Paige stays close to Amir. He seems capable. map updated.
Hajar gives the newcomer a flat stare of "You don't say". We have fought and bested daemons Master Amir. A few spiders shouldn't have us quaking in our boots. No?
The room has two shallow depressions in it, where water still trickles out of the worn fountainheads at the outside edges of both basins.
You find a golden pectoral (worth 1,350 gp), a copper mask symbol of Nethys (worth 30 gp), 82 tarnished silver pieces, and an intricate bronze scarab that functions as a wand of open/close with 14 charges beneath a moveable flagstone. There is also another dead spider, not one of the ones you killed, on the East side of the room. This spider has been dead several days.
Hajar grins at Yazi We should be so lucky! Besting Daemons in combat is second only to dispatching the Spawn of the Rough Beast.
Bartan examines the mask, still interested in trying to appease Nethys during their foray into his shrine. "This may be something I would be interested in holding onto, if no one else minds."
Paige hands the mask over, her nose crinkled up. Be my guest, Mr. Bartan. This isn't my-kyana-magic!
Ewe! Guys, there's an old dead one over hear.
Paige tries to determine if it is a "normal natural" spider or something demonic or nasty.
And also how long it's been dead.
And also what might have killed it based on markings.
It's a normal, dead spider. The desert air has dessicated the corpse pretty well, so it's been dead at least a week. But the wounds were made by a large, short blade, not claws or teeth.
Well we should keep moving. No one is hurt are they? Khayal quickly looks over his companions and smile as he realizes no one was bit.
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Rolling his eyes, Amir conceded to Hajar's stance on the matter. Talk of daemonic spiders was only making his skin crawl more, and it took the Pathfinder everything he had not to shudder vehemently in the presence of such esteemed heroes.
"Just be careful, alright?" insisted Amir, slinging his shield back across his shoulders as he stepped out to reclaim his wayfinder. "Just because this place is run-down doesn't mean the ol' shrine doesn't have a few surprises left for trespassers."
Following Paige's lead, the Pathfinder sauntered up towards the desiccated arachnid, brow furling again as he looked down upon the corpse.
"Spiders. Ugh. Just once I'd like to come across some ancient ruin filled with nothing but kittens or something," he groaned mockingly, prodding the beast with the flat of his blade and using it as an impromptu form of leverage to lift the disgusting creature up slightly in order to get a better look.
"So, what? Something kills this spider, but leaves the rest alone? Doesn't seem like something our furry feline friend would do; not if it's capable enough to brazenly attack caravans in broad daylight," he mused as he turned to Paige, trying desperately to unravel some unseen clue or tidbit of information that could shed some light on the matter.
Well it's just a normal desert spider. Nothing demonic about her. But she was killed by a blade, not by a leopard. I'm guessing whoever was in here must have a leopard for a pet. Paige gets a sad look in her eyes, as if remembering the death of a beloved pet of her own.
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"A man can dream though, Yazi. A man can dream," sighed Amir, letting the icky spider corpse drop from the flat of his sword back onto the cold ground.
Turning back to Paige, the Pathfinder couldn't help but notice the look in her eye. If the woman was right, that meant there was some legitimacy to the hermit in the shrine. Even worse, it meant he had a man-killer for a pet. The case wasn't looking good for the leopard who'd attack Al-Hazeed's men.
"We won't know for sure till' we find em'," Amir said gingerly, shifting his focus only briefly to grant Khayal a confirmatory nod.
Bartan is ready to head on as well.
A sense of restrained power permeates the dusty air of this dimly lit sanctuary, the only roofed portion of the ruin. On the walls, carvings celebrate a radiant fiure. At his mighty command, legions of elementals build entire cities, raging seas calm, and enemies are brought to accord. Four falcon-headed statues guard a chamber to the west. Between them, a broad flagstone cants up into the air, a trapdoor no longer secret.
You can still recognize the depictions of Nethys and perhaps even his herald, the cloud-like being known as the Arcanotheign.
