'Yeh i picked up a finger, though how your going to attatch it...' Brash fishes the finger out of his belt pouch and passes it to the priest.
At a glance, the finger that Brashen found indeed seems to be the missing finger of the statue. Where the other fingers of the open hand lie open, parallel to the arm, this finger seems to curl back over the thumb.
Resting it in place is easy. Mechanically or chemically fixing it back in place would be a different proposition.
'So looks like someone could fit in here' he says, bringing attention back to the cylinder. 'Anyone want to step in and see whats down below?'
Sounds like Brash is volunteering…
At a glance, the finger that Brashen found indeed seems to be the missing finger of the statue. Where the other fingers of the open hand lie open, parallel to the arm, this finger seems to curl back over the thumb.Resting it in place is easy. Mechanically or chemically fixing it back in place would be a different proposition.
Andolphas takes the marble finger from Brash, and carefully looks from the statue's indexless hand and back to the finger. He then places it gently on the hand, resting against the thumb. "The position that this finger once occupied on the hand of this carved being suggests that it might once have held something, which may have been pried out by tomb robbers..."
"As for that outlandish cylinder... Brashen, you made it clear that you have no need for the blessings of either the Green Lady or her patron, the Dark-Eyed Lady. You evidently have nothing to fear... so why not take the lead, and see what glorious riches await you below?" The somber cleric can't help but sneer as he makes that last remark, his back half-turned to his companions...
Andolphas keeps on muttering to himself while inspecting the sarcophagus, while his companions decide what to do with the metal cylinder. "The placement of the broken finger and thumb suggest that the being may have held some sort of rod or wand at some point in time, whether real or carved... or perhaps the finger and thumb represent some type of arcane gesture or symbol?"
At a glance, the finger that Brashen found indeed seems to be the missing finger of the statue. Where the other fingers of the open hand lie open, parallel to the arm, this finger seems to curl back over the thumb.Resting it in place is easy. Mechanically or chemically fixing it back in place would be a different proposition.
Andolphas takes the marble finger from Brash, and carefully looks from the statue's indexless hand and back to the finger. He then places it gently on the hand, resting against the thumb. "The position that this finger once occupied on the hand of this carved being suggests that it might once have held something, which may have been pried out by tomb robbers..."
"As for that outlandish cylinder... Brashen, you made it clear that you have no need for the blessings of either the Green Lady or her patron, the Dark-Eyed Lady. You evidently have nothing to fear... so why not take the lead, and see what glorious riches await you below?" The somber cleric can't help but sneer as he makes that last remark, his back half-turned to his companions...
'And you obviously do have something to fear, if the way you hung back in thelast fight is any indication. I'll go, if you can get the thing back down' Brash turns to Strevlik and De'grat as he says this. 'Prehaps give me 20, 30 seconds down there then bring it back up.
Andolphas keeps on muttering to himself while inspecting the sarcophagus, while his companions decide what to do with the metal cylinder. "The placement of the broken finger and thumb suggest that the being may have held some sort of rod or wand at some point in time, whether real or carved... or perhaps the finger and thumb represent some type of arcane gesture or symbol?"
Da'gret scowls at the arrogant priest. Lips pulled back, he rudely thrusts his tusks at Andolphas' turned back and his nostrils flare with irritation.
"20 seconds and I bring you up. Done."
Once Brashen is inside the cynlinder he shoulders past Andolphas and throws his weight against the sarcophagus...
Brashen, holding his torch aloft and his axe tight, steps into the cylinder. Almost as soon as he is fully within – and as Da’gret is turning back towards the sarcophagus again – the metal doors ~whoosh~ shut and the cylinder descends – quite rapidly – back into the floor, the stone circle that is its top clicking back into place in the floor. The rumbling sound that accompanies the sinking of the cylinder continues for several more seconds, then all falls silent.
