You find no traps and a narrow passage leading to a steep staircase. At the top of the staircase is another narrow hallway that ends abruptly after twenty feet. The only feature is a metal grate in the floor. Peering through the grate, you can see the large cavern below you. Perfect for, say, casting summoning spells through.
It appears the mad dwarf sat up here watching for intruders. You can see a sheet of blank parchment that might once have held summoning spells on it.
"Ah. Of course." Nekht said, examining and nodding at the expended scroll.
He turned and examined the passageway wall.
"I wonder if there are other secret passageways..."
”Thank you for help,” Sauklas tells Dain as the man bandages his wounds.
Sauklas peers through the grate, ”What a boring task, waiting for people to pass.” He settles into silence, waiting for Nekht’s investigation to conclude.
Nekht-Mutf looks around, but finds only sturdy stone. The only two exits he knows of are the one you came in by and the one into the tower.
"Into the tower, then, I g-guess."
Before heading back down the secret passageway, Dain picks up the blank sheet of parchment. He asks the spirits to enhance his sight, then examines the parchment to see if any lingering magic spirits can tell him what type of spells were cast from the scroll.
The ghostly remains of runes he sees identifies the spell as Summon Animal.
”It appears to be the only way forward,” Sauklas says. He approaches the door carefully, looking for signs of traps.
Silas moves forward as well looking for more signs of the cultists and danger.
Tilver helps them check for traps too.
The ancient tower is partially settled into the soil and sits at a slight angle, but appears sturdy enough. The door is new and solid, though when you check it you find it is untrapped and slightly ajar. Peering through the gap, you see a round room with a table. Little else can be determined without opening the door.
Once his companions have stacked themselves properly near the door, Master Nekht muttered a word and made an arcane gesture.
A ghostly hand floated out from him to the door handle, where it grasped the handle, turned it and pulled (or maybe pushed) the door open.
The door (much heavier than a mage hand is intended for) creaks slowly open. In addition to the table, the room holds a wooden bed (with a straw-filled mattress), a full-length free-standing mirror, and a chest. A strange statue rests on the table. This green ceramic figure represents a hideous, tentacled, bloated, humanoid thing holding a large, cracked bell.
A staircase rises to the tower's second level and another door stands in the eastern wall of the tower.
Detecting for magic, Nekht moves into the tower room.
Nothing in the room appears to be magical.
Tilver sees an half-eaten meal on the table. It looks as though the person who was eating it simply abandoned it. Recently, from the look of it.
Tilver takes a dagger and picks through the food a bit. "Looks like whoever was here left in a hurry. And recently too." He tries to see if there's anything odd in the food. "Seems like they were getting supplies fairly well."
He moves over to the bed and chest, checking it for traps before seeing if it is locked. "Any of you skilled in opening locks? Tung was our ace there, but he's back in the Blade Chapel now."
A strange statue rests on the table. This green ceramic figure represents a hideous, tentacled, bloated, humanoid thing holding a large, cracked bell.
Master Nekht was attracted to the odd statue. Does he recognize it?
Schooled in Secrets
You notice the signs and symbols that members of mystery cults and other secret societies use to declare their affiliation to fellow members. You can use Occultism in place of Diplomacy to Gather Information about such groups. If you belong to a secret cult, lodge, sect, or similar organization, you automatically recognize members of your group unless they are specifically attempting to conceal their presence from you.
"I am guessing the dwarf was the one that was eating. This is where he came from." Silas says.
The food is normal enough. Half a leg of chicken and some sort of vegetable medley.
The chest is unlocked and contains woman's clothing.
Nekht-Muft observes that the statue is likely to represent one of the Galchutt. On its underside is written “And on the Night of Dissolution, we shall awaken and break free.”
That's fine with me, Sauklas. Thievery could be useful in both The Banewarrens and Night of Dissolution.
Master Nekht closely examined the statuette.
"Hmp. One of the Galchutt I believe." He commented aloud.
He reached out with a bandaged hand and carefully touched it, then turned it to and fro.
Then he lifted it and examined it underneath.
"Ah. And on the Night of Dissolution, we shall awaken and break free. Of course." He said, putting the statuette down again and gingerly wiping his fingers.
”I have some training and natural inclination that helps in these situations.” Sauklas unloads his crossbow and attaches it to his bandolier. His axe goes into its loop on his belt. He takes a collection of lockpicks from his sleeve. When he realizes the chest is unlocked and contains women’s clothing, he chuckles. He tucks his picks up his sleeve.
His curiosity piqued by the tower's structure, Master Nekht slowly trod up the circular stairs to the next floor.
Sauklas sees Master Nekht ascend the staircase. He may be slow, but he’s brave, the man thinks. ”I guess we’re going this way,” he says to the others.
He takes his broadaxe from it’s loop and hurries after his companion. He takes the steps two at a time until he catches him. ”Any particular reason you chose this way?” he whispers.
Tilver moves up to take point in front of Master Nekht. "Appreciate your enthusiasm, but I can take the lead, just in case." He peers up the staircase trying to sense what might be up the stairs.
