TSR [Let's Read] Polyhedron/Dungeon

[(un)reason]

The players of the priestess and the githyanki were both absent this time, leaving just the binder & sniper controlling everyone to finish off the match. The drow wandered in a little late. Seeing that his companions were winning, he decided to place a big bet upon them before joining the crowd on the stalls. The others continued to wear down the three remaining opponents. The priestess and binder concentrated their attention on the enemy rogue and monk, with the sniper further multiplying out the greased up areas to limit their options of places to move. The efreeti created some more illusions of himself in an attempt at being able to move around without being attacked again, but the githyanki sprouted some Evard's Menacing Tentacles to harry the illusions on both sides and pick out the real one. The monk was the next to fall, then the efreeti, leaving the enemy rogue the only one standing. He tried to run, the binder gave chase, and would probably have finished him off soon enough, but the ogre mage on their team that became invisible right at the start swooped out of nowhere to snipe him with cone of cold and claim the glory of taking the final shot. Since they were down half the team at that point, they decided not to make any big decisions about where to go next in session, but cut it short and do some more shopping and customisation of the binder's new flying ship. It seems like we've hit another point where things have slowed right down and I need to think about how to get the plot moving again for next time, otherwise they could stay sidetracked for weeks.

 

[(un)reason]

Everyone was present. The session started with a lengthy debate about where to go next. The main topic of the debate was the red sun world. Just what was going on with that place? Both the githyanki and the sniper had done as much research as they could, which continued to get cryptic hints but any direct questions about the other side simply hitting a wall. Even going to the Grand Repository in the City of Brass and sacrificing an eye resulted in hours of confused searching by the scholar, even though that place supposedly contained all the knowledge of the multiverse. It's definitely not Athas, despite having a red sun. It's not the illithid homeworld spoken about in the rantings of Step'hen In'n'iss, as it has a day-night cycle rather than just being fixed in place. There's no significant life left after the fungus lord died, but if there are lights on the moon, then there's obviously still life elsewhere in that universe. Some of them were worried they weren't equipped to handle it yet and should do some of the other quests first, but ultimately, their curiosity was stronger than their fear. The binder tried to use her new ship's power to plane shift to head straight to the red sun world, but that simply fizzled, using that power for the day without result and forcing them to hang around at the city of brass for another day. (which currently puts them at T -42 days until the big G-day invasion ) Having confirmed that the gate beneath Needlespire is indeed the only known way to get in and out of that other reality, (which means if they can find the chains again and seal it up, nothing from the other side can come through) she planeshifted them all off to Pharagos and flew the ship the remainder of the way back. Once parked above the mountain, they put on their underwater gear and did the double teleport jaunt necessary to get down to the gate, through it and out of the mountain on the other side quickly.

Once safely out, the first theory they tested was to see if they could still contact their own gods here. The priestess cast commune, but instead of the curt replies of Loviatar, all she heard was a chaotic piping sound that tore at her sanity. The player instantly twigged that this was Lovecraft related and she was hearing the tones of Azathoth, but her character rolled poorly on a Knowledge (religion) check, (the cthulhu mythos obviously isn't very well known amongst faerun natives) so they're still in the dark IC about the full implications of that information. They looked to the Drow to see if he wanted to cast Contact Other Plane to confirm they were out of touch with other gods they knew as well, but he was like absolutely not. Next thing they tested was to see if the geographic correlation held up further away. They teleported to where L'trel was on their world. They found that their theory was correct, the landscape was still fertile ground with mountains to the south and there was a settlement there, but the town was completely different: big hexagonal communal buildings packing bodies in densely as befits a hive-mind with no concern for privacy, all now empty with the powdery dust from dead minions everywhere. Further investigation revealed two things of note amid the otherwise highly formulaic construction: a couple of colossi very similar to the one they fought before at the edge of town, but heavily worn and out of power, and a library which featured the fungus lord's records of his agricultural experiments over the years. Apparently, being thrown into another world with a red sun and running it once you've taken it over takes a lot of thought, as you have to reinvent crop rotation from scratch with plants growing differently under the red light and manage the number and type of your fungal bodies in any particular area so as not to exhaust the soil. Still, having started as a druid, Xhagevoxhab was well-equipped for work like that and had it down to a solid formula after several centuries.

