"If you give me time, I can look for more arcane energy, though I doubt I will discover anything new except perhaps on the platform. I would truly like to know whether that is safe ground. If it is, it could change everything."
The eladrin sighs heavily. "I should probably be the one to test this. We've seen with our own eyes what the price of failure is. I may not be as strong as Allister, but I have means of escape he lacks. And without him...well, never mind."
Allister looks at his friend. „I need some space. Please step aside.“ When he has enough room he walks around the corner in the tunnel, puts down his pack and takes a deep breath. Suddenly he rushes forward, runs towards the room and leaps across the tiles. He lands at the barge and grips it to keep his balance. „If Lo hadn’t stepped inside the room first I would have already done it back then.“ He walks to the sarcophagus and tries to open it. He lifts and pushes the lid from different positions but it won’t move an inch. After several tries Allister says „No way, I cannot open it. Please step aside, I’m jumping back and need a clear space.“ Once everyone has cleared the entrance Allister jumps and land on the snake tile next to the vulture tile.
As Allister lands, everyone takes a sharp breath in and steps back in anticipation of the horror that might come. Nothing changes though. There are no indications that anything has happened.
Nenne shuts her eyes. "That man will kill me before anything else does," she laments quietly to Kelemvor. Once her initial wave of panic recedes, she looks at Allister and then back at the sarcophagus. "So presumably, we need to solve the puzzle to be able to open it. That is not reassuring."
"Nowhere, please," Nenne replies. "I did not get the chance to scan this room for magic, last time we happened upon it. If you would be so kind as to remain where you are while I complete my ritual, I may be able to provide us with more information."
She lobs a slightly pointed look at Boosey. "Same request goes to you, please. I cannot concentrate if I'm worrying over you when you're already half-dead, my curious and brilliant friend."
"Glimbul, if you would not mind keeping watch? This will take me some time."
She sits on the floor with her prayer book. Ten minutes later, her eyes flash red with divine energy and she scans the room.
"As expected, conjuration magic from each sphinx. And each tile has its own conjuration and divination signature."
"If we must," Nenne says with a bit of a growl. "We know there is a mace there, but if you think I was against it before, I have no words to communicate how little I desire to be near it now that I am host to Wongo's nemesis."
"We should retrieve our rope, however. I would not like to lose a valuable resource like that to whatever creatures reset the rooms in this wretched place."
Back at the entrance to the propeller hallway, the party ponders how to proceed next. Nenne confirms that there is no magic that she can detect within range. On a whim and more about discovery, Allister steps on the hallway floor. The amount of weight required to start the fan is incredibly light. The floor has a hair trigger, and the fan thunders to life. It takes a moment for the fan to really get spinning, but when it does, the four heroes can feel the air being sucked into the hallway amid the thunderous report of the spinning blades. After a minute of loud, uninterrupted spinning, the fan switches off and spins down to a still position.
Allister sizes up the hallway after the propeller stops spinning. He starts to shake his limbs out and Nenne takes the hint. She casts guidance on the warrior just as he takes off. Allister's muscles ripple as he pushes himself towards the propeller. The fan thunders to life, but Allister is too fast too quick. Once he is through, he continues his momentum to soar over the pit in the next room. Allister doesn't move from there, but surveys the room while the fan spins down. Once his companions can hear him again, he conveys the room's features.
A deep pit opens up at the entrance to this tomb, with a stone sarcophagus resting at the bottom. A snarling monkey-like creature decorates the sarcophagus lid. Beyond the pit, three treasure chests sit on stone daises. The chest on the left is carved of black onyx, the middle chest is made of rusty iron, and the chest on the right is cast of silver and glistening with frost.
„I checked for traps and that kind of crap, but didn’t find anything. Would be nice to have something easy once in a while.“ He takes his handaxe and uses the handle to open the rusted chest.
Allister finds the massive chest to be empty, save an elaborate mechanism inside the lid. There is a key pointed up into the lid. As the lid opens, the mechanism closes around the key so that it cannot be turned. Further testing, shows the key being released from the lock as the lid is closed, though Allister cannot see it totally unlocked from outside the chest.
