[IC] Erospu Ruins I: Legion (Closed)

[blazinghand]

Update 9/21/2014
For reasons to due with low activity / interest, I'm going to be closing this game. Thanks for your time and effort, those of you who participated!

Thanks to Nixed and Zrak for sticking with this so long; I'm going to call it a wash and open up an entirely new game for signups. You (and your characters, should you choose to bring them) are welcome in the new game I open. Ellowyrn, I know you didn't really get a chance to get started in this game, but you are welcome to sign up in my new game as well. I will PM you when the signup thread opens.

Erospu Ruins IC thread

Chapter One: Legion

OOC Thread
Original Recruitment Thread
Imperial World Wiki

[blazinghand]

It's a beautiful late morning outside the city of Erospu. Located west and inland, Erospu's location north of the higher reaches of the Uide River have kept it safe and well-fed since the days of the archmages. The warm summer air flows around you, and even now you can feel the hope of the Erospu Sinkhole suffuse you. Treasures beyond your wildest imagination, holy relics, endless glory and ancient knowledge can all be yours. Your dreams can come true, if only have you have the will to grasp it.

You're still well away from the sinkhole as you admire its depth and its width. The stories never seem to live up to the gradure of the ruins outside Erospu. Seeing the real deal in person, even at this distance, is impressive. The five of you share a glance as you get closer to the edge. The two exotic travellers from the North, Drurn and Tevlon, as well as the two holy warriors and the wizard, strike formidable silhouettes in the late morning air of the Holetown. All about you is the squalor and majesty of a boom town driven by the exvacations that have begun.

Even now, few besides armed adventurers have the courage or the ability to venture down. There are a couple known ways down to the bottom-- a reinforced trail or two, and at least one cranked elevator. You can make your own way down as well, too. Most groups spend about several days in the ruins before coming back up, but some trips are shorter or longer depending on how things go.

Holetown has pretty much anything you'd need to buy, for a price-- but you're not here for Holetown, you're here for the Erospu Sinkhole.

Ways down into the sinkhole

Spoiler: Gather Information DC 12 or Knowledge (Local) DC 10

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There is one Gnome-operatedelevator in operation that can handle a big group, but it costs 1 gp to go down.

There are a couple of big, safe routes down that usually charge 1 sp for use. You can make your own way down if you're willing to brave the dangerous walls of the sinkhole, but few take this route.

[Ajacks]

Waking from an uneasy sleep, Akara sits up and brushes her unkempt hair away from her face and sighs. It has been a generally restless night with much tossing and turning as she gave thought to what dangers might lie in wait in the earth below. She gives a passing thought to the dreams she had the night before, but is unable to remember them clearly.

After using the bathhouse at the inn and having a light breakfast, Akara dons her armor, slings her greatsword around her back and sets out to meet up with her newly found companions. Not having much to say as she mentally prepares herself, she approaches the sinkhole with the rest of the group. Solinus, grant us strength...

Arriving at the sinkhole, Akara is taken aback by the sheer size of it. She strains her eyes to see the far side of the gaping hole in the earth, then scans the entire perimeter for a way to get down. "Any ideas on how we should go about getting down?" she asks turning to her companions.

[Nixed]

Kael

Kael awakes early. Partially out of habit and partially due to excitement. The paladin eats well before equipping himself and heading out to meet his newly formed party. Greeting the others with the smile on his face as they all arrive, anxious to begin the new adventure.

Turns as Akara asks about accessing the pit, glancing at her briefly before quickly turning back to look at the opening once again. Having been there for several days already helping people recover from the earthquake he offers what information he has. "People have been in and out since it opened. It is my understanding there are several established paths down; it should be but a small task to find someone to tell us which one we should use." He tenses a moment as if to strike out immediately to do so before remembering there are others in the group who might already know, or at least might want to weigh in.

