In the Waiting Room
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Up yer shaft
With the group's consent, Farron moves directly beneath the shaft. He takes Garyth's rope, ties a large knot in one end and drapes it over his shoulder. He extends both arms in front of himself, one hand holding the candle stub and the other holding the tiny bag above it. Garyth makes a move to offer his fire to light the candle, but Farron brushes him back with a terse "not necessary". Eyes closed, he utters an arcane command and moves the candle stub below the bag in a small circle. To anyone looking, the tiny bag seems to inflate slightly, a faint glow emanating from within. Farron then opens his eyes and looks up. Just over his head, from the smooth granite seems to sprout what could be two roughly hewn hands and arms which immediately push back agains the wall of the shaft, followed by a roughly roundish head with a rocky face.
Farron entends one end of Garyth's rope and commands the elemental to carry it to the top of the shaft and bury the knotted end into the granite floor of the shelf a couple of feet back from the edge. The elemental seems to nod and take hold of the knotted end, disappearing into the shaft except for the hand holding the rope which all can see glide up the shaft as soundlessly as a shark fin moving through water until it disappears in the darkness.
From: Scott
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Up yer shaft
Mission will scramble up the rope. At the lip of the opening, he'll pause and peek out to see if there are any guards.
From: Raja
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Up yer shaft
Sa'id watches, insanely jealous of Farron's access to the conjuration school.
From: Ty
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
Moments after the elemental has buried the extended rope in the hallway floor, Mission has joined it at the top. The upper hall looks much as he expected, just a continuation of the lower hall, albeit eighty feet up.
With Cadfael's glowing glove, he is able to see about forty feet down the hall to the door that marks its end. There are no guards in sight.
With no obvious dangers in view, Mission whistles down to the group, who quickly (or in cadfael's case, slowly) follow him up the rope.
As soon as they reach the top, both wizards begin to wince. Farron, who was already complaining of a headache, now clutches his head in both hands. Sa'id says to the rest of the group, "Very strong magic here. Oppressive and black. It is difficult to concentrate." He and Farron exchange a dark look. It will not be easy to cast spells now.
Garyth looks concerned and asks, "Will you be able to go on?" Farron just smiles and says, "What, quit now and miss the dark god's temple?" Cadfael snorts and stomps off down the hallway, snatching his glove from Mission as he passes.
The door is similar to those in the burial room. Large, gold plated, and featuring the sun of Pelor. It also does not have a lock or latch. Cadfael pulls it open and steps into the chamber beyond.
On the other side is another ten by ten room. This one has no obvious doors, but does have a ladder on one wall going up into a three by three shaft. Cadfael walks over to on wall and touches in gently. With surprising lucidity he says, "There is a secret door here. On the other side of it sits the Sun Room, the most holy chamber in the temple of Pelor. And, I suspect, the room defiled now by the black pillar of Kor Garesh. I must pass through this door at noon to save the child, but none of you must follow." He turns back to the party, "But I will show you where you may observe."
He moves to the ladder and begins climbing up the smaller portal in the ceiling. After the party has followed him, they find themselves in what was once a private suite for viewing the various rituals performed in the temple. It is just a bare stone room of ten by ten feet filled with dust now, but one can almost picture the couches and tables that once sat here. In the wall facing the Sun Room, is a sheet of volcanic glass cut so smooth that it forms a window. Garyth starts to move over to it, but Rennik stops him. "Can they see through that from the other side?"
Cadfael shakes his head, "Your people wrought well and cunningly. From the other side, it looks like part of the wall. Kor Garesh's evil floods this place, seeping into every crack. But somehow, Pelor has kept the dark one from seeing this hidden bit of the temple."
Cadfael seems to lose whatever tentative grip he had on sanity, and he sits down on the floor, clutching his ring hand, and rocking back and forth mumbling. "So many pieces. A puzzle box built across the centuries. Just a piece; just a piece."
The rest of the group moves over to the window.
