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Restoration of the Sands

Khettio's tail was still flared. "M-maybe we should wait. I can make an augury to make sure it's safe to go deeper," she said in common.
 
Kas just stood in place for a good few moments, staring at the corpses and wondering about this mission himself. "Gnolls wander, that's hardly his fault, but indeed rotting corpses attacking us is not what I was expecting. If they are out here then my guess is there may be more inside, I didn't think this job would be safe from the start but it is likely fair to say that it is more dangerous than we expected." He looked now to those who had been exposed to the foul gasses as if to judge theur health but in truth he had no means of doing so, instead he could but worry.
 
It seemed like no one was showing any negative signs from breathing in the gasses, Nishe had coughed to clear the foulness from her throat, but besides that one... The halfling girl takes a look around, dagger still held in her left hand as she gestured up the stairs. "Guardhouse." Then over to the obvious set of stables across from the wall and the small room beside it. "Stable and guess a shed?" Then at last she looked to the large set of stone double doors, carved and ornate as they blocked passage into the larger structure built into the rock. "Creepy ruin filled with a bunch more Zombies... So where first?"
 
"Assuming everyone is all right we should probably check the Guardhouse in case there are any supplies left, for that matter the Stables and shed too. Shouldn't leave anything untouched if we can help it, never know what we might need or find." His vote would be to check everything but the Guardhouse as said was the most likely place to find something. Of course he was not barging in anywhere alone considering his weapon of choice was a bow as tall as himself so he really was somewhat at the mercy of the group and those who could handle thenselves in melee.
 
Khettio's tail stood up behind her, signalling her anxiety. Sitting down on the ground, she pulled out a sheaf of papers and her pens. "Just... Just wait a while. Let me see what needs to be done. If you would all be willing and so kind as to let me be at peace for about an hour, I could let fate speak to me."
 
For her own part, Willow would first tend to her injuries, before she would look over the overs, fingers brushing and healing if need be... but offering no strong opinion either way. She would be able to heal and support... but would leave the matter of where they would be going to the more martial... and as her fingers would pulse with healing energy over Nishes throat, well, she would listen to the one who knew traps.
 
"Well if we wait an hour the gas should hopefully disperse as it is. I don't mind waiting as it beats trudging through a gods forsaken shit pit filled with rotting corpses wanting to eat us." Ana was rather calm all things considered, taking out a piece of cloth from her backpack and carefully cleaning her blade the best she could.
 
Nishe frowned at Willow as the woman pushed against her throat, but endured the treatment. At the suggestion of sticking around and letting Khettio spend some time to see what was ahead, the girl shrugged. "Last I checked we don't have any time pressure, just how long our provisions last. So long as we can keep hunting and getting water we could spend weeks here... not that I want to stick around this bollocking place for too long."
 
Kas shrugged, if it would help Khettio he didn't mind the delay but he saw it mostly as a waste of time. There was obvioualy danger here and in his mind that's all she might learn if indeed she held the ability to do as she claimed. "At least let me get up to the lookout post so we dont get blindsided by the gnolls or such if they come snooping around." He would move carefully to avoid any lingering gasses but would otherwise try to head up to the lookout carefully and quietly.

Stealth:
[1d20+9] = 13+9 = 22

Perception:
[1d20+3] = 6+3 = 9 (So observe, much wow.)

 
Climbing the stairs up onto the wall gives Kas a commanding view of both the courtyard and the small canyon leading up to the wall itself. He would find the sentry post above the gate open, a strong wooden and iron door left wide open, the wood slowly crumbling over the long years of abandonment and weathering. The inside was more sheltered, though just as dead. A window gives a view of the approach, thin enough to give some protection from attack, but still allow multiple men to fire bows from.

Inside the room itself there isn't much, a long dead brazier dominates the room, with a few chairs scattered around it, covered in dust and sand. There are a few weapon racks along the back wall, all empty except for a single quiver with five rather finely made and utterly untarnished arrows. Though it must have been here for years, these arrows look remarkably pristine, from the gleaming heads to the fine fletching.
 
As expected the place was run down and decayed, that was no surprise compared to the rest of the place, but it still was a fair place to keep watch both inside and out. What did surprise him though was the smaller collection of arrows that hadn't seemed to feel the sting of time or at the very least were handling it far better than usual.

Kas walked quietly over to the quiver and pulled one of the arrows out smoothly to examine, in his mind they were magical or made from special materials or even potentially both. While his fletching skill wouldn't identify magic properties he did examine it carefully to try and determine what he could of the mundane properties they might hold, checking the shape of the arrow head, the sturdiness of the shaft, and of course the feathering itself.

Craft (Fletcher):
[1d20+6] = 20+6 = 26 (Lol Nat 20)
 
"Then if you please, this will take around an hour." Closing her eyes, Khettio dipped her pen in a bottle of black ink, and ran it over a sheet of paper. To an observer it might seem as though she scribbled nonsense if not for the gradual glow of her tattoos. Her eyes darted around behind their lids, and her lips moved to form silent words.
 
