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You travel into the strange underground tunnels, the sultry air getting warmer and warmer the further you go in. Eventually, a fantastically beautiful underground chamber lies before you, and everywhere you hear the sounds of hissing and slithering and splashing.
Clouds of steam rise from this balmy chamber's countless pools. Small, rocky islands abound, separated by cloudy, mineral-laden waters. Each island supports a stone plinth carved with minute glyphs and elaborate pictograms. Sliding across the floors and floating in the pools, thousands of snakes of various species and sizes slither throughout the chamber and bask in its tropical heat.
Five plinths are scattered throughout the large cave, whose floor is covered almost entirely by shallow, opaque pools swimming with venomous snakes. The snakes on the islands are slumbering in a state of reptilian torpor, but in the waters they slither and writhe, darting in and over each other in an endless mass.
The knowledges and sacred writings encoded in these plinths could be of incalculable valuable to the society, if only you could get to the plynths and then decode them...
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You can leap from one island to another with a DC 24 Acrobatics check, as the rocks are slippery and far apart.
Alternatively, you can instead move through the water slowly with a Handle Animal, Stealth, or wild empathy check.
Taking 10 is allowed, as are spells to either influence the snakes or move around the room.
A character can attempt a given skill check only once per plinth, but can still use a different skill on the plinth.
If you can understand the language inscribed on the plinths, these tasks become easier.
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Sparkle-Weave will slowly but nonchantly head to the first pillar
Sparkle-Weave will take her time, seeking guidance before each check.
If it looks like any of the other PCs are having trouble with the snakes Sparkle-Weave will cast speak with animals and then attempt to get them to calm down.
Submerged all the way to her chest, Sparkle-Weave slowly and confidently makes her way between each rocky island, without any harm from the snakes, who slither happily between her legs and around her waist.
Sparkle achieves:
2 successes on Pillar One
1 success on Pillar Two
1 success on Pillar Three
2 successes on Pillar Four
1 success on Pillar Five
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Reesa casts Vanish on herself, which will last for five rounds. She begins tracing the same path as Sparkle took, knowing she would not get to as many plinths as her new friend did.
Stealth check with Vanish
Perception on One
Stealth check with Vanish
Perception on Two
As the magic wore off, Reesa came sprinting out of the snake filled water. "Get them off me! I can't, I just can't..." she groaned knowing her lack of focus has cost the team. She waits for another of the group to step up and give an effort before wasting more magic.
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The Salty Kraken makes a face at the writhing water as she slowly wades in, guisarme raised above her head with both hands, trying to move slowly enough so that the snakes remain calm. "Guh. At least it's not bugs..."
Making her way to each plinth, she screws up her face in concentration as she examines them, her dramatic eyebrows standing at intense angles.
The Salty Kraken speaks Common and Thassilonian.
Working together, Sparkle-Weave, Cacumattus, Daeris and Ely manage to decode all five of the plinths. Reesa tried to help, but those writhing, wet snakes unnerved her, and she fled the waters before they could bite.
As you decode the plinths, a deeper understanding of the Serpentfolk history and biology builds within you. Serpentfolk culture reigned in Sekamina in the Darklands as well as much of the surface world prior to humanity before the Age of Dreams. It's unknown for sure how long they ruled, but from the information on the plinths you think it may have ranged between thousands and tens of thousands of years. The Serpentfolk developed the spoken language of Aklo, something still common and in use in the modern world, and pervasive in the Darklands.
Serpentfolk come in two castes, the "Purecaster" (noble) and the "Degenerate", (aapoph, or "Chaos made Flesh"). This is not a bloodline, as Two Purecaster parents can hatch Degenerate offspring, and vice versa. Purecaster Serpentfolk are taller, smarter, elegant, more capable of higher learning, and have brighter and colored scales, while Degenerates tend to be shorter, tougher, brutish, and mutated, sometimes have extra (or less) limbs or other such qualities. Purecasters claim to be the true Serpentfolk race, with Degenerates having begun to lose much of their innate magical abilities, devolving into brutal barbaric slave creatures. Both have telepathy. Serpentfolk legends and art suggest a third caste, standing above even the Purecast, whose Serpentfolk blood is mixed with that of the immortals, and whose talents are as beyond the Purecasters as the Purecasters are above Degenerates.
