Glom-Glom looks curiously at the half moon indentations, then is distracted by a flea falling from his spaniel cap.
Catching the bug deftly on his tongue, the feral goblin eats the insect as he nods at the others words;
"Yes. We go... All pointless big hob. Until it not. Then it has meaning yes?"
After unburdening his wisdom Glom-Glom unbinds the parchment and slips the charcoal and cord under his hat and carries knife and waterskin.
He then proceeds to stamp on the paper before kicking the crumpled scraps into the NW corner.
The group emerges back onto the surface with a few more supplies in hand. As before the surf beats regularly but the sun has begun to slip to its resting place on the horizon, with maybe 3 or four more hours until sunset.
Narissth scratches his head when the group emerges.
The creature in the woods was dangerous and this underground area is too strange. I am sure we missed something. Lets go and check it out again.
With that, he will proceed back down and begin to search the whole area, including the pedestals.
Perception:
Narissth returns to the cavern below convinced that there are things to see and, in fact, his efforts are rewarded. Magic criss crosses the room in a variety of ways, clearly tied to a variety of triggers. Subtle indentations throughout the room indicate that a great many objects are absent and that their return might reveal more than a few secrets. However absent those items the room has little to offer.
The indentation on the pedestal once more catches the ratfolks' eye and Narissth cannot escape a niggling sense of importance...
Wis:
After spending quite a bit of time looking around the strange room, Narissth ends up standing before the pedestal scratching his head.
Strange. Almost looks like the shape of a skull. Perhaps that fancy one would fit?
Glom-Glom nods knowingly;
"Clever Ratty-tat-rat! Indeed Glom-Glom's half-skull-present-from-the-gods might fit..."
The barbaric goblin takes his skull half and dog cap, laying both reverently before the indentation. He then locates the charcoal stick and breaks off the end before crumbling the shard in his hands.
Muttering gibberish and swaying slightly, Glom-Glom runs a blackened hand down his feral features, leaving streaks of black from crown to neck.
The gibberings continue, punctuated by a high pitched yowl...
... then he leaps to his feet, grabs his hat and steps away from the skull before uttering in a croaky voice;
"Ritual is finished. Hobagob can now safely put skull into pedestal!"
Glom-Glom flashes his pearly fangs in a wide smile.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Shattertooth rolls his eyes and inserts the skull
Shattertooth places the skull on the pedestal. Nothing happens for a moment but then more of the blue light that was present to create the flickering torches that now line the room begin to crease and ebb across the skull until finally each of the small diamond flakes glow blue but occasionally flicker.
A voice modulates in and out of hearing going through what sounds more than a handful of variations of repetition before settling on something the group can comprehend, Greeting... I... Ellari ... Tal ... I ... speak ... without ... full ... of ... remains ... rather ... skull. You ... find ... other ... Beware ... many ... of ... island. Do ... attempt ... enter ... tower ... we ... speak ...
Shattertooth growls. Idiot. He made something that had to have all it's parts to work. Stupid.
He leans closer to the skull and yells, It isn't a good system until it can operate with half of its bits missing!
Zika stares up at Shattertooth. "Skull need more bones?" She questions. Looking towards it, she has to agree with the hobgoblin. "Half-warning useless." She frowns, looking at the skull. "Stupid elf. Skull given Glom-Glom. Not even know where find more bones."
Narissth scratches his head. Sounds like some words are missing. The last sounded like . . .
Do not attempt to enter the tower before we can speak again/
At least that sounds like what it said. I think we need to search to find something else, perhaps go into the woods, although that did not seem safe last time.
He looks at the stairs up.
We could follow the beach to see if there is something else on the island.
We are going to need water and food. Soon. I agree that we should follow the beach. And keep an eye out for this Tower. Just because we shouldn't go on doesn't mean we can't check it out.
Glom-Glom listens intently to first the voice, then the others.
"We go. Voice half talk... I half listen... Know ALL heheheh."
The feral weirdo gestures toward the stair;
"Lead on Hobagob..."
Narissth follows the others up and onto the beach. From there, he examines the beach, the water, the prevailing wind, and the trees, without actually going through the strange barrier, in an attempt to determine which direction appears most likely to lead to water.
Survival:
From his current position Narissth gleans little. The beach is smooth and curls softly in either direction, further incite stymied by the natural break of the horizon. The wind blows distinctly East, into the core of the island though the ratfolk notices that the wind seems to have a diminished effect on the trees he can see. Nothing about these details give a good sense of water though the ratfolk knows that fresh water in this case will either come from plants and trees (like coconuts or their ilk) or from a fresh source inland (unless the group gets lucky and finds a swamp/wetlands and a river that is exiting to the ocean.
The crow joins Narissth hopping along and tilting its head at the ratfolk and the distinct line in the sand where the barrier appears to be. The bird is otherwise quiet but seems intent to see what might happen next...
Zika looks up and down the beach, and sees only sand, and looks towards the forest, and sees only trees. She looks to the sky, and sees the crow. She stares at it for a few seconds before speaking. "Bird." She says with a chastising manner. "You know things. Where bones?"
Narissth looks up and down the beach a few more times before turning to the rest of the group.
I think the forest is the only option. You all ready to see what is there?
Shattertooth sighs in resignation. Fine. Death by monster is better than death by thirst.
Glom-Glom shoots an irritated look at Narissth and Shattertooth;
"Shhh! Ratty-rat and Hobagob need listen with ears and close mouths! Zika speaker to birds is speaking to bird. Bird knows. Bird tell Zika. Zika find bones. Glom-Glom sees."
