Random and Vander quickly finish off the morlock!
Animal carcasses and insect carapaces litter the area.
The doors lead further on. A wealth of small bone and basalt idols crowd the floor around the doors. Though crude, they are nonetheless worth 45 gp each to an academic or collector. There are 20 idols total. You also find a wand.
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Nari cautiously avoids the carcasses littering the ground, sure that all manner of beasts make up the bones in the area.
Coming across the idols and wand, Nari picks up the wands studying it intently. She has a feeling she has felt something similiar before but can't quite discern its ability.
"Anyone else have any idea what this does?" Nari calls back to the group.
Heading through the doors, the party finds that the curving, branching halls of this structure are lined with the same stone as the natural caverns outside, and the arched ceiling meets high overhead. Nearly every surface boasts inscribed text—some of it delicate and flowing, but surrounded by a tangle of jagged and hastily etched scribbles. The endless twisting passageways inspire a faint sense of vertigo, as if the floor were swaying underfoot.
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Random starts hammering nails into the wall as he leads the way. "If one of you will use the chalk, too? Mark the halls leading back to the exit with figures and letters with sharp lines, like 'A' or 'H' or '4' or 'triangle' - don't repeat too often - and mark the other halls with a figure or letter with rounded lines, like 'B', '2', 'S', 'circle'. That's our code. Hopefully, the variety will keep anyone from figuring out what the markings have in common and keep them off our trail if we need to run out of here."
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Not being too knowledgeable in the maze department, Vander nods in approval to Random's idea for the chalk. I'll mark up the walls! In all honesty, I'm so glad I've got you all here. You know I've got your backs, and, well, fronts, in any fight, but if it weren't for you all, I'd be lost in here for days! Soooo, in case that happens, great idea on the chalk drawings, Random!
Also... I'm not sure how much I can help you all right now, but I'll definitely keep my eyes open.
The party starts out by Random making a wrong turn and the party spends hours correcting themselves. For about an hour good progress is made. The passageway seems to continue ahead as far as you can see. The imprint of a single hoof stands in the dust gathered
along the left wall. Another wrong turn causes another hour delay. The party then gets back on track and spends another hour on the right track. The tunnel makes four hard lefts before coming to an
intersection. The remains of a bronze mechanism, recently destroyed, lies on the floor. Further on, The walls angle inward more at this crossroads, but the ceiling soars to impossible heights above. A spatter of fresh blood marks the left wall.
Just when things seem to be going well Nari takes over and then Nari steps on an arrow trap!
After that, Nari recovers her senses and makes good progress in understanding the maze as she begins to realize that some sections resemble arcane glyphs. The constant, curving sides of this passage close in with every step. What was once a concealed door is broken and left ajar with a tuft of white hair caught in the latch. Six passageways flow together like a river in this chamber and seem to sublty shift and move. A large, bloody handprint is the only landmark that remains constant. The passage abruptly ends at a smooth, white wall.
Omorose then takes over and does well leading the party for the next two hours until. . .
Nari falls into a spiked pit trap!
A skeleton lies against the wall ahead, a message crudely sketched in charcoal next to it: “Left is back but back is clockwise and right is too hot. I’m sorry, Garanel.”
Further on, a low, rhythmic hum buzzes through the stones of the floor, causing a jaw-rattling vibration. The leftward-curving passage deadends,
but turning around to backtrack reveals a brand new passage that slopes gently upward. The jaw-rattling vibrations cease as a giant, bronze door appears in the passageway ahead. This appears to be your destination.
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I've got this, this place doesn't look to bad Nari only slightly feels her foot depress before a whosh beside her draws her attention.
"OH DEAR GODDESS!" She yells as she realizes that a trip was just triggered, she stands transfixed at the arrow now wavering in her side, the blood starting to stain her outfit.
she reaches for the arrow and pulls out the smooth tip from her side. Well this can't be good.
In a daze she reaches to the wand in her pouch, wobbly legs barely holding her upright.
"...I'm normally a nice person, but these pathfinder captains have something else coming to them."
Nari is extremely careful from this time on in leading the party. Once her portion is done she breathes a sigh of relief and lets Omorose take over.
All seems to be good, until Nari once again hears the distinct click of a trap. Oh no whats going to happen to Omorose?
Reaching for her wand assuming the worse, Nari feels the floor fall out from beneath her.
"Really?" she cries as she plummets into the pit. Please have nothing down there, please have nothing down there. Oh goddess the floor is pointy!
The party hears sobbing come from within the pit as Nari lies crumpled on the pit floor, a spike protruding nastily from her side.
"I'm done. Let's go home." She wails as she slowly tries to lift herself off the spike. Timid scrambles from Nari's pack, his body bruised and broken, trying valiantly to help his mistress off the spike.
Finally able to extricate herself from the spike impaling her Nari reaches for her wand again.
She reaches up letting her companions help her out of the pit. For the remainder of the trip Nari walks gripping Vander, tears periodically forming in her eyes, petrified every step is about to kill her.
You'll just get lost retreating. You'll just got lost retreating. Oh goddess why did you let me come down here? I want to go home now.
"Someone else try the door. It will probably end up biting me or something if I try." Nari cries, hiding from the door behind Vander.
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Vander follows the group and continues to mark the walls with chalk, his mind wandering a bit without having much knowledge of cave systems or the text scribed on the cave walls. This reminds me a bit of the olden days, wandering the streets of Eranmas with Syrune, finding hidden passageways... I knew those like the back of my hand, though. This place... I'd be so terribly lost.... Vander's thoughts are suddenly jolted back to the present as Nari takes a nasty arrow to the side. He keeps a better lookout after, but as fate has it, Nari yet again springs a trap.
