Nikkitch knows this is all very important, yet he can't help but return to the map. He wants to study it further, opting to begin the slow process of casting Detect Magic. Perhaps the buttons aren't mechanical in nature. Or perhaps there are hidden features only viewable once their magical traces are understood.
Pisgah moves up. A strange looming eye emerges out of the darkness, staring unmoving. In the north end of this room stands a 14-foot-tall granite obelisk with a lidless eye carved near its top on the south-facing side. The bottom half of the obelisk is covered with dirty, bloody handprints. Wide alcoves surround the obelisk to the west, north, and east. They contain a dozen beds made of bundled rugs and torn fabric.
To the east, Pisgah spots six goblins at the same time as two of them turn around to look in Pisgahs direction (location of goblins circled in red). The goblins were initially turned away from you, all cowering behind the broken pieces of a table, aiming their shortbows at a rough-hewn tunnel leading east.
Now they panic, shouting and scrambling. "Intruder, Intruder!"
The two goblins that saw Pisgah first frantically shoot arrows at him, the poorly aimed missiles harmlessly bouncing off the stone walls. Before it can escalate, the door to the west opens and the two bugbears you met before step through, morningstars at the ready. Quickly identifying Pisgah, Narr roars at the goblins: "You idiots, this one is with us! Get back to your posts!"
The bugbear turns to Pisgah. "There are gricks beyond the break in the wall there. Nasty things. Why did you head this way? Did you get lost on your way down?"
During all this, Nikkitch has had time to ritual-cast detect magic. The buttons seem to be enchanted with a minor illusion type magic, linked to a divination effect. You're able to conjecture that pressing it might release a harmless effect of some kind, determined by some information that is gathered elsewhere.
The room is otherwise free of magical effects except for one: Halleth, standing restlessly in the midst of you, emanates a sort of ambient necromantic aura. It's no active spell, rather the weave is knotting and heaving around him, as if conspiring to keep him standing against all odds. The man is a walking contradiction, something that shouldn't be.
Turning to the bugbears "No, not lost. Saw the door leading this way. Wanted to make sure I knew what was behind us. Knowing you are here and keeping this group" as he points toward the goblins " in line, I will feel better. "
Canti's mouth remains agape in this room. A very curious map and a stranger who appears to be dead and yet lives. She leaves the others to the pit while she quickly pulls out her book and makes a rudimentary sketch of the map. She doesn't worry about the details and hopes she'll be able to work on it more later when there's time. She closes the book and is just able to join the others in examining the stranger when Pisgah asks her to watch his back. She gladly stands in the doorway and watches the man of stone move down the corridor. She isn't nervous. She's too excited. However, when he motions to her to stay, and he disappears around the corner, a crease appears between her eyebrows. She doesn't like this at all. She looks over her shoulder at the others and considers asking their opinion, but then sees them engrossed by the stranger who is now out of the pit. She looks back down the corridor and taps a toe. She's considering again asking the others if someone should join Pisgah when she hears "Intruders!"
"Pisgah's in trouble," she says quickly before running up the corridor. Her imagination begins running through a thousand scenarios, each one more dire than the last. She has begun to frown by the time she reaches the bend in the corridor. Was she picking up on some kind of conversation? She makes the turn at the last place she had seen the barbarian and then begins to slow. Pisgah is walking back toward her, and she can see the bugbears just behind him. She stops and puts her hands on her hips, waiting for Pisgah to reach her. "You okay?" she asks him, looking around his knees at the goblinoids and speaking quietly. "I thought I heard someone yelling 'Intruder'."
Nikk, however, doesn't move. On one hand, the undead cleric is certainly a surprise. And the shouting should be a pressing matter. But the corvid wizard is, regardless, focused on the map -- or more specifically the "buttons."
He wants to press them, test them. But the first is beyond his reach. He looks to whoever else may be in the room, someone who may share his intrigue... or at the very least who's taller.
[OoC: Honestly, I'm not quite sure who's where right now.]
Jaya finds it curious that this lamp is lit, so someone must know about Halleth and saw fit to keep this room lit. He thinks the Bugbears may know more about this mysterious undead cleric, but doesn’t want to push his luck with them.
As Pisgah goes to investigate the hall, he watches the Kenku inspect the map, and pretty much everything else in the room.
“Tenacious” he says to himself, part amused, part impressed.
He walks over to the map and pulls out the Wand of Secrets and looks at Nikk. "Two more charges left if you think it’s worth a try?"
Instead, he points to the highest symbol with his own wand.
"That. Is a. Button. It's. Not. A trap. At. Least. I'm. Fairly. Certain. It's. Not. I. Can't. Reach...!"
He can't, even with a wand. He could with his staff, but that might alert Xanathar's goons to his identity. They likely killed the mage that had it before, and he had it at their little... meeting previously. No, he couldn't risk it.
Canti can pick up on the conversation that Narr has with Pisgah. "They're mostly useless, but they keep the gricks off our back. Can't let them wander around, they won't survive long." the bugbear says with dry humour, before Pisgah makes his way back.
Your meeting with the goblins was brief, but since Narr described you to them, they're no longer seeing you as a threat and would let you past. 60 XP for the goblins.
