Gimble's Emerald Spire (Table 2)

Game Master Eric Sklavos

"Slaagh. You said it wants metal but can you be more specific. Perhaps what type of metal or how much?"

While following everyone and the Trogs. Hovok continues to look around ignoring the food and water they pass

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 10

Dont much care for this alter trying to take all my equipment.

Though guess if we have to give something...have my extra smith hammer on me...but dont want to give these Trogs anything.

@Lucifer: "Just a small sacrifice of iron-metal from each of you." Slaagh points at the short sword, "About that much each. Can be anything you want. The God in the box is generous."

@Hovok: "Not all equipment, just a small sacrifice."

Where is everyone? Has anyone entered the room with the Godbox yet?

Would this work, would this be enough? he asked pulling out his grappling hook.

Fort: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Still standing just outside the room, not trusting to get any closer to the thing. He looks down at his bolts and sighs, "I don't like giving up anything, but hopefully this will be enough."

He takes all 20 bolts and tosses them into the room. "That is about the same amount of metal as my sword."

With my Appraise skill (+4, trained) could I look at maybe what's already been offered and be able to tell my companions what would/would not qualify?
Just a means for you to answer their questions if the trogs can't.

Orovan handles his morningstar and gauges the size & weight.

soooooo slaagh what happens if we don't sacrifice anything to your god?

Lucifer tosses the bolts the room. Just before they hit the floor they shoot toward the box and stick to it.

"Yes. Thank you. This pleases the God muchly. Who's next?"

@Orovan: You notice all qualities of weapons stuck to the box, from broken to masterwork or possibly better. There's also a couple pieces of armor as well as other random tools and chunks of metal.

@Neilmin: "That would be unfortunate. The God will not let you continue further down without proper sacrifice."

Orovan sighs and tosses in his morningstar.
"Nothing lasts forever. Never really used it anyway."
He looks to the trog to see if he's done right by them.
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Lucifer eyes a lot of the stuff stuck to the thing and ponders with some greed in his eyes. "I imagine there might be some truly valuable stuff in there, perhaps even magical. But at last, we have been approached peacefully and they don't seem dangerous, so no stealing on my part."

Orovan reluctantly tosses his Morningstar into the room. The weapon flies toward the box and strikes it with a loud *CLANG*

Slaagh's eyes widen as Orovan sacrifices his morningstar, "Yesss. That is a good sacrifice. The God is pleased, but needs more."

I kind of picture Slaagh like Igor taking you on a tour through Frankenstein's laboratory.

Yeah, I can see that.

The ifrit frowns as he releases his shortspear, wondering if the pull against the metal of the head will be enough to drag the wooden shaft across the space.

Did I put my icon in the right part of the map? Everybody else being so far away from Slaagh makes me wonder.

Orovan unbelts his dagger and offers it to his companions as some of them struggle to produce an offering of their own.

Seeing Orovan throwing in his morningstar...Hovok kinda shrugs his shoulders before pulling out his worn small sledge hammer that he carries with him.

Did me well but about time for me to get another anyways.

Saying this he then tosses it high in the air wondering how strong the pull is from the alter.

Jafit tosses his spear into the room and the head of the spear flies toward the box with the wooden shaft dragging across the floor.

Hovok tosses his sledge hammer into the room high in the air and the hammer flies up, then as it reaches its peak flies directly toward the box sticking to and denting a breastplate near the top of the box.

As Hovok's hammer attaches itself to the God in the box, the box begins to hum and two distant, metallic clicks can be heard from the northeast.

"Yesss! Yesss! you have pleased the God, the God in the box lets you pass now."

thank you orovan I owe you one

Neilmin takes the dagger and tosses it twords the room.

Lucifer stops Neilman before he throws his dagger into the room, "Don't. No more. Slaagh said the passage is open now."

Looking at Slaag, "Care to lead us to the newly opened pass Slaagh.

Slaagh starts walking through the doorway to the north waiving his arm to usher the party along, "Yesss, Yesss. Come this way. Follow."

Just through the doorway:

This room is illuminated by two light-sticks mounted in wall sconces. To the north is a large door of strange copper alloy, which glows much like the light-sticks. The walls and ceiling are covered with indecipherable troglodyte scrawling and paintings. In the northeast corner stands a tall cylindrical bell, made from the same alloy as the door.

Opening the copper alloy door, Slaagh eagerly ushers you through.

A tall troglodyte statue stands in the center of this otherwise featureless square room, its arms outstretched. Light-sticks are mounted on the east and west walls, providing dim green illumination, augmenting the stronger glow from the door. In the northeast corner, a section of the stone floor is cut away perfectly, revealing a stairway that descends into darkness.

Slaagh motions to the stairs, "See. The God in the box has opened the passage for you."

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19
"You don't want us sticking around, eh Slaagh?" Orovan asks suspiciously.

sense motive: 1d20 ⇒ 18

slaagh are you trying to get rid of us that hurts I though we were friends.

sense motive: 1d20 ⇒ 19

Slaagh it feels like your trying to get rid of us I thought we were friends now. We even sacrifice our metal to your god.

