Ka'kara will toss an unlit torch into the middle.
Nothing happens to the torch.
Hella stays put, halfway between the entry-way and the nearest statue. She is gazing at her more foolhardy comrades with concern, shaking her head slowly, with tears starting to well up in her eyes.
Roylenna, having completely circled the room and looked everything over, suggests, "Last time we used this ancient magic, it hurt some of us to benefit another. This could be a boon or a bane, but we cannot know which. Are we sure that we want to submit three of our number to an experiment? Are we sure we want to experiment at all? We might well find the answer in one of the other rooms near here..."
Hearing the voice of reason coming from her own mouth, Roylenna looks around, "Who said that?"
Glancing up from the torch Ka'kara looks at Lenna, "Your right. We shouldn't risk three..." as she steps into the center just as Lenna asks whether we should risk it at all.
Ka'kara and Sandros boldly step into the glowing diamond. You both feel the arcane energy wash over you, and you feel strong and at ease. Soon thereafter the red glow winks outand everything is quiet again. The feeling persists, though.
The passage continues about sixty feet and ends in a (closed) wooden door. On both sides there are three more doors (six in all), all standing ajar .
What do you want to explore next? The door, the passage or something else entirely?
Ka'kara smiles, "Wow! I feel GREAT! I don't think it was bad Lenna." She picks up Sandros and gives him a crushing hug in her exuberance.
Sandros frowns. "That felt something like last time, but the other magic involved a payment... I wonder what this one will be."
He looks along the passage, flickering strangely in Royl's ghostly lights. "This area is far larger than I had anticipated," he says, turning to the others. "If we continue much further, we are likely committing ourselves to an extended exploration, and we move farther away from places of safety." He shrugs. "Which is not to say we should not go on. Only that we should remember what doing so means."
He grins. "I, for one, am still hoping to find a rapier down here somewhere to match Ka'kara's new armor."
The passage continues about sixty feet and ends in a (closed) wooden door. On both sides there are three more doors (six in all), all standing ajar .
What do you want to explore next? The door, the passage or something else entirely?
Assuming that Hella continues to take point seeking out traps and secrets, Roylenna will follow as closely as Hella will allow, casting Detect Magic periodically to examine areas of interest, especially anything Hella points out.
Hella approaches the first side door on the right. She will peer in after confirming that there aren't any traps waiting near or attached to the door.
The room is small, about 15 feet square, and contains a solid stone work bench affixed to the wall opposite. Above the bench there are small depression in the walls. The floor is littered with refuse, like bones and splintered wood, which seems a lot more recent than the architecture itself. Roylenna detects no magic here.
"Someone's lair," Sandros opines, looking in. He glances around. "We'll need to keep our eyes open."
Hella moves into the room and searches for any evidence of the identity of the most recent inhabitants.
The room doesn't give the impression of being a lair so much as a dumping ground. The refuse is in piles, and much of it near the door. However in the midst of the refuse there are some strange implements, that look a lot older and seem to be used for some kind of rather intricate craft.
Hella is unable to gather anything about the past inhabitants except that they seem to have rather disgusting eating habits and small sharp teeth.
Do you want to continue to search all the rooms?
Ka'kara rolls her eyes as they begin carefully sifting through the trash heaps. She quickly quickly lowers her guard and leans up against the wall as they continue the tedious task of searching through all the rooms. She amuses herself by scatching a symbol that looks like one of her tattoos into the wall with her dagger.
"If we are committing to exploring further into this area, then I see no reason not to search all the rooms. It may give us a better idea of what or who we might encounter," Hella explains as she begins to search each of the other rooms.
...and this is where you roll for initiative (and Perception).
Roylenna would be applying any pertinent Knowledge checks as they search, especially on the odd implements noted earlier.
Initiative; Perception (+2 bonus for sound-based) (1d20+3=21, 1d20+0=7)
Perception: (1d20+4=13)(+2 vs. Sound-based)
Initiative: (1d20+4=9)
Roylenna would be applying any pertinent Knowledge checks as they search, especially on the odd implements noted earlier.
The implements are entirely unfamiliar to Roylenna.
Perception (1d20+3=10)
Initiative (1d20=8)
Busy with her carving Ka'kara is slow to react...
In the third room you find a fragment of a map depicting a room with a pool and possibly an underwater passage to another cave. Unfortunately you can't make out the location of that room.
As Hella enters the fifth room and starts sifting through the debris, she has an unpleasant surprise. A giant scorpion, almost twice her size, emerges out of the litter and grabs her with its pincer causing her 3 points of damage and holding her in a death grip.
