"Well that was... interesting. See a lot of weird sh1t underground, but I ain't never heard about one o' these."
Dara tries to find a clean spot on the last wolf on which to wipe off this creature's blood.
Udaya wanders back into the sarcophagus room, her boots crunching over the thousands of scorched beetles. She approaches the hole cautiously and looks inside.
"Hold up Legs, lemme make sure the floor ain't gonna cave in..." Dara ties a bowline around her waist and hand the rest of the coil to her friend before approaching to inspect the damaged floor and the hole.
When Udaya moves forward and leans over for a look, Dara gets a sense of what UU is thinking. She grins and says, "I'm a bit better of a climber than you, and yer a bit stronger than me. Maybe I should be the one to get lowered for a look-see."
Fredrik follows behind them and says to Udaya as she is assisted by Bear, "Let me give you some light." He then casts Light on a stone and hands it to her or Dara.
"We kin see in the dark, but if we toss it down the hole, it'll light up the bottom if it's too far away."
In any event, Dara will set down her pack and shield before being used as a fishing lure. (Thereby eliminating her ACP.)
"I was thinking about taking a quick peek with someone holding my legs. If it looks worthwhile, then we can lower someone down. I'd rather use our darkvision first... in case there are more bugs or tentacled eyeballs down there. Don't want to alert them with a light. But if you'd rather be in the barrel than me, D, I won't say no."
"Here then, Bear hold the other end of the rope and I'll hold UU's legs while she has a peek."
Udaya leans over and takes a good look in the hole in all directions... hoping to see another level to this dungeon.
Bear grabs the other end of the rope, finding an outcropping of stone or architecture to brace himself upon, and eases Udaya into the hole, where she can take a look around.
Bear grabs the other end of the rope, finding an outcropping of stone or architecture to brace himself upon, and eases Udaya into the hole, where she can take a look around.
** spoiler omitted **
Perception check:
"Meh. So do I." Venedictus replies.
"Yah. But you're... ya know... pudgy."
Venedictus looks at him crossly. "Occupational hazard. Clerics of Shelyn are required to enjoy all things beautiful, including pastries. And fine wines. And ale, though not Feral Dog ale. And custard, and bread puddings, and lamb stew, and..." He fades away to a self-absorbed mutter as he wanders back a few steps to gaze up at the green lights.
"It was an observation, buddy... not a critique."
Looking down the hole, you can see a pitted and scarred shaft that extends down just to the edge of darkvision. While Udaya and Dara can't quite see the floor, they can see the top of the rubble piled on the floor. Amidst the stone, they can make out the dented remains of another metal cylinder.
Once Udaya leans over the edge, she can make out an opening at the bottom into another chamber, although she can't make out any details of what is in the chamber. Climbing down should not be difficult. The pits and scars will make for lots of convenient hand-holds, and with a rope to help secure you, the decent will be quite easy. You will need a little bit more rope than the standard 50-ft length, however.
"UU, toss down the light rock and see if that gives us a better view."
"Bear, I ain't wearing as much armor and I'm a pretty good climber. Tie another length o' rope to the one I got here an' I can head down once she's done."
Bear fishes out his rock with his off-hand and hands it to Dara. (Who I'm assuming will toss it where she wants it)
"Bear, I ain't wearing as much armor and I'm a pretty good climber. Tie another length o' rope to the one I got here an' I can head down once she's done."
"ok"
The light rock falls and lands on top of the rubble, rolls a little, and settles on a small crack in a block of stone. Its light only offers a slightly better view than before. You can definitely make out the floor stretching out into another chamber. Some of the smaller bits of rubble have spread out across it. Unfortunately, the ceiling of the wall of the shaft and the ceiling of the chamber obscure seeing any further into the room.
"I could lower Dara down - being our toughest party member - and she could do a cursory scout of the area. If she gets into trouble, I could pull her back up quickly. That way she could go down with weapons in hand."
Venedictus will cast guidance on her just before she goes down.
Fredrik says to Dara before going down, "Be careful, no telling what is down there."
"Read my mind Bear. Ready when you are. Oh, thanks for... whatever ya just did there, Vene'. Will do, Freddy."
Now that she's not hugging Leg's legs, Dara straps her to her belt, grabs the rope in both hands and waits for the ready signal from Bear before hopping in.
Once she's reached the bottom and ensure her immediate surrounding are safe, Dara will draw her bow and knock an arrow in case she gets the opportunity to snipe something. After taking 20 to survey the area from atop the rubble pile, she'll toss the rock towards an obvious doorway to see if the light and noise attract any movement — keeping herself at the ready to snipe.
As he watches the dwarven warrior-ette do her spec-ops thing down in the darkness, he whispers to Udaya, "Why don't you draw a bead with your bow down there in case something else nasty rears its head.... er... eye."
Bear carefully lowers Dara down the 60 feet of the shaft until she reaches the top of the rubble. After taking a moment to balance herself, she is able to look out at the room beyond.
At the north end of the room, a large glyph that looks like a stylized arrow points down a corridor that leads to a four way intersection. The corridor continues for some distance beyond. Further down, she can just make out what looks like the top of stairs.
Udaya nods and stands in the best spot available for sniping into the lower area/room in case it becomes necessary. She pitches a comment down the hole just loud enough for Dara to hear (she hopes),"D! Do you want more light down there?"
Dara waves her hand back and forth parallel to the floor indicating there's no need to turn on the floodlights. She then picks up the light rock and tosses it down the hall so that it lands in the intersection just north of her. She then listens for noise and watches for shadows moving.
Dara waves her hand back and forth parallel to the floor indicating there's no need to turn on the floodlights. She then picks up the light rock and tosses it down the hall so that it lands in the intersection just north of her. She then listens for noise and watches for shadows moving.
