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Guided by the divine grace of Elpis, Thomi slowly and cautiously passes through the doorway and up the ancient flight of stairs. At the top a small landing is packed on either side with wooden barrels stacked all the way up to the ceiling. An acrid smell lingers in the air and a fine black grit dusts the ground. On one side of the chamber, leaned against the barrels is what appears to be mining equipment, picks, lamps, and the like. On the other side, slumped against the barrels, legs splayed out on the ground, is a man in dark cloth, sitting in a pool of blood. His hand clutched over his abdomen, he has clearly bled out some time ago, left to his fate by his two companions, whose prints can be clearly seen passing through the silt to the end of the chamber ahead and towards another flight of stairs which go up.

Do you all pass through the doorway?

Does anyone else wish to examine the map?

Aegwyn floats the torch up ahead, through the doorway and past the first small chamber and up towards a flight of stairs. At the furthest distance of the torch's flickering light, Aegwyn can just make out a landing on top of the first flight of stairs, and what looks to be a large number of wooden casks stacked on top of one another upon the landing.

Thomi does not sense any traps immediately outside the door or in the small room immediately beyond. His sense of the layout of underground places, however, gives him the impression of fresher air coming from further ahead up the stairs, and what, from the sound, must be a long tunnel gradually moving upwards in the direction of the surface.

Toranindracar and Aegwyn examine the blood stains. Aegwyn scratches her head in puzzlement while Toranindracar determines that the stain is not more than a week old, although without medical training he cannot be sure, the blood was unleashes in a spray, and judging from the angle and trajectories of the spray, would have hit the individual in the chest and gut, passing both through him or her and laterally. He quickly ascertains that it was most probably caused by setting off whatever trap was set into the door.

The parchment does not seem to have any words on it, but is instead a crude and not entirely accurate drawing. Looking at it carefully, Toranindracar and Thomi discern that at the far right hand side of the "map" is a drawing of the Citadel, with several cave like portions drawn underneath the Citadel. An "x" is marked on one of the lower caves where a passage is drawn leading halfway across the page to a rectangular "room", the room contains another passage leading from it's left and toward the top of the paper where a small hill and tower are drawn and the illustration of several trees around the hill.

As far as Toranindracar can tell, every spell in this corridor has been permanent. The winds tell Aegwyn indeed to continue forward and avoid what is clearly a force overwhelming for a small band of adventurers, much less a city-state of dark daethol. Toranindracar dispels the most basic spell, a spell which has no doubt already warned the casters that this ancient vile place has been violated. Varan steps to the front, raises his shield, the others falling in line behind him as he steps forward, his feet trailing through the bloody prints of the person who passed before him, whether noble Ma'an or the worshipers of Makish, or someone else. As Varan steps forward, cautiously, sword drawn in this space which until recently had not seen breath in generations, Thomi observes a small piece of parchment, half covered in blood, laying in a blood stain at the base of the stairs...

No, there is no place in the room that gives access past the bars. Hopefully it will be clear when I send on the image. Also, you aren't entirely certain the spells have been triggered. But, given that the door is open and the spells aren't activating (blowing you up), your hunch seems correct, that if the door were closed, they certainly would be active again. Some questions remain, who does the alarm warn?

Thomi, very calmly and patiently, examines the door and its frame for traps. His expert gaze methodically and carefully passing over every detail. In so doing he discovers that the door is indeed trapped, or at least it was, and certainly the blood and blast stains at his feet (the base of the door) are an indication that whoever opened the door at least, was not prepared for this particularly nasty trap. The blood and prints seem to pass through the doorway into the narrow corridor beyond. The damage was severe enough that the person lost so much blood that they were dragging their feet through it into the passage on the other side.

