The Mausoleum

[Monsieur Rose]

Kainaxarthos

Assuming he is able to be awoken without an incident.

Kain opens his eyes for the second time that day to the sight of Ceana. "Hi. This is getting to be a habit that I rather enjoy." He sits up, rubbing his head where he must have hit it when he fell. "Although I would prefer more comfortable sleeping surfaces."

He spots the others still sleeping, then Belloc at the end of the hall. "A sleep spell, huh? Funny. I was going to do the same to you. Just to stop the escalation, mind you."

"Now what? Are you running? Or are we able to talk again? Look, no spells." He keeps his hands down.

[OGRE MAGE]

The Lost Mausoleum
Finishing The Job, Next Morning

After a very tense moment, the unharmed sleepers are cautiously awakened while Belloc remains near the exit, just in case someone attacks him again.

Once Kain assures the man who saved him that he will do everything he can to calm the others, Taibhse, Tuurma, and Cormag are also roused from their magical slumber.

Belloc breaths a sigh of relief that the unfortunate situation wasn't any worse, still hoping the confusing staff isn't to blame for his new friends sudden outburst of aggression.

The crypt hallway is eerily silent again while the party members slowly regain their faculties. Tuurma and Cormag are still convinced the staff is evil, and everyone else, save for its new wielder, gets a feeling of paranoia anytime they look upon the item.

The final uninvestigated crypt door still stands tightly closed before them, its sturdy iron lock preventing easy access beyond.

Actions?

Kainaxarthos AC:6 3/8 1st:2/2
Tuurma AC:7 4/13
Ceana AC:5 5/8 1st:3/3
Taibhse AC:7 2/7 1st:1/2 MM
Cormag AC:4 5/11
Belloc AC:6 7/9 1/3 Crestos: (Owl) AC:7 4/4

[Ahlmzhad]

Taibhse

Wakes up warily, and assesses the situation. He makes sure to see if the greying of Belloc is progressing, but he won't call the others attention to it regardless of what he sees. He'll wait for the others to say their peace.

[Monsieur Rose]

Kainaxarthos

"Ok. That was a fun time. Can we all agree to resist turning on each other for a while? The time to examine and determine the effects of the staff, if any, is in town. Spells can be cast, and fortunes told."

Kain looks at the others. "I suspect people are keeping information close to themselves, as customary. Belloc did, Maxon did. And you see where it has led. If anyone has a clue of what that staff is, please share. We can decide how to proceed."

He motions to the last door. "I hate to loot only part of a building. There's always the nagging feeling that the best stuff lies just out of reach. Or have we all had enough of the desert for the time being?"

[hedgeknight]

Ceana

With a sigh, the druid says, "Open the door and let's do this last search before we leave."
She readies her falcata and will step in the room once the door is opened.

[Ahlmzhad]

Taibhse

"Yes, lets do this last room".

[sastaz]

Tuurma is sulking for a while, silent. Having lost all she owns and being put to sleep by a man half her size....her pride took a big hit. But, she collects herself and is suddenly calm and reasonable again.

Speaking in a slow and non threatening (although slightly cynical).

"Belloc, do you understand what a power like that will do to you? You think you can carry it, that you can restrain it, but you can't, believe me. You're dabbling with powers none of us can even comprehend."

She pauses.

"I can't believe you'll willingly expose yourself to something like that. Some of us would do anything just to avoid what you crave. You will know what I mean, some day."

She looks up at the roof, hands on her hips, and sighs.

"Well, let's look at that last room."

[OGRE MAGE]

Any plans for this?

The final uninvestigated crypt door still stands tightly closed before them, its sturdy iron lock preventing easy access beyond.

[Ahlmzhad]

Any plans for this?

The final uninvestigated crypt door still stands tightly closed before them, its sturdy iron lock preventing easy access beyond.

Taibhse

Oh, there's a big lock there. I have nothing that would affect it. Do we have any one with the skills to open it, or strong enough to break it?"

[redwarrior]

Cormag strides forward. I believe I can! With that, he takes a run at the door.... Only to dash himself against it without effect! To the door at any rate. His shoulder might disagree

Test of str target 4 [1d6]=6

[Belkregos]

Belloc
Belloc studied Tuurma's face, searching for signs of deception. Was she under some external influence? He kept quiet, regretting his previous attempts to share information with her. They had only made her more distrustful, and his efforts to provide insight to the rest of her companions hadn't borne any fruit either. He would have to be more careful.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard them talking about the door. He decided to give them one more chance, but he would watch them closely for any hints of foul play and would try to keep a safe distance.

He noticed Cormac moving back, ready to smash the door. He quickly intervened.

"Wait," he said. "Maybe I can help. Please step back."

He waited for them to clear the area, and then he approached the door. He glanced around, making sure he had some room between him and the violent members of the group. Then, he cast the spell "Enlargement (Reverse)" on the door in an effort to shrink it and allow them entrance.



