As the party makes its preparations, the shadows slither up the chasm walls with unnatural speed. They crest the lip of the gaping hole, with the first evading Syretia's bolt of magic energy, and approach the party with malice burning in the single, off-center red eye burning in their otherwise formless faces.
The large fern growing upon a nearby ledge lashes out with one of its thick fronds, attempting to strike and seize Orlog. However, bolstered by the power of Torag, the forgepriest fends off the surprisingly strong attack.
Seeing the fronds striking out at Orlog in the midst of the shadow attack, Syretia blurts out "A giant plant, too!?"
She then steps forward with a wide sweep of her arms that manifests an arc of flame, striking both of the shadows menacing the dwarf.
Seeing the vine tentacles reaching for Orlogg, Brandt fires twice at them, attempting to free the Warpriest from their grasp.
Fenrir moves in front of Bydar, growling at the unnatural shadows writhing up from the pit.
Bydar will move closer but not face to face with the shadows and erupt in a glow of holy energy.
With the enemy so close, Orlog uses his divine magic to bolster his defense some more. He then take a step back to draw the plant creature closer and out of the pit. For now, he maintains a defensive stance, hoping to avoid getting hit by the shadows.
Two of the shadows continue to accost Orlog. While his divine protections ward away the insidious touch of one, the other manages to breach his defenses and sap some of his strength. The other two fail to land their strikes as they attack Mr. Pink and Christian.
Brandt buries an arrow in the predatory plant.
Syretia's burning spell devastates the two shadows attacking Orlog, then Bydar's burst of divine power finishes them off.
Christian steps to the side as his blade comes across. (Blue)
"Good work all, forgive me, more undead for me to attend to. I leave the plant to you for now."
Bydar takes a breath, and moves with haste to assist Lord Christian with a similar wave of holy energies to inflict upon those other shadows.
Syretia lets out a shout of triumph as the first two shadows are blown apart by the wave of positive energy. She turns to the next pair and sends another bolt of flame dancing between them.
Though his strike is aimed true, Christian's steel passes harmless through the shadow's body.
The combined might of Bydar and Syretia, wielding the divine and arcane in conjunction, utterly burns away one of the remaining shadows while leaving the other struggling to maintain its unliving form.
Brandt inhales deeply, drawing an arrow again to his cheek and firing rapidly into the writhing mass of vegetation. Orlogg, be careful up there! He calls out firing repeatedly into the creature.
Seeing one of his arrows miss wildly, he calls across the combat to the wolfdog guarding Bydar,
Meanwhile in the other knot of bodies, Fenrir quickly snaps forward, nipping at the fading shadow with his enchanted jaws.
Orlog slowly backs away from the plant creature, still keeping his defence up. "Get ready people, the plant might just come out of the hole."
Brandt buries another arrow deeply in the plant's heart. Meanwhile, Fenrir's enchanted jaws holds the shadow in place, allowing Mr. Pink to deliver a devastating blow with magic steel that dissipates the undead with a silent but thrumming shriek.
Orlog steps away from the precipice, with the strangle weed making a feeble swipe at the dwarf.
Definitely not a mobile predator, its vines drag it across its ledge to approach other prey.
Seeing his luck holding out with putting everything he's got into the arrows firing rapidly at the plant, Brandt continues to assail the vegetative predator.
Inwardly cursing his errant shots, Brandt rolls his eyes at his own efforts to pin down the threat. Slow down, breathe, it will come just give it time...
Brandt calls out to Fenrir, Fenrir, get away from the edge, come over here boy. The wolfhound, feeling very sure of himself, bounds over to the ranger and takes his place behind the large Ulfen.
With the shadows destroyed, and the plant beginning to pull itself from the chasm, Syretia summons a densely packed ball of ice and sends it flying at the creature with a contemptuous flick of her wrist.
While Brandt's arrows clatter against stone and tumble down into the chasm, Syretia's snowball lands with unerring accuracy. She strikes the heart of the predatory plant, overwhelming it with the sudden bite of cold, and the impact sends it toppling from its ledge and plummeting into the water far below.
The ruined plaza returns to peace, although the sound of splashing water echoes faintly along the stone.
