"Ghaernan, can you please see if there is any magics in the area? That may tell us more about whether it is worth dealing with."
Ghaernan nods in assent, then begins the casting, summoning his growing mastery of the Word and the Way with whispered arcane words and subtle gestures, then concentrates through the magic of his enhanced vision while slowly turning, seeking the presence of magical auras among the detritus of the lair within his sight…
The "crown" on his head is clearly magical.
”Interesting; nothing amidst all the detritus in Zuuga’s lair here emanates any magical auras…except for that bracer serving as a “crown” upon the mite’s head. I’m uncertain as to what its effects are at the moment, though…”
to discern the relevant school of magic…
”Gundar, your thoughts on the “crown” that the mite wears?”
Khalid will growl at the Mite king in frustration, saying in Sylvan, "Where is this 'Clickylegs' then or the monster who slew it?". He then pantomimes hunting and killing it.
As Khalid stepped forward, he offered a few measured words—slow, deliberate, his voice calm but firm. His hands moved as well, forming simple gestures meant to convey peace, understanding, and perhaps a question or two.
The mite king blinked rapidly, his oversized bracer-crown wobbling slightly as he stared up at the much taller man. His eyes darted between Khalid’s face and his hands, his long ears twitching with effort.
There was a long pause.
Then he tilted his head sideways—first one way, then the other—his brow furrowing with theatrical confusion.
"Hrnnnngh..." he hummed, a vaguely inquisitive noise. Then he gave an exaggerated shrug, raised his tiny clawed finger, and simply pointed down through the floor.
"Kzzz-kzz’ta Zuuga!" he declared confidently, as if that explained everything.
Whatever he thought Khalid had said, this was his answer.
"Kzz-kz’ta Zuga then." Khalid will say with confidence he does not feel. "Verilich, lead on unless Gundar has any thoughts to add on the crown."
”Gundar, your thoughts on the “crown” that the mite wears?”
Gundar shakes his head in the negative. Sorry lads, not many crowns used inreligions. That's more for the civilian side of things. I might use my dwarven experience to tell you how much it is worth.
He rolls the crown around in his hands. Eh? I can't even tell you that!
Reflecting that he'll likely have very much to say indeed upon a return visit to Zuuga, Ghaernan offers the mite king an elaborate bow in farewell, striving with the mastery of his craft to conceal his amusement, and gestures onward to Verelich, and wherever his sense of the next shard takes the company...
With King Zuuga still chirping nonsense to his imagined court, the group took the opportunity to quickly *sweep through the remaining chambers*of the level.
Their pace was brisk, weapons in hand, but the search proved uneventful. The twisted lairs of the mites had been cleared. No scuttling feet echoed in the halls, no traps sprung from the walls, and no lurking spiders remained behind.
At last, it seemed certain—only the mad king Zuuga remained alive on this level.
They gathered once more, standing before a spiraling stone staircase, its ancient steps winding downward into darkness. With a shared look and unspoken resolve, they descended.
And kept descending.
The spiral continued much farther than expected, plunging deeper beneath the ruined piling of the great Irespan bridge—deeper than any of them had guessed possible. Stone walls closed around them as they passed downward, the air growing colder, damper. Finally, after a drop of perhaps fifty feet, the stair ended with a quiet echo of boots on stone.
They had arrived at another level.
The landing deposited them at the corner of a hallway. To the south, the corridor grew increasingly choked with thick spiderwebs, their white strands glistening with dew in the party’s light. They advanced only twenty feet before the webs became too dense to pass easily, a wall of silk that warned of further infestation.
To the west, the air was clearer, the webs thinning out quickly. Their light pushed out into the darkness—just far enough to spot it.
A shape moved.
From the gloom ahead, an exceptionally large spider—easily the size of a pony—stirred and turned toward them, its multitude of eyes catching the light with a glassy gleam.
It had noticed them.
Round 1
Ghaernan <== Up!
Gundar <== Up!
Caius <== Up!
Verilich <== Up!
Spider
Khalid
"Hostile spider to the right. I will engage."
versus flat footed
Gundar taps Caius with a resistance, Now try not to get bit! He offers with a smile.
Yet he ran right. He's odd...
The blow crushes the spider, but Verilich reports that he can hear more of them coming from further west, perhaps around the corners.
Wait, he did say right. Perhaps I am losing my mind. Good thing I didn't say anything.
Hearing Verelich's report that there are "more of them coming," Ghaernan grows somewhat concerned over the increasing threat to the company, and the Bard is moved to bring the virtues of the Word and the Way to the imperiled band.
He strides down with purpose and presence past Khalid, Gundar, and Caius to stand within the alcove at the base of the spiral stair, enabling them to effectively engage in the fight ahead. With sling in-hand, his voice grows resonant as he begins a Bardic Performance, using only audible components to project his voice and Inspire Courage in his allies...
"The time to fight has come again, in this conflict to NAMZARUUM, THE SWORD, to victory and seeking the prize below the sea!"
Caius moves 20 feet toward the webs, making the closest spider his marked target.
Three more spiders come to the intersection, and towards the party.
Round 1
Khalid <== Up!
Round 2
Ghaernan <== Up!
Gundar <== Up!
Caius <== Up!
Verilich <== Up!
Spider
Khalid
Khalid will move up and attack the spider in range.
Khalid knocks a second spider out of the fight.
Verilich flurries on the single spider.
That second hit will strike and take down a spider!
Round 2
Ghaernan <== Up!
Gundar <== Up!
Caius <== Up!
Verilich
Spider
Khalid
That second hit will strike and take down a spider!
Verilich takes a 5' step onto the dead spider body of his foe
Ghaernan eases his pack to the ground, sling still in-hand, and moves forward until he possesses a clear shot at the spider ahead. His sling settles into a rapid spin, and hurls a bullet at the beast...
