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!
Xanrym's face relaxes from a look of intense focus to a satisfied smile when the lock clicks, and he's able to push the secret door open. But then he realizes that he's now at the "front" of The Company between a haunted room, an open secret door that might lead them to Fadheela, and a third door that leads who-knows-where. He stands up as he hurriedly packs away his tools and then shuffles through the hallway so that the Company can bet back into their regular marching order: Khessa at the north end of the hall, ready to head through the secret door.
Xanrym agrees with Khessa's choice to go through the secret door. He would be very surprised if Fadheela spent this long in the Necromancer's Spike and never found the secret door. "Maybe she even carries the key," he suggests. He fills in the secret door on a little map that he's been making. He notes the door that they're skipping in case they want to return to it later.
As he passes the druid, Xanrym looks pleased and says, "Thank you, Syllen. I do what I can." Since he was focused on the lock, he asks Theldrin about the thing they were discussing. Some words in the cloak that Khessa found? He repeats the words to himself, fascinated: "An interesting riddle, but it's difficult to figure out the puzzle if all you have is the hint to solve it. Perhaps it's a sort of mnemonic? A way to remember the correct sequence of...something. Or maybe it's just another Drow passphrase, like the one to open the door to Ellesarwa's torture chamber." He's sure to be puzzling over it the next time they stop to rest, but for now, he tries to put it out of his head and focus on more immediate dangers.
As Khessa passes Xanrym in the hallway on her way to lead The Company through the secret door, he says, "You have found your brother, so the gods must smile upon you. Your fortune will surely see you through the Necromancer's Spike to be reunited with Rethos when we're done!"
Xanrym grants Khessabardic inspiration. Once within the next 1 hour, when Khessa fails a D20 Test, she can roll a 1d8 and add the number rolled to the d20, possibly turning failure into a success. If Khessa uses the inspiration die, but the D20 Test still fails, she keeps the inspiration die because of Xanrym's Unfailing Inspiration.
At the bard's words, Khessa pauses for a moment and turns to look at him with an enigmatic smile: "You know, Xanrym? Until a few days ago, it always seemed to me that the gods, rather than smile upon me, were laughing at me. I prayed to them all, you know? Or at least, to all the ones I knew. While the drow exterminated and enslaved my people, while they erased the place where I was born and raised, while I endured their far from respectful 'hospitality' in the oppressive and dark environment of the Underdark."
"But no god prevented those horrible acts" the blonde arcane warrior recalls. "And no god put an end to our condition — I myself had to struggle, fight, and risk a great deal to free myself and a few others. But now... now I'm considering the possibility that there was a greater plan on their part, because I've discovered that Berei listened to my father, Tobar, granting him sacred powers that allowed him to free himself and Rethos - and to become the first Blue Knight. So... I don't want to say that I've already forgotten and put aside the disappointment I felt about the gods, but... but now I'm willing to consider that perhaps they were not as indifferent as I thought. And so... I'm also willing to accept the possibility that the gods are now smiling upon me."
"Thank you for your sincere encouragement, my friend," the tall adventuress hugs him. "Your words were so heartfelt that it's as if they've penetrated my soul, and I feel them within me, giving me strength. You can rest assured that I will do everything I can to ensure we all return alive and victorious from the Necromancer's Spike. And not only because I obviously want to reunite with Rethos, but also because I have no intention of losing any of you."
And so, releasing the embrace, Khessa takes her position at the front and leads the way to the new destination.
And with the light in her hands, Khessa leads the way around the corner, spotting a set of wrought iron stairs winding up into the darkness. At the bottom of the stairs the soil seems to glitter slightly.
Avery graciously accepts and puts it on
Xanrym's face relaxes from a look of intense focus to a satisfied smile when the lock clicks, and he's able to push the secret door open. But then he realizes that he's now at the "front" of The Company between a haunted room, an open secret door that might lead them to Fadheela, and a third door that leads who-knows-where. He stands up as he hurriedly packs away his tools and then shuffles through the hallway so that the Company can bet back into their regular marching order: Khessa at the north end of the hall, ready to head through the secret door.
