Jungle Ruins of Madaro-Shanti [IC]

[Stepfan]

Finally! A chance to stretch my full powers..., Alan let the sensation of power wash over him for a second reveling in the sensations of victory. The last encounter in this damned jungle he had felt powerless to stop and that feeling had left a rotten taste in his mouth ever since. This recent encounter had restored quite a bit of his self assurance.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw it. As the blood flowed into the pavement from the creature he had slain with his mystery a slight pull of dark energies as if some sort of reaction had occured between the mystery, the creatures death, and this place. He turned to look at it more fully but the trace was gone. Whatever had occurred was now finished, but as his mind raced with the possibilities he felt pieces falling into place, failed experiments before coming here, nonsensical descriptions in tomes, all aligned in his brain. He needed to take a moment to rest to make sure, but he thought he know grasped another level of the shadows and his mastery could increase from there.

Yes he had much to do when next the group made camp. And whatever else happened it would seem coming here had indeed not been in vain.

[Mercurion 2]

Karan’s familiarity with the proclivities of borsin paid dividends as he followed the trail back towards the tumbled wall where he had first spotted two of the creatures. As he neared the gap between the gatehouse and the wall, his active spell began to tingle his senses. Overlaying his normal vision, a red outline became clear, encircling large chunks of broken rocks at the top of what remained of the wall, balanced precariously. The deadfall was rigged to drop on anyone unwarily passing through the gap.

Swinging wide around the trap, the half-orc came around the wall to a disturbing site. A large circular area of grass on the other side of the wall had been tramped down, forming a sort of nest. Crumpled within it were the bodies of five juvenile borsin that had clearly succumbed to the effects of the muyal kaxan.

To the east, Karan could make out an open entryway into the northside of the gatehouse.

[Goby]

Thorik turns around after felling the last borsin, looking back towards the group on the road. As he prepared to rush to their aid, it seems that the party has defeated the rest. He pauses for a second, looking for another enemy to battle. Finding none, he grunts and lowers his axe. As the adrenaline of battle fades, his calm demeanor returns, and with it the pain of the wounds he took. Blood runs freely from multiple hits on his arms and upper body, as he limps slowly back towards the group.

Moving towards Axwheel, hoping that she has some curative magic, he touches his belt to reduce some of the worst damage.

Spoiler: OOC: healing belt

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(2d8)[8]

"Blast, those things hit hard for being such big dumb beasts! Thinkin' I'd done right to avoid them up until now. Still, a shame to have spent our energies slaughtering the poor creatures, but that really HURT. Anyone got any healin'?"

[Fitzroy95]

Axwheel gazed around the battlefield, feeling the focus of combat fade and the wider world return, then slowly turned on her heel as she perused their (ex-)opponents and the surrounding jungle, before nodding her head thoughtfully.
"Poor bastards. living under this cloud is slowly wiping them all out.
Reckon if we don't find whatever's causing this, exactly the same thing
is gonna happen to everyone back in town.
Sure as Clangeddin's beard is long, there's summat around here that's doin a number
on everything in the area and totally messing+' with nature.
Gotta just hope that its only killing the animals, cos if its affecting
all the plants as well, theres no way uv knowing what we're gonna find.
Could be almost anything in the area."

then, focusing on her companions, she strode across to meet Thorik, tut-tutting under her breath as she did.
"Nasty bastards them, sure hope they haven't infected ya with nuttin'.
Not much I kin do at the moment fer that anyway, guess we'll have
ta wait fer tomorra ta see what happens. ta them cuts ya got.
*** ova here, gimme a look at that lot."

She looked his wounds over carefully and offered the blessings of Clangeddin for wounds received in honorable battle

"May the mighty Lord of Battles smile upon your valor and prowess
and grant you his healing touch, that you may fight once more in his honor !"

and then proceeded to clean and dress anything remaining, washing them out and dressing them to the best of her ability,

Spoiler: Healing

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Cure Moderate wounds spell on thorik - (2d8+6)[12]
Heal skill - (1d20+6)[18]

[Mercurion 2]

With combined healing powers of his magic belt and Axwheel’s divine magic, most of Thorik’s wounds were at least partially healed. Amongst their guards, Nephi had serious wounds, though the stoic man propped himself up on his spear.

