Raising his shield before going through the fire curtains, Ohrmizd avoids most of the havoc thanks to Shazathared's boon. The last wall though, slightly burns his hair.
"That inexorable whirlpool looks quite bad. I suggest we try to avoid getting close to it." Ohrmizd looks around the different features of the cave.
The man points to the northern tunnel "That looks to me like open ended. We can do this. We should be able to"
Leaving the flying carpet on the floor of the landing, he unfolds it and stands over it "How does this work? Fly!"
"Make haste slowly Ohrmizd. When we were out here before, we did not spend the time to examine things, as we were simply looking for an exit. I do not know what that plinth is, but let us have a look around..."
Omari will search the brass landing and the plinth (using Guidance and Detect Magic as well),
11 rank +4 wis+5 racial+1 Competence (guidance)+2 hunter's blessing
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Heshan looks on at Ohrmizd with amusement. "Your bravery never fails to impress me." With that bit of confidence, Heshan proceeds to go through himself.
Even with the protection spell on him, he could feel his skin burning slightly with each second. Yet it was enough to keep him from bursting into flames.
Dusting himself off, he gets on the carpet while trying to see if he could find a way to activate it.
vs DC 22
+3 Cleric + 4 dex +1 resistance+1 competence (guidance)
vs DC 22
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+6 animal HD +4 Dex +1 competence (guidance)
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Rayhan was about to suggest to use the opportunity to check on the other rooms - but too late. Nevertheless he ponders the options and by making use of the dead ends in the rooms they go through he manages to keep the order of doors to 4 - 2 - 1 for all but the last passage.
The carpet looks nice with the intricate patterns woven with colorful strands. But what it doesn't do is fly. It doesn't seem like the carpet understands common.
Ohrmizd gives a though to what command words are usually common in tales of Katapesh for flying carpets "I think I heard this in a tale. Pan"
The man turns the carpet in case the word is written there "Why these things never come with instructions?"
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"Leviosa?" Rayhan suggests after looking at the carpet in the magic spectrum. This sends the carpet - and Ohrmizd - impetuously into the air.
"As interesting as it could be, I have long learned that real life is not the kind of fantasy we hope it could be," Heshan replied, placing a hand on the inquisitor's shoulder. "I can provide some flight magic if you need it."
Ohrmizd balances in the carpet under the sudden push forward "Ah! Good one! Thanks Rayhan!"
The Keleshite makes a few passes over the ledge, trying to get used to the new device and its odd way of moving. Fortunately, Ohrmizd is an adventurer and with just a few passes he seems trusting on how to do this already "Not like having the fire wings of the Dawnflower, but it is quite cool. Cannot wait to see Haleen's face when he sees me appearing at her window for a night date"
"Thanks Heshan, I think I am well served. I can even give someone else a ride if needed" he smiles back at Heshan "This way you can use your magics on someone else"
While the others prepare for the flight, Ohrmizd performs a fly test venturing out of the ledge for about 50' feet and then returns.
Omari looks at the carpet and says "I will have to pray for a bit to get Khedron out of here with us. I suggest you spend the time practicing with your carpet Ohrmizd, it would not do to fall off..."
Omari sits cross-legged and begins to entreat the Stag Lord...
"I'm prepared for flying a few minutes and one hopes it won't take longer than that."
@Omari
There is nothing else to find here. The only thing one notices without searching is the brass plinth.
"Ok, let's do this " Ohrmizd will take whomever else wants to come, or will go alone to explore first if none come yet.
"Leviosa" the Keleshite will venture on the tunnel, very careful to avoid the lava, and explores what lays ahead.
"I could give your deer friend flying abilities," Heshan suggests. "But I do not know how your friend would react to such magic or if Khedron can utilize that kind of magic."
As Ohrmizd takes the carpet for a ride into the tunnel, he finds that it starts to smell singed. Being the adventurous type Ohrmizd quickly finds out that the tunnel is curving. Made of scorched brass it rises to a height of twenty feet over a sluggishly flowing river of magma. But after going half circle, the eastern end of the canal is completely blocked by a massive flow of molten magma cascading like a waterfall.
"I could give your deer friend flying abilities," Heshan suggests. "But I do not know how your friend would react to such magic or if Khedron can utilize that kind of magic."
"He has not been trained to actually fly, so I think we would do better with an Air Walk spell."
As Ohrmizd takes the carpet for a ride into the tunnel, he finds that it starts to smell singed. Being the adventurous type Ohrmizd quickly finds out that the tunnel is curving. Made of scorched brass it rises to a height of twenty feet over a sluggishly flowing river of magma. But after going half circle, the eastern end of the canal is completely blocked by a massive flow of molten magma cascading like a waterfall.
