As Ore collects the scant remaining valuables to be found amongst the dead, Theo's mind drifts back to the possibility that the survivors of this battle may have pressed deeper into the cave.
On a whim, he decides to inspect the nearby doors for signs of recent entry: bloody handprints, structural damage, broken cobwebs, inconsistent dust thickness compared to the walls, etc...
+5 as Perception
+2 as Investigation
As he walks to the first door, Theo proffers a suggestion to his fellow wizard, "Hey, Ya'Bo. How about asking Whiskers to give the paths on this junction and the next a quick sniff? If survivors did push forward, Whiskers may be able to pick up the smell of humanoid blood and tell us what path they took." Theo arives at the first door and illuminates his staff in preparation for the inspection. "Of course, only the finest cheeses can be considered a fair price for such foul work. A full plater, my treat."
Whiskers does not seem to detect the scent of humanoids but does seem quite excited by the prospect of what is behind the left door.
On a whim, he decides to inspect the nearby doors for signs of recent entry: bloody handprints, structural damage, broken cobwebs, inconsistent dust thickness compared to the walls, etc...
1d20 ⇒ 16
+5 as Perception
+2 as Investigation
Ore suspects Ya'Bo is joking about the cheese, but his stomach betrays him with a deep rumble, and Ore sheepishly acknowledges it with a shrug.
As he awaits Whiskers' report, Theo lazily tracks the creature as it scampers about. When Whiskers comes to the nearest Eastward path, Theo notices some markings along the floor that indicate someone has been down that hall somewhat recently. Possibly after the battle that left the corpses behind.
Theo points to the markings "Our rodent friend reveals more than he knows." A moment later, Whiskers signals in a way that doesn't require a Gnome's ear to understand.
"It looks like the left door has something. Most likely a giant wheel of cheese. But we will see."
Getting Whiskers back in his pocket. Ya'Bo gets a spell ready to cast.
As Whiskers retreats to the safety of Ya'Bo's pocket, Theo walks over to the door on the Western wall and gives it a once over. Not seeing any signs of recent entry, he firmly grasps the handle and tests the lock...
"Eyes sharp. In 3, 2, ..." Theo flings the door wide.
Theo takes a half a step back and glances over at Ya'Bo.
"Force or finesse? My boot or your pick? Which do you suppose is the more efficient approach here?"
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Theo gives the door a sharp kick and it swings open to reveal a long room. Although but 10 feet wide, this chamber stretches far 70 feet. Long tables line each wall, and there are scattered containers on them,
some upturned with spilled contents moldering on the tabletop. At the southwest corner of the room are two cooking pits, each large enough to cook an animal as large as a deer. Hanging from above are a variety of utensils and cooking implements, and some other of these are scattered about on the floor of the room.
"A mess hall?"
Theo tilts his head slightly as a bemused smirk creeps across his face.
"What am I saying, of course it's a mess hall. Where else would we find Ya'Bo's wheel of cheese?", he almost couldn't handle the cosmic poetry of reality deciding to align with this passing joke.
"What do you two think?, Theo calls over his shoulder. Is it worth a halfhearted search before we continue? Or should we earn our lunch first?"
"I thought you'd never ask!" Ore says, trying to keep Ya'Bo's advice at the front of his mind as he begins to investigate.
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Indeed, it looks as though Ya'Bo's assessment is right; what happened here, happened long ago. Ore checks the pot for remnants or indications that they have been recently used, but they are bone dry. A casual search turns up nothing of any interest beyond a bug-ridden moldy wheel of cheese, though you do find a door on the opposite end of the hall.
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Ya'Bo move forward looking around, then come to the door at the far end. He wrinkles his noise when he gets near the cheese, but he does let whiskers out and Ya'Bo starts to make his usual squeaking noises to the mouse and tells the rodent not to eat the moldy parts. And don't eat too much or he will become sick.
He keeps moving along past the pots to make his way to the other door.
He presses his ear to the door for any noise and checks to see if it is locked.
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"You see, some mold is bad, but other mold is good," Ore finds himself explaining to Whiskers. "I mean, all cheese is sort of mold is you think about it. But the tasty blue and green ones are nice if you do em right. Now, that's not to say you should go around eating mold! The red one's will make you rather ill, and that's a best case scenario. But, oh! Those BLUE ones..."
