Bein wasn't surprised when Jack snatched the burning torch from his hand, in fact he was relieved. He was still kicking off some stragglers that were still clinging to him when Finnabar started the blaze. Being over prepared Bein pulled free his only flask of Oil and tossed it at the burning swarm as well.
1-2 hit self
3-10 squares from 12.00
Bein swings the oil flask towards the spiders, however the end somehow gets caught on a hanging strand of web, and pulls out of his hand. The contents spill all around and onto the big fighter's legs, a trickle splashing on the still-burning oil from the lantern. In a sudden Bein's legs are sheathed in fire...
damage:
The fire seems to distract the remaining spiders however, and they turn back, splitting up and disapearing into the shadowy corners of the room, many still burning from the oil that covers them.
Jack tears off his cloak, still damp from their proceedings through the pools, with his free hand to throw it around Bein's legs. He calls to Xarafine for assistance.
Once Jack has extinguished the flames, Xarafine places her hands on the nape of Bein's neck, and intones a prayer to Viardi in Canari.
With Jack's help Bein manages to quench the flames and Xerafine bustles over, placing her hands on the fighter and intoning a prayer.
With the spiders gone, and the webs cleared, you can finally get a good look at the room you are in. The space is a long rectangle 55' long and 15' wide. Along each side of the room are 4 small alcoves, evenly spaced along the walls. Within the tangled webbing yo find a further 6 "pterans", their bodies mummified within the masses of tangled web.
In the spaces between the alcoves naked animal-headed statues stand, apparently carved from the living rock. Those on the right are male, those on the left female. The animal-head of each statue matches that of the statue opposite it.
At the far end of the room stands another entance which. Somehow the sir seems fresher as you approach this entrance.
In the last two alcoves are small niches in the wall. Each of these has a stone dagger within it, one carved with the head of a stag, the other with that of a doe.
Bein didn't know which hurt more, his burns before the Teacher soothed them or his wounded pride for actually lighting himself aflame. He still could't believe how easily the flask had slipped from his fingers...
When the flames were extinguished he couldn't help but laugh, the noise was loud and hearty in the ancient dust filled halls. "I should have stuck to clubbing the pests. That'll teach me from trying to grab a flask with gauntlets!"
Finnabar casts a gance at Bein: "Are you doing all right?"
He then turns at the rest of the group "Well, that's something well done, thanks everyone. Let's search that room then take the next exit. I hope there is no more nasty surprises."
After a few instants, he stops in his tracks. "Oh, and I think I will just go back to the mules and horses to pick back some oil for every one. Just in case."
"Look," Jack points, as his elven eyes spot unusual shapes in the corner. "There are alcoves in the wall there. Stone knives, I think."
"I think getting more oil is a good idea. I'll go." Jack makes for the exit unless someone has anything else to say.
Bein nods to Finnabar. "Perfectly fine, a little overcooked but fie Milord. Perhaps it would be best if we returned to our camp and rested for the night, we killed that beastly spider so the immediate threat is over." He watched the little spiders retreat back into the webbing and crushed one under his boot for good measure. "I have one oil flask left hanging on Arundel, thanks Jack."
Xarafine walks over to the alcove. She raises the Staff and intones a prayer in Canari (detect magic) focusing on the two knives.
Neither dagger appears to be magical, however as you examine them you do see thin veins of a dark metal running through each of them.
The metal running through these daggers has the dark unreflective sheen of cold-iron, and they are remarkably well balanced, especially given that they have been carved from stone.
(Cold iron, masterwork Daggers)
"These were probably used for their blood sacrifices," Xarafine blanches at the sight of the blades. "I cannot imagine they would be of value to anyone else."
Jack returned with the oil he retrieved from the packs (also having checked on the animals while he was there and making sure they were fine).
"Maybe it's best we hold onto them. Don't need anyone else to misuse them. And if you want to experiment with the offering statues later..." Jack trailed off, not wanting to complete that thought.
"We should keep them. They are very likely important to unlocking the mysteries of this place." Xarafine shudders and looks away from them. "I would prefer they be wrapped and stowed. I do not like looking at them."
