Marcus finds they are brewing something other than alcohol and finds three potions.
"Hmm, what have we here?" he says as he finds 3 flasks. "This doesn't look like wine, although I have no idea what it is. Anyone else want to take a look?"
"It looks more like a potion than anything else."
"Just stash them. Can't you remember how to steal? Let's keep moving."
Marcus shrugs his shoulders and puts the potions in his belt pouch. "I guess we'll figure out what kind of potions they are later. Hopefully we won't need them soon. Anyone have a preference on where to next? Stick to the perimeter or move towards the center of the temple? I say we stick to the perimeter," he says looking down the hallways at the intersection.
"I agree Marcus, let's keep to the outside and work our way in...that way if we need to retreat we know the way is clear!"
Then you press deeper in... and the echoing chanting ceases.
"That's not great." Vothe says quietly.
"At all," Sharee says, adding her opinion.
You move further in the same direction, deeper where the corridor turns south.
Ordrud and Vothe lead the way... and the floor opens up beneath them!
Saves... DC13
Ordrud
Vothe
While Vothe is able to step back, the half orc tumbles into the darkness and you see him disappear!
Map on Roll20 updated
Ordrud hears the click and feels the floor give way. But, he's a veteran Eldritch Viking and doesn't fall hard. With a command word, he floats to the bottom of the pit trap.
While he's down here, he looks for anything valuable or alternate exists than up.
Finding nothing useful, he heads to the other side and climbs out.
And, nonchalantly signals to keep going.
Ordruds spell goes off... but fails to work!
The walls up are smoothed, almost polished worked stone.
Ordrud picks himself and his dignity off the stone floor.
Seeing that he cannot get a grip to climb up, he asks, "Can you throw down a rope? You'll all need to brace yourselves for me to climb out of here."
If the rookie pirates cannot manage to throw rope down to him, the veteran half-orc pirate takes out his coil of silk rope and tie it to his club. Then, he throws the club one on the rooks after wrapping the free end around his wrist.
They catch and pull, with Ordrud bracing his feet against the wall and crawling up by main strength.
After Ordrud has been returned to the top of the pit, Sharee leans heavily against the wall. "So, how do we get across?"
"Running jump."
"Go around. Back the other way, crew." Ordrud orders before any running or jumping starts.
"Can any of you reset the trap in a few seconds? Otherwise forget it."
"Hmm, let me see if I can," Marcus says as he studies the trap door.
Ordrud looks back the way he came, up that dark corridor back towards the entrance, then back towards the crew and Marcus, futzing around on what appears to be solid ground... there's no hole in the floor, no pit at all... 20 feet further along there just a desiccated body that looks like it starved to death, roughly where the end of the long pit USED to be.
Ordrud can see the change plain as day... Marcus looks intent on finding a mechanism for a trap that HE can see...
"You having some trouble there Marcus...need a hand", Kat offers as they wait for him to reset the trap.
Marcus and Kat think they are working with a complicated mechanism...
Ordrud sees them fiddling with air.
It doesn't take long for Ordrud to set them straight. Looking back the way they came then turning back down the corridor seemingly dispels this powerful illusion.
Moving down the corridor you find a stairwell dipping down... into a chilled cold darkness.
Marcus is so intently working on the mechanism that he doesn't see Ordrud walk up to them. He shakes his head in disbelief, confused as to how the half-orc is standing next to him, floating above the pit.
"What do you mean an illusion?" he says as he cautiously uses his bow to tap the floor that doesn't look like it should be there. "No doubt more of his powerful magic," he states when the hallway returns to normal. "I think we may be heading in the right direction. He wouldn't have used such a powerful spell if there wasn't something important this way," he says with a smile as they continue.
Sharee nocks an arrow as the group proceeds forward.
"Whoever made this illusion is smart." shaking his head, he adds "I hate smart enemies."
The map is updated...
This room is lined along two walls with a series of 10' tall statues of Ethangarians warrior. The heads of the statues reach the ceiling, and they do in fact serve as columns. The statues are plain, unadorned granite, but look like maybe they have been repurposed and recarved from possibly pre-existing columns.
The room is both dark at both ends of both north and south ends where there are corridors, even with your Light sources. It is very cold... unpleasantly so.
"So, which way?" asked Vothe, looking back and forth between the two paths.
"Doesn't matter. Just follow your nose." Ordrud replies in a harsh whisper nodding toward the north way.
Sharee shivers in the cold but says nothing. Following Ordrud, she moves north.
Marcus nods in agreement to Ordrud's suggestion. "Let me lead the way and check to see if there are any more surprises for us," he says as he searches for traps as they move.
The passage north is not long and twists east... and creates another junction.
The way east appears to be a long dark corridor.
The way north ends in a long room.
Twenty raised stone platforms line the walls of this room, 10 to either side. Upon each platform lies a figure, each clasping something on their chests.
Marcus can see they are grasping the curved swords common to the Ethengarians from the entrance into the room.
"Even odds some of them start moving if we enter." Vothe looks to see if there is an exit from that room.
No exit. It's a rectangular room.
"Well then, let's head east and stay out of this room if you think that's best."
Kat looks down the dark hall and shivers.
"I do. That just smells like Golems murdering our faces. I like my face alive."
Marcus nods in agreement. "From here it doesn't look like there's much for us in that room anyway. We can always come back if we need to," he says as they move on.
You push on down the corridor, heading west... it opens into a large room, at which you stand at its northern end. Your light only illuminates part of it, which continues in darkness to the south. There is also a twist in the area you are at, an intersection, that jinks north again, then continues west.
Marcus looks into the room with uncertainty. "I like walking into large dark rooms that I can't see what's in them about as much as I like walking into rooms with a bunch of bodies laying on tables," he says with a slight chuckle as to try to break the silence. "Sticking to the perimeter has seemed to work well for us so far, I say keep going down the corridor."
South is into the dark, west is a new stretch of corridor
Finally updated Map in Roll 20... apologies
The corridor turns and then continues west... and opens into a hall, much like the one you entered when you descended the stairs. It is lined with carvings of statues of warriors that also serve as columns that support the ceiling... it stretches deep into the dark with an exit at the far western end of the room.
Marcus warily eyes the statues. "Hopefully these are just columns like in the first room," he says as he searches for traps before beginning to slowly move into the room, continuing to search as he goes.
Kat also examines the room, ensuring that it is safe for the party to continue further.
Perception:
Vothe offers Marcus moral support and helpful suggestions for his searching for traps.
Vothe offers Marcus moral support and helpful suggestions for his searching for traps.