In addition, each of the four of you who helped decode the plinths learn of a short healing Serpentfolk ritual that can be done in these sacred waters, and understand the mechanics of it.
Do you do the ritual before moving on? It involves asking the sacred snakes for their blessing and goodwill in your journey.
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Reesa was way too unnerved by the serpents to be an active participant in any hold snake ritual. If offered the opportunity by another, she politely declines the offer. "Sorry, doing a ritual to those awful snakes is just beyond me. Good luck to the rest of you, but I will simply observe this and make notes for my journal."
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"This is a temple pool devoted to the Serpentfolk deity, Ysdersius. The temple’s priests raise sacred cobras, mambas, and vipers here in natural, mineral-laden hot springs. They etch stone plinths with sacred writings among the hundreds of venomous pets, detailing many secrets of serpentfolk animal husbandry as well as their own version of the Green Faith, a sort of cold-blooded and detached animism."
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"These serpentfolk are weird," The Salty Kraken responds to Balon's observation. "I mean, I guess the snake theme is consistent, but you didn't see Aroden filling his temples with non-human creatures that kinda look like us... right? Did Aroden fill his temple with monkeys or something? I'm not particularly caught up on my religious studies."
She sees the snakes swarming over after raising her voice, and quickly quiets down to participate in the ritual. She scoops up some of the water, taking care not to accidentally also scoop up a scaly friend.
You hear shouts of triumph echoing through the caves from your fellow Pathfinders as the zoological gardens are secured, and Pathfinders like yourselves run up through the winding tunnels to the slave pits.
Claustrophobic cells line the walls here, many crowded with three or four miserable-looking humans. The halls converge on a hewn-stone chamber lit with braziers and choked with herb-scented smoke. There is a sickening stench ahead.
As Daeris scouts ahead, she hears a human sounding voice cry out: “கருணை . தயவு செய்து, அனைத்து என்று பரிசுத்த தான் , கருணை !”
A voice like brittle glass responds. “யார் இந்த பற்றி புனித எதுவும் இல்லை என்று கூறினார் ? நீங்கள் உடைக்க , நீங்கள் பணியாற்ற வேண்டும் என்று நான் நினைக்கிறேன்.” The words are spoken by a hulking reptilian humanoid whose torso bristles with twitching vestigial limbs, milk-white eyes, and drooling half-formed mouths. The creature’s oversized maw is filled with curved teeth reminiscent of sickle blades. He’s leaning over the man tied to the table and directing two other reptiles. Almost casually, he tells them, “மேலும் விஷத்தை ! கருணை பிச்சை என்று நாம் கொல்ல , என் நண்பர்கள் என்ன தேவை உள்ளது ... அவர் இன்னும் நம்பிக்கை உள்ளது என்று அர்த்தம். அவர்கள் இன்னும் நம்பிக்கை இருக்கிறது என்றாலும், அவர்கள் முறையான கருவிகள் இல்லை.”
“More venom! Begging for mercy means that he still has hope... That is what we need to kill, my friends. While they still have hope, they are not proper tools.”
The smaller reptilians scuttle, and then pour liquids down the screaming man’s mouth.
What do you do?
Orin, Balon, Cacumattus, Sparkle-Weave and Daeris are up!
Group Fort Saves if you approach within 30 feet
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Cacumattus enthusiastically performs the ritual to ask the snakes for their blessing, before choosing a spot near where a particularly colourful snake lies sleepily coiled to collect a sample of the water.
Maybe I should have used that language elixir they gave me, Cacumattus thinks as the strange words echo down the passageway. On the other hand, the screams speak for themselves...
He quietly takes up a covered position in the alcove near the stairs and loads a bolt into his crossbow.
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"These serpentfolk are weird," The Salty Kraken responds to Balon's observation. "I mean, I guess the snake theme is consistent, but you didn't see Aroden filling his temples with non-human creatures that kinda look like us... right? Did Aroden fill his temple with monkeys or something? I'm not particularly caught up on my religious studies."
Daeris happily accepts the blessings of the snakes, dipping up a portion of their water reverently. She regards the colorful human with her cool, leaf-green gaze. "No, your kind is usually more interested in making graven images in your own likeness. Not bothering to glorify the balance of the natural world or honor beings which came before you..."
