Previously in our story...
"Sometimes it's these little things that make up our character, being able to stick to our own convictions is sometimes harder than living by someone else's convictions."
As someone who strives to maintain balance, it is important, at times to take a look at the larger picture. It is also just as important to consider the smaller things, for if you focus too much on the long game, it becomes easier to lose track of your own internal harmony. This is the nature of balance. Yin and Yang.
For being and nonbeing arise together;
hard and easy complete each other;
long and short shape each other;
note and voice make music together;
before and after follow each other;
That is why the wise soul does without doing,
and teaches without talking.
- Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
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Standing there in front of the deep metal doors with the glimmering layan handles and rose marble columns, I was stuck again by the gaudy opulence of this place. Like someone who had been given all the money in the world, and couldn't decide what to do with it.
Shalev asked the party to check the doors thoroughly before touching them, his previous experiences showing through to a vigilance that I have seen become tiring to the others. Tiring as they may think it, I know that he finds comfort in the vigilance, and more often than not it has proven itself necessary in our adventures. Tobias did as requested though, and told us that there was no indication of whether or not the doors were holy or unholy. Fife also checked the door, looking for traps, and also came up negative. Shalev examined the doors again, and could not figure out how to open them, as they did not budge when pushed. He asked Tobias and I to try, thinking perhaps that the layan would somehow respond to an elven touch.
We looked at one another in wry amusement, but agreed, each grasping one of the layan rods on the massive doors. Then we looked back at Shalev, and pulled the doors easily and soundlessly open. Inside the room was a dais in the center of the space that held an ornate throne. Ebony and mahogany wood benches sat on either side of the raised area, and we noticed that the room was glowing with light. I looked up to see delicate hanging chandeliers that were woven with glowing layan leaves. The leaves were connected to delicate threads of layan that disappeared up into the ceiling, acting as a focus to bring the sunlight down to light the room. I looked at the elaborate and beautiful lighting, feeling the warmth of the sunshine radiating off of the leaves with a gentle heat, and I wondered again at the sheer extravagance that was exhibited here.
Jaeger said something to Shalev in dwarfish, and then he turned into a raven and flew up to explore the ceiling of the great room. Fife, Lan, and Tobias explored the walls, and Lan discovered a passage on the wall directly behind the throne, and another on the right hand wall. We checked the wall to the right first, and Fife discovered a lever for the passage behind the throne.
Shalev moved over to examine the throne itself, and saw that it was carved out of one solid piece of a green stone that matched the brooch that we had acquired from the merchant back in Eyore. The throne was a solid, stylized dragon with deep metal and gold shackles on each leg. Each arm rest has a fist sized gemstone where someone's hands would rest. The gemstones are the crowns of the heads of more stylized dragons, a star stone crowned the head of a serpentine dragon; and a gleaming opal crowned the head of a more lizard like dragon. I noted that neither of the dragons depicted here matched the great Fae dragon that flew over this area.
On a whim, I took a seat on the throne, and placed my hands over each of the gemstones. As soon as I did so, a mouth opened up on each of the walls on either side of the throne, and a voice boomed out in resonant tones an introduction of my person to any and all who might listen. The introduction was done in my native language, and consisted of my entire name and all of my titles throughout the ages. After about 10 minutes, the introduction ceased with the statement that all should show reverence, causing both Tobias and Shalev to instantly drop to their knee. I noticed that both of them seemed awed, and as they gazed with shining eyes, I felt a little embarrassed to be so outed. I had not ever made a point of mentioning any of the titles I hold, as they mean nothing to me. I hadn't heard most of the exaltations in centuries anyway, and found myself a little disappointed that none of them sparked any memory that may have once been associated with them.
Curious about the throne and it's capabilities, Shalev, Lan, Osman, and Fife all followed suit to sit on the throne and be announced. Each one received their own announcement, in the language that they spoke most often. Shalev then asked, bemusedly, that Amit do the same, and the great cat gave him a long-suffering look, but climbed up onto the chair. Again, the mouths on the walls opened up, and again they made their announcement. This time, however, the exaltation was said in a series of growls and chuffs that took almost a half hour to complete. Amit, bored with the whole thing, lazily left the chair once the voices had quieted, and looked at Shalev with cat-like superiority before flouncing back to the edge of the room.
We checked out the passage behind the throne to see a door to the left and a passage that continues along the wall. Inside the door there was a room filled with velvet and ermine cloaks hanging on ebony wood pegs. The party took the sumptuous cloaks, and discovered that there was another door on the left hand side. I ventured back out into the main throne room to check to see if there was another lever near the other passage. Finding nothing, I returned to the party and Fife checked the door inside the cloak room. It opened into a large bedroom that was completely empty save for a massive bed. Fife, Jaeger, and Kellyn flip the mattress over in hopes of finding more treasure, but only revealed more floor and a massive amount of dust. We went back out into the main hallway to escape the dust cloud, and Tobias took point so that he could use his dark vision ability to follow the passage to the right. There were two doors to the left, and we opened the first door into a triangular room filled with shelves that held small ingots of imperial stamped platinum plates. The room was filled, floor to ceiling, and we estimated 25,000 ingots in total.
The party members stood, dumbfounded, at the uncountable wealth in this room. As they began discussing how best to transport it, I pointed out that we already had more wealth than any of them had ever seen before, and that there would be no feasible way to carry it. Tobias and I urged the party members to leave the ingots behind, and if they must, return to them later. The rest of the party grudgingly agrees and Shalev asked KelLyn to come look into the room to remember the location so that they could return later and potentially transport the ingots elsewhere. She wryly commented that there were limits to even what she could do, but paid attention to the details of the location room as he asked.
Fife then moved over to the second door and checked it for traps. He discovered a needle trap which I am able to disarm after about an hour of tedious work. The room beyond was large and square, and completely empty. There was a door across the room on the opposite wall, and Fife also checked that for traps. Finding none, I moved again to start work on unlocking the door. As I worked through the tumblers, however, it tripped a trap that was expertly hidden within, releasing a noxious green gas. I blinked once in surprise, but felt no effects whatsoever, so I continued to concentrate on my task. After the door was unlocked, I stood up and stretched, glancing around to see that all of the rest of the party, including Amit, were fast asleep on the floor. I checked on all of them, and found them unharmed, so I left them to sleep off the effects of the gas and I opened the now harmless door.
Inside, I saw another triangular room with a circular depression in the floor. Inside the depression was a column of layan that rose nearly to the domed ceiling of the room. Encased inside the glowing layan was a man wearing full metal armor. The man was looking straight up into the column of light with an almost sadly reverent look on his face. I looked closer at him for a moment, but then decided that I wanted to wait for the rest of the party before I explored further, so I returned to the room where they lay and made myself comfortable in one corner before entering into the deep meditations that function to refresh my body.
After about three hours or so, the party members began to groggily come to. Shalev passed around some of the bitter espresso beans that he is fond of chewing on, and when Jaeger looked at him questioningly, Shalev also offered some to him to try. Jaeger sniffed at the beans, then following the example he had seen, popped them into his mouth to chew. He made a horrible face and promptly spit them out, muttering something to Shalev in dwarfish that made him chuckle.
Once everyone was up and fully aware, I tried to explain what I had seen in the room beyond, and then gave up in my explanations and just opened the doors so that they could see for themselves. The layan column was still there and still glowing radiantly. The man still knelt in the center, looking up reverently. Since the rest of the party was here with me now, I walked up to get a closer look at the man. The armor that he wore was very old, and appeared to be from the first imperial age. I posed the thought that this mand appeared to be a paladin of an old order, and Shalev checked to see if he could sense the alignment of the entombed knight. Shalev concentrated for a moment, and then noted with surprise that he felt TWO distinctly different alignments of Lawful Neutral and Neutral Good.
I looked again at the man, and then looked at the column of layan. I had never seen so much in one place before, and I wondered with a sudden suspicion if a sylvan tree could survive having so much of its sap removed. I reached out to touch the column, and find it to be warm and solid to my hand. As I rested my hand on the layan, I saw that it descended down into the floor and thought about how far it might go. Suddenly and silently, the layan column began rising up out of the floor as if responding to my thought. It slid up until it revealed the kneeling man inside completely, and we saw that he held onto the cross pieces of a massive sword.
Still touching the glowing layan column, I cast my Nature of Things spell and it told me what I had feared it would. The column was the life blood of the sylvan tree of this land, and incorporated nearly 1500 gallons. There is no way that any tree could have survived having that much sap taken from it, even a little at a time, and I yet again felt frustration with myself that there was knowledge that I should have known that lay just out of my reach. I wondered at the arrogance of such a man, who would take the essence of such a thing to make himself a tomb. I also wondered if this was the original ruler of this land and if the wizard had displaced him somehow.
I touched the layan again with the thought of retracting it back into the depression in the floor, and it once again answered to my thoughts. Once it was down, however, I found that I could not get it to raise again. Shalev asked KelLyn if she would also cast Nature of Things in here, and she scoffed that the sword was so magical that she could feel it from outside in the courtyard. Shalev was intent on removing the sword though, and asked if I might be able to soften the sap enough to get to it. I looked at him for a moment, then nodded my assent, and concentrated on trying to craft a spell that would allow me to return the sap to a liquid form. It took a very long time to do, and I had to maintain constant contact with the material. After a day, the layan column rose up again, and I realized that the rising and lowering was not thought based, but rather time based.
20 hours of focused concentration later, the man's face, the decorative chain of his armor, and the sword were uncovered. The effort to reveal him completely exhausted me though, and I broke away from the column to stumble over to Tobias. I fell into his arms and murmured to him a request to guard my back before falling completely away into a dreamless sleep to recover. I awoke some time later to the rumbling purr of Amit, who had laid down beside me, and Tobias standing watch in front of me. He filled me in on the events that happened while I lay sleeping, and I found out that Lan had wanted to cast first aid on the man to see if she could discern why he had died. Jaeger had offered to help boost her power, but he botched the spell. There were thankfully no visible effects of the wild magic, though, and Lan was able to cast her spell successfully. She learned with distinct clarity about the weather for the next day, and looked at confusion at Jaeger before trying her first aid again, this time without his help.
She was able to learn that the man had died of old age, and then was encased post mortem by his people. Shalev spoke up then to say that he could only sense the alignment of the sword now, and suspected that the man's soul had been held within the layan prison until we had released him. The sword had Fyrewerian writing along the blade, and KelLyn read it out to the party saying that the blade was presented to Alberich Chrondor by the Fyrewerians. The blade was three feet in length and it radiated enough magic that, according to KelLyn, it glowed like a star.
I could tell that Shalev itched to hold the sword, but having been burned literally once before, he held himself in check to my silent approval. He said that Jaeger was the only one of the party who was properly aligned to wield the weapon, and though I could see the disappointment in his eyes, he shrugged it off and stepped back so that Jaeger could take up the sword. Jaeger thought for a moment about this, and then asked if we could clear the scabbard of the weapon as well. I once again agreed, and after another exhausting 16 hours, was able to do so. As Jaeger picked up the scabbard, a molded layan blade fell out onto the floor which Tobias promptly picked up and claimed.
Scabbard in hand, Jaeger then reached out to grasp the sword, and paused for a handful of heartbeats before sheathing it home and belting it on. Jaeger also claimed the imperial armor that the old paladin had worn, and I took some care to wrap the body in the ermine and velvet cloaks that I had taken from the closet. I said a simple blessing over his corpse, and then worked steadfastly to encase him once again in the layan tomb. Shalev also blessed the body in human tradition, and the scabbard that Jaeger wore rang like a bell in response.
After a short period of rest, we continued to explore, and we discovered that the old paladin's spirit was what had maintained the palace here. Every room we encountered was now falling into ruin, and we confirmed that even the materials we had gathered from this place were crumbling to dust. The keep as a whole now felt empty and abandoned. The party returned to the room with the platinum ingots, and after another intense discussion, they took 32 of the ingots from the shelves. I reminded them again that taking it was pointless, and likely could carry some kind of death-effect on it, but they placed the bars into Tobias' treasure box anyway. Shalev took one extra bar and offered it to Ma'at, but she responded to him with a gentle rebuke telling him directly that he should not tithe from the tombs of others.
Chastised, he put the platinum back, and when he noticed that Jaeger also seemed reluctant and averse to taking the ingots, he refused his share as well, saying that he wanted nothing to do with it. We gathered what items we had with us, and decided to continue traveling away from this now desolate place. On the way out, Osman, Fife, and Jaeger all decided to get into a pumpkin flinging contest using the giant trebuchets on the battlements, but found to their great disappointment that the giant gourds had also been affected by the removal of the old paladin's spirit, and were now nothing but sludge and dust.
KelLyn asked Jaeger pointedly if he would like her to identify his new sword, but Jaeger refused saying oddly that the sword would tell him it's name in time. The party broke out into a heated discussion about where to travel next, and I pushed for sticking to the original plan to go and visit the next city in the circle. We decided to travel the long way around the lake, and after about four weeks of uneventful journeying, we saw a group of mercenaries camping along the edge of the lake.
The mercenaries were all human, and wearing mismatched and dented aluminum armor. There were 11 men around the campfires near the lake, apparently paying no attention whatsoever to the fact that we were approaching. Shalev murmured to Amit, asking if he saw or sensed any others, and Amit turned to face the forest with a quiet rumbling growl. I immediately drew my bow and took aim at the area where he stared, and another group of 18 men emerged from the trees, splitting into two smaller groups. They tell us with dark amusement that it would be wise of us to join them for dinner, and Shalev's response was to draw his sword and ask them how they preferred their remains to be cared for. KelLyn looked distinctly bored with the whole situation, and Lan and Osman turned to look at one another with an expression that the party had come to recognize as their tandem call to the fairy folk.
