The Silent Perfection (IC)

[LurkytheDwarf]

The party freezes, readied should the foul wind and angry whispers return, but it does not. Marie's Sun Blade shines into the small, dead-end room finding it empty. Even shielding her light to recreate the same soft gloom in which the shadowy figures had been lingering in fails to show anything but the bare stone walls.

[Kalashak]

Marie walks into the room to look more closely at the corner the shadows huddled in, but doesn't expect to find much. "This passage appears to have be a dead end, any suggestions where to go next?"

Spoiler: investigation

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(1d20-1)[6]

[Esprit15]

”Next passage?” Trix suggests.

[Starbin]

Praz Wavechaser Minotaur Hunter

Still standing in the main room, Praz spins to stare at Thogran, a frown evident on his face. ”A fair warning, Bearded One, but perhaps not something to shout as we scout forward. And another foul wind? This place continues to provide laughs a-plenty.

So we take the passage down now, rather than the door?”

Praz waited patiently, wondering what in the Seven Hells was going on.

---

Guess it’s onward again

Spoiler: OOC

Show

HPs: 68 AC: 17 Initiative +3, Pass Dex: 16
Str +7 Dex +5 Con +2 Int -1 Wis +3 Cha +0 / Move 30’
Athletics +7; Stealth +5; Nature +1; Perception +6; Stealth +6
Equipment: greatsword (+7, 2d6S)
Effects: n/a

[WhismurWanders]

Thogran gives the minotaur a quizzical look. "You mean ... you didn't hear that voice? What it was offering? That's why I shouted."

[Bobthewizard]

Miko

"Your choice Praz. Lead the way and we will come with you."

[Kvard51]

Valin ignites his sword to add more light to Marie's glow. They are also effective at scaring off nuisance creatures that pose no danger, but will certainly slow the parties work. "Choose a hall, Praz. We've failed to find value in any of our own choices so far."

[Starbin]

Praz Wavechaser Minotaur Hunter

Praz shook his head to Thogran’s question. ”Voices? None but from ourselves. Spooky whispers on the wind aside.

As for next, let’s try the door before going lower. Presuming we don’t wish to head upwards.”
Praz wmoved to check for sounds at the door, then open it carefully.

---

Lets do it! Perception - (1d20+6)[13]

Spoiler: OOC

Show

HPs: 68 AC: 17 Initiative +3, Pass Dex: 16
Str +7 Dex +5 Con +2 Int -1 Wis +3 Cha +0 / Move 30’
Athletics +7; Stealth +5; Nature +1; Perception +6; Stealth +6
Equipment: greatsword (+7, 2d6S)
Effects: n/a

[LurkytheDwarf]

Praz takes the southern passage and after a brief thirty feet, he comes upon the metal door. It is dented and old with a makeshift feel to it like it was installed long after the rest of the construction of the lighthouse's underground facility. Listening at the door, the minotaur sailor hears nothing. Praz attempts to open it but finds the door holds firm against him.

There is a sturdy-looking lock/keyhole built into the door above the handle.

[Starbin]

Praz Wavechaser Minotaur Hunter

Praz chuckled, turning somewhat darker. ”Guess Marie was right ... locked and unyielding. I’ll see what I can do ...then we can decide if we want to try and knock it down, or go down. ”

The minotaur pulled out a set of fine tools and began to work at the lock.

---

Guess we’ll try to pick the lock. Is that’s Dex check? Tools - (1d20+5)[12] Assistance might be worthwhile

Spoiler: OOC

Show

HPs: 68 AC: 17 Initiative +3, Pass Dex: 16
Str +7 Dex +5 Con +2 Int -1 Wis +3 Cha +0 / Move 30’
Athletics +7; Stealth +5; Nature +1; Perception +6; Stealth +6
Equipment: greatsword (+7, 2d6S)
Effects: n/a

[LurkytheDwarf]

As Praz works at the metal door's lock, it becomes apparent the mechanism is more complicated than its plain exterior would indicate. The minotaur's first attempts at picking the lock meet with failure.

While he is working at the lock though, he does detect a chemical smell coming through, probably from the room beyond: something reminiscent of embalming fluid.

[Kvard51]

Valin watches the minotaur attempt to open the door. "Perhaps we can try another way? Or does anyone else want to try and open the lock?"

[Esprit15]

Trix motions Praz to the side, and seems to focus on the door, analyzing it. Sometimes, these jobs required more finesse, someone with a wide range of skills, not to mention an ally to loosen things up for a professional to come in and take all the credit.

