As the others talked, and Prazil wrestled with the first boulder, Agnar mused briefly about fashioning some sort of harness for Fang. Fang, for his part, tilted his head at Agnar's unexplained stare.
At Kereek's suggestion, Agnar shook himself from his reverie. "Fang and I will go with you, and we'll hasten back here with Spike. If needed, I should be able to speak directly with Spike, and tell him what we want him to do."
Prazil is able to wrestle the first stone ball into its cradle before several of you depart to bring Spike into the temple complex, a chore that takes a couple minutes.
While the others leave to fetch Spike, Prazil busies himself with the next largest boulder. It takes even longer than his previous effort, but he at last does get it moved into position just as Kereek and the others arrive with Spike.
Agnar stood in front of Spike and waved his hands slowly in front of the dinosaur's eyes, and then placed his fingers on his own lips. A shiver ran up the cleric's spine.
Spike! Help, need, Kereek and Kereek herd. Herd's ground-eggs rolled from nests and get cold. Herd need ground-eggs back in nests for warm-sitting. Ground-eggs heavy, but Spike strong, and can push where herd cannot. Herd-friend move from ground-egg to nest. Spike follow, push ground-egg to nest.
Agnar then walked through moving from the next stone to the next depression, and encouraged Spike to follow along, pushing the rock.
Prazil, give him a hand!
Spike help! Spike help! Spike wags his tail excitedly and nuzzles Agnar as Kereek prepares his spell. Spike like walking in sky! We do that soon?! Soon?! He offers Kereek an excited lick at this point, the dinosaur's rough tongue lifting the crimson kobold from the ground as he continues to wag his massive tail. Spike help!
---
Prazil, chest heaving, brightens as Spike pops back to full size. "Spike!" He offers his trusty steed a cheerful pat on the head before turning to help push the third boulder. After pratfalling on his first try at helping, Prazil begins to find better positioning before the pair at last seat the giant stone with sudden ease.
And, after another three minutes of struggle (and one last face plant), Prazil and Spike manage to maneuver the fourth boulder into position.
Unfortunately, before they can get the third boulder into position, the steps suddenly pitch forward into a steep slope, sending the boulders rolling downhill toward you!
After a few moments, they revert again to stairs, leaving you with the boulders back out of place in the bottom of the room.
Despite her quick reflexes, Marcelline isn't able to dodge out of the way in time, and gets bowled over by the boulders. "How 'bout we leave the room before you try that next time?" she says, irritably.
Kereek barely manages to leap to the side, avoiding some of the damage. "WHAT AM THAT DOING?!?" he shrieks, staring at the boulders. "Am it on timer? Am we supposed to put biggest boulder there first?"
Kat feels the grinding of stone on stone through the soles of her boots and tries to shout a warning, "Look out!" She rolls to the side, avoiding all but the smallest of the stones.
Once everyone has regained their feet and maybe their dignity, she agrees with Kereek, "Or maybe we have to put them up in a specific order?"
Prazil and Spike both suffer the full brunt of the sudden avalanche, the kobold sitting up from within a could of dust after shaking his head. "Ouch! Well, whatever we should be for doing, Prazil and Spike am not for wanting to do that again!" Spike bellows a low trumpet of agreement as he casts a seemingly baleful glance at the nearest boulder. Prazil then walks over to Marcelline and helps her to her feet. "Am you ok?"
--Prazil--
HP: 48/81
Resist Fire 5
AC: 32 (16 T / 29 FF)
CMD: 28
F/R/W: +8/+9/+8
Cavalier's Challenge uses remaining: 3/3
Tactician uses remaining: 2/2
Knight's Pennon uses remaining: 1/1
+1 arrows remaining: 19/20
-Ongoing Effects-
Colossus Hunter: +1/+1 vs Large/Huge
--Spike--
HP: 46/79
AC: 34 (11T / 32 FF)
CMB: +16
CMD: 29 (33 vs trip)
F/R/W: +9/+7(evasion)/+4
Fly Skill: +15 (+3 skill points, +1 dex, +3 trained, +3 feat, +5 spell (1/2 kereek's CL), +4 maneuverability, -4 size)
Marcelline grumbles - "Yeah, I'm fine. I just thought I was faster than that."
