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| Among the sarcophagi, a lone gargoyle statue stands guard. |
In the far northeast corner of the tier, you spy a 10-foot diameter face hewn from brilliant ruby. This woman's face is not of the succubus you just destroyed, and you think you see similarities to the goddess you freed, Kishar. But the face is not Kishar's face. Casting Detect Magic, you sense teleportation about it.
Nearby, the golden sarcophagus is open and empty.
Descending into the pit with ropes, you save So-tin from almost certain doom. While down there, you find a pull chain embedded in the wall in the shape of a minotaur. The chain has not yet been pulled.You inspect the pull chain, and while you do not know it's purpose, you feel certain that it is not trapped.
Meanwhile, exploring through the now open north double doors, you find a charnel chamber containing eight decrepit sarcophagi (closed with heavy lids). There are more skeletons here, the ones that couldn't get through your chains, and you annihilate with extreme prejudice.
Atop each sarcophagus lid is a series of symbols. Each one is slightly different. The eight lids are displayed below:
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2. Moon, Star, Sun, Hand / Pyramid, Crown, Tome, Trident 3. Star, Hand, Sun, Moon / Crown, Tome, Trident, Pyramid 4. Hand, Sun, Moon, Star / Tome, Trident, Pyramid, Crown 5. Moon, Star, Hand, Sun / Tome, Pyramid, Crown, Trident 6. Star, Hand, Sun, Moon / Crown, Tome, Trident, Pyramid 7. Star, Moon, Hand, Sun / Crown, Pyramid, Trident, Tome 8. Hand, Sun, Moon, Star / Tome, Trident, Pyramid, Crown |
Addendum Imagery:
[Gardain]
ReplyDeleteHis breath coming in great heaving gulps, the dwarf shakes away the wisps of ghostly remains from his axe as the handmaidens flee from the divine radiance of his strikes and the crushing defeat of their mistress. Slinging the heavy blade across his back, he rounds on the Moonshot bard, wagging a finger at her.
“Y’Jus had tae go an’ start yer shoutin’, callin’ out all manner o’foul beasties down about our heeds.” He grumbles as he unwinds a spool of rope from his pack, tying it around one of the withered trees that huddle near the pits’ edge. “Daft fool bard, hootin’ and hollerin’ as though y’ve got a single shred of brains in tha’ big pretty heed atop yer shoulders.” Making a sour face, he tugs the rope, checking the strength of the tree it is tied to.
Satisfied that he won’t fall to his doom, the dwarf rappels down the sheer pit’s wall, landing with a clanking thud at the floor of the pit. He kneels beside So-Tin, wincing at the broken, unconscious man before him. Reaching into a pouch on his belt, he takes out a wide-based vial and a cloth, unstoppering the flask and pouring some of the tonic onto the cloth before applying it to the gensai’s wounds. The spellsword’s wounds begin to close and his bones knit quickly as the potion takes effect.
Turning towards the bull-headed pull chain, he reaches out, his fingers almost brushing the coppery pull-ring, then he pauses and steps back, shaking his head. “Nae, mare-likely than no a bad idea, tha’…” He turns back to So-Tin and hefts the taller man onto his shoulders with relative ease, tying the end of his rope about his waist to hold his passenger secure as he climbs back towards the mouth of the pit.
Tech: Use a Potion of Healing on So-Tin, he regains 10 hp, return to the top.
OOC: What is everyone else doing? The skeletons came out of a second door, right?
Due to Gardain's potion of healing, So-tin is now at 10 hp and 8 surges.
Delete[Sciora]
ReplyDeleteAt the edge of the pit, Sciora rolls her eyes at the dwarf's grumblings. "What, and I suppose you think we should have invited her to tea instead? I did what needed to be done."
Grinning down at the grunting, climbing dwarf, Sciora says "Looks like you forgot something there!" Then, with Gardain and So-tin nearly at the top of the rope, she hops over the ledge, falls past them, and neatly catches the dangling rope underneath them. Nimbly descending to the bottom, she yanks the chain before heading back up the way she came. "Only some kind of idiot would put a trap down here. But then, I guess that's just how your mind works, Feybane."
Once arriving back at the top, Sciora kneels over the sword-mage, her humming and words of encouragement reinvigorating the genasi. Nearly done with her magic, and making sure the dwarf is out of earshot first, she leans in and whispers to So-tin. "I'm sorry we couldn't help you sooner, friend. I would never leave one of us behind if I could help it."
She winks at him. "Probably."
Tech: Use my second Majestic Word on So-Tin once he's brought up to the top. He spends a surge and regains surge+1d6+4 HP and 4 THP.
With the Majestic Word, So-tin is now at 35 hp and 4 thp.