"Shhhhh, shhhh." Vander gently pats Nari's hand. "We're going to make it through this, okay?. It'll be alright, we're going to figure this out yet, and we'll get out of here too. Looking to the fancy bronze door, Vander turns to Random and Omorose.
"I don't mind being the first to go through, but I think one of you should check that out and see if there are any traps. I don't have too keen of an eye for these things. Also, did any of you make anything of that message sketched in charcoal back there?"
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"By the gods, Nari! Watch your step already! Nari? Nari!" Random breathes a sigh of relief as she moves at the bottom of the pit. By the time he starts pulling out some rope, she's pulled herself off the spike. He's glad he didn't watch that gruesome sight. When she's healed herself up, he helps her climb out of the pit.
"Also, did any of you make anything of that message sketched in charcoal back there?"
"Not really. Was wondering if it was some riddle referring to a clock face, but I got bored thinking about it."
At the door, Random volunteers gladly to check for traps.
"I don't see anything."
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The party does not notice any traps and heads through the doors.
This chamber is lined with symbols like those near the entryway. There are obvious signs of a recent struggle, including blood and the corpse of a morlock. Drag marks slide through a pool of blood formed around the head of the morlock, indicating a large creature was pulled through the sealed door on the east side of the room. The door in the east wall is intricately formed from bronze. Four interconnected, circular windows reveal a confusing series of cogs and sprockets within. Levers, dials, and knobs protrude from the frames surrounding the window, but nothing appears to be an obvious latch.
Omorose moves up to check out the door. As soon as she begins tampering with it, the door groans followed by a series of metallic clicks before the great circular plates on its face spin and rearrange at random. Levers spin and knobs turn, protrude, or retract, creating a rearranged mess of clockwork oddities. With a metallic creak, the bronze door in the west wall slams shut and bolts with an definitive clang. A few moments of ominous silence hang in the air briefly before a rushing, gurgling mass of water starts pouring in through several five-foot-wide chutes in the ceiling.
Omorose continues to fiddle with the door and is able to close one of the chutes in the ceiling, slowing the water down somewhat.
Vander and Random move up to the door. Nari moves up to the door and is able to shut another chute! Three continue to pour water into the room, however, and the water is getting above everyone's knees!
Vander and Omorose mess around with the gears and levels and are able to close two more chutes!
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Omorose blinks, and replies gently, "Ah, Nari, we should look at this as a testament to our abilities, the greater that that we overcome the more worthy we are shown to be... Stop crying now we have enough water. At least it was not fire," as she says the last she glances at the long gloves that, as ever, cover her forearms and shudders.
Nari and Random are able to close up all of the chutes and water stops pouring into the room!
Over the next several minutes the room slowly drains of water and the entryway opens.
Once-cheerful mosaics of smiling children and adults running through the streets of Absalom line the walls, but age and water damage smear the faces enough to make it seem as though they weep. Sturdy work benches and bookshelves line the walls. An intricate mess of bronze chains, plates, pendulums, and gears that form a sort of astrolabe dangle high above the room. Catwalks spin out from the walls in three places, curving on a horizontal plane and meeting in an open circle in the middle of the room. Between the catwalk circle dangles the body of a desiccated elf, ragged and dusty scraps of clothing barely covering his thin, bony body. He seems to be dangled in a maze of chains connected to the massive astrolabe above and the chains clank silently as he lolls his head from side to side.
Nuar the minotaur prince is chained to a dusty couch in the northern spiral of the room and is barely conscious.
Omorose detects several magical auras spread throughout the room. The device dangling high above the room seems particularly potent.
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When Omorose changes her Sleeves, Random accidentally reacts aloud. "Awww... well, that answers that." He turns to Nari and Vander, "She's wearing her mission outfit underneath."
Turning to look at the injured minotaur across the room. "Hold on. Let me see if he's responsive. Ispering-way essage-may!" He points at the minotaur prince, and begins whispering to him, "Hello, Prince Nuar? We're Pathfinders sent by Blaze, or Burny, or Torch. Torch! That was it. We're here to find you. But we're not really here. Get it? We're discreet like that! Anyways, you conscious? Is there some crazy trap in here? There've been traps the whole way through here. Little wary of anything that could keep you here. We're already wet from the last room. Oh, and Nari got impaled on a spike."
The minotaur doesn't respond to Random but as Omorose speaks, the desiccated elf’s head lolls to the side again and his eyes flutter open. He stiffens and tugs at his tethers, screaming with rage. “You! You ungrateful, short-lived insects! I was betrayed and dragged on this altar of pride! Mortality is all you crawling beasts deserve!”
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Nari looks at herself worried, checking her arms and legs, before breathing out in relief. "Oh thank the goddess. for a second there I though I had turned into a beetle or something. Wouldn't put it past this place."
"And hey! That's not a very nice thing to say!"
"Why are you so angry with us? Who betrayed you? Please don't eat me." Nari yells back at the elf.
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Omorose moves forward and withdraws a wand from her wrist sheath with a twang of springs pointing it at the elf and calling, "Hctib Llorer!"
"You are not dead, and if you behave yourself we would be willing to help you..."
You afflict the target with bad luck. On the next d20 roll the target makes, it must roll twice and take the less favorable result. For every five caster levels you have, the target must roll twice on an additional d20 roll (to a maximum of five rolls at 20th level).
A target who can speak and has at least one free hand and who is aware of the spell and its effects (such as from a Spellcraft check to identify the spell as it is cast) can negate one reroll by spending a move action to utter a brief prayer or good luck charm to appease the spirits of ill fortune.
Omorose calls down an ill omen on the elf. Nari tries to hypnotize him but he resists. Vander moves forward and notes that the elf is not evil. The elf screams back at Vander, "Mortal, drop your weapons and die!"