Search Posts
"Okay, it seems that what lies beyond these doors is valuable indeed. Protective magicks that last this long are costly! So, I say we go .. left? Because that always leaves us with the right option" was Gustar's sage contribution to the discussion of their next step.
The gnome attempts to tap Surubi on the shoulder, but ends up poking 'his' behind. "Ahem, I must tell you that this is what we call an illusion. Try to wrap your mind around the notion that it is NOT real. It's like squinting at the sun while disbelieving the light, but given time and practice, you'll manage and see through it. It is nothing but a ploy to keep us out of the rooms beyond this one." It takes a moment before he triumphantly raises a finger, sounding more than a little excited as he adds,".. or hide deadly traps!"
"This is ever so clever!" the gnome exclamated with more than a little excitement. He put up an imitation of a storyteller telling a horror story to lil' gnomes around the campfire when he added,"You're walking with the dead now, best turn back while you still can!"
"Let's check the other stairs??"
"Fair enough, ser Andrei. Let us decide on who takes what for now, give the room one more sweep - who knows if we missed a hidden treasure - and then move on to the other side?", but when Surubi presents him the shield, he waves it away. "That shield is made for humans, not gnomes. I could tower behind it!" That being said, the gnome readies himself to aid Surubi in giving the room one more thorough look.
"Funeral gifts I suppose that needed preservation to stand the test of time. Going by what I know you should not find human organs inside. Also, this shield is exquisite! It has the power to heal its wearer and protect him or her from swarms!!" the gnome blurts, continueing to explain the specifics of the shield's power in great detail.
Gustar takes a closer look at the chests and the clay urn. He wonders the purpose and use of the wax: is it a sign that these objects are used to carry and contain parts of the deceased?
He then takes a look at the light shield. A short prayer to Brigh to invoke her blessing is followed by an incantation to reveal arcane aura's.
"And for what it is worth, that shield" and the gnome points at the one in the middle, "radiates conjuration magic. I do not know what that means, but it's worth checking out if we can take it with us."
Gustar nods and points at the wooden shield. "That one is a typical Mwangi shield. You can see it in the .. never mind, I won't bore you with that, but the Mwangi Expanse is at least two hundred miles away from here! Interesting! Also, can one of you identify potions and elixers? Because I cannot and we got three vials that require identifying. I'll see if I can find anything in the two books we just found that could tell us a thing or two about this diorama." The gnome then proceeds to flip through the books, hoping to catch something about a Mwangi campaign.
Gustar tilts his head to the left and mutters ".. little gnome? .." before realizing that the following discussion would be utterly pointless. It was most likely the only gift paper that the man had to wrap a compliment in.
We clearly need another gnome in the party. .. right?
The gnome grabs his holy symbol and sees to Brennan. He inspects the damaged gears of the man, notices he's spilling quite a bit of oil, his clothes stained by red grease. "May the machinery of life be repaired and continue to tick .. on."
A surge of positive energy ripples through the room. "..tock."
"Back off, Brennan!" Gustar then continues to aid Andrei, hoping that he can help the man find an opening.
Gustar grabs his mighty light hammer and attempts to assist Andrei in his efforts to obliterate the tiny menaces. He attempts.
Gustar adopts a defensive posture, hoping that he can dodge the construct's attacks. "Its attention is on me, hit it while it's distracted! Hit it!"
One of them is stuck in 1985, hehe. Old men ..
Check. I've played with some GMs who think using knowledge in such a way is cheating - 'knowledge isn't a pokedex!' is something I've heard before xD
The gnome's eyes manage to grow even bigger as the three figurines come to life. By Brigh!
Knowing he can't just stand there while his companion is being attacked, Gustar moves up and tries to touch one of the creatures
"Woohoo! Archaeological findings!" the gnome cheers as he pumps a fist up in the air. He immediately whispers a prayer and stares over the hallway, then the other room and then its contents - the chests, urn, display, shields and weapons.
After that, he'll shadow Surubi and lend her his inquisitive gaze.
"Sekhmet, the Osirian goddess of war, is the third god represented here, sir Andrei. Also, the contents of the chest are magical. I detect three faint aura's, but with the lid being closed, that might be the reason for that. Alternatively, the items could be minor - such as a simple potion. Let us secure the room first before we make any attempts at opening said chest?"
