Anything else anyone wants to do before--
It is my mug of wondrous brew...and will grant miracles with the right haiku...
Chamber of heartbeats
Slow fast goes the death rhythm
Dance not, resist sound
Not wanting poor Hal to suffer any further, Moonpate will use his bonded object to recall the arcane patterns of Resist Energy to his mind one more time and cast it upon Hal. He will mutter the poor haiku above and implore his mug to fill with a potion of Resist Energy: Sonic which he will then offer to his protector Hurgah.
"Even though I thankfully cannot hear this infernal death spell, it is clear that its power is dependent upon sound. Do any of you have means magical or mundane for countering this noise?"
Completing his magical rhyme, Moonpate Dumps his mystic mug over Halstadt. The effect is immediate and the wizard 'disconnects' the deadly drum beat, blocking whatever sway it has over the imperiled dwarf.
With the effect suddenly broken, Morgrym can feel his heart swiftly returning to normal.
-
Actually, I thought that was pretty awesome - right on the money.Anyways, I was totally going to give it to you too until I remembered that the stein potion only works if Moonpate drinks it.
Moonpate would know that so if he wants to try for something else instead he still can.
(Xerissa/Mr. Exciting: this dates back to when Moonpate used to lay down some cool poetry at random times. He now has a magic item, a belt buckle, if you can believe it, that enchants his haiku's when he uses his bonded item, his Father's beer stein.)
"Even though I thankfully cannot hear this infernal death spell, it is clear that its power is dependent upon sound. Do any of you have means magical or mundane for countering this noise?"
-
Still catching his breath: "countering?"
Hal groans at Pate's revelation, "I did yesterday, I did not think stealth would be a factor in what we face within this tomb".
With Xerissa's permission, of course:
Anything else anyone wants to do before--
--before I call for the next high-stakes round of saves.
This one is apocalyptic-ally bad.
However, the good news is, thanks to Moonpate, the two clerics, Halstadt and Donkor are excused. That just leaves Karek, Hurgah and Gandel.
The DC remains at 15.
With distance and door closing, they all have a +5. Karek has a further +3 given how long it has been since he was last in the Chamber of heartbeats, for a total of +8.
(whew!)
(Xerissa/Mr. Exciting: this dates back to when Moonpate used to lay down some cool poetry at random times. He now has a magic item, a belt buckle, if you can believe it, that enchants his haiku's when he uses his bonded item, his Father's beer stein.)
Anyways, I was totally going to give it to you too until I remembered that the stein potion only works if Moonpate drinks it.
Moonpate would know that so if he wants to try for something else instead he still can.
Drat! Forgot about that. Oh well...
"My master was oft heard when deep into his cups stating to no one in particular, "a tidal wave can drown a city, but give me enough ale and I'll drown out the world".Not knowing if he is completely safe from what has befallen his friends, the Pate will drink the ultra refreshing Ear Stop Ale.
Ah! Indeed it has been too long since we have heard from the Master.
-
Hey! It's the skull!That is true. I wonder what the damned eye patch does? I think it should turn Breach's magic bag of dung into some kind of doomsday device. Too much?
Speaking of Breach - we haven't heard from him since he went all Baywatch on Halstadt.
[The beetle returns to gnawing on his fingernails as waits to find the fate of Karek.]
Maybe it let's you do that with extra "R"'s.
Sorry to keep you in suspense! A little.
Karek, Hurgah and Gandel's heart rates are briefly pushed beyond the boundaries of an acceptable human limit. However, they are all either tough enough to simply take it, or they have found a way to mentally steady their pulse against the compulsion of the strange drumming sound in their ears.
Once the moment has passed, their heart beats again begin to slow.
Notably, Karek finds he can no longer hear the beat at all. A half-minute later he seems to be 'freed' much the same as Donkor and Hal.
That just leaves the heroic Hurgah and Gandel in the trap's thrall. The beat still continues... They take solace in the fact that the drumming is slowing, gradually taking the pressure off of their tickers, but they also know that too much of a good thing means the beat may once again come to a complete stop.
In the meantime, with a final speedy flourish, Xerissa has just put the final touches on her concoction.
It's definitely coming! I try to give you guys some time to take actions inbetween. My sense is the Dune Squad is slowly chipping away at a solution.