Halleth continues longingly staring at the floor, only briefly looking up as he hears the goblins shouting for alarm.
Trying to keep his voice pitched just for Canti to hear and motioning for her to move back around the corner, " Yes, I am fine. Thank you for watching my back. The goblins back there, supervised by Narr, are guarding this passage against Grick intruders. The goblins saw me, panicked, and starting shooting before Narr stopped them."
Pisgah [Nature]: Grick are wormlike dungeon dwellers that grow to be as long as a man is tall. They have four face tentacles and a sharp beak. Their thick hide makes them resistant to conventional damage. Having heard about them in the past, you remember that they rarely actively hunt for food, preferring to wait for their prey and then ambush them. They only venture out when the pack is hungry.
“You seem interested in these buttons; would you like me to press one? We can slide the boxes over and perhaps reach any of them.” Jaya asks Nikk, then adds “After that let’s head south towards Shunn.”
As Pisgah walks back into the room after talking with Narr and the goblins he sees Jaya and Nikkitch looking at the map. "Hey, that map looks like it displays all of the things that we have fought down here so far. There are centipedes, spiders, and manticores in the first section. I'm not sure what the winged thing is, maybe a giant bat or possibly a vampire, but we haven't fought one of those yet. If that's the case, what are those things on the second row? "
"Anyway, Canti and I found what is in the rooms to the north. There is a group of goblins holding post at a tunnel entrance. They are fighting against Gricks trying to make their way into the dungeon. We might could use that as a means to negotiate with Shunn when met them. Leverage us taking out the Grick lair if things go sideways during our meeting with Shunn?"
Jaya looks at Nikk, assuming that he was speaking, but notices that he has not spoken, “Interesting” he says. “So whatcha think, shall I press the rest?”
Before waiting for a response, Jaya will press the middle button, and assuming all hell doesn’t break out, will then press the bottom one after.
Pisgah will motion to Canti to stay where she is and move up 30ft to the next corner to try gaining a better visual.
Stealth roll of 11
Nikkitch knows this is all very important, yet he can't help but return to the map. He wants to study it further, opting to begin the slow process of casting Detect Magic. Perhaps the buttons aren't mechanical in nature. Or perhaps there are hidden features only viewable once their magical traces are understood.
If he has time, he'll even sweep the room.
Pisgah moves up. A strange looming eye emerges out of the darkness, staring unmoving. In the north end of this room stands a 14-foot-tall granite obelisk with a lidless eye carved near its top on the south-facing side. The bottom half of the obelisk is covered with dirty, bloody handprints. Wide alcoves surround the obelisk to the west, north, and east. They contain a dozen beds made of bundled rugs and torn fabric.
To the east, Pisgah spots six goblins at the same time as two of them turn around to look in Pisgahs direction (location of goblins circled in red). The goblins were initially turned away from you, all cowering behind the broken pieces of a table, aiming their shortbows at a rough-hewn tunnel leading east.
Now they panic, shouting and scrambling. "Intruder, Intruder!"
The two goblins that saw Pisgah first frantically shoot arrows at him, the poorly aimed missiles harmlessly bouncing off the stone walls. Before it can escalate, the door to the west opens and the two bugbears you met before step through, morningstars at the ready.
Quickly identifying Pisgah, Narr roars at the goblins: "You idiots, this one is with us! Get back to your posts!"
The bugbear turns to Pisgah. "There are gricks beyond the break in the wall there. Nasty things. Why did you head this way? Did you get lost on your way down?"
During all this, Nikkitch has had time to ritual-cast detect magic. The buttons seem to be enchanted with a minor illusion type magic, linked to a divination effect. You're able to conjecture that pressing it might release a harmless effect of some kind, determined by some information that is gathered elsewhere.
The room is otherwise free of magical effects except for one: Halleth, standing restlessly in the midst of you, emanates a sort of ambient necromantic aura. It's no active spell, rather the weave is knotting and heaving around him, as if conspiring to keep him standing against all odds. The man is a walking contradiction, something that shouldn't be.
Turning to the bugbears "No, not lost. Saw the door leading this way. Wanted to make sure I knew what was behind us. Knowing you are here and keeping this group" as he points toward the goblins " in line, I will feel better. "
With that, I turn and head back.
Canti's mouth remains agape in this room. A very curious map and a stranger who appears to be dead and yet lives. She leaves the others to the pit while she quickly pulls out her book and makes a rudimentary sketch of the map. She doesn't worry about the details and hopes she'll be able to work on it more later when there's time. She closes the book and is just able to join the others in examining the stranger when Pisgah asks her to watch his back. She gladly stands in the doorway and watches the man of stone move down the corridor. She isn't nervous. She's too excited. However, when he motions to her to stay, and he disappears around the corner, a crease appears between her eyebrows. She doesn't like this at all. She looks over her shoulder at the others and considers asking their opinion, but then sees them engrossed by the stranger who is now out of the pit. She looks back down the corridor and taps a toe. She's considering again asking the others if someone should join Pisgah when she hears "Intruders!"
