"Uh... ya don't look so good there, Ashlion."
Bavick keeps his bow in hand and watches for any lizardfolk responding to the commotion, while Yolar (hopefully) heals up the half-orcs.
Yolar draws down divine favor and the energy passes over the group. He then targets Ashlion specifically with two minor healing spells.
"Why is everything in this jungle a naughty grabby thing?" Tygrah bemoans, nursing her injuries.
"At least they're just grabby," Tizgah offers. "My cousin Drick says that some of the plants in the southern forests don't just grab with their vines ... they take them and ..." She thinks for a moment. "I do not know the words in trade language."
She says something else in halfling that causes Bavick to blush.
"What would be the words for that?" she asks him expectantly.
Tygrah thanks Yolar for the healing, then leads the way south.
Moving south the group moves through what may have been living quarters. Partially collapsed walls divide this area into large, private chambers. Tattered sheets of canvas hang from the walls, while random stone and cloth debris litter the floors of these rooms.
Under a piece of collapsed stone, something glimmering catches Bavick's eye. Moving the stone aside reveals a silver necklace. Rory indicates that it has a magical aura.
Moving past that section leads to a hall of sorts. To the west it opens up in to a fountain plaza while an arch to the south leads to more rooms.
"Nice find! Let us search these rooms first," Tygrah says, continuing south.
Evaluating the necklace, Rory states to the group, ”This piece of jewelry holds an enchantment that helps to protect the wearer from unusual attacks, such as spells, poison, and such.”
Walking over to Ashlion, Rory hands over the necklace, saying, ”Someone should wear this for the upcoming battle with the Storm Kindlers. Perhaps it should grace the neck of your bride?”
Rory will continue to help search, making sure he sweeps all the rooms with “Vision of the Gods” (Detect Magic) in case there are other hidden treasures around.
Tygrah leads the group through the southern arch into a rectangular room with another archway leading farther south. Eight irregularly shaped pillars of rock — each carved with unusual symbols — line the western portion of this chamber.
The stone pillars are dedicated to the Green Faith. Followers that pray to regain spells here may be rewarded with greater power. This benefit could be had by those of a similar faith.
Tygrah runs her hands over the symbols on the pillars. "These are sacred to the Green Faith. Yolar, if you pray here with a fresh mind, the spirits will enhance your magical powers. If we fall back and rest, we should come back here to beseech the spirits for aid."
The ranger continues to the south to look into the next room.
Continuing south into another rectangular room. Four thin pairs of pillars rise twenty feet to the top of the chamber’s walls. Dozens of red silk cords run between the pairs or flutter as frayed strands in the breeze. Small bangles and chimes hang from the intact ropes, jangling in the wind. Broken bones lie scattered throughout the rooms. A doorway leads to the southwest.
As the group moves into the room, Ashlion, Bavick, and Tygrah feel a prickling along their skin and notice the intensifying sounds of chimes and quiet prayers to Gozreh for forgiveness.
Bavick whispers the corresponding words to Tizgah. "Let's steer clear of those plants."
---
"Hey, ain't this a nice find? What do you think it... oh, Tygrah gets it? That's how we do things, is it? Sure, why not."
Bavick is mildly annoyed at his find being confiscated and given to the half-orc.
---
Bavick also moves back upon sensing danger.
Tygrah rushes back after her husband.
---
"Hey, ain't this a nice find? What do you think it... oh, Tygrah gets it? That's how we do things, is it? Sure, why not."Bavick is mildly annoyed at his find being confiscated and given to the half-orc.
---
Earlier...
Rory moves over to Bavick and say apologetically, ”I am sorry, Bavick, I just wanted someone to use it now for any upcoming battles, with the hope of dividing the treasure equally later.”
Speaking more quietly, he adds, ”I realize that the subtlety may be lost on Ashlion, ‘tis true. However, I worry more about our half orc power couple being overcome by magic and splitting me in half with those axes than I do about you and Yolar. If we are fighting spellcasters, I plan to use the wand of Protection from Evil on Ashlion as my first action for the same reason.”
