Dwaer Depths [IC]

[King Tius]

Kiernan pipes up. "I saw some hefty magic coming off those knockers. Let's see if we can get a closer look at one." He turns and looks at the big gold door. "They built this place for a reason. Whatever is down here is probably important, why else would they go through all this trouble? I don't know about you, but I want to find out. Can we try and get our hands on one?"

[Calenestel]

When Toland suggest that they stop their investigation now and leave Susannah eyes him curiosly. Like anyone else she had grown up with stories of paladins and their stubborn refusal to abandon any quest until they'd seen it through and she was surprised that he would so go against what she expected. Then again, it was somewhat logical. They had, probably, solved the riddle and the paladin's suggestion seemed adequate. But she wasn't happy. At first she wasn't sure why, fearing it was simple curiosity.
But when Michiko admits to exactly that motive to wanting to continue the masked priestess realizes that that's not the case for herself. No, Toland is actually wrong. He's just too short sighted. Shaking her head she speaks up:
"With all due respect, ser Toland... But we must consider why this place was built in the first place. The stonework is old, I take it. And this must have been ridiculously expensive. What if it's guarding something? I think someone needs to find out so that it's not something that can have been woken up or disturbed like the skeletons and zombies here. If we're lucky it's just a well guarded crypt. If we're unlucky it's something that could escape more easily than mindless undead. If it hasn't already." If they were really lucky they'd find a huge treasure with no obvious owner, but that was too mercenary a thought to be voiced aloud. "I suggest that someone agile enough climb the fences and see if they can do anything to silence the bells and maybe we can continue on unhindered."
Blinking, Susannah stops to look to Kiernan, realizing that he had echoed her words (if not in as many words) almost exactly.

[Gorgon_Heap]

The elf casually listens to first Keirnan and then the strange priestess.

But we must consider why this place was built in the first place.

"Oh, must we? I think such anciant secrets rarely resolve themselves in such happy ways. What do you suppose we'll find at the end of this deadly road? A pot of enldess rainbows?

Let's be realistic. If this is a serious and direct threat to the people in town, we should end it. If it's only a danger if they unwittingly wander down here, we'll all be better served by removing the connection.

I say our forray here should definately be limited."

[Calenestel]

Turning towards the elf the priestess hesitates a bit but when she answers her voice is stern and unwavering: "Of course I don't expect to find a... "pot of endless rainbows". I am not a witless child."
Taking a deep breath she continues in a slightly softer tone. Slightly. "But the thing is that we do not know what's there. So someone needs to make sure that there are no immediate threats to the city above. And if not us, who?"

[RaggedAngel]

Demos snaps his fingers, the sound echoing loudly in the cavernous room. His eyes light up in the same moment, and he smiles, the most expression you've seen from him so far. "Of course. Of course. Gods I'm thick for not seeing it sooner. We've been suspecting people of foul play, and I've been driving myself crazy trying to spot the person that set these traps off in the first place, half suspecting them to be hiding in the shadows."

He points to the remains of the giant acid-spitting bugs, clearly relieved. "It was just those things. They dug into the cavern, fell onto the floor, and began walking around looking for an easy way our or food or something. They triggered a bunch of traps, and the undead began to flood out. The bugs, like any sensible creatures of instinct, fled from the undead; triggering more and more bells. The undead eventually caught up with them, killing the lot of them.

Then, as undead will do when unguided, they began to look for something to kill; and the only way out of here for them was that passageway. They got to the end, and the maid eventually went down into the cellar, making noise as she did. They heard her, realized that prey was above them, and dug up through the ground to get to her. They pop up in the house, and then we killed them. And that, friends, is what happened here."

[Gorgon_Heap]

"Hm." Jalaera looks around the room carefully. "I see that. Well done, Delos.

As I said; if we sever the connection between here and the town, all will be safe. We can get back to enjoying life rather than risking entombment in this foulness."

