Ruisxys's page

As she looks around, the paladin bravely toes the edge of the central pit to see if it would be, all things considered, easier to climb down and, er, bull one’s way - Oh. My apologies, Ghur, that was a thoughtless way of putting it, I’m sure! I’ll remember for next time! ;) - through the spike-shafts where one wouldn’t have to worry about getting stuck on top. Except, as she does so…

She frowns. Can it be? She takes a second look, focusing her senses, including those weird, undefinable ones that might give rise to magic, with enough training.

“Are you seeing this?” Ruisxys asks the others, before taking a deep breath and preparing herself. The Wise is with us. Trust her, and the gifts she gave us. “Alright, if you hear a short scream in another second, it will be frightfully embarrassing.”

And with that, she steps straight forward, over the edge of the pit, jaw set, fully intending to stride across the middle of the room to the door on the other side.

A slight frown settles over Ruisxys' features as she takes her time to survey the tricky space.

Will: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16 And another +2 if it's vs. a transmutation effect, just as a reminder for myself.

"Clever. I like it," Ruisxys says, stretching a bit to try to shake off the worst of the latest trap. She eyes the room with renewed wariness, trying to get a sense for how it works.

Did she miss a pressure plate, or is it a question of timing?

Worst-case scenario, could they lower themselves off the edge and pick their way between the spikes to get to the other side?

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18

"The right, please," Ruisxys says, as she picks her way along the other side of the room. "That way if anything goes wrong, hopefully we won't all be caught in it."

When Ruisxys opens the doors to go further in, she sees a spike pit in the center of the room with safe passage along the edges.

The ceiling and walls look smooth with no seams, while the safe parts of the floor look like clean polished tiles.

Sorry, been a rough week, and this slipped away from me!

Ruisxys wonders just what this place might once have held to warrant such ludicrously inconvenient defences, unless it was merely designed by a bored, lunatic trap-maker. For now, the best she can think of doing is just skirting the pit, along the tiles, and she prepares to do so. The only hesitation she shows is…

“Should we go around on either side, in two groups? Just in case there’s someone lurking behind those next doors, so that they’d have to worry about getting outflanked rather than holding us all up along one wall. I’ll go that way!”

She points to the clear path along the left-hand side of the room, and, with that, heads that way as she continues her foray deeper into the ruin.

Ruisxys considers the question with surprising seriousness. Or perhaps not - paladin, and all that, so straightforwardness is to be expected.

"Lemony," she says briefly, and then, "Fizzy. Probably not too kind to the stomach, in the long run. I shudder to think how much sugar is in it to counter the tart."

"You're welcome to try it, if you like," she offers, her rueful grin warning that she likely considers it an acquired taste.

Once another victim relieves her of the cup, or she tosses back what's left of the drink herself, Ruisxys marches over to the doors deeper into the ruins to see what's behind them.

Most of her is sure she's going to regret it, but paladins are meant to show no fear, so Ruisxys takes as bold a sip as she can before moving on. If nothing else, it will confirm the extent of the previous inhabitants' barbarism.

No word of a lie, on a tangentially related note, I love the *idea* of spruce beer - really soda, in my part of the world - but the reality of the stuff is that it feels like drinking cleaning products, without the toxicity.

Been a while, I hope everyone's had some fun over the hols as we stare over the edge into the new year. :)

Against her better judgment, Ruisxys pauses to check what the orcs were drinking, before continuing on to the next set of doors.

Ruisxys straightens her shoulders even more determinedly than usual and lifts her chin. “Let’s not give them the satisfaction either way. We can not die here, and we can leave the Hollow once we can throw down something that will undercut any backbiting whispers that might want to chase us otherwise. We can be the better people, in more ways than one. Maybe we’ll even find something more interesting to us than to the town, when we're ready to go, hmm?”

She offers Ghur a smile that she hopes is encouraging, and shows that she isn’t actually that cynical, though she really does have no intention of letting anyone die here. Into the ruins it is, nonetheless. She adds, piously, though with self-deprecating modesty, “Well, if we have no native wisdom on which to rely, we’ll have to trust that Yuelral (the Wise, like Calistria is the “Savoured Sting” :) ) is with us. Let's go.”

