Ingolf said to his companions, "I wonder if the green stone disk is the seal that Shathva mentioned? This is something that we should probably report to her.
"We should avoid fighting the elementals. But they might react if we attempt to remove the disk."
"I agree, we shouldn't fight them if we don't have to." Adriana muses and turns to Splits while thinking up options. "This is a temple to Gozreh, perhaps you can speak to them, as one of the faithful?" she muses as she looks back across the chamber and despite it being of Gozreh, whispers a very quiet prayer to Sarenrae to herself as she checks the chamber.
one of you can try talking to them. I'll cover you. if they attack I'll pop 'em
jonah puts an arrow against his bowstring and eyes the elementals warily
After using detect magic, Adriana explains the skeleton leather armor, amulet and ring, are all three magical, but she cannot get what school the auras are about.
You notice in fact the jade seal at the hands of the skeleton is the other seal Shathva told you that you need to open the doors to the inner temple.
The elementals observe you at the entrance of the room, just as another lightning falls over the rod and the seem to rejoice with crackling energy.
"Can anyone communicate with the elementals?", Ingolf wondered aloud. "I'll give it a try."
He tried talking to them in the languages he knew: Common, Draconic, Gnome, Polyglot, and Sylvan.
Ingolf makes an attempt for communication, but any language he tries, results in full ignorance of the elementals. No one in the group seems to know the language of the elementals, and even if they did, the creatures seem not akin to negotiations.
In the end, the group feels pressed to enter the room and face the elementals to retrieve the seal, which brings the elementals rage.
Adrianna is the first one to react, while the elementals seem to ready for something.
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”Ingolf! Now!” Tonny cracks his whip distractingly near the green-tinged lightning. ”Don’t bother trying to aim for anyplace in particular because they don’t really have organs or body parts as we know them, or at least that’s what Professor Gurtle kept complaining about during their lectures so it’s probably true...”
Ingolf blessed the party, before moving into the room. "We just want the seal," he told the elementals, as he readied to counter any aggressive action on their part.
Much like the fight against water elementals, Adriana wasn't certain that swinging a sword at 'living' lightning would be useful (and was possibly more dangerous) but their hands seemed forced.
Sensing that she had the briefest of moments Adriana called on Sarenrae and rushed forward, letting divine resolve fill her as she attempts to draw the elementals attention to her and buy everyone some time.
jonah shoots two magical arrows at the closest elemental
The druid isn't sure how best to handle an elemental forged from Gozreh's own breath and decides to hold a healing spell should one of his allies require it.
Adriana casts a spell and moves gaining the back of one of the elementals.
Tonny gives good advice while whipping one of the elementals.
Ingolf blesses the party moving forward, triggering the elementals readied attacks. One of them manages to scratch the gnome despite Tonny's help.
Jonah's first arrow goes wide, but the second one stabs deeply although not lethally due to the elemental amorphous shape
Splits prepares himself to heal in case it is required.
One of the elementals flies back to attack Adriana.
While the other one keeps hammering Ingolf.
Adriana suffers a spark of electricity.
Flying into a rage, Ingold dropped his polearm and drew out his morningstar, furiously attacking the elemental in front of him. He maneuvered Ebba forward, to give Adrianna an opportunity to flank her opponent.
Urged on by his rage, his spirits joined in the attack as well.
Ebba attacked an elemental with determination.
Jonah groans as what was obviously a spot-on shot doesn't seem to do much to the elmental!
he pulls out two more magical arrows and keeps firing at the closest elemental
Ingolf maneuvers around the elemental, swinging his morningstar over the head to strike powerfully on the elemental body just by the time his spirits rake at the creature made of energy.
Jonah's follow up arrow comes as a final fate for the elemental, that collapses when the steel consumes its body.
The hunter next arrow flight as precisely as the first one, striking at the second elemental behind the fallen one. The arrow makes the energy flicker as it causes more damage.
Slightly delirious from the jolt but still able to move despite the sharp tingling in her hands, Adriana takes her scimitar and slices at the elemental while unsure if its focused on herself or Ingolf.
