"A worthwhile vision, Taty," Felrin observes, "one that answers some questions and raises many others. We know who the skeleton was, and how he came to be there, and what the great stone is called - and perhaps a little about what it can do as well. Though it seems its power must be greater than the ability to see what goes on within the Horn, given how full of magical force it is."
He pauses a moment, his eyes narrowing in concentration, and the orbs of his eyes actually seem to flatten and elongate, as his body undergoes one of its peculiar shifts, but he pays it no mind, "As a scholar of unusual objects, I trust you'll be able to figure out how to use the stone, no? It could be very helpful in accomplishing our mission, obviously. And the ritual for freeing Vetra-Kali is critical information, but are we really to spend over two hundred days doing it? I doubt Cardinal Thorn had so much time in mind when he sent us here."
"Frankly, Master Vennax, I'll be mortified if I can't figure the stone out. As for shortening the ritual... I'll need some time to look through my books, but my instinct is that the Cardinal will not have a choice, nor will we. Trying to cheat a ritual is a dangerous proposition."
"Etna?" The usually detached, even cold one might say, man cannot deny his... What? Surprise? Curiosity? He cannot quite put it to words, not precisely.
"What is this?" His grip on his weapon relaxes ever so slightly as he takes a step forward and then another. "What are you?"
Even as the question escapes his lips, his thoughts are of his other companions. The fiendspawn. The half-elven werebeast. The vampire. And then he does one simple little thing, simple yet appropriate considering the circumstances.
He sighs.
I really have no idea, myself!
What was supposed to stay in Etna's head instead echoes in Erevan's mind, and it is not a very pleasant experience: it was as if someone was holding an hot poker a few centimeters from the man's forehead.
Also, now that she wasn't lying on her back, a long, red tail, the same as the ifrit's current skin color, is visible behind Etna's back.
Still shaking from the pain, the woman gestures for Erevan to help her get to a nearby tree to lean on.
"The horns turned out weird: probably my ifrit blood. Former Ifrit blood." Etna mutters and chuckles to herself, her now dark red skin warm to the touch. " 'Sacrifice things that we hold dear to achieve our goals', Felrin said. I'm bleeding out my own melted viscera, if that's enough of a sacrifice." she continues, still slightly delirious from the pain.
"No one followed you, right?" Etna asks in a brief burst of lucidity, her glowing yellow eyes meeting Erevan's for a moment.
"Well, if we have no choice but to take that much time at the ritual, so be it," Felrin responds to Tatienne. The side of his mouth hitches up into a peculiar grin as he continues, "But I'll only survive that long if you stop calling me 'Master Vennax.' If I'm calling you Tatienne, or even Taty, calling me Felrin will do fine. I expect you call me what you do as a mark of respect - and I'd know if it were otherwise, I assure you - but as an apprentice eighty years ago, I was called 'Master Vennax' and I'd rather not revisit those days."
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Having drained herself, or perhaps it was simply that the fishy blood of the slain boggard leader and blind fish has not satisfied her, Tkaara disappeared into her sack and coffin shortly after the party decided to camp in the cavern with the blue slime.
Eight house later the former barrister pulls herself out of the bag and stands up stretching. For those awake, it appears as though she has filled out some. Sure, she would still be considered thin by any measure, but no longer as emaciated as she was the night before. Her cheeks no longer appear as gaunt bony protrusions and her hands have some meat, not just skin covered bones.
After stretching, she stumbles slightly and as she does so, appears to fade away for a moment. Startled, Tkaara quickly reappears with a shocked look on her face, something that none have seen in several months since her untimely death several months earlier.
What happened?
After thinking for a moment, she concentrates and once more appears to fade away, turning into nothing more than a ghostly image of her former self. After a few moments, she reappears. Before anyone can speak, she once more fades away, but this time she floats up from the ground and rises to the ceiling. She floats around for a minute before coming to the ground and floating toward the hole that Felrin had gone through the prior day. Her ghostly form easily slides into the hole, returning a minute later.