Jaeger said something to Shalev, and Shalev looked at him with alarm before shouting out to the party in desert common that we should all close our eyes quickly. We followed his advice, and a blinding flash of light erupted from Jaeger's sword. A wave of energy followed suit, and the group of 11 men by the lake were blinded completely with cries of surprise.
I took aim at the two bowmen on either side of the leader of the first group at the tree line, and Shalev charged after the leader of the second group of men, killing him instantly with a precise decapitation. Fife speared one of the archer's arms to his chest, and though Shalev missed his second attack, he quickly struck again, hitting one of the bowmen in the face. Fife and I took out two more of the bowmen, and Tobias took out the leader with a solid strike to the head using the morning star that he favored.
The mercenaries hit Jaeger in a group, but Jaeger bemusedly ignored their attacks completely. Lan and Osman cast their summon spell successfully, and an elegantly garbed woman stepped out of thin air, saying quizzically that she had no idea why she should have been summoned here, as everyone seems to have perfectly functional clothing. Osman, thinking quickly, said that he was not perfectly dressed, and her eyes lit up with delight as she began to measure him precisely for a new garment.
The remaining bowmen all turned to target Shalev, and the second group of mercenaries all turned and began murmuring together to apparently elect a new leader right there on the spot. Amit was over by the group near the lake, toying with them as cats tend to do with their prey. Fife watched Amit for a moment before targeting the last one that Amit had tagged to spear in what quickly turned into the oddest game of "Duck, Duck, Goose" in history. One by one he took them out, until at last only one remained. That one he speared through the shoulder, effectively pinning him to the ground, but leaving him alive to question.
Tobias attacked the group targeting Shalev, and Shalev turned to attack the remaining bowmen. His strike was true, and he managed to disrupt the concentration of his target. Tobias missed his brawl attack, though, and one of the bowmen managed to strike Shalev, causing minimal damage. Shalev retaliated by smacking the bowman in the face and removing him from the fight. I targeted the group of men huddled together, and threw one of the exploding pineapple seeds right into the center of them. The seed hit the ground and exploded with concussive force, killing everyone in the huddle instantly and causing minor damage to everyone within a large radius. The spray of falling gore suddenly froze in midair for some reason, along with the two bowmen who remained alive. We all looked around in some confusion, only to see Jaeger sheathe the sword with a smug look on his face.
Searching the remains, Shalev picked up a striking long bow which he promptly offered to me. I could not draw the weapon though, and so I declined and offered it to Tobias. Tobias also declined, preferring his own bow, and it was offered to Fife. Fife took the bow with thanks, and the asked if Jaeger could unfreeze the remaining bowmen, I noted that Shalev offered his share to Ma'at, and raised an eyebrow in quiet observation at the new behavior.
The elegantly garbed fairy woman finished the garment that she was making for Osman, and then she asked what she would receive in payment. Knowing the perils of bargaining with the fair folk, Osman offered her a dragon short rib to use as boning for corsetry, and she quickly agreed with interest, on the condition that he could fashion her a needle out of the bone immediately. Osman did so quickly and efficiently, and she looked at him gravely stating that she appreciated that he did not try to draw her into bargains or traps or additional conditions. She also warned us all that there were four wars going on within the fairy kingdoms right now, and that he should be extremely careful about whom he summons from now on, as she could not guarantee that the next person to answer their call would be quite so... pleasant. Osman took her warning to heart, and then the woman gathered her new supplies and promptly vanished.
Shalev then walked over to question the one remaining mercenary by the lake who remained blinded and speared to the ground. Tobias quipped in irony that it would be wise if he joined us for dinner. The mercenary told the group that he and his men had been hired to fight in the war against the Ros Baban's on the other side of the mountains. After helping the gnomes until the passages collapsed, however, they found themselves trapped here on this side and decided turn to brigandry. He continued on to tell the group that the nearest township was near Mount Wanake, confirming that we had been heading in the right direction. He also told us of the Wagleburg colleges where there were maps and older fairies who had stayed and become the academics who ran the university. He proved to be a wealth of information, telling us that we shouldn't bother the dragon at Emer, but that the minions of the beast and others of the township were able to coexist peacefully. He warned that the dragon kept a harem of the most beautiful women so that he could show off his singing abilities, and that as far as he knew the sylvan tree was not there.
This confirmed, to my sorrow, what I had come to suspect when I saw the old paladin encased in layan. The mercenary added, however, that the wizard had journeyed around the entire area looking for tree seeds and saplings in an attempt to regrow or replant the tree. The maps and journals detailing his travels were rumored to be held at the university, and I made a note to try to visit if possible.
After the mercenary had finished his tale, Shalev offered the man a chance to start a new life. He offered to give him a recommendation to work as apprentice to Ishmael in the dwarven city, if the mercenary could give his word that he would give up forever the life of brigandry. The mercenary thought about it for a few moments, and then told Shalev that he would try it out, but could not guarantee that he would not return to thieving to get by. Shalev, not satisfied with this answer, or the risk to his name, killed the man quickly and mercifully. Jaeger walked over to the two bowmen that were pinned to the tree and killed them quickly as well, saying in broken common that they should remember the name Antarna.
Shalev's action immediately caused outrage in the rest of the party members, and it puzzles me as to why they took such offense at a merciful death. Tobias, especially, seemed infuriated by the action, and has shown great animosity toward Shalev. Fife too seems unnerved by Shalev's apparently sudden coldness, and I see fear in his eyes when he looks at the man he is supposed to bodyguard.
Having spent so much time with the desert human cultures, I can understand Shalev's reasoning, though I might not have done the same thing. We could not have cared for the man, and our food stores are dwindling to the point where we could not have supplied him to make it to the next town on his own. Shalev put his own honor at stake for the man's solemn promise to uphold the law of the land, and the man refused. It was merciful to grant him a quick and painless death this way. Still, however, I feel I may have to act as a mediator among the party members for a time, as none are willing to deal with Shaelv now.
Balance is a difficult thing to maintain, and the balance within the party has been shaken considerably by this apparent betrayal of trust. I am reminded, again, that humans have a much different outlook on things like this, although I do wonder at Tobias' anger. I would think that he, being from the same harsh desert cultures, would understand more than the rest. Only time will tell, but I think that I will have a difficult time trying to keep the peace.
Showing posts with label treasure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label treasure. Show all posts
Friday, December 11, 2015
Thursday, July 16, 2015
A new day, and a new road
The road goes ever on and on...
.oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo.
Resupplying for the road is always a little tedious. Necessary, but tedious. There are provisions to gather, equipment to repair or replace, maps to study, rumors to listen to...
The required stay in the city has begun to make me feel claustrophobic. I dislike the crush of people, the constant noise, and the miasma of smells that permeates everything within the enclosed walls. That being said, it has been nice to sleep in a real bed and have ready access to fresh food and water without having to worry about magic going awry. I still don't understand how these people can waste so much water, but I certainly can't deny the absolute decadent luxury of a hot bath.
The platinum, gold, and silver that we accumulated from the adventure through the tomb was split up evenly between the party members. I added the majority of my coin to the overall party fund, as I have no real need for the money. I instead chose a handful of the gems as my share of the treasure, and placed them in my belt pouch along with some other small mementos that I have collected.
Fife, Osman, and Ishmael seemed a bit shell-shocked at the riches that were suddenly in their possession, Tobias and KelLyn didn't say too much about their shares, and Lan seemed not to care overly for the coins.
Shalev seemed to be a little inordinately concerned about how the rest of the party would spend their haul, but I reminded him gently that it was not his place to instruct them on what to do or not to do with their share of the treasure. As quartermaster, he holds himself responsible for supplying the party, so understandably has claimed a larger share of the overall funds to finance the expeditions. What he does with his own personal share is his business, and I reminded him that while he may disapprove of the rest of the party members expenditures, that it was their choice to spend as they wished.
Shalev took the ornate rug from the treasure hoard and made an effort to exchange or sell it for an equivalent amount of gold and silver. He ended up mistakenly donating it to the court of the count instead. The count was so impressed by his generosity, and in return granted him a noble title, making him a defacto baron in the courts. This makes him noble twice over, and Fife pulled him aside later that day to give him a not-so-subtle reminder that he shouldn't be stepping onto the front lines because that's what he hired Fife to do. Fife takes his role as bodyguard very seriously, I've noticed, and I hope that maybe Shalev will listen to his advice and not be so headstrong and set on being the first into the fray in the future. I think he has finally started to realize that even though he is a second son, he is still vastly important in the overall scheme of things.
Osman made the offer to train the soldiers here in archery, and I spent much time observing him and what he taught in hopes that I could pick up some tips to improve my own skills. Shalev also offered to train them in sword work and defense, and they readily agreed to the lessons. When we weren't training with the soldiers, Shalev and I spent many long hours over tea in conversations about balance and faith. I find these discussions to be enlightening, and even though I do not worship Ma'At, her views and convictions echo my own beliefs on overall balance. Being able to apply these thoughts to my own faith has allowed me to feel stronger in my abilities, and even though my god and goddess still fail to talk to me directly, I do notice that my prayers feel more effective now. During our discussions about faith, he asked if I could teach him about the spells I knew on how to heal animals and humans. He said that his goddess had told him that he should seek me out to learn such things, and so I agreed to show him what I could.
KelLyn spent some time studying her books, as she always does, as well as agreeing to try to identify some of the items that we picked up during the trek into the tombs. She was able to successfully determine the traits of the first of the two javelins as:
* The Javelin of Ziwa - Single use weapon, when thrown, will evoke the power of the god Ziwa.
During her attempts to identify the second javelin, she botched her spell, and the room that she was in filled with wheat. She and Tobias were buried, but thankfully not crushed by the sudden appearance of several tons of grain. The doors and windows smashed open with the pressure, and also knocked Ishmael over, though he was able to recover and move out of the way of the outpouring. The ceiling of the room that KelLyn and Tobias also collapsed, filling the ground floor of the inn also with grain as well. We dug both of them out with the help of Amit, and offered to pay the innkeeper for the damages. The owner of the inn said that he would sell off the grain first, and use that to pay for repairs, but that we would be responsible for anything left over. He sent for a merchant to take the 864 bushels of wheat away, and we told him about the farmstead that ran the distillery not too far away. He agreed to send a portion of the grain their way, and then shooed us out of the inn while he and the merchant team began work to excavate the main rooms.
I decided to pay another visit to the diviners here in the city, to see if they could tell me anything else about sylvan trees. They told me of some interesting legends about a pair of sylvan trees that were known to actually blossom. This is unusual indeed, for even I with all of my years in existence, have never seen one flower. They told me that one was located on the other continent, but that one was located here, in an elven city called Emer. The city was at one time a hub of trade for gnomes and dwarfs, but was supposedly lost when those races disappeared underground. It was protected by spells that would prevent scrying, but that the last known location of the city was in a bowl like valley between the mountain rages to the north.
The count handled some of our supply needs when he provided us with six sturdy draft horses to pull the carts we have. I have to keep reminding Shalev that the oxen we still have with us are not a mobile food source unless absolutely direly necessary. Especially with his driving need to make sure that we have every iota accounted for with regards to perishable supplies. The trek through the tombs has increased his paranoia to some large degree, and I saw him purchasing several hundred extra feet of rope recently, as well as taking the old tapestries and heavy woven material that we found in the depths to make "trap checking gloves" as he calls them. I had to smile and shake my head, because while we might not necessarily NEED 600 feet of rope, it will make him happy to have it just in case.
He also had several solid, waterproof chests with intricate locks made to give us a safe place to store things on the carts. KelLyn immediately claimed one of the smaller of these for her books and magic items, the largest one was filled with what treasures we were keeping with us, and the third one remained empty for miscellaneous storage purposes. Tobias helped to craft the smaller of the chests, as well as several large barrels that we will keep on the cart for water and perhaps ale.
Shalev also, for some reason, decided that he needed to learn how to swim. Much to my astonished amusement, he approached KelLyn for instruction, as she was raised along the coast. She agreed warily to help him learn, and I am glad to see the two of them at least moderately getting along finally. He also approached me to ask about learning how to fight someone without looking them in the eyes, and I agreed, but I wonder at his sudden determination to specialize in these skills. Among the skills he wished to improve, he requested additional training with blunt weapons as well, and I think perhaps he is wishing for whatever edge he may be able to gain. He still thinks of himself as inferior or expendable to some degree, but if the training makes him feel better about himself, then I will teach him what I can.
The count also sent out word to the nobles of the city that we had permission from him to trade for high value items in their possession if we wished to do so. The economy here is still recovering from the despair that had wracked it when the trade routes to Waycam were destroyed, and has only just begun to see the renewal of their resources. Ishmael spent some time speaking with the merchants in the city to find out the state of the economy here, and to try to garner information on which of the noble families would be best to speak to and most likely to be willing to trade with us.
After visiting the first few families, and seeing their wide eyed reluctance at having a noble paladin approach them to buy their family heirlooms and treasured possessions outright, I recommended to Shalev that he try rewording his request to buy their treasures as rather a search for wedding gifts for his bride to be. This proved to be much more effective, and we ended up accomplishing our goal to trade the biggest bulk of our treasure and reduce the sheer bulk of what we carried with us.
Tobias immediately took offense to this for some reason, mistaking the change of phrasing to meant that Shalev was actually trading the party treasure for personal gifts. I pulled him to the side and gently explained to him why I recommended the change in phrasing, and while that mollified him somewhat, he still seemed upset at Shalev. I have to wonder a bit at the ire between the two of them. I do not know why Tobias still continues to mistrust Shalev, but feel like something will need to be said to him pointedly about it if the issues continue.
