Jawn you move as close as you feel as safe to the area of the floor that has been blackened. With the light shining directly upon it you see that it is not blood or oil and nothing appears to be seeping in or out.
Not wanting to disturb the area you let Jak and Nesserin go about their plan to set off whatever trap might be here. Hauling in the fragments of the fallen stalactites the group starts to lay them down.
Jak starts playing Pétanque targeting the center of the hallway to confirm the safety or danger of the obvious way across.
"It is unfortunate that my voice cannot trigger a trap, friends, and we must resort to throwing stones," Malthus grumbles, watching Jak try to trigger the device.
Herrick steps quite a bit back, moving around to stand near the wizard, and letting the others play their game of bocce.
You sure that's going to work?
"No, but i'd rather not chance this blindly."
Tossing the fragments onto the center of the area nothing happens at first but after about the 8 attempt you watch as a barrier of fire blasts from the wall to wall scorching everything in that area.
The wall of fire eventually stops leaving the room as hot as a furnace.
Herrick checks his eyebrows to make sure that they are still there. "Well, that was exciting. Jak, can you disable those flame jets?"
"He shoots. He scores! Someone owes me ten crowns. Let me look."
Now that he had seen the trigger of the trap, Jak pulls out some tools from his right boot and sets to work.
After testing again. "Nope."
Malthus frowns. "I only wish I had put down the cockatrice carcass there before the fire was tripped. We'd have an easily cooked dinner, friends."
Herrick clears his throat at Malthus' comment. "I would have thought, Beardson, that after your endeavor with the ogre you would have learned your lesson about cooking up monstrosities. Not everything in this world is meant to be eaten, no matter how hungry you are."
Ha! Rather!, Gilhaut brays.
He looks over at Jak. Hows it coming?
Jak nods as he moves to the wall and jams something dirt, sand and rocks into a series of small holes on the wall. He tests it again and watches as smokes plumes out of the wall.
"Alright that's done let's go."
Herrick looks behind them to make sure no one is following them (), and then urges the others forward.
"Come on, folks, the faster we find the bones of our employer's brother, the sooner we can get out of here and somewhere safe, dry, and where everything isn't trying to turn us to stone or burn us."
"Strange that we haven't come across any bones down here so far? I thought the old guy's remains would be spread all over the place."
"Maybe that strange bird ate the bones?" Jak offers
Herrick shrugs at Jak's question. "What do you say, smart people? Do these cockamamies eat bones?"
"Hmm. I suppose we could inspect its innards, but I somehow doubt it dined on bones, Jak," Malthus shakes his head. "Perhaps we just need to keep looking. Leave no bone unturned, as it were."
Well, then, let's keep moving. Nessy, old boy, still backing Jak on point?
Nesserin nods to Gilhaut and leads the way now that Jak has successfully disabled the trap and the way appears clear...for now "Alright lads, we continue head first into danger. Watch your step."
Satisfied Nesserin once again takes the point with Jak closely following by. Gilhaut, Jawn and Malthus are next to move with Herrick guarding the back.
Clearing the trapped area you can't but turn your head to make certain that Jak has fully disabled the trap. Several plumes of smoke drift out of the wall but no fire follows.
Breathing a sigh of of relief Nesserin and Jak lead the party forward they however do not make it very far for as soon as they step off of the darkened patch to the floor beyond the floor spins open right up under their feet!
!!!
Nesserin's reactions save him from falling into the pit.
Herrick's hears the commotion going on in the front ranks and pokes his head up to try and see around the others. "What's going on up there? Are we being attacked?"
"Woah. That was close." Jak reacts quickly.
Jak and Nesserin are able to easily escape the trsp below their feet as they jump to the other side. Looking back you watch as the floor spins back into place.
Jak marks out the trap and tries to disable it by jamming it into place.
If they have to get the others to jump across, he gets out his rope and prepares to help everyone across safely.
While Jak is attempting to jam the trap, Herrick moves forward through the group to the edge of the danger zone and tries to trigger it a few times. Each time it does, he looks down quickly, holding out a torch to light the space below for the short period when the trap is open. He doesn't seem to be at all aware that he might be getting in Jak's way as he is doing this, so intent is he on discovering what might be below the carefully hidden portal.
"Just seeing if there's anything good down there. Who knows what other idiots stumbled down here over the years. They may have died and left all kinds of goodies behind."
Malthus waits to see if Jak's attempt to disable the trap works. If it does, he gingerly hops across.
You have a good idea there old chap! Taking a look can't hurt!
Jak does his best to look for a solution to disarm the trapped floor but finds that the quickest solution would be to just jump over the area. The floor appears to be counter-weighted and nothing is thin enough to jam inside the floor to stop it from spinning.
Herrick does his best to look below and sees no sign of any old or new occupants under the floor.
Moving the group across does not take too long but Jak is quick to use secure his rope around each person that jumps across the floor. Herrick is last to jump across and grunts as he lands close to the edge floor trap but the veteran catches his balance and tips forward. You all pull him in grateful that none suffered any injury.
Herrick wipes his brow after completing the jump. " Now I'm really glad we didn't bring the mule down with us! There's no way we could have gotten that stubborn animal to jump across that! "
So far so good... keep it up
"Certainly glad we save you from becoming ogre stew." Nesserin pats Jak on the shoulder and leads the group onward
You all eye the only exit leading from this room and cautiously move towards its direction. As your light illuminates the exit you see that it is a rather short hallway connecting to another chamber.
The light is able to reveal in the chamber a large sarcophagus measuring over 10 feet in length and 5 feet in width. Various intricate artwork has been painted on the coffin.
Nesserin leads the others into the room. Entering the room you notice the floor is covered in white sand. Against the back corner of the chamber, a wall of bones has been meticulously stacked. Over a dozen skulls stick out in various spots of the wall.
The walls are painted with intricate scenes and hieroglyphs of some ancient make. They depict a scene of a man being dismembered and then foul rites performed in the service of a humanoid creature with the head of some sort of dog.
The writing is uncomprehensible unfortunately but it does appear that the occupant of the sarcophagus was someone or something of importance.
Scenes of ill omen. Best leave this coffin alone methinks... plus this would hardly be the bones of our chicken wrangler friend.
"Yes. Please be careful where you walk and touch. There are probably some traps in here, too. Probably where those skulls are in the wall, my guess." Jak offers.
Herrick looks at the coffin expectantly. "Yeah, but think about what might be in there. Gold, jewels, scepters. Maybe we'll clear the rest of the place out first, but if we don't find the bones elsewhere, we'll just have to come back."
I'm with friend Herrick here Master Stagg... let the dead lie for now. If we don't bother the dead they won't bother us AND, we can always come back later, what?
Malthus takes out a stick of charcoal and some parchment. "Even in spite of its... nature... The paintings are intriguing enough that I'd want to remember them, friends," he starts sketching a crude copy of the paintings, putting additional details on the creature with the dog-head.
Only things that are important or valuable are guarded so heavily. If there is a malignant presence her perhaps i can see it.
Nesserin awakens his divine sense. His eyes shine like molten silver as he scans to see if there is an evil presence in the coffin.
Calling upon his gift Nesserin reaches out into the chamber but nothing affronts his senses.
Jawn on the other hand is able to discern the presence of magic within the area. Concentrating further he can see the aura of two objects. The first is within the sarcophagus itself but the second seems to lie directly in front of the bone wall likely buried under the sand.
Nesserin turns the the elderly wizard "I sense no evil here. Jawn do you sense anything?"