So heroes' feast or create food and water?
The research books scattered around this room are worth a total of 10,000 gp. They detail various experiments and partial notes on the conundrum of transmuting lead into gold. A character who spends several hours reading through these books discovers notes and descriptions of the solution the Lords of Greed hit upon to protect Karzoug from the fall of Thassilon.
By building a runewell larger than any before, Karzoug could place himself in stasis between realities, suspended between Golarion and a hostile plane called Leng. Once the dust settled, the plan was for one of Karzoug’s apprentices to release him. The details of this process are not recorded in the books—the wizards of runeforge were focused only on aiding in the runewell’s construction, not what came after it was completed.
Also present here are Ordikon’s spellbooks; a wizard who examines these finds them to be particularly unusual in that many of the notes and formulae within are redundant. Spells generally take up twice as much room as they need to in these books, as if the wizard who recorded them had a habit of repeating himself in various ways without realizing it.
Eenie meenie miney Sloth
”Maybe these books themselves count as the protection talismans, or maybe he just meant our rune-forged weapons?”
Eenie meenie miney Sloth
"What about this?" Tomaru pulls out the Sihedron Medallion that he keeps tucked inside of his shirt. "It has been on nearly everyone we've encountered who had anything to do with this craziness."
Fresh from your rest and research, you head into the tunnel that leads into the Halls of Sloth. For some unknown reason, Ordikon took to referring to this area as the "Festering Maze'. It doesn't take long to find out why.
Halfway down the hall, your senses are assaulted by a horrible stench. If all the sewage of Magnimar were allowed to sit and stew, it would probably smell like this.
The full appreciation of the term 'festering' becomes apparent as you emerge into the Halls of Sloth. The air grows thick and foul-smelling in this chamber, yet the vaporous stink here is nothing compared to the insult to the senses elsewhere. Slime encrusts the walls in swaths of sickly brown and noxious green. A foamy sewage channel runs along a slippery walkway, the thickly shuddering skin atop the slowly churning fluid seeming to hint that, despite its repulsive appearance and smell,
something lurks in those depths.
The chamber you are is is approximately 65' long running east/west and 35' wide. There are 2 entrances in the northern corners of the chamber: in the northwestern corner, a slime-coated path runs north. In the northeastern corner, another path leads north - but there is 10' of sewage slough to cross to reach it.
”Not the worst smell ever,” Praxim says unconvincingly.
Rexil takes a big sniff and gives Praxim a strange look.
Not so fast. First we have to eat. Tomaru will cast Heroe's Feast.
cures everyone of all sickness and nausea; everyone gets the benefits of both neutralize poison and remove disease, and gains 1d8+7 temporary hit points; everyone gains a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls and Will saves and a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against poison and fear effects for 12 hours.
I presume the fumes are poisonous, thus the +4.
Nodding at the elf in a matter of fact way, "I've smelled worse."
"We have an audience. My guess would be a bat familiar."
"There's a wizard capable of providing for a familiar... but willing to live in this?" Lym asks, a clear note of distaste in her voice. "How preposterous."
Thordak turns an eye toward the watcher. "Should we kill it? Maybe we should kill it," he states, looking to the others for confirmation.
Praxim directs his gaze and other senses towards whatever it is Aurora sees.
"We should ask for a meeting its master. Perhaps we'll actually be able to hold an intelligent conversation with something in this place for once. Ask in Thassilonian."
"Very well."
"It left. And if was more likely not a bat but an imp. Hopefully to inform its master. Should we wait here or continue in?"
"Advance," Lym decides. "But remember that this is the domain of Sloth; Conjuration magic rules here. There will be critters, summoned beasts… clouds of fog and toxin are also a possibility. Beware teleporation traps."
”I thought for sure this place would be necromancy.”
"Because that is sooo much better."
"Necromancy will be Gluttony, and it will likely be just as bad as you imagine. That will be the realm of the undead. Sloth is all about summoning creatures to do your work for you, so here, it is the realm of the Outsider -- like that imp who flew away just now, but likely bigger. We will be relying heavily on Tomaru and Praxim, everyone, so keep an eye on them."
