Chapter 27: The Tower of the Ancients

[hedgeknight]

Asterion

The ranger takes no offense from his new companions, realizing they are mix of caution and brutality, something he can appreciate. He backs up Torix, eager to see what is behind the northeast door.

[ChubbyPixie]

Remaining near the door to the stairs, Kiri prepares to cast a weakening spell if needed, should a crazed goatman or other improbable creature come rushing out...

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

Lingering at the rear gives Cruloc the opportunity to contemplate the back of the spindly sorceror's head, whose silvered strands catch the dim torchlight and send a shudder of remembrance through him. He has seen such an argent gleam but once before, on the bent and brooding figure of Dagda, the crone of his village. Her wispy tresses were like the moonlight mist that clung to burial stones, and her rasped warnings, which even Munga the Knowing could not turn his ear from, were half prophecy and half curse.

A cold sensation crawls up Cruloc's spine. Coincidence was a fool's refuge. It was no mere chance that the Verulian bore the same spectral mane; fate had bound them together for some reason. He had stayed the Cimmerian's death and set his bones right, yet unease remains. Amethu's arcane chantings had slithered from behind the mask of a carrion bird whom Cruloc had seen wading through stagnant waters, its cruel beak patiently delivering death in sure, quick strikes. His magicks had aided him, but a debt repaid in gratitude did not command blind trust.

Nevertheless, he vows to protect Amethu from harm and, in so doing, he will be spared from whatever dark fate the priest has planned for the others in the party.

[ravenn4544]

Amethu quietly ponders a bit of sorcery to glean what lurks beyond the doors before them. He pictures the symbols of power etched carefully in his precious spell book, ready to be the conduit to unleash the power to read the thoughts of others….

….and then Torix strides forth and rips the for ajar!

Amethu can’t help but feel a bit of loss. Not loss exactly, but more like the hollow a drunkard must feel with the last swallow from his wineskin.

He sighs and stands ready.

[Inferno]

The Ancient Marble Tower, The Ruins of Thracia, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Twenty-five. Morning. 3rd day of the month of Ublex, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia







Suddenly and without warning, Torix the savage throws open the northeastern door! Beyond lies a stone chamber devoid of life, overfilled with objects shrouded in dusty sheets.

In time, the invaders of ancient history carefully and vigilantly open all five doors and discover that this entire tier of the marble tower has long ago been repurposed as a storehouse.



Across the five windowless chambers, they discover classical vessels and vases depicting Aphrodite - the Atlantean goddess of love, beauty and fertility, a small stone altar, stockpiles of women's clothing - fine white robes cut in the style of long lost Thracia, a broken mirror, moldy tomes on the life of Aphrodite, small tokens of devotional worship, rouge, cerise and kohl - long ago dried up, but no stairway down.


Actions?!


Tower Map:

Tower's diameter is 35 feet.



PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 14/17, Spells: 6/8 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl
Asterion: Argosian Atlantean Ranger 4: Move: 6", AC: 4, HP: 34/34, Torch
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 41/54
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 16/25, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Torix: Pict Savage Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 37/38

PC Magic:

None currently.

Player Resources:

The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

The barbarian spares no thought for the ancient scrolls, but the vessels, adorned with writhing forms locked in the throes of passion, draw a grunt of curiosity. Running a rough hand over a scene of a young maiden yielding to a warrior's embrace, "Madness!" he ejaculates.

"These women gave freely of themselves? No silver changed hands? Bah! It is no wonder that this brothel fell into ruin and silence reigns where moans once echoed!"

Seeking to confirm his suspicions, one by one, Cruloc hefts the urns, tilting them in his hands, listening for the rattle of hidden treasures.

[ravenn4544]

Amethu ponders the ancient stockpile, but resists - for now - any searching through them. "It would not make sense to have all of these items brought here through the trap door above. There must be another way to proceed from here..."

[hedgeknight]

Asterion

The ranger feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand as he gazes upon the cast offs of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Passion. Many were the nights he frolicked among the ardent worshippers of the goddess. He feels something else stirring as he recalls a particular redhead whose green eyes beguiled him often. Shaking his head, Asterion blows the dust off the tomes and trinkets, flipping through them causally, while replying to Cruloc: "In the temple, those who worship Aphrodite have a lot of practice on lovemaking, and they offer it willingly to all who come to beseech the goddess' favor. Most leave a few silvers at the altar as they leave."

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

"Aye, Argossean."

Cruloc strokes his chin, his eyes distant with the weight of hard-won wisdom.

