Elan bows slightly to Ibid and then in a very serious tone, Pharasma sees everyone eventually. She does expect them on time though, not late, through the scourge of undeath, nor early before your appointed time.
Azgar's tinkering seems to have improved since getting an eye on the second trap; at any rate, the first one in the hallway has now been made quite secure.
As for the lever, Quadravos can't see any markings or other indications of its function--nor do you know enough engineering to be able to determine what it's connected to.
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Quadravos φ looked away from the lever to what the rest had been doing. "Splendid work on disabling those traps. I have been busy trying to figure out this lever's function, but without any visible clues it is proving to be very difficult. So at this point it could be anything, from opening a secret door to releasing poisonous gas in this hallway."
"Well, let's hope it's not the latter," Ibid says, pulling his attention from Azgar's marvelous and skillful working of the trap before them, and turning to Quadravos φ. "I wish I was of more use to you both, but I'm afraid I cannot aid either of you in your tasks."
"Though you both seem to be doing fine on your own."
Quadravos, though he knows a fair bit of engineering, is stuck as to what exactly the lever might operate, given how little of its mechanism he can see . It seems likely to him, from the angle, that it pulls on a more complex mechanism within the wall...probably something that shifts a big, heavy object, given the size and material.
Alaric advances, tapping his pole on the floor, but doesn't find anything over the next 10 feet of space...
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Alaric, satisfied, makes to continue down the hallway. He cuts a sidelong glance at Quadravos. "If your fidgeting back there gets me killed, wizard, I swear on Shelyn's name that my ghost won't let you forget it." he barks, lowering his visor. "My nerves are on edge as it is without you poking at traps."
Alaric will advance another 10 ft., and if it is safe, another again, continuing his slow and steady advance through the hallway.
As Alaric turns his head to bark over his shoulder, he takes another step forward and feels the floor shift suddenly and violently beneath him. The rest of you hear a surprised yell, and as you whirl to look you see a section of the floor snapping shut with a muffled thud. Alaric is nowhere to be seen.
"Gods above! Is this whole place nothing but pit traps?!" Azgar carefully makes his way to the closed trap. "Hold on down for a bit down there. I'll see if I can't open the latch." He starts fiddling with the trapdoor.
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Quadravos φ got startled by the sudden noise. "I didn't touch anything!" was his immediate reaction. When he saw what had happened and heard Azgar's comment he continued, "Well if it will only be pit traps, then we know how to deal with them. But I am afraid there will be other things. Now we first need to get Alaric out."
Elan gasps as Alaric dissappears. Not ready to lose one of his new friends so quickly he stops and stares at the floor for a moment.
Azgar, fortunately, has had enough experience with these pit traps to ably get the counterweight snipped and the trap opened...unfortunately, it can only be effectively done once, meaning that you'll have to step around this pit from now on. At the bottom, he and Elan see a bruised but otherwise normal-looking Alaric, who seems to be swearing under his breath. The bottom of the pit is lined with spikes, the tips of which glisten slightly.
Ibid cautiously moves along the floor to stand behind Azgar, where he knows he is safe from being swallowed whole. The old gunslinger is visibly shaken by seeing the young knight consumed bodily by the pit trap, knowing his own fate my not have been so luckily, as sir Alaric appears largely OK.
Ibid drops his backpack momentarily, and pulls forth a fifty-foot coil of silk rope. "We could use this to help pull you out," Ibid says tossing one end of the rope into the pit with Sir Alaric. "Or at the very least help ease your climb out. Can anyone else give me a hand? Perhaps you, Azgar?"
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The battered and bruised knight takes some time to get going, but manages to brace himself against the wall and climb the 10ft. out of the pit, panting with the effort. "G... gods above, I was lucky those spikes didn't pierce my armour, I wouldn't put it past that lich to poison them." he says, spitting a wet gob of blood onto the floor. "Bit my rutting tongue on the way down. I'm beginning to hate this hallway more by the minute."
Alaric easily climbs up out of the pit, bracing himself against the wall as he goes . Once he reaches the top, you're all together again.
Elan looks at Quadavros thoughtfully and says, "The way things are going, I don't think moving the lever could be any worse. Of course it would be even better to stand back and do it by magic."
With that said Elan edges backward slightly.
As Alaric taps his way down the hall, he fortunately manages to locate another pit without, this time, stepping into it. The pole makes a hollow thunking sound as he taps it around a 10' square section of the floor, this time one that the red tiles pass directly through.
Elan moves further down the hallway examining the sceense on the wall to see if there are any more hidden items or clues in the pictures and offers encouragement to Alaric.
[b]"Good job finding that next one. I wouldn't get too close to the demon's head until we are all there and can check it out. I'll cast detect magic on it in a minute, from a distance of course."
