Deadly Dungeon Delvers Dive Daily!

[Mordae]

It all started out well. A warm tavern, a good meal, a few pints, a glorious bard's tale of the treasure that awaits in the dragon's dismal den below the crumbling castle a day's hike to the north. Several cups in, you all swore a pact to claim the dragon's ill-gotten gold for yourselves, and by the next morning were met in the town square of Shiresville, armed to the teeth and fully equipped for your journey.

But, the weather turned for the worse by noon, and as darkness approaches a strong wind blows from the west and you are all thoroughly soaked as you journey along the dark, twisting path through the forest of gnarled pines. At length, the decrepit spires of the crumbling castle become illuminated by the intermittent flashes of lightning that presage each cacophanous thunderclap.

Up the cracked marble steps and to the decaying wooden doors, your quartet peers through the gaps to determine the antechamber is dark, dry, and--most importantly--devoid of anything that might resist you taking shelter while you search for the entrance to the dragon's den...

[rorikdude12]

Barston runs into the decrepit antechamber as fast as his little legs can carry him.

"This can be our base of operations for this expedition involving killing those capitalist monstrosities!"

[Gaius]

Paul isn't far behind the gnome. "This is definitely a good place to rest," he agrees with a smile. Still, the lad wasn't born yesterday; he's no stranger to stories of wanderers taking refuge from a storm and finding something odd. It's exciting, but keeps him cautious, snout and ears staying attentive.

[Mordae]

The noise of the storm is only slightly abated by the crumbling walls, but for the most part the roof keeps back the rain. Most of the interior doorways are in bad shape, but the heavy stone arch leading into the great hall is still strong. A cascade of leaking water prevents a clear view of the dais and throne of the long-forgotten king who ruled here.

[sonofzeal]

Iglam the Malevolent

A twisted rictus on his face and fingers gnarled into claws each time the lightning silhouetted him, Iglam has been cackling in increasing incoherence since the storm started but seems to calm down a bit once they locate the antechamber.

Striding on spindly legs into the throneroom, he snaps his fingers to conjure a lit torch (Conjurer Wizard: (4d6)[18]).

[Mordae]

Flickering red light suddenly fills the room as Iglam's torch comes into existence. Ragged shreds of tapestries, soaked with rain water, are dangling from the stone buttresses that hold up the remaining roof. The once-gilded throne against the north wall is tarnished, and the velvet cushion that once padded the king's derriere is long-gone. An iron-banded door to the left of the throne, now heavily rusted, leads presumably to the royal apartments beyond.

[sonofzeal]

Iglam the Malevolent

Setting himself upon the throne, Iglam begins to monologue. "Yes.... YES! From this throneroom, the lines of my power will stretch forth across the land, corrupting the earth itself and crushing all those who would oppose me! My words become truths not even gods can defy, and my whims become lightning bolts that devastate the.... er, the.... capitalist swine?" Iglam casts a glance over to Barston. Even rampant megalomania and delusions of godhood must sometimes bow to the necessity of preserving allegiances. There'd be time to cut loose later. His lip twitches with the effort of containing the rest of the monologue, but he manages. For now.

[Maeglin_Dubh]

Christmas pats himself down, looking for a deck of cards. He glances around the room, trying to decide which way to go from here. Cards found, he starts shuffling and drawing cards at random.

"If we go this way I foresee...." An ace of hearts. "Death. And if we go that way instead, I foresee..." A three of clubs. "Also death. Not ours, necessarily, you understand, cartomancy is a vague and nebulous art."

[Gaius]

Paul grunts loudly at Iglam's choice of words. He might advance to actually asking the rest of the group to lay off the denigratory remarks when he's standing right there. At least when he's not doing something to warrant it.

Speaking of, all the days travels have made the hog-child hungry. So, despite knowing the chamber might have dangers -- their... let's say "seer" even warning them of imminent death (again) -- he decides to follow his nose toward anything he might find edible. Who knows? He might find something else of interest when he's at it. (Optimistic Pig-Boy: (2d6)[6])

[Mordae]

The old throne creaks in protest under Iglam's weight, but does not give way. A flash of lightning illuminates him briefly, giving him a regal and foreboding appearance.

Paul snuffles his way over to the door. There are other smells, of course, but he can smell food a mile away and it is definitely available behind the iron-banded portal.

[sonofzeal]

Iglam the Malevolent

"Er.... nothing personal, Paul. Capitalist... uh.... capitalist... heathens? Yes! Devastate the capitalist heathens! MwahahahhaHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" But the joy seems to have gone out of it, and Iglam rises to examine the doors with his allies.

[Mordae]

The door apparently once had a lock, but blackened marks on the iron plate indicate it was forcibly opened at one point--probably by magic, Iglam surmises. Aside from the rusty hinges, it appears it should not be difficult to open.

[rorikdude12]

Barston tries to blow open the door by flipping open a page of the book and using a spell with a door illustration.

(2d6)[12]

[rorikdude12]

Barston tries to blow open the door by flipping open a page of the book and using a spell with a door illustration.

(2d6)[2]

[Mordae]

The door flies open with a rusty shriek, banging against the stone wall and sending up a loud BOOM! that echoes among the decaying rafters. Beyond is not a passage into opulence, but a dank stone stairwell leading down into darkness. A handful of yellowed bones can be seen on the first few steps.