It's virtually silent down there. No whispering like the entry hall. The only sound is the occasional shifting of rubble under Dara's feet. No sign of any movement either.
Is there enough slack in the rope for me to approach the intersection? If so Dara will head that way.
I need to head to bed, but if there's enough slack then after checking the hallway, Dara would want to approach the top of the step, have a look, toss the light rock down and then look to see what happens. If there's not enough slack, she'll return, signal Bear to hoist her up, and then update the party on what she's seen.
She'll then gladly be the first back down again to cover everyone as they descend to the next level.
NPC as needed, and if we start taking more damage than is healthy then unleash rage! :)
There is lots of slack on the rope, so you can edge forwards. Those up above see Dara disappear into the chamber.
Straight ahead, the corridor continues to the stairs going down. Before the stairs, however, she can now make out two alcoves.
To the east, she sees a chamber shaped similarly to the one to the west. Along the eastern wall rests a wide stone basin backed by a five-foot-tall shelf. A hardened paste spills out over the two-foot basin lip and covers much of the shelf and floor. Thousands of tiny beetles skitter and tunnel through the chalky substance, and Dara can just make out a keening insect chorus filling the room. As she watches, she notices the pincers of a gigantic beetle crawling through the sludge with the rest of the beetles.
The beetles have not noticed her.
For a moment, Dara thinks about softening and drawing out the giant beetle with a well-placed shot. Then she recalls that they had a tough time with the first swarm of beetles and might not have any more fiery doom in store.
Deciding that further planning is better than being eaten alive, Dara returns to the rubble pile and motions for Bear to hoist her up.
Once top-side, she explains what she saw.
With a little bit of work, Bear and the others easily raise Dara back up to the top of the shaft.
"I'm really starting to hate bugs."
"Well, we definitely need to do something about those swarms, unfortunately my magic is not very effective against those swarms. I don't want to return to town, and start buying oil in mass quantities, it would raise too many questions. Maybe we can lure them away from the mama beetle somehow..."
He looks back at the other alcoves with the lanterns hanging in them, "Maybe one of these columns bypasses the room with the beetles?"
"Any indication that the area below the yellow lantern has a room or chamber, Dara?"
"Any indication that the area below the yellow lantern has a room or chamber, Dara?"
From what Dara and the others have seen, the cylinder under the yellow lantern really does seem to be some sort of transport. However, you have not yet taken the sarcophagus all the way back round to see what happened to the wolf corpse you put in it.
"Ya know, I wonder if that crusher over there is supposed ta be a crusher. Somethin' broke the green one, maybe it got jammed-up. Wanna try puttin' a boulder in the orange one an see what happens?"
"That could be the case, Dara. It certainly is worth checking out, but I wonder whether the green lantern being lit had anything to do with it...Let's see what happened with the wolf corpse in the yellow lantern cylinder."
So you return to the sarcophagus once again. Bear, Dara, and Udaya push and the arrow turns to face the blue lantern. Like before, nothing happens in this position. Pushing again, the arrow returns to pointing at the indigo lantern. With a brief rumble, the trapped cylinder rises and the doors slide open.
Although you knew what to expect, the sight is still quite horrible. A putrid paste of crushed bones, blood, and wolf fur covers the floor of the cylinder and drips from the inside walls.
"Well, we can push this around to the yellow lantern (NW). That is where our second wolf went down the chute and it didn't make any snapping sounds."
And so you continue pushing. The arrow locks into place pointing to the violet lantern, then around to where the red should be, then the orange, and finally, the yellow lantern.
Once more the cylinder rises after a brief rumble, the doors slide open, and...
...the wolf corpse remains intact exactly the way you placed it.
"So, the next question is who wants to be Alice, and go down the rabbit hole, or in this case the yellow cylinder. Venedictus and I may be the best options since the rest of you need to push the sarcophagus. Dara where exactly did you see the swarm of beetles downstairs?"
"No offense, Freddy, but I'd worry for the safety of either of you. It really only takes two of us to turn the coffin, and I'd feel more comfortable sending someone more acquainted with physical difficulties. There's no way to tell what's waiting for us down there."
"Much as I would hate to expose you to this, it might be worth thinking about squeezing one of you two in there with either Udaya or Dara..." He shrugs his massive shoulders, "I don't know, it's worth a thought, discomfort aside.
"Perhaps we could gain access through two avenues: someone down the hole, and someone down the cylinder?"
"Do we know whether they go to the same place?"
"Much as I would not mind being pressed close to a beautiful woman, this is really not the place for it, he he. I am not really sure it is a good idea to split the group like that, since Dara saw those beetles down there.. If we leave the sarcophagus pointing at the yellow cylinder, the elevator should function, as it is weight triggered I believe. Our other option is to affix a rope to the hole in the ground, and go down that way. I suspect there is a huge complex underneath this chamber."
"We don't know if it ends up in the same place. From what Dara saw, my guess is it does... she just wasn't in a position to see its landing spot. If so, anyone going down that way is still going to have to contend with the bugs... except now you have no quick way to retreat."
"I'm not in favor of anyone taking the shuttle. I say we figure out a way to take the bugs head-on, then search the rest of the level. If we don't see the yellow shuttle then we know it lands somewhere else and we can pursue that lead separately."
She sighs, "If we do take the shuttle option, Dara or me are the only smart choices. You guys can't see in the dark and we don't want to risk any light down there initially."
Udaya brightens, "I'm surprised you boys haven't suggested Dara and I squeeze into the cylinder together. I figure that's a fantasy come true for some of you. I hear men pay good money to see that sort of thing." She laughs.