"Katria!" shouts Liam as the molten gold scorches her.
"Are you okay? I can heal your burns."
Liam will cast Cure Moderate Wounds on Katria, then pull out his old Wand of Cure Light Wounds.
"I now have the ability to summon celestial allies such as Lillends who are very potent healers. I do not think that is necessary just yet."
"If you would, my lady, perhaps I should keep point as we venture forward?" Seth offers, "I cannot profess to being as skilled with finding such traps as yourself, but I would much sooner see my own person injured than thou."
You proceed down the corridor into hte next chamber. Bold frescoes of geometric designs cover this room’s walls and domed ceiling, and a quartet of bird-faced statues hold unlit braziers like offering bowls. Large passages lead west, east, and south. Two smaller doors are set to the northwest and southwest.
Searching this area, Liam discovers another trap warding the southern passage. Anybody attempting to traverse that passage would be banished to an extradimensional maze!
"We should be able to bypass this trap entirely by taking the southwest passage, instead of the direct south one. The southwest passage leads past the secret door, which I had wanted to check out anyway."
Liam will lead the way through area A4, and try to find a way to open the door to A5.
When Liam moves to open the door, the four bird-faced statues in this chamber animate and move to attack!
Liam will use Total Defense and move to get between Katria and the statues to the east.
He is AC 40 at the moment.
"Katria, Seth, can we reason with these statues?"
Liam is pretty sure the answer will be No, but he isn't certain.
Amelia watches the molten gold fall over Katria.
She winces, "Dammit." Had she been holding the blade instead of her, she may have had a chance.
---
She grins, her hand gripping the hilt of Koriana's blade, it should cut through nearly anything.
Seth draws his blade and imbues it with magic, conjuring a shield to keep himself safe as he interposes himself between his allies and the constructs.
Unfortunately, the cryptguards are mindless constructs, so they cannot be reasoned with. Two of them cross the room to attack Liam, while the others attack Seth. Their blows are powerful, some managing to get through both men's impressive defenses.
Liam finds it hard to rally his companions to defend the Tomb's dedicated guardians, but he does his best.
"We must not falter!"
He casts Blessing of Fervor and draws his morningstar.
Liam will take the +2 bonus to attacks, Reflex saves, and AC, so his AC will be 38 for the next round.
He will use his Divine Interference feat on the first crit threat against a PC.
Seth shifts his footing as he takes so many attacks that a few actually manage to land, gritting his teeth at the wounds.
Spectral blue energy coalesces around Seth as he steps between his attackers then dashes forward again, leaving afterimages of himself in various stages of attacking every single one of their foes. Once he rematerializes, he spins around and begins tearing into the constructs from behind.
HP 119/120 (inc. +26 from transmutation focus; base 87)
AC 27, touch 16, flat-footed 21, CMD 24
Fort +13, Ref +10, Will +12
Speed: 30 feet
Inspiration (Knowledge/Linguistics/Spellcraft checks): 0/7
Mental Focus: 23; Abjuration [4/4]; Divination [5/5]; Illusion [4/4]; Enchantment [4/4]; Transmutation [6/6] (refocusing rod)
Resonant powers (+2 saves; +1 Perception, low-light vision; +2 Charisma checks; +4 Con; 20% miss chance)
Cape of the mountebank 0/1; gloves of arrow snaring 0/2; Dignity's Barb Crit No.: 6
Spells/day: 1st [][][][][]; 2nd [][][][][][]; 3rd [][][][][]; 4th [x][][][]
Wands: Scorching ray 0/20; lightning bolt 0/20; magic missile (CL 5) 0/47; magic missile (CL 5) 0/34
Effects: rotting wealth curse, blessing of fervor, +2 bonus to attacks, Reflex saves, and AC, good hope, inspired (+3)
Moving away from the guardians, Katria brings Dignity's Barb to bear, firing a bolt into the green-tinged construct facing Liam.
