”Yes, we might as well search this tunnel,” Psotheos says. He examines tunnel looking for the tell-tale signs of traps.
Dalton suddenly stops, casts a detect magic then smacks himself on the head. He turns the party around, and you take two steps back and appear right in the north south tunnel you entered a good 10 minutes ago! It appears you haven't been walking anywhere at all.
Bjorkus spins in confusion, staring down the hallway they just exited.
"Is it's some kinda trick? Is there a way to get past it?"
"I hope it was an illusion. I've never heard of that kind of spatial distortion magic which could remain stable. Is there a solution? Could we jump through the area? A trigger for the trap? Or if it is an illusion could we close our eyes and walk through it? Or should we try the other hallway?"
As Arjax learns what the trap is he peers around for a moment, then crouches down and runs a hand over the floor. Suddenly his hand is pushed back towards him, and he finds out that a huge portion of the floor silently slides backwards at a constant rate. Dalton identifies a one sided image behind you that shows a continuously increasing tunnel.
As you get to the end of the tunnel it comes to a T, but before you get there Bjorkus notices the edges of what is clearly a small pit trap. It covers the cross way, but if you go near the corner you should be able to step over it without risking falling in.
Bjorkus steps across the corner as lightly as his brawny frame will allow.
"Be careful. Follow where I stepped."
As Bjorkus steps over the edges of the trap Toramin follows behind him. However, when Toramin gets next to the trap you hear a click, and a second, pit trap opens up underneath both of them! Bjorkus manages to land a hand on the edge of the trap and pull himself up, but Toramin drops down into the funnel shaped hole and slides down to the bottom, where he crashes into a few human skeletons. The fall itself didn't hurt too badly, but he looks around and sees the hole is sloped downwards and greased.
Now the entire trap is visible, which is a 15 foot diameter funnel shaped hole that goes underneath the corners of the walls.
"I wish my clan had been contracted to build this place. We would be the richest dwarves in the world." We might actually be the richest clan . . .
Struggling to stand up, Toramin calls up, "Throw me down some rope and haul me up."
After muscling way up with a grunt, Bjorkus pulls a length of rope from his pack and lowers it down to the dwarf.
"Whoever built this place took security seriously", he rumbles.
Toramin will tie the rope tightly around his chest and hold on to it so that the strong bull could pull him out.
Bjorkus braces and hauls the dwarf out.
"Did ya have to wear so much armor?" he snorts between pulls.
"Yes, because sometimes people stab me."
Bjorkus opens his mouth to argue but stops and instead scratches at his armored torso, desperately trying to get at his pinched chest hair.
"I'll take the stabbin'. This chafing is killin' me."
"Is that why you are always flexing? We can find you some better fitting armor."
"I don't know what you're talkin' about", the minotaur rumbles as he hits a crab pose.
"Bah, this isn't worth it. Once we're out of here, you're never gunna see me in this stuff again. How are the ladies supposed to see the goods if it's all covered up?"
Well, first there would need to be ladies, or interested gentleman, around to see your . . . 'goods.' We seem to enjoy sewers and war zones; cuts down on the number of interested parties. But armor isn't the only way to protect yourself, I've heard of bracers that offer similar protection, though armor does seem more efficient."
Talking to Bjorkus helped ease some of the tension he felt with the man. He doesn't seem wicked, just thoughtless and terribly reckless. Though he can still be nice and still get us all killed.
Bjorkus snorts and nods. "Ya, magic bracers. That's what I need. This armor shit pinches and when it's not pinching, it chafes."
"Say, maybe dwarves would have more kids if you weren't always covered in armor and frowning. Don't tell me that gets the lady-dwarfs all hot and bothered."
"I have eleven siblings -- seven sisters and four brothers. I have 113 first cousins. You might want to revise your perspective on what dwarves get up to behind closed doors."
Bjorkus looks at the dwarf in wide-eyed surprise.
"Your clans what they're doin' then", he finally says with a roaring laugh.
"But I still think the armor's gotta go."
With the help of a rope, Toramin pretty much slides out of the funnel, the grease actually helping this ascent.
You guys explore a bit, and end up getting turned around a lot and getting frustrated at the maze. But it's not terribly complicated, and with some arcane marks you being making sense of the area.
You take the southern tunnel and it curves west, then at the end you see a statue of a man, sculpted in a form of shock and terror as he appears to be running away from something. In his hand is a magnificent pale blue bow that gives off a magical aura.
What's next medusae?
"Maybe I spoke too soon Bjorkus. Perhaps there is a woman down here who could get you hard."
Bjorkus chuckles and looks around.
While it was good the beast and dwarf were able to reconcile the violence, Dalton had a hard time putting the presence of these repeated revelations behind them. A plague, an evil presence, murderous beings ... this place seems to be a bit of a repository. And Dalton wasn't referring to the sewers themselves - rather, this was a type of vault, he surmised, one meant to keep things away.
However, he didn't like being told no as a child. It only made him delve deeper.
One icy tunnel, one labyrinth, one too many days in this place. "Woman or no, this place is wearing on me. If you'd like, you can see if a malevolent presence rests inside that bow of freezing. Frosty arrows will rain from its string, indeed, but after seeing what happened with that sword ... well, I'm going to stay away from the wielder."
It really would be fascinating to return and catalog the findings here in an orderly fashion. However, they didn't have the tools, time, or patience for such an endeavor.
"Another magic weapon then. Surely they can't all be cursed... Is it stck in his grasp?"
The bow is in the grasp of the statue, but it is the widest part. If you slide it up or down and unstring the bow you should be able to get it off relatively easily.
"At least is isn't in a tomb. There is nothing wrong with equipping ourselves as long as we do not anger the gods and disrespect our fellow people. Though, when you are driven mad by its enchantments please aim for something non-vital."
"So he was once alive? It looks too good to be carved. No matter." To save time unstringing, Lindale draws out his morning star and aims for the wrist taking his time so as not to miss.
Toramin is aghast, "Stop that Lindale, if you insist on retrieving it, I'll do it."
Brushing the callous drow out of the way, the dwarf slides the bow out of the statue's hand.
Seeing his swing not do much damage he thinks of another plan. "Perhaps a little delicacy will work better."
"We don't have time to waste unstringing it Toramin. Just a little tap here should do it."
He steadied his hand as Toramin holds the bow and raps the fingers of the statue instead. Hoping they will be much easier to break off.
Toramin is blocking you from the statue. If you are swinging at it, you are swinging at him. The paladin isn't going to let you do obviously evil actions.