"Let's not go climbing anywhere there Darie," Kessel says, kneeling to look over skeleton and looking up at the chain, "This fellow died a little too close to that chain for me to let you go climbing up it. Khadath can you tell how this fellow died?"
Between you you can easily deduce from the broken bones and position of the skeletal remains that the poor soul probably died from a fall from a great height.
Darie looked over the sarcophagus again, sighing. "We've got to get this thing open sooner or later." But when Tobin mentioned the chain, she moved towards the halfling.
"I think you're right, Darie," Tobin says as the young woman approaches him. "It would be interesting to see what they thought was worth protecting with magic! And there's the question of finding enough valuables to fund ourselves for a while," he adds, with a wink. "I'm still feeling a little rattled after being bitten by that snake, though, and I wasn't inclined to mess with something else that might hurt me - at least, not unless Khadath is ready to heal me again."
Looking back over at the sarcophagus, Kells cants his head to the side. "Is it just me, or does the dais it's on look like an arrow? Is it pointing to one of the passageways?"
Looking back over at the sarcophagus, Kells cants his head to the side. "Is it just me, or does the dais it's on look like an arrow? Is it pointing to one of the passageways?"
Kells walks over to the orange passageway and holds the everburning torch hight to maximize the illumination. The pale green light flares garishly against the orange walls.
There appears to be nothing of note down the orange passageway.
Looking back over at the sarcophagus, Kells cants his head to the side. "Is it just me, or does the dais it's on look like an arrow? Is it pointing to one of the passageways?"
"Interesting," muses Tobin, walking back to the centre of the room, "it does look like an arrow. I didn't find anything unusual when I searched that passage earlier, though. So, what does everyone think, then? Shall we try to open this sarcophagus without getting hurt, climb the blue lantern's chain, investigate the orange lantern's passage, or leave for today?"
"Well I am of two minds, I think we should try and either climb the chain and see what up there...at least one of us should. As well I wonder if the sarcophogus is movable as it is an arrow mayhaps we could try and reposition the arrow...not sure how but it might work."
Zereta shrugs
As Zereta voices her idea that the sarcophagus may be able to be moved Jeny moves over to the platform and looks at it with her head canted to one side, giving her the look of a curious puppy. "Maybe we could move it using this.." She suggests pointing to the small shaft that extends from the foot of the sarcophagus.
"Maybe we could move it using this..." she suggests, pointing to the small shaft that extends from the foot of the sarcophagus.
"You mean push on it, in the hope that the whole sarcophagus turns?" Tobin asks. "I suppose that would at least avoid any chance of accidentally setting the trap off. It looks pretty heavy, though! Wouldn't it make sense to have someone pushing the tip of the arrow the other way at the same time?"
Kells shrugs "Won't know till we try it, I guess. Jenny and I can push down here, and, Zereta, you can push up top if we need it. Where do we want it to stop if we get it turning?"
”What does your spell do, exactly, Khadath?"
”It will allow me to detect secret doors, compartments, caches, and so forth. Though only passages, doors, or openings that have been specifically constructed to escape detection are detected by this spell”
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"Let's not go climbing anywhere there Darie," Kessel says, kneeling to look over skeleton and looking up at the chain, "This fellow died a little too close to that chain for me to let you go climbing up it. Khadath can you tell how this fellow died?"
[b]”I agree with KC on not climbing up there as well Ms. Billown. There’s also no telling what awaits up there, lack of light aside, anyone climbing up would be vulnerable to attack if there are any vermin that make there home up there.”
Khadath looked over the corpse, and though it appeared the victim died from a fall, he wondered if there had been other contributing factors to the persons demise.
“I am curious, if this individual was merely just searching as Ms. Billown also intended or were they looking for a means of escape if cornered in this room?’ he asks, though he knew neither of his companions would rightly know the answer to his proposed question.
