The trapdoor revealed so dramatically by Spitter consists of a short set of stairs. It looks to be covered in a thick layer of dust and descends into darkness perhaps ten feet, then ends in a short landing with another stone staircase leading up to a closed trapdoor.
Spitter holds the trap door open patiently and sighs exasperated at his friends slow movement.
"Come on! This could lead to the pink-skin monk's greatest treasures! Look at the dust! We are the first ones here in a long time!"
Spitter looks at Leng.
"Monks collect treasure, correct? Like most churches do?"
Moving to the trapdoor and peering in.
"Be wary little dragon. If we are indeed the first to enter, then then any original traps or guardians may still be around." He smiles and looks pleased."Maybe things are looking up for us."
"Artistic objects sometimes," says Leng. "But not like... hoards of gold coins. Gold and silver are sometimes used decoratively, for ritual objects or statues or art pieces."
"Not in obvious ways, but they still collect expensive artifacts." Renliat muses to nobody in particular.
Spitter examines the trap door going up.
"Short but sweet tunnel. No traps so far...'
Splinter opens the trap door, impatient for the others for hesitating again.
"Let's see what these crazy pink-skin monks built this for..."
This dusty chamber's walls are painted with fading frescoes of monks engaged in acts of acrobatic prowess. At the room's eastern corner is a high-backed stone chair. A mummified figure sits in the chair clad in white robes with a long black braid of hair wrapped decoratively around it's neck.
Stepping into the room, Spitter spits in the corner and speaks angrily.
"Where is the treasure! Just a dead pink-skin body? What a rip."
The mummified corpse's eyes snap open and it stands. A teacup falls from his fingers and smashes on the ground. It holds his hand up and speaks in a gravely voice. "I, Kanjougas, know not your convictions. I must know whether you possess the aptitude to close the Dark Window." The undead monk tenses and drops into a fighting stance.
It stops and turns as Leng enters and relaxes his posture. The monk bows low and removes a key from the sash at his waist. He holds the black key out towards Leng. "I have waited for you. You must finish what I could not. Destroy the beast. Close the Dark Window. Return honor to this humble monastery." The moment Leng touches the key Kanjougas crumbles to dust.
Leng bows deeply and extends his covered fist, waits for the elder to fall to dust, then exhales.
"It will be so, master," he says quietly as the remains crumble away. "And so we return to dust and the Wheel."
Looking at the pile of dust and then back to Leng, Spitter shakes his head sadly.
"You pink-skins are really weird sometimes."
He then moves over to the items left on the floor among the dust and nudges them with a scaly toe.
"These things valuable? What's this beast he talked about?"
Relaxing from his on guard position. The Dwarf remain respectfully quiet during the exchange with the 'mummy'. Looking at Leng.
"I swear my weapon and armor to aid you in the destruction of the beast."
Turning to the rest of the group.
"Hell maybe we can throw it out of this 'dark' window. A little defenestration might be just the thing."
"Something has been allowed in here, something that should never have been given access," says Leng smoothly. "We must find and destroy it."
The monk kneels down and traces a finger in the dusty remains. "Now this burden becomes ours. The wise man walks with his head bowed, humble..."
He rubs his fingers together to let the ashy remains fall away.
"... like the dust."
Spitter will pick up the amulet and the belt, giving them to Leng.
"Seems appropriate you might take these...whatever they are. Last thing I want to do is piss off an undead or spirit by taking something he might not like I take."
Spitter then sneezes nastily in the dusty air, then quickly grabs a cloth from his belt to clean his muzzle.
"Snorrby."
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After Renliat gets over his shock of hearing Wilfried say a four syllable word, he attempts to identify the magic items.
"So uh, Leng...you know that guy? And what in the hells is a Dark Window?"
"We walk - walked - the same path," says Leng. "By a Dark Window I presume he means a gateway to a malevolent plane of existence - a way for malefic entities to enter this sanctum."
Spitter makes a gagging noise, then speaks after spitting again.
"Unnatural. Gozreh would want it destroyed. What would tempt a dragon to want control of such a thing? Why would pink-skins want access to such things in the first place?"
