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Senach holds his holy symbol to the statue and a small slot splits open out of the stone foot, revealing yet another piece of parchment. (Link)
With the combination symbols gained, you determine exactly what they mean. You are able to connect the symbols to three locations in Cassomir by looking at a map of the city: namely, the first symbol is a drawing of Pharasma’s Pulpit and the roads that lead in and out of that square, the second symbol is a drawing of the six towers of the Admiralty Citadel, and the third symbol is a drawing of the three towers of Harbor Watch with a line connecting them to the magical lighthouse called Treacherous Jack.
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Senach pours with the others over the map of the city, trying to piece the puzzle together. Eventually they piece the sections together, and Senach points to the house in the exact middle of the three areas.
"It seems that we may find our quarry here, at the middle of the three clues. Lets see what there remains there!"
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Once you travel to the triangulated location of your choosing, you find another letter “I” carved into the side of a seemingly solid brick foundation wall surrounding an opulent manor house. Nearby, you see a loose brick near the “I” that, when pushed, opens a 2-foot-by-4-foot section of wall, revealing a set of stone stairs that descend beneath the streets of Old Cassomir.
As you descend, the temperature falls rapidly until it stabilizes at 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The stairs are in complete darkness, so you will need a light source (or appropriate vision) to descend without falling. After a number of quick turns and further descent, you find yourselves in a small chamber 200 feet beneath the city streets.
An ancient fountain decorates this open tunnel intersection. Many chipped sculptures provide spouts which drizzles water splash into the basin below. The fountain’s cold concrete edges have carved symbols that adorn its sides in three distinct 15 bands. A set of stairs leading down from above empties into the room from the south, while two 5-foot-wide tunnels exit the room to the east and west.
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Disliking the darkness and wishing he could see in the dark, Kazu keeps to the edge of the party's light, trying to keep in the shadows as much as possible.
Once he reaches the fountain, he scouts slightly ahead of each of the tunnels, straining his sharp tengu ears to hear what might lie beyond each of them.
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The tunnels to the east and west just seem to continue on and on, though Kazu notices something odd about the fountain. The trio of bands around the fountain have hundreds of symbols etched upon them, each with a tumbler built in around the base of the fountain.
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Vulpina, however, had completely forgotten that wayfinders can create light. She decides to keep hers pocketed for now, though, preferring to pretend she didn't have one than to admit her mistake.
As she wants to keep her weapons drawn, she carries it between her teeth instead.
"Not me," says Vulpina, although with the wayfinder in her mouth it sounds more like "ott bee." She puts away her wakizashi and transfers the wayfinder to that hand. "What if we were line up the three symbols from the parchment on these tumblers? I've heard of similar locks before, where there are symbols carved onto claws made of gold, or ebony, or moonstone."
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With the symbols in hand Mardak slowly twists the tumblers into place. With a final audible click the tumblers lock into place. Suddenly, the fountain begins to rotate and its stale waters drain rapidly. The grinding of the gears echoes off the stone walls, causing the ground to shake. As the fountain rotates, a spiral staircase appears where the fountain’s solid basin once sat. A slick staircase slopes down into Cassomir’s bowels, twisting its way down and around a deep cistern.
An enormous room lies ahead, filled with dozens of family crypts decorated with family names, heraldic crests, and a variety of death-themed statuary. The walls, floor, and ceiling are made of smooth, polished stone, and the crypts are made of thick, square blocks of granite. A handful of statues stand throughout the room, though they don’t seem to be placed with any plan—some face the wall, some lie on their sides, and others are damaged beyond repair. The northwest quarter of the room is dominated almost entirely by a single large crypt. The name “Ismacco” is displayed across the front of the crypt.
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As you move through the area, you see corpses littered amongst the open coffins. These long-decayed remains might pose a problem if infused with negative energy, but it seems that this isn't the case at the moment.
You move to the entrance to the crypt marked with the Ismacco name and find that the grand crypt stretches toward the room’s ceiling and two large, copper braziers flank its impressive floor-to-ceiling doors. At the building’s base, a faceless statue holds a gibbous moon aloft.
The statue in front of the crypt is a representation of Groetus.
Three stairs ascend to the crypt’s entrance, which is not locked. The inside of the crypt is well lit. Ornate carvings decorate the walls inside the Ismacco crypt, creating several stylized burial niches. Tall, marbled pillars stretch to the 20-foot-high ceiling, creating three alcoves that hold massive oak sarcophagi. At the rear of the chamber, stairs ascend into a basilica-like dome. A musty smell permeates the chamber, and several dozen torches burn brightly in wall sconces throughout the crypt.