Taking 10 on a Heal check or 20 on a Search check to see if there are any marks or maybe a broken tooth from a creature imbedded in the skeletal remains. Heal=19 or Search=22
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"I'm still feeling a little rattled after being bitten by that snake, though, and I wasn't inclined to mess with something else that might hurt me - at least, not unless Khadath is ready to heal me again."
[b]“I would advise in favor of caution for the time being and avoid taking any unnecessary risk. I have but one spell available from which to bring Lathander’s healing grace upon someone, and its only a minor one at that.”
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"So, what does everyone think, then? Shall we try to open this sarcophagus without getting hurt, climb the blue lantern's chain, investigate the orange lantern's passage, or leave for today?"
[b]”perhaps if I cast my spell to detect secret doors it may help to narrow down our choices, or at the least give us another option other than tampering with a trap item. As I’ve stated I’ve only a minor spell to help one of us recover if we somehow manage to set the trap off.”
Khadath will then cast the Detect Secret Doors spell if no one objects and that they avoid in tampering with the sarcophagus till after his spell has expired as it requires his concentration to be effective.
”I would suggest in replacing the lantern that Kells removed. Apparently this room was meant to hold all the lantern in there appropriate positions for some purpose. I am curious if the placement of the sarcophagus arrow point has more meaning, with each specific lantern color causing its own unique effect. A puzzle if you wiil?”
”maybe placing one of the other lanterns in that empty position before tampering with the sarcophagus might reveal something to us?” he says testing his puzzle theory
"Actually... i am a horrible climber, honestly." Darie smiled sheepishly, and retreated from the skeleton. Strangely enough, despite the gruesome relic, she did not feel too much at unease.
She returned towards the sarcophagous, surprised at herself for the calm, collected state she was in. "Tobin, can you check how the trap is really started? Is it safe to touch this? Or... turn it, if i got Kess... argh. Kay-Se right.
She sighed at Khadath, shaking her head. "Reverent, what... does it make me a callous person, that this dead body does not affect me much at all? I mean... this was once a person, with hopes, dreams and love. But..." she shrugged. "I should be horrified. I am not"
"Well we do have a 10ft pole here," Kessel reminds everyone, which means that we might be able to set this trap off from a safe distance."
Kessel walks over to the sarcophagus, examining it for the first time, "our friend here seems to be missing a finger," he says pulling out the stone finger he found with the lantern. "I wonder why this trap is still active, you'd think our friend over there would have tried opening it, but then again seeing as the fellow likely died from a fall, perhaps he wasn't quite the dungeon delver that the books like to report. Also one has to wonder why take just two lanterns and leave an everburning torch behind?"
She sighed at Khadath, shaking her head. "Reverent, what... does it make me a callous person, that this dead body does not affect me much at all? I mean... this was once a person, with hopes, dreams and love. But..." she shrugged. "I should be horrified. I am not"
"I would say not Ms Billown and that your reaction is quite normal. Of course there are many others whom are a lot more squeamish, from having never faced any form of death or loss in their lifetime. I of course have seen my share of death and suffereing, and I would think that you’ve seen farm animal either die of an illness or simply killed for food. Perhaps your reaction would be different if it were someone close to you or if that poor soul was only dead for a short time and his death was more gruesome. Even then it may not. Death is a natural thing that we must all learn to adjust to, and it usually affect everyone differently and at different times.”
”but as we’ve found’em in here. I would say that person had lived their life as they wished, and this cairn is where they finally met their end while trying to fulfill thoses hopes and dreams. Though we can learn from that person fate. Clearly adventuring is not as simply as others might have made it look and that climb may not be as safe as one might think at first glance.”
oops about the lantern thing
Kells nods at Khadath's words. "True enough. Although I do want to give him some kind of burial. Making sure we are under no immediate threat is paramount, but when we leave we can afford him the dignity of a small cairn or something."
"I'm very glad you say that." Darie smiled, and then took another look at the coffin. So her fears were at least not completely true. "Yes, i think if we could somehow force the lid open from a distance, we might just evade any poison darts... or other dangers."
