Gandel’s heart continues to slow and he is gradually beginning to feel more comfortable. Physically at least. However, he is certainly mindful that the last time this internal train ride slowed down, it was so slow it almost stopped. But for the next half minute at least he seems to be in a ‘good’ part of the cycle.
“Wait a second,” he says when he hears the sound ring out of the funnel. “I’ve heard that song before.”
The professor unslings his pack and the bag magically produces one of his many notebooks. He begins paging through them, stopping on a collection of bardic sheet music.
“That tune, I recognize it. It’s called Ahnkana’s Lament. Or at least that’s what the modern day locals call it.”
“Ahnkana was one of the Four Pharaohs of Ascension,” he reminds. “She was known as the Radiant Pharaoh. It never occurred to me that the song might actually be from her time.”
He wrinkles his nose. “I can’t believe it’s been passed down for that many generations – it’s really not that good a song. Kind of a self-indulgent story-piece really.”
"Why do you think passking through this funnel creates a sound Gandel? Some further magical effect perhaps? Master Pate, any thoughts?"
"Why do you think passing through this funnel creates a sound Gandel? Some further magical effect perhaps? Master Pate, any thoughts?"
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"Oh," says Gandel, "I hadn't considered that. I figured gasseous Hurgah (not a comment on his flatulence) had triggered some kind of alarm. But I think you may be right, it could be his flight that's triggering the notes of the song itself.""I'm not too worried though. Like Karek says, if there's anyone in this pyramid with ears, they've already heard us."
The professor contemplates some more and then confides in Halstadt.
"If this heart beat effect doesn't end soon, my plan is to drink from the pool and follow Hurgah. I'd rather be a purple cloud than a halfling without a beating heart."
"That's going to make it difficult to communicate though. I dunno, if I swirl clockwise that's a "yes" and if I swirl counter-clockwise, that's a no?"
"I just hope the pool really is like a potion in that it's not permanent. As fascinating as it will be to try it, I don't wish to be a purple cloud forever."
So you think the tunnel Hurgah passed down is like some kind of giant flute? That's interesting, and probably quite a lot better than an alarm. I wonder how long he's going to stay gassy?
Sooron wracks his brain to try and remember if the Pharaoh of Numbers, the Cerulean Pharaoh, or the Fiend Pharaoh also had some kind of theme song, which he could use to respond to the one he is currently hearing.
Purple-cloud Hurgah continues down the pipe.
Purple-cloud Hurgah continues down the pipe.
After perhaps 20 feet or so, the "pipe" abruptly turns 90 degrees in a straight downward direction and descends vertically.
Hurgah continues to follow the pipe. . .
The pipe continues to widen and narrow in small degrees, generating different ringing sounds as Hurgah floats along.
The "music" of Ahnkana's lament continues to play. Gandel is psyching up the nerve to drink from the ladle.
The pipe descends for about 60 feet straight down at which point Hurgah spies a branch breaking off. It looks like it spears in a level direction - he can't remember which way north is - but then spears downward again. As such there appears to be two options: the "main" or "original" pipe, or this new off-shoot. Both descend downwards into darkness as far as Hurgah can see. Of course, there's always the option to head back.
The music pauses.
-
Well done!You win a trivia prize!
The slow musical tune coming fro the "funnel" transforms. It is now a discordant ugly sound, going from note to note with no rhyme or reason.
Suddenly the "funnel" blows out a stream of purplish vapor and the cacophony stops. The mist hovers just beyond the pool in front of the Dune Squad, unmoving.
"Hurgah's back, I think" says the professor. "Here's where we find out if this magic pool has a duration or lasts forever."
Gandel seems relaxed, almost mellow - which is odd given what he's just been through. "Maybe somebody somebody should keep track of how long Hurgah floats for."
And with that the halfling slurps up a mouthful of purplish goo from the ladle.
And just like that, he too evaporates into a purplish mist.
Approximately less than 10 minutes later, the first of the two purple clouds begins to take shape. You can make out limbs, then a head - then even a face, a recognizable one at that.
