Raina leaves the carvings on the door to those with experience in such matters. She moves over to Arma and speaks to her.
"Do you need healing? With but a few words I can mend your wounds"
After a few seconds, Zhu's eyes widen, and the young man steps back. "Be... very careful," he says solemnly. He points at the stairs. "These were likely shaped by magic -- OLD magic -- and it is still very much present in the stone."
Then he indicates the wooden door. "Unsurprisingly, it is warded by powerful magic... of the form I believe you call 'abjuration' in this land." He looks to Pontia to confirm that he said that correctly.
"The keyhole is different, though," he continues. "A careless act could trigger something, I think. A summoning or a conjuration." He pauses. "I wonder if there is a less obvious -- and less dangerous -- way to go up."
Kyrax finishes his study of the door and considers the potions the old goblin provided.
He casts detect Magic and ponders the auras of each. Then probing deeper he tries to discern the magic contained within the bottles.
He really only dabbles in magics and is unable to tell much. He hands the potions over to the sorcerer and wizard expecting them to do better.
Turning his attention back to the door he asks Pontia What do you mean try my hands up? And do we have a key?
Arma looks to Raina lifting her visor to whisper back.
"I am quite strong Lady Raina. My father made quite sure of that." Arma says this last part with sincere confidence but apparently not as something she is proud of but this is visible in the neutral expression she makes as she speaks and the slight distant tone at the mention of the man she called father. Without that small look upon her face visible only to Raina really at that moment one would assume from Arma's voice that she had no real emotion there at all other than a coldness for the man. Instead Raina gathers quite clearly in that small instant that there is some pain that still affects the armored woman a bit more than the cold tone would simply say.
But that moment passes quickly across her face as she appears to go back to her calm demeanor. But thank you for the offer my friend? The last was asked as more of an assumed question by the once again pleasant looking face of the armored woman near her.
Reaching up and touching Arma's face with her right hand Raina whispers softly to her.
"So much pain. You poor girl. If you feel you can make it I will wait. I will keep watch should you require assistance."
Raina smiles at her and returns to the group.
Pontia also casts detect magic and examines the door and surroundings. Focused on the profoundly unsettling aura emanating from the ancient portal, she only nods distractedly in response to Zhu's question about pronunciation.
Kyrax's question penetrates her reverie. She suppresses a flash of annoyance. They aren't Chelaxian, so they probably won't respond well to being treated that way. "Kyrax, it seemed to me that the completion of the couplet on the door would be 'In gratitude, let all faithful raise their hands.' You are of Sarenrae's faithful; it occurred to me that perhaps you should try raising your hands in thanksgiving, as that may be what is called for."
Arma looks oddly to Raina at the touching gesture but does not move from it. She smiles but seems oddly confused but not unpleasantly so as she questions why she would do such. At the words whispered between them she holds Raina's gaze until after a moment of watching her move back into the group. She reaches up to close her visor with her gauntlet covered hand and hesitates in closing it as she looks over all the others with another look toward Raina. She then slowly closes it and returns to watching the group though she seems somewhat distracted.
Robert lets the babies and the old goblin depart, happy that he does not have to look at the aberrations again. He still finds the wolves strange, and why they would have saddles.
He goes to inspect them, looking for any mark that signals where they came from, who could have used them, or if they have any hidden pocket holding any clue.
Then he turns to the end of the cave.
Looking cursorily at the door, he sees nothing in the engravings that he could understand, but the language interests him:
After a small time looking at the words:
"I can not tell what the text says, but I think the language is a mixture of Orvian and Senzar. I seem to remember Senzar is still used by Kitsune, but Orvian... now, that is really ancient, isn't it? From some mythic beings. I think it's probably as old as the magic Zhu mentioned!"
Robert discovers that the saddles are actually quite well-made. Certainly finer than what he would expect of Goblin work. There are saddlebags attached, which contain some very normal things; bedrolls, two tents, blankets... And a little mark left by the craftsman who made these saddles. It is just barely possible to make out the words .
Pontia gives the rogue an appreciative nod. "Orvian! Of course! Well spotted."
"Hmmm... this is interesting", Robert nods to himself before turning to the doors.
