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Zoisa gets up closer to the door to check out the plants Seyhannah mentions. She sniffs at the mold and has to be yanked away before she attempts to lick it.
Alem kneels at the door and carefully inspects the growth. He studies it, but he does not recognize it by sight. Without touching it or performing any tests on it, there's no way to know what it might be. He might have a book on botany with in his belongings; he had not packed one himself, but Master Hassan had added a few from his personal collection that Alem hadn't managed to get to yet.
"It appears to be something like a mold, though perhaps it could be a fungus or algae. I am sure Master Hassan would know, but without any testing, I could not say more. Still, it is not unusual in a place like this, except maybe that it does not appear to have spread throughout the whole of the shrine. Many people think that mold cannot grow in a desert, but they would be mistaken. You see..." Alem launches into a truly dry lecture on the subject. Luckily, he's cut short as Zoisa attempts to lick the growth.
Alem, you notice that the mold is not of a harmful species
"No other portal has been quite so difficult as this. Whatever lies beyond, it is different from everything else we have faced thus far. We should try to get through once more before allowing the others to make camp here."
"Right, then," Fawziya says, stretching her arms and back in preparation. "Let's open this portal!" She places her hands upon the stone door and begins shoving hard.
"Fawziya! Let me help! Did you know people under the influence of pesh can sometimes tap extra reserves of strength?"
She conjures her pesh touch, yellow and red petals of light dancing on her fingers as she taps Fawziya on the back. Fawziya feels a spicy-sour tingle on her tongue, and a wave of aggressive power fills her head. She feels a boost of power in her arms!
Seeing her "medicinal" aid was not really helping Fawziya, Zoisa attempts to assist her as best as her small frame can manage.
"Wish we had that damn camel here now!"
There's nothing quite like the sight of a desert beauty, bracing herself against door faded by the desert sands of time. Her face beads with sweat as she works at the barricade, and her muscles tense with each forceful push.
It takes time, so much that the rest of the party finds time to sit and wait, but eventually the door gives way, and Fawziya stands victorious.
Past the broken remains of the door, you find stone stairs that lead down, down, down. Where? There's really only one way to find out.
Fawziya gives a mighty shout as the stuck door finally yields to her strength, and takes a moment to lean against the newly opened door while she catches her breath. "A *huff* worthy *puff* foe!", she says breathlessly, wiping the sweat from her brow. "Give me a moment to recover, and we can discover what riches must surely lie below!" She takes a long swig from her waterskin as the rest find their feet.
Despite the sheer effort of getting the door open, Zoisa is practically bouncing from foot to foot, not tired at all.
"This is exciting! A near-unbreakable door hiding an ominous staircase down to the gut of the mountain?! Maybe we'll find more baboons! Or a colony of mushroom people! I wonder how well hallucinogenic mushrooms would mix with pesh? Think it would trigger a bad trip? Wouldn't want to trip on THIS staircase!"
Perhaps we will find more Pugwampis. Either way, I leave it up to you three whether we move on. Seyhannah does a quick inventory of what gear she has a then looks up at the others as if expecting an answer.
Alem marvels as Zoisa toils against the door, finally succeeding in spectacular fashion. Looking past the portal into the yawning darkness, his interest in only roused more.
"Calm yourself, Zoisa," he laughs. "It is most likely a simple storage cellar below-ground. Below the sands and protected from the sun, it is not nearly so hot in the day or cold at night, making for excellent storage conditions."
"Al, you know I couldn't do calm without copious amounts of pesh!" Zoisa replies, cheekily sticking out her tongue at Alem.
"And I prefer the mushroom people idea. Mushroom people are more fun than storage crates!"
This chamber seems to be an enormous laboratory. Against the north and south walls are two identical daises raised about five feet from the laboratory floor, each accessed by a wide set of curved stairs. Atop each dais is a wide workbench covered in a bewildering series of glass beakers, tubes, alembics, athanors, and other alchemical tools. Some of these containers are filled with a murky green substance.