[Amaril]

Jared is awoken in the early hours by a sharp, jabbing pain in his left hand. Eyes flying open, he sits up in bed and reaches for his knife, but the attacker is just Rohan, pecking at his wrist. With an exasperated groan, he slumps back onto the pillow. "I don't think I asked for a wake-up call, featherbrains."
"Caw, come on boss, don't be like that!" his familiar chides in his croaking voice. Hopping up onto Jared's chest, he digs in his talons and gives another sharp jab with his beak. "Come on, up and at 'em, lazybones! We've got a big day ahead of us!"
Jared's eyes snap open again as he remembers. "Oh, yeah, that's right! Gods, I'd almost forgotten..." He hastily rolls out of bed and throws on his travel-stained clothes, his raven giving an irritable caw at being displaced and flapping over to alight on the arm of the room's solitary chair.
After his customary hour's meditation to gather his energy, and breaking his fast down in the inn's common room, Jared arrives at the edge of the sinkhole and joins his new cohorts. He fervently hopes they won't mind his somewhat shabby state of dress (new item for shopping list: nicer clothes), and tries to look confident and prepared as greetings and wishes of good morning are exchanged. Looking out over the abyss, he is once more awed by the size of the site. Hard to imagine people already building things so huge back then... He finds himself salivating slightly at the thought of what might be down there, though he feels his mouth should be bone-dry from fear. Circling in the sky overhead, Rohan seems far less impressed.
As discussion turns to how to enter the ruins, he frowns in thought while listening to Sir Kael's suggestion. "I think I head some people were going up and down with hanging baskets, if we wanted to try that...but I think I'd much prefer a normal trail." He isn't normally afraid of heights, but the thought of being suspended in a tiny cage by nothing more than a strong rope or chain does give him pause--such a contraption seems dangerously unreliable.

Spoiler: OOC

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Prepared spells have been marked on Jared's Mythweavers character sheet.

[Null]

Tevlon awakes early to the gentle nudges of his dog, Meer, and leans up from the rock he had been sleeping on. His bones crack as he stretches and yawns, and he places a palm on the side of Meer's coat and pats, "Mornin" pup."

As he stands, he looks around the woods that he made his resting place for the night. A cool, smooth moss covered large rock, with trees in every direction. lThe light had just begun to meet the sky, with the sun not even in full view yet.This is too much green. I miss my land.

Tevlon prays to the forest, gathering his strength for the day, and then he and Meer make their way to the sinkhole to meet up with the rest of the party, foraging as they travel. When they arrive, the sun now up, he exchanges good mornings with the group and waits as they decide how to descend. He chuckles, "I do keep rope with me.

[Zrak]

Drurn awoke, as always, with the sun; born of caves and cloudy peaks, the unfiltered light of bright days stung him like a slap and even though the closed lenses of his eyes, the first cresting of that distant star over the horizon proved sufficient to rouse him even from the soundest sleep. Groaning, now, as he wonders once again what brought him to these lands, his hand feels around in pack beside him, blindly; it closes now on a handful of shells, has crushed the shells to shards before it opens again, still blindly, at his mouth. The uneven teeth that named him in youth tear apart the almonds and pecans, he spits splinters of shell onto the ground and, at last, opens his eyes to those stabs of stunning, stinging sunlight. He tosses another nut, still shelled, in the air, until his eyes are acclimated enough that his right hand can catch it from his left; he squeezes the shell until it splits and tosses the meat inside into his mouth. Rising, he slings his pack over one shoulder, buckles his breastplate around the other, then switches sides, finishing by bringing the backpack over both shoulders and crossing his axe and flail behind it so they'll not tangle in the straps when he draws them. The feeling of both on his back is unwelcome, soft and defenseless, but a drawn blade is a sign of intent, here, and he is in their lands.

