Bijannar's keen powers of perception are able to see a set of tracks, what looks like two laden men, headed further into the tunnel and up a flight of stairs. Upon looking around the body, Bijannar's notices that a very small amount of the black liquid seems to have seeped from the man's right ear and is slowly dripping toward (but has not yet reached) the ground.
Aegwyn doesn't detect any lingering magical residues, but upon leaning in to get a closer inspection of the strange black liquid in the man's eyes she could almost swear that it retreated further into his eyes as she tried to investigate further.
Bijannar quickly grabs a glass vial and collects the liquid, careful not to touch it or otherwise disturb the body. Then, he says, "Two men continued up those stairs bearing a lot of weight."
I take my paper and charcoal and make a rubbing of the maker's mark.
I'm cautious (in case of potential explosives) but... Is there any way to find out what's inside the barrels? Are any of them open? Any spillage/residue? Does that seem to be where the acrid smell is from? How do the time frames of the barrels, the mining equipment, and the dead guy compare -- i.e. did one of them show up long before the others, or do they all seem to have shown up in the room at the same time, etc?
At any rate, I still move that we continue up the stairs, following the two men.
Aegwyn blinks in surprise before calling out to the rest of the group. At the same time, she takes a step back and draws her weapon.
This man has something in his system - something that moved. It retreated into his eyes when I spotted it. Does anyone know of such cursed darkness that it would inhabit the corpse of the fallen?
I keep my distance and look warily toward the body, peering to see if I can make out this moving liquid, racking my brain for any recollection of what it could be...
Knowledge (dungeoneering):
The creature living inside the dead man, a sample of which Bijannar has now collected into a vial, seems absolutely foreign and none of you have heard of such horrible monstrosities.
Toranindracar - the acrid smell is indeed coming from the barrels and you can tell from residue on the ground that the heavier barrels seem to contain saltpeter, together with sulphur and willow charcoal, combined into a powder.
Before we leave, do the barrels seem to have been here a long time? Years of dust collected on them, etc? What about the mining equipment? Does that seem to have been brought in around the same time as the barrels, or around the time the three men came through?
In case it's needed again, Perception:
Varan steps closer at Aegwyn’s mention of something dwelling inside the dead man. He has his sword at the ready, as though meaning to run the corpse through at the first sign of anything untoward. Never taking his eyes from the body, he frowns.
I like this not at all…
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I stealthily make my way to the top of the stairs, using only the faint ambient light from the torch down below to guide my way. At the top I stop and remain still and quiet, listening and looking for anything out of the ordinary (including hazards and traps).
Perception:
Stealth:
Knowledge (dungeoneering):
Bijannar quickly stops the vial and looks at Aegwyn, responding, "You detect life in this liquid? Did you also sense the presence of magic about it? I had not yet focused my arcane forces..."
He let's his voice trail off at the implication, studying the glass vial closely, bringing it almost to eye level, to see if whatever dwells inside responds to his aura, his nearness.
Toranindracar - there is remarkably little dust on the equipment or the barrels, save for the fine black silt from the mixture of saltpeter, sulphur, and charcoal. Your guess is that it couldn't have been here longer than a week.
Thomi creeps his way among the shadows to the top of the stairs. He can hear nothing, but his keen senses smell and feel a slight breeze coming from the angled corridor which stretches ahead into the darkness. Your sense of the engineering of this place would suggest that the tunnel rises and at some point not too distance must come into contact with the surface.
Varan stands, sword at the ready, carefully guarding Aegwyn and with his Dardish greatsword pointed right at the solar plexus of the dead man....ready.
Bijannar- you firmly stopper the vial and hold it out, half to show Aegwyn and half just to keep the thing away from you. It does seem to be alive, although it's movements are slow and erratic. No signs of a magical nature....
"Lovely," I say with a grimace.
"Shall we, er, press on? Bijannar ... you may want to keep an eye on that vial."
It definitely moved, but I sense no magic about it. I'm loathe to leave such a creature behind me, but perhaps Toranindracar is right, we should press on.
