Thank you, I thought so too, Your Highness! Why would the pope choose a big oaf like Johann for an important quest, and not a powerful wizard like me, for instance!? It's...it's...inconceivable!!
Frowning and wagging a finger at Rumplestilskin, Ariel admonishes, Don't call that sweet Bear a big oaf! He's my good friend! He would sit on the strand and tell me tales of the Black Forest, and I would toss clams up for him to crack open and slurp down! Hehehe... He loved those clams!
My apologies, yes, Johann is also my friend... I mean no harm with my friendly jest... We both call each other names... a sign of our mutual endearment! Haha! So... About that decanter?
Aye, you may have it--for Johann! I shall fetch it... Remember your promise! I don't want anyone to drown or get hurt, though... Alright?
Rumplestilskin's brow furrows and his eyes shift about as he thinks...
Uh... Yeah, sure... I'll make certain no one else is drowned or hurt in the shipwreck... Saving Prince Eric shall be up to ye, Your Highness!
Their deal agreed upon, Ariel swims away, returning an hour later with the decanter of endless water, which she gives to Rumplestilskin. He thanks the mermaid princess and places the magic decanter in his handy Hackensack...
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Johann sees the light approaching up the tunnel. More foes!
As fast as he can he makes his way around the trapped room again, to block the path of the newcomer.
"STAND RIGHT THERE, UNDEAD FIEND! YOU SHALL NOT HAVE THIS GROUP OF HEROES!"
...But then he see it is just a human, clearly alive. "WHO ARE YOU? DO YOU LIVE DOWN HERE? TELL ME, QUICKLY!"
Boga moves toward the eastern archway, when, within the circle of light projected by the halo, he sees a small fox run out of the darkness. Boga immediately stops, fumbling for and drawing his crossbow. "Careful, little one," he says mostly to himself.
As he tries to take aim at the fox, the light in the distance fast approaches, accompanied by a stentorian call accusing him of being an unholy agent. Boga stops as he recognizes Johann Kaltgeboren from the description given him. He responds, "I am no undead and you must be Johann. I am sent from the Pope as reinforcement for the quest. I mean you no harm, only assistance. Please help me with this fox!"
Cardinal Lucius quickly realizes that this newcomer must be the heretic Pope Eugenius told him about privately... A man doing penance for following the heresy of Jan Hus and the Bohemian Reformation... He is to aid the quest with powers of healing which the pope cannot deny as evidence of God’s grace upon this ecclesitheurge... Perhaps that is why Pope Eugenius did not excommunicate and then burn this heretic at the stake, as he did his master, the charismatic Jan Hus...
"It is a good fox," Zagathoth reports from the far side of the weak floor, "the floor is bad though."
Although he is a fair distance away, the hulking orc's abnormal size is readily apparent. More disconcerting than that, however, is the way he continues to look around erratically and allow his heavy sword wave around while he does. "There is a magic spy too," he adds.
"It is a good fox"
Seeing the fox's lack of agression and hearing a nonthreatening voice, Boga relaxes just a bit. He calls back, "Ahh, the fox is yours. Please call him off until we are properly introduced."
"There is a magic spy, too"
"A magic spy!? Where?" Boga immediately looks about.
"It is a good fox"Seeing the fox's lack of agression and hearing a nonthreatening voice, Boga relaxes just a bit. He calls back, "Ahh, the fox is yours. Please call him off until we are properly introduced."
"There is a magic spy, too""A magic spy!? Where?" Boga immediately looks about.
[dice=Perception]1d20+4
Boga sees no sign of a “magic spy” (the sensor has vanished by now), but he does notice that the floor of the chamber from which the Fox and Bear address him sags dangerously near the center...
Boga approaches Johann until they are separated by about 15 feet.
He sizes Johann up, "I am Bohumil Horacek, a servant of our Eternal Father, and I am here to help. The Pope felt inspired to include me as a part of the quest, and I am more than willing. These enemies of God must be destroyed for His work to prosper."
"I see that you've been busy," says Boga while nodding toward the ghast carcasses. "The Lord's work has already begun. Is anyone seriously injured?"
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"I'M NOT GONNA LIE. IT WAS UGLY AGAINST THOSE GHASTS. WE ARE OKAY NOW... BUT I'M HAPPY TO HAVE A HEALER ALONG. YOU ARE MY NEW BEST FRIEND."
Johann approaches Boga, and wraps one arm around him and starts walking him down the hallway. "COME! LET US DO THE LORD'S WORK. WE SHALL START BY NOT COLLAPSING THE FLOOR AHEAD."
