A Fool's Errand

[Lazlow]

It was a fool's errand.

You were all suspicious of the "mysterious stranger in the tavern" - I mean, how cliche can you get? But you were waiting on a messenger, so you indulged the stranger a few minutes and let him tell his tale, a tale you'd heard thousands of times before. A tale of power-hungry mages (this one was named Ualraig) biting off more than they could chew, terrible curses, and - of course - vast riches, hidden away for untold millenia.

Apparently once every thousand years the mysterious, magical Tower of Ualraig appears for a single day in its former resting place, deep in the snow-capped Taraghlan Mountains. Inside lies a powerful, forgotten artifact - of course - which this stranger is more than happy to pay a ridiculous amount of gold to recover. While you were more than familiar with the mountains, as they were only a week's travel away from your base of operations, he noted that he could provide transportation to the very spot where it was rumored to appear - almost directly near one of the taller mountain peaks. He had access to a portal leading just there, you see.

You kindly thanked the stranger for the story, and told him you'd "think about it" (knowing full well you wouldn't - I mean, come on). Besides, you said, you're under contract with a local noble to recover a family heirloom that went missing. Sure, it was that same noble who had a nearby hill leveled so he could have a better view of the river from his bedroom window, the same noble who levied a "hat tax" on the bald... The same noble who instituted the ridiculous law that all citizens should henceforth go by three-letter names for "ease of remembrance". But he paid well. And it was that noble's messenger for whom you were waiting that night in the tavern.

Now, right here is where you should have suspected something. You see, right about then that messenger waltzed into the tavern and handed you an official message: Your services were no longer needed, the heirloom had been returned. Apparently, it was "all some kind of wacky misunderstanding," the messenger stated with a shrug and a smile that made you want to smack him.

"I'll pay you half again as much as you would have received for that job," the stranger said.

Of course.

Finding yourself suddenly unemployed, you reluctantly agreed to listen to the particulars of this new job the stranger was offering. "Somewhere in the tower," the stranger began, "lies an object of incredible power. You will know what it is when you find it. When you do, you will bring it to me. Anything else in the tower that you care to take is yours to keep." He paid you each 200 gold pieces as a retainer, and promised four times as much upon successful delivery of the object.

Three days later you sat huddled in your tent, still wondering how you let that crazy man talk you into this job.

But you're an adventurer, right? What's more adventurous than the unknown? And even when that tower didn't show up at dawn the next morning like he kept insisting it would, you've already got a decent sum in your purse just for your trouble. And you didn't even have to walk here. You all slept soundly that night.

Come dawn, you all had already been awake for at least half an hour, despite only one of you having the early watch. You had already packed up half the camp, ready to head back to town - it'd be a long walk, but at least it was all downhill, right?

"It'll never show," Bob huffed. "Let's finish packing so we don't have to stay here in the snow any longer than we have to."

"Keep quiet," Kat replied, knowing it'd rile the old codger. "The sun's about to break over that rise..."

All eyes set firmly to the East, you watched the light creep slowly through the crags and crevices of the Taraghlan peaks... Red hues gave way to orange, to yellow, and finally to a bright shining white, almost blinding against the snow-capped mountaintops. Your eyes adjusted slowly...

Of course.

No tower.

"As I expected. Welp! Let's finish pa--"

You all turned, puzzled at Bob's stopping short. He stood there, tent stakes in hand, jaw gaping open, and eyes West, where just now the bright beams of the morning sun lit up the opposite mountainside in a dazzling display of nature's beauty. You followed his gaze...

A tower. A tower that wasn't there last night. The tower.

You were on the wrong mountain.

Of course.


Character sheets:

Oli (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=37937), Gnome Paladin (Oliana), and Fsu (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=38345), his mount
Bob (http://www.shonuffstudios.com/gothmoor/profiler/view.php?id=173), Dwarven Cleric (Diarmuid)
Leo Leo III (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=47893), Human Wizard (kentma57)
Kat (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=38085), Human Rogue (an kobold)
Ric (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=38083), Human Bard (Hank Pym)

OOC thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69730)

Dead characters:
Dan (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=38035)

[Lazlow]

The group has made camp on a large shelf-like outcropping of rocky dirt mostly covered with snow. You had little choice, as it was both where the stranger's portal dumped you, and it's really the only place to make a camp this high up in the mountains. The clearing is roughly moon-shaped, hugging the mountain, and has about 50 feet of flat space. The edge of the shelf drops off nearly straight down for about 15 or 20 feet, after which it slopes away sharply. Bob figures that you're at least 12,000 feet up from sea level, maybe more.

The tower stands on the steep slope of a mountain that is probably higher than the one you're on. Its a sleek, black spire jutting up through the snow, and the top of the tower just barely peeks over the top of the mountain.

The problem, of course, is the distance between you and the tower. It's not a great distance, linearly speaking, as it's probably only 300 feet or less as the crow flies. As the adventurer walks, however, it would be an arduous trip down the mountain you're currently on and back up the one the tower's on. Luckily the two mountains are connected by a ridge of sorts that spans the chasm between them. This ridge starts about 100 to 120 feet below your shelf and ends a fair bit off to the side of where the tower stands.

[Diarmuid]

Bob

The cleric sighed loudly as he remembered not too fondly the trek it had been getting up this mountain in the first place.

"Well...does anyone have any bright idears fer getting across to that peak...a'fore the durn thing disappears fer another hunnerd years...or however long it is between? I didn'a pray fer any spells that will help...an I cannae pray for more blessings until high noon, that high time o' Genericus's divine light."

How far apart are the two peaks, and how long did it take us to climb from the base to where we are now?

[oliana0]

Oli

The small creature stares blankly at the tower on the different peak. Scratching a hand in his shaggy hair, and then checking to make sure he hadn't lost anything in his sleep, Oli looks around the camp and starts scurrying to put everything back in its place. He is talking the whole time while he packs up for the day. Oli folds up his blanket and stuffs it into his pack, followed by a losely rolled bedroll. He pulls the tent stakes up and colapses the tent down, folding it quickly and stuffing it too into the pack. The hammer and stakes are tossed on top of it all.

"An interesting predicament, to be sure. How indeed should we proceed to get from here to there as quickly as possible. Certainly if a bridge existed that would be simplest, but building a bridge would take time, and would be far quicker if there were two teams building from each end, but that would mean half of us would have to be over there, and building a bridge would take time, which we don't have. Another option would be to fly; for certainly the phrase 'as the crow flies' refers to this very predicament. How close it would be if we were just crows. But if we were just crows, would we care for going inside the tower and find all that Genericus has meant for us? A wise option, is to simply immediatly commence to travel down thes mountain and back up that mountain and hope that we will have enough time to explore the tower. But of course, what happens if we get there before the tower disappears and are exploring it when it disappears? Do we disappear with it? Will we notice the passage of time? Will we exit it the moment we entered not matter how long we are inside? If we fall asleep, will we wake up 100 years later? My parents would be upset if I did not return for 100 years. The price of alchemy ingredients will likely change a great deal in that time, and though I care little for such things, my family does and I care for my family, so I have to care a little for such things, I suppose. Hmm, maybe I should pray a little."

Oli sits down and prays a little, but is easily distracted and stands back up. He claps his hands together and from the ether in the air a large fuzzy rodent appears. Most of you immediatly recognize Fsu, Oli's giant riding weasel mount. Fsu immediatly looks around inquisitively, sniffing the air and investigating things around the camp.

"Fsu! How did you sleep? Well, I hope? Yes, yes, the same people again. No need to resniff everyo- okay, resniff everone! Make sure no one has changed skin overnight! Ha ha!"

[Bitzeralisis]

Dan

"Well, what do you know? The tower's on that peak," says Dan, as if though nobody else had figured it out yet. He's probably in his little dream-land, where he pays attention to little other than significant things and his own voice. Reaching to his belt, he slowly draws a spyglass and stares through it at the tower, attempting to eye the distance between himself and it. He hands Fsu a nut when he comes a-sniffing. He then starts wondering if weasels even eat nuts, and loses his train of thought after several seconds.

[an kobold]

Kat

Kat blinked, then took her waterskin, poured some liquid into her hand, and splashed her face. With the confirmation that the tower was not a stowaway from dream land, she continued packing at a faster pace. After her sleeping roll was packed away, Kat stood up, clearly shivering, and spoke with misting breath.

May Genericus forgive or reward me for impatience, but we frankly don't have time to wait 'til midday or 'til I grow black feathers. I rather got the impression getting in, it, and out was going to take a full day, what with the overnight freeze and all. No time to waste, either with prayers or climbing, if ya get my drift. With or without diving Uraq's or Ulrake's tower, I'm out of there by sundown. So if it's to be by tramping down and up again, we best be at it.

Upon the finish of her little speech, Kat set her eyes on Fsu uneasily and tentatively reached out a hand to pet the critter as it drew near. She decided getting used to working with trained animals instead of being chased by them would take some getting used to.

[Diarmuid]

Bob

A dreary, "Ach no!" escaped the dwarven cleric as the dreaded weasel once again popped into their midst. The damnable thing apparently did not like the fact that all his squishy, smellable bits were covered in meticulous layers of mithril plating and spent far too much attention trying to find a crevice to shove its nose into to verify his smell was one it remembered and liked.

Try and fight it as long as he could, eventually the overgrown rodent would have him pinned down, little claws scrabbling for purchase against his perfectly shined armor apparently appeasing its olfactory needs.

Spluttering curses unbecoming the faithful of Genericus, but very becoming most surly dwarves he considered, not for the first time showing Fsu the business end of his hammer, but once again thought better of it.

Seeing Dan with the spyglass out, he clomps over to confer with his companion,

"So, 'ow far is it to tha other peak? I've a couple spells fer travelling, but they wouldnt help everyone. One'll let me step through a portal with three others up to..oh.....about eight hunnerd feet somewhere else. The other'll give someone the ability ta fly fer about 10 minutes. Should allow for travellin about 4 and a half miles in 10 minutes if they really hustled."

Scratching at his black beard, he offers another possible solution,

"Depending just how far it is, I could summon a giant eagle that could carry someone, but it wouldn'a last very long. Only be able ta take someone a little o'er have a mile before tha spell bringin it here ta help expired."

[Hank Pym]

Ric straightens his cleanly cropped moustache and looks at the tower on the far mountaintop as if it had kicked his dog. “Wrong mountain, of course. Crazy old codger doesn’t have a clue.”

Ric pauses for a moment to pat the weasel nuzzling at him and then takes out his own spyglass. He snaps it sharply open and steps up next to Dan, looking at the tower. “Looks like about 300 feet, wouldn’t you say?”

After examining the tower as best he can, assuming he sees nothing that will provide a better way to cross the gap between the mountaintops, Ric lowers his spyglass and says, “Looks like we have two choices: climb down and cross on foot or expend some of our magical resources. There are five of us (assuming that the weasel can ride on someone’s shoulder). If Bob can take himself and everyone except myself through his magical door, he can save his summoning magic and I will use my own magic to turn myself into a cloud of gas and float across. I hate for us to have to expend spells before even entering the tower, but ...”

He looks over the edge down the drop and continues “If we go this way, by the time we get into the tower it might disappear before we can get out again. Do we really want to risk being trapped in there for a thousand years? Like Oli said, when we do get out: who knows what the price of potion ingredients will be?”

[Lazlow]

Peering through their respective lenses, the spyglass wielders are able to make out some detail on the tower. It rises over 100 feet from the mountainside, the top tapering into a thick spire, with two smaller spires jutting up next to it on either side. Small windows dot the surface of the tower here and there, but you can't see anything inside. There doesn't appear to be a door of any kind, but you can't quite make out the base of the tower as it is nestled in the snow.

[Bitzeralisis]

Dan

Dan states "Dimension door time!" before starting to wonder what would happen if the tower disappeared in it. He mirrors Bob's comment on alchemy ingredient prices in thought before starting to think in actuality for once today. And once Dan's mind gets running, it starts running. For a long time. In this state, Dan might be more alert and useful, but that is countered by his newfound irritability in his knowing state.

[roll0] [roll1] — Looking for information on anything that might have to do with magical towers like the one we're trying to enter.

[oliana0]

Oli

Oli picks up a stick and starts scribbling on the ground. "300 ft. in just under a minute as the very laden crow flies, no? How much can you carry, Bob? If you were stronger, how many can you carry?"
{OOC: Two minutes round trip (40'/rd (fully loaded), 300 in 8 rds, 1 rd to turn around, 6s to spare). Bull's strength. Three and a half trips?}

[Diarmuid]

Bob

At the mention of the spell name he had been considering, the cleric perked up a bit.

"Oy, Dan...if'n ye can cast the Dimension Door spell, and I can cast it....that should be enough ta get us all across to that other mountain. I figure your spell should about as powerful as mine, so each of us could take up ta three others with us"

[an kobold]

Kat

Kat's gaze traveled between Dan and Bob, who seemed to have a very clear idea on how to get to the tower without a descent and ascent. Her cape's hood was drawn tighter against the wind and she approached the chatting dwarf and human with haversack slung over her back.

Well, if you two think you have a solution, what are we wasting time here for?

[oliana0]

Oli


"Ah, yes, let us go that way. Less there and back, and more right there. I will ride Fsu through the door, just point me at it, is there a place where we will appear that is most safe, can you that can see that far see a good landing point?"

[Hank Pym]

Ric holds his spyglass out invitingly in the direction of Bob, Dan and Oli. "Take a look for yourselves. I wouldn't want to say right and mean left when describing it. We could end up yet another wrong mountaintop!"

He steps back to take a look at the figures Oli's written on the ground. "So you're figuring just summon the Eagle and let it carry us across one at a time, or in addition to a magic door? If you're thinking both, I'll volunteer again to get myself across if it'll allow Bob to save a spell for later. But I'll gladly take a ride across either by eagle or magic door, if we can get everyone across with just one spell."

[Diarmuid]

Bob

The dwarf gladly accepts the spyglass to better focus on the spot he plans to aim his spell,

"Well, if'n Dan 'n I were ta both cast our Dimension Door spells that should be enough ta git everyone across ta the other peak."

[Lazlow]

Bringing Ric's spyglass to bear on the other peak, Bob notices a dark spot some 200 feet or so below the tower itself.

[Bitzeralisis]

Dan Miller

"Okey dokey then. To the tower we go. Who's coming with me?" says Dan. Three seconds later, a look of utter wonderment appears on his face. "Say, have we said where near the tower we're teleporting to?"

[Diarmuid]

Bob

A look of concern crosses the dwarf's features as he brings the spyglass down from his eye and hands it to Dan.

"Well, I had been all fer poppin up right next ta tha tower, but now I'm thinkin' we may wanna make sure that there aint a cave with some nasties who'd be wanting ta crawl up our backsides while we figger'd out how ta get inside tha blasted tower."

As he talks, he points to where he saw the dark spot on the mountainside.

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Ric looks over Dan's shoulder at the other tower. "I didn't see a cave. Where? Down there? Is there a way up from the cave to the tower?"

[Lazlow]

Examining the dark spot a bit closer, you notice that the walls are smooth and squared off. There doesn't seem to be any snow inside, despite the fact that the mountainside is covered with it and the wind is kicking it around a fair bit so high up. Indistinguishable piles of something lay in the opening, and although you can't see but maybe a few feet in, you think you make out the faint flicker of torchlight.

[oliana0]

Oli

"Maybe the cave is the way into the tower? Even without your spyglass there, it's obvious that there are no doors on this side. And any magical tower worth its reputation won't be easy to get into. I suggest that we use the dimension door spells to pop us out there, on that flat area near the tower." Oli points to any area that looks large enough for the group to land in.

"Then, do a round-about the tower to check for doors or other methods of entry and if there is no way in, we check out that cave? Is it even a cave?" Oli squints a bit.


