Mool had already taken out his immovable rods and began to use them like ladder rungs climbing towards the top of the tower, when the conversation started. He quickly deactivated them and dropped to the ground on hearing the possessed one speak.
"Evil"! "He is evil, and nothing he says can be trusted". "Kill him"! He then draws his sword, and begins to run towards the man/demon.
Merten looks to the other party members, clearly wanting to hear what the demon has to say, but not wanting to put himself between the possessed guard and the psychotic goblin. Wait...
The possessed man's head twists at an odd angle as Mool rushes toward him. It speaks in a high-pitched yipping languange.
Delgras continues to watch for anything trying to approach the party as he hears the green skin scream and charge the possessed warrior, knowing he is to far away to do anything to stop him.
Efwin watches the others interested to see what the demon would have to say, but also not willing to defend the creature if others wanted to put it down.
Mool hesitates at the warning. "Wait"? "Wait for what". "Demons don't turn good".
The man speaks again, "Yes, hold the little monster back, or you'll never find out why we came here. You'll never find out about the broken Wardstone... Oh, did I say that part out loud?"
He begins laughing in a high-pitched giggle and rolls over on his back and raises his arms into the air.
Merten's face is a thunderhead of fury. Speak Demon! Or be damned, but be warned. I will have no patience for your puling tricks! Say your piece, and we shall release you. Test our patience, and, well, your fellows fled at the right time. Were that you were so lucky.
The man's face glares at Merten, "We all knew about your little experiments up in the monastery. The unassailable fortress, where you made a new Wardstone. But it was broken, wasn't it? Something went wrong, and it broke. Wouldn't it be a shame if whatever broke it fell into the wrong hands?"
The man breaks into hideous laughter for several seconds. His head twists again, "Hurry, hurry, might be able to catch them. But how could they get in, and out, and in, and out? Can't get in from the outside... Such a tall stone tower."
His arm flops forward to point at the platform. His voice is hoarse, as if it has trouble forming the words. "Just stand beside the platform and say, May we be delivered into her grace.. Then your chariot shall arrive."
His face leers again at Merten, then at Mool, "So I'm free to go, yes?"
You may leave, Demon. But dead or alive, that body you're wearing stays here.
Getting a sense the conversation is coming to an end, Delgras climbs down from his perch and heads back toward the lift.
Efwin watches to see what happens with the demon, ready to aid the poor soul whose body is being occupied.
A harsh growl erupts from the man's mouth as the demon responds, "Dead then!" A resounding crack echoes across the ground as the man's neck abrupty snaps. A haze of black smoke rises up into the air.
Lothar's face had truly paled once the Demon mentioned a broken wardstone, so much so that he barely grimaced at the fate of the poor Crusader whose neck had been snapped before him.
The fiend must have lied... he whispered softly, scarcely believing it himself.
May we be delivered into her grace! he said hastily, seeking to get to the tower as fast as possible.
Seeing the demon flee Delgras moves to the blinded guard. "Easy boy, no one is going to leave you here blind and alone. Put your hand on my shoulder, and stay behind me."
As Delgras leads him toward the lift he collects a shield and hands it to the young guard. "Here, take this. If I tell you to stay, take a knee and keep this in front of you."
Once to the lift Delgras sets his shield and gets a firm grip on his warhammer, waiting for the lift to begin its ascent.
Efwin follows the others as they head to the lift.
Merten studies Delgras as he aids the blind guard, and gives a considering look, but says nothing as he heads for the lift. Once there, he asks Atraken, How do we enter my friend?
I do not trust the demon's instructions. Let us see how the guard gains entry.
The blind guard reaches up and places a quivering hand on Delgras' wide shoulder. "Thank you, sir, thank you."
He turns his head toward Merten, "The demon was partially correct - but even in possession we do not reveal all our secrets. Our training includes rigorous magical conditioning. There are two parts to the ritual. Let us move to the platform."
The group heads over the platform. Once there, the guard bows his head, "May we be delivered into her grace."
A female voice speaks, "Into her grace you are delivered."
The guard replies, "Forever and ever, until the end of eternity."
The female voice again speaks, "Forever and ever, you shall know peace and love."