[Gaius]

Paul gives the gnome's opening an impressed, "Wow." Door gone, though, the scent is stronger, so he returns to what's important. He licks his chops. "I can smell food ahead. I'm not sure what it is, but hey, it's dinner." Granted, the pig's definition of food is... more generous than his companions', but it's a win for their food supplies either way. He still tries to sort out what kind of meal he'll be wolfing down.

Paul gives a squeal of a gasp at the bones, but collects himself quickly. He takes point in the dark descent. His formative years as a pickpocket qualify him for the Rogue class, which apparently lets him stealthily explore poorly lit, cavernous places despite having never visited one. Handy! He lets his snout (and the scent it follows) make up the difference in sensory information.
(Cute Innocent Rogue: (4d6)[8])

[sonofzeal]

Iglam the Malevolent strides down the corridor after Paul, his crimson robes billowing around him, heel crushing one of the skulls as he passes.

[rorikdude12]

Barston strides sown after Iglam as he murmurs about capitalist doors...

[Maeglin_Dubh]

Isaiah follows the rest, pausing to spin a card between his fingers as he regards the remnants of the skull. He lets the card fall amidst the pile of bone, noting what side it landed on and how many bits it disturbed. Satisfied, he retrieves the card and hurries to catch up.

[Mordae]

You reach the bottom of the stairs, a dimly lit chamber with stone walls and floors that bears a thick layer of barely disturbed dust. In the east wall is a wooden door of similar construction to the one at the top of the stairs. There is a heavy wooden chest near one corner and some ratty tapestries hung on the south wall, but otherwise the place is undecorated.

As your first footsteps echo through the room, a trio of beady-eyed rats peers out from behind the chest. They look hungry, and you look like dinner.

o----------o
|          |
|  <P      |
| BIC      +
|          |
|        (r|
|        rr|
o----------o

Spoiler

Squares are 5'.

P = Paul
C = Isaiah Christmas
I = Iglam the Malevolent
B = Barston

r = rat

< = stairs up
( = chest
+ = door

[rorikdude12]

Barston sees the hungry rats. He doubts he can take them with his sword. He walks towards them, then flips to a spell with pictures of fire and casts it.

(2d6)[9]

[sonofzeal]

Iglam the Malificent

Seeing the innocent rats get barbequed, Iglam's heart melts. "No! Don't!" he yells, and tries to pacify them with bits of cheese and peanut butter.

(Animal-lover (3d6)[15])

[sonofzeal]

Iglam the Malificent

Seeing the innocent rats get barbequed, Iglam's heart melts. "No! Don't!" he yells, and tries to pacify them with bits of cheese and peanut butter.

(Animal-lover (3d6)[9])

[Gaius]

Paul suspects the overlord and accidental wizard are more than enough for three rats. That being the case, he turns his attention to the chest and door, cheerily defusing any traps or other issues he might run into with them. And taking stock of any valuables from the former.

That said, if the rats decide ham's on the menu, he puts his skill with a knife to work on them. Not killing them, though. He wouldn't brook with that normally and besides. Like Iglam, he has some sympathy for the little blighters -- albeit less from loving animals than feeling a connection to all filth-loving critters -- and so merely bonks them unconscious. (Cute Innocent Rogue: (4d6)[16] )

[Mordae]

Barston's incantations result in a tiny little flame that starts at the tail of one of the rats and rapidly consumes the animal, leaving only a puff of smoke. Before any more harm can come to his small friends, Iglam rushes forward and pacifies the second rat with a bit of cheese that is gratefully accepted. The third rat tries to take a bite out of Paul, but the ham-fisted lad KO's the rodent with a swift knock to the head--POW!

A quick test of the chest reveals that it is locked.

Spoiler

Rat 1 - (1d6)[5](5)
Rat 2 - (1d6)[4](4)
Rat 3 - (1d6)[4](4)

[rorikdude12]

"Don't worry! We have a way to deal with this in Mother Gnome Russia!"

Barston picks the lock using his tinkering know-how, then pockets it for later use.

(2d6)[8]

[Maeglin_Dubh]

Isaiah pulls a club card from the deck and his eyes flash briefly, spinning the card idly as it begins to glow. He waits to see if the gnome can unlock the chest before attempting to shatter the lock with an impact card.

(3d6)[6]

[Mordae]

Barston picks at the lock for a bit but can't manage to budget it. Then, Isaiah tosses a playing card that flashes in the light en route to bouncing off the lock. The chest seems disinterested in being opened...

Spoiler

Target roll is 10. Paul/Iglam should get a go next.

[Gaius]

Paul tries his own luck with lockpicking, humming something chipper. Most of his experience has involved a moving target, usually following along with a merchant's wagon and pilfering a few things as he goes. He's thus fairly blase about the process, though looks forward to assessing the take. (Cute Innocent Rogue (4d6)[21])

He tries for conversation. "So, what do you think we'll find further in? I mean, food, yeah, but what else?"

[Mordae]

The lock yields quickly under Paul's cloven-hooved skill. Inside are three items:

a purple-red potion
a scroll labelled ELBIB YLOH
a scroll labelled GARVEN DEH