IC: Dichotomy's Age of Worms Redux, Part V(b)

[TiCaudata]

Looks like it's time to, carefully, work our way back out." The elf states as she begins the arduous process of searching the lair.[sblock=oc]Search (+17) the room thoroughly (including traps and locks and whatnot on the chest and desk and whatnot etc...), then search the "museum" thoroughly, then search the shelves in the room where Nethezar died, then carefully search the brain thing on the way out. Then she will search the bodies of the smaller multiarmed eye things beyond the destroyed doors. Once we leave this area, she'd like to hide (+15) and silently move (+15) back to the room where we faced the drow cleric and cronies. There she would like to search bodies 1,2, & 4-6 as well as check the door the the south for traps and locks. She'll also look at what appears to be a haystack in the SE corner of the room to verify what it is.[/sblock]

 

[TiCaudata]

[sblock=oc]Oh yeah, when Erdolliel detected magic, did she get any of the nifty information from the items. For reference here's the wording from the spell:

1st Round
Presence or absence of magical auras.

2nd Round
Number of different magical auras and the power of the most potent aura.

3rd Round
The strength and location of each aura. If the items or creatures bearing the auras are in line of sight, you can make Spellcraft skill checks to determine the school of magic involved in each. (Make one check per aura; DC 15 + spell level, or 15 + half caster level for a nonspell effect.) Also, it looks like if there was any major spells cast or magic items destroyed, that their auras would appear for awhile as well. Detect Magic has more information.

She woulda tried to make the spellcraft checks (I always forget that they are needed when I say "concentrate on the items")

EDIT x2: Here are the rules for detect magic and magic items.[/sblock]

 

[o3caudata]

"We should take this ledger with us, it could prove useful in dismantling whatever network still exists after that things death."

Kushnak loads the ledger into his haversack and follows Erdolliel as she searches the lair.

Once they reach Neth, Kushnak will stow as much of his stuff as is practical in his haversack and then carry the body.

[sblock=oc]

While she's searching(everything) Kush will spot/search too (+15 / +2 respectively) for anything that looks unique/out of place etc. (really just something to do while she searches.)
[/sblock]

 

[Dichotomy]

Erdolliel carefully searches the room while Kushnak pockets the ledger on the illithid's desk. Aside from the various books about the Free City on the shelves, the elf finds a plethora of coins and gems in the chest.

After stowing away the valuables, the duo heads back toward the strange museum-like room. Erdolliel and Kushnak first simply take a look at the three cases.

On top of the first case sits what appears to be the preserved head of a small black dragon. Its eyes glow a faint green. The case also has a strange-looking cage made of a black metal. While the cage itself appears empty, the cage is covered with thorns. There is also a velvet pillow, upon which sits a dagger. Finally, on the bottom of the case are a bunch of chains full of barbs and blades. Of their own accord, the things twitch and wiggle.

The top shelf of the second case has four books labeled on their bindings as "unspeakable tome." On the second shelf is a miniature statute of a griffon, though it is quite tarnished. The remaining shelves contact 10 jars. While six of the jars appear empty, the four jars closest to the front each have one large eyeball inside.

On top of the their case sits a stone figure that looks like a tiny dragon. Next to the dragon sits stuffed doll. The doll looks almost exactly like Nethezar, and it is pierced with about 20 spikes of some kind. There is also a large book, about four inches thick, that is wrapped in chains for some reason. Finally, on the bottom shelf there is a greatsword and a golden amulet.

While the duo can't quite put their fingers on it, so to speak, even just looking around the room gives them a feeling that can best be described as eerie.
[sblock=OOC]So... of the items from the illithid that you detected magic on:
Necklace: moderate evocation
Rod: strong (no school)
Boots: faint transmutation
Cloak: faint abjuration
Ring: moderate evocation
And I already told you that the two potions were cure serious wounds.

Then in searching this room, the shelves are full of books that appear to full of information about the Free City. Then there is the ledger that you pocket. The chest has a bags full of coins: 950 copper, 220 silver, 300 gold, 25 platinum. Another bag has a bunch of random gemstones, and I'll just tell you that they are worth 1,500 gp.

Then you go back to the "museum." I'll pause for a moment to see if you want to do anything before carrying on. Of course, the grotesque ebony statue of a vulture-headed humanoid with large feathery wings and razor sharp talons at the end of avian digits is still in the center of the room.

