"Key? It was held only by the Arch-Priest. He's been dead for days though, and burned. Nothing survived. I had hoped it would be open. We have to at least check!" Rasthiss says, his voice a rasp.
Sevak nodded, face grim. "Let us pray that it is open. Come!"
As quickly and quietly as he can, Sevak heads where Rasthiss indicated.
They hurdle down the tunnel, moving quickly. The heat rises to an oven pitch.
Sevak overcomes it and judging by Rasthiss stride, so does he. Soon they come to the huge, imposing iron door of the vault. It is closed.
But, the heat has damaged the massive entrance, warping the hinges and splaying the lock. Perhaps with sufficient force, the door could be worked open.
Sevak runs up to the door and seizes the edge. He looks at Rasthiss.
"Together, on the count of three! One... two... three!"
He heaves with all of his might.
Working together they wrench open the door, causing warping iron bands to fly everywhere as the door falls to the floor with a loud clang. It reveals enough of an entrance to squeeze inside.
Inside, is the remains of a vault. The heat inside the baked interior is overwhelming.
The suffocating furnace like heat finally gets to Sevak and he feels a bit weaker.
Most of the vault is a ruin although he does see remains of some chests, glowing a dim red with heat. In the back of the room, behind some charred metal bars is an elaborate network of sand and salt drawings, etched into the floor.
"There!" Rasthiss points and jumps forward. Even as he does so though, the floor buckles and two figures arise.
Not elementals, they are squat, clawed humanoids with hunched backs with an oversized head. Its face is that of a fanged and insane human baby, and its mouth opens far wider than it should.
They hiss horribly and aggressively.
Sevak, knowing their time is short, opts for a desperate shot. Seizing one of the nearby bits of metal, he hurls it at the pattern in the floor, hoping to disrupt it.
He then draws his Fang-Blade, suspecting he will need it even if his throw is successful.
The throw is desperate but it veers slightly and clangs off one of the melted bits of metal grating, harmlessly avoiding the pattern.
Rasthiss charges forward, whirling his staff over his head, shouting a warcry lost in the hot haze.
His blow lands cleanly, and the iron staff pummels the creature. In retaliation the creature tries to attack him, with searing claws.
The creature gets a firm hold and it's savage claws rend the poor monk.
Rasthiss looks very wounded and he staggers back, still managing to prevent Sevak from being flanked.
The other beast makes a fist, and a ball of roiling hot magma forms in it, glowing with waves of heat.
Sevak slashes at the beast with its ball of magma, hoping to slay the creature or at least disrupt its concentration before it releases whatever attack it is preparing.
"Hold fast! We must win through!" He cries to Rasthiss as he attacks.
The blows land, slicing deep into the creature chest, and lava-like blood pours out of the wound. It screeches in a mixture of Terran and Common.
Rasthiss withdraws, hand bracing himself on the wall, drawing the other creature on. He grips his staff with the tenacity of man facing his death.
The creature turns aside though, flanking Sevak.
The hot, scalding claws slice through Sevak's hardened scales like hot nails through butter. Sevak's own blood mingles with that of the creature in front of him.
It withdraws, still holding the orb of lava. It tosses it at Sevak, the glowing ball of rock whipping through the air.
The lava explodes on Sevak's back, lancing with the pain of burning rock.
The fire ignites, promising to prove more pain.
Above, from the ceiling, a single drop of water falls onto Revak's back, tingling with coolness.
Sevak hisses in pain as the claw and then the burst of lava strike, but he notes the drop of water. "Rasthiss, above! There is water!"
For his own part, however, he doesn't have time to investigate the source of the drop, focusing on the creature in front of him.
Sevak, battered, burned and desperate calls out to Rasthiss. The also wounded monk nods, reaches up and slams the ceiling. For a moment nothing happens and Sevak despairs.
Then a crack forms, and ripples across the roof, spreading out in a spiderweb of half the chamber. Then, all at once a rush of water plunges down, cool and refreshing. It fills the chamber, easing all the heat instantly.The lava creature are caught up in it, and soon turn to steaming, thrashing bodies of pain and wailing.
Unfortunately, their is a lip protecting the back of the vault so the pattern is not washed away.
Rasthiss smiles, "The pattern. Hurry!"
A ominous rumbles sounds from the door and the monk limps to block it, staff in hand. Sevak can see a pink trail of blood follow the man through the receding water.
"I'll hold him off."
Sevak nods as he charges forward, putting all his effort into reaching the pattern as quickly as possible. As he nears it he dives towards it, sticking his blade between the ruined bars to disrupt the pattern and banish the Efreeti at last.
As Sevak hurtles toward the bars, he hears a voice shout "Stop!"