Katerina smirks and says, "Maybe you were before the gray found you?"
Marcelline rolls her eyes. "Being triple your age only means I've kicked three times as many asses as you."
Still smiling, "I have all my life in front of me to catch up, and," she pats the hilt of her sword, "I think I can do it."
"Keep clinging onto that belief, young miss." responds Marcelline. "Then, war with demons for 20 years and let me know how you come out on the other side of it."
"Ah - well..." Is that why she's so bloody-minded? "Then the honor is yours, m'Lady" Katerina dips a curtsy fit for a throne room. "There is more to you than I have seen."
Both Fang and Agnar were taken by surprise, and bruised badly by the falling boulders.
Agnar limped slightly as he gathered everyone around for some more healing.
After that, he took out a small vial of ointment and rubbed a small dollop on his remaining bruises. They rapidly began to fade.
He did the same thing on Fang's back leg. Fang licked Agnar's hand as he rubbed the greasy substance into the fur.
He held out the vial to the others, asking if they'd like any.
"This place is very frustrating. Are we sure there is even a path out from here, or is this just made to look like a way forward?"
With the healing done, Agnar and Fang went to stand in the statue room.
Marcelline shrugs. "I'm not sure. This seems like a temple to a war god, yes? A Gorumite temple? Well, it wouldn't surprise me if your Gorumites had to lift these giant stones in order to pass. The High Priests seem to have this fixation on musclebound men. It would be funny if it weren't so simple-minded."
Prazil frowns, scratching his helment rather than his head again. "Ok, ok. Prazil and Spike can be for doing this. Everyone should be for standing back where it am safe though!"
With an encouraging nod to his steed, Prazil coaches Spike through two failed attempts to move the first boulder, but once it sets into place on the third try, the other large rocks tumble into position in quick succession. The last, and largest, is just shy of tipping into its resting place, and it looks as though Spike might lose it, when Prazil rushes up and slams into it with his shoulder, tipping it forward and into the divot.
As Spike and Prazil get the last boulder into place, the doors on the far side of the hall swing open.
Moving through, you find columns of fused iron weapons emerge from a sheet of iron on the chamber floor. A single iron wheel protrudes from the floor in the middle of the room.
In some cases, you may have to squeeze into or through an area that isn't as wide as the space you take up. You can squeeze through or into a space that is at least half as wide as your normal space. Each move into or through a narrow space counts as if it were 2 squares, and while squeezed in a narrow space, you take a –4 penalty on attack rolls and a –4 penalty to AC.
When a Large creature (which normally takes up 4 squares) squeezes into a space that's 1 square wide, the creature's miniature figure occupies 2 squares, centered on the line between the 2 squares. For a bigger creature, center the creature likewise in the area it squeezes into.
A creature can squeeze past a creature while moving but it can't end its movement in an occupied square.
To squeeze through or into a space less than half your space's width, you must use the Escape Artist skill. You can't attack while using Escape Artist to squeeze through or into a narrow space, you take a –4 penalty to AC, and you lose any Dexterity bonus to AC.
Prazil cheers, offering Spike a hearty scratch under his right foreleg as a reward for his good work. "Yay!" Poking his head in the adjoining room, he trots back to Spike, shaking his head. "Oh, you am too big for there, Spike. You am for staying here."
Kereek casts carry companion on Spike again and shrinks him down to pocket-size!
Agnar and Fang moved back into the boulder room as the doors opened.
After giving the shrunken Spike a bemused look, Agnar turned his attention to the metal room beyond.
"Another trap, perhaps, again disguised as a feat of strength?"
Agnar seemed reluctant to enter, and Fang blew air out his nose at the metallic smell.
