Belathorian has not spoken since the incident with the skeletons. He is introspective to the point of distraction.
it was a living dream, that same damned dream again. The way those skeletons looked at me, they know... I should have been terrified, my first taste of a real fight but... Glee? Like I was born to... Reborn to.
Brezik walks up to the corner an peeks around the corner looking down the next hallway and into the room the party is in as well....
Before putting his foot down on the area before him Brezik realizes there is a pit, loosely covered with gravel and stops from falling in. Looking to his left he spots another pit there as well.
Carefully Gad looks in the pits nearest him, and making sure to probe the ground in front of him as he moves with his broadsword.
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Oblivious to the pits and unsure why his friends are stepping awkwardly about and poking the ground with their weapons, Allister wonders aloud "Why do they have to make crypts so dark? Hey look, a lever - maybe it will turn on the lights." He tries to move towards the lever but is stuck behind the others in the narrow corridor.
"I... I'm sorry."
Belathorian breaks his silence as the group slowly move through the columnated room.
"I get these dreams... and sometimes they don't care that I'm awake..."
not dreams, memories, but not mine...
"I hope I didn't scare anyone... I'm ok, just... Those skeletons... They looked at me like they knew me..."
"Careful Allister, there are traps ahead." Qina poked her head around the column and looked at Belathorian. "I have bad dreams too sometimes. They can seem so real. Don't worry, your friends are with you." She smiled and gave him a wink. Turning back to Gad she asked "so which way now?"
Do we want to explore the room before pushing on to the next? and should we pull the lever... might just be a trap in itself... or it may make the traps easier to negotiate... Brezik peers down into the two traps near him looking to see what's at the bottom of them... Dead bodies... undead... spikes... random treasures...
"We should explore the room fully before we move on. We might find more clues as to what is actually going on,
or we might find more useful items. Either way, while the howling is ominous, it does not appear to be harmful...yet.
So we have no reason to hurry."
At the bottom of the pits are...pillows! Big fluffy pillows made of goose feathers and down. They look exactly like the ones you've found in the saddle bags. You figure falling into the pits wouldn't hurt, but it might knock you cold if you feel wrong.
Well those sons of biscuits.. it's all startin to come together... the Everflame quest is a farce... like Santy Clause or that babies are delivered by the stork. It's just a bunch of adults running around behind the scenes trying to make us kids feel like heroes... well from the condition of those horses and poor old Gerol and Vark something came along and messed up the whole game for them... Think about it the orcs that turned into bubbles... now traps filled with pillows... they tried to make us feel special... but didn't want us in any real danger... Maybe we should go back to town and let the Grown ups know that the plan went foul on them...
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"Wait a minute...So you mean babies don't come from storks? But, then where do they come from?" Allister was too surprised by this new information to process Brezik's revelation for some time. After a minute of deep thinking, he continues "And if they wanted it to be safe, why would they put a muddy hill out front?"
"Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean about Santy Claus? What's he got to do with this? You think he's in trouble too?" Qina glances around nervously. "We have to help him...for the children."
Brezik tries to play the role of concerned parental figure instead of the role of scared teenager that he knows he really is...
I think my point is made... Lets pack up and head back to town....
...and get out of this spooky scary crypt... there's dead people here... and some really do try to bite and attack you.
"No. Something is going on. We need to find out about it and see if we can fix this. Otherwise what is the point
of coming all the way here? Not to mention, since we have come all this way...Why give up now?"
Gad'larr feels like a scolding father, even though he's still basically an outsider to these people in the end.
"Stay here, I'll check out the rest of this room. Brezik, Vivian? See if you can figure out what the switch does?"
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"Hey! We are heroes! I don't care if they tried to fake it for us, we made it down that muddy hill! We wiped out those skeletons! And after we finish whatever is going on here, we'll get the flame, march back into town heads held high, and bring Gerol and Vark back for the burial they deserve. We can do this, we're not kids anymore,
She ends with her glowing mace held high in the air, panting with excitment and adrenaline. After a moment she comes back to reality, "Um, yeah Gad, right. Of course. Someone should scout a bit behind you though incase you jump another undead group."
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Allister is wildly motivated by Vivian's rousing speech, "Yeah! Now let's pull that lever!"
"On your right, Bel" he says while squeezing past to the left of the priest, then awkwardly grinds armor and he slides between Vivian and the wall. "Excuse me," he mumbles.
"DESTINY!" He looks over his shoulder at the others before moving the lever, fully expecting someone to scold him for what he is about to do.
Hearing Allister's crashing movements, Gad moves to see around the columns and what the burly paladin was doing...
"Nooooooooo! Doooonnn'ttttt...!"
Allister pulls the lever...and a small click sound is heard from the door to the south. Nothing else appears to happen.
"...ttttttt!!"
Gad'larr flinches and looks around after the clicking noise.
Now a little sheepish, Gad goes on.
"Good job Allister. At least now we know pretty much what the switch does not do."
Brezik moves to the door and checks to see whether Allister just locked it or unlocked it...
The door is firmly locked.
Allister try that lever again and see if it unlocks the door...
