“Trap’s just a thought,” Mal shrugs in reply to Simon. “Who knows? Still, sounds like we aint got much time and going by guesses – who knows if we’ll be able to get this thing working again if we don’t go now? Well, they told me the Pathfinders was all about going to new places ... this sounds like that.”
Herral-
You get the sense from your tinkering that it is possible to remove the crystal and shut the system down. You might get singed, and you have no idea what that will do to the mechanisms involved. But hey...its possible.
Herral shakes his head and lies really badly, desperate to try out the machine, "I don't think I can stop it now. Must be stuck or about to explode if its messed with. We have to go." He doesn't look at Addy or Simon as he speaks.
"That's the case, you and Will better figure how to work it real quick then," comments Mal.
Will actually grins at Herral's bald lie.
"<cough> Um, well, yes. SO, we can't waste such an opportunity, can we? I'm pretty sure it's a law. Somewhere. For Pathfinders at least." Will says, wide-eyed and innocent.
"So,... where too?" Will asks seriously, indicating the paper they found with destinations on it, and the glowing runes on the tabletop.
"Captain Itaden and Corporal Vors have more than a handful of unarmed, disoriented civilians they need to escort to safety. Much as I hate to allow the followers of Rovagug or any involved in this to flee justice, those people need help or there is a slim chance they will all reach the safety of civilization. Taldor has practically deserted this region and the gods only know what else is out there, besides goblins. I understand that this is a major find for you, but lives will be at stake above us and you don't know if this thing is working properly or malfunctioning or moments from blowing us all to pieces. If you take the time to prepare your notes and conduct research, you may be able to return and be certain of how it works. I will be pleased to assist in any way I can, but I would rather use my remaining energies bringing those people to safety."
The halfling hangs his head and sighs. Then he tries to take the crystal out carefully.
"Yep. Always on." Addy says, looking at Simon. "Don't worry, Herral, we'll come back as soon as possible. Any way I can help, here?"
Mal scratches his stubbled chin and nods slowly. “Gellner’s right.”
After all, we came here to rescue those folk, not search for relics, he thinks. A damn shame if we let them all get killed on the way home.
It takes Herral a little effort to dislodge the crystal, and he quickly discovers that it is HOT!!! He dances around for a bit juggling it like hot potato before finally being able to handle it normally.
The emanating power makes the hair on his head and feet stand on end - giving him the look of a shocked porcupine. While a look of annoyance is obvious, he is otherwise unhurt by the action.
When the halfling pulls the crystal, all the noise and energy that suddenly arose just as quickly dims and dies out. The room returns to merely having the ambient glow; the table and it's symbols goes dim; the green stone falls off the table's edge and is flung away by the momentum it had picked up rotating; the archway's glyphs return to looking unremarkable; and the feeling and smell in the air subsides - leaving only the slight warm sensation you first noticed. The room's magic dims and returns to almost as you had found it.
The crystal looks a little smaller than when you placed it in the slot, but you'd guess it is servicable to do whatever it is supposed to do.
Other than the searching you have done, nothing else had changed in the room since your initial entry.
"But,... Right." Will mumbles as the others speak up.
He obviously has conflicting feelings about not using the portal. Right now. But offers no argument. He looks even more disappointed than Herral as the halfling removes the crystal. He sighs as he looks around the room. Then picks up the green stone and wraps it in a kerchief.
"No sense leaving this lying around. We should keep these with us. That way the others can't use the portal, and we know we have the keys when we come back!" Will says, just a little too forcefully.
"We should check out the trapdoor before we leave. Just to make sure that he didn't go down there." Will adds, a hopeful lift to his voice,...
"We should check out the trapdoor before we leave. Just to make sure that he didn't go down there." Will adds, a hopeful lift to his voice,...
Simon nods,"As you like."
OK. If you are stopping to check the trapdoor, how would you like to proceed? Try opening as is; tinkering around with the crypt vault covers again; etc...