He is the last to come to the mouth of the sinkhole, still idly tossing nuts from one hand to the next, shattering shells, and tossing them to his tatterdemalion, twisted teeth. "I would save our rope for when paths do not present themselves. The river reaches the ocean faster remaining in its banks, I see no reason to take path of more resistance now, before beginning, if other options present themselves." He does not announce himself, provides no greeting besides his presence, yet something in his bearing suggests this is not a slight or an intentional rudeness; you know he is here and he knows you are here, what more must be said about it? Pausing, he thinks to rumors and remarks heard in passing, isolating in his memory the words he wants from the din around them, but he finds only fanciful foolishness, the tavern tales of men he knew would never dare descend into the ruins. "I can ask, but perhaps our pure paladin and pious priestess would be better received. I've heard virtue is its own reward, but I've always found the goodwill it brings more valuable," his grin, though grotesque, is good-natured, and he clearly intends no offense in the remark.

Spoiler: Knowledge: Local

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(1d20+1)[8]

[Amaril]

Leaning out over the edge, Jared looks uncertainly at the distance down the cliff face, careful to keep his balance. "Yeah, Drurn's definitely right about the rope...and besides, I doubt any of us can carry enough to climb all the way down there." He furrows his brow in thought, trying to remember whether he's heard anything about the location of a trail. Someone must have been talking about it--that's what this whole crowd is here for, after all...

Spoiler: OOC

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Knowledge (local): (1d20+3)[4]

[Ajacks]

Akara's brow furrows as she gives the matter some thought.

Spoiler

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Knowledge (Local) check:
(1d20-1)[15]

"I seem to recall someone at the inn saying there was a trail down into the sinkhole this way," says says addressing the party. "It is a one silver coin fee to use it, perhaps we should investigate."

With that, she sets off around the perimeter of the massive sinkhole to locate the path she has heard of.

[blazinghand]

The sinkhole itself is almost a quarter mile across at the widest, and it's not known how large the ruins themselves are. Still, as you walk clockwise from Holetown, you get an idea of the size of the ruins, and realize how truly vast it is. It seems like it could run on forever in any direction, and you could get lost there and never see anyone ever again. There are dozens of people in the ruins at any time, and it's not unheard-of to run into other explorers. It's rare to meet others though except near the top as you enter or exit, and as you walk, you see a few people standing around a wooden structure at the cliff edge. When you look over the edge, you understand.

In the sinkhole, it's not clear where the "floor" of the ruins is, as the buildings all seem to start and end at different heights, and the roads and tunnels between them happen sometimes at the base of one building, sometimes at the top of another. Some delvers have said that you can walk for hours in a direction and not reach the end. Some say that the ruins go down forever. It's generally known that there are monsters and wild animals in the ruins, but most of them stay away from the part where sunlight can reach.

The base of the looks like an overgrown uncut gem or shale formation, with squares of various heights extending up and down and sideways. Squares (you suppose these massive squares may have been structures or apartments at some point, though something so massive seems impossible to build) are always aligned north-south and east-west, and are connected by occasional crumbling bridges through the air. At most places the floor of the sinkhole / the roof of the buildings is at least 1000 feet down, a dizzying height.

Just below the shack, there is an unusually tall and sturdy rectangular building climbing up from the ancient city. The descent to the building (and, hopefully, a reliable set of stairs) is only 600 feet here. You see ropes and chains nailed into the wall of the sinkhole, and you think you can make out a carved staircase switching back and forth down the steep face. As you approach the shack itself, your view gets worse.

The shack is occupied by two men, shading themselves from the sun and playing a game of cards. They look up as you approach. One of them is wearing loose robes, an older man with white hair and hard, dark eyes. From his round, heavy face, you can tell he eats well. The other is younger, and dressed for battle. He's wearing leather armor with metal bands and plates strapped on, and you see a sword leaning against the wall next to him. As you approach, he stands, picks up his sword and buckles it to his belt. The older man jumps to his feet, his cheeks jiggling as he nods repeatedly and greets you.

"Welcome, travellers! My name is Ream and this is the entrance to my stair. If you are looking for a way to get down into the sinkhole safely and cheaply, you won't do better than me! The stair is carved into the wall of the sinkhole itself, and there's a rope to prevent falls and make your climb easier. It costs but one silver coin for each person to descend, and you can come back up for free."

