Amelleanne keeps careful watch to the rear, lest something creep up behind them. She smiles at the exchange, but doesn't speak.
Extensive orcish graffiti decorates the walls. In a dark corner is a rat-gnawed body of an orc. The body is decomposing, obviously dead for several weeks. From the tracks in the dust, it appears he crawled into the room to escape and died.
"That's... worrisome. Does anybody understand orcish at all?"
"I do not know Orcish, but I do have experience with a good many languages... scribing and all... Let me take a look. Well, some of it seems similar to other languages, I've seen."
"Languages aren't my forte I'm afraid." Amealleane continues to watch and listen for anything approaching as Bryn studies the graffiti.
Bryn can not decipher the scrawling on the walls...
"Maybe there's something that will give us a clue on the body then..." Kyrus moves closer, his eyes darting around before he drops to one knee and examines the long dead body.
Tyler gives it a look.
The orc did not die of natural causes. Unless you consider blood loss from a large gash caused by some kind of edged object natural...
=)
After exploring the room and the orc corpse, but finding nothing of use or value, the group heads back to the passage and moves towards the east, stopping short of the next north/south intersection. You also see the passage continue eastwards and opening into another room ahead...
"Blast, nothing at all..." Kyrus gestures for the party to continue on and takes his place at the head of the column as they head down the next passage.
Tyler
Ami keeps watch mostly behind as the team moves forwards.
Úlf does his best to assist the others in looking about the area.
TYler winces in surprise as Ulf warns him, just as he's about to step on the tripwire. Hiding his blushes he bends over to disarm it. "Thanks Ulf." He says gratefully.
Tyler
Kyrus looks a little abashed that he missed the tripwire. "Good catch my friends," he says. "That was too close."
Úlf frowns slightly, shaking his head. "Is no special thing on my part...was lucky. If Úlf had not been looking in right direction, he wouldn't have seen the light from ioun torch reflecting off the wire. Still...as they say, better lucky than good, yes?"
"I'd rather a good dose of both, luck only takes you so far." Amealleane says quietly.
The tripwire Tyler disables is for another sliding block trap...but this one looked functional. Since Kyrus had already passed over it, it was lucky that Tyler and Ulf found it before it was triggered and trapped a number of you in the room beyond!
East first, if there's a room that way?
To the east is a 30' x 40' room, empty of all debris or even dust. There is an exit on the southern wall at the eastern corner.
Tyler
No Aid Another on this one...
Everything seems clear, let's get a move on. we still have the rest of this floor to check out and little time to do so.
"Yes, I agree. forward and through this room to the southern exit," Brynn says as she continues to scan for magical auras.
The smooth stonework of the entire level is truly amazing. Master craftsmen must have toiled for years to carve these large rooms out of the stone! As you enter the passage leading south from the last room, you see a light source coming from the room in front of you...
"Keep quiet and be ready," Kyrus murmurs as they approach the next room. "Lights in underground ruins are rarely a good thing." He draws an arrow and notches it, bracing himself for what might be ahead.
Brynn takes the ioun torch in hand, sheltering the magical stone and thereby shading a good portion of its light.
"Dimming the lights..." she whispers.
Initiative
As soon as you perceive the other group, they apparently perceive you as well! You can hear them stop moving and talking, apparently listening for you. Brynderie recovers the quickest, with Leon and Lorelei a second behind them.
Bryn?
Leon?
Need your actions, please.
Leon moves to the front, spear and shield at the ready to act if the target seems hostile, whispering to the group You see us, we see you. Come into the torch light
Brynnderie hustles forward to assess the danger. Lucky, ever concerned for Bryn's saftey, adds a little guidance to allow her to access a little more of her memories.
Leon and Bryn, you see a small group of what looks like adventurers in the next room. One, a human female, appears to be an arcane caster of some sort, with four small balls of fire floating around the party providing light. Her human and half-elf companions are warriors with long bows held at the ready.
"Sure. You stay where you are and we'll come a bit closer. My name is Bryn," the female says. "What are your names? How did you get here?"
Brynderie raises an eyebrow at Leon. "Um... this doesn't
smell right... I think we should not divulge my name."
it is possible she has a similar name, my name is Flynn Leon responds to the newcomers with a name other than his own