Trying her luck a second (and third) time, momentarily removing her pack to reduce the strain on her shoulders, Jaer squints ahead as she works. "Y'know all that moaning is really kinda distracting..."
I know, that's why i'm insisting we find it and end it
Jaer successfully disables the southern trap, so that it can be walked across without triggering a drop. Again, if she looks at the pit below the trap, she can see the pillows at the bottom.
With the other trap, however, she's not as lucky - the trap springs and drops into the pit, again rendering this path impassable. At the bottom of the pit, one can yet again see a mound of pillows.
In the alcove beyond the northern trap, Jaer can see another switch plate.
"You mentioned a door, let us go to it and leave this maze room." Harken says from the back...
"Another one?" Jaer mutters upon seeing the second switch plate. Though suspicious as to why two such things would be located in opposing dead-ends of the room, the thought is quickly ushered away by Illya and Harken as she tests the disabled pit--plenty sturdy to cross--and moves up to examine the doorway, lugging her gear in tow.
The door's locked. Jaer examines it closely. It's an extremely complex lock and will take a lot of luck to pick without potentially breaking it. But she notices that the mechanisms she earlier observed in the ceiling seem to also be connected to the door.
"Huh...Well ain't that somethin'," she muses, her eyes tracing the mechanism. "Looks like we might be needin' more than a keen wrist to get this party started."
"See here?" Jaer indicates to the lock, then along where the mechanism traces back to the plates beyond the room's pit traps. "Looks like there's some connection. Someone wanna watch the door while I check something?"
Not waiting on a reply, Jaer leaves her gear by the exit, taking a small stretch before trying a standing leap across the pit to the north.
"Oh but if you hear me screaming in, say, three seconds; feel free to come help."
Jaer makes the jump and triggers the easternmost plate. Something within the lock mechanism clicks but the door does not unlock. After a pause of about a minute, the mechanism clicks again (but the door still does not unlock).
"Did you push it all the way? Does someone stronger need to give it a go?"
"Not thinkin' this is a case for brawn, Mr. Harken," Jaer calls back with mirth. "Someone wanna hit that earlier plate we passed? I get the feelin' this is one of those fancy timed triggers."
Sure, give me a moment Illya walks over and hits the earlier plate
Huh, neat. Think these plates are part of the test? Keshik asks, without much to contribute at the moment.
And the skeletons?
The skeletons are simple necromancy or animation magic of some kind . Not my preferred method of magic, most mages use some kind of magic of that calibur, armor tends to interfere so having some expendable minions helps. but anyway I started assuming everything we have come across so far is just another test Illya rambles on about the intricacies of magic
Uh-huh. I get it.
Expendable though? I don't like describing things like that.
I agree Keshik, soldiers aren't expendable...Those kinds of magics disgust me...And it's alright you don't understand...Arcane powers are difficult Illya answers
"What was all that then....? Did we figure this out?"
Illya triggers the southern plate. Again, something within the door's lock mechanism clicks but the door does not unlock. And again, after a pause of about a minute, the mechanism clicks again (but the door still does not unlock).
The wailing continues unabated from beyond the door.
"You might be onto something, Jaer. Maybe there are more plates?"
"Seems likely. With two of them aside like this, I'd bet the rest are like it. Guess there's no sense in not scoutin' the place out. Anythin' strange happens, I'll holler."
For the sake of argument, in case there happens to be some legitimate threat that may perceive her, Jaer attempts to go about her work with a little more guile than perhaps is necessary.
Jaer does a comprehensive sweep of the rest of the maze. She finds four pits, of which she successfully disables one. The others fall through. In all cases she finds a similar set-up - pillows at the bottom of the pit that would cushion the fall of someone caught in the trap.
In one of the northern alcoves, she finds a further switch.
In the last pit, at the centre of the dungeon, she can see a small sack nestling on top of the pillows.
"Looks like there's just the three of them, lady and gents."
Finishing her round trip, Jaer pauses as she spies the abandoned pack nested within the pit. "Aaaand what do we have here? A mysterious bonus prize."
"Anyone fancy a climb?"
Ka'narg wanders through the maze, his darkvision helping him move unimpeded until he can find Jaer. He takes one of the lengths of rope from his backpack and proceeds to tie knots into it at foot-length intervals. "I can take a climb down, if Harken or Keshy can keep hold of the rope for me."