Toranindracar carefully observes the door's magical aura and determines that it has four auras, two weak auras of abjuration, a strong aura of adjuration, and a strong aura of illusion. By divining the auras, Toranindracar is able to determine that the lesser spells are alarm, arcane lock, and that the stronger aura of abjuration is a greater blast glyph of warding, although the power of the illusion remains too strong for even Toranindracar to determine. Toranindracar finds it very odd that the door is open, a trap apparently triggered, yet somehow the wards remain in place.

Aegwyn has difficulty determining much in the dim light and can only see that the ramp slopes downward before switching back on itself and descending again.

Aegwyn - I had imagined the ramp slightly differently, but I'l try and send you an image a little later on today.

The trough is carved of stone into the floor of the hallway so that the runoff from the crying statues above then flows to either side of the hallway and falls down into the caverns to the left and right below.

Toranindracar and Thomi observe that whoever passed through here did the same as each of you, crossing over the carved canal and toward the back to the open door. Brogdar quietly catches his breath and says: "Those are Ma'an's tracks. He's been here. But where did they go? Beyond these bars or to the open doorway ahead?"

So exceptionally glad we have this amazing Fantastic Maps website for our maps! Nice work!

At the dim edge of the furthest torch's glow you can make out a back wall, a narrow wall not unlike the one you entered from, covered in both script and etchings, as well as what appears to be a section of the wall within it, now open and facing away from you, revealing a thinner, narrower passage ahead. The facade of the section of the wall, now displayed to be a "door", shows both inscription and the face of a human in calm yet stern countenance, surrounded by various images, the bars continue (as in the back) to all but a few feet from the back section.

Aegwyn determines that the whole hallway is approximately 70 feet in length, from far wall to back wall, and the bars extend to all but the last 10 feet at either end. The large cavernous rooms on either side, beyond the bars, are so large that even the dim light of the torches is unable to reveal a far wall. Moreover, beyond ten or fifteen feet, it drops a distance such that there too it is impossible to see anything except open blackness. You do discern that on the left side of the room a short ledge extends just a few feet beyond the bars before dropping off suddenly in a sharp cliff. On the right side of the room, the smooth stone ledge is a bit wider, roughly 10 feet and at the north end becomes a ramp leading steeply down to a narrow platform in the shadows below, at the near edge of the torch's light.

At the dim edge of the furthest torch's glow you can make out a back wall, a narrow wall not unlike the one you entered from, covered in both script and etchings, as well as what appears to be a section of the wall within it, now open and facing away from you, revealing a thinner, narrower passage ahead. The facade of the section of the wall, now displayed to be a "door", shows both inscription and the face of a human in calm yet stern countenance, surrounded by various images, the bars continue (as in the back) to all but a few feet from the back section.

Toranindracar observes the feint patterns of the dust upon the ground in correlation to the spray emitted from the falling streams of the Tears of the Daetholayn and determines that in fact four different sets of footprints traveled through this corridor and over the trough. Where does Aegwyn extend the reach of the enlightened sword? How long is she able to hold it aloft? Thomi - it might be a bit challenging, although certainly not impossible to set a trap here. The crossbow and powder keg were logged on opposite sides of two walls, which in this space would mean mounting them in between the magical silver bars. How far does the party advance?

On Aegwyn's new map the strip is the trough in which the water is running. Toranindracar does have a point about the torch. ;-)

The Detect magic reveals several quite powerful auras which go from the base of the columns up to the very top of the room, like a magical barrier hovering over the silvery metal bars on both sides. Unfortunately the intricacies of the magic are simply too complex for Aegwyn to divine. Toranindracar, however, is able to determine that there are actually three auras enchanted on each bar, all strong, and all from the abjuration school.

The ancient daetholayn script tells the story of the "Betrayal of Makish" and the assault on the city of Mtol Daerine, and the whole world, 300 years ago by the khthonoi and the servants of that evil god. The script is both a eulogy to those lost in the war and a warning against the tyranny of the khthonoi and their Dark God. It states that beyond the bars is the entrance, below in the depths of this abyss, to an ancient khthonoi city and that the room stands as a symbol of their imprisonment by the collected people's of the world, that none would ever had to know the tyranny of Makish and the wickedness of the khthonoi.

