War of Shadows: Chapter 2

[DeTess]

Elva waited till the halfling had finished making his order, then addressed him. "Hey there! You wouldn't happen to have been sent here to pick me and Josiah up, would you?

[Tyg3rW01f]

Josiah, instead of consuming FAR TOO MUCH like last time at the bar, maintains his sobriety by asking only for a single local brew -- Short Cup, Please! -- and being far quieter than the locals remember. The next morning, he lets Elva do all the talking.

[sarlon]

the halfking (Lo'it, I found his name) looks around confused for a moment spotting both of you, grins widely mutters something to the person who took his order before hopping off the stool and walks over a broad grin cracking his bronzed skin.

"I wasn't expecting you guys till later today, hope you don't mind me having a quick bite to eat before we head out do you?"

he sips his drink, an odd smelling brew that is EXTREMELY strong smelling, and not very pleasant to smell, but he seems to enjoy it. once his food arrives he rearranges himself around the table to be closer to the two of you and lowers his voice.

"first of all thank you for coming so quickly. Second, no one is blaming you...directly....for the problems. No one knew what was going on till we traced it back to the carvis osasis stop when your group spent a few hours there last moon cycle." He pauses to take a long swallow of his drink, wipes his mouth, and continues. "Weird things have been appearing in the desert at night under the moon, and scouts entered what appears to be an old set of ruins under that dune you fell down Lady Elva. we've not had a lot of luck getting to far into it without a lot of.....er...mishaps, and after talking with the adventurers guild we found your name coming up as a high recommendation for these types of....inconveniences. Brother Josiah since you were here too we felt that you'd like a chance to right this mishap. We don't know exactly whats under there, but it IS dangerous. We can scrape together 1000 gold in total for this clearing to make sure its safe enough for future explorations."

[Tyg3rW01f]

Josiah considered. "Lo'it, I won't speak for Elva. As we have been summoned to right a wrong, I would be willing to do this for 250 gold and as much written information on the animals of the dunes as the Clan is willing to share.

[sarlon]

He looks thought full for a few minutes as he sips his drink, "well we don't much harken to the written word, hard to carry bunch of books around....as for whats out in the dunes....lets see...." he ticks them off on his fingers...
s
"Well there's the usual, scorpions, snakes, lizards, vultures....then you got the sand snails, sand rats, probably some cousins of mine, mummies and daddies, walking sand dunes, there's the walking stone pillar of course, shadows, raptors, skeletons, sand fleas big as horses, camels, salamanders, rhinos, horse people, rocks, howlers, hyenas...funny looking ones too, worms, tigers, lions, no bears though....not recently any way...hmmm what else?"

[Tyg3rW01f]

Josiah smiled, "Lo'it, I thank you for the listing, but I meant from the Clan's lorekeepers themselves."
The young monk didn't know exactly which parts of the list he didn't believe, but he was pretty sure the halfling was pulling his leg.

[DeTess]

"We can discuss my payment once we've checked out the place." Elva suggested. "If it turned out I somehow triggered this I'll waive my share of the payment, as it's only fair. If it was just a coincidence I'll take my part in coin, of course.

[sarlon]

Lo'it finishes eating and paitently waits for you guys to be ready. He leads you outside the city gates where 3 camels are patiently waiting again. Guards around the city seem on high alert though they give you little trouble.

The trip out seems harder then last time, Lo'it is chatty but its filled with nervous energy, and he is actually carrying a weapon on his hip (a long sword). You stop for a rest at mid day at a shady small osasis with a well filled with cold clean water, welcome after the searing sun and dry winds. he encourages you to drink up, while he refills his water skins.

Just before it starts to get dark, you see the dim glow of campfires over the ridge and the camels seem to hurry up of their own accord, going at almost a gallop. the camp of halfings has grown, you see tents in many different sizes and shapes. Guards roam the perimeter (humans mostly), and stop your group as you approach. A quick word from lo'it has you passing through with little threat (they seem more worried about something else then a couple of people riding up on camels).

