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Having passed by the corpses, Balin took a moment to have his companion retrieve the jewelery off of the creature's remains, though he made no effort to be discrete about it. Given that the tengu's loyalty hinges on a cut of profits, he decides that it would be wise to have some. The jewelry is added to Balin's bag for safe keeping, stowed alongside his bandages and medical supplies.
In the room with the grisly display of artistic inspiration, Balin winces. For all his macabre demeanor, the work of art on show here seems to cause him some discomfort. Retrieving a cloth from within hi sbag, Balin cups it to his mouth and proceeds into the room, brows furrowed and attentively scrutinizing the arrangement of the bodies. "This is... unusual," his voice is partly muffled by the cloth.
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There can be little doubt what motives drove the original artists to produce such....florid...imagery; each and every painted mural depicts carnal pleasure of some form or another. With a more detailed examination of the images, you discover multiple recurrences of people 'worshipping' creatures identical to the one lying dead outside this room.
Looking through the cabinets reveals nothing more exciting than two bottled vials...suddenly animated, Olwyn gestures towards Kairen, "Psssst, let me take a look? Magic is my domain....". Examining further, and going so far as to pull the stoppers on the vials, she deliberates..."Hmmmm, this pink one.....that'll be your standard love potion and this other one, which is nearly spoiled actually, will make you quite the little charmer". Handing them back to Kairen, she flits a disapproving look at Balin and returns to standing watch in the corridor.
Sidling up to their chosen protector, the older of the two Tengu interrupts, "Thankyou for helping us find Fisk....we have said the words....his body will stay here", a glint returns to his eye, "Now, how abouts finding that treasure?"
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Glancing down at the body, Balin considers the implications of its location. Another look over the wire rims of his spectacles at the tengu comes with a level delivery of, "of course," muffled by the rag he holds over his mouth and nose. Making his way out of the room to get some fresh air, Balin clears his throat and looks back over his shoulder to Kairen and the others.
"I'm of half a mind to say that the priests of Pharasma up above have no understanding of what it is that this place either was once or has become." Brows furrowed, Balin glances towards the body of the creature, then back to Kairen.
"Which way?"
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There are two doors (one to the west and one to the east) up the stairs behind you, there is a door to the east directly next to you and there is a further pair of doors down the stairs ahead of you.
The Tengu chatter and argue between themselves and, frankly, don't seem overly convinced about which way to go.....
Kairen stows the potions and folds his arms, stroking his chin with thumb and forefinger. "Well, we would be remiss in our purpose if we left rooms behind us unexplored and threats unconfirmed. The last thing we need is a few of those things," he gestures towards the remains of the slain fiend, "Ambling up behind us and pinning us between them and unexplored territory. We should check the untouched rooms upstairs before we move on."
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Nodding in agreement, Balin is sure to offer the requisite amount of praise for the decision. "A sound choice, Kairen." At that, Balin tucks his handkerchief back in his coat and motions back the way they'd come with the head of his cane. Balin's silent protector glides past the others and moves to accompany Kairen in the front.
"Lead on."
Gazzer bobs his head, agreeing with Balin's notion that the priests are a bit daft. "Yes yes! These tombs are much older than the city above, yes yes! Old thing lived here, old things may still live here!"
Zazou had kept quite for quite some time tagging along apparently a bit frightend.
Yes Kairen bing strong! Lead on and protect us with his strong!
Kairen chuckles at his pint-sized supporter as he starts the trek back up the stairs. He holds up his hand to signal a stop, then checks the east door at the top of the stairs first, opening it slowly and peeking inside.
Hopefully nothing in here's patient enough to sit around listening to chatter and battle without responding...
Pausing to listen at the door before carefully opening the Eastern door at the top of the stairs, Kairen hears nothing untoward. As light fills the room, you see that this, apparently unoccupied, room is of similar dimensions to the one from which you have just left although, in this instance, the walls are plain and undecorated….indeed, the only decoration consists a few dilapidated cabinets in one of the corners of the room.
