Unusually perceptive, Artemis manages to point out a number of trapdoors lying in wait throughout the maze of pillars, calling out each one as he passes them so that no other incidents take place.
With one member of the party posted at each lever, and Artemis ready to defend against any threat that should lie beyond the door, the group agrees to go with the suggestion to throw the switches at once. As they do, Artemis hears a heavy latch of some kind move beyond the door, and slowly presses the portal open...
The hallway beyond is dark, and splits left and right, one path turning a corner southward. Nothing moves, though the tortured screams continue from the south hall, louder and closer than ever. It seems the party may be very near to discovering their source...
...however, the door quickly begins to close again, as if some mechanism is drawing it closed.
Three to open, but be quick. The words of the poem seem to make more sense now, seeing this...
Sariel sheaths his sword and placing his hand on the cold lever pulls when given the signal. Feeling the lever give way hearing the lever give way. 'No rust on the lever, no resistance, just a smooth mechanical feel. They must have kept these mechanism's well maintained.
Sariel's thoughts are interrupted with a marked increase in volume from the screaming. Staying near the lever he calls out "What is going on? I can't see the doorway!"
Sounds like it worked to me! Calia calls out triumphantly. But then the scraping starts again after a short pause. Wait - is it closing again? Don't go through! I don't want anyone to get stuck alone on the other side!
hearing Calia ask if it's closing and not wanting anyone to get stuck she's right we must not get separated, but we must help whoever is in danger.
calling so the entire team could hear him,
On seeing the door beginning to close, Artie rushes forward on instinct. His shield goes over his shoulder to free up his arm and he braces himself to push against the door. On the way, he spots Calia and is ready to scoop her up...
...but Sariel calls out with a more common sense approach. What if we don't have something to prop it?
Attempting to test the strength of the door's mechanism, Artemis puts his strength to the test and tries to keep the door open. It's a simple test...
(old school)
Bracing himself against the doorframe, Artemis employs his considerable strength and pushes against the door. Though the force pushing it closed is heavy, it looks as if he will be able to hold it for at least a little longer.
Realizing he's got a firm hold of the door, Artemis calls to the others. "Everyone thru! I have the door!"
At Artemis's call, Calia springs into motion, darting for the door as fast as her short legs will carry her. Her backpack drags at her shoulders and threatens to wind her, but she keeps going.
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Damien sprints through the door. He tucks his spear over his shoulder so as to avoid putting anybody's eye out.
Here we go. Sariel releases the lever and quickly moves to the door after going through the grabs the other side and pulls, attempting to help Artemis out. "Here, let me see if I can help you out!"
A tense moment passes as both Artemis and Sariel brace the door, grunting in exertion as they struggle together against the crushing weight. Thankfully, their effort buys the rest of the party enough time to avoid stepping on any more pits as they rush through the door.
On the other side of the door, the party finds that the hallway branches east and west. The eastern corridor branches again after twenty feet, turning westward.
The screaming seems to be coming from the southern door... but as the heavy door from the maze room clunks into place once more, and the sound of its movements echo through the narrow hallways, the voice cuts off suddenly.
Wait - what? Calia glances around suddenly as the screaming cuts off, conjuring more motes of light to dart down both hallway branches. Is - is the screaming just a trick, like those orcs? Part of the elders' original plan for the Quest? She looks nervously down both branches of the hallway. It sounded like that screaming was coming from the door to the south there. If it is a trick, that's where they wanted us to head to. If it's not...then someone could be in bad trouble down there. Either way, it seems like our best shot at figuring out what's going on.
"Another trick. A fake haunted house, designed to scare us on a spooky night." Doreen says, frowning. "A gift from the same illusionist who gave us those beast men to fight."
Doreen stops, leaning against the wall to catch her breath. She's not used to running.
Thank Erastil, everyone is in safely, why did the screaming stop, we need to know what happened, false or no, we must make sure no one is being harmed. As the last member of the team moves through the door way, Sariel nods to Artemis, as the spearman moves beyond the door Sariel releases it.
pointing at the southern door Sariel states the obvious. We need to make sure who ever that was is ok. Sariel then moves toward the door using his new halo as light he keeps a keen eye out for anything od. Drawing his sword in his right hand he tries the door latch with his left.
Artemis readies his shield and spear, putting the torch at his feet once they reach the southern door. "Illusions...something more than illusions woke the dead from their rest...they're responsible for our townsfolk being killed...we need to find out who is behind it..."
A grim cast shadows Artie's normally jovial face as he nods to Sariel his readiness.
