Levi drops to his knees and grasps his hair with his hands.
"" He wails.
Isat: Knowledge religion check.
Paper: Knowledge history check.
If any of you know what the lilim are without a check, feel free to share.
Modius turns pale in the torchlight.
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."
Know(Rel): 1d20+8; [18,8] = (26)
Lilim
Paper gasps as Levi casts his spell on the door.
"What in the name of Jupiter Optimus Maximus?!?"
Paper stares at the yawning entrance with trepidation.
The trapdoor opens, and Stratos drops down, hunched low.
Stealth. 1d20+1=21
"There are men looking in this area. Three parties of five. The light was terrible, but I got a good look at some of them. One group has torches, and the other two are moving in the dark. One has a dog, but it is bigger than any dog I have ever seen, and it has no eyes, but seems to see. It was not on a leash. I made a light to distract them, and I covered the door with that poncho. We should be quiet, and extinguish our lights. There are a hundred paces or more between the groups, and they are moving slowly, but they may see something yet.
Why is Levi sobbing?"
Distraught, and starting to strike his head with his fists. Levi speaks, but is not loud."I thought I could control her. I thought she was mine. I never let her on top for a moment. I thought the charms would hold. I left the book with her. I left the name of God in her hands. Woe unto us all. I have undone us."
Looking around at his companions.
"I can't help feeling we're being used here - anyone else think that?"
Facing Levi and speaking quietly but with as much authority as he can muster.
"Stratos's news puts a different complexion on things. We're all trapped here, so we either lie how and hope or head through that door. I'm not prepared to do that without a lot more information. The choices are limited, but speaking for myself I might just prefer to face death outside to death below ground with a man who is using us as a catspaw. I am a patient man, but I'm not a fool. Don't doubt for one second I will use any power at my disposal to stop you if you even think of betraying any of my brothers."
Levi seems thouroughly out of his head with fear. He may have lied to you before, but you are pretty certain that his current emotion is genuine. He stares at you for a moment, as if processing that you are there, then he slumps down to the ground, defeated.
"She is not a wife. I summoned her, and used her for my pleasure. I bound her with the book and warded it against her. She was under ritual compulsion to never touch or read the book. She has broken the compulsion somehow. The lilim are not human. Lycurgus is vain and powerful, but he is still human. It is worse for us if she has given it to her people. They believe the creation is theirs by right, and we are usurpers on their birthright. I..."
"We can discuss theology later. Power is wasted on the proud. Tell me Levi, have you ever heard of hubris?" "We need to do something, and quickly. Where the hell does that stairway lead? It looks fresh carved."
Looking around at his companions.
"I can't help feeling we're being used here - anyone else think that?"
"The way I see it, we've caused none of this. And we've been used, but not by Levi. If Stratos will forgive me, I suspect that the Lord has interceded and we are here to clean up this mess."
Nods toward Levi.
"... Where the hell does that stairway lead? It looks fresh carved."
"It looks better that 15 men and dogs."
Modius listens for sounds of the searchers reported by Stratos.
"The way I see it, we've caused none of this. And we've been used, but not by Levi. If Stratos will forgive me, I suspect that the Lord has interceded and we are here to clean up this mess."Nods toward Levi.
"Someone's interceded. We can argue about who when we're back in a decent tavern. Meanwhile Levi - is there anything else you'd care to share with us? I'm not really open to any more surprises this evening."
Out of his element with combat looming, Isat is not at his diplomatic best.
"Downstairs everyone?"
Modius will go first.
Paper looks at Modius
"I'm with you. let's find out what this hole holds for us."
Paper murmurs a quick prayer to Janus, God of gates and entryways.
EDIT: Perception (if needed): 1d20+4=10
At first, Modius and Paper cannot hear anything from outside, except the falling rain and the cracks of the thunder, then they hear an unearthly howl. No wolf or dog would make that sound. It chills you, and raises goosebumps. The fear is not natural either. Your bodies reacted to the sound. It is muffled and distant. To hear it close by would inspire dread and panic.
A voice calls out close to the doorway, but is in Egyptian Greek, hard to understand. The voice comes from sixty feet away.
