The Door is untrapped and you hear nothing behind it.
The corridor does indeed show signs of the ogres passage.
"Ze ogres came zis way," Esteriande murmurs. "They may 'ave disabled ze mechanisms zat open ze flood gates."
"Some may still linger." Muchorak, Ursus along side him, draws his blades at his own words moving in to the structure.
Still lost somewhere in the mists of time and space, AliHawk continues to fly hither and yon as she searchers for sign of her dear wolf brother and the other four legs he guards. Perhaps they have become invisible? Perhaps all has become invisible and nothing exists anymore??
Dealing with these big existential questions with her small, simple yet vicious and protective mind, AliHawk considers the joy in ripping her claws through the flesh of any who may have harmed, (or disappeared for no logical reason) her dear Lunas. She cries out, her hawk's voice echoing off the ancient, gargantuan dam. Will she ever find sight of them? Is she doomed fly forever??
From her lofty perspective, should she ever finally struggle out of the mystical limbo she had somehow found herself in and find even the simple sight and recognition of her efforts and indeed spy sight of the four-leg friends she searches for, she will then wing back up to the top of the dam and join her two-leg friends who will likely be needing her claws and fangs soon.
Romon shrugs his shield onto his arm and slips his hand through the straps. He shakes his mace and places it temporarily in his shield hand while he opens the door, shifting it back to his free hand as the door swings.
Naria eagerly taking in all the sights inside the dam no matter how small while getting more and more annoyed at the mess the Ogres have made.
Three round windows in this room look out over the southern view from Skull’s Crossing. Additional skull carvings decorate the walls, ceiling, and even the floor. In the middle of the north wall stand massive stone double doors, their smooth surfaces smeared with graffiti written in dried blood.This Graffiti is in Giantish and can be translated as....
“BELOW DWELLS WET PAPA GRAZUUL! ALL HAIL WET PAPA GRAZUUL!”
Romon's appearance changes, his face grows long his hair even darker, ears round off. A pince-nez perches on the end of his knows and after a deep sigh, his accent is Chelish, "Blood again. Can't they find another medium in which to work?"
"Wet, hmmm?" Esteriande ponders, looking at the words. "What were ze ogres doing 'ere?"
"The Giant language is a simple one. It does not have much in the way of metaphors; usually everything is to be taken literally. If Papa is 'wet' then he is really wet with something. Unfortunately, we will probably find out what that something is soon."
More eye twitching from Naria "Great so they vanadlised in here as well."
Having returned from her search, DireAliWolf pads around, sniffing for any clue of their enemies.
Perception + Scent: [dice[1d20+11[/dice]
Romon disguises himself into a hulking warrior in full plate. Nudging Marak on the way, he slips out the door and down the hall.
Fast stealth:
Ali gets a confusing jumble of scents..Ogre, blood, more ogre and something else a damper more pungent scent.
The lighting situation is generally dependent on your own light sources..with the door open the area round the corner has dim light.
Romon moves silently up to the door. which is set at a 45 degree angle to the corridor
Perception (trap)
Perception (listen)
Disable device if needed.
Muchorak stays close to Romon, giving a 5 five to 10 foot gap between them.
Knowledge (Nature) to identify unknown scent:
Survival (if needed):
At the scent of the hated wolf-killers, Ali growls low in her throat, warning the others of their presence.
This extraordinary ability lets a creature detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell.
A creature with the scent ability can detect opponents by sense of smell, generally within 30 feet. If the opponent is upwind, the range is 60 feet. If it is downwind, the range is 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or troglodyte stench, can be detected at three times these ranges.
The creature detects another creature's presence but not its specific location. Noting the direction of the scent is a move action. If the creature moves within 5 feet (1 square) of the scent's source, the creature can pinpoint the area that the source occupies, even if it cannot be seen.
A creature with the Survival skill and the scent ability can follow tracks by smell, making a Survival check to find or follow a track. A creature with the scent ability can attempt to follow tracks using Survival untrained. The typical DC for a fresh trail is 10. The DC increases or decreases depending on how strong the quarry's odor is, the number of creatures, and the age of the trail. For each hour that the trail is cold, the DC increases by 2. The ability otherwise follows the rules for the Survival skill in regards to tracking. Creatures tracking by scent ignore the effects of surface conditions and poor visibility.
Creatures with the scent ability can identify familiar odors just as humans do familiar sights.
Water, particularly running water, ruins a trail for air-breathing creatures. Water-breathing creatures that have the scent ability, however, can use it in the water easily.
False, powerful odors can easily mask other scents. The presence of such an odor completely spoils the ability to properly detect or identify creatures, and the base Survival DC to track becomes 20 rather than 10.
There are 7 distinct scents that passed here recently..all ogres and within the last half hour.
Ali cannot identify the unfamiliar scent but she does get the feeling that there has been a fight in this building and not that long ago.
She sees a corridor with nothing of interest beyond the party.
She hears her friends naturally enough and the faint sounds of something large through the door.