Not sure how many pictures there are.
As Alaric and Elan continue down the hall, the others regard the box suspiciously....
Alaric doesn't detect anything unusual in the next 10' section of corridor; nothing but solid stone flooring.
Elan examines the walls closely as he proceeds down the hallway, but doesn't notice anything aside from the smooth, gaudily painted plaster.
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Quadravos φ was contemplating the mysterious lever in his head, Well I don't think it's going to spread poison, seems to elaborate for that ... but what if it dumps a bunch of critters on us ... Hmm, let's see, we're currently spread out enough that if a big weight would fall down, it wouldn't hit all of us ... If it opens a new passageway, so much the better. Then we have even more options of dying horribly to numerous traps ... Oh well, as they say in Korvosa, Curiosity killed the Imp, but he had fun in the process.
Quadravos φ reached for the lever and tried to activate it.
Ibid remains motionless, watching Quadravos φ reach into the cavity and pull the lever. Involuntarily the old man's hands clench tighter on the ten-foot pole in his grasp. Without realizing, the gunslinger begins to hold his breath in dreaded anticipation.
Quadravos reaches in and pulls the lever. It resists for a moment, old and unused to being pulled, and then gives way with a grinding of stone and ancient metal. The grinding continues as Quadravos pulls it to its full extension, then ceases with an abrupt click.
Then, with a scream, Quadravos plummets out of sight beneath the extraordinarily well-concealed trap door beneath his feet. There's a sickening squelch and another scream when he hits the bottom; when the rest of you approach, you can see that he's been struck in the arm and leg by two of the vicious-looking spikes that line the 30'-deep pit. Fortunately, unlike the others, this pit doesn't seem counterweighted to swing shut...unfortunately Quadravos, from his position at the bottom, feels a hot, violent malaise sweep through him...
INITIATIVE
Azgar
Alaric
Quadravos
Ibid.
Elan
EARLIER: Just before Quadravos pulls the lever, Alaric taps out another 10' square pit trap on the floor of the hallway.
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I am actually quite willing to go with what happened now to keep the story flowing, just was curious how Feather fall would effect this drop.
Quadravos φ tries to get into a position that won't get him pinned on the spikes again, while cursing in Draconic from down below.
Ibid's hands are already releasing the 10-foot pole when Sir Alaric's words reach him. As the gunslinger turns to move toward the hole in the floor which has swallowed Quadravos φ whole, Ibid can hear the 10-foot pole previously held by Sir Alaric clatter noisily to the floor moments before his own crashes against the stone.
The old gunslinger pulls the 50-foot coil of silk rope slung over one shoulder while moving to the edge of the pit with Quadravos φ at the bottom. For the briefest instant, Ibid is thankful that Sir Alaric fell into a lesser trap a few moments before, or else the silk rope, now clutched in his grasp, would be tucked away within his backpack.
"Quadravos φ!" Ibid calls frantically to the wizard. "Grab on! I can support your weight and pull you up!"
At the edge of the pit trap, Ibid holds one end of the rope and drops the remainder into the pit. While the uncoiling length of silk rope falls and unfurls, the old gunslinger immediately begins to tie the opposite end of the rope around himself.
Seeing Quadravos disappear Elan moves to the edge of the new pit and looks down to check on him with his deathwatch.
"You are not well my friend. Climb up the rope and I will help you."
ROUND ONE
Azgar and Alaric dash forward as Quadravos falls, and Azgar drops to his knees beside the trap and begins frantically working to ensure that it stays open and see whether there are any yet-unsprung components. Quadravos manages to pick himself up off the spikes and move into a corner, where Ibid. meets him and drops the silk rope, tying the other end off to himself. Elan moves up and, seeing his friend's injuries, prepares to heal him.
rounds
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Quadravos φ tied the rope around himself. "The world is slightly spinning, not so much from the fall, but the poison on these bloody spikes. I will slowly start my assent, but I would appreciate any help in lifting me out of this hole." With that said, Quadravos φ slowly started his climb up the wall of the pit.
When Quadravos reaches the top, Elan sticks out a hand to help him out of the pit, he then pulls out a wand and taps him with it.
"This should help you feel better."
You didn't happen to see anything useful down there did you? Maybe we should check all the pits and see what's at the bottom. There might be a passage or useful gear down there."
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Quadravos φ dusted himself off after receiving the divine healing from Elan's wand. "Thanks, although I think I'll need a bit more after that drop."
When Elan posed his question, Quadravos φ looked back into the pit and then at Elan. "Unless you want to use those spikes to poison someone, I don't think there was anything useful in this pit."
