Xanrym is amazed at the power of the belt even if it's not useful to him. He definitely does not want to commit to getting close to the monsters, like Avery and Khessado, and he happily hands the belt over to Avery. He comments that he's glad that he took a moment to poke around the mausoleum, "and if we have to walk back through there, I guess I should poke around one of the other corners!"
Four doors line the western side, and one more door sits on the eastern side, at the end of the hallway.
Xanrym agrees with Coriana'splan to check each door (room?) on the west side of the hall from south-to-north before trying the other door at the northeast end of the hallway.
Since The Company currently has nothing chasing them, Xanrym insists on taking the time to check each door for traps before he moves out of the way for Khessa to open it. (Assuming that nothing attacks them, if the second room is as small as the first, Xanrym will let the others search it while he checks the remaining three doors.) If any of the doors are trapped or locked, he'd be happy to try disarming the trap or picking the lock.
Other than magical items, Xanrym is most interested in finding anything with writing: books, scrolls, letters, etc. After fighting ghouls and wights and especially the naga's necromancer, Garath Primo, Xanrym is not a fan of necromancy! But the Necromancer who lived in this so-called Spike was apparently a powerful wizard, and Xanrym hopes that they collected other arcane knowledge here: perhaps they will find tomes that describe the strange denizens of the Great Grotto, for example, or a written history of the Drow. That kind of information would be a rare find and an invaluable addition to his own library!
Khessa's detection does not reveal anything you didn't already know was magic, and you methodically open each room on the west side going north. The two in the middle reveal similar rooms to the southern door, except one stores antiques and spent magic items, while the other has preserved body parts of rare beasts. The final room reveals at first just cobwebbed niches and pedestals displaying dusty skulls and bones of humanoid creatures.
Then suddenly, the doorway makes a sound as if the door is opening, and the translucent shade of a gaunt drow male shambles in, clicking his black staff against the floor. As you watch, he removes his cloak and hangs it on the wall near the door, then abruptly cocks his head and looks upward, mouthing words silently and looking angry. He rushes out of the room, disappearing near the doorway. You see a real cloak still hangs near the door where the shade left it.
while the other has preserved body parts of rare beasts.
The final room reveals at first just cobwebbed niches and pedestals displaying dusty skulls and bones of humanoid creatures.
If there's something small enough (a tiny skull, a claw, a desiccated organ, etc., Xanrym might take it. He's interested in these types of souvenirs of his adventures, especially if they're exotic enough that Morley might be interested.
the translucent shade of a gaunt drow male shambles in, clicking his black staff against the floor. As you watch, he removes his cloak and hangs it on the wall near the door, then abruptly cocks his head and looks upward, mouthing words silently and looking angry. He rushes out of the room, disappearing near the doorway.
Xanrym exclaims, "What was that?!", starting to wonder whether this place is haunted.
[[ OOC: Is Khessa's Detect Magic still active? If so, does she detect any new magical auras here? ]]
Khessa muses aloud: "As far as I know, ghosts stick around if they feel they have 'unfinished business'... I wonder what purpose that drow had? However, if we ever meet him again, perhaps seeing his cloak will prompt him to speak to us."
The blonde arcane warrior retrieves the cloak and dons it over her armor. As soon as her companions are ready to move on, she is ready to open the next door.
Xanrym gasps, surprised that Khessawould don a Drow-made cloak after her experience at their hands. He is still suspicious of tricks and traps, and he holds his breath for a moment to see whether anything happens to Khessa after she puts on the cloak. (He has heard stories of accursed items that possess or dominate anyone who touches them.)
Assuming that Khessa seems unaffected by the cloak, Xanrym scans the ceiling near the door just in case the ghost was trying to give them a hint. Perception: 15
If he does not find anything, Xanrym says, "Our Company must be the first people -- other than Fadheela -- to set foot in these rooms since the Plagueburst! The phantom looked up before leaving the room, like it heard something upstairs. If it was the ghost of the Necromancer of one of his apprentices, perhaps its unfinished business is related to the Plagueburst. Maybe we'll learn more once we find a way to the upper levels." Xanrym knows that they're here to find Fadheela and recover the Forgotten King's bones from Xeron's cult, but now his curiosity is piqued. He wonders whether he could discover the cause of the mysterious Plagueburst that devastated Pedestal decades ago! The clues to solve that mystery must be here in the Necromancer's Spike if they weren't destroyed in the Plagueburst itself.