Please advise. ;-)
Mal-
Upon entering this room again (the vault room with the murals and crypts), the feeling of...(nostalgia? memories? loss?) seems to come upon you again. You can't help but feel a woman's presence near you (and its not Addy).
"Um, I was a bit,... distracted, when we first entered this room. Did anyone check to see if the trapdoor is,... well, trapped?" Will asks with a rueful half-smile on his face.
"Or locked? I definitely heard a 'click' when I moved the spear on the bier. It dd SOMEthing, I'm just not certain what. Exactly. Shall I move it again?!" He adds, just a little too hasty,...
"Um, I was a bit,... distracted, when we first entered this room. Did anyone check to see if the trapdoor is,... well, trapped?" "Or locked?
Nothing has changed in the room since last you saw it. The "memory effect" from before is still there, but knowing it seems to dampen its impact and none of you has visions again.
"OK, do someone try the trap door! If it doesn't open, I'll move the staff again!" Will declares with undisguisable enthusiasm. he moves to stand next to the bier.
"Okay,"
Herral pulls on the trapdoor. Then he peers down into the hole, using his butterfly light if needed. The halfling will put it on a stone or pebble and wish it a safe journey to the bottom.
Herral - please make a Fort save DC 15. If you have any bonuses versus poisons, etc., please apply.
Everyone else - please make a Fort save DC 10. If you have any bonuses versus poisons, etc., please apply.
Everyone - If you make the save, please give me a perception check.
More to follow shortly.
Herral looks at Will in horror as he scrabbles at his throat.
Fortitude save:
Fortitude
"WHa? Oh, Cra,...<Wheeze>!"
Herral, Addy, and Simon-
A blast of some kind dust and gas shoots out from the trap-door, and the three of you immediately inhale it before you can react. You suddenly feel very relaxed and fall away as in a sleep, but your dreams are vivid and you find yourselves rushing back to the memories of before. You are awake, but the world is as you see it, not the tomb and actual surroundings before you.
Herral -
You find yourself back in your Uncle's home. It is warm, with plenty of food and drink as if enjoying a winter's feast. Around you are your three uncles and one aunt chatting away around the hearth. The conversation seems to surround someone's latest invention....
Addy -
You are back home in Oppara. You are at a street fair, your father and two of his friends are close by talking and drinking. The smells of food; the sounds of dancing music; and the site of carnival games ring in your ears. There's a smaller child who was a friend of yours close by, staring at the sites in a dreamy state....
Simon -
You are back in Qadira; in the time before your release. You are in the town's square, near the drinking well. You find yourself sitting with Brother Malik - who often dicusses the mysteries of Sarenrae. Nearby is a maiden taking water from the well; although she looks Qadiran her hair is strinkingly red and she wears no scarf upon her head to shield her from the sun. There's a boy sitting nearby staring dreamily in the afternoon sun. Your Qadiran chaperone/guard stands nearby...although he looks vaguely Andoran and wears chainmail in this heat...
Mal & Will -
The two of you witness what looks like a pouch release from within the trapdoor when Herral opens it. A yellowish powder hits Herral squarely in the face and fine mist of the material spreads across the room quickly from there. Before they can react, Addy and Simon inhale a deep gulp of the gas and begin coughing heavily immediately. Fortunately for you two, you react quickly enough to cover your mouths and eyes from the material.
You cough a little and a slight feeling of vertigo takes your senses for a moment, but whatever the cloud is dissipates quickly and you manage to keep you wits about you. When you look up again, everything looks normal and trapdoor is now open to reveal a large compartment.
More obvious is the fact that your three comrades didn't recuperate quite so well. They are standing around glass-eyed with a look of euphoria and unresponsive at the moment.
The trapdoor reveals the remains of a skeleton plus two small bags, a dagger, a sword, and an amulet. Your first assessment is that aside from skeleton, the rest of the items are more recent additions to the compartment.
