"Careful now, that stuff seems somehow familiar but I can't quite place it."
"Looks like normal mold to me, but you could be right. Which way we going?"
"Wow! That stuff looks neat! More interesting than dumb eyeball monsters, anyway," Vug says as she walks over and dips her finger in the orange sludge and gives it a sniff.
Urg, who had been about to emphasize steering clear of the sludge, shouts "NO!!!"
Too late, of course.
Actually the sludge isn't that bad. It is very nourishing and tastes a bit like gravy. The mold on the other hand causes Vug Vang 10 points of nonlethal (cold) damage as it sucks out her body heat.
Vug staggers back, shivering wildly.
"Cold goo! Who would have thought of such a thing? Do you think we can harvest some? The possibilities are endless!"
She pulls out an elixir and drinks it. The shivering stops and she looks considerably better afterwards.
"I've got rations, if you're hungry, elf. No need to eat mold!"
"I didn't eat it!" Vug protests indignantly. "I just smelled it a little bit. Do you really think I would go around, tasting random substances that I f-found on the f-f-floor? I've tried it before, and believe me -- it's not an experience I wish to repeat."
"If it's cold, just drop some fire on it and burn it away and lets be done with it. I want to get through this place as quickly as possible and stopping to sight see ,ould isn't my idea of fun," says Chisora gruffly from the rear.
"Not that floating eyeballs and windy faces are really my idea of fun either," she adds to herself.
The sludge and mold only covers the right side of the room, so you can ignore it if you want to explore to the left. Also seeing it in action jogs Bubba's memory .
"Ah, now I remember! It is brown mold, fire will only make it grow - we need to use cold to kill it."
"Okay, let's move on. How about the left passage?"
Vug starts off to the left, carefully avoiding the brown mold this time.
"I'll take the lead."
"Right next to you, with me waraxe in me hand!"
The gray pillar contains an alcove on the right hand, one that were not visible from the entrance. It contains a basin at about 4 feet of height, which is overflowing with the orange sludge, but you give it a wide berth and explore the left side of the room.
Beyond the portal you see a wide chamber (30 feet, and 20 feet deep) that must once have been the living quarters of an important figure. A large stone slab that suggests the shape of a bed rests against the east wall, under a huge bas-relief of a robust, long-nosed bald humanoid figure with outstretched hands. The figure wears a lovingly sculpted wind-tossed robe that gives him the appearance of a triumphant god. A glyph that looks like a stylized arrow marks an amulet worn around the figure’s neck. Wardrobes and dressers seemingly carved from the stone walls look to have been ransacked a long time ago.
On the back side of the gray pillar there is a dry fountain with a spigot set at about 8 feet in height, looking somewhat like a shower. There is also a door in the wall opposite.
Is the door open?
Yes, and the small room beyond is just a lavatory, fortunately old and dry.
Feres moves cautiously into the living quarters chamber and studies the bas-relief of the large humanoid figure, paying particular attention to the glyph on the amulet around the figure's neck. "I wonder what this symbol means..." he wonders aloud.
It's similar to the glyphs that you already found, but seems to represent a different name.
Atop the stone slab a constant breeze seems to form the shape of a bed, a sort of cushion of air.
There are no visible exits and nothing that looks valuable. The entrance to the room opposite is covered in moldy sludge, and that's the only unexplored room that you can see. Do you want to stay and search for secret doors or will you ride the elevator back up?
Valgrim walks around the room to see if his stonecunning lets him find anything.
As a matter of fact Valgrim notices a crack in the east side of the grey pillar. Further examination reveals a hidden catch which when released makes a large section of the east side of the pillar slide upwards into the ceiling.
Under it lies a crushed skeleton wearing shiny silver chainmail that appears to have survived the accident. It is also carrying a leather sack that looks badly mangled. Inside it there are three crushed statuettes of buildings but also three that are still in excellent condition — a grand palace, a slim spire with eight connected smaller towers of different heights, and what looks like a grand stadium.