"Fascinating..." Theldrin frowns as he rubs his beard as he muses out loud, "I've never seen anything like that before. It didn't seem like it was a threat to us... I wonder if that was indeed the Necromancer's ghost..." He checks the area around where the ghost disappeared for secret doors.
Xanrym finds the claw of some strange small animal among the shelves, Khessa's Detect Magic doesn't show anything, but when she dons the cloak she does see six words printed on it: "avail," "bewilder," "conquer," "dismay," "entreat," and "forget." Syllen recognizes that this must be a specter of an incredibly powerful drow mage that died in this place, a psychic echo of sorts.
Xanrym and Theldrin check the area near the door, revealing a small keyhole at the north end of the hallway, a secret door!
"Well, take a look at this..." Theldrin grins and pats Xanrym on the back, then calls the others over to show them the keyhole. "Now... how to open it..."
Xanrym was mostly just trying to figure out whether the phantom went back through the mausoleum across the hall through the door on the east side of the hallway. He is initially surprised to see the phantom turn north, toward the blank wall at the end of the hallway, but then Theldrin finds the keyhole! "Good eyes, Theldrin! We'll have to search more carefully as we proceed!"
calls the others over to show them the keyhole. "Now... how to open it..."
Xanrym says, "A keyhole without a key? Well, that's why I always carry these!" He takes out his Thieves' Tools with a flourish.
But first, Xanrym checks whether the others want to see what's through the regular door (the one at the north end of the hallway on the east side) before they try the secret door at the north end of the hallway. "Maybe we'll get lucky and find a key?", he suggests, hopefully.
Assuming that everyone wants to try the secret door first, Xanrym will see whether he can open it:
Checking the secret door / keyhole for traps Perception: 22
Theldrin offers the belt to whoever would like it, then prepares himself for moving on to the next door.
Avery would like the belt
Xanrym is amazed at the power of the belt even if it's not useful to him. He definitely does not want to commit to getting close to the monsters, like Avery and Khessa do, and he happily hands the belt over to Avery. He comments that he's glad that he took a moment to poke around the mausoleum, "and if we have to walk back through there, I guess I should poke around one of the other corners!"
Xanrym agrees with Coriana's plan to check each door (room?) on the west side of the hall from south-to-north before trying the other door at the northeast end of the hallway.
Since The Company currently has nothing chasing them, Xanrym insists on taking the time to check each door for traps before he moves out of the way for Khessa to open it. (Assuming that nothing attacks them, if the second room is as small as the first, Xanrym will let the others search it while he checks the remaining three doors.) If any of the doors are trapped or locked, he'd be happy to try disarming the trap or picking the lock.
Other than magical items, Xanrym is most interested in finding anything with writing: books, scrolls, letters, etc. After fighting ghouls and wights and especially the naga's necromancer, Garath Primo, Xanrym is not a fan of necromancy! But the Necromancer who lived in this so-called Spike was apparently a powerful wizard, and Xanrym hopes that they collected other arcane knowledge here: perhaps they will find tomes that describe the strange denizens of the Great Grotto, for example, or a written history of the Drow. That kind of information would be a rare find and an invaluable addition to his own library!
Khessa's detection does not reveal anything you didn't already know was magic, and you methodically open each room on the west side going north. The two in the middle reveal similar rooms to the southern door, except one stores antiques and spent magic items, while the other has preserved body parts of rare beasts. The final room reveals at first just cobwebbed niches and pedestals displaying dusty skulls and bones of humanoid creatures.
Then suddenly, the doorway makes a sound as if the door is opening, and the translucent shade of a gaunt drow male shambles in, clicking his black staff against the floor. As you watch, he removes his cloak and hangs it on the wall near the door, then abruptly cocks his head and looks upward, mouthing words silently and looking angry. He rushes out of the room, disappearing near the doorway. You see a real cloak still hangs near the door where the shade left it.
