Tereze snaps out of her fascination from the cacophony of whispers, while their drone continues to fascinate Locke. Shortly afterwards two ghostly apparitions consisting of vaguely humanoid shapes in flickering misty monk's robes, with babbling skeletal faces and curved bony claws, surge out of the walls of the room to lunge at Testudo! The threat of their attack snaps everyone out of their fascination, though surprisingly both of the creatures' attacks miss the turtle knight!
Tereze holds forth her holy symbol of Sarenray and boldy calls out
Holy lady fof the Dawn.
Send your light right through your pawn.
Turn back those who should be dead
before they get inside our head!
With that golden light explodes from her in all directions.
Channel Positive Energy (Will 17 for half):4d6 ⇒ (4, 1, 2, 2) = 9
The magic missiles seem very effective against the allips, the force bolts striking the undead solidly! The wave of channeled energy from Tereze overwhelms one of the creatures, though the other seems to resist some of the damage from the effect.
*Botting Activated*
Testudo jabs his lance twice at the enemy targeted by Melisande, his magical lance landing once and piercing a small hole in its ectoplasmic substance. Locke lobs one of his bombs at the same target, the supernaturally-empowered projectile striking the allip and shredding it into wispy bits with the explosion! The remaining undead takes the full brunt of the subsequent splash of fire that washes over it; the alchemist using his skill with his bombs to exclude the turtle knight from the blast. The allip continues to flail at Testudo, somehow embarrassingly still unable to hit him.
Kegan's strike does a little bit damage to the allip, poking a little hole in its ectoplasmic substance. Testudo is only able to strike the creature once, his strike causing the undead to stumble as its (un)life force drains away. Melisande's force bolt blasts the creature's head into mist, causing the rest of the undead to dissolve into mist.
Out of Initiative.
As the dust settles (figuratively), inspection of this area reveals little of interest of worth. At the end of the dormitory are a set of spiral stairs that ascend upwards to the second level of the monastery.
Does the group wish to ascend upwards, or continue to explore the main level?
[HP: 63/63, AC 20/14/14, F+8/R+11/W+5, CMB +6, CMD 20, Perc. +12, Init +4, Bombs 12/12, Temp HP 0/0]
Locke nods.
"With a little luck, the dragon remains down below.
I would hate to see it ramming in a wall, like that skeletal dinosaur did back in the opera house."
Before we go, is there anything worth taking in this crypt?
Nothing valuable or magical left in this area, unfortunately.
Locke wrote:
I would hate to see it ramming in a wall, like that skeletal dinosaur did back in the opera house.
*Looks innocently in another direction* Why, Locke, I have no idea what you are talking about.
Tereze wrote:
We should go up. I zink the window is up zere.
The group ascends the spiral staircase at the end of the dormitory wing, moving up to the second story of the monastery. The staircase opens up into a landing before continuing to spiral upwards to a third story. The chamber in the landing has a door in the northwest corner, as well as a hallway that leads down to the south before turning out of sight to the east. The sounds of movement and conversation can easily be heard echoing off the stone walls from the hallway to the south:
"-this ex-sss-iting, Pentosh?" says a feminine voice that carries a sibilant lisp on the 's' sounds. "He hasssn't needed any assssissstance from me for sssome time. It can be ssso lonely." The sound of a door with very old, creaky hinges lets off a squeal of noise in the still air as a second voice joins in.
"You're the only one who isn't seeing any action, Thalena," retorts a different feminine voice filled with dry sarcasm and a light Osirani accent. "I practically see him every other day with his constant requests for potions. Don't care, either. He pays well, that's all that matters." There is a brief pause in the conversation accompanied by some more sounds of movement. "Close the door behind you, OH WAIT YOU CAN'T" the dry female voice says before dissolving into a hysterical hyena-like laugh while the siblant voice lets off an offended snort. The squeal of the door closing follows shortly after.
Survival DC 15:
There are a large number of tracks on the stone floors here in the landing and hallway. You can judge that there are two main sets of tracks recently, most likely from the voices down the hall; one set is human-size booted footprints, while the other is just a large-sized drag mark; possibly from a large serpentine creature moving without legs.
What would people like to do now? You have doorway to northwest, hallway to the south, and the staircase that continues upwards to the third level.
[HP: 63/63, AC 20/14/14, F+8/R+11/W+5, CMB +6, CMD 20, Perc. +12, Init +4, Bombs 12/12, Temp HP 0/0]
Survival:1d20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 = 18
"Hmm".", Locke carefully looks over the tracks."
"This is interesting. Perhaps troublesome even. There are traces of human sized footsteps. Yet, another here...", Locke points the trace out, is one more akin to a snake trail."
