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As you enter back into the central chamber, Uori the gillman looks up at you with a smile. He has moved out of the clear waters now, and sits in his fine turquoise robe.
"Did you quiet their souls?" he asks as you approach. "The past few of us who have visited this place have not returned. We knew the journey to be dangerous, but the caves have always been peaceful until now. Yet it is our sacred charge to visit and meditate each full moon, so we have to come here."
He lets out a small sigh, almost indistinguishable from the sound of the running water.
"Before this place was sacred to my people, it was sacred to the humans. This was a shrine to Aroden, the now dead god. That model was his vision for your city, Absalom."
"It is more than just a model however, it is a shrine to his divinity - this whole cave still lingers with his power. But yet it fades, as he no longer exists to fuel it."
Uori looks forlorn, while clearly not a follower of Aroden, the prospect of the power fading forever seem to sadden him.
"No doubt you saw the inscriptions in the cavern across the way," he points back across the stairs to the north. "Those too fade and grow increasingly difficult to read. Each is actually a ritual, to be carried out upon the model. Perhaps you should undertake one?"
Uori studies Vetis lips carefully, "No small feat indeed. Aroden was a powerful god, before his fall. Maybe this place was of great significance. Perhaps he even walked these caves himself?"
He grins now impishly.
"Or perhaps not."
Watching Alister and then Narnel speak, he responds.
"Well, I did not decipher the carvings fully. Yet surely one must follow the spirit of the teaching. Taking one of the items in plain sight for all to witness is hardly the work of a master thief, after all. Did Aroden not teach that even larceny, though illegal, is a form of praise? For anything worth stealing is also worthy of praise for its craftsmanship."
"One carving that I made out involved a hunter killing a giant serpent and parading it's slain form through the streets of Absalom. Perhaps you could do the same, although does not a miniature city require a miniature serpent?"
The old gillman smiles again, an all too familiar sight.
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So what do you all think, do you want to try to figure out and reproduce the rituals on the city, or continue on exploring the cave?
Personally I think there may be some value to trying to reproduce the rituals before proceeding deeper into the cave.
He looks again at the model of the city.
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As Vetis smashes the body of the writing centipede, the chamber is bathed in golden light. It pours forth from the model of the Starstone Cathedral, the light almost dazzling with its splendor.
The glow fades, but the miniature city continues to thrum with holy radiance. While Aroden himself may be dead, clearly His power lives on in this place - if only for now. As far as you know no one has been blessed by Him since 4606 AR, over a century ago.
Your connection to the divine empowers you, as you complete the Hunter's Ritual you feel poised and ready to defend yourself.
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Can someone list out what the images told us? I was more concerned with making sure no one snuck up on us and didn't really get a good look at the carvings.
As he says this he walks close to the model looking at it closely for any clues to the other rituals.
Under context of looking for clues/what others are doing, Narnel palms one of the pretty beads . Feel free to have that happen whenever. Narnel would try not to make it obvious what he is doing, so if others are conducting a ritual and attention is on them he might try to pull this off then.
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As Alister lights up the model of Absalom, the miniature Starstone Cathedral once more pulses with light. The light spreads and fills the chamber and Uori the oracle claps his hands together.
"It seems as if you have these rituals all figured out!" he exclaims.
The power of Aroden flows through your once more, familiar now and comforting. Like a warm touch that reassures you that no matter what happens, things will be okay.
You successfully take one of the small coloured beads from the diorama.
Alister manages to find a number of Monophyllaea Dactylon growing in one corner of the cave, struggling to grow with just the light of the blue mould. It is a single leafed plant, which could easily be transplanted to a different area of the caves.
"It is difficult for any flora to grow in the darkness of a cave... although certain species make their way," remarks Uori.
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As Alister transplants the single leafed plant near to the small city, once more the model of the Starstone Cathedral bursts into brilliant light. The glow fills the chamber to an almost dazzling level... and soon fades.
You are left with the lingering thought that while the lands can be dangerous, with proper study and care they too can be a blessing. Even in the darkest of places, nature - and thus humanity - can find a way.
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we have done all four of the aspects of Aroden that we know, why don't we explore the rest of the tunnels and passageways here as we have promised and see if we can discover anything more?
Alister says as Corneleus preens a bit and flexes his wings and his head spins all the way around and back as he waits for his human companion to do something.
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i think we only got three of the aspects. Before we continue on I would like to know and record the last ritual.
Clearly we did the hunter aspect with the snake and farmer aspect with the plant.
And I think I triggered one more while you all were distracted by the lights.
He tosses a well made colored bead in the air as he talks with a bright smile.