[Goldfly]

Michiko looks over at Demos, a hand rising to her chin in thought. "That would make sense. What I want to know, though, is what were the dwarves hiding? It must have been something fairly important to go to these lengths... It could be a tomb, or it could be something slightly more intriguing. "

[RaggedAngel]

Demos nods, clearly thoughtful about the situation. "My explanation certainly does not make any sense of this place, and it is certainly important; there is too much money and power in this single room for it to simply be the work of an individual, on a whim. This is a place of historical significance, though we do not know who's history, or how old it may be. Creations of magic have no expiration date, as far as I know."

[King Tius]

Kiernan stows his weapon and rolls up his sleeves. "Alright, enough talking, lets see if I can get in there." Moving past Toland and Sussanah, Kiernan takes a running jump and lands adjacent to the bars, triggering 1 click in the process. Though he has to squirm and curse, hes able to slip through the bars and enter the protective circle, triggering another click from the magic tiles within. Carefully, he ducks down and looks under the bell, studying with his magical sight.

"It's a powerful Necromantic aura, that's for sure. Here's hoping this doesn't kill me!" He grabs hold of the knockers and lifts it upwards, detaching it from the bell. "Well, look at that!" He holds the knocker aloft, turning it around for you all to see. The knocker looks to be a cylinder cut into quarters like a very, very tall birthday cake. It pulses with magical energy in Kiernan's hand. "What now?"

[Goldfly]

"Necromancy? Then... Is it possible that the bells were animating the dead now?" Michiko pauses, glancing around the room at the other bells. "I think we should disarm all of them, for safety's purpose. If Demos is right, then it should be safe down here once they're of no more use."

[Calenestel]

She holds her breath when Kiernan removes the knocker, which doesn't really show until the unharmed gnome waves the metal bar in the air triumphantly and she releases a loud sigh of relief. Apparently nothing horrible was waiting to happened when the bells were tampered with, when Kiernan had said that the aura was necromantic in origin, something she didn't see form her vantage point, she had feared that it'd be harmful to touch, by design or coincidence.
"Right," she says, relief also clear in her voice. "Let's disable the other bells and move on. As I said: I want to make sure no surprises are left before I leave."
And that was even if she had to scout the crypt out herself.

[mshady]

Toland

"Not for nicknames, ok" Toland says and chuckles to himself.

"So far, this has been interesting yes. My point is only that we came down to fix a problem, and if we can fix it by rolling a boulder and some dirt, isn't it fixed? Whatever is here hasn't bothered anyone for such a long time, no one from around here even knew it was here. If this is a dwarf place, these are likely just guardians, so why not respect their dead and leave it be? I don't want to have to explain to the local dwarf Thanes that we dismantled the protection for one of their ancient tombs, maybe a King's tomb, simply because it was there. Not that I am opposed to finding some unexpected windfall of gold, but... Unless we can get from here to that bell without a horde of undead guardians coming at us, what this place really is, is a moot point." Toland says and shrugs.

He listens to Demos' explanation and shrugs to himself.

"That could be an explanation too" he says and laughs, than looks around.

When Kiernan gets frustrated and takes a running leap at one of the sides and starts to protest his madness, but just prepares his sling instead.

"Now what, indeed? Who wants to steps on a tile now and see what we get?"

[RaggedAngel]

Demos looks to the other bells, thinking quickly about the clicks and chimes. "If we dismantle every bell we're going to trigger around a dozen more clicks, assuming that we move very carefully and touch as few tiles as possible. I don't know if the click to chime ratio is going to change as we dismantle bells, but we can only hope so.

And while this place may be a tomb, the defenses are turned on by the local fauna, and they can leave the area to attack innocent bystanders. We're going to turn off this thing if we can, because otherwise someone might get hurt. I just don't have any particular need to preserve the sanctity of a skeleton and zombie producing death trap."

