Vaundour finds no traps on the door.
"You're really going to chase a gaseous creature through a vent system? Count me out, I choose sanity." Nate says with an ironic chuckle. He goes to check out the door.
Assuming he finds nothing, he opens it.
Grumblejack was disapointed that the fog had escaped through the little hole. There wasn't anything left to be done about it though. If the thing came back he'd kill it. If not, he didn't care.
After the door was checked he opened it roughly.
Grumble opens the northern door, it reveals a short 10' wide passageway, 30' long, lit by two torches on each side. The hall leads to yet another wooden door.
You are too far to read it but there is some script written on the door.
"Nothin'. Just more stupid writing." the ogre said starting to walk down the hall.
"Well considering writing has been telling us how to handle the rooms..." Nate murmurs. He follows in the back, squinting his eyes to read the text.
As Grumble and Nate enter the northern hallway, Nate can see the words clearly ten feet from the door.
“Cruelty is a tool not a pastime. Be ruthless to thy enemy but reward those who serve thee well.”
While curious as to what lie ahead from the northern door, Soren decides to pry open the one heading east to examine whatever she might find. "You question your being here? Are you really so weak?" she remarks, forcing open the door to look beyond it.
Soren pushes open the portal revealing yet another square chamber. The Chamber is 30' by 30'. The walls are bare with a single light hanging from the center of the room, a lantern shining down on the only thing in the room, a torture rack. The hood over the lantern focuses the light creating some shadows in the corners of the room.
The torturer's rack appears to be in working condition.
There are no doors out of this room.
"No doors out? Must be a secret door somewhere." Nate takes a look around for just that.
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"Weak? No, just an opportunist, luv," Vaundour said as he entered the room. Moving over to the torture rack, he examines it with a careful eye. "Escaping with you to this place was my best opportunity to get out of that place, just like signing that contract was my best opportunity to continue living. I'm always looking for the opportunity that serves my plans the best."
"Plans are stupid. Living just to keep living is weak. Gotta have a reason beyond plans." the ogre rumbled. "That's what you got now. Not opportunity. Purpose."
"You signed. You are a Thorn. We are the Ninth Knot."
"Nothing else matters."
As Vaundour circles the rack he notices that against the far wall to the west there is a secret door in the corner. It is the only portion of the room that has a seam anywhere.
It is well hidden but for that small imperfection would be impossible to notice. Nate walked right by it as he made his rounds in the room.
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"Yes, yes, hail our Dread Father," Vaundour said as a smirk graced his cruelly handsome face. Walking over to the corner where he saw the crack in the wall, he kneeled down to give it a closer look. "But like I said, I'm always on the lookout for a good opportunity. An opportunity presented by a very well-hidden door, for instance. Would you care to do the honors of breaking into it, my large friend?"
Grumblejack grunted and swung his hammer into the spot Vaundour pointed out.
Grumble's strike slams into the wall but the well made construction holds up under his blow. The hidden door does shift a bit though showing that there is indeed a gap.
Nate picks his ears and chuckles at Grumblejack slamming into the wall.
"Here kitty kitty kitty...." Grumble grinned and slammed his hammer into the hidden door again.
Lothyrin prepares himself as Grumble Jack strikes the door, flames begin to curl up and around his arms.
The door explodes inwards as the half-ogre strikes it with a second solid shot.
As Grumble peers in he sees a human male slumped in the corner cowering in fear hands covering his head.
"Don't, don't harm me. I have no weapon".
Cruelty is a tool not a pastime. Be ruthless to thy enemy but reward those who serve thee well...
"Peace, we have no intention of harming you unless you intend us harm. What is your name?"
Nathaniel he is terrified it is not an act.
"I am Timeon of Balentyne... oh why hs Mitra forsaken me and left me in this horrible place!" he shrieks.
A follower of the Mitran regime...this poor man. "Listen, we can get you out of here, but you need to help us. Have you been down here long, do you know anything about these chambers?"
He brings his hands down from his face and looks at Nathaniel.
"Are you trapped here as well? Perhaps you can help me rescue Sir Balin?"
Nate redirects the topic away from being trapped. "Sir Balin, is he a knight of Mitra? Yes we would be very interested in finding him, do you know where he is?" Nate's heart skips a beat. "Is he a paladin?"
"Oh no he wishes to be but he has not yet been so favored! He is a great warrior though, perhaps you can help me find him and then we can fight our way back out of this dungeon". He begins to stand, seeming inspired by the conversation.
Nate prevents himself from breathing a sigh of relief. "Yes, I bet he can help us clear this dangerous place. Thank you. Is there anything else you know about this place? Oh and forgive me, I haven't even asked your name. I'm Nathanial."
Grumblejack seemed very confused about why they cared about this Timmy person, but he kept his mouth shut and let Nathaniel talk. He didn't need to know what was happening to back his ally.
Besides, they could always kill him later.
"I'm sure he can. A knight of Mitra is a valuable ally in a dungeon such as this, what with the creature we just faced." Soren takes a moment before stepping forward to slide her holy symbol of Asmodeus beneath her shirt, obscuring it from view. While the white pentagram is still emblazoned on her armor, she quickly moves to speak to the boy again. "As you can see, we've had to scavenge arms and armor to get here. This Sir Balin, could you tell us where you last saw him?"
"I am Timeon of Balentyne and I am glad to see some friendly faces around here". He stands up and then finally gets a look at Grumble and gulps forgetting the otehr questions asked of him, "Um, is he with you?"