She blushed, as once something inside her mind was edging her on, telling her she knew how to do this. But no. That wasn't the right way to do this. Besides, the lid was probably too heavy anyway.
pulling out the stone finger he found with the lantern.
The finger fits the figure on the sarcophagus lid. When put in place that finger curls under the figure's thumb.
Kells shrugs "Won't know till we try it, I guess. Jeny and I can push down here, and, Zereta, you can push up top if we need it. Where do we want it to stop if we get it turning?"
"I'd suggest just seeing if you can turn it to point at a different passage, Kells," Tobin suggests. "Either the one to the left, without a lantern, or the one to the right, with the yellow lantern."
”Apparently this room was meant to hold all the lanterns in their appropriate positions for some purpose. I am curious if the placement of the sarcophagus' arrow point has more meaning, with each specific lantern color causing its own unique effect. A puzzle if you will?”
"Yes, that makes sense - I was wondering why that fresco was made right next to the room it depicted. Perhaps it was intended to show the correct positions of the lanterns, in case they were removed, or swapped around." Tobin pauses, looking around the room, thoughtfully. "But we're still missing one lantern - the red one. We'll need to find or duplicate it if we want to restore this chamber to its original state."
"Tobin, can you check how the trap is really started? Is it safe to touch this? Or... turn it, if i got Kess... argh. Kay-Se right."
"I think that opening the lid will trigger the trap, Darie - so just touching it should be safe, or even pushing it lower down."
"Well we do have a 10ft pole here," Kessel reminds everyone, which means that we might be able to set this trap off from a safe distance."
"I wonder why this trap is still active, you'd think our friend over there would have tried opening it"
"If you can get enough purchase with the pole, KC, then that probably would be safe - I expect the trap is only intended to punish anyone lifting the lid. But if you're going to try it, I suggest we all move away from the sarcophagus first." Matching his deeds to his words, Tobin edges back towards the stairs, knowing he won't be much help in pushing the massive stone object, anyway. "As for why it's still active, most traps have some sort of reset mechanism so that they can be reused. Perhaps a magical trap like this one can be made to automatically reset itself? But it's not really something I know a lot about!"
Khadath:
As for why he was climbing the chain; the reason become apparent the second you cast your spell. There is definately a passageway or something up above you. As for other secret doors/compartments/caches, you get the feeling there is something under the yellow, green and indigo lanterns and that they somehow relate to the sarcophagus.
Kells contemplates Tobin's words "I'm glad we have your mind and expertiese on our side, Tobin. Based on what you said, I think we should try to swing the sarcophagus to the yellow corridor since that one's complete. If everyone's ready I'll push..."
While Khadath concentrates on his spell, he raises his hand in a gestures that indicates the group should wait just a moment before proceeding any future with their action in tinkering with the sarcophagus.
”it would seem our friend here indeed did have a reason for attempting the climb. There is definitely a passageway or something up above. There’s also something under the yellow, green and indigo lanterns and somehow they’re related to the sarcophagus.” he says after his spell has expired
”an interesting puzzle indeed. I believe moving the sarcophagus to one of those colors will affect each respectively, thus revealing what lays beneath each one, but such things are not my area of study and its quite possible it may have some other adverse effect.”
”perhaps that fresco will make more sense and may yet provide a bit more info now that we have an understanding of what were dealing with. I’d like to return there and see if I can find any indication of what may transpire when a specific lantern is chosen. Who will accompany me? The more eyes, the better the chances of finding an obscure detail.”
Kells gives a shrug and a grin "Well, I am holding the light source. Let's take another look."
"If you can get enough purchase with the pole, KC, then that probably would be safe - I expect the trap is only intended to punish anyone lifting the lid. But if you're going to try it, I suggest we all move away from the sarcophagus first." Matching his deeds to his words, Tobin edges back towards the stairs, knowing he won't be much help in pushing the massive stone object, anyway. "As for why it's still active, most traps have some sort of reset mechanism so that they can be reused. Perhaps a magical trap like this one can be made to automatically reset itself? But it's not really something I know a lot about!"
