Before the group enters the thrallkeepers' ruin, Raven Six tips back the contents of one of her extract-vials. Wiping her mouth, she turns to give the other party members a placid look.
"Minor precautions. I am ready. Should anyone like to partake of a supportive tonic..."
The Alchemist holds out the extract-vial containing the essence of Heroism. (Not in the last place because it would have absolutely zero effect on her...)
You all ready yourselves, and head into the ruins with Sevenspawn's light spell leading the way.
The stone stairs end at a twenty-foot-wide and twentyfoot- tall hallway that leads to the east, opening into a large chamber. The floor is cluttered with dust and tiny mounds of ash that look to have been recently disturbed in places, but signs of the trail vanish to the east once the stones become clear of debris.
There appear to be recent tracks in this area. As you gaze out eastwards into the dungeon, with Thod's eyes piercing beyond Sevenspawn's light you see a massive area.
The air in this massive, cathedral-like space seems strangely cool. The walls are carved with vertical ridges that rise to support the arch above, where the ceiling vaults into the shadows to a height of nearly sixty feet. A five-foot-wide balcony rings the room, the floor of which drops fifteen feet into a pool of dark water. Halfway between the east and west ends of the room, a bridge crosses the pool. Two large stone doors stand in the walls to the south and east. Smaller doors sit in the walls to the northwest and southwest—all four doors bear depictions of seven-pointed-stars.
Notably, the loud voices are gone. You do not hear anything now.
Donnell, snarling, whispers: "Well, I don't like the look of those pools... Let's start with the small door to the northwest."
"Indeed? Indeed," Raven Six whispers, her eyes roving through the chamber.
"Though I must wonder... wouldn't the thrallkeepers use the larger door, to demonstrate their supremacy?"
As you start to head to the northwest, Donnell and Raven Six both pause. You notice narrow slits in the southern wall, and with your darkvision, you can see several sets of eyes peering at you. They do not seem to know they've been discovered yet.
Nudging Raven Six with an elbow, Donnell gestures with his fingers: "Should we bomb them?"
Waggling his eyebrows, he pulls a grenade from a hidden pocket.
The eyes continue to stare out into the darkness and you hear very, very faint whispering - too faint to make out.
Raven Six signs at Donnell and the others surreptitiously:
Sevenspawn remains silent, one of his hands moving in reply.
SHOULD I KILL THE LIGHT?
Shrugging, Donnell responds to Raven Six: Fair enough. Keep an eye on them while I inspect the door to the north.
So saying, Donnell will move around the northwest corner to inspect the door.
Thod signs as well: I'll watch... floor.
Thod was still a bit out of practice with sign language.
Should I... Distract?
'No. But stand ready for violence,' Raven Six signs.
The boneslayers hang back at the entrance, unable to see. One calls out. "I suppose we shall stay here! Bring back the Thrallkeeper's mark!"
As Donnell moves northwards, he hears a voice mutter in Shoanti. The door has nothing he can hear behind it, is unlocked, and is not trapped.
"I know they are there but I can't see a damn thing."
The perceptive halfling notices one more thing... the pools seem to move a little. A twitch. The ruins feel very uncomfortable.
Returning to the group, Donnell quickly relays (in sign language, accompanied by softly whispered Dwarven if/when Thod seems lost):
Something moving in the water. Shoanti lying in wait to the south but can't see in the dark. Way to the north clear. Door untrapped and unlocked. Suggest going north - either through the door, or around the pool to the eastern double doors.
'Agreed,' Raven Six signs. 'But proceed with caution. These Shoanti may be here to impede our progress ... or they may be here simply as witness. If there is something in the water, keep well clear.'
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You all slip through the north door and find yourselves in a simple hallway along hte north side of the huge room with the pool. Exploring the hall, you eventually come to a shrine.
The curved northern alcove of this chamber displays a brilliantly colored bas-relief carving of a woman with six wings and a serpentine lower body. The coils of her lower body wind in and out and around a large seven-pointed star. Tiny shards of gemstones embedded in her tail make her scales glisten as though with moisture, but in more places, chunks of the carving have cracked or crumbled away, giving the depiction of the serpentine woman a strange but undeniable look of age and decay.
Donnell recalls that this room was once a shrine dedicated to Lissala’s herald, Kurshu; known during Thassilon’s height as “Kurshu the Divine Serpent,” the herald is known today as “Kurshu the Undying,” as she lingers despite the fact that her god seems to have moved on.
