Eltariel has some difficulty in removing the cloak the clasp is not visible to her..however her tugging inadvertantly seperates the skull from the torso and the cloak flies into her hands..
As Etariel examines the cloeak, Gashelle muses "So, it appears we're trying to get through this room without being un through on spikes. I'm concerned that the good gentle here was likely thinking the same thing, and didn't manage to stay on the path.
"Left or right?"
Layjiani patiently waits until Eltariel obtains the other items as well before heading any further on the path.
"Well the cloak wasn't bait ... although I am less than thrilled with the results," she looks sadly at the fallen skull. "I am concerned ... this path leads deeper into the heart of the building. It is undoubtedly seriously trapped ... do we assay it now, or scout the rest of the outer perimeter of the building? I vote for the latter, I think that there may be more to be found that is less dangerous. I want to know as much as possible about this structure before entering the heart of it."
Eltariel examines the cloak closely (using detect magic).
Aude states calmly
"I'm afraid I must insist on the speedy recovery of the corpse. If by magic , this can be done more easily tomorrow , all right but this MUST be done "
Elaterial looks at Aude for a long moment after her examination of the cloak.
"Very well," she agrees. "Layjiani, can you tell how this chamber is trapped?"
Layjiani continues looking at the body for a few more moments before turning to Eltariel "This one do think more can be leaned of the unfortunate one by finding out what else they carry." She briefly looks at Aude before turning back to the Elfess and continuing,
"As well, it do seem the right thing to lay that one to its final rest."
If the priestess is surprised by this seemingly radical turn in the rangers's previously cavalier attitude regarding the dead it is lost on Layjiani who does not appear to notice.
Nodding her head once as if she had made her point she looks to the room saying distractedly "It do take this one some time to make sure this way be safe. We do look now or later will take the same time and we do be here now." Then without further word she removes her tools and begins a careful inspection of the room
(taking 20 again, at present just looking for traps.)
The space on which the body lies is indeed trapped...and so is the space beyond it on the path.the same goes for the first two spaces on the other path(you can't see closely enough to examine beyond those)
You feel you could retrieve the body with a rope quite easily
Point of information..and one I've been guilty off missing myself..you cant 'take' 20 on disabling traps.
Heres the relevant rule
Taking 20: When you have plenty of time, you are faced with no threats or distractions, and the skill being attempted carries no penalties for failure, you can take 20.
In other words, if you a d20 roll enough times, eventually you will get a 20. Instead of rolling 1d20 for the skill check, just calculate your result as if you had rolled a 20. Taking 20 means you are trying until you get it right, and it assumes that you fail many times before succeeding. Taking 20 takes 20 times as long as making a single check would take (usually 2 minutes for a skill that takes 1 round or less to perform).
Since taking 20 assumes that your character will fail many times before succeeding, your character would automatically incur any penalties for failure before he or she could complete the task (hence why it is generally not allowed with skills that carry such penalties). Common “take 20” skills include Disable Device (when used to open locks), Escape Artist, and Perception (when attempting to find traps).
Fashioning a lasso and being very careful to avoid the traps she's found, Layjini tries until she succeeds in lassoing the corpse and then slowly drags it over.
Being respectful of Aude's performing of its last rites, she nevertheless still searches the corpse throughly.
A check of his body discovers his treasure:
a set of merchant’s scales, a shortspear, a ruined set of padded armor, a container of alchemist’s fire, a vial of antitoxin, a piece of parchment with several notes, and a small tube containing some dust a potion vial and the cloak
His knapsack holds 436 gold, and 1019 silver.
Although the significant haul of treasure certainly catches her attention the rogue's eyes do not seem to light up with anywhere near the same avarice as they used to. For the moment, Layjiani focuses her attention on the note & the dust, trying to determine what they say & signify, allowing others to look as they wish.
Was Eltariel successful in working out what the cloak is? Also she will examine the potion vial, the tube of dust and the notes, if no-one else is (or if they do and cannot find out what they are).