Finally, the misty form settles to the ground and rematerializes.
That is interesting. Don't think I have done that before. Wonder what other gifts I have been given.
She then looks about.
I'm hungry. Anyone else up for getting a snack? Those boggard's taste terrible, but are at least palatable.
Somehow, Tkaara is able to ignore the surprised looks of her companions, or perhaps it is simply her barrister training.
"I do not believe anyone heard you, no," he answers her, looking at Winston and almost absently scratching the dog behind its ears. "The only reason I even followed you was your... friend's insistence." He smiles thinly. "Well, that and my own curiosity, I have to admit."
"You look... interesting." He chuckles softly, a rare sound indeed. "I especially like the tail."
"Who did you sacrifice to, I wonder?"
"Well, I didn't make pacts with the Cardinal or Tiadora, nor with Mitra." Etna smiles faintly "And this was more of a bump in the process: I've yet to meet my end of the bargain."
The woman scratches Winston's head looking at her red hands.
"I was so enraged when Tkaara used the circlet to hide her wasting away from us, but I did the same thing myself. Obviously, it was different in my case: I have never been in any danger...just a great deal of pain." Etna continues, before looking Erevan straight into his eyes.
"Of course, it goes without saying that you have to speak no word of what you saw with the others, anyone, or the Cardinal and Tiadora. Particularly the Cardinal and Tiadora." she says, a shadow of fear and apprehension crossing her eyes as she reinforces the last sentence.
Closing her eyes, the woman tries to concentrate, the scent of sulfur filling the air around her and Erevan. After a black smoke envelops her for a moment, Etna appears to have retaken her former appearance. Passing an hand on her forehead and behind her back, she makes sure that it wasn't simply an illusion like the circlet she was holding in her hand.
"So that is how Tiadora does it...I'm not sure I should be glad that I have something in common with that woman, now." Etna says, hesitantly getting back up on her feet "Nor do I want to know how she actually looks like."
Other than Etna's transformation, the night passes peacefully while you are on watch.
Other than that, the night passes peacefully while you are on watch.
There is no dawn within the caverns, only an eternal night. Nevertheless, it is clear that a new day has started. Where will you go?
"Should we explore the eastern caverns before we search the upper floors of the horn?" Etna proposes, startled at first by Tkaara's turning into mist, but then sighs with relief to herself as she notices that the undead had gotten slightly more human in the night.
Felrin considers the message from Elise a moment, then replies, "You do that. But continue to deal with it quietly. Recall that the Bound Flame is a secret organization."
"Yes, Etna, I was thinking the same," Felrin replies to the redhead's suggestion. "We should know what lies behind us before we venture into the rest of the Horn. And while we're at it, we should talk to Zikomo and have him improve the defenses of this place a bit, where we noticed there should be guards posted and there were not."
He pauses a moment in recollection, then adds, "And before we explore further, let's ask Zikomo if there are any more unpleasant surprises like that pit I fell into."
When Tkaara turns to mist and floats to the ceiling, Tatienne laughs, a delighted and mirthful sound, as her hand goes unconsciously to her neck, just below the jawline, much the way the ladies at court in the old country make themselves sound amused.
"Brilliant, Ms. Fiakben! That little trick will come in quite handy!"
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Once they locate the new chief, Tatienne translates for Felrin, adding a few flourishes of her own.
"You spoke of how Turnip-head was a bad chief. Now is the time to remedy that, and provide your people with structure - and safety. The cavern with the two pools. Put some warriors there. Your village would be easily flanked without them."
"Likewise, put some warriors at the cavern you spoke about yesterday. You're smarter than Turnip-head, or so you tell us. Prove it!"
"Our chief is unhappy - we almost fell victim to a collapsing floor trap yesterday. Are there any other unpleasant surprises we should know about?"
"Oh, and one last question - the prison door, made of metal? Where did you find the metal to make the door?"
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Following at the back of the group, stretching her neck and feeling muscles that had previously atrophied, albeit without losing any of their strength, a dark smile touches the corners of Tkaara's mouth.