He'd obviously not done so well on his attempts to escape though. All this archive rummaging prompted the sniper to put down a few of the cards he'd been playing close to his chest, and reveal that there was another archive in the city close to needlespire. There, Xhagevoxhab had recorded its escape attempts and its subsequent plan to drain the sun by replicating the method used here, eight massive obelisks at the corners of the planet created ages ago by the Illithid. (thus confirming that they did indeed inhabit this place before the fungus invaded and were responsible for dimming the sun here, which meant it had been a normal yellow sun in the even more distant past. ) He hadn't found it an easy process though, with numerous frustrated redrafts and scribblings as he tried to translate the ancient illithid writings and adapt the details to fit its own powerset. Having added that revelation to their dataset, they wanted to see one of these obelisks in person. This involved some serious knowledge rolls to determine the overall circumference of the planet and where they would likely be positioned, (if there's 8 of them, equidistantly positioned, that makes a d8 shape with the points on the 45th parallels.) which delayed them a little more, but between them, they once again had the knowledge skills to make those rolls. There, they did indeed see a massive ancient obsidian obelisk jutting into the sky, but heavily worn and no longer registering as actively using magic, indicating that once the sun was drained, it was no longer needed and destroying them would not return it to its previous state. All these jaunts completed (and the sniper's 5th level spell slots nearing depletion) they teleported back to the city near needlespire to wait for night to fall so they could look at the moon. However, as the moon was nearly full at this point, they couldn't see the smaller spots of light on it that would indicate where settlements might be that night. They decided that as it was still over a month before it was all hands on deck for the invasion and they'd be missed if they didn't show up, they could spend a few more days here. In the meantime, they decided to investigate the great pyramid to Xhagevoxhab's glory in the centre of the city. (using the map to B4, but coming in on the lowest level) This was mostly uneventful save for the sniper completely botching his spot check when scouting ahead and blundering into the pit trap at the crossroads, which was more wounding to his ego after getting through all the much more sophisticated traps in the previous adventure than to his hp. After circling around the edges of the pyramid clockwise, they found the stairs down, which took them into a basement area where the fungus lord keeps some things heavily guarded, including one of the chains they need to close the gate. (using The Mud Sorcerer's Tomb, one of the few adventures that still makes sense transplanted to a dead world as it runs entirely on traps and constructs.) Having reached the main door and puzzled at the writing on it for a little while, they decided this would be a good point to call it a night. We shall see if they have the brainpower to deal with this next week, or this will finally be the adventure to stump them despite the myriad powers at their disposal.

 

[(un)reason]

4 players present: They hemmed and hawed for a while on the very first puzzle, eventually pushing each of the buttons in order. Fortunately there are no particular consequences for failing this first one, and so even though they pushed the right one last (standing well back and getting a summon to do it just in case there were dire consequences for picking wrong) the big stone slab did eventually open for them. They then headed into area 2, taking various amounts damage from the Forbiddance effect along the way, except for the drow, who's player was absent again, so I had him stay outside since failing the save could have one-shotted him and killing characters when their players aren't there just isn't fair. This may prove to be advantageous long-term, as it means there was someone on the outside when the door closed again behind them, giving some extra options for escape without completing the whole adventure. The binder splashed around in the pools, but did not find the key down there and they decided against ringing the bell, so they never got to see the water level changing trick. She was more useful in the next couple of rooms, taking the initiative in opening the secret door in the room of acid tears, tanking the damage for herself and then getting out a golden parasol from her collection so the less tanky party members could get through without suffering. She also figured out the trick to the rotating central statue in room 4 straight away. They used this to first get into room 5, which contains only a single buried body and minor treasure. (with the death by strangulation in the original adventure replaced by an illithid borehole to the back of the skull to keep things in theme.) Then they turned it around and tried to get into room 6.

