Lanliss and Barnabus from each side of the entry way are putting the power of their minds together to see what is going on. Looking at it alone is not going to do it, then Barnabus cast Detect Magic. Spending a little time studying this section he discovers that the floor has a magical trap on it. He detects necromancy magic coming from this area.
With the combined forces of Lanliss and Barnabus they discover that there is a trap that cast Inflict Light Wounds on those that pass through this area, or so it seems. With a skilled hand, they can be disabled.
"No, Scarlet! You're going to trip the ley line! What do you mean you can't see it! It's so obvious! Over to your right. More... more... yes, there. What? I don't know; use your wire cutters or something!"
With the aid of Barnabus and Lanliss, Scarlet locates the source of the trap and begins working on it.
"I think I got it this time."
Scarlet starts to work on the trap, and thankfully, he does get the trap disabled. Looking it over, you have never come across one this complex. You see that it had a touch trigger on it, and what you can only assume is an automatic reset. It is the only thing that makes sense because everyone who passed by kept getting hit. You do collect the pieces of the trap incase you want to reuse it in the future.
Everyone is free to enter and exit the room as needed.
Barnabus will help search the room, casting Detect Magic again.
You look around this room and find various spell components in jars and pouches. You also find three potions two with similar coloring. You find a chain shirt and long sword on the skeleton. Finally within the desk you find a ledger with the following written in it as the most recent entry.
Nothing else stands out in the writings.
Scarlet takes the magical trap and puts it securely in his backpack. "They might be useful later if we ever need to set a trap of our own."
Scarlet looks at the ledger and reads it out loud for those that don't read Goblin. “I hate the day the black dragon arrived. The dragon has led the tribe away from the holy path of Lamashtu and even eats us whenever she feels like it! I leave now on a holy journey, Lamashtu guide me and will show me how to return the tribe to the true path.”
Scarlet frowns, "Dragon. I hope we don't run into this black dragon." Scarlet pauses for a moment, "Wait.. 'She'. Could the 'She' the goblins we caught earlier have meant the Black Dragon?"
Seeing the Zombie go down, Brunner nods to Lanliss, ” Weel struck elf, weel struck.” Cleaning the gore off of his axe, he returns it to his belt. Then recovering his hammer he does the same with it.
Rolling his eyes at Dalron, ”Th' baw is a guid weapon fur ranged attacks. but ye hae tae be able tae gie doon an' grottie when need be. besides 'at dwarven shield served ye weel enaw.”
Turning to the skeleton, he begins to take the chain shirt off of it, inspecting the shirt and sword. ” 'spikin ay doon an' grottie.” Inspecting the dead hobgoblins weapons to see if they are of dwarven make also.
Listening as Scarlet reads from the goblin book, Brunner, slaps their burglar on the back. ” Weel dain scarlit, wi' th' trap an' th' book. Ah suppose th' 'black dragon' coods be th' 'she' 'at uir prisoner spoke ay. ”
His smile widens, "Th' only way tae fin' it fur sure is tae gang deeper intae th' mine. sae whaur tae noo mah braw burglar?"
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Looking over Scarlet's shoulder
"Black Dragon? How can the local town not notice nor tell us about a fire breathing lizard, flying over their heads?"
Looking at the spell casters
"Is any of this stuff useful to you Barnabus or Lanliss? This could have been their vile holy man or woman's room"
Looking out in the hall way
"The Stone doors across the hall looks stout enough that once we cleared what is inside of that room, it might be a good place to rest and have our spell casters regain their spells."
From what Brunner can tell, they are not of any specific craftsmanship.
Barnabus looks at the two similar potions first.
"These are healing potions. That'll come in handy."
and then the single.
"Not sure what this is. Maybe when I have time to memorize an Identify spell later."
He'll look through the spell components and replace any that he is missing from his own stash.
"We can go back to town, if we want, but I think we should rest. I'm fine with first securing the room over that way, if we want." Lanliss points to the stone doors Dalron mentioned. "I have one more healing burst that could top off Dalron and Brunner. Then we can make a fresh start in the morning."
"They won't get much stronger if we pull back and rest up overnight." Barnabus offers his opinion.
"We might have to fight through a more prepared enemy, but we'll be better prepared as well."
Scarlet nods, "Check what is beyond the double doors and then secure the room for resting."
Scarlet approaches the Stone Doors and investigates them.
;
Evia agrees. "Sounds like a good idea to me. My voice is getting a little hoarse from all of the singing anyway!"
She eyes the door as well and draws out her shortbow, but is obviously distracted, massaging her neck and flexing her jaw.
Scarlet and Evia take a look at the double doors. From what they can tell, the doors are unlocked and there are no traps. But, they are very thick sturdy heavy doors, each one weighs a couple hundred pounds each. Floor to ceiling style of doors.
To your surprise, the doors are lighter than you would expect. Opening them, you find a room that is 30 feet wide by 50 feet deep. In front of you are 5 well shaped stone benches, each 20 feet long, the face a large altar.
