"You sure that thing didn't fry your brain, Frankie?"
"I'm just saying: maybe there's a secret door over there. You know, if we don't see that room elsewhere." Frank replies defensively.
No further secret doors are found in this section.
The group then returns to the main rotator room and Gauntlet activates the Brown Keycharm [W7]. This corridor leads to a locked metal door. B, Kana, and EE manage to pick the lock and gain entrance. Inside you find shelves full of dried or magically preserved food, skins full of water and wine, and a variety of mundane supplies including clothing, bed rolls, rope, and the like. A Detect Magic spell allows you to find several magical potions (2 potions of cure moderate wounds and 3 potions of lesser restoration).
Thereafter, you realize that at least one hallway activated by a Blue Keycharm was skipped over in your quest to confront the Stone Wolf. [W12]. This corridor leads an the office once used by the ranking House Cannith representative at the facility. You pass through the unlocked door and find the occupant remains, her corpse perfectly preserved slumped across her desk having died at these mundane duties.
The everbright lantern in this room functions properly. The room appears to be a small library or study. Two sturdy oak desks are set against the left wall. The rest of the room is filled with shelves lined with scrolls and leather-bound books. On close examination, most of these items appear to be business ledgers: They are concerned with quantities of food purchased, receipts for bulk spell components, and similar kinds of information. The documentation once so important is now a relic of the past good for sociological study at best or kindling for a small fire at worst.
A search of the room finds that she is slumped across an ornate scroll, its drafting was her last act. The scroll grants Protection from Energy. On her hand is a House Cannith signet ring should anyone wish to take it.
The second corridor activated by the Brown Keycharm leads to an open dining hall. [W13].
Four long tables are set up around the main room, and an archway on the far wall leads into a large kitchen. Ten humans—seven men and three women died in this hall. These corpses are warm to the touch, and rigor mortis has not set in; they seem to be sleeping, but they can’t be awakened. The feeling of being here around them is unsettling to say the least.
The kitchen contains a well filled with pure water, cabinets filled with pots and pans, a wine rack with an assortment of vintages, and various other cooking utensils. A large ebony cabinet with multiple drawers and complex mithral patterns inlaid on its surface rests against one wall. Each drawer produces a particular prestidigitation effect, either chilling, heating, or flavoring food. Unlike the wolf bowls, these drawers are not easily transportable for later use and their removal will likely negate the magic.
Finally, the group returns to the main rotator room and triggers the Green Keycharm. The room rotates once more and open before you is a long hallway which leads to the third rotator room of this complex, or at least the third that your group has uncovered. The hall itself is dark though a bright light streams from the rotator room at the far end.
This room has yet another panel. You can insert five separately colored keys here, Green, Orange, Red, Purple (a color the group has not recovered despite a search of the entire complex except for the hallways reduced to rubble), and Yellow.
Frank attempts to stash all 5 magical potions into his haversack for later use.
After finding the woman's corpse in what was presumably her office, Frank makes sure to liberate the signet ring, and places it in his haversack in case they need extra.
Once he shamelessly collects the ring, he tries to roll up the magic scroll while disturbing the corpse as little as possible.
"Well, the red key seemed to be in the fanciest place. Think we should try that one first?"
He steps back in case something goes horribly wrong.
"What could go wrong?" Dev says, with a smile.
Gauntlet shrugs, the metal and stone in his body clanking a bit with the movement.
"Red work for me. Everybody hold on to your lug nuts...or whatever you may have for that kind of attachment."
Yes red is good.
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EE braces himself, awaiting the shock, while his artificial mind runs between several ideas: how did those people die so suddenly, where is the purple key, what should a Warforged have instead of nuts...
Zabeth dons gloves, wraps her scarf around to cover her nose and mouth, and begins to inspect the bodies for wounds or other signs of what led to the current condition of the unconscious diners.
Zabeth inspects the woman's body. She appears to have died of natural causes. There is no pulse. However, she is unnaturally warm to the touch. It has been more than a year since the Day of Mourning, she should be in late stages of decomposition by now.
It may be interesting to see whether removing her body from the Mournland has any effect...
Gauntlet turns the red keycharm. Below you feel and hear, something move. It slams shut, whatever it is. There is no visible movement of the room though.
"No explosions. Good sign!"
Selecting the Orange keycharm, Gauntlet activates it slowly.
Gauntlet activates the orange keycharm. Unlike the other rotator rooms, the walls and floor here move instead of the room itself. The crridor revealed is long and narrow and leads to the north east before heading due north. On the far wall, the group sees a pair of adamantine doors bearing the seal of House Cannith, and waves of heat pour off the doors and ripple through the corridor.
"Well, it looks like now might be a good time to use that scroll we found earlier. Should I just give the extra protection to Gauntlet...?"
Judging by how he feels the heat, EE concludes he and Gauntlet are probably less prone to suffer severe damage.
<Think can stand heat better than living things. Should use it on any other one, perhaps.>
He's also wondering what mechanism did the red keycharm open...
He's also wondering what mechanism did the red keycharm open...
"Anyone besides B have something sharp and magical?" Frank shrugs.
Pink eye starts to get dizzy with all the corridors until they come to the heat room and he pours some water into a cloth and sops Tenzo to keep him hydrated and says we need to get out of here
"Obviously this area is dangerous to normals. Should we approach? I'm curious, but not suicidal. Let's see how close EE and I can get before we might need worry."
Gauntlet walks up towards the door slowly.
Sweating profusely, Frank pulls out the scroll.
"It might become too late if I don't use this sooner rather then later..." Frank trails off as he begins to feel like his gear is heavier than it was.