The aura of magic is nearly overpowering here. All of the silvery columns and even the stone which encase them at the base and the apex glow with a powerful aura of magic on either side of you and although you cannot see it in the dim light, the far end of the corridor glows with a magical aura, although one not as significant as the auras which glow to your left and right.

Good luck and stay warm! Hopefully it will be a well deserved mini-vacation! If a bit snowy...

The winds swirl and blow through the cave opening from above and a heavy wind blows down along through the ancient corridor. At the stone recess carved into the floor which serves as a channel for the cascading water from above, the winds split and branch, two rushing up in a low howl up around the falling streams and to the eyes of the ancient women, while a third continues straight down the hallway in a low moan. Bijannar does not feel any closer to understanding the specific meanings of the inscriptions high above at the edge of the light, but the divine inspiration does give a sense of confidence that the fine silvery inlay floridly carved along the frieze acts as some form of memorial ward or warning

A very very happy and belated (by a day) birthday to our awesome designer Jaye! May this year bring him and his studio (Storm Bunny Studios) much success and fortune and lots of fun! Happy Birthday Jaye!

Thankfully Thomi does not sense any traps here, although the whole room has an eerie and quiet feeling. An unsettling, though not discomforting, feeling as if you have entered a sacred daetholayn chamber or crypt. The two overhead faces, holding their heads and crying streams into a trough just ahead of you, only adds to this sense. You observe that the water runs off from the trough bisecting the room and down to either side, passing through the bars to your left and right, and into some great and enormous cavern below. You are careful not to touch the tall silvery columns, but you do sense that whatever is behind each set of bars on either side, is a black space of incredible size.

Bijannar spends several minutes examining the ancient flowing daetholayn script which decorates the entablature beneath the ceiling. The age of the script makes it incredibly difficult to decipher, although, with a little guess work, you feel as if you can make out the gist. While the particular details are lost to you, and you worry that you may have misunderstood some parts, what you do think you understand only adds weight and gravity to the ancient solemnity of the room. You understand that the writing has something to do with the khthonoi and Makish and an arcane seal or barrier. You look about and feel that you must in fact be either in some form of prison or guard way.

** spoiler omitted **

As the party makes its way to the back edge of the narrow embankment which hugs the flowing course of the stream, you begin to take notice of the scene that apparently transpired. A medium sized hole has been made at the very back western edge of the cavern and pieces of rubble, obviously part of the cave wall, surround the opening. A fine black grit cover the ground and the lip surrounding the hole and the whole space smells acrid. Toranindracar’s almost supernatural powers of observation detect splinters of wood and he is able to determine that both the fine black dust and the wood splinters form a cone shaped pattern which center on the wall and extends out toward the direction of the stream.

Thomi pushed his way through the narrow hole made in the cavern wall and slides down through, with the help of Varan’s strong arm, the last ten or so feet. Thomi lands with a heavy thud, although muffled by his skill and expertise and raises his torch aloft to survey the room. You stand in an ancient room, the air here thick and heavy with years, in what can only be something of the bygone past. The walls and floor are smooth and raise to the very limits of your torch light above. Great care and craftsmanship went into constructing this room as far above you can see the fine flowing script of Sylvænar etched all across the top.

The room is a long rectangle and you have entered into its southern most wall via the hole which was made for you. The length of the room is such that you cannot make out the far end, however, you can see the exceptional craftsmanship along the long walls. About 15 feet ahead you see on either sides of the room a long series of thin, roughly two inch thick, columns made of an exquisite braid of three strands of silvery metal, all etched with fine details. The columns are driven into the stone floor of the room itself and extend all the way to the ceiling, as near as you can tell and the stretch, on either side of you, as far as you can see. For all it appears to you it is as if you are in the most majestically carved and crafted daetholayn prison.

