A Thorn In The Hand IC

[Arranis Thelmos]

"Oh, yes by all means." Halabur steps on over to the side. "Why don't I help you with that." he says as he comes over and picks up her gauntlet.

[Wordplay]

Once Elenora is attired in her armour, Raif returns to the lever.

'Allow me to lend a hand'.

Raif pushes the lever in the direction Halabur was pushing it - helping Halabur if Halabur joins in.

[Arranis Thelmos]

Halabur returns to the leaver and begins to push it.

[Malak'ai]

As both Halabur and Raif put their weight behind the level you hear the grinding sound for just a moment before a loud "snapping" noise.
All the resistance disappears and the level starts turning freely and after the first full rotation, a sudden grating of stone on stone echoes through the cave, sending shivers down everyone's spines.

The back wall of the cave starts lowering down, dropping outwards in a way you'd think impossible for the inside of the earth.

**Map of the Cave.**

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This map is not to scale.
Entrance to the cave is at the bottom, the lowered section of the wall is at the top.

[D_Man_7733]

Shocked by the noise, Drayner falls over, jarring him back to the current world. "Wow, I didn't see that one coming, where do you think it goes?" Drayner peers into the cave, wonderingly, sliding his chain-shirt over his head and adjusting it properly. "What's the plan, I don't have a problem either way, a dark scary cave might just wake me up" He says laughing a little and shaking his head.

[Machuchang]

"I have never seen such a thing," Eleanora said. "But it bears investigating. Should this mechanism belong to the Covenant, then it be our duty to do away with it. If not, perhaps we may find something within to aid us."

[Arranis Thelmos]

Halabur stares in surprise at the mouth of the new cave. "Well... That's peculiar..."

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If he still has them, he'll send his dancing lights into the cave.
Spot: (1d20+1)[9]
Search: (1d20+4)[8]
Listen: (1d20+3)[18]

[Malak'ai]

Halabur:

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You can't see much beyond the end of the section of wall that is now forming a ramp over a river of darkness to a ledge that you can only just make out from the glow of Raif's torch.

From off in the far off gloom, you can hear the sound of a breeze. Not strong enough to be a wind, but enough to notice.
Mixed in with the sounds of the moving air is the occasional, very faint "tink" of metal striking metal... Almost like an extremely slow moving windchime.

[Wordplay]

'Well, at least now we know what the mechanism was for'.

Should we really be investigating this? It seems like someone sought to keep something secret, but it may have nothing at all to do with the Covenant. Exploring even a natural cave system is likely to be dangerous. An artificial one even more so - particularly if the builder placed any traps.

There were fresh supplies in the cave, but that may have nothing to do with the hidden door. This could be ancient - and therefore all the more perilous and irrelevant.

On the other hand, what if it does have something to do with the Covenant? We are spies after all, and this is right near the front line. I suppose we should determine if it could pose a threat.

It probably wouldn't hurt to make a preliminary assessment at least - a few minutes should give us a better idea of the possibilities.

'Ahem'. Raif clears his throat.

'I feel that this may bear some investigation. I think it might be worth spending a little time on...however, I suspect that it may well turn out to be irrelevant to our mission. Therefore, I suggest that unless we find something to indicate otherwise in the next hour, we should leave this alone and return to our mission'.

Raif moves closer to the new opening in the cave, but does not cross it yet.

'I also want to find a way of making absolutely sure this doesn't close on us'.

[Arranis Thelmos]

"Maybe we can find a branch to prop it open?" Halabur offers.

[Wordplay]

'I do not think a branch will do it... how about the lever itself? Will it stay open if we remove the lever? Either way, I think that's worth knowing'.

Raif removes the lever arm, whilst making sure everyone's standing well back, to see it the passage remains open.

[Malak'ai]

It takes Raif a while to detach the level. The cog moves less than an inch then comes to a rest when the locking arm slips into place.
The section of lowered wall stays exactly where it came to rest.

[Wordplay]

'Well, if there are no objections, I suggest we use this to make sure it doesn't close on us, and scout out the chamber to form a preliminary view of its importance'.

Raif starts moving into position.

'We'll need light - perhaps Master Drayner's ever-burning torch out at the front, but we'll need more than that. I have some candles - does anyone have a lantern?'

