The Rod of the Seven Parts - IC

[Cogito]

Although you have of course all heard of each other, know each other, even, it is still quite uncomfortable to suddenly have to work together. Each of you is an outstanding and renowned personality, not to mention rather famous with the children and the opposite gender, and having to share the stage with 4 others of the same calibre... Well, at least you don't have to cope with the usual dunderheads who can't even cover your back.

The University's orders seem simple enough, get to Xen'drik, reach the basecamp of famous explorer Dorius Lyrriman Clebdecher, a gnome Loremaster of distinct status within the Morgrave University's elite, and then to retrieve what the fabulous gnome obviously could not.

The first part you have already mastered, as well as the second, with the help of a guide and a few intimidating gestures to keep of the drow skirmishers.
You are indeed now standing in the midst of what seems to have been a huge giant temple, the overgrowth having been cleared off in large parts, and large armors together with sceletal remains littering the various entrances to the building.
Although the camp consists of a few dozen tents, only 6 poeple come to greet you. 5 rather tired humans, and a single gnome who looks perfectly refreshed, if a bit bored.
"Ah, welcome, welcome," Dorius greets you in a rather pompous manner. "We have been waiting for you, of course. And I must say it is a pleasure to meet the most famous adventures of the civilized world. Now I'm certain that our little expedition here will not be for nothign after all. If you would follow me to my tent, we can discuss matters there," he finishes his introduction with a little bow.

[Wiz]

Alain Cannith

The well-known wizard waves his hand dismissively, "As Beggar Dane says, 'Flattery and a copper piece will get you a cheap ale in the market.'" He glances around at the temple as the gnome escorts the five newcomers to his tent. Once inside he looks at Dorius thoughtfully, "So... what is it that has stalled your expedition to this point, and where are the rest of your people?"

[Sepp]

Horus Kiast

"Answer the second part first. I saw no graves, so either they are somewhere inside the temple, dead, or something has been eating them." Horus says, making a visual sweep of the perimeter for tracks before stepping into the tent.

[BurntOfferings]

Lyle

Always the suspicious sort, Lyle surveys the camp looking for anything that seems out-of-place before following the others into the tent.

Once inside, he crosses his arms and looks down his nose at the obviously incompetent gnome. He waits in silence for Dorius to answer Alain's question.

[Maurkov]

Otho

Otho-Eagle flies down and resumes gnome form. "Nice place," he says, as he follows Dorius. He says over his shoulder, "Vandalin, guard."

[The_Snark]

Angel

The strange warforged follows the others to the tent silently, ducking low to get in; it has to be over a foot taller than any of the others here. She is probably a better word than it; the warforged is shaped more like a statue than the standard model, and the statue that provided the inspiration was apparently a winged female human.

She waits pasively for the gnome to answer the questions, unable to think of anything she might add.

[Cogito]

Dorius remains silent until your inside the by far largest tent. The inside is full of tables, chairs, and strangely enough, carpets. An everburning lantern in the middle of the tent enhances the bit of daylight that manages to pierce both the thick forrest and the wall of the tent.
Dorius gestures towards 6 chairs around the center table, all in the respective sizes to fit the group. A few documetns are sprawled upon the tables surface, all of htem at least partially covered by a half-finished map of what seems to be the temples underground levels.
At last Dorius takes a seat himself.
"Well, you are right with two of your suspicions Horus," the gnome makes a short pause before adding, "I may call you by your given name, may I not?" This is obviously a rather rethorical question at the group as he quickly continues with what you hope might be an explanation.
"Although we managed to dispose of the skeletal guards outside the temple, we didn't suspect any of them to be inside, all the more as our divinations didn't reveal any more creatures," Dorian explains very slowly, savouring every word of his story as though it was the newest drama of Luca Syara. "I suspect deposits of lead might have blocked any detection, but I don't know for sure. The real problem though, he makes a particularly dramatic pause, "is that you are not the first reinforcements we received. There is something extremely powerful down there, and I want to have whatever it guards."

[BurntOfferings]

Lyle

Lyle leans forward ever so slightly.

"After all the time you've spent here, you simply must have at least some inkling of what we'll be facing in there. Come now doctor. No holding back." He smiles. "Help us to help you."

[Wiz]

Alain Cannith

The wizard raises an eyebrow. "Exactly who have you sent down before us, and how experienced were they? It might help us to gague what we're up against." The wizard looks the gnome loremaster in the eye, "Also, you are exploring this temple for some reason... surely you have an idea what it might contain. It is ludicrous for a team of our expertise to have been assembled just because the guardians are so powerful that something good must be in there..

