The Land of the Endless Sky [IC]

[Townopolis]

"I didn't-" Rummy begins to protest, but then he corrects himself "-well, I suppose figuratively speaking." And then he is silent a while as he dusts himself off and ruminates on what just happened.

When Tor suggests he be left behind, Rummy says "Yes, actually, I think I left my own pack up there. I'd be happy to fetch it and help fetch Gregor's." He thinks another moment, nods, and turns to head up the slope. Before he leaves though, he does take the proffered crossbow and case of bolts and secure them on his belt.

[Edge]

"Well fought Amrin and Tor," Dejen beams, clapping a hand on the shifter's shoulder. "I'll admit, I'm loathe to leave anyone behind on their own. Who knows what lies beyond that door? There could be all sorts of creatures lurking in there, and the lay of the land might make it all too easy for them to slip by us and come upon anyone left behind completely unawares."

The paladin scratches his chin briefly in thought.

"If we're going to investigate further, I vote we all stick together. After making sure Rummy and Gregor aren't carrying more than they can handle, that is."

[Townopolis]

Rummy is gone for a few minutes, then Gregor's pack is sent sliding down the slope to land at his feet. Afterward, Rummy can be heard trotting back toward the collapsed entrance.

[Lappy9001]

Rummy finds that the entrance could be excavated, however it would take a long time and could be dangerous with the storm still well under way. He slides back down the tunnel and begins to examine the door as Gregor expresses his thanks. The gnome wizard utilizes a ten-minute ritual to sense magic upon the doors but detects none. It seems the door's function was hidden by the way the stone blocks fit together.

Beyond the door is a small landing that goes on for a few feet before descending into stairs of worked stone never more than 10 ft. below the arched ceiling. It is eerily quiet within the tunnel, each footstep echoing in the scant light from Dejen's torch. Eventually, you see a dim red glow in the distance.

Ambience

The stairs end before a stone arch which leads into a landing in a large room. You appear to be on the second floor of some sort of temple. An ornate iron handrail extends from between two large stone pillars away from the stairway entrance. On either side of the pillars is a curving iron staircase leading to the floor below. Red orbs with fire inside are positioned into the pillars and light the chamber, their light dancing off a pool of water on the first floor. Across from the pool is a massive set of double doors that mirror the ones you used to enter this place, but are twice as large and are behind a shimmering curtain of light. Four small holes are beside the door, two on each side.

The landing curves around the pillars as the iron rail follows. The walls of worked stone are covered in murals whose paint is chipping with age, as well as two stone doors on either end, each of which has a singular Dwarvish rune for one of the four elements.

"By the stars," an awestruck Gregor speaks quietly, "I think we have stumbled on a temple of the ancient Elemental Cults!"

[Townopolis]

When Rummy returns from the cave entrance, he slides down the slope with his pack on and promptly topples over at the end. It takes Gregor pulling the pack off for the gnome to get up after that, and it is decided by silent agreement that the knight will carry the pack so that the gnome can avoid further mishap.

Once he's dusted himself off (again) the rest of the group may notice that Rummy is looking a little less cheerful and a little more shy than he he has been so far on their whole journey. And his voice is small when he asks "So, uh, what is the plan?" And he listens quietly as a plan is laid out by whomever lays out the plan. He casts his ritual upon request and relays the non-magical nature of the door to the party.

He then takes up a position toward the middle or rear of the party to advance further. Actually, when the party begins to advance, he hesitates a moment, then readies and loads his borrowed crossbow, then hesitates again before speaking.

"A̡͉n̼o̸o̵̭̯͚̮r͠um̕ ̡̞͇̳͍e̳͇̝̟͘ḽ̬̹e̟̘͖̩̤ͅe̴̳͍̮̥̥̘ͅl͖͓ ̺̜̺͔̦f͔̤͇̪͟ȩ̫̗̝̪͍̺r̖̮̗̜͍̜̮͡o̜̪ ̶̱̦͓̞ͅf͢e̯̺̱̳̳̣r͟o̬"


As he speaks, he dips a hand into a pouch at his side to retrieve a bundle of something that glows ever so softly. This he draws along the length of the loaded crossbow bolt. When he is done. The bolt glows brightly, like a torch. Thus armed and illuminated, Rummy hustles to catch up to his place and proceed in the party's rear rank.

