Alicia takes a guess and stabs her rapier downward but hits nothing but the stone floor.
Dorn moves up next to the healer. "What in the blazes are we fightin'?! Is it another one of those blasted twenty foot tall skeletons?! Because, ya know, that would totally bite."
"Not a skeleton," Marikel responds. "Something unseen, but perhaps not to Iomedae."
Marikel strides over next to Alicia. "Allow me, Miss Alicia."Marikel swings his sword low again, muttering, and another burst of energy cascades around him.
As Iomedae's energy spreads through the tomb, a hoarse shriek can be heard, not unlike the sound heard in a previous battle. There is still nothing visible, however.
"Ya know, this ain't no blasted fair! I cannot see what we're fightin'!"
When Marikel says "something unseen", Agrit's training kicks in. Mahath dips a finger into his pouch, coming out with tiny flakes of granite on it. He speaks an arcane phrase and points, visualizing where the spell will go off so that it includes the area that Alicia stabbed at.
Casting glitterdust, targeting the intersection of AF/AG 52/53. I believe that will bring it up to Marikel and Alicia without actually engulfing them.
Golden glitter explodes from nothingness just north of the spire of bones. Most of it settles to the floor and over some of the treasure laid at the foot of the spire, but directly east of Marikel, a Small quadruped with a long tail is outlined.
Catching sight of the creature, "Got it! REAVER!" Dorn calls as he moves next to the healer and attacks while his over-sized avian ally makes his way into flanking position.
Skyreaver takes off and works his way around to flank before attacking.
Dorn's hammer smashes to the stone floor, just missing the invisible quadruped, but the roc's beak snatches at it from the other side. A raspy squeak cuts itself off almost as soon as it is heard, and a large dead ghost rat is left behind at the party's feet.
Marikel rubs his eyes.
"Well done, team. Great teamwork. That could have been much worse."
Now that they are no longer battling an invisible enemy, the party can see by the light of Marikel's longsword that the spire of bones is a sort of support column for a Large skeleton, holding it upright and facing toward the east. A few coarse, colorless tatters indicate that it was once clothed, but the clothing, like the flesh and sinew, have rotted away. Treasure lies around its bony feet, as if in tribute.
"Whew! You ain't kiddin', lad. Good thing there was only one of the blasted things. Now it's time to see what's been left behind."
Coins, gems, and jewelry, mixed with weaponry and pieces of armor, lie in piles around the foot of the spire, coated liberally with dust and mixed with insect carapaces, the bones of small animals such as rats and lizards, and the rotted remains of items made of cloth and leather. Some of the items are sized for hill giants, but others, probably looted from fallen enemies, are human-sized. Sorting through the treasure, or loading it into packs for removal, looks like a time-intensive endeavor, but an appraisal -- or an eye for magic auras -- might single out items of particular interest or value.
There is no sign that anyone has approached the hoard within recent memory, and yet the party was supposedly on the trail of a half-orc intent on retrieving something called Uskroth's Eye....
Mahath slowly moves up to the hoard, glancing between the more experienced soldiers as he does so. If they give any sign of warning him off, he'll respect it. Otherwise, he kneels down near the edge of the piles.
With a whisper, he runs a hand above the dusty mess, shifting his position to make sure his detection spell reveals any toxins that may ward the treasure.
He follows that up with another minor spell. This time he doesn't have to move to carry it out; he stays in one spot and slowly rotates his gaze and outstretched hand across the area, seeking any arcane auras that may signify danger or opportunity.
Finally, he casts yet another minor spell. As his hand moves across an area of the pile, the coating of dust pulls away. He stops in place after the first small space is cleaned in this manner, making eye contact with Dorn to make sure he is okay to proceed.
Mahath's appraise skill is at +9. If he sees anything of particular interest, he'll point it out to the others in a hushed tone. "Particular interest" includes anything that pops up under his detection magics.
Ali glances around at the edges of the light. "Weird. Are we sure this is the right way to find this half-orc?" The rogue crouches, looking more closely for humanoid tracks that don't belong to the party.
"We're not, Miss Alicia." Marikel eyes the pile warily.
"However, given the dangers we've already faced, he may have gone a different route. Best to check if this is what he's after, or if there's anything else that can aid us in our quest."
