The ghoul leader stares at Ranalfus in a respectful way, "We have never tried to open that door Master, as there are no places to grip the door to pull it open. We have seen people enter from the other side without any problems, so perhaps you need to follow their path."
The shadowy man studies the door for some time but doesn't appear to see anything more than Brok has already ascertained. He doesn't move to help Vargrenz but does watch with curiosity. It is another minute before the fetchling suggests, "There may be magic at work here."
Grezzor does find a magical aura on the door, that of a faint abjuration spell.
Ranalfus shakes his head thanking the ghouls for their information he reports it back to the others.
"There is definitely magic involved - I cannot fathom what it is though" - Grezzor comments.
"Ask ghoulies why they not eat peoples that come from other side." Brok urges Ranalfus.
"I will ask but I assume the are those clerics and if they get close the risked getting controlled, but that is an assumption. I will ask."
Ranaulfus returns to the ghouls to get info on those that passed.
"Who were the ones that passed before? Why did you not eat? Did they have control over the dead?"
The ghoul responds, "Many people like yourselves, explorers looking for treasures or those looking to defeat the Master ...they only found us..." he rubs his distended belly in emphasis.
"Master? There is a master? I would like to meet the master. Can you show us?"
Grey studied teh magical aura over Grezzor's shoulder. He was pretty sure he recognized the magic, but he wanted to let the Goblin voice his thoughts first.
"If door locked by magic, then this is dead end." Brok states the obvious.
"We can go back down to goat temple level. From there we can either follow ogres deeper or go back up to skeleton level and take stairs back down to this level and risk worms."
"Brok willing to either chase ogres or risk worms."
"but Keil got eaten by worm last time so he might not like idea."
The fetchling's mask droops noticeably at Brok's suggestion, a clear indication that the goblin is correct - Keil has no interest in tempting those worms. "This door may be beyond our skills, but not Grey's." Turning to face the witch Keil asks, "Magic can be undone, can it not?"
Brok waits for the wizard or the witch to weigh in on opening the magical door.
The fetchling's mask droops noticeably at Brok's suggestion, a clear indication that the goblin is correct - Keil has no interest in tempting those worms. "This door may be beyond our skills, but not Grey's." Turning to face the witch Keil asks, "Magic can be undone, can it not?"
"Or mine" - Grezzor adds - "Yes, magic can be dispelled. Shall I try it?"
"By all means," Grey said politely, deferring to Grezzor.
Grezzor nods and moves to the door, studying it for a moment. Then he goes through the arcane process required to dispel the magic present therein.
"I am unable to overcome it" - the goblin shrugs, returning to the others.
"Da spooks can't help." Brok tells Keil.
"Back to the worms?" he asks for the fetchling's agreement.
The fetchling shudders. Raising to his feet, the shadowy man resolutely adjusts his pack and ragged cloak before pulling low the worn wide brimmed hat. In a whisper he acknowledges, "The worms," and quietly starts the process of backtracking.
Brok motions to the others to follow and trails after Keil as they backtrack back down, then up, and back down again.
(+3 for traps)
Grey followed, trying to shake the feeling that they were in quite over their heads.
Thanks to the scout's tracking abilities and Vargrenz's unerring sense of direction it is a fairly easy matter to backtrack your way back to the priest level, then wind your way back to cavern where you battled the ogres, then through the tunnels upwards to where you first encountered the skeletons, then finally past where you encountered the undead lord Saracek and then down the staircase leading to the cavern where Keil met his untimely end.
Once you have reached the place where you fought the worm you can see many other scavengers have been to work upon the readily available source of food and there is little left of the worm but bits and pieces of its carcass.
As you peer out into the large cavern you await any signs of another worm, but thankfully all is quiet...for the moment.
Brok: 58/58 HP, 1 Hero Point.
Grezzor: 54/54 HP, 3 STR damage, 2 Hero Points.
Keil: 40/40 HP, 3 Hero Points.
Praetor Grey: 47/47 HP, 1 Hero Points.
Vargrenz: 56/56 HP, 2 Hero Points.
Ranulfus 30/30 hp, 1 Hero Point
Current Date: Freyrmond 26 of 3517 (I.R.).
T plus 26 days.
Time: Around 2:00 am
Weather: ??
"Why not go tell Saracek the head cannot be found, and strike another deal?" - Grezzor stares at the large cavern.
"Saracek is not the goal. Finding the oracle is." The fetchling does his best to tread carefully, not only to avoid any more worms from ruining his day but also to avoid the attention of the scavengers. Choosing a path close to the chamber walls, the shadowy man searches for anything out of the ordinary but also for a way out of this place.
"The idea was to try and get him to tell us..." - Grezzor mumbles as Keil goes off scouting.
The fetchling slowly and carefully works his way around the edge of the large cavern. As he approaches the purple worm carcass the rats and spiders scatter at his approach but soon return back to their feasting.
After seeing several opening cracks in the walls dead ending, the fetchling makes it to the underground river which flows through the cavern at a rapid pace. All around him the cavern is filled with stalactites and stalagmites, but no piercers reveal themselves. Also non-digestible castings around the cavern from the purple worms litter the cavern
After making it across the river successfully, Keil continues his exploration. A large stone formation dominates the southern part of the cavern but it looks to be featureless. The other crevasses in the cavern prove to be dead-ends as well, but one does lead to a short passage that ends at a door.