Hurgah is solidifying. A few moments later his body coalesces into solid form. The barbarian falls a few feet to the floor.
The second cloud of mist, the 'Gandel cloud' hovers over him excitedly.
A minute or perhaps two later, the Gandel cloud also solidifies. He has a huge grin on face, clearly having enjoyd his experience as a vapor.
By this time Donkor and Karek have recovered.
"I can no longer hear the drum!" reports Gandel excitedly. "I think I am free from that accursed thing!"
"Promise me nobody will go back in that room."
You wound me. I give you my personal assurance that there is nothing dangerous in the rest of the pyramid.
You god id. Karek grumbles as he stands up and gives his hammer a test swing. Do we all become clouds now, or do we go down da unexplored hall?
Now back in the flesh, Hurgah describes his experiences in the pipe.
"Do we explore these pipes first or the rest of this floor my friends".
"We've got no time ta explore this floor. We need ta find the demon, get Lydia back, and get the blast outta here. The more time we be wastin' means Scepter and his boys be gettin' closer. We're not for needin' ta be fightin' Scepter and the demon at the same time. Seein' how ya the Reaver went all purple cloud on us and survived, I'm thinkin' we see where the pipes take us. Maybe it'll take us ta where we be needin' ta go and fast."
So the Devil-monks and their pet assassin are coming after us? Well, since it looks like they need to pass through this room to follow us, and we are unlikely to return, unless there is another pool of purple cloud-potion on the other side, why don't we take a few minutes to turn this room into a deathtrap before we leave? Trap the door, the floor and the ladle too, if possible. Get creative, Breach.
"We've got no time ta explore this floor. We need ta find the demon, get Lydia back, and get the blast outta here. The more time we be wastin' means Scepter and his boys be gettin' closer. We're not for needin' ta be fightin' Scepter and the demon at the same time. Seein' how ya the Reaver went all purple cloud on us and survived, I'm thinkin' we see where the pipes take us. Maybe it'll take us ta where we be needin' ta go and fast."
-
"Scepter? Here? Demon!? What are you--"
-
Ha! Name seven!-
Good observation. Xerissa estimates there is enough in the pool for 8 more doses - the pool holds the equivalent of 10 potions (she believes). She can also see that after Hurgah and Gandel drank from the ladle, the pool began to slowly refill, but at at a very slow and almost imperceptible rate.
"Scepter? Here? Demon!? What are you--"
He looks at the halfling, an eyebrow raised. Realizing he hasn't explained anything, "Oh yeah, it's what meself from the future told meself of today. So we need to move."
Karek glances at Breach as if he is crazy, and then his eyes fall on the jeweled eyepatch. Nodding in exasperated understanding, Karek understands. Magic, eh? Drab away, sir. as Karek reaches into his pack, looking for someone.
"If there is a demon waiting on the other side of the pipes, we had better prepare. Gandel, is there anything we should know when fighting such hell-spawn?"
When it comes to this issue you will find I am far more lax than other GMs. Technically you are exactly right, Hal should make a Knowledge (religion) check and based on that result we will discover how many pieces of knowledge Hal has. And since, my goal is to try to play this with proper rules, why don't we do that.
What you are up against though Hal, is, as you will discover, Breach does not know what kind of "demon" the Dune Squad is supposedly up against. Worse, this also assumes that 'Breach from the Future' was even using the term "demon" correctly. Does he even know the difference between demons, devils, daemons and other "bad stuff"?
So Hal (and Gandel and anyone else) can make that Knowledge check and we can throw up some generic info on demons. I just can't promise it's applicable.
Parenthetically, my own philosophy is I tend to let my players decide how much of their own knowledge their PCs have. I encourage them to prepare, play smart and worry less about metagaming. Knowledge checks tend to only fly when the players don't know the monster they are up against but they feel their PC might. That's not the correct way, it's just my personal preference. I tend to make the PCs' lives difficult enough with new monsters and non-standard variants. I don't like to force them to pretend they know less than they do, unless it's a roleplaying opportunity which will make them happy. It's not always realistic, but it's more fun. I.e. If someone were to throw up a protection of evil spell at the mere mention of the word "demon", they wouldn't get a lecture from me. However, they also can't complain either, if the spell turns out to be wasted.