Your welcome is cool and barely hospitable, and you're quickly lead to the largest of the tents set in the middle of the camp.

inside this large cool tent you see almost a dozen halfings (men and women) in various colored shirts all talking loudly and angrily, infact their arguments are so loud they don't notice your entrance and there are serval guards (humans and halflings) scattered around the edges of the tent.

".....I don't even think they'll show up....stupid humans! always causing messes out here then leaving as if they don't care! I'll bet 2 of my burden beasts that they won't show up and will just send their false words of apology about not their fault!!!" This seems to be the tail end of a longer argument, it comes from an OLD halfing, his white hair sparse upon his sunbrowned scalp. 2 younger halfings crouch on either side of him but aren't saying anything.

Roars of both agreement and disagreement are heard around the tent, before Lo'it clears his throat and speaks in a well refined voice, "Good lords of the dunes, your humble servent will gladly take those two burden beasts Kari'zal, since I must insist you eat your words. May I present to you Brother Josiah, master in training of the brotherhood of the open palm, student of Master Fornari, master of the hidden ways." he bows and gestures to Josiah, then continues, "May I also present Lady Elva, daughter of the brotherhood of Itani, student of Seeker Kolita, master of the hidden word."

[Tyg3rW01f]

Josiah, once introduced, offered the world-recognized martial arts salute of right fist in the open left palm with a slight bow from the waist. He then awaited his turn to speak.

Spoiler: Diplomacy (and Respect)

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and since it is a STRAIGHT CHARISMA Check...
(1d20+1)[17]

[Tyg3rW01f]

Josiah lowered himself into a cross-legged position of the floor, his elbows out, palms on his thighs. He then spoke calmly, treating this as an Assembly of the Brotherhood -- a solemn situation every Apprentice faced.
"Most potent, grave, and reverend Elders, my very noble and approved good masters, to say the circumstances which have befallen these dunes -- your Home -- are not our fault in any way would be not only a disservice, but a convenient lie of the blackest sort. My companion and I were unaware of the circumstances which have befallen your home, this is Truth; to say it is our fault is the only argument. In its reply, I say simply that we have come to ascertain the Truth in this matter.
If, in our investigation, Miss Elva and I find we truly are at fault, in accordance with her word to the same, we will waive reward to show our remorse and regrets are heartfelt.
No matter the result, which are as yet unknown, we have come as requested of us, and would hear from this Council of the troubles and glean more detail with which to more accurately fight on your behalf."

[DeTess]

Elva let Josiah do the talking. Though a bit overly verbose for her tastes, his words covered her own feelings on the matter as well. If she had somehow directly caused... whatever it was that was happening... she'd take responsibility, but the way these people where ready to blame it all on her did not sit well with it. As far as she knew, the worst thing she'd done was discover some ancient ruins. If the mere act of finding the entrance had triggered issues, then she did not consider herself responsible, as anyone present here could have done the same. She kept her piece on that observation until she knew more about the situation, however.

[sarlon]

The old halfling who was speaking when you entered stands up shakily shrugging off the hands of the two younger ones beside him. He points a long gnarled finger at the two of you and speaks in a surprisingly clear voice for someone of such an age. "The dunes have awakened with the spirits of the long dead! things we teach our children as bedtime stories and were told to me by my parents and their parents before them have begun awakening! This wouldn't have happened if you TALL PEOPLE hadn't come into the dunes!!! We The Lords of the Dunes have condemned you to go into the Dunes themselves and either stop this madness or perish...."

He stops to take a shakey breath and quivers for a moment, the lights in the tent seem to darken for a moment and a nervous energy is felt around the tent. Even the two of you feel uneasy, though you can't place your finger on what the issue is.

"We can't even close the gate that your bumbling has opened, and search parties who have gone in haven't returned. Figure this out or perish in the attempt. Lo'it will go with you to make sure that you speak the truth."

