Chapter 4: Level 3 dungeon

When you descend to the next level you see another bronze plaque appears on the north wall of the balcony (see this for text)

Next to the plaque there is a painting depicting female winged tiefling warrior. As you investigate the painting it suddenly animates and alive tiefling appear in front of you while painting disappears. Tiefling seems just as surprised all of youA few corridors into different directions

- A huge carving of a snarling jackal's head protrudes from the wall at the end of north corridor. A chamber is visible through the gaps between its fangs.
- Two hulking figures stand in alcoves along this long hall, facing each other. Armor is bolted to their flesh, and they wear bucket helms and spiked gauntlets. Iron collars around their necks are connected by a spiked chain that stretches across the corridor.
- A short hallway to south ends in a t-shaped junction

This level purple mold sprout from the floors, walls, and ceilings in all hallways and even around the balcony. The mold smells like rotting corpses and occasionally releases clouds of harmless spores.

Description: Criella is a female Tiefling with small horns, playful forked tail, reddish blend skin, & bat-like wings sprouting from shoulders which are normally folded. She is slightly comely and appears to be in her twenties.

She is wearing breast plate over a simple shirt with trousers & low soft boots. All of the clothing and armor is of strange make. She sports silver ring on her right hand with dragon wrapped around it, a fine linked silver chain necklace, pair of teardrop silver earrings, silver bracelet on her right arm with dolphins swimming around it. This is accompanied with a leather wineskin & a narrow leather weapon girdle.

She also has a dagger in her right boot sleave. On her narrow leather weapon girdle is a pair of scimitars. One on her right side is silver. She also has a leather component pouch, yen wand in holder, & a leather pouch too. She has a leather backpack sporting heavy wool bedroll, longbow wrapped in a leather bag & 2 full leather quivers with arrows that are white shaft & blood red feathering.

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Criella has a pair of scimitars drawn but not in a combat pose. She looks like she was reaching for something up upon the wall. As her eyes blink as something surely isn't right. She freezes a moment like a possum in the headlights of a car. Her head swivels around taking in that she just blinked and everything around her isn't the same. It's not her, it is the world changed.

With less than happiness she notes that her party is GONE in a blink of the eye and now there are unknown others present. This immediately puts her a loss. This is after all not a place to alone at and she wasn't a moment ago. She thinks okay now. They aren't here due to me. They look like they are comfy here. Am I the one out of place since my party is gone?

She immediately takes inventory of what she sees. Yes, that is an adventuring party and they are look to be searching/adventuring here. And by looks, they didn't expect me as company. Considering she is roughly outnumbered, she gives a cheesy smile says in easy common, "Would you be a friendly lot and let's not let this situation proceed to violence." and glances over to the littler wing one, "Aren't you a sweety."

There is no indication that she is looking for immediate combat as scimitars in hand are being lowered down in a slow even pace. There is an interesting lavender scent that just appears same time she did. A quick guess would say it is hers. She appears to be rather calm. Rather uncanny like and perhaps even forced. Her playful forked tail moves about aimlessly. A sharper eye would take notice that the light that the party has brought with them doesn't allow Criella to cast a shadow.

Our dark-knightly fellow takes in a deep breath of sweet lavender scent.
Well met. I am Vesuvius. You may call me Vesu.
Vesu strides to where the room opens up towards the armored figures. From the edge of the current chamber, Vesu closes his eyes in concentration. Discerning any ill presences with his divine sense!

Tante Lude nods warily to the half-demon.

"Tante Lude."

Although she's looking that way, her attention is focused more on the chamber ahead of her as she reads the plaque.

The vulture is pretty obvious. No font or water so far but presumably they will appear and we can expect an ambush as we cross. Read history on the walls should be obvious when it appears too. But, right the Gods . . . right hand? Toppled statues? She will stay alert; those two chained figures are obvious but this psycho place never has just one threat; it always has one in reserve as well.

I laugh, a sound like wind chimes in the breeze.

"Whether I'm sweet or sour kinda depends on your perspective. My name is Tinkara. My friends call me Tinks. What's your name?"

Continuing her cheesy smile she informs, "Well. All good. Criella. And if not too much trouble, I will tag along here. Seems I have lost my bearings a bit among other things." as she sheaves her twin scimitar as perceives it to rather safe a current junction of time.

She was sure before that the interior decorator for this place should be hung and quartered after that but now, she is sure the whom ever replace that one needs the same. Purple fungus. Come on now. This really wasn't here before. That be less than a minute. She still can't believe her party scuttled her and how did they do it that so fast. She is smelling wizardry. This bunch appears not be surprised strange things happen. Like her appearance. They too have traveled a bit too much here.

There just isn't enough time for all this change unless there has been. How really long was that a few moments ago. The more she considers thought. They don't act like they saw my party and they would have said something about it. There manor of dress is not current or anything I have seen, and I have been around. How long? She curiously asks slightly aimlessly, "What year is it?" How much time indeed.

