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Isilme rolls her eyes at the wizard, thinking him better suited to strutting amongst peacocks than adventuring in the worldwound. "I'm sure he just wanted you to feel special, since you seem to be the only wizard to take pride in his mastery of a spell used by the most novice of casters," she says to Xanderghul after Ehren responds. "Shall we continue on? Would you care to continue using your multi-eon-in-the-making cantrip to scout the way ahead, Xanderghul? Or did you wish to take some time to regale us with stories of your heroic uses of detect magic?" she adds, gesturing down the hall.
Xanderghul laughs out loud, both at the realization that the trap hadn't reset and at Isilme's jokes about his comments. "Very good jibes, Isilme."
He stops laughing so hard, but still chuckles occasionally as he leads the way forward. "Heh. Multi-eons-in-the-making cantrip. Nice."
Xanderghul leads the group down the hallway, with Valais, Ary, Isilme, and Valaria keeping close behind. He pauses as he comes upon a door - it is cracked open and ajar, an open lock dangling from its latch. The hallway continues on, curving around a corner to places unknown. Though the hallway is dark, eerie purple light emits from the cracks around the door-frame.
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Isilme chuckles along with Xanderghul, pleased that he at least takes the ribbing well. "For having been called here to restore Laktharis, this temple seems to be rather heavily trapped. I wonder if someone wanted to keep followers of Laktharis out, especially of this side with the blade barrier trap."
Isilme moves up along with the others, but finds herself distracted thinking about why there would be so many traps laid out and fails to see much beyond the glowing light pouring through the ajar door.
"An eerie purple glow... because that's welcoming." Val stays at her usual place near the front of the group, staying on the lookout for more traps and trying to stay quiet just in case they're not alone in the ruined temple.
"I don't know about that. Don't forget, we took the path of the righteous," Ehren says, finding that he is more amused than annoyed by Isilme and Xanderghul's bantering. "Or of the foolhardy, perhaps."
As they reach the door, Ehren scans it, first with detect magic, and then with his spirit sense.
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Though Hinagiku does not dwell on the fact, she does note that Xanderghul was ironically the one to set off the trap, and the first to pass through the corridor and almost cut down by the whirling blades. Plus, as soon as she sees that he is safe, she has to stop her new mind to utter an impolite remark.
Once she regains full control of her mind, the monk follows the others, and while they are focused on the corridors and such, she keeps an eye on Houna, curious as to how the faithful felt about the whirling blades which had appeared moments ago.
"I can't sense anything past the door... or anything on the door itself. At the very least, that means that it won't try to eat us."
"Great. Well, I guess I'll see what's on the other side of the spooky glowing door of potential death." Val moves carefully over to the door and slowly cracks it open, peering inside to see what's causing the strange light.
Valaria cracks the door open, revealing a small chamber with walls of smooth black marble. A fist-sized black stone is set in a niche in the eastern wall that seems to absorb light. The eerie purple light is coming from a small, diamond shaped crystal shard at the apex of the angled ceiling. Shades of faint movement skitter across the far wall. Written repeatedly on the floor are hastily inscribed runes - Жирная крика and Кроткие выжить.
The meek survive
"I'm starting to hate this place," Val mutters. "A lot. Because I'm going to get really, really sick and f*cking tired of these fun little sayings all over the place." She looks back at the group. "So, fist-sized black stone that absorbs light and glowing purple crystal. Magic dudes, this is your specialty."
"Being literal... the black is more bold than the purple. But... I'd be ready to bow down quickly, if you go for it."
She pondered the irony of the glyph in the last hall possibly suggesting that they avoid this room altogether, as both were trapped... thus protecting the faithful.
Despite not possessing the intricate arcane knowledge that Xanderghul had, Ehren scans the room at Valaria's request, searching for any magical auras.
"I get the impression that Laktharis does not want the strong-willed to come before him," he muses as he inspects the black stone.
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Knowing the group's safety at this point might depend upon being able to properly identify the contents of the room, Isilme takes a moment to draw upon the fragmented knowledge within her, letting her mind enter the trance she used so often to recall things she'd once known.
In a wispy, ethereal voice she incants detect magic, reaching up and gently touching her closed eyelids as she does. Her eyes open, revealing the subtle silvery glow of the divination spell upon them, and she looks around the room along with the others, attempting to get a feel for what dangers might be present.
She also reaches back, trying to remember if she knows anything relating to Laktharis or his temple, or similar shrines involving horned demons.
The aura being emitted from the crystal in the ceiling is the most powerful. It is emitting strong magic of no particular school.
The crystal in the ceiling is also radiating faint evocation magic.
The glowing crystal has a faint evocation effect on it.
The glowing crystal is enchanted with a continual flame, which is why it is glowing.
The strange black stone is radiating moderate illusion magic.
The very tip of the solid black stone is actually the tip of a wand of shadow conjuration.
Laktharis' temple was a place where only his faithful were allowed to enter. At its center it was said his mother, the sacred heartwood tree, grew, though only the most devout were allowed in far enough to actually witness it.
