Pizazz's Ravenloft and Beyond

"Meepo, would you get down or should we come to you?" Instead asked Lionel. He was done with separating group in any way. "Do not know if we can handle the monster now, when there is only three of us, but do not see any other options."

Meepo will climb down to join the others, saving his magic.  "Mordekai, you dispel  darkness around skull?" He asks, knowing his companion has that ability.  "None but you see into skull..."  If Mordekai agrees, Meepo suggests he move out of sight of the skull holes, to keep his spell from being countered by the creature inside of the skull.

((OOC: Mordekai only has Counterspell, not Dispel Magic.  And from my reading of the situation, the creature isn't where you think it is?  To clarify...

There are two statues, one giant statue in the main temple room - the head of which was high up, and when we visited the first time, only Mordekai could see into it because it was too far away for others' darkvision to see.  The other statue, the one we were infatuated with, that Mordekai cast Darkess on recently, is off in a side room past the upper left balcony, which has now collapsed.  We all managed to get away from that statue, and are now back on the ground floor of the main temple room (in the top left corner of it?).

The "not-Ismark" creature, to my understanding, has just teleported not into the skull of the big statue, but to the upper corridor on the far (right) side of the main temple area, the arrow slits of which corridor overlook the main temple room?  And again, I believe the reason only Mordekai can see him is because of the distance (others' darkvision reaches 60ft, Mordekai's reaches 120ft).  But to follow, or to see him, we'd just need to walk across the room to get closer to the far right wall of the temple, and then we could all either Misty Step, or Dimension Door (Mordekai taking Lionel with him) into the corridor to give chase.  But that leaves the three of us hunting him down and Ulthan minding his own business outside again.

DM, is that right?  Or have I read it wrong?))

"In the statue room there is a door, a secret door. I was brought to that room - unconscious. The sword could be taken anywhere, probably, but this is the only lead I have now and I need to check it. Would you come with me? Though, we have to think how to protect our minds."

"So we see our enemy head in one direction, and we leave in the other direction to buy time and find the sword? We should find Ulthan too, perhaps?" 

(OOC: Xarboth, yes, that's correct, mostly. There was also magical darkness shrouding the head of the big statue during the original battle.  Just to make things extra complicated.   So, Meepo, you're up sorta to the right of the big statue in the temple room.  Its head is NOT shrouded in magical darkness, but from this angle, you can't see into it's eye's.  But that's not important, since the bad guy is actually on the far side of the room, on the 2nd floor, through some arrow slits.  And the reason Mordekai can see him is because he has 120ft darkvision and its over 100 feet across the room.) 

Ok, Mordekai unleashes two blasts, over 100 feet, across the room, through arrow slits and strikes the creature two times, it yelps in pain and then vanishes. 

So, is Lionel grabbing Mordekai and flying him up to the 2nd floor where Meepo is so you can go through the secret door, or are you making chase after this elusive and annoying creature? 

Actually, Meepo said he went down already, but I am all for re-play it and bring Mordekai up. Lionel is set on getting through that secret door and finish up searching on this side of the second floor.

Woops, missed that detail. Meepo can climb back up easily enough though. Let me know if you pursue or withdraw. Also, in the main temple room, flanking either side of the large statue, were amber double doors, though the ones on this side of the statue have been smashed down.  So, since you're now all standing next to an open doorway, I'll describe what you see in there. The amber doors that once sealed this great stone room have been smashed, their pieces lying amid crushed bones, armor, and weapons. The ceiling of this room is 30 feet high. A quick glance shows no exits or interesting features. 

Here's a refresher map with all the spots you know about: 

"Meepo think check doors here first." Meepo suggests.  "Better than climb up, then have return here again..."

(I also have been wanting to ask what Meepo knows about flame skulls.  As a necromancer would he know much about them, or would that just be a roll, if so would it be arcana since his magical focus is the undead, or something else?)

Go ahead and roll Arcana for what you know about the skulls. 

