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Lilith stays quite for a moment taking in the room. Finally she adds her observations to the groups. The necromantic energy suffused the entire room but is concentrated in the surface of each globe. Wait. I sense that whatever is held within each is NOT of a necromantic nature. Are these some sort of prison?
Melo looks uneasy as the group attempts to work out what is going on. "I want to get to the bottom of why this thing is reacting down here." He steps forward a little holding out the essence.
"Necromantic energy is holding something in there? So would it be holding something evil? Something we can use?" He looks to Lillith and then to Feldus.
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"I think..." Valex begins, hesitatntly, eyes closed and brow furrowed in concentration, "...I think that the Order knew about these. I'm chasing a memory - a fragment of a rotten tomb, a decaying page with a picture of these globes, haphazardly placed in a large vaulted chamber. A broken translation 'For the future, for study, for use'..."
He shakes his head in frustration. "I don't remember anything more, d@#$%it, but I am inclined to agree with you, Lilith. It seems likely my brethren thought that whatever is in the spheres is contained by evil, but not, perhaps, evil itself? Either way, I think they bear investigation. Feldus is right, one way or another, they cannot fall into the Way's hands."
Having said his piece, Valex steps closer to one of the spheres, casting Detect magic and concentrating, seeing if he can glean any other hint than what was already discovered.
Able to contribute little to the discussion about the globes, and feeling decidedly uneasy about the whole thing, Flynn moves closer to Aura and Whisper and keeps an eye out for anything untoward.
The magic is old and multi-layered, you guess it might take today's mages significant effort to accomplish, and yet there must be two dozen spheres visible to you with more further away to be sure. As best you can tell, whatever is being held inside has had its life energies suppressed, being released would likely bring it back...
This close to the spheres, the hair on the back of your necks stands up. The surface of the sphere itself doesn't seem to respond to your presence.
There is the sound of a boot scuffing the stone floor some thirty feet to the east, behind the second row of spheres just inside your light radius...
Valex will share what he remembers and/or deduces.
"A containment spell?" Feldus mutters softly, "The question is...WHAT is being contained, or who." The sound of the boot causes him to swiftly draw his rapier as he sniffs the air.
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The wizard is drawn to these sphere and in the process of thinking about them and studying them and about to touch the closest one when she is distracted.
Lilith hears the boot scuff and it draws her attention away from her study of the spheres. She instinctively moves her Dancing Lights to illuminate whatever made the noise. In the back of her mind she hears a warning Whatever is down here with us is quite when they want to be and seems to be good at creating illusions. They may want to hear that noise. She takes a few steps back away from the spheres and the noise.
Lenneth's shadows writhe across the floor, a sea of black that moves like a wave in search. She becomes dimly aware that there are no definitely no boot-shaped objects in the area the shadows are searching, despite the noise.
Feldus' nose sieves the air currents, nothing within ten or so yards, but he gets the faint distinctive whiff of dead bodies, a familiar type of smell, whoever is here is alive, but spends much of their time amongst the dead.
Lilith determines, as Valex's words prompt her memory and enable her to have a revelation... the sphere's magic could be disrupted with a dispel, however the weave is such that an object with the right aura would enable the sphere to release its contents as well, perhaps there is even something that would enable you to view inside.
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Focuses on the external threat Lilith absently recites her thoughts on the spheres while looking for and warning of other threats. Beware of illusions my friends. she warns. We have fallen for them already this day. As to the spheres, I believe their magic could be dispelled or an object with the right aura would enable the sphere to release its contents as well. Perhaps there is even something that would enable us to view inside so we would know what we are releasing.
"Maybe this essence will unlock one of them?" He looks to Lilith and then moves forward attempting to see if it reacts to any of the Spheres.
Feldus is about to reply to Melo, but the scent of his quarry catches his nose. He instead slides out of view, using the shadows provided by the spheres to weave his way towards the scent.
The boot scuff is something tangible and something he can deal with, so Flynn follows after Feldus, keeping low and with weapon drawn.
As Melo raises the glowing essence, the sphere before him reacts, the seemingly solid surface rippling as if it were water during a storm. Moving the essence towards another sphere has the same effect on it, though the previous sphere once again becomes dormant.
Feldus sniffs, then pads off in to the shadows, swiftly followed by an equally quiet Flynn, and moments later the shadows on the floor writhe and grow darker as Lenneth's spell send ribbons of darkness slithering over the rock.
