Tung hangs back at the opening.
"This looks like an easy ambush down this hall, let's let them motion us forward." He says to Dain and Isabel.
Tilver moves down to inspect the wreckage and then look into the open door to the right.
Dain and Magill hang back with Tung until Tilver motions them forward. While they waits, they search for tracks in the hallway.
Tilver, that room is filled with small clockwork scorpions. All of them motionless...
"Someone has been here before us. Looks like they took care of the traps, but they might be waiting for us." Isabel sticks her head in and casts Detect Magic in the direction of the scorpions.
Isabel, whatever magic once animated these dozens of clever constructs has long since faded. And it appears that someone (the Pactlords? Navanna? The Church?) has destroyed the ones that survived the ages.
Tilver waves the others forward. "I think it's safe. Whoever came before us here did a number on them." He enters the room to see if there's anything further of note in here.
One could collect some interesting pieces here to sell to followers of the Iron God, or to the Shuul. But it all seems inert.
There is still the southern door.
He looked over the little marvels and shrugged. "Not worth enough to fund your crusade into this place. Hopefully we can make sure we don't end up in a similar condition."
"The real question is what killed them. It could have been the group we faced last in the circular room. But were they heading this way or coming back from here?" Silas poses the question to the group.
Tung peeks into the room briefly but has no mind for putting things back together. His skills always lay more in tearing them apart.
He advances to the southern door while the others go over the wreckage.
Isabel grabs a few to take back to the surface. The quickly disappear into her sleeves of storing.
Tilver shivers at the sight of the scorpion constructs. "I don't think I want to reassemble those. Ok, let's see where they headed." He moves back out to he corridor and looks it over with Tung.
It's very difficult to track anything outside of a natural environment. Dain can tell that several creatures fought here, and guesses it might have been the Pactlords, but really can't tell anything more from the bare stones and blood smears.
Nobody's looking into the southern room, but I'm going to tell you anyway - it's empty. However, there is a heavy "vault" door at the back of the chamber that is still closed. Around it lies a burned semicircle in which lie the bodies of five blasted goblins.
"What were goblins doing down here? But more importantly, why did they try to get into that door." Tung says as he cautiously enters the room.
"This obviously looks like some sort of fire trap. Will you help me find it?" He says to Tilver.
Tilver spots not one but two traps on this door. The first is a ward designed to incapacitate or kill anyone not seriously ethical and moral (i.e, it's gonna blast ya if you're not lawful good). It also forbids any attempts at teleportation or dimensional shenanigans. The second is more direct - it will aim holy energies at anyone nearby when the handle is touched.
Tilver shouts to the others. "It might be obvious, but that door is trapped. Stay away from the door." He creeps up to one of the goblin bodies and tries to pull it away from the trapped area. He quickly searches the body for any identifying trinkets or a bone ring.
"If this thing is sealed and warded, maybe we should leave it."
The goblins have nothing of value, but Tilver does find that they have bone Quaan rings.
"Is there any way to guarantee someone more powerful than just goblins won't bypass this to whatever is inside? If there is evil inside, it should be dealt with now and forever eliminated from Ptolus and this plane of existence." Tung says.
Dain walks up behind Tung. "I think the reason the...ummm...banes...are locked up here is because they can't be destroyed. What ever is locked up in here should probably stay...locked up."
A stream of chittering sounds from somewhere behind Dain, and he continues reluctantly, "On the other hand, if we really want to open the door - that's what this...uhhh...thing...does, right?" He pulls out the withered hand of Malkith.
"I am not sure the hand opens this, or just the major doors between areas. But it might be good to find out. Dain is right though. They were put here because the creator of this place did not feel they could be safely destroyed. I am not sure we should overrule them." Silas says.
"I'm less worried about us overruling them, and more worried about anyone who comes after us or sneaks by us. These banes are open now and it's only a matter of time before some evil finds it way down here to release what's within. Evil draws in evil.
