Falzeal uses his quarterstaff to help him across the ledge and he turns the corner, but once he comes upon the slippery ledge, he seems to lose his balance and falls into the sludge.
"Ooowwww! It burns!" Falzeal screams as he trudges toward the end of the trough and tries to climb out.
You're right, that stings but I've had worse
Celes edges out about twenty feet, but becomes distracted by Falzeal's scream and she tumbles into the muck.
What about the rope? Jebediah calls out once more.
"If we're going to do the rope thing, you gotta let me get the rope out! " Lukas shouts, dropping his pack and fishing out the rope. He ties a loop in the end, then throws it to Falzeal, saying "Grab on and I'll pull you out!"
As Falzeal scrambles out of the slime, Lukas slips his pack off his shoulders and digs out his trusty rope. ”Here, Fal, hold on to one end of this,” he says, ”It sounds like Celes fell in too, I’m going to try to get her out. If I slip, pull me out, okay?”
He ties a loop in the end of the rope, then begins to walk with it along the slippery portion of the ledge, but falls into the slime almost immediately. "Ouch, this stuff burns!" he cries out as he moves back toward Falzeal, "Hold onto that rope, it'll help me climb out."
Cursing like only a dockhand can, he scrambles out of the corrosive sludge and calls out, "Celes, get around the corner as quick as you can and we'll throw you the rope to pull you out!"
Lukas: Crossed first, went back to help Celes. Fell in. Climbed out. Took 1 HP of damage.
Celes: Fell in near the starting point, climbed out at the starting point.
Falzeal: Crossed the normal part, fell in near at the slippery part and climbed out the far end.
Iralynash: Crossed safely.
Jeb: ---
Starting Point: Jeb/Celes
Finish: Iralynash/Lukas/Falzeal
1 HP damage: Celes/Falzeal/Lukas
Lukas calls back to his companions who have not yet gotten past the trough of toxic sludge, "Come on along the ledge, but be careful! If you fall in, just make your way to this end. It stings, but won't kill you. "
He stands ready with the rope, in case someone falls in after rounding the corner and needs a little help.
Celes manages to get to the slick area, but manages to slip in the gunk and lands back down in the sludge again. She climbs out...again...and gets past the sludge then wipes off the gunk from her armor.
Jebedia makes his way along the narrow ledge Halfling reflexes and luck guiding his way.
Acro
Acro
Everyone has passed. Some with more slight acid burns than others.
The group moves into an oddly long hallway and sees a door at the far end. They cautiously approach the doorway and see that a small, barred window pierces the iron door at the end of this hall, revealing a plain, ten-foot square room with a windowless iron door on the opposite wall beyond.
Moving forward Iralynash checks the door and the room for traps.
Iralynash sees nothing through the bars of the door.
Celes will step in front of Ira, as she sees him start to open the door.
Lemme go first, at least I can take a couple hits before I drop
Celes will walk into the room.
As soon as Celes enters the room, a voice fills the room with a booming message: "Please close the door before proceeding with the pass phrase."
Celes will go back to the hallway and close the door, choosing to NOT stay in the room.
"Good thinking, Celes," says Lukas, "knowing the tricks this place has, I don't think you want to be in the room without the magic word."
He ponders a bit and has an idea. "Unfortunately, I think we need to go talk to that disappearing raven, since it told us it would tell us the secrets of the tower, and this is a secret we need to know. Which means we go back past the burning slime trough..."
Looking around at his companions, he asks, "Unless someone has a different idea? And if we are going back that way, let's try to come up with an approach that keeps us out of the slime. Maybe we can scatter sand on the slippery end, or rig up a rope running along the wall, so there's something to hold onto?"
You are assuming its still in the same room. I think the bird is some kind of ghost, it probably can go through walls and can be anywhere in this ruin.
We will have to go and look I guess. Anyways this seems like a dead end.
Lukas says, ”If we’re going back to the torture room to talk to the crazy bird, it’d be nice if we didn’t have to swim through the green goo to do it. I’ve got an idea.” He takes his much-used rope and fastens it as well as he can to the wall near the end of the slippery ledge, then walks carefully out along the ledge. He promptly slips off the ledge, and hurries through the good to the corner where he levers himself up onto the dry ledge. Skin stinging from the goo, he anchors the other end of the rope and gives it a firm tug to test it.
”Well, maybe that’ll help,” he calls back to his companions, ”Come on along and we’ll see if the bird shows up again. And then figure out how to get it to talk to us without having to torture ourselves too much.”
Jebediah gets back on the slippery ledge and tries his hardest not to slip.
Acrobatics
Acrobatics
Not sure I like that plan. Iralynash grumbles following the others.
By Calistria I need a drink.
Lukas, Jeb and Iralynash successfully cross the ledge back towards the torture chamber.
You enter the torture chamber and find nothing.
"Dammit!" Lukas cries out, "It seemed like such a good idea, to come back here and find the bird. Maybe it'll talk to us if we try out its stupid torture machines." He approaches the spiky chair and presses his hand gently onto one of the sharp edges, calling out, "Mr. Harrzogapiss! Whatever your name is! Hello?"
Everyone hears a light chuckle before a disembodied voice they recognize emanates across the room. Hello, big bad adventurers. Not wanting to continue without Harzogopas' helpses? You know what you must do... Blood for information! Squawk!
The voice seems to move about the room as he speaks and you likely won't be able to locate him without means of dispelling invisibility.
Lukas looks around in alarm at the unseen return of the crow, then calls out, "What is the pass phrase for the room with the two iron doors?"
Gritting his teeth, he takes a seat on the spiked chair. This is the craziest thing I've ever done! Sitting on a chair made of sharp edges so an invisible crow will tell me the password to get through the door past the trough full of poison!
Jebediah loks on in suspense as Lukas gives off some blood.
Ya damned bird, I should chop you in half you son of a, her voice trails off. She reluctantly sits down to appease the ghostly annoyance.
Squawk! Good, my pretties! Your three friends haven't done the same however! The bird flits around the room, still invisible.
Status:
Falzeal @ 9/10 HP; Celes @ 9/15 HP; Lukas @ 7/10 HP; Jeb @ 8/10 HP; Iralynash @ 10/10 HP
Wincing as he moves away from the chair, he encourages his companions to get it over with. "Come on, let's give this damned bird what he wants... " And he'd better give us what we want.
Actually, I have.
Jebediah smirks but seeing that this evil looks to be a necessary one he punctures his finger and leaves a thick drop of halfling blood on the chair.
Small man thinks he is so tricksy! You must sit to receive the blessing of Harzogopas! Squawk!
Falzeal sighs and tries to pinpoint where the voice is coming from.
Not able to gauge very well, he sits in the chair in resignation.
Falzeal sits in the chair and feels the razor-sharp corners gouging his flesh, causing blood to pour down the metal.
A cackling can be heard drifting through the room.
Status:
Falzeal @ 7/10 HP; Celes @ 9/15 HP; Lukas @ 7/10 HP; Jeb @ 8/10 HP; Iralynash @ 10/10 HP
Jebediah looks up a bit irritated but then seats himself on the chair gingerly.
Having already sitted in the chair and hurted himself before Iralynash does not do it now.