M Ifrit CG Swashbuckler 6 | 52/52 HP| AC 26 Tch 15 Fl 21| CMB +7 CMD 21 | F +5 R +10 W +3 Resist Fire 5 | Init +5 | Perc +9 Darkvision | Speed 60, fly 90 | Panache 4/4 | CL 1/4 | Reroll 0/1 | Lucky Number 17 | Active Conditions: Longarm, Shield, Haste
“Might want to keep your voice down, Locke. If we can hear them, they are likely able to hear us.”
Rubbing his chin as he thinks, Kegan says “We know from Azmur that the dragon has three lieutenants working for him. I wonder if he just got the name Thaena wrong, or if Thalena is a nickname?”
I wonder if he just got the name Thaena wrong, or if Thalena is a nickname?”
GM's auto-correct is wrong, it would be Thaena. Whoops!
Locke wrote:
"Well, what do we know of nagas?"
It would actually be Knowledge (Dungeoneering) since they are technically considered aberrations.
Melisande Dungeoneering:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
Melisande would be able to inform that nagas are snake creatures with humanoid heads, that typically share amongst the various subtypes of naga a poisonous bite attack and that most of them are large-sized or bigger. Additionally, all of them possess an array of spell-like abilities; though the types of spells as well as a number of additional abilities depend heavily upon the multitude of type of naga, which Locke is unable to deduce from the tracks alone. Additional visual information would be needed.
Melisande quietly whispers to the group. I do have two scrolls of Communal Resist Energy if we want to use one - I think Alchemists generally use fire, no?
[HP: 63/63, AC 20/14/14, F+8/R+11/W+5, CMB +6, CMD 20, Perc. +12, Init +4, Bombs 12/12, Temp HP 0/0]
"Those are the basics, yes.
Though any alchemist worth their salt, would have at least one alternative for the elemental compound within the bomb, in case something is immune to fire."
I have two scrolls. Each will give 10 minutes for each of us. I would just worry if they are moving away, I don't want to waste them, so I'll keep them ready until we actually see the enemy. If we are going to follow, we should do so quietly.
Melisande reaches into her Haversack and retrieves the scrolls and will hold them.
M Ifrit CG Swashbuckler 6 | 52/52 HP| AC 26 Tch 15 Fl 21| CMB +7 CMD 21 | F +5 R +10 W +3 Resist Fire 5 | Init +5 | Perc +9 Darkvision | Speed 60, fly 90 | Panache 4/4 | CL 1/4 | Reroll 0/1 | Lucky Number 17 | Active Conditions: Longarm, Shield, Haste
With the group having made a decision, Kegan attempts to move up to the door where they hear the voices coming from as quietly as he can.
Stealth untrained:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
I'm not sure which door it is, so please just move my avatar as appropriate.
The group moves south down the hallway, the passage briefly passing through a chamber filled with numerous statues of robed men and women occupying niches in the curving hall. The chamber ends in a very creaky looking door on the south side of the chamber that now orients in a westward direction.
Perception (Locke only):
As the group advances through the statue chamber, you barely notice out of the corner of your eye a cleverly concealed doorway behind one of the statues on the western side of the chamber about halfway through the room. It appears as if the statue will swing outwards to reveal the room beyond, if pulled back with enough force.
Perception (Kegan, Locke, Melisande):
As you near the doorway on the south side of the statue chamber, you hear more of the voices that were talking earlier filtering back from beyond; though they are very distant and harder to make out:
"Ah, there you are," says the dry sarcastic female voice. "Get a move on. The boss wants us down there ASAP." A forceful string of chittering words replies in a guttural voice, in a language you do not understand. The sarcastic female lets off an impatient sigh. "Really? We both know you can talk in ways I can understand. Thaena, would you mind?"
The sibilant female voice responds in the same chittering language, causing the guttural voice to let off a deep eerie chuckle accompanied by odd cracking noises; similar to the sound of cracking knuckles.
M Ifrit CG Swashbuckler 6 | 52/52 HP| AC 26 Tch 15 Fl 21| CMB +7 CMD 21 | F +5 R +10 W +3 Resist Fire 5 | Init +5 | Perc +9 Darkvision | Speed 60, fly 90 | Panache 4/4 | CL 1/4 | Reroll 0/1 | Lucky Number 17 | Active Conditions: Longarm, Shield, Haste
Perception:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17
Kegan gives a worried look at the statues. Although he likes art, he has had far too many bad experiences where statues turned out to be constructs of some type and he has heard of people being turned into statues. Neither bodes well.
In as quiet a whisper as he can manage, he asks "Sounds like they are going downstairs. Should we just wait to ambush them?"
