Enora will go next.
"I do not want to seem too paranoid, Holy One, but we shall go one at a time and each of us will redon our shed armor, weapons and gear before the next one subjects themselves to your questioning. Though our trust in you is growing, this is still a dangerous area and having all of us without our magical items at once is only begging for those powers that have our ill fortune in mind to strike," Kyra says. She waits her turn to shed her items and subject herself to the truth demanding spell.
She repeats what she originally said and does not resist.
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Anton reveals himself. He is a 6ft 4 grey-skinned 'human?' His arms and legs clearly belonged to other bodies (monstrous grafts). His right arm is nearly twice the size of his left yet both arms seem to be in a constant start of size flux.
"I am to be joining you on this mission but I stayed back for as long as I needed to." he says in a calm assertive baritone voice.
The Deva points at Enora who makes demands that the Deva obviously dislikes ... and his voice thunders.
"I AM AN ANGEL! A CELESTIAL BEING OF GOOD!" he shouts but suddenly he looks back at the complex and this makes the Deva uncertain again and he looks at Enora again.
"We shall see how your words are fair to the truth after you have discarded your magical items."
The Angel also sees that Dr. Plex seems to be trustworthy and then seems to be in thoughts for a moment.
He casts Discern Lies on each of you.
"What is your purpose here? Will You plunder this sacred shrine? Will you desecrate it with foul magics? Do you fight for the cause of good? Sacrificing your own needs for the protection of others?"
After you have given your answer one by one the Deva shakes his head.
"Your honesty and answers make me question the legitimacy of my bargain, but without my caller here to defend his honor, I will not break my contract."
He takes a look at all of you.
"You all seem worthy to enter this sacred shrine."
You see that the Deva is angry .. not because of your group but the realization that evil might have used his power.
"You may take your belongings and carry on your task. May the Gods speed you along in your sacred duty! And ... and avenge me!."
He vanishes again in front of your eyes but those with acute senses hear his footsteps moving away.
You cautiously move onward and prepare yourself.
* * *
Each door in the shrine has the Sihedron rune on both sides, and each Sihedron glows with an unnatural flame originating from a rune. This provides the room with normal light in a 20-foot radius from the door and dim light 20 feet beyond that. The double doors are unlocked and swing open silently—opening a door in the shrine uses up 5 feet of movement.
If not held open, a door swings closed after 1 round. The walls are worked stone, and the ceilings are 20 feet tall. The air inside the shrine is oddly fresh, and the temperature remains comfortable thanks to ancient magic still in operation.
Inside the entry way 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. Also in the western wall, a short square tunnel leads back outside, with a score of muddy footprints showing the way.
A passageway to the south leads to another lit room. The air inside the shrine is cool and fresh.
You enter carefully.
You see the following.
One male and two female dirt-covered, bald Shoanti sit quietly against the northern wall.
Next to them is a disheveled dwarven woman and a foppish and muddied Taldoran noble.
The Taldoran noble looks blankly at you.
” By... By the gods are you real?!“ He asks in a hushed tone.
The phrases are lauding the rewards that Lissala grants to those that obey!
Mylvwara can detect a divination and diminishing enchantment effect on the Shoanti.
The Taldan steps forward and looks a little surprised when you start casting spells.
”I am “Marquis" Jeor Haywood!!“ says the foppish Taldan gentleman bedecked in a deep blue waistcoat with gold trim and what were once matching trousers. Dried mud now covers the entirety of his calf-high riding boots and most of his breeches.
His moustache and goatee, however, are meticulously groomed.
”You have to rescue me! The ... the fat man and his entourage kidnapped me ... well ... I don’t understand why I initially agreed to follow the man! I insists you call me “Marquis” Haywood and do your duty and get me out of here small man!“ he says to you while continually attempting to pick dried mud off his clothing.
When you approach the female dwarf stands up and starts speaking as well.
”Oh thanks!! My name is Wattlee ... “, she is a relatively thin dwarven woman, indicating that she spends more time behind a desk than in front of a forge.
”... I have to admit that I am intrigued by the enormity of the stone blocks that make up the walls! You seem like capable adventurers. We should formulate a plan to finance an expedition here to quarry the stone!“ she says pursing her lips as she rubs the gold rings braided into her long, black hair.
She continues, ”I think he charmed us all. The people there too!!" she says nodding to the Shoanti.
"Have worked without rest since we arrived though. The fat man seemed to have even greater control over them."
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"Yes, your minds have been controlled. Perhaps to dig through the entrance; perhaps to get past the angel who guards this place."
She nods to the Shoanti, "He is still enchanted and may be some sort of unknowing guard. Both enchantments and divinations lie across him. Tread carefully."
She turns back to the Taldan and the dwarf, "Are you able to step outside? It may be safer to leave this site. Once we are done, we will escort you to safety."
"Yes, my friends, it will be much safer if you all wait outside. I don't know what trouble we're going to find in here, but trouble it will definitely be," Kyra says.
She'll do what she can to usher them all out of the chamber.
"Do you think the kidnappings were random?" she asks the other Pathfinders. "Were they just looking for slaves and grabbing anyone convenient?"
Enora casts mage armor on herself. She detects magic around the room.
"Marquis Heywood, were you all together when you were recruited, or did you arrive at different times?"
"Yes, my friends, it will be much safer if you all wait outside. I don't know what trouble we're going to find in here, but trouble it will definitely be," Kyra says.
She'll do what she can to usher them all out of the chamber.
"Do you think the kidnappings were random?" she asks the other Pathfinders. "Were they just looking for slaves and grabbing anyone convenient?"