Flowing briefly back to Gnome, Ali whispers of what she has sensed, and growls again, the sound no less fierce coming from her small, humanoid throat. Flowing back to Direwolf, she crouches, ready to pounce should an enemy be beyond the doors.
Ali's transformations into hawk form always bring at least a hint of a smile to Inikai. But her changes into an enormous wolf always bring shivers to him. Despite this, he moves closer to the door and readies himself to act once it is open.
Sensing her companions' mix of emotions, the great DireAliWolf turns for a moment and licks her packmate's face. Gazing at him eye to eye for a moment more with her big, predator's eyes, she then goes back to crouching in readiness.
"Something big eh, and wet?" Esteriande murmurs. "Very well then."
Servent of Shellyn, hear my prayer, grant my weapon the gift of fire against those I must face before me!
Her sword begins to glow, and flames run up and down the blade.
"Let's go."
More later
Romon pushes open the door and peers into the room
Piles of rubble dominate this large room, along with bits of flesh, broken weapons, splashes of blood, and a few dead ogres that have been torn limb from limb.
Wind and rain howl through circular openings to the north that look out over the Storval Deep, and puddles of water have collected on the floor.
Thick sheets of ropy green fungus grow along the walls here, winding in through the windows and through numerous cracks in the domed ceiling thirty feet above; behind the fungal vines, the walls are decorated with hundreds of skull-shaped carvings
Romon Perception
vs
The rogue spots movement in the fungus and can discern three hulking shapes on the North side of the room.
Additionally he can hear something to his right although the door blocks his immediate view of that area
A pungent stench hits the sensitive nose of Aliwolf overpowering any other scents she might have discerned.
Knowledge nature vs DC15
She is still unable to identify the scent.
For a young man who has learned in his trade that the slightest whisper of uneasy breath is reason to re-evaluate the situation before actually entering a room no matter how rich the score, this is a no brainer.
"Maybe Naria would like to see this fine example of Dassalion architecture." But as he says it, the half-elf is shaking his head 'no' and gently easing the door closed. He spins on his heel.
"Let's let the others know."
He glides quickly, quietly back to the main party. "Looks like a pack of big uglies stuck their fingers in the jelly in the other room. And then three or four big Gorberites helped them out of that jam. By ripping them to pieces."
"Are you saying there are more ogres in there or something else?" The rangers expression one clearly of confusion.
"Plants killed the ogres? Wonderful. Did anyone bring along a massive amount of salt?"
"Odd I think were all speaking common but I have no idea what your all talking about."
"Not cultists - just something that took a similar pleasure in dismemberment. Or maybe just bigger ogres. There were ogre bits everywhere. And mold."
"Zis is a battlefield, and something gave ze ogres trouble! We should be alert, zey are probably still around."
Esteriande looks round carefully.
Perception:
Opening the Door again Esteriande gets the same results as Romon...the shapes are definitely not ogres being both taller and broader.
"Very well zen. Let's go to ze ozzer door," Esteriande suggests, closing the door again.
"Wet ogres" Inikai intones flatly. "This should be pleasant."
You retrace your steps a little and push open the heavy metal door which reveals a staircase descending into the depths of the Dam
"Let's go."
Romon looks uncomfortably back at the door to the plant room. He doesn't like having something that can rip ogres limb from limb on his exit route, but he also doesn't like unnecessary fights. They draw attention and there's always the possibility of rupturing his precious skin. He asks the spellcasters, "Before we go, can one of you ward the door or something?"
Then he makes ready to follow the others down the stairs by strapping on his shield, drawing his mace, and giving himself the appearance of a Erastilian priest he once knew. Now apparently clad in long white robes, (with a tall white hat) and clutching a slim back cane he sidesteps to a rhythm only he can hear down the stairs in the others wake, occasionally twirling, sliding, or sidestepping back up a couple steps.
The stairs go down thirty feet to a wide landing from which another identical stairs goes down...this repeats four times and then you find yourself in a wide chamber.
This cold, damp room features a large pool in the floor, the edges of which are caked with pale yellow slime and fungus. The surface of the pool bears a similar film. Additional carvings of skulls decorate the walls here. To the south, an impressive mound of skulls—mostly from humanoids—lies heaped against the wall, where they partially block a large stone double door
|
Marak's eyes narrow at the sight of these humanoid remains treated so disrespectfully.
"What is wrong with these people?" he mutters, "Did someone come along and think, 'This place doesn't have nearly enough skulls?'"
"It's on them, if they have to deal with weekly outbreaks of angry wraiths and specters..."
Set's invective expresses what Inikai was thinking as he looked at the skulls.
"Right now I am more concerned about that slimy fungus. It puts me in mind of the dead ogres upstairs. And worse, I doubt that I can do anything to harm plants."
Map
Party order and places please
"Before we go, can one of you ward the door or something?"
"Sure" Naria casts an alarm spell on the door before following the others
(Have her at the back just at the foot of the stairs they have come down. so 09,03)
Esteriande slips through the door and angles right around the pool on stealthy feet.
Stealth:
As quickly as he can, Inikai takes a position flanking Naria.