Torvic becomes unbelievably excited up seeing the pearl, exclaiming "The pearl! The pearl!" while also choking down Storn's and Wuliem's food as rapidly as possible. "Yes, that filthy idiot Beggar stole them from me oh, what, a few days ago, I reckon... We'll need that to get past the traps. What happened to me, whatever that was, must've been because I didn't have the pearl."
Shown the scrolls of dwarven lore, all in the runic dwarven script, Torics says, "Yes, these are important, too, I think, beyond just getting there."
"Why are the ants and mites chasing me? I don't know... Perhaps they had me and want me back for some reason."
When he has gathered all of his belonging and the group seems ready, Torvic says, "Let's be off. Normally, I would offer you and myself the chance to rest and recuperate here, but sooner or later one of you would want to sleep, and we can't have that, no we can't."
As you leave the cave, he makes a final remark, "If I don't come back, there are ancient tablets, the Fallen Clan Tablets of Tar Khadurrm. The three weigh over a hundred and twenty pounds in all, so I was going to need another mule to get them out of here. I had a group with me... yes, a group..." Torvic pauses as more muddled memories are stirred and come to the fore. "Jorlin - the archer, escaped with me. We were going to go back for the others, but Jorlin fell asleep. Died screaming and there was no way to wake him... Well, off we go!"
Leaving Torvic's cave, he leads you for several more hours on narrow passes through and ledges against the mountains until you eventually are on a narrow ledge on one side of a fungus-choked crevasse. The wall of the ledge you are on becomes finely-worked, smooth stone adorned with wide panels of dwarven art. Intricately detailed bas-relief designs
depict a regal-looking dwarf wearing a crown kneeling before another in an artisan’s apron. The path ends at a section of wall adorned with dwarven runes which (as Torvic explains), praise the glory of art in dwarven verse.
Set 1:
Set 2:
Herman is the first to notice that the wall of runes forms a secret door, and that there are five runes that can be pressed, corresponding to: "found", "kings," "glory," "art," and "support."
Additionally, Storn, Turan, and Wuliem notice a battered chest at the bottom of the crevasse, mostly covered with moss and fungus, down about 20 feet.
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Oz stares at Storn.
"What kind of question is that?" she demands. "I can climb anything. They don't call me Oz the Climber for nothing." She pauses and chews her lip. "Actually, nobody calls me Oz the Climber. Mostly they call me Hey You, Get Out of There or Hey That's My Chicken. All my friends just call me Oz though. At least they would if I had any friends."
She stands up straight and brushes herself off.
"But I diverge. I want to be Oz the Climber because it's better than Oz the Emaciated. I don't even know why they'd call me that. I was never a slave."
Oz climbs down carefully and then cautiously opens the chest, finding a number of well-oiled but crumbling bags which have protected ten sets of high-quality stonemasonry tools and three 10-lb. silver ingots.
Torvic testifies to the quality and value of the tools, in particular, speculating, "The lot may have been dropped there when the Gallery was being abandoned, all of those years ago."
Torvic thinks for some time, shaking his head vigorously at one point as if trying to clear his foggy head, before finally admitting in frustration, "No, ... well, I remember being here before, but I don't remember how I - ... we, there were four of us - got past it, but it must have been something about pressing the runes in the right order... I think it is mechanical. They must have messed with my mind something terrible. I'm sure I will remember more once we in. I don't think, though, you'll be able to bash it in: while most of this mountain around us is limestone, these sections here are sturdy granite, made to withstand attack and the ages."
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"Is this supposed to make a sentence? I make war, not sentences! Bah."
Storn stomps over to the door and stares belligerently at it. "Found kings glory art support. This is the Gallery of Wonders. Uh. King's glory supports found art? Found kings support glory art? This stupid door makes no sense. Anyone know the history of this place?"
Torvic tries to put the runes in some sort of order, too, saying, "They seem familiar. I think I've read them before..."
The rune-covered door is not specifically trapped, but incorrect activation of the runes might trigger a trap. Looking not at the door but to the side for a moment, Herman notices that a good 10' section of adjacent wall looks as though it can move outward, apparently with some speed and force judging by various subtle marks and grooves in the stones.
