"I'm fairly certain the amount of damage we've done to this place would take more than a night to fix. If everything resets while we rest outside, so be it. We'll just do it all again."
"Im fine to continue on if it matters.. My spell stores are hardly diminished.."
"I can fight and heal for some time longer," says Shadassa.
"I have a spell that can transport us anywhere within 1200 feet, so if we get into trouble we have an out.. Im sure Aviel has something similiar prepared.."
"Mostly, I want Gralamin to get started on looking for the phylactery. I'd be fine continuing on, but we need to get him the information needed to start scrying, or whatever it is that diviners do."
The rogue, having no magical abilities, looks to the spellcasters. "Perhaps you can just send him a magical message? Seems a shame to turn around at this point."
Aviel breathed easier as the healing energies washed over him and he thanked Shadassa for the aid.
"I do have such spells at my disposal but I did not have it prepared. I seem to find myself saying that a bit too much for my liking today. I would have to get very close to have the little spell I do have to work and even then I would be better served by speaking loudly. A volunteer to head back would be the best way. I will go myself and return shortly."
Garret knew Aviel was adept at teleportation magic. If he ran into something unexpected he'd be able to escape better than any of them.
He nodded and handed Aviel the Lich's head. "Be careful."
"'Head back'?" Shadassa's fiery eyes dance at the pun. "You are well-skulled in teleportation, Aviel."
Aviel took the head from Garret and gave Shadassa an amused look before he began casting a spell.
He then turned and flew back to their camp.
Ferrek groans at the pun. "You should be abrained of yourself for that one," he tells Shadassa, shaking his head.
Ferrek can't find anything in the room that contained the lich other than what they've found already.
Aviel warps past the mist and flies back through the Tomb with no incident, reaching the camp just outside in only a few minutes. Gralamin and Saren are waiting for him, although Holly is not.
She had to go back to Westcrown, informs Gralamin, for some sort of "business". She wouldn't explain why.
He is happy to cast a divination at Aviel's request, but as the spell is in effect he furrows his brows in confusion. "I can't seem to locate this lich's phylactery, but I don't believe my spell is blocked by something. It is, in fact, likely that it doesn't even exist."
"Hmm, that is troubling. So what we fought was indeed a decoy. I had thought it may be the case but had hoped otherwise. That means the real Acerak still lies ahead and had probably kept this ones phylactery as incentive to make it stay loyal to him. Which he then likely destroyed as to keep from having such things like powerful divination magic from finding it. Although our most recent adversary could also have been a unique variant of Undead that had mastered the Arcane arts." Aviel then began floating back and forth nodding to himself several times. "Of course it's just speculation on my part. I've only recently overcome my apprehension of Necromancy and thus am woefully unskilled in its complexities. I've often wondered if a Lich knows if it's phylactery is destroyed without seeing it. I've heard tales of some reconstructing a new one so I can't be sure."
A short time later, Aveil realized he was still musing to himself and realized that he should be getting back to the rest of the group. "Well your assistance was much appreciated. I shall inform the rest of our lack of immediately helpful information."
"Fortunately for you," Gralamin says, a small grin spreading on his face, "I have been trained extensively in the necromantic arts. It seems likely to me, based on your description, that this creature was a false lead. I support your notion that it was an undead wizard, and little more."
I'd like to know where you guys are searching next.[/ooc]
"Isletta, while we wait for Aviel, why don't we have a look around for any more secret doors we might have missed. I don't trust these misty doorways at all."
"By all means, lets go.." She pulls out her wand o detect secret stuff and touches Garret with it..
"If i must i can Dem Door us all past the mist, or anywhere else in the complex we've been for that matter.."
Bypassing the mists again, Isletta scans the area with her cheatyface-beat-the-GM-wand.
Just at the corner, by the door that hangs over the third pit trap, her wand detects a door.
The door is locked.
Bypassing the mists again, Isletta scans the area with her cheatyface-beat-the-GM-wand.
Garret moves in to support Ferrek in checking the lock.
Isletta follows behind the rest and awaits the dorr to be opened..
