Ghostfoot's Savage Tide (IC) Pt 2

[Ghostfoot]

THE SAVAGE TIDE RISES!

The first savage tide has already touched the mortal world, yet none who live today recall this terrible time of red ruin. It swept over an ancient city, transforming beggar and noble, merchant and thief, resident and visitor, one and all into feral, ravenous fiends. What took the ancients hundreds of years to build came crumbling down in a matter of days. When the final ripples of the tide faded, only ruins remained.

Now, after a thousand years, the hidden architect of the Savage Tide gazes upon new targets. This time, the doom will not be limited to one hapless city. This time, all of civilization is perched on the shore, blissfully ignorant of what the tide is about to bring in.

Having bested basilisks and now a gibbering mouther our heroes continue their exploration of the ancient ruined city of Tamoachan, a brief stop as they sail enroute to the Isle of Dread...

IC thread #1

[Cavir]

Loradralsornux the female raptoran dragonborn continued to burn away the remains of the mouther that Urol didn't collect, especially the ick stuck to her and Connaught. She looks around the room at the bones and debris on the floor. "Another victory for us! It must have been here quite a while. Interesting that so many reached these ruins, and that this much got past the basilisks. With no threats around, maybe we can find something worthwhile in here."

She activates her magic insight and scans all around, including down into the well.

[DrK]

Connaught crawls out of the gloop cursing in the northern tongue calling upon all of Loki's spite to punish the beast. Then calming egins to clean off the gloop in the fountain.
"I do not like battling the strange bags of slime we keep finding! I find them disquieting. I like an arm or head to hack off."

Spoiler: Status

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Hps 31/37
Saves 6/2/4
AC 16 (6arm, FF16, Touch 10)
Rage 1/1
Pact: DR 1/-, +1 hit
Vestige: Agares
Earth master, earthquake step, element companion, immune fear, tongues

[Ghostfoot]

After clearing a little of the gore and muck away Lora surveys the area. Nothing about the room or the statue displays any sort of magic aura, but when she peers down the ancient well she senses magic buried somewhere amid the thousands of bones that clog the shaft...!

Spoiler: detect magic

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a single aura, faint evocation

[Cavir]

Lora peers down the well. "There is something of magic down there, buried under lots of bones. I have rope and a grappling hook, but that doesn't help with the layers of bones. Thoughts?"

[razorback]

Tchinik, once the creature falls, leans back against his spear as he settles himself. Reaching into his pack, he drinks a bit of water as he wipes the sweat from his brow.
"This adventuring and exploring job is much harder than I expected. Not really like all the stories I've heard... no kings treasure around each corner." he says raspily as he quaffs down on the water again.
Looking onto Lora he says "Well," with a smirk "I forgot to pack a few dozen dogs with me. I suppose there is the old fashion way, of digging through that boneyard. I have the ability to alter my form somewhat, if anyone can think of something that might be useful enough." He stands a bit more upright and some of the harshness in his voice is gone by now.

Spoiler

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He's referring to Alter Self, if anyone can come up with a form that could help.

[Phasm]

"Splendid job, everyone! Especially you, Tchinik. I shudder to think what would have happened had we succumbed to the thing's gibbering. Urol, have you any idea what that was?" Amiyah starts to pat Connaught on the back, thinks better of it, and offers him a sympathetic smile instead. "If I have enough magic left when we leave, Connaught, I'll use a spell to clean you off. I may need everything I have before then, though."

Hmm. A form that might be able to sift through the bones... the wizard toys with her necklace as she thinks.

[Ghostfoot]

Eyes wide with excitement Urol breathes in wonder to Amiyah "I have absolutely no idea what that was. Isn't it wonderful!"

Connaught ushers his earthy accomplice into the well with a few words, the small creature disappearing into the pile of bones sending shards flying as it burrows down. After several moments it reappears, a strange blade of ancient design clasped in its hands. Placing this nearby it again burrows down several more times, each time resurfacing with shiny trinkets or coins!

Spoiler: loot

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• +1 dagger (first magic weapon of the campaign - woop!)
• 6 x turqouise gems
• a folded fan of ivory slats
• a platinum bracelet
• 124gp

[razorback]

Tchinik smiles back at Amiyah as he says "Twas a team effort, as always, but I appreciate the praise." with that he gives a small bow that is only a little mocking.

[DrK]

Connaught looks at his pet patting the rocky little beast on the lump that doubled for its head. "Nasty beast. Is everyone ready to move onto the other passaegways? We've done well with these trinkets, who knows what other riches lie within?" He grins shaking the water form his beard and head like some sort of mangy dog and readies his axe once more as he heads outside. Stopping briefly by the statue he looks at the others who are more wordly. "So what do you think that thing is?"

[Cavir]

Lora looks up at the statue. "No idea. Anyone want to check that for secret compartments before we move on? I did sense magic down the other passageway too."

Her magic insight is still active.

[Phasm]

"Sorry Connaught, I have no idea." Khalil flies down from his perch and lands on Amiyah's shoulder as she turns toward Lora. "We might as well check, it's not as if we have a time limit. Who knows, there might be hidden scrolls or tablets!"

