Let me get a closer look now that the statue has been moved.
"Aye, let us see how this is carved."
Toulbe clapped excitedly once the statue was officially moved and danced a little when he was complimented. "Young Bistro here deserves the praise. He's quite the good boy, very strong!" he said with a giddy tone.
He took his Bison's lead and made his way back to the cart to tie him back off. He came back shortly after but not before rewarding the bison with an apple.
The statue remains unchanged, other than its displaced location. The emerald gem still glows with a soft light. It's pretty clear that the statue has been carved from a single piece of red granite, the same stone used to line the floors, walls, and ceiling of this place. You realize that this stone is different than the gray gabbro which made up most of the Old Quarry Road you just traveled, and then you remember the Old Quarry in Taggoret, where you started this whole journey, was made of red granite like this. However, There's nothing really special about it. But you were more interested in the secret door, right?
The statue WAS sitting on a large, single piece stone slab, about 10 feet square. There's no way to know for sure, but you conjecture it could be a foot thick. There's a hairline gap around the perimeter, which makes you think it could be lifted or slid or moved somehow, if only there was a means to do so. A similar gap exists around the back wall, which is made of masonry bricks much like the rest of the constructed walls. Perhaps there is a great mechanism which lifts or slides the wall out of place, but there is no lever or switch or handle or button visible.
While Glor and Goggeck peer over the makings of the secret door, echoing from somewhere deeper in the Vault, you begin to hear the rattling sounds of bones and rusted chainmail.
"Wonderful," Boomer muttered, looking arond for where the new bunch of skeletons were likely to come from. "Can we make a barricade real quick?"
It is somewhat confusing by the way the sounds echo throughout the halls, but you are somewhat sure they are emanating from the passage to the north.
The halls are clean, all things considered, but there's all that rubble and junk the goblins used to make a barricade. It's all still outside where you left your camp. Might take a while to move it all in.
Lets just meet the threat here. If there are too many we can fall back to that barricade. Glor gathers earth and looks for targets.
"I agree. We know where we stand here.", says Goggeck, hefting his longhammer.
"I will remain in the front and take a toll from the unliving as they advance."
Toulbe comes back in time to hear things of the barricade nature. He looks around puzzled and slightly alarmed. "You mean...you mean more critters and such are coming?" he asked as he slipped into the middle of the dwarven pack.
"I ain't gonna be much use in this one if it's more of those blaming bastards. Touble, you got anything else I can throw?"
Hezekh pulls out his crossbow, loads a bolt, and turns to face the incoming undead.
Toulbe hands Boomer the sack of Alchemical items from earlier. "There is some holy water in there...and a few others." he said nodding.
"I'll try not t' waste 'em." Boomer said with a tip of his hat.
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The space is tight now with the statue moved out into the hall, but the group gathers round in preparation of the approaching undead. Goggeck steps forward down the north hall, and as he does, he gets a glimpse of what lies ahead. Down the hall he sees a set of stairs leading deeper into the complex.
Coming up the stairs, Goggeck sees three more skeletal dwarven warriors approaching.
Gunnar readies his warhammer, glancing around him. He looks up at something, eyes pacing in thought, then nods. "Goggeck! Get back in line lad, here at the fork! More room to beat on them all at once!"
"I will, but clear a path. I can keep these busy if that takes a while."
Goggeck feels the eyes of Trudd upon him.
"Aye, they will know the judgement of the strong arm!", he shouts as he steps back towards the fork and his companions.
Surprise:
Hezekh’s first bolt is accurate, but hardly damaging. He quickly reloads and looses another.
Round 1:
"Good. Let 'em come to us, and break themselves against our steel!"
As the skeletal warriors appear from the staircase, the battle commences. Hezekh is quick to loose a couple of bolts that hit their target but don’t seem to do much but chip a bit of bone. Toulbe begins to chant a war ditty to inspire the group, and everyone else seems to hold until they can see the glowing red of their eyes.
