Xanrym loves puzzles and old riddles, and he thinks that Theldrin might be on the right track. He suggests trying one of the naga's other titles: "The big statue we found under the inn was inscribed with 'Our Saviour, the Queen of All Night, EXPLICTICA DEFILUS.' And the mad priest, Abramo, called her the Queen of Evernight."
"Well, that would have been too obvious..." Theldrin says with a wry grin. He then tries Xanrym's suggestions and if those also don't work he says, "I could try Mage Hand or we could move on from the chest for now."
At the mention of Queen of Evernight, the glyph drops and you're able to search the inside of the chest. (Anything like 'Queen of Evernight' or 'She is the darkness' would have worked. Just reference to evil and a woman really.)
Inside the chest you find:
A black priest's robe
A necklace with a snake's head on it with small emerald eyes.
A necklace with a snake's head on it with small emerald eyes.
A very fancy looking Staff with a similar snake's head insignia.
Xanrym asks Theldrin whether the robes, the staff, or the necklace are magical. Since it probably didn't take us 10 minutes to get the chest open, Theldrin should still have Detect Magic running.
Xanrym is delighted by the scrolls, especially in this dangerous place. While Liarin, Toska, and Xanrym could all use the scroll to cast the spell, he suggests that someone other than Liarin carry them so that they can use the scrolls without making her come out of her wild shape. He'll put one of the scrolls in his pouch, and maybe Toska can carry the other one for now.
(OOC: If they can wait, it'll always make sense to have Liarin cast the spell since she has the highest SCM. But if they're using the scroll to revive someone during combat, Liarin will probably be busy mauling our enemies as a wild beast.)
Theldrin laughs as he shakes his head, grin widening into the biggest smile the others have seen from him yet. He slaps Xanrym on the back heartily, "Excellent work, my good man... excellent." After quickly examining the contents of the chest he holds the staff up as he studies it intently. "I could try to Identify this if we want to take the time... certainly looks ominous..."
Theldrin laughs as he shakes his head, grin widening into the biggest smile the others have seen from him yet. He slaps Xanrym on the back heartily, "Excellent work, my good man... excellent." After quickly examining the contents of the chest he holds the staff up as he studies it intently. "I could try to Identify this if we want to take the time... certainly looks ominous..."
"Yes, I think it's worth the time before we explore more of this dark dungeon," Xanrym says. "So far, we've only seen the human guards, but I'm sure that we'll eventually find the troglodytes, crocodiles, and probably more snakes. If the staff gives us any control or command over snakes, that would certainly be useful!" While Theldrin does that, Xanrym fastens the necklace around his neck. He has vague notions of impersonating one of the cult's priests later as a way to free the prisoners or get past some of the guards. He stuffs the black robe and gold in a sack, which he or Toska can carry as they explore the rest of the naga's lair. Once Theldrin knows more about the staff, they can figure out who can make best use of it.
Theldrin shares his findings with the rest of the party, offering the staff to anyone who wants to hold it. "It would seem that either a druid or a cleric can wield it effectively."
Xanrym says, "Excellent! We're a small group, and a 'summoned' creature could certainly be useful. Maybe the snake would even help us against the naga. In any case, it's good to deprive the naga's dark cultists of this item."
The only other thing Xanrym wants to do in the quarters of the Naga's Teeth (area 14) is to search Blayze, Benn, and Jarvis for daggers. He wouldn't mind having another couple of daggers for throwing. He also collects any unspent crossbow bolts from Blayze to replenish his own ammunition.
Once he's done with that, Xanrym thinks that we're all ready to start exploring the dungeon again. He seems optimistic: "I take it as a good sign that no one disturbed our rest or raised an alarm over the dead guards. The owner of the little jade statue and the magical staff must still be here, likely in the lower levels. The remaining guards in this level must be more like guard dogs: beasts with little agency of their own, like the crocodiles, or creatures that have made an alliance with the naga, like the harpy."
Theldrin suggested taking the passage that leads west just south of the Naga's Quarters (area 14). Xanrym is fine with that option. (Option #2 in this post.)
(OOC: Suggested marching order:
Liarin & Avery
Theldrin & Xanrym
Toska
Of course, the party probably won't be able to surprise / sneak up on anything that way. If they want, Xanrym can go ahead of the party, scouting with stealth.
Xanrym
(A gap to leave some space before Avery's noisy chainmail.)
Avery & Liarin
Theldrin & Toska
Of course, unless they're heading toward a lit room, Xanrym's stealth may be ruined by the need to carry a light with them to see in the darkness. Xanrym is also the least observant party member, so he may not spot hidden opponents or traps.
Xanrym grabs bolts and daggers off Blayze. Toska will be reluctant to take the staff; thinking it evil, but will do it if you all believe it's the best use of it.
You all head out of the Naga's Teeth's quarters and head west. You reach a T-intersection. To the north you hear sounds of splashing water and see a pond up there. To the south you can see a caved in area that it may be possible to work your way through.
Theldrin keeps a bit of distance from the chest but stands close enough so his voice would carry, then tries "Explictica Defilus" as the password.
Xanrym munches on two goodberries while he watches Theldrin work on bypassing the glyph.
The glyph doesn't drop with the password, "Explictica Defilus".
