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"Oow! No wonders you dieds if you can't hits harder than thats," Pooka squeals at the skeletal goblin that's now up in her face. She cracks her whip at the skeleton, attempting to pull it off of its feet!
Taking advantage of the opportunity, she quickly shoves the whip back in its holster and belts out another verse.
~Yeah, you're a high-rev hauler with all four on the floor
But your a-bone's busted and you're through the door
So do the dead, juice the Coupe
Come on the livin' dead, ooh you're in the soup
The livin' dead, now baby, like I said
Now baby, do the dead~
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Unfortunately the monk's concussion has affected her accuracy and the blows miss the skeleton.
The skeletons now just work on their instinct to knock down the living creatures in front of them....
With Rangi in front of it, the skeleton's teeth rattle as it tries to hit Rangi with his dogslicer. , but the druid seems impervious to the skeletons strikes, so it tries to send it's deep and dangerous nails into the orc. The change of tactic proves to be successful and catches the druid by surprise, With the orc seeming to fall, the skeleton moves onto the next victim....Rashid
The next skeleton, fighting with Webny and Pooka, just continues to try and stamp out the life of the goblin with it's dogslicer. but misses the quick moving Pooka. It tries again Failing to hit again, it turns round and tries to hit Webny but the monk is ready for the attack and easily dodges.
The skeleton that was attacked by the bear, retaliates with it's weapon, but the bears body refuses to be penetrated. Having not got past the bear's fur and coat, the skeleton tries to take down the man beside the bear. but the man just steps out of the way. It then strikes again with it's claw. but Tonraw is ready blunts the strike with his leather armour.
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With Webny now back on her feet and flanking the skeleton Pooka draws out her shortsword and attempts to strike it!
And she continues singing at the top of her lungs.
~Now life is short and it's filled with stuff
So let me know baby, when you've had enough
Oh, do the dead, turn blue
Yeah, the surfin' dead, as dead as you~
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As quickly as the skeletons were raised from the bones lying in the clearing, the skeletons are dispatched by the intrepid group of Pathfinders. Webny so confused the skeleton with his display of striking out, falling over and otherwise making unconventional attacks. Pooka sneaks in behind and cuts through the backbone, causing the goblin skeleton to fall. As it falls, a strange looking stick falls from one of the skeleton's pouches.
The skeleton taking on Tonraq and Oogi, defends itself against Tonraq, as Oogi's jaws close around it's skull and pulls the skull from the backbone. The bones crumble to the floor.
Rangi, now rises from the dead, thanks to Jak's prayer, uses his own magic to crumble the skeleton in front of Rashid with a burst of his own destructive energy.
With the skeletons defeated, the group steer clear of the skull and pile of bones, that seem to be reconstituting as they watch. However the group mark the area, and add it and the dragon's skull to their notes and surveys. The notes include the details that the bones are connected to a Silver Dragon.
Wand of Comprehend Languages - wands only work once per day in 2E, but read the Rulebook regarding wands.
If you roll a 24 or more you can read all about Wands of Comprehend Languages.
You can get 1 extra channel for healing.... as the Silver Dragon's bones gather around you, before they continue back to the skull.
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Rashid nods gratefully to Jak, having been fully replenished by the positive energy. The light and sound emanating from the other cleric feels... different to Rashid than his own channeled power. Like the font he draws from and the font Jak draws from are different notes in the same song, wildly different octaves but part of one harmony.
He looks around to see if anyone else still needs patching up.
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"Oh heys, that might be handys if we find any strange writings," Pooka remarks cheerfully as she takes her turn studying the magic stick they found.
"But dang...kindas wish we didn't haves to go through all thats to find it," she adds with a backward glance over her shoulder towards the dragon skull, shuddering. "Was super creepys and dangerous! Glads everyone is okays, though. You holys and nature peoples does good work!"
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"I could use some healing Rashid."
The old Orc sits on the ground and looks at the skull. "Do you think it was a haunt? What did the dragon say?"
"This is where I, Isythysus, lie a victim of the evil plagues that swept these lands, I who delved deep into the corrupting rot of the of the caverns below. I saw the sunshine one last time ..."
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The way the pile of bones have once again gathered themselves under the skull, as the bleached dragon skull rises mysteriously on top of the bones, you do indeed think it is a haunt. It is possible that the spirit of the silver dragon still haunts this place
With the work done, it's now time to move on ....
You continue onto the Ziggurat, noting down as you go more statues either side of the paved road to the great building.
This stepped pyramid rises nearly to the treetops, a hundred and fifty feet above. Each layer of stone is assembled from huge blocks of basalt, mostly covered in moss and vines. Richly carved pictographs adorn the stone, wherever visible among the patches of vegetation. A steep staircase sized for giants rises up one face of the ziggurat to the upper platform, where a small building crowns the summit.
The group spend the first hour, mapping out the large building, looking and searching for an entrance at the lower levels. Clearing away vines that have started to climb the stone edifice, but any carvings or mosaic in the stone have long since perished with weathering and natural causes, occasionally there is half an oval relief in the stone that can be seen, but never with enough detail to give it context.
On the south face of the ziggurat, is a stone staircase made of smaller sandstone blocks, rising to the top of the structure. You measure the geometries of the building, and from the drawing can make certain observations. The staircase, like the huge stepped sides, are at an angle of 60 degrees to the ground, making it a steep climb, even for using the large giant sized steps of the stairs. You conclude that there must be a 40ft square platform at the top, that supports the small building.
