Everyone retreats the party's wizard.
"So, uh, it didn't care about rocks. Draw lots and the loser gets to find out what it does live?"
The party's cleric holds out 4 tinder twigs one of which he says he has shortened.
Serena shakes her head, refusing to draw. "I will test it," she says adamantly. "The rest of you should retreat around the corner."
Only one way to test it. Once everyone has gotten clear, she will trace the runes with a finger.
Stepping up to the wall to trace the unreadable magic words on the wall, Serena is enveloped by an expanding globe of light and fire. The blast wave sends dust and debris in all directions. The explosion buckles the corridor and brings down small stones and grit from between the ceiling slabs and chars black everything in its radius.
The hot wind blows Fergus's and Jhod's hair back.
"SERENA! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT!?" shouts the shepherd though it's hard to hear through the ringing in everyone's ears.
Serena takes the full brunt of the blast, but manages to turn away in time to avoid losing her vision to the flames. Her hair is badly burned, and her eyebrows are burned off, but she is largely intact. Her flesh does not burn because of her divine connection to Serenrae, but the shock wave has left her reeling.
"I'm not dead," comes the reply.
Hmm. I was afraid of that. I'll have to remember to always have a dispel spell prepared from now on... Fergus says, walking up to Serena.
If you need it, I have some healing, though it isn't the most pleasant experience. He says, motioning towards his wand of Infernal Healing.
though, it is exceptionally efficient.
"Thank you, but I can handle it," Serena replies. She draws forth a wand and speaks a word, tapping herself twice.
"*Mwap*" Yeah, she could still hear things. Vaguely.
"Well, let's hope there's no further threats to your haircut..." Illthir mumbles, weakly hoping a joke would raise the mood. And if it fell on deaf ears, she'd blame the explosion.
"Once is a coincidence, twice is attempted murder. Do you think the 'lich' would be spiteful enough to leave us this? Silly question; probably yes. But could it have time and resources?" That was probably also a silly question. Usually evil undead was just the right people to have time and means in abundance. Darn it - couldn't they have ticked off some poorer opponent... The skald sighs. "There's probably even more tricks then. You said there were two auras; are they both gone or are we about to find out what number two does?"
With the help of Jhod's magical light, Serena can see into what appears to be a room divided by cage bars with a door set near the center. There's also a bunch of scattered wood and huge puddle of water, the remains of a couple of barrels blown to bits in the explosion.
"Jhod, could you come in here, please? I think it should be safe." Serena moves into the room.
Rounding the corner into the area proper the party finds a faintly glowing oval disk floating perpendicular to the floor a few inches off the ground in one corner.
When Serena doesn't explode Illthir dares to follow. Carefully though!
"Huh. That's new?" she glances at the map just to be sure. "Time to fling another rock?"
"Time to fling another rock?"
"Trap finding rock go!" Illthir enthusiastically flings a rock at the ... thing. Ignoring that it didn't really help at all last time.
Guessing that little bits of stuff can land anywhere in the room itself given that the the floor is covered in the debris of a couple exploded barrels Illthir tosses a bit of rock shifted from the walls in the same explosion into the intriguingly door-sized glowing magical disc rather than anywhere else in the room.
The stone passes through the faintly shimmering air and hits the stone wall behind it and tumbles to the increasingly cluttered floor.
"Now what?"
Serena enters the room proper and moves to inspect the disc. "What do you think it is?" She asks no one in particular.
"Weeeell the last thing didn't react to rocks either..." Illthir notes. As for what it was - and what to do - good question. After a few moments to think on it (and noting that Serena doesn't explode for coming close to it) she offers: "I could try Detect Magic too. If Fergus and I put our heads together maybe we can figure it out."
Detect Magic!
Illthir inspects the hazy disc.
It's definitely something magical. The area of the distortion appears to be about 8-feet-tall and about 4-feet-wide. There are a couple of auras. One strong one matching the exact position of the disc and another emanating from the door in the southwest of the room. This second much weaker aura overlaps with the entire room.
Concentrating on the upright disc, there's nothing in Illthir's knowledge of spellcraft to help her identify what, if anything, it does, nor even what school of magic it belongs too. It is a strong aura though.
"Huh, I got nothing. Fergus?" The Skald ponders for a moment then turns her attention to the second weaker aura. "I wonder if it has anything to do with the Mephits?"
"Huh. Abjuration; that's wards right?"
"Conjuration; that'd be what one would use to summon something like Mephits... Hmm." Illthir ponders out loud. "Maybe one spell to trigger it and another to call?"
But this wasn't really her area of expertise. She was all about the heroic deeds and good stories. *Glup* She grabbed her spare sidearm and reached out to poke the disc. "Maybe ... This will do something?"
But this wasn't really her area of expertise. She was all about the heroic deeds and good stories. *Glup* She grabbed her spare sidearm and reached out to poke the disc.
Serena enters the chamber with a small degree of trepidation.
Into the chamber rush the wizard Eldioceasan, Tamris and his large speckled wolf companion Rain.
"YOU!? What in the Nine Hells are you all doing here!?" shouts the wizard. "Well?"
Tamris lowers his bow.
And rain stops snarling and quizzically cocks his head to one side causing his ear to flop over.