 |
| Gazing upon the eyes, you feel a unnatural sensation of chill and dread. |
 |
| You are at C6/D6. |
You search your way right up to the entrance of the chamber, detecting no traps along the way, but the eyes give you a distinct icy sensation down your spine.
Addendum Images:
 |  |  |
[Hanrar]
ReplyDeleteShivering at the sensation of not only being watched but being judged, the dusty-skinned mage focuses his attention on the eyes, trying to discern the unnerving power they emit. He cautiously steps into the room, remembering how swiftly the situation went south in the 'Iron Galley'.
He keeps his staff at the ready as he steps towards the pedestal and examines it, not touching the stone column, for any significant symbols or carvings, always watching those unmoving eyes...
Tech: Move to C8, Perception +10, Arcana +19, Religion +19, Insight +15
[Hanrar]
ReplyDeleteHanrar tries to connect with the mystic realm to see the magical auras, but the way is blocked. (OOC: By yet another natural 1 on your Arcana roll. Your perception check was better, but didn't detect any traps or secret doors.)
The pedestal is empty.
OOC: WORST. MAGE. EVER.
Delete[Hanrar]
ReplyDeleteFrustrated by yet another futile attempt at reading the weave of the tomb, he lets out a cleansing breath and continues to examine the room, walking the perimeter slowly. He forces himself to make eye contact with the lidless eyes, trying to discern any significance to them.
"I cannot pierce the liches enchantments, so be wary..." He calls back to his companions. "Perhaps they hold further symbolic reference as well..." He searches back through his teachings for anything of significance, once again careful not to touch the painted eyes.
Tech: Perception +10, Insight +15, Religion +19, History +19
OOC: I've got to be useful SOMEHOW, can't let those skills go unused.
[Hanrar]
ReplyDeleteExamining the eyes closely causes Hanrar to recall that the Iron Lich suffered a wound in life that blinded him.
[Hanrar]
ReplyDeleteHe relays the information to his fellows, pausing a moment to twist the bolt lodged in his arm. "Perhaps this would explain the somewhat recurring theme of gemstones in this tomb..." He pauses, reaching into his pack and pulling out the bedroll-wrapped skull, opening the thick padded fabric to expose the gemstone-eyed skull. Carefully he uses the wrapping to try to pull the helmet from atop the skull, hoping the back will be open, perhaps allowing the unseen to be seen through the gemstone-eye sockets.
[Hanrar]
ReplyDeleteHanrar removes the cheap helmet from the skull, but finds that it's a full skull (back included). No "viewing through the eyes" as it were.
OOC: Cool idea though!
[Hanrar]
ReplyDeleteGrumbling in annoyance he replaces the helmet, pausing to look at the skull. He turns it over in his hands, gripping it through his bedroll. "What secrets do you hold?" He growls under his breath, wrapping the skull back into his pack with a sigh.
He turns to his fellows, searching their faces. "Any ideas forthcoming or is this riddle too beyond our ken?"
[Vesten]
ReplyDeleteVesten enters the room cautiously, but stays at the threshold of the room. He looks at the pillar in the center of the room to try to detect what it's made of and whether there are any flaws in its construction.
He also tries to see if the eyes appear to be covering up anything on the wall behind them.
"Let me check the pillar and these eyes before answering that, friend."
Tech: Move to C7. Dungeoneering +10, Perception +10, Religion +6, Thievery +11
OOC: Noticing I didn't train in Knowledge skills and my Intelligence ain't great. This should be interesting.
[Teryn]
ReplyDeleteAfter greeting the new crusaders, Teryn joins the group in the fane. "I guess something is supposed to go on the pedestal, but what?" Teryn eyes the pedestal closely to determine what sort of shape is intended to fit on top of it, or if it has any mechanical workings.
OOC: There's clearly an eye theme going on here. The skull with eye gems, the blindfolded skeleton with the deck of mortals, the lich himself being blinded. But I'm not sure what to make of it yet. If we don't have a good idea of what's going on here, I suggest we try out fortunes elsewhere first to get some better information.
[Hanrar]
ReplyDeleteThe fake gems in the skull nearly fall out when you move it around; they are not very tight in the eye sockets.
[Teryn]
Looking at the top of the pedestal, she sees that it is small, made of the same material as the one in the Hypostyle. If there is something to be placed on top, it would have to be small, no more than a foot in diameter. She does not see any mechanical workings.
[Hanrar]
ReplyDelete"The same as the..." The mage turns towards the pedestal, looking from the skull to the short column of stones. "Everyone stand back... If this is another of the liches traps I'd rather it was my own foolhardy life that was lost." He says, his gravely voice hushed.
Once his companions have moved to safety, he lowers the skull towards the pedestal, the emerald eyes glinting in the faint purple torchlight. He pauses, turning the skull around and facing those eerie eyes one more time, his expression steely. "Sightless eyes for the sightless lich..." He mutters, closing his own eyes and waiting to be struck down as he places the horn-helmed skull onto the pedestal.