He then looked back at the lever he had activated. "If we survive till the next morning, I shall prepare a cantrip that should help us activate levers from a respectable distance, so we can avoid these situations in the future."
Once Ibid is sure Quadravos φ is secure on the rope and beginning his ascent, the gunslinger begins to haul the wizard in unison. When the wizard appears from within the pit a few moments later, the gunslinger sits on the stone floor and takes a haggard breath.
"I glad you made it out of that pit, Quadravos φ," the old man says, laughing. "But you did have me worried for a moment."
Quadravos, though still feeling weaker than he'd like and a little flushed, manages to scramble out the top of the pit. The burning sensation fades slightly as he manages to pick himself up and Elan heals him.
Azgar lets out a small breath. "Good to see you're still in one piece." He stops, groans, and starts massaging his temples. "...this entire place is nothing but pit traps, isn't it? We are so dead."
After hearing Quadravos request more healing Elan taps him again with the wand.
"I hope that helps you feel better. You're looking a little peaked still. Did you suffer any other injuries?"
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"Well, like I just stated, those spikes are poisoned. I'm still feeling a bit weak, but it doesn't seem to be getting any worse right now."
Quadravos φ then looked at the rest of the group and only seemed to realize at that very moment that everyone had their attention on him. He coughed slightly and tried to act as if nothing serious had happened before continuing, "Well now, let's see what this dungeon still has in store for us. I believe you had found something Sir Alaric?"
Elan looks at Quadravos with that stern doctor look and says, "Hold on. Before you go and get in more trouble, I can help with some of the damage of the poison."
Con back
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Sir Alaric grimaces, holding his tongue at the wizard's folly. He gives his breastplate a few taps, motioning to the dents in his side. "You should invest in some Oparran steel, wizard. Can you walk?"
Alaric, satisfied, gives Quadravos a pat on the back and makes his way back down the hallway, pointing out the pit traps. He'll search the remainder of the hallway but won't approach the demon's head. "This isn't exactly my department." he says, impatiently. "Somebody want to take over?"
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"I would, if it would not get in the way of the intricate motions of arcane spellcasting.", Quadravos φ followed Sir Alaric to the things they found at the end of the hallway. "These are some peculiar things. I believe it unlikely that they would not be trapped."
When he stopped at a "respectable" distance from the archway and the demon's head he activated Detect Magic and inspected them while pondering about the swirling mist in the archway.
Alaric's investigation with the pole reveals no further traps at the end of the hallway. As the wizard follows him, murmuring an incantation to enhance his sight, the two approach the archway and the mosaic.
Azgar shuffles up to the door. He looks at his companions, clears his throat, and speaks. "So how much do you want to bet that the guy who booby-trapped the entire front hall put something horrible on this door?" He stares intently at the door, looking for anything that looks like a trap.
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Shocked at what his magically enhanced sight had shown him, Quadravos φ quickly warned the others. "Whatever you do, do not step through this archway, nor do anything with the mouth of that Demon's Head! They radiate strong magic, but I am unable to detect what they do, nor determine what school of magic the power comes from."
Slightly eased by the knowledge that no-one would come to any immediate harm, Quadravos φ continued "I did notice that the gemstones around the archway could possibly be taken out of their sockets, but before we do that. Elan, could you check the archway and the demon head, maybe you have more luck discerning the nature of their magic?"
Quadravos φ pondered about their current predicament, They both seem to be dead ends. Did we miss something? I learned my lesson the last time, won't be sticking my hand in anything or walking through a possible portal just like that. Maybe Elan learns something more, who knows? I may have an idea how we can test these two objects without risking getting killed. But maybe we need to inspect the murals again, we might be able to find something hidden similar to the trap I sprung.
Amused at the wizard asking the cleric for help with spells, Elan smiles, "Of course I'll take a look but I'm sure you are more versed in these things than I"
He then casts Detect Magic and takes a look at both.
doorway
demon
demon
demon
Ibid moves to follow the group at the end of the long corridor of traps and pitted-death. While moving, following the groups movements to avoid the already detected pits, the gunslinger retrieves the ten foot pole which was dropped when the old man ran to the levered-trap, in an attempt to help Quadravos φ.
After arriving at the group, the old man speaks, "I wish I knew more about this stuff..."
Unfortunately, Elan and Ibid.'s examinations of the options ahead don't shed much more light on the subject; Elan's unable to identify the schools of magic involved in the spells, and both he and Ibid. can confirm that the demon's head, while fanciful, doesn't represent a real species of demon (at least as far as they're aware).
As Azgar approaches the archway, though, the three stones set into it glow brightly, suddenly flaring with light and then settling to a slow, steady pulse. Azgar notices the same thing that Quadravos did--the blocks that the gems are set in seem more loosely mortared than the others.