The elemental stares at Kilarra, whatever body language it might have utterly inscrutable to the rogue. After nearly a full minute it reaches down into the basin where flames behave more like water and withdraws a shallow bowl glowing white-hot. It scoops some of the liquid fire into the bowl and holds it out to Kilarra.
This time the others can hear the sound of its fiery voice, though the words are translated only for Kilarra.
A slight moment of panic washes over Kilarra as she realizes the elemental intends for her to take the bowl in her hands. She takes a shaky breath then whispers an extremely fervent prayer under hear breath.
Visibly shaking with tears beginning to trickle down her face, Kilarra reaches out her hand and takes the bowl.
As Kilarra's hands touch the bowl, the heat pours into her. Her fingers catch fire and the flame quickly races down her arms to engulf her in a brilliant inferno, through which her dark silhouette can barely be seen.
The elemental's attention turns to the doorway where Solomon waits and it beckons with one tiny arm.
Erizi
Rukn
Zhalet
Solomon
Even a blind oracle could see the relief and shock on Kilarra's face. Without even realizing it she speaks in Ignan and it flows out of her more easily than her own native tongue.
She bows deeply to the elemental in respect
Turning to the others she says
Only after a few of Kilarra's companions stare at her blankly does she realize that she is speaking Ignan. With some difficulty as if in the flames much of what she new of other languages seems to have burned away she struggles with the words and finally says "Path of flame lies ahead blazing the way to the God-King's test. Will you join me in the flame my friends?"
-W- what? Path of... what do you mean, Kilarra?
Clearly frustrated with her difficulty with her 'native tongue' Kilarra looks at Rukn and says
"The path before us lies lit bright. The purpose blazes in our minds and hearts. The trial, a crucible to be sure, will purify us and I am sure will serve to aid us as we burn the city clean of all. Will you follow along the path that is lit by Nethy's holy fire?"
Frustrated she says
"Well I've come this far... and for some reason this one is cloaked in luck. She has traversed the desert an night alone, and seems to be able to fall into a midden heap, and come up roses. Besides... I can't let her go on alone".
Erizi decides to trust Kilarra
Rukn turns his head and looks at the others, especially Zhalet.
-It seems this could be of help, though I'm concerned with what lies ahead. As always, I understand both sides of the argument. What shall we do?
Zhalet is completely baffled by what is happening with Kilarra in the fiery room. She likewise doesn't understand what Kilarra is talking about with a trial. But she had promised an hour and an hour it is. She looks about to see if the others are ready to go. She didn't promise to be first in line.
"Thank you for joining me in the warmth of our common blaze. Shall we see what we shall illuminate ahead of us?"
Kilarra leads the group toward the next hall unsure of what is to come yet confidently walking forward.
Seeing that most of the party seems to approve, Rukn steps ahead to reach Kilarra and stands beside her, ready to be guided.
He seems a bit nervous when getting closer to the elementals, though he swallows and manages to keep his nerves.
-A-alright... W-what now? Hehehe... excuse me... hehe...
Solomon sighed. "They want us to go with her."
Then he shook his head and crossed over the threshold, following Kilarra.
"Apparently she's going to have to prevail against something. I don't like the sound of that."
Erizi joins the others in moving forward as well.
Alexander enters the room without hesitation and stands next to Kilarra, his hands folded on the head of his cane.
"Let us proceed," he says.
Zhalet follows Erizi and Alexander into the room.
To nobody in particular she whispers "What is happening? What happens now?"
Alexander's lips twitch as he answers, simply: "Magic."
"Great."
"Yes. And terrifying. And wonderful. All at once; as per usual."
Kilarra leads the way down the next short hallway to the next door. Made of metal plates, complex gears and clockwork mechanisms, the sits silent. Like one of those optical illusion paintings, after a moment of looking at the door, there is a hint of the symbol of Nethys in the mechanisms and plates of the door.
Kilarra seems at a loss for what to do to open the door until Solomon notices a small channel and what seems to almost be the lip of a basin jutting out of the wall near the ceiling right where the second corridor leaves the room. Coming back out, Kilarra hesitates for a moment, then reaches up and pours the liquid fire into the jutting lip.
Half the liquid fire fills the basin, and the rest is poured into a similar basin on the other side of the corridor. The fire runs down sloping channels in the walls of the corridor. When it reaches the door, the mechanisms ignite and begin to turn with the protesting sounds of a machine long disused. As it blazes brighter, there is a series of thudding, clunking sounds, and the door begins to grind its way open.
