Variel and Trogg start to ready some spells. Though they might go unused as Jazz delivers the final blow to the creatures neck piercing right through. The large horned creature clutches at his throat before it reels over backwards landing in a heap.
Left behind as the dust settled is two vibrantly coloured lizard creatures, a Horned creature and a goblin on the floor. The horned creature is not wearing much aside from his loincloth and a pendant around his neck.
The amulet seems to have a branding of ownership, similar to an arcane mark left behind on it.
The first room to the north seems to have been a display room with a few ransacked cabinets and some display cases.
To the south there is a singular room that has a statue in it that used to be a fountain. Around the base of the statue is a small pool. It is a statue of a catlike creature standing on it's hind legs, clad in armour. It is holding up the remainders of a weapon, looks like it could have been a sword by the hilt left behind.
The goblin has a similar device in his chest like the goblins you found in the tower. Though this one is green in colour.
In the room with the display cases you find a hidden compartment in one of the display cases. It seems undisturbed.
In the room to the south you find in the waters around the statue strange pieces of shatter green .. glass? gem? It's hard to tell.
The goblin has hidden away in his vest, a small pocket. Opening it you find a small note written in common it says: Make sure to bring all his possessions, don't let anyone interrupt your work. There are still some left, search hard or you shall change and not for the better.
Heya Sventon,
I wish Diaz would let me take you along but alas he is too proud for help. So I'm quietly giving this note to the Barkeep. We are headed towards the cave soon, though our first stop is the forest. Diaz is trying to get protection vs mind altering effects so he thought he might ask fae creatures about it. The rest of us don't need to worry about it so much so we're just tagging along. Hope to see you in the Cave, everyone seems to be headed that way eventually.
Stay safe,
Ingrid.
Knowledge Arcana
Perception
Looking down at the large creature Variel sees an amulet... he frowns looking at it closer and announces, The amulet seems to have a branding of ownership, similar to an arcane mark left behind on it.
He thinks further.
I would say we are dealing with not just supernatural creatures but a caster of considerable ability. The magic used here is a minor one but to place it on so mighty a creature speaks volumes.
The creature is a minotaur
These creatures aren't seen very often near Chamarel but they are known to exist there. They have never approached the towns nearby due to not wanting to draw attention to themselves, though the ones close to here are very territorial.
Sventon takes out the note and re-reads it smiling and growing grimmer at the same time.
And a Minotaur too... I would have to say a most powerful user of magics indeed. A fearsome foe. We did well not to have lost anyone.
With that he uses his healing hex on Beren and Jazz.
Beren
Jazz
Trogg begins healing the party with his wand, then takes a look around.
Rikaku seems more interested in kicking the now deceased corpse of what Variel identified to be a minotaur than exploring the rooms. "Stupid cow-man, this what happen when no respect dragon magic!"
When the group seems ready to move on, the kobold will begrudgingly leave the minotaur behind and join with them. "Goblin was run to some-place, and run from some-place. Both seems curious, yes? I think we see some-place where goblin run to. Maybe have maker of arcane mark."
Detect magic shows nothing with the secret compartment, the green material seems to have some lingering magic in it, it is of medium strength. With your knowledge of stone and gems being a dwarf the green material is similar to what the goblin has (The minotaur has a pendant). You find it odd, this statue is made out of stone but not any natural stone you know of.
Taking a little more time to inspect the 'statue' you find out this isn't a statue at all. It is a young Vulpinal turned into stone. By what you are uncertain.
Jazz and Beren are thankful to Trogg and Variel for healing them. They are a lot better off than they were moments ago.
Trogg, who was examining the statue and something in the water below the statue, suddenly starts back. "That isn't a statue. It was a living creature, and something turned it to stone. We should be careful." He confers with the other casters, "The green glass- or gem-like material in the water there is still radiating magic of some sort. Do you think it had anything to do with the sad fate of..." he gestures toward the 'statue', uncertain of its gender.
"By the way, that display case over there looks like it might contain a secret compartment. Should we try to open it?"
"If mage can mind-control with small box and teleport with big circle, turn to rock is not too odd," Rikaku comments dryly, hopping over to the stone fox creature and inspecting it closely.
"But- oooooh secrets?" Rikaku is immediately distracted by the chance to discover shinies! Following Trogg's directive he will investigate the display case, trying to find the secret compartment within. He spends some time inspecting it, trying to ascertain if there was anything dangerous about it, before trying to open it up with greedy fingers.
The compartment does indeed have a trap in it, albeit a small one. It's trigger seems to be when the compartment is opened as you would have guessed. Though the compartment is a fold away part to one of these old cases, it needs to be pulled and folded to be opened.
"Bah! Silly human-make trap no outsmart dragon. Tsk tsk!" Rikaku looks back at Sventon, "I leave to you to deal with, yes?"
Sventon whips out his tools from a pocket on his outfit and starts fiddling with the trap.
