Miklos stared in awe around the room. The wall paintings almost rivaled that of the Temple on Grey Mountain and were about in the same condition. He spent some time seeing if they depicted anything relevant.
Here and there amongst the cracked and flaking fresco, he could make out the shapes of more jackal-headed men engaged in various activities. Casting magical spells, praying at altars, creating artworks, etc.
Stephan inhaled sharply in shock. The others turned to see if he was choking on webbing or something.
“Merciful, Halav,” he genuflected as he spoke. Seemingly paralyzed for a moment, it was several seconds before Stephan clumsily fumbled at his neck pouch — which had to be hoisted out of the armor covering his chest — trying to extract something. Someone put a light on his hands and then everyone stepped closer to see the small object he held. It was a perfect replica of the larger, but still diminutive, statues that lined the walls.
Stephan found his voice again. “I’ve no idea what this is but have carried it since my youth.” He turned the statue for all to see. Then rotated it so his companions could see the bottom. “There are strange marks on the bottom.”
Hernane, squinted in the gloom of the glow stones at the tiny scratching on Stephen’s keepsake. She did not recognize them and could not tell what they might mean.
Hasan pulled his spellbook from his battered pack. He turned quickly through the familiar pages.
Maruc followed Feldard as he glanced over the taller statues for a moment before turning back to Stephen. “So what does it mean?” he questioned.
Maruc thought for a moment. “Well they don’t look too friendly.” he said. Feldard grunted and turned his attention to the caved in exit. Perhaps there was a way to clear it. This at least was something he understood.
The priest shrugged and went over to the corpses. He checked them over to see what they had died from. He picked up a skull. No damage, it didn’t tell him much. He looked over at the collapsed entrance. Probably caught here and unaware of the secret exit and starved to death in the dark. He hoped they hadn’t suffered too much. But the statues might be worth a new hospice in Specularum and the Mages Guild might pay handsomely for them. He turned to query Miklos but he was nose deep in an ancient book and talking to Stephan.
Feldard ran his hands over the rock of the cave in. “Hmm, they tried to clear it and brought fresh rock down, would be my guess.”
Maruc returned to the bones to see if there was anything about them to identify their age and identity. Ancient Priests? Thieves? Trapped scholars? Nay, they were orcs. Not of the Black Web tribe. Or perhaps, they were, but from a time before they had turned into a spider-cult.
He then turned his attention of the statues and noticed Stephan fumbling in his tunic and had produced a small statuette. They put Miklos in mind of Eastern tradition animal-gods worshiped by the nomadic desert tribes he’d studied.
Stefan had inverted his charm and indicated the glyphs on the bottom. Miklos craned over to see. “Interesting. May I?” Miklos held out his hand and Stephan passed it to him. There was something familiar about the markings. A bit like familiar symbols used to write a foreign language.
He delved into his pack and produced the Book of the Sons of Night. holding a lightstone between his teeth the statue upended on one hand the leafed through the pages of the Book trying to see if anything looked similar.
Hasan read slowly from the pages of his spellbook and then exhaled deliberately. The others then saw his brow furrow and his hands spasm between fists and full extension three times. And then he sighed in relief and was done.
Hasan gazed about the room with magicsight. He immediately saw that every statuette in the room glowed with arcane light.
Hernane leaned in closer to one of the statues. She wondered how much they might be worth in Rockhome. Curious to see how heavy they were and if they were solid silver, she put her hands on one of the silver statues to try to lift it up. The thing instantly came alive, bore its teeth and tried to bite her in the face!
Instinctively, Hernane pushed it back, putting some distance between her and the jackal-faced statuette. The other eleven statues also sprung into action, racing toward the nearest intruder.
8 Comments
November 8, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Miklos cried out in alarm. He threw out his arm in a dismissive guesture and threw the first spell that came to mind. Web. He tried to encompass as many of the statues as he could.
The closest vile jackel-creature reached toward Miklos as he backed away flinging enchanted web strands theat coated the creature slowing its shining claws but inches from his face. Miklos grinned weakly. The magic caught, the arm snapped back.
