Eya gives an annoyed glare to Kiven for the demoness remark, but agrees to try talking to the boggards. First she makes some coffee by creating some water and heating up a pot and reads her spell book while drinking it. She offers up some coffee to the larger group. It's quite bitter. 

After that, she moves to a few of the boggards. While she doesn't know their language completely, she catches enough to know the work Shaman and tries to ask where he is or if he's been seen around.

Eya has a very tough time imitating the croaks, chirps, and pops that make up the boggard language. But eventually she manages to approximate something close to the sounds the boggards made when addressing the shaman. After a few repeats, one of the toads repeats it back to her and points to the northwest.

Kiven nods at Eya after her success getting a lead on the missing shaman.  He looks ready and willing to pursue this mystery to the northwest.

The group moves on. The next chamber they pass through is quite foul, a large field of mud and feces appears to be maintained here, supporting a crop of edible mushrooms. The boggards are mainly meat eaters though, so this probably serves as an emergency supply rather than a staple.

From here, you can hear a voice, and follow it. The next chamber is dominated by another stick and mud building, though this one is considerably larger than the others. The interior proves to be a temple, lit by faintly glowing crystals. It is dominated by a statue of a freakish looking aquatic figure. Behind the statue is an opening carved in the rock, and the beginnings of expertly carved stone stairs heading upwards.

The shaman is dancing around the statue and seems to be singing in the language of his kind. He seems to be completely unaware of your presence, and if you take a look, it appears that he's lost in the haze of some strong drug.

Whether he is interrupted or allowed to finish, the result is the same, the shaman collapses, clearly exhausted from his performance. He croaks out, "Blue moss, the cavern with blue moss. Father says something there. Something needed."

Respar rolls his eyes and looks at the others.  "At least he led us to the stairs.  I'll start checking them carefully."  He moves forward to the base of the stairs and looks them over, ready to begin a slow ascent, wary for traps and other nasty surprises.

Blau heads with the group deeper into the caverns, finding the shaman an expected thing, although the additional temple is not. Once the proper stairway is discovered, he advises "Seems like the Shaman wanted to be the hero for opening of seals. Maybe he'd be better put to use as an undead, as well. "

  Abraxxus grumbles and follows along with the others. He walks by Jack. " We need something to fight Jack.  You are getting skinny.  " He laughs until smoke billows out of his mouth.  

As Respar rolls his eyes and Blau suggests the shaman would be of better use as an undead, Kiven remarks to no one in particular "fools".

He stretches his hand out to Eya and coldly demands "the emerald".

Assuming Eya reveals the recently discovered key item to their eventual ritual Kiven approaches the shaman.  "Yes, well done shaman.  That which was hidden behind the blue moss was revealed to me as well."  "The fact that it was revealed to us both would seem to prove that the other is worthy of his place here.  What we learned is that there are two more emeralds such as these that will be needed, and the location of the other two have yet to be revealed to me.  Perhaps the Father favors you, great shaman, and will tell you where to find two more emeralds named the Eye of Hatred and the Eye of Withering?"

The exhausted shaman looks consternated and reaches a trembling hand out towards the emerald, "Already... found?"

He collects himself a bit before continuing, "Father picks champions well. Keep serve, we get reward."

"Zikomo need nights before try vision. Let know what to look later."

Kiven lets the boggard shaman touch the emerald.  "Yes, Father does pick champions well, and you have proven yourself to the champions by identifying the place where I found this.  The Father must have great trust in you.  Once you have rested, you can aid the champions greatly with the important job of finding the next emerald just like this one, named the Eye of Hatred."

Pointing to the more finely crafted stairwell, Kiven asks the shaman "where does that go?"

After a moment Kiven takes back the emerald, hands it to Eya and once they are out of earshot of the shaman says "he might prove useful."

Zikomo looks to the stairs, "Cursed place. Father says only champions go. But path leads to temple glory, so must be champions take path. Zikomo wait long."

The group presses on. The stairs move upwards a long way through the rock, making several turns until eventually you turn a corner, and find yourself inside of a kill box.

