Despite vigorous tugging and pulling by Utsuri and Aethorduil, the stone slab will not budge.
Lets check out another of these passages... they may link within... or is that the sole passage?
"There would be no point to me even trying." Baheera says watching as those far stronger than her fail to budge the stone slab. "I suppose we could come back to it later. One more reason to wish Myev was still with us." she says with a sigh.
Tek gives the crowbar one last heave, causing his face to grow red and then a final shade of near purple before he finally lets up. For a moment, he thinks the stone moves, but by that point his eyes are bulging so far out that it was more likely to be a simple optical trick caused by bursting blood vessels.
Despite Tekumbray's last ditch effort, the stone slab will not be lifted more than an inch or so before slipping off the crowbar and slamming back into place.
Giving up on the slab for the moment, the party moves down to the "secret door". After a brief inspection, you determine that the door is not trapped, and open it to reveal a long narrow room.
The floor of this room has a red and white checker-board pattern of two foot by two foot squares. Court scenes are painted on the north and south walls. In the east wall is a two foot high opening at floor level near the south east corner of the chamber.
Does this look typical of your experience here or does this look like something a bit out of the ordinary and thus likely to be trapped?
"Ooooh, it's likely to be trapped." Tekumbray drawls, nodding at the elf's question, not thinking the newcomer might not be familiar with the gnome's own sense of paranoia. He juts his chin to the north and south. "We've seen plenty of paintings, but until now, the floor's always been nothing but good old solid stone."
Pulling out his long pole, Tekumbray starts to tap-tap-tap his way. Mentally flipping a coin in his head, he decides to keep to the red squares as he cautiously makes his way across the room. A short way in, he becomes distracted by one of the paintings. He'd swear one of the grand noblewomen portrayed in the image could be Myev herself. He spends several seconds staring at the suspect painting before hisses from the others move him on. Unfortunately, the odd moment has him distracted as his mind ponders their missing companion more than the task at hand.
Slowly moving forward, Tekumbray searches the path before him for anything untoward, sticking to the red squares - easy enough for one of his size to do, but something that could prove problematic for his larger companions.
After overcoming his distraction from the murals, Tekumbray moves on, but his heart sinks hearing the tell-tale click of a pressure plate he had missed. A split second later a large blade covered in some strange, green fluid swings down toward the gnome.
Standing in the doorway watching as Tek tests the floor, Baheera's breath catches at the sound of the tell-tale click.
Tekumbray is moving before the sound of the click even reverberates off the far wall. His instinct and quick reflexes preventing an premature consultation with the two sisters of fate he would call goddesses. One sister smiles at his deft dive, the other smiles as well as she snaps her fingers.
"Maybe next time." Beshaba mutters before turning her attentions to some wizard unwittingly dabbling in forbidden void magics.
Close... but skillfully avoided, the elf says diplomatically.
The blade continues to swing back and forth, not so fast that it would be difficult to time by passing the blade as swings.
Tek looks back at the offending pressure plate, and notes that it was comprised of both a red and white square - seemingly sticking to one color or the other would not provide any sort of advantage.
Tekumbray snorts derisively as he notices the pressure plate crossing the color boundaries.
"Blasted cheaters. Trying to rig the wheel either way." He mutters and then proceeds to work his way across to the low door.
The elf methodologically watches the blade for timing then steps past it.
Tekumbray snorts derisively as he notices the pressure plate crossing the color boundaries.
"Blasted cheaters. Trying to rig the wheel either way." He mutters and then proceeds to work his way across to the low door.
Tek's heart sinks, as after a few more steps, he hears another click...
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Hey! Unfair! Unfair! Tymora shouts at her grinning sister following another click just as the fair haired lady sets her piece down on the grid.
Psht! Beshaba's scoffing reply. If you insist on him wandering in such places, well, a girl's gotta have her fun.
Very well. Tymora snaps her fingers an instant before the pendulum begins to drop toward the hapless gnome. Two can play at that game.
*snap*
*click*
"EEP!" Tekumbray squeaks as the first snap provides just enough warning for the gnome to once again dive forward and avoid the whispering doom of the swinging pendulum blade.
"Praise to Lady Luck." Tek adds picking himself off the floor once again along with a tiny round stone. "If not for this little stone deciding to fall at that moment, I'd be a goner for sure." Tucking the pebble in his pocket. He waits for the others to bypass the second trap before pressing ahead.
Now who's not playing fair, dear sister? Beshaba growls.
What, can't handle losing once in a while, dearest sister? Taunts Tymora.
Bah. Keep your little creature, for now....besides isn't that Kelemvor taking a shower.
What?! Really where?
Ahhaha! I knew you were longing for a little rumpy with him
Bi#$h!
Tekumbray frowns looking back at the others, who were currently quite quiet. Strange. He thinks. This place must be getting to me, I keep hearing voices. The sound of dice rattling echoes distantly in his mind as he once again turns toward the door.
Baheera holds her breath, watching closely and working to memorize exactly what steps Tek takes.
You are skilful at avoiding those, he says gently, while thinking The fates surely like him... he disables traps but by finding them the hard way.