The marquis almost wanted to lash out in anger at Kyra when she compares him with a slave when he realised where he is.
“Stop asking dumb questions and take care of this!!“ he shouts.
"The fat man and his monsters went around the corner there," The Marquis says.
Pointing to the hallway in the south behind you, to the right of the entry way.
"There were sounds of a struggle, then a few hours later he came through the door right there."
He motions to the eastern double door.
Enora casts mage armor on herself. She detects magic around the room.
"Marquis Heywood, were you all together when you were recruited, or did you arrive at different times?"
“We all came here together Sli ... eh .. nothing!“ he says and almost bites his tongue.
"Yes, your minds have been controlled. Perhaps to dig through the entrance; perhaps to get past the angel who guards this place."
She nods to the Shoanti, "He is still enchanted and may be some sort of unknowing guard. Both enchantments and divinations lie across him. Tread carefully."
She turns back to the Taldan and the dwarf, "Are you able to step outside? It may be safer to leave this site. Once we are done, we will escort you to safety."
The Shoanti are truly intimidated and don’t want to act now it seems.
The dwarf comes nearer eagerly!
”I know that Naroth is the name of the fat man. He and his two hooded companions first went toward that area and subsequently emerged from the doors to this area . They next entered that room and spoke a strange language with a creepy-sounding woman. Naroth told us to stay here before the door swung closed!“
-
You receive almost no reaction from the Shoanti but the Taldan and the merchant dwarf are genuinely glad to see you all.
They accept your advice and retreat to the area where the deva disappeared and seem to wait.
[dice=Sense Motive]1d20+7
[dice=diplomacy]1d20+11
"It's time to stop playing around, ya hear? There is too much at stake fer you fellas to be bumbling around a story like yer are. Now tell us what happened."
The female Shoanti shake their heads but the male Shoanti now looks at Edmund.
”We are brave warriors but we saw what this big man can do! We would all die and that is the reason why my sisters did not try to escape or to free me because we would not have stood a chance! I .. I want to be honest ... we can’t help ... “ he says in shame.
** ROOM 4 **
As Edmund rounds the corner he sees a statue of a halfsnake, 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.
It detects magical.
You identify the statue as a depiction of Lissala.
The whip and quill that the statue is holding are not made of stone like the rest of the statue.
The rest of the room is empty, there's a caved in entrance to the east.
The room does look like it has been cleaned recently.
This is a pearl of power 1st level.
This is a whip +1.
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Following behind his large companion, Edmund rounds the corner. His magically enhanced vision locking in on the statue itself.
Now, isn't that odd?
A quick hand wave, and his eyes go white. In his mind, he reaches out to the statue from a safe distance, closely inspecting the quill and whip.
Edmund does not feel anything peculiar with sift.
"That's Lissala. Or at least a representation of her. I want nothing to do with her accursed items," Kyra says, examining the statue and then listening as the truth of the item's it's holding is revealed.
"Let us move on."
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"I agree. The fact that these were left is surprising to me- the men who came in here surely would have taken them had they known what whey were"
Edmund gently taps Kissan's hind quarters and she pads off forward and into the next room, Edmund following behind her. Feeling increased tension in this place- he gently touches the starknife at his side, and is surrounded by a tinkle of purple, before doing the same for Kissan
** ROOM 3 **
You move forward and look into the next room.
This 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.
This room is largely empty, but the floor has large patches stained brown.
You have been adventuring long enough to realize that this is dried blood on the ground.
Looking at the walls it is obvious that these blood stains come from the many years worshipers came here to flagellate themselves in worship of Lissala.
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Mylvwara uses her shining wayfinder to cast a spell over herself .
"Blood, presumably from the flaggelants."
She looks around at the walls, interested at first but dulled by their repetition, "The grim, inevitable end point of evil worship. It so often ends in similar scenes."
Mylvwara looks around at the group, "One further door."
Enora looks a little squeamish at the sight of blood. She carefully walks around the worst of it.
"Too true. It would be laughable if it weren't so predictable and sad," Kyra replies to Mylvwara's comment.
Confident there is nothing more to see, she heads back the way they came toward the remaining closed doors.
]
vs.
** ATTACK from the SHADOWS * *
Suddenly, you see a shadowy figure move through the wall into the room ... it sways and moves with an erratic grace, as if lit by an unseen fire.
None of you are fast enough to react and you are completely surprised!
Greater shadows are those undead shadows that have come to be particularly infused with negative energy, such as those that have spent vast lengths of time in areas of the Plane of Shadow awash in negative energy, or those that have drained the lives of thousands of victims.
For every 5 above 18 you have a question.
The shadowy figure extends its claws and tries to hit Slipp ... it is unbelievable but when the incorporeal shadow's essence touches the Tengu his whole body is in a state of shock and his knees start to tremble.
* * *
Round 1
Slipp
Mylvwara
Edmund
Enora
Dr. Anton Plex
Shadow
Kyra
Kissan
Bold may act!
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Edmund steps behind Kissan and into the room. Pulling out a clay jar, he quickly slathers his arrows with the purple substance.
Tapping Kissan on his back, Edmund quickly whispers "When your time comes- attack"
"That's a Greater Shadow! Greater shadows are those undead shadows that have come to be particularly infused with negative energy, such as those that have spent vast lengths of time in areas of the Plane of Shadow awash in negative energy, or those that have drained the lives of thousands of victims."
Enora will cast haste (7 rounds). This will get Slipp, Edmund, Dr. Plex, and Kissan, but not Kyra and Mylvwara.
Defensive Abilities incorporeal, channel resistance +2; Immune undead traits
"It's incorporeal and undead, with a +2 channel resistance!"