Sorry, that was an unnecessarily long way of answering "Yes".
Knowledge Religion
Halstaft knows from his training (as well as first-hand experience in battle) that demons are impervious to electricity and poison while at the same time are also very resistant to acid, cold and fire. Tough customers!
"If there is a demon waiting on the other side of the pipes, we had better prepare. Gandel, is there anything we should know when fighting such hell-spawn?"
-
"Run away faster than the other party members?" He quips."Seriously, I might well have something to add. But to do so, I'd need to see what we're looking at - or at least know the creature's name."
"Believe me," Gandel adds, "after I'm done soiling myself, I'll give you a full diatribe on the fiend."
Karek glances at Breach as if he is crazy, and then his eyes fall on the jeweled eyepatch. Nodding in exasperated understanding, Karek understands. Magic, eh? Drab away, sir. as Karek reaches into his pack, looking for someone.
So the Devil-monks and their pet assassin are coming after us? Well, since it looks like they need to pass through this room to follow us, and we are unlikely to return, unless there is another pool of purple cloud-potion on the other side, why don't we take a few minutes to turn this room into a deathtrap before we leave? Trap the door, the floor and the ladle too, if possible. Get creative, Breach.
-
Is this happening? If so, I'll need some specifics. There's not too much to work with in here. You've got:-a circular room
-a set of double-doors that run from the floor to the ceiling
-a shallow pool mostly filled with a purple vapor
-a "funnel" in the wall
-a stone ladle
-flagstones on the floor and ceiling
Lay it on me!
Karek retrieves Bunky from his pack and sets him on his shoulder. I wond be vergedden you dis dime.
Sooron walks around gingerly, regaining his strength and balance after the brush with the heart attack trap. He's ready to quaff the potion with the others and head on down, but waits to see of anybody is going to trap the room first.
"I'm for thinkin' trappin' this place is a waste of our time. 'Sides, I'm thinkin' there's no trap that'll be stoppin' Scepter. Death is the only thing that's gonna stop that one. I say we all go purple gas and see where these pipes be leadin' us."
So, if I'm reading this right:
Any alterations?
Correct. Except on the last dot. We'll just travel together into certain doom.
How does following the main pipe sound? Any divination or knowledge skill help we might get for figuring out where they go? We could look around where we come out, and maybe choose the other direction if we don't like what we see.
Correct. Except on the last dot. We'll just travel together into certain doom.
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Hey, I'm just going by past experience. : ) It's all I got.By the way, in the absence of anything further, I will have the Dune Squad floating in the default marching order as best they can. But since the tube cannot handle two persons side-by-side, anyone who your PC would normally beside, you will now be intermingled with, sharing the same space. If that's too weird, someone will let me know the new floating order.
How does following the main pipe sound? Any divination or knowledge skill help we might get for figuring out where they go?
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That sounds like Donkor's specialty and with his forewarned absence, we might need a GM PC. He has such a spell prepared. However, it would be rather biased of me to frame the specific divination question. Would someone else care to step in and frame the question?Actually, with Donkor's siasmae, his janni item, he can ask two questions!
We could look around where we come out, and maybe choose the other direction if we don't like what we see.
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There is also that too, just let me know. I'm particularly interested in who will stick their purple vapor head out of any tubes.
. . . A bit long winded but I don't have a description of the Divination spell in front of me so I am not sure if there is a word limit or specific intent in which the question should be framed. . .
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Good news on that front. There is, in fact, no restriction on the length of the question. So you might be encouraged to take advantage and be specific, as you have done. (I liked your use of a preamble sentence to set your question up). And you could, if you wanted, even do more.For example, what if the GM were to become overly cute as to what you mean by "two roads". All of us here know you mean the two stone pipes briefly explored by Hurgah in gaseous form. But there are also other "roads" you could take, including the rest of a winding corridor Hal wanted to explore earlier, before Breach counselled against it. What if that choice represents the two roads?