Prazil scoops mini-Spike up in cupped hands, scratching the dinosaur's belly with one gauntleted finger. "Spike! You am as tiny as a mouse now! You am Mouse-Spike!" He coos over his shrunken steed as he follows the others into the next chamber.
Kereek shrugs. "Maybe it am trap and maybe it am trap. But it am nothing unless we go inside, yes yes!" Kereek strides boldly inside and grasping the wheel, turns it clockwise.
"Hold on a second," says Marcelline, grabbing Keerek's shoulder. "Let me take a look around real quick before you go running in. You can have the glory when I'm done."
Prazil nods, appreciating how quickly Marcelline has come to know Kereek. "Oh, Kereek am for liking glory very much!" His tone is cheery and bright, like how one might describe another's favorite food or color.
Marcelline grabs Kereek just in time, as she quickly realizes the metal plate is in fact trapped. The moment anyone steps on it, walls of ice will cover each door, causing the temperature in the room to plunge to dangerous levels.
Marcelline holds the group back while she makes an effort to disable the trap.
It takes her a few moments, but Marcelline realizes how the trap works and is able to disable it, letting her then use the wheel to open the double doors to the east.
Beyond a corridor stretches forth, though billowing fog in it makes it impossible to see anything beyond five feet in front of you.
Prazil coos at the appearance of the next hall. "Oooooh. That am spooky."
"Anybody have any wind magic?" asks Marcelline with a grin. "I bet that they won't work very well, but it'd be useful to try. Something like life bubble would also be great."
"Spooky's right. Who knows what's in there?" Katerina replies to Prazil.
To Marcy she says, "Not I. Maybe we need to just go in slowly and hope for the best?"
"Kereek have fire magic! Maybe it am burnable?" Kereek peers into the fog, but can't see anything else. "Maybe Kereek am for fireballing the fog?"
Agnar came forward to peer into the fog.
"Kereek, your flames would disperse a natural fog, but perhaps this is magical? Can your magical senses tell?
Kereek shrugs and casts detect magic!
Prazil whispers to Kat, "He am probably going to be for fireballing the fog anyway. Kereek am for liking that approach a lot."
You do detect magic. You're not sure, but it's probably related to the guards and wards magic you detected earlier.
Kereek nods knowingly. "It am magic that am making this place be mysterious and protected. Fireball am the answer." Still nodding sagely, Kereek lobs a fireball into the thickest part of the fog.
The fireball seems to do the trick, clearing the fog for the moment, though you can see tendrils of it start to creep back in as you advance.
The passageway splits to the north and south, to small chambers that house a number of small art antiques, mostly homages to Gorum, though some seem to be more particular to the Tiger Lords. Among them are some foot-high statues of mamoths, a couple chalices, a small abstract painting, a set of goldware, and a battle-scarred iron breastplate with a small sword-and-mountain symbol hammered just below the gorget.
Past that, stairs ascend, but they are filled with webs.
Katerina looks at her companions, then back the creeping tendrils of fog. "We may need to hurry through!" She punctuates her statement by carefully stepping into the room her eyes open and scanning for trouble.
Kereek moves into the room quickly, shuddering when he sees the webs. "Kereek am NOT liking spiders! Too many legs, yes yes!"
Kereek moves up and burning hands the webs, trying to clear them.
Marcelline rushes in with Katerina, running past the area of mist and to the next area. She runs up and casts detect magic towards the chalices, the painting, the goldware and the breastplate.
The breastplate radiates as magical, though none of the other antiquities does.
It's an eternal iron breastplate, a piece of magical armor devoted to Gorum. This +1 stanching breastplate is battle-scarred but polished with great care, and has a small sword-and-mountain symbol of Gorum hammered just below the gorget. Once per day, the wearer can use compel hostility; if an adjacent ally is reduced to negative hit points or killed, the wearer may activate this as an immediate action instead of a standard action.
Kereek's spell ignites the webs, which burn away. You follow the stairs up 10 feet to more hallway, but it ends in a solid wall.