Thornkeep - PFS - The Accursed Halls

Game Master Pirate Rob

"I agree. Our orders were to secure passage to the door and open it. If it is indeed the ornate one on the balcony, all we've got to do is find a way to open it and we're done here."

There is now a link to the map at the top of every page.

Getting back into formation and heading down the stairs the rotting pig comes into sight. It is a horrible and putrid sight. It's covered in maggots and the smell is even more offensive close up then you imagined.

Everybody make me a fort save please. DC: 13 or be sickened for 10 minutes. Bonuses to poison apply.

Fort: 1d20 ⇒ 18

Fort Save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

Aleister nearly sicks up as he makes his way passed the pig.

Fort 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

"Heh, glad warm smells drift up to the tall people!"

Fort: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

Once Kardak partially recovers from losing his lunch, he weakly asks, "Could we remove that somehow?"

Fort 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

Arynn seems more or less indifferent to the smell or sight.

He considers and thinks what it would take to drag the pig out with slopping rotten fat and decomposing juices all over himself.

Any ideas?

Fire?

The rotting remnants of the pig are staked into the ground with metal spikes. Judging by the state of decomposition it should be easy enough to detach and drag off, assuming you didn't mind getting rotting pig guts all over the place.

Still waiting on save from Barrin

I don't see any posts from Christopher Rowe since last Friday, so we're going to go ahead and move on without him.

Are you guys mucking with the smelly pig more or moving on?

Moving on.

Yeah, I sent Chris a PM last night. Haven't heard back.

Move it along :)

As the party moves forward to the balcony room the overwhelming stench of the pig fades somewhat into the background.

The room appears to be untouched, the ropes still hang down. As during your retreat there are no goblin corpses in the room and you can currently move freely.

Explored Exits:
1st Floor N (Back to the pig/exit)
1st Floor SE (To the pit trap)
2nd Floor NE (To the shadow)

Unexplored Exits:
2nd Floor NW (Sealed stone Door)
2nd Floor NE (Stairs down)
2nd Floor S (The Door of Seven Stars)

Door of Seven Stars?

"Can we open the door now, or should we see what's down the stairs?"

Kardak waits for the rogue-likes and spellcasters in the party to examine the door before he does anything.

Southern Door

At the south corner stands a large stone door. Seven thumb-sized sockets are embedded in the door, arranged in a ring around a starburst design.

You have seen a picture of this door on an old tapestry in Thornkeep, however in that case the top socket appeared to be red rather than empty.

Anything I can glean from the door? Notice Unusual Stonework...1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23

Jarlgur walks up to the door and says a series of words. He begins to intently study the door and any opening mechanism.

Cast Detect Magic and Take twenty on Perception

There appears to be no conventional opening mechanism,and you think there's some sort of mystic energy present. You're also fairly certain if you filled the 7 sockets with the proper gemstones the door would open.

It appears we must try another avenue first. The northeast door going deeper into the complex?

Explored Exits:
1st Floor N (Back to the pig/exit)
1st Floor SE (To the pit trap)
2nd Floor NE (To the shadow)

Unexplored Exits:
2nd Floor NW (Sealed stone Door)
2nd Floor SW (Stairs down) Fixed from earlier
2nd Floor S (The Door of Seven Stars)

Opps, exits fixed.

The SW doorway on the second floor appears to lead deeper into the complex.

Jarlgur: The door also appears to be trapped. You think that filling all 7 sockets properly would open the door while filling them improperly would set off an electrical trap. You could potentially disable the trap however you don't find anyway to open the door other then properly filling the sockets.

"The stairs leading down?"

"Looks like no one disturbed our ropes from the other day. That's a good sign. I suppose. Shall we climb up and continue our adventure lads?"

"Hmph. We need somethin' ter put in these sockets here to open this door."

Toren looks back at Kardak, Aleister, and Jarlgur "We kin go down or up through the blocked off door. Pers'nally I think someone blocked that door to keep people out of something they din't want them to find. But I'm a game'un to go further down."

Toren, are you referring to the walled up door at the entrance, or the doors on the balcony that Kardak jammed metal doorstops into before we left?

"At the moment, the blocked doors prevent enemies from sneaking up on us from behind. If we were to open one of them before making sure nothing lurks downstairs, who knows what might crawl up and attack us."

Meant the walled up doors.

A framework of old timbers shores up this hallway’s cracked and uneven ceiling. From some ways away and down the stairs comes the sound of falling water. In the middle of landing, a large stone block lies on top of the corpse of a crushed goblin. Clutched in the goblin's left hand is a large sack that appears to be intact.