Spoiler: Telvon

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Something seems just a bit off about this Ream. His beedy eyes are hiding something, but you can't tell what. He looks nervous.

[Ajacks]

Akara almost regards the man addressing the party as a common thief or crook, but restrains herself. "I hope this this will suffice?" she asks rheutorically as she presses a gold coin into the man's palm with a mock smile.

How many people does he accept coin from that never return? she contemplates silently to herself. No matter. Upon further examination of her companions, she feels quite competent to take on the ruins. Waiting for the powerfully built orc to take the lead, she follows closely behind and draws her greatsword. Who knows what dangers lie in wait in the Erospu Ruins...

OOC

Spoiler

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Not trying to throw you under the bus Zrak, just figured you'd prefer being on the front line.

Adjusting wealth to reflect payment.

[blazinghand]

Ream looks down at the heavy golden coin in his palm in surprise, his eyebrows rising. Then, he looks back up and beams a big smile at you. The hand with the coin disappears into his robe, depositing the money. As he speaks, the armored man sits down at the table. Ream sits back down as well. "The stair down is just through the back, here. The easiest time to go is in the afternoon, but if you don't mind a bit of sun on you you can leave now if you'd like. Once you're on the roof of the structure below, there is a staircase inside that descends deeper. Be safe."

The armored man grunts.

[Nixed]

Kael

A smile and nod to the gentleman and his companion once the transaction has been completed. "First step completed. Well done." Boyish grin for Akara and then back to the others. "Shall we?" and without waiting for a response he starts down.

[Amaril]

Seeing the flash of gold pass between Akara's hand and Ream's, Jared's eyes widen in surprise. Back home, he'd hardly ever even seen gold--once or twice a rich merchant would pass through the inn and spend some, but such rare days were cause for celebration at the patron's generosity. Twice what he was asking for all of us, and they throw the stuff around like it's hardly worth anything... His excitement gains new ground in its battle against his nerves, imagining how rich people must get doing this sort of work.
Sir Kael's departure brings him back to earth, and he sets his shoulders in determination as he follows the knight. Focus, Jared. You can think about money once you're safe back in Erospu and waiting to spend it. Through their empathic link, Rohan sends something that he's reasonably sure is a chuckle. He nods politely to Ream as he passes and mutters a word of thanks before starting along the trail.

[Zrak]

Drurn seems about to make remark, condescension creasing the corners of his smile, but before he has time, the priestess has paid and the paladin started down the stairs. Moving into place behind Kael, but not yet beginning his descent, his unease is probably palpable; he grew up in a land without currency and even his time as a mercenary has done little to diminish his instinctual distrust of commerce and merchants. These, more than most, seem suspicious; a sellsword who finds his blade too uncomfortable to buckle to his belt while he sits, stairs that require rope to be passable. Still, his passage has been paid and it isn't his place to speak against it, so he takes his position, puts a hand to the haft of his axe, and looks back over those who have yet to descend. "Are we all in agreement?" he asks, flatly, his tone tenaciously refusing to take a side.

[Nixed]

Kael

Gets a step or two down the stairs before he realizes that maybe not everyone was sold on the idea. Pauses and turns back to see what the others decide, idly holding the rope with his off hand.

[Null]

Tevlon notices the look of avarice upon Ream's face and snorts a little. This world and its coins... He looks around to the rest of his group, then lowers his gaze to himself, ... sad that it drives each one of us. Still, his eyes fall back on the two men, These two aren't what the seem, and they don't seem to be much.

He continues on with the rest of the group, and Meer, sensing the distrust of his master, keeps his head low as they pass the shack, fur standing on ends. He waits until out of earshot of the shack and speaks. "Did any of you feel anything uneasy about those two men? I think there may be more going on then just highway robbery."