"Whether it be gold, goats, or the last shreds of a man's sanity, a woman will always collect her due. It would be foolish to think otherwise."

[ChubbyPixie]

Kiri grunts and approaches to inspect the altar, curious if it might slide or tilt to reveal a passage down…

[jemmus]

Torix looks into the urns and prods with his spear.

[Inferno]

The Ancient Marble Tower, The Ruins of Thracia, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Twenty-five. Late Morning. 3rd day of the month of Ublex, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia







The ancient Atlantean goddess of love is long dead and forgotten by the men of the Hyborian Age.

Such men, the explorers of Thracia, search a tower tier filled with dusty items devoted to her star-crowned beauty.

Cruloc the barbarian and Torix the savage test every exquisite hand-painted vessel until they hear the blessed rattle of gold and silver.



Dozens of coins, secreted and forgotten some millennia ago, pour forth like wine. (37 gp, 13 sp)

Asterion blows the dust off an antique volume and leafs through its brittle, yellow pages. An illuminated manuscript written in ancient Atlantean depicts the words and deeds of the love goddess. Something stirs beneath the ranger's kilt.

Kiri examines the small altar and sees it had been assembled in parts.



He locates another seam that reveals a compartment holding three identical clay bottles, sealed with wax. Each base is carved with a different Atlantean letter: Alpha, Epsilon and Iota.


Actions?!


Tower Map:

Tower's diameter is 35 feet.



PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 14/17, Spells: 6/8 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl
Asterion: Argosian Atlantean Ranger 4: Move: 6", AC: 4, HP: 34/34, Torch
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 41/54
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 16/25, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Torix: Pict Savage Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 37/38

PC Magic:

None currently.

Player Resources:

The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[hedgeknight]

Asterion

Upon hearing the unmistakable clinking of coins, the ranger leaves the brittle tomes and walks over to gawp at the mound of coins of his heritage. "Would you look at that!" he mutters, slapping Cruloc on the shoulder. "Never underestimate the innate power of a Cimmerian when it comes to finding abandoned coin!" He chuckles, walking over to help Kiri with the bottles. "What do you think is in there? Wine for the gods perhaps?"

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

"There must be at least ten coins here," Cruloc says of the fifty spread before him. He takes seven of the gold pieces.

Neither parchments nor Atlantean runes hold any fascination for him, so he stands guard while the others ponder the mysteries they have uncovered. His eyes rake the floor while the toe of his boot nudges and tests it for the traitorous give of a concealed passage.

[jemmus]

Torix
More than 20. He chuckles to himself. "Cimmerians only count on their fingers, and don't know how to use with their toes too?" He also takes seven gold coins. No doors out of this bottom room? Maybe the owner flies into the higher room. He looks at the altar. Kiri, something inside there, you think? Like Cruloc, he stays clear of the clay bottles with old, old writing on them.

[ravenn4544]

Amethu will examine any parchment for clues or ancient secrets waiting to be rediscovered. Looking for an exit can, of course, wait….

[ChubbyPixie]

Kiri picks up the clay vessels and replies to Torix: "Something inside, yes. Unless, Amethu, you have some idea what these marks might indicate, I'll store them away until I can have a better look at them tomorrow with the magic eye."

[Inferno]

The Ancient Marble Tower, The Ruins of Thracia, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Twenty-five. Late Morning. 3rd day of the month of Ublex, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia








Within a dusty storehouse of lost antiquity, a barbarian and a savage scavenge ancient coins from the ruins of Man's greatest civilization.




Under Asterion's watchful eyes, Kiri secures three mysterious bottles, each vaguely phallic like the white spire in which they stand.

Amethu peruses a decaying tome of erotic words and images of the long dead goddess of love, scribed in Ancient Atlantean. Hidden amid the fervent orisons of lust might lie some arcane incantation, but the masked sorcerer-priest cannot yet be sure.

Cruloc's toe finds a suspect slab in the marble floor that betrays a trapdoor in the same position as the tier above.


Actions?!


Tower Map:

Tower's diameter is 35 feet.



PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 14/17, Spells: 6/8 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl
Asterion: Argosian Atlantean Ranger 4: Move: 6", AC: 4, HP: 34/34, Torch
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 41/54
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 16/25, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Torix: Pict Savage Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 37/38

PC Magic:

None currently.

Player Resources:

The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

"Argossean," Cruloc growls low, fingering the suspect slab. "A way down. Bring your torch, once everyone has finished ogling the pottery and their loins grow cold."

[ravenn4544]

Amethu will stash the precious article in his pack until he can examine the tomb with magical enhancement. He readies himself with the finding of another trap door...