The bird tilts its head at Zika, Lost
It seems to have little else to offer on the subject.
Zika shakes her head at the bird. "Should better care of talking bones." After pacing for a few seconds, she nods to Shattertooth. "Zika agree. Better die fighting." She looks to Glom-Glom for confirmation, and then begins to walk through the sand towards the forest.
Shattertooth ignores the crazy gobbo and joins Zika in walking toward the forest. At least they could get out of the sun.
Glom-Glom flashes his pearly whites and nods back;
"Die fighting! You hear Hobagob... We agree! Come on Ratty-tat-tat... Death awaits!"
The feral goblin scuttles like a dog on all fours...
Narissth shakes his head at the antics of the goblins.
Die at the claw of some monster, or die of thirst. Not much of a choice, at least we can fight the monsters.
The transition effect this time is much less noticeable, it may well be that it was about being acclimated to it.
The group emerges in the jungle close to where its initial confrontation with the other beast occurred and like before the emergence into the woods brings vibrant sounds and smells that were lacking a mere few feet away. Large leaf ferns and thick jungle trees intersperse with a number of other vines and mixed foliage. The effect is not quite tropical but not quite anything else. It almost seems a hodgepodge of forest climates.
Bird calls and the echoing hoots of some number of animals sound throughout the jungle. The canopy darkens the area considerably but the bright sun pushes through and it is easy to see.
Glom-Glom sniffs the air, then eyes their surroundings, ears twitching:
:
The feral goblin jabs his knife at the large ferns;
"Water inside. Quiet it sings... but Glom-Glom hears... Cut. Drink. Yes-yes..."
Zika isn't as familiar with these types of plants as Glom-Glom, making her wonder how far away they all were brought here from. Still, something more pressing was bothering her. "Where creature go?" She asks quietly, looking around the forest nervously. Being unable to see or hear it meant the possibility of ambush.
Survival:
Narissth nods in agreement:
Yes, if someone has a shark knife, we should be able to get clean water from the leaves.
Glom-Glom rolls his beady eyes;
"That what Glom-Glom say ratty-rat-rat! Water inside... whispers to Glom-Glom... Says In here we sit. Cut quick. Drip-drip...."
The knives in hand, though dull to most tasks can very slowly cut through some of the local ferns. The group can basically get a days worth of water in about an hours worth of work.
The creature seems gone and of the various noises you hear nothing seems to indicate it is nearby.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Shattertooth carefully cuts and gleans until his thirst is somewhat sated. He then points to the north. Anything worth having will probably be that way. Let's go.
Zika nods to Shattertooth, and looks curiously to the crow to see if it gives any reaction as they begin walking to the north.
Narissth nods in agreement as he thinks he understands that the feral goblin seems to indicate that the group should head north.
Perception:
Survival:
Unfortunately Narissth is not paying much attention.
Glom-Glom pads along at the front of the group, he adjusts his spaniel scalp cap and pauses occasionally to sniff and scowl before moving forward:
:
:
Despite his loose association with sanity Glom-Glom manages quite well in the lead finding an obscure path and riving the group north. Zika's sharp eyes catch a glittering light through the trees but further investigation reveals nothing. The goblin swear it was almost as though a jeweled bird was flying just above the canopy, refracting light but there is no evidence for such.
The group presses on for two hours and the light beyond the trees begin its slow descent towards dusk. Glom-Glom's trail following has led the group to a gully of sorts with a deep trench that descends 50 or so feet and is about 300 feet long. The trees break here and the sky is easily seen. The path itself leads to one end of the trench, which features a gentle slops down in opposition to the sharp fall of at the sides and other end.
Within the trench, barely viewable from up top is a cave of sorts at one end with a stone door that seems to be covered in dirt, vines and debris.
I have returned.
Behold, the ravine. Thoughts? Actions?
"Getting dark. Find place safe." Zika climbs down into the trench and begins moving towards the cave. "Cave might be home someone. Might be safe."
Glom-Glom eyes the cave cautiously;
"Heh. We take cave... Nice and warm... dark too... No have to see Hobagob's stinky face when he doubt Glom-Glom!"
:
:
:
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Zika perches for a moment and looks over things, not getting any closer but casting a critical eye none the less. Nothing about the terrain or the foliage suggests movement. If anyone or anything has been around here, its been a long time. If someone did place the vines as a mean of disguise they did and incredible job at making things look old and grown over...
Zika nods. "Cave seem best." She starts making her way towards the cave, looking behind her only briefly to see if the ratkin and hobgoblin are following.
Narissth, seeing the least insane of the goblins moving forward, follows behind.
I would consider the door strange, but on this island, everything is strange,
Agreed. mutters Shattertooth as he follows along.
Glom-Glom pads alongside Zika, presuming that the others follow...
The group pads down the embankment and approached the door. Indeed even up close it appears to be covered by distinct growth and dirt as thought the jungle floor means to absorb the stone back into itself somehow.
The door itself is roughly 9 feet tall and 6 feet wide featuring a wide arc but only the barest of indentations to indicate where the door stops and the rest of the stone begins.
It appears that there are symbols on the door though some of them are obscured. Noticeable are 4 circles roughly the size of adinner plate oriented in a diamond pattern. The leftmost circle has a faded pictogram of a mountain set outside its farthest edge while the southmost circle has a pictogram of a flame set outside its fartherst southern edge. The other two circles do appear to have symbols but they are covered with dense vines and dirt.