But then he looks back at Pontia, after her comment.
"So, does it make sense? What does it mean for us?"
He eagerly waits for an answer. Studying history was never a strong part of the Knight's training, except in what respected the Knight's family, their allies, feuds, traditions and myths. But the origins of the world were a very distant concern to a warrior's life. And since he had left his house and turned to a more dissolute life, such exoteric and abstract concerns meant little for one dedicated to the practicalities of everyday's life and survival.
He quickly goes back to his practical self though, and announces quite flatly.
"Those saddlebags are interesting. They came from Andoran, and were certainly not made by goblins. I guess they may have just killed the owners of the saddles, and adapted them to wolves..."
OOC: Before he goes on, he checks again: how well do the saddles fit the wolves, do they look like they were done for horses or were they fitted to wolves instead?
The saddles definitely look like they were made to fit a canine body, seeing as the straps don't look as though they have been altered to fit a diferent frame, but you do know there is such a thing as riding dogs.
Sharing what he has found, Kyrax notes Well the door is trapped in such a way that even having the right key would not allow safe passage. Our best chance of safe passage is for me to assist Robert in disarming the trap. If anyone can cast guidance on Robert that would also help. Everyone should back up out of the way. If we fail it will not help us to have everyone damaged by the trap.
Kyrax stands ready to assist the rogue, and will take 10 to do so.
I see I didn't make it clear enough, and I'd hate you all to get wiped out at the entryway, so I'm going to throw you two bones. ;)
Bone #1: The keyhole and the mechanism behind it are ALL trap.
Nothing you do to that mechanism is going to open the door - short of sticking a piece of C4 into it and blowing it up.
Bone #2: You have been given a clue as to how to get in. Think of what believers sometimes do to show their worship of the gods, and think of Balance. As creation stands, the grateful faithful...
Pontia shakes her head minutely at Kyrax, then addresses Robert. "I have only read fragmentary stories and speculation. The Vault Builders of Orv are supposed to have made great caverns deep below the surface, long before the Age of Legends."
-Posted with Wayfinder
"And yet..."
Robert, still intrigued by the saddles, continues.
"I hear you, Kyrax. But let's not haste. I'm not terribly specialized at disarming traps, but I think we should solve our little puzzle of the wolves first. These saddles", he says pointing at them, "have been made specifically for dogs, or wolves... in Andoran. I thought the goblins might have stolen them from some of the soldiers they fought, but now I doubt that is the case. Should we assume there is someone from Andoran with an evil influence here? Maybe we should look around or outside to see if there is a sign of the wolves' riders.
It seems a human and a goblin entered these caves not long ago. Maybe they came riding the wolves. Where are they now, perhaps beyond the door? Shouldn't we try to deduce something about them, while we can?"
Well, from what I got, it's not a lock mechanism, just a trapped hole. You get your hand in there, boom. Nothing to open through that way.
It's not necessarily hands in the air, though, it can be something related to balance and prayer. Say, meditation, sit cross-legged on the floor or something. This does not necessarily have to act by mechanical means either, I think. It's a fantasy world, there could be some magic that reacts to some gesture.
Regarding this, I will wait for the others to post and react to Robert eventually, before going on.
P.S.: Still learning how to use these [o oc] tags. Seems they don't like paragraphs?
Arma steps back from the supposedly trapped area at Kyrax suggestion but stays closer most likely than the others and within a single stride of it if needed. She listens to the others speak of languages and legends yet does not know what to make of it all. But as Robert continues to speak of the wolves and the saddles and mentions Andoran makes for them she speaks through her visor.
"I admit Sir Robert, that the origin of these saddles and the possibility of these wolves and perhaps their riders being Andoran has me... Concerned. But I also do not know what to make of it. Perhaps we should have asked Gammer before she departed if she saw their riders. But if their riders did go this way then they are most likely through this door. Did you find anything else of note in either saddle?"
"I agree with you, Arma. They must have gone through the door. No, I didn't find anything else of note, I'm afraid. Well, there is the name of the saddle's maker, it means nothing to me, but maybe some of you will know him or her? Gunderman?"
"So what do we do to get this door open? If we can use the solution with no harm to us, let us do so immediately. A woman's life hangs in the balance." Raina says with urgency.