I'm hungry. We should also find out what prisoners the boggard's have, or more particularly where they get the prisoners from.
When they get to talk to the albino, since she does not speak whatever ever tongue is spoken, Tkaara pulls out a book from her briefcase. She does not recall where she got it, but assumes it must have been from the Baron's library in Farholde. She is sure that she should not know what is contained in the book, but for some reason is able to understand, she thinks, the archaic and evil looking words therein.
Your call whether she got the book from a Farholde library, or it just showed up in her haversack. My thought is that she will read/consult the book and go into a trance when I use the Start Chart/commune ability.
Waiting for a few moments as Etna changes and wrinkling his nose at the smell, he motions for her to follow him back to the camp once she is finished. "Shall we? Our absence has probably not be noticed and even if it has, I am sure we can explain it away, but not if it lasts too long."
"Agreed on exploring the eastern caverns," Erevan says simply, as he waits for Tatienne's and Zikomo's conversation to finish. He does appear slightly distracted, although Tkaara's questions about her hunger does bring his attention back to the matter at hand.
OATHDAY 7 ABADIUS
"Greetings, Chief Kumanda." the Ifrit curtsies to the boggart chieftain "If I may ask, did you and your tribe ever explore the upper parts of the Horn?"
Zikomo is displeased at being disturbed; he has that What-do-you-want?-I'm-trying-to-get-it-on look which is common to every male, of every species. His newly-acquired concubines are evidently taking up a lot of his energy.
In short, you get a yes, he will ensure that the posts are guarded, although he warns you that the Bane-Wogs have got lazy; no, they never go in the cavern where Felrin fell in - they think it's haunted, no there's nothing else to worry about; and the door has "always" been there.
That conversation over, you return to your explorations.
This small wet cave, through a bizarre natural(?) process, sweats acid from its northern wall. The acid has pooled into a small lake at one end of the cave; it looks like clear water and only Ottakar's warning indicates that it is anything but safe.
The pool is surprisingly deep and appears to replenish regularly.
This perpetually dripping cavern is empty save for a murky pool populated with blind cave fish. This cavern would make an excellent lair for some dangerous water-loving beast.
This non-descript cavern is empty and mostly dry. It is a natural crossroads. The floor is solid rock.
C5A – the southern passage into this chamber is very narrow. Medium sized creatures can still enter here, but this square counts as difficult terrain. Anything larger cannot pass here. Smaller creatures can pass through here without penalty.
Felrin spots what the rest of you do not: there is an exquisitely crafted secret door in the southeastern wall; opening it reveals a spiral stair case, winding up and up, far beyond the reach of your darkvision...
With their explorations complete, Felrin returns to Zikomo's chamber with questions. Showing no patience for the albino's new priorities, Felrin asks, "You were apparently too distracted by your new obligations, but my ifrit colleage asked you a question earlier: Have your people ever explored the upper parts of the Horn? What can you tell us about what's up there? And in our little tour just now, I found a hidden door that leads to a staircase that goes up into the Horn. Do you know of it, and where it leads?"
He pauses a moment, waiting for an answer, then grunts in frustration and looks at Tatienne and Etna, "Would you translate what I said to this love-struck fool?"
"I do not think that love-struck is the corrects term here, Felrin." Etna clicks her tongue with disapproval for the new chief.
Wasn't he the one that lambasted the former chief for passing most of his time mating instead of attending to his duties? Tsk.
Etna translates Felrin's message to Kumanda, making the speech slightly more polite, but still making clear the tiefling's annoyance.
"Right you are, Etna," Felrin concedes, "I just couldn't help but notice that he is more than a little distracted, as I have noticed with people who are foolish enough to fall in love. It causes nothing but pain..." His voice trails off and his eyes seem to be focused somewhere else for a long moment, but he gives his head a shake and returns his attention to the present, "Anyway, as you say, 'love-struck' he is not, but a rutting fool he is. Now, let's see if he's got anything useful to say."
