Ayako senses danger and leads MuShu and Tunstall south. Vencarlo follows as well.
But Sebastian and Tyrandro as intrigued by the coffins and continue to try prying it open. While Iolana casts detect magic on another.
After another round of work, the men still can't get the coffin open. Iolana determines the the coffin is magical. She's about to say something...And then the trap springs!
The 5-foot squares not flanked by iron maiden alcoves suddenly rise, tipping up to a 45-degree angle that slopes to the south. One threatens to slide Tyrandro but he agilely balances on the slope without falling.
An instant later, the western iron maidens begin shrieking and wailing.
Sebastian and Iolana quickly clap their hands over their ears and resist the wail's effect. But the trap isn't done yet.
The eastern maidens open to reveal an interior lined with spikes. These spikes shoot out on long shafts, nearly reaching the opposing iron maiden and impaling anything in the way.
The spikes retract with an ominous clicking and grinding and prepare to strike again next round.
"Quickly, get out of there!" Shouts Vencarlo.
Now that Ayako is south of the hall, she can see into the next room as well.
A ten-foot-wide, two-foot-tall well rises from the center of this circular room. Inky water fills the well nearly to its rim, obscuring its depths. A stone statue of a rearing snake rises from the center of the well. Along the length of the serpent's body, dozens of carved arms cross over the creature's belly—each arm grips a long curved blade. The statue's serpentine head rises ten feet above the surface of the water, gazing down coolly to the northeast with amethyst eyes.
Ayako rushes ahead, the wailing ringing in her ears and making MuShu squeal as they try getting away from the deadly spears. Hurry this way! She is so busy looking back she doesn't bother looking about the room and MuShu is more concerned with the tasty sweetbun he found lurking in the depths of Ayako's haversack.
Tyrandro hurrieldy follows to the room Ayako points out. He grabs Iolanas arm and drags her along with him over the now uneven terrain.
Iolana follows along behind Tyrando when he grabs her arm, and scrambles over the uneven floor. "Has there been a room in this place that hasn't tried to kill us yet?" She skids to a halt when she sees the statue. "Those eyes are pretty." then she looks around, "This looks like a dead end."
You all make your wall out of the deadly hallway and squeeze into the narrow bend between the iron maidens and the fountain room unsure of whether it is another trap or not.
"Well, nice fountain. So far." Tyrandro comments looking around.
How hurt is everyone? I can patch you up. There might be more here. Ayako casts Detect Magic on the fountain.
Fluffy also looks around.
Sebastian escapes, but not without a few more holes than he started with. Luckily, the wounds aren't too deep and he's able to press on. He stops in his tracks when he spots the massive statue rising from the waters, more blades than he can count held in its hands. "I seem to recall Glorio mentioning statues that come to life," he says nervously.
Well we'll be in a proper mess if this does.
None of you spot the trap but having experienced the dangers of this place, you cautiously prod around the edges just in case. Unsurprisingly, after a few seconds, another trap springs. A loud hiss issues from the statue as dozens of curved blades spring out of the well's base and spin furiously around the room, threatening anyone standing on the ground within 5 feet of the well. The blades continue to spin for 30 seconds before retracting.
If only I could tunnel through walls, we could bypass this whole mess completely
"Sorry I can't help there. I forgot my dwarf with the adamantine pickaxe at home." Tyrandro comments. "Have you already been here?" he asks Vencarlo.
Iolana studies everything closely. "I'll help look around."
"I think so, let's see. Wait here." Vencarlo moves around the room and feels along the other wall until he finds a loose stone. He pushes it in to reveal a secret passage leading west. "Here we go. That should also temporarily deactivate the trap in this room."
Beyond the secret door, both walls of this twenty-foot-long corridor are decorated with row upon row of tiger heads. Each head appears to be that of an actual, once-living tiger. The heads are remarkably well preserved—their gaping mouths and glaring eyes even appear to be moist.
"How much you want to bet this is another trap? Be careful."
Further north, you can see the hallway connects back to the room where the symbol of pain was, but is now inert.
Ayako follows. Tyrando,Sebastion, do either of you have skills in dealing with traps?
"If it's no magical trap I can try." Tyrandro replies. He takes a closer look if he can find something that points to to a trap.
Vencarlo helps as well but neither he nor Tyrandro and able to confirm if this is a trap or identify a means to disarm it if it is.
"Well, we could just try running through. Most of the traps seem to have a delay before activating. If we're lucky this one does too. If not, well..." says Vencarlo.
Well since I have no flying magic available unless I summon something, it looks like we will have to hike up our skirts and run.
"Let us go then. At least we know the room at the end of this." Tyrandro replies. "All ready?" On positive reply he dashes down the corridor into the next room.
Ayako limp dashes
"Ayako. One moment, before you run." Iolana casts Fly on her. "That should help with your speed issue for a few minutes at least." Then she dashes down the hall behind Tyrando.
I could carry anyone over, with some effort. Here Sebastion, allow me to sweep you off your feet.
Sebastian yelps as Ayako unexpectedly hoists him into the air, rather less gracefully than he might have liked. "I think I prefer the hippogriff," he complains, but there's little room to argue with the results.
Ayako takes the swooning Sebastion across in her arms like the dashing heroine she is.
You run (or fly) through the tiger head corridor. Luckily your assumption was correct and there was a delay. You all make it through safely, however, seconds after the last of you passes, the tiger heads lining the walls animate and attack, writhing out of the walls on long serpentine necks in a horrific storm of scales, fangs, and fur.