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Xanderghul steps to the fore of the group, sidling by people who have walked faster than him and gotten in before him. He scans the room with detect magic along with the others (dammit, he had jinxed it. He never should have said anything) and helps to identify the contents of the room.
He spends about 30 seconds observing the room and taking note of each object. He points to the ceiling crystal. "That thing is... Well, it's loot. It doesn't appear to be part of a trap, it's just an ioun stone that helps to protect the wielder."
He points to the glowing crystal. "It just seems like that one is a continual flame, so... not a danger."
He points to the black crystal. "That's not a crystal at all. It's a disguised wand of the illusion spell shadow conjuration. Its purpose is likely as the primary mode of the trap. Perhaps it summons a creature, or perhaps it webs the room and then a mundane mechanical trap takes over from there. If only any of you were thieves..." he ponders, "Valaria? You were some kind of vagabond child, were you not?"
"More or less," Val replies. "I can try to retrieve it, but if it's not going to do much good if walking in there is going to set off the trap before I can get close to the wand."
"If the way forward is not hidden this room somehow, then perhaps we would be better off pressing onward," Ehren suggests, trying to determine the purpose of the somewhat obvious trap.
Xanderghul tilts his head. "I can counter the spell if it goes off when you enter the room. It should buy you a few seconds. However, Ehren is probably right. Unless there's something here we want right now then we can skip this room and come back to it later."
He adds something else, though. "That ioun stone and the wand are very valuable and potentially extremely useful, though. If we have a spare minute or three when we go back through, we should take the time to retrieve them. Unless somebody has a reason that they want to explore this room now, of course."
"Except for the fact that the last couple of secret temples we found wound up covered in collapsed stone." Ary responds, shaking her head. "We don't exactly have a good track record with temples. So... anything we're after, we likely shouldn't delay for."
"So, who wants to put themselves in danger for the sake of a couple of useful items?" asks Xanderghul, grinning. "I'd do it but I don't have the thieving skills. Speaking of that, Valaria: You wouldn't mind terribly trying to teach me, would you? I don't like it when there's something I can't do."
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"Stories of this place... it was where the disobedient were taken for punishment. Forced to face their dark side, tormented by shadows of themselves, they suffered for disobeying their god. Only the faithful belong within this temple, it is said, for within its center lies the Heartwood tree, mother of Laktharis. Only the most devout were permitted the honor of seeing her, however," she says as if in a dream. "The mirrored soul speaks true, the heart of the room, a wand, would conjure shadows to assail us. We should approach with caution."
Turning towards Valaria, Isilme begins to recite a story as the ffects of her trance wear off. "The thief stalked down the ancient corridor towards the rune-scribed door. No stories or legends told of what lay beyond the intricately patterned portal, and the only assurance she had was of her own skills. Having taken such risks many times before, however, she knew that would be enough."
She then takes a moment to refresh the heroism on Valaria, imbuing it with a fragment of her divine power in the form of a rune again.
"You should be able to remove the wand successfully, and once it is out, we can take the stone as well."
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Val nods slowly. "If that thing creates an evil shadow duplicate of me, I'm going to tear this place down with my bare hands." She pulls out her thieves' tools and very carefully heads inside, moving toward the wand. She begins to work with quick, efficient hands, picking at the stone with her tools. As she focuses, her tattoos shimmer and she seems to go into an almost trance-like state, her fingers becoming a blur of precise motions as she removes the wand.
As Valaria steps into the room the wand hums into life - the shadows on the far wall coalescing into a vaguely humanoid shape - but Xanderghul was prepared. He utters a fast incantation and raises his hand towards the wall - his abjuration magic overwhelms the stone and the shadows dissipate. The stone stops humming as Valaria masterfully extracts the wand in one piece.
Val smiles as she draws out the wand. "All yours Xan. This is your thing." She tosses the wand his direction. "Now let's get that shiny trinket off the ceiling and move on with our lives."
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"Thank you!" says Xanderghul, inspecting the wand with admiration. "Excellent."
Hinagiku calmly waited in silence while Xanderghul and Valaria took care of the room's protection. Though she did not understand the specifics, she knew that magic could be dangerous when people manipulated wrong. Once the trap is disabled, she lightly walks up to the room, kindly acknowledging Xanderghul's success as stopping the magic.
"Well done Mr. Xanderghul." she says. "Years of honing that spell?" she whispers at the exact moment she passes him by.
For a moment, the monk stops in her track, surprised at herself, before shaking her head and joining Valaria.
"Miss Valaria, can you reach it if you climb on my shoulders?" she asks and suggests at the same time.
Not one to stoop to such a mundane method of procuring the ioun stone, Xanderghul simply summons it to himself using prestidigitation.
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After only a moment longer, Ehren decides that it is safe to say, "That went well."
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"Surprisingly so," Val agrees. "So, shall we keep moving before we regret those words?"
Xanderghul raises a surprised eyebrow at Hinagiku's comment, though he doesn't respond and it doesn't hurt his feelings. He was used to doubters, detractors, and those who sought to tear his confidence down. He proudly holds up the ioun stone, though. "Who wants to get stabbed less? Ary? Valaria?"
