Aerel nods as he moves into the depth of the cave carefully.
Unfortunately, the spike stones don't disappear with the death of the spellcasting gug. With the group split up by the magically warped ground, Aerel moves ahead cautiously.
Jagged, red-inked script covers the walls of this stone mausoleum. A snaking cavern enters through crumbled walls to the south, while a passage leads out to the west. A small, strangely organic-looking pillar stands to the north, supporting a gruesome stack of finely preserved human faces.
Aerel returns. Having found no threats with his darkvision, he's examined the area with light and found script on the walls. Perhaps William will recognize it.
Aerel cannot read the script, but he recognizes some of the symbols as what's used in Undercommon.
During his inspection of the room, he also realizes that the strange pedestal holding up the gruesome faces is actually a stone pair of legs going up to roughly the waist, either as a broken statue or the lower half of a petrified person.
He retreats and shares what he's found with the others.
"I am not fluent in the language, but I have seen some of the characters used on signposts. I was told they were in Undercommon - are any of your able to read the tongue of the depths below?"
"I speak and read Undercommon, Aerel. I will take a look.
And it seems you've found another way around so we don't have to wait for the Spike Stones to end!"
Benedict approaches to read the script.
Benedict quickly determines the Underdark writing is a series of notes used to transcribe Dwarven texts as well as shorthand notes on a demon-summoning ritual.
He also sees a pair of stone legs being used as a table.
Do the legs appear to be of Dwarven dimensions? Something taller like a hobgoblin?
"Perhaps we will find the rest of this figure elsewhere.
Let's gather everyone here and continue on.
Aerel, lead on."
While the group plans on using Grum's teleportation to avoid the spike stones, they notice the small chamber to the east is lit by bronze sconces. The room is bare except for the upper torso of a statue of a young human man. His face would be handsome if it were not contorted into a terrified expression.
Grum then teleports the group where the gugs are waiting for them.
The now-visible gug wearing adornments and jewelry casts a spell upon the heroes' sudden appearance.
You're up!
The legs are definitely not Dwarven. They're full-stature, like a human or a hobgoblin.
"Did you look at what's on the legs? Where did they find human-like legs in a dwarven tomb. And where did they gather these human faces - are those actually real, not sculpted? I don't think those creatures are the art-loving sort..."
"I will let you have a moment to ponder while I investigate further."
"We know that the Ironfang Legion infiltrated this place to steal from the dwarves. That could explain hobgoblins. As to the human faces... I'm not sure.
Those stone legs here in the mausoleum might match up with the human torso that we saw in the room to the southeast."
"When the Spike Stones end we can try to bring the legs to the torso and head."
As Aerel steps out into the hallway, he immediately notices the tell-tale signs of a magical trap (marked on the map).
This wide hallway stretches on for over a hundred feet. Debris from collapsed walls blocks the route south.
Aerel lets Benedict and the others know that he's found a trap and to keep their distance while he investigates its removal.
He studies it from different angles, trying to get a feel for the trigger and the effect, always deceptive when dealing with magic, but he's seen some things in his years as a scout, and when he thinks he's puzzled it out, he acts.
Aerel disables the trap, cutting off its magical nature and rendering the hazard completely harmless.
The hallway contains frescoes depicting a stylized rendition of the Quest for the Sky, showing a red-headed Dwarf assisting other Dwarves through various Darklands hazards.
Farther up the passage, a stone door seals off a passage to the right while on ahead the hallway veers to the left.
Aerel returns to the party to share what he's found before returning to the scout position. He checks over the door first.
Haela and Benedict join Aerel past the trap.
Haela takes in the frescoes, recounting the Dwarven legends in her head. There is no need to relate the tales to these surface folk, but she takes note of any areas of the frescoes that will need restoration.
The door is not locked. Ancient gears grind noisily when they're pushed open, revealing golden brackets lining the walls of this chamber, lit by flickering flames from a ceiling-mounted brazier. Alongside the brackets
are gold and silver alcoves, each resembling storage areas roughly two feet wide. Blocky dwarven script lines the tops of each alcove.
With a rumble of stone, two gold-painted stone statues lurch into some semblance of life! They move to menace anyone stepping into the chamber!
Karburtin explains its uses. "This is one of our few Sigils of Kraggodan left. This ring protects the wearer from caustic and corrosive gasses or acids, but importantly, it will give you access to the sealed-off sections of the Reliquary. You can also activate it to render yourself completely undetected by traps and constructs three times per day."