Herman also notices, upon a detailed inspection, that there is a concave, hemispherical empty space in the king's crown.
(Nothing detects as magical, however.)
Jani doesn't specifically remember anything of use, unfortunately, in her knowledge of dwarven history and lore.
Herman's attempt, 'Found Art Support King's Glory', doesn't not cause the door to move or the trap to go off, although an ominous click is heard.
Wuliem works for a while on the runes, then finds that he is able to pry one of the runes loose and bypass the door's mechanism. (Torvic seems completely aghast at the action, though he doesn't actually say anything.)
With some effort, the door is slid open to reveal a nauseating wonderland of giant fungi filling the hallway. Foul smelling mold obscures the walls’ carved adornments. A narrow footpath winds among towering mushrooms, all lit by the unwholesome blue glow of mold. The entire area is choked with organic matter, the floors covered with a glistening, gelatinous mat which is both slippery and seems to suck at your feet.
Ahead, the hallway turns eastward and Torvic, peeking ahead around the corner, reports that it appears to be a long hallway and that another way exists to the west. The nearby door is carved of alabaster and in elaborate arabesques. Torvic listens at the door and then opens it carefully, revealing a small room filled with massive wheels and gears, obviously the mechanisms driving the entrance trap.
Jani's extensive knowledge of spores, molds, and fungi reveals that these growths are probably unwholesome to live with over an extended period, and may be especially dangerous at certain times of sporulation, but there shouldn't be any immediate danger. (They also strongly advise against actually eating any of the things...) As to what would cleanse the place, they are not sure: perhaps cleaning, and acids or fire, but surely all of these things were tried by the builders of the place, who were ultimately unsuccessful and driven out.
Jani also makes a nagging connection: this glowing blue mold sounds like the 'brain mold' associated with the rumored 'derro', an insane, sadistic species of the Darklands many believe are just childish ghost stories.
The long hallway has doors on both sides and appears to connect to another corridor on the south side towards the end, which is filled with collapsed rubble. The southwest exit appears to lead to a number of chambers or corridors.
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"Beware. These fungi may be those grown by the Derro, a race of small, fey-like humanoids, with white eyes, wild hair, bluish skin, and four-fingered hands, that are known for kidnapping and mad experiments. They fear daylight, but I don't think any of us have magic enough to bring sunlight into these tunnels with us."
Where you can see to the ceilings and they aren't covered thickly with fungus, the ceilings are vaulted and about 12' high.
Carved of limestone, every surface of the Gallery of Wonders - where it can be seen in patches - is adorned with interlaced knotwork designs and bas-relief images from dwarven history, folklore, and myth. Inlaid black marble contrasts with the gleaming limestone of the native stone. There are even periodic ornate fountains decorating the entry chambers and halls, though now chocked with muck.
You make it without incident to the first set of double doors south. These doors are of heavy, elaborately forged cast iron, silver-gilt but scraped and flaking in places.
"Truly," Torvic mutters with awe, "The glory of kings is found in the art they support!"
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"Looks like a bunch of nasty fungus to me," Herman says, through gritted teeth. "As for the derro, I don't believe they exist. Just children's stories to scare each other."
Awed by the majesty of the hall, Herman looks around with wonder at the art and stonework. He stops with the rest outside the heavy gilt doors.
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Wuliem's eyes brighten considerably when Jani inquires as to his alchemical items!
Why, I have these... as he hands Jani a vial.
Price 40 gp; Weight 1 lb.
DESCRIPTION
Electricity crackles along a metal filament inside this small glass bottle. You can open the bottle as a standard action, unleashing a small bolt of lightning toward an enemy within 20 feet of you. This is a ranged touch attack that deals 1d8 points of electricity damage. Any creature in a line between you and the target (including the target) takes 1 point of sonic damage from the terrific clap of thunder the bolt generates (Reflex DC 15 negates).
He then reaches into his pockets, producing some other vials.