"Pisgah's in trouble," she says quickly before running up the corridor. Her imagination begins running through a thousand scenarios, each one more dire than the last. She has begun to frown by the time she reaches the bend in the corridor. Was she picking up on some kind of conversation? She makes the turn at the last place she had seen the barbarian and then begins to slow. Pisgah is walking back toward her, and she can see the bugbears just behind him. She stops and puts her hands on her hips, waiting for Pisgah to reach her. "You okay?" she asks him, looking around his knees at the goblinoids and speaking quietly. "I thought I heard someone yelling 'Intruder'."
Nikk, however, doesn't move. On one hand, the undead cleric is certainly a surprise. And the shouting should be a pressing matter. But the corvid wizard is, regardless, focused on the map -- or more specifically the "buttons."
He wants to press them, test them. But the first is beyond his reach. He looks to whoever else may be in the room, someone who may share his intrigue... or at the very least who's taller.
[OoC: Honestly, I'm not quite sure who's where right now.]
Jaya finds it curious that this lamp is lit, so someone must know about Halleth and saw fit to keep this room lit. He thinks the Bugbears may know more about this mysterious undead cleric, but doesn’t want to push his luck with them.
As Pisgah goes to investigate the hall, he watches the Kenku inspect the map, and pretty much everything else in the room.
“Tenacious” he says to himself, part amused, part impressed.
He walks over to the map and pulls out the Wand of Secrets and looks at Nikk. "Two more charges left if you think it’s worth a try?"
Nikk shakes his head. He answers Jaya with the draconic warrior's own voice.
"Leave. That. For. When. It's. Absolutely. Necessary."
Instead, he points to the highest symbol with his own wand.
"That. Is a. Button. It's. Not. A trap. At. Least. I'm. Fairly. Certain. It's. Not. I. Can't. Reach...!"
He can't, even with a wand. He could with his staff, but that might alert Xanathar's goons to his identity. They likely killed the mage that had it before, and he had it at their little... meeting previously. No, he couldn't risk it.
Canti can pick up on the conversation that Narr has with Pisgah. "They're mostly useless, but they keep the gricks off our back. Can't let them wander around, they won't survive long." the bugbear says with dry humour, before Pisgah makes his way back.
Your meeting with the goblins was brief, but since Narr described you to them, they're no longer seeing you as a threat and would let you past. 60 XP for the goblins.
Halleth continues longingly staring at the floor, only briefly looking up as he hears the goblins shouting for alarm.
Trying to keep his voice pitched just for Canti to hear and motioning for her to move back around the corner, " Yes, I am fine. Thank you for watching my back. The goblins back there, supervised by Narr, are guarding this passage against Grick intruders. The goblins saw me, panicked, and starting shooting before Narr stopped them."
History 13 OR Nature 19 to know what a Grick is
" Let’s tell the others. This may be a way to get past Shunn if we offer to clear out the Gricks. "
Pisgah [Nature]: Grick are wormlike dungeon dwellers that grow to be as long as a man is tall. They have four face tentacles and a sharp beak. Their thick hide makes them resistant to conventional damage. Having heard about them in the past, you remember that they rarely actively hunt for food, preferring to wait for their prey and then ambush them. They only venture out when the pack is hungry.
“You seem interested in these buttons; would you like me to press one? We can slide the boxes over and perhaps reach any of them.” Jaya asks Nikk, then adds “After that let’s head south towards Shunn.”
As Pisgah walks back into the room after talking with Narr and the goblins he sees Jaya and Nikkitch looking at the map. "Hey, that map looks like it displays all of the things that we have fought down here so far. There are centipedes, spiders, and manticores in the first section. I'm not sure what the winged thing is, maybe a giant bat or possibly a vampire, but we haven't fought one of those yet. If that's the case, what are those things on the second row? "
"Anyway, Canti and I found what is in the rooms to the north. There is a group of goblins holding post at a tunnel entrance. They are fighting against Gricks trying to make their way into the dungeon. We might could use that as a means to negotiate with Shunn when met them. Leverage us taking out the Grick lair if things go sideways during our meeting with Shunn?"
Oops, posted in wrong thread. Ignore this post
Nikk replies with a simple "Top. One." in the Dragonborn's tone.
Jaya presses the top button...
Upon the top button being pressed, a disembodied male voice emerges from the map and declares: "Gate access to Skullport disabled."
Jaya looks at Nikk, assuming that he was speaking, but notices that he has not spoken, “Interesting” he says. “So whatcha think, shall I press the rest?”
Before waiting for a response, Jaya will press the middle button, and assuming all hell doesn’t break out, will then press the bottom one after.
On one hand, the kenku has a new voice. Then again, the circumstances for that voice bring new mysteries.
He gives this new voice a try as he voices his hypothesis: "We. Should. Check. That. Mirror. Again."
Of course, he's referring to the artifact they'd passed previously. They'd found a portal, perhaps. Is this the switchboard...?
Upon pressing the middle button, the voice can be heard once more. This time it says: “Gate access to Stardock from level 16 only.”
Hell refuses to break loose, so on to the lowest button.
The voice says: “Gate access to Halaster’s Tower from level 23 only.”