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The mountain lions stay quiet as the group moves away, returning their attention to their cubs by the time the party is out of sight.
Making your way back up over the stairs and down the other side, you see a massive chamber filled with cobwebs and dust. A shallow pool twenty feet across lies in the middle of the room, with tall pillars to the east of it, each carved to look like a tall, beautiful, human woman. The ceiling is vaulted, and a crescent moon has been painted at the highest point, which is directly above the pool. Although the paint is chipped, it still retains a peculiar luster that reflects light with a glistening glow. The walls sport a few empty sconces, and you see an imposing set of bronze doors on the east wall. These double doors bear images of winged horses rearing majestically.
A hallway runs east along the southern wall, opening into another room. Another hallway goes east along the northern wall as well. It looks to dead-end after a short distance, but has several doors coming off it.
The pool of water has a very small stone lip surrounding it. The water itself looks to be pure and clear if not very deep.
There doesn't appear to be anything else particularly interesting about the room itself, there are no creatures in sight.
Knowledge Religion DC 15
Zeldin chooses a small goblin and drags it close to the opening of the room with the lions and leaves it there. Turning back to move through that room and rejoin the others he notices the writing hiden on the wall.
Did you see that? he asks excitedly. There, on the wall in the horses legs... It looks like words in Elven. Like a proverb or a warning or something... It says, "The gray lies between the black and the white. The shadow lies between the dark and the light." Does anyone have a guess what that means? as he finishes he takes his rank on the steps decending to room with the water... And then remembers he should perhaps be a bit quieter.
Knowledge (religion) check:
Buckwell examines the pillars and the artwork in this room and declares "This area appears to have been dedicated Glarias, a daughter of Desna and Goddess of the moon. Up to about 20 years ago she was fairly popular in the region. Although her worship, which focused on aspects of secret lore and divination, has been on the wane since then."
Kathrine looks up at the crescent moon painted into the vaulted ceiling above her as she takes in what Buckwell has to say about it.
"Dedicated to a Goddess, eh? I wonder..."
Kathrine steps further into the room and looks down into the pool of water, seeing her reflection in the clear water she reaches down with a gloved hand and dips her fingers into the water, hesitating for a moment to see if something will happen, and if nothing does, cupping her hand and raising it back up to her mouth, sipping at the water.
Errigal looks on, impressed, as Karth calms the animals, "Good work Karth, are you good with all animals like that?"
"No," the half-orc replies tersely as he exits the room.
Never one for riddles, Karth shrugs at Zeldin's discovery. "I've never known a place being sacred to stop goblinoids from sacking it," Karth remarks, taking a few steps into the room and peering into the black-and-white shadows.
Perception
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Kathrine dips her hand into the water with no visible effect other than a ripple rolling out through the clear water. It tastes clean and fresh as if it were pure spring water, though there is no obvious source for water to enter the shallow pool and you would expect it to stagnate simply sitting here.
In case anyone hits Perception DC 20
Zeldin is captivated on the stairs with horror watching Kathrine. With heart in throat he sees her sip.
Perception check:
Seeing Katherine drink from the water, Buckwell exclaims "By the flames, you like to live dangerously."
"Glarias you say? I haven't heard of her, though being the daughter of Desna sounds like a goddess to my liking."
Errigal pauses a moment, then tilts his head to the side, "Do you hear that? There's scratching from these doors."
Errigal points to the northern doors and then approaches them, listening intently.
To Buckwell: Is this a temple? Do we need to make an offering or something? he asks, never taking his eyes from Kathrine.
As soon as Errigal speaks, he seems to forget Buckwell entirely.
Scratching!?! Zeldin does not know where to look in fear. His eyes dart from the doors to Kathrine and then back again.
This is the reason nothing settled near the water! he exclaims in a loud hissing whisper.
"Hmm." Karth follows behind Errigal, a hand to his back ready to draw whichever weapon seems more appropriate.
With Zeldin's whisper, he murmurs back "I doubt they were afraid of something that can't even open a door."
Buckwell looks at Zeldin "Not a temple, but perhaps a shrine'
"Whatever is in there seems to just be trying to get through the door, if it were trying to draw attention it would do better by banging on it or trying to make some other ruckus." Kend walks forward towards the door to examine it better.
