As Quinlan gazes into the black void of infinity, he goes temporarily mad! In his madness, he sees prophetic visions:
8: A steel goddess will unite a nation of immigrants!
1: Mankind will power wondrous mechanisms with lightning in the future!
9: Men will fly without magic, in great, bird-shaped sky ships!
Orpheus' comments cause Boga to pause, "Other gods!? Could this be? The first commandment is 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' Is this tacit admission that other gods do exist? Even if they are lesser? Dare I even think this!?" Boga staggers for a moment, pressing his hand against the wall. "I... I don't know. Let's leave this room and descend the stairs." He turns into the hallway, waiving his hand behind him, as if to dismiss the very existence of the shrine. Deeply troubled, Boga presses on. "Oh Lord, grant me understanding. Give me the strength to carry on in thy will."
Boga plods listlessly, slightly behind the group, deep in thought. He barely notices the Cardinal's and wizard's fascination with the mirror as he obliviously follows the others.
In his rush to stop the cardinal Quinlan finds himself overwhelmed by the mirror's visions. He lunges forward and swipes at Cardinal Lucius with a clawed hand.
Quinlan goes limp in the bear's arms and spews a babble of old irish and english words. He suddenly tenses and struggles futilely against Johann's tight grip. Quickly the tiefling stops to shake his head clear. "Thank you Johann, I am okay now." he then turns sheepishly to Lucius. "Like I was saying, careful with that."
Confused about what just happened, Zagathoth slowly and inquisitively begins to move towards the mirror...
Seeing Zagathoth begin to move toward the mirror, apparently curious about it, the Fox moves to deflect.
"Zagathoth, my dear friend--won't you lead us farther down the corridor to see what lies ahead? This mirror is clearly not meant for mortals like us to use."
[dice=Sense Motive]1d20+9
Seeing Zagathoth begin to move toward the mirror, apparently curious about it, the Fox moves to deflect.
[dice=Diplomacy]1d20+13
"Zagathoth, my dear friend--won't you lead us farther down the corridor to see what lies ahead? This mirror is clearly not meant for mortals like us to use."
Orpheus, seeing Quinlan’s predicament, bursts out in high-pitched, tweety laughter... He then sings sweetly:
Once, the Bear did place his derrrier
Firmly upon Mister Quinlan
The cracking of bones and the grimacing groans
Could be heard from Italia to Finland...
The sudden attack by Quinlan and immediate response by Johann, pull Boga out of his insensibility. Seeing Quinlan under control , Boga turns to Lucius and inspects his wound. "Fortunately, just a flesh wound. Good thing he didn't start casting! I hardly noticed that mirror back there. What sort of evil is that?"
Quinlan looks up at his captor and shakes his head slightly. "I understand your mistrust bear" His expression shifts to a grimace. "But I still don't appreciate it." the last few words are wheezed out as the bear shifts his weight atop the frail tiefling's ribs.
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"Let him go Johann." Lucius intervenes. "It was the mirror - it caused him to go mad for a moment. It offers views of things which should not be seen. We should move on."
Lucius waits until the rest of the party has moved out of view and then slams his sword into the mirror as best he can without looking at it directly. He continues to do so until the mirror is shattered (or something nasty happens)...
Zagathoth tilts his head to one side as he considers the fox's words. After looking at the priest's calmness and the horned-man's state he nods and agrees, "only for priests..."
At the Cardinal's statement on moving on, the burly orc begins to lead the way forward, deeper still into the catacombs.
"Let him go Johann." Lucius intervenes. "It was the mirror - it caused him to go mad for a moment. It offers views of things which should not be seen. We should move on."
Lucius waits until the rest of the party has moved out of view and then slams his sword into the mirror as best he can without looking at it directly. He continues to do so until the mirror is shattered (or something nasty happens)...
The Crusaders hear the echoing CLANK!! CLANK!! CLANK!! as Cardinal Lucius’ blind strokes with magic blade mar the magic concave oracular mirror...
Zagathoth tilts his head to one side as he considers the fox's words. After looking at the priest's calmness and the horned-man's state he nods and agrees, "only for priests..."
At the Cardinal's statement on moving on, the burly orc begins to lead the way forward, deeper still into the catacombs.
It is keen-eyed Zagathoth who first spots a rainbow glow to the right down the northbound corridor...
After repeatedly hammering at the mirror Lucius takes a cautious glance, trying to assess the damage.
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Once he is done the Cardinal hurries down the corridor to rejoin his fellow crusaders.
The adventurers draw near the threshold of the chamber to the north with its rainbow glow...
Johann’s keen nose detects a strange, unplaceable scent—reminiscent of alchemical substances that remind him of his old rival, Rumplestilskin, mixed with a smell like damp limestone... There is something not-quite-alive-but-not-quite-inanimate ahead to the left inside the chamber with the rainbow glow...
”More colors,” Zagathoth calls back to his companions as he presses on in the exploration.
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Johann sees little choice but to morph back to his normal body, wasting some of his precious energy to maintain the bear-form. WAIT, ZAGATHOTH. MY NOSE TELLS ME THESE LIGHTS ARE... DANGEROUS. THAT SHOULD NOT SURPRISE YOU."
Johann looks about, for a loose rock, or human bone, and he throws it through the light.
As Zagathoth and Johann enter this long chamber, they can see that the rainbow lights come from a series of colored lights to the east. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and indigo...
In the unlit western end of this long hall stands a ten-foot-high basalt idol of a horned, winged, clawed devil with barbed tail, its eye sockets filled with sparkling opals that reflect the rainbow glow from the east...
CRUSADERS VS STONE DEVIL!! ROUND 1!! FIGHT!! EEEEK!!
JOHANN!