(I know Xerissa has an action in the works at least - cough, cough)
But if we're at the point where the plan is to just ride it out, let me know and maybe we can speed things up by doing all of the remaining rolls at once - assuming there is an end to it.
In the meantime, why not one more DC 15 Fortitude save then. "When"!
Xerissa grabs her stuff, or just leaves it where it is to pack it later and races after the Dune Squad. When she gets to what better not turn out to be a potion room she gives her heart tonic to Hurgah and Gandel. or I guess she doesn't know who is still in peril so she gives it to everyone who shows the slightest sign of suffering.
"Bottoms up people!" she says. "This might help a bit!"
As the eyepatch Breach acquired so long ago manages to come to his mind for some odd reason, he digs it out of his pack and looks at it. "Ya know, I never did get one o' you lads ta tell me what this does. Ah well, what bett'r way ta find out than tryin' it on." Breach then proceeds to place it over his left eye.
"Bottoms up people!" she says. "This might help a bit!"
Gandel reluctantly accepts the terrifying vial. Earlier, he watched as she prepared it.
"Uh, I really don't see how crushed arvinsa cubes could possibly be good for a racing heart-- but hey, bottoms up it is!"
He plugs his nose and downs the strange concoction in a single gulp.
----------
As the eyepatch Breach acquired so long ago manages to come to his mind for some odd reason, he digs it out of his pack and looks at it. "Ya know, I never did get one o' you lads ta tell me what this does. Ah well, what bett'r way ta find out than tryin' it on." Breach then proceeds to place it over his left eye.
When Breach puts on the patch and focuses, he suddenly finds himself, or perhaps part of himself, whisked away.
Suddenly he is seated next to a warm camp fire, with a flask of quality dwarven brew. Above is the night sky - wherever he is, he is outdoors.
On the opposite side of the fire rests a very elderly dwarf. Although he is long past his prime, Breach can tell that the old man was once a proud warrior, with sinewy muscles and skin like leather. Like Breach, the old dwarf wears a jeweled eye patch. He also, has, Breach can't help but note with envy, a belt made of aboleth skin.
"Back again are ye?" begins the ancient dwarf. "Always with the askin, never lettin an old man get his peace." His voice sounds strangely familiar.
"Ya know?" he says as he squints his eyes in the firelight, "You might be the youngest me I think I ever seen. When I was your age, I just went forth and made me some mistakes - I didn't go about askin me what ta do every time I blew me nose."
"Be on with it then, whatcha wanna know this time?"
"Maybe you'd best start by joggin me memory - where bouts in the world are you then? Or should I say, were you then before you came ta visit me.""
"Uh, I really don't see how crushed arvinsa cubes could possibly be good for a racing heart-- but hey, bottoms up it is!"
"Hey! I don't tell you how to sing fancy ditties, bard. Now drink your medicine." She gives him a wink.
Also. I am going to zip back to quickly pick up my stuff and then returning to the pool room.
On review, there's no need for a roll with your stats. Though your guess is correct.
Does Hurgah drink Xerissa's heart tonic?
Xerissa has her equipment and has safely returned to the pool room.
Seeing as the Dune Squad has all returned to the 'pool room':
"What if we are supposed to pour that liquid into the hole, or that hole is a passage of some sort, requiring the application of transformative energies to make the journey. Didn't our read of the arcane aura from that pool indicate transmutability? Perhaps we can summon a, um, volunteer to sample the liquid and thus observe its potential effects."
-
Is this plan still under contemplation?And does anyone else want to try anything before--
Breach finds the whole situation odd but decides to see what transpires of the situation. "Alright, I'll bite. I don't know if this is real or if I'm dead but okay." He takes a deep breath, wondering if this "outside" is real or some kind of illusion or if he possibly is just dead. "I'm in this blasted pyramid with a couple o' me kin and several others. We've had a time of it, for sure, but I'm ready ta be leavin'. We've still gotta find our lass, Lydia, and then find a way ta destroy the pyramid and then will be findin' our way out. Now, I've got me own questions for ya. I don't know ya from a hill o' beans so why do ya keep referring to yurself as me? And what do ya mean by 'back again are ye'? I don't recall ever bein' here so what 're ya on about?" He looks at him warily before glancing cautiously around, figuring if he's not dead, this is some form of trap.