Bavick whispers the corresponding words to Tizgah. "Let's steer clear of those plants."
"Yes, because I wouldn't want their vines shoved up my 'delicate ladyparts'?" Tizgah responds with a questioning glance at Bavick, hoping she got the pronunciation correct.
The warning is enough for everyone to pull back out of the room and the faint voices fade into the sounds of the storm.
{"That was strange,"} Argil announces, flitting through the air between the members of the group. {"A non-physical spiritual manifestation. I wonder what it does?"}
"What was that I heard? Some kind of prayers?" asks Rory. "Yolar, this is more your area. What do you think? he adds, continuing to detect magic into the area with the haunt to see if he learns anything.
"I'll go and see if it happens again," says Bavick.
"But hey, can I borrow that necklace just while I go do that? I'll give it back to Tygrah."
Yolar offers what he knows which isn't much more than you're already aware of. It seems to be a haunt of some sort, probably connected to the bones that you can see scattered about the room. The murmured prayers and requests for Gozrah's forgiveness that some of you heard would indicate that there was betrayal and possibly heresy and murder here.
To permanently settle the haunt will most likely require burying the remains with a simple ritual of atonement. The priest is reasonably confident that he could perform it.
Bavick borrows Tygrah's necklace and enters the room. The wind that makes its way over the walls stirs the tattered ribbons and chimes. and the rain that falls from the trees overhead drips down on the bones. The halfling doesn't notice any warning before a howling wind and panicked screams echo though the room, culminating in the sounding of a single, massive bell.
Once the tone of the bell fades, Yolar brings the others into the room, confident that the haunt will take at least an hour before it manifests again.
"All clear, fellas."
He hands the necklace back to Tygrah.
”Thank you, Bavick, you are most brave.” Turning to Yolar, he says, ”Let us get to burying these bones quickly as you instruct. The magic protection on Ashlion will last less than an hour.”
Tygrah assists Rory and Yolar in putting the haunt to rest.
You spend a little bit of time gathering up the broken bones and in the process you find a single tattered scrap of parchment on the flagstone floor that has miraculously survived 90 years worth of rain and sun.
In Polyglot it reads:
"Chitauli has betrayed our souls to the Duchess of All Winds, and now we hide like rats in the very home we have built, meeting to determine how we may save our souls from the man we followed into this forsaken jungle. Our spirits are broken and our remaining days, I fear, are too short in number. Gozreh, find it in your infinite fairness to spare our wretched spirits for our hubris and blindness, for I lack the depths of courage to forgive myself."
You backtrack the way you came and move out into the jungle just a bit. And hour later and you have a single grave containing the remains of what you've determined to be four humans. Yolar speaks a solumn prayer of forgiveness and peace.
{"So that's it?"} Argil asks, fluttering about in the rain. {"Flesh-men are so strange with separate halves. One half goes in the ground and the other half goes somewhere else."}
You return to the temple, moving quietly through rooms you've already cleared to reach the meditation room again. Something has changed. All the chimes that we're still hanging have fallen to the flagstone floor and shattered into pieces - except for one. A single chime hangs from a red silk cord, glittering gently and illuminated by spiritual light.
”Right behind you, Ashlion,” Rory chimes in, adding, ”unfortunately, your resistance to lightning has worn off.”
You head west through the doorway from the meditation room. Two human-sized stone statues stand in the western corners of this area, their features undefined and smoothed by age. Scattered chunks of stone mar the floor, while a larger room is visible to the north.
A sturdy green obelisk rises from the center of this chamber to a height of 40 feet, and a corroded metal pole extends another 20 feet from its pinnacle, connected by interlinking chains to four smaller rods driven into the ground. A skeleton wearing a wooden mask rests at the base of the monument, one arm clutched around one of the smaller rods, and another holding a circular, green stone disk.