The scent here is stronger, but you cannot see or smell anything exact.
Flynn peers intently into the darkness, looking for the slightest movement.
Feldus's eyes gleam with the look of a hungry predator as he continues to hunt his quarry...
Melo places the essence away as the others turn to finding whatever else is down here with them.
He crouches low drawing his club and starts to sniff at the air, heading to the boot scuff noise.
The surface of the spheres return to their usual flat blackness as Melo moves the essence away from them.
At this stage those of you familiar with tracking and hunting realise that either your quarry is preternaturally skilled or else they are using magic to hide.
Either we do what we are going to do with these globes, or we get the Hell out of here. Flynn replies over his shoulder.
"Agreed. These globes are holding...something prisoner, and waits to be set free." Feldus adds as he continues darting his eyes back and forth. "Which is why our friend has not shown himself yet. He seeks the same, yet lacks the means." He glances back towards Melo and the others are clustered, "Is there a way to unbind these globes?"
Melo places his club away and pulls out the essence. "They react to this, but should I just touch the closest one to me? Are there any markings on them to work out what could be in there?" He says places the essence close to a globe to show the reaction. "Whatever all this is, I want it done. If we have no answers I'm just going to start using it on any globe."
"Hold a moment, if you would," Valex asks. He turns into the cave and raises his voice, addressing the unseen presence.
""
Quietly, to his friends, he says "That should identify me as a member of the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye and give my - relatively junior - rank within it. If that is a guardian left or stationed by the order..."
Unable to see inside the obsidian sphere's opaque interior, Melo jams the glowing essence deep in to the nearest one...
The surface recoils before the glowing might of the essence as it erupts in radiant, blinding light.
The orb is gone, the shattered remnants scattered across the floor, but slowly bleeding back in to the shadows they were formed from. Standing in its place is an alien-looking creature, snarling and staring directly at Melo...
Feldus manages to avert his eyes in time to avoid the blinding flash of light. Whipping around to stare at the creature with a glare, he takes a step towards it ready to lunge at it...
"By the Gods, what is that thing?" He hisses in anger and fear.
Valex, too manages to shield his eyes and avoid the worst of the flash. He stares, curiously, at the freed creature.
Melo is quick shield his eyes but moves even quicker as he spots the unexpected creature's appearance, hunching his shoulders up and baring his teeth. But that quickly melts away as he locks eyes with it and feels the bond, the pull of it.
He holds a hand up to the others, as he kneels down before the animal offering his hand. "This is Echoes-In-Void... it's not from Golarion but we're bonded, it feels as deep as the bond me and Cyn hand. That Essense.. whatever it was I don't know why it happened but I freed this creature."
Flynn whips his head to one side as the flash erupts around him.
It's a.... I don't know what it is.... Melo, can it understand you? Why was it locked in here? Are there more of them? Urgh..... this is too much... the halfling says, his hand running through his long hair.
Feldus pauses briefly, sniffing the air trying to get the new-found scent affixed in his memory. "You say you are...bonded with...it?" He shakes his head in amazement, adding "Can you talk to it? Ask it how it came to be trapped?"
Melo looks to the others and shrugs, then turns back around standing up. "Come here, Echoes." He attempts to command the creature, calling it over wanting to understand their new bond.
Despite your varied experiences and book learning, no-one seems to recognise the creature, other than to be sure it is a magical beast of some sort, and definitely not a Golarion native, most likely from another planet in the same system.
The creature tilts its head and seems to be staring at, or through you, it's eyes azure pools of radiance. It ignores Melo's words and sniffs the air instead. A ripple washes across its fur in a wave and it whirls on the spot, staring off in to the darkness.
Feldus tenses as he reads the body language of the new beast.
It scents our hidden prey...Show yourself now, we are ready for you...
Melo steps forward next to Echoes as it stares off. "Echo can sense our hidden friend." He places a hand on the animals back smoothing it gently and then attempting to push it after the hidden thing.
But where did it come from? And why is it here? And why does it want to bond with you, Melo? Flynn asks, looking off into the darkness after the gaze of the creature.
Echoes' gender does not appear to be readily apparent, and may not even be a biological consideration given what you've seen of its alien nature.
As Melo indicates the surroundings, Echoes lowers its head and its eyes leak red mist as it moves in a stutter-step forwards and sideways, head twisting and turning as it seeks prey. Its claws leave smoking gashes in the stone floor, the air smells of burnt fur in its wake.
It begins to move around one of the spheres...