Back in the 'familiar' room, you are faced with two doors. The door to the right, opens back to the bare hallway with a lever. The entrance you previous used now ends in a stone wall.
The door to the left, opens to a room you haven't explored yet.
Inside, three large wooden chests, their lids decorated with carvings of cavorting tigers, sit against one wall of this room. Some sort of message seems to be carved on each lid. Colorful frescoes on the wall opposite the chests depict hundreds of tigers marching in widening circles around a single green gem the size of a fist, set in the wall and carved to resemble a tiger's head.
The phrases on each chest are written in Vudrani. (I don't think any of you speak it, but you might have others means to read.)
The left chest says, “By gentle caress shall truth be known.” The right chest says, “Breathe deep your salvation.” The middle chest says, “Life within but Death without.”
[]"Does anyone expect the Seneschal to be in there? Or can we move on?"[/b] Tyrandro asks.
I am afraid that I do not understand this and have no magic to help.
"I'm afraid I can't read this either. Perhaps we should move on. I don't want to trigger another trap."
Let us take stock, who among us is injured? Best take care of wounds while we can.
"I'm fine." Tyrandro replies and Fluffy looks ok too.
Sebastian makes a face at the tiger trap behind them. "At this rate, we'll be lucky if the Seneschal is even still alive down here." As soon as he's said it, Sebastian pauses, realizing it makes him sound too much like Tyrandro.
After trying the new door, and being faced with another puzzle they have no hope of solving, he looks back to other room. "We'll have to pull that lever eventually," he says. After the iron maidens, he isn't much interested in volunteering to open more mysterious containers.
We might as well, perhaps another lever pull will help us, or lead to spiders.
You pull the nearby switch and the rooms rotate again. The blocked off tunnel to the east now faced south back to the tiger head trap.
One new addition is a circular room to the west. A five-foot-diameter pool of crystal-clear water nearly fills this small, circular room.
"I remember that pool." says Vencarlo. "It has curative properties and has helped me survive down here. If you are injured, you should drink from it."
I will keep that in mind, thank you. So.. let us see if the pool room has any secrets.
"Don't be so gloom." Tyrandro pats Sebastian on the back. "If we find him dead we just have to get a cleric to raise him again."
The pool appears to be non-magical to Ayako. Ayako splashes the water harmlessly as she searches. Up close, she can see that the pool is 10 feet deep. Since the water is crystal clear, she can see right down to the bottom. She doesn't spot anything of value down there.
"Neolandus isn't dead. Have faith. We'll find him and get out of here." says Vencarlo.
Ayako sighs. Well, pull another lever or run back through the tiger hall and see if something has changed?
While determining if you should try the lever again, the rooms suddenly spin again on their own and you come face-to-face with a fiend from one of the deeper circles of Hell.
The creature has the lower body of a winged cat and the upper body of a horned female. She wields two blood-red kukris and is not in the mood to chat. She lets out a blood-curdling roar and prepares to pounce.
Vencarlo shouts, "It's found us! We're in trouble!" He nervously puts his hand on the nearby switch but doesn't yet pull it.
Ayako has no idea what this weird being is. I wonder if it is a Rakasha.
Sebastian's eyes go wide as the creature appears before them. "Gods above, what is that thing?" Immediately, he draws his rapier, but even Vencarlo sounds worried. Sebastian moves forward to block the creature's line of attack and adopts a defensive stance.
"I don't know what it is. Do you think it can fly?" She casts Haste on the group. "What do you mean It found us? What do you know about that thing?" she asks Vencarlo.
Ayako chants and casts a spell, sending bursts of energy through everyone's limbs.
Tyrandro raises his Blade and charges in. "Fluffy, sick'em"
Fluffy charges in to bite the creature.
Tyrandro charges after fluffy to hit the thing with his sword.
Sebastian steps up and successfully stabs the creature once. He wounds it however he feels that the creature's thick hide reduces the full damage.
Tunstall bites into the creature's leg and tugs. The bite wounds it but it is too stable to pull down off it's feet.
The sphinx steps back and releases a cold, cloying miasma of greasy darkness that engulfs all of you.
The darkness sickens and damages the party. Curiously, Vencarlo seems to be unharmed.
Iolana casts haste and Ayako casts blessing of fervor.
"I don't know what it is. Do you think it can fly?" She casts Haste on the group. "What do you mean It found us? What do you know about that thing?" she asks Vencarlo.
"I don't know what it is either except that it has been stalking through this dungeon. I've managed to escape it so far, but it's caught up to us now." says Vencarlo.
The creature laughs. "Come now. You may have fooled these simpletons but I can see through your tricks. Which one are you? Not that it matters. I may be trapped down here, but you are in my domain and I am not bound from harming you."
"The creature lies! Run!" shouts Vencarlo who pulls on the lever which sends the rooms spinning yet again.
"You're all going to die down here!" roars the sphinx as she rotates out of view.
Ayako gets to work helping her comrades and taps Sebastion with her healing wand.
Fluffy is unhappy because of the wounds this cold and dark miasma caused.
"Wow, great. Good, that you suddenly remember how to work that dungeon." Tyrandro comments. "Now let's talk about who is lying here. What personal quarrel does Vencarlo have with that monster?"
"None I would assume. But maybe Sebastian can ask you something that only Vencarlo can answer and so you can easily prove that the not so nice lady with the lower body of several beasts was lying." he suggests.