Killia reaches up to find that the wand can fairly easily slide out from the statue's grip.
Observing the dais, Idril notices a strong aura of magic permeating the raised slab forming the floor, though its exact nature is unknown. The aura doesn't match with any particular spell - that the magus is familiar with anyway - but the school is definitely transmutation.
The moment Therin steps down from the dais, he finds his strength restored. His gear no longer burdens him as it did before and his movements and energy are less sluggish.
"I'm just going to stay...right...over...here" his job had become easier since Kalkamedes had stepped onto the dais, but he did not relent on said task.
|
Killia takes the wand and offers it those in his group, obviously unsure of the magical implement that can cause auch hardships.
"Anyone want this? Now, not to be the bearer of unwelcome news, but we do need to press on I'm afraid, Kalkemedes doea not seem at the end of his quest, so neither are we. Do any of us have an idea of how to solve this?"
He then begins looking around the dais for a mechanism of some sort.
Looking around the dais (while careful not to step on it), Killia looks to find a switch or catch, but to no avail. The raised slab seems to be one solid piece of stone.
Ahead of you Kalkamedes continues to try and shove open the massive doors, but doesn't seem to make much headway against their giant size.
Nodding towards the door, "Seems to make the strong weaker, right...what happens when someone who is not strong gets up there?"
Baphos climbs onto the dais, fearing the worst. However, as soon as he stands on top of the raised platform the halfling feels stronger, his muscles moving with more force than he is used to.
Meanwhile, Kalkamedes tries to push past the giant doors again, and again to no avail.
Still holding the wand, Killia steps forward towards the door. Despite the comments from his colleagues, the gunslinger doesn't feel any different at all as he moves along the dais. Still, the three of them attempt to push open the door,
But the heavy stone still will not budge.
Lukaas too feels neither stronger nor weaker as he moves to push open the doors. While it takes the three of you (four counting the snoring Kalkamedes) some time, you eventually manages to shove the giant stone doors aside. They grate against the rock floor in an obnoxious whine, but swing wide to reveal another dark hallway.
Inching slightly down the now open path, Traber, Killia, and Lukaas see that at the passage's end hangs a massive metal cage shaped like a demon's head. It is suspended by thick chains above, and dangles over a dark shaft with no bottom in sight. The cage's door-by all appearances a menacing maw, filled with incisor-like fangs-hangs open to the west. There, a narrow bridge spans the short distance between the ledge and the cage. A small console on the north edge of the bridge bears a single lever.
Kalkamedes tries to move forward, but snags against Sukune's rope.
The hulking Sukune climbs up onto the dais to follow you down the passage, only to immeadiately collapse to the ground, unconscious as all of his energy gives out.
Grunts as he hits the ground...out.
Digging deep, Killia manages to drag Sukune forward, with difficulty. As soon as the occultist passes the door's threshold, he awakens, his muscles feeling refreshed (except for a small bruise from his sudden collapse).
Ahead of them, Kalkamedes strides directly into the 'mouth' of the lift and then stands still. The cage seems to be large enough to fit four of your party.
Baphos mutters an orison and scans the elevator, and the shaft for magic. The cage itself seems purely mechanical, if macabre, and while the shaft seems to descend quite a ways the oracle gets no sense of an active spell below either.
"That seems...ominous." Gamin says. "I suppose its only fitting for a descent into the 'belly of the beast' though, wouldn't you say?"
Sukune sits up and slowly stretches, then pulls himself to his feet. "I think so...that was very odd. I'm glad it's over. Thanks for that...whoever..."
The elevator indeed looks like it can fit no more than four normal-sized humanoids at a time - now three with Kalkamedes standing still inside it. Clearly visible inside is a lever, currently pointed straight out and level with the floor.
None of you can make out the bottom of the drop below, even with your lighting. The shaft's sides are slightly uneven, its depth unknown. but at least 90 feet.
Three of you pack into the metal cage. The fit is snug, but the device seems sturdy enough. An experimental pull down on the single lever starts the enclosure on a clanking descent, the chains around it moving as the maw lowers itself down below.
After a minute of movement, the elevator lands on the floor with a gentle thud. You estimate you've journeyed around 200 feet below, to find yourself at the edge of a tunnel leading into a wider space. Palm-sized shards of jagged steel jut from halfway up the walls of this large cavern, bathing the cavern with a dark green light. A set of natural rock columns support the chamber's ceiling, which rises to a height of twenty feet. From your current position, several rounded alcoves appear to branch of from the main cavern.
As the four of you exit the elevator, Kalkamedes shuffles forward, but much slower than before. From around a corner, you hear a faint call. "He, hello? Is someone there?"
Looks about quietly as he grips the rope that holds their sleeping companion. "Lovely...that's an ideal situation to have us in...sleeping agent leads us to a filled dungeon...we should hold off until the rest of the group gets here..." he nods to the walls, "There is something down here that is clawing into the walls..."
Baphos gets the controls correct on the first try, flipping the level up only the watch as the cage begins its clattering ascent back to the rest of the party. Lukaas meanwhile tries to make out the source of the claw marks. There seem to be gouges from protean forearms, barghast claws, azata talons, xorn hands, and countless others, some of which the bard can't even identify.
As Killia, Therin and Idril pack into the now returned lift and begin making their own journey down, the six of you hear the voice call out again. "Please! I can hear your voices! Or are they real this time...if you're there say something. Please, help!"
As the trio in the second wave voice their worries about what may be happening below, the lift continues to lower, finally depositing them on the lower level with the rest of the party. United again, the seven cautiously move forward.
As you turn into the larger cavern, you immediately notice a circular alcove budding off from the larger chamber. An elaborate set of concentric circles inscribed in dull metal of different colors occupies much of the space within the room. Sitting inside the circles sits a pink-haired gnome, bedragled and dressed in worn clothing. As his eyes land on you he forces his posture upwards with a wince, eyes widening.
[smaller]"Oh Niv! You're, you're real. You're really real. You found this place - no one finds this place. Please, are you my salvation? I've been trapped down here for so long."