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"You do good work there," Tsamara remarks as she watches Tibitz work, perhaps leaning over him a little *too* closely in order to watch. "Bridge-building and bridge-repairing were always useful skills to have in my homeland. Is it the same for yours?"
Assuming that the path really is secure at this point, Tsamara will also cross when her turn arrives.
Heryn takes the opportunity to note some of the stock while the Pathfinders get sorted.
Onye climbs with a skillful grace in and out of the fissure. Before Aurora has to think too much about how she'll get across, Tibitz adeptly reinforces the board. Shoving a few things here, adjusting the alignment there, applying some percussive maintenance, he eventually gets it exactly the way he wants it.
As he confidently strides across the board, it doesn't even bend, much less wobble. Tsamara follows suit, only just slightly bending it. Aurora carefully moves across last. The board bends noticeably, but thanks to Tibitz's fiddling, it remains stable and holds her weight (pack included)!
Closing her notepad and stowing her pen, Heryn continues leading the group to a wine rack in the back. "Let me get that for you and you can be on your way!" Standing in front of the rack, she counts off the bottles. "4200, 4201, 4202, 4203, 4204, 4205, 4206!"
The bottle in question is a made of a deep green glass and is covered in a thick layer of dust. Heryn moves to pull it from the rack, but instead of sliding out, like any wine bottle should, it instead hinges in the back! Without making a sound, the entire rack hinges open into a stone tunnel with a single glowing orb 30ft down.
"The hell is this? In all my years... Would you Pathfinders mind scoping that out for me? I've no idea what's back there, but I think y'all are better prepared for, well, anything, than I am!" she pleads, stepping away from the entrance.
A sturdy silver chain jutting from the ceiling ends in a glowing orb that radiates yellow light across the rectangular room. A simple desk of polished wood, stacked with documents and scattered notes, shelters a pair of wooden chests against the south wall. A series of cracks along the eastern and western walls form makeshift entrances into exposed caverns.
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"Thank-you Tibitz! I was a little concerned there. Here, have a buffalo wing, they're good! I've never seen a buffalo, but I think they must be about chicken-sized judging by their wings."
Aurora takes out her flint and steel, then looks for a torch and finds none. "Darn it, I left my torches with my horse! Does anyone have one, it's too dark in here?"
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"Oh! A secret!"
Tsamara's eyes glitter and her tail swishes back and forth as the rack swings open to reveal the tunnel beyond.
"You really don't know why this is here?" she asks of Heryn. "Well, good thing we are here to have a look at it!"
Though clearly curious and eager to explore, Tsamara does restrain herself to allow Onye and/or Tibitz to take the lead if they wish.
"Direct confrontation isn't really my specialty - probably for the best if I stay back with Aurora. But no, I don't have any torches with me right now. There's a light though, see?" she points.
Once the group moves a bit further down the tunnel and into the chamber beyond, Tsamara looks around cautiously. "Maybe there is magic in here! I can check..."
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As Onye is preparing to enter, Tibitz places his hand on this hip as if his meager strength could hold him back and whispers...
"This place dark and secret door stuff means they knows about trapy things... I better go first... who knows better way not to get into traps than me?" Tibitz smiles to reveal his large teeth.
"I know sneaking things and trapy things remember? Yes, yes, me go."
Tibitz will cautiously enter, scanning for traps and using stealth while holding his cold iron dagger at the ready.
After agreeing, more or less, on a formation, you proceed forward.
Not detecting any traps, Tibitz quietly stalks forward, followed by Onye, Tsamara and Aurora giving some space before following.
As Tsamara firmly calls upon the power of her magic, the sound of what can only be the urgent scurrying of a creature with an exoskeleton erupts from the peripheral tunnels!
Just on the edge of visibility, a pair of scorpions scuttle into view by their respective tunnels. These man-sized, bulky scorpions have thick, unyielding armor that makes it almost seem to be made of stone.
******
Global Effects: None
Initiative:
Aurora
Onye
Tsamara
Red
Tibitz
Orange
Bold may go!
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That's a Cave Scorpion! They are medium sized vermin.