[Amaril]

Jared frowns in puzzlement at Tevlon's question. "Well, yeah, they did seem a little eager, but they're salesmen--well, of a sort, I suppose. Nothing unusual about wanting to make some coin off a situation like this, well, without risking your neck like we are, that is." He turns around to look further down the trail, slightly dizzy as he realizes just how far down they have to go. "Anyway, we've already paid, so might as well get a move on, right?"

[blazinghand]

As it was advertised, the path is smooth and free of treachery. Although sometimes the chain is rope instead, it feels sturdy the whole way down, and you make it to the roof of the tall structure without any difficulty. On the roof of the structure, you see a wooden signpost with a large plank of wood nailed to it. On it is drawn an arrow pointing towards the stairwell and there are the words, "Stairwell to the rim" written below.

The roof itself is pretty large, measuring about 50 feet by 50 feet. It seems to be made out of the same dusty stone that the walls of the sinkhole are, and on further examination it appears that the entire roof was carved out of a single, massive slab of stone. How an ancient civilization ever got so large a stone to the roof of the building is beyond your comprehension. Something like this would be a considered something of a wonder if it were possible to move it up and out of the hole. The roof is trimmed with a short, regular wall, like battlements without the notches for archers to shoot out from.

Looking over the side, you see that to the east, there is a dizzying drop to the street, but the neighboring roof is only about 40 feet down and 10 feet away. To the north, the neighboring roof is much lower-- about 100 feet down. To the south, the neighboring roof is also about 40 feet down. These two roofs are about 40 feet away from your building. With the right equipment, it might be possible to descend down the side of the building and somehow cross the gap to another, though you're not sure exactly how that would be done-- you'd have to think about it more.

The walls of all the buildings you can see (and your own, from what you can tell at this angle) are semi-regularly studded with windows. Down below, you can see staircases circling around the outside of some of the buildings, but the one you are standing on lacks any sort of external staircase. Instead, in the northeast corner of this building, there is a small staircase leading down from the roof into the room below. Looks like internal staircases for this building, then.

You're not alone on the roof. There's a mule tied up in the shade of a large wall-less tent. In front of it is a large bowl of water, and hanging on the tent is a sack of oats. The mule is placidly chewing on some oats and relaxing in the cool shade. It eyes you unconcernedly. Also in the shade of the tent you see a few bags, a bedroll, and a small table. You don't see whose tent this is, though-- the roof looks deserted.

The dusty wind of the sinkhole swirls around you briefly, and you realize you're finally in the Erospu ruins, where fame, glory, ancient knowledge and endless wealth are available for all those who would grasp it.

[Null]

If my companions aren't concerned, I won't burden them with my worries, He casts his look back again, but i will not be foolish, my instincts have gotten me far in life. He takes note to keep one eye at the group's back.

As they descended the stairs, Tev held his quarterstaff in hand, using it to help guide his steps. When they neared the roof and the mule became visible, two sharp barks escaped Meer, followed by a quick snap of Tev's fingers, hushing the dog, and sending an echo bouncing off the walls to the bottom. He looks around the roof, spying to see if they have anymore company, and then cautiously approaches the mule, putting a hand near its mouth, patting. He then walks to the edge and peers over, drawing his bow and slinging away the staff.

"Whatever route we take, Meer and I will take up the rear." He knows they're not the sturdiest in the group, but should a threat appear from behind, he believes the two of them could hold it off.

[Ajacks]

Reaching the bottom of the long path down, Akara is filled with wonder as she takes in her surroundings. There is something ancient and primal about these ruins, even the scent in the air. Sensing no immediate danger, she sheathes her greatsword and begins to evaluate. Checking for any ropes that might be tied off nearby, she weighs in on the situation.

"It appears these ruins are fairly well explored already. If I had to guess, I would say our friends with the mule took the easy way into the ruins through that staircase," she says pointing to the northeast corner. "If we want to get somewhere less traveled quickly, I think we should try to get down onto the roof either to the east, north, or south. How much rope do we have?" she asks turning to the party and looking over to the east.