"Speaking of who came before you, did you get separated from your own team? Perhaps our lost human has found those you left behind?"
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She does not understand even one syllable of whatever is being screamed nearby. Nor is she especially motivated to care. She watches to see what the others will do, knowing these Pathfinders are her primary responsibility.
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"These serpentfolk are weird," The Salty Kraken responds to Balon's observation. "I mean, I guess the snake theme is consistent, but you didn't see Aroden filling his temples with non-human creatures that kinda look like us... right? Did Aroden fill his temple with monkeys or something? I'm not particularly caught up on my religious studies."Daeris happily accepts the blessings of the snakes, dipping up a portion of their water reverently. She regards the colorful human with her cool, leaf-green gaze. "No, your kind is usually more interested in making graven images in your own likeness. Not bothering to glorify the balance of the natural world or honor beings which came before you..."
"Speaking of who came before you, did you get separated from your own team? Perhaps our lost human has found those you left behind?"
The Salty Kraken shrugs. "Still weird. Hopefully this snake juice is worth the effort, anyway. Uh, in any case, yeah, I got separated from my first team. They call me The Salty Kraken! Let's keep moving and see what other kind of snake nonsense is in here."
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Ely dashes into the room, guisarme at the ready. She angles it forward, preparing to lash out against any who get close. "You'll pay for that!" she shouts at the reptilian torturers, seething with vengeance. She also unleashes a string of curses, which the reptilians can probably recognize as filthy insults even if they don't speak Common.
Click. Whirr.
Balon moves forward, scythe ready to back up Ely. Then he uses his mind fear ability on the hulking reptilian thing.
The big hulking reptilian is shaken for three rounds.
Reesa magic missiles the big hulking reptile-thing. Daeris just barely misses one of the smaller reptiles, while Cacumattus hits it squarely. Many of the others move up!
As some of you move up, the sickening stench overwhelms you.
Of those within range of the sickening smell, only Ely is currently affected. Ely you are Sickened.
Then the hulking reptile laughs in a horrible manner. "மேலும் அடிமைகள் உடைக்க . நல்ல . அவற்றை எடுத்து " Then he casts, leaving you all in deeper darkness. Even those of you with darkvision are affected!
Click. Whirr.
"Oh crap. I can't see!"
The Salty Kraken delays... hoping that one of her teammates can take care of this pesky deeper darkness.
The troglodytes move up to attack, but they're blind as well. They stumble forward in the darkness, trying to club poor Ely.
Both miss!
The whole party's up! And it's really, really dark!
Golden daylight pours forth from Reesa... And the darkness lifts.
Meanwhile, the hulking reptile covers his eyes to protect them from the glare. " பகல் ! மிகவும் பிரகாசமான ! "
The whole party except Reesa is now up! And it's really bright in here!
Click. Whirr.
Eyes on the real target, the Salty Kraken moves forward and enlarges, accepting any attacks of opportunity from the lesser reptiles.
Daeris misses with her first shot, but hits solidly with her second!
Distracted by all the arrow hits, Blue misses on his attack of opportunity against Ely. Green hits solidly, but only does a little damage.
Click. Whirr.
Balon moves forward to give the Salty Kraken a flank...
The creature casually claws Balon as Balon attempts to get under his reach.
Click. Whirr...
Balon hits the hulking reptile-thing, but to his horror, only one point of the damage goes through to the monster!
Orin, Cacumattus and Sparkle-Weave are up!
Sparkle-Weave goes total defense. Cacummatus attacks Blue, who goes down. Orin attempts to attack Green, but misses.
Given that Balon's weapon is no real threat to him, Slaugrak's long body attempts to claw and bite Ely.
As the bite hits, Ely can feel some horrible disease trying to corrupt her organs and liquefy them.
But she somehow summons the will to fight it off!
Meanwhile, the remaining Green Trog attempts to hit Sparkle-Weave.
He misses!
Then Daeris attacks Green and slays him!
Everyone is up except Daeris!
Click. Whirr.
Balon knows that his scythe did almost nothing against the creature, so he drops it and wields his morning star.
He hits easily, but only two points of damage goes through. "This creature has some kind of damage resistance! Neither my scythe nor my morningstar has had much of an impact here!"
Reesa hits once again with her magic missle wand, doing as much damage as both of Balon's strikes against the creature!