"Perhaps a water table beneath the ground?" Solomon suggested. "Is there an oasis near here?"
He walked slowly over to the source of the dripping noise to take a better look.
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Solomon took a step forward and nudged the door open a bit further with his falchion.
After checking on Zhalet, Solomon checked over the bodies for anything useful or interesting. He looked balefully down the dark hall as the laughter echoed through, but focused on sifting through the bones.
Solomon brought his falchion down again.
Sounds good
Solomon put both hands back on his sword and chopped down hard.
Solomon stepped back and let two darts fly.
I could take over the trapbreaking duties. It would set me back a level, but I'm not too concerned. The last feat I took was Stabbing Shot, and I haven't used it at all. I'm not sure I ever will. It's just a prerequisite for the later Empty Quiver stuff. I could swap that feat for Extra Traits and pick up Vagabond Child (or Trap Finder if you'll allow it). Then I'd just need to rearrange a few skill points. The original incarnation of Solomon had Disable Device. I just dropped it because Killara already had it. Might as well go back to my roots. :) All that said, if the party wants to pick up another player or two, that's fine with me.
I'm here. Glad the site is back up. I think Kilarra's probably gone, sadly.
Solomon ducked his head around the corner to take a look. "Can anyone detect undead today?' he rumbled. "I don't really want to defile any graves checking the manual way."
Solomon made a show of listening to Alexander's instructions, but he had pretty much no idea what "vectors" and "angles of torsion" were. He just put the piton where Alexander pointed and hoped the wizard knew what he was talking about. Once it was wedged, Solomon broke down the gear, unstrung the tackle and rolled up his tool kit again. It snapped neatly onto the under side of his sturdy backpack. "Glad that worked." Between all the hammering and screeching of rusty metal anything down here knew they were coming so Solomon started moving forward without his usual stealthy scouting tactics. He still took point, but directed the group to keep closer than usual.
Solomon dropped his pack and pulled out a leather tool roll. He unrolled it eveling an array of tools that would have done any dwarf proud. "Cover us while I do some things. This might get noisy," he said to Rukn. "I came prepared, but this is the first time I've ever had to use this stuff. I have a basic idea, but Alexander, maybe you can help me figure out the best place and configuration for this stuff?"
With Alexander's direction he took a leather-wrapped mallet and drove a piton into the ceiling. From it he hung a four-pulley block-and-tackle. Once it was in position, he threaded a rope through the pulley system, tied off a grappling hook to one end and anchored it to the portcullis. Then he backed up and handed the rope to everyone else so they could all pull together. When it was done he handed Rukn a pry bar. "If anywhere seems to be particularly stuck, use this."
Solomon edged forward until he was next to the portcullis and looked though it to see if he could make out anything beyond. Then he checked it for hazards or mechanisms.
Solomon took a moment to smell the air. "Either this tomb has been opened recently, or there is some kind of opening to a source of fresh air down here."
Solomon immediately found a shadow to kneel in and notched an arrow to his bow.
"I didn't recognize the sound." Solomon said. "We'll stay quiet. If we do get something's attention, we'll try to lure it under the well so you and Rukn can fire down." Solomon started his climb.
"Three should be fine." Solomon said continuing his knot work. Knotting a hundred and fifty feet of rope isn't fast, but eventually they got through it, anchored the grapple and Solomon swung over the edge to climb down. [b]"Zhalet, jump when I get near the bottom. If there are any more of Sarenrae's guardians, we should be the ones in front."
"How much rope do we have?" Solomon asked, starting to knot the rope he'd brought.
"I really should get some of those." Solomon said. "We could drop a torch down, but it sounds like it might hit somethign wet and go out. Can you make a rock light up or something?"
"Good idea." Solomon agreed, looking down the hole.
"Forgiveness is the Dawnflower's first commandment. I would see the priest interned here when we are done. He has suffered enough." Solomon said. He'd seen enough here. He headed back to the main chamber to prepare to climb down into the lower catacombs.
Solomon looked all the exposed crypts over, checking to see if any were empty, or if any caskets looked like they might have been opened.
Solomon moved in near Kilarra and cautiously looked around when Rukn spoke.
Solomon nodded in thought. He'd hoped for more, but fire elementals weren't known for their attention spans or helpful demeanors. He thanked them in the language of flames, and shrugged to his companions. "Main crypt first?"