Moving into range, Koriana's Blade shines with a light made to slice through constructs.
Katria shoots one of the cyptguards, while Amelia squares off with another one. Liam bolsters the group with a blessing of fervor, then Seth dashes past all four foes, slicing into them before attacking the one that Katria shot. With his final strike, the statue crumbles!
The remaining foes attack Amelia and Seth. Amelia parrys one strike, but gets hit twice more, while Seth is also struck.
Liam steps into a flank and strikes with his morningstar.
HP 119/120 (inc. +26 from transmutation focus; base 87)
AC 27, touch 16, flat-footed 21, CMD 24
Fort +13, Ref +10, Will +12
Speed: 30 feet
Inspiration (Knowledge/Linguistics/Spellcraft checks): 0/7
Mental Focus: 23; Abjuration [4/4]; Divination [5/5]; Illusion [4/4]; Enchantment [4/4]; Transmutation [6/6] (refocusing rod)
Resonant powers (+2 saves; +1 Perception, low-light vision; +2 Charisma checks; +4 Con; 20% miss chance)
Cape of the mountebank 0/1; gloves of arrow snaring 0/2; Dignity's Barb Crit No.: 6
Spells/day: 1st [][][][][]; 2nd [][][][][][]; 3rd [][][][][]; 4th [x][][][]
Wands: Scorching ray 0/20; lightning bolt 0/20; magic missile (CL 5) 0/47; magic missile (CL 5) 0/34
Effects: rotting wealth curse, blessing of fervor, +2 bonus to attacks, Reflex saves, and AC, good hope, inspired (+3)
Katria fires at the red construct battling Amelia, drawing on Liam's magic to help her fire an extra time. The first bolt slams into the construct's face .
In concert with Liam, Seth quickly tears into the construct, trying to eliminate it quickly.
Blessed with Fervor, Amelia reels from the blow and lashes back.
Amelia slices at the constructs around her, cutting one down before turning on the other. Katria takes aim at that one, firing several precise bolts into the statue. With the final strike, it crumbles to rubble!
Liam and Seth team up as they flank the final construct. Though they land several good hits, it's not quite enough to take out the guardian, which attacks Seth, landing a blow.
The final statue doesn't last long in the face of your combined fury. Soon enough, it is a pile of rubble as well.
Liam takes a moment for Amelia to cast any other 2nd-level spells she wishes while Blessing of Fervor remains active.
He will take advantage of the effect to cast an Extended Moment of Greatness on the party.
Then he works to heal the party's wounds.
As Liam's healing, Katria checks the constructs.
"How sad, to see so much history just reduced to rubble," she says. "Hopefully we won't have to destroy as much in the rest of this place."
She gestures to the open room to their left once everyone's ready.
Five stone sarcophagi with relief-carved covers rest in this rregularly shaped hall. Painted scenes of battle and construction wind around the room, spanning nearly from floor to ceiling. A sprawling floor mosaic portrays a map of the eastern Inner Sea region.
A trio of mirrored candelabras brighten with magical light moments after you enter, illuminating the room. Of the five sarcophagi, four contain the first emperor’s closest advisors, whereas the centermost one commemorates the people of Taldor as a whole. Each sarcophagus’s cover portrays the person to whom it’s dedicated with detailed relief carvings that include short epitaphs and numerous symbolic images.
Beginning at the north, these four depict Iamindra of Cassomir, high priest of Abadar and an unflappable minister depicted in clerical vestments and carrying a pair of keys; Akistair of Oppara, Taldaris’s aide-de-camp and hero from the Day of Sundered Yews, depicted in chainmail and holding an empty scabbard; Ohalia of Zimar, Taldaris’s fearless general depicted with a breastplate, helm, and spear; and Remall of Wayontas (an abandoned city-state near present-day Golsifar), the scholar who revolutionized Taldan architecture, depicted with a scale and a book.
Liam acknowledges the historical figures.
