As Hudor closes in on the solid wall his eyes seem to come in to focus and he can see the rope is not passing through a wall...but a translucent veil of a wall. He can see Kalkamedes only a few feet in front of Mentys in a dark passage-way. An illusion of a wall, separating them. Hudor reaches out with his hand and it passes through the Wall, as if it were nothing more than mist.
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"Good eyes Hudor!" Kranzer says.
He taps his foot at the 'door', but Kranzer, never much one for waiting around, says, "Well this is what we've been lookin' for--or what Kalk's been lookin' for. Let's go!"
He stows his bow, flicks his shortswords out, and dives into the recess where Hudor's hand had waved through the illusion, peering about the gloom for dangers on the other side.
He sniffs. "Smells like old wizard farts."
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Just as you approach the structure, Vulf is handed the the broken magic sword of Kalakamedes. Hudor hands the blade to Vulf and the Ulfen decides to repair the blade, by calling on his divinely given powers. Unfortunately, the shinny blade seems unaffected by the magic. Never-the-less, Vulf is startled...When the blade speaks to him. My name is Gamin the misforged. What could you possibly do to fix me, that three master Dwarven Swordsmiths, couldn't do when I was forged? Anyway...thank you for trying. Vulf feels the tingle of magic rush through blade in to him.
” Av gudene! Det snakker!” cries Vulf in surprise.
Anyway, I shouldn't talk to you..! Says the sword very sourly.. You treated my master with a lot of disrespect on our journey...always wrestling him to the ground and tying him up! *tsk*!...Cant' you see that he's not well?! The blade remains silent for a moment seemingly, smugly satisfied in Vulf's shock of the situation.
The rush of words and magic from the source give Vulf much to ponder. Clearly the sword is intelligent – though I would not use that label for all creatures that can speak - and it certainly has an Ego—with a capital “E”. considers the cleric. I don’t seem to feel any adverse effects from holding it, so its moral attitudes most likely align with my own. Indeed, it has gifted me with a touch of divine guidance. What could be its purpose? Does it have any link to the strange structure before us? Perhaps, I should simply ask it.
”Now, see here, fine blade." says Vulf, addressing the sword. "We meant no disrespect to your master. Like Kalkamedes, my companions and I are Pathfind…”
When Vulf or someone else tries to address the blade you're interrupted, Shhhh! My master has found the entrance! Perhaps now, you Neanderthals, can do something...
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Carini is unsure about this. "What's going on here?"
"It seems that Kalkamedes' blade has issues with our treatment of his master and that the structure before us is not what it appears to be." replies Vulf.
"Also, if my ears serve me correctly, Kranzer just called Farlen 'old' or 'gassy'..." Vulf adds, "or possibly both."
"As for our sleepwalker, he seems to have charged on ahead. I suggest we keep the leash tight, lest we lose him among the rocks and illusions." suggests the cleric as he reaches out with his free hand and attempts to grab ahold of the rope.
[dice=Will]1d20+1
Carini is unsure about this. "What's going on here?"
Kranzer waste no time once he sees Hudor's hand pass through the wall. Stowing his bow and drawing his melee weapons he charges right in to the seemingly solid wall and disappears on the other-side. Mentys can still feel Kalkamedes or something..tugging on the rope.
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After having seen not only Kalkamedes, but two of the Pathfinders simply walk through the wall, Carini decides to ignore the evidence of her senses. She begins walking towards the space that they all entered by, closes her eyes, and walks forward, tapping the ground in front of her with the butt of her guisarme.
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"Also, if my ears serve me correctly, Kranzer just called Farlen 'old' or 'gassy'..." Vulf adds, "or possibly both.""As for our sleepwalker, he seems to have charged on ahead. I suggest we keep the leash tight, lest we lose him among the rocks and illusions." suggests the cleric as he reaches out with his free hand and attempts to grab ahold of the rope.
Kranzer shouts from beyond the door. "I bet if I told you there were ladies' nickers in here you'd've been the first one in, eh? Hop to it!"
