The Unseen Servant forums

May 26, 1 VC - 3:30pm

The party heads down the hall, pausing briefly to confer in front of the steep stair leading down to their prior level but deciding neither to descend nor to collapse the ceiling atop it. They elect, instead, to head further into the labyrinthine confines of the dwarven residential district in which they find themselves, guided partly by necessity and partly by Kieros' half-whispered warnings and side notes.

The enlarged group passes a number of doors similar to the ones they have encountered thus far, likely offering entrance to residences, while the main passage winds back and forth along a meandering path. Eventually, the passage opens up into a vaulted chamber that once had a domed ceiling but has now mostly collapsed, large slabs of masonry lying along the floor like fallen colossi and portions of the walls to the south obscured by the rubble. Kieros notes that there are several entrances on the south side of the chamber but that all of them are treacherous to approach: he advises continuing directly out the east side of the chamber. By the time the group reaches the far end, Kieros has slowed to the rear and, listening with his neck elongated, he starts to smile. "I believe we are not pursued." He says, sighing.

Looking around, the party can see four exits from this chamber--one under a steep overhang of fallen stone and one half-covered by smaller debris, both on the south side; one on the north wall is a set of metal double doors that Kieros notes appear locked, and a single ten-foot-wide passage leading east along the group's prior path.

Lug shrugs and looks to Orrin and Bertram. "Any way's as good as the other as far as I can tell. You guys got any ideas?"

I would say east unless we have a way of opening the lock. Bashing the door will probably alert more enemies. So east or the southern passage with rubble would be me choices.

Bertram stops to take in the surroundings. Then shrugs and nods to the east.

Niles looks about to see if he can find any runes, murals, or distinctive architecture which might hint as to the purpose of any passage or door, particularly those to North and South. "There are certain common classes of symbology and iconography, particularly among those you'd now classify as the ancients," he says in his young voice.

"Eastward looks to be the safest course; since we do not know where any of them would lead, that would seem most logical to me." Galen looks wistfully at the double doors. "I would like to take that northward route, but Bertram's point is valid; we will need additional resources to open those, most likely."

"Um, I can get us past any door," says Lug, "thanks to Xavro. But I can only do it once, so we'd better be really sure that it's the right door."

Lug grows quiet, thinking about his friend the centaur.

Is any of this familiar to Orrin?

Krysta remains quiet, nervously watching the path behind them...dreading to see vicious foes bearing down on them, trapping them in this labyrinth. She sidles closer to Galen when no one is really paying her any attention.

Zhym wrote:"Um, I can get us past any door," says Lug, "thanks to Xavro. But I can only do it once, so we'd better be really sure that it's the right door."

Don't mind Galen...he just wants to go north because Koios is the God of the North.

Niles advises Lug sagely, "As it will allow us in, but not last long enough for our return, this might not be the most efficacious use. Perhaps we save it for a more dire need, when a one-way passage is more amenable."

"Uh, the honey is permanent," says Lug. "If we use it on the door, it won't be a door anymore."

"Well," ponders Nihilius aloud, looking pointedly around the faces of his companions, "The cursed sword is destroyed. If we're here because we're trying to find a millennia-old dragon capable of shapeshifting into the form of any other creature and with a penchant for destroying the lives and societies of anyone who perturbs it in hopes that it hasn't already eaten your former companion, then the most likely route is to continue east. If we're here because of this mountain's opportunity and to not once more return empty handed, then a locked door holds more promise of things-worth-finding. The locked door, however, is unlikely to lead to our firey deaths... I mean... the dragon and your friend." He quirks an eyebrow, watching Lug.