I might think Ghur is onto something, but Ruisxys, unfortunately, is a paladin. Has all sorts of weird ideas about honour and chivalry, probably.:p

Onward, excelsior!

“Let’s press on,” Ruisxys says, one eye on the stormy sky. “That way, if anything else is out here, we won’t have to dislodge it along with whatever else might have been inside with the orcs, once the weather improves.”

With that, she matches actions to words, and moves to explore deeper into the ruins.

Ruisxys' efforts to just slip into the ruin prove abortive, as she slips instead on the pooling blood and viscera, and narrowly avoids stumbling into the heaped-up bodies.

It appears she is being encouraged to consider the necessity of humility for a paladin of the Wise. She's not going to like it, but she tries to accept the idea, sheathes her weapons, and stoops to start dragging the bodies away.

As her friends cut down the last orcs in singularly brutal fashion, Ruisxys doesn’t even want to think about what it will take for everyone to get clean again.

As something approaching near silence falls again, disturbed mainly by Ghur’s heaving breaths, an alarming fire in his eyes, Ruisxys tries to get his attention.

“Ghur!” she barks, then, again, more gently, “Ghur? It’s over, for now. You got the last one. We’re all safe.”

Again, for now. Looking about at the carnage, and seeing Ayla’s serious wound, Ruisxys tracks down the potions the group had found earlier, and hands one over. I think we had found a half-dozen, and Ghur took one, so that leaves four now, for topping off anyone else who needs, I think?

“Let’s get out of this mess, shall we?” she says with a tight smile, trying not to breathe in too deeply. She moves cautiously ahead to where the orcs came from, out of the cold and hopefully into someplace that reeks less of blood and shattered organs.

Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4 Damage if hits: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

In her rush to finish the job as the last orc comes within reach, Ruisxys badly over-extends herself. She lunges forward so far and so fast that she nearly drops her sword and topples over. The blasted fellow doesn't even need to dodge.

"For the Halimad!" Ruisxys lets loose a battle-cry in her mother tongue as she strikes back against the tide of attackers.

Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19 Damage if hits: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Her aim is keen, but she doesn't manage to put as much force behind her blow as she would like, as she keeps an eye open for the crowding orcs, trying to get a feel for for their numbers. How many more of them are there?

Despite herself, Ruisxys feels the thrill of adrenaline spiking higher in the clash of steel upon steel as both sides vie for an elusive advantage.

Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14 Damage if hits: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Even having braced for it, it's rather unsettling to face down a bunch of howling brutes intending to do one harm, and Ruisxys tries to take comfort and keep focused on finding the right moment.

The moment the one that will be "her" orc steps into reach, her sword flickers out... Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9 Damage if hits: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

...but she's misjudged the timing and it's an easy blow to parry. She prepares for a bit of a proper mess as everyone gets stuck in.

"Get ready!" Ruisxys calls, "Here they come!"

She tries to take her own advice, and braces herself behind her shield, keeping her sword-arm relaxed but in position to take a slash when an opening presents itself, hoping to slow the onset of the orcs long enough for Orne and Ghur to find an advantage of their own, either by maneuver or by counter-charge.

She'll ready an attack for the first baddie that comes within reach.

Fortunately, the orcs seem not to be in much of a hurry, and Ruisxys is down the passage without fear of being trapped. Instead, it looks like she and her friends might be able to set up a shield wall - or a gauntlet, since shields seem not to be much favoured here.

She rather regrets that she doesn't have a polearm to set, but then again, it looks like it might be a bit of an amble, or at worst a brisk stroll, rather than a headlong charge at full speed. She takes up position to meet whatever it is that's coming straight-on, anyway.

"Ghur, Ayla, either side? Maybe a step back, if you want to run in, build some momentum? Maybe give them enough room for the first one or two to get past..."

She turns to Orne, with his unusual bladed chain, "...and that will give you room to trip them or pick them off as you please, Orne?"

Just a thought, since I think Ayla and Ruisxys might have the tankiest AC of us? So something like this?