Kessel scratches his chin looking over the heavy lid.
"I don't know about lifting the lid there Tobin," Kessel says, "but I think we can safely see if anything is set off if we touch it. Not that I think there's likely anything in it . . . my hopes were raised when you said this thing was still trapped, but when you said there may be an automatic reset I have little hope that this thing holds anything of value . . . except perhaps a large alien like skeleton."
Kessel grabs the pole and motions everyone to step away from the sarcophagus when everyone is safely away he gently touches and then vigorously pokes and probes the glorified box.
Kessel can poke and prod at the sarcophagus to his heart's content and provided the lid is not lifted he's perfectly safe.
Kells contemplates Tobin's words. "I'm glad we have your mind and expertise on our side, Tobin. Based on what you said, I think we should try to swing the sarcophagus to the yellow corridor since that one's complete."
"Thanks, Kells," Tobin says, "but I wouldn't place too much stock in my expertise! I do love having a puzzle to solve, though."
”It would seem our friend here indeed did have a reason for attempting the climb. There is definitely a passageway or something up above. There’s also something under the yellow, green and indigo lanterns and somehow they’re related to the sarcophagus.”
"Most interesting! So there's another avenue for exploration up that chain - though we'd have to be careful not to fall foul of whatever did for that fellow. And Kells' instinct to turn the sarcophagus towards the yellow lantern would seem to be correct - that might well reveal whatever's hidden underneath it."
”Perhaps that fresco will make more sense and may yet provide a bit more info now that we have an understanding of what we’re dealing with. I’d like to return there and see if I can find any indication of what may transpire when a specific lantern is chosen. Who will accompany me? The more eyes, the better the chances of finding an obscure detail.”
"Please go ahead, Khadath. I've already examined that fresco quite closely, but your wise eyes may well spot something that I overlooked."
Kessel grabs the pole and motions everyone to step away from the sarcophagus. When everyone is safely away he gently touches and then vigorously pokes and probes the glorified box.
"Well, it certainly appears to be safe to touch!" Tobin chuckles. "It definitely seems that the trap will only activate when the lid is lifted. This whole chamber is a big puzzle - with too many options! I'm really not sure what we should do next..."
"Let's just try clockwise for now," Kessel says as he lays down the pole, "also I think we should grip it at the base and avoid touching that lid all together."
Kessel glances over at Khadath, "I'll go with you my friend, in all the excitement I don't even remember looking at the thing. Would someone mind Yorick while I'm gone?"
Further inspection of the fresco yields nothing, save learning the correct order for the lanterns and that you are indeed missing the red lantern.
Jeny promises to mind Yorick as people go to look at the painting on the wall, but boredom very quickly overcomes the young barbarian. Turning the sarcophagus one position clockwise to the yellow lantern she gives up a "Woah!" that can be heard by her fellow party members at what happens next.
A great rumbling can be heard at the end of the yellow shaft and the circular stone at the end of the tunnel rises eight feet into the air, pushed up by a 5-foot-diameter metal cylinder that seems to rise from the ground itself.
Seconds after it comes to rest two thin doors slide into the sides of the cylinder, revealing a small empty chamber.
"So I only see two differences," Kessel says as they look over the fresco, "one, we're missing the red lantern, and two . . ."
Suddenly the rumbling from the sarcophagus room catches his ears and the young man quickly forgets his train of thought.
"By Chauntea's right! What in the nine hells was that?"
Kessel quickly joins anyone else charging up the stairs to investigate.
Kells runs back to the sarcophagus room on Kessel's heels, hammer out and ready to meet the challenge. "Well," he says a bit flatly, obviously dumbfounded "I guess this might be what Khadath was feeling under the floor."
"What in blazes..." Darie could scarcely believe what she saw, and forgetting all caution, ran over to the strange object that had just appeared. "Whatever could be its use? Some hidden cache of treasure?"