Sooron shuffles around very much as gracefully as a potted plant, unable to come up with any ideas for the remnants of the heartbeat that the others are hearing, or for what to do next in the potion room.
-
No, the Dune Squad never finished exploring the wide curved corridor, that appears to ring around the dungeon. You have the option of continuing to follow that corridor and heading further west, moving beyond where Xerissa was working on her heart tonic.Beyond that, to my knowledge, the Dune Squad does not know of any other areas which are unexplored.
Breach finds the whole situation odd but decides to see what transpires of the situation. "Alright, I'll bite. I don't know if this is real or if I'm dead but okay." He takes a deep breath, wondering if this "outside" is real or some kind of illusion or if he possibly is just dead. "I'm in this blasted pyramid with a couple o' me kin and several others. We've had a time of it, for sure, but I'm ready ta be leavin'. We've still gotta find our lass, Lydia, and then find a way ta destroy the pyramid and then will be findin' our way out."
-
"Oye! Not that accursed pyramid. No good comes from that place. Listen to me kid - hurry up and get the lass back from the demon and then get out o' there! Your companions all have their agendas, but they're gonsta get each other killed. If you don't move it, Scepter and his boys are gonna hit ya from behind and you'll be trapped between em and the demon. I'd take the pipe out the back door. That Exemplar - she don't know nothin about it and the Sand Sage guy. He ain't told her neither.""Now, I've got me own questions for ya. I don't know ya from a hill o' beans so why do ya keep referring to yurself as me? And what do ya mean by 'back again are ye'? I don't recall ever bein' here so what 're ya on about?" He looks at him warily before glancing cautiously around, figuring if he's not dead, this is some form of trap.
-
"Cause I am you, you daft fool! I'm you probably forty, fifty years later."It all started when I put that patch on many years ago - probably when I was about your age. I found that every few days I could magically appear at this fire, here. And there I was, all old and sage like, ready with the advice of what lies ahead. I used to use the patch tp visit the fire all the time - made me feel kinda immortal to know I reached an old age and was still so handsome."
"Then one day, many years later, I was on one of me travels and I stumbled across this fire - nobody here. I sat down for a short break and suddenly younger me's began visiting myself. I realized I had become the older me. So now, I'm doing my job and answering questions.
"And you just blew yours cause I can't help if I don't know what you needs ta know. And you can't stay long. You should---
"Ah dammit! He's gone."
"Ya know? That just mighta been the first time I put on and activated the ol' patch. I seems to remember not ask'n much then either. . ."
"Next time, he'll tell me where he is and what he needs me to remember. Just hope he survives. Cause if he don't, I don't know what happens to me and all the other Breach's."
-
Sooron shuffles around very much as gracefully as a potted plant, unable to come up with any ideas for the remnants of the heartbeat that the others are hearing, or for what to do next in the potion room.
Donkor's coordination is slowly returning - he'll need several minutes still though.
So, now dad we know how to go drough dad room, did anybody see anyding useful in dere? Karek says, sweat pouring off his face.
He then sits down against the wall and waits patiently for the world to stop spinning.
Hurgah waves away Xerissa if she tries to offer him her tonic. Instead, he sits against the wall for a few minutes, staring at the purple liquid and the ladle.
After a while, the draconic whisper wakes from somewhere in the dark corners of his mind.
"It could be a trap. Probably is, like all the other traps in this place. But it could also be the source of power. You came here seeking treasure and arcane secrets. And you will not find it sitting around waiting..."
Without a word, Hurgah stands and grabs the ladle. He dips it into the liquid and drains it in a single gulp.
"Now, avoid the purple water. Never trust purple water. Or purple mist either. Or a spoon that just tempts ya ta use it so as ta drink the purple death liquid. How stupid does this pyramid think we are?" He asks rhetorically, as he looks around the room.
-
Without a word, Hurgah stands and grabs the ladle. He dips it into the liquid and drains it in a single gulp.
For the briefest of moments nothing happens. Other than perhaps Gandel's jaw drops to the floor.
Then it begins.
It is a truly terrifying sensation as Hurgah begins to break apart bit-by-bit, perhaps molecule-by-molecule. His physical being comes apart.