"But that will not get him up through a lava flow any more than Ohrmizd's flying carpet will let Ohrmizd ascend that flow. My thought at this point is that we should revisit the maze of the fire doors and see if we can find another exit?"
At the sight of the magma cascade, Ohrmizd traces back to inform of his findings.
With his just gained skill to carpet-fly, he descends on the ledge, using the plinth as harbor "No luck there either. The tunnel is blocked by a magma waterfall."
"Let's check that maze, but I start to fear we just got out of Kakishon to be trapped in just another kind of warmer prison" the Keleshite sighs visibly frustrated "Other than that, I can only think on the whirlpool. But it looks too deadly for a likely exit..."
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Heshan nods in agreement. "But it would be funny seeing a flying deer around. Who knows? It might become the next great mode of transport." Other thought aside, he follows the others towards the maze.
It would be a bit complicated to get to the northern row of rooms, so Rayhan decides to take the risk to go through the first curtain in northern direction out of order.
The other rooms are reached by door 4 and 2 with no danger of burning.
The first room has a stylized vulture at the ceiling. The room is empty.
The second room is adorned with a scorpion. A small niche in the wall holds a perpetually burning flame with no visible fuel source.
The third has a salamander at the ceiling and contains a large harp constructed of ivory and copper that sits in the northwest corner, its post in the shape of a veiled maiden.
Returning from the last room back to the room with the lava flow is possible using the safe order of passages.
11 rank +3 trained
"That harp is magical, it will allow the performer to work suggestions into their music if they are sufficiently skilled."
Ohrmizd follows Rayhan's lead, avoiding most of the flames, then picking up the flame and the harp for the group.
"That is interesting, maybe we can use it to put a suggestion for someone to tell us how to escape this prison. That is..." the Keleshite frowns on the contradiction "...in the unluckily case we can find someone who knows how to get out and yet decided to stay here..."
His hand goes about the flame without actually seeming being burned "Interesting... it does not burn me, but it is not a continual flame, but something more... substantial..."
"Any idea on where else to look?"
"It could also be due to a guard staying here throughout their lives to prevent our genie friend's escape," Heshan suggested, playing around with the flame before taking a look at the carpet.
"What's this flame for? Other than a lot of the stuff we found, it wasn't just left on the floor, but has a special place."
vs DC 15
"Mmm... a special place you say? Why don't we just place it on the plinth?" Ohrmizd offers almost randomly "It looks like the most special place we have seen around"
He turns to Rayhan "Could you do that 4-2-1 thing just one more time and find us a way back to the ledge over the lava?"
If Rayhan finds back the way, Ohrmizd just does that and places the flame on the plinth.
The flame rests on the plinth, but nothing happens. This causes some discussions what to do now instead, as the group is running out of options to find a way out.
After ten minutes of discussion, about all the rooms and what secret passages might have been missed, a brass barge arrives out of the tunnel and stops at the landing. The brass in this city of brass seems to be very special as none of it is smelting, not even when swimming in lava.
The large barge woven from thousands of cords of coiled brass filaments floats serenely next to the landing to the south of the infernal cascade. The brass barge has a high prow at each end and an open-sided shelter in the center. Rowing benches line its deck, but there are no oars and no tiller. Atop each prow is a small concavity.
"Good thinking Rayhan, Ohrmizd. I am guessing if we put the flame in the concavity at the out from shore end of the brass boat, it will take us out of here. Clearly, we should have done a more careful job of interrogating the Azers; we could have used the clues... That said, should we go back and get them? They were not eveil, there is no food in this complex for them, and we are presumably about to be taking this boat and the calling talisman out of here."
Still heated by the discussions, Ohrmizd sees the boat appear with surprise "Oh, gosh, another ship. This is a repeating nightmare. And this time we are going to risk more than a damped shirt if we fall overboard."
"Yes, I think we should let the azers know and give them the chance to flee this place with us." the Keleshite will be glad to help the azers out, and will move back to let them know.
"That's what I thought too," Heshan replied with a shrug, saying in a surprisingly sage way. When the boat arrived, he grinned and checked on it.
"We already do not have to worry about the heat. We just need to make sure nothing tries to sink us. I should not be that hard."
Ohrmizd fetches the mamluks and with Omari placing the flame on the boat, after all boardes it, the boat slowly moves away from the landing again. Driving through the tunnel, it approaches the lava fall. The impenetrable curtain of lava parts and the boat passes through. At the room behind it moves to the landing and stops.
