|
Yggdrar hears the rest of the group retreat, but he stubbornly holds his ground. He refuses to leave; He couldn't allow himself to be stopped by something so paultry! Giving an animalistic roar, he brings that flail around once more, this time with even more force behind it as he lashed out at the creature.
Rage-fueled Power Attack
Miss chance (over 50=success):
ATTACK:
DAMAGE:
|
|
The crushing blow from Yggdrars Rage-Fueled flail turns the Darkmantle into a gooey mess.
After a minute or so the darkness fades and the party is able to progress down the stairs unimpeded. The bottom of the stairs open into a square chamber.
Old carvings cover the walls of this square chamber, thick with dust and cobwebs. Three sets of stone double doors stand in the three facing walls. Heavy bronze seals emblazoned with the symbol of Pharasma secure the doors against whatever lies beyond.
Studying the Carvings
|
Petronicus kneels down to study the creature, picking it apart with his dagger. "Never seen one of these before. Don't quite understand why a creature of the dark has the power to make more darkness. Seems that it wouldn't be very useful down here, kind of like a shark having the power to make more sea water. What's the point?"
"One thing's for sure though, this crypt has a connection to deeper tunnels. No way a flesh and blood creature would be able to survive down here with no natural food source ... unless it eats the flesh of the dead." Petronicus shudders at the thought.
Looking at the carvings, he suddenly calls out, "Hey look, it's the runelords! I'd recognize their ioun stone-studded heads anywhere!"
|
Evad looks around the room as the others point out the graffiti and pictures of the runelords. Hand on his chin stroking his scruffy beard.
What in Gozreh could this mean?
He searches for double meaning as he reads it over. Wondering aloud.
Does anyone see any "treasure" chests among the pictures of the runelords? When it says "I don't know what it means", what exactly is the it, it is referring to? I wonder if this is of importance at all or just some madman's ravings.
|
|
The large Elf slowly comes down from his burst of anger, taking a moment to catch his breath as the darkness fades. He follows everyone's eyes to the carvings in the wall, studying them as he wipes off the head of his flail.
Perception:
Kn: History:
Yggdrar doesn't recognize the stone faces, but the writing he does understand, and adds his thoughts. "Could be some poor soul lost its way down here. Possibly delirious from a lack of food or water. Or maybe some creature caused its madness."
|
|
Yggdrar doesn't recognize the stone faces, but the writing he does understand, and adds his thoughts. "Could be some poor soul lost its way down here. Possibly delirious from a lack of food or water. Or maybe some creature caused its madness."
Petronicus turns to the tall elf. "But how could they get down here? I thought the place is locked up tight!"
|
"The scrawl does not appear to be new, just consiserably more recent than the rest of the room.," Ahto replies. "I doubt that Pharasmin priestess holds the only key to this place, and this city's reputation for lawlessness makes it unsurprising that someone would be locked down here by someone keen on making an enemy or mere inconvenience disappear."
|
|
Petronicus steps back and lets the tall elf take the lead. "Please, be my guest. I have an allergy to "vile mechanisms."
"And you can start with those doors, right over there," he says, pointing at the only exit.
While waiting for the elf, Krupt takes a look at the door to the east to see if he can spot anything unusual.
|
|
"So which door shall it be?" Ahto asks. "Lacking a map, we can only make an educated guess."
He points to the scrawl on the north wall. "This could have been a warning. a sign post, or a lure for a trap. It makes the north door the most intriguing of the three options, but that does not necessarily translate to being the safest or most correct."
|
|
"Ah yes, the Pharasmin seals. If I remember correctly, and I almost always do, we have that magical chime with five charges. We need to save one charge to get out the main door at the top of the stairs. This means we have four charges left."
He points at each of the door leading out of the chamber. "I don't know if each of these doors requires a separate charge, but if it does ... well, that's a problem. Also a problem, if we need another charge to get back out through them on the way back."
Petronicus absent-mindedly scratches his head. "Seems that we just pick a door and go through. I don't see any particular reason to pick one over the other. We just need to keep at least two charges in the chime: one for upstairs, and one (potentially) for getting back through these doors. Oh, and who has the chime?"
He then steps back to the stairs and points at the doors. "So Yggdrar, care to try your luck?"
|
|
The tall elven barbarian nods and opts to take point for the group, giving them a moment to debate over which door to enter first. All looked shut and locked, guessing this is where that 'chime of opening' would come into play. He kept his Flail in hand, taking a moment to regard each door carefully.
"I vote east, and we just go through each door in order. I don't think it'll matter that much which door we enter first."
|
|
As the chime rings out the spiral seal on the door spins slowly, dissolving a bit with every revolution. It fades completely and the door opens on its own slowly and without sound.
In the small L shaped room, A strange statue of a half-snake, half human creature stands in a wide alcove to the south of two large stone doors. Comprising the lower body of a coiling serpent and the upper torso of a human woman, the statue has six wings and a disk containing a seven-pointed star in place of its head. Its crossed arms hold a quill and whip, and the entire statue is covered in verdigris. The faint outline of strange runes can be made out beneath the patina coating the statue.
magical and is a Trap of Weal or Woe. You sense that there are multiple magical effects and that touching the statue will imbue the triggering character with an effect, some good some bad.
|
|
Petronicus looks about the room cautiously. "Well, I guess now we know that one chime only opens one door. If all of these rooms don't connect, that will really limit our ability to explore."
He then moves over to stand next to the statue, looking for anything unusual, while trying to decipher what the raded runes mean.
|
|
Ahto stares at the statue for a long moment, and gives a small shrug.
"Some creature of old, or from another plane, or something else I didn't care to listen to an academic priest lecture on for hours and hours. Nothing to do with enforcing law and meting out just punishment, I'd wager, or else I'd remember it," he says gruffly.
|
|
Upon entering the room, Yggdrar takes a quick scan, checking for any obvious threats before motions everyone in. He still had his weapon in one hand as he scanned the room with the others of his group, keeping his distance from teh statue when one of them declared it dangerous. He noticed something off about it, but wasn't about to investigate it further.
He laid eyes on the statue for a long time, approaching it and laying a hand on her stone stomach. "I recognize this being. Lissala, goddess of fate and runes. I had heard from my Elders that she was, is, a Thassilonian goddess." He looks to Petronicus, also examining the statue, and comments, "If you're having trouble reading the markings, I can translate."
Kn: Religion
Perception:
Spellcraft:
|
|
"Lissala, you say? Never heard of her. Must have gotten axed at some point, otherwise there would still be worshipers of her around, right? Oh, and why would anyone trap a statue? It's not like people are going to walk off with a stone statue otherwise."
Petronicus shakes his head at the folly of long-dead Thassilonians.
At Yggdrar's suggestion Krupt bristles a bit, never liking a show-off who upstages him. "Fine, go ahead and read away."
|
|
Saarai moves next to Evad and ponders the statue, then casts detect magic.
"He's right...good catch," she says.
"I do have some experience with magical traps...there was that thing with the queen's jewels, but I'll leave that story for another time," she says as she looks at the statue carefully for a way to disable it.
|
|
Yggdrar and Petronicus pondering over the runes sense no hidden messages or secrets, they are just runes related to Lissalan worship.
Saarai picks and jabs at the trap for a few minutes but is not able to disable it. She sense that she is going to have to give it one good go to make a difference, but at a risk of failure.