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"Bohumil Horacek, the Holy Father told me to expect you." Lucius greets the newcomer politely. "Cardinal Lucius d'Borja. I believe I am meant to be your... liason with my fellow churchmen whilst we are here. I hope to have the opportunity to discuss theology with you at some point in the future."
As Johann scoops the newcomer up Lucius smiles. "Forgive our friend Johann. He is a most enthusiastic sort."
"COME! LET US DO THE LORD'S WORK. WE SHALL START BY NOT COLLAPSING THE FLOOR AHEAD."
Boga is happy to be readily accepted by the others. He certainly had not expected such an enthusiastic reception. He lowers his crossbow and walks with Johann down the hallway. "Yes, let's continue the Lord's work. This is the second warning about the floor," Boga points to the very large orc down the way. "Zagathoth, right? He warned me just a moment ago. What's the best way through?"
"Bohumil Horacek, the Holy Father told me to expect you." Lucius greets the newcomer politely. "Cardinal Lucius d'Borja. I believe I am meant to be your... liason with my fellow churchmen whilst we are here. I hope to have the opportunity to discuss theology with you at some point in the future."
When Boga is closer to Lucius, he gives a slight bow and says, "Pleased to meet you. Sorry for my tardiness. The Pope spoke very highly of you, and yes, I'd love to have another with whom to discuss our beloved beliefs."
"Welcome to the team! I'm Quinlan." He gives a distracted wave. Still scanning the room he reports "It seems the sensor is gone. Who could be scrying us? That's powerful magic, it doesn't bode particularly well for our little mission."
"Oh. Nice to meet you was well. Pleased to be of assistance." Boga reaches out to shake Quinlan's hand. "Was that the 'magic spy'? A scry sensor? Do we know or can we guess who would be so interested in us? You're right, that is not a favorable sign." He nervously makes the sign of the cross as he looks around once more.
"No threats have come forward other than those we have fought up to this point." The lad clad in scarlet nods politely at the newly-arrived Boga. "I am Arc Perdu. Thank you for arriving so swiftly, monsieur." Arc relies heavily on the rest of the party for translation, considering he speaks no German whatsoever.
On seeing Arc Perdu use a translator, Boga addresses him in English, "I came as quickly as I could. After seeing those ghasts, I am relieved to find everyone doing so well. Clearly, you are quite a capable group, but I still hope to contribute."
The fox becomes the Fox once again and extends a hand toward Boga. "You are welcome, indeed, sir. Now let's see what this shiny column ahead is about, shall we? Johann, will you lead the way?"
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With everyone lined up properly, Johann and Zag start walking down the corridor again. This time, Johann pays particular attention to the recesses in the walls. I wonder how many bodies are down here... And what is the body to undead ratio? Ol' ma always loved her math.
Johann looks for valuable in the recesses as they go.
Sensing that nobody else is concerned about the magic spy, Zagathoth accepts that he must have misunderstood or missed something when the others were using other languages and ceases his erratic looking. With a newfound focus he watches for enemies or traps as they move towards the column.
The fox becomes the Fox once again and extends a hand toward Boga.
Boga is startled upon seeing the fox transform into a man, but still is aware enough to shake the man's hand. "Oh! I... I had no idea! Pardon me, but I had taken you for a pet. My sincere apologies. Pleased to make your acquaintance. I believe I have now met everyone but Zagathoth. Let me go introduce myself."
Boga makes his way to Zagathoth, carefully keeping to the room's edge to avoid straining the floor. Only when he draws close does he begin to appreciate Zagathoth's sheer bulk. "Now here is one to be named Horacek!" he chuckles to himself. In English, he addresses Zagathoth, "Hello. I am Bohumil Horacek. It is very nice to meet you. I hope that we can become excellent comrades," and he extends his hand.
Contrary to what Zagathoth thinks Quinlan is quite concerned about the "magic spy". Less about the fact that someone is watching them then the idea that someone capable of that kind of magic is interested in them at all. He nervously flicks his hands about as he moves down the corridors, trying to detect any other magic before it can surprise him. "Ghasts, and ghosts, and folks spying on us. This is a truly charming place, and we've barely gone anywhere."
Johann and Zagathoth lead the adventurers into the fifty-foot-diameter circular chamber with the twenty-five-foot-diameter silver mirrored column at center. Essentially, this leaves a circular roundabout some ten-feet-wide, the concave outer walls of which have been painted with fading murals depicting a handsome youth playing a lyre, wooing a nymph with his music, the nymph dying from a viper's sting, the youthful lyrist grieving and braving the terrors of the Underworld to find the shade of his beloved nymph, and other scenes which seem to portray the tale of some mythical musician and his nymph lover...