I'm just guessing there's a spot large enough for the group to land that isn't too close to either the tower or the "dark spot." Because why have a magical tower in the mountains if it's not approachable, no?
300' is not that far. It's only a football field! Most of us should be able to make out some details without the use of a spyglass. It's not that Oli has a problem with using it, I just don't want us fighting over them. :smallwink:

[Hank Pym]

Now that Oli has become succint for a moment, Ric finds he quickly agrees with him.

"You Gnome something, Oli? I think you're right. I second your suggestion of using magicians' doors to go to the lower entrance -- where-ever it entrances to. If it turns out it's not the right way in, one of us can climb (or magic) up to the tower, tie a rope and everyone can climb up. But I've a strong suspicion that's the door. See how it's squared off and made of stone?"

[Diarmuid]

Bob

The dwarf nods at the logical assessment of his companions and gets ready to cast his spell.

"I kin take 3 others with me through my portal, I'm guessin Dan is about the same. So oo's with me, and oo's with Dan?"

When 3 people have spoken up that they will come with him, Bob casts his spell with the target location being near the dark cave-like spot on the peak.

[Bitzeralisis]

Dan Miller

Dan puts away his spyglass. "Alrighty then," he says, slightly optimistic. "Step foreward when the distance becomes short, and immediately when it becomes short. The spell lasts no longer than that." He thinks for a moment, and then says four words, the last one held for a moment. In that moment, the magic being channeled through Dan's mind became more orderly, orderly enough to warp the space-time continuum and make what seemed to be three hundred feet's distance a mere inch. As Dan held that note, he leaned forward slightly, using tendrils of magic to make the others with him do so as well (despite his precautionary warning). This mere half-inch of movement was all that was needed to carry Dan and his passengers three hundred feet, across a large gap that was truly three hundred feet across. The space was opened up and compressed allowing the caster of the spell to move through a momentary nothingness to reach his destination — and in this case, the destination was the entrance of the cave. The apparent effect was a sudden teleportation and, for a second, a circular bluish glow at the two points affected by the spell.

[oliana0]

Oli

Oli follows along with whomever is closer.

[an kobold]

Kat

Kat is closest to Dan and is drawn/steps into the doorway over the abyss he created.

[Hank Pym]

Ric rolls his shoulders and stretches his neck. He then stretches his mouth a bit, making nonsense noises to get his vocal chords ready for action. With a final falsetto "AAAUUUUUAAAWWWWWAAAAA!", he cracks his knuckles, ready for rock and roll and HIIIIIIIIIIIIGH ADVENTURE!

He steps through the doorway Bob has created, throwing a sideways glance at Bob, saying, in Dwarvish, "Thanks for the lift!" Before he can finish the phrase, though, he's aleady on the other side.

[oliana0]

Oli

Oli holds tight to the weasel with his legs as the weasel immediately begins sniffing the new smells; the weasel changes direction haphazardly several times.

Oli speaks nonchalantly, "Well, now that we are here, anyone for a quick once around the tower, or shall we skip straight to the 'cave'? Fsu would happily go around the tower once, but he'd also be very happy exploring a cave, wouldn't you Fsu? Do you remember that one cave with all the pretty glowing moss? Phew, the smells in there!"

[Lazlow]

Stepping through the arcane archways you created, the party easily traverses the chasm between the two mountains and arrives safely at the mouth of the cave.

And as you guessed before, 'tis no cave. 'Tis a man-made tunnel, about fifteen feet wide and maybe half that in height. Carved slabs of strange, dark stone line the tunnel, which is lit by torches ensconced in, uh, sconces, set about eight or nine feet inside. Another ten or so feet behind the torches is a staircase leading up, disappearing quickly under the low ceiling.

But more interesting than the ensconcing sconces are the two large, disgusting-looking vaguely-human things standing next to the sconces. Barely fitting under the low (to them) ceiling, they look as if they were stitched together from various human corpses and somehow animated. They wear no clothes, but thankfully they don't seem to be anatomically correct.

Scattered around the two things' feet are what appears to be the remains of many creatures, both humanoid and non.

As you set foot onto the stone of the entryway, the two fleshy things slowly start to shuffle forward. They awkwardly open their mouths quite wide, and strange guttural noises are coughed forth: "Gle-ek nishhh..."



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

Kat, Bob, Dan:

You notice that the two things are "wearing" amulets of some kind - although in this case "wearing" means "sewn into their flesh". You can't make out exactly what they look like.


Ric:

You think what they're speaking sounds like an ancient dialect of Elvish, but you have no idea what they're actually saying.


Dan:

Thanks to your spectacles of comprehending languages, you understand what the things are saying. They are asking, "Password?"


Bob:

You notice that the stone lining the tunnel is not from anywhere near these mountains - or even any of the surrounding country that you've been to or heard of, for that matter.


Oli:

Fsu doesn't like the smell of these creatures at all.

[Hank Pym]

Ric arcs his eyebrows at the creatures, but does not step back. He raises a hand to the party and says, "I believe they are speaking an ancient dialect of Elvish. Allow me a moment to attempt a parlay before we break down to brawling."

Ric steps out front toward the creatures and holds his hands open for them to see he has no weapon ready. Speaking clearly, and attempting to get close enough to their dialect that they understand he says, "Please stand aside. We mean you no harm, but we must enter that cave and climb those stairs." He indicates the stairway behind the beasts.

If they look like they aren't going to let us pass, Ric will say: "You've been on watch here for a long time, eh? Perhaps a song to entertain you before you kill us. . . You put your right arm in, you put your right arm out, you put your extra arm in and you shake it all about! You do the monster hokey and you turn yourself around . . ."

Ric doesn't seem too off-put by the beasts nature, but the anatomical incorrectness does cause him to pause and curl a lip in disgust -- if he were going to build a creature out of the parts of other creatures, that's not where HE would put a third arm.

****

Player-speak version:
Ric will attempt to simply calm the creatures so that the party can pass. If that isn't working, he'll attempt to fascinate them. If it works, he'll wave the party past as he moves slowly after them to the stairs.

SRD: To use the (fascinate) ability, a bard makes a Perform check (Ric's is +16; drum roll please: 1d20+16). His check result is the DC for each affected creature’s Will save against the effect. If a creature’s saving throw succeeds, the bard cannot attempt to fascinate that creature again for 24 hours. If its saving throw fails, the creature sits quietly and listens to the song, taking no other actions, for as long as the bard continues to play and concentrate (up to a maximum of 1 round per bard level).

[oliana0]

Oli

Fsu hisses and squeaks his disapproval of the creatures in front of them.

Oli's face takes on a pained look as he tries to pinch his nose.* "Oh, I agree, Fsu, nothing has smelled this bad since my brother was working on new improved smelling salts for the half-orc tribe. Phew! Hurts a gnome's finest sense! They're obviously guardians of some sort. Efficient ones at that." Oli guestures to the bodies on the ground then quickly moves his hand back to cover his nose.

"I don't know if we will be able to talk our way through these, but I fear that will will not be able to fight our way through either. Anyone know what they are saying? Ugh.. Blech."


{OOC:
Evil? (Detect evil at will at any new creature, please.)

*A gnome with a proper size nose cannot physically pinch his nose the way other humanoids can. He must use both of his little hands to depress the sides of his nose.
}

[Lazlow]

Oli:

Auto-detect noted. These creatures do not detect as evil.

[Lazlow]

As hard as it is to believe, the grotesques ignore Ric's anthem to frolic-ry and begin moving forward a bit quicker, extending their arms and growling a bit louder and more menacingly.

Roll for initiative!

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii171/lazlow23/EntryBattleRound1.jpg


(I guessed at your placement there, if you'd rather be someplace else please tell me. You'll still all be in a small group near the entryway, though.)

[Hank Pym]

Ric goes wide-eyed. "WHHHHHAAA--?! That was my best pokey!"


Initiative = [roll0]

[an kobold]

Kat shouts as the creatures approach and readies herself to fight.

Apparently they decided that's not what it's all about!

[roll0]

[oliana0]

Oli

"Oh, so, uh, they are attacking us then? Well, then, I know what to do. Pardon, me Dan, you don't mind if I play through, do you?" Before Oli has even stopped speaking, he has started guiding Fsu in front of the wizard as he draws his bow and knocks an arrow.


[roll0]

[Bitzeralisis]

Dan

"Meh. I'm sot even sure what this password they speak of is, but we might want to shout out random gibberish while fighting and hope it's the password. ... bhluiriap!"

[soll=Initiative]1d20+4[/roll]

[Lazlow]

In order to keep things rolling along, I'll roll initiative for Bob and re-roll for Dan:

Bob [roll0]
Dan [roll1]

Initiative Order:

Dan
Kat
Fleshy Thing 2
Oli
Ric
Fleshy Thing 1
Bob

You don't need to post in order, just post as usual and I'll roll up all the action for the round.

[Hank Pym]

Ric

(assuming Fleshy Thing 2 approaches and attacks on its turn)

Ducking, dodging and weaving, Ric sings out, "Uh-oh, it's magic!" and in response he splits and becomes several Rics. That done, he draws his sword and says, "I'll try to keep this one busy!" He steps forward, trying to keep the slower creature at bay.


Like I said, I'm assuming that Fleshy Thing 2 steps up on its turn. If so, Ric will cast Mirror Image defensively {cast defensively, needs a 17 (15 + level of spell) (Concentration +14, Combat Casting +3), total = [roll0]}. If FT2 doesn't move up to threaten him, Ric will cast the same spell without casting defensively (total Mirror Images 1d4+3 = [roll1]). Using his move action, Ric readies his longsword and using his free action, he takes a five-foot-step forward diagonally into the path of Fleshy Thing 1, hoping to draw its attacks. Also, he will use his Dodge feat against Fleshy Thing 1 (so his AC will be 24 against it).

[oliana0]

Oli

Oli flashes out two arrows quickly at the fleshy thing nearest him.


I was going to wait for Dan or FT2 to move, but I don't want to slow things down, and kind of want to bump this. If FT2 moves as fast as I think he's going to move, and Dan doesn't move forward, Oli will 5' step in front of him and shoot two arrows at FT2.

If FT2 moves quickly into the square in front of Dan, then Fsu will take an AoO on it and Oli will shoot at it.

Edit: Drat I knew I'd forget something. 1. Point blank shot. 2. If FT2 moves to two squares in front of Dan or within 5' of Oli, Oli will take the 5' step and Fsu will attack too.

[roll0] (20 with PBS) [roll1]
[roll2] (28 with PBS) [roll3]

To avoid double posting:
[roll4] [roll5]
[roll6] [roll7] [roll8] (If necessary, add 16, 11 or 8 to d20 roll, depending.)
[roll9] for Fsu to avoid being hit, if necessary. Fsu AC is the larger of the result or 20

[an kobold]

Kat

Kat clambers up the snowbank, drawing her crossbow as she navigates the snow. Upon reaching a good vantage point, she lets a bolt fly towards the fleshy thing immediately across from Bob.


She's essentially moving around Bob to get to the snowy patch immediately to the left of the lower left corner tile if it's possible to shoot from there. If not, she'll move in front of Bob to get to the level surface.

Attack rolls with criticals to avoid double posting.

[roll0] [roll1]

[roll2] [roll3]

[Lazlow]

Dan, suspicious as to exactly what these creatures are, quickly tests a theory: Holding his fingers apart in a "V" shape, he utters a few arcane words and a ray of fire springs forth at each of the creatures!

Scorching Ray ranged touch attack: 1d20+8


Kat scrambles in front of Bob and unleashes a bolt at the closest fleshy thing. The bolt sticks in the thing's leg and it lets out a(nother) grunt.

Fleshy Thing 2 lumbers forward and takes a swipe at Ric with one of its long, fleshy limbs, but the Boisterous Bard is too quick for him and easily dodges the brute's blow.

Oli maneuvers Fsu in front of Dan and the Wily WarWeasel manages to sink its teeth into the grotesque creature's leg, latching on tenaciously! While the thing is busy dealing with that, the Plucky Pint-Sized Paladin unleashes a pair of arrows at the manufactured man, both of which stick but elicit little more than an annoyed grunt.

Ric belts out a hearty "Uh-oh, it's magic!" and in a flash seven more Rics appear all around him. He draws his sword and steps in front of the first Fleshy Thing, blocking its progress toward Kat.

Fleshy Thing 1 lumbers forward a bit and swings at Kat anyway, but misses the Rascally Rogue by a mile.

Bob scrunches up his nose, snorts, and calls out, "Bring forth your might and smite these enemies who would deny us entry into this tower, oh Might One!", to which an otherworldly voice booms in reply, "Yes, one might! AH HA HA!!" :smallwink: In a flash of holy light, a large glowing warhammer appears behind the fleshy thing in front of Ric and with a resounding "BWONNGGGG" the hammer gives the monstrosity a generous thump on the head - but promptly disappears in a poof of (still holy) light. The creature barely seemed to notice it.

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii171/lazlow23/EntryBattleRound2b.jpg


Changed to reflect Ric's actual actions for this round.
Ric:

You also notice that these are indeed Flesh Golems.


In the interest of keeping this rolling, I've NPC'd Dan for a round.

Bitzeralisis: Does Dan have a weapon at all? I don't see one on his sheet.

[Diarmuid]

Bob

Scrunching up his bulbous nose above a forest of a mustache, the dwarf snorts at the strange things trying to harm his companions.

Beseaching Genericus, he gestures into the air and calls out for his god,

"Bring forth your might and smite these enemies who would deny us entry into this tower, oh Might One!"

A large warhammer appears in the air behind the monstrosity harrying Kat and takes a mighty swing at its back.



Cast Spritual Weapon, targeting F1.
[roll0] (if necessary)
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Hank Pym]

"Of course! These are flesh golems! -- constructed by magicians and used as guards. Save your spells, my friends, they cannot hurt these beasts -- but, perhaps we have no need to fight at all --"

Ric tries to make eye contact with the Golem right in front of him and says loudly and clearly "We are here in Ualraig's name! Ualraig!"

Hopefully that is the password they were looking for. If they stand down, great, if not, Ric attempts to cut a few pounds of flesh from the golem in front of him.


If the password Ric tries is not correct, then he will full attack the one in front of him (with his magic sword, if it matters). Using Dodge on the Golem he's attacking.

Attack 1: [roll0] and if I get a possible crit . . . heh, it doesn't matter, they're constructs! Okay, well, if I get a hit, here's damage: [roll1]

Attack 2: [roll2] and damage: [roll3]

[Lazlow]

Dan's Scorching Ray touch attacks:

[roll0]
[roll1]


Both rays of fire strike their intended targets, yet the flames do not seem to inflict any burning damage. However, the golems recoil at the attack momentarily, and as they recover they seem to be moving much slower than they were before.

==========

OOC: Round three actions, please!

[oliana0]

Oli

Oli hears "password" and as only a gnome can do, he takes a very large breath and starts listing off every password he knows in every language he knows.

"FriendPeacockZanzabarPassword12345DefaultNoneBlank OrangesJOSHUA24601BuddyxyzzyplughRosebudSwordfishP encilRONCTTLAPurplePoseysAbracadabraOpenSesameMagi cWordsSupercalafragalisticexpialdosiousBottlesofHa ir..."

"FriendPeacockZanzabarPassword12345DefaultNoneBlank OrangesJOSHUA24601BuddyxyzzyplughRosebudSwordfishP encilRONCTTLAPurplePoseysAbracadabraOpenSesameMagi cWordsSupercalafragalisticexpialdosiousBottlesofHa ir..."

"FriendPeacockZanzabarPassword12345DefaultNoneBlank OrangesJOSHUA24601BuddyxyzzyplughRosebudSwordfishP encilRONCTTLAPurplePoseysAbracadabraOpenSesameMagi cWordsSupercalafragalisticexpialdosiousBottlesofHa ir..."

At the same time he grabs another pair of arrows and delivers them to the golem in front of him. Fsu hissing and growling keeps his teeth latched onto the creature and starts to shake his head, like a dog with a chew toy.