In the northwest-most alcove, two Cassomirite slaves are bound inside a small cage. Several members of the Cult of Nature’s Cataclysm have set up a guard post near a shattered burial niche in the northeast corner of the room that hides a set of rough-hewn stairs descending into darkness. A grand altar rests in the open basilica in the northernmost portion of the room; stairs nearby lead up to a second level of burial niches. An impressive two-story wall mural in the basilica depicts a stern figure glaring down on the sepulcher.
"NOT YOU AGAIN!" bellows a man as they ready their weapons.
Kazu
Lady Vulpina
Elowyn
Quintillus
Mardak
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Nature's Cataclysmic Thugs
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Senach
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Kazu dips into a corner, hiding next to one of the many sarcophagi in the crypt while Lady Vulpina fires a shot, drawing first blood!
Elowyn's arrow strikes the stone resting place and shatters, splitting the arrow in half as fangtooth runs to her side.
Quintillus begins the ritual of opening a gate to another realm to bring in some aid. Meanwhile Mardak draws his greatsword as the thugs rush into the fray with drawn clubs, though Vulpina and Mardak block their paths.
The cultists attacks are easily deflected in the tight quarters. Senach looks for a path through but is unable to find one as he detects for evil doers in the area and finds three of them! Pointing his blade across the small gap he smites the one wearing yellow. "You are mine!"
Kazu
Lady Vulpina
Elowyn
Quintillus
Mardak
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Nature's Cataclysmic Thugs (Red -8)
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Senach (Smite- yellow)
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Vulpina slips against the pillar to evade one thug's attack, and twists the other's aside with her wakizashi before turning the blade and thrusting toward the attacker.
...Although, admittedly, she doesn't give herself enough time to line it up properly. Regardless of whether her attack hits or not, she slides backwards to give the well-armored snaladin (snake paladin) room to budge in, dropping her blade and reloading her pistol.
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Kazu definitely surprises the thug as the back of his claws knock the man unconscious in a single blow.
Sliding against the pillar Vulpina is able to land her attack as she is hard pressed.
Elowyn draws out her wand of healing while Mardak finds himself in too tight of quarters for his greatsword.
Kazu
Lady Vulpina
Elowyn
Quintillus
Mardak
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Nature's Cataclysmic Thugs (Red -8)
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Senach (Smite- yellow)
Quintillus launches a ball of acid at the yellow enemy.
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The thug just isn't prepared for a beetle from another realm to appear just behind him as it slams into his back, knocking the thug to the ground. The thug smacks his head on the stone, knocking him unconscious.
Quint lobs a small bit of acid just past his companions as it lands on the on the remaining thugs shoulder.
With a scream of pain the thug turns and tries to smash the beetle with his club. "Damned bugs!"
The club smashes into the beetle with a sickening crunch, ending the creature's existence in this realm as it returns to the one it came from.
Kazu
Lady Vulpina
Elowyn
Quintillus
Mardak
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Nature's Cataclysmic Thugs (Yellow -3)
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Senach (Smite- yellow)
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In a flurry of luck, the Pathfinders lash out at cultists. Mardak slides his sword through the belly of the remaining cultist. The man is cut off mid-cry as the sword leaps up and catches his throat, causing a spurt of blood to spray the tomb's wall.
In front you, you see bound and gagged humanoids wearing the emblems of the Hall of Wonders. One, in particular, appears to be a gnome.
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Senach spends the battle yelling encouragement to his friends, and raining blistering invectives and scathing insults upon the enemy. As the way finally clears before him, he dances past his comrades while they are still catching their breath to stand before the bound and gagged humanoids. Picking one at random, he kneels down to pull the gag from the persons mouth. "It's ok.. Tell me, who are you, and what is going on here?
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His bloodied greatsword still in hand Mardak moves toward the bound prisoners. Seeing their startled looks he remembers his bared blade, wipes it on the clothing of a corpse and sheathes the blade. He stands looking down at the bound prisoners and awaits a response to Senach's question. He tries, and mostly succeeds in standing in a non-threatening way.
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After the you save the prisoners, a man steps forward. "Thank you for helping me and my fellow men. I was afraid they would turn us into skeletons like the others. Please take us back to the surface."
The gnome speaks up. "Sorry. We are all just a bit shaken. my name is Bernard." He waves his hand to calm down his fellow man. "There were more prisoners taken than just us. They took them down those stairs there." The gnome points a shaken hand to the set of spiral stairs just behind him.
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Kazu ignores the pleas to bring them to the surface. He knows freeing them is just the first step - if they are recaptured or killed before they can escape from this place, all their effort would have been in vain. Nonetheless, there are more captives and he has to save them first.
Nodding to the party, he crouches and fades into the shadow, moving owards to the spiral stairs, and waits for his party to get ready to follow.