Bein looks over the daggers quickly, in the low light they didn't appear to be out of the ordinary. He'd look at them again when he had better light, in the meantime though he pulled his waterproof bag out and placed the pair of weapons away. Tucking it back in his backpack he shouldered his gear and sheathed his sword.
"Done as you wish Teacher. Thanks for retrieving that oil for me Jack. Lets see whats behind this door shall we." e begins to stride towards the doorway, at the other-side of the room where the air seemed fresher, he drew his sword and reached for the door.
Bein moves to the doorway. On the other side the passage extends about 20'. Within the passageway there are more webs (but no sign of more arachnids). The webs sway in the breeze and within them 3 tangled masses are hanging from the roof. At the far end of the passage it seems to open up into some kind of chamber which is not visable from the doorway itself.
"Let's look at this room, we'll take these poor beings down after. I'm not injured, Bein, let me go in front."
Finnabar proceeds cautiously to the doorway.
Jack follows behind, re-readying his bow in case anything else unpleasant appears.
Passing through the doorway you enter a huge round chimney, 35' in diameter which streatches up to reveal the blue sky far above and down to the pool of water where you were attcked by the blood-sucking-bats. Around the edges of the chimney is a 2' wide ledge which leads to a small doorway directly opposite you.
Xarafine looks round cautiously, then stares briefly at the narrow ledge, the pool below, then back to the ledge. She gives a small, resigned sigh.
"Let me see what's in the doorway. I am more slender and less covered in metal," Jack says wryly,
He reshoulders his bow, there being little room to take it out. He takes his time to edge very carefully along the narrow ledge to go to the doorway. With just his foot in the doorway, he looks through.
Jack carefully edges his way around the ledge towards the far doorway. The ledge is slippery with moisture and a thin growth of algae but, by moving very carefully he manages to navigate his way to the door. Within, a corridor leads 10' into the darkness before opening into a circular chimney 20' wide. Around the chamber 2' wide stairs spiral downwards.
Glancing over the edge Jack sees that the stairs end at the same level as the pool in a circular room (the base of the chimney) the center of which contains some type of large statue, the details of which are difficult to make out in the dim light from this distance.
Jack Acrobatics DC 15:
"There are stairs that lead down to a room with yet another statue. A large one. Probably worth looking into, but be very careful. The ledge is slippery. If you toss some of the rope to me, I can hold it steady so you have something to hold onto."
Finnabar takes out a coil of rope and sends and lopes it to Jack.
"Wait a minute, I'm taking out my armor before following you."
Finnabar will take the time to remove his armour before binding the other end of a rope to a support and following Jack.
You all successfully rope-up and navigate your way to the far side of the cavern. Finding yourselves at the top of the narrow staircase which leads down to the level of the pool.
Bein nods to Finnabar as he prepares to follow him down to the edge of the pool, he retrieves his still lightly burning torch from jack so that skirmishers hands were free as he tried to light the way partially for those following behind Finnabar. Just in case he slipped he kept his longsword sheathed and pressed his gauntlet covered free hand against the wall for support once they descended the stairs. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs he unsheathed his longsword and stood ready for trouble.
You make your way down the narrow staircase, as you draw closer to the statue it becomes clear that it depicts two of figures, one with the head of a stag, the other with that of a doe. The two figures are naked and are embracing...
inappropriately.
Finally you come to the bottom of the staircase. The room seems to be a natural feature, unlike the rest of the complex and the walls do not have any decoration except that the tattered remains of a red-stained leather curtain hang from a gold bar above the only doorway which leads to steps down into the pool where you were attacked by the "bats".
The walls have metal veins through them, similar to those lacing through the knives you found in the spider's lair.
At the base of the statue lies a 2' high rectangular natural stone plinth, 3' wide by 6 1/2' long.
You notice a somewhat regular 1" diameter round crack in the wall to the left of the statue. At first glace it appears natural but something about it seems wrong. Glancing at the opposite wall you can see another, matching crack on that side of the figures.