Oli:
Free Action: Speak random stuff. Gnome Goblin
Full Attack: Two arrows
[roll0] [roll1]
[roll2] [roll3]

Fsu:
Maintain Latch and do bite damage
[roll4]

Extra Rolls:
Ride in case Fsu is attacked
[roll5]
Crit confirm (if necessary, add 11 or 16 to d20)
[roll6] [roll7]

[Diarmuid]

Bob

The dwarven cleric stands, mouth agape at the sight of Genericus's divine power being summarily dismissed by a mindless creature of terrible magic.

"Oy! I'll not be 'aving ye mocking me Lord in that manner. I'll be showing ye what Genericus be all aboot!"

Spitting and spluttering, he grumbles out words of power and makes grand gestures in the air with his free hand. When he is finished, he can feel the divine might coursing through his veins.

Cast Divine Power

Taking a step into the hole Ric abandoned, he draws his mighty warhammer and prepares to show these fleshy golem-things what for.

[an kobold]

Kat

As the. . .fleshy thing that has its arms in all the wrong places is considerably closer, Kat drops her crossbow and moves next to Ric, drawing her rapier in the process. As she stabs at its various extremities, she shouts out:

Happy millennial! Can we come in now?


Attacking FT1 after taking a 5 foot step and drawing the rapier, shouting the millennial bit as my free action.

[roll0][roll1]
[roll2][roll3]

[Bitzeralisis]

Dan

Dan smacks his lips and says, "I've done my job." He then runs out of ideas and stands there, nearly drooling.

[Lazlow]

Dan runs out of ideas and stands there, waiting for... Something.

Kat sidesteps and takes two stabs at the first golem, one of which finds purchase in the thing's flesh.

Flesh Golem 2 reels from the giant weasel digging into its leg and takes a swipe at Fsu, but its actions are slowed considerably and the mount's thick hide easily fends off the blow.

Oli rambles off every password he can remember, but the golems don't seem to recognize any of them. Two more arrows fly from his bow, hitting the second golem squarely in the chest, and Fsu continues to dig his teeth into the foul-tasting construct, mangling its leg considerably.

Ric calls out "Ualraig!" but soon realizes that it simply can't be that easy. He follows up with a couple of blows from his sword, one of which carves a fair-sized chunk of arm off the monster.

Flesh Golem 1 swings a wild haymaker at Ric, but thanks to the golem's decreased mobility the Bard is able to deflect the mighty blow with his shield at the last second!

Bob calls upon Genericus to imbue him with holy power, and the Courageous Cleric steps into the gap, drawing his fearsome hammer.

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii171/lazlow23/EntryBattleRound3.jpg


Round four actions, please!

[Diarmuid]

Bob
HP: 120/110
AC: 24

Measuring himself against the things now slowed movements, Bob ducks low and sends a low swing at the monster's leg and then follows that up with a backhanded swing upwards towards its chest.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2]
[roll3]

[oliana0]

Oli

"Any of you magic users want to look about to see if there's a clue to the password? Magic writing, arcane glyphs, etc? I remeber once my great uncle had a really great box, he was a tinker, you see, this great box that you had to punch the letters in the right order to get the thing to open. It came with a set of clues though, because he thought it was more fun that way. Or does anyone know anything about local legend of the owner of this castle? Maybe a beloved pet's name? A mistress's favortie color?"

Oli keeps moving as he blabbers on, only partially gesturing with his hands as he draws another pair of arrows and steadies himself to Fsu's wriggling.


Attacking the same guy (FT2)
Oli: (Note: Forgot Point Blank Shot included +1 to damage, fixed below)
[roll0] [roll1]
[roll2] [roll3]

Fsu:
[roll4]

[an kobold]

[Kat

While fighting, Kat had a feeling that she was forgetting something, rather quite obvious really, about security systems such as this one. Stepping forward to get behind the subject of Fsu's fury, it suddenly comes to her. The four most common passwords used by magic practitioners were:

Love, sex, secret, and. . . Genericus!

She finishes by poking the unpleasant pieced-together person in the posterior.


She moves in behind fleshy thing 2 with another 5' step, hopefully into a flanking position, and attacks:

[roll0] [roll1]
[roll2] [roll3]

[Bitzeralisis]

Dan

"Heh... only a complete moron would use passwords like those. Besides, many maguses... magi are indifferent about making love." He thinks through all that he knows, trying to find anything that would resemble a password into the tower. He also tries not to waste expendable spells, waiting while the others pound away with their infinite attacks.

[roll0] (Should be +24, roll raised to 32)
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]
[roll8]
[roll9]

[Lazlow]

Dan wrings his brain for information arcane whilst his companions continue to wring the sewn-on necks of the golems, but alas, while his vast stores of knowledge recall many a password, he can come to no definite conclusions about one that might work here.

Kat slides into a flanking position behind the second golem and easily skewers its cheeks with her rapier!

Flesh Golem 2 still has no idea what to do about the weasel on his leg, and so resorts to Plan B: More pounding! But the rapacious rodent's hide is still too tough for him, and his pounding is to no avail.

Fsu continues to rip the flesh off his opponent as Oli nocks another arrow - but the bowstring slips from his fingers and the sudden snap causes him to drop his bow!

Oh noes! Critical fumble!


Ric presses forth his attack and laughs a hearty "Ha HA!" as he stands alone against the first golem!

Hank's home sick, so I'll NPC until he returns.
[roll0], [roll1]
[roll2], [roll3]


Flesh Golem 1 takes another swing at Ric, but the blow is slow and weak and is again easily blocked.

Bob, imbued with Genericus' might, smashes the monster's shin with a low swing and follows that up with a mighty backhand that caves the thing's chest in, sending it crashing to the ground! It lies motionless, except for the part that's still being chewed by Fsu.

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii171/lazlow23/EntryBattleRound4.jpg


Round five actions, please!

Edit: Photobucket is a steaming pile of dung. :smallfurious:

[an kobold]

Kat

Seeing how the first concoction of flesh has fallen and neither responded to her password attempts, Kat moves over to help Ric with his friend. Well, she could always try the magic word, though it did not typically come to her tongue given her profession.

Please let us in.




Taking a 5' up and to the left.

[roll0][roll1]
[roll2][roll3]

[Hank Pym]

Ric begins, "Ah, Oli, speaking of 'a really great box', I once knew an elven maiden who could --" but is interupted to dodge a swing from the golem that almost seems to be trying to give him a hug.

Ric wonders for a second if maybe that IS all it wants to do. Perhaps these monsters simply weren't loved enough. He decides: yes, that's probably it.

And then he stabs the golem a couple more times and finishes his dialogue. "But, I'm sorry, this is neither the time nor place for such talk!"


First Attack: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]
Second Attack: [roll2] Damage: [roll3]

[Lazlow]

Dan, lost in thought, continues to search through his vast stores of knowledge for any lore that might be of use.

Dan:

That amulet in the golem's chest can be further examined now that it's dead.


Kat very politely asks the remaining golem, "Please let us in." But the golem rudely ignores her plea, and so she skewers it again for its boorishness.

Oli takes a few seconds to pull Fsu off of the dead golem and retrieve his bow.

Ric ponders giving the golem a hug, but thinks better of it and gives it a couple of vicious stabs instead.

The Golem, devastated that his hug was refused, promptly falls to the floor in despair.

Bob, ever cautious and still imbued with Genericus' might, gives the just-fallen golem "one to grow on", smashing its skull into little unidentifiable bits of splintery bone and pulverized flesh.

The remains of the two golems lie motionless on the floor, their corpses just another addition to the ones already there.


The golem was barely hanging on anyway, so I just sped things up a bit to keep us rolling. Hope no one minds!

[oliana0]

Oli

Oli looks at Ric curiously a bit confused while he picked up the bow from the ground.

"I guess the password will remain a mystery." Oli looks about the room.

"These poor people that have fallen before our visit." Oli performs a typical gnomish burial ritual, which starts with him praying to Genericus, getting distracted by something and mumbling off for a bit and then going back real quick to actually pray for the souls of the departed.

[an kobold]

Kat

Kat sheathes her rapier and tiptoes around the corpse of a fleshy fiend to retrieve the crossbow where she let it fall.

She then turns towards the direction the twin terrors approached from, trying to get a better glimpse of the entrance to the keep.

[Hank Pym]

Ric gives his blade a quick cleaning on the body of the fallen golem, then moves quickly.

"That's it, Kat, check the stairs. Everyone else, help me look quickly for clues or loot among these bodies and along the walls. We don't want to get caught up in the foyer for too long -- we've still got a whole tower to go before it disappears out from under us!"


Ric spsends 3-4 rounds searching the area (remains of the people who tried to get in prior to our victory, and the walls/floors) for any loot or clues that might help later.

His search is +0, but his Bardic Knowledge is +12, so he's going to be more useful at helping figure out the history or value of anything more than the actual finding.

Specifically, he'll start with the bodies of the fallen adventurers.

[oliana0]

Oli

"Ah, yes, that's good look over the dead people for any distinguishing characteristics and see if we can get any of their cherished valuables back to family members. Excellent. Very good. And those that we cannot identify we shall use in Genericus's name and donate to the church we we are finished with them. Very Good." Oli nods his approval of the search and then goes about refixing all of his goods and items from the fight. He even checks Fsu for any signs of injury and in a mildly disturbing matter uses a disposed arrowhead to help clean Fsu's teeth.

[Lazlow]

The party spreads out a bit in the entryway and searches for a good couple of minutes. You are able to thoroughly rummage through the many corpses which are, indeed, fallen adventurers, so you just know they got some good loot on 'em. On these corpses you find:

- A scroll
- A purplish potion
- A fancy lookin' stone

And speaking of stones, Dan sees that the amulets he and others noticed the two golems "wearing" are largish gemstones set into gold settings, which were then sewn into the golems' flesh. They bear a strange rune, seemingly etched into the center of the gemstones.

Ric, Dan:

You recognize the rune to be an ancient Elvish "U".

[Hank Pym]

Ric asks the wizardly types (Bob and Dan) if they can identify the scroll, potion or stone but makes no move to take any of them. He then uses his dagger to pry/chop the runestones out of the chests of the golems.

"Might need these for later." Because of how messy the stones probably are, he'll throw them into one of his sacks instead of the Haversack."If nothing else, surely they'll fetch a few gold back in town, eh?"


Is the rune (the "U") part of a seal or signet, perhaps? (as in Ulraig?)

Bardic Knowledge on the off-chance the stones are anything more than "badges":
[roll0]

Also, Lazlow, does Kat uncover anything by the stairs in the two minutes of searching?

[Lazlow]

Before turning his attention to the golems' chests, Ric notices something unusual about the stone. He's seen a similar one before in his travels, and recognizes it as one of the many variations of Luckstones found throughout the land.

Dan and Bob take a look at the loot the party turned up. The scroll is notably longer than most single-spell scrolls, so Dan surmises that there's probably more than one spell on there - and sure enough, thanks to his spectacles, he sees that the scroll holds two spells: Hold Monster and Shades.

Oli tends to his mount, who suffered no injury during the fight, and who once again has sparkly white teeth. ("Fabulous!")

All:

Dan and/or Bob can make Spellcraft checks to identify the potion, but it takes a full minute. As you're all watching the time, do you want to do this?


Ric:

Badges? You might need dese steenkeeng badges... You're fairly certain that the "U" stands for Ulraig, that much seems obvious. The "U" looks like it was etched inside the gemstone, which is quite unusual. That and the fancy setting the stones are in seems a bit much for them to be just "This golem belongs to Ulraig" tags.


Kat:

You search the base of the stairs quite thoroughly, as well as the first few steps themselves, but turn up little else other than old, dried blood stains that were most likely caused by more than a few of the corpses around your feet.

[Diarmuid]

Bob

Bob's "searching" amounts to him walking through the bone piles kicking various things with true dwarven "grace".

When presented with the potion and scroll, he shrugs and moves on to look futher into the tunnel.

"No idear what they might be, but I dont want ta be 'ere any longer'n we 'ave to. Let's get a move on."

When he sees the stones with a "U" on them, he ponders and offers up,

"Hrmm, U eh? Did any of ye say 'Ualraig' in all that babblin ya were doin?"

[Bitzeralisis]

Dan

"A potion," states Dan simply, picking up the potion.
"A shiny stone," states Dan again, picking up the fancy stone.
"A scroll with two spells," states Dan a third time, now trying to pick up the scroll with his mouth. He gives up and starts inspecting the potion and the stone, mostly with a series of concussive pokes.

[roll0]
Roll an appraise check for me in secret, with a modifier of +12. Then tell me the price of the stone I figured.

[Lazlow]

Dan spends a minute poking at the potion and after watching the purplish liquid swirl and swish around the vial he comes to the conclusion that it's a potion of Heroism. And after just a second or two of examining the stone, he agrees with Ric's assertion that it's a Luckstone.

With the guardians of the entryway down, you're all able to proceed down the short passageway to the stairs. The stairs are made of the same stone as the walls and floor, and rise steeply into the bowels of the mountain. From your vantage point at the base of the stairs, you see that they continue up for thirty feet or so and begin to twist to the left. Around the bend you can make out the faint flicker of what's probably another set of torches on the wall.


Figured you didn't want to spend another full minute appraising the stone since you already knew what it was (and therefore what it's usually worth).

[Hank Pym]

Ric

"Here we go," Ric says. "Divy up that loot; the potion to Oli, the scroll to Dan and the stone to Kat, unless there're objections." Ric will toss one of the "U" stones to Kat as well. "In case it's some kind of key."

"An' yeah, Bob, I babbled Ualraig's name, but those golems didn't seem interested. Stupid Golems."

The party then takes its usual marching order for such situations and heads up the stairs.


What's our "usual marching order for such situations"?

I'd suggest Kat far (20-30'?) out front to set off, er, CHECK FOR traps and then (going in typical adventuring order): Oli, Ric, Dan, and Bob (guarding our backs). I'm open to anything if anyone's got other ideas, though.

With torchlight coming from around the next bend, perhaps Kat can take a look and see what's there before we all go barging in. Kat?

[Diarmuid]

Bob

The dwarf shoulders his way to the front of the line and begins tromping up the stairs, taking the bend with his hammer and shield to hand.



Unless someone has a severe problem with it, Bob prefers to be up front.

[Bitzeralisis]

Dan

Dan shakes the potion around, and mentally marks it as a Potion of Heroism. Then he gives it to Oli.

[an kobold]

Kat

After catching the U stone, Kat slips in line behind Bob, craning her neck to see what's around the bend.

[Lazlow]

Bob tromps his way up the stairs, with Kat following behind. The air in the stairway is cool and dry, yet warmer than the entryway, and certainly warmer than the bare mountaintop. The stairs are smooth and well-worn, easy to climb despite the steepness. The walls on either side taper in, narrowing as you ascend.

Turning the bend, Bob and Kat discover that the flickering light was indeed from another set of torches ensconced on the wall. The stairway continues to turn to the left, rising just as steeply as before. More flickering torchlight can be seen around the next bend.

The acrid smoke of the torches fills your nostrils, and the howling wind outside gets fainter and fainter as you climb the dark stone steps.



Need the rest of the marching order, please.

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Ric readies his sword and shield and falls in line, keeping watch over the others' backs.


Sorry I guessed wrong at our "usual marching order". No offense meant, Diarmuid. Ric will take the reargaurd position, unless someone else wants it.

[oliana0]

Oli

Oli hops back on Fsu as the party heads towards the stairs. Fsu's lanky body manges the stairs fairly gracefully, though Oli has to really lean in to stay a top the beast. Fsu sniffs the ground dutifully for any odd scents while Oli looks about and talks to himself, Fsu, and anyone one else in earshot, though he requires little response.


Ugh, don't have much time to transcribe Oli's thoughts. Needless to say he's fairly verbose. He will quiet when told to, but it never lasts long.

