Chimi nods and leads the way. Kaer Maga is much as you remember it - a little larger, perhaps, but it still appears as diverse and bustling as ever. The samsaran heads to the Highside Stacks district, where the towering Therassic Spire is clearly visible.
On the door, a meticulously-lettered sign announces that the Great Library is closed until further notice. "That's odd..." Chimi muses as she unlocks the door. As you step inside, an elderly, sour-faced human woman looks at the two of you in surprise. "Chimi? I thought you were taking some time off." Before the samsaran can respond, she looks at you in disdain. "If you couldn't read the sign on the door, there's nothing in here for you anyway."
"Do you really think Chimi would have brought me here if she thought there wasn't?" Iris asked calmly, trying - as ever - to help people notice flaws in their thoughts and work to overcome them. "As it happens, though, I'm not here for me... I'm here to help the Library."
Based on her commanding presence, this woman is probably the Head Librarian. Clearly she has a bit of a superiority complex and is probably very by-the-book, procedure-oriented. Not the sort of person who enjoys disruptions of her routine. "Chimi isn't always the best judge of character. So, tell me, what can someone like you do for us?"
Ah, the perennial question of mortals - the answer, of course, being both more and less than they expected. "Protection, advice, support, and healing." Iris finally offered. "I suspect your expedition will not be without its challenges, and I'm rather good at helping to resolve that sort of thing. Things will go much better for everyone if we work together, don't you think?"
"Ah, so you're a money-grubbing mercenary, then. Well, you're too late. The expedition left a few days ago." The Head Librarian pauses to gauge your reaction before asking, "Tell me... how much do you know about it?"
"You're the one who mentioned coin." Iris answered coolly. "As it happens, I'm looking into this out of personal interest and for my faith - whether I happen to get paid along the way or not is completely irrelevant to me. Besides, if I wanted coin, I have less... aggressive... ways of acquiring it." She was quite fond of singing, after all, and was unarguably talented enough to make a very decent living in any reasonably civilized area. "As for the expedition, I have a reasonable idea of what they're after, though that's about it."
"I see... Well, perhaps you can be of some use then. The expedition was supposed to send reports back regarding their progress but has yet to do so. You may go after them and find out the reason for their silence. Chimi will accompany you to supervise."
...Well, that had told her quite a lot of useful information. "Mm. And where are they supposed to be at the moment?" she asked calmly, looking up at the head librarian. "I'll head right there after I take care of some... business. Supplies are important, after all."
"They're in the Undercity. Our informants knew of a secret door in the Spire's lower levels that was supposed to lead there. If you must gather some supplies, go right ahead, but don't expect us to reimburse you for anything without proper receipts. I'll have a liability waiver ready by the time you return."
"Money, money, money. You should be thinking about your friends, not coin. I wasn't planning to ask for reimbursements anyway. Let's go, Chimi - the sooner we can find out why they're not communicating, the better." Iris said, turning and heading out of the building. That librarian definitely needed to experience life a little more... and remember where her priorities were.
Kaer Maga's markets are world-renowned for good reason - there's a buyer or a seller for anything your heart may desire. Even machinery of obvious necromantic origin doesn't raise any eyebrows. The shopkeepers of Ankar-Te are happy to take it off your hands.
Start: 839 GP, 8 SP
Selling:
+1 Longsword (1157 GP, 5 SP)
+1 Chainmail (650 GP)
Mwk Hide Armor (82 GP, 5 SP)
Stasis Crucible (11,500 GP)
Eye of Scrying (3000 GP)
Ring of Counterspells (2000 GP)
Result: 19,228 GP, 18 SP
Buying:
Crafting Materials (1000 GP worth)
End Result: 18,228 GP, 18 SP
Iris nodded in satisfaction as she finished acquiring the things she needed. She was planning to tinker with her staff a little more while they were on the road, but this would do for now. Most of what she wanted to do would have to wait for the future, when she could make the things she wanted to have with her.
"All right, Chimi. Do you need anything?" Iris asked, giving no explanations for her own business transactions.
