Experience Point Breakdown
- Defeating 2 Ghasts: 380 XP (190 XP each)
- Defeating the Ghast-Priest: 450 XP (Elite Undead/Spellcaster)
- Commanding the Feline Husks: 500 XP (Aele’s clever use of authority to bypass a "Deadly" encounter and turn them into allies)
- Sub-Vault Discovery & Looting: 300 XP (Bonus for bypassing the Seal of Silence and recovering the artifacts)
Total Gained: 1,630 XP Total per Hero (3): 543 XP
New XP Totals Current XP: 9,877
Next Level (Level 5): 10,000
Remaining to Level Up: 123 XP
The "Brothers of the Deep" are on the absolute precipice of Level 5. A single significant discovery or one more skirmish will trigger the advancement for Aele, Dorn, and Cabe.
The heroes have retraced their steps to the Vault of the Elephant and have found three scrolls behind some canopic jars.
As a Thothian wizard-priest, Aele identifies the scrolls as follows:
Scroll of Protection from Undead (Thothian Recension): This is not a standard scroll of protection. It is inscribed with the "Litany of the Weighted Heart." When read aloud, it creates a 10-foot radius circle of golden light centered on the reader. Any undead (like the Ghasts the heroes just fought) must succeed on a high-difficulty Saving Throw just to enter the circle. If they are already inside when it is read, they are pushed back to the edge.
The Map of the Cistern Overlays: Aele recognizes this as a tactical hydraulic map. It shows the layout of the Cistern of Skulls on Level 5. Crucially, it highlights three specific "Master Floodgates." Aele notes that the Silver Master Key (found in the sub-vault) is the only tool that can turn the specific elephant-head tumblers shown on this map. Without this map, navigating the floodgates would have been a deadly game of trial and error.
"The Binding of the Gray Eye": This is a rare historical-liturgical scroll. It explains the purpose of the Chamber of Transition you just discovered. It describes how a "Sentinel of the Unspoken"—a spirit known as a Gray Eye—was bound to the mechanical heart-piston. The scroll warns that as long as the piston thumps, the Eye remains a passive observer. If the piston stops, the Eye becomes "active and envious of the living."
As a Thothian wizard-priest, Aele identifies the scrolls as follows:
Scroll of Protection from Undead (Thothian Recension): This is not a standard scroll of protection. It is inscribed with the "Litany of the Weighted Heart." When read aloud, it creates a 10-foot radius circle of golden light centered on the reader. Any undead (like the Ghasts you just fought) must succeed on a high-difficulty Saving Throw just to enter the circle. If they are already inside when it is read, they are pushed back to the edge.
The Map of the Cistern Overlays: Aele recognizes this as a tactical hydraulic map. It shows the layout of the Cistern of Skulls on Level 5. Crucially, it highlights three specific "Master Floodgates." Aele notes that the Silver Master Key (found in the sub-vault) is the only tool that can turn the specific elephant-head tumblers shown on this map. Without this map, navigating the floodgates would have been a deadly game of trial and error.
"The Binding of the Gray Eye": This is a rare historical-liturgical scroll. It explains the purpose of the Chamber of Transition you just discovered. It describes how a "Sentinel of the Unspoken"—a spirit known as a Gray Eye—was bound to the mechanical heart-piston. The scroll warns that as long as the piston thumps, the Eye remains a passive observer. If the piston stops, the Eye becomes "active and envious of the living."
The party moves to the right side of the marbled gallery, standing before the entrance to the Vestry.
The Threshold: The chamber is situated behind a heavy, solid door made of dark, petrified cedar, reinforced with bands of tarnished silver. Unlike the Chamber of Transition across the hall, which has a slightly ajar door, this entrance is shut tight and hermetically sealed with the leaden wax strip you observed earlier.
Aele steps forward, holding the Heart-Seed Scarab close to the door's surface. With the aid of his Leather Volume, he scans the lintel and the silver bands for hidden meaning.
The Inscriptions: On the silver bands, etched in a microscopic, precision-cut Thothian script, are the words: "That which is whispered in life is shouted in the void. Enter only with a tongue of lead."
