Auri skips through.
"Have a bag ready" he adds, slightly demoralised. He prepares to sting himself...
Will
Aurichalcum closes his eyes as he enters the mist prepared for the worst, but miraculously feels no worse for the experience. Once Karethas has stopped raving, everyone seems acclimated to the maddening mysts*.
Beyond the corridor of ancient statues, the passage seems to become a natural cave that broadens beyond your myst enshrouded vision.
I follow behind the tiny dragon. Faelar, stay here with Karethas, make sure that he does not do anything.
Karethas tries to peer through the myst in vain. "I say try to follow one of the walls of the cavern around. See if there are any exits, and then explore the middle of the cavern if it is big enough that that is necessary. Faelar can use a Dancing light at the limit of our vision here, for us to use as a gauge of how far we have gone."
Amir follows wordlessly.
Although Kzrira is impatient to move, it seems more prudent to wait until everyone is restored to their senses. Karethas eventually comes around and once carefully unbound, suggests a sensible course of action.
It is indeed an expansive cavern system and you come across various nooks and crannies as you perambulate the dimness. As you circle around, you notice a large structure of some sort in the cave's center.
Faelar - Can you direct your lights toward that thing in the middle?
Kzrira carefully looks to see what is in the middle (I assume Faelar will move the lights over there.
Perception: <-- extra +2 if gnolls
In the haze and flickering lights, Kzrira can only make out that it appears to be a stage with some sorts of huts erected on it.
I follow everyone, concentrating on maintaining my orbs of light. As asked I move one of the orbs to the center of the room, so everybody can see what is occupying the room.
What in world is this? Amir looks askance at the dragon, bard and wizard hoping that one of them might have something to offer.
"It is the only thing significant that we have found here. So let's go check it out." Contrary to his words, Karethas remains in place until the others lead the way.
Know:History
"Early mock up of Kelmarane?" Auri questions.
I look at the same thing that everyone else is and try to recall if I have seen or read of it before.
As you draw nearer the shape resolves itself into some sort of strange boat which Faelar identifies as an ancient Osiriani pleasure barge. What it is doing in a cave in the interior mountains is yet another mystery.
Krzira remains wary of everything and has her bow in hand ready to draw an arrow and fire at the first sign of an enemy.
That is a beautiful thing to behold, I wonder what secrets it contains? Maybe it has someone on board who knows how it happened to get in here?"
"Or maybe there is a ephemeral elephant bear waiting to suck our brains out." Karethas chuckles uneasily at his own joke. "It is an interesting artifact for this setting."
As you move toward the barge, there is a noticeable increase in heat and the myst swirls more quickly as it glows faintly. Up close, you can make out more details of the out of place watercraft. It is finely made, but the centuries and hot damp conditions have taken their toll. Some planks are warped or soft and swollen. To one side, a short set of stairs lead to the deck above your heads.
Auri moves in to inspect, but remains cautious... he wants no more encounters with lurching statues or bearelephants.
Aurichalcum flits above the barge looking for hazards. He finds that the landlocked watercraft was never quite finished and has started to fall apart over time in the steaming mist. It also appears abandoned though the swollen door to what must be the main quarters is securely stuck.
"Amir and Kzrira, do you think you can get that door open? Or do I need to summon another elemental?"
We can try:
Strength: <-- apparently I found a very weak point in the old door.
With a crack the door gives way to Kzrira's shoulder and Amir almost tumbles in after it with an awkward attempt at an assist. A lingering misama of rot fills the air and you see a nearly skeletal form lying near the door, bits of fabric and black rotting skin clinging to the bones.
A lamp lights the room from the far side where a worktable rests covered in moldering papers and three exquisite gems: a sizable diamond, ruby, and sapphire.
Blinking at the dark while covering her mouth from the musty smell, Kzrira looks at her companions.
Rather anti-climatic. But, probably better than the alternative. I would not touch those gems until we have thoroughly searched for magic and traps.
Kzrira steps out of the room and looks and the sheepish rogue next to her who seems to be recovering from having a woman open the door for her.
Your up old man, time to use those well honed skills you have.
Karethas stands back and stays wary. An incantation on his lips and his hands raised.
Auri similarly flits about, looking for traces of magic, or hazards of a more mundane nature.
Perception
Detect Magic
Amir stands and dusts himself off, taking the tumble in sride as best he can. Nodding to Kzrira the rogue looks to the room to see if anything is not as it should be...