After it is open, the chamber beyond is unlit save for the flickering light of the slowly dying flames in the door. There are engravins and murals on the walls of the room, exalting the many uses to which fire magic can be put. The doors to the north and south are charred and stand partially open, while the door straight ahead is made of a dull nearly black metal.
Erizi
Kilarra
Rukn
Zhalet
Solomon
"...oh, that's not ominous at all." Solomon deadpanned.
Kilarra quietly approaches and looks thru the doors to the north and south that stand ajar before then moving on to check the door to the east for traps.
Once she is done looking for traps she examines the door to the east more in detail.
Erizi steps up to assist Kilarra if needed, but is careful not to stand in line with the doors... just in case.
"What happens now?" asks Zhalet with a worried expression.
"Hopefully nothing." Solomon said, tense.
Looking back over her shoulder at Solomon's comment
"I ... did not understand a single word you just said, dear," Alexander notes.
A look plays across Kilarra's face that pretty clearly says 'what do you mean you don't understand?!?!' which is quickly replaced with a look of exasperation. Deciding to not even try to figure out how to say it properly in common she says "I share his warmth..." pointing at Solomon "...but fear that this place could ignite. Does your vision illuminate the spark of Nethys here?"
Alexander dutifully casts Detect Magic and looks around.
Alexander dutifully casts Detect Magic and looks around.
Wow! Great spellcraft roll.
Kilarra quietly approaches and looks thru the doors to the north and south that stand ajar before then moving on to check the door to the east for traps.
Once she is done looking for traps she examines the door to the east more in detail.
20s are just all over today. :) Nice!
Foyer (room 2): This room has no features save for the carvings upon the walls and the featureless dark, metal door. The carvings depict wizards and others using fire magic to its full devastating effect, as well as some of the more benign uses of fire magic. Fireballs destroy legions of warriors, flaming meteors rain from the sky, and campfires are magically ignited against the cold night.
A close inspection of the door reveals that it has no doorknob or other visible opening mechanism. Though difficult to see against the dark metal surface of the door, there is small hole where the doorknob should be that is just about the right size for a person to insert their hand. The recess inside the door is utterly black, and even Kilarra's keen eyesight cannot penetrate the darkness.
North Treasure Room (room 3): Inside this room, nine display tables are arranged neatly around the perimeter, and one longer table runs through the middle. Upon all the tables are a collection of exquisite jewels, jewelry, and other works of art made of gems and precious metals. At a glance, the least of these items would fetch hundreds of gold pieces to the right buyer.
South Treasure Room (room 4): Six large iron-bound, wooden chests are arranged with two against each wall. Each chest is two feet wide, four feet long, and two feet deep. The lids stand open and each chest is full of an assortment of coins of various types; gold, platinum, mithril, and silver. If the chests are entirely full of the coins, the value in the metal alone is in the tens of thousands of gold pieces.
Kilarra does her due diligence and checks for any traps in the likely places. None are found in any of the three rooms, however she is unable to inspect the hole in the dark, metal door without inserting her hand. Her finely honed senses give the impression that simply inserting a hand is not inherently dangerous.
It takes Alexander a couple of minutes to examine the important features of these three rooms for their magical auras.
Forgot to mention, the north and south doors have no fastening device whatsoever. There are simply, now-twisted and partially melted, handles to pull the doors shut.
Kilarra
Kilarra waits for Alexander to share his impressions of the rooms and items. "What is the fire that burns in your mind? In my mind I see my hand inside the darkness."
she says with bitter sarcasm.
Looking around the area they have already explored she adds
She purses her lips and looks at Alexander "To me this is the only lit path. Dampness lies heavy upon the other two chambers."
Looking back at the way they came she says
Kilarra takes a deep breath and tentatively puts her hand inside.
"Don't touch anything. The riches give off powerful magic." Solomon said to the others.
He waited, tense as Kilarra's hand vanished into the hole.
Erizi cringes and closes his eyes as she sticks her hand in the door.
Zhalet holds her breath and waits for something to happen. She figures a silent prayer to the Dawnflower can't hurt, so she occupies herself with that as she watches.
No sign of Rukn by now.
Of course he's there, but he won't do anything unless told to do so by Kilarra - she's the one with the vision, and the one touched by the elemental plane.
He watches as Kilarra hesitates to put his hand in the hole...
Kilarra inserts her flaming hand into the hole and there is a flash of fire and darkness. When the afterimage fades, the darkness concealing the hole is gone, and Kilarra is no longer a human bonfire. At the same time, a soft noise of smooth metal against smooth metal can be heard coming from the vicinity of Kilarra's hand. The seemingly unbroken surface of the door swiftly spirals both open and closed somehow. Like the petals of a mechanical iris, nine sharp and wickedly curved points close around Kilarra's wrist, and through the openings left by the shifting iris, Kilarra can see five loops of cool metal, one near each fingertip.
