"Back in your home town? Unfortunately, I can't accompany you beyond my jurisdiction, I could lose my station. But it seems you've got some very able friends."
Search Posts
On their way back to town, the Captain says jovially, "I can honestly say I've not felt this alive in a decade. If you all ever need any more help around here, just come find me, I'm almost always at the station." At Mael's comment, he says, "The Forum? Oh yeah, they'll 'wipe it clear' after they're done studying it for six months. By then, whoever's responsible for this will have set up shop someplace else. These old temples are all over Attica. I wouldn't be surprised if this 'project' were just one of many." At Taldo's question, the Captain grins and slaps him on the shoulder, "You m'boy have more in your future than tanning, not that it isn't a noble profession, mind you. Tell you what, I'll personally endorse your application for citizenship if you'd like to become a member of the guard. We could use a man of your skill. And your loquaciousness!" This last comment made him chuckle. As they reach the city, Iyers looks around as if looking for a reason to continue on in their company, and looking up he sees one, "Wow, it's gotten late. Have you all got a place to stay for the night? Or have you got more to do?"
Iyers holds his rifle high, "I've no need for it. Where to next? Onward?" -Posted with Wayfinder
Iyers gratefully accepts Dominic's torch and follows Taldo around the corner where they both see a metallic cobra dragging a sack by its pull-strings. Seeing them, the serpent lets the sack go and hisses at them!
K (Arcana) DC 20:
The serpent is an iron cobra -Posted with Wayfinder
Iyers comes up behind Maelius, "We've gotten past three of these things already, it can't be that bad. Push on! Or would you rather I lead?"
"Not that we'd necessarily want to go through that way, but I seem to recall an archway and a door in the north wall of the torture chamber. Just so we have all the options in front of us before choosing." It's clear the Captain couldn't care less what they did, he was just excited to be out in the field again. However, judging from his facial expressions and body language, it's clear that Chase still would like to leave as soon as possible.
Captain Iyers scratches his head in the dying light, "Well, if they're collecting magic-raced peoples, maybe they're also collecting magical beings on the whole...?"
Whether by the flail of his robes or the sound of his voice, Dominic succeeds in convincing the elemental that the adept is superior and shouldn't be messed with, it flees. "Well that was easy enough," Iyers chuckles, "Good call, Mr. Tryst. Where to next?" The question was posed to no one in particular as the Captain looked back and forth between the stairs and the archway.
"'Fraid not, young man. I know that Gisli has been around quite a bit longer than many cities in the empire. Almost as long as Attica itself. So there's no telling what this once was, or what's been going on here since when." Upon entry into the room, it's plain to see that the garish and attention-grabbing writing Dominic saw was written over a statue of an armored warrior. Also, the north wall of the room seems to have collapsed inward. Finally, to the south, Dominic and the others can see an iron door.
As he moves forward with the torch, Dominic notices something he hadn't before in all the excitement, a demonic face sculpture in the west wall of the room, he sees writing over it. Abyssal:
"Feed me, and enter." Perception DC 25:
You see a switch in the demon's mouth. As the light reaches the other end of the room, you can see an archway toward the north, and a wooden door to the northeast. "It seems the ayes have it! Where to?!" Iyers is clearly having the time of his life, gaining more and more energy as evening turns to night outside the "cave."
Maelius finds the chest locked, and does what he can to open it, but finds himself incapable without the proper tools. Iyers sees him struggle, and hands him a rolled up leather pack, "I'll need these back when you're done with them, they're confiscated property, I just figured we might need for this outing." It takes him a couple tries, but he opens it, after which he promptly hands the tools back to Iyers. In the top of the chest, Maelius finds a backpack full of supplies, a longbow and quiver, and a dagger; all covered in forest debris, very clearly having been Chase's . In addition, the musician finds a high quality climber's kit, a well-used short sword, a potion of Hide from Animals, as well as a few gems and coins. Captain Iyers smiles and claps Taldo on the shoulder at his offer to carry Chase. Brandishing his musket he begins to lead the way out.