Zagathoth's plain, keen-eyed scrutiny descries a series of symbols graven in a band under the murals...
The central silver column reflects the murals in reverse, as well as the graven symbols, which appear on the convex mirror as legible Roman letters, spelling out the following message: De coloribus sex lucere debet recludam ad altius mysterious...
Before the party advances too far, Boga speaks up, "The Pope was kind enough to share some of his resources. I chose some scrolls that should help us down here. With these blessings from On High, one of us can become undetectable by these evil undead. When we want, I can cast this on one proficient in avoiding traps," he looks back at the previous room, "and he can scout unmolested by them. Unfortunately, the effect will only last a few minutes, but when we want it, it can be done."
Ghasts, and ghosts, and folks spying on us. This is a truly charming place, and we've barely gone anywhere.
"Do we need to take any special precautions for the spying? I confess that while I am unable to do anything about that, I can provide some protection and healing."
Johann and Zagathoth lead the adventurers into the fifty-foot-diameter circular chamber with the twenty-five-foot-diameter silver mirrored column at center.
Boga carefully approaches the mirrored column.
He examines the both the column and wall closely while walking around.
"Hmm... Lucius, do you have any ideas?"
Another ten-foot-wide-by-fifteen-foot-high arched corridor runs out of the east side of the circular mirror chamber, connecting with another great, dark vault...
"Ohh. The terribly sad, yet beautiful story of Orpheus and Eurydice. Though they did not know of the gift of Eternal Life made possible by our Lord and Savior, Christ, they certainly understood the love that God has put in us all."
Boga looks closely at the symbols Zagathoth found. "Zagathoth, you've found us a puzzle. Hmm, how literally are we to take this? Light? Colors? Deeper?" He looks around, up and down. "Does anyone see anything unusual in either the floor or ceiling? Particularly the floor."
The final vault at the terminus of this catacombs passageway is a great vaulted crypt, at center of which rests a marble sarcophagus with a sculpture atop the lid depicting the martyrdom of Saint Cecilia, who was beheaded by three strokes of the axe under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius...
At the far east end of the crypt lies the remains of a marble altar, graven with Roman letters that state, in Latin, that the altar was dedicated by Pope Gregory VII on 3 June 1080 AD...
Lying upon the top of the altar is a musical instrument--an organelle--of the most artful craftsmanship!
Suspended from the ceiling above the altar by a 10-ft-long silver chain is an orange crystal shard the size of a man's fist... A bronze brazier with unlit coals hangs from silver chains below the orange crystal...
The lovely Roman lady in the white toga appears beside the altar with the masterfully crafted organelle resting atop it...
She produces an organelle identical to that lying upon the ancient altar, and begins to play a haunting motet that is very familiar to Mister Ogon Fox...
Boga looks closely at the symbols Zagathoth found. "Zagathoth, you've found us a puzzle. Hmm, how literally are we to take this? Light? Colors? Deeper?"
”Six colors or lights to go down” Zagathoth asks (unaware of the meaning of the Latin inscription), ”so we find six lights to light and then this opens to stairs?”
"The organelle on the alter, it gives off a magical aura. I'll see if I can figure out what exactly it does." Quinlan begins to head towards the alter but stops short at the appearance of the ghost. Seeing that she is immediately hostile he carefully crosses the rest of the way and inspects the magical instrument, careful not to touch it or the alter.
to identify the properties of the organelle.
The Ogon Fox looks with great interest at the depiction of the tale of Orpheus.
"What exactly did the inscription say, Boga? I am not learnt in Latin."
"Saint Cecilia! I am sorry I did not know you when first you appeared to me. We have come here in service to the Pope, to God, and all the saints. What would you have us do?"
I'll assume a translation was provided
When Boga sees the ghost and hears the music, he takes a step back, drops the crossbow, and pulls a scroll from his case. "Does everyone see this? Can everyone hear the music? You know her?"
The Ogon Fox manages to resist being emotionally overwhelmed at hearing one of the Nine played by the ghost of Saint Cecilia, though it is certainly a great thrill...
She smiles sweetly at Ogon Fox and answers him, saying: I know of your righteous quest, my dear child... Take this gift which I have left for you on the altar... It may prove useful to your cause in the trials you shall face...
Saint Cecilia fades away like mist before a strong wind...
The organetto of sounding remains...