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Vivian cringes as the mechanical click plays out, then eases up. "Good, er, initiative Allister! Gad, I'll take the left corridor if you want to take the right." "I gotta keep an eye on that one,.. No! Not because of his armor, he's just, impulsive...and so...shiiiny.'
She then moves herself to the left corridor, just ahead of Qina, squeezing past her comrades.
As her mace is set to go out any minute Viv casts light onto her shield. But the large blinding barrier distracts her from properly watching her step..
Gad and Vivian move up on opposite sides of the stone pillars
Before he is able to put his full weight on it Gad notices the pit trap before him. Collapsing it inward with his sword he notices something resting on the pillows of this particular trap, a small sack tied with a piece of twine.
Allister pulls the lever again, and once more there is a soft click from the door. Brezik pulls, but the door is still locked! After about six seconds there is an even fainter click from the door once more.
Gad will climb down into the pit to retrieve the bag. Carefully.
(Taking 10)
Spilling the contents of the bag into your hand there are six platinum pieces and a small scrap of parchment which reads
three to open, but be quick, for the door will only open for those who work together
Putting away the the items, Gad will climb back up quickly...
...and show the money and parchment to the others.
"Looks like another planted clue for us. I think we need to find 2 more switches in here somewhere. But
watch out for pits! They seem to be everywhere and there is no telling what is in them right now."
Pointing at the locked door, Gad continues.
"The note says we have to hurry and work together to get this right. We should have three people pulling
switches at the same time, and maybe a fourth to hold the door after it unlocks or opens. Agreed?"
Vivian traces a route around the outside of the room, and though she does not see the pit trap, Gorum provides her the speed to avoid its effects leaping off the before her weight would have it collapse into yet another pile of pillows.
Catching her breath she spots another lever in the alcove to her left.
Brezik readies to open the door once Gad finds the last switch and his three companions pull the lever.
Gad will look around on the far side of the room from the entrance for another lever.
Gad's meandering path takes him close by another alcove which the last lever appears to be. With some coordination everyone is able to pull their levers at the same time. A quick succession of clicks issues from the door which Brezik pulls open successfully. After another 6 seconds 3 deadbolt locks spring back into where the door would be were it closed.
The door opens to five foot wide hallway that branches off in a few directions. The screams sound like they are coming from directly south of your location.
"Excellent work ladies and gentlemen! Shall we continue? Brezik? Lead the way."
Gad moves back to the group to resume their path in single file again.
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The darkness and wailing begin to take their toll on Allister and he has started to breathe loud and heavy as if trying to exhale his anxiety. His line of companions give him the strength to continue onward into the crypt, but the pitch black darkness behind makes him want to scream. Their lights cast shadows that dart about, and Allister expects that any moment something horrid will snatch him up and drag him away.
"Psssst...Hey, Qina. Are you scared, too- I mean, I'm not...Nope, I'm not scared one bit." A sound echos off the wall in the dark pit and pillar chamber behind him and Allister Gasps.
Belathorian follows dumbly behind the group, still lost in his own thoughts. Qina's words are some comfort though and as the group move through the doorway and into the coridor beyond he comes more to his senses.
"what do you dream of Qina?... That moaning... That's not undeath. We need to help whoever that is."
He shakes his head as if to clear it
"I am Belathorian, twice born devotee of my lady of the graves. I need no dreams to end the undead plague."
A look of determination comes to his face as he urges the group onward.
Along these walls are intricate depictions of men fighting monsters, though time and lichen have chewed away at them, leaving few sections of stone unblemished.
Belathorian removes one gauntlet and runs his fingers along the stonework as the group progress
"Ancient warriors in ancient wars, do you suppose anyone remembers them, their names, the sound of their laughter... They are with their gods now. Perhaps even My Lady fogets, once she has ushered them on."
"Does anybody remember the history of this place? I remember something ...vaguely. A big fight of some sort?"
"Don't be silly Allister. Of course I'm scared...but I'm also excited. This is where stories of adventure begin, right? I mean, the heroes venturing into darkness, battling the rising dead, finding ancient treasures. It's the stuff of legends, right? At times I'm terrified,"She looks around at the others. "and at the same time, I've never felt safer."
Qina blanches a little at Belathorian's question. "Uh, sometimes, I dream of dragons, but not like good dragons. Bad dragons. Evil dragons. I don't know why, but its often either the same dream, or the same dragon. It's more of a nightmare really. He's often doing something really bad and then suddenly looks at me and smiles. Like he's looking at me for approval or something. Anyway, that's my dreams. Do you remember yours Bela?"
"I don't remember much Gad, just what my momma used to tell me. Something about Kassen fighting off invaders and dying in the process, but winning the battle. So they buried him out of respect and each generation or something comes down here to retrieve the flame. Some sort of right of passage I guess. I normally like stories, but sometimes I don't always pay as much attention as I should when they're being told."
unless someone has a preference I'm going to keep following the left turns in the passages.
Assuming that there are no negative responses to his suggestion Brezik continues down the passage to his left in his careful manner.
The mournful wailing grows louder with each step toward the door at the southern end of this musty hallway. There are a host of bones strewn on the floor here, many of which are cracked and broken.