"I doubt that the cloistered residents here opened this portal. It is not our way to study sorcery and dark magic such as this. But it is possible. Corrupted monks are... not unknown. Regardless, with this black key we must find the place where this... thing... has entered our world, and destroy it or push it back, and find a way to close this portal," says Leng smoothly.
He tucks the key into his robes and adjusts his straw hat, then says, "Shall we continue? Mortality has come and gone here, so it is only right that we come and go, too."
"I'm with you little dragon. the Lord in Iron would want these things confronted as well. Yes let's move on and start confronting."
Shouldering his weapon and heading for the door.
Spitter shakes his head sadly as he retreats back down the tunnel.
"The pink-skin Druid said something about dispelling magics working on this 'Dark Window.' Or is it a door?...Whatever. But, does not a 'Window' sound more like it is for viewing, not passing through? So a 'Dark window' allows one to look onto...Darkness...itself? Or BEYOND the darkness? I have heard rumors of such things. Abberations against nature often spawn from from such places. Such creatures, intelligent or not, would enjoy watching the world burn simply because they can. This whole treasure quest has taken a dark turn."
"Well then, I guess it's up to us to put things right."
Pavo moved back to the large set of double doors and set about opening the doors.
Thinking out loud to himself, Spitter makes a point he had not considered until now.
"If we end up pushing our limits here, that hidden passage and room could be a good place to bunk down and rest. Not that I'm in a hurry to do so, but if the other inhabitants have not discovered the mummy's hiding hole, it goes to prove that it would be a good place for us to hide or fall back to if needed. Many tunnel-tribe kobolds use hidey-holes like that for 'fall back' positions."
Pavo opens the double doors to reveal a grand hall which is nearly one hundred and fifty feet long, with a vaulted ceiling twenty-five feet overhead. Niches in the walls frame marble statues of monks in poses of meditation, and thick pillars run down the center of this impressive chamber.
Looking about for anything to confront Wilfried readies his weapon.
Renliat enters the room, mostly distracted by what kind of "window" they might have to be dealing with later.
Leng gives a quiet "Tsst," to get everyone's attention, then looks slowly up toward the rafters.
Suddenly seeing the gargoyle-like things again at Leng's insistence, Spitter scrambles for stealth and cover in case one of the Pink-Skins wakes the beasts...
Looking up Wilfired nods. Then catching Pavo's eye he points to the man's net as the Dwarf readies his heavy crossbow. Glancing at Renliat he makes an 'spellcasting' gesture toward the creatures.
Pavo was a few steps into the room and hadn't noticed what resided above until Leng drew the group's attention. Pavo glanced up and winced. Had Leng not spotted them, they could have been in a really bad situation. It wasn't a great situation regardless, but at least they hadn't wandered too far in blindly.
As Wilfried signaled everyone and prepared to launch a crossbow bolt, Pavo held up a finger as he removed his shield and made to ready his bow.
Renliat follows Wilfried's gesture. "Ah."
Renliat takes out a small grey sphere from his spell component pouch. He draws invisible symbols in the air with his other hand, then points up at the rafters. "Ixen garmth." The grey sphere burns up in a flash, and from his pointed finger shoots out a tiny pea-sized bead. It hits the top of the rafters, then explodes violently in fire!
: )
Pavo and Wil take aim and Spitter finds a quiet corner to conceal himself as Renliat lights the grioths up with an explosion! The conflagration scorches the wooden rafters and burns decades worth of dust in an instant. All four sleep grioths plummet twenty feet to the floor, landing with a dull thud and a puff of smoke rising into the air.
Picking up one of the glass daggers, Spitter looks at it carefully.
"I wonder if they are worth something?"
"What's it made of? I don't recognize the material."
"Looks like glass, but harder? See..."
He scraps the tip lightly on the stone work nearby, making a horrific 'screeching' noise.
"It scratches the wall, and never chips. Possibly magical glass, hardened to steel-like capabilities? I've heard of some alchemical stuff that does similar things to stone and wood too."
"Then it's probably valuable."
Picking up one of the daggers. The Dwarf examines it from all sides and gives it a few swings.
"Looks like some sort of crystal. Reminds me of some of them Skymetals but it's not that. And if nothing else, it's good for fighting."