You ascend the stairs into the upper floor of the tower The upper portion of the room is obscured by webs. Bones and grisly detritus cover the floor; the top layer is fairly fresh, although underneath lies a thick layer of dust-and-grime covered debris.
Master Nekht concentrated and formed the Eye of Horus with his hands.
He slowly paced the perimeter of the upper floor, examining the area methodically.
Sauklas glances upwards, scanning the webs for life. After a few moments he says, ”I’ll look for secret compartments.” He slides his hands along the wall in a wide arc, tapping and pushing at the stones. On occasion he pauses and glances up again, searching the webs.
Dain follows the others up the stairs, bringing up the rear. The webs catch his eye and he pauses at the top of the stairs. While the others search the room, he keeps his gaze fixed firmly upwards.
Meanwhile, Magill takes the opportunity to prowl through the detritus looking for treasures (which, for her, includes anything vaguely edible).
"Uh, web and bones don't sound like a good thing." Tilver jerks his head upward, bringing his sword up. "Spiders? Maybe we go back downstairs?"
"Hmp. Nothing of interest here after all." Declared Master Nekht, giving up and starting for the stairway down.
Silas follows along and keeps an eye on for anyone that might come from behind the group.
Well that is when the other shoe drops. Or more specifically, the cloud.
A voice, male and somehow alien sings out. "Come into my parlor, said the spider to fly..."
A noxious, reeking cloud erupts in your midst, filling the whole tower from side to side. Its choking, grasping mists pour into your nostrils, your mouth, burns your eyes and lungs.
Something else utters a tittering shriek of cruel amusement. Something high up in the tower.
Gets just a whiff, and is Sickened 1.
Sauklas begins coughing uncontrollably while his eyes and lung burn. He wants to run away but he thinks whoever is causing this could just as easily do it again. Though a quick breath of fresh air would be nice. ”Retreat?” he asks moving closer to the exit then loads his crossbow.
Master Nekht gagged and felt sick to his stomach. He guesstimates that this is a Stinking Cloud.
"Baseborn slug! You face a noble of ancient Kem, not some milksop of an apprentice! You stand revealed!" Swore Nekht aloud.
He waived his arms;
He slapped his hands together, extended them straight up and barked the command arcana.
The cloud envelops Dain and he begins to cough uncontrollably. Eyes watering, he backs down the staircase until he escapes the miasma.
Tilver begins coughing violently, then manages to get a bit of a handle on his breathing. He whirls around with his sword, trying to see if he can find the source of the voice.
Nekt-Mutf drives a powerful wind straight up, blowing a temporary hole through the mists and tearing at the ragged webs above him. He has a brief glimpse of something large and menacing twenty or thirty feet up, and hears a high-pitched shriek as something else is blown against the ceiling by his wind.
Meanwhile, Sauklas and Dain retreat to the stairs.
STATUS
Unknown 1 -
Unknown 2 - 6 damage
Tilver - 88/96 hp, Sickened 1, Slowed 1
Nekh-Mutf - 68/68 hp, Sickened 1
Dain - Sickened 1, Slowed 1
Silas - 124/124 hp
Sauklas - 92/96 hp, Sickened 1, Slowed 1
Tilver nearly vomits, but manages to look up to see if he can spot anything.
Silas rages as the strange odorous cloud halls on him. He then turns and breathes straight up with his frosty breath.
Tilver spots a horse-sized bloated spider-like creature up in the webs, mostly obscured by shadow and webs. He points this out to the team and Silas blasts the creature with dragon breath.
The creature responds with a blast of lightning! It appears to be some kind of monstrous sorcerer. "Nah, nah. I eat you, not the other way around, sweetlings. Now die!"
STATUS
Unknown 1 - 21 damage
Unknown 2 - 1 damage
Tilver - 88/96 hp, Sickened 1, Slowed 1
Nekh-Mutf - 68/68 hp, Sickened 1
Dain - Sickened 1, Slowed 1
Silas - 124/124 hp
Sauklas - 92/96 hp, Sickened 1, Slowed 1
Thanks to Tilver, Sauklas can make out the spider-like creature up in the webs through the smoke and his blurry, watery vision. He raises the crossbow aiming it at the creature. He clears his throat, willing the nausea away then fires. He doesn’t want to be too much of a stationary target so he takes a few steps away, trying to get space between him and his companions. He slips his axe from its loop, attempting to lose himself in the familiarity of his preferred combat style.
Silas steps back as electricity courses through him and his rage helps him ignore the pain as he focuses and sends a blast of cold up at the creature who attacked him.
Embarrassed at not finishing off the stinking cloud, he focussed his effort on that now.
He took a step next to the wall, slapped his hands together, extended them and barked the command arcana.
Two actions to cast Gust of Wind (DC26) in an 60 foot line to specifically destroy the Stinking Cloud.
Still coughing, Tilver pulls a vial out of his belt pouch. He holds it out to Sauklas. "If you're gong to shoot it, drink one of these!"