The Elemental feels the earth to see if anyone but the party is nearby.
(Tremorsense 60')
As Pai approaches the alter, she finds a ghoul eating the remains of somebody, while looking over a book on the alter.
"Ah.. fresh meat..."
It looks ready to pounce or flee, but seems reluctant to leave the book behind.
"It's mine. None of your business. Leave it alone."
Wait for it, Droogi. See if Nectanebo can work this out first. If not, you can have at him...ok? Lini pats Droogami as he growls at the ghoul.
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At the sight of the ghoul, terror washes over Pai in a cold, cold wave. Her mouth opens in a would-be scream that only comes out as a tiny, dry-mouthed squeak. She fights a flashback to her last encounter with ghouls, and the ghast that led them . She flies up higher out of reach , glancing around wildly to see if there are any other undead.
Pai does not see any other undead, but Nectanebo does start the festivities by taking an aggressive action.
The ghoul senses the command spell and fights against it.
"I will not!"
It leaps off the alter at Nectanebo (5' step) and tries to eat him.
Go get him, Droogi! Be careful! Lini says as she pats Droogi on the hindquarters and send him off to get close to the ghoul. She moves forward cautiously, in case there are more surprises.
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Nectanebo's coat lashes out like a frightened octopus, matching the ghoul's sudden assault nearly blow for blow until it is just barely outmatched!
"Damn you!" Snaps Nectanebo when he at last suffers a nice, filthy scratch across his cheek. "Hard way it is, then...!"
He shifts to one side of the ghoul, his faithful skeletal minion to the other. It attempts a counterattack...
...as does Nectanebo with the power of the Gloaming Shroud...
...but it seems a bit spent from before.
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The sudden lunging of the ghoul sends Pai into a panic. "AAAAAH!" She shrieks as she instinctively sends a blast of lightening down onto the attacking ghoul.
"No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no!" Her eyes wide as saucers, she gives a spasmodic jerk as her Dancing Lights spell winks out, leaving her trembling in terror in the darkness 25 feet above the ground. A faint whimper escapes her throat, and imaginary ghouls and ghasts haunt the edges of her vision as she stares at the dimly lit tableau below.
Pai is in darkness, however she can see the light sources from her position - just not her own hands. In any case, the sudden flash of lightning got everyone's attention, especially the ghoul who was singed by it.
Tiny Pebble glides backwards slightly and guards his master.
(He is ready to attack the ghoul should he come into his reach. +6 to hit and 1d6+8 damage.)
Borax can't tell much, other than this is someone who has succumbed to ghoul fever in the past.
The ghoul, having taken significant damage from 3 sources, withdraws.
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As the ghoul gallops into the darkness, Pai shoots a blast of lightening in its general direction. In the flash of light that strikes only bare rock, she spots a glimpse of its heels as it dashes beyond her sight. She *wants* to follow after it and blast it to death--real death, forever, so it can't ever come back--but flying in the pitch blackness that is beyond the circle of her friends' light would be stupid. And terrifying, since it and who knows how many others could leap out at her at any moment and she'd have *no idea*! She flies low enough to hover just in the light, for comfort more than practicality.
"G-g-g-g-g-grab that book and let's get 'im! Don't let 'im get away! It'll bring back more!" She's on the verge of hyperventilating and is trembling so violently that the buckles on her haversack are jingling. A flash of memory brings to mind a former team mate giving her the courage she needed in an almost as frightening situation. Dru! Clamping onto that memory, she begins to gather control of herself, nervously babbling. "Hehehehe! 'All I see are butts.' Heheheheheh!"
The ghoul escapes, then, as the tunnel he flees down is beyond the scope of our adventure here. It may not be the last of him, though.
In any case, you take a look at his book and are able to examine the remains of the bodies he was eating.
One's body wears a filthy cloak of protection +1 and a ring of swimming. His +1 scimitar lies at the bottom of the pool. The other's dismembered corpse wears bracers of armor +1. His wand of chill touch (15 charges) lies nearby. The book propped open on the altar, despite being stained and damp, is in relatively good condition—it is a copy of a rare tome called the Pnakotic Manuscripts.
The book found in this room is but a translation of a translation of the original Pnakotic Manuscripts. Of course, since the original text (said to be written thousands or perhaps even millions of years ago by an unknown race) is long lost, the fact that this book is a copy of a copy isn’t all that unusual.