Lo'it emits a small voice of protest, but bows his head, mumbling his acceptance. The old halfling prods one of the younger halfings beside him with his cane who squeaks but stumbles towards the 3 of you, handing one of you a small wrapped package. "early exploration teams found this stone in some rubble, we haven't found a use for it. but it seems to be made of the same stone as the walls.....You have 1 hour to make ready before guards will escort you to the entrance!" He flops down again and low voices speak in quiet conversations around the tent.

[Tyg3rW01f]

"As you say -- so let it be," Josiah answered as he politely accepted the stone and rose. He handed it to Elva.
"Classic return of Josiah Lead-tongue, Hundredth-Dan Master of the Way of the Bumbler."

[DeTess]

Elva, however, was not done talking yet. She had a strong sense of justice, and this old man dumping all this on her did not sit well with her at all.

"I reject your accusation and your verdict." Elva spoke back in a clear voice. "You call yourself a lord of the dunes, yet you remained ignorant of a threat to your people right underneath your camp, a threat that could apparently be triggered by a simple walk around in the desert. And now that it has, inevitably, been awakened, you bring in adventurers under false pretences and dare threaten them into doing what should be your duty as lord?"

She paused for a moment to calm down, then proceeded, her voice now ice cold. "I will go to the ruins and deal with this threat for the good of the people of my own will. But don't you dare pin the fruits of your own complacency and incompetence on me."

She turned around and headed for the exit. "Come on, we have a job to do."

[sarlon]

Lo'it meets you both outside looking sheepish, "I apoligze for him, he's the eldest of the dune lords....and the others tend to follow his lead. He is scared, we all are...."

[DeTess]

"Then he should have used his years alive to reduce the number of threats his people face." Elva spat out the words, before taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"I really can't stand people with authority blaming others for problems they should have prepared for or taken care of themselves. It's laziness and cowardice from those that should be the best of us." she explained herself. "Come on, you can tell us what you know about what's happening on the way there."

[sarlon]

Lo'it looks at Elva, "do you know what the lords of the dunes actually are?"
"I presumed they rule over your people, like the lords in other places." Elva replied.
"I was told by my own parents many years ago, that when the first people came to this world these lands were infested with creatures from other planes....the locals didn't dare venture into the dunes themselves. One of the First Heros, according to legend, went deep into the dunes and found....a gem of some sort. he and a handful of halflings and my ancestor, used ancient magic to make the stone as another type of lock, and hid it deep beneath the dunes. the original hero is said to have died in the process, and the remaining halfings became the first lords of the dunes, a group meant to keep that safe. over time it kind of devolved into petty fighting and power struggles, and amounts to this...."
"They've really failed their duty then. Elva sighed. "Though I wonder if the issue with the ruins is somehow related."
"Its said that the entrance to the chambers where the gem was kept is hidden among the dunes, but to keep it safe people "forgot" where it was hidden"
"Well, only one way to find out then." elva replies.

Lo'it takes you over to refill water bags, before checking all your gear and making sure the two of you are ready. He himself excuses himself and reappears 5 minutes later wearing simple leather armor, a sword at his hip, a small bag over his shoulder, and a small crossbow hanging from his belt which also has various pouches, some obviously empty, others looking like they're bulging with unknown items.

He again checks you guys are ready before a guard of the camp begins leading your party out into the sands.

[sarlon]

the walk out into the dunes while tense passes with almost no hassle. The sun high overhead beats down on your heads almost mercilessly, and you understand why Lo'it kept insisting on full waterbags every time. Almost an hour later your group slides down another sand dune and to your surprise your feet hit something a lot more solid than more sand. Elva this place looks vaguely familiar as the stairs still stand open but marked with large stones colored brightly (these are recent additions since they were not here last time).

Two guards come out of a nearby tent shouting at you to stop, but after a quick word with Lo'it they apologize for their abrupt manner, they mention its been quiet since last night. They head back into the tent and Lo'it taking the lead heads down the stairs, where the cool air actually feels freezing after the heat of the sun.