[doors][doors][doors]
Ayla, Ruisxys..... <=Ghur ......(<== charge lane from one side or a few steps out, to make an entrance :) )

Orne .............(cunningly positioned to trip, with reach, and make use of his monkish mobility :) )

Ghur groaned, a wave of guilt rushing over him. He had convinced the group not to just kill the orcs and to try and use the traps against them. It didn't work. He also convinced the group to siege the orcs out, and now the orcs had gotten free and were using the same traps he tried to weaponize. If he had just resorted to violence, then they might well have already been heading home with prize in hand. He got to his feet, his axe gripped tight. He would not make the same mistake twice. The orcs would die, diplomacy be damned. (un)fortunately, violence came quite easily.

Nooooo! Ruisxys will have to have a reassuring chat with Ghur later, in an attempt to cheer him up and encourage sticking with the let's-try-the-minimally-murderous-method-first style. It might not work, but might result in less guilt when things break down and it's axe-swinging time. :)

Startling back into alertness from the reverie the cozy fug of the warm, darkling room lulled her into, Ruisxys jumps to her feet and reaches for her shield.

“On our way!” she calls to Ayla, before turning to encourage the gentlemen. “Let’s go! The fewer barbarians they can pack into the passage ahead of us, the less unpleasant it will be!”

With that, she sprints down the hallway, since she really doesn't feel like pushing her way through a sea of heavily-armed orc flesh.

"We might as well get as comfortable as we can," Ruisxys says, as she guides her whetstone along the edge of her blade. "I don't know the nighttime routine of the average orc, but it might be worth our while to time our next attempt for when they're likely to have taken their own rest, so that they're off-balance."

Nothing like an obnoxiously perky elf paladin to ruin an orc's beauty sleep. ;)

Tentative plan: wait for our best guess of when they'll be sleeping, and then unlock the doors again and catch them off-guard?

"For now," Ruisxys nods, unstrapping her shield and making herself comfortable, searching in her pack for her whetstone. She looks the martial artist over again to see how he might wrap himself up more comfortably, though she keeps quiet rather than offering annoying helpful hints like a mum. "I hope you can warm up soon, and in the meantime, hopefully the vagabonds might eventually retire for the evening."

For now, she sets about sharpening her sword, in grim anticipation of what their next meeting with the fort's inhabitants might be like.

“You’re right,” Ruisxys says, looking for the bright side. “We might as well get as comfortable as possible while planning to disappoint the Consortium and their creatures, and these.”

“Now that I’m here,” she adds, forcing a bit of brightness into her voice as the group makes their way back to the postern and its warmth, “and thwarted, I find myself becoming deathly curious about what might be inside, just because. I hope there is something more than just ruins and brigands, but I suppose we’ll see.”

Gah, you're right. Knew I was forgetting something.

This is not like in the stories, Ruisxys thinks, fighting against her absurd sense of disappointment. It's a very small-scale siege, with no shining hosts and banners flying around circumvallations, and...

That's probably very much for the best. Belatedly, it occurs to her that poor Orne probably could do with a bit more time to wrap himself up properly, and get warm.

She releases a small sigh, and nods. "Very well, let's let them rattle around a bit. We can make ourselves a bit more comfortable, and just keep an eye on the switch in case they get more adventurous."

She stifles an unchivalrous thought about how one might handle the unworthy powers of Falcon's Hollow, once she and her friends are done with this wild-goose chase.

To the warming station!

Huh. I forgot that this incarnation of Ruisxys actually has a (small) Wis bonus. That said, in the interests of keeping things moving, if there are no objections, I'm happy for us to take our chances doing the slapstick of opening the door only to get a pile of angry orcs falling in our faces from where the orcs were pressed up against the door trying to figure out what was going on.
Worst case scenario, we can always bravely run away. :)

"They were ... not particularly alert when I poked my head in, and I jumped back sharpish. Some of them were almost snoring already, and may just have thought I was the Happy Fellow's sister or the like. They may just have thought I was a bad dream as it is, and rolled over."

"Let us be bold! Faint heart never won fair lady!" she says, hoping she sounds more sure of herself than she feels.

Her investigations proving a dead end, and hearing no encouraging sounds floating faintly down the postern access, Ruisxys strides over to the switch, makes sure it's in the safe position for entry, then double-checks her shield and her grip on her sword before going to rejoin Ghur and the others.

