Chapter 3: Level 2 dungeon

I take the turban over to the stone dais, and examine it further using the tip of my staff to unwind it. Is there anything in it aside for the peridot gemstone?

Nothing else you can examine. You still expect a puch could be withing, but need to disassemble the turban to access it.

Ok. I'll cast the cantrip Blade Ward on myself. Then I'll unwind the turban with my hands and disassemble it.

Tinkara find a pouch containing a 500 gp diamond, recognized by Zean as a typical material component of a raise dead spell
and two 1-inch-diameter crystal eyeballs—one dark blue and one vibrant purple

"Well now, a girl's best friend."

"The pearls that were his eyes..." Ixion quoted from an obscure poem. "Well, the gems."

"More importantly, 'Only a jewel can tame the frog'. This could be the jewel we need. It's probably a good idea to see if any of these are magical."

Vatoris inform you diamond and gemstone give no magic aura. Crystal eyeballs does however, but the aura he can't recognise.

"What do you think? Should we go see if we can figure out the gem and the frog?"

Which frog? Vatoris asks

"In the room of the square skull, the coffin the was adorned with frogs. Surely that was the reference of the plaque."

Vatoris agree with Tinkara Could be, could be. Why don't you go check what happens when you bring that gemstone with you? I will meanwhile make some experiments here

"I'm glad to help!"

Zean agree that they need to go see the room with pentagram. He is first to try to climb up. Not an easy task in heavy armor, but he is wery well trained and Tinkara is helping

Ixion is not so well trained as is about to use his magic powers, but then Zean suggest: just tie the rope around you and I will try to pull you up, you are not too heavy.
They carry up his bagpack first and then Zean pulls Ixion up

Party proceed toward the wine room when they notice a sound and spot a person running up the stairs
a human woman making loud steps in a splint mail when she reach the corner she spot you but he ayes fail to focus, she takes a step back, leaning against a wall in the corner.

Zean, being a cleric approach human talking to woman who drawn the warhammer and stand in a defensive stance. Slowly as Zean continue to talk her ayes focuses and you could see understanding in her ayes. Lowering her warhammer she explain that she don't remember how she get her. Last she can remember was drowning in the wine, while fighting some invisible monsters.

As she still leans toward the back wall and Zean is focused on her he realize something strange about the wall behind woman. After investing some time he manage to pull the wall aside and the wall appears to be very well hidden secret door.

Behind the secret door, water fills a carved stone font, just behind it a still humanoid figure looks into the water. He is still and motionless, his ayes don't flicker, you don't notice him breathing. Probably just a very good decoration. His equipment seems natural though and when some of you try to pull his longbow, person suddenly animate. He shake his head and look at you

The man is tall with lean yet firm muscles. His thick head of auburn hair is streaked with fainter tan and browns. He has long pointed ears like an elf, but the short fur and tufts of hair at their ends marks him as unlike any elf you know or have heard of. His face too is slightly off wit a wider but flat nose that resembles one of a beast. Wearing no armor but carrying a longbow,club, shield, and pack. As he moves to look at the party he shifts to a combat ready stance and slings his bow over his shoulder but does not make any aggressive moves. Looking toward the others he states calmly.
I am Nix. Where is this? I do not remember coming to this place.

Lude was running, running. She couldn't remember from what or who, just the feeling of impending doom behind her. Her heavy mailed steps ricocheted and rebounded off the walls of the stair as she climbed; her breath rasped raggedly in her throat. Bursting into a room, she saw two figures coming in from the other side.

It always came to this. She put her back to the wall and prepared to cast. They did not attack though. The dark mailed one approached her own golden steel form, talking words that couldn't come together over the sound of the blood pounding in her ear.

Then things got strange as the mailed figure got distracted by the wall behind her. She didn't remember much, but male humanoids never got distracted by walls when she was standing in front of them, that was just instinctively wrong. Age. A half century of living had taken the sheen off the beauty she had always traded on. The bruise to her ego hurt as if he'd hit her with a mace. Still, confused and distracted as the figure seemed, it didn't seem hostile.

Hello? She attempted to speak to it. At least she was used to men not looking her in the eyes when they talked. It seemed almost familiar. Hello? Are you . . .

She wasn't quite sure what to ask. She didn't remember why she had come or who with. She did remember this room and being forced into the wine as her breath failed her. Invisible monsters or just another gap in her memory?

I am Ludmilla Sheyn, Tante Lude (pronounce the e in Tante as a short e, pronounce the e in Lude as a long e) to my former comrades. It is a pleasure to see a person again. It seems . . . long since I did.

"Greetings... Tante Lude! As I would really prefer for us to become your new comrades, rather enemies. But you have to for give me... as we have seen many strange things in those tombs already, but you will have to tell me: what are you doing here... alone? Where are your old comrades?" - with those words Zean's full attention was about to move on the woman... if only something wouldn't flicker behind her...

"What this!?" - Zean almost shouted, he looked at still looking confused woman with a serious frown and continued - "Are you trying to pull us in some kind of trap? What's hidden behind you??"

He instinctively pushed her a little to the side and he jumped towards the wall. He touched the wall in few suspicious places, making it start to open. The time taken by the hidden door opening he spend on drawing his sword. And then he saw him... a strangely 'alive' decoration.

---

"Hello Nix... and I thought it was us who could drank, much too much wine recently and have the possibility of having hard time with remembering things..." - Zean tried to joke, but still being very serious, lowered his sword a little and relaxed seeing that ANOTHER newcomer shows no aggressive intentions and signs of complete lack of his surrounding.

"You two... know each other... maybe? Drank the same potion or something?" - Zean looked from woman to half-elf and back again.

Zean was very suspicious about all of this... two persons... not remembering too much in such short period of time. Have they triggered some big... changes (?) in this tomb, that have awaken some sort of magical "shift in reality" or in-teleportation of new entities?

But during his many pirate voyages, getting to know and unfortunately loosing many people on his way, Zean learned that all life is valuable... as long it doesn't trie to bit off your head or is magically induced. And you never know when and how you can meet your new best friend or at least great ally. So he was the one that took the first steps to newcomers... trying to feel them and judge... how big treat they could be for him and his friends he felt responsible for.

Lude looked hard at the young man behind the wall.

No, I do not know this person.

Nor do I remember recent events. I was young and at court. Then it seemed I died but I didn't and was older and in a temple training. Then I came here and died again, but again I find myself alive. It's very confusing.

I do remember that the malicious being that created this place did so to entertain himself with the deaths and confusion of those who ventured within. Mayhaps I was one such that came here to protect a young lover, and was killed. Or nearly killed. Or was killed and returned with my short term memory wiped. I might even be a simulacrum or a clone, I know not. But I do know I wish not to die yet again and would be very happy to leave this place. So, if you wish, I will follow with you so long as you do not turn out to be another twisted trick of this maze.

The man behind the wall, he said his name was Nix. What is your name and those of your friends?