SO Destiny of the Sands 1 (Core) (Inactive)

Game Master ScorchedOne

Farzinel nods his head. "In matters of religion, I will humbly defer to the believer over the scholar." he says. "Let the cartouche as Akenethys has suggested. However, if it requires some effort to move, then, in matters of strength, I must humbly defer to others as well."

Farzinel steps out of the room and removes his familiar from its hiding place and allows it to take flight.

While still large Stormy moves the stones as directed.

"Thank you, dear Stormy."

I went ahead and rearranged the icons on the slide as indicated.

Iago, really wishing he had been paying more attention in those Society seminars, takes out an apple which he begins to take a rather loud bite of.

In my defense though, she had an incredible...

Attempting to slide the door aside, as you feel that is what is appropriate, you find it takes more effort than it ought if you were correct.

Pleased that there seemed to be no punishment for being wrong, Stormy will switch Knowledge and Rune. How about this way.

Please move the runes on the slide. (Slide 2.)

Did it, I hope. The terms were confusing. "Before"???

I think you did it.

The cartouches having been moved, the door slides easily to the side, revealing a chamber beyond. The rich scent of palm wine, cinnamon, and myrrh fills this magically illuminated storehouse. Each wall has deep slots filled with papyrus scrolls. A white-and-black marble altar enveloped in faint wisps of faerie fire sits squarely in the center of the room. A ladder to the south leads up to a walkway, with more shelves and a golden sarcophagus.

There are notes near the sarcophagus, which can be translated either by someone who can read Ancient Osiriani, or a Linguistics check.

"Seems my thoughts were reversed on the subject. I will take that as a lesson, oh Master of Masters," Akhenethys says humbly. He scans briefly with detect magic before walking up to read the notes.

"Alright!" exclaims Iago and he takes another bite of his fruit, stepping into the hidden room as he does so. "Now, to figure out who we have in that sarcophagus."

Apologies, website being down ate my update time yesterday.

The notes are question-and-answer sessions conducted with the scholar’s spirit. The questions concern the preservation of memory in magical jewels and the crafting and repair of such jewels—information that Amenopheus might be able to use to repair his own sage jewel. The notes also explain that the sarcophagus allows a creature touching it to commune with any corpse placed inside.

Additionally, since I wasn't clear before, those "scrolls" in the wall slots, they seem like actual scrolls also.

Did detect magic pick up anything?

The door open, Nitre nods at the logic of the cartouches... I mean, the door was opened, so it must be right, right?

But her attention is still held in the room with the fountain. "What about that?" she asks, pointing back at the water elemental. "I mean, there's a wayfinder in that pool, and that wand... who knows what it could do?"

She makes eye contact with the elemental... or at least the area of the swirling, swimmy face where eyes might be... and tries to communicate without language. She points to herself, then approaches the lip of the pool, pointing to the items at the bottom, then back to herself.

Farzinel likewise enters the room. He casts detect magic. He reviews any scrolls that Akenenthys hasn't. Then turns an eye towards the sarcophagus.

Theld keeps an eye on the interaction between Nitre and the elemental, though it is uncertain who he is rooting for. This could be ...fun...to watch. I hope she tries to go in. Maybe I should push her.

I am not rooting for any such thing, nor would I push you. Theld however seems sketchy as heck.

There are, among the scrolls, a scroll of bless, a scroll of magic weapon, a scroll of ghostbane dirge, and a scroll of resist energy. Additionally, you find scattered on the floor a scroll of remove disease, a scroll of speak with dead, and a scroll of elemental speech.

The chest on the walkway contains five bottles of holy water, a stack of ancient platinum coins, five spell component pouches, and three scholar’s outfits in red, yellow, and green, cut in a style common millennia ago.

The elemental seems mostly disinterested in Nitre, but a shake of what resembles a head seems to indicate that the elemental doesn't think much of Nitre's idea of diving into her water and taking her stuff. Though that's just the impression Nitre gets.

Iago finishes his apple, and begins to look around as to where to dispose of the core. That pool of water sure looks tempting...

The elemental gives Iago a look that almost dares him to do so, almost as though she's an elemental and would like nothing more than to pound him into a gooey paste.

Seeing Iago drawn toward the pool, This is a wonderful development. Perhaps The Beast will witness some glory rather soon. The cleric eyes the scrolls of Bless and Magic Weapon with interest.

I think I would have to roll a caster level check or UMD on any of the other scrolls.

"Perhaps, we could offer the elemental something in exchange for the wayfinder." Farzinel notes. He then turns his eye back towards the sarcophagus, casting detect magic as he does so and recalling bhis ancient Osiriani studies.

I don't think the wayfinder was in the water. We found it in the entrance hall.

There is another wayfinder in the water.

The sarcophagus is more magic than you have likely witnessed in your lifetimes, it appears to have the ability to cast speak with dead once per day.

