[KAUAI]The Rod of Seven Parts: Of Hexes and Gems

[SlagMortar]

Brakkus moves over to help Voadam keep an eye on the serpent, careful to go around any of the slug men. "We should move over to this stone door while you inspect that. It's safer than out here in the open and we can check out the door at the same time."

 

[Mista Collins]

"Gamad, how is your hand?" Chev asks as he looks it over. "It doesn't look too bad, just a little blistering. Would you like me to see what I can do for healing or will you be able to handle it for now?"

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Voadam cleans his blade and the coin both. When he judges it safe to handle with bare hands, the Green Wizard plucks the coin from its polishing rag and flips it over, all while Gamad leans over his shoulder with picqued interest.

Rolled a 1 on Gamad's spellcraft check. Not an instant failure but not enough to know much.

If Voadam hadn't insisted on the coin being magical and scraping it from the murky pool with the short sword, Gamad might have missed the coin's magical property or dismissed it as a trick of the water. To the untrained eye, the coin is a broad three inches in diameter with a milligrained beveled edge. Inset in the center on one side is a dragon eating its tail. On the other side of the coin rests an imprint of a great tree, its roots and limbs exposed. Certainly, the coin is minted of no current ruling body or organization native to Teggest, nor are the imprints recognized by Chev, Gamad, or Voadam. Brakkus, however, recognizes the tree, though not the wyrm eating its own tail.

Rolled better on the Knowledge (arcana) check for Gamad.

Gamad catches a glimpse of the back of the water snake as the creature surfaces yet again to feed on the algae floating on the pool's surface. The creature looks inherently un-magical to his trained eye. An eel, perhaps.

Unmolested by the three slugs working the dung and mushroom heaps in the cavern, the foursome at length joins Maelicent inside the owlbear antechamber. The gold coin illuminates the masonry of the chamber in soft peals of flickering gilt light. The goblin, having called for the group then ducking back inside, stands in front of a large set of double stone doors at the end of a short arched hall. Gamad recognizes dwarvish work when he sees it, and good quality at that. The hands that hewed this stone were old, indeed; the seams are perfectly mated, and the doors' hinges dovetailed inside a silent floating style inset on the room's other side. The doors open inward. Devoid of any visible locking mechanism or even an inscription, just how to get the doors open remains a mystery.

 

[Strahd_Von_Zarovich]

Gamad

It's just a blister, I'll give it a day and a good wash and it will disappear.
Reply the dwarf and looks at the coin.
It is magic indeed, for what purpose, I don't know.

When they enter the stone chamber the dwarf gazes impressively at the big double doors and say.
Amazing … I wonder what for dwarves and this evil place, this is definitely a work of my kin, and impressive one indeed, this door opens inward and if my hunches are correct there must be a secret niche somewhere, with a lever of some kind, spread off and check for any secret compartments.

*Search stone +6

 

[Mista Collins]

Chev searches the room, doing his best to help the group find any niche or mechanism to open the door.

ooc - search +1

 

[SlagMortar]

Brakkus aids in the search with a frown on his face. "It appears this is more deeply embroiled in politics as well as demons. It's funny, I never thought I was listening during those history lessons, but then something pops into your head. That tree symbol is an old Gwyundian druid symbol used by the Bowermens. Wierd bunch they are, but any noble with brains between his ears is more than happy to have a Bowermen in his court. That coin was most likely a token to mark the bearer as a Bowermen, and no doubt that's where the light magic came from, though the serpent eating its tail doesn't fit. Was that possibly stamped on the coin seperately from the original design?

"After seeing poor Lady Celine and now tokens of the Bowermens, I suspect this Rod may involve as many agents of this world as any other."


OOC: Search +2

 

[Ambrus]

Having successfully redirected the giant-kin's attention to the stone doors, Maelicent quietly and inconspicuously falls back to the shadows of the iron door. There the Gudwulf warrior hides himself along the cavern wall with an arrow drawn, keeping careful watch on the mushroom cave they'd just vacated for any suspicious activity occuring behind the group (Hide +13, taking 10; Spot & Listen +8, taking 20).

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Maelicent stalks back to the iron door to keep watch. Two of the giant slugs tarry at work, one close at hand to the north, the other further away to the south. The third of the slugs, and the largest of their number, inches toward the iron door. The slug's grey sensory stalks atop its head slowly wave in the moist air of the cavern. Having approached from the south, the creature stops 15 feet from the iron door and, while it makes no threatening move toward Maelicent or the door, it does appear to be trailing after the party as a watchman might.

Inside the masonried room, after a careful search, the others find no stone pressure plate nor switch that will mechanically unlock the door. Worse still, a loud crash issues from behind the stone doors and the shrill sounds of breaking glass and dim gutteral cackling fill the air.

 

[Mista Collins]

Tempted to give the door a swift kick to see if it will open, Chev refrains. "Any other ideas. It sounds like there is someone behind there."

 

[Voadam]

Voadam moves up and placing his hands on the door directly sees if it will move with straightforward force.

"Druid political advisors eh? What more can you say of these Bowermen Brakkus? Strange in what way?"