Mal-
During your momentary disorientation, you feel swept back to your days in Andoran after you "retired." There's a brief moment of remembering your home there, sitting and reading after a day's work. Kaylee is there singing again as she works on a tapestry loom. Although she looks like her - her hair; skin; and eyes look distinctly unlike her own. She looks Azlanti; and she turns and looks at you with eyes as blue as ocean, and says:
The field is cut and bleeds to red
The fireball flies 'round my head
The healer may count me dead
But I've gone to find my ain true love
Just moments of this pass, and then you snap back to reality. After you recover your senses, the feel of a woman's presence is even stronger than before.
"You know it seems like something has gone wrong." Herral nods to Will and Mal absent-mindedly.
Then he shakes his head and looks down in the hole again. "Yes, I'm sure that's not good enough."
Herral shuts the trapdoor. "No, those pies need longer in the oven, Uncle."
"Wha? Herral? NO!" Will shouts as the halfling closes the trapdoor again.
Will looks at Mal, his face a mix of frustration and trepidation.
"Some days, it just doesn't pay to explore an ancient pyramid!" He mutters in frustration as he moves to talk to Herral.
"Um, Herral? Are you ok? Who are you talking to?"
"Hey dad! Dad!" Addy says coming up to Mal and tugging on his tunic. "Lemme have a copper for the ring toss! I wanna win a prize!" She turns quickly to Herral and says loudly, "Hang on a sec, Vas! I need some money from dad and then we can try it out!"
“Get out of my head witch,” mutters Malatar a moment after the trapdoor opens. “It’s done.” Then he shakes his head and looks about, starting to step towards the trap door - an instant after Herral slams it shut again. “What?”
He looks suspiciously at the more dazed looking members of the group. At least Will seems himself. “Aye,” he nods in wry agreement, then feels Addy tugging at his tunic.
“Dad? Uh ...” he looks at Will, mild panic evident in his face. Dad? he mouths. Then he shrugs, and fishes a copper coin from his beltpouch. “Right. Here you are ... dear,” he says, handing the coin to Addy, and shrugging helplessly at Will. “Don’t wander off. Keep your brother out of trouble.”
Over the woman’s head he speaks to Will. “It can’t be trapped twice? Can it?” he asks, evidently about to re-open the trapdoor.
"Herral are you okay? Of course. Who are you talking too?"
The little halfling edges round Will and claps his hands together in triumph. "Good question, I shouldn't be talking when no one is listening."
He then runs to the exit and his last words are, "I should be setting the table."
"Back in a while, might need some wine too and the cellar is quite a run. See you soon."
“Will! Stop him,” Mal orders as Herral makes to run off; Will, who was talking to him is probably closer to the Halfling than Mal is.
Mal & Will -
Based on the behaviors you've seen, it looks like whatever hit them must be similar to what affected the people at the masquerade party. But how long this will last or what the side effects will truly be.
You didn't hear any clicks or trips to imply the trapdoor's surprise was reset, so opening it a second time has no effect if you choose to do so.
Herral exits via the first entrance you came in, pushing past the frosted glass doors and up the hallway. The good news is he'll only get so far and there are no traps that you know of. Bad news is he'll probably windup crashing into the metal bars that blocked the hallway unless someone catches him.
DM Notes -
low = gate room
high = pyramid exit
Perception:
“Get out of my head witch,” mutters Malatar a moment after the trapdoor opens. “It’s done.” Then he shakes his head and looks about, starting to step towards the trap door - an instant after Herral slams it shut again. “What?”
He looks suspiciously at the more dazed looking members of the group. At least Will seems himself. “Aye,” he nods in wry agreement, then feels Addy tugging at his tunic.
“Dad? Uh ...” he looks at Will, mild panic evident in his face. Dad? he mouths. Then he shrugs, and fishes a copper coin from his beltpouch. “Right. Here you are ... dear,” he says, handing the coin to Addy, and shrugging helplessly at Will. “Don’t wander off. Keep your brother out of trouble.”