Haela activates her Sigil of Kraggodan to become invisible to what are hopefully constructs.
She then moves into the room and looks around.
Can she read the Dwarven script atop the alcoves?
The golems ignore Haela as she enters.
The script states that the founding clans of Kraggodan each donated a fortune of gold to this chamber to be used communally by the city in times of emergency.
Haela quickly determines that all but one of the eight alcoves have been plundered. The one remaining sealed alcove is locked.
Haela looks around a bit more and then moves out of the room before her Greater Invisibility wears off.
"It's a storehouse of gold. I don't think we need to fight for it right now, as it has no bearing on our mission.
It is true that Gorm Greathammer offered us everything that remains in here as our reward for clearing out the Gugs and finding evidence of the Ironfang Legion's involvement in the theft of the Onyx Key. That would include any gold in there. And a deal is a deal so I don't mind taking it. But maybe we can deal with this room later."
"If the Ironfang Legion looted seven of these vaults in addition to the Onyx Key... I wonder how many thieves there were. That gold would be a great weight to carry."
”The statues are considerable security. Maybe we need not do anything.”
He’s plenty interested in gold, but survival is always paramount and he begins to check the way forward once more.
Benedict will hand the Golembane Scarab to William.
"Why don't you use this? It should help if we have to fight golems at any point."
Benedict hands the +1 Construct-Bane Adamantine Battleaxe to Haela, and she takes it in hand.
After a short bit of work, the golems are no more, and the lock can be picked with a DC 40 Disable Device check.
Twenty 10-pound gold ingots worth 500 gp each are inside, along with a stone of alliance.
Fully expecting the dwarves to have defended their treasures in many ways, Aerel studies the door very carefully before attempting to open anything.
Aerel scouts ahead. Dwarven runes are carved above the next chamber to his right, though a cave-in bars further passage down the hallway. Inside the chamber, chunks of metal and stone cover much of the floor here, along
with piled bones and streaks of blackened blood. To the north, the wall abruptly ends in a jagged collapse, opening to a wider cavern beyond.
Two more gugs lurk in the darkness of this chamber, Aerel notices.
The scout returns to the rest of the party.
"Didn't find any traps, but there's room on the right ahead with a pair of gugs. Looks like we have to pass through the chamber to get out of here."
Benedict nods. "Okay. Maybe we get set up in a formation and then William uses the staff to throw a Fireball or Wall of Fire in there?"
Benedict sighs and sounds less than enthusiastic.
"Sure, okay. Try not to die."
William shrugs and says "I can throw a fireball in there but for only two of them I don't know that it is worth it. It may just be better to form a line and hit them from range. I doubt a fireball will drop them both like that." as he snaps his fingers.
"We could create a choke point in the short corridor so you could form a phalanx for at least one flight of arrows. I suggest we focus on one and hopefully it will fall before the two of them wise up and step around the corner or retreat."
"I had thought of Fireball because it can spread and affect foes out of sight to a degree. Start the fight before they can see us and lure them out of that room."
"But I'll do whatever. Your plan sounds good, Aerel."
William unload on the gug he can see hoping they can drop them quickly before they engage.
+1 longbow +18/+18/+13/+8 with PBS, RS, DA (1d8+14/x3/30' range)
Aerel follows suit, sending missiles downrange at the visible gug.
Benedict and Haela both move up and use Total Defense, hoping that they can blunt the Gugs' attacks.
Haela also enters Dwarven Hatred Style. If a foe hits her, she will use an immediate action to apply her Defensive Training against it for another +4 dodge bonus to AC that lasts until she designates a new opponent.
Arrows slam into the first gug, leaving it looking like a peacock with all the fletching jutting from its body, but it still stands.
When Benedict steps closer, he can tell that these gugs are different from the ones they'd fought earlier, having the stink of the infernal that offends his celestial nature. They seem enraged at his mere presence, and step forward to smite him!
He stands unharmed.
Benedict decides that the best offense is a good defense, to allow the archers to continue their work.
He steps 5' closer to the Gugs, but maintains Total Defense.
Aerel, grateful for their leader's willingness to soak up the attacks, tries to reduce the number of attacks by killing one of the gugs. He continues to focus on the peacock...
Both gugs take ineffective swings at Grum as he approaches. The orc warrior cuts the injured one down.
William moves to see the gug and then fires an arrow at it.
The remaining gug grunts as William puts a well-placed arrow into the aberration. Then it steps forward and bites and claws at Grum.