The secret door behind the statue does not appear to be trapped, and the statue slides easily aside to reveal a chamber beyond. A recessed mesh of iron gridwork crisscrosses the northern end of this room beyond. Hundreds of tiny blue runes have been painted inside of each of the small squares formed by the grid pattern. A long-dead figure lies slumped against the wall to the northeast. A layer of hazy, black smoke covers the floor of this room; wisps of the smoke curling lazily in the air.
Knowledge Arcana (DC 16):
You recognize the runes on the grid as ones that amplify and boost conjuration magicks. Casting such magic while standing on these runes results in the caster level of the spell being increased by 1.
Knowledge Planes (DC 21):
You recognize that this smoke is unnatural, and is actually an elemental creature of air known as a belker. These smoky elementals can switch between its normal elemental form and a smoke form as a swift action, which unsuspecting individuals can accidentally inhale and allow the creature to claw them apart from inside their lungs. Can ask 1 additional question for every 5 above DC.
Perception (DC 25):
You notice that the smoke covering the floor of the room beyond does not seem to move naturally, and that the smoke stops abruptly at the edge of the threshold to the chamber; as if something keeps it from spreading beyond into the hallway you are standing in.
The markings on the floor look like a summoning circle of some kind, making conjuration spells more powerful. The smoke is odd, not moving as normal, but I can't place it.
The group decides to return to the secret chamber, advancing down the hallway in the direction of the voices to the south. The hallway curves around to the west, then north, then west again. It opens up into a chamber with the ceiling of the twenty-foot-high room painted with a
scene of scholars at study. A polished wooden statue of a woman sitting in the lotus position, eyes closed in meditation, hangs from the center of the ceiling on several lengths of thin twine so that it seems to levitate. Two doorways lie on the northern and southern side of the room, with a hallway exiting out of sight on the western side. Finally, a spiral staircase sits in the northwestern corner; the stairs ascending both up and down to other floors of the monastery. Bookshelves line the walls of the chamber, though many of the shelves have large, empty holes of texts. The room is empty of any of the individuals speaking earlier, nor can any sounds be heard coming from either direction on the stairwell.
Northern Door (F16A):
This chamber contains several desks and weathered chairs, with piles of bookbinding and writing supplies organized neatly around the room. A thorough inspection here reveals nothing appreciably of value, except to librarians and writers.
Southern Door (F18):
Metallic coffins with vents in their lids form a line along the southern wall of this room. Numerous large stones are heaped atop the westernmost coffin, and a foul smell of decay fills the air. The ceiling is low, making the space feel cramped. If searching the coffins without the stones on them, their interiors are all empty.
If you wish to investigate the contents of the westernmost coffin, this will take 1 minute of work removing the stones from the lid. After doing so, please read "Secret Spoiler A" below.
Secret Spoiler A:
After removing the stones from the lid of the westernmost coffin, you pull back the lid to the stench of death. Lying in the coffin is a dead male half-orc, his fingers bloody from clawing the inner lid of his prison. The half-orc's corpse does not have anything interesting or valuable on it. A DC 15 Heal check will reveal that he died of thirst.
Western Hallway (F17):
Proceeding down the western hallway, you end up in a chamber that contains three empty bedrolls and the remains of a campfire. The bedrolls do not have anything valuable tucked in them, nor does there appear to be anything else interesting about the chamber.
M Ifrit CG Swashbuckler 6 | 52/52 HP| AC 26 Tch 15 Fl 21| CMB +7 CMD 21 | F +5 R +10 W +3 Resist Fire 5 | Init +5 | Perc +9 Darkvision | Speed 60, fly 90 | Panache 4/4 | CL 1/4 | Reroll 0/1 | Lucky Number 17 | Active Conditions: Longarm, Shield, Haste
No longer able to detect anyone in the area, Kegan sneaks over to the spiral staircase and looks both up and down, hoping for some signs.
Perception:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
I'm going to assume there are none based on how the post was set up.
He then moves over to the southern door and peeks in that room. Waving his hand in front of his face, he closes the door. "Stinks of decay in there. Looks like they are trying to prevent something from getting out of a coffin -- I would guess they have the right idea there!"
M Ifrit CG Swashbuckler 6 | 52/52 HP| AC 26 Tch 15 Fl 21| CMB +7 CMD 21 | F +5 R +10 W +3 Resist Fire 5 | Init +5 | Perc +9 Darkvision | Speed 60, fly 90 | Panache 4/4 | CL 1/4 | Reroll 0/1 | Lucky Number 17 | Active Conditions: Longarm, Shield, Haste
Kegan goes through, checking each room.
When he comes back, he asks Locke “Would you happen to have any itching powder or something like that?” Pointing towards the western hallway, he explains “They left their bedrolls.”