I'll help out! Keshy jogs over to Ka'Narg, finally finding some way to make himself useful.
This isn't as deep as I thought it would be.
Harken follows the wee folk as she searches in case she falls into a 5 foot pit and cant get out...
Irgal, having been content to stay at the side and let Jaer explore, sighs and picks up a broom. He starts sweeping.
"There's got to be more here. A place with pillows and brooms? Something is being hidden on the floor."
Jaer appreciates the convenience of her Harken-shaped shadow, but her thoughts are too preoccupied with how those plates and that door work to give him a proper thanks. As to the mechanism; the Halfling's first guess would just be to smack all three at once, but she settles for letting their Orcish and Reptilian comrades finish their bout with the pillowed pit before compounding their expedition with further unknowns.
"Careful Brother," Jaer teases, catching Irgal cleaning at the corner of her eye. "If a loose broom's all it takes to get you sweeping, you should visit my place sometime. Would keep you busy for weeks."
Irgal's sweeping reveals nothing. In fact, the floor already looks fairly well swept.
Ka'narg peers over the edge of the pit, shucking off his backpack. "Must look deeper from the perspective of someone whose nose is closer to the floor, hey Keshy?" he jokes, handing the knotted rope to the lizardfolk before he lowers himself down into the pit. "Besides, it's still deep enough that I'll be needing help getting out."
He picks up the sack from the floor and when Keshy is ready, he will begin to make his way out of the pit. Once out of the pit, he will examine the contents of the sack.
Ka'narg climbs back out with the sack. Within the sack are six platinum pieces and a small scrap of parchment that reads: “three to open, but be quick, for the door will only open for those who work together”.
Repeating the note's contents, Ka'narg looks across the pit at Jaer. "Appears you were on the right track, Jaer. Maybe have the quicker of us activate the plates and then have someone hold the door open to give time for everyone to get through?"
If needed Harken will hold the rope and pull the big lug out from the pit...
I'll keep this plate, but perhaps we need to activate all the plates at the same time? one of us on each plate, not just have one person step on them all
Jaer gives both Ka'narg and Illya a swift nod each. "Sounds like a plan! Guess I'll cover the north then, if someone wants to get the east."
That said, Jaer nimbly shuffles her way back to the northern trigger, careful not to bumble her way into a pit. "Ready when y'all are!"
Harken will stand next to the door and if it opens up he will try to keep it open...
Keshy will help with the team plate-pushing since Ka'Narg is up.
Ka'narg will grab up other peoples' packs if needed and stand near to the gate to help Harken keep the door up from the other side.
As the adventurers hit the plates, there are three clicks in the door mechanism and the lock slides out. Harken is able to open the door, and holds it while the rest of the party move through.
The group is now at a T junction, with corridors leading to the west and east; the eastern branch bends almost immediately to the south, down to a door. The wailing seems to be coming from behind this door.
Yeah! What works? Team works. Keshy says enthusiastically.
"Easy for you to say, you didnt have the door all to yourself pushing against you...OK missy where to?"
For a moment Jaer seems to pat down her person, flustered at having forgotten her gear--but the Halfling lets out a sigh of relief on finding her goods in Ka'narg's possession and she gives him a toothy grin as thanks.
"You want that wailing to stop?" she answers Harken, pointing her sword down the southern corridor. "Then that's where we're headed."
With three sudden clicks, the door to the maze room slams shut and locks behind the party. They choose the southern corridor, led by Jaer.
The mournful wailing grows louder with each step toward the door at the end of this musty hallway. To the extent that one can recognise the constant, somewhat high-pitched and incoherent call, it sounds like a human (or similar) male, in a state of deep despair.
There are many bones strewn across the floor here, many of which are cracked and broken.
About 10 feet before the southern door, there's another corridor to the west, leading to another door at the end. But the wailing is coming from the other side of the southern door.
Illya walks in the center silently clearly irritated by the noise, blade drawn.
"The white hair has the right idea...this could be a wailing banshee, or a hag- they wail too, or a wight undead I've heard about...be prepared for anything..."
...What's a right undead? Keshik asks, drawing his own blade anyway since all the cool kids were doing it.
If it was some kind of undead wouldn't Keshik be able to tell? she quietly begins chanting an odd lullaby in elvish under her breathe, she seems to calm a bit focusing on that instead of the noise.