Morin moves to join the party as they collect themselves and head for the stairs. He pauses, as if hearing a voice, and says "You know what? To heck with waiting til tomorrow! I don't think any of us set out in this life for peace and quiet, right? It's about seeing the world, and what's in it! Taking chances and seeing what they bring!"
He turns back toward the pillar, with a spring in his step, scooping up the skull in both hands and lifting it up, saying as he does so, "I've just got a feeling this is going to work out. Gotta trust those feelings sometimes..."
Morin lowers the snake skull, face-down, to the surface of the pillar's top, looking closely to see if he can line up the fangs and make them fit into the small holes, and, if they fit, inserts the fangs into the holes.
Chloe starts so fast at Morin's announcement that she nearly falls down the stairs.
"Blast... Morin! The w-warding..." she shouts, flabbergasted as she turns on her heels, feeling her way down on the other wall of the staircase.
"...he's going to be fine, y-youre going to come down the stairs, and there's ...not... going to be a casualty..." she mutters to herself, trying to calm down again.
The metal-capped fangs of the skull slide into the holes with a click. Once embedded, they seem stuck. You prod and push until someone has the bright idea to turn the spoked pillar. As it slowly winds counter-clockwise, the shaft raises, revealing the threads of a massive screw.
After a foot, the top of a hand cut concavity is revealed. Inside rests a tarnished, one-foot cube, covered with incomprehensible glyphs in bas relief. The script is in no language that any of you are familiar with.
This is simply astounding. exclaims Karo, as he moves closer to examine the cube. He holds his torch on one hand and mutters a quick series of arcane words. He continues to study the cube without touching it.
Should I have expected that from Morin....? Do I suffer from lack of faith yet again...? Conversely, is Karo fazed by anything? Chloe idly wonders as she yet again enjoys the flooding of relief following a brief and unpleasant adrenaline rush. Vaguely, she questions if this touch-and-go alarm is anything like that a parent goes through on a daily basis as their offspring constantly try to take off and fence with farming implements under the blessed midday sun.
"It worked, then...?
vs. DC 16
The cube radiates a moderately powerful aura of magic.
"I almost recognize this dweomercraft on the cube," says Sarusa, gritting her teeth in concentration.
"That I could do, Corbyn." Sarusa nods to Karo in a "go ahead, you take it" gesture at the cube.
Karo reverently picks up the cube and carefully stows it in his pack.
"Well, crew, unless we're planning to plunder the graves down here, I don't think there's any more trouble we can get into in this particular haunted crypt. Shall we weigh anchor and raise sail? Unless someone thinks one of those levers opens a secret door to the treasure trove?"
As Karo finishes up his study of the magical cube, Morin’s curiosity turns back to the levers at the base of the stairs. Approaching them carefully, he says ”So, these levers. We’ve got three of them. One probably has to do with the altar/door thing at the top of the stairs. Another probably controls the nice blade trap that nearly killed me and Karozekas, have to be careful with that one. But what does the third one do? Open a treasure chamber, or a hidden door? Kill us all? I’ll take a look and see what I can figure out. Karo, you had some ideas last time, care to come take a look? Anyone else is welcome to offer suggestions and insight while we’re at it.”
"Something tells me I'm going to regret this..."
Trying to help, but not really succeeding, Tekk manages to get in everyone's way while trying to get a good look at the levers.
Sarusa gently nudges Tekkis away from the levers. "Allow me, my gallant rescuer."
Chloe takes a deep breath, half-expecting the entire tomb to crash upon the adventurers.
After a thorough study of the levers, your group is sure that they are not trapped, nor can you find anything out of the ordinary about them. They are all stone, all roughly the same size and height off the ground. They require some force to be moved, and a simple nudge will not suffice. Aside from that, there is nothing more you can tell regarding their function.
When you pull this lever, a loud click, much like the one you heard when you first moved the altar, echoes through the chamber. There is a short scraping sound from above. A minute later, another click echoes through the chamber, and more scraping can be heard.
When you pull this lever, the blades retract back into the stairs.
When you pull this lever, the spoked pedestal at the center of the room sinks back into the dirt floor. The fanged skull of the guardian is released, the metal caps on its teeth dully reflect the light of your spells.
"If... if you intend to pull anymore levers or do anymore f-fiddling... please, please be careful..."
Chloe goes after anyone who seems to make a move to do said thing.
Looking around at the party, Morin says "These seem simple enough. Le'ts just give 'em a try and we can get out of here."
Standing well away from the blades on the stairs, Morin pulls the first lever. This causes a loud click and then a short scraping sound, as when the altar first moved aside. Soon after, there's a second click and the scraping sound repeats.