"This way would be the easiest and probably only require one rope. We could rappel down and try to kick off the wall to get to the roof being only 10 feet away. We could even take our armor off to avoid added risk of falling, have someone get down there with a spare rope and grappling hook, lower our gear down to them for them to hook and pull over to the roof. But it could be dangerous for the first person to go down... Or we could simply take the staircase. I'm not sure how we could get to the north or south roof," Akara says with a shrug. She waits for the rest of the group to express their opinion, open to any more suggestions.

[Zrak]

Striding as though the staircase is nothing more than treacherous footholds in the side of a windy mountain and each step might be his last, Drurn follows Kael down the path with one hand on the rope or chain and the other still affixed to his axe. His trepidations seem to melt as his eyes adjust to the light enough to take in the grandeur around him; standing structures still fill him with a little awe when he is caught off guard, and the paltry castles he's seen cannot be compared to the gigantic stone structures he sees before him, with single slabs of stone the size of walls. "I distrusted them, but I would distrust any man who asked me to pay him so that I might walk down a staircase." Any trepidation he had is hidden in his tone, and he gives no sign of serious worry. "I imagine they have no real right to the stairs, no valid claim; they merely sit atop them and assume we're less willing to fight for passage than pay the pittance they ask. I suppose," he brightens, "there is even a certain boldness to it."

Finally standing on the single, solid slab of the roof, Drurn's pragmatism finally seems to win his mind back from wonder, and his gembright eyes sweep his surroundings in a careful appraisal. "I have little love for the idea of descending into the building, basically blind, down those stairs," he says with a gesture towards the internal staircase, "Were I a goblin hungry for human flesh or a brigand looking for careless travelers, I know where I would cower in wait." He pauses, looking again to the adjacent rooftops. "We could affix a rope to the wall around this roof then tie something heavy to the other end, as an anchor to the next roof, and throw it down. I carry fifty feet, myself, and a hook to hold it." it's simple siegecraft on paper, but in his head he pictures the plethora of ways it could go awfully awry, adding "Lightest first, to help brace the anchor on the other end as the others come across." Terrible teeth gnawing at a greenish lip, he admits, "Though that seems hardly safer. I'd as soon take my chance against blades in the dark." Almost as an afterthought, he adds, "Perhaps we should examine the tent, see if it seems to belong to friend or foe. At best, we may find guidance. At worst we will have his kin to notify on our return."

[Amaril]

Stepping down onto the building's roof, Jared's eyes grow slowly wider as they travel farther along it without seeing a divide in the stone. Gods, it's massive...how'd they ever get it in place? Magic? It must have been, there's no way they could have done this with mundane technology... He marvels at the kind of power it must have taken to sculpt a structure like this, or to move the gigantic stones necessary to build it.
Noticing that the others are already at work thinking of ways to proceed, he shakes himself out of his daydreams once more. Reaching out to Rohan through their bond, he signals his familiar to rejoin him before heading over to the side of the building next to Akara. Leaning out over the edge, he estimates the distance and ponders for a moment. "If we're going this way, I could get over to that other roof easily with magic. And I'm probably the lightest of us, so I should go first anyway if we follow Drurn's judgement. I'd need to borrow someone else's rope, though," he admits sheepishly, "I didn't really bring any myself."

[Nixed]

Kael

Kael stops after clearing the stairs and looks out over the ruins a few moments. Whether he is listening to everyones input, or just caught up in the moment is unclear; either way he's stayed quiet as he looks over their situation this time. "I brought some rope. I don't suppose getting DOWN is the hard part though. Whatever we do though, we'll either have to be able to reverse it, or find another way out eventually." Pulling off his pack and digging out the rope.

[Ajacks]

"I think we should leave the mule and tent alone," Akara says without a shred of uncertainty. "We would ask the same of any passing travelers should we be in the same position as them. If you wish to rummage through their belongings, so be it. But I will take no part in it." She folds her arms crossly, her locks of red hair covering one eye and accentuating her displeasure as she begins to address the more important matter at hand.