The first noble that we visited showed us a large blue/black pearl that had been entrusted to his family by a mage. It supposedly had the power to create nodes of energy, and the noble said that he would want something of value to a mage, as well as a large sum of money for it. KelLyn, of course, vehemently refused to part with any of her valuables, and so we refused that bargain politely and moved on.
The second noble showed us a beautiful jeweled leaf brooch made of a soft green stone. The edges of the brooch were encrusted with fine quality diamonds and sapphires. The noble told us that the piece had been in his family for generations, and that it had come from the captain of a ship who was known to do trade with the coast. The captain had traded the piece to the noble's family as a dowry price for a bride, but that there was a rumor that owning anything made from this material was considered a crime of theft from the originating country. The party discussed whether or not we should take the risk of owning the piece, and I pointed out that we already had an item made of that exact same material that we had picked up from the pyramids so long ago. If simply owning the material was a crime, then we were already marked after a fashion, so one more piece would not matter. They agreed, and Shalev made the trade for the brooch. The noble requested that we bring the money directly to the court with a message that it was paid to him. We agreed to do so, and as we were speaking to the count about the trade, the noble walked in to the court, threw a large chain at the feet of the count, and loudly declared somewhat sniffily that he was moving.
We eyed the actions of the noble with some concern, and Shalev spoke quietly to the count to make sure that he had not stepped on any toes with his trade attempts. The count reassured him that he was fine, and that some of the nobles in his court had indentured themselves long ago and were grumpy about their lot in life because of it.
We moved on to the next noble family, a good bit lighter than before. This third family had very little, but they offered a box of very rare spice (cinnamon) for trade. It was clear that they needed the money, and while Shalev made the trade for the box of spices, I quietly left a small bag of salt and another small bag of spices on the noble's table for him to find later after we had departed.
The next noble we visited was flighty and failing in her attempts to be enigmatic and mysterious. She airily showed us a room full of various crystals, and Shalev mentioned quietly that according to his compass, there were magical items here. We brought KelLyn in so that she could help identify which ones were magical, and she pointed out two small crystal spheres that were about an inch across. She offered to trade a yellow stargem for them, and the whimsical noble woman agreed. KelLyn identified the spheres as being spelled to cause extreme damage when thrown, and she promptly handed the crystals over to Fife.
With only two noble families remaining to trade with, we moved on to the next house. This noble had several sacks of jewels which we readily agreed to trade for. Jasper, emeralds, and a gorgeous white gemstone that looked like it was filled with fire. The noble called this strange looking gem "elf's tears" and I looked at them quizzically. Shalev traded for 12 of these unusual gems, as well as some of the emeralds and jasper, and this was enough to significantly reduce the bulk of the heavier plates of currency that we carried.
Ishmael and I traded some of our own personal cash for some of the emeralds and some of the beautiful fire-filled gems. I took two of each for my private collection, and Ishmael took the remainder for his.
The last noble that we payed visit to had an ornately carved scroll tube that had a tree etched into one end, and the roots of the tree spiraling down around the rest of the tube. It looked like it had been gnawed on or clawed at by a dragon in an attempt to open it up, but otherwise appeared sound. The noble wanted us to trade the teeth and scales that we had scavenged from the black dragon for the tube, and Osman, Shalev, and I agreed to do so. The scroll tube was obviously of druid make, and so it went became my possession.
Since we had accomplished our goal to reduce the sheer bulk of our possessions and treasures, we traveled back to the center of town, where the inn was still being excavated from the wheat. While Shalev spoke with the merchant caravans about trade routes and directions to DragonSpire, Osman and I restocked our arrows and the rest of the party made their last preparations to finally depart.
The merchant caravans told Shalev that DragonSpire was across the switchback trails through the mountains, but cautioned that it was foolish to travel into dragon country. Shalev took the warning with grace, though I could tell that he was alarmed at learning that there was a "dragon country." Osman and Tobias set the dragon rib bones in a tannin bath to soak and soften so that they could begin crafting bows out of them. Tobias noticed that some of the trees locally were of a sturdy hardwood called maple, and he gathered several lengths of the maple wood to also begin crafting wooden long bows for the party.
I spent some time focusing my energy on the scroll tube that I now had, and discovered that it had markings on it that corresponded exactly with the changes of the season that the druids considered holy days. The tree carved into the end ticked around by itself in a daily pattern, and I made a note that it seemed to be some kind of clock or calendar that marked the year.
KelLyn was able to identify the scroll that we had found in the room with the shambling mound as a web spell of some kind. She also looked at the spell book that Shalev uncursed for her, but the power words for the spells had been erased when the curse was removed. She said that it would still be useful for research, however, and tucked it back into her pouch.
The party then discussed where to go next at some length. We decided that DragonSpire was still the next on the list, and I requested that we try to find the lost elven cit of Emer, since it appeared to be on the way to our destination there. My hope is that seeing the blooming sylvan tree might lend me some clues on how to renew the other. I have not yet given it over to death. Ishmael also showed interest in visiting the lost city, as the legends had it as a major trade hub for dwarfs and gnomes.
The rest of the party agreed, and we made plans to depart within the next few days. I made a note that it was mid-winter, and pointed out that we had not equipped appropriately for winter travel. While they supplemented our supplies, I spent some time in deep meditation and prayer for the turning of the season. Hearing the noise of the city, and wishing more than ever to be outside of the city limits for my own rituals, I moved out into the fields nearby to seclude myself from the chaos of the city.
The city celebrated their midwinter with a gigantic keg of beer and a very loud parade. They asked Shalev to tap the keg, and then handed him a large stein of fortified beer. Everyone joined in the raucous celebrations, and I heard later on that Shalev accidentally supplanted the normal ritual when the townsfolk decided to follow his actions. The high priest of the local god was apparently very put out with him over it, especially since the people celebrated Ma'At and the ways of balance instead of the local god Vindare.
While I was out in the fields during my meditations, I heard the scroll tube click once, and the slide open. I looked at it to see an ancient writing that said "This is the scroll of the Elder Druids of Maurina to be delivered as payment. Contained are 6 spells to be offered in settlement of our debt."
I looked further to see 6 scrolls rolled up with the letter.
* Translate the scroll (easy) Perceive/Sphere of the Deity. Adds D/3 to language skills. Adds a greater understanding of any language read, spoken, studied, or heard.
* Whispers of the Way (medium) Perceive/Sphere of the Deity. D/3 to perception. The ground around me talks to me and tells me what it "sees"
* The Javelin of Ceylon (difficult) Modify/Sphere of the Deity. Draws a javelin up out of the ground to throw at enemies.
* Invoke the Greater Way (very difficult) Create/Sphere of the Deity. a spell that has to do with transportation or transit of some kind.
* The Dragon's Bane (difficult) Move Control/Sphere of the Deity. Has something to do with a very high quality of alcohol called the "water of life."
* The Time of Things Unseen (difficult) Modify/Sphere of the Deity. Grants the ability to not be seen in some way.
As I studied these scrolls I realized that I would need to cast them to learn exactly what they would do. I spent the rest of the night in prayer and conversation (albeit one-sided) with my god and goddess.
I was able to successfully cast the Whispers of the Way spell and discovered much to my astonishment that the road itself began speaking to me. The longer I listened, the more detailed the descriptions it gave to me regarding what it observed. The ground would not respond to inquiries that I posed, so it appears to be informational only. It also only seemed to work for the immediate area, but it is an interesting spell nonetheless.
I was also able to successfully cast the Translate the Scroll spell, and discovered that it gave me a much more nuanced understanding of the meanings behind words. I used this spell to immediately delve into the study of my Initiate's guide to Sacred Druidry, and was quite happy to discover that it allowed me to understand new layers of depth in the book as well as in my own language. I can foresee this spell being of great use to me in the future, and made a note to use it as often as I could to perfect its casting.
The following day, I made my way back into town to meet up with the rest of the party. They told me, somewhat bemusedly, about Shalev's abscondment with the local rituals. I simply smiled and shook my head as I noted that the road continued to chatter at me, and that here in the city it was much louder. I'm sure I seemed distracted to the rest of the party, but I was having difficulty concentrating on anything else with the constant chatter of the roads and the city. I wondered how long the spell would last, and how the druids of old used this to their advantage, for it would not have been included in the collection if it were not useful somehow.
Once the party was ready to depart, I spoke with KelLyn, giving her the description that the diviners had given me about the last known location of Emer. I asked her if she would be willing to try to scry, not for the city, but for the bowl like valley where it would have been. She agreed, and as she began to scry, her orb began to pulse with magic. When she returned her attention to the party, she said that she had seen a place that matched the description to the North, and we gathered our supplies and set out once again towards adventure.
We have three carts with us now, one for extra supplies, one for food, supplies, and treasures, and one for riding in when desired. I chose to ride for a while, so that I could continue to study the new spells from the scroll tube. I used the Translate spell once again, and was able to determine that the scroll tube and enclosed spells were a payment of a greater debt of the Druids of Maurina from one of the three islands of healers and saints. This fact was interesting to me because druids were not often grouped with healers and saints, so it made me wonder again about those ancient druids, and again at what had happened to exterminate them all. With the translate spell still active, I used it's enhancements to continue to study my druid guide, the other spells in the collection, and the intricacies of my own circular language.
We travel for two weeks without incident, thankfully. I notice with more than a little interest that I can still hear the roads chattering away at me. There are other travelers and merchants along this road, coming in to the city with their winter trade goods of lumber, wheat, and wool. I listen to what the roads tell me about them to try to gain a greater understanding of how this spell works. It seems to be able to pick up details on the way a person refers to themselves: "elf", "human", "woman", "man", etc. The longer we are in one space, the more detail the road's descriptions become, "druid", "warrior", "paladin". I find the chatter to be interesting in a conceptual sense, and it gives me some insight as to how the reputations of those druids of old may have had more than a little truth to them.
Even though there are plenty of people along the roads we traverse here, I notice that they each camp separately. This is curious to me, as in the desert cultures travelers would often share camps to gain safety in numbers. The peoples here are reluctant to do so, and it puzzles me why they would refuse offered protection and shared camaraderie. They were even reticent to part with information about the roads ahead, although they did warn us that the dragons have a strong presence across the first ridge of the mountains. They also informed us that the snows had begun only a few days journey ahead, and that the large local predators would often use the snows as cover and camouflage to hunt. They cautioned us to be on the look out for a large cat with white and grey spotted fur that they called a snow leopard, as well as carnivorous hares that roamed the areas in packs. These hares were more akin to wolves in their mannerisms than rabbits, and could be quite aggressive during the leaner months.
One merchant that we spoke to was able to give us a little more of the old stories and rumors about the lost elven city. He said that the Quadling dwarfs were rumored to do trade with the elves at a great city before they disappeared. The entrance to the dwarf lands and the pass under the mountains was marked by a great gate about 6 months travel ahead of us.
We moved on, and continued traveling for another two weeks when we came to a crossroads. One road led off to the right, and the other road continued to the north. When we stopped here for a brief rest, KelLyn approached me. During her studies, she had come across a language written on one of her scrolls that she could not read. She said it looked to her like ancient elven, and she asked if I could take a look. I agreed to do so, and I used my translate spell to help me discern what was written.
The scroll was written in several different languages, and I could pick out several elven words that mentioned sylvan trees, and alarmingly enough the words for destruction in reference to the tree. I also picked out the words for "polymorph any object", "move ley line", and "control elven army." As I continued to study the scroll, I revealed a hidden description written out in druidic moonscript. When I looked closer at the moonscript, I was able to translate it as follows:
"The first artifact was destroyed to kill the bull. The second artifact could not be destroyed, so was encased in a coffin of deep metal, sealed by magic fueled by the spirit of an ancient dragon that volunteered to be beheaded. The coffin was placed in a volcano, and protected by an ancient compact with the giants."
As I read the translations to KelLyn, she became agitated, and I expressed concern at the wording that I was able to understand. I do not know what this scroll does, but the fact that it talks about the willful destruction of a sylvan tree, and the ability to control an elven army, actually made me rather reluctant to return it to KelLyn's possession. Since we were studying together, I recast my translate spell, and asked KelLyn to help me discern more about the spells that I had been given from the scroll tube. I was able to discover little more about them, however, and while they sound interesting and potentially useful, I am reluctant to cast them, as I know I do not yet have the control to do so and do not wish to risk a loss of faith on my part should I fail.
While we were speaking together about this, I noticed briefly that Lan was once again studying her shiny orb. Suddenly a large presence of evil radiated out from her for a few seconds, and then just as suddenly she was exuding an almost angelic sense of good. Shalev, at the sense of evil, had jumped up and drawn his sword, but then looked perplexed as the sense shifted. Lan appeared blithely unconcerned about the incident, and it would seem that she may have found a way to change the way people sense her alignment. That orb of hers has been quite an interesting toy, and I have begun to wonder how, if at all, it may be affecting her directly to use it.
I decided to take a break from my studies for a while, and I began to work with Fife on learning how to throw spears, in hopes that the knowledge I gained from him could be applied to my archery abilities as well. KelLyn, of course, continued to study her books and would mutter and curse to herself almost constantly. She mumbled something at one point about the soul forges and finally knowing how to create them, and then something else about creating magical items, but did not expound more on the knowledge that she was discovering.
At the crossroads, Shalev asked his compass if the road that we were on was still the correct pathway to find Emer, and Lan confirmed his findings with her spell that showed us the way. We continued north, and shortly after we made camp that night, we were set upon by the predatory hares that we had been cautioned about. We were able to take them out with out too much difficulty, and as we were gathering them together to skin and prepare to cook, Amit jumped in to protect us from the snow leopard that had been preparing to attack.
