Hazreem looks at the bottle intently. "I am not sure what to make of this. Do you think that spirit who is trapped here with us lives in the bottle? Or is it a trap for the greedy?" He shakes his head. "Considering how helpful that spirit has been so far, I say we leave it be for now."
Attempts at wiggling the "ruby stopper" fail as the gem is securely cemented in place. There is no good way to look inside without damaging the lamp.
After coins drop through the curtain of fire, you join Bahir and Efreat painlessly on the other side. A search of the room finds a chest still closed. Inside you discover a quiver containing 20 arrows.
As you look around this room and contemplate what to do next, the now familiar face appears along the far wall. He speaks to you quickly, not letting you get a word in. "An eye of brass was forged of old to grace the grand sultan's court. This eye could pierce the veils of secrecy, distance, and time with its impossible gaze to bring the grand vizier of the grand sultan tidings for his master's ear. This Impossible Eye is that which binds us even now, but it was stolen and now lies within these very walls, the cause of out imprisonment and the means of our escape." He quickly fades out.
Hazreem grumbles, "Great, more riddles. Anyone care to guess what he meant by that? Does he mean this Impossible Eye is some kind of artifact like that Scroll?"
Mah'ysa sighs.
"I WISH I had paid more attention in mathematics." She looks around hopefully.
As Mah'ysa fruitlessly hopes that genies are near by and will grant her wish, Bahir and Efreat together step through curtain #4.
You are able to walk right through the wall of fire without negative effects and you find yourself standing in yet another large, high-ceiling'd square chamber with four archways filled with fiery curtains. The Ignan runes are becoming somewhat familiar to you now. You stepped through the archway with a 4 above it. To your right is the one with a 3, across the room is #2, and to your left is #1. A couple of opened and apparently empty chests litter the brass floor here as well, but nothing of interest. The ceiling contains the same Ignan phrase along with the drawing of a jackal.
Standard search reveals more coins and gems, totaling 44.7 gold and 11 gems worth 100 gp each. Nothing else of interest is found.
Moving on through archway #2 you, surprise surprise, find yourself in another identical looking room. The only different here is that there is a drawing of a lion on the roof. To your right is arch #1, across is arch #4, and to your left is arch #3.
Standard search reveals more of the same. You find 63.9 gold and 8 gems worth about 300 gp each.
After passing through door #1, the room you find yourself in is basically the same with the image of a salamander in the ceiling.
The room is empty, other than a large harp constructed of ivory and copper, its post in the shape of a veiled maiden, resting in the northwest corner of the room. Picking it up, it must weigh at least 20 pounds.
Hazreem strokes his scraggly beard and is silent for a moment. When he speaks it is with a strange sense of calm. "This place could very well be endless for all we know. We are in the City of Brass after all." He looks at the harp for a minute then takes out a goodberry. Munching it thoughtfully, he adds "That spirit who keeps showing his face knows a lot more than he is saying. We should try find out where he lairs himself."
Mah'ysa immediate reaction is to go to the harp.
"Ooooo that's beautiful!" She exclaims.
She plays the first stanza of Dance of the Dragonflies in C minor on it.
Bahir: You detect the usual evil radiance from this place as a whole, but nothing specific from the harp.
Efreat: You detect a faint enchantment aura coming from the harp.
The music the Mah'ysa plays is beautiful and comes out in perfect tune. As you listen, you find it quite a compelling piece...
Passing through door #4, you find yourself in another similar chamber with a dragon on the ceiling. In the center of the chamber stands a 3-foot tall brass lamp with a large ruby that has been cemented in place over its lid and traces of lead can be seen around its spout. Empty chests litter the floor.
"Don't give her any ideas Bahir..." Hazreem mutters as the group exits the room. Once Hazreem sees the lamp, he pauses. "Have we been in this room before?" He then starts looking for signs of the party having been here before.
All the empty chests have been dumped on one side, just as you have been doing as you search through them. Everything looks very familiar. A quick search shows nothing else of value, except for one of the coins that Bahir had tossed in through the #1 door to your left after he went through. Clearly you have been in this room before, but you came in from the other side.
Bahir takes the lead and moves with Efreat through the archway with a rune representing 2, and appears on the other side, nearly tripping over the remains of one of the brass constructs. The ashes from the Scroll of Kakishon sit in a pile on the floor with the image of lizard on the ceiling. Across from you is the Archway with a 4 above it that should lead you back out to the pool of lava, but the 4-2-1 pattern would send you to the right through door #1 instead.
Heading through door #1, you arrive in what appears to be a room you haven't been in before as it has a vulture on the roof. A quick search reveals coins totaling 53.1 gold and 4 gems of the 200 gp variety, but nothing else.
Moving on through door #4 on the right, you find yourself in a room with the image of a scorpion on the ceiling. This room appears different. There is a small niche in one of the walls where a ball of flame rests, apparently burning brightly with no visible fuel source. More chests lie scattered about and a quick search recovers 51.8 gold and 7 gems of the 300 gp variety.
