A Thorn In The Hand IC

[Malak'ai]

Just like before when Halabur starts pushing on the lever it barely moves. His feet sliding on the stone floor as he tries to get enough purchase to force the arm around.

[Machuchang]

Eleanora joined Halabur as he pushed, lending her strength to his.

"Let us hope that your healing will not be necessary," She said, half to herself, half to the cleric.

[Malak'ai]

As Eleanora joins in the pushing the level starts turning easily. The door you have just come through starts to close slowly. Raif's mace being lifting until it drops back to the floor inside the cave.
If you keep winding the lever round, the door will close with almost no noise, leaving the chamber you're in in total darkness.

[Arranis Thelmos]

"If it closes the door, we'd better stop!" Halabur says with alarm as he jumps to the side. "If this thing opens and closes the door to this cave, what on earth was it at the bottom of the lake for?"

[D_Man_7733]

Thinking for a moment Drayner then smiles and replies "Someone ran screaming in terror, locking the door and not wanting anything to do with it threw it away..." Looking at everyone's faces and gauging they're reactions he continues "OR it could just be like putting a key under a doormat, or hiding it in a plant. Odds are whoever lives or uses this passage has left for good considering we haven't heard anything of them since we set up camp." Drayner pulls out a sunrod but doesn't activate it, "Shall we continue?"

[Wordplay]

Raif remains impassive.

'Indeed - that is the most likely solution... let us see if the lever also opens the mechanism...'

Raif helps push the lever back the other way. If it does, he retrieves his mace.

'Shall we press a little deeper into the cave then? Or leave this enigma be? If we do head in deeper, we need only take the lever with us'.

[Malak'ai]

When you start turning the level the other way there is a little resistance as cogs somewhere, unseen below you are suddenly put into reverse.
The door itself though slowly descends back down without a problem. Raif's mace can be seen clearly sitting on the dusty ground in the cave.

[Wordplay]

Raif heads deeper into the cave, mace in one hand, wand in the other.

Spot (1d20+4)[15]
Listen (1d20+4)[19]

[Malak'ai]

Raif:

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As you wander further into the complex you notice the floor starts on a downward gradient, also you can see the walls start getting more elaborate. Large, tight scroll patters on the flat plains between embedded columns, reaching to the ceiling 20' above you.
You come to a small circular room which has 3 other arched doorways, one of which (to your left) has rubble streaming out of it.
When you check them, the one with the rubble is completely blocked off. The one opposite to where you entered is clear. The last (the one to the right of where you entered) is partially blocked, but the gap looks wide enough to squeeze through.

You can hear the faint clanging of metal on metal coming from down the partially blocked passage way.

[D_Man_7733]

Following Raif down, Drayner activates the sunrod when it starts becomimg difficult to see, looking around for anything suspicious.

Listen: (1d20+1)[6]
Spot: (1d20+2)[6]

[Malak'ai]

Drayner:

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You can see the pillars and the patterns on the wall but not much else.
The whole passage way seems silent, the only thing you can hear is the foot falls of your companions.

[Wordplay]

Raif gathers the party to him.

'I can hear the sound of metal on metal down this pathway'. Raif whispers quietly, pointing down a passageway.

One of us should scout...I think probably Halabur. I'd go myself, but I fear I'd make a racket in this armour. Halabur, I can cast invisibility on you if you wish, or you may prefer to do it yourself.

[Arranis Thelmos]

"Tempting, but I'll see what I can get with eyes and ears before we expend such valuable resources as that." he whispers back. "I'll be back soon." then creeps off down the tunnel.

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Move silently: (1d20+4)[19]
Search (1d20+4)[14]
Spot (1d20+1)[13]
Listen (1d20+3)[5]

[Wordplay]

Raif tries to stop Halabur, but he's too late.

Blast. I wanted to be sure we had the element of surprise. We could have set up an ambush, and I could have taken the time to cast my spells.

Raif sighs.

Then stands on the left side of the opening, back to the wall, ready to turn and stand in the opening with a step.

Ready action: Cast Spiritual Weapon on commencement of combat.

[Malak'ai]

Halabur:

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You slip through the gap without making a sound. Beyond is a short hallway, approximately 20' long. There are three doors, one on either side and one right at the end.
If you test the doors on the side of the passage way, you'll find them locked, but the door at the end is open slightly.
You can't hear the clanging anymore, but you do see some script over the doors. You can read it (after brushing some dust away) and discover that it's in Gnomish, though a very ancient dialect, some of the words make no sense, but the meaning of them all together is pretty clear. The side doors are labeled as meeting/common areas. The door at the end seems to be some sort of dumbwaiter large enough for about 10 Gnomes to ride in at once.