Ah! Then it was deliberate! You still seek info about that other possibility. I got you.
Sooron is fine with the wording as proposed, except that he really doesn't care about Lydia. However he will ask to keep everyone else happy. :)
Donkor Sooron - Divination
My Lady there are two roads which our band may travel through to continue our quest through this pyramid. The first a curved hallway located on the same level we are occupying. The second a set of pipes which leads downwards. These pipes split in two directions, giving us three routes with which to choose from. Of these three paths which would grant us the greatest chance of success in finding our friend Lydia and completing our search for the Pactstone?
As this tomb is a deadly trap can you inform me what dangers lurk at the end of each destination?
My Lady there are two roads which our band may travel through to continue our quest through this pyramid. The first a curved hallway located on the same level we are occupying. The second a set of pipes which leads downwards. These pipes split in two directions, giving us three routes with which to choose from. Of these three paths which would grant us the greatest chance of success in finding our friend Lydia and completing our search for the Pactstone?
Sooron alone sees the answers as they swirl in the mist of the purple pool and then fade away. . .
The pipe that is first, brings to the stone of the pharaohs first, the Scarab second.
The pipe that is second, brings to the Scarab first, and to the stone of the pharaohs second.
The hall leads to neither.
As this tomb is a deadly trap can you inform me what dangers lurk at the end of each destination?
The hall: a thousand deaths, neither seen nor heard.
The first pipe: the Hor-Khep-Ra, they come in four. Water of the gods or sunlight would serve you more.
The second pipe: Seukahn Counting Up to 56. Although he draws you to him, he needs you alive less with each passing hour.
Hal turns to Moonpate, "It seems your idea not to inspect the rest of the hallway was a sound one! I think we should attempt to retrieve Lydia first. We have heard from both Pharasma and from Angradd that this count of Suekhan is important, it seems preventing it is something we should be focusing on. If Breach had a real experience and is not losing his wits then we have an enemy to face down which may be a Demon. As I said, there are some vulnerabilities to such a creature but they are few. Sonic attacks and sunlight I think work best. Are you all agreed on this course of action?"
Gandel wonders wistfully what form a thousand deaths neither seen nor heard will take but thinks better of suggesting the group head in that direction.
"I am all for rescuing Lydia Hal but the Khyrasma's goal is to retrieve the Pactstone. Doesn't it make more sense for us to secure that item first and then attempt to rescue Lydia from whatever menace Breach warned us about?"
Gandel will make a knowledge roll related to 'the Hor-Khep-Ra, they come in four. Water of the gods or sunlight would serve you more' response.
Knowledge History
"Water of the gods" is a term several ancient cultures have used for holy water.
The Hor-Khep-Ra were elite assassins deeply loyal to the Four Pharaohs of Ascension. They performed wet-works, quietly eliminating the more powerful threats in opposition to the Four Pharaohs. Presumably, as an organization, they must have disbanded millennia ago.
The first pipe: the Hor-Khep-Ra, they come in four. Water of the gods or sunlight would serve you more.
The second pipe: Seukahn Counting Up to 56. Although he draws you to him, he needs you alive less with each passing hour.
"Hmmmm, could it be that this Hor-Khep-Ra are a group of undead that are susceptible to holy water and sunlight...such as a bunch of stinking vampires. I have never dealt with such foul creatures, nor do I wish to do so...but I am agreement with Gandel that recovering this Pactstone is our first priority, and would be Lydia's as well."
Hal turns to Moonpate, "It seems your idea not to inspect the rest of the hallway was a sound one! I think we should attempt to retrieve Lydia first. We have heard from both Pharasma and from Angradd that this count of Suekhan is important, it seems preventing it is something we should be focusing on. If Breach had a real experience and is not losing his wits then we have an enemy to face down which may be a Demon. As I said, there are some vulnerabilities to such a creature but they are few. Sonic attacks and sunlight I think work best. Are you all agreed on this course of action?"
"Counting up? Or counting down?"Xerissa murmurs, mostly to Donkor."I'm getting a little tired of all this counting."