"Two can play that game. And that dog looks like it would actually be good at that." Jominda expresses her concern on second thought.
"I can try yes but as Jominda says it could try to knock me off as well, if it is that smart."
Herm steps out 10' on to the bridge. Readying an action to attack with Power attack if the hound gets close enough.
Herm steps out on the bridge and moves forward up to the barricade. The dog doesn't care. It stands still at it's position in the midst of the bridge. From there on it is either climbing over the barricade, or clearing the bridge.
Kendra walks up to the barricade, next to Herm. "Thomas!" she yells. "We've come as you asked!"
Herm crosses the barricade, "Just be ready to blast this thing if I cannot knock it off." Herm takes a few steps forward eyes never leaving the dog.
"Let me try something." Jominda tells and drinks an extract, which makes her disappear. Then you hear the buzz of quickly flapping wings move out of the gatehouse and under the bridge. Hoping the noise is drowned out by the waterfall, Jominda rises up at the end of the bridge and lands on the platform in front of the manse.
The dog doesn't notice.
Jominda looks around, but doesn't find anything. Not believing that there shouldn't be even a knocking ring, she searches again.
Not finding anything else she takes up into the air and awaits what the others do about the dog.
"Jominda? Whatever you're doing, is it working?" Kendra shouts.
"No." Jominda shouts back.
"SO we try to knock the dog off then?" Herm moves towards the middle of the bridge, hammer at the ready.
As Herm climbs carefully over the barricade the dog comes running and bites Herm.
But Herm is lucky and it only bites steel.
One can try. Jominda thinks and flies a bow to come in a straight line perpendicular to the bridge and give the dog a push.
As she hits into the golem dog she becomes visible again.
As the dog didn't see that one coming Jominda isn't even bitten by the beast. She pushes the dog on the smooth surface over the edge. The dog tries desperately to hold on to the bridge but doesn't find any hold with his teeth or paws. Gravity gets the better of the dog and it falls 200 feet into the churning water.
Herm steps back a bit as Jominda rockets in front of him slamming the hound off the edge.
"Well I guess that solves that problem." Herm looks over the edge then proceeds to cross the bridge stopping before the door.
"You saw nothing with this door?" Herm asks towards Jominda
"No, nothing. But feel free to check yourself. I might have missed something." Jominda replies. She is still gobsmacked, that pushing the dog actually worked.
The arched bridge ends at a small cobbled terrace with a curious looking iron door depicting a scowling sun being devoured by ravenous clouds. To the left, two hundred feet below, a huge waterfall plummets into the depths.
of the door.
Herm will see if the door is emanating evil before approaching and trying to open the door.
"I could smash it down but that might make me bad company, can someone please try to unlock this?" Herm steps out of the way.
"I'm not good at this. Harrold? Do you have experience with such things?" Jominda calls back where the others stand. "But we could also try to knock." Jominda tells and walks over to the door, hammering with her fist at it.
There is no reaction to the knocking.
Harrold took his time to clamber over the impromptu barricade. "Well done there Jominda. You are going to have to tell me about those wings though." He says as he drops his pack infront of the door and gets his tools ready.
"Well I can't open this, but why didn't any of you try the bell pull?"
"Remind me never to piss you off" Kendra jokes at Jominda. "Or at least not when I'm on a high bridge with no railings."
She walks up to the door with the rest of the group.
Kendra also sees nothing. "This is strange indeed. A door should be here to be able to open, should it not?"
As Harrold walks up and gets out his things, she smiles encourangingly as she waits, and then..
"The bell-p... Wait, what bell-pull?"
"That one there." Harrold says pointing to it vaguely, "About half a foot from the hinge, next to the vine?" He continues as if it is clear as day and his explanation were perfect.
"I've... completely missed it" Kendra confesses
Harrold groans and stands. He straightens out his back with a creek as he makes his way over and pulls the bell pull.
Herm stands ready in case something comes out of the door.
"That doesn't look like they are fond of visitors." Jominda comments, as the bell pull is pointed out.
A bell rings inside the house and after a while a viewing port is opened. But you see no one behind looking out. Then the viewing port is closed again. And you still stand outside.
"Excuse me, can yo u please let us in? We are friends of the beast of Lepidstadt, or Thomas as Jominda named him." Herm says to the view port.
No reaction to Herm's request.
"That is kind of disappointing." Jominda comments.
To Harrold she tells "The wings are cool, aren't they. It is the coolest discovery I've made so far."
"I don't reckon you could squeeze through that viewing port, Jominda?" Kendra asks with a frown on her face.
"I'm starving due to that serious lack of sammiches. But I didn't think it is that bad already. But if we want in, no matter what, I'd simply smash in a window or such. There is no need to go through that hardened steel door." Jominda tells, looking up to the balcony.
"I cannot break the door down or break into the building. No one can unlock this door?"
Jominda flies up on the balcony.
On the balcony is a locked door with a window in it. The a narrow stone balcony (area G11a) with no handrails, which affords a spectacular view over the falls.
Inside, white sheets cover a four-poster bed, there's also a wardrobe, and dressing table in this luxurious guest room that
Jominda takes a look. "This door is locked too." she tells as she comes back down. "But it looks easier than this large door. But I don't have the tools. Can anyone borrow me some tools?"
"I might..." Jominda begins, but she doesn't finish her sentence.
Instead, she rolls her hands over eachother as if to form an acid orb, but she instead goes on to finish the movement over her own hands. She then walks up to the door, and pokes her finger gingerly inside the lock, as deep as she can place it.
An aggressive sizzling starts and Kendra burns a hole into the lock with her finger. After two minutes of that the part of it that should make it hard to open without the proper key is totally ruined and the locking mechanism is laid open.
Kendra gives herself a satisfied nod as she straightens herself.
"Try it now, Harrold," she smiles.
"That is certainly one way to open a door." Harrold says as he coughs at the acrid smoke.
Herm pushes the door open and steps inside, "Hello again, we are coming in but are not thieves or here to harm anyone."
As Herm opens the door, magic runes appear over the door.
"That is not good, is it?" Jominda asks Kendra. She decides to go for the gatehouse to be as far away from the effect as possible when it happens. "Run!" She dashes for the safe walls of the gatehouse.
"Kendra do ou know what is going on?" Herm asks without moving