Zetty watches with wide eyes as the visions flash "Everyone seeing this? I wonder what's causing them? Is it something that Belcorra left behind as evidence that she was here, or is it some lingering ghosts or spirits, or even something else?"
After they're all done, she nods to Vengis' comment "Belcorra enjoying doing her gross stuff, if we needed more reason to worry about her coming back. But definitely... that portal! I wonder if its broken or if it needs to be woken up like the other portals we came across."
The ghostly images appear to be produced by spiritual energy. Much in the same way that Otari's ghost left messages behind for you to follow, these lingering images seem to be reactions to Belcorra's own transition from life to undeath.
The portal you saw in the image is likely part of the greater portal network that you've found scattered throughout the Abomination Vaults so far. It's impossible to tell where the other end of it opened up, however.
Eyenia picks up the prayer beads and they glow softly, shifting form to representations of constellations and cosmic phenomena.
She shakes her head at the visions, ”The excesses of evil never end. It is only right that we be Belcorra’s doom. The tides of fate have decreed it is so.” Eyenia, too, ponders on what the visions might be.
Bella watched the vision of Belcorra Haruvex intently, trying to read the sorcerer's lips and get a sense of what she was saying.
She helped the others cut down the grisly displays, and said a prayer to Sarenrae to honor the dead. "We should transport the remains to a more suitable location to lay them to rest."
"You're going to touch them?" Zetty stands away from the ancient corpses, just in case they spring to life, or worse. "These are all Darklands creatures, right? I wonder if they were her allies once and then got on her bad side." Once everyone is done studying the chambers, Zetty gathers them all back in the entry room.
"So, we have all the pieces we need to break the seal on the way down. Before we do, we could try going back and activating all the portals that we found on the floors above this one. It'd take some time to complete the ritual, but if we're lucky some of them connect to each other. If we're unlucky, they connect somewhere dangerous that has an active portal on the other end. And then we could get some interesting but really nasty stuff coming through." She takes off her eyeglasses for a moment and rubs at them "So, it could be risky. But! It could also give us a way in that Belcorra and her cultists aren't expecting."
"I am afraid I am ignorant in much of the history of this dark place. I shall trust your wisdom in the best course of action to expunge it's evils!"
"It does seem a bit risky... but who knows! Maybe the teleportation circles will lead directly into an untapped treasure vault." Zetty winks at Vengis, by this point quite certain about what might get his blood pumping.
She leads the way back up to the second floor, then works down from there, examining each of the three portal chambers carefully and then carefully augmenting the existing runes and lines with an infusion of magic. She taps her pen at focal points in each circle, dropping iridescent bubbles of ink that hover just above the ground.
While Zetty holds her head from the headache she got on the 4th floor, she asks "So, do they look like they're working? Who wants to go through?"
Bella offered, "I'm willing to give it a try. But it seems risky for someone to go it alone. There could be something hostile at the destination."
When you step into an activated teleportation circle, you are able to concentrate on any of the others you have activated and instantly transport yourselves from one to the other. It does not seem that there are any other circles currently active besides the ones you were able to use the ritual on, however.
Still holding her head, Zetty shrugs "Well, that's disappointing. Neither treasure nor danger, and the last of the circles gave me a wicked pain to boot." She sighs. "Well, I could probably power through it if we wanted to explore some more - that seal on the fourth floor isn't going to break itself. What do you all think?"
Bella replied to Zetty, "I'm ready to break the seal."
Zetty nods, wincing. "Let's do it. Hope it doesn't release a bunch of ghosts or something."
Once all four icons are placed on the altar, they glow with a warm, golden light. The light suffuses the altar, filling in the gaps and grooves and banishing the blue light flickering within it. All at once, the oppressive pall in the room seems to vanish, and looking behind you down the hall, the wall of silently screaming ghosts has disappeared. The way down to the fifth level of the Abomination Vaults is now open.
The four items remain intact, allowing you to reclaim them.
Bertolt is jubilant upon the ritual success. "Excellent! A victory for the forces of good! Ah I am glad I have companions to share this victory with!" He roars, throwing his arms around them with a wide grin. "Onwards for more glory!"
After collecting up the four artefacts, Bella scouted ahead, descending to the fifth level. "I wonder what secrets the vaults have in store for us?"
"Hopefully there's something weird!" Zetty scurries to catch up with Bella.
"Though who knows if what we just did was really a victory for the forces of good or not. Maybe this is one of those barriers that was keeping things in, more than keeping us out?" She shrugs at Bertolt "I guess we'll find out, huh?"
You take the previously sealed staircase down into the unknown...
Part 2: Hands of the Devil
A crumbling staircase leads to a cracked and badly stained mosaic tile floor. To the south, a walkway encircles a round, gaping pit, leading to a spiral stairway that clings to the edge of the pit. A twisted iron banister follows the edge of the walkway and stairs. The acrid smell of chemicals and rot, with just a tinge of sulfur, wafts from the pit’s darkness. Strange moaning echoes up the shaft.
As you are getting your bearings, a pair of sluglike grothluts lunge out of the corners of the room, claws extended towards you!
"Gah! What foul monstrosities!" His bushy brows waggle as his eyes dart back and forth. "I shall hold off one while you all focus down the other! Raaaahhhh! Bertolt charges into the one to their left!
Eyenia traces several sigils in the air and summons forth a starknife made from shimmering starlight, sending it at the grothlut on the left, "Their suffering ends now!"
"Wow, this place sure delivers on the weird." Zetty takes a half-step back, caught a little off guard by how quickly the group encountered another set of monsters.