"Lost souls and vegetation run amok? Not a combination I would have expected." The Cleric says "Orlog, are you okay? Is everyone?"
Seeing his weapon pass right through the creature brings a look of anger on the mercenary's face.
I...hate...undead...
He watches the spell send the plant over the edge. Glancing around, Christian looks to the others.
Let us secure the room and make sure we are safe before investigating further.
Syretia lets out another whoop of victory before immediately sitting down, breathing hard. "Oh, wow, that took more energy out of me than I expected. I don't remember the last time I threw evocation magic around like that."
With the plant dead, Orlog lower his guard. "Oh I'll be fine. Nothing a little prayer to Torag won't fix. Let's just hope that there isn't more of those." Looking around again, he turns his attention toward the ceiling support of the room. "We will definitely need to fix this, or we could end up with a sink hole above ground."
With the strangle weed uprooted and dispatched, the remains of its most recent meal can be spotted upon the ledge where it once made its lair. Only the humanoid's bones remain, wrapped in the rotten remains of hide armor. A greataxe lies nearby, its iron head wedged into the rocks, leaving its haft dangling over the edge. A greenish ring still sits on one of the body's finger bones, and a small handful of gems are strewn across the thin layer of soil atop the ledge.
Peering over the edge, Brandt takes a long hard look at the body and equipment there.
Looks like one of the Tiger Lords, very strong warriors. My father spoke of them often as worthy adversaries on the field. He has come a little way from his homeland to reach this place, but it is not as far as some of us may have come.
Looking down again after addressing the crowd, I can climb down there so we can bury him properly if you would anchor my rope. Only fitting for a strong warrior to be laid to rest with respect.
Sorry poor tribesman, no one will sing your songs or know your name.
Syretia climbs back to her feet, brushing the dust off of her clothes with her innate magics, before joining Brandt over by the ledge and looking down. "Be careful, all right? That's a long drop if you slip."
While certainly not strong enough to lower and raise Brandt on her own, Syretia pulls her gloves taut and prepares to do her part to serve as a counterweight to the ranger during his descent.
"Before you do," Bydar moves to the body, "I doubt he followed Shelyn, but , " he makes motions, "May your passage through the Boneyard lead you to the rewards beyond you earned in life." A simple rite of respect, and farewell.
Then a nod to Brandt. "Thank you."
Waiting for Bydar's blessing over the enterpriseWell spoken Bydar, thank you for that. Let us get this warrior out and to a proper burial.
Brandt looks around the room, If any more of those shadows come out while I'm down there, help haul me up quickly please! I'd rather be on my own two feet if I have to face those things.
Brandt clambers down to the body using a rope. Securing the tribesman's corpse to the end of the rope, Brandt will then reclimb out of the hole and haul the dead man out, with his gear if it is all reachable.
Thankfully, no new dangers lurch out from the watery chasm to threaten Brandt as he rappels down and retrieves the slain tribesman and his belongings. Hauling up the moldering suit of hide armor is akin to retrieving a bag of loose bones, but the ranger is careful not to let even the smallest fragment fall down into the pit.
In addition to his masterfully crafted greataxe, he carried a handful of citrines, agates, and turquoise. Of particular interest, though, is the ring upon one of his finger bones. It is carved from greenish wood, depicting an eel and frog locked in a tangle.
Syretia cocks her head, looking at the ring, and examines it for any potential magical properties.
once the room is secured and he is certain that all is well. Christian looks to the others and then listens as they talk of the unfortunate soul.
I have fought beside and agaisnt such warriors. I am not certain of the tribe but..yes maybe a Tiger Lord...defiantly a Kellid.
The young lord advances and lends aid to Brand as he climbs down.
Looking down at the bones.
A proper burial is warranted, yes.
He kneels down to look at the gruesome scene before him.
Rest now...your mug will always be full. You have earned it.
Alas poor warrior. We will build you a small cairn of stone and lay you to rest, as Brandt says this he looks to Bydar for confirmation.
Gathering up his belongings that he had shed for the climb, Brandt addresses the rest of the party, Should we be collecting the cursed cleric and heading for the surface, or do we have more tunnels left to explore?
And lastly, noticing Syretia examining the ring, Something of value there lass? I'm glad you are here to help us figure things like that out, in addition to fanning our foes with flames.
