Session 1: The Dwarven Monastery

[BillTheGalacticHero]

Have the doors fallen inward or outward? Can we tell if the gad been deliberately broken, or just fallen from age and weather?

Can we see anything in the courtyard?

Keeping away from the intact statue with the hammer, I move up to the side of the door frame, and peer inside.

[Marullus]

Allric leans on his knobby wizarding staff and strokes his long grey beard thoughtfully. "A place of kings... That may change our estimation. It takes Power to truly understand Power, lads. This place may have more of importance than iron-rich mushrooms, remaining unseen by others." He ponders what he knows of the lore of this place, and of the now-fallen Dwarven kings, his eyes panning slowly over the stone edifices, the windows, looking for likely doorways or hidden entrances as he follows Aoife through the archway into the courtyard. "The question is where to begin,
and the answer oft depends on where it ended."

Do we know anything about the dwarves, this monestary, or what happened to them? Who this king was or what happened to him? Any hints from the structure about what would be where within? Do we know it, or do we need a Lore Master test aided by Aoife's Dwarven Chronicles wise?

I am also fuzzy about what we're looking at. I have attached a drawing of what I got from reading above. Is there anything else for us to explore here besides these statues? Did our looking turn up anything on the building exterior? As we enter the courtyard do we see any actual entrance to the building?

Drawing:

IMG_20170820_091959.jpg (1.2 MiB) Viewed 279 times

[Ludanto]

Aoife peers at the statues and confirms that they are indeed solid stone.

Thag looks down at the doors as he steps over them. They seem to have fallen outward from the structure, but while it's hard to tell from the rotting wood, there's no obvious evidence of violence to them.

Tall grasses and chunks of stone debris have all but overtaken this small yard. To your immediate left, a wooden stable has collapsed into a mound of rotting timbers and moldy straw. The outer wall on the right side has also collapsed, leaving a ragged hole, though the bulk of the tower blocks your full view of the right wall. To the left, beyond the rotting stable debris, a pair of double doors stand ajar. On the far wall, roughly 30 feet away, is a single door, also open.

The wind blowing through the collapsed wall makes the grass ripple like a living thing.

What now?

Marullus, unfortunately, there's nothing in Lore about this place. That would probably be the kind of thing that could be researched (with the aid of Dwarven Chronicles-wise), though.

Also, sorry about the map. I tried to be as explicit as possible. So, it's close, but the tower is only two stories, and it's on the opposite corner, by the main gate. Let's see...

Code: Select all

########
#####+##
##     
#+     |
##X   ##
##-  -## <-- Tower
  *  *
    @ <--- You are here.

[/color]

[BillTheGalacticHero]

Should we check out the rower first? I would not like to leave a hidden enemy at our back, but I'm guessing our quest will lead us through either of those doors

From the description, the door to the tower, if there is one on this lower level, would be on the inside of the courtyard.

For map sketching purposes, is the tower round, square, or rectangular, and about how big?

Watch where you step around this rubble, we don't want a nail through our boots. I carefully peek around the tower to see if there's a door, and to check the rest of the "east" wall. (I'm making a big assumption that the place is oriented north-south.)

[Ludanto]

Eyeballing it, Thag estimates the tower at about 30 feet square. Then, sidling carefully along the tower wall through the waist-high grass, he peers around the corner. The closed door to the tower is there, as expected, and beyond is the rest of the east wall, which still stands, despite the collapsed section further north.

Something "thumps" from somewhere within, and several ravens noisily abandon the tower's roof, cawing indignantly.

What now?

[BillTheGalacticHero]

Friends, I think something is in the tower, ready your weapons.

I drop my walking/prodding stick and my backpack. Then draw my sword.

[Ludanto]

Waiting for others...

[jhrrsn]

My ancestors believed that almost all problems in life could be solved, given a big enough hammer. Remember that, if you ever become a problem Berenwald! - she laughs quietly with just a hint of malice.

Aoife is already holding her hammer, and moves up beside Thag.

I'm happy to help with a scout check, otherwise Aoife will probably investigate the tower further.

[Ludanto]

What would Aoife like to investigate? The narrow windows are out of reach, and the door is closed.

What now?

[jhrrsn]

Aoife moves up and pushes gently on the door to test if it's locked.

[Ludanto]

Aoife pushes gently on the door. It doesn't budge. It doesn't even shift against the bolt. Looking at the clearance against the stone frame, it seems to be stuck.

What now?

[jhrrsn]

Aha! How high are the windows? Are they glazed, or just little arrow slits?

Aoife looks back at the rest of the group and signals that the door is a no-go.

[Ludanto]

The nearest windows on the floor above ground level, at about 15 feet. They're wider than mere arrow slits, but they don't seem to have any sort of protection, being open to the elements.

(Also, my mistake, the tower is indeed three stories.)

[shroomofinsanity]

Berry laughs nervously at the what he hopes is a joke and draws his mace from his belt at the sound of the thump. Is someone there? he asks hoping it's just an animal or maybe someone that needs help.

[Ludanto]

If anyone (or anything) hears Berry's hail, it doesn't respond.

What now?

[jhrrsn]

Right then, shall I open this door for us lads?
Aoife starts to set out her gear, with the intention of using her iron spikes to make the job easier. She feels around the edge of the door frame for purchase.
Might need a hand boys - this thing is pretty firmly stuck!

[BillTheGalacticHero]

We could break the door down, Aoife's hammer would probably help.

Or we could use our grappling hook and rope to go through the window. If we choose that route it sounds like a job for our nimble-fingered friend and/or the elf. I'll go up third to provide fighter support until we all get in. Then we haul up our elderly mage (Sorry, you did say you were elderly, and my character is 17, so of course he thinks you're probably frail and can't climb.) and then we pull up Aoife, unless she wants to go up to be our first-line fighter up there.

I think going last would play into my belief of being the last bulwark between us and the minions of Darkness.

[jhrrsn]

In my experience, there's no sense dangling around on ropes unless absolutely necessary. If we can't pry the door, we'll try the windows.

[BillTheGalacticHero]

OK, you and I are probably the strongest ones here, should we try together, or one at a time?

[Ludanto]

And here's where things bog down.

While I'd totally love to do this right now, we need some sort of consensus, or for the party leader (Marullus) to make the call on the next step.

Climbing or Door-Bashing? Or something else?

So I guess we wait...