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"They don't have kidneys to stab!" Tonny yells over the storm. "Well, at least not what we'd think of as kidneys. It's like tryig to stab a puddle in the spleen, or cut the backbone of a fire." He cracks his whip distractingly again at the remaining elemental...
...and nearly drops it on the ground instead.
Tonny barely manages to maintain the whip on his hands, but Adriana makes a good strike at the elemental that clearly suffers despite being immune to the sneak attack.
Splits holds his healing spell ready in case someone needs it.
Not very intelligent to focus just in one target, the elemental attempts to electrocute Adriana this time.
The contact of the elemental is sparkly, as the elemental interchanges hits with the woman.
seeing that the fight is coming to an end, Jonah conserves his magical arrows and fires two regular wooden arrows instead.
unfortunately, with his allies close to the monster he pulls his shots and misses completely.
Maneuvering to flank the remaining elemental, Ingolf continued his furious assault.
Ebba tried to figure out how to gore something made of energy.
Although Jonah's arrows go wide and strike the walls behind, Ingolf and Ebba's pounding is just too much for the elemental. As the morningstar and the spirits strike, the elemental body loses all composition and dismisses with a great lightning crackle.
Without the elementals menace it becomes easy for the group and recover the last seal from the skeleton hands!
The skeleton of is still wearing a studded leather armor of fine quality and an amulet with a sign you identify as related to the Storm Kindlers. Also, he has a ring in one of his fingers. All of them ring as magical.
+1 studded leather armor
amulet of natural armor +1
Ingolf calmed down with the extinguishing of the last elemental. After taking a moment, he dismounted and examined the armor, ring and amulet. "This is fine magical armor!" he declared.
The druids moves into the room slowly, "Adriana, come here and I will help you." Deftly wielding the wand, he patches her up.
Taking some time, Splits the Leaves looks at the fallen Storm Kindler and examines the items it once held.
Flexing her fingers to try to get some feeling back into them after several shocks from the elementals, Adriana walks over to Splits and nods lightly. "Thankyou." She says as she rubs her arm, the healing magic tingling as the numbness subsides.
Following Splits' gaze to the fallen Storm Kindler Adriana gently asks "Should we do something for them?"
"It would not hurt, though time is of the essence. It is sad to say, but the dead have the luxury of time we do not."
"We can return to give them a better burial, or perhaps the lizard tribe will do it once things have been made safe. we don't have time to handle that right now, though.
Ingolf got back on Ebba's back and said, "Let's press on, and find the way further into the temple." He rode back the way they had came, and continuing north along the corridor where he had glimpsed some guards entering from outside.
Mounted over Ebba, Ingolf explores the northern rooms.
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.
Apparently, these chambers once housed the Storm Kindlers before the construction of the temple’s lower levels. The Gozreh worshipers rested on hammocks, most of which are no more than fragile rags nowadays.
You discovers a necklace lodged under a piece of collapsed stone.
This a necklace of resistance +2, a unique magic item acts as a cloak of resistance +2, but takes up the neck slot rather than the shoulders slot. It has a market price of 6,000 gp instead of 4,000 gp.
Frowning a little but agreeing with her companions that time was too important, Adriana follows Ingolf and Ebba into what she assumed to be some sort of living quarters.
Out of the corner of her eye she spies something shiny amidst some rubble and kneels down to carefully extract it; finding a necklace.
"Hmm. Pretty..."she says while idly wondering if, like much of the other items they had found, was magical.
While admitting it looked nice, she wasn't able to tell much about it. "I think it's magical, but I can't tell."
Ingolf uttered a prayer and examined the necklace. "Why, it's a protective amulet!", he declared.
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"Fascinating - they don't make those anymore, you know." Tonny prattles on, "Professor Numvor said it had something to do with supply and demand, and that since the cloak version was significantly cheaper to produce it became the industry standard over time. Something to do with extending the protective aura and surface area of the source in proportion to the size of the intended target. But there's folks nowadays who collect non-standard items like this, and pay extra - which probably doesn't help with the price difference now that I think about it..."