Along the east and west walls you find two crescent shaped alcoves that are filled with rubble and broken stone works. Crude drawings cover the walls, benches, and from what you can see the altar.
Behind the altar you see two large tables propped up against something, almost blocking something off.
As he scans the room for threats, Lanliss also looks for any signs that this chapel has been used by followers of Lamashtu. Scarlet's translation of the journal fresh in his mind.
The large altar fills much of the southern portion of the chamber. It appears that the once-grand altar has been covered up with patches of rough plaster. Peering through the plaster you can see what looks to be like iron underneath.
Crude pictures and symbols have been carved into the plaster. You see symbols of wild beast bowing down before jackals and before a larger three eyes jackal. They are painted with red and yellow dyes.
Also being this close you see what looks like what could be some sort of a fireplace that is being covered up by the tables. You would only be sure if you concovered it from the tables.
'Nice solid doors that open easily, that's the way doors should be built. You can tell it's a dwarven mine.' Stopping for a moment to enjoy the quality of the doors, Brunner eventually looks into the room, 'What fine tables and... His smile turns to a frown 'On no, what have they done?' He quickly moves to the alter, drawing his crowbar, he begins working the plaster off of the iron underneath.
'What are those tables covering?' Being closer to the far wall, he realizes the tables cover some sort of fireplace. Almost in a panic, he calls out, "Barnabus, Dalron, Somebody! Help me move th' staine tables." Moving to the tables attempting to push them away from the covered relic.
Scarlet sheaths his rapier since no threat seems to be imminent. He then goes help Brunner move the tables. "It seems this place might have been a dwarven temple before defiled by the goblins."
"This will surprise nobody, but they've re-purposed this chapel to worship Lamashtu.
"Disgusting!" Lanliss' vehemence surprised even himself. It seems Desna's teaching (and the inherent enmity she has towards Lamashtu) has rubbed off on him.
At Dalron's words, Lanliss tries to secure the chapel doors.
Brunner almost in a frenzy pushes his way past Lanliss who is inspecting this plastered altar. Ripping off the plaster chunk after chunk, layer after layer he reveals a great anvil, one that the high priest and crafter would use in worship of Torag. The intricacy of the runes that adorn this great anvil is breath taking. This is no common anvil that would be at every temple of Torag.
Almost having to pull himself away from this wondrous sight, he remembers the tables. Calling out for help. The party removes the tables and finds what was once a forge. It has been destroyed. Looking down at the mess he finds various items that have been burnt over time. Poking the coals he uncovers a text that is almost all gone. Reading the spine it says in dwarven “Hammer and Tongs: The Forging of Metal and Other Good Works.”
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I hand the book to Brunner for save keeping.
Then move to one of alcoves to clear the rubble to find any thing of value.
"Take a good look around for any secret ways in or out of here. Don't need any goblins sneaking in here when we are asleep."
Turing to the altar
"That altar might be big enough to hide a path way if you would take a look."
'Our holy text, blast those goblins, blast them.' Accepting the remains of the holy book from Dalron, he clutches it to his chest, gritting his teeth to clench back a tear, "Thenk ye laddie."
He nods his head in agreement as the door is locked. "Stayin' haur is a guid idea, it will gezz some time tae clean th' stench ay these gobo's frae thes holy place."
Ignoring what else is going on, Brunner carefully places the ruined book in his pack, then taking his crowbar he finishes clearing the plaster off of the anvil. He then continues cleaning the alcoves and the forge, until he drops, near exhausted.
Barnabus frowns at the mess.
"This place is terrible compared to my library." he mutters to himself.
He helps Brunner clean and straighten up as best he can.
"There's magic that would set this right.....but I just don't know it yet."
Dalron is sifting through the rubble in the alcoves. As he is going through them he can begin to tell that they were once statues sitting on top of platforms within the alcoves. Dalron gets to the rubble in the north west alcove, clearing away the rubble it reveals a small font of bubbling water. The fow is weak, but the water appears to be clear, clean, and cold to the touch.
Barnabus and whoever else helps, sets up a makeshift camp site to rest for the evening.
Unless there is anything else you would like to do, you all spend the night here resting. At one point through out the night you hear someone try to doors, knock, and then you don’t hear anything else. But, you are not bothered for the remainder of the evening.
Being a dwarf you will always have an ingrained respect for Torag. Barnabus begins to look over the anvil, as he is doing so you find a loose stone on the floor. You examine it and are able to pop it up without to much effort. Within you find an ancient looking bag, covered with filth and dust that has fallen through the cracks, but still in exceptional condition.
Barnabus looks for booby-traps.
If it seems clear, he pulls out the bag and opens it.
"Look, something the gobbos missed when they ransacked this place."
You don’t find any kind of traps. Opening the bag and looking it, you are amazed at the sight you see. The space within begins to expand making room to see the items within. Within you find several scrolls with a wax seal on each one. You also find holy symbol of Torag made out of some unique looking metal. You also find some of the most ornate looking pieces of equipment inside that you have ever seen.
