After the party indicates they are ready Kyras will open the door.
Seltyn stands ready to cast.
You open the door to find a long narrow corridor. It stretch perpendicular to the one you just exited. Exploring it, you find that each end of it has collapsed a long time ago and is now blocked by tons of debris and boulders. You might be able to excavate the corridor if you had months to work on it, but sadly, you do not. Aside from that, the only other thing here are the two sets of double doors facing each other.
Motioning the rest of the party to follow, Kyras moves down to the double doors, checking for threats as he goes. When at the door he will check it for traps and then listen.
With no signs of traps, and no sounds coming from the other side, you move into the room. The walls of this chamber are decorated with six life-sized bas-relief carvings that depict a diverse collection of priests, each adorned in billowing robes covered in Thassilonian runes. An intricate scripture winds around the carvings, coiling across them and along the walls like an immensely long tangle of ribbons. Several ancient skeletons, some clad in hide armor or clutching Shoanti weapons, lie scattered around the statue’s base.
"Well this is ominous," says Alika. "I didn't know that Thassilon really paid much attention to priests. I thought that the Runelords fancied themselves demigods."
She indicates one of the skeletons with her blade and says, "I wonder what killed them."
Wouldn't demi-gods want priests? Kyras askes as he moves to examine a skeleton of a fallen Shoanti. These warriors must have died here. Is it more proper to leave them as they lay or try to give them proper rights?
Seltyn thinks he's studied stories about this sort of thing before. He tries to remember.
Garran says, "Given how old these skeletons look, I'm not sure that we'd be able to guess the correct burial rites. Probably just have to dump them together in a grave and say a few words over them. Any sign of what killed them? Magic, beast, or man?"
Kyras inspects the bones. He finds that the some of them are older then others. The strange part is that none of the show any signs of violence. It's a if they just lied down and died there.
Alika listens to Kyras' report, then says, "That implies... perhaps the statue did something that made them simply sit their, lost in their own minds, or their spirits lost on other planes, while their bodies wasted away... perhaps."
That would explain it. I don't see what we could do now.
Let's leave the dead in peace, and find the Mark. I have a hunch, and it's just a hunch, that we could unravel a great deal about what's happening here and with the queen, if we have the right tools. The Mark gives us status with the Shoanti. We need it. They know things we don't, and they don't share them with just anybody.
Alistair nods and waits for the party to move on.
With the party in agreement Kyras exits the room and closes the doors and heads south to the door on the right. He will check it and listen before trying to open it.
Leaving the scripture alone for now, you continu the exploration of the ruins. Going through all the usual precautions, you find no danger at the next door. Opening it reveals another long corridor ending with another door. The next one looks jammed again and will require a good pull to get it moving.
After checking this door Kyras spits on his palms and pulls.
Kyras opens the next door. Once again, a loud scraping noise echo through the corridor. As you step into the room, the entire structure shakes again. Stone dust fall from the ceiling and some of the floor tiles buckles out of place. You think you heard a loud bang from the other side of the door, but in mere seconds the place is quiet again.
With everything back to normal, you are able to explore the place. The floor of this otherwise empty chamber contains a five foot-diameter hole in the center, surrounded by a ring of tangled runes. Inside the hole, a shaft filled with brilliant emerald light drops into the depths.
Crap. Looks like some kind of summoning-gone-wrong sort of thing.
Seltyn assesses the runes and what this could be.
Kyras will look about for any secret doors before offering Well, we either go down the hole or check out that last door to the south that we saw on our way in. I'd rather check it out and know what is on this level before we explore further. Thoughts?
"With all this banging and scraping... what is even going on in here? I'm used to thinking of ruins as eerily quiet."
Best to finish what we started here before pressing down.
Alika nods in quiet agreement with Alistair.
Kyras will check then open the double doors leading back into the large room. After surveying what is to be found there he will move to check out the remaining door.
Seltyn examines the hole and the runes. It seem to be some sort of elevator that use a simple feather fall spell to allow someone to travel to the lower level of this structure.
