GM Erich's Salvation Of The Sages (Subtier 7-8) (Inactive)

Game Master Thereus, Silver Crusader

Hassam nods.

Can Hassam attempt to ID the other wand?

Sickly gives Amenopheus another worried glance. The man seems far too eager to dip into the supposedly dangerous well of knowledge in his head, and the dwarf starts to wonder just how much influence it is pressing on him to do so.

"All the memories are just reminders of how horrible she was." He mutters. "Do we need to confirm that?"

If Sickly had his druthers, we'd tie him up and gag him for the duration =)
I vote no trips down memory lane.

I haven't drank my cure yet and am worried about the negative levels.

Ah! That makes sense.

Anemopheus, you know much. Do you think accessing these memories is making her stronger? Accessing her memories seems to have drained some of us, and I worry that energy will help her against us.

Amenopheus pauses to reflect, then steps down the broad stairs as he speaks. "Yes, I am conflicted as well. When I open myself to receive her memories through this jewel, I do sense that she does not want to share them but is unable to intercede. Perhaps by probing them, we can learn her weaknesses, or at least her motivations to use against her. At the same time, I find myself growing increasingly agitated as I let her thoughts infuse me. What it is doing to me, I do not know. Weal or woe, such is the balance of knowledge. I feel that a fatal reckoning is soon at hand. As such, as a jeweled sage, I would always choose to know, rather than to not."

If it is not apparent, Amenopheus wishes to share the memories he can dig down and access as you explore, but as some of you have ascertained, doing so may cause problems later on. So he requires positive affirmation from several of you before he will do it.

Sounds like Hassam and I are in favor, and Sickly is against. I'm not sure what Loxx and Ruprecht think.

Then do it.

He nods to Loxx. "As you wish, I do think it is for the best..."

Amenepheous strides through the chamber, his eyes turning slowly from place to place as he allows the memories to flood back.

"The hidden entrance to the Black Moon's Sanctum is that way." He says pointing to the sarcophagus in the eastern alcove where most of you are gathered. Location C

"The rest of the sarcophagi hold her important victims. No one of particular note: peasants, workers... children." He frowns.

"But the most virulent plagues killed her grandest enemies. The great wyrm - Kazemde..." Amenepheous shifts his focus to the huge sarcophagus in the center of the main chamber. Location B

"...and the brave paladin of Osiris, she calls him the fool, Ermias Dalla. There." The sage points his finger to the western alcove. Location A, were you detected the magic earlier

Ru looks around at the others, waiting on them to advise on where the group wanted to head first.

Cirri frowns. "I... I think we should see what Ermias Dalla's sarcophagus holds. Or at least we should get his remains out of here. He deserves a better resting place than here."

"But the disease..." Sickly whispers, worried about Cirri, now that she's finally clear of it.

Ru looks at the others. He was having fun traipsing around the tomb, but things were getting tough now. ”Any other votes? We have one for the sarcophagus...”

Hassam tightens the grip on his spear "The sarcophagus, we should be careful though and search it for traps first."

"I know the disease is everywhere here, but..." she shakes her head. "This isn't his proper resting place, and you know it."

That was all that Ru needed to hear. He waved the others back as he moved forward to check out the sarcophagus.

Perception 1d20 + 19 - 1 ⇒ (20) + 19 - 1 = 38 +4 versus traps.

"Nothing will be resting here." Sickly whispers, at Cirri's comment.

He starts to say more, stops himself... starts again, stops himself again, then lapses into an awkward silence, as he grips his weapon tighter, eyes locked on Ruprecht as he works.

With Ru taking point, he carefully examines the paladin's last resting place, the others closely behind, weapons drawn. Confident that it is safe, he unstraps the bands that secure the lid. Inside, rest the bones of a large man still encased in a shimmering suit of armor that seems to be made of some sort of golden hide. An ancient gold holy symbol of Osiris (with a broken chain) was tossed unceremoniously onto his chest.

Another item lays at the paladin's side, it is a vial similar to the one you found in the laboratory and acid room.

"More crystalline aether, to make even more of the cure." Amenepheous adds.

Indeed it is, enough to make three more doses of the simple cure (or one dose of blood of nethys and a dose of simple cure).

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 14 - 3 ⇒ (4) + 14 - 3 = 15
"I'm so sorry..." Cirri wipes away a tear. You're not sure if it's because she can't identify the equipment, or because she really didn't think this through. How will she carry his remains out? She decides to hold onto the armor and the symbol. "I'll return this to a temple of Osiris."

Anyone wants to hold onto the armor?

"Okay, now I'm ready. Let's head to the inner sanctum. Unless someone wants to make a better cure."

Speaking of cures... I need a fortitude save vs disease from Cirri. Don't worry too much, she has a +10 alchemical bonus from drinking the cure previously.

Fort Save: 1d20 + 6 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 6 + 10 = 33
Cirri is very focused on making sure this paladin is buried respectfully and not left to rot in a plague spreader's tomb.