Most of this huge chamber is filled with a lake of molten rock, save for a landing with an ascending stair in the southeast corner. The ceiling soars high overhead, to a height of a hundred feet — from this height plummets a massive cascade of magma. The roar caused by this flume of molten rock is deafening and vibrates the very walls of the chamber, throwing off thousands of globs of lava that careen about the room like
burning hailstones. In the boat it is safe, as the molten rocks are deflected by it.
A flight of stairs rises from the back of the landing, spiraling upwards.
Omari looks to the Azers "Did you guys come through here before? Maybe you could tell us the full story of how you guys got in to Javhul's palace, not leaving out any details?"
2 ranks +3 trained
One of the mamluks explains that they are soldier-slaves belonging to an efreeti named Sammadar (who is now dead), who purchased them months ago from a fire mephit theocracy in the City of Brass. Originally there were two dozen azers. Sammadar and his henchman Grovth found a way into this efreeti palace, entering via the long network of lava-filled sewage tunnels and emerging into the vortex in area A2 using an ingenious combination of freedom of movement and other magic that they’ve since used up. Many azers were lost in the battle against the clay golems, in the room you found the rubble (A7).
Ohrmizd shields himself as the boat approaches to the lava waterfall "Well, Sarenrae, sorry for having been such a crappy follower! Let Garavel and Manuun have me in their thoughts from time to time!"
While the Keleshite does his last prayers, he slowly raises his head to see the cascade break itself to let the boat pass through. When they dock at the other side safely, he looks back not still sure of what they witnessed "Well, that was more scary than the edge of the world in Kakishon..."
Descending into the new ledge, he makes sure the group picks up the burning flame with them, in case they end trapped again in the fire labyrinth for whatever reason.
Ohrmizd listens attentively to the story of the azers "Well, that sounds like an adventure of itself. But I think we cannot consider that vortex as an option for us. We will have to explore where these stairs go"
"But just for the matter of improving our communication, let's give you a few names, you and you. I doubt my friends can pronounce your Ignean names, I will call you Fiery and Acero, is that fine with you?" Ohrmizd points randomly at two of the azers that seem to have the most initiative "You can serve us as spokesmen for your band while you do not chose a leader among you."
"So... Fiery, do you wish to come with us or you prefer to wait here while we explore upstairs?"
He uses detect magic here to sense if the aura Shazathared talked about is more clear here.
It was interesting information that was given to them to which Heshan replied to Omari. "It is an ingenious plan, but one we will not be able to use. Not even our protections could keep us safe from fully immersing ourselves in lava." He shrugged before turning towards the rock people.
"Did your boss even give you two names?"
... "Well, that was more scary than the edge of the world in Kakishon..."
"Agreed!" Omari sounds shaken.
"Still, we did it and survived. I guess we are trying the front door here."
While Ohrmizd is using Detect Magic to find the artifact's aura, Omari is as well, but his concerns are more immediate, he's looking for threats, and possible traps and wards on the stairs...
11 rank +4 wis+5 racial+2 favored terrain (elemental fire)
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"We'll wait here for now." Fiery replies.
Omari is not surprised that the former Mamluks are not interested in further exploration, "Well, we do not keep slaves, so you are slaves no longer, and can make your own decisions. That one is probably wise." He does, however, make sure that the party has the solidified flame that controls and calls the lava boat - not wanting to be trapped here himself.
He then speaks up about what he has observed: "I think there might be a trap at the top of the stairs, where that strange bronze circle on the wall is. There is no wall or railing on the far side of the plaform - if something pushed you, you would fall directly into the lava..."
"Understood Fiery. We will let you know of whatever we find." Ohrmizd nods to the azers then moves to the stairs.
Ohrmizd hears to Omari's observations "In that case, we should try to go into the stairs without depending on them to hold ourselves."
The Keleshite extends the carpet in the floor again and says "Leviosa!" before moving into the stairs for exploration.
Ohrmizd will take someone with him if needed.
"Suit yourself." Heshan shrugs.
When Omari stated his case, he nodded. "Then allow me to take this precaution..." With a flurry, he would cast Overland Flight on himself for some added aerial insurance before joining Ohrmizd in the carpet.
Omari requests: "Hold up a second."
Before Ohrmizd takes off, Omari sticks a hand outside the boats shelter, to gauge the intensity of the bombardment of lava droplets...
Omari gets hit on his hand by a lump of lava. It is hot to the touch.
...
While not the mechanical expert that Manuun was, Omari does think his eyes are as good as any around. He takes a suspicious look at the door before anyone mucks with it:
11 rank +4 wis+5 racial+2 favored terrain (elemental fire)