After a cursory inspection of the shrine and some conjecture about its use, the party decides its best left alone. Avoiding the stone doors for the momment you back track up the main passage. You reverse your marching order to put Yola in the back and Gerund in the front.
Poot makes a Bardic knowledge check about the shrine. He's not sure but it could be a shrine to Lamashtu, the Mother of Monsters ( see side bar for some background on Lamashtu)
The passage opens into a room. A red marble statue of a strikingly beautiful but, at the same time, monstrously enraged woman stands at the centre of the room, her stony expression twisted in fury. The woman wears flowing robes, and her long hair is held back from her face by an intricate headdress of hooks and blades. In her left hand she carries a large book, its cover inscribed with a seven pointed star. Her right hand carries a glittering metal and ivory ranseur. It is separate from the statue and looks like you could remove it if you wanted.
The passage extends past this room to the north for about five more feet before ending in a door. Beyond the statue to the east is a long plateaued stair case leading up. Sasha shines her lantern up the stairs and sees that it ends in another door after about 100 feet.
Check the map for current positions. See the sidebar if you're curious about what a ranseur is. Poot makes a knowledge/History check but does not recognize the woman in the statue. So what next? Your party has three doors to choose from.
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Sasha winces involuntarily. The anger and violence the statue depicts resonates deep within her. Her flesh crawls and she thumbs the hilt of her father's whip for comfort.
***
"Don't hit her!" Her mother cried.
Yelling never worked. He would just hit her harder.
The fat bloated merchant moved like an angry pig intent on trampling her down. He had stepped into her father's boots after his death. He even won her mother's heart with cheap trinkets and sweet words. As a little girl she hated him. He was slow, weak and stupid. He was everything her father wasn't.
Her mother gave in.
Now he hit her.
She wondered why her mother thought he a weak man would even bother listening to a weak women.
He hit her again.
"It was only a dish" her mother held a young Sasha in her arms sobbing.
"It was an imported antique from the mainland. If we have to replace every little thing that gets broken we WILL be poor in no time," he roared back at her.
Sasha wanted to cry but she knew her father wouldn't have approved.
(*)
Sasha cocks her head to one side looking at the prefectly hewn face.
"So the Snots have something they look up to, do they?"
Sasha takes a long drawn gutteral breath as the rest of the party looks at her in disbelief. She spits a thick wad of Phlegm at the statue the splashes against the surface of the contours and runs down the book.
"It's only fair. We've been cleaning up their mess. They can clean up ours."
"Didn't that journal mention something about Tsuto's lover transforming herself into an avatar of some kind. Perhaps she is trying to become closer to this Lamashtu Godess."
Poot begins inspecting the statue of the woman he doesn't recognize. He studies the book she holds to see if it is simply a stone representation of a book or actually has any other inscriptions aside from the star.
"Well I suggest we try the first door (in room B12.) I read an adventuring guide written by a famous halfling named Eddy Ott. In "The Complete Eddy Ott's Guide to Adventuring" he suggests never leaving a path or door unsearched behind you when travelling in dungeons. Also, I don't want to needlessly frighten any of you but my innate arcane sensories are telling me there is some seriously evil voo-joo going on here."
Yola gives a concered look to Sasha, feeling the tension in the young rogue - like a caged animal, not good, - sizing up the statue, Yola nods in agreement with Poot about the evil voo- joo going on here,
I'm pretty sure that's what the journal was leading too and if that's what this woman is trying to become, lord help us all, best to get rid of what we can right now while we are here, Yola hitches up her quarterstaff and makes the motions of going to the other room where the the shrine is.
Mich
@ Poot: The book is just part of the statue - there is no text inscribed on the stone pages. Just the seven pointed star on the cover.
Seoni tried to shake off a growing case of the creeps. This might be the only time she actually missed back home. Wide open spaces seemed pretty nice right about now.
Seoni is careful to avoid actually touching the statue, but asks: "This might be a really terrible idea, but Gerund, it looks like this polearm comes out. Might it be useful?"
[Gerund detects evil]
"Perhaps the polearm is some kind of trigger for a door," he said.
"That's not a bad idea. If the blacksmith has the polearm we could use it our advantage especially in these tunnels."
Sasha eyes the statue and shakes her head dismissively.
Walking over to Poot she pats him on the head. "So what other words of wisdom did Eddy have?"
Gerund detects no evil from the statue or the polearm.
Sasha inspects the weapon ( using her Disable Device skill Roll 13 +8) and cannot find any traps or triggers.
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