A second look though reveals that, centrally positioned, in the room lies a circle of powdered silver some five feet in radius. Contained within this circle is a single unlit candle.
"Tells us, Tells us Mister….is there Treasures?...Golds?...Jewels?", the previously subdued Issik and Skezza have become quite animated again.
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Looking over Kairen's shoulder, one brow raised, Balin shakes his head and looks back to the tengu. "That... entirely depends on your definition of treasure," the bald man notes sarcastically. Then, nudging Kairen's back with the head of his cane, Balin urges him into the room. "Still, best safe than sorry."
Zazou will look for danger! the goblin proclaims as he steps into the chamber perhaps a bit too boldly with his eyes peeled and his large ears perched.
"The cabinets....yes yes, goblin man looks in the cabinets....treasures for all.....", the Tengu peer eagerly around Kairen yet are not bold enough to follow Zazou into the room.
Kairen grabs Zazou by the shoulder as he steps up, looking down and shaking his head in warning. "hold on, now. I don't like this. I didn't study much magic during my training, but that circle just screams 'magical ritual' to me. Don't touch it until we have some idea of what it's for."
Adopting a tested approach, Kairen then moves across the edges of the room, avoiding the circle, to open the cabinets, from the side if possible.
Hmm feels unpleasant here...eerie, cold Zazou mumbles as he continues through the chamber and examines the cabinet.
Rifling through the cabinets fails to turn up anything of value, indeed it would appear the the room has been ransacked long before you discovered it. However, Zazou's keen eyes notice a leaf of parchment protruding from behind one of the least ruined cabinets; carefully withdrawing it reveals a scroll etched with all manner of arcane sigils.
"Let me!!!", Olwyn strides into the room and virtually snatches the scroll from Zazou. "Hmmmm", turning it over in her hands, "This is old...no, let me rephrase...this is ancient. But there's no doubt that this is a spell for removing the effects of paralysis.". Handing the scroll back to Zazou, "I wonder what need there was for such a spell...let's hope the threat has long passed"
"Hey...Hey....Hey!!!!! Goblin Man!!!! How much is that spell being worth? Is half ours!!!! You Promised....", the Tengu seem disappointed at the lack of gold....
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"It could well be worth your life," Balin calmly states as he steps into the room well after the seal had been broken. Striding up to Olwyn, the pale man offers a hand out to her, palm up. "Such magic is within the sphere of my training, I could utilize the scroll without issue, if you would be so kind." One dark brow raises, and he adds, "It would be wise to prepare for the worst, after all."
As Balin enters, his black-clad guardian silently walks in behind him, his gait even and gliding as his robes brush across the floor.
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"Sorry little guy", remarks Olwyn to Zazou as she passes the scroll to Balin, "It would appear that his lordship desires to be the custodian of your discovery". Bristling and muttering under her breath at the fox wrapped around her shoulders, Olwyn barges her way out of the room to stand guard in the corridor.
With the gravity of Balin's words and sensing Olwyn's stormy mood, the Tengu have stopped their chattering and are starting to show an interest in the door opposite the room you are currently investigating.
Listening at the door, Izzik turns and pronounces "Is safe in here…is empty….nobody home".
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Nodding in recognition to the Tengu's assessment, Balin motions towards the door and his silent companion glides in smooth gait in that direction. Shield raised it waits beside the door, scimitar drawn and ready to strike. Balin offers a look to Kairen, then nods firmly and squares his attention on the doorway some teen feet from it.
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No nobody home you come in now Izzik! the Goblin demands more than asking.
"Is being no treasures Goblin Man....us not coming in there....not next to circle....Mother warned us about magics and the like....you be coming out here and look in this room....this room being safe....."
The younger of the Tengu pipes up in agreement, "Yes Goblin Man....this room safe...you be checking it now"
"all right, all right then, don't be hasty, boys. Let's do this the right way, just in case whatever's in there is quieter than us."