Nate chuckles. "An odd friend, is he not? Yes he is with us. Please pay no mind though, he is unlike other ogres." Not a lie... "Balentyne? You must have had some experiences there. I assume you are Sir Balin's squire?"
Timeon seems troubled by the Half-Ogre but a chance at being saved seems to override his good sense, assuming he has any.
"I am not sure where Sir Balin is, the last I saw him he was battling the magical constructs made to look like snakes. A powerful cleric or wizard attacked me, I just managed to escape and find this secret door. Luckily, he did not know it was there.
I did hear other things too about this place but..." he looks at Grumble.
Nate smiles. "Grumblejack, could you guard the door? We don't want these constructs or caster sneaking up on us." He requests, hoping to put Timeon more at ease. "Construct like snakes? Those must be deadly. And a powerful cleric or wizard...hmm, this helps us a lot." He gives Timeon his waterskin. "So I don't think any of have been to Balentyne, what's it like?"
Timeon breathes a sigh of relief, "We should not let that thing escape. Perhaps it will be useful in the short run but in the long run its evil is irredeemable and it will turn on us once free. I know there is a secret door across from the stairs, I heard the villain say it when he was searching for me in the next room.
I feared I would not be able to reach it alone which is why I was waiting for Sir Balin to find me but it appears he is either fled or perished else he would have come for me right?
Lastly, I know that there are some sort of creatures that shriek and their noises will activate a trap of some sort so we must proceed with caution".
He pauses, "I am the youngest son of House Balentyne, a family with estates near the Watch Wall. The Tower Balentyne is a fine structure its commander, Sir Thomas Havelyn, is one of the greatest Knights of Mitra I have ever met. I have walked its halls so frequently I can see them in my minds eye, I was losing hope I would ever get back there.
Especially after my time on the road I know I need to right a wrong taking place there something that is immoral takes place there. Enough of me, how did you all get trapped down here?"
Nate crooks his chin in his hand. "Perhaps you are right. We will take that into consideration." Villain searching a room who knows about a secret door, and is a spellcaster? That must be Thorn. Perhaps we won't have to deal with a spellcaster down here after all.
"Of course he would have. I'm sure he's just unable to reach you right now, or he doesn't know where you are. Rest assured, we will find him."
"Shrieking creatures? That is concerning. Thank you for the warning."
See them in his mind's eyes? Hmm. We are here to take down Mitra and the Talirean regime. "I know this may hardly be the time for such trivialities, but I'm a bit of a castle enthusiast. The structure, the engineering of it, it fascinates me. Perhaps it could help center you as well, if you could share the layout with me?"
"Also, you should know, we are not alone. I have a number of other allies here as well. I fear the Grumblejack may not be the only face that makes the hairs on your neck stand; but I do and have trusted each and every one of them with my life."
"I think we both may know the same spellcaster, for he is the one responsible for us being down here. I believe my time in the Talirean military may have brought his attention to me, but as for the others, their stories are not mine to tell."
Lothyrin stands outside eavesdropping on the coversation going on in the room. Ah a follower of Mitra, I think I should introduce myself. Changing his clothing into an outfit matching that of a follower of Mitra, Lothryin rushes in saying "Praise Mitra we found a survivor in this god forsaken place.
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'Ah, the naievity of the youth, how refreshing,' Vaundour said as he listened to the squire's tale. Honestly, why Thorne kept a young lad locked up in his basement wasn't something he wanted to be involved with in any capacity. "Greetings and well met, noble son of House Balentyne. I am Vaundour Gathlain, son of the noble House Gathlain. Tell me, how long have you been locked down here? I must admit that I have not heard of a missing noble in quite some time."
Grumble grinned at the young Mitran before stomping over to guard the door. It was not a reassuring sight.
Timeon swallows hard at the appearance of Vaundour though the Mitran robes that Lothyrin wears and his words further lull him into a false sense of security.
He describes the basic layout of Tower Balentyne for several minutes. Speaking of something familiar seems to increase his confidence.
"I must thank you all. Were it not for your arrival I may well have starved to death down here. How long were you brought here to be prisoners? As much as I want to get out, I fear that villain if he is still nearby will thwart our efforts".
"Please, think nothing of it. Mitra must have brought us together in these dark times. We have only just been brought here, which is why we're still in such good shape."
"Hmm, perhaps. But if he had been planning to imprison us he would have put us in a cage, or if he wanted us dead we would already be. He must have some other motive for letting us wander freely. Which still means we should be on guard."
"Timeon, how skilled are you with a blade? I think you should remain in the back with me and help to guard the rear." It just happens that his suggestion keeps Timeon near him and away from all the other less friendly-looking party members, and judging by Timeon's weak limbs he couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag.
"I am skilled with a blade, not so skilled as Sir Balin but I grew up with a sword in my hand. Have you an extra weapon for me?"
Nate draws his dagger, and also points to the greataxe on his back. "Your choice."
Timeon draws the Greataxe with surprising deftness considering how timid he was when you first located him.
"I can show us back the other way, remember, this will be no easy task". He starts down the hall with renewed confidence though does make a point of staying near Nate.
Absentmindedly Timeon replies to Vaundour, "A few days, I ate through all of my rations so you found me just in time".
Timidly he moves back to the room where your group chased the mist away. He looks at the other barred door and points at it speaking as enthusiastically as you have seen him behave so far, "This way to freedom!"
Grumblejack pulled up the rear, trudging after the group like he'd rather be anywhere else and imagining doing horrible things to spunky squire Timmy.