(CSRHoD) Creamsteak's Red Hand of Doom II [IC]

[Arkhandus]

Warren steps forward, though still wary of the large werewolf. He disperses the shadows around him first, so as not to startle the villagers. "Look, I'm sorry for the bad news, but Brindol might be under siege soon for all we know. So you folks might be safer here then out there, but if you'd still rather seek shelter in Brindol, maybe we can escort you there."

He continues after a moment, "But we've got important gobbo-slaying and wraith-diverting jobs to do, so I dunno. But the other werewolves are still lurking in the tunnels here and are bound to keep attacking the big guy here until they getcha. So yer best bet is either to head back topside and fortify yer li'l thorp as best ya can while sealing the tunnels off, or head to Brindol. We didn't run into any gobbos between here and Brindol, so at least it might be safe."

Lastly, he adds "I dunno if any gobbos will bother returnin' here or not, but ya might wanna keep the big guy around fer protection. Assuming, y'know, he doesn't eatcha. But at least he seems less bloodthirsty than the others. I had t'kill two o' the others earlier what jes' up and attacked us in the hallway when we got here."

 

[Creamsteak]

"Brindol? But isn't that on the other side of the vale? That's quite far to travel... and in my condition..."

The villagers debate among themselves for a few moments the circumstances. As they converse, the elder woman raises an interesting proposition.

"Behind the old stone door, the one the priest locked, he said that there was an old magic gateway. He couldn't use it, however, as he did not know the necessary magic. But maybe someone among you may be able to do it. Would you be interested in taking a look?"

Tyrla or Larian: This is more directed at your two characters.

 

[pathfinderq1]

"Certainly, we can examine it," Tyrla replied. "Whether we can use it is another matter, but we are well-versed in arcane lore. We'll have to see about getting through that door first."

 

[Creamsteak]

Crossing back through the cavern with the citizens in tow, the howls of the wolves and some other fowl creature in the darkness echo from the south-west.

At the large stone doorway near the entrance to the cavern, with some heavy work on Warren's part and the help of Pender and the large werewolf are able to pry open the gate. As the door slides out of the way, the large chamber inside is revealed. The room extends off for thirty feet and is twenty feet wide. Sunken braziers are mounted every five feet along the walls. A huge stone coffin rests in the middle of the room, one fit for a large-sized humanoid. Chains of various sizes are wrapped around the stone figure, and a single rod rests just on top of it.

The tomb has an etching in common along the frame. It repeats itself seven times in all. "Here rests the witch, may she never wake."

At the edge of the room a large well, 8 feet wide and 40 feet deep, rests in the north-east corner. It is surrounded by arcane runes. In infernal, a few words are etched.

Infernal:
[sblock]"There must be light for there to be shadow."[/sblock]

Tyrla & Larian:
[sblock]Examining the runes along the well, you are able to surmise that the well acts as a gateway to the plane of shadow similar to the shadow-walk spell with a duration of 24 hours. It requires some sort of trigger, however, in order to begin functioning.
[/sblock]

 

[renau1g]

"I'm not sure if I think we should disturb this tomb. Can you read what they say Larian or Tyrla?" Pender asks.

[sblock=OOC]
As an FYI, I haven't seen Redclaw online in a while :

Last Activity: 27th July 2009 03:10 PM
[/sblock]

 

[Creamsteak]

The elders are surprised by what you find beyond the stone door. They seem both intrigued and suspicious. "This is where the old priest would go from time to time. It has been a long time since anyone came here though. I did not know such things were kept here, this raises many questions..."

Avril:
[sblock]The chains are made of cold-iron, a material used to bind creatures of fey-blood and some outsiders. The room itself seems unnaturally cold and dark, even for it's location deep underground.[/sblock]
Siobhan:
[sblock]This room seems to have religious significance to the goddess of death and magic, Wee-jas. It looks as though this ground was concecrated in her name, and a powerful servant of hers now rests here. The location of this tomb must have been rarely used, however, as there appears to be little sign of recent use. The braziers above appear significant in that they are used for both the ceremony of passing, guiding the soul as it leaves the body, and the ceremony of resurrection, guiding the soul back to the body to reincarnate it in undeath.[/sblock]
Tyrla:
[sblock]Your keen vision tells you that this place is located on a ley-line between the world and the plane of shadow - another world that exists adjacent to this one. You can see that all light casts a much darker shadow than it normally would while within the confines of this room.[/sblock]
Warren:
[sblock]While looking at the stone door from this side, you realize that the doorway was locked from both sides. It also looks like someone tried to pick the lock from the inside of the room at some point in the past. Further inspection reveals that one of the culprits picks was broken off inside of the device. You also find a small area of the northern wall that was mortared into place. With some effort, you might be able to pry the stone loose there.[/sblock]
Pender:
[sblock]You recognize that the chains are made of cold iron, a material sometimes used to craft weapons that are more effective against certain opponents. The chains are of fair quality. It also seems like this room would be located approximately forty-to-fifty feet below the small graveyard in the north of town.[/sblock]
Larian:
[sblock]This tomb is at least a few hundred years old, likely predating the village by a fair amount of time. The braziers were forged using techniques that remind you of antiques dating back to the time of the nation of Rhestilor.[/sblock]

