There does not appear to be an entrance or passageway to the SE section of the monastery.
Eli is drawn t the depictions that Brebork is fascinated with and tries to recall if he has studied anything about The Templars of the Five Winds, Vardishal, or their stories.
Quzman, while we are exploring the rest of this monastery, why don't you wear this cloak? It will help protect you against some hazards, and since you boldly lead the way most often, it seems right you do so.
Dumah turns to Eli and Jarva. Eli, would you like to wear the ring for now? Once we are settled in here as the new residents, we can review what we have collected and perhaps decide on who will keep some of the items permanently.
To everyone, he'll add In the room next door is that chamber with mold growing out of it. We will need to address that before we allow the non-combatants of the caravan to come in. I have an idea. Could we tie a rope to the door and pull it open from afar, even out in the main corridor? Once we do that, we can see if there is anything in the room we need to know about. If it is only the mold, I can use a spell that creates a sheet of flame to try and clear it out. Any thoughts?
Eli smiles for the first time since they returned to the monastery as he slips the magic ring on to his right hand. "Do you know how old this artifact must be?" Eli spends some time admiring the elven script and the craftsmanship of the ring before saying, "These Templar genies are mentioned in the old tales from the land of Osirion. That land is a bit far north of here is it not? Brebork what do you make of that? They served some mistress and each carried a unique weapon that represented an aspect of the wind. The legend is that they fought a great battle against some evil genie at a place called Pale Mountain." Eli points to the bas-relief on the southern wall, "This must be that mountain. Quzman or Jarva, isn't that near here... close to Kelmarane?"
Jarva looks at the bas relief and contemplates the Pale Mountain question.
Know. Geography
"I seem to remember a little bit about that place, Eli."
They served some mistress and each carried a unique weapon that represented an aspect of the wind.
"Yep, Eli, I thought I had heard of the Pale Mountain. Well, not only is it close to Kelmarane, but Kelmarane is almost in its shadow. And you know what's going on up there now, like Garavel said...the gnoll tribes are uniting there under someone called the Carrion King."
They served some mistress and each carried a unique weapon that represented an aspect of the wind.
Eli is thoughtful for a moment and then says, "No that's not right. Each of the five represent an aspect of the wind and each has their own unique weapon to wield. Now that is interesting Jarva, maybe once we are done getting this settlement underway we can go explore for more artifacts that might tell of the great history of ... The Templars of the Wind."
And we can also go through the book we found carefully.
For now, what is our next area to explore? The mold room, The southeast area, or the moving statue?
"Dumah you seem impatient, but you are right we can study history later for now we must finish the task at hand. I suggest we clean up this mold situation next."
My apologies for my focus. I am indeed eager to make this place habitable for those depending on us. But trust me; once the dust settles I will be deep in thought pondering the mysteries and lore we've encountered so far.
"So Dumah, do you have any theory's about this mysterious mold?"
I cannot explain why it has such an unusual, unnatural growth pattern to it. Perhaps the answer to that lies within the room itself. I considered that perhaps it was an illusion concealing something else, but I dismissed that notion after a closer examination.
"Assuming the mold has not visibly changed, we could take a sample back to the alchemist in Almah's party. I bet he could tell us more about it," Jarva suggests, hearing the party talk about the mold again.
Good idea to collect samples, Jarva. Alright then. First I will try to detect poison. Then we will open the door using the method described by Dumah with a rope...{assuming the door opens outwards, eh?). Otherwise one of us - Eli maybe - opens the door and moves away - If it is dark in there, maybe I should look in first - scimitar and buckler at ready. My orcish eyes will see in the dark. Someone could stay behind levelling the longspear....Quzman maybe? Any more ideas? Lets do it!
Quzman nods to Dumah, "Thank you for the offer, I would wear the cloak gladly during our explorations. If someone else would like to wear it, please, you have but to ask."
To Jarva and Dumah,"Kyra and I worked near the Pale Mountain before. The last time was the night we lost Capt. Renfro... It is a hostile area, with much gnoll activity."
Quzman examines the mold everyone is intrigued about. "I will be glad to back you up good cleric. You could look over my shoulder to if you wish."
Brebork approaches the door and casts detect poison but detects nothing. The door opens inwards but it appears to be blocked by years of fungus. He puts his back into it, while Brebork assists, and together both of them force open the door. There is a profuse growth of fungus here and the room leads to mold-encrusted stairway that leads down into darkness.
Eli keeps his rapier ready in his right hand while he unclasps the golden compass from his belt with his left. With a flip of the wrist he opens it up while muttering some archaic word and light radiates out for twenty feet. "Do we go down, or should we checkout the statue first?"
Eli keeps his rapier ready in his right hand while he unclasps the golden compass from his belt with his left. With a flip of the wrist he opens it up while muttering some archaic word and light radiates out for twenty feet. "Do we go down, or should we checkout the statue first?"
"I suggest we close this up and go and check out the statue before we head down deeper into the lower levels. Leave no stone unturned so to speak."
"I suggest we close this up and go and check out the statue before we head down deeper into the lower levels. Leave no stone unturned so to speak."