Sandros reacts with no hesitation, drawing out his rapier and rushing forward to stab through the wretched, loathsome creature's thick armor, shouting an unusual battlecry: "I really hate bugs!"
...and this is where you roll for initiative (and Perception).
12 on Initiative
Roylenna considers her holy fire, but suspects that it will have no effect on an animal such as this, so she conjures up a ball of greenish-yellow fluid that she flings at the creature.
Acid Splash: Attack; Damage (1d20+5=15, 1d3+1=2)
"Hella, can you slip free?"
Sandros wedges his rapier between two of the chitinous plates and stabs, but the scorpion refuses to release its prey.
Roylenna and Proteus, then the scorpion.
Roylenna's reluctance to hit Hella makes the scorpion a difficult target and the ball of acid misses.
In response to Roylenna's suggestion, Hella breathlessly responds, "Top of....my....list!"
If she is still conscious on her turn, Hella twists and spins her body out of the crushing grip.
Escape Artist: 1d20+8=28
Proteus moves up to see what's all the fuss.
The scorpion squeezes Hella for 4 points of damage. Annoyed, its other claw snaps at Sandros and pinches him for 6 points, while it tries to subdue Hella with its stinger but misses. Sandros manages to tug himself loose, though, and with some trouble Hella also manages to wriggle out of its grip.
Ka'kara is up, then Sandros and Roylenna.
Ka'kara stops scraping on the wall as she overhears an odd noise.......wait, Sandros is yelling something......a scream of pain....was that Sandros or Hella?....tough to tell sometimes.....wait....that means....COMBAT! She runs toward the conflict pulling her sword as she goes. If 40' of movement gets her within striking distance she does so while getting really angry at the bug threatening and wounding Hella.
....was that Sandros or Hella?....tough to tell sometimes.....
Raging attack on scorpion (1d20+8=18, 2d6+9=17)
As Hella stops spinning from her escape maneuver, she puts her hand on the wall and tries to catch her breath. After coughing up some blood she straightens her attire. With a sheepish look on her face, she says to Sandros, "I should have spotted that. My apologies."
As the bug gore drips off her blade, Ka'kara gets a disappointed look that seems to say "That was it?!"
"Hella, are you injured badly? Let me see." The little sorcerer will try to check the resident appraiser for broken ribs and such. As she works, she mends tears in the girl's clothes and cleans her off. She winks, "It always pays to look our best, right?"
"A kind gesture. Thank you, Roylenna. One can never underestimate the positive effects of having a clean and neat wardrobe," says Hella, looking up from her search to flash a smile at Roylenna.
While she attempts to continue her search with dignity, you may notice Hella wince as she crouches back down to look over the clutter on the ground.
There is nothing of interest in the room except a secret door in the north wall.
"Oh, by the way, there's a secret door in the wall over there," announces Sandros conversationally.
"A kind gesture. Thank you, Roylenna. One can never underestimate the positive effects of having a clean and neat wardrobe," says Hella, looking up from her search to flash a smile at Roylenna.
While she attempts to continue her search with dignity, you may notice Hella wince as she crouches back down to look over the clutter on the ground.
"Proteus, you have greater versatility with your spells than I do. I hope you do not mind if I use my healing on Hella so you can save yours for later."
Ka'kara waits for the other to open this secret door as she stares at the wall with a frown but can't seem to locate it
"A thousand thanks to you, sister. It appears that I will be perpetually in your debt," Hella says as she offers another smile to Roylenna.
She turns her attention to the newly discovered door and begins to search the area around it. If no traps are discovered, she will attempt to open it as quietly as possible.
The secret door leads to a narrow crawl space that ends in a small chamber with a 4½ feet ceiling. It seems to be a storage space, for there are diverse items piled: two barrels of spoiled wine, a sack of what might have been cheese once but is now just mold, some inedible dried meats and a wooden crate containing 35 arrows, a crate with fifteen pairs of worn boots and three winter capes, still in good condition. There are no exits.
Ka'kara waits for the other to open this secret door as she stares at the wall with a frown but can't seem to locate it
The secret door leads to a narrow crawl space that ends in a small chamber with a 4½ feet ceiling. It seems to be a storage space, for there are diverse items piled: two barrels of spoiled wine, a sack of what might have been cheese once but is now just mold, some inedible dried meats and a wooden crate containing 35 arrows, a crate with fifteen pairs of worn boots and three winter capes, still in good condition. There are no exits.
Roylenna will Detect Magic on the various gear, just to see if any have hidden value.