|
Interesting cavern here. Not like anything Rondo has ever seen before. But Rondo does not know much of the religions of you tall folk.
Rondo makes a few quick notes regarding the painting and the surrounding inscriptions.
Rondo also casts Detect Magic on the bundle of cloth recovered from the bottom of the pit, focusing for three rounds. He attempts to discern what properties the bundle of cloth may have.
Z'hor with his vast array of knowledge easily zooms through the caverns glyphs like they were bedtime stories told to him by his mom.
The Farmer is depicted plowing four lines in a field, retelling Aroden’s prophecy that humankind would prepare the rocky earth for planting and over generations wear the pebbles down into fertile soil.
The Shepherd is depicted herding animals out of a crowded city to the pastures beyond, just as Aroden blessed leaders with the foresight to direct people to the tasks and places that best suit them.
The Tailor is depicted sewing together a long cloth of featuring many patterns that wraps around a city like a moat, referencing Aroden’s proclamation that when the fate of all peoples is woven together, it shall be humanity’s greatest strength.
|
|
"I assume that these are of the twelve guises of Aroden... the forms he wore when he walked among humanity. But are they more than that? Seems kind of odd to have such artwork down here, unless this was truly a holy place to worshippers of the Last of the Azlanti"
Z'hor'll will take a little more time to determine if these are the only four that are intelligible. He'll also use Detect Magic to see if these are magical.
"I wonder what the point of these are? Really seems odd."
Z'how, nothing pings as magical, and yes, these are the only 4 carvings you can decipher from the jumble before you.
Once the group jots down what they see and discover, they decide it is time to move deeper into the cave to see what mysteries can be uncovered there about this cave and about possible Aroden influence in here.
------
The soft light of the surrounding fungus mixes with the flickering glow of the nearby torches to reveal a grand chamber. A large pool of water along the chamber’s southern edge reflects the blue and green radiance to illuminate the massive stalactites that cling to the ceiling overhead. Two other tunnels branch off from this area, leading to the east and west.
Rising up from the pool is a column of rock with steeply sloped sides and a flat top, as if someone had sawn off the top of a massive stalagmite. A miniature city carved from this same stone occupies nearly the entire surface. Tiny trinkets such as ancient coins, polished semiprecious stones, and ornately braided loops of string are scattered throughout the diorama, and pale cave frogs clamber atop it. The smooth cavern floor is covered in gravel and pebbles along the edge of the pool, and several foot-long centipedes prowl among the gravel in their search for prey.
As you approach the closer, you notice a lone gillman, kneeling in the water back turned towards you. He seems unaware of your presence.
|
|
"A gillman? Neat! I'll go talk to him! And a miniature city? Wow!"
'I wonder what's up with all the little trinkets. That seems a little odd, unless perhaps it is an altar of some sort. What city is that of?'
Z'hor'll moves up, and says to the Gillman, "Mr Gillman, how are you doing? My name is Z'hor'll B'bblebr'x, and my friends and I represent the Pathfinder Society!"
Z'hor it is a miniature city if Absalom, you can tell from the citadel in the center of the city.
Z'hor, you approach the gillman, and he seems unaware of you. Then when you are about 30 feet away, he notices you out of the corner of his eye, stands and turns to face the party. He stands still, and silent, but you can tell that as you speak, he is focused on your lips, and is staring intently at them. He appears to be deaf.
|
|
Rondo comes out of hiding when he sees that the gillman does not attack his companion on sight. He cautiously greets the apparently deaf gillman.
"Greetings, friend. Rondo is pleased to meet you. Rondo and his companions," Rondo gestures towards Z'hor'll and the others, "come here seeking information."
The gillman, stands for a few moment, reading the lip of Z'hor, and afterwards he looks at him, My name is Uori. You have entered a site sacred to the gillmen. This was once sacred to Aroden, nearly a century ago. I have watched as the carving have eroded and faded. I think Aroden's influence will fade soon.
You each notice, that has he speaks he has a folded cloak laying next to the pit. The cloak looks similar to the one you recovered from the pit near the entrance
|
|
"Friend Uori, it appears you have a cloak similar to one we recovered coming into here. Is this one of your people's cloaks?"
Z'hor'll recovers the cloak from whomever has it.
"Can you tell us anything about this model of Absalom, or the paintings of the guises of Aroden we passed coming here? Given that the frescoes have the City in them, I was wondering if perhaps they were tied together somehow?"
Uori listens intently to Rondo, than speaks calmly.
I am sorry for being so cautious but other in here are not as nice as you seem to be. I can feel the turmoil in these caves. I do not follow your faith, I am sorry. The paintings, from the room you came from are fading. I fear the few remaining will fade sooner rather than later. This place, the waters are sacred to my people. We make pilgrimages here to pay respect. He looks to Z'hor, head slightly cocked to the side.
Uori looks to Z'hor then beyond from the room you came from.
That cloak, yes, it is one my people wear when we make our pilgrimage. The frescoes were once more vibrant and distinct, but have faded over time. They may all be gone one day. The city ties in with the paintings, but I am unsure how, I am sorry I cannot be of further help.
Please, feel free to look at the city to find deeper meaning, show respect as you see fit. I will not object
The Artist is depicted painting murals on the walls of impressive buildings, associated with Aroden having painted the city of Absalom with beautiful colors so that it might awe all who visited.
The Farmer is depicted plowing four lines in a field, retelling Aroden’s prophecy that humankind would prepare the rocky earth for planting and over generations wear the pebbles down into fertile soil.
The Shepherd is depicted herding animals out of a crowded city to the pastures beyond, just as Aroden blessed leaders with the foresight to direct people to the tasks and places that best suit them.