Here some unintended changes to the original adventure started creeping in, because I forgot that up on the map is not north in this adventure. This meant the poison needle was in this door. The sniper tried to pick it, rolled poorly and wound up reduced to 2 str. (After many sessions of barely being targeted by monsters due to all his sneaky tricks, he's definitely finding it humbling that mere mechanical dangers would be the thing to bring him low.) Once again it fell to the binder to smash down the door. Inside, they saw the huge head statue on the opposite wall, reskinned to a particularly corpulent illithid with its tentacles held aloft, but still with a tunnel in its sphincter mouth big enough to fit tiny creatures. The sniper could probably have used his kobold flexibility to squeeze through, but was still feeling extra cautious after the last mistake. So the binder revealed yet another of the tricks up her sleeve that she hadn't found a reason to break out - a few levels in Osteomancer lets you liquify your bones and ooze through the smallest gap. This let her get through to the other side without incident and open it to let the others through.

They then headed around to room 11. They didn't spot the secret door, but did spot the naga curled around the central pillar camouflaged amongst all the bas-reliefs. (now with extra pseudonatural template) This led to several minutes of tense whispering amongst themselves trying to talk about it without it realising it had been spotted, which mainly just wasted time. Eventually it just cast Evard's Black Tentacles at them and started the combat. Since many of them got grappled, and some of them wasted time attacking the indestructible tentacles, it took a couple of rounds before the binder could close on it and shred it into pieces, but once she did, it died as quickly as most things without DR. They headed on down to corridor 10. They approached the clockwork automaton outside cautiously, but as it didn't attack, eventually went up to it. They used large quantities of force to get through the door to room C and the treasure chest inside, which unfortunately set off the flasks of oil and destroyed the manual. Faced with the choice of putting the key in the automaton and turning it clockwise or widdershins caused a whole load more dithering, but eventually they decided to go with the traditional direction from their universe. This of course made it explode, making them think they'd made the wrong choice and this was just another way this universe was subtly wrong. (when in actuality, both directions screw the PC's over in this adventure, just in different ways)

They continued to explore. They saw the rug in room 12, but pointedly did not touch it, evading that particularly lethal little trap for now. They resisted the effects of the illusionary fishes and found the key to the secret door in room 14 without incident as well. Things got interesting again when they headed down the stairs and reached area 16, the teleporting chamber behind the secret door. They didn't actually roll well enough to find it, but knowing that a dead end like this is suspicious, the sniper decided to risk the side-effects Blinking has here and see what was on the other side of the wall. His intuition was right, and he wound up in the small room covered in glyphs and spirals. Since he examined everything closely, this moved him over to the seemingly identical room in area 17. As we were near the end of the session anyway, I decided it would make most sense to send the rest of the group away and resolve what happened while he was separated in PM. We're less than halfway through this adventure, so it'll probably keep them busy up to the end of the year.

 

[(un)reason]

The sneaky explorations of Nurhirthisik Umbraxakarosj, Unseen Seer and Spellwarp Sniper of Mak Thuum Ngatha.

N: Hmm. Firstly, can you offer greater detail of the illithic depiction you described?
Nurhi shifts through the nightmarish madness of the ethereal in this place, through the wall and into the chamber. He sees what, precisely?
Two different secret door mechanisms leading where relative to his present position (N/S/E/W?), precisely?

DM: One the way you came in, one on the opposite side.

N: Okay, so, first attempt was to search the one the way he came in, second one was for the room itself, barring some alternative point of focus, thus the opposite side.

DM: The way back is obvious from this side, so that didn't need rolling for.

N: It was more for the way to open it for the others. Like, he came through, looked upon what was there. Initial thought was to search the room, which was actually the seond roll, but then he attempted to find the way back through the secret door to give the others acccess, which was the first roll (crit fail).

DM: So, are you going to attempt to open the way back, or the way forward?

N: Very interested to hear what this depicts if it entails behind the scenery lol What is in the room again? In any case, I think the vibe was his intiial intent was to search the room, which would have potentially revealed the way forward.

DM: Like I said, lots and lots of intricate glypths covering the walls, floor and ceiling, and an illithid statue on the north side. Or you could always try to blink back or forward through the walls without opening the doors.

N: I would love to try to retcon that Nurhi perused those glyphs more thoroughly before acting, but I did say I took action... Any further detail on the illithid statue to North? Regardless, that second roll is for Nurhi attempting to head forward, before turning back to think of the others behind.

