Alicia kneels down in the filth to examine the metal chest, but she finds no evidence that it is trapped. Oddly enough, she sees no latch or locking mechanism, either, but the lid is firmly closed and doesn't shift an inch when she attempts to open it. She can only conclude that the chest has been magically sealed.
Having come to that conclusion, she motions Vhailor to bring the torch closer and minutely examines the crack between the lid and the body of the lockbox. Finally, at the back between the hinges, she notices some faint scratchings that seem too exact to be random. Using the tip of one of her tools, she rubs back and forth across one of the marks until the flow of arcane energy is broken and the lid easily swings up and open.
Inside is a vial, two rolls of parchment, and a hand crossbow with a case of matching bolts.
Wordlessly gesturing for permission Vhailor seeks to get his hands upon the parchment - unrolling it to see what might be scribed upon it.
Lips pursed and occasionally trembling as though mimicking an internal thought process, Vhailor ponders...
Marikel's eyes widen at Alicia's skills. He opens his mouth to say something, thinks better of it and instead attempts to see the contents within the chest.
As Vhailor examines the items Marikel asks quietly, "So, a murderer's hidden stash... or property of the church?"
While Vhailor feels sure that the scrolls contain spells of some sort, he is unable to interpret the writings.
Vhailor shrugs "They're magic again... like the other ones, but I won't know which until a bit later." blinking once... then twice "Hopefully neither of those things though? Could be a non-murdering non-priestly stash?"
The rats have been nesting over and around the lockbox. It seems unlikely that it's been opened anytime recently.
Ali shrugs. "We can worry about them later. Keep the vial and the hand crossbow 'til then too," she says, picking the crossbow, bolts and vial up before motioning for Marikel to continue down the stairs.
Before Banny can help stomp rats, the blades of the others have already made short work. Banny grants in possible satisfaction. She barely glances at the little chest that's been discovered, her eyes busy probing into the darkness ahead for any more signs of trouble, even just vermin.
Leaving the two dead rats behind, Marikel leads the way down the stairs, which turn to the right once, twice, three times, as they spiral, before depositing him in a dark, dank cellar.
The only light source is Alicia's torch coming down the stairs behind him in Vhailor's hand. In the flickering light, a closed door is visible to the southwest ; a corridor leads away toward the northwest , and it looks like other hallways branch from either side of the corridor leading to the door .
With a quick glance back over his right shoulder, Marikel advances toward the nearest hallway and carefully peers around the corner.
Alicia splits off, sneaking over to the corridor to the northwest. She peers around the corner (), blade in hand in case of trouble.
As Marikel and Alicia move, Vhailor brings the torch forward to light as much of their way as possible. Still, Alicia finds herself at the very edge of the torch's radiance, unable to see into the darkness ahead.
Marikel steps forward to peer around the nearest corner and is startled to find himself staring into a face in the shadows. His hand tightens reflexively on the hilt of his sword, and he is about to shout a warning when he realizes that the face is carved out of stone. There appears to be a life-sized statue in a niche, though the gnome will have to bring the torch closer for him to make out the details.
"Umm.. guys... maybe stick together?" looking between the two separate paths that Alicia and Marikel have struck out upon.
Ali glances over her shoulder and nods curtly. After a moment, the rogue falls back to the group. "Just checking our flank," she says lowly.
Banny slides her now-sadly-empty flask back onto her belt-loop, and ambles up behind Marikel. "Wuzzat? A statue? Din't know the Iomedans got to sculptin' while they was here," she says, blinking curiously at it.
Vhailor shuffles forward close enough to bathe the statue in light.
Once Vhailor has approached with the torch, the three other members of the party immediately recognize the statue as a depiction of Iomedae in a rather uncharacteristic pose of peace, both stone hands wrapped loosely around the hilt of the sheathed longsword she holds before her. The sword itself seems oddly askew, however, in contrast to the balance and symmetry of the rest of the statue.
"Ooooo..." Vhailor exclaims as he moves a bit closer for a better look. He eyes the sword without touching... wondering if it's part of the statue or free from it's grasp...
Marikel shrugs at Banny's comment.
"The church has statues and paintings and tapestries everywhere. I think it's good to be reminded that Iomedae watches over us... constantly," he says with just a hint of a smirk.
