Its been a long trip to the ruins of Maure Castle. It all started several weeks ago in Caliphas the capital of Ustlav. Everyone had been enjoying a rest in the capital after several long adventures that had ended in the capital. The plan had been to rest before heading back to Absalom. As with every best laid plan this plan fell through.
Two nights into your "vacation" the group was approched by member of the Pathfinder Society. He identified himself as Yuri, and told you a story of a castle northeast of Caliphas in the region of Virlych south of Gallowspire. The story spoke of a castle filled with deadly traps, crafted by the hands of devil-worshipping wizards and nobles of House Maure, and of the evil monsters now lurking in its depths. As well he mentioned huge mounds of gold and riches. He also mentioned that a former member of the Pathfinders who had joined a secret society known as the Seekers had supposedly stayed in the castle some thirty years ago but had not been seen in a long time. Yuri explained that this Seeker named Kerfane had kept a journal. Yuri offered a sum of 2000 gp apiece for the return of the journal. You acceptted the contract and set out within the week.
The travel was long and arduous but you arrived this afternoon at the ruins, after some searching you found a cave near the ruins and have now followed it underground. After proceeding eastward for about ten minutes along a downward sloping passage, you come at last to a T intersection, with a short hallway continuing to the north and another leading south into darkness. A large eight-pointed star design has been chiseled into the stone floor at the intersection. The points of the star are entirely cleaned out, as if something is meant to be inset into the shallow depressions.
Kara takes her time walking through the underground ruins, allowing those who specialise in traps to go first. Making sure to keep a tight reign on Thropan, Kara looks to her companions and sighs a deep heavy sigh.
"Doesn't really look like much, does it? I mean, if this place is really evil, then shouldn't there be some sort of guard to stop us getting in here?"
Kara then starts to look around and seacrh for anything of interest, other than the large eight-pointed star design at the intersection.
You look around the intersection and see nothing of interest, it occurs to you that it is deathly silent down here. So much so that a mouse squeak would be about as deafening as a lion's roar. South of you is a dark tunnel the path seems to slope down and gets dark after only twenty feet. North a short hall that ends at a blank wall.
"Ah, this reminds me of a girl I once knew ... long, dark, and mysterious. Haha! I suppose we should get some light on the situation."
Kjell rummages around in his pack, pulls out a bullseye lantern, carefully pours some oil in, lights the lantern's wick, then stows the oil safely away again. He raises the lantern up to eye level and shines it around the intersection, taking a good look at the walls and floors, then points the light down the dark passageway.
Humm....This takes me back. anyway time to make sure no one trying to kill us.
cast light on a rock
[makes a perception check]
Between Kara, Dunleary and Kjell and Neifelbjron, you search around a bit. Most of this intersection is just plain wall, in fact it occurs to Dunlerry that these walls look like they where carved and are not normal for a cave wall they have none of the pitting or uneven surfaces of a normal cave wall. You can tell this is ancient work though and doesn't look like anything has changed in close to 1000 years. Also of note is the eight pointed star at your feet, On closer inspection it is obvious that some point in the past there was some sort of metallic substance inlaid in the star. You see what looks like chisel marks at the edges where something was used to remove whatever once was in laid into it.
When Kjell and Dunlerry get their light going Kjell lantern illuminates the hallway to the south. The hallway continues down for more than 120 feet. At just the edge of the dim light it cast up 120 feet you notice that the hallway walls end at a bigger chamber which you can only see the first 10 feet dimly from your position. Back in your current position Dunlerry notices one other thing, the ground is incredibly dusty however there appears to be tracks in the dust the go to and from the dark hallway leading down into the bigger chamber. You are unable to discern what or who it might have left these tracks as there are so many on to of each other. You would guess that this area has been recently well traveled as early as the last day or so.
"Iomedae's teats!" McGoon curses as he squints into the gloom. "It looks like someone has beat us to it. If those tracks are thirty years old, I'm Asmodeus's grandson. Dunleary, get your arse in gear and see if they left any nasty surprises for us. I'll prepare meself."
McGoon starts cursing the gods, shaking his fist and demanding aid.
Jon leads his faithful steed carefully into the ruins. Holding the reigns close, he pats Cornelius carefully on the nose. "Calm, my friend. This place is evil, but we will bring light back to it."
Jon hangs back while the others search. Jon knows his limits, so he makes himself useful by checking the saddle on Cornelius, checking and rechecking his gear and adjusting his armor.
"Have you found anything of value, friends?"
Jon leads his faithful steed carefully into the ruins. Holding the reigns close, he pats Cornelius carefully on the nose. "Calm, my friend. This place is evil, but we will bring light back to it."