ZAGATHOTH!
OGON FOX & ORPHEUS!
QUINLAN!
CARDINAL LUCIUS!
BOGA!
STONE DEVIL!
OOOH OOOH AAAH!!
The Fox steps past Johann to the northeasternmost square just this side of the colored light and tests the creature's defenses with ranged mystic bolt.
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Johann curses under his breath about his obsession with the lights, rather than following his nose and looking to his left. What a waste of his transformative energy! He transforms back to major form of a bear as a standard action, adopts the minor form of a bear as a swift action, and steps right in front of the stone devil to get its attention.
The Fox steps past Johann to the northeasternmost square just this side of the colored light and tests the creature's defenses with ranged mystic bolt.
[dice=vs touch & flat-footed AC]1d20+5
[dice=electric damage with sneak attack]1d6+1+2d6
The stone devil jerks as the Fox’s mystic bolt strikes it!
The stone devil shifts into a beastly battle stance facing the Bear, the chamber echoing with the grating rumble of stone on stone! Its opal eyes blaze with rainbow fires!
Zagathoth looks quizzically at the devil statue. When it assumes a battle position he moves through his companions and hacks at it with doomcresent.
,
,
Zagathoth looks quizzically at the devil statue. When it assumes a battle position he moves through his companions and hacks at it with doomcresent.
[dice=attack]1d20+8, [dice=for]2d4+13
[dice=confirm?]1d20+8, [dice=for another]2d4+13
The stone devils rocks under Zagathoth’s heavy blow!
"I may not be much help with this one, golems like this have a nasty habit of ignoring magic."
Quinlan casts the same spell as before, filling his companions with the same feeling of vigor as before.
[dice=Knowledge Arcana]1d20+14
"I may not be much help with this one, golems like this have a nasty habit of ignoring magic."
Quinlan casts the same spell as before, filling his companions with the same feeling of vigor as before.
Johann sees little choice but to morph back to his normal body, wasting some of his precious energy to maintain the bear-form. WAIT, ZAGATHOTH. MY NOSE TELLS ME THESE LIGHTS ARE... DANGEROUS. THAT SHOULD NOT SURPRISE YOU."
Johann looks about, for a loose rock, or human bone, and he throws it through the light.
Johann lobs a skull into the rainbow lights... a variety of effects seem to act upon the skull as it arcs rapidly through each band of colored light in turn—blackened as if by fire passing through the red light; dissolving slightly in the corrosive orange light, crackling with electric sparks in the yellow, and seeming almost to calcify into stone after passing through the green, blue, and indigo lights!
There appear to be six bands of colored light to the east, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and indigo, each ten feet thick, extending from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. There are also six staggered alcoves inside the colored bands of light, one in each color, alternating sides of the broad eastbound hall. Within each alcove can be seen a pedestal, upon which rests some weapon or item of obvious value!
Upon the pedestal in the red alcove lies a falchion of scarlet steel, with gold wire-wrapped hilt and gold crossbars inlaid with dandelions, garnets, and red jasper, and a sparkling pommel of fire opal. Runes are graven in the red blade.
Upon the pedestal in the orange alcove lies an amulet in the shape of a reptilian claw on a black adamantine necklace. The pedestal upon which it rests seems pitted by some caustic substance.
Upon the pedestal in the yellow alcove lies a gleaming longsword, hilt wrapped in wire of yellow gold, crossbars inset with yellow topaz and amber, pommel shaped like a copper lightning bolt. Runes and lightning bolt symbols are etched into the blade and filled with amber.
On the pedestal in the green alcove lies a curvy-bladed dagger of green steel, its hilt wrapped in viper skin, its crossbars shaped like snake fangs, and its pommel a glittering emerald. Runes graven in the serpentine blade likely spell its name.
On the pedestal in the blue alcove lies a blue quartz jar of ointment, labeled with Draconic runes.
And on the pedestal in the indigo alcove lies a headband of fine-wrought silver and copper, inset with peridots, alexandrites, and onyx.
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Lucius takes a deep breath and wraps his cloak around himself. "Father, you hold me in your hands, your rod and staff comfort me. As long as I am with you I shall fear no evil."
He advances swiftly to the first alcove and grasps the falchion, lifting it from the pedestal and praying that his guess is correct.
Lucius takes a deep breath and wraps his cloak around himself. "Father, you hold me in your hands, your rod and staff comfort me. As long as I am with you I shall fear no evil."
He advances swiftly to the first alcove and grasps the falchion, lifting it from the pedestal and praying that his guess is correct.
ooc]Please remember that Lucius has SR and another +2 on saves if evil is involved.[/ooc]
The cardinal feels blistering heat as he enters the red light and grasps the hilt of the scarlet falchion! As he lifts the blade from the stone pedestal, there is a grating of stone on stone as the pedestal sinks into the floor, and the burning red light fades away, much to Lucius’ relief!
BOGA HAND OF JAN HUS!
STONE DEVIL!
THEN ROUND 2!! OOH AHH AHH AHH!!
Boga moves behind Zagathoth, such that he is adjacent to both Johann and Zagathoth. He calls for the Lord's blessing on Zagathoth, "Give thy guidance to Zagathoth's blade!"
The stone devil lunges at Zagathoth with its stone horns... goring the orc for piercing damage!
It then lashes out at Johann with its stony barbed tail dealing slashing damage!
CRUSADERS VS STONE DEVIL!! ROUND 2!! FIGHT!! EEEEK!!
JOHANN!
ZAGATHOTH!
OGON FOX & ORPHEUS!
QUINLAN!
CARDINAL LUCIUS!
BOGA HAND OF JAN HUS!
STONE DEVIL!
OOOH OOOH AAAH!!