Muttering under his breath about magic taking all the fun out of exploration, Ferrek prods at the door until whatever traps it may have are disarmed and whatever catch it may have is triggered.
The door is untrapped, although it does seem to be affected by some sort of magic, or at least the locks aren't as easily manipulatible as Ferrek would prefer. Despite his fiddling, he is unable to open the lock.
"Shall we break it down?" Shadassa seems a little eager to destroy something, doing the equivalent mermaid motion of pacing as she undulates her walking-fins.
"Here let me have a look.." She moves up and places her hands on the door, activating her gloves with a command word..
Gloves of Reconnaissance
Aura faint divination; CL 3rd
Slot hands; Price 2,000 gp; Weight —
DESCRIPTION
Each of these fingerless worked leather gloves look as though they have seen heavy use, and often bear the stains or scent of grass or wet mud.
On command, the wearer can use the gloves to see and hear through solid material no more than 15 feet thick by placing both hands on that material. The gloves can be used for 10 rounds each day. The rounds need not be consecutive.
Floating up to the door and the group, Aviel nods to the rest and states what he found. "I'm afraid we weren't able to discern much of our skeletal foe beyond that he was not the true Acerak. As expected, really. Are you having trouble with that door? Allow me."
Aviel's transmutation magic is absorbed into the door...and then there's a visible expulsion of the magic. The door remains locked.
Obvious surprise shows on the Wizards face which is quickly replaced by an angry mutter in Aklo before more words in Draconic are muttered.
The door is protected by an abjurative spell, which hardens the locks, toughens the door, and prevents lock-opening magic.
"There's a stone hallway beyond the door.. I can Dem Door use there now that ive seen it.."
"Save your spells. We might need them later." Garret says hefting his black axe. "I haven't seen a door yet that could stand up to Unkindness here."
Garret takes his axe to the door, hacking at it for more than a full minute before a hole begins to appear. It takes another thirty seconds to expand the hole to be large enough to squeeze Medium creatures through.
Once the hole is made, however, everyone easily squeezes through and into the hallway beyond. The hallway turns right and goes another short distance before entering another room.
Shelves line the walls of this room, and each shelf is stuffed with jars, vials, and glass bottles filled with colorful liquids. A large desk stands between two workbenches. A lone mummified hand, herbs, bones, and skulls are scattered about on the workbenches. Clay pots, urns, and rolls of linen are strewn around the floor. Along the south wall stand three large vats, each nearly 4 feet deep and at least 7 feet in diameter.
"A...necropothecary, I suppose," says Shadassa quietly. "I'll scan for poisons; mage types, look for magic, which is obviously here. Not to mention alchemy and probably some noxious undead to rise out of those vats at a moment's notice. Not the place I plan to go a-swimming."
She casts Detect Poison at the various liquids.
"A fantastic labaratory.. Hopefully someday I'll have one this grand, but devote more to adimixture.."
Scans with detect magic..
Ferrek, in turn, looks around with his highly-trained but purely mundane senses, looking for anything which will trigger an alert (or other trap) if disturbed.
"This is surprisingly messy. All this stuff just laying around on the floor. Seems an odd way to maintain your work area. The benches could be works-in-progress, at least."
Detect poison reveals no poison, as most of the vials and potion-bottles appear to actually be filled with rot, dust, and impotent ingredients. Detect magic, however, does reveal the mummified hand on the benches to be magical.
As Ferrek explores the room, the three barrels off to the side catch his eye. They're all filled, apparently, with murky water, and two of them (the leftmost and center barrel) have the trademark glint of gold shining from the bottom.
Isletta will take a closer look at the hand.. Not picking it up though..
Garret wipes his brow like a lumberjack and says "Good job." to his axe. Then he leans against a wall to catch his breath while the others check out the room.
"Pleasant place." he says dryly.
The hand is a Hand of Glory.
"Wasn't there something about a trembling hand, something that mauls, and so forth, in our dear host's message?" Shadassa views the hand with some distaste.
"Perhaps we can check those barrels for traps. Ach, this place is one giant nest of anglerfish ready to snap," she says.
Garret nodded, having no idea what an anglerfish was. Given the context, they sounded pretty bad.