"Well it should," Valai says as she looks from the lock to her books, an expression of disgust on her face.
The Elf scrutinizes each part of the seal with the utmost care before she finally mutters: "I think... just so... 'Ware! Lawson's instinct is correct, there is powerful evocation magic bound up in this thing. One false move and the whole chamber will likely be full of fire or lightning, or..."
The tiles slide into place smoothly at the elf's careful touch. With all three sets of seven runes finally lined up you throw the lever at the bottom of the puzzle.
You hear stone sliding on stone as the ancient mechanism works within the walls. After a moment the sound comes to a stop. The door swings open at a gentle nudge despite its tremendous weight.
The walls of the hall beyond are covered with bright painted murals. Thick cobwebs hang in the corners of the passage as it bends right and is lost in darkness.
Valai sweeps the room with a discerning gaze, her sight augmented by magic. Provided she finds nothing that her magic would trigger to dangerous results, she wrinkles her nose at the cobwebs and flicks her fingers at them "Sortilège," the Elfmaid says, and a breeze starts to gently tug and tear at the webs.
|
"Great job!" Lawson said smiling as the door swung open. He was extra happy that the potential lightning or fire didn't happen when the door was opened either.
Lawson takes a quick look around past the open door. More looking for any potential footprints/markings that are out of place behind a door that has been closed for a long while.
Hema has followed this group with no purpose in mind, other than eventually leaving. "I believe rest is in order, as well. Can someone please tell me why we are carrying further on instead of leaving? I thought you simply wanted to be rid of the weres. What was your purpose here? She realizes this party has a reason for what they do, just as she does, although it would seem with Father Darienne's passing her reasons may have passed on with him. "Maybe we could all take a break before your friends fall down. Tell me what we are looking for and I'll help heal you."
Valai eyes Hema, hesitates... then hisses out a sigh and sinks to the floor, her legs crossing in a meditative pose.
"The wererats were merely an obstacle, possibly competition, to our cause," she says. "There is a highly hazardous artefact here - more hazardous if it falls into the wrong hands. We are here to secure and retrieve it, so it can be made... less hazardous. Leaving while the item could yet fall into the wrong hands is unacceptable. Rest, however, is not."
|
|
"I suppose this is also a good time to mention we are all Pathfinders." Lawson said to Hema. "We strung a few...creative truths together with some of the other Tower Girls with more sense to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. The prisoners however don't know we are Pathfinders. They don't quite need to know."
"They do not need to know at all," Valai says, her disdain for the Tower Girls evident.
Afli looks around your surroundings, his trepidation clearly visible in his voice. We're resting here? I... I'm not sure I can rest here. I want to collect my notes and record what we've seen so far. There are murals here recording all kinds of possibly unknown details of ancient Thassilonean culture... he trails off, looking around the group for some support.
You're all very brave - intrepid even. I'm starting to question if I belong in this group - or if this life of danger is the life for me... He ponders for a moment, then brightens just a little and continues. Did anyone else pack rations and supplies for such a stay? Or are we lying down where the rats have slept? Maybe we should split up, with some of us taking those girls back to shore, touching base with Sheila and Archisa? And some of us stay to watch for activity here?
|
|
"They slept here." Lawson said with a shrug. "Staying here a while will give us time to write out our notes and etch what murals are still intact."
"I hate the idea of splitting up, but at the same time what would we do with the Tower Girls anyway? We don't have a legal reason to take them into custody, that could lead to awkward questions back in the city from the guard. We might be able to get the Pathfinders to relocate them. Forcibly if need be." He trailed off looking at the rest of the group for additional suggestions.
Returning to the chambers above you find the girls sitting compliant in the false circle. The unclaimed loot is gathered in some crates and carried back to the trap door in the floor that opens out over the boat bay.
One of the girls approaches Lawson during the work of packing up the crates and speaks softly. You know, there are other ways to play this than just turning us over to the guard... neither of us was ever infected with Ayala's curse.
The girls then proceed to show the group how they used the second story harness and the ropes to lower and raise both cargo and themselves directly to the boat landing. By the time the four have reached the shore, they've made a decent case for their release by swearing repeatedly that neither of them struck down the old priest.
It takes some time down by the wharf to flag a coach to take Afli and the party's findings back up to Summit where they can be cataloged and hopefully matched with a buyer. Lawson renews the group's promise not to damage the boat as he leaves and makes his way back to the ancient piling.
By the time he's able to return to the group the sun is setting on the bay and candles are burning low in the chambers of the Crow. Rommin sits silent and glassy-eyed over the group's chosen campsite while the elves meditate in the shadows of the periphery. Hema alone snores softly, lost in a deep sleep, the first sleep she's had unbound in many days. In the her sleep she dreams of fire.
Sometime just after Laswon rejoins the group, the faint sounds of bats come echoing down the hall beyond the puzzle door. It never gets louder and no bats actually appear.
With the elves meditating through the afternoon and evening, they're restored before midnight. This allows the battered humans to sleep a shift. Hema's prayers are not restored until dawn, though, so the group is well-rested and anxious to move on by that time.
Hema was glad to wake and found comfort from her morning routine. She was unsettled by continued dreams where she was surrounded by fire but was trying to reach something. She desperately needed to find...something, but no matter how far or quickly she moved, she remained in the same place. Her morning prayers helped to center her and fight back the mounting panic left from the dream and her recent bondage. As she settles her weapons and shield in their rightful places she joins the group. "Well, shall we see what the day ahead brings? I shall follow your lead, and may the sun shine brightly upon us!" This spoken with a smirk at the sunrod in Lawson's hand.