Nyx eyes the tiefling, wondering at the mad wizard playing with lives as he does. Is there a reason . . .
You may call me Nyx. he introduces himself to the new individual. At least she is not instantly aggressive. How did you get here? What were you doing before you appeared here? He wonders if she is an agent or like him a victim of the wizards machinations.

Glancing around at the layout he shakes his head and gestures to the north. The room to the north is likely the one that is accessible via the demon mouth statue on the level above. I will send my familiar to verify. With a though he has his familiar fly to the demon mouth status on the floor above and through the darkness to descend the tunnel to the room below

Turning her simple attention to Nyx and gives a broken laugh, "Being here is a questionable thing. I am and I'm not in the same place I was a minute ago. I fear the wizardry of this place has pulled a trick of time on me. I ask again what year is it now so I may understand more."

Nyx shrugs ruefully I fear I can not answer you as well as I am from another place and the callender I know is not the one used here.
I was exploring a similar dungeon and was pulled here by magic. I hope that by adding these others in their quest I may find a way home. Stopping the mad wizard from meddling with others lives would be a grand accomplishment as well.

I will fly over to the railing opposite the north entrance, ready to react to whatever might happen. I will take a seat on the railing and rest my wings.

Wondering Criella watches as Tinkara just flies away and doesn't even answer the question that she has posed her. Criella turns her attention back to Nyx, "I too have thing for the wizardry here. Getting to rate right up there with Undead which I terribly hate." With a hand motion going forward, "Shall we."

Just a sec, I wish to verify the connection between levels and Nyx slips over to the mouth of the north coridor and casta a cantrip with visible effects or focuses on his familiar to use its sences if needed. It the line of sight is verified He dismisses the familiar and resummons it before heading back to the East coridor..

While Nyx is doing his casting, Tante Lude moves over to the half demon and says in a quiet throaty voice, "Many of us are unsure of time. I was dead, I think, I know not for how long. And Tinkara doesn't seem to respond unless addressed directly by name. I guess she is in her own mental world some of the time. "

After he finishes, she moves to the head of the party, casting a quick prayer for Guidance in spotting the tricks, traps, and ambushes that lay in wait.

"Unless someone else wants to take point, I guess it's me. It says the vulture is the first step. So my suggestion is we look down the corridor where we don't see something that would come before it, like the mouth of the jackal, or the chained armors, and head for the T intersection to see a bit further."

"Why thanks Tante. Just tells I'm most likely stuck here. Wizardry withstanding." She looks about and says, "I can't aid at all about this place. But my twin scimitars do talk some for me and I have minor casting ability which includes healing." She will let others lead for sure and now decided to draw both her scimitars out again for action.

And she adds on, "Do avoid doing that again Tante." Obviously referring to dying. With an arcane word and a slight motion of her hand, Tante can now smell a cherry scent around her that competes with Criella's Lavendar scent that Criella has on herself.

I position myself as Tante Lude's air cover, hovering close behind her, high enough to see and cast over her head. I keep light cast on my wand to show the way..

"I'm right behind you, Tante Lude. You're so brave to take point in this dangerous place."

Vesu maintains sword-minded readiness. Even as he takes up position in middle of his party.
Lead on, I will follow and lend Clomayer’s lethality to our darkened success.

Nyx moves into the north tunnel and puts hies head into the jackal's head looking into the room behind it:Four torches illuminate stone sphinxes crouched in the corners of this fifteen-foot-high room. The torches cast flickering light across hieroglyphs carved into the tiled floor. At the center of the room, a gold-inlaid funeral barge stands atop a three-foot-tall stone dais. Resting on the deck of the barge is a small golden sarcophagus decorated with horned rabbits. A shaft opens in the ceiling directly above the barge.

Nyx is surprised to see no familiar in the room. And wait - there is also corpse missing.

A slab of wall to the east suddenly grinds upward, and a dwarf wearing a turban and chain mail creeps into the tomb. He brandishes a shield in front of him as he treads cautiously across the floor.

After he makes moves 5 feet a loud click sounds out as the dwarf steps onto one of the floor tiles. Then a deafening buzzing rises as locusts pour out from the mouths of the sphinx statues, quickly engulfing him. He tries to fight them off, to no avail. When the cloud of insects vanishes, nothing of the dwarf remains except its bones and gear.Tante Lude who is focusing on detect magic announce The jackal mask radiates an aura of divination

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Tante Lude Proceed through north corridor and see t-shaped intersection has another corridor that ends with crawlway and a 15 foot wide hallway with water to the other side
The smelly mold on the walls occasionally releases clouds of harmless spores. You notice - as you move through areas with tiny eyeballs seldom emerge from the mold to scrutinize you.

"Oh no. Not more liquids and crawl ways. Our last experience with that combination was no fun at all."

"Walk through water with weapon in hand.
Slake your shadow at the font.
The vulture is the first step.
Right the gods.
The walls of history tell all." Tante Lude intones.

"I still don't see a vulture but it does look like this is the water to be negotiated by weapon."

And she didn't feel herself turning into a goat so that was good!