Bel's Age of Worms [IC]

[redzimmer]

Seramal

Too late to save Fardus, Seramal is quick to prevent the magically enlarged Casper suffering the same fate.

"Rose honey, I hope that ring holds up!"

With no further explanation, she casts benign transposition, trading Rose and Casper's places.

[PeacefulOak]

Fardus the Dwarf

With a tremendous crash, the portly dwarf lands square on the skeleton that once rested in peace beneath the lantern.... and which now rests in pieces, scattered around the alcove and out into the main room. All the breath leaves the dwarf in a mighty HUFF, his beard and mustache puffing out around his lips with the force of the exhalation.

For moments after, the harsh scream of the wind is undercut by the ragged wheezing of the winded dwarf as Fardus struggles to reclaim his breath. "Heee... Whooo... Tha...." he pauses, coughing fiercely and nearly losing his breakfast. "That was quite unexpected. I don't suppose there is any use to stealth, at this point?"

[rax]

Narl

That's going to hurt! Narl grimaces as Fardus falls past him. Or not. Lucky devil, that dwarf, he muses with clinical detachment. Now to get down without doing a Seramal... Gripping the rope tightly, he resumes climbing down.

Climb check: (1d20+1)[11]

[J-H]

Casper

A spell washes over Casper, and suddenly he is back on the floor, no longer staring into the teeth of a gale. He looks around in momentary disorientation.

[Deophaun]

Rose

Rose hears Seramal say her name before casting a spell. "Oh n..." Rose doesn't even have time to finish before she is plucked from the calm of the lantern room floor and place before the mouth of the gale. Caught completely unprepared, the wind knocks her off her feet and sends her flying down the hallway.

[BelGareth]

Rose gets blasted back yet again, smashing into the wall and floor (or was it the ceiling?) several times.

Spoiler

Show

You may act, but can only move backwards, and you are prone.

You got blown back another 20ft, and took 3 non-lethal damage.

Map

[redzimmer]

Seramal

The half-orc winces at each windblown thud she hears. Her spirits lift immediately when she see the dwarf was not quite dead.

[Deophaun]

Rose

Battered, bruised, and having loosed all her curses, Rose picks herself up and allows herself to be pushed to the edge of the corridor before mercifully floating to safety below.

[DrK]

Cyrius

Cyrius jumps back as people start falling from the ceiling. "By the Gods. What's happening? Does anyone need healing?" He looks aghast as the winds continually to blow staff out of the tunnel.
Looking back at the lanterns he runs across to the nearest one and takes it off the hook.

[BelGareth]

Rose runs with the wind howling at her back, and literally flies through the entrance of the hallway, losing her speed, she plummets down to the rest of the party, but the magic of her ring kicks in, and she floats down as gently as a summers breeze.

[PeacefulOak]

Fardus the Dwarf

Staggering to his feet, Fardus looks down on the shattered skeleton with regret just long enough for Rose to drift into his vision. Ever the gentleman, he reaches out and guides her to a steady landing before pulling out a wand and tapping both the rogue and himself. Healing effected, he turns back to the group.

”Well now that was quite the occurrence now, wasn’t it? I wonder how long that will last. In the meantime, I am quite curious about that casket in the middle there. Have you taken a good look at it?”

[Deophaun]

Rose

"Abyss take it!" Rose punches the stone wall with her bare hand. Fardus's magic heals the torn skin on her knuckles almost instantly. "A damned plate. I should have seen it."

"That casket let out a gout of fire this morning. Aside from being the controlling mechanism of this room, it would likely function as a ward against unsuspecting tomb robbers. If you wish to open it, I suggest doing so at the furthest distance."

[PeacefulOak]

Fardus the Dwarf

Grunting a laugh as the healing straightens his back and ribs, Fardus shakes his head. "I most certainly think not! That is no skill of mine. I simply ask because it seems certain to contain something.... and I'd hate to leave a stone unturned."

[rax]

Narl

Finally reaching the bottom of the rope, Narl lets go and lands lightly on his feet. Overhearing Fardus, he interjects: "Well, we know it contains the power to shoot flames. It may be a trap, or it may be coincidence, but unless someone around here has enough skill or magic to work out what's what, opening it does seem like an unnecessary risk."

Nodding to Rose, he continues: "Glad to see you made it in one piece...or mostly so. Do you think we could bypass or block the trigger if we go up there again?"

[PeacefulOak]

Fardus the Dwarf

Looking around, Fardus brushes a finger against the shriveled hand he wears as an amulet, and a ghostly force brushes the dust from Narl's shoulders. "Well, I'm sure we can get around to it.
I feel we must explore every inch of this space with care, so that we can be sure that we have discovered... your employers intent?" His voice trails off a bit at the end as he becomes lost in thought.

[Deophaun]

Rose

"It's a plate. We should be able to step over it. If not, we can bring up something heavy to trigger it again and keep it depressed. I just should have seen it. Someone could have..."

"Fardus is right, and I suppose that coffin should be examined safely before Seramal gets any ideas." Rose goes over to the sarcophagus and examines the lid. "Not an easy thing to attach a rope to, but..." she takes out her daggers and gauntlet that were definitely not turned into a rapier for an underwater adventure that did not happen "...if I make a bracket to fit over these two corners..."

Spoiler

Show

Take 20 on a Wisdom Check to turn the shapesand into a solid bar with receptacles to fit snugly over the corners of one end of the sarcophagus.

"Tie a rope to that, and stand back..." remembering the distance the flame shot out, Rose paces the distance "...at least this far, and pull."

