Crypt of the Everflame IC

[hannahbbug3]

"If we tarry, whatever is calling out might not be calling for much longer," Bast says, concern furrowing his brow. "How many horses were outside?" he asks, unable to remember if it was two or three because he had tried not to look too closely. If it was three, though... there were only two bodies in this room. "We should move!"

[Queen of Sheba]

"Two horses and three ponies, I think," Gwyn supplies, storing the now blank roll of parchment away. "I agree; whichever direction we pick, we should be quick about it. Their packs are over by that door,"—she motions to the western door—"so seems to me we ought to try going that way." Gwyn takes the stairs up to the western platform, but rather than going through the door, she kneels beside the discarded packs instead. "I don't mean any disrespect—I know you all knew these men—but they might have had something on them that could help us navigate this place. Maybe a map or instructions on what sort of traps might be set up," the young woman explains as she goes through the packs, understanding how the sight might very well look to her townie companions.

Spoiler: OOC

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Gwyn will see what's in the two packs before moving forward.

[u-b]

Elissa presses an ear against the western door trying to determine whether the wailing comes from behind it. This does not seem to be the case. Gwyn checks the backpacks. One of them barely contains two large pillows. The other contains 2 days worth of rations, a full waterskin, 2 smokesticks and two wrapped bundles containing 20 blunt arrows each, with all of the arroweads wrapped in thick felt, held together by twine.

[rs2excelsior]

"Don't hear anything behind the door." She looks at the contents of the packs which Gwyn is searching. No maps, unfortunately. "Why would they leave their packs here? Maybe... maybe the rest were captured here?" Cautiously, she tests the handle of the door. "Whatever happened, we can't stay here any longer. Let's go." If the door is locked, she'll ask if anyone knows how to pick locks as well.

[u-b]

The door turns out to be unlocked. Behind it is a room just slightly smaller than the first. It is not illuminated by anything other than whatever light gets here from the first room and is therefore dark. In the center of it is a large pool of clear water, fed by a fountain on the wall above it. The fountain is in the shape of a stone statue of a weeping maiden holding the slain body of Kassen, but his head has been broken off and is nowhere to be seen. A voice booms out from the darkness, saying "Magic is the key". The voice slowly fades, leaving a dreadful silence.

There are two doors leading south.

Spoiler

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[Zhentarim]

Zion tells the skeleton, "Go open the far door."

As the skeleton shambles along, Zion tells the others, "Get ready."

[u-b]

The skeletorn goes towards the far door and tries to open it... and tries to open it... and tries to open it... The door does not budge.

[rs2excelsior]

"Magic?" Elissa glances towards Gwyn and Zion, then steps carefully into the room, sword at the ready. She doesn't pay too much mind to the skeleton's struggles with the door just yet. "Any idea what that might mean?"

[Zhentarim]

Zion says “Maybe there is a magical artifact in here, or maybe one of us needs to cast a spell of some sort.”

[u-b]

The skeleton, obeying Zion's mental command, approaches the other door and tries to open it... tries to open it... tries to open it... having zero success either.

[Zhentarim]

After the skeleton tried both doors, Zion casts burning hands on the door.

”Magic is the key?”

[u-b]

Zion blasts a cone of fire at the eastern(?) door leading south out of the room. The surface of the door becomes charred, but is still seems to be reasonably strong. It does not magically open by itself or some such.

Spoiler

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Burning hands: (2d4)[5]
Strong wooden door normally has hardness 5 (not applicable against fire) and 20 hit points. Now it has 15 hit points left.

[Zhentarim]

Zion blasts the door with fire once more.

Spoiler: Roll

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(2d4)[5]

She also orders the skeleton to attack the door.

[u-b]

The skeleton attacks the charred door. At first you think it does not make any progress, but it does - occasionally scratches on the charred surface go as deep as the underlying wood, clearly damaging it some.

Spoiler

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It would take the skeleton about three minutes to damage the door enough for you to get through. I think it would be the perfect opportunity to wait for fellow players. I can run this game if we are down to three, but no lower. Anyone still present with us?

[u-b]

The skeleton claws at the door for some time. Eventually long splintery holes start to appear here and there and then eventually the remains of the door fall down. Behind the door is what appears to be a dark corridor, with a similarly dark hooded figure standing near the now battered-down remains of the door. "Nah-nah-nah. That was too easy. That's not how this one is supposed to be played. How about I cut your numbers in half? And we'll sit and watch, won't we, mistress Watchtower?" The figure snaps its fingers. There is a sound of bones falling to the floor as the skeleton collapses, an elusive feeling of the reality beng altered...

