Thomas the oblivious went after Joriannika relying on the others to see and find stuff. But he did provide light.
Guruthos, Joriannika, and Hanzo did a brief inspection of this cruel chamber, not wishing to spend more time than was necessary in here. Most of the devices are too heavy to be moved easily, and too well-built to be broken. Really, the only thing of interest or value is the bronze plaque on the wall. It looks like a family crest, but would be an unwieldy item to haul around: about 2-1/2 feet in "diameter," maybe 50 lbs. It definitely seems like a historical curiosity that would hold value to anyone interested in Belhaim's history.
"The people of Belhaim would like that plague. I could probably carry it. But honestly, I don't want to. We can tell them of it later."
Guruthos stares at the plaque, contemplating the words, then abruptly turns and heads into the "hidden" hallway.
Hanzo shrugged. "Well, I'm not carrying it." He followed Guruthos.
Joriannika spared the plaque a dire scowl. "These terrible people deserve to be forgotten! Or reviled. ...But I don't think I want to carry the plaque, either."
She joined Thomas as the party entered the hallway.
The party follows the hallway beyond the secret door. You walk north and the hall curves west, then south. The floor drops away here as the corridor turns east, though a seven-inch-wide ledge continues along the south wall. The walls are very smooth, offering few handholds. The
remainder of the passageway is filled with a five-foot-deep trough filled with foul-smelling, thick green sludge.
What do you do?
Thomas kicks a stone into the sludge.
Guruthos looks at the sludge, then checks the area for any traps that might spring on them as they attempt to cross.
Guruthos determines the only thing that could possibly spring up on them is a sudden bout of clumsiness. There are no holes, wires, levers, or anything to suggest something will trigger.
Thomas kicks a bit of stone wall, covered in dust, into the pit below. It seems to take slightly longer for the rock to break the surface and sink. Fractions of a second. Enough to suggest that this substance is slightly congealed.
Acrobatics DC10
Climb DC25
"I imagine Guruthos could easily dance across that ledge." Thomas says to the group challenging the elf.
Then he addresses him directly. "If you agree, you could scout ahead as always."
Guruthos grunts at Thomas, then slides his silk rope from the loop on his backpack and ties it around his waste and tosses it to Thomas.
He then lifts his torch, and walks out on the ledge, just to peer around the corner.
Guruthos nimbly and carefully peers around the corner. Unfortunately, the ledge only continues for about five feet around the corner before coming it abruptly ends. With the light of your torch, you can just make out where the pit ends and the hall continues, leaving maybe twenty-five feet of green sludge in between.
A low-pitched, growling groan emanates from behind his mask, as Guruthos ponders the situation.
He looks over the walls closely for any handholds, hidden doors, traps, etc.
He returns to the party, points to the ledge and says, "Ledge ends, 20 more feet of... goo." He reaches into his backpack and pulls a bit of jerky from his rations, and tosses it into the goo to observe the reaction.
The walls are rather smooth. Barely any handholds, and, again, you do not detect any hidden doors or traps.
...
The jerky hits the surface and kind of rests there for a minute, before slowly sinking into the sludge. As it begins sinking, you do see some slight bubbling of a reaction. The sludge, perhaps once much more potent, a long time ago, seems to have congealed considerably and lost a lot of its effectiveness. You all also notice small bits of bubbling where the stone is now being affected, releasing tiny amounts of trapped air which rise to the surface. This stuff... appears to be acidic, but barely so.
Was it more potent a long time ago?
Was it merely meant to seem acidic, keeping unwanted visitors away?
It's considered difficult terrain and will deal 1pt of damage at the start of every turn you're in it.
Guruthos removes a glove, and reaches down to touch the substance. It's not pleasant, but might take some time to get through his clothing. He turns to the group, and gruffly says, "We walk," he points at the ledge, then the corner, "then move through the rest."
And everyone else says:
"Well, if you say so..."
Thomas goes second after Guruthos and after a few feet slips and stands in the goo. "Oh no! But what did I expect really?"
Thomas slips as soon as he steps onto the narrow ledge, falling into the acidic sludge, taking 1 point of acid damage. Those darn wide feet.
Hanzo, Joriannika, Thomas, Guruthos
Global Condition: None |Global Condition:
Thomas HP: 9/10 AC: 16/12/14 Status:
Guruthos HP: 5/8 AC: 15/13/12 Status: 1pt DEX dmg (no penalty)
Joriannika HP: 6/9 AC: 17/13/14 Status:
Hanzo HP: 6/10 AC: 17-1/13-1/14 Status: 1pt NL dmg, 3pt Dex dmg (-1 Penalty)NPCS:
"Thomas! Are you all right?" Joriannika yelped. She bent down to see if she could reach his hand and help him up, but he forged on through the muck.
Deciding he couldn't be too hurt, she tried her luck on the ledge.
"Guruthos, wait! Thomas fell in. Do you have more rope?"