Over the woman’s head he speaks to Will. “It can’t be trapped twice? Can it?” he asks, evidently about to re-open the trapdoor.
Addy snatches the coin. "Thanks, dad! You're the best!" as she kisses Mal on the cheek. She turns and sees Herral heading off. "Wait, Vas! I got the money. Be back in a bit, Dad!" she yells, and runs off after Herral.
"Stop them? Who? ME!?!" Will asks (more a squeak) incredulously. He flinches when Addy dashes past him to chase after Herral, (actually, he cowers behind his crossbow, standing on one leg like a stork, but his journal records only that he flinched), and then looks after teh both of them, and back to Mal again. He blinks owlishly, then throws his arms up in the air in frustrated surrender.
"Sure! I'll stop them! NO problem! I'll just hit him over the head with a roast!" WIll declares as he starts after the running companions.
"I hope he's got some wine to go with those pies, I need a drink!" Will's grumble can be clearly heard by Mal as he enters the hallway, a trick of the acoustics no doubt,...
"Well, At least I discovered what the staff/switch on the bier was for!" He mutters, trying to look on the bright side,...
“Kids.” Mal shakes his head, then glances at the still dazed looking Simon. At least he didn’t seem to have regressed to childhood or some other fantasy ... yet.
Quickly, Mal re-opens the trapdoor and grabs the stuff within (sans skeleton) – bags, dagger, sword amulet. His own sword sheathed, he takes the one from the trap door in hand and shoves the rest of the stuff in his pack, taking a brief moment to scan the alcove for anything else of interest, as well as what condition the skeleton is in.
Then he closes the trap, grabs Simon by the arm – “C’mon, we gotta go” – and hurries after Will.
Quickly, Mal re-opens the trapdoor and grabs the stuff within (sans skeleton) – bags, dagger, sword amulet. His own sword sheathed, he takes the one from the trap door in hand and shoves the rest of the stuff in his pack...
The bastard sword you pull out feels surprisingly balanced and comfortable in your grip.
All that remains of the skeleton is the skull, ribcage, and part of the arm. It looks like the remains were intact, but that they were shoved aside - likely to make room for the contents you found. Also, based on the small pieces you found, this man was once decorated in full armor and regalia.
The only thing misread from before is the amulet. Once you grab it, you realize it is much older - the silver stone it is made of shows pitting and tarnish. But the blue stone in its center still retains its color and shine.
Mal
As soon as you grab the amulet, the presence you have sensed disappears. You also note the stone looks the same shade of blue as the eyes of the woman in the vision.
Then he closes the trap, grabs Simon by the arm – “C’mon, we gotta go” – and hurries after Will.
Simon blinks as if in a daze.
"Ah, our time is up already? A shame to return to that cell on such a fine day. I know you don't make the rules. May I ask, though: what is a soldier of Andoran like yourself doing here in Qadira, working as a prison guard for some foppish nobleman from across the Jalrune? Surely there must be quite a story there!"He calls to Will with an uncharacteristic warmth and casualness:
"Please, Brother Malik, will you walk with us as far as the gate? I would like to hear more of The Book of Light and Truth. These lessons of yours have been a great help to me."
Herral-
You make your way outside - it is a cool and cloudy day, but no signs of emminent snowfall is apparent. The trees around the house seems closer today as you find yourself rounding the house and heading for the cellar. Usually it's a quick move to pop open the cellar doors to get the wine, but the doors are stuck as you try to fling them open and you wind up conking your head. Nothing terrible - but the this time of year the water tends to make doors swell. You really need to talk to your uncle about your new idea of a portable furnace to dry them out.
It looks like your aunt has followed you outside.
Fort:
Addy-
As you follow Vas, he runs down a street - it looks like he's headed for a nearby fountain, but he doesn't see the gate someone has setup. He winds up conking his head on the gate. You also notice that one of the men your father was talking to is following you. He is wearing some robes - perhaps a magistrate or some nobleman? He's muttering something about wanting some wine and pies - maybe he was hoping you could go get them?
