Taking the opportunity to consume the two strongest healing potions he has, and another to toughen his skin, providing a bit of additional defense, Ghirrak nods. "Let's get moving."
Coming upon the gruesome sight he growls deep in the back of his throat, eyes glowing as he peers into the murk at the serpentine creature.
Bryson skulks around looking for the crewmen or clues to their whereabouts.
Detect Magic
"Whatever it was, it was killed bah a holy weapon. Weird fer a place like this." He then goes into the water to find what's inside it.
Sunny creeps quietly into the new room. All the while looking for where the nasty monkeys are keeping her friends.
Looking closer at the serpent... Lady? Sunny is kind of sad they never got to talk to her.
The pools of icky water don't entice Sunny that much for a swim so she drifts around the piles of bones and sneaks closer to the only other door out of the room.
Checking for any nasty surprises as she daintily pads amongst the ruin.
Detect magic
"Another intruder perhaps?" Marius asked, settling on a hypothesis which seemed somewhat logical, if unlikely, "I don't know that I'd count on them being free or on our side though." He wasn't sure how long the naga had been dead, but certainly nobody had put paid to the demons in the adjoining cavern before they'd arrived.
With Bryson having decided to check out the source of magic in the fountain, Marius stood ready to intervene if it all went horribly wrong. The smaller sources of magic could wait for the moment.
It takes Bryson a while to find something, but one of the femurs in the pile of bones at the bottom of the pool was strangely made of copper and radiates a medium level of magic.
Marius finds a magic aura on a warhammer buried in another pile of bones.
In your search, you are reasonably sure the people you're looking for aren't concealed here.
"Okeys... which way did they go?" Sunny aks as she continues to eye the surroundings rather dubiously.
"There be only one more door..." She points to the arch before which Mr Burian is near. She daintily picks her way amongst the ruins and begins to carefully look at the door for anything nasty she might be able to see.
The spell-storing hammer might be helpful for anyone comfortable using it, but now wasn't the time to imbue it with a spell.
Examination concluded, Marius moved to support Sunny, ready to throw a spell at anything which might be lurking on the other side of the door.
Burian took a look at the copper femur and looked up at Bryson, startled.
"This is a Lesser Silent Metamagic Rod! Rare indeed! Do you intend to use it yourself, or sell it?" He asked aloud.
You press through to the East down the ceremonial hallway.
This long hall is lit by flaming brands held aloft by iron ape statues placed at even intervals on either side.
Each of the ape statues has its head thrown back, as if silently howling at the ceiling above.
At the far end of the hall, another pair of double doors, this time made from gleaming copper, stands closed.
Bryson looks at the rod with disdain before turning and walking away. "Do what you will with it."
"It'll take some evil ceremony to open or somebody whit skill."
Sunny pads along with Master Burian and the others. Looking at the latest large doors to block their path.
"Oooo... lot'a metal in them..." She muses abesntly.
As always, she's looking for nasty things to possibly come popping out of the walls/floor/ceiling/thin air...
She looks from the monkey statues to the door and back, then skips over and looks at the bases of the monkey statues and then back to the door.
"Here... I be thinkin' they move..." She muses.
Puzzled, Sunny leaned against a monkey statue. It rotated 30 degrees and stopped with a *clunk*. The double doors opened to reveal another hallway.
This long hall is lit by flaming brands held aloft by iron ape statues placed at even intervals on either side.
Each of the ape statues has its head thrown back, as if silently howling at the ceiling above.
At the far end of the hall, another pair of double doors, this time made from gleaming copper, stands closed.
As you are about to start forward, Burian raised a hand to stop you.
"Wait," He said, peering intently down the corridor.
"I feel a presence..."
Sunny goes completely still at master Bryson's comment...
"Wait! There's another trap!" Ghirrak says, holding a hand up. "Walking between the statues will trigger it. Sunny, see if you can disable it."
"Ah tire of dis. Let'em come or let'em know we comin." Bryson starts to stomp down the hallway.
"Wait! There's another trap!" Ghirrak says, holding a hand up. "Walking between the statues will trigger it. Sunny, see if you can disable it."
"Ooo..."
"Oh, is easy..."
As Sunny settled down to work on the trap, Bryson, his eyes red and growling unconsiously, stalked right down the hallway.
As he passed between the statues, each one of them sounded out a piercing ape howl, easily heard throughout the entire complex.
When you reach the end of the hallway, the large double doors to the north open with a squeal.
