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"Nina's nature?"
Inky considers how best to respond. "Hmm. Nina's a good egg. I mean, she's no saint like one of those Iomedae holy-rollers or anything but she does what she can to help other people, even if they don't always deserve it and even after I've told her a hundred times it'll get her killed one of these days."
"But...if she were any different then I probably wouldn't like her as much as I do," the eidolon adds, more softly. Then she grumbles, "Can't believe you made me have to admit that out loud..."
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Seldanna looks down at the tattoo on her arm and shrugs. "Ah, yes as Teric says we obtained these not long ago as a means of gaining access into the Lissalan cult to strike at them from within. It is actually quite a useful bit of magic. I find it's good to keep one's mind open to both dark and light. Shades of grey are highly underrated, I find."
The deva listens to your answers, then nods slowly. "You have answered honestly and shown courage. Whilst I do not agree with some of your choices, the fates of your souls are in your own hands.
It is clear that you are not tomb robbers. And I may have been misled by my conjuror. But as I have established the truth, my compact cannot require me to deny you access. Recover your equipment, and pass. Furthermore, as reward for your virtue, I gift you the payment that I was given."
The angel proffers a small sack which contains many sparkling jewels. Then it flaps its golden wings and takes off. Moments later it vanishes. The way is clear.
The impossibly large blocks of the shrine’s walls are in such good condition that they seem to have been laid only decades ago. Carved into the stone, spiky script is clearly visible throughout the room. Stone double doors stand in the east and west walls. Each is decorated with a seven-pointed star, and each blade of a star displays a spiky rune. One rune per star glows with an amber light that illuminates the room. A score of muddy footprints show the way into the shrine. A passageway to the south leads to another lit room. The air inside the shrine is cool and fresh.
Three dirt-covered, bald Shoanti sit quietly against the northern wall. A foppish Taldan gentleman and a thin dwarven woman stand nearby.
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Shel takes the lead, as her natural position, protecting her group. She slowly advances, carefully examining the entrance until she sees the group ahead. She throws up her left hand behind her, warning the others that something was ahead.
Shel kept her hands empty and slowly began approaching the three. ”What are you three doing here? Are you alright,” she asks as she draws closer.
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"Thank you, Mister Angel!" Nina waves as the deva appears to fly off and simply disappear, perhaps via a Teleport or something.
As she begins to re-don her armor and gear, she smiles brightly. "That went better than I thought it would!"
As the group ambles into the shrine, Nina blinks to see a number of people just sort of...hanging out.
"Um...hello?" she cautiously calls out.
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Almaas strides along the muddy trail, scrutinising the people he sees. The dwarf woman purses her lips and plays with the gold braids in her hair. She seems much more interested in the stone of the shrine walls than in the new arrivals. The fop seems relieved, then angry as Almaas, Shel and Teric ignore him and approach the three Shoanti. The Shoanti are quiet; two of them seem fearful. But Almaas determines that the calmest of the three is in fact under a compulsion spell.
One of the fearful Shoanti speaks in accented Common. "We are of the Sklar-Quah. We should return to our lands, but we do not know the way and the mountains are full of giants and worse. What is this place? Why are we here?"
The fop seems about to shout at the three pathfinders who pass him by, but then he catches Nina's eye and smiles. "A-ha! The rescue detail! About time! I knew you'd arrive soon enough. It simply won't do to have the Marquis Haywood languishing in some forsaken dungeon!"
"Ab... abducted?" the dwarf woman answers, somewhat confused. "Is that what happened? Well, anyway, I think you have to see this as an opportunity. Look at this stone! It's remarkable, truly, I've not seen the like anywhere else." She studies Almaas, appraising him. "Hmm. Longbow. Symbol of Erastil. You're no forge-freak." She switches to Dwarven:
"Меня зовут Уоттли Баттлсворт. Я подумываю об экспедиции по добыче этого камня. В Магнимаре или Корвосе это стоило огромного состояния. У вас есть коммерческие интересы?"
