<P...p...p...><kshhhh>"No. This eventuality was not taken into account."
"We need to take you to some friends, perhaps at the Inverted Pyramid, to get you repaired. It would take you away from the vault for a time, but it would get you back to your duties sooner." Silas says.
"We shouldn't leave this vault so soon though. We can swing by and pick him up on our way out."
Tung anxiously glances back out the doorway to the south and west to check for trouble. Stepping back into the store room, he says.
"What can you tell us of these statues out here?"
Tung will move to check the western door from the gassed room.
<tzzz><pop> "They are the Warrenbuilders. My master used them to construct this place. They will not harm you. Indeed, they will respond only to my master's touch."
"What is the Inverted Pyramid? And if it is not too much to ask, who are you and where are you from? How did you get here? In my time, none dared venture within a hundred miles of Jabel Shammar."
Tung, that door is unlocked.
"That is the materials storeroom," says Geristonomos. "It should be mostly cut stone and spare steel."
"My name is Tung Griftskin, knight errant for the Knight of the Pale. My companions speak for themselves."
Tung gives a nod of his head to the automaton before stepping into the hallway and down toward the western door.
Tilver bows his head to Geristonomos. "My apologies. I'm Tilver Arnholm and we are acting on behalf of the Church of Lothian." He pauses at that to consider whether it is still true. "A lot has changed in the city since you were created, but a friend of ours was down here and killed by those who opened the Banewarrens. Tell me, does the word Quaan mean anything to you?"
While their friends speak to the metal-man, Dain and Magill hunt around for any sign of a trail that the woman and her "furry companions" may have left (Dain with his eyes, and Magill with her nose).
When he realizes that introductions are being made, he says, "I am Dain, and this is Magill.' The raccoon stands on her rear legs and waves a paw. "Like the others, we come from Ptolus, the city...ummm...at the base of the Spire."
Geristonomos shakes his head at Tilver. <g...g...g><pkkt!> "I...I...have never heard of Quaan. Is that a person?"
Regarding Dain, he asks "There....there is a city at the Spire? My, that would have alarmed my Master. Later, it would have enraged him. Are they not sensible of the danger?"
Dain, you can can't see any signs of those who have passed this way.
Tung, are you opening that door?
Tung opens the door, dagger in hand. He vaguely hears the others' introductions as his focus lies on what's beyond the door.
This chamber is filled with stacks of cut stone, steel reinforcements and girders, and a variety of stone and metalworking tools.
As Tung looks around, a hideous glowing skeletal creature suddenly materializes next to him out of thin air! It shrieks with maddened anguish and touches him twice, pulling the very life force out of Tung! Then it disappears into the stone walls.
Initiative Rolls
STATUS
Scary Monster (+10 temp hp)
Tung - 44/78 hp
Silas - 109/109 hp
Tilver - 76/85 hp
Isabel - 64/64 hp
Dain - 85/85 hp
STATUS
Scary Monster (+5 temp hp)
Tung - 64/78 hp; Frightened 2; Stupefied 2 (1 hr.)
Silas - 109/109 hp
Tilver - 76/85 hp
Isabel - 64/64 hp
Dain - 85/85 hp
"Geristonomos, what was that?!" Tilver tries to replay the ghost's appearance in his mind, analyzing what he saw for only a moment. He prepares to attack the creature if it appears near him.
Silas burns with anger at another incorporeal creature and readies to strike it if it comes close.
Dain speaks to the spirits, who answer by coalescing into a mace and shield. These hover before him, shimmering.
<Rrrrr><thunk> "What? What was it? I saw nothing from here. You know, without a leg."
When an evil mortal creature dies, it sometimes returns to haunt the area of its death as a specter, a hateful remnant, always seeking to slay others—particularly humanoids—in an attempt to distribute its pain among as many souls as it can. A specter maintains a strange semblance of its prior identity, but with a corrupted sense of purpose. It cannot be reasoned with.
A specter denied the opportunity to harm living humanoids grows increasingly agonized and irrational, akin to the mindset of a starving person forever denied a release from agony through death.
You know that it resistant to all physical, mental and magical damage except force, ghost touch, or positive damage.
Tung recoils from the vile touch and fights to clear his mind of the necrotic energy taking over.
"Oh gods!"
He swings out in a panic as his dagger elongates. Clutching his head he backs away from the door.
Tilver shouts to the others. "It's a spectre! A hateful remnant of a mortal creature, looking to distribute its pain among as many souls as it can. It cannot be reasoned with. It's resistant to all physical, mental and magical damage except force, ghost touch, or positive damage."