Errigal approaches the left door and checks to see if the door is locked.
Still wary, Zeldin proceeds to the base of the stair, his eyes no longer on Kathrine, but on the men ahead of him, ready in the event that they decide to open a door.
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The door is locked(both of them are for that matter) and the locks to be of quite good quality.
Doing a circuit of the large chamber to get a better idea of what is around, it looks like the large bronze double doors are locked as well, though their lock appears to be more ceremonial than anything.
The small room that opens up off the southern hallway has a few pieces of broken and aged furniture within it but nothing else. The door that opens to the south from there appears to be rather unique though. Rather than being wood like the rest of the doors in this chamber, it looks like it is made of a blue tinged steel and there is no obvious handle or lock on it.
Kathrine shrugs a bit as she tastes the fresh quality of the water, having been distracted with her little experiment she didn't notice the scratching sound until it was pointed out to her. Seeing that Kend-krid, Karth, and Errigal are moving over to check out the disturbance, Kathrine takes a brief look over the rest of the room, not honestly expecting to see anything the other, more perceptive, members of the party haven't already taken in, but just keeping a general lookout of the group and the room. Moving closer to Zeldin's side she whispers softly, perceiving a bit of edge to his voice, "Are you alright Zeldin? You seem a bit on edge since the battle?"
I... Yes... Kathrines words break out of his vigilant stare. They should be careful! he says.
A moment passes, and then he looks at her and says with more confidence, Thanks, yes I am okay. He moves toward the pool, and then looking back asks, What did it taste like?
Kend remarks, "Well, no use worrying about what's in there if we can't get in and it can't get out. I doubt there is anything this shallow in the Delve that is worth extra trouble. Let's take a look around the room down to the south." Kend starts casually making his way down to the chamber in the south east.
Errigal watches Kend-Krid move off towards the southern end of the large chamber, then gets a determined look on his face and says,"Worth it or not, I'd like to practice my skills. I'll be there in a minute after I try picking this lock."
Errigal slings his shield onto his back and hooks his whip on his belt, then pulls out a finely crafted set of tools and sets to work on the westernmost of the two northern doors.
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As kend makes his way down to the southern chamber, the ruined furniture doesn't appear to be any more valuable from up close, nor do you see any method of opening the steel door in the southern wall. The northern door however doesn't look to have any lock on it at all.
Errigal, working at the lock for a few seconds you are unable to make any headway on the lock at all. You might be able to get it if you get very lucky or really took your time at it, but guessing you would put it as just barely within your skill.
Kathrine smiles as she follows Zeldin over to the pool.
"It tastes fresh, clean, which makes me wonder about what Karth said all the more. There's no apparent reason the goblins and orcs wouldn't have used this room. Especially considering the quality of the water. But since that isn't a concern now, I would suggest making our camp for the night near here."
Looking back up to take a quick survey of the room, Kathrine spots Errigal fiddling with the door lock and decides to sit down near the edge of the pool for a minute and pull her chain shirt slightly out of position to look over the extent of the damage to it.
Being no more skilled with locks than the average man, Karth follows Kend-Krid silently. The curious steel door gets his attention and he examines it and the area immediately surrounding it closely, wondering if it has a hidden trigger on this side.
Perception
Hearing Kathrine's camping suggestion, he gives a grunt and faces back to the water room. "If most of these doors are locked, perhaps this is the territory of a larger intelligent group. I'm not sure I wish to sleep in a room to which someone I don't know might have the key."
Agreed Kathrine. This seems a lot nicer than what I expected to find for our first night!
Zeldin roams to the waters edge. Kathrine, how deep is this??
Errigal grimaces a bit at failing to pick the lock, but then notices Katherine adjusting her armor and sets back to work on the lock to keep himself from staring.
Karth wanders back in to the water room, not wanting to split the group up too much by checking the remaining door and wary of what Errigal might unleash. The strange door remains heavily on his mind, and he makes a mental note to keep in mind its position while exploring the rest of the dungeon, in case there is another entrance to whatever's on the other side.
Buckwell stands by the pool. absently drawing circles in the water with his finger. As Errigal unlocks the door, Bucky spans and loads his crossbow.
Kend approaches the plain door that doesn't appear to have a lock, but being cautious decides to just kneel outside the door and listen for a minute to see if he can hear anything on the other side before he decides to open it.
