if you count it as the three off you working together then the final score was a 20
Even as Hazreem, Efreat, and Mah'ysa rack their brains together, they are unable to figure this thing out.
With the rising of the sun, Mah'ysa sang sweetly as she danced, pirouetting slowly on a single toe.
When done with her morning prayers, she turns to Bahir.
"You know, I don't belive we will be needing an Augury this day. We will be going in no matter what. And with all of us, we will purify our holy temple."
Hazreem joined the Saranae worshipers for their service, much to their surprise. In response to their questioning gazes, he merely responds, "I also wish to do homage to your goddess along with Gozreh, as we are on the same mission. Our goals coincide, so it would make sense for me to lend my support to the Dawngiver."
After everyone completes their morning rituals, you pack up the gear you'll possibly need in battling whatever resides under the temple. Heading out, the seven of you arrive at the church to find it just as you last left it. Dozens of skeletons litter the structure's interior it what looks as if a large battle took place. A stairwell near the center of the structure heads down. Heading down the stairs, you arrive at a bottom platform before a heavily barred door. A strange metal plate with a glowing series of irregularly etched lines mars the surface of the door, casting the stairs in a dull red illumination.
Mah'ysa gives the company a last glance.
"Everybody ready?"
When everyone is, she pulls out a small metal plate with a handle on one side and a series of grooves and prongs on the other. This must be the interdict key. She inserts it in the strange metal plate with glowing lines...
Efreat nods, "I am ready." Once they arrive at the church, he begins to chant "krack'koom"
Hazreem grins at the brave halfling, and says to the others, "I will take rear guard, as is my specialty."
Mah'ysa nods at Pae, then stands back until given the go ahead by the scout.
After removing the barricades from the large door, Mah'ysa prepares to attach the interdict key and says, "Everybody ready?" Efreat casts Mage Armor on himself as Bahir nods, scimitar and shield at the ready. Placing the interdict key on the metal plate, Mah'ysa matches the ridges of the interdict key with the glowing series of irregular etched lines on the plate. Slowly, the red glow fades to nothing and the key fuses to the plate, no longer able to be removed. Checking the door, it no longer appears to be sealed.
"Let me go first my friends..just in case there are any surprises waiting for us. Nobody come in until I say it is safe understood?" says Paellat as he heads towards the door. After Mah'ysa nods in agreement, Pae opens the door enough to slip through. Hazreem turns to watch the groups back after saying, "I will take rear guard, as is my specialty."
Opening the door, cold stale smelling air confronts Pae's senses as he steps through. In the dim light coming from behind him, you see another set to stairs heading further down. These stairs continue down into pitch blackness. The light coming through the doorway is not enough to see the bottom of the stairs.
As Pae disappears down the stairs, Mah'ysa whispers to the others, "Three to one he gets nabbed by the brain devouring zombie ghosts."
Daumari whispers back from his position two steps below the cleric. If it is brains they hunger for, I remain unsure if they would be drawn to any of us ...
Pae slowly opens the door fully whispering to Mah'ysa as he does.."Theres more stairs here and it's black as the void...If we can't get enough natural light down there I'll need some magical assistance."
Efreat's eyes alight with fire, "Fizzar. Where would you like the light to be cast on?"
Finding a piece of debris, Efreat focuses on it and says, "Fizzar", causing the debris to glow brightly. After taking the lighted object, Paellat turns back towards the dark stairs.
After heading down the stairs about 20 feet, they end and the passageway opens into a rounded stone-walled chamber. On the far end of the room is featureless door set into the wall. There is no obvious method to open this door from looking at it. A ten-foot-diameter circle of mortared stones at the center of the room marks a well that descends even deeper into the earth. Next to the well, on a small pedestal, is a large gong. A short stick capped with a round pad of moldering leather dangles from a cord attached to the gong platform. There is no source of light other that what is coming from the object in your hand.
Daumari moves to the center of the room, peering into the well's depths. We could ring the gong. Or, perhaps, we can continue to descend.
Retrieving a torch from his pack, the ranger sets the primed head aflame and casually drops it into the well, watching it fall in order to see if any secrets are revealed.
Hazreem enters behind the others, covering up the tracks of the others more by rote, than actually worried about being followed and ambushed. He scans behind the group, and satisfied, quietly mutters an incantation, allowing the magical auras to be sensed.
Mah'ysa waives her hand, and four torchlights appear, circling around above her head.
After Pae returns up the stairs to tell the others what he has found, the group descends into the darkness. With many people down here, large shadows dance off the walls. Waving her hand, Mah'ysa summons four dancing light sources that rotate overhead providing ample light for which you all can see by.
Daumari walks up to the pit and peers down. Seeing just blackness, he pulls out a torch, lights it, and drops it in the pit. The torch falls about 30 feet into the pit where it comes to a sudden stop at the bottom. The cylindrical pit continues all the way to the bottom without any noticeable openings and with a solid bottom. The torch continues to burn brightly, almost as if there was a air source down there at the bottom.
Hazreem cleans up any signs of their entry into the crypt. Then proceeds to scan the area for any magical auras. Nothing major, but there may be faint auras coming from the door and at the bottom of the now lit pit. Bahir checks the door, but cannot find any way to open it by pushing.