The warriors spring into action as their living targets come into sight. The lead charges Goggeck, who smashes it to dust with his longhammer. The next skeleton is quick to follow.
Clang! It misses terribly. It’s rusted battleaxe strikes the stone at Goggeck’s feet and shatters.
The next skeleton moves up and also closes with Goggeck.
Goggeck’s chain mail absorbs the blow.
Goggeck steps back and swings! Though not with any great accuracy.
Boomer chucked a flask of Holy Water into the skeleton vanguard.
Urist glances at the crowded conditions, and then to his companions. Glor gets a reassuring pat on the shoulder. ""Ye got this'n, lad."
Glor fires earth at the skellies, knowing that blunt damage is the way to go. His second shot is near perfect, but lacking just a little.
Hezekh steps forward and punches the nearest skeleton, his metal fist smashing deeply into the skeleton.
Boomer lobs a flask that hits one skeleton. The red light is extinguished from its eyes and it collapses in a heap. The skeleton next to it gets some holy water too, and it seems to be barely holding it together. Good thing Glor is there to send it to kingdom come.
The halls are now littered with more bones, yet the sounds of even more skeletons moving about echo from down the stairs.
I swear on my beard that I am gonna find what animated the bones of our kin and make um pay. Glor says with a determined look in his eye. He gathers stone again and readies another attack.
"Sounds like we're goin' hunting. Best tae clear 'em out b'fore we settle in for other work."
Toulbe looks around a bit as if going deeper into the sounds of battle was the last thing they should do. He looked at the door and moved over to the right side of the wall and tried to give it a hearty push!
Toulbe looks around a bit as if going deeper into the sounds of battle was the last thing they should do. He looked at the door and moved over to the right side of the wall and tried to give it a hearty push!
[Dice=Weak little guy trying his best!]1d20-1
In his moment of panic, Toulbe’s efforts are futile.
Aye. I say we hold here and let um come to us. Glor looks deeply into the darkness searching for a target.
"Fine by me." Hezekh says, putting his ineffectual crossbow away.
Gunnar pats his forward allies on the shoulder, motioning to the fork. "Aye, form a line then. Let them crash into our steel all at once instead of hogging the glory, lads."
Before you know it, four more skeletons come climbing up the stairs, then four more behind them, and behind those you can make out the flaming aura of another golden skeleton. Being more than ready, Glor unleashes a blast that obliterates a skeletal warrior as soon as it shows.
The other two lead skeletons rush forward. Goggeck takes a swing at one, but his hammer strike is a bit off and glances off the rusted chain mail.
The skeleton retaliates.
Like all the skeletons that came before it, it misses.
Another skeleton is close behind and takes on Hezekh.
It fares no better than it's undead brethren.
Boomer smiled as he saw the cluster of undead start moving down the hall. He drew the other flask of Holy Water and prepared to throw it.
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Toulbe hears the clattering of bones on stone and looks over towards the sudden explosion of earth. He screeches a bit and continues muttering loudly an epic about a crusade against some Lich as he scratches at and pushes against the lining of the wall hoping that with all his frantic nonsense flailing the door will magically open for him!
Hezekh takes a swing at the skeleton that just attacked him.
Hezekh fails to literally punch through the skeleton line, his opponent nimbly dodges the blow. Toulbe, too, fails in his efforts to open the secret door. He finds even his small gnome fingers can’t fit in the hairline gap between the walls, and he can’t get any sort of leverage against the massive weight of the wall.
With Goggeck and Hezekh still contending with the second wave of skeletons, there’s not much manueverability in the hall for anyone else to engage.
Indeed, the third line of skeletons advances and get jammed up behind their brethren. This is the moment Boomer was waiting for, and he lobs a flask of holy water over the line, striking the center of the skeleton horde and splashing the rest with sanctified goodness.
With his well-timed attack, four skeletons fall apart as the holy water washes away the necromantic field which holds them together. One is left standing, and the golden skeleton still menaces from the top of the staircase.
Glor fires at flaming guy.