[Gorgon_Heap]

"Oh, you really do worry too much. Though they obviously overmatch a paladin, once freed these creatures were unable to defeat two unarmed women and a dog.

Disable the bells and we'll destroy whatever comes along. And then off for a pitcher of mulled wine, ay?" She sniffs. "And a bath, I think."

[RaggedAngel]

Demos crosses his arms, a frown forming on his face. "I don't think such flippancy is warranted, especially considering the fact that one woman fled, and another simply bought herself more time by hiding behind a door that they were rapidly destroying. That said, I agree that disabling the bells is going to be our best bet."

[mshady]

Toland

"Oh, and how many did you kill up there Jalaera?" Toland snorts. Her remark annoyed him, but he realized everyone was tense too. Replying back to her was small, but how often a chance did he get to be outwardly snarky?

That he was put on the ground by such weak foes annoyed him far more than he had let on previously. It positively burned him up...

So Toland watches in silence as the gnome disables the bell and shrugs.

"Well, may as well try that" he says and chuckles. "It seems like there must be an easier way. Why build an entrance that is impassable from the entrance? Seems like there would be an easier way and we're missing something. Ah well, brute forcing it is more fun"

He turns and tips his head in Demos' direction and smiles.

"Nice shooting, by the way"

[Gorgon_Heap]

The elf stands at ease, watching the gnome go about his work. To Toland's strained remark, Jalaera merely turns her gaze his way. Her pale face is calm, passive, not unfriendly. She neither gave nor took any offense, and there are depths to what she doesn't say.

For the first time since this calamitous night began she is still and at peace, and the change is noticable to all present. It seems she could stand thus - impassive and ageless - for a year and hardly notice.

Those unfamiliar with elves see now the weight of many, many years in her blue eyes, and it stands in strange contrast to the excited and confrontational attitude she's exuded thus far.

You can all tell she's simply willing to wait quietly until needed, though why her demeanor has changed is a mystery.

[Goldfly]

Michiko looks from Toland to Jalaera, then shakes her head slightly.
"I'm going to go try my hand at disarming those bells."

[RaggedAngel]

Demos finishes reloading his pistol, swiveling on his current tiles to face as much of the room as possible. "Good luck. I'll cover you as best I can; I know we're running low on sling bullets. If another zombie appears I'm not going to be able to do much to it, however; that'll be up to you guys with slashing weapons."

[Calenestel]

"And I'm going to risk setting off a bell to keep close to you," Susannah adds with an almost apologetic tone to her voice, and a rather eloquent shrug. "I'll be right behind you, ready to help if we trigger more undead at a time than what's comfortable."
Glad that they had a working plan she loads another bullet in her sling and stands ready.

[Goldfly]

Michiko smiles widely as she looks back at Demos and Susannah, walking towards the bell on the opposite side of the room.
"Thanks! It's always great to have someone at your back!"

[King Tius]

Michiko and Susannah head towards the other nearside bell as Kiernan scampers across the way to get to the far side bell. With all of these movings two bells and three clicks are triggered but the skeletons are brought down before they can do any real damage. Kiernan is able to slither in between the bars and retrieve another knocker without much effort. Michiko's foxy heritage comes into play and she is able to squirm her way through the bars with a little help (in the form of pushing) from Susannah. With three knockers retrieved, Kiernan goes to grab the final one, triggering 4 clicks but no bells. As he juggles the three magical devices he places them in close proximity to one another. When two of them manage to line up correctly they clap together like magnets. Kiernan gives a whistle as the seam between the two dissolves and it becomes one piece of metal. He adds the third piece to the puzzle as he walks back to the group, triggering 1 more click.

"Now I'm no wizard, but I'm guessing I know what to do with these." He motions towards the large hole in the door. "Who wants to do the honors?"