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"Are you sure about this...?" Mentys shrugs and holds his axe a bit in front of him, so he can check for actual stone. Not too far out, though, to avoid jabbing a teammate. Seeing no other option, the oread shuffles forward, feeling the rope loosen as he closes on Kalkamedes and then grow taut again.
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Kranzer shouts from beyond the door. "I bet if I told you there were ladies' nickers in here you'd've been the first one in, eh? Hop to it!"
"Du skulle tro om en dverg hadde hjernen til en stein, at han også ville dele en bergs tålmodighet." Vulf says to himself.
Vulf sighs, lets go of the rope, and walks toward the illusionary wall. Just before he reaches it, he reflexively closes his eyes, but continues forward.
He opens his eyes immediately on the other side in response to a whiff of musty, stale air. So, that was the odor that Kranzer had been talking about. I think I would have preferred the "ladies' nickers" he mentioned.
Scanning the corridor, Vulf realizes that nothing may be as it appears. Reaching for his holy symbol, he prays aloud. "Father of the Forge, reveal to your servant what has been made by means beyond mere mortal toil."
The seven pointed star is very obviously the Sihedron symbol, of ancient Thassilonian. There are runes most likely Thassilonian, written beneath the symbol.
Hudor and Kranzer are out front. Kalkamedes tugs on the rope, trying to push further in to the complex. The Hallway is 10' wide and takes a sharp turn to the south about 50' ahead. At the turn it appears, there's a wide stairwell leading deeper in to the complex.
Now that you're in the Black Edifice, Kalkamedes seems particularly agitated.
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Hudor heads down the pathway, but stops at the top of the stairs. Not wanting his squishy-self to be the first into the room if something nasty is waiting.
Hudor checks that he still has that potion of hide from undead on him and is glad he feels it. He mumbles to himself, "Might need to force that down Kalkamedes throat in here later on."
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"Told you it smelled like old wizard farts." Kranzer adds as he walks up next to Carini. He gazes about at the room before him. "Careful, don't know much about these old Varisian ruins, but back in Kaer Maga on the Halflight Path, you got traps and cave-ins galore! Little goblin maniacs runnin' around chopping people up. That place smells like troll guts, not quite like this, but similar." Realizing that he is still talking, Kranzer abruptly stops, then clears his throat. "Mhmm, well let's get to it."
As Hudor's light spell Illuminates the room and Carini draws by his side at the foot of the stairwell, the first thing you notice about the room is movement of some type of creature!
After a moment of gathering their senses, Hudor and Carini can see this is some kind of very large Skunk! Their shock at seeing the creature, alerts the others of danger as well.
R 1
Vulf
Carini
Mentys
Farlen
Giant Skunk
Kalkamedes
Hudor
Kranzer
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Hudor frowns, "Oh... great. I hope someone thought about bringing tomatoes. I hear bathing in tomato juices gets rid of skunk stink."
"A skunk?" replies Vulf. "'Tis another burrowing beast? Truly this is some sort of sign!" the cleric declares, before adding, "Though I can tell not whether a sign that I have earned my god's favor or, instead, that I have garnered his disdain."
"As for your thoughts on bathing, friend Hudor. I can cast create water, if you think it will do anything... " the cleric offers. "To help drive the skunk away, that is. If it sprays you, there is truly nothing that will get that stench out."
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Try as he might, Vulf cannot figure a way to scare the giant skunk away without someone getting hurt. The poor creature cannot leave the room except through us. Moreover, it appears that this is its den, so it is unlikely to simply let us pass by it unperturbed.
The cleric is reluctant to harm the animal, but even more reluctant to turn back. It would seem that we have no other choice than to incapacitate the creature. he reluctantly concludes. He resolves to keep his distance from the animal as much as possible and to rely on an acid dart. Even so, the servant of Torag will not be the first to strike, holding his action until the animal strikes first--hoping that one of his creative companions can suggest at a less violent resolution to the standoff.
