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"Hmm? Yes, I need to make a sketch for the record. My field artist was killed in the first assault, you see."
Spoiler
The Thyatian scholar will continue sketching and taking notes abstractedly until the party moves on, brushing aside comments with a "tut" and a dismissive wave of the hand.
(I'm away from home for a couple of days, see, and this at least keeps him in character.)
Confident that he has his bearings straight despite being down in the basement of the keep, Mycah turns his attention to the rest of the room as Nathros checks the tunnel mouth.
He walks to the left corner near the goblins and then makes a careful circuit of the basement, checking the walls and floor, tapping with his staff to check for hollow spots or hidden doors.
"This seems to be all that's here, but we should probably take a little time to be sure before we all head down that tunnel, don't you think? I'd rather not leave any surprises behind us."
Spoiler
How high is the ceiling down here? Can Mycah reach it with his staff and check that as he makes his rounds of the room? He'll be checking it visually either way to be sure nothing drops down out of the darkness onto his head.
"Might be worth confirming where this tunnel goes..." Nathros will try and proceed a short way into the tunnel to see how easily he might traverse it and how far it extends, short sword in hand.
__________________ It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.
– Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
Mycah inspects the wall and ceiling for weaknesses, voids, or traps and finds none. The structure seems solid and both the stone pillars and walls seem unremarkable. Bits of wood cling to the wall in places, evidence that interior walls once divided up this big area, but their demolition seems not to have effected the stone structure at all.
---
With effort, Nathros descends the obviously human-sized and spaced handholds into the tunnel and his infravision takes over as he reaches the dark floor twenty feet below. The room itself is large, maybe forty feet square, with two rows of stone sarcophagi, four on each side of a wide path down the middle of the room.
A mess of residual warmth can be spotted straight ahead at the far end of the room where multiple beings likely stood, sat, or slept very recently. A raised platform and stone throne, like the sarcophagi seem carved out of the rock here. Footprints, also glowing slightly with heat, make their way across the room right toward Nathros' position at the bottom of the tunnel and through another hole in the wall just to his left.
Overall, the room was cool, very dark, and devoid of any present occupants that Nathros' special sight could detect.
Spoiler
Sorry that this place is boring. I'm trying to move things ahead a bit to the conclusion of this adventure so that I can dole out XP and get you on to some mutually undertaken mission.
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Fedoruman Roland Avatar by Chris the Pontifex
Band of local heroes seeks Magic User. Join our long-running Rules Cyclopedia/BECMI game Old Ways.
Brandon cautiously follows after Nathros with a burning torch. His other hand is free so he might safely negotiate the tunnel.
"They really did skedaddle off, didn't they?"
Brandon goes to inspect the sarcophagi and see if the dead have been disturbed.
Spoiler
If it is not too much trouble, Roland, may I ask if the sarcophagi are human-sized or goblin-sized?
Also, Brandon is curious about the stone coffins. He won't look inside if the sarcophagi appear to be intact, the dead undisturbed, but if they do look disturbed, he will at least look inside.
Last edited by Frivolous : 12-05-2011 at 11:09 PM.
"Not too surprising, goblins are all cowards at heart." Nathros inspects the hole in the wall.
__________________ It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.
– Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
"Not much left here, is there? It seems as though this keep has sat unoccupied, but for the vermin, for quite a while. I'm not finding anything here, so we'd best go check on Nathros and Brandon and see what they've discovered down there."
Mycah waits to see who's following, then clambers down into the mausoleum.
Ash will move to stand above the hole. She'll peer down after the rest of them go down, but she'll stay up top. She's a little unsure what to do. She waits as back up in case something unexpected occurs. She double checks where her rope is.
The sarcophagi are clearly human-sized, and Brandon notes that they seem to be undisturbed, though perhaps not for lack of trying given then scrapes and grooves around some of the lids. At the far end of the room, a modest stone throne and stone strong box sit on a three-stepped dais. The strong box lid lies shattered at the foot of the throne, making an impromptu stepstool.
Carvings on the head of the throne read, "Luca" and a row of symbols are carved into the top step.