Hassam puzzles outloud "Press forward or take the time to make some of Nethy's concoction. I wonder how the other Sages are doing."

Sickly looks at the dead paladin with a worried frown, occasionally eyeing Amenopheus.

Sense Motive on Amenopheus: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

"We just leave him here?" He asks, quietly. "What if this place isn't done..."

His voice trails off once more, though his worried look doesn't go away, as he wonders what exactly is incubating in here...

So we've just unlocked a body to get animated and come kill us! =) At least it wasn't the dragon I suppose, or some little kids!

I agree. Normally I would suggest we just leave the body in the wilderness to feed it, but he could still make people sick. I think the best thing to do would be to put the body into the pit of acid we found and let it dissolve whatever is left so that there is no risk. But I would definitely not bury him anywhere else.

Anyone else have Spellcraft and can try to ID the item before we move on?

Sickly has some spellcraft... but no detect magic to go with. =)

Amenopheus returns Sickly's pensive glances and adds. "The other sages will find us once they have found a suitable place for the ritual. We still have some time."

Cirri nods gravely. "Yes, we can dissolve his bones in the pit and make sure the plague does not fester on his remains."

”I agree with the pit of acid idea. It’s grotesque and all, but better safe than sorry, of course.”

Sickly nods.

"And the others?" He asks after a moment, pointing towards the other two sarcophagi.

”Should the dragon’s resting place be next? And it sounds like this one may be a bit of a problem with even more virulent goals waiting on us,” the elf adds. If there is no objection, he moves forward and takes a crack at it.

Perception 1d20 + 19 - 1 ⇒ (15) + 19 - 1 = 33 +4 versus traps.

Cirri nods and watches Ruprecht inspect the tomb.

When Ruprecht peers over the sides of the the raised sarcophagus near the room’s center he can see that it holds the cramped remains (bones and shimmering blue scales) of a large dragon that fills up the entire underground portion of the burial pit. Who knows what lies below it. It looks safe from this vantage point at least.

Detect Magic revealed nothing before

Cirri shrugs. "At least she's efficient?"

Cirri's not digging through there unless you give her a good reason to.

If there is nothing magical, Ru doesn’t see any reason to keep digging for this one. ”Where to next, ladies and gentlemen?”

"I think we were discussing extracting more of the cure, or venturing forth. I'm all for continuing through the secret passage."

Assuming the others agree, Ru leads them through the secret passage.

Perception 1d20 + 19 - 1 ⇒ (9) + 19 - 1 = 27 plus 4v. Traps.

"Perhaps we should spend the time to craft the cures before we leave the area? Or deal with the paladin's remains. What about the Doorway to Oblivion? So many loose ends. No telling if this facility will be standing in a few short hours..." Amenopheus remarks before you enter the tunnel.

Let me know if you wish to do that. Remember, you don't have enough cures should anyone get re-infected.

-----------------------

Ru leads the group cautiously through a cramped tunnel, obviously dug as an escape route from the laboratory complex. After several hundred feet, it ends in an easily removable grate.

When the group emerges they stand in the entryway of the Black Moon’s Sanctum, a vast library that holds stacks of books filling every ward-inscribed shelf. The room’s design draws the eye toward a central ritual area, inscribed with arcane markings as complex and nuanced as a living mind.

I thought we were extracting for more cures before pressing forward.

And body disposal =)

Craft alchemy 1d20 + 25 ⇒ (20) + 25 = 45 for additional cures.

What cures are we doing? 1 Super cure and 1 basic?

Cirri: I think that's the way to go.

Sounds good to me.

Ok, creating a super-cure and a regular one will take 20 additional minutes then. Any body disposals you wish to do can be done as Ru finishes his cure-crafting.

Unless anyone wants to investigate the "Doorway to Oblivion", feel free to move on in the Inner Sanctum map.

Cirri maintains her Detect Magic spell and continues to bring up the rear with Amenopheus.

"So this is it, huh? Keep your eyes and ears peeled for danger."

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Riddywhipple's Perception: 1d20 + 11 - 2 ⇒ (9) + 11 - 2 = 18

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 14 - 3 ⇒ (7) + 14 - 3 = 18

Any idea how long this ritual should take?

Amenepheous answers Loxx. "When the other sages find a suitable place, I assume an hour or so. We've never really done it before to be honest, we will probably use your help, if you can. I'm actually getting a bit worried they haven't made contact with us yet, but that is just like Tahonikepsu, she is usually not very precise."

Searching the area, you find a small leather journal near the ritual area written in the ancient tongue.

All around you, a lifetime of trophies and curiosities line the shelves as bookends, including a bulette head, a Jistkan legion banner, a framed page from a Thassilonian necromantic text, a Tekritanin idol dedicated to a forgotten sky god, and a brass orrery enchanted with a rudimentary adaptation of the flying Shory cities’ Aeromantic Infadibulum. Detecting magic, you sense that great wards protect all the books here, granting them resistance against every energy type and hardening them against physical attack.