Solomon nodded politely to the fiery angels and spoke with words that crackled and hissed like flames. Ignan: "Thank you for your council. What can you tell us of what we will face within?"
I thought we were waiting on you to move things forward.
Solomon rose and smiled, thrilled to be in the presence of the firey angels. "Our thanks." over his shoulder to the others he said "Zhalet and I will be the ones held responsible for what the rest of you do while we are here." Facing the angels again he asked "What happened here?"
Solomon steps forward and takes a knee, his own holy symbol burning on his chest. "Hold! We mean no trespass. We are here to restore this place to it's proper reverence. We are not your enemies."
Solomon tapped himself with the wand of Bull Strength and then rang the pommel of his falchion against the gong.
Solomon looked to Kilarra. "Can you bypass the wards?"
"What does that mean? The well was built on top of the brick layer? Or that they sealed off the well?" Solomon asked, not sure what to make of it. "Why would the brick be enchanted?"
"Kilarra climbs down and take a look." Solomon said, as though it were obvious. He set his pack down, pulled out a rope and knotted it at regular intervals. Then he affixed his grapple to the edge of the well and held it firmly in place. "I'll hold onto hold onto this so it doesn't slip."
"Hmph. There is one stone, there, down the well. Enchanted." Solomon said, pointing.
Solomon moved into the chamber taking the right flank, scanning for hazards. He tossed a handful of obsidian shards into the air. They began to lazily orbit him. His falchion rested on his shoulder and a dart was held loosely in his other hand.
"Solomon, did I know you?" "No. You were very much an animal. You did not know me at all." Solomon said sadly. ----------- It wasn't a lot of sleep, but it was enough. Solomon woke, packed his equipment and was ready to go as quickly as possible. "Thank you for waiting," he said to the group as they headed out. ----------- He was tense in front of the seal as it opened. When there was nothing but a hall on the other side he smiled at his own nerves. "A bit anti-climactic."
Solomon didn't argue. After he'd told Zhalet all about her night as a cat, he trudged up the stairs and found a place to sleep.
Solomon wordlessly turned around as Zhalet stirred and started to get dressed. He gave the men in the room a pointed look indicating they should turn around also. "You turned into a cat-person. It looked like an unpleasant experience. Obviously painful. You lost your sense of self during the transformation and attacked the bars, your chains, and the walls of your cell all night long. Luckily they held. There were a few times I thought they might not. At dawn you collapsed and fell asleep. A few minutes later you changed back." He unlocked the cell door, and then her manacles and fetters. "We should expect one more night of this, right?" Solomon had trekked through he desert, fought horrors of all kinds, and stayed up all night long to care for the injured on more than one occasion, all without showing a moment of fatigue. Today, he looked exhausted.
"She seems fine now. I've been better." Solomon shrugged. "Thanks for checking on us."
Solomon had brought an extra change of clothes down with him the night before. When Zhalet finally collapsed and changed back into a woman, he carefully approached and slipped the clothes through he bars so she would find them when she awoke. He was tired. Sitting there watching her, wondering if she'd break through, trying to speak with her and getting no recognizable response, praying for her. It had taken a larger toll than he expected. He trudged upstairs to see what the camp had made for breakfast, then came back down with two bowls. One he set on his cot. The other he put next to Zhalet's clothing. He was having trouble keeping his eyes open. Hopefully she'd wake soon.
^ I like this idea. I didn't realize there was a difference between the cells at the battle market and the cells at the monastery. The battle market is a safer place to lock Zhalet up anyway. If she breaks free she won't be in the middle of our NPC camp. We can just retcon and say that all of the Zhalet/Solomon scenes in the "cells" are happening at the battle market instead.
"I had not planned on leaving." Solomon said, taking her clothes and other things and placing them in a neat pile next to his cot. "Tell me everything that you experience as it happens, for as long as you can." He sat cross-legged on the floor in front of his makeshift bed and rolled out a leather wrap full of tools. He'd taken a bunch of bows from the gnolls and was cannibalizing them, reassembling them and binding them together into some kind of oversized super-bow.
from an out of game perspective, it doesn't seem right to lock Zhalet away and then have the rest of the party go off and keep adventuring for the night. Unless there's something very pressing to do, I'd rather the whole party just got some sleep. I'm not going to argue with anyone if they decide to do other stuff, but Solomon is staying with Zhalet.
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