Brash:
The light from your torch and the cylinder itself illuminate a relatively small chamber. The walls here are covered with bas-relief images similar to the slender figure on the sarcophagus lid – a dozen androgynous, hairless humanoids stand in poses of deference. Hands are extended in adoration, faces awash in adulation. Several of the statues lack hands, arms, even heads – anything that could be easily hacked off by long-absent tomb robbers perhaps.
The cylinder rests in a niche in one wall of the chamber – call it the north wall, assuming you have not been too turned about. Adjacent to the open doors of the cylinder, just within the niche is a hand sized plate of stone that projects slightly from the rest of the wall.
About fifteen feet ahead of you (to the south), a dark passageway extends from the room from an elaborately carved archway. However, only a little of this passageway is visible, as a large stone block rests just in front of the archway, obscuring most of the passage and seemingly blocking the way out of the room, although there is a gap between the top of the arch and the top of the stone block.
Brashen, holding his torch aloft and his axe tight, steps into the cylinder. Almost as soon as he is fully within – and as Da’gret is turning back towards the sarcophagus again – the metal doors ~whoosh~ shut and the cylinder descends – quite rapidly – back into the floor, the stone circle that is its top clicking back into place in the floor. The rumbling sound that accompanies the sinking of the cylinder continues for several more seconds, then all falls silent.Brash: ** spoiler omitted **
Mothman
Brashen:
Da’gret and Strevlik get into position to push the sarcophagus again, with the ranger counting quietly to twenty.
However, the count has just passed fifteen when the low rumbling begins again, and the metal cylinder once again rises up into the alcove, the doors opening to reveal white light – but no sign of Brashen.
Brashen: ** spoiler omitted **
Da’gret and Strevlik get into position to push the sarcophagus again, with the ranger counting quietly to twenty.
However, the count has just passed fifteen when the low rumbling begins again, and the metal cylinder once again rises up into the alcove, the doors opening to reveal white light – but no sign of Brashen.
Boland had moved over to where Andolphas was inspecting the statue and had been trying to determine what the glyphs indicated.
He felt himself once more growing tense at the exchange between Andolphas and Brashen, but on this ocassion he did not finde the courage to speak up and intervene. And so he watched silently as Brashen moved into and decended down with the cylinder, his tension growing further. When it arose without Brashen inside, panic gripped him and he froze momentarily.
After a moment he turned to Strevlik and Da'gret by the statue and said "Quickly, push it back so it faces the West tunnel again, and then back to the North-West! That action bought up the cylinder originally so it might do so again. We should have tested it first!!" This last statement is more to himself, berrating his own silence.
'And you obviously do have something to fear, if the way you hung back in thelast fight is any indication. I'll go, if you can get the thing back down' Brash turns to Strevlik and De'grat as he says this. 'Prehaps give me 20, 30 seconds down there then bring it back up.
"Me? Afraid? I think not," grumbles Andolphas as Brashen enters the cylinder. "Though I must concede that you were quicker to react than I was, and clearly the better warrior..."
Turning back to Boland: "So, what do you make of the figure? There are glyphs here that seem to match those found on the appartus upstairs... and would you agree that it seems as though something might once have been held between the broken finger and the thumb?"
The priest stands aside as Da'gret and Strevlik attempt to push the sarcophagus once again. His questions are interrupted as the party stares in wonder as the metal cylinder resurfaces without Brashen. After a long pause, Andolphas speaks in a quiet voice: "I suppose that I should be next to descend after Brashen, if only to reassure my companions of my bravery..."
Boland : After examining the glyph and conferring with Andolphas, you agree that it is related to the symbol back in the corridor. Working on your hypothesis that the other glyph represented a name, it is likely this one does too – very possibly the name of the person depicted on the sarcophagus lid.
Given that this glyph is less complex and uses gentler shapes than the other, it may be inferred that this name is of less importance, or lower ranking, than the other.
---
Brashen:
There is a hole in the ceiling above the stone of about the same size – perhaps this stone was a trap, set to fall and squash intruders.
