As you crept forward Swen silent as a mouse's shadow torwards the barn it became apparent to you that while you were moving in silence... your compatriots were not. It didnt seem to matter though, your ears strained to hear nothing but silence.
The barn stood on a flat spot of ground about 200 feet from the mouth of the mine. Spotting around the edge you could see one door balely hanging on by a hinge, the other long since collapsed onto the ground in front of the entrance. Approaching the half opened door you can see several fallen beams laying across what appear to be stalls.
Inside the barn you can see that matching doors actually still hang up opposite the fallen doors you used to enter. The interior is well lit by the gaps in the roof, but still provide you plenty of shadow to skulk about in. Six empty draft horse sized stalls take up the back half of the building. The remains of a ladder that lead to an almost completely collapsed hayloft complete the barn.
A half dozen rough looking picks and shovels litter the floor along with what appears to be rotting rope. A badly dented metal mine cart missing two wheels is overturned on some stale straw and a thick layer of dust seems to coat everything... included the final thing you notice...
Protruding from a beam on the first stall to you left is a dagger thrust through a peice of old yellowed peice of parchment.
Tush covers the front line as they approach the barn. Seeing them not get into a fight right a way she heads forward and takes a look. She points to the dagger with the yellow piece of paper. "Somebody want to grab that?" She casts detect magic just in case.
In a feminine hand a simple sentence is written, The trapdoor should be located on the floor in the first stall on the l
Unfortunately the parchment literally starts to crumble to dust when you remove it from it position.
From the looks of things, you could gather Swen that the parchment and dagger have been there for a really long long long time.
"Somebody left a message?" Ramona asks, noting the paper crumbling in Swen's hands.
Looking over Swen's shoulder Aurelain notes There is a trapdoor in one of the stalls. Lets find it. Maybe the first on the left.
"No matter it would be nice to get underground and avoid the light for a bit. And I don't mind to slay a few orcs for this chance." Nicenzia says joining the others near the first stall.
It was easy enough to find the trap door, especially with the directions, but the thing appeared to be made of a thin layer of stone and it would no doubt not be easy to lift.
Using his claws and a crowbars Aurelain begins to up one side of the stone.
The magus takes the other side of the stone.
Not much could be seen down into the depths, it was about a five foot drop from the trapdoor, a small hole could be seen on the left of the drop with stairs forming that one could easily crawl too....it looks like once you can get squeezed through the 2 1/2 to 3 foot gap to the stairs it should be smooth sailing downwards....
There is no light source that you can see, nor is there a way to keep the heavy stone trapdoor open to provide light.
"Those of y'all that can see in the dark should probably lead and leave the few of us needin' torches and the like further back so as not to warn anyone we're comin'" Ramona suggests staring down into the darkness.
Lets prop the stone at last partially open with a piece of wood or beam. Aurelain recommends as he drags a large piece of scrap over. I can see well enough in the dark and am happy to lead but I'd walk right into a trap if there is one. ha admits.
"I'll fellow right behind you Swen, I'll provide ranged back up and can see a good bit in the dark." Nicenzia says jumping down into the pit.
Perhaps behind me then Nienzia. I can be ready to handle whatever comes at us in melee.
Ramona falls in behind the others, after lighting a torch, allowing her to see some distance up the tunnel.
Amed unsheaths his sharped scimitar, careful not to slice his neighbor.
Tush taps the butt of Ramona's gun. "This might help." Light emits from where she touches. She gives the woman a bright grin.
Flashing Tush a smile, Ramona snuffs out the torch. " Magic touch, nicely done." she says with a wink.
The tunnel beneath the barn extends for nearly 100 feet before it starts to turn gradually seeming to spiral steadily downward. AS you decend a soft almost moaning like noise wafts past you. Oddly the air seems fresh as it tickles your nose, evoking memories of dew - soaked mornings. After what seems to be nearly an hour of travel with almost as many upward curving spots as downward, with no branches or intersections, the tunnel finally stops its curving and opens into a sizable room (about 30x 30) with a long narrow hole in the floor. The moaning sound is much louder now, and a variety of tones seem to emanate from all four walls.
Upon closer inspection of the walls, you can see easily a dozen small porous shafts in each wall, no bigger than a man's finger, slight gusts of wind blow from them on occasion making the moaning noise you hear.
With your dark vision you can see that the long narrow hole in the ground resembles the shape of a casket, but it drops down about 20 feet. The angle is too bad to see much down there unfortunately. Also it appears that the only way to proceed forward is down the hole.
Aurelain also has darkvision and casts about, wondering what the room could have been used for. A lot of small holes are making the moaning noises. Almost musical.Maybe this was for some sort of ceremony? Maybe burial based on the casket shaped hole in the floor. He follows closely behind Swen.
"Dwarves, maybe", Amed mused.
"I'm little. I can go down first, and see what's going on. If someone has a rope we can tie it around my waist and you can pull me up in case of trouble."
"Many creatures lives underground, so burials I would assume also happens here. Possible somewhere far away from their settlement to avoid attracting carrion feeders."
I can lower you Tush. No issue there. And I can pull you up right quick if needed. Lets lower a light first though and see if it attracts any interest.
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“Well there’s no other way out of here except down that pit or the way we came. A trapdoor in a barn stall means this place is a secret to the surface. If whoever used this place came from below, they must fly or be able to climb up.”
Swen stops and listens to Tush and Aurelain’s plan. “Do we really want to attract any attention?”
Best we know what we can before we lower anyone down. And Tush cannot see in the dark so she will need a light. I see no other option. Someone drop a light down there.
Tush removes the light from Ramora's weapon and puts it on a Rock. "Here you go toss away." she hands it to Aurelain.
Lets get you roped in first Aurelain rigs a seat in his role and helps secure it to Tush. Looking over the edge he then drops the lighted stone into to rift.
Despite the distracting sounds of Aurelain busy tying off Tush, the random sighing noises from the wall and the soft thump of the lighted stone hitting the ground below you hear a slight creak, then several clatters. For a moment you think its your ears playing tricks on you, but then you hear again, then another, a third time... it almost sounds like bones clattering against one another...or bones moving.
"What did you see Swen?" Nicenzia asks a bit concerned.
Best we drop down two or three at a time if there is gonna be a fight. Who else has a rope?
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Swen shrugs in answer to Nicenzia. "I'm starting to think this is some sort of sacrificial pit. Sounds like somethings moving around in a pile of bones."
She sets her pack down and takes out a rope and some pitons. She drives a stake into the ground and fastens the rope to it, tossing the other end into the pit.
"Who wants to go first?"
"I'll shall lead the way down", spoke Amed, stepping forward. Sadly his repelling skills doesn't match his bravado.
Tush thanks Aurelain for his excellent rope tying skills. She starts down the well with Amed.
If there is a third rope Aurelain will also descend.
"Swen..." Nicenzia yells as she realised she reached out her hand to late to help her friend from falling.
As the others begin what turns out to be a difficult climb, Ramona moves closer. As Swen loses her balance and begins to plunge, the others in a precarious position and Tush at the bottom alone, th gunslinger explodes into action launching herself into an acrobatic dive and flip down the hole her body inverting in mid-air to land in a crouch at the bottom, her gun already drawn, a slight grimace crossing her lips as her ankle takes a little more force than anticipated.