Other times, they just needed someone to try to kick the door down, and that was what Trix preferred. The chieftan grabs her axe and begins hacking the magic weapon at the hinges of the door.

Spoiler

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Don't know whether you want an attack roll, an athletics roll, or nothing

[LurkytheDwarf]

For a solid minute, the clamor raised by the Chieftain of the Mountain Tribes is very great as she assaults the hinges of the metal door. The rest of the party's senses are heightened, casting their gaze over the various exits from the statue room. But the foul wind does not return, and there are no movements from the stairs from which they descended nor the passage sloping down into the dark. The ghostly flame flickering on the statue's upraised hand, for those which are watching, does vaguely expand and shrink with each of Trix's strikes, as if with anticipation. The hinges give way and the door collapses with a final resounding clatter, then there is quiet once more.

The fallen barricade exposes a strange, grim sight. It appears to be a laboratory with tables and a bookcase filled with tomes. The tables bear thus: 1.) beakers and vials filled with fluids; 2.) the obvious corpse of a human female, her left arm amputated; 3.) a warped, human appendage with bronze talons partially dissected under a sheet of magnifying glass; 4.) many journals and loose sheets of paper filled with sketches and notes.

Spoiler: Trix

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You have Inspiration.

You know the dead woman upon the table from your days of adventure during your Pyalatzedka. Her name was Mormit Mythe, and she was part of another adventuring group. You recognize her instantly because the warped claw-arm on the other table was hers, acquired from some dungeon's curse.

She was a member of a band called the Arsonists (a name pejoratively given but which they took up and made their own). The Arsonists live up to the worst of the worst reputation for adventurers: spies, assassins, and tomb-robbers. Still, they are considered the premiere adventuring party in R'Arathis.

You have only ever engaged with them during mutual downtime in the same city, and other than having a dark and/or cynical sense of humor, they were a boisterous but not unpleasant company.

[WhismurWanders]

Thogran peers inside the room once the dust settles and fights two immediate reactions. The first; to inspect the beakers and what appear to be alchemical supplies. The second; to recoil in horror at the sight of the cadaver and its missing arm left out like a preserved insect which hadn't been placed back inside the collector's box. He looks to the warriors of the group and asks meekly, "She's, er, not going to stand up and attack us, is she?"

[Starbin]

Praz Wavechaser Minotaur Hunter

Praz stepped back, curious to see what Trix was going to do. As soon as she pulled out her axe, he just shook his head and chuckled. ”Straight forward and effective ... but remind us not to ask you to sneak ahead. ” He joined the others in checking the room and frowned immediately. His huge snout wrinkled in disgust as he tried to peer around the room, but his eyes kept coming back to the body laying on the table. If she was naked, he would look for something to cover her, using his own cloak if necessary. At Thogran's question, he paused with a quizzical look.

"Uh ... does that happen often where you're from? Unless you think she's just sleeping? Hey miss, wake up!" Praz would prod her gently, suddenly wondering if she was going to move ... alive or dead.

---

Look around the room (Perception - (1d20+6)[19]), cover the woman up, see if she's still alive somehow.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

HPs: 68 AC: 17 Initiative +3, Pass Dex: 16
Str +7 Dex +5 Con +2 Int -1 Wis +3 Cha +0 / Move 30’
Athletics +7; Stealth +5; Nature +1; Perception +6; Stealth +6
Equipment: greatsword (+7, 2d6S)
Effects: n/a

[WhismurWanders]

"Uh ... does that happen often where you're from? Unless you think she's just sleeping? Hey miss, wake up!" Praz would prod her gently, suddenly wondering if she was going to move ... alive or dead.

"There's enough strange magic going on around here that I wouldn't be suprised if necromancy were involved as well. Better safe than sorry, right?"

[Esprit15]

Trix gives a startled response as she sees the corpse, but the look on her face is more a mix of sadness and shock than fear. She walks up to the corpse and strokes the face. ”For some reason I always expected you to die in a fire, Mormit...” she mumbles to herself. “Throgan, you might find those notes more interesting than anything else in here. That arm on the table used to belong to her.”
(OOC: Pausing in case the corpse actually does jump up, but I’m doubtful.)

[Kvard51]

Valin is shocked to see a corpse so fresh as this. Mummified would not have thrown him, but this was clearly somewhat recent. "Trix, can you see how she died? I'm sorry if you knew her, but we need to learn what we are facing." He looks around at the beakers and journals strewn around the room, "And Thogran, Trix is right. See if you can discern anything from the notes and detritus. The rest of us can search drawers and keep an eye out for visitors."