Or, if you prefer, I have these also!
Price 6.6 gp; Weight 1 lb.
DESCRIPTION
Alchemist's fire is a mix of several volatile liquids that ignite when exposed to air. You can throw a flask of alchemist's fire as a splash weapon. Treat this attack as a ranged touch attack with a range increment of 10 feet.
A direct hit deals 1d6 points of fire damage. Every creature within 5 feet of the point where the flask hits takes 1 point of fire damage from the splash. On the round following a direct hit, the target takes an additional 1d6 points of damage. If desired, the target can use a full-round action to attempt to extinguish the flames before taking this additional damage. Extinguishing the flames requires a DC 15 Reflex save. Rolling on the ground provides the target a +2 bonus on the save. Leaping into a large body of water or magically extinguishing the flames automatically smothers the fire.
And these may be especially useful against light-sensitive creatures!
Price 16.3 gp; Weight —
DESCRIPTION: This coarse gray powder ignites and burns almost instantly if exposed to flame, significant friction, or even simple force such as throwing it against a floor (a standard action). Creatures within a 10-foot-radius burst are blinded for 1 round (Fortitude DC 13 negates).
I also have these little guys. Nice fun!
Price .3 gp; Weight —
DESCRIPTION
This finger-sized explosive detonates noisily 1 round after lighting. Anyone in the same square as a paper candle when it explodes must make a DC 15 Fortitude save or be dazzled for 1d4 rounds.
Storn doesn't hear anything at the southern double doors.
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Oz hops in the air repeatedly, trying to look over Jani's shoulder at Wuliem's goodies.
"That's an impressive arsenal you've got there," she tells him sincerely. "Did you make all of those yourself? There was a man in our village that taught me how to use flash powder! Steep learning curve on that stuff. That's why I only have one and a half eyebrows and he's missing his face." She touches her eyebrows. "But I was barely at an age where I could skin my own elk, to be fair. I've gotten better though!" She grins brightly at Wuliem and Jani.
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Wuliem smiles to Ozka, handing her one of his fireworks.
Price .3 gp; Weight —
DESCRIPTION
This finger-sized explosive detonates noisily 1 round after lighting. Anyone in the same square as a paper candle when it explodes must make a DC 15 Fortitude save or be dazzled for 1d4 rounds.
Why yes, I did make all these myself.
I am currently working on something bigger and grander!
Although I am a bit short on funds for my experiments!
Patches of dimly glowing fungi reveal a complex dwarven workshop. A wall of kilns, ovens and forges divides the workshop into two vast chambers, each crowded with unfinished sculptures, cobweb-covered tool racks and tables heaped with rusted detritus. The workshop’s ancient, splintering floorboards sag beneath heaped debris. Holes and cracked planks reveal an open space below the cluttered chamber, evidently accessed via stairways on the southern half of the room. Twenty feet overhead, cobweb-covered booms and racks support hanging crucibles and massive chains for hoisting quarried stone.
This room is crammed full of broken machinery and rusting forge implements and looks none too safe to traverse. Crumbling stone walkways surround the chamber and wooden planks floor its center. Holes in the rotting wood make the floorboards a maze of potential pitfalls. Heaps of rusty, jagged scrap look to collapse at a touch or shift out from underfoot. Disgusting vermin scuttle everywhere.
Perception
Initiative
Hagan just sees around the corner to a mite to the group's right (west).
Jani, Wuliem, and Oz can see the mite hiding ahead of the group (south), amongst a heap of debris, though it is just out of Storn's torchlight for Oz.
Precipitating the conflict is a dart that, for Storn and Turan, seems to come out of nowhere from the west.
The dart is precisely aimed and, if he had been still wearing his scale mail and not the more rigid banded mail, Storn knows that he would have surely gone down. As it is, he is just spun around once and now quite angry.
Hagan charges around the corner, not noticing the area of subtly-different walkway - cleaner and in better repair - until it is much too late. (Neither did Storn or Turan.) He almost gets back as the floor disappears beneath his feet, but not quite, and instead falls twenty feet to the pit floor!