"I am concerned we are still in over our heads. Our original task was to establish a threshold to that Komm could build a forward base. We have no support, and we are now at the point where we badly need one," Grey said.
"Perhaps it is time to make that happen."
"How so?" - Grezzor questions.
"Devil Komm send us back here to find information on some oracle." Brok reminds Praetor.
"Brok thinks we need to find others we can grab and question about oracle. Rappan Athuk is dangerous, but we can be sneaky."
To Praetor: "Can you make more not-dead dead ogre bodyguards? Those were a good trick ... until the goat priests took them from you."
The shadowy man scratches his chin in thought then pulls out a well folded yet worn piece of vellum. Unfolding the parchment the fetchling squats, opens a half empty bottle of ink and begins marking the diagram with a quill, updating what looks like a map of the complex. It had been a part of his evening routine however this discovery seems like an important one since it means a possible escape route. As the others talk, Keil unfolds another map to compare locations and annotations.
"No, Brok. I cannot. I had to purchase those scrolls from Komm at substantial cost. I am still a ways off from being able to perform that ritual on my own."
"How so?" - Grezzor questions.
"We tell Komm that the upper levels we have cleared are ready to be turned into a base camp."
"How much easier would this task be if we were not alone with nowhere to resupply? Everywhere we leave cleared is a place that could be claimed and put to use."
Without looking up from his drawings the shadowy man interjects, The upper levels are not safe. That blob creature still roams free. Komm's forces would not fair well against it. And lets not forget about the skeletons. One awaits a head. The others drove us here.
"Brok think we search rest of this level and see what we find." The goblin ranger declares.
"Brok not believe that the goat priests slide down dirt ramp to get to this level. Maybe they have stairs we not see yet." he reasons.
In addition to the tunnel where the ogres retreated to that descends deeper into the ground , Brok finds another tunnel in the east side of the cavern that winds its way eastwards that stays level and a tunnel in the opposite side that proceeds a short distance before entering a worked corridor .
"Alright." Grey nodded. He wasn't happy about the turn things had taken, but he wasn't sure what to do about it.
"Yes. Another way out would be useful." The shadowy man agrees with Brok. Replacing the cork on his ink and folding his maps, the fetchling stows his notes and makes for the eastern tunnel. Although a little distracted, the shadowy man has enough sense to wave Brok ahead of him - two pairs of eyes are better than one. :)
Brok points Keil to the west.
"East tunnel goes to coachroach man's house, away from Rappan Athuk."
"West tunnel probably connects to oily water room."
Brok leads Keil into the edge of the worked stone corridor and looks carefully for danger.
(+2 for traps)
The rough hewn passage opened into a worked corridor heading north before turning to the west, along with heading to the south and ending at a blank wall. Peering closely shows a not-very-well-disguised secret door at the end of the passage. A stone door is in the east wall along the north corridor, and also, disturbingly, a raised portcullis sits flush with the ceiling.
Grezzor follows the scouts.
Ranalfus continues following along, chewing on pieces he harvested from the ogre bodies.
Like a blind thief, the fetchling follows Brok's finger towards the portcullis and amateurishly concealed door. Keil rolls his eyes and shakes his head, I must be blind. Considering the level of cunning put into other doors and traps encountered up to this point, Keil shares the goblin's trepidation, "I don't like it." The shadowy man examines the portcullis overhead, "The release is physics, a spike in the right spot should prevent it from falling." Keil reaches into his pack and retrieves a piton and the iron bar which is his multi-tool. Twisting the bar 90 degrees and folding it he slides a tab forward locking the device in the shape of a hammer then gets to work.
The fetchling does see the 'secret' door is indeed trapped here, set to trigger upon opening. So far as he can see, the only visible effect is the dropping of the portcullis. Also, try as he might, he sees no way to disable the mechanism.
The fetchling double checks the positioning of the piton then switches positions looking at the barrier from a different angle. Sighing Keil slides his hand into a void above the ceiling then shakes his head, "Engineered to fall. Jamming can't support the weight." Looking down the hall he adds, "The connection is the door." The shadowy man pauses to think. A hallway with an obvious secret door. The door is connected to a portcullis constructed to fall trapping any who opens the door. Why? To imprison? Something else? The shadowy man re-examines the ceiling and walls of the hallway hoping to see something that was missed. He continues his search to the other end of the hall (north) checking the walls and ceiling for a hint of what will happen after the portcullis falls.