"I'm not sure yet, just following a hunch." She looks up at Brandt with a smile, her odd eye glowing again. "And thank you. I'm glad you're here to, among other things, fill monsters with arrows. Besides, Fenrir is clearly the heart of the party!"
Fenrir seems to beam with pride and this compliment and winds his way over to Syretia to observe her examinations of the ring.
Brandt chuckles and adds, We all do our parts as we can. Every one of us has valuable talents and a good temperament for this wild land. Of course part of that is balance, Bydar wants cathedrals built to honor the gods, I'll settle for a tower to protect our people, and eventually rebuilding that fort into something more useful. Brandt points his thumb back in the general direction of where they came from.
I jest though, with all of our hopes and dreams working together we will succeed as one here. Cathedrals and keeps all together. Brandt grins at Bydar as they begin to head from the cavern.
Syretia readily recognizes the faint aura of transmutation magic upon the ring.
After a few moments of study, she identifies it as a ring of swimming.
|
Mr. Pink keeps his distance from the chasm while the others perform their prayers and rites. He recovers Mr. Black and appears to be having a whispered conversation in their shared bird language.
Mr. Pink: "I believe it is because many primitive human cultures truly enjoy the calming activity of digging."
Mr. Black: "That would certainly explain all the prayers and meditation. When you die, I will have you buried and say many wistful words as well."
Mr. Pink: "Sometimes I question the wisdom of my decision to follow you."
Mr. Black: "Someday, you will see."
With a gesture from Syretia, the ring lifts up off the ground and lands in her outstretched hand. "These kinds of artifacts are quite handy," she says, holding it up between her thumb and forefinger. "I've heard ones that do the same thing for climbing, gymnastics, and so on. This one makes you a better swimmer!"
Being that you are the one with knowledge on things magical...that rings look rather unique for such a...mundane task? Is that the norm for such rings...green wood, eels and frogs?
"Well, it is true that it hardly lets you throw fire bolts around, but consider where we are: the River Kingdoms. Perhaps this man was a worshiper of Hanspur and sought to protect himself from drowning."
Brandt chuckles and adds, We all do our parts as we can. Every one of us has valuable talents and a good temperament for this wild land. Of course part of that is balance, Bydar wants cathedrals built to honor the gods, I'll settle for a tower to protect our people, and eventually rebuilding that fort into something more useful. Brandt points his thumb back in the general direction of where they came from.
I jest though, with all of our hopes and dreams working together we will succeed as one here. Cathedrals and keeps all together. Brandt grins at Bydar as they begin to head from the cavern.
Bydar grins back, "I'll gladly help with the tower too, though I'll probably suggest statuary that won't impede defense or at least some nice designs."
At mention of the ring.
"Swimming? Well, as you say, the River Kingdoms, it's a pragmatic bit of magic. It helps even when you swim in armor? Interesting."
Laughing at Bydar's suggestion, Well said friend, well said. I've heard tell of such rings, very handy if you are shipboard in your armor. Considering the chamber they are in,
Have we now explored all these passages? I would like to feel the sun upon my face again and put these caverns to rest until we can make sense out of them all. And the sooner we finish here, the sooner Bydar can try to cure that cursed cleric back there.
I have never seen nor heard of a ring like this...aiding with certain skills yes but green wood. If this is what we are to expect then I hope we can find more of these greenish wood rings. They could come in handy in the future.
He looks around the room and then back to the way we came in...
I think we have only one tunnel left to explore...west off the main path...near where we found the first Halfling.
Bearing the remains of the Kellid warrior, using his own rotted armor like a bier, you backtrack to the first intersection and proceed on to the final passageway.
While the majority of rooms and tunnels of this complex are sized for cyclops, the broad chamber you discover at the end bears a vaulting ceiling nearly twice as tall. It is not a stretch to imagine the surface sitting only a few feet above.
Many niche-like shelves line the tall walls of this long room otherwise filled with stone benches sized for the cyclopes of Koloran. Many of the niches are empty, save for dust and cobwebs. Trinkets of gold and silver were likely plundered by adventurers, like the ill-fated warrior you carry for his final rest. However, they have thus neglected the room's greatest treasure.