Pulling them out of the bag one by one, you find a half-plate suit of armor, and an exquisite looking heavy steel shield. Both have an ornately decorated symbol of Torag across them. You also pull out a dwarven warhammer. All three pieces are finely crafted and matching the beauty of the altar.
The last thing you pull from the bag is a wooden case. Nothing ornate about this case. It has a simple latch on it. Opening it up you find three potion vials within.
"There's magic that would set this right.....but I just don't know it yet."
Lanliss nods sympathetically at Barnabus. "It will also need to be re-consecrated to Torag before it should be used as a place of worship, again."
Unless there is anything else you would like to do, you all spend the night here resting. At one point through out the night you hear someone try to doors, knock, and then you don’t hear anything else. But, you are not bothered for the remainder of the evening.
Lanliss burns his last channeling of healing energy before it's replenished when he meditates in the morning.
In the morning, as the group discusses the knock on the door over night, Lanliss mentions, "Whoever it was has probably found the hobgoglin and goblins we killed. They'll know we're coming, now. We should be wary of being ambushed."
"Could the armor and weapons be magical or perhaps just finely crafted?"
When the knocking happens, Scarlet carefully approaches the stone doors and puts his ear up to it to listen. When they walk away, he goes back to rest.
"Agreed. We should expect some ambushes later on."
Lanliss casts detect magic on the items found in the altar.
"I just need more time to prepare to identify these items."
Barnabus casts Detect Magic on these other items.
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Looking at the war hammer
"To bad it's not a dwarf war axe like you were asking about at the smith Brunner, but any gift from a god should not be over looked. Magic or not I think Brunner should have the armor and weapon. I just don't see Barnabus running around in half plate armor."
Looking at the bubbling water and thinking that this is a temple to Torag, this water should be good and takes a drink from the water.
Looking over the armor, shield and hammer you quickly know they are not magical but are of a Masterworked quality. The bag does detect magic, moderate conjuration. One might say it is a magical bag that can hold more than it should....
Dalron takes a drink of the water that is bubbling up and starts to feel refreshed. He heals 9 hp
Evia says, "Interesting! Who knew we'd find such treasures in a place like this? So I suppose we'll set up our watch and head to sleep then."
When they start to bed down, Evia hums a city lullaby as she lay down.
"Night again,
Covers toe to cheek,
Head to chin
Where the night rains begin.
Candlelights wash the walls
The moon.
Wake me in the morning."
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"Sleep does sound good, we have a big day tomorrow killing spiders and a fire breathing lizard."
"This room would be a good base camp with the healing fountain and solid doors"
Dalron sets up his bedroll for the night.
"Barnabus, what are the scrolls that was in the bag?"
"Scarlet any luck finding any secret doors in here?"
When the party thinks about leaving the chapel, Lanliss gives his thoughts.
"I would imagine that giant spiders are no more friendly to goblins than they are to us. I think that we should continue north if we want ton focus on the goblin threat."
"Also, I had a nightmare last night about a giant spider eating my boots while I was still wearing them, so that may be coloring my opinion."
As Brunner is cleaning out an alcove, he notices Barnabus find the hiding place and the bag. 'well, now that is some mighty fine armor.' Seeing the high quality armor drawn from the bag, he moves closer. "Och mah, blessed by torag himself, nae doobt. whit braw craftsmanship."
Hearing Dalron's observation about the hammer compared to an axe, he shakes his head, approaching he carefully, almost daintily lifts the hammer. "Och mah, blessed by torag himself, nae doobt. whit braw craftsmanship."
He turns to the others, looking from the armor to his companions, as he begins to take off his own armor. "Ah ken we normally seel aff lit an' divide th' profit, but can Ah keep it? Th' armur, shield an' hammer? Ah will repay th' crew it ay lae ay mah shaur Ah tryst."
Smiling at Dalron, "Yer reit laddie, thes is a guid place tae hauld up. a braw job findin' 'at foontain, an aw." He then heads to the fountain taking a drink himself, and returns to cleaning the other alcove until time to sleep.
'Dream or no dream, our elf is one smart fella, I'll give him that.' Nodding his head in agreement with Lanliss, Brunner chimes in. "Lanliss is reit, we can explair th' mine, ance th' gobbo's ur dealt wi'." He then gathers his gear and prepares to follow Scarlet into the hallways.
Before leaving the Torag Shrine, Scarlet will do a thorough search looking for secret doors or compartments.
When Brunner dons on the dwarven armor and takes the weapon, Scarlet smiles. "Looks good on you. Also might be good karma. Using Torag's arms to take out the goblins that defiled his temple."
Since most seem to want to check out the north pass, Scarlet heads that way. Keeping an eye and ear out for dangers.
"I say we head towards that intersection. There will be time for the mines later." Barnabus offers his opinion.
He casts Mage Armor on himself.