Paige begins by looking for a way to shot off the noxious gas. Valve? Magic thingy? Wonder if there is a way to stop that nasty mist!?
She will also try WindWall again, if it will clear the room long enough to search.
Hajar channels healing his allies. He casts a spell of healing on Bartan and Khayal . He uses his final LoH on Yazi .
Paige, have you found some way to stop the fumes?
I will do my best, Hajar. It's just, well, unlike your noble healing hand, my kind of magic isn't very strong down in dark dungeons like this, where growing things struggle to survive!
|
With a gasp, Amir fills his lungs with stagnant, but at least non-magical, air, wheezing slightly as he catches himself.
"Geez... are you really so hard up to see what's on that barge?" the Pathfinder huffed, still breathing the heady freshness in. "You're making me look bad here."
Sliding over and following Hajar's lead, Amir moved astride his fellows in order to lend his own meager healing talents to the mix. First came the words, airy and distant, yet undeniably arcane in their origin, before the bardic explorer reached out and touched his compatriots where they were injured most.
Bartan came first, having so recently been savaged...
... then Khayal, whom the late Haidar had thrashed...
... and, finally, Yazi, despite the fact she'd so recently threatened him at swordpoint!
With another exasperated sigh, the Pathfinder relaxed. Casting spells clearly took its toll on the young man, sweat trickling from his brow and gloved hands shaking slightly from the rippling expression of magical pulchritude.
"There. Right as rain."
Turning back towards the cavern where the barge remained stationed, Amir grimaced at the thought of going back... and the idea that it the mists could be stopped.
"No. No, I don't think we can stop it. Not permanently, anyway, unless we can find the source," hummed Amir thoughtfully, running a hand through his hair as he contemplated. "Can't say for sure what happened, but my gold and my gut's on that they beat feet outta here when folks started getting twitchy and they realized what was up. I mean, if the 'holy smoke' could have been turned off, this place probably wouldn't have been abandoned; assuming that's even why they left in the first place."
Pausing for a moment, the Pathfinder then adds, "That spell you did earlier was really handy though, Paige! If you guys are so set on seeing what's inside that ship, might as well just use that if we can. Maybe you're right, too, and we'll get lucky and find some way to stop the mist. Besides that, we'll need to go back anyway; we've still gotta get the body of the, uh, wereleopard or whatever he was. The Princess and her merchant buddy'll probably want proof instead of, y'know, a pelt."
Bartan regains 8 HP. Khayal regains 6 HP. Yazi regains 11 HP.
Paige is totally offended. Dog whomper? Lady I was defending natures creatures while you were still...ooof! her pale skin begins to turn red.
Although obviously heavily endowed with magical properties, the barge itself is empty. Tattered sailcloth, scorched spars and torn planks - which would surely crumble into dust if you took even a piece outside.
The rest of the cavern waits.
HP: 30/39 Khayal
HP: 36/38 Yazi
HP: 41/41 Hajar
HP: 20/20 Bartan
HP: 28/28 Amir
HP: 27/27 Paige
Hajar watches Yazi work.
Haidar's corpse has a very nice chain shirt underneath the robes.
Way in the back, in the westmost portion of the cavern, you find a pair of ragged saddlebags. It holds 793 gold pieces, a set of battered ceramic figurines (most likely family idols), a torn and bloodstained silk veil, and ragged clothing. Two empty vials have been thrown to one side of the saddlebags.
A large, portal-like basalt cover encaps the end of the cavern on this side. Like the secret door in the other chamber, this cover pivots. But it appears locked or jammed from the other side. There is no keyhole or lever on this side.
"Miss Paige, don't let Miss Yazi get to you. She is a bit brusque sometimes, but she means well, and I would probably be annoyed at you if you had hit my best friend seemingly unprovocated as well." He puts a hand on her arm, giving her a warm smile.
Paige is overcome with emotion as Bartan touches her. I hurt that poor little dog. She places her head on his shoulder and begins to cry.
|
Hefting Haidar's corpse into plain view for the others Yazi will also put down the saddlebags she had slung over her shoulder and begins sorting through the contents fot the others to evaluate.
It holds 793 gold pieces, a set of battered ceramic figurines (most likely family idols), a torn and bloodstained silk veil, and ragged clothing.
"There's also a door at the end of the tunnel Kitty was running to, but I couldn't open it from this side." Her boice is a little ragged as her throat becomes reacquainted with the influx of fresh air.
Feeling greatly refreshed after the curative spells Khayal smiles, Thank you for binding my wounds. It nearly got a little hairy there.
Bartan holds Paige as she sobs, trying not to show how pleased he is with her embrace... ;)
|
|
Giving Khayal an affirmative nod before rolling his own eyes at Yazi's quip, Amir moved over to examine Haidar's lifeless corpse. He hadn't gotten a good look at the man after he'd fallen, but now he saw him for what he was: a blood-spattered vagrant, now devoid of any signs of feral kittyism. Boy, was this gonna be awkward to explain to Almah and Al-Hazeed...
"Must have been important, or he was really desperate to get away," hummed the Pathfinder, exhaustion beginning to become more prevalent in his voice as the affair began to drag on. Scratching his chin in thought as if weighing the situation, the explorer pondered for a moment before saying, "I'm all for rooting through this place, but it's not like it's going anywhere. I say we take what we've got, pack up and head back to Kelmarane. The princess'll probably wanna hear that you've dealt with the wereleopard. Doesn't help that we're all in pretty strung out shape, and it's not like these ruins are going anywhere."
|
|
For a moment, Amir almost seemed to find a good reason not to follow up on Yazi's thoughts, but quickly quiets himself. Saying the woman was determined hardly did her justice.
"Fine, fine. You're right," he conceded, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment to recollect himself before moving on to the properties had procured.
