Chapter 11 - Back to No-Go (Knob Forest)

[Storm11]

The Druid pats the eager monk upon the back. of course, how silly of me. he says impressed

[tkrexx]

Ain't got a hook, no, will iron spikes work, hah? Hyde offers, Got plenty a' them, yeahh. Maybe tie onta one and wedge it inta the handle?

[CAI4]

"I don't see any dang traps" says Chet. "But someone powerful and with high movement speed should go first."

He looks to himself. "Oh yeah."

The monk waits for others to move away if they wish, then opens the door as quickly as he can and jumps away.

[enn.in.me]

Yenny stands close, her curiosity obviously overcoming her caution. "Go for it Chet. Let's see what is so worth protecting."

[AleBelly]

Chet throws back the trap door, leaping back like a tiger. Nothing happens. A small ladder hangs down. Cracks of light sneak through the warped floorboards, illuminating an uneven floor of dirt seven or eight feet below.

Date: 5 Culling, Year 42
Time: 14:00
Conditions: 37F, clear, wind from north 10 mph, 2 inches of ice-crusted snow on ground
Known Spells in Effect: Galan, Arnulf invisible
Light bearers: Sun, 4 3/4 more hours of light
Intended Direction of Travel:
Injury Status: Dandelion, Chet, Angus slightly wounded

[tkrexx]

Hyde scratches a torch ablaze and tosses it below. Hope there ain't no more dead things down there... He takes a look.

Torch marked off.

[Nuke66]

Galan offers up "You want me to go take a look?"

[Zhym]

"Not a bad idea, having an invisible sneaky type take a look-see first," says Angus. "I'll be right here by the trap door. Give a yell if you need help, you hear?"

"By the way—we got anything to dig with if all we see down there is dirt? Might be something buried in there."

[enn.in.me]

Yenny lies on the floor at the edge of the trap and hangs her head over, looking around the basement area.

[Storm11]

The dreadlocked Druid will keep rear guard as the others search the new passageway

[onlyme]

Dandelion joins her place in line, trident ready to skewer whatever might need it.

[AleBelly]

Hyde drops a torch down into the space. The light source sputters briefly then casts its full glow on the surroundings below. No signs of life or undead are detected. Galan, the party assumes, descends the old ladder. It creaks once, and small footprints are seen carefully exploring the small area - it's about 30' square. Yenny hangs her head down into the space and sees what Galan likely sees. An old musty sack, probably made of canvas. It shows signs of rot.

Actions?

Date: 5 Culling, Year 42
Time: 14:10
Conditions: 37F, clear, wind from north 10 mph, 2 inches of ice-crusted snow on ground
Known Spells in Effect: Galan, Arnulf invisible
Light bearers: Sun, 4 3/4 more hours of light
Intended Direction of Travel:
Injury Status: Dandelion, Chet, Angus slightly wounded

[enn.in.me]

Yenny spins around and drops down to the floor below, hopefully avoiding the freshest of the small foot steps, and prods at the sack with her foot.

[Marullus]

Hellebore checks on her birds, who keep watch outside atop the belfry. She remains near the doorway and watches the rear with Tempus and Qatkir.

[Zhym]

Angus climbs down. After taking a look at the dirt for any signs that something might be buried there, he turns toward Galan's current footprints. "You want to open it, or me?" he asks.

[AleBelly]

Yenny prods the sack with her foot. It's firm to the touch, and heavy. The familiar sound of coins sliding past one another is muffled by the damp cloth.

[Zhym]

"Oh. It's just money," says Angus, somewhat deflated. "Well, I reckon that can be useful too."

He opens the bag then looks for signs that anything more...functional...might be hidden down here.

[enn.in.me]

"An interesting dilemma. Keep it or give it back to the church of Perun. Perhaps I'll split my share between the churches. Hmm. Maybe not. Let's see how much it is." Mumbling, Yenny pulls out a couple large sacks as Arnulf tears the bag open. "Here we are!"

[AleBelly]

"An interesting dilemma. Keep it or give it back to the church of Perun. Perhaps I'll split my share between the churches. Hmm. Maybe not. Let's see how much it is." Mumbling, Yenny pulls out a couple large sacks as Arnulf tears the bag open. "Here we are!"

I'm glad I'm not the only one that confuses Angus and Arnulf.

Angus opens the sack, liberating a powerful smell of musty decay. Still, it's an improvement over the smell of his socks when they're taken off by the campfire.

The bag weighs around 35 pounds, and the ranger thinks the bottom will break out if he lifts it off the ground. He finds a leather-bound book on the top of the pile - the rest of the sack is filled only with gold coins. The cover of the tome is badly cracked and discolored. The pages are swollen with moisture, and the increased volume has nearly ruined the binding. Green lines of mold run along the edges of the pages.

[Zhym]

"Hey, there might be something useful here after all," says Angus. "Maybe it'll tell us what happened here." He reaches out to open the book, then waits. "Yenny, maybe you and Arnulf want to handle this? Or maybe Galan, if all that's needed is a deft touch? I don't want to break the book by opening it wrong."

"Or, hey, I've got an idea. We could wrap it up real careful and take it to that sage in Alleborg. I reckon he'd know how to open a damaged book without destroying it. Might even pay us for it, if it's got anything interesting in it."