[redzimmer]

Seramal

Idea? What could I possibly want to do with a stone barbecue pit? I don't even eat humanoids.

Happy that the dwarf wasn't quite dead, she munches on a piece of dried lakefish.

[PeacefulOak]

Fardus the Dwarf

Fardus steps up behind Rose, grasps the rope, and aids in the pulling.

[rax]

Narl

Narl chuckles when Fardus mentions his employer's intent. "My employer's intent was that Casper and I should find Mistress Rose and her friends and find out if they were alright. They were, and possibly he also wants us to make sure that they stay that way."

"As for exploring every inch of this tomb... Well, I'm a curious cat, but also a cat that wants to keep its head on its shoulders. And the odds of doing that decrease with every nook and cranny we poke into. So if you'll excuse me, I'll keep yourself and Mistress Rose between myself and that fire-breathing contraption there." With that, Narl takes up the end of the rope, ready to assist in pulling, but keeping as far behind Rose and Fardus as the length of the rope allows.

[BelGareth]

Between a few of you, you managed to muster enough strength to pull off the lid to the sarcophagi, it erupts in flame, but, thankfully, you are not close enough.

Being careful, and checking everything, you peek inside to find nothing.

As you do so, the wind in the tunnel ratchets it up a notch, and it howls down the tunnel, and into your chamber. A soft moan begins to whisper through the cairn, and you suddenly realize it's namesake.

[J-H]

Casper

"If this place is known for that kind of sound, then there must be some other way to set it off... how strange."

[PeacefulOak]

Fardus the Dwarf

Even expecting it, the burst of flames had thoroughly startled the dwarf. Somewhat disappointed now that nothing was found, he walks the circumference of the room, examining the lanterns. ”Such a curious layout, this room. Each lantern different, each lantern hung... well now, perhaps there is something of ceremony to this! Perhaps they must be lit, one at time, in reverence to whomever it is whose final rest we just disturbed.”

[redzimmer]

Seramal

"Well I gotta confess I'm lost. If there's nothing left to loot, why don't we head out, sell this stuff, and hitch a barge to Luskan?"

Allustan was nice and all, but she'd seen three people die or disappear so far, and more importantly, she was eager for a pot of dwarf ale. Let him explore this dusty midden himself.

[PeacefulOak]

Fardus the Dwarf

Fardus blinks and pulls off his glasses and looking around again. ”Oh, curse these dim eyes of mine. I see we already lit the lanterns. In that case, what say we revisit the room with the strange egg you mentioned earlier? I do think it would be worth a look.”

[Deophaun]

Rose

From the sound of it, Rose doesn't think the wind will be dying down any time soon. "Maybe we need to feed the egg to the mouth or something. If nothing else, I bet the pedastal it sits on would make a good weight."

Rose goes to the sandformed bracket and returns it to her favored set of weapons, then ties the rope back around the body of the sarcophagus. "We need to turn this to bring the tube back up."

[BelGareth]

As the howling wind continues to blow, you all go back to the room that held the strange obsidian looking egg...

The ceiling of this large chamber glows with what looks like natural sunlight, illuminating a series of worktables, vises, spinning wheels, and blocks of unfinished marble. A huge unfinished statue of an imposing bare-chested warrior wielding a staff like rod in its left hand dominates the north wall. The hairless figure looks similar to the bas-relief on the sarcophagus upstairs, but is clearly meant to be a different person. A short red metal pedestal against the south wall displays what appears to be a jet-black stone egg the size of a small boulder. A gold glyph - an equilateral triangle with the short hash marks through each leg - marks the face of the egg.

Spoiler

Show

I believe the staff was removed by someone.

Spellcraft DC 23 to ID the ceiling has a permanent Daylight spell.
Knowledge the planes DC 15 to identify the symbol on the egg as the personal symbol of Ogremoch, a legendary elemental prince of evil.
Knowledge the planes DC 20 finds the above, and: Ogremoch and a legion of lesser earth elementals were said to have served on the side of the Queen of Chaos at the great final battle at Pesh that ended a primordial war between Law and Chaos.

[redzimmer]

Seramal

"Well first to grab it gets the first share when we sell it!"

Seramal, emboldened by somehow still not being dead, reaches out with both hands to grab the egg.

Spoiler: Avenge my death!

Show

(1d20+2)[9] Fort
(1d20+2)[4] Ref
(1d20+6)[11] Will

I will all my jewels to Fardus and my wands to Rose.

Spellcraft (1d20+2)[20]

[Deophaun]

Rose

Seeing Seramal charge in, Rose yells "Stop! Are you touched? You've been tossing out summons all day and NOW you're just going to grab something surrounded by magic? Get out of the room and use the wand for that."

[PeacefulOak]

Fardus the Dwarf

As they pass through the hallways Fardus becomes visibly excited, dashing here and there to examine the various walls and portraits that lead to their destination. When they reach the room he rushes in, exclaiming: ”Boccobs blessed book look at this room! Look at this magnificent statue! Is this where the staff was? Incredible! And the light here! I’m certain it’s magical, I just can’t see...” He moves towards the egg. “And this! What a unique thing! This mark, I think it’s the symbol of Ogremoch, a legendary elemental prince! Oh, the stories this must have seen...”. He gently traces the symbol with his fingertip, fascinated with the history of the item.

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Can I roll appraise or search to see if I find anything about it?

[redzimmer]

Seramal

Spoiler: Listen

Show

(1d20+1)[12] Wassat?

She thinks she hears Rose shout something? Probably wanting at turn at the egg.

"Don't worry hon! I'll save you some!"

And she reaches for the egg before the dwarf beats her to it...