Zokama casts detect magic and takes a look at the magical items as well, to see if she might be able to help Navith identify them.
A pair of dark black leather boots with stitched green flame designs
A heavy dark black cloak with a flaming eye embroidered on the outside
A hard and heavy shiny ring containing a movable etched steel band within an inset groove
2 steel potion vials marked with a curling design
2 clay potion vials marked with a fan shaped mushroom
"So, what do you say? Shall we retreat to the hideout upstairs, or do you feel confident enough to keep pushing?"
Navith sighs wearily.
"I am tired and beaten down. Perhaps it is wiser to regroup and take stock of what we have learned...and won."
Zokama casts detect magic and takes a look at the magical items as well, to see if she might be able to help Navith identify them.
A pair of dark black leather boots with stitched green flame designs
Faint Enchantment which appears to be that of Daredevil Boots.
A heavy dark black cloak with a flaming eye embroidered on the outside
This item seems to reflect back Zokama's efforts and she is having difficulty with it.
A hard and heavy shiny ring containing a movable etched steel band within an inset groove
This ring is more complex than the other items, it's power stronger and more difficult to press for analysis. It has a Moderate aura of an unidentified type.
2 steel potion vials marked with a curling design
These potions are weak, and the steel seems to be interfering with the aura, which is Faint.
Braggi offers for the worst shift for spellcasters. "I can do the second shift. I don't mind splitting my sleep."
Zokama offers to take first watch, but says they should definitely come back to the secret passage after getting some rest. She also makes sure to gather up all the things that they found and take them along.
The group makes it's way back upstairs, careful to use what they find along the way to cover the tracks, both physical and scent-wise as well. The dead make for suitable foils to any sniffing the gnolls may achieve.
The old bandit lair still sits unused and unmolested. You secure and barricade the door and confirm the secret passage down to the lower levels still bears no tracks or mars on it's thick, dust coated surfaces.
The night passes relatively quietly, a soft scurrying was heard near midnight, but nothing after that. Whatever it was it seemed content to pass by, likely on it's way out of the manor.
Morning dawns to the crashing of thunder, flashes of lightning, and torrents of heavy rain. It would seem the storm from a few nights ago has returned, or perhaps it's bigger, angrier brother has decided to unleash it's own fury upon the lands.
"Good morning, friends! Ready to kick some gnoll ass?" Braggi is happy that they have been able to rest, which means that today they're closer to victory after yesterday's achievements. "Any chance you figured out what all these magic things do?" he asks while preparing something for breakfast.
Musami will awaken and stretch as he greets everyone. There is a popping and cracking as joints take up his body weight again . Taking a moment to quickly take care of morning ablutions, he dons his armour and reties his hair and beard.
A pack of rations appears in his hand and he offers it around to anyone who would be interested in partaking.
So we push further into this nest of vipers today? he says around a mouthful of dried meat and cheese.
Fil arises from his trance taking second and third watches peacefully with Braggi. He re-memorizes the same spell list as before. He checked his gear carefully. He will wave off any attempts to heal.
Yes, we shall. This place needs cleansed of all evils within. Let is continue the hard work we have started.
Navith frowns staring at the lowering sky.
"Pelor is hidden from us this day...luckily I am his dedicated servant...
When Zokama awakes, she sees that Braggi still needs some healing, and feeling refreshed with spells, she casts a healing spell on him rather than using the wand:
"Thank you, Zokama. With this I am ready to keep pushing."
Once everyone is rested and ready, you break down the crude barricade used on the chamber door and exit back into the main hall. Looking over the area you spy tracks leading from the stairs, across the room, and out the main doors. The dust is disturbed along the dry patch sheltered from the rains but beyond that the courtyard is a muddy mess, the rain coming down in hard sheets, flooding the area between the steps and the gate in at least a good inch of dark, silted waters. The moat beyond is likely also up to it's banks, if not encroaching over the tufts and onto the rough track road.
Who ever passed this way during the night did not return.
"Uhmm..."
So they went out over the moat, or someone did. How about we remove the bridge and leave them out there?
Braggi suspects the boot prints are similar enough to those worn by the other gnoll warriors to say a single gnoll, either very large or heavily encumbered, passed by last night and exited the moat house.
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"Damn! They sneaked out just under our noses!" Braggi comments on the necessity to clean the most house quickly before possible reinforcements arrive.
Zokama nods at Braggi's comment.
Agreed. Where to next?
"One less enemy. Unless they seek reinforcement. Either way, the time to strike is now. I suggest we return to the site of the gnoll battle, and check the light Braggi saw..."
