[IC1] Pool of Radiance

[hafrogman]

Kylest leans over and carefully cleans his blade on the closest orc, wiping off the ichor and blood. When he is finished he resheathes his blade and goes about about making an inventory of what the orcs were carrying, looking for anything of value, or related to the temples defence as Dirtan suggested.

 

[Thanee]

Eldwyn cannot see any orcs (or other foes) outside of the temple. This is actually strange, since even with the silence there definitely was combat noise to be heard, however, the temple's thick walls might have absorbed it enough to not alarm the orcs outside. Many of them will probably be asleep, anyways, at this time of the day, considering that they are usually night-active.

The party drags the three corpses from the entrance inside the temple and closes the main doors, before beginning their search.

Dirtan instructs them about specific marks and other intricacies, which should help them identify what they are looking for. At first, the search remains fruitless, however.

 

[Scotley]

Eldwyn

Keeping his sling at the ready, Eldwyn joins the search. "Will we need to venture further in to find what you are looking for?", he asks Dirtan.

 

[Mista Collins]

Selvaggio

"There are some doors. Maybe we should try some of them."

 

[Bloodweaver1]

Aylor heads to the back of the temple and begins to look around the alter. I wonder if my brother was in this place...

 

[Voadam]

"The altar is a thing of palpable evil. When we are ready to go I will attempt to destroy it. For now though we search for old magic."

Kordunn then intones his divination magic.

[SBLOCK]detect magic[/SBLOCK]

 

[hafrogman]

Kylest nods.

"The doors seem like the best bet. Let's try them all, but best to leave the alter for last. Wouldn't want to call down the wrath of an evil god while standing in it's temple."

So saying he grabs Elmus and goes to examine the northeast door.

 

[Thanee]

Continuing their search under Dirtan's guidance, the adventurers quickly find out, that there isn't much of value hidden behind the doors. The ones closer to the altar mostly contain some ceremonial robes and a bunch of the leather necklaces each orc has worn so far. Other than that there is a pile of trash or two, but that's it. What these rooms were used for during the times when the temple was still in use by its rightful owners, cannot be discerned anymore. Along the sides of the transept, they discover more trash and heaps of chopped wood, probably the remains of the former pews. Finally, most of the rooms near the entrance are empty, except for one, which is littered with rubble.

It's Elmus who first detects one of the signs, that Dirtan has told them to watch out for. And soon after, they manage to figure out the outlines of a trapdoor in the floor of one of the small rooms at the entrance. Shortly thereafter Kylest discloses the discovery of another possible stash. This one seems to be inside of the first column.

At this time, the adventurers also hear voices outside of the temple. No words can be made out, but they sound angry or enraged.

 

[Scotley]

Eldwyn

The Halfling calls Rover in close and takes sling in hand. "Whatever we are going to do, I think now is the time. Can we continue using the trapdoor or is there some sort of passage within the column?"

 

[Thanee]

The sound of heavy footsteps barely makes it through the thick temple walls. Another voice, deeper and louder, joins in. After a short, but seemingly heated debate, all the voices grow silent once more.

Inside, the trapdoor could be opened in the meantime, after some trying around and Dirtan frantically trying to recall, what he has been teached, while being distracted by what is going on outside of the temple.

“Oh, excellent! Those will hopefully help us get out of here alive!” The gnome's voice sounds cheerful and full of hope.

Under the trapdoor, only a small stash could be found, but it contains more than a dozen leather scroll cases, only slightly worn from the decades of rest in their well-hidden place. Looking through them, the adventurers discover a total of fifteen scrolls, most likely magical in nature.

When the secret lid in the pillar, that Kylest had discovered, slides away, Dirtan's eyes gleam in expectation, but when only weapons are found inside, he starts to get nervous.

“They must be here. They must be!” He says.

There are a number of gnome-sized weapons inside the fairly tall stash, a dagger, a handaxe, and a short sword, as well as a light mace, a morningstar, a spear, a scimitar and a warhammer made for human-sized wielders. They all show no signs of wear and are of excellent quality.

Aylor then rejoins the rest and tells them, that she has found something in an alcove in the eastern transept.

“Forsooth! They are still here, after all the time. The elders were right! They were right!” Dirtan cheers, as the third stash is opened.

What he is speaking of must be the seven gold and silver statuettes, depicting gnomes in regal poses with crowns sitting on their heads, likely some ancient gnomish kings. In addition, the stash contains a holy symbol of Ilmater, humbly made from wood and tin.

“The holy symbol of Narteflun!” Dirtan comments the finding, his voice full of respect.

The Ilmatari does not seem to pay much attention to the four potions, the four wand and the small pouch, that also reside inside the alcove, however.