Torch looks at Frost when he mentions the ritual.
"I do not know where the other Sages are currently but I feel that they are safe. And I will feel where we should conduct the ritual I believe ... as will the other sages.
"Then what you are telling me, Master Torch, is that this is not the place? Right now we are fresh out of dungeon so either we have missed a section, which is unlikely, or there is a hidden door somewhere around here that leads further on"
Torch grins. "For a paladin you seem to be a quick thinker. Yes, there has to be a hidden area somewhere here!"
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Frost laughs a wry laugh at Torch's astute observation about the general state of Paladins "Less a quick thinker, more a jaded adventurer - if we aren't where we need to be then either we are in the wrong dungeon, or there's more of it hidden away. I agree too many paladins are bright of face but dim of mind, but I paid a bit more attention to academic lessons and the world around me"
"Illusory walls, well-crafted trapdoors, all in a days work for ferreting out necromancers, chaos cultists, and lairing undead"
" I'll handle getting the disease. That's why I came though hopefully I won't get sick in the process.," she said apprehensively approaching the sarcophagi.
After using canister #14 to retrieve a sample of fading light, Peridot is able to handle it perfectly.
During the process Peridot looks into Athum's eyes and now that he is working with the incredibly vicious disease he suddenly realises that Athum could be infected.
He checks him thoroughly and realizes that it is true ... Athum has contracted fading light! Obviously, the decontamination chamber could not cure him and really tried to burn the disease away.
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Sarcophagi
Take 20 check for traps by highest perception character.
Detect Evil
Detect Magic
Detect Poison
Everyone 15’ back from sarcophagus
Athum 10’ back
Frost will open the Sarcophagus
Start on the leftmost and work clockwise.
Last 3 doses can remain as is and be manufactured later if required.
Let’s get-r-done.
/cracks open first lid.
Sarcophagi
The party returns back to the previous room full of sarcophagi lining the walls held closed by straps and bindings.
You do not detect anything evil.
You detect magic and realize that you have to examine a large sarcophagus that sits upon a raised dais at the room’s center which has been carved with imagery of dragons, and two more prominent sarcophagi can be found on the western (closed sarcophagus) and eastern (open sarcophagus) edge of the room.
* * *
Your closer examination of the sarcophagus reveals no signs of traps.
The sarcophagus is pristine, though. No signs of dust, dirt, or any other form of marring.
The enchantments here likely work to maintain the quality cleanliness and sterilization of each sealed sarcophagus.
They look as if they could be opened easily from the outside.
You realize with detect magic that victims can be kept alive in the sarcophagi as if the occupants were each wearing a ring of sustenance.
You begin opening the sarcophagi, starting with the large one in the middle. As the exterior would indicate, the inside is full to the brim with the bones and partially rotted remains of a large dragon you can easily identify. And the smell that initially wafts out when the lid is removed can only be described as unique; a mixture of dry dust and slightly rotten meat.
A short examination confirms that this being died from fading light. And ... it's also horribly contagious with something even worse than the strain of fading light that you found so far. You assume that it is very, very hard to cure.
INCURABLE DISEASE
An incurable disease is all but impossible to cure completely, even with the aid of magic. The incurable template can be added to any disease. The disease retains its base statistics except as noted below.
Save The disease’s saving throw DC is reduced by 5.
Cure The disease cannot be cured with any number of successful saving throws. Whenever the afflicted creature succeeds at a saving throw to resist the disease’s effects by 5 or more, you automatically succeed at your next saving throw against the disease’s effects as well. Even spells that can normally cure diseases only cause the disease to become dormant for 2d4 days, after which the affected creature must begin attempting saving throws to resist the disease’s effects once more.
Only powerful magic like a miracle or a wish is sufficient to completely cure a creature of an incurable disease.
The open sarcophagus along the eastern wall appears completely unused.
(+2 for stonework)
You check it thoroughly and it is at the end Peridot that finds and almost undetectable lever that opens a hidden passage within the sarcophagus leading to another area ...
Torch's eyes suddenly open wide.
"I can feel it now! Yes, this must be path to the other sages ... it ... it is almost impossible to push away her thoughts!!"
* * *
Now only one sarcophagus remains to be investigated.
Frost approaches the remaining sarcophagus ... and opens it.
The inside holds the remains of a human including all of his gear.
There is a gold holy symbol.
You can identify the symbol of Osiris, a lawful good deity.
Osiris is the Ancient Osirian god of death, the afterlife and fertility. He dies each year with the harvest only to be reborn in the spring when plants sprout.
Frost sees a suit of golden armor that seems to be made of dragon hide wrapped around the corpse, and mixed within it all several more samples of the Crystalline Aether that you used in concocting your antidote.
This is Golden Dragonhide Celestial Armor. It functions in all ways as standard celestial armor but only with a +2 enchantment and without the ability to fly.
Again, you feel the earth moving and dust comes down from the ceiling!
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Ahn reaches out with his tiny hand to block Athum reaching for the armor, "That is the symbol of Osiris an Ancient Osirian god... don't be fooled, Osiris is a good and virtuous god. I am sure this is the holy warrior we have read about in the notes and seen in the memories. Let us leave the paladin in his slumber and not loot the man like tomb robbers. And if he is alive as Agate suggests, do we really want to confront this warrior?"
"We need the lab to make antidotes... if we push on we may not get another chance.
Peridot looks at the man and is sure that the man is dead.
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"From what the sages told us earlier, they thought we had around 3 hours... we have say, two hours left"
"There are seven of us, including Ragnar, eight with Torch... we can either make 6 more cures for 8 total... or, assume a couple of us won't contract the disease, and make four more cures, and one more blood of Nythus."
"In any case... let's leave the paladin be, and make more cures... I believe we have the time... "
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"We have THAT long? Then let's make up more cures - if the sages are correct we have the time, and a small amount spare for emergencies. I rankle at the thought of taking the armour but not the wearer, as it looks like graverobbing. I am comfortable with blessing the poor soul and removing the lot to be reinterred at a more fitting locale than this den of depravity for his eternal slumber"
"Well after I make the medicine if we have any time left over I can check everyone to see if they are sick."
Peridot realises that Agate, Athum and Ragnar are suffering from an incurable and magic resistant strain of Fading Light. Even a Paladin could be theoretically infected ...
You nonetheless believe that the cure you have created will be able to fight the disease!
MAGIC RESISTANT
A magic-resistant disease is protected against magical treatment.
Sometimes this is because the disease has a magical origin or has
been infused with magic, and sometimes it’s because the organisms
that cause the disease simply react differently to magic than most
infectious organisms do. The magic-resistant template can be
added to any disease. The disease retains its base statistics except
as noted below.
Save The disease can affect creatures that have Constitution
scores and are normally immune to disease, whether that
immunity comes from a racial trait, class feature, spell, magic
item, or other source. However, such creatures receive a
+4 bonus on saving throws when attempting to resist the
disease’s effects.
Cure The disease is particularly difficult to remove using magic.
Remove disease can’t cure the disease, and even more
powerful spells such as heal require a successful caster level
check with a –10 penalty (DC = the disease’s save DC) to
remove the disease.
Special The disease responds violently to any attempts to heal
it using magic. Whenever the diseased creature is subject
to a spell or ability that cures diseases, it must succeed at
a Fortitude save or suffer the disease’s effect. This does not
reset the disease’s frequency, and succeeding at this check
does not count toward the number of consecutive saves
required to be cured of the disease.