Day 3, Evening
quote:
Johannes and Alacor's Knowledge Checks ~ Johannes and Alacor remembered that riddles requiring thinking to solve!
After the riddle-bearing panels appeared around the chamber, the party, for the most part, panicked. Some hid, some screamed like little girls, and some began to re-consider their life choices, but in the end, a handful stepped up to the challenge.
"
Nothing!" Ziv yelled at one of the panels. For a brief moment she felt silly yelling at a piece of stone – I mean, it was just a stone, right? How is it supposed to know English? – but then to her delight, the inscription on the panel suddenly glowed green and flipped back into the wall, delivering a clear signal that she got the answer right. She glowed with pride at her acuity.
"
Seven!" said Alacor to the other, and that inscription, too, glowed green and flipped back in to the wall. The wizard did a very sagely fist-pump.
"
Stars!" shouted Johannes last to the panel on the ceiling. He had some reserves about this guess, having at first thought it was darkness, but his uncertainty was quickly dismissed when the inscription also lit up green and flipped back into the wall.
"
Incoming!" cried Cabrakan, mounting his shield in the center of the room.
The party took shelter behind the priest's shield as the door to the next room, which was more like a stone block than a door, opened; it dropped into the floor as if there was a perfectly-sized pit there and landed with a heavy thud. There was also another clicking-sound, but that sound was barely audible over the thunderous landing of the stone. A nova of chilling blue light engulfed the room in a blink of an eye, as if throwing the party into the coldest winter they had ever known, and, for a few seconds, the adventurers were very, very uncomfortable.
quote:
Crispin takes
0 damage (Evaded)
Andriel and Cabrakan take
8 damage
Alacor, Johannes, Lerdeth, and Ziv take
17 damage
Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
09:35, Today: DM Ryan, on behalf of Lerdeth Kiensc, rolled 10 using 1d20+2. Reflex Save vs DC 15.
09:35, Today: DM Ryan, on behalf of Ziv, rolled 10 using 1d20+3. Reflex Save vs DC 15.
09:35, Today: DM Ryan, on behalf of Crispin, rolled 17 using 1d20+9.
09:34, Today: DM Ryan, on behalf of Alacor, rolled 6 using 1d20+4. Reflex Save vs DC 15.
09:34, Today: DM Ryan, on behalf of Cabrakan, rolled 15 using 1d20+2. Reflex Save vs DC 15.
09:34, Today: DM Ryan, on behalf of Andriel, rolled 19 using 1d20+3. Reflex Save vs DC 15.
09:33, Today: DM Ryan, on behalf of Herr Johannes, rolled 11 using 1d20+6. Reflex Save vs DC 15.
The blue light then dissipated, the temperature was restored to normal, and the party re-gained their bearings. They looked once again at the door and were relieved to see that it was still open – the way into the next room was clear. Although they were a little scathed, they were happy to know that they had at least gotten the riddles right.
Ziv cast a fiery eye on Crispin. "
You! Why didn't you disarm that trap!?"
Crispin seemed a little taken aback, having evaded the blonde-woman's wrath thus far in their journey. "
I, uh... Sorry, I got nervous! I don't work well under pressure."
"
What!? You're a rogue! You always work under pressure! Grr..." Ziv threw her hands up in the air in the universal gesture of '
Enough!' and stormed off into the next room, leaving Crispin abashed and a bit dazed. His daze was broken however when Cabrakan slapped him on the back and let loose a deep, thunderous chuckle.
"
Women, am I right?" said the priest. "
I've got a little one at home who's just the same."
Crispin shook his head. "
No, she's right. There are.. some things.. in my past that robbed me of my confidence and part of the reason that I am out here adventuring, out here on the Dead Isle at all, is to get it back."
Cabrakan blinked. "
Hm? What happened?"
"
Ishtal happened," he said solemnly. Then, without waiting for comment, Crispin strode into the next room after Ziv, leaving Cabrakan with more questions than when he started.
The rest of the party followed suit and entered the next room, which they were also relieved to see was the last room. They entered another square stone chamber, not dissimilar to the previous room, but perhaps a bit more decorative, adorned with the swirling etchings around the walls and door frame that the Estraens seemed to like so much. At the opposite side of the room was a sarcophagus, fashioned from metal and stone and raised about five feet off the ground, and beside this were two big fat treasure chests.
However, it wasn't the treasure chests that excited them the most (well, maybe it was, but this next thing was at least a close second) – there was a pedestal in the very center of the chamber, atop which was floating a
short wooden rod, only about half a foot longer than the ordinary wand.