DM: It's a particularly rotund illithid with this symbol on its robes. (symbol 4 from The Mud Sorcerer's Tomb)

N: Any checks for familiarity?

DM: I'm afraid not. Ok, trying to go forward, it opens up to a small room with another classic trap, a whole load of buzzsaws along the walls, which then head out into the room you're in and try to slice you into little bits. Fortunately, you are small and good at spotting trouble, so you can wedge yourself in a corner so they don't quite reach and only take a fraction of the damage you would otherwise have suffered.

N: Mind also, I do have Greater Blink going, and depending on the likely severity of said damage, I will utilize that to my benefit.

DM: In that case, you can blink backwards. However, this reveals a further complication. Through magical shennaigans, the place you wind up in is not the one you just left. If you log back into roll20 you'll see you're now on a completely different section of the map, separated from your companions.

N: Oh boy. Let me check. Hmm. Nurhi will move - creep - to the corner... (While I check to see when I last cast Interplanar Message lol) Ngl, I don't know on that last front... You tell me if I have one active with Morrisa/Emac (The binder & githyanki) or not lol Its days/level with a minimum 5 days duration from the wand. If so, will contact one of them, preferably Emac, relay thus: "Blink successful. Strange illithic sculpture. Doorway East. Attempted to blink to you, drawn to new position. Will examine, return to you when able. Be safe."

DM: Emac is generally pretty on the ball keeping track of his buffs and it would be unfun if the game stalled here, so I'll say yes, you can get a message to him that you've been moved elsewhere. You see nnother pillary area with a pool in the centre.

N: In that case, will relay that message, activating the Interplanar Message in-play... And I'll keep better track of my long-term comms options lol (Apologies for the failure on that front.) Will then proceed down the hall. Nurhi begins to form an image in his mind: Emac, Kali, Morrisa. He forms that image in his mind as a side-function of what he's doing, in this case, proceeding down the hall while simultaneously scanning ahead and searching for traps. This image is what he will attempt to Greater Teleport too as an emergency function. Over the course of 2-4 rounds, Nurhi proceeds carefully towards the room ahead.

DM: Right, a proper description of the are you're looking at. This chamber is 25' high and supported by a great number of grey marble pillars, once again carved into serpentine shapes with lots of tentacles, but this time with some delicately clawed hands holding roses amongst them. The pool of water in the centre is muddy and opaque this time.

N: Nurhi focuses hard on that image of his companions for a moment, cements them in his mind, then casts Greater Invisibility. Activate Eternal Wand of Mage Armor. Cloud of Knives. Mirror Image. -> 6 images Activated Scout's Headband: True Seeing,1 minute duration True Strike. Nurhi steps forward towards the muddy, opaque pool.
He speaks in Aklo before moving once more, invisible and (hopefully) unseen, "Thus speaks the dragon Umbraxakaraosj ... Who dwells here?" Move Silent 32, Hide 37; no Invisibility/Blink bonuses, Darkstalker feat Alter Fortune -200 xp.

DM: You hear an ancient cracked feminine voice in response, but not from the direction you expect. It comes from the north rather than the pool. "You're ...... not part of the fungus?"

N: Nurhi hesitates a moment, then decides upon (mostly) truth: "I am the dragon Umbraxakaraosj, servant of the Maw. The mold-fiend is dead, by my claw, and that of my kindred. We come from beyond the temple-Gate beneath the Needlespire mount. You are the first our party has seen of life on this world. Present yourself or be viewed as foe." He moves again immediately after each statement; let me know if I need to reroll.

DM: "Sign of life?" At this, the voice bursts out into hysterical cacking laughter. Oh, I haven't been called anything like that in a long time. A form steps through the wall just above you. It appears to be that of an illithid, but long dead, its tentacles withered and hanging limply, wearing only tatters of clothing. "So, that whippersnapper Xhagevoxhab finally bit off something he couldn't chew, huh?" She cackles maniacaly some more. "Doesn't make much of a difference to me, I guess. I'm still as trapped in here as ever."