Spoiler: OOC

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Search: (1d20+8)[22]

[Ghostfoot]

Amiyah searches the old statue as the others watch. After several minutes she hasn't found anything further of note. It does appear to be simply an ancient idol of some forgotten god.

[Cavir]

Lora waits a bit to ensure another slimey creature wasn't hidden around the statue then heads back outside. She scans around, looking for anything that might have been attracted to the sounds of fighting. If there's nothing, she redirects her focus on the entrance to the northeast where she had detected magic earlier and waits for the rest of the party.

Spoiler: OOC

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Since Amiyah is spending a few minutes searching, I might as well do that looking for more "guests" outside. Take 20 on Spot for 34. Then use Magic Insight towards the NE tunnel again, trying to pinpoint it.

[Kelvin360]

Surtros steps over what must be the fiftieth identical fern in as many seconds, the buzzing on insects and calling of colorful birds unable to dispel the words still ringing in the ears that had, until perhaps an hour ago, been filled with sea salt and a few choice divine mantras. Doubtless Indo or someone concerned with his meditations had whispered in the captain's ear, but it was still her tongue that whipped him out to 'go and do something useful'. He'd left a few barrels of water behind on the off-chance he was about to get himself killed and stepped off the ship with nary a retort. He had vague hopes he wouldn't be flayed and stuck, body never to be found, but he didn't have high hopes. His best chance was simply to find the actually competent people and pray they'd allow his presence to fester even longer than they had already. To that end, it was as simple a matter as removing the end branch from a tree to procure a two-pronged twig and cast the spell that would lead him to Lora's Faith Token, something none of them would leave behind unless they were dead, which they almost certainly were.

All Lora is apt to see, however, is a dirty priest somehow shambling into the cave entrance, discarding a twig for some godsforsaken reason. "I missed your laugh," he deadpans. "What trouble has that gnome gotten you into?"

[Ghostfoot]

Lora concentrates on the darkened northeast tunnel again as Surtros arrives alongside her. The magic auras are still there, unmoving. From where she is she can faintly see the crumbling tunnel opening up and an arched area about 30ft in. This is where the magic aura is emanating from.

[Cavir]

Lora turns as Surtros exits the jungle trail and pipes up. She retorts. "Ha! Got bored on the ship huh? Told you you should have come along. You missed a couple of good fights." She points to the corpses in the area. "Basilisks. Came at us from either side. Meeting their glare will turn you to stone. Lucky for me fire doesn't need to be well aimed. Should make a good feast when we go back to the ship, if scavengers haven't picked them clean in the mean time."

She points down the tunnel where the mouther was. "The rest should be coming out of there about now. Had an ooze like on the ship but with lots of mouths and eyes. It stuck to Connaught and swallowed me right up, so I just burned it hard from the inside out." She grins, her dragon like mouth making for a very wide grin.

She turns back to the other cave she had been looking at. "We're going that way next. I sense magic not far into it. Maybe the others will want to look first before I try dealing with it."

[DrK]

Connaught strides out of the gibbering cave and stops. "Friend Sutros. Did you grow bored on the ship or did you join us to save Indo's life before you threw him overboard. Come there is riches to loot and an ancient cave go explore."

He waits for Sutros to join him before hefting the axe and heading into the new cave fearlessly and relatively loudly as he coughs up dust particles every few steps.

[Cavir]

"Hold up Connaught, there's a magic at the arch. Faint enchantment and moderate evocation. Probably a trap. I was waiting on Amiyah to see if she wanted to look before I tried ripping the magic apart."

Lora will give the same information to the others that come out, waiting to see if Amiyah wants to look first.

Spoiler: OOC

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Lora's first chance to use her new invocation, Voracious Dispelling.

[Ghostfoot]

Connaught strides ahead, heedless of Lora's warning. Moving down the short tunnel he finds himself on an ancient crumbling landing ten feet wide and fifty feet long. It overlooks a much larger chamber to the north, accessible by a short flight of sloping stairs. The entrance to the larger room is framed by dozens of skeletons carved into the fifty-foot wide stone arch, the bones intertwined with hundreds of carved snakes. Unnerving ripples of black smoke slither and dance among the carvings.

To the north the floor of the larger chamber clearly once contained a breathtaking carving of an ancient city, yet time has taken its toll on the map-like carving, reducing it to a tangled mess that, ironically, now seems to resemble the ruined Tamoachan above. The walls are decorated with brightly coloured frescoes depicting an ancient royal court in ceremonial garb and a king arrayed with his magnificent armies. Pathways wind through the ruins, affording a twisting route through the rubble. In the centre of the room is a wide plaza, in the middle of which rests a low stone table.

Spoiler: OOC

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I presume that somebody has a light source?

Religion checks: All fail
Surtros (1d20+10)[19]
Lora (1d20+1)[14]
Tchinik (1d20+4)[19]
Connaught (1d20+5)[14]

[razorback]

Tchinik, following behind Lora, here's her admonishment to Connaught but watches as the huge northerner continues on. Walking up to Lora, he gives her a sideways glance. "You know... I really hate messing with magic. Do you think it's safe or he just got lucky? Maybe he's the unknown heir to the throne or it requires a hydraslayer to pass?" he says as he tries, and fails, to hide a grin behind a stern look.

