Temple of False Gods

[DM Bob]

The way is fraught with muck & squirm in the no-so-gentle heat of the Athasian day. The party ambles towards the temple ruins, passing the longer ways about the tower to avoid the now slowing thrashings of the gigantically strange yellowed-white worm avatar. Smaller, maggoty, wiggling supplicants; larger baby sandworm brood; insanely larger ilk all clamor about. Most avoid you, likely due to the illusionary heat that 'Muiko has conjured into pseudo-existence.

It is high noon as you make it to where the cocooned mass betrays a height that slightly recalls the frame and shape of the third most prominent ruin within this dread complex...

The temple. Not that it looks like anything the ancients of ages past had created as it too, is draped in whitish globs of sticky gunk and extrusions. The shade is more welcome here though, and you eventually come before a massive ecru-colored marble double door.

Barred on this end with an eight foot by foot and a half foot beam of nearly petrified reddish wood.

[Attilius]

Stowing his shield and gouge, Attilius asks "Don't we need to grab the buried book first?"

He places his shoulder and body under the crossbar and slowly lifts it.

BB/LG 90%: 18% success

[DM Bob]

It easily moves.

The book was hidden a lot closer to the bulk of the avatar. Quila has a better idea of where she secreted that. It ain't likely to go far.

[Attilius]

Attilius carefully and gently lays it against the wall to the left and out of the way of the doors. Then re-equips his weapon and shield 20' away from the doors (port side)
"Someone check for traps..."

[Niachi]

Niachi stays in the middle of the team. He tries for a bit of strategy before plunging into the next fray:

"Before anything, this is the time to ready ourselves. Atillius! I will magic up your gouge and my sword, this will take some time. We have time to optimize and the stakes keep rising."

If no objections, he will spend 2 turns Enchanting the gouge and his 2H sword, using his obsidian marble as a conduit to the Black. After that, Protection from Evil on himself.

He listens to all tactics with a scholar's focus.

Spells in effect:
Cat's Grace Dex 20, duration 7.9 hours:
+4 Reactions, +3 missile attack, -4 AC bonus for total AC -1

Enchanted Weapon: +1 2H sword and gouge, duration: 40 rounds.

Prot. From Evil: duration: 16 rounds:
Attacks from evil things get -2 to hit, +2 to saves vs. evil attacks, prevents bodily contact from extraplanar/summoned creatures, possession and mental control are blocked.

Spells available:
3/2/3/1 and orb is empty

[Skrye [AC3; 48/48HP]]

- Skrye gesticulates and mumbles aiming to herself, expecting not an easy task from this point inwards for a while at least - "I'm ready to go"- but turns to Thessik - "It might not be the best place to have further introductions but, if you came here, can I suppose you are skilled somehow? And if so, which is your field?" - asking curiously

[OOC: Cast Barkskin.
AC 0 (Barkskin, 12 rnds), 48/48HP; SPELLS 1stLvl(5/5), 2ndLvl(4/5), 3rdLvl(4/4), 4thLvl(3/3)]

[raddu/Thessik]

Thessik steps up to the door to inspect it.
Detect Magic (50%) roll 91 fail
Find and Remove Traps (50%) roll 79 fail.

"It's perfectly safe, I couldn't find any magic or traps on the door. Skrye, I am a finder of lost antiquities. "

[Skrye [AC3; 48/48HP]]

- Nodding at him - "A pleasure, I'm a speaker of the earth. Welcome"

[OOC: AC 0 (Barkskin, 12 rnds), 48/48HP; SPELLS 1stLvl(5/5), 2ndLvl(4/5), 3rdLvl(4/4), 4thLvl(3/3)]

[Attilius]

Mar 23, 2024 16:21:41 GMT -12 Niachi said:

"Before anything, this is the time to ready ourselves. Atillius! I will magic up your gouge and my sword, this will take some time. We have time to optimize and the stakes keep rising."

"My thanks Niachi. How do we make this per-man-ent?" he lowers his gouge to let him enspell it while the others inspect/open the doors.

[AthasianLaborer]

'Muiko looks on as Niachi makes his preparations, taking note when Thessik mentions 'not detecting magic'.

[Elven: "I will make the same preparations as I did for our exploration of the Tomb.  I will be heavily obscured but no doubt present at your side"] 'Muiko looks at Niachi and Quila with these last words.

'Muiko casts Invisibility while using Attilius as concealment from Thessik.  Once invisible, he casts Misdirection and Nondetection on himself and takes position within arms reach of Niachi if not both Niachi and Quila.

[Skrye [AC3; 48/48HP]]

- Skrye gets by the door, looking at it as Thessik did, checking the lock, the space in between and repeating his routine in her own way

[OOC: F/RT rolled 38% out of 50%, success]

[Niachi]

OOC: Rolling for CON spellcasting to access my magic:

1st Enchant the gouge: 16, need 16
2nd: my sword: 11
3rd: Prot. from Evil: 3

The temple's entrance welcomes the Black.

To Atillius:

"Sealing the magic to a weapon is for now, above my pay grade. You will need a weapon of quality, and spells I cannot yet reach. And a lot of coin. Enjoy your edge while it lasts."

He  scoots out to the side to get a safe radius and practices a few strikes in the air, envisioning the skull of a certain undead brother splitting like a melon.

[DM Bob]

There is no other lock, traps were not found either. When the bar is removed, you find the double door behind to pull outward rather easily considering the apparent age of the ruins. Heck, Quila knows quite well how old this place is, at the very least parts of it.

This place was old in the ways that many ancient cities and ruins were though. In layers. Much like an onion, removing one led to another yet, older piece (and on and on). Considering that under Myron's Tomb lay the remains of Tnor'morken: City of the Extinct Troll-kin, who knew what else might be revealed underneath these worm-ridden passages. Ironically this temple was now the tomb of the dead Champion, who stubbornly clung to some line here in life.

Foul air escapes as you look within, a long dead corpse falls over, likely having died trying to leave this place. A look of abject terror remains on it's desert desiccated face. And no, Attilius, it does not animate. You wonder if Aman constantly replaces these things after explorers leave. Something had to have ventured here before, right?

Or were you the only ones crazy enough to hang around? Hmm. Flip a bit, that could go either way.

Beyond this, the floor slants downward over 30 feet or so. The corridor is only 5 feet wide and 7 feet tall, and the vaulted stone passageway ends in a blank wall. To either side of the corridor, frescos are painted. They show tall shambling lanky green humanoids fighting humans. The humans are led by a beautiful woman in what looks to be full metal armor, like the plates of a beetle. A flame motif is rendered upon her left breast. The green humanoids have a plethora of ugly, shambling misshapen allies behind them. It appears the humans wish to burn out these others. There is evidence of scratches on these frescos...

Of fingernails clawing for the door behind you.

This makes it really, really tight for the goliath. He may need to consider removing some armor and shield use will be limited if this is the standard.

[Attilius]

Attilius pulls out some large hammer and chisel tools and looks at the doors hinges in order to remove them...

[DM Bob]

This can be done. It takes 8 minutes/rounds of work.