Kyras opens the double doors and looks around. On the path the cross between the two pools, he notices some wet spots. The south wall on his right is also wet, as if something damped touched it. He then moves to the eastern door of the square room. Opening it reveals another narrow corridor.
Whatever made that noise we heard used this to get away.
Seltyn casts Dancing Lights and sends it down the hole to see how deep it goes.
The hole goes down for about seventy feet. A the bottom, you can see that is opens into a big room. From where you are, you can't discern anything about the room below.
Where to next?
Let's continue on this level then come back here if we don't find anything.
Kyras will check then open the double doors leading back into the large room. After surveying what is to be found there he will move to check out the remaining door.
You open the last door on this level to find a square room. A strange bronze statue stands in the center of the room. The statue depicts a half-snake, half-human creature with the lower body of a serpent coiled about a stand and the upper torso of a slender human woman. Her hands are crossed over her chest to clutch two objects at her shoulders—the right hand holds a large quill, while the left holds a jade-handled whip. Six birdlike wings emerge from the torso’s shoulders, and instead of a head, it has a disk bearing a seven-pointed star. Jade runes run down the statue’s belly and along the length of its snaky lower body.
Kyras considers the statue, feeling like he should recognize it.
The statue is of Lissala, the Azlantian and Thassilonian goddess of runes, fate, duty, and obedience. Inspecting it closer, you can see that while quill is part of the statue, the whip can be remove. Also, at the bottom of the statue, you find a panel that can be opened. After clearing it of any danger, you look inside to find a four-foot-diameter circular frame containing several wedge-shaped metal plates, each punched with its own intricate design. Each plate slides smoothly over or under the two adjacent plates along the outer ring.
Found some type of puzzle here. Kyras says as he studies the plates and rails. This could take a moment.
"Puzzle?" says Alika. "Or do you just slide them over each other until they are all in a stack and you can go down the stairs below?"
Found some type of puzzle here. Kyras says as he studies the plates and rails. This could take a moment.
After his usual checking for traps Kyras will carefully try sliding the places to see if anything happens.
Examining the plate, Kyras realise that they are to be placed in a specific order around the pit the goes down. The light at the edge react with the plates and creates an three dimensions light display of an impressive complexe. Looking at it, you see that this is the building you are currently standing, just that there is only a fragment left of what was there before. From what you can tell, the room you need to go for the map is indeed on the inferior level and should still be standing.
A map of this complex in better days. he exclaims. Seems we must go down the hole to get what we came for.
With your target now visible, you each take a step above the hole. The magic instantly kicks in and floats you gently to the bottom floor. This wide corridor, composed of polished black granite, runs north to south. A blue stone disc sits on the floor to the south, with a glowing column of blue light rising up from the disc through a hole in the ceiling. To the north, a five-foot-wide circular opening in the wall opens into a smaller chamber. The ceiling here is only fifteen feet high.
A huge stone plug blocks a hidden hallway to the east from this passage. The plug is impossible to remove with so few of you. Another means will need to be find.
Seltyn points out the stone blocking the hidden passage to the east.
Hey, guys. There's another passage, but it's blocked and we can't move it.
He thinks for a bit, then says, Stand back. I think I can break it up.
The elf stands back a little, himself, and casts Lightning Bolt.
Kyras sees the stone plug/door as well. The passage goes on past it. Let's keep exploring and come back to this. he recommends.
Seltyn uses a lightning bolt spell to clear the plug. The loud electric discharge damage the stone, leaving some scars mark, but the stone is still blocking the path.
Walking north, you enter the smaller section of the room. To your right, you see stairs descending into another corridor. At the end of it, you find the room where one should be able to get the mark. The walls, ceiling, and floor of this chamber have been painted to resemble a starry sky, giving the illusion of walking through space. A ten-foot-diameter stone sphere floats five feet above the floor near the room’s southern wall. Three short metal rods protrude from the lower hemisphere, radiating outward like a tripod, only the rods rest on empty air rather than a solid surface. The sphere appears to have been carefully carved with tiny rivers, mountains, oceans, and forests.
Kyras moves up to look closer at the sphere. It seems to be a small world. Like a map, only on a sphere.