Pizazz's Ravenloft and Beyond

Meepo is willing to follow the others around to check out the place.

So, the doors at X5c and the doors to the right of the large statue are both similar. Amber double doors.  Locked in a non-obvious way and seem unwilling to open without attempting to apply great force. 

Where do you go next? 

Lionel truly appreciated readiness of his friends - he could safely say "friends", not just comrades-in-arms - to follow him in his search for the lost Sword. He could only hope it would not get them again into impossible situation.

Systematic search meant they were going to finish with the left side of the room first and he carefully led the group to the passage X5d.

The spell ends and the three of you creep through the darkness, past the still forms of both Olin and the dead elf to the passage leading west.  This arched hall rises to a height of twenty feet. You can see your reflections in the amber glaze. But the images don't mirror your movements. Instead, they wave their arms and scream silent warnings to you. Concerned, but brave, the three walk past their silently screaming reflections into a long hallway that runs north-south.  Glistening amber coats the walls and ceiling of this enor­mous hall like sculpted honey, and dust covers the black marble floor. The vaulted ceiling is twenty-five feet high. Set into the walls at a height of five feet are amber ledges lined with life-sized alabaster statues of cats, frogs, hawks, owls, rats, ravens, snakes, toads, and weasels. Many of the statues have fallen off their perches and lie shattered on the floor. An amber door in the north wall stands open. Three amber doors on the west wall are closed.  You can see the bottom of a stairway also exits into the hall on the west wall, probably from the stairway you found upstairs.  To the south one more door stands closed. 

Lionel looked around and simply moved toward the open door "Let us try those rooms one by one." (First - the open one, then the near by closed and so on)

Non attacking evil (there were no other kind of creatures in this place) was a nice change of pace, but Lionel was not sure what to do with them. It's not like the party was going to cleanse the Temple from every inhabitant. They came for information (at first) and now for the sword. Lionel tried to check if the creatures can talk: "I came for my sword. Is it here?"

The creatures hop about awkwardly as Lionel directs his question.  (make a Charisma (Deception) check vs. 12)  They mutter in a strange tongue amongst themselves, but unfortunately none of you seem to recognize the language. 

Deception: 12  (Just out of curiosity - why Deception? He is not deceiving creatures in any way.)

(And of course he had to fail it!)

Meepo glances into the room and sees the coffins.  He wonders what might be hidden away in those things and wonders if anything of power might be there.

meepo would move into the room, holding his staff.  he would only attack the creatures if they move to stop him, but he is moving to one of the coffins to see if he can open it.

(OOC: Why deception?  I dunno, it's a creature power.  I don't make the rules, i just work here. Nothing obvious happens to Lionel though.) 

The creatures hop about muttering to themselves.  However...with no way to communicate with them, they just mutter to each other. When Meepo walks into the room towards one of the amber coffins, they back away, and a hush spreads across them. 

Meepo puts his hand on the amber to try and move it and freezes for a moment....

Both amber sarcophagus' look like a rough block of solid amber 8 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 5 feet thick. Trapped in­ the center of each amber block is a sliver or wisp of utter darkness no more than a few inches long.

"Meepo, I am not sure it is wise to disturb dead in here," began Lionel, who was patiently ignoring helpful necromatic habits of little draconoid. It was too late, though, and paladin metally prepared to the fight with some unknown undead. Or those small evil four in front of them.

Meepo gives a nod of his head, glancing over the amber to see if he could find any way to open it.  If he cannot, as I expect, he would move to the second and put his hand on it in turn, wondering if it would have the same result.

After a moment of being still and touching the amber you notice a small flash of black, like a dark bolt, zap Meepo from within the amber. He then removes his hand and looks around, seemingly none the worse for wear from the black shock. 

(He was supposed to try to open the sarcophagus)

Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that these large stone sarcophagus are just blocks of amber containing a strip of pure black within, though the are shaped very much like sarcophagi.  <-- spell check is letting that go, apparently it must be the plural for realzzz. 

Meepo moves from the first amber block to the second one, placing his hand on it.  Another black shock.  A moment later he turns to the group, a wicked looking smile across his face.  The moment passes...the four creatures chitter in an agitated fashion. Nothing seems to occur.

Everything happened too fast and Lionel did nto have time to protect kobold with the spell. "I do not know why did you do that, but what do feel now? That black bolt clearly struck you. We've seen enough possessions around here - are you still Meepo?"

"Yes Meepo, I'd agree with Lionel. In a place like this, I would avoid touching as much as we can. I'd definitely say that black sparks in an evil temple are not the kind of thing you want to be collecting."

Having said that, Mordekai wonders whether the black sparks are emitted repeatedly or just a one off occurrence, so he also lightly touches the sarcophagus that Meepo last touched, in an attempt to discern at least something about what just happened. 

"Meepo still Meepo."  Meepo informs Lionel.  His voice is a soft whisper now though.  Meepo would move to the ruined amber block and touch the remains, not sure if it contains power as well, since it looks to be broken.  Turning to the others after that he nods to them.  "Meepo just becoming stronger..." He assures them.  "No worry Meepo."