With Seeker's two blow the div is no more.
The eagle flutters over to Shukara, its job done, and a moment later disappears back into the shadows. Shukara looks at where it was in awe. Never managed to do that before. Sure, it wasn't really all that helpful...but it was so cool!
She forces herself to pay attention to the matters at hand. "Right. Um, Cymric, you still have that wand? If not I can do some healing before we move on. I think Seeker's hurt."
"Sure do" he replies to Shukara, and he expends two charges on the wand to heal Seeker, removing all the damage that the creature did.
"Lets go west and clear that side. I do not see any stairs up or down yet so hopefully there are some to the west."
Rows of stone shelves fill this crowded room. Most of the books and scrolls once stored here have disintegrated over time, but a few volumes engraved on more durable materials still endure. Numerous scroll tubes litter the room amid the dusty remains of ruined paper and papyrus. A solitary door is set into the western wall.
Cymric looks into the area, just checking for opponents, and seeing none, he spends a lot of time looking thru the books and scrolls to find any interesting ones.
Cymric, it looks as if the room has been recently looted.
"Someone else has been here, and recently. We need to be careful as someone outside of the church organized activity may still be here" Cymric warns the group.
Ogochukwu you find among the debris on the floor an unrolled papyrus scroll. It describes in Ancient Osiriani how magician's of Osirion's First Age could alter elementals to new forms and purposes. The text describes the concept of an Ankhat and the keystone that binds it to a building and pacifies it. The document explains that such keystones were frequently built into the foundations of the structure and often concealed by secret doors.
You also notice that 4 other people have been in this room within the last 24 hours and there is a secret door at the back of the room.
Ogochukwu shares his findings with the others. "Maybe this keystone is in that secret door there. We should check first, eh?"
He helps Cymric check it for traps.
"Thanks for the help Ogochukwu" Cymric quips, then to the group "no traps here" as he waits for the others to open the secret door.
You do not find any traps.
Shukara nervously waits while the others check out the keystone for traps, unable to be of much assistance. "Really? There were other people here? That's strange, why did the div let them pass? Although maybe they didn't see each other..."
She makes sure her crossbow is reloaded and ready to go as they continue exploring.
"Lets finish searching this floor before we head up or down" suggests Cymric, but leaves it up to the front liners to make the decision.
"let's finish exploring the other side of the building, eh?" Ogochukwu suggests and then heads that way.
Ogochukwu you know that ankhats are small outsiders. They have the ability to move through solid materials except metal and they have some minor spell like abilities.
An immense tiled pool, empty and no more than two feet deep, lies beneath a vaulted ceiling covered with images of celestial beings. our columns stand beyond the pool to the northeast, each carved to represent one of the four primal elements. A ring of hieroglyphs encircles the base of each pillar.
Cymric looks around the room, noticing the artwork on the ceiling. He digs back into memory trying to remember what all this means.
Cymric you do not see anything of any real interest. You recognise that such large, shallow pools were not uncommon in ancient Osirian architecture, particularly on temple grounds, though this one is unusual in that it is indoors.
"Well, unless someone else sees something more interesting than a pool of water, I suggest we head back to the west and continue to explore over there."
A short hallway connects a shallow, empty pool to the west to two curtained cubicles to the east. A wooden bench is bolted to the floor in a small alcove set across from the pool. A set of stone doors marked with hieroglyphs stands to the north.
Cymric checks out the area for enemies or treasure.
Ogochukwu helps search the room and the cubicles for traps and treasures.
"Ha! We never opened that secret door, Cymric. Let's go check it out next."
"Sure, Ogochukwu. After we finish this room here" he says.
Ogochukwu and Cymric in d7 you find two corpses have been dragged into the northern cubicle. One is a pile of bare bones kicked out of the way, the other is a rotting cadaver. An old, broken scimitar lies nearby. The bones are scorched and warm to the touch. You can tell that they are recently destroyed undead.
A secret panel in the western wall opens into a further area of the library full of scrolls and books, although many of them have crumbled to dust.
Ogochukwu looks for anything that hasn't withered away, or anything else useful.
Shukara continues to follow along, finding the various hieroglyphs and scrolls to be interesting, but otherwise useless. History had never been a priority in her studies.
Technically studies hadn't been a priority in her studies. She'd learned about nature on the farm, about people in a merchant's stall. Sitting down and reading dusty old books? Who had time for that?
Apparently adventurers did. Along with a odd penchant for finding corpses. The skeleton makes sense; this is a necropolis after all, but the cadaver? That looks newer.
While Ogochukwu looks at the books, she moves closer to the corpse and tries to figure out what happened. Even more importantly, when.
Ogochukw, on one of the shelves there appears to be a finely crafted scroll with gold edging.
Shukara you think that the skeleton and the cadaver were burnt by some kind of fire effect and are still warm to the touch. You think they were killed around 2 hours ago.
Shukara blinks, studying the corpse again. Then she raises her voice slightly. "Um, everyone? We might have a problem." She points at the corpses. "Someone else is here, unless the div did this, but I don't remember him casting any fire spells so that seems unlikely." She kneels down by the corpses again, studying them closely. "I'd say they died...oh, about two hours ago. Or died again, however you want to put it. Think that's why we're not finding much of anything?"
"Hmmm" Cymric responds to Shukara information. "We need to be very careful then if someone else is here, as this is supposed to be our area to explore."
He looks around, then suggests, "let us check out this room and then the room to the south first."
Ogochukwu studies the fine scroll to determine what it is
"Ogochukwu, that looks interesting. Anything of use? Anything I can help with?"
As Ogochukwu examines the scroll it starts to move beneath his hands.
You recognise the creature as a guardian scroll. They have damage reduction except against magic. They are immune to bludgeoning and they are vulnerable to fire. If it grapples its victim it can start to suffocate them.
Block 1: Ogochukwu
Block 2: Guardian scroll
Block 3: Cymric, Shukara and Seeker
So Ogochukwu your action
Ogochukwu performs a brief occult ritual and his flail shines with magical energy.
The guardian scroll flies at Cymric
Knowing that he cannot take much more damage from this flying piece of paper, Cymric withdraws from combat and gets behind Seeker.
Shukara stares at the flying scroll, eyes wide. "Um. I'm not exactly sure how to fight a piece of paper." With a quick pat on Ogochukwu's shoulder, she too moves behind the others. "Good luck?"
[i]Seventy years of monastic training only to be left wanting for a single spark.[i] Seeker thinks. He had been eager to examine the scroll once Ogochukwu had finished, but he wasn't entirely surprised by the hostile turn of events, the scrolls perfect condition belying some kind of magical enchantment.
Ogochukwu likewise readies an attack.
The scroll moves towards Ogochukwu again, quickly being bit by both Ogochukwu and Seeker and is sliced in two before it can attack.
Loot: Scroll of detect secret doors
Scroll of paralysis
A tablet of languages lost
scroll of align weapon
scroll of halt undead
scroll of knock
Wand of lesser restoration.
A second stone tablet written in Ancient Osiriani, it is a royal decree of Pharaoh Djederet 2.
"This is pretty good stuff, eh?"
Cymric looks over the loot with Ogochukwu, and agrees, "yes, not bad. The only thing that I can use without faking it is the Tablet of Lost Languages."
He takes our his Wand of Curing and uses a charge on himself and asks, "Any one else need curing?"
"I think I can figure out the other scrolls..."