Boog-Boog motions to the crossbow. It appears he will be the only gnoll coming. The others do not appear to be anxious to follow at the moment.
The human ranger seems to be putting on a bit of belly and clearly seems to be three inches shorter than when you first met him. He mentions "It will nice to be in a solid tunnel again. I do not know if we want the gnoll shooting the crossbow."
Hon, perhaps we should spike the doors again to prevent them from being completely closed on us. It will allow the cold and weather to come in, but it should give us a. Easier of safety if we need to make a hasty retreat. Once we have this room secure then we can proceed onward. Let's not be caught unawares this time or split the group. Don't know what we may find in here but odds are its unfriendly.
Once he gets the thumbs up that the doors are secured, Kragg will have the group form up and advance down the hall. Khazad in front with Gallak, on the wings by the walls to search for hidden doors will be Kragg on one side, Hon on the other. Joan, Magnum and Kib in the middle, Nar and BigMug in the rear. This way the human/gnome group is together in the middle with the dancing lights spell so they can see.
Alright everyone, keep you eyes sharp and your axes sharper. Let's move out.
In response to Magnum, Just because he has the crossbow doesn't mean that Hon gave him any bolts for it or showed him how to work it.
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"Tell you what. I'll put a spike between the doors to prevent them from closing completely, provide a sliver of light as well and let me look if there is a lock on the inside." Satisfied that the marking on his map are mostly correct, he watches the gnolls outside as he closes the door to spike.
Laughing at the irony of Kragg's statement
"Don't know what we may find in here but odds are its unfriendly."
Unslinging his warhammer, Hon's reply kinda echoes into the silent hall, [b]"Odds are it is us."
Works r me Hon, just let ,e knw when you are satisfied and we head out.
Order as presented above.
Perception as we go along
Works for me Hon, just let me knw when you are satisfied and we head out.
Order as presented above.
Perception as we go along
As the door begins to be closed, Boog-Boog looks around in alarm and begins speaking in gnoll. He appears to want to be on the outside of the door now.
The doors are large, not well balanced, and swing inwards to stop along the walls and protect the doors from the elements. Spiking the doors when closed along the inside will make it very difficult to open.
Boog-Boog manages to speak in broken common. "Boog-Boog show secret, you block so now broken for us."
Somewhat taken aback by the gnoll's use of common, Kragg recovers quickly. Tney will not remain blocked. Only while we are in here to prevent someone from coming in after us to ambush us. You have treated us fairly yet others of your kind have not talked to us nor indicated what their intentions are. We are taking precautions only.
Kragg will let the more diplomatic members of the party smooth over the gnoll's distrust concerns.
As Boog-Boog concerns are ignored, he makes a pitiful howling sound as he is being locked in. As the large doors are spiked, a great pounding on the outer doors is heard from the outside.
It seemed a safe bet that the gnolls would not be able to force their way in. They do manage to create quite a ruckus, and as the doors are pushed back they begin to move over the spikes bending them at the top but not breaking them. A two inch crack opens in the center, but that is the extent of the movement of the doors.
As Boog-Boog examines the spikes, his howling continues in a more desperate manner, if that were possible. It seems to remind the rangers of a cornered animal. His plaintive cries echo ominously into the distance.
The forty foot square tunnel (40 feet wide and high) extends on and the area seems to be well traveled, but not in the last week. Most tracks seem to belong to the gnolls and carts or wagons.
The words 'Boog-Boog' can be heard from the outside as the gnolls continue their futile assault on the doors.
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Boog-Boog motions to the crossbow. It appears he will be the only gnoll coming. The others do not appear to be anxious to follow at the moment.
"Looks like we can try to fix this, or just push on. The gnolls got very lucky caving in the doors. I did not think they would be able to push them that hard."
Their continued assault appears to have further effect, and their pounding on the door ceases.
"Why did they do that?"
