The Unseen Servant forums

It has been a long day. Our adventurers have learned much, fought much, and been shocked by much. They decide to explore the gardens. With Torgos' information, they feel they have a reasonably good idea where that is.

They walk through the carnage of the dead crowmen, stopping to take the 282 gold pieces from their corpses. Figuring Chronia's room is the safest, they trudge through the decrepit room. Chronia's eyes follow them as she blows softly on her golden pipes.

Chet, Yenny, and Rufus are the worst for wear, limping over the sandy, uneven stone. Others sport light wounds. They make their way back through Chronia's southwest door (#3 on the map) and into Chronia's anteroom, where the corpses of a birdman and four of the finely attired cannibal men still await them. The door to Chronia's room shuts behind them, mercifully muffling the flat, mournful tones she plays. The way to the gardens is likely through one of the three doors in the west wall.

The party will recall the door circled blue led to the gallery. The other two doors haven't been explored, though Galan recalls hearing the sound of a large object sliding along stone on the other side of the green circled door. See map:
Actions?

Date: 16 Culling, Year 42
Time: 20:45
Conditions: 54F, calm, room dark and damp
Known Spells in Effect: Yenny under some sort of hunger enchantment, Tempus detect magic until 20:40
Light bearers: Lamps in rooms - Angus' lantern has 3.5 hours worth of oil left in it but is unlit. Chet torch until 21:23
Intended Direction of Travel:
Injury Status: Chet, Yenny, Rufus moderately wounded; Sagthistle slightly wounded; Angus, Arnulf, Galan lightly wounded;

Tempus seeing as no one else wants to, will go and open each of the doors in turn and peer within, asking Clarence to stay well back, starting with the green one

"Be careful." Galan offers

Yenny has her hammer and shield, ready for the next bizarre creature...

"You don't reckon a bunch of orcs are hiding behind one of them doors, do you?" asks Angus hopefully.

Arnulf has been silent for some time, captivated by the magical, otherworldly happenings around him. As Tempus begins to open the southernmost of the three doors, he pipes up in his squeaky voice "I...I think I'm going to make myself invisible. I can do so for someone else too..."

"If I am to become the defacto scout you can happily make me invisible if you like," Tempus whispers from the doorway.

Dandelion readies her trusty skewer in case there are lots of orcs behind the door.

Chet drops his sack and lays his spetum upon it, waiting by the door with fists raised.

Hyde sheathes his sword and nocks arrow to bow, in case unfriendlies make an unexpected entrance of any door opened. You be careful, Rope-Head, hah?

Arnulf, as silently as possible, waggles his doughy hands and speaks unintelligible words. Tempus fades from sight. Clarence huffs in alarm, but after sniffing the air seems calmed by being able to detect his friend's presence.

Moments later the door opens by the invisible hand of Tempus. It takes but a second to realize they've found the gardens. The stone ceiling glows with a color identical to the sun. It casts light of nearly equal intensity. It must be this light that feeds the vines and plants that grow everywhere. Tempus will be reminded of those hobbits that don't tend their garden. Large roots crack the paving stones in the ground. The grey stone wall is virtually obscured by foliage and is split at irregular intervals by thick, probing vines.

The scene is made even more claustrophobic by the narrow passage. The door offers passage into a corridor 5' wide. It continues west for 15', where it opens to a 20'x20' room. This room, also choked with foliage, is occupied by a giant snail. Its shell, 8' long, is beautiful - marbled white and deep green. It moves along the ground, scraping it slowly. Its brown appendages seem ill-defined somehow. After a few seconds of study, Tempus realizes there is something not totally natural about this giant snail. It seems not to notice him. A passage leads north from the 20'x20' room, and south (left). The passage to the south seems shadowy...darker somehow.

Arnulf has apparently decided to hold off on making himself invisible.

Actions?

Date: 16 Culling, Year 42
Time: 20:47
Conditions: 54F, calm, room dark and damp
Known Spells in Effect: Yenny under some sort of hunger enchantment, Tempus invisible
Light bearers: Lamps in rooms - Angus' lantern has 3.5 hours worth of oil left in it but is unlit. Chet torch until 21:23
Intended Direction of Travel:
Injury Status: Chet, Yenny, Rufus moderately wounded; Sagthistle slightly wounded; Angus, Arnulf, Galan lightly wounded;

Tempus will describe what's within the chamber and shut the door. He will go to the next door, listen and then if he can't hear anything, open the door and peer within

Yenny remains ready as the doors invisibly open and close.

Hah! Hyde nods to Arnulf, That magicks be handy, yeahh. He maintains vigilance with his bow.

Galan waits for a plan.

The disembodied voice of the halfling druid relays what his eyes see. He gently shuts the door and opens the one just to the north. Tempus sees an identical passage - a narrow, 15' edit -> 5' wide corridor covered in vines and vegetation that opens up to a larger room. The presence of the same giant snail with its striking green and white shell confirms that it is the same room. No new outlets are visible here. The dark opening in the wall to the south is the only visible way to proceed.

Actions?
Date: 16 Culling, Year 42
Time: 20:48
Conditions: 54F, calm, room dark and damp
Known Spells in Effect: Yenny under some sort of hunger enchantment, Tempus invisible
Light bearers: Lamps in rooms - Angus' lantern has 3.5 hours worth of oil left in it but is unlit. Chet torch until 21:23
Intended Direction of Travel:
Injury Status: Chet, Yenny, Rufus moderately wounded; Sagthistle slightly wounded; Angus, Arnulf, Galan lightly wounded;

Tempus quietly closes the door and relays what he has discovered once again. "This must have been a very bad snail to end up locked in this hell hole! Now what?" he asks the others.

Dandelion takes in the information, uneasy as to what creature may be living in the next room. She holds her bow with an arrow ready as she follows in line.

"A naughty snail indeed" Yenny whispers, "perhaps it refused to be buttered. It seems we might try to go through the left hand door so as not to have cross its path. I could silence us, but I'm not sure snails rely on their hearing so much. Shall we proceed?"

Snails can't hurt us, Hyde asks more than states, Right?