Kairen then moves to the door to open it.
Opening the door gradually, the light creeping into the room reveals a glorious sight.
Brightly painred carvings along the wall of the room vividly depict mighty dragons in flight over shining cities, while below, winged angels kneel and serve human masters. Peacock-feather motifs dominate throughout the chamber, and a faint, pelasant perfume drifts through the air. Several humans lie supine atop biers draped in rich cloth - if they are dead, the bodies are perfectly preserved and have the appearance of relaxed sleepers, showing no signs of corruption or decay.
"Oooooh!!!!!!", peering from behind Kairen, the Tengu seem overawed by your discovery.
Interesting, Interesting... Zazou mumbles from behind Kairen. Wonder if they are really, really dead... with that the Goblin slips through the stout paladins legs and examines the chamber and particularly the corpses.
"Zazou, wait!" Kairen whispers. He closes his eyes and concentrates on thoughts of the unliving. As his eyelids lift again, he scans the room for discolored auras that may signal undead creatures.
Scurrying around the room, poking and prodding the bodies lying in state, it appears that the three humans (all of whom are male and are, objectively, beautiful) are indeed dead but only recently deceased ... .indeed there is a healthy, almost radiant, colour to their skin. They are dressed in the finest of robes whilst draped around their necks are elegant golden necklaces.
Beyond the biers, the room is actually bereft of furnishings.
Checking the room and finding that everything appears safe Zazou recognizes the valuable necklaces around the dead men's throats. The Goblin looks at the treasures and thinks about how to best remove the necklaces from the corpses without pure force.
"Big man! Help Zazou here. These are very precious!"
"No undead, but...this doesn't feel right. This is a small chamber for three who seemed to be nobles of some sort. I would think they'd have a more spacious tomb, or even individual tombs. Zazou, be careful. don't touch anything before you're certain it's safe."
Kairen steps into the room to examine the bodies more closely, looking for signs of the corpses' identities, and keeping an eye open for more oddities.
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Stepping calmly into the chamber now that neither Kairen nor Zazou have perished, the bald priest examines the room with an inquisitive eye. Brows furrowing together, he looks not at the physical but somewhere beyond. Momentarily, Balin's irises glow with a violet light before fading back to their normal pale coloration.
As he steps in, Balin's companion silently moves in behind him like an armored phantom. The black-cloaked figure stands watch beside the door, shield raised and scimitar pointed tip-down towards the ground.
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Still somewhat hesitant to enter the room, Izzik shouts over to Zazou, "Hey Goblin Man...you be taking that treasure and bringing it to us? We will look after it for you...honest...you can be trusting us...."
Zazou shoots the bird a look of disbelief. Like I can trust big strong to not bump his head in here? with that the Goblin begins to jank at the golden change to see if he can remove it.
As his vision adjusts, Kairen's face lights up with realization. "Of course! It's an illusion! Everyone, don't trust your eyes; someone has laid a spell over this room!"
Noting Zazou attempting to touch objects that are not there, he taps him on the shoulder.
"Sorry to disappoint you, friend, but the jewelry is just in your head. Someone has a reason to protect this room with misdirection."
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One brow raised, Balin looks to Kairen with momentary disbelief. He remains still and silent for a short time, then realizes that Kairen's assessment matches up with his own deductions. "He speaks the truth," Balin asserts, "I can sense the magic the illusion leaves behind, but could not discern its location. Kairen's revelation proves why."
Walking over to the corpses, Balin reaches down in haste to lay a hand on the jewels in an attempt to pierce the veil of illusion by interacting with it.
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(+2 bonus vs. mind-affecting effects)
As the opulence of the room evaporates, it appears that you are standing in nothing more than another dust covered crypt. The bodies lying in state are ancient skeletons (which show some sign of damage from Zazou's attempt to obtain the non existant necklace) and the robes are mere hessian cloth. Before long you notice that the scent of perfume, if it was ever there, has entirely dissipated.
