Daedin drops down with a bronze disc in his hand. He holds it out to Estra, who can see writing and a holy symbol on it. The bronze object is an embossed prayer to Shizuru. The prayer is a warrior’s plea, asking for strength and courage when facing the final moments of life.
"Definitely." agrees Seelah. "It would be the honorable thing to strengthen the wards here."
Turning to look over the old one, she adds with a smile "I agree. There's even a little dust on your bottom."
"Seems we need to check out this tomb. If you're ready Daedin, lead on."
Estra wraps the disk in her shawl and slips it in her bag for safekeeping. She follows along, Honaire silently floating at her heel.
You pass southwards, through old barracks and a rusty armory filled with rusted weapons and even a decrepit ballista covered in cobwebs. Sure enough, the tomb is found just south of the entrance.
A single sarcophagus dominates the east end of this room. The walls are adorned with engravings of soldiers in plate armor holding their helms reverently to their sides, eyes downcast. There is a sense of calm here.
The coffin has been opened and sure enough, there is a corpse in a set of Tien armor, with a katana cast to the side where it was dropped by the elf and gnomes. A discarded Holy symbol lies near the sword!
Estra summons a bit of guidance then studies the body, curious to see if she can make anything out from its current state.
"At least they weren't fibbing about the location. Sure makes it easier to find when you're given directions." remarks Seelah. "Make sure to respect the dead. We certainly don't want to upset the gods."
Eyeing the symbol, she tries to identify the divine depiction.
|
Hiko moves up to the sarcophagus and peers inside, curious as to what or who might have died here. She takes a good look at the armor, enamored with the historical artifact of her ancestral home, that somehow made it to Avistan much like her family. But her attentions then move over to the actual body of the person and she examines the form trying to figure out how they died.
She glances at Estra aas the woman starts to cast a spell. "Oooh, good idea!" Hiko then grasps her rebus and chants a quick spell. Before turning back to the body.
_____________
Seelah realizes the holy symbol is that of Shinzuru, Tien goddess of the sun, ancestors and honor.
Bock and Daedin cluster together over the holy symbol of Shinzuru, determining that it was made to serve as a focus in a holy ritual.
Estra and Hiko examine the corpse and reveals it died in a burst of holy energy, possibly during the ritual!
The Red Raven and Seelah discern that what at first appeared to be simple erosion on the walls of the hero’s tomb is in fact the result of a concentrated burst of holy energy.
Putting all these clues together, you believe you could re-enact the ritual. Taking your time, you slowly begin the prayer chant, followed by the ritual blessing. A faint silver glow begins to build until it finally explodes throughout the complex, leaving you with a feeling of safety and freedom, as if something here was broken before and is now mended!
You return the samurai's body and sword to her resting place, closing the coffin once more. You rest overnight, feeling this is now a safe place and head back to return to Venture Captain Besnik, confident that this lock on the Tyrant's prison is now once more strong and whole.
The trip back is quiet. When you present yourself to Bresnik, he positively explodes with interest. "Tell me EVERYTHING!" he urges!
|
|
Daedîn bows. "We found old paintings and artifacts, fought weird creatures, negotiated with raiders, and most importantly, discovered an ancient ritual had been performed there. This ritual sealed away the Whispering Tyrant...we had to reenact the ritual to keep the lich sealed away.
"To sum up, just another day as a Pathfinder, sir...same ole, same ole..."
|
|
Hiko explains all of the magical and religious things she learned from the tomb. "It was very interesting. The place had been set up to be a proper Tian-min barracks with many comforts and practice areas set. But the place was almost all maintained by magic so it could subsist on it's own making it ideal for situations where only a few people can live there. On the other side it looks like the people living there were all Tian followers of Apsu, if Estra has the holy symbol right. Their efforts to keep the whispering tyrant sealed is what probably killed them though... It's certainly inspiring if a little sad."
"I'm just happy the ritual worked and all of us survived. That soldier definitely made it look like the ritual could be deadly. I'm at the end of my life, so it wouldn't be no thing if the ritual had killed me, but look at Hiko, here! Too young, too young. We're lucky, I think."
"We had Iomedae on our side. Failure wasn't possible, my dear." replies Seelah with a smile. "I am concerned about that elf we encountered though. Hopefully it takes up my request."
Turning the the venture-captain, "There's really not much else to add. They've covered the highlights. There was a strange 'practice' area I guess? With an uttered word shadow figures appeared to shoot through wind gusts. Some tangled vines attacked us there."
Bresnik croons as he jots down notes while you tell your tale. “I knew you would triumph! Just goes to show I picked the right Pathfinders to seek out adventure while unknown dangers lurked. There could have been almost anything there! Go and rest while I put our report together for the Ten. Surely, this addition to the Chronicles will put Uscalin Lodge on the map.” He lets out a whoop of triumph, then composes himself. “Though I may joke about the crusaders, they play a vital part in the service of good. You, too, have done important work today. You have removed a pressing danger and helped the spirit of
an ancient hero find rest. Well done, Pathfinders. I hope you are as proud of yourselves as I am of you.”
THUS ENDS THE SCENARIO.