Perception
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Kend listens at the door, hearing nothing before pulling it open.
Inside the chamber is filled with wrecked wooden furniture, mostly chairs, tables, and bookshelves, old and rotten. A few rotted and useless books lie amid the wreckage but there isn't anything of obvious value, nor are there any clear exits or enemies within.
After readjusting her chain shirt, Kathrine stands up and dips the butt end of her Fauchard into the pool, taking a measure of the water and not finding it too deep.
"I would say the pool is... about a foot deep."
Then, hearing the faint click of a metal lock, Kathrine looks up towards Errigal to see him kneeling in front of the door. Sliding her Fauchard over her shoulder, she walks over to Errigal with a wary stance to her legs.
Thanks Kath... As she strides away, Zeldin follows her, concern etched on his face.
Hoping to catch the attention of the others, Zeldin waves his arms to motion them to come to the place where Errigal is.
Karth glances back as he hears Kend open the door, then turns to see the rest of the party moving towards Errigal.
"Come, looks like trouble," he calls to the barbarian before striding over with Zeldin and the others. He stands, bow at the ready, biting his lip and staring at Errigal and the door.
Kend follows and hefts his warhammer up, preparing himself for what was on the other side of the door... to be scratching at the door it would had to have been desperate or stupid... both traits of things that are difficult to reason with or placate.
Seeing the others gathering near the door with him, Errigal readies his shield and whip and with a grin says, "Whatever it is, it'll be surprised at what's waiting for it."
Errigal then opens the door.
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As Errigal pulls open the wooden door, he reveals a small room beyond and the stench of rotting meat is strong in the air. There is no furniture in the room whatsoever but red tiles are set into the stone floor forming mystical runes in the shape of a circle.
From the doorway what looks to be a man whose flesh has begun to rot away lashes out with surprising speed from the doorway towards the group, the shape of a crescent moon branded into his forehead.
Knowledge Religion DC 12
Knowledge Religion DC 17
Undead
Buckwell
Kend
Errigal
Karth
Zeldin
Kathrine
Kend
Undead
Zeldin
Errigal
Kathrine
Karth
Buckwell
Zeldin gags on the smell of the rotting man. Focusing, he draws another globe of electricity from the air and throws it at the abomination before him.
Kend wastes no time in smashing his warhammer down towards the thing occupying the room.
Two Handed Attack
Damage
Unable to get to the doors, Buckwell holds his action until such time as he's able to attack
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The quick creature darts under the powerful swing of Kend's warhammer, snapping and biting at Errigal who still stands in the doorway.
Coming at the half-elf in a whirl of claws and teeth, Errigal is able to evade most of the assault, ducking back out of the way though he does take a deep slash of claws across his shoulder. For a moment he can feel his joints starting to stiffen, though something within him pushes the effect back and he's able to shake it off.
Through the fray, Zeldin stretches out his hand, letting another bolt of energy streak out at the creature, causing its skin to sizzle and an unearthly groan to pass its lips.
Errigal
Kathrine
Karth
Buckwell
Kend
Undead
Zeldin
Pressured by the speed of the assault, Errigal is caught off balance. He grits his teeth at the flash of pain inflicted from the claw of the creature and tries to return the favor with his armor spikes.
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Slamming his shoulder back into the creature when it rakes him, Errigal buries the spikes of his armor deep into its flesh, clumps of coagulated blood falling from the wounds to the stone floor as the fighter drops back a step away from the beast that reels from the impact.
Kathrine
Karth
Buckwell
Kend
Undead
Zeldin
Errigal
Karth, realizing that the melee will likely be joined momentarily, takes a quick shot with his bow before dropping it against the wall behind him and drawing his greatsword.
Attack (includes point blank shot, but I don't know if the monster is considered 'in melee' after Errigal's move. -4 if he is).
Damage
Caught out by the sudden rush of the monster that leaps through the door, Kathrine is slightly slower than Errigal to attack the blur of a creature and makes a split second choice to go for the creatures legs. With a grunt of effort Kathrine sweeps her Fauchard around from her shoulders and into a downward arc, trying to connect solidly with the pale thing and drop it to the floor.
Seeing the creature fall to the ground, Buckwell holds his fire.