He listens as Etna translates, giving her a nod of thanks for her efforts.
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Tkaara listens to the new chief squawk in his alien tongue for a few moments before turning and looking about the room. She then looks to Felrin.
I know you are better at not being seen. However, considering the trap that you found before, perhaps I could use my ability to take on the misty form to scout. It might not be optimal, bit I do not think that getting stuck in a pit or hit with poison would be a problem.
None of the Bane-wogs know anything about the secret door, and they look at it with a mixture of awe and trepidation. None of them shows any inclination to investigate it.
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Ottakar draws the dagger across the flesh of his own hand for the third time. The blade is not silver, so he has to apply considerable force, but that is not a problem for the deceptively and prodigiously strong man. For the third time he slices his hand, blood welling up from the deep wound. And for the third time he watches in wonder and horror as his flesh immediately knits itself back together moments later. It is getting stronger, he thinks to himself. No matter what I do, It grows stronger. Perhaps I was damned from birth. Perhaps there is no cure. He laughs softly, bitterly. Look at me now: signing pacts with fiends I care nothing about to bring about the fall of a country I care nothing about, surrounded by fanatics and even a vampire! Perhaps I should never have left Ustalav. But then I would never have met... He shakes his head and violently wrenches his thoughts away from that path. Returning the dagger to its proper place, the Doctor returns to his meditation, silently contemplating the Rebus he had drawn on the stone floor with his own blood. He would not give in to despair. It was only through Science, Knowledge, and mastery of his own body, mind, and spirit that he would ever find a way to tame or even kill the Beast. He feels it stir, but clamps his mind down upon it until it stills. I belong yet to myself. This battle is far from over.
Etna clicks her tongue in annoyance at the boggards' lack of information: they had been living in those caverns for who knows how long, and they had never noticed the secret passage, nor entered the trapped room because it was supposedly haunted.
If we are to conduct the ritual here, we may have to enlist their help in the future...I can't help but wonder if they'll be of any use with their stupidity.
"Shall we continue to explore the lower caverns?" Etna asks to her companions after the Bane-Wogs proved their uselessness.
Felrin rolls his eyes at the lack of information from the boggards' new leader, empathizing with Etna's obvious frustration.
"Yes, let's do that," he replies to her suggestion. "Looks like any useful information about this place will be limited to what we collect ourselves. Shame, really, it would have been easier to have the boggards do the dangerous work, but they're a poor tool for any job it seems."
Tatienne laughs as the lust-struck boggard proves most worthless, having fallen into the same foibles of his predecessor. "Every frog has his day, I suppose."
The laughter sliding away, Taty gains a hard look, the disapproval showing clearly on her face. She doesn't disapprove of the orgy, but rather the lack of wisdom so clearly on display.
"Don't be a git, chief. Someone will come for you just as you came for Turnip-head. Enjoy yourself, celebrate your newly won title, but ensure that you'll have many moons to celebrate and enjoy. There is work to be done - set an example for your people and get. to. work."
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- Pool of clear acid. Replenishes. Could be bottled?
- Fish, murky pool, cavern. Suprisingly, there is no monster laired here.
- Sprial staircase further up the Horn, expertly hidden.
C6
This cavern is one of the few relatively dry chambers within the lower levels. The floor is solid rock.
C7
This is another relatively dry cavern and again the floor is also solid rock. There is a raised perch at the back that would make a fine resting bed for some beast. Perhaps that was its use, in time past. Who can say?
C8
Geothermal activity below the Horn of Abaddon has created a natural cauldron of boiling mud here. The hot mud is an obvious danger.
On the far side of the mud pool there is a natural shelf and upon that shelf is an old mud-splattered metal chest. Currently the chest is empty and open, its lock ruined.
Ascending the spiral
Something is odd about the staircase, but it takes you a while to realise what it is: unlike every other spiral staircase you have seen, this one spirals anti-clockwise.