"No such luck, then?" she inquires, once she reaches the door. "Well, if they can't be tempted out, I'm afraid we'll have to intrude and politely ask them to leave, at least until we can find something that will satisfy the town. Shoulder-to-shoulder, in case that doesn't sound agreeable to the orcs?"

"Miss Frost, if you please?" the paladin concludes by asking Ayla to get the doors, so she and Ghur can storm into the room and kick up a fuss.

Looks like we're doing this the hard way.

I think Ghur and Ruisxys have basically switched places: she's now poking about the room with the switch, and he's gone to the main entryway to call the orcs out:

While his friend looked for a secret door, Ghur went to the closed doors.

If she doesn't find anything, and if no news of a truce filters down to her, Ruisxys will make sure the switch is set to the safe unlocked position and rally everyone to the doors to get ready to do things the hard way.

Wow! Ghur must have pleased the dice gods, given the past few rolls! Tell us your secrets! ;)

If we go with that - which is fine by me - are we guessing there's a secret door we missed? Well, time for some Perception checks, and if there's no luck there, we can group up and take the orcs on shoulder-to-shoulder. :)

Now that she's straining to listen for it, Ruisxys catches what she thinks is the sound of the mechanism of the trap working through its configurations. While the opportunity presents itself, She turns back to the postern and the chamber beyond to report to the others. Taking the small room in again, she explains, "Well, there's at least a handful more of orcs here, who were surprised and idle enough at seeing me that they weren't keen to follow."

"Based on how the doors open," she adds, "either they'll all come for us, or none, I think, so we can at least choose our time. Surely, though, this place can't be locked down from the outside? Or if it can, there must be another way in, hidden here, or somewhere else."

She starts taking a more careful look at the inner walls, in case she's missed a concealed door. Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13

Right, I remember the bit about the doors opening outwards, so they interfere with the trap while they're open. Why don't we go with this: while we've been poking around, we've set the switch to Off; the orcs are going to come running any second now, but that's fine: Ruisxys will call out to Ghur to flip the switch, and take up position outside the entryway to hold attention. Hopefully at least one of the orcs will think to pull the doors closed in case Ruisxys or Ayla tries to charge through and get inside - but closing the doors will give the trap room to spring. Even if that doesn't happen, Ghur and Orne can join the line outside, and at least we've figured out how not to get squished ourselves. Yay! I'll take it. :)

Ah, well, the strategy should hold, I think, however the numbering works. (Ruisxys is clearly not getting top marks in Arithmancy. :p )

That will do if the orcs don't take the bait of nosy elves poking about, Ghur.
As I understand it, if they do come running, I would say we should go with 2 for starters, and flip to 1 if they go fast enough to outrun the trap, like we did, in an attempt to fast-track the process.
If I'm parsing the last page correctly, Ruisxys just checked the state at Position 3 - the way is clear; Position 2 primes the trap, like our first try, Position 1 raises the trap block/ceiling (and who knows what), but is either connected to something else or the mechanism automatically moves it back to Position 3 after a bit, and Position 4 is ???.

Ruisxys waits, heart thumping, to call a warning that she hopes will reach the chamber with the accursed, infernal engine if the orcs follow.

Your choice, Ghur. :) If the orcs don't come to investigate in a minute, say, why don't we just try Position 4, like you just rolled, and see what happens.

Ruisxys scurries away as she had suggested. Once she manages to duck out of the line of sight down the entryway, her brow furrows as she listens for the sound of Ayla closing the doors.

If the orcs follow, but take the time to close up after themselves, to prevent tricksy elves from slipping in, which would leave the orcs vulnerable to the trap, that's the sound she'll have to keep listening for. For now, she draws her sword, in case there's a real firebrand among them, or they don't wait to secure the door, as a group.

Forgot to post earlier, but likewise! This last bit has really captured the hair-pulling-ness of running around trying to figure out how some inconvenient device works when one doesn't really have a good grounding in the sort of gadget it is. "Or was that the whatsit?" XD

"Orcs! More of them, I mean!" Ruisxys explains hurriedly as she spots Ayla. "If we get clear before they follow, we might be able to turn the tables on them!"

Or the doors, really, she thinks, still hurrying for the entrance as fast as she can. "If they close the doors behind them in case we try to sneak in, then we might be able to spring that trap!"