The platform rises, slowly, though steadily. Up above you, another platform extends over the edge of the rock tower with a circular hole cut into it that should fit the platform you now stand upon.
It finishes rising and turns slightly resulting in an audible "clunk". The guard looks around, "The platform is locked into the upper landing. It will not descend until given the commands - they are the same to rise and go back down."
A stark wall blocks your sight and movement, with the only way through being a doorway. A large iron door stands ajar.
You can also detect several caverns within the stone of the tower, all of them created within the past year. That is extremely unusual, and likely not of natural origin.
-----
Moving through the doorway, you pass beyond the wall and enter a wide courtyard. Dead bodies are strewn about. You can identify guards similar to those below, as well as what appear to be priests and monks. All have died from vicious, and in most cases, cruelly-delivered blows.
There appear to be three main buildings that have defenders congregated around the doorways - a small wooden structure to the east, a larger stone building with no windows to the west, and the large building to the north which seems to contain the main living quarters. The small wood building and the living quarters both have main doors and windows, while the stone building appears to only have a single door.
As you take in this scene, you are struck by the silence, and the stench.
Most died from slashing wounds, and a few have had limbs torn completely off their bodies.
Guards around both the small wooden and the stone building were obviously defending the entrances to the structures.
Efwin takes in the gruesome scene shaking his head at the sheer number of lost lives. Looking back to the others "They've been dead for about two weeks, mostly from slashing wounds. The way the bodies are arranged it seems like whatever threat there was came from inside the building over there that looks like the living quarters and it appears they were trying to defend the entrances of the other two buildings. Perhaps we should check those building, make sure they are cleared out and then delve into the living quarters to see what might have caused all this?"
Wise counsel Efwin. Shall we examine the wooden structure first?
Lothar seemed troubled.
The evil in this place permeates the very stones we walk upon, colleagues. I can detect several caverns unearthed beneath this place... all created within the past year and none of them natural. This is likely how the Demons came to enter this place; they dug their way in...
Yes. Lets start there.
Lothar drank one of the potions of Enlarge Person he carried with him and ensured he was close to his comrades as they made their inspections. Ore stood close by, following his master.
Merten casts detect magic and examines the courtyard and building exteriors for any magical auras.
The small wooden building is about twenty feet wide and about forty feet long. The door to the building has been broken, with half of it lying ten feet inside. The interior appears to be a single room that previously held tables and chairs.
Massive shelves at one time lined the walls of this large room, and from the destroyed tomes and papers inside, it seems that books lined most of them. You have found the monastery's library. There are piles of burned paper five feet high in some places. Even now, the stench of cinders and ash hang over this room.
... has not yet returned. As such, his castings are being handled by a new member of our order, a female gnome who arrived a few weeks ago. Hopefully she remembers to tie everything together - it would not do to have our "basement" open to visitors."
-----
Delgras follows the others as they search the buildings looking for clues. He keeps an eye out for a good place for the young man to hold up while the deal with what ever has caused the damage here.
Efwin follows the others and looks around the room.
No untoward auras, Merten mutters to himself but waits for the others before entering the building.
Once inside, he begins searching the room.
Does anyone else hear that buzzing?
Mool puts away his rods, and focuses on what is happening in front of him. He sees the dead bodies, and strains to "Detect Evil" with his usual results. (NOTE: He always claims to have known Evil from his powers).
He wrinkles his nose at the corpses, and follows the others into the building.
Perception
"What"! "Where"! "I hate bee's where is there a buzzing"?
As Merten asks his question, the buzzing becomes more distinct. Everyone can now hear it clearly. It seems to be a single creature, though since you cannot see what is making the noise, it's impossible to be sure.
Efwin moves away from where the noise is coming "Perhaps someone that can stand to defend themselves better should overturn the books and see what lies beneath?"
Delgras moves his charge just outside the door, "Wait here, we need to take care of whatever is making all that noise."
With the guard secure he steps back in to room and looks at the others, "Ready?"
Still the size of an Ogre, Lothar nodded.
Mool takes the end of his sword, and begins to move the papers aside looking for the source of the buzzing.
As the papers and ashes are pushed aside, you discover the source of the buzzing.