Daedîn notes that none of the people here are armed. The runes on the walls and doors look to be Thassilonian.
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Teric motions for the others to attend to the Shoanti and the dwarf. He turns to the Marquis and bows. "Sir, an honor to meet you. I am Trade Prince Teric Cain, and this lovely is Nina. We are indeed here to help. May I ask how you and the others got here? Are these your men? How long have you been here?"
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Almaas is slightly confused.
He answers in Dwarven.
”My lady, I think that you have been affected by some kind of spell! I can see that the stone is remarkable! And you are absolutely right that it would be possible to sell this to many interested parties and make a nice margin! But now it is time to think about yourself!!“
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"You could call us a rescue detail, yeah," Nina nods at the Marquis. "But, um, you don't remember how you got here?" she asks, looking at not just the Marquis but at the other individuals as well. "Nothing at all? Just woke up here?" We are here to help but there might be badmen somewhere close by, so if you can remember anything about how you got here it might help us protect you if they show up again!"
Nina looks around, decidedly uneasy about all of this.
Did that angel not see these people come in?
"In fact...I'm going to use some magic to protect myself and Inky here, in case they show up. To help me help you, you know!"
Assuming this doesn't seem like it's going to alarm them, Nina then casts Mage Armor on Inky and then Barkskin on both Inky and herself.
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"A-ha, you've remembered your manners!" The Marquis replies to Teric. "A trade prince, eh? Well, Prince Cain, it's funny you should ask. I was on my way in to Kaer Maga, to visit the famous Blushing Rose, when the Fat Man suggested that I'd enjoy a sightseeing tour of the Wyvern Mountains. For some reason that escapes me now, I agreed. The Fat Man told me I wouldn't need Bessie, he had something better, so I left her behind. Poor Bessie, I do hope she's alright. I confess I did rather enjoy the ride on the ghost horse that the Fat Man summoned, dashed fast it was. But then a couple of days ago we just stopped at this hillside. And then the Fat Man made me and these other folks we picked up along the way dig for him. Can you imagine?" The dandy is clearly incredulous. "Me, the Marquis Haywood, digging?! The sheer indignity of it." The Marquis' fine riding clothes are indeed covered in dried mud.
The Marquis also answers Nina. "Oh, I do remember the journey. Dashed fast riding ghost horses, as I was saying. Then we must have spent two days digging, oh dear gods!" He stops to pick dried mud off his gold-trimmed waistcoat. "We hit a stone wall and the Fat Man used a spell to vanish it away! Then the Fat Man told us all to wait here. He and his fellows went that way" he points to the southern passage. "A short time later, after what sounded like a scuffle, they emerged through those doors" he points to the double door to his left "Then they all went through the doors opposite. We heard voices speaking a ghastly-awful tongue, and one of them was a woman I think - some ancient hag I'm certain. The Fat Man hasn't come back, but it can't have been more than a couple of hours."
The dwarf woman, Battlesworth, answers Almaas.
"Я вполне мог быть под воздействием заклинания, но сейчас не в этом дело. Я думаю о себе. Столкнувшись с невзгодами, нужно искать возможности. Я подумал, что, возможно, вы будете видеть все по-моему и заинтересуетесь вложением средств в мою обратную экспедицию. Если я ошибался насчет этого, то это твоя потеря."
"Well, he was sweaty, but he didn't look Chelish. More Varisian I'd say."
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Seldanna heads over to study the runes on the doors.
"Hmmm, prayers to Lissala. Encouraging obedience with the promise of rewards for the faithful. There seem to be references to Thassilonaian sins...the one that stands for evocation is the one that is glowing!"
Expecting danger may not be too far away, Seldanna also decides it may be time to protect herself. She pulls out her mage armor wand to tap herself, before also boosting her health.
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Teric nods. "Excellent, Marquis. You have a keen sense of perception. How many men did he have with him?"
