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ST
Dreygard silently walks forward and around the corner. The staircase descends another twenty feet before opening into a room. From this landing, you can hear strange sounds emanating from the chamber below, specifically chirping birds, rustling leaves, and cheery giggles. The landing itself is bare save for an empty iron torch sconce mounted on the south wall.
The room ahead looks about 10 feet tall. Dreygard can just barely make out a passage in the western wall.
Valamont watches Dreygard round a corner up ahead and a shudder briefly shakes his shoulders.
-You know, mother, it would be really terrible if Dreygard wasn't there when we got to the corner.
Dreygard stealthily and deliberately sneaks forward scanning for traps while wary of what might be causing the sounds.
Luc waits for the signal that it is safe to proceed.
Darthal also waits for the all-clear.
These dwarves are clever, don't explore underground without one, and two if you are fortunate.
SP:
SP:
Dreygard moves back to the group, borrows Valamont's bulls-eye lantern, and stealthily moves back down into the darkness as the party moves forward to the next landing.
The staircase ends at a forty-foot-square room with a ten-foot-high ceiling. A slight draft blows into the room from a ten-foot-wide open passage in the far west wall, directly across from the stairs. Two four-foot-diameter circular doors are set into the middle of the south wall. Each door is made of wood and framed with a ring of mortared stones. The westernmost door is closed and inscribed with a strange glyph . The easternmost door bears a different glyph but rests half-open. The half-open door reveals an iron rim of gearlike teeth, and dim light spills from the chamber beyond. Mounted to the walls of this room are twelve tarnished copper masks. The masks are two feet tall and cling four feet above the floor. Each one depicts a smiling gnome’s visage. The soft giggling, chirping, and rustling noises seem to pour from the very walls.
Dreygard will check the area around three masks to his right...
...and look as far down the halfway with the open door.
If he sees nothing, he'll flash the lantern once. If he thinks he is in danger, multiple flashes.
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Dreygard inspects the masks but finds no traps. He moves closer to the open door and looks inside, but can't make out much, since the door has been partially rolled into a cavity in the wall, creating a crescent moon shape just wide enough for a medium creature to squeeze through.
Valamont enters the chamber, looking from mask to mask, discomfort obvious in his expression as the faint giggling begins to quickly grate on his nerves.
"...
...
..."
He opens his mouth as if to speak,
then stops abruptly,
then manages, "Creepy. *Very* creepy."
When everyone is assembled, Diurn points to the door.
"Is it trapped? We should be ready to quickly file in behind him if Dreygard goes in."
"Aren't we supposed to 'beware the doors with teeth?' I suggest we only go through that door if there are no other options."
Luc steps into the room and mutters under his breath, "Don't see this everyday of the week..." He walks around the room and gives the masks a quick glance over, as well as tuning out the noises for any other dangers. "Maybe his eyes missed something".. Sunrod in left hand, loaded pistol in right hand.
"Wait, wait!" Darthal says in a harsh whisper. "Check for footprints and trails before we walk all over them! And let's see if there are any scent markings!"
He brings out Terrem's pillowcase and tells the dog to track the scent. "Good boy! After it! Go!"
He looks around at the masks and walls, and snorts. "Typical gnomish design. Does anyone recognize any of those runes? Is there anything around here we can use to brace the doors open? I don't trust them, and we were told to beware them besides."
"I suppose we could use one of those masks to brace the door."
Valamont pauses for a moment, recalling the map they poured over in Ghelve's shop while Dreygard and Diurn were off with the skulk.
"If memory serves, neither of those doors to the south connected to any ongoing passages. We can certainly search them, but I suspect our half-a-dwarf quarry and the missing children are a bit farther on.
And let's not forget that every step is a treacherous one here. Blasted gnomes and their-
What is making that awful giggling?"
"And say, these masks look evenly spaced around the perimeter of the room. It looks like one is missing here on the north wall..."
Diurn finishes, "Where maybe a door could be?"
Adolphus looks around the room, but he probably does not notice much.
He trudges along in his heavy armor. "Alright, let's move on then. The giggling is unnerving."
Diurn finishes, "Where maybe a door could be?"
"Good eye, Golden One. Let's see if my own dwarven pair has any luck." The dwarf then moves over to where Diurn is looking at the spot a mask might have been.
Dreygard stands with his fists on his hips and says with full dwarven stubborn confidence, "I can with all confidence give my word as a Splintershield that a secret door could not possibly be located here."
Looking at the conspicuous mask gap, "I don't see anything there either."
Dreygard flashes the bullseye lantern once, signaling the all-clear, and the party moves forward. Darthal stop the others before they tromp through the room, sending his dog forward instead. The dog sniffs the offered shirt and moves around the room. He pauses near the southeastern door, the one that's partially open, ears pricked, then moves on. After a full circle of the room, he returns to Darthal, ears drooping in what can only be called disappointment.
Adolphus, distracted by the unnerving giggling, looks around the room but the only thing he notices is that the partially open door is held open by a wedged piece of rock.
Diurn and Dregyard inspect the conspicuous empty space on the wall, but find nothing. Luc walks around the walls, and when he steps in front of the mask just to the south of the western hall, the mask’s mouth moves and a voice booms out,
Welcome to Jzadirune – behold the wonder!