The temple landing, when the party arrives, sends Rummy's mood upon another vicissitude. He perks right up and scampers to the fore. "Oh now this is interesting! Let me get my notes!" And he turns to Gregor, who has his pack. He begins to set his crossbow down, looks for somewhere good to set it, looks directly at the crossbow, and finally looks back up and turns toward the temple. "Hmm, there are probably more of those shadow creatures, aren't there? I should... hold on to this."

So he doesn't put down his crossbow.

[Lank]

Tor looks down into the temple with a look of mixed awe and disgust. "Cult eh, wicked things come from this insanity". Tor looks at the others. "Have look?"

[SilverStrike]

"This is incredible! I've never seen anything like it. If only Ostifer was here, right Rummy? He'd know what's going on."

Amrin will step cautiously into the room, looking for traps or anything else dangerous. She keeps her crossbow ready, but she can't resist going and examining the murals on the walls, the fiery orbs, the door, and the pool. So much excitement!

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Perception:
(1d20+2)[21]
Investigation:
(1d20+3)[12]
Religion:
(1d20+1)[18]

[Edge]

Upon Rummy's return, Dejen offers to carry some of the gnome and Gregor's loads, and quickly takes on what they're willing to part with (if anything). Once the group departs, he takes rearguard position, just behind Gregor, so the two humans can enjoy the illumination of the paladin's torch without spoiling the night vision of the others too much.

When the group discovers the edifice and Gregor shares his suspicion, Dejen can only curse. "Akachi's breath..." he breathes, his head suddenly darting around as he looks for danger.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Perception: (1d20+2)[22]
Could roll Religion to examine the murals, but Dejen's mind isn't exactly focusing on them at the moment.

[Townopolis]

"He sure would" murmured Rummy, as the shimmering door, mural, and glowing globes inexorably drew his attention once more.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Artificer's Lore (door) - (1d20+7)[15] Does Rummy know anything about shimmering walls of light? It seems like it'll be de/activated by placing keys in those four sockets, but does Rummy know anything that could confirm that?

Artificer's Lore (orbs) - (1d20+7)[11] Anything interesting about the orbs, or are they just garden variety Continual Flame items?

[Lappy9001]

Amrin notices no traps within the chamber, in fact, it looks like it was once used frequently although the large quantities of dust suggests this was a long time ago. The wall murals depict various scenes, each with a humanoid figure that appears to be made of on one of the four elements. One shows the earth figure creating mountains around a town, another depicts the water figure parting a sea and holding back a massive wave, and one on a smaller scale shows the fire figure handing a flame to several smaller humanoids.

The orbs are embedded into the pillars diagonally, spiraling up the side of the stone structures and appear to be made of some type crystal, rather than glass. Rummy guesses that they are filled with continual flame since they emit no heat.

Still atop the landing, Dejen plays the sentinel, eyes watchfully surveying the room although he notices no apparent danger.

Going down the stairs, Amrin examines the pool which is built into the floor and is only ankle deep. Several coins of copper and silver (different from the ones found nowadays) are sitting at the bottom of the pool and four ornate silver dishes float on the water with the sweet smell of incense still barely detectable.

Rummy proceeds to the door along with Amrin, while it is a bit of an enigma, the curtain of light is solid and impassable but likely vanishes once something fills the holes to the side.

On the first floor are benches of stone positioned in two columns, three rows down beneath the landing where you entered, with a small door like the ones above on either side of the wall, although these doors are unmarked.

Amrin knows a few things about the elemental cults; they were a Neutral religion that revered the four Elemental Lords of Fire, Air, Water, and Earth. The cult was powerful two hundred years ago but their divine magic suddenly just ceased. In fact, elementals in general have been seen less frequently since.

[SilverStrike]

"This room seems safe enough," Amrin calls out to the others, "but we absolutely have to keep exploring! Who knows what we might discover? This temple might even hold the key as to why the elemental cults disappeared!"