As Ashlion enters the room, he feels his hair rising and can sense power emanating from the metal rods. An instant later, arcs of electricity spread forth from them and two swirling shapes take form in front of him. The shapes are like a dark storm cloud, with sparks suggesting eyes and long sweeping arms charged with bolts of lightning.
{"Ugly vile things. I do not like these,"} Argil complains. {"Here, let me help."} Without waiting for a response, the elemental salamander flits through the air to join itself to Ashlion's axe. Argil vanishes and the half-orc's axe rims with cracking ice.
Combat Begins!
Round 1
The creatures in front of Ashlion do not seem intimidated, however, and rush forward to strike at him with arcs of electricity.
"Husband! Clear some space!" Assuming Ashlion takes a step to the side, Tygrah steps up and attacks one of the creatures.
Rory just sighs as Ashlion takes electricity damage now that the scroll of protection has worn off. "At least I tried," he thinks.
He waits for the warriors to enter the room and tries to maneuver for a clear shot at one of the elementals with his fire shuriken.
"RRRAAAARGH!" Ashlion replies, swiniging his newly frosty axe in a great arc!
[dice=Attack]d20+9+2-2 [dice=Damage]d12+d6+16
Glowing with strange arcs of light Ashlion is a truly
intimidatingsparkly figure![dice=Intimidate]d20+8
"Lure them back in here!"
There is really nothing Bavick can do at the moment, so he goes with Total Defense.
Bavick calls out instructions while Rory attempts to get a clear shot around the figures in the doorway. With the muscly bodies not going anywhere, he flings his ghost shuriken at one of the elementals.
The half-orcs then rush into the room with Ashlion's brutal charge completely dissipating his foe in a sparkly flourish. His bride misses with her wooden weapon, but striking true with her curved kukri.
Yolar maneuvers to get a better view of the foe Tygrah faces.
Round 2
The essence of energy next to Tygrah lashes out at her with appendages of force and power, searing her flesh.
Bavick moves up and stabs with his rapier. Not particularly helpful, but he does connect.
Rory gives up on trying to find a clear shot, but he does move forward and tries to shoot over Bavick's head with an acid shuriken.
versus Touch AC
Howling in pain, Tygrah circles around the thing and attacks again, but she fails to hit!
Bavick's arrow vanishes into the elemental, but Rory's acid missile misses and splashes against the wall, sizzling away at the stone.
Tygrah lashes out at the creature, but only catches air. Her husband, however, sunders the thing with a mighty blow and it fades from view.
Combat Over!
Argil appears from Ashlion's axe, the ice fading away and hovers about the rods.
{"I like the feel of this - it tingles."}
The metal rods still buzz with energy after the elementals have been dispatched. And there's a pulsing feeling each time lightning strikes to top of the tall pole.
Examining the skeleton produces leather armor , an amulet , a ring , and a large jade disk with a sigil upon it, still clutched in the skeleton's hand.
Her adrenaline pumping, Tygrah grabs her husband and pulls the shorter half-orc into a fierce kiss, hands roaming across his broad shoulders. A few lingering sparks leap from her lips to his. "You are a vision of bloody fury, husband! I shall you reward you for saving me from those monsters in our tent tonight!"
Recovering a bit from the battle, Rory identifies each item in turn.
Examining the armor, he says, ”The leather armor retains a weak enchantment that should aid the wearer in avoiding incoming attacks.”
Holding the ring in one hand and the amulet in another, he adds, ”This ring confers additional skill in swimming—useful for wading in slow-flowing rivers when there isn’t a halfling around to save you from drowning.” Smiling at Ashlion, he continues, ”The amulet magically hardens your skin, making it harder for enemies to land telling blows on you.”
Looking at the jade disk, Rory tries to detect magic on it, recall any Historical or Arcane reference to it, and decipher the Sigil on it.
Rory can detect a faint transmutation aura on the disk, but that's it. He doesn't recall any lore regarding the object. Neither does Yolar.
...continued from above...”As for this disk, it has some faint magic on it, but I don’t recall any lore about the sigil written on it, and if it is a letter, it is from no language I have ever seen...”