Chapter One: The Lost Tower of Balaz-kai

[sonofotho]

Jasper - Rogue

Jasper starts to approach the door to check it for traps, but seeing Xantius' looking strained he pauses and says "You okay? Want me to check this ol' door out for anything bad?"

OOC: Jasper will happily check the door for traps, but only of Xantius' is okay with it. Jasper doesn't know magic, and he trusts Xantius' opinion.

ooc: I’ll wait back to hear from Xantius before posting.

[9littlebees]

Xantius

Hand to his head, Xantius waits until his mind clears.

"All is well. I dislike the look of these sigils, though. Perhaps..."

His voice trailing off, he strides up to the door, stopping about about 2 meters away with his right side to the door. Then, reaching his arm out, he knocks with his staff twice, hard...

Sorry, been a bit busy. Not sure how to handle those sigils - I don't really have any spells to assist, and I'm assuming my Detect Magic has already been rolled.

[badams30]

Jasper - Rogue

Jasper gives Xantius a thumbs up and a smile and he quietly tip toes to the door, examining it for traps or anything that stands out...

I guess I roll twice?
[1d20] = 10
[1d20] = 19

[sonofotho]

Xantius does not sense the door is magical. After closer examination of the sigils and symbols, he recognizes them from previous studies of ancient lore - a long forgotten language. He can only decipher a few of them... power, darkness, death...

Once the mage gives the nod, Jasper inspects the door for traps. He turns and shakes his head. The rogue doesn't find anything amiss. No traps and no lock.

ooc: I assume that Xantius does not tell the others of his visions. If he does, just let me know.

Actions?

[9littlebees]

Xantius

Giving a rather uncharacteristic wink to Jasper, Xantius strides up to the door and confidently attempts to open it.

OOC: I keep the visions to myself.

[sonofotho]

The door opens surprisingly easily. Light from the torches pours into a short hallway, which runs perhaps ten feet before entering a small chamber.

Standing from the doorway the chamber appears to be a storeroom. Wooden shelves are filled with boxes and sacks of unknown contents. Haroun's eyes widen as he spies a number of dusty, old bottles.

The chamber appears to go further to the left out of view from where you are standing at the doorway to the short hall.

ooc: Actions?

[Longfingers]

Haroun

Finally! exclaimed Haroun triumphantly as he caught sight of the bottles. Apparently forgetting that the tower had already proved to be a place full of peril, the swordsman pushed his way past Xantius and Jasper and strode over to the crate. Pulling one of the dusty specimens out, he proceeded to crack it open and inhale the aroma.

OOC: first chance so far to play that complication, so I'll have to suck up the consequences!

[badams30]

Jasper - Rogue

Jasper watches Haroun crack a bottle open and he says meekly "Uh, I don't know if I'd be doing that... uh.... ummm.... nevermind." And Jasper pokes at some of the sacks with his spear tip, trying to determine what is inside. He mumbles "be careful with this stuff, this place seems to have a spider problem, don't want none of em' jumping outta these bags and suckin' you dry like those other poor fellas..."

OOC: Jasper will slowly, carefully search the contents of the shelves.

[Captain Kinkajou]

Jayamanka

The strange sigils on the door make Jayamanka uneasy. She tries to figure out what it is about them that unsettles her but she is finding it difficult to focus on anything other than resisting the paralysis. Got to keep moving. Got to keep fighting it, she urges herself. I'm not going to let it beat me. Her inner struggle overshadows the niggling voice telling her that there's something off about this place.

[LtTibbles]

Skagvurd will help Jayamanka into the room of she still needs help, he'll find a suitable place to leave her giving her a pat on the shoulder before returning to the door they entered.

"I'll keep watch on the door, someone check the corner."

[9littlebees]

Xantius

Striding into the chamber, Xantius passes Haroun and Jasper and peers down the left bend, lantern held high.

"Do let us know if you find anything interesting, gentlemen. And Haroun - I wouldn't recommend drinking random bottles from a wizard's tower without at least reading the label first."

[sonofotho]

The storeroom/chamber is about twenty foot by twenty foot. Along the righthand and far walls (opposite the entry hall) rest the wooden shelves and tables. Haroun and Jasper make their way over there to further investigate, while Xantius scans the rest of the chamber. The wall to the left is devoid of any shelving or tables, although the mage notices some ancient cobwebs. Nothing out of the ordinary with them, however. A closed, wooden door can be found to the left, on the same wall as the entry hall.

