Again
Raise Shield
Rodi remains somewhat shocked by the zombie's sudden assault and can only hold up his weapon defensively.
Mikos hacks the falchion deep into the zombie's side, but it keeps moving and avoids his follow-up attacks.
Ben ponders his next move.
The Keg casts another disruption, and this time it hits with the full effect.
The quickened zombie glows brightly from its many wounds and openings, eyes and mouth, then burns from within. The disruption magic fades just as quickly, leaving just a blackened husk behind.
The zombie's remains and whats left of the lure closet hold nothing of any value.
Mikos gives a meaningful grunt as he puts his sword up. "Well, that was expected. Shall we continue?" He moves back to the northern door pausing for the others to catch up.
The Keg rubs the back of his head a bit sheepishly, "Eh, well at least I feel better about meself ... cuz that's what's important."
He follows the party to the next room.
When everyone is ready, Mikos shoves open the northern door.
Unlike the other chambers of this level, this room has no luminescent fungi providing light. You only have the light from Mikos's magic buckle (and darkvision, for the dwarves) to see by.
This large stone chamber contains two clusters of four stone caskets each. In the center of the room, between the two groupings, stands an empty, unlit iron brazier that is covered with soot. The room smells faintly of past fires. Drapes of dust-covered spider webs cling to the ceiling.
Mikos does a quick tally. "And maybe another eight dead things to pop up and say hello. This necromancer is definitely industrious. How much juice do you have left, Keg? Stay back this time Rodi. You're looking pretty beat up."
"Oy, lemme see. Lookin' like I can get mebbe 2 more heals out and of course, I can be usin' some of me medicine, but it's only effective every hour 'n I used some on Rodi earlier. Ere's one spell for Rodi now ... push a bit more?"
Mikos gives a non-committal grunt. "So far we've seen more traps and zombies than anything of value. I'd as soon keep looking for the necromancer and save this for later, but I'll go with what the group thinks."
Rodi shrugs. "Being beaten up is still alive. But if you want to open the doors, I definitely won't stop you!"
"To the south then. Let's find us a necromancer. The dead in here aren't going anywhere. Well come back for them later."
"Do the dead light fires?" The Keg asks looking at the brazier, but having been dead wrong on the closet, leaves it at that and follows Mikos south.
Mikos snorts. "The dead may not need fires, but their necromancer masters probably do. Just more proof someone's been creeping around the crypt setting traps if you ask me." Mikos reaches the unopened door in the web room and looks around for more trouble.
Mikos opens the southern door. Massive black iron gates bar the western end of this corridor and another door. The gates are fashioned out of twisted, angular vertical bars that have sharp edges and are about a handspan apart, linked by welded crossbars. The gates have massive hinges set deep into the walls, and a heavy lock inside a welded box secures sliding bars that run into sockets in the floor and ceiling at the center of the corridor. Moreover, a black iron chain with links as thick as a human thumb wraps around the gates where they meet above and below the lockbox. The chain’s ends disappear into holes in the lockbox.
There are two other doors on the south wall of the corridor.
"Someone really dunna want anyone going through tha' gate. Makes ya wonder why they built it!" The Keg admires the iron and then indicates the other doors.
"Makes me paranoid anyway," Mikos rasps. "See anything I should be concerned about, Rodi?" Allowing the gnome to check for traps the before moving to the nearest door.
Rodi moves forward and examines the area for traps!
Rodi finds signs of another moon spider pit trap in the middle of the corridor between the two southern doors.
The eastern of the south doors appears to be locked.
Rodi nears the edge of the pit slowly, having already fallen victim to a similar trap. With a couple of well-placed shims, a broken femur and a piece of rubble, he manages to block the trap's trigger and jam the door hinges.
Mikos shakes his head. "How does anyone move around here without getting bit by a spider?" he asks in disbelief, but goes ahead and opens the easternmost door.
"Undead dont care. Undead dont give a shit." The Keg says with distaste
Mikos unlocks the eastern door with the same triangular obsidian key. The slab door swings open silently.