Bein draws his Longsword and avoids looking at the statues as best he can, whatever religion these people had practiced. They seemed to had no shame in their... Ritual's. Bein was extra careful as he investigated around the pool looking for anything amiss.
"This table, it looks like an altar of some sort. For blood sacrifice, lustful merging of the flesh, or..." She gives an involuntary shudder. "...both."
Jack smirks a little at the statues. "It's good to know these ancients had a little fun when they weren't sacrificing people."
While every one else is distracted by the statue, Finnabar scans the room with Bein's help.
"Wait... Volpe, Jack, Xarafine, can you have a look at that", he says, pointing towards a somewhat regular 1" diameter round crack in the wall to the left of the statue. There's another identical one to the right. "Could it be traps?"
Xarafine casts DETECT MAGIC; focusing on the area of the statues and plinth first, then moving to each side of the side, where the cracks are located.
Neither the statues, the plinth, nor the cracked areas are magical.
Xarafine examines the cracks in the wall. Why are they on both sides of the statue? Do there appear to be hinges, or a catch, or lever of some sort?
"There are no enchantments, but there is something unusual about this statue."
The centre of each of the cracked areas seem somehow smoother than the surrounding rock. The smoothness reminds you of the Statue of Fillan (god of learning) where you were trained. It was the habit of initiates to touch this statue's forehead before their exams for entrance to the clergy for a blessing. It is as if hundreds or thousands of people have rubbed or touched it over the years.
Jack shrugged, a bit at a loss. "If it's a trap... it seems like where something would come out, not go in. So if that were the case, there'd be a trigger somewhere."
Jack sweeps his eyes across the floor and around the statue that has caught Xarafine's attention, looking for anything that could be stepped on or stumbled across that might cause the trap to go off. He stays still, hoping not to trigger it as he looks.
You can't see anything that might be a trap
Xarafine reaches for the round crack on the right side. She tentatively places her hand in, searching for a handle or catch.
"Master Ciarathan, see the crack just like this one, to the left side of the statue? See if there is a handle or lever of some sort."
I don't think it's a trap, so much as a crawl space. Some burrowing crature might be using this room for traffic.
The cracks are not big enough to place your hand in, rather it seems that the central space should possibly be pushed.
The stone areas inside the cracks smoothly slide backwards into the wall. As they do, the front of the plinth hinges forwards reveling a cavity within the plinth itself. Looking into the dark space revealed you find a spear crafted from some type of very hard black wood and capped with a polished smooth stone spearhead. Along the haft of the spear are carvings of animals, most of which seem to be pursued by some unseen threat.
Bein presses against the area with the cracks and lights the cavity with his torch as he brandishes his sword forward. He was trying to remain ready for any type of threat that could reveal itself when he spotted the spear. He gives a low whistle at the craftsmanship, it looked far to decorative to be a weapon and he didn't recognize the wood.
After examining where the spear is laid he sheathes his sword and picks it up, testing the balance of the haft.
"Even with my knowledge of weapons and the materials they are crafted from... I am honestly unsure as to what the wooden haft of this spear is. I'm afraid I don't have enough material to wrap it, not until we return to our camp."
The spear is indeed lighter than you would have expected and is balanced extemely well.
Xarafine turns her gaze to the spear, focusing her mind on unlocking its secrets
She scrutinizes the carvings on the shaft, the materials of the spearhead, trying to discern anything important.
The spear glows with the faint red aura of evocation magic
The magical radiation drawing her full attention, Xarafine sets her mind to figuring out the properties of the weapon.
"This spear is infused with magical energy. We should be cautious with it."
You can tell that the spear is magical but nothing more.
Bein nods and looks askance as to how to handle the strange spear. "It hasn't harmed me yet and I have no where to place it on my person. If you do not see any harm Teacher I will just carry it for now until we reach our camp." With the spear butt resting on the floor, Bein begins to look around for for another area to explore.
Jack looks around further at any oddities in the room. He also approaches the doorway to look down to the first pool room and see what it looks like from that perspective.
His eyes also cast upward to the curtain hanging there from its golden rod. He touches the rod--is it in good shape or corroded?