"If that book interests you, lass, take it home to study in detail. Too much of history gets lost to the ages as it is."
Uhe pats Reveka's hand absently while looking at the door.
Please be certain to allow me a peek at that wondrous book! The history!
The dwarf then opens the door.
The door opens, revealing a larger chamber.
The floor of this great, domed chamber has a coppery metallic sheen, save for three mosaics of blue dragons made of polished blue glass. Chiseled into the north wall is an inscription, and the air smells slightly of ozone. There is a door on the western end.
Reveka nodded her head and gave Brandor a smile and then looked to Uhe, "Of course, my dear friend. This tome is for any who wish to gain more knowledge." She patted the dwarf's arm and then waited as he opened the door.
Peering over Uhe into the chamber, her nose wrinkled at the smell of ozone.
Quietly speaking to Uhe and the rest of her companions, "Should we be concerned about the three blue mosaic dragons on the floor? Alas, my knowledge of dragons isn't what it should be, dear Uhe."
"Sadly, me either. But I believe the blue breath lightning, and the hairs on the back of might neck make me feel there is something of that nature about."
Uhe absently takes his spectacles off his nose, breathes heavily on them, wipes them with a handkerchief and replaces them on his nose.
Dragons. Let's take a gander at this here fancy painting on the floor.
Following Uhe's lead once more, Reveka cast her eyes downward to look at the blue glass dragon patterns within her thirty feet of vision.
The inscription on the north wall reads “Baesterogh, Alamitatus, and Vernegash—each dragon slain by Lady Tula of Belhaim and the Slayers of Nazilli, Battle of Blue Note Hill, 3668 AR.”
Edo digs out a pair of tent stakes. Nothing happens to either at first.
Then, thirty second later, the stake on the coppery floor shoots out fat sparks for a second, then stops. Nothing happens to the stake on the blue dragon. Fifteen seconds later, the first stake creates loud sparks again. It looks very dangerous!
"Well, we all see the pattern here. Chambers with dragon decor where there seems to be a trap related to the nature of the dragon type. The red dragon... well, energy was building and then just dissipated. Most likely, saying its name was the way to disarm it. Wonder if that is the case here."
You see a door to the west, but none to the east. You do think it would be possible to head to the door without stepping off the dragon design.
Liam moves over to the door taking care to stay on the blue glass, looks the door over carefully for anything odd resembling a trap...
Believing he has made a good faith effort, Liam attempts to open the door.
Busy perusing the book, the dwarven scholar looks up just in time to watch Liam open a door after seemingly looking at it for a split second.
Well, that happened.
Uhe takes the book, gives it back to Reveka and waits for Liam's timely demise....
If, by chance, the small sorcerer survives this break of protocols, Uhe will then examine the door area himself before shrugging to Liam and entering through the twice-checked door.
Liam opens the door. Inside is a round chamber. Painted statues of four human archers, bows drawn, occupy the western curve of this circular chamber. The two archers to the north aim toward the northeast, and the two archers to the south aim southeast. An inscription decorates each
statue’s base.
"Can any of you read those inscriptions from here?"
Uhe takes out a clean handkerchief to clean his spectacles, as the dwarf steps into the doorway to get a better look.
The scholar then replaces his spectacles to see if he can make out the inscriptions and stautues more.
Let's take a look, shall we?
The inscriptions on all four statues’ bases are identical:
“May your arrows strike center and true.”
Edo and Uhe both notice scrapes on the floor around the bases of the four statues.
Uhe begins to mumble to himself about puzzles leading to riddles leading to Mordor as the dwarven scholar begins to examine the flooring around the bases of the statues to determine how this puzzle works...
Liam enters the room.
"What is it, Uhe? Secret door? Can the statues be pushed aside? Did something already scratch its way in or out? Can those statues move? Center and true... They are not pointing to the center of this chamber, maybe...moving them to point to the center?"
Uhe, you think Liam is on to something. Those scrape marks could indicate that someone has previously moved the statues and their pedestals.
Uhe winks at Liam.
Edo, my good fellow. If you could place them as indicated by our sorcerer.
Uhe does examine them for further traps first.
Uhe doesn't spot any traps.
Liam sees Uhe's positive reactions to each of the detailed examinations, and rotates the statues, one at a time to point towards the center of the room (left to right order)
I guess Liam would TRY to rotate them, if check needed:
When the last statue points to the center, a section of the floor in the center of the room begins to slide down in wedges, creating a spiral
stairway that descends into the depths.