Fortunately for these arachnids, the jab of Tsamara's spear and the slice of Onye's glaive only manage to crash into their hardened armor! Aurora's desire to consume the scorpions, on the other hand, is enough to crack their shells a little.
In a mad dash to get in some feeding for itself, a scorpion tries to scuttle past the desk, but Onye lays an expertly timed swing across it's back, splitting it's exoskeleton with a satisfying squelch.
******
Global Effects: None
Initiative:
Aurora
Onye
Tsamara
Red (-18, Sickened, 2 rounds) Unconscious
Tibitz
Orange (-2)
Bold may go!
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Tibitz learned a long time ago in Absolum's filthy sewers that you never give vermin a chance to attack you... you attack them first and go for the soft underbelly every time.
Tibitz will move and attack the creature (orange) with several quick slashes of his blade.
"Make attacks QUICKLY! YES, YES!"
If opponent is flat-footed
Tibitz sinks his dagger into the remaining scorpion and finds that he's able to catch something vital as it's mandibles flail in pain. In return, it tries snipping at his arms and stinging at his face! Pathetically, it only manages to add it's limbs to the painful flailing and the little Ratfolk is spared any repercussions.
******
Global Effects: None
Initiative:
Aurora
Onye
Tsamara
Red (-18, Sickened, 2 rounds) Unconscious
Tibitz
Orange (-6)
Bold may go!
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Ready to save the day, Onye winds up for another crushing blow. Expertly, and with a little divine aid, he slices the scorpion open.
Rude hosts handled, the cave falls silent once more.
You feel the gentle weight of a fly clinging to your ear, yet instead of a reflexive repulsion, you feel... safe. The sensation is quite similar to being at the height of your daily prayers.
It begins buzzing and, strangely, you're able to derive meaning from the noise!
"For your faith most true, I bequeath upon thee the answer to thy question... command the Human Heryn for the cooks above to provide you with a substance known as 'butter.'"
As suddenly as the fly arrived, it is gone.
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"That was a refreshing warm-up," he says. He pulls a rag from his belt and wipes down the long blade of his pole-arm. "While I am very interested to know what is hidden in here, I will keep watch while the rest of you inspect."
He adjusts his grip on the glaive to be ready to attack while keeping his eyes and his nose attentive to the cracks in the cave walls.
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"What's that light coming from?" Aurora asks as she drags the two land-lobsters into a heap. "These are for dinner. A little fly told me just how to prepare them." Aurora licks her lips at the thought, then scoffs another chicken wing.
"Huh. Finished them all, look." Aurora sets down her plate and casts a Detect Magic spell, which she uses to scan the hidden room.
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"That went well," Tsamara agrees, brightly. "Even though I didn't really...do anything. See, this is why I said it would work better for me to stay near the rear with Aurora."
She frowns as she stares down at her hands. "I want to do more but I know I have to be patient. But being patient is hard."
"But anyway...now that dinner is taken care of for later, let's look around," she agrees as she too moves to peer down one of the nearby tunnels.
Aurora casts her spell and, after sweeping the room, finds that the glowing rock hanging from the chain is emitting a faint aura of evocation.
You're confident that a continual flame spell has been cast upon the rock.
Under the protection of Onye, Tibitz and Tsamara are able to search the desk thoroughly. Properly examining the files on the desk leads the pair to the following conclusions:
Which begs the question: What do you do now?
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"Oh, I'm certain he knew there was something other than wine here! Let's see now... we have an architect's mausoleum, a wizard's house, and the wall of names to investigate. How long do gnomes live for? Should we expect the wizard to be dead?"
Aurora thinks for a moment whilst she drags the dead land-lobsters towards the exit.
"Tsamara, it's probably obvious to everybody but that light is magical. I have yet to take any spellcraft classes - something I fully intend to remedy - what about you?"
She looks at her empty plate wistfully.
"We're stopping for dinner first, right?"
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"Did we not just eat?" Onye likely blasphemes.
"Starters, Onye. Starters. And now the Divine Princess has provided us a bounty! It would be a sin to refuse!
Heryn?!" Aurora calls back towards the inn. "Heryn?! Put a pot on the fire please. A large one. And you're going to need plenty of something called 'butter'!"