Hearing a satisfying 'click' Sventon turns around with a smile. And that's how baby dwarves are made.
The trap is undone and you open the chamber. Inside is an enchanted rapier. Wrapped around the sheath of the rapier is a scroll.
1: Cloak of resistance
2: Curveblade
3-4: Rapier
5: Axe
6: +2 Cha or Wis item.
When someone takes the scroll and reads it, it says:
Dragash,
My Beloved son,
I have hidden this here so that you might use this to defend yourself if ever the villagers come to attack us. If you have found this than that day must have come, I am either dead or not the man I once was. Never use this to take the soul of another unless it is imperative to do so.
Love,
Klaus
Sventon's brow furrows as he reads the letter. He passes it on.
Don't take the soul of another? Can this thing take souls? Cayden protect us if it is so.
He takes out a rag from his stuff and wraps the rapier in it.
I suggest we carry it like this for now. Unless someone wants to use it. Anyone able to discern what this thing does?
I am skilled in the use of the Rapier if no one else wants to use it.
In the mean time..., he looks it it over carefully, assessing it.
Spell Craft
Trogg examines the goblin.
"I found a note in his pocket."
Note: Make sure to bring all his possessions, don't let anyone interrupt your work. There are still some left, search hard or you shall change and not for the better.
"I wonder what would happen if we smash the goblin's box? Was that what turned the fox to stone?"
"Let's smash and find out!" Rikaku says with scantly-hidden glee. "Goblin already dead. Can't hurt him no more than already have."
Variel identifies it as a +1 Rapier, rare to find a weapon enchanted but this was a rich man's manor. Small surprise he had such a weapon.
The goblin is indeed dead.
When the dust settles, Jazz sheathes his rapier and begins picking around the remains, listening quietly to his companions as they piece together the scene. "It sounds more and more like we are facing a magic-wielder of great power -- a dangerous opponent indeed. A weapon like that," he points to the found rapier, "will be very useful I think against these formidable foes. I could use the weapon, but I can already enhance my blade magically when I need to -- in more than one way, too -- so maybe you could benefit more from it, Variel."
Moving further into the old manor the group passes a few rooms used for things like dining halls, greeting rooms or what looked like a reading room or library. The library has a group of goblins scrounging around for something. They seemed engrossed in their work and you pass them without notice. There are about 8 goblins in the room.
At the end of the long corridor the group comes to a barricaded door. However it is barricaded from the side the group is walking in from as opposed to the other side as you'd expect.
The door has a small viewing hole with bars on it, inside the group can see what looks like an room full of magic charts, a few book shelves and a casting circle on the ground.
The room itself is teeming with magic when detect magic is cast.
Jazz and Trogg when inspecting the door can see tracks of someone coming this way recently. The barricade has a few marks from creatures of a smaller stature placing the barricade here. The goblins maybe?
Something seems off about the situation.
All of the group grow uneasy by a smell, smells like rot. Though unsure what is actually rotting if anything.
Sventon and Trogg can hear the slow breathing of a lot of creatures, it isn't all that audible. Occasionally they can hear a slight creak of metal rubbing against each other. The breathing seems to be coming from above them, however when looking up at the top of corridor there isn't anything there.
If nobody stops him, Rikaku crushes the device in the goblin with the butt of his spear and curiously observes the effects. "Hmmmm. So if device not remove proper like goblin in tower, turn to stone? Maybe can turn back from stone if put one back in place?"
---
What greets them at the end of the hallway causes Rikaku's scaly skin to crawl, and he hisses at the sight of so many magical energies bouncing off the walls in the room beyond the barricade. "Not sure if safe to go in... should maybe ask goblins in library what is place?"
Sventon focuses on the breathing and the creaking, trying to penetrate the darkness with his darkvision.
Does Clarence know anything about the source of the rot?
What can Trogg tell about the magic or the casting circle?
Could he summon something into the room?
"It looks like whoever made this barricade wasn't trying to keep things out, it was made to keep something in. They must have trapped something inside... we should be careful how we proceed."
Jazz nods at Rikaku. "The goblins might know something, if they can be made to cooperate." Jazz returns to the room with the goblins and announces his presence loudly in Goblin, "What are you doing and why are you here, little ones? What are you looking for?" If none of them answer him, he grabs on forcedly and tries to shake it to its senses. After questioning the goblins, Jazz also does a quick search of the books with detect magic and his own eyes, hoping to find something with information on what could be behind that barricaded door.
Perception
Sventon focusing on the breathing can tell it is indeed from above them but in the next room. Placing his face closer to the bars he can see that the roof in the next room is higher than the one they're in. Out of his pouch he takes a small mirror and passes it through the bars trying to give himself a better look. He can't see it quite clearly but there seems to be some monstrosity chained to the roof of the room. Every so often it heaves and he can hear the chains creak some more.