If there's something small enough (a tiny skull, a claw, a desiccated organ, etc., Xanrym might take it. He's interested in these types of souvenirs of his adventures, especially if they're exotic enough that Morley might be interested.
Xanrym exclaims, "What was that?!", starting to wonder whether this place is haunted.
[[ OOC: Is Khessa's Detect Magic still active? If so, does she detect any new magical auras here? ]]
Khessa muses aloud: "As far as I know, ghosts stick around if they feel they have 'unfinished business'... I wonder what purpose that drow had? However, if we ever meet him again, perhaps seeing his cloak will prompt him to speak to us."
The blonde arcane warrior retrieves the cloak and dons it over her armor. As soon as her companions are ready to move on, she is ready to open the next door.
Xanrym gasps, surprised that Khessa would don a Drow-made cloak after her experience at their hands. He is still suspicious of tricks and traps, and he holds his breath for a moment to see whether anything happens to Khessa after she puts on the cloak. (He has heard stories of accursed items that possess or dominate anyone who touches them.)
Assuming that Khessa seems unaffected by the cloak, Xanrym scans the ceiling near the door just in case the ghost was trying to give them a hint.
Perception: 15
If he does not find anything, Xanrym says, "Our Company must be the first people -- other than Fadheela -- to set foot in these rooms since the Plagueburst! The phantom looked up before leaving the room, like it heard something upstairs. If it was the ghost of the Necromancer of one of his apprentices, perhaps its unfinished business is related to the Plagueburst. Maybe we'll learn more once we find a way to the upper levels." Xanrym knows that they're here to find Fadheela and recover the Forgotten King's bones from Xeron's cult, but now his curiosity is piqued. He wonders whether he could discover the cause of the mysterious Plagueburst that devastated Pedestal decades ago! The clues to solve that mystery must be here in the Necromancer's Spike if they weren't destroyed in the Plagueburst itself.
(OOC: @drumdigby - Before the "ghost" disappeared, could Xanrym tell whether it was turning to the north or south as it left the room?)
"Fascinating..." Theldrin frowns as he rubs his beard as he muses out loud, "I've never seen anything like that before. It didn't seem like it was a threat to us... I wonder if that was indeed the Necromancer's ghost..." He checks the area around where the ghost disappeared for secret doors.
Investigation: 23
“This has definitely gotten more interesting.” Syllen attempts to remember anything useful he has read about this type of specter.
Arcana Roll: 18
3
Xanrym finds the claw of some strange small animal among the shelves, Khessa's Detect Magic doesn't show anything, but when she dons the cloak she does see six words printed on it: "avail," "bewilder," "conquer," "dismay," "entreat," and "forget." Syllen recognizes that this must be a specter of an incredibly powerful drow mage that died in this place, a psychic echo of sorts.
Xanrym and Theldrin check the area near the door, revealing a small keyhole at the north end of the hallway, a secret door!
"Well, take a look at this..." Theldrin grins and pats Xanrym on the back, then calls the others over to show them the keyhole. "Now... how to open it..."
Xanrym was mostly just trying to figure out whether the phantom went back through the mausoleum across the hall through the door on the east side of the hallway. He is initially surprised to see the phantom turn north, toward the blank wall at the end of the hallway, but then Theldrin finds the keyhole! "Good eyes, Theldrin! We'll have to search more carefully as we proceed!"
Xanrym says, "A keyhole without a key? Well, that's why I always carry these!" He takes out his Thieves' Tools with a flourish.
But first, Xanrym checks whether the others want to see what's through the regular door (the one at the north end of the hallway on the east side) before they try the secret door at the north end of the hallway. "Maybe we'll get lucky and find a key?", he suggests, hopefully.
Assuming that everyone wants to try the secret door first, Xanrym will see whether he can open it:
Checking the secret door / keyhole for traps
Perception: 22
Picking the lock / keyhole
Sleight of Hand: 25 (advantage from proficiency in Thieves' Tools)