The fetchling's attention is drawn to the only item of interest here: the stone door in the wall. Two things he sees right away; the door has no obvious handle to pull the door open. Closer examination also reveals the door appears to be sealed airtight as well.
The corridor past the door continues westward for some distance before curving to the south, with a side passage revealing stairs that ascend from this floor.
Keil looks at the airtight door then down the hall, his instincts tell him this door is somehow connected with the portcullis. Something is behind this door, More skeletons? But why is it sealed so? Water? Keil looks at the grade of the hallway .
While Keil examines the door, Brok keeps an eye on those stairs ascending to the unknown.
Vargrenz is able to determine the corridor between the airtight door and the portcullis is nearly level. Meanwhile the duergar estimates the stairs ascend to a point southwards of where Keil nearly perished fighting the purple worm.
Perplexed, the fetchling polls the others, "The door is trouble." Keil speaks on behalf of Brok and himself as he indicates the poor secret door at the end of the hall, "Opening it triggers the portcullis. I feel this sealed door may play a part. I will attempt to open it, but it is your call. As for me, I'd leave it and whatever treasures lay within."
"This level is dangerous. I think you should leave the doors alone unless we can't find any other way forward." Brok tells Keil.
"I don't know why someone would make an airtight door down here, but if there's a cloud of poison gas on the other side, we can't fight that."
"Vargrenz thinks the stairs lead up to the level with the worms. I say we scout the remainder of the open corridors on this level and then check the stairs."
"Gas." The shadowy man's eyes narrow, shifting to the sealed door once more and he nods. "Humph." Once again the little goblin has hit upon a likely solution with a simple suggestion, remarkable. The fetchling makes a mental note to add this revelation to his journal later and slips down the corridor, continuing their exploration of the level.
Brok draws a snaggle-toothed frowny face on the floor in front of the air-tight door to mark the danger.
He motions for the others to follow.
Then he trails after Keil.
(+2 for traps)
Keil sees the corridor terminates in a small room here filled with junk, bones and other miscellaneous items. A shattered wooden locker hangs askew on one wall, while your ears detect a faint hissing from one corner of the floor.
Brok investigates the source of the hissing.
(+2 for traps)
As Brok looks for the source of the sound, the fetchling quietly scans the junk and shattered locker for anything of interest, or out of place.
Brok sees the venting is from a in the floor which is venting what appears to be steam, which is apparently harmless.
Keil sees the locker has been thoroughly trashed here but a couple of items still are here: several finely crafted arrows and a long thin piece of reeded wood. None of the items are of a magical nature.
Grezzor remains slightly behind the main scouts, waiting for their report.
"Steam-gas from floor...." Brok says to Keil.
Seeing the arrows, Brok gathers them up and puts them in his magic quiver.
"Always worried I run out of arrows and have to either fight with sword or run away...." he grins.
"Brok not see anything else here."
There is also a secret door, not far from where the hissing noise is emanating from.
Brok approaches the hidden door and puts an ear up to it to listen.
(+2 traps)
Having had a chance to sift through the debris the fetchling turns his attention back to Brok and his efforts at the door. Whispering Keil adds, "Don't forget the mull covering, we've spotted runes there before," before stepping in himself for a closer look.
Keil determines the secret door is not trapped, but he does hea some faint sound beyond the door. The fetchling believes it is a faint buzzing noise but it is very difficult to make out through the stone door.
The shadowy man looks over his shoulder to Brok, "Buzzing?" then shrugs his shoulders to indicate he is not entirely sure. Returning his attention back to the door, Keil opens the portal a crack as quietly as he can - just enough to peek inside. Depending upon what he sees, the fetchling is prepared to shut the door closed again in a hurry.
The fetchling cracks open the door and sees a corridor heading south to open into a water-filled room. A side room opens up to the east, yet disturbingly, the buzzing sounds have stopped.
Brok creeps up and takes a look.
(+2 for traps)
"Flooded room we see before. Brok no like swim."
"It is disturbing. The buzzing stopped." Fearing he may have set off some kind of intruder warning the fetchling closes the door once more and suggests heading back, "The stairs leading up?"
"Let us go then" - Grezzor nods.
Brok nods and slinks back to the stairs with an arrow drawn to his bow.
(+2 for traps)
Following in the goblin's wake, Keil silently watches over Brok's shoulder, his yellow eyes seeking out anything which may seem unnatural.