Liam's eyes go wide for a bit then he relaxes, telling himself well, you knew something was going to happen. He looks about at teh others to gauge their reaction, "Quite the complicated place, this tomb... not just the interred and magic traps."
Uhe smiles at the sorcerer. The dwarf then begins to ready to descend....
Maffei follows you down, shadowy blades at the ready.
The stone spiral stairs open onto a circular alcove looking out into a great domed chamber. Seven statues stand to the north, and seven more to the south — burly dwarven figures wielding large hammers. A single stone sarcophagus sits in the center of this room, at the bottom of a series of four tiers descending in five-foot increments.
Liam stays on Uhe & Maffei's tail down the spiral stairs. "Dwarves. Wow, a lot of them too. Maybe like the archers - some significance, maybe? One... two... Fourteen. Do you think the organization Tula headed or belonged to really had that many dwarven members?"
"Oh! Maybe they represent different dwarven towns or communities she and her group had helped in the past. But then, why only dwarves? I am sure there are others they've helped, right?"
Liam examines the first descent of five feet.
As soon as Liam steps into the room, one of the dwarven statues changes, becoming a dwarf of living fire, its axe glittering, sharp and afire.
"Halt, and stray not into this chamber lest ye suffer the wrath of my kin. Show thou the signs of the Lady's favor or depart at once, on pain of destruction. We who have here guarded age-long will permit no desecration of this noble tomb."
Reveka carefully moved after Uhe, Liam and Maffei, watching where she stepped on the floor with the sparking blue mosaics and then through the open door and into the chamber with the spiral staircase. Once her lead companions descended, she followed suit as quietly as she could; hearing snippets of the conversation just below her.
Liam sees the fiery dwarf approach, listens and whispers back to his partners, "I think the only thing we have to present that could indicate we are here by Tula's blessing is that brass key... but that might be a stretch?"
Uhe scratches his dwarven beard, while wondering if they found this the signs of the Lady's favor , as he absently walks down to Liam.
The dwarf glowers at Liam's being joined by Uhe. "Leave now and trouble us no more. This be thy last warning."
Struggling to get back up to the higher level step in observance of the fiery Azer's warning, Liam addresses Uhe with a sense of revelation, "See if my logic makes sense, Uhe; these are guardians that are EXPECTING someone to have Tula's blessing, be it us or whomever reaches them. To show proof of Tula's blessing before being able to continue. But we have not encountered Tula or anything close to what could be considered a blessing from her."
"I think we've missed something somewhere."
"Don't know where, but we must have bypassed a tunnel or passage or secret something that would result in... oh, my! Satisfying this requirement, or the guardian would not have asked first."
Liam looks excitedly at everyone in turn, "Do you know what that means? Tula's spirit or something still is active and has the ability to well, at the very least to give or withhold a blessing. This is exciting!
We are going to meet with Tula, famous dragonslayer and the namesake of Belhaim!"
He gets suddenly apologetic, "I may have been... too respectful(?) of the tomb. Something to trigger Tula's appearance and blessing might be in any one of the rooms we've already checked, or a secret offshoot of one of those rooms... no idea what might trigger this audience with her."
Quietly, from her place on the bottom of the staircase, Reveka inwardly contemplated the meaning of Tula's blessing and what forms it could take, hoping to assist her companions in determining their next course of action in light of the dwarven guardians.
Uhe looks at the flaming Azer. He nods. The dwarf backs out of the chamber to rejoin the group.
Well, we have been officially c@#&ed blocked by the flaming Azer.
"I have no wish to harm these guardians, so perhaps we missed something... or perhaps there was nothing to miss."
Then to the guardians, he simply asks, "What can we show you to prove Tula's blessing?"
"When you have it, you will know."
Liam heads to the previous room, backtracking and searches for clues...
He searches the walls of the room with the statues pointing to the collapsed stairs...
He then moves into the next room, searching the walls for clues while attempting to stay on the blue dragons...
Liam notices some odd stone work on the eastern wall of the Blue Dragon room. A secret door!
Uhe walks up to Liam. The dwarf slaps him on the back!
Seems my dwarven stone cunning is a bit dull. Good work!
The dwarf then winks at no one in particular, before further examination of said secret door.
Liam gives Uhe all the room he needs, happily handing over duty to those more capable.