!"
Petronicus chuckles at his own humor, oblivious of the fact that the other won't find it that funny.
Mach watches Nimt leave with a small smile before Petronicus speaks up again.
"Ha, ha, ha. If your fighting was as sharp as your tongue, you might actually be useful in a fight." He grumbles before looking up at the man in the gibbet.
"Alright--now to find some way to get him down."
As you make your way outside toward the ledge, you see that a gibbet has been hastily built and hangs suspended from the ceiling. A Shoanti man lies inside, seemingly unconscious, gagged, and dressed only in dirty rags. Judging from his exposure, he's been out here for a while.
The gibbet itself is made of wicker, but is quite strong despite the materials. You can probably cut it down quite easily with a knife should you so choose.
The man, though powerfully build, is currently lying in an unconscious heap. He is covered in many scars, some old, some fresh and a myriad of Shoanti tattoo's. When you close to the gibbet a ghostly individual comes from the still lying body. The ghostly visage stabilizes itself into a Shoanti warrior fully armed and armored. If you look carefully you can see a resemblance between the ghost and the body, though they are not identical.
The ghostly warrior clenches a large earthbreaker tightly and with a deep voice calls out to the adventurers "Who are you and what are you planning to do to Standing Bear?! Are you with those cowardly women who kept injuring him even though he surrendered peacefully?"
Quintus steps back surprised, and holds up his hands to placate the ghost.
"We are pathfinders exploring this place, and I don't even know who this 'Standing Bear' even is."
Petronicus grips his polearm tightly and looks at the spellcasters with obvious concern, unsure what to do. "Ah, gents, how do we handle ghosts? Should we just run like Um'bala? He might have had the right idea."
He keeps his eyes glued on the floating spirit of the Shoanti, his weapon held out before him, but does not make any offensive gestures.
Mach arches an eyebrow. "Well, in order: I'm Mach, I was going to cut down the guy in the gibbet before you interrupted, and we're definitely not with the Tower Girls."
The spirit relaxes his stance with the weapon and nods at the tiefling. "Good." He says and dissipates once again, the last ghostly wisp flowing back into the unconscious man in the gibbet.
Petronicus turns to Um'bala, still a bit shaken himself. "Er, yes, I think so, Um'bala. Seems that napping man has a ghost guardian. I wonder if that's normal among the Shoanti or if this guy is some kind of wise-guy."
He then turns to the others, "So do we cut him down or leave him in the gibbet? If he's a prisoner, he might have some useful information on the Tower Girls."
Mach starts working on freeing Standing Bear from the gibbet.
Cutting open the gibbet takes a bit of skilled knife work, but this presents no serious obstacle to Mach Star. In less than a minute you have pulled the unconscious Shoanti from his enclosure, and dragged him back into the larger room inside the Crow, since nobody was that excited about standing out on a ledge with gusty winds overlooking a 100'+ drop.
Petronicus leans his guisarme against a wall and checks the vitals of the Shoanti.
"He seems to only be unconscious. Hey Quintus, can you hit this guy with the healing wand Nimt gave you?"
Mach stands up from the unconscious Shoanti, suddenly very much missing Nimt's healing prowess.
"Uh, does anyone have a potion or something to get this Bear Standing again?" He suppresses a snicker.
Quintus moves forward and tries the wand on Bear.
The Shoanti man opens his eyes and groans softly while trying to sit up.
As his eyes are opened he takes in the scenery and looks at every individual in turn, then back to the gibbet from which he came.
"You freed me. You have my thanks for that. The ladies were less than ladylike against me even though I surrendered myself to avoid a needless fight."
He stands up slowly and checks his body for any permanent wounds. He stretches his limbs for a moment and apart from some bruising there seems to be nothing broken. He looks at the others again and continues
"My name is Standing Bear, and as you might have guessed a Shoanti. I came here at the request of my ancestors who believed there are some dangerous artifacts buried around here. The tower ladies however thought I was trying to find them. Might I ask what you are doing at this location?"
Petronius observes Standing Bear for a moment, unsure on whether to trust the Shoanti or not, as his people and the Chelaxians do not exactly have a smooth and pleasant history together.
These people can be quite aggressive. We could use an extra hand holding a weapon, but would he ultimately try to backstab me with it?
Deciding to keep a close eye on Standing Bear, the tall Chelaxian steps forward and introduces himself and the group, picking up his guisarme again and occasionally glancing at the exits. He keeps his voice down in case there are enemies nearby.
"The ladies are the Tower Girls, a group of Sczarni burglars who had the dumb luck of finding this place. We thought that they were the only ones who knew about the Crow, but I guess they weren't. We are Pathfinders. We explore and cooperate and something else I can't remember right now."
Standing Bear ponders for a moment until the black male mentions the ghost. Then he bursts out laughing "Ha ha ha ha, I guess he was an old warrior with an earthbreaker? Yes, that is my grandfather. I, uh, speak to my ancestors. But you can rest assured, he will not harm you. They do not have the power to affect the real world without my will to channel their might.
I have heard of Pathfinders before. Tombrobbers I believe my father called them often. So tell me, what are you doing right here? What is this about a Crow you mentioned?"
Petronicus fills in the Shaonti. "The structure you are standing in, the piling of the Irespan, is called the Crow. Didn't you notice the crows all over it. I thought your people are supposed to be in tune with animals and such things?
The slightest of smirks is beginning to form in the corner of Krupt's mouth.
"And as far as tomb robbers go, I don't think any of us have every been in a tomb, let alone robbed one."
"If you want to take off, just follow the path back this way; it's all clear of Tower Girls now. It's a long swim back to Magnimar, but you could make it if you're a good swimmer, or you could wait down there for us to come back."
Petronicus considers for a moment, then does something very uncharacteristic: he reaches out to someone.
"On the other hand, our druid just got the willies and took off, and we could use an extra hand. Did your tribe teach you to wear armor and wield weapons? You could take stuff off the ladies we knocked unconscious a room or so back."
"Not all Shoanti are in tune with animals, just as not all Chelaxians would lower themselves to exploring caves." Standing Bear says with a smile of his own.
"I did not know the name of the structure as I came here due to the guidance of my ancestors who named this differently."
Standing Bear ponders over the Chelaxian's offer for a moment.
"I still wish to explore these ruins in order to protect the lands from any danger that might reside here. I suppose that we could explore the ruins together to ensure our mutual safety."
Another smile passes over his face but dissapears as quick as it came to pass. "I am quite familiar with armor and weapons, yes. These scars did not come from gentle playing with animals in the woods. My gear should be somewhere in these caves I suppose and I prefer to have it back. For now I can take some of the gear of those ladies. I fear I still have some injuries sustained from my capture, might I borrow the wand for a moment?"
Quintus hands over the wand with a smile.
"Sure friend."