The party continues to struggle with the ritual...
Peldur walks over to the Portal and gives it a Fonzie punch.
Sadly, even a punch from Peldur isn't enough...
Come back after a rest? I mean, maybe we can finish this floor, then rest?
Assuming the others agree, Bibi leads them to one of the few remaining unexplored doors.
She pauses, a memory tickling like...a fly. Before they're within earshot of the door...
Oh yeah!! that nasty fly thingy is in there. What should we do about that guy?
...thinking...
That's right. That devil is bound by Bellacora. Lay the ghost to rest, and the devil leaves. We'll leave this room until later--though I doubt there's anything we want to see in there. NEEEEXT!!!
Bibi instructs Peldur to press the stone in the wall the exact same time she does, and the door slides open.
This plain, circular room is empty. A single image of a moss-caked skull adorns the eastern wall.
Elena leans over, ready to be flummoxed by yet another teleportation pad, but alas, there's nothing here.
Elena holds her head, still suffering from the attempt on the portal. "Let's search this space, then we can backtrack and search the other chambers near the undead creation machine."
She does a quick look herself.
Not convinced this is empty, bibi takes a closer look
The skull is a button, but you don't think it's a trap.... more like the kind you use in constructing secret doors.
Elena sees nothing.
Bibis eyes widen. oh boy!! as she moves to the skull. She starts examining it..
And if she seems it safe, hitsit withglee
Bibi hits the button... and the floor immediately begins to lower, not at the speed of a trap, but if it's designed to move with people on it! The secret door begins to slowly close behind Bibi.
Elena hastily jumps in with Bibi!
SHOOT!! We're not done up there yet!!
Bib, despite her shouting, can do nothing. The party jumps in as the floor descends to the level below them!
"Bibi, don't go without me!". Carrufikus quickly jumps on to make sure they are not separated.
Tal sighs.
OH Hell's Bells.
He jumps in.
When the elevator stops Bibi chirps We'll, THAT could've been worse! Let's go back up & finish exploring upstairs
Bibi hits the button and everyone goes back up.
Relieved at the shortness of that scary interlude, Bibi skips to another room tehy'd passed by
The air here is cool and moist. A low stone well sits to the east. Armor, weapons, and tools lie in heaps in the north.
The gear looks a LOT like the missing gear the rescued men were missing.
Huh! Neat! Bibi makes sure everything of any use is collected & kept separate for the earstwhile prisoners.
Is there anything valuable we might keep?
If everything is theirs, then Bibi is making sure it all gets set aside for them.
Then...
It seems the separate section is all that's left. Let's go up, then to the building, then down and finish this off, then we head back to Otari for a rest...?
if there are no objections--see map
Bibi finds an untrapped, but locked door.
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"Those rescued folks will appreciate us returning their gear. I think their friendship will be worth more than anything that they have found. Anyway, let's keep exploring, Bibi. We will bring it back to them when we are done."
Bibi smirks at the lock. Yeah, right...
It takes a bit, but Bibi finally pops the lock and has Peldur open the door. Seven square alcoves, each containing strange magical apparatuses or alchemical sets of tools, ring this damp stone chamber. The alcove to the north contains a large glass tank filled with liquid. A goblin’s corpse, clad in outdated servant’s clothing, floats inside it. A semicircular worktable covered with tools, moldy papers, and a large open book stands in front of the tank.
What in the f—
Noroc is confused, but not so much that he doesn't move into the room to examine the table. He thinks the book might be of interest to Elena, too.
Whoa, now THERE'S something you don't see every day!
Bibi lightly steps into the room, but is careful not to touch too much.
First, check the table & area around it
Then, check each of the alcoves & immediate area in front
Bibi doesn't find any traps!
Now let's start looking more closely at the stuff in here. Going CW, check the stuff in each alcove, then the tank, and the desk.
starting with just one perc roll...
Elena, being the sort who must know things, heads straight to the worktable and takes a look at the book.
She's typically very good at knowing things...
"Bibi, thanks for getting us here safely. However, I'm not sure that this place was very safe for that goblin who came before us. I have no idea what this place is used for, but hopefully Elena will have some insight for us."
Elena eruditely explains that the workshop is devoted to both construct construction and necromancy. She also reveals the workshop’s emphasis is transferring mortal souls, including into a construct or a swarm of vermin.
she points out the northwest alcove contains a doll resembling an armless, legless goblin. It has an indentation in its back. Such a doll was likely meant for such a thing. The dead goblin might have been a subject.
Bibi shivers. Ewwww. I don't like that. Gives me the heebie jeebies.
Not sure how much that tells us, though...?
is there anything else valuable here?
"It is yet another strange implement. Though perhaps there's something useful about soul transfer that could have a purpose for us." Elena says, immediately thinking of their ghoulish friend.
The Great Dreamer would certainly not approve of this work. Whoever was capturing souls and putting them in strange constructs was clearly not very happy with their own life and could have found some nicer hobbies if they had only asked Desna for some guidance.”
this all being over Bibi's pay grade, she waits (mostly) patiently, finding a cool knick-knack to fiddle with, until the grown-ups are done.
Soooo...should we go back for a rest then make sure we finish the next floor tomorrow, before continuing?
Elena picks up the doll and studies it, hoping to understand it better. She then stows it in her backpack.
A dawning realization occurs to Elena. "I have been puzzling over the shape of the insert. It seemed... particular. And then I recalled the gem we found in the back of Mister Beak, the animate doll we encountered days ago. I can't help but feel that the shape might be similar. And it was a suitable focus."
She follows these words with a chuckle. "Of course. I didn't think much of it and sold the gem to Wrin. If she has it I could buy it back and experiment further. It might be a worthwhile experiment."
Might be worth consulting Wren on it, Noroc muses, and let them do some research while we keep delving.
"These are all very puzzling connections. Well done, Elena. I'm just curious what will come out of this if you can ever put the whole puzzle together."
"It's possible there's a soul bound to that gem," Elena says, pondering the situation further. "Maybe adding the gem to this other construct will allow us to speak with the soul once more. And maybe we will be able to learn more about the history of this place."
"But this is all speculation. We can come back to it. Onwards?"
OK folks, it looks like we've explored this entire floor, except for that demon bugger. OR was it devil? Anyhoo, should we run back to town & rest, or finish off the last couple rooms on the 3rd floor down first?
(I don't really remember what time of day it is)
Midday.
Yeah, it's still early. Let's explore some more!
pogs moved to 3rd subfloor.
The heaps of slowly decaying bodies hung and stacked here reveal this former bedroom’s current use as a meat locker. It looks like it's five morlock corpses.