"I suspect the Fat Man may have used a spell on you. Would you allow me to examine you? It may be wearing off if you can tell us these details, but I would like to be sure. If you are alright, would you be willing to lead these others out of this cave? You can either wait for us outside or make your way back to Kaer Maga, though there are dangers in the wilds."
"There were six other fellows, if you don't count those you see before you now" the Marquis answers Teric. "Didn't look quite right, those chaps, but one could never see their faces under their hoods. I don't recall ever hearing them speak either. Strange, that.
You seem like a decent chap. Go ahead and cast your spell, Prince Cain. I don't think it's a good idea to go outside though. It's dashed hot out there, and none of us is armed. You're the rescue detail. You'll take us back to Kaer Maga. Or Magnimar. Yes, Magnimar would be preferable. After all, I seem to have left my coin on Bessie. And I doubt very much I shall see her again."
Teric detects no lingering auras on the Marquis - but realises that even a very powerful spell's aura would fade within an hour.
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"Ehhhhh....I don't like leaving these guys alone but it's definitely going to be too dangerous further in," Nina sighs. "Maybe sit riiiiiight there, at the entrance? It should hopefully be safe enough until we take care of those guys and come back."
Maybe that angel will keep an eye on them? Or at least slow up anything or anyone else that comes wandering up to the door.
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"Let's head south and see what's around the corner," Nina suggests. "If there's anyone or anything behind the two doors here," she gestures to the east and to the west, "then they'll have to come through them first before they can get to us, so we should hopefully be able to hear them coming. If anyone comes for us, I mean. They might not. There might not even be anything behind either door. But, um, we shouldn't leave our backs open, right?"
Daedîn peers around the corner, followed by Nina and Inky.
Near the north wall of this chamber stands a statue of a half-snake, half-human creature covered in Thassilonian runes. The folded arms of the female creature’s torso hold a quill and a whip. Six wings grace her back, and her lower body is a coiled serpent. In place of her head, a disk with a seven-pointed star, each point with a different rune, completes the amalgamation. The statue faces a huge circular door embossed with the same seven-pointed rune.
Daedîn notes that the whip and quill held by the statue are not made of stone like the rest of the statue is.
There's another opening in the northern wall, past the statue.
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Assuming that Daedîn gives an all-clear, Nina & Inky edge up a bit further and take in the sight of the very strange staue...
...but the meaning is lost on the gnome.
"Wow, that's one ugly statue," she whispers to Inky.
Mindful to keep giving Daedîn some space, the duo continue to hang back near the corner - but that doesn't stop Nina from scanning the chamber for magical auras. Well, what parts she can reach, anyway.
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Teric notes that the Wrath (evocation) rune on each door radiates magic - the effect is obvious, there is a Continual Flame spell on every such rune, providing light in the shrine.
Nina detects magic on both the whip and the quill in the statue's hands. The whip's aura is faint; the quill's is strong.
You could learn more by examining the items with Spellcraft - if you handle them.
Shel discovers that the statue bears a magical trap - but she can't tell what the effect will be. She could try to deface it to disable the magic - but there's always a risk with such traps, often they go off at the merest touch.
Shel holds her nerve and her breath, and scrapes a line across Lissala's sihedron face. Nothing happens. The rogue is confident that she's disabled the trap - whatever it was.
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Seldanna catches the quill as it cartwheels across the room towards her. "Oh! Yes, nicely done Shel...now, what have we here?"
"A Pearl of Power in a quill. That's actually rather clever. Could come in handy...particularly since I seemed to have forgotten a couple of spells that I prepared this morning." She tucks the feather into her pouch.
Where to now, Pathfinders?
Teric casts a couple of spells and looks around the corner.
The bas-reliefs on this chamber’s walls depict Lissalan liturgical practices. Acolytes bowing to statues and altars, clergy branding themselves with the Sihedron rune, and flagellations are a common theme. The floor has large brown-stained patches.
In the dim light of the back of the chamber Teric sees a horse.
Knowledge (religion) DC21
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