A few rooms back...
Reluctanly, Mah'ysa leaves the harp, as it is too heavy for her to carry conveniently.
"So you like my playing?" She asks shyly.
In the latest room, she is drawn to the niche with the ball of flame.
Not having seen such a thing before, she tries to identify it with a Detect Magic.
Truly, you have not seen anything like this. Whatever it is, it is definitely magical in nature, a ball of fire with no source of fuel and no smoke. But it is clearly a strong heat source indicating it is really a fire and not an illusion, and the aura emanating from it is not illusionary. It appears to be a solid object that just burns, but without any apparent mass or structure. If this magical effect is permanent, it could be worth a well over ten grand in gold.
Hazreem nods in agreement. "Yeah, that spirit mentioned the 'divine fire that cannot be quenched'." He points at the ball of fire, "That would be what he is talking about no doubt about it. We need to take it with us. Efreat should be able to carry it safely. Now all we need to do is find the waiting post for the brass ship."
Efreat carefully reaches out and scoops up the ball of flame. As he raises it up, it appears to be solid despite being just fire. He holds it in front of him, cradled in his hands. "This would burn through anything without protections."
Efreat ponders...
As Efreat returns back to the relatively small landing, Hazreem catches sight of the image you saw before in the domed ceiling above. His massive image covering the roof looks down at you and pronounces, "The secret of the brass ship is in the divine fire that guides its way. Light the prow or the waiting post with the flame that cannot be quenched." And once again, his image fades before you can ask him anything.
And then there was...
Most noticeable is the brass lamp standing 3 feet tall in the center of the room. A large ruby has been cemented in place over its lid and traces of lead can be seen around its spout. The lamp is not currently lit. A few other boxes and chests litter the floor in here as well, but as in the other room they appear to have already been gone through and emptied. Looking up at the ceiling, the first difference you notice is the drawing of a dragon instead of a lizard, but the phrase in Ignan that Pae said reads "Half or Triple Plus One" is still there.
"I think that we should take this back and light the lamp."
Hazreem's eyes widen in surprise. "I completely forgot about that lamp! That seems to be a good idea, although I am concerned about what or WHO the lamp holds inside it."
"I must say I'm curious about that lamp..." Said Mah'ysa, thinking of the possiblities.
With Efreat holding the ball of fire precariously in his hands, which would burn the hands of a mere mortal to a crisp, you continue on through the next door, door #2.
You arrive in a familiar place with the charmed harp in one corner and the image of a salamander on the ceiling.
Hazreem hides a smirk as he moves to pick up the harp for Mah'ysa, knowing the harp is much too heavy for the petite priestess.
"Thank you..." Mah'ysa grunts as she picks up the lighter end of the harp. "Hazreem..." She shifts her grip on the less than wieldy instrument. "I hope we don't... have to go too much farther."
Hazreem lifts the approximately 20 pound harp and carries the bulky item with him through the door labeled 1 as Bahir leads the way.
You arrive in another room with the image of a lion on the ceiling. Other than the few chests and boxes you have already sifted through, there is nothing of interest here.
With the sorcerer carrying a ball of fire and the druid carry a large harp, Bahir leads you through the curtain of fire indicated with the Ignan rune for 4. As you step through unharmed, you are shocked to find that you are somewhere new. With a curtain of fire behind you, you find yourself standing in a 20 foot wide, rather nondescript brass corridor. After proceeding straight for approximately 40 feet, it makes a sharp 45 degree turn to the left, followed by another 45 degree bend in the far wall after another 20-25 feet. The corridor proceeds on from there, as you can see through the reflection in the shiny brass wall. It appears to turn yet again to the left. In the reflection, you can make out a lamp attached to the side of the wall, flames emanating from a pipe coming out of the wall. It illuminates the corridor well. The ceiling above is about 40 feet high here.
Bahir: A vision flashes through your mind, something you are starting to get used from your link to vardishal's presence in your scimitar. The images include that of a marid princess being taken captive by an efreeti warlord of whom you recognize by now as Jhavhul. The marid princess is a genie from the plane of water. This is apparently someone that Vardishal knew and it was a long-time ago that she was taken prisoner, but he somehow senses her presence here. Her name is Shazathared and he believes that she is being held captive within this place. He senses that the corridor ahead leads to where she is confined.
After Bahir explains his vision, Efreat comments, "The name Shazathared is that of a powerful marid princess known throughout the Inner Sphere as one of the greatest storytellers of genie-kind. There is even a book called The Songs of Shazathared that document many of her tales, if you can find a copy."
Hazreem shrugs, "That was...interesting, but how does that help us now? Could this Shazathared know how to escape this place?" He sets down the harp and points to the lamp. "Is this the lamp we should light?"