On the other side, and about twenty feet below, sits the Sun Room of Pelor. It is a large chamber, perhaps a hundred feet on a side. In the very center is the huge golden throne, the symbolic resting place of the Sun God. It sits on a raised platform of cut marble, with ten steps on each side. All around the platform are golden braziers, though none are lit. The ceiling of the chamber is one enormous piece of volcanic glass. A faint reddish glow filters in through it. Garyth says, "The light of the rising sun. I would guess that at noon, the chamber is flooded with light. There must be a shaft cut into the mountain above to let the light in."
Also in the room is the black pillar. It stands, looking entirely out of place, about ten feet to one side of the raised platform. It is at least twenty feet high, its top reaching nearly to the glass ceiling. And it is at least ten feet across. It looks like it is formed of blackest obsidian, but the light from above seems to filter through it, very dimly illuminating some even blacker thing frozen inside. Whatever it is, it is very large. The pillar is perfectly smooth, except for one spot. On one side, a slab of the pillar has broken off and lies on the floor. The slab is about five feet long. The rounded side is down, and the top of the slab is flat. It looks uncomfortably like an altar. Where the slab had broken from the pillar, there is a crack running deeper into the pillar itself. From this crack, a sickly red light shines out, throwing a beam onto the flat surface of the altar. Where the light touches the altar, raised lettering can be seen. "The source of the rubbings?" Sa'id says. It seems likely.
Whoever would make such rubbings though would have to enter that red light. Just the idea is enough to make one shudder. No one could pass through that light and keep their soul intact. Even just looking at it makes a person feel unclean.
Scattered around the room are a few undead creatures and halfings, looking very much like guards. The window is on the west wall of the room, and there is only one visible door, that being on the south wall. Elise and Anileth are not in sight.
[Ok. Check in please. At this point, Cadfael is just waiting for noon. Anything anyone else wants to do, just let me know. There are about five hours to go at this point.]
From: Scott
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
OOC: How thick is the observation window? Does
Mission think he could break it if need be?
Was Mission able to tell where the secret door to the inner chaber was?
Scarlet light in stone. A mockery of Blood and Stone.
Mission draws a deep, shaking breath. Flesh be Stone. Blood be Stone.
He can't take his eyes from the altar and the black obscenity in the center of the other room. It was the opposite of Mossground. The opposite of everything that was dear to him.
It was like looking at his sin with Penance all over again.
But this time. . . this time, he would Redeem himself. This time, he would not be weak.
Come the reckoning, he would prove both Blood and Stone against Sand and Shadow.
From: Ty
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
The observation window looks very thick. Several inches at least. Mission does not think it would be easy to break.
The secret door is quite invisible, though Cadfael claims to know where it is and how to open it.
From: Raja
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
"Observe?" Sa'id is skeptical. "Once Cadfael has Promise..." he pauses, and turns to look at the priest. "You and Mission may have some vendetta, but you will NOT indulge it until Promise is safe. If the two of you fall to fighting, we take the child and leave you behind."
As though he didn't even say that last part, he continues: "Once Cadfael has Promise, we'll almost certainly be discovered. We have to slow down whatever forces come after us so that Promise can be seen to safety."
Again he looks at Cadfael. "Your protection will not be extended to us once you leave at noon. Won't we simply be found out then and there? If we can't enter the room, and we can't be seen from here, we'll have a difficult time creating any sort of meaningful diversion." He sighs. "Pelor, curse your name, you are not making things easy on us; yet here we are doing your work."
From: Mike
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
"Once Cadfael has Promise, we'll almost certainly be discovered. We have to slow down whatever forces come after us so that Promise can be seen to safety."
Garyth thinks over Raja's words. They didn't have much of an exit strategy, not that it mattered; there was only one way out of the mountain for them anyway. If they got extremely lucky, the guards around the main entrance would rush inside once an alarm was raised, but it seems too much to hope.
Possibilities for a retreat start coming to mind as Sa'id speaks again, this time questioning the priest. Garyth finds himself nodding. "And how do you plan to get by those guards when the time comes, not to mention Elise and Anileth?" he adds. "Or will Pelor shield you from their eyes as well?"
From: Mike
Subject: Re: The Mountain; Five hours...
> Garyth thinks over Raja's words.
OOC: Heh, oops. Oh well, it was bound to happen sooner or later.