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Tibitz can hardly contain his pleasure, "We have big Path-venture now. Yes, yes. We find more clues and maybe some treasure too! Yes, yes."
Tibitz becomes more cautious as he speaks and begins to whispers to the rest of the group as if the walls suddenly sprouted ears, "We needs to keep this Path-venture quite. If we tell the big-names they might take this away from us! We find it, yes, yes... it is OURS!"
Tibitz smiles, "Finds a secret, keeps a secret. Yes, yes."
Taking a few minutes to shuffle over the notes he addes, "We should go to musel...museble...mukusl...burial place to get Path-venture started. Yes, yes, Path-venture!"
"A pot? For wha- OH! You're just going to drag those through my pub? Wait, you want those cooked? I, um..." Heryn blanches for a moment.
"How about this: I'll try to convince the cook to do something with those, in honor for the work you just did for us. I surely would have lost a staff member if we handled it on our own. It'll take time though, and... some research to figure out what to do with them. Fair?" she offers, handing you a bottle of wine. "So you don't return empty handed."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TOMB OF ARKATH THE STONEMASON
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Thanks to the map Drandle Dreng provided you and the details left by Selmius Foster, finding the mausoleum in question is a simple task. Arriving at a fenced off plot of land in Eastgate, two observations immediately strike you: the first being that this area is run by Asmodeans, the second that there are regular patrols of the city guard. Fortunately, the gates are wide open and several people appear to be coming and going after paying respects to some of the graves.
Near the entrance is a sturdy podium with a crude but neat map, showing labels for each of the stone-sealed tombs. The tomb of Arkath the Stonemason lies to the North and is the only tomb with a priest stationed in front of it...
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"You cook them in butter - probably the same way you do sea-lobsters? I'll be back later to sample them, but thankyou for the wine." Aurora smiles at Heryn, sweeps the few morsels of her meal that she hasn't yet eaten into a little bag, and heads out to collect her horse for the journey to the mausoleum.
Aurora notes the priest on guard and nods to him. "Good day sir. We are here to pay our respects. This is the tomb of Arkath, yes?"
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Tsamara studies the light for a few moments, tail twitching as she does. She opens her mouth, about to speak...and then snaps it closed again. She sighs.
"Almost. I almost had it, it's on the tip of my tongue, but I can't remember..."
Her tail swishes with agitation.
"I hate it when that happens!"
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"Hello," Tsamara greets the priest, holding up her hands with her palms facing inward. "My companion is right, we are here to pay our respects...but I see that this tomb is different from the others. You are standing guard and none of the other tombs have one. Is there a reason why?"
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Tibitz really isn't a particularly religious Ratfolk, but he knows to give the fanatical followers of Asmodeus all the fear and respect they deserve.
Tibitz makes the following observations and suggestions to his companions.
"They only need guards if they have treasure or secrets inside, yes, yes?"
"We needs to be very careful so no hell-spawns things get brought here, scary-things."
"I sneaky-hide and get behind and back around?"
If the group decides they want Tibitz to sneak to the rear of the tomb or just get in a position of advantage he will attempt to do so. If not, he will approach with the group.
You are able to tuck behind one of the tombs and start making your way to the tomb in question. You notice that none of the tombs you pass have back doors, suggesting the actual places of rest are underground.
You can either:
1. Continue to an advantageous position (in the event a fight breaks out, though it might be a little untoward if you pop out to join the group as they enter. Meeting up with them as they exit would be no problem though.)
2. Rejoin the group before they meet with the Asmodean
The priest adjusts his grip on his heavy mace, the three fingers of his right hand now resting in use-worn grooves in the handle as you approach. His chin is raised so high in the air, it is about level with where his eyes would be if his head were positioned normally.
"Mmm, yes quite a surplifulous day it is. Indeed," he says slowly, looking down his face at you. "Hmph, surely you liggles can read? Yes, quite, Arkath's Tomb lies yonder-thin, and I guard it," he now rests the head of the mace in his four fingered lefthand, "because the faithful of the King of Hell have decried it." He turns his head and looks sideways at you.
He is trying reeeaaallly hard to to fulfill his (flawed) notion of what it means to be imperious.
You're pretty sure three of those words aren't standard Common, and there was another instance where he used a word incorrectly.