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"Ah...heh...heh..." The gnome chuckles quietly, wiping a growing amount of sweat from his brow. "Yes...yes. It's pretty effective." He adds while rummaging through his pack to make sure his BlueTemple, BlueShield; Mutual of Lathander medical insurance card is handy.
Given a moment to compose himself, Tekumbray takes a deep breath, shakes out his legs and once again begins to cautiously tap-tap-tap his way along the checkered floor. Having been nearly decapitated twice, the gnome duck and bobs his way along. The movements are a bit awkward, giving Tek the appearance of a drunken, blind duck tapping his waddling way to the nearest pond. But they do seem to help focus his gaze and concentration.
Tek slowly moves through the room, and this time he notices the pressure plate just before stepping on it, keeping a third blade from swinging free.
He reaches the two foot high opening in the wall, and the rest of the party follows closely behind.
*tap*tap*tap*tink*tap*tap*
This time Tekumbray actually listens and understands the slight nuance in the sounds as he pokes the tip of the long pole as he cautiously moves across the tiles of the long room. So alerted, he sees how the stone is set just a couple of hairs widths lower than its neighbors. Tek carefully marks the entire frame of the pressure plate is bright chalk for his companions before moving to the narrow, gnome-sized doorway.
A quick frown as he measures the opening. "That's a bit short even for me." He says peering all around the opening and then through to see what might be waiting on the other side before he steps through ready to tumble forward or back at a moment's sign of another trap.
I am unsure if I can wriggle through that with armor on.
Studying the low gap that makes up the two-foot high passageway and the surrounding area, you surmise that based on the large block of stone next to it, there were multiples of this same large stone block that were to fall into place to seal off whatever lies beyond and that the block providing the two-foot gap simply did not fall correctly.
Tekumbray examines the area and for better or for worse decides it is safe to try and pass under. Crawling on his hands and knees, he makes it the ten-foot distance to the other side only to find what would appear to be two more of the stone blocks that cracked and crumbled into rubble beyond. The very narrow gap at the top of the pile lets you know that more lies beyond the rubble.
Well... I had to best get to work clearing this out. Sooner started, sooner finished.
While the others work to clear the rubble Tek does his best to clean and bind the wounds caused by his earlier encounter with the rabid rodent. Unfortunately, with all the dust flying about from the shifting rubble the wound ends up about as grit filled as it was before. Grumbling and wincing as he pours much of the remaining wine in his flask on the wounds, Tek curses the dead creature. Now, he was not only suffering from blood loss, hunger, and basic tiredness, but he was also down a good amount of wine.
After an hour of work, during which Tek took a brief rest, Utsuri and Aethorduil find themselves a bit fatigued, but what lies beyond the rubble shows itself, more haphazardly fallen blocks and what appears to be a narrow passageway deeper into the pyramid.
Scout on while I catch my breath. That... was... harder than I thought.
Baheera follows the re-invigorated Tek while the other two catch their breath.
Tek offers the elf and Utsuri the last of his wine in gratitude for clearing the rocks. Once they've caught their breath, the gnome gathers his gear and once again begins the cautious tap-tap-tap along the floor with his trusty pole.
Tekumbray and Baheera slowly move their way through the narrow winding passage created by haphazardly fallen blocks, arriveing in a chamber a twenty foot wide section of the passage with an ornate golden door on the eastern wall.
Tek gives the room a scan and then focuses his attention on the golden door. He gives out a low whistle as he realizes the door might actually be made of solid gold.
"I'm guessing whoever lies behind this door was either mighty important or mighty rich or both." He says searching the barrier for traps and tricks designed to keep people just like himself from entering the next chamber.
Apologies... for now? Drinking such in this dry environment seems an unwise course of action for the moment, particularly given our situation.
He turns and talks down the narrow passage.
What is the good news there gnome?
"Hrmmm?" Tek replied distractedly to Aethorduil's question as he intently gazes and feels around the frame and seams of the golden door. "Can't be sure yet. Give me a moment or two and we'll she which of the Lady's are smiling upon our quest."
Searching the golden door, Tekumbray is rather surprised to not find any sign of a trap, pushing open the door reveals, a room containing two large sarcophagi, gleaming with golden highlights.
One sarcophagus is marked "Alexander" the other "Zenobia". Surrounding the sarcophagi are a number of large wooden chests. The is littered with broken objects: two smashed thrones, a broken chariot, smashed pottery, broken weapons, and torn clothes.
Piles of bones cover the floor. On the walls is a mosaic showing famous events from the reign of King Alexander and Queen Zenobia.
Tekumbray looks around the battered remnants of the burial chamber. Seeing the deliberate and purposeful destruction of the various objects he lets out a low soft whistle.
"Someone was...or is...harboring a lot of anger at the old King and Queen." He says pushing aside a broken shaft of a spear with his boot. "I mean this wasn't the work of simple looters or tomb robbers. Place would be empty if folk like that had been through." He pokes the pole into a pile of busted pottery and a few other areas before turning to study the mosaics to get an idea who these folk might have been and why their tomb would be in such a state.