Meanwhile, Haroun blows the dust off of a bottle from the shelf. Whatever writing was on the label is no longer discernable, the ink having evaporated long ago. He pulls out the cork with some effort, releasing a strong, rich smell. The warrior sighs with satisfaction. If the smell is anything to go by, the bottle contains an excellent wine.

Jasper is not so lucky. His pokings and proddings reveal only some rotted grains and other unidentifiable foodstuffs.

ooc: Actions?

[sonofotho]

Jayamanka

The strange sigils on the door make Jayamanka uneasy. She tries to figure out what it is about them that unsettles her but she is finding it difficult to focus on anything other than resisting the paralysis. Got to keep moving. Got to keep fighting it, she urges herself. I'm not going to let it beat me. Her inner struggle overshadows the niggling voice telling her that there's something off about this place.

ooc: Please make a Physique check (with a Negative Die ) to see if she has recovered at all.

[Captain Kinkajou]

Jayamanka

With Skagvurd's assistance, Jayamanka makes it into the store-chamber before slumping against the wall where the big Northman sets her down. Before moving back to the door, Skagvurd gives the huntress a pat on her shoulder. The gesture is meant kindly but makes her feel infinitely more pathetic than she already does. @&%*!

While the others rummage around, she focuses on just moving her arm and hand. With effort, she clenches and unclenches her fist a few times. Is she kidding herself or is it slightly easier than it was? She can't be sure but maybe the effects are subsiding. She keeps working at it.

ooc: Physique check (with a Negative Dice) against a score of 11.

Attribute Test w Negative Dice: [1d20] = 10, [1d20] = 7

ooc: Yay!

[Longfingers]

Haroun

Xantius

"Do let us know if you find anything interesting, gentlemen. And Haroun - I wouldn't recommend drinking random bottles from a wizard's tower without at least reading the label first."

Bah, wizard, do you take me for a fool? scoffed Haroun, waving the now uncorked flagon at the sorcerer. He squinted again at the label, making a show of reading the long-vanished writing, doing his best to cover that fact that while he could count, up to a fashion, never had he had the opportunity or inclination to learn to read.

Haroun inhaled the sweet, heady aroma once more. 'What could possibly go wrong?' he thought, before taking a long slug from the bottle...

[badams30]

Jasper - Rogue

Jasper shakes his head and snorts in disgust. "BAH! Nothing in these crates and sacks but old nasty food. Ugh." He pauses to watch Haroun gulp the contents of the bottle, he sighs loudly, then his familiar smile returns and he lopes over toward the wooden door to the left, pausing to quietly examine it for traps, noises from beyond it, etc.

OOC: Jasper will listen at the door and check it for traps...

[1d20] = 8
[1d20] = 10

[sonofotho]

Haroun takes a deep pull from the bottle. He grins widely as the wine warms his belly. Somehow after all these years the taste is still rich and the alcohol is definitely still present.

Jayamanka notices the stiffness abates somewhat and she regains movement back in her arms and legs. (ooc: she can now move on her own, albeit at half speed. She can attack, but no longer with positive die. We’ll make another check later down the road...)

Jasper doesn’t find any traps or oddities with the door. It doesn’t appear locked. (ooc: I rolled behind the scenes, just so that you don’t know for sure!) The rogue doesn’t hear any noises from behind the door.

ooc: Actions?

[badams30]

Jasper - Rogue

Jasper strolls back over to Xantius and points at the other door "no locks on that one either, I didn't find anything funny with it, and didn't hear anything on the other side."

Jasper strolls over to Haroun and smiles, nodding at the bottle"how's it taste?" Jasper licks his lips, thinking dreamy thoughts of booze and wild women, but then he quickly shudders, the image of his mama coming into his head. He shakes his head, ridding himself of the thought and says to no one in particular "Mama told me not to drink any hooch too early in the mornin'. Then again, she used to drink it all herself..."He pauses, then smiles and starts whistling quietly, some ditty he heard in a seedy bar. He waits till the others are ready to go.

[Longfingers]

Haroun

Delicious! pronounced Haroun, taking another lusty swig before belching loudly. Here, plenty more to go round he added, handing the remains of the bottle to Jasper and grabbing another from the box.

[Captain Kinkajou]

Jayamanka

"Go easy Haroun," Jayamanka advises sternly. She does not look so pained as she did moments earlier. The hollow look around her eyes has receded a little. "If we are to make it through this place... we should all... keep our wits about us."

With effort and using the wall for support, the huntress hauls herself shakily to her feet.