This wild garden is flush with colors and full of scents both sharp and sweet. A gazebo topped with a weather vane sits in the northeast corner of the garden.
DC 16 Knowledge (geography or nature) check:
reveals that some of the plants have been imported from other countries, some of which are as distant as Sargava. Including hemlock, poison oak, belladonna, and even stranger growths, many of which are not native to Isger.
Hidden amid a copse of gnarled trees sits a large mausoleum of polished granite. Statues of weeping angels of greentinged bronze flank the closed entrance. A tarnished silver doorplate on the black steel door reads, “Sarini.” The door itself seems to be locked shut.
I've learned about this before, I know I have. But The Shadow has seen fit to shroud my eyes. I must trust in The Shadow.
"A minute please," Kardess says to his companions, "Blessed are You, The Shadow, our Dissolution, King of the Plane of Shadow, who reveals what is hidden, remembers what is forgotten, and teaches what can be learned. Blessed are You, The Shadow, Who shrouds what we cannot see."
Kardess spends a couple of minutes inspecting the door Perception:20 + 2 = 22.
If there aren't any traps and the DC is 17 or lower, Kardess will eventually unlock the door.
Female Dwarf LN Slayer 7| HP 67/67 | AC 25(26), T 13, FF 24 CMD 25 | F +9(12), R +8(11), W +5(8) | Init +3 | Perc +12 | SM +12 |
Kulga frowns at the mausoleum while Kardess works. "It is right to honor your ancestors, but putting them in a corner of your yard is not the way to do so. Even if the sculpture is rather nice.
Kardess inspects the door for any signs of tampering or traps and isn't able to find any obvious signs, though the lock on the door seems a bit more complex than he originally thought.
Kardess digs into the door and ends up there for nearly an hour as he breaks several pieces of Nectanebo's tools in the process. Eventually though the satisfying and resounding click is heard and the door grinds open as Kardess gives it a shove.
As he does the angel statue's that flank the tomb's entrance wings unfurl and swing down at Kardess.
The razor sharp wing sices into Kardess' back, splitting him open. The group barely has time to look into the tomb as the grinding rusty door and the trap getting set off disturb a giant bloated frog within the beautiful armatic garden.
Squares filled with bushes are considered difficult terrain and provide concealment (20% miss chance).
A long tongue snaps out grabbing at Gerrin.
Tongue vs Gerrin AC FF 14:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
The tongue snaps past Gerrin's shoulder as it misses him.
Kardess runs up the path, then steps into the bushes for cover, "May it be Your Will, my Shade and the Shade of my forefathers, that you cloak me in shadow, and withdraw your shadow from my enemies. Blessed are You, The Shadow, Who provides cover for his faithful."(double move)
Shreya fires a single missile from the palm of her hand. The magical missile arcs over the bushes as it slams into the frog.
Belkar rushes through the bushes and ends up getting tangled up in them. the aroma gets in his throat and begins to close it off as it swells and tightens up.
DC 13 Fortitude saving throw against poison or be sickened for 1d4 rounds.
Kulga moves to the perimeter and grabs the haft of her waraxe as Kardess begins to feel similar effects to Belkar from the garden of poisonous plants.
DC 13 Fortitude saving throw against poison or be sickened for 1d4 rounds.
Gerrin rushes around from the side and slides his blade through the back of the frog's head and pus it to rest.
Many of the poisonous plants found in the garden can be used as ingredients for antidotes or medicines. If a PC succeeds at a DC 10 Craft (alchemy), Heal, Knowledge (nature), or Survival check, she finds enough plants to sell for 50 gp. For each 5 points by which the check result exceeds the DC, increase the total worth of the plants found by 25 gp (to a maximum of 125 gp)
Inside the mausoleum, two stone coffins stand on a dais, and several more coffins lie on shelves built into the walls. The coffins on the dais were made for the baron and baroness, but their bodies were never laid to rest, and the coffins remain empty.
One of the other coffins contains the bones of an adolescent boy. The corpse is still clutching an old journal, whose dedication reads “to Luca.” Moisture has rendered the journal nearly illegible, and each of the book’s three parts requires hours to read and decipher.
Luca’s coffin also contains a palm-sized golden disk with a winged eye carved onto it. The disk is worth 100 gp.
"That statue got a good shot at me. Does anybody know healing magic?"
"How interesting, these plants seem to be quite dangerous . . . and rare." Kardess moves around the garden for a while, clipping leaves from the tops of plants where they get the most sun and discarding anything with even the slightest spot of brown on it. Craft (alchemy):1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16
|AC 20, T 13, FF 17|HP: 39/39*|F +6*, R +4, W +5 (+2 vs Necr/curses/TNLs, +1 vs fear/conf)|Init +2, Perc +8|CMB +6 CMD 18|Deadspeaker 3/3, Ghostly Horde 1/1, Focus: ?? Gloaming, ?? Azrael, ?? Guidingstar, ?? Perun
Knowledge (Nature):1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Knowledge (History):1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23
"Ah, so here lies the notorious Luca!" He takes a glance at the disk. "The symbol of Aroden? Interesting...I have a few questions for you, Mr. Luca, if I may...." Nectanebo gingerly takes a fragment of one of Luca's metacarpals and crunches down on it....