Jon hangs back while the others search. Jon knows his limits, so he makes himself useful by checking the saddle on Cornelius, checking and rechecking his gear and adjusting his armor.
"Have you found anything of value, friends?"
"well... some 1 day old tracks and someone chisel out what i think might been a key."
"Now lets look for traps up and down the hallway"
You begin looking over the southern hallway and you don't detect any traps, however as you move down the hallway to search your light illuminates a large door in the bigger room you could previously only see a few feet into. These two massive doors are each 4 feet wide and made of 2-foot-thick iron and wood. The doors and floor in front of them are scraped and scratched, as if someone had unsuccessfully tried to force them open. It seems that they open inward, but even this is debatable. The room itself is 20 ft long and 30 ft wide and is unadorned. Again you notice tracks though they are again not fresh.
Kara, feeling slight disappointment at not finding anything, shrugs her shoulders and pulls out her everburning torch from her pack, knowing that if she needs to attack quickly, she can quickly draw her bow from her quiver and drop her torch.
Kara commands Thropan to "Come" and starts to follow the rogue at a fair distance of 10 feet.
Noticing the tracks, Kara puzzles at the tracks, trying identify what sort of creature would have left these tracks.
Tracking:1d20+27=29
"Hmm. A door. Did anyone happen to bring a key?"
Kjell and Neifelbjorn examine the room in detail, shining the light from his lantern everywhere, then moving on to the door -- but being careful not to touch the door before Dunleary has had a chance to examine it for surprises.
Despite the fact that there are tracks on top of tracks all over the place you detect what you believe to be gnoll tracks in several places most the rest are not discernible.
"Hmm. A door. Did anyone happen to bring a key?"
Kjell and Neifelbjorn examine the room in detail, shining the light from his lantern everywhere, then moving on to the door -- but being careful not to touch the door before Dunleary has had a chance to examine it for surprises.
The doors is simply a doors and not much else except that they are very large, even making Neifelbjorn feel small.
Kara points at a set of tracks in the dust.
"Guys, methinks these are Gnoll tracks, but the other tracks are harder to work out."
Kara pulls her longsword from its scabbard and motions for Dunleary to continue with the door.
"Thropan, Defend the party. Hmm...not sure whats after this door, but I think i am going to prepare for the owrst, you know how these old castle ruins are."
Do the tracks lead through the door, or elsewhere?
Do the tracks lead through the door, or elsewhere?
McGoon scratches his chin and a faint odor of 3-day-old fish wafts from his pores.
"I doubt we can force them open from the looks of it. Any bright ideas?"
McGoon scratches his chin and a faint odor of 3-day-old fish wafts from his pores.
"I doubt we can force them open from the looks of it. Any bright ideas?"
"I doubt we can force them open from the looks of it. Any bright ideas?"
Kjell squints at the door, then responds, "Well, if the area isn't warded against it, I can teleport us past the doors, although I don't like doing blind teleports. Who knows what's on the other side?" He thinks for a moment and adds, "Take more than one trip, too. Let's call that a last resort, shall we?"
"I have no key save an angry horse and strength of shoulder. SHould it be needed, it is ready."
Jon will peer about. Let me know if he sees anything else with his darkvision.
Unfortunately your darkvision can't see through walls and doors. You look around a bit but notice nothing. However the oppressive evil this place seems to send shivers down your spine.
"There's some kind of ward on the door, all right, but I'm game to try your spell, Kjell. Hey, that rhymes!
If that fails, I suggest we wait for someone to come out and then we jump 'em. If gnolls have been in and out recently, then hopefully there'll be another 'out' before long."
"Woo, that is a mighty strong ward, isn't it? Let's see what Dunleary can come up with, first. If he can't get these open himself I'll try the other way."
Kjell watches Dunleary pick over the door for a while, but it doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
"All right, I guess I get to hope that's not a teleport ward and there's no traps on the other side. I'll keep Neifelbjorn updated on my status and he can relay to you."
So saying, he takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and chants the words to a brief spell.
You think long and hard on the ten feet that is behind the otherside of this door before casting your spell. Then you begin casting your spell. You begin to blink out of existence as your vision of the otherside becomes clear. About this time your compatriots watch as you begin to disappear from sight and then suddenly slam face first into the door before being blasted back 20 feet from the sheer force of the ward and your spell butting heads.
Oh and you now have a splitting headache and are seeing stars. :X
"Owww. Yeap, that's a teleport ward. Gonna have to find another way through here." Kjell says as he picks himself up off the floor and hobbles back to stand next to Neifelbjorn, who looks at Kjell with an 'I told you so' expression on his ursine face.