My eyes widen as I see the papers, it is obvious I want to check to see if any are still legible. But I manage to hold myself back, at least until someone says the room is clear of danger.
Aurichalcum bounds ahead sniffing and squinting through the warm amber clouds and dusty interior. The chamber does not appear to have been disturbed for long centuries. He spots some patches of black mold, but nothing of an obviously threatening nature. He notes that the skeleton wears a pair of magical bracers of some sort and then the little dragon is nearly knocked from the air by the powerful magical emanation from the direction of the work table. He quickly turns his head from the blinding radiance emitted from the gems which he detects through his enhanced vision.
Amir notes the dragonette's strange reaction, but sees no visible threats.
Amir puts his hand to his mace hilt, Aurichalcum, are you allright?
"The gems, magical gems!"
Satisfied that everything seems safe, Karethas enters the room and walks over to the worktable. He raises his eyebrows at Faelar before bending over to carefully study the papers. "Perhaps these can explain the mystery of a boat in a cave."
Karethas takes a glance at the scattered papers now yellowed with age and smudged and spotted with mold by the humidity. They appear to have to do with the barge you are now inhabiting and are a mixture of plan drawings and arcane notation.
Karethas motions to Faelar, "Come over here and take a look at this!"
I come in and look over Karethas's shoulder to see what he is examining.
Knowledge(engineering):
Spellcraft -
I start to head over to Karethas, watching Auri and trying to see what might have pushed him off course.
Once at Karethas and Kzrira, I glance over at the papers, trying to see what I can make of them.
Gathering around the work table, the party study the strange papers. This is certainly higher level magic than Karethas ever learned about. If only he'd stayed in school.
Faelar looks over the notes applying his long years of study to the problem and finds that although the barge resembles an ancient model that floated on the River Sphinx, the construction plans are odd for a water craft. Mainly, there is nothing for rowing, steering, or otherwise moving the large flat bottom boat safely down a river. A barge could be pulled or pushed by another boat, but the delicate bow and stern don't seem suited for that either. Otherwise, there was to be a small room to hold two of the gems, but the room was not completed.
Can either of you determine what the gems are? Are they magic?
Karethas frowns at the papers and sighs. "Professor Hussan would love to see this craft. Of course, he would never have the opportunity because he would never risk leaving the safety of Katapesh." He turns to the gems, casting Detect Magic and bendis over to examine the dweomers placed upon them.
The glare from the auras of the gems is almost blinding, but Karethas finds that by not staring directly at them, be can still read the peripheral radiance. The diamond was likely being prepared for a spell of powerful permanency. Karethas is uncertain about the ruby though magical vision reveals a spiral of sigils upon its face. The last faceted stone has been prepared for a spell of astral travel.
"My guess is that this diamond was going to protect the craft and the associated enchantments from the ravages of time. The ruby, I think, probab would be to power the whole craft through the astral plane or to other planes. That final item is not clear to me, but if I were to guess, I'd say it was going to be for divinating your course or some such. Perhaps Faelar could tell more, although do not look at the gems directly with your arcane detections active. In any case, the enchantments were prepared, but unfinished. There could be some value in these gems beyond their intrinsic value, and those plans may be of some value as well."
Karethas moves aside to let Faelar look at the gems. He notices the bracers and studies them with his detection spell up.
The bracers are gray leather stamped with triangles. Above each wrist is a red cabochon which opens to reveal an eye which returns Karethas' gaze.
The bracers are the storied Spellsight Bracers favored by Nethian faithful. They grant the wearer a +1 deflection bonus to AC, the ability to cast detect magic and mage hand at will and to cast a spell as if extended once per day.
A small breath escapes Karethas lips as he recognizes the bracers. "These are a great find." He carefully removes them from the skeleton, trying to disturb it as little as possible. "These bracers are sought after among those who follow Nethys. They have some minor protective value, and they allow one to casts a greater number of cantrips, but most importantly they make one casting a day last much longer. I would very much like to keep these, if no one objects."
If they are not the type of bracer which makes one's archery more precise, then you are free to have them.
"Suppose we could sell off the gems, buy something worthwhile"
Does the ship still function? It sounds as though we could use this to travel anywhere. We could fly back to Katapesh to resupply.
"The ship is unfinished, and the enchantments on the gems unfinished as well. I would imagine they are quite valuable, but Amir might be better able to assess just how much they are worth."