A brief perusal of the remaining contents confirms that this was once a library. Heavy tablets of stone, clay, and even iron fill most of the niches, inscribed with long passages of the ancient cyclopean language. While most of the scrolls and other perishable records have crumbled to dust, these heavier records alone could keep a sage busy for years.
One final mystery awaits at the opposite end of the long, vaulted library. An immense, circular door - seemingly hewn from a single slab of granite - is set within the far wall. Rings of petroglyphs and cyclopean script are etched upon its surface. At the center of the door, sitting out of reach of all but the tallest of you, is a carving of a stylized eye orbited by emblems of the sun and moon.
"This...I don't have the words..." Syretia trails off, stepping through the ancient library as if in a trance. [i]This alone could be a life's work!
Staring in awe at the remains of what he can only assume is a library, Brandt stares at the far wall, This is unexpected, certainly. Can anyone decipher what that means on the far wall?
Shifting his gaze to the alcoves, I think there may be some items still of value in these alcoves, not all seem to be completely rotten, should we take them from here, or leave them for a time when we can really be careful with them?
Realizing what they have uncovered in this particular cavern Brandt breathes out, This would make a great foundation for some book scholars life work. We could definitely attract some of those finer people to our settlement with this some day. Maybe even found one of those schools for magic here.
"This...I don't have the words..." Syretia trails off
"I have a few- humbling and staggering for starters, Bydar says "There are certain academics who would give their eye teeth for a chance to study all this."
Staring in awe at the remains of what he can only assume is a library, Brandt stares at the far wall, This is unexpected, certainly. Can anyone decipher what that means on the far wall?
Bydar smiles "I can, that is, I have a spell Shelyn bestowed me that would allow it... for.. a little less than an hour I can comprehend a language I could not normally. If you folks wish me to use it now?"
Realizing what they have uncovered in this particular cavern Brandt breathes out, This would make a great foundation for some book scholars life work. We could definitely attract some of those finer people to our settlement with this some day. Maybe even found one of those schools for magic here.
"It's possible, aye. And the River Kingdoms are not, to my knowledge, known for having many of such. Yes, I agree, this is a gift not to be squandered." He smiles "Schools lead to education, education leads to literacy, and literacy leads to appreciation of prose and poetry and more inspired to try their hand at it."
Taking the time to carefully scale the shelves, using the niches as handholds, Brandt climbs the library wall to recover the three surviving scrolls. They are thick and cumbersome burdens to carry, being long sheets of vellum spooled upon bronze rods, and Brandt can only safely retrieve one at a time.
Of course, this gives ample time for Syretia to examine their contents individually.
Meanwhile, Bydar beseeches Shelyn for guidance in reading the script upon the vault door.
Inner Ring:
"Father of light, Mother of protection, seal door against Reguare."
Middle Ring:
"Tyrant Zeropes, scion of Xalekti, bearer of Ilthsgar, last of Ultharan, forbids opening door. Infidels will be deprived of wisdom.
Outer Ring:
"We hold the borders of Koloran, so we hold its might and glory. Father Sun and Mother Moon shield and guide always. They give strength of stone and sharpness of bronze. May none betray them as was done in terrible Ghol-Gan."
Although the inscriptions give insight into the culture of Koloran and strongly suggests this is a vault of some kind, they offer no clue regarding how the door may be opened.
Christian looks from one side of the large room to the other. His eyes taking in every nook and alcove as he scans the room in silence.
His attention to details over looks the crumbling pages.
Impressive...
The young noble looks on and listens to the others as they talk of the potential benefits of this area.
be careful of the other contents. Try to not disturb them. We still may be ably to repair them and learn from those scrolls. Such a treasure trove of information from the past is beyond imagination.
He looks at the door at the end of the room.
...a single eye...from the past.
He pauses as he mumbles to himself.
Some of the best lessons we ever learn we learn from our mistakes and failures. The error of the past is the wisdom and success of the future.
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The scrolls that Brandt retrieves include several spells, including ones that are rather obscure.
The first scroll bears three spells: Protection from Law, Sun Metal, and Touch of Truthtelling.
The second contains two spells: Owl's Wisdom and Share Language
The last scroll must be a fortuitous gift, for the single spell it bears is Remove Curse.