Having figured out what's in the small jar Zokon takes notes on how the others figured out what was in the other jars
Noting the closed gateways, Scarlet heads north, and continues to go north. "If we're ready, then?" She keeps her swords drawn.
"Aye let's keep going" and he exchanges his rapier with the dagger abd put the dagger back in it's sheath.
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Numalar recovers his longspear from the hallway.
"I am prepared to continue, though I did use the majority of my magic against the bear. But I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."
"When we do decide to retire, assuming we haven't explored the whole complex yet, perhaps we should try to rig up some kind of trap that will alert us if anything approaches through these tunnels."
"I would tend to agree, if there's any guarantee anything coming for us would set it off. Currently, I would tend to try and barricade the entrance to this place, gladly with something that makes noise, too. I think a few strategically placed thick branches and my anvil ought to do a good enough job at preventing things from sneaking up on us.", Alia responds flatly.
Alia plays it off as cool, but that brush with death, helplessly stuck agitated her. She is still dwelling on what happened and on edge, staying behind Scarlet, both hands on her Estoc, knuckles white from the tense grip.
"Yeah, that's a good idea, Alia."
The gnome gives a hearty laugh at Alia's joke.
"I wouldn't open that, unless we were really desperate." he smirks as he starts considering the use for it. "It might be very useful if we get into a dire situation."
"Sounds like a good idea, Alia. I'd hate to hit my foot on that anvil." he states with a peppy and upbeat attitude. "I wouldn't mind looking after that jar though, if you don't mind? I'm not as brave or skilled as you in combat."
Along the floor the party notes footsteps in the dust. They are similar to the ones in the stairwell but not quite the same. They are small barefooted humanoid in nature but.... The steps follow the eastern wall just like the party.
Now that groups is not being a attacked evil dessert gelatin the group notes the dusty decor. The walls are covered in horrible baas relief depicting scenes of terrible torture, murder and mutilation. Malicious carvings of a single baleful eye are inter-spaced among them--witnesses to the horror. The place gives off a palpable sense of evil.
Not the time to lose your head, girl. Think straight.
Pulling herself together, Alia tugs at Scarlet to make her stop, then brings the Sunrod closer to the steps ahead of them:"Hold. I think those footprints are meant to...lead us someplace. They seem deliberately placed. And I don't trust this place. I don't think we should follow them blindly. Lets first take a look in the opposite direction."
Zokon manages to shake off whatever is pervading this area.
Zokon inspects the footprints and the area around it to see if he can figure out what it's for.
"Alia is probably right we should check out the other passage to see what it has, we may get a better idea of what these footprints mean."
Scarlet grimaces at the footsteps. "A trick, eh? I don't like tricks. Maybe, let's double back then?"
Zokon puts a a little pressure on the floor ahead and it opens up down the middle onto a yawning spike-filled pit ten feet deep! The dust slides into it scrubbing the foot prints from existence.
"Well umm.. we should probably check out this area now as it will have alerted anything that is down there."
Scarlet nods and heads back toward the northwestern path.
"Umm...you know I think we've explored enough. Perhaps we should go back, barricade this place up and rest before moving on? Afterall, poor Naleksa is still up there alone." he states as he tries to make himself sound convincing instead of the creeping fear.
The stone relief eyes seem to follow you in the odd alchemical light.
Scarlet has a big grin on her face as the group continues.
"Oh, come on, Posh. We need to keep exploring, here."
The path ahead forks again.
"I have a bad feeling about this..."
Alia is feeling somewhat secure, in the middle of the group, but she can't help noticing that some shadows seem to move in ways they should not...and was that a sound from behind?...
"Make sure to leave marks, Zokon!", Alia reminds him to use the chalk he fetched to mark each intersection.
Hearing Alias comment, Zokon makes arrow marks with the chalk periodically in the direction they are going.
He also checks the eyes of that stone relief
Scarlet opts to head South and see what's on the other side of that portcullis. "Heh. This is like the old days, during my self-exile."
The walls of this room reveal longer more intelligible, though no less horrible, scenes that can be knit together to form short little parables.
The priesthood itself is secretive and has no canon or book of scripture, nor known temples; instead, they favor small shrines of simple piled stones. Some of these piles have stones of cats-eye placed upon the top, from which (it is rumored) the hags of Gyronna peer. Mysteries are passed on by apprenticeship to a respected elder in the faith, demonic familiars and word of mouth.