We saved the pelts from the animals, as both the hares and the leopard had gorgeous white fur, and prepared the hares for stew. KelLyn wandered off into the warren, and she came back out shortly after with a baby hare tucked into one arm. She said that there were others in there, but that she wanted that one to be hers. Shalev graciously offered to help her learn how to train the animal up, and she agreed quite happily. Sadly, I knew that there would be no way to help the rest of the babies survive the hardship of a winter without protection, and that the best mercy would be to kill them quickly rather than let them suffer starvation. I did so, and said a gently sad prayer over them. The cycle of life is sometimes a harsh one, and while they could not have survived, in their deaths they gave us nourishment for which I gave them thanks and respect. Afterwards, I searched through the warren and found a small magical pouch hidden among the detritus. The pouch appeared very old, but still in excellent condition, and when KelLyn examined it she discovered that it had some kind of create earth spell attached to it. I took the pouch and tied it to my belt, and we made our way out of the warren.
We continued on the next morning, and traveled without further incident for several more weeks. I requested to stop for a day or so when the spring equinox arrived, and I spent the day and night doing the appropriate meditations and rituals for the seasons. My god and goddess did answer my supplication this time, and I learned that there was no way to move a sylvan tree, which dashed any hope I had of relocating the one from that cursed elven city. They told me that I should seek out the keepers of the soul wells as they would be able to give me the information I needed about the life cycles and care of the trees. However, they were not able to give my any information on where they were located for some reason.
My focus now is learning how, if possible, to restore the tree safely. If it can not be restored, then it must be allowed to die, and a new seedling planted in a new area where it would flourish. I must find a way to speak to the keepers to discuss this further. If it must die, then so be it. The elves of that cursed place stated their desire to be apart from everything that made them elves. They may just get their wish, though sadly I do not think they realize exactly what that will mean for them until it is too late.
While we were stopped, Osman and Tobias worked at using the dragon bones and maple branches to craft beautiful bows of superior make. Once the bodies of the bows were shaped, they took the tendon and sinew of the dragon and began to soak them so that they could be twisted and woven into string for the weapons. The dragon bone and hard wood make these bows much more resilient than a standard bow would be, and I look forward to having one of them for my own once they are completed. Fife came over once he saw what they were working on, and he was able to give them additional pointers and advice on how to craft the bows.
I noticed, with some surprise, that the roads had stopped chattering at me at some point just past the full moon, and I debated on whether or not I should recast the spell. I find myself missing the white noise of the chatter to some degree, and I still wonder at what advantage the spell might be able to grant.
During the course of our travels, Shalev had been using his compass to ask various questions. He helped me to determine more details about the spell scrolls I had acquired, and he also discovered that the red mage that had been hunting for part of KelLyn's staff was now pursuing our party instead. I know that KelLyn has magic about her that allows her to be invisible from scrying, but the rest of us do not have such protections. I imagine that since he knows that she is known to travel with us, that he is tracking us in order to get to her. There is nothing that we can do about it at the moment, however, so we continue to travel on towards the dwarven gates. The lands here have become rocky, and we have steadily been traveling upwards. The foothills have changed to the edges of the mountain ranges, and the dwarven gates are not too much further away.
KelLyn was supremely unconcerned about the red mage's pursuit of us, and she continued her studies uninterrupted. Those studies lead her to discover a new spell similar to the one that Lan had been casting to show us the way. KelLyn's spell, she explained, would actually CREATE a path if one was needed, and she offered to use it whenever needed to help us on our journey. This spell is quite a useful one, and I made a note to speak to her about it at length to see if perhaps I could pick up enough about it to try to learn it as well. She approached me again for discussion, and this time asked that I teach her what I could about the realms of plant and animal. In return for that knowledge, she agreed to teach me what she could about Vitality.
Osman also discovered a new spell, as his deity appeared to have answered him directly with a gift of power. He was given the ability to create a form of pitch, and he moved up the path a little ways to practice the spell and see what it would do. Fife and Shalev went with him to act as protection. Osman tried his spell out and a fountain of black viscous oil poured from his hands over the ridge and onto a twiggy structure made of branches and tree boughs. We heard an angry noise, and a rustling, and a griffon, now covered in sticky pitch, emerged from the nest to glare at the three of them with hackles raised. Osman made a frightened squeak and ran back towards camp. Shalev also made a dash back to camp to snag a lit torch, and when he got back to where Fife was still standing warily, he tried to walk up to the griffon. Fife jerked him backwards though, and put Shalev behind him with a firm comment to stay there and not move.
The griffon did not attack, but merely stood there glaring. We all took a slow step backwards, trying to appear as unoffensive as possible, though Fife still held the lit torch warningly, prepared to throw it at the creature should it move to attack us. KelLyn tried to cast a destroy earth spell in an attempt to remove the pitch from the griffon's feathers. Her spell went awry, however, though there was thankfully no adverse effect that we could discern. She tried once again, this time drawing a circle to augment her power, and was successful. The pitch disappeared, and the griffon looked down at it's feathers in surprise, but still did not attack.
Shalev, on instinct, looked up towards the sky, and he pointed out quietly that there was a second griffon circling high overhead, also watching. We all made our way carefully and slowly back to camp, and we saw that Tobias had covered all of the horses with tarp, effectively disguising and protecting them from the circling griffon.
We all decided that it would be best to move on a ways from here, and we kept the pace very slow for a while, to make sure we were not attracting the attention of the griffons any more. When we stopped again for the evening, KelLyn made an attempt to use one of her fire-speak spells to try to determine where the red mage was located, but was unable to find out where he was.
Fife, Osman, and Tobias completed the crafting of the dragon bone and maple bows, stringing them with the dragon sinew, and Osman, Tobias, and I all took one of the finished weapons. It is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, and the bow feels like it was made for my hands. Knowing Tobias had a hand in it's make means that it most likely was. I noticed some intricate scroll work carved into the weapon I chose, and noted again that Tobias appears to have crafted it just for me. I appreciate the gift, and will make sure that it is used well.
We continued to travel for another month without encountering the red mage, or with any further incidents, and at last came to the great cliff face with the Quadling dwarven symbols carved into the door. The doors had been latched long ago, from the outside. Shalev asked the compass if there were still dwarfs living in the mountain, and was told that there were indeed, so the passage between the mountains here may not be abandoned as it appears to be. Ishmael looked at the doors, awe apparent in his face, and he noted that he thought dwarfs were supposed to be short and stocky, so why were the latches 40 feet up off of the ground? We all spent some time examining the doors and the surrounding area, but could find no way or mechanism to open the great stone slabs. I noticed a spot at the base of the door where there was a very small opening about an inch or so high. KelLyn tried creating a circle and casting here new spell to create a path, but it simply showed us that the path we were on was the best way through.
Seeing the crack appeared to be the only way inside, we asked Lan if she would be willing to use her orb to turn into the gaseous form we had seen her become before and travel underneath the door to see if there was a latch or a lever on the other side. She agreed, and once on the other side of the door was able to locate the mechanism and open the door. A stone slab only slightly taller than I was opened with a hideous grinding noise, and we all made our way into the entrance way of the cavern. The lever that opened the door would not budge again to close it behind us, and we decide to venture into the passage under the mountains to see what new adventures lie ahead.
.oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo.
Resupplying for the road is always a little tedious. Necessary, but tedious. There are provisions to gather, equipment to repair or replace, maps to study, rumors to listen to...
The required stay in the city has begun to make me feel claustrophobic. I dislike the crush of people, the constant noise, and the miasma of smells that permeates everything within the enclosed walls. That being said, it has been nice to sleep in a real bed and have ready access to fresh food and water without having to worry about magic going awry. I still don't understand how these people can waste so much water, but I certainly can't deny the absolute decadent luxury of a hot bath.
The platinum, gold, and silver that we accumulated from the adventure through the tomb was split up evenly between the party members. I added the majority of my coin to the overall party fund, as I have no real need for the money. I instead chose a handful of the gems as my share of the treasure, and placed them in my belt pouch along with some other small mementos that I have collected.
Fife, Osman, and Ishmael seemed a bit shell-shocked at the riches that were suddenly in their possession, Tobias and KelLyn didn't say too much about their shares, and Lan seemed not to care overly for the coins.
Shalev seemed to be a little inordinately concerned about how the rest of the party would spend their haul, but I reminded him gently that it was not his place to instruct them on what to do or not to do with their share of the treasure. As quartermaster, he holds himself responsible for supplying the party, so understandably has claimed a larger share of the overall funds to finance the expeditions. What he does with his own personal share is his business, and I reminded him that while he may disapprove of the rest of the party members expenditures, that it was their choice to spend as they wished.
Shalev took the ornate rug from the treasure hoard and made an effort to exchange or sell it for an equivalent amount of gold and silver. He ended up mistakenly donating it to the court of the count instead. The count was so impressed by his generosity, and in return granted him a noble title, making him a defacto baron in the courts. This makes him noble twice over, and Fife pulled him aside later that day to give him a not-so-subtle reminder that he shouldn't be stepping onto the front lines because that's what he hired Fife to do. Fife takes his role as bodyguard very seriously, I've noticed, and I hope that maybe Shalev will listen to his advice and not be so headstrong and set on being the first into the fray in the future. I think he has finally started to realize that even though he is a second son, he is still vastly important in the overall scheme of things.
Osman made the offer to train the soldiers here in archery, and I spent much time observing him and what he taught in hopes that I could pick up some tips to improve my own skills. Shalev also offered to train them in sword work and defense, and they readily agreed to the lessons. When we weren't training with the soldiers, Shalev and I spent many long hours over tea in conversations about balance and faith. I find these discussions to be enlightening, and even though I do not worship Ma'At, her views and convictions echo my own beliefs on overall balance. Being able to apply these thoughts to my own faith has allowed me to feel stronger in my abilities, and even though my god and goddess still fail to talk to me directly, I do notice that my prayers feel more effective now. During our discussions about faith, he asked if I could teach him about the spells I knew on how to heal animals and humans. He said that his goddess had told him that he should seek me out to learn such things, and so I agreed to show him what I could.
KelLyn spent some time studying her books, as she always does, as well as agreeing to try to identify some of the items that we picked up during the trek into the tombs. She was able to successfully determine the traits of the first of the two javelins as:
* The Javelin of Ziwa - Single use weapon, when thrown, will evoke the power of the god Ziwa.
During her attempts to identify the second javelin, she botched her spell, and the room that she was in filled with wheat. She and Tobias were buried, but thankfully not crushed by the sudden appearance of several tons of grain. The doors and windows smashed open with the pressure, and also knocked Ishmael over, though he was able to recover and move out of the way of the outpouring. The ceiling of the room that KelLyn and Tobias also collapsed, filling the ground floor of the inn also with grain as well. We dug both of them out with the help of Amit, and offered to pay the innkeeper for the damages. The owner of the inn said that he would sell off the grain first, and use that to pay for repairs, but that we would be responsible for anything left over. He sent for a merchant to take the 864 bushels of wheat away, and we told him about the farmstead that ran the distillery not too far away. He agreed to send a portion of the grain their way, and then shooed us out of the inn while he and the merchant team began work to excavate the main rooms.
I decided to pay another visit to the diviners here in the city, to see if they could tell me anything else about sylvan trees. They told me of some interesting legends about a pair of sylvan trees that were known to actually blossom. This is unusual indeed, for even I with all of my years in existence, have never seen one flower. They told me that one was located on the other continent, but that one was located here, in an elven city called Emer. The city was at one time a hub of trade for gnomes and dwarfs, but was supposedly lost when those races disappeared underground. It was protected by spells that would prevent scrying, but that the last known location of the city was in a bowl like valley between the mountain rages to the north.
The count handled some of our supply needs when he provided us with six sturdy draft horses to pull the carts we have. I have to keep reminding Shalev that the oxen we still have with us are not a mobile food source unless absolutely direly necessary. Especially with his driving need to make sure that we have every iota accounted for with regards to perishable supplies. The trek through the tombs has increased his paranoia to some large degree, and I saw him purchasing several hundred extra feet of rope recently, as well as taking the old tapestries and heavy woven material that we found in the depths to make "trap checking gloves" as he calls them. I had to smile and shake my head, because while we might not necessarily NEED 600 feet of rope, it will make him happy to have it just in case.
He also had several solid, waterproof chests with intricate locks made to give us a safe place to store things on the carts. KelLyn immediately claimed one of the smaller of these for her books and magic items, the largest one was filled with what treasures we were keeping with us, and the third one remained empty for miscellaneous storage purposes. Tobias helped to craft the smaller of the chests, as well as several large barrels that we will keep on the cart for water and perhaps ale.
Shalev also, for some reason, decided that he needed to learn how to swim. Much to my astonished amusement, he approached KelLyn for instruction, as she was raised along the coast. She agreed warily to help him learn, and I am glad to see the two of them at least moderately getting along finally. He also approached me to ask about learning how to fight someone without looking them in the eyes, and I agreed, but I wonder at his sudden determination to specialize in these skills. Among the skills he wished to improve, he requested additional training with blunt weapons as well, and I think perhaps he is wishing for whatever edge he may be able to gain. He still thinks of himself as inferior or expendable to some degree, but if the training makes him feel better about himself, then I will teach him what I can.
The count also sent out word to the nobles of the city that we had permission from him to trade for high value items in their possession if we wished to do so. The economy here is still recovering from the despair that had wracked it when the trade routes to Waycam were destroyed, and has only just begun to see the renewal of their resources. Ishmael spent some time speaking with the merchants in the city to find out the state of the economy here, and to try to garner information on which of the noble families would be best to speak to and most likely to be willing to trade with us.