Carefully following in the trail of Surubi the gnome takes a look at the chariot. He put his crossbow away, leather cord slung over his shoulder, and raised his symbol high above him - roughly at chest height for a normal human. "Exquisite!" But professionalism had to come first. He invoked the inquisitive nature of Brigh and gazed at it with arcane sight. First the chariot, then the chest and then the rest of the room. Best to be thorough!
"I wonder what this room symbolizes .. let us discuss this and see if we can come to a mutual conclusion. The chariot is an instrument of war and a symbol of power. The skins of animals indicates martial prowess, as a hunter and or a warrior. The shields indicate warfare. Now, the chest might give us some answers if opened, but if I had to guess - and I'm not a gambler! - I think we will find part of his combat attire in it. A small weapon like a short bow or a set of armor."
"Seeing as that we entered this room of divergence in a straight line from the entrance - or exit, depending on how you look at it - it is safe to assume that the other side will also see us down. Still, to make this theory a fact, we should check the door for traps and open it. In short, I concur, Brennan."
"If it helps, I can cast a blessing of light on one of your items, Surubi. Hand it to me and I'll see to it!" If (s)he prefers the light stays centralized on the gnome instead, he'll refresh the duration of the blessing and follow her.
"Ah, yes. Yes yes yes. I see.." the gnome mutters as he talks to no one in particular. Perhaps it is a voice in his head he's talking with. "Apparently Akhentepi's family were the victims of murder or sickness. Perhaps both. We have been told that a great plague ravaged this part of Osirion. Many theories I have, few things I can prove. What I am sure of, however, is that his family is buried here, but most likely only after Akhentepi had a succesful career. It seems common enough, to have your bones lifted out of your grave and put in a nicer one. Not that you'd care by then, but still, a nice enough gesture."
The gnome adds his perceptive gaze to Surubi's effort, helping the man with his search for any and all traps. > +2 for Suribi = 26 perception. And as they do so, he can't help but notice the darned mummified cats. Who would do such a thing? Creepy! Spooky! Silly! Get an artist to make a painting, a statue or anything that does not involve the preservation of a dead body!
"Spooky! These animals have been watching over the tomb of their master for Pharasma knows how long. Should we implement a security protocol? First, try to detect any magicks and poisons, then use more mundane means to detect traps and only then barge in?" Not one to waste time, the gnome then wiggles his fingers and tries to discern if there is any magick hanging or lingering in the room.
"Friendly banter aside, you should really check out the doors while you're at it! Diabolical minds designed this tomb so we best be prepared!"
Knowing that there are times where you must listen, Gustar moves back into the other room and seeks shelter around the corner. He silently mouths a prayer to Brigh, hoping that science and skill will be on their side.
"If only we had a bag of rocks and a gnomish push-o-pole .. !"
"I know that gnomes are rather courageous beings, but I have to admit that I'm a little spooked right now. To be sure, let me see if there are any magicks .." And the gnomes wiggles his fingers and ends the motion with a deep sigh. Apparently this lets him see active magics.
"Good point, good point. You can tell I'm not a seasoned adventurer, huh? And no, but when your target eludes you, it is best to be prepared for when it does show itself to you!" That being said, the gnome goes about putting on his armor and lets Surubi, if 'he' wants to, assist him to make sure it gets done faster.
The gnome brings forth his crossbow and loads it with a bolt. Soft humming follows and after touching it with his hand, the holy symbol around his neck projects a magical light. He then nods at his companions that he's ready to go.
"Who needs engineering when one has muscle, good intentions and comradery, right?!" The positivity of his words is underscored by glistening sweat on his forhead - that climb could've ended a whole lot worse for him. He then eyes the unfortunate man, feeling for the poor fella. "We should make sure he gets a proper burial .." If any of the groupmembers moves forward to study the door, he'll follow and assist in whatever way he can.
"Here goes .."
Gustar starts taking off his armor. He ain't none too happy about the prospects of having to climb down! He then joins Surubi.
"If we want to take our time, we can go to town and score some of the materials I'd need to construct a device that will allow us to go down with next to no danger. It will also let us haul any loot up .. ", the Gnome adds, knowing well that most humans have no time for Gnomish engineering unless profit is involved. "A simple tripod, a winch and plenty of rope should do the trick. That, or we buy a lot of rope, sit down and merrily engage in some handywork as we weave the individual ropes into a rope wall that we then lower into the pit."