"Hmmm, maybe we should adopt the posture of a believer. I will try to meditate", Robert says.
He kneels down on the floor, sitting on his heels. Out of respect, he touches the floor with his forehead.
Zhu frowns. "The witch also mentioned that we would have to sacrifice something dear to us to rescue the Princess." He looks at Arma and continues, "Perhaps Arma's sacrifice of her horse was what she meant? Or perhaps not."
Reluctantly, he too gets down on his knees next to Robert. He stares at the short, thin, but sharp weapon in his hand. "This ... this is a siangham, a weapon that belonged to my grandmother Eriko, a powerful Hamatulatsu Master. In this land, you would call her a monk. She was a princess and one of the strongest fighters of her generation... until she fell in battle, and my land fell into slavery." He pauses.
"I have carried this with me since my escape from Wanshou, vowing that I would honor her memory. And I would shame her if I did not do anything I could to end this wizard's evil." He lays the siangham gently down on the steps. "If a sacrifice is indeed needed to clear our path, I offer it." He raises his hands in a sign of supplication.
Arma is not sure on the saddles Robert mentioned but the name sounded distantly familiar but not enough for her to know why. "I don't know the name. But it is one we should do well to remember for our return." Her voice sounds determined in that regard.
Arma listens to Raina, agreeing that they needed to move with haste. She moved near to the woman and nodded to her statement. "Agreed..." Again her tone is confident as she waits to see how they will proceed.
Roberts suggestion to take a certain posture seems good enough to her mind and she watches as he begins to meditate as he called it.
Shortly after though she finds herself looking to Zhu and meeting his gaze through her helms visor as she listens to the man and watches as he tells his tale and sets the favored weapon of his mothers down to take the posture. She raises her visor and watches with rapt attention as he does this and waits to see if the bold and noble gesture does yield results. She does hope however with out the cost of his familial weapon. It was not a small thing she knew to offer something precious. But she respected him for simply offering.
Robert and Zhu lower themselves to the floor in front of the door. While Zhu tells the sad tale of his grandmother, Robert briefly places his hands on the ground and lowers his head to the floor --
'Click.'
'Click.'
'Clack.'
Pressure-points beneath the floor react as they are triggered in the correct sequence. There is a grinding and whirring of cogwheels underfoot, and you feel the stairwell tremble. In Kyrax', Pontia's and Zhu's eyes, the magic sealed into wood and stone flares brightly, and you all hear an ominous rumble...
... Followed by an anticlimactic 'Pop'. The magic settles back down, the wards quiescent, and a lower section of the door swings outward, providing you with an opening just large enough for an adult humanoid to crawl through. In a more modern place, you would not hesitate to call such a portal a 'doggy door'.
You could swear you all heard a ghostly snickering coming from somewhere beyond the door, but the noise dies away before you can even peek through the opening.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Beyond the 'Wizard-door' lies a small chamber, just barely large enough to hold all of you. The only egress other than the door behind you is a stairwell cut in the living stone. The air is cool and smells of dark places, even though you can easily see the top of the stairs; a flickering illumination reflects off the stone walls. There are torches up there. Torches and people! You can hear the sounds of piteous moaning and weeping.
Arma pats Zhu and Robert on their shoulders faintly smiling to see his familial weapon need not have been offered and looking Tian-shu sorcerer with a appreciative look first but then also to Robert as well. "Thank you Sir Zhu... And you Sir Robert. You were both brave to do so."
She moves to the opening closing her visor again and speaks in a firmer tone of voice once more before moving to crawl through. "Unless there are any reasons someone would object, I will go first."
Upon entering into the next room provided no one objects or has reason to say otherwise, after they all have passed through she resumes taking the lead as they advance.
Mirandix follows Arma through the door and takes up a position by the stairs, his blade held ready.
A smug expression on her face, Pontia follows the elf.
"Let's be cautious as we don't know if there are any other traps ahead."
"Let's be cautious as we don't know if there are any other traps ahead."
Mirandix responds without taking his attention off the stairs, "There are, of course, and at least one ambush."