The creature does not immediately return, but you all feel as though you're being watched!
"The creature appeared when Tung looked like he might go in that room. We may need to draw it out by entering." Silas says.
"Huh, Silas? Go in the room. Yes. Go into the room."
Tung shakes his head trying to clear his mind before walking purposely back toward the room.
Silas readies to send a bolt of energy at the creature should it return to attack Tung.
Oh, not much. Tung becoming a specter under the control of the original specter. You know... not much.
____________________________________________________________
Tung enters the room and is immediately attacked again!
Silas fires off his bolt of energy.
Silas calls upon his draconic heritage and a burst of cold shoots out at the specter.
Silas's bolt freezes a block of dressed stone in the storeroom and the awful specter lurches out of the floor, grasping at Tung's ankle. The addled Knight of the Pale dodges out of the way. The specter sinks back into the stone floor.
Isabel yells "Gods what is that thing?" She gives Geristonomos a quick grin. "I'm Isabel Sadaus. I'm just along for the ride. They needed help, and I have some skills that can be helpful."
She strides closer to Tung she readies to cast a Magic Missile at the creature when it comes in sight again.
The specter does not reappear. At least not yet. What do you all do?
Tilver walks carefully into the room. "Maybe there's something here that can tell us more." He tries to keep an eye out for the spectre, while inspecting the contents of the room.
Mind still foggy, Tung attempts to determine if there are more traps than just the spectre.
"Dain, please tell your spirits to back off." He calls back out into the hallway.
Isabel continues to ready her spell if it reappears. "I don't know what to do. I can't dismiss it or really attack it with much. Maybe we should leave the room alone."
"Let's just leave the room. I think we'll be safe if we're not around it." He returns to Geristonomos. "I think we need to get you out of here and report to the Church and the Inverted Pyramid. If Navanna's plan is really to penetrate into the Baneheart, then we need support from both of those organizations. And perhaps just time to determine what to do other than blindly wander around with unspeakable evils lurking behind every door."
"Maybe we can force the Church and the IP to put more of their cards on the table. I doubt they're telling us everything they know."
Tung leaves the maddening specter room to return to the party.
"Don't you think it dangerous to leave this place now that it's open? We shouldn't leave it unguarded. If we seek help, we should post guard at the entrance and send one of us to recruit assistance."
"We should not bring anyone else into here. Bringing Geristonomos to them might work. But I am not sure if they would have the stuff to fix him. Still, that would be better then bringing more eyes down here. I can watch the front door while others take him if that is what we want. Or we can take him to be fixed after we finish dealing with whoever is down here. I think that would be my vote." Silas says.
Tung begins to return to the entrance to deposit Geristonomos with someone outside of the vault.
"Geristonomos, we're going after Navanna. Now what about those statues to the south? Are they guards of any sort?"
After getting any information from Geristonomos, Tilver moves out towards the statues, slowly checking the room for traps.
[ooc]Perception +15, with That's Odd.[/dice]
"They are the Warrenbuilders. They will not harm you. They only obey the Master."
As soon as you enter the room with the Warrenbuilders, they activate and stand at attention. They take no other actions.
Tilver sees nothing amiss in this room.
Seeing no indication from Tilver of anything amiss, Tung proceeds south to check and open the door, if safe.
Dain joins Tung at the door and helps him check it for traps. Magill, meanwhile, sniffs around at the statues feet.
Tilver watches the guardian statues while Dain and Tung work on examining the door.
The door seems unwarded. The statues don't move at all, but seem to wait for something.
Tung opens the door slowly, dagger in hand.
As Tung moves to open the door, Dain whispers to the stone spirits in the walls - drawing them near. If it looks like something on the other side of the door is going to attack Tung, he calls for the spirits to ward off the attack.
The floor of this odd-shaped room lies about 3 feet below the level of the door. Blue tiles, each about 6 inches across, cover the floor and the walls up to a level just below the bottom of the door. Here and there, at the top of the level of the tiles, a rectangular grate covers a hole about 10 inches wide and 6 inches high.
Near the middle of the room, two tall columns made of glass rise from floor to ceiling.They are filled with water,and each also contains what appears to be a giant, monstrous octopus. The pillars stand about 30 feet apart and have a diameter of 8 feet each. Between them, hanging down from the ceiling to a point about 6 feet from the floor, you see a steel cylinder. The bottom of the cylinder has a heavy, hinged metal cap with a circular wheel-valve in the middle of it.
Dain looks through the doorway and into the blue room.