If you say leave it sealed, I'll not contest you, but I pray to the Saints that the wards continue to hold, especially when we know some are failing or are compromised." Tung replies.
"Do you trust yourself with something so evil and dangerous though? Too many times it is the strength of good men that fails when tempted." He nodded sagely as his face broke into a smile. "At least that is how most of the good songs go."
"We should trust Danar's work and go back to those gears and levers. It might allow access to a different section." Silas says.
Tilver nods. "I say we leave it. At least for now. If the Pactlords could have gotten in, they would have, right?" He uses his dagger to take the bone rings from the goblins for good measure.
"I guess we can play with the levers."
"Perfect, I'm a born lever puller myself. Let's go see what happens."
Tung gives a curt nod and follows his companions out, casting one last glance over his shoulder to the vault door.
Dain tucks the mummified hand back into his pack and follows the others.
The team returns to the room with the strange metal plate on the floor and ceiling, where they fought the Pactlords. The plates rotate around a central pillar and on that pillar are four small levers or switches. Three are "down" and one is in the "up" position.
As a reminder, the metal plate on the floor is a pie-shaped wedge covering 1/4 of the floor. From there, a metal stairway rises to the ceiling where a circular plate covers all but 1/4 of the ceiling directly over the pie-shaped wedge below. The stairs ascend to a 5-foot hole in the ceiling.
"I wonder what might be up that hole? Maybe there are several more holes that are covered currently?" Silas says as he looks around the room.
Tilver looks up and nods. "Yeah, let's do see what's up there without playing with the levers." He begins to climb the stairs warily, trying to look up through the 1/4 plate hole.
Silas nods and follows Tilver up.
Tung leans over to Skarvek and whispers.
"Usually I get to stick my head into dangerous holes like that. Can't say I'm upset I missed my turn this time."
He then watches on intently for any signs of trouble.
Watching intently, bow at the ready. "I'm sure your mum will be proud to hear of the holes her boy has stuck his head into. Right soldier's life and hero's tale."
As soon as Tilver sticks his head into the 5' hole in the ceiling, a tremendous crashing wave of sound hits him. Everyone hears this incredibly loud klaxon, but only Tilver is injured by it. As the sound hits him, it blasts him into dust, disintegrating him instantly!
So, first the sonic damage.
If you fail you are also Stupefied 1.
Then, you are teleported to midair in the Banewarrens, over an apparently bottomless pit! You may Grab an Edge with a DC 25 Reflex save. Otherwise, you take 45 damage as you plummet to the bottom!
Silas stares wide eyed at Tilver disintegrate above him and waves his hands around where Tilver's legs were in horror.
Silas stares wide eyed at Tilver disintegrate above him and waves his hands around where Tilver's legs were in horror.
He's just GONE.
Silas backs down the stairs and looks at the others, "Does anyone know what just happened?" Silas asks as he wracks his own brain to figure out what happened.
"Does it matter what happened?! We need to find what made that sound and avenge him!" Tung says in shock as he mounts the stairs and climbs to just before the spot where Tilver disappeared. He wracks his brain as he climbs.
Tung can't find the trap that triggered, but both he and Silas believe it is unlikely the sound alone managed to disintegrate Tilver. Maybe it -was- a teleportation effect. Maybe.
He's reasonably certain he was the victim of sound burst and teleportation.
Athletics DC 22 to climb out of there.
"N-no, no, no, no ,no!" wails Dain. He looks up the stairs then begins calling out in the strange language of the spirits, begging them to tell him what has happened to his friend.
"That did not seem like enough of an effect to destroy him. Does anyone have the means of sending a message? Even just a short distance? Perhaps we can reach out and talk to him." Silas says as he looks up to the tops of the stairs.
You heal yourself somewhat. You hear no sounds but the one you're making. The pit is 45 feet deep. You recognize where you are now. You're at the bottom of the pit in the hallway west of the Room of Stairs.