N: Nurhi surpresses a hiss. Does she appear to have detected him?

DM: She's definitely looking in the direction your voice is coming from, but not actually at you.

N: Nurhi skitters to a new location all the same, "Ah, now I see. Dead and withered, brain-eater? A pity. How long now?
And yes, you are trapped... Perhaps. Perhaps not. I can free you of this prison, if I choose, perhaps. As a servant of the Maw, the breaking of boundaries is lauded.
Perhaps I ought free you. When - if - the time is right.
Speak truth now or I shall reduce you to you ash and memory, mind-flayer - what existed here before the mold-fiend? Your kind, they ruled this world of Pharagos, didn't they"
He moves position constantly now, aware the illithid track sentience, aiming to discombobulate (again, Darkstalker), shifting back towards the point of entry.
(Bluff 38, if relevant )

GM: "Yeeeees. I've been bound to protect this place for thousands of years. Then he came along. I killed a few of his bodies, but they just keep getting back up, he killed me a few times, but I just keep on coming back as well." She breaks into more maniacal laughter at this. "Now he just puts important things in the treasure pile down here. Why just an eyeblink ago, he brought a golden chain in. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, sonny?"

N: Random movement, monitoring the creature's response; if it begins to track him accurately, activate Chronocharm as Swift action, if it tracks too accurately, Greater Teleport to image of the party.
"Ah, I see further now - your soul is no longer in you, is it, ragged-thing? Loose tongue you have, old one... Best to be more cautious with the less kind. Lucky you are: This dragon does not need your end. Not now, anyway... You shall serve me now. I shall call you the Voice of Ages... Even so: Speak your name, dead-thing, that I might know you better, and speak True ...... For the dragon Umbraxakaraosj has need of those who know the ways of the soul-wrought, of the lich. For he seeks to kill one. One whose death would give this withered thing before him much glee, no doubt. And if you wish to live beyond this day, in this foul reality, you will bow to my will. And gain from it, beyond conception. For the Maw is vast, and has room for many fangs... Even amongst the illithid, even amongst the dead. For now, you shall provision me this chain, and tell me of this treasure, at once. It is the first step your freedom, not merely from this prison, but from the fetid dead world you know beyond. I am of another place. If you wish to see it, you shall serve me, ragged thing. And you shall be rewarded beyond measure."

GM: "Freedom? For me?! What would I do with that, when everything I know is centuries gone?!!! You can try, Umbraxakaraosj of the Maw, but until you do, I am bound to defend this place against all intruders, whether I want to or not." You hear snuffling sounds coming from her withered mouth, as she tries slowly to track you.

N: "Freedom for you, ragged thing, who will not share her name. If you will serve, I promise you upon the Maw itself - you will exist onward. And there is an entire new world for you to explore. What does a dragon or a lich care for the passage of time? We are barely but-mortal, the ages falls upon us - and you especially - as water upon a cormorant's back ...... I am nearly at the end of my days, ragged thing. To grant you freedom? A petty thing, it would seem. And as a servant of the Maw, I am inclined, despite potential complications. For you know of this world, from which I know nothing. You can guide me to what I must see, if you wish. I offer you, in turn, a new eternity, in a world where the Sun still shines - brightly - upon Pharagos. A fair trade, between dragon and lich, no?"
Skittering, always, between the pillars, up them at times, using a Levitate to confound further if need be, and the Chronocharm still on-deck if not applied. Nurhi is using all his meager athleticism which draconic lineage has granted him - this is the moment he buys wisdom, and he will work hard to purchase it successfully.
"Be my Voice of Ages. Speak Truth. I shall speak Truth in turn, ragged thing. There is no shame in servitude to that which can free you from your bindings. You shall find 'Umbraxakaraosj of the Maw' a more-kindly master than any you could have hoped for in this world, or any other.
And though no kindness can find root upon your withered, predatory being... Let it be upon you all the same."
Nurhi steps, visibly, from behind a pillar at the rear of the chamber.

