Startled Edmond will take a step away fire at the creature..
As the half-elf cleric clambers back up the stairs wildly shooting his crossbow as he goes, the leathery octopoid creature lunges at the sorcerer...
The beast rends a tentacle across Relnans' torso, splashing a small amount of blood on the floor. As its' barbed tentacles find purchase, the creature attempts to pull the sorcerer into a grotesque embrace...but Relnan struggles free just in time.
"GRAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!! YOU LOOK INEDIBLE!!!" Madok begins raging, spittle flying everywhere. He attacks the tentacled beast.
Sara whips around as confusion erupts, then her training takes over and she charges the creature.
There is a final hiss from the creature that had fallen upon the party as it succumbs to the ferocity of the attacks upon it. Within seconds the dimness that had fallen within the staircase lifts and the aftermath of the brutal attack can be seen.
An examination of the dead creature reveals it to be a small, vaguely octopoid beast. What it is, why it was there and the reason for its’ attack upon the party remain a mystery.
K(arcana) check:
Relnan casts Detect Magic on the creature's remains as well.
"Thanks for the healing, Elee. I seem to be in normal working order again," he says.
Sara shakes some of the gore off of her weapon, then turns to Elee. "I never said you weren't strong, just that you looked young. Although, I probably shouldn't talk about people looking too young, as I've had trouble myself with that."
Breathing heavily, shoulders heaving, Madok picks up the strange beast and sniffs it. He clearly doesn't like what he feels and smells, and drops it with disgust.
"Is everyone alright? What a nasty critter.. Shall we continue?"
Failing to determine anything useful about the creature that attacked you, the party descends a further thirty feet along the staircase. You note a small opening, less than one foot wide, in the wall of the shaft not far from where you were attacked; there is a very gentle flow of fresh air into the staircase from the opening.
Reaching the foot of the stairs with no further difficulties, you negotiate a small pile of rubble and bones on the final steps and find yourselves in a large chamber. The chamber is square with a width of approximately 30 foot wide; Sara and Elee's light source fully illuminate the room.
The first thing that strikes you about this room are the carvings across the walls, the cobwebs and dust settled across all of the surfaces in the room somewhat obscures the artistry but, what can be seen, is clearly of a very high quality. The only other significant features within this room are the three sets of stone double doors in the three facing walls (North, East and West). Heavy bronze seals emblazoned with the symbol of Pharasma secure the doors against whatever lies beyond.
Beneath the dust and cobwebs adorning the carvings on the Northern Wall, you can see graffiti crudely daubed in 2 foot high lettering... Whilst the lettering is faded, it certainly doesn't appear as old as the carvings. The graffiti simply states the phrase 'My heart beats on the wrong side of my chest, or is it right? Is left right, or is it wrong? I don't know what it means, or why?'
As Sara enters the room, her attention is caught by the graffiti. "Great. We got an insane philosopher somewhere down here. Just what we need." Shaking her head, she turns her attention to the floor to see if the dust had been disturbed, and if she sees nothing, she will look at the door hinges to see if they had been opened recently.
Relnan looks quizzically at Sara. "What causes you to say that?"
Madok gestures at the graffiti with his greatclub. "Unsolvable riddle from some stupid genius."
Sara had finished her survey of the floor and was inspecting the hinges on the north door for rust when Relnan spoke. Waving a hand towards the words on the wall, she speaks "Those babblelings drawn on the wall, some guy doesn't know why his heart is on the left or something. Seems rather disconnected from reality. " Putting her hammer into it's tube on her back, Sara pokes the hinges experimentally.
"See if we can find a way to open the doors.. Look about.."
If nothing appears to be a door opener.. "How many of the door opening chimes do you have?"
There appears to be nothing terribly unusual about the doors from this room; the doors are certainly very large and, dependent upon the thickness (which you are unable to determine), probably weigh more than could be manually opened. Looking at the floor around the doors, you can see curved grooves suggesting that the doors may open outwards towards you.
The bronze seals, located at the join between the two doors, are emblazoned with the symbol of Pharasma and, oddly, feel slightly warm to the touch.
"It has five uses left, I believe. I didn't think we would have to use it this quickly though. Any votes on which way to go?"
"I vote east first"
"They all look the same to me. East is fine."
"Bah! Let this be decided by chance!"