Female Dwarf LN Slayer 7| HP 67/67 | AC 25(26), T 13, FF 24 CMD 25 | F +9(12), R +8(11), W +5(8) | Init +3 | Perc +12 | SM +12 |
Kulga looks sourly at the frog's corpse. "What a waste of time."
Survival:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28 "Best be careful in these plants, I know most folk aren't as hardy as a dwarf." Though these plants might be of use nonetheless
We should make certain to take that journal with us; who knows what secrets it might hold.
Nectanebo's spell completes as fresh blood begins to flow and etch itself across the dusty wall nearby.
Who are you? (Luca)
What are you? (Young human male)
How was your blood shed? (I ate delicious berries from the garden. The berries caused em to choke and I died.)
When was your blood shed? (Around 4590 ar,)
The blood soon flows into each other line until it becomes a coagulated and gooey mess.
Male Human (Chelaxian) Ninja [2] | HP 15/15 | AC 19 T 13 FF 16 | F +1 R +7 W -1 | CMB +3 CMD 16 | Init +6 | Perc +3 | SM -2 | Stealth +6
Gerrin will take one last look around to see if there is anything else of note in the place, including the coffin. If not, he'll take the disk and suggest that the party moves on to the double doors they saw earlier. The ones I moved to on the map.
Opening the door, this looks to have once been the breakfast room and pantry. The Sarinis usually enjoyed their breakfast in this room. There is now nothing of value here.
A few pieces of silver tableware lie strewn about on a 30-foot-long oak table, and more valuables are displayed in a large antique vitrine. The heads of three beasts—a dragon, lion, and goat—have been mounted above a fireplace on the north wall.
In the early hours of the evening, the Sarinis often dined in candlelight around the small round table, or around the long table if they had guests.
These are tiered knowledge checks
DC 10 Knowledge (arcana):
check knows that legendary beasts known as chimeras have three heads matching those mounted on the wall.
DC 18 Knowledge (arcana or nature):
check notices that the dragon head’s scale pattern matches that of a dragon rather than a chimera, and that the goat and lion heads belonged to ordinary animals.
|AC 20, T 13, FF 17|HP: 39/39*|F +6*, R +4, W +5 (+2 vs Necr/curses/TNLs, +1 vs fear/conf)|Init +2, Perc +8|CMB +6 CMD 18|Deadspeaker 3/3, Ghostly Horde 1/1, Focus: ?? Gloaming, ?? Azrael, ?? Guidingstar, ?? Perun
Knowledge (Arcana):1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14
Knowledge (Nature):1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
"Ah, but take a closer look: This is a chimerical chimera! The goat and lion heads are from an actual goat and lion, and judging by the scale pattern, the dragon's head came from an actual dragon."
Leaving the dining room Belkar turns around and heads towards the kitchen itself.
Two large tables flank an oven built into the west wall of this kitchen. Jars of different sizes sit on the two tables in uneven rows. A narrow set of stairs leads down to a dark, musty basement.
Once a well-stocked kitchen, this room now contains only dirty jars, shelves, and barrels. The stairs in the northeast corner of the room descend to the cellar 15 feet below.
Spending 5 minutes rummaging through the miscellaneous junk in the kitchen, you find a well-sealed keg of salt that weighs 5 pounds and is worth 25 gp.
DC 15 Knowledge Nature or craft Alchemy:
You believe you might be able to use a pound of the salt as a splash weapon of sorts, similar to a acid flask.
The floor, walls, pillars, and fireplaces of this majestic ballroom are all made of polished marble. On the north side of the room, a grand staircase with divided flights leads up to a balcony overlooking the ballroom floor. An angel of black marble is standing menacingly on a platform behind the middle landing of the staircase. Long ago, the Sarinis hosted magnificent ballroom parties and dinner parties in this room.
DC 18 Knowledge (planes) check:
realizes that the statue actually depicts an erinyes devil.
DC 12 Craft (stonemasonry), a Knowledge (engineering) check, or a DC 20 Perception check:
notices seams around its base that suggest this statue replaced an earlier one.
DC 15 Perception check:
reveals smears of purplish goo on both of this room’s support columns. This is demon’s bile.
DC 25 Perception:
There is a secret passage here underneath the rug that leads below.
Female Dwarf LN Slayer 7| HP 67/67 | AC 25(26), T 13, FF 24 CMD 25 | F +9(12), R +8(11), W +5(8) | Init +3 | Perc +12 | SM +12 |
Craft (stonemasonry):1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14 Perception:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14 Perception:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11 I included my stonecunning bonus on the stonemasonry check, but haven't done so on the Perception rolls, let me know if it matters for the DC 15 one
Kulga stalks through the ballroom, a look of envy on her face as she stares at the trappings of nobility. "The angel is new. Newer than the platform at least. Possibly they sold the original if they fell on hard times," she moves closer to the base, "Possibly there's something else at work"
Hmm, seems this statue is not the original. See the seams? You can tell that this is a replacement. Gerrin will take another look at the statue to see if he might be able to determine if was a reason, perhaps it covers or hides something in secret.
