Ch. 6: One More Time Around

[saalaria]

Skarlos will have a fiddle with the amulet. Can he get it to work?

[Zhym]

Oh, sure, why not.

[Stirling]

McCloud stands way back. He is not convinced a trip through the unknown mechanisms of plane travel be a wise choice (how can you have confidence in a form of travel that starts in a place named terminal?). It looks a one way option... Better to risk carrying the jewels through the corridors and out the poem path corridor.

[Zhym]

Assuming you go through one of the doors southwest of the vault, which door would you like to use? Both doors have sung closed and are stuck again.

[Zhym]

Also, I'm going to "clarify" my answer on the amulet: Skarlos can get the amulet to work. If he presses the gem in the middle, it will activate. But until he has used the amulet a few times, he won't be able to control which plane it sends him to.

[Zhym]

There are at least three obstacles on the way. First, there's the pit that appeared on the west side of the door leading to the cavern of mists. If you leave through the doors southwest of Acererak's vault, you'll need a way to safely cross that pit.

Second, there's the 30' long pit in the corridor south of the bouncing room.

Third, there may still be some asps hanging around near the bouncing room.

If someone wants to tell me how you plan to get past each of these obstacles, we can move things forward. I know Skarlos was fiddling with the amulet—does he want to use it?

[saalaria]

Seems we have ground to a halt. Amulet sounds dangerous!

We'll take the first door - the one we fell through as that definitely leads us to the X corridor again. Then back to the 20' pit

[Stirling]

"Do we have pitons and rope? I can't spider climb my way across anymore?". McCloud researches the deep recesses of his memory to try and figure out a way back to the corridor of spheres. "Before trying our way across it would be helpfull to know what healing we have left amongst us, any potions and lotions anyone, cure spells left?"McCloud decides to concentrate on the job ahead and will check for traps around the edge of the pit, perhaps a thin ledge he can inch his way along or even some remnants of ladder rungs down into the pit.

[Zhym]

Just to make sure I know what you want to do: when you say "first door," do you mean the east door or the west door?

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Status: Urdak (Dwarf F10): 14/75; McCloud (F6/MU6/T10): 13/40; Skarlos (C10): 29/56
Effects: None

[tkrexx]

Urdak does the Dwarven equivalent of rock/paper/scissors and points to the left door, a questioning expression on his face.

[saalaria]

Skarlos nods his consent, wondering how many new pits will appear on the way back.
"Let's check for lots of pits, I think he knows we want out now!"

[Zhym]

Using the time-tested method of "Eenie, Meeny, Miny, Moe," Urdak decides to use the door on the left (let's say "left" means Urdak's left, or the east door). The door is stuck, so each member of the party tries to open it:

Open doors: U:[1d6] = 6 S:[1d6] = 3 M:[1d6] = 3

The door is stronger than you are, it seems. You try again:

Open doors: U:[1d6] = 4 S:[1d6] = 4 M:[1d6] = 3

Three people push against the door; three people bounce off the door. You try one more time:

Open doors: U:[1d6] = 2 S:[1d6] = 3 M:[1d6] = 4

Urdak finally breaks open the door. You all pile through the door. Another door stands to your west; this one opens easily enough, but a spiked pit lies on the other side.

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Status: Urdak (Dwarf F10): 14/75; McCloud (F6/MU6/T10): 13/40; Skarlos (C10): 29/56
Effects: None

[Stirling]

"Can anyone go gaseous form? I did have a potion of it somewhere though it may have been frazzled with the rest of my stuff?" inquiries McCloud. "maybe something else that will get us to fly down the corridor and across these traps pits. I think somewhere beyond that corridor is the shaking room trap and beyond a bigger pit with those two pesky asps last seen crawling away somewhere in the corridor. McCloud starts to mimic 'floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee' whilst he thinks of creative solutions to the problems ahead. Of course he could just get lowered down into the pit and navigate past the spikes but that still has inherent dangers.

[saalaria]

"Shall we just lower you down? Has anyone got any rope?"

[tkrexx]

Ae gotn rope, the Dwarf affirms, and holds it up proudly.

[Stirling]

McCloud has a 50ft silk rope and grapnel which survived the lightening blast. If we can anchor it some ways then we can crawl across it to ford the two pits. Alternatively McCloud says...."I have another crazy idea... ".


McCloud goes on to explain his eureka moment. Go back to the throne room and touch a pillar. We will then all float to the ceiling, we could be tied together with a rope or one of us, the heaviest looking at Urdak and imitating a barrel shape stays unfloating. If we can escape the suction drawing us into the green devil face, perhaps by Urdak dragging us under the throne seat, we can then crawl along like little bobbing balloons, skittering across each and every ceiling like wild west tumbleweed or those annoying autumnal crane flies, thereby avoiding all neccessities to cross pit traps and asps and even if the shaking room does shake and tremble we can crawl over the quake and inch by inch wriggle through tunnels and chapels until we arrive safe in the gargoyle rooms bosom whence brother Skarlos implores his benevolence to cast away our enchantments and curses and hey presto or alleluia in this case we arrive safe to explore our exits. Simple hey...."


McCloud looks for the "why didn't I think of that" look on the others faces....

[saalaria]

"That might work but the big problem would be avoiding the devil face. As I recall it was tough keeping you away last time. How about the lightest ...so you!...getting lifted and then both Urdak and I keeping you down. You can then float over the pits, holding the rope for us to use to cross?"

[Stirling]

"Well I am ready to risk it, it seems a better option than just wandering through the corridors and we get to try to beat old Acererack bonehead playing his game. Brains over brawn I say" " McCloud taps his head and slaps Urdak on the back. "We can belay the rope lasso style around me and keep the grapnel end for you guys to hold on too, you pull me through the throne room and I'll act as a pivot on the ceiling for you guys to swing across all the pits. We can adjust the length of the rope as neccessary so you don't swing and the weight drags you down into a pit and me floating ground level above your impaled body!". McCloud is impressed that 50% of the party agree it is a good idea!

If all agreed McCloud ties himself on and we go to the throne room and McCloud will touch the same pillar, thinking other pillars may give different reactions.

[Zhym]

A plan develops—a plan for floating.

Only one problem (at the moment, anyway): you can't go back the way you came. On the wall north of you, where you just piled through a door from the other side, there is only a bare wall. No door.

One way or another, you'll need to cross the pit.

If you recall from that last go-around, the two doors just north of you are one-way doors. You can exit that way, but you can't enter.

[Stirling]