Kara looks at the apparently "magicked" doors and wonders what would happen if one were to open them.
"If you think that you can get to the other side, Kjell, then please do so."
Kara then asks a strange question to the rest of the party before Kjell decides to cast the spell.
"So, just an estimate, but how dangerous do you think that magic on the door is? I'm thinking about chancing the magic and charging through the door."
Kara then waits for the party to decide on what to do.
Kara, seeing the whole fiasco with Kjell, hides her smile under business and pourpose.
"Well, if that is all the door does, then stand back, I want to kill some evil, and a door is not going to get in my way!"
Kara strides pourposefully at the door and motions for the rest of the party to stand back, about 30 ft away from the door if possible.
once the party is safely away, and after sending Thropan with the party to avoid being hit, Kara turns the door handle, and pulls/pushes the door, a triumphant and arrogant smile on her lips.
....Kara turns the door handle, and pulls/pushes the door, a triumphant and arrogant smile on her lips.
Your triumph and arrogance fails you this time Kara as strangely enough the door doesn't open. You go all cartoony in your attempts to pull/push this door open but nothing seems to work the door just won't budge.
Kara steps back a little embarrased, her cheeks flushing.
"Well im out of ideas, this thing wont budge...does anyone have a large hammer or blunt object that we can use to break the door down?"
Kara looks to Kjell and his companion.
"Um, if we can't get through with magic, and we can't open it, then would you two mind taking the door down for us?"
"Somehow, I suspect brute physical force won't do us much better than brute magical force. Still, nothing risked... You've got that wand handy, right Kjell?"
Neifelbjorn trundles up to the door, rears up on his hind legs, roars, and slams his foreclaws into the door.
"Somehow, I suspect brute physical force won't do us much better than brute magical force. Still, nothing risked... You've got that wand handy, right Kjell?"
Neifelbjorn trundles up to the door, rears up on his hind legs, roars, and slams his foreclaws into the door.
And not surprisingly the eidolon is right. He attacks the door with much vigor but to no avail the door doesn't even seem to have a scratch on it after Neifelbjorn has had his way with the door.
"Well, the direct approach didn't work, so why don't we wait a while and see if anything comes out? According to the keen-eyed folk, there are tracks going both in and out.
Anyone here good at hiding?"
McGoon lays a hand on Kjellborn and his pain eases slightly.
CLW:
CLW:
"Hard to hide people as big as me and Neifel, haha! I think maybe we should check out the other passageway. It looked like a dead end, but who builds hallways to nowhere for no reason?"
"Well, the reason might be a trap. But might as well be thorough..."
Kara, who is very adept at hiding, pipes in.
"I can hide very well in this type of terrain, but, as you have said, there may be something in the other passageway."
Kara slowly makes her way to the other passageway, paying close attention to the floor and any tracks that seem to go to or from any point in the dust.
Kara, who is very adept at hiding, pipes in.
"I can hide very well in this type of terrain, but, as you have said, there may be something in the other passageway."
Kara slowly makes her way to the other passageway, paying close attention to the floor and any tracks that seem to go to or from any point in the dust.
You look for tracks leading into the small 20 ft hallway to the north and notice that no tracks lead into the north hallway as there is nothing but dust on the ground. It doesn't seem this hallway has been disturbed in a very long time.
"There are no tracks in this passageway, besides my own."
Kara sits down and thinks for a moment. Only to get up a few seconds later, a look of incredulity on her face.
"Let me try something. After this, I'm completely out of ideas."
Kara cracks her knuckles and stretches her muscles, the same way athletes do before doing something strenuous...and knocks loudly on the door.
Kara turns to the party and smiles, her antics obviously entertaining herself, even if they fail to entertain her colleagues.
"If there are no tracks there, then I suspect it's for a reason. But if you're still game to explore..." McGoon bows while backing away slowly. "...After you."
"If there are no tracks there, then I suspect it's for a reason. But if you're still game to explore..." McGoon bows while backing away slowly. "...After you."
So Kara walks up to the door and knocks and waits and waits and waits some more. No one answers. :P
All the while McGoon, looks around the area again looking for anything that detects as magical. Only two things glow the door down the southern hallway. And the eight pointed star which on gives a residual amount of magic as if whatever used to be inlaid in it was magical.
"All right, nothing to do but sit outside and wait, I guess."
"All right, nothing to do but sit outside and wait, I guess."
While everyone else settles in at the giant doors, Kjell and Neifel begin a methodical search of the door room, the passageway to the door room, the intersection, and the northern passageway.