With that Valin turns and beigns to do a thourough search of any cabinets and drawers, keeping his eyes open for secret compartments.

Spoiler: Actions

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Perception (1d20+4)[21]
Advantage roll (1d20+4)[10]

[Esprit15]

Valin is shocked to see a corpse so fresh as this. Mummified would not have thrown him, but this was clearly somewhat recent. "Trix, can you see how she died? I'm sorry if you knew her, but we need to learn what we are facing." He looks around at the beakers and journals strewn around the room, "And Thogran, Trix is right. See if you can discern anything from the notes and detritus. The rest of us can search drawers and keep an eye out for visitors."

With that Valin turns and beigns to do a thourough search of any cabinets and drawers, keeping his eyes open for secret compartments.

Spoiler: Actions

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Perception (1d20+2)[13]
Advantage roll [roll1]

Trix scoffs. "She wasn't a great person, just someone I ran into a few times. The cursed arm stuck out in my mind, made her easy to remember." She examines the corpse, looking for signs of injury (besides the missing arm).

...would she see some of the other Arsonists dead here?

Spoiler

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Medicine: (1d20+2)[13]

[Starbin]

Praz Wavechaser Minotaur Hunter

Praz watched Trix stroke the woman's face, but she claimed it was someone she ran into a few times. Shrugging to himself, he continued to look around the room, but was uncertain what he was looking for. ”So ... uh ... why would your, um, friend be here? You said she's not a great person, so probably not called by the white light, no?”

---

Continuing to check

Spoiler: OOC

Show

HPs: 68 AC: 17 Initiative +3, Pass Dex: 16
Str +7 Dex +5 Con +2 Int -1 Wis +3 Cha +0 / Move 30’
Athletics +7; Stealth +5; Nature +1; Perception +6; Stealth +6
Equipment: greatsword (+7, 2d6S)
Effects: n/a

[Esprit15]

Praz Wavechaser Minotaur Hunter

Praz watched Trix stroke the woman's face, but she claimed it was someone she ran into a few times. Shrugging to himself, he continued to look around the room, but was uncertain what he was looking for. ”So ... uh ... why would your, um, friend be here? You said she's not a great person, so probably not called by the white light, no?”

---

Continuing to check

Spoiler: OOC

Show

HPs: 68 AC: 17 Initiative +3, Pass Dex: 16
Str +7 Dex +5 Con +2 Int -1 Wis +3 Cha +0 / Move 30’
Athletics +7; Stealth +5; Nature +1; Perception +6; Stealth +6
Equipment: greatsword (+7, 2d6S)
Effects: n/a

"You and your friends don't get the name 'the Arsonists' by being good people. They did the usual things that experienced and grey adventurers do - assassins, spies, whatever brings home the money. I have no idea whether she was called or not." She also rummages through Mormit's pockets if there were any. If not, she suggests someone look for her clothes.

[LurkytheDwarf]

Each member of the party instantly recognizes the name "Arsonists" as belonging to the premiere adventuring party of R'Arathis, though its individual members may be unknown to you. They have a jaded and underhanded reputation, though universally regarded as highly effective.

As Trix, Praz, Valin, and Thogran file into the laboratory (which is another thirty-foot by thirty-foot stone room), it is apparent that the woman is quite dead. The corpse is emaciated as if from several weeks of malnutrition, and the crook in her neck indicates it was snapped, likely the definitive cause of death. Trix mentions that Mormit once wore magical half-plate and wielded a morningstar, but there is no evidence of either in the chamber. A tray beside the corpse holds clean knives, forceps, and tongs—she was next on the list of things to dissect. Praz covers the body to preserve the stranger's dignity.

Most of what Valin pulls from drawers and cabinets beneath the tables are spare tools and containers similar to what's already arrayed before them. In one though, he discovers a clean and folded, if threadbare, red robe. Unfurled, it bears in a silver thread the same symbol as the statue in the previous room: a ziggurat with tiny figures worshiping up towards a four-pointed star in a circle. Also, on the table of vials and beakers and jars of fluids, there is an ivory ring among the clutter: at first glance, it appears as no great thing but upon closer inspection, it is finely scrimshawed with a skull issuing a word from its mouth in an unfamiliar language.

As Thogran mumbles over the notes in a mix of disgust and awe, Praz and Valin's searching over the room come together near the western wall. They share a look because they both notice the outline of a hidden door.

Spoiler: Thogran

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The papers contain detailed anatomical drawings. The most recent being the dissected, cursed arm of the Arsonist woman on the table. Delving deeper finds whole sheets dedicated to the thorough and definitive examination of orc physiology.