Avoiding the deadfall that Karan had called out, the rest of the expedition rounded the remains of Madaro-Shanti’s crumbled outter wall to see the same scene that had greeted the ranger—the dead bodies of the borsin juveniles. To the north could be see the palace fronted by a plaza and a large well, though just to the east beckoned the open doorway to the gatehouse.

Spoiler: Health Status

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PCs Health Status:
Karan 79%
Thorik 90%
All others 100%

NPCs Health Status:
Nephi 17%
Fastas 42%
Henneki 94%
Others 100%

[Fitzroy95]

With Thorik's wounds under control, Axwheel crossed to examine Nephi and Fastas, muttering to herself as she saw the state of their cuts and batterings.

Calling once more upon the powers of Clangeddin to heal those wounded in combat, she did the best she could for them.

Spoiler: Healing

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[roll=Cure light wounds - Nephi]1d8+5 [/roll]
[roll=Cure Light Wounds - Fastas]1d8+5 [/roll]

[Oso]

As Karan waited for the others to join him, he was mumbling incoherently to himself. His eyes were being drawn to the horrid nest, and he kept averting them. His shoulder was aching, and, distractedly, he scratched it and winced in pain, his hand coming back bloody. His mumbling took on a singsong quality, and his fidgeting subsided for a few moments, but then, slowly, came back.
As the group reached earshot, he said:
"Okay, keep being careful, there may be other traps. Follow me."
Without waiting for a reply or for them to catch up, he walking towards the entrance to the gatehouse, checked to see if he could hear anything from inside and if there were any traps, and walked in.

Spoiler: Rolls

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Cure Moderate Wounds - (2d8+7)[19]
Listen - (1d20+11)[24]
Spot - (1d20+12)[16]

[Koral]

Ignasio followed into the courtyard with care and stood by what now has become an open grave “No wonder these creatures were crazed” he said quietly “This here would get any parent go mad with agony, no matter what creature you are. We may have done them all a favor ending their lives”. He turned back to look at the others gathering around “Lets get out of here! This is not a good place for anything other than dying”.

[Mercurion 2]

Leaving the nest and the deceased juvenile borsin, Karan lead the way over towards the gatehouse, scanning for traps as he went. Unlike the immediate area around the nest, he noted that the grass here was untouched, untrod upon. It didn’t appear that the creatures spent time here.

The doorway was open, but from outside the expedition could see that light filtered inside from windows set above in the walls of the second level. Without going in, the area inside the doorway appeared bare of any furniture or decoration, though a light layer dirt and organic debris had covered the interior, particularly in the corners. A stone staircase in the middle of the room ascended to the level above.

[Stepfan]

Alan glanced around at the interior. It seemed dreary and honestly uninteresting but perhaps there might be something worth the time to look over. It seemed inefficient to simply ignore an opportunity to examine as they went along/

"Perhaps we should examine where these steps lead? It would be a shame to leave something at our backs to surprise us later."

[Oso]

Karan, still looking around and checking for traps, walked into the room and headed for the stairs.

Spoiler: OOC

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He's not in the mood for people, so, unless he spots anything or someone stops him, he'll just walk up the stairs

[Fitzroy95]

After another sad look at the Borsin nest, Axwheel followed.

Unless they were able to locate and stop the cause of this evil, exactly the same result could spread across the entire region, destroying animals and people alike.
Somewhere here there must be some kind of clue that would lead them to the cause. So far, she had been expecting some sort of shaman, or worshippers of one of the many gods of death and destruction, but the territorial Borsin wouldn't have stayed around if that had been the case, or else they would have chased the worshippers away.

Whatever was going on in this place, it looked less and less like a curse of people (in any form), and more and more like something supernatural. and Gods and demi-gods were always "unreliable" things to deal with.

And with that concern on her mind, she followed Karan, scanning their surroundings for anything that might hint at the powers slowly destroying this place.

[Koral]

If there is a way up, might there also be a way down?
Ignasio stalled for a few minutes, loitering around the ground floor for a while looking for any less than obvious items, trap doors or other passageways out of the guard house.
He then run to catch up with the others upstairs

Spoiler: Search roll

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(1d20+1)[5]

[Goby]

Thorik follows Karan's route carefully, past the trapped wall and borsin nest, and proceeds into the gatehouse.