From behind you, still standing in the door way, it appears that the Tengu are still convinced by the illusion…
"Hey you…goblin man…why aren't you being bringing the gold to us?"
"Is real golds…we can be smelling it…is ours if you not be wanting it"
"Mother will be happy won't she Izzy?"
Arggg! Foul magic! Zazou curses after rubbing his eyes and noticing the shiny golden amulet's a re not there...
Kairen chuckles a bit at the birdmen outside. "Sorry little friends, but there's no gold in here. Just a lot of dust and a little spell to trick the mind. One less potential ambush for us, though. Shall we move on?"
The Tengu appear completely incapable of seeing past the illusion and have started planning how to safely retrieve the necklaces from the Man Corpses. Although their chatter has reverted to whatever passes for language with Tengu, there are multiple words that recur in their discussions....namely Gold, Treasure, Mother and Death...
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"Come long," Balin murmurs, jerking his head in the direction of the doorway out as he moves back into the hall, his shrouded companion ahead of him. As he exits out of the room, Balin motions to what he presumes is the north with the head of his cane. "This way, there were three doors we had not yet searched there. We'll investigate them, then come back to the branch in the hall we've not searched."
Looking to Gazzer and Zazou, Balin motions for them to go ahead. "If you wouldn't mind searching the doors when we come to them, I would be most appreciative."
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Kairen does his best to usher the two Tengu out and keep up with the group, despite the chattering protests of the two birds.
Yes Zazou search. But what if there is more evil magics fool Zazou'S eyes? the little goblin replies still rather disappointed but leads on none the less.
The Tengu protest furiously about leaving their bounty unguarded but eventually the fear of being left on their own convinces the pair to tag along.
"Is being safety in numbers...."
"...and maybe more treasure Izzy?"
Returning down the steps, passing the lifeless creature that had ambushed you, you arrive at two doors facing each other...one of those doors is open (and leads to the room with the 'interesting' murals whilst the other is closed.
As suggested by Balin, Gazzer and Zazou take positions adjacent to the closed door and, whilst everyone else stands quietly, listen at the door.
Something in there. Hear it with my own ears and my ears hear good! Zazou remarks as it turns to his companions. Then it points at Kairen. You big strong go in first!
Kairen cocks an eyebrow, smirking at the sudden change in logic from his goblin companion.
"Oh, now you want to wait for me, eh? Got our priorities straight, have we?"
Sword in one hand, door handle in the other, he motions everyone to stay against the wall, out of view of the door as he opens it.
Zazou gets his scimitar out and bobs his head at the large human.
Opening the door cautiously, you are greeted by the sight of two bloated figures mindlessly ambling around within the room. Upon registering the light shining through the door, they turn and with lifeless faces showing no emotion, move towards the door.
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Ordering his companion to stand at the ready, Balin waits until the others are focused on the approaching undead before retrieving his wooden mask symbol from where it is tucked inside of his jacket. Holding the symbol out towards his shrouded companion, Balin focuses his consciousness outward and to the tether of negative energy he can feel urging the zombies to movement.
Then, brows furrowing, Balin can assess that the power of a group of zombies is too great for him to control alone. Cursing, he tucks the symbol back into his jacket and thrusts his hand forward with a mental command to his guardian. In an instant the black-clad figure is sweeping forward with a hauntingly smooth gait, shield raised and scimitar readied to strike.
The robe-shrouded companion moves in without fear or hesitation, its scimitar flashing through the air with lethal accuracy and ferocity, cleaving through one of the zombie's arms, dropping its forearm and wrist down to the floor. The companion raises his shield, lowers his stance and swings his blade out wide, ready for another attack.
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Kairen's eyes go wide at the new occupants up and about; first from surprise, then from anticipation. Balin's silent companion beats him to first blood, but only barely. In a single motion, he turns to the unattended undead, pulls his sword from the sheath on his back, dashes into the closest zombie, and with both hands, cleaves downward through the creatures midsection.