Caius moves forward to strike the last spider to round the corner.
19-20/x2 S
Gundar will tap Ghaernan with resistence.
The assault from the Pathfinders quickly overwhelms and kills the spiders.
Three long cell block corridors extend out from a central guardroom, each hall featuring numerous iron cell doors.
Only the hallway South of the stairwell is covered in webs, the three cell block halls are not.
Khalid will investigate.
Nodding in thanks to Gundar, Ghaernan follows closely behind Khalid initially, then stops to recover his sling bullet. The Bard advances as far as the central guardroom, and joins in the Alchemist's investigation...
All of these cells appear like they haven't had anything in them for a long, long, time.
Verilich quickly confirms the empty cells himself and goes to the end of the hallway. "There appears to be stairs this direction. Given the party doesn't like to leave a floor without clearing it, I suggest we go back to the spiral staircase we entered from and proceed down the other hallway."
Verilich moves to the stop sign and awaits his companions.
"Odd place for spiders to gather, don't you think? Must be more interesting things to find behind these webs" Khalid comments as he follows Verilich and you notice his beastlike features fade.
The party reassembled at the base of the spiral stairs, the stone beneath their boots damp with chill and time. Without a word, they pressed southward, back into the stone abyss.
The corridor ahead was a choking veil of spiderwebs, thick and clinging, stretching from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. Progress slowed to a crawl as several of the party took to hacking at the webs, blades and staves slicing through the sticky sheets while others stood ready, watching the shadows for movement.
Bit by bit, the passage opened before them.
Eventually, they emerged into a broad hall lined with stone pillars. Between the columns hung dense curtains of webbing, fresher and tighter than those in the corridors—sticky and gleaming, stretched taut like newly spun silk.
Dangling amidst the tangle were the carcasses of several albino crickets, each the size of a small dog. Their pale legs curled in death, their hollow shells glistening faintly, drained and brittle.
Exits opened in each of the four corners of the hall, as well as one to the south, though all were partially veiled behind more webs.
But before they could consider which path to take, movement stirred above.
Three large spiders descended quickly from the webs, hissing and lunging with legs outstretched and fangs bared.
The party responded instantly.
Verilich struck the first mid-air with a snap of his sansetsukon, smashing it to the stone floor in a twitching heap.
Caius met the second with a brutal upward swing of his greatsword, cleaving through chitin in a single motion.
Khalid stepped forward, slashing his horsechopper across the last spider’s flank, and as it reeled, Ghaernan’s sling bullet slammed into its thorax, dropping it for good.
Not a single fang found flesh.
The fight was over before it had truly begun. The webs swayed gently in the aftermath.
Extra will look around.
Alas, there is naught to be found in this room.
With the room cleared of spiders and webs, the party took a moment to scan the space. A quick search revealed nothing of value—only more brittle cricket husks and sticky silken drapery.
Falling back to their methodical pattern, they resumed their “right-hand rule”, turning toward the northwest passage that branched out between the pillars.
The corridor twisted and wound through the stone like the inside of a coiled serpent, but the group pressed forward without hesitation. Their light chased shadows across rough-hewn walls as they advanced through the dark.
At last, the passage opened into a circular chamber, perfectly round and strangely quiet.
At its center sat a ten-foot-wide pool, its surface perfectly still. The water within was crystal clear, revealing the smooth tiled floor just six inches below the surface. A swirling pattern—like a painted vortex—decorated the bottom of the pool, its spiral design elegant and hypnotic, a stark contrast to the grime and filth of the surrounding dungeon.
Aside from the pool, the room was completely empty. No webs, no bones, no signs of occupation.
To their left, another exit led out, vanishing into shadow.
The silence here was uncanny.
And the water… too clean.
Recovered sling bullets and pack in-hand, Ghaernan walks with the company through the remnants of the webs among the twisting corridors. He comes to the fore, however, when the crystal clear pool of water is revealed.
The Bard first begins a casting of whispered arcane words and subtle gestures, then focuses his enhanced vision on the too-clean, perfectly still waters while seeking the presence of magical auras within them and their surroundings in the circular chamber…
As he focuses for the next few rounds, Ghaernan also begins quietly but eloquently speaking, gracefully gesturing, and responding - to himself, to all appearances - in a refined, elegant, and yet indiscernible manner...
to discern strengths, locations, and schools of magic of any auras.
to identify the specific properties of any items, such as the water, pool, swirling pattern, etc., that emanate a magic aura.
As the others fanned out to examine the circular chamber, Ghaernan stepped forward, eyes narrowing as he regarded the still surface of the pool. There was something strange about it—something too perfect.
He raised a hand and muttered a soft incantation under his breath, fingers tracing a practiced sigil in the air. A faint shimmer passed across his irises as his arcane sight opened.
Instantly, the room bloomed into layered color and motion visible only to him—the weave of magic laid bare.
The pool before him blazed with power.
Raw, radiant threads of conjuration magic suffused the water, pulsing gently like a living heartbeat. Deeper still, nested within that aura, he saw the unmistakable glow of healing energies—bright, clear, and incredibly potent. The very liquid shimmered with arcane life, as though every drop had been steeped in restorative purpose.
He took a slow breath, awed despite himself. This was no minor charm or faded enchantment. The strength of the magic was immense, far beyond the usual trinkets and wards found in the ruins above.
Whatever this pool was, it had been created by a masterful hand…
…and it had not yet faded.
Khalid will go to the pool and investigate the waters using his skills. Unless he thinks Ghearnan was somehow duped, he will take a good drought before filling a few of his extra bottles.
The water tastes cool and refreshing.
No.