"The witch is here. The hellhound has a scent. He may be invisible, so watch the water."
As you all pass through the portal into the tomb, you notice something wierd. The outer tomb was thick with dust, but the only dust on these steps so far are the footsteps of the Lilim that deceived Levi. They lead a short way down the steps, then terminate at a patch of green cloth cut from the bedding in the other room. A few bricks have been pulled out of the wall. A narrow space can be seen in the hole. This was where Levi hid the book.
You find yourselves in a chamber that is far larger than a tomb in this area has any right to be. It is thirty foot wide and seventy foot long, with late Corinthian columns spaced in fifteen foot intervals. The room obeys the golden ratio, and is typical of Greek architecture. What is most baffling, however, is that the ceiling is simply far too high. Your minds reel at the impossibility, because this room is larger than the hill you were in.
As the voices outside reach the trapdoor to the outer tomb, the doorway at the top of the stairs twists and lurches through the extra-dimentsional topology it inhabits, stunning you all for a moment. the doorway is now gone, and in its place, the stairs stretch higher, to a hevy set of marble and silver doors. The silver looks polished and pure. There are no inscriptions or markings on the doors. The hole in the wall, and the dust on the stairs, and the water marks of your own passing, have simply disappeared.
The only door is to what ought to be the West. It is made of a dark grey metal, carved with stylised acanthus leaves, and a strange set of markings that look like Greek with extra letters. the name Dionysus is one of the words. It is too far to see much else. Your torches reflect beautifully on the walls, pillars, and on the metal door. Yours are the only lights in the tomb. This room is marble. There are no visible guardians, art, writing or, in fact anything except the milky and sugary marble pillars, and the dark granite floor. There is a long, thin dark pool of still water that stretches fifty feet down the middle of the corridoor. The air is chill, but very fresh, and a slight scent of frankincense and patchoili lingers in the hallway.
Your torches are the only lights.
You are all at the Eastern end of the room. The pool is twenty feet away.
Levi turns to all of you.
"Whoa...."
Getting a hold on himself, and wiping away the tears and snot of his collapse. "I am truly sorry to have brought you to this pass. I was desperate. Men were after me, and I placed my trust in one who did not merit it. The book is important. I have been running for a long time, to keep the book out of Lycurgus' grasp. You saved my life, You gave me shelter, and, for the first time in a long while, you gave me hope that all was not lost. I don't know if you can ever forgive me for leading you into this peril. I hoped to reward you. I had to keep secrets for a long time. I travelled under disguises, I could never tell anyone the truth, until I met you. I am not complaining of my burden. I see in your eyes that you are angry. I deserve it. If you wish to take my life in vengeance, I will not stay your hand. I only ask that you do what must be done, and find the book. It cannot be destroyed by mortal hands, and it contains words of power that would take many lifetimes to master. The book came into the posession of Solomon the king, and was the source of his magic. The Solomonic tradition of magice is contained in it's entirety in that one volume, and one of the wise who can read it, can remake the world as he sees fit. The book contains rituals for animating the dead, for commanding the elements, for summoning and binding creatures from alien worlds, and for much else. It is the single most powerful tool of magic I know of. I do not know where it is. I no longer know who holds it, but I know that power like that is dangerous. I was a scholar before the book tempted me, and it made me hunger for power like some hunger for the poppy. I learned secrets from the first two chapters only, for the book is strangely enchanted. One can only turn a new page when one has mastered the old ones. I am truly sorry that I did not tell you all that I knew. I should have given you a chance to turn away, and save yourselves, and in my greed for the book, and my selfishness, I didn't. Do with me as you will."
"I have read the Key of Solomon. There are rituals, but they are mummer's shows, of no real power. Do you take us for fools?"
"It is called the key of Solomon, for it is the code that opens the Book. the Book is called the Gate of the Sephiroth. The key is a code that can be read with Gematriya to open the Gate. All of Hebrew magical tradition is footnotes to the contents of the Gate. Even Solomon himself, wisest of the wise, did not live long enough to open the last chapter. Lycurgus has dark allies. With their help, he may be able to stop time, kill with a word, and wish for his heart's desires. If the Lilim are capable of reading the book, they could reclaim the creation and put the children of Eve to the sword. I sought a way to destroy the book. My old mistress told me that one who opened the last page would have the power to destroy the book, but that the book would claim them and consume them."
