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Saruna follows as the others make their way through the fog towards the others. As they go, she idly points out that to the left are the shrine to old gods as well as where she usually abides. Straight ahead, she says, are pools which were once used to bring forth beings of power. Finally, moving down the hall to the others, she point to the north wall and says that beyond is where many records were kept.
You do notice that as she says where these places are, she is pointing to nothing more than some indistinguishable section of wall.
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Saruna suffers a momentary lapse in riddling cryptic talk. "What? Oh, yes, the fog. No, it is a staple of this place to confuse those who come into it uninvited. I have long since grown accustomed to it. This would be why you may not be seeing the doors in these halls. They are all veiled in an illusion."
As everyone groups together at the door which was discovered and opened, they are also hit with the aroma of burnt flesh.
The walls are slightly cracked and in several places even seem to bow outward as though pushed apart by a powerful force. Additionally, there appear to be faint outlines on the ground with patches of powder, though time has eroded whatever it was before to be indecipherable.
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Opening the door, you immediately notice the sounds and noises coming from within. Each vat roils and bubbles its contents. Saruna follows and offers her knowledge.
"The sages once used these to lure extraplanar creatures to this realm. No doubt they promised them more than servitude to their whims..." Her face turns stern at the thought, as though a past slight was brought back to her mind. "Still, it was these same beings which I enlisted earlier to combat those mummies you saw previously. The sages also used the liquid contained here to create mixtures of elemental power."
The three vats seem to be representative of three elements: fire, water, and earth. The contents seem very potent of each (the fire bubbles and sloshes like a volcano, the water spins in little whirlpools at random, and the earth roils as though a muddy bog).
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Sareth opens the concealed door to the office, his interaction breaking the illusion for Grimnir. This neatly kept office appears to have once doubled as living quarters. A basin in the northwest corner continuously refills with water as a decanter of endless water, and an ancient cot stands nearby. Magical illumination provides bright light. A tidy desk and workbench hold ancient quills and dried-up ink.
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Grimnir looks at the aged and dated writing implements. The drawers, however, prove to be locked.
My Friend plugs the decanter with her finger, only to have to it stuck within. After a couple attempts, she dislodges herself and steps back, nearly slipping on a loose stone beneath the cot, revealing a hidden compartment. Within are a hidden cache of journals and tools.
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The decanter is clearly magical, but no other auras pop out at Radiant.
Radiant's search also confirms Grimnir's discovery that the drawers in the desk are locked. He does not, however, see the loose stone beneath the cot until My Friend stumbles over it.
The quills and ink, an odd thing to be left behind, yield no aid in the search as their writing have long since faded from age and the ink pot is totally dry.
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Grimnir racks his brain for ancient magics and traditions and recalls that most of the supplies contained in the hidden compartment are well-preserved mummification paraphernalia from a past age.
The journal, Grimnir reads, records 20 years of the Amethyst Sage’s work in archiving and recording lost treasures while wrestling to maintain his own identity when exposed to his sage jewel’s memories. Several letters sandwiched between later pages describe, in brutal detail, multiple Qadiran raids in which the invaders killed or captured sages or sympathizers. The final year of entries is encoded and would require some time and effort to decode
Sareth's observations yield the same result: the decanter is enchanted to constantly fill, the secret compartment is revealed, and the drawers in the desk are locked.
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Having completed his documentation of the curious vats in the previous room, Whitwood joins his companions.
Upon seeing the book Grimnir is holding, he glances at My Friend, who grasps him around the waist and lifts him higher to allow him to read over Grimnir's shoulder.
Linguistics (with +2 from the Osirion Guide we were given at the start).
Hmmmm. Interesting. I think the society would be very keen to get their hands on this, and I'm sure the Master of scrolls will make short work of the final translation.
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Radiant picks the lock after several attempts. Contained in the drawer are several library acquisition forms. It is written in Common and lists numerous statues throughout the archives as well as their powers. Included is the following note:
The sages pay homage to the old gods of Osirion who aided the kingdom in its rise to power, wept at its gradual decline, and will rejoice once more when the prosperity of a new golden age returns. In the library below stand four statues honoring patrons of our order, and even a brief prayer delivered in earnest before such a god’s image can evoke powerful effects.
Ptah’s insight has guided our hands in the construction of this sanctum, and so too can a petitioner create walls of magic by proclaiming “Glory to the Architect!”
Isis’s magic preserves us in times of trouble, and she can reverse death as she did for her husband Osiris, for one who cries, “Isis, grant the blessing of the pharaoh reborn!”
Ra rules from the sky, where his solar barge burns away Apep’s darkness. Invoke him, shouting, “Praise Ra, for the heavens banish the night,” and divine fire shall cleanse the world of evil.
Thoth preserves our knowledge for a future age, granting us the wisdom to serve future generations and the magic to ward off threats. His will can banish unwelcome visitors from beyond the mortal world. “Thoth, preserve this, your sacred ground.”
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Huh, divine fire? I....., uuuuh, I've had a bad run in with divine fire before. It was kinda just regular fire in the end, burnt the whole place to the ground.
Still, we should, uhhh, go explore these statues, see if they still function. Ancient Osirion magics would definitely be if interest to the society.
My friend sets Whitwood back down on the ground, focuses for a moment, and assumes the form of lithe Teifling, short horns jutting forward from his brow, a smug smirk radiating from pristine white teeth. Twirling his tail confidently, he saunters out into the corridor, and begins moving down the corridor, seeking the next set of doors.
Whitwood steps up to the sphinx respectfully, and inquires:
Are you able to guide us to the next door, oh great... ummmmm.... feline one? Or not, thats fine too. It might be dangerous, I guess, so if you want to leave it to us that's fine to. It's what we do.
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The sphinx scoffs as the comment and leads you back out of the room, taking a left down the hallway, walking past a turn in the hall and disappearing behind a wall at the end of the way. A large divan sits in the southeast corner. A bookshelf dominates the north wall, while tapestries and maps cover the others. Numerous writings and rambling writing covers the floor.
The sphinx points to it. "This is what you would need to do as I spake, to create the sage jewel which is only a fake."
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Iacobus follows behind the group, eagerly looking at the walls and trying to read what he can while also taking notes of everything he sees.
K (arcana) 27
K (dungeon) 20
K (engine) 21
K (geo) 20
K (history) 21
K (local) 20
K (nature) 20
K (nobility) 22
K (planes) 21
K (religion) 21
Linguistics 17
Perception 26
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As Whitwood, My Friend, Iacobus, and Grimnir enter and examine the room, one of the symbols seems to study them right back.
Meanwhile, My Friend and Iacobus check out the room. The maps seem on the wall seem to be a crude rendition of some region with a few obscure sites pinpointed on it. Iacobus does not recognize the region due to its crude design.