 

[Arkhandus]

Warren takes a careful look around the room, examining the walls and floors and such, then says "Okay - NOBODY touch the coffin, the chains, OR the rod. Anyone does, and I'll gut them on principle. Nobody's releasing some monstrously big evil witch who apparently needs her coffin chained down just to keep her in there. And definitely not just to claim some stupid bauble. I'm betting the chains won't even be enough if someone disturbs that thing."

After he finishes his inspection, he adds "However, it looks like somebody else already broke into here before, then tried to get out. I think they had to dig themselves a tunnel out, cuz the wall's been re-sealed over there." He points at a suspicious spot on the wall. "So chances are, some treasure-hunter or other idiot has already been here. I say we collapse the ceiling in here somehow before we leave, make sure what's dead....or undead.....stays that way under the rubble."

"And for that matter, what makes you people think you'd WANT to go wherever some magic gate down in THIS place would lead to? It can't be nowhere good. Was your priest devoted to this place's deity?" the halfling asks.

 

[Creamsteak]

"I... I don't know..." The older woman looks quizically at the older man. He looks back timidly, as if being pressed for an answer to a question he doesn't want to think about. After a moment, his resistance breaks and he explains his reluctance.

"I was among the first people to move to this small hamlet. We thought it was far enough into the forests to avoid too much extra attention, but close enough to the trade roads to keep our work a secret. I left my wife behind in Brindol while we made a homestead for ourselves. At first, we all lived out of what now makes up the tavern. Our leader, a man named Debias Cairn, had already laid the groundwork to the cellar there before I arrived. His friend, the old priest, Father Glimly had told him that this site was lucky. We would be safe here, he said. During the day, we cut back the forest and built our homes. During the night, we would poke around in the ground with lengths of wood with metal tips, espeira, looking for buried treasure. The fields around here were littered with relics of an old city. Some people would pay quite a bit for the pottery and tools we would dig up, and Debias paid us well for what we could find."

"After a few years, we had enough money to send for my dear wife and our families. The search for antiques became less important. That's when we started excavating this cavern. It didn't take long till we found this cave. The old stone door was forbidden to all but Glimly and Debias. We had no reason to bother them. We had good lives here, we were very lucky. That is until this boy here was... afflicted."

The older man looks at the wolf-man with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry, Lonnie, but we didn't know what to do. We left you to Glimly because he said he could help... and I think he has, hasn't he? You're... strong now. Mighty strong. If only your brother hadn't wanted that strength for himself..."

The werewolf looks at him, his expression solemn, his tail down.

"Look, I don't know what Glimly was up to. He was a bit of a shut-in, but he was good to us. He had us build the graveyard above this place because he said it would let the dead rest more easily. He said this place was closer to heaven, but... but... now I see what he meant. This isn't any closer to heaven, this isn't a good place, and even an old man can see that. If anything... I think it may be closer to hell..."

 

[pathfinderq1]

Tyrla had been silent for a few minutes, studying the room and its contents. "No, not closer to hell- or at least not precisely. Closer to one of the darker realms, though. I would say, perhaps, the plane of shadow. See how the darkness clings at the corners of the room, how each flicker of light casts a darker shadow than one might expect...," she said, pointing to details as she spoke. "And this inscription- it says 'there must be light for there to be shadow'. From the look of it, this IS a gateway, not a teleportation circle but a passage through the realm of shadow, where distance is not like that of the mortal world. It might provide passage, but I don't know how safe it would be, especially in a temple such as this. Perhaps it might serve as a last resort, but..." She shrugged, and paused to look in Larian's direction. After a moment, her eyes began to glow with a soft reddish light, and she scanned the room once more.

OOC: Activating Detect Magic, and scanning the room. Does the 'rod' look like a sunrod, or an actual (perhaps) magical item?

 

[Creamsteak]

The rod is magic, as is the stone that makes up the well. The rod has a moderate aura of transmutation.