But beware, ye who seek to plunder.
Traps abound and guardians peer
Beyond every portal, behind every gear.
Luc jumps back in surprise, and his foot lands on a loose stone in the floor, causing a section of the northern wall to open directly in front of Diurn and Dreygard. Looking through the now not-secret door reveals a dusty, cobweb-filled hall with a teen-foot-high ceiling and walls carved with frescoes depicting dour gnomes clad in chain shirts and helms, brandishing hooked hammers. There are no obvious doors leading from the hall.
"Well would you look at that. A magic passageway just appeared right where there were none before."
Diurn is shocked and consults his notes.
"Whoa, and this passage doesn't appear to be on the map. The south passageway looks to be two small rooms off two doors on the Jzadirune map. Should we go west and see if there is five rooms in a cluster at the end of the passage to confirm we are indeed almost in the exact middle of Jzadirune map now?"
"Confirm? This passage confirms it. It leads exactly to this space here," he points to the south of the large room complex at the north. "I'd wager there's a matching secret door at the other end. Perhaps if we examined it for more than a few seconds..."
Valamont smiles at Dreygard's initial analysis of the wall and then offers Luc an approving nod as the door suddenly appears. Dreygard's further explanation for the appearance of the door causes an even larger smile to play across the half-elf's face.
He turns to Diurn then, "Yes, I agree with Dorian. I think the staircase we descended down and this room match close enough for us to be reasonably sure where we are on the map Ghelve provided." Valamont pauses for a moment, looks down at his sword briefly, and nods several times before continuing.
"We were warned repeatedly of all the traps in this place, traps intended for non-gnomes and those unfamiliar with Jzadirune's passages. I think we should follow any secret paths we uncover in preference to more obvious courses for that reason alone. Naturally still, we'd be wise to keep our guard up and ours eyes open, as the very loud and friendly animate mask just suggested. Though I must admit, I am both heartened and worried by this revealed passage. What use do gnomes have for 10 foot high ceilings?"
"Using secret passages to avoid traps? Seems reasonable, but who can predict what a gnome would or wouldn't trap? Let us proceed carefully, but with speed. And perhaps this crazy music has kept the skulks from hearing us... we should be so lucky."
He glances down at the dog. "No scents so far, I fear. We'll try again later."
"Good point, we may want to particularly watch out for traps in the upper half of the passage. Gnomes would be down low."
Valamont turns to Darthal, nodding in agreement as the dwarf speaks. At Diurn's observation of only the upper portion of a hall being trapped, Valamont's shoulders droop and he hunches forward as he approaches the passage, his eyes glancing nervously to top half of the walls.
The plan to go throught the secret passage seems sound.
Diurn takes his place in the back as they resume exploring.
Dorian gives Diurn an impressed look, "That's actually not a bad idea. I can at least see if there are any traps of a magical nature." He steps up to the secret passage and then casts detect magic, concentrating on any auras if any exist.
Adolphus's mood is no sweeter than before the skulk. Perhaps his wound is paining him.
"Let's move then. Proceed cautiously."
He adjusts the weight of the heavy blade to his other shoulder.
Dreygard stealth:
Dreygard perception:
Skulk #1 stealth:
Skulk #2 stealth:
Dreygard perception (stonecutting):
Adolphus perception:
Dorian perception:
Diurn perception:
Darthal perception:
Valamont perception:
Luc perception:
Dorian senses one magic aura in the this room, and none down the hall.
As he concentrates, he identifies the aura as a permanent version of Ghost Sound that is creating the giggling and chirping. With no known magic auras down the hall, Dreygard stealthily moves forward down the hall, keeping a sharp eye out for anything that catches his eye.
While waiting for Dreygard to scout the hall, Darthal and Luc both watch the half-open door, and a good thing too, as they both see a skulk sneak out of it!
Valamont:
Darthal:
Diurn:
Dorian:
Adolphus:
Luc:
Dreygard:
Skulk #1:
Skulk #2:
Luc's sharp senses catch the skulk moving around and he whips his pistol around, letting off a shot!
Luc's bullet grazes the skulk's head, opening up a gash but seemingly not doing much to hurt to the creature. Suddenly, another skulk rushes out of the darkness next to its friend, charging at Darthal. Its sword glances off the dwarf's wooden armor, however, and no harm is done.
Darthal, knowing that skulks can change shape/color/form whatever, takes a 5' step back and casts faerie fire on the one that just attacked him, to make it visible if it shifts or goes invisible or tries to mimic one of us. (hey, it might, Darthal doesn't know.)
Darthal’s violet Faerie Fire outlines the skulk that charged him, the color nearly matching the colorful scarf the dwarf wears. The creature looks at itself in surprise and swats ineffectually at the lights. The other skulk recklessly charges at the surprised Valamont. The magi takes a vicious wound as the skulk sinks its sword deep into his stomach.
"Huh?" Dreygard rushes down the hallway. As he skids to a stop, he flicks his wrist, and a throwing knife appears in his hand. He underhand tosses at the skulk harassing Darthal.
Luc reloads, switches gun to his left hand as he spins, stepping to J10 in the process, and shoots Skulk #1 (if dead, apply to next one)!