[Hanrar]
ReplyDeleteHanrar sets down the horned skull on the pedestal, facing the apex of the chamber (and those painted eyes on the walls). He closes his own eyes...
He hears the sounds of grinding stone, but it's not a deathtrap. Instead, the apex lowers to reveal a hidden cache beneath!
You have found one of the Iron Lich's treasure caches. You take the following into your possession:
A Scroll of View Object
The Circlet of Clairvoyance
The Nimbus of True Seeing
2 emerald eyes fixed into a mithril rendering of the Iron Lich's head
A magically-preserved painting of a beautiful woman sitting outside a church
You can see details on the Scroll, Circlet, and Nimbus in the addendum images above.
[Hanrar}
ReplyDeleteAs the mage sees the trove of magical and mundane a slow smirk crosses his face. He lets out a heavy sigh he wasn't aware he had been holding, his hands trembling slightly as he walks towards the secret cache. "Good favor smiles upon us this day..." He lets out a dry chuckle, shaking his head as his nerves slowly wind down. "And perhaps not just a little good luck as well."
OOC: WOOT I seriously thought I'd be dead here, instead we got some sweet loot. Who wants what? The only thing I'd probably use is the Nimbus, maybe the scroll to find the phylactery. That painting is rather specific, can we do a check on that?
Tech: History, Arcana, Religion +19
[Vesten]
ReplyDeleteVesten notices that the plaster here is well preserved. The eyes are painted on.
OOC: Sorry, your comments keep getting eaten into the spam filter and I didn't see it. I have tweaked a little to see if I can get it to work for you.
[Hanrar]
ReplyDeleteHanrar does not recognize the woman in the painting.
[Vesten]
ReplyDelete"Well done, Hanrar!" quips Vesten as he slaps Hanrar on the back.
Vesten inspects the castle in the background of the painting to see if anything looks familiar or unusual.
Tech: History +6, Dungeoneering +10
[Vesten]
ReplyDeleteAlas, you too do not recognize the images in the portrait, or the woman in the foreground.
[Hanrar]
ReplyDeleteGathering up the unexpected but very useful treasures, the mage offers them to his companions. "I would like to use the scroll to see if we can discern the location of the liches phylactery." He ponders the painting for a moment, then offers it to the rest of the group. "My studies have not offered any information on this woman, perhaps we should use the circlet or nimbus to glean some additional information? Beyond that, I think we should return to the main hallway, those iron doors beckon us further..." His face splits into a toothy grin, this most recent windfall bolstering his spirits.
Seeing that the main purpose of this room is seemingly finished, brathu walks in following Hanrar, and exams the mural and this woman...she must be connected somehow to the lich...lost love? Lady he protected?
ReplyDeleteOOC: Wow, 18 posts before I paladin can get a word in! Good job Paul et al for figuring it all out. I knew that skull was meant to go somewhere! History +13.
El-Kal, is cautious entering any room. Before he knows it, TREASURE! He will examine the mural along with Brathu before we head back to the cobblestone path.
ReplyDeleteOOC: history +21, arcana +17 for the room as well. Also, don't count on me for rituals, I don't have the feat as a bladesinger
Brathu and El-Kal
ReplyDeleteBoth of you recognize the woman in the portrait. She was the wife of Khaldun, the man who eventually become the Iron Lich. She passed away before he ascended (or descended?) into lichdom.
[Hanrar]
ReplyDeleteThe mage looks around the oddly shaped room and visibly winces as he makes eye contact with the painted eyes on the plaster walls. “Perhaps we could continue this discussion in a less ‘piercing’ room…” He grumbles, packing their hard earned treasures into his pack for later use, leading the way back to the cobbled path. He quickly ascends the rope and climbs to his feet onto the dusty stones, brushing himself off before setting to work, kneeling down and pulling out their new loot, setting each item gently aside before retrieving the sack and pole that he had lent Tak-Tha.
As he moves the sack aside, he sees the flask he had also handed the thrikeen and he smiles softly, taking the round metal bottle and uncorking it, swallowing a small portion of the throat-burning liquid within before returning to his task. He loads the sack with most of the contents of his ‘adventurer’s kit’, testing the weight and continues to add his own superfluous goods until the weight feels close to twenty or thirty pounds. He then fashions the sack onto the end of the pole, looking very much like an oversized ‘bindle’.
OOC: Do I need to make a craft check on this or can we assume a hero knows how to make a trap-door tripper?
[Yursil]
ReplyDeleteYursil starts awake, startled by the sound of grinding.
"Sorry, did I miss something?" he says, sound a bit irritated.
"Ah, good find." he says, as he begins to sweep the area for magical auras.
OOC: Arcana +15, Perception +13
Yursil does detect the aura of some kind of magical trap on the eyes, which has yet to be triggered.
ReplyDeleteThe adventure continues back in the Cobblestone Path