Kaluul stops moving through the valley suddenly. He points out an odd hairline crack in some exposed stone of the mountain.
"That's interesting," he mumbles before moving closer to examine the thin seam. "Man-made. Someone has hidden something here."
After making sure that there are no countermeasures surrounding it, Kaal begins trying to figure out how to open the door.
Kaalul's excellent investigations reveal that the secret door does seem to be of dwarven construction. In addition, it seems like it would open given the correct sound-based input.
Kaalul looks around for any inscription, pictographs, or other anything else man-made that might indicate the purpose of the compartment. He asks the other to do the same.
"A tonal lock, perhaps? Yes, let's have a look around."
Fizz begins rubbing his chin in concentration. After a few moments, he raises his index finger and exclaims, "I got it! What is th'dwarven word fur 'open'?"
Kaalul and Martel don't see anything new. Martel does recall that he's heard of magical tonal locks before.
When the party confers, one of the dwarves follows Fizz's suggestion and speaks the Dwarven word for "open" in an offhand manner. The crack in the stone opens smoothly and silently to reveal a square passage down into the mountain. Thirty feet into the passageway, you see a skeleton lying on the floor of the passage.
Before letting anyone approach the skeleton, Kaal examines the area, looking for what might have caused this person's death.
Kaalul notices a pressure plate on the floor ten feet in front of him.
Kaal points out the pressure plate to everyone so that they can avoid it, and move further into the tunnel. He'll see if the skeleton left anything of value as they pass it.
Stauntram also keeps his eyes peeled for traps - or enticements for dwarves.
The skeleton is medium-sized but squat and broad. Rusty armor and a hammer seem to be the only belongings seem to be the only belongings remaining to it. There are scorch marks on both.
A ways ahead in the passage, you find another corpse, this one mummified and preserved by the still air of the cavern. An old and very crumbly piece of parchment is grasped in its bony hand.
Kaalul casts mending on the parchment to see if he can preserve or repair the writing. Before he tries to pick it up, he looks around for any traps that might be the cause of this new corpse.
Stauntram adds his stonecunning, such as it is, to Kaalul's.
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Looking closely at the corpse, Kaalul determines from the squat and broad stature that this too is a dwarf. He finds a rough cut across the neck. With his careful spell, he manages to preserve the parchment without letting it fall apart and finds the following written in Dwarvish:
”This is the last testament of Algric Graniteson of Clan Gravr. All of my earthly goods I leave to my son. I heard legend of this cavern and came here to investigate. I found the secret opening and it granted me entrance when I muttered to myself ‘I wonder how it opens.’ In here, I’ve encountered many dangers but the worst has been my inability to leave. I encountered four parallel chambers each containing different hazards and a sealed passage on the other side of them. I couldn’t figure out how to get through it or back out. In the left passage, there were strange creatures of air. In the middle left, fire swirled all around. I never tried going through that one. I snuck through the middle right passage as it just seemed to be full of giant piles of dirt. The far right passage seemed completely full of water so I didn’t try anything there. Here’s my sketch of the layout. Now I’m going to slit my own throat. I can’t take being stuck in here alone, starving to death.”
It has sealed shut noiselessly, apparently trapping you in here.
Stauntram turns to look at the entrance.
"It sealed behind us. We are trapped. Nowhere to go but against challenges, or to cut our own throats. I will not cut mine."
Fizz looks at Stauntram with a flabbergasted expression, "What a tremendously dark thing tuh suggest!? That would hurt me pretty decent if ya' did that...." He then perks up, " 'Ave no fear! Fizzbizzner is 'ere! No one's dyin' on m'watch!.....or I suppose even if I'm sleepin'....or ever really..........No one's dying!" After his ramblings, he ends by adopting his, now common, heroic stance.
Kaalul sighs and takes the note and any signifiers of the man's identity (such as a ring or an amulet) and puts them in his pack.
"If I can find the son of Algric Graniteson, I will give him these. I most likely won't mention that Torag has condemned his father to Hell, but a dwarf deserves the chance to inherit family property.
"And Gnome is right. Nobody is dying from our own hands. It's risky down here, and we all signed up for that risk, but we have the skills needed to see this through. Let's go see about these elemental hallways."
Fizz skips along, following the crew. He pipes up a little after they set off, "I don't understand why peeps get dour when they see death. Does it not remind yuh of the joy of still being alive?.........heh dour....heh dwarf.............hehe dour dwarf.."
You soon come to a branching of the hallway into four different hallways.
Stauntram shrugs.
"I do not want to die. I will keep going until I do. I suggest we examine the third passage, full of soil. Algric might have missed a way through."
"I assume that each room is filled with elemental spirits, based on poor Mr. Graniteson's writings, and the name of this place." Martel muses. "The path of Earth would be the most 'stable', most likely. Just be prepared for the elementals."
With a muttered word and a wave of his staff, he gathers arcane force around his body.
The map appears only to be a vague schematic.
"I can be stealthy when necessary, but I don't see any need to scout ahead right now. Let's investigate the earth passage as a group."
Fizzbizzner skips merrily along behind the team, humming quietly to himself.
Stauntram takes his place in front, his lethal chain ready.
The group enters the chamber and steps onto its earthen floor. Stone walls stand at what seem random locations within the area. As the footfalls of the group echo through the chamber, a shifting of earth and grinding of stone is heard.