Broulnindre isn't quite so bothered, her scales seem to help reflect some of the heat.
"Hy'm hokay."
She looks up at Frank and the scroll, expectantly.
Holding the rolled up scroll vertically, Frank gives Broulnindre a different magical boon.
EE nods to Gauntlets words, eager to contribute to the group. HE follows the other Warforged and also checks if there's a clue as to where this heat blast comes from.
Meridian seems to resist the heat better than most, her brassy scales gleaming. She advances down the hallway as far as she can tolerate.
Zabeth backs away, and her thrush Maury buries himself into her robes in attempt to avoid the waves of heat.
Frank wrinkles his nose as no one else is unwise enough to volunteer. "Oh, fine..."
He unfurls the scroll and reads it.
The words smoke as they disappear from the page. Frank touches Broulnindre, completing the spell.
Broulnindre utters a word of thanks before hurrying after EE and Gauntlet.
Frank, worried that the hallway might be too long, retrieves and reloads his crossbow before trudging down the hallway slowly.
Ah, that is a very convenient spell, one i should urgently acquire and learn. No more sweating or freezing seems very good.
It is getting uncomfortable here.
if we leave I can learn the spell gifted from Balinor and we can return with several of us better off
On his way to the adamantine doors, EE shouts to the others. <Wait! Check if can turn this off!> He's no expert, but has hopes that Gauntlet strength will be useful opening the doors.
Zabeth joins the discussion "I could as well... after a good sleep. I could be granted such an incantation. However, I can withstand this for a while if that is the decision."
Hurry, you fools! i don't want to be cooked alive here!
Kana will move to the doors and examine them.
Status:
Viorr - Fortitude save DC 15 - Damage - Fatigued - HP = 31/32
Dev - OK - HP = 33/33
EE - OK - HP = 38/38
Kana - Fatigued - HP = 28/31
Frank - Fatigued - HP = 31/35
Zabeth - Fatigued - HP = 24/27
Gauntlet - OK - HP = 36/36
Pink-Eye - OK - HP = 39/39
Meridian - OK - HP = 40/40
Broulnindre - OK - HP = 20/22 - Protection from Energy - Fire
Gauntlet cannot be sure what the source of energy is but it clearly emanates from beyond the doors. Kana can hear nothing.
EE and Gauntlet push open the supper heated doors only their tough hides save them from some sort of damage.
This is it, this is the room that was seen in the vision!
As the door opens the group can hear the sound of molten metal bubbling and feel the heat from the room stream down the hall.
This large chamber stretches away from the doorway, and intense heat shimmers in the air. A raging bonfire burns about 40 feet away, near the far wall, casting dancing shadows across the room. A second one burns about 60 feet away, along the southern wall. In the center of the room, a large crucible filled with bubbling molten glass radiates terrible heat. Long, snaking heads made of iron and brass rise up from the molten pool like some metal hydra.
Just south of the crucible and the construct, a crystalline chest reflects the hot light. Through the translucent material, you can see that the chest contains a variety of objects, including what can only be the diamond-shaped schema that you seek. Then, with an angry crackle of flame and a threatening hiss of steam, the bonfires begin to move toward you all!
The bonfires as it turns out are elementals that likely once powered this forge and are on the loose!
Viorr
Dev
EE
Kana
Frank
Zabeth
Gauntlet
Pink-Eye
Meridian
Fire Elemantals
Round 1 -
Dev, Meridian, Viorr, EE, Gauntlet - GO!
Elementals
Kana, Frank, B, Zabeth, Pink-Eye & Tenzo
EE carefully studies the entities, only to lunge forward a second later, seeking the short range and trying to avoid his enemy with a cartwheel.
Reaching out, shadows coalesce into a large blade in his open hands, Gauntlet then moves forward quickly to intercept the elementals and shouts over his shoulder.
"Let us face them! Stay at range like before! Follow me Broulindre! Flank them if you can!"
Meridian moves ahead to the right side of the room, snaking a blast of lightning past Gauntlet's right arm to strike the inferno on that side of the room.
Viorr, breathing heavily in the heat, moves forward to engage the (red) elemental.
Dev jumps into the room fast as he can, eager to aim an Energy Ray before the things get all tied up in combat and he has to worry about small details like don't hit Gauntlet.
Dev manages to push out enough energy to aim the ray of icy blue energy, but something about letting it loose feels off, and he does his best to shunt the psionic disturbance through an impromptu mindlink with one of the creatures.
Gauntlet holds the line as his allies move forward.
EE moves in behind the foe with an athletic tumble that, based on his appearance, he should not be able to pull off!
Viorr labors towards one of the foes and the heat of the room is clearly effecting him as his swing does not generate the accuracy that it normally does in such encounters.
Meridian fires off a blast that arrives just before Viorr does and that does score a hit, elementals of course are notoriously hard to read so if that caused the creature pain, its hard to tell.
Viorr's cold blast strikes the other elemental and that one does react, as the icy powers cause it to burn hotter yet! Even though it flares, the creature pauses for a moment, unable to act.
Fire Elemental vs. Viorr - Slam 1 - Damage
Slam 2 - Damage . Red HP = 84/106
Viorr's foe slams him twice with its two massive fists, both connect pummeling the elf.
Round 1 -
Kana, Frank, B, Zabeth, Pink-Eye & Tenzo - GO!
Round 2 -
Dev, Meridian, Viorr, EE, Gauntlet - GO!
Elementals
Kana, Frank, B, Zabeth, Pink-Eye & Tenzo
Frank walks into the chamber, still panting with exertion in the heat.
Broulnindre charges forward to stand between the two elementals.
"Hoi!" She says with a big smile.