Several of you notice that the ceiling is not in good shape above the landing and that any disturbances could easily dislodge more rocks. You think that those of you not overly encumbered by armor could easily take the necessary caution.

There was a take20 on perception as well as a couple minutes of discussion. We'll say there's about 5 minutes remaining on the sickened duration.

Does it look like someone could stand on the stairs just above the landing and snag the goblin's bag with a pole/grapple/fishhook without being in danger of falling rocks?

The bag is about 30ft away from the stairs and appears to be firmly in the grip of the dead goblin. Assuming jarring it loose from the goblin didn't cause too much trouble and you overcome the 30ft distance you think it would be unlikely to collapse the roof.

Jalrgur walks lightly over there while keeping an eye out for traps. When he get close, he prods the bag with his quarterstaff to check it. If all seems good, he reaches down to get it. Cover me, please. Something seems amiss he says to his companions before starting off.

Taking twenty for Perception

There is an acrobatics check to walk softly which Jarlgur can easily accomplish by taking 10.

Jarlgur carefully approaches the squished goblin, taking several minutes to carefully observe the situation. Other than the danger of falling rocks there appears to be no threat here.

The bag is easily pried from the goblin's grip and contains a Masterwork human sized chain shirt.

Toren thinks that with about 30 minutes of work he could shore the passageway up, if he had some timbers.

Jarlgur casts a spell to check the chain shirt for enchantment. So do we shore it up, so we can pass back this way?

"That may take too long...and I'm not going outside to chop down trees for timbers. I'm sure if we go across one at a time slowly we'll be safe." I hope...

"We could trigger the pit trap and see what it's made of. We might find the lumber we seek there. Can anyone recall any other wooden items we've seen so far in here?"

There are some timbers back in the rubble piles near the dead pig, they mostly seemed rotten but there might be enough salvageable pieces back there. The Pit trap is also potentially a good idea.

The chain shirt radiates faint magic but you are unable to discern the exact enhancement.
Spellcraft:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

We could use those timbers - I'd be happy to help drag them in here or salvage them from the trap if thats the way you want to do it... or we could try one of the other doors?

"We've waited a couple days to come back here...what's a few more minutes? I'll start draggin' while you squirrelly types set off that pit trap thing."

Arryn sets his polearm against a wall and starts helping Toren.

Jarlgur will go back an attempt to set off the trap with his quarterstaff. If that doesn't work he will attempt to disable the pit trap.

Disable Device: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

I had a longer, better post but Paizo ate it, so here's the short version.

Pit trap opens after a few thumps. Most of the timbers are rotten but a few are salvageable. Also a couple pieces are recoverable from the refuse by the dead pig. It's unpleasant but you are able to manage. The pit also contained a dead skeleton with a backpack containing 90gp, 200sp and a scroll.

I will need a Profession: Miner check from Toren to accomplish the task without dropping any rocks on his head, I will allow assists from other pertinent skills such as knowledge: engineering etc but in doing so you will be in danger as well.

Is the scroll magical or mundane? Can we tell who or what the poor sap in the pit trap was? I can't help with the building operations, unfortunately.

Jarlgur attempts to identify the scroll.

Take Ten on Spellcraft for 16?

The scroll gives off a faint aura that you are unable to identify further.

The body has been dead for at least 100 years and has no remaining identifying features.

Arryn will cease his assistance long enough to say a few prayers over the corpse assuming he is told of its presence or sees it when he is dragging timbers from the area.

The body has been dead for at least 100 years and has no remaining identifying features.

Are the remains those of a Medium-sized creature?

Yes, most likely human or something reasonably close.

Profession: Miner 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

Toren sets to work as soon as he thinks he has enough timber to shore everything up. With the exception of a few curses here and there he works quite happily.

Alright, Toren is able to shore up the passageway and the party is able to continue without any danger of rocks falling on their head.

The dead goblin appears to be one of those that you fought several days ago, and it's predicament may explain the loud crash you heard as one fled. It has nothing else of interest on it.

Continuing along, the passageway doubles back to the west once more before opening up into the following:

This large chamber appears to be a natural cavern with small yellow crystals glittering in the walls. A level flagstone path clings to the western wall, but most of the room is an open chasm. Uneven columns of rock jut from the chamber’s depths, matching the height of the flagstone floor to the north and south. Water streams down from the roof of the cave and pools thirty feet below around the bases of the rock columns. A rickety ladder, likely of Goblin make lies on the cliff at the room’s northern exit, along with unlit torches and a barrel.

The pillars appear to be about 6 ft apart from each other, and the ladder on the far side is about 12ft tall.