There's no other way to describe it. Over a dozen arrow holes provide archers with a view to where you stand, and if you rush past them, you would be running headlong into the pikes of the men stationed behind the half wall at the northern end. Or at the least, that is clearly what you would be facing if this place were still manned. Now the rooms where the archers stand guard are empty, and only a few rusted pike heads and other bits of metal remain of the weapon rack at the northern end.

You can see into the rooms where the archers were, but have no access to them from here, so you move on. You find yourself in a hallway with multiple doors that have clearly been smashed and broken open. The rooms you can see into from this hall appear empty of anything of interest, save one. 

It seems that the Sons of the Pale Horseman maintained an alchemy lab here. Most of the equipment and supplies has long been destroyed. A few items of interest remain. Immediately noticeable would be the huge brass golem laid out on a stone slab. It appears to be very badly damaged, apparently having been rendered nonfunctional in a fight.

Kiven can still sense a magical aura from the construct, though it is faded and in obvious need of repair to become functional. His magical vision also picks out a small box apparently missed by the people who wrecked this room. Within are three vials full of a thick grey liquid emanating a mixed aura, abjuration and transmutation.

There is also an intricate device made mainly from glass in a corner, and a singed document that escaped a fire, it appears to be schematics for the golem on the slab.

Kiven studies the golem briefly but is attracted by the aura of the vials.  After studying them for a few moments he hands two to Eya.  "Stone salve, are you familiar?"

Eya hands Kiven the emerald as they show it to the shaman. She replies to him, "His incoherent rambling does seem to have something behind it at least. The shrine here is a crude representation of the Demon God Dagon. Perhaps he really is getting visions from that higher power. Dagon is a demon lord of deformity, the sea, and sea monsters. He rules an Abyssal realm that consists of an immense ocean filled with all kinds of interesting aquatic demons.”
---
When the group reaches the alchemical lab, Eya’s eyes light up with wonder as she begins to study. She looks to the group with genuine excitement in her eyes, “I’m going to need a few minutes to look over this beautiful golem.”

She looks over the schematics and pulls out her portable alchemy kit and begins to learn as much as she can about this golem and how to potentially repair it.

Regarding the stone salve, Eya replies to Kiven, “Ah, this might come in handy for curing petrification or for making one’s skin tougher. It’s a very rare and expensive magical salve and should definitely come in handy.”

After a some study, Eya discovers that this particular construct was called Artephius by its makers. The basic power lines and runework seem to be intact, but most of the crucial components appear to have been destroyed, are missing, or simply decayed over the decades. There are also some minor repairs to make, but some patience and simple smithing tools should suffice to handle those.

First up would be the elemental power sources that move the machine. The first three should be easy to obtain or make. Ten fluid ounces each of alchemist's fire, liquid ice, and a potent acid. The fourth might be trickier, as that chamber requires blood from a lightning elemental.

There is a glass reservoir at the center of the machine designed to move and manage these disparate elemental liquids that appears to have been smashed. Luckily you have already found a spare in the lab, though installation looks like a delicate affair.

The gearworks inside the chest are a mess, but most of it could be repaired. A key gear at the center of it all appears to be missing however. According to the schematics it must be made of mithril, and to surprisingly exact specifications.

Moving on to the head, the large lens that serves as the golem's eye is smashed. A spell might be sufficient to repair it, or failing that you also have the exact specifications to have it remade.

Finally, the design calls for a brain to be installed within the head. It must be only recently deceased, and come from a human, dwarf, or elf, or a mixed race close to those three. 

Regardless, it is going to take a lot of work and time to get this construct moving again.

Regarding the stone salve, when Eya mentions curing petrification Kiven grins and says "exactly, that is why I must entrust someone else with it," revealing his intentions of giving her two of the vials to still be primarily in his own self interest.

While looking at the golem, Kiven asks Calarel if she has ever seen such a thing.

(We can carefully check the doors off of 1-19 next, if no one objects?)

Eya nods to Kiven, "Let's be careful and keep an eye out for traps, magical or otherwise, as we move along. This golem will require a lot of work. I'll begin fixing it in our spare time later. For now, let's keep searching."