Amrin heads over to the small unmarked door.

"Who's with me?"

[Lank]

"You poke around ruins with no understanding of danger. I come along, only to keep you from hurting yourself". Tor moves in and stands on guard in the center of the ruin. She expects to see more shadow creatures so she steels herself to remain vigilant.

[Townopolis]

Rummy nods in agreement with Amrin, but he also tilts his head side-to-side in "more-or-less" agreement with Tor. "Perhaps we should try to discover a means of egress first?" he says.

"And double-check our rations to ensure we'll be capable of making Illium, and if we can get Gregor there. And, when we get to Illium, we can acquire supplies for a thorough study of the ruins." A moment's thought and a nod later, he concludes "We should find a way out, stock up, and return.

Even saying all that, he follows Amrin towards one of the unmarked doors in the back of the first floor.

[Lappy9001]

On the first floor are three doors, the double doors behind the light curtain to the west, two unmarked doors to the north and south. On the top floor, two rune-marked doors are to the north and two others are to the south. The tunnel in which you entered is to the east.

Amrin opens the unmarked stone door to the south, backed by the rest of the party and Gregor. The stone door sticks for a brief moment but after is easily pushed inwards with a quiet grinding sound. The chamber you enter is unlit but contains ample space for you all to enter. Dejen's torch shines brightly into the room that has for so long been left to darkness.

The first sensation you experience is a acrid, spicy odor, emanating from dessicated leafy vines hanging from wooden racks near the ceiling. Below these hangings are large wooden bookshelves completely filled with large tomes, some of which are almost a foot thick. A large tattered rug with geometric designs and faded colors covers a majority of the stone tiled floor. Iron scones in walls bear only the ashy remains of ancient torches.

Across from the door you entered is a table nestled between bookshelves and below a tapestry which is cluttered with objects. Another similar door likewise rests between bookshelves on the western wall.

[Townopolis]

Rummy gasps in sudden delight, then immediately turns toward Dejen and raises a hand to halt the paladin's advance. "Careful; that's all stuff that could go up in flames on a whim. Best leave the fire outside."

He then hefts his crossbow, still loaded with a glowing light-bolt and turns forward. "This light will have to do, or I could move it to... your sword?" he trails off a bit at the end, as he looks in wonderment at the ancient library.

[SilverStrike]

On the lookout for any nasty surprises, Amrin steps into the room slowly, trying to hold back her excitement enough that she doesn't do anything foolish. She takes a closer look at the books, trying to see what language they're written in. She will also rummage through the objects on the table and examine the tapestry above it.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Perception
(1d20+2)[19]
Intelligence (knowledge?)
(1d20+1)[9]

[Lank]

"Burning books wouldn't be too bad if they prove to be evil cult scripts" Tor chimes in. She then moves forward and begins poking at the stacks with the handle of her axe in an attempt to see if they are hiding anything and not getting bitten by a lurking spider in the process.

[Lappy9001]

The tapestry above the table is made up of geometric designs spiraling outwards from the center to the edges in a repeating pattern of seven colors: white, grey, red, purple, yellow, green, and blue. The top and bottom edges of the tapestry are covered in alternating rectangles of black, brown, and orange. Thousands of tiny pins are embedded within the shapes moving outwards from the center but stop far before reaching the edge. Slightly larger pens are positioned into the rectangles on top from right to left, numbering well over a thousand, and a few hundred identical pins are pressed into the bottom patterns left to right.

In the center of the desk is a dagger with a tiny red gem set in its pommel sticking out of a leather sheath, an empty silver inkwell, and scattered stacks of blank parchment that look like they might crumble if disturbed. To the left side are two ornately carved wooden pots, slightly larger than a human fist which contain metal pins, one large and the other small. Across from the pots is a copper chalice stained red from a drink long since evaporated, and three carved statuettes of bone. The statuettes depict faceless humanoids, one holding the sun above its head, the other holding the moon over its chest, and the other two whose hands are interlocked with one holding a candle and the other holding a fan.