Rasthiss is hoisted up, by his neck, by the powerful Efreeti. 'What have you done to my servants?' He roars, and Sevak sees Rasthiss suddenly burst into flame, howl in pain and then flung to the side, falling without moving.
"You betray me!" The efreeti shouts, and the ruined vault rings with his words, shaking the walls.
Sevak does not stop.
Sevak has no words for the murderer of his kin.
Sevak has only to reach the pattern...
Behind him Sevak can hear the Efreeti roaring out a spell, a curse, some final act of damnination but the nagaji had no ear for it.
Instead he lunges for the pattern of delicate sand and salt. Coming up short, he stretches out his blade, the sharp steel sending up a shower of sparks on the hot stone. Slowly, slowly it reaches out and then, seems to be short.
Then, one grain is touched, just barely. It rocks, gently, then tips over, one hair's breadth. A silence as vast as the sea fills the room.
The Efreeti freezes in mid-stride, a look of towering rage on his muscular features. "No, no." it croaks, hands clenching and unclenching in anger. "Not now, not you!"
Then, a sheet of flame encompasses the genie, raging like the interior of Golarion, searing, blinding. Writhing and burning it forces Sevak to shield his eyes. At least when he can look up, the Efreeti is gone without a trace.
"Begone, and trouble us no more," Sevak breathes, as he shakily gets back up to his feet.
Shaking off his own weakness, he races over to Rasthiss, sheathing his blade as he runs, then drawing his healing wand. He doubts the other Nagaji has survived, but if there is any sign of life, perhaps he might yet save him.
The monk is a charred ruined husk. The blows from the lava creatures had probably already sealed his fate, His final act, slowing down the Efreeti was the act of a man already dead.
Sevak sighs, and murmurs a final prayer to Nalinivati for Rasthiss's soul. He then turns his wand on himself as he quickly looks over the room for anything useful.
Sevak heals himself and he looks around the now cooler vault. As noted most of the treasures are twisted and destroyed but he finds a corner with a chest mostly untouched. Inside are 50 gold coins, a sawback dagger and....
a Horn of Fog.
Before departing, Sevak remembers his little snake friend. He quickly checks and makes sure the serpent is still well.
The small snake is tightly coiled against Sevak, hiding under his pack and supplies. Otherwise it seems quite safe and licks the nagaji druid with its long red tongue.
Sevak smiles slightly. "At least I am not the only survivor of this battle," he says sadly, his smile fading.
He shakes his head slightly. "But there is not time now for mourning or burial. But perhaps, my little friend, I shall name you Rasthiss, that his courage be not forgotten."
With that, he turns and goes back the way they came, looking for the back way up to the library.
The Djinn will no doubt notice the absence of his foe soon... so I must work quickly before he prepares defenses against me instead of beings of flame...
The stairs head upward quickly, with only a few doors lading off to lower levels. This stair is unaffected by lost stones or traps. Perhaps the dijinn is unaware of it?
At the top is a stout wooden door, with the word Library written on it. The door is locked fast however and won't budge.
Perhaps he never bothered to circumvent this door... Sevak thinks to himself. Which does not mean it is not watched.
Quietly, Sevak checks over the door on the off chance it is trapped, listens at the door.
Now how may I circumvent this door... perhaps my fire spell? Though that may draw too much attention...
Sevak detects no traps or devices, but he does discover the door is not locked, simply wedged through age and disuse. It is very dry and poorly maintained, brittle.
Thinking still of stealth, Sevak examines how the door is stuck. Might it be possible to use the dagger he picked up earlier to trim back some of the wood from one of the corners to unstick it? He has little desire to simply burn or smash the door, suspecting that will give away his presence too early.
The wood simply appears to be twisted and old, brittle in the dry air of the upper chambers. Using his knife to shave the wedged parts would probably work, with little noise.
Sevak pulls the knife out and begins whittling away at the warped wood, working as quickly and quietly as he can manage.
In a few moment he has the door clear and ready to swing open. A slight breeze is flowing through the cracks he has made, a light breeze smelling of sand and spices. An exotic scent far removed from the dank must of the stairs (or the searing heat of the vaults below).
Sevak little likes the smell, for it suggests he will open the door onto something unexpected. But he has a duty yet unfulfilled, and two lives left hanging on his actions, and so he presses onward.
Still, he half-expects the Djinn to be waiting as he opens the door.
The door opens with only a slight scrape and the squeal of rust hinges. But no djinn waits for him, no ambush. Just a short hallway and a set of wide-open wooden doors, ornate decorated and carved.
The breeze is flowing out of them, strong in Sevak's face. Now and then a bit of paper tumbles out of it, wafted on the breeze.
Wary of traps or foes, Sevak slowly makes his way forward, trying his best to be stealthy as he looks through the open doors.
Carefully, Sevak reaches the open doors and peers inside.