Your companion shook her head. "No, but thank you for asking. I already have everything that I need."
Returning to the Spire, you're led to the seventh of the eight underground levels. There, in a back chamber, you find stacks of books that form a crude barricade. Just behind this, a section of wall stands slightly ajar, revealing an extremely well-hidden secret door. The area's watched over by a half-dozen bored-looking librarians. Since Chimi's with you, it appears that you can pass by unaccosted.
As they approached the door, Iris held out a sunrod, clearly offering it to Chimi in case it became necessary to have an additional source of light. She couldn't yet conjure up endless light, but was working on that - and moved right past the librarians and into the hidden area.
"All right, what have we here...?" she mused as she moved forward.
Chimi gracefully declines your offer. "Thank you, but the dawn supplies me with all the light I need."
Through the doorway, you find a narrow passage that descends several hundred feet. In the dust, you can clearly see multiple sets of footprints - presumably the previous entrants. At the end of the passage, you find another cleverly-hidden secret door. If it hadn't been left ajar, it's doubtful that you'd have been able to find it.
On the other side of the door, you find a small chamber - bare except for a single ornate, high-backed wooden chair against the wall. In the room's center, a head-sized blob of condensed purple fluid slowly pulses and warps, like a drop of heavy oil suspended underwater. As you enter, the blob pulses, and you hear a pleasant female voice, "សូមបញ្ជាក់សំណួររបស់អ្នក."
Iris shook her head, a bit disappointed. How could anyone who liked the dawn light not enjoy sunrods? They were quite literally her favorite mortal invention. The language wasn't one she was familiar with, but at least she recognized its name...
<"Do you speak the Azlant tongue?"> she asked, using one of the other ancient languages. It pre-dated Thassilon, at least, but should have remained popular...
At your question, the blob instantly reshapes itself into a representation of an arcane rune.
The symbol leeches your strength, and you feel visibly weaker. The rune then reforms into a pulsing blob. Twelve seconds later, you hear the voice again. "សូមបញ្ជាក់សំណួររបស់អ្នក."
The blob obviously cast a spell of some sort, but the shape of the rune is unfamiliar to you.
As the weakening power crashed against her, Iris' own powers flared in response, pushing back to fight off the weakening power. Iris stepped back a bit a moment later, then glanced at Chimi. "Can you speak its language?" she inquired, frowning slightly. If Chimi didn't... well, Iris had ideas, but they'd take a bit of time to implement.
Chimi shakes her head. "I recognize it as Thassalonian, but that language hasn't been used for millennia." By this time, the blob has finished reforming, spoken, and is beginning to pulse again.
And Comprehend Languages wouldn't let her speak it. Tongues was a bit beyond her abilities at the moment, and possibly wouldn't work anyway on a magical construct that wasn't a creature. With a frown, Iris withdrew, looking to get out of the symbol's range. "We need someone who can understand it properly - and speak in reply to whatever it's saying." she murmured. "Ideally sooner, rather than later. Do any of the remaining librarians know it?"
You and Chimi rush back the way you came just as the blob morphs into another arcane symbol. You actively avoid looking at it, so you're unsure if it was the same as last time.
In response to your question, Chimi shakes her head. "I don't know anyone in the library who knows the language. I believe there's a Mr. Quint who's a Thassalonian scholar of some renown, but he doesn't live in the city." One of the wisps that constantly float around her blinks a few times before fading away again. "Do we maybe want to just try rushing through the room? If the door at the other end is unlocked, we might be able to avoid whatever that is. After all, the others had to have made it past it ... right?"
"Best to avoid assuming if there's no evidence." Iris answered. "It would be best to try and open it from as far away as possible... make sure we can actually get through before we spend any time in there. Maybe a scroll would do..."
She muttered under her breath a moment later, restoring a bit of her strength. Not all of it... but some.