"
Crispin, are there any traps?" asked Johannes cautiously.
"
Just one," said Crispin. "
Around the rod in the center of the room. Looks like there's no way to take it without triggering it. Everything else – the sarcophagus and chests – seem clean."
"
Excellent!" said Alacor, rubbing his palms together. "
Then let's get to looting, shall we?"
Lerdeth walked over to the left chest and threw up the lid (it was unlocked) and gazed at all the lovely things inside:
quote:
375 gold pieces
Scroll of Faerie Fire, Speak with Animals, and Cure Light Wounds (Divine)
Ring of the Thief (Use 1/day to gain +10 to the next Disable Device Check)
He then popped open the right one:
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300 gold pieces
Silver Earring
Masterwork Dagger
Masterwork Shortsword
Amidst all this stuff, he also recovered a note:
quote:
Dear People,
If you've gotten this far, making it past all the acid, cold, and riddles, then you're probably not my ex-wife Aggathil. That intolerable witch couldn't stand acid nor cold and doesn't have the brain for riddles. So the only logical conclusion is... that you WORK FOR AGGATHIL! Well, you tell that turnip-faced banshee she can't have any of my stuff! You also tell her that... (the note goes on for some length with a considerable number of insults and threats) ...and that lemon will never come out, you hear me? NEVER!
P.S. If you don't work for Aggathil, thanks for visiting my grave. I really appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Cerethil Marrion
"
Interesting," murmured Lerdeth, handing off the note to the rest of the party.
Suddenly, the party heard something that startled everyone. "
HEEEELPP!" a muffled voice cried. This alone wouldn't have been surprising, but it was the location of the voice that startled them the most – it was coming from the sarcophagus.
"
Get your weapons out!" cried Johannes, drawing his sword. The party did likewise.
"
HEY! IS ANYBODY OUT THERE!?" the voice continued to shout.
Lerdeth and Cabrakan, being the biggest men, positioned themselves beside the sarcophagus and readied to push off the lid. They glanced back over their shoulders at the party, who gave them a nod. Then, together, they pushed.
The lid was shoved off the top, slamming down on the other side of the sarcophagus, and Lerdeth and Cabrakan jumped back with weapons at the fore.
"
Oh thank the gods," said a voice from inside. "
Somebody really is out there. It's not my imagination for once. Hey! Hey come here!"
The party exchanged bewildered glances. Somebody was asking them to come closer to an open sarcophagus, and that didn't accord well with their past experiences.
"
Is it... Is it a lich?" asked Ziv.
Johannes, summoning his courage, took the lead and cautiously approached the open tomb; he peered inside. Inside the tomb was a skeleton, the skeleton of Cerethil the Odd, dressed in turquoise robes and holding a staff, laying flat on his back. But the skeleton looked, for once, genuinely lifeless, and there was nothing else inside the sarcophagus. The source of the voice was no where to be found.
"
So are you just gonna stand there like an idiot or are you gonna to take me out of this thing!?"
The voice was so close that Johannes practically leapt out of his sabatons. He pointed his sword back at the skeleton, still unsure if it was speaking or not.
"
Are you undead?... Cerethil?" he asked, not really sure what else to say.
"
What!? I'm not Cerethil; that idiot's dead. No, look over here... not there, here... here dammit!.. I'M THE STAFF FOR PETE'S SAKE!"
Johannes' eyes finally landed on the staff in Cerethil's hand, which had a long black shaft and an ornate golden head; a turquoise jewel sat in the center of the golden head.
The staff sighed, "
Finally." The color in the turquoise jewel seemed to swirl a little when it did so. "
So, can you take me outta here already? I've been staring at this bastard's skeleton for years and I'm going to go mad if I have to any longer."
---A Chatroom has been Opened---
Note: There won't be any live chat this week
quote:
You have gained Roleplaying Experience!
Johannes gained 96 XP
Alacor gained 54 XP
Cabrakan gained 44 XP ~ LEVEL UP!
Crispin gained 25 XP
Ziv gained 54 XP ~ LEVEL UP!
Lerdeth gained 20 XP
Andriel gained 96 XP
Players who participated in the live-quest "Tomb of the Three Lords" also gain the following, well-earned experience (and when I say well-earned, I really mean it. Seriously. They slaved for this XP!):
Johannes gained 1150 XP ~ LEVEL UP!
Alacor gained 1150 XP ~ LEVEL UP!
Lerdeth gained 550 XP ~ LEVEL UP!
Andriel gained 1150 XP ~ LEVEL UP!
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:59, Mon 04 Dec 2017.