Johann soon returns with Mavis, his thrush familiar, perched on his shoulder. He nods to Tiadora and waits for Yanev to return.
0th: Detect Magic, Read Magic
1st: Feather Fall, Grease, Magic Missile, Obscuring Mist, Summon Monster I, Vanish
2nd: Create Pit, Glitterdust, Summon Monster II, Summon Monster II
After you are finished preparing Tiadora leads you to the test. "Good luck." She says and sounds almost like she means it.
A set of stone stairs leads down, through an archway and into an unfurnished chamber beyond. Inscribed upon the archway in the common tongue is:
“Deception is a tool. Self-deception is death. Deceive always thy enemy but never thyself.”
The room beyond is lit by a small oil lantern hanging from the center of the chamber. There is only one other feature in the room, a door on the opposite wall from where you entered.
Grumblejack cracks his knuckles.
"So, how do we handle this?" He asks.
"Enter it?" Johann suggests. "Though the inscription of deception might mean there's a trap or illusion inside. Or we could be wasting time." He looks around, trying to see anything out of place.
Looking carefully around Johann finds a pit trap in front of the far door and two false walls, one to either side of the room. Would he like to mess with any of them?
"Ah, there, I see it." Johann points out his discoveries. "A pit trap in front of the far door and two false walls on either side of the room.
"I suggest seeing to the false walls first. Would anyone like to do the honors? I'd rather not volunteer to be in front."
"I'm not good with traps, and I'm sure this room is full of them!" Grumblejack declares.
The doctor takes the front "Not many are good with traps, practicing is often fatal. But being a good physician is as much about have a good eye for detail as anything else. Step where I step, either it will be safe or you'll get a warning when I scream."
Walking towards the door on the left careful check each step before taking the next. When/if he reaches the wall he'll look for a way to open it, failing that he'll smash it.
The wall conceals a small niche. Inside that niche is a small pedestal that holds a jewel that glows with pale blue light. It is cold to the touch. There is another inscription: “Thou hast seen through deception to uncover a useful tool.”
Yanev pulls out the jewel and has a closer look at it. . Handing to Johann he says "Apparently this is useful but damned if I know what it is." leaving the other looking at the jewel he'll make his way across to the other false wall careful to avoid the pit trap and look for a way to open that one too.
Johann takes the jewel and inspects it with a discerning eye.
"Ah, easily shattered sealed quartz with alchemist's ice inside. I hope we won't have to use this. It's a lovely gem."
Beyond the other secret wall is a passage. The short passage ends in a wooden door with another inscription: “Following the herd is for fools. Fear not their icy derision. Instead, fear only thy Infernal Lord.”
Inside the stone chamber, there are four doors – each facing a cardinal direction. The entire chamber seems strangely cold. The ground is dirty and tracks show at least a dozen individuals have walked towards the southern and the eastern doors. No one seems to have approached the western door. This room is also lit with a small oil lantern that hangs from the ceiling. There is a small amount of frost on the lantern’s glass panes. The eastern and southern doors are plain wooden doors. The western door is covered in a strange pulsating violet mold. This mold feeds on warmth and is the source of the strange temperature drop.
"Ah, I think this is the correct way forward." Johann enters the passage and opens the door, peering inside. The sudden cold makes him shiver and he notices the strange mold.
"I think the inscription says we've to enter the mold-covered door."
The doctor uncorks one of his potion before continuing.
"Sounds logical to me. Do you think it's telling me that I shouldn't fear the mold, or am I being overly literal?." Yanev asks as he goes to the lantern and has a closer look.
Yanev approaches the mold arm out in front of him. If it gets so cold that it will do permanent damage or if the mold moves he'll pull back again.
The mold clearly drains heat that gets near it but Yanev pulls his hand back before any damage is done.
"Thats cold enough to burn. Seems to me there are two options. One: it needs to be cold to live and applying fire to it will kill it. Two: it needs heat, which it sucks in from around it, to live and applying fire will make it bigger. I suspect option two since the Cardinal was kind enough to give us that cold crystal. Give me a moment I'll try an experiment." The doctor says.
Pulling out his long spear he attempts to dislodge a small piece of the mold. Once it is on the ground he drags it away from the main body using the spear. Having isolated it in a corner of the room he pulls out and pours a little oil on it and lights it standing well back.
"This is your expertise so I'll leave you to it." Johann stands well back and keeps the crystal on hand. "Either way, I can summon an elemental to deal with it and leave this crystal intact."
