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While Titus and Bartleby prepare the rope, Lazlo has dropped his backpack and obliviously begun paging feverishly through his book.
As the halfling prepares to enter the pit, all at once the gnome leaps to his feet, dumping the book onto the cave floor and scattering several pages all about. Of course! he exclaims, and casts mage hand to try and retrieve the bundle.
As the others prepare to lower Bartleby, Lazlo casts a cantrip, attempting to lift the bundle. Surprisingly the bundle doesn't budge!
From past experience, Lazlo can only deduce that the bundle is either too heavy, attended by something, or magical.
Titus easily lowers the halfling into the pit, allowing Bartleby to grab the bundle from between a couple spikes. As Titus pulls the halfling back out, there is a moment when the rope slips a little and Bartleby begins the feel the tip of a spike in his backside, but then the bloodrager yanks the halfling back out of the pit.
Safely back in the tunnel, Bartleby is able to see that the bundle is a cloak of fine make.
The halfling casts a spell of magic aura detecting and examines the cloak, but cannot discern the properties of the cloak.
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Lazlo is perplexed and stares at the pages that fell from his book when his cantrip fails. Then...
"What's the sign for pit? I need it for the map I'm drawing? I got stuck with Drenge for mapmaking and he was always holding class at weird hours."
Lazlo scurries over to Depravity, kicking up sheets of parchment here and there as he does, while his stronger companions work on retireving what he could not. Oh! I did well in mapmaking under Cyrul the Wanderer; remind me to tell you how to indicate a shortcut on your map should the opportunity arise. Now, where is that quill...?
The party pauses to make note and maps, while examining the yet to be identified cloak.
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"Alas, I fear my chances of leaping across this pit are slim, even if I were to go full Calistrian, as glorious as it would be." The Taldan states without missing a step, as if he hadn't given the idea second thought. He examines the edge of the pit more closely this time. "I am more capable at climbing, though if these edges are as smooth as you say, that, too, may prove difficult."
Tensen removes his armor and cautiously tests the edge of the pit, gaining more confidence, the Taldan is able to lower himself into the pit safely.
Tensen easily climbs down and back up the other side of the pit, while Bartleby leaps the gap, nearly stepping on the Taldan hand as he lands.
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Tensen clambers up, not questioning whether he could handle a an man-sized creature landing on his hand. He turns back to the tiefling. "Ah, what, bashful? Nonsense, beautiful. Heavens, I'll avert my gaze if that is what's bothering you." He also questions whether he could carry the woman easily, but not in the verbal way (having learned that stinging lesson before.) "Should Sheylyn grant me the strength, I'd be more than happy to whisk you across!"
Aasimar, female 5 ft. 0 in. 90 lbs. 2d8 ×5 lbs.
Titus manage to leap the pit, carrying the smaller party members as he goes. As the majority of the party ambles about the opposite side of the pit, Lazlo notices a a wooden plank around a bend. The plank looks to be about three feet wide and thirteen feet long.
After the majority of the party makes it across the pit. The plank is retrieved and set across the hole, allowing everyone else to cross.
The tunnels continue on, leading deeper beneath the Kortos Mounts until they eventually open into a large cavern. What must have once been beautifully carved reliefs and inscriptions have since weathered heavily, their features dulled and softened to the point that it is hard to distinguish what each once depicted. A wide tunnel exits the cavern on its far side, and blue-burning torches line the passageway’s walls.
Scattered throughout the cave are inscriptions from the History and Future of Humanity, the principle holy text of Aroden, and images that depict these passages. The carvings focus on parables that feature Aroden’s 12 guises, meant to illustrate his hopes for humanity: the artist, beggar, craftsman, farmer, fisherman, hunter, merchant, scholar, shepherd, soldier, tailor, and thief. Only four are in good enough condition to be recognizable.
The Merchant is depicted weighing and trading coins of different sizes, a reference to the holy text’s proverb that peace brings trade and prosperity to all people.
The Shepherd is depicted herding animals out of a crowded city to the pastures beyond, just as Aroden blessed leaders with the foresight to direct people to the tasks and places that best suit them.
The Tailor is depicted sewing together a long cloth of featuring many patterns that wraps around a city like a moat, referencing Aroden’s proclamation that when the fate of all peoples is woven together, it shall be humanity’s greatest strength.
Finally, the Thief is depicted stealing a gem from a shop while whispering a prayer, an allusion to a passage saying that larceny—though illegal—is a form of praise, for anything worth stealing is also worthy of praise for its craftsmanship.
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Bartleby's thrush starts whistling oddly. "Lookupthere! Lookupthere!" The halfling looks around, trying to see what his familiar is talking about.
"What is it Mr. Berry?" Bartleby asks, then peers at the writing on the wall. "What language is that? Hmm.. I think I have a scroll here if no one can read it."
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"Splendid. Look at this everyone: these are inscriptions from the History and Future of Humanity." Bart says this in such a way as if he expects everyone to know what he means. He sighs and continues. "The principle holy text of Aroden. Try reading a book some time. Now those carvings over there feature the parables of Aroden's 12 guises." Bart rolls his eyes at more blank stares.
"You know, Aroden's hopes for humanity: the artist, beggar, craftsman, farmer, fisherman, hunter, merchant, scholar, shepherd, soldier, tailor, and thief. You can only clearly make out a few of them. Look here at the Merchant-his parable's proverb tells that peace brings trade and prosperity to all people. The tailor over there sewing a cloth that wraps around the city is an allusion to Aroden's proclamation that when the fate of all peoples is woven together, it shall be humanity's greatest strength."
Bart walks over to the wall and points up. "And here is the thief, stealing a gem from a shop while whispering. The parable says he is whispering a prayer. The whole picture is another allusion to a passage from History and Future of Humanity that says that larceny-though illegal-is a form of praise, for anything worth stealing is also worthy of praise for its craftsmanship."
Bart thinks for a moment. "It's still an illegal form of praise though. Ah well, you can't get everything right, can you? Even if you are a god."
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"I know a lot about what I need to know for the job. Too many people focus on gossip like how often Drandle Dreng falls asleep in his own lectures or how tight Aram Zey's a$!%@&! is. Your mind is an attic; it has a finite capacity and filling it with garbage leaves less space for the information that actually matters."
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"Indeed, the past is important, but that should not discount those who focus on the present; it takes all kinds to run the world. Those who observe and note the minutia of that which goes on around them are the ones who write that which the future remembers! The past is great to recall and reminisce, but those who dwell upon it find themselves no place in the future."
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After the party makes the any notes or drawings deemed important, they head further into the cave.
The soft light of the surrounding fungus mixes with the flickering glow of the nearby torches to reveal a grand chamber. A large pool of water along the chamber’s southern edge reflects the blue and green radiance to illuminate the massive stalactites that cling to the ceiling overhead. Two other tunnels branch off from this area, leading to the east and west.
Rising up from the pool is a column of rock with steeply sloped sides and a flat top, as if someone had sawn off the top of a massive stalagmite. A miniature city carved from this same stone occupies nearly the entire surface. Tiny trinkets such as ancient coins, polished semiprecious stones, and ornately braided loops of string are scattered throughout the diorama, and pale cave frogs clamber atop it. The smooth cavern floor is covered in gravel and pebbles along the edge of the pool, and several foot-long centipedes prowl among the gravel in their search for prey.
Kneeling in the water is a lone gillman, he back to the party...
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Hearing the Holy Warrior greet the man, Tensen will try to examine him for any strangeness in movement or tone.
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