"Do we think the sarcophagus may be occupied?" Farzinel inquires of the others.

Nitre gives up on the idea of retrieving the wayfinder and the wand. Perhaps if she could speak with it. But then she'd screw that up. Perhaps if someone with social skills could speak with it, but nobody here knew its language.

Too bad. There's a Pathfinder's family out there that would love to know where that wayfinder came to an end. Probably have a good spot on a mantle reserved for it.

She turns her attention to the sarcophagus. "We should totally put on of our dead Pathfinder friends in there. They can tell us why they were here and what went wrong!"

"It would seem, good Nitre, that those Pathfinders that came before us, were unable to obtain much information prior to their unfortunate demises--the causes of which would seem to be apparent." Farzinel chimes.

Akhenethys uses a scroll of comprehend languages and then tries to explain with gestures that he can understand the elemental now and would like to get the wayfinder from the water. What kind of check -- charisma? Linguistics?

1d20 ⇒ 10 So that's a 9 if Charisma, or a 19 if Linguistics.

Are you sure, Akhenethys, that you wouldn't rather cast the scroll of Elemental Speech?

Came here to recommend elemental speech scroll. GM beet me to it by about 3 hours. Oh well. I am posting from my phone. Sorry for slower posting but I can no longer easily post from work, even at lunch as a new firewall has blocked all site access.

I didn't notice that! Yes, Akhenethys will use that instead.

"Watery guardian, why do you stay in this desiccated place?"

"You talking to that thing? Ask it where the trash is."

She speaks in a sort of splooshy accent. "I am tethered here... for eternity. Unending. Don't do anything stupid, by the way... like touching my stuff, or causing any damage." She flips her hair, which is entirely water. "Would you like to stay here with me a while?"

"Can we help you in any way, perhaps by unbinding you? Let you return to the plane of Water?"

Akhenethys tries to recall the methods by which an elemental could be bound to service, and any way to end them. knowledge(arcana or planes): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31

Kenny, for that name is far too difficult to type every time, is fairly certain that this is a form of planar binding, and that in most cases there is a service which must be performed, or some sort of tether that keeps the creature bound to the plane that is not their home. For this to last this long, either the caster would have to be still living (which is unlikely, based on the age of the ruins), or there must be another source powering the magic.

Ask it if it will trade for the items in the pool. You can explain that the way finder is important to us as it belonged to a comrad.

Akhenethys makes the offer to trade, and also looks around with detect magic for a source of the binding.

Akhenethys finds no obvious source for the binding, and the offer to trade is quickly turned down. Can I get a diplomacy from Akhenethys?

"Ooooh, get the wand too, if it will trade with us!" Nitre whispers to Akhenethys.

diplomacy: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (6) - 1 = 5

"It is most imperative that we return with that wayfinder. It belonged to a comrade who fell in battle."

Ouch. Um, someone want to come stand between me and the watery smash machine I just probably pissed off?

She definitely doesn't look pleased, but doesn't attack. She shuns your further attempts at interaction, and you think that either of the things she mentioned (trying to touch her stuff or causing property damage) would incite her to violence. There are other rooms to explore, the crushed individual also has a magical belt that I'm not sure I mentioned before.

"Doesn't look like it wants to talk there. I'll get it to speak my language if you want it. Theld here is getting giddy just thinking about it" casually says Iago as he steps up to the edge of the pool.

Anyone who wishes may make a perception, or you can go all murderhobo on this. You have the alignments for it.

Farzinel rolls his eyes at the humans' suggestions. Humans, are always rushing. 'I want it now.' The wizard sighs. Such children. Just come back in a few decades and the elemental may well have changed its mind.

Feeling secure in the newly discovered room and thinking it unlikely that the party could haul the sarcophagus very far before any other parties may show up, Farzinel pulls out some parchment and ink and begins to make a quick sketch of it.

Nitre eyes the elemental as she senses the growing tension. I mean, I thought it pretty reasonable to surrender those items to us. They are the remains of one of our own. Is she the killer? Are those the spoils of her past crimes?

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

At Iago's words, a brief smile skips across the cleric's lips. Well, he's not wrong.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

The elemental still ignores you, your perceptions are for naught, though heal might reveal the reason for the dead person in your midst. You feel sands slipping through the hourglass marking the time you have.

Stormy will examine the body,

Heal: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11

Possibly not noticing the obvious, Iago spins the apple core from its tail.

I'm surprised noone else took the GM's offer of a perception check. I'm honestly trying to steer us away from murderhobo land. :D

The dead body, which appears to have starved to death with a broken leg, does not seem to have died from injuries. Additionally, it is wearing a rather keen belt.

This man starved to death. Stormy relates with a worried look. He dies seem to be wearing a nice belt...

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24