---
Strevlik agrees with Boland and suggests to the others that they should pivot the sarcophagus back into its original position to test whether that would make it go back down.
Better to test before we let another companion go down, especially one that he suspects would not be able to defend himself as well as Brash.
Strevlik enlists the help of Da'gret to move the heavy object back towards the west.
Strevlik and Da’gret get into position and push at the heavy sarcophagus, trying to move it anti-clockwise, back into its original position as suggested by Boland.
To no avail. The stone object does not budge, nor does the cylinder.
Strevlik and Da’gret get into position and push at the heavy sarcophagus, trying to move it anti-clockwise, back into its original position as suggested by Boland.
To no avail. The stone object does not budge, nor does the cylinder.
The pushing did nothing, maybe it is our grip. Strevlik looks across to Da'gret and suggests that they reposition themselves and try to push harder towards its'original position.
As this was happening, Strevlik thought to himself of other ways to test the cylinder. Would it be possible to place a heavy object inside, like rocks from the entrance, to see whether the weight of it would be enough to bring the cylinder down and hopefully back up with his friend Brashen.
"Hmmm... it strikes me that we haven't even finished investigating the passages that radiate outwards from this chamber... wouldn't it be wiser to do that before we follow our companion into the cylinder? Perhaps there are answers or other mechanisms to be found therein...???"
The savage grunts, "No. We bring Brash up now like we said."
Da'gret rolls his shoulders flexing muscles, lines up next to Strevlik, takes a deep breath and throws himself against the sarcophagus again.
The savage grunts, "No. We bring Brash up now like we said."
Da'gret rolls his shoulders flexing muscles, lines up next to Strevlik, takes a deep breath and throws himself against the sarcophagus again.
Boland nods in agreeance "He might be in trouble down there! We must try and get to him." Boland adds his own weight to the statue in the hope to help get it turning.
"Maybe it only turns one way? Let's try pushing it the whole way around."
Strevlik and Da’gret loosen their muscles, change their grips and throw their considerable combined weights against the sarcophagus (with even Boland “helping”).
At first the thing refuses to budge – but then, after a moment, there is a horrible grinding sound of stone on stone, a loud ~crack~ and the sarcophagus suddenly shifts, clicking into place with its head pointing back to the west tunnel.
The cylinder rumbles and descends back into the ground.
Brash:
All of a sudden, you hear a grinding sound, followed by a rumbling, and the cylinder descends back down the shaft into the niche, the doors sliding open. However, the interior of the cylinder is now dark, no longer shining with a white light. It is difficult to tell if it is still empty or…
Strevlik and Da’gret loosen their muscles, change their grips and throw their considerable combined weights against the sarcophagus (with even Boland “helping”).
At first the thing refuses to budge – but then, after a moment, there is a horrible grinding sound of stone on stone, a loud ~crack~ and the sarcophagus suddenly shifts, clicking into place with its head pointing back to the west tunnel.
The cylinder rumbles and descends back into the ground.
Brash: ** spoiler omitted **
Brash:
Brash: ** spoiler omitted **
mothster
After the loud crack Da'gret looks at Strevlik blank faced and asks, "That wasn't good was it?"
Andolphas crosses his arms and watches the vain efforts of his companions. When it seems that no amount of pushing on the sarcophagus is going to bring back Brashen, he speaks up again, amiably and without sounding snarky: "So... either we go into the cylinder right away, or we investigate the adjacent passages first... Again, with the Dark-Eyed Lady on my side, I'll be happy to step into the cylinder in search of Brashen..."
Listen DC 21+
Listen DC 26+
Brash:
"Find us another way down and then you can go first. I don't like this. Someone has to be here to turn the dial when others are below. And..." Da'gret cuts off mid-sentence, listening. "You hear that? Someone yelling I think..."
"Find us another way down and then you can go first. I don't like this. Someone has to be here to turn the dial when others are below. And..." Da'gret cuts off mid-sentence, listening. "You hear that? Someone yelling I think..."
