Chapter 4: Level 3 dungeon

"I hope you are right! I'll be right behind you."

"Just have to love wizard riddles." as she will fall in line with her twin scimitars out.

Tante Lude had her own memories of water. Water and death. She didn't want to go in there first, hopefully someone else would, or figure out how the vulture is the first step. Something other than dying again.

As the others move on past the north corridor he is investigating he returns to the group muttering I doubt the spores the mold is releasing are as harmless as they seem though it covers the entire are so trying to clear it seems a daunting task. But perhaps there is a ways to clear it? and he casts a couple cantrips (mage hand, Druidcraft) as they walk to try and clear the mold from sections of the wall behind them.


When they reach the others at the water he ponders a moment and suggests. Perhaps we should examine the east passage before exploring further here? Or let me have my familiar check the small passage to the east? (southern edge of map east of Tange) If none object he will send his familiar to the right and ask the others to watch over him as he uses the monkeys sense to monitor its progress.

Nyx fail to do anything about the mold with both mage hand and druidcraft. Still puddles of water cover the floor of this fifteen-foot-wide hallway. The walls are slick with moisture and set with murals showing animal-headed humanoids in armor, most of which appear to brandish real weapons hanging on the walls. A three-foot-high crawlway in the east wall is flush with the floor. At the far end of the hall, a rippling, transparent curtain of water fills a stone archway. Beyond the curtain, you see another hallway that looks similar to the one in which you stand.

Nyx sends his familiar to investigate the crawlway.

Mokney report you back that it is dark but on touch it feels like crwalway turns into hallway after a right turn

Once the monkey finds the opening it returns and investigates the crawlspace at the far end of the parties tunnel (west/left end) Nyx relays all he has found to the others

Flying money crawl the other crawlway and report you back that he found it to be blocked (it's a dead end based on your familiar)Taking a better look at the wall murals showing animal-headed humanoids in armor, most of which appear to brandish real weapons hanging on the walls:

Stork-headed males with handaxes (the figure has the crawlway between its legs)
Lizard-headed females with maces
Panther-headed males with blowguns
Unarmed hawk-headed females
Goat-headed males with sickles
Frog-headed females with tridents

I will proceed into the watered hallway, remaining aloft and in the middle, going no further than the crawlway opening. What do I see, looking North (up on the map) from there?

"Hold on friends, while I have a look up the hallway."

"If we're to walk through water with weapon drawn, I think our opportunity may be directly ahead."

I describe what I see to my companions.

"Agree Tinks, but the plaque says 'Vulture is the first step' and I haven't seen that yet. None of those wall murals are a vulture. So, I'd like to check up to the danger point in all the directions to see if we can find a vulture first.

Did your familiar find anything that might fit at the end of the crawlway? If not, there's a door at through that curtain of water we haven't checked yet."

I nod to Tante Lude, accepting her wisdom.

"Let us seek out this vulture then. Lead on, dear friend."

Thinking Criella mentions, "Perhaps the Unarmed hawk-headed females are thought to be Vultures?"

"No, from what I've seen, the clues here are quite literal, if oblique and only obvious after the fact.

I do wonder about the clue. It seems many of these clues are independant. I wonder if the vulture is only relevant for the room within which it stis. Perhaps the room beyond the jackal? The floor is tiled. Perhaps the vulture is on the tiles. But I agree, better safe than sorry we can search more before acting.

The passage was too dark for my familiar to see anything up the crawlway. It did determine that the area opened to a wider hallway after a short distance. I can check again if we give my familiar some light.

Criella mentions, "Shame we don't have a torch or anything else the flying monkey can hold for light."

"I could make it glow with Faerie Fire but it's dim light rather than strong."