[Calenestel]

Letting out a small whistle of her own as she studies the joined clappers in Kiernan's hands Susannah for a brief moment entertains the notion of being the one "doing the honours" as the gnome put it. Like the bard she had a pretty good idea about what this was, and what door it'd unlock and it had roused her curiosity. Still, in the end she shakes her head softly.
"Not me, friend. It'd be better if a warrior or someone with experience with traps went first. But I'll be right behind whoever volounteers, if there's more undead on the other side."

[King Tius]

Lyrie frowns and lets out an exacerbated sigh. "I guess I'm the trap girl. Give it here, then." She takes the remaining knocker piece and combines it with Kiernan's creating a solid cylinder. As she moves towards the large door she triggers another click (#20) which is once again accompanied by a large THUD from the opposite passageways as before. Again, a zombie appears! "UGH, not this again! At least we don't have to worry about the skeletons. Let's GET HIM!"

Michiko fires her Jolt, connecting squarely with the zombie. No longer fearing the skeletons, Jalaera springs into action and moves towards the zombie, slashing it across the face with her partisan. Demos and Lyrie swap weapons and move into position as Kiernan dashes forward, quickly slashing the zombie across the leg and bringing the moaning, ancient dwarf down without a fight.

Now without any interruptions, Lyrie moves towards the big door, triggering zero clicks. She pauses before inserting the newly-merged key, looking about curiously. She starts skipping around the room, looking down at the floor as she does so. "No clicks! They've stopped, too." Apparently satisfied that the room is now safe, she rams the knockers into the alcove of the door. A great churning of metal on metal comes rumbling out of the floor as if massive gears were turning out of sight. The door begins to spin, faster and faster, it's burnished surface causing brilliant patterns of light to dance about the room as it slowly lowers into the floor. What it reveals is a large stairway, ten feet wide, descending further into the depths of the earth. This stairway seems to be lined with everburning torches much like the room you are currently standing in.

Kiernan turns to look at the Paladin and shrugs. "After you?" Lyrie has already lost interest in the great door and is peaking into the dark passageways on the right side of the room.

Skeletons Killed: 10
Zombies Killed: 2
Clicks Heard: 20

XP: You gain 250 XP (each) from the monsters and 250 XP (each) for solving the puzzle!

Party Statistics

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{table=head] Character|HP|Bullets
Demos|8/11|3
Jalaera|11/11|0
Kiernan|11/11|0
Lyrie|6/11|4
Michicko|8/8|10
Toland|10/12|7
Susannah|8/8|7
[/table]

[RaggedAngel]

Demos watches the proceedings with no small amount of excitement, but as the door begins to lower he slowly grows pale, his hand gripping his gun firmly. "And they delved too deep," he murmurs to himself, as if quoting something. "And they awoke a creature of shadow, and of fire."

He watches the entrance to the deeps with haunted eyes, his mood rapidly growing grim. "I wanted to know what was behind that door as much as the rest of you, but now I fear that we have done a horrible thing. This may not have been a tomb, or a vault.

It might have been a prison. And anything that would need a prison like this should not be allowed to walk free. And I don't see a way to close the door."

[Gorgon_Heap]

Jalaera remains silent, but allows the possibility of the truth of Demos' words to reflect on what she said earlier.

She looks ... resigned.

[Goldfly]

Michiko purses her lips at Demos' comment. "I seriously hope you're incorrect. I don't think we could fight something like that, and it would be our responsibility to defeat it."

[RaggedAngel]

Demos nods, not moving his eyes from the doorway. "I pray to all the uncaring gods that I'm wrong about this. But this doorway scares the unholy hell out of me. My father used to tell me something about fear. He said that three things frighten a wise man; the sea in storm, a moonless night, and the anger of a gentle man."

Demos turns, looking Toland dead in the eye. "This is worse than any of those things, and I've had to fight through each of them. This is a gate to horrors unknown, opened willingly and through no small measure of effort. We need rest, we need preparation, and we need better resources before we go down there.

But I have to go down there. We have to. For honor, for the people that live above, and for my own thrice-damned curiosity."