The notes are basically a record of what this poor unfortunate found in the palace..He did not attempt to disturb anything and they end with a description of room 1-5
Eltariel fails to identify the cloak and the vial..the dust is 'Dust of Appearance'
Its a regular shortspear and the explorer wasn't anywhere you have not already been.however part of the notes cover his attempts to translate the script of the palace builders.These give you a +2 to any attempt to decipher the runes.
In fact Layjiani has just noticed some very small runes carved round the doorway.
Indicating her find to her companions, Layjiani bends closer, and holding a lighted rock, attempts to decipher the runic script.
Linguistics:
As she does, she compares notes with whichever of her companions are joining her in the study.
Aude, Gashelle, Eltariel put their heads together along with Layjiani and eventually you come up with a translation .
“Let the wise take the most orderly path to their destination.”
However the notes seem to suggest that the unfortunate traveller interpreted it as...
“Any wise path leads to a valid destination."
"The most orderly path? Wouldn't that be a straight line?"
"Riddles, what is the point of them? Why not just say what you mean?"
Aude inspect carefully the body while preparing it for internment
For Wellard
How long has it been dead ? And what was the cause of the death (Aude is thinking the spears are an illusion at this point.
Aude
Friends ,we have a confirmation of a translocation here ...
This man has been dead for dozens of years given the dessication of the tissues and more reliantly the colour of the exposed bones .
Also the style of his clothes while consistent with a temperate climate is not the one of the locals whereabout .
This has indeed several implications :
* While not being an expert in such phenomenoms , I guess the replacement of a part of the country by another could be the cause of the abnormal weather patterns the archdruid sent us to investigate . Eltariel would of course be able to elaborate but this could mean that the weather will return to its natural condition by itself
* This also explains the differences beetween what our informer told us and what we have discovered. If so, there is no knowing what wait for us . Frankly this explains to me why this place has more a feeling of a gauntlet to run through than a place people lived in
* This could also mean that we need to be alert than if we resolve this puzzle , the place could then revert to its natural environment with us inside ...
"Another possibility, Aude, is that this place was ported here from another plane of existence, something you yourself have experience of. As to it's purpose, other than it's clear function as a temple or repository, I have yet to form a hypothesis. As for the path ahead, Gasheelle I think you are right: a straight line is the logical conclusion given the lawful nature of this place."
Gashelle ties a rope around her waist and tosses the other end to Holgur.
"Maybe we should inspect those visible spikes first before we do anything foolish" Avinar suggests.
"A suggestion I take very seriously," Eltariel agrees. Once again she casts mage hand and attempts manipulating a spike.
Once done deciphering the runes, Layjiani continues looking for traps, slowly moving forwards in a straight line. When Eltariel tries her mage hand experiment though the part scout does pause cautiously to watch the results.
The spikes are firmly fixed to the floor..however close inspection by Layjiani revels that the ones immediately across from the door are indeed fake being made from some light metal she has never encountered before
There is a time for caution, and a time for commitment. Gashelle walks straight across, boldly, ready to react to anything deadly.
Holgur maintains a tight grip on the rope and wonders if Gashelle's idea is wise.
Gashelle forges a trail across the room straight ahead..to the left and right she notes from the corner of her eye that open spaces exist on the winding paths but she focusses on the door she can now see ahead off her..finally she reaches it..nothing untoward has happened and with the light she bears you can now see the whole room.
Before you stand a pair of immense doors, nearly 20 feet wide and half that in height. The doors are fashioned of extremely smooth, unadorned stone, unmarred by handles or features of any kind. Only the thin vertical gap between them hints that they may open at all.
To either side of the great doors are ornamented tiles, devoid of spikes. These panels are inscribed with iconic runes and glyphs that run in straight rows and orderly patterns.
Two feet to the right of the great doors, at about human chest-height, a circular plate is set into the wall. This device appears to be constructed of four large concentric rings mounted around a central hub of hard obsidian. Each ring is constructed of stone, and set around the periphery of each are four circles of precious metal – copper, silver, gold, and platinum. The circles are spaced out equally along the rim of each disk and are the size of large coins.
"Whoever built this place intended for guests to make it through unescorted. If it was only for those familiar with the building, they wouldn't have felt a need to write clues around the doorways."