In that case, Praxim will take a moment to bond with his bow, making it +5 seeking evil outsider bane.
"These places really do fit their theme, don't they?" Veronica comments, pulling her nose up at the smell.
"Advance," Lym decides. "But remember that this is the domain of Sloth; Conjuration magic rules here. There will be critters, summoned beasts… clouds of fog and toxin are also a possibility. Beware teleporation traps."
"Follow the imp?"
Nodding, "Yep. I'm for followin' the imp. Wherever it goes, is probably where we be needin' ta go also. Let's go!" The dwarf then starts out in the direction the imp flew off.
Thordak moves up slowly, as the walkways are covered in slime and muck, and are slippery. You reach a point where you have to cross the sewage in order to continue.
Praxim looks at the sewage and says, ”Not happening,” before casting angelic aspect and growing a pair of heavenly wings, that somehow just look whiter and more brilliant with the contrast of so much filth.
”Can somebody help Rexil with some flight or other means of getting over that? I don’t think any of us, no matter ou constitution, should be touching that stuff.”
Aurora also sprouts wings.
"I don't have anything that would help." She says more to Thordak than Praxim or Rexil.
Old Guy GM, I haven't been keeping track of usage of the Staff of Heaven and Earth like I should have and I'm not sure how many charges I have left. I'd have put in one charge when we rested. Can I get a ruling?
My idea is to use it to cast Air Walk on myself, Thordak, and Rexil (6 charges).
OK.
Tomaru uses the Staff of Heaven and Earth to allow Thordak and Rexil to Air Walk. He'll cast the spell for himself.
Wait! Tomaru wants to try to use the magic pool to charge the staff. After the party rests and, hopefully, the pool has had time to recharge.
Lym has not stopped floating.
Longstrider: +10 move
Magic Vestment: +3 AC
Heroe's Feast: temp hp; +1 morale to hit; +1 morale Will Sv; +4 morale v poison and fear
Air Walk (self, Thordak, Rexil): 140 min
OK.
Tomaru uses the Staff of Heaven and Earth to allow Thordak and Rexil to Air Walk. He'll cast the spell for himself.
Wait! Tomaru wants to try to use the magic pool to charge the staff. After the party rests and, hopefully, the pool has had time to recharge.
Veronica looks about and takes stock of the distance across the sewage. She shrugs. "It's not really that far," she says. She moves back a bit, runs forward, and leaps across.
The hand dips the staff into the pool, and it immediately begins glowing as bright as a torch...but nothing else happens. After 3 hours, the glow goes out.
------------------------------
All of you make it across the sewage to a new section of the maze. Other walkways go east and west. The eastern walkway has a metal arch that acts as a bridge over the sewer. Two iron grates can be seen just poking out of the rotten muck at different points in this area.
Praxim takes one of his adamantine durable arrows and scratches directional arrows in the walls, pointing back the way they came. He then hands the arrow to Rexil and indicates that he should continue while he begins scanning for evil, especially the muck.
Rexil takes the arrow and draws some pointers on the wall.
He grins at the fun of drawing on stone and draws more arrows and a kitty cat.
And some flowers.
Go up and to the right.
Lym floats along, glancing left and right for threats.
Through powerful magics, you are able to avoid touching the fetid sewage. The skin on top of the sluices ripples as if alive, sometimes even appearing to follow your movements.
You arrive at an intersection in the maze. The metal 'bridge' crossing the waterway is only 2' wide and extremely slick. Luckily the aforementioned spells keep you from having to negotiate this hazard.
To the West (left), a large room stretches out into darkness. The walkway you are on continues down the center of this room. From deep in that room, the roar of rushing water can be heard. To the East (right), a riot of color splashes on the walls, it's point of origin being somewhere around the curve in the maze...
Go up the north passage.
"That does seem best," Lym agrees. "Don't want to walk into this place's sewer, a water elemental preserve, or some prismatic chamber..."