Action Thread 6

[tkrexx]

Phanstern sheathes his dagger & swings the light from the lantern around the chamber. He steps in with his back close to the wall, just out of the passage.

[rredmond]

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Day 1– In the complex – 7:18 a

I'll assume Delgath just ditches the spent torch and doesn't relight another.

As the light is brought to bear, the room is easily revealed to you. This chamber looks empty although the floor has four 3' deep pits dug into it. The pits are only 1 1/2' to 2' across, so there appears to be ample room between them to safely walk across the chamber. The pits don't look like they have anything in them. On the north wall is a ladder to a trap door in the ceiling. On the east wall (bottom right of the map) is another dug out tunnel, but this one looks like it would accomodate all of you. But it looks tight, about 4' or 5' wide, so you'd have to march and fight single file, and maybe 7' high.

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You are at the end of the red X, just inside the entrance of the room.


[/b]HPs: Elwita - 33/50; Ogre - 45/45; Delgath - 25/25; Karraway - 31/42; Blodgett - 10/20 ; Freda - 34/40; Phanstern - 25/25; Eljayess - 11/25; Kayen - 25/25
WIH: Elwita: cross bow (war hammer), shield; Ogre: Long sword (20' radius light), shield; Delgath: Staff; Karraway: mace, shield; Blodgett: short sword; Freda: long sword, shield; Phanstern: dagger, lantern; Eljayess: Spear, shield; Kayen: long sword, shield; Bert: short sword
MO: Eljayess, Blodgett, Ogre, Elwita, Freda, Phanstern, Delgath, Kayen, Karraway
Consumables: Bullseye Lantern (Phanstern) - (1 hours, 0 minutes left) 80' radius, 10' wide beam; Torch - Delgath (out), Torch - (not lit, 60 minutes), 40' radius.
--------Spells: Delgath 1-4/4, 2-1/2, 3-1/1 : Karraway: 1-5/5, 2-5/5, 3-2/2: Phanstern: 1-4/4, 2-2/2, 3-1/1; Eljayess: 1-3/4, 2-3/3; Kayen: 1-3/3, 2-2/2

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[tkrexx]

Noting all in the chamber, Phanstern's gaze focuses on the floor. What digs multiple shallow holes in a place like this? He wonders aloud.

[Vargr1105]

After Kayen taken in the layout of the room he makes his suggestion about the course of action.

"So we can go up again or continue on this level. I would vote for the second option. But before, maybe one of the more stealthy among us should climb up ladder and take a peek over the trapdoor. Just so we know what we are leaving behind out backs."

[saalaria]

Ron are the pits 1' square or just wide. If so what length are they?

Dredd checks his pouches and looks thoughtfully into the room.

Dredd won't light his last torch unless light is poor around us

[Nuke66]

"We have to be getting close, let us press forward." Eljay moves toward the exit tunnel.

[rredmond]

The holes are only 3 or 4 feet long as well. When you shine the lantern down in there, they are empty except for some bits of grain.
I'll move you forward tonight or tomorrow morning if no one else posts.

[Alethan]

Freda carefully makes her way across the room to the trap door to examine it further. Does it look like it can be secured from below? Either way, she'll ask for silence as she listens at the trap door to see if she can hear anything on the other side of it.

[saalaria]

maybe a grain store from its previous life as a castle. Clearly slavers don't worry about long winters!

[Alethan]

Freda climbs up the ladder to listen at the door. She doesn't even get two feet on the rungs before she turns to everyone else.

"I hear noises coming from above. Lots of shuffling steps... the crack of a whip... moaning and cries of pain..." She shakes her head. "Do we continue on our way or see if we can help those above? We have a huge strategic disadvantage in our current position. All they have to do is club us over the head as we climb out of the hole." She sighs, "I don't think there's anything we can do about them right now. Maybe later, after we've checked out what's going on below."

She looks at the rest of the party to see what they want to do.