The Black Sisters of Gyronna, the largest cult dedicated to the Angry Hag, are blamed for causing the downfall of Heibarr, a free town in the River Kingdoms. The ruins of the town are now a site of pilgrimage for some priestesses (though there are so many ruins and ghost towns in the River Kingdoms identifying Heibarr's could be difficult). Followers are known to truck with hags of all sorts. Most civilized countries kill worshipers on sight, but in the wilder regions of the River Kingdoms people mostly just try to avoid them out of fear.
The symbol of Gyronna is a single Bloodshot eye. Other names for the Angry Hag include: Nanny Bad-Eye, Misty Spite, as well as any number of other local epitaphs. In game terms, most of her followers are adepts, clerics and witches.
** spoiler omitted **
The walls of this room reveal longer more intelligible, though no less horrible, scenes that can be knit together to form short little parables.
** spoiler omitted **...
Images look familiar, but can't quite place it... Posh stares at the images on the walls that appear to be quite terrorfying, though he is uncertain as to why they seem familiar.
"Is that some dark side of Erastil I don't know about? It was meant to be a temple to him we entered, right?" he asks getting more and more concerned.
"Good point- maybe someone tried to desecrate the temple, or there's a curse against evil in here." Scarlet's anticipation is even higher than before. "Let's keep lookin'."
Scarlet heads South, hoping to turn East and confirm the area. She's making a map of the area in her head.
"Is this a deadend?", Alia glances towards the other path, if only to confirm that there is no further turn south on what she can see of the corridor.
Zokon looks at the wall closely and then begins feeling around for cracks or buttons or anything.
"There's a breeze coming from the wall to the North right next to me.. s some sort of ventilation or secret tunnel"
Zokon looks at the wall closely and then begins feeling around for cracks or buttons or anything.
"There's a breeze coming from the wall to the North right next to me.. s some sort of ventilation or secret tunnel"
"Ooo, secret! Pull the latch!" Scarlet rushes to the front, almost giddy.
"Good point- maybe someone tried to desecrate the temple, or there's a curse against evil in here." Scarlet's anticipation is even higher than before. "Let's keep lookin'."
Scarlet heads South, hoping to turn East and confirm the area. She's making a map of the area in her head.
Scarlet is so excited about the sound of a hidden room that she gets careless...
As Scarlet walks about the large chamber the central section of floor breaks in half and falls away into a gaping 10-foot deep spike lined trap.
Scarlet falls in such away as to avoid the oncoming spikes. Next to her she sees the oubliette's previous visitor and current resident a grinning humanoid skeleton hung up on the spikes beside her.
"Wheee! Ufff." Scarlet falls face first onto the spike pit. "I'm okay! Haha! I think I bent some of these spikes here...None of them got past my armor though." Scarlet chuckles. "Someone toss some rope down here so I can climb out, eh? THEN we check the camouflaged wall up north!"
Zokon will hold off on opening the door til we have scarlet safe.
"Exactly what makes you think those traps are humorous?", Alia states in disbelief looking at the rusted spikes as she holds the rope Scarlet uses to climb up.
"To me it rather seems this place is potentially very deadly, and not very funny at all", her eyes glancing over the illustrations at the walls.
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"Hmm lets see...kobold traps .. maybe "
"Well, I'm not dead. You gotta at least smile about that. We can't be on pins and needles all the time-" Scarlet looks back at the pit. "Okay, maybe a bad choice of words. I don't know, I feel a bit more comfortable here. It's like... digging around a huge cave and seeing what lies beneath."
Scarlet feels the bruise on her face. "Thought I had an eye for traps like these...guess not."
"Hmm lets see...kobold traps .. maybe "
Scarlet feels the bruise on her face. "Thought I had an eye for traps like these...guess not."
With the party holding one end of a rope, Scarlet clambers out of the pit.
"Well then...check out the camouflaged entrance up north?"
The wall pushes in quietly, revealing a dusty and disused side passage. Along the northwest wall is an obvious back-side of what the party imagines is another concealed door.
Scarlet readies her weapons. "May as well see what's on the other side of this door, eh?"
"Right behind you!", Alia states, then remembers the transparents cubes and the trapdoors:"Well, a little bit behind you! Be careful, Scarlet"
The doorway creaks open on a dark cell. Dust Tuskgutters roll about on every surface at your entrance. Shackles line the north wall. Near the front bars a man leans heavily in the corner, one hand on the bars for support the other at his stomach.
"Is someone there?" He calls his voice rasps.
"I can't see!! I can't see!!" Screams another unseen man. There's terror in his muffled voice. The sound emanates from one of the two barrels that have been shoved into the corner!
"Is someone there?" The first man rasps again.