A massive mold-encrusted basalt table dominates the entrance of the room, flanked by two small tables to the east and west containing surgical tools and sheaves of old parchment. The walls of the subterranean lab were clearly fashioned from the living rock under the monastery, but carefully cut mold-encrusted tiles line the floor, interrupted occasionally by metal drains the size of dinner plates."
Fawziya's nose wrinkles as the smell of old chemicals assaults her senses. "Not...what I expected, but at least it's something. Alem, Zoisa? Any ideas what they were researching here? Any notes on how to change base metals into gold? That would be a find!"
"There was no mention of an alchemical lab here when I've heard stories of this place. " Seyhannah says as she runs a finger across one of the moldy tables. "It spears that it hasn't seen the light of the Dawnflower for some time now though."
.
Zoisa's eyes light up at the sight of the chemistry set.
"COOL!" is all she can exclaim before rushing over to the table containing them and checking each one.
"By the Lantern King's Laugh! I'm keeping this stuff. Give it a good clean and I could refine SO much pesh with it! Al, are you okay if I keep this stuff?"
Opening another door a young burly she half-orc sees another group of adventurers. Lowering her iron she smiling speaks up. "Parlay?"
Alem's eyes widen with wonder. This laboratory is a far better surprise than he could have expected. It's purpose confounds Alem; it does not appear to be a simple brewery for wine or beer. "It would be unthinkable to leave such valuable tools behind, Zoisa. They are hardly doing the monks any good!"
Seeing how much mold has taken over the place, Alem furrows his brow. "As much mold as has grown here, there must be spores everywhere, even in the air that we breathe. I shall need to study it to ensure it is not harmful to us." Bending down, he uses his dagger to scrape off some of the mold and place it in a sampling vial.
While Zoisa busies herself with the glassware, Alem investigates the old writings. Perhaps they might illuminate the purpose of this laboratory. Engrossed in the writings, Alem barely notices the half-orc's entrance and startles at her parlay. "Hold, friend! It seems we are not as alone as we imagined. Who might you be?"
Seyhannah starts at the door opening with a quick curse to herself for not expecting it. Hand reaching to her hilt when the newcomer calls for a parley, she relaxes a bit but still keeps ready for trouble. "Well hello, I'll say by the looks of this place I expected it to uninhabited. "
Opening the door wider to show her other comrades Faffnyr enters the room showing the holy symbol of Sarenrae proudly on her chest. "Well, so did we! We were not aware the mistress has sent anyone else here."
Zoisa is startled out of her exploration of the alchemist's set by the arrival of strangers.
"Oh my Eldest! This is BETTER than meeting mushroom people! Hello! I'm Zoisa, THE MAGNIFICENT! Purveyor of pesh and sorceress supreme!"
She gives an exaggerated bow to the newcomers.
Josria was about to introduce herself when she heard a familiar voice.
"Oh...hello Zoisa. Fancy meeting you herrrre. I see you'rrrre also searrrching for Haleen as well."
Josria cleared her throat before finishing her introduction, "It is an honorrrr to meet all of you. I am Josrrrria al-Zarrrqa, a skilled firrrre sorrrrcerrrress. You could say that we werrre sent as rrrreinforrrrcements to help you out. We just defeated a giant pugwumpi king. You should have seen the look on his face when I torrrched him with my firrre magic."
She pauses as she snaps her fingers causing a spark to ignite from her fingertips before she continued speaking, "Also I did find this lovely book in the librrrrarrry herrrre. I intend to rrrread it once we have finished herrrre. Ugh this mold looks...unsettling as if it could come...uh...."
The catfolk didn't finish the sentence as she quickly scans the room while slowly backing out of the room.
"Oh, ho! More allies to bolster our ranks! Excellent! I am Fawziya bint Abdul-Wali, Warrior of the Dunes, Slayer of Dragons, and the Champion of Khoka, and I bid you welcome. Join my band of adventurers, and we shall earn glory for all our names!"
She turns to the catfolk as she describes her adventures thus far. "You faced the King of Pugwampis? A king of ashes, I say! Ha! I hope that these chambers hold something at least as impressive for us, for I daresay you have found the more glorious path than us. Naught but stirges and such lie above."