Oh, and yeah, that marching order sounds fine. Fsu knows to keep a slight distance from Kat.

[Bitzeralisis]

Dan

"And so we march on!" mumbles Dan for a little while, before falling into yet another stupor.

[Diarmuid]

Bob

The dwarf closes the visor on the helm of his gleamin plate armor. Shifting his shield to a more comfortable position, he replaces his hammer on his belt in case he needs to call on Genericus for aid.

Looking back over his shoulder to make sure everyone is following, he continues up the staircase.

[Lazlow]

Bob continues tromping his way up the stairs, with Kat, Oli, Dan, and Ric following behind. Turning another bend, the stairs become steeper, the passageway more narrow, and the howling wind is all but gone now.

This trend continues for a few minutes as the party slowly ascends the stairs: Twisting in what feels like a wide spiral, the walls continue to narrow until the passageway is only maybe four feet across. The stairs continue to become steeper, and worse, the steps themselves are growing shallower; even Bob's slightly smaller Dwarven feet won't fit on the stairs, and you're all forced to climb them facing sideways, save for Fsu, who is still able to climb okay enough, thanks to his claws, although he doesn't seem to be enjoying it. The ceiling is now just inches above the tallest of you (or those of you who are riding giant weasels). Torches continue to line the wall every 60' or so, but the air has grown cool and even moist again, and the smoky smell has disappeared. Soon all you can hear is your own footsteps and the creaking and clanking of armor.

The stairway becomes increasingly steeper and more difficult to climb - so much so, that you find yourselves having to use both your hands and feet just to stay upright. And as you start using your hands more frequently, you notice that the stairs are starting to become slick with moisture.

As Bob turns a particularly sharp bend, he is surprised (or perhaps not) to see that not only have the next few yard's worth of stairs become very nearly vertical, but the "stairs" themselves are little more than four or five inch wide handholds. The ceiling has seemingly disappeared - the passageway nearly straight up into the darkness.

But There is light at the end of the tunnel! Literally. Thanks to some torchlight above, Bob and Kat can make out a landing, the mouth of a tunnel or passageway that once again runs horizontally rather than vertically, about thirty feet up from where you are now. The passageway here is more than moist, the stairs almost wet - probably from the slow but constant drip of water coming from straight above you.

Everyone:

Let me know if I got the marching order wrong up there.

How do you wish to proceed? The surface is even and the ledges, though small, should be adequate enough to climb up, but they are slick with moisture and all the nasty stuff that likes to grow on moist rocks.


Dan:

You recognized that the torches along the passageway are essentially Everburning Torches, which is strange given the acrid smell and smoke you encountered earlier.


Dan, Kat, Bob:

You hear a faint ratchety sort of noise, ending abruptly: Chik... Chik... Chik. Chik. Chik, chik, chikchikchikchikchik KLANK! It sounds like it was probably... Behind you?

[Hank Pym]

Ric

In the back of the line, Ric can't see much of what's coming, but when the party stops moving, he ducks low to get a good enough look to understand what's going on. "What's a tower raid without a good climb?"

That done, he turns his attention back to the tunnel behind them, keeping alert for anything that might try to sneak up on them from that direction while the others are climbing.


I guess we climb, right?

If no other plan is reached, Ric will wait his turn to climb up, continuing to watch their backs until everyone else is up. Once everyone else is up, he'll climb up, too.

[Diarmuid]

Bob

The cleric, knowing full well that he was never the best at climbing and even though his armor is made from mythical mithril, it will still hinder him further, decides to once again rely on the blessings of Genericus to overcome the obstacle before them.

Bracing his feet and supporting himself with one hand, he digs around in the pouch at his belt and withdraws a small feather. Intoning a few words, he weaves the feather through an intricate arcane gesture and then replaces it in his pouch.

Cast Fly.

Pushing himself off the wall, he looks up and then back down.

"I 'eard somethin' behind us clanking away. I'm ginnae take a quick look, make sure we dont got trouble followin us. If we do, I'll holler up so ye know ta make it up higher and I'll be on yer 'eels."

Flying back down, he takes up his hammer and shield and looks for whatever might be making the racket.

[Bitzeralisis]

Dan

"That's strange... those torches are everburning ones... if so, then why was there all the signs of a normal torch burning?" Dan mumbles. "Weird. Maybe the noise has something to do with it..."

Dan gathers his willpower up in a little point in his head, and focuses on nothing but that and moving his arms and legs to get up the stairs.

[oliana0]

Oli

Oli looks at the "stairs" in front of them and starts rummaging through his pack. Fsu balances as his master moves above him.

"Do, dee, do, Aha! There you are Mr. Grappling hook. I knew you were in there somewhere. And you too, pitons! Excellent all ten are here. Now where is that hammer. Hmmm. Hammer, hammer hammer. Aha! Good, good good. Rope. Rope? Roooopppeee! Here rope! Huh that's odd. Bob, can you work these into the face to help our assent? I seem to have left my rope somewhere, does anyone have one that can be used?"


Fsu has +8 to climb and +12 to balance. Oli on the other hand is probably clumbsy enough to fall off of him on the way up. Also can use magic reins if all else fails. But that only works with Oli and Fsu.

Also, apparently I bought everything in a climbing kit, but rope. Der.

[Lazlow]

All:

The passage is very narrow, as I mentioned, and Bob will have a pretty tough time flying past everyone else, and might even knock Oli off of Fsu. Are you sure you want to try that?

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Without taking his eyes off the bend in the staircase, Ric sheathes his sword and with that hand digs into his pack for his silk rope. Once he finds it, he tosses it over his shoulder toward Oli. "Silk rope right chere. Get up there as quick as you can, please. If there's something coming, we'll have better odds if we're not in this cramped corridor."

He then braces himself, trying to get as good of footing as he can on the stairs, while listening and watching the bend in the staircase. He prepares a spell, but doesn't cast it.


Ric will prepare Grease, and hold it until he sees something come around the bend. When he does, he'll throw his spell at the opponent's feet (whether they be attached to the stairs or the wall or the ceiling). Hopefully that will buy enough time for everyone to get topside. If it matters, it is Reflex Save, DC 15 (although, hopefully the narrow and already wet steps will give a good circumstance bonus). Lazlow, please remember that since I have the spell prepared I can throw it as a free action (and hopefully pre-initiative).

[an kobold]

Kat

Kat reaches into her pack as well, pulling out rope and a grappling hook identical to the one Oli is holding.

I'll go ahead and try to get a hold with my line. If worse comes to worse we should be able to climb two at a time, albeit a bit squeezed.


Not sure if you want a use rope check here or not, Lazlow, but Kat's modifiers are +14 with the silk rope she's using, of course before the variety of penalties associated with twirling around a grappling hook in a confined space trying to avoid party members and getting said hook up a near horizontal shaft.

[Lazlow]

Faced with a virtually sheer vertical climb, the party stops for a moment.

Bob, hearing a clanking noise behind the party, casts Fly to go back and take a look, but pauses momentarily when he realizes it would be very tough to get past everyone else.

At that same time, Kat and Oli take out their climbing gear. Oli discovers he forgot to buy rope, but Ric has another coil to lend. Kat takes a moment to assess the situation; it's going to be tough tossing a grappling hook up to the ledge.

Dan manages to muster enough willpower to focus on the task at hand, namely climbing the stairs, but as everyone else has stopped he soon finds himself lost in thought once again, pondering the mystery of the torches.

Hearing Bob mention something about a clanking noise behind them, Ric prepares himself for whatever may come around the corner, preparing Grease and holding it.


Bob:

Two things:
1) Given the tight confines of the corridor, it's going to be very tough flying past the rest of the party, especially Oli (being on Fsu). You can go up unhindered, of course.
2) I had hoped my sound effect there would be more descriptive - the clanking noise you heard behind the party sounded very much like a portcullis ratcheting into place.


Kat:

It is indeed going to be tough swinging and tossing a grappling hook in such a confined space. You look up and down the corridor to get a feel for how you can accomplish such a task, when something... Strange catches your eye up above on the ledge. Peering upward into the flickering torchlight, you notice small stick, or scrap of paper or cloth - some sort of detritus - leaning up against... Nothing? Yes! Focusing harder, something up there is indeed leaning up against nothing. But how can that be? It suddenly dawns on you: There must be an invisible barrier of some kind at the top of the ledge!
OOC:

You had a couple of stellar spot checks there, the roller here must like you! :smallwink:



Ric:

Focusing on the corridor behind you, you listen intently for a few tense seconds, but hear nothing.

[oliana0]

Oli

"Hmm, now that you are flying, Bob, why don't you just bop up there and attach a rope for us? Ric seems to have our tails watched and Dan wants to go up the 'stairs.' Hammer and pitons as well to secure the rope if the rock allows. You should be able to wedge yourself between the rock and the hard-place of a wall to attach pitons in the face, or put some over the top. This reminds me of a time when I was training..." This is usually the sign that Oli has run out of useful things to say.

"I was never really good at climbing, and I forgot my rope then too; I should probably tie a string to my finger or something next time we are in town so that I remember. If only I had string! Anyway, the other gnomes in training also had all forgotten their rope, but they were clever gnomes, some more tinkerish than others, and one who was great friends with the burrowers. The tinkers made some goop, which the burrower friend had some moles deposit on places on the rock wall, running strings covered in some bad smelling fluid back to one gnome. They then lit a torch and phwoosh! The whole wall went up in fire and explosions and then came tumbling down. Three trainers were hurt, but they were clerics so that was quicly over. Then they said that maybe gnomes shouldn't be made to climb things in training."

[Diarmuid]

Bob

Floating a bit to the left and right to try to find a clear path, the cleric stops and scratches at his beard a bit.

Nodding with Oli's suggestion he deposits his hammer back in its loop and takes the rope with hook up higher to try to find a place to set it properly.

As he ascends he calls back down quietly,

"Aye, now that I've had a bit to think on it, methinks that was just the normal gate or door closing and locking us in that you would tend to expect from any wizerd's tower."

With a sarcastic smile, he moves up and looks for a place to set the hook.

[an kobold]

Kat

As she's tentatively looking around for room to swing the hook, she stops and let's out a small curse.

Hold up, Bob. There's something up there. . .an illusion, maybe? Could one of you arcanely inclined see if there's any sort of magic up there, because unless my eyes are deceiving me, there's something up there we aren't meant to see. Bob, you're up there, can you see anything funny?

[Hank Pym]

Half-listening to what the others are saying about ropes and gates and illusions, Ric focuses still on the stairwell behind them. Still holding his spell and watching and listening intently.


HA! That rope story is great, Oli! Like I said, Ric continues to hold. I'm sure the others can deal with what's ahead of us, his job is to protect the back of the party, so he keeps at that.

[Diarmuid]

Bob

The cleric squints and peers up, looking for anything out of place.

[Lazlow]

At Kat's request, Bob floats up through the passage - a strange sight, indeed - and sets his eyes about the landing. Searching intently for anything out of place, he doesn't see anything peculiar about the landing; it's made of the same strange, dark stone as the rest of the passageway and stairs, and the same sort of torches line this new passage, which is as wide as the entryway in which they battled the flesh golems. This passageway is fairly short, however: About twenty or thirty feet long, it ends at an iron-bound door set into the stone. It's also dry, not being under the constant dripping which is coming from somewhere still high above this landing, up in the darkness.

Not able to find anything, the burly cleric starts to float back down - but as the floor of the landing comes close to eye-level, he notices it: A stick? No, a small bone. A small bone is leaning up against... Nothing? Yes indeed, a small bone is leaning up against nothing at the mouth of the landing.

There must be some sort of invisible barrier blocking the landing here.

[Diarmuid]

basement flooded...lots of work....bleh no posting for now

[oliana0]

Oli

"Come, on! What's the hold up? Just go up there and attach the rope!"


I vote Bob tries to go through the barrier. But I also vote throwing the grappling hook without a firm grasp of the rope attached to it would be a bad idea.

[Diarmuid]

Bob

Bob scrunches up his face at the odd sight before him.

"'Old yer 'orses down there...summin aint right about this passage."

Floating over to the landing, he picks up the stick/bone thing and prods at the invisible barrier with it a bit. If he meets firm resistance, he will gather up some dirt/dust from the ground and fling it in a wide arc at the entire passageway to see how big the impediment is.



Is it possible to see where the dripping is coming from, from my higher vantage point? Is the ceiling within view from the landing height? How far out from the wall does the landing jut?



While playing with the dirt, the dwarf examines the stone landing to see if he thinks it will support the weight of his companions climbing the rope.

[roll0] (Using Stonecunning)

[Lazlow]

Bob:

The landing is flush with the vertical walls, so it's literally a big hole in the wall. You can't pick up the bone, because it's on the other side of the invisible barrier (same thing with any dirt or dust, although it's much too wet around here for any dry dirt or dust anyway). Tapping on the barrier, it's flush with the walls, too.

Up above, you can just make out a ceiling of some sort, maybe 10 to 15 feet above you. It's very dark, of course, but the flicker from the torchlight reflects off of droplets gathering on the ceiling (and eventually dropping down).

[Bitzeralisis]

Dan

"If there's a spell, I can dispel it..." mumbles Dan. "I'm ready to attempt a Dispel Magic if enough of the rest of thee wish so."

[an kobold]

Kat

Well, I think you should attempt it. Unless Bob wants to test his strength against something he can't see. What do you say, Bob?

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Ric continues to hold his spell and watch attentively.


. . . almost there . . . stay on target . . .

[Diarmuid]

Bob

Thanks for clarifying the description for me, I was picturing it a little diff

Scrunching up his nose at the obstacle, he waves a hand below him to ward off the question for a moment,

"Bah, gimma a minute 'ere to think this one through."

While floating, he casts a Detect Magic spell to determine if the wall is magical, pr perhaps holding something magical back.

Flying back down to those still clinging to the meager handholds, he asks...

"Who's got them gems ye took from the golem things? I wanna see if that'll let us through the strange barrier."

[an kobold]

Kat

Got it right here in my pack. Stay there, I'll bring it up to you. I want to get a closer look at this barrier anyway.

At that, Kat fiddles a moment with her cloak. After a moment, she tentatively positions her foot on the wall, and satisfied, begins to head up to Bob, looking for anything that might be a switch or indentations that will accept the stones retrieved from the golems.


Using the White Cloak of the Spider's spider climb for the day.

[roll0]

[Lazlow]

With little difficulty, Kat successfully manages to climb up to the landing, but finds no indentations or holes or such that might accept the stones retrieved from the golems.


Sorry for the delay! All's well now, let's rock!

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Ric calls over his shoulder, "I agree with Dan: try to smash it with your mighty hammer and if that doesn't work, someone dispel it."


bump

[oliana0]

Oli

Fsu sniffs around the area, quite bored with the situation, looking for interesting scents. Oli fidgets with his bow, testing the string to make sure it does not need replacing.


Was there a response to Detect Magic that Bob cast?
What's the roll to sniff out a new scent? Would it be the olfactory equivalent of Spot?

[Lazlow]

Forgot something (thanks, Oliana):

Bob:

You detect strong auras of conjuration and illusion. Evidently there's an invisible wall, probably of iron or some strong metal.

[Diarmuid]

Bob

With a hearty snort, the dwarf draws out his hammer and taps against the invisible barrier in an attempt to determine if it is some kind of metal, or perhaps some kind of stone.

"Bah, someone decided ta make th' wall 'ere look invisible. Prolly iron or some kinda stone. If'n it's conjured stone or metal...t'wont be dispellable. We'd need some kinda way ta' burrow through it, or magic past it...and I've used me dimensional door already. I'm open to idears at this point."

Hoping someone else can figure out a way past, he continues to fly upwards to see if there is anything to learn higher up.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Ric calls back, "While you're floating around up there Bob, see if you can fly over the wall; it may not go all the way to the ceiling. Kat, can you feel along the wall? If it's an invisible wall, there may be an invisible door."

