[IC]Back to Basics

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 8:55 pm

"All right then. Let's find out what nasties await us!"

Dorgan takes point, brandishing his twin morningstars. He proceeds carefully detecting stonework traps, pits, and deadfalls every few steps.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 9:25 pm

With care, the party marches down the corridor. At the former site of the two skeletons, the walls and ceiling are blackened from the flame and the smoke, but the bones are reduced to greasy splinters, and of the spiders there is no sign at all; the silver chains still hang from the ceiling. The faint foul odor of smoke helps to mask the other scents in the corridor somewhat

Continuing past this spot, you reach the end of the corridor - you are now some thirty feet from the entrance door, in a straight line - and confronted with another door. This one is made of stone, and carved with signs of sea-life, including mermaids and tritons, those the humanoid aspect of these figures have been crudely worked into skulls and skeletons. The door hangs on heavy bronze hinges that are green with age, as is the door handle.

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 11:01 pm

"Check it for traps, and see if there's a keyhole in it. If all else fails ill pull the damn thing open and well kill whatever waits for us inside"

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 11:50 pm

Flintbeard makes an ancient history check on the skeletal aquatics mural and tracking to see if anything else has been here.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 11:53 pm

Flintbeard does not recognize the figures, but notices that the skeletal sections are newer, cruder engravings done over the much older and finer aquatic scene.

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 12:01 am

Flintbeard attempts stoneworking and tracking checks to see how soon this was done. Check for traps in the door. Listen check to see if anything is on the other side.

If everyone is ready to open the door flintbeard will be ready to fire his crossbow and then draw his axe with shield

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 12:37 am

The etching was done some years or decades ago - certainly not recently. Flintbeard finds no traps on the door (nor does the door appear to be locked.) He can hear nothing beyond the door.

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 1:08 am

Atani nods to Flint, ready and waiting on his mark

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 1:35 am

Gilles does three things before heading in further: he pockets the key (if no one else is holding on to it); he takes Betsy's 10' pole and thieves' tools (when examining the bodies of our fallen comrades, I take it we noticed the tools she had concealed earlier), as she won't need them anymore; and finally he places the three items won from the owlbear's gullet (spectacles, shortsword, and ring) in differing directions and casts detect magic, turning around to try to sense each one individually if possible. (He has a 10% chance to detect the priestly sphere of the magic). If any are magical, he will ask Tim to identify them. EDIT: He takes the items with him afterwards.

After all of this is said and done, Gilles will head to the marching order that was established earlier (in the IC thread).

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 6:19 am

Flintbeard attempts to open the door with everyone in order (well lets hope the triton image doesn't mean there's a tidal wave behind this door)

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 9:17 am

Flintbeard grasps the door handle, has time for a brief scream, and dies, collapsing onto the floor in a heap.

(Flintbeard Stoneaxe is dead.)

Flintbeard grasps the door handle, and notices his glove beginning to smoke. He has just enough time to let go and discard the tainted garment before the poison on the door handle reaches him.

(Flintbeard Stoneaxe is not dead.)

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 3:44 pm

Atani will put a grappling hook through the handle and pull on the attached rope to try to open it. He will then wipe off the hook before stowing it

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 7:09 pm

With a puff of air, the door opens...and reveals a chamber, about thirty-five feet by twenty-five feet, with the door you enter through being in the middle of the southern wall. The ceiling is higher than in the corridor - about ten feet high - and the walls in, if anything, even worse repair, with the murals much affected by damp and in part the plaster falling away in places, revealing much older walls of stone.

Directly ahead of you, raised up on a rectangular dais (or perhaps, once, an altar) is a large idol of black stone in the shape of a robed, seated skeleton with three gaping eye sockets. One hand is raised, palm pointing outwards, while the other holds a great black bowl in its bony lap. There is no other furniture in the room, but there are four exits - two stone doors on either side of the idol, and wooden doors set into the eastern and western walls.

There are no apparent creatures or other furnishings in the room, though the air is damp.

Sam · Post by **Sam** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 8:05 pm

"Let's check the side doors first," Lucas says, pointing to one of the wooden doors. "Maybe they're empty. Maybe not. But we should find out now, while we still have a clear path behind us."

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 8:10 pm

Gilles is curious about the idol's nature, and will make a Religion check to try and identify it, lest any tradition or portfolio associated with it may hint to safe navigation.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 8:16 pm

Gilles can recall nothing of this particular idol - perhaps it is simply too ancient or obscure. Certainly, he knows of no living cult associated with such a figure.