The mold explodes into rapid growth as it burns, quickly tripling in size before it absorbs all the heat.
"Excellent, this might be very useful." The doctor says chipping bits off the new growth and putting them into pottery jars from the portable lab kit. He then securing them away before turning to Johann and says. "If you would like to summon your cold elemental, I suggest you get to approach what is left of my experiment first as in case it reacts badly to cold as well."
Johann begins chanting and moving his arms in fluid strokes, summoning a creature into this plane.
The small ice elemental appears in a burst of condensation, snow and ice composing its humanoid body where it tapers off into a tail at the bottom.
Without the proper language to communicate in, he motions for the elemental to go near the mould and attack it.
Skipping up from the previous rooms, is Annie, hey guys, sorry I'm late, there was so much interesting stuff...Hey its cold in here, you want me to warm things up?
"No!" Yanev yells then lowering his voice "Sorry Annie, this thing reacts badly to warmth. Johann is trying something dangerous so we'll let him concentrate."
As soon as the Elemental touches the test mold it withers away, dieing quickly and without dramatic effect, shrinking from a vital growth into a small withered lump.
"Excellent, now deal with the main growth. We should move fairly quickly, if there is something aggressive in the next room that elemental may serve two purposes"
"Very well." Johann gestures for the elemental to move ahead of them.
The elemental destroys the giant mold and it withers away, revealing a door with the inscription: “Thou hast made thy own path.”
Yanev opens the revealed and pushes forward quickly.
Johann follows behind, keeping the elemental in front before it disappears.
Through the door is another one of plain wood with yet another inscription: “Know your enemy. Shatter all that blinds you and then burn thy adversary to ashes.”
Opening the door the chamber beyond is completely dark.
Can Yanev see anything with his 30ft dark vision?
Yanev's eyes pierce the darkness and he sees a pedestal in the center of the room with a shard of obsidian on it, it is from this object the darkness emanates.
He also sees that there are tiny holes in the floor and leaking through them and rising up is a blood red mist that undulates and quivers as if alive.
"There is some kind of mist in the floor, send the elemental in maybe it'll freeze the mist or something. I'll have a go at fixing the darkness."
Yanev removes and empties his belt pouch while he waits for the elemental to attract the attention on the mist thing. If it does he'll run in and put the let pouch over the obsidian an scoop it and run back outside, if the element doesn't attract the mist's attention he'll wait outside the room.
Johann sends the element in, but not before commenting, "Shouldn't we shatter it? The inscription does say so."
"If required yes, but I don't want to waste such a useful tool for future deception if it can be avoided."
After Yanev scoops up the crystal the room is no longer in darkness and the mist shivers and speaks.
Annie was following along, she didn't have much to offer. but she was trying to make sense of all the riddles.
the latest one definitely peeked her interest, burning something to ashes. that was something that she could relate to.
once the darkness vanishes, and putting together what she knows. Annie shoots a bolt of fire at the mist, thinking that it is the thing that needs to burn.
Johann doesn't understand the noises, though he assumes it speech. "Does anyone speak whatever it is speaking?"
He then watches as Annie impulsively shoots at the mist.
"No idea, but I think Annie removed the need to talk." Yanev yells as he runs back to the corridor and away from the holes in the ground.
The mist shrieks as it is struck and retreats into the holes in the floor, leaving the room quiet for the moment.
As silence descends on the room the adventurers can see a door on the far side. Should they approach it? Is the mist gone for good or just waiting? Either way it didn't seem like a particularly fast moving creature.
"We should probably get going unless you'd like to make sure it burns. We don't even know if it's hostile in the first place. Would either of you, or perhaps Tibbers, like to volunteer to the door?"
"I suspect it is hostile now. Tibbers or another summoned creature seem like wise options. Alternatively if anyone has lantern oil we could pour it down the holes and burn it out." Yanev offers
Johann motions for the elemental to go forward.
The elemental moves about the room then checks the far door, it seems the room is safe and there is no activity from the mist. The far door has a message inscribed above it; “Cruelty is a tool not a pastime. Be ruthless to thy enemy but reward those who serve thee well.”
Would you like to enter the door?
Johann moves to enter, nodding to where the mist was.
The doctor waits for a moment for the mist to react before following Johann. Upon reading the new message he chuckles "I couldn't agree more. Tiadora might not agree however."