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Too slow to respond (as usual), "Perhaps we should have searched her for notes in case there is something more to the ritual. Something that, if missed, will doom us all." Following his own advice, Naneryn temporarily springs to life, sprinting to the corpse of the boss and searching for notes.
"She said we will never learn... something. The gem is glowing, so it is obvious (at least to those with greater intellect than goblins) that it needs to be placed in the door. But if it were that simple, Murmago would not have been so pleased with her dying words." He cringes when the red stone is inserted, trying to look everywhere at once and expecting the world to end.
Naneryn, after taking what cover he can behind Murgmo's body, begins to power-down to his slow, doom-ridden self. He drawls something to the panicked goblins.
"Zog is dead and so are we"
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Impatiently, Seward pries the glowing get from its place in the sword and goes to place it into the door. The gem glows brighter and brighter as it gets closer to the door. And...snap. The gem is a perfect fit. However, as Seward completes the mechanism, it has the opposite effect as expected.
The lights’ dance becomes more intense. So much so, that they begin to spark with an electric energy, discharging into the ranger. After a moment, the gems fall out of their sockets and onto the floor.
The jolt rushes through Seward as he tumbled back. The goblins snicker.
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Naneryn looks over at the goblins and then back to the door and shrugs, "Told ya so" But it is clear he means no malice. Assuming he found no notes on the goblin leader, he walks slowly over to the door. But it is not his normal, low-energy crawl. He seems to radiate as much electricty as the door just put out. Every muscle is tense and his eyes are devouring the door, the gems, the ranger, the boss, and the room as a whole. But mostly the door. He approaches the portal, lightly running his hands over the surface, almost intimately, as he searches for clues.
The rogue's words are almost a whisper of awe and respect "This door has been around for a long time and kept its secret from better people than us. But if a goblin can figure it out, so can we.... Even so... I could maybe use a little help. Anyone have any guesses at what we did wrong?"
Take a closer look at the sword too. Did we miss any writing or something on it?
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The goblins scatter running outside of the dungeon after Seward pulls a mean face. One of them lets rip a massive gas bomb as he leaves the chamber, scared for his life. They seem to take Murgmo's body with them, carrying it away with all their combined strenght.
The party begins to inspect what happened. At closer inspection, this door seems to maintain both arcane and divine properties. More strangely, the runes and etchings on this door way do not pay reverence to any once diety. In fact, the arangement of suggests that it is the abcense of any singular faith.
Telos weaves his hands over the carvings, feeling the magic beneath his fingertips. Electricity sparks as, he feels the energy in him intensify. The craving of more power soon overwhelms the young sorcorer, causing him to stumble back as if having witnessed a nightmare. You feel the logic behind it's work, a patern that is clear to you. You look down at the stones, which seem to glow dimly on the grown. Maybe it has something to do with the crystals, there must be an order to them. Something specific. They must each represent a school of magic! No, there are eight schools of magic, not counting the universal school. That can't be it, or could it...? Wait, of course, Divination was never outwardly practiced by many in the Azlant period. Divination was a gift from the gods!
Naneryn inspects this door like a trap, knowing that if he were to study this for long enough, he would be practiced enough to attempt to open it. He looks at the construction of the door, observes the heavy skymetal this door is made from, the lack of handle, the roundness of the frame. Finally, you fixate on the groves where the gems slot insidie. Each, pointing in the middle, scatching faint lines towards the epicenter of an almost impossible shape. You notice strange carvings, on the side of each slot. Although these are in a foreign and long forgotten tongue, you think these might pertain to some sort of ordering system. They start from the very top, and make their way anti-clock wise and around.
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As Telos stumbles back from his overwhelming cravings of power, a realization about the arcane nature of the door comes to him.
Of course! The gems must represent schools of magic. The Azlant empire never generally practiced divination. But, how does this help us order the gems? And which color represents which school? Perhaps a quick scan of each...
Telos attempts isolated castings of Detect Magic on each gem...
Inside, he's hoping for others to come up with more clues, as he feels he's only seeing part of the picture.
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Eventually, the rogue pulls himself out of his rapture with the door. Slowly he begins speaking while looking between Telos and the door,
"I noticed strange carvings, on the side of each slot.I don't know what they say, but I'll bet they are some sort of ordering system. They start from the very top, and make their way anti-clock wise and around."