Beyond, you see that this huge chamber is watched over by five hideous statues.
To the east and west stand four towering demonic ape statues in alcoves, facing a roaring fire pit in the room's center.
On the north side of the room is an even larger stone statue.
Possessing the stout, stylized body of an ape, this statue has two stone tentacles where each of it's arms should be.
Sprouting from it's shoulders are two fanged baboon heads.
The statue lords over the room atop a great dais, staring out in frozen rage in your direction.
Five figures dangle over the fire pit in chains some forty-five feet above the floor, thirty-five feet above the flames. Tavey Nask, Banaby Chisk, Parrotless Booker, Professor Forol, and what looks like an angelic figure.
Maniacal laughter echoes through the complex.
"HA HA HA HA HA HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!" Howled the invisible voice. "Where are you Brysonnnnn? Your friends need your help!"
There is a *clank* and the sound of rattling machinery, and the rattle of chains as your friends descend 5 feet with a jolt!
Bryson goes in and changes into a medium water elemental. He jumps into the pit to use his aquatic form to try and put out the fire.
Ghrirak dashes into the chamber looking around for the source of the machinery controlling the descent of the prisoners, and staring up at the chains.
When you reach the end of the hallway, the large double doors to the north open with a squeal.
Five figures dangle over the fire pit in chains some forty-five feet above the floor, thirty-five feet above the flames. Tavey Nask, Banaby Chisk, Parrotless Booker, Professor Forol, and what looks like an angelic figure.
Maniacal laughter echoes through the complex.
"HA HA HA HA HA HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!" Howled the invisible voice. "Where are you Brysonnnnn? Your friends need your help!"
There is a *clank* and the sound of rattling machinery, and the rattle of chains as your friends descend 5 feet with a jolt!
(O_o)
"Not again..." Sunny whispers, even as her features take on a resolute cast. She quickly skips forwards, though trying to keep to the shadowy nooks and crannies.
Even as her eyes take in the scene,
(1) How 'tall' are these doors?
(2) Are they held up/on by things like 'Split barrel hinges'?
(3) Are the stairs on the map leading 'Up' or 'Down' into the room?
Depending on the answers, Sunny guideline is to pull the pins. Drop the door(s) and thence use their falling momentum to 'Slide' them across the floor and over the pit. At least enough to limit who gets dropped.
She looks to Master Burian and Marius, "I got's a plan.." She quickly whispers her scheme to her friend seeking their help in getting things moving.
Marius was mentally kicking himself for having used up his wall of ice spells - a well-timed wall would have given the people in chains footing for long enough to walk themselves clear of the fiery pit.
Still, the uses he'd put the spell to had been logical. The glitterdust spell perhaps less so, given an invisible opponent. He could legitimately kick himself over that one. The first thing he was going to do on reaching some facsimile of civilisation would be to purchase or craft some wands stocked with good utility spells.
It was a relief to hear that Sunny had a plan. That put him on either distraction duty or backup plan duty. Marius hung back for the moment, casting a fly spell to give himself some mobility for either eventuality and trying to figure out where the mechanism for the chains was, figuring their enemy would also be nearby. A couple of ideas occurred to him. Make that three. No, four.
Those actually in the chamber can now see that the chains holding up the hostages can be traced up to the ceiling, where they thread through a couple of blocks and thence down again to the shadowy tops of several of the side statues.
A: The double doors are twenty feet tall and very heavy.
(2) Are they held up/on by things like 'Split barrel hinges'?
A: You would have to spend some time examining them, like on a ladder or something, then make a Know:Engineering check.
(3) Are the stairs on the map leading 'Up' or 'Down' into the room?
A: They are steps up, about a foot or so each.
Sunny, your plan would need a lot of time to pull off; do you want to do something else?
Burian moved into the chamber and looked up in awe.
Then realizing the peril, called out "I'm coming! Hold on!"
He proceeded to run towards the right hand statue.
Sunny's quick purview of the doors and stairs while initially having her interest quickly fades.
"Okeys. New plan. We kill the bad guys as quick as we can and save the day. Sounds good?" She looks to her friends before beginning to scamper off.
"Okeys. Jus' gon'a make sure no one be fallin' in't tha' fire we dun't want fallin' in't tha' fire..."
"What in all the nine hells is going on on top of the statues?" Ghirrak growls.
"I'll find out," Marius offered. The same thing was bothering him, and he was well placed to investigate it. With his flight spell active, he entered the room and simply ascended to a point where he could view the statues from above.