As Sariel and Artemis approach the southern door, they both notice a number of scattered bones lying about the hallway; Artemis also finds a small, pointed wooden shaft that looks like a broken crossbow bolt. It looks as if at least one skeletal warrior has been here... and been struck down.
Trying the door, Sariel finds that it is locked.
Artie's eyes widen and he grsps Sariel's shoulder and his attention and shakes his head. "Wait." He leans in an whispers, "Someone's loading a weapon...crossbow I think...maybe the one who hit this skeleton? Perhaps we should talk with them..." But his eyes are doubtful.
He points to his shield and himself, suggesting he take the lead. This could be whomever was laughing earlier. A lunatic...and dangerous. Or it could be who's responsible for Masters Gerol and Vark being murdered.
Anger brims within him, his hand gripping down on his spear. His next words, while attempting to calm the person on the other side of the door, are harsher...much harsher.
"If you're not responsible for the deaths of the two men out there...you have nothing to fear from us. Put...down...your...weapon. Come to the door so we can talk..."
A moment after Artemis speaks through the door...
"Ohhh! Now they want to talk, do they?! Well talk all you want, Talk until the cow jumps over the moon, I say! You'll not fool me! You'll fool me! You poke your skull in this door and I'll take you apart piece by piece! You hear me, bones?! You can rattle all day and I'll just la la la la ..." The voice collapses into a manic laughter, and then that degenerates further into an anguished moan. "Just leave me alone! Dimira! Give her back! Tell the angry bones that he can have my skin if he gives her back!" And then, after a momentary pause: "Rattle-man, rattle-man, shake your bones on outta here! Hee hee hee... ahhh... Go get back in your grave and let me sleep, damn you! Either that, or open the door so I can shoot you in your face!"
Clearly, the person behind the door is not feeling entirely sane.
- - - -
Jenna, seemingly getting over her earlier trepidation, nervously fishes out a set of lockpicks and thieving tools from her pack as the lunatic behind the door rants and raves. "Got it," she whispers, then steps next to Artemis and begins working at the lock.
With a satisfying click, the latch appears to unlock. Jenna looks up at the rest of the party and nods, then steps back from the door.
- - - -
"open the door so I can shoot you in your face" that's not very promising' Sariel sheaths his sword and lifts his shield off of his shoulder and arms it. Nodding to Jenna he places his right hand on the latch. 'Erastil help me!' "Don't be afraid, My name is Sariel, I clean the church for Father Prasst, I'm a friend of Dimir, you would recognize me if you see me, I'm the kid with the pet pig! Don't shoot me I'm coming in!" He carefully unlatches the door and slowly opens it, keeping the shield in front of his vitals.
We aren't skeletons - we're friends, to you and to Dimira.
Mad men behind locked doors.
Jibbering about girls they loved and lost.
I assume everyone has secrets.
Doreen sighs, softly.
"Great." She stays in the back, shuffling her deck in her hand. Ready to hex whomever tries to hurt her party members.
There is a moment of quiet as the man behind the door seems to ponder the words coming from the next room... and then:
" Lies, more lies! I'll hear no lies from bones that walk! I know of the idiot boy with the ugly pig, and you don't sound like him at ALL! He's a great big clod with big, dumb feet who makes a racket when he walks! Nope, nope! You're just another one of the Rattley-man's little killers, wanting to get in here and take out my insides and roll around in them! "
Sariel attempts to open the door, and indeed it has been unlocked, but it seems as if it is barred.
"That's enough. I've had about all I can take from this 'un." Artie steps forward and presses a heavy foot against the door and shoves...
"It's me, Artie Lihanuga!" He readies for another kick/shove. "My dad n' I restored the tempanum on the church 2 winters ago after the Storm!! Don't go shootin!"
"I swear by ol' Deadeye, if you shoot at me I'll knock you into harvest season!!"
finding the door blocked Sariel grunts as he pushes with his shoulder and Aremis kicks the door:
feeling his feet slip a little he pushes a second time:
As Artemis and Sariel use their brute strength to push against the door, they feel the barricade giving way and hear items clattering to the floor. A frightened shriek comes from the other side of the door and the familiar twang of a crossbow bolt being loosed tears through the hallway. It seems the man on the other side of the door is a good shot- with only the door itself deflecting the bolt, which might easily have found a home between Sariel's eyes. "Give it up!" he shouts with wavering, obviously false confidence. "You can't fool me! "
As the final push from the two young men throws the door wide, sending the shoddy barricade's various elements rolling across the floor, their light spills into the room and onto a humanoid figure- who sqeals in fear and throws up his hands, dropping his well-made crossbow in mid-reload. The man, whose face is twisted in fear and hair and clothing disheveled, screams: "You've stolen their faces! Stolen them! You stole them and gave them to the angry bones! Leave me be, damn you! "
The man, though twisted behind a mask of utter fear and despair, seems familiar as he cowers into the corner, shrieking and kicking at the air.