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As the final gem is placed in its rightful place, the same sequence of magical rhythms begins - but this time, with more effect. The large door before you begins to vibrate and shake with immense power. Even the cavern you are in, begins to rumble violently as you steady yourself from falling. The dancing light becomes more sporadic, the light within each gem causing it to crack from the inside from an arcane and divine energy. One by one, they explode into dust, seemingly with intent. After a few moments, the vibrations sieze, and the door opens into a dark passage, as if someone is welcoming you forward.
A long hallway slopes down to a room housing a pool of glowing blue water. Shining gold leaf in exotic designs decorates the walls, ceiling, and pillars. The reflections in the pool seem whicked and contorted images of reality, yet with a calming tone to them. Come...bare witness to the universal truth of man... a voice beckons each of you in your minds.
The stone archway in the room with the Pool of Seeing leads to additional levels of the dungeon, where increasingly dangerous challenges await intrepid heroes. Perhaps the secret of the Accursed Halls’ malign awareness waits to be discovered somewhere below.
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After your delves into the pool, and the horrifying, eye opening visions that followed, you all continue quietly down the path leading further into the Thornkeep dungeon. The disturbing ideas sway around in your minds eye, as you don't realise that about 15 minutes pass in an awkward silence.
Finally, the narrow staircase ends in a short corridor leading to a large chamber, the centre of which is dominated by a pool of stagnant water. An oily sheen covers most of pool, causing it to reflect a multitude of colours onto the walls and ceiling. The only light in this room emanates from a faintly glowing orb attached to the ceiling, and an acrid stench wafts heavily in the air. There is a simple wooden door in the eastern wall, and a set of ornate stone double doors to the south flanked by a pair of sandstone statues.
What was once a simple reflecting pool is now used by the denizens of this floor as the dump for all of his failed alchemical experiments and other bits of junk - primarily glass and ceramic. Strangely, you see your reflections clearly, but as distorted visages of yourself.
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"Someone, eh? I learn a little magic and now the ranger wants to kill me." He complains, but it is clear by the light in his eyes and the way he springs toward the statues that he still loves doing this. He barely waits long enough for guidance. The main thing that keeps him still long enough is that he first casts detect poison to check out the water, statues, doors, etc.
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The party investigates the room. Naneryn walks past the sorcerer attempting to distinguish the garbage from the treasure, to wards the statues flanking the door. He does not find any traps, however notices something in the water moving, as Telos focuses his arcane magic. The refuse and chemicals come together in a horrible combination. It lashes out towards the party.
Round 1
@ Naneryn
@ Telos
@ Roran
@ Pietro
Ooze (partially submerged in water)
@ Seward
@ No suprise round. The party may act!
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"I wonder if that is what happens to adventurers who get past the door. Could that be anyone we know? Oh well." The rogue's droning ends with the twang of a bow string as he fires at the ooze.
"How can you think about drinking that? I think I'd rather be eaten by one of those fungus bugs.... that almost ate us."
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The little halfing weaves his hands in an articulate pattern and then thrusts them forward, flattening them with the ground but spreading his fingers out making a fan. A sheet of dancing lightning shoots outwards, continuing the fan, covering the slimy thing.
As the smell of cooked jelly fills the chamber he quickly bounces to his right to make room for the others to enter.
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— attack on Telos
The electricity sparks violently towards the ooze and the chemical filled water. The energy from the sorcerer is so powerful, ir ignights rhe water on fire! It erupts, chemicals burning up in a bright burst of energy and light. The ooze stands in the fire, non caring of its new position. The creature aflame, retaliates at the sorcerer slamming into him, but misses on the grab!
The pathfinders find their new strength here, using their newly gained skills to good practice. They deal a powerful blow to the enemy, but it remains standing.
Round 2
@ Naneryn
@ Telos (-7 lethal)
@ Roran
@ Pietro
Ooze (partially submerged in water, -38 lethal)
@ Seward (can take 2 actions if would like!)
@ The party may act!
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The ooze falls, after another brutal assault by the pathfinders. Roran and Pietro get some splash back from some liquid which causes light burns in their armor. It sinks into the chemical pool, still ablaze form the spark of electricity from Telos. A couple of moments pass, for the pool to calm down and lose its fury. A nauteous smell of vapours and other chemicals fill the air.
After a few moments, the mages realise that there was intact, something magical at the bottom of the pool. A small stone, which radiates a medium aura. DC 16 Spellcraft/Arcana
The party prepares to continue on. Two doors lead out of the room. A strange feeling of dread envelops the party, what else could this floor hold?