"I can generate a protective ward, but I don't think it'll work against symbols. I can do something about the door, though...." Chimi concentrates, and another wisp flickers into view. As she continues to focus, the wisp flies down the corridor and disappears around the corner. You hear the blob speak the Thassalonian phrase again, but you also hear the *click* of a door being unlatched. With a sign, Chimi opens her eyes and looks around in confusion for a moment. After a quick check of her book, she nods. "We're in the Spire, right? Did we figure out why the others haven't reported in yet?"
Was that going to happen every time she used magic? ...Interesting.
"You just unlocked a door with some magic, guarded by a strength-sapping symbol." Iris paused for a moment, then added, "Have you considered writing down what you're doing before you do it? You might find it easier to stay caught up that way."
Chimi looks slightly embarrassed. "Whoops! I usually do that, but I wasn't sure if there'd be time. Sometimes I can feel the amnesia coming, but I'm guessing whatever happened was time-sensitive."
Ah, mortals. Still, it wasn't REALLY that much trouble - and, with a bit of forgiveness, Iris put it out of her mind. "Stay back from the symbol there. I'm going to try and get through the door, and you can follow when it's safe to rush through." she said, making sure Chimi understood.
A moment later, Iris was running forward at top-speed, intending to unlock the door and hurtle through it as quickly as possible.
As you enter the room, the blob once again speaks to you. It sounds identical to the other times you've interacted with it. However, you charge past it and throw open the door, revealing a hallway with doors to the north and south. The passage continues for 30ft before curving off to the left.
Iris kept moving, intending to be well clear of its burst effect, and waited until the magical warding had died down before signaling for Chimi to hurry across and join her. "I do hope this expedition team was wise enough to leave markers." she said, glancing around the hallway before moving to the door to the north and inspecting it both visually and magically. "What's their usual protocol for this sort of thing?"
Following your lead, Chimi races past the pulsing blob, eyes glued to the floor. When she reaches you, she takes a second to catch her breath before answering your questions. "From what I remember, the expedition team was very capable. There were four of them: a human named Hasari, a halfling named Perotus, a gnome named Luonim the Vast, and a naga named Silasni. They're all former adventurers and have worked together before. Normally they'd have left some sort of sign to indicate that trapped room, so I'm not sure what's happened. From the stories I've heard of their past exploits, this isn't typical behavior." By the time this is finished, you've been able to determine that the door is unlocked and untrapped.
Floating in the center of the room is the disembodied head of a Couatl - powerful LG Outsiders that take the form of winged serpents. It appears to be weeping multicolored tears, but ceases long enough to gasp in Celestial, "I'm so sorry, my friend" before fully materializing and firing a pair of fiery rays at you.
"Hope for the best, plan for the worst." Iris said philosophically, nudging the door open. The rays hit her full on, scorching her somewhat. "Because of things like that." she said in the exact same tone of voice, stepping to the side and behind the cover of the wall. She quietly drew out her wand and tapped it against her side five times , each tap sending a burst of healing energy into her body.
"...Hm. This could be a problem." she observed when she was finished. "Large ritual circle, compelling good creatures against their will... some kind of permanent binding, maybe...?"
As you heal yourself, you can hear the Couatl calling to you in Celestial. "Please forgive me; I hope you're not too badly injured. I'm compelled to kill anyone who enters this chamber. Please shut my door. I don't want innocent blood on my hands."
<"Can you tell me anything of the nature of your prison, and what might shut it down?"> Iris asked, responding in the same tongue. She had some ideas of her own - some kind of targeted dispel, or maybe an antimagic field blanketing the whole room just to be sure - but the more information she could glean, the better.
<"I'm held captive by a powerful binding spell. If it could be disrupted - even for a moment - I could escape. Alternately, touching the binding circle with a Thassalonian artifact and speaking some sort of release phrase should free me. I'm afraid I don't know more: Runelord Karzoug has been rather stingy with information.">
Iris nodded. Anti-magic it would be, since she wasn't sure how effective a single dispel would be (especially with the apparent compulsion to attack). <"I don't have a Thassalonian artifact - only my own. I'm going to go find someone who can disrupt the circle."> She looked back to Chimi. "You may wait here, if you like, though it's quite possible I'll be gone for several hours. However, resolving this is something I intend to do now. I will not leave him trapped there." Regardless of Chimi's response, Iris set off for the entrance, dashing past the dangerous symbol.