Blau, eager to find the seal that the Knot needs to deal with, moves forward with the others, looking regularly with his own detection of poisons when a likely area or object presents itself. "I trust your eye for things magical will find us the next two Eyes as rapidly as the first, Kiven. And that your 'skill' with the bow won't be needed."

Blau's helpful Boggard Skeleton clatters along behind the group. 

OOC - The Shaman is not following us, correct? 

Celarel shakes her head. She's silent for a time, but eventually says, "I'd heard of such things, but it always seemed... distant, like one of those tales you only hear about in legends. Do you know what I mean?" She reaches out a hand to trace along some of the runework on the golem's leg.

The group sweeps on to the east, they quickly find a smithy. Many of the tools have rusted away, the coal bin is full of a foul soupy mixture of water and soot and the bellows are all but gone, but the forge and anvil themselves are largely inact.

Doubling back a bit, you pass through a room that looks empty at first glance, but there are inscription on the wall, and impressions left by things hanging on the walls. It becomes clear pretty quickly that this was a trophy room, where the cult hung bits and pieces of people and things they killed. There are twelve inscriptions.

“Laedrissia the Beautiful who believed she need not honor her promises to us.”
“Markhan the Golden, the draconic protector of Lossewyn. He slept then and now he sleeps forever.”
“Kallister Feign, an illusionist too clever to keep his head.”
“Lazarus M. Who mourns for you now?”
“King Croc, 23 feet snout to tail, delicious on a spit”
“Iris of Ghastenhall, dead from a broken heart and a poison dagger.”
“The Great Serpent of Korokunga, slain for its venom”
“Lord Jurys Hallifax called the Just hid in his castle and hoped we had forgotten. We hadn’t.”
“Snorri Five-Axe died on a sixth.”
“The ears of Lord Kelerrian. If only he had sense enough to listen.”
“Chief Gorgun Sakkathet, invincible in battle, careless in choosing his cup bearer.”
“Ergun Nigma, The third scion left in the House of the House Hyrhul, second greatest swordsman in the land, the first to die.”

Beyond the trophy room is a large chamber with a cage at the center formed from thick iron bars. The door appears to be rusted in place. Above the cage is a large hole in the ceiling that appears to go up quite a ways, and you can see into another room at least 50 feet above you. After a minute it becomes apparent what you're looking at. This is the bottom of a pit trap. The door at the top is long gone, but while it was functional, anyone that fell victim would fall down here, probably breaking things along the way, and be stuck in the cage to be retrieved at the cult's leisure.

Up next is another guard room, there appears to have been quite a bit of blood spilled here based on the stains.

But even more blood apparently has been spilled in the next room. The equipment once held here has all been smashed, broken, and ruined, but the tools of torture remain recognizable. The room has a ceremonial feel to it. Its pretty apparent that the cult took inflicting pain very seriously.

The other door from the guardroom is made of iron with a small barred window, and leads to a fairly spacious jail cell with iron rings in the walls. A figure sits on the bench within, a human woman in ragged clothing at first glance. As you open the door, she turns to reveal a pale face locked into a rictus of horror, the walls of the cell can be seen through her face and body. She gets on her knees and starts begging, she's apparently saying something to you, but the words are not audible.

Celarel gasps with horror and backs away, even Grumblejack looks uneasy.

Kiven's eyes go wide for a brief moment, the elf not expecting to see this spectral figure in the cell.  He does not feel overly threatened, however, and his curiosity greatly outweighs any fear.  Stepping forward he studies here and tries to discern what she might be trying to say.

Regarding the ghost, Eya says, "The dumb ghost says it's sad or something, let's move on. If it becomes a problem we can deal with it then."

Eya will double check the inscriptions to see if she can find any logical information about the nature of this cult other than what is written or anything in the wording that could be a clue as to the nature of this cult. She also inspects the pit trap, "Respar, do you think we could fix this trap? It could come in useful. Tiadora did say we should keep the defenses in tact, and if we're going to be here for months, then we might as well fix this up right?"