Inits are generally formatted party in alphabetical order then enemies get a single roll with avg mod last
The very earth itself of the floor seems to move as a large shape made of earth and stone glides forward through a wall and strikes Stauntram! A smaller, muddy looking shape rushes up from the side while humanoid shapes made of stone and of sand rush forward. The one made of sand stares at the group, making them feel tired all of a sudden. Fizz and Kaalul fall to the ground, asleep! The massive earthy shape strikes Stauntrum hard!
Fizz wakes up as his left ear starts bleeding. [b]"'Ey there! That's a wee forward putting some one tuh sleep like that. I don' even know yur name!" he jests as he gives the big thing a wink and a yank of his ear.
Casting
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, DF
Effect
Range touch
Target creature touched
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance no
Description
Any opponent attempting to directly attack the warded creature, even with a targeted spell, must attempt a Will save. If the save succeeds, the opponent can attack normally and is unaffected by that casting of the spell. If the save fails, the opponent can't follow through with the attack, that part of its action is lost, and it can't directly attack the warded creature for the duration of the spell. Those not attempting to attack the subject remain unaffected. This spell does not prevent the warded creature from being attacked or affected by area of effect spells. The subject cannot attack without breaking the spell but may use nonattack spells or otherwise act.
Martel steps back from the attacking elementals, speaking unpronounceable words. He throws a pinch of iron dust at Stauntrum, and the stout paladin grows to the size of an ogre!
The big creature is a large earth elemental. It has reach.
The stone, woman-shaped creature with a sword is a stone maiden. She can cast spells.
The wet looking creature on the west is a medium mud elemental. It can entrap those it hits.
The sandy creature on the west is a sandman. It emits a sleep aura. It also can put those it hits to sleep.
Shaking his head to clear it of sleep, Kaalul stands up, doing his best to avoid being hit by the sand-thing in front of him. He quickly glances around to see what opponents they're up against.
"The big one is a earth elemental. I bet the rest of these are variants of that. They might be resistant to normal weapon attacks. Let's find out."
He swings at the sand-thing in front of him with his hammer.
Feeling the blow, Stauntram briefly wonders if there is something that he's forgotten...
Shaking off the notion, and some petty magic, he lashes out at the largest foe, his chain thruming with earth power.
Stauntram manages a solid blow against the large elemental but it isn't as damaged from the attack as he would like it to be! It strikes back with immense fists of the earth, landing a solid blow on the dwarf (13 damage) but its second blow is deflected by the armored hulk. The woman-shaped, moving statue eyes you all with cold efficiency and raises her hand. The passageway you came from is sealed off with a wall of stone! The sandman strikes Kaalul (6 damage) while the mud elemental slimes over to Fizz and strikes him (6 damage). The mud then begins to wrap around Fizz but the prone gnome strikes a heroic pose so hard that the mud can't get a grip on him! Suddenly, Stauntram begins growing. He shoves the earth elemental back with his new-found bulk!
Wounds begin appearing in several places on Fizz, most of which have not even been hit yet, though they are the places that Stauntram has been hit. Fizzbizzner twists his face in thought for a moment before reaching into a pouch at his belt. The most observative notice that he holds his breath. With a sigh of relief, he whips out a four-leaf clover and displays it. A wave of healing magic thooms through the room, closing the heroes' wounds and leaving the offenders unaffected.
()
PC Round 2
Stauntram -11 -> -24 -> ->
Fizz -5 -> -11 -> ->
Kaalul
Martel
Round 1
Stauntram -> -16 ->
Fizz 0 ->
Kaalul
Martel
Seeing his first spell come into effect, Martel starts on another. He steps back from the mud man, and hits Stauntram with a more powerful spell.
PC Round 2
Stauntram -11 -> -24 -> -19 -> -12
Fizz -5 -> -11 -> -16 -> -3
Kaalul
Martel
With the damage taken from being attacked, Kaalul wakes. He quickly stands up, focuses Torag's power into his weapon, and swings his hammer at the sand-thing.
The sandman strikes Kaalul as he stands but it is a weak blow (4 damage). But something about the sandman's touch creeps into Kaalul's mind. His eyelids grow weary then he stubbornly jerks them open.
Stauntram -11 -> -24 -> [ooc]-19 ->
Fizz -5 -> -11 -> ->
Kaalul 0 -> -6 -> -10 -> ->
Martel
Round 1
Stauntram -> -16 -> -11
Fizz 0 -> -5
Kaalul
Martel
Reeling slightly from the enemy blows, but feeling his wounds ease and growing both larger and swifter thanks to the magic of his allies, Stauntram lashes out at the elemental!
+2 attack
+2 damage
+2 Strength
-2 Dexterity
-1 attack
-1 AC
Large Dorn-Dergar: 2d8
When making a full attack action, a hasted creature may make one extra attack with one natural or manufactured weapon. The attack is made using the creature’s full base attack bonus, plus any modifiers appropriate to the situation. (This effect is not cumulative with similar effects, such as that provided by a speed weapon, nor does it actually grant an extra action, so you can’t use it to cast a second spell or otherwise take an extra action in the round.)
A hasted creature gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls and a +1 dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves. Any condition that makes you lose your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) also makes you lose dodge bonuses.
All of the hasted creature’s modes of movement (including land movement, burrow, climb, fly, and swim) increase by 30 feet, to a maximum of twice the subject’s normal speed using that form of movement. This increase counts as an enhancement bonus, and it affects the creature’s jumping distance as normal for increased speed. Multiple haste effects don’t stack. Haste dispels and counters slow.