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Carini moves into the room, circling around the statue to come at the skunk from the side. Everybody's so timid with this thing. Well, it is big, and there is the spray. Not enough to be bothered by; we need to get through.
She approaches, ready to strike with the flat of her guisarme's blade if the skunk gets aggressive.
"See if you can move Kalkamedes through here; I'll try to hold it off. Once Kalkamedes is through we can try to chase it back out the front door."
The Giant Skunk is nervous of all the noise and light. It responds to the nearest invader of it's lair by turning to spray Carini with it's musk. Carini doesn't hesitate and reacts with a strike of her own with the statue between the pair, partially obstructing the swing of her reach weapon.
Mentys having dropped the rope holding Kalkamedes, allows the sleep walker to plod forward. The walking comatose man, turns the corner walks down the stairs right past the flat-footed Kranzer and nearly bumps in to the fierce giant skunk. The Skunk, enraged tries to bite Kalkamedes as the sleep walker skirts past it. The Skunk savagely takes a bite out of the poor sleep walker Kalkamedes as he passes.
R 1/ R 2
Farlen
Carini
Giant Skunk
Vulf
Mentys
Kalkamedes
Hudor
Kranzer
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"Gah, Kalk!"
Kranzer steps down the stairs and lashes out with both blades. He grips the handles short swords tightly, wishing to unleash his wrath on the creature like the bandits, but decides that it is they who are the intruders here. The bandits had a choice. He attempts to strike the creature with the flat of his blades.
5 ft. step up
Full Attack (nonlethal)
Hudor fires at the Giant animal but misses. Kranzer, having compassion for the creature, decides to try and knock it out..instead of outright kill it. He flips both his shortswords so that, only the flat of the blade strikes the creature. His first swing is awkward and misses. But, Kranzer recovers and manages to crack the Skunk with the pommel of his second sword on the follow-up strike. Having been severely wounded by Carini...the relatively light blow is too much for the creature and it collapses, unconscious.
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Carini watches Kalkamedes progress, seeing where he attempts to go. She assumes he wants to go through the black door. Thinking that he's probably not conscious enough to attempt opening it, she watches to make sure.
"Somebody want to help me carry this guy outside? Don't worry, I'll take the business end; he's already sprayed me." Satisfied with the current state of Kalkamedes, Carini moves over to the skunk's back legs; she leans down and gets ready to lift and begin carrying the beast outside.
"Then I'm going to have to figure out how to clean up... this reeks."
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"Somebody want to help me carry this guy outside? Don't worry, I'll take the business end; he's already sprayed me." Satisfied with the current state of Kalkamedes, Carini moves over to the skunk's back legs; she leans down and gets ready to lift and begin carrying the beast outside.
"Why certainly, my lady!" Vulf offers as he approaches down the steps in an attempt to be chivalrous. "Any opportunity to spend some time closer to y...*cough*." A gagging reflex stops the cleric mid-sentence. "*Cough*... but, not too... *cough*.. close to you, fair... *cough* maiden." he continues, pausing periodically to wave his hand in front of his nose in an effort to dissipate the smell.
Once the unpleasant task is done, Vulf returns to the room and gives it a more thorough look before focusing on the sculpture. He tries to assess if he recognizes the figure.
Next, he tries to assess the manner in which the statue's inherent value, for a valuable statute is not likely to have been left out in the open without some sort of protections, and the manner in which was crafted, such as whether it was created by natural means or by magic. He'll also look at the wand,
He also examines the wand separately.
"I am no wizard nor Thassalonian scholar, but I have heard of wands that hold spells capable of opening doors. Perhaps, this is one of them." Vulf speculates, before he utters a quiet prayer.
As Carini grabs the hind quarters of the skunk, Kalkamedes walks strait over to the massive iron doors..he slumps a little as he steps up on the elevated dias that doors are mounted against. Kalkamedes moves slowly up to the great doors and tries to open them. However, it seems the doors are solidly sealed. Kalkamedes then proceeds to pound meekly on the great iron doors with his fist..strangely he is gasping for breath..as if he were exhausted after only a few seconds of the feeble pounding.