[Cavir]

"Lucky so far." Lora moves into the cave up to the landing. "The magic is in the arch at the stairs. Hold on. The evocation enchantment is significant."

The dragonborn slings her shield. With her shield hand she opens her palm towards the arch. She makes a fist then jerks her hand back like ripping a wand out of foul wizard's hand.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move up to U16
Activate Fire Resistance 5 Aura for all.
Voracious Dispelling (Dispel Magic) on the arch (Targeted Dispel), CL6

It was just today I re-noticed the part that invocations are affected by ASF
Will have to keep that in mind. My armor has ASF of 10, shield is 15. In this case, no shield and if I fail there's no effect and I can just keep doing it until successful so no roll on that here.

I'll know whether dispels are successful or not right?

Dispel Checks:
enchantment: (1d20+6)[19]
evocation: (1d20+6)[24]

If either fail I'll probably just keep trying but first we'll see if successful and if not if there are any negative effects from the attempt.

[Phasm]

"Surtros! I'm glad you could join us." Amiyah smiles and Khalil lets out a happy burble. Then she gets distracted by an interesting carving... what could this possibly be? The rest of the party's conversation goes in one ear and out the other. Until Connaught starts walking in, at which point her parrot speaks up. "They're leaving! Go!"

The wizard jumps and looks around. "Oops! Thank you, Khalil!" She runs to catch up with the others and stops short of the arch. "I'm sorry, everyone, I got a little distracted back there." Amiyah silently thanks the gods for her dark complexion, otherwise everyone would see the blood rushing to her cheeks.

Spoiler: OOC

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Sorry everyone, I don't know how I missed the updates on this thread!

[DrK]

Connaught looks at the massive rooom and the detailed map and turns go the others. "A pretty floor eh? Not much gold in it. Do you think we can prise up the buildings and see a tiny version of what lies within?"

Looking up at the walls he glances to Sutros and Amiyah,"What do the squiggles and smoke snakes mean?" He then crouches down watching with amusement as the scales dragon born starts playing with magic.

[Ghostfoot]

Lora uses her innate magical gifts to suppress the auras, the enchantment aura emanating from the archway and the evocation now evidently from the large room beyond. The auras fade and the flickering smoke that licks across the archway dissipates.

[Kelvin360]

Surtros shakes his head at Connaught, pausing only for a brief double-take at the embarrassed Amiyah's expense. "I'm sure it will shock everyone that 'squiggles and smoke' was never a part of my official curriculum. I know that Baervan Wildwanderer's clothes are made of enchanted wool and that Gwaeron Windstrom's favorite drink was Chondathan mead...but not the meaning of symbols relatively adjacent to my geographical doorstep. I consider this less an irony and more an atrocity, I assure you."

[razorback]

"I know not what they mean. They are not like anything I've ever seen or heard of, whether a note in a book or a tale in the bar." Tchinik says with a shake of his head. "Some sort of snake worshipping death cult? Naga's and their half-breeds, perhaps?"

[Kelvin360]

Surtros inspects the arch grimly from a safe distance, brown iris beneath furrowed brow flicking between the macabre display and the art further down. "Normally, I might assume this was simply a mighty display of a kingdom to its people...but the skeletons hung above the entry are perhaps the least subtle warning I've ever seen. I don't think anything good ever came from ominous stone tables like that one, either. Could this be a sacrificial room, or...some sort of malevolent test to the enemies of the state?"

Thusfar, he's staying well away from the arch. Though it may be mystically safe, there's no guarantee in the unknown. He finds Amiyah and quietly asks her whether she can find more mundane traps in the immediate area, every so often turning his attention back to the frescoes, trying to remember whether the events depicted have a source outside the ruin.

Knowledge: History (1d20+5)[19]

[Cavir]

Lora gives the the others time to look from the landing while she reactivates her magic sense and scans around the room. Tchinik's fun comment about Connaught brought back memories from her childhood, before becoming dragonborn. In raptoran culture nicknames were common among one's flock. And this group proved to be quite trustworthy. Lora states in a joyful voice. "Hydraslayer, yes, a perfect name."

The memories of home also reminded her of the advantage she had that should make better use of. Short of her finding more magic in the way the dragonborn raptoran steps off the top step and flies high above the ruined floor carvings, near the ceiling of the chamber. She hovers and scans the room using both her sharp eyes and magic insight.

Spoiler: OOC

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Fly up and hover over O20. Magic Insight and Spot
Spot (1d20+14)[31]

[DrK]

As smoke and flames fade Connaught grins at the scaled warlock. "Good that something has gone away then eh? Let's see what is on the map." Hopping down he walks across the map towards the central "ruins" of Tamochoan on the map to look inside and see if there was any clues of things. While there he glances at through the doorway to the east sendnig little "rocky" that way with a curt, "Go scout. Shout if you find trouble."