"Is it the flame.... most likely not little brother. If memory serves me right I have heard tales of the crypt told in the taverns and they all say the crypt has two levels where the tomb of Kassen awaits and the flame is near it. We must venture further and deeper it seems. it would have been nice though."
No luck yet. Like Kenny said, we're gonna need to go deeper. It doesn't seem like that thing is coming out. Good work everybody, we should head back down.
"We may need, before we finish with this place, destroy that shadowy creature, otherwise it will not be safe for pilgrims to visit." Ka'narg's features are still an ashen green, and his eyes rimmed in red from the toxic smoke. "We should tread carefully - there's no telling what else we may encounter, if the shadows themselves can become a threat."
"Who is Kenny? A friend of yours? Is he here"
Shadows coming alive, that seems a bit too dangerous for this test. There's something else going on.
"Who is Kenny? A friend of yours? Is he here"
You're Kenny! I made a nickname for you. Keshik states since apparently that's just something he does.
"No one calls me Kenny....and no one should...."
I kind of like that name for you Harken, Kenny really fits She mocks
Ka'narg chuckles, a small smirk crossing his lips. "A wise man once told me that taking everything so seriously is bad for one's health, Harken. Perhaps it's advice worth taking, friend," he says, the smirk blooming into a full toothy grin. His face appears to have regained its normal colour, and his voice has lost much of the hoarse quality from the smoke.
See? Nargs knows! Keshy points to his own head.
A good attitude can make a huge difference. Just wish Nahkriin would start listening to me about that.
Having somewhat recovered from the ordeal, Jaer hisses a small laugh at the conversation, sliding the incandescent dagger into her belt before kneeling to hook the previously stored key from her boot.
"Goin' forwards; unless this," she waves the key in plain sight, "Was for that," Jaer points to the partial-rubble that once was a monstrous statue, "I wager we might've saved ourselves a bit of work." O' course by 'we' I mean 'me', but she wisely keeps that part to herself.
"So. Y'all done hacking up yer lungs?" she asks, grinning, an eye to the southern door.
"I am, thankfully. And both doors are good as each other, but we should take time eventually scout both doors. But for now, South is as good a choice as any."
The southern door is locked, but not trapped. There is an accessible lock but, as with the earlier example in the pit maze, it looks a very difficult one to pick, and there's a high risk of breaking it if you try.
The northern door is unlocked.
Giving the Southern door a final once-over, Jaer loudly clicks her tongue. "Difficult, that one. Likely to break a pick or four, so...North? I'm thinkin' north."
Before she begins to bound back up to the northern part of the room, the Halfling takes a moment to feed her curiosity, matching the Furnace Area Key to the hole in the back of the shield-armed construct.
"Do we need both shields Pooky?" Harken asks the reptile man. "If so I will go grab the other one as well."
Could the lock itself be broken? a bit brutish but a possibility
Irgal just follows silently for the time being, perfectly happy to let the larger members jostle amongst themselves and thanking the chance to breathe better air.
The key doesn't fit either the southern door or the construct.
I think so. Said "Shields" right? Still, I don't know if it would be a good idea to carry them all over the place. This ones heavy.
"Perhaps we set them by the door to the north so that they may be easily retrieved when the need arises?"
"Agreed." and Harken grabs the other shield and places it by the northern door for easy access and as a known location should the need arise.
Keshy waits in the rear of the group this time around. Not to bring up the guard, but to try to keep anyone from noticing his frequent glances back in the direction of the shadow. He'll place his shield by the doorway next to the other before moving on.
Alright, so we're all ready to go?
This long corridor is flanked by a row of human statues, set into alcoves on each side. The statues look like Kassen, and each one holds a longsword out in front of it.
"As I'll ever be."
Tucking the key back into a safe nook upon her person, Jaer skips ahead, senses ever-keen as they come upon the corridor of statues.
"Well. That's not at all comforting," she mutters, thinking back to their last run-in with a statue. Giant shields were one thing. Actual weaponry? Fantastic.
Jaer sees a trap - a plate in the floor of some kind, it's not obvious what the effect would be of tripping it - about halfway up the corridor. From this vantage point she can also see that the statues in the northern part of the corridor have their swords bound with leather; those in the southern part (the lower 4 statues) do not.
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Jaer kneels and down and examines the pressure plate. Carefully removing the top plate, she can see multiple cables - around 16 - extending to each of the eight statues, and is confronted with effectively a series of choices as to which to cut. She looks up again, trying to figure the way the cables might connect to the statues in the wall. Nervelessly, she cuts the first and notices a slight, almost imperceptible movement in one of the pairs of statues - but the trap is not triggered.