She turns and starts to follow Thomi up the stairs, moving the torch to keep him in the very edge of the dim flickering light.
Bijannar pulls a candle from his pack, lights it, and uses the wax to seal the stopper in place, adding some cloth to reinforce the seal. He then pads the whole vial with some cloth, securing it inside his satchel (on the inside flap) with a bit of leather. When he's done, he puts the candle out and places it back in his pack, thinking to himself.
When Toranindracar speaks, he responds, somewhat dreamily, "Ahhh... yes. Let's press on and see where this adventure takes us."
So currently, as I understand the situation, Thomi and Aegwyn are standing on the stairs, waiting and looking about. Varan, Toranindracar, and Bijannar are still inspecting the body and the small room. Is that right?
Aegwyn and Thomi slowly start to make their way along the upward slopping corridor as the others give the room one last examination before gathering their things and joining the other two on the stairs.
Bijannar quickly checks the body one last time, just to be safe, and pulls down the neckline of the deadman's tunic. There, crudely stylized on his chest, large enough to be viewed by all in the room, in black charcoal ink, is the outline of what could only be a large multiheaded serpent. Bijannar shudders for a moment and quickly moves to join all of you as you ascend the steps.
As the party moves ahead the corridor begins to level off although it begins to curve sharply to the right. At the apex of the curve is a narrow passageway, made of the same stone as this corridor, and as your eyes follow the curve to the right, you see that it ends in large ornate silver double doors, carved with images of trees and gardens.
So, it splits, correct? A corridor to the left and a door to the right?
"Hmmm... Master Thomi, be a good lad and see if you can detect any traps on that door, would you?"
I'll search the area to see if I can tell which way our quarry went.
Perception:
"A tattoo of a multi-headed serpent.... Hmmmmm"
Knowledge (religion) skill check:
Bijannar[b] - the symbol is one of Sa1klas, the serpent of chaos. Ialdabaōth, as [b]Varan can explain, are not very fond of the Saklas worshipers.
Thomi detects a crude trap that seems to have been hastily set up. A small needle, which appears to be poisoned, is set into the hand on the door.
[b]Toranindracar[b] - correct. Imagine a letter "C" where you came from the lower tail and the door is located at the top tail. Right at the top of the "C" is where it starts to curve is another narrow corridor leading up.
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I examine the trap and attempt to disarm or disable it:
Disable Device Skill:
That perhaps may not have been successful. Fortunately we are not being hurried, so I have time to try it again.
Disabled Device Skill:
Disabled Device Skill:
Disabled Device Skill:
Ha! That ought to do it. Sometimes you just have to squint your eyes the right way...
GM: Did I succeed in finding a trace of our quarry's progress? If not, I'm assuming we'll check whatever room is behind the door (unless Thomi can't disarm the trap) and then continue down the left passage.
Also: Is Thomi able to disarm the trap?
"Pssst... Varan. Looks like this guy was a follower of the Saklas, the Chaos Serpent. You know much about their ilk? Are they known for jaunts into the subterranean realms? Can you tell me anything about them?"
Thomi manages, after a few tries and attempts (being sure that he doesn't get poisoned in the process), and manages to extract the needle from the door and disable the trap.
Toranindracar- it seems that your quarry went into this room!
I motion toward the door.
"They went this way... Who wants to lead the way through?"
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Aegwyn creeps up behind Thomi and also listens carefully
Bijannar sighs, rests his hand on his weapon, and slowly starts up the stairs. He follows his companions up and around the corner, taking care not to push past any of them or to crowd those hanging back. He keeps an eye on their rear, a
Everyone stands tense in the hallway as Thomi opens the door. The dim corridors with the winds blowing through them, suddenly more fiercely Aegwyn notices, have made sound difficult. The winds smell ancient, like this place, and their is a cold dryness to them that makes you feel unwelcome.
With a push Thomi forces open the door against the wind, just wide enough to peer inside.