With that, since it seems that Ric was over-reacting to the gates swinging shut back at the entrance to the cavern and we're not actually being followed, Ric cancels the Grease spell he was holding and instead starts searching for a secret door. He urges anyone nearby to do the same. "Perhaps there's another way that we missed."


I know there's never actually a door in a "wall", but that's exactly why I would have put one there if I were in charge. :smallwink:

Also, I'll mark off the Grease spell (dang).

Here's my roll to search for a secret door:
[roll0]

[Lazlow]

Bob taps the invisible barrier with his trusty hammer and it rings with a metallic clang. After speaking to the group he floats upward and disappears into the darkness above.

Bob:

You float upward another 50 feet or so and see the glimmering you noticed earlier. It seems to be water dripping from an iron hatch set into the tunnel, blocking your path upward.


Ric's spell fizzles harmlessly as he searches for secret doors.

Ric:

You search the area around you but can find nothing.

[Diarmuid]

Bob

"There's a metal hatch up here, that's where the water is dripping from. I'm going to see if I can open it."

Slipping the haft of his hammer back through the loop on his belt, the cleric turns himself over in the air, and places his feet against the cieling to the sides of the hatch. Reaching down (up?) he graps the hatch and pulls.

[roll0]

Edit - The walls are made of stone?

[oliana0]

Oli

"A metal hatch holding back water? Does it sound wise to open it? I mean, if I were a metal hatch holding back water, I would probably let the water go if I were opened, and while, you may be relatively safe up there, those of us on these stairs would probably get a bit wet. And if it's a lot of water we could get washed back outside!" Oli addresses Fsu, "Can you swim? I don't think we've had the opportunity to swim as of yet in our relationship."


This the gnome equivalent of "NOOOOOO!!!!!"

[Bitzeralisis]

Dan

Dan takes a moment to absorb the information before realizing what Bob had said.
"Oh, no, don't open that. not many of us would like an onslaught of torrential water from above. Besides, if the amount of water is large enough, we may not be able to make it out alive, unless the water washed us out of this cave," he says, voice a bit shaky.

[an kobold]

Kat

Pacing back and forth on a seemingly empty piece of air, Kat appears deep in thought before opening her mouth to speak.

I really don't think we have much of choice. We can either stand here and pick away at a wall we can't see or open a hatch that goes over it. I guess it boils down to whether we're prepared to tunnel through stone or breathe underwater. Hey Bob, do you see anything up there that resembles the stones from earlier? I've only checked near the invisible wall.

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Ric gets frustrated and starts listing things to try before resorting to opening the hatch.

"I hate being wet. I don't suppose anyone's got a Gate spell or some such to throw under the door to whisk the water away to another dimension as it pours out, do they?

"Or can we form some kind of slide, luge or tube for the water to go down, and then we could all huddle next to it, so that the water would rush harmlessly past us? On a similar thought, if we could all cling to the ceiling near the door when it is opened, the water would rush harmlessly past us then, too. If anyone can think of a way for all of us to cling to the ceiling.

"Or does anyone have another dimension door or teleport or such to get at least one of us onto the other side of the wall?

"Or can anyone summon a large burrowing animal to dig us a passage under the wall? Or even a small burrowning animal and then I can turn to gaseous form and go through even the smallest tunnel.

"We have the advantage of the wall being invisible. We probably ought to use that advantage by looking through it to see if there is any kind of switch or release on the far side to deactivate it, and if there is, a Mage Hand or Telekinesis could do that work for us.

"Or, we might be able to bore a small hole in the door, so the water drains out in a controlled fashion and once the chamber is empty of water we could safely open the door. Anyone know a way to bore a hole in a steel hatch?

"Could someone take my place on the stairs so that I can take a look on the far side of the wall? I've seen and heard of all sorts of whatnots in my adventures, perhaps there might be something I recognize beyond the wall (using bardic knowledge).

"Surely there's a better way past this trap than simply setting it off. We were clever enough to discover the trap -- I'll bet we're clever enough to get past it without the risk of death."

[oliana0]

Oli

Oli watches Ric's speech with admiration. "You speak well, though, you pause a great deal to catch your breath. Given time and practice, you could be a great Gnome orator! I once saw the fine Tak Slo Tye! That gnome could speak for hours without pause. He learned to breath in through his nose while he spoke out through his mouth. My what a fine nose old Tye had! I saw him give his famous Badger! Badger! Badger! speech! "

"O! Badgers! What I wouldn't give for a good badger right now, no offense Fsu. But a badger could dig through the wall in no time flat! Badger, badger, badger." Oli sighs. "I like badgers! Course they do stink all to high heaven!"


Go for it. Make the joke. You know you want to!

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Ric wonders if the party needs any badgers, and decides probably not. "We don't need no stinking badgers."

"However, does anyone have a stone shape spell that we could use to shape the stone around the hatch into a slide or funnel?"


Are you happy now? The way Oli talks about it, I get the impression that the respiratory systems of Gnomes are built an awful lot like bagpipes.

[Lazlow]

Hanging upside down like some hairy, armored bat, Bob places his big dwarven feet against the metal hatch, a muffled CLANG-NG-NG-NG!!! resounding with each step, and each step causing a small shower of fat water droplets to break free from the confines of the surface of the hatch and rain down upon his companions in the slick, nearly vertical shaft below.

He braces himself, and, grasping the hatch with both hands, he tuuuuuuuugs and tuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugs with all his might! Loud, ominous creaks and groans emanate from the very walls and reverberate somewhere high above the hatch. Even more water showers down on the party below as the persistent priest pulls and grunts and groans, when, with a sudden jerk and a large burst of water, he flies downward a few feet in a cloud of droplets and manages to catch himself on the wall before he hits Kat.

The last burst of water falls on the party, and stops. Bob looks up and sees that, despite his efforts, the hatch is still closed.


Sorry for my absence, folks, but I've been on jury duty since the 22nd. But it's all over now, so things should be back to normal!

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Ric goes white with all the clanging and water drips he sees fall, but allows himself a heavy breath of relief when it stops and they are not deluged upon.

"Kat, you did check the invisible wall as well as the rock you're climbing for doors, right?"


Sorry, I'm unsure from the posts if this search was done.

[oliana0]

Oli

Oli looks sad at the prospect of no badgers, but quickly recoups to his normal cheerful exisitence. "Or move the rock on these 'stairs' away from the invisible wall allowing us to get past that. We don't know if we should go through the hatch or up on that ledge."

Fsu yawns, scritches the ground beneath his feet and slowly lowers himself (the 3" he stands above the ground) to take a quick nap.

(Ninja-ed!)

When the water bursts from above it wakes Fsu quite dramatically, and Oli holds tight to the beast with his legs. As Fsu snorts and coughs the water out of his face, he looks very grumpy. He was having a good dream.

"Aww, sweet Genericus. My feathers are all wet!" Oli proceeds to empty his quiver of water and tries to dry off the fletching of the arrows.

[Bitzeralisis]

Dan

Dan absentmindedly ignores the burst of water, looks up, sighs, and says: "That was a whole waste of getting wet. I'm wearing all cloth, so now I'm going to be soaking for the rest of the day." He channels a miniscule amount of magic, just enough to get the tips of his sleeves dry. "That's better."

[an kobold]

Kat

Eh, I'll try the wall. Somebody better be ready to catch me if gives way though. Bob, hold off a bit on trying to open the hatch while I do this.

Kat moves directly on to the invisible patch of wall. Taking a moment to try and wipe her hands and the stone dry, she begins to feel around the perceived void for any breaks in the surface.


It never hurts to be certain :smallwink: .
[roll0]

[Lazlow]

With the practiced precision of a purloining professional, Kat begins to feel around on the invisible wall, looking much like a floating mime running through a glass box routine.

Kat:

This happens the exact same time as what your companions see below: Towards the top of the entryway landing (which is only about 8 or 9 feet high) you feel a thin space, or separation, in the wall, running vertically. Following it up, overhead (as you're facing the wall) for a few feet and back down again, you're positive that there is, indeed, an invisible door set into this invisible wall.

As you sit perched on your hands and knees at the top of this invisible door, facing downward (back toward the passageway you just ascended) and feeling the outline of the door, your hand brushes against what you feel to be a hinge - or at least you think it was - but the split second your hand meets the small protrusion on the door/wall, you feel yourself flung inward, toward the short passageway on the other side of the invisible wall. Thanks to your Cloak of Spider Climb you stick tenaciously (albeit a bit comically, as well) to the surface of the invisible door and are thankfully not thrown onto your back on the hard stone surface of the passageway floor. You hear the invisible door fall into place with a loud, solid CLUNK.

You quickly deduce the situation: The door apparently pivoted on an horizontal axis set in the middle of the doorway. Rather than swing all the way around again, it latched into place after half a rotation. You are inside the passageway, but there is still an invisible wall (and invisible door) between you and your companions.

Exactly one second after the door latches into place (with you still stuck on the bottom of it, looking up toward the ceiling), you hear a distant "sssshhhhhhhunk!", followed by a closer "shink!", which just so happens to coincide with a number of smallish holes opening up in the ceiling above you, from which water begins to steadily stream forth.

The water streaming out is rather loud, although not quite deafening. You are unable to hear your companions on the other side of the wall while you're in here, and they cannot hear you, so please put any in-character dialogue in spoilers for me only. Obviously they can still see you through the invisible wall/door, so feel free to describe your actions and any other sort of non-verbal communication you want to convey to them.


As your cat-burgling comrade* feels her way around the invisible wall, seemingly perched in mid-air on her hands and knees facing back down toward you all, you suddenly see her "fall" inward and downward. In the space of a second she swings backward and downward, until she comes to an abrupt stop toward the bottom of the landing, yet facing upward and apparently on the other side of the invisible wall - or rather, the invisible door she just found, which latches back into place with a loud CLUNK and her on the other side. Exactly one second after the "CLUNK" you hear a very distant "sssshhhhhhhunk!"

Bob, Oli:

You notice water pouring in small but steady streams through the ceiling in the short passageway in which your burgling buddy now finds herself.



*Gimme a break, alliteration ain't always, er, amenable...

[oliana0]

Oli

"Well, there's a door! Of course, it appears to also be a trap. So, uh, likely we either get wet or Kat drowns. I guess we get wet. Anyone have anything sturdy we can jam into that hatch to hold it open?"

If anyone does, Oli will grab it from them, and if not he will just sigh.

"Those of you still on the stairs, brace yourself for water." Oli grabs the reins of Fsu and flicks them hard, against nothing, actually. The reins glow for a moment, Fsu wines a little and the two float off the ground for a moment before Oli guides Fsu up as if on an invisible spiral staircase. At the top, Oli reaches into his pack and pulls out a crowbar, handing it to Bob. "Here, you get that hatch open, I'll try to get Kat out."

Oli turns to the invisible wall and sighs. He moves Fsu above the area where he thinks the door was and pulls out an arrow. He uses the arrow to feel around for any pressure plate or trigger that Kat may have set off.

"Oh, Kat, Kat, Kat. What have you gotten yourself into? This is a horrible way to die! If you can hear me, please stay attached to that wall, I want this door to open and fling you out, not open and then you still be stuck in there. Genericus please help us out. These are all good people, I think and they deserve to complete this mission and live another day to serve you."


Using Reins of Ascension to fly at normal speed for 5 rounds. Oli will keep up there as long as he can; a fall from this height is less dangerous to him than Kat's situation. If Bob still can't get the hatch open, Oli will cast Bull's Strength on him before the reins give out.

Please note, he's trying to stay out of the way he thinks the door moved.

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Ric moves up the tight passage past Dan, to take a look at what's going on. He goes white when he sees Bob with a crowbar.

"Please, wait! Don't open that yet!"

He sees Oli jabbing at thin air with an arrow and Kat caught by some unseen trap. This causes him to pause, then pull out a scroll, which he casts a spell off of.

"Here, Oli, I'll be able to help you with that once I get up there! If we get Kat, then we can let the water drain through from behind the hatch into the chamber where she is. Then we can go through the hatch without any harm."


Ric moves up to where he can see Oli and (at least part of) Kat. He throws See Invisibility from a scroll, takes a moment to examine the wall and door. If he doesn't see any immediate threat to Oli poking about with an arrow, he climbs up to help.

Climb check: [roll0]

[Lazlow]

Oli floats up on Fsu and hands Bob a crowbar, then pulls out an arrow and starts prodding the door.

Oli:

You poke a bit at the invisible wall but other than reaffirming that it is indeed made of thick, heavy metal, you can't determine much else.


Ric pushes past Dan, calls to Oli and Bob, and casts a spell from a scroll. He then tries to climb up to the landing but slips a bit, not making much progress.

Ric:

You can see, quite clearly now, an iron wall with an iron door set in the middle. The wall fills the entire opening of the landing (about 10 feet wide (or 15, can't remember but I mentioned it in an earlier post) and maybe 8 or 9 feet tall). Oli is poking around towards the middle of the door, but as he moves his hand you think you can make out some sort of inset panel or depression or something, where a doorknob or keyhole would normally be (on the right side of the door).

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Ric's eyes glow a pale purple with divination magic as he scans the unseen wall and door and starts to climb.

"To your right, Oli! There's a latch of some sort, but be careful that the door doesn't flip and knock you in, too -- OW!"

He's interupted as his feet slip and he falls ungracefully back to where he started. "mutter, grumble, grumble . . . "

He tries again.


Crumbs. Ric tries to climb up again. I don't know how quickly the water is flooding Kat's chamber, so I'm not sure how time-sensitive this is, but he's trying to get up and help as quick as he can . . . so he's just going to try again.

Lazlow, if this has to take place on the next "round" then I understand (and if he fails again, I'll probably just try again on the following round).

Climb check: [roll0] (come on! come on!)

[oliana0]

Oli

"Oh, can you see it then? Excellent. Guide my, well, I'm going to use the bow; that way I can do it from a distance. Yes, yes, guide my bow, please! Oh, and please be ready to move out of the way, these reins don't work forever."

Oli nudges Fsu away from the wall and pokes at the door with guidance of Ric.

[an kobold]

Kat

Knowing that the best thing to do in a situation like this is to keep calm, Kat takes a thorough glance around the room she's found herself in before taking another "look" at the door. Remaining stuck to it as she was, she begins to search for the hinge she touched before while addressing the others across the wall.


Um. . .how quickly is the water coming in:smalleek: ?

[roll0]
[roll1]

Well, that just revolutionized my whole view, though it looks like we might have a solution. Hopefully when I get out of here, the water will keep draining, letting Bob open the hatch without drenching those below. Look in the center of the invisible panel on your side, there might be something there as well. Just as long as I wind up over there and no one else over here, mind you.

[Lazlow]

Those close to the landing (Bob and Oli) and those looking up can see Kat talking, but cannot hear anything (so kindly ignore anything said in kobold's spoiler, if you peeked, and kobold, please address any other spoilers like that specifically to me, thanks!).

Also, those close to the landing (or actually on the landing and stuck behind the invisible wall) see that the water is pouring in just a bit quicker now. There is a little less than a foot of water in that short passageway now, maybe 10" or so.

Ric tries once again to climb the slippery incline but, alas, doesn't quite make it (again).

Kat:

Remaining calm, you feel the surface of the door and easily find what you believe to be the trigger that sprung the trapped door. However, it doesn't seem to be able to trigger again - you can move the mechanism back and forth but it doesn't seem to connect to anything at the moment.


All:

Everyone roll initiative, please!

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Slipping and cussing once again back down to the base of the nearly vertical stairs, Ric takes a second to roll his neck, shake his hands, and touch his toes.

"Forgot to stretch out," he tells Dan whose body stands nearby, but whose mind is in its own world.

He takes an exagerated deep breath and then starts up again.