Ruisxys finds herself wondering if something got into her rations. Ergotism is a terrible thing. The muffled commotion from the others continues, and since she doesn't need to duck under a flying spear right away, she takes a moment to close the doors to buy that extra moment of time before sprinting back down the hall once again.

It's like some terrible fever dream, she thinks, but now is not the time to pinch herself to double-check.

Init: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11 Time seems to stretch out a bit as elf and orcs stare at one another in mutual disbelief at the improbable confrontation. (An elf? Here?) As the moment drags on, the paladin's pointy ears pick up the muffled sound of Ghur's warning through the wall, and it seems eminently reasonable to heed it.

Still, it goes against the grain to quite turn tail and lead the orcs to her friends to deal with, so instead Ruisxys backs down the hallway as quickly as she can while still facing the orcs, so she can run interference before they get to the others. (And to avoid being cut down herself from behind, but details.)

Here's hoping the orcs have worse luck with their initiative!

Could be fun, in a ruthless sort of way. I'm happy to try it if everyone else is. Depending on how much orc gets up in Ruisxys' face in the next round or so, a tactical retreat might be in order for her soon!

Well, something was bound to happen. :)

There’s a brief moment of relief as the doors open without further incident, unless one counts disclosing the presence of an additional gang of orcs. Gripping her shield tightly, her sword-hand resting ever so casually on her pommel, Ruisxys tries to brazen it out.

“We’ve got company!” she calls back to her friends, glibly, as if the orcs were landing on her doorstep, rather than the other way around. Turning to said inhabitants with a carefully schooled smile on her face, the paladin asks the nearest waking orc, “Would you mind if we came in?”

She fully expects a curse and possibly a projectile to be lobbed her way, but she holds off from drawing steel until that happens, or if some brute decides to come for her with an axe.

Just a teensy bit awkward to have a heavily-armed elf paladin just stroll into an orc lair, casual as anything. XD

Smeg it, I guess we'll do it the hard way. :)

Having said her piece, Ruisxys takes a breath and strides as bravely as she can muster back down the recently vacated entryway, determined to figure out what's going on and to get that door open.

Ruisxys, distracted, only really registers the faint click she hears when the others comment on it.

"I worry it might be, and no, as Orne says," she muses, answering their remarks in turn. She considers a moment, and then says, "Thinking about it, I'm thinking it's probably a bad thing, if it's back to where it was when we first tried."

"New plan! If someone could move the lever to that fourth position, and stand by to grab it in case it wants to start moving, please, I'll try the inner doors again, and come running if that opens them."

If that sounds good, let's see what's what with position 4. Alternatively, we could try pushing it to position 1 again and making a mad dash for the door if it's a timer we need to beat. Either way...

She gets ready to make a sprint back inside: unfortunately, it looks like counting heartbeats to estimate timings if a trap goes off might be helpful.

Hmm. Guess Ruisxys will wait until it stops moving, and look and listen for any signs of things locking into into place, or if a secret door is going to open to unleash any sheep in the wainscoting. :)

As she watches the moveable part of the ceiling lift back into place, Ruisxys keeps an ear out for any sound that might give a clue as to the mechanism at work, or for any trickery about how securely any moving parts will be held in place.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15 She has to concentrate a bit with the wind blowing through the hills, and she figures she might give it a minute or two to be safe, once things look to have settled down, but, if nothing looks amiss, why not try again then?

"That's good to know," Ruisxys observes, following in Orne's wake. She unrolls her notes to add a preliminary observation that the current switch position is likely to at least clear the way - for now. The door might still be locked, or worse, but there's only one way to find out, so she waits for the crushing trap to reset itself before braving the hallway and the inner doors, when she doesn't need to worry about stooping and scurrying like a fleeing bug.

Yep, Seems I over looked you flipping the switch the first time.

So which position do you move the switch to, position 1, 2, 3 or 4?

So, if we did flip the switch, would that mean it goes something like:

In which case, we're going back to 3.

Or, in your original numbering scheme, where we didn't flip the original switch:

Pos 1 - Pos 2 - Pos 3 - Pos 4
??? - Crush - Original - ???
----- (Now) O
----- Party tested: X

In which case, we're going back to 1, then.