"May your ventures prosper," he says to the relief carving of Iamindra.
"Valor and honor," he says to Akistair and Ohalia.
"The glory of your work lives on," he says to Remall.
He looks around.
"I'd rather not open any of the sarcophagi unless we need to. We could search the rest of the crypt in hopes that the Mantle of Kings is displayed openly.
If it isn't, we may have to open these to look."
Katria has to be pulled away from the sarcophogi, as she's fascinated by the history displayed here. She studies them intently, trying to see if they offer any clues to the rituals they may have to perform, but finally lets Liam get her attention.
"Oh, yes, we definitely shouldn't open them if we can avoid it," she says. "Who knows what could happen."
She casts a glance at Seth, wondering if the servant of the Lady of Graves has any sense that there could be anything beyond bodies at rest here, before following Liam's plan.
"I have no desire to disturb the burial grounds of the dead more than we are already." She shudders at the thought, "Let's hope it doesn't come to that Liam."
You head through the secret door in the sacristy, investigating the secure storage room. Numerous scrolls here have disintegrated entirely. Only a few treasures remain: a wand of consecrate (7 charges), a prophet’s pectoral, a potion of remove blindness/deafness, and an extremely fragile tome whose paper pages are so delicate that they easily snap when turned.
Ever so carefully, Katria examines the book. Again, she eventually lets herself be pulled away by Liam when she finishes.
Katria's enthrallment with the book is so pronounced that Liam would suspect sorcery at work if he didn't know Katria.
But even so, there is work to be done.
"Yes, that will be of use, and I promise you will get to read all of it. Maybe even transcribe a more durable copy. But let's bring it with us. We have more to explore and the spells like my Find Traps won't last forever."
Liam will lead the way south.
Does he detect any traps? Or does the golden statue move?
This hall’s ceiling soars to thirty feet high. The room tapers to a rounded point at the south, where a tall golden statue of a young, muscular man stands before a sarcophagus, one hand resting on the hilt of a sword at his waist and the other holding out a rolled-up scroll. It appears to depict Taldaris himself. Low wall partitions partly seal the southernmost area, where a spiral staircase descends.
The statue does not animate, but Liam discovers a magical trap on the staircase, set to trigger if anybody descends more than a few steps. It is designed to transform trespassers into tiny figurines of themselves!
Given the difficulty with the previous trap, Liam will try to Dispel this one.
"Quickly!"
Liam then proceeds down the stairs.
Liam is able to suppress the trap long enough to allow you to safely descend the staircase! Forty feet down, the stairs open onto an octagonal room that bears numerous murals showing First Emperor Taldaris and several companions slaying beasts, making offerings, and raising the columns of great buildings. These paintings depict many deeds performed by Taldaris: Taldaris being raised by a pair of lions, his companions slaying a pair of green dragons and chopping down the towering forest beyond, Taldaris making an offering of a gigantic bull’s head to Abadar, the general Ohalia driving a spear through the chest of a regally dressed giant, and many more. This art favors the two-dimensional pre-imperial style, and after six millennia with little maintenance, the pigments have faded considerably or sloughed off entirely in places.
After you have looked around for a few minutes, the two stylized lions painted on the wall suddenly emerge, rapidly growing to full size. One paces back and forth, staring at you judgmentally. "What are your intentions in this sacred place?" it asks.
The other lion approaches closer and sniffs at you inquisitively. "Yeah, who are you guys? Got anything good to eat?"
Amelia takes a moment to think... "We are here because the line of Taldor is in peril and we seek the Mantle so that we can bring a peaceful end to a conflict that may lead to full-scale bloody war."
”Indeed? And who are you, exactly? Only upstanding agents of the highest authority in the empire may enter this place,” the first lion says standoffishly.
