Initiative:
Feres raises his shield and swings his scimitar at the giant beetle.
Attack:
Damage:
Urg's greataxe finishes off the beetle, already damaged by the splash from Vug's blast. With a mighty chop he sends the beetle sprawling, a disgusting brown liquid seeping out through the cracked carapace. Even more disgusting is the sight of surviving small beetles scuttling forth to feed off it.
The north and south walls of this large chamber taper in somewhat, and in the nook of the far eastern wall rests a wide stone basin backed by a five-foot-tall shelf. A hardened orange paste spills out over the two-foot basin lip and covers much of the shelf.
A huge organic mass completely fills the room’s southwest corner. Judging by the beetles spilling from within, it appears to be an enormous nest.
Valgrim walks around the room, trying to avoid the nest, using his stonecunning and Perception:
Valgrim finds no secret doors nor traps, but cannot not notice the presence of three oblong lumps completely covered with orange sludge in the nest in the room’s southeast corner.
Valgrim grunts, sheathes his waraxe, and with handaxe in hand steps into the nest, and digs the lumps out for the party to get a better view, using the handaxe to break any stiffened sludge.
The sludge is crisp and papery, so Valgrim's axe cuts easily through it, sending a number of beetles scuttling away. Inside there are the skeletal remains of three bodies wearing soiled red leather armor with the now familiar double MM. The armors are useless but one of the bodies is carrying three small vials and another carries an average-sized pearl (worth 100 gp).
Valgrim passes the vials and pearl to Vug and Bubluka so they can detect magic on them.
Bubba examines the vials, concentrating:
Actually the vials are identical and there are three of them. Both them and the pearl are magical, but Bubba can't quite discern what kind.
Bubba passes them to Vug.
In the meantime, Valgrim goes for another submersion underwater and checks out both the right and left rooms to make sure he did not leave any stone unturned. Perception check, if needed:
Valgrim finds some interesting stuff in the room opposite the one where you fought the ghoul. A pile of tattered clothes stuffed into one of the lockers hides a pouch containing 38 gold, 2 platinum, and 55 silver pieces. It is otherwise identical in shape and contents. Nothing else appears to be of interest.
After Valgrim finishes underwater, Chisora asks, "so are we going to try and get past that orange mould back down th other passage, or are we just going to try the other lanterns we've yet to attempt?"
Valgrim brings the pouch out and informs the party of what he found.
"Unless we have cold magic, which we didn't have before, the only other option is to light all the lanterns and see what happens."
We go back up and hang/light all the lanterns.
"Yes, let's try the lanterns."
Vug tastes one of the potions to see if she can identify it.
Perception (DC 15 + caster level to identify):
She shrugs. "Doesn't taste f-f-familiar to me."
As there isn't much left to explore down here you go back up and hang the lanterns in their presumed places, placing lit torches in each one.
As you light the last lantern you hear a grinding noise in the direction of the blue lantern.
Chisora immediately turns towards the sound and unfurls her Whip, mindful of the beetles pouring out of the last tunnel they opened..
This time nothing comes out of the floor. The noise also sounds more distant than that.
"The blue lantern is the one with the Stone Face in the passage above that almost blew us off. Maybe it's not there anymore." Valgrim hurries there and climbs the chain to have a look.
The stone face is still there, but the stone slab covering the inside of its mouth is gone, revealing a passage deeper into the mountain.
Valgrim alerts the party and leads them down the passage, both axes out.
The passage is 10 feet wide but very soon turns into a very strange room.
Through the gaping mouth at the end of the hallway is a long, dark room with no floor. A three-foot-wide beam of petrified wood spans the chasm, leading straight ahead into darkness. About ten feet below the beam, countless iron spheres the size of large oranges form an irregular floor, but it’s impossible to tell if they represent a wholly solid surface.
The walls to either side are covered in a honeycomb of geometric patterns. The featureless stone ceiling extends about twenty feet from the beam.
Those of you with darkvision can discern a metal door on the other side of the room, some 45 feet away.
Chisora once more casts light onto her Hanbo and climbs through the stone mouth, making sure to sweep for Traps as she goes.
Perception Check:
EDIT:
Leaving the beam for the moment, Chisora moves towards the walls to examine the honeycomb pattern, alert for anything out of the ordinary.
The only way of crossing the room short of either Spiderclimbing or walking across the iron balls is the beam. The same goes for the side walls. As stated, the room has no real floor (no visible one at any rate).
Chisora spots no traps. Are the rest of you following? And at what distance? You will obviously be walking in single file on the beam.
"Perhaps we should cross one at a time. I will go first."
Valgrim holds Bubluka back. "Can't you use the wand of unseen servant to send it across to send it across? This set-up looks suspicious."
"Mmm, not a bad idea."
