Oloch nods at Juhnavi's suggestion.
"Together then!"
"Mmmfff!" Merisiel tries to assist, but can't find a good grip on the lid.
"Rivani, you said something about a protective symbol of Gorum on the lid and outside. Is there some way we can use that to seal the lid?" Stumped, Mavaro casts lead blades in case anything down below escapes.
"Indeed. The Lord of Iron would probably have me remove this lid and engage those within. It is said that if there is ever a time with no more conflicts to be fought, he would rust away into nothingness. I am not sure how to activate this ward..."
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Oloch uses the point of his blade to quickly inscribe the rune on the stone lid. It flares with a blinding light, and seems to have fused completely with the surrounding stone. The noises from below are muffled.
Little else of interest remains, aside from an ancient, battered shield. Doctor Quolorum recognizes it as bearing the sigil of an ancient Ustalavic house, believed to be destroyed by the Whispering Tyrant.
He thanks you for uncovering the power the Gorumite rune holds, believing it may be useful in confronting future dangers. He follows this up with a request that you retrieve an experimental herbicide from his office in Rozenport.
Part V: University
Rising and falling upon steep sea cliffs, Rozenport’s archaic architecture possesses an almost organic pattern, with sharp steeples, flat-roofed manors, and a bubble-domed town hall. The campus of the Sincomakti School of Sciences is hidden amid the town’s labyrinthine avenues. Once there, finding Doctor Quolorum's office is no trouble.
Dr. Quolorum’s office is a single-story, 20-by-20-foot square building made of fitted limestone and covered in ivy vines. Though Doctor Quolorum's letter included a key, the door is partially open.
Peering inside, you see that the contents of the room float aimlessly about as if loosed from the bounds of gravity. A large oak desk spins slowly in the center, and a matching carved oak chair floats near the ceiling. The walls are lined with low bookshelves, but the books and countless other items that once rested there drift gently in midair. Ivy-covered windows to the west and east provide only dim light.
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Rivani finds the bones of several chewed up humanoids. All seem relatively fresh (killed within the past month or so). Near the bottom of the pile, you find a bloodstained bag, filled with blacksmith tools and a jar of alchemical cement.
While you haven't been here before, you're pretty sure that even an eccentric gnome professor wouldn't be able to keep their office like this all the time.
Reproducing his note here:
Trusted associates,
I have discerned something of the nature of these strange phenomena we’ve seen, and I think I have just the tool that may help. In my office at the Sincomakti School of Sciences in Rozenport you’ll find a small vial of a most potent substance that I-and by “I,” I mean “you”-will find useful later. It is an experimental magical herbicide. I planned to use it on the ivy growing over my office windows, but our current predicament may call for it instead. You’ll find the vial in a cupboard on the wall behind my desk. It glows purple, so you can’t miss it. Bring it back quickly so that we can move forward in these investigations.
Dr. Quolorum
"Wow, there's never a dull assignment for this guy, is there? I mean, except for that lightning thing, that was pretty dull." Merisiel remarks as she looks into the floating office. To test the supernatural effect, she throws one of her many daggers through the area to see how it reacts.
"What do you make of this stuff floating around in here? Oloch asks as he looks at the office dubiously.
"I don't like it. It's not natural..."
The half-orc looks for places this magical herbicide might be stored.
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The only piece of furniture not floating is a cupboard, which appears to be built into the wall. It's hard to say if that's the cupboard behind his desk or not, as his desk is currently drifting through the room.
Merisiel's dagger starts out flying true, but starts drifting as it gets further into the room, and lodging itself in a chair leg.
"I agree with you Merisiel. We can only hope all of our adventures are initiated by one with such varied interests. Let me try one more experiment before we see if the room affects us the same way it does the dagger." Mavaro uses mage hand try to try move some small bauble like an inkpen or paperweight.
"Sounds good, I'll probably try going in there next if your experiment goes okay."
Cupboard is closed, correct? So unable to use mage hand to open it?
After the others finish examining the room from the door, Merisiel takes a light step into the room, then another, careful not to rush in until she has a better grasp of what's going on.
Following their plucky elven rogue inside slowly the ninja peered around slowly.
Oloch also enters the room apprehensively.
"Hello? Who's there?" Merisiel calls out as she draws her rapier.