Clarence has smelt this kind of rot before, it smells like corpses but corpses drenched in water for a time.
The casting circle is a communication link similar to a sending spell, however it is of a more permanent connection to two points. Hard to tell where the other point should lead but it seems simple enough to reactivate as most of the material is present to do so.
Jazz walks back off to the library, as soon as he walks in the goblins all turn around in shock. These ones have green devices attached to them like the one that turned to stone as opposed to the ones that are yellow in colour from the tower.
One of them pipes up "Oh.. points knows how to talk goblin. Er.. we looking for shinies, yes er ... shiny shiny things! You know we likes shinies!"
The goblin is trying to find something but you can tell he's lying, it isn't 'shinies' he's after but probably something quite different.
There is something suspended from the ceilling in the next room. A monster of some kind. I couldn't really see all that well. whispers Sventon to the rest of the group.
"Is this 'monster' of yours small enough that it might not be one?"
Rikaku follows Jazz into the library to bother the goblins. He doesn't understand their exchange, but he does notice that these ones have the strange green devices embedded into them. Oh how he wanted to pull one out and see what happened! But no, they had to talk to these goblins for now. "If Jazz want scare them to talk, I back you up," the kobold mutters to his friend, before skittering off to the side and having a quick look around the library himself for anything interesting.
Rikaku has a quick look around the library and can see most of the books here are old reading books mixed amongst some history books of the region. There is an occasion a poetry book and a heraldry book. One book that takes Rikaku's eye however is pristine looking white book. Picking it up it is entirely written in draconic, what little pages there are in it. Most of them have been torn out unfortunately but it starts with:
The first date this journal has is dated about 150 years ago
Day 0
Dear Diary,
Oh this is going to be fun, my name is Snow. Or that's the name that Klaus gave me. A wonderful man he has been raising me. I'm getting a little big now though, I'm bigger than his son though far younger. I like to think what the world is beyond this mountain. I wonder what it is like there. I really wish to spread my wings one day. Klaus won't let me, says I will be hurt. I'm a big girl now, I'm sure I'd be fine....
Day 40
Dear Diary,
I got angry at someone again, Klaus got angry at me... it made me sad. I only turned the man's boots to frost. I don't know, it wasn't that bad was it. I'll go apologize later, I don't like it when Klaus is angry at me.
Day 87
Dear Diary,
It's almost Dragash's birthday, I wonder what to get him? Oh I know he can have one of my teeth, he says their shiny. Such a silly man, despite him being a young adult. I think I'll make a crystal chain for it too, my teeth are making way for my bigger ones anyway. One won't go amiss.
Day 345
Dear Diary,
My favourite time of year is here, it's snowing. I'm allowed to go out and play with some of the younger kids. As long as I don't throw the snow at them too hard, I'm an easy target to hit anyway with me being so big. The kids are cute though, some of them ride on me pretending to be knights. I'm a little bigger than a horse though but I guess I can give them a funny dream to live up to.
The rest of the pages are missing.
It's as big as two men, if one was standing on the shoulders of another.
Rikaku has no idea what draws him to the white book, but he is absolutely shocked and yet excited at its contents. His heart races a little as he picks through what remains of the diary. Surely this Snow is a...!
Eyes scintillating with excitement, the white kobold skitters out from between the shelves back to join Jazz with the goblins. He clutches the diary to his chest but as of yet does not say anything about its contents.
Through the barred hole in the barricade, Trogg will call out to the creature on the ceiling in Common, Druidic, Dwarven, and Terran, "Do you understand me? Thump twice if you understand and cannot speak." After each language, he will pause and listen for a reply.
If there is no response to any of his attempts at communication (counting a response in a language Trogg doesn't understand as a response), and no one else offers to add other languages or otherwise objects, Trogg will summon a stirge into the room to test whether the magic in the room is safe.
The creature lurches and groans but makes no attempt to respond to Trogg's inquisition. Trogg summons a stirge inside the room, the summoned strige functions as it normally would. The creature starts to groan some more when it notices the strige. Trogg hears some loud blood splattering and rubbing of bone and sinew. A few moments a swarm descends to inspect the strige, uninterested they then fly back up.
Trogg knows that the bugs in the swarm are a Leech Swarm.
Sventon slowly backs away seeking comfort of the wall on the other side of the room.Cayden save us, what in the nine hells is that beast? Did it just...send flying leeches at your summoning?
"That's what I thought I saw too," Trogg says, his teeth chattering in fear. "Let's not investigate further."
Grim... very grim
Would fire cleanse that room you think?
"The room isn't the only thing the fire would cleanse."
Variel tests the new rapier with a few swishes and lunges and then quietly moves up the stairs.
Hearing the others return down the corridor past the library, Rikaku pokes his head out of the door and calls Jazz over to follow him. The kobold shudders quite profusely at their descriptions of the horrible monster on the roof, and of course the massive swarm of flying leeches(?!) was equally as disturbing.