(09:09:08 AM) Raharanor:
"During our travels into the Whispering Cairn my companions and I discovered the walls had tiny holes which whistled with the sounds of voices and also an arcane instrument which I determined to be a former means of transportation....it reeked of dormant magic, but was inactive...we also discovered a room with a sarcophagus with a humanoid figure carved into it" Fortus paused to momentarily reflect on the significance of what he had said, but turned to Allustan,
"What do you make of arcane instrument at any rate?"
(09:12:13 AM) sj_the_bartender: Allustan leans back in the chair of his study.
"To be honest, Fortus, I'm astonished that you found an unexplored Cairn without telling me about it. One of the reasons I returned to this town after leaving Sharn was to make an extended study the cairns, and hopefully publish my findings. But putting that aside, tell me everything you can about this apparatus you found. Any detail could be significant.
The sarcophagus doesn't surprise me. The entire purpose of building a cairn is to house the remains of the dead; usually of a king, or noble, or great warrior... someone of importance. Most likely the sarcophagus holds the remains of whoever is carved on the lid."
(09:29:41 AM) Raharanor: Fortus nodded knowingly at his mentor's reproachful sentiment about being denied access to hitherto unknown cairns or artefacts
"The party seemed to be in concurrance that the lid of the sarcophagus could contain the likeness of the body inside to be sure..." The artificer pushed some hair away from his face and continued,
" but as for the arcane instrument it seemed to be vaguely alike to the transportation portals used by House Orien, but the style of the rune on the instrument was very much different..."
(09:32:15 AM) sj_the_bartender:
"Hmm. I've often heard rumors that the warforged created by House Cannith were actually created based on ancient designs discovered in xend'rik. It would be quite amusing to find that House Orien did the same with some other ancient artifact to create their modern conveniences. What else can you tell me about it?"
(09:42:44 AM) Raharanor: Fortus thought for a few moments before deigning to reply,
"Well, as far as I could make out the former device seemed to be ovular in shape and there was a mirror upon it also...the glyph upon it didn't exactly suggest House Orien involvement in recent times at any rate"
(09:48:00 AM) sj_the_bartender: When Fortus mentions a glyph carved into the base, Allustan says
"Can you draw it out for me?"
(09:48:24 AM) sj_the_bartender: He hands you a piece of fine karrnathi paper and a quill with ink already on the tip.
(09:50:28 AM) Raharanor: Fortus politely accepts the karrnathi paper and quill and proceeds to sketch the glyph onto the paper as best as he could recall it. After some minutes the artificer turns to Allustan and hands the paper to his mentor.
(09:51:36 AM) sj_the_bartender: (OOC Make an INT check to see how well you can recall the glyph from memory)
(09:54:48 AM) Raharanor:
Intelligence check on sketching of glyph (1d20+2=16)
(09:55:19 AM) sj_the_bartender: You manage to draw a very accurate picture of the glyph. Allustan spends a moment studying it.
(09:59:12 AM) sj_the_bartender:
"It looks very similar to the arcane symbol for the element of air. Perhaps this is even Vaati. Thats the language many scholars believe to be the original written form of the language 'Auran'. It likely represents a name of a person or location. Did you know that Vaati actually means Wind Duke?
Is there anything else you can tell me about this apparatus?
(10:03:54 AM) Raharanor:
"No I was not aware of Vaati meaning Wind Duke, but I find it curious that the glyph represents the element of air all the same," He scratched the slight stubble forming on his jaw-line and continued,
" however there little more to say about the apparatus itself save to say that it had runes as well as the glyph which I may also try to recall..."
(10:04:32 AM) sj_the_bartender: (you already know that the runes are arcane symbols related to transportation)
(10:07:13 AM) sj_the_bartender:
"Well, keep in mind i said it resembles the symbol for air. It is not the same symbol though.
So, what did you find when you opened the sarcophagus? An old mummified corpse?"
(10:11:20 AM) Raharanor: Fortus stifled an amused chuckle as he said,
"Well, I believe our barbarian shifter companion Jaiden attempted to open the sarcophagus but unfortunately set off a shocking grasp trap..."
(10:11:35 AM) Raharanor:
"As we progressed further into the cairn we found lanterns that we were at first at a loss to explain what they were needed for save that they were apart of a pattern of sorts...and as we found more lanterns in our explorations of the passages near the sarcophagus room we came to the conclusion, after also finding the missing finger of the carved figure on the sarcophagus, that the lanterns were needed to activate the movement of the sarcophagus or something else"
(10:12:52 AM) sj_the_bartender:
"Well that was silly. You should have checked it for traps first. You are good at finding and disabling those things.
The sarcophagus moves though? Is it animated somehow?"
(10:16:56 AM) Raharanor:
"It moved every time one of my companions placed one of the coloured lanterns into the places set for the lanterns," Fortus replied,
" but as we placed...the green lantern..I think...the floor suddenly moved apart underneath our warforged companion Slade who was caught unawares by this sudden movement in the floor and fell not to his death and was later saved by Hazrad of the Silver Flame and yours truly"
(10:19:15 AM) sj_the_bartender:
"Very clever. The sarcophagus is probably not the true resting place of whoever the Cairn is dedicated to, but simply a decoy. If that is the case, then whoever built the cairn was worried about robbers. There likely is something of value within the cairn, if you can find the true tomb.
If you don't mind, I'd like to keep this drawing and study the glyph. You should come see me again in a few days to see what Iv'e found. And if you find any more interesting items, be sure to let me know."
(10:25:24 AM) Raharanor:
" That is of course fine Allustan, as the secrets of the cairn are waiting to be uncovered....but speaking of which, I've been doing a spot of shopping for the party's supplies and have too little galifars to obtain a decent masterwork tool for my weaponsmithing skills that need working on...would you by any chance have such an implement around the place somewhere? I do recall there being at least one or two tools of that sort around the place last time I was here"
(10:26:48 AM) sj_the_bartender:
"Ah, I am no artificer, I'm afraid. The only tools I keep are for my garden. But if you are short of funding, why don't you see Tidwoad d'Kundurak about a loan? I would be happy to offer my backing, knowing that you will be able to pay it back in the near future, if your exploration goes well."
(10:30:12 AM) Raharanor:
"That's a thought...almost forgot about him...I shall go to him in that case for a loan," Fortus said thoughtfully,
" but on the other hand, if the remainder of the exploration goes well then I could well repay you in kind"
(10:32:32 AM) sj_the_bartender: Allustan nods and scribbles a quick note.
"Here you are. This should be sufficient to let Tidwoad know that you have my support when you go to him for the loan. That should help reduce the interest rate significantly."
(10:32:40 AM) sj_the_bartender: He hands you the note.
(10:35:41 AM) Raharanor: A grateful Fortus thanks his mentor for his support and then said,
"I must be on my way then...my thanks again for your backing and your counsel, and I hope to return with more to feed your curiosity as well as mine after the group's further exploration of the Whispering Cairn"[/i]