This is just embarrassing. :smallredface:

Once more (perhaps?) into the breach! Climb: [roll0]

And initiative (initative?! :smalleek: ): [roll1]

Oh, for CRYING OUT LOUD! :smallfurious: So, with my high initiative, perhaps I can cause our opponent to bust out laughing through the first round at my futile attempts to climb.

[an kobold]

Kat

A more and more perturbed looking Kat appears to press at something towards the center of the patch of air she's being suspended from before dropping down feet first into the rising water. She then begins investigating the walls immediately next to the solid "opening" while mouthing something in a purposeful manner.

For the DM's eyes only (cue Bond music)


Sorry about that the first time:smallfrown: . I knew I was forgetting something. . .but midterms are over, so I should be less flaky in the future.

Well, that's a little bit of frustrating. Keep working on finding a switch over there, it shouldn't be that hard to find. I'll check to see if there are any mechanisms off to the side of the door on this side.

[roll0]:smalleek:
[roll1]

[oliana0]

Oli

Oli continues to try to set off the switch without getting caught in the box himself.


[roll0]

[Lazlow]

OOC:

To keep things rolling along...

Initiative
[roll0]
[roll1]

Alrighty, actions please!

Initiative order (for the party):
Kat
Oli
Ric
Bob
Dan

[an kobold]

Kat

Standing in a foot of rising water, Kat quickly feels along the solid, visible wall just next to the "window" keeping the water in with her.


[roll0]

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Fed up with the slick steps, Ric stops trying to climb and concentrates on watching the tip of Oli's bow and walking him through how to open the latch.

"A little over to the right. Yes, that's it. Now, a bit dow--OH! No, over the other way. The OTHER way. Yes, yes, there you go!"


Hopefully, with my help Oli can get that door open.

[Diarmuid]

Bob

Not really knowing what else to do, but not wanting to cause the grate to drop any more water, the cleric calls out to the gnome on his mount,

"Oli, stand aside. Genericus will assist me in bypassing this obstacle and freeing our floundering friend."

Having said that, he grasps his hammer in two hands and waits for the gnome to move.


If Oli moves, Bob will mutter a prayer to Genericus to guide his throw true. (No actual spell is being cast, think more like Indigo asking his dead father to guide his sword)

With his faith in place, the dwarf begins to spin in the air, twirling the hammer over his head and after a few revolutions he unleashes his hammer in a twirling maelstrom at the invisible barrier between him and Kat.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[oliana0]

Oli

Oli continues to prod at the latch until asked to step aside. With worry in his face, he guides Fsu away from the wall.

[Lazlow]

Kat remains calm as the water steadily rises just over her knees. She searches the invisible wall...

Kat only:

...and find what you unmistakably feel is a keyhole. But the hole for the key is in a strange depression, the shape of which seems familiar... What could that be...? AH! Yes, it's the same shape as the amulets found on the now-dead flesh golems!


Oli, fretting about his trapped friend, pokes and prods with Ric's help for a few moments, but reluctantly moves aside as Bob rears back with his hammer...

Ric, able to see the door and wall, guides Oli for a bit before the gnome moves away from the landing...

And Bob, hammer spinning overhead in a Mighty Marvel-ous way, releases his weapon as soon as Oli is clear. The hammer quickly flies the short distance to the invisible wall and with a resounding CLANG-NG-NG-NG!! bounces off the wall harmlessly.

...Or does it? A split second after the hammer bounces off, a loud ratcheting sound reverberates throughout the passageway, which apparently is connected somewhere to the hatch over our heroes' heads, as it suddenly opens and releases a torrent-u-lous deluge of water (albeit very slightly less torrentulous since a small amount of the water seems to have been funneled elsewhere for the moment) upon those unfortunate enough to be on this side of the wall.

Dan, having only a split second with which to act anyway, can only watch in... Well, whatever emotion he usually experiences when about to be swept down a staircase by a tidal wave.


All but Kat: Roll strength checks, please!

[Hank Pym]

Ric

. . .


Str check: [roll0]

[Diarmuid]

Bob

Bob the dwarf let out a mighty roar of his god's name while unleashing the hammer that he had crafted in the perfect image of Genericus's weapon of choice (as he saw it).

The smile beaming from the dwarf at the resounding sounds was one of pride one might see on a father as his son throws his first perfect spiral of a football (whatever the heck one of those might be). He held his hands outstretched before him as if welcoming a loved one into his arms as the hammer twirled its way back to his loving grip.

So focused on his hammer is he, that he barely registered noise from above and looked up just in time to see the torrent barreling down at him and his companions. Thrusting his mighty weapon above him, as if the downpour would be split asunder and rain down to either side of him (though no such thing actually occurs), he is jarred by the weight of the water and tries to maintain his altitude through his spell of flight.

[roll0]

[an kobold]

Kat

The rogue takes out one of the golem stones from where she was keeping it and holds it up to the part of the wall that is both very solid yet very invisible.

To DM:

Sorry it's been so long since posting, my subscription updater goes a little screwy when the site goes down and a try to check.

What did I say? You just have to keep your wits about.
And well, Kat's putting the stone in the keyhole

[Lazlow]

Kat, standing in water above her knees now, grabs one of the amulets and feels around on the door where she just found the keyhole (OOC: Note, the wall is still very INvisible). She finds the depression and with a bit of twisting and turning, manages to set the amulet into its receptacle with a satisfying K-chink! - and immediately upon doing so, two things happen simultaneously: The water stops pouring into the landing passageway, and the trap door above the rest of the party in the main passageway closes back up, stopping the flow of water (for now).

Oli would have been swept away like a cork if it weren't for both his superior riding skill and his able-bodied mount, Fsu, who is able to twist and turn with the water, grabbing hold of the staircase with his claws. The gnome and his weasel cling tenaciously to the slippery stone of the passageway.

Ric, alas, is less lucky, and the water sweeps him off his feet and back down the passageway!

Miraculously, Bob is able to avoid being swept away by the deluge, but the water is bearing down hard on him. He manages to stay "afloat", or at least as "afloat" as he can be flying in the middle of the downpour.

Dan, nearly oblivious still, is swept up with Ric!


Here's how this'll work: Those of you in the water will need to make a Str check (DC 15) each round to avoid being swept away, and if you make that, I'll let you make a Dex check (DC 10) to try and grab onto something. If you manage to grab onto something, then each round thereafter you'll only need to make a DC 10 Str check until the water stops flowing (which won't be long since Kat managed to disable the trap).

If you miss the initial DC 15 Str check, then you've still got one more chance to make a DC 15 Dex check to grab hold of something as you're being swept away, followed by a DC 10 Str check to keep hold of it.

So: Oli and Fsu need to make DC 10 Str checks to stay hanging onto the stairs. Bob needs to make a DC 10 Dex check to grab hold of something (unless he wants to make another DC 15 Str check next round). Ric and Dan can attempt DC 15 Dex checks to grab hold of something as they are swept away, as well as DC 10 Str checks to keep holding on if they make the Str checks.

Lots of checks, I know, but I just want to give you guys a fighting chance!

[an kobold]

Kat

Kat begins to beam for a moment as the water stops before the expression on her face turns sour, and she rushes to search another part of the invisible wall. Her mouth is clearly moving, as if she is saying something, and occasionally she looks down to where Ric was washed away.

To DM:

I'm not really sure if the keyhole was in the center of the wall or a little bit to the side. If it was off to the side, Kat's trying to search the opposite end of the wall (ie, if it was off to the right, she's checking the left). If it was in the center, she's moving up and down along the access she found it on.

[roll0]

Look on that side for a place the other amulet fits, Ric. You still have it, don't you?

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Ric tries to keep from being swept away by the deluge.


Str Check: [roll0]
Dex Check: [roll1]

[oliana0]

Oli

Oli grips tight to Fsu and Fsu grips tightly to the stairs.


[roll0]
[roll1]

[Bitzeralisis]

Ugh, sorry about my lack of posting — this game just goes a bit slow for me. Is all you've done in my absence flooded the place?

[roll0]
[roll1]

[Lazlow]

Ugh, sorry about my lack of posting — this game just goes a bit slow for me. Is all you've done in my absence flooded the place?

[roll0]
[roll1]

It probably wouldn't go so "slow" if I didn't have to wait on your posts. Perhaps you'd be happier sticking with faster-moving games?

[Lazlow]

Kat feels around on the invisible door, looking for something, but as she searches, she feels the door swing open once again, although it doesn't flip all the way around like last time (she knows this as it doesn't whack her on the head). As it opens, the water in which she stands starts to rush out, attempting to drag her out with it. She remains firm, though, and manages to hang on to the invisible wall and keep from being swept out and down on top of her companions.

Oli, still clings tenaciously to Fsu, who in turn clings tenaciously to the staircase. Fsu actually seems to be enjoying this little bath.

Ric also stands firm against the onrushing torrent and manages to hold his ground, but cannot find anything nearby to hold on to for the moment.

Bob, hearing the trap door above him closing, thinks the worst is about over and manages to stay aloft (afloat?). However, in the instant afterwards (strangely enough the same instant that Kat manages to get the door open), the trap door opens once again. But it's not the force of another rush of water that knocks Bob down, no: It's something else, something very solid and, well, person-like. The once-flying Dwarf and whatever knocked into him hurtles down the staircase...

...and lands with a bone-crunching THUD on poor, hapless Dan, who seems to have remained oblivious right up to the end.

The remainder of the water rushes past and peters out in a second or two. Above you all there's a great gurgling noise, as of a giant toilet flushing.

After this great wet ordeal, you all remain pretty much where you were, with the notable exception of Bob, who finds himself sandwiched between a flattened wizard and what looks (to Ric, anyway, who's closest) to be a gray-furred person in semi-fancy robes.

The gray-furred person coughs and sputters, and slowly starts to stir...

Ric:

Your keen Bardish eye notices that the robes this gray-furred person is wearing are of no recent design... In fact, you suspect that they are very old. Very, VERY old. Ancient, in fact, yet they seem to be in good repair (besides being soaked).

[oliana0]

Oli

Oli looks around at everyone. "Is everyone okay? Oh! What fun, falling hairy robed guys! Slightly more damaging than your average waterfall, but if you were stuck swimming around in that water, I suspect that you are happy to be free from it, no? Oh, dear, what has happened to Dan. Poor Dan. We barely knew ye', but that's because you never really spoke or did anything."

Oli aims Fsu down toward Dan and pokes him with the end of his bow. "Dead? Is he?"

[kentma57]

The creature jumps to it's feet, hissing and spitting it looks around "Ulraig!!!" clearly not happy it begins yelling, in a language you don't understand and glaring at these new people...

DM only Speaking in Old/Ancient Common, general cursing/swearing and questioning what is happening.

[Lazlow]

Ric:

Thanks to your knowledge of languages, you notice that this new furry person is speaking in a very, very old - ancient, even - dialect of the common language. He's quite perturbed, cursing mostly, and seems to be extremely disoriented.

[oliana0]

Oli

"Ooooo a fiesty one! Falling hairy robed guy! Are you hurt? Do you need help? Ooo, Fsu, now's probably not the time."

Fsu furiously sniffs the ground finding a new scent follows it directly to the new guy, sniffing him over momentarily before Oli manages to lead him away.


I assume that Oli's detect evil meter is not being pinged on the new guy.

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Not sure what to do first, Ric sputters a second. But, noting the newcomer's furry cloak that gives him an inhuman appearance and odd dialect, he says, with a bit of awe in his voice, "A visitor from the past! You must have been trapped in the tower during one of its appearances in an the age of the Wyrm -- long, long ago -- and now . . . now you've squashed our wizard! We'll need some sort of service for the poor guy. If only he'd looked up at what was happening."

The newcomer seems no immediate threat to anyone but Ulraig himself or Ms. Manners', therefore Ric squats next to the crushed remains of Dan and lifts the helmet off the head on its awkwardly twisted neck. While doing so, he tries to make eye contact with the newcomer.

"Hello friend. Calm yourself, you're safe now."

His looting done, Ric stands and offers a friendly hand to what at first appeared a creature. He waves a hand overhead, indicating the other members of the party as he says their names.

"I'm Ric, and above us is Oli, Kat, and Bob. We mean you no harm, as long as your intention is one of good. Here, you must be hungry."

Ric offers the new person some trail rations.

"Please, tell us your story. How did you end up in that infernal trap?"

Ric puts on what had previously been Dan's helmet, but is now "Ric's helmet".


Hope no one minds me taking Dan's helmet. I guess the rest of his loot is first-come-first-serve or we can sort it all out.

[kentma57]

Staring around at these new people the creature seems to calm. With a quick flick of it's hand and some strange words; magic flows forth and purges the water from the creatures clothes/fur (prestidigitation). It is now clear that the creature is not human; standing at 4ft tall and covered in grey fur, the creature is some form of... cat? "Gutter Speak... That is a language of children, why do you speak it?".
As he finishes his question he opens the pack at his waist and begins soothing a small pink cat that emerges.

[Hank Pym]

Ric

"Gutter speak? Ha! Oh, ancient feline! In the years that have passed since your imprisonment, what had been 'Gutter speak' has become the prevelent language of this world.

"From your cursing, you obviously know of Ulraig. Do you know anything of the forgotten artifact, and the riches of this tower? Those are what have brought our party here."

Suddenly, Ric goes bolt upright. A thought just having occured to him, he lowers his brow in suspicion and puts his hand on the hilt of his still-sheathed sword.

"But wait! Perhaps you are old Ulraig himself?!"

[kentma57]

"Me Ulraig, Ha! That coward ambushed my friends, as soon as we entered the tower and did not show himself till after I slaughtered his minions. Even then he shot be in the back, that is the last thing I remember."

[oliana0]

Oli

"Well, okay, then. Uhh, should we have a brief prayer to Genericus for the departed Dan? In times such as these a silent prayer should be sufficient, no? My family has always been in favor of silent prayer. Shall we? Good." A full three seconds, Oli speaks no words, but he almost does, twice.

"Ah, excellent. The body is blessed and the soul free to pass on to Genericus in his great might and generosity. His items, of course should be returned to his family? Ahh, I see that Ric has already started to see to it. Excellent."

"You, sir. You appear to have gotten further in this tower than we have. Any suggestions to where's best to go from here?"

[an kobold]

Kat

The rogue finally shakes herself out of being suddenly moved one too many times. She quickly scampers down off the invisible door and makes her way to solid, upright ground.

Poor Dan. . .I always thought a wizard's academy would be better suited to him than romping about.

She bows her head for a moment before turning her attention to the cat that crashed Dan's party.

Wait, if you're not Ulraig, who are you? And what were you and your companions doing dealing with him in the first place?

[kentma57]

"I am Leo Leonardo the Third, I was asked the local lord to hunt down and kill Ulraig; though I might not get payed now, I will finish the job."

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Ric strokes his chin in thought. "So you believe Ulraig still to be alive somewhere in this tower, eh? Well, I suppose that if you yet live, then he might as well.

"But we have received no payment and made no contract to rid the world of Ulraig. If, as a group, we find him during our explorations, is there reason we should intervine upon your behalf?"

[oliana0]

Oli

"Heh, if you got hired by someone outside of this tower, I hope you got paid up-front. Or have something in your contract that allows for the time differences that occurr when the tower pops out of existence. Hmm. Perhaps we should have?"

Oli ponders the thought of never seeing his family again.

"We'd better hurry and make sure we get out of here before the day ends."

"Kat! Did you try the door on the other side of the invisible wall?"


Who had the other flesh golem stone? If it was Dan, Oli will grab it.

[kentma57]

"I got some of the payment up front, but not much. And what invisible door are you talking about?
As for why we should intervine, traping someone in a tower for, who knows how long, should be reason enough."