Valai rises smoothly from her meditative pose, her skirts settling smoothly about her ankles.
"There may be an illusion ahead," she says, nodding to Lawson. "Or these might be bound guardians of some sort. Undead of some sort?"
Valai turns to Hema and looks her up and down, her lips pursed in thought. "There is considerable danger ahead," she says. "I guarantee it. What we seek here are relics of Thassilonian sin-magic. Currently, we are after the Shard of Greed. If we find it, do not touch it! There are ways to make them safe to handle, but the box is going to have to suffice until we can acquire the exact countermeasure. Now; knowing this, do you still wish to continue with us? If so, then you will stay at the back with me; your healing magic will likely be priceless."
Hema smirks at Valai's imperious manner. "I shall follow your lead," she says to the elf, "and I hope to be more help than just my healing ability." Hema checks her scimitar and mace and falls in line behind Valai with a smile.
The hall beyond the ancient lock shows no signs of recent passage. Even the cobwebs were ancient and tattered looking - before Valai's spell obliterated them. The murals here are vibrant, impressive pieces of work, left here totally untouched by the hands of common treasure seekers and vandals.
At the end of the hall you find another of these steep staircases, this one again going down. At the foot of these steps the corridor twists itself around to the north before opening onto a balcony that overlooks a room. The room is lit by a long slit window in the exterior stone of the piling directly opposite your balcony. The long vertical line of morning light illuminates a pool or bath of some kind down on the floor of the chamber. Though the depth of the pool is not obvious, the water level is very low in comparison to the rim. The water itself is an opaque green sludge.
There are passages that exit the room to the right and left.
Beyond the window the bay waters can be seen, not very far below the level of the sill. You've managed to work your way all the way up the piling and back down again.
A stairway on the west wall curves down from your balcony to the floor of the chamber. Immediately over your right shoulder as you stand on the balcony there's a rough-hewn passage carved right into the stone of the piling. Whatever carved it could not have been very tall though, because the tunnel ceiling can't be three feet high. The walls and floor of this chamber, including the balcony, are coated with a generous layer of guano.
|
|
Lawson can't help but be curious about the green water/sludge while looking over the edge of balcony. Dirty water? He thinks to himself until he notices all the guano then nods to himself silently. Taking a moment to look up at the ceiling to check for bats. Concerned what could dig through solid stone, Lawson watches the tunnel as he moves.
He motions for everyone to be ready. Grabbing a tindertwig from his pocket, Lawson attempts to light the dry guano leading into the tunnel on fire.
Valai mutters a quick cantrip as the group proceeds into the new area. She hisses with shock when Lawson tosses the tindertwig into the guano and seeks cover in case of ... explosive events.
Amadia's eyes widen at Lawson tempting fate, quickly peeling backwards, her head already filling with calculations and vectors in case the worst should happen.
Hema laughs out loud. "Well, Valai, it seems behind you is a great place to be!" While she admires one that isn't afraid of a little fire she wonders at the efficacy of his action. These are strange ones she has taken up with. "This should smell lovely..."
Fortunately there's not enough guano in any one place in the room to create an explosive event, just a startling blue flash fire that settles in a couple deep places as smouldering dung incense piles.
The flash and the smoke do cause several of the critters to drop out of the deepest corners of the ceiling. More come from the passage below you on the right. They fly around in confusion in the chamber, startled but maybe reluctant to leave the piling while the sun shines outside. Nothing stirs near the mouth of the tunnel.
Half way down the spiral stairway a grey translucent tendril of slime stretches out from the surface of the pool and snatches a bat out of the air. The little pest squeaks out his death as he starts to dissolve in the slime.
"I did," Valai says, her voice grim. "If you have another tinder twig handy, I'd like to suggest a good place to toss it."
"There is an illusion in that window," Valai alerts the others, pointing it out.
|
|
"It's an Amoeba, an ooze." Lawson said stopping the group as they progressed down the stairs any further. "Okay, I suggest we back up the stairs to the balcony. I'll put this new bow to work and see if I can't piss it off or kill it from far away. We can try to save as many of Amadia's bombs and Valai's magic. I'm hoping if we bug it from far enough away, it won't know what's going on and we can have easy pickings as we pepper it away."
Lawson put his sword swords away and drew the bow. "I'm open to any ideas though. Anyone have anything better?"
Following initial instructions, Amadia watches the others in the party fill the creature with arrows, while saving her own ranged options for when they are most needed.
Grumbling under her breath, Valai readies her heavy crossbow, aims as soon as she can (which is to say, from 80 ft. away) -- and fires!
Hema is disgusted by the ooze. She aims a firebolt at the nasty.
Hema's firebolt connects with the amoeba as it floats on the surface of the water. It recoils from the flames, sinking most of it's bulk under the surface, but it also swings a 'limb' at Lawson's arrow like it mistakes it for another bat.
It somehow detects Rommin as he paces in front of the pool, though, and surges forward creating a wave a sludge behind it. Its form flows gracefully over the rim of the bath and slides towards the barbarian despite its evident wounds.
The waters of the pool crest and roll off the 'back' of a second monster as it swims toward the near rim.
Hema stands her ground and tries again.
Hema whispers a prayer of thanks as her fire burns true.
Valai grumbles under her breath, reloads, and fires at the same Amoeba she fired at before. 'Reduce the amount of opposition, kill the one already injured off first...'