Bubba uses the wand to conjure an unseen servant. He directs it to cross the beam, and exert as much downward force as possible in the middle .
The invisible force does nothing to the beam, which seems stable enough. Not slippery either.
Valgrim speaks to Bubluka: "Ok, have the unseen servant within 30', walk ahead of you on the beam and we'll follow you." Valgrim sheathes the handaxe to have one hand free, in case he falls.
How much distance do you want between yourselves and Bubba?
"Ok, the architecture of this room is very odd. Why the narrow beam if it is only 10' above the floor? To force you to go on the floor? Then there must be some danger on the ground. And what's with these iron balls?"
EDIT: "Does anyone detect any magic?"
"I agree; it looks like a trap to me. Maybe the balls come f-flying up? Or the room tilts? Or balls shoot out of the walls?"
Vug is uncharacteristically thoughtful, considering what to do next.
If no magic is detected, Valgrim ties the silk rope around his waist, gives the other end to either Bubba or Urg and lowers himself the 10' onto the floor and balls, waraxe in hand, looking out for any danger.
As Valgrim prepares to descend to the iron ball-covered floor below, Feres prays for Sarenrae to grant the brave dwarf a bit of Her holy guidance.
Bubba casts detect magic before he ventures across the beam.
Bubba detects no magic. Valgrim descends safely among the iron balls. They shift slightly under him, making the entire room difficult terrain. He is not aware of any danger, though.
Is anyone following Bubba (or Valgrim)?
Urg joins Valgrim.
"Bubba, don't cross yet, til Urg and I have had a chance to investigate down here." Valgrim slowly starts crossing the room, walking on the iron balls carefully, so as not to fall. He is wielding the waraxe in 2 hands.
As Valgrim gingerly picks his way among the iron balls, suddenly there is a clicking moving as the balls ahead of him seem to move of their own accord. What looks like a cobra made of metal plates with shining red dots for eyes shoots out of the balls and bites your leg. Fortunately it fails to penetrate your armor.
Suddenly you hear a disembodied boyish voice echoing around the chamber: "Ouch! Watch out for that one."
Roll for initiatives. The cobra is on 13.
Vug shouts "Look out, Valgrim! Don't damage it too much! I want to study it!" as she hurls a javelin at the cobra-thing.
(add +1 to both rolls if it's within 30 feet)
"Damn, serpent!"
"Me too!"
On his turn Bubba will draw his shortbow and take a shot.
After the serpent's turn, Valgrim looks in disdain at his teammates' lackluster efforts and brings his waraxe down on the cobra.
Valgrim dodges the metallic serpent's second bite too and proceeds to decapitate it.
As Valgrim sends the snake's head clattering away across the iron balls, you hear another eerily cheerful voice coming out of the wall behind Urg: "Impressive." The source of the sound follows right after.
What comes out of the wall looks like a translucent 13-year-old farm boy with a broken neck, long black fingernails, and a demoniac glare in his eyes. He continues to speak (unless you try to forcibly interrupt him) "I have been here for ages, you know, as a punishment for abandoning my family in a time of need. I ran away and was killed in this very room."
"I've seen a lot of adventurers like you come and go. The trap in the walls kills most of them, but others have left in humiliation, unable to pass through the far metal door. But I could help you, you know."
"I can't leave the way you came because of my curse, but I am able to push through the far wall. Beyond is a glorious chamber of strange carvings and a pillar of air. And there’s a catch on the other side of the door that opens it without a problem. I’ll trigger it for you if you take my bones from here (they lie right at the other end of the room) and bury them with my family on a farmstead just beyond Diamond Lake. Do this for me, and I will be free. You will never be able to get through the door otherwise."
Vug moans, "Valgrim, I told you not to break it! Now it's just a hunk of junk."
She jumps back when the ghost comes out of the wall. "Hello, Mister Ghost. What wall trap are you talking about? Do iron balls shoot out of the walls?"
She jumps back when the ghost comes out of the wall. "Hello, Mister Ghost. What wall trap are you talking about? Do iron balls shoot out of the walls?"
The ghost looks surprised, which creates an uncanny sight as he cranes his broken neck upwards. "Why, yes, milady. How did you know? Hurt like hell it did too, if you pardon my language."
Valgrim gripped his waraxe tightly when the ghost appeared. Damn undead, they should all be put down once and for all. But wait, this is but a boy and he's cursed, asking for our help. I have to put my prejudices aside.
"Where are your bones, boy, so we may end your curse? Did you have a name in life?"
"My name is Alastor Land, and I grew up at the Land farmstead, just outside Wolfstone. That's where I'd like you to bury me, next to my family that died from the plague many years ago. My bones can be found about three feet below the surface of the iron balls. If you could lift my curse I would be eternally grateful, and of course I'd be happy to help you get through that door."