After visiting the first few families, and seeing their wide eyed reluctance at having a noble paladin approach them to buy their family heirlooms and treasured possessions outright, I recommended to Shalev that he try rewording his request to buy their treasures as rather a search for wedding gifts for his bride to be. This proved to be much more effective, and we ended up accomplishing our goal to trade the biggest bulk of our treasure and reduce the sheer bulk of what we carried with us.
Tobias immediately took offense to this for some reason, mistaking the change of phrasing to meant that Shalev was actually trading the party treasure for personal gifts. I pulled him to the side and gently explained to him why I recommended the change in phrasing, and while that mollified him somewhat, he still seemed upset at Shalev. I have to wonder a bit at the ire between the two of them. I do not know why Tobias still continues to mistrust Shalev, but feel like something will need to be said to him pointedly about it if the issues continue.
The first noble that we visited showed us a large blue/black pearl that had been entrusted to his family by a mage. It supposedly had the power to create nodes of energy, and the noble said that he would want something of value to a mage, as well as a large sum of money for it. KelLyn, of course, vehemently refused to part with any of her valuables, and so we refused that bargain politely and moved on.
The second noble showed us a beautiful jeweled leaf brooch made of a soft green stone. The edges of the brooch were encrusted with fine quality diamonds and sapphires. The noble told us that the piece had been in his family for generations, and that it had come from the captain of a ship who was known to do trade with the coast. The captain had traded the piece to the noble's family as a dowry price for a bride, but that there was a rumor that owning anything made from this material was considered a crime of theft from the originating country. The party discussed whether or not we should take the risk of owning the piece, and I pointed out that we already had an item made of that exact same material that we had picked up from the pyramids so long ago. If simply owning the material was a crime, then we were already marked after a fashion, so one more piece would not matter. They agreed, and Shalev made the trade for the brooch. The noble requested that we bring the money directly to the court with a message that it was paid to him. We agreed to do so, and as we were speaking to the count about the trade, the noble walked in to the court, threw a large chain at the feet of the count, and loudly declared somewhat sniffily that he was moving.
We eyed the actions of the noble with some concern, and Shalev spoke quietly to the count to make sure that he had not stepped on any toes with his trade attempts. The count reassured him that he was fine, and that some of the nobles in his court had indentured themselves long ago and were grumpy about their lot in life because of it.
We moved on to the next noble family, a good bit lighter than before. This third family had very little, but they offered a box of very rare spice (cinnamon) for trade. It was clear that they needed the money, and while Shalev made the trade for the box of spices, I quietly left a small bag of salt and another small bag of spices on the noble's table for him to find later after we had departed.
The next noble we visited was flighty and failing in her attempts to be enigmatic and mysterious. She airily showed us a room full of various crystals, and Shalev mentioned quietly that according to his compass, there were magical items here. We brought KelLyn in so that she could help identify which ones were magical, and she pointed out two small crystal spheres that were about an inch across. She offered to trade a yellow stargem for them, and the whimsical noble woman agreed. KelLyn identified the spheres as being spelled to cause extreme damage when thrown, and she promptly handed the crystals over to Fife.
With only two noble families remaining to trade with, we moved on to the next house. This noble had several sacks of jewels which we readily agreed to trade for. Jasper, emeralds, and a gorgeous white gemstone that looked like it was filled with fire. The noble called this strange looking gem "elf's tears" and I looked at them quizzically. Shalev traded for 12 of these unusual gems, as well as some of the emeralds and jasper, and this was enough to significantly reduce the bulk of the heavier plates of currency that we carried.
Ishmael and I traded some of our own personal cash for some of the emeralds and some of the beautiful fire-filled gems. I took two of each for my private collection, and Ishmael took the remainder for his.
The last noble that we payed visit to had an ornately carved scroll tube that had a tree etched into one end, and the roots of the tree spiraling down around the rest of the tube. It looked like it had been gnawed on or clawed at by a dragon in an attempt to open it up, but otherwise appeared sound. The noble wanted us to trade the teeth and scales that we had scavenged from the black dragon for the tube, and Osman, Shalev, and I agreed to do so. The scroll tube was obviously of druid make, and so it went became my possession.
Since we had accomplished our goal to reduce the sheer bulk of our possessions and treasures, we traveled back to the center of town, where the inn was still being excavated from the wheat. While Shalev spoke with the merchant caravans about trade routes and directions to DragonSpire, Osman and I restocked our arrows and the rest of the party made their last preparations to finally depart.
The merchant caravans told Shalev that DragonSpire was across the switchback trails through the mountains, but cautioned that it was foolish to travel into dragon country. Shalev took the warning with grace, though I could tell that he was alarmed at learning that there was a "dragon country." Osman and Tobias set the dragon rib bones in a tannin bath to soak and soften so that they could begin crafting bows out of them. Tobias noticed that some of the trees locally were of a sturdy hardwood called maple, and he gathered several lengths of the maple wood to also begin crafting wooden long bows for the party.
I spent some time focusing my energy on the scroll tube that I now had, and discovered that it had markings on it that corresponded exactly with the changes of the season that the druids considered holy days. The tree carved into the end ticked around by itself in a daily pattern, and I made a note that it seemed to be some kind of clock or calendar that marked the year.
KelLyn was able to identify the scroll that we had found in the room with the shambling mound as a web spell of some kind. She also looked at the spell book that Shalev uncursed for her, but the power words for the spells had been erased when the curse was removed. She said that it would still be useful for research, however, and tucked it back into her pouch.
The party then discussed where to go next at some length. We decided that DragonSpire was still the next on the list, and I requested that we try to find the lost elven cit of Emer, since it appeared to be on the way to our destination there. My hope is that seeing the blooming sylvan tree might lend me some clues on how to renew the other. I have not yet given it over to death. Ishmael also showed interest in visiting the lost city, as the legends had it as a major trade hub for dwarfs and gnomes.
The rest of the party agreed, and we made plans to depart within the next few days. I made a note that it was mid-winter, and pointed out that we had not equipped appropriately for winter travel. While they supplemented our supplies, I spent some time in deep meditation and prayer for the turning of the season. Hearing the noise of the city, and wishing more than ever to be outside of the city limits for my own rituals, I moved out into the fields nearby to seclude myself from the chaos of the city.
The city celebrated their midwinter with a gigantic keg of beer and a very loud parade. They asked Shalev to tap the keg, and then handed him a large stein of fortified beer. Everyone joined in the raucous celebrations, and I heard later on that Shalev accidentally supplanted the normal ritual when the townsfolk decided to follow his actions. The high priest of the local god was apparently very put out with him over it, especially since the people celebrated Ma'At and the ways of balance instead of the local god Vindare.
While I was out in the fields during my meditations, I heard the scroll tube click once, and the slide open. I looked at it to see an ancient writing that said "This is the scroll of the Elder Druids of Maurina to be delivered as payment. Contained are 6 spells to be offered in settlement of our debt."
I looked further to see 6 scrolls rolled up with the letter.
* Translate the scroll (easy) Perceive/Sphere of the Deity. Adds D/3 to language skills. Adds a greater understanding of any language read, spoken, studied, or heard.
* Whispers of the Way (medium) Perceive/Sphere of the Deity. D/3 to perception. The ground around me talks to me and tells me what it "sees"
* The Javelin of Ceylon (difficult) Modify/Sphere of the Deity. Draws a javelin up out of the ground to throw at enemies.
* Invoke the Greater Way (very difficult) Create/Sphere of the Deity. a spell that has to do with transportation or transit of some kind.
* The Dragon's Bane (difficult) Move Control/Sphere of the Deity. Has something to do with a very high quality of alcohol called the "water of life."
* The Time of Things Unseen (difficult) Modify/Sphere of the Deity. Grants the ability to not be seen in some way.
As I studied these scrolls I realized that I would need to cast them to learn exactly what they would do. I spent the rest of the night in prayer and conversation (albeit one-sided) with my god and goddess.
I was able to successfully cast the Whispers of the Way spell and discovered much to my astonishment that the road itself began speaking to me. The longer I listened, the more detailed the descriptions it gave to me regarding what it observed. The ground would not respond to inquiries that I posed, so it appears to be informational only. It also only seemed to work for the immediate area, but it is an interesting spell nonetheless.
I was also able to successfully cast the Translate the Scroll spell, and discovered that it gave me a much more nuanced understanding of the meanings behind words. I used this spell to immediately delve into the study of my Initiate's guide to Sacred Druidry, and was quite happy to discover that it allowed me to understand new layers of depth in the book as well as in my own language. I can foresee this spell being of great use to me in the future, and made a note to use it as often as I could to perfect its casting.
The following day, I made my way back into town to meet up with the rest of the party. They told me, somewhat bemusedly, about Shalev's abscondment with the local rituals. I simply smiled and shook my head as I noted that the road continued to chatter at me, and that here in the city it was much louder. I'm sure I seemed distracted to the rest of the party, but I was having difficulty concentrating on anything else with the constant chatter of the roads and the city. I wondered how long the spell would last, and how the druids of old used this to their advantage, for it would not have been included in the collection if it were not useful somehow.
Once the party was ready to depart, I spoke with KelLyn, giving her the description that the diviners had given me about the last known location of Emer. I asked her if she would be willing to try to scry, not for the city, but for the bowl like valley where it would have been. She agreed, and as she began to scry, her orb began to pulse with magic. When she returned her attention to the party, she said that she had seen a place that matched the description to the North, and we gathered our supplies and set out once again towards adventure.
We have three carts with us now, one for extra supplies, one for food, supplies, and treasures, and one for riding in when desired. I chose to ride for a while, so that I could continue to study the new spells from the scroll tube. I used the Translate spell once again, and was able to determine that the scroll tube and enclosed spells were a payment of a greater debt of the Druids of Maurina from one of the three islands of healers and saints. This fact was interesting to me because druids were not often grouped with healers and saints, so it made me wonder again about those ancient druids, and again at what had happened to exterminate them all. With the translate spell still active, I used it's enhancements to continue to study my druid guide, the other spells in the collection, and the intricacies of my own circular language.
We travel for two weeks without incident, thankfully. I notice with more than a little interest that I can still hear the roads chattering away at me. There are other travelers and merchants along this road, coming in to the city with their winter trade goods of lumber, wheat, and wool. I listen to what the roads tell me about them to try to gain a greater understanding of how this spell works. It seems to be able to pick up details on the way a person refers to themselves: "elf", "human", "woman", "man", etc. The longer we are in one space, the more detail the road's descriptions become, "druid", "warrior", "paladin". I find the chatter to be interesting in a conceptual sense, and it gives me some insight as to how the reputations of those druids of old may have had more than a little truth to them.
Even though there are plenty of people along the roads we traverse here, I notice that they each camp separately. This is curious to me, as in the desert cultures travelers would often share camps to gain safety in numbers. The peoples here are reluctant to do so, and it puzzles me why they would refuse offered protection and shared camaraderie. They were even reticent to part with information about the roads ahead, although they did warn us that the dragons have a strong presence across the first ridge of the mountains. They also informed us that the snows had begun only a few days journey ahead, and that the large local predators would often use the snows as cover and camouflage to hunt. They cautioned us to be on the look out for a large cat with white and grey spotted fur that they called a snow leopard, as well as carnivorous hares that roamed the areas in packs. These hares were more akin to wolves in their mannerisms than rabbits, and could be quite aggressive during the leaner months.
One merchant that we spoke to was able to give us a little more of the old stories and rumors about the lost elven city. He said that the Quadling dwarfs were rumored to do trade with the elves at a great city before they disappeared. The entrance to the dwarf lands and the pass under the mountains was marked by a great gate about 6 months travel ahead of us.
We moved on, and continued traveling for another two weeks when we came to a crossroads. One road led off to the right, and the other road continued to the north. When we stopped here for a brief rest, KelLyn approached me. During her studies, she had come across a language written on one of her scrolls that she could not read. She said it looked to her like ancient elven, and she asked if I could take a look. I agreed to do so, and I used my translate spell to help me discern what was written.
The scroll was written in several different languages, and I could pick out several elven words that mentioned sylvan trees, and alarmingly enough the words for destruction in reference to the tree. I also picked out the words for "polymorph any object", "move ley line", and "control elven army." As I continued to study the scroll, I revealed a hidden description written out in druidic moonscript. When I looked closer at the moonscript, I was able to translate it as follows:
"The first artifact was destroyed to kill the bull. The second artifact could not be destroyed, so was encased in a coffin of deep metal, sealed by magic fueled by the spirit of an ancient dragon that volunteered to be beheaded. The coffin was placed in a volcano, and protected by an ancient compact with the giants."
As I read the translations to KelLyn, she became agitated, and I expressed concern at the wording that I was able to understand. I do not know what this scroll does, but the fact that it talks about the willful destruction of a sylvan tree, and the ability to control an elven army, actually made me rather reluctant to return it to KelLyn's possession. Since we were studying together, I recast my translate spell, and asked KelLyn to help me discern more about the spells that I had been given from the scroll tube. I was able to discover little more about them, however, and while they sound interesting and potentially useful, I am reluctant to cast them, as I know I do not yet have the control to do so and do not wish to risk a loss of faith on my part should I fail.
While we were speaking together about this, I noticed briefly that Lan was once again studying her shiny orb. Suddenly a large presence of evil radiated out from her for a few seconds, and then just as suddenly she was exuding an almost angelic sense of good. Shalev, at the sense of evil, had jumped up and drawn his sword, but then looked perplexed as the sense shifted. Lan appeared blithely unconcerned about the incident, and it would seem that she may have found a way to change the way people sense her alignment. That orb of hers has been quite an interesting toy, and I have begun to wonder how, if at all, it may be affecting her directly to use it.