[u-b]

...and a slight deja vu as all of you, namely Elissa, Gwyn and Bast, enter the room to the west of main hall. The room is just slightly smaller than the first. It is not illuminated by anything other than whatever light gets here from the first room and is therefore dark. In the center of it is a large pool of clear water, fed by a fountain on the wall above it. The fountain is in the shape of a stone statue of a weeping maiden holding the slain body of Kassen, but his head has been broken off and is nowhere to be seen. A voice booms out from the darkness, saying "Magic is the key". The voice slowly fades, leaving a dreadful silence. There is a strong smell (and some sight) of smoke, probably of burned wood. There are two doors leading south of the room. Of those, the eastrn door is lying in pieces, burned and battered. Before it lies a heap of bones seemingly constituting a complete set of a medium-sized humanoid, complete with a skull. Behind it is what seems to be a dark corridor, in which only Bast can really see.

Spoiler

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[hannahbbug3]

"Magic is the key?" Bast echoes, something wary in his tone as he gets the strange feeling of his palms itching despite the gloves he is wearing. His lips curve downward in a frown. Knowing his track record with magic, he isn't entirely sure that he will be able to help much here, if magic is required. That seems much more like Gwyn's area of expertise, taking the three of them into account. But there are a few things he can assist with - namely, having a good look around the place. His eyes illuminate briefly in search of the magic he is so wary of as he takes a look around. It's a bit dark, though - probably too dark for the humans to see much. "Shall we illuminate a torch, ladies?" Bast questions as he approaches the fountain, staring first at the statue, then into the water. "Careful now, there's a pool here," he adds, unsure if the women can see it. He hasn't much experience with human vision, after all.

Spoiler: Perception

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With detect magic active, as always!
(1d20+7)[10]

Oof, well, that could be better. All right if I take a ten for perception (giving me a 17) after that brief glance around?

[Queen of Sheba]

Gwyn blinks rapidly as she feels the strange haze she had fallen under suddenly clear. She startles at the disembodied voice that echoes throughout the room, despite having an inkling that such thing would happen, oddly enough. "Didn't we just...?" she begins to ask, only to trail off when she finds she can't quite put into words the bizarre experience she half-remembers. "Nevermind."

Nodding her agreement with Bast, Gwyn retrieves a torch from her pack and rummages through the remaining packs for a tindertwig; striking the latter against the stone floor, she touches the burning tip to the linen-wrapped end of the torch, bringing much needed illumination to the chamber. "That's better. Now, what's this about a magic key." With a simple incantation, Gwyn's sight becomes attuned to magical emanations and, aided by the light shedding from the torch, she helps search the chamber for signs of magic.

Spoiler: OOC

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I'll go ahead and cast detect magic myself. Also marking a torch off of my character sheet.

Perception: (1d20+4)[16]

[u-b]

Bast and Gwin quickly find two only sources of magic present in the room. One is a part of the statue, namely, the maiden's face. It shines two auras: one you both recognize as faint illusion, the other is moderate area the school of which you don't recognize. The other source of magic is a key on the bottom of 40-feet-deep pool, one among maybe a hundred other keys that otherwise seem very alike, and the only one magical. It radiates a faint aura, but you don't recognize the school.

Spoiler

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Bast know (arcana): (1d20+8)[28] vs the statue, aura 1
Bast know (arcana): (1d20+8)[19] vs the statue, aura 2
Bast know (arcana): (1d20+8)[11] vs the key
Gwyn know (arcana): (1d20+8)[25] vs the statue, aura 1
Gwyn know (arcana): (1d20+8)[12] vs the statue, aura 2
Gwyn know (arcana): (1d20+8)[9] vs the key

[hannahbbug3]

Bast sees the two auras, and frowns as he looks down into the water at the assortment of keys. At least it's plain which one they're after, right? Bast glances over to the two girls, then back down into the water. "Looks a bit deep," he observes, leaning over a bit and touching the water with the tips of his fingers. He doesn't sense any magical aura on the water, so he figures it's safe enough to touch. "Are either of you strong swimmers?" he asks. But then again... he knows he is likely the only one who could drop down there and be sure to get the right key, since he cannot turn off his ability to see the magical auras.

[rs2excelsior]

Elissa frowns as the odd feeling passes. They had been here before? She shakes it off. "I'm... a passable swimmer, I suppose. Not in this armor, though." She glances around, not the most eager to remove her armor in the middle of a place like this. She peers down into the pool. "Not much use with magic either. Are we just supposed to guess which key we need?"

[hannahbbug3]

"Oh, not guess, I can see which one is the right one to grab... so thence I suppose I should be the one to go get it, yes?" Bast asks, looking down into the water again. "The pool doesn't seem dangerous, and my armor doesn't slow me. I suppose I can fetch the key," he says. He slips his feet into the water first, hoping that his swimming skills don't fail him now. He's not... a terrible swimmer, but with magic items involved, he's not quite as confident as he usually is... ** he dives into the water, grabbing for the magic key and intending to surface right after.