Bertolt moves in and slashes one of the fleshwarps, then Eyenia conjures a spiritual starknife to stab it. The wounded creature begins to moan piteously as it claws at Bertolt. The other one slithers forward to attack Kragga.
Bella was not fazed by the piteous moan. She took a moment to study the hideous creatures and advise her friends on the best battle tactics to use against them. Then she tumbled begind the one attacking Kragga and tried to stab it in the back!
"YOUR MOANS HAVE NO EFFECT HERE FOUL CREATURE! RAHHHH!"
"Urgh..." Zetty wavers in place and has to take a moment to swallow down the bile at hearing the gross creatures.
As soon as she manages to get over the horrid noises, she starts her art, inspiring those around her.
Zetty gags a bit before finally beginning to inspire courage. Kragga casts a shield spell, enters her arcane cascade stance, then swings on the monster that attacked her! But she comes up short.
Vengis's electric spell badly zaps one of the foes, but the other one somehow manages to avoid it completely!
Bella moves to flank Kragga's attacker, sneak attacking from behind.
Bertolt smashes his opponent twice with his hammer, and the second hit causes the fleshwarp's internal organs to rupture in an acidic burst that splashes over the dwarf as the monster dies!
Eyenia sustains her spiritual weapon and moves it to the other fleshwarp, but its attack misses.
The aberration claws at Kragga again, but this time, she is able to fend off its attacks.
Bertolt shakes off the vile internal acid, only his hair getting singed by it. He turns and charges at the remaining one to finish it off! "They explode upon death, be prepared!" He roars, mostly concerned for Bella.
Hopefully Bertolt's warning is enough to prepare his allies, as he wastes no time rushing over and delivering a critical strike with his hammer on the other fleshwarp! Combined with the shield bash, that creature erupts in a burst of digestive enzymes as well!
"Ahhh!" He reaches out to shield Bella but is too late, although he once again shakes of the effects himself.
Bella was showered by acidic digestive fluid, and ended up throwing up herself. Despite her nausea, she started washing off the mess from herself and others, and applying some soothing ointment. Sher directed everyone to stand in a line next to each other to make the process more efficient.
Zetty pinches the tip of her nose shut, splattering ink across her cheek in the process. "Oh, that's just..." She tries not to look at the burst remains of the creatures, but its hard. They're everywhere. She drags the group part way back up the stairs before Bella heals anyone - staying around that scene would be torture.
Once everyone is healthy again, she takes a deep breath to prepare herself for braving the mess. "Those were awful. I'm not drawing them and hopefully we never see them again. But, if we do, maybe Vengis and I should try to burst them from a distance?" She follows after Bella once the rogue is ready to push back down and through the room.
Kragga resists the acidic splatter with no issues. She thanks Bella for tending to her claw wound, then moves to stand in front of the door that Zetty indicated. "This one?" she asks, looking over her shoulder questioningly at the rest of the group.
Zetty nods, though leaves it up to the others to contradict her.
Bertolt crosses to the door and raises his shield, putting himself in position to take the brunt of whatever is on the other side. Once the others are ready, he nods and opens the door.
Beyond the door is a long hallway leading to the east. Three doors are set along its length.
Bertolt quickly heads to the first door on the left and opens it. The floor of this room contains several open square pits: one in each of the three alcoves to the north and two larger pits in the middle of the room. A dais at the room’s west end contains a stone throne with two rusty levers jutting from the floor next to it.
Two bizarre creatures lurk here. These rubbery, spheroid scavengers are nearly all acid-dripping mouth, with five bulbous black eyes and two powerful, gangly legs. They quickly begin leaping towards you!
The first creature bounces into Bertolt, trying to knock him down, but he pushes it away. Its jaws snap at him, but he fends them off.
The other creature hangs back and spits viscous acid at the dwarf!
"RAAHHHH, FOUL AMBUSHERS!" His shield was no help against the acidic assault, but it did not prevent his own retaliation!
Bella studied the creature attacking Bertolt, and offered her suggestion for the best way to fight it.
Bella realizes that these creatures' rubbery bodies will likely be resistant to bludgeoning damage.
Bella tried a daring move, attempting to tumble in behind the enemy fighting Bertolt. Then she tried to stab it in the back!
Zetty follows into the t-intersection, looking to get a clearer view of the brand new toad-eye-creatures. She wrinkles her nose as she spots them "Well, they're kinda interesting! Hope they don't burst into slime." She swiftly whips her pen across the page, telekinetically lifting her own dagger and propelling at the nearer of the two monsters.
Eyenia raises her holy symbol and says, "Together we are destined to prevail!"
Zetty hurls her dagger into the nearest monster's eye, badly wounding it! Both creatures avoid the worst of Vengis's lightning arc. Eyenia blesses the party, then Bella tumbles into the room. Her attack falls short, but it sets up a flank for Bertolt. The dwarf takes advantage, bashing the rubbery monster twice, his shield scoring a critical hit! However, the creature's bouncy body resists some of the bludgeoning damage.
Kragga casts one of her new spells, propelling herself through the fabric of space to appear next to the wounded creature. She swings her sword, empowered by the force of her spell, and lands a critical hit!
The monster explodes, showering those nearby with stinky goop. Luckily, it is not acidic. The orc smirks and enters her arcane cascade stance.
The surviving monster leaps at Kragga, snapping its jaws!
Bertolt rushes into the room, recklessly moving around the second one to provide Bella with a flank, then hammers down at it!
With a clear view of the action, Zetty inspires her allies, telekinetically picks up her dagger from where it fell, and fires it against the remaining toad-monster.
Surprised that she had got away with her maneuver unscathed, Bella stabbed a couple of more times at the creature, then prayed to her goddess for protection.