I think that is an excellent idea. There is one area by the statue that we also have not explored, I believe. I would hate to be out of earshot of the caravan members if there is a menace in those areas that we leave behind.
You close the mold covered door and go to the statue. As you remember, it was on some tracks. Quzman and Brebork again flex their muscles to move the statue of Vardishal and find that their combined strength is sufficient. The statue moves 5 feet before an audible click is heard and the south wall slides open, revealing a small roofless garden with overgrown weeds in the room. There does not appear to be any exit to this room.
Brebork's Aid another:
Quzman's Strength check:
"Strange, why would anyone need to keep a garden secret?" Eli spies around the area for any signs or trouble or danger before anyone passes through the secret door.
Fascinating! Dumah will examine the garden, closely, including a detect magic on the plants and the ground.
Perception
Knowledge Nature
Jarva examines the plants in the garden to see if he recognized them.
Know. Nature
Eli's keen eyes detect an irregularity in the stone composition of the wall and as he nears it, he realizes the stone is loose. Double checking to make sure it is not trapped, he moves the stone and another click is heard, and the SE wall of this room slides open, revealing the brightly painted walls of a much larger room. As Eli steps inside and takes a look around, he realizes this room is a small shrine of some sort. On the walls, numerous rectangular wooden plates traced in gold depict a strapping warrior (Vardishal) battling creatures of fire, riding a chariot on the wind, and engaging in other acts of heroism. Perhaps a quarter of the gold plates have been pried apart or hacked away by vandals.
Opposite the door, dominating a section of the southwest wall, is another statue of Vardishal, his face marred by what looks like numerous blows from an axe. The statue holds both hands in front of him, bent at the elbow.
Fascinating! Dumah will examine the garden, closely, including a detect magic on the plants and the ground.
Dumah does not detect any magic and the vines and creeping weeds are normal and not special in any way, though it does appear that with the proper care, this could be a beautiful garden.
Eli carefully examines the statue trying to figure out why its arms are sculpted the way they are or if there is anything else unusual about it.
Eli does not find anything particularly unusual about the statue.
Eli steps back into the garden scratches his head. He goes back and forth between the garden and the statue chamber a few times and then says to the others, "This garden is wide and this chamber goes off of it but not behind it. The other side of that wall is where the bird was nesting so why isn't there a chamber straight ahead? Everyone look for another secret chamber." Eli then starts scrutinizing the western wall of the statue chamber starting in the south and working his way back towards the garden and then along the southern wall of the garden.
Quzman will try and assist Eli in the searching of the western wall, and back towards the garden. "I understand what you mean Eli. It does appear be a noticeable discrepancy."
Eli passes by the western wall in search of some unusual grooves in the stonework but he does not notice any. Quzman passes by the wall also, admiring the plaques on the wall glorifying the deeds of Vardishal. As he passes by the plaque of Vardishal riding his wind chariot, he notices an anomaly in the writing and as he passes his fingers over it, he notices the section for the lettering is raised just a tiny hair more than on any of the other plaques in the room. He pushes that section in and the western wall slides out, revealing a short passageway that goes around and leads to some stairs leading down into darkness.
"Up or down? I say down, let's see what we can find below and make sure its safe. Then we can use the lower level for shelter if another sandstorm blows through. Chances are the upper level is not as stable and that mold is probably going to take some heavy duty cleaning to ensure the area is safe for our camp-mates. Any objections, or do any of you have a better plan?" Eli pulls out his Wayfinder aging and lets its glow penetrate the darkness below.
"I agree. Let's head down and clear that out first," Jarva nods, then falls in line in the marching order.
The party heads down the stairs, the area lit by Eli's compass. The party encounters an eerie silence when it reaches the bottom of the stairs. The pathway turns north 40 forty feet to a pair of closed double doors. Along the walls are written Sarenrae's prayers for the dead and dearly departed. "Go with peace to your final resting place, for the glory of Sarenrae awaits" is written above the double doors.
Jarva quickly casts Detect Magic to observe the door, and see if there are any magical wards or traps that he can see, before the group touches the door.
Jarva does not detect any magic in the area.
Eli runs his hands carefully across the doorway looking for triggers or traps.
Eli examines the door carefully and feels confident there are no traps.
I am in agreement about heading down first. Regarding the mold, I have a couple of spells that I can try and see if they will clear up the mold. I would prefer to wait until we have finished exploring the lower level since some may also be useful in a combat situation.
Jarva, after conferencing with Eli and discussing their findings, opens the door into the next room.
Jarva reaches to open the door, pulls the handle towards him...and the door opens! However, he does feel tiny goosebumps crawl up his skin and the hairs on the back of his neck stand, as a rush of cold air hits him in the face and he enters the crypt. You immediately notice it is considerably cooler than most of the other places you have visited in the monastery.
It is completely dark inside, but for Eli's compass' light. The hallway is 10' wide and leads north and south. With the light, Jarva sees east-west passages opening 20' ahead on both sides of the halway.
You have 20' radius bright light and 20' radius dim light after that.