[mshady]

Demos watches the proceedings with no small amount of excitement, but as the door begins to lower he slowly grows pale, his hand gripping his gun firmly. "And they delved too deep," he murmurs to himself, as if quoting something. "And they awoke a creature of shadow, and of fire."

He watches the entrance to the deeps with haunted eyes, his mood rapidly growing grim. "I wanted to know what was behind that door as much as the rest of you, but now I fear that we have done a horrible thing. This may not have been a tomb, or a vault.

It might have been a prison. And anything that would need a prison like this should not be allowed to walk free. And I don't see a way to close the door."

Toland:

"So yeah, I think burying this is no longer an option huh?" the Paladin says dryly.

So is this a sword kind of place or a morningstar kind of place?

He walks over to where Demos stands and looks into the dark old vault and frowns. It was big, and there was no convenient ambient light either. This was all a very impressive piece of engineering, to be sure.

Still though, Toland was not as thunderstruck by it as Demos.

"Demos I know this is impressive, but when we opened a dwarven vault door deep underground, this should be what to expect. I don't think we have unleashed any unholy terror here though, if for no other reason than this was a poorly defended entrance. A clever trap, but the fact that a handful of people answering an alarm could breach the defense..." his voice trails off and shrugs.

"They're dwarfs. If they could build all this, they could have built much more lethal traps. Something to look forward to, eh?" the paladin smiles.

While he was not afraid they freed something terrible, the thought of the battery of traps left here... THAT scared the hell out of him.

"Before we go in there, lets grab some of those magic torches. We're going to need them. I'd like to look at the side passages here too, see what is in there. We should find a way to block that vault door from closing behind us too. It would fit with a dwarf sense of humor, don't you think?"

[King Tius]

Kiernan steps up to the door and peers down the illuminated stairs. "Yeah, I'm going to have to go with Demos on this one. I just don't feel like going down there without my spells. Granted, we gnomes are an underground bunch, but even this place is giving me the willies. I like badger holes, you know? They're warm and homey, like you belong there." He lets out a wistful sigh and not for the first time you all realize just how marvelous and bizarre gnomes really are.

Jalaera Only

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Your keen Elven ears pick up a very distinct *click* latching sound coming from the passageways that Lyrie disappeared into.

The young fox lady reappears from the side passageway and skips back to the group. "Nothing interesting in there, just a room full of skeletons on shelves. So you want to rest up for the night? Fine by me."
Just to be sure, you wait in the room for nearly half an hour to be sure that nothing sinister comes crawling up the fancy staircase leading further into the earth. Retracing your steps back towards the surface, you come up into the basement of the Stormscale residence and scare the living hell out of the guards standing in the room. They have set up some makeshift chairs out of boxes to sit and watch the basement hole but apparently fell asleep at their post. When you appear they jump to their feet and reach for their weapons, only to relax once they realize it is you. The lead guard seems quite embarrassed at being caught with his pants down, so to speak, and implores you to "not tell the Captain about this."

Before parting ways for the night Susannah blasts the group with her healing auras, restoring everyone to full health. Kiernan gives everyone a tired wave as he makes his way towards his semi-permanent home at the inn. Lyrie turns to the group at the top of the stairs and puts her hands on her hips.

"You know, this was great and all, but I don't think I'm cut out for this. Skeletons are creepy and I hate it down there. Don't worry, though, I know a ....um....man....who I think can help you out. I'll see if I can find him and have him meet you here." She pauses and thinks for a second. "Don't be too quick to judge him, you never know what people are hiding." As she says this she turns into her true (Kitsune) form for the first time, growing ears and a tail as she struts up the stairs and out of sight.

OOC: Feel free to spend the rest of the evening as you like. Dungeon Delving will resume at noon (as suggested by Kiernan). If all you want to do is sleep and come back to the basement, just say so. Now is a great chance to resupply. Please mention any purchases you make and end with your character showing back up in the basement so you can meet your new teammate!