Hanzo followed Joriannika, but kept an eye out for trouble.
The elf returns around the corner to see Thomas flailing in the goo, and decides that it's probably best that the mask is hiding his grin. He tugs the rope still around his waste and reels it in to him, then tosses the bulk of it Thomas, then braces himself on the corner of the wall.
Thomas lands in the five-foot-deep pit, and discovers the acid sludge is only about 2-2 1/2 feet deep. Wading through does take quite a bit of effort.
To everyone's surprise, Guruthos reels in his rope to assist Thomas. Even Thomas is a bit dumbfounded. He takes hold of the rope as some of the residual sludge dripping from his head and shoulders begins reacting with his hair and clothes.
...you can use Acrobatics to move on narrow surfaces and uneven ground without falling. A successful check allows you to move at half speed across such surfaces—only one check is needed per round.
"I'm fine Jori. It burns a little, but I can handle that." Surprised he nods at Guruthos and accepts the rope to move forward faster.
"Since I'm in here anyway, no need for you guys to get dirty, too. I'll move forward and then I carry you one by one to the other side. How does that sound?"
"Like a stepping stone? Good idea!"
Joriannika elbowed Hanzo. "I don't think you should stay down in that goo!" she worried. "I mean, it has to come from somewhere..."
Feeling a small hole burned through his clothes, Thomas takes 1 point of acid damage.
Thomas waded through sludge, partially assisted by Guruthos.
bold may act:
Guruthos, then Hanzo, Joriannika, and Thomas.
Global Condition: None |Global Condition:
Thomas HP: 8/10 AC: 16/12/14 Status: Difficult terrain
Guruthos HP: 5/8 AC: 15/13/12 Status: 1pt DEX dmg (no penalty)
Joriannika HP: 6/9 AC: 17/13/14 Status:
Hanzo HP: 6/10 AC: 17-1/13-1/14 Status: 1pt NL dmg, 3pt Dex dmg (-1 Penalty)NPCS:
As Thomas passes him, Guruthos hands him a piton from his pack. He then removes the opposite end of the rope from his waist, ties the end onto the end of his grappling arrow, and hooks the arrow onto the end of the ledge. He points to the opposite end and tells Thomas, "Anchor rope."
Still surprised by the helpfulness, Thomas waded further on, rope and piton in one hand, spear in the other. "You want me to do wha...ah, ok, I get you." Thomas executed Guruthos plan anchroing the piton as good as he could. He then used one of the sailor's knots that he had learned in his port home town to attach the rope.
With the rope in place, Guruthos hopes the rest of the party can cross safely, using the wall to help maintain stability.
Guruthos nimbly steps up on the rope and makes his way across.
Hanzo ventured out onto the rope carefully, but had no problem crossing.
He clapped Guruthos on the shoulder and turned to wave Joriannika over. "What are you waiting for? Hurry up so we can get Thomas out of there!"
Joriannika looked significantly less thrilled with the idea. Gazing down at the goo, she shifted her look to the rope.
"Okay, here goes nothing..."
With her arms splayed wide, she balanced her way across the rope and laughed when she stepped off the other side.
"Not going to lie, I wasn't looking forward to slogging through that stuff! Thank you, Guruthos!" Turning to the pit, she knelt to reach for Thomas' hand. "Do you need some help, Thomas?"
Once everyone is across, Guruthos unties the rope from the piton and shakes it loose from the far corner, then pulls it in, winds it up and attaches it to his packpack.
With everyone across, and Thomas' clothes slightly worse for wear, a toe nearly able to poke through his boot, but his belongings unscathed, the party presses on. Around the corner is a solid iron door, which Guruthos thoroughly checks for any tampering. Hanzo, eager to move on out and not stay here any longer than he needs to, checks the handle. The door isn't locked. He opens it. You're still alive. You find yourselves in a long portion of corridor, fashioned in an L shape. When the hall curves east, it is a painfully straight stretch of corridor. But nothing happens as the party cautiously makes their way. Out of the darkness, you eventually see a door. A small, barred window pierces the iron door at the end of this hall, revealing a plain, ten-foot-square room with a windowless iron door on the opposite wall beyond.
What do you do?
Guruthos will check the door for traps.
He checks the door to see if it is locked.
"This place is ridiculous. Who'd build such a maze. No sane architect. That's for sure."
Guruthos, it doesn't seem to be rigged or trapped. It is locked, but it's in bad shape.
The masked elf sets down his pack and selects a few picks from a side pouch. He hands the torch to Joriannika and sets to work on the lock.
Joriannika accepted the torch and sighed. "Amen to that, Thomas. The Canteclures were apparently anything but sane. Dead people, torture towers, devils, mazes... I hope we find what we came down here for soon."
Hanzo leaned against the wall by Guruthos to watch him work. "Nice job, good steady hands," he said approvingly as the lock clicked open.
The lock swoons to Guruthos' touch, and the door unlocks.