Seyhannah looks slightly annoyed but otherwise smiles at the newcomers. "Almah must have thought we were in need of assistance. Welcome, I am Seyhannah Kassim. Have any of you been injured? We have cleared the upper reaches of the monastery. Is there more to discover here in this place?"
Upon hearing a familiar, purring voice, Zoisa lets out a delighted shriek.
she cries as she rushes to tackle the catfolk woman in a hug.
"How did you get here?! So good to see you! Haleen is going to be so surprised when we find her! I dropped a ceiling on some pugwampis and made friends with a troupe of baboons and got snacked on by a stirge!"
"Oof!"
Josria had the wind knocked out of a bit as the pesh addicted gnome tackles the catfolk.
"Nice to see you as well Zoisa. We just arrrrrived herrrre not too long ago. And....it seems that you've been busy herrrre as well. And yes, it will be good to see Haleen again."
The sorceress could see that her gnome friend was still the same.
"SO! What's going down down here? Did that pugwampi king have a crown? I wanna see!"
"You two know each other? Excellent. That makes this much easier. Is there anything to clear of the temple behind you? We have cleared it behind us. "
"Oh, yeah. Josie's practically an auntie to me. She and Haleen were like this!" Zoisa explains, crossing her fingers in a dramatic fashion.
What appears to be some kind of traveling entertainer, but oddly carrying a hooked glaive-guisarme, relaxes a bit from behind Faffnyr. "You know these people, Josria?" she says with some surprise. "We keep finding the unexpected here."
Zoisa rushes over to the new person.
"Oh my gosh! Is that a sitar? Sitars are so cool! I wish I could go to Vudra and get one! But you've got one here! Hi! My name's Zoisa, THE MAGNIFICENT! What's yours? How'd you meet Josie?" she gushes, grinning ear-to-ear and pumping Arian's hand up and down.
"Yes, this is a family heirloom," explains the woman. She posts her polearm against the wall and unloops the setar from her back. Now clearly visible, it is a masterful piece of work, inlaid with mother-of-pearl and decorated with tiny gems. The woodwork is equally of high quality, with a lacquered sheen, and the strings are fine and resilient.
She kneels down to Zoisa and says, "My name is Arian. I met Josria - ah, Josie - since we were also hired by Almah to do work in exploring these ruins and getting rid of any hazards or monsters. Faffnyr -" - here she points to the half-orc woman - "and I were delayed slightly, but we managed to join the expedition and we've been carefully searching the area since."
"Your name means "wish?" Are you a genie?!" Zoisa asks.
Arian chuckles. "No, just the wish that my parents hoped for," she explains. "If I were a genie I expect I would have other things to do than rooting around in old ruins!"
"Yes I know herrrr. She is also looking forrrr someone dearrr to us both."
You can hear her mumbling, adding, "Hopefully I can find my beloved Haleen before something bad happens to her. I don't know what I'll do without my sweet Haleen."
"But you are correct Arian, we do keep finding the unexpected in this ruined place."
She then casts a detect magic spell to see if there's anything valuable or dangerous in the room.
With the two halves now becoming a whole, the room feels a bit more crowded, but perhaps a grain safer.
Josria doesn't feel anything inherently magical in the nearby area and.....no....wait....there's something...something about the items on the farthest right table.
Seyhannah uses her dark vision to peer under the tables.
Zoisa casts her eyes about, seeming to see more than she previously could.
Josria noticed that something...magical about the items on the far end table.
"Let us be carrreful. I'm a bit concerrrned about that mold. I don't like mold, slime, and oozes. Trrry getting that stuff out of yourrrr furrr."
Arian stands and picks up her polearm again, then says, "Well? Any signs of magic?"
Looking with the others for any dangers Faffnyr frowns.
"What is it? Does anyone know anything about those kinds of things."
"Yes, those items on the farrrr rrrright table arrre magical," Josria pointed out, answering Arian's question.
"Oh?", says Fawziya, her interest piqued once it became known there were valuable magics in the room. "What are they? Carpets that can fly? Rings that command genies? Or something even more fantastic?"