The room is a large circular room, perhaps 60 feet in diameter and beautifully carved into the living stone of the mountain, with depictions of various floral and botanical scenes. There is a high domed roof with what looks to be, in the far distance at the top, an opening in the dome. The room has two other doors, in a T configuration, with the door you are entering from the middle, base, door.
Inside the room stand three very largely built men in dark robes and armed. They have set up a makeshift camp in the center of the room, although the fire is out and their gear is packed and ready to go. Three large wooden barrels have been set at the edge of their small camp and currently one of the men is standing on top of one of the barrels trying to swing a rope and grapple up, ostensibly to the opening in the dome. Next to him another of the men is tying large knots at intervals in the black silk rope, and the third man is carefully looking around ( ). He does not seem to notice the door opening.
Something about the three men unnerves Thomi just a little.
Aegwyn mutters a quick prayer to the gods , swings her shield into place, and draws a javelin. She studies the trio through the crack in the door, trying to assess their relationship to each other.
She whispers back to the others - These men look like dangerous adversaries. I could ask the winds to whisper in their minds and set them at each other's throats?
I think chances are, anyone we find down here is up to no good, so most likely they're foes, but I'll peer through the crack myself. Do they match the descriptions of the men who impersonated Brotherhood Adepts? Are they dressed the same as the dead man we found (with the Saklas tattoo)?
I nod to Aegwyn and step back, to be out of the way of those who would charge through the door.
I say softly: "Do it, but best to capture them alive, if possible... At least some of them."
Toranindracar pulls out his sling & bullets, and readies the weapon clumsily, dropping a bullet once. His heart pounds loudly in his ears.
Toranindracar's incredible powers of observation are able to discern that they are indeed dressed the same as the dead man and that their descriptions seem to match the descriptions you were given, although by count, they are missing at least one (not including the dead man). They wear the same dark clothes over armor, although from this distance it is impossible to see if they have the Saklas tattoo that the other man did.
Toranindracar keenly observes them for a heartbeat and realizes that their movements are far too coordinated for people who aren't even speaking to one another. You suspect that they may be under some unnatural influence. The black living ooze which had seeped from the dead man's ears and swam in his eyes comes to your memory.
Bijannar continues to watch the back of the corridor, moving up and slightly closer to his companions as he does. Then, still with his spell on his lip, he glances inside, identifying potential targets in case combat is joined.
"Take care," says Toranindracar, his back against the wall beside the door. "Something tells me those men are not in control of their actions. They may already be controlled by some unknown force."
He scowls and shudders, thinking of the black ooze clouding the dead man's eye and escaping from their torchlight.
If these men are not in control of their actions then perhaps we should not aim to kill them, but rather to destroy the thing that dangles them like marionettes. I can speak to their souls and ask for answers, but that will reveal our presence.
Toranindracar levels a penetrating gaze at Aegwyn, then nods with a pointed smirk.
He motions to stay quiet and let the door close most of the way (so it looks closed if they happen to glance at it), then reaches two fingers into a concealed pocket on his sleeve and strokes something small within, eyes closed and concentrating. He mutters the words to detect thoughts and turns toward the room, staring straight through the wall.
If there's any intelligence of 28+ in the cone, then I'm stunned and the spell ends. Otherwise, after 12 seconds I can hear surface thoughts of all within a 60' cone. Any who make a Will save (DC 16) unconsciously block me from reading their thoughts. I can also hear basic, instinctual thoughts of those with Int 1 or 2, but Int 0 reveals nothing.
As Toranindracar quietly whispers his spell in the darkness of the corridor outside the large circular room, he closes his eyes briefly to concentrate upon hearing the thoughts of the three men inside.
Eerily, Toranindracar hears a quiet nothing from all three men, just as everyone else at the door observes that in unison the three men turn their heads toward each of you and draw their blades.
Aegwyn swings her shield to bear and braces against the assault.
Assuming it took less than 5 hours to get here from the beginning of the caverns, my mage armor is still active.