Ax in one hand, he looks around carefully to see if anyone lurks within, before moving towards the stairs.

Spoiler: spot

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(1d20+6)[11]

[Mercurion 2]

Karan did not sense, though skill or spell, that any traps awaited them within the shell of the gatehouse. No animal smell greeted them as they stepped over the threshold either; it appeared, again, that this structure had remained unused. A thick portcullis was embedded in the south wall of building, blocking the way for intruders into the ruins of Madaro-Shanti—if the walls hadn’t already been breeched of course.

The expedition proceeded up the dusty stairs to the next level, which turned out to be a single room with a window overlooking the approach from the old road. A number of human skeletons were scattered here, apparently defenders that fell when the city was attacked.
Two other things were of note: A large winch apparatus stood in the middle of the room, obviously the means of opening the portcullis below, and on the wall in front of the winch there was a bas-relief stone rune on the wall.

Spoiler: OOC

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Picture of the rune:

[Stepfan]

Alan looked over at everyone else. "It seems we have a way in through the gate if we'd like. It does seem rather unnecessary what with the wall already broken. I am going to sketch that relief perhaps it might be of assistance to trying to figure out what's going on here. I will leave our choice of entry up to our capable ranger friend."

Spoiler: ooc

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I'm assuming iding the carving is knowledge religon or history but in case arcana or planes works heres a roll.

(1d20+13)[28]

[Fitzroy95]

Axwheel glanced briefly at the rune in case it was one she had come across previously, and then knelt briefly to pray for the souls of those who had died here, offering each a pathway to join the Lord of Battles.

While an eternity of the glory of war might not be to the tastes of all, those who had died here had fought, and died, in the service of their people, an honorable and noble death, and one worthy of Clangeddin's attention.

That duty complete, she moved amongst the bodies, scanning for any weapons or equipment she could send to join them in their future role.

[OOC]
Rune appreciation

Spoiler: Knowledge Religion

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(1d20+3)[5]

Spoiler: Knowledge Arcana

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(1d20+2)[19]

Spoiler: Search

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(1d20+1)[15]

Basically looking for anything suitable for later offerings to Clangeddin, or for his followers to use in future combat.

[Mercurion 2]

Alan looked over at everyone else. "It seems we have a way in through the gate if we'd like. It does seem rather unnecessary what with the wall already broken. I am going to sketch that relief perhaps it might be of assistance to trying to figure out what's going on here. I will leave our choice of entry up to our capable ranger friend."

Spoiler: ooc

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I'm assuming iding the carving is knowledge religon or history but in case arcana or planes works heres a roll.

[roll0]

Alan took several minutes to study the carving. From certain tell-tale signs, he could ascertain that it was certainly more than just a decoration. It seemed, to him, to be more of informational sign, conveying the status of…well, or something, he supposed.

Spoiler: OOC

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The carving seems to be something like a sign, or like the reading of a gauge on a dashboard.

[Mercurion 2]

Axwheel glanced briefly at the rune in case it was one she had come across previously, and then knelt briefly to pray for the souls of those who had died here, offering each a pathway to join the Lord of Battles.

While an eternity of the glory of war might not be to the tastes of all, those who had died here had fought, and died, in the service of their people, an honorable and noble death, and one worthy of Clangeddin's attention.

That duty complete, she moved amongst the bodies, scanning for any weapons or equipment she could send to join them in their future role.

[OOC]
Rune appreciation

Spoiler: Knowledge Religion

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[roll0]

Spoiler: Knowledge Arcana

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[roll1]

Spoiler: Search

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[roll2]

Basically looking for anything suitable for later offerings to Clangeddin, or for his followers to use in future combat.

Axwheel found numerous mundane weapons, along with weathered suits of leather armor, but one item, wedged under the warrior who fell wielding it, stood out from the rest. It was a bamboo-framed shield in the shape of an inverted teardrop, covered with interlocking strips of lacquered cocabolo wood. Arcane runes had been painted in red and black along the top edge of the shield.

[Fitzroy95]

Axwheel made a small collection of several of the better condition weapons, a couple of swords, daggers, axes etc, and bundled them up to add to Patience's load, with a view to including them in an offering to Clandgeddin next time she had the opportunity to commune with her deity.