Andolphas cocks his head, trying to listen for what Da'gret heard. "Are you sure? I don't hear anything..." He hurries to the glowing green lantern with the torch inside it, taking a close look at it. "I wonder if..."
"Got to be Brash. C'mon Strev, we can't turn it back, so let's turn it all the way around quick and get Brash out of there!"
He hurries to the glowing green lantern with the torch inside it, taking a close look at it. "I wonder if..."
Andolphas, you need to crane your neck upwards to look at the lantern – it hangs quite high, but just within reach.
It is certainly of identical design to the one that Strevlik found in the snake’s lair, although the green glass panes are cleaner and the brasswork less tarnished. It appears that at some point, someone has placed an everburning torch within the lamp, else surely the torch that you can see resting within the thing would have burnt out long, long ago.
"Got to be Brash. C'mon Strev, we can't turn it back, so let's turn it all the way around quick and get Brash out of there!"
The burly half-orc lumbers around to the other side of the sarcophagus, asking Strevlik to join him, but before the ranger has really gotten into position, Da’gret has already put his shoulder to the stone and heaved, muscles bulging.
Stone groans again, but the thing swings more easily this time than it did on the last push, and clicks back into place, the head of the sarcophagus once more facing the north-west tunnel.
There is silence for a moment, then the familiar rumbling sound can be heard, although it sounds a little more sporadic than before. A few seconds later the cylinder emerges again from the floor. For a few more beats nothing happens, and then the metal doors begin to slide open…
Brash:
Andolphas, you need to crane your neck upwards to look at the lantern – it hangs quite high, but just within reach.
It is certainly of identical design to the one that Strevlik found in the snake’s lair, although the green glass panes are cleaner and the brasswork less tarnished. It appears that at some point, someone has placed an everburning torch within the lamp, else surely the torch that you can see resting within the thing would have burnt out long, long ago.
As Da'gret continues his efforts with the sarcophagus, Andolphas ponders the mysteries of the glowing green lantern. "Boland... do you have any idea why only this lantern has been lit, apparently in perpetuity, with an alchemical device? What magic, if any, might be at work here? What would happen if we removed the everburning torch from the lantern? Conversely, what would happen if we lit all the lanterns? Of course, the one that we found earlier notwithstanding, we would still be one lantern short of the full set... so either it is destroyed, or someone has made off with it, in which case we may never know their secret... or perhaps it remains for us to find somewhere within this complex? I like not the idea of pushing recklessly deeper into the cairn without first attempting to understand the other mysteries that we are presented with... Our understanding of them may be vital to our survival... the Green Lady and her divine patron willing..." Andolphas quickly makes a gesture to acknowledge and maintain the favour of the Guardian of the Dead.
He is distracted from his musings as he stares back in anticipation at the returning cylinder, expecting Brashen to emerge from it...
For a few more beats nothing happens, and then the metal doors begin to slide open…
… The formally constant white light within now flickers on and off sporadically … but as the doors open sluggishly, everyone can see that Brash does indeed stand within the cylinder, torch held aloft and axe held ready, apparently none the worse for wear.
Mothman
Brashen steps out of the cylinder, and gives a nod to his companions. 'I think we better go over our time counting...' He continues with a grin, 'But not to worry, there wasnt much down there, a whole lot of statues all missing parts, and a corridor leading away, though looks lik it was trapped, a big rocks blocking the entrance, though we could probably move the rock, or even prehaps have someone squeeze through the gap. Not sure whats beyond the boulder'
Brashen:
Mothman ** spoiler omitted **
Brashen steps out of the cylinder, and gives a nod to his companions. 'I think we better go over our time counting...' He continues with a grin, 'But not to worry, there wasnt much down there, a whole lot of statues all missing parts, and a corridor leading away, though looks lik it was trapped, a big rocks blocking the entrance, though we could probably move the rock, or even prehaps have someone squeeze through the gap. Not sure whats beyond the boulder'
Boland stumbles back from the statue as the Half-Orc reverses his grip and pushes it back to the North-West tunnel. He watches with held breath as the cylinder returns and eventually Brashen steps out of it unscathed. He let's out the breath with a big sigh of relief, suddenly feeling drained.