A tiny metallic humanoid-shaped creature sits on the stone floor. Its black insectile wings buzz with effort as it struggles to free itself from a wire that has been wrapped around its legs and a thick metal rod. Given its situation, it appears that someone, or something trapped it here beneath the burning books.
It's head turns toward you and little red gemstone eyes regard you warily. The wings cease their movement and quickly fold up on themselves until they disappear into a small cavity in the creature's back. It cautiously points at you, then at the wire, then puts its hands together in a sign of pleading.
It's a clockwork... at least, it appears to be.
Addressing the creature, Merten asks Can you understand me? Are you capable of speech?
He tries several languages, hoping for a response.
Common, Elven, Draconic, Abyssal, Infernal, Celestial, Terran, Ignan, Auran, Aquan, Aklo, Sylvan
He also checks for any magical auras about the creature or the rod it is attached to.
Not truly understanding what a clockwork creature is, Lother's basic instincts of compassion took over. He moved to free the construct from the wire, looking questioningly at Merten for a moment to see if the man objected.
Seeing that the buzzing was not something dangerous, Delgras moves back outside to the guard. "False alarm lad. Appears its some clockwork bug or something? Any idea where it came from?"
While talking to the guard Delgras keeps an eye out for any sigs of trouble in the courtyard.
Seeing that it's not a bee, Mool quickly looses interest.
The tiny creature looks up at Merten, but shakes his head in the negative. After a moment, it opens its mouth and whistles sharply, then begins a high-pitched trill, reminding the group of a singing bird.
The small flap opens on its back and its wings fold out again. It buzzes upward and hovers in front of
After a moment, a metallic voice echoes in your minds, "I am unable to speak, but Friend Luca bid me use my mind voice. This one is grateful for release." it thinks while executing a small mid-air bow.
"I served a wizard who lived here and gave me this body. To this one's dismay, Master was slain by demons that came from inside the dormitory. The demons put this one into the fire hoping to destroy it, but this one's body resists heat. Master was not so lucky. Master was in the research laboratory, the stone building across the courtyard when the demons appeared. Would this one's new friends go with this one to search for Master?"
Yes, small one. Accompany us, and we will search for your master together.
Thank you Luca, as always.
Merten holds out his hand as a perch for the clockwork automaton. Do you have a name? Or a way you wish to be called? And what can you tell us of this place and your master? We have come to rescue any that we can here. Do you know much of the work that was done here? And what of the demons, how did they gain entry? And perhaps more importantly, are they still here?
Keeping the guard up to date on what is going on Delgras passes the messages along from the dragon. "It sounds like the thing was one of the wizards familiar, or something like that. You ever hear about or seen him?" Thinking about it he asks another question of the guard, "Where do you think would be a good place for you to hold up while we look for who or what ever did this?"
Efwin looks the creature over with a cuatious eye and waits to hear it's responses.
The tiny man flits over to Merten's hand and inspects it closely for a few seconds before finally settling down. It tilts its head up as the wizard makes his inquiries.
In the same tinny mind-voice, it replies, "This one was called Mat by Master. There was much learning and experimenting here, and Master helped create the black stones. Master said the black stones would protect people from the demons. A dwarf brought new minerals for research, but the shiny rocks were bad, and made the black stone crack apart. After the stone broke apart, the demons came from inside the sleeping rooms."
"This one was trapped under the fire, so demons might be around. Or might not be around."
The guard smiles feebly while watching the clockwork man, "Yes, I recognize the little guy. He was the familiar of one of the researchers, and older man who was here for many years. I'm sorry, I don't know his Master's name... all of the scientists and researchers kept to themselves."
He looks back toward the gate, "There is a small closet near the gate. I can stay there, it should be safe."
Nodding and looking in the direction the guard indicates Delgras replies "Ok, that sounds like a good idea to me."
Sticking his head in the room he lets the others know before escorting the guard over to the hiding place. "Wait here till we return for you." Delgras leaves a waterskin and a small hammer to defend him self with.
Merten thinks over the information provided by the clockwork familiar. The black stones are most likely the wardstones which hinder the demons' natural teleportation, but I wonder what the shiny rocks might be...
If the rest of you are ready, Mat, will you tell us what we might find in the stone building to the west, the one with no windows? And the other stone building as well, the living quarters.
Efwin nods "Let's bee on our way."