Party Conditions
@ Naneryn
@ Telos (-7 lethal)
@ Roran
@ Pietro
@ Seward
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If none of the real mages look like they are going to use Mage Hand to get the thing out of the water, Naneryn will sigh heavily, shamble over to the edge of the pool and use his newly gained skills to extract the piece from the icky water. "Anybody got a napkin?"
He also checks the southern door, the statues, and the double doors for poison and traps. Disabling and/or unlocking as necessary.
Here are a bunch of rolls. (trapfinding +8, disable +12, and +1 for guidance)
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After a few moments, the mages realise that there was intact, something magical at the bottom of the pool. A small stone, which radiates a medium aura. DC 16 Spellcraft/Arcana
Hey, Naneryn, can I have a look at that?
He grabs a section of his cloak and uses it to receive and dry off the stone while setting his arcane eye to it...
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Telos get's handed the stone, which he investigates. It seems to be a small Pearl Power I, with an inscription on the back. You can see the faint inscriptions of the letters TI on the back of it, the magic holding the corrosive liquid at bay. You think this piece was not here for very long, as the damage isn't great on this magical item. You think, definitely, not as long as those statues have been there. This probably belonged to someone who passed here more recently.
Those investigating the statues, can now see that their faces of whatever being depicted there have melted off. Noticeably from the fumes in the room, you assume. Over time, the corrosive nature of the liquid and gasses in this room have caused certain parts of the structure here to deteriorate. Naneryn notices a tiny wire, running between the two idols and disarms it. He thinks this was a much better attempt at a make shift alarm, as this wire was coated alchemically to make the wire translucent.
The stinky elf opens the door beyond. This long chamber has four alcoves along the western wall. The outer two contain visible statues, and the center two are recessed. Corridors stand opposite the northern and southern statues. These, however, are in better condition. The northernmost statue is of a figure in robes, with one arm outstretched as if welcoming those coming from the north to venture down the corridor opposite it. The statue in the southernmost alcove holds up its hands, as if to stop those coming from the opposite corridor. Both clearly Azlanti in nature, the usher you forward into the darkness.
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Telos takes his longspear from his back and plunges it into the pool. He pushes the pear of power to the side where he can then use the flat of the blade to lift it up out of the corrosive pool, guiding it up the side.
He picks it up with a patch of his cloak and wipes it off, holding it up for Naneryn. Hey, it looks like a wizard who came through here wasn't so lucky with the ooze. This item is useful to those of you with less inherent magical talents, who need to spend your morning studying.
He flips the pearl to Naneryn.
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The rogue is extremely excited by the camouflaged trip-wire. This is more like it! he thinks as he nimbly (yet carefully) disables the trap.
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Naneryn's arm shoots out to capture the tossed perl, in stark contrast to the rest of his sluggish movements. "Of course they give me the treasure out of the sewers." He complains slowly, but his heart is not in it. His eyes studying this wondrous item. "Suppose you don't know how to use this, do ya?"
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"I'll bet our faces will melt too, just like those statues, if we stay here too long"
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The smelly elf tilts his head at the statues. Hmmm.... I guess that is what a sign looks like when you create one for those who cannot read... Or perhaps, may not be able to read your language. "Those statues were definitely meant to communicate to anyone who came down here, even across the ages of time, where common languages fade into obscurity." The only question, he thinks to himself, mind racing, is if that is a legitimate message or an elaborate trap.
[unless anyone objects] => Leaving his torch with the others, stinky tries to creep down the hallway, peaking down the corridors and into the alcoves and reporting back to the group.
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Blending with the shadows cast by the light from his torch, and the strange shapes of the hallway, Naneryn makes his way down slightly past the doors to peek down the hallway. A stairwell leads up into the darkness to what looks like some sort viewing area. You can partially see some a row of wooden cues toppled over in the darkness.
Party Conditions
Naneryn (protection from arrows active)
Telos (-7 lethal)
Roran
Pietro
Seward
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Naneryn's arm shoots out to capture the tossed perl, in stark contrast to the rest of his sluggish movements. "Of course they give me the treasure out of the sewers." He complains slowly, but his heart is not in it. His eyes studying this wondrous item. "Suppose you don't know how to use this, do ya?"
I sure do. Once a day, you can use it to recall and cast a spell you've previously prepared and already cast.