Xanrym loves puzzles and old riddles, and he thinks that Theldrin might be on the right track. He suggests trying one of the naga's other titles: "The big statue we found under the inn was inscribed with 'Our Saviour, the Queen of All Night, EXPLICTICA DEFILUS.' And the mad priest, Abramo, called her the Queen of Evernight."
"Well, that would have been too obvious..." Theldrin says with a wry grin. He then tries Xanrym's suggestions and if those also don't work he says, "I could try Mage Hand or we could move on from the chest for now."
At the mention of Queen of Evernight, the glyph drops and you're able to search the inside of the chest. (Anything like 'Queen of Evernight' or 'She is the darkness' would have worked. Just reference to evil and a woman really.)
Inside the chest you find:
A black priest's robe
A necklace with a snake's head on it with small emerald eyes.
348gp
2 scrolls of Cure Wounds
A very fancy looking Staff with a similar snake's head insignia.
Xanrym asks Theldrin whether the robes, the staff, or the necklace are magical. Since it probably didn't take us 10 minutes to get the chest open, Theldrin should still have Detect Magic running.
Xanrym is delighted by the scrolls, especially in this dangerous place. While Liarin, Toska, and Xanrym could all use the scroll to cast the spell, he suggests that someone other than Liarin carry them so that they can use the scrolls without making her come out of her wild shape. He'll put one of the scrolls in his pouch, and maybe Toska can carry the other one for now.
(OOC: If they can wait, it'll always make sense to have Liarin cast the spell since she has the highest SCM. But if they're using the scroll to revive someone during combat, Liarin will probably be busy mauling our enemies as a wild beast.)
Toska happily puts the scroll in her pouch. The Staff is definitely magical, while the robes and the necklace are not.
Theldrin laughs as he shakes his head, grin widening into the biggest smile the others have seen from him yet. He slaps Xanrym on the back heartily, "Excellent work, my good man... excellent." After quickly examining the contents of the chest he holds the staff up as he studies it intently. "I could try to Identify this if we want to take the time... certainly looks ominous..."
"Yes, I think it's worth the time before we explore more of this dark dungeon," Xanrym says. "So far, we've only seen the human guards, but I'm sure that we'll eventually find the troglodytes, crocodiles, and probably more snakes. If the staff gives us any control or command over snakes, that would certainly be useful!" While Theldrin does that, Xanrym fastens the necklace around his neck. He has vague notions of impersonating one of the cult's priests later as a way to free the prisoners or get past some of the guards. He stuffs the black robe and gold in a sack, which he or Toska can carry as they explore the rest of the naga's lair. Once Theldrin knows more about the staff, they can figure out who can make best use of it.
Theldrin nods, then casts Identify as a ritual and tries to identify the staff.
You cast Identify and recognise it as a Staff of the Python with the command word 'darkness'.
Theldrin shares his findings with the rest of the party, offering the staff to anyone who wants to hold it. "It would seem that either a druid or a cleric can wield it effectively."
Xanrym says, "Excellent! We're a small group, and a 'summoned' creature could certainly be useful. Maybe the snake would even help us against the naga. In any case, it's good to deprive the naga's dark cultists of this item."
The only other thing Xanrym wants to do in the quarters of the Naga's Teeth (area 14) is to search Blayze, Benn, and Jarvis for daggers. He wouldn't mind having another couple of daggers for throwing. He also collects any unspent crossbow bolts from Blayze to replenish his own ammunition.
Once he's done with that, Xanrym thinks that we're all ready to start exploring the dungeon again. He seems optimistic: "I take it as a good sign that no one disturbed our rest or raised an alarm over the dead guards. The owner of the little jade statue and the magical staff must still be here, likely in the lower levels. The remaining guards in this level must be more like guard dogs: beasts with little agency of their own, like the crocodiles, or creatures that have made an alliance with the naga, like the harpy."
Theldrin suggested taking the passage that leads west just south of the Naga's Quarters (area 14). Xanrym is fine with that option. (Option #2 in this post.)
(OOC: Suggested marching order:
Of course, the party probably won't be able to surprise / sneak up on anything that way. If they want, Xanrym can go ahead of the party, scouting with stealth.
Of course, unless they're heading toward a lit room, Xanrym's stealth may be ruined by the need to carry a light with them to see in the darkness. Xanrym is also the least observant party member, so he may not spot hidden opponents or traps.
)
Theldrin gives the staff to either Liarin or Toska, then finishes his wine and cheese and gets ready to move out.
(OOC: Marching order #1 sounds good)
Xanrym grabs bolts and daggers off Blayze. Toska will be reluctant to take the staff; thinking it evil, but will do it if you all believe it's the best use of it.
You all head out of the Naga's Teeth's quarters and head west. You reach a T-intersection. To the north you hear sounds of splashing water and see a pond up there. To the south you can see a caved in area that it may be possible to work your way through.
Theldrin says in a hushed tone as he points towards the water, "Might be where we'll find the crocodiles..."
Avery moves up with caution, sword at the ready
(OOC: @Aaggie - "up" meaning "north", toward the pool of water? Or did you want to head south, toward the caved-in part of the tunnel.)
Up to you all where you want to head next.