The harsh scent of bitterbark, sometimes used in catacombs to repel evil spirits, wafts past your nose.
Patches of the ceiling seem to glow faintly, not enough to provide light, but in the darkness you can almost make out star constellations...
One of the doorways to another chamber has a deeper shadow than normal. It could just be a trick of the light, or your eyes, however.
One of the doorway's arches has a vulture motif. You notice some dust in the air from the sandstorm being attracted to it, filling in the cracks, repairing itself.
You hear a faint, muted sound, like a lonesome piping from a nearby chamber.
Bright discharges arc intermittently between dueling sorcerers in an ancient wall carving. A small heap of dead insects lies beneath on the stone floor.
The Dual Natured one indeed... Hajar says as he moves deeper into the shrine. Does anyone else smell that? Bitterbark...
Hajar moves deeper into the shrine
Someone is up ahead, playing the pips. Can you guys hear it?
Hajar, be careful! Paige inspects the no-so-secret trap door.
We all seem to be percieving different things... ...oh, never mind, it's nothing.
"I am seeing some dust filling in cracks, as if this place were repairing itself. This place is pervasive with magic indeed."
He offers a quick prayer to Nethys, asking for his guidance in traversing his shrine.
Hajar, I don't suppose you've got any of those protection from evil spell prepared?
Paige is most interested in the dust being attracted to the statue. Dust moving with no wind. Strange. she reeeeaaches out...and touches the vulture statue.
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"Pervasive? That's an understatement," Amir mumbled in response to Bartan, wide-eyed and in awe at the spectacle of a room.
As he began inspecting the dueling sorcerers, Amir found himself curiously drawn towards touching the carvings, idly interested in the authenticity of the arcs of energy cascading between the two. He came close, perhaps dangerously so, until he stopped; it couldn't be an illusion, not with all the zapped bugs littering the ground. Hundreds upon hundreds of years of disrepair, yet here it was, the Refuge of the All-Seeing Eye still rippling with mystic energies! To say it was fascinating hardly did the room justice; once all this cat business and his own personal agenda were taken care of, perhaps he'd come back here and perform a proper investigation for the Society.
First thing's first though. Sheathing his sword, Amir began to murmur words of power in an airy tongue, forming signs with his hand as he let loose a string of syllables that may as well have been spoken by the wind itself. Magic was dangerous business; doubly so for magic that's several centuries old, and he wasn't about to be caught unawares by some unseen danger.
Khayal is left a little uneasy, he is not use to magic like this. Perhaps it is benign but he does not know. He will keep an eye out, looking for signs of danger.
Hajar looks a Paige a moment and says No, sorry. he continues moving deeper into the shrine. Does anyone notice cat spoor here? Perhaps the feline isn't here.
You don't smell the bitterbark that Hajar has scented.
You find both human hand-prints and feline paw-prints on the floor near the open trapdoor. All appear days old, as well as coming and going from the level below.
Nothing happens when Paige touches the vulture motif.
Paige attempts to explore further, moving in to area 3 with Hajar. MAP UPDATED. Here kitty kitty kitty.
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"No kidding." Amir had to agree with Yazi on this one, struggling to fight off the urge to shudder at not just the residual magic that flooded the room, but the whole eerie business it bespoke. Even he was getting goosebumps from the shrine, and he'd been delving into stuff like this for almost half a decade!
"This whole place is coated in magic. Was probably supposed to be the big show-stopper for new initiates. Maybe something went wrong and it really stopped the show. No way to tell now," he hummed. It was a terrifying prospect, but also fascinating. For a place so powerfully connected to Nethys, it struck him as strange that it had been abandoned. Either these were some particularly fickle spellcasters, or something really bad had to have happened.
There was no time to ponder that now, though, as he was starting to dawdle! Rebuffing his own curiosity, the Pathfinder trudged onward, sword in hand and illuminated wayfinder in the other as he followed along behind Hajar, Paige, and the others.