OOC:
Enlargement (reversible)

Lvl: mag 1, wch 1 | Rng: 5 feet per CA level | Dur: 1 turn

Induces unnatural growth in a single object or creature, augmenting ×1.5 the size and mass of organic matter, or augmenting ×2 the size and mass of inorganic matter. Enlarged creatures gain a +50% damage bonus to all attacks (attack damage totalled and then multiplied ×1.5). For objects, the area of effect is limited to 10 cubic feet per CA level; e.g., a CA 10 caster can double the size of an earthen mound not exceeding 100 cubic feet in initial volume. This spell will not increase the magical nature of any object: A portcullis can be swollen shut, a dagger can be doubled to a short sword, but an enlarged potion of healing does not become the equivalent of two potions. The reverse of this spell, reduction, halves the size and mass of a creature or object (no more than 10 cubic feet per CA level). Affected creatures suffer a −50% damage penalty on all attacks (attack damage totalled and then halved). Unwilling creatures are allowed transformation saving throws to resist enlargement or reduction.

[OGRE MAGE]

The Lost Mausoleum
Finishing The Job, Next Morning

When Taibhse awakens, the first thing he checks on is the condition of the groups new Mage. Looking at his fingers, only the tips have greyed so far, and the weird condition doesn't seem any worse at the moment.

After a tense conversation, the party agrees to stop the aggression between members long enough to loot the final crypt and get back to the Inner City again. Mentioning the earlier unfortunate hoarding of information by Maxon, Kain urges the others to share anything else they might know, receiving only blank stares and uncomfortable silence in return. Hyperborea is a strange and wonderful realm, but secrets are hard to come by, especially the good ones.

Tuurma again warns Belloc about the dangers of such unknown powerful magics, but the tense mage decides not to push the issue any further, remaining calm and quiet.

Cormag tries the old fashioned brute force approach to opening the iron lock, which only nets the fighter a sore and severely bruised shoulder.

Belloc steps forward, glad that most of the group seems to trust him again. He uses more magic to solve the locked door problem, shrinking the iron portal to half its normal size. The door falls into the room harmlessly, making a loud crash on the stone when it lands.

Inside this fairly intact crypt are 8 more stone coffins. The walls are unadorned, and the vessels are not engraved at all. There is no indication that anyone or anything has been inside this room for a long, long time.

Actions?

95DCE2F7-BA22-44B1-B84B-CD20827B5751.jpeg (37.47 KiB) Viewed 4938 times

Kainaxarthos AC:6 3/8 1st:2/2
Tuurma AC:7 4/13
Ceana AC:5 5/8 1st:3/3
Taibhse AC:7 2/7 1st:1/2 MM
Cormag AC:4 5/11
Belloc AC:6 7/9 0/3 Crestos: (Owl) AC:7 4/4

[Belkregos]

Belloc steps to a side allowing everyone else to enter

Crestos, Keep an eye on the corridor

he stays by the door and prepares his sling

[hedgeknight]

Ceana

"May Noondeh protect us," the Kelt druid breathes as she steps inside the room. "That lock...was it to keep something from getting in...or from getting out?'

[Monsieur Rose]

Kainaxarthos

He strides forward, ready to explore the new area, only to falter when Ceana states the should-be-obvious. "Ah. Right. Keep on guard. Especially for oozes." Kain enters behind Ceana and quickly looks to the ceiling and corners.

"Well, at least there is the possibility of treasure. Not like those broken ones. Shall we start here on the left?"

[sastaz]

Tuurma also seems to be content to let the conflict rest, for now. As Kain enters she instinctively checks the roof for any acidic slime that might dwell there, ready to drop on them.

"Yes, sure. But last time they all swarmed out as we disturbed the last one. So, to think ahead this time, I think we should open the one closest to the door and at first sight of anything suddenly deciding to come back from the dead, I say we retreat out the door and form a half circle, killing them as they come."

OM I might have misunderstood, but Tuurma's last hit should have been soaked by the temp hp and not from her normal hp?

[redwarrior]

Tuurma also seems to be content to let the conflict rest, for now. As Kain enters she instinctively checks the roof for any acidic slime that might dwell there, ready to drop on them.

"Yes, sure. But last time they all swarmed out as we disturbed the last one. So, to think ahead this time, I think we should open the one closest to the door and at first sight of anything suddenly deciding to come back from the dead, I say we retreat out the door and form a half circle, killing them as they come."

OM I might have misunderstood, but Tuurma's last hit should have been soaked by the temp hp and not from her normal hp?

Cormag massages his bruised shoulder and takes a few experimental swings with his sword. That sounds like a solid plan. He'll move to position himself by the nearest coffin.

[OGRE MAGE]

I had to go back 97 posts to figure out what you were talking about with Tuurma, but yes, you are correct. I gave her that last hit point back.

The Lost Mausoleum
Finishing The Job, Next Morning

The group decides to look through the closest coffins first this time, with the fighters gathering around the nearest one while the weaker members huddle closer to the hallway.

This crypt looks more sound structurally, with no cracks in the ceilings or bare walls. There are no signs of danger anywhere in the room, though none of the plain looking and unlocked coffins have been opened yet.

Actions?

Kainaxarthos AC:6 3/8 1st:2/2
Tuurma AC:7 5/13
Ceana AC:5 5/8 1st:3/3
Taibhse AC:7 2/7 1st:1/2 MM
Cormag AC:4 5/11
Belloc AC:6 7/9 0/3 Crestos: (Owl) AC:7 4/4

[hedgeknight]

Ceana

"This door was locked for a reason. And since nothing has been disturbed in here, why don't we just leave and rebolt the door somehow?"
Sweat trickles down the druid's face and she is clearly not comfortable being in the room.

[Belkregos]

Belloc
holds back and is ready with his sling