DM: "Ah, the Maw. I remember it. A minor cult, but full of big promises. I see it's followers have not changed. The stars will be right. The stars will be wrong again. The stars will be right again. The stars will be wrong again." More maniacal laughter. "Red suns last longer than yellow suns, but eventually even they become embers."
Sense motive: She might be bound to attack intruders, but she's deliberately not doing so as aggressively as she could. She's stalling, just in case you can pull something off and break her bindings.

N: "SILLY RAGGED THING!
......................hsshsshss...............................
LET THE STARS BURN!
.....hsssshssss...............hssshssshsss............
LET THE MAW SWALLOW ALL THAT IS!
....................HSSSSHSSS............
WE ARE ALL BUT MEAT FOR THE MAW!!!
....................HSSSHAAAHAAAHAAA............
THAT BE THE WILL OF THE NINE!
.......HAAAHAAAHSSShssss........................
THAT BE THE WILL OF THE DRAGON UMBRAXAKARAOSJ!!!"
.......hsss.....................................................
Nurhi steps behind a pillar, disappearing once more as he casts Greater Invisbility.
In the next round, he moves closer ,
"Do not resist me."
And casts Disobedience.
Nurhi realizes, to some level of self-conscious concern, that between his shouts, he has been emitting laughter of his own.
Of similarly 'maniacal' nature. All the same, it spills from his toothed snout.

GM: (Unfortunately, she makes her save) She stops momentarily. It seems like she's testing something in her mind. Then she laughs some more. "If only the binding were that simple. But as long as this tomb endures, so will it. And so will I. It is nice to know you were sincere in your offer though. Keep on talking. I like that in an intruder. The fungus liked to talk at first, but after a few centuries, he only talked to himself." She continues slowly trying to track your location.

N: Nurhi gains hold of himself, hisses in silent frustration under his breath, skittering back against the wall, "So bet it, and woe be you, ragged thing!"
Then he steps forward and casts Blast of Flame, thereafter shouting... "Speak not of this meeting but what was just wrought - it may save your very existence, in time!" ... before fleeing down the hallway, Mobile Spellcaster allowing him to do a double-move (Concentration vs DC 24 = 33).

GM: Yup, both of those work. You're now back over there and can tell them what you like before next session.

N: For aesthetic and mechanistic purposes, Nurhi dismisses Greater Invsibility before Teleporting.

Meanwhile, back at the dead-end corridor where the other three are waiting:

Githyanki: "the kobold's recon mission has gone sideways, he's been taken to somewhere else. he just used his telepathic bond spell to inform me"

Binder: ouch

N: Suddenly, just where he had disappeared, but facing you all, eyes staring into the distance, Nurhi pops back into existence... It could be your imagination, but for just a moment when he arrives he appears stooped in readiness, his eyes seem wild and fiery, the normally glassy-smooth scales risen into a broken-glass fractal nightmare, his teeth bared at some unseen threat. If it were merely imagined, he snaps back to normality near-instantly upon arrival, the glassy scales smoothing back to a mirror sheen, two embers peering at you languidly. Looking to each of you with a dagger-toothed smile, he sighs, "Well, that was peculiar..." Its certainly not your imagination however in that when he exhales in exasperated, exhausted like an elder climbing a hill, his steamy breath is, at first, just visible as a mild plume. "Allow me to explain what happened, perhaps you can make sense of it..."
"I shifted into the room ethereally. Peculiar illithic structures therein. Another route further. Tried to Blink back to you all - found myself in another place entirely... Some kind of obliette, by the look of what I saw at least. Carved serpentine marble pillars as before... Some had clawed hands holding roses, disturbing... In the center, an opaque muddy pool.
I sensed a presence. Called out and received answer: Female illithid. Undead, likely a lich; said she'd been bound here thousands of years. Suggested her presence is tied to the existence of this place, called it a tomb, mentioned a 'treasure-pile'. Said Xhagevoxhab had met with her, fought with her, to not avail on either side it seems. Said he stored one of the golden chains in said 'pile' recently .... Get the impression she wishes she were free of whatever binds her here, but trapped all the same. Granted, she is clearly long-past sanity by most standards, even for an illithid." "Likewise, blasted her with arcane fire all the same before I left."

Kallione (Priestess): Kali lets out a breath of relief at that last sentence. "I thought you were going to says something much worse. I see being in there didn't completely scramble your mind."