Basically, whichever of the two positions we knew about before that we haven't tried yet. If that doesn't work out, we'll probably try Position 4, the one Ruisxys has just spotted, rather than trying to wait out a timer to reset for whatever trap or lock is preventing us from progressing, until we have no other options.

I’m pretty sure we flipped it… Aha! Here we are!

No matter, we can retcon whatever position makes sense, or just wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey nonsense. “It’s the proteans,” the uptight paladin says, sagely. “It’s always the g*+#+*n proteans.” XD

“So,” Ruisxys recapitulates, “taking a closer look, see here? It looks like there’s at least one other place the lever can go. So there’s how we found it when we first arrived, as Ghur has kindly reminded us, where we thought it went next, where it actually goes when that trap is set off, and this other position, which means goodness knows what.”

“Now that we’ve reset the switch here as best we can, I suppose we can check if the trap has been as well, and, unfortunately, if this original position conceals another surprise. If we can just get in safely with the lever like this, perhaps we can worry about the last position on the way out. If there’s another trap, or the same one is still active, we can try the last position right away, or wait a bit to see if there’s some sort of clockwork involved. Does that sound about right?”

Which switch position do you put it in, as you found two states the first time, when you returned there was a third state.

Concretely, as I understand it, we’re trying to minimize our changes since our first attempt. If we pulled the lever before, we’ll set it back to how we first found it. If, retroactively, we didn’t muck about with it the first time, we’ll set it to one of the two positions that is neither the original position nor the “Crushed” one we’ve just discovered. Make sense?

“That’s new,” Ruisxys nods, frowning as she realizes the implications while rummaging in her pack for a scrap of parchment to make proper notes. “I missed it the first time, just letting it slot into the first position that came next.”

She takes a closer look at the base of the lever, trying to see how many positions the switch is likely to have.

“Right!” she says briskly once Ghur’s reset the switch. “This is how we first found it, then, whatever else it does, the next position is consistent with the crushing trap, which, once it goes off, sets the switch to that third position we saw when we checked back. I wonder if there’s a lock, or what happens if we keep someone here to hold the switch in place if we can try the door again and it tries to trip on its own - or driven by the diabolical mechanism of the whole, I suppose.”

Once she completes her brief notes, she gives her parchment a shake to make sure it’s dry before rolling it back up and tucking it away prior to checking on the entryway again. Hopefully there won't be any killer bees.

Incidentally, parasitic wasps came up in my reading today, and I'm sure there's plenty of inspiration there for more Calistrian outsiders like the vendenopterix.

"Oh, for the love of the Wise," Ruisxys manages, leaning against wall beside the doorpost as she recollects herself in the bracing chill outside.

Thinking for a minute, she decides that either the trap must be on some sort of timer or have some other sort of control, so that the inmates of the place wouldn't also be trapped in or out if someone trips it.

"I wonder if that's what that switch does!" she pronounces, and pushes off the wall to hurry to check if the lever in the side-chamber has flipped back.

Another less than ideally chivalrous Elven oath drops from Ruisxys' mouth rather like the ceiling seems to be doing, and she joins the others in a sprint towards the exit, though she pauses just long enough to test the door to the trapped room off the corridor: if it's unlocked again, and the gas has diffused, could they take refuge there?

Not worth it, she decides, unless until after things reset themselves. She hopes. But that can wait until everyone's safe.

Once she thinks she can risk a look back, she does so, eyes raking the ceiling and walls for any hint of how the diabolical mechanism works, thinking that her jeweler's eye and hand would be much happier with a poison needle trap or something, thank you. (Maybe.)

Perception, again?: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6 -1 if she's still woozy from the gas, and same modifiers if she can make an untrained Knowledge (engineering) check.

Several thoughts fly through Ruisxys' head at the ominous grinding sound, none particularly helpful: wishes that whatever this wild-goose chase is will turn out to be useful, or unworthy musings on whether she'll have to execute the prankster/trapsmith that fortified this place.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4 Her ears twitch as she tries to pinpoint the location of the sound, her eyes flickering around too wildly to be of much help figuring out what's going on.

"One good pull together, and if not, fall back, outside, and let whatever it is fly past us out the other doors?" she asks quickly, moving so she and Ghur can try to each put all their strength to either leaf of the double doors. Str check, to aid Ghur: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14