"Be as canny as ever, warrior," Nenne cautions. "I can only see you at the center chest, and I can do precious little but heal you a modicum from here. I would like to search for secret passages on this floor, yet I cannot bear to leave you alone, or abandon the gnomes. I will teleport to you if and when I must."
„Right now it looks more like I’m coming back. These boxes look like coffins to me, and I have no way of removing the keys. Might be a waste of time to remain here. Unless someone has an idea.“
„If they are here, they are hidden well. Only way out is the way in.“ Allister unties his the rope, packs his stuff and gets ready to jump and run. After taking several deep breaths he jumps over the pit and rushes through the corridor.
Allister doesn't quite make it through unscathed this time. One of the blades shaves off a clean section of skin and pants on his way through, but he manages to return to the balcony.
The party heads over to the room with the fountain in it to take a short rest. Each of them knows that the unexplored fourth floor lies in wait next. There's no telling what dangers await them there, so Nenne casts Aid to help ease her conscience. The rest goes by uninterrupted and the party descends...
At the bottom of the grand staircase, a resonant mechanical rumbling emanates from a dark shaft opening up in the middle of this chamber’s floor. Four cylindrical stone pedestals surround the shaft, each ten feet tall, five feet wide, and featuring a tiny slot in its side. Squatting atop each pedestal is a large four-armed gargoyle. Each gargoyle is contained within a square made of metallic tiles embedded in the top of its pedestal. Starting with the northernmost pedestal and going clockwise, the tiles are copper, silver, gold, and platinum. A narrow hallway just off to the south just at the end of the staircase, while two larger passages exit the chamber on the upper west side and lower east side. A plaque mounted to the tomb wall gives some more cryptic sayings.
„Looks like I found the mirror. It’s down the corridor to the west. On the eastern wall there is some man painted on a block. I’ll take a look at it.“ Allister moves down the corridor to look a the picture.
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"If you give me time, I can look for more arcane energy, though I doubt I will discover anything new except perhaps on the platform. I would truly like to know whether that is safe ground. If it is, it could change everything."
The eladrin sighs heavily. "I should probably be the one to test this. We've seen with our own eyes what the price of failure is. I may not be as strong as Allister, but I have means of escape he lacks. And without him...well, never mind."
Allister looks at his friend. „I need some space. Please step aside.“ When he has enough room he walks around the corner in the tunnel, puts down his pack and takes a deep breath. Suddenly he rushes forward, runs towards the room and leaps across the tiles. He lands at the barge and grips it to keep his balance. „If Lo hadn’t stepped inside the room first I would have already done it back then.“ He walks to the sarcophagus and tries to open it. He lifts and pushes the lid from different positions but it won’t move an inch. After several tries Allister says „No way, I cannot open it. Please step aside, I’m jumping back and need a clear space.“ Once everyone has cleared the entrance Allister jumps and land on the snake tile next to the vulture tile.
"It seems that Allister has come up with his own solution," and Boosey starts laughing
As Allister lands, everyone takes a sharp breath in and steps back in anticipation of the horror that might come. Nothing changes though. There are no indications that anything has happened.
Nenne shuts her eyes. "That man will kill me before anything else does," she laments quietly to Kelemvor. Once her initial wave of panic recedes, she looks at Allister and then back at the sarcophagus. "So presumably, we need to solve the puzzle to be able to open it. That is not reassuring."
„That was my thought from the beginning, but I thought why not try it. So, who can tell me where to go next?“
"Nowhere, please," Nenne replies. "I did not get the chance to scan this room for magic, last time we happened upon it. If you would be so kind as to remain where you are while I complete my ritual, I may be able to provide us with more information."
She lobs a slightly pointed look at Boosey. "Same request goes to you, please. I cannot concentrate if I'm worrying over you when you're already half-dead, my curious and brilliant friend."
"Glimbul, if you would not mind keeping watch? This will take me some time."
She sits on the floor with her prayer book. Ten minutes later, her eyes flash red with divine energy and she scans the room.
"As expected, conjuration magic from each sphinx. And each tile has its own conjuration and divination signature."