G: "scramble? his mind? one might as well try to drown a fish"

B: "There are indeed some species of fish that can indeed drown. Sharks, for example."

G: shakes his head, mumbling under his breath in gith - the tone suggesting dismay. Then to the group "i suppose we are in all in agreement that this illithid lich is now priority one of this operation. its intel, its life, its assets? it would also be constructive field exercise for how to deal with liches" Then to Nuhri "if we proceed to the space beyond this wall, what do you reckon, same route, same end-state for us as well?"

N: The kobold snickers a bit, "Hss hss hss drown a fish, yes... You know, its been nearly a century since anyone knew me well enough to make such accurate commentary. And accurate it is, Wizard Kyth..." He addresses the wall, one claw behind his back clutching his staff, the other scratching beneath his snout as he looks the bricks up and down, "... I don't know about the end-state. As I said previously, there was another doorway leading further onward, and when I attempted to blink back to you, I was transported elsewhere... I'm not sure what would happen, say, if we were to tear down the wall to gain entry, nor if the pathway would be repeated even if the steps were. That said: Teleportation allowed my escape and return to you, stands to reason it may allow us access as well, if desired; though my own power has been greatly sapped with today's jaunts - I have only a few more Teleportation spells at my disposal. And yes, if this be an ancient alhoon, it's knowledge could prove most-valuable... Of course, she is quite mad, and tasked to defend against intrusion, and I did attempt to set her on fire, which makes obtaining that knowledge somewhat more complicated. In any case, it is as you say gith: A field exercise, in preparation of what is to come." "Worth noting as well: Despite her best efforts, she appeared unable to effectively track me so long as I remained covert and mobile; long years of study finally paying off, it would seem. I used this to my advantage, albeit in quite a gamble, by attempting to move close and utilize Disobedience upon her. I believe the spell was successful, but it had no apparent effect - she even seemed aware of what I'd attempted, suggesting her bindings to this place were 'not so simple' to disrupt. And I have to admit, I got the distinct impression the creature was holding back. As though it hoped I might actually have some way to free it, and wanted to give me the opportunity to try."
When he turns back to the party though, there is no sense of empathy or compassion in the little dragon, "Be cautious. Though her rather-jovial conversing would belie it, this is likely amongst the most deadly of foes we have faced."
Nurhi also briefly describes the illithic relief in the space beyond - a rotund illithid, its robes bearing a strange symbol, which Nurhi traces upon the floor with the chalk Morrisa gave him. Which he promptly returns to her with a grin. "I do not know it."

G: You see Emac approach and stare at the what has been traced, moving his head back and forth a couple of time for better focus and then saying "aha! this symbol is part of a set of 4 symbols with elemental significance, about 2 of the 4 elements, they are not of illithid origin." he spits after saying that as if to clean his mouth. He asks for the chalk and draws 3 additional symbols to the left of the one drawn by Nuhri. "The 1st represents the mixing of earth and water. The 2nd represents earth dominant. The 3rd represents water dominant. The 4th - the one you saw Nuhri - that one represents them working together in harmony."
pausing for a long while. No pattern or theme presents itself yet: we know this place was of illithid make, yet we were greeted with dwarven words for 3 dwarven vices, then there were 5 statues of humanoids with animal heads, there's an illithid lich surviving the mold's invasion somewhere in these tunnels, and we have also seen 1 of a set of 4 elemental symbols." looking to the assembled group
"What is this place even about? Also, here's a thought, recall how the defenses of the astral storm castle where we met Karluth spared me... cause they were built by gith to defend gith. As unpleasant as it might be, perhaps we should assume illithid appearance while here to possibly be better treated by its automated defences."

(GM's note. While he rolled well enough on his knowledge (the planes) to identify the obscure elemental symbols, what none of them did well enough on their knowledge (engineering) to spot is that in this iteration of the tomb the symbols are not part of the original design, but notes by Xhagevoxhab to remind itself what kinds of trap the individual rooms contain.)

N: "Hmm, perhaps not a bad idea... I don't believe I have any means to achieve that at present, though I could make myself scarce instead."