Roughly twenty feet ahead of you, in mirror opposites on either side, cascade a single narrow plume of water from up above. You peer up and see, again on either side, the fine chistled features of a daethol woman, her hands held to her face, as the water cascading from her eyes as an interrupted and eternal flow of tears.

Does Thomi also read and write Sylvaenar (did you spend points) or do you just speak it?

The dark crevice beacons, it jagged maw waiting to be explored. Some powerful force has clearly expunged this debris from an otherwise unassuming passage, and Thomi's lamp casts a strange glow through the unnatural passage to a smooth well chiseled chamber fifteen feet below. Who passes through the open mouth of the cave's opening into the darkness below?

I have a few moments from working on my Ph.D. application, so I thought I would post...

Thomi keenly recognizes the wire for what it is and traces the wire back to an elaborate device. On one side, cleverly hidden behind a rock protrusion, is mounted a specialized hand crossbow, attached to the wire, and with an unusual bolt. The tip of the bolt is a long rough piece of steel with a portion, a few inches back of the bolt wrapped in an oil drenched cloth, where a manufactured extension of the crossbow itself touches a long section of flint, mounted on an extension. The effect is clear enough. When the firing mechanism is triggered, the rough steel on the bolt's tip will rub against the flint, causing sparks to ignite and set the oil drenched cloth aflame. Thomi traces the trajectory of the bolt and determines that it would strike and penetrate a small wooden hand keg, igniting its contents.

Just as Bijannar sets feet down into the swiftly flowing stream, Thomi tests the tension on the wire and very carefully cuts the wire, releasing the tension and disarming the trap.

The glow of Thomi's torch reveals up ahead a narrow cavern, descending an easy 10 to 15 feet down and quite long but just slightly wider than the stream itself. At the very furthest edges of your vision, with only the barest suggestion, Thomi can see the rough outlines of a passage to the heading to left, along the outer narrow edge of the pathway that curves along the streams edge. An acrid smell still lingers in the air and you can make out large piles of debris, stones as if from the wall itself, strewn upon the narrow ledge bordering the stream.

Hey guys,

Going to have to take a short break from the Online Campaign for a little while. I am absolutely overwhelmed with school stuff and Black Star work this next week and unfortunately the message boards are too much of a distraction.

We'll pick up soon, I promise.

Chris

Thomi you wade your way forward, crouched down almost on your knees. The stream is extremely treacherous. Thankfully years of professional training combined with an almost unnatural coordination have left you with the ability to quickly discern your own balance and observe, at the very last moment, as the stream slopes sharply downward into a near sheer slope and then comes back up. Just as you regain your footing, your breath hastened by the experience of narrowly avoiding the shallows, you come almost to the other side, where the overhang becomes a small cavernous room. You are so relieved at the site of dry land that you almost don't notice an imperceptible wire running across the stream at exactly throat level....

Aegwyn, your sketch of the cave is perfect and exactly how it looks (at least in my mind). Roughly where the word "Into" is, is the overhang which lowers the overall height of the passageway. I imagine Thomi to be standing at the tail of the arrow and the others close by, single file, behind him.

Thomi - indeed, the overhand proceeds too far back and the water is too high for you to be able to make out anything back there but the dimmest of shadows playing of the flowing surface of the water.

Toranindracar - You levitate Bijannar up to the height of the cave entrance, roughly seven feet here at this point, although only about 4 feet above the water level here (it drops significantly further ahead until it is only roughly 4 feet in total height, with three of those feet occupied by water).

Despite his best efforts, Brogdar is unable to catch Bijannar who continues, half being dragged, half swimming, toward the front of the line....

Thomi you steady yourself, firmly planting your feet in the now more swiftly flowing stream. You are about ten feet away from the overhang ahead. Beyond that you will have to crouch down and advance. How do you make your way forward?

A sudden commotion and splash in the back of the line as Bijannar slips and falls into the stream and begins careening toward the front of the line.