Moving away from the desk, Amrin gingerly pulls one of the large tomes off the bookshelf. A small cloud of dust is released as the book is opened revealing a blank page. Flipping through the book further shows that every single page is completely blank...

[Townopolis]

Rummy slowly enters the library, holding his crossbow more like a lamp than a weapon as he turns its illumination toward one bookshelf and then the other. He spares a look for the items on the desk, and his brow furrows in thought at the enormously elaborate tapestry. When Amrin moves to open one of the books, he sucks in a breath and comes over to take a look.

"Huh. That's weird" he says when he sees that the pages are blank. He gives the shelf a scrutinizing look, and holds his crossbow to shed some better light on them. First, he looks to see if the dust is thicker on some or less even on others. If Tor is disturbing this particular shelf, Rummy will give up on it and move to another to determine this.

When his dust-density analysis is complete, the gnome shifts his grip on the crossbow to free one hand and makes a series of minute hand gestures while speaking in a hushed drone.

"Ś͚͕̖̱c̼̭̲̠͜i̺o̝̖͔͠ͅ ̖̕Sc̳̮̺i̴̪̰͖̰̠̦o̖̬̗ ͅE̮͉n̼̩͈̥̻k̠̞̫͍a͍ts̸̥̹̰u̵"


When he finishes, all the dust is sloughed off the spines of one or two books, and Rummy inspects it for signs of use.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Rummy is trying to find out which, if any, of these books have been handled a lot. His initial theory is that, if the more-handled books are blank, the ink they used has faded over time or due to circumstances. On the other hand, if some/all of the books show minimal signs of handling, that would indicate that the books were never inscribed in the first place.
Investigation - (1d20+5)[19]

[SilverStrike]

Amrin assists Rummy in his inspection of the books, taking a closer look at a larger number of them.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Investigation:
(1d20+3)[10]

[Lappy9001]

Looking closer at the books, Rummy along with Amrin's assistance find that almost every book has been handled to some degree, with most of them being very rough with continual use. However, every book you investigate is completely blank, even the ones that have dog-eared pages.

Spoiler: Intelligence (History) DC 12

Show

There is a long standing myth that the world is less than 500 years old. According to lore, there are artifacts from this time before like books with blank pages and old elves and dwarves who have no memory if their lives before this time.

Gregor surveys the books in awe as Amrin and Rummy work."Blank pages...I wonder how old this temple is. I have never seen artifacts from before time, if that is what these are..."

[Townopolis]

"Seems likely," says Rummy with a nod, "we'll call that the first thesis." Then he heaves a little sigh sweeps his gaze quickly about the room and says "I'd rather not move anything more, unless we must, but let's see where that door leads." He indicates the door in the study's western wall and trundles that way with his light crossbow.

He stops short before the door and leans forward as if to listen for movement on the other side, only he's about a foot away.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

perception - (1d20+1)[6]
dis/advantage - (1d20+1)[5]
Figure disadvantage might be relevant, since he's doing "listening at the door" wrong.

[SilverStrike]

"Yes, let's make sure the place is secure. We can always come back for research."

Amrin steps forward and actually listens at the door, her crossbow ready.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Perception
(1d20+2)[9]

[Lappy9001]

Neither Amrin or Rummy hear any noise at the other side of the door.

[Lank]

Tor picks up the dagger and inspects it. She shrugs and decides to keep it for herself. "Not much here, try the other doors?" she asks coldly.

[Townopolis]

Rummy blushes, just a little, when he sees Amrin check the door properly. He covers by double-checking that his bolt is nested properly and performing another cursory visual sweep of the room. In response to Tor's suggestion, and when Amrin doesn't indicate that there's anything on the other side, Rummy nods and says "Okay," and trots forth to open the library's inner door. He reaches up to pull on the handle and get the door ajar, then grabs the door itself and walks it back and out of the way.

[Edge]

As the others in the group examine the room and the books, Dejen cannot help but have his attention drawn to the dagger in the center of the desk. The paladin stares at it for a few moments, then extinguishes his torch when Rummy's comment about igniting the library shakes him from his reverie.