"Bah. Book or no book. We are in a pretty room, and there are people who want to kill us. How do we get out of this place, and under the sky again, without your enemies putting us to the sword? I am not a son of Eve. My people are descended from the man and woman that came from the sweat of Ymir, before Odin slew Ymir, and made the world. I have met a dwarf, and if the dwarves are true, then all of the old tale is true. And a book is pretty, but we have swords, axes and hammers. How do we go to safety?"
Respectfully, and with a slight bow."Master Papyrus. Will you lead us? You led men in battle, and we must have one hero in charge, or we will be like rats tied by the tail, pulling in all directions."
"Whoa..."
Modius finds himself unable to move. He is far too stunned to be angry.
Whatever people intend, you should all make will saves as part of your next post. Feel free to have a bit of dialogue in character, about the situation you are all in.
The will save is against natural fear of the supernatural. Isat need not roll, as he is supernatural himself.
DC 15, or your character is shaken
A shaken character takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.
If you roll a natural 1, your character will be panicked instead.
A panicked creature must drop anything it holds and flee at top speed from the source of its fear, as well as any other dangers it encounters, along a random path. It can’t take any other actions. In addition, the creature takes a -2 penalty on all saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. If cornered, a panicked creature cowers. A panicked creature can use special abilities, including spells, to flee; indeed, the creature must use such means if they are the only way to escape.
Panicked is a more extreme state of fear than shaken or frightened.
"Daeva and peris. Of course."
Holding his torch high, he looks around the room while he gets control of himself again.
Finally he says not unsympathetically to Levi
"You already know I don't kill willingly. I won't add to my burdens. I don't appreciate being thought a fool - that angered me. Still, I know the lure of power."
He shrugs lightly. "In your position, I might well have done the same. Although probably not summoning a demon woman for my pleasure. My tastes are simpler."
"Gentlemen, let's see if we can get out of here and start cleaning up this mess. If Paper is willing to lead us, I am happy to follow."
"Well at least there is water here, if we are besieged." "I have some lentils in my bag, but only three cupfulls. I finished my nuts and dried meat last night, while I waited."
"We should use one torch only. No telling how long we will be down here. Ahriman's teeth!"
For the third time Modius says "Whoa!"
Will save: (1d20=20) Yah, I sent them their check last week....
He shakes his head, looks around, takes a deep breath, and a flush comes back to his face.
He speaks, slowly and quietly to himself: "Be not afraid of sudden fear, nor of the desolation of the wicked, when it comes. For the Lord will be my confidence, and will keep my foot from being taken."
Paper stares in wonder at the otherworldly vista that has apppeared before them.
Unsheathing his sword, Paper nods to the group.
"Even gods must fear the determination of a few brave men. I fear no man or supernatural beast. Let us go forward and reclaim this book."
"Even gods must fear the determination of a few brave men. I fear no man or supernatural beast. Let us go forward and reclaim this book."
"Aye. I have no fear of this. Let's go."
"This kind of talk is giving me the creeps." Hrothgar shivers. "And this damned toga doesn't cover enough of my beautiful behind."
"Guard my backside then brother, so I don't have to look at yours."
"Guard my backside then brother, so I don't have to look at yours."
"I'll guard you. But I don't swing that way."
"Guard my backside then brother, so I don't have to look at yours."
"I'll guard you. But I don't swing that way."
---------
"Never doubted it Red."
You see a momentary ripple in the water. Something pale moved just under the surface. You now see that the water is dark red, like tea or dye. It is not going to be possible to see the surface. At the base of each of the pillars, there are oval holes.
*Not possible to see the bottom*. The surface is quite apparent.
The oval holes are about two feet wide,and one foot high. they seem to lead into the pillars.
His attention caught by the slight movement in the water and the holes in the columns, Isat looks more closely (without leaving the safety of the group).
Perception: 1d20+7; [19,7] = (26)
Modius readies his bow.
Hrothgar draws his weapons and prepares to fight.