Marikel's comment earns a little grimace from Banny, but her eyes are busy on the statue-- not with the sword itself, but looking over the armored boots of the goddess, rendered in stone. "There's a little blood there-- probably the rat ran over your goddess's foot," she says. "Oi, let's get the torch a bit closer so you all can see behind the statue, yeh?"
Banny offers to do that with the torch if Vhailor doesn't want to stick the light into the darkness, since a cornered rat might attack.
Alicia slips past the group to peer around the corner (), unconcerned with the mystery of the statue's bloody feet.
Banny cautiously thrusts the torch deeper into the niche to illuminate the shadows behind the stone goddess. Near Iomedae's armored heels, the stone wall has cracked open and crumbled; the blood trail disappears into a tunnel burrowed into the earth behind it.
Where water has seeped in during the rainy seasons, the stone floor has buckled, rising and falling with the damp. It was undoubtedly this motion that knocked the goddess's sword loose ... which means that the weapon is clearly not a part of the same stone block as the main body of the statue.
In the meantime, Alicia steps away to peer down the other corridor now that Banny has brought the torch near enough to illuminate it. It ends after ten feet in a rusty portcullis. Between the bars, Alicia sees a room about twenty feet across, a dirty mosaic of gold and white embedded in the floor. The torchlight starts to dim about halfway across the room, but she can just make out another corridor leading into the room from the opposite wall.
Pushing his lensless glasses back up the ridge of his nose Vhailor gestures at the sword with his torch "That's church property... you better take that Marikel." squinting at it and wondering how much it might be worth...
Banny squints at the wall behind the statue. "See here," she says with a nod of her head. "Little ol' hole in the wall. Probably how th' rats got in here."
She cranes her head back over her shoulder to look where Alicia's peering, her brows knitting at the sight of the portcullis grill. "What's a temple need bars for? ... I mean, iron bars. I can think of a lotta reasons a temple could use th' other kinda bar."
Curiosity piqued, Ali slips down the corridor to inspect the rusted portcullis.
Alicia commandeers the torch to make a closer inspection of the room beyond the portcullis. Embedded in the floor is a faded ten-foot-diameter mosaic of a gold longsword in the middle of a white medallion. There appears to be a decrepit bookshelf on the opposite wall, next to the corridor leading away to the northwest, which stretches approximately ten feet before ending in a closed iron door. She sees another door in the middle of the wall to her left . There appears to be a rusty lever on the wall directly to her left on the other side of the bars.
Marikel frowns at Vhailor's suggestion, then nods.
He mutters a short prayer of thanks to his goddess then attempts to free the sword.
Marikel's hand closes around the hilt of the sword, which is thick and furry with years of accumulated dust. The blade, however, is easily drawn up and out between the goddess's encircling fingers and reveals itself free of dirt and grime. Perhaps it's the stone sheath in which the sword has been stored, but the edges of the weapon appear as sharp and keen as those of a sword fresh from Clamor's anvil.
"Right, so, we found a way th' rats are likely gettin' in, down here," Banny says. "An' you found-- a sword, it looks like. Real dusty. Not touched in years, 's my guess. So now, can we go on an' find where that ledge leads to--"
Banny sighs as she registers that Alicia's taken the torch to look into another room. The dwarf scratches at her jaw, shrugs to herself, and bites at a little hangnail she's developing on her right thumb. "You folk just let me know when we're ready to get back to lookin' for murderers."
Spotting the rusted lever, Alicia attempts to flip it and, hopefully, raise the portcullis.
Ali scowls when she sticks her arm through the portcullis and discovers that the lever is out of reach. Undeterred, she attempts to squeeeeze her way between two bars. It quickly becomes apparent she can't fit, though, and the rogue heads back to the door nearest to the group. Cautiously, she opens it and peers inside.
Frowning at the lever that seems to be Alicia's focus... Vhailor thinks for a few moments and utters a Gnomish phrase "wazi anasema mimi" and fixes it with a purposeful stare...
Marikel admires the statue's sword and, keeping it in hand, sheaths his own.
With a sigh similar to that of Banny, he follows Alicia until he hears Vhailor's remark.
Yielding to Vhailor's magic, the bars of the portcullis lower into the floor with a rusty rattling squeak.
Watching the portcullis rise Vhailor emits a happy surprised little squeak before covering it with a cough. He gives a quiet whistle to the others before jerking his head towards the now open passage... while beaming a self-satisfied smile.
Alicia quickly turns around and doubles back to the northwestern corridor. "Good job!" she enthuses as she rushes past Vhailor and into the room beyond the portcullis.
Now that Alicia is inside the room, she can see that a passageway leads out of the room to the northeast, in addition to the door in the wall to the left and the corridor leading northwest, which she can now see ends in two iron doors. The passageway to the northeast looks as if there used to be a similar door set in it , but all that remains are some bent hinges, small twisted scraps of metal and piles of rust, and pitted scars in the stones of the floor.
The bookshelf is in an advanced stage of collapse. Several dusty and rotting tomes sit on it. An iron chest sits in the eastern corner of the room, and there is a trapdoor in the ceiling . Now that the lever that closed the portcullis is in its open position, one can see that there is a second lever on the wall next to it.
Spotting the iron chest, Alicia goes over to inspect it for traps and/or locks before attempting to open it.
As Alicia goes to inspect the chest, Vhailor furrows his brow and steps forward. He prods at the musty and fusty tomes upon the bookshelf just in case by fluke one of them is in good enough repair to look through.
Banny arches her brows at the gnome's trick with the door, then nods a little, wordlessly. She moves to the door of the room Alicia and Vhailor are in, not stepping through herself but looking around casually.
She still doesn't think this has anything to do with Kerst's killer, and her curiosity to explore the basement complex is somewhat dampened as a result, but she doesn't object to the searching.
Marikel goes over to Alicia as she works on the chest. He opens his mouth to say something, doesn't, then moves past her to check the hallway beyond.
He examines the hinges and bits of the rust on the floor.
"What could have done that?" he mutters quietly to the others.
Alicia puts the torch in a handy sconce on the wall and gives the chest a quick once-over. Noticing nothing that looks dangerous, she turns her attention to opening it.
He examines the hinges and bits of the rust on the floor.
"What could have done that?" he mutters quietly to the others.
No one seems to have an answer.
Vhailor crosses the mosaic on the floor to examine the bookshelf. Unsurprisingly, given its location, the tomes stored there seem to be mostly books of scripture and holy writ. There are several copies of the Acts of Iomedae and a few volumes of the History and Future of Humanity as well. The books' age might have made them valuable, if it hadn't also made them next to illegible; merely shifting the books on the shelves to get a better look at them causes the antique paper to crumble beneath the gnome's fingers, though he touches them as gently as possible.
There is one text that appears to have some value, however; as he moves aside its neighbor, Vhailor discovers that one copy of Aroden's scripture has a cover made of gold and encrusted with gems. The binding collapses as he tries to lift it, and most of the pages fall away; but the jeweled cover itself is undoubtedly worth some money.
As Marikel focuses on the rust on the floor, Vhailor focuses on the gold and gem encrusted bookcover. Sidling towards the bookcase he ungainly seeks to transfer it from case to secured upon his person without drawing undue attention unto himself...
Assuming that the chest is unlocked, Ali opens it. If she discovers that it is locked after that, she then pulls her lockpicks and starts to work again.
The chest opens easily. As Ali raises the lid, there is a dry rattle and a sifting of rust from the latching mechanism; it appears as though whatever disintegrated the door may have gotten into the lock of the chest as well.
The box itself is empty. The inside is discolored and dusty in a pattern that suggests whatever may have been in here lay undisturbed for many years but has been recently removed.
As Marikel focuses on the rust on the floor, Vhailor focuses on the gold and gem encrusted bookcover. Sidling towards the bookcase he ungainly seeks to transfer it from case to secured upon his person without drawing undue attention unto himself...
From her position in the doorway, Banny gives Vhailor a wry look as he tries to stuff the gleaming-- is that a book or somethin'? -- into his own belongings. "What'd you find?" she drawls. "Somethin' like you were tellin' Marikel about with the sword? Church property, I think you said?"
Looking up with a hand-in-the-cookie-jar expression Vhailor blanches before professing his innocence "Nope... nothing to do with Iomedae... honest..."