Simon-
As your finish your inquiry of the guardsman, the child runs off in the direction of bazaar down the street. Just as suddenly, the red-haired maiden drops her water jug; chatters at the guardsman something; and goes after the boy - yelling something in Qadiri.
Brother Malik seems to have not heard your request. He mutters something about wine and pies and then dashes off after the maiden and child. The day has grown a little more cloudy, which reduces the heat and makes the walking at least pleasant.
Will & Mal -
As you follow the dashing around, you spot Herral make his way as far as the closed bars in the hallway with no hinderance. However, once he is there - and without hestitation - he tries to keep moving forward and promptly slams right into the bars. An uninhibited charge like that should have knocked him out, but the halfling seems unperturbed by the blow - despite the bleeding from his jaw.
Herral rubs his chin, "oww, that door is so stuck! Uncle can we please get a druid in to warp the wood back into place. I know its expensive but so is fixing my looks."
The hlafling turns round and looks at his aunt Addy suspiciously, "did you follow to watch and laugh? I mean I could have been hurt. And who is Vas? That my new nickname, Vas the doorknocker!"
"May the sourcespring of magic protect me! From ever having kids!" Will mutters as he catches up, huffing and puffing, to Addy and Herral. He looks from Herral's bleeding chin to the iron gate, and shakes his head.
"Are you alright Herral? If that didn't knock some sense back into your head, I'm not sure what will!"
Mal seems distracted for a moment, looking at the amulet, before shoving it into a pocket (rather than his pack as he had first intended). “Hmmm?” he replies, dragging his attention back to Simon and then, when he sees that the paladin is moving, beginning to hurry after the others. “Oh, it’s a long story …”
"What could be the hurry? I've never seen a priest so anxious for wine and pie..."
"Is no one watching the oven? Ye Gods!"
Since Will and Mal are the only ones seeing normally, the question is do you open the bars again or try to corral the wayward comrades into some semblance of order?
Now that you know the sequence, opening them without endangering anyone is done easily - the silvery bars disappearing into the stonework while you exit.
Herral:
Your uncle makes his way to the fracas involving the cellar doors. With an annoyed look and uttering something about that blow "knocking some sense into you," he gives the doorframe a quick blow that pops the doors open. A rich loamy smell of earth and turnips wafts out of the cellar as you look beyond the doors and see the display of wine racks, barrels, and bric-a-brac of metal pieces he keeps here.
Addy:
The robed man approaches you and Vas as the boy rubs his chin from the collision. His look is rather stern, with fire in his eyes he scolds you both for your lack od attention. He then moves to the side gate and pushes open to reveal the rest of the alleyway that leads to more booths and games around the fountain. Somewhere, the smells of fried sweetbread and sounds of a horns can be heard.
Simon:
In one of the rare occasions in your experience, Brother Malik loses his patience with the maiden and the child. Something about having to be careful with a gate and how may the Goddess protect him from careless children. As he lectures them on the policy of proper respect for elders, he opens the gate to reveal the market area beyond. Stalls are visible and the strange odors of spiced meat and camel dung mix in the more oppressive heat that bears down on this area.
The guardsman's response is curt and accompanied by a shrug. Despite his Andoran features, he seems remarkably cool in the heat - as if not even bothered by it.
"The, um, the oven is fine. We'll be back in plenty of time." Will responds, looking from person to person swiftly as he reaches out to work the mechanism before anyone gets hurt by the trap. His glance briefly takes on a worried look, as if he just realized that he is outnumbered by crazy people who all seem to think he is someone else. He steps back warily, gesturing to the now-open gate before them.
"Mal?! A little help here!?" He calls back over his shoulder with a smile on his face,...
“Ever met a priest of Cayden Cailean?” Mal asks, guiding Simon hurriedly towards the portcullis.
He nods to Will when they reach the rest of the group. “What are you waiting for?" he asks, gesturing the way forward.