CH 3: Trouble Arises

[Jerrard]

"Indeed, such an obvious trail. Someone came in stole the blade." he pauses, do the tracks stop at the tomb? Or do they double back? And is the tomb disturbed? Ie open?

"Access to such a place is restricted, where pray be is the guard?" he comments as he runs his fingers through his mustache.

[JadedDM]

The tracks don't stop at the tomb, but enter into it. They do not double back, although it is most likely that the mud on the perpetrator's foots wore off by the time they left. The door to the tomb is open, and there is no sign of any guards at the moment.

[Breila]

Karathos goes back to his room, dresses fully and puts on his armor. He grabs his backpack and puts it on, it would take a while to take out the bedroll and rations, and their weight was no concern at all.
As he goes out of his room and closes the door behind him, he pauses for a moment. Where did they say they would meet? Right, at the tomb. So he, too, makes his way over there.

(ooc: are the footprints still visible?)

[HorizonsDream]

"Well, whoever it was came in through the courtyard," Galenye says as she turns to enter the tomb. Naturally, she keeps her eyes open for more footprints, signs of struggles, and other such oddities that wouldn't be in a tomb.

[JadedDM]

Hoofing it (pardon the pun) to catch up with the others, Karathos arrives just as Galeneye is about to enter the tomb. He, too, immediately notices the muddy foot and pawprints going down into the tomb.

=================

Karathos makes a WIS+2 check (1d20): 9, pass. Notices the footprints.

[Breila]

Karathos follows Galeyne into the tomb.

[JadedDM]

The others follow them into the crypt. The muddy footprints lead right to Sturm's sarcophagus, which has had its lid pushed aside, revealing the contents inside. Amazingly, Sturm himself is perfectly preserved...he well could have died yesterday, as opposed to over twenty years ago. As expected, his blade is missing.

Before anyone can investigate further, the door swings shut behind them, drawing a thunderous echo in the crypt. In all the excitement, it appears as if someone has forgotten to change the torches. At least, this is the most logical assumption when they gutter madly for an instant and then extinguish themselves. As the party scrambles for a moment to establish a new light source, they realize that they can still see. The mysterious light source is an amber gem with a mellow gleam. It glows serenely for a few moments longer and begins to flicker. Before anyone can do anything, the sunny light emanating from it fades entirely.

[Jerrard]

"Sturm Brightblade." Erastin falls to his knees, "Your Blade will be returned, I will see to it myself."

"What, what was that?" He asks of the green glow, this was way out of his zone of knowledge.

[Nuke]

"Erastin," Targin says quietly, "Grasp the gem."

[HorizonsDream]

Galenye frowns as she looks around in the darkness. "This would have been useful when the thief was here," she mutters under her breath. "We might have triggered a trap that was left behind," she suggests.

[Jerrard]

The Dwarf had yet to lead him wrong, standing slowly he reaches for the gem, gingerly placing his fingers on it.

[Breila]

Karathos had drawn both axes without really thinking about it. As the light fades, he memorizes where everyone is, then closes his eyes to better concentrate on his blind-fighting abilities. He's ready to strike whatever comes.

[JadedDM]

Erastin fumbles around in the darkness for the gem, but as he cannot see in the dark, all he really accomplishes is nearly crashing into Sturm's sarcophagus.

Selowen, Targin and Jinali can all see fine in the dark, however. "Hold on," Selowen says, as she goes and picks up the gem. "Here, Erastin...take my hand. I'll lead you back up. Targin, Jinali, you can help Galeneye and Karathos."

Once the three with infravision lead the there without infravision back up to the door, they push it open easily and walk back into sunlight. Perhaps the wind merely blew the door shut? Selowen retrieves the amber gem from her pocket and shows it to the others. It's beautifully carved to resemble an eagle in flight.

Neither Galeneye or Targin have any idea what it is, other than a fancy piece of jewelry. The others recognize it, though, as a Solanthian light-gem. It can hold several hours of light within it if exposed to sunlight for awhile. They are crafted in Solanthus, a town they passed on their way here. It's a few days to the south. The party just passed through, only staying at the inn and restocking supplies. But Erastin, Karathos, Jinali and Selowen remember seeing a shop that sold the trinkets, although nobody in the group was able to afford one at the time.

Furthermore, both Erastin and Jinali remember that after asking the clerk about them, they were told that due to the mineral's rarity, each stone is personally crafted for one individual. Each Solanthian light-gem was completely unique.

==============

(OOC: The light was yellow, actually. Never said it was green. )

Erastin makes an INT-3 check (1d20): 7, pass. Recognizes it as a Solanthian light-gem.
Galeneye makes an INT-3 check (1d20): 19, fail. Has no idea what the gem is.
Karathos makes an INT-3 check (1d20): 6, pass. Recognizes it as a Solanthian light-gem.
Jinali makes an INT-3 check (1d20): 11, pass. Recognizes it as a Solanthian light-gem.
Selowen makes an INT-3 check (1d20): 8, pass. Recognizes it as a Solanthian light-gem.
Targin makes an INT-3 check (1d20): 19, fail. Has no idea what the gem is.

Erastin makes an INT check (1d20): 3, pass. Remembers that each gem is crafted for one individual.
Karathos makes an INT check (1d20): 18, fail. Remembers nothing further.
Jinali makes an INT check (1d20): 12, pass. Remembers that each gem is crafted for one individual.
Selowen makes an INT check (1d20): 19, fail. Remembers nothing further.

[Breila]

"Hmmm..." Karathos mutters. "How likely is it that all torches in a place go out at once? There's something strange about what just happened."


-----

- posting for Luna, who is away until Friday -

"Do you remember? They told us these are made for the buyer." Jinali reminds the others. "Do you think that was Sturm's? Can we ask a knight, or will we be accused of stealing from Sturm's tomb, too, if it was?"

[JadedDM]

"It is strange," Selowen says, agreeing with the minotaur. "But lucky, too. Had it not happened, we might not have ever noticed this gem. It's a light-gem, right? We saw them in Solanthus."

Turning to Jinali she nods. "Ohh, that's right. Which means this is one-of-a-kind! I don't know if taking it was stealing, though. I mean, it wasn't in the sarcophagus like the sword, it was just lying on the floor, to the side."