Seeing the Quarrel deflect off of the door and Feeling it whiz past his head. Sariel looks at the notch on the door and then at the cobbler with consternation. Taking a deep breath he lowers his shield as he moves slowly into the room holding his palms out showing Roldare the palm of his right hand and the interior of his shield on his left, speaking softly as he does so:
"Easy Roldare it's me Sariel, Renet's nephew, the blacksmith, we traded these shoes I'm wearing for a rod iron door latch for your shop." Sariel lifts his right foot showing the cobbler his low-boot. "we've found Master Gerol and Master Vark, Elatril rest their souls, and returned the walking dead to their graves. We have not found you sister Dimir yet, but if she is here we will. Do you want to help us look for her or do you want to take our mule and go warn the mayor that all is not right here in the crypt?
Calia's heart jumps into her throat at the name Sariel mentions - but she realizes she may have a shot at breaking through his hysteria. She walks forward carefully into the room, bringing herself into his view.
Roldare? she manages to squeak out. It's Calia. I apprenticed in your shop. Her face begins to fall. I trimmed away pieces of your customers' shoes so they wouldn't fit and you'd have to do every pair at least twice. I always used to call Ms. Rellens "barge boots" just loud enough for her to hear...and I hid itching powder in the talc you used to polish the leather. Your hands were so inflamed you couldn't work for three days.
The look of shame she wears at recalling her past is heartbreaking. You haven't looked at me without a scowl in the entire year I've been back. Come on, Roldare. You know I'm telling the truth.
A madman jibbering in the corner.
More madmen soothing speak.
We're all a little mad here.
"For hell's sake, just knock him out and put him out of his misery already." Doreen mutters.
Roldare squirms into a sitting position in the corner, surrounded by tossed piles of bags and supplies, as well as a few boxes that seem to have been smashed- like some cruel parody of a bird's nest. Although he was never a particularly handsome man, the damage the trauma he has undoubtedly experienced in this place has transformed him; dark bags hang under his bloodshot eyes, and his hair is not only unkempt, but it looks as if he has, in his madness, yanked handfuls of it right out of his skull. His fingertips are raw and bloody, as if he has been nervously chewing on them and too mad to know when to stop.
Even for those who only know him as the town cobbler, it is a tragic sight. Roldare was always a friendly man, if a bit odd. Many of the older folk in Kassen had gossiped about how hard it had been for him to raise his younger sister almost on his own after the untimely deaths of their parents. None of the strength those stories implies can be found in this broken, twisted mess of a man.
"You're not Roldare," he hisses in an accusing tone at Sariel. "He's Roldare!" He thrusts with one finger in his own general direction. "The rest are just tricks! Tricks of the dead one who speaks! He told me you'd come, yes he did! He said he'd send you! Well you can't drive me mad, no sir! No sir! No bones are going to drive me mad!"
His bugged eyes, however, slowly seem to register the bodies standing in the doorway as human beings.
"I remember a Calia! She was an awful little demon! How did you get her face, rattley-man? And that one does look like that big clod Artie... an' Sariel, the little tin whippin' boy... an' Spooky Crowley! Ha ha! I made their shoes, that I did! When they're gettin' buried in the ground, and someone says, 'Wow, them kids sure had some fine shoes!' somebody else'll say, 'Yep! That's the work of that fine man Roldare! He had a lovely sister, he did!'" He sinks against the wall, his voice breaking. "But the bone men took her and dragged her away..."
The look of the items that Roldare has been "nesting" in suggests that perhaps this room was intended to provide some sort of "base camp" for the party. A number of bedrolls are piled in the opposite corner. The entire room stinks- but of filth, not of death. After what awaited the party in the first chamber, it is almost a pleasant change.
Roldare's madness cuts straight to Calia's core - though she'd been rubbish at showing any signs of gratefulness in her wilder years, she had looked up to the cobbler and admired his skill. To see him so broken now...
Maybe Doreen's right, Calia pipes up in a melancholy tone. I don't know if we can do anything for him, unless we find Dimira. Until we find out what's happened, maybe giving him a chance to forget for a while is the kinder choice... She looks disturbed even at the thought of it.
[I]'Tricks of the dead one who speaks? The bone men took here away? What can we believe? Erastil help us'{/I]
Turning to the team Seamus asks, "What do we do with him? If his sister is here, like he says, we need to help her. Can we just leave him here? Or do we drag him back to the front and send him home on the mule in the dark?" turning to Roldare Sariel tells hem "Yes you are Roldare and you sister is important to all of us, we will go finder her, do you want to go with us or stay here or ride back to town for help?"