Desperately Brogdar, recalling Aegwyn's words, thrusts his arm into the water in an attempt to grab Bijannar and pull him up to safety.

Brogdar Reflex save - 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (15) + 0 = 15

And valiant defeater of water ways! Nicely done!

Brogdar's head comes shooting out of the water as Aegwyn pulls him up. He coughs deep lungs full of water, his eyes panic stricken, until finally he seems to be breathing again without difficulty, although quite rapidly. He sputters out, a deep look of love in his eyes: "Aegwyn, I can't possibly thank you enough! <cough!cough!> I saw my life flash before my eyes and I thought I was done for! <cough!> Twice in one day you have come to my aid, and for that I shall forever owe you."

No, two different actions. The 22 Reflex save was to save and stabilize herself, this check is to catch and maintain Brogdar

Difficult to say, so I will go with the rules listed under grabbing from a fall in an Acrobatics check. Aegwyn would have to make a DC 20 reflex save to catch Brogdar as he goes careening by (and hopefully avoid hitting Varan who is weighed down with both his own armor and a tegan!).

Actually, given that Brogdar just spectacularly failed his Reflex check, has slipped, plunged into the stream and is rushing past all of you from the rear, threatening to knock you all over, add a +2 to the DC. So the DC is 18. Does anyone want to try and grab Brogdar as he goes rushing by?

Similarly you can also make a DC 16 Reflex check to keep from slipping in the moving stream as you crouch to pass through.

Brogdar Reflex check: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (1) + 0 = 1

Brogdar takes the rear, looking around nervously and complaining about the water.

Let me know how you all plan to proceed and if you could each roll an Acrobatics check (and don't forget to apply Armor penalties)

Thomi's sense of the underground is absolutely correct, it would be extremely difficult to manage a boat through this tight opening. It will be difficult enough to get yourselves through, although thankfully the space is not so narrow that you would have to squirm and push your way through. In order to pass through you will each have to kneel down, or submerge yourselves, as there is only a scant foot of height between the water level and the top of the tunnel, itself only about four feet in height at the far end, as the passageway continues into and below the mountain. Thomi your keen hearing determines that you can hear a low roar and the sound of wind ahead, telling you that however long this tunnel, it is not so long that you could not quickly pass through it and emerge at an opening somewhere on the other side, although how large that opening might be is difficult to determine.

I imagine you see something like this, but half filled with water and descending suddenly downward at the far end.

So right now we have Thomi in the front, standing at the tunnel entrance, before the stream swoops down and goes under an overhang (where the tunnel is at most 4 feet in height). Standing directly behind him in the stream is Varan. The stream is not fast flowing but it is swift. Where is everyone else?

Hmmm, well, 2'8" might be a bit small. I would say that the water is probably 2, maximum 3, feet deep at the middle of the stream. If you follow into the tunnel, past where the overhang comes down, then you would be forced to go underwater in order to pass into the tunnel.

Thomi tests the waters as everyone watches expectantly. The stream does indeed slope down, but at least at this point in the complex, still inside one of the rooms of Dubdind, the stream is shallow and it would only be with some amount of effort that someone could drown themself.

Thomi walks down the stream bed and toward the arched cave opening, peering into the thick blackness ahead. From the light of the torch you can tell that the narrow cave opening, barely big enough for one person, goes in slightly at a downward angle, then inclines dramatically at a steeper grade, passing under a rock overhang which would require you all to be kneeling or on your backs in order to pass through.

No, the stream eventually goes fully into the cave wall and descends into the mountain. In order to pass into the tunnel you would have to enter the stream.

The apprentice guided you down to this level and then departed, not wishing to disturb you (or go) any further. Your examination of the area does not seem to reveal a boat of any kind, although it has been at least a full day or more since they passed through.

Toranindracar- you are able to determine that two of the three were weighted down, beyond the size their prints would indicate. You also notice the residue of a fine grainy black powder near the entrance to the stream.

