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Esmeralda walks quietly to the other side of the hall before announcing to the party, "That wall will only live so long as I can concentrate on it. It takes a lot out of me. I will have to hold on to a spell to make sure we can get back out. Lets hope the people here have a cure. . . Otherwise, we will have to pack his petrified body back, and hope for the best!"
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Upon reaching the other side of the illusory wall, Esmeralda pulls out a large piece of chalk and hands it to Soth Loren. "I would mark the location myself, but I really cant do much more than focus on that wall. Can you please make several very distinct marks on the floor to warn us on the way back. I want a safe place to stand to put the wall back up when we pass this way again. Preferably somewhere I cannot see the basilisk from, but I can see where the wall belongs. Hope that makes sense. Kinda hard to be clear and focus on something else at the same time."
Andrazi and Soth-Loren man-handle the statue of Ranvar farther up the hallway, and the illusory wall's northern limit is marked with chalk. Farther up the hallway, the passage turns right 90 degrees, but there is another set of iron bars blocking passage. The bars contain a jail-cell-style doorway with a built-in lock.
Through the bars, you can see that the passage extends another 30 feet or so and then opens up into a room to the left, with the passage continuing on past. There or other side passages on the right-hand wall as well. The sound of chanting is slightly louder here, but you still can't get a directional fix on it.
The door is locked, but appears untrapped.
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Once the party has moved far enough from the illusory wall to make Esmeralda feel certain that they are past the danger caused by the Basilisk, Esmeralda drops her concentration, and casts "Detect Magic" before scanning the floors and walls as the now smaller party continues it's journey along the temple halls.
Ranvar easily picks the lock, which seems designed to keep out curious passersby and those without opposable thumbs, but not much else. The door squeaks quietly open, indicating the hinges have been oiled and maintained recently.
Ahead, you see a side passage to the right, and beyond the main passage opens into a room with a large table partially visible. By advancing cautiously to the first intersection, you are able to see the layout as presented in the map.
The large room with the tables seems to be a nexus of sorts, with several passageways coming together. The three tables and chairs seem more stored out of the way than set up for actual use, although tracks in the dust indicates that they have been pulled out and moved recently. In the bottom left corner (on the map) is a large shipping crate, about two feet on a side). Beside the crate, a section of the stone wall stands ajar a few inches.
The passageway to the north is shrouded by a thick black curtain, but the chanting is obviously coming from this direction. Some of the other openings you've seen are similarly shrouded by heavy black cloth.
You enter the room with the tables and head north towards the curtained-off doorway. The chanting continues from somewhere ahead, loud enough that you can start to make out some of the words: "...fate... rune... ascension... Lissala..."
The opening in the wall to the east was obviously a secret door, and just as obviously has fallen into disrepair, such that it no longer closes properly. Through the opening you can see a staircase leading up.
Leastrie, you find no traps, and the crate appears to be a wooden shipping crate, about two feet on a side, devoid of markings and with its lid nailed shut.
The northern doorway is shrouded by a thick black curtain, and as Andrazi approaches, he can see that there is a faint pattern to the black cloth, in the shape of a seven-pointed star. Soth-Loren recognizes it as the Sihedron rune, symbol of ancient Thassilon and its patron goddess, Lissala.
Andrazi parts the black curtain with his hand, revealing another room to the north. The chamber is stark and empty, save for a low dais in the center of the room. Upon the dais looms an elaborate rune-carved statue of a creature with a serpent’s body, a woman’s torso, six wings, and a Sihedron rune in place of a head. Again, Soth-Loren recognizes this as a representation of Lissala.
To the west, an open passage is blocked with thick iron bars, similar to the bars you've seen elsewhere in the complex. The chanting is clearly coming from this barred passageway, accompanied by the sounds of drumming and other strange noises. From its volume, it seems that you are quite close to the source of the sounds; however, nothing can be seen from this chamber.
map - the dias and statue take up the center 10'x10' area of the room.
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I'll do a cursory Detect Magic exam on the room, and attempt to stop others from entering before I'm finished. If I sense anything, I'll mention it in from a trance like state and continue to scan. Once done, I'll explain the runes and statue are representation of and thematically appropriate to Lissala, as well as the Thassilonian history.
What I do next depends on what I see. If nothing, I'll follow others into the room and simply remain at the ready. If I do see auras, I'll take a moment to try and Aid nother in reading them.
Andrazi pulls out his crowbar and attacks the doorway, which Esmeredla looks at the only thing in the room available for desecration: the statue of Lissala. As Andrazi forces the door open, the statue's eyes snap open, revealing a green glow. The statue lunges forward at Esmerelda!
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... Takes a five foot step back, trying to make certain she is out of the stautes reach, and calls for help, "Well. . I think you are doing some kind of impressive desecration. . . Lissa just woke up!"
Esmeralda casts a quick cantrip defensively, , unfortunately the acid she was hoping for does not arrive. "Oh, bugger! Aleria! Attack! .
"Well, at least something is working right...."
Round 1
Esmerelda steps back and tries to conjure her spell, but is distracted by the looming statue, and the spell fizzles. She orders Aliera to attack, and the raptor bounds forward, jaws snapping. You hear the sound of tooth scraping on stone, but Aliera doesn't seem to do any damage.
Soth-Loren brings his mighty sword around in a quick slash, but the sword bounces off of the statue without leaving a scratch.
The statue steps forward off of the dais, and the seven-pointed star that serves as its head swivels towards Soth-Loren. The creature lashes out at the sword knight with a stony fist. ) With its other fist, it swings at Aliera , but the raptor dodges the blow.
Leastrie slashes with his curve blade, but the statue seems to remain undamaged.
Andrazi stabs at the statue with his starknife, but again no damage is done.
Actions for ROund 2 please.
Round 2
Esmerelda steps back and again attempts to conjure her spell. The acid splashes over the statue, and sizzles into the stone surface.
Aliera leaps at the statue, but again seems to do no damage to the hard stone.
Soth-Loren slashes the statue again but his sword is deflected.
The statue turns to face Aliera and slams the raptor with both fists.
Leastrie continues to press his attack, raising sparks with the fury of his blows, but the statue does not react.
Andrazi steps in to take the creature from behind, but can't find an opening.
Suddenly, a man in robes appears at the doorway Andrazi just opened. He waves his hand at the statue and it freezes in place, one fist raised to strike again. The man raises his finger to his lips, and hisses a loud, "SSHHHHHHH!" at you with a look of reproach.
"What are you doing here?" the man whispers, scarcely heard over the din of the chanting from somewhere behind him. "You don't belong here, as surely you know! How DARE you interrupt Our Lady's ceremony with your intrusion! Explain yourselves, or I will command Our Lady's divine guardian to finish its task! SPEAK!"
As you have a moment to digest the events of the last few seconds, you can see that the man is wearing leather armor under his dark robes, and carries a small wooden shield with a seven-pointed star engraved on its face. At his belt hang a whip and a dagger.