Aurora is unable to decipher the writing.
"Well excuuuse me." Garroth snorted back, vacating the cramped underbelly of the table. "Not my fault all that face twitchin' you were doin' was impossible to read." He scooped his shield off the floor in a quick, annoyed swoop, then marched a good 15 feet away, grumbling all the way.
Grumble grumble, what you all doing under there?
Orald moves over and picks up the table and flips it over so he can see. Assuming that causes no change he will try using Read Magic.
Orald lifts the table and turns it over, casting a spell and reading the inscription.
As Orald reads, the script begins to glow. A hollow sound, like a distant chime, echoes through the chamber as the ceiling above withdraws into itself, stone scraping against stone. Suddenly the party all feel themselves grow lighter as their feet are pulled from the ground!
Orald quickly grabs the banner he had set aside and allows himself to be lifted in to the air, table still held I his other hand.
Apparently we can ascend by our faithfulness. Or by muttering random magic words.
Then more quietly while looking at Ransaq, "Maybe I'm reading this wrong though, come take a look at this and tell me if it says what I think it says about him." a furtive glance at Garroth at the end.
Ransaq squats down to have a look at the inscription.
He mumbles a bit under his breath, "Dress... purse... after midnight...", then looks at Garroth from the corner of his eye. "Wow Garroth, you don't seem the type".
-Posted with Wayfinder
"I'm partial to the random magic words myself."
Melaphi tries to right himself as he floats upward.
"Oh! Well this is fun, I've never been able to float before!" Aurora exclaims with a giggle.
"I wonder where we're going now?" Aurora asks herself as she slowly ascends towards the ceiling.
"Orald, tell me somethin'" Garroth said as he looked about himself while slowly ascending, seeming rather fascinated by the whole thing. He then turned to glare at Ransaq, a milk curdling scowl. "Where you are from Orald, what would be the proper response to some windbag flappin' his gums about you bein' a cross-dresser?" He took a few breast strokes in the air towards Ransaq, though he quickly stopped as it didnt seem to close the distance any.
Orald tilts his head to the side as if listening, then winces and starts massaging his forehead. I would recommend not bringing that up, our ancestors seem to be a bit divided on the issue. I would rather not risk their wrath while floating uncontrolled in a weird, nameless, ancient temple. I mean really, who do they expect to worship here if they don't even put up a sign? It's no wonder it is abandoned.
As the party floats up into the second level, the floor closes back under them again, the magic gently lowering them down to their feet. The light of the banner reveals that they now stand in a small hallway, surrounded on each side by paintings of a religious nature, badly faded and flaked away by the years. Ahead the hallway meets the wall and splits into a T, heading left and right.
Orald gently examines the paintings, wondering if they can be restored, then pokes his head around the corner and looks both ways.
Garroths angry face turned to one of puzzlement as he looked at Orald. "Really? They are divided on what to do to a man who levels a boldfaced insult at you?" He scratched his hair, still looking rather surprised.
As Orald looks around the corners, he sees that they both open up into chambers, though not very large he would guess.
A he appears to be used to tuning out voices... :P Orald directs the rest of the group that there are small rooms on either side of the T.
He gestures left, then pauses a moment and goes to the room.
Garroth looked from the table to Ransaq a few times, his angry face having softened into a look of suspicion. "Who would write such things? And about me of all people...ive never even been near here before." Oralds gestures drew his attention, and he readied his shield and moved to his Ulfen companion. "Gonna have a good look at that table later, but right now, ill go with Orald and see if theres someone or somethin' in here more worthy of a beatin'."
Ransaq whispers to Garroth, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone", then follows Orald's lead. He gives Melaphi a "yikes" look as he passes him, snickers a bit, and casts mage armor.
"I don't know Garroth, but I'm not sure I want to be around when you catch up to them. Sounds like a storm in the brewing." Melaphi says with a straight face.
As the group prepares to explore the left room he lashes a thin golden thread of life energy to the half-orc.
Aurora tries to suppress her laughter as Garroth brews up the fabled insult under the table. Don't laugh, don't laugh.
She scurries up to beside Orald as he enters the room to the left.
"Wonder what we're going to find in here?" She asks aloud to no one in particular.
As the party looks into the chamber on the left, they identify what looks like a humanoid knelt down at an altar with a faintly glowing object. At the same moment, the humanoid notices them!
"The prayers! The prayers? You haven't said them! By the gods! The gods? Get out!"
What prayers? You don't even have a sign up for who is being prayed to here. How can you expect us to follow your rules if you don't tell anyone about them. So calm down and give us a pamphlet or something so we can do this right.
"We meant no disrespect, as my friend stated we are unsure of the proper protocol here."
"Protocol? Protocol!" the humanoid shouts, apparently even more agitated.
Sheild ready to be raised, hand on his sword, Garroth refrained from drawing steel while the others tried to talk the man down. Still, he wasnt a stranger to the kind of state this man was in, and Ransaqs recent antics had him itching to fight. "If they dont calm him down soon, hes gettin' a fistful." The thought made his grip tighten, the leather of his gloves creaking softly.
Half hoping for the result he wanted, half trying to aid the others, he bellowed at the madman. "How about you sit your five copper ass down before I decide to make change, you hear!!?!" He put on his best "typical orc brute" sneer, then added. "Now listen to what these nice people have to say."
The man points violently at Garroth. "Black chalice! Wake? Warlord seasons rise!"
Init:
Ransaq
Aurora
Garroth
Madman
Melaphi
Orald
"The last one turned to dust...we gonna try to take this one alive?" Garroth asked, before charging at the man.
Carried forth by the momentum of his charge, he buried his knee in the mans stomach, a triumphant "Hah!" escaping his lips as equal measures of frustration for their previous adversary and Ransaq, were washed away by success.
"Oh, forget this." Aurora cries, pulling a flask from her bandolier. unsure of what this madman will be doing she downs an elixir of Shield in preperation.
"Garroth, what the hell are you doing!?!" Ransaq steps forward and casts color spray, without regrets if it happens to stun them both.
The man takes a knee to the gut, yet somehow cackles madly as the rays of color wash over him.
With a startled "BLARGH!!, Garroth just barely managed to shield his eyes as the many colored wave hit him. Squinting dumbfounded in the dazzling afterglow, he shot Ransaq a less than amused look. "Hey, watch it!"
The Madman giggles as he runs off into the darkness.
"Not so fast you loon." Garroth growled, his sword snaking out to entangle the mans legs.
The Madman falls, then throws up a hand and speaks as if into Garroth's mind. "Chainybobble!"
The force of his tripping maneuver having spun him in a circle, Garroth came back round with one foot raised, ready to stomp on the prone madman. Instead, the mans words struck him like a slap in the face, causing him to stand still, foot raised and an odd expression on his face. "Whuuh?"
Garroth babbles incoherently in response to the Madman's odd statement.
"Chainybobble? Just what are you talking about good sir?" Aurora asks with a hardly hidden giggle.
"oh stop running away already!"
Aurora reaches into her pack and pulls out a sack of barely contained tar.
She throws it at the babbling madman.
Ransaq targets the madman and casts daze.
"Blablublubli?" Garroth shouted, then spun on the spot and performed something approaching a jaunty tap dance routine.
What the...
Orald seems bewildered by the sudden change in events, but rushes forward to put an end to things before they go from weird to deadly.
Melaphi simply stands and watches the odd antics of Garroth while trying to make sense of the madman's babbling.