"Are we all in agreement to go east?"

[Nixed]

Shrugs at Akara's question. "I'm not sold on it being safer than the stairs. I find it unlikely that goblins or brigands would have left the donkey and tent unmolested, but if everyone else's judgement is that this is the better way that's fine." The part where he'd prefer a fight to a fall as well left unsaid.

[Amaril]

"Yeah, I agree with Akara," Jared nodded emphatically, "it's not our stuff to mess with. Let's leave it alone." He turned back towards the edge, looking out over the other rooftop. "I'm not convinced it's safer this way, but it does seem we're more likely to find something worthwhile." He held out his wrist as he spoke, and Rohan descended to land on it, digging his sharp talons into Jared's glove. "Plenty of others must have gone down the stairs before, but I'll wager far fewer have gone across to the other roof. Anyway, like I said, if someone wants to hand me a rope, I can make that jump safely, no trouble."

[Nixed]

Kael

The path less traveled excuse sits better with the Paladin than avoiding a fight, and he hands Jared his coil of silk rope without further discussion.

[Amaril]

Accepting one end of Sir Kael's rope, Jared suddenly does a double-take at what he's holding. Silk rope! Ye Gods, do these people bathe in milk as well?
He almost points out to the knight that such a flimsy strand of silk will certainly snap under the weight of any one of them, before remembers what his mother told him once about silk being incredibly strong for its weight. Stepping back from the edge of the building, he swallows his fear and takes three deep breaths. Alright...here goes nothing. Rohan takes off from his shoulder once again and simply flies down to the next rooftop, perching on the encircling wall and waiting expectantly to be followed.
With one final deep breath, Jared sprints towards the edge and leaps as far as he can out over the gap. Struggling to judge his distance and height as he flies through the empty air, he waits to reach the approximate apex of his arc before quickly calling up his power and uttering his incantation, "Baven, paǵaat!" As he begins to fall, his descent abruptly slows, and he drifts gently down towards the next rooftop.
With profound relief, his feet hit solid ground on the other side. "Caw, you could almost be a bird yourself, boss!" Rohan applauds with a croaking chuckle. Stumbling a little, he turns around and looks back up along the rope to where Sir Kael and the others still stand above. "Alright, go ahead and use the grappling hook!" he calls back, wrapping his end around his hands to get a better grip. "Tevlon, you should probably do this first, I'm pretty sure you're the only one whose weight I can support by myself!"

[Zrak]

"I thought it a sensible precaution, but if the idea offends you, let us speak of it no further," Drurn replies, "I would ask the same where my own honor was concerned." He nods to both Akara and Jared, almost smiles and thinks better of it; his face does not lend itself to friendly gestures with even the best of intentions. "If they wanted to avoid suspicion, that is exactly what they would do; when my company ran night raids against the opposing force, we would leave tents untouched and plates by the still-burning fires, that our foes wouldn't know their number thinned until the forces assembled for battle. Still, I'd trust my blade above a rope, were safety our sole concern. As the young wizard says, perhaps we will find a less trodden path down the other tower." The matter seemingly decided, he takes out the grappling hook and waits for Jared's jump.

"If we have enough rope, it might be best to tie a safety line around the first to climb the rope, should the path prove flimsier than we thought. If the hook loses purchase or the aged wall gives way, we can catch you and pull you up." Drurn unshoulders his pack, rummaging for his rope and grappling hook with one hand while the other, as it has since the first step of the stairs, stays on his axe. "If you think you'll have trouble supporting the weight, we can collect some heavier possessions in a pack and toss it over as an anchor," Drurn adds. Used to his advice being ignored by stubborn mercenary captains and foolish local lords, he hadn't expected his plan to be accepted, and a sudden sense of responsibility now hangs over him, a need to think of everything.