Yes that does seem strange that a 'secret site' would be compromised and damaged in such a way by them. Curious indeed but not worth risking ourselves over. Perhaps someday we will figure it out but I guess now is not the time. Either way, our stakes held and we can remove them once we are finished here to open the doors again. Everyone ready? If so lets find these ice ships.
Nar nods with Kragg's words, "Aye I am ready. Let's leave them behind us and worry about their reaction later after we find the ice ships"
As the party prepares to move on and the hammering on the outside doors continues to reverberate up the hall, Boog-Boog looks longingly at the two inch crack of light between the doors. He shows no inclination to move on.
The bannerman says unsympathetically in dwarven: "Does the gnoll need some encouragement to move on?"
Joan did sense that the gnomes were extremely agitated about being separated from Boog-Boog.
No sense forcing him. If he wants to follow he can but I will not abduct him.
Magnum takes the crossbow from the distraught gnoll.
"I assume he doesn't get this if he stays behind."
As i understand it he fulfilled his part of the bargain and brought us here. He may not be willing to use the crossbow right now but I believe it is rightfully his. If he s willing to part with it then we will take it back and use it.
"I suppose that's up to Hon, it's his after all (although I wouldn't trust him with it much more than a gnoll.)"
Magnum reluctantly returns the crossbow to the sobbing gnoll.
"Let's get a move on. Listening to this blubbering gnoll is the most unnerving thing I have ever heard."
The group moves out leaving the small gnoll to try to pull up the spikes with his hands. It is clear it will take him quite a while.
Magnum pulls out his hammer and it begins to glow. Four words in dwarven escape from the hammer in a clear, deep tone.
Khazad speaks, "We will be tested today." in a voice not quite his own. He then confesses to remnants of a vision after consuming the potent beverage known as Giant's Tears.
The shrinking ranger speaks: "I hope it is the giants who will cry today."
The well worn path will support up to eight wide.
A wicked grin spreads across Joan's face.
"Now we've got a good fight on our hands."
Not yet anyways, still nothing but tunnels and darkness. Both are find by my eyes but some of you might have some trouble. Let's form up and start moving down this paths nd see what is up ahead. With any luck we will be in and out without much fuss. Then hopefully we can hightail it out of here before we get hit hard by the cold again. At least it is a bit warmer in here without being exposed to the weather outside.
Kragg starts to head down the path expecting everyone to follow and take their respective places as outlined earlier.
Joan takes a place in the middle. Her enthusiasm doused a little by Kragg's statement.
"Right."
Gallak shakes his head at the curious behavior of the gnoll, but does not remark.
Will we be lighting a torch down here, or are we lighting the dark ahead somehow else for the human eyes?
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A rather detached Hon speaks aloud, "Curious. Unusual actions. Exiling a pack member or test of commitment." Shaking himself out of his audible contemplation. Hon gently jostles Boog-Boog's crossbow arm and motions to cover his mouth and cup his ears, pointing further into the darkness. He is cautious not to inflame the gnoll into rash actions.
Pulling out the rope, he ties one end to himself, passing the slack back. "This should serve as a good guide for those without dark vision. Kib can light up the area if we encounter trouble, Just gotta be careful not to be blinded. Unlikely to be pit traps with the wagon tracks or regular commerce but you never know. Speaking of which, I think we should follow the tracks unless Boog Boog lets us know of another way."
Briefly taking a few swings with his warhammer, Hon refastens it to belt. Putting his backpack down, he goes through quiet routine of tightening up and rearranging his gear. Donning his pack and performing a couple of calithetics only to repeat the process until only a muffled shifting of fabric is heard. He pulls out the crowbar with one hand with the other lightly touching the wall as he starts to walk a pace ahead of the others.
"Aw, I think you just want first whack on the giant."
Something seems off about Joan. It may be the smile, or the icy edge in her tone just barely peeking through, or perhaps it is the glimmer of blood lust in her eyes. Luilfr looks up at the ranger, almost as if asking if she's alright. (Luilfr is in front or beside Joan.)
