After throwing her gear into the pile, Duroja sneered at the hopping fop's weak words.
Before even taking a look at the challenge, she scanned the group for any who might have what it takes to lead.
As she heard the witch take charge, she beat back a distracting memory of the only man she admired. Stormin Morgan.... 'That man knew how to lead.. awe-inspiring presence, commanding voice, nice shoulders....' Duroja suddenly realized she was staring at Lorth, licking her lips.
She snapped out of it, and moved toward Melashara - removing her belt, and calling out... "Listen up, you empty skulls! Are you men, or toddlers on an egg hunt?! "
Joboo and Ryujin follow Gwrr into the pit and begin looking down the hole to the level below. The entire floor suddenly lurched and began to rotate, a pillar rising in the center of the floor, threaded like a massive bolt.
Wait. No. It was not rising.
They were lowering.
As they realized the beginning of the problem, the threaded bolt began popping, throwing tiny spikes onto the ground and into the three in the pit, a few even clattering down the hole to the floor below.
Lorth considers their predicament a moment, and what was being asked of them... Before coming to a resolution, turning Magnus to regard Big Blue and speaking plainly but with a firmness of mind "I'm sorry Sir, but I cannot. I simply do not fathom how this exercise is meant to be anything but a display for your own personal amusement. Your speech gave some hope that we were to be asked to work as a team and overcome a tangible task... but instead it's this is it?" raising an eyebrow incredulously "Stripped of all our equipment and asked to jump into a pit that spits spikes of metal at us? No Sir I shall not..." his inflection on Sir showing that the honorific was used under duress, and holding gaze with the ogre for a few moments before turning Magnus to leave "Good day"
"Well, I wasn't much amused before, but I sure as hell am now." Big Blue says with a shrug and a wave.
Reflex
As the ground shifts unexpectedly beneath him, Ryujin loses his balance and tumbles into the darkness below.
With a look nothing short of sheer dispise, Lorn watches the group's goons jump in the pit that screams trap more than a pittrap does.
While Melashara certainly was ahead of the goons down there intelligence-wise, Lorn has no intention of using his expensive new apron-turned-armor to get them out, or himself in for that matter.
"Lowering down Lorn you say? Missy, I'm probably twice your weight and probably almost that same amount as strong. The goblin is doing fine finding traps it seems. I say we wait for them to have sprung all the traps down there and then do something ourselves. As a team if we have to."
Those last words worsened the look on Lorn's face. Then he looked at Karlov and it was obvious some good memories of the race in the arena reminded him of a good team-experience.
Joboo smiled with glee as the floor started spinning on the now visible bolt. This smile quickly went away when the familiar caltrops started shooting at him. He ducked behind the orc before it climbed up on the bolt and intently scanned the pit for a way to possibly stop one or both actions of the pit so the others could get down safely...but if theysa waits too long theysa gone haves a long, long drop...
"Can climb on back if you want, gobby. Gwrrr'rrr try jump on the thingy."
Not expecting the floor to turn, Ryujin was completely surprised. Despite his hours of training on keeping his balance and learning how to fall, Ryujin fell clumsily below.
Joboo wasnt nearly as stupid as most tall peoples thought he was and he knew instinctively that that little hole...hohoho...little hole... was important just as he knew he couldnt reach it alone...sometimes mesa wish i was taller... He moved over to where the hole was.
Gwrrr'rrr shrugs, Gobbos good with traps...
The Orc goes where Joboo is, and picks him up, moving him wherever he indicates.
Ooh! Oi! mesa up high enough nows
Balancing easily on the orc's hand the sly goblin doesnt hesitate to stick his finger...nots me favorite boog boog picking one... but one on his off hand right into the hole.
The witch threw her hands up in frustration as the halfling left.
That beast could have been helpful, she thought.
She surveyed the scene for a moment.
Hey Blue, she said to the ogre, are you going to be standing there for the entire challenge?
"Depends on how long you lot decide to take. I've seen this take half a day."
With a loud "Hummmmppppffff" Lorn grabs Melashara's makeshift rope.
"I hope your knots are tight enough. Now you guys hold on, you too Karlov. Show me those muscles are for more than just showing off"
With a grin Lorn readies himself to be lowered into the pit while carefully examining the pit itself.
Ok, here goes.
The witch moves next to Karlov, tying the clothes around his waist. She then peers into the pit.
Duroja grabs a hold of the makeshift rope as well. "At least one of should stay up top so we can get back up the rope."
As Joboo balances on Gwrr's hands and plays with the indented circle in the wall, he presses firmly into it and it pops out about half an inch. A series of symbols alight on the wall around it, matching a set of symbols that alight on the perimeter of the newly-exposed circle. It rotates freely in his hand causing the symbols to change colors as he begins to match them, but just as he is starting to figure out the new puzzle the floor drops unexpectedly as Lorn joins the group on the first level.