She pauses again, figuring out how to identify and repeat the procedure, with the correct cables, for the other pairs. It takes about quarter of an hour, but at the end of it the trap is completely disabled and made safe.
She looks up at the others, with a re-acquired expression of casual insouciance. "Well, that was easy!", she smiles. "Not sure how previous visitors managed through this - if the trap had been triggered then each pair of statues would have clunked down two long-swords on the heads of anyone in their way."
She looks round at Keshy, standing behind her and the only member of the party who would have been in the path of the swords, had they triggered. "You can thank me now." she smiles. "But seriously, thanks for standing by me."
With the trap thus disabled, the party moves forward through the corridor, and finds itself in a large room, which has at its centre a large pool of clear water, fed by a fountain on the wall above it. The fountain has a stone statue of a weeping maiden holding the slain body of Kassen, but his head has been broken off and is nowhere to be seen. Around the fountain the following words are engraved, in Common: “Magic is the key.”
The party entered from the west side of the south wall. There's another door on the east side of the same wall, and a further one on the north side of the east wall. This last, as those who have been maintaining a map should realise, should lead back to the entrance chamber, where the party encountered the skeletons.
A search of the room reveals nothing unusual, other than what you've already seen. The south-eastern door is locked.
Hey! There ya go. I knew you could do it! Keshy goes for a hug if Jaers willing. He waits behind with the group afterwards.
"Magic is the key?" Maybe that means the key we have is magic!? Keshy asks sounding entirely certain he's "cracked the code."
"Not bad little sister..." Harken tells Jaer and ruffles her hair as he walks by...
Irgal approaches. "Maybe there's a trick here?"
He casts detect magic and scans the door and room.
Illya for once quiet instead of her usual boasting and over confidence, a look of contemplation on her face, she walks over to the fountain where the engraving is looking around the fountain, why is the head missing?
Ka'narg looks at Keshy and nods slightly. "Could be right there. Perhaps it interacts with the water to trigger something? Either way, if the water is safe, we can maybe refill our waterskins here."
As Illya investigates the fountain, the half-orc approaches. "Could be old, maybe? Or the new inhabitants of this place have decided to redecorate in here as well," Ka'narg says, as he begins to search around the fountain to see if the head of the statue is still in the room.
Irgal pauses for a second. "Friends: I can see something magical, a magical aura at least, emanating from the bottom of the pool. It seems to be something quite small but there is definitely something there."
"Hmmm little brother...I am sure if it is of value then there may be something else down there as well...Shall one of us dive down and grab it? Is it worth it?"
"It could well be, Harken, particularly if it is the key that the engraving speaks of." Ka'narg peers into the water, reaching into it to see if he can feel the bottom of the pool.
The bottom of the pool is some way down - you can't see it or reach it, at least just by reaching into it.
Uh, guys? Can I try? I'm a pretty good swimmer, I think.
Keshy asks quietly looking in the water.
It looks a tad dark down there, do you have any way of seeing?
Peering into the murky depths Keshik responds
Uhh, no. No not really. Maybe a torch? He'll light a torch, then poke his head underwater to see if it makes a difference.
It doesn't - you can't see the bottom of the pool. You'll need some source of light that will survive underwater, or else someone who can see in the dark.
"I can see in the darkness down there, but I am not the strongest swimmer around. Illya or Irgal, do either of you have the ability to conjure a magical light that water cannot douse?"
"I suggest tying a rope around the swimmer in case something bad happens and we can pull his body back up...HA!HA!HA!"
"That's..actually not a bad idea. Given how many things we have discovered in here that aught not to be, anything could be in the water. Good thinking, Harken." Ka'narg smiles toothily at the human as he readies one of the two lengths of rope from his pack, handing it to whomever will be diving into the deeps.
Apologies but i cannot conjure magic light
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As the party continues to discuss their options, Jaer stands poised at the edge of the pool, peering hopelessly into the water with an almost callous disregard for the ongoing conversation. After a moment, the Halfling riffles through her goods, eventually producing a long, thin iron stick. A swift crack against her knee bursts the item to life in a haze of yellow light.
"Welp, here's your light," Jaer offers helpfully, turning to Irgal and Illya, sunrod spinning in her hand. "I'd volunteer myself, but...y'know. Magic."