Ten gold to the one who drops the first giant. Any takers? Also ten gold to anyone who keeps another of our group from falling to the giants. Now let's clear this area and claim it and it's treasur for ourselves.
"Aye, I'll take that bet. Better start countin' yer coins boys!"
Luilfr just keeps an ear out. Despite looking like she's not paying attention, Joan's eyes and ears are among the sharpest in the group.
Joan sees no sign of giant tracks as the group proceeds into the wide and tall tunnel leaving the sobbing gnome by the door as his tribe tries to batter open the door to no avail.
The tunnel is of average construction and solid and clearly leads through the mountain, most probably to the other side. Far off in the distance, probably a half mile away, is a series of bright lights illuminating the tunnel. One of the gnolls has managed to jam a large wooden shield through the crack between the doors and is using it as a crude wedge. The doors still continue to hold and should do so for quite some time.
Kragg continues to march onward wary of any traps, concealed doors hiding enemies, or creatures that may inhabit the area. If he doesn't see anything of note along the way, nor any turns or corridors, he will continue until he gets closer to the lit area. He tries to stay back far enough from the light until he can tell what it is and where it is coming from.
Nar gets an almost grin as he readies himself, "Right behind you Kragg, let us go see what is waiting for us."
Gallak shoulders his massive axe with a confidence born of recent use. The blood on the blade is caked and frozen, but the edge maintains a razor like sheen.
Yer on, lass. Methinks Ah'll be winnin' both those pots.
Gallak lets himself chuckle a bit, but is otherwise silent, except to cast resistance on himself and Kragg, and comprehend languages on Hon.
As the dwarves move down the tunnel, a sign is seen in common:
"King's Tollway Ahead--Exact Change is Appreciated. Please stay in the same order you entered."
The tunnel extends over an partially frozen underground lake. The bridge over the lake is a large, long iron cage with perforated sides and a portcullis on each end. There seems to be some mechanical apparatus connected to the large cage and the lake. When weight is exerted on the icy lake, it is obvious that the base of the cage causes pressure on the lake and sinks into the water.
There is currently a crude lever that seems pointed at the number zero. When the lever depresses it can point to a crude scale that goes up to one hundred. A group of five gnolls are seated around a table eating and rolling dice.
There seems to be a tower on the right side with locked doors.
Huh.
It's all the burly dwarf can manage, surprised as he is by the gnollish cleverness and whatnot.
"Are you sure that hammer is working?"
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"More tolls for passage. By gnolls. A mechanical conveyance. We really must get out more. I am fascinated by the mercantile opportunities. How many have we missed by isolating ourselves from the world or raiding historical enemies? Trade with giants and gnolls, hmmmm." Hon is distracted into greedy daydreams, already counting gold and favors when his pockets are currently near empty.
He pulls out a small cloth pouch from one of his belt pockets. He simply holds it in his left hand, while leaning on the crowbar with his right.
Well, boys this is where the diplomats step up and keep the path open. We need to find out how to work this contraption along with finding out where the ships and treasure are located. You know what to do. I will go with you as a silent member but don't expect me to answer many questions. This time I follow your lead.
Gallak steps forwards with a low whistle as he prepares to greet the leader. He waits until a particular gnoll presents himself front and center, or until he has a good idea who the heck is in charge... Whichever comes first.
Gallak doesn't know too much about gnolls, but they look pretty furry.
Joan nods at Kragg's words. She keeps an eye out for the gnolls, and motions or Luilfr to follow her before looking for a good hiding spot to keep watch on the other group.
Before he leaves the distraught gnoll, Kib tries to tab him companionably on the shoulder, saying [b]"Don't worry, we'll be back!"{/b] although he clearly is not overly sure of that fact himself. Looking over to his Dwarven allies who gleefully march towards their death, Kib looks back to Boog Boog, shrugs his shoulders in a helpless 'Dwarves, wadda ya gonna do?' way and hurries to catch up to them.
As they reach the group of new gnolls, he hangs back for the present, allowing the others to take the lead as usual.