As the floor lowers more caltrops fire further complicating the environment, a few falling down the open hole to the next level to rain down near Ryujin as he begins to pick himself up off the ground. The light from above shifts as the floor above him continues to turn, swinging the shadows in an arc. A chill runs up his spine as he realizes the turning of the floor above is causing the ceiling to drop.
Watching Joboo, Big Blue nods to himself.
"Figgures that the smartest one of the bunch of ya would be the goblin."
Ryujin looks around to see if there is anything down here
Perception
Seeing nothing he'll see about getting back up the hole.
Just as he is about to write off this level and work his way back up, Ryujin notices that back in the shadows there is another hole leading to yet another level.
Moving about slowly to avoid the caltrops, Lorn heads for the caltrop-popping treaded bolt. With a frown Lorn tries to find the next caltrop spitting hole so he can try to disable it.
"Hmmmpp Jobboo likes pretty colours?" he says with a grin.
With no equipment, Lorn will try to stop the first caltrop from being launched so the rest will get stuck behind it, if that's how the caltrop spitter works. Otherwise he'll try something else?
Pinchy, pinchy cabrone...
the goblin hissed the most vile curse his mama taught him as the platform dropped down and put the spindle out of his reach.
Joboo was almost frantic. He had been cose to figuring out this puzzle and if only he'd been a little bit taller...
mesa needs to get higher Gwrrr'rrr or...
If Gwrrr'rrr is able to boost him or the others drop the rope so he can climb up within reach of the button. Joboo will attempt to solve the color puzzle.
Ryujin will yell up the hole that there is yet another hole down here
Lorn quickly realizes that the caltrop spitters are a simple spring-load mechanism that is released as soon as the floor lowers enough to expose it. Disabling it would be as simple as plugging the hole with something.
Unfortunately, lacking any somethings, the only real solution seems to be to stop the floor from lowering further and exposing more caltrop spitters.
Duroja and Karlov sidestep around the perimeter of the pit to help Joboo get the extra height he needs to reach the knob with the glowing symbols.
It seems to be a simple matching game and in short order the clever goblin matches all the symbols to their counterparts. The knob releases and slides out even further, becoming a three foot pole sticking out of the wall.
Eyes shining with delight at having figured out at least part of the puzzle the gobbo started yelling to the others.
Joboo then had Gwrrr'rrr drop him down to where he could start working on the next one as he wracked his skull stuffed brain to how it all worked together.
with Joboo's help you spot a small circle set into the wall of the pit, little more than a faintly carved line.
Can I hear that and look for a hole like that down below
Ryujin looks around after he hears Joboo describe what to look for
Perception
Can I use it untrained?
Ryujin yells up above "Joboo I need you down here. There are more holes!"
Wishing he had his equipment with him, Lorn mentally curses.
Seeing the little goblin is doing something usefull with the little holes and knobs, Lorn reacts to Ryujin's call.
"Am I good enough?"
Lorn lowers himself through the hole and looks around for other holes to do the pushing-button trick himself.
"Have you found any holes yet, Ryujin?" Lorn says before he notices one of the holes himself.
"Ah, there's one!". Lorn moves over there and tries to do the same trick as Joboo.
Down at the hole below that one he had already figured out; Joboo pushed his grimy finger in the hole to get the button to pop out. He'll try to match up the colors again as he explained how he thought the poles worked.
Its a sooo easy! See?! Long legs push on pole and lift or lower floor. Sooo easy yah? I pop poles and long legs push. Yah?
the goblin takes a deep breath as his squished brained mulled over the puzzle some more.
Wesa still needs the idol, the idol!
"There is another hole over there, it may lead too the idol"
As Lorn touches down on the second level their combined weight sets the floor to lowering. Caltrops spray across one side of the chamber but neither Lorn or Ryujin are hit.
Unfortunately the distraction is enough to throw off Lorn's concentration and he misses one of the necessary symbol matches.
Up above, Joboo was having some difficulty with the second button. Some of the symbols on this one were very similar and brightly lit, making it difficult for goblin eyes to make the proper matches.
Melashara walked next to Karlov, grabbing the "rope" to help him if someone needed to ascend.
"What's going on down there? Do you need us to pull anyone up? Should any of us come down? "
Grumbeling at the floor's lowering, Lorn has a hard time trying to replicate Joboo's trick.
"How does this thing work?" he says to no one in particular while fiddling with the device.
Gwrrr'rrr starts kicking the caltrops to one side of the platform, away from the hole and Joboo.