"Hmmm. Well then, are we ready to bang the gong, so to speak?"
Mah'ysa casts Mage Hand, and it slowly lifts the leather covered stick teathered to the gong.
Efreat tenses up and encants, "shon'koom."
Poised to strike the gong, Mah'ysa hesitates.
"Sir Bahir, can you sense the taint of evil anywhere around?"
Daumari turns from the well, readying his hammers in preparation to the sounding of the gong.
Hazreem draws his scimitar, noticing the increased tension amongst the other companions.
As the group prepares for battle, Mah'ysa uses a magical hand to lift the stick next to the gong and prepares to strike it. But she hesitates and asks Bahir, "Sir Bahir, can you sense the taint of evil anywhere around?" Scanning the area for any taint of evil, Bahir replies negatively. With that, Mah'ysa uses the stick to strike the gong.
BONG!!
The sound of the gong rings throughout the crypt. Suddenly the ground begins to shake slightly. To the north, the door slowly begins rising into the ceiling, scraping loudly against its frame as it does so. Similar scraping sound is heard coming from the pit. After a couple of seconds pass, a gout of pinkish, swirling vapor rushes out of the well, coalescing into three man-sized shapes with roiling fiery forms of beautiful winged angels with fire for wings and hair. It suddenly gets really bright in here as your visual senses are assaulted with the intense light. These angels look like angels of Sarenrae. They immediately move to attack.
Through the opening doorway, you see a passageway continuing north. In the sudden bright light, you can see that it opens into another chamber. There is something resting on the floor in the center of this chamber, about 8 feet long and 3 feet tall. It is topped with some kind of figurine.
Initiative:
Mah'ysa adopts a defensive stance and presents her holy symbol.
"Halt! In the name of Saranrae!"
Channel positive energy (harm undead):
Hazreem speaks up, "If Bahir did not detect the taint of evil here, perhaps these guardians are not evil, and can be negotiated with!"
Daumari takes up a defensive stance as well, spinning his hammers in fortress-style while watching the incandescent beings closely.
As Bahir and Daumari take up defensive stances and prepare to attack if the fiery angels attack themselves, Mah'ysa holds her holy symbol of Sarenrae high and yells, "Halt! In the name of Saranrae!" The one in front of Mah'ysa halts in his tracks as soon as she presented the holy symbol. They other two turn towards her as she cries out the name of Sarenrae and stop their movement as well. All three just stand there, their fiery gaze locked onto Mah'ysa.
Mah'ysa channels energy to damage any undead within 30 feet, but this blast of positive energy doesn't appear to have any effect.
Everyone stands motionless waiting for something to happen while the Halfling babbles on about something before realizing that he is talking to himself and shuts up. The light in the room flickers from the fiery light coming from the now motionless fire angel bodies. It is starting to get warm in here.
Hazreem nods at Bahir, and waits for everyone else but Bahir and Mah'ysa to exit before leaving himself, after shooting a distrustfull look at the feiry angels.
Looking around, Mah'ysa straightens up.
"In the name of Saranrae! Stand aside and let us pass!" Mah'ysa says loudly.
"In the name of Saranrae! Stand aside and let us pass!" Mah'ysa says loudly. The three fiery creatures stand motionless, their gaze still fixed on Mah'ysa.
What exactly are these creatures?
Knowledge (Planes):
Knowledge (Religion):
What exactly are these creatures?
You recognize these as fire elementals, sometimes used to serve as guardians in temples of Sarenrae. Their representation was only used to be more pleasing to the priests that frequently passed through.
"Okay then!" Declaims Mah'ysa, still brandishing her holy Ankh of Saranrae at the creatures. "You just stand there and we'll go around you!" Carefully, Mah'ysa starts going around them.
As Mah'ysa moves around to the other side of the chamber, the elemental angels simply stay in place while maintaining their gaze on the Cleric. Everyone is able to move through the doorway without being molested. After everyone is through the door, Mah'ysa follows. The fiery angels do not follow.
As you enter the next chamber, long shadows from the light of the elementals that you left behind dance over a raised dais in the center of the room. It bears a ceramic cask with an elaborate topper capped by a figurine of Sarenrae. The rest of the room is fairly dark, dimly lit by the reflection of the main light source. The walls of this fairly large chamber contain several niches for burials. Shrouded corpses, most reduced to skeletons decades, if not centuries ago, pack the niches from floor to ceiling.
Detecting evil on the chamber and it's contents.
No evil is detected.
Hazreem mutters to himself, "I have no intention of grave robbing here", as he scans the area for magic.
he scans the area for magic.
As you scan the perimeter of the chamber, you notice that many of the corpses were buried with small trinkets that may be of value but nothing shows as magical. As you turn towards the center of the room, you detect a aura comes from the raised dias. As you concentrate on it, you realize that it is coming from inside the container instead the container itself. You are unable to determine what exactly it is since you can't see it, but you sense a moderate conjuration aura.
"The flask in the dias is magical, and the aura is a conjuration effect. I suspect the demon might be trapped in there, but if so how did Kardswaan release it?"