Ingolf explored the last section of the northeast corner of the temple complex, before returning to the fountain at the center, and examining the double doors on the north side.
After exloring the one unexplored room in the corner, Ingolf is returning to the double doors north of the fountain.[/ooc]
Jonah works along with Ingolf to cover the last bit of ground in the Northeast, still keeping his bow ready to defend the gnome if something were to pop out.
well, are we ready to try out these seals and confront the dangerous lizard person?
The group decides to explore the north-east corner, a place the lizardfolk seem to have avoided.
The jungle has overgrown the stonework here, collapsing portions of the northern and eastern walls. Chunks of stone wall lie toppled over, partially covered by the advancing foliage. Scattered bits of garbage—mostly animal bones and ragged scraps of cloth—cover the floor.
Structural damage has destroyed this portion of the temple.
The storm thunders over your heads, rain pouring all over the room, while a lightning is drawn in the sky giving you a sudden image of the figure hiding in the corner of the room.
A mass of tangled vines and dripping slime rises on two trunk-like legs, reeking of rot and freshly turned earth as a welcome to the party. A couple of lizardfolk corpses, half-consumed, lay next to the plant.
Lead by Ingolf, the party is though quick to react while the plant stands up from all the rocks remains.
Ingolf edged Ebba forward and chopped thrust his polearm at the plant creature.
Taken aback, the druid quickly recognizes the creature. "It is a shambling mound." He holds Lightfoot back, "Do not strike with thunder, and be prepared for its grasping and constriction!"
The druid thinks of what he could do, and blesses the archer with his spell of guidance.
Jonah hangs back and fires his bow twice using magical arrows, his first shot guided with a nudge from Splits' magic
Both Splits and Tonny identify the plant as a shambling mound and give an advantage to the group with their blessings and words.
Ingolf hastens a bit too much and his lucern hammer is deflected by the hard wooden skin of the plant.
Despite the storm, the walls of the temple protect enough against the wind for one of Jonah's arrows to find its mark, thanks in good part to the magic nature of the arrow.
The plant lashes out with its vines over Ingolf and Ebba.
One of the vines slashes hard on Ingolf while the other vine does the same on Ebba. Fortunately they manage to escape the vines' grab.
Ingolf remained in the saddle, despite the heavy blow. Rage building inside him, he dropped his polearm, drew his morningstar and urged Ebba forward. He swung at the aggressive shrubbery, with the spirits joining in the attack!
Ebba grunted in anger and attacked the monster. A plant shouldn't be attacking like this!
Jonah fires magical arrows again
no use saving these for a rainy day when it's definitely raining right now!
Scimitar drawn and unsure of what exactly she's looking at, Adriana cautiously takes in the mass of vines while wondering what - if any - weak points the thing might have as she takes a few cautious steps forward.
Following Ingolf's lead Adriana rushes forward and starts slashing, attempting to flank the massive mound and perhaps confuse it, assuming that a mass of vines could be confused.
In her hurry she slips on a vine and feels pain shoot up from her foot to her knee to her hip, and curses loudly in pain.
Adriana studies the shambling mound as the combat starts.
Ingolf strikes the vine as it is retreating, breaking a good chunk out of it with his morningstar. The spirits crowd around the plant but they do not cause significant damage. Not like Ebba. The boar stabs her tusks on the shambling mound as Ingolf directs her to attack.
Tonny has a difficult time with his whip while Jonah's arrows go slightly wide and clank against the temple walls.
Adriana tries her best, but she stumbles with a vine and barely manages to stay on foot.
The plant goes after the little gnome and his companion.
Shaking the vines around the disturbing spirits, the shambling mound fails to strike on them.
Ingolf continued his furious assault.
Ebba loyally found to protect her master.
The druid considers what they have picked up, almost from providence alone.
Lightning and storms bring more than water... They also bring flames when the bolts strike down... Flame...
He speaks up loudly, almost more excited than he had ever been before.
"Alchemist fire! Who has them?"
Fumbling the fire with the slickness of the rain, Splits the Leaves nearly drops the unfamiliar weapon.