Roldare continues to cower, but the words of Calia and Sariel seem to shake him from his daze.
"Go with you? N-no! I'm safe here, safe in my little nest, warm and comfy! I'm not leaving without Dimira, you see, and someone's going to have to go and get her!" He moans in anguish, but his eyes seem to have cleared ever so slightly. "If you're real, if you're not just them bones wearing somebody else's skin, then you have to save her. You have to! Please- please, I beg of you! The rattley-man took her deeper into the Crypt. He was singing and she was screaming and those bone-men came out of the darkness and Gerol and Vark and... and..." He clutches his head between his hands and howls in agony. "They killed us all! All of us but me and Dimira, and they took her! And they keep scratching at the walls to taunt me, damn them! Scratching and scratching and scratching and...!"
He crawls from his corner over to where he dropped his crossbow and shoves it toward the party.
"Please, take this! I had it shipped from Tamran- it's a masterful weapon! If you promise me you'll save Dimira, you can have it! And I- I'll clean this place up! You'll see- I have food and drink and bedrolls! And I can make shoes! I can make shoes for you all!" He excitedly smiles as he makes his offer, despite the obvious truth that he has no way to do such a thing.
poor Roldare, the strain was more than he could bear. Sariel looks with pity on the cobbler, ”With Elastras’ help we will find your sister” ’I hope that it is with her alive’, lifting his empty hand palm forward, he rejects the crossbow, shaking his head, ”I have my bow and there will not be a lot of room in this crypt anyway. But straightening up will be appreciated, we may eventually need to rest.”
Stepping out of the room he looks at the team, his eyes resting on Artemis, ”Have we seen any tracks that may indicate the way they would have gone?”
Don't worry - we're real, not skeletons. And finding Dimira is exactly what we plan to do. At least it's something we can do... She picks up the crossbow slowly and sets it next to her heavy pack, then turns back to the broken man.
With a wave of her hand, a cup appears, like the ones she'd offered to her friends that morning - or a lifetime ago? She tips some water from her waterskin into the cup, then concentrates for a moment on the water. Steam begins to rise from its surface, the liquid turns a light transparent brown, and a subtle aroma begins to fill the room. Here, would you like some tea? Do you like it sweet?
After offering the cup, she turns back to the others. Is there anyone who'll want to use this? she asks, indicating the crossbow. If there's someone who'll make good use of it, feel free. But it's way better than the sling I've got if I need to take a shot at anything.
Roldare, did you see which way they went from here?
"Which way...?" Roldare asks himself, his bugged eyes drifting off to one side as he attempts to dig through the thick layers of madness that have heaped upon his logical mind in the last few days. "The dead one took her down, down into the depths! We had not gotten so far as of yet- we were still preparing the upper levels, you see. Pillows for the pits and the blades, keys for the pool, trading out real arrows for blunted ones... and sweeping! Yes, yes, there was much sweeping! Couldn't have you all dirtying up your shoes, no sir!" He seems then to remember something, and stumbles up to his feet. "Wait, wait! I know! This will be useful to you, I assure you! You'll need the shields... and the keys! Yes, yes, you'll need both of those! Both of both, yes! And you'll need to go for a swim! ...unless, of course, the bone men left all the doors open. That would be nice, wouldn't it?"
He seems quite proud at himself for these paltry bits of information, but any attempt at clarification is met with more confusion- until, eventually, he seems to reach the point where he no longer has any idea what he was talking about when he made these references. It seems his recovery will not be a swift one.
"I'll clean this room up good for you," he insists, and slowly begins shuffling items around the room. "You can come back here if you need to rest, yes yes! I'll be quiet, of course! But please, do a special knock so I'll know it's you- knock knock, knock-knock-knock- that'll do! Just like that! Anything other than that, and I'll know it's the rattley-men. Don't let them take your skin!"
'I'm glad Roldare has come to himself a little, not all of it makes sense, down in the depths means a second level, to they do second levels in: crypts or dungeons or tunnels? need keys and shields, I wonder if any old shields will do, Artie and I have shields, don't like the idea of swimming, he still seems very confused, poor little cobbler'
Sariel smiles at Roldare, "That would be nice Roldare, we will appreciate a clean place to sleep, now let me make sure I have the signal right." He goes to the doorway and with his right hand knocks out the code knock knock, knock-knock-knock Then looking kindly at the cobbler, "Is that right?"