"Much obliged, Arma, but I really did nothing that required courage. That is reserved for the next steps. But before you go, shouldn't you be healed first? There's no reason to go into a fight already vulnerable."
After they start ascending, Robert takes a place right after the front line, this time, due to the cramped space, with his crossbow stowed away and ready to loose his chakrams. His rapier is also in the sheathe, but ready to wield at a moment's notice.
He smiles at Mirandi's comment.
Arma notes Roberts words with a glance from her visor. "I will be fine Sir Robert... Lady Raina had offered already but, while the wound may look fierce it can wait. I would see that such healing used when it is most needed."
Hearing both Noya and then Miradix comments Arma nods to them as they move behind her. "Then my friends, let us keep a keen eye open." Her voice sounds sure and ready as she raises her shield and holds her scimitar ready while walking forward toward their destination.
Zhu exhales deeply once he realizes that he will not have to yield the siangham to the fates. "Thank you," he says to no one in particular. He gently retrieves the weapon - its tip still glowing from the light spell he placed on it - and gets to his feet. "May you continue to guide my steps, Grandmother... well reasoned, Pontia, Robert, my thanks." He steps back to allow the better-armed members go before him.
As you walk up the stairs, you are met by a current of cool, bracing air, which unfortunately carries an animal stench that some of the more cosmopolitan among you might associate with a city zoo, and the more rural with the reek of the barnyard. In short, it smells as if creatures have been using this floor as their personal toilet and no one has bothered to clean up!
The stairway ends in a long corridor, lit by torches hung in wall-sockets. It is colder here than it was in the Goblins' cave. At the very end of the corridor, you see another stairway, going up and deeper into the mountain. Four doors have been placed in the wall at regular intervals, two on the left and two on the right. The current of cool air appears to be coming from behind the second door on the right, which occasionally rattles in its frame. Unlike the Wizard-door you came through, the doors here appear to be of a more mundane variety; oak bound in iron, with regular doorhandles, locks -- and safety bolts.
Bolts which are all placed on this side of the door.
You can still hear the sound of sobbing and moaning, which apparently comes from both doors on the left side of the corridor. The animal stench hangs all around you; it is impossible to tell whether it originates on the left side or the right.
"If the doors are not right against the floor we could use a mirror to get a view."
The doors are not right against the floor -- there is a narrow crack which allows air through.
"Clever idea, Noya. I'm guessing these are stables, "cells" for animals. But I could be wrong".
Robert looks ahead. How long is it until the end of the corridor? are there more doors in the distance?
Arma nods to Zhu and also Robert. "I still think both of you brave." She turns her head back though as she leads the group.
As they ascend this staircase Arma listens to the sounds and takes a position before the first door she comes to. When Noya speaks she agrees with Robert and gives a nod as she speaks aloud calmly through her visor. "I think it clever too Lady Noya. Well if anyone has such a mirror, then let us do so cautiously. I would find out at least what is or is not sobbing in these cells before we attempt to open them." She watches further down the hall with her weapons still at the ready and her shield braced. The door rattling in the cold on the right does not make her comfortable as she wonders why a breeze would blow so hard in there.
"Much obliged, Arma, but I really did nothing that required courage. That is reserved for the next steps. But before you go, shouldn't you be healed first? There's no reason to go into a fight already vulnerable."
After they start ascending, Robert takes a place right after the front line, this time, due to the cramped space, with his crossbow stowed away and ready to loose his chakrams. His rapier is also in the sheathe, but ready to wield at a moment's notice.
He smiles at Mirandi's comment.
"Don't worry, I am keeping watch on Arma's health. Should she need help I will channel nature's power into her wounds."
Raina then follows the party into the passageway while staying alert.
The corridor is roughly 100 ft. long. You only see the four doors and the stairwells at either end.
Every thirty or forty feet, Pontia will cast detect magic and look around.
"I'm glad you are, Raina. It's good to have someone who can keep us alive, but I'll try not to give you too much trouble."
Then he looks at Zhu.
"I'm glad for you that you got to keep your granny's weapon. May it be useful to you... and us."
"There's magic behind that door...moderately powerful, but I can't tell more at this point."
Pontia can just barely tell that the spell is of the Abjuration school, but no more...