I decided to take a break from my studies for a while, and I began to work with Fife on learning how to throw spears, in hopes that the knowledge I gained from him could be applied to my archery abilities as well. KelLyn, of course, continued to study her books and would mutter and curse to herself almost constantly. She mumbled something at one point about the soul forges and finally knowing how to create them, and then something else about creating magical items, but did not expound more on the knowledge that she was discovering.
At the crossroads, Shalev asked his compass if the road that we were on was still the correct pathway to find Emer, and Lan confirmed his findings with her spell that showed us the way. We continued north, and shortly after we made camp that night, we were set upon by the predatory hares that we had been cautioned about. We were able to take them out with out too much difficulty, and as we were gathering them together to skin and prepare to cook, Amit jumped in to protect us from the snow leopard that had been preparing to attack.
We saved the pelts from the animals, as both the hares and the leopard had gorgeous white fur, and prepared the hares for stew. KelLyn wandered off into the warren, and she came back out shortly after with a baby hare tucked into one arm. She said that there were others in there, but that she wanted that one to be hers. Shalev graciously offered to help her learn how to train the animal up, and she agreed quite happily. Sadly, I knew that there would be no way to help the rest of the babies survive the hardship of a winter without protection, and that the best mercy would be to kill them quickly rather than let them suffer starvation. I did so, and said a gently sad prayer over them. The cycle of life is sometimes a harsh one, and while they could not have survived, in their deaths they gave us nourishment for which I gave them thanks and respect. Afterwards, I searched through the warren and found a small magical pouch hidden among the detritus. The pouch appeared very old, but still in excellent condition, and when KelLyn examined it she discovered that it had some kind of create earth spell attached to it. I took the pouch and tied it to my belt, and we made our way out of the warren.
We continued on the next morning, and traveled without further incident for several more weeks. I requested to stop for a day or so when the spring equinox arrived, and I spent the day and night doing the appropriate meditations and rituals for the seasons. My god and goddess did answer my supplication this time, and I learned that there was no way to move a sylvan tree, which dashed any hope I had of relocating the one from that cursed elven city. They told me that I should seek out the keepers of the soul wells as they would be able to give me the information I needed about the life cycles and care of the trees. However, they were not able to give my any information on where they were located for some reason.
My focus now is learning how, if possible, to restore the tree safely. If it can not be restored, then it must be allowed to die, and a new seedling planted in a new area where it would flourish. I must find a way to speak to the keepers to discuss this further. If it must die, then so be it. The elves of that cursed place stated their desire to be apart from everything that made them elves. They may just get their wish, though sadly I do not think they realize exactly what that will mean for them until it is too late.
While we were stopped, Osman and Tobias worked at using the dragon bones and maple branches to craft beautiful bows of superior make. Once the bodies of the bows were shaped, they took the tendon and sinew of the dragon and began to soak them so that they could be twisted and woven into string for the weapons. The dragon bone and hard wood make these bows much more resilient than a standard bow would be, and I look forward to having one of them for my own once they are completed. Fife came over once he saw what they were working on, and he was able to give them additional pointers and advice on how to craft the bows.
I noticed, with some surprise, that the roads had stopped chattering at me at some point just past the full moon, and I debated on whether or not I should recast the spell. I find myself missing the white noise of the chatter to some degree, and I still wonder at what advantage the spell might be able to grant.
During the course of our travels, Shalev had been using his compass to ask various questions. He helped me to determine more details about the spell scrolls I had acquired, and he also discovered that the red mage that had been hunting for part of KelLyn's staff was now pursuing our party instead. I know that KelLyn has magic about her that allows her to be invisible from scrying, but the rest of us do not have such protections. I imagine that since he knows that she is known to travel with us, that he is tracking us in order to get to her. There is nothing that we can do about it at the moment, however, so we continue to travel on towards the dwarven gates. The lands here have become rocky, and we have steadily been traveling upwards. The foothills have changed to the edges of the mountain ranges, and the dwarven gates are not too much further away.
KelLyn was supremely unconcerned about the red mage's pursuit of us, and she continued her studies uninterrupted. Those studies lead her to discover a new spell similar to the one that Lan had been casting to show us the way. KelLyn's spell, she explained, would actually CREATE a path if one was needed, and she offered to use it whenever needed to help us on our journey. This spell is quite a useful one, and I made a note to speak to her about it at length to see if perhaps I could pick up enough about it to try to learn it as well. She approached me again for discussion, and this time asked that I teach her what I could about the realms of plant and animal. In return for that knowledge, she agreed to teach me what she could about Vitality.
Osman also discovered a new spell, as his deity appeared to have answered him directly with a gift of power. He was given the ability to create a form of pitch, and he moved up the path a little ways to practice the spell and see what it would do. Fife and Shalev went with him to act as protection. Osman tried his spell out and a fountain of black viscous oil poured from his hands over the ridge and onto a twiggy structure made of branches and tree boughs. We heard an angry noise, and a rustling, and a griffon, now covered in sticky pitch, emerged from the nest to glare at the three of them with hackles raised. Osman made a frightened squeak and ran back towards camp. Shalev also made a dash back to camp to snag a lit torch, and when he got back to where Fife was still standing warily, he tried to walk up to the griffon. Fife jerked him backwards though, and put Shalev behind him with a firm comment to stay there and not move.
The griffon did not attack, but merely stood there glaring. We all took a slow step backwards, trying to appear as unoffensive as possible, though Fife still held the lit torch warningly, prepared to throw it at the creature should it move to attack us. KelLyn tried to cast a destroy earth spell in an attempt to remove the pitch from the griffon's feathers. Her spell went awry, however, though there was thankfully no adverse effect that we could discern. She tried once again, this time drawing a circle to augment her power, and was successful. The pitch disappeared, and the griffon looked down at it's feathers in surprise, but still did not attack.
Shalev, on instinct, looked up towards the sky, and he pointed out quietly that there was a second griffon circling high overhead, also watching. We all made our way carefully and slowly back to camp, and we saw that Tobias had covered all of the horses with tarp, effectively disguising and protecting them from the circling griffon.
We all decided that it would be best to move on a ways from here, and we kept the pace very slow for a while, to make sure we were not attracting the attention of the griffons any more. When we stopped again for the evening, KelLyn made an attempt to use one of her fire-speak spells to try to determine where the red mage was located, but was unable to find out where he was.
Fife, Osman, and Tobias completed the crafting of the dragon bone and maple bows, stringing them with the dragon sinew, and Osman, Tobias, and I all took one of the finished weapons. It is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, and the bow feels like it was made for my hands. Knowing Tobias had a hand in it's make means that it most likely was. I noticed some intricate scroll work carved into the weapon I chose, and noted again that Tobias appears to have crafted it just for me. I appreciate the gift, and will make sure that it is used well.
We continued to travel for another month without encountering the red mage, or with any further incidents, and at last came to the great cliff face with the Quadling dwarven symbols carved into the door. The doors had been latched long ago, from the outside. Shalev asked the compass if there were still dwarfs living in the mountain, and was told that there were indeed, so the passage between the mountains here may not be abandoned as it appears to be. Ishmael looked at the doors, awe apparent in his face, and he noted that he thought dwarfs were supposed to be short and stocky, so why were the latches 40 feet up off of the ground? We all spent some time examining the doors and the surrounding area, but could find no way or mechanism to open the great stone slabs. I noticed a spot at the base of the door where there was a very small opening about an inch or so high. KelLyn tried creating a circle and casting here new spell to create a path, but it simply showed us that the path we were on was the best way through.
Seeing the crack appeared to be the only way inside, we asked Lan if she would be willing to use her orb to turn into the gaseous form we had seen her become before and travel underneath the door to see if there was a latch or a lever on the other side. She agreed, and once on the other side of the door was able to locate the mechanism and open the door. A stone slab only slightly taller than I was opened with a hideous grinding noise, and we all made our way into the entrance way of the cavern. The lever that opened the door would not budge again to close it behind us, and we decide to venture into the passage under the mountains to see what new adventures lie ahead.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Into the Tomb of the Lizard King - Part 3: KelLyn discovers exploding runes..the hard way
Into the Tomb - Part 2
Past the doors you cannot find,
Down the steps you cannot climb,
Across the river of nothingness
You’ll find your way.
Beware the marksman and his prey.
Shun the royal brides.
Then find the place I lie in eternal feast.
Past glories I despise
The light of vengeance fills my eye.
Treasure I give my servant dragon,
Guardian loyal of this, my reborn feeding lair.
- riddle found on a scrap of paper in the first level of the tomb of the Lizard King
.oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo.
Once we made it back to the room we had set up as a base camp, the party relaxed for a while, using the time to rest, recuperate, and discuss our next moves. Since all of the supplies had been moved from the kitchen, pantry, and wine cellar to this room, we took some time to go through the various foodstuffs, and enjoyed a decent meal as well as opening up one of the casks of wine. It was a welcome reprieve from the travel rations, and having a good meal did much to improve our spirits. While we ate, a discussion broke out about whether we should venture down into the lower level via the trap door in this room, or if we should instead continue to explore this level first.
The consensus was that this level should be cleared completely before going down, so after we had rested, Lan used her new sight to see what living things she might be able to see still on this level. She said that she saw a large winged humanoid figure, possibly a demon of some kind, walking across a room some distance away. I took the opportunity to scout ahead, using stealth and skill to remain undetected. I checked the doors for traps, and explored down the corridor until I came up on what was obviously a place of vile worship. Simply walking into this room made me feel nauseated, so I returned to the party to let them know what I had found.
The rooms revealed appeared to be the captain's quarters, as the furnishings were simple, but of obviously better quality than those found in the barracks. There were two chests in this room, and Ishmael knocked the hinges off to open them without setting the needle traps off, to reveal about 800 silver and several standard sets of clothing. There was nothing else of note in this room, and we continued to explore, discovering a common room, and then finally the worship area.
The worship area, for that is clearly what it was, was repulsive. The idol in the center of the room boasted the repugnant face of the demon god that we had seen elsewhere, and the altar was soaked with congealing blood. The tapestry on the wall was disturbing in it's intensity, and depicted scenes of utter cruelty. The sheer evil here overwhelmed me, and I got physically ill. I said a quiet prayer to my god and goddess to ask for guidance, but the act of simply thinking their names was enough to cause the evil to pulsate in a nauseating fashion, making me ill all over again.
After I recovered myself, I urged everyone to either destroy everything here or leave now. They helped me move out of the room, promising that we could come back and destroy everything once the lizard king was dealt with. Further explorations revealed the central room for the priests, where incense burned on the table, and robes hung from hooks on the walls. Again, I resisted the urge to destroy everything here, and we eventually discover a small library.
The theme of the books in the library was primarily evil, and more than a few of the books were specifically about dealings with the undead. The subject matter of the books here was enough to make my skin crawl, and I wonder yet at what we still may face. Much to my surprise Shalev and Osman took a few books off of the shelves. Shalev chose a book about identifying undead, probably in hopes that it might reveal clues about what we face, and potential weaknesses it might have. Osman chose two books, one on summoning demons, and another on knowing the true names of the undead. KelLyn immediately went to look at a book that was chained to a pedestal in the center of the room. She began reading the book to herself, and then as she read, her eyes widened, and she made an audible comment about taking the book.Ishmael offered to cut the chain for her, and immediately an argument broke out between the party members about it. Rather than listen to them bicker and snipe at each other about it, I left the room to keep watch in the hallway for potential enemies, continuing to scout quietly ahead.
It is KelLyn's choice, ultimately, about her path. Her desire for power may eventually be her undoing, but she must be aware that all power has a price. If she is willing to pay that price, then so be it. Shalev is concerned for her, though she sees it more as an annoyance and the two of them argue and misunderstand each other on a nearly constant basis. He has taken her actions quite personally on more than one occasion, and he is quite concerned about what might happen should she delve into the darker arts. He feels, rightfully so, that she is not always careful with her power, although he does forget at times that she is responsible for her fate, and not him. If she ignores the signs and warnings that she gets, and pursues her quest for power to it's ultimate end, then that is her choice, not his.
My efforts to scout ahead revealed nothing further, so I returned to the library to see that KelLyn had indeed taken the book, and Shalev was glaring at her pointedly. I raised an eyebrow in silent comment, and then informed the party of the rooms ahead that I had discovered. One of the rooms proved to be a second captain's quarters, again with two chests with more basic clothes and about 1000 silver.
We decided to carry the empty chests as well as the treasures we had found so far back to the base camp before continuing our explorations. We checked our belongings there, made sure that the trap door was still secure, and then went back out to the hallway I had discovered.
There were several rooms here, and after checking the doors for traps, Ishmael opened the first one to show a small room where a black robed man was studying. He looked up in alarm and began to chant, and Shalev and Ishmael immediately rushed in to attack. Shalev's attacks missed, and the robed man was able to cast his spell successfully. Ishmael succeeded in his attack, and smashed the desk into the man in the chair, pushing it into him. The priest looked surprised that he was hit by anything at all, and Ishmael continued his bludgeoning attacks on the furniture. Shalev swung again, and missed again much to his frustration. The priest shouted out an alarm, and the other four doors opened as the priests inside them curiously stuck their heads out into the hallway to see what was going on. Upon seeing us there, they all stepped out into the hall and began casting various spells. They never got the chance. Tobias, pulling both of his maces, raced down the hallway in a deadly wave of attacks. KelLyn reached out to touch the closest priest, casting a spell with her contact. Osman shot an arrow at the next closest priest. Fife speared the priest in the back of the hallway, and I used my bow to put an arrow in the other's face.