[Nuke66]

"Well, sounds like slaves to me, and that's what we're here for. We just have to start this mess, they will help effect their own escape as well."

Checking the ladder she tries to assess it's strength. "Think this will hold three of us up there?"

[tkrexx]

Hold! The Illusionist cautions. If we get embroiled in a large, noisome quarrell with numerous foes, hue will be called, reinforcements will arrive, and slavers themselves may fall upon us at our weakest! Deal with this problem from the top down, says I. Find the slavers and neutralize their authority here. Without leadership, the lackeys may well abandon their posts with but a trifle of prodding.

Conversely, He scratches his beard as he reasons with himself, If we disrupt normal activity at this level, we may well attract the attention of investigation by one or two of said slavers, make them come to us, dividing their strength. Oooooh, it's SO difficult to know the better course!

[saalaria]

"Your first thought I agree with. As a great man once said to fight a snake cut off the head"
Dredd continues his investigation of the pits. He will poke the bottom with a torch to see if there is anything under the earthern surface layer.

[Alethan]

"I concur. Sorry, Eljay, but I don't think launching ourselves out of a trap door into a room full of who knows what is going to get us what we need. Stealth, as much as we can muster, anyway, is the way for now."

[Vargr1105]

Kayen

"I don't like leaving those wretched victims to their fate, but attacking blindly from a trapdoor does seem like a tactical blunder so I am with Phanstern advice. But if we do find another way to egress into that room I shall not be wanting to leave the slaves chained a minute longer than they have to."

OOC: Chaotic Good and hating slavery all the way...

[rredmond]

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Day 1– In the complex – 7:25 a

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The ladder is sturdy, several men can be on it at once. The only problem is that only one person can be at the top, and forcing or breaking through the trapdoor would be awkward.

As you stop talking and contemplate the ladder, you hear that there is definitely movement going on behind you. Too far to see, but something is moving back there. Out of the other passage you seem to hear similar movement, maybe closer distance wise, but it doesn't seem to be moving at all. The noise behind you seems to be coming, slowly, closer.

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HPs: Elwita - 33/50; Ogre - 45/45; Delgath - 25/25; Karraway - 31/42; Blodgett - 10/20 ; Freda - 34/40; Phanstern - 25/25; Eljayess - 11/25; Kayen - 25/25
WIH: Elwita: cross bow (war hammer), shield; Ogre: Long sword (20' radius light), shield; Delgath: Staff; Karraway: mace, shield; Blodgett: short sword; Freda: long sword, shield; Phanstern: dagger, lantern; Eljayess: Spear, shield; Kayen: long sword, shield; Bert: short sword
MO: Eljayess, Blodgett, Ogre, Elwita, Freda, Phanstern, Delgath, Kayen, Karraway
Consumables: Bullseye Lantern (Phanstern) - (1 hours, 0 minutes left) 80' radius, 10' wide beam; Torch - Delgath (out), Torch - (not lit, 60 minutes), 40' radius.
--------Spells: Delgath 1-4/4, 2-1/2, 3-1/1 : Karraway: 1-5/5, 2-5/5, 3-2/2: Phanstern: 1-4/4, 2-2/2, 3-1/1; Eljayess: 1-3/4, 2-3/3; Kayen: 1-3/3, 2-2/2

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[tkrexx]

Uncharacteristically silent, eyes darting from passage forth to passage past, Phanstern reaches for his scrollcase.

[Vargr1105]

"Ai, ai!" laments Kayen. "We've foes on both sides and above, what do we do?..."

The elf ponders to himself if he should volunteer to turn invisible, climb up and unleashe a Sleep spell on the foes above.

[tkrexx]

Could be a group of slaves, Phanstern offers. He dwells momentarily on shutting the lantern, yet decides he'd rather be able to see what follows the party. He covers the lanterns opening slightly to reduce the amount of light seen from either passage.

[saalaria]

"Press on" offers the mage.
"better to be moving forward than caught like a rat in a trap."