So I'm guessing we still have the Solder Aspect to figure out. Can someone describe the picture to me? Maybe we need to do something like sweep all the frogs off the city or something.
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As Narnel tosses the coloured bead high into the air, the chamber is filled with holy radiance once more. It glistens off the bead, which Narnel catches deftly.
The Thief is perhaps the most misunderstood of Aroden's twelve guises. In the mural it alludes to how when someone steals they are in fact praising the creator of the item, for anything worth stealing is also worthy of praise for its craftsmanship.
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Hmmmm......
He walks over and return to bead to the model and backs away with a slight look of reverence. When he returns to the group he draws out his journal.
Give me a moment to write this all down before we continue on.
Journal Entry (Holy Cavern of Aroden)
After covering the information Uori the gillman gave to the group, Narnel records a detailed account of the four guises of Aroden that they deciphered and the rituals associated with each of them successfully performed near the model of the Starstone Cathedral, as well as any benefits gained.
With his Journal entry done, he walks over to the Western passage, renews his message Spell on Alister and when the others look ready heads forward to scout.
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As Vetis waits for the elf to return with news, he takes the time to scribble some thoughts in Janira's gift of a ledger.
[ooc]We have realized that imitating the 'Guises of Aroden' in this place can still impart a fragment of his power. Have slain a beast (as a hunter), planted seeds (farmer), and lit a beacon (soldier, for some reason). Somehow we also triggered a fourth boon (theif???), but I am unsure as to why. Perhaps the enchantment lingering on this place is starting to misfire after all.
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The passage leading from the holy site varies from three to six feet wide and is coated with the omnipresent bioluminescent fungi. While there are a number of branching pathways, they either narrow beyond your ability to traverse, lead back to the main trail, or are blocked by cave-ins.
It takes Narnel approximately 20 minutes of travelling deeper below the Kortos Mounts, until the tunnel broadens to reveal a shallow river that bisects an immense tunnel stretching to the north and south. To the east a small passage exits the chamber at a steep incline towards the surface.
Narnel spots a lone creature on the opposite bank of the river. This spindly little humanoid lizard is a kobold. Kobolds speak Draconic, can see perfectly in the dark and are notoriously cunning yet cowardly. He waits by the incline, looking back across the river towards your direction. Fortunately however, he does not notice Narnel's presence.
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Narnel sneaks back down the passage and joins the rest of the group.
Quietly he explains the situation.
How do you all want to approach this situation? I guess we could try to talk to it, but my guess is it will either run from us or try to trick us.
Fighting we have the problem we have to cross the river, and I have no idea how deep it is.
I can always go back and try to hide/watch it for a while to see if I can find anything else out.
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If that is the approach you all agree with, I will remove the sentry.
Narnel renews his message spell and sneaks back to the cave.
He observes for a moment more to ensure there are no other guards.
Assuming he sees none he fired from the shadows.
Assuming that hits and kills the Kobold Narnel waits about 30 seconds, Rehides with his bow ready and whispers:
Sentry down, no others seen, Come forward.
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Narnel's shot flies out from the darkness, his elf eyes illuminating the kobold. It does not see the arrow coming and is struck dead.
The rest of you move up into the tunnels.
As you move through the caves you spot wooden boards almost fully buried on the waters edge. They appear to have been placed recently, what with their lack of any visible water damage.
Vetis notices that a fine line of twine sits taught in the water, ending directly under the wood. Its other end leads down along the water and out of sight to the north.
The twine leads up the river to a concealed dart, that seems like it would activate should someone step on the pressure plate back where you saw the kobold.
The rest of the cave is quiet however, and it looks like the cave narrows to the point where you cannot proceed north any further - only west back towards the model of Absalom or east where the kobold was hiding.
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As he sneaks back Narnel hears the question and responds.
Since North is a dead end the only ways left to explore are the passage the Kobold was standing in front of and the two ways out. Just avoid the boards so you don't get shot.
If no one else does this Narnel will sneak up and peak down that passage by the dead Kobold.
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Heading back south through the tunnel, your feet sloshing in the few inches of water, you cross over. Seeing the dead kobold, you head towards it and soon are upon the tunnel opening that heads east.
As you travel further along the passageway, you begin to hear faint sounds of combat and a familiar woman's voice half-shouting and half-reciting.
"As the legendary Gregaro Voth successfully battled the wild beasts in the deepest reaches of the Mwangi Expanse, so shall I defeat you, foul servant of Lamashtu!"
You notice a faint light at the end of the tunnel, and a gentle breeze of fresh air hints that this passageway soon leads to the surface.