Jeny slowly and sheepishly steps away from the sarcophagus as people come rushing back to check what the noise was.
The small metallic chamber looks big enough to fit one, maybe two at a real squeeze, people inside and appears to be completely empty.
Tobin checks the area carefully without stepping into the revealed metallic chamber and finds nothing of note and seems to think it's safe.
Kells steps into the small chamber and the metal doors slide closed behind him. The cylinder lowers into the ground and the stone cap locks into place under the lantern once more.
Kells:
About fifteen feet to the south a dark passage extends from an elaborately carved arch. Only a little of this hallway is visible however, as a long stone block obscures most of the passage.
Kells:
The cylinder raises back up out of the ground under the lantern and the metallic doors slide open once more, revealing an empty chamber, there's no sign of Kells.
The doors slide shut behind Darie and once again the cylinder disappears downwards.
Kells and Darie:
Kells starts when he turns around and finds the little cylinder gone. He steps forward to look at the empty space and sees the small button on the wall. He reaches out to touch the stud when suddenly the cylinder starts to decend again forcing him to fling himself out of the way.
When the doors slide open, Darie can see a pale and shaken looking paladin laying on the floor. "That thing is so blasted silent! It ascended without me hearing it and when I looked for where it had gone, it started dropping down without a sound! And I had had my ears well peeled listening for anything!"
He takes a shuddering breath collecting himself "Well, things seeme still down here. Looks like a lot of wierd statues over there.
Why don't you go back up and let everyone know that there's more area to explore down here. They'll have to tie up Yorick, though. He's not going to fit in that tube."
"I'm just glad you are alright. You were gone without sight or sound, and... Heck, i guess i just did something extremely rash, didn't I." Darie blushed, and twisted her face into an awkward look. "If that had been some deathtrap, I'd have marched right into it after its first victim."
Still, she went back fully into the tube she had not quite exited. "I'll tell the others you are alright, then. Looks like there is more to this place than we would first have thought"
Kells grins "Well, I appriciate your thoughtless heroics. You'll get an epic in your name yet." He pushes the button to see if it makes the cylinder raise back up.
The doors of the elevator slide closed the second Darie is inside again and the cylinder is travelling upwards before Kells can even press the button, he would assume the button brings it down if there's nobody upstairs to step inside it.
Upstairs the tube returns with Darie inside.
"Thank Chauntea," Kessel mutters as Darie returns.
"Is Kells alright as well?" Kessel asks, concern on his face.
"Last i saw him?" Darie smiled, and nodded "That cylinder is the access to some further part of this tomb".
She described her findings the the rest of the party, visibly relieved that everything turned out alright, despite her rashness.
"ah, thats good to hear" Khadath chimes in after quietly watching the events. "let us all hasten then, and not leave Kells alone longer than need be."
Khadath then proceeds to enter the tube next if no one else does.
Kessel quickly sets about unpacking Yorick so the mule won't have to stand around for some unknown length of time with his heavy and uncomfortable packs on. Kessel also takes some feed out of the bags for Yorick to eat while he waits. Kessel then looks for a likely location to secure the mule (so he doesn't wander off) while the party is away.
Zereta waits patiently for Khadath to take the tube down while keeping an eye on Kessel. "you best hurry Kes, I am going last down this tube to guard our rear"
With time you all enter the tube and are transported to another room. The walls of the room are covered in bas-relief images similar to the slender figure on the sarcophagus above. Nearly a dozen of these humanoids stand in poses of deference, almost as if they are paying homage to the viewer. Many extend their hands in adoration, their faces awash in adulation. Several of the statues lack hands, arms, heads or anything else easily hacked off by long-absent tomb robbers.
About fifteen feet to the south a dark passage extends from an elaborately carved arch. Only a little of this hallway is visible however, as a long stone block obscures most of the passage.
Jeny meanwhile, untrusting of the weird metal chamber, offers to stay with Yorick and make sure he's safe whilst the rest of you explore the cairn.