Nathros finds the hole a seemingly natural fissure in the wall. It appears unstable and small - certainly not big enough for a human.
Spoiler
The symbols, if brought to Nathros' attention say in Dwarven, "A gift to the Luca Clan from the Stonehammer Clan."
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Fedoruman Roland Avatar by Chris the Pontifex
Band of local heroes seeks Magic User. Join our long-running Rules Cyclopedia/BECMI game Old Ways.
"Hmmn. If this is how the goblins have been entering and leaving this place, it has been by chance. Not big enough for men, or bugbears for that matter, and unstable. We are going to need to make sure of its extent and seal it up if this place is going to be made secure." Nathros uses his spear to probe ahead as far as possible and then attempts to traverse the passage in order to emerge outside.
"Our next move ought to be to track the goblins who fled, they will be looking to come back, probably with reinforcements."
__________________ It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.
– Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
Brandon calls upwards to the rest of the party, "A throne for someone named 'Luca' and some sarcophagi! I think the gobbos tried to open the coffins and failed!"
"Plus another small tunnel! Maybe how the gobbos escaped!"
Quote:
Originally Posted by Matthew
"Hmmn. If this is how the goblins have been entering and leaving this place, it has been by chance. Not big enough for men, or bugbears for that matter, and unstable. We are going to need to make sure of its extent and seal it up if this place is going to be made secure." Nathros uses his spear to probe ahead as far as possible and then attempts to traverse the passage in order to emerge outside.
"Our next move ought to be to track the goblins who fled, they will be looking to come back, probably with reinforcements."
More quietly, Brandon says to Nathros, "Difficult. You'd have to block up the tunnel with stone to really secure it, and I bet the gobbos are good enough with tunnelcraft to get through any barrier eventually."
"Not our job, anyway. It's Lord Bost's lookout to properly secure this place. And even he would need a team of diggers and engineers."
Brandon then goes to check the shattered strongbox to see if any loose coins or gems or other treasure was left behind by careless goblins.
Last edited by Frivolous : 12-07-2011 at 01:36 PM.
Mycah looks around the mausoleum eyes searching for any details that Nathros may have missed as he half listens to the conversation.
"I think you're right Brandon, securing the place is really best left to those with the right tools and knowledge. Our time will be better spent trying to track down the goblins, though I don't know what our chances will be. They were moving pretty quickly. Still, between myself and the other woodsmen, hopefully we can find something."
He looks around at the sarcophagi and shakes his head. "I'm glad they couldn't get any open. These men deserve to rest undisturbed, no matter who they were."
Talsarios seems to have finished his examination of the dead goblinoids, and tucks away his note book. He looks round at the rest of the group with an abstracted, happy look on his face.
"Truly fascinating... Right-ho, chaps - what are we doing?"
Spoiler
Did he find out anything useful, or just interesting things to note in Talsarios's scholarly works? Knowledge Humanoid cultures - (1d20)[11] Knowledge Religion - (1d20)[17]
"Exploring this tunnel, which I may know well how to block, and then tracking the fleeing goblins, it seems."
__________________ It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.
– Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
Ash's voice sounds muffled and tinny, "If you're looking at sealing the tunnel, the men I brought would be quite capable of taking care of that for you - when you're finished down there. S'pose you'll be at this for a while? Or may I summon them to get to work and inform them that the keep is indeed secure now?
Also, I can make sure the rest are prepared for a possible counter attack in case we don't find the goblins in time."
"I suppose we will know once I emerge on the other side. Perhaps those of you too large to follow would care to meet me there? We can pick up the tracks of the goblins from there."
__________________ It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.
– Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
"I'd prefer not to crawl through that hole given the choice," responds Mycah. "I'll go back outside to the other end and see if I can pick up the trail into the woods. Does anyone else want to join me?"
As he takes a step back from the situation, physically and mentally, it occurs to Talsarios that goblins are at least sufficiently covered in the existing literature to have mentioned their burial rites, if they had any. Goblins aren't known for either respect for each other, alive or dead, or any religious beliefs, at least that he's read about.