Spoiler: OOC**

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**is for that if Gwyn has anything to say/do before Bast dives in, such as any hexes or spells she wants to put on him to help, that's where it goes. Putting this in before I make the roll just in case, but looking at our sheets I think Bast will have the best change at getting the key, since he doesn't have to spend any actions for Detect Magic, that's just how he sees the world. So, swim check! If I can take a 10, that's a 14. Otherwise...

(1d20+4)[11]

[u-b]

Bast takes a deep breath and dives down the pool. The water is calm and clear, so nothing prevents Bast from quickly swimming all the way down. He grabs the key, which, when observed up close, seems to bear some faintly shining monogram that Bast does not recognize. With the key, Bast swims all the way up and takes another deep breath when he's back to the surface. Seems easily done. The only downside is that Bast is now all wet.

Spoiler

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Bast can hold his breath for 10 rounds while actively swimming. He takes 10 on swimming and, as he neither turns off his special sight nor loses sight of the key, completes the task in 7 rounds or so.

[hannahbbug3]

Bast pulls himself back up out of the pool, shaking the water out of his eyes and hair with a quick few jerks of his head. "I think I have got it," he says, holding up the key for the girls to see. "It has got some symbol on it. Do either of you know what it means?" he asks.

[rs2excelsior]

Elissa leans in to examine the symbols on the key. If this is something magical one of the other two will probably be more use, but maybe if it was made with divine magic she might have seen the symbol in one of Father Rantal's books...

Spoiler: OOC

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Knowledge (Religion): (1d20+4)[18]

[Queen of Sheba]

Torch in hand, Gwyn peers into the pool after Bast dives in, her own chest tightening in anticipation as the elf descends into the depths. It isn't until he breaks the surface of the water that she's able to let out the breath she'd unknowingly been holding. Ordinarily, such a simple task might not pose a threat, but given the circumstances they had faced so far, it is obvious to Gwyn that their trial is far from ordinary.

Careful to keep the burning end of the torch away from her companions, the young woman leans in to look at the key in Bast's palm, paying no mind to the few drops of water inadvertently flicked her way. "Well, whatever it is, I hope the key at least opens this other door. I would hate to think you went through all that for nothing," Gwyn says, allowing herself a faint smile before she remembers their dire situation and whatever levity she might have felt disappears. "Speaking of, any ideas about which door we should take next? I'm inclined to pick the one with the skeleton in front of it myself."

Spoiler: OOC

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Knowledge (History) (1d20+8)[28]

[u-b]

Elissa is unable to see any symbols on the key, which, from the look of it, seems designed to fit a high-quality lock but has only rudimentary decoration. Gwyn, though, with her magical sight, can both see the faintly shining monogram, R.B., and recognize it as belonging to Raffolk Brayte, a wizard who survived the battle, to commemorate which the Everflame was put here, and was actively involved in this commemoration.

[Queen of Sheba]

A few moments pass in quiet contemplation for Gwyn before the young woman is able to recall the significance of the two initials. "R.B.? Magic is the key... I think this might have belonged to one of the early settlers. There was a wizard back then named Raffolk Brayte who fought alongside Kassen. He was one of the few survivors of the battle that took place here, and one of the key figures involved in commemorating this crypt." After sharing her scant knowledge of the early townie with Elissa and Bast, Gwyn's focus shifts to their next move, knowing that somewhere in the ancient crypt someone's life is likely in peril. Standing in front of the broken-down eastern door, Gwyn lifts the torch high and peers down the once lightless corridor.

Spoiler: OOC

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Perception: (1d20+4)[23]

[u-b]

The corridor turns out a bit more than was seen at the first glance. Namely, it begins with a room. A small stone bench sits in the center of this dusty room. On the eastern wall is a faded mural depicting the hero Kassen defeating the mercenaries at the entrance to this crypt, with his blade piercing the chest of the mercenary leader. These figures stand alone in the center of a scene of carnage, with dead villagers and mercenaries all around them. Gwyn takes a notice of how both the Kassen and the mercenary leader are depicted as wearing very similar oddly-shaped golden necklaces, each hanging from a very similar golden chain. Gwyn is not sure whether the slight difference between the depicted necklaces is intentional or not.

Spoiler

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[Queen of Sheba]

Gwyn slowly moves further into the room without fully realizing it, intrigued as much by the minute details she can spot in the mural as by the odd design of the room. It's almost like a viewing room... It is an interesting mural, but does anyone really need to sit down for a while to admire it? Or maybe the founders built it as a place where we "adventurers" could rest safely?...Depends on what's at the end of this hall, I reckon. Looking back toward the room where her companions wait, Gwyn calls out, "I'm going to see what's around the corner," before turning and descending deeper into the bowels of the crypt.

Spoiler: OOC

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Moving to F17!