I'm having a little difficulty imagining the layout of the device, Wellard. The rings are concentric, so there's an innermost one, then #2, then #3, and a largest circle on the outside.
There are four circles around the rim of the outside ring, and also between each pair of neighboring rings.
(The metallurgist Gashelle wants to know how we can distinguish silver from platinum. Her player shushes her.)
Are the four circles in an up-and-down, left-and-right cross shape, or a saltire? Do the sets of circles between rings spin? If not, are the four gold circles (for example) in the same position?
Does it react to detect magic?
Gashelle looks around. "Seems to be a combination lock of some sort. If the designers felt the need to instruct us on how to cross the room, they should likewise have given us a guide to the combination."
Eltariel examines the panels covered in runes and glyphs carefully, seeing if she can translate them as we did the previous message.
"Just so ... and hence these symbols should likewise indicate a means of opening this doorway, one would assumes."
The runes and pictographs portray the turtle men in various acts of ritualized duty, along with other odd symbols and icons. You spot what seem to be four special icons, each inlaid with a precious metal: a platinum moon (to the left side of the door), a gold sun (at left), a copper rising sun (at right), and silver star above clouds (at right).
The circles do indeed move if you try and turn them
Is it possible to align the symbols on the disks with the symbols around the door? If so Eltariel will carefully move the disks to align the symbols in sequence.
Eltariel lines the metalic disks up like with like..at each quarter turn off the disk there is a distinct click.She frowns as nothing seems to occur beyond that.
Her frown breaks as she slaps herself on the forehead.."Off course..how stupid off me" she mutters as she begins to turn the discs again setting them in a seemingly random sequence.
"The sequence is the progression of the day:copper for dawn gold for noon silver for evening platinum for midnight, and then back to copper" she explains as the last ring clicks into place.
For a second there is silence..then a massive number of clicks sound as the spikes in floor wall and ceiling retract
"There's a keyhole here" she remarks indicating the hub
We found a key if I remember rightly ..Layjiani ?
Nodding to Aude and with a slight smile on her face for the simple order of the wise turtle men, Layjiani produces the key and inserts it to the lock, first gently trying it to the right, then if not successful to the right.
Noiselessly, the immense doors swing silently open. Beyond is a narrow chamber, merely ten feet wide and five feet deep. The only features
of the stone room are two levers in the wall and a flight of broad, shallow stairs leading down into darkness, arcing in a slow spiral. There is a faint breeze escaping from below, and if you’re not mistaken, the smell of flowers.
"Levers." Gashelle notes without enthusiasm. Are there any guideing instructions about them?
"This should be some sort of inner sanctum, where we might find out what's causing all the terrible weather. Given we made it through the room and the doorway, I'd venture a guess that the riddles and tests are past."
"Who knows? This certainly seems to be some kind of core to the building. A question: should we investigate and ensure we have the rest of the building cleared before we venture down here? I would like to ensure that we don't miss any information that may tell us more about this place."
"Who knows? This certainly seems to be some kind of core to the building. A question: should we investigate and ensure we have the rest of the building cleared before we venture down here? I would like to ensure that we don't miss any information that may tell us more about this place."
"I agree. It would be wise to arm ourselves with whatever there is to learn here before going below."
Gashelle frowns, and notices, for the record, that the party is all still walking around in wet clothes.
"I don't need to remind you that the rivers are swelling and the weather worsens every day. I agree that there's likely more information on this level, that will tell us something about the Turtle Men, or the Triad, or perhaps even the temple that used to rest here, which would be a boon to know before we seek what lies below.
"But if we delay too long, the garden plots inside our walls would be better served as a kelp bed.
"We made good time getting here; if we'd have had to hike, we wouldn't have arrived until dawn, the day after tomorrow. I propose we spend another day-and-a-half up here, exploring carefully, learning what we can, and then take that lore with us, as we see what lies below. Does that sound fair?"
Avinar as always agrees with Eltariel..
"I agree, we shouldn't delay too long. We've identified other doors and areas we can explore, let us do that now. Later we can get ourselves fully dried out and warmed up once we know we are secure."
I vote with Gashelle