Meepo arcana: 9

Meepo knows this about these creatures. "Dark spellcasters fashion Flameskulls from the remains of dead wizards. When the ritual is complete, green flames erupt from the skull to complete its ghastly transformation. A flameskull only dimly recalls its former life. Though it might speak in its old voice and recount key events from its past, it is but an echo of its former self. However, its undead transformation grants it full access to the magic it wielded in life, letting it cast spells while ignoring the material and somatic components it can no longer employ. Intelligent and vigilant, a Flameskull serves its creator by protecting a hidden treasure hoard, a secret chamber, or a specific individual. A Flameskull carries out the directives given to it when it was created, and it interprets those commands to the letter."

"If this temple is like many others, its architecture is probably symmetrical.  Which means the other door will probably just lead to a single room which we can tick off quickly, and then we can go back up and find your stairs, Lionel.  But we'd have to go up the stairs in this room, over and through the corridors and then down the stairs we want to explore.  My guess is that those stairs just lead us the long way round to this passageway here"  Mordekai gestures to the passageway to the left side of the main temple room on the ground floor.

((So, trying to explain what I mean as clearly as possible without just referring to the map... Passageways branch off to the left and right of the main temple room ground floor, and the corridors with the arrow slits are directly above those passageways, arrow slits overlooking the main room.  We haven't explored anything on the right side of the main room, but to explore the stairs we're talking about, we'd have to go back up to the main room's balcony (where we first arrived on our first attempt!), through a door to the left from the balcony (into the room where the barbarians were - where we entered through the fissure in the rock this time), then into the corridor with the arrow slits (which is directly above the ground floor passageway), and down a set of stairs that, by my reading of the map, probably join up with where that passageway leads?  So it might be quicker just to explore that passageway and find where the stairs come out, but happy to be led by Lionel wanting to make sure we definitely follow the correct staircase.))

((Topological idiots like myself would not mind simple reference to the map with the numbers in OOC parts of the posts :) ))

Lionel want only one thing at the moment - to check that secret door, since this is the only thing he is associating with the loss of the sword. He would not leave his friends, though, and if guts/hunch/curiosity dictate Mordekai and Meepo to first fully uncover the base floor - he will go with it. (By the way, since Meepo freely goes up and down to the balcony, no reason for Mordekai and Lionel to go around - they can climb too, with an additional rope, if needed)

((On the map, I was just suggesting that it looks like the stairs (X21) probably come out in the corridor (X36), which is something like 60-80ft from where we currently are, on the same level.  But it makes sense that Lionel would want to retrace steps and go all the way round to make sure))

"Lionel lead then." Meepo says as it is clear the warrior wants to go and check out this stairway he is talking about.  "Come back later check rooms here..."

Lionel flies Mordekai up to the broken ledge and the room with the cursed statue and secret door.  Nimbly, Meepo follows by clambering back up the broken stones.  The darkness spell still envelopes the statue and nobody seems to be ensnared by it, even though Mordekai can see the statue again.  

Lionel moves over to the secret door, and pulls it open. It's initially stuck but then slides open rapidly. The room beyond is filled with human skulls and an avalanche of skulls comes pouring into the room, clattering loudly as they come tumbling out and stream all around the group.  The clattering continues for several seconds until they finally come to a rest.  Meepo pushes one away from his face sending a bit more clattering about.  

You look into a veritable wall of skulls.  The ceiling seems to go up maybe 30 feet in this room so it will take a while to dig through these.  Especially if you're going to try and dig through the whole room looking for the hilt of the blade.

Hope, radiating from Lionel changed into disappointment: "Nobody disturbed that sad remains for a long time. I doubt the sword is here. I think we can go and check those rooms downstairs, friend Meepo." (Did we look inside X25? If not - Lionel will check it too)

A quick glance into X25 reveals a largely featureless room with an arrow slit looking into the main temple room.  You leave behind the room filled with skulls (you don't search it, so it could have other doors, or really, anything inside it...). 

You clamber down into the main temple hall, and head to the door on the far side of the main statue. The frigid cold and dark seep into Mordekai's bones, though Lionel with the ring, and Meepo with the ice staff, seem quite comfortable in the cold now.  The temple is silent and each scuff on the icy stone floor echoes about the space. The double amber doors to the room on the far side of the statue are sealed shut.  They don't seem to have a lock, but they clearly won't open with a simple push or pull.