There look to be more distinct reliefs of symbols or pictures further up the ziggurat, indeed if the meaning of any of these symbols can be discerned, then the small building offers the best opportunity.
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Though Pooka can't really tell for sure if Tonraq's suspicions are right, she's not really inclined to doubt him too much either.
"Yeahs...sounds like somethings bad must've happened heres once..." she nods, looking around. "Wonder if it gots the cyclops too?"
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"Ughs...more climbings..." Pooka sighs a bit later when the group comes to the inevitable conclusion that there's likely more to see up on the ziggurat. "I shoulds have worked out mores back at the Grand Lodge - I gots noodle arms ands noodle legs!"
Still, they've got a job to do. When her turn comes, Pooka does her best to make her way up to the top...
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Rashid's training has been spotty at best. He has yet to delve much into haunts. "I will have to take your word for it, I'm afraid," he says to Tonraq.
He looks up the steep stairwell. Even with the rope, this will not be easy. He sighs. "Glad I stretched this morning," he mumbles, stows his shield, and begins climbing.
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Rangi easily makes it to the top, searching for somewhere to tie off the rope, he walks across the grass and moss covered surface. He ties the rope off at a piece of stone, jutting out of the building wall and drops a rope down to his companions. The rope makes the climb up easier, but no less exhausting.
With Rangi's rope to help Pooka and Jak's obvious difficulty in climbing up the giant steps, all the party make it to the top of the ziggurat. Rashid even stops half way up to take in the view and grabbing his hands together flexes his fingers.
As Tonraq climbs up, he watches the bear bound up before him, turning and daring the man to catch him up.
All arrive at the the top and see the building, Jak and Pooka both take in huge gulps of air .... all look at ......
The building, probably a shrine, is 20ft by 20ft square, on the top of the ziggurat. There was once a large door, the only entrance into the structure, but the roof having collapsed sometime ago looks like it might have blocked the door. Such a collapse maybe the result of the earthquakes that shattered other city spires in Min-Khadaim However there is a small hole in the roof, that might gain you access, if it is safe?
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Pooka carefully makes her way over to the hole and peers down into it, trying to see what she can see with her darkvision.
Provided nothing seems immediately dangerous, she nods. "Don't sees anythings but it's stills dangerous to go alones. Takes me!"
She proceeds to try and follow after Jak...
...but finds it difficult to squeeze though.
Maybe need to eat a little less at mealtimes...
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With nearly all the party helping to push the door, it suddenly gives way allowing access to this small shine. As the party lurch in, Pooka is seen first looking through the hole in the roof, before she tumbles in as the whole shrine shakes with the combined effort of opening the door.
Once inside the shrine appears to be nearly bear, although the walls were once painted with colorful murals inlaid with precious stones and silver. In the center of the room, a circular shaft 10 feet in diameter descends 20 feet before turning into a 10-foot-wide spiraling staircase that leads down into darkness.
You are able to decipher the imagery of the murals. The faint outlines of the murals show that once the shine might have been dedicated to the Moon, one of the cyclopes’ most beloved deities. However looking closely, the murals have been overwritten with harsher paintings splashed over the finely detailed originals. The Moon is no longer seen as a peaceful entity in the murals, but the Devourer of Light, She Who Would Eat the Sun. This temple became a place of violent, sacrificial rituals which reached their height during the time of a solar eclipse.
It is likely that the piece of lapis found by Jak was missed by the priests who desecrated the temple and turned it to another use.
As Jak begins to search the pile of rubble further, he locates a piece of lapis lazuli worth 6 gp along the inside edge of one of the stone blocks. Probably missed by the priests who were last here.
All that is left is the hole into the darkness .... into the mysteries and treasures that might have been left by the cyclopean civilisation thousands of years ago. With walls of the shaft being smooth.
Jak search
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Rashid traces his fingers through the air above the murals, careful not to actually touch them and further degrade them in their fragile state. "She Who Would Eat the Sun," he murmurs. Turning to the others, he says somberly, "This place changed. It was once a shrine dedicated to the Moon, a peaceful place. But over time the murals were painted over with darker, uglier images. The Moon became not a deity of contemplation, but one of violence. They called Her the Devourer of Light, She Who Would Eat the Sun. A deity demanding blood sacrifices, particularly during the solar eclipse." He nods at the piece of lapis Jak found. "Likely they missed that while desecrating this temple for its later purpose."
He glances down the hole distastefully. "If the information up here was that bad... Chamidu protect us from what's down there."
He touches his shield and mutters a quick prayer for light to guide their way, and the shield begins to glow. "Shall we?"
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"Huh. So's their civilizations used to actually be pretty peacefuls and then it got...violents? I's see how that could make problems over times," Pooka remarks after Rashid explains the meaning of the murals on the walls.
She stares at the circular hole in the floor with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. "Let's check it outs...but let's be careful hows we steps. Floors might be weaker than it looks."
When her turn comes, Pooka takes hold of the rope and starts down the shaft...
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Rangi looks down the shaft and places his shield on his back. He makes sure that all of his belongings are well strapped and he takes out the climbing kit to minimize his chances of falling. He already had one bad leg, breaking it down here could mean death to him
He attached himself to the rope and begun his descent.