"Okay, we got two east, one north and one whatever. Unless someone has a better reason than gut feeling, I guess we are going east." Sara reaches for the chime, then stops and grabs her hammer as she hears something. "Sounds like we are getting company." Sara walks to the base of the stairs and peers upwards, trying to see what is making the noise.
"Great. More of those tenticled surprises. I don't know if they are coming this way, but we shouldn't tarry long here." Sara pulls the chime out of her pack and walks to the east door. "If anyone really thinks we shouldn't go east, speak up. Although, that riddle might be a hint. Anyone care to take a stab at solving it? Or is it, as Madok so aptly described, an 'impossible riddle by a stupid genius?" Chime in hand, Sara waits for for someone to object.
With nobody objecting, Sara turns to the door and taps the chime against the symbol in the center. 'I hope that's how it works....'
"Farassma's doors vex me! In my tribe we have no word for 'door.'"
Edmond snickers at Madok's delemma.. "Come let us be going before the nasty monsters figure a way through there.."
A high pitched note emanates from the chime and, for a moment, the only noise in the room is the chime echoing around within the confines of the antechamber. Suddenly there is a cracking noise as the Pharasmin seal splits in two and, with a crash, falls to the floor; almost immediately there is a rumbling noise as some hidden mechanism drives the massive stone doors open...clouds of dust fall from the surfaces of the doors as they slowly move to a fully opened position.
When the doors come to a halt and the dust has settled, you can see that you are stood in front of a long, 10 foot wide corridor that continues for some forty feet before turning to the South. The corridor continues to the south for a mere 10 feet making this room into an 'L' shape.
A large statue stands in the corner of the room, at the point where the corridor changes direction to the south; it depicts a tall feather emblazoned with a single open eye. Though apparently carved from stone, the statue gleams with a golden-green iridescence. A pair of stone doors stands in the East wall in the short leg of the 'L'.
The other notable feature of the room is an inscription in the floor between your position and the statue...the stone carved letters proclaim, 'Though veiled behind the plumage of the soul, the Eye still sees, unblinking through all the ages, from the beginning to the end of time. When the Three are One, and the spirit becomes flesh, the Seal may be opened and the Sleepers awakened. And the glorious apocalypse shall consume us all'.
Madok stops reading half-way through. "Bah! Is this a tomb or a ...place where there are lots of books that weirdos read??"
After reading the inscription, Sara carefully steps around it and walks to the statue. Bending down slightly, she closes one eye and begins a futile staring contest with it. "It could be both. Some knowledge can be dangerous, and since tombs are well known to be ... unwelcoming to the ... uninvited, they can be a rather decent place to hide things."
Smiling good-naturedly, Relnan asks, "Madok, what exactly do you consider to be a book?"
"Books hold pages. On these pages are words. And these words can be anything! Sometimes, like this, it is stupid! Other times ..." Madok leans in conspiratorially, "secret wisdoms."
"How can you tell the difference?" Relnan whispers back.
"I can always tell. Usually it is something stupid. But a sharp eye and an open mind can show the way. The holy book I found was obviously full of power."
"Maybe after we clear these catacombs out, you can tell me more about it?"
"I WOULD LOVE TO!"
Relnan's smile widens. "I hope this is the beginning of a long friendship, Madok! Assuming we survive this crypt, that is!"
"Don't worry, Bright Eyes. I will keep you safe!"
Giving up on the feather, Sara walks to the east door. "I don't think we have to worry that much, Elee. I'm not too sure, but those things seem to be the sort that only drop on your head and try to be your permanent hat. They don't seem to be built for chasing stuff." Sara then starts to examine the door, trying to see how to open it.
A general examination of the door reveals that they are oddly featureless and, although they are of a similar size to the ones through which you have just passed, are not of an identical construction. With a closer look, it appears that the gap where the double doors meet is no more an a depression in the stone and that the 'doors' are formed of a single piece of stonework carved with a seam to look like a pair of doors.
It is also notable that, unlike the previous set of doors, there is no Pharasmin seal on this 'pair of doors'.
'A door.. that is not a door... That's rather stupid, isn't it? Maybe it's a portal or something... And I'm sure I read something about that eyed feather somewhere. Now, what was it?'
Sara huffs and glares at the statue. "Great. A statue to a forgotten god, and a fake door. Looks like we walked down a dead end."