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"Ah, now I see," Tsamara whispers. "Your Taldane is a strange language and has many strange words to start with, so I wasn't sure. Thank you!"
Now with a better idea of how to proceed, Tsamara offers an enthusiastic nod in response to Onye's words. "Oh yes, very important," she agrees. "Only one that is most discerning would be set to guard such an important place."
"We now understand just how valuable your time must be...but if you will humor us for a short time we would like to visit this wonderous site for ourselves, if it is allowed?"
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From your vantage point, you're able to observe the party expertly play the priest like a fiddle. While you don't suspect hostilities will develop at this point, the priest is entirely unaware of your presence.
"I must be, indeed!" he agrees proudly to Onye, puffing his chest out a little bit at the acknowledgement. Leaving no room for him to doubt his obviously superior social standing, Tsamara piles on the accolades and compliments, under the gentle guidance of Aurora.
He closes his eyes (or perhaps just the one, not like you can see the other to begin with) and frowns. His brow furrows, unfurrows, then furrows again.
"Hmmmmmm..."
"Very well. I, Durward, have deemed this bequeathery within my judgemidiction. Scamper forth!" he proclaims with a sweep of his arm. Resting the mace on his shoulder, he steps aside and allows you to pass.
Now inside, you can see that the area is empty save for the stonemason’s long-dead skeleton laying on a raised stone slab. As the door opens and light enters, there is a glint of light near the skeletons skull. Further inspection reveals some sort of ancient silver coin.
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"You are most gracious, noble Durward" says Aurora as she flops off her mount as gracefully as she can manage, and ties the beast's reins to a nearby tree. She squirms into the tomb.
"Well it's a lot less ornate than I expected. I'm a little disappointed, to be truthful." She takes in the skeleton, with its strange lower limbs. Weird creatures, these land-dwellers. I've used 'legs' from time to time, but they're just not right!
"A coin of some sort. Let's see it. Tibitz, is it safe? Sometimes people set traps in tombs, and it would be just like a secretive stonemason to do that."
Without touching the skeleton, nor the coin, Aurora makes a prayer to her goddess and looks more closely.
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"Why don't they put their dead in the ground?" Tsamara wonders aloud, nose wrinkled with distaste. "It seems like a waste of time and resources to build buildings for the dead..."
She looks decidedly uneasy as Onye casually reaches out and removes the shiny coin from its resting spot. "Hopefully their spirit has moved on and won't mind us taking this...well, if it was theirs to begin with, I mean. Does it have any words on it?"
Tsamara leans in for a closer look.
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"Grave monuments can serve many purposes, Tsamara" says Aurora matter-of-factly.
"Sometimes it's to honour the dead and their accomplishments in life. Sometimes it's an undertaking for the living who want to remember. And sometimes it's because you want a nice house: would you be happy living in a horizontal wooden box buried underground?"
Aurora raps the stone underneath the skeleton. I wonder if Arkath built a house down there?
With your attention on the priest, it is evident he believes he is alone. After looking briefly around to ease his fears, he starts recreating the conversation he just had with the party. The embellishments are substantial and focus around the party being more subservient than they were, while his own actions are even more proud and "generous."
He is very pleased throughout his little performance.
Onye scoops up the coin moments before Aurora is confident there aren't any traps or other hidden mechanisms. Beyond the weight of a piece of silver in the Catfolk's hand, nothing happens.
Tsamara's closer inspection doesn't reveal any form of writing on the coin. The only thing she is certain about is that it looks to be quite old. Older than the skeleton, even.
Aurora's sounding of the stone betrays the likelihood that this stonemason might have been considerably less imaginative than she is.
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"But...I wouldn't be alive inside the box. I'd be dead and it wouldn't matter to me what the box looked like or if there even was a box at all," Tsamara points out, clearly confused by parts of Aurora's logic. "But if this is how the dead are taken care of in these lands then I understand. Wasn't meaning to be rude."
When Onye speculates that the coin might be enchanted in some manner, Tsamara turns her attention back to the matter at hand and nods. "Oh, that would make sense! Let me check..."
She mutters a few words and stares hard at the coin, looking for magical auras.