DeleteOOC: any result from pulling the bullchain, Joe?
DeleteOh. I'm guessing the treasures? Sorry.
Delete[Sciora]
ReplyDeleteHer work near the pit done, she moves through the northern doors to explore the secondary chamber. Quickly drawn by the obvious importance of the sarcophagi, she moves towards them and studies the markings on their tops.
After a few silent moments, she smiles. "I've seen this kind of puzzle on my travels. Lucky for you all, no?"
"The top and bottom rows on each sarcophagus always contain the same symbols each. Notably, the top row always shows the symbols in the same left-to-right order, except for coffin numbers two and seven. Meanwhile, the bottom row also always shows the symbols in the same order, except for coffins five and seven. The only sarcophagus where both rules are broken is this one, number seven."
"So," she says, beginning to push the lid off of the sarcophagus, "my guess is this is the one we want. And if not, well we'll all just die I suppose. So no harm done." She grins.
Tech: Open sarcophagus number 7 if possible.
OOC: The top row rule is broken on numbers 2 and 7. The bottom row rule is broken on numbers 5 and 7. Interestingly, the sarcophagi numbers where only one rule is broken (2, 5) add up to 7. Another clue, I guess? Or maybe just an accident.
When sarcophagus #7 is opened, a dread wraith emerges and eyes you all with vileness. Just as you think of attempting to combat it, it intones a power word, nods its head and vanishes!
ReplyDeleteYou see the word of power has had a beneficial effect. It seems to have conjured the pull chain in the mouth of the ruby face. However, the mouth is closed.
In addition, treasures have appeared in the once empty sarcophagus!
OOC: See new addendum imagery for new treasures.
Kallista inspects the face (funnily enough where she was headed before all hell broke loose) and specifically looks at the mouth for some way to open it.
ReplyDeleteTech: Perception +3, Dungeoneering/Thievery +8. Dumb Luck +6.
[Sciora]
DeleteOOC: Missed the part where Sciora pulls the chain in the pit...
Sciora's pulling of the chain opens the mouth of the gemface. The secondary pull chain there is now available to pull.
OOC: Saving you time...
Kallista pulls the second chain, the one they found in the gemface. The nearby pit fills with sludge, and you KNOW this sludge as the bile from the dracolisk pit.
"A DRAIN HAS OPENED IN THE DEATH WYVERN'S CRUCIBLE."
OOC: While you won't be able to complete this adventure, you still may find some key secrets, such as the one above, that you may capitalize on in future runs of the Fane. I WILL be re-running this game in 2013, and will be opening it up to repeat players.
ReplyDelete[Gardain]
ReplyDeleteAs Sciora opens the sarcophagus, Gardain braces himself, his axe at the ready as the wraith flows out, evil glinting in its smoldering eyes. He grits his teeth and charges, then stumbles to a stop as the ghast nods pleasantly and floats away into nothingness. His eyes grow wide as the golden box is then filled with wonders of great power, and a grin splits his gruff face.
“Ah knew it all along, y’daft ninny, Ah cannae believe y’were scared by a helpful spirit.” He clicks his tongue derisively as he slings his axe over his shoulder and begins gathering up his share of the goods. The grotesque pentagram slips over his head and clinks softly against his breastplate and the bottle of whispering voices and swirling mists slips into his pouch. His brow furrows as he notes the serpentine sigil, and he pulls off his glove to touch the odd marking.
With a flash of lightning and the smell of ozone he cries out and stumbles backwards, clutching his face. Blinking away the stars and wafting away the wisps of smoke rising from his beard, he winces as he touches the right half of his face, finding it sore. A glimpse in the polished back of his shield draws a sharp breath from his throat. A curled serpent tattoo has branded itself on his face, covering his right eye, his iris now amber yellow with a slitted pupil, his sclera inky black. Blinking hard, he feels the stinging slowly fade as he rubs his newly marked flesh. A grin spreads under his beard as he turns to his fellows.
“Time runs short, m'friends, shall we be on?” With a renewed sense of purpose, the dwarf heads back to the Ambulatory, heading through the unexplored passage and into the blighted grove beyond…
[Sciora]
DeleteSciora rolls her eyes at Gardain's remark. Then, after the tattoo imprints itself onto him, she takes one look at his surprised face and bursts into laughter. She leans back against the open sarcophagus, her head back, seizing at her sides. Then, struggling to recover her breath and wiping tears of amusement from her face: "That's- that's quite the new look you've- you've got there, Feybane. You look like you forgot to wipe and then scratched your nose!"
Then she follows him from the room with exaggerated marching motions. "Lead on, o shit-faced one!"
Tech: I'll follow. Let's go open the portcullis to the blighted grove!
The adventure continues in the Blighted Grove.
ReplyDelete