The Glyphs: Flanking the door-frame are two prominent glyphs representing Ma'at (Balance) and Anpu (the Jackal/Guardian of Secrets). Aele notices that the Ma'at glyph is slightly depressed, as if it is a physical button or a contact point for a specific holy symbol.
Even without casting Detect Magic, Aele can feel the weight of the Silence Ward. It isn't just a spell on the door; it feels like the air itself around the threshold is "heavy," muffling the sound of the party’s breathing and the clanking of Dorn’s plate armor.
The wax seal is the physical component of a high-level Silence Curse. If the door is opened forcefully without first "appeasing" the glyphs or speaking a Counter-Litany, anyone who enters the room may be struck permanently mute, or a magical alarm (audible only to the denizens of Level 5) may be triggered.
"I feel we might be better off not disturbing this chamber, yet. This inscription says not to enter without a tongue of lead, and at the moment I cannot imagine what that might reference."
By now his fellow Brothers of the Deep have learned to trust Aele's magic and intuition. Dorn says, "Very well, let's investigate where the spiral staircase leads."
The party moves to the end of the gallery, where the bronze door—forced partially open by the impact of the Ghast-Priest—reveals the Spiral Staircase.
As the party begins to climb, Aele holds the Heart-Seed Scarab low. In its amber light, the scuff marks are unmistakable. They aren't from the heavy, dragging feet of the undead, nor the light paws of the husks. These are the prints of heavy leather boots, and they are fresh—likely made within the last hour.
The Architecture: The stairs are tight, forcing the party into a single-file line: Dorn leads with his +2 Shield and Swift drawn, Aele follows with his staff and the Scarab, and Cabe brings up the rear, his bow unstrung but ready in his grip.
As the heroes climb, the air changes. The damp, metallic smell of the Pump Station and the Vault fades, replaced by the scent of burning oil and old parchment. After about forty feet of vertical ascent, the stairs terminate at a small stone landing.
The party moves to the end of the gallery, where the bronze door—forced partially open by the impact of the Ghast-Priest—reveals the Spiral Staircase.
The Ascent The Tracking: As the party begins to climb, Aele holds the Heart-Seed Scarab low. In its amber light, the scuff marks are unmistakable. They aren't from the heavy, dragging feet of the undead, nor the light paws of the husks. These are the prints of heavy leather boots, and they are fresh—likely made within the last hour.
The Architecture: The stairs are tight, forcing the party into a single-file line: Dorn leads with his +2 Shield and Swift drawn, Aele follows with his staff and the Scarab, and Cabe brings up the rear, his bow unstrung but ready in his grip.
The Atmosphere: As the heroes climb, the air changes. The damp, metallic smell of the Pump Station and the Vault fades, replaced by the scent of burning oil and old parchment. After about forty feet of vertical ascent, the stairs terminate at a small stone landing.
At the top of the stairs, there is no standard door. Instead, you face a solid wall of smooth, worked granite. However, Dorn’s keen eyes (and his 5th-level Thief skills) immediately spot a hairline fracture in the masonry and a slight indentation in the wall at waist height.
Dorn whispers back to the group: "It's a secret egress. It leads back out of the maintenance levels and into the public halls, I'll wager. And someone just used it to enter... or to flee."
Dorn carefully places his thumb into the indentation. With a soft click and the sound of counterweights shifting behind the stone, the granite slab pivots inward.
The door opens into the back of a large, darkened room. As Dorn peers through the gap, he sees:
Rows of towering wooden shelves filled with thousands of clay cylinders and papyrus rolls.
A single figure in a dark, cowled robe stands at a central stone table. They are frantically stuffing scrolls into a leather satchel. A flickering oil lamp on the table casts long, dancing shadows against the walls.
The "Tongue of Lead": Resting on the table next to the lamp is a peculiar object—a heavy, grey metal mask shaped like a human tongue, meant to be worn over the lower half of the face.
Dorn surges through the secret door. The hooded figure only has time to gasp—a sharp intake of air—before Dorn’s gauntleted hand clamps over their mouth while his other arm wraps around their chest in a crushing bear hug.
Surprise Round: The figure is Surprised.
Grapple Check: Dorn’s Strength (18) vs. the Figure’s Dexterity.
Dorn’s Roll: 16 + 4 (Str) = 20.