[Sepp]

Horus Kiast


Horus nods, watching the gnome careful. "I agree with Alain, you are holding something back. And that 'something' could get us killed. Which would be regrettable." He says dryly.

[Cogito]

Dorius begins to blink rather rapidly when Alain gazes directly at him, and he averst his eyes after a moment. "They haven't told you, then, have they?" Another dramatic pause.
"If the results of my research are correct, and the almost ever are, there is an artefact down there which was used by the Dal Quor invaders against the ancient giants," Dorius says mainly to Alain.
"But I really do not know what is down there, although I suppose that it can only be undead or golems. The drow haven't been sighted anywhere near here since we killed the first raid party that ambushed us. As for the poor fellows we sent down before you, they were elite Deneith mercenaries, a dozen of them, and they cost us a fortune."

Spoiler

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OOC: I let the civilized world of Eberron remain as low-level as it was built in the first place, so elite would be around 7th level

[Maurkov]

Otho

Otho looks up from the maps to Alain and Lyle. "Your previous employers must have been more forthcoming than mine. So often they have known more than they would say, I had given up even asking."

He thinks for a minute before addressing Dorius, "If no scouts reported and none of your spells penetrated, fine. Tell me about the skeletons. How old would you say they were? Had they been well maintained? Were there other kinds of undead? Anything incorporeal?"

To his companions, "We all understand the value of preparation. It's fortunate we have a famous diviner on our team. I know a few spells that might help: Commune with Nature won't penetrate the structure, but will at least give us a perimeter. If the structure is old enough, Nature may have reasserted Herself, and I'll learn more. I could also send xorn through the ground to probe the defenses. They, with Chain of Eyes, could reveal what so far has remained hidden."

[Cogito]

"As they were all skeletons of giants, and wearing ancient breastplates which were common for the old giant civilization, I'd say they were several millennia old, but in perfect condition. I didn't notice any incorporeal creatures, and I'm only guessing the existence of golem's because they were often used to protect important sites. I'm no expert in the field of divination, but I tried every spell that can be blocked by lead, which is why I suspect the mentioned lead deposits. And I don't expect that the temple's underground chambers show any signs of plant-life."

[BurntOfferings]

Lyle

Smiling down at his gnome companion, Lyle drawls in his Adarian accent, "It's all just a matter of asking... persuasively." His smile and the gleam in his eye as he looks back at Dorius promise dire consequences if any omissions lead to trouble. "But don't worry. I'm good at ferreting out those small details that are sometimes 'overlooked'." His smile widens a bit before he joins Otho in examining the map.

All business now, "Perhaps you could convince some small rodent, easily overlooked, to explore the upper levels?"

Spoiler

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What time of day is it? Will we be camping for one night before going in?

[Cogito]

The gnome remains silent at your comments and looks a bit apprehensive now, determinedly staring down at the map, which shows the surroundings of the temple, the topmost level, which consists of one single hall, which is, of course, not intact anymore, and the way down. Nothing further.

[The_Snark]

Angel

Angel shifts at the mention of golem guardians; she has experience fighting such creatures from time spent in the Mournlands. Unfortuately, as the others discuss how best to obtain information she is lost as to how she can contribute. Knowiing what she faced would likely not do her any real good, but she is aware that it is not the same for others, such as the wizard. And maybe they would require rest. She remains silent, waiting to see what they decide to do.

[Sepp]

Horus Kiast

Horus remains silent as well, frowning in thought as he strokes his chin. Knowing what they are facing is always advantages, but he leaves the questioning to the others, knowing they are just as experienced as he, and therefor far from fools. Besides, if they miss something he can always speak up.

[Maurkov]

Otho silently berates himself for not buying the Scarab of Golem Bane for Vandalin when he saw it offered in the markets of Sharn.

"I think I have enough information to query the animas. Talk amongst yourselves."

Otho finds a patch of bare earth. He removes his shoes, bows to the four directions, and slips into a trance. Ten minutes later, he returns with news.

Spoiler

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If the tent is within 1000' of the farthest parts of the ruin, Otho will cast here. Otherwise, he'll move closer and order Vandalin to defend. He casts Commune with Nature, seeking facts about the ground/terrain around (and under) the ruin, powerful unnatural creatures, and (in case there are Tyranosaurs lurking) the general animal population. Otho gives an unvarnished report, so you can post the results here instead of sending a PM.