"Let's have a look and see what the Emir was packin'."
Mustering a bit more from his meager magical reservoirs, the Pathfinder took to examining the items in question: the oddly oversized punching dagger, and the accompanying chainshirt the Emir from Ipeq bore.
The blade and the armor are obviously magical in nature, not just masterwork. You'd be able to tell more with detect magic, rather than just a Spellcraft check.
|
|
Studying the items intently, it was clear there was something more to them than just the quality of their craftsmanship. Their secrets, whether arcane or divine in nature, still eluded the Pathfinder though.
Once more he began to murmur words of arcane secrecy, his voice an airy whisper of power as he renewed his study of the magically-endowed arms and armor.
The katar, or punching dagger, dazzles your eyes (moderate transmutation and necromancy) as you concentrate on the weapon.
En-Nebi, Blade of the Leopard
Aura moderate transmutation, moderate necromancy; CL 9th
Slot —; Price (classified) gp; Weight 1 lb.
Crafted in Katapesh some 300 years ago, En-Nebi is a katar some 15 inches in length. An embossed image of a ferocious Katapeshi leopard adorns the weapon’s hilt, while strange shadowy patterns writhe across its damascened blade, even in strong light.
In combat, En-Nebi is treated as a +1 vicious punch dagger. As it strikes, the extra damage from the vicious property manifests as if a great cat’s claws had cruelly raked the victim’s flesh. (Classified)
CONSTRUCTION
Requirements: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, (classified), enervation, summon monster IV; Cost (classified) gp
To read the "classified" portions, you'll need identify...and some roleplay time to contemplate on the weapon. (Or a really lucky/deductive guess.) But the vicious aspect explains Khayal's mysterious wounds, as well as why the leopard-man trembled every time he struck someone with the weapon. Quite possibly, also why he died, even after downing two cure light potions. The last vicious feedback was too much for him.
The katar comes with a special thigh scabbard (just in case anybody wants to carry it).
The chain shirt is a +1 chain shirt with Ipeq markings. It has no other magical auras.
Khayal waits patiently, content with the lull in action and happy with his teams performance. Noting Amir's concentration, Khayal asks, What do you see Amir?
|
|
"Whelp, I can you this much: the Emir had good taste in armor. Yazi's hunch was right: it's been infused with an abjuration to improve its protection," explained the Pathfinder, rising from his kneeling position beside poor Haidar.
"The dagger though... I don't know. It's old; maybe two, three centuries. Exquisite craftsmanship. There's definitely some magic in this thing, but it's not any I'm intimately familiar with. I'd need time to research it in order to unlock the secrets it's keeping, or you'd need to find someone with more experience in this sort of thing."
Yazi's loud reference to him snaps him out of his "consoling" of Paige, and he gently pulls away from her. "Ah, yes. May I take a look at it, please?"
Casting detect magic, then
Oh just toss it back in the tomb. It's probably worthless.
|
|
Watching the lot of them flail in discerning the properties of the punching dagger, Amir can't help but let out a small laugh at the thought of tossing the one-of-a-kind, three-century old antique.
"Yeah, let's not. Even if we can't figure out what it does, it's still a significant trinket based on age and craftsmanship alone. I say if you want nothing to do with it, then at least put it to good use: donate it to a museum."
It seems there are many powerful artifacts to be found in this desert. Perhaps it has something to do with the Legacy of Fire Paige wonders out loud.
|
|
"Fine, fine. Just be careful with it. We still don't know what it does, or even if it does anything at all besides radiate magic," insisted the Pathfinder, fishing out his waterskin and taking a sip whilst the gaggle of would-be heroes fiddled with their new prizes. Hopefully the stupid katar wasn't cursed or some such.
"Whadya say we get back to business, hmm? Should probably get back to figuring out where our no-longer-furry friend was headed, and what lies beyond. Sooner the better; I'm not looking forward to sleeping in some spider-infested, magically booby-trapped temple."
I could summon a minor ally and you could give it a poke, Yazi. The creature is a magical construct so no harm done. But you might find out what it does...
|
|
"I already told you Healer, he went into that tunnel but it's sealed from this side. Hopefully there's another way in somewhere else in this place."
At Paige's suggestion Yazi merely shrugs. "If your God or whatever that gives you the spell is okay with it and the construct won't mind, sure? Maybe it's just better at stabbing than other katars, maybe it can't be broken, maybe it cuts through illusions like butter, maybe it gives you an orgasm whenever you kill something? Although that would be kinda redundant for me."
|
|
"Classy," Amir said with no small measure of sarcasm, rolling his eyes at the multiple what-ifs the katar might do; doubly so for the last bit. With each passing moment, what he was expecting of the Heroes of Kelmarane and how they really were was beginning to paint a wholly different picture.
"But yeah, I figured. I mean, maybe we should find the other side of the door or wherever it leads to, if we can. Call me crazy, but I don't think this Emir went running towards a dead end. That door lets out somewhere; my hunch is that's where we'll find out if there're more of his ilk running around or not."
"I agree, let's explore some more of this place until the sandstorm oustside subsides. No reason to leave it unchecked when we can't really leave right now anyhow."
Bartan pulls a card from his wooden harrow deck to see if the plan is reasonable.
=> The Owl (True Neutral, Wisdom)
"And the Owl confirms the wisdom of our decision... we should try to explore as much as we can before we leave."
As you talk and rest in the altar-and-pillar room, you notice that some of the serpents carved into the alabaster altar's sides are...moving slowly. It's been quite some time since you defeated the asp that was summoned from the altar. Maybe the trap had an automatic reset? Of only one hour? Magic traps have a tendency to reset automatically, don't they? And this place would have been held sacred to the clerics of Nethys...
Don't touch it Amir, foor gosh sakes.