"I would agree with Mr. Tryst!" Iyers shouts as he fires another shot which unfortunately ricochet's off the creatures stony hide.
The Captain busts up at Taldo's impression (whether or not it was intended for humor), "I appreciate a man who can joke in the right situation, we all got very serious for a moment there!" The troop presses on to the door (since the creature is clearly pointing due north, and not at the archway in case I failed to mention), and the Captain tries it, and sees that it's regular wood, and not trapped. As they enter the room, and Dominic's torch illuminates the part of the enormous chamber in which they find themselves, the townsfolk are made subject to a gruesome sight. Bloodstains litter the ends of what can only be understood as instruments of torture. Iron men, a table of crocodile shears and lead sprinklers, and even what's left of a humanoid corpse strapped to a cage which once held hungry rats, as is evident by the half-eaten corpse of one of its former occupants. This trying scene is otherwise littered with rotted wood and a pile of stones. In the distance however, in the dim light to the northeast, they see something, it's Chase! Tied up and spilt on the ground, he's not moving. "There's your man!" says the Captain. Raising his musket, he says, "Go and retrieve him, I'll cover you, just in case." Perception DC 17: You can tell that the "pile of rocks" is has two glowing gemstones in it which seem to be looking at you (it's alive!).
"Well the creature seems to be gesturing north. If it wanted to hurt us, I believe it would have, so it must understand we're looking for someone, and I imagine it would point us in the direction it last saw someone go. Then again it could just be stretching, I haven't the foggiest."
Iyers, hearing Sera's explanation, lowers his musket. He also pantomimes searching.
"It's Iyers, actually, like a drunk man agreeing it's your turn to buy a round," he does his best drunk man impression, which isn't very good, "Aye, yers..." he gets quite a chuckle out of that. He's clearly been waiting to tell that joke for a bit. Sera can see the foot of a pillar in the hall in front of them. No one else can tell anything else about this place or where the cart went. GM:
After Mael flips the coin, Iyers says, "Good enough for me!" Iyers presses forward, and when the light hits the corridor, it's clear to everyone that the pillar Sera noticed was one of a series lining the hallway. Cobwebs and water stains mar what could've been a sight given a bit of care and light.
From the intersection, they can see the hall to the left goes west and ends in another T-intersection. In front of Iyers, they can see an old wooden door, and a hall leading north. He looks intently at the door and says, "This door has not been used in a long time," he tries it, "Yeah, it's stuck. Do you want to break through here or take the hallway north? Or would you rather go back the other way?"
Captain Iyers brandishes his musket, and says, "Maybe I should go in first there, Mr. Tryst, seeing as I seem to be the only one here with actual fighting experience..." Just in case, he loads his musket before heading inside.
As the party enters the cave it becomes quite clear to everyone that this is no ordinary cave, if it is a cave at all. The walls seem to be machine hewn masonry, and reinforced with wooden framing. The floor seems to be the same stone, but it appears tiled with large (2.5' by 2.5') blocks. But the main thing everyone notices exiting the warm, coastal, post-rain air is the coolness. This and the pitch black darkness outside of the reach of the torch are the only things that support this place being called a "cave." Ahead, they can all see the long straight corridor they entered ends in a T-intersection.
Captain Iyers takes the note and reads it, then smiles up at Taldo, "Had your hopes up did you? Well, I'm glad we could deliver this time." He turns to Dominic, "The more the merrier! Off we go!" The Clemanites and the Gislites follow Tena out of the main entrance of the city. As the sun begins to set, the shops are packing up, the homeless are retreating into their alleys, and the guards are posting up, getting ready to lower the portcullis. Iyers, gets them through the guard tower to the other side, and it's not long before Tena leads everyone to the spot where she last saw her brother up the road aways and northeast up a hunting trail a bit. The Captain looks at the group. "It's been a while since I was in the field last...anyone got a clue on how to find this brother of hers?"
"I'm sorry sir? Did you say something? I'll understand if you'd rather stay behind, but your friends have already said they're ready to go." Captain Iyers is doing a good job of being respectful in spite of his noticeably growing impatience. |