Obviously an opening mechanism of some sort, it will take a bit of luck and skill to open it without being harmed.
Getting a sense of danger Kilarra carefully goes over in her mind everything she has ever learned about locks hoping that she might remember somthinge that will help her now.
Kilarra turns to Solomon
Kilarra focuses with great effort and concentration as she slips her fingers into the loops and so very gently begins to probe the effect her movements have on the device.
Alexander moves up to Kilarra and puts a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You are doing well," he says in a soothing tone. "Very well. Keep calm and focused. Remember..." The old man starts a soothing litany of mechanical facts for Kilarra's use.
Kilarra takes a deep breath and steels herself, trying to remember everything she ever heard about strange locks. After a few moments, she slips her fingertips into the loops of metal and begins to try to feel out the inner workings of the mechanism.
Several times the blades slide closer, cutting her just enough to draw a thin line of blood. Several minutes pass as she struggles with the device. Finally, there is a series of sounds as of large pieces of metal sliding into the door. The iris rotates apart releasing Kilarra's hand, and the door swings open.
Oddly, as each of you looks upon the chamber, its name is there in your mind...
Invocation of Fire(7): The chamber inside is a massive round room, the floor of which seems to be made of flames, if flames could be described as polished marble. Just inside the door is a large altar made of a glossy, black stone. Upon the altar are two, red, pillar candles each nearly six inches in diameter and two feet tall. Four other puddles of melted wax on the altar attest to the former presence of more candles.
Dominating the room beyond is a huge, circular dais like a round pyramid. At the peak is an unlit brass brazier nearly 10 feet in diameter. Six other, smaller braziers are positioned with two on each of the north, west, and south sides of the room.
There are six other hallways leading from the room, and a pair of large, brass, double doors stand in the centers of the east, north, and south sides of the room. On either side of each of these double doors stands a bull-headed, brass, humanoid statue holding a massive axe in one hand and a flaming torch in the other. Each pair has the axes crossed in front of their respective doors.
There are four piles of charred and blackened remains in the southwest corner of the room.
"You did well. So well. You do us all proud," Alexander says, giving Kilarra's shoulder a brief squeeze before he even looks at the next room. "What can you tell us of this next place, my dear?"
The area the group has entered seems to be at great variance from the rest of the shrine they have seen. The focus on fire doesn't really match Nethys and his domains of interest like previous areas. Zhalet is beginning to wonder if they have passed into a different place, perhaps older or newer then the rest of the shrine, but no longer truly a place of Nethys. But if this is a different place, what is it?
Erizi stands in the middle of the room and looks around. I should have paid more instructions to the instructors when I was young. I don't know what this is, or what is happening. I'm glad my companions are smarter than me.
Kilarra nods her thanks to Alexander's words of encouragement greatly relived to still have her hand and thankful that she came away with no more harm done than a few shallow cuts. To anyone watching it seems that with each passing day together Kilarra seems to increasingly respect Solomon and Alexander as mentors and people with wisdom worth listening to.
Taking in the room before before her and at a loss for what they should do next she says out-loud to no one in particular.
Turning to the group she says "The lit path spreads wide across this place with no clear line on which to tread. My vision dims as how to move forward but hope still burns in my heart that, together, we might yet make the path burn bright once again. Do any of you have a spark to brighten our way?"
At this point, everything is beyond Rukn's knowledge or ability.
-Uh... I'm not sure where we are... could it be wise to leave this place just as it is?
The area the group has entered seems to be at great variance from the rest of the shrine they have seen. The focus on fire doesn't really match Nethys and his domains of interest like previous areas. Zhalet is beginning to wonder if they have passed into a different place, perhaps older or newer then the rest of the shrine, but no longer truly a place of Nethys. But if this is a different place, what is it?
The Vault of Fire looks to be neither older nor newer than the other parts of the Shrine of Nethys through which you have passed. This shrine, from what you and the others have remembered and learned, is dedicated to the study and veneration of magic in its destructive aspect. Few of the elements commanded by magic-users are as destructive as fire.
"You did well. So well. You do us all proud," Alexander says, giving Kilarra's shoulder a brief squeeze before he even looks at the next room. "What can you tell us of this next place, my dear?"
The following spoilers are for Alexander.
K(Arcana): .
K(Arcana): .
K(Arcana): .
K(Arcana): .
K(Arcana): .