Oh, and I'm gonna stop tracking the fly spell.[/sblock]

 

[TiCaudata]

"Hmmm... These look like things we need to be careful of." Erdolliel comments while looking at the displays. "But first we should take a few percautions." She then covers the dragon head, the statue's head, and jars with eyeballs with cloth and then pulls out a small bag and looks at the room's contents. Then she walks back to the study and returns with the bag in hand. Reaching inside the bag she pulls out the chest and begins to carefully put items in it.[sblock=oc]So first of all, Erdolliel will wrap her hands in cloth before touching anything from the shelves. Then after getting the chest, she'll cast detect magic again and look at everything, concentrating on all that's magical for auras and whatnot (she has 8 minutes, so I think she should be able to get it all).

Then, assuming that the chest will fit in the bag of holding, she will try to put anything with sharp bits in the chest first. If the chest doesn't fit, she'll wrap up whatever she can in cloth (she has clothes, a bedroll, etc, should be plenty) and then put them in the bag. The bag hold up to 30 cubic feet of space, so she'll try to take as much from the shelves as possible in the following order: Sword, amulet, dagger, chains, cage, dragon statue, Neth doll, griffin statue, books, dragon head, eye jars.

She'll do a spellcraft check (+17) or and Int check (+4) on anything that might benefit from such and she'll try to pull the spikes from the Neth doll.[/sblock]

 

[Dichotomy]

[sblock=OOC]So, I was confused. Ti posted...

Search (+17) the room thoroughly (including traps and locks and whatnot on the chest and desk and whatnot etc...), then search the "museum" thoroughly, then search the shelves in the room where Nethezar died, then carefully search the brain thing on the way out. Then she will search the bodies of the smaller multiarmed eye things beyond the destroyed doors. Once we leave this area, she'd like to hide (+15) and silently move (+15) back to the room where we faced the drow cleric and cronies. There she would like to search bodies 1,2, & 4-6 as well as check the door the the south for traps and locks. She'll also look at what appears to be a haystack in the SE corner of the room to verify what it is.

The part that I bolded in this block of text was the only part that I paid attention to. That was because when I said...

Then you go back to the "museum." I'll pause for a moment to see if you want to do anything before carrying on.

I had meant to indicate that I was stopping your stated course of action to allow you to set a new course of action.

What then happened was that Ti posted a course of action. I'm not entirely clear, but in putting together both the IC and OOC text, I think that course of action was:
1 - covering the dragon head, statue head, and jars with cloth
2 - getting the chest from the "study" and putting it in a bag, if it fits
3 - scanning the items in the "museum" with detect magic
4 - take stuff
That course of action also included covering her own hands, but I wasn't user whether that was to be before #1 or #4.

Because I'd simply disregarded everything that was after the text I bolded in the first quote, I'd concluded that Erdolliel had decided to not search for traps. That would be silly.

So... I've decided to assume that Erdolliel searches the room for traps before #1.

I rolled a 2, so Erdolliel fails to find the trap that she triggers as soon as she covers the dragon head with cloth...[/sblock]
As soon as Erdolliel throws a scrap of cloth over the black dragon head to cover it, she and Kushnak feel an almost physical "snap" as magical energy releases. The large statue suddenly comes to life and quickly scans the room with furious eyes.

"The mind-eater... is dead," a telepathic voice practically shouts inside the duo's minds. "Did you kill it?"

After seeing the creature move and "hearing" it "speak," Kushnak believes that this thing is most like some kind of extraplanar outsider.

 

[o3caudata]

Kushnak eyes Erdolliel and then the skull bird suspiciously "Death comes from failure. The mind flayer failed himself and died as a result. No one is responsible but himself."

[sblock=oc]To be clear, is this a 'small dragon' skull in the technical 'size' sense? And it's moving by just floating around? Is lost.

I'm just dumb, don't worry about it. [/sblock]

 

[Dichotomy]

[sblock=OOC]Sorry, I was unclear again. When Erdolliel tossed the cloth over the preserved dragon head, it was the large statute of a vulture-headed humanoid with large feathery wings and razor sharp talons at the end of avian digits that came to life. And it is, technically, large.

I found a picture. [/sblock]

 

[o3caudata]

[sblock=oc]Edited my post. Sorry for the lameness.[/sblock]

 

[TiCaudata]

Erdolliel pulls a potion out of her bag while waiting for the bird's response.[sblock=oc]retrieve a protection from evil potion. Of course if the birdthing yells at her to stop, she'll stop...[/sblock]