The journals are filled with shorthand notes which your soon-ending comprehend languages spell translates for you. Of the orcs, it describes "These hideous mutants of the eastern continent are both strong of limb and resilient," "The eastern continent must be a grim and inhospitable place," "Elf-fungoid hybrid?" Of the woman, it notes: "While diminutive this female appears as one would expect, save the limb's disfigurement," "The warping effects of the eastern continent? or self-inflicted as a defensive measure?" "Her autopsy will provide more details..."

Among the sketches are a few which cover the armaments of the orcs: shortswords, small round shields, and blackened chainmail. One even outlines a badge that bears the symbol of three stacked triangles pointing downwards: the insignia of the armies of Rulk.

[Bobthewizard]

Miko

Miko helps to explore the room, mostly looking for anything immediately dangerous rather than helping to uncover this great mystery. She knows her strengths are in leadership, deception and survival, not investigation and pouring through books. She will try to keep everyone else alive until they can figure this out.

[Starbin]

Praz Wavechaser Minotaur Hunter

Praz nodded solemnly. He remembered the Arsonists as a different sort of group, and perhaps one not as deserving of their sympathy. 'Live by the horn, die by the horn.' But for now, he kept those thoughts to himself and searched the room. After a moment, he found the outline of a door with Valin. ”It seems there is another door. Shall we open it?”

---

If the group wishes to open the door, Praz will attempt to do so.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

HPs: 68 AC: 17 Initiative +3, Pass Dex: 16
Str +7 Dex +5 Con +2 Int -1 Wis +3 Cha +0 / Move 30’
Athletics +7; Stealth +5; Nature +1; Perception +6; Stealth +6
Equipment: greatsword (+7, 2d6S)
Effects: n/a

[Kalashak]

Marie shrugs. "Opening doors has been our most successful tactic so far, why not continue the trend?"

[Kvard51]

Valin slips the ring in his pouch and the robe in his pack. They might bear further investigation or come in handy as a disguise at some point. He works his way around the room until he and Praz arrive together at the hidden door.

”Be my guest.”, he replies to the minotaur’s question. “I’ll provide the light.”, he says, gesturing to the mechanism.

[LurkytheDwarf]

The hidden seams in the wall appear at Praz's urgings and the secret door swings open. Inside this small cluttered chamber stands a second statue, cruder than the last and unfinished. It's upraised hand burns with the ghostly flame just the same, and the instant your gaze falls upon it, the fire burns brighter and emits a high-frequency wail which harmonizes with the that of the first statue and floods the laboratory and hallway between with an unearthly surge which pains your mind and soul.

Spoiler: Everybody

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I will need everyone to make a saving throw (here or in the OOC thread) based on what I roll for each character on the following chart (I'll assume everyone is in range of Valin's Aura of Protection).

1. Intelligence Save DC 14
2. Charisma Save DC 14
3. Wisdom Save DC 14
4. Wisdom Save DC 14

Valin: (1d4)[4]
Thogran: (1d4)[1]
Marie: (1d4)[2]
Miko: (1d4)[2]
Praz: (1d4)[3]
Trix: (1d4)[4]

Once everybody's saves are out of the way, I'll describe the individual results and give a more detailed description of the chamber.

[WhismurWanders]

Thogran looks up from the notes he had been reading and prepares to report to the others when the unearthly noise assaults him.

Spoiler: INT Save

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(1d20+7)[9]

[LurkytheDwarf]

Despite the momentary intensity, the party collectively weathers the wail of the ghostly flames. After a span of seconds, both fall quiet and return to pale flickers. During the unpleasantness, there has been no sign of the foul wind and angry whispers.

In the room behind the secret door in the laboratory, there is a new statue. This one is only half-finished; from the waist down, it is still a solid block of stone. The statue bears the likeness of a clean-shaved ascetic with close-cropped hair. He appears to mimic the pose of the previous statue—the one finished hand upraised as if giving instruction and wreathed in the lighthouse's haunting fire. The robes of this statue do not possess the same ziggurat symbol as the last, but perhaps that is being saved for finishing touches.

The floor is covered in crumbled bits of rock and dust. A large, heavy worktable bears chisels, hammers, and sanding tools. Wadded up atop a small refuse barrel is an inky black cloak which at first no one noticed until the light from Valin's Sun Blade fell directly on it.

Spoiler: Valin

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Unlike the red robe, when you took up the ivory ring it gives the familiar impression of a magic item. Perhaps with time spent in concentration (and attunement), it would reveal its features to you.