After confirmation from Roldare Sariel turns to the team and asks, "Should we try one of these doors in this area? Should we go back to the very front and check the door in the north-west corner," panicking just a little inside 'We left Proudsnout there with the mule' he continues "We did leave the animals there, would they be safer outside?"
Shields? Keys? Swim? Well, it's something to go on, at least...
What if we brought Gus in here? Then Roldare could watch him, and Proudsnout too if you want him to stay behind. Could you do that, Roldare?
As for where to go from here...it's hard to say. I don't like the idea of leaving any doors shut behind us; any of them could hide a pretty nasty surprise. But it seems we don't have much choice in the matter...whichever way we go leaves some kind of surprise at our backs.
What the heck - if we have to go back for the animals and the packs anyway, let's check out that other door in the first chamber. It saves having to go back later, and there could be something important. I know if I was the one setting up the tricks, every room would have something the ones going through needed. And keep eyes out for any kind of shields or keys, if Roldare says we're going to need them.
What once was child's play,
Has turned to evil death.
The path forward threatens,
To take our lasting breath.
"So..." Doreen leans against the wall. She shuffles her harrow deck and considers everything they've learned so far.
"This whole thing is a ritual. A pretend quest." the witch says, "With simple traps and puzzles and some illusionary monsters to fight. Only, something went wrong. This time the quest location wasn't empty. Maybe a necromancer took up residence here. Maybe a lich. Maybe a lich necromancer."
Doreen shakes her head.
"You realize, we go down there, some of us are probably going to die. Maybe all of us. And the girl you want to rescue might already be dead, sacrificed, or undead. You might have to kill her again. Are you ready to do that?"
And what else do you suggest? Calia's voice is harsh, the skeletons and the madman and the earlier argument with Doreen taking their toll on Calia's usually sunny disposition. Leave if you want; you've want nothing to do with us or the Quest anyway. All of you leave, if you want. As for me - I'm going after Dimira, as long as there's any chance she's alive. Even if it kills me.
With a huff, she turns away and begins looking around the room. Anyone see anything that would work as a club? Artie's seemed to work way better on the skeletons than anything any of the rest of us had; I know my rapier was doing nothing but sliding between ribs.
'well I have to admit she has spunk' Sariels nods his head in agreement as Doreen points out the potential problems, But smiles at Calia's retort. As she begins looking around the room he interjects "Well Calia, I for one am not leaving, necromancer or no. Whether the major intended us to fight a wizard or not is of no concern, Elastril will see us through. And you right Doreens warning to use crushing weapons was correct. Artie's club worked well, as should my Morningstar. If you can't find a club don't worry about it, you focus on traps and locks and the other things you do, Artie and I will focus on bashing things, it's what we do."
Looking back the way they came, "Speaking of what we do, I think going and getting the mule and checking the door in the north-west corner is not a back idea, Is there something here we can block the door open with? Or did anyone see a lever to keep it open on this side?"
Turning to Roldare he asks "Roldare do you know of a way to keep the levered door open? It would be easier if we bring our other items here and look around a little before we rest."
Roldare groans as Doreen challenges his belief that Dimira still lives, and then again when the hostilities between the witch and the gnome threaten to escalate. It seems the cobbler can handle no more drama as he curls into a ball. He emerges only as Sariel addresses him, and mutters: "Keep the door open...? There was a switch somewhere... somewhere around here... I never saw it myself, but I'm sure Dimira would know..." He then says, in a voice much louder, nearly a shout: "You should ask her when you find her "
Sariel nods politely to Roldare "Thank you Roldare, as you say, we intend to bring her back alive."
He Turns to start looking for the switch that Roldare described 'The halo went out, apparently if I don't think about it a little it leaves, well here go's' reigniting the halo he begins to slowly work his way down the tunnel, exploring till he finds it.
Sariel, taking his time, moves down the hallway closest to Roldare's chamber. He finds no switch or lever, but when he reaches the door, he smells, oddly enough, smoke. There is no heat coming through the door or flickering lights under the cracks, but there is definitely a smoky smell coming from somewhere nearby.
Sariel also finds that the long, bent hallway closer to the way they came ends in what appears to be a door... but one without any handles or implements with which to open it. It does not respond to any attempts at pushing, and has nothing with which to pull. The door, seemingly made of heavy stone rather than wood, only seems to open toward the party... but even then, only from the other side.
It is not until the return trip that the group finds the lever in question- hidden in a false panel on the eastern wall behind an embossed likeness of Kassen as he leads what appears to be a small army of peasants wielding spears into the woods, similar to the scrolling panels in the maze of pits. It seems that passage back into the main entrance hall will no longer be blocked.