When you detect magical auras a moment later, you are nearly overwhelmed with information. There are multiple magic items here, a few of extreme power. Squinting against the barrage that is threatening to give you a headache, you are able to determine that there are ten magic items in and around the spire; the most powerful emanating from what appears to be a simple stone blacksmith's hammer at the skeleton's feet. The other items are scattered around in the piles of tribute, save for one which comes from near the roof of the cavern, seemingly encased in the skeleton's Large skull.
Knowledge (arcana)
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"I don't sense any toxins, but there is power here..." Because of his intense focus, his voice is still hushed and distant.
In the rotting remains of a leather quiver, four arrows call your arcane attention. On three of them you are able to identify a moderate aura of conjuration; two you are sure are +1 human-bane arrows. It seems reasonable to conclude that they are all the same, but you couldn't swear to it.
A wide leather-and-oxhide belt should have rotted away by now like the quiver; the faint aura of transmutation you read from it explains why it hasn't. It is a heavyload belt, useful for increasing carrying capacity.
Two auras emanate from within a clay cylinder; inside are two scrolls. The first is a scroll of phantasmal killer, the second, giving off a faint aura of divination, a scroll of tongues.
The last magic item among the treasure at the foot of the spire is a wand. It is a wand of inflict moderate wounds.
The final magic aura is the one inside the skeleton's skull. It emanates a strong necromantic aura, but you will have to find a way to get up to the skull and retrieve the item from inside it to identify it.
There are some weapons and armor in the pile which appear to be still useful, if not magical: a breastplate, a suit of splint mail, 13 adamantine crossbow bolts, and an orc double axe. They are all sized to be used by Medium creatures and probably of orcish origin. In addition, the gems and coins are of inherent value.
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"Everyone, look at what we've found here."
Pointing to a stone hammer, he says "That one is a powerful weapon. With more time to study it, I may be able to determine its enchantment. Or Agrit probably could."
"Those arrows are magical as well. If I am interpreting the forces correctly, they are especially potent against humans. At least, I think they are all the same."
"That belt will be useful for carrying things out of here. It lets you carry things as though you were as strong as an ogre."
He picks up a clay cylinder and pulls some parchment from them. "I believe these may work for me. I'll examine them closer."
"And this," he says, picking up a blacken length of wood. He offers it to Marikel. "I believe this may be of use to you. It is like the inverse of healing magic. Potent, too."
"And then, there's one more thing." He steps a little closer to the skeleton and points up at the skull. "I am sensing something up there. It is powerful, whatever it is. The type of energy it emanates is necromantic. But I'll have to examine it more closely to know more.'
"But look down here, too." he says as his magic clears dust away from the amorphous shapes below the thick dust. "that breastplate, splint mail, that axe; they all seem usable. And those bolts are adamantine." He frowns and looks closer at the axe, clearing away a bit more debris from the haft. "A second blade. A double axe. It must be orcish. A lot of this gear is probably of oricsh manufacture."
Marikel nods and takes the proffered length of wood.
"Inverse? Will it cause wounds?"
He looks around at the items, bending down to rub the breastplate.
"This stuff could be very useful with the troubles ahead. Let's grab what we can and we'll decide where it belongs later."
"Sounds good ta me. Hey, Mahath, you said that belt helps you carry stuff as if you had the strength of an ogre? Because that could be quite handy. I could use something like that for sure," he claims, nodding in thought at the prospect.
Alicia cautiously climbs up the pile of bones to take a better look at the thing's skull.
Alicia carefully sets to finding toeholds and fingerholds in the osseous structure, but as she applies her weight to one side, the centuries-old balance is overset. One moment, a crack and a rattle is heard from beneath her boot; the next, she is sprawling over a cascading tumble of bone. The cacophony is almost musical as its percussion echoes through the cavern. Alicia, however, is unhurt, and the hill giant's skull is now easily accessible on the floor.
Well, I could have done that, Mahath thinks as the pieces shower down around them. "Um. Thanks."
Mahath casts detect magic again, seeing if the skull is radiating the magic, something in it, or something that may have dislodged during the collapse.
Alicia tumbles down along with the bone fragments, coming to rest on her posterior. She grunts a wordless "you're welcome" as she gets to her feet, rubbing her bruised backside.
Having invoked his cantrip, Mahath circles around the skull until he can peer through the oversized eye socket. Inside is a fist-sized hunk of dark, igneous rock.