Up, and up, and up, you go. Step after step after seemingly endless step. The air here seems stale, somehow thin; only Erevan and Felrin (and Tkaara, obviously, who doesn't breathe) seem able to manage - everyone else succumbs to fatigue.
Eventually, you see the outline of a door, carefully concealed. You can either open it, or continue up the winding staircase which shows no sign of ending any time soon...
Etna, Ottakar and Tatienne are Fatigued until they get 8 hours' rest.
Felrin lifts a hand as the door comes into view, signaling the others to stop. Glancing quickly at them, he notices that half of his companions look more than a little winded from the climb. With a sigh of mild frustration, he asks, "Are you going to be all right to continue, or do you need a nap? Either way, I think we should see what's behind this door, so as to not leave any surprises behind us as we ascend."
He turns to the door and studies it carefully, looking to avoid any more trap mishaps. He then lays an ear to the door, listening for any sounds of activity on the other side.
"I...I can go on." Etna says with some effort, dizzied by the stale air.
And opening that door will hopefully provide some breathable air...
"Still" the woman adds, glancing around the narrow staircase, while she casts a spell on herself "This at least confirms that no one entered this passage in quite some time. If this leads to a separate part of the Horn than that is accessed from the outside, we'd be sure that nothing was tampered with."
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Although not feeling any adverse feeling from the long climb, or even being winded, Tkaara still retains enough of her past humanity to recall the effect of long and strenuous activity. Unsure of what might be behind the door, she reaches out her cold bony, as in model thin, hand and touches each of her winded companions. Although the touch is almost bone chillingly cold, the effect of the sudden chill that the touch brings on is to shock each of her companions back out of their fatigued stupor.
Cast Restoration, Lessor on Etna, Taty and the Doctor
Seeing the chilled and uncertain look her companions give her, she simply shrugs.
Your choice. I think being cold and awake is better than warm and tired should we meet anything unfriendly, which is likely most everything in this place.
With that, she turns to Felrin and his investigation of the door.
I am uncertain whether it will work, but I may be able to pass the door either through a crack or perhaps a keyhole using my new ability to turn into a misty form. I could see what is on the other side of the door so that we can prepare.
Tkaara will use Gaseous Form to go under the door and investigate unless anyone objects. Obviously if the door is sealed, which is possible with the stale air, she may not be able to get through.
Tkaara will also activate her Coat of Many Stars to improve her AC before attempting to go through, or open, the door.
Tatienne leans against the curved wall of the stairway, trying her damndest to appear nonplussed, but she's fooling no one. Well dear, she thinks as Felrin berates her, not all of us were blessed with powerful physiques. Some of us had to rely on our wits to get where we are!
Nodding a thanks as Tkarra alleviates Taty's fatigue, the relic hunter straightens her blouse's neckline and pulls some escaped hair back into her bun.
Watching Tkarra turn into a cloud of mist and head towards the door, Tatienne says, to no in particular, "If she's not back in five minutes, I'll have the High Templar go first."
The Doctor, feeling ashamed of himself for getting winded so easily, nods in thanks to Tkaara when her spell revitalizes him. He waits patiently with the others, nostrils flaring rhythmically.
Tkaara dematerialises in a wispy haze, seeping through the cracks around the door and disappearing...
It's as if the rest of the world turns to fog, while you remain solid: gaps and crevices in a wall which you ordinarily would not even notice suddenly turn most things into a gauze, which are simple matter for you step through.
The door, it turns out, is located inside a substantial pillar within an even more substantial room. High, vaulted ceiling soars overhead, just within range of your darkvision. Thirty feet away, to your left, is another such pillar, and thirty feet beyond that, another. You have the impression that the room continues beyond that, but cannot see.
Another pillar lurks in far ahead of you, its full dimensions lost beyond the range of your darkvision.
It is utterly silent.
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Wanting to determine whether there is anything in the way of a trap. Tkaara resumes her physical form near the door. Assuming that there is nothing of note, she will attempt to open the door from the side she is on.
The door creaks open and you see Tkaara standing on the other side.