The book itself is relatively large, weighing 10 pounds and consisting of about 500 pages of thin parchment. The cover bears a large inset crystal and a series of metal insect-like clasps along the edges lock down and keep the book from being opened.
The inside cover of the book bears the following inscription: [i]“May we, the Keepers of the Oldest, prevail over the scourge of simplistic thought and lesser men.” Beneath that are five signatures.
One section of the book is marked by a red silk bookmark.
If you spend more time (hours) looking over the book, I can give you much more information.
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Nectanebo looks over the loot of the fallen with distracted, somewhat sour interest...
...but lights up like a sunrod when he gets his hands on the book.
"I don't believe it. The Pnakotic Manuscripts...and it's only a secondary copy!!! Nobody even knows who penned the original, or even WHEN. Could be thousands upon thousands of years old...or it could be millions. It's older than ANY known civilization!"
"Nice locking mechanism, too," He says while struggling with it. Soon enough, though, he is able to spring it!
He laughs bitterly when he sees its contents. "OF COURSE, I don't know how to READ the damned thing...is this Aklo?!?" He proffers it sheepishly to the others, as if finally remembering they're there. "Anyone else?"
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Igor sends Tiny Pebble to retrieve the remainder of the magical items and return them to the party.
@GM Fuzzfoot - As the earth elemental can earth glide and does not need to breathe he should be able to easily retrieve the scimitar at the bottom of the pool. If he encounters any difficulty I am certain that you will let me know. :)
He also spends a moment to recall his Magic Missile spell with a pearl of power.
Igor then goes to examine the book that Nectanebo is examining.
"Good work getting it open. That was quite a challenge I can see."
"I do read Aklo among other languages and I would be happy to share the knowledge of this book with you if you like."
He glances at the lengthy text.
"It is not a light read so perhaps tonight when we are back at the lodge we can start?"
"It could use a good clean as well but that can wait as well."
No Droogi...let it go...might be more down that way. You can find another playtoy later... Lini rubs Doogi's head as the big cat growls in frustration at not getting some play time in. She then wanders over to the commotion near the pool and watches the elemental retrieve the items.
Might that be what this...thing is after? Perhaps something was awakened or drawn to it? she says with a puzzled look after the other more learned agents reveal what the book is.
Igor can read it it, but as she said, it will take time to gain much from it.
Otherwise, you are able to retrieve the other items without incident.
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All this time, Pai has been breathing deeply, unconsciously drifting closer to the center of the light source so that if anything is going to attack her she'll see it coming (if only for a split second). By now her trembling has stopped, though her eyes are still wide. "W-well, guys. If that's all that's here...maybe we...check out the rest of the...c-cavern. S-still haven't found that...smelly giant...slug-or-whatever."
Most of the other branches all lead to barred paths, and the tunnels look like they could lead for miles.
This cavern contains what looks to have been a campsite for five, judging by the number of empty bedrolls along the walls. A few shelves with scattered books on them, a fire pit, and even a crude wooden table provide the furnishings for the site.
An investigation of the books and some of the notes they left behind in their hasty retreat reveals that the books here are mostly about ancient and blasphemous religions, the Dark Tapestry, the Great Old Ones, monsters from other dimensions, and magical portals. The notes and books are relatively difficult to decipher; all are written in Aklo, and even a character who understands that language (through skill or magic) must spend 2d6 hours of study and make a DC 25 Linguistics check to make sense of them all.
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"Oh! I can carry them! There's tons of room in my handy haversack!" Pai brightens, almost as much as usual, at the opportunity to help in such a mundane way.
"By the way, where'd all the people go?" Please not the ghoul's tunnel! Please not the ghoul's tunnel! "Uh, didn't we see a door in the sarcophagus room? Across from the entrance to the tunnel that led here? Maybe they're there?" They seem like living people, what with the bedrolls and all. I can handle living people.
The door you are trying to open appears to be barricaded from the other side.
The Earth Elemental feels beneath the earth sensing if he feels any vibrations within the room.
(Tremorsense 60')
That's a good idea. I'll have Droogi get ready to pounce if Pebble gets in trouble. Sound good? Lini says as she puts her ear to the door and checks if she can hear anything.