Toranindracar searches around the room, inspecting carefully, and determines that the three crossed over to the central part of stream, where a small area for filling amphorae rests next to the stream, and they seem to have entered and not exited the stream.

Correct. It's really the archway that the channel of water runs into, but it's clear that the tunnel continues further in and without light.

You all walk down the carved passage toward the gentle sound of rushing water. The hallway seems innocuous enough and you think that perhaps under better circumstances, more innocent circumstances, where you did not already anticipate what might be ahead of you, the passage and the gently pleasant sound of running water would be a welcome and warm sound. For a moment part of you is able to understand this space as the druids and shamans, the apprentices and those called to defend the sacred nature of the grove, the ancient hill of Dubdind and the tower which rests upon it, might seem. The passage is well traveled and you know that it must be a source of easy fresh water for the residents here, a familiar place for those that make their sacred retreat here as they go about their daily routines. But for each of you, already aware of what incredible and ancient evil might be ahead see the passage differently. Out of the corner of your eye you notice that Brogdar is shaking slightly and almost uncontrollably. There is no sign of magical residue, nor any appearance of traps (the room is far to frequently used). In fact, what opens ahead of you is a space of primordial wonder.

The chiseled hallway opens up into a large room, half carved, half left to the naturally beautiful architecture provided by the contours of the cave. The room itself is well lit by a pair of torches and filled with clay jars, waiting to be filled, or already full with the crystalline pure liquid which flows through the room. On the far right wall you see a large carved figure, easily twice the size of Varan, carved into the living rock of the hill against the far back wall of the cave. The figure is an ethereal and graceful creature, holding a large amphora carved of the same stone as the hill and cave, held in the arms of this empyrean goddess. The stream flows from out of the amphora and falls into a narrow pool at the base of the lady’s feet, where many of the as yet unfilled containers lay, and then continues to flow, in an unrefined channel, across the room before it disappears into a large black shadowy arch, the outline of a tunnel entrance, running down further into the Black Hill and below the millennia’s old city of Mtol Dærine.

Jon's lovely map exactly has the right of it! I think what may have been tripping Toranindracar up is that the stream runs parallel to the entrance passage, so that if you head right, then the stream will run perpendicular to you. However, that being said, yes, that is precisely the direction which the footprints lead in and where the sound is coming from (and also away from the crypts and the sacred pool).

Thomi all but disappears and none of you remember where he is, or even that he was there to begin with. Thomi - your knowledge of dungeoneering leads you to believe that were you looking for passages to an underground, as yet undiscovered, city then following the stream would be the way to go.

No immediately observations of traps. Or, at least, not that you detect at any rate....but if there are footprints here, you certainly don't see them. In fact, weren't the last footprints you saw a level above????

Oh man, SO jealous! That's AWESOME! Enjoy and take LOTS of pictures!

Toranindracar - You carefully examine the area, noticing every single minor detail. The others watch you as you do your peculiar routine with the studied eye of an expert. You find several hairs, almost certainly male by the lack of oil and the smell. They seem human by their texture. They are parallel with very feint sets of boot tracks. Boots you determine which are of harder leather and not as supple as the boots of everyone you have seen so far at Dubdind. The one on the right seems to have had a blister or some other foot ailment by the slight drag on his right heel. A single white fiber from what could only be Kal'ishal's robes determines the fate that they had passed this way.

You feel the slightest breeze come from one direction and pass toward another, but your uncanny perception recognizes that the breeze is covering up an acrimonious smell. You listen for a while in the dim shadows of the caves underneath the Black Hill and you discern that the main flow of water, coming from a passage coming from the right. You can tell that the watercourse moves it's way steadily down from within the caves and then below the surface level of the City. You also notice, only barely perceptible to your keen eyes, that footprints too seem to lead in that direction.

Thomi - do you happen to have the Survival skill also?