Xanrym agrees with Khessa's choice to go through the secret door. He would be very surprised if Fadheela spent this long in the Necromancer's Spike and never found the secret door. "Maybe she even carries the key," he suggests. He fills in the secret door on a little map that he's been making. He notes the door that they're skipping in case they want to return to it later.
As he passes the druid, Xanrym looks pleased and says, "Thank you, Syllen. I do what I can." Since he was focused on the lock, he asks Theldrin about the thing they were discussing. Some words in the cloak that Khessa found? He repeats the words to himself, fascinated: "An interesting riddle, but it's difficult to figure out the puzzle if all you have is the hint to solve it. Perhaps it's a sort of mnemonic? A way to remember the correct sequence of...something. Or maybe it's just another Drow passphrase, like the one to open the door to Ellesarwa's torture chamber." He's sure to be puzzling over it the next time they stop to rest, but for now, he tries to put it out of his head and focus on more immediate dangers.
As Khessa passes Xanrym in the hallway on her way to lead The Company through the secret door, he says, "You have found your brother, so the gods must smile upon you. Your fortune will surely see you through the Necromancer's Spike to be reunited with Rethos when we're done!"
Xanrym grants Khessa bardic inspiration.
Once within the next 1 hour, when Khessa fails a D20 Test, she can roll a 1d8 and add the number rolled to the d20, possibly turning failure into a success.
If Khessa uses the inspiration die, but the D20 Test still fails, she keeps the inspiration die because of Xanrym's Unfailing Inspiration.
At the bard's words, Khessa pauses for a moment and turns to look at him with an enigmatic smile: "You know, Xanrym? Until a few days ago, it always seemed to me that the gods, rather than smile upon me, were laughing at me. I prayed to them all, you know? Or at least, to all the ones I knew. While the drow exterminated and enslaved my people, while they erased the place where I was born and raised, while I endured their far from respectful 'hospitality' in the oppressive and dark environment of the Underdark."
"But no god prevented those horrible acts" the blonde arcane warrior recalls. "And no god put an end to our condition — I myself had to struggle, fight, and risk a great deal to free myself and a few others. But now... now I'm considering the possibility that there was a greater plan on their part, because I've discovered that Berei listened to my father, Tobar, granting him sacred powers that allowed him to free himself and Rethos - and to become the first Blue Knight. So... I don't want to say that I've already forgotten and put aside the disappointment I felt about the gods, but... but now I'm willing to consider that perhaps they were not as indifferent as I thought. And so... I'm also willing to accept the possibility that the gods are now smiling upon me."
"Thank you for your sincere encouragement, my friend," the tall adventuress hugs him. "Your words were so heartfelt that it's as if they've penetrated my soul, and I feel them within me, giving me strength. You can rest assured that I will do everything I can to ensure we all return alive and victorious from the Necromancer's Spike. And not only because I obviously want to reunite with Rethos, but also because I have no intention of losing any of you."
And so, releasing the embrace, Khessa takes her position at the front and leads the way to the new destination.
And with the light in her hands, Khessa leads the way around the corner, spotting a set of wrought iron stairs winding up into the darkness. At the bottom of the stairs the soil seems to glitter slightly.
Stopping, Khessa points to the soil that seems to glitter slightly: "What's that glittering there? Something metallic, perhaps?"
The blonde arcane warrior tries to figure out what it is, but she knows that other members of the are much better at investigating than she is.
Khessa's Investigation: 3 (if a different skill is needed, we keep the roll and adjust the modifier)
Theldrin moves up to Khessa's side and takes a look, lowering his staff towards the floor to shine more light on the glittering surface.
Investigation: Dice rolls not yet available for this section.
Investigation: 20