So either these local Karameikos goblins are different than those encountered in his part of the world or just these particular goblins, under command of a boss or even a king, are a bit different. Whatever, they make an interesting study and shouldn't be expected to act like the goblins of lore. They did flee into broad daylight after all...
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Fedoruman Roland Avatar by Chris the Pontifex
Band of local heroes seeks Magic User. Join our long-running Rules Cyclopedia/BECMI game Old Ways.
"I'll join you, just as soon as I inform everyone else about what's going on." Ash heads out to explain to Devin and the others of the group's plans in general and to let them know that she intends to join the group in their hunt.
"I imagine that I'm skinny enough, and unencumbered by armour, to fit through the tunnel with you, Nathros - but I dare say I'd just get in the way if there was a fight, and I'll need a light, whereas I believe you don't," Talsarios says, looking up from his sketching.
Spoiler
Can our illustrious DM add some approximate dimensions to the description of the basement, for Talsarios's mapping attempt?
Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roland St. Jude
As Ash and Mycah reach the bottom of the stairwell, they see most of the keep basement lit by their torchlight. All but the far corners.
Two rows of large columns divide the room roughly into thirds, but no interior walls block their view. Wooden debris sits in the corner to their right, perhaps the makings of interior walls once upon a time. More terribly, a pile of goblin corpses is stacked in the near corner to their left. At the far end, straight ahead, is the suggestion of a hole in the floor, barely visible at the edge of the torchlight.
...
Nathros heads across the single large room across a stone floor to the hole against the far wall. The stone underfoot is plainly cut and laid stone pieces and the hole is a large one, with hand-holds cut into the rock along one of the side walls. To the extent the basement is dark, the hole extends to even greater (but natural) darkness.
Mycah takes a moment, in the middle of the basement, to orient himself. The stairs behind him begin at the back center of the keep and head downward into this lower level. If one proceeded directly ahead from the foot of the stair, they'd wind up down that hole, directly under the front door, he'd guess. And several hundred yards farther in that same direction, out in "front" of the keep, is where the goblins emerged from the ground.
"Not to worry, this is work suited to dwarves." Nathros head into the tunnel.
__________________ It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.
– Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
Stefan gets ready to go up with Mycah and Ash. "I'd be glad to get out of this goblin-soaked basement for a while." He rolls his shoulder and winces.
As he starts walking back to the stairs he casually comments, "Looks like you two made it here at just the right time, huh?" and tosses the helmeted Ash a wink.
Brandon remains crouched at the mouth of the tunnel Nathros is moving through. He waits there, torch in hand, until he can no longer see the dwarf, then stands up and returns to the rest of the party. He moves carefully so he does not drop the torch or fall.
"Nathros is still in the tunnel. Looks like he's not meeting anyone or anything," he reports to the others.
"Hey, oughtn't we get out to where the tunnel emerges, to meet him? At least some of us, anyway," Alastor says, rolling up his map scroll.
"I suspect that - if this tunnel is empty - our work here is done.
"Where's the nearest town with a Church or Cathedral, Stefan? I'd like to travel there next, to pay homage to Gregoras."
"A couple days east is Threshold, where we're from. Our Church of Karameikos would be honored to give Gregoras his final respects." Stefan smiles solemnly at Talsarios.
"Now come on, a group of us is about to go up to find wherever Nathros is going to emerge from the tunnel."
Seeing everyone is ready to depart for the tunnel's terminus, Mycah leads the way, pointing out the egress point when they arrive.
"This is where I believe Nathros will emerge. I can't imagine it will take him long to get here."
Without any formal conferral of authority, Devin seems to take charge of the workers, assigning them to guard-types as lookouts and others where they'd be best suited. Those with strong stomachs are charged with cleaning out the kitchen. He orders them not to go below and to be wary of anything usual that might still be lurking. People seem to take his orders readily, and nod or bow respectful as Bost's heroes cross their paths.
The heroes return to find the drawbridge in working order and able to be lowered by a very proud engineer.
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Band of local heroes seeks Magic User. Join our long-running Rules Cyclopedia/BECMI game Old Ways.
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