Carini, Vulf, and Kranzer decide to haul the skunk outside and hope it recovers on it's own. Vulf and Kranzer each grab an extremity in the front portion of the trunk while the massively strong Carini takes up the rear of the animal. Carini gets a good grip and lurches forward, satisfied Kalkamedes is going nowhere fast. However, she finds that she needs to step up on the dias for a brief moment when heading towards the stairs. As she steps up the platform..Carini suddenly goes weak..
She immediately drops the Skunk to feeble to handle the heavy animal anymore. She staggers back off the platform and regains her strength almost instantly. She is vaguely aware that there is some highly magical effect associated with the platform.
While Carini sorts through what happened to her (most likely by conferring with Hudor and Farlen) Vulf inspects the statue and the wand and garners no info on either.. . Alas all the Vulf can determine is that the wand is indeed magical and that, there is a very powerful magical effect of the transmutation sub-school present on the platform and a much less powerful transmutation effect placed on the wand.
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Vulf recites his findings as he retrieves the wand from his pack."The wand held by the statue is magical and there is a very powerful magical effect of the transmutation sub-school present on the platform. A much less powerful transmutation effect placed on the wand." With Mentys' wand in hand, Vulf uses it on Kalkamedes.
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Farlen will examine the wand casting detect magic and then using his spellcraft skill attempting to figure out the items function.
"I am unfamiliar with is item. I am not sure what it is."
He then looks at the dias and thinks back over years of magical study trying to remember if he has heard of anything like this.
"I have not run across anything like this in my studies." "It just seems to surpress the strength of someone." "it is not negative energy."
"I just don't know."
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Kranzer likewise maneuvers the skunk and himself so that he does not hit the dais while carrying it out. He does not go back through the doorway to the outside, instead pushing it out on the ground, and suggests others do the same just in case the doorway is closed.
Back in the room again, Kranzer shrugs. "Well let me take a look. My background's a bit more...varied than most."
He takes a cursory look at the dais, seeing if his knack for disabling magical traps makes any difference, then at the door.
The stronger members of the party return from placing the giant Skunk outside, to find the Sorcerer and Wizard haven't made any progress in figuring out the way the Platform works or what the magical wand does. Hudor currently has the wand in his hand examining it. (Vulf having slid it out of the Statue's hand earlier) There doesn't seem to be any difference whether the wand is held by a person or the statue..it remains magical..and has a mild transmutation aura.
No one else has dared step back up on the dias since Carini accidentally did...except Kalkamedes who continues to stand by the door...occasionally bumping in to it. Whatever, the sleepwalker seeks, is apparently behind the massive iron doors.
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Vulf sighs. "I don't know much about the history of this region, but are there any local tales about a powerful wizard associated with sleep or fatigue? Or dreams perhaps? Too bad we can't animate the statue and have it open the door for us. Surely, it would not have to overcome the fatigue the dais seems to impart."
Vulf ponders if the dais could be a haunt of some sort.
He casts detect magic again and looks at the dais.
Farlen can clearly see the writing in what he assumes to be ancient Thassilonian at the base of the statue. .
Vulf tries to recall anythin of religious significance in this room but, comes up empty. When he cast detect magic at the platform again..he gets the same result as before: A very powerful transmutation aura.
Pulling his amulet and spellbook out, Farlen pages to a spell he did not prepare, but using his amulet he reads the spell.
"Reveal." He then reads the writing on the status base.
When Farlen cast comprehend languages on the statue, he is able to translate the following to the rest of the party. " Those that dare believe they are strong enough to oppose us shall learn that their strength is their weakness and our weakness are our very strengths"
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Kranzer inspects the door again to see if there are any hidden inscriptions or magical triggers. He can feel the magic sapping his strength, making his arms and fingers numb.
Afterward, through the haze of magic, Kranzer says, "Hey, sword. You mind lending a hand with some of this magic stuff? You read Thassi...Thassilo...Whatsit? Thassilonian! You read that?"