Brok: 58/58 HP, 1 Hero Point.
Grezzor: 54/54 HP, 3 STR damage, 2 Hero Points.
Keil: 40/40 HP, 3 Hero Points.
Praetor Grey: 47/47 HP, 1 Hero Points.
Vargrenz: 56/56 HP, 2 Hero Points.
Ranulfus 30/30 hp, 1 Hero Point
Current Date: Freyrmond 26 of 3517 (I.R.).
T plus 26 days.
Time: Around 2:30 am
Weather: ??
The shadowy man continues to hug the walls. It is perhaps in vain, but so far the strategy is working. Picking his way around the stalagmites, and careful not to walk in any kind of rhythm, Keil enters the passage leading to the door. His approach is cautious however the fetchling's posture is somewhat relaxed now that he has cleared the worm's domain.
Brok pads along behind Keil silently, waving the others along and motioning to them to be silent.
When he catches up with Keil he helps him check the corridor for danger.
(+3 for traps)
The door appears to be open so the two scouts decide to risk a peek. The room here is mostly empty but someone has scrawled "In the Stoneheart Valley, when east becomes west, the Bridge of Scepters shall be found" on the west wall in an archaic form of the common tongue, and several empty flasks are scattered throughout the room. Three doors, one in each wall, lead out of this room.
The shadowy man recites the words quietly in his head as he looks at each of the doors in turn. Speaking more to himself than for Brok's ears he comments, "Odd note. A riddle?" Keil puzzles for a minute but in the end his logic is simple; the door to the right. Not only does it lead west as suggested in the archaic scrawl, but it is also the closest and there is really no sense in leaving an unexplored door at their backs. This is the strategy the group has usually relied upon and there is no reason to deviate now.
"I know little of maps and the language of men. Is Stoneheart Valley a place any of you recognize by name?"
The shadowy man continues to ponder the scrawl and taking a more figurative approach adds, "The Valley may be this dungeon. East turns to west, sunset. The Bridge of Scepters..." Keil scrunches up his face in a guess, "a royal significance?"
A moment later the fetchling shakes his head in disgust, mutters something about the evils of poetry and continues his examination of the west door.
The fetchling determines the door is not trapped in anyway, so once the others have joined him he slips inside, followed closely by the goblin ranger.
The door leads to a small, empty cavern with an ordinary stone door leading to a passage that winds to the south before opening into a hexagonal chamber, also empty except for two doors opposite of the entrance.
Seeing no immediate threats the shadowy man signals to Brok thenslips off to the nearest door, inspecting it for anything unusual or, dangerous.
Grezzor watches the scouting from the entrance to the room, in silence.
The fetchling moves past the door, seeing there is a small triangular chamber beyond, with a door on the opposite wall. He does hear some noises beyond the portal, some clanking mixed with a faint muttering.
Brok tries to remember anything about a Stoneheart Valley
As Keil gets to the door, Brok listens carefully to try and catch any details.
(+3 for traps)
Using the noise coming from beyond the portal as cover, the fetchling carefully checks the door to ensure it is safe to open. Then, barring any explosions, he eases open the door to the adjoining chamber.
The fetchling cautiously eases the stone door open a crack, enough for him to peer inside the chamber. A hexagonal chamber lays on the other side like the others he has seen here, yet this one is occupied. Four humanoid creatures are set about the center of the room where a small cooking pot sits above some dying embers. Three of the men, who Keil soon realizes are actually orcs, lounge on the floor fast asleep, while the fourth walks around the edges of the chamber his armor clanking softly. The orc mutters to himself in the orcish tongue, words like 'fool' and 'sacrifice' are able to be made out. A closer look reveals they are all well armored and armed, and Keil's keen eyes pick out a symbol hanging over the orc's neck...the Unholy symbol of Orcus, the Goat Prince!
So far the lone orc has not noticed the watcher...yet.
Brok taps on Keils shoulder and gestures towards the orc, indicating that the fetchling should ambush him.
He draws his bow, ready to cover the attack.
His sword drawn, Keil sneers with a nod and, picking an opportune moment, slips into the room behind the lone orc. The fetchling wastes little time, treading carefully he chooses a vulnerable spot, a gap in the sacrifice's back armor. An instant later the shadowy man's blade plunges, his left hand ready to cover the orc's mouth to silence its cries.
The fetchling positions himself behind the brooding priest and drives his blade deep into the orc's side...wounding him but not fatally...
.
The orc gurgles out a warning whilst he raises his weapon to retaliate...
...while his blow is wide, the sounds of combat erupting are more than enough for the other orc priests to begin to stir!
Priest: Awake, Prone
Acolyte 1: -18 hp
Acolyte 2: Awake, Prone
Acolyte 3: Awake, Prone
Brok shoots Keil's opponent, firing two arrows with a single pull of his bow on the first shot.
(deadly aim, pbs, precise shot, manyshot [/dice]