The priest in the room with Ishmael and Shalev tried then to cast a drain life spell on Shalev. Shalev's brooch flared to life, protecting him completely, and causing Shalev's aura as a paladin to pulse in a flex of spiritual muscle that we could all feel. The priest went wide-eyed, and began casting yet another spell, and Shalev rolled out of the way, and out of the room. Fife and I used the opening to our advantage, and were both successful with spear and arrow, hitting the offending priest in the face as Ishmael simultaneously charged bodily into the priest, taking him out finally. The other priests go down easily after that, and both bodies and rooms are empty of anything of interest.
There is a gruesome painting at the end of the hallway, but though I examined it closely, I couldn't find anything of note. It was a hidden door, however, and when we turned away from it to head back down the hallway, it opened silently and an armored man stepped through. The only warning we had was when KelLyn suddenly fell over, apparently dead. Shalev ran over to her, to remove her pack, thinking that it was the book she picked up from the library that had caused her collapse. As he shoved it away from her, he glanced up to see the dark paladin looming in the shadows. Ishmael rushed to give her a potion, and Tobias grabbed her and dragged her into one of the now empty priest's quarters. Lan and I followed to try to find out why she had collapsed, and see what we could do to save her.
As we moved out of the way, the armored man threw a stick at Shalev which changed into an adder in midair. Shalev didn't even blink at the deadly serpent though, and it fell harmlessly to the floor as he charged at the enemy shouting that he hadn't worked so hard at not killing KelLyn only to have someone else do it. He swung his holy sword, aiming the powerful blow a the armored man's neck. With a screech of metal, the strike hit home, shearing through the thick metal gorget at his throat, and killing the unholy paladin with a single dreadful impact. The unholy paladin fell to the floor, and Shalev used his foot to pry his sword from the remains. He swore softly when he saw that the deadly strike had damaged his blade, but stopped short when he heard the sound of crumpling metal. He looked down in time to see the armor of the unholy paladin crumpling and cracking, shrinking in on itself and crushing down into nothing. The implosion covered Shalev in the gory remains of what was left behind, and he shook the blood off of his blade with an irritated sniff.
Meanwhile, Lan, Tobias and I were struggling to save KelLyn. Lan and Tobias worked to keep her alive, while I tried to locate the reason for her collapse. Shalev walked in then, covered in gore, and showed me the stick that had turned to a serpent. I recognized the description Shalev gave of the poisonous reptile as an adder, as they were fairly common back home in the desert, and was quickly able to pull together the components for an antidote. Once I was able to get the antidote down her throat, the results were fairly immediate. She regained consciousness, and was quickly able to be up and about with no lasting effects from the toxin. As soon as she was awake she rushed over to the book she had acquired from the library, flipping through pages and muttering to herself about inept spell casters and something about an attempt against her, when suddenly she exclaimed loudly "a lich?! They were trying to make me a lich?!" and began both laughing and swearing sulphurously.
None of this made much sense to the rest of the party, however, so we let it go as the mysteries of magic users, and went in to examine the room that was revealed by the secret door. This was the paladin's personal chamber, and it boasted opulent furnishings and a basin of water, and a small alter to the demon god. Shalev purified the water in the basin, and then used it to clean some of the gore off. He commented that the carpeting in this room was quite valuable, and we rolled it up to add to the treasures we had already discovered. He then took some time to tear down the tapestries on the walls, eventually revealing a hidden door. Fife offered to check for traps, and I let him take point. He found no traps, but the lock on the door proved to be beyond his skill, so I took care of the lock to reveal a small vault with three chests.
The chests held:
KelLyn offered to use her slate to identify the scrolls, and was successfully able to identify the first one as a scroll of protection from demons. The second, however, had some sort of enchantment upon it, and as soon as it touched the slate, it drained all of the magic from it. KelLyn went white with fury, and we all wisely left the room, lest in her anger, she lash out at the rest of the party. We carried the treasures - the carpet, the plates, and the scrolls (safely back inside the ivory casings) back to base camp.
Once back at base camp, we deposited the rug and plates near the chests, and sat down with some relief to rest. Shalev took detailed measures to make sure that he was clean after being coated in such gore for most of the day, and the rest of us followed his example, taking the time to refresh ourselves as necessary. Watches were set, and the first two passed uneventfully. Shalev and I were on third watch, and during the small, quiet hours, we saw a group of 4 robed figures approaching us. As soon as they saw us, their eyes glowed red, and fangs extended from their mouths. They glared at us, and Shalev slumped over in an enchanted sleep. They looked with surprise at the fact that I had not also fallen over, and it was the last act they had a chance to make. I shouted to the rest of the party, and drew my sword. Bow and arrow would have proven useless here, so outnumbered. I swung the sword in a deadly arc, hoping to take one or two out before having to seriously engage. My worry proved pointless, however, as my aim was truer than even I knew, and the arc of the sword screaming through the air took all four out with deadly precision. The corpses were identified as some kind of were-creature, and they had nothing of interest on them, so they were drug over to the room where KelLyn had ignited the volatile fires earlier in the adventures. The room was still radiating with heat, and when the bodies were thrown in, they burned to ash.
The rest of the night passed uneventfully, and the next day we go to explore the remaining rooms of this level of the tomb. In one of the rooms, I discover a hidden compartment containing a chest, and Shalev, having taken note of the traps we had previously faced, wrapped a heavy tapestry around the chest to remove it safely.
He felt the impact of four darts, but the tapestry proved enough of a protection, and there was no harm done.
Inside the chest was:
Ishmael helped to appraise the jewelry, and claimed one of the brooches for himself, which he put on.
The next room was hidden behind a secret door covered by the bas relief of the demon god, much like the entrance to the tomb in the dragon's lair. The room revealed appeared to be some kind of study, with a sturdy desk. The desk had one drawer that continually re-locked itself, and after several attempts at unlocking it, I finally gave in, and stepped back so that Ishmael could gleefully smash the desk to pieces. The drawer, now easily accessible, contained written notes that looked like spell research. We called KelLyn over, and she grabbed up the notes, looking through them with surly interest. One page held a scrawled riddle on it:
Past the doors you cannot find,
Down the steps you cannot climb,
And across the River of Nothingness
You’ll find your way.
Beware the marksman and his prey.
Shun the royal brides!
Then find the place I lie in eternal feast!
Past glories I despise;
The light of vengeance fills my eye.
Treasure I give my servant dragon,
Guardian loyal of this, my reborn feeding lair.
After reading it out, Osman asks to see the page, and then spent a moment translating it into the language of the lizard men. He mentioned with some amusement that when translated thus, it actually rhymed, but nothing else was revealed by changing it to it's intended language. Once the desk was reduced to rubble, there was nothing else in the room, save a pair of heavy gold candlesticks, which Ishmael picked up and placed in his pack.
The riddle is interesting, and I feel as if it might shine some light on what might still lay ahead of us. With all of the traps we have discovered so far, and the pervasive evil that this entire place, it would not surprise me if more lethal traps awaited us. It bears researching more, I think, and serves as a warning - to me at least - of what may lie ahead. While we have a relatively safe space here in this room, I will try to teach my party members how to move more quietly. To be more aware of their surroundings, and to step carefully is going to be an essential skill for everyone. We have been incredibly lucky so far, in that our raucous explorations have not brought more enemies down on us, and I do not relish finding out what else may be out there the hard way.
The next room we discovered was some kind of alchemical laboratory. Long, low tables lined the walls with bottles and vials of components and powders. Most of it was fairly commonplace, and of no interest, but we did find one vial of powdered diamond, which KelLyn pocketed. The southern wall of this laboratory boasted a secret door, but I could find no way to open it up. I asked KelLyn to take a look at it, and she cast a simple spell to discern how the mechanism worked. After a moment, and in a fit of amused irony, she pulled out the unidentified scroll and touched it to the wall, draining it of magic, and causing the latch to release.
The room revealed was pitch black, and not even Tobias, with his dark vision could see inside. KelLyn discerned that it was a magical darkness, and cast a spell to revoke the magic inside. The darkness fell away, and showed a man in a black robe at the far end of the room, reading from a scroll. Ishmael immediately charged in like an angry bull, and hit the unprepared magic user with all of the force of a battering ram. The robed man was crushed by the impact, and KelLyn found the whole scene terribly amusing. Through her tears of laughter she revealed that he had, indeed, been casting a spell, but that it was defense against magic, not against brute force. So he never even saw it coming. As she recovered herself, chuckling and chortling the whole time, Shalev took a piece of tapestry and waved it around in an attempt to find trap wires or other hidden things. He was successful in revealing an invisible chest in one corner.
KelLyn easily removed the invisibility, still chuckling to herself, and we check the chest for traps. While we do that, she goes over to check the robed man to see what he may have had on him.
The robed man had a cloak, a ring, and a wand on him.
The chest contained:
3000 silver pieces
500 gold pieces
500 platinum pieces
a book
Since KelLyn's slate was drained of power, she used her magic to basically identify the objects as being magical. The ring was spelled with move/control human with a subrealm of water. The cloak was spelled with move/control magic. The wand was spelled with create mind. The book was spelled with a variety of things, but primarily with destroy magic with a subrealm of fire.
Shalev cautioned her to check the book before she read anything, but KelLyn ignored him, reading the title of the book regardless. The book was spelled with some kind of explosive rune, and the second she read it, it exploded, injuring Ishmael, Fife, KelLyn and myself. KelLyn gave me a potion to bring me back to health, but sadly the book was completely destroyed.
KelLyn shrugged and commented that it was no big deal, but I could see that the loss of potential power and knowledge was a pain to her. She claimed both the cloak and the wand, and then stalked away in an increasingly bad mood. I added the ring to the stash of treasures to be checked later, and the party decided that since there were injuries to be healed, that we would go back to base camp one more time before venturing beneath to the lower levels and beyond.
We still have not revealed the main passageway to the lower levels, but in our conversations about the events of the day, Shalev remembered seeing a door underneath the tapestries in the center worship area with the idol of the demon god. Perhaps that is the way we seek. There is still the trap door under the room we use as base camp, and the narrow corridor beyond. There is still the prowling demon figure that Lan saw. There is still Sacatha himself, wherever he may lie.
Much to be done, and much to do. The pile of treasures we have discovered grows exponentially, and I can't help but wonder how we will transport it all back to the count. We each get our share, of course, but the vast majority should go towards rebuilding this broken town, and rekindling hope in the beleaguered folk here.
But that will be after we escape this wretched tomb, and if we survive the battles to come.
For now, I will say a prayer to my god and goddess for continuing to watch over us. I feel the press of the evil here like a constant ache, and I need their touch and reassurance in my mind. Like a child who runs to her parents when they've had a nightmare, I wish to do nothing more than to run to them for comfort and protection. During my meditations and contemplation, I will continue to ask for their guidance. They may not be able to reach me here, but I will still continue to do what I can.
Past the doors you cannot find,
Down the steps you cannot climb,
Across the river of nothingness
You’ll find your way.
Beware the marksman and his prey.
Shun the royal brides.
Then find the place I lie in eternal feast.
Past glories I despise
The light of vengeance fills my eye.
Treasure I give my servant dragon,
Guardian loyal of this, my reborn feeding lair.
- riddle found on a scrap of paper in the first level of the tomb of the Lizard King
.oOo..oOo..oOo..oOo.
Once we made it back to the room we had set up as a base camp, the party relaxed for a while, using the time to rest, recuperate, and discuss our next moves. Since all of the supplies had been moved from the kitchen, pantry, and wine cellar to this room, we took some time to go through the various foodstuffs, and enjoyed a decent meal as well as opening up one of the casks of wine. It was a welcome reprieve from the travel rations, and having a good meal did much to improve our spirits. While we ate, a discussion broke out about whether we should venture down into the lower level via the trap door in this room, or if we should instead continue to explore this level first.
The consensus was that this level should be cleared completely before going down, so after we had rested, Lan used her new sight to see what living things she might be able to see still on this level. She said that she saw a large winged humanoid figure, possibly a demon of some kind, walking across a room some distance away. I took the opportunity to scout ahead, using stealth and skill to remain undetected. I checked the doors for traps, and explored down the corridor until I came up on what was obviously a place of vile worship. Simply walking into this room made me feel nauseated, so I returned to the party to let them know what I had found.
The rooms revealed appeared to be the captain's quarters, as the furnishings were simple, but of obviously better quality than those found in the barracks. There were two chests in this room, and Ishmael knocked the hinges off to open them without setting the needle traps off, to reveal about 800 silver and several standard sets of clothing. There was nothing else of note in this room, and we continued to explore, discovering a common room, and then finally the worship area.
The worship area, for that is clearly what it was, was repulsive. The idol in the center of the room boasted the repugnant face of the demon god that we had seen elsewhere, and the altar was soaked with congealing blood. The tapestry on the wall was disturbing in it's intensity, and depicted scenes of utter cruelty. The sheer evil here overwhelmed me, and I got physically ill. I said a quiet prayer to my god and goddess to ask for guidance, but the act of simply thinking their names was enough to cause the evil to pulsate in a nauseating fashion, making me ill all over again.
After I recovered myself, I urged everyone to either destroy everything here or leave now. They helped me move out of the room, promising that we could come back and destroy everything once the lizard king was dealt with. Further explorations revealed the central room for the priests, where incense burned on the table, and robes hung from hooks on the walls. Again, I resisted the urge to destroy everything here, and we eventually discover a small library.