[oliana0]

Oli

"What's this about vines? Strange accent you both have speak. There's an invisible wall up there at the top of the 'stairs.' It has a door in it, and there is a landing with a big iron door at the end of it beyond the invisible wall. Back that way is the way out. Say, did you know the password to get in? There were these fleshy goobers that were at the door, when we arrived, asking for a password. You must've known the password to have gotten in. Or maybe you met Ulraig and he let you in himself? Hmm. Sounds like a big-ole-meany, he does. But as much as I'd like to sit here and talk about what's gone on, we should really get to seeing what's going on, so that we can get in, get around and get out before we are lost to time."

"I've not met anyone, besides you Leo, that was lost in time. I mean to say, that this will be an incredibly interesting story sometime next week, when we are back in town and have finished donating the excess of our findings to kids' homes and churches to the Great Genericus."

"I suppose Fsu could climb the wall well enough. Once up there, we might be able to piton into the wall and tie off a rope for the less climbing folks around us."

Oli guides Fsu to the 'stairs' and tries to convince him to go up them.


Fsu takes 10 on Climb for 19.
Piton, meet wall. Hammer meet Piton. Rope meet Piton. Dangle Rope, Dangle.

[kentma57]

Leo will follow them to the base of the wall, and wait for Oli to make it through the door. (and through down a rope)

[Hank Pym]

Ric

"Very well, Leo, you'll have my sword if we run into Ulraig. But Oli is right once again! We'd better get a move on or we're going to find ourselves locked up for a thousand years. Someone give Dan's loot the once over, then follow me."

Ric then climbs up the rope that Fsu has attached, pausing for a second to give the friendly beast a scratch behind the ear at the top. Using the See Invisibility he cast just before Leo's arrival, Ric will move to the invisible door on the invisible wall and hold it open for those who cannot see it. As the others reach the top of the rope, Ric will point out the door for everyone else to go through. Once everyone's through, he'll use his crowbar to break the locking mechanism on the door while he can still see invisible so that the party can freely use the door as an exit later if they need to.


I don't remember what all Dan had, but we should divy it up. Leo could probably benefit from any of the scrolls or wands (and maybe even his spellbook!). I'm pretty sure the only thing I'm interested in is his helmet (of comprehend languages), but if there's some scraps left after everyone else goes through stuff, I'm not going turn items away. :smalltongue: . Lazlow, could we get a loot list or some such? Whoooops! It's already on the OOC thread. Er, disregard this, then.

[Lazlow]

With a little effort and less ado, the party easily makes its way past the invisible barrier and now find themselves standing in the shortish passageway, carved from different stone than what was found in the stairway. In front of you is a large wooden iron-banded door. A large iron ring hangs in the center, and a (seemingly) simple keyhole lies in the center of the ring.

Bob:

You recognize the stone of this passageway to be what you'd find inside the mountain (as opposed to the stone lining the passageway which was most likely from another plane.)

[Diarmuid]

Bob

The dwarf spluttered and cursed in his native tongue as he toppled through the air. After disentangling himself from his furry assailant, he gained some altitude and looked down to see the carnage their fall had wrought. A pang gripped his heart as he stared down at the broken wizard.

"Ach...no....."
Floating down gently to stand next to the crushed corpse, he hangs his head in respect for the dearly departed.

When Oli asks for a prayer, he raises his gravelly voice and offers words to speed his soul to Genericus's side.

"Dan came inta tha world by tha 'and of Genericus, blessed be 'is name, and now he leaves it in the same way."

Pulling his symbol from around his neck, he places it upon the forehead of the late wizard and closes his eyes. Returning the hammer and anvil figureing to his neck nods respectfully to the ever present over-father and flies up to help his comrades.

"I would be 'onored ta 'elp carry 'is belongings back ta 'is family after we're done with our task. In fact, I'll go so far as ta wear that fancy sash 'e used ta wear in remem'brance of 'is noble sacrifice."

Bob takes the sash twists it into a rope and then ties it around his waist. It looks quite silly with his glorious mithril full plate armor, but he is proud to be a part of their comrade's honor guard.

Almost as if he is noticing the newcomer for the first time, Bob addresses the strange cat man and his small pink cat.

"That wizerd's stupid tower killed my friend. I'll 'elp ya pound 'is face inta pulp any day of the week...especially this one! I swear it by Genericus the All-Father, Father of All."

With a nod that seems to impart that the conversation is over, he ferries people up to and past the invisible barrier. The normal stone sets him at ease a bit, and he walks up confidently and knocks loudly on the door with a mithril encased fist.

"We demand entrance in the name of Genericus!"

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Ric readies himself to avoid the line of fire from any trap that Bob is probably setting off.

[Lazlow]

The burly dwarf pounds on the door and bellows his demands and is answered, almost immediately, by a profound silence, save for an echoey dripping of water.

All:

I know this is just an unfortunate typo, but I can TOTALLY picture Bob as he "hands his head in respect for the dearly departed". Just like that Green Knight movie with Sean Connery!

[Diarmuid]

Bob

Unphazed by the lack of response, the dwarf looks over his shoulder,

"No seems ta be 'ome. Anyone o' ye got a key ye wanna try, a'fore I'm fer trying mine?"

Bob pounds his hammer's meaty head into his gauntleted palm to accentuate his point.

[oliana0]

Oli

"Now as much as I would love to see a fight between a Dwarf and an iron door, perhaps we should let someone of more crafty skills see to the lock. I mean doors were meant to open by key and hinges. They are a cleverly designed thing that may not work if you muck up with the intricate works. Not to mention, it would likely take long and alert folks that may not like us too much of our presence. Not that I would have difficulty seeing that evil creatures get put down and therefore protect good, but I think it would be difficult to deal with them all at once. Plus it might be trapped and we could all drowned."

[kentma57]

"If you get me covered in more water I will not be happy."

[Diarmuid]

Bob

Bob exerts miraculous patience for a dwarf, and steps aside from the door, tapping his foot and tapping his hammer into his palm while he waits for someone else to deal with the door.

[an kobold]

Kat

Hold your horses, let me take a look at it.

Kat makes her way past Bob to the door in question, first checking around the door for anything suspicious looking. Then she takes out a leather pouch from her haversack, which opens to reveal a collection of lock picks and other such implements of various sizes. Taking a look at the door, she selects a suitable one.

This shouldn't take but a sec, but feel free to pound on the door all you want after I get it open. Believe me, I'm all for dealing with this tower and its master after what happened to poor Dan, but we don't want to set it off around us.


Searching for traps [roll0]
Disabling traps if I find any [roll1]
Open Lock [roll2] (2 from m/w thieves' tools)

[Lazlow]

Kat struggles with the lock for a few seconds, but manages to trip the mechanism albeit a bit less gracefully than she likes.

The door swings open a bit, revealing a fairly large room (the far wall is about 40' feet away from the door) lit with ensconced torches much like those in the outside hallway. The floor is dotted with various barrels, boxes, crates and sacks covered with what you can only assume is an accumulation of centuries of dust. Set in the center of the room is a rickety wooden spiral staircase leading upwards.

The heady odor of a millenia of neglect wafts out of the room. The only sound besides your own breathing is the still steady drip of water around you.

[Diarmuid]

Bob

Settling onto the ground as his spell wears off, the cleric grumbles approvingly at Kat and tromps into the storage room, making directly for the staircase.

[roll0]
[roll1]

"Come on ye louts...dinnae just stand out there. We gots an old wizerd ta find...or at least the grand treasures o' one."

[Hank Pym]

Ric

"Well done, Kat! And there it is -- the tower itself!"

Ric steps up to the door and holds it open for the others. As everyone else files through, he sings a magic little ditty that goes something like:

"Tweedle-dongs-and-tweedle-dings . . . now I can see magic things. La la la."

Once everyone's through the door, he goes in himself, assuming his earlier position as rear-guard.


Ric casts Detect Magic and takes a couple rounds letting his gaze roll over the barrels and crates and other detritus of the room. His See Invisibility has a duration of 50 minutes, so I'm guessing that's still in effect as well.

Don't know what you'll want here, so here's all three:
Search: [roll0]
Spot: [roll1]
Listen: [roll2]

[kentma57]

"I think we are on the right path."

[oliana0]

Oli

"Oh, yes, excellent. A staircase! And best yet, a rickety one! I'm sure it's horribly unsafe, a challenge, at the very least, to climb up it. Ooo, must retrieve the rope and if I can the pitons before we move on."

Oli collects all of the items that were used to help the group climb the stairs that he can and then follows folks into the room.

[Lazlow]

Entering the room, it appears to be very much what it looks like: A sort of basement storage room. Ric sees nothing unusual, invisible or magical-like, save for the small clouds of dust caused by the party entering this ancient larder.

The staircase is indeed old and rickety-looking, but seems to be in decent repair considering its apparent age.

[Hank Pym]

Ric

"Doesn't seem to be anything here."

Ric examines the staircase, putting his weight on the first step to see if it holds and guess if the others will hold. He wonders if all the dripping water has rotted out the staircase. "Careful on these stairs."


Unless anyone objects, we should probably move on.

Also, unless anyone objects, we're using the same marching order, right?

To review: that's Bob, then Kat, then Oli/Fsu, then Dan Leo Leo III, then Ric.

Lazlow, how high is the ceiling in this room? Put another way, how high do we have to go on the stairs until we reach secure footing?

Er, and does the step hold Ric's weight? (he weighs 287.5 pds with all his gear)

[Lazlow]

Ric tests the staircase and it seems surprisingly sturdy for something so old.

OOC:

There's no water in here, it was all in the outer hall. The ceiling's about 12 feet up.

[oliana0]

Oli

Fsu enters the room nose first, snurffing up the scents that he can. His first nosefull into the room is mostly dust and he sneezes and looks about for a place safe to sniff. Finding the ground in the room loaded with dust, he proceeds to sniff the walls. Oli goes along with Fsu, willing looking about the room while Ric tests the staircase. Oli of course talks himself most of the time.


Anything smell funny?

[Diarmuid]

Bob

The sturdy dwarf taps his foot while the others seem preoccupied with nosing and searching through some old barrels. Once they seem satisfied, he tromps up the stairs, shield leading, his warhammer in its belt loop for the time being. his voice booms ahead of them,

"If there be a cranky old wizerd up there...'E better be ready ta beg fer forgiveness from The Almighty One in a minnit!"

[Lazlow]

Fsu sniffs curiously around the room and seems to be torn between wondering what the various ancient foodstuffs in the crates and barrels taste like, and wondering what they actually are.

Bob tromps up the stairs in his usual manner and pokes his head into the next room, which appears to be a sitting room of sorts. Under the layer of dust several pieces of beautifully made furniture can be found tastefully appointing this comfortable room. Rich tapestries adorn the walls and thick rugs cover most of the floor. An elaborate stone fireplace sits on one wall, with various ornaments and figurines on the mantelpiece. A couple of small windows are set into the stone wall here and there, paned with thick translucent glass.

Another wooden staircase, this one set against the wall, leads upward to a closed door set in the ceiling.

[Diarmuid]

Bob

Moving into this new room, the cleric doesnt even bother looking around, but calls over his shoulder as he heads for the next set of stairs,

"It's naught but anudder dusty room with more stairs up."

He kicks anything in his way, out of his way, and moves to the bottom of the stairs up. When everyone moves up, he'll give them a minute or two to poke around before heading up the stairs. He listens to see if anything might be moving around on the floor above them.

[roll0]

[oliana0]

Fsu

Fsu sniffs his way up the staircase, Oli ducking low to keep on the weasel. Upstairs, Fsu feels drawn to the windows--it's probably the knees poking in his side. The knees always keep him from the best scents. That and heels. Heels are the worst. It's a good idea to do what the knees say, because you don't want to get the heels.

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Once everyone's up, Ric heads up as well, giving this next room the once over with his temporary arcane vision, as well as his not-so-arcane vision.

"Thank you for waiting, Bob. There's a gentle-dwarf under that piously impatient exterior after all!" :smallwink:

Specifically, he'll try all the obvious places, looking behind each tapestry, beneath each rug, and in the fireplace. If no one has beat him to it, he'll loot anything off the mantel with a quick exhale to remove the dust on each and get a cursory glance of each ornament and figurine before stuffing each in his "party loot" haversack.

"This Ulraig's got good taste, no use letting all this go to waste. Just think, such nice things only showing up every thousand years -- blatantly criminal!

If anyone wants to see anything in the room that Ric is/has taken, he obliges. Once he's done that, unless something unusual has turned up, he's nearly ready to continue.

He makes just enough time for a mournful cluck of the tongue.

"Shame we don't have time and a cart to collect all these great chairs."


If I need a roll to search, here it is: Search: [roll0]

If any of the figurines or ornaments or tapestries or furniture rings any bells as somehow of note, here's a Bardic Knowledge check: [roll1]

Note that his See Invisibility and Detect Magic are both still in effect.

If there's nothing invisible or magic, all I need's the loot list and I'm ready to move on! :smallbiggrin:

[Lazlow]

Bob's Dwarven ears don't hear anything untowards coming from the level above, so he waits impatiently by the stairs for his companions to finish their rummaging.

Fsu takes Oli on a tour of the outer perimeter of the room, pausing to sniff at the windows as is his wont.

Oli:

Something's... Strange about what you see outside, through the thick glass. You see the snow outside accumulating on the window, slowly creeping across the glass... But even past what's on the glass itself, the snow seems to be slowly creeping through the air, rather than whipping through the rarified atmosphere so high up in the mountains. Almost as if it were in... Slow motion?


Ric makes quick work of all the portable valuables in the room, including some fine figurines of rather exotic, other-planely creatures, as well as your simple ornate candleabra and occasional elven vase. Looking behind all the tapestries, underneath the rugs, and on/around the furniture, he is pleasantly surprised to find that even these things are quite valuable, and would fetch a princely sum if you but had the means to transport them from here back home.

Ric:

Nothing out of the ordinary here, nothing magic or invisible. The figurines are for the most part unremarkable... Or are they? Your keen Bardic sense of history and lore is awakened as soon as you lay eyes on a particular sculpture: A somewhat rudimentary but still skillfully executed copy (albeit a much smaller scale) of the demon Sha'adzog Rea, who, as every bard worth his salt knows, was not only one of the most musically-inclined demons to burst forth from the nine hells, but also the most tragic. (He lost a lyre contest at a crossroads in the Souther Kingdom and had to forfeit his horns.) Interestingly enough, this figurine show him with only one horn intact, the other broken off in one hand, his lyre in the other hand.

You figure you could sell this to an informed collector for a very, VERY good amount - say, a few hundred gold at least - but then something catches your eye: The lyre itself is not the Gybsonne "Flying W" model that he was so famous for using when he lost said lyre contest, but rather the later CVN-72 model that he used after his tragic loss. So on the one hand, the collector you sell this to need to be fairly familiar with the story, but not so familiar as to know the models of lyre Sha'adzog Rea used, and at what times he used them.

Interestingly enough, one of the adornments hanging on the wall over the fireplace is an actual late-model Gybsonne "Flying W", but in a tobacco sunburst finish (the demon favored the goldtop).

[oliana0]

Oli

"Wow, the snow is moving so slowly. I wonder if, even during the day that the tower is here, time is somehow affected. If so, we may have more time than we think, though I'm not willing to gamble on it right now. Well, Fsu, if you are done availing your sinuses of new scents, shall we adjourn to the upstairs?"

Oli leads Fsu to the stairs, following whomever is leading.

[Diarmuid]

Bob

When Ric seems done with his perusals and Oli leads his mount near the stairs, Bob takes his queue and once again tromps up the stairs.

"Bah, we're in a wizerd's towerd. Dinnae believe anythin ye see."

[Hank Pym]

Ric



"Bah, we're in a wizerd's towerd. Dinnae believe anythin ye see."


Following up the stairs, Ric throws a compliment up to his Dwarven companion.

"There's the wisdom that keeps you in Genericus' good graces, Bob."

[Hank Pym]

Ric

"Wait! Did you say the snow was falling slowly??"