As good a plan was any I have. Let's be careful though. No telling what's down here, and I'd like to leave... Eventually. And Alive."
Thinking back to the corpses, he shivered just a little.
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Carrying on, the trio moves down the corridor, only to find a virtual maze as the corridor splits and goes in five directions!
Map is updated!
"Left seems good. Appears that going right may lead us back to the main hall."
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Your party goes left, following the long corridor as it twists and turns, all the while wondering if this will all be for naught and you will hit a dead-end. But eventually, it opens into a length of straight corridor with a door on the north wall about 2/3 of the way down. The corridor continues beyond this and around a corner.
Coming to the door. Ya'Bo presses his ear to it, to try and make anything out.
[dice=Perception]1d20+2Then checks to see if it is tapped and or open.
When he sees Ya'Bo listening for threats on the far side of the door, Theo whispers a spell as quietly as can still be called audible and taps Ya'Bo on the shoulder:
Ore follows silently behind Ya'Bo, ready to jump in front of him at a moment's notice.
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The floor is covered with a carpet of tufted molds that extends to all the walls and even onto parts of the ceiling, obscuring the rock surface. The molds appear in a rainbow assortment of colors, and they are mixed in their appearance, with splotches, clumps, swirls, and patches presenting a nightmarish combination of clashing colors. This is indeed a fuzzy fairyland of the most forbidding sort, although beautiful in its own mysterious way...
To the north and west, the room continues beyond the reach of your light, though a sunken pit is barely visible to the north, and a fountain is set in the southeast corner.
The floor is covered with a carpet of tufted molds that extends to all the walls and even onto parts of the ceiling, obscuring the rock surface. The molds appear in a rainbow assortment of colors, and they are mixed in their appearance, with splotches, clumps, swirls, and patches presenting a nightmarish combination of clashing colors. This is indeed a fuzzy fairyland of the most forbidding sort, although beautiful in its own mysterious way...
To the north and west, the room continues beyond the reach of your light, though a sunken pit is barely visible to the north, and a fountain is set in the southeast corner.
Taking longer than he'd care to admit, Theo recovers from his sensory overload with a light slap to both cheeks; like rinsing his face without water.
Careful not to cross the hypothetical line separating this relatively clean hall from the likely toxic abyss beyond, he bends down to inspect the nearest bits of fungi.
Holding his breath, the elfkin pokes at the nearest clump of prismatic fungus with his pocket knife. He tests the texture and compares the internal and external coloring of any variation within arms reach.
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It is safe to breathe in the room, though destroying the flora might be hazardous to your health. There doesn't appear to be anything of value as spell components near the door, but who knows what lay further in? You can move through the room with minimal disruption to the plants, though it is difficult terrain.
Ore takes care to avoid touching anything, his survival instincts winning the struggle against his curious nature.
"Onward then? This place gives me the creeps. Spores can do a number on you if they're not the right ones to eat. Kinda like the cheese colors, really..."
As he awaits the results of Ya'Bo's Detect Magic, Theo takes a minute to reapply Ore's light spell. An open flame won't be viable when surrounded by unknown fungi.
Worried mostly about him potentially kicking up unseen spores on the cave floor, Theo opts for something a bit atypical and applies the spell to one of Ore's boots. A soft tap from the but of Theo's staff causes the normally dull leather to radiate a clear white light.
"There we go. The positioning may not be great for seeing things at a distance. Just let me know and I can add another one higher up; maybe on your jacket or mask".
Ore continues to follow at Ya'Bo's heels, muttering under his breath extensively. He's clearly working very hard to come up with a joke about light feet, but not getting anywhere.
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The trio moves carefully through the strange jungle of plants and molds, Ya'Bo scanning for magic as they walk. As they head northward, they pass a patch of particularly tall mushrooms. Though everyone is careful not to touch the plants, the silence is suddenly broken by loud shrieks like an animal caught in a trap!
Already focused on avoiding lethal foliage, Theo's psyche does not take well to having the peace so violently shattered. In an instant, panic is superseded by a clarity known mostly to soldiers and athletes. He scans the area, looking and listening for any movement among the plants.