"But what about the expedition? -" Anything else Chimi has to say is cut off as you dash back the way you came.
It takes a couple hours before you're able to find someone of sufficient magical power to cast that spell. Unfortunately, he's a necromancer. On a positive note, he's perfectly willing to take your money and will even scribe you a scroll if you'd prefer to cast the spell yourself.
"I would prefer it to be cast directly." Iris said firmly. While she was entirely capable of casting both arcane and divine spells, she had no desire to take chances. That may have also been why she carefully explained the trapped room and how it could be bypassed - though if he wanted to shut it down himself, he was free to do so.
She also paused by one of the stalls on the way back, picking up a Wand of Lesser Restoration. She was needing quite a few castings of that lately, and it was time to start being proactive... and she started that by fixing her existing damage.
Some might have balked at working with a necromancer... but the truth was, a lot of necromancy was simply about the transfer of life force, and there were positive uses for that as well. Quite calmly, she showed him the way to their destination, indicating both the trapped room and which door lead to the trapped spirit.
"Would you like me to open the door and you can simply step to the side and cast, or would you rather I distract it first and make sure you have time to work?" she inquired after introducing Chimi.
"Please keep the creature occupied until I can complete the spell. If the binding is as you say, I have no intention of being attacked."
Iris focused her will slightly, and an Entropic Shield sprang into existence around her, courtesy of her staff. She opened the door from the side a moment later - not actually exposing herself - then took a defensive stance and darted forward to get the trapped spirit's attention. The wizard's job was to hit the room with antimagic as soon as possible.
As soon as you show yourself, another pair of fiery rays streak toward you - the second one penetrating your defenses to strike you full in the chest. Moments later, your hired wizard completes his spell. The Couatl freezes in shock, and then vanishes.
Iris grimaced slightly at the burns, then slipped back out of the room, moving by the door and glancing back inside to see what other effects might occur within the room. She did want to examine it in more detail... but only after she was relatively certain it was safe.
As you begin to examine the room, the Couatl materializes in the hallway in front of the door. <"I have been held here for over ten thousand years. Now, I am free. Mere words are insufficient to convey the depths of my gratitude for what you have done.">
Iris simply smiled at the celestial creature. <"But they will suffice."> she answered. <"Ten millennia and you have not wavered in who you are - you are truly a credit to the heavens, and I would not keep you from them - or your companions - any longer. Be well in your journeys, friend, and remember that the light never ceases to shine.">
The Couatl bows its head at your words, then plucks a feather from its wing and gives it to you. <"You are a true friend, fair stranger. I am named Tsikinal. If you have need of me in the future, simply call me, and I will give you what aid I can.">
After the celestial spirit vanished, Iris turned back to her two companions. "That was precisely the assistance I needed. If I require further aid, I may contact you again." she told the wizard - and, if he had nothing else to do there, escorting him to the doors before returning to the intersection and looking at the other door. "Ready?" she asked Chimi.
This chamber contains several grooved stone tables of various sizes, and the floor slopes gradually toward several large drains. The ceiling is obscured by what appears to be a woven mesh of spiked metal chains suspended eight feet overhead, while a pair of grey robes and cloaks still hang on the wall to the east of the door.
A lean female figure almost completely covered in chains looks up and gives you an enthusiastic smile. "Well, hello there! It's been so long since I've had visitors! Please come in and stay a while. You have no idea how boring it's been."
"The guy who built this place bound me to this room. Quite annoying, really. Still, I've learned a lot of things in the ten millennia I've been stuck here. Come on in, and I'll share them with you."
And oh, where were her manners? "In the last room I entered, I was shot at." Iris observed. "I hope you'll understand if I prefer to be cautious, especially given how focused you seem to be on getting me to come inside without so much as giving me your name." Definitely a warning sign, that one.
She glanced back a moment later. "Chimi, are you familiar with this lady's... type?"