The theme of the books in the library was primarily evil, and more than a few of the books were specifically about dealings with the undead. The subject matter of the books here was enough to make my skin crawl, and I wonder yet at what we still may face. Much to my surprise Shalev and Osman took a few books off of the shelves. Shalev chose a book about identifying undead, probably in hopes that it might reveal clues about what we face, and potential weaknesses it might have. Osman chose two books, one on summoning demons, and another on knowing the true names of the undead. KelLyn immediately went to look at a book that was chained to a pedestal in the center of the room. She began reading the book to herself, and then as she read, her eyes widened, and she made an audible comment about taking the book.Ishmael offered to cut the chain for her, and immediately an argument broke out between the party members about it. Rather than listen to them bicker and snipe at each other about it, I left the room to keep watch in the hallway for potential enemies, continuing to scout quietly ahead.
It is KelLyn's choice, ultimately, about her path. Her desire for power may eventually be her undoing, but she must be aware that all power has a price. If she is willing to pay that price, then so be it. Shalev is concerned for her, though she sees it more as an annoyance and the two of them argue and misunderstand each other on a nearly constant basis. He has taken her actions quite personally on more than one occasion, and he is quite concerned about what might happen should she delve into the darker arts. He feels, rightfully so, that she is not always careful with her power, although he does forget at times that she is responsible for her fate, and not him. If she ignores the signs and warnings that she gets, and pursues her quest for power to it's ultimate end, then that is her choice, not his.
My efforts to scout ahead revealed nothing further, so I returned to the library to see that KelLyn had indeed taken the book, and Shalev was glaring at her pointedly. I raised an eyebrow in silent comment, and then informed the party of the rooms ahead that I had discovered. One of the rooms proved to be a second captain's quarters, again with two chests with more basic clothes and about 1000 silver.
We decided to carry the empty chests as well as the treasures we had found so far back to the base camp before continuing our explorations. We checked our belongings there, made sure that the trap door was still secure, and then went back out to the hallway I had discovered.
There were several rooms here, and after checking the doors for traps, Ishmael opened the first one to show a small room where a black robed man was studying. He looked up in alarm and began to chant, and Shalev and Ishmael immediately rushed in to attack. Shalev's attacks missed, and the robed man was able to cast his spell successfully. Ishmael succeeded in his attack, and smashed the desk into the man in the chair, pushing it into him. The priest looked surprised that he was hit by anything at all, and Ishmael continued his bludgeoning attacks on the furniture. Shalev swung again, and missed again much to his frustration. The priest shouted out an alarm, and the other four doors opened as the priests inside them curiously stuck their heads out into the hallway to see what was going on. Upon seeing us there, they all stepped out into the hall and began casting various spells. They never got the chance. Tobias, pulling both of his maces, raced down the hallway in a deadly wave of attacks. KelLyn reached out to touch the closest priest, casting a spell with her contact. Osman shot an arrow at the next closest priest. Fife speared the priest in the back of the hallway, and I used my bow to put an arrow in the other's face.
The priest in the room with Ishmael and Shalev tried then to cast a drain life spell on Shalev. Shalev's brooch flared to life, protecting him completely, and causing Shalev's aura as a paladin to pulse in a flex of spiritual muscle that we could all feel. The priest went wide-eyed, and began casting yet another spell, and Shalev rolled out of the way, and out of the room. Fife and I used the opening to our advantage, and were both successful with spear and arrow, hitting the offending priest in the face as Ishmael simultaneously charged bodily into the priest, taking him out finally. The other priests go down easily after that, and both bodies and rooms are empty of anything of interest.
There is a gruesome painting at the end of the hallway, but though I examined it closely, I couldn't find anything of note. It was a hidden door, however, and when we turned away from it to head back down the hallway, it opened silently and an armored man stepped through. The only warning we had was when KelLyn suddenly fell over, apparently dead. Shalev ran over to her, to remove her pack, thinking that it was the book she picked up from the library that had caused her collapse. As he shoved it away from her, he glanced up to see the dark paladin looming in the shadows. Ishmael rushed to give her a potion, and Tobias grabbed her and dragged her into one of the now empty priest's quarters. Lan and I followed to try to find out why she had collapsed, and see what we could do to save her.
As we moved out of the way, the armored man threw a stick at Shalev which changed into an adder in midair. Shalev didn't even blink at the deadly serpent though, and it fell harmlessly to the floor as he charged at the enemy shouting that he hadn't worked so hard at not killing KelLyn only to have someone else do it. He swung his holy sword, aiming the powerful blow a the armored man's neck. With a screech of metal, the strike hit home, shearing through the thick metal gorget at his throat, and killing the unholy paladin with a single dreadful impact. The unholy paladin fell to the floor, and Shalev used his foot to pry his sword from the remains. He swore softly when he saw that the deadly strike had damaged his blade, but stopped short when he heard the sound of crumpling metal. He looked down in time to see the armor of the unholy paladin crumpling and cracking, shrinking in on itself and crushing down into nothing. The implosion covered Shalev in the gory remains of what was left behind, and he shook the blood off of his blade with an irritated sniff.
Meanwhile, Lan, Tobias and I were struggling to save KelLyn. Lan and Tobias worked to keep her alive, while I tried to locate the reason for her collapse. Shalev walked in then, covered in gore, and showed me the stick that had turned to a serpent. I recognized the description Shalev gave of the poisonous reptile as an adder, as they were fairly common back home in the desert, and was quickly able to pull together the components for an antidote. Once I was able to get the antidote down her throat, the results were fairly immediate. She regained consciousness, and was quickly able to be up and about with no lasting effects from the toxin. As soon as she was awake she rushed over to the book she had acquired from the library, flipping through pages and muttering to herself about inept spell casters and something about an attempt against her, when suddenly she exclaimed loudly "a lich?! They were trying to make me a lich?!" and began both laughing and swearing sulphurously.
None of this made much sense to the rest of the party, however, so we let it go as the mysteries of magic users, and went in to examine the room that was revealed by the secret door. This was the paladin's personal chamber, and it boasted opulent furnishings and a basin of water, and a small alter to the demon god. Shalev purified the water in the basin, and then used it to clean some of the gore off. He commented that the carpeting in this room was quite valuable, and we rolled it up to add to the treasures we had already discovered. He then took some time to tear down the tapestries on the walls, eventually revealing a hidden door. Fife offered to check for traps, and I let him take point. He found no traps, but the lock on the door proved to be beyond his skill, so I took care of the lock to reveal a small vault with three chests.
The chests held:
- 50 gold plates
- 20 platinum plates
- 2 ornate ivory scroll tubes with ivory stoppers
KelLyn offered to use her slate to identify the scrolls, and was successfully able to identify the first one as a scroll of protection from demons. The second, however, had some sort of enchantment upon it, and as soon as it touched the slate, it drained all of the magic from it. KelLyn went white with fury, and we all wisely left the room, lest in her anger, she lash out at the rest of the party. We carried the treasures - the carpet, the plates, and the scrolls (safely back inside the ivory casings) back to base camp.
Once back at base camp, we deposited the rug and plates near the chests, and sat down with some relief to rest. Shalev took detailed measures to make sure that he was clean after being coated in such gore for most of the day, and the rest of us followed his example, taking the time to refresh ourselves as necessary. Watches were set, and the first two passed uneventfully. Shalev and I were on third watch, and during the small, quiet hours, we saw a group of 4 robed figures approaching us. As soon as they saw us, their eyes glowed red, and fangs extended from their mouths. They glared at us, and Shalev slumped over in an enchanted sleep. They looked with surprise at the fact that I had not also fallen over, and it was the last act they had a chance to make. I shouted to the rest of the party, and drew my sword. Bow and arrow would have proven useless here, so outnumbered. I swung the sword in a deadly arc, hoping to take one or two out before having to seriously engage. My worry proved pointless, however, as my aim was truer than even I knew, and the arc of the sword screaming through the air took all four out with deadly precision. The corpses were identified as some kind of were-creature, and they had nothing of interest on them, so they were drug over to the room where KelLyn had ignited the volatile fires earlier in the adventures. The room was still radiating with heat, and when the bodies were thrown in, they burned to ash.
The rest of the night passed uneventfully, and the next day we go to explore the remaining rooms of this level of the tomb. In one of the rooms, I discover a hidden compartment containing a chest, and Shalev, having taken note of the traps we had previously faced, wrapped a heavy tapestry around the chest to remove it safely.
He felt the impact of four darts, but the tapestry proved enough of a protection, and there was no harm done.
Inside the chest was:
- a bag of silver (about 3000 pieces)
- a bag of gold (about 4000 pieces)
- about 200 platinum pieces
- 6 gold brooches (worth approximately 500 gp each)
Ishmael helped to appraise the jewelry, and claimed one of the brooches for himself, which he put on.
The next room was hidden behind a secret door covered by the bas relief of the demon god, much like the entrance to the tomb in the dragon's lair. The room revealed appeared to be some kind of study, with a sturdy desk. The desk had one drawer that continually re-locked itself, and after several attempts at unlocking it, I finally gave in, and stepped back so that Ishmael could gleefully smash the desk to pieces. The drawer, now easily accessible, contained written notes that looked like spell research. We called KelLyn over, and she grabbed up the notes, looking through them with surly interest. One page held a scrawled riddle on it:
Past the doors you cannot find,
Down the steps you cannot climb,
And across the River of Nothingness
You’ll find your way.
Beware the marksman and his prey.
Shun the royal brides!
Then find the place I lie in eternal feast!
Past glories I despise;
The light of vengeance fills my eye.
Treasure I give my servant dragon,
Guardian loyal of this, my reborn feeding lair.
After reading it out, Osman asks to see the page, and then spent a moment translating it into the language of the lizard men. He mentioned with some amusement that when translated thus, it actually rhymed, but nothing else was revealed by changing it to it's intended language. Once the desk was reduced to rubble, there was nothing else in the room, save a pair of heavy gold candlesticks, which Ishmael picked up and placed in his pack.
The riddle is interesting, and I feel as if it might shine some light on what might still lay ahead of us. With all of the traps we have discovered so far, and the pervasive evil that this entire place, it would not surprise me if more lethal traps awaited us. It bears researching more, I think, and serves as a warning - to me at least - of what may lie ahead. While we have a relatively safe space here in this room, I will try to teach my party members how to move more quietly. To be more aware of their surroundings, and to step carefully is going to be an essential skill for everyone. We have been incredibly lucky so far, in that our raucous explorations have not brought more enemies down on us, and I do not relish finding out what else may be out there the hard way.
The next room we discovered was some kind of alchemical laboratory. Long, low tables lined the walls with bottles and vials of components and powders. Most of it was fairly commonplace, and of no interest, but we did find one vial of powdered diamond, which KelLyn pocketed. The southern wall of this laboratory boasted a secret door, but I could find no way to open it up. I asked KelLyn to take a look at it, and she cast a simple spell to discern how the mechanism worked. After a moment, and in a fit of amused irony, she pulled out the unidentified scroll and touched it to the wall, draining it of magic, and causing the latch to release.
The room revealed was pitch black, and not even Tobias, with his dark vision could see inside. KelLyn discerned that it was a magical darkness, and cast a spell to revoke the magic inside. The darkness fell away, and showed a man in a black robe at the far end of the room, reading from a scroll. Ishmael immediately charged in like an angry bull, and hit the unprepared magic user with all of the force of a battering ram. The robed man was crushed by the impact, and KelLyn found the whole scene terribly amusing. Through her tears of laughter she revealed that he had, indeed, been casting a spell, but that it was defense against magic, not against brute force. So he never even saw it coming. As she recovered herself, chuckling and chortling the whole time, Shalev took a piece of tapestry and waved it around in an attempt to find trap wires or other hidden things. He was successful in revealing an invisible chest in one corner.
KelLyn easily removed the invisibility, still chuckling to herself, and we check the chest for traps. While we do that, she goes over to check the robed man to see what he may have had on him.
The robed man had a cloak, a ring, and a wand on him.
The chest contained:
3000 silver pieces
500 gold pieces
500 platinum pieces
a book
Since KelLyn's slate was drained of power, she used her magic to basically identify the objects as being magical. The ring was spelled with move/control human with a subrealm of water. The cloak was spelled with move/control magic. The wand was spelled with create mind. The book was spelled with a variety of things, but primarily with destroy magic with a subrealm of fire.
Shalev cautioned her to check the book before she read anything, but KelLyn ignored him, reading the title of the book regardless. The book was spelled with some kind of explosive rune, and the second she read it, it exploded, injuring Ishmael, Fife, KelLyn and myself. KelLyn gave me a potion to bring me back to health, but sadly the book was completely destroyed.
KelLyn shrugged and commented that it was no big deal, but I could see that the loss of potential power and knowledge was a pain to her. She claimed both the cloak and the wand, and then stalked away in an increasingly bad mood. I added the ring to the stash of treasures to be checked later, and the party decided that since there were injuries to be healed, that we would go back to base camp one more time before venturing beneath to the lower levels and beyond.
We still have not revealed the main passageway to the lower levels, but in our conversations about the events of the day, Shalev remembered seeing a door underneath the tapestries in the center worship area with the idol of the demon god. Perhaps that is the way we seek. There is still the trap door under the room we use as base camp, and the narrow corridor beyond. There is still the prowling demon figure that Lan saw. There is still Sacatha himself, wherever he may lie.
Much to be done, and much to do. The pile of treasures we have discovered grows exponentially, and I can't help but wonder how we will transport it all back to the count. We each get our share, of course, but the vast majority should go towards rebuilding this broken town, and rekindling hope in the beleaguered folk here.
But that will be after we escape this wretched tomb, and if we survive the battles to come.
For now, I will say a prayer to my god and goddess for continuing to watch over us. I feel the press of the evil here like a constant ache, and I need their touch and reassurance in my mind. Like a child who runs to her parents when they've had a nightmare, I wish to do nothing more than to run to them for comfort and protection. During my meditations and contemplation, I will continue to ask for their guidance. They may not be able to reach me here, but I will still continue to do what I can.
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