Figure’s Roll: 9.
Result: Success. The figure is pinned and silenced.
Dorn slams the individual against the stone table, scattering several clay cylinders. The figure is smaller than Dorn, struggling weakly. As the hood falls back, you see a pale, middle-aged man with ink-stained fingers and wide, terrified eyes. He isn't a warrior or a high-priest; he looks like a panicked Thothian Scribe.
As the scribe is pinned, Aele and Cabe step into the room, their eyes immediately falling on the items on the table.
The Tongue of Lead: Now that the heroes are close, Aele can see that the grey metal is etched with runes of "Suppression." This is a Muffling Mask, designed specifically to allow the wearer to speak (or cast spells) within a Silence ward without the sound traveling beyond their own ears.
The Satchel: The scrolls the scribe was stealing are marked with the seal of the Hall of Records.
The man is staring at Aele's Heart-Seed Scarab and Silver Signet Ring with a mixture of shock and desperate hope. He stops struggling and begins to make frantic, muffled sounds against Dorn’s hand, pointing urgently toward the main doors of the library.
"Easy there," Dorn growls, his voice a low rumble. "We have questions, and you're going to answer them once I'm sure you won't start shouting for guards."
Aele takes the satchel and The Tongue of Lead and says, "Do not scream or raise an alarm, or my friend here will snap your neck like a twig. Are there others nearby, elsewhere in the Library?"
Dorn maintains his iron grip, his eyes scanning the dimly lit aisles of scrolls as Aele steps into the scribe’s line of sight. The amber glow of the Heart-Seed Scarab reflects in the scribe’s pupils, and the sight of the Silver Signet Ring seems to drain the last of his defiance.
Dorn slowly eases his hand away from the man's mouth, though he keeps him pinned firmly against the stone table.
The man gasps for air, trembling. He speaks in a frantic, hushed whisper, his eyes darting toward the main library doors.
"Magistrate! I... I meant no sacrilege! I am Thistle, a mere junior transcriber. To answer your question—no, there are no other scribes here. The Archive has been abandoned for hours. The others fled when the 'Gray Eye' in the transition chamber began to pulse out of rhythm. They say the heartbeat is failing."
He swallows hard, looking at the Tongue of Lead in Aele's hand.
"I only returned for the Cylinders of the First Dynasty. If the Vault is breached by the... the others... these records will be burned or worse. You must believe me!"
Thistle leans in closer, his voice barely audible. "You asked if others are nearby. Not here, but above. A party of 'The Gilded'—mercenaries hired by the Cult of the Veiled—came through the main gates not twenty minutes ago. They aren't looking for history. They have a 'Key-Finder' and are heading for the Hall of Records. If they find the 'Weight of Ma'at' seal... they'll try to break it with black powder."
"I believe you," Aele responds. "Where can we go nearby where the The Gilded won't likely visit? We need time to talk, to think. My heart tells me you will be an ally. Don't prove my heart wrong..."
Thistle’s eyes dart between Aele’s calm, authoritative gaze and the glint of the Heart-Seed Scarab. He visibly deflates, the tension of a cornered animal replaced by the weary resignation of a scholar.
"I... I have no desire to be a martyr for a library that is already half-buried, Magistrate," he whispers. "The Gilded are thorough, but they are arrogant. They seek the grand halls and the golden seals."
Thistle points toward a section of the library where the wooden shelves have partially collapsed, creating a labyrinth of timber and parchment.
"Behind the Chronicles of the Third Interregnum, there is a small reading alcove—the Scribe’s Refectory. It has its own ventilation from the pump station and a heavy stone door that looks like just another section of shelving. They won't find us there, and it's far enough from the main hall that the sound of our voices won't carry."
Dorn hauls Thistle up by his collar, not unkindly, but with enough force to remind him who is in charge. The party moves through the dust-choked aisles. As you enter the Refectory, you find a cramped but functional room containing a stone bench, several half-finished transcription desks, and a cold hearth.
Dorn slides the stone "shelf-door" shut. The muffled sound of the library disappears, replaced by the faint, comforting rhythmic thump of the distant transition piston.
Cabe smiles at the fearful scribe. "Nice to meet you. I'm Vedecab. Would you happen to have any wine?"