[Arranis Thelmos]

The sound stopped. Halabur thinks to himself. Why would that be?

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Search (1d20+4)[7]
Listen (1d20+3)[7]

So this is an old Gnome habitation? ... Heheehe Old Gnome Home. Gnome Home. Funny. He grins ear to ear.

But... Why would it be abandoned? We've yet to come across signs of trouble? He turns towards the door, Or is it abandoned?... What's behind that door? He begins to creep towards the slightly open door, readying himself for trouble.

Spoiler

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Halabur moves by the entrance of the sleightly open door and listens to try and hear anything behind it. Ready action: cast invisibility if anything comes out.
Move Silently: (1d20+4)[9]
Listen: (1d20+3)[15]

[Machuchang]

Eleanora watched Halabur run off into the cavern, her jaw set tight. When he had at last disappeared into the darkness, she let out a small sigh.

"I pray that no ill will come of this."

[Malak'ai]

Halabur:

Spoiler

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As you try to move silently you discover, much to your annoyance, that your boots find every loose stone or other piece of debris on the ground, which leaves all your efforts redundant.
When you put your ear to the crack of the door, you can hear the sound of metal on metal again. It's quite a bit louder here than out in the passage way.

[Arranis Thelmos]

Halabur holds his breath, scared to move. He tries to determine if the sound is coming closer to him, going farther away, or staying in place. Maybe it's just a wind chime... he thinks to himself.

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Listen: (1d20+3)[21]
Still ready Invisibility is something comes out.

[Wordplay]

At Elenora's comment, Raif meets her eyes, and nods agreement.

[Malak'ai]

Halabur:

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You can now hear the sound clearly. It's echoing up the dumbwaiter shaft. While you listen, it stays the same, as if it's coming from the same place the whole time, not coming closer or moving farther away.

[Arranis Thelmos]

Halabur looks around, realizing that the sound is coming from the dumbwaiter shaft. He turns and peeks into the dumbwaiter.

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Search: (1d20+4)[8]
Spot: (1d20+1)[21]

If he sees nothing, then he'll go into the dumbwaiter.

[Malak'ai]

Halabur:

Spoiler

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As you look into the dumbwaiter you don't see much more than the pully and wire at the top and what looks like a break lever on the side of the basket.

[Arranis Thelmos]

Halabur toys with the idea of going on by himself up--or down-- the dumbwaiter, moves back to instead inform the group what he's seen.

Spoiler

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Move Silently: (1d20+4)[17]
Search: (1d20+4)[13]
Spot: (1d20+1)[14]
Listen: (1d20+3)[22]

[Malak'ai]

Halabur:

Spoiler

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You manage to make it back to the rest of the group without any trouble. The sound of the clanging still clearly audible.

[Wordplay]

Raif is relieved at Halabur's return.

It seems Halabur was right. The spell was not needed - I should not have worried.

'Good work Halabur. What is up ahead?'

[Arranis Thelmos]

"Not much actually, two locked doors and a dumbwaiter that could hold up to 10 gnomes. The room looks like it matches old Gnomish architecture, and the clanging sound appears to be coming from the dumbwaiter. Shall we investigate it?"

[Wordplay]

'Hmm...Gnomish you say?' Raif looks contemplative.

'Do you think the place is still occupied by Gnomish folk? If it is, do you think they're likely to be friendly?'

Raif thinks.

'Did anyone know of a Gnomish inhabitation in the region? This seems strange... this whole entrance feels like a back door, of an escape route for times of trouble'.

'If that's the case, then we're likely to cause alarm if we sneak in. The best thing would be to be upfront'.

Raif frowns.

'On the other hand there's something very strange about the whole thing...and this is on the front lines beween the Coalition and the Covenant'.

'Either way, I think we need to investigate this'.

[Arranis Thelmos]

"It certainly looks abandoned, Gnomes or no Gnomes. I should clarify, the doors are written in an ancient dialect of Gnomish. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's currently inhabited by Gnomes, only that they built it."

[Machuchang]

Eleanora stroked her chin as she assessed Raif's points.

"I agree that there is risk in disturbing whatever may lie in this cave. But if they would be enemies of the Covenant, perhaps we could convince them to join us as allies. If not, the best we could hope for would be to catch them off guard." The dame said pensively.

"That said, any attempts to find another entrance would waste valuable time. And I feel there is something to be said about the 'key' being left outside. I agree that we must investigate further, though I feel the potential good far outweighs the ill if we continue ahead."