"Boland... do you have any idea why only this lantern has been lit, apparently in perpetuity, with an alchemical device? What magic, if any, might be at work here..."
After a moment Andolphas' musings return to his mind and he turns his attention to the burning torch and the chamber in general.
He continues with his own musings. It seems that the torches do not need to be lit for the cylinder to work, as the North-West tunnel has an unlit lantern. However, we really need to experiment some more with this to see what does and does not work, before we send anyone else below. We've already discovered that we probably should avoid turning it anti-clockwise. Why don't we push it to each tunnel one at a time and see what happens? Perhaps the tunnels without lanterns will not work. Be ready though - we now know there are other probably unexplored area's of this tomb. These cylinders seem to be a way to travel down there, or conversely for things to come up by..."
Andolphas ponders the mysteries of the glowing green lantern.
It’s difficult to say why this lantern has been lit … as for the method of lighting, putting an everburning torch within guarantees that the lantern stays alight for a long time (indefinitely even), whereas filling the lantern’s reservoir with oil and lighting it would guarantee only a few hours of light at most.
As for why … there could be cultural, religious, mundane or magical reasons why these lamps hang here and whether or not they are intended to be lit … but you just don’t know enough about these tomb builders to say for certain.
'Yes we should be weary... just before you guys brought me up i think i saw something, some movement, from just beyond the blocked passage. Not sure what, but i definantly saw something...'
'Yes we should be weary... just before you guys brought me up i think i saw something, some movement, from just beyond the blocked passage. Not sure what, but i definantly saw something...'
A shiver of excitement and fear travels up Bolands spine at Brashen's words. "Ok, so let's begin testing." He turns to Da'gret and Strevlik "If you could perhaps push the statue once more so the arrow points to the North passage and we will see what happens there. We can go around the whole circle clockwise until we come back to the North-West tunnel."
He pauses again with a look of thought on his face. "Brashen, did you see anything that might allow one down in the tunnel to get back up without relying on someone up here moving the statue?". Then to himself "perhaps that is the purpose of the lanterns - when lit they allow you to move up and down..." He trails of in thought.
Andolphas's eyes follow the length of the chain upon which hangs the glowing green lantern and up to the shadowy ceiling...
The alcove in which the green lantern hangs has a higher ceiling than the passage that connects to it; requisitioning a torch from Boland and holding it aloft, Andolphas can see that the ceiling is about forty feet high. The chain – which appears to be made of steel, but is in remarkably good condition for something presumably so ancient, with barely a spot of rust – hangs from a metal ring inset into the stones of the ceiling. There is no gap of any note between the metal and the surrounding stone, nor can anything else of interest be seen.
Whilst Andolphas stands at the terminus of the northern passage, gazing up the chain that holds the green lantern, Boland and Brashen talk near the entrance to the north-west passage, bathed in the staccato white light that flickers on and off from the still open cylinder. Da’gret and Strevlik meanwhile rest against the sarcophagus for a few moments after their recent exertions. Apart from the murmur of voices and the faint sound of breathing all is quiet in the tomb.
Brash raises his voice to include the whole group in the conversation. 'Well what are we going to do? theres not much point just standing around up here. We know theres a passage down under this cylinder, which is the only evident way forward, the only problem being that the cylinder is unpredictable and we need at least one person up here to operate it. So why dont De'grat and Strevlik keep testing that and see if you can find a pattern, while you two' Brash looks to Boland and Andolphas 'and me try to work out a way forward up here. But if we havnt found anything soon, then i suggest a few of us head down and explore that other passage.' Brash takes a breath. 'Have you had a look down any of the passages up here yet? Why dont we start searching them?'
After saying his piece, Brash strides to the first passageway on the left of the entry way into the room, and peers intently down the passage before commencing a search of the area.