”Or maybe something was dragged across the blood, on the stones. A sack, or a...a..body...or another secret door!” Naia’s eyes flash with inspiration. She calls to the group by the stairs.
”How did..whoever found the first secret door... find it?”
|
Antas stumbled in it with a keen eye. The spells and everything has made a keen eye useless. Saying that isn't productive. Antas scratches his head and says let's burn it down with these fools in it he says this really loud. they will come out then, and either way we will find what's left of secret areas.
Brother Peran stops and takes a deep breath. The group is splintered and scattered and they seem to be running in circles. Closing his eyes he calms his mind and forms the words to a prayer to St. Cuthbert. He asks for clarity of sight and mind and a sign that perhaps will lead them from this confusion to their enemies.
** spoiler omitted **
Noticing that Ferona is moving up the stairs to help Grond with the inscription Narciso switches to following the blood trail that Rabilar had noticed. He nods silently to Naia when he notices that she is also following.
[dice=Perception]1d20 +7
Narciso does see the blood trail that Rabalar points out and the blood spots on the East wall by the northeast corner.
Group 1 - Grond, Rabalar, GitH
Group 2 - Naia, Soros, Ferona
Group 3 - Narciso, Peran, Antas
GitH
Sanbalet continues to concentrate on his spell focuing on what is occuring around his magical eye. He can see they appear to be closing in on the door.
He whispers up the stairs. "They are nearing...be ready!" He follows that up with a quick comment in Gnoll. "Be ready. They come near the door."
Grond waits for Ferona and Narciso's report on the inscriptions.
Unsurprisingly, Rab moves into the corner, and starts looking for some less-than-obvious means of egress.
On hearing Antas' proclamation Ferona's eyes flash in irritation yet she does not reply here, electing to maintain her concentration here instead.
Soros
Soros lets Ferona and Grond continue their investigation. He looks at Antas seeing the man is clearly frustrated with the this trickster's dirty little illusions he can understand the man's anger.
"Antas I understand how you feel and Dogryn felt the same way before he left but it will not allow us to get to the bottom of who this person or people are and why they are doing this. Plus...look around you. We are in the cellar below the house if we do set it ablaze there is a very good chance it will not have the outcome you seek."
He looks around to Rabalar and Naia. "If you could help Rabalar and Naia as they might be on to something. It will take us a few more moments to figure out what this is above us."
Unsurprisingly, Rab moves into the corner, and starts looking for some less-than-obvious means of egress.
[dice=Perception]1d20+10
As you follow the route of the blood and then look at the east wall and north wall you notice it. A secret door on the North wall in the North East corner. The door is built into the stone but there is you will need to find the device that opens the door.
Soros
Realizing that Ferona has enough light he walks to the east wall where the lantern is hanging on the wall by an iron nail. He grabs the lantern and turns and walks to the west wall with the hallway in it.
"Peran, grab that is hanging by the two cots. We can use the lantern in that hallway to light them." He points to the north wall in between the second and third cot to the west to the lantern hanging that at eye level.
"The last thing we want is to go into this door and then come back out into a dark room. You and I can take care of the lanterns while everyone else is doing their thing!"
Frowning yet again, Rab lightly taps the door, then traces it on the wall. Then he pretends he's grabbing a doorknob and twisting it, before pointing at the door and shrugging.
Then he starts prodding the stones to the right side of the door, seeing if any give at all.
"Burning things down is so . . . human. Nature will reclaim this house soon enough without the destruction."
Naia smiles at Antas antics, realising he is merely trying to confuse any would-be listeners. She nods to the elf in understanding, then moves up behind Rab, shoulder to the eastern wall, harpoon ready to throw.
Group 1 - Grond, Rabalar, GitH
Group 2 - Naia, Soros, Ferona
Group 3 - Narciso, Peran, Antas
Peran - Botted
Peran moves to the west hallway and grabs the lit lantern and lights the lantern that was on the north wall with it.
The wick flutters for a moment but then he sees the flame jump from the lit one to the unlit lantern and the lantern he is holding begins to broadcast light into the room as well.
Antas moves himself back against the wall that they entered through and pulls a javelin wishing his friends had at least pretended to go along. Maybe it could have pulled these enemies out. Smoke could still kill you, he thought to himself
With Ferona moving up the stairs to examine the writings ahead of Grond, Narciso moves out of her way and over to where Rabilar was following a blood trail. If they had located a secret doorway maybe he could assist identifying how to open it?
"Well, most people are right handed, so they would probably put the switch on the right somewhere . . .." The olf keeps running his hands over the stones outside of where he thinks the door is. Some stones get jiggled, others get pushed, a few get tugged, adn this keeps up as he continues trying what he can see. "One of these should push, or shift, or pull, or something, right?"
"Well, most people are right-handed, so they would probably put the switch on the right somewhere . . .." The olf keeps running his hands over the stones outside of where he thinks the door is. Some stones get jiggled, others get pushed, a few get tugged, adn this keeps up as he continues trying what he can see. "One of these should push, or shift, or pull, or something, right?"
[dice=Perception]1d20+10
Rabalar as he starts to give up pushing on the stones on the side of the wall. He bumps a stone on the floor on the right-hand side right where someone's foot could easily go to step on it. He stands up as Narciso looks at him offering advice and Naia seems offer a look of surprise...and Rabalar puts his foot on the stone and presses it.
There is a distinct click...loud, metallic at first but clearly it is rubbing against stone...then the door pops open towards you ever so slightly...maybe just an inch or so due to the weight of the door. As it does the bottom just scrapes and rubs the stones of the floor. The sound is not loud enough to carry past this room but it is loud enough for those twenty or so feet away to hear it. A breeze of air blows by you through the crack of the doorway...