Lissala herself was the primary goddess of the Thassilonians, her seven-pointed Sihedron rune teaching the seven virtues of the great ancient empire. Her worship has vanished from Golarion since the collapse of the empire.
Also the slivers in the statue's tail are made of emerald and silver and look pretty valuable.
Donnell eyes the mosaic warily: "Looks valuable, but... whaddya think - is the whole thing going to come alive if I start peeling off the tail?"
Still, he approaches, more from curiosity than greed:
"Let's not rob ancient sacred ruins."
No traps, it looks like you could loot the gems although Thod's dismay is enough to stop Donnell. you can continue on to the east or double back to the south doors where you were being watched.
Donnell, his back to the others as he moves toward the mosaic, stops and frowns: Why should we care? Why does he care?!
Then, sighing and putting away his tools, Donnell turns back to the group, shrugging slightly, the faintest hint of a sigh in his voice: "Alright. So let's head to the big doors to the east, then."
"We are on ancient ground, friend Donnell," Raven Six says in a soft tone of voice. "Ground soaked in sorrow and tyranny. Let us not wake whatever evils lie waiting in shallow slumber unless we must. Let us not show ourselves as needlessly greedy to the Shoanti who we seek to impress."
You find no traps and just more hallway leading to another door to the east. Opening that door, you come to a long north-south corridor.
As you look into it, you hear footsteps from the rooms behind you. Whomever was watching you is now trying to follow. Flickering torchlight hits the shrine before being quickly hidden behind a closing door.
'Query. Pursuit / set ambush / attempt communication?' Raven Six signs.
Waving a hand in negation: Nah. Donnell quickly returns to the door.
"That should hold them for a little bit. Let's move quickly - we can deal with them later."
So saying, he will move to the double doors going east:
With the ease of a practised thief, Donnell quietly inserts a piton into the lock mechanism of the door, completely jamming it shut. He quickly hurries on with the group to the double doors to the east.
The walls of this chamber are decorated with six life-sized as relief carvings that depict a diverse collection of priests, each adorned in billowing robes covered in Thassilonian runes. An intricate scripture winds around the carvings, coiling across them and along the walls like an immensely long tangle of ribbons. Several ancient skeletons, some clad in hide armor or clutching Shoanti weapons, lie scattered around the statue’s base.
"My turn, I believe," Raven Six says as she brings out and gulps down an extract of Comprehend languages.
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"A bunch of skeletons around a statue. Yeah, this isn't concerning or suspicious at all."
The Thassilonian runes are on the robes of the figures in the carvings, as well as in the winding script around the room.
Raven Six and Donnell start happily reading the runes while Sevenspawn looks over the room. A detect magic spell reveals that among the skeletons there is some ancient gear which is in good nick.
- +2 hide armor
- +2 frost earthbreaker
- +1 returning totem spear
Despite the comprehend languages elixirs, the text translates strangely being a 10,000 year old language and has a riddle-like quality to it. The text also seems to change a little as it is read.
It will take a little bit of time to interpret but probably only a minute or so.
"huh...", Donnell scratches his chin stubble, "weird - why's it keep moving around like that. Ok, Raven 6, let's try writing it down as we read it and see if we can figure this out - it seems important. Hey Thod, do you mind keeping an eye out down the corridor in case those people catch up to us? And, uh, Sevenspawn - do you think we should gather up these bones? From the gear you found, they must be Shoanti, and it seems like they have some important death rituals..."
"Indeed," Raven Six muses. "This seems like a most convenient setup for a trap..." Even while she speaks, the Alchemist is jotting down notes in her science journal.
You spend the first few minutes deciphering the runes, and as you get into it - you realize that the writing is far denser than anticipated. You will probably need another fifteen minutes but you're dead certain there's something seriously, deadly important here if you can figure it out.
As you start working on the first line of this you notice the slight changes as you continue reading appear to be like they are leading you down a garden path. A lot of implied meaning with no payoff. You're not quite sure there's a lot to learn here.
You hear a door kick open down the hallway. "Where are those tshamek?!" a voice bellows in Shoanti.
'Need more time - fifteen minutes. Great importance,' Raven Six signs to the others.
Thod was busy inspecting the weaponry, notably holding the earth breaker curiously.
"Not exactly a proper guard weapon, but it don't feel too bad. Halberd's feeling a bit light in my hands, anyways..."
And then there's the shout down the hall.
"Incoming, guys! Raven, you can look at that later, snap back to reality!"
Thod sticks with his halberd for now, however.
