Gargon calls back a description of the diagrams to the rest of the party. Maybe they can understand them better than the small, melon-headed barbarian.
Shellin will puzzle over the description
It looks like a half moon shape, a full moon shape and a half moon shape. All in 1 line.
More quietly to the ones not on stalagmites,
Anyone know where we are in the lunar cycle?
As Gargon looks at the dial on the stalagmite. He he can tell that the stalagmite wasn't always a stalagmite and might have been covered up over years of time. He might be able to figure out that it's a pillar that reaches down, far down into the darkens. The dial doesn't move individual parts, but as a whole. Clicks at every 5 degrees that he moves it.
"From the sound of it the Turtle would be a Dragon Turtle, and the bird sounds like a Phoenix" Maraiah says trying to piece together the descriptions.
Gargon really doesn't understand this dial that he's been messing with. Continue on to the other side?
Dismissing the dial Gargon bounces across to the other side.
Gargon pounds a piton into the wall and ties off the rope. As you cross, you can make a perception check to see the symbols on the column.
With the rope tied off, Maraiah moves over to the column, hand over hand.
As Maraiah moves over the the column, she notices the symbols it. Letting her know about those she's mentioned before. As the rest of you head over, you don't run across anything odd, other than the symbol as soon as it was pointed out by Maraiah.
You move down the tunnel and come to another 3 way branch.
"Left this time then? Or shall we take the middle?"
This branching is going to become truly... Tasking.
Hallow shrugs, examining the tunnels closely for distinguishing marks and listening for sounds down each of them. "Ah, the perils of exploring uncharted territory. Let's see if there's anything different about these things from each other."
Hallow notices nothing. This area is without any marks or dust. Nothing that would leave a trail behind.
Gargon will go 60 feet down each tunnel to see what he can see.
You notice nothing after going that far.
I don't think we will ever get on if we keep debating tunnel choice. Best make a decision and move on
"In the abscess of information, is everyone okay with taking the left tunnel? Or do we have other ideas?"
I have no preference. I just wanna bite stuff.
"Left it is, let's move." Maraiah says hefting her gear.
Hallow shrugs and begins trekking down the left tunnel.
Left it is. You travel down the path and it is heading downwards a bit. you travel for what seems like a long time. Until you come up on a room with a large pillar in the center. The pillar reaches up farther than you can see into darkness. On the walls, you see several figures, one is a Big Cat, One is a Snake and Tortoise, A Dragon and a Bird.
For some reason, this room is colder than other places that you have traveled. The cold is steady, but not harmful.
Hallow looks around the room, taking in the figures on the walls and the room with the large pillar. The elf taps the stone. "Well, well, well. You look important." He stood and examined the walls for a while longer. "I feel like I'm missing something..."
If he can't work it out he will call the others over and show them.
Gargon moves to the Snake and Tortoise image and starts to examine the shell of the Tortoise. He quickly calls out to you to join. After he points it out you all can see that there is a line going from Big Cat and the Dragon. You all can see that the shell might be a doorway, if only you knew how to open it.
As the group examines the pictures Gargon turns to them.
This looks like a mechanism of some sort. Does anyone know anything about machinery? Mariah, you mentioned a dragon turtle and a phoenix before. Did they look like these?
Walking over to where Gargon stands, the ranger inspects the stones for signs of some sort of mechanism.
The dwarf just shrugs and comes closer. "I can build parts, but am no mechanicus!"
Shellin spends a time staring blankly at the dark overhead.
I wonder...
Without looking down, Shellin asks, "Maraiah, do you have a bolt loaded?"
"Yeah." the ranger answers.
Shellin will finally look down to the party and cast Light on Maraiah's loaded bolt. Looking back to the soon to be lack of darkness above, Shellin asks, "Would you kindly fire that upward as parralel to the pillar as possible?"
The arrow flies up and out of the sight of Shellin. He looks around to you guys, possibly wondering where it went.
Gargon jumps as the arrow lands less than 10 feet away from him, still shining.
Quick recap: You've come across a passage that had 3 choices. You went right and ended up looking over a craves that had Stalactites and Mites. Gargon jumped over them and almost fell to his death. But landing on the middle one, which turned out to be a column of some sort. The top of the column moves and clicks every 5 degrees. On the top of the moving portion is three shapes and a line.
He couldn't figure it out and decided to move on. While crossing, Maraiah noticed a few figures sticking out on the rock and was able to figure out some of their details.
You've continued down the pass and it lead you to another 3 way choice in the tunnels. You've decided to go left this time. You are now in a room with a column stretching up out of sight, even when a bolt of light is shot up, it vanishes and when it comes back down, the magic is out. On the walls of this place are the same figures as above. 3 individual animals and two animals fighting. You've located a line that goes from the pillar to two animals, from those two animals to a turtle. Where the turtles shell looks like it can move.
"Perhaps on of us should backtrack, maybe twist that strange column we found? Perhaps the mechanisms will correspond? The line starts at the two animals and leads to the turtle, so maybe we try that."
"It's worth a shot." Maraiah says turning and heading back to the column that acted as a switch.
"Sometimes back is the way forward!"
So you head out of the dead end room and go back to the three way split. This time you head back to the right to find yourself back in the room with the hopscotch stalagmites. You have been traveling for several hours now and are feeling the gnowling of hunger eat away at your inners. Though, time in the caves can be daunting and you might now know how long you've been traveling.
Who's Going to attempt the jumps this time?
Is our rope still there? Surely that will help someone who is smarter than me get to the dial and investigate.
I went there before and could not understand. I can go again, but I am not very smart. Maybe I can jump and put a rope to help someone smart get there.
Gargon ties his rope to himself hands one end to a his friend Shellin and makes a running leap out toward the dial.
Gargon makes it across to the middle pillar again. He knows what he is looking for and now can make out the depictions from below. Now, how will he align the images.
Gargon calls back to his companions. His hand hovers over the dial as he speaks.
How should I turn this dial?