"We are the agents of the crown, of Princess Eutropia and the line of legitimate succession," Seth doesn't know if they have any particular awareness or inclination of the specifics of Taldor's current political climate, but he figures it's unlikely, "I personally am a servant of the Lady of Fate myself, and she has sent me to intervene in this war, ending it before it can even start."
Liam decides to match the approach of the pretentious lion.
"My name, regal lion, is Sir Liam of Kozan. My family are among the oldest -"
if not most prominent or wealthiest
"- noble families of Taldor, and priests of Aroden for many centuries."
He pauses. Do the lions know about Aroden's apparent death?
He instead keeps his comments brief and technically accurate.
"I serve one of Aroden's saints, Milani the Everbloom."
He also addresses the other lion.
"I can conjure food with this wand, but it is not particularly flavorful, I must admit. We can return to this place with proper food later if you will tell us what would be your preference."
Katria's eyes widen as the lions animate and begin to talk. This is amazing. I wonder if they have any connection to Gristantian lions," she can't help but think.
She tries to determine exactly what they are, and what they might eat -- hopefully not aspirants to the mantle.
Amelia decides to say nothing, if these creatures were guardians, there was a chance they could see through any lies she was able to use.
"Our desires here are pure, but if there is something that we can do to show our honour, please let us know."
Katria recognizes the creatures as foo lions. Foo creatures are benevolent guardian spirits that hail originally from the Outer Plane of Nirvana, where they spend their days cavorting in the idyllic wilds or aiding that realm’s inhabitants, particularly the agathions, in their work. Yet while they come from Nirvana, foo creatures are often encountered on the Material Plane as well, for they are favorite conjurations of many cultures and religions.
The gregarious lion licks his lips. "Any tasty meat is fine with me! It's not required to make an offering, but it is appreciated! I'm Luccaro, and that's Myrllial." The other lion grunts standoffishly. "Oh, come on, Myrl! They seem pretty trustworthy to me!"
"Very well. You may pass freely," Myrllial grumbles to you. "But ware the room to the west. It is trapped to punish anyone who would aspire to steal the stars in the ceiling above without first building a foundation of deeds upon which to stand."
"We weren’t awake to see what happened to the one intruder who ever got that far," Luccaro adds. "We only awoke to a brief gasp before the mutilated body hit the ground. Nasty business, that."
A trap that is a bit of a puzzle.
Liam does not ask the Foo Lions for any clarification on the trap, hoping to figure it out himself.
"Myrllial, Luccaro, I offer my sincere thanks."
Liam turns to his companions. "Shall we see what is to the East?"
"Thank you for the warning. We will do our best not to steal the stars at all; and -- if we must -- to make sure we have a solid foundation first."
Intrigued, she gestures to the others to see if they all also want to investigate what the foo lions are talking about.
Liam will follow Katria to the West to check out the trap.
She was lucky, but she didn't want to wander into traps blindly, "Thank you for the warning. We will do our best to not disrupt more than we have to, it would not befit such a sanctified place." She continues with the other two, staying well within range of her reality-bending abilities.
The elliptical room to the west has a magnificent domed ceiling painted to resemble the night sky with scores of different constellations. Examining these stars closely, though, you can identify several constellations that are out of place: two different humanoids, a bird, and a serpentine creature, with one of the humanoids featured prominently at the dome’s peak.
With the lions' warning, Liam discovers the magical trap in this room. Those who linger within for too long trigger it, causing gravity to reverse and hurl victims towards the ceiling, where the stars would emerge and swirl in a dangerous field of blazing light. Purposefully looking away from the dome will avoid triggering the trap.
"Oh!" Katria says, before looking away, "[/b]"They're used in an artistic style from 2350–2800 AR to portray the endless space of the Astral Plane! These constellations might instead represent legendary spirits."[/b]
She ponders.
"I think that might be useful, but we may need to explore a bit more to discover how."
"Should we check the other rooms from where we are? There is one to the south and one to the east. Maybe we should check there before trying to cross. Or can we just cross while looking down?"