A few wisps of decayed webbing hang from the walls of this room, but there’s none on the stone ceiling and no sign of spiders in the room. The ceiling is blank save for four 1-footwide, round steel medallions, one set into each corner. The floor is equally bare except for a pedestal in the center of the floor made of a single five-foot-square block of stone, about two feet high. On the pedestal sits a metal-framed wooden chest, and to the side of the pedestal rests a shallow hole in the floor housing what looks like a brass door handle set into the stone. A stone tile lying loose nearby is clearly designed to fit over the hole, concealing the handle.
Mikos gives an aggravated sigh. "Hey Keg, you want to wager on how many traps are in this room? I'll bet a gold coin that there are at least two."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"As me old friend, Ship Captain Hack Bar from Clan Kal Marie used to say, 'Its a trap!'" the Keg chuckles remembering a private joke.
"Over two, ya win the gold. Under two, ya owe me. Right at two ... push to the next bet."
Mikos chuckles and shakes on it. " How many can you find, Rodi? I'm right behind you if any more spooks or spiders show up."
"I can find tons. It's the timing of finding them before they find me that gets me."
Made wary by the numerous traps encountered on this level, Rodi proceeds slowly and cautiously. The first thing he notices is that the ceiling doesn't quite touch the walls -- there's an inch-wide gap between the apparent ceiling and the wall. On closer inspection, the round steel medallions appear to be the ends of massive metal bolts.
The chest is certainly a trigger for some kind of mechanism that is connected to the ceiling. Rodi surmises the brass handle is related, but isn't sure exactly how.
Mikos listens counting off with his fingers, "So gap in the ceiling, medallion bolts, and trapped handle... that sounds like three traps, Keg." He smiles, holding up three fingers.
"Unless they are all connected to that one massive trap that drops the ceiling on us," The Keg says staring at the gaps in the ceiling.
Mikos looks a bit troubled at the idea of the ceiling dropping on them. "Hmmm. What do you think, Rodi? Do you want to try disarming it or should we come back later? I'm for focusing on scouting out the whole level first and then poking obvious traps later."
Rodi nods. "I'm in no hurry. Let's move along."
You leave the (quite clearly) trapped room for the next door down the hallway, stepping gingerly over the disabled trap door. Mikos shoves open the slab.
Shabby, mold-covered tapestries hang from ceiling hooks, cloaking one wall of this chamber in faded forest hunting scenes. While probably of decent quality when new, they look sad now. A plain wooden chair of massive construction stands centered before the tapestries, facing into the room. A large stone table stands against the eastern wall. Weapons and other items are neatly laid out on the table, as if displayed for sale in a shop.
A skeletal human dressed in rotting red, once ornate, robes sits on the big chair. It holds an ancient, curved bastard sword laid across its bony knees. It stares at you with unnerving stillness, its eye sockets filled with motes of sickly blue light.
"What in all the Hells is that?" Mikos mutters to Keg. He waves to the thing on the throne. "Uh... Hi,"
he calls out in greeting, more loudly.
"Hello Skeleton! I'm Rodi! Nice ta meetcha!" Rodi waves at the skeletal figure.
Iffun that basitch moves, I'm gonna smack 'im down," the Keg grumbles suspiciously, his weapon blazing with undead disrupting power.
"Go on, Mikos ... negotiate."
"I'm definitely not stepping into this room without Rodi checking for traps." Mikos quietly notifies his companions. He tries the sparkly-eyed skeleton again. "Hey! You the Crowned Skull?"
The skeleton responds in a dry whisper that echoes through the room. "I am not. I am Gorloth, servant of Urgathoa. Who are you, and what are your intentions here?"
"I'm Rodi!" Rodi looks confused. He turns to Mikos in an undertone, "I said that already, didn't I? Maybe being dead makes your ears not work?"
"We're the exterminators. You had a bit of a goblin problem upstairs. Seems like the spiders have gotten out of control on this level. When was the last time you left this room?"
"My Gram used to throw her 'urg out from time to time. She blamed it on Gramps being overly amorous." Rodi adds helpfully.