[Wiz]

Alain Cannith

The wizard looks thoughtful. "I can send an Arcane Eye in for ten minutes of remote scouting. Alas, I do not have some of the better spells for information gathering in this way."

[Cogito]

At first you sense only the remains of the slain skeletons, as well as the surrounding trees. Then, suddenly, you feel the presence of all kinds of predatory animals and birds. The temple seems to reach far below the earth as the only thing you sense in that direction is blankness, except for single vague presence of something unnatural enough to penetrate the thick walls and ceilings of the temple. It is clearly undead.

[Wiz]

Alain Cannith

After listening to Otho's report, Alain nods, glancing at the map again. "I will go and see what my Arcane Eye can see of this passage down." He steps outside the tent and goes up to the marked entrance of the temple. He sits down, crosslegged and casts his spells.

Spoiler

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I will cast Darkvision, and then Arcane Eye. The eye will move at maximum speed into the main entry hall and to the entrance going down. It will then proceed, scanning. It will last for a total of 10 minutes and with my variant it can scan while moving at 20' per round (rather than 10' per round).

[Maurkov]

Otho

"Alain, take Vandalin with you. Vandalin, defend.

"Denieth know their way around the undead. It's unfortunate none returned. If our divinations are blocked by a protective shell, perhaps they could be successful from inside the structure.

"Golems, traps and fell undead. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

[Cogito]

You can see the inside of the temple quite clearly from the perspective of the Arcane Eye, the huge main hall with the gigantic hills of what were probably columns in ancient times is completely overgrown by the jungle, except for a few paths made by the expedition. One of these leads towards a downward ramp in the corner of what you guess is a side hall. Until now everything was perfectly visible but as the eye advances further down everything suddenly becomes black and white, and you land in a shot hallway which ends in a circular room full of corpses of Dorius' workers. It seems that something with long claws has ripped them almost into shreds. from the circular room which is, as the rest of the ruins completely unadorned, two hallways leave, one to the right, the other to the left, but before you can decide which direction to take, the eye fades into nothingness. You are quite surprised at this, as you think the duration of the spell couldn't be up already. But then, the hallways were huge in size and it took some time to inspect parts of the walls and ceilings, which all seemed to be made of the same kind of ancient stone.

[Maurkov]

Otho

"It killed but didn't eat them. Unnatural." He says it like a curse. "We can track it if we have to."

[The_Snark]

Angel

The warforged watches silently, holding a steel-shod staff in one hand, although she doesn't rest on it. She doesn't need to, after all. Finally, she ventures to speak. "Are we ready to go? Yet?" Her voice isn't timid, not exactly, but it's definitely somewhat diffident.

[Sepp]

Horus Kiast

Horus nods in agreement with the warforged. "We have time to scout in person, I think, if we are all up to it. And more specific details of what we are to face would be invaluable, as it seems the magics are not able to penetrate the temple from here. At least, not very effectively. He turns, and addresses Dorius. " None of the Deneith came out, correct? And.." He turns to Alain "..your eye only saw workers corpses, not mercenaries... so they must have gone deeper. If we can find their bodies, we may learn more."

[Cogito]

Dorius shakes his head slowly. "No, none."
"But now you mention the corpses," Dorius begins after short pause, "I have told the mercenaries, that each of the workers carried a few flasks of a mixture of Alchemist's Fire and Holy Water. I suppose they have taken them all with them, but it you find the bodies of the mercenaries, you might want to search them for the flasks, if they have not used up all of them."

[Sepp]

Horus Kiast

Horus gives a slight smile. "We shall do that, I am sure. It would be a shame to see their supplies go to waste." He says to Dorius, before turning to the others. "I say we set out to scout immediately, unless someone has a good reason not to."

[Wiz]

Alain Cannith

The wizard nods after everyone has responded to his report. "We can start with an initial scouting, and return to the surface to rest."He smiles, "I can understand the anxiousness to be underway, just remember, there's no need to hurry here. What we are facing has waited centuries, if not millenia, for us."

[BurntOfferings]

Lyle

"Indeed. It would be a shame if someone got hurt.

"Isn't that right, Dorius?"

Lyle proceeds to work through a number of stretching exercises, in preparation for fulfilling his traditional role. He then takes a deep, calming breath.

"I am ready to proceed. Remember, keep close, but not too close."