"Okay, that moves the altar to open the hidden passage. How about this one?" he says, pulling the second lever. As he does so, the deadly, scythe-like blades on the stairs retract back into their hiding places.
"Okay, that's pretty clear. Guess we should set that trap off again before we set foot on the stairs, so it doesn't surprise us. I'd rather walk through the blades than discover another trigger for the trap on our way up."
Finally, Morin pulls the third lever. A noise comes from the room where Tekkis saved them all from the horrid snake guardian. Everyone turns their heads in time to see the spoked pedestal sink back into the floor, pushing the snake's fangs out of the holes on the top, and causing the skull to tumble to the floor, its fangs glinting in the light. "Okay, I guess we're done here, unless anyone wants to mess about further?"
Morin walks back to the pedestal and picks up the snake head. Returning to stand by the levers, he tosses the skull onto the bottom steps where the trap trigger was, in an effort to trigger the blades again. If the head isn't heavy enough, he'll gather whatever else he can to toss onto the steps and set off the trap.
"No, I-I'm quite satisfied, thank you..." Chloe responds, stretching in an area she believes to be immediately clear of comrades before forming the tail of the leaving troupe.
"..quite some lunchbreak, though..."
"That snake-skull thing turned the wheel to set those traps? Went up and down these stairs? ...why? Someone set this up; perhaps it guarded something that is no longer here. A mystery.". Sarusa taps her club with her knuckles thoughtfully.
The group makes its way back out of the catacomb, carefully passing around the blades in the stairs without further misadventure. The altar has slowly begun to close as you pass by, shifting by inches with steady clicks like those you heard before. Once back in the mausoleum, it is a simple matter to climb back to the roof, then back down to the hilltop where Dodi waits impatiently, snorting and snuffing with the stink of undead wolves high in her nostrils.
Your remaining mounts remain at the cemetery gates, where it seems like you left them weeks ago, although truly, only an hour has passed. It is still early in the afternoon, and the sun has finally managed to break free from the clouds. The mists are slowly burning off, like unruly specters before holy power. Patches of clear blue can be seen here and there in the sky, and occasional bursts of birdsong break the constant low susurrus of the bay to the north.
The road stretches further east, into the last small forests surrounding Sandpoint before the unbroken plains of central Varisia begin. To the south, several small tors; broken, low hills of dubious aspect, rise amidst the scrub plants and grasses.
Karo checks his horse and his gear before readying himself for the continuation of the journey. I wonder what dinner will have in store for us. he says wryly.
Sarusa gives Gellig a good pat, and to Dodi and Plod for good measure,then mounts her horse. "Well, that taught us something, though I know not what, she says with a grimace.
Morin breathes deeply of the fresh, sea-scented air, pleased to be out of the dank, close atmosphere of the crypt. Turning to Sarusa, he says "I think there were a few lessons for us in that awful place. First one on my list is to keep Tekkis around, the fella can hold his own in a fight."
Catching hold of one of Dodi's stirrups and scrambling up onto the saddle, he calls down to Chloe, "Ready when you are, lass, to get this place behind us. A couple of us nearly died, and we've got a fancy box we can't open to show for it. Ah, well, I guess I started us goin' in there in the first place, eh? At any rate, I'm ready to get the wind in my sails."
Chloe waits her turn as Sarusa pets Dodi before moving forward to nuzzle the relatively patient beast, whispering to her soothingly. At the mention of Morin's lesson for the day, she lets out an airy laugh.
"Indeed... I suspect there would have been quite a death toll, had.. had he not managed to fight off whatever that... that thing was."
She works to hoist herself up behind Morin.
"...the lack of death is cause for celebration, too... I would't waste time w-with the blaming, of course. The crypt is... w-well, behind us."
The oracle yawns once in the saddle, falling into the riding line when signalled.
Tekk watches over his shoulder as the small tomb fades from view. Facing forward again, he hums a small hymn under his breath.
If anybody listens:
The words are an old litany that offer apologies to Torag for not properly facing combat with planning and forethought, but thanking the All-Father for another chance to face combat, and another chance to live with honor and strength.
After some time, Tekk seems to cheer up, and begins pointing out various enemies lying in wait for the group. Cryohydras in the bushes, ancient linnorms hanging from the branches of that yew tree, a gaggle of goblins hiding just beneath the surface of the pothole up ahead...