You go down a long set of stairs for several yards, and while steep are manageable. eventually you come to a stone door already standing open, Lo'it barely hesitates before walking through, "Watch your step, after this opened there were traps that we mostly found just beyond." just past the door stands a brightly lit hall wall, lit from an unknown source. it stretches far in the distance while several doors stand open and shut on either side of the hall way.

"We were checking doors and almost all of them were dangerous, so we haven't been past this hallway yet..."

[DeTess]

"Neither of you are able to fly or easily walk on the ceiling, right?" Elva checked before setting out. Had she been on her own she could have bypassed the traps by taking a simple walk on the walls or ceiling, but with two companions that would expend more of her magical reserves than she felt comfortable with right now.

"I'll take the lead here, but please keep your eyes open for traps as well. Three pairs of eyes see more than one." Elva stepped ahead of the group, carefully scanning the ground as she did so she could identify and disarm any traps before she stumbled across them.

Spoiler: perception

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perception: (1d20+11)[25]
(normally you'd roll search for finding traps, which is an INT based roll. If I can roll perception on int instead it has a +13 instead of +11)

[Tyg3rW01f]

Josiah nodded to Elva, "Be my guest."

Spoiler

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PERCEPTION
(1d20+12)[24]

[sarlon]

it takes the three of you at least an hour to find and disarm all the traps, some are VERY narrow misses, but this hall way can now be properly said as cleared. 8 doors in total line both sides of the hall way (4 to a side), and each room was empty, but looks like at one time they might have been used in the past. At the end of the hallway, stands a very strange door... you know its a door even though there's no handle or hinges.

There is strange writing on the door in Orcish.

[DeTess]

Orcish was not a language Elva was familiar with, but that wasn't something a little magic couldn't fix. She raised up her right arm and snapped her fingers. Magic wend its way down her raised arm and around her head before settling as a slight flow on her eyes and ears. She then reached out and touched the writing to let the magic do its thing.

Spoiler: magic

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I cast comprehend languages.

[sarlon]

the writing on the door says "speak aloud the name of the Father"

[DeTess]

"It's asking for a password of sorts." Elva announced after taking a step back. "It's asking for someone to speak the name of the 'father'. Do either of you know who that may be?"

[Tyg3rW01f]

"Is 'father' capitalized? I ask because I once read of a door to a dwarven mine that was passcoded with the elvish word for 'Friend'. Took the characters nearly an hour to figure it out."

Spoiler: Knowledge: Religion

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(1d20+10)[11]

[Tyg3rW01f]

Josiah thought a moment longer.

Spoiler: Knowledge: Arcane

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(1d20+7)[24]

[DeTess]

"It is capitalized, but also prefaced by 'the' so I don't think that's the trick." Elva answered.

[sarlon]

Josiah:

A chill of almost fear slithers down your spine as you think on it and come up with the name, you're fairly certain the word the door is looking for is "Aspeterunia".

As soon as the word is uttered, the door begins dissolving almost like it was made of sand. Within a few seconds the passage is opened and Lo'it looks a little confused and a little scared. "Thats a name not many people know....where did you hear that name?"

[Tyg3rW01f]

Josiah swallowed back his dread, "My training is not simply of the martial arts, but also of many differing schools of knowledge. Including the Ancients."

[sarlon]

Lo'it frowns in thought then shakes his head, "Try not to repeat it too many times, and defiantly not around the capitol.....you don't want to see a Goddess angry. Remember that hurricane last year? Almira got some bad news..."

Lo'it looks into the now open doorway, you both see another long hallway that branches to the left and right after about 30 feet, about midway down there are 2 doors directly across from each other. This hallway is actually just as brightly lit as the hall behind you. (The hallway here is single file, only 5 feet wide).

Lo'it turns to Elva, bows slightly, "after you?"