Sense Motive: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (10) - 1 = 9

The ifrit keeps his trap shut, looking back and forth between his companions who seem to have changed attitudes kind of suddenly.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20

Lucifer shrugs, "We are a well armed group. Slugg just might be anxious about having us around."

@Orovan: "You are welcome to stay and look around but isn't passage what you wanted?"

@Neilman: "The metal sacrifice was for our god to provide you passage. Did you want to stay here?"

@Lucifer: Looking around, you do notice the troglodytes have no weapons of any kind.

Orovan shrugs. "Fair enough."

Lucifer heads down the stairway in the corner.

Do you follow Lucifer or explore the rest of the troglodyte commune?

As a relatively small and certainly frail creature, Jafit plans to stick with the majority, regardless of where they go.

Starting to get a little worried about all these unknowns at their back. Hovok still isnt quite willing to lay into the Trogs without any attempt at aggression from them.

Just wondering Slaagh do you have to make a sacrifice every time you open this way or only the first?

"The God requires a sacrifice each time someone passes through."

"We can get junk metal each time we come through."

"Yeah, I can afford a new dagger now and then." Orovan shrugs.
"Anything else interesting up here, Slaagh? Like something you don't want us to see?"

Neilmin fine with his comrades decide on what to do next but decides to cast detect magic twords the center of the place

we are near the stairs down next level correct so as close as I can twords the center

Slaagh looks at Orovan with a bit of confusion, "We no hide anything. You may look around before you move on."

@Neilmin: The only magic you detect is from the sconces.

Orovan looks to his companions with a look of total apathy.

"Lets move on. The only thing probably valuable in this area is probably in that strange room that eats metal and I don't see any way to get into it without losing more than we already have."

the only things I see are those sconces over there. There is some type of magic on them.

Voldarus finally gets his wits about him and nods to Lucifer. "I agree, letsa keepa goin for we loose anymore time. Sorry I've been out of sorts lately, but it seems I'm back."

I am updated... Finally... These past couple of weeks have been nothing but work.

Raising an eyebrow, Jafit queries, "Okay, then. What's next?"

"We head down the stairs of course." Lucifer resumes heading down the stairway revealed.

You descend down the staircase. About ten feet below is a copper chain that Slaagh tells you will ring the bell if you need to come back out this way.

Thus concludes Level 4: Godhome. Congratulations.

You bid farewell to your troglodyte friend and head downstairs. The stairs reach down until they meet a winding, ramp-like passageway that descends 100 feet over a half-mile walk. The ramp winding down from the level above ends in a flight of stairs leading to a dank, low-ceilinged room. The curved surface of the Emerald Spire takes up the northwest corner, and to the east is a broad stairway leading down to a dark passage from which the soft sound of lapping of water emanates. A small, closed door stands in the south wall. Several toad-sized crabs skitter about.

Go ahead and arrange yourselves as you'd like.

Map is Here!

As you make your way downstairs, you are caught by surprise as there is a blue-skinned, blue-haired humanoid clad in silvery mail. Luckily he is just as surprised to see you as you are him. With him is a hideous, 4-legged crab monster (medium size) with a blue winged creature sitting on its back (small size).

The humanoid speaks at you with a rough gurgling, "Iiirrgsh! intrraterrss!?! Leivh it shanke, ihhai irrh tissrradtig nnash vharrk."

Knowledge Local for the humanoid, Knowledge Planes for the other two.

Orovan considers the blue individual, unable to understand its words but trying to understand if it means to harm them.
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14
I don't know if this works or not, but it's worth a shot.

Knowledge (Local): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30
I think I know everything. :P

Lucifer identifies the type of humanoid in front of him to the others. "I can't speak that language though."

He then points to the humanoid, "You speak our language?"

He also tries to determine the demeanor of the humanoid.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13

Knowledge (Planes) crab: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20
Knowledge (Planes) winged: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

"I don't speak that language, either."

Ignan and Auran, but not Aquan.

Local: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
Planes: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17

Voldarus takes up a defensive posture, ready to draw on the strange creature if this interaction should come to blows.

It's been too long since I've fired at anything more than a target, he thinks to himself as his fingers twitch hovering above the arrows in his quiver.

@Lucifer: He is an undine. Humanoids with connection to the plane of water.

@Jafit: The crab-like creature seems to be an eidolon. The winged creature is a water mephit which is a small elemental.

The undine Huff's dramatically as no one seems to understand what he's saying. Then speaks in common, "I said . . . You have interrupted my research, so Leave!"

@Orovan and Lucifer: You can't tell if the undine is hostile or really annoyed at being inconvenienced.

Orovan turns to his party and mumbles, "I mean, maybe we can go around? Or pay this guy to give us the guided tour?"

"An undine huh?"

Lucifer continues down the stairs before stopping, "We do not mean to interrupt your research. In sense, we are researching this place too. Perhaps we can help each other."

Diplomacy: 1d20 ⇒ 3

"Summoner, too. Eidolon and elemental both present."