"I'm no brain-tinkerer, but wouldn't that imply that what's outside the tower is moving slower than what's moving inside and therefore, in relation, we're moving faster than the world we know? So rather than us having more than a day before the tower disappears, we would have less?"

Ric stops on the stairs to scratch his head.

"Leo, you're our master of magic and matters contemplative! Can you unwind such a riddle?"

[oliana0]

Oli

Oli ignores the fact that Ric asked Leo the question, "No, you've got it backwards, there! But it's interesting and confusing! Let explain my thoughts. If the snow appears to be falling slower outside than we think it should, then it may take an hour inside for a snowflake to fall the distance we would think it would take a minute outside. So a minute has occurred outside, whereas an hour has occurred inside." Oli looks at Ric.

"Hmm, let me explain this differently. If the sun is moving slower outside than we would expect, it will take longer for the sun to set. So we may have longer before the end of the day. Time has been diluted in here and it slips away whereas time is slower outside. If we only have until the sun sets; that could take what seems like days in here, if the sun is apparently moving slower." Oli appears reassured by his statements.

Fsu snorts loudly.


I'm not sure I can explain that in a more confusing manner. I should get RP points for that.

If the sun is moving at half speed, we have twice as much time inside before it sets.

[kentma57]

Leo walks towards the window and stares out into the snow.
"Temperal manipulation!"
"I have not seen that from but the most powerful Mages, this way not be Ualraig's doing but some artifact or the tower its self."

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Ric holds one elbow and puts his other hand to his chin, a finger tapping at his bottom lip. He frowns, deep in thought as Oli gives his relativity lecture. Occasionally he nods as some phrase or other registers as true to his ears.

"Hhhmm . . . mmmm . . . mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm . . . hm!"

Ric shifts his weight from one foot to the other and sucks in air through his teeth, letting his gaze roll up to the ceiling. He throws an interested glance at Leo as Leo sounds off and then he looks back and forth between his two companions trying to follow both explanations at once.

"MMMMMMMmmMMM . . . hmmm . . . hhuuuunnnhhh . . . temporal manipulation, eh? . . . wooooo . . . ummm . . . hm."

As Oli and Leo finish, Ric's gaze falls to the staircase beneath him, and he lets out a breath through puckered lips then clucks his tongue a couple times.

"OOOOOoooo . . . mmmm . . . Iiiiiiiiiiiii . . . think I see where you're going with that, Oli . . . and your temporary manipulator theory seems sound, Leo . . . hmmm . . . Well, very well, then. Let's carry on."

Looking up past the party toward Bob, Ric says, "Sorry for the delay. Let us sally forth, capable point-man!"


That was well said, oliana! :smalltongue:

[Lazlow]

With the deliberations seemingly discontinued for the moment, the party heads toward the next set of stairs, with Bob in the lead once again.

Tromping up this next set of stairs you poke your collective heads through to the next room. A few feet in front of the landing the staircase continues upward around the room, but this time the stairs lead to a closed trapdoor set in the ceiling. Set against the circular wall stand six large cabinets lined with shelves. Four tables stand here and there in the center of the room. A high desk (that looks to be stood at rather than sat at) is positioned against the wall also, with a small window set above it.

The top of the desk looks to contain sundry inks, quills, parchments, papers, blotters, rolls, scrolls, compasses, rulers, brushes, tablets, and tissues with all sorts of scribbles, notes, and writings.

The shelves are packed to the brim with jugs, bottles, ampoules, carafes, flasks, vials, phials, tubes, cruets, flagons, and decanters filled with various potions, elixirs, philtres, distillations, libations, liquors, liqueurs, salves, unguents, nostrums, oils, and tinctures of all sorts, smells, and colors.

Likewise are found dozens of pots, bowls, mortars, cups, braziers, pans, cans, boxes, drums, censors, cartons, and cases filled with an assortment of herbs, minerals, spices, meals, grinds, powders, poulders, poultices, barks, berries, limbs, and organs of provenance both definite and dubious.

Furthermore, littered about the four tables are diverse tongs, pliers, scales, weights, vices, mashers, mincers, scoops, filters, graters, funnels, and shakers in various states of repair, though mostly poor as this room, like all the others so far, has seen no activity for perhaps many centuries. Many of these hang off of the elaborate network of glass tubing and brass fittings that winds its way over the tables and around the room.

Needless to say, upon entering this particular room Oli falls off of Fsu in a dead faint.

[Hank Pym]

Ric

"Wow . . . look at all this . . . stuff."

Ric helps Oli back onto his feet and takes a slow walk around the room to get a closer look at everything.

"Good thing we've got temporary manipulators on our side. This could take a while."


Ha! This is one heck of a room.

Ric will use his See Invisibility and Detect Magic, concentrating and scanning the six large cabinets lined with shelves, the four tables, the high desk, the sundry inks, quills, parchments, papers, blotters, rolls, scrolls, compasses, rulers, brushes, tablets, and tissues with all sorts of scribbles, notes, and writings, as well as the jugs, bottles, ampoules, carafes, flasks, vials, phials, tubes, cruets, flagons, and decanters filled with various potions, elixirs, philtres, distillations, libations, liquors, liqueurs, salves, unguents, nostrums, oils, tinctures, and likewise the dozens of pots, bowls, mortars, cups, braziers, pans, cans, boxes, drums, censors, cartons, and cases filled with an assortment of herbs, minerals, spices, meals, grinds, powders, poulders, poultices, barks, berries, limbs, and organs of provenance both definite and dubious, and furthermore he scans the diverse tongs, pliers, scales, weights, vices, mashers, mincers, scoops, filters, graters, funnels, and shakers, even the ones hanging off of the elaborate network of glass tubing and brass fittings that winds its way over the tables and around the room.

[oliana0]

Oli

"Ooo, look at all the...." THUMP.

Fsu snorts and sniffs at Oli, nudging him with his nose. "Oah. Wha? My goodness." Oli accepts Ric's help, though getting back to his feet is fairly easy.

"Fsu! Take me to the bottles!" Oli calls out to the creature as he beings to mount Fsu.

Oli carefully looks over everything he can before the group forces him not to.


Hmm, Oli actually doesn't have any ranks in Alchemy. He's got natural +2 for being a gnome, but Craft(Alchemy) is for making stuff not recognizing base components or finished goods. And he's fairly bad at making stuff (thus the no ranks in it).
Don't know what to roll to determine what stuff is worth keeping.

[Lazlow]

Ric slowly walks around the room, taking a closer look at everything with his two enmagicked visioners. Looking over the six large cabinets lined with shelves, the four tables, the high desk, the sundry inks, quills, parchments, papers, blotters, rolls, scrolls, compasses, rulers, brushes, tablets, and tissues with all sorts of scribbles, notes, and writings, as well as the jugs, bottles, ampoules, carafes, flasks, vials, phials, tubes, cruets, flagons, and decanters filled with various potions, elixirs, philtres, distillations, libations, liquors, liqueurs, salves, unguents, nostrums, oils, tinctures, and likewise the dozens of pots, bowls, mortars, cups, braziers, pans, cans, boxes, drums, censors, cartons, and cases filled with an assortment of herbs, minerals, spices, meals, grinds, powders, poulders, poultices, barks, berries, limbs, and organs of provenance both definite and dubious, and furthermore he scans the diverse tongs, pliers, scales, weights, vices, mashers, mincers, scoops, filters, graters, funnels, and shakers, even the ones hanging off of the elaborate network of glass tubing and brass fittings that winds its way over the tables and around the room, he sees nothing invisible.

He has another look over the six large cabinets lined with shelves, the four tables, the high desk, the sundry inks, quills, parchments, papers, blotters, rolls, scrolls, compasses, rulers, brushes, tablets, and tissues with all sorts of scribbles, notes, and writings, as well as the jugs, bottles, ampoules, carafes, flasks, vials, phials, tubes, cruets, flagons, and decanters filled with various potions, elixirs, philtres, distillations, libations, liquors, liqueurs, salves, unguents, nostrums, oils, tinctures, and likewise the dozens of pots, bowls, mortars, cups, braziers, pans, cans, boxes, drums, censors, cartons, and cases filled with an assortment of herbs, minerals, spices, meals, grinds, powders, poulders, poultices, barks, berries, limbs, and organs of provenance both definite and dubious, and furthermore he scans the diverse tongs, pliers, scales, weights, vices, mashers, mincers, scoops, filters, graters, funnels, and shakers, even the ones hanging off of the elaborate network of glass tubing and brass fittings that winds its way over the tables and around the room with his magic-detecting vision and realizes that he probably could've saved some time doing both visions at the same time, but, eh, whatcha gonna do. Temporary manipulators and all that, anyway.


Ric:

A few of the components are faintly magical (for example, a vial of what looks to be some creature's blood), but most are simply natural ingredients. Likewise, the majority of the tools and instruments are mundane, but a nice-looking brazier, a small pair of tongs, and a funnel all give off a faint magical aura. Strangely, the cabinet nearest the desk also gives off a faint magical aura.

After a nice think you figure that the entire setup would take a few wagon trips, at the very least, to haul out of here.


After remounting Fsu, Oli quickly composes himself and sets about the jugs, bottles, ampoules, carafes, flasks, vials, phials, tubes, cruets, flagons, and decanters filled with various potions, elixirs, philtres, distillations, libations, liquors, liqueurs eh you get the idea. Some look promising, others not so, yet others still bubble and churn, and even more give off a fascinating blend of aromas and odors.

[oliana0]

Oli

Oli stashes away anything that seems valuable and that is not likely to escape it's container into the handy haversack.

If necessary, he will try to find some spare cloth to wrap around stuff to prevent clinking.

[Hank Pym]

Ric

As Oli sets about examining and pilfering what elixers etc. he can, Ric finishes his perusal.

Ric collects and sets aside three items: a nice-looking brazier, a small pair of tongs, and a funnel.

"A few of the components are faintly magical (for example, a vial of what looks to be some creature's blood), but most are simply natural ingredients. These three items, however, radiate definite, if faint, magical dweomers. Bob or Leo, can you make anything of them? I see nothing detecting as invisible."

He moves to the cabinet closest to the desk and indicates it. "I'm also getting a reading of magic here. Either this cabinet is magical, it's got a magical trap set upon it, or something in its contents is magical. I'll try to discern more, but Kat, would you do the honors?"


Ric will concentrate on the magic he's detecting on the cabinet and try to discern anything about it -- what specifically is magical (the cabinet itself, a trap or its contents), what kind of magic it is (evocation, etc.), and the potency of the magic (caster level, I guess). I don't know if he'll be able to get all that information, but whatever he can get might be useful.

[Lazlow]

Ric:

From what you can make out, it seems there's an aura of conjuration coming from the sides and back of the cabinet, or maybe behind it.

[Hank Pym]

Ric

"Upon deeper study, friends, it seems the aura of magic might be coming from behind the cabinet."

Ric looks behind the cabinet. If necessary, he scoots the cabinet out from the wall, accepting any help anyone offers.


I hope this cabinet is not a mimic that's swallowed a magic ring or something. :smallsmile:

[kentma57]

"I will see what I can do."
I will use detect magic for several rounds concentrating to determine magic auras and such.

[Lazlow]

"I will see what I can do."
I will use detect magic for several rounds concentrating to determine magic auras and such.

Ric's already doing that. Are you sure that's what you want to do?

[kentma57]

Ric's already doing that. Are you sure that's what you want to do?

Sure it will give us a second spellcraft in a round or two. Though if it looks like there is nothing new to discover I will go examin that cabinet.

[Diarmuid]

Bob

The dwarf walks around the room bored while the others fall over themselves looking at all the stuff. When Ric seems content with his finds, Bob grabs the table with the least stuff on it and begins gently placing things on the floor in a corner. Once cleared, he drags the table underneath the trap door in the ceiling and looks for a chair or stool to put atop the table.

Hearing his voice called out, he sees the items Ric is holding and shrugs noncomittaly,

"If'n it aint somethin ye can beat summin with, or summin what keeps ya from getting beat…I prolly dinnae have a clue as to what it do."

As he mentions each type of item he's familiar with he proudly slaps a gauntleted fist against them (hammer, and then armor, respectively)

Regaining his focus, the dwarf removes his shield from his arm and straps it once again to his back in the hopes that without its hampering, he has a snowball's chance in you-know-where of climbing the chair atop a table, atop from which he plans on trying to open the door in the ceiling.

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Overhearing Leo Leo cast a spell, Ric stands back from the cabinet to await the wizard's results.

While waiting, he watches Bob stack and climb with an expression of fascination.

Once he's got those results, as long as they aren't "DON'T MOVE THAT CABINET!" Ric shoves the cabinet aside and looks behind it.




Bob grabs the table with the least stuff on it and begins gently placing things on the floor in a corner. Once cleared, he drags the table underneath the trap door in the ceiling and looks for a chair or stool to put atop the table.


HA! That's some great Wile E. Coyote engineering there! What could possibly go wrong?!

[Lazlow]

OOC

Bob, you sure you don't want to use the stairs? They lead right up to the trap door.

I sent a PM to an kobold; there's potential for some doin's to be transpirin' here (what with another trap door and a mysterious cabinet) and we wouldn't want Kat to be left out, now would we?

[an kobold]

Kat

Kat drearily looks up from where she's been trudging along in somewhat of a daze behind Bob. It's clear the death of Dan, however brief his time in the fellowship, is affecting her. Thus it takes her a moment to register what Ric has said and is about to do and what Bob is doing. When the realization of the events around her sinks in, the expression on her face goes quickly from horror to anger to horrified, angry bewilderment.

You two! Ric and Bob! What in the thousand thieves do you think you are doing!? I'm the mechanical and magical expert when it comes to making sure mundane items don't kill people, not you! I already let one of my oversights cost a life already, I'm not repeating that again. At least not today.

She goes over to where Dan is working with the mysterious cabinet of magic and begins to poke around.

Have you even fiddled around for trip wires or faddled around for pressure plates? This is a mad wizard we're dealing with here. Nothing is beyond him. And, Bob, please, for my sake, do not climb your tower.

ooc:

Sorry for the delay, internet and computer were down but both are back up, along with a drive wipe :smallfrown:. I apologize for keeping the game waiting without letting anyone know.

Anyway, Kat's searching the cabinet and area behind as much as possible without moving the cabinet.
[roll0]

[Lazlow]

Kat:

After a thorough search, you can't see anything out of the ordinary on or around the cabinet.

[Diarmuid]

Bob

As the dwarf eyes his rickety tower, he looks down from the trap door in the ceiling and his eyes folllow the line of stairs to the floor level. Smacking himself in the helmet with his gauntleted fist, he growls:

"Why did'na anybody tell me them durn stairs went up to tha' door in the ceiling?!""

Taking the chair off the table, he walks over to the base of the stairs and looks over at Kat,

"Well, if'n yer tha expert...git on up there and make sure that trap door and livin up to it's name"

[Hank Pym]

Ric

Ric holds his hands up in surrender and backs a couple steps away from the cabinet for Kat to get at it.

While she works, his eyes wander to the tower of furniture Bob is disassembling. He begins to mention what a shame it is that Bob didn't get a chance to try out his homemade ladder, but then remembers what happened the last time someone fell on this adventure.

He lowers his gaze back over to Kat.


Welcome back, an kobold!

It really is a shame Bob doesn't get to climb his tower -- I can see it clear as day in my head, him teetering there, reaching for the latch and standing on the chair with just one foot as it sways back and forth. :smallsmile:

[oliana0]

Oli

Oli putters around going through as many bottles as he can, dusting them off, reciting soliloquies about the various things he thinks this may be and completely ignores eveything else going on in the room.

He's a bit put off when he realizes there's a crowd around one of the cabinents when he gets to it. He patiently waits his turn about as long as you'd expect and then starts asking, "Hey, uh, before you do that, can you hand me that bottle? Yeah, the green one and the purple one next to it."


I'm still here, just really have nothing to add when it comes to magic cabinents, traps and possible secret doors, etc.