Then, picking up the shield, she turned to the rest of the team.
"Anyone need a shield ? This one looks decent, might even
be magical, but we can check that later.
If no-one needs it, I'll include it in my offerings pile.."

[OOC]
Does she recognize any of the arcane runes on the shield?

Spoiler: Clangeddin & Offerings

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if anyone asks, she'll explain that the followers of the Lord of Battles always required weapons for their eternal battles in the afterlife, so she was always glad to pass on any spares she might find

[Mercurion 2]

OOC: Anyone with Knowledge (arcana) can make a check to see if they can understand the symbols.

[Fitzroy95]

Axwheel checks to see if she recognizes or can read any of the arcane symbols

Spoiler: Knowledge Arcana

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[roll]1d20+2[/roll]

Spoiler: stupid dice roller

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[roll]1d20+2[/roll]

[Fitzroy95]

Stupid dice roller

Spoiler: Knowledge arcana

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(1d20+2)[14]

[Koral]

Ignasio walked around the guard room bored and unimpressed by neither the view outside nor the mundane remains in the room. He really wanted to be out of this place and he didn't like it at all.
He watched behind Alan's back as he labored on the rune, making several very helpful observations of bits missed or mis-copied, he then made his way to the other side, chased by Alan's angry glares and found himself huddling with the rest over the shield. He assumed that his partial studies of the art would not do much good here but lacking anything else of interest he decided to try.

Spoiler: Knowledge arcana

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(1d20+5)[16]

[Oso]

While everyone was messing with the off-putting symbols on the walls and the shielf, Karan walked towards the winch. He checked it for traps as best he could, and then hesitated. He had a strong urge to pull it, but that might be unwise. His hand hovered for a moment, and then dropped.

"I want to make sure this winch actually operates the gate below, or perhaps there's something else here. Anyone wants to take a look first?"

Spoiler: Roll

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Spot - (1d20+12)[31]

[Stepfan]

Alan looked at Karan and then down at the winch. "I'm afraid that mechanics are not my strong suit. Alas that usually extends to the more explosive kinds as well but I will take a glance. But I do think my expertise is of better use on the runes."

He spent some time looking over the winch before checking the shield to see if those runes made any sense or could add to understanding what the symbol was warning about.

Spoiler: rolls

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(1d20+10)[27] spot
(1d20+13)[19]arcana

[Koral]

Ignasio looked at the rune (more of a painting, and was that a third eye just above the nose?) on the guardhouse wall, did he see anything similar to that in the city?
He turned to the others “At the inn where I stay, the owner talked about three gods or deities that are worshiped here, I cannot remember the names but I did see their idols. Can this be one of them?”

[Mercurion 2]

Axwheel and Ignasio puzzled over the runes, swapping bits of arcane lore in an effort to sort out their meaning. From certain details, it appeared that the two runes at the peak of the arc along the top edge signified defensive magics of some sort, though the specific effect was uncertain.

What was more clear was that they were active runes that could be activated with a simple touch; no triggering word was required, and in fact no particular magical ability or knowledge was even necessary. The could be set off with the mere touch of even a simpleton (in Ignasio's opinion).

[Mercurion 2]

As far as either Karan or Alan could determine, the winch was a simple mechanism to raise or lower the gate below, there was nothing more complicated than that. The gate below was in the raised position, they noted.

After examining the runes on the shield, Alan was able to surmise a couple of additional details. While he still wasn't certain what specific effect touching the runes would have, he picked out several hints in their shapes that whatever effect the would have would be individual magic centered on the wielder of the shield; these were personal effects, rather than area effects. Additionally, they were reusable, resetting each day as best as he could tell.

[Mercurion 2]

Ignasio looked at the rune (more of a painting, and was that a third eye just above the nose?) on the guardhouse wall, did he see anything similar to that in the city?
He turned to the others “At the inn where I stay, the owner talked about three gods or deities that are worshiped here, I cannot remember the names but I did see their idols. Can this be one of them?”

From what Ignasio could recall, the bas-relief on the wall did not appear to be a representation of the three nature spirits he had seen back in Chologadi. The features of the totems he had seen there were far more exaggerated and colorful in comparison to this plain stone symbol.