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Wed Sep 10, 2014 12:51 am

Flintbeard, annoyed at his gloves being ruined, attempts an ancient history and stoneworking check on the three eyed skeletal figure (and trap detection) before the smashing commences.

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Wed Sep 10, 2014 7:35 am

Dorgan searches the rest of the room for sliding doors and once again for stonework traps. He leaves the statue area to his fellow dwarf.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Wed Sep 10, 2014 9:39 am

Flintbeard, annoyed at his gloves being ruined, attempts an ancient history and stoneworking check on the three eyed skeletal figure (and trap detection) before the smashing commences.

Flintbeard's studies in ancient history tell him little, but his knowledge of stonework tells him that the idol is much older than the rest of the dungeon he has seen so far, and of a very different workmanship. Perhaps the prince whom this tomb is for had stolen it from some more ancient monument, and installed it here?

Dorgan searches the rest of the room for sliding doors and once again for stonework traps.

Dorgan finds neither.

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Wed Sep 10, 2014 8:44 pm

Flintbeard also makes a search for hidden rooms/traps, and checks for tracks of previous visitors.

Flintbeard looks at the direction the palm is facing, in case anything is scrawled on the walls.

Are the contents of the black bowl visible? If not Flintbeard will tie a bit of cloth to the end of his 10ft pole and dip it into the bowl, while standing to the side of the skeleton in case death lasers shoot out of its eye sockets. If the idol is non-magical and man-portable (and doesn't wake up to kill everyone), Flintbeard suggests that the party gets the men-at-arms to carry this to the loot wagon.

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Wed Sep 10, 2014 8:50 pm

Atani will unwind his ball and chain

"This place is trying to kill us so I don't think we should play by its rules. I'm gonna take this weight here and send it through anything we see living or dead. Trap doors, trap gnomes, trap statues. Lets turn it all to rubble. Then we'll sift through that rubble, murder anything disagreeable and cart off anything worth its weight on a wagon. That's my plan and I figure I'll start about now.
While I do this you all might want to cover the doors as I'll be making a lot of noise. I see this as an upside cause it means they'll have to find us instead of the other way around."

Atani prepares himself in front of the group and unless someone speaks up he will set a basketball sized lead weight whipping into a fast spin and send it right through the statue. Then about the room. Then finally he will walk over to the eastern wall, stand to the side of the door and swing this weight into it like an enormous flail until it explodes.

Note: I don't want to stand in front of the statue's hand while I smash it, I don't want to stand in front of a door while I smash it. Smash it.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Thu Sep 11, 2014 1:07 am

OgreBattle wrote:Flintbeard also makes a search for hidden rooms/traps, and checks for tracks of previous visitors.

Flintbeard finds no traps, and the floor is covered in a layer of thin mud (from the dust and damp), which shows your party is the first to visit this chamber for some time.

Flintbeard looks at the direction the palm is facing, in case anything is scrawled on the walls.

Nothing is scrawled upon the walls, although Flintbeard can see that the plaster has come away in places, revealing the older stonework underneath - with a mural or carving of some sort involving fish, octopi, and other sea life.

Are the contents of the black bowl visible?

There is a blackish residue at the bottom of the bowl, perhaps some sort of mold.

Atani prepares himself in front of the group and unless someone speaks up he will set a basketball sized lead weight whipping into a fast spin and send it right through the statue.

The blow plinks off the hard stone; the statue seems unharmed.

Then about the room.

Plaster, dust, and bits of mold explode from the walls, revealing more of the sea-mural underneath, but has no other effect.

Then finally he will walk over to the eastern wall, stand to the side of the door and swing this weight into it like an enormous flail until it explodes.

Looking at the eastern door, it appears that the whole door may once have been plastered over, only to be revealed again as the plaster rotted and fell. No matter. The wood, thoroughly rotten and held together only by dust, explodes as the iron ball strikes it, the rusted lock falling onto the floor. Rotten draperies hang in the empty doorway, but through them Atani catches a glimpse of something golden.

Sam · Post by **Sam** » Thu Sep 11, 2014 1:51 am

Lucas holds his lantern up, towards the wreckage of the eastern door. "What a mess. Think there's anything good in there?"

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Thu Sep 11, 2014 2:18 am

"Gold by the looks of it"

Atani will toss the ball a bit through the doorway and into the draperies, pulling it back along the ground. If nothing slashes, spikes or shoots in response he'll call the group forward.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Sep 11, 2014 2:38 am

"Careful with that thing," Gilles says upon witnessing Atani's ball and chain act. He won't head out any farther until he's sure Atani isn't swinging it anymore. Gilles does try to see if his infravision detects anything behind the door from where he is, much as he did back when the party first entered the ruin.