We have a huge room. It extends beyond my ability to see, but has several towering pillars. The steps we were following are within one of these pillars.
Knowing what to look for, Tkaara easily finds the opening for the door. It creaks open, and the rest of you see Tkaara standing on the other side.
It is utterly dark.
Another pillar lurks in far ahead of you, its full dimensions lost beyond the range of your darkvision.
You can see perfectly in darkness: it seems that the door you emerged from is located inside a substantial pillar within an even more substantial room. High, vaulted ceiling soars overhead, some 60 feet high or so. Thirty feet away, to your left, is another such pillar, and thirty feet beyond that, another. Thirty feet beyond that is a wall, with a vaulted opening.
Another set of three pillars lurk on the other side of the room in front of you, some 60 feet away. About 80 feet to your right is a huge raised dais, and a high throne.
The stone is an eerie shade of green.
It is utterly silent.
"Yes, this place is definitely massive." Etna comments as she looks around, observing the high vaulted ceiling.
A moment after, she conjures up four small orbs of light, and directs them to her right, some 80 feet from where they were standing.
"Shall we check there first?" Etna says, pointing to a throne on top of a massive dais that her Dancing Lights revealed in the darkness. "It looks important. Quite lucky to find it as soon as I lit up a random spot." the ifrit comments nonchalantly.
"Lucky indeed, Lady Agnes." Digging into her pack, Tatienne finds the Templar's fingerbone, and tossing it on the ground, concentrates to bring her servant crawling from the ground.
While the Templar forms, Tatienne pulls his armor from her pack, and his weapon, dropping them to the ground. "High Templar Rogarvia, once you've equipped yourself, be a dear and make your way across the room and wait for us atop that throne there, just where Etna's lights hover."
The templar lopes off towards the throne, and will attempt to sit upon it if there is a means to get there.
"The Templar was always excellent at being the center of attention. Better him than us."
"Very interesting indeed," Felrin comments as the door is opened and everyone enters and takes a look around. "I wonder how far up the horn we've ascended?"
He's a bit surprised by how quickly Etna directs her lights to the throne far off in the darkness, but sees little cause to doubt her. And when Tatienne summons her rotting templar off to investigate, Felrin simply nods, waiting to see what happens when he sits upon the throne.
The Templar, clanking loudly in his armour, strides across the room and over to the dais. Ascending the steps, he seats himself on the throne.
Nothing happens.
"Hmm," Erevan mutters as he looks on while the quite dead -or undead, if you will- templar seats himself on the throne. "You know, I actually expected something to happen."
He shrugs and then looks at Felrin. "Of course, this just means that when something does actually happen, it may very well catch us by surprise." And with that remark the pale man keeps his eyes open, scanning his surroundings as best he can.
Sounding a little disappointed, Tatienne nods her head. "Me too, Master Cale. Me too. I must admit I rather enjoy it when the Templar attracts attention to himself."
Sighing, the relic hunter picks up her pack and starts walking towards the throne, looking about warily carelessly.
"Perhaps I found all the surprises in this place when that floor dropped out from under me," Felrin offers wryly in reply to Erevan, "though I doubt it." He joins the others in approaching the throne, scanning their surroundings as he moves.
Not yet willing to give control to the Beast yet again, the Doctor makes his slow way through the darkness toward the dancing lights.
Nodding, Etna follows after the others, leaving the Dancing lights to illuminate the dais and throne. When they reach it, the woman tries to see if there was any sign of magic there.
Erevan, Felrin and Tkaara find a small inscription in Daemonic at the base of the throne.
Anyone who speaks Daemonic will know that this is not a word with any meaning in that language.
- First room off the spiral staircase. Large throne on a raised dias.
"Yeah, what's a strange thing to write?" Tatienne looks up into the darkness, squinting to find Tkaara's misty form.
"Templar, now that you've enjoyed your minute of leadership, please get up and follow me. Wherever we go next." Looking to Felrin, Taty raises an eyebrow. "Where to? Anyone see another exit?"