Peran - Botted
Peran walks over to Soros and the table and he helps Soros light the lantern he is holding and the one on the table.
He looks over at Rabalar and sees their reactions and notes the movement of the wall...
"Soros...I think they found a hidden doorway...we should prepare!"
Soros looks back to the east wall to the northeast corner and nods in agreement. The young man speaks up quickly and loud enough for everyone to hear him but not loud enough to move past these walls.
"We need to wait for Ferona and Grond to confirm their findings! I need to grab my staff...leave it up to the Olf to find a secret door."
Sanbalet sees the wood Olf and his two friends searching the area around the door. He stops concentrating on the spell and the image fades. He pulls forth the scroll in his hand and calls out the incantation. In his mind he pictures the cavern wall in all of its roughness and the dampness of it and broadcasts that image from his mind to the location about twenty feet back from the hidden door placing it just 15 feet in front of his gnolls. He then weaves into it simple pattern of complexity that he has practice on countless occassions. The weaving making the illusion appear as if it is a conjuration. It will probably not matter but he has grown use to it.
He then calls up quietly to his gnolls in their tongue "BE READY THEY COME - "The wall is my trick focus on the light when they open the door my pets!" The two gnolls raised as cubs have been taught to see through his illusions when he calls them out. They begin to sniff as the wall forms and as the door cracks open and they hear it their minds and eyes sharpen...the air from below is sucked forward and up the stairs and they see the light spill forth as the wall becomes translucent to them. Neither can help themselves as they begin to giggle a little under their breath in that all to common gnolls laugh.
Just prior to that Sanbalet calls out in Keoish in a whisper to his smugglers to next to him. "Let my pets strike the first blow...when they move down the stairs fire yours then engage them with the pikes. Hold them for as long as you can...fall back to the next line. We are going to fill them full of bolts and poke some holes in them boys."
Neither can really see him as it is dark at that moment but he can hear them laugh under their breath.
The door cracks open
Unsure of where the secret door leads to, and more than unwilling to enter first, Naia merely peers in, arm poised to throw her harpoon, hoping to see whatever is in there before it sees her...
Unsure of where the secret door leads to, and more than unwilling to enter first, Naia merely peers in, arm poised to throw her harpoon, hoping to see whatever is in there before it sees her...
[dice=Perception]1d20 + 7
** spoiler omitted **
Naia standing behind Rabalar and beside Narciso gets a face full of the air that comes out of the crack of the door. With the door being only cracked she is unable to see past the door itself. But she does smell salt air...it doesn't smell like the fresh salty air that blows on your face while on the water or the beach. It has a mix of something else...She is not sure of that smell...it is unfamiliar to her. She also heard something..a weird noise like a dog but she swore it was like a giggling sound...it was very faint...muted...as quickly as it was there it was gone.
The noise doesn't jog anything specific but something in the back of your mind tells you that it is something you have heard or read about in regards to a race of creatures...but it seems out of place. Nothing seems to stand out enough to jog anything specific...but it gives you pause. For some reason the Pomarj and the Bone March pop up in your mind...
”Umm, it smells like there’s salt water through there. Salty air and...something else. Plus there’s...weird... dogs down there - something...laughing, high pitched...?” Naia informs her companions.
As his step was enough to cause the door to open, Rab glances down at his foot, then back at the door. Then he turns to the others scattered about the room, raising both hands in front of him, palms towards each other, indicating the door, while a goofy grin spreads across his face.
Group 1 - Grond, Rabalar, GitH
Group 2 - Naia, Soros, Ferona
Group 3 - Narciso, Peran, Antas
[dice=Perception]1d20+10
As his step was enough to cause the door to open, Rab glances down at his foot, then back at the door. Then he turns to the others scattered about the room, raising both hands in front of him, palms towards each other, indicating the door, while a goofy grin spreads across his face.
The air that hits you is different from the air in the room...a bit more moisture than in the enclosed room.
Sanbalet sees up the dark stairs his eyes attuned to darkness thanks to his many years of training and attunement to the shadow world. His gnoll pets are excited but they will need to fall back once they spring the trap.
He drops the now used up scroll and pulls forth his wand and waits. He considers his next step...although they have rehearsed this action many times in the event someone invades the cellar area.
He waits as he wants to see the initial reaction of this group. The smugglers not able to see in the darkness both mumble under their breath but as the door cracks they hear it but they don't see the light and both seem to question what is going on. Sanbalet quiets them quickly and he hears the giggling sound of his pets...frowns..but his deception in front of them should throw these fools off.
"Well, nobody's jumped out. I don't think there's a light source through there. The odds are good the man you injured kept going, if this gives him a place to go. Who wants to go first?"
Antas grabs one of the lanterns and peers down. Are the stairs wood or hewn stone? Then he steps back and says I can light this here and toss it down or ya all can cast on a stone and I can toss that down to the bottom ta see wha comes. Which da ya prefer?
Ferona breaks off her concentration once she has determined what the auras do here, blinking as she notes everyone focused on the ajar secret door in the corner. Moving close to Naia she murmurs softly "A magical trap...designed to protect the trap door above...for obvious reasons." She keeps a focused gaze upon the Flan woman meeting her gaze. "We know he is in there... be ready for his assault on you, I will assist you, if I am able."
Group 1 - Grond, Rabalar, GitH
Group 2 - Naia, Soros, Ferona
Group 3 - Narciso, Peran, Antas