Inside is a grand library, a wide room, with a second floor visible above behind a brass rail. Shelves of books line the walls, heavy leather tomes.
Two elementals are steadily ripping pages out of books and piling them. It is from this pile that the odd paper blows out into the passageway. Sevak notes only some books are being destroyed.
And there, in the center of the room past the elementals is a ornate series of salt and sand curves and lines.
Sevak is immediately suspicious, remembering the invisible wall on the other side of the pit on the stairs. Cautiously, as quietly as he can, he casts a spell of magic detection and then again peers into the room, concentrating long enough to pinpoint the locations of auras. As he does he also pays attention to the activity in the room, trying to see patterns to when the winds blow or to the elementals' selection of books.
Sevak detects two auras. One is coming from the pattern of salt and sand, and another, stronger coming from somewhere in the half hidden upper floor of the library.
There appears to be no pattern to the wind except it is flowing down from the upper levels. As for the books, it appears that anything not in a few languages (Sevak only recognizes Common among the 'saved') is being shredded.
Sevak considers the auras warily. Is the stronger aura the Djinn... or is the pattern on the floor here an illusion, and the true pattern above? He looks to see if there are any stairs he might be able to reach swiftly.
There are two sets of stairs leading up, made of the same rough wood, hand-cut by the local monks centuries ago. One on each side, sloping up. Both would require running right past the elementals though.
Sevak knew he would be faster than the elementals... but that did not mean it would be easy to run by them. So he watched for the best chance, when both were looking away (as far as he could tell), then sprinted for the nearest staircase.
Sevak is quick and manages to reach the first stair before the elementals even notice him. Without a word they vanish into the stone floor of the library.
Ignoring them Sevak pounds up the stairs, nearly flying. Halfway up though the elemetnal emerge from the walls, one behind one below.
Sevak is trapped between the literal rock and a hard place as the two elemental advance on him.
Sevak draws his blade as he comes to a stop, glad that at least he is not standing on stone. Still, he little likes his chances given what happened with the last pair of guards...
Sevak knew he needed to finish one of the two as quickly as possible if he were to have a chance of survival, and so he turned his blade at the one up the stairs.
"I had hoped not to have to fight, but as that no longer seems an option, I shall," he says as he slashes with his blade, striking hard to penetrate the elemental's stony body.
The elemental above simply tries to slam Sevak with two fists of hardened earth.
It misses, and in stupid rage instead smashes the stairs.
Sevak's blow hits but only does passing damage to the hard, stone like creature.
The one below on the stairs tries to disarm the druid, attempting to smack the blade out of Sevak's hands.
Sevak manages to get in a blow,
but it misses.
It fails, earning the elemental nothing for it's efforts.
From above, the voice of the Dijinn calls out, 'Quiet! I am busy at work! Do not disturb me.'
Then perhaps the source above is the Djinn, and the pattern truly is on the floor... Sevak thinks to himself.
Whatever the case, further from the Djinn is better, and if the pattern is truly down there...
Before he could talk himself out of it, Sevak jumped off of the stairs.
Landing on the floor below, he ran to the edge of the pattern, then around it. He still didn't trust it to be unguarded, but perhaps if one of the elementals tried to come up from below on the edge of it... it was likely not guarded from below.
As he ran near the pattern he looked for signs that might suggest whether he was right, or if it truly was as unguarded as it appeared.
Sevak nimbly jumps back down to the main floor. As the druid races around the pattern, the two elementals vanish into the wall. One reappears in front of him, outside the pattern, waving two thick stone arms.
The other arises right in the middle of the pattern. It becomes clear that the pattern is an illusion as the rising elemental simply passes through the pattern before the figment vanishes. Then there is a bright flash, a grinding tearing sound then the elemental is gone, blinked out of existence.
'What is going on down there?" the Djinni says, the voice floating on the breeze. 'Has our scaly friend returned?"
Sevak carefully backed away from the other elemental, staying clear of where the illusory pattern had once been.
"I have indeed returned," Sevak replied. "I had hoped to apologize for my earlier rudeness, but your servants attacked me."
A figure appears at the higher level then floats down, hovering a few feet in front of Sevak. It the body of a man witht he legs obscured by wind and blowing sand, a tiny tornado. The eyes are blue and wild, seemingly focusing on other affairs.
"So you have. My servants are not well trained...not yet."
He waves a hand and the other elemental slips into the earth, vanishing.
"So why have you returned and penetrated into my inner sanctum? I am busy at work."
Sevak sheathed his blade and bowed. The blade would do him no good if it came to violence.
"As I said, I apologize for my earlier rudeness," he said. "I did not understand the true situation here. Now, however, I have treated with the Efreet--who, as I am certain you have noticed, no longer dwells in these halls. Unfortunately, duty has impelled me to return here, in pursuit of a certain book my Mistress desires."