On the wall of the newly revealed alcove there are a set of pegs, where a few items of equipment hang, namely two wands in leather cases and a pair of glasses. The rest of the pegs are empty.
Standing out in the main room, Chisora notices Valgrim's dealings with the pillar and she wanders over intrigued by his discovery. Looking down at the crushed body though makes her wary and so before anyone touches anything in the opening, she has a quick look around for any trap which might be lurking around.
Perception Check:
"Good eyes, Valgrim!" Vug squeals as she moves over to look at the eyeglasses. "If these items are magic, I can brew an elixir to identify them. I don't have one right at the moment, however."
"Let me examine them!"
Bubba examines each one in turn concentrating deeply on them.
Valgrim admires the craftsmanship of the statuettes. "Ok, unless we have some cold magic, we leave and go back upstairs and turn the coffin again, correct?"
The chainmail, wands and glasses are magical, but the statuettes are not.
Valgrim heads back upstairs via the elevator, waits for the party, and then turns the coffin to the next slot to see what happens.
As you turn the sarcophagus to point toward the green lantern, a cacophonous grinding of metal against stone is heard from that direction.
But we don't see anything different?
No, nothing seems to be happening, although you feel the ground of the corridor rumble slightly, as if something was about to give way.
Valgrim waits a minute (10 rounds) to see if anything happens. If nothing, he turns the coffin.
Vug cheerfully suggests: "Maybe we should take a step back. You know, in case rocks start f-falling on our heads!"
She walks back a short distance to watch what will happen.
Feres watches the proceedings, his face bearing a slightly confused expression.
After only two rounds something seems to give and the stone circle and the contraption below it clatter noisily to the floor far below.
Perception 10:
skittering of thousands of insects making their way up the shaft toward you.
Perception:
"Uh, guys? It sounds like A LOT of insects are coming up that shaft!" Feres warns his companions, hefting his scimitar and shield.
Perception Check:
Chisora's head whips around towards the corridor. She the looks over at Friar Feres and agrees. "Yes. A lot of insects."
She sees Feres start to cast and nods to herself at his wisdom, mumbling the necessary word to give herself some guidance in the coming encounter before pulling out her Hanbo and casting a glowing light upon it.
Initiative:
This may actually be a good time for you to state your positions, as well as rolling for initiative. You have a round or two to prepare yourselves.
Initiative:
init:
Vug readies an action to throw a bomb as soon as a cloud of insects are in view.
Perception:
Initiative:
"People, don't know what me axe is going to do against a lot of insects. It may be best to find some high ground!"
Valgrim heads to that lantern.
Bubba is in H14. He is waiting for the insects to appear and to see what happens with Vug's bomb,
Urg clutches his axe, knowing that it will do no good. Nevertheless, he stands his ground, next to Vug. "If nothing else, maybe I can draw the insects to me, keeping them away from the rest of you. Insects are quite fond of biting me, you know."
After two rounds (enough for Feres to cast Guidance twice) a living geyser of metallic black beetles erupts out of the shaft. After them comes a weird abomination, which looks somewhat like a medium-sized spider, except that its body looks more like one huge disgusting eyeball.
The beetles make a beeline for Urg, but not before Vug gets to throw her bomb at them. Chisora can act too, and then it is the beetles (and the monster).
Valgrim looks down the hallway. If he sees the eyeball monster, he will come back and help. If not, he will start climbing.
attack (w/ PBS):
damage (w/ PBS): , 4 splash damage (Ref DC 13 for 1/2)
Note: versus swarms, area attacks do 1.5x damage.
The swarm makes a beeline for Urg and Vug, spreading a thin coat of bright yellow acid in their wake, but not before Vug throws her bomb at it. Unfortunately it goes wide. The splash leaves some dead beetles on the floor though. Urg and Vug take 1 point of damage each and the acid stings for 2 points (Fort 11 halves).
Chisora delays as the other monster skitters up to Chisora, avoiding the swarm. It slashes at her with a razor-sharp leg but she manages to avoid it.
You are up.