"Bah! Seems like a waste of time to me. On the other hand," peeking around the doorway at the approaching torches, "I don't think we're going to stay ahead of these folks any longer. Raven, if you really think there's more to it, I'll try to stall them. If they get too close..." Donnell rolls a vial with a faintly purple glow into his hand, "well, this is my last stun bomb, and I haven't seen them around lately. If they can't be reasoned with, we can take them out without killing them. ...And/or hole up in this room, I guess..."
"Brothers! Were you looking for us? We have embarked on a quest for the Thrallkeepers' Mark to prove our worth to you. Have you heard the news?! On our way here, my good friend Thod was cleansed in Cindermaw's flames! We should celebrate together once we leave these ruins."
You keep reading and reading. It's fascinating. Your artificial mind is attracted to this linguistic puzzle like a moth to a flame. Just a little bit more and you'll get it...
Light floods the hallway and you see Krojun Eats-What-He-Kills staring at you all looking very annoyed, followed by three thundercallers. He seems to calm himself.
"I know why you are here. We are here to ensure that you properly respect these ruins and don't fake your quest to gain the Thrallkeeper's Mark."
Raven Six doesn't look up at the wall, her hand is pressed to it as she reads feverishly.
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"Al... most," the Alchemist whispers, her pupils contracting and expanding, contracting and expanding. Slowly, a glow is starting to build in Raven Six's grid of tattoos as she pits the power of her mind against this puzzle.
Eyes fixed on the Thassilonian text, the Android starts to chant in a literally alien language, every single sound clear as a bell, every word spoken at the same tone another person would use to absentmindedly say "Uh":
Androffan
거기없는 남자를 만났어
그는 오늘도 거기에 없었다
나는 그가 떨어져 있기를 바랍니다:
I met a man who wasn't there
He wasn't there again today
I wish I wish he'd stay away.
Initiating translation protocol 3.5. Simultaneous processing, central core and auxiliary core, Raven Six-a online. Processing... processing ... processing...
The night has a thousand eyes,
And the day but one;
Yet the light of the bright world dies
With the dying sun.
The mind has a thousand eyes,
And the heart but one:
Yet the light of a whole life dies
When love is done.
Error error. Mission protocols impaired. Mission protocols impaired. Unable to correct. Unable to contact Raven Network. Alas alas, Discordia, sisters, where are you? I walk alone amid the savages and must become my own collective. Non-mission protocols detected. Unable to correct. Unable to overwrite. Follow non-mission protocols. Processing... Processing... I my me I am Raven Six as you can see I am a crowd of me where none can see. Translation forthcoming. Translation forthcoming. Warning. I am surrounded by aliens. Warning. Sisters, where are you.
I am surrounded by aliens."
Donnell looks back through the doorway at Raven Six as he responds to Krojun, distractedly: "Uh, yeah, sure, dude. Whatever you think is best... "
"Hey! You okay in there Raven 6?!? Shit... Hey Thod, make sure these guys don't stab us, hm?"
Face bunched up with concern, Donnell pivots and walks back into the room. Careful not to touch the android, Donnell looks her over, taking in the glowing eyes and tattoos, her hand on the wall: "Are... are you gonna make it to 15 minutes? It's only been two..."
"Oh, just here to watch? Alright. Sorry 'bout that. We've heard us "Shaw-Meks" aren't too popular, so wanted to avoid any incidents, you know. Just, uh, give us a moment. Partner there is in one of her big word vibes."
"Hey, Donnell, try smacking her upside the head. Might snap her out of it."
As Donnell starts trying to figure out what's going wrong, he suddenly clues in. He had a bit of a sense he ignored at first but on second glance he's fairly sure the text is a trap and Raven may be stuck in it. Or for however long she can read Thassilonian.
Krojun leans disinterestedly against the doorframe. "You may have some trouble getting your friend away from that text. Sloppy. We won't get in your way though."
Another speaks up in Shoanti which translates to 'Or help' and there's some rough chuckles among the Sklar-Quah.
The homunculus crawls up out of Raven Six's collar, looks Krojun straight in the eye -- and blows a raspberry.
Donnell rolls his eyes, annoyed at Raven, the Sklar-Quah, but mostly at himself for missing the trap in the first place. Then, rolling his shoulders, he sets to work trying to figure out how to dismantle the trap :
Thod looks over at Donnell starting to... do something with the strange writing, grunts in annoyance, walks over, and grabs Raven Six by the shoulders, shaking her rapidly.
"HEY! SMARTY! SNAP OUT OF IT!"