Rhaegar sniffs the ladder first, before descending.
Despite her companions' apparent superstitions, Verrin proceeds confidently through the (presumably) abandoned streets and down the ladder. She has her dagger drawn.
As you continue, you see that the hallways go for a ways.
The next floor down appears, from what you can see to look a lot like the previous. The ladder continues further down, or you can explore this floor.
K(Engineering):
Xeran points at various pieces of walls. "It would seem that these panels are also doors. Though I have not been able to locate a handle that would open such a device. Verrin, perhaps you would be able to perform a similar action to orchestrate the opening process you demonstrated earlier?"
Zoggie is situated by the ladder, impatiently waiting for the party. She does seem intrigued by the sheer number of doors, however.
"Huh. Well spotted. Let me see what I can do..."
Verrin examines the nearest door carefully for traps, magical or otherwise.
If she finds nothing, Verrin will attempt to open the door using her masterwork thieves' tools.
Probability of XXXX
We're going to be on split-spoilers now, since part of the party has gone down the stairs and part has not. Waynab and Rhaegar have gone down the ladder, with Cildad presumably following Waynab. Xeran and Verrin have stayed up top, and I'll let Xeran decide about Zoggie. Teyth is also in an indeterminate state; he is neither upstairs nor down until we observe his state by his posting. He should choose one and only read that spoiler]
"Hmm, that didn't work. Let's try this..." Verrin lightly touches her nose to the door, hoping that it works on the same principle as the previous one.
Zoggie can wander off for now. Xeran trusts her, but he will cast message so that they will be able to talk to each other openly.
Xeran notes, "I suppose your nose continues to serve as a more adequate lockpicking device than your tools."
He scans the room, particularly taking note of the furniture.
"Hmmm... If you would note the furniture, Verrin... It has not seen any use in centuries, yet it remains remarkably well-preserved. However, look over here. These slight footprints suggest that the furniture has been moved and this place has been recently inhabited. Sadly, I am not a skilled tracker, so I cannot ascertain any more information."
"Yeah, I see them too, Xeran. Problem is, I'm not an expert on tracking either," Verrin says wearily. "Two conclusions present themselves - either we are not the first recent explorers of this structure, or something non-native to the original culture lives here.
"Unfortunately, I am not familiar with any kind of creature that would make this kind of footprint... my years of studies have focused much more substantially on aquatic specimens rather than subterranean ones."
"I wonder... should I call for Zoggie and the others to see what they can do with this information? Or do we want to proceed without them?"
"Let's see what's in these other rooms first. I'd like to see if we can get a better idea of what's going on without running to those two..." Verrin says as she strolls outside and down the hall to the next door. Assuming nothing untoward happens, she presses her nose against the door. She is definitely on guard now that she knows something else is in the area, and she has her dagger drawn.
Xeran Sense Motive:
Zoggie Sense Motive:
Xeran nods. "Good idea. Let's continue our search up here before calling for the others."
Noting the potential for danger, Xeran mutters an incantation and casts a spell on himself.
Xeran has cast Spite on himself, infused with the spell Vampiric Touch.
Zoggie says, "Zoggie think we should explore this floor!"
Rhaegar hops of the ladder and starts peeking into the doors on the left and the right.
"This place must be huge"
Let me know if you guys want updated maps.
The Onion: National Funk Congress Deadlocked On Get Up/Get Down Issue
Xeran scans the room:
Perception:
Zoggie approaches the nearest door and tries to press her nose against it in the same fashion that Verrin did. "Zoggie want to try trick bossy Verrin used earlier!"
[b]"These blasted things don't seem to want open"[b]
Rhaegar is going to attempt to crouch down and yank the door open from the bottom.
Str:
Room 1 Perception:
Room 2 Perception:
She motions towards the unopened doors in the hallway. She also looks around for clues:
Perception:
Verrin moves to open the doors in sequence, taking care to be as unobtrusive as possible - she keeps her dagger in hand as she explores.