Assuming the same marching order as before you slowly make your way back down into the dungeon, watchful for ambush, wary of additional gnoll guardians.
Reaching near to the secret portal you find a iron portcullis has been dropped roughly 10' from the spot Braggi indicated before. The bars have fallen flush to the floor, a flat iron beam bracing the upright bars along the bottom, two feet up, at five feet, again at seven feet, before disappearing into the ceiling.
Braggi and Filnefillan both spy the flickering yellowish light the sailor noticed before, leaking below the discolored stonework just out of reach beyond the barrier.
Zokama examines the Porticullis to see if it can be raised mechanically, or raised by brute force and then blocked/jammed to prevent it from lowering again.
Zokama determines the portcullis is freestanding, not locked into position. There does appear to be gears within the wall which will lock it into place again once it is raised but the mechanism to hoist it up is not accessible from this side, nor from within the stonework above.
A few sturdy hands might be able to raise the gate partially, perhaps high enough that someone can slip underneath and attempt to locate the winch, hoist, or turnstile which will lift it.
Navith smiles is appreciation of Zokama's assessment.
"And here I was thinking you were a rural songstress, not a seasoned engineer. Pelor reminds us that even behind the facade of an overcast day, his sun still shines - you are possessed of hidden lights my lady. Forgive me."
Navith offers a circumspect bow before turning to matters at hand.
"Once raised, even allowing a slight ingress, we might prop the gate with a sturdy timber or similar? Though if we are to return suddenly or retreat in haste, perhaps we might prop it as high as we can..."
He looks again at the portcullis.
"I feel sure our raising it will be an alarm. Of sorts."
"Yes, let's sound the alarm of thgeir deaths." Braggi leaves his sword aside for a moment and puts both his hands in the portcullis. "Do your magic things or whatever before I proceeed." Once everyone is ready,all his muscles tense, the sailor pulls up as best as he can .
Navith puts his back into the raising of the portcullis.
Musami steps up, grabs the potcullis low and lifts with his stumpy dwarven legs.
Zokama helps lift.
Musami finds himself gripping a section of the portcullis slick with some glob of rancid animal fat, rendered into a grease used to lubricate the mechanisms above. He slips as he strains to lift the bars alongside his companions, but Braggi shoulders much of the load while Navith and Zokama strive to leverage their own bodies under the weight to suspend it temporarily.
Filnefillan lodges a broken table leg from the junk room near the priestess' chamber, then wedges in a partially shattered chair back as well. The weight settles on the makeshift stand, slightly uneven but holding a good 30 inches above the floor. While the mechanism overhead creaked somewhat with the lifting, and the chains rattled as well, but no alarm sounded from the halls, least wise none you could detect.
"Let's leave it like that, as long as we can pass..."
Navith, breathing heavily, shakes his head
"It is not three feet high - if we have to run back this way we'll all be sliding under it - Musami included. I suggest we look for something to prop it higher."
Musami will duck under the portcullis, grasp it with his hands and heave again. Lets hope I miss that grease this time.
"Alright" Braggi agrees. "Let's find something first and then we lift." He has a quick look around, trying to remember if they left something fit yesterday.
Navith also looks, trying to remember what they found in the storeroom or if a timber in the moathouse might suffice without being too heavy.
While the brawny sorts ferried pieces back and forth from the junk room upstairs, Filnefillan and Zokama crept closer to the hidden doorway, curious about it's purpose. Hearing nothing and seeing no movement in the light shining under the portal, Zokama triggers a loose stone to the right of the wall, the trigger twisting easily back and forth, shifting the wall inwards.
Inside the small 6' x 8' chamber a large winch wheel is mounted to the left wall beside two separate levers, both standing open. The winch chain creaks and shakes in time to the men in the hallway lifting and jostling the portcullis.
Now that they have found the actual controls, Zokama re-evaluates her ability to disable the porticullis and prevent anyone from dropping it again in the future.
Zokama studies the exposed mechanism but is unsure of the best way to completely disable the pulleys, gate and gears. She does believe ratcheting the chains back up, thus lifting the portcullis back into place, she can then engage the pair of braking levers to lock it in the open position, at least until someone manually releases them. This would negate any floor triggers or pressure plates which might exist elsewhere, leaving only this room capable of triggering the gate again.
Do we want to wedge the portcullis open? Perhaps I could hammer a wedge on to stop the levers being thrown again.
"Yeah, do that" groans the sailor. "But do it quick,they're waiting for us."
Navith shakes his head again.
"My apologies for continually disagreeing, but it may be prudent to have the option of dropping the gate on any would-be pursuers..."