November 8, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Maruc looked up. Looked down. Dropped the skull and brought the sheild up as the first staue launched himself at him. His flail sung though the air and conected with the snarling beast. “Back to the tunnel! Their numbers will count little there!”
Fighting a desperate retreat he hoped he’d buy enough time for the others. He was waiting for Feldard and Stefan to block the tunnel.
November 8, 2009 at 2:04 pm
By the way, Miklos’s reading was interrupted, so if you want him to compare the statue inscriptions to the book of night, he can do that later on.
Maruc: 10xp+5xp
Miklos: 10xp+5xp
Feldard: 10xp+5xp
Hasan: 10xp+10xp+10xp
Stephan: 10xp+10xp
TOTAL:
Maruc: 19,630/24000
Miklos: 19,725/20000
Feldard: 19,720/34000
Hasan: 18,860/32000
Stephan: 18,670/32000
November 8, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Stephan snapped out of his apoplectic state, readying his sword and shield. Part of his mind pierced a concern into the large portion now devoted to melee.
My statue! — was the concern. He had tried to secure it but the small stone carving was fumbled between his and Miklos’ hands as the battle broke out. It fell, he knew not where.
But the little devils were on the loose and two were leaping right at Sukiskyn’s face…
November 8, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Hernane using the combat training that all Dwarf maidens were trained in, retreated back towards the tunnel striking at any of the jackel-creatures that came within striking distance. In the melee she looked desperately to see where Feldard was to see if he was ok.
November 8, 2009 at 10:52 pm
At Miklos’ alarmed cry, Feldard turned away from the collapsed tunnel, just in time to see two of the foot tall jackal-headed statues charge towards him. He raised his axe just in time to block their first attacks.
He followed that with an attack of his own, pressing his opponents back further into the room. He needed to get to the entrance and help protect Hernane and the others as they made their escape.
But it was easier planned than done. Despite their diminutive size the statues, like the golem from another adventure, were resistant to his attacks. But Feldard was not one to give up.
November 9, 2009 at 3:41 am
“Fall back, fall back!” Hasan echoed the cleric’s sentiments. He thrust his spellbook deeply into his backpack, dodging a silvered slashing claw as he stuttered backwards. There was no hope for him here, book in hand or hand deep in his pack. The elf fled as swiftly as he could.
November 12, 2009 at 8:47 pm
(sadly I don’t think there is a door.. then entrance to the tunnel was just an opening down in the spiders midden pit)
With his battle axe too slow and cumbersome to effectively deal with these foes, Feldard tucked his axe between his armour and his pack for easy retrieval later then turned to using brute strength.
Feldard made his way towards the tunnel that the elf, then the humans made their escape down. Only Hernane and himself remained within the chamber and Feldard was going to ensure Hernane made it out before him.
Ignoring the ear piercing scratchings of talon and teeth on metal, and the occassional laceration that came along with having over half a dozen of the statuettes clambering over him, Feldard trudged his way to Hernane and with his gloved hands tore the creatures from her with a vengeance and flung them against the far wall. With the last of them off her, Feldard shoved her out through the tunnel and then barred the way past with his armoured body as he turned his attention to the ones that were swarming him.
But it seemed for every one Feldard managed to tear from him armour and beard, two more would take it’s place. The dwarfs only saving grace was that his armour protected him fairly well, only a small number of their attacks made it through and those were mostly minor but cummulatively they would wear him down if he could not manage somehow to get them off him to retreat.
Feldard stepped back into the tunnel, arms raised to protect his eyes as he peered at the tunnel around him to see if there were any structurally weak areas that he could exploit. If he could cause a tunnel cave-in much like the other side of the chamber that might keep the little devils contained.
(not sure but from earlier post it seemed as if they stop attacking once in the tunnel.. but if that is incorrect them ignore this part)
So intent was Feldard in his study of the tunnels structure that he didn’t notice right away that the weight on his back and shoulders had lightened and that the tiny scramblings had ceased. But when he did, he looked back to the chamber.. and there they were standing once more around the chamber.. perfect little statuettes unmoving… just waiting. He gave a shudder then warily backed his way towards the midden pit, just in case the little devils changed their minds.