"Of course. And this is why I used to leave a lot of thinking to those wiser than me," he grins. "Moving your magical light to my blade sounds like a good plan."

Once Rummy does or doesn't acquiesce to illuminating Dejen's sword, the paladin returns to examining the dagger, looking over the sheath, blade and hilt for any symbols or markings of note. His examination complete, he notices Amrin and Tor in position around the door as Rummy begins to open it. Shaking his head and castigating himself for his inattentiveness, the paladin darts to the side of the door, drawing his greatsword, and peers in to the room beyond.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

A few rolls to examine the dagger.
Investigation: (1d20)[7]
History: (1d20)[18]
Religion: (1d20+2)[15]

And to examine the room beyond the door:
Perception: (1d20)[7]

[Lappy9001]

Spoiler: Dejen

Show

Dejen notes that this dagger appears to be silvered and has likely been used, rather unfittingly, as a mere desk tool. He does not recall the elemental cults using silvered tools before, so either it is a coincidence, or maybe the temle has been plagued with the shadow creatures on the past. If the latter, it is likely there are more somewhere in the temple...

The smell of dried herbs intensifies two-fold as soon as the door is opened. Inside is a closet and small alchemy room, with mortars, pestles, and other medicinal tools dotting the shelves on each side of the room. Alongside the tools are jars of preserved herbs and once live plants, lying dried out in pots.

In between the shelves is an alchemy stand with several corked bottles atop and a crate below.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

The materials in here are sufficient to fill a spell component pouch or create new ones.

[Townopolis]

"Apologies, but what?" says Rummy when he realizes he's opened the door to a small alchemy lab, and he promptly sets his crossbow down to go in and take a closer look (we will say that, some time before opening the door, he moved his light spell to Dejen's sword). First, he just looks at everything on the shelves, carefully not touching anything. Anything he doesn't recognize will then be picked up and examined from a few angles to see if he can figure out what it is.

"Perhaps everyone should keep a step or two back. These had best not be disturbed. Oh, I mean, not for your protection. It's just the breeze of your movements may destroy something valuable" he says to nobody in-particular and without waiting for any responses.

After checking the tools, he rubs his hands together and launches into an investigation of the reagents in jars. The once-live plants are fairly quickly passed over on the assumption that they have lost their potency--unless, of course, Rummy spots something he knows is useful when dried. The jars of preserved herbs, if they are the type meant to be dried, may be unstoppered and given an olfactory examination. Being a trained alchemist, Rummy is sure to gently waft the aroma towards him rather than shoving his schnozz in a jar and inhaling. That is all fairly quick, however, and he mentions "Most of these will have lost their potency, of course, but I wonder... what is that? Hmmm, and what's this here?"

Once he's identified or given up on the last reagent, he turns to the potions. A frown forms on his face, and he turns around to address the party. "Perhaps a few steps back and around a corner. Who knows. Maybe close the door--but I'll need the light." How to approach that conflict of needs isn't something he speaks further on.

Instead, he begins investigating the potions. "Presently, then, what did you leave behind?" he murmurs to himself. Each potion will be visually examined and, if he thinks it is safe and won't damage the bottles, swirled or otherwise agitated to check for reactions. He will check colors, apparent viscosity, and any reactions against any reagents he is able to identify as on-hand and the formulae he knows. As necessary, he will then unstopper the potions and waft their odors his way to see if that brings any light to their purpose. He will refrain from actually sampling any of the potions at this time.

All of this immediately and thoroughly absorbs Rummy's attention. He is more-or-less lost to the world while he geeks out.

Spoiler: Rolls

Show

Artificer's Lore - (1d20+7)[19]
Intelligence Medicine - (1d20+5)[10]
Arcana - (1d20+5)[16]
Investigation - (1d20+5)[6]
Nature - (1d20+3)[6]
For any rolls that are wisdom-based, subtract 2.

[Lank]

Tor smirks at Rummy. His fascination with dusty bottles and jars amused her. "Maybe we should leave you alone with bottles" she says laughing. Tor remains in the room keeping a watchful eye over the group.