Taking a close examination you are confident that these arrows are at the very least masterwork, the craftsmanship clear to see to your trained eyes. They are not made of any particular material, just simple, though high quality steel. Further you are fairly sure that given some carefully carved arcane symbols along the shaft, that there is some sort of low level enchantment on these arrows, which would certainly help explain why they are in such pristine condition. Without further magical expertise you can't tell exactly what they are, just that there is something there.

After an hour you take a look at the lines of ink across the paper, how the lines connect, the patterns it all makes in this chaotic mess, only legible to yourself. With this you determine that going into the ruin will be both beneficial and dangerous, but are unable to glean more from the divinations.
 
Well that was about what he expected of course, clearly could only be explained with magic but nothing more to gleam of his own eyes. Kas took the remaining arrows and slotted them carefully into his quiver, making sure to get a feel for the differences in texture and placement so that he could know exactly what to look for in battle should he decide to need them. Of course it would be irresponsible to fire them without understanding their nature first but he would wait until Khettio's big mystical powers were done before getting around to asking that question. He didn't doubt that there was some measure of knowledge or such to be found in that, but rather the doubted it was worth the time by any means and he longed to keep moving rather than settle into place without reason. But for now that was what he did, taking position to watch mainly over the exterior of the encampment but pacing to look back into the courtyard every now and again.
 
Eventually, Khettio's eyes shot open as if roused from sleep, and she read the results of her augury. Her ink-stained fingers hovered over the tangle of black lines, seeming to glean something from them. Her ears bounced. "It's still very dangerous, but great reward awaits if we go deeper."
 
"Well, seems like a clear example of 'Proceed with caution'. I can take the lead, given anything that charges us'll have to get through me first." Ana spoke, sounding a little confident in her words.
 
I could have told you that before the spell

"Please be careful Ana we have it on good authority that there are many traps and that something down there causes wounds that may never be healed."
 
"Always danger and treasure, of bloody course." Nishe moved over to the shed, having spent some time taking a long look at the door to make sure it wasn't trapped and seemed clear. With a satisfied nod the woman opened it, revealing a single room filled with mostly crumbling boxes and a long dead forge. After searching for a little bit, she comes back out with a pair of vials which, not knowing who was the more magical person in the party, handed both Khettio. The two vials appeared to be filled with some sort of salts, though had no other obvious indication to their identity.

Then she moved up the large doors leading into the ruin itself and after a few moments gave a nod. "Not trapped, not locked. I'm not first!"
 
At the sound of the commotion going on down below Kas poked out to see that everyone seemed to be ready to continue, Khettio likely finished with her Augury. He took one last look out the front as if expecting something to magically appear on the horizon before he turned and climbed down the steps to rejoin the others with a calm expression hidden mostly behind the cloth that wrapped his face. "I won't be going first either, for the moment though does anyone here have the ability to identify what magic is placed upon these arrows? Found them in the lookout and while I can see the inscriptions I don't know what they mean." He produced one of the five arrows from his quiver, taking an extra moment or so to find it by feel rather than actually looking and had a faintly pleased look about him when he did manage to get the right one.
 
"I'm an idiot when it comes to magic. So, not it." Ana replied back in turn to the others as he asked about the arrows. "If we're all ready past that though, I guess i'll open the doors, yeah?" She sorta doubted the others in the group could do so - they weren't exactly the burliest lot. In fact, she even wondered just how they would carry anything out without her. Still, she sheathed her blade as she approached the door, preferring to keep her defense strong just in case.
 
Jasper in Alderdrix's arms and the two walk over towards Kas, "Jasper knows quite a bit about spellcraft would you like to have us take a look?" He holds out a hand for the arrow.
 
Kas shrugs and places the arrow in Alderdrix's hands, he didn't trust the man for what powers he possessed but there was no use in denying the opportunity here and now while they still had to work together. "Go right ahead, would be dumb of me to shoot them without knowing what they do."
 
Alderdrix takes the arrow, him and Jasper both cast detect magic though Jasper is better by far at identifying Alderdrix still is able to assist. Though it takes about half a minute they hand the arrow back with an answer.

Alderdrix roll to aid another 8+6=14 DC=10 pass

Jasper roll to identify 17+10+2 (if aid another is applicable) 29-15=caster level 14 dc success (12 if no aid another)
 
Opening up the doors was not particularly difficult, not stuck in the sand like the gate, and rather well made. Inside it is dark, the only light to illuminate being the sunlight pouring through the now open doorway. Even so, it is enough to get an idea of what is inside. A long hallway lined with 3 columns on each side, the middle one on the left broken and collapsed. The walls are lined with a mural depicting a long river boat and various figures upon it. In the dark, Ana will just make out three archways at the end of the hall, one straight on, one left, one right. Under the broken remains of the column, there appears to be a body, broken, but not able to make out details past that.
 
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