[Machuchang]

"Yes, I have a lantern," Eleanora said, as she removed it from her bag. "It is hooded, so perhaps it would best be put to use in the middle of the party."

[Malak'ai]

**Alrighty... Who's going where? Party Order and Spot, Listen and Search Checks please.**

[D_Man_7733]

Drayner takes position at the back of the group, looking around for any signs of movement. "I've got the rear covered guys"

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Spot: (1d20+2)[3]
Listen: (1d20+1)[18]
Search: (1d20+1)[17]

[Arranis Thelmos]

"I'll take the lead then, I probably see the best in the dim torchlight anyway."

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Listen (1d20+3)[23]
Search (1d20+4)[22]
Spot (1d20+1)[19]

[Wordplay]

Raif waits for Elenora to light her lantern. Then Raif falls in behind Elenora and Halabur, but in front of Drayner. Raif hefts his mace into one hand, and holds the wand in the other.

'Alright, if you're sure, Drayner. Keep a close watch on the ceiling - I have noticed that cave creatures often nest there'.

Spot (1d20+4)[20]
Listen (1d20+4)[5]
Search (1d20+2)[19]

[Machuchang]

Eleanora quickly lit her lantern before falling behind Halabur in line. She made sure to keep her sword unsheathed, the lantern in her left hand.

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Spot: (1d20)[4]
Listen: (1d20)[5]
Search: (1d20+2)[14]

[Malak'ai]

**Okay, gunna do this a little differently.**

Spot Results: Halabur and Raif:

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You look round into the gloom of the new cavern. You see that it is not natural rock formations but worked stone with columns and arches.
There's also the movement of a colony of bats handing from the ceiling, though the sudden appearance of the light doesn't seem to bother them.

Listen Results: Drayner and Halabur:

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Over the quiet sounds of the (mostly) sleeping bats you can only just hear a faint metal on metal clanging sound far off in side the cavern, though from this distance you cannot tell what it is.

Search Results: Drayner, Halabur and Raif:

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While taking a closer look around your new surroundings you find a slightly raised area about 15' from where the "door" joins the floor. On this raised area is a cylinder looking object with some sort of pattern on it that goes down into the floor. This object looks exceedingly familiar to you.

**Sorry Mach, Eleanora must have had her helmet on a bit wonky to have not seen, heard or found anything .**

[Arranis Thelmos]

"Hey, what's that?" Halabur asks, pointing to the strange object. Halabur walks over to the cylinder, brows furrowed in confusion. "Why, this looks vaguely familiar... Where would I know it?"

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Knowledge Arcana: (1d20+10)[29]

[Malak'ai]

Halabur:

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You can tell it's not magical, but you do reconise the patterns. They are the same as the device in the cave you have just left.

[Arranis Thelmos]

"This has the same carvings as the lever out front!" Halabur says with a smile. "I bet it has another mechanical function." He begins looking it over for levers, buttons, or any other clues to its function.

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Spoilers: (1d20+4)[10]

[Wordplay]

'Do you think that the mechanical level arm we found earlier might also fit into this cylinder?' Raif asks Halabur.

[Arranis Thelmos]

"Let's give it a try!" says Halabur as he heads back over to get it.

[Malak'ai]

As Halabur goes to pick the lever up he only manages to lifts it a foot or so off the ground. Unable to do anything else, he starts dragging it towards the new device.

[Wordplay]

Raif walks back with Halabur and gives him a hand with the lever - Raif also leaves his mace in the gap to replace the lever, so if the worst comes to the worst they will at least have a crack to prise open.

Once they've lifted the lever over to the cylinder, Raif attempts to fit the lever arm - cooperating with anyone who helps.

[Malak'ai]

Once Raif helps Halabur with the level things start moving a little quicker.
The level clips into place without any problems, making an even louder click than the first time in the cave.

[Arranis Thelmos]

"Ha! Let's see what this does!" Halabur says with a mighty grin and starts pushing.

[Wordplay]

Raif stands back, about 20ft, wand and morningstar at the ready.

'Forgive me, but if there are any, ah, unitended consequences, I need to be in a position to avoid the effects, so that I may jump in and heal you quickly'.