„That doesn’t help me to find the next tile. I’m coming back.“ He jumps back. „Wongoˋs tomb?“
"If we must," Nenne says with a bit of a growl. "We know there is a mace there, but if you think I was against it before, I have no words to communicate how little I desire to be near it now that I am host to Wongo's nemesis."
"We should retrieve our rope, however. I would not like to lose a valuable resource like that to whatever creatures reset the rooms in this wretched place."
Back at the entrance to the propeller hallway, the party ponders how to proceed next. Nenne confirms that there is no magic that she can detect within range. On a whim and more about discovery, Allister steps on the hallway floor. The amount of weight required to start the fan is incredibly light. The floor has a hair trigger, and the fan thunders to life. It takes a moment for the fan to really get spinning, but when it does, the four heroes can feel the air being sucked into the hallway amid the thunderous report of the spinning blades. After a minute of loud, uninterrupted spinning, the fan switches off and spins down to a still position.
Allister sizes up the hallway after the propeller stops spinning. He starts to shake his limbs out and Nenne takes the hint. She casts guidance on the warrior just as he takes off. Allister's muscles ripple as he pushes himself towards the propeller. The fan thunders to life, but Allister is too fast too quick. Once he is through, he continues his momentum to soar over the pit in the next room. Allister doesn't move from there, but surveys the room while the fan spins down. Once his companions can hear him again, he conveys the room's features.
A deep pit opens up at the entrance to this tomb, with a stone sarcophagus resting at the bottom. A snarling monkey-like creature decorates the sarcophagus lid. Beyond the pit, three treasure chests sit on stone daises. The chest on the left is carved of black onyx, the middle chest is made of rusty iron, and the chest on the right is cast of silver and glistening with frost.
„I checked for traps and that kind of crap, but didn’t find anything. Would be nice to have something easy once in a while.“ He takes his handaxe and uses the handle to open the rusted chest.
Allister finds the massive chest to be empty, save an elaborate mechanism inside the lid. There is a key pointed up into the lid. As the lid opens, the mechanism closes around the key so that it cannot be turned. Further testing, shows the key being released from the lock as the lid is closed, though Allister cannot see it totally unlocked from outside the chest.
"Be as canny as ever, warrior," Nenne cautions. "I can only see you at the center chest, and I can do precious little but heal you a modicum from here. I would like to search for secret passages on this floor, yet I cannot bear to leave you alone, or abandon the gnomes. I will teleport to you if and when I must."
„Right now it looks more like I’m coming back. These boxes look like coffins to me, and I have no way of removing the keys. Might be a waste of time to remain here. Unless someone has an idea.“
"None that I could ever in good conscience share."
The cleric tries her hardest not to imagine the propeller dissecting him as he jumps through a second time. She pales.
"I cannot aid your return. Is there nothing we can do mechanically to make your egress safer? Any trap doors you found in the walls?"
„If they are here, they are hidden well. Only way out is the way in.“ Allister unties his the rope, packs his stuff and gets ready to jump and run. After taking several deep breaths he jumps over the pit and rushes through the corridor.
Allister doesn't quite make it through unscathed this time. One of the blades shaves off a clean section of skin and pants on his way through, but he manages to return to the balcony.
The party heads over to the room with the fountain in it to take a short rest. Each of them knows that the unexplored fourth floor lies in wait next. There's no telling what dangers await them there, so Nenne casts Aid to help ease her conscience. The rest goes by uninterrupted and the party descends...
At the bottom of the grand staircase, a resonant mechanical rumbling emanates from a dark shaft opening up in the middle of this chamber’s floor. Four cylindrical stone pedestals surround the shaft, each ten feet tall, five feet wide, and featuring a tiny slot in its side. Squatting atop each pedestal is a large four-armed gargoyle. Each gargoyle is contained within a square made of metallic tiles embedded in the top of its pedestal. Starting with the northernmost pedestal and going clockwise, the tiles are copper, silver, gold, and platinum. A narrow hallway just off to the south just at the end of the staircase, while two larger passages exit the chamber on the upper west side and lower east side. A plaque mounted to the tomb wall gives some more cryptic sayings.
„Looks like I found the mirror. It’s down the corridor to the west. On the eastern wall there is some man painted on a block. I’ll take a look at it.“ Allister moves down the corridor to look a the picture.