While he talks, he gets up and moves towards the dreaded left hallway. The left was always a terrible way to go. Xanderghul really didn't think it was coincidence that the demons happened to want to go left. "I don't think I need it as much as somebody whose main life-goal is going toe-to-toe with demons."
"Yes, we should continue on down the hallway," Isilme says as she turns around and heads back out. Looking down the hallway, she begins scanning for traps, making use of detect magic to aid her in doing so.
Val looks at the small gem stone. "Well, I'm always up for being stabbed less. Thanks Xan."
Isilme leads the group down the hallway, searching for traps. The group comes to a massive door to their left, crafted of iron and bone. A mural of human and animal bones on the walls depicts humans and woodland creatures in a forest. On the left side of the door, humans kneel before a massive tree. Between them is a thumb-sized spherical-shaped hole. One the right side of the door, a man slits his own throat, blood pooling on the trunk of the tree. In the carving of the bloody pool is a thumb-sized diamond-shaped hole.
Valais stands in front of the door, wide-eyed. "We're so close now. We need to find a way to open this door. NÂL BAL GUM ANK I HAT NEM I NU SKURUL" She twitches and cries out on pain, clutching the kalavakus side of her face. The pain passes, and she is left trembling and gasping for air.
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Val takes the ioun stone and turns it over in her hands. "Any way for this thing not to give away my position all of the time? Because it's really hard to be sneaky when my head glows like a torch?" She glances at their Pathfinder friend and grins. "Hey Valais, think you could lend me a Wayfinder?" she jokes as they move on. As they approach the ornate doors, she examines them carefully, looking to see if another trap might be on or around the doors.
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With every step she takes toward the grim door, Hinagiku's hair bristle more and more. If she had still been human, it would have simply been goosebumps, but in her new form it gives her a strange look, as if she was slightly puffier. Still, she consciously slows her heart rate down, and lets go of fear.
"Everyone, there is something very wrong beyond this door... corruption, the earth cries in pain." she says, her voice staying mostly even. She then eyes Ehren, wondering whether the druid could detect the same disturbance within the ley.
Taking notice of Valais, Hinagiku turns away from the door and slowly moves toward the pathfinder.
"Miss Valais, do... do you have any inkling as to how such corruption could help you?"
Valais sighs. "Ser Jorsal took my wayfinder from me when he kidnapped me. Maybe we can go shopping for one together when this is all over?"
She looks to Hinagiku and shakes her head, her voice trembling. "I-I don't know."
"I would like that," Val says. "Gods know a little normalcy would do wonders after the daily messes we get in to..." She absently tucks the ioun stone inside a small pocket on her rather short pants and steps closer to the door. "Hmmm, doesn't look trapped necessarily, but there's something here..." She points to the nearly invisible seam in a portion of the tree. "I'd bet if we found what goes in those holes, we could get this open."
Hinagiku lets one of her hands reassuringly slips from Valais' shoulder to the middle of her back, she hadn't meant to scare her... but she needed to know what this corruption was.
So, she slowly approached the door. There she stands a second, gathering some strength before putting her hands near the seem noticed by Valaria. Closing her eyes, the monk focus, tries to look whether whatever is found beyond the door is not only corrupted but also evil.
Isilme listens to Valais' demon alter-ego's objection in regards to the door, trying to get a sense of if it was sincere in its desire for them not to proceed beyond it.
Drawing upon her fragmented knowledge again, she begins inspecting the mural, continuing to use detect magic. After going over it for any magic auras, she studies the subject of the mural, trying to piece together details that might aid them in solving the puzzle before them.
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Ehren exchanges looks with Hinagiku; her puffed up appearance might have been amusing if its animal nature were not abundantly clear. When she returns to normal, he nods with understanding as she describes what she felt. Considering how she was born, it made sense that she could feel it without a connection to a menhir. Having once felt the world's pain himself, he could not say that he envied her.
"No one's fingers, I hope," he responds to Valaria, regarding the image of the suicidal offering with disdain.
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"I can't feel anything... the doors are too thick." Hinagiku says backing away from the door.
"Dylem adael. Ni all unrhyw un basio i mewn i'r sanctum heb gymeradwyaeth Laktharis. Byddwch yn cael eich cosbi am eich dresmasu!" Houna says, a little agitated. Hrida picks up on her master's anger and starts to growl.
"She says that the inner sanctum is only for those chosen by Laktharis. She wants us to leave." translates Shyael.
Valais shakes her head, angry. "No! I need to know what's beyond that door. I can't have come all this way to turn back now."
Houna grunts and brushes past the group - the hallway wraps back around forwards to places unknown. "Come. We go," she grunts in her best Common.
The kalavakus bits twitch uncontrollably from time to time - clearly the demon is highly agitated.
There are no magical auras on the door.
The mural pretty clearly depicts the sacred heartwood tree, an ancient Sarkorian fertility goddess. Laktharis demanded sacrifices from time to time, to 'feed' the tree with the blood of the faithful.
The areas around Dredarin are fairly arid naturally, and without the help of the heartwood tree, the Sarkorians would not have been able to settle and grow crops.