Though she appreciates Tekkis' hymn, Chloe goes through cycles of dozing off and starting. She sniffs the air at the mention of a cryohydra in the bushes, assuming it to be a form of flower rather than a vicious, ice-wielding magical beast. She gets wise by the time Tekkis mentioned the ancient linnorms, though, and starts to drift again.
"THEY'RE BACK!"
"They're Back!"
"they're back!"
"they're back!"
"they're back!"
"they're back!"
"they're back!"
"I'm Hungry!"
"We had a tax collector to collect, didn't we?"
Sarusa moves her horse to a trot. "We're going to spice the dinner with cinnamon, right?"
A few miles further east leads you to the Thistle River, easily crossed by a low stone bridge, ancient and mossy. On the far side, a weathered stone shrine to Desna marks the beginning of the Kaspakari, the old Varisian caravan route to Galduria.
A stylized butterfly has been carved into the stone of the plinth. Prayers, tips and bits of doggerel have been carved and painted all over the stone. Wildflowers grow up at its base, and at the top rests a shallow basin, mostly filled with rainwater.
The road begins to angle north-northeast, with the thick forests giving way to smaller copses of trees as the terrain shifts to grassland. The morning fogs are nearly gone, and you can see for miles around you. Birds wheel high above, and the wind plays a soft lullaby through the tall grass. There are still several hours left of daylight and your mounts are well rested. It is 75 miles to Galduria by road.
Morin sniffs the breeze again and says "Well, there's not so much sea-salt in the wind as there was, but it'll do nicely. And ridin' a horse won't never compare with sailin' on a smooth sea at 14 knots, sails taut and backstays creaking wit' the strain, the wind humming in th' rigging...but the company's good, and we're all alive to tell the tale of our lunch stop. Anyone care to investigate that little shrine, and see what kind of trouble we can find?"
Chuckling and smiling, he continues, "If so, you'll be doin' it without me! It wouldn't hurt to drop an offering as we pass, but I aim to stay right up here on Dodi, and keep my eyes on the road, and put some miles behind us. Sound all right, Chloe?"
Though it takes her a minute to grasp the second part of Morin's spiel due to it being rather not what she is expecting, Chloe laughs.
"Of course...I rather like it when I don't have.. to give chase...," she nods, her left leg as asleep as she wants to be. "-though it would.. would be right and proper to offer a prayer, as well, yes...?"
"Song of the Spheres, p-please let our feet fall... on the proper path. Bless it, so we do not get, well, ...eaten.. by the spawn of darkness or the things between th-that Sarusa mentioned.
...Help us experience what we m-must today, but live until ...tomorrow.
Oh... and thank you for the starlight in... advance. I might not use it, but this lot will..." With that, Chloe claps her hands together to signal the end of her quick invocation.
"Now... what do we have to offer up...?
"...anyone have anymore travelling songs..? That will do... quite nicely, I think..." Chloe pats Dodi absently.
"O-or stories, or dances..."
"Yondabakari, rolling on,
Take me and my troubles, and we'll move on.
Hill and valley, pass us by,
Underneath the azure sky.
Yondabakari, I was young,
When my troubles first begun.
Packing my bag, from town to town,
Never letting my burden down.
Yondabakari, on my life,
Swore I'd never be a cruel man's wife
Cut him down, and then I fled,
Leaving naught, but the blood I shed.
Yondabakari, what can ye do,
When your hands are crooked, but your heart is true.
Take me down yon current's way,
And let me wash my woes away.
Yondabakari, rolling on...
Take me and my troubles and we'll move on.
Hill and valley, pass us by...
Underneath this clear blue sky."
Chloe smiles widely in the direction of the druid's song, thoroughly impressed.
"...And that, I think, should do! N-not trying to underplay it, though... the song was lovely."
The healer makes a few useless glances, as if trying to gauge if her fellows intended to stay near the shrine, though she is unable to do so. She pulls her right hand up on Dodi's reins, as if to question the more assertive characters in her band.
"Still have some good daylight left, and it's a great day to be on the road. Let's continue on for a ways, we need to make up some time for our little adventure back in the graveyard."
Sarusa's clear voice rings out over the gently rolling plains. A few butterflies take wing as she finishes, fluttering briefly before settling, hidden in the tall grasses.
The group makes good time while the daylight remains, alone on the deeply worn ruts of the ancient trade route except for birds, insects and the occasional small deer bounding away almost as soon as they are seen.
Scattered clouds remain in the sky, providing an excellent backdrop for the sun setting at your backs. You estimate that you have traversed roughly twenty miles as the sun sinks below the horizon. There are many small hills in these grasslands, any of which would provide a decent campsite. The proliferation of grasses should provide excellent fodder for your beasts as well.