The mighty warrior's body completely dissolves into the same purplish film lingering above the pool.
A second later it is over. Only now all that is left of Hurgah is a purple cloud floating several feet in the air and a memory.
It is a potion of gaseous form. Although it's something akin to an out of body experience, he is otherwise just fine.
Indeed, as an unintended side effect, as he no longer has a heart organ, he no longer needs to make saves versus the heart chamber.
Spellcraft:
Donkor flops about and stares at Hurgah as he becomes Cloud-Hurgah, baffled at the choice that he made to drink from the pool.
Looking around and seeing the all too familiar surroundings of the accursed pyramid, Breach angles his non-covered eye toward the eyepatch. "Wait a blasted minute! You've not done answerin' me questions!" He hollers in frustration, not even thinking about how he might sound to the others. Taking the eyepatch off and putting it back on, he waits a moment to see if it works again. As nothing seems to happen, he grumbles, remembering the 'future him' mentioned 'he' only put it on every few days. "Blast!" He sighs, as he then notices a purple cloud in the air. Narrowing his eyes, "Where did the blasted purple cloud come from! Careful! We may have to kill it!" Breach grabs his axe and shield and readies to strike just in case.
A second later it is over. Only now all that is left of Hurgah is a purple cloud floating several feet in the air and a memo
"Hurgah, don't!" Moonpate watches horrified as the big galoot suddenly downs the koolaid as if it was ale from a country tavern.
Observing the effects on his friend, Moonpate breathes a big sigh of relief. "It is as I thought, a transformative elixer that turns the drinker into, well, a purple cloud of gas. It must be how we are supposed to get out of here and through that tiny hole which, no doubt, leads to some place even more deadly."
While no stranger to magical transformation of the body, Hurgah never the less takes a few moments to get to grips with his new, mist-like form.
Hearing Moonpate explain the nature of his transformation to the rest of the group, he drifts towards the funnel and moves up through the hole to see what awaits on the other side.
Hal shrugs looking up at the Hurgah Cloud, "That seems all well and good Master Pate but what happens if we get to the other side and have no way to get back? I think we should explore the rest of the easy halls first then come back here..."
Hal shrugs looking up at the Hurgah Cloud, "That seems all well and good Master Pate but what happens if we get to the other side and have no way to get back? I think we should explore the rest of the easy halls first then come back here..."
At Hal's comment Moonpate arches what used to be a bushy eyebrow, but is now burnt stubble.
"Easy halls? Master Morgrym, the only easy hall in this cursed place is probably the one leading to the worker's privy, time displaced a thousand years back to when this death trap was being built. And given these ancient pharoahs' view towards their fellow man, I even doubt the privy was easy. Let us wait a bit and see if Hurgah, or what passes for him now, returns with some news."
Smiling - "OK then, let's not go to the privy."
"I think we'll have to figure out some way to communicate with purple cloud-Hurgah if we want him to report back to us."
-
Have faith in me Mr. Exciting! There is a reason Xerissa's vaunted alchemical knowledge has failed her. I just can't disclose it.
Hearing Moonpate explain the nature of his transformation to the rest of the group, he drifts towards the funnel and moves up through the hole to see what awaits on the other side.
-
As the Dune Squad watches, the "funnel" in the wall appears to slowly and silently suck the purple mist up inside it, until it is gone. . .Funnel is a good description. Beyond the funnel or mouth appears to be a long tube or perhaps a stone pipe. It is very narrow. It appears to head straight south.
For some reason, the tube is not uniform in diameter. Some sections are wider, while others are quite narrow. Not that it matters - in Hurgah's present form as a gas, he can navigate the tube no matter how narrow.
-
You wound me. I give you my personal assurance that there is nothing dangerous in the rest of the pyramid.
"Wow!" says the halfling as the half-orc dissolves into gas. Somehow that doesn't begin to cover it.
A split second later, the stone ladle drops to the floor. Unlike the rest of Hurgah's gear the ladle has not turned insubstantial.
Not long after the 'Hurgah mist' disappears, a strange low note rings back out of the "funnel". The note carries, lingering for a few seconds and then transitions to another. Then back again, and then to a new note altogether.
It takes a few seconds before you realize, it is a tune. The slow-transitioning music has a vaguely haunting quality to it.