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The book is floating about twelve feet above you, and constantly moving. As you're in here, lots of furniture, books, and assorted odds and ends are constantly bumping into you, though gently enough to cause no harm.
A voice shrieks, "I knew you were nothing but trouble! They're going to destroy us!"
"Stay there Rivani. I'll try to direct the book to you." Mavaro renews his mage hand and tries to direct the book toward Rivani.
Im beginning to think the book is speaking to us. Did i hit my head?
The ninja asked trying to use her arms to steady herself as she floated in the air
"Who are you? Where are you?" Oloch asks the room's floating contents.
"Hey, we're just here to pick up something. Why are you guys squatting in Dr. Quolorum's office?"
"Yeah, we're not here to destroy you...at least I don't think we are. Why do you think we're here to destroy you?"
"My name is Mavaro and my colleague is correct, we are students here to retrieve an item. The state of the room is a surprise though. The elf was merely trying to see what would happen to her dagger. Nothing ill was intended."
Oloch stows his weapon to show he is not hostile.
"Put your weapons away everyone," he urges the others.
Although she appears slightly wary, Merisiel sheathes her rapier, "Yeah, we work for the professor. Would you mind telling us why things are floating in this room?"
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The second voice addresses you, "Indeed, we are in the book. It seems we have information of use to you. I find it only fair that you pay us with information in return."
The first voice, now calmer, continues, "She's got the right of it. We've seen the doctor's work, but tell us about what else is going on out there. And be quick about it."
Going on? as in with the world?
The ninja asked with a frown following the others lead about appearing unarmed.
"I'm sure. If they are stuck in the study. Let us tell you of our adventures. I'll begin. We visited the village of Dunhob to see about the legend of a haunted tavern called The Lucky Lantern. Inside we found a harrow reading, an old corpse and a strange hoofed creature that assaulted us with flying skulls."
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The first voice grows more irritated. "Of course in the world. None of you look like the usual fuddy-duddys who visit. Tell us about where you've been!"
The voice previously identified as Nhorean's speaks next. "Please forgive my daughter's outbursts. But it is true that we have only limited intellectual stimulation here. Tell us more about this creature."
"Well, the first thing you need to know about the town of Dunhob is that the villagers are all suspicious and racist. They threw a horseshoe just because I'm an elf."
"After we visited there, there was this experiment the Professor was trying involving lightning. Some hit a ridge and this weird slimy creatures were created. I'm told they're ectoplasm or something."
"After that, there was a haunted house with some dead lady, but that went okay once we pacified the spirit and killed some mites, I think."
"Just before we came here, we visited some abandoned monolith inhabited by a caveman or something. There was a bunch of cavemen that were going to back him up, but Oloch here sealed it passage with a symbol of his god."
"Also, Aroden is dead. I'm not sure how long you guys have been in here, so, it might be relevant."
"The creature was originally hidden in heavy robes and gestured to us with a clawed hand. Its mouth was covered with cloth and there was something strange about it, but I'm not sure what. One of my companions was able to tell it was cloaked in illusion. We saw the cloven hoofs right before it extinguished a candle and disappeared."
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"Ah yes, the superstitions of the peasantry are so tedious. But it sounds like you've been through quite a series of challenges. You should be proud to have triumphed so far.
The second voice cuts in. "That creature! Could it be?"
All three voices mingle in hushed whispers for a moment. The angriest voice returns.
HA! You lot are screwed. That creature was from Leng, the nightmare plane! Pretty much anything from there could tear you to pieces without breaking a sweat." The voice descends into mad giggling.
And the other voice, "You're going to need all the help you can get, so we'll tell you what you need to know. Two days ago a wild-eyed man dressed like a farmer and covered in dirt rushed in here and broke open the cupboard behind the desk. He took a vial from it, and suddenly everything in the room started floating around. It was quite a sight watching him kick and spin in the air. Eventually he made his way back out, but not before he’d cursed Dr. Quolorum up and down. He kept yelling about the greenhouse and how he was going to be too late.
"Do you mind if we check the cupboard ourselves? Do you have any other information about this farmer guy that would allow us to find him?" Merisiel asks, now taking advantage of the floating room by doing a few somersaults in the air.
"Did the vial that he took glow purple?"