The Tailor is depicted sewing together a long cloth of featuring many patterns that wraps around a city like a moat, referencing Aroden’s proclamation that when the fate of all peoples is woven together, it shall be humanity’s greatest strength.
Rising up from the pool is a column of rock with steeply sloped sides and a flat top, as if someone had sawn off the top of a massive stalagmite. A miniature city carved from this same stone occupies nearly the entire surface. Tiny trinkets such as ancient coins, polished semiprecious stones, and ornately braided loops of string are scattered throughout the diorama, and pale cave frogs clamber atop it. The smooth cavern floor is covered in gravel and pebbles along the edge of the pool, and several foot-long centipedes prowl among the gravel in their search for prey.
|
|
Rondo uses his gnome magic to cast 'speak with animals.'
He looks at the frog and starts making a series of strange croaking noises.
You also see Rondo grimacing hideously at the frog while fingering his crossbow menacingly.
The dynamic duo of Rondo and Z'hor, combine forces and scare the poor little froggies, so much that one poops as he leaves do to Rondo's very menacing nature and tone in his croaks. As the last frog leaves, the group feels a warmth wash over them, like Aroden's love.
The Artist is depicted painting murals on the walls of impressive buildings, associated with Aroden having painted the city of Absalom with beautiful colors so that it might awe all who visited.
The Farmer is depicted plowing four lines in a field, retelling Aroden’s prophecy that humankind would prepare the rocky earth for planting and over generations wear the pebbles down into fertile soil.
The Tailor is depicted sewing together a long cloth of featuring many patterns that wraps around a city like a moat, referencing Aroden’s proclamation that when the fate of all peoples is woven together, it shall be humanity’s greatest strength.
Rising up from the pool is a column of rock with steeply sloped sides and a flat top, as if someone had sawn off the top of a massive stalagmite. A miniature city carved from this same stone occupies nearly the entire surface. Tiny trinkets such as ancient coins, polished semiprecious stones, and ornately braided loops of string are scattered throughout the diorama, and pale cave frogs clamber atop it. The smooth cavern floor is covered in gravel and pebbles along the edge of the pool, and several foot-long centipedes prowl among the gravel in their search for prey.
|
|
"Very interesting. Very interesting. We need to try some other things.
"Let's try the farmer. That might be interesting. I am not sure what we should key off of... the pebbles, or the four furrows. Well, we can try both."
Since there doesn't appear to be any fields to "plow" on the diorama, Z'hor'll will take his fingers, and make four parallel lines in the dirt as close to the miniature city as he can. If this doesn't work, he will pick out about 1/4 cup of the prettiest pebbles he can find, and then scatter them onto the diorama.
When the gillman is not looking at him, Z'hor'll will ask the team, "Should we give the poor fellow the cloak of his country-man? It seems like the right thing to do, does it not?"
|
|
Rondo also attempt to wait until Uori is looking away before speaking again.
Rondo would like to try something before we return the cloak to gillman. Perhaps Rondo can levitate the cloak up to the city to emulate the moat of the Tailor. If Rondo's idea does not work, then we can give it back to gillman.
As Z'hor digs into the ground, he notices Uori meditating near the pool, ignoring the group. Once the ground as 4 trenches dug into it, another warm wash of energy surrounds the party.
Rondo levitates various objects to cloak the city, the way Aroden, but the cloak isn't big enough to wrap the entire city. The cloak only covers approximately 1/2 of the miniature city.
|
|
"Interesting. What if we tie together different articles of clothing... we could tie our cloaks together, perhaps with that cloak, to make one long one. If anyone has a sewing kit, we could even sew them together to better emulate the tailor. Yes, we should try that."
Z'hor'll takes his cloak off, and looks to the others to see if they will work with him on this.
|
|
Z takes Victoria's cloak, his own, and the Gillman cloak, ties them end to end, and then drapes them carefully around the city.
I hope this works!
Victoria, you are a worshiper of Shelyn, right? Do you have any paints or other artistic materials? From the description of the artist, I think we should be adding color to the city,
If no one has any colored inks or paints, Z will pick out a handful of the prettiest pebbles from the ground. He'll them try scattering them around the city, much like the pebbles and semiprecious stones already are,
Z'hor make an appraise check or K-painter for me
Z'hor, looks around the ground near the pool, pondering what to use to make crude paint or dye. He thinks about different avenues, and after 30 seconds or so, he realizes that the pebbles around the pool are pretty pigment stones of blues and greens. They are easy to manipulate into various dyes.
|
As the gnome and undine prance about the modelled city, Nehyril remains standing back towards the cavern walls. He is not much for rituals on the best of occasions, much less to honor those not strong enough to endure.
Eyeing the centipedes roaming the room carefully, Nehyril instead speaks out towards the gillman being ignored nearby. "Not to interrupt you Uori, but you mentionned turmoil in these caves, and others who aren't particularly friendly. Are there things we should be concerned about living in these caverns? And what about you: do you stay here alone ordo you have people nearby?"
Uori, gets up and turns around and looks at Nehyril, and stares. After he repeats himself Uori looks down for awhile then responds.
I do not hear so well, but I can sense the world around me. I can sense there is unrest within these caves, but I cannot tell you who or what that may be, I am sorry. As far as others of my people, we pilgrimage here, but I am unsure what may have happened to the one that..., his voice trails off at that moment.
Z'hor paints the buildings in pretty colors, even if childish, Aroden's warmth washes over the party for one final time.
|
|
"Sir, did one of your countrymen succumb to an ill fate? Is that how we found his cloak? I assure you, it was just the cloak at the bottom of the pit where we found it."
Z'hor'll turns away a moment, speaking to his companions, "Perhaps we should give him the cloak. It seems that it is something important to his people, perhaps sacred. It seems the right thing to do."