"The legs of the tripod should sink down to hit the walls. When we then hang a weight on it, it will 'drag' the legs down against the walls so the construction does all the hard work for us. The winch system should let one or two people up top easily lower a person down .. and I could even build in a slowing mechanic of sorts, if given time and money, so that the gears won't allow for too many rotations a second .. meaning that if you lose control, the device will eat the punishing weight and lower you slowly. That is, until the teeth of the gears had enough and break. Oh gosh, I'm talking way too much, my apologies." To speed things up: if the group says yes or simply doesn't care and let Gustar do his thing, here goes:
"Those who built it had to come out. I mean, I assume they didn't bury the makers with the main [i]bury-ee[i]. Let's start being methodical about this, my dearest companions?" That being said, Gustar wiggles his fingers to detect any magics. If so, he'll concentrate to discern the aura's and learn anything from it.
If not, or once done with that, he'll throw an inquisitive gaze through the room to look for anything disconcerting. Like, say, a trap! And he makes sure to check out the piton - is it sturdy enough to handle the weight of a grown tall person?
"Let's roll this big wheel o' cheese to the side?" If the party decides to do so, Gustar will throw his phenomenal strength behind the group effort.
I can dig that. If anything, AoOs can horribly interfere with a pbp's flow.
The gnome butted in. "An opinion is like a thesis - one must quote sources to give it credibility. I see no error in your behavior so don't quote me on the need to apologize."
The gnome wiggled his fingers and called upon Brigh to show him any and all magical auras.
"But but, science demands we push on! And and, we're not grave robbers, we've been blessed by the Pharasmites of Wati! I should write a note to have the Pharasmites send a hieroglyph carver to rectify the text on these walls. I can't stand conflicting messages." That being said, Gustar carefully falls in behind Surubi and studies the room. Excitedly he blurts out the fact that the southern faces depict Pharasma and the norther faces depict Anubis, a local god of burials and mummification. Still, the room might be trapped and he forces his eyes and mind to focus on the task at hand.
Gustar applies his knowledge of physics and engineering to aid his companions. Sadly, telling others how to lift and pull doesnt increase their actual muscle mass when theyre already doing it the right way.
The gnome readies his scientifically 'enhanced' crossbow and checks if all the random gears and modifications are functioning. Whether they are actual improvements is something else; the gnome has managed to reduce the recoil, but with the firing rate of ye standard crossbow..
"When two minds become one! Here, Z'ael, you can use some of my paper! Ignore the Gigglephizz signature on the back in the corner, I may or may not have anticipated on others using my paper."
Since the others busy themselves shoveling with away sand, Gustar will take the moment to study the door with something a little less mundane. A flourish of the hand, the utterance of the Gnomish word reveal! and all things magic become apparent to the tiny inventor.
Detect Magic: 1st Round: Presence or absence of magical auras. 2nd Round: Number of different magical auras and the power of the most potent aura. 3rd Round: The strength and location of each aura. If the items or creatures bearing the auras are in line of sight, you can make Knowledge (arcana) skill checks to determine the school of magic involved in each. (Make one check per aura: DC 15 + spell level, or 15 + 1/2 caster level for a nonspell effect.) If the aura emanates from a magic item, you can attempt to identify its properties (see Spellcraft).
"Yes, yes, yes! Prayer has been said to optimize the flow of hope and believe in a positive outcome in individuals. Let us go through this ritual so that we are as optimally prepared as possible!" That being said, he brings forth a small cup to accept some of Surubi's water. But the first challenge soon presented itself: a large herd of tall people. It's a hard knock life sometimes when you're a gnome. The rush of excited tall people meant that Gustar had to get in the slipstream of a strong tall individual. As the caravan got into motion he hoped that no one took the challenge of bumping into this impressive Ulfen man and so causing him to be trampled underneath not just one, but (at least) two giants! Luckily this was a good day for science and none of the sort happened, because Gustar didn't get far past the gates at all. All around him beautiful structures beckoned him on. It was too much. Too much!
Impossibly large eyes settled themselves on the closed doors to Akhentepi's tomb. Fingertips silently clacked against one another as the gnome tried to channel his excessive enthusiasm into something useful. Perhaps this door was the first of many riddles that would stand in their way on the road to success. Maybe this wasn't a door at all! Ha-ha!! You're a genius, Gustar! Armed with a plan, he went about looking and searching for the entrance. He mumbled to himself at times, as if his spoken voice was conversing with the voice inside his head - something altogether possible - and completely forgot to ask the assistance of his colleagues. New to collective adventuring, this one.
Maybe it is a good thing if I elaborate on what GUSTAR GIGGLEPHIZZ can do:
What he can't:
|