Paige now explores the trap door. She casts LIGHT on a pebble and tosses it in.
Bartan warily follows Paige. "This place is a marvel... perhaps after we clear out any dangers, I might stay and study it for a while."
Yes, I can see that you sense powerful arcane energies here. They make me nervous though. I'm more of a "natural order of things" kinda girl. But can't deny I'm curious about what kinds of secrets you could uncover in this place, Bartan!
The pebble is heard hitting some stone stairs going down into the darkness. The light it sheds shows a straight set of stone steps descending twenty feet.
Khayal will bite his lower lip and descend the stone steps. As he heads down he steps lightly and keeps an eye out for traps or danger.
Hajar, with Tempest glowing like a torch, will follow Khayal closely.
Bartan follows along as well, watching closely for danger.
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Following suit, Amir trudged along by the rear, leery of hopping so quickly down into the descending stairwell.
"The Society certainly wouldn't mind getting a chance to have someone look the place over," whispered Amir loudly, positing his awe-struck view on the whole matter, nothing but the comfort of Paige and Hajar's light sources and the backsides of his companions laid out before him as he trailed along. "There's something to be said about a place that's been lost for more than a millenia that still has magic pouring through every crevice."
Bas-relief sculptures of ancient gods cover the sides of the steps going down. At the base of the stairs lies a shattered stone slab decorated with celestial eagles, possibly a sealing stone for the staircase.
Ceramic lamps burning with cadaverous blue flame light this wide, high-ceilinged chamber. To the southwest, a baboon-headed figure crouches menacingly. A stern-looking pharaoh stares across at it from the northeast. Carved folds of well-sculpted cloth enshroud the northwest statue, and in the southeast niche, the pharaoh is again depicted, his face scarred and twisted with anger. Three arches lead from the chamber, the fragments of shattered doors dangling on ancient hinges.
The doors here fell apart long ago, but those who investigate the timbers notice that many seem to have been ripped apart or trod upon by something with great claws.
You identify the statues as lesser-known spirits of destructive magic; possibly dangerous.
Stand clear of those statues... Hajar says as he moves into the room more fully.
Bartan follows his friends, marveling at everything around him. "In a place so suffused with magic as this... I feel the need to determine my worthiness of the magic. I... stand back, everyone."
Bartan goes back to the previous room, allowing room for all his friends to stand clear. Then he pulls out his knucklebone.
The small stone flies up in front of Bartan's face, landing on the Gib face. Bartan feels a very small surge of magical power, and realizes that he can cast one more spell than normal today. He's a bit disappointed at the relative weakness of the granted power, but any positive effect means he has Lady Irez on his side today.
After all this, he returns to the room in which his friends are still exploring.
What? Why do you say that Yazi? Paige watches doc closely. She knows the pup will probably be the first indication if someone tries to jump out of the shadows on them.
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Granting Hajar another concessionary nod and letting Bartan pass, the Pathfinder tread inside lightly, the last to cross the threshold into this new area. Though he wasn't familiar with the odd statues themselves, he had to give the paladin his props: he must have seen something similar before, or studied their nature extensively. Moving further inside, Amir instead turned his attention towards surveying the site Yazi had pointed out.
"Our missing leopard, you think?" he inquired, looking between Yazi, Paige, and the claw marks. Katapeshi leopards were big, everyone knew that, but he'd never heard or seen one up close. Now, with the door torn mildly asunder, it gave significant weight to the creature's strength and merit to the merchant's tale. No wonder Al-Hazeed's man didn't stand a chance.
"It won't last forever, but as long as that sandstorm's raging outside it's got nowhere else to go. I'm no King's Ranger, but I'd bet good silver we're on the right trail."
After Bartan's return and mustering his courage, the bard stepped forth beyond the shattered door, followed the path of destruction carved into the ancient shrine by their predator-turned-prey, sword at the ready and eyes peeled for any sign of trouble.