Mahath focuses on the skull. He narrates what he sees. "There's a rock in the skull. A black, volcanic stone. It seems to be the source of the dark magic I was sensing. I may be what has been causing the evil effects we have witnesses so far down here. I'm going to take it and put it in my backpack. My pack holds things in an extradimensional space; it may minimize the effects of the stone until we can get some more answers about it."
He pauses. "Could this be the 'eye' that they were looking for down here?"
As he considers picking it up, he says "Marikel, I have read about evil relics with a malevolent intelligence that can take over the minds of those near them. Do you have a spell you could make ready to cast should I show signs of such an infestation?"
If no one objects or has other precautions to take, Mahath will pick up the stone and tuck into quickly into his handy haversack.
As he considers picking it up, he says "Marikel, I have read about evil relics with a malevolent intelligence that can take over the minds of those near them. Do you have a spell you could make ready to cast should I show signs of such an infestation?"
"Smart thinking, Mr Mahath. Iomedae grants me the ability to protect against such chaos, in addition to other means of holding you for a time, should it become necessary."
Marikel peers at the stone."But if it is the item sought, it may be more help to us against the dangers down here. Can you use it?"
Mahath crouches down by the stone, glancing over his shoulder at the others briefly before he starts to concentrate. He extends a hand, sensing the arcane aura. His fingers draw back slightly from it as though they were gently teasing its secrets from it.
Mahath sits back, shaking his head. "Its secrets elude me. It some way, it almost feels it is just an echo of evil, perhaps with intent of its own, rather than a relic to be wielded."
Marikel frowns.
"An object to be destroyed then. We can show it to Miss Varvatos when we're finished here."
Mahath picks up the stone and tucks it into his arcane haversack. After the others have selected items they might be able to make use of, Mahath works on collecting what will fit in his pack and stuffing it in.
As Mahath closes the opening to in interdimensional space, everyone blinks. There has been a barely-perceptible shift in the atmosphere, and the tomb now feels slightly less dark, less cold, and less foreboding.
The Eye of Uskroth has, presumably, been secured, but there has been, as of yet, no sign of the malign half-orc who has threatened a child to obtain it.
Narrowing his eyes, "Hey, folks, looks like we got ourselves a set of steps over there in the northeast. I'm thinkin' that's where we're headed next, hm? That half-orc's got ta be down here somewhere."
Alicia makes for the northeast, slipping back into the shadows at the edges of Marikel's light. She doesn't move into the darkness beyond too much, though--after all, she isn't a dwarf who can see in the dark.
The steps Dorn has pointed out are sized for giants and, thus, are awkward for the party to manage . They rise some eight feet from the level of the tomb to a five-foot-wide exit; the ceiling rises as well, but no hill giant could fit comfortably through the width of the opening. The northern wall of the tomb is not solid stone but a series of upright boulders forming something like a rough fence; on the far side, the floor seems to fall away to an open chasm.
Marikel fits himself into the breastplate and stows the adamantine crossbow bolts with his own bolts.
"Hold. This Gorewillow had a lead on us but we seem to have found what he was looking for. Might we try and ambush him and his associate when they get here? If he doesn't show up, he may have met misfortune elsewhere down here."
He looks carefully at the wand one last time before pushing it gingerly into his belt.
Pondering the healer's suggestion, "Sounds good ta me, lad," he says, shrugging. "Might as well give it a shot. But what if he doesn't show after a time? Do we assume he's met his end or do we go lookin' for 'im?"
"Hmm. With a little girl's life in the balance, we want to guarantee he's dead..."
"I'd offer to scout, but I can't see in the dark very well," Ali says from the shadows.
"I'd offer to scout, but I can't see in the dark very well," Ali says from the shadows.
"And I do not have magic to remedy that at the moment. We should press ahead as a group, then."
"You're right. Time is of the essence. Let's check out these steps Mister Dorn spoke of."
Marikel heads up the steps keeping to the eastern wall.
The party struggles awkwardly up